practice, and fit only for a porter or a sailor,—and, perhaps, scarcely fit for him. Snuff-taking is not quite so repulsive to all decency; but the principal difference is, that one is a wet nuisance and the other is a dry one. Snuff, except as a medicine, is hurtful. It thickens the membrane of the nose, and impairs the olfactory nerves, the sense of smelling being, in the same degree, lessened. Pretty much of this powder goes into the stomach to be mixed with the food. It occasions heartburn, a tendency of blood to the head, with a swelling and discolouration of the nose. No advantage is gained to the snuff-taker; for, as Burke observes, 66 they who use snuff take it almost without being conscious that they take it, and the acute sense of smell is deadened, so as to feel hardly any thing from so strong a stimulus." The best rule, with regard to temperance in eating, is, never to use artificial stimulants, and never to go as far as the appetite will allow. If a person be favoured with a good constitution, and be not suffering from any disease, he will possess a sufficiently strong disposition for eating; and, if he be temperate, he will seldom disorder his digestive powers. A great deal of pleasure sometimes arises from a slight sensation of hunger for then the body is free, and the spirits are light. He that can master himself, with regard to his appetite, accomplishes a great victory. Cosmo de Medicis, although surrounded by magnificence and luxury, lived very abstemiously, and indulged himself in no delicacies whatever. Epicurus lived on bread and water, or, as a treat occasionally, on herbs. When the attendants on the court of France reproached M. de Sully, the minister, with the plainness of his table, he replied, "If my guests are men of sense, there is enough for them; and if not, I do not desire their company." Milton habitually lived with great plainness; and the same may be said of Sir Isaac Newton. With regard to drinking, it may be affirmed, that wine and spirits are not necessary for healthy men; but they may be used occasionally as a means of entertainment, for the sake of promoting conviviality and good will; that is, if they be used moderately; if not, let them be laid aside. Plato would allow no one, under the age of eighteen, to drink wine; and this, perhaps, was a judicious prohibition. The "Temperance Society" allows wine, beer, cider, perry, and some other drinks; but it totally prohibits ardent spirits, except as a medicine. It would be better, however, to allow the use of all occasionally, but of none habitually. There was a vast deal of drunkenness before distillation was invented; for when the people were inclined to drown their senses, and could not procure one thing they would another. The plan which the "Temperance Society" adopts, of circulating tracts exhibiting the evils of intoxication, is certainly excellent, and calculated to lead people into the way of promoting their own happiness. Many a man frequents the ale-house or the tavern because it contributes to his enjoyment. It is the nature of evil to offer an alluring snare. Perhaps, also, abstracted from the pleasures of inebriation, there may be some superior attractions in the ale house: in the winter evening there may be a cheerful fire, and merry company; there may be also a consciousness of freedom which may not be felt on other occasions. If this be true, let the wife, who is now left solitary, consider how she may reclaim her husband. Cannot she, too, make the fire burn brightly, and encourage cheerfulness, give her husband smiles and allure him, rather than frowns, and drive him? A bad husband frequently sours the disposition of a wife, but many a wife ruins the husband. If there be a perpetual noise within doors, a man will go abroad for peace. If every thing be disorderly, dirty, comfortless, and gloomy, the husband will go where he may spend his time more pleasantly. People generally follow their own interest when they see it. Let the wife, then, make the home the most pleasant place, and the husband will seldom go abroad. These remarks will equally apply to low life and high life. The advantage of temperance, as it regards even this life, is incalculable. "It is pleasant," observes Archbishop Tillotson, " to command our appetites and passions, and to keep them in due order, within the bounds of reason and religion."-" Rightly to manage our appetites," says Dr. Beattie, "so as to keep them in a due subordination to reason, is a chief part of virtue." It increases the comforts of a man's days, and it lengthens his years. By the aid of temperance, St. Anthony, St. Jerome, and James the hermit, lived to more than a century. It enables a man to practise his duty to his fellowcreatures, to benefit himself, and to perform his obligations to the Deity. . CHAP. VI. ON EXERCISE AND RELAXATION. MOTION is necessary to the health and beauty of creation. The animal world is all activity, from the minutest to the greatest production of the Creator; the fly wings its way among sunbeams, the condor circles the globe, the huge whale rolls and plunges among boisterous waves. Vegetation, also, from the spire of grass to the cedar of Lebanon, is in continual motion, exhibiting new forms and beauties. The rains descend from the mountains, and glide along in rivulets till they become united with the rivers, and are lost in the ocean. The vapours rise into the heavens, and become the sport of winds. "By ceaseless action, all that is exists; Constant rotation of the unwearied wheel Dr. Barrow eloquently observes, "The heavens do roll about with unwearied motion, the sun and stars do perpetually dart their influences; the earth is ever labouring in the birth and nourishment of plants; the plants are drawing sap, and sprouting out fruits and seeds, to feed us and propagate themselves. The rivers are running, the seas are tossing, the winds are blustering, to keep the elements sweet in which we live." It Exercise is essentially necessary for man. purifies the blood, stimulates the appetite, assists digestion, carries off the superfluous particles of the body, cleanses the porous system, strengthens the nerves, gives vigour to the muscles, and excites the mental powers. On the other hand, those who lead a life of inactivity are troubled with loss of appetite, impurity of blood, imperfect digestion, weakness, lowness of spirits, and frequently with deep melancholy. "A state of sloth," as Malthus observes, "and not of activity, seems evidently to be the natural state of man." This inclination, however, should not be gratified, but opposed. An hypochondriac gentleman one day consulted the famous Fallopius: the anatomist, after listening to his complaints, replied, "Sir, you are too idle." The man was bound, with what Akenside terms "The silken fetters of delicious ease." Active people are generally light-hearted and healthy. Gay thus describes the country girl, as a contrast to the delicate and luxurious : "She never feels the spleen's imagined pains, Nor melancholy stagnates in her veins; The ploughboy may be happier amidst his toilsome engagements than the indolent and pampered heir to a throne. The hard-working man may be "Healthy by temperance and by exercise;" while his richer neighbour, conceiving that labour |