The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-02
OKING, LIVE FOREVER
SO SAID HIS SUBJECTS, AND THE KING
BEGAN TO DO TT.

ssecscts Of Longevity Which WIN roable
Common Mon to Follow tho Example, OF
tho Monarch-nrr. william Kinhear's
Dietary Doctrine.
And they said, o king, 1.-Two for
eTerF Whcreupon the king Immediately
began to live forever" This fragment
OF history, preserved in tho chorus Of
college, song, used to BIO regarded In
carrier days rather as u singular instance
OIL royal condesoension than us encour-
aging any personal efforts at immortal
1ty. In one of Mr.. Andrew Lang's sto-
rles young Oxonian, when confronted
With ghostly coach and six, tried to
resssure himself by the reflection that q
ghost would hardly put himself to all
this trouble and expense for mere un-
dergraduate. ALI undergraduates arc
not gifted with the same praisoworthy
humility, but without any undue diff
dence most of US tacitly folt that the
honors Of Immortality woro probably be-
You'd our reach. However,, for this later
and moro fortunate generation Mr.. Will
liam Kinnear has como to tho rescue It
seems that he had been maturing little
plan for living 900 years in average good
health.
Tho announcement is attractive, but
we must confess that, ON investigation,
it soolns to US full of disappointment 1t
Is possible that Mr.. Kinnoar's mothod
OF life may promote good health, but so
far as comfort is concerned 1t fails dis
mally. This is an objection common to
nearly every system which aims ut MAX
ing man something moro than human
Tho element of asceticism in our nature
Is almost rs strong rs our selfshnoSa In
every ago there have boon pooplo who
cherish the conviction that they can but
attain spiritual excellence by making
themselves needlossly uncomfortable
Mr.. Kinncar is comparatively modor-
ate in his promises, but his regime, hloe
tho rest of them, is branded with the
curse of discomfort 1t seems that the
chief enemies to vitality arc tho air we
breathe, tho water wo drink and the
bread and meat Wo cat, oil of which ap-
parcntly conspiro to form earthly do
poSitS Of n gelatinous and fibrinous char
actor in our unfortunate system These
deposits, which mostly consist Of carbo-
nate and phosphate of limo, Interfere
with the physical functions generally,
and In particular impede tho proper re-
pair Of tissue.
Moreover, it is to their constant and
increasing presence thnt tho stiffness and
drynoss characteristic of sonility are
due Hence if we wish to prolong life
and avert, i'll part at any rate, tho in
convenicnces Of old ago we should min
inlizo these earthly deposits Unfortu-
nntely we cannot dispense entirely with
air, wator and food, but we con combat
the mischicyous effect OF atmospheric
oxygen by tho use of phosphorio acid
By drinking distilled water only wo cs-
cape the calcaroous salts which ordinary
water would deposit in our tissues, and
by avoiding everything fit to cat wo
may render our daily food comparatively
innocuous. Practically his recommend
atoms come to this: Abstain from
broad, meat and heterogeneous food gen
orally and live upon apples and distilled
water favored with phosphoric acid
Such a menu Is high prico to pay
for longevity, and after an orgie CON
Quoted on these lines for two centuries
tho proselyte would probably bc able to
give an emphatic answer to tho ques-
ton, sis life worth Hving?" The mon
otony of the regime is alone sufficient
TO mako it distasteful but tho objections
10 it strike somewhat deeper than this
Nitrogen possesses to n peculiar extent
the power of holding other chemical
substances in combination This is at
once tho cause of tho stability, as 1t is
called, of nitrogen compounds and of
the tremendous power which many of
them display. Nitrogen enters largely
into the composition of muscular tissue
or hosh and thereby becomes tho chief
source of physical energy. To diminish
the supply of nitrogen as Mr.. Kinnear
proposes would almost inevitably pro-
duco chronic lassitudc. Nor is this the
only danger, for the patient (this really
seems the most appropriate word), cut
off from his usual heterogeneous diet,
would be tempted to supply tho want
by larger consumption of the vegc-
table foods left open to him and thereby
to Overchargo his system with carbon.
A dietary doctrine which proclaims
that in the necessary elements Of nu-
triton Turk the enemies of life" NAV
fairly be regarded with preliminary sus-
picion But even with this PROPOSE
ton accepted it is surely fatal to Mr..
Kinnear's claim that to follow his sys-
tenn is to live according to nature In the
highest and finest sense If nature ju-
dlc1ously doctors our necessary foods
with slow poison, it is clear that she
cannot intend us to cumbor tho earth
too long If she does not Mr.. Kinnear's
theory collapses. But whether his dag