Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-11-15
commend the following letter to tn
notice of our readers;
Original in Good Housekeeping,
How to Live to a Good Old Age.

We never learn the value of health until
we have lost it. Only when tits no longer
ours, do we begin to prize ii, and study
how to take care of ii. The result il that
instead of living from eighty to one hun
bred years, as we ought to do, and dying
of ripe Old age at last, we are made to
/ languish aud TO suffer almost every day
while We live, and are carried oil by pre-
ventable diseases at every age from in
fancy to maturity. tne-tourth of all per-
sons born into the world die before reach
ing five years of age. The average span
of human life is but from thirty-tive to
forty wears: only three or four in u hun
dred reach eighty five, aud scarcely more
than two in ten thousand round out cen
tury.
Even aside from the loss, by premature
death, of mi Hons of years of productive
life. the loss to the world and to individ-
uals, of time, money and labor. from sick
ness which might easily he avoided, is too
great to be readily estimated. If we
could begin now, and the children in our
homes be taught the laws of their being
and trained to observe them, the gain in
health and longevity to this generation
would be immense, while to the succeed
ing ones il would be bevond all computa-
ton.
One difficulty il. there has not yet come
into the minds of Il large proportion of
the people, any definite conception that
there are such things n laws of health.
and that every violation of these laws is
sure to bring its penalty, Even in this
age of intelligence and electricity, there
are still multitude of men like the 5 IN
day school superintendent, who, in apollo
giving to his school for his absence on the
previous Sunday, stated as his excuse that
he was detained at home by dispensatiou
of Divine Providence, the hand of the
Lord having been laid heavily upon him
in sickness. Going on to explain the mat
ter more fully, it appeared that his sick
ness was brought on by eating too freely
of clam chowder the night before
This is the way of the world, The
last thing that individuals or communities
thing of doing, ia TO take the blame for
their i'll health upon their own shoulders,
whore it rightly belongs 1t is easier to
lav 1t on the Lord "a mysterious dispen-
sation." This, then, is the first lesson
to be taught and learned that ali disease
is the result of broken law; that much of
it might easily be avoided BY the observ-
ance of the laws of health on the part of
the individual; that much more, which is
beyond the reach of individuals, might be
prevented by the combined efforts of COM
munities and the state; and that those
diseases which are entailed upon this
generation by the Law of heredity, might
by obedience to law be gradually stamped
out of existence, and future ages he freed
from their curse.
The next thing to be taught is the laws
themselves-and with the laws, and of
even greater importance, the habit of
obeying them. We know great deal
more than We put in practice. This is the
fault of the common modes of health
teaching. Our newspapers and periodical
literature contain vast deal of popular
instruction in these matters. They are
treated of in an abundance of well written
books which are within easy reach of all
who care to read them. Our schools are
taking hold of the good work and instruc,,
ton in hygiene is fast coming to be rec-
ogni1ed a. an essential part of even an
elementary education. But all these do
not reach the ev.a, or if they do. they only
touch it on the sarface.
Our schools are full of good gram
marians who do not use respectable Eng
fish in common conversation. So. too.
they may be full of glib reciters of the
laws of health, who do not observe a
single one of the laws they have learned.
Fhe mgin point is to secure obedience.
The greatest criminals are usually well
versed in the laws Of the land; but their
knowledge does not avail to keep them \
out of the peuitentiary when they have /
broken these laws. Neither will knowl- !
edge of the laws of health keep man 4
from being sick, 40 long as he does uot I
live up to his knowledge.
We are creatures of imitation. Ex-
ample counts for more than preeept. The
parent knows the law, and the child
knows it, too. When the parent keeps 1t,
then the children will keep 1t also. 1t
does little good for child to learn at
school that the food should be properly
when time times every day
at home he sees hungry group crowd