Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-09-19
HEART DISEASE.
GONE OF THE PECULIAR ASPECTS
OF THIS DREAD MALADY.

Anger, Haste, Tobacco and Excess of
All Kinds Forbidden to Its Unfor-
tunnte Possessor - The Fear of
Death That IL Entails.
A lawyer was talking with a friend
when n sudden pallor came over his face.
Thrusting his hand quickly into a waist
coat pocket he drew out n small phial,
from which he poured two or three pellets
into the palm of his hand and swallowed
them. He was stout, robust man, hav-
ing every appearance of health. His
friend eXclamed
"Why, Jack. what's the matter? What
are you taking those pills for?'
Jack smiled grimly.
There is something the matter with
my heart" he replied. Now and then
the machine gets out of order. Some of
the wheels don't work or n cog slips. If
at those periods | can get those little
pellets of strychnine down quick enough,
the difficulty is fixed up for the time be-
ing. But one OF these days the poison will
get in its work too late, and then
The cipsis was supplied by look more
eloquent than words
! What is the nature of your heart af
=
Yes. / presume that in % years |
have been examined by 30 physicians.
But no two of them eyer agreed as to the
exast nature of my disease"
What are your symptomsT'
The first and most prominent symp-
tom is the fact that am constantly made
aware that | have n heart Either it is
beating 50 slowly that ! can scarcely
feel it or else it is racing like COrliSs
engine at full speed. At night | can hear
it creaking and straining like an old
schooner off Point judith in storm.
have often smiled to myself in the dark
hours just before dawn when | have been
awakened by some frightful struggle on
the part of my heart to keep up its nat
ural rhythm to think how some strong
man, baseball player or an athlete, who
never knew he had heart. would a>t il
such nm attack came upon him suddenly"
"Oh. it is only case Of dyspepsia
said his friend. Il often have green feel
ings around the heart myself
yes, that's what all your friends tell
you said the lawyer. They want to
cheer you up. It's good thing that they
do. Heart disease is naturally dcpress-
ing Consumptives always believe they
are going to get well. but man whose
l.
live a week
Il suppose the condition of your heart
prevents you from running?"
Yes. and any form of severe physical
exercise | wouldn't run block. for
100000. am never in hurry to catch
a car. | usually take from two to three
minutes to walk up the stairs of the ele-
waited road
"What effect does heart trouble have
upon the mindT'
well. | suppose that depends upon the
man. II he be of the highly ina ginative
type, the consciousness that his heart is
diseased is always depressing There are
times when he is perfectly quiet or when
the heart is gently stimulated by poisons,
such as strychnine or alcohol, that he is
comparatively free from distressing
symptoms. But the knowledge that his
heart is weak never wholly leaves him.
II follows him everywhere. lie dare not
drink because he is afraid of oyerstimula-
tOn and consequent palpitatiOn. He must
not use tobacco because the weed has
depressing influence upon his life pump.
lie dareS not permit his temper to get the
better of his Judgment The heart is
peculiarly susceptible to anger. Should t
man grossly insult him he must grin and
bear it, for both the passion Of resent
mcnt and the physical effort required TO
place a blow would result in more injury
to the man himself than to his enemy
Il can see from your remarks that
heart disease has some moral adyan-
tages."
Yes; it certainly is a deterrent so far
as alcohol, tobacco and anger are CON
cerncd. In fact, heart physically bad is
l lii. -s..l..
n row even if a man tries to do a little
loving"
rs there any painf'
Not in the sense that the word is gen.
orally understood. If your finger is
caught in door crack, there is vivid
sense Of suffering. but no fear. With
heart trouble there is no acute pain, but
plenty of uneasiness and an awful sense
OF weakness. Anguish is the better word
to describe it.
Il have been walking along street,
feeling in my normal condition, when
chasm has opened in the sidewalk thou
sand feet deep, and | have stood on the
brink trembling and sweating with APP
prchcnsion. y feeling of such awful
weakness and apprehension has come
over me that | have been paralyzed,
speechless. There was absolutely no
physical indication that anything had
happened. but the mental appreciation
was frightfully appalling.
AT such times my heart had telegraph
pd my brain that it was tired. 1t had
hocn pumping away in my breast ever
since l was born, never stopping. And
now, in some inscrutable manner, which
he wisest of doctors can give no rational
explanation of, it has stopped beating for
he fraction of second. But in that
trief space of time all the organs of the
loly have been notified that something is
The matter with the engine.
You stand hesitating on the brink of
mother existence or humiliation, listen
ug to see if the engine will resume its
old time beat. Then is the time that your
Sammy fingers reach for your waistcoat
pocket. In your haste you take n double
lose. Slowly the noble organ responds to
The stimulus, and you are saved for the
time.
Il believe that ! make no eXaEgeration
IN the statement that | have really to all
ntents and purposes died thousand
leaths. But such Is the wonderful elias
ticity Of the mind, so buOyant is hope,
hat after the most severe OF these at
gcks it leaves no lasting impression. But
naturally try to get the little bottle out
quick. York Sun.
Content Either Way.
people are always content with their
. hil1rpn.' said Mr. Crusty