The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-06-09
Health and Achievement,


anywhere outside of Mr.. Howells' nov
els, it is considered interesting and
" lady-like " for woman to be in the
condition of perpetual invalidism. Mr..
Howells "Gallery of Nervous Women,"
as the atlantic Monthly so keenly char
acterizes his heroines, is not happily
the social ideal of any one, save that of
their creator, who gives us this signal
advance over the creations of Scott,
Dickens and Thackeray. But to the
credit of nineteenth century common
sense be it said that the nervous, hyster-
ical, inconsequential woman who re-
clines on the sofa and regales her ac-
quaintances with her real or imaginary
woes, is not the woman who is either
useful or ornamental. Yet, making all
allowances for that wide margin of fan
ciful and inconsequential complaining
for the kind of ill-health which could be
banished by its victim forgetting her
self and entering into some useful work
or noble nthusiasm-making all allow
ance for this class, there yet remains an
appalling reality in the number of
women who are genuinely afflicted with
species of nervous exhaustion, more
or less acute, which all their faith and
philosophy fails to do away with. AS
women become important factor IN the
worlds work, women's heal,n, and
power to preserve and develop health,
becomes significant problem; and in
proportion as woman has the COM
pick development of nervous force and
intellectual power, especially of the
creative type of intellectual energy, in
proportion to this is usually the delicacy
of nervous mechanism. Now, to a
great degree, health is mental and moral
force. 1t is not alone personal inter-
est, but it is defrauding society when a
women allows herself to lose her power
of standing for something in the COM
munity To become so wearied that
she is incapable of fair and just mental
attitudes is demoralizing, and is some
thing to be avoided just as carefully as
one would avoid stimulants, or narcot-
les, or anything else which deprived
one of the rightful use of his faculties.
To reduce ones self to a condition of
perpetual exhaustion is moral wrong
yet this is sometimes done by simply
carrying virtues to that excess by which
they become vices instead. The work
of professional women-in law, medi-
cine, the platform, the stage, the stu
do, the study, or the editors sanctum-
is the life that demands ceaseless eX-
penditure of nervous force. 1t is this
energy, indeed, which is their capital
and the material out of which all
achievement is wrought. The nervous
energy is consumed like the oil when a
lamp is burning, and the great problem
of life to them is to learn how to sup
ply this waste; how to rise each morn
ing with clear head, with poised in
tellectual faculties, with the serenity
and force of right moral views. For if
they cannot bring these to the daily
work, all power for personal success OF
to contribute to the public good is gone
Much of the distorted moral force OF
the -ill-temper, unjust interpre-
tations of people, unkind attitudes
jealousy, or a tendency to enter into
social discords-much of this is not
after all, primarily bad morals, but baG
nerves. 1t is less " original sin" than
it is ignorance of Just how to keep this
delicate physical mechanism in repair
and thus preserve the bealthful balance
of faculties. TO do this the importance
| VI anu oiCCp
be adequately appreciated. There is
magic in the early hours-the SLEEP
that is begun not later than one to two
hours before midnight-which doubt
less has its explanation in some subtle
electrical conditions of nature. Moth
ing is so suicidal to nervous force al
late hours, insufficient sleep, and theI
the stimulant of strong tea or coffee il
which one who must be cup to work ;
is tempted to indulge. If the ethics o
good sleep, of. the maximum of good
plain, nutritious food, of bathing ant
exercise in the open air could prevail
with the minimum of tea and coffe
and late hours, we should have a re
generate race of men and women. An,
good health does not mean simply free
dom from disease or actual pain,
means the positive vitality of an han
monious and well-balanced organiza
ton. Health is mental, health is moral
and its possession is not alone a pei
, ,sonal privilege, but a public duty
Traveller.