The Health-Seeker, ALICE-You don't seem old at all! C. And I don't feel old; but the almanac tells me that I will be a hundred and one tomorrow. ALICE AND THE OTHERS-And we will have a grand birthday feast for you! C. But who is this coming? Apparently some one that wishes to see me; and perhaps alone, as he does not even look at you tasteless creature! But, good girls, run to the other side of the garden a little while. They walk away, after throwing each a flower in Centenarian's lap. Enter Death. C.-(rising politely)-Ah! to whom do I owe the pleasure of this call? DEATH-I do not think you know me; and still we have met before often. C.-Yes, there is something in your face that is familiar; but it seems to me as if when I had met you before, you had on other clothes. D.—(laughing)-Yes, other clothes, and another expression of countenance. You never saw me looking as pleasant as I do today. C. And your name, please? D.-Death. Are you afraid to see me? C. Certainly not. I have no anxiety as to your errand. I consider you really a friend to the human race, and would like to shake hands with you. D.-No-I must not touch you, until sleep forever. And when that comes, the very moment I wish you to go to those young ladies will be inconsolable, eh? C. Oh, no! They will get along. But they do like me. D. I have observed that everybody likes you. And yet that is not the custom, in this country. Most people find that the older they grow the less use this world has for them. C. (thoughtfully) - That's so. And yet, I have no doubt that quite often they themselves are to blame. D. And how, may I ask? C.-Well, how can they expect to be loved, when they do not keep themselves lovable? If they do not preserve themselves and their temper and their general attractiveness, they can hardly expect to be in rapturous demand. The irascible old curmudgeons, for instance, of whom Cicero speaks, in his SenectuteD.-Oh! you read Cicero! In the original Latin? C. Certainly. And Sophocles in Greek. And Goethe in German. And Cervantes in Spanish. And Hugo in French. Why not? (with a laugh). I have had time enough to learn them. D. But it is so strange that you retain them at this age! C. It would be impossible to do so, if I retained impurity in my blood, and undue stimulus in my nerves, and three portions of food each meal in my stom ach, and gloom and pessimism in my brain. D. Well, well! C.-Yes: that is exactly what I am. It is no great trick. Most people use more pains to get sick, than they would need to take to be well. D. And how have you managed it? C.--By a series of negations. By the things I have not done. D. And what are those? C. I have not gormandized. I have not toped. I have not idled. I have not smothered myself from the aireither my lungs or my skin. Though a man of strong appetite, I have not been in the habit of giving way to disastrous passion. I have not often neglected any of the laws that are necessary to health of mind and body. And I have not boasted of all this-till now. D. Boast away, if you call it that! It is refreshing to hear you. Most people vaunt of the risks they run: you of those you do not. C.--Well, I looked it over, and decided that life was worth living; and have found it so. D. And you never get lonely? There are a great many people who welcome me, because they are lonely. I have known several old people, who, on account of my being a little late in my arrival, kept saying, "Has God forgotten me?" C.-God "forgotten" anybody! Oh, the idea! Why, He forgets nobody. Do not the flowers bloom for every one? Are these not His birds? Are those girls there not His girls? Are not the stars His? And have I not a portion of all of them? Forgotten!-Lonely Why, the older I grow the happier I become! D. Strange--strange! C.-See here! What use is there in being lonely, when there are so many to help? Are you ever lonely when any one finds out that you are willing to help him? Are you ever friendless when you have been aiding a few people that needed it? D. (sadly)-I am always lonely. I am the real Wandering Jew. I am constantly walking to and fro-never at rest. I am welcome nowhere-except to the utterly miserable. I am one of God's most industrious employes, and faithful-so faithful! but I am never allowed to enter His home, although I have conducted so many others there. But I am talking about myself, when I really wish to make you the subject of the conversation; and I am not often diverted from my purpose. May I ask you a few more questions? C. Certainly. It is a nice little change to answer questions, after asking them all the forenoon. D. Asking? How? C. As attorney in a law-suit. D. What! you still in active life? C. Well, I fancy my opponent so considered me. D. Well, well, well! C.-That's just it again; I'm well. D. Did you ever think you could do it, when you were-say-seventy? C. I heard of an old man of ninetyfour, who superintended his own farm, and made money out of it. A man of any age who makes money out of a farm nowadays, must have ability. I heard of a little old fellow 107 years old, who went to the Park every day at six o'clock in the morning, and worked for regular wages. Then I said to myself, "Let's see what we can do." I had a good law-practice, as solid as unvarying honesty and fair ability could make it. "I'll hold on to it", I said. When I was between eighty THE HEALTH-SEEKER. and ninety, I had ever so many very kind and tender suggestions, both from partners and rivals, that it was really time for me to retire from active life; but I replied that I was already doing so once each night. D. How do you rest nights? C. Splendidly. Your cousin, Sleep, gives me the most delightful of entertainments. When I walk in the cemetery, as I often do, and see the names of old friends at every few steps, I dream of them all night-dream of them perfect, with their human imperfections gone. wake next morning feeling that I have had a pleasant visit with their best selves. D. (walking away)-Well, well, well! HEALTH ON THE CARS. WHEN one is traveling by train, the conditions vary considerably from those at home or at a hotel and it is a good plan to understand and provide for them. First comes the motion, and, probably, a lack of air: for most passengers seem to imagine that they are under seal, and that no openings should be allowed in the sides of the cars. The motion and the air-conditions often induce something that resembles sea-sickness, and bears the common name among conductors and brakemen of "car-sickness." It is much more prevalent than generally supposed, and must be reckoned with. The usual remedies for sea-sickness are generally effective in this case: but a good open window, even with all its attendant dust and grime, is the best application you can make. Another trouble is, often, with the passenger's feet: they are very likely to become uneasy, and to "trot out" all the 295 corns that their toes possess. Even if you start out with an easy pair of shoes, they are likely to become uncomfortable as soon as your feet swell a little-which they generally do in such cases. It is a good plan to take along a pair of slippers that will be good to you under any circumstances: or even to sit part of the way in your "stockinged-feet" deeply concealed, rather than to ride along in torture. Weariness of the back and neck is another trouble likely to occur to you when traveling by railway. This of course arises from sitting too long in a constrained position: and it is a good plan, if possible, to change seats every once in a while, and ride backward. You will find this habit to be very restful. Homesickness is another complaint that is liable to attack the railroad-travelerespecially if he be alone. This arises from a vacancy of the mind and heartmade so by absence from those who have been occupying them. The remedy for this trouble, is to observe narrowly everything about you, and thus keep the mind active and full. Watch your fellow-passengers as closely as possible without impertinence, and make up your mind as to who and what they probably are. If you fall in with some good respectable party-preferably, of course, of your own sex, do not disdain to have a little visit with them. Vary the proceedings with a look now and then at the scenery: and compare it with that surrounding your own home. A friend of EVERY WHERE takes with him a state-atlas, and traces the townships through which the train passes: learning as he goes their position, their number of inhabitants, and such other facts as he can read or gather. "Homesick or lonely?" he replied, in answer to a question. "Never." Time's Diary: May 19 to June 18. 19 The House of Representatives passed the bill appropriating $1,500,000 from United States, for participation in the Japanese exposition at Tokio, in 1912. The Vestal, a new naval collier, was launched at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in the East River. She was constructed under the supervision of William J. Baxter, U. S. A., and will carry 7,000 tons of coal. 20-The sixth anniversary of the establishment of the Cuban Republic was quietly celebrated. The King's Bench Division of the British High Court of Justice gave a verdict relieving the fire insurance companies of liability for fires caused by the Kingston (Jamaica) earthquake, in January, 1907. 21-The published reports of the national banks of Chicago showed a high record in the matter of deposits. Sixty persons were killed and more than one hundred wounded in a railroad wreck near Antwerp, Belgium. 22-A levee broke in the Red River district, Arkansas, flooding a large area with loss of life and property. 23-The freight and passenger steamer H. M. Whitney, of the Metropolitan Line, was stranded in a fog on Flood Rock, in Hell Gate, East River. 24 Reports from Washington stated that the Senate had ratified at this session thirtyseven treaties; more in number than had been approved for the twenty years preceding. In Ottawa, Ontario, thirteen people were injured in a street car collision. 25-La Guayra, Venezuela, being declared free of the plague, was opened again to American and European trade. M. Fallières, President of France, arrived in London, as guest of King Edward. 26-A Home Rule for Scotland bill was passed to its first reading by the British House of Commons. 27-Seven Protestant Episcopal clergymen were received into the Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. Mrs. Julia Ward Howe celebrated her eightyninth birthday; the New England Woman's Club, of which she has been President since 1871, celebrated also its fortieth birthday. The House passed unanimously the Senate joint resolution authorizing a bronze statue to the Rev. John Witherspoon, the only clerical signer of the Declaration of Independence. 28 The Civic Dam, on Current River, Ontario, burst, causing a loss of three lives and $500,000 money. 30-The city of Kingston, N. Y., the seat of 31-The Duma Commission in Russia that June 1-A juvenile court, modelled after the Three members of one family, Helen, Alex ander and Roderick Begg, were admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. 2 Three American artists, Howard Hartshorne, of New York; E. W. Redfield, of Centre Bridge, Pa., and Clara J. Kretzinger, of Chicago, received awards of "honorable mention" at the spring salon of the Societe des Artists Francais, Paris. President Roosevelt was thrown from his horse, as it reared and fell over backward into a creek. Sustaining no serious TIME'S DIARY. injury, the President remounted and continued his ride. 3-It was announced in Washington by Postmaster General Meyer, and in London by the British Postmaster General, that after October first there will be two-cent postage between United States and Great Britain. The resignation of Canal Commissioner Jackson Smith being accepted, the decision to put the administration of labor on the Isthmus under the administration of an army officer, was announced. 4-Major Alfred Dreyfus was shot and wounded at the close of the ceremony of entombing in the Pantheon, the body of Emile Zola. 5-An explosion on board the armored cruiser Tennessee, killed four and injured many more men, off the coast of California. 6-Cardinal Logue sailed from New York on his way back to Ireland, after attending the Catholic Centenary of the Archdiocese of New York. Seventyfive persons were severely injured when a suburban train was hurled from the track near St. Louis, Missouri. 7-Honfleur, France, the port from which the explorer Champlain sailed, commemorated the Quebec Tri-Centennial by an enthusiastic celebration, in which M. Fable, the Canadian agent in France was the guest of honor. 8 The International Miners' Congress opened in Paris, the president of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain declaring that the working classes gain nothing in international wars, but have much to gain in peace. 9-Three hundred persons, including the President, Marquis de Dion, were poisoned by ptomaines, at a dinner of the Automobile Club, Paris, France. One person died. The Chamber of Deputies, at Madrid, adopted a bill to float an internal loan of $32,000,000. King Edward VII, of England, and Emperor Nicholas of Russia exchanged visits in the Bay of Reval, an arm of the Gulf of Finland. 10 The first Pacific Ocean wireless telegram 297 was received at Victoria, B. C., from a Japanese steamer, Tango Maru, three hundred miles off the coast of Vancouver Island. 11-Governor Hughes, of New York, signed the bills making betting on the races, whether on the tracks or outside, a felony. Senator Foelker cast the deciding vote of twentysix to twentyfive, though he risked his life to attend. Hiram Percy Maxim gave a successful demonstration of a noiseless rifle, before the Board of Managers of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who are seeking a more humane method of killing animals in slaughter houses. 12 The Federal Court jury brought in a verdict of guilty against the Standard Oil Company for accepting rebates from a railroad on forty cars of oil. 13-Caleb Powers, thrice convicted by prejudiced jurors for complicity in the assassination of Governor-elect William Goebel in 1900, was pardoned by Governor Willson of Kentucky, after an imprisonment of eight years. The five men accused of swindling in connection with the construction of the new Capitol building of the State of Pennsylvania, at Harrisburg, were acquitted by the jury after fifteen hours' deliberation. 14-The World's Temperance Congress open ed in Saratoga, in commemoration of the founding of the first Abstaining-Society in Saratoga County, one hundred years ago. 15 The largest judgment ever awarded in a Virginia court was recorded. Thomas Stokes won a suit against a lumber and real estate corporation, getting judgment for $485,162.73. 16 The Duma adopted the Government bill for double tracking the Siberian Railway. The plant of the Royal Coal Mines, at Argentine, Pa., was destroyed by dynamite, with a loss of $20,000. The Pan-Anglican Congress opened in London with seven simultaneous meetings. 17-The Trustees of Smith College announced the resignation of L. Clark Seelye, who has been President since the college was founded in 1873. |