96 PERSONAL APPEARANCES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. 



undergo but few exertions, so that the circulation is slow, 

 and cold extremities with consequent want of sleep are 

 their bane. The skin is flabby, often moist, and the 

 dark shadows under the eyes denote that the relaxed 

 condition of the skin is sufficient to obscure its natural 

 colour. The same flabbiness belongs also to their 

 muscles ; all exertion is painful and wearisome, as well 

 as irksome, and a general debility and languor accom- 

 panies them. How many does not this typify, and how 

 often is it largely the result of want of personal effort, and 

 personal hygiene? Contrast such habits of body with 

 those of the sturdy and vigorous, and it will be seen that 

 in one the tonicity is deficient, in the other marked. 

 Well-regulated, but not over-violent, open-air exercise, 

 careful diet, frequent cold bathing, and above all some 

 definite pursuit to engage the mind, will do more to 

 restore the balance in the former than a course of me- 

 dicinal treatment however tonic and however prolonged. 

 Our highly-artificial lives have much to do' with the 

 prevalent valetudinarianism of the present day ; and the 

 customs of society which run counter in so many ways to 

 the teachings of common sense, have done more evil in 



this respect than can well be estimated. 



c p 

 THE END. ' ^ 



