VIN OVEN ON THE DECLINE OF LIFE. * "ENLARGE my life

with multitude of days," f is the prayer of many peoples at many altars, in spite of the warning of moralists and poets; eets • nor is it by any means certain that those who deprecate the prayer may not desire its object. Johnson had no particular wish to die: had Juvenal been attended by so many writing satellites as his imitator, we might have learned that he who so branded the evils of old age was yet willing to endure them. Dr. Van Oven is an author of a more genial stamp than moralists, or even than many physicians. He would not only extend life by a good quarter of a century beyond that which the Psalmist ascribes to man, but enable the centenarian to live all the days of his life comfortably in body, clear in mind. From a survey of statistics, from an examination of authorities, and from his own reasonings, Dr. Van Oven arrives at the con- clusion that a hundred years and upwards, even considerably up- wards, is the term which man ought by care and prudence to at- tain. To be sure, he very considerably qualities this proposition, by requiring for his long liver an originally sound constitution, that he should escape accidents, and not be cut off or "invalided" by pestilence, acute disease, or his own imprudence, before full ma- turity. This picked man—or, in actuary language, "select life "- being given, our author can hardly see a natural termination to his career in a less time than would satisfy most men however desirous of living. To establish the soundness of his view, to give direc- tions to the man who has turned fifty for the management of himself, and finally to treat in a general manner of the diseases which are most to be guarded against in old age, and to which it is peculiarly obnoxious, is the object of his book. All this is done in a rapid, complete, and comprehensive manner. The reader has the principles, as it were, of his own life brought broadly before him, in infancy, youth, and manhood. He has then marshalled before him the opinions of those who are favourable to the idea of almost indefinitely prolonging life, with a selected list of persons, commencing with Father Abraham ; whose performance illustrated the theory, accompanied by the reasons of Dr. Van Oven for this comfortable idea. Advice, broad, sensible, and reducible to prac- tice, follows, for the patient so to guide himself as to do his part for enlarging his days and passing them in comfort. The various diseases that more particularly attend upon old age are next con- sidered, not with a view to their medical treatment, but to direct the patient to the best mode of staving them off by diet and con- duct, and to indicate their early symptoms, that he may seek ad- vice in time. None of these sections are treated pedantically or technically, but are quite plain to the well-informed reader with- out falling into the merely popular style. Pictures, so to speak, are also introduced ; not the forced embodiments which are now the fashion, but a lifelike idea, arising from a clear and vivid concep- tion. Such is this of age.

"The great characteristic of all the changes which gradually occur from early to extreme old age, is consolidation, a diminished plasticity and mo- bility of parts, increased firmness of structure, and diminished bulk : inter- stitial fat is then everywhere absorbed ; the muscles become stringy and fi- brous, and at their terminations ligamentous; cartilages become bony ; bones lose their internal cancellous structure ; those of the cranium their diploe, and become merely solid masses, whilst the blood-vessels are diminished or obliterated, and hence they become fragile. The coats of the arteries become harder, and lose their tonicity; many of the smaller trunks are obliterated, whilst, however, the veins have become larger and more dilateable than they were in early life; perspiration is nearly at an end, for the skin has become harsh and dry, wrinkled, and discoloured ; and even as in the vegetable world plants as they grow older become more and more woody, and the say traverses only the larger vessels, so too, in the old man, the circulation is carried on only by the larger trunks, and hence the whole body becomes thinner, firmer, more harsh, more dry, and loses strength and mobility, and the power of repairing injured or regenerating lost parts. The muscular system has become so weak as to be almost useless. The once powerful man, now unable to stand erect, stoops ; the shoulders are raised, and the head falls forward. In walking, the spine is much curved ; the aid of a strong stick or an able arm is required to keep the body in equilibrium ; the step is tottering and uncertain; the spine is curved even when sitting, and the head hangs forward ; the hands are unable to grasp any object firmly, they tremble in a palsied manner if the attempt be made, and the command over the movements of particular fingers is very uncertain. "The voice is generally changed ; the strength and fulness of toneis gone : if it be loud, it is shrill, but more commonly it is weak as well as shrill. The voice of women, which, often during the later half of maturity had become gruff and sonorous as those of.zuan, now falls equally into the 'treble- pipe' of age.

"The external senses become less delicate, or are nearly or altogether lost. The sight is perhaps the first that gives warning of the course of time : even yet, whilst the other powers appear to be in full vigour, at a period varying

from forty to sixty years of age, the organs of vision begin to change; per- sons, in reading, 'hold books further from them ; small objects are with diffi- culty distinguished, or a stronger light is necessary to make them distinct ;

spectacles (that is, magnifying glasses of low power) are required ; the ob- jects must be presented to the eye under a different angle, for the eye is somewhat flatter than heretofore, and the retina has lost something of its

Pristine sensibility. All this occurs in various degrees, not only according to the constitution of the individual, but also according to the way the eye has

been habitually employed. The lens becomes harder, and not unfrequently loses its transparency, constituting cataract ; and round the cornea a peculiar opaque line is often found, limiting the extent of its transparency, which is known by the appropriate name of arcus senilis.

• On the Decline of Life in Health and Disease ; being an Attempt to Investigate the Causes of Longe,ity, and the best Means of Attaining a Healthful Old Age. By Barnard Van (hen, M.D., Fellow of the Ro)al Medical and Chirurgical Society, &c. Published by Churchill.

+ Vanity op:Inman Wishes. " That the hearing becomes less acute in age is certain ; but it may be doubted whether this arises from diminished sensibility in the auditory nerves, or from diminished flexibility and moisture in the auditory apparatus. • • C • The same, or nearly the same, may be said of smell and of touch. The dry and wrinkled state of the skin renders delicacy of touch impossible; and the sense of taste, like that of smell, loses much if its discrimination, but retains its susceptibility to the force of impressions. Delicacy of flavour or of odours is lost on the aged ; but strong smells are detected and strong viands are relished up to the latest period."

Good sense is a pervading characteristic of the volume,—unless some should demur to the fundamental idea. This quality will be found in the following passage, on the exercise and objects to be aimed. at by age.

" I do not mean by this to advocate any fixed monotonous regularity of conduct, (particularly in early age,) which would rather weaken than strengthen the general system, by making the individual a creature of habit, accustomed to a certain limit of activity only, and incapable of anything be- yond, and likely to sink at once on any cull that might be made for extra exertion.

"The longest livers, (soldiers, paupers, labourers, &c.,) have mostly been those who were often exposed to many and varied changes, and who were constantly called on to make considerable exertions ; for such exertions rather sustain than exhaust, and invigorate the general system by caning forth the variety of its powers and resources; but if any attempt be made to increase indefinitely the natural powers, whether of body or mind, a general decay or destruction of both will be the consequence. When, for example, it be attempted to attain excessive muscular power by constant practice and exertion, by the taking undue quantities of solid or nutrient food, or by any of those means familiar to trainers for the prize-ring, an undue balance be- tween the functions of nutrition and absorption results, the quantity of blood is increased, the circulation stimulated; and, in a word, a plethoric condition induced, which may tend to the development of any hereditary disease, or the formation of some new evil. If the powers of the mind be overtaxed, if the brain be worked too long, similar effects will result; too much blood will flow to that organ, the due balance between the nutritious and regenerative processes will be broken, disease of the brain and of the whole nervous system will result.

"It must always be borne in mind, that there is a fixed limit to the healthy physical development of the body, and that this limit is fully at- tained at the period of complete maturity ; that all that can be gained above this is an abnormal increase of some one or more organs, or a general depo- sition of fatty matters impeding the action of the limbs, obstructing the free circulation a the fluids, the easy play of the lungs, and generally diminish- ing the activity and strength of the individual. From infancy up to man- hood is a period of the accession of parts. The frame has daily to be in- creased in size and completed in structure. The processes of organic life have two distinct duties to perform : first, to replace such portions of the frame as by the actions of life are worn out, and by the absorbent vessels are removed and cast out from the body ; and secondly, to deposit everywhere such additional matter as shall go to complete the structure and growth of each part. After the individual has attained complete maturity, the first only of these two processes is required. It is then only the duty of the nu- trient functions to sustain the frame in perfect integrity, by replacing as much daily as is used up by the wear and tear of physical and mental exer- tion. If too much be deposited, a state of plethora, general or local, is the inevitable consequence ; if too little he supplied, a debilitated condition„ general or local, a species of marasmus, is as certainly induced. Now it must be the first object with every one who desires to continue the condition of healthful maturity unchanged, to bear this constantly in mind, and so to. regulate the actions which wear out the vital structures and the means by which they are nourished and reproduced as to sustain that balance which constitutes vigorous health. Let us apply this generally to diet, exercise, amusements, and conduct of life."

The reader is sometimes reminded by the author, and it is a fact he must never forget, that the theory of Dr. Van Oven is alto- gether based upon a sound constitution reaching its half-century without injury from violence, disease, or imprudence. The advice is for the healthy, positive or comparative ; not for the invalid. Thus, the rule "make a good breakfast," is good if you have appetite and digestion ; if you cannot digest it, the breakfast. will insure a wasted, perhaps a miserable morning.

"A solid, nutritious, and somewhat full meal, taken at an early period of the day, is, I believe, one of the best means of sustaining the body in good health. Some observations will be hereafter made on the varieties of foods and drinks ; but in truth the quantity taken, and the time when it is taken, is much more important than any fine-drawn distinction as to kind of food or mode of cooking. Queen Elizabeth and her ladies breakfasted on meat, bread, and strong ale. Our modern ladies take tea nod coffee, and thin slices of toast or bread. The Esquimau' or Cossacks drink train-oil and ardent spirits. The inhabitants of France and Germany eat much more largely than we do of vegetable diet, and drink at all times of the day their acid wines. In Devonshire and Herefordshire an acid cyder is the common beverage, and in the Highlands of Scotland oatmeal porridge is in a great measure the food and whisky the drink of the inhabitants. The Irish pea- sant lives chiefly on potatoes, and the 'Endo° on rice. Yet all this variety and much more is digested, yields nutriment, and promotes growth ; afford- ing undeniable evidence that man is really omnivorous, that he can be sup- ported by great varieties of food. It remains, however, to select those kinds which may be best suited to particular individuals, and to the circumstances in which they may be placed."

Dr. Van Oven's book is on a pleasant subject with a pleasant prospect, in "longevity, and the best means of attaining a health- ful old age." Still, the " aliquid amari," the drop of bitter which dashes the cup, is found in it. Experience and common assent seem too much for the Doctor. When his theory is not directly before him, he falls into the Psalmist's view of the age of man. Sir Henry Raiford, in his essay on the grand climacteric, speaks of the change which heralds death by breaking up the system, or which in common parlance grants "a new lease," as occurring from fifty to seventy-five. Our author says—" Surely, changes occurring at the latter period can scarcely be called climacteric, or such as occur in passing firm manhood into age." Yet if a man is to reach a hundred at the least, seventy-five is no more to that age than fifty to threescore years and ten. The unwelcome idea that the longevity contended for is rather a speculation than a con- viction, is frequently presented to the reader by casual remarks of the writer. The long array of diseases that beset age as part of itself—some concomitant, some incurable, all tending to death, a few directly deadly—not only call for continual care, placing the old man in the position of a beleaguered garrison, but seem to oon- farm the warnings of the poet, that "life protracted is protracted wo."

In the text, and still more largely in the appendix, Dr. Van Oven presents lists of persons who have reached their century or outlived it ; though he admits that many of the cases rest on weak evidence, or no evidence at all. His own knowledge, how- , ever, goes no higher than ninety-nine : enough, it must be granted; but his case though cheering, seems too rare to be anything but an exception.

"This was remarkably the case with a gentleman who is not included in the tables, as he did not reach 100, but died in his 99th year. I knew him well for many years ; he was a hale, handsome old man, not looking his age, remarkably healthy, active, and intelligent. He was accustomed to rise early, and walk in the garden before breakfast. One morning about seven o'clock he rang. for his servant, said he felt chilly, and wanted to take a cup of tea before rising. Within an hour from that time he was dead. His eldest son, now living, 78 years old, is remarkable for his personal strength. His teeth are perfect, his 'luxuriant hair retains its original colour, his in- tellectual powers are vigorous, he is of active habits, walks much, eats freely, but never takes wine, and has altogether the appearance of a well-looking man about 60. His eldest daughter, now 77 years old, retains much of the figure activity, and appearance of youth, and would scarcely be thought more than 55 years old."