It is the gospel of good food, with the added influence of fresh air,
sunlight, cleanliness, and physical exercise that occupy profitably
the attention of Helen Campbell. Martha is a baby when the story
begins, and a child not yet in her teens when the narrative comes to
an end, but she has a salutary power over many lives. Her father is a
wise country physician, who makes his chaise, in his daily progress
about the hills, serve as his little daughter's cradle and
kindergarten. When she gets old enough to understand he expounds to
her his views of the sins committed against hygiene, and his lessons
sink into an appreciative mind. When he encounters particularly hard
cases she applies his principles with unfailing logic, and is able to
suggest helpful means of cure. The old doctor is delightfully
sagacious in demonstrating how the confirmed pie-eater marries the tea
inebriate, with the result in doughnut-devouring, dyspeptic, and
consumptive offspring. "What did they die of?" asked little Martha, in
the village graveyard; and her father answers solemnly,
"Intemperance." So Martha declares that she will be a "food doctor,"
and later on she helps her father in saving several victims of strong
drink.
Pages:
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347