The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-04-27
GOOD HEALTH.
a Very Desirable. But Very Rare,
blessing.
Mature Intended That we should he Wen
and strong why Many Of u Are
Not so--A Lesson from
the Past.

II cannot be denied, we suppose, that
health. next 70 godliness, Is worthy Of
the first consideration.
No ono can be happy without health,
and there are no circumstances what
ever which can make one utterly miscr-
able when his health Il perfect
A sound liver, a good. long winded
pair Of lungs. and free circulation of
blood, are worth great deal more 70
the happy posscssor than bank stocks,
government bonds and interests IN
blocks Of brown stone.
II, as writer Of prominence asserts,
spirituous liquors are the cause Of nine
tenths Of the murders committed, then
II Is safe to say that torpid livers and
bad digestions are the cause Of the re-
mninder; for ill-health sours the dis
position, and destroys the sweetest
temper In the world.
As we live, and the world moves on,
and our habits OF observation have
broader fields over which to roam, we
become painfully aware Of the fact
that as race Americans are physically
degenerating.
Go where we may, we find everybody
complaining Of some ache or pain. No
body Is well. Everybody Is taking
medicine. Pill makers become mil
lionaires in few years, the man Of
bitters drives his four-in-hand and rears
his family In a palace OF brown stone.
Why is it2
IL the air less pure and health-giying
than II was In the days of our fore
fathers? Does the sun scorch out Of the
atmosphere the subtle principle of vi
tality, or the moon drop down malarial
influences along with her rain Of silver
light7 Does the earth send forth pois-
onous miasmas, and the clear rivers en-
gender more deadly foRs and vapors
than Of old?
Many Of our men, nearly nll Of our
women. are delicate" 1t Is headache,
or neuralgia, or dyspepsia, or indiges-
ton. or weakness in the limbs, Or back,
and the least exertion wearies, and la
Dor Of any kind is simply impossibleI
Now, all this is not as 1t should be.
Nature intended thatwc should be well
and strong, and able to endure the shalf-
ing and rude jostling Of life, without
OcAuB tuiQ up III consequence.
And again we ask, why is it2
Well, then, in the first place, we are
afraid Of the kind OF labor known as
manual We work with our brains,
and our wits, but we don't like to bring
our hands TO ii.
From somewhere and somebody we
have got the idea that manual labor Is
not 50 digniied as counting room and
Office drudgery, and men who might be
good carpenters and masons are con-
tent TO become poor lawyers and book
keepers
A hundred years ago our grandfa-
theirs and grandmothers were hale and
hearty, and did not dream of such thing
as weak nerves and neuralgia.
The men laid the ak at the root Of the
forest oak. and cleared the smiling
fields which now greet our eyes, and
reared the humble homes were our
parents were born. They had no serv-
ants to help them they struck the
blows with their own strong arms, and
at night they were weary enough to
make their touches Of straw seem to
them soft as down.
The women attended to the frugal
household affairs, and carded, spun
and wove the cloth for the clothing OF
their families, and, when this was done,
they went into the fields and welded
the hoe and the rake, side by side with
their husbands or brothers, and did not
have the headache on account Of it
Our own grandmother who was a
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