Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-11-09
"0ur Home on.le EIilIside...

the SlOplng side oil the mountain, on the caal
of the Gencscc Valley. and about half 4 mile
from the town of Dansvic, stands an ln<I'u.
ton as peculiar in its clftrc management a. are
the views of its very singular founder. 1t is
called
"OuR HOME ON TIE HILLSIDE
and is so-called water cure, though as will be-
seen, water is considered Of less therapeutic
value than other agencies Here from 80 TO
300 invalids are constantly found sick with
most of the chronic diseases that inAict hui
manity, dyspeptics, rhu,natcs, and consumI'
tives, making up perhaps the majority Of the
entire number. These stay here from four
months to two years, according to the lIlcui.
ties of their cures and the readiness with which
their diseases yield to the treatment employed.
The principle on which is based the curative
art pracJsed here is very simple one, viz:
That there is in every constitution, not Incur
ably diseased, an inherent power OF shaking Oh
that disease, and OF reSumIng Its normal tunc-
tions, provided that power, which they ,tr
nominate vita! force has All opportunity to
act unobstructcdy. Nothing new or strange
in this, but in its application there is novelty
which will strike the reader il it does not nee!
his approval 1t is held here that false meth
DDS Of living are mainly, if not solely, ut the
foundation Of our sickness. and Instead OF at
tempting to cure diseases by the use Of mcI
cnes the ouly means made use OF are food
water, air and sunlight, and revolution OF
habits And first as to food, it is claimed thar
10 nothing are we more unnatural than in our
selection OF food and in it's preparation Flour is
used unboltcd, and is ground from day to dag
as is needed. Bread is made of it without salt
or yeast Mush is made Of the same -four and
eaten without salt, but with milk and little
sugar. Meats are not as Ine recommended.
1t is claimed here that large share OF our dis
eases are caused by eating too largely OF meat,
| and especially OF diseased meat. Pork in every
shape is forbid. 1t Is pronounced scr0tulDuS
in tendency. Beef mutton and game are III
lowed in very moderate quantities. and to some
patients not at all. Butter is objected to. Fruits
are eaten in large quantity. Tea and coffee
are not allowed. Now imagine yourself at such
table, without meat, SALT pepper, vinegar ar
any of the usual condiments: the food cooked
without salt, the fruit mostly cooked without
sugar, without tea or coffee, with unccavcncd
bread made Of unbOltcd flour, and you have Il
table certainly not tempting to most persons.
Pastry is made without lard, cream being sub
stituted So much for the table. The other
remedies, water air and sunlight are used as
prescribed by the physicians; water Tor baths.
which are taken daily in some form. air, all
that can be gotten and sunlight, as it can II,
endured. 1t is singular spectacle to see lying
all about On cots and stretchurs, men and wo-
men in the sunshine, asleep or awake resting
or talking. 1t is still more singular sight Ia
see them when they meet one, cmaclatcd, hu-
low eyed and feeble, in almost all stages au't
conditions OF chronic disease, yet all, as y suc,
cheerful, contented and sanyulnc OF reStOr;l-
| ton. Many Of them are invalids Of years stand
ing, some long ago given up to die by physl-
| clans at home-all conditions and ayes are req
resented Here is an old gentleman who HOOKS
as though he had seen enough Of life to he able
to retire from il altogether ON his stock Of cy-
pericDce, and here is a poor little child Scroiu
lous from birth, with distorted spine and
cmaciated FORM Here a group of ladies from
Virginia, and there another from Kansas; here
is man from San Francisco and one from
Canada, another from Texas, some from South
Carolina, and still another from Switzerland
Every section almost of this continent is repre-
sented. Some we'll enough to take long walks,
some only able to get about as they are hcla,i
others confined entirely to their rooms. hYcy
this crowd of uvalids there is Swlycl Il fora:
that seems magnetic III the person o.! the chief
physician, DIR. }. &. Jackson It is 4 common
thing for people TO have faith in their rhy>i
cian but for BOO chronic invailds to be Swaycd
and Influenced rs are these people here, has
something in it Of the marvellous. He talk,
to them, gets them together and lecturers and
breaches to them in every way in which he can
possess himself of their intelligence and cam,
mand their will; he goes at them, and che
result is Il body OF invallds animated by II cou.-
mon purpose to do nothing that will MAKE
them SICK and to do everything that will make
them we'll Now for the results. Rcmcmbcr-
ing that large number Of these people were
invalids for years, and not few Of them pro-
nounced incurabe previous to their coming
here, the death rate is less among them than
in the community at largo around them; that
more than nnty-hve out OF hundred get we'll
or have their health SO re-esabll>hed that they
are able to get comfortably through life r."
call the further fact that to not one OF these
persons is given an atom Of medicine and We
have certainly some very remarkable facts
from which to make deductions. 1t is not the
business of your correspondent to argue the
merits of this practice, but simply to show how
people may get we'll by living simply and plain
ly, with temperance in eating and abstinence
from all that is not good food, using this term
in the sense in which it is used by the found
ers of this institution. II.
How TO CATCH A CHICKEN THIEF. The
Mariposa (Cal Gazette of September ~, re-.
lstes the following
A gentleman who lives at Sebastopol has
been annoyed of late by the loss Of chickens,
through the instrumentaty of some heathen
Chnee. Last week he had occasion to shu up
an old buck in his ohicken-house, and the re-
suit was astonishing, Late at night fearful
yes, mixed up with frantic cries and awful
curses in bad English, were heard, and upon
going to the scene sprawing Monaghan was
found with head 90 him, and an old ram
going for him with a vengeance. That Ccles-
tial may at some time, in fit of abstraction,
eat fried chicken, but it is more than au even
bet that he never meddies with mutton.
A MILL STOPPED BY EELs.-Iast week
most remarkable stoppage Of mill by ecls
elogging the wheel, occurred at Eundly's mill,
below Spring Hill, in this county. The mill,