Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-06-11
HOW TO REACH OLD AGE.
DR.. MlLBURN TELLS HOW A PUNY
BOY BECAME A STRONG MAN.

Born apparently into the lap of con-
sumption! Blind and sickly at twenty
onei Weak and feeble at thirty-fve!
The picture of health at threescore and
tent
It reads like patent medicine adver-
tisement, but it is the story of the Rev.
DR.. Milburn, the noted blind chaplain of
the house of representatives. The blind
parson told it in voice as strong as that
of boy. Said he:
"For fifteen years l was one of the
most fragile of men you can imagine. I
had to hold a book at the end of my
nose with my hand above to shade the
page, and by moving the book continu-
ously along l managed, by seeing one
letter at time, to read and to spell my
way through school and college. The
result was that when a very young man
/ found myself afflicted with curvature
of the spine, a curvature of the breast
bone and disease of the heart, and
there seemed absolutely no prospect of
my ever becoming healthy man.
81 was also extremely delicate, and
when between nineteen and thirty five
years old my weight ranged from 107 to
115 pounds. l was working hard, how
ever, all this time, and paying attention
to all sorts of things except the laws of
health and life. / went to England
when thirtyfour, and got some hints
from there. In those days very little
attention was paid to hygiene, and after
returning | began to put into practice
pk1n1 II Iol IL
time have increased in weight and size.
L increased my chest measure twelve
inches, and my weight from fifty to sixty
pounds. My weight increased steadily
from the time [ was thirty five, and you
will be surprised to know that this was
done without my ever going into gym
nasium or adopting any of the practices
which are prescribed for such purpose.
HOW TO BREATHE.
II could only use the means within
the reach of blind man, and one of the
principal means of increasing my size
and weight which | adopted was air,
taking larger and larger quantity into
the lungs. | have cultivated breathing
rs tho basis of life, so that now SUD-
pose can inhale and exhale as large a
quantity of atmosphere as any living
man. That is the secret of the develop
ment of physique-to take into your
lungs the whole amount of air which
your lungs are intended to receive, and
that is, in the case of a man of fair chest
proportions, $50 cubic inches. The well
built men in this country do not take in
300 inches.
''The first thing you do when you
awake in the morning be sure you have
a current of fresh air passing through
your room. Remove the heavy bed
clothes from your person, leaving only
sheet over you; lie as nearly fat as you
can, draw up the knees and relax the
muscles of the abdomen. Then, with
your mouth closed and your chin raised,
in order to relieve alE constraint about
your breast, draw in Of the air you can
without violence, doing 1t gradually and
without painful effort.
"Hold the air as long as you can, and
breathe it out through the mouth or
nose, in the former case with effort.
Close your lips as soon as all is out, and
practise doing all your inhalations
through your nostrils, never, under any
circumstances, inhaling through the
mouth.
81 would rather drink the water left
in a finger bowl at the close of a White
House dinner than to take in one spoon
full of Washington air through my
mouth. Do this breathing while in bed
in the morning for five or ten minutes.
This has been my constant habit for
number of years.
AIR, SUN AND EXERCISE
"Air Is lly first prescription" con-
tinued DR.. Milburn. ''The sun is my
next. | often walk about with my hat
off IN the sun, and it was practice of
Goethe to do this for an hour at noon.
He said it stimulated his intellect, and
that there was vital and quickening
power in the suns rays. Thirty years
ago began to be bald. My father and
younger brother were as bald as the
palm of your hand when they were
forty; but | told them when they in
formed me that | was getting bald that
would never be so. | had resolved to
prevent it, and l did. never wear a
hat when / can help it, and am not as
barefoOted today on the top of my head
as | was in 1860. | wash my hair when
ever | wash my face and hands.
& have muscular eXercise-a light
dumbbell exercise" DR.. Milburn went
on, land have often used Indian clubs,
and In addition have some gymnastic
movements for the arms, chest, legs, etc.
AS to the massage treatment, | suppose
i am the most expert massage ODeratOr
in this country, and [ am also the best
groomed animal in this respect. Imme-
diately after getting out of bed l take a
cold, tepid or warm bath and rub down
vigorously, and l spend from one to two
hours every day in grooming my VEN
cradle carcass.
81 used to be brought constantly in
contact with Henry Ward Beecher and
other prominent characters of large
physique thirty years or so ago, and they
were always bantering me about my
small vitality. Why don't you laugh
and grow fat? they would say. WELL
would reply, 1 laugh enough, but don't
know how to grow fat Since l have
changed my plan of life | have buried
them all.
Il use horsehair mats in rubbing
down." he continued, land then put on
vaseline or oil and rub into all parts of
NV body. The oil taken up by the skin
in shiS way is as good as food, and it
keeps the cuticle in excellent condition.
This use of oil was common among the
Greeks and Romans, and you will find
it among many savage tribes. Wash