The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1891-06-11
HEALTH UNITS
For Old and Young.
1T TELrx T.. OSWALD. NJ. D.


notary, In search Of a title deed a few years
ago came across curious document. IL was
the copy OF a subpoena addressed 10 a noble
man Of the 18th century, and warning him that
unless he discontinued his drunken riots, bis
would be put in the hands Of curatOrs
who would limit his pOtatiOus TO a daily stint Of
three gallons Of wine.
Itseems puzzle how the men Of that bibulous
century could enjoy health and tho blessing Of
iron nerves. Many Of them, no doubt, managed
to cOunteract the effects Of their intcmperanco
by active exercise, but in time Of peace oilers
were more frequent than now, and the princi-
pal explanation Of their immunity can be found
in the circumstance that they confined them
selves 20 a single stimulant-beer or wine
Nowadays fast young men torture their or
ganism with half dozen different irritants
whose combined influence, in the course Of
time, is sure to undermine the yigor Of the
sOUndest constitution.
Another cause Of modern nervousness is the
rapidly increasing use Of the nerve poisOns
known as narcotic stumulants tea, coffee and
tobacco. Within the last so years the con-
sumption Of narcotic beverages per thousand
individuals of the Caucasian race has more than
doubled, and the chief obstacle in the way Of
sanitary reform is the circumstance that their
deleterious tendency is masked By the moment
airy effect of the stimulating principle. An
old lady, tortured by nervous headaches, would
think it a refinement Of cruelty to deprive her
Of her fayorite tonic, for the logic Of experience,
more eloquent than medical arguments, has con-
WINGED her that mOmentary relief can be OBJ
tanned from "cup Of good, strong tea" though
there may not be a shadow Of a doubt that the
tea habit is the principal cause Of her trouble.
Under the immedi ate influence Of the tonic,
headache and dependency vanish, but in less
than six hours a reaction sets in--the over
stimulated nerves lapse into a condition in
vOlying all sorts Of distressing symptoms in a
daily more aggravated form.
The same with coffee and chloral; the same
with tobacco. An ingenious defender Of the
nicotine habit founded his plea on the argu-
ment that the use of q soothing narcotic is
made necessary by the artificial conditions Of
our modern modes Of life-the excitement, the
oyerwOrk, the mental strain Of civilization If
tobacco could really accomplish that end its
general Use should certainly be encouraged By
every philanthrOpist; sOiled carpets and
smOke-clOuded atmosphere would be mere
tribes "a the price Of mental peace. But IN
fortunately nothing can be more certain than
the delusiye nature Of the alleged sedatve
For short time the haze of nicotine fumes GER
tainly seems 20 vail the evils Of life; the
smoker feels the peace of philosophers in
difference 10 the petty vcxatiOns Of earthly ex-
istence, but that apathy is followed BIZ a very
different disposition, a vague uneasiness gradu-
ally taking the form of q nervous irritation
that can be sOothed only by larger and larger
doses Of the gaseous narcotic. Lady Mary
Montague noticed that in the intervals Of their
tobacco beatitude the phlegmatic Turks are apt
to become veritable Tartars. and even super
fetal observers can hardly fail 10 be struck by
the change which the nicotne-habit will effect
in the mental and physical disposition Of a
young beginner. A boy who has passed years
in that happy state described IS ignorance Of
the existence Of q stomach begins to plain
OF digestive troubles, and becomes fastidiOus in
his choice Of viands. He cannot sleep at night,
and in his ygiis will sit up and soothe his
nerves with pipe after pipe Of tobacco till his
persistence is rewarded with a short nap about
the time Of the morning twilight. A strange
trembling Of his nerves interferes with occupa-
tons requiring steadiness Of handwriting,
carving, or the manipulation Of delicate ma
chinery. His temper becomes sensitive and at
last positively irritable. If tObacco-smOking
could secure equanimity the father Of Frederic
the Great ought to have been the most placid
OF mOrtals, and during the sessions Of his to-
bacco parliament" convened st the hunting
castle OF WusteThausen, his bORh0mmie was
really all that could be expected of an absolute
sovereign. He would handy Jokes with his
Generals, and not only permit, but encourage,
the boldest repartees, tease An old crank Of a
court historian, and then straighten out his
rufAed feelings by filing his pockets with sill
almost exhausted the patience of his hereditary
subjects; his paroxysms of fury resembled
those Of q Gagged hamadryas babOOn, and really
nothing but his crown saved him from cOnfne-
ment in a mad house. Two pounds of tobacco
a day was his usual allowance, and when he
could not sleep after midnight he would smoke
in the ehimney-cOrner till ne nodded in his
chair
The nicotine habit is, Of course, not always
rar al To hnk
Of modern smokers are born with an enfeebled
constitution, and few cigaTets, in such cases,
will exert an appreciable effect on the nervous
system. 1.-THE use of tobacco" says DIR. L. G..
Alexander ia q communication to the Phila-
delphia Medical and Surgical Reporter "has be-
come so general that its bad effects can hardly
be estimated. The rapid increase of nervous
people, Of nerve palms, neuralgia and obscure
nervous diseases is seen in practice every day bp
the physician, aud is so frequent as to attract
the attention of the laity; and it is my belief
| that the common use of tobacco as we'll as Of
| alcohol and opium is the most prominent cause
Of so many nervous troubles. From obserya-
| tion," he adds, " have found that the children
| Of parents addicted TO the use Of tobacco are
| more likely TO have nervous diseases than
| others who are born of parents who DO not use
| it and if both parents use it, we are almost
! certain to find the offspring Of a nervous tenn
| permanent and especially liable to functional
| arrangement. IL is from this class that drunk
| ards are mostly recruited. Growing up with
\ weak nerve development, any physical or
mental e1srtiOn brings on the disease now so
| commOn-neurasthenia nervous exhaustiOn).
The Emperor Maximin is said TO have more
| than once devoured 40 pounds of meat at q
/ single meal and the anecdotes Of the glut-
/ ton Eitelius are almost equally incredible;
| but the biOgTaphers of Marshal Yendome adj
NIT that his suppers often lasted four hours and
/ that he would gorge himself till the oppression
| of his chest threatened him with suiOcation.
/ At the table OF Spanish grandee he once ate
| up an enormous meat-pie that had been baked
/ by French cook in his special honor, but not
| exactly for his exclusive use; and his bed
i lunches" night-caps," as we should call
/ them-wOuld have abundantly suffced for the
/ dinner of ordinary men. Yet that incOrrigible
/ gluttOn was 3 man of comparable energy, a
/ lion on the battlefield and the ablest strategist
/ ever opposed to Eugene ard Marlborough. His
/ presence of mind repeatedly saved the French
/ army from destruction, aud his whole career
/ was, indeed, living illustration Of the fact
that gluttony can be carried to astonishing ex-
/ tremes without interfering with steadiness OF
/ nerve and general physical yigOr. But the
/ chrouicler of VendOme's campaigns adds that
/ the yoraciOus Marshal made it a rule TO post
| none his gastronomic featS till evening, and on
i busy days was able to get along with mini
i mum of food having found by experience that
| repletiOn interfered with the exercise of his
/ mental and physical faculties. la short, he
/ deferred his Vitellian feasts TO the end of his
! working days; and the nervousness of our mo-
dern gluttOns is due less TO the quantity than
To the untimeIiness of their meals. They try
| 10 reconcile the indulgence of an exOrbitani