MELLOW ENGLAND. 169 



bigger than his belly, but an Englishman's belly is 

 a deal larger than his eyes, and the number of plum 

 puddings and amount of Welsh rare-bit he devours 

 annually would send the best of us to his grave in 

 half that time. We have not enough constitutional 

 inertia and stolidity ; our climate gives us no rest, 

 but goads us day and night, and the consequent wear 

 and tear of life is no doubt greater in this country 

 than in any other on the globe. We are playing the 

 game more rapidly, and I fear less thoroughly and 

 sincerely than the mother country. 



The more uniform good health of English women 

 is thought to be a matter of exercise in the open air, 

 as walking, riding, etc., but the prime reason is 

 mainly a climatic one, uniform habits of exercise being 

 more easity kept up in that climate than in this and 

 being less exhaustive, one day with another. You 

 can walk there every day in the year without much 

 discomfort, and the stimulus is about the same. Here 

 it is too hot in summer and too cold in winter, or 

 else it keys you up too tight one day and unstrings 

 you the next ; all fire and motion in the morning 

 and all listlessness and ennui in the afternoon ; a 

 spur one hour and a sedative the next. 



A watch will not keep as steady time here as in 

 Britain and the human clock-work is more liable to 

 get out of repair for the same reason. Our women, 

 especially, break down prematurely, and the decay of 

 maternity in this country is no doubt greater than in 

 any of the oldest civilized communities. One reason, 



