every article of food; and that the true course was to so increase
the amount of alcohol in the food, without gratifying the palate, as
to meet the real necessities of the system, and prevent a decrease of
the vital powers.

It is laughable to read of those days when men were drugged with
pills, boluses and powders. Now our physic is in our food; and the
doctor prescribes a series of articles to be eaten or avoided, as the
case may be. One can see at once by consulting his "vital-watch,"
which shows every change in the magnetic and electric forces of the
body, just how his physical strength wanes or increases; and he can
modify his diet accordingly; he can select, for instance, a dish
highly charged with quinine or iron, and yet perfectly palatable;
hence, among the wealthier classes, a man of one hundred is as common
now-a-days as a man of seventy was a century ago; and many go far
beyond that point, in full possession of all their faculties.

I glanced around the great dining-room and inspected my neighbors.
They all carried the appearance of wealth; they were quiet, decorous
and courteous. But I could not help noticing that the women, young
and old, were much alike in some particulars, as if some general
causes had molded them into the same form. Their brows were all
fine--broad, square, and deep from the ear forward; and their jaws
also were firmly developed, square like a soldier's; while the
profiles were classic in their regularity, and marked by great
firmness. The most peculiar feature was their eyes. They had none of
that soft, gentle, benevolent look which so adorns the expression of
my dear mother and other good women whom we know. On the contrary,
their looks were bold, penetrating, immodest, if I may so express it,
almost to fierceness: they challenged you; they invited you; they