I am even utterly _opposed_ to the rapid eating of which he speaks. In New England especially, the danger is on the other side. 'Were it not from respect to others, I never would wish for more than eight minutes to eat my dinner in,' said a merchant to me one day. Now _I_ can _swallow_ a meal at any time, in _five_ minutes; but this is not _eating_. If it is, the teeth were made--as well as the saliva--almost in vain. No! this _swallowing_ down a meal in five or even ten minutes, so common among the active, enterprising, and industrious people of this country, is neither healthy, nor decent, nor economical. And instead of spending only _thirty-five minutes_ a day in eating; every man, woman, and child ought, as a matter of duty, to spend about _twice_ the time in that way. This would give the teeth and salivary glands an opportunity to come up to the work which God in nature assigned them. We may indeed cheat them for a time, but not with impunity, for a day of reckoning will come; and some of our rapid eaters will find their bill (in stomach or liver complaints, or gout or rheumatism) rather large. They will probably lose more time in this way, than they can possibly save by eating rapidly. The idea of preventing conversation about what we eat is also idle, though Dr. Franklin and many other wise men, thought otherwise. Some of our students in _commons_ and elsewhere, suppose themselves highly meritorious because they have adopted the plan of appointing one of their number to read to the company, while the rest are eating. But they are sadly mistaken. Nothing is gained by the practice. On the contrary, much is lost by it. The bow cannot always remain bent, without injury. Neither can the mind always be kept 'toned' to a high pitch. _Mind_ and _body_ must and will have their relaxations. I am not an advocate for _wasting time_ or for _eating more_ than is necessary. Nay, I even believe, on the contrary, with most _medical_ men, that we generally eat about twice as much as nature requires. But I do say, and with emphasis, that food must be _masticated_. Before I dismiss the subject of temperance, let me beseech you to resolve to free yourselves from slavery to _tea_ and _coffee_. Experience has taught me, that they are _injurious to health_. Even my habits of sobriety, moderate eating, and early rising, were not, until I left off using them, sufficient to give me that complete health which I have since had.