The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life Part 10

A facetious observer of the inordinate degree in which some people will indulge their Palate, to the gratification of which they sacrifice all their other senses,--recommends such to have their Soup seasoned with a tasteless purgative, as the Food of insane persons sometimes is, and so prepare their bowels for the hard work they are going to give them!!

To let the Stomach have a holiday occasionally--_i. e._ a Liquid diet, of Broth and Vegetable Soup, is one of the most agreeable and most wholesome ways of restoring its Tone.

_If your Appet.i.te[72] be languid_, take additional Exercise in a pure open Air,--or Dine half an hour later than usual, and so give time for the Gastric Juices to a.s.semble in full force;--or dine upon Fish--or _Chinese Soup_, _i. e._ Tea.

If these simple means are ineffectual,--the next step, is to produce energetic vibration in the Alimentary tube, without exciting inordinate action, or debilitating depletion; and to empty the Bowels, without irritating them.

Sometimes _when the languor occasioned by Dyspepsia, &c. is extreme_, the Torpor of the System becomes so tremendous--that no Stimulus will help it, and the Heart feels as if it was tired of beating--a moderate dose of a quickly operating Aperient, _i. e._ half an ounce of Tincture of Rhubarb, and two drachms of Epsom Salts in a tumbler of hot water--will speedily restore its wonted energy.

THE STOMACH is the centre of Sympathy;--if the most minute fibre of the human frame be hurt, intelligence of the injury instantaneously arrives;--and the Stomach is disturbed, in proportion to the importance of the Member, and the degree in which it is offended.

If either the Body or the Mind be fatigued,--the Stomach invariably sympathizes;--if the most robust do any thing too much, the Stomach is soon affronted,--and does too little:--unless this mainspring of Health be in perfect adjustment, the machinery of life will vibrate with languor;--especially those parts which are naturally weak, or have been injured by Accidents, &c. Constipation is increased in costive habits--and Diarrha in such as are subject thereto--and all Chronic complaints are exasperated, especially in persons past the age of 35 years.

Of the various helps to Science, none perhaps more rapidly facilitate the acquirement of knowledge, than a.n.a.logical reasoning; or ill.u.s.trating an Art we are ignorant of, by one we are acquainted with.

THE HUMAN FRAME may be compared to a Watch, of which the Heart is the Mainspring--the Stomach the regulator,--and what we put into it, the Key by which the machine is wound up;--_according to the quant.i.ty,--quality,--and proper digestion of what we Eat[73] and Drink, will be the pace of_ _the Pulse, and the action of the System in general_:--when we observe a due proportion between the quantum of Exercise and that of Excitement, all goes well.--If the machine be disordered, the same expedients are employed for its re-adjustment, as are used by the Watch-maker; it must be carefully cleaned, and judiciously oiled.

Eating _Salads_ after Dinner,--and chilling the Stomach, and checking the process of digestion by swilling cold _Soda Water_--we hold to be other Vulgar Errors.

It is your superfluous SECOND COURSES,--and ridiculous variety of Wines,--Liqueurs,--Ices, Desserts, &c.--which (are served up more to gratify the pride of the Host, than the appet.i.te of the Guests that) _overcome the Stomach, and paralyze Digestion_, and seduce "Children of larger Growth" to sacrifice the health and comfort of several days--for the Baby-pleasure of tickling their tongue for a few minutes, with Trifles and Custards!!

Most of those who have written on what--by a strange perversion of language--are most non-naturally termed the non-naturals,--have merely laid before the Public a nonsensical register of the peculiarities of their own Palate, and the idiosyncracies of their own Const.i.tution[74].

Some omnivorous Cormorants have such an ever-craving Appet.i.te, that they are raging with hunger as soon as they open their Eyes,--and bolt half a dozen hard Eggs before they are well awake;--Others are so perfectly restored by that "chief nourisher in Life's feast," Balmy Sleep, that they do not think about Eating,--till they have been up and actively employed for several hours.

The strong Food, which the strong action of strong bodies requires--would soon destroy weak ones,--if the latter attempt to follow the example of the former,--instead of feeling invigorated, their Stomachs will be as oppressed, as a Porter is with a load that is too heavy for him,--and, under the idea of swallowing what are called strengthening nourishing things,--will very soon make themselves ready for the Undertaker.

Some people seem to think, that the more plentifully they stuff themselves, the better they must thrive, and the stronger they must grow.

It is not the quant.i.ty that we swallow,--but that which is properly digested, which nourishes us.

A Moderate Meal well digested, renders the body vigorous,--glutting it with superfluity, (which is only turned into excrement instead of aliment, and if not speedily evacuated,) not only oppresses the System, but produces all sorts of Disorders.

Some are continually inviting _Indigestion_,--by eating _Water-cresses_, or other undressed Vegetables[75], "to sweeten their Blood,"--or _Oysters_ "to enrich it."--Others fancy their Dinner cannot digest till they have closed the orifice of their Stomachs with a certain portion of _Cheese_,--if the preceding Dinner has been a light one, a little bit of Cheese after it may not do much harm, but its character for encouraging concoction is undeserved,--there is not a more absurd Vulgar Error, than the often quoted proverb, that

"Cheese is a surly Elf, Digesting all things, but itself."

A Third never eats Goose, &c. without remembering that _Brandy_ or _Cayenne_ is the Latin for it.

A much less portion of Stimulus is necessary after a hearty meal of califactive materials, such as good Beef or Mutton--than after a _maigre_ Dinner of Fish, &c.

Another _Vulgar Error_ in the school of Good Living, is, that "_Good eating_ requires _Good drinking_."--_Good_ eating generally implies _high_ seasoned Viands,--the savoury Herbs, and stimulating Spices with which these _Haut-Gouts_ are sprinkled and stuffed, &c. are sufficient to encourage the digestive faculties to work "_con amore_" without any "_douceur_" of Vinous irrigation,--but many persons make it a rule, after eating Pig, &c. to take a gla.s.s of _Liqueur_, or _Eau de Vie_, &c.--or, as when used in this manner, it would be as properly called, "_eau de mort_."

INDIGESTION, or, to use the term of the day, A BILIOUS ATTACK,--_as often arises from over-exertion, or_ ANXIETY OF MIND,--as from refractory Food; it frequently produces FLATULENCE[76], and flatulence produces _Palpitation of the Heart_; which is most difficult to stop, when it comes on about an hour or two after a Meal;--the Stomach seems incapable of proceeding in its business, from being over-distended with wind, which pressing on the Heart and larger vessels, obstructs the Circulation:--as soon as this flatulence is dispelled, all goes well again:--inflating the Lungs to the utmost, _i. e._ taking in as much breath as you can, and holding it as long as you can, will sometimes act as a counterbalance, and produce relief.

This is the first thing to do when this distressing Spasm attacks you,--if it is not immediately checked; take a strong _Peppermint_, or _Ginger Lozenge_, (see page 99,) sit,--or if possible lie down and loosen all ligatures; the horizontal posture and perfect quiet are grand Panaceas in this disorder;--if these do not soon settle it, drink some stimulus: sometimes a teacupful of _Hot water_, with a teaspoonful of common salt in it, will suffice,--or a couple of gla.s.ses of _Wine_,--or one of _Brandy_ in one of hot water: either of these will generally soon restore sufficient energy to the Stomach, to enable it to expel the enemy that offends it, and set the circulation to work freely again.--If these means are not immediately efficacious, take half an ounce of _Tincture of Rhubarb_ in a quarter pint of hot water,--or three or four _Peristaltic Persuaders_, with half a pint of hot water.

If this complaint comes on when the Bowels are costive,--they must be put into motion as speedily as possible, by some of the means recommended in the following pages.

It will sometimes come on during the collapsed state of the system, from FASTING TOO LONG.

_Those who take no Food between an early_ BREAKFAST--_and a late_ DINNER,--for fear, as they term it, of spoiling the latter meal,--generally complain of _Flatulence_,--_Languor_, _Lowness of Spirits_, &c. (and those who are troubled by a _Cough_, have often a paroxysm of it,) for the hour or more before Dinner;--and _Heartburn_, &c. after it:--the former arising from fasting too long, the latter from indulging an Appet.i.te so over excited, that a Baron of Beef, a Pail of Port Wine, and a Tubful of Tea, will hardly satisfy it.

The languor of _Inanition_, and the fever of _Repletion_, may be easily avoided by eating a LUNCHEON,--solid and nutritive, in proportion as the DINNER is protracted, and the activity of the Exercise to be taken in the mean-time.

The oftener you eat, the less ought to be eaten at a time; and the less you eat at a time, the oftener you ought to eat:--_a weak_ _Stomach_ has a much better chance of digesting two light meals, than one heavy one.

The Stomach should be allowed time to empty itself, before we fill it again.

There is not only a considerable difference in the digestibility of various Foods,--but also of the time required by different Stomachs to digest them--the sign of which, is the return of Appet.i.te.

The digestion of Aliment is perfect, and quickly performed, in proportion to the keenness of our Appet.i.te at the time of taking it--more or less perfect Mastication--and the vigorous state of the organs of Digestion,--as a general rule, _the interval of Fasting_ should seldom be less than three, nor more than five hours[77],--Digestion being generally completed within that time.

The Fashion of A.D. 1820 has introduced a much longer fast ("a windy recreation," as father Paul a.s.sures the lay brother) than even the elasticity of robust Health can endure, without distressing the adjustment of the System,--and creating such an over-excited appet.i.te, that the Stomach does not feel it has had enough,--till it finds that it has been crammed too much[78].

"When Hunger[79] calls, obey, nor often wait Till hunger sharpen to corrosive pain; For the keen appet.i.te will feast beyond What nature well can bear."

This important truth--we would most strongly press on the consideration of Those who attend our COURTS OF LAW, and PARLIAMENT.

Many industrious Professional men, in order to add a few pounds to their Income--in a few years are quite worn out--from their digestive faculties being continually disordered and fretted for want of _regular_ supplies of _Food_; and sufficient _Sleep_.

An Egg boiled in the sh.e.l.l for five minutes, or _Les Tablettes de Bouillon_ (No. 252), and a bit of Bread, is a convenient provision against the former--_the Siesta_ (see page 94) is the best Antidote for the latter.

The sensation of _Hunger_ arises from the Gastric juices acting upon the coats of the Stomach--how injurious it must be to fast so long, that by neglecting to supply it with some alimentary substance which this fluid was formed to dissolve,--the Stomach becomes in danger of being digested itself!!!

Those who feel a gnawing, as they call it, in their Stomach, should not wait till the stated hour of dinner, but eat a little forthwith, that the Stomach may have something to work upon.

By _too long Fasting_, Wind acc.u.mulates in the Stomach, especially of those who have pa.s.sed the meridian of Life--and produces a distressing Flatulence--Languor--Faintness--Giddiness--Palpitation of the Heart, &c.

If the Morning has been occupied by anxiety in Business,--or the Mind or Body is fatigued by over-exertion--these symptoms will sometimes come on about an hour or two before the usual time of Dining,--well masticating a bit of Biscuit, and letting a strong Peppermint Lozenge (see page 99) dissolve in the mouth as soon as you feel the first symptoms of Flatulence,--will often pacify the Stomach, and prevent the increase of these complaints.

DR. WHYTT, whose observations on _Nervous Disorders_, (like this work), are valuable, inasmuch as they are the authentic narrative of his own Experience--says, page 344, "When my Stomach has been weak, after I have been indisposed, I have often found myself much better for a gla.s.s of Claret and a bit of bread, an hour or more before Dinner, and I have ordered it in the same way to others, and again in the evening, an hour or more before Supper, with advantage."

There is no doubt of the propriety of DR. W.'s prescription, the Editor's own feelings bear witness to it. For those who are just recovering from Diseases which have left them in a state of great Debility, a gla.s.s of Wine and a bit of Bread,--or a cup of good _Beef Tea_, (see page 96) are perhaps as good TONICS as any,--they not only remove Languor, but at the same time furnish Nutriment.

We have known weak Stomachs, when kept fasting beyond the time they expected,--become so exhausted--they would refuse to receive any solid Food,--until restored to good temper,--and wound up by some Wine, or other stimulus--as Instinct proposed.

Feeble Persons, who are subject to such sudden attacks, should always travel armed with a _Pocket Pistol_ charged with a couple of gla.s.ses of White Wine, or, "_Veritable Eau de Vie_,"--a Biscuit, and some strong Peppermint or Ginger Lozenges, or see "_Tablettes de Bouillon_" (No.

252):--when their Stomach is uneasy from emptiness, &c. these crutches will support the Circulation,--and considerably diminish, and sometimes entirely prevent the distressing effects which Invalids suffer from too long a Fast[80].

What a contrast there is between the materials of the morning meal A.D.

1550, when Queen Elizabeth's Maids of Honour began the day with a _Round of Beef_,--or a _Red Herring_, and a _flaggon of Ale_--and in 1821, when the Sportsman, and even the day-Labourer, breakfast on what Cooks call "_Chinese Soup_," i. e. Tea.

SWIFT has jocosely observed, such is the extent of modern Epicurism, that "_the World[81] must be encompa.s.sed--before a Washerwoman can sit down to Breakfast_," _i. e._ by a voyage to the East for Tea, and to the West for Sugar.

In THE NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSEHOLD BOOK for 1512, we are informed that "_a Thousand Pounds_ was the sum annually expended in Housekeeping,--this _maintained_ 166 _Persons_,--and the Wheat was then 5_s._ 8_d._ per quarter.

"The Family rose at six in the morning,--my Lord and my Lady had set on their Table for BREAKFAST, _at Seven o'clock_ in the morning,