THE REMEDIES OF NATURE. 611 



In exceptionally malignant cases it may be necessary to supple- 

 ment the legumen-cure by refrigeration sponge-baths, or artificially 

 cooled bedrooms ; and while there is any danger of a relapse it is the 

 safest plan to postpone the bed-hour beyond the usual time. After 

 rolling and tossing about till relieved by that form of sleep which the 

 Germans call " Ein-dammern " the twilight state between sleeping 

 and waking the patient is almost sure to start up with a feeling of 

 strangulation, but the slumber induced by the silence and drowsiness 

 of the small hours is not apt to be thus interrupted. Leaving the 

 club-house at 11 r. m., or the family circle at 10 ; then a few hours 

 with an interesting book, reserved for that special purpose ; perhaps 

 a little midnight lunch (but no coffee, unless habit has palliated its 

 anti-hypnotic effect) ; then a somnolent old story-book ; an easy-chair 

 within reach of a boot-jack, ready to take advantage of the first 

 drowsy spell for those spells come and go and a well-timed attempt 

 will secure immediate success, with large odds in favor of a good 

 night's rest. 



An horizontal position aggravates dyspnoea, and with a few extra 

 pillows, or by simply raising the head of the bedstead, the patient can 

 sleep in a half-sitting posture, and should still further assist nature by 

 opening the bedroom-windows, or removing his bed to the airiest 

 place in the house. After a heavy supper, an unventilated dormitory 

 alone can lethargize the lungs to a suffocating degree, for a nightmare 

 is mostly nothing but a transient fit of asthma. 



Fresh air, combined with a lung-stimulating exercise, is the last re- 

 sort in an obstinate case of chronic asthma, and a foot-journey in sum- 

 mer adds to those stimulants the too often underrated nerve-tonic of 

 sunlight. Maurus Nagy, the Hungarian Natur- Doctor, used to cure 

 his asthma-patients by making them strip to the waist, and keeping 

 them at work in his mountain-vineyard. The ancient Romans had 

 establishments for regular sun-baths (solaria) ; and I can not help 

 thinking that the robust health of their country population had much 

 to do with their habit of working bareheaded and bare-shouldered in 



while both among the North-German schnapps-drinkers and the abstemious natives of 

 Southern France the complaint is almost as frequent as consumption. In explanation of 

 the paradox some German doctors have alleged the " diffusion of the tonic effect," se- 

 cured by the large quantity of the Bavarian stimulant ; others, the demulcent influence of 

 malt-liquors. The key of the enigma, I suspect, is the peptic influence of a liberal dilu- 

 ent. Our greasy, pungent, and concentrated diet needs a larger admixture of fluids. 

 The dread of cold water, and of water-drinking during meals, is a consequence of the 

 sadly-prevalent delusion that suspects the competency of our natural instincts. The food 

 of our arboreal relatives contains at least eighty per cent of pure water ; the diet of the 

 grape-cure patients about ninety-five per cent. Instinct is a pretty safe guide in such 

 matters, and, unless the habitual indulgence in distilled liquors has made water distaste- 

 ful, the stomach craves about a pint of fluids for each pound of solid food. Fresh water 

 is healthier than beer, but even in the form of lager-beer an abundant diluent would 

 relieve the symptoms of gastric distress resulting from a daily struggle with an overdose 

 of undiluted viands. 



