The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-12-29
Golden RuIea for nenllh.

ter and lecturer on sanitary topics, has
been giving the people Of Croydon, Eng.
land, "a few golden rules for securing
health at home" In the first place,
whether the home Is large or small, he
would say: "Give 1t a light" There was
no house 80 likely to be unhealthy as a
dark and gloomy one. In every point OF
view light stood forward as the agent OF
health. A few hundred years ago 1t be.
came a fashion, for reasons 1t was very
hard to divine, to place sick people in dark
and closely curtained bedrooms. The
practice, to some extent, was continued to
this day. When a person went to bed
with sickness 1t was often the first thing
to pull down the blinds Of the windows
toset up dark blinds, or, Il there were
Venetian blinds, to close them. On body
and soul alike that practice was simply
pernicious. II might be well, II light was
painful to the eyes OF the sufferer, %
shield the eyes from the light, or even
shut the light of from them altogether,
but to shut 1t out Of all the room, 10 cut
oil wholesale its precious influence. a
make the sick room dark cell In which
an kinds Of impurities might DO concealed
Jay alter day, was an offence to nature
which she ever re6uked in the sternest
manner. In sickness and in health-in
infancy, youth. middle age, old age-in
all seasons, for the benefit Of the mind
and the welfare Of the body, sunlight was
a bearer and sustainer Of health.
Or. Richardson next adverted to the sub.
leCt OF sleep, and observed that artificial
lights were very injurious. The fewer
hours after dark that are spent in artificial
light the better, and the sooner they went
10 rest alter dark the better. Thew re.
CURED IN the cold season OF winter, when
ene nights were long, much more OF sleep
than they did in summer On the longest
DAY Of the year seven hours OF sleep was
sufficient Tor most men and women whe
were IN the prime Of life; on the shortest
day nine hours was not oyermuch. and
Tor persons who are weakly fen mr. even
twelve hours might be taken with real adj.
vantage In winter children should al
ways have ten to twelve hours OF sleep.
II was not idleness to indulge to that ex-
TENT, but an actual saving, storing up OF
invigorated existence for the future. Such
rest could be obtained only by going 10
ped very early-say at halt-past eight or
nine O'Clock. 1t was wrong at the present
season that they should be at that meeting.
roDolng themselves Of sleep. It was az
wrong as ever 1t conld be that our Legis-
istare should often be sitting up as they
did, night after night, trying against life 10
ieglslate for life. 1t was foolish, too, that
public writers and editors should be called
on 10 exercise their craft at time when
az nature was calling out to them ''rest."
he might be accused OF folly in saving
these things, but he was standing by
Nature and speaking under her direction.
turning next 10 the question Of beds
and bedrooms, the President insisted on
the necessity OF a separate bed for each
person, and said the bed should be neither
very soft nor very hard, while the furni-
ture OF the room should be as simple as
possible. A g1eat experiment had been
tired on this question with most striking
results. At the Industrial Schools al
Anorley every scholar had his or her own
bed, and the wise authorities there-who
had improved the health of the children
under their charge until the mortality was
resuced TO three in one thousand annu.
ally-,told him that few things had contri.
buted 80 much to the grand results thew
had achieved as the one practice OF having
q separate bed for every child. A daily
bath with cold water in the summer and
tepid water in the winter was necessary
to the health Of every person, Every eli.
fort should be made TO maintain an anna,
temperature in the house-a temperature
Of sixty degrees Fahrenheit being the best
-and there should be system OF com.
pllete household cleansing JnCe a year,
he would leave his colleagues to descant
on ventilation, good food, good air and
other accessories to health, and though
by their united efforts they might not es.
say to lead them direct to Southland and
its hundred years Of happy life, they
would take these persons who would 20
with them long way toward even that
promised Commonwealth OF health and
long life.