Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1883 — Back Ague. [ARTICLE]

Back Ague.

The London Lancet, speaking of those nervous sportsmen who are unable to avoid trepidation or palpitation when walking up to a dog at its point, or if a bird or covey rises suddenly without being pointed by the dog, says: “Such nervousness ought rather to be designated as excitability. It is nearly always constitutional, and therefore incurable. In short, it is not a disease or morbid condition, but a state of impressibility, though it may be temporary and connected with some deficiency of the power of control. Steadiness, as regards the nervous system, is much a question of reserve force. In some cases the ‘nervousness’ of the sportsman is a direct consequence of his enthusiasm. He is so anxious that, in the endeavor to acquit himself creditably in the field, he his unable to make even a respectable appearance. The heart beats, the eyes dance, the hand trembles, and, of course, good shooting is out of the question. This is why many a man who is a fair shot when alone is unable to hit a haystack, as the saying goes, when criticising eyes are upon him. Practice may, in certain cases, reduce the magnitude of the trouble, but nervousness is constitutional with many a too enthusiastic sportsman, and he will be increasingly nervous as his enthusiasm augments.” A South Carolina paper, referring to the disappearance of a man, says he “had on his working clothes and an overdose of liquor.”