STATE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 495 



Off with them at once, or your joints will ache long before you 

 have seen twoscore and ten, and the sports of the field will no 

 longer hold out any charms for your rheumatic limbs. Do not sit 

 nodding and toasting your wet feet before the blazing fire, but off 

 with those uncomfortable appendages to your lower extremities, 

 and replace them with dry ones. 



OVERHEATED. 



When overheated from extraordinary exertion, avoid placing 

 yourself in a draught of air, and shun the almost uncontrollable 

 desire hastily to quench your burning thirst with the crystal waters 

 of some sylvan stream that bubbles seductively at your feet; as 

 a sudden checking of the perspiratory functions by these means 

 often produces the most serious consequences, and death itself has 

 followed in the track of such imprudence. Do not be tempted, no 

 matter how great your fatigue, to remain quiescent for any time, 

 while in a state of free perspiration, in a damp or wet place ; do 

 not sit down to rest your wearied limbs, but keep in gentle motion, 

 until your skin has assumed its natural temperature, and then you 

 may quaff freely and rest in safety. A professional acquaintance 

 of the author, a few years since, fell a victim to his own folly by 

 going into a damp cellar, and remaining for some time, by way of 

 cooling himself during an excessively hot day in summer. 



If hot or thirsty, mix a little wine, spirits, or vinegar, — the latter 

 if you be a teetotaler, — with the water before drinking it: this 

 precaution will counteract any bad effects arising from partaking 

 of the fluid when in an excited state. It is also well to bathe the 

 wrists and temples before drinking. 



STATE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 



There is certainly a vast difference between the air of the moun- 

 tains and that of the low, marshy districts of our country. The 

 former is pure and healthy, while the latter is corrupt and often 

 poisonous. The one contains all the natural constituents for sup- 

 plying the respiratory functions with that food so essential to their 



