THE REMEDIES OF NATURE. 807 



travel it in sunshine, even on hobby-back if they choose, for they 

 have a philosophical weekly of their own, with full permission to ex- 

 plain the revelation of St. John. 



Myopia short-sightedness, and far-sightedness (presbyopia), were 

 formerly regarded as absolutely incurable affections, because they 

 were evidently not amenable to the influence of any known drug. 

 But " drug " and " remedy " have at last ceased to be synonymous 

 terms ; and, though constitutional defects of the eye may preclude the 

 possibility of a complete cure, there is no doubt that those defects 

 can be modified by a judicious treatment, especially by a mode of life 

 tending to restore the general vigor of the system, by out-door exer- 

 cise, and by rambles in green, sunny woods, for the colors of the sum- 

 mer forest are as beneficial to the eye as its atmosphere to the lungs. 

 Weak eyes can be strengthened by gradually exercising the capacity 

 of the optic nerve, scrutinizing small objects, first at a moderate and 

 by-and-by at a greater distance, but withal guarding against a fa- 

 tiguing effort of the eye. 



Pimples. The best cosmetic is a grape-cure, i. e., a frugal, sac- 

 charine, and sub-acid diet,, combined with out-door exercise in the 

 bracing air of a highland country. 



Rheumatism. Rheumatism, like gout, is a consequence of dietetic 

 abuses. Counter-irritants, hot baths, etc., can effect a brief respite, 

 but the only permanent specific is fasting. Before the end of the sec- 

 ond day a hunger-cure benumbs the pain ; the organism, on being 

 obliged to feed upon its own tissues, seems to undergo a process of 

 renovation which alone can reach the root of the complaint. Ex- 

 ercise and great abstemiousness will prevent a relapse. 



Scrofula. A scrofulous taint is in some cases hereditary, and 

 yields only to years of dietetic reform, but, on the whole, there is no 

 more perfectly curable disease. In all but its most malignant forms 

 it yields readily to the influence of pure air and pure food out-door 

 life, and a wholesome, vegetable diet. Skin-cleaning nostrums only 

 change the form of the disease by driving it from the surface to the 

 interior of the body. 



Toothache. The extraction of every unsound tooth and the 

 insertion of a " new set " would certainly remove, in ipsa radice, the 

 seat, if not the cause, of the evil. But the trouble is, that the func- 

 tion of proper mastication is an indispensable preliminary of diges- 

 tion, and that for practical efficacy the last stump of a natural tooth 

 is infinitely preferable to the best artificial substitute. The best 

 plan would, therefore, be to let the stumps remain, and get rid of the 

 pain, and the latter end can be attained by a slow but infallible 

 method. Within half a year after the change of regimen, absolute 

 abstinence from hot drinks (especially boiling hot, sweet tea) and a 

 very sparing use of animal food will benumb the sensitiveness of the 

 irritated nerves. I knew an old-Mestizo who had learned to chew apples 



