Roxey Ann Caplin

“ THERE is always something harsh and painful in the manner in which the anatomist and physiologist has to develope the characteristics of old age. The rude rending of all the drapery, the removing of the veil from the fading brow, and bring­ing out with microscopic precision every furrow that time has made there, seems unkind and almost cruel. ”

“ Before we advert to the nature of our adaptations for this period of life, we must draw a distinction between age and "premature old age." The former is the decline of nature, which must always take place, whilst the latter is the result of disease or improper habits. ”

“ There is a natural desire in every woman to retain to the last the charms of her sex; the dread of the isolation of age makes her battle with time, and gratefully receive any aid that may be offered to her—this aid it is our mission to impart. ”

“ The unnatural pressure to which the internal viscera have been subject has cramped and reduced their energy; and the resources being exhausted, nothing remains but gloom and misery: when, however, proper care has been exercised in early and middle life, old age may be rendered cheerful and lovely. Nature has made a due provision for all circumstances, and provided the sustaining nutrition for advanced age. ”

“ The want of vital energy in the limbs is followed by a diminished activity of the senses and impaired vigour of the brain and all the internal functions. As a consequence of this the volume of the whole body is reduced, the softness of the flesh and skin departs. The hair participates in the same changes, and turns grey or falls off. The cornea of the eye is rendered flatter, so that its power of reflecting the rays of light that come from near objects is diminished. The vision of distant objects, however, is still preserved, and the convex glasses supply the imperfection of the organ. ”

“ We have not only studied the characteristics of her declining days, but have paid special attention to the support which nature requires when she has passed into the sere and yellow leaf. To us there is something unkind and ungrateful in the contempt bestowed by the epithet "old woman." ”

“ The shape is no longer so elegant; the articu­lations have less elasticity; the muscles are more feeble; the movements are less light; and in plump women we observe those broken, motions, and in others that stiffness which mark the walk or the dance at that age. ”

“ In some cases a simple bandage is all that is required, in others a more complicated contrivance, such as our invisible supports; but in all cases, even the most desperate, we can afford relief, and can give that relief too in many cases in which medicine is useless or positively injurious. This is the reason why we always have the patronage of medical men. We never meddle with physic ”

“ Many who were confined to their bed or room have, through the support which they have received by our adaptations, been enabled to take a moderate amount of exercise, and to enjoy a state of comfort to which they had been for years strangers. ”

“ What different ideas are suggested to the mind on meeting with an elderly person whose gentle life is the centre of a family's tender care and affection, blessed and cherished by the circle of her friends ”

“ The organs of motion lose their vitality in an equal degree with those of sensation and volition. The movements are slow, tremulous, and uncertain. The erector muscles of the trunk can no longer support it in an erect posture; hence the body is bent forward, and the legs fail in giving their pro­per support. ”

“ It is difficult to convey in writing a proper idea of what we can do for sufferers of this kind. Cases vary so much that no general principles, except those already laid down in preceding chapters, can ever be applied. ”

“ The arteries are not exempt from the general decay; the larger trunks are dilated, their coats are more or less converted into a substance of cartilagi­nous or bony hardness, and assume a brittle texture. ”