'-Vf. >5"'"-t • .'/Sfe: :v^T..' '"*" • -■■"■*■ • .'V 'w., :"\ ■^..-'f.'.'" -.«■..»} ^ - ■;•, *> r- \ ^.i, NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE Bethesda, Maryland ^fe w • r^l, ^N >x\/\ 1 * '* * THE BEING AN INVESTIGATION OF THE CAUSES, WHICH DIMINISH THE M >KAL A*D PHYSICAL PERFECTION OF liUMAN SOCIETY : IN WHICH Many hereditary popular Custom", gen- erally SUPPOSED INNOCKNT, Ar;K >HEWN TO BK P.i.')DJCTIVK OF PDIGRNCE, DIsEA^E, AND PkF MATURE TfcE- MINATIuN OF LIFE. BY A FRIEKD 7 0 MANKIND. Published in the United Stales, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUfiLIC. 1813. PREFACE. THE scnlimttds ofthm. little singular per- formance, are the result of many years attentive observation and patient riftectren. And though they are published in obedience to the impulse of eonscientious duty, and a settled conviction of their propriety; yet the Publuher docs net de- ceive himself with the fallacious expectation that ihey rcill effect the prompt and extensive refor- mation of manners and customs, ivhiai Ihey en- join. If society already recognised its errata clearly f yet men will find it harder to correct their mistakes, than it was to make them.—// this Treatise should hare the effect cf exciting fts readers to a more diligent search after en un- derstanding of the designs of the Creator, and vf the laws which he has ordained for the gov- ernment of cur conduct; the writer will think that he has not labored in vain. Whenever men shalt agree to make moral rectitude their inflexi- ble rule of action, each individual must be per- suaded in Ms"own mind, independently oj the dictatorial precepts cf one another, that his wel- fare and happiness will be thereby promoted. One particular cbjtct of the work is to incul- cate the 7:cccssiiy and ehty of general economy and simplicity cf manners. It may be confidents ly presumed, fiiat if the idolatrous and slavish sacrifices of property, to pride, fashion, tupci'sti- tion, custom, extravagance and depraved appetite, were abolished,- Pom (7, with Us hidecus train ef noes, might be expel led from society, and general Plenty, with its setting train of blessings, sub- stituted in their stead. THE Philosophical Monitor. —^»-—♦—<•»— PT10 attack ancient and favorite hub- -*- its and prejudices, is not a very encouraging or agreeable undertaking. While error is venerated for its anti- quity, truth is discarded for its novel- ty. But there is great consolation in the consciousness of having done our best to benefit our fellow-men, even if bur good offiees are not kindly receiv* ed or duly appreciated. Useless Trades.—As it is our design to promote the prosperity of society in the aggregate,, it is hoped that individuals whose occupations de- pend on those popular follies which we shall endeavor to exterminate, will not be offended at the course, which a sense of duty impels us to pursue. " It will be impossible to do much good without some persons accounting 4 • themselves injured by what you do.— You will unavoidably serve some in- terests to which others are inimical." We cannbt subscribe to the doctrine of Goldsmith and Franklin, that luxu- ry and fanciful fashions are beneficial upon a general scale, because they multiply employment for the laboring classes of society. It is painful to see the British Prince Regent recom- mending a revival of the use of shoe buckits for the purpose of furnishing employment to indigent mechanics, ■when "but for the destruction of such an' immensity of property, within a single century, by false pride, luxury, and extravagant ambition, a nation combining the genius, industry and resour.es of Great Britain, would now find itself overflowing with wealth and general prosperity. Early Habits.—To scrutinize and determine the propriety or impro- priety of ideas afid habits acquired from precept or example in early life, (when their correctness is not called in qucs- 5 fion,) we need the faculty of divesting ourselves from the influence of previ- ous impressions, and of viewing things. with which we have been long famil- iarised, as though they were ntwly presented to our senses. Errors of Society.—What is the design of our existence ? What path are we destined to tread, and whatare our relative duties? Have we not vagrated from our appropriate orbits ? Fellow travellers, we have strayed from the circle marked by our divine Father, and plunged ourselves into a wilderness of error, in which our lives are beset with perplexity, and terminated prematurely. sRegardlcss of the sbafts of wit or resentment, or the imputation of eccentricity,we shall endeavor to exhibit a faithful chart of the mistakes and eccentricities of soci- ety. Food.—Does man make use of the kinds of food to which nature has a- dapted his constitution and organiza- tion ? The proper food for all pther A2 6 animals, may be ascertained with con- siderable exactness from their con- struction. Thus the lion, the tiger, the wolf, the dog, the cat, the owl, the hawk, &c. are evidently qualified and destined to seize and devour other an- imals —the ox, the sheep, &c. to feed on grass and the leaves of plants : — the squirrel, &c. on seeds and nuts. Hence there is no evidence in the con- Structiqn of the human body, that we are, by nature, a carnivorous animal. Those human teeth, erroneously de- nominated by naturalists canine teeth, have, no resemblance to dogs teeth, which are round and pointed. Our grinders are not fluted like those of the rapacious animals, (Ferae.) They re- semble those of the other animals of the order Primates, to which man be- longs, and in which no other species but man subsist on other animals, and also those cf the squirrel race.(Giires.) Man was unquestionably destined to subsist on millc,eggs,farinaceous seeds and roots, pulse, nuts, fruits, &c.---- T These substances have bfen repeated- ly demonstrated to be sufficiently nu- tritive, and more favorable to health and longevity, than the flesh of ani- mals. Several individuals in England and in the United States, have re- nounced that food which has already served as a vehicle of animal life, and are enjoying an improved state of health. The writer of this discourse, has attained a degree of health, by ab- staining totally from the use of flesh, tea, coffee, sugar and spiritous liquors, which, compared with his former hopeless1 situation, is a phenomenon. " Many'millions of thff inhabnants o£ India, called Gentoos, never eat flesh or any thing that hasliv^fi, but subsist chiefly on rice and fruits, and enjoy health and strength, and long life.' — (Blair's Universal Preceptor.) Animal Food.—The putrid de- composition, peculiar to the flesh of animals after death, must generate many malignant and fatal disjases, from which man would be exeinpt, 8 were he to restrict his appetite to the? vegetable kingdom. But if so great a reverse of habit as this should be impracticable; it would still be an im- portant acquisition merely to have ban- ished from the human table, the flesh of swine. The boar belongs to the order Belluse in natural history ; and is the only animal of that order which man devours. The ancient Patriarchs very properly prohibited the eating of his " unciean carcase.3' Lewis Cor- naro, a Venetian, who informs us that he regained his lost healtifc^nd pro- longecUiis life to the age of upwards mf one hundred years, by regulating his manner of living, says he found pork, pastry,^c. to be injurious to his health. The writer has experienced much worse eftects from the use of the flesh and fat of the hog, than of the ox or sheep, which belong to the order Pecorae, and are graminivorous animals.* Of birds, those of the order " l)f. VViUich iu his treatise on regimen and Jom£ life, gays that park ii very injurious t« 9 Gallinae, or the poultry kind, are much preferable to those of the order Cen- sores, or duck kind. If animal food is taken at all, it should be used only at dinner, with twice its quantity of .vegetables, anel by no means for sup- per ; for the atmosphere supplies a much less quantity of oxygen gas, more of which is necessary for tlie di- gestion of flesh, than vegetables, in the night than in the day time. Vegetable Food. Sugar, Cof- fee, Tea &c.—Of vegetable food, the most mischievous articles are su- gar, pastries, sweet-meats, pres^ves, gingerbread, shortened tfqp:s,.jfack-49*.,*. ers'i-nd biscuit; sugar candies, toys and lozenges, &c. the manflpcture and sale of the most e)f which, ought to be prohibited, as public nuisances ; of consumptive and scrofulous persons, and oaght to be eaten only by those who have strong bile, and athletic constitutions. Mr. Russell, a gentleman of the state of Maryland, who ha<1 been in bad health many years, recovered im- mediately on abstaining from pork, bj the ad,- rice of a physician- 10 the perniciousness of which,' children and ignorant people, are incapable of judging. If we do not trespass cm the province of the wolf and the vulture, in feeding on carnage and blood, we certainly do on the rights of the ox Imd the horse, in adopting sugar, (or salts of a species of grass) as an arti- cle of aliment. It requires but a small share of common sense to percievc that the juice of the stem of the corn plant, exists not in equal perfection with the ingredients of the mature seeds. The difference between the sap tfed sf^ds of vegetable, is much ^ the same as between grass and the milk of ajjpw. The sugar oPcane contains tod much acid (chiefly oxalic acid) to be applied, habitually, either to the human teeth or stomach. It contains 64 parts in a hundred of oxy- gen,and is used externally as an escha- rotic. Medical writers differ in their opinion of its fitness for human food. Darwin considers it to be innocent and ealutary. Locke, Buchan and YYil- II lich, think the free use of it perni- cious.* The writer has experienced and witnessed such effects from the use of sugar, as to be fully convinced that it ought to be expunged from the catalogue of human aliments. It is no libel on its character, to say, that it is a poisonous substance, and acts as such on debilitated constitutions ; decomposing the teeth, producing thirst, palpitation, fever, head ache; and acidity and pain in the stomach. It is generally conceded that it gene- rates worms in children. It is em- ployed to disguise the taste of several other pernicious articles ; as tea, cof- fee, distilled spirits, &c. until the re- luctant appetite is perverted and re- conciled to their daily use. These four insatiable but fashionable leeches to the public wealth, and canker worms to health and lite, ought to be exter- *l)r. Wiltich says that sugar produces mu- cus and acid in the stomach, and injures di- gestion ; ami that it ought to be used very sparingly by debilitated persons. lfc initiated, if it were for no other reason, than their enormous expense ; but still more for their deleterious effects. The mischief of cotfee and tea, is dou- bled by the hot water in which they are drank, Coffee is the product of a poisonous shrub and though a useful medicine, if drank constantly will at length induce a decay of heajth-, and hectic fever.* Tea possesses an acrid astringent quality peculiar to most leaves and exterior bark of trees and corrodes and paralyzes the nerves ; as experienced by Wesley and thou- sands of others as well as by the wri- ter of these remarks. How shall we account for this universal infatuation ? Is nature so partial and niggardly, that she has denied the American con- tinent a single product fit for an in- fusion at our tables ? Is it fashion, pride, depraved appetite or reason, that induces almost all the inhabitants of America, to drink East India tea, t See Dr. Willic.h's Art of preserving Health and prolonging life. 13 and West India coffee,in preference to that agreeable, salubrious and plenti- ful fluid, milk. Professors of religion and humanity, ought to reflect, that in purchasing sugar, rum, coffee &c. pro- duced from the labor of slaves, they become voluntary participators in the injustice of slavery, equally as they would in the crime of piracy, by pur- chasing its plunder, and thereby en- couraging its perseverance and exten- sion. Bread.—Another general defect in domestic economy, is the usual method of preparing bread,. The fer- mentation of bread, is a chemical pro- cess ; and every bread maker ought to be acquainted with the elements of chemistry. Bread is generally injur- ed byr being fermented too long.---- The baker, intent on giving his bread the greatest possible sponginess and bulk, suffers it to remain so long in a stale of effervescence, that its whole- some constituents are decomposed, and converted into an acid, incipiently 14 putrid, and much less nutritious state. The original intention of raising bread by the expansion of carbonic acid, could not have been to decompose it, and reduce it to the state of the yeast with which it is mixed. But these effects occur very rapidly, if the fer- mentation is continued more than two w three hours. Bread is much more wholesome, made up with water, or gruel, than with miik. The milk, be- ing prevented from coagulating, clogs and oppresses the organs ofdigestion. It is a very mischievous and repre- hensible practice, from which bakers ought to be prohibited by the laws; to mix alum, pearl-ash or any other drug, with bread- It is to be regret- ted that so many people, particularly in towns, use bread immediately after k is taken from the oven. Both for the sake of health and economy, it ought to be seasoned at least 24 hours before it is eaten. The injury of hot bread is increased when used with butter, as melted butter, with new or 15 toasted bread, or any other way, is very difficult of digestion and un- wholesome.* Spirituous Liqjjors.—The cus- tom of drinking spirituous liquors, has become so extensive and enormous an evil, in its moral, political and physic- al effects, that it is the duty of the gov- ernment to regulate, and set bounds to its ravages. It is feared that the expostulations of moralists, will have but trifling effect, in checking the pro- gress of this powerful monster ; the offspring of ignorance and depravity. Tobacco.—The increasing habit of chewing, smoking and snuffing to- bacco, is too mischievous a trespass- er on the public health and wealth, to be excused from an examination at the bar of reason. We shall not re- fuse tobacco the credit of being some- times medical, when used temperate- * Bread, after all, is most nutritive, healthy, economical'and palatable, prepared simply vrith water, without fermentation, in the man- ner of the ancient Romans, and of the people •f Scotland at the present day. 16 ly, though an acknowledged poison.— \V hile it relieves some diseases, it ag- gravates others ; and is both unneces- sary and pernicious to persons in health, especially to youth. Chew- ing tobacco is almost uniformly inju- rious. Constantly exciting a dis- charge from the salivary glands, it exhausts the body of one of its most important fluids; produces obstinate chronic diseases ; weakens the organs of digestion, and shortens the term of vital excitability and life. Young persons ought to be prevented, from contracting a habit, which is so very reprehensible, both for its waste of vital power, and property. The same may be s^tid of smoking tobacco, ex- cept that it is more injurious, because commonly practised in greater excess, »■ and in the form of segars, is more ex- pensive. Snuffing powdered tobac- co, when habitual is disgusting, like both the other modes of using it, and injures the whole nervous system, as Well at the sense cf smelling. 17 Air.—Besides the calamities which men bring on themselves by swal- lowing improper articles of food and drink,they unwarily incur still more fa- tal injuries, by disregarding the quality of the air which they breathe. The most universal source of contamina- tion to the air of our dwelling houses, factories, school houses, and church- es, is the use of iron stoves. The bad effects of stoves are acknowledg- ed by nearly all who use them ; but are supposed to be counter-balanced on the score of economy. This is a most egregious and lamentable mistake.— Is health and life, to be put in compe- tition with temporary and imaginary saving of money ? Yet money ought to be religiously economised. But the economy of spoiling the air for res- piration, with iron stoves, is as incon- 4 sistent, as the economy of depriving the stomach of its requisite quantity of food. A due quantity of vital "air, (oxygen gas) is as necessary to the lungs, as the proper quantity of food, B2 18 is to the stomach. Heated iron ab- sorbs oxygen rapidly, and at the same time, exhales a deleterious suf- focating effluvia. This accounts for the distressing head ache, which every one suffers, who breathes the atmos- phere in the vicinity of a heated iron stove. The pain in the brain, occurs from the want of a sufficient oxygena- tion of the blood in the lungs. A similar effect has been produced ot> quadrupeds, by causing venous, in- stead of arterial blood, to pass into the head. The writer rejoices that he is not alone in his opinion of the perni- cious consequences of the custom of osing iron stoves. An intelligent gentlemen has lately declared, that if he were obliged to give 40 dollars a cord lor wood, he would burn it in an open fire place, rather than a stove.— But stoves might be constructed of brick or stone, even with less expense than iron, and much more salubrious. Whatever kind of stoves are used, the invisible fumes of the coals, should 19 never be forced into the room by- valves. The injury of the smoke of wood, to the eyes, is not so great as that of the vapours of burning coals, to the lungs. Disuse of Stoves recommen- ded.—The writer of these observa- tions, has suffered such severe injli- lies to his own health, by being expo- sed to the effects of a stove, while pursuing a course of study at a boar- ding school, and is so perfectly con- vinced of their unprofitableness, from the statements of others, as well, as from chemical facts, that he earnestly recommends it to his fellow citizens, who are using close iron stoves, to de- stroy or lay them aside without delay, aud warm, their rooms in some other rn .-inner. Besides the noxious effluvia minted from stoves, they generally fr- dnce a much greater degree of heat, than is salubrious; and a kind of heat, which being unaccompanied with light, is deleterious to life.* * Vti« fcutphufous exhalation?, c-oiu-.u+u t« 20 Ventilation.—Another cause •f impurity of air, is the neglect of ventilation. The air of rooms, in which many persons are breathing and perspiring, ought to be frequently renewed. " It is not air, Thot from a thousand lungs, reeks back to thine, Sated with exhalations fell and sad." Armstrong. Meeting houses, legislative and public halls, school houses, court hou- ses, hospitals, alms houses, prisons, factories and bed rooms, ought to be furnished with perpetual ventilators. Impropriety of vaults to ne- cessaries.—We are unwilling to dismiss this subject, without pointing out the impropriety of the custom of placing necessary houses over cells. In towns and villages the impurity of both the air and water, is greatly in- creased from this cause The police of the American Metropolis, have set new cast iron stoves, may be id a great measure prevented by heating them to rednesa, and keeping them in that state several houre. 21 an example, which ought to be imi- tated throughout the United States, in prohibiting ee Is, and compelling the ose of portable boxes, or nothing at alt. In cities, the contents of neces- saries, ought by no means to be al- lowed to accumulate more than a week, unless during the winter.---- Besides the filthiness of the custom of digging vaults to necessaries, it is another sufficient reason for abol- ishing it, that the lives of children are thereby constantly endangered, and sometimes destroyed, in the most shocking manner. A most heart-ren- ding instance of this kind, occurred recently in the city of Philadelphia. Water.—it i^ not at ail surprising that the water of cities, is uniformly un- palatable and unwholesome, when the well of the pump and the well of the ne- cessary, are frequently contiguous.---- The water at Washington City, is ex- cellent, and was formerly so at George- town ; but wherever the town extends, the water has become extremely bad. 22 Errors in the choice of medi- cine.—Having given a limited sketch of the errors of man, in respect to food, drink and air, we will next inquire whether he has not also transgressed na- ture's laws, in his choice of remedies for the cure of diseases. Until within a few centuries, or comparatively until within the last century, man selected his medicine principally from the pro- ducts of vegetation. But an era of art has commenced. The palpable voice of nature, and the experience of prece- ding ages, have been set at nought, and man now corrodes and racks his delicate fibres, with almost every metal and min- eral, which the bowels of the earth af- ford. Not contented with the metal in its virgin state, he combines with it the most furious mineral acids that nature and art can produce. These hercule- an agents will unquestionably destroy formidable diseases : but can it be ex- pected that while the euemv is blown up, the citadel shall remain un -Iv^ere i.-^— Calomel (a salt composed of muriatic a- 23 cid and quick-silver, alias sub-muriat of quick-silver) is adopted as a catholi- con, or panacea. A book has been pub- lished by a Frenchman, on the diseases produced by calomel. If the caution of the ex-emperor cf France, to Dr. War- den, respecting the use of mercuryy -should be heeded as it ought to be, by all the practitioners of medicine, he will have paid a debt which he owes man- kind, by preventing eventually, the des- truction of as much human strength and life as he has been the cause of annihila- ting- OXIDED METALS PERNICIOUS.__ Why is medicine almost nniversally dreaded at the present day, more than diseases? Because medicine is almost universally composed of oxided metals; which too often produce more obstinate and lasting diseases than those they cure. Advice to Physicians.—O vc sons of Pzeon ! restore your dismal mines, and your fuming laboratories, to the workers in arts and trades, and re- 24 turn to the flowery path > ofniture. Did not Hippocrates and Galen purify and revive the streams of life, without the aid of mines, furnaces, crucibles and retorts? This is a delicate subject, and we shall for the present defer further re- nin rks on it. Fashion—We shall next com- mence an attack on a variety of cus- toms, originating in mistaken fancy ; 0 and belonging to the empire of fashion. It is doubtless a rational conjecture, that the annual expenditure of society for superfluities and trifling habits, arc as great as for its reasonable necessities. This is a violation of our obligations of duty both to ourselves and to succeed- ing generations. I>i the wanton dissi- pation of property, we not only annihi- late the amount of its present specific value, but also its multiplying power, for perhaps an infinite space of time. Are not the most affluent men, then in- excusable, in robbing their posterity in anticipation, by sacrificing the prop- erty in their possession, in vain amuse- ments and fashions. 25 Frfss.—Immense sums are contin- ually wasted by almost all classes of both sex-s, in superfluities of dress. Two thirds of the expense of hats might be saved, if they were manufactured with a view to utility and durability, instead of fashion and fancy. The external coating of fur, and the towering crown are of no service except for our neigh- bors to look at; and if we were alf to wear plain hats, we should all be con- tented. In the construction of our coats, several dollars each are sacrificed on the altar of fashion ; as otherwise they might be made in a more simple manner, by our females. Whether the utility of colouring clothes, is equal to the expense, is doubtful ; and at a- ny rate, they should never be coloured black or blue; for the former colour weakens the texture of the cloth and both are prejudicial to health. The custom which enjoins it on the relatives of every deceased person, to incur an .extra expense in the purchase of bhick clothes, crapes &c, as a supposed token C 26 of respect to the unconscious dead ; is as superstitious, and absurd, and more unjust, than the custom of savages in depositing the property formerly owned by deceased persons, in the grave with their bodies- Expensive and dashy boots are often used, when shoes would answer every necessary purpose equally as well; and both are generally made so small that their durability is conside- rably lessened; and the toes of the wearer are kept in perpetual and excru- ciating though voluntary torment, from the indurations produced on the joints by the compression. Corsets.—We shall omit to par- ticularize the superfluitits of female ap- parel :—if desirable, theTe will be no difficulty in finding much room for re- trenchment. It would be criminal, however, to neglect this opportunity of condemning, without reservation, the cdious, disgusting, sacrilegious, and suicidal practice of deforming the beau- ty of the human fabric, with COR- SETS and STAYS. 27 Superfluities.-Incalculable sums are uselessly expended for the ornamen- tal appearance of our dwelling houses, churches, tomb stones, carriages, e- quippage for horses, and domestic fur- niture. The wealth which has been vainly if not wickedly squandered in the magnificence of meeting houses, and their lofty steeples, would be sufficient for the establishment of perpetual free schools and free libraries for the instruc- tion of all the poor children in the Uni- ted States.—And which would best ad- vance the cause of virtue and happiness, and promote the glory of God ? Let a reverse experiment solve this problem. Who can contemplate without painful regret, the vast quantity of silver and la- bor which are thrown away never to be recovered, in order to display a few white shining spots, on our carriages, harnesses, saddles and bridles? The superfluities of house furniture are nu- merous and generally so conspicuous, that it is only necessary to invite reflec- tion on their impropriety. The gilding 28 and ornamental work of looking-glasses »nd picture frames, books, chairs, &c. are expensive offerings to those phan- tom idols Fancy and Fashion. The unhealthy manufacture and use of ear- then ware glazed with oxided lead, oughtto be suppressed by governments. Distillation of grain—The destruction.oi fifteen or twenty millions of dollars annually may be accounted to the distillation of bread corn ; and the calamity is doubled by the collateral destruction of morals and health. Foreign Goods.—The whole coun- try i5 drained every spring and autumn, of a large portion of its cash and most \aluab!e productions, to p ,y for foreign commodities; a great proportion of which, might be dispensed with, or manufactured among ourselves. S l a v e n y. —The custom of slavery is not only a complication of (iawiiu) injustice, usurpation and tyranny to its innocent victims, but is also a prolific source of indolence and dissipation, with their invariable offspring, moral and 29 physical degeneracy to the dominant party. It ought therefore to be abol- ished as speedily as possible, without endangering the public tranquility, e- ven if only the welfare of the holders of slaves were the ruling motive. Causes of Poverty. Employ- ment and instruction of the poor.—Among the causes of poverty, besides ignorance and vice, indolence and intemperance, the want of steady employment to all who are able and wil- ling to labor, is one which has not re- ceived the consideration of legislators and moralists that it deserves. A great proportion of cr'unes, might also be traced to this cause. Robbery or for- gery, is the alternative frequently pre- ferred, by persons of weak moral prin- ciples, to starvation or beggary. It is easier to prevent poverty and crimes, by instruction and emplo) ment, than to relieve and suppress them, by charity and punishments. There ought to be a public agricultural and manufacturing institution, in every town and district ; C 2 30 where every male or female capable of digging potatoes, turning a wheel, or working a loom, may be employed and suitably rewarded, whenever applica- tion shall be made. Schools and moral libraries ought to form a department in all such institutions. Theatres and idle amuse- ments.—The expenditure cf such e- normous sums of money as are contin- ually dissipated in play houses, b^lls, novel-reudme; and other idle amu^e- ments, is totally unjustifiable; even if health and virtue were not at die same time impaired. It is surprising that people of renned taste, should be wiilin-g to breathe the vitiated air of crowded theatres and circuses. War.—The consummation of hu- rmn folly and madness is to be icund in the beastly cuttum of nominally ci- vilized as vte!I as savage nations, ic set- tle their differences, through tie medi- um of iron cannon, musket's swords, bayone's, balls, andieaden buiieu ; lire ;;nu bri;tistone,salt-petre andcharcoal;-- 31 •and human blood the final product of the whoie. This method of obtaining justice or injustice, incurs an incalcula- ble sacrifice of wealth and morals, as well as of life. Victors as well as the vanquished, are inevitably losers in the aggregate, unless in the only justifiable case of war—defence of life, liberty and country, against tyrants, or murderous invaders. Remedy for War.—National*nil- itary establishments swallow up a vast .proportion of the revenues of a coun- try, even in time of peace. Is there no alternative ? If not, then let man cease to boast his mored superiority to tygera and dogs. O ye mad nations ! re- trieve your abused divine legacy, rea- son ! Commence >our retreat from the hcirid game of iotly, blood and death, simultaneously. Dismantle .all your war-ships, frigates, &c. and sink in die ocean, or destroy, every engine or in- strument of human destruction. Dis- miss your war servants, and abolish mil- itary schools. Institute a perpetual 32 Congress of delegates, from each nation respectively, to which all national dis- putes, not amicably arranged by agents of the parties, shall be referred for final decision. Mutilation of the Beard.-- We shall close our catalogue of rep- rehensible customs, by adding one more and the most universal and ridiculous one of the whole ; that of mutilating the human countenance of one of its most characteristic and venerable ap- purtenances—the Beard ! In arraign- ing this habit, which has become a sup- posed duty, we expect to be charged with being a litt'e superstitious. It is not so—Our convictions are the result of sober reason and sound philosophy. It is rational to suppose, that unless some useful purpose is effected in the vital economy, by the beard, it would not have formed a part of our organiza- tion. On scrutinizing the physiology of the nervucs system, we are persuaded that the beard is a useful appendage to the parts on which it is seated. But if 33 our knowledge of the laws of nature is too limited to ascertain precisely its use, still as we have no evidence that it is injurious, there are two sufficient rea- sons why we ought not to destroy it.— First, it is an insult to the wisdom of our Creator ; and an attack upon his designs and works : Secondly, the cus- tom of shaving every day or two, incurs in the aggregate of a man's 1 fe, a great waste of time and a heavy expense ;— merely for the gratification of a silly pride. Allowing the annual expense to each individual, to be fiv8|gpll