Evening journal., 1900-03-07
WOMEN AND NERVES
HOW TO BE HAPPY THOUGH DEL.
lcATE.
Difference Between NerVcusnsss and
Dyspepsia-A Mild Form Of Insani-
ty-VaIue Of Outdoor Air and
Scenes-A Bundle of Hatreds.

ty--vaIue Of Outdoor Air and
scenes-A Bundle Of Hatreds.
Nervousness has been defined as
that feeling which prompts a woman
to burst into tears when, after order
ing a poached egg in restaurant, she
is confronted with a fried one instead
says a writer in the New England
Homestead. This perhaps is the great
difference between nervousness aud
dyspepsia. A nervous woman weeps
over fried egg; a dyspeptic man
picks it up and lings It at the head
of the retreating waiter. That is to
say, he flings it in Imagination, and it
Is only by the greatest exercise of self.
control that he refrains from doing
so in fact. Nervousness is a mild form
of insanity, in which reason spends
most Of her time in rottering on her
throne, being unable apparently either
TO secure a firm seat or TO step down
and out altogether The nervous wo-
man is a bundle of hatreds. She de-
tests the pattern of her carpet or wall
paper. Her husbands little habit Of
screwing up his face, when he is cary.
ing the meat at dinner. makes him ap-
pear villianous in her eyes When
Tom drags chair across the floor. or
Susie says Il done it," she is ready to
pounce on them and shake them till
their milk teeth chatter. Most of the
neighbors are depraved; the rest are
clearly imbecile. Nobody understands
her-her own people least Of all She
remembers a hundred occasions in tin
past when she was manifestly treat
ed with injustice, and her leisure
moments are spent in relieving these
narrowing scenes. Frequently the pa
tient realizes and deplores her own
childishness. but has not sufficient
strength of will to overcome it.
The tearfulness which is SO annoy.
ing a symptom in this malady-the
| hysterical conviction that one has got
to cry profusely and Immediately, and
that no earthly power can save her
this can be relieved or prevented by
simple means Pouring cold water
over the elbows and allowing it to
run down to the wrist or loosening
] the dress and gently pounding the
body about the small Of the back and
abdomen with the clencbed hands. are
operations easily managed by the in
valid herself, and invariably relievC
nervous tension. But the cure of the
disease requires more radical treat
ment.
Suppose at that time Of the year
| when the farm work can be safely lef
In the hands Of sons or cousins or the
hired man, the husband of the ner
vous woman brings the horse to tho
door and invites her TO take a drive
She utters a hundred objections, bu
he kisses her complaining lips int
smiling though still doubtful acquies
cence. and ties on her bonnet with hi
own kind, clumsy hands. They drlv'
} IL miles and stop at a village taverl
for dinner. and then drive II NOR
miles and stop at another tavern TO
J the night A similar program is cal
ried out the next day, and the nexi
and for as many days and weeks a
the money for their simple expense
, holds out. 1t matters not what direC
tion they go in, so that it is far fror
home, and far from the beaten path
of housework and the roads and res
possibilities and relatives that ar
too, too familiar. The invalid get
more fresh air in a day than she use
, to get in month. The meals are no
as good as those she cooks herself, bu
, they are different and she doesn
: have to think about them-these ar
; the great points No other woman sh
meets seems to be having as pleasan
time as she is having; no other We
= mans husband seems to lie half a
considerate as her own. They stud
I the geography of their country. meaC
ow by meadow and concession by col
. cessiOn II Is better worth studyin
, than the dust on the sidebCard or tn
stains on the tablecloth OCCASIONAL
/. they let the horse rest fOran afternOo
= while they roam about the woods 9
90 for row on the river The pi
Ience and peace Of nature steal int
her heart, and take possession of he
! life. At the end of the first week sh
, feels so much younger that 1t is diff
: cut to tell whether she is bein
D elored with or is on her wedding jou
= ney
g Out-of-door air and out-of-doC
l scenes and uut-of-door thoughts al
tile only cure for jaded nerves.
. place of shelter ia a very good an
. useful institution when viewed frol
: the outside. The trouble with most {
: us nervous women Is that we insist Q
: accommodating too lnrge a collection {
interior views.