The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-04-09
Written for THE NATToSAL TEiEUSE.l
WEALTH HINTS
For Old and Young.
y
By FELIX l. OSWALD. II. D.
CHATTER CvII.
LONGEVITY eoutinucdl.

p
uounccmcut that new method had been dis
covered for sending fat sheep from Melbourne
20 London, by subI"Ctug them 10 an intense de.
gree Of artificial cold on tho Australian side Of
tire ocean and rcylviug them iH England by
bath Of warm voter; in other words, By freezing
them still, and thawing them up again few
weeks after.
ON a similar plan certain TetOrmCrs OF man
kind propose to increase our length of years by
freezing up all exciting passions and pursuing
the even tenor ct some unconventional, hum
drum TulC-Oi-thumb SOFT Of employment. In
a moral strait jacket Of that kind some
Of our ieliOw-cItIzeus might really attain
venerable age, while others would fret them
seIye, to DEATH in consequence Of constitu-
tiou like that Of the Irishman who was never
quiet till he was fighting. and never felt wholly
at home I'LL he was abroad. The uIght-cap
plan for the pyOlougatiOn Of human life should.
therefore be limited TO the rule that every
man would consult his welfare by engaging in
pursnI' corresponding most nearly to the nat
ural bent Ot mis- faculties. A stock farmers boy
sent 10 college and sentenced, for the glory Of
ms family, to wrc-tle with scientific problems.
will bc as wretched as a Eugene Aram wearing
out his life on the wuOdpie OF q state prison,
or a Fra Dlavolo obliged by circumstances 10
retire 10 the drOwsy peace Of a convent His
tory, indeed. proves by many striking in
stances that successful activity is not iueOm-
patihle with length OF life Witness the career
Of Field Marshal Munich, or Of General
IIethsn. who calloped half 4 million miles in
the service Of Frederic the Great" and never
tbcie,s reached an age Of y years. The Greek
HenophOn wrote philosophical treatises in his
g0th year. though tho adventures Of his earlier
days would sufNe for dozen modern lives.
Frederic the Great himself lived a lie rs busy
rs that Of the First Napoleon, yet on the cele-
hratiOn Of his 10th birthday still enjoyed the
T. l.. l.
10 MS habit Of early rising or (in spite Of all
slandersl 10 his almost unexampled confluence.
On that latter point opinions vary from that
Of the mOuastic ascetics TO the theory OF q
modern physician who holds that marriage is
the surc5t guarantee of long life and who in
support Of his arguments quotes statistics
proving that bachelors die on the average five
years sooner than Benedcts. The question,
however remains whether the lives Of those
bachelors was shortened by their celibaCy or
by diseases which would result in premature
death with without matrimonial expert
ments
One chief argument in favor Of the belief in
the -pTolOnging influence OF matrimony
may, however. be found ia the circumstance
that married persons have something to live
for" and an extra motive for avoiding life-
shortening exces5es. They often live Tor their
families alone. aud for their ehildren's sake
hold the fort OF life against host Of troubles
from which, uBdeT other circumstances. they
would have been tempted 10 escape by direct
or indirect suicide.
An old druggist Of my acquaintance once told
me his experience with a Ife-weary Young
chap who asked him for a certain quantity of
cyanide al potassium. a deadly poison, which
he saJG he needed for Photographic expert
mcuis- After Some hesitation my friend
handed over the desired do-e Of the risky drug
aud had almost forgotten the incident when he
was shocked To- learn that his young neighbor
had attempted suicide au bad been saved only
by three-hours work with a stOmach-pump
lie has since promised me sOlemuly not To
make any more attempts Of that SORT said the
druggist, % but lac IS hooked all the same and
mind my words. he Will not outIiye his Old
father" What makes you think SOP" | in
quyCd do you suppose that the after-effrcts
Of that horse dose will kill him in spite Of all
pgmpiug2'
10; ho got over that" said my friend.
but the trouble Is that he cannot get over his
laundering after the peace Of uOu-cXisteuce.
lie may not make his exit by the poison
or pistol r0ntr. but no will get there all the
same by indulgiuE in his life-sick musings aHd
just letting himself drift" Inclination, with
OF without tho sanction Of reason, has indeed.
ar almost magic influence in such eases henre
/ tho frequent experience 0f devoted husbands,
wives. or friends dying within a few days after
| the death Of a beloved companion. The idea
OF direct suicide may never have suggested It,
self % the lifr-weary mind, but IA IRE yields
10 the urgency even Of an unexpres5ed appeal
1 for rest. The vital spirits" says a modern
I physiulpzist, reverse their action when the
/ sOrrDw5 Of existence gain decided prcponder-
/ aHce over rs pleasures"
Violent anger may have a similar effect, and
IL j. "A suggestive fact that the influence Of such
| passions is aggravated by the excessive use OF
D a & a -
jet 20 strokes OF apoplexy, as a consequence OF
\ yexnti1n, which, under other circumstances,
\ would have resulted only in a sick headache.
| Animal fool" says DIR. Isaac Jennings,
| "carries with il into the system an exciting
/ quality. and il is on this account that chiefly
! object TO its USE This stimulus does not con-
stitgte q Part OF the nutriment though il is in
\ tmgteiy blended with it, aud by connection
I iusepIrable By any artificial process hitherto
\ discovered. Dead animal matter is as subject
/ o. the law of decomposition as vegetable mat
/ ter, aud variety Of stimulating elements seem
| 10 be developed IN the progress Of its deCumpO-
4 sitiOn. Just as IN the decomposition ,fermentI-
| iionj Of vegetable substances. i remember the
| ease OF n man who during his sojourn at pa b.
lie house would always carry his own meat
| with him in his saddle-b ags-suCh as fowls
| pieces of beef, and the like-for his own use
for be would eat no animal food until it got tc
| be about so mellOu when il Telished better than
IL did when fresh killed. mo man having
drunk old wine straightway desireth new, fol
ne saith the old wine is better"
By that passion for decomp0sed animal food
the natives of the Farce Islands are said tC
have shortened their lives about Oue-iOurth be.
luw tho usual average. They never eat Gsh
till they are in "A condition which civilized ma.
tiOns would describe by term considerably
stronger than mellow" and preserve pits full
OF seal meat that have TO be protected by
superstructure Of heavy stones to keep rats and
dogs from meddling with the contents. that be
tray themselves, even To human noses, from q
distance of half mile.
The children of those cachectie Islander.
likewise inherit "a diminished chance of Ion.
cevity; but it would be- presumption 10 say
that in so called civilized communities more
than ten per cent. OF modern infants are wholly
free from constitutional defects. Anatomical
examinations might fail to reveal the existence
| OF hereditary bias TO many diseases, but the
faint would betTay itself in early childhood II
we had the gymnastic training schools Of the
ancient Greeks. The instructor Of an Amer
can Turner hall told me once that by the
shortwindcdness OF his pupils he could Otter
detect their descent from mothers addicted Il
the lung-cTippling practice OF tight lacing. A
few years training, he thought, would only
partly counterfeit such tendencies, and only al
the risk Of developing disposition TO asthma
In a lecture delivered before q Michigan
l.AgTicultural College the director of q large
northern sanitarium referred To the physical dc