.
Health is the great prophylactic.

No man in perfect health can be truly said to be susceptible to the
infection of small-pox, nor to that of any other zymotic disease.
Vigorous health confers immunity from disease-producing agents as
nothing else can. It is usually after the vital functions have become
impaired by the effects of vaccination or some other injurious cause
that individuals become susceptible to small-pox infection.

J.W. HODGE, M.D.

[_The above article can be obtained in pamphlet form from the
publisher. Wm. J. Furnival, Stone. Staffs._--EDS.]

THE NEW RACE.

(_Specially written for THE HEALTHY LIFE._)

A new race on the ruins of the old
Build we: a temple of the human form
Fairer than marble, since with life-blood warm,
Well crowned with its appointed crown of gold,
Russet or ebony; lines clear and bold
Beneath--a citadel no ills can storm,
Buttressed with health; a type to be the norm
In that great age the world shall yet behold.

For now the laws of Health and Heaven are seen
In their identity, life's body and soul;
Though, like divorce, disease may come between
What God hath joined; but at the human goal,
Where the New Race rules, splendid and serene,
Sit Health and Holiness, made one and whole.

S. GERTRUDE FORD.

THE PLAY SPIRIT.

We all long for reality. Most of the amusements in the world are
imitations of the reality for which we long. They promise a
satisfaction they are unable to give. Drink, mechanical love-making,
all snatched gratification of the senses, religious excitement,
revivalist meetings, and so forth, most theatre-going and sports, all
simulate the real glory of life. They bring an illusion of well-being.
They produce a glow in the nervous system. They cause the outlines of
everyday life as we know it to grow suffused. They give us a momentary
sense of heightened power and freedom. We float easily in a happy
world. A sort of relaxation has been achieved. The less common forms
of amusement bring us nearer to the gateway of reality. For some, they
have been the rivers leading to the ocean of truth itself.

Art, for instance, the interpretation of life in terms of beauty; the
"artist," the man in whom sensuous perception is supreme, offers us a
sublime aspect of reality. He dwells in the universe constructed for
him by his senses and tells us of its glories. He achieves "freedom."