48 



The Chronic III Health of Darwin, Huxley, Spencer, and 



(Ieoroe Eliot. 



By Robert Hessler. 



(Abstract.) 



This paper was an inquiry into the chronic ill health of the individ- 

 uals mentioned in the title, based on a study of their life and letters, and 

 was illustrated by charts and diagrams. The paper was in line with 

 former ones read before the Academy, and showed how the influence of 

 city dust cropped out in the biographies of men and women. 



The ability to live in a dusty city atmosphere differs greatly. Some 

 individuals are scarcely influenced by city dust, others are very suscepti- 

 ble and complain or suffer constantly. The list of disease and symptom 

 names used, especially by Huxley, is suggestive of dust infection — the 

 symptoms subsiding on going away from the city and out into a good 

 atmosphere. The symptom names were shown in groups and their sig- 

 nificance pointed our. In a general way, living in a good atmosphere 

 meant health, while living in a polluted one meant ill health. Seeming- 

 exceptions should be studied in the light of the experience of living indi- 

 viduals, susceptible to tne same influences. In a city the season of the 

 year and the direction and force of the wind have to be considered as 

 factors. The evil influence of the East Wind is frequently referred to; an 

 east wind means the blowing over of the dust and smoke from the heart 

 of the city. City dust may be brought to a country resident, as in a lot 

 of books from a city library; and where the books are read while in a 

 reclining position the evil influence of the dust may be quite marked. 

 A visit to a hall or room crowded with a mass of humanity may be fol- 

 lowed by an attack of ill health. Where the symptoms are more or less 

 continuous, nervous manifestations may predominate. 



As a rule biographies dwell only lightly on the subject of health and 

 disease and references may be quite vague; the Life and Letters of 

 Huxley are an exception, and are worthy of a close study, especially by 

 those who are influenced by city dust. 



