Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-12-19
READING BY LAMP-LIoHT.
Pertinent Points on This rernicious
Practice.

Iracttce.
On the ssCarc of the Eyes was tile
title of an article / was much inter-
ested in recently, says Robert ]. Bur
dette in the New York Herald. Ny
memory is neither so accurate nor so
imaginative as it was a score Of yeas
ago, but the article in question runs,
as near as l can guess by memory,
something like this;
..Haye reading lamp for night
use. . There is a great deal Of wisdom
in this. In 4 brightly lighted room
at noon. or as late as o'clock p. M,
if the room be on The sunny side OF
the house. a person with strong eyes
may be able to read coarse print with
out injury But after 8 o'clock at
night. and in very dark room, most
people viii find lamp indispensable
to comfortable reading, especially in
fine print or paper. The learned
physician who writes the article docs
not say that the lamp should be
lighted, but, speaking as a layman, l
should certainly advise lighting the
illumination. | may be wrong in this.
but nevertheless such has been my
own custom, and can now read
circus-poster in two colors without
the aid of glasses, that is.
Hold the book at your focus.
This is a rule that any person able to
read should commit to memory. Very
few people realize the Importance Of
this aid to preserving the cyesigl.t.
Until l read this valuable rule used
to prop my book up on the other side
of the room, where Icould not distin
guish the print from the margin, and
try to read. | did notSuppoSe it made
any difference about the focus. And
many people. have no doubt, who
supposed they were blind because they
could not see to read book at a dis
tance OF 100 yards, will, upon learn
ing this rule and putting it into pr;ic-
tice. soon find that they can read
quito we'll enough TO drive everybody
out of the room. The medical pro.
fession has been very rcmiss in its
duty that it did not publish this rulo
long ago.
Reading in bed is strongly advised
against; it is injurious" | should
say so. ! have always found it SO. II
you get comfortably fixed you read
about one page and then find the
blooming book isn't cut, and the pa.
per-cuttcr is downstairs, and youI
pocket-knifc is in the pocket Of your
trousers, hanging away over near the
coolest window. The colder the night
the more the book is not cut. You
get settled down again, and the lamp
smokes. You fix it and drop back
again. The pillows you piled up have
fallen down and your head comes
crashing back against the headboard
of the bed. 1t is late at night and
the bang brings somebody out into
the hall with a Shrek of What 5 the
matter?n After awhile order is re-
stored and you get quiet, then inter
csted, hnallyabsorbed, and then some
body comes out into the hall crying
'AWhat's the matter?n again, You
say, 'Nothing; it's all right"
sBut your lamp is burning.
eyes, YOU say, II am reading.
I A wall Of dismay and rcbukc fol-
/
lows this confession. what. in
bed:
IL IS a matter OIL quarter OF an
hour before Inc DOCK tastes fisht
again. ana lheh once more the ap-
/ pcallng voices comes drifting from d
distant rooin'
Are you going to read all hight:
You saY-butl II doesh matter WHAT
! you say; the puhllc Is not interested
! in your commonplace remarks. But
whatever you do say ellclts pathetlc
sigh that makes your hcart acne ana
secures you quiet Tor yourself ana
your book once more. Ana then'
I Just as you get TO u place Whefe you
+ Just cou'dn stop lor anything IN tue
world the beggafiE lamp tatteiS Turns
! yellow, grows biack III the lacc, ana
goes dead out, dry as bone. lhere
is no fun and no good reading III bed
IL doeSh hclp matters hi'lcn TO SIT
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