Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-02-03
MARK TWAIN AS MENTAL DIET.
New York Physicians Differ About Ad-
visibility Of Convalescents Indulging.


The British Medical Journal, lead
ing European authority. in its latest
| issue declares that English convalesceuts
must avoid Mark Twain as mental
diet. Ii says;
"Convaleseents must not read Mark
FWain's books; they not only cheer, but
inebratc. Twain's books may provoke
s.de-splitting laughter and SO rctard the
union Of severed or laccrated parts in
the healing process"
But two of New Iork's foremost ply
siclans, both nerve specialists. one Of
them Charles Weston Brandenburg, pro-
! fessor mt the New York Medical College
and American institute, and j. Carleton
| Simon, former president if the One Hun
bred Year club, agree that Mark Twain
rs mental diet can hardly be sur
passed.
For years | have prescribed Mark
Twain. Bret Harte and Artemus Ward
as regularly for my patients, most all of
whom are sufferers with neuroSis, as |
have prescribed the accepted food diet -
declared Iir, Simon recently 1T is
rather startling to have Twain regarded
as too vigorous. fancied him more
subducd writer than Ward, whom | re-
gard as one of the most luXuriaut hui
morists. | seldom dilferentiate between
good humorous books because | regard
the vigorous stirring up of a melancho-
lines humorous sensibilties as good
thing for the patients progress.
AS | have always prescribed Twain
and Ward SO | have always prescribed
depressing books-Hamlet, for instance.
In the same way all nerve specialists
select or restrict the plays which their
patients shall see
The explanation of the effect of hui
WlnlnGnmh
physical health is simple Laughter
the heartier the hettcr--increases the
blood pressure stimulates the production
of red corpuscles, and thus increases the
patients strength There's an old adage
Laugh and grow fat
The Medical Journal may he right
from nm English point of view. as humor
is not an English characteristic. In
America every individual cracks jokes.
Mcssrs. Ryan and Hartman, if they
should meet ut directors meeting,
would Immediately start to telling funny
stories TO prove their surface Indifference
and aide any subway animosity. In
England il is harder to launch jokes"
when | was Il student in Cincinnati,
perhaps thirty years ago" said DIR.
Brandenburg. "the new governor of
Ohio, John NJ Pattison. was my room
mate. He was studying law, | mcdi-
VIM liz was biNt utii IA Vilt iilEHls
and read Tom Sawyer to him. He
laughed himself well.
Each faculty of the mind has a rela-
tion TO a particular part Of the brain
which it tends to develop and cncrgizc.
Without the higher stimulus Of liter
ature the sensual faculties in the pos
terror brain would develop only gross
aud degraded humanity.
The monotony of conyaescence may
be relieved not only by the stimulus Of
Mark Twain's books, but by gentle, har-
monious music. and social surroundings
Laughter is one of the best. most
natural forms Of exercise | know Of
The idea that side-splitting laughter may
retard the healing of wounds is, | am
afraid. tritIe far fetched. | really
think that granulation might he gently
stimulated instead. OF course. people
have burst their hearts by laughing. but
the instances We're most exceptional