Restoration may certainly be considerably facilitated, by preparing and dressing food so as to render it easily soluble--if the secret of Rejuvenization be ever discovered; it will be found in the Kitchen. Very soon after we pass the _Meridian of Life_, (which, according to those who train men for athletic exercises, and to Dr. Jameson,[20] is our 28th, and to Dr. Cheyne, about our 35th year,) the elasticity of the Animal System imperceptibly diminishes,--our Senses become less susceptible, and are every hour getting the worse for wear, however Self-Love, assisted by your Hair-dresser, and Tailor, &c. may endeavour to persuade you to the contrary. Digestion and Sleep are less perfect--the restorative process more and more fails to keep pace with the consuming process--the body is insufficiently repaired, more easily deranged, and with more difficulty brought into adjustment again; till at length the vital power being diminished, and the organs deteriorated,--Nourishment can neither be received, or prepared and diffused through the constitution--and Consumption so much exceeds Renovation, that decay rapidly closes the scene of Life. One may form some Idea of _the Self-consumption of the human body_, by reflecting that the pulsation of the Heart, and the motion of the Blood connected with it, takes place 100,000 times every day; _i. e._ on an average the pulse[21] beats 70 times in a minute, multiplied by 60 minutes in an hour, ---- 4200 24 hours in a day, ----- 16800 8400 ------ 100800 pulsations in a day. What Machine, of the most adamantine material, will not soon be the worse for wear, from such incessant vibration--especially if the Mainsprings of it are not preserved in a state of due regulation? The generative faculties, which are the last that Nature finishes--are the first that fail.--Economy in the exercise of them--especially before and after the second period of Life--is the grand precept for the restoration and accumulation of Strength, the preservation of Health, and the prolongation of Life;--we are vigorous, in proportion to the perfection of the performance of the Restorative process, _i. e._ as we Eat hearty, and Sleep soundly--as our Body loses the power of renovating itself, in like ratio, fails its faculty of creating--what may be a salutary subduction of the superfluous health of the Second--during the Third period of life, will be a destructive sacrifice of the strength of both the Mind and the Body.--See also the 9th chapter of the _First_ Edition of WILLICH _on Diet_. 8vo. 1799. The next organical defect, (we perceive too plainly for our self-love to mistake it,) is manifested by THE EYE[22]. To read a small print--you must remove it from the Eye further than you have been accustomed to do--and place it in a better light.