HOW TO EAT A CURE FOR "NERVES" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Whosoever wishes to eat much must eat little. " Cornaro, in sayingthis, meant that if a man wished to eat for a great many days--thatis, desired a long life--he must eat only a little each day. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO EAT A CURE FOR "NERVES" ByTHOMAS CLARK HINKLE, M. D. RAND McNALLY & COMPANYCHICAGO--NEW YORK ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright, 1921, byRAND McNALLY & COMPANY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE CONTENTS PAGEI. WHERE THE TROUBLE LIES 13II. HOW TO OVERCOME THE TROUBLE 31III. RIGHT AND WRONG DIET FOR NERVOUS PEOPLE 55IV. VALUE OF OUTDOOR LIFE AND EXERCISE 79V. EFFECT OF RIGHT LIVING ON WORRY AND UNHAPPINESS 109 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Nature, desirous to preserve man in good health as long aspossible, informs him herself how he is to act in time of illness;for she immediately deprives him, when sick, of his appetite inorder that he may eat but little. " --CORNARO ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE INTRODUCTION This author-physician's cure for "nerves" vividly recalls the simplicityof method employed in the complete restoration to health of one of oldentime whose story has come ringing down the ages in the Book of Books. Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, a mighty man of valorand honorable in the sight of all men, turned away in a rage whenElisha, the prophet of the Most High, prescribed for his dread malady aremedy so simple that it was despised in his eyes. But "his servantscame near and said ... 'If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?'" In "How to Eat" the author offers the sufferer from "nerves" a remedy assimple as that Elisha offered Naaman. He gives him an opportunity toprofit by his well-tested knowledge that overeating and _rapidity_ ineating are ruinous to health and shorten life. It is seldom that there emanates from the pen of a doctor a book which, concerning any physical disorder, minimizes the efforts of the medicalpractitioner. While this author-physician gives full credit to theconscientious physician for the great service he is able to render inall other spheres of his profession, he wholly denies the necessity formedical care in cases of nervous breakdown, and discounts liberally thebenefits to be derived from professional advice except in so far as thedoctor is the patient's counselor and dictator as to what and how andhow much he shall eat and drink, and the way he shall employ his time. Any discourse is valuable which incites a man having a marked tendencyto depressing, morbid ideas, to rid himself of them. Dr. Hinkle helpsthe sufferer to gain that confidence and cheer which result fromknowledge of certain immunity from dreaded ills and positive assuranceof recovery by mere regulation of food or employment along the lines ofsimple, everyday living. But that alone is not sufficient. It is made quite clear that no onething by itself will insure a cure of "nerves. " The cure must comethrough common sense exerted along several related avenues of endeavor. No matter how steadfastly one may adhere to directions as to abstainingfrom harmful food and injurious methods of partaking of those foodswhich are beneficial, if he spends the larger portion of his time idlyrocking in a convenient arm chair, exerting neither body nor mind norwill, that which might be gained by proper nutrition is largelynullified by lack of physical exercise and mental activity. That this little book may serve as a spur to the bodily self-denial andself-repression and the intellectual and spiritual uplift which make forcharacter-building, is the very evident goal of its writer. Fromself-analysis and self-cure he has worked out a philosophy--a system or_art_--by which those afflicted with nervous breakdown may be healed. And by putting into print the result of his practical experiments indiet and exercise he has broadened immeasurably the scope of hishelpfulness to all nervebound sufferers by placing within their reachthe simplest of measures by which release is secured from a conditionwhich wholly incapacitates for active service or even for quiet, everyday usefulness. It is because the things Dr. Hinkle advises are so commonplace, andbecause the doing of them day after day, year in and year out, is somonotonous, that people will be tempted to disregard or make light oftheir helpfulness. But the commonplace things which make up life are allimportant, as Susan Coolidge has so aptly expressed in these lines whichfittingly illustrate the author's thought: "The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky Makes up the commonplace day. The moon and the stars are commonplace things, And the flower that blooms and the bird that sings; But dark were the world, and sad our lot If the flowers failed, and the sun shone not; And God, who studies each separate soul, Out of commonplace lives makes his beautiful whole. " It therefore behooves the sufferer from "nerves" and that great host ofothers who are in danger of a nervous breakdown if they do not speedilymend their ways of eating and living, to heed the kindly admonitionsand follow the precepts of this author who practices what he preaches. By persistently doing commonplace things in the most commonplace way, keeping ever in mind the great objects to be attained thereby--goodhealth, good cheer, and increased usefulness throughout a long life--thereader of this little treatise will find it worth many, many times itssize, weight, and bulk. And heeding the author's admonition, "Go thouand do likewise, " he will not shorten his life or lose it altogether infruitless quests for the strength and nerve vigor which constantly eludehim because of lack of self-control and failure to persist in the simplebut efficacious measures of relief here outlined. M. F. S. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO EAT A CURE FOR NERVES I. WHERE THE TROUBLE LIES "What we leave after making a hearty meal does us more good thanwhat we have eaten. " --CORNARO It is now over twenty years since I had my first nervous breakdown. About ten years later I had another, far worse than the first one. Thefirst lasted six months; the second a little more than two and one halfyears. Doubtless if I had not in the strangest way in the world foundout how to cure myself it would have lasted until now, unless death inthe meantime had come to my relief. But right here I want to say that ifyou are looking for some new or miraculous treatment for suchunfortunate people you might as well close the book now, for you will bedisappointed. There is a cure for "nerves" but the cure is as old as theworld. The trouble with poor deluded mortals--doctors included--is, weare constantly looking for a miracle to cure us, but if we look back onall the real cures that we have ever heard about, we shall find theywere as simple as the sun or the rain. And in the name of common senselet me ask: what is the difference _how_ we are cured if we _are_ curedand are _happy_ as a result of it? Isn't that enough? Most certainly itis. And now, as we journey along through the pages of this book, I want youto know that these words have been written by one who has nothing tooffer you except human experience. As we proceed you will notice thatevery statement is tremendously positive. When a man has been throughthis literal hell of "nerves" he knows all about it and what can be donefor it. And so when I tell you the things you must do to get well and_stay well_, I want you to understand that I know. There is absolutelyno theory to be found in these pages. If you put your finger in thefire you burn it. You don't have to take your finger out of the fire, call in a lot of learned gentlemen and say to them: "Now tell me yourcandid opinion about my finger. Is it burned or is it not?" And I am just as positive about my cure of "nerves" as you could be thatfire burned your finger. That brings me to what I want to say about theso-called "rest cures" at the sanitariums. It is a well-known fact thatif a case of "nerves" is pronounced cured at a sanitarium the cure isonly temporary. Sooner or later every one of these patients goes downhill again. And remember I am talking about people who have nervous breakdownsTHROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN. I have no time to spare for the personwho has brought on his own trouble. I am chiefly concerned with thathost of children in America--and there is a host, I am sorry tosay--born of what I choose to call "pre-nervous" parents. The girls ofsuch parents frequently break down in high school. And many of thefinest boys that I know have this dreadful "thing" fastened firmly uponthem just at the very beginning of their lifework. You may think I am a little vehement, but to me one of the most damnableand disgusting things in the world is that the medical professionremains so ignorant concerning the _real cure_ for such cases. I believethe late Sir William Osler was the greatest physician of his generation. He was not only a man of talent, he was a genius, and his knowledge ofmedicine almost passes understanding. Yet Osler himself was as much inthe dark concerning the _real_ cure for so-called _neurasthenia_ as thephysicians who read his works on practice. If one wants to find out howignorant the whole profession is on the subject of a permanent cure, let the thing get hold of him, and then let him make the rounds of thephysicians, follow out their advice, and see where he comes out! I have said that even the sanitariums of this country--and for thatmatter I might have said of any other country--do not _permanently cure_these people. I have ample proof of this statement. I have met thesepeople everywhere and no doubt you have, too. Quite recently the subjectwas brought up anew to me. I had written an article on the subject forone of the magazines, a magazine having a large circulation. In a veryshort time my mail was literally flooded with letters. Every incomingmail brought great numbers of them. They came from physicians of theregular school, and from physicians of many other schools, too. I won'tmention any of them, for this is a treatise on a dreadful affliction andhow one may get rid of it; it is not intended as a criticism of anyone. I have no desire to criticize and I haven't time. I am stating factsinterwoven with my own life. If the cure is real, the people will findit out after they have tried it; if it is not, they will also find thatout. In fact, it's exactly as Gamaliel, the teacher of Paul, said to themen of Israel when they would have slain the apostles for teachingChrist's sayings, "Refrain from these men and let them alone: for ifthis counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught: but if itbe of God, ye cannot overthrow it. " And it's exactly the same way withthis healing art. The very fact that physicians of all schools ofmedicine--physicians who were sufferers from "nerves"--wrote me, showsplainly that they could not heal themselves. I have many letters frompeople who have been in sanitariums for years and who still have"nerves. " The sanitariums do some people a lot of good, but they cannotremove the _cause_ of nervousness. I am certain that the very best restcure for women is the one Dr. Weir Mitchell first used. But such womenare sure to go down again and again and still again if that is _all_that is done for them. Now frankly, if Christian Science could cure such cases and make them_stay_ cured I should want a practitioner of this cult to treat them. But Christian Science simply cannot cure them because the underlyingcause of this trouble is _physical_, not _mental_. In other words, themind becomes ill because the body is made ill by certain poisons, andthe nature of the disease is so peculiar that most of these miserablesufferers will not even try a thing unless some one brings themoverwhelming evidence of its having wrought a cure. Or, if they do tryit, they usually quit the treatment before nature has had time to do herwork and set their bodies right. I have the most profound sympathy for such people. I want to speakdirectly to them. That is the task that I have set myself in this work. I want to talk directly to those of you who are sufferers from "nerves. "I see you in every state, in every city, in every village, andthroughout the farming districts of this country. I have receivedletters from many farmers who are suffering with this "thing. " To themlet me say, I know just how you feel, and from the very bottom of myheart I pity you. I know the horrible suffering of each one of you. Idon't care what your ambition has been or is. I don't care what yoursituation in life may be. I don't care how rich or how poor you are. Idon't care how much trouble you have had, or the nature of it. I wantyou to know these words are being written by one who knows more aboutyour sufferings than you can imagine. I want you to believe this, because it is true. If you have longed and prayed for death, rememberthat the one who is writing these words also has longed and prayed fordeath. But one thing you must be sure to remember: while you are waitingand trying to get well you must have _patience_. I recollect one beautiful day in early spring when traveling in NebraskaI passed a little cemetery. How sweet and restful the place seemed, andas I looked out over those little white stones I prayed silently thatthe great God who made me would not hold me much longer on earth, thatHe would soon grant me the rest and peace which I believed was to befound only in death and the grave. But _remember this_: In those darkdays never for a moment did I think of taking my own life! These wordsmay reach some one who has had such a thought. If so, I say to you thatto take one's life is the most cowardly thing a human being can do. Thisis the only place where I feel like being severe with you people. Shameon the man or woman who will not go on to the end fighting honorably!And now if you have ever given thought to such a thing, blot it fromyour mind forever. I can see how these miserable people might long fordeath, as I did. But no matter how we may long for release throughdeath, the God of nature must be the judge of our time of going. Now this brings me to what I want to say about such sufferers goinginsane. Believe me, they never do! Remember this always. You won'tbecome insane. You couldn't if you tried! In letter after letter amongthe flood of them I have had from all over this country and Canada, Iread how the poor sufferer feared he or she might be going insane. Iknow, poor souls, just how you feel. That feeling is, I think, the mostdreadful of all things connected with "nerves. " I suffered from it foryears. It is a dreadful feeling, but there is not the least bit ofdanger of such a thing happening to you. You will _not_ go insane. Suchpersons can't. Do you really get me? Such persons cannot go insane. Thisdisease is nothing but what we call a functional nervous trouble. And soforget about the danger of insanity for all time. You can be cured, butyou will make your return to health just that much slower by harboringthis fear. And it would be simply foolish for you to go on thinking itpossible after I--let me say it again--after I have told you that itcannot happen. For the value of this treatise lies in the "I. " Its valueis just like that of the treatise by Cornaro. He lived it. And solikewise have I lived it. I have been laid low with this malady. I havestaggered in black despair with staring eyes and bleeding feet andcrying soul along this road strewn with thorns and stones. I know whatit is to lie awake all night and cry like a baby, with none to know andnone to tell me what to do. I know what it is to be tremendouslyambitious. Ambition! Ambition! Ah, God of Heaven! How a poor soulsuffers who beyond everything else, craves to be able to do somethingbig in this world because he knows he should, yet is held down by thisdreadful thing, "nerves!" And how little, how unspeakably little, dophysicians, even the greatest of them, know, actually know, how wesuffer, unless indeed there be one in whose own body the fiend has sunkdeep its talons. After I had my first breakdown I made up my mind to study medicinebecause something told me that I was one of those "peculiar" people whojust _think_ there is something the matter with them. Is it not strangethat with all the advance that has been made in general medicine, littleor nothing has been done for the relief of the people born with thiscurse hanging over them? I wish this book could be put into the hands of every nervous parentfor, think as you may, all nervous parents beget nervous children. Butdoes it follow that such children should have a nervous breakdown almostbefore they are out of their teens? No, decidedly not; and what is more, they never should and never would break down, if they had proper food. I look back with horror on the many nights of my childhood when Isuffered with "night terrors. " And right here let me say: no child will_ever have night terrors_ if he is given just what he should eat, and iskept from overeating. And now a few words about the _first_ great pointconcerning the prevention as well as the cure of "nerves. " Nervous people, and many others as well, eat too much. That, you say, isnothing new. But that is just where the dreadful wrong begins; and whythere has been tragedy after tragedy, and why even while this is beingwritten there will be many more tragedies. You will hear lecturerssay--I myself have said it, and to large audiences: "You people eat toomuch. " But if that's all that is said, people straightway go away andsay: "Oh, yes, he's right, of course. We all eat too much. " And there itends. Until recently people did not know--most of them don't knowyet--that each day they are actually bringing the grave nearer byovereating. Not long ago the great life insurance companies of this country held anotable convention in the city of New York. Now after everything hadbeen said and done, after every phase of life insurance had beendiscussed, what do you suppose was the great outstanding statement fromthat remarkable body of men who know more about why people die than anyother body of people on earth? It was this: "The average American _manor woman_ dies at the age of 43 because he eats what he wants to eatrather than what he should eat. " That means, of course, thatpractically all Americans overeat. They are all like the child who says, "I'm not hungry for bread and butter. I'm hungry for cake. " And I findthat most of these poor deluded nervous sufferers eat what they wantunder the supposition that it is good for them because they crave it. Imyself used to do so. I would eat candy by the pound. And it is odd butquite true that nervous people crave the very things that hurt themmost. But there is no more sense in eating what you crave because youcrave it than there is in the man who is addicted to alcohol, drinkingalcohol because he craves it. I once used tobacco; I craved it, but Idid not need it just because I craved it. It is true the body naturallyneeds some fats, some carbohydrates; in fact, a balanced ration, as weshall see later. But I want to make it mighty plain here that never wasthere a greater error than that of supposing you need chocolates orsweets just because you crave them. And you don't need to overeat, andkeep on doing it, just because you must eat. II. HOW TO OVERCOME THE TROUBLE "He who pursues a regular course of life need not be apprehensive of illness, as he who has guarded against the cause need not be afraid of the effect. " --CORNARO We have now come to the second step in the cure of "nerves"--eating theright food in the right way. You must chew all food until it is of theconsistency of cream, and you must also sip all liquids slowly. And now, as you read these things that I have set down, I want you to rememberthis: doing any one thing--and doing that alone--will not cure thismalady. No, it is doing a number of things at the right time. I knowthis is true because I have tried it. For a time I chewed my food to acream, but that was the only thing I did in an endeavor to get well. Iwas doing none of the other things that are absolutely necessary for acure. This is one great trouble with all such people. They willFletcherize for a time and then say there is nothing to that because itdoes not cure them. Well, as I've said, that alone will not, and I wantto dwell at length on this because nobody knows as well as I do, whatharm such a belief does the nervous sufferer. Trying out Fletcherizing alone, which I say must be done together withother things if you want to get well and stay well, is like taking thehandle of an axe and going out into the woods to cut down a tree. Nowwith Fletcherizing you have a perfectly good handle, but you know verywell that you can't cut a tree down with only an axe handle. But that isnot the fault of the handle. The fault is obviously your own. Nowsuppose you get the axe and fit the handle to it. You can then cut thetree down if you work hard enough at the task. Again, suppose you cutthe tree half way through and quit. Will the axe keep on until the workis done? You know it will not, and you very well know if you wish to becured you must keep on doing your part of the work or dieting will be ofno value whatever to you. Now suppose a man comes along and tells youthat the axe you have is no good and therefore it is no use for you tokeep on trying to use it. That is exactly what some physicians still sayabout Fletcherizing. But you say, "I must cut this tree down. Nobody will do it for me; howshall I get it down? Can you give me an axe that will cut it down?" "Oh, no, " he replies, "but anyway there's no use fooling with that one. " Then, if you are determined to do the work, you say, "I have to cut thetree down. You have no other axe to offer me, so I'm going to try theone I have. " And you go ahead and cut down the tree. Then just as youhave finished, the man comes your way again, and in great delight youcall out to him: "Come and see! I cut this tree down with the axe yousaid was no good!" The man comes over to you and says, "Where's the tree? I don't see it!" You are astonished and you tell him, "There it lies on the ground rightbefore your eyes! Can't you see it?" But he turns and walks away saying: "There is no tree there; it is allin your mind. " This is exactly what people with "nerves" have been told again and againby physicians, by relatives, and by most other people who have never had"nerves. " I tell you these things so that when you begin to eat sparingly and chewyour food to a cream you may fortify yourself against well-meaning butmistaken friends and relatives. And, oddly enough, it does seem that theindividual with "nerves" has more friends and relatives than any otherperson in the world. Remember you must not only chew your food to the consistency of creamfor one or two months, you must make this practice a lifelong habit. Ifyou cannot take time to eat a meal in this way, you had much better gohungry. To people who travel and must frequently take their meals inrailroad eating houses, I would say, get some bread and buttersandwiches and eat them slowly while on the train. There is always achance to secure all you need to eat, too. You may not always be able tosit an hour at the table--the time we should give to a meal if we eat aswe should. I know many object to this rule on the ground that if wefollowed it we should get nothing else done. But that is nonsense. Didnot the Master of us all say, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?"Then can we not devote three of the twelve to our food? If we have ninehours in which we are at our highest efficiency, is it not good sense, if we eat three meals a day, to give three hours to these meals? Thereis only one sane answer to the question; we should take an hour for ameal. Every now and then some magazine writer will state that the chewing offood to a cream does not help anybody. He will tell you that you canswallow your food any old way and it will not hurt you in the least. Infact, I actually saw an article in one of our leading periodicalscontaining just such statements. We should, I suppose, have only pityfor an editor who would give space to such stuff, and should also pitythe poor wretch who by writing it is striving to attain notoriety. Atany rate there is one excellent thing about such lies, they do harm foronly a little while. When people find out that a thing is harmful tothem, they usually quit it, no matter how many notoriety seekers areurging and encouraging them to keep on. Usually the sufferer with "nerves" is the only one in the household whowill eat sparingly and chew his food slowly. But now and then I find anintelligent, sympathetic man who will do so because it is helpful to hiswife. He sympathizes with her infirmity, and with fine self-denial eatsas she does. And note this: he usually derives benefit from so doing. Time after time when I have put a nervous woman under this regimen, andthen her husband elected to go along with her, I have had the man cometo me and say: "Well, doctor, I declare I'm feeling a whole lot bettermyself! I don't get sleepy any more during the daytime, and that pain Iused to have in the region of my liver is gone!" And so on and on. The fact is just this: anybody who follows the rules that I learned toapply in my own case cannot fail to be benefited. And although those notinclined to "nerves" can eat a greater variety of food, it's greatly tobe desired when there is a nervous person in a household of grownupsthat all other members of the family enter together into this thing. Itcould not fail to help every one of them. To be truthful, in thebeginning you will all find it mighty hard to persist in chewing allyour food to a cream. Mouthful after mouthful of food will get away fromyou when you are not thinking. This just goes to show how we are in thehabit of bolting our food. At first people who Fletcherize or chew theirfood perfectly, usually lose weight. I most certainly did. I lost abouttwenty pounds because of it, but I was so well and felt so good I couldalmost have jumped over the North Star. I know that, unfortunately, a lot of people with "nerves" have startedto chew their food carefully and to eat sparingly, but the minute theyfound themselves losing weight they were frightened and quit. They wenton carrying that ten or twenty or thirty pounds of flesh and all thetime suffering the tortures of the damned just in order that they mightkeep it. But of what benefit are a certain number of extra pounds offlesh and how can a man explain such a senseless action? The astonishing thing is that many physicians are willing to condemn acure just as soon as they find the patient has lost a pound of beef. Butas I said before, the primary mission of man in this world is not toraise beef. I do not find fault with the raising of beef in the feedingyards, but if beef must be raised let us confine the industry to thecattle pens and stock yards. Let us not worship it to the degree that wewould rather live in hell than part with a few extra pounds thatoverload our own bodies. Now just here I want it distinctly understood, as I have said before, that this text is primarily for _functional nervous cases_. Tubercularpeople belong to an entirely different class. They should live out ofdoors day and night and should, if possible, be treated at outdoorinstitutions established for such cases. But the individual with"nerves" will find what he needs and will find it abundantly if he hasenough determination to take hold of it and keep at it. On the part of many it will take all the determination they have to chewtheir food to a cream and always eat sparingly. In regard to the amountof food taken, judgment must of course be used. We all know that it ispossible to eat too little. But you should always quit eating while youstill feel you would like a little more. I know of no better guide thanthis to offer you. But I have observed that the person who eats slowlyand chews his food to a cream never eats as much food as he would if hebolted it. It is just like letting a thirsty horse drink water. Iremember, as a boy on the farm, when I led a very thirsty horse fromthe field to the water tank how rapidly he would swallow. If my fatherwere with me, after the horse had drunk a while he would say, "Make himhold his head up. " Frequently when I did so the horse would draw a longbreath and drink no more. Had he gone right on drinking, as a thirstyhorse will if you permit him to do so, he might have drunk twice as muchas was good for him. And that's the way people eat. As a result thehorse that drinks and drinks and drinks when he is very thirstysometimes dies in a few hours. I have seen a horse die from drinking toomuch water and I have also seen people die in a few hours after aterrible gorge that they could not get rid of. Do you know that mostnervous people have a way of sitting down to the table and eating untilthey are literally full? If you could take out the stomach of such aperson and look at it, the sight would frighten you. And with goodreason. For as a result of this habit many nervous people have dilatedstomachs. But if they would correct their manner of eating there isusually enough tone in the muscular walls of the stomach to get it backto normal. I marvel again and again over how miraculously naturerestores herself even after she has been terribly abused, if only she isgiven a chance. I am certain that all human beings would be more efficient if theychewed all solid food to a cream and sipped all liquids slowly. The lateProfessor William James, the great Harvard psychologist, testified tothe value of such a habit, as did a number of other distinguishedHarvard professors. I regret that some physicians still hold out intheir belief that it does no good although the evidence stands out asclearly before them as a tree along the roadside. But they are like thephysician who some years ago declared that bathing was bad for people. Irecall how hard we all bore down upon him, as he richly deserved, andhow the Journal of the American Medical Association printed a short poemridiculing him. I am quite certain that the members of the Regularschool of medicine have progressed infinitely farther toward the cure ofdiseases than members of all the other schools combined. I do not saythis simply because I happen to be a physician of the Regular school; Isay it because a candid survey of what has been accomplished, and bywhom, proves it. But as to diet, we have done little compared with whatwe should do. We have made no greater progress along this line becauseso many of us have been blinded by prejudice--the curse of the humanrace. With regard to chewing all food to a cream, most modern writers ondietetics, while acknowledging that this super-mastication is useful, maintain that it does not increase the value of the food. But they errgreatly in this, as we can prove in a very few words: If a certainamount of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates is bolted by a nervous mansuffering from a breakdown, it will cause intestinal toxemia as a resultof the bolted food, but if he chews the food to a cream it will bedigested in a normal manner and will not cause gas in the stomach orintestines. The proper amount of food is absorbed and nourishes the manas it should. Now did not the thorough mastication of that food increasethe value of the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates? The thing is aself-evident fact. In the first case a man takes food which quicklyturns to a loathsome poison. In the second instance the same kind offood is so thoroughly mixed with the ptyalin in the saliva that whateveris eaten becomes of value as protein or fat or some other food element. After many years of sad experience with this malady we call "nerves" Iam convinced that the reason why people have this disease is becausethey are literally "food drunk. " I have treated men who had been on analcohol debauch and I know how terribly depressed they are after such aspree is over. It is exactly the same way with the pre-nervous peoplethat break down. They sit down to a big meal and overeat. There is atemporary stimulus, just as in the case of the person who takesintoxicants, followed by that terrible mental depression that all whohave suffered from "nerves" know. And because the individual with the"nerves" is overeating two or three times each day, he stays drunk withthe poisons that form in his stomach and intestines. Such peopleover-assimilate the poisonous products of proteins, especially ofsugars. Of course this may seem oddly stated because we would not wantany absorption of the poisons in the intestines, but it is probable thatnature can and does take care of a little of it there in the healthyindividual. It is perfectly absurd to say, as some physicians still continue to say, that no poisonous matter is ever absorbed in the intestinal tract. Givea child something that causes intestinal indigestion and see how quicklyhe has a rise in temperature. This fever is the direct result of poisonsabsorbed in the intestines. In the case of the nervous adult, however, this poison does not as often result in fever as it does in a horriblemental depression and a complete inability to perform any sort of work. And so there seems no question but that this terrible malady we call"nerves, " or a nervous breakdown in any of its many forms, is in amajority of cases the result of the wrong eating habits of theindividual. The chewing of all food to a cream will go far toward curingthe trouble, but in most cases this alone will not effect a cure. Itwould not have done so in my own case, although I did see muchimprovement as a result of that practice alone. And here I want to say this: There are many who say they cannot eat acidfruits because of the distress they cause. Now if such people wouldalways chew an apple, a pear, or other fruit to a cream, no distresswould result from eating fresh fruit. But such people must follow indetail the diet I shall give farther on. Now, facts cannot be stated too strongly. It is certain acid fruits willcause distress if you do not chew them to a cream. I would swell up likea toad if I ate only one apple hurriedly. I don't dare think what mighthappen to me if I ate three or four in that way. I might possibly findmyself transformed into a human balloon and float away into space. But Idon't eat apples that way--not now. Some who read these pages may thinkit very strange, yet it is quite true that there really are personssuffering with "nerves" who have not gumption enough to follow thissimple rule of chewing all food to a cream. I despair of ever helpingthose people. They still continue to dispose of a big meal in fifteenminutes, and then insist they have chewed all their food carefully. Ihave had that thing happen right before my own eyes. Then think of theircomplaining that they cannot eat apples because they cause so much gasin the stomach! One reason why a large number of such people are troubled with gas, eventhough they do chew their food to a cream, is because they immediatelyfollow a meal with one or two cups of tea or coffee. Now please rememberthis: An individual afflicted with "nerves" has no business drinkingeither tea or coffee. He should let them both alone. Plain hot water isthe very best drink in the world for a nervous person. If you want adrink after your meal drink a cup of plain hot water. And you shouldalso drink a cup of hot water half an hour before breakfast. If you donot care for breakfast, and feel you do not need this meal, drink thehot water anyway. The victim of "nerves" should never drink during themeal but after it, if he must drink anything at all. He should alsodrink a pint or more of cold water between meals every day. Now, another thing with regard to chewing all solid food to a cream. Ithas been proved over and over again in my own case and in that of manyothers, that in doing this the brain and muscles are both made strongerand keener for work, that those who chew their food in this way havemuch greater endurance, both mental and physical, than those who do not. Today if I should relax my vigilance in respect to chewing my food Ishould soon go down again. But with this aid, which I now so easilyemploy, combined with exactly the right things to eat, I find I needhave no fear. It has been ten years since my last breakdown and in thatinterval I have done the very best work and by far the hardest brainwork of a lifetime. I do not believe people break down from overwork. You may think that a perfectly absurd statement. But I have good groundsupon which to base my belief. If nervous people would eat sparingly andchew their food to a cream, eating the foods I shall mention later on, Iam confident they would rarely, if ever, break down. It is certain that in the last ten years, with the greatest mentalstrain on me, I should have gone down again, and perhaps more than once, if I had not found what caused "nerves" and how to prevent it. In themeantime I have written ten or more books, and every writer, at least, knows what a nerve-racking profession writing is. In addition to allthis mental labor I have gone right ahead with my medical practice. Surely there is balm in this particular Gilead. But if you will not chew your food to a cream you need not expect to winthe entire reward. And you must do this not only one day or one week orone month or one year, but all the days, weeks, months, and years thatyou may live. And, alas! I know only too well all the troublewell-meaning but deluded people who sit at the table with a nervousindividual will make him when they discover how much time he is takingto chew his food. At first, because of the length of time I spent at ameal, such people thought I must be eating as much as a horse. But, hereand there, for I was in many places, when people found out what I wasdoing, they would only courteously deride me for being so gullible aboutwhat they termed fads. We are all well aware that the vast majority of Americans do not chewtheir food to a cream or anything like it. And there are those, therefore, who advance as an argument that because the majority do notthere must be something wrong with the minority who do. Well, let usfollow this out a little: Not so many hundred years ago everybodybelieved the world was _flat_. But their theory did not make it flat. And so, even though thousands of people who crowd our eating houses dobolt their food, that does not prove there is no danger in the practice. And they who do it are digging their graves with their teeth. _Chew your food!_ III. RIGHT AND WRONG DIET FOR NERVOUS PEOPLE "He who leads a sober and regular life, and commits no excess in his diet, can suffer but little from disorders of any kind. " --CORNARO People who are the offspring of nervous parents and who have had anervous breakdown should not eat commercial sugar, eggs, or animal foodof any kind whatever. These statements may seem wholly unimportant tosome people, but I realize what a tremendous bomb I throw into the campsof others when they read them. You see, for centuries people havebelieved meat and eggs to be the best of all foods; so when I make astatement like the foregoing, the effect is not unlike that whichfollowed Columbus' statement that no matter what people believed, thefact was that the earth was round, not flat. From the very beginning ithas not made a single bit of difference as to what physicians oranybody else thought; facts count. And no matter what we may think orhow long we have thought it, facts go right on being facts just thesame. Sometimes, even after twenty years' experience, about once in two orthree months--because there is nothing else at hand--I find myselfeating a small bit of meat. This usually happens when I am on a lecturetour. But if I eat only a small slice of bacon at the evening meal Idream bad dreams and the next morning feel drowsy, heavy, and sluggish. Animal foods as well as eggs and commercial sugar poison all those bornof nervous parents. I have proved the truth of this by my own case andby several years' observation of other cases. Do your children have "night terrors"? You answer, yes. Well, let metell you how to stop these horrors in the little ones. If you give themmeat--and remember you should never give them pork--let them have avery small piece at noon, never at night. And they should never bepermitted to have it for breakfast. Give the child his one small bit ofmeat at noon. For the evening meal give him some cereal with milk orcream, but no sugar. Give him all he wants of this special dish, butnothing else at that meal, and you will find his "night terrors" andmoaning will cease. I look back on most of the nights of my childhood with horror, for untilI became a man I talked in my sleep and had the most horrible dreams. Iused also to get up in my sleep and walk about the room. My parents werewell aware of the fact that all of their eight children were poorsleepers, and of them all I was by far the worst. And, although it wasinnocently done, the food they were giving us was poisoning us. Youdon't need to think that in order to take poison you must havestrychnine or arsenic. No, indeed you don't. We were fed exactly ashundreds and thousands of poor little ones are being fed now as this isbeing written. We were fed on meat, eggs, and fats, and when we becameill, friends round about us thought they were doing something real kindwhen they sent in a nice piece of fried rabbit or some celebrated goldenbrown fried chicken. But we vomited at the sight of the food--which wasreally our salvation. I have two boys of my own. The elder, a sturdy chap not yet ten years ofage, has to have clothes for a fourteen-year-old boy, and he is muchstronger than any boy of his age he has ever met. The younger boy is nowseven and his physical development is wonderful for a child of that age. Now these boys hardly know what an egg is. They never eat one. As tomeat, I am certain that since they were born they have not eaten it onan average of once a week. They have eaten a little, but you will admitthat eating meat not more than once a week, and often going weekswithout a bit of it, certainly is eating very little. There have beentimes when they have not seen meat for three months. Now, I don't eat as I do and have my children eat as they do just for afad. I think nothing is more stupid and silly than for people to docertain things just because somebody else does them. We should all havegood sound reasons for our actions in this world. We should all try ourvery best to use sound common sense. That's why I say that people whoare the offspring of nervous parents should not eat animal food of anykind after they are twenty-one, and they should never at any time eateggs. It would be far better for them if they did not eat commercialsugar. But I do admit that when some of these people get well bydieting, they are able to eat sparingly of all these things and stillkeep well. But some people can never eat them and I am one of thenumber. I remember one summer about two years ago I was on a lecture tour for aChautauqua Bureau, and it seemed that surely I got into the very worsteating places that summer that I ever had in my life. For three or fourdays I ate only eggs, as they seemed to be about the only food I couldget besides bread and butter. At the end of the third day--I rememberthe time very well--when night came I could not sleep, and just as whenI had one of my nervous breakdowns, that old feeling of inexpressiblegloom began to settle over me. I knew instantly the cause of it, becausetwice before when I had purposely experimented with eating eggs I hadhad similar experiences. I immediately took a heavy cathartic and afterhaving thoroughly rid myself of the poison I again slept well. But I am not alone in this fight against the use of eggs for nervouspeople. John Burroughs said that eggs poisoned him, and I have talkedwith men of great wealth and great business ability who have reached thetop by their own efforts, who have told me that eggs poisoned them. Now I have found that for these nervous people animal food is a slowpoison. Sooner or later it will do its work. And just here I wish to say that there are some people who seemingly caneat almost anything and not suffer from so doing. Last summer I talkedwith Count Ilya Tolstoy, son of Leo Tolstoy, the celebrated Russianwriter. The Count, who is also a lecturer, told me that he was obligedto have eggs and that he had eaten them all his life. He said hisappetite was never satisfied unless he ate eggs. He is now past sixty, and apparently is strong and rugged. Now eggs no doubt are good for him. But right here is where infinite harm can be done to nervous people likemyself. People who can eat everything--and among physicians seeminglythere are many who can do so--will say to these poor sufferers: "Why, it's all nonsense about things hurting you! Eat anything you wantand all you want and then forget about it. " Physicians have said that to me and during the past twenty years I haveheard them say it thousands of times to others. Personally I do not believe in Christian Science--physicians of theRegular school do not believe in it; but do you know that when aphysician says to a sufferer from "nerves, " "It's all nonsense aboutwhat you eat hurting you; eat anything you want and then forget aboutit, " that physician is fully endorsing Christian Science. He is tellingthe person to whom he is talking that there is no such thing as physicalsuffering. Of course, such a physician is nothing but a fool. Yet that'swhy so many of these people turn to Christian Science. Yes, that isexactly why they try it. It bolsters up a sufferer for a time just ascontact with a magnetic and hopeful personality may for a time bolsterone up. But such persons almost always go back to the sanitariums. "Nerves" is not a mental disease; that is, the seat of the trouble isnot mental but physical, and the mental phase of "nerves" is only asymptom, or rather one of the symptoms of the disease. We people who have gone down into the dark valley have experienced amillion, more or less, different kinds of feelings. I fully believe onehalf of the American people are the offspring of nervous parents. Thismeans that there are fifty-five million of this nervous type ofAmericans. This type includes people all the way from the man in anoffice who gets angry quickly, to the individual who is in a state ofcomplete collapse. And the man who is afflicted with nothing more than aquick temper, or is living under high nervous tension, is liable tobeget children who will suffer from the malady in a far worse degreethan ever he will, unless, indeed, he eats only the things he should eatand observes a number of other rules besides the two I have already laiddown. Now, the ideal diet for nervous people is a slightly modified vegetariandiet. To be specific, it is a Lacto-vegetarian diet minus eggs. Thereare, however, two things included in this diet that I would warn one inthe beginning to eat of sparingly. These are bananas and cooked cabbage. If they agree with you, well and good; but if they do not, let themstrictly alone. Eat all kinds of vegetables, both fresh and cooked. Eat all kinds offruits, especially fresh fruits. There is an old saying and a good one, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away. " There are a thousand ways to prepare vegetables and fruits for thetable, and there are a number of books that give good recipes. If anervous individual has never yet had a breakdown I believe he can safelyeat most of the vegetarian dishes that have eggs in them, but it wouldbe a serious mistake to select the special dishes that contain eggs andlive on those just because they contain eggs. I believe, too, that after a nervous person is restored to health, if hestrictly observes the rules of eating sparingly and of chewing all foodto a cream, he may safely try out such courses as are found in_Bardsley's Recipes for Food Reformers_ or _Broadbent's Forty VegetarianDinners_. It may seem odd, but there are people who for some reason or other lackthe instinct, or whatever is needed, to know that a certain thing theyeat hurts them. I have had men and women sit in my office and say withthe utmost sincerity that they were certain that it wasn't anything theyate that hurt them because they never had any pain in the abdomen. Sometimes these people were in a dreadful state of nervous breakdown. Soyou see the danger that lies here. If you know, you can always tell whatspecial thing disagrees with you. For example, I know eggs disagree withme, and like John Burroughs and many others, I know when they harm me. Therefore, after you have recovered you might try being your ownphysician. But if you are not sure as to what disagrees with you, youwould much better stick to a vegetarian diet and go without eggs theremainder of your days. Commercial sugar also is the cause of many breakdowns among the peopleof this country. And is it not strange how these poor suffering peoplecrave sweets--the very thing they should not have. They will argue withthemselves--and some physicians will agree with them--that they shouldgo right on eating candy because they want it. But, as I have alreadysaid, there is just as much sense in saying a man should have whiskeybecause he craves it or that a young man should have tobacco because hecraves it, as to say that any one should have candy because he cravesit. There is absolutely no sense in such an argument. If you aresuffering from a nervous breakdown, for sixty days quit eating candy andeverything sweet except honey, and follow the other rules I have alreadylaid down. It may be that you will have to stick to this diet for threemonths. But try it. That is exactly what cured all my bodily ills andbrought my soul out of the dark and gloomy night after everything elsehad failed. I do not mean to say that this diet alone cured me, but I dosay it was the biggest factor in the cure. There are, however, someother things that it would be worse than folly to ignore. This I shallcome to later. But just here I want to have it understood that thisthing of eating--how you eat, and how much you eat, and what youeat--is of transcendent importance in the cure. Of course, under some circumstances connected with cases of breakdown, nothing but the good judgment of friends will avail. For example, thequestion of how much one shall eat is something that not all the booksin the world nor all the physicians in the world can determine. I say, always quit while you want a little more. I cannot say more or less thanthat. So many have written me recently asking just what I eat, that it may bea help to some of them if I set down here just what I ate today. I ateno breakfast at all. Sometimes I go for weeks without eating breakfast. This is especially apt to be the case if I am engaged in writing amagazine article or a book. I find my brain is much clearer and that Ican work much better when I eat no breakfast. But I do drink one or twocups of very weak tea. I use just enough tea to color the water. Now Ido not advise everybody to go without breakfast. Some people tell methat they have a headache unless they eat something. And some writerssay that if they do not eat a little breakfast they cannot write sowell. Thus you see where the question of common sense and using your ownjudgment comes in. There are always a few things you will have to decidefor yourselves. At noon I ate about two handfuls of corn flakes withmilk and cream but no sugar, finishing with about four ounces of breadpudding that had a little brown sugar in it. Now, in mid-afternoon, as Iwrite this, I am not hungry. Tonight I shall eat another dish of cornflakes and some buttered toast and three or perhaps four good-sizedapples, I usually eat three or four apples a day. If I want a piece ofpie for lunch, I eat it, but I eat nothing else. I live on the plainest of plain foods. Apples used to create a lot ofgas in my stomach, but now they do not because I chew them to a cream. Milk used to make me constipated, but it does not when I chew the cerealwith it carefully and eat a number of apples. Most nervous people are constipated. But apples are really the salvationof nervous people. If you are constipated, drink, or rather, sip, aglass of hot water half an hour before breakfast, then eat nothing forbreakfast but apples; eat two big ones and chew them slowly to a cream. Go to stool regularly every morning. This habit is half the cure ofconstipation. Apples, of all things I know, are the finest things for the liver. Ifyou take a patient ill from chronic indigestion, whose stools are claycolored, and put him on a diet of apples, if he chews properly, in lessthan twenty-four hours the stools will be of the regulation dark browncolor, as they should be when the liver is working in a normal, healthful manner. And eating apples will work in exactly the same waywith children as with adults. Apples, apples, apples! Eat them no matter what the price. You rememberhow good Adam found the apple--or at least we presume it was an applethat he found so good--and I can think of no other single thing thatwould tempt a man to make all the trouble he did. If he had to sin, thenI'm for Adam every time, for I think had I been in his place and Eve hadoffered me a big juicy red apple, I should have taken it and eaten it. Idon't know but that I might even have eaten it without the invitation. Ithink that Adam's great mistake was not so much in eating the apple asin trying to lay the blame on the woman. Nobody should ever apologizefor having eaten an apple. Now, generally speaking, there is one thing a nervous parent--or anyother kind of parent for that matter--should never say to a child. Nevertell him he is nervous. If we realize that our children are theoffspring of nervous parents, it is, as I have already suggested, muchbetter for all concerned, for we cannot avoid a danger unless we knowwhat or where the danger is. When we know the child is nervous we shouldplan carefully, leaving out of his diet all pastries and rich greasyfoods, and keep him largely on a vegetarian diet. But, as I have alreadysuggested, we do not need to diet a nervous child as strictly as we do anervous adult where infinite harm has already been done. Give thenervous child meat only a part of the time, and if he goes without eggsit will be all the better for him. I wish from the bottom of my heartthat I had never tasted an egg! What a fine thing it would be if we so trained our children that theywould never suffer from "nerves"! And usually it could be done. Thebelief that because nervous parents have broken down their childrensooner or later must break down, is our greatest curse. But such abelief is absurd, for if dieting, outdoor exercise, and a few othersimple rules are observed, there is no danger that it will happen. To besure, these rules must be definitely understood and strictly adhered to. If we treat this misfortune in the manner I shall mention later, we canmake our lives more successful and infinitely happier than the lives ofthose who have never learned self-control. For instance, I am farhealthier than men all around me who seem to be able to eat threeChristmas dinners each day. They sit at the table and boast about being"good feeders, " then later they come to me for pills, saying, "There isnothing the matter with me, doctor, but I thought I had better take alittle medicine so I won't get ill. " But they don't fool me. I knowexactly what is the matter with them. They are so full of pork theycan't think. To tell the truth, we people who have suffered from anervous breakdown or some illness akin to it, and have learned that wemust eat right or die, are of all people the most fortunate. Every now and then I hear some good old sister, with a face like a fullmoon and jowls like a bloodhound, say, as she finishes her third pieceof mince pie, --her waist line having extended accordingly, --"Isn't ittoo bad about poor brother Jones! He looks so terribly thin! They say hehas fallen away from one hundred and sixty pounds to only a hundred andfifty. And they do say he can't eat meat and eggs at all! The poor man!" But the real facts of the case are that brother Jones is able to walkten miles any day, and the possibility is that in the not distant futurehe will read in his morning paper that sister Sue Portly has beenoperated on for gall stones and the number reported is almostunbelievable, about three hundred, in fact. And so, all the time sisterPortly was feeling sorry for lithe, energetic brother Jones, she was awalking stone quarry, as it were, and yet didn't know it. So don't worry because you have to diet or because after reading theselines you determine that you must begin to diet. For, whoever you are, and wherever you may be, you belong to a most fortunate class of people. And now I wish to say some things about what nervous people should dobesides dieting, and especially do I wish to say these things to thosenow suffering from a nervous breakdown. Much of it at least will applyto children of nervous parentage. You will observe as you go along thatI keep mentioning "these children. " I do so always with the thought inmind that there is absolutely no need for them ever to break down ifthese common sense rules are followed. I take it that not any one of usor a number of us, but that all of us love our children more than welove ourselves. Admitting the truth of this, then we should all beinterested in this system for them as well as for ourselves, for astheir nerves are so shall their success be. IV. VALUE OF OUTDOOR LIFE AND EXERCISE "Better to hunt in fields for health unbought. The wise for cure on exercise depend; God never made his work for man to mend. " --DRYDEN People in this country are now beginning to get away from the idea thata man or woman who is past sixty is getting "old. " When the Rev. JohnWesley, the itinerant preacher and author, was eighty-eight yearsold--please note the eighty-eight--he walked six miles to keep apreaching appointment. When asked if the walk tired him, he laughed andsaid: "Why, no! Not at all! The only difference I can see in myendurance now and when I was twenty is that I cannot run quite so fast. " I know there are calamity-howlers who say: "Oh, well, some people areborn to success and long life and some are not!" The individual whopermits himself to get into that frame of mind is doomed and no one canhelp him. Such reasoning is of course all nonsense. John Wesley wasalways a spare eater. Yet he lived an active outdoor life, oftentraveling forty and even sixty miles a day on horseback. He never failedto keep an appointment on account of the weather. And he was a tirelessworker, often preaching four and five times a day. At the same time heread and wrote every spare moment, turning out a large amount ofliterary work. Dr. Eliot, ex-President of Harvard College, a constant writer andspeaker, and among the greatest of American educators--now nearer 90than 80 years of age--is also a moderate eater. He says, "I have alwayseaten moderately of simple food in great variety. This practice isprobably the result, first, of a natural tendency, and then of confirmedhabit and much experience under varying conditions of work and play. From much observation of eating habits of other people, both the youngand the mature, I am convinced that moderation, simplicity, and varietyin eating are more important than any other bodily habit towardsmaintaining good health, power of work, and, barring accidents, attaining to enjoyable old age. " It is interesting to note what that eminent lawyer, legislator, andorator, Chauncey M. Depew, had to say on the occasion of hiseighty-seventh birthday about a simple diet and reaching the centurymark. "The true philosophy of life is this: The more you like a thingthe more reason there is for giving it up if you find it is not good foryou. If you treat nature properly, nature will adjust herself to you. "My diet is very simple. I have the same breakfast every day in theyear, and it consists of an orange, one four-minute egg, one half of acorn muffin, and a cup of coffee which is mainly hot milk. I have thisat half past eight. My hour of rising is seven every morning. "For luncheon I partake principally of vegetables, with no meat, and aglass of water. This is at one o'clock. At dinner I skip most of thecourses and enjoy small portions of vegetables, fish, and fowl. I nevereat between meals and consume now less than half I did at fifty. " The vigor and long life of Bishop Fallows of Chicago are mainly due tohis living and mental habits and to his simple diet. He is well over 85years of age, but few men of three-score years can do as much work, theyear round. There are two or three sermons and several public addresseseach week, and the work of a large parish--from marriages andchristenings to funerals and parish visitings--which is never slighted. An active Grand Army man and Civil War veteran, he is asked to addresscountless military and patriotic gatherings, and his energy seems astireless as his spirit is willing. His ability to meet these demands canbe traced back to simple living and simple eating. The Bishop is temperate in all things, and refuses to worry. He neitherdrinks nor smokes. In regard to his diet he says, "I eat very little meat, but take plentyof fruit, cereals and vegetables. I take regularly before breakfast acup of hot grape juice. I use it frequently at other times. I takebuttermilk daily. " Night and morning he takes simple physical exercises, and always walks at least a couple of miles each day. The Bishop's ancestors were long-lived. His great grandfather lived tobe 96; his grandfather, 91; his eldest brother, 93. His father's deathfrom a fall occurred at the age of 81. He has a brother who is 92. Thisin itself is evidence that he comes of a family in which rightliving--which means simple living--has prevailed until its effects haveshown in each succeeding generation. The world-renowned American inventor, Thomas A. Edison, now in his 75thyear, has today a mind as brilliant and ingenious, and a skill asremarkable for inventing things that are of practical use, as when at 21he invented his automatic repeater which did so much for telegraphy. AndEdison is another spare eater. What he ate at the three meals of the dayon which he wrote the following letter, is characteristic of the smallamount he eats every day in the year. And you will learn that this is true of every man or woman who has livedlong and is still doing active brain work. And so, once for all, let usthink right about this matter. We get out of ourselves just about whatwe put into ourselves or do for ourselves in the way of food andexercise. [Transcriber's Note: The following is the text of a letter from Mr. Edison that was included as an illustration in the book. ] From the LaboratoryofThomas A. Edison, Orange, N. J. March 2, 1921. Dr. Thomas Clark HinkleCawker City, Kansas. Dear Sir: Your letter of February 25th wasreceived. My food for the one day on whichyour letter was received, was as follows: BREAKFAST Cup coffee 1/2 milk, 1/2coffee. Two pieces toast, 2-1/2" × 4", 1/4" thick. Another piece toast withtwo small sardines on it. MIDDAY MEAL Glass milk. Two pieces of dry toast. EVENING MEAL Two glasses milk. Three pieces very thin drytoast. Small piece steak, 1-1/2" wide, 3/8" thick, 3" long. Small baked potato. One piece nut chocolate. Yours very truly, Thos A Edison [Transcriber's Note: This additional note was handwritten on thetypewritten letter being reproduced in this section. ] Weight 185 lbs Can diminish thisdiet without loss of weightE[Transcriber's Note: End of letter. ] Most people do not take enough systematic outdoor exercise. Andexercise, I would have you understand, is another essential in the cureof one who has "nerves. " But I am quite sure that a lot of bad advicehas been given women sufferers along this line. I find that as a rule, women make better progress, at least at first, with complete rest or asmuch rest as they can possibly get. I have seen great harm come fromtelling a woman afflicted with "The Mysterious Disease"--as it is oftencalled--to take long walks. I am always extremely careful about tellingsuch a woman to indulge in vigorous exercise. Some women, of course, aremuch stronger than others. My advice to a woman is to walk in the openair unless she is so ill she cannot walk at all without becoming veryweak. And here again each person must use common sense and decide thematter herself. But no person with a nervous breakdown should ever workat any task or take any kind of exercise to the point of exhaustion. I well remember a man who came to me some years ago suffering from thismalady. He had been trying to get well by doing heavy stunts in agymnasium. He was very muscular, in fact he was an athlete, and wasstill under twenty-five years of age. His cheeks were ruddy, and to theordinary observer he appeared to be in the pink of condition. But he hadthat peculiar expression of the eyes that flashed his story to me asplainly as if blazoned forth by the letters of an electric sign. I toldhim at once that he could never hope to cure his nerves by such violentexercises. And right here let me advise men in this condition not to run. I receivemany letters of inquiry from young men with broken-down nerves who tellme they are taking long walks and finishing with a run. To all such Isay: Do not run. I know all about it for I have tried it. I was on myuniversity football team. And all my life I have been fond of athletics. I am still fond of this kind of life and always expect to be, butexercise is frequently overdone by nervous people. Usually, thephysically strong man who breaks down with "nerves" thinks at once ofphysical training. But strange as it may seem, you can make such a man'smuscles as hard as iron but that alone will not cure him. And it is truethat many people in this condition do not seem nervous for they are notat all shaky, as some think an individual should be if he is the victimof a nervous breakdown. I well remember that one day when at my worst I could not work norconcentrate my mind on anything. I chanced to be in Topeka, Kansas, andpassed a shooting gallery. I was a good rifle shot and I had been takinglong walks and shooting Kansas jack rabbits. I went in, picked up one ofthe rifles, and started firing at the biggest target. I rang the belltwice on that target in succession, and then aimed at the finest targetthere and rang the bell twice in succession on that. The proprietor wasvery much surprised, saying it was remarkably good shooting; and yet Iwas down and out with "nerves. " I have seen many athletes who, to theuntrained observer, looked well, but who in reality were nervous wrecks. Outdoor exercise alone will not cure such people, or if seemingly itdoes--and this is important--sooner or later the individual is sure togo down again. You have first to remove the cause, and that is largelywrong diet. Now of course it is only reasonable to say that if such anindividual does not get out of doors at all he cannot get well. That is one trouble with many of our women today. They will go on a dietand stick to it, but they will not get out of doors. If they do go out, they ride a little distance in a street car or in an automobile to dosome shopping. Or they go to a store and spend a good deal of timethere--indoors, mind you--and then are whirled home again. Some of themseem to think that is taking outdoor exercise, but of course it is not. So many times they have said to me, "Why, I do get out!" Yes, they doget out, but they immediately go indoors again. The nervous individual, unless the collapse is so severe that the firstfew weeks must be spent in bed, should get out of doors at least threeor four hours a day, every day in the week. This is a general rule thatshould be observed by everyone. It takes genuine courage, I know, for aman or woman to spend this much time out of doors. And I know that thosewho are compelled to work for a living cannot take three hours all atone time. But labor conditions in this country are such that I am surethe vast majority of our people could spend this much time outdoors inwholesome recreation if they would make up their mind to do so. And remember this: After the nervous person is cured he should never letanything prevent him from continuing such outdoor exercise. I amconstantly trying to make this point--when you get well you should staywell. One breakdown is bad enough; don't have another. And you will nothave another if you will change the habits of a lifetime as you areadvised to do. Among farmers there are many, the offspring of nervous parents with badeating habits, who suffer from nervous breakdowns. So you see exerciseout of doors alone will not cure such cases. Sometimes a farmer willtell me he fears to give up eating meat because he will grow weak as aresult. But just here I wish to call your attention to the fact thatthere are nations that have for ages lived on this lacto-vegetariandiet. I myself have not eaten meat or eggs for ten years. At least Ihave not eaten them except the few times mentioned. And every time I didbreak the rule I was harmed far more than I was benefited. I am verysure the farmer who chooses this lacto-vegetarian diet will thrive onit. Members of our profession discovered not very long ago that at anadvanced age the peasants of Bulgaria are a wonderfully preserved peopleboth mentally and physically. Foolishly a great number of the professionimmediately jumped to the conclusion that buttermilk alone did themiracle for these people. The drinking of buttermilk became such a fadthat some of the largest of our physicians' supply houses began and arestill making "buttermilk tablets. " And physicians, many of them, arecredulous enough to prescribe them. They might just as well prescribechalk. While buttermilk tablets are harmless, they are of no benefitwhatever. How easily fooled people--physicians included--may be!Bulgarian peasants are strong and rugged and live to a great age notbecause they drink buttermilk, but because they live on milk and fruitsand vegetables and stay out of doors. Buttermilk is a good healthfuldrink, but it is only a minor reason for the health and strength of theBulgarian peasant. Now, really, could you think of anything more absurdthan to prescribe buttermilk or buttermilk tablets as the fountain ofyouth when the patient is breaking all the laws of health, as mostbuttermilk laymen and physicians are doing? It seems almost impossiblethat people--physicians in particular--should for a moment believe suchthings. But they do. Barnum said there was a "sucker" born every minute, and this certainly seems to be true. No, there is no royal road to health. The buttermilk-tablet route willnot take you there. If you will live out of doors as Bulgarian peasantsdo, and if you will eat as they do, --as man is expected to eat, --youwill live just as long as they do, and you will get a great deal moreout of life and be much more helpful to others. When the "time" comesround for your next buttermilk tablet, do not take it. Instead, do asthose peasants do--leave off eating meat and take a two-hour walk in thesunshine. Then when nine o'clock comes, like the Bulgarian, go to bedand stay there until morning. If the person afflicted with "nerves" expects to get well and stay well, he must go to bed at an early hour and get eight or nine hours of sleepnot only some nights but every night in the week. When one beginsdieting and taking outdoor exercise he should go to bed regularly at anearly hour even though he has not been sleeping well. No matter how manysleepless nights he has experienced before beginning this regime, heshould retire early just the same, because, sooner or later, sleep willcome and the relaxed body is resting even if the individual does notsleep. Now I have been through all this lying awake at night, so I knowfrom experience that it is best to go to bed early and at a regularhour. If you can, you should sleep nine hours. Nervous people need moresleep than others. Sleep is a better restorer of nerves than anythingelse we can try. I do not believe that ten or even eleven hours' sleepwould be harmful to a nervous adult, because very often I have seen sucha person benefited by it. Children should have all the sleep they want up to ten or twelve hours. But after a child has wakened in the morning he should be permitted toget up. It is not good for him to lie in bed after he wishes to rise, for nature is calling him to get up and exercise. The nervous individual not only should exercise systematically out ofdoors but he should play some game. You remember when we were childrenhow much we loved to play? Well, to give up play when we grow up is allnonsense. And just because people quit playing is the reason they havewrinkles and frowns. Did you ever notice how often people laugh when atplay? There is something about play that compels one to laugh. And whatall people need, nervous people and others as well, is to get into thehabit of laughing more. And it is not hard to find something to play. I like to play at basketball with a child, and I can enjoy tossing a ball for an hour if thechild will stick to the game that long. Playing basket ball in the openair on a sunshiny day is one of the very finest exercises in the world. If you are suffering from "nerves" and are able to be out of doors atall, --I mean if you are well enough to be out, and at least nine out often sufferers are, --get a basket ball and get some one to play with you. If at first you are poor at catching the ball you will with practiceimprove. Gradually toss the ball a little higher and a little higheruntil you have difficulty in catching it. Any woman or girl can standthis sort of open air exercise. If the weather is cold, no matter; wrapup and play anyway. But enter into the game with spirit. Playing theregular game of basket ball is too violent exercise for the nervousperson. The victim of "nerves" should always keep in mind that it ismild outdoor exercise that will do him good. Tennis is too violent an exercise for people who have had nervoustrouble. Anyway, there is no use in one's doing anything that will makehis heart beat like a trip-hammer. A women can toss a basket ball andlaugh and get rosy cheeks and grow younger and prettier as easily aswhen playing tennis. Golf is also good exercise, but a large number of people who work for aliving and suffer from "nerves" would have little chance for exercise ifgolf were all that could be offered them. Furthermore golf ispractically only a summer game, and an individual belonging to thepre-nervous class needs outdoor exercise every day in the year. But golfis excellent exercise, and there is nothing better if one has the timeto give to it and has access to links. Bicycling is splendid exercise for nervous people, but automobiles areso numerous that it is now considered almost dangerous to ride a wheelon any of our main traveled roads. Mountain climbing, I believe, is not to be recommended for most peoplesuffering from "nerves. " I have known such people to go to Colorado andspend some time climbing mountains, and then come back much worse thanwhen they went away. My advice to the nervous person who goes to themountains is to be out of doors all the time he can, but to take thingseasy. It would be better for such a person to walk about slowly on thelevel ground through some of the towns or along the foothills. Let leisure be your watchword in a hill country. I know I injured mynerves out in Colorado one summer because I was ill advised. Mountainair is good for you, but the mountains will do you more good if yousimply look at them. If you think you must go to the top, take a burro. You will find that the burro will give you a lesson in how to do thingsin a leisurely way. Do not get out of patience with him and whip him. Remember that the burro is smarter than you are in regard to thebusiness of mountain climbing. He has never had a nervous breakdown, andif you will let him have his own way he never will have. It will do yougood to let him have his way; he affords a tremendous lesson inpatience. Patience, that's just what we need, and we need it badly. Walking slowly in the open air for two or three hours is the bestexercise for man. Fortunately, like the water we drink, it is free tothe poor as well as the rich. For the nervous man who is able to do it, I know of nothing better tobuild up muscles and keep the liver and other internal organs in goodshape than sawing wood. Don't scorn this sort of exercise because youhave been told that the ex-Kaiser is taking it. That is not to be laidup against the wood or the exercise, for, quite fortunately, the wooddoes not care who saws it. Get some wood, then, and a buck saw, and saw wood for your own benefit. You can do this morning and evening. Wood sawing brings into play everymuscle in the body, and the exercise is just enough to make a mancomfortably tired without doing him harm. Many people who go to sanitariums for a cure pay from fifty toseventy-five dollars per week for the privilege of sawing wood, and youcan take this exercise just as well and at considerably less expense athome, sawing your own wood instead of that of the sanitarium. Another splendid diversion for a man with "nerves, " if he can have it, is a small workshop where he can make just any old thing out of boardsand nails. If one is apt in this line, he can make things that willinterest children. This sort of work requires a certain kind ofconcentration that is most excellent for the nervous sufferer. Thissuggestion would of course apply to a woman, too, if she cared to trysuch an experiment. Sewing, and especially fine needlework, is verytrying to a woman's nerves, and if she has broken down under that kindof work she should quit it and do something else. If she has to make herliving in that way, she of all people should observe the outdoor rulesas well as rules for dieting. I am sure nervous people profit by frequenting all possible outdoorgames. If a number of people afflicted with "nerves" could get togetherand take daily walks and at the same time determine that theirconversation should always have a humorous slant, it would help all ofthem wonderfully. Riding in an automobile is beneficial if the machine is driven slowlyand the patient is kept out of doors from three to four hours. But thefast driving that is generally done is bad for these people. They comeback from a ride worse than when they started. It may be set down as a general rule that any form of outdoor exerciseor play is good for the nervous person if it is not violent. Nervous people should, if possible, take a vacation once a year and getinto new surroundings. I am certain, however, that it does not make anydifference where one lives. A man is just as likely to have a breakdownin one part of the world as another. While on these vacations he shouldstick to his rules just as rigidly as when he is at home. I have had letters from people in Canada and from others in Florida whohave suffered nervous breakdowns. In California some go to pieces. Ihave had many letters from people living there who have broken down. People also break down in Colorado and in New York; in fact, in everystate in the Union. Climate does not seem to make any difference so faras this trouble is concerned, with the exception that in high altitudesI have observed nervous people are inclined to be more restless thanelsewhere. Some years ago I went up Pike's Peak, to the Summit House. Iwent to bed and spent the night there, but I do not say I slept, for inreality I slept only about half an hour. I was not at all sick at thestomach, as so many are who climb up there; I had prevented this byeating a very light breakfast and chewing my food to a cream. But I wasextremely nervous. I have found a great many other nervous people who donot feel quite right when in a high altitude. As a general rule, sealevel is as good a place as a nervous individual can find to live. Butpeople break down there, too. The diet, you see, is the big thing. Andwhen I say "diet" I mean the way food is eaten and the amount eatenquite as much as I do the kind of food eaten. And once more let me say, systematic outdoor exercise also counts, andyou can't keep fit if you exercise only one, two, or three days a week. Some people who take long walks in the country on Sunday think that willsuffice. But it will not. You must have exercise every day and must havesome play along with it. Gymnasium work is of very little value ascompared to outdoor exercise. In the summertime, gardening is a splendid form of exercise. And so isthe care of a small flock of chickens, which is possible for thoseliving in the smaller towns. It is always better, when taking outdoorexercise, to have something definite to do. When walking it is a goodplan, if you can, to have some definite place to go. And if you have anagreeable companion to keep up a rapid-fire talk, that will help also. All these things are mentally stimulating. Then, if possible, sleep the year round on a sleeping porch. If youdon't possess a porch, then, have all the windows in your sleeping roomwide open day and night. If for a time you have to take physic, it is best to take some hotmineral water half an hour before breakfast. But adhering to dieting andexercise, and eating enough apples, usually overcomes constipation. Now, there are some things about which a person must use his own goodjudgment. For instance, if you have any bad teeth you should at once goto a good dentist and have them attended to. Nobody with bad teeth canhave good health. Again, if your tonsils have become mere pus sacs you will have to go toa good nose and throat specialist and have them removed before you canexpect to have good health. This, however, applies to all people, whether nervous or not. The same thing is true with regard to your eyes. If you are sufferingfrom eye strain because you need glasses, you cannot hope to get well of"nerves" until your eyes are properly fitted to glasses by some reliableeye specialist. These are things that each individual must discover anddo for himself. He should consult a dentist, an oculist, an aurist, orother specialist according to his particular need. V. EFFECT OF RIGHT LIVING ON WORRY AND UNHAPPINESS "Neither melancholy nor any other affection of the mind can hurt bodies governed with temperance and regularity. " --CORNARO A very sad thing about some nervous people is the fact that in theirlives there are domestic or other troubles which no physician canovercome. Some of them live in depressing surroundings, but for allthese there is hope. There is no doubt that if we can restore the brainto a perfectly normal, healthful state the human being can bear moresuffering than when the brain is affected. Perhaps when speaking of thespirit we had better call it that, rather than the brain, for thatmysterious something we call spirit does make its home in the brain ofman. This has been proven scientifically. So then, in this life thetemple of the spirit, or soul, does affect the mind. And when I say thislife, I take the opportunity to say here that I not only believe in theimmortality of the soul, but now, at 45, I am as certain of it as I amof my own existence. But for some reason--although as yet no oneunderstands why it should do so--when this temple in which the spiritdwells is out of condition, it affects the soul or spirit. So, you see, if we can make the physical man or woman well, we most certainly canhelp the spirit that dwells within the body. And so I recommend dieting, temperance in eating, and the carefulchewing of food to all those sufferers who unfortunately live indepressing surroundings and cannot get away from them. When referring tothe many pitiful letters I have received from poor human beings thussituated, I realize that I am treading on sacred ground. Such things arewritten, of course, to a physician in confidence and the confidence musttherefore be forever sacred. I have not only had letters from theseunfortunate people, but have repeatedly come in contact with many ofthem in their every day life. I know well what added suffering suchconditions bring to them. I know of nothing in this world more pitiful than a noble, high-spirited, ambitious woman, pure and clean of heart, who marries aman and becomes the mother of his children and is then condemned to livethe life of a mere animal. And all too frequently the opposite alsoobtains. Sometimes a man of high, pure purpose finds that he has chosenas the mother of his children a coarse, sensual woman. Now why in theworld were these two people attracted to each other? This is one oflife's biggest puzzles to those who have thought much along this line. In many instances extreme youth is the reason given. While youth ismating time, it also is the time of bad judgment. Thousands of youngpeople have made this dreadful mistake simply because they married tooyoung. On the other hand, youth is not altogether to blame. When people, young or old, are courting, each individual endeavors to appear at hisor her best before the other. Without being actually aware of it, undersuch circumstances both man and woman are doing all that lies in theirpower to deceive one another. If people would do their courting in everyday clothes, and if the girlwould go about her housework while the man looked on, or better still, if he helped her with it for one or two years, they would undoubtedlybecome better acquainted. But, after all, except, perhaps, in unusual cases, there is absolutelynothing by which people know that they are going to be properly mated. If a man with a tendency to neurasthenia breaks down and is tied to anagging wife, that is usually the last straw in the way of hisrecovery. This is just as true of the woman who breaks down and has a nagginghusband. There are, I regret to say, thousands of such cases all overthe country. On the other hand I have had a man come to me and say thathe was willing to do anything on earth to aid his wife, but he could notget her to diet or even to make a serious attempt to get well. I amalways tremendously sorry for such a man because he has a mighty heavyburden to bear. Such a wife should try to get well as much for the man'ssake as for her own. She should understand that she is needlesslytorturing the one best friend she has on earth. A woman of this kind should remember that, no matter how much she maysuffer, she is hopelessly selfish if she will not do all in her power todiet and to obey other necessary rules that will enable her to get ridof the malady. Sometimes when a physician puts this before her kindlybut firmly it results in her making a beginning and by and by gettingwell. I have seen this happen many times. And I wish to say right herethat while I believe I was born with some natural tact, yet if I had notgone through all this horrible suffering myself I should not, I know, beable to say the things that would induce these people to do that whichit is their duty to do. And here is one big difficulty I have always had to contend with. Someof these people have tried so many so-called nonsense cures--eatingbuttermilk tablets, for instance--and have had no benefit from them, that they are unwilling to try the one and only thing that will curethem--the thing that will cure them as sure as the sun shines. I wonderwhy it is that since the time of Christ people are always looking for asensational or miraculous cure. Our life and everything pertaining to itis miracle enough, if we only had the sense to see it. The woman or the man with "nerves" is not going to get well eatingbuttermilk tablets or taking patent dope while lying on a couch and shutin a house. You must bestir yourself. You must get out of doors, andabove all, you must eat right. Today thousands of these people arelanguishing in hospitals and sanitariums, and most of them will come outonly to go back again and again. The institutional treatment is good forthe beginning of the cure, but if an individual with "nerves" is goingto get well and stay well he must change his lifelong habits. And I want to say again, that any person, man or woman, in the midst ofdepressing conditions can triumph over them if he will eat as he shouldand live as he should. There is something about the human soul, if it ispure and fine, and if proper attention is given to right living, thatwill enable a person to meet great sorrow and triumph over it. In fact, no amount of sorrow can defeat a person who keeps his heart and bodyright. And I would have you all realize that there is something far more to usthan mere bones and veins and nerves. I know the terrible tendency ofthe one with "nerves" to get angry. But lay fast hold of yourself. Fightanger as you would poison, because in reality it is poison to yournerves. Anger will hurt you; it will hurt anybody. But no matter howhard you find it at first, get control of your temper. If you succeed indoing this in a year you will have won one of the greatest victories mancan win in this world. I would rather meet a so-called plain man who hasperfect control over his physical and mental faculties, and sit and talkquietly with him, than to meet the Prime Minister of England or thePresident of the United States if either lacked this control. For I sayto you that no matter what others may say, the true measure of successdoes not rest in the position you occupy but in your having completecontrol of yourself. If you are to gain this control it means that each day you areconfronted by a mighty big task, but if finally successful, you willhave accomplished the greatest thing a man can do in this life. Now, here is something for you to take hold of, you who all these years havebelieved that your life ambition has been thwarted. But your ambition, let me tell you, has not been thwarted. Perhaps you have not done justwhat you wanted to do. But it's quite possible that you had no businesstrying to do that special thing anyway. Most of us, I find, can begreatly mistaken about what we think we want to do. At any rate, we cannever be happy unless we gain entire control of ourselves. This is something the person afflicted with "nerves" most certainly cando, and he can use this terrible "thing" as I myself and thousands ofothers have used it as a ladder to climb to the sunlit peaks where worryand clouds and storms cannot trouble. And, after all, no matter who weare, no matter how poor or how rich we are, and no matter where we live, life holds about the same general possibilities for all of us. I mean bythis that life affords to all the same opportunities for real happiness. I know very well that there are those who will be quite unwilling togrant this, but it is as true as the life we live. Many people in thisold world still hold the notion that those who roll in wealth are thehappy ones. But I say to you this notion is all wrong, and fromknowledge gained through experience I know that in their hearts many ofthese wealthy people are dissatisfied and not one whit happier than youare. The most restless people, the most unhappy people, and the mostthoroughly dissatisfied people that I have ever met have been people whohad everything that riches could give them. Andrew Carnegie said he had noticed that after a man had accumulated amillion dollars smiles were seldom seen on his face. I cannot understandwhy people insist on going through life making themselves and all thosethey really love miserable just because they do not happen to haveriches. And a great many high-strung sensitive men are utterly cast down becausethey have failed to acquire wealth by the time they are forty-five orfifty years of age. I wish I could make all such poor, afflicted people see what goes tomake up happiness and learn the only way to be happy. In order to getwell the thing we have to do is to follow nature's simple rules--rulesour Creator gave to us. We must get control not only of our appetitesbut of all such passions as anger, hate, and envy, which poison ourbodies. And let us also cast suspicion out of our minds. This is a goodrule to observe: Never suspect folks. It is useless, anyway, for by andby what they are or what they do is always bound to come to the surface. By gaining perfect control over yourself--and most certainly to do so isworth every effort you may make--you will also gain patience, and thatis, I think, one of the crowning virtues. Sometimes I think it thegreatest of all virtues. Certainly it stands very high in the perfectingof character. To the sufferer with "nerves" I would say: Have the courage to believethat you are going to get well. Then you can do it. No matter howdepressing or discouraging your surroundings, do the very best you canevery day. Then, no matter what your ideas of success may have been, you are really succeeding wonderfully! See that you keep right on doingit! If you are a mother and have children, live for them. Or if you area father and have children, and have met with disappointments, live forthose children! Do everything in your power to make them happy, high ofheart, and gallant of soul. Do not live for yourself, live for yourchildren. If you have no children of your own, look about and getinterested in some other person's children. You will find a lot ofchildren all around you--blessed little beings--that you can help tomake happy. Get your mind off yourself and your troubles and on thechildren of this world, and keep it there. When you were a child no doubt you had many happy days. Some of us had avery happy childhood, while others may have been denied what theirhearts desired. But if we did not have a happy childhood that is all themore reason why we should be glad to help some other little ones have ahappy one. More and more each year I live I come to believe that itdepends entirely upon grown people whether in this world children arehappy or not happy. If you had a happy childhood--and most people had--do you not recall theglorious times you had? I know you do, for we all do. And I know, too, how much people affected with nerves dwell on those memories, and howmuch they wish they might go back to those blessed days when the sun wasalways shining and the birds were always singing and the streams alwaysbeckoning them to play along their sands. Do you realize that you can live in those days again? I do, and I goback and dwell in them more and more the older I get. I do not mean thatI am not looking forward, for I am, tremendously. How stupid we poor miserable creatures of this world become after weleave our childhood days behind us! We really should never lose sight ofthem. I have said that the person afflicted with "nerves" should notrun. I did not quite mean all that implies. After such a man hasrecovered, if he has a good heart, he should run a little. I run; Ican't help it. I feel so good I have to run a little now and then towork off steam. But you know very well when most people see a manrunning they at once think a house is afire somewhere. It is almost unbelievable that we should actually surround ourselveswith so many utterly senseless customs that tend to nothing but miseryand unhappiness. We should dress for comfort, and we should have thecourage to live in a youthful world where all may be happy. "If theblind lead the blind, " so the Bible tells us, "both shall fall into theditch. " We need so to live and act that we shall not fail to be happy. Happiness really is what everybody is chasing, but how very far awayfrom it most people are getting! Go back to the memories of yourchildhood. Be with children and play with them all you possibly can. Ifyou are a mother, begin this very day to exercise more patience withyour children, recalling over and over again that when you were a childyou were just as they are. And remember, for it is only too true, thatthe day is fast coming when your little boy will no longer be a littleboy, he will be a man, and will have gone away from you. Then many timesyou will wish him back, and you will look back on those days when youthought your nerves were being ruined, and feel a great swelling in yourbreast, and breathing a sigh, whisper to yourself, "Dear God, I hope Idid all I ought to have done for him while he was little. " I know that any one can live with children and find happiness in beingone with them, and I know of no better thing to do. After we have holdof ourselves with a firm grip we should endeavor to do this. I have had people suffering with "nerves" tell me they had lost a littleboy or a little girl, and that it seems impossible to get over thisloss. I cannot tell you how much I long to help such people. But Ialways urge them to go right on playing with other children and toremember, for to me it is certain truth, that they will meet that littlechild again. There should be nothing to grieve about in such a loss. Tofind compensation, the one who has had such a grief has only to keep onplaying the part of a true man or true woman. Childhood with all itspains and pleasures is everywhere about us. And childhood is only thebeginning of immortality. Late one night, a number of years ago, I was sitting in a littlerestaurant in a western town, and was feeling very lonely and miserable. Sorrow weighed heavily upon me that night and the world never seemedblacker, yet I think my belief in the immortality of the soul had neverbeen more certain. I looked up and high on the smoke-stained wall hung apainted picture of an old-time ship with many sails set. This paintingpictured the ship sailing through the darkness of night. But through thedark, seemingly restless clouds the moon gleamed brightly on the whitecanvas of the sails. I had never before been so powerfully impressed by any picture. Itseemed fairly to speak to me. I took an envelope from my pocket and setdown the verses given here. These verses were afterwards published inone or two metropolitan papers. Mr. James Bryce, then English Ambassadorat Washington, saw them and wrote me a beautiful letter about them, inwhich he said, "Your little poem 'The Last Journey' attracts me verymuch. " You see he was beginning to grow old, and I knew that was thereason these lines of mine had made an appeal to him. Not very long after this I also had a letter about the verses from Dr. Osler, then Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford. In it he said, "Ihave read your little poem 'The Last Journey' with unusual interest. "And again I knew why. You see, it does not matter very much what ourrank or our station here, no matter whether a human being is a king orwhat his station in life may be, he still is a human being. We are allreaching out after the same great thing. The fine thing about thesentiment of these little verses is that although you wish to and maynot believe it, it is coming true anyway. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE LAST JOURNEY One night when in a youthful dream, I saw a moonlit sea, And sailing o'er its dark expanse, A ship of mystery. The lonely traveler seemed to be On some great mission bound, As o'er the darkened waters It sailed without a sound. Long years have passed; old age has come: The fire of life is low. Again I think of that strange dream Of youth so long ago. And in the ship that swiftly sailed That silent moonlit sea, I seem to see a storm-tossed soul Bound for eternity. Now to my mind this sweet dream comes, A peaceful memory, For soon I'll be A YOUTH again, With Immortality!