Sleep, or, The hygiene of the night / by W.W. Hall.

  • William Whitty Hall
Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sleep, or, The hygiene of the night / by W.W. Hall. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    354/364 page 344
    Among these the most stereotyped are, dimness of vision, loss of memory, incapability of mental con- centration, no steadiness of purpose, depression of spirits, etc. Then certain physical appearances are noted as corroborative of the existence of the malady in question. The youth, not having opportunities of comparing himself with others ; not knowing that a good many of these very appearances are natural, or are not incompatible with perfect health, be- comes alarmed, and in his fright appeals to the author of the book he has been reading, to save him by all means from the impending ruin and disgrace. A fee is extorted, which is up to the utmost ability of the victim to raise. Eemedies are used. They do not change the condition of things; simply because the conditions are in many cases not unnatural; but the patient is made to believe that it is because the case is more desperate than was imagined, and that more powerful and more expensive remedies must be used. These are alike unavailing; meanwhile, weeks and months pass away; the victim has spent all the mo- ney he can “ rake and scrape,” “ beg, borrow, or steal ” literally, and then writes to some known physician in the strain of the letters already quoted, to make at least one more attempt at rescue; or if he does not this, he settles down in the despair which leads to suicide. But there is sometimes a more dreadful ending so far as mental and bodily sufferings are concerned; we say more dreadful with design ; for it is more so in proportion as it is more of a calamity to die on the rack than by a cannon-ball. When the sharper has obtained all the money possible from its victim, and wishes to get rid of him, he says in plain language : “ There is no help for you but in marriage.” But often this is an impossible remedy, and even if it were practicable, the patient has such a view of his
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