38 BERMUDA. 



secretions (the biliary, for instance), perspiration, 

 (S;c. being already in excess — which excess very soon 

 leads to debility and diminished action in the func- 

 tions alluded to, with a corresponding want of 

 equilibrium in the blood — it becomes necessary to 

 counteract these by active exercise in the winter, 

 and exercise of a more passive kind in the summer, 

 such as the climate will admit of, and at particular 

 periods of the day. This distinction must be carefully 

 guarded if we mean to preserve our health. 



Bathing. — To moderate the action of atmospheric 

 heat, nature, or instinct itself, points out the external 

 application of cold water te the body. The cold bath 

 not only counteracts the influence of heat by sus- 

 pending its operation for the time, but it safely 

 iniures us to the sudden access of cold, the fruitful 

 source of so many disorders. By keeping the skin 

 clean, cool, and soft, it moderates excessive, and 

 supports natural and equable cuticular discharge; 

 and from the cutaneo-hepatic sympathy, so often 

 noticed, the functions of the liver partake of this 

 salutary equilibrium — a circumstance hitherto over- 

 looked. 



It is, however, imprudent to bathe while the pro- 

 cess of digestion is going on in the stomach, as it 

 disturbs that important operation. Where visceral 



