The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1883-06-09

urge upon the invalid! If he goes to
Mexico. they assure him that Manitoba
is Just the place for him; if he takes
one medicine, they ask him why he
does not try some other; and in thou
sand ways they vex the little comfort
and quiet which is possible to his wan
ing days, and then are almost offended
if he does not follow their counsel to
the exclusion of all Others. In the
fullness of their health they may know
no more of consumption than sailor
knows of theology. while the sick man
is strargely lacking in intelligence if,
with MS vital interest in the matter, he
has not learned all that books and ex-
perience can teach him; but, H'fmp0rte,
none are too ignorant to give advice.
The consumptlve cannot too soon dis
abuse his mind of the fanciful idea that
in some distant locality the veins Of
earth run with some peculiar ichor. or
her atmosphere is charged with some
life-giving force, to- which he is stran-
ger. at home. Air and water are made
up of pretty much the same constitu-
ents al the world over. Bad weather
as well as good is found everywhere.
They have fogs in California, billiards.
in Minnesota, sudden changes OF tenn
peratrre in Colorado, aud chill wintry
rains on the tropical islands. ! once
knew champion of q health-resort to
be so beset ard cornered by Illustrations
of the unhealthfulness of his climate
that he was obliged to retreat behind
the apologize remark: well, after
YOU once get acclimated, this is no
worse than some other places
A life of hunting and fishing is often
prescribed for the patient who Is too
feeble to lift rifle; but the milder pur-
suits of the botanist or mineralogist are
healthier and safer In the excitement
of the chase he is liable to find his
strength suddenly fail him in the depths
81 the forest, or the sun may PROSTATE
him or the storm overtake him when he
least expects it; and if he be a Jealous
| fisherman he is sure sooner or later to
take an unprecedented bath, from
| which chill and congestion may ensue.
Besides. tits hardly consistent for the
man who makes so much ado about his
own precious life to amuse himself by
taking the lives Of other animals, which
are jtIH1ps Vi C4uui III fvAtouSC ia WV
grand scheme of nature.
The act Of roughing il is not the Ar
cadian picnic that the fancy paints it.
The process does not belle its name.
Roughing it means TO get lost from your
party in an unknown country; it means
hardship, privation and exposure such as
only the strongest can bear. illness with
out care and death without ceremony,
summer heat by day and winters cold
by night with adequate protection from
neither, bed so thin that the invalid 8
protuberant bones feel every stone be-
meath. diet Of potatoes soaked in
grease, bread half done, and coffee tast-
ing of the tin, served by cook who
erst was stable-boy, and the company
of coarse men, whose gross words are
4 particularly offensive to one whose soul
has been purified by pain. The invalid
can easily rough it at home by joining
| partnership with the first tramp who
comes along.
As long as comfort is not sacrificed
in the exchange. no one doubts that the
pine-clad mountains are better than the
malarial swamps, the country with its
clover-blossoms better than the city
with its sewer-gas and decaying pave
ments, the open air better than the
close Office, and q bracing atmosphere
better than one which debilitates; bni
beyond this change of climate is ol
doubtful efficacy to the consumptive.
As every section of our country has its
mountains, fields and pureai any jour.
ney to distant lands is really unneces-
sary. II the invalid has plenty Of money,
prefers motion to rest and excitement
to calm, has no fears of sudden prostra-
ton or death by the way, is bound by
no home attachments, and finds one
clearinghouse as good as another, there
is no sufficient reason why he should moi
amuse himself during the short time
that amusement is possible to him, BY
testing the merits Of one sanitsriun
after another and congratulating him
self on some imaginary improvement
in his condition. It is one Of the re-
compenses of his misfortune that his
i heart grows strong Is his lungs gel
weak, and, like the ostrich, he blinds
his sight with the sands of confidence
even while the pitiless pursuer is hard
upon him. This ef7ectually disproves
| the popular theory that a plucky deter.
mination to live will battle any disease
| But II sympathy is a necessity to the
patients nature. let him stay at home
No amount of ozone in the atmosphere
will atone for the unfamiliar faces of a
strange land. Ahygienic hotel is like q
battlefield; the sympathies of the at
tendants are scattered too widely over
| the multitude to be felt by any one indi.
vidual, unless by lavish system of fees
he can secure the consultations of paid
mourner. Should he be poor in thi,
worlds goods and rich independent re-
lations, it is doubtful If he has q moral
right to take the bread from the future
widow and orphans in order to incur the
heavy expenditure of the hcalth-resort,
where, at the best, he may continue the
semblance of living for a brief period
longer. This may seem cruel doctrine
to the devoted wife, children, or parents