The Republican journal., 1869-03-25
NESTS OF CONsUMPTION.


OF whom the following story may be told. Two
healthy brothers married two healthy sisters.
Both had large families Of children. One lived
on the Old homestead, on the southern slope
Of one of The numerous beautiful and we'll
drained hills in that vicinity. The whole house
sumption did not touch any Of the young lives
under its roof The other brother placed his
house at very short distance off, but upon
grassy plain, covered all summer with the
rankest verdure. In its front was large open
common" In the centre of this, water oozed
up from between the split hoofs of the cows, as
they came lowing homeward at evening, and
the Darefooted DO yWhO was driving them used
to shrink from the place, and preferred to make
the circuit Of its edge rather than to follow the
lead of his more quiet comrades. Back CT the
house was large level meadow, reaching to
the very foundations Of the building. Through
this meadow sluggishly crept the mllstream
OF the adjacent village. Still further, all three
surroundings were enclosed by lofty hills. The
life giving sun rose later and set earlier upon
this than upon the other fair homestead. Till
late in the forenoon, and long after sunset left
the hillside home, damp and chilling emana-
tl0nS rose from the meadow, and day after day
were trying i'll vain to grow up healthy within
Them But all effort was useless. Large fam
lies were born under both roofs. Not one OF
the children born under the latter homestead
escaped, whereas the other family remained
healthy; and when, at the suggestion of med
ical friend who knew all The facts we have told
we visited the place for the purpose of thor.
oughly investigating them, we thought that
! these two houses were a terribly significant H.
! In 9 fibn n the RyiStppna nf thiS all
/ tul law. Yet these two homes had nothing
peculiarly noticeable by the passing stranger
They were were situated in the same township
and within Il very short distance one from the
other, and scarcely any one in the village with
whom we spoke on the subject agreed with us
in cur opinion that it was location alone, or
chiefly that, which gave life or death to the
Inmates of the two
We might speak of other homeSteads which
seem TO US now to be very nests OF consump-
tion in consequence of this law, and yet moi
one parent in Il hundred acknowledges ever
theoretically his belief in the truth OF our as
sertion. Parents themselves, during long
residence, may escape from the dire influence
Of location and therefore they imagine, il theii
children are falling, that some other evil agen.
cy is at work, rather than this law.
/ Illustrative OF this error on the part OF par
ents, we cannot forbear relating the following
fact. We know Of house situated about q
foot above and just on the edge of q small lake
The cellar, if there be one must be below the
level Of the water. The house, built with taste
nestes amid over hanging, thickly leaved trees
through which the suns rays can scarcely per.
citrate even at midday. The homestead is
overrun with the springing woodbine, cematis
and honeysuckle, ,-coolness, dampness, and d
little sunlight are the characteristics of the
spot. Ia the midst of summer it the beau idea
of q quiet, refined country house, which any
one, even the most fastidious, would desire to
occupy. let as we have looked at it, and have
remembered how one by one the children borr
in it have been cut off by consumption eithel
at puberty or al early manhood or womanhood
we have turned with Loaf hing from all its ex
ternal beauties, and have regarded them all as
so many false and fatal allurements bringing
inevitable ruin to those who should fall within
the sphere of their influence.
These tales are no creations of our imagn
ton, but positive and undeniable facts. DR.
Henry |. BoWditch