Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1873-12-27
About Dyspepsia.

Did you ever have the dyspepsia? Did
you ever have-or. imagine you had-a
complication of all known, and several
unknown, diseases? II yes, then you
have had the dyspepsia, or its full equiva-
lent. Chronic dyspepsia may be defined
as an epitome of every complaint where
with transgressing mortality Is scorrged.
1t is as nice thing to have about you as
a trunkful of tarantulas, with the trunk
lid always up. An eminent English ply
sician has said, "a man with a bad dys-
pepsia Is villain" He is, and worse.
He Is by turns fend, moral monster,
and physical coward-and he cannot
help it. He is his own bottomless pit, and
his own demon at the bottom of it, which
torments him continually with pangs liz
describable.
When worm of the business dust OF
this world has writhed with the dyspepsia
until 1t has assumed virulent chronic
form, who shall find colors and abilities
enough to paint his condition? His blood
becomes first poverty then inn
pure, and, US blood will tell" every part
of his system is contaminated by the foul
stream. The brain complains bitterly on
its own account, and vehement complaints
are being continually sent up to it from
the furnishing liver, bowels, spleen, heart,
and lungs. Like "sweet bells tangled
out Of tune" the entire organization
breathes Jiscords. Even the remote toes
telegraph up to the brain, I" We are starv-
ing down here send down more proven
DER" The brain makes requisitions on
the stomach, which are futile. The stom-
ach is powerless to provide, and the brain
can not transmit. At times all the starv-
ing organs conspire together, suspend
work, and undertake to compass by riot
what they fail to get by appeal. Then life
trembles in the balance. Then the conso-
lation--O, the consolation THAT is visited
upon the dyspeptic. Friends-when he
is lifeless from want of vitality-friends
will cxasperate him with taunts of being
"lazy," shiftless," .'indolent," and
without ambition !" Nor can his friends
be made to appreciate that 1t is as prepos-
ferrous to expect one who Is undergoing
constant torture and consequent exhaus-
ton to have 8 ambition" as 1t would be to
expect a corpse to have an appetite.
Remedy: everybody's advice-that is,
ride everybody's hobby. Cure: death.
Drugs are but aggravations, and .sbitters''
are bitter, indeed! We have heard Of
chronic dyspeptic who took his cue from
his chickens, and, by swallowing daily
moderate handful Of gravelstones Of the
size of a pea downward. finally succeeded
in Transforming "cue" into "cure." He
claimed complete restoration. In the face
of this evidence TO the contrary. we reas-
sert that for chronic dyspepsia in its worst
form there Is but one certain cure-abso-
lutte rest. Preventive take as good care
of the coats of your stomach as you do Of
the coats of your back. Do you wish for
faith in God, in human love, in earthly
happiness, in the beneGcence of Nature,
and in Immortality Keep your digestion
vigorous; ON that hang all of these.
Would you prefer an abiding faith in tor
lures unspcakable, in horrors incxpressi-
BILE? Destroy your digestion. Would
you live in the body forever? Keep ysur
digestion at full vigor; and, although
the end Of the world may come, your end
will not come--you will have to go after
II. Old age is but the failure of nutrition.
Nutrition Is Life ; non-nutrition is Death
Overland Monthly.