n at the nose," and
either the bacteria are carried directly to this danger sponge, right at
the back of the nostrils, or the inflammation gradually spreads to it.
The mucous membrane and tissues of the nose have an abundance of
vitality,--like most hard workers,--and usually react, overwhelm, and
destroy the invading germs, and recover from the attack; but the useless
and half-dead tissue of the pharyngeal tonsil has much less power of
recuperation, and it smoulders and inflames, though ultimately, perhaps,
it may swing round to recovery. Often, however, a new cold will be
caught before this has fully occurred, and then another one a month or
so later, until finally we get a chronically thickened, inflamed, and
enlarged condition of this interesting, but troublesome, body. What its
capabilities are in this respect may be gathered from the fact that,
while normally of the size of a small hazelnut, it is no uncommon thing
to find a mass which absolutely blocks up the whole of the upper part of
the pharynx, and may vary from the size of a robin's egg to that of a
large English walnut, or even a small hen's egg, according to the age of
the child and the size of the throat.

Dirt has been defined as "matter out of place," and the pharyngeal
tonsil is an excellent illustration. Nature is said never to make
mistakes, but she is apt to be absent-minded at times, and we are
tracing now not a few of the troubles that our flesh is heir to, to
little oversights of hers--scraps of inflammable material left lying
about among the cogs of the body-machine, such as the appendix, the
gall-bladder, the wisdom teeth, and the tonsils. One day a spark drops
on them, or they get too near a bearing or a "hot-box," and, in a flash,
the whole machine is in a blaze.

Never neglect snuffles or "cold in the head" in a young child, and
particularly in a baby. Have it treated at once antiseptically, by
competent hands, and learn exactly what to do for it on the appearance
of the earliest symptoms in the future, and you will not only save the
little ones a great deal of temporary discomfort and distress,--for it
is perfect torment to a child to breathe through its mouth at
first,--but you will ward off many of the most serious troubles of
infancy and childhood. We can hardly expect to prevent all development
of adenoids by these prompt and painless stitches in time, for some
children seem to be born peculiarly subject to them, either from the
inher