Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1905-09-16
: HONG WOONS :
i. Dreadful Picture Painted - %
4" ~ by Man of Physic. s.:

Nj
q q superstitlons of the laity,
4 in too many instances
-saoN shared by the profession,
as, for instance, that an
egg is equivalent In nutritive value
to a pound of meat; that the various
mysteries sold in the drug stores as
beef extracts" are sufficient by the
tcaspoonful to sustain n famished in
valid or convalescent for twenty-fOur
hours, more or less, and that milk is
the one grand, important, absolute and
universal food for every breathing
thing; if hygiene could only restrict
itself to such things, it would occupy
us to the very full while the world
shall last, but there are many other
errors almost as widespread and more
fatal in their consequences. 1t is al
most incomprehensible to the thought
full physician why the atrociOus vice
of wedding tours has not been utterly
stamped out. No matter how robust,
how tenacious of life, how full Of
energy, how many times the four hun
bred years, which the good DR.. Holmes
insists should be the time of prepare
ton for the newborn infant; no mat
ter what adjuncts to ease, Of wealth,
of education, of refinement, not one
Of them can stand safely the dread
full physical and mental exactiOns OF
the prolonged and, too often, dele
ferrous excitement of the engaged.
The constant strain to keep up that
somewhat unnatural front" which
has attracted and which continues to
attract the betrothed together with the
III months siege, more or less, of
the most laborious eXertion in the
preparation of rousseau, the eXactions,
impoSitions and fatigues of the dress
maker, the same to a lesser degree
Of the milliner, and to crown all the
dreadful hurry and vigils which at
tend the few weeks Immediately pre-
ceding the ceremony.
With the bridegroom it is scarcely
less exacting. Whether in business OF
whether of leisure, and, like all the
strictly leisure class, driven by the
lash of necessity for amusement, his
attention divided, his entire habit of
life, so far as it is then formed, COM
pletely subverted, his hurried and fire.
quently frenzied attempts to regulate
his business affairs in order that he
may have nothing on his hands to
interfere; these combined produce a
condition of the system, both mental
and physical, of both the high con-
tracing parties, which peculiarly and
positively unfit them for the dreadful
exactions of honeymoon trip.
Immediately upon the conclusion Of
the ceremony the youthful couple pro-
coed with the utmost dispatch to the
train, and then begins the most tire
some episode which human beings
with all the varied ills of life are sub
| jected to. To the sensitive, modest
young woman, the mental disquiet Of
appearing to the world in the MOTTO
Oe-concealed role Of bride is in itself
sufficient, but this must be supple
mented by the discOmforts Of that Pro-
crustean travesty, the modern, much
over-decorated sleeping car. The over
studied Indifference of the bridegroom
needs no mention here, as this is not
intended as a humorous sketch. Ar
irving, not at their destination, for
! thni-. .>aa,eA,. dnn+i finn will nrnhp hly
be sanitarium, but at the city which
they have chosen to honor with their
incognito they begin a life burden
some from the very strangeness Of
the room, of the furniture, of the sur
roundings and the unfamiliar and too
often indigestible, If not absolutely
hurtful, menu
This, however, does not suffice with
the great majority of them. Hardly
have they swallowed an early break
fast before they are off sightseeing
and visiting every celebrity within
twenty miles of the city, too often in
inclement weather, and too often in
the reaction brought about by the
months of strenuous endeavor which
have preceded the trip. 1t does suffice
that they should thus drag themselves
from post to pillar Ostensibly enjoying
these various sights and landscapes
in each others society. which, as Lord
Allcash says in Era Diavolo,'' each
longs for his or her sleep all the day."
well-meaning, misguided friends, who
have been appraised of their arrival,
visit the newly-married couple at their
hotel in the afternoon and evening.
Thus in the very critical time of
woman's life, when above all she needs
the quiet seclusion and comfort of the
home which she has been accustomed
to since her girlhood, she is exposed
to a series of laborious mental and
physical efforts which might well
break down the strongest and most
robust man. Is it any wonder that the
wedding trip is the first and most
powerful factor in the wretched health
for many years for young American
matrons?
No mention is made here of the alb
surd vulgarities of the would-be witty
sol dasant friends Of the couple, who
signalize themselves by throwing old
shoes and rice, or in spirit of gum
my pleasantly paste OF tie various
labels and ribbons to their luggage.
These things are better left to the
strong arm of the law which, 1t is
gratifying to note, has been thrice ex-
ercised within the last month in one
of our largest Eastern cities. Let us
pray that we may follow in its foot
steps.-James NJ. Gassaway, M. D.,
Professor Hygiene Marion Sims-Deau-
mont Medical College, st. Louis, In
Medical Brief.
Fellow Feeling.
1t was early autumn and l was go