The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-04-03
CHAPTER Xxi.
DISEASES OF OLD AeE-tcontinued).

CHABIEh
DISEASES OF OLD ACE continued).
One morning in last September was called
to tho bedside of n boy who had got severely
dog bitten during a raid on the watermelon
patch of vigiant farmer.
THAT bulldog tried to cat you mp, didn't
ho?" | remarked, after bandaging the LAGER
ated knee of my little patient.
ooh, | don't care" said Master Mischief;
"but worst of il is that beast made me so lame
/ could hardly run, and the other boys ate up
nearly tho whole of that melon before / could
catch up with them"
Similar reflection must often aggravate tho
misery of martyrs to tho complaint known as
conGenital govt.
GOVT AND RHEUMATISM.
A tendency to govt is undoubtedly often in
herited. aud man may thus DO punished for
dictctic sins which some old beef. and porter
worshiping British country squire has commit
ted Il couple of centuries ago. That the excess.
i've use OF hesli.lo0d aud alcoholic beverages is
tho original cause of that tendency is almost
equally certain. Old England Holland and
| northern Germany are tho headquarters regions
of govt, aud that the origin of the disorder has
very little TO do with exposure To wet and cold
is conclusivcly demonstrated by The habits of
the abOrigines of southern Chilli, According
to the testimony of numerous trustworthy
travellers there are years when tho natives of
Chloe Island and TERRA del Fuego do not yet
dry for half day for months together owing
TO their inCuruba peDchant for rowing from
beach TO beach and their improvidcnce in fail
ing to provide shelter places against the almost
ncessant showers of sieet and rain. They are
a skiuny. wrCchGd set of savages and their very
babies are often covered with chillbans; but old
and young use water AS their only beverage, and
even their gannt old veterans enjoy u complete
| immunity from govt and rheumatism. The
same disorder however, is quite apt to attack
| tho alcohol2cd proprietors of some of the most
weather tight mansions in CbristeudOm. Coun-
| try seats reared of masonry foot thick aud
rooted with indcstrnctible old Norman tiles re-
sound with the groans of equity arstocrats. aud
| in the royal museum of Berlin they preserve an
oil painting representing a brushy landscape
and inscribed with the words. "F. W. r., in
iormentis piHrit," recording tho fact that Fred
| eric Wilhelm, the King, achieved that daub III
| the tOrments of govt.
| The study of that Kings biography, by tho
| way, ought To make govt the most unpopular
of NIL disorders, for it is a curious fact that
certain ailments of the human organism result
1 In mental affections, as invariably as in head
aches or loss of appetite. Consumptives, for
/ instance, are almost sure to beguile themselves
! with delusive hopes of recovery, dyspepties
| take tho alarm NJ every symptom of relapse.
/ and the victims of govt forfeit tho sympathy of
i their attendants 10y uncomfortable fits of crab.
! bed temper. They quarrel with their best
/ friends, the mere sound OF merriment seems To
/ cxasperate them, aud they appear TO find relief
| in trying to make everybody around as misor.
able as themselves. Now, IL ia a suggestive
/ circumstance that voraciUus meat-eaters are
/ characterized by a very similar temper, and
/ experience has, indeed, proved that vogeta-
/ riansm, complete abstinence from flesh food,
1 is apt TO alleviate tho misery of govt by the re-
4 mOya of one of its principal causes. AFTER a
/ years experimenting" writes one of my CORE
/ sp0ndents. IL have come to the conclusion that
/ ripe fruit, uuleavened bread, biscuits baked
/ without soda, honey. meay vegetables, and
/ cream instead of butter or meat, arc most
effective in keeping the trouble at arms length
| Hard-toied eggs bring ON prompt relapse,
j but unfortunately | have nm incutable aversion
| 90 soit-boilcd or raw eRgs-thc latter recon.
| mendcd by Que of my fellow. vogetarians-so
/ avoid eggs altogether, and stick tn cream an
] occasional glass OF buiiCt milk. Pickles do not
/ agree with mo az aIl4 and have given them up
months ago, rs well as pcppcT-sauces and the
/ atrocious compounds sold under the name of
miuce pies. As 10 change of climate, | do not
4 think | could be benefited by removal 10 any
/ country ghcre ! should 1nd It difficult to con.
4 tinuo my present bill OF fare. Cold weather
/ does not affect rae much the worse; damp, warm
/ weather does trouble the at all"
The idea that govt is aggravated by hard
| frosts may owe It's origin 10 tho circumstance
that heat. the protracted application Of hot water
| or poultiecs. IS an undoubed remedy for the
| parpXy sus OF govt. The eifecti veness OF such
| application eau. however. be Explained by their
| tendency 10 eliminate the waste elements of
| The system, just rs the same prescription can be
relied upon 10 hasten tbs evacuation of "a boil
| or TO relieve the anguish of neuralgia. "Coun.
| ter-irritants," rs medical men call them act in
! fact, by stimulating ths local circulation of the
| blood, aud thus iavofng every process Of ex-
purgati0n aud repair Pedestrian exercise is
another OF my favorite prescriptions in cases Of
| chronic govt not developed to the degree of
| hampering the motive ability of the patient.
| 4 days march through n rugged hill country or
an attempt 10 walk couple of miles with u
4 stout leather pouch halastcd with a lot of iron
weights, Is almost sure To forestHl. at least TO
| 0stpone, a dreaded attack of govt, as IL during
| the iatigues of the march Nature had somehow
! been enabled To remove the cause OF tho trouble
| Outdoor workers combining themselves To a
vegetable aud strictly non stimulating diet can
| generally bid defiance to n hereditary ten
dency TO govt. just rs the occupants of an Allie
| ghany highland camp can laugh at the risk of
| hereditary consumption. That the purest air
| often fails to cure equity seaiarers has undoubt-
| edly much 10 do with the dietotic denominations
Of life on shpboari; especially tho grievous
excess of salt in the daily bill of fare. "S0da
| biscuits and similar compounds never fail to
aggravate the m;ilignty of those attacks" says
| DIR. Joseph Drew In communication to the
! British NE 'icai Journal, "and 10 occurred to mo
! that chloride OF sodium, or common salt, might
| likewise have the effect of cnusing relapse OF
my complaint. Tho idea once started, il was
Immediately carried into practice, and chloride
| Of sodium was placed on the list of ny indeI err
| purgdterius. Salt was omitted as article of
| diet, not only as a continent, but also in sailed
meat and other preserved comestibes. The
result in four or Eve weeks has been astonsh-
| ing. Most Of the stiffness has passed away.
| Finger rings that had been laid aside can now
DO worn, aud the phalangal finger bones have
almost returned to their primitive size and
shape"
Another precaution which patients recovered
| from an attack Of govt are apt TO forget. Is tho
careful avoidance Of mental excitement. worry
and ex pOsiOns of wrath. In former chapter
mentioned the authenticated case of a
woman who was hercely excited by an I'M
provoked attack upon her husband. and whose
baby was few minutes al or killed, as by a
swilt-acting poison, by sucking the milk of its
| frenzied mother. Exasperating emotions by
some magical interacton of body aud mind
| have often AN almostimmediate effect in vitiat-
| ing the hum0rs OF the organism, aud thus indi-
rectly tend TO aggravate all complaints caused
| by morbid changes / the blood.
| ITO % eonliHued)