Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-07


IANgkSNl eye. But, in his cwn words: "The
demands of my practice soon forced
to choose between the two. The eye seemed
to be in the greatest need of help, so to 1T |
am giving my life. 1t is the most abused OF
the human organs, and the last to be considered.
If Americans keep in the way they have
been going these last twenty-five years, the next
generation might as well be born with spectacles
upon nose, because they will all have to wear
them before they are out of their teens. | have
preached until my patients think me a crank,
but the voice of one man, or OF hundred,
has little avail. 1t proves that my faith is colos
sal when | still continue to put up the daily
PRAYER, Lord, give less light
you think that want more light! Not
a bit Of it. Do you imagine that the patients
who daily crowd my oftices-tny children, young
people and their elders-are the victims, either
direct or by inheritance, of poor lights? vi
poor lights yes, but poor must stand for un
fitting with the connoted meaning Of fierce and
burning rather than of weak. Nine out of ten
pairs of eyes that l examine are not so much
structurally defective that they are in a state
of sensitive Inflammation. inflammation from
what? From too much light.
How many people all day long subject to
the white glare of electric light? We have
them in our stores, offices, our city houses
crowded by their neighbors that the suns
rays scarcely find penetrating chink. When
gas jet adds its strain to the already wearied
eye. And when we go to bed the electric light
from the street corner floods room. That
is the record of the twenty-four hours, and that
is what crowds my consulting rooms
"Few Of us realize that we do not rest
eyes even when asleep. / know superlatively
modest old bachelor who is so afraid that a
'Peepng Tom may be of his neighbOrhood that
he insists on having his bedroom windows shut
tered and double curtaned. I could wish-for
the sake of the eye-that many others were
as fastidous. Do you for minute fancy
that your eyeids Opaque enough to with
stand the piercing electric rays? Danish the
fallacy When you sleep in lighted room,
your optic nerves in a constant state of
stimulation. Pull down your shades, draw yonr
curtains and give your eyes a bath of darkness
darkness as complete as that of the blackest
cavern, and as healing the profound shadow
OF starless, moonless wood. In other
way can you prepare your delicate, sensitive eyes
for the strain Of the morrow.
CANDLE LIGHT NOT HARMFUL
For the hours that must be artiGcially
lighted ] sec but one hopeful sign-the resur-
recton of the wax candle. People are using
them more and more. The rich have started the
fashion, the middle classes will follow them.
and we ocusts rejoice that the poor, l-treated
eye has increasing large modicum OF oppor-
tunity to be soothed by such soft and mellow
radiance. 4 candle, you know, is the standard
of light measurement. and, properly shaded
candle is the most constant and restful of lights.
The nerve specialists are of opinion with
the oculsts
THE irritation of the eye is the chief causp
cr insomnia said one of them 81 order my
patients to have their bedrooms as dark as pos
sible and, in attempting sleep, to concentrate
their minds imaginary black curtain--a
curtain so thick and velvety and black as to
exclude every sight every sound and every ex.
ternal sensation, Electric lights are pestiferous
for household use ] counsel the substitution of
candles wherever possible. Our forefathers had
no nerves and we are coming to believe that their
soft candle light had something to do with it
Not so very many years ago we We're i'm the
habit of regarding our forefathers with a sort
of tolerant pity They had none of our mod
ern inventions. alas! 1t was pointed out as
an instance of the unenlightened harbarism Of
Russia that tho Winter Palace was lit by moth
ing but candles. Those famous levees of the
Winter Palace-iamous for the beauty of the
women and the handsome appearance of the
mem Now we wonder whether the candle light
did not enhance the spendOr of the spectacle
We self-compacent when we read in
the Knickerbocker's History of New York or
in Watson's Annals that in 1900 they had moth
ing but clipped candles in brass or copper candle
sticks" to light their drawing rooms But of
late new reverence for old things has arisen
The up-todate householder if she has no an
cestral gathered gear, buys it in curio shop
IL is happy moment when she discovers among
shelf full of dusty antiques a pair of pewter
candle sticks They have an honored place on
her mantel shelf To further display them and