Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-10-22
Does Sickness Pay?

Any sane person would of course, say
no" Then large proportion OF our
neighbors must be insane, il we may
Judge by their actions; for they do the
very things that induce disease day after
day, and year after year, grooming over
various aches and pains, giving week
or a month now and then to the tedious
necessities of Sickness and paying heavy
doctors bills every year. All this, as u
matter of course, is mainly the result of
ignorance. | mean ignorance in respect
to the bodies we inhabit, and the laws of
our Maker with regard to their growth
and health Many persons, who are
learned enough in ancient languages and
in general information about all sorts of
| things outside themselves, have no sort
| of knowledge as to living so as to be
| comfortable from day to day, getting the
| best use of their powers, and escaping
| disease and premature decay and death.
| Whole families of cultivated" people
live daily in such a way as to ruin their
health, and SO destroy the power of using
and enjoying the culture they have ac-
CURED. Then they employ doctor to
cure them, but go on tearing down what
they are paying him heavily for trying to
build up. Does it pay?
NY late neighbor, foryinstance: she is a
woman of uncommon ability as house
keeper. She scorns the idea of stopping
to rest, and is proud of her ability to do
more and harder work than any of her
neighbors She ridcules those who re-
fuse to eat anything that tastes good for
the reason that it is injurious to their
health Nothing ever hurts her, ac-
cording to her own story. But
this woman las severe fits of
sickness every year, and the list
of her ailments is truly astonishing.
Last year she paid over one hundred dol
lars to her doctors-money that she
worked hard to earn when well enough
to do so. Last month she still laughed
at the idea of taking care of her health,
but she was then under the doctors care,
and was sending away to procure expen.
sivc medicines.
1t Was little five-year- girl who set
me upon this train of thought to-day
She said of former playmate:
Huldah used to be always eating
candy or sugar and bread How much
candy she used to eat"
And she is poor, sick child an.
swcred
eyes, she always had the tooth ache,
or the stomach ache, or something"
We all remembered how much and
how helplessly she used to cry some
times, how pale she us ally looked, how
small she remained, while some of her
playmates, more wisely fed and clothed
and lodged went on outgrowing her.
Little five-year- declared it didn't pay
to eat candy, which only tasted good in
| the mouth for few minutes, and then
suffer so much to pay for it. Yet she is
not such an unchildish child as to refuse
the next stick of candy offered her How
ever, she will bring it to mamma, If she
| does as always heretofore, and accept it
| i'm half-inch lengths at her meals, divid-
| ing with others when it is dealt out 10
her. And, though you may laugh, !
| really believe that child fed so mouer
ately upon such concentrated sweets
| gets more enjoyment out of them than
one who eats twenty times as much IN
quantity
| 1t pays a good deal better to take lit
| tie rest, and to try little fasting, per
haps, when the body begins to complain
of WEAKNESS and discomfort did you
ever notice that the word disease is sim
! ply disc ease, or not-ease!9, than to staggef
| on with foolish brayado, and have to lie
| by in pain and weakness for weeks ana
months when these lollies have piled up
| high enough to bring about the crash.
| 1t pays in dollars and cents TO avoid doc
| tors bills by avoiding sickness Our ut
| tie family cannot boast of robust constr
| tutions, or of the most healthy habits IN
| all respects-if we should wish TO Go
such foolish boasting-but we often
| rej0ace that we are able TO escape severe