FIFTH DAY: The same as the fourth day. SIXTH DAY: The same as the first, repeating these menus for a period of three or four weeks. The nervous person should eat very sparingly of bread and cereal products, with the exception of bran and a few coarse articles, such as flaked or whole wheat or rye, and these should be taken sparingly while under treatment. A generous quantity of water should be drunk at meals, and mastication should be very thorough. If the body is overweight or inclined toward obesity, the diet should consist of fewer fat-producing foods, such as grains, potatoes, milk, eggs, and an excess of vegetable proteids. If underweight or inclined toward emaciation, the fat-producing foods should predominate. Under all conditions of nervousness the patient should take an abundance of exercise and deep breathing in the open air, and sleep out of doors, if possible. An abundance of fresh air breathed into the lungs is the best blood purifier known, and if the blood is kept pure, and forced into every cell and capillary vessel of the body by exercise, the irritated nerves will share in the general improvement. The cool shower or sponge bath in the morning, preceded and followed by a few minutes' vigorous exercise, is a splendid sedative for irritated nerves. RECREATION The nervous person should divide the day as nearly as possible into three equal parts--eight hours' pleasant but useful work; eight hours' recreation, and eight hours' sleep. [Sidenote: Necessity for true recreation] Under modern civilized conditions the majority of people do not seem to understand recreation. The summer seashore resorts, with their expensive attractions and whirling life, the great hostelries in the hills and mountains, and the lakes where thousands of people congregate, entail upon them certain duties, anxieties, expectations, disappointments, and often financial strain that deprive these places of all features of recreation, and make the sojourn there one of labor and strife. The real purpose that takes most people to these resorts is to be seen; to "star" themselves before the multitude, which in its last analysis is a kind of vanity, and it is obvious that from any effort in this direction no recreation can be obtained. The nervous person should seek a few congenial and thoughtful companions, and get back into the great heart of nature where everything moves in obedience to supreme law. Associate intimately with animals; study their habits, and notice how they respond to kindness; admire their honesty; analyze the love and fidelity of a dog. This is true diversion and recreation. This defines the purpose of life, if there be purpose behind it. This draws a sharp distinction between the condition that makes nervousness and the condition that makes honest, thoughtful, useful human beings. LESSON XVIII POINTS ON PRACTISE INTRODUCTION TO POINTS ON PRACTISE