The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-07-15

ton. Primitive man living on grapes,
berries, nuts, and grasshoppers. with
milk and honey for relishes, and wild
onions for appetizers. must have been
the very soul OF optimism and health.
Those evil genii. the distiller. brewer
cook. and perverted Gospel-expounder,
had not begun their intcrminable duel
with the apothecary and the doctor,
with poor miserable man and his sto-
mach for battlefield, and primitive
man was consequently not dyspeptc.
equity. nor uremlc. Has the stomach OF
man changed since those happy days
and what has the stomach really TO do
with dyspepsia?
IL has been asserted, and not without
reason. that the Caucasian has more en-
durance than any other race, and that
fl comparison with contemporary ami
mails he excels I'm capacity for work and
endurance. There is no doubt but that
his stomach has endurance and capabili-
ties that nearly equal those of the os-
trich rhiroceros. or camel.
The Scotch Highlander swallows HIS
UNDERGONE oatmeal porrdge feeling that
its rawness will retard it's digestion and
not compel him TO replensh his furnace
for many hours; on the same principle
the Irishman swallows his national mess
Of potatoes boiled with a stone I'm the
centre" that is. only the outer layer OF
the potato being boiled at all-also an
expedient learned by experience that
haf-raw potato will last as long as three
weii-cooked ones. The French peasant
makes his meals Of a bread made of a mix
ture of peas rye, beans, or wheat -four
ground up, husks and all, into one mass;
this, with the addition Of a little cheese
Of questionable age and some acrid wine
may serve for breakfast. dinner. or sup
per- Now what is Of particular interest
10 us is the fact that none Of the examples
given are troubled with dyspepsia. IL
is well known that Ireland and Scotland
present the greatest number OF Dast-cen-
tenarians while for an all-round long
liver there is no nation on earth that eX-
GELS the French. Undigestible food. UNI
derdone porrldge, raw potatoes, tallow
candles. and sour bread washed down
with sour wine cannot evidently be
classed among the causes Of dyspepsia
The German can take down his regular
government length or allowance of pea
meal sausage sauerkraut. sour milk.
and home-brewed beer, handle the Hail
all day and dance i'm his hob-nailed shoes
all night. filling i'm the interval with
lunches Of anything that comes handy
Dyspepsia is as unknown 10 him then as
I'm after life. when, with his long stem
med pipe. he hugs the stove, intent only
on getting his four or five daily meals.
The African stomach seems more 10
assimilate to that Of the ostrich or the
rhinocerOs. The amount required 10
satisfy the ordinary appetite Of the son
Of Ham is something incredible. The
more he eats the SIMMER his skin sloWs'
We never knew one 10 require any pep
sin. even after a dinner OF a three-pound
fish. n pound Of roast, half a dozen eggs
olives. pickles, potatoes, beets. furnips.
and other things. with some dessert, ana |
coffee. Dyspepsia does not affect these
people who can gormandize on Yellow
legged chicken and roast postum az
rate that would make Heliogapatus
turn green with envy.
Evidently. dyspepsia cannot be said TO
Ger end on overfining the stomach WIN /
odds and ends as II IL were a second
hand unkshop or some back yard swirl
tub.
Nv discarding the idea of stomach COM
,lications in any connection with treat
mo avsnepsla we will bee more likely 10
roach the true origin. cause or seat OF
tho disease Some cases have yleldeu up |
IN exercise systematically employed,
ubile others recover under Few DAYS
NJ absolute rest. The numbers OF social
ed dvspepslae that are cured by the dis
or,earanca Of business. domestic or So
cial ANNOYANCE are nearly unllmited. An
overdue note In the possession oi ooe-
~, ,,esd and beetle-eyed creditor IS more
productive Of dyspepsia than meal ol
eeoond- hand carpet tacks. In fact, II
may be a safe thing % assume that IN
dvsnepsia we had better look In the gar
ret closet or cellar Of the dyspeptic's
house or among his business or social
relations rather than 10 his stomach ior
the solution Of the difficulty
There Is a form OF dyspepsia that may
be termed the perverted Gospel cachexia.
1t is a late production OF Christianity
and has its counterpart among the fakirs
and bonds OF Brahmanism and the der
wishes of Mohammedanism To go about
as n the stomach were full OF copper
filings and acrid bile and the small in
testines having a picnic on a combination
OF green apples. decayed sauerkraut and
cucumbers, with a countenance whose lu-
would sour sweet milk, Is
believed 10 be the manner OF serving God
by the victim Of the cacheXia. In such
cases the stomach Is sound 0rganically,
the disease is mental and only reflective
ly stomachic.
With Americans dyspepsia has several
factors. First OF all we have the reU-
gous factor. already mentioned, then our
peculiar political system. The silly habit |
Of treating or being treated In the sa-
looms is n fruitful source OF renal disease.
toxoemia and dyspepsia. There is no
doubt that in our system Of education
We obtain a prolific source OF dyspepsia.
There is one education that Is sadly /
neglected in Amenca-that OF the palate
or stomach. In the trying American eli
mate man must either eat sufficiently /
or suffer the consequences Of not doing
so. Incomplete nutrition and consequent
eneryation must be the inevitable result
OF the meagre diet on which too many
OF our people accustom themselves.
Another source Of our dyspepsia Is our
civilized and enforced antlpathy 10 all |
fl EOcent and healthfui amusements. To |
such as see only evil I'm amusements
dyspepsia. mental. moral and physical,
must be a natural and incurabie condi-
ton, unless their natures are so intense
~ animal that they are unconscious Of ,
their loss on the same principle that n
cannibal is unconscious OF his nazedness. |
A cheerful soul that believes in the |
wisdom OF the Creator and Is not at eve
ny turn thinking how much better he /
might have made the world, who now |
and then churns up the region below |
the diaphragm with a hearty laugh or
sends a cheerful message 10 the solar |
plexus. denotng that he f. IN harmony |
with God and nature living In peace and |
good Will with the rest OF mankind; who |
Is, in fact. an optimist and a practical. |
philanthroplc Christian-can never be- |
come a yspeptic.-National Popular Re- |
view.