MINERVA.—There is no safe method by which you can make your eyes glisten. Some foolish actresses put atropine (belladonna) into their eyes to brighten them. Belladonna dilates the pupil widely, thus giving the eyes a very brilliant appearance, but it is an exceedingly injurious thing for several reasons. The drug paralyses the muscles of the eyes which enable us to see near objects. The widely-dilated pupils will not contract in the presence of a bright light. This is exceedingly painful, causing headache and delirium, and the effects upon the eyes of putting belladonna into them last for over a week. Lastly, and most important, atropine is a deadly poison—it is one of the most poisonous drugs known. It is therefore exceedingly unsafe to use. So poisonous is it that some deaths have occurred from dropping one drop of the solution of atropine, _i.e._, one-hundredth of a grain of the drug, into the eyes for cosmetic purposes. Fortunately you would find great difficulty in obtaining the drug, but it is inconceivable to us how you could be sufficiently foolish to wish to use it.
W. K. L. asks us how she may reduce her weight? But as she does not tell us how much she weighs, we cannot give her the information that she requires. The majority of correspondents who ask this question state their ages and weights, and usually we find that the latter is rather below than above the average for their ages.
ENDYMION.—There is not the slightest objection to your marrying because you have had pneumonia. It is true that that disease is somewhat apt to attack a person more than once; but it is in no way hereditary, though it is undoubtedly infectious. We advise people not to marry only when they have a disease which is sure to kill them shortly; or a disease in which married life is dangerous, or where the disease is strongly hereditary and the children would probably suffer from it.
ANXIOUS ONE.—Your question is an exceedingly delicate one, and one on which you would do well not to take our opinion alone, but to supplement it with that of other medical men. Epilepsy is a very serious disease, it is rarely possible to cure it, and, moreover, it is strongly hereditary. The question, “should an epileptic marry?” must, in the majority of cases, be answered in the negative. Most certainly an epileptic should not marry if he still has fits. It is only in those cases where the patients have not had fits for some years that the question of their marrying can be considered. In the case you mention to us, we advise you to make perfectly certain that the disease is epilepsy. There are some diseases which produce symptoms not unlike those of some forms of epilepsy, and the diagnosis between them is often impossible without watching the case for some weeks or months. Our advice is first to make certain what is the matter with the man, and if this proves to be epilepsy, it is better for both to break off your engagement. But do not do so without obtaining the opinion of another physician.