A CHANGE OF AIR
For weakness of body and fatigue of mind a very common and essentially
serviceable recommendation is "a change of air." Of course, the change of
scene from coast to country, or from town to hillside, may help much the
depressed in body or mind; and this is very commendable. But, strange to
say, there is a healing virtue in breathing different air.
At first one is apt to think that air is the same all over, as he thinks
water is--especially outside smoky towns; but both have varied qualities
in different parts. You have only to be assured that in a cubic inch of
bedroom air in the denser parts of a large town there are about 20,000,000
of dust-particles, and in the open air of a heathery mountain-side there
are only some hundreds, to see that there is something after all on the
face of it in the "old wives' saw."
Not that the dust-particles are all injurious; for most of them are
inorganic, and many of the organic particles are quite wholesome; yet
there is a change wrought, often very marked, in going from one place to
another for different air.
Even in the country, especially in summer-time, one distinctly notices the
great difference in the air of lowland and highland localities. The ten
miles change from Strathmore to Glenisla shows a marked difference in the
air. Below, it is close, weakening, enervating; above, it is exhilarating,
invigorating, and strong.
So people must have a change--at least those who can afford it--for health
must be seen to first of all, if one has means to do so. Oh! the blessing
of good health! How many who enjoy it never think of the misery of its
loss! In fact, health is the soul that animates all enjoyments of life;
for without it those would soon be tasteless. A man starves at the
best-spread table, and is poor in the midst of the greatest treasures
without health.
In these days half of our diseases come from the neglect of the body in
the overwork of the brain. The wear and tear of labour and intellect go on
without pause or self-pity. Men may live as long as their forefathers, but
they suffer more from a thousand artificial anxieties and cares. The men
of old fatigued only the muscles, we exhaust the finer strength of the
nerves. Even more so now, then, do we require a change of air to soothe
our overwrought nervous system.
And when that magic power, concealed from mortal view, works such wonders
on the health, surely it is one's duty to save up and have it, when it is
within one's means. For is not health the greatest of all possessions?
What a rich colour clothes the countenance of the young after a month's
outing in the hill country! How fine and pure has the blood become! All
stagnant humours, accumulated in winter town life, have been dispelled by
the ozone-brightening charm. The weary looking office or shop man is now
transfigured into a sprightly youth once more, ready with strongly
recuperated power for another winter's labours. The pale wife, who has
been stifled for months in close-aired rooms, has now a healthy flush on
her becoming countenance that speaks of gladly restored health. And all
this has been brought about by a "change of air"!
For a thorough change to a town man, he should make for the Highlands.
There he is never tired of walking, for the air which he breathes is full
of ozone. This revivifying element in the air is produced by the
lightning-bursts from hill to hill. There is in the Highlands a continual
rush of electricity, whether seen or not. Hence the air is very pure, free
from organic germs, intensely exhilarating and buoyant.
Sportsmen are livingly aware of the recuperative power of the Highland
air. Perhaps these city men do not benefit so much by the easy walking
exercise on the grouse moors as in breathing the splendidly
delight-inspiring air. What a change one feels there in a very few hours!
"A change of air" is an old wives' adage. But much of the weather-lore of
our forefathers was based on real scientific principles only now coming to
light. Nature is ever true, but it requires patience to unravel her
secrets. We therefore advocate an occasional "change of air" to improve
the health--
"The chiefest good,
Bestow'd by Heaven, but seldom understood."