iness in the city. I had found him a very
interesting patient, full of originality and not at all the tedious and
boresome person he might have been had I listened day after day, week
after week to the recital of his ills. I was willing to listen,--I did
listen,--but I also gave him a new trend of life, which pretty soon made
his complaints sound hollow and then disappear.

Of course, the problem is not always so simple as this, and we must
often deal with complexities of body and mind requiring prolonged
investigation and treatment. I cite this case because it shows clearly
that relief from some forms of nervous illness can come when we stop
thinking, when we stop analyzing, and then back up our position with
prescribed work.

There may be some nervous invalids who read these lines who will say,
"But I have tried so many times to work and have failed." Unfortunately,
such failure must often occur unless we can proceed with care and with
understanding. But the principle remains true, although it must be
modified in an infinite variety to meet the changing conditions of
individuals.

I see a great many people who are conscientiously trying to get well
from nervous exhaustion. They almost inevitably try too hard. They think
and worry too much about it, and so exhaust themselves the more. This is
the greater pity because it is the honest and the conscientious people
who make the greatest effort. It is very hard for them to realize that
they must stop thinking, stop trying, and if possible get to work
before they can accomplish their end. We shall have to repeat to them
over and over again that they must stop thinking the matter out, because
the thing they are attempting to overcome is too subtle to be met in
that way. So, if they are fortunate, they may rid themselves of the
vagueness and uncertainty of life, until all the multitude of details
which go to make up life lose their desultoriness and their lack of
meaning, and they may find themselves no longer the subjects of physical
or nervous exhaustion.

IV

IDLENESS

O ye! who have your eyeballs vex'd and tir'd,
Feast them upon the wideness of the sea.
KEATS.

Extreme busyness, whether at school or college, kirk or market,
is a symptom of deficient vitality; and a faculty for idleness
implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal
identity.
STEVENSON.

It is an unfortunate fact tha