Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1883-08-16
Dizziness.

DullneSS.
A mother having became alarmed
about the failing state of her daughter
health, and not being able to get much
satisfaction from consultation with the
village doctor, took her TO London
physician for further advice. He asked
few questions as TO the girls daily
habits and mode of life, carefully stetho-
scoped her heart and lungs, and then
gave an involuntary sigh. The mother
grew pale, and waited anXiously for the
verdict. MADAM" he said, $50 far as
can discover, your daughter is suffer
ing from most serious complaint,
which, for want of better name, /
shall call 'dullness.' Perhaps it is IN
your power to cure it. have no medi-
cine which is specific for this disease. ~
1t is not every doctor who dares to be
thus straightforward; otherwise, the
same opinion would be given in hun.
dreds of cases now labeled with some
jaw-breaking technical term for the sake
of politeness to the sufferer and her re-
lations.
An indefinite, restless longing is the
natural state of n healthy, vigorous.
minded girl, when she has nothing to
occupy her thoughts and her fingers,
just rs the vague tapping of q birds
wings, as il sits beside the nest, shows
that it is ready for flight. When the
most natural thing-marriage-d not
take girl from her old home TO a new
one; if she has no regular employment,
no outlet for her energies, no interest
ing companions, no amusements; it is
scarcely n matter for surprise if she be.
comes listless or petulant, out of health
or out of spirits. There is very i'm
portant time in commonplace girl {
life, during which she rarely receives
the amount of consideration and en-
couragement that she would probably
require. 1t is when the school-room Is
exchanged for the drawing-room, and
the irresponsible child is supposed to en-.
ter upon the duties and cares of life. In
the numberless homes where coming
OUT does not mean being presented al
court and round of London gayety, tn
sudden cessation of obligatory tasks,
when not replaced by some definite EN-.
ployment creates q blank difficult TO fill
in satisfactory manner, unless the girl
has some special talent she is bent on
cultivating with ardor. Strong, vigorous
characters can accept the situation, and
out of very poor material build up a
self-satisfying existence. No doubt a
determined chccrfulness, II resolutc in
dependence and constant activity may
create, out of the most unpromising
surroundings, n life at once busy and
useful.
But these characters are the cxcep-
ton, not the rule. Besides, if they can.
not find work at home, they generally
seek it elsewhere. The dullncss of which
we speak is most bitterly felt in those
middle-class families where the income
is sufficient 10 provide servants TO do the
household work, but not sufficient to af-
ford the means of foreign travel, or the
pleasant social intercourse to which
large country-house lends itself so well.
A girl feels refreshed by being obliged
to exert herself in some manual labor,
whether it be to bake bread wash up
the cups and saucers, or weed the gar
den. Priscilla Lammeter says, with her
keen good sense, There's nothing like
n dairy, if folks want bit o. worrit to
make the days pass. There's always
something fresh with the dairy; for even
in the depths o. Winter there's some
pleasure in conquering the butter and
making it come, whether il will or no.
You'll never be low when you've got a
dairy" But there are countless homes
in which we may fairly say there is
nothing half so interesting as dairy TO
occupy the time and attention of the
young women. The mother prefers to
retain the housekeeping in her own
hands. The daily needs of life are sup
piled with faultless regularity.
There is sufficient food, warmth and
raiment. The gardener does not like to
be interfered with. The wants of the
parish can be attended to by the family
of the clergyman. There is no incen-
tive to outdoor exercise, for country
roads are dreary when there is not any
object To be attained by walking on
them. So rare are visitors that the ring
ing of the hall door-bell brings every
body's heart into the mouth The sight
of Strangers face passing the gate is
enough excitement for whole week
The days drop one after the other like
leaden bullets. and the years are only
marked by fresh almanac. Christmas
is as heavy rs its attendant, plum-pnd-
ding Summer only enables the dull
ness to be transferred from the lireside
to the open air. There is n slow but
sure destruction of strong desires and
fruitless warnings. Il pathetic self-sup-
preston, Il hopeless stagnation, which
even the spirit of youth ceases to fight
against. Like the London physician we
have no nostrum to offer for this deadly
disease of dizziness, which reckons its
victims by the thousand. We must trust
to the more enlightened parents of the
future to stamp it out Mt any cost. Al
that we can afford at present is SYM.
pathetic sigh.