The end was close. Lee’s men set fire to the cotton and tobaccowarehouses in Richmond， burned the arsenal， and fled from thecity at night while towering flames roared up into darkness. Grantwas in hot pursuit， banging away at the Confederates from bothsides and the rear， while Sheridan’s cavalry was heading them offin front， tearing up railway lines and capturing supply trains.
Grant， half blind with a violent sick headache， fell behind hisarmy and stopped at a farmhouse. “I spent the night，” he recordsin his Memoirs， “in bathing my feet in hot water and mustard，and putting mustard plasters on my wrists and the back part ofmy neck， hoping to be cured by morning.”
The next morning， he was cured instantaneously. And the tilingthat cured him was not a mustard plaster， but a horseman gallopingdown the road with a letter from Lee， saying he wanted to surrender.
“When the officer [bearing the message] reached me，” Grantwrote， “I was still suffering with the sick headache， but the instantI saw the contents of the note， I was cured.”
Obviously it was Grant’s worries， tensions， and emotions thatmade him ill. He was cured instantly the moment his emotionstook on the hue of confidence， achievement， and victory.
Seventy years later， Henry Morgenthau， Jr.， Secretary of theTreasury in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s cabinet， discovered thatworry could make him so ill that he was dizzy. He records in hisdiary that he was terribly worried when the President， in order toraise the price of wheat， bought 4，400，000 bushels in one day. Hesays in his diary： “I felt literally dizzy while the thing was goingon. I went home and went to bed for two hours after lunch.”
If I want to see what worry does to people， I don’t have to go toa library or a physician. I can look out of the window of my homewhere I am writing this book; and I can see， within one block， onehouse where worry caused a nervous breakdown-and anotherhouse where a man worried himself into diabetes. When the stockmarket went down， the sugar in his blood and urine went up.
When Montaigne， the illustrious French philosopher， waselected Mayor of his home town—Bordeaux， he said to his fellowcitizens：“I am willing to take your affairs into my hands but notinto my liver and lungs.”
This neighbour of mine took the affairs of the stock marketinto the blood stream—and almost killed himself.
Worry can put you into a wheel chair with rheumatism andarthritis. Dr. Russell L. Cecil， of the Cornell University MedicalSchool， is a world-recognised authority on arthritis; and he haslisted four of the commonest conditions that bring on arthritis：1. Marital shipwreck.
2. Financial disaster and grief.
3. Loneliness and worry.
4. Long-cherished resentments.
Naturally， these four emotional situations are far from beingthe only causes of arthritis. There are many different kinds ofarthritis-due to various causes. But， to repeat， the commonestconditions that bring on arthritis are the four listed by Dr. RussellL. Cecil. For example， a friend of mine was so hard bit during thedepression that the gas company shut off the gas and the bankforeclosed the mortgage on the house. His wife suddenly had apainful attack of arthritis—and， in spite of medicine and diets， thearthritis continued until their financial situation improved.
Worry can even cause tooth decay. Dr. William I. L. McGoniglesaid in an address before the American Dental Associationthat “unpleasant emotions such as those caused by worry， fear，nagging … may upset the body’s calcium balance and cause toothdecay”。 Dr. McGonigle told of a patient of his who had alwayshad a perfect set of teeth until he began to worry over his wife’ssudden illness. During the three weeks she was in the hospital， hedeveloped nine cavities—cavities brought on by worry.
Have you ever seen a person with an acutely over-activethyroid? I have， and I can tell you they tremble; they shake; theylook like someone half scared to death—and that’s about whatit amounts to. The thyroid gland， the gland that regulates the body， has been thrown out of kilter. It speeds up the heart thewhole body is roaring away at full blast like a furnace with all itsdraughts wide open. And if this isn’t checked， by operation ortreatment， the victim may die， may “burn himself out”。
A short time ago I went to Philadelphia with a friend of minewho has this disease. We went to see a famous specialist， a doctorwho has been treating this type of ailment for thirty-eight years.
And what sort of advice do you suppose he had hanging on thewall of his waiting-room-painted on a large wooden sign so all hispatients could see it? Here it is. I copied it down on the back of anenvelope while I was waiting：Relaxation and RecreationThe most relaxing recreating forces are a healthyreligion， sleep， music， and laughter.
Have faith in God—learn to sleep well—
Love good music—see the funny side of life—
And health and happiness will be yours.
The first question he asked this friend of mine was： “Whatemotional disturbance brought on this condition?” He warnedmy friend that， if he didn’t stop worrying， he could get othercomplications： heart trouble， stomach ulcers， or diabetes. “Allof these diseases，” said that eminent doctor， “are cousins， firstcousins.” Sure， they’re first cousins-they’re all worry diseases！
When I interviewed Merle Oberon， she told me that sherefused to worry because she knew that worry would destroy herchief asset on the motion-picture screen： her good looks.