The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-10-01
that the majority of suicides takes
place; and In old age or during severe
illness 1t is usually on critical day

L
place; and IN old age or during severe
illness 1t is usually on critical day
that the lamp of life finally goes out
Goethe. for instance. died on critical
aay' AZ anyone can see by figuring out
the number Of twenty-three-day per-
iods between his birth and death. A
healthy man, Of course, does not suf-
fer on every critical day, and some-
times the arrangement is so slight
that the subject does not notice it.
But In nine cases ont of ten when peo-
pie complain Of being unwell without
cause the explanation is that they are
in one Of their critical periods. Minor
ailments which have nothing to DO
with organic disease. are nearly all
experienced on critical days. Such
are nose bleeding, slight skin erup-
tions, fainting fits, somnolence and
neuralgia. The mind is affected to-
gether with the body. Temporary
lack Of energy, failure of memory,
melancholy and causeless anxiety,
transient weakness of will--all these
are symptoms of critical day. and.
when the day has passed, body and
mind resume their normal state.
The symptoms of a critical day diff
fer according to age, sex and charac-
ter. 1t Is found that male babies oft
en- have their first digestive troubles
exactly twenty-three, days after birth,
and that IL they then escape, the
trouble is likely to occur on the forty
sixth or sixty-ninth day, or some 9TH
er day which represents multiple of
the fatal twenty-three. Older chill
dren tend to bite their nails, and In
dulge in other nervous bad habits on
critical days. Intermittent alcoholics
crave on these days for drink; and,
finally, very old men suffering from
senile decay die. A serious operation
would be more likely to result fatally
If performed on critical day than If
performed midway between two such
days, when the body is at its zenith
of physical vigor. 1t becomes there
fore of enormous practical importance
for a man to know what are his critic
al days. That Is not difficult. DIR.
Swoboda has invented a "Schieber," !"
simple apparatus of cardboard.
marked with figures for years, months
and days, and equipped with two
movable indicators, by the use of
which anyone can tell what days of
his life have been, or will be critical.
BY using 1t man can easily test the
truth of the theory If he has kept
records of past Illnesses; and he is
able to decide what days are least
favorable for enterprises making a
strain upon the system, such as maxi
ing speech, starting on long walk:
ing tour, or beginning some fatfguing
work. He will know what are his ru-
ture "out of sort" days, and thereby.
perhaps. be saved much needless trou-
BILE and failure.
Theory Of Periodicity.
Such is the theory as applied to
men living absolutely healthy lives.
However, observations shows that few
men are In all respects mentally and
physically normal. 5N The theory of
periodicity must be applied to the
great majority in different way. The
critical days of such individuals recur
at dates which are not always multi
pies Of periods of twenty-three days
from the days of birth. The reason
of. this is explained by the nature Of
the theory The critical day is merely
repetition, twenty-three days later.
of some original weakness. The first
original weakness OF man is his day
of birth, therefore in normal cases,
the critical periods date from that
day. But If man has had an acciz
dent, has undergone some special ia
tigue. or practiced some exceptional
excess, his critical days will date from
that, and not from his birthday. The
critical day dating from birth becomes
lost or obscured in complications.
Thousands of observations show that,
both physically and mentally, men
suffer special i'll effects twenty-three
days after the exciting cause. The day
after a great drinking bout man
may feel fairly we'll. But as likely as
not he will pay for it twenty-three
days later. or some multiple of twen-
ty-three days. He will have a bad
heart" failure of memory, some ap-
parently causeless pain, or fit of de-
preston which he can not explain.
Yet II he counted back he would see
that twenty-three days before he had
put a strain upon his system. which
nature has avenged in her own slow