WITH KESPECT TO HEALTH AND DISEASE. 281 



and there is no longer any doubt with respect to the 

 mental capacity of the youth. 



899. In such circumstances, the best method is, relaxa- 

 tion from study, quietness of mind, exercise in the open 

 air, and residence in the country, to which may be added 

 travelling', and change of scene, with agreeable company. 

 Such treatment, if persisted in, will often protect the pa- 

 tient from consumption, though it may be his lot to in- 

 herit it from his parents. Whereas, if under the mistaken 

 opinion that precautionary measures are a waste of time, 

 a delicate, growing youth is allowed to continue at his 

 studies, or his desk, till disease has actually commenced, 

 the disappointed parents will often discover, when too 

 late, the grievous error they have inadvertently fallen 

 into. 



900. It is at the approach of manhood, when both 

 mind and body are in a state of transition, that dissipa- 

 tion, whether by late hours, exposure to night-damps, or 

 otherwise, propels with the most deadly force upon the 

 constitution, and many delicate youth of both sexes meet 

 an early dissolution from this cause, who, though predis- 

 posed to consumption, might have escaped, .had they been 

 persuaded to act with prudence during these two or three 

 critical years. 



1 901. There is no doubt that many youth acquire 

 habits which lead to their own destruction, at boarding- 

 schools, and this too without the knowledge, or even sus- 

 picion of their instructers, though there may be no want 

 of vigilance on their part. 



902. Temperature and Clothing. In winter, young 

 people often suffer from being daily confined, for many 

 hours in succession, without exercise, in rooms not suffi- 

 ciently heated. This is a constant subject of complaint, 

 it is believed, in all cold countries, where schools and 

 academies are kept, and arises from no other cause than 

 strained economy in the use of fuel. This is a sad, and 

 no doubt often a fatal practice, especially to such as are 

 predisposed to diseases of the chest, and lungs ; and to 

 those who are not, there is hardly any exposure which 

 tends more to diminish the standard of health, and induce 

 insidious disease, than being confined to a cold room, for 

 hours, without sufficient clothing, and without exercise 



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