BE GUIDED BY OTHERS EXPERIENCES. The Case of Mr. R. H. FLETCHER

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 85

BE G UIDE D BY OTHERS EXPERIENCES. The Case of Mr. R. H. FLETCHER

(it jl loctXiu reporter.) Absolve hunger is hob a trial which it ' usually familiar in tti»cbttnlry\ and howeve* •nuch imagination may. tafte: the place of experience; the realisation of,its' terrors can , not fe very vivul unless they have been enanrcd ; &Kfc when all "t'lte «vils of life' art reduced to their elententesy forms, sickneai is undoubtedly the nio«t real, siid, it ia to •aye our'fellows fi-dm hardships in that re Bpect thafeuch aid .as the following \rji solicited by a reporter- from 'Mr. Robert Henry Fletcher, of 9 Hope-street, Dunedin, who said : "Some four years back my health was laa- very queer state indeed. It was after tile . ' Busy sc-asou of Christmas time that I found ' my nerves had collapsed under the heavy ■train, but I was in hopes that the rest X j would get during the holidays plight have the effect of bracing me up again. It was not io be, however, and instead of getting better I got considerably worse." j "You mean that other complication* ! arose ? " suggested the pressman. " Just so ; for one thing J experienced tha > disadvantage, of losing my 'appetite, »s I; | could not eat anything with the least degree?* j of relish, and the unfortunate part of it all; I was, that the small quantity I did partake; I of did not do me any good. 4 Quite the re. , ! verse, in point of -fact^for then I had all tho' unpleasant seittatioiis of indigestion. to. cou-^; tend with v ino*;the 4east atmoyJng of' lfhioh 1 ; was a gveat'sense of oppression in my qhesC,; i as if what I had swallowed had stopped ' there and turned to stone. Troubles were '• further augmented, through the fermentation ' of the food, which brought about a very ! uncomfortable sensation in - the stomacU j when it became filled with wind,* and X suffered very much with a Bort> of headachw J like a throbbing y in my temples. It was *. , very' nnltappy Christmas for me, but I woultt not have jninded that so much if I had only gotbetterand bcenable to start work afresh. I *, " Y.oii were sufferfbg some time, then/ " Yes, uirformpatf ly ;>|sid all the doetor'a medicines, and patent medicines could nob ! alleviate my. distress! I grew more languid. * and melancholy than ever: Signs of kidney ' disorders cropped up, and I was persecuted; . ; with acute paina across the loins, which made it a misery to walk. A yellow fur spread across my. tongue, showiug the bad state, of , -my internal orgo-ns, ami I always. had a vil« taste In the mouth, in tlie mornings especially. Restlessuess at nights. was another thing ißat helped io fncrease iriy weariness, and I did .not seem my.better even when I did get a little sleep, for I felt so worn out ■ at the -beginning of each -day that I did, not . . care Jiow .tilings i went, i-wed to have' dreams like the nightmare, and when I got up from bed in the mornings my limbs almost ached for the want of strength. The doctor ' said it was my nerves that were causing all the trouble, and no doubt he was riglit-, tor they j used to shake terribly, and another indication I of my nervous affections was that my mind.-; was always upset with thoughts that wero never agreeable. I used to get one little worrying idea in my mind, and I could think of nothing else for hours. It was a' life oi wretchedness that I was leading, and I am thankful that at last I purchased somt Clements Tonic and set myself free. " "How did you come to take Clements Tonic?" . .... "Through reading, some testimonial*: 2 about it, aud I think I ought to* give one iu,^ return- to guide those who are sJil suffering.' c ♦It was a wonderful difference which Clements ; Tonic made in me, .-steadying rajr- nerves,: making me eat, and overruling my internal disorders so cempletely that soon my dige»- , i tion was all right. It- was a perfect cure for \ flatulence and chest pains, and for mtfking ; ' me sleep well I -give .Clements Tonic tb« palm over everything. In course of time the pains across my loius had taken their departure, and I was intensely, gratified t< find that my kidney disorders had been ' remedied, because the symptoms belongiuf ' to that complaint' were gone, and with each .- bottle of Clements Tonic my vitality in- " creased remarkably. When my nervjjuf . system was properly balanced again T Had . do anxious thoughts to worry me, and when | I could resume work with the same vigor as before my illness I sincerely tbankjTd \ Jlements Tonic, for it had made a health} man of me." . " Can I make use of your statements ? " '■ " You can publish them to the wholt world, in any form you like." BTATUTORY DECLARATION T, Robskt Hkmrt Flbtciikk, o( No. 9 Hope-»treet. Dunedin, in the Colony of New Zealaud, do ■olt.mnly and cinc&rMy dttiMte that I bave c&ref uHf j-ead th«aunesed document confuting; ot two folio* ami oon» •ecutively numbered from one to two, and tftft it ' conlaius and it a true and faithful account of n»y illnew and' cure-by Clem«ntf Tonic, and aljo contftlDt. ■ my tult permiaion to -piibiUh in Any way my mxk- " mecU— which I g-ive voluntarily, without rceaMny f anr payment.^, and I. make, this joltntn dcwtjauop c6rtsciehtroUßly beifevihg Hie sun* to bt hrU, ttfl . by virtue of the provi«ioti»or»» ActOf the Otncnlr: Awembty of K w*Z. aland, in tifcu«d " Th» Juitiott o» • Ptaca Act, 1181." - , . : D«e|ared at Dunedin. this thirtieth day of March •n't thousand niue hundred and three, before me. JAMES WREN, 9.W.

•1- , ... ; In their eyes the value of merely material things. Another matter to Ec taken into account !■ style. If we want our children to write feure and good English we must see thai the pocks we put into their hands are really EcU-written, that the rjhoice of wordt is fitng and dignified, and the sentences herinohious and well-balanced. It is especially "pnnrnmiff to ttwell on this point, because go many winters of books {or children in Ibfltr effort to be easy and intelligible sucteed merely is being twaddlimr and trivial.

And oH tne other hand, writers of school text-boejes, Absorbed with the matter in band, often use words and expressions which ar* not only ungraceful and awkward, but aunost unintelligible to the v*ry people for whom the books are attended- Yet we should really write with even snore <iare for children than for grown-up people, beoauee children are so impreesionogie and ixnitaSv*, epd what they read now will determine le way in which they- will express themselves by-and-bye. A well-fe/own inspector of «ohoo!« to whom I m«« 'talking a little while ago condemned * Vvy popular hifi-

I tory text-book lor this very reason. "Winy," ! he said "put hi the hancfa of children at a most impressionable age a book which, while correct in facts, is written in a maai- . ner which would be deprecated by any competent critic of English style?" * ! After referring to stimulating methods to be used by parents — the lecture was : delivered tna&ly for mothers — such as j telling stories and- providing similar ones I for reading, telling part and leaving ohilda^en to read the remainder, giving a part of lesson time for silent reading — a concession relished because it will not be a •t«isk, — axtd co on, otiher difficulties are discussed : penny dreadfuls, foolish sentimental love stories, and, as bad as aay, boek<s written for children simply to amuse, and without any attempt at literary value either of etyle or subject mat/ber. Now, I do not say that children's books should be written to instruct, like the old stories of Mrs Sherwood and Miae Edgeworth — though a great deal might be said for those of the latter, — but I do thank that in providing all this soft fare for children we Ton some danger of emaecrtla&ing their taste, and by feeding them always an milk we render them unfit to attack harder meat. I do not say that: thane is .any positive harm ir -these books, ' iwt they do a»t lead to anything better, and> on iht^.jghcAe, I tfrmk that we of an older generation, who were leas vreil' provided wjtfe. books specially written for us, and had .to depend for our sustenance . oi- the authors* whose Teal appeal was. to grown-up people, had a better chance of foNain£ a genuine taste lor Ktwattaw. What I think is the danger, now is that the boys and girls — and especially the girls— who axe so well supplied with books especially written for them will care for nothing but novels when- they ane grown tip. (To be continued.)