Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1888-12-22
SUDDEN DEATH.
ONE or THE SAD RESULTS or QUA
"co-AHEADATlvENEss."


..ts-Tbe Old Gourmand at the Cafe
Apoplexy.
The Bible speaks Of three score years anc
ten as the age to which man may reasonably
look forward. 1t seems as If at least seventy
equable, contented and happy years-ful OF
such comfort and qualification as the mem
bers of each class In the community haVe
severally a right to expect should anu
might be within the reach of every man and
woman. In some countries, however, we mo
this to be much more nearly the case than
with us Americans, as a rule, i've too fast
to live long. Every person is originally en-
dow ed with about SO large stock of vitality,
out of which to fashion his life.
1t amounts to nothing more nor less than
the simplest of problems in arithmetic to
show that if he draws upon this stock twice
as heavily as he should the duration of his
existence will only be one-haf of what it waA
originally intended to be- Indeed, the mat
ter stands much worse than this; his life IS
likely to be at any moment suddenly cut of
short long before reaching even the half.
steam engine may use up its fuel in two
weeks or one, according to the rate at which
it is driven; if it is sufficiently overworked
q
an injury as will necessitate long and
tedious stopping for repairs" if, indeed, it
ever becomes ''as good as new" We hardly
seem ready to recognize the bounds estab-
hshed by nature, but when we have reached
them, in our greed and ambition, we summon
our will, and, as the expression runs, Give
upon our nerve" congratulating ourselves on
our praiseworUhy display of american go
aheadativeness. Unfortunately nature has
not yet become sufficiently progressive in her
ideas to manufacture constitutions expressly
for the American market, and in the midst Of
our triumphant tour de force, click, some
thing snaps, and we vanish from the stage or
break down for years, perhaps for life.
In every community such "breakdownsn
may be pointed out on every side, and many,
even of our most successful" men, freely
confess they have paid too high price for
their prosperity. The prizes of existence are
so great with us, and seem to be SO within
the grasp of all, that practically all set out
to win them. Each is unnagging and merci-
less to himself in his grim resolve to obtain
that for which he is striving. He works day
and night, including holidays, and not infre-
quently Sundays; he refuses to take time to
eat his meals properly, and in such a sense
less luxury as q vacation he never dreams of
ndulging; amusement he regards as frivo
lous, and as abstracting too much valuable
time from the prosecution of the all absorb
ing project. Every waking minute he keeps -
his brain grinding away over ways and
means, and not improbably the hours which
a sensible man would devote to sleep he I'M
naturally curtails for the same purpose. The
social competition runs equally high with
that of business. OF course, in the path
ray he treads he jostleS and Is jostled by
competitors, and in a nature so tense and set
IL SO great an endeavor as is his, the constant
md wearing, though almost unperceived,
play of the emotionS-as envy, Jealousy,
!atred, disappointment, etc.-is very great.
Occasionally, at some ''close shave" or some
risis of failure or success, he experiences
Eliminating spasm of feeling that shakes
am to his very center. Perhaps not satisfied
18th this existence Of abnormal and unhy-
enic physical habits and unnatural mental
id emotional strain, once in while, when.
% racket" becomes too intense TO be for
le time being endured, he varies the mo
,Jtony-not as he should do, with change
Il scene, a quiet, wholesome life, amusement
nd rest, but by plunging into a period OF
;issipation for the purpose Of drowning his
orries and cares But, ruinous at any time,
70 effect upon his overworked nerves and
I5tracted constitution of such course must
.:aturally be greatly intensified. He could.
carcely take more suicidal step.
Died suddenly" How few realize with
~hat startling frequency in this country that
eport goes out The strong man foolshly
ancies he is practically inaccessible to all
.lent and DEATH and SO pushes on in his ex.
asgerated expenditure Of energy untl-too
ate-insulted nature beStows upon him the
ogical punishment he has so persistently
-ourted 1--WE do fade as the leafn is the
ielusion we fondly hug, while We think OF
death as afar off. Yet every day, simply
from faults of his own committing, many an
Unfortunate is hurried into the presence of =,
LIS Maker without an inStants warning OF (
the twenty-five deaths reported by New
York contemporary one day last week nine
we're sudden. Some of US may wish that
such may be our fate-that we die Gin the
harness '-but to many such thought is ter
rorizing; they pray that to them the END ~
come slowly-that they may ''ripen for the
grave"
What are the causes of sudden death-as
by stroke of hghtning9 They are not
many when only the SO called natural acct
dents are considered Death on the instant
may result from apoplexy, or bursting of an
aneurism within the chest or abdomen; it
may be caused by the bursting of an absceSs
within the chest. Great mental shock-as
from extreme anger or grief OF even joy
sometimes kills instantly through total
paralysis of the chief nerve centers. Cases
Of sudden death from hemorrhages of the
lungs are on record, but they are few in
number. Diseases of the heart render the
subject liable to instant death, and they ara
the most frequent causes :
AS we grow old we should avoid those In
huences which are likely to induce sudden
and great rush of blood to the head, such as
intense mental excitement-as in public
speaking or in a fit of anger-violent muscu-
lar effort, gluttony and drunkenness, etc.
nile one dimes at popular cafes he has but
10 iook about him and he is quite sure to see
naolts INDUCED provocative OF apoplexy. A
familiar sight Is the man about 60 years old
whose highest pleasure is in tickling his pal
ate. DE IS overweight by fully fifty pounds;
his face is red and shining: he is full to burst
ing, ana ne looks as though every important
button on ms clothing was threatened. One
on a warm day gives such man as swide a
perth" as he would cookstove; he is alto
geGner TOO hot to sit near. He commences
us dinner with an alphabetically a
cocktail Then he deliberately 'tflls up"
largely on meat and other sshearty" foods, all
OF winch are washed down with one at least,
ana generally two bottles of lager beer. As =
ne eats and drinks with one hand, he fans
niinset vigorously with the other, all the
unae growing redder and redder, and finally,
when he hoistS himseIf ont of he chair bis