The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 7, 1900, Page 6

THE SUNDAY CALL. BaretootOverGolden BateParkLawns Francisco in c t sciple of Father Knelpp. " is the cffi- treet Knelpp- dispenses re « T walted for the hydropathist in a tiny office lined with diplomas granted him by Father Knelpp. A Jesuit priest came out of an inner apartment evidently fresh from the water treatment “Aquae omnes laudent nomen Domini,” sald the priest as he departed. Which Herr Wiliman kindly translated for me as 1 ye waters the name of the gnosed me as “nerves” ed that the Kneipp treatment £ them to terms. I was nervous,” and ordered to ark promptly at 7 o'clock neatly appear at the 2 sh seven times in the river flesh shall recover health t be clean.”” Eo advises Holy in the morn nd walk barefoot on the wet grass flesh shall recover health and So insist the Kneipp- Of a truth a surprising number of peo- ple follow the vice. I found about fif- teer ple running hither and thither on the S8 . off your shoes and stockings. we've un,” called thelr ck and obeyed approched me, ac by two of the barefoot Knelpp- introduced them. They were 3 cious of the fact that their feet were bare, but not being acclimated to the st 1 curled mine up under my dress and blushingly acknowledged the introduction, Herr Willman ordered me to rise and walk, so 1 was forced to disentangle my feet. After the Knelpp cure one would be perfectly qualified to play Trilby—from the barefoot standpoint. The women either wore very short skirts, or unconcernedly tucked up thelr skirts and pattered over the grass. At the first touch my feet grew ley numb and, my courage rapldly oozing, I made tu‘r the bench, A lady waylald me, ’ il entire ation, d we rz sensation " suggested sowe one, t young and old were ¢ each other with flying feet, and y rang s the un- lu ones were ve never pulled off your and ‘tockies and ayed tag on the wet grass you don’t know the deliclous possibilities of the game After that first fcy thrill T began to like the sensation and felt aggrieved when man ordered me to “keep off the gr Ten minutes is the maximum time allowed a novice 1 the others stay from a qu If an hour. The dewy grass is softer than velvet and un- hampered by shoes there is an elasticity impossible on pavements. with the Knelp, do, and thr my feet hout wiping them. Herr as t into my shoes w an explained the theory of non- g thus: “After a cold application the body must mot be wiped, except the head the hands as far as the wrist, e latter is only done in order not to the clothes when dreesing. The wet is at once covered with dry under- linen and other articles of clothing. This be done as quickly as possible, so ¥ be .closed her- ing is rubbing, and as it cannot be done equally on every spot it produces disproportionate natural warmth, This is not of much consequence with healthy people, but it is of great moment to sick and weak ones. The non-wiping helps to the most regular, most equal and most speedy natural warmth. “It is like sprinkling water on the fire. The interior warmth of the body uses the water clinging to the exterior as material for quickly bringing forth greater and more intense heat.” Herr Willman returned to the grass and I to my shoe strings. “Keep moving about,” was his parting injunction, so I circled the “feet” plat watching the oth- ers. Herr Willman moved from one to the other, advising and correcting, urging all to walk in the path of the rising sun. They were a motley collection of people n glddi- to heart One little girl limped painfully over the grass, her blue-veined feet looking too fra e even for her delicate frame. “Hlp disease” and “hopeless” had been the verdict of the regular physiclans, so @il ] Qhance to Qatch Your Frignd. T is high time that all lovers of Eng- H lish should unite in common protest against that barbarous collocation of words “Welsh rarebit.” Every now and then in the past some good man has raised his voice in a plea for the right pi , “Welsh rabbit,” and has then dis- appeared. Such staccato protests have proved unavailing. The word rarebit has now insinuated itself upon 99 per cent ot all the menus. The smaller hotels caught the habit from the greater ones. The French and German hostelrles imitated their American contemporaries. Nor is this the worst. Owners of chophouses and restaurants flaunt the offensive word on their gllded signboards in the very faces of the public at large. Now, why is this? Not a dictionary of to-day sanctions the use of “rarebit,” though In a temporary aberration of judg- ment Worcester and Webster once did. Perhaps hotel men are too busy to consult dictionaries. Then let them hearken to the indirect reproof they are continuously receiving from their customers. 1 have been In many, many places where the menus announce ‘rarebits.” I have never heard any one order anything else than a rabbit. Nay, the very walter who repeats the order to the cook says ““Welsh rabbit.” That is, Indeed, one of the most curious of all philological feats—that by which some amateur etymologist of the past forced the wrongful substitution of “rare- bit” for “rabbit” upon the world. It has ever been a common habit with the ety- mologlst of this breed when the meaning PLAYING TAG "~ u‘iy)\\ A\ SRR the fond parents had turned to the kneip- pist as a last resort. “I'don’t think she walks any better,” sald the ne child's mother. “But Kath- erine inly has improved under this tre These early mornings in the cert nt. park would put new life fn any one.” And indeed they would. There is a crispness in the air which routs that tired feeling. Whether or not walking in the wet grass will cure any or all of the evils of a word does not seem obvious to him to remedy the difficulty by a slight change that makes it seem superficially reason- able. Coming across the term “Welsh rabbit,”” he gazed through solemn specta- cles at this mare's nest and decided that a bit of toasted cheese could not by any stretch of the imagination be considered a game animal, though it might well be a “rare bit,” so he jumped at the conclusion that time and the corruptions which time effects must have done their evil work upon this word. Hence he declded to re- store it to its original beauty and -sig- nificance. Hence W rarebit.” Now, this Is all wrong. “Welsh rabbit” is a genuine bit of slang belonging to a large class of similar terms describing in mock heroic language the favorite dish or special product of a particular district. Here are a few examples that are abso- lutely analogous: In London a sheep's head stewed with onions Is called a “Field Lane duck.” Potatoes are “Irish apricots"” and “Munster plums.” A herring is called in different localities of England a “Digby chicken,” a *“Norfolk capon,” a “Dunbar wether” or a “Gourock ham.” In France it 1s humorous to call a herring-a “poulet de careme” (Lenten fowl). In our own country, In New England, codfish s frequently known as “Cape Cod turkey.” Similar examples abound In the lan- guage of every country. Yet in the face of all these analogles the amateur ety- mologist refuses to accept the common sense explanation that the name “Welsh rabbit” is simply a humorous recognition of Taffy's fondness for toasted cheese. VRS ST AR A, Iceland exports sulphur, iceland moss, wool, dried fish, sealskins and oll, whale ofl and baleen, elderdown, bird skins and pories. . Its manufactures are entirely do- mestlc. LAME GIRL TRIES THE CHR T READY FoR THE® MORNING WALK _AN to which the human flesh is helr, it cer- tainly gives tone and deliclous warmth to the entire body. After the feet were dressed a brisk walk was In order. The little lame girl watched us start wistfully, but bravely kissed her hand and limped toward the nearest car. I fell in step with Herr Willman, for I had a query or two for which he found ready answers. He easily disposed of the question of %+-}+%WHWH+M%+H+*H‘H‘H4‘FH~H++W This Is How Your RBrain Tires. RAIN cells, when quite fresh and vigorous, may be likened to small balloons Inflated ready for an as- cent. They are round and tull, and when seen under the microscape they give evidence of being distended. ‘When our brains begin to work after a refreshing rest or sleep they are, says Pearson's Weekly, full of nerve fluld which the absorbents of the body. and brain have stored up there like bees fill their comb. 8o soon as work begins, this vital force Is sapped to meet the demands upon the brain, and the process that goes on during the whole time it is working may be’ described in the following way: Imagine that these cells are small gob. lets filled with liquid, and that they have a tiny stem, through which runs a tube, or opening; the liquid in the goblet is drained by the demands of mind and body, and slowly trickles through tho opening, drop by drop. until either the work ceases or the goblet is exhausted. This latter condition {8 not often reached, for the simple reason that the owner of the brdin Is very much more likely to collapse. When the cell has vielded half its vital flald you begin to experience a feeling of fatigue, and if you, go on drawing the contents of the cells you are doing yourself injury in a proportionate degree and nature will make you pay for it in some way or other. But all the cells are not Involved in any kind of mental work, which means that one part of the brain may be very actively at work while the other is rest- ing and storing up nerve fluld. Thus it is that a man suffering from brain fag may leave his books and go golfing or cycling and feel that he is really resting; other cells are being called upon for work now, while ths tired ones—those required for mental activity—are enjoying repose, Just how great a part walking bpa-efoot plays in the Knelpp cure. “It is a tuaie, and the length of time must vary accord- ing to the condition of the patient. Un- less regulated by some one who under- ‘stands it, walking on the wet grass may do more harm than good. “It {s also an important means of hard- ening the flesh, which we consider a vital necessity. In order to harden it still more we sometimes recommend walking In n snow or wet grass.” Herr Willman strongly denounces woolen underwear. ‘“Never wear it says this disciple of Father Knelpp. “Woolen materials next to the skin suck the flulds and warmth, and are the cause of the miserable blood of this generation. Linen is fairly good, but strong hemp cloth 18 better, for that never effeminates the skin.” Walking barefoot in the wet grass is but & part of the Kneipp cure. Herr Wiil- man explained that according to the dis- ease there are showers for the different parts of the body, all carefully applied. ‘Wet sheets, baths of various kinds, from vapor to salt, sprays, ablutions, wet bandages and drinling water, are im- portant factors in the cure. ““Are these used for all kinds of sick- ness?”’ I asked. “What is sickness?" retorted Herr Win- man. “Is not the euphony and harmony of the body called good health? When this is disturbed by any cause we call the disarrangement disease. All diseases, whatever thelr names, their origin and germ in the blood. “‘Order consists in proportion and too much or too little tempo in the efrcula- tion of the blood or the penetration of foreign elements disturbs the peace and concord of the system and changes health to sickness.” 2 “But how Is the cure affected?” “Don’t you see how much easter the cure is, as soon as we know that every disease s caused by a disturbance of the blood? The work of healing can only con- sist In one of two tasks—either to lead the frregularly circulating blood to fts normal course, or to endeavor to evapor- ate the bad julces and morbld matter which disturb the right eombination of the blood. “Water undoubtedly does both these these ve e ! 'H”] " 11tlet O\ ] h' . \u o \ b things, by dissolving, evaporating, wasth- ing off, and by strengthening. We belleve that water, in particular Father Kneipp's water cure, will heal every disease that is any way curable. “We insist on simple nourishing house- hold fare, not spoiled by art or strong spices. The drink should be the natural one offered by God In every well and spring, though we do not forbid an oc- casional glass of wine or beer. Our medi- cines are teas, extracts, ofls and powders, made from medicinal herbs after the recipes of Father Kneipp.” I talked with each one of these bare- footed Kneippists who every meorning frolic over the wet sward They are all en- thusiastic bellevers in the doctrine of Father Kneipp and clalm that thelr afl- ments have been cured or eased under the treatment. “On Sunday morning,” volunteered a gentleman, “there are often as many as sixty walking out here. Many of them have just happened to see us, and they try walking barefoot once, just for fun, and immediately becoms converts. Some- times as many as a dozen “bikers’ dis- mount and walk with us, then go on their way refreshed. The alr was sweet with that faint elu- sive perfume which disappears with the dew, and the Kneippists took deep breaths of the fragrant air. A le boy led a lady whose eyes were dimmed, but not with years. Her bright unseeing eyes looked steadfastly ahe L “It is so good,” I heard her say, T have not had a hemorrhage In my eyes since I began. Ah, I smell v is the season for them, They must be bloom- ing mear here. Can y 'No,” saild the chil see them,” sighed u smell them?> h, but you could the woman, We had now walked the required time and parted at the entrance of the park. “If you can not sleep to-night get up and take a cold shower, and without drying g0 back to bed. Repeat it, If you are still wakeful.” This is Herr Willman's last tojunction to me, I confess I didn't do t, but I also con- fess that I have red-lettered the hour spent with the barefooted Kneippists as one of the most unique and enjoyable on the calendar, Go out and try M for yourself. But remember, you must rise with the sun it you wouldl tread the dew, EMILIE WATERS