St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-05-16
Gbe Californian.
81. John-bury, Thur-day, May rs, 1859
NERVE-TIRE.


no previous warning, unless it may
bea Rightly feeling during the even
ing One, two, three nights in sue
cession follow each other. Then l
heed the warning. If | work on, |
NAV expect a week of it, and there
after month of dull mental weather,
which am certain is an Overdraught
on my vital banker at old age. |
shall die thus much sooner.
But | will not, late years, trespass
beyond those three sleepless nights.
The fourth morning, after night in
which have not been actually I'm
conscious over four hours, sees me off
duty. | want no softening of the
brain, thank you. Give me the horse,
and an entire day out of doors. Let
the horse wander on, up hill and
down dale If l am alone, let me
call on my little stock of nature
knowledge, and study trees, squirrels
nests in the leafess branches if it be
winter, ice crystals at a waterfall by
the roadside; and, sitting by the
hour in dreamy mood, take in the
cure of all cures for spent nerves-the
ozone of the country. To walk is
not as well, because ones nervous
force IS spent; and yet of course, 1T is
far better than remaining in doors.
This oxygenizing invariably cures
me, thus far in life. Good company
Is d help; but you need to stipulate
that at the slightest mention of your
business you part company. A wise
and cheerful wife is the best COM
panion. She will drop all her dress
making or household cares to help
you to your cure, and your day may
be as happy as the old counting days
of long ago. The good woman will
insist, too, that there is nothing of
SO much Importance about the home
as the iron nerve of the breadw1nner.
1t may be that you do not like a
horse, which is unfortunate, for then
you must hire a driver, and lose the
slight mental occupation of guiding
your team and finding your way, not
to mention the exercise of drawing
rein, which is just enough to keep out
business when there are no squirrels
nests in sight.
My nervous fatigue always shows
itself III failing digestion. This l at
tack by eating with my watch at my
side, If | cannot see q clock. | do not
quite stipulate how many dental
gashes shall give to each morsel of
food, as it is reported the English eX-
Premier OrdainS to himself and his
children. l do, however, say to my
self, that | will not get out of that
chair for one ha1f-hour at least 1t is
remarkable how soon the head feels
the stOmach's condition. HaSty eat
ingis at the bottom of much nervous
prOstratiOn. Sleep often yields her
comforts to me on eating any simple
article, like milk and bread, oatmeal
Cruel hot and not made with milk
nor too thick, or beef tea. One of
the foremost specialists in neurotics
recently told me that he believed the
digestive nerves were the ones to
quell in case of sleeplessness or gener
al nerve-tIre; he was giving food, in
different cases, according to the ply
steal habit of the individual, in his
modern practice. at beats all the
drugs said he He called my atten-
ton to the well-known fact that cat
tie sleep ION a full stomach" and
babies cannot sleep on an empty
stomach" as any man knows who
is pater familias, and has heard the
midnight cry from the crib The diet
must be your favOrite, however; that
is, some simple thing that you never
yet failed to easily digest.
know | am going too far when |
cannot think of my profession with
out cxcitability | am either very
much elated or depressed as my mind
turns toward the church. | am APP
prehensive or too hopeful; | see bears
or angles all the while Affairs are
gOlden-hued or black as night. There
Is no evenness to men and things.
This experience of extremes in ones
outlook on a days work is an infal-
lible sign of failing nerve force. One
Is eager to meet an appointment;
one breads to meet the next appoint
ment, and that, too, not because of
the nature of the duty. Oneis afraid
of man at ten o'clock, and contempt
uous and over-confdent before men
at eleven o'clock. The sudden spring
of some duty, as if it were Il yelping
dog from which YOU start back in Il
bit of uncOnfessed terror, reminds
you that you are not yourself. When
a man cannot get through his day
without several of these shocks, by
things that are not shocking in them
selves yet bring cold feet and hot
head and possibly drops on the brow,
he needs to go fishing. He will soon
think his store is haunted. He will
have a collar that seems heavy as
lead at the back of his neck, showing
ut no hnc e la
and the creepy" or scalding sensa-
ton on the top of the head will come
next to crown the idiot who will not !
let GO
If you cannot put business out of |
mind" 1t is a bad sign. He who |
cant let GO is in danger Too
much electricity in Il battery effects
experimenters on the handles the
same way There must be a friend
to make YOU let go. | confess a para
dox. When | cannot stop, | must
stop. tits the first alarm of the lapse
of vOlition Therefore one must
struggle to assert the will. If insani-
ty be the loss of will power, this con-
dItlOn of impotence, wherein | am
pOwerless to go to my farm and cur
~ calves, is a serious state 1t is |
something gained if you can say,
Next Thursday III let go" If YOU
pass the Thursday, and cannot let |
go, you are growing worse. You |
will begin TO jump in your sleep soon,
the nerves being run by cogs instead |
of belts
The assertion of will is an impor-
tant factor in the cure of exhaustion |
with me- If | can will to neglect a
particular worry, | shall soon hope |
to be strong enough to remove the
cause. III can will to read a story