necessarily confined indoors, counteract the constipating influence
of sedentary habits by kneading and percussing the bowels with the hands
several minutes each day; 5. Never resist the calls of nature a single
moment, if possible to avoid it. In this case, as in numerous others,
"delay is dangerous." Ladies who desire a sweet breath--and what lady
does not--should remember that retained feces are one of the most
frequent causes of foul breath. The foul odors which ought to pass out
through the bowels find their way into the blood and escape at the lungs.
A medical man whose sense of smell is delicate soon learns to know a
constipated person by the breath. As one says, "What is more offensive
than the breath of a costive child?"
Boerhaave, a famous old Dutch physician, left to his heirs an elegantly
bound volume in which, he claimed, were written all the secrets of the
science of physic. After his death, the wonderful book was opened, when
it was found to contain only the following sentence:--
"Keep the head cool, the feet warm, and the bowels open."
An old Scotch physician once gave the following advice to Sir Astley
Cooper for the preservation of health:--
"Keep in the fear of the Lord, and your bowels open."