The effect of competition in trade is such that no one can succeed without indefatigable industry; but indefatigable industry is inconsistent with a state of weak health. A person of fragile frame and shattered nerves, is not able to compete with a rival of a robust constitution he breaks down under the exertion, and his business is absorbed by his Herculean neighbor.

Again if any individual, careless of fame or wealth, propose to himself merely the search after happiness, in whatever shape it may be attained, such individual will certainly fail to catch the fleeting shadow, unless he resolutely maintain the welfare of the bodily portion of himself. Without health there is no happiness; and without labor there is no health. Health is the coyest of nymphs: she must be pursued over hill and dale; tracked by the mountain stream; watched for in the early morning; entreated when the late shadows fall. It is her pleasure 'not unsought' to be won. But when by incessant assiduity the prize is won, then its value is so great as a thousandfold to repay the petty inconveniences encountered in its acquisition.

How frequently does it happen that persons in business, foolishly neglecting their health, are on a sudden brought to a standstill, and compelled to abandon entirely the business for the sake of which they had ruined their constitutions. To sacrifice health to business is most absurd, for, of a certainty, if business be allowed to destroy a man's health, his health, or rather his illhealth, will ultimately destroy his business. If an individal, in the endeavour to make a rapid fortune, work too many hours per diem, omits to take exercise, turns night into day, or in any other manner sins against the canons of health, he ought to be told that he is defeating his own plans; for his health will and must fail, and then he will be disabled from performing even a moderate and average day's labor. Nobody can achieve any considerable undertaking without economising his health and strength; and persons in general, but traders in particular, would do well to copy the example of the jockey when

he has to ride a race. At starting, the experienced jockey knows better than to put his horse to full speed at once, and so exhaust his wind and spend his energies at the commencement. No; he sets out at a quiet, demure pace, holding his steed well in hand, curbing his impatience to be off, and evincing no anxiety to go ahead of others who are tearing away in front: but by degrees his mettle rises-his pace quickens-he creeps up to the rivals who had distanced him-he outsteps them-and then, as the goal appears in sight, he makes the last grand, decisive rush, and leaps past the judge's stand, a whole length ahead of his nearest competitor; and such should be the tactics of all who desire to be first in the race of social life. At the outset carefully husband your strength-do no more than the system is perfectly qualified to sustain-run no risk of getting knocked up before the contest is half decided; but carefully and gradually prepare for the crowning struggle, for when this is at hand there must be no shrinking nor shirking; the whole man must be thrown into the effort, which is either to make or mar your future destiny.

It is after persons have been some years in business that they begin to feel the truth of the foregoing remarks; for either they find themselves less fresh and apt for business, more wearied by the details of the concern, and inclined to vote the whole thing a bore than formerly; or, on the other hand, they continue to take pleasure in the prosecution of their affairs, and are able to expend more and more energy upon them. In the first instance, the trader constantly loses; in the second, he as constantly gains ground. Hundreds of instances might easily be adduced, of most deserving men, who, in their inconsiderate eagerness to do immense things, have so strained their mental and bodily faculties, as to be afterwards disqualified from even the most moderate exertion. Again we repeat, if this be the case, it is a matter of conscience with every man to take care of his health. Upon his health depends his success in life; and upon his success in life depend his wife, his children, and perhaps others con

nected with him. But not merely on this account is the preservation of health a moral obligation upon every man. It is based upon a far higher principle. God has sent men upon this earth to work. He has given to them arms and brains to be employed in his service, and in aiding and benefiting one another. A man who does not work is an anomaly the world is not his place. He is a dead and yellow leaf, waiting for the blast which is to blow him out of the green and sappy foliage of life. The sick man is a man who does not work, and it is, therefore, his sacred duty to

get well as speedily as may be, that he may go and work again: and it is no less imperative upon all kinds and descriptions of men to keep themselves well when they are well, that they may not be reduced to the unhappy condition of enforced idleness-that they may not become dead leaves clinging to the green boughs of society. Health is a virtue, if disease be not a crime; for the possession of health testifies that the possessor had at least not infringed those of the unwritten laws of God, that pertains to his physical government.

THE temperature of an infant before birth is the same as that of the interior of its mother's body; viz., about 100° or 98 Fahr. But immediately upon its coming into contact with the atmosphere its temperature sinking to between 93° and 95° Fahr., it consequently loses from 5 to 3 degrees of heat, and experiences a painful sensation of cold. Now this sudden chill is the stimulus by which nature awakens the new being from its long uterine sleep. It is this chill which calls forth the expressive wailwhich causes the first gasp of respiration. Hence the application of cold is the prime factor of sentient existence. It is needless to observe, that this cold must not be too intense, otherwise sensation will be again immediately extinguished in death. Hence 'instinct,' says Dr. Milne Edwards, 'leads mothers to keep their infants warm (less warm, indeed, than previously to birth, but warm in comparison with older persons), though philosophers, by more or less specious reasoning, have at different times, and in different countries, induced them to abandon this guide, by persuading them that external cold would fortify the constitutions of their children, as it does those of adults.' It is to the same physiologist that we owe the observation, that the heat of mature infants at birth is from 3 to 5 degrees less than that of adults, varying from 93° to

95°; that the heat of premature infants is still less; and that the power of producing heat being in all new-born animals at a minimum, they have not the same capability as adults of resisting a great diminution of temperature. For this reason it is proper immediately upon taking charge of the new-born child, to have it well wrapt up, and to take care that in cold weather it should be dressed in the vicinity of a comfortable fire, and be not during the operation unnecessarily exposed to cold. The views of Dr. Edwards,' says Dr. Maunsell, ‘have been practically confirmed by some observations of Drs. Edwards and Villeraué. It is the custom in France to convey infants, within a few hours from their birth, to the office of the mayor of the commune, in order that their birth may be registered; and Drs. E. and V. discovered that the proportion of deaths within a very limited period after birth, compared with the total births, was much greater in winter than in summer, in the northern and colder than in the southern and warmer departments, and in parishes where the inhabitants were scattered over a large surface of ground, than in others where they were more closely congregated around the mayor.' Again: in reference to the same point, viz., the exposure of infants to cold, Dr. Churchhill, in his recent work on the Diseases of Children, expresses himself thus:

'I have already spoken of washing the infant at birth in warm water, and this practice must be continued daily. Dr. Armstrong and others advise the immediate or speedy use of cold water; but, in my opinion, this is a practice utterly indefensible. It causes a great shock and much distress to the child; the circulation is disturbed, and may not easily regain its equilibrium; and there is very great chance of cold.' Dr. Merriman takes the same view of the question: So many instances have occured, within my knowledge, of cold bathing improperly and injudiciously adopted having been productive of serious ill effects, that I should ill_perform the duty of an editor, did I not caution my unprofessional readers to be extremely circumspect before they adopt the use of so powerful an agent as the cold bath, not only as regards infants, but children further advanced in life.' Now the facts upon which the above assertions are founded are undeniable. An infant is incapable of bearing intense cold, or of cold more moderate in degree but prolonged in application; or of cold bathing, in the words of Dr. Merriman, improperly and injudiciously adopted.' It is, however, to be regretted that Drs. Churchill and Merriman do not tell us what they understand by cold and cold bathing. Every one will allow that cold bathing in the winter, when the thermometer stands below zero, is improper for a new-born child; is it equally improper in the summer, when the temperature of the cold water may be 70°? The expression, cold water, is so indefinite, since its temperature varies from 32° to 60° or 70, or higher; and what is preached about cold water is spoken so generally, that little value can be attached to the recorded opinions of the writers. The fact is, that the systematic application of cold water to infants, as well as children, is not only harmless, but even essential to their comfort and well-being. The temperature of an infant is 93° or 95°. The temperature of the water in which it is washed immediately after birth, should be 80; that is to say, 13 to 15 degrees below its own temperature, and, consequently, cold. The operation should be

despatched as quickly as possible, and the infant duly dressed. In the case of a healthy infant, it should be dipped once every day, for the first month, in a bucket of water, at the temperature of 800. Upon being taken out, it should be instantly wrapped up in a large towel, sufficient to go completely round it, and thus dried, undergoing a sufficient amount of friction to restore its original warmth. It should then be dressed. During the second month the temperature of the water should be 70°, and during the third month the temperature should be reduced to 65°, and should remain at this temperature during the first year. After this age the child may be habituated to use water at the temperature of the season, however severe the cold may be. Previously to the application of the bath, the temperature of the child should be exalted, perhaps, and the best mode of exalting the temperature at this tender age, is to envelope the body in a number of blankets.

The best form of bath for children under three years of age is, as before remarked, immersion, which may be performed once, twice, or thrice, according to its effects upon the system. If the child be of a feeble constitution, a single dip will suffice; if it be stronger, it may be dipped twice; if it be a lusty vigorous child, three dips will be advisable. The number of dips also must be varied according to the temperature of the water employed. In the summer time, when the water is comparatively warm, the number of dips may properly exceed those taken in winter. Other circumstances, also, which cannot be mentioned here, will affect this matter.

At three years of age, the child may be taught to take the pail douche, given early in the morning, instead of the dip bath. At five or six he may begin to use the shallow bath, not staying in it longer than one minute. From this period the child may use almost indifferently, or alternately, for the morning bath, the pail douche, wash-down, immersion, or shallow-bath. It will be a good plan to administer one of these baths for a month, another for a second month, a third during the third month, and so on. Of course, this is recom

mended on the supposition that the child remains in good health; for should he become feeble or delicate, or be attacked by disease, the regulation of the baths must be referred to the medical attendant. The use of the dripping sheet may be commenced, other things being equal, about the age of seven. It should, like the baths previously employed, be taken in the morning, upon rising from bed.

When a child has attained the age of seven or eight years, it will derive advantage from an occasional sweating. This result may be procured by the vapor, or hot-air bath, or, in some instances, by the blanket-packing. In the majority of cases the sweating should not be kept up longer than one or two minutes. It should be immediately followed by a cold bath; viz. immersion, the pail douche, or wash-down. This proceeding may be practised once a week, upon rising from bed, and may be carried on according to circumstances, for one, two, or more months.

About this age it will also be proper to pack the child occasionally in the wet sheet. The object desired is, not only to fortify the constitution by the immediate action of the process, but to familiarise the child with the method, and its effects upon the system; so that, if at any time he should be attacked by fever or inflamination, he may not dread the operation of packing, and refuse to submit to its genial influence.

At ten years of age, every healthy child ought to be taught to swim. But great care is requisite, that, once instructed in this delightful exercise, the child do not abuse it by going too frequently into the water, or remaining in it too long. Only a long-practised, strong, and experienced swimmer may remain in the water longer than half-an-hour at a time; and no one should swim more than once a day. Under these restrictions, hardly anything is more conducive to health than this excellent art.

At twelve years of age, a child may learn to use a small douche, taking care, of course, to employ it strictly according to the regulations laid down in treating of this bath.

In concluding the present chapter, the author believes that he cannot do better than quote some judicious remarks upon cold bathing, by Dr. Underwood, a writer famous in his generation, and still an authority in the management of infancy. Dr. Underwood observes :"The cold bath acts on a quite different principle (from washing with cold water), and is so very beneficial that I could wish almost every child, especially those born in London, were bathed at three or four months old (provided they be not costive nor feverish at the time, have no internal obstructions, nor the season of the year be improper), which I am certain would remove, or perhaps prevent, many of their complaints.' In a note to this passage, Dr. Underwood continues: -Mons. Le Fébure de Villeburne, in his translation of this work into French, has added a chapter upon baths, in which he highly extols the warm bath, and as strongly controverts the idea of the probable good effects of cold bathing, and even makes use of a long chain of arguments against it, deduced, indeed, from an ingenious theory, and supported by quotations from the ancients, who practised, however, in a very different climate. The shortest and, perhaps, the best, reply to this specious reasoning might be given in the well-known mode of Diogenes to Zeno, whose metaphysical arguments against the possibility of motion Diogenes laconically refuted, by hastily getting up and walking across the school. We have, in like manner, only to point to the numbers of children and young people, who, from very weakly infants, have been rendered strong and healthy, merely from a prudent use of the cold bath; and may defy any man to produce the like instances of its opposite effects, when made use of with the cautions which every powerful remedy requires. The Spartan women, likewise, afford us sufficient evidence of the salutary effects of cold bathing, notwithstanding_the comments made upon the women themselves by Aristotle, as quoted by our author. So great, and oftentimes surprising, indeed, are the good effects of cold baths, that I do not wonder the priests, in times of ignorance, have been known to account

them holy, and dedicate them to some saint, to whose influence certain cures were attributed. The salutary operations of the cold bath are, however, easily accounted for, from its promoting in

CASE OF CHRONIC CATARRH

sensible perspiration, and rendering that excretion less readily affected by the impression of external air.'-Diseases of Children, vol. iii, p. 90 and seq. 1819.

(To be continued.)

S. W., a female child, aged ten months, was brought to the editor under the following circumstances. At the time of the child's birth, her mother was suffering from chronic leprosy, which had been repeatedly but ineffectually treated by large doses of arsenic. The child at birth, and afterwards, was a poorly-looking thing-pale and evidently cachectic. It was brought up by hand from the first. After three months red spots began to appear upon the cheeks, chin, arms, and other parts of the body, and small superficial sores were formed -little scrofulous ulcerations. Together with this the child became subject to a chronic cough, which was loose, but unattended with expectoration; for children of this age do not expectorate, but swallow the mucus, which they cough up from the lungs. The cough was frequent and troublesome, and at every attack a distinct mucous rattle could be heard in the chest. The susceptiblity of the lungs increased as the child advanced in age, so that her parents dared not carry her out into the air at all, for every time she was taken out her cough was exasperated, even when the weather was remarkably warm and fine. They were even afraid to carry her past an open door within the house, having repeatedly found her condition made worse by so doing. Under these circumstances, they brought the child to me. I prescribed a wet-sheet packing, followed by a tepid shallow bath once a day for a week, and afterwards a wet-sheet packing, followed by a tepid shallow bath twice every day-viz., at noon, and at five in the afternoon. The mode of packing which I adopted was to wrap round the child's body (not including

the arms nor the legs below the knees) a damp bandage, and then to place the child in her cot, and cover her carefully and completely with a considerable quantity of clothes. In this state she remained half an hour, and was then removed into a tub of tepid water, and washed quickly with towels. After this process she was dressed and carried out into the air. In these proceedings no difficulty was experienced from the frowardness of the child; for the little thing seemed to adapt herself to the treatment with great facility, and to be conscious that it was intended to do her good. She lay in the cot with the damp bandage round her as quiet as a lamb; but when she was placed in the tub, she did not not at first like it; but after the first shock she began to splash about with her hands, and quite entered into the spirit and fun of the thing. The first two or three times that she was taken into the air, she coughed as she would have done before she commenced the treatment; but afterwards the air seemed to lose its irritating power, or rather the lungs were strengthened to resist the irritation, and she coughed while in the air no more frequently nor vehemently than while in the house. After about a week's treatment-during which time her appetite and digestion considerably improved, and she grew much stouter-a rash began to come out upon the back (it was something like what is technically called roseola), a diffused rash, occupying principally the buttocks and the space between the shoulders, but not being by any means confined to these spots. Consentaneously with the appearance and progress of the rash the cough declined, and by the third