Health and Hard Muscles.

Manawatu Herald, 29 November 1898, Page 3

Health and Hard Muscles.

If John Simpson were not a blacksmith we , might not have occasion to allude to him ■ at the very outset of this wiring. But he | i* a blacksmith and wi I thus serve an im- : portant purpose ; ihat, too, without having i to pat on his leathtr apron to do it. j And he will do it by standing in front of ; his forge for five minutes while we all take j a look at him. He is a s vong and robust j man, as Mr Dickens' a Joo Gargery was — as a'l blacksmiths ought to be. Ought to ' be, I say. But are they ?— as a matter of j fact? No, they are riot — not by many a length of nail rod. i Now it is somehow a common notion j that all men who work i ard, especially ' amid rough surroundings and in the fresh air, are apt to be vigorous healthy follows ; ' they are euppos d to joke at doqtors, to , have no use for apothecari- 8, aud even to regard undertakers as the necessity of a distant future. Is this view a true view ? Are health and hard muscle's always found together? Take your time to think.! Meanwhile we will hear what Mr Simpson \ himself says : — I "Up to "the spring of 1885," he writes in a letter dated May sth, 1893, " I was strong as most men — perbans stronger than most. Then I began to suffer from illDess. My victua s and I had a falling out. Attev every meal I had great pain and fulness of the ohe6t. Then I got into such a condition that I bad these feelings nearly all the

whi'e. I tried to avoid them by eatiog nothing but light -food, but the result was just the same. I tbink ft morsel of bread wou'd have hurt me a most as much as a round of beef. Then I . began to lose w ight, and had all I cou'd do to keep up v,iih my work. The doctor gave me medicine, but I got no help from it. "I was wondering how ibis would end when I heard of Mother Seigel's Curative Syrup and bought a bottle of it from Mr James Cropsley. the grocer at Mile Wa'k. The effect was* speedy. It appeared to go straight to the right spot, and it wasn t long before I was able to eat without any pain to follow. Then my strength and flesh gradually came back, and ever since I have done my work as easily as I did before the disease, whatever it was, overtook me. (Signed) John Simpson, CUviger, near Burnley." ' "Now, about that health and hard muscle question that I put to the reader; what's the answer ? Why, of course, the answer what any intelligent man wonld make who thinks wi'h his eyes open. No; heath and hard muscles are not always found together. But let us look sharp and commit no errors. TEe facts run this way ; While a man cannot grow strong Without a certain degree of health, it is also true that a notable amount of muscular power is consistent with both organic and funotionaltrouble of the s:oraach, liver, kidneys, or heart. A man may be able 1 0 lift 500 pounds, and drop dead within a minute after he does it. Sailors, farmers, miners, drivera of trams, 'butses, &c, outdoor labourers of different * sorts (especially after reaching mid life) nearly all fall victims to rheumatism, n.ervous debility, or dyspepsia. Yes, anddd haid work for years just the some. I said "or ' dyspepsia. Leave out the •' or" and say dyspepsia— dyspapsia only— and you have si reck bottom. This prod.ices al' the other maladies ; they are mercy results and symptoms of it. .Tare's no keeping .clear of it by running "off to sea, v.orking on a farm, or diving down into a mine. No matter where you go or what you do, indoors or out, e'erking in the B ink of England, or driving the locomotive of the Scotch Express -dyspepsia will get hold of you if you give it a chance And most men do that as if they were as eager to be ill as they are to be rich. Which r minds me to. tell you in a subsequent article how to avoid dyspepsia. For this ttme I can one speak of how to cure it. Imitate John Simpson's example. Do v, hat he did. And remember that stalwart men -(all unconscious) often stand nearer a b d of pain, nearer d ath, than do the feeble women who.n they pity