The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-04-12

/ oysters uuu f1ruIu14 1TTH, pastry sud
| cheese when my wife returned, tear
| fully nnxfona
George. darling. do you--hase you
ARE there nny-a1y npota about your
said had no doubt could oblI1e
her. but could NOT tell with any cer-
tainty. But she was evidently severe
" serious
Please. don't joke. George dear; it's
a matter Of life or death Do run mp
stairs and see before II Is TOO late
So finally, after useless protests,
was sent up 70 my bedroom with PEN
eli and paper 70 report on the appear
anee and location Of any snpotss
might happen 20 possess
oh. I'm 50 thankful said my wife
whenAhe was told that but a few PIN
pies that had existed long before the
err 81 food lectures, my sifin had
clean bill Of health II an glad that
our folly has not, mp 70 the present,
had any serious consequences Dr.
Hutchinson. the greatest surgeon 10
England, says Prof Spatiing. has
proved conclusively that leprosy Is
solely caused by eating too much fish:
coast districts are always the parts
principally affected Norway. the only
European country where lcprosy -four
ishcs 70 any considerable extent finds
IN fish its staple food. And oysters--
oysters for suppcri Good gracious.
George. how could you be SO fooIishis
Pauline brought them in,r I ex-
planned, feebly and rather meanly Of
course had given Pauline the money
- suppose You don't really want II
get rid ~ me, Georgc2 suppose yon
haven't got them with the deliberate
intention of giving me blood poisoning
or typhoid frvcr2 Yet surely you ought
To know that Thames oysters always
You haven't any pains about the--the
breast. have you, George2"
Whom had satisfied my wife on this
point. she went over her notes Of the
lecture, and one by one knocked most
Of the principal articles off our bill OF
fare. To cut five lectures into one,
week after week she did the same, ter
ribly ngitnted about the nj effects re-
sufting from this or that article Of food,
and In mortal fear lest, through our 10
nornnce of the laws Of healthy dietet-
ies, typhoid or some other dire COM
plant should carry us off before the
conclusion Of tho course Of lectures.
ut is a comfort to have ones eyes
open at last, she said. time after time,
Ms this disease or that frightened her
nearly out OF her senses by being
caused BY some corresponding article
Of diet After awhile she began to
take melancholy interest In discov-
ering fresh facts and arguments; show
ing some new association Of eating and
i'll health; and her time was principally
spent in comparing the cookery book
with the dictionary Of diseases.
Pastry was knocked of as bad for the
digestion; sugar in any form produced
diabetes; jam was simply turnip
poisonousIy colored timed provisions
were notoriously dangerous. while
anyone with sense and natural desire
for good wind and breathing apparatus
would avoid cheese like pestilence.
Then butter, according to o medical
journal, was known to carry the germs
OF consumptioni eggs were responsible
for serious arrangements OF the liver,
and fruit and vegetables meant cholera
at the very least
bore up as best could under these
depriyations. thinking II wise 10 humor
my wife while the AZ lasted; and con-
soied myself in the meantime with the
pipe and drinks that had not yet been
taken away. Bnt their day was at
hand. A special lecture was devoted
to these subjects; and Immediately
aftef, the corner of my mouth was vio-
lently seized and examined by my wife
for signs Of cancer; blindness was
threatened unless tobacco was Instant
~ relinquished; and as for drinks
well, with typhoid caused by milk,
gout by beer, loss Of horsepower by
tea and coffee, and fatty degeneration
by cocoa, not to speak Of indigestion
and sundry other evils, man would be
criminal indeed to run such risk
For the last week have been living
on bread and water and haricots, and
even these were not obtained without
struggle. Haricots were conceded
donbtfully, with pensiye statement
that perhaps 1t might not do any
harm, and haricots were certainly very
nutritious" so that since then, this
white, fatty, insipid vegetable has
made its way to the table in every con-
ceivable form and on every conceive
BILE occasion. Water, my wife thought
we should be better without; the pro-
fessor had said the less one drinks
the better" and it certainly follows
that if one does not drink at all, con-
dition of perfect health is likely to be
attained. With regard to bread, its
properties are SO fattening, that my
wife. who has aslight tendency to .'em-
bonpoint, and whom / once discoy-
cred running surreptitiously up and
down stairs with the object Of reduc-
ing her weight called upon me on
those grounds TO relinquish its use, re
minding me that, as Byron used vine
gar for this worthy object, so ought l
to deny myself little for the sake OF
health, economy and above all, as a
literary man, the preservation of a
poetical and professional appearance.
Here, however, put my foot down,
and she did not insist
Tomorrow Is the last lecture, and
then, after acting for week or SO the
part Of Succi or Of Tanner. we shall
probably resume our usual reckless
habits. Iventnred to remark just now
to my wife that our bill Of fare was as
summing rather narrow limits, and that
the morrow's lecture would probably
deprive us of even our remaining food
She smiled assent, but then said, en-
-