216 LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 



observation during 1 the last thirteen years, I never 

 remember to have seen a single silk-weaver who 

 was not more or less dyspeptic. 



Another important cause of languid and ineffi- 

 cient circulation is, the manner in which we sur- 

 round ourselves with what are called comforts. 

 We clothe ourselves in flannel, and envelope our- 

 selves in great coats abroad ; and when at home, 

 we close the doors, let down the window-curtains, 

 draw a chair to the fire, bury our feet in the wool 

 of the hearth-rug, and make our servants wear slip- 

 pers that they may not disturb us. 



Now, these same comforts have a directly oposite 

 influence on the system an influence directly 

 lulling and somniferous. I surely shall not be 

 called upon to prove this. Who has not himself 

 experienced that almost irresistible disposition to 

 sleep, which an easy chair, a warm room, a good 

 fire, and silence, induce ? And who will not sleep 

 more soundly in a darkened room, on a down bed, 

 surrounded by curtain drapery, and well covered 

 with blankets, than on a straw mattrass, scantily 

 covered, uncurtained, in a garret. 



Those, therefore, who surround themselves with 

 these seductive "comforts" place themselves pre- 

 cisely in the situation of opium-eaters. They 



