we ought to be very careful in chufing a healthy air, as far as it is in our power. That air is best which is pure, dry, and temperate, untainted with nexious damps, or putrid exhalations from any caufe whatfoever; but the fureft mark of a good air, in any place, is the common longevity of its inhabitants.

A houfe is healthy which is fituated on a rifing ground and a gravelly foil, in an open dry country; the rooms fhould be pretty large, but not cold; the expofure prudently adapted to the nature of the climate, but fo contrived that your house may be perflated by the east or north winds whenever you pleafe, which fhould be done at least once every day, to blow away animal teams, and other noxious vapours. But especially let the air of your bedchamber be pure and untainted, not near the ground, or any kind of dampness.

Evident marks of a bad air, in any houfe, are dampness or difcolouring of plaifter or wainscot, mouldinefs of bread, weinefs of fponge, melting of sugar, rusting of brafs and iron, and rotting of fur

niture.

There is nothing more apt to load the air with putrid fteams, or breed bad diftempers, than the general and pernicious custom of permitting common and crowded burial-places to be within the precincts of populous cities.

The air of cities, being loaded with fteams of fuel, and exhalations from animals, is unfriendly to infants not yet habituated to fuch noxious mixtures.

Sudden extremes of heat and. cold should be avoided as much as poffible; and they commit a moft dangerous error, who, in the winter nights, come out of the close, hot rooms of public-houfes, into a cold and chilling air, without clokes or furtouts.

The best food is that which is fimple, nourishing, without acrimony, and eafily digelted; and the principal rule to be obferved, with regard to aliment in general, is to eat and drink wholefome things in a proper quantity. But, you will afk, how hall the bulk of the people diftinguish wholefome aliment from unwholefome ? And how fhall they measure the quantity proper for them? I anfwer, that almost all the aliment in common ufe has been found whole fome by the experience of ages, and a moderate healthy man need not be under great apprehenfions of danger in partaking of fuch. But there is an obvious rule, which will direct every individual aright in the choice of his aliment: Let him obferve what agrees with his conftitution, and what does not; and let his experience and reafon

freshed and chearful.

The quantity and folidity of a man's aliment ought to bear a juft proportion to the ftrength of his conftitution, and to the exercife which he ufes; for young, strong, labouring people will turn to good nourifhment any kind of food in common ufe; and they can digeft with eafe a quantity that would opprefs or deftroy the delicate and fedentary,

Bread, made of good wheat flour, properly fermented and baked, is the molt valuable article of our diet, wholefome and nourishing by itself, mixing well with all forts of aliment, and frequently agreeable to the ftomach, when it loaths every other food.

It is to be obferved, that liquid aliments, or spoon meats, are moft proper, when immediate refreshment is required, after great abftinence or fatigue, because they mingle fooner with the blood, than folid aliments.

As drink makes a confiderable part of our aliment, it may not be amifs here to inquite which fort of common drink, generally fpeaking, is the molt proper to preferve health. Pure water (lays Frederic Hoff.

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man)

man) is the best drink for persons of all ages and temperaments. By its fluidity and mildnefs it promotes a free and equable circulation of the blood and humours thro' all the veffels of the body, upon which the due performance of every animal function depends; and hence water-drinkers are not only the most active and nimble, but alfo the most chearful and fprightly of all people. In fanguine complexions, water, by diluting the blood, renders the circulation eafy and uniform. In the choleric, the coolness of the water reftrains the quick motion and intenfe heat of the humours. It attenuates the glutinous vifcidity of the juices in the phlegmatic, and the gross earthiness which prevails in melancholic temperaments. And, as to different ages, water is good for children, to make their tenacious milky diet thin and easy to digeft: For youth and middle-aged people, to fweeten and diffolve any fcorbutic acri. mony, or sharpness that may be in the humours; by which means pains and obftructions are prevented: And for old people, to moiften and mollify their rigid fibres, and to promote a lefs difficult circulation through their hard and fhrivelled pipes. In fhort (fays he) of all the productions of nature or art, water comes nearest to that univerfal remedy or panacea, fo much fearched after by mankind, but never difcovered. The truth of it is, pure, light, foft, cold water, from a clear stream, drank in fuch a quantity as is neceffary to quench their thirft, dilute their food, and cool their heat, is the best drink for children, for hearty people, and for perfons of a hot temperament, especially if they have been habituated to the ufe of it: But to delicate or cold conftitutions, to weak ftomachs, and to perfons unaccustomed to it, water without wine is a very improper drink; and they will find it fo, who try it under fuch circumftances.

Good wine is an admirable liquor, and, ufed in a moderate quantity, anfwers many excellent purposes of health. Beer well brewed, light, clear, and of a proper ftrength and age, if we except water and wine, is perhaps the most ancient, and beft fort of drink in common ufe among mankind.

It is neceffary to obferve, that water or fmall beer, or some other weak liquor, should be drank at meals, in a quantity fufficient to dilute our folid food, and make it fluid enough to circulate through the fmail blood-veffels; otherwise the animal functions will grow languid, and obftructions must follow.

Tea, to fome, is a refreshing cordial

after any fatigue. To fome it is useful, and feems to affift digestion, drank at a proper diftance of time after dinner: But to others it occafions fick nefs, fainting, and tremors at all times; fo that the experience of every individual muft determine not only the use or forbearance, but also the strength and quantity of this exotic beverage.

As the nature of coffee is more fiery and active than that of tea, and the frequent ufe of it may confequently be more danger-. ous, every man's own experience should direct him how and when to use or forbear it; but the trial should be fairly made with care and caution.

Chocolate is nourishing and balsamic, when fresh and good; but very disagreeable to the ftomach, when the nut is badly prepared, and is greasy, decayed, or rancid.

Perfons of tender conftitutions should be careful to chew their meat well, that it may be more easily digefted.

As the human body is a fyftem of pipes, through which fluids are perpetually circu lating; and as life fubfifts by this circulation, contrived by infinite Wisdom to perform all the animal functions; it is obvious that exercise must be neceffary to health, because it preferves this circulation by affifting digeftion, and throwing off fuperfluities. Befides, we fee every day, that the active are stronger than the fedentary; and that thofe limbs of labouring men, which happen to be most exercised in their refpective occupations, grow proportionably larger and firmer than thofe limbs which are lefs employed.

Three things are neceffarily to be confidered, with regard to exercife: First, What is the best fort of exercise. Secondly, What is the best time to use it: And, thirdly, What is the proper degree or meafure to be used. As to the first, though various exercises fuit various conftitutions, as they happen to be robust or delicate, yet, in general, that fort is beft to which one has been accustomed, which he has always found to agree with him, and in which he takes the greateft delight,

In the fecond place, the best time to use exercise is when the ftomach is most empty. Some cannot bear it quite fafting, and therefore to them exercise is proper enough after a light breakfast, or towards evening, when dinner is pretty well digested; but fhould never be attempted foon after a full meal, by fuch as are under no neceffity to work for their daily fubfiftence.

Laftly, The measure or proportion of exercise fit for every individual is to be estimated by the ftrength or weakness of his conftitution; for, when any perfon begins

to

to fweat, or grow weary or fhort-breathed, he fhould forbear a while, in order to recover himself, and then refume his exercise again, as long as he can purfue that method with eafe and pleafure: But, if he perfifts until he turns pale, or languid, or stiff, he has proceeded too far, and must not only forbear exercise for the present, but fhould allo ufe lefs next day. In general, it is to be obferved, that children and old people require much less exercise, than thofe who are in the vigour of life.

Exercife may properly be divided into three forts: First, That which is performed by the intrinfic powers of our own body only, as walking, running, dancing, playing at ball, reading aloud, &c. Secondly, That which is performed by the powers of fome other bodies extrinfic to us, as geftation in wheel-machines, horse-litters, fedanchairs, failing, &c. And, thirdly, That which partakes of both the former, as riding on horfeback, wherein we exercife our own powers by managing our horfes, and holding our bodies firm and upright, while the horfe performs the part of a vehicle.

Without entering into the ancient dif putes of philofophers about the most healthful of all these forts, we may venture to affirm in general, that what is performed by our own powers is the most proper for perfons of a strong and healthy conftitution; that what is performed by external helps only, is moft proper for the infirm and delicate; and that the exercise performed partly by ourselves, and partly by foreign affiftance, is moft fuitable to fuch as are neither very robuft nor very tender: And, as to the particular benefits which arife from riding on horseback, they have been set forth in so rational and lively a manner, by Sydenham and Fuller, that nothing material can be added to their arguments; and it has been already obferved, that whatever advantage can be received from a good digeftion, may in an eminent degree be expected from this exercise, adjusted accurately to the ftrength of the rider.

After exercife we run a great risk of catching cold (especially if we have been in any degree of Iweat) unless we take care to prevent it, by rubbing our bodies well with a dry cloth, and changing our linen, which fhould be previously well aired: But, of all the follies committed immediately after exercife, the moft pernicious is that of drinking fmall liquors of any fort quite cold, when a man is hot; whereas, if we drank them blood-warm, they would quench our thirft better, and could do us no injury.

Lean people are fooner weakened and wafted by too much exercise, than those who

are plump; and every man fhould reft for fome time after exercife, before he fits down to dinner or fupper.

Sleep and wakefulness bear a great refemblance to exercise and reft; as wakefulness is the natural state of action, in which the animal machine is fatigued and wafted, and fleep the state of cafe, in which it is refreshed and repaired. The viciffitude of fleeping and waking is not only neceffary, but pleafing to our nature, while each is confined within its proper limits. But, you will afk, What limits fhould be affigned to fleep? The answer is, that, though different conftitutions require different measures of fleep, yet it has been in general obferved, that fix or feven hours are fufficient for youth or manhood, and eight or nine for infancy or old-age, when they are ftrong and healthy; but the infirm are not to be limited; and, the weaker any perfon is, the longer he ought to indulge himself in fuch a measure of fleep as he finds by experience fufficient to refresh him.

Moderate fleep increases the perfpira tion, promotes digeftion, cherishes the body, and exhilarates the mind; and they, whose fleep is apt to be interrupted by flight caufes, fhould nevertheless keep themselves quiet and warm in bed, with their eyes fhut, and without toffing or tumbling; which will in fome degree answer the pofes of a more found fleep.

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Exceffive fleep, on the other hand, renders the body phlegmatic and inactive, impairs the memory, and ftupefies the underftanding; and exceffive wakefulnefs diffipates the ftrength, produces fevers, dries and wastes the body, and anticipates oldage.

He who fleeps long in the morning, and fits up late at night, inverts the order of nature, and hurts his conftitution, without gaining any time; and he who will do it merely in compliance with the fashion, ought not to repine at a fashionable state of bad health.

A man fhould forbear to fleep after dinner, or indeed at any other time of the day in our cold climate, except where a long habit has rendered fuch a custom almolt natural to him, or where extraordinary fatigue, or want of reft the preceding night, obliges him to it; in which cafe he fhould be well covered, to defend him againft catching cold.

Two hours or more fhould intervene between fupper and the time of going to bed; and a late heavy fupper is a great enemy to fleep, as it difturbs that fweet tranquillity of the body and mind, which is fo refreshing to both.

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