The independent., 1907-01-31
DRIFTWOOD

For II ye live after the flesh ye shall
die; but II ye through the spirit do moru-
fy the deeds Of the body, ye shall live.'
Romans, Willis
A great many people dig their graves
with their teeth. They eat to gratlfy
their animal desires to the very limit,
and not with the nobler object always in
view of nourishtng their bodies.
Commanding is the cause OF more
kinds Of physical grief than the entire
army of microbes which the bacterioio-
gists maintain is the primary cause OF all
or nearly all of our multiple physical IN
nrmities- Living to eat. Questioning
perpetually what we shall have for din
ner or what particularly pa1atable dessert
for the evening meal, which should be OF
nght and easily digested materials.
And whether we linger along and suf-
fer for years in state of chronic invalid
ism or are gathered to our fathers as a
result of living after the flesh the
scripture is fulfilled. There is such a
thing as death in life. 1t is where the
lions normally and we go about with
blue cast of countenance like Rachael
weeping for her children and refusing to
be comforted because they are not
Nevertheless the recuperative powers of
the vital organism are something wond-
erful for which man ought to get down
on his knees and thank the Giver Of every
good and perfect gift every day that he
lives. How often in the strength Of your
young manhood have you found 1t neces-
sary to work over-hours In order to ac-
complish task that would suffer through
delay. 1t looks like rain and there are
ten acres of wheat to put in the shock
and night is approaching. You are al
ready tired when you begin the task,
but 1t is something that must be done
and you buckle in to get as much OF 1t
finished by daylight as possible. Night
comes on, but you keep a-going. You see
the storm gathering and 1t nerves you to
greater effort despite the weariness and
the aching bones At midnight the job is
done and you drag your way TO the
house, tired enough to drop down in the
stubble anywhere and 60 to sleep with
the crickets and toads. Once in bed. you
fall asleep as soon as your head touches
the pillow, and the roar Of the tempest,
the thunder crashes and the rain beating
on the roof only make you sleep the
sOunder. You are awakened at last by
the sound Of the breakfast bell and. ex-
cept for slight stiffne IS Of the joints
on arising, you feel none tn worse for
the late carnival of extra hard work. Ma
ture repaired all the damage while you
slept
And because nature is so kind, and so
indulgent, and so assiduous in repairing
the self-nf1icted damages to this wond-
erful piece Of vital machinery, mankind
Is careless thoughtless and sometimes
fiagrantly abusive of this temple" of
clay until the limit of recuperative pos
sibility has been passed and talk about
the mysterious dispensations of Provl-
dence," as though the one mourned had
been arbitrarily cut down for some un-
known and unknowable reason.
Tom Reed, the "czar" of the house of
representatives who insisted that a con-
gressman occupying his seat in the house
was there whether he said he was or
not, was a man Of sedentary habits and
convivial tastes. He was fond of good
victuals in considerable quantities and
took particular delight In late dinners
where speeches followed the terrapin lit
tle-necked clans and wine with the dia
mond-colored bead in it, He had pow
erful physique and an iron constitution
but he couldn't keep up with himself He
lived after the fiesh and was called hence
In the prime of a prudent mans years
The list Of ilIlstrious men who cut
themselves down as he did is monot-
onously long and sorrowful to contem-
plate Some have broken down under
the strain and only half lived when they
should have been most alive. Ben Frank
lin became equity and apopleptic by rea-
son of time worse than wasted In high
living and chess-playing when he admits
himself he might have enjoyed the best
Of health had he taken plenty of out
door exercise and eaten the simplest foods
he knew were best for him. but he pre-
ferred to eat those articles of diet that
tickled his palate, and he had to pay
the penalty.
Our old friend John S. was a man
of means whose wife had the reputation or
being one of the very best cooks in Fari-
bault county. Everybody liked her cook
ing because she put nothing on the table
that didn't taste good. and 1t was the
Joy OF her heart 10 set fine table and
have her friends take hold as though 1t
were not a burden to eat what was set
before them. John worked hard and ate
hearty for q number OF years before no
noticed that something was seriously
wrong with his digestion. Nature had
borne the imposition as long as she could,
and then the breakdown came. Johns
stomach refused to perform the task tnat
was set before IL, and he went 10 the
doctor who first cleansed his system with
calomel and then prescribed those aids
10 digestion which do about as much
good as doetrinal sermon does 10 a
hardened sinner. and the man grew stead
lily worse. Ia three years, at the age
OF forty-cight. he had become as near "A
total wreck as may be seen IN any OF the
most startling before-taking pictures,
and the several doctors Who hy that time
had hAh ia dn with his case were agreed