Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-11-21
REST FOR THE WEARY.



There is an unusual amount Of illness this
autumn Of the type known as nervous pros
tration." 1t is prevalent among hard worked
people, who have been deprived of the needed
summer rest and relaxation, men who carry
their business home with them at night, and
women who are worn out by domestic cares and
wOries. 1t is very strange how much we are
told about food clothing, ventilation, drainage,
exercise and other things which have an in1u
ence on our health, and how very seldom we
think OF rest. And yet, as a remedial and res
torative measure it is of the first Importance in
many cases Most physicians know what to do
and when to do it, but a good deal Of common
sense Is required to discover how not to do
something. and when to let the patient alone.
combination OF drugging and fretting kills
mans enemies cannot do him near so much
damage as his friends The world is pos
sessed with the notion that when man is
taken i'll terrible ado must be kept
up, an alienation of nursing and fuss
ing; while preternaturaly wise and whis-
pering doctors, sympathizing friends tear
1ul relatives and chattering nurses add
Their contributions to the wrong side. and
oil because somebody is ill and needs chiefly
rest. We have not yet most of us. gotten rid
OF the old notion of the ancients that disease is
a personality, a something that is in the air.
that travels about enters our dwellings and
finally SEXES hold of US; something akin in the
minds OF the ignorant to goblin, ghost fiend
demon or witch. which only pills or rotations
can exercise. kill or cure. We are confident that
many sensible physician will say. if the patient
Will let him. that twO-thrds of all the maadies
OF all the people in the world would get well in
few hours or days. if left to themselves with
no other appliances than such as instinct would
suggest and common sense employ. But patients
often estimate the doctors skill by the wonder
ful wise look which.he assumes. and the extent
or variety of his prescriptions; and a sick mans
friends hate to seem unsympathizing, and SO are
apt to be officiOus. 1t is to be understood. of
course, that we are not speaking of extreme
cases but Of the treatment of most of the ills
which flesh is heir t0-the troubles which come
upon OVerWOrked men and women, so many of
whom we find all around us in this pushing
competitive age. Their best remedy, if they can
take it. is rest. If that be impossible, we can
only pity them.
HE Spiritual Effects of Drunkenness.
An editorial in "Topics of the Time" of the
December Century says: ''This loss of self.re-
spect, the lowering of ambition, and the fading
out Of hope are signs of the progress of this dis
ease in the character. It is mournful spec
tacle-that of the brave, ingenious, high
spirited man sinking steadily down into the de-
graduation Of inebriety; but how many such spec
tacles are visible all over the land! And it is
not in the character of those alone who are no
torious drunkards that such tendencies appear.
They are often distinctly seen in the lives of
men who are never drunk. Sir Henry Thomp-
sons testimony is emphatic to the effect that the
habitual use offermented liquors. to an extent far
snort OF what necessary to produce intoxcation,
Injuries the body and dimnshes the mental
power If. as he testfes. a large proportion of
the most painful and dangerous maladies of the
body are due to the use Of fermented liquors,
fn1y In,
deemed moderate. then it is certain that such
use OF them must result also in serious injuries
70 the mental and moral nature. Who does not
know reputable gentlemen. physicians. artists,
clergymen even, who were never drunk in their
lives, and never will be, but who reveal, in con-
effects of the drinking habit? The brain is
so often infamed with alcohol that it's func-
tions are imperfectly performed; and there is
perceptlble loss of mental power and of moral
tone. The drlnker is not conscious Of this loss;
but those who know him best are painfully
aware that his perceptions are less keen, his
Judgments less sound, his temper less serene.
his spiritual vision less clear, because he tarries
every day little too long at the wine. Even
those who refuse to entertain ascetic theories
respecting these beverages may be able to see
that there are uses Of them that stop short of
drunkenness and that are still extremely
hurtfu to the mind and the heart as well as
the body. That conventional idea of modera-
ton to which Sir Henry Thompson refers is
quite elastic: the term is stretched to cover
habits that are steadily despoiling the life OF
its rareSt fruits. The drinking habit is often
defended by reputable gentlemen to whom the
very thought of debauch would be shocking,
but to whom. if it were only lawful, in the ten
der and just socitude of friendship such words
as these might be spoken: 1T is true that you
are not drunkards. and may never be; but If you
could knOw-wllat is too evident to those who
love you best--hOw your character is slowly
losing the firmness OF its texture and the fine
ness of its outline; how your art deteriorates in
the delicacy of it's touch; how the atmosphere
of your life seems to grow murky and the sky low
ers gloomily above you, you would not think your
daily indulgence harmless in it's measure 1t is
in just such lives as yours that drink exhibits
some of Its most mournful tragedies"