from danger, and from the many abuses to which they are liable from our ignorance, our folly, and our neglect. 15. But oh! how sadly are these faithful servants often abused by us! How often do we give the stomach more labor than it can perform'! How often do we fill it with crude and indigestible materials, until it rebels against our tyranny, or sinks exhausted in our service! How often do many poison it with vile drinks'! How often do they neglect to give it the repose which it needs'! How generally are its laws of healthy action violated'! And the sad consequences—are they not evident all around us, in thousands of cases of suffering, disease, and early death'? 1 SA-LI'-VA; when discharged from the 6 THO-RAC'-10 (tho-ras'-ik); the thoracic mouth it is called spittle. duct is the great trunk of the absorbent vessels. 2 SU-PER-A-BUND'-ANCE, more than enough. 3 IR-RI-TA-TING, causing unhealthy action. 7 AL-I-MENT, food; nutriment. PAN-CRE-AS, a gland that pours out as PUL-SA'-TION, the beating or throbbing of LESSON VI. THE BEST COSMETICS. HORACE SMITH. 1. YE who would save your features florid, Adopt this plan 'Twill make, in climate cold or torrid, 2. Avoid, in youth, luxurious diet; Be wisely gay; So shall ye, spite of Age's fiat, 3. Seek not, in Mammon's worship, pleasure; In books, friends, music, polished leisure: Made the sole scale by which to measure 4. This is the solace, this the science, But challenges, with calm defiance, LESSON VII. ABUSES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS.-LAWS OF THEIR HEALTHY ACTION. 1. We have seen not only that the bones and muscles are formed from the blood, and kept in repair by it, but that the blood itself is formed, by the labors of the digestive organs, out of the food provided for them. It will readily be seen, moreover, that the healthy action of these organs in manufacturing the blood must depend upon several conditions, such as the proper quantity and quality of the food supplied for them to work upon, the times and manner of the supply, and the condition of the system1 when food is taken. 2. Without a suitable quantity of food, there will not be a sufficient quantity of blood to build up the body, and keep it in repair. When the body is growing rapidly, as in youth, more food is required as building material than when the period of youth has ended. This accounts for the keen appetite and vigorous digestion in childhood. For a similar reason, when the body has become emaciated by disease, or want of nutriment, an increased supply is needed to repair the waste. 3. It has been seen that muscular exertion increases the flow of blood, for the purpose of repairing the waste that always attends action. Hence those accustomed to hard labor require a greater supply of food than those of inactive habits or sedentary3 occupations. When, therefore, the amount of exercise is diminished, the quantity of food should be lessened; and if this principle be disregarded, the tone1 of the digestive organs will be impaired,5 and the health of the system enfeebled. The rule of temperance, and its happy results, are thus set forth by the poet Milton: 4. "If thou wouldst observe The rule of not too much, by temp'rance taught, Till many years over thy head return. So may'st thou live, till, like ripe fruit, thou drop 6 Gather'd, not harshly plucked, for death mature.” 5. As a general rule for the quantity of food required, it may be stated that no more should be taken, at any age, or in any condition of the body, than is barely sufficient to satisfy the natural appetite. By a natural appetite is to be understood an appetite that is not perverted by disease, nor by mental excitement; not stimulated by highly-seasoned dishes; and not vitiated by a long period of gormandizing. An unnecessary quantity of food oppresses the stomach, dulls the intellect, and causes general languor9 of the whole body. 8 6. While most kinds of plain food, including ripe fruits in general, may be said to be of good quality, yet some kinds contain a great amount of nutriment, and some but little. Those which contain a very great proportion of nutriment, such as butter, the oils, sugar, and fine flour, are found not to digest so readily as coarser articles of diet, and not to be so well adapted to the purposes of nutrition. 7. A dog fed on pure sugar, or olive oil, will soon become emaciated; but mix bran, or even saw-dust, with the sugar or the oil, and the vigor of the animal will be maintained for months. Feed a horse on grain alone, and he will soon die; but mix hay or straw with it, and no bad effects will be experienced. Our stomachs require, together with nutritious food, a suitable proportion of coarse and bulky, but not indigestible articles. Bread made from flour which contains a portion of the bran is far more conducive to health than that made from a finer material. 8. Animal food is found to be of a stimulating or warming character, while vegetables are the opposite. While both are adapted to nourish man, sometimes one is required, and sometimes the other. In childhood, when the organs are sensitive and excitable, a vegetable diet is usually the most appropriate, while to a person advanced in life an increased proportion of animal food is often found desirable. As a general rule, in the summer season a cooling vegetable diet is found most conducive to health; but those who are exposed to the cold of winter find increased comfort in a greater proportion of animal food. 9. Nature has adapted herself to this principle in stocking the waters of the frozen regions of the world with an abundant supply of animal life for food, while vegetable life abounds in the torrid zone. The temperament10 of the individual should also influence the choice of food; for while the dull and phlegmatic11 may indulge with impunity12 in a stimulating animal diet, the sanguine 13 and excitable are liable to be injured by it. 10. Moreover, food should be taken at regular periods, and at sufficient intervals to allow the process of digestion to be completed, and the organs to obtain adequate repose before they are required to resume their labors. Food or drink taken very hot is a fruitful cause of decayed teeth, sore mouths, and indigestion; and when taken very cold it chills the stomach, and likewise arrests the digestive process. 11. Finally, food should not be taken immediately before nor immediately after severe mental exertion, or bodily toil, nor for, at least, three hours before retiring to sleep. While the brain is laboring under great excitement, the increased flow of blood to that organ causes the stomach to cease its labors; and if, during sleep, the process of digestion is continued, the labor required of the stomach will often cause unquiet rest and troublesome dreams. It is also supposed that, during sleep, the brain does not furnish the stomach the same mental stimulus as during waking hours. sit much. 1 SYS'-TEM, an assemblage of things formed 3 SED'-EN-TA-RY, inactive; accustomed to into a regular whole; here used for the whole body. 2 E-MA'-CIA-TED, thin; wasted away. 4 TONE, healthy state or condition. 6 "MOTHER'S LAP," here used for the earth 10 TEM-PER-A-MENT, state or constitution of or grave. the body. 7 VI-TIA-TED (vish'-a-ted), injured; changed 11 PHLEG-MAT'-1€, dull; sluggish. from a healthy state. 8 GOR'-MAND-IZ-ING, eating greedily, and too much. 9 LĂN’-GUOB (lang-gior), feebleness. 12 IM-PU'-NI-TY, exemption from punish ment. 13 SĂN-GUÏNE (sang-guin), warm ardent. LESSON VIII. THE FABLE OF THE TWO BEES. 1. ONE fine morning in May, two bees set forward in quest1 of honey; the one wise and temperate, the other careless and extravagant. They soon arrived at a garden enriched with aromatic2 herbs, the most fragrant flowers, and the most delicious fruits. They regaled3 themselves for a time on the various dainties set before them; the one loading his thighs at intervals with wax for the construction of his hive, the other reveling4 in sweets, without regard to any thing but present gratification. At length they found a wide-mouthed phial, that hung filled with honey beneath the bough of a peach-tree. The thoughtless epicure,5 in spite of all his friend's remonstrances, plunged headlong into the vessel, resolving to indulge himself in all the pleasures of sensuality.6 2. The philosophic' bee, on the other hand, sipped with caution; but, being suspicious of danger, flew off to fruits and flowers, where, by the moderation of his meals, he improved his relish for the true enjoyment of them. In the evening, however, he called for his friend, to inquire whether he would return to the hive, but found him surfeited in sweets which he was as unable to leave as to enjoy. Clogged in his wings, enfeebled in his legs, and his whole frame enervated,' he was but just able to bid his friend adieu, and to lament with his latest breath that, though a taste of pleasure may quicken the relish of life, an unrestrained indulgence is inevitable1o destruction. |