,our ,girls by ,dio ,lewis1 ,a4,m41 ,m4,d41 ,president of ,the ,normal ,institute for ,physical ,education1 ,physician in ,chief to a ,swedish ,movement ,cure1 ,author of ,new ,gymnastics for ,men1 ,women1 and ,children1 ,weak ,lungs1 and ,how to ,make ,them ,strong1 ,talks ,about ,people's ,stomachs1 etc4 ,that her hand may be given with dignity1 she must be able to stand alone4-,margaret ,fuller ,new ,york ,harper ,brothers1 ,publishers1 ,franklin ,square1 #ahgd4 ,entered according to ,act of ,congress in the year #ahga1 by ,dio ,lewis4 ,in the ,office of the ,librarian of ,congress1 at ,washington4 ,to ,my ,girls ,i dedicate this volume ,in the ,school at ,lexington they taught me how pure and noble life may become4 ,will they listen to another of my ,talks about ,health8 ,the ,author4 ,contents ,,introduction ,,girls' ,,boots ,,and ,,shoes ,sure ,way to get ,broad ,soles4 ,beauty of ,broad ,soles4 ,economy of ,wide ,soles4 ,thickness of the ,soles4 ,of what shall the ,uppers of ,girls' ,boots be composed8 ,should the ,shoes support the ,ankle8 ,rubber ,boots and ,shoes4 ,,how ,,girls ,,should ,,walk ,another ,woman who ,walked well4 ,still another ,woman who ,walked well4 ,important ,help in ,learning to ,walk4 ,,the ,,language ,,of ,,dress ,low ,neck and ,short ,sleeves ,,description ,,of ,,dress ,letter from ,washington4 ,excessive ,ornamentation4 ,earrings and other ,trinkets4 ,finger-rings1 etc4 ,,outrages ,,upon ,,the ,,body ,fashionable ,sufferings4 ,,woman ,,tortures ,,her ,,body ,,stockings ,,supporters ,,large vs4 ,,small ,,women ,why are ,women so ,small8 ,,idleness ,,among ,,girls ,a ,family ,counsel4 ,how it ,terminated4 ,,idleness ,,is ,,fashionable ,,work ,,is ,,for ,,the ,,poor ,work for ,rich ,girls4 ,a true ,love ,story4 ,,employments ,,for ,,women ,amanuenses4 ,bank ,clerks4 ,brokers4 ,copyists4 ,dentists4 ,lawyers4 ,lecturers4 ,librarians4 ,physicians4 ,preachers4 ,proof-,readers4 ,publishers4 ,teachers4 ,teachers of ,gymnastics and ,dancing4 ,teachers of ,drawing and ,painting4 ,watches4 ,pens4 ,aquaria ,makers4 ,architects4 ,engravers4 ,photographers4 ,schools of ,design4 ,gardening4 ,a ,capital ,investment4 ,merchants4 ,carpenters4 ,other ,occupations4 ,employment ,agencies4 ,,false ,,tests ,,of ,,gentility ,conservatism is ,fashionable4 ,woman's ,rights are ,unfashionable4 ,the ,social ,evil4 ,a ,,short ,,sermon ,,about ,,matrimony ,my ,text4 ,you ,want ,husbands4 ,why ,men do not ,propose4 ,beauty of ,woman's ,body4 ,this ,dress ,checks your ,movements4 ,,piano ,,music ,vocal ,music4 ,bad ,manners of ,piano ,players4 ,vices of ,modern ,music4 ,italian ,opera4 ,,study ,,of ,,french ,disciplinary ,value of ,french4 ,comparative ,value of ,english and ,french4 ,english ,classics4 ,latin and ,greek4 ,,dancing ,,the ,,theatre ,,sympathy ,,between ,,the ,,stomach ,,and ,,the ,,soul ,bowels of ,compassion4 ,waists of ,jolly ,grandmothers4 ,,about ,,the ,,treatment ,,of ,,diseases ,,sunshine ,,and ,,health ,a few ,plain ,words to my ,little ,pale-faced ,friends4 ,experiment upon a ,house-plant4 ,experiment upon a ,rose-bush4 ,experiment upon a ,rose ,girl4 ,a ,,word ,,about ,,baths ,oil ,secretions of the ,skin4 ,importance of ,soap4 ,details of the ,bath4 ,bath-rooms4 ,hot and ,cold ,baths4 ,hair ,gloves or ,mittens4 ,,home ,,gymnasium ,,what ,,you ,,should ,,eat ,consequences4 ,breakfast4 ,dinner4 ,jacob ,schneider and his ,doughnuts4 ,wines and other ,alcoholic ,drinks ,,what ,,you ,,should ,,drink ,,additional ,,health ,,thoughts ,noises in the ,bowels4 ,how to ,manage a ,cold4 ,fat and ,thin ,girls4 ,recreation vs4 ,propriety4 ,care of your ,teeth4 ,ventilation4 ,flannels next the ,skin4 ,,amusements ,,for ,,girls ,,true ,,education ,,for ,,girls ,,heroic ,,women ,introduction ,my ,dear ,public3-- ,i write about the girls because ,i want to1 and because1 after a good deal of self-examination1 ,i candidly believe ,i have something to say about them4 ,i have always been deeply interested in the girls2 when a youngster nothing so fascinated me2 and1 as ,i turn the corner1 to go with the old folks1 ,i can't see that my interest in girls is a whit less earnest4 ,when ,i was occupied with the practice of my profession1 my interest in the girls was so well-known1 that ,i had an unusual number among my patients4 ,during the years of my public lecturing1 half1 at least1 of my audiences were composed exclusively of girls and women4 ,when ,i established the school at ,lexington1 it was a school for girls1 and1 during four years1 ,i lived in the midst of a large family of fine girls4 ,it was a sweet1 a delightful experience4 ,my hopes of the future rest upon the girls4 ,my patriotism clings to the girls4 ,i believe ,america's future pivots on this great woman revolution4 ,i am not a ,yankee1 but ,i believe in ,yankees4 ,this first great success in self-government1 is a success1 because guided by ,yankee brains4 ,i tremble lest the rudder should fall to hands1 which1 in other lands1 have been found utterly incompetent4 ,the ,yankee brain has realized the brightest hopes of the political seer4 ,the ,united ,states ,government must not1 cannot part with its wise1 prudent helmsman4 ,is it not an alarming fact1 that1 among ,yankees1 marriage is becoming unfashionable1 and children still more unfashionable2 that1 among the very few children born1 so many die in infancy2 and still again1 that1 among the very small number who escape the perils of childhood1 so small a proportion are endowed with that vigorous health on which alone can be planted a vigorous manhood4 ,i am so sure that ,i know where the trouble lies1 and so strong is my confidence that ,i can contribute something toward its removal1 ,i cannot refrain from speaking4 ,may the ,good ,father help me to write in a truly father-spirit to those dear1 beautiful girls1 upon whom we are all so dependent for present happiness1 and upon whom the future ,america must rest4 ,and if any thought shall appear in this volume worthy their attention1 may they listen1 think1 act4 ,i have discussed many health topics1 but this work1 addressed to the girls of ,america1 ,i shall fill with my whole heart1 and send out1 with a yearning for its success1 which ,i have felt in connection with no other literary venture4 ,,girls' ,,boots ,,and ,,shoes4 ,one evening1 at ,lexington1 ,i was discussing before the assembled school the subject of shoes for women1 and had been remarking that the soles were uniformly too narrow1 when ,miss ,b4 spoke up3-- ,why1 ,doctor1 my soles are perfectly immense4 ,why1 they are twice as broad as my foot4 ,miss ,b41 will you be kind enough to take off one of your shoes1 and send it forward8 ,it was cheerfully and quickly done4 ,henry1 please bring the rule8 ,now we will measure this sole4 ,miss ,b41 ,i find this sole is two and one-half inches wide2 do you think your foot is narrower than that8 ,oh6 a great deal4 ,that shoe sole is twice as wide as my foot4 ,miss ,b41 will you please come to the platform a moment8 ,so1 limping along1 one shoe off and one shoe on1 she presented herself4 ,miss ,b41 will you be kind enough to put your foot upon that sheet of white paper8 ,now hold up the other foot1 and let your full weight press upon this one4 ,there1 now1 hold still a minute1 and let me draw the pencil around your foot4 ,there1 that will do4 ,now we will measure this mark1 and see just how broad your foot is4 ,why1 ,miss ,b41 ,i find that your foot is three inches and three-quarters broad2 --no1 stop1 it is three inches and seven-eighths2--no1 stop again1 it really is four inches broad4 ,now what do you think8 ,you may take the rule and measure yourself if you doubt it4 ,the sole is two inches and a half1 and your foot is four inches broad6 ,but1 ,doctor1 it is four inches broad only when it is spread out by standing my whole weight on this one foot4 ,yes1 ,miss ,b41 but that is exactly what takes place every time you step4 ,for example1 when1 in walking1 you lift up the right foot and push it forward1 your whole weight is not only on the left foot1 but1 pushing with the left foot in propelling the body forward1 you have1 in addition to your weight upon that foot1 the effort of pushing forward with it1 which makes the toes still broader1 and that takes place every time you step4 ,so ,i presume when you are walking briskly1 that if your foot were at liberty to spread1 it would reach four inches and a quarter4 ,this shoe sole1 which you think is immense1 is two inches and a half wide4 ,now what do you suppose becomes of the inch and a half of foot which has no sole to rest upon8 ,either the upper leather holds the foot1 and prevents its spreading1 or the foot spreads on either side beyond the sole1 and presses down upon the edge of the sole4 ,very few girls walk in a firm1 strong way4 ,notice one4 ,you can see that she is balancing upon a narrow sole4 ,there is an unsteadiness1 a sidewise vibration4 ,besides1 as she has not breadth of toe enough1 she cannot push her body forward in that elastic way which we all so much admire4 ,again1 the pressure of the upper leather checks the circulation in the foot and makes it cold4 ,if you check the circulation in any part1 it becomes cold4 ,the tight shoes1 with an elastic worn about the leg just below the knee1 so check the circulation in the foot1 that the great majority of girls have cold feet4 ,it would1 indeed1 be rare to find one with warm feet like a boy4 ,miss ,b4 took her shoe and limped back to her seat quite crest- fallen4 ,now a dozen girls eagerly put up their hands4 ,selecting one1 ,miss ,r41 ,i said1 ,what do you wish8 ,my shoe is broader than my foot4 ,well1 send it forward and let me measure it4 ,i found it two and a half inches1 or1 perhaps1 a shade less4 ,come1 stand on the paper and let me measure your foot4 ,i found it fully three and three quarter inches2 one inch and a quarter of foot with nothing to rest upon4 ,six or eight other girls insisted on having their shoes and feet measured1 but among them all we did not find one that had less than an inch and a quarter of foot not matched by the sole4 ,miss ,s41 a quiet1 earnest girl1 who was always on the qui vive for the ought of life1 rose and said3-- ,i have always thought that shoes should have broad soles1 and ,i have tried for years to induce my shoemaker to give me broad soles4 ,he always says he will1 but he never does4 ,how can a young lady get broad soles if the shoemaker won't make them8 ,i am sure ,i should be glad to have mine as broad as the widest spread of my foot1 but ,i cannot get them4 ,,sure ,,way ,,to ,,get ,,broad ,,soles4 ,miss ,s41 if ,i will tell you how to induce your shoemaker to make the soles of your shoes as broad as your feet1 will you try it8 ,i will1 and should be very thankful for the suggestion4 ,go to him and say1 ',mr4 ,smith1 please let me put my foot on a sheet of paper1 resting my whole weight upon one foot1 and then1 if you please1 mark around it with your pencil4' ,of course he will do it very cheerfully4 ,indeed1 for some purpose1 which ,i am sure no man can explain1 shoemakers are quite in the habit of taking the size and shape of the foot4 ,i am sure ,i never saw any evidence that they paid the slightest attention to it in making the shoes4 ,then say to ,mr4 ,smith1 ',please measure that and tell me just how wide it is4' ,mr4 ,smith measures4 ,you look on4 ,he finds that the width is exactly three inches and seven-eighths4 ',but1' he will say1 ',miss ,s41 what is all this for8' ',no matter4 ,now1 ,mr4 ,smith1 will you please to make the soles of this pair as broad as my feet8' ',certainly1 ,miss ,s41 ,i will make them all nice and broad4' ',mr4 ,smith1 please make the soles as broad as my feet this time4' ',why1 certainly1 ,miss1 what is the trouble8 ,i will give them to you real nice and wide4' ',you always tell me so2 but when they come home1 they are always those little narrow ones4' ',miss ,s41 you shouldn't say so4 ,i always make the soles of my shoes very broad4 ,it will be all right44 ,you needn't worry about that4' ',well1 ,mr4 ,smith1 you need not send these shoes to me2 ,i will come for them4 ,the width of my foot is three inches and seven-eighths4 ,very well2 when ,i come for these shoes1 ,i shall measure the width of the soles2 if they are one-eighth of an inch less than three inches and seven-eighths1 ,i will not touch them4' ,that struggle is all over4 ,mr4 ,smith will1 for the first time in his life1 keep his broad-sole promise4 ,,beauty ,,of ,,broad ,,soles4 ',besides the advantages ,i have named1 broad soles are much handsomer than narrow ones4 ,they make the foot look smaller4 ,if one puts his foot into a shoe too short1 and too narrow1 and the toes and sides of the foot press out all around over the sole1 it makes the foot look big2 but if the sole be large enough to let the foot rest in its natural relations1 it looks much smaller4 ,we men wear boots1 often1 with broad soles that project well on both sides4 ,such boots are thought to be particularly stylish4 ,,economy ,,of ,,wide ,,soles4 ,another advantage may be mentioned for the benefit of those who study economy4 ,such shoes will not only keep in shape1 but they will last two or three times as long as those with narrow soles4 ,the uppers1 not being stretched1 as they are with narrow soles1 will1 if of good stock1 almost never wear out1 while the soles will remain square and even4 ,i have spoken of the advantage of a greatly improved circulation1 which would result from the introduction of the wide soles4 ,i may add that the change which would at once appear in the manner of walking1 would strike every beholder4 ,,thickness ,,of ,,the ,,soles4 ,the soles of girls' boots and shoes should be thick4 ,they are not always to remain upon carpets1 but they must go out doors and walk on the ground4 ,some people seem1 somehow1 to suppose that girls do not really step on the ground1 but that1 in some sort of spiritual way1 they pass along just above the damp1 unclean earth4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 girls do step on the ground just like boys4 ,i have frequently walked behind them to test this point1 and have noticed that when the ground is soft1 they make tracks1 and thus demonstrate the existence of an actual1 material body4 ,now1 while this is the case1 and while it is indispensable to their health that they go much in the open air1 they must have thick soles4 ,let these be made of the hardest and most impervious leather4 ,it is well1 in addition1 during eight months of the year1 to have the bottoms of the soles covered either with a sheet of rubber1 or simply covered with a spreading of some of the liquid rubber1 which will remain two or three weeks1 and protect the sole from dampness4 ,,of ,,what ,,shall ,,the ,,uppers ,,of ,,girls' ,,boots ,,be ,,composed8 ,during the cold and damp months they should be made of thick1 solid leather4 ,no matter about the name2 some calfskin is very thin1 while morocco is often very thick4 ,during the warm season they may wear for uppers prunella1 or other cloth4 ,this much was spoken to my girls4 ,i might leave the shape and width of the heel to the intelligence of the reader2 but as the most preposterous heels have been recently introduced1 it is perhaps judicious to point out the physiological mischief4 ,the heels of the fashionable ladies' shoes at the present moment--quarter past three1 ,p4,m41 ,august #dth1 #ahgj1--;are two inches high1 and at the bottom not larger than an old-fashioned silver quarter of a dollar1 if anybody can remember how large that was4 ,need it be argued that this absurd fashion weakens the ankle1 and jams the toes into the sharp points of the boots8 ,if a woman were to walk as much as her health requires1 with those most unphysiological heels1 her feet would soon be crippled4 ,the ankle1 the heel1 the arch of the foot and the toes must all suffer4 ,it need hardly be said that heels should be broad1 long and low4 ,the great advantage in elasticity and firmness which would come at once in the manner of walking1 would1 even as to stylishness1 more than compensate for the absence of the fashionable ,shanghai heels4 ,,should ,,the ,,shoe ,,support ,,the ,,ankle8 ,shoes of a peculiar structure have been employed to support the ankle4 ,medical men have even advised the introduction of brass1 or other metallic straps1 to be laced in the shoe about the ankle1 to give support in walking4 ,the ordinary shoe is made so as to fit the ankle very closely1 under the impression that thereby the ankle is supported4 ,this is an error4 ,if the ankles were to be used but a day or a week1 such support might serve2 but as no one intends to rely permanently upon such artificial support1 and as any pressure checks the circulation and the development of the parts1 so a lacing to the ankle1 as a lacing about the chest1 may feel comfortable and give a sense of support for the time being1 but1 in either case1 will1 in the long run1 only produce absorption and weakness4 ,the ankle joint should be left entirely without ligature1 without any pressure1 and by exercise be developed into a self-supporting institution4 ,if this were the place1 ,i would give special directions for bathing the ankle joints in cold water1 morning and evening1 and rubbing them hard with the naked hands1 if they are weak and need special support4 ,,rubber ,,boots ,,and ,,shoes4 ,on the subject of rubber boots and shoes much has been said1 and well said4 ,there can be no doubt that india-rubber boots are mischievous2 but ,i have at length reached the conclusion that the injury is less than the constant in-door life among girls and women which would result from an abandonment of the rubber protections4 ,the prejudice against such leather boots as would1 alone1 prove adequate to our climate1 is so determined1 that ,i think it my duty1 in discussing the subject of shoes for girls1 to advise that1 in this climate1 every girl should have a pair of india-rubber over- shoes1 of the arctic or sandal pattern1 and a pair of large-sized1 long-legged rubber boots for the roughest weather4 ,they should never be worn except when the streets are in a condition absolutely requiring them1 and should not be kept on1 in the house4 ,if these rules be carefully observed1 and1 during the season of the year when rubbers are worn1 the feet are frequently washed in cold water1 and rubbed hard with rough towels1 hair gloves and the naked hand1 they may be protected against the injurious influence of the rubber boots and shoes4 ,,how ,,girls ,,should ,,walk4 ,a good many years ago1--let me look in the glass again1--never use hair dye1--yes1 a great many years ago1 ,i was studying my profession in a medical office with several other students4 ,just below stood a book-bindery1 and a little above1 the residence of a poor widow4 ,a girl of twenty years passed backward and forward1 from one to the other1 several times a day4 ,very rarely did she pass our office without one or more of us observing her4 ,very natural1 you say4 ,but you don't understand me4 ,she was not a handsome girl4 ,her dress was of the plainest calico1 and1 ,i suppose on account of her occupation1 it was not always clean4 ,but1 nevertheless1 she was one of our staple attractions4 ,our office was on the main street1 and above us were the residences of the rich4 ,hundreds of girls with handsome faces and rich dresses passed every day1 but we were not on the lookout for them4 ,it was only the book-binding girl that drew us to the window4 ,one of our fellows would cry out1 ,here she goes4 ,come quick1 ,john2 quick1 ,henry4 ,curious1 wasn't it8 ,and what do you suppose so excited our interest8 ,she walked well6 ,ah6 ,i can see her now6 ,what a queen6 ,queenly1 we exclaim1 with reference to a certain manner of walking4 ,we never say queenly mouth1 or queenly eyes1 or queenly nose4 ,the word is applied only to a certain style of personal carriage4 ,when we see a woman pass1 carrying her head and shoulders in a peculiar way1 stepping off in a grand1 elastic style1 the word queenly leaps to every lip4 ,our book-binding girl was a ,methodist2 and ,i do not mind telling you that ,i used to go to the ,methodist church pretty often1 and always sat in the gallery1 that ,i might see her come in and go out4 ,she frequented a little social organization1 in which young men and women assembled for conversation1 reading1 singing1 etc4 ,i joined1 although there was no other attraction than our queen4 ,you may think it very strange1 but ,i was never introduced to her2 ,i never spoke with her4 ,indeed1 ,i carefully avoided a personal acquaintance1 lest a lack of intelligence and sentiment might break the charm of her peerless bearing4 ,i think that nothing in any woman has ever more deeply impressed my imagination than that young woman's splendid mien4 ,,another ,,woman ,,who ,,walked ,,well4 ,calling upon a legal friend in a western city about twenty years ago1 he asked me1 while we were sitting at his front window1-- ,have you ever seen ,mrs4 ,w----e8 ,no4 ,who is she8 what is she8 ,she is a remarkable woman4 ,actress8 ,no4 ,singer8 ,no4 ,authoress8 ,no4 ,well1 do tell me what she is remarkable for4 ,oh1 she walks well4 ,and is it so rare for a woman to walk well1 in your city1 that one who does1 becomes famous8 ,ah1 but when you see her walk1 you won't ask that question4 ,she walks splendidly2 and what is very wonderful1 she knows it2 and1 knowing it1 what is perhaps still more wonderful1 she walks a great deal4 ,she generally goes down town about this time4 ,if we keep watch1 we shall see her4 ,in a few minutes he exclaimed1 ,there she goes1 there she goes6 ,indeed1 and that is your wonderful ,mrs4 ,w----e8 ,she don't handsome much4 ,eyes sunken1 complexion dark1 nose--well1 her nose is preposterous1 mouth coarse1--but1 she does1 yes1 she does walk splendidly4 ,i pushed out my head and watched her as she went down the street4 ,,still ,,another ,,woman ,,who ,,walked ,,well4 ,we arrived at the ,morley ,house about two o'clock in the afternoon4 ,it was my first visit to ,london4 ,while in the dining-room1 ,i made one of those table acquaintances so common among travellers4 ,he asked3-- ,shall you visit one of the theatres this evening8 ,i hadn't thought of it2 what is there worth seeing8 ,have you ever seen ,mrs4 ,charles ,kean1 ,ellen ,tree that was8 ,no4 ,well1 you'd better go and see her4 ,she is the finest walker ,i ever saw4 ,glad you mentioned it4 ,i shall certainly go4 ,it was one of ,shakspeare's plays4 ,when ,mrs4 ,kean came in1 she walked across the stage two or three times before uttering a word4 ,i never saw anything so perfectly grand6 ,the play had then run a hundred and fifty nights4 ,i afterward met several persons who had witnessed it more than twenty nights1 and most of them mentioned ,mrs4 ,kean's walking1 as the great attraction4 ,girls1 the ,creator has not made you all handsome4 ,he has not given you all fine faces1 or noble proportions2 but ,he has given every one of you the capacity to learn to walk well4 ,why1 even a little woman1 weighing but a hundred pounds1 can make herself grand by a certain style of walking4 ,how any of you who desire to appear well1 to make a fine impression1 can consent to crawl about1 poking your chins out1 shoulder-blades sticking out1 and wiggling yourself along in that stubby1 stumbling way1 amazes me4 ,why1 girls1 if you were to give one-twentieth part as much time to learning to walk1 as you give to the piano1 you would add immensely to your attractions4 ,everybody plays the piano4 ,it really is refreshing to meet one who says1 ,i have never learned to play4 ,why not a few of you1 instead of sitting four hours a day on piano stools1 weakening and distorting your spines2 why not just a few of you1 by way of variety1 cultivate this beautiful1 elastic1 queenly manner of walking8 ,you have no idea how1 to use a ,yankee phrase1 it would pay1 as an attraction4 ,,rules ,,for ,,fine ,,walking4 ,there are certain prerequisites4 ,first1 you must have low1 wide heels1 and broad soles1 especially about the toes1 affording a secure surface1 upon which1 in taking each step1 you can push the body forward4 ,second1 the body about the waist must be perfectly at liberty4 ,the corset is a deadly enemy to fine walking4 ,but given perfect freedom at the middle of the body1 through which all the movements in walking must pass1--given this freedom of the trunk1 with good shoes1 and you have the prerequisites on which this general exercise of the body depends4 ,suppose1 instead of a free body1 that you press a corset into the pit of the stomach1 and press it in so as to make a scoop-shovel dip in that part of the body1 of course you draw the shoulders forward1 and push the bowels down out of their natural place4 ,then you walk like a deformed person4 ,with liberty of feet and liberty of body1 you are ready to take your first lesson4 ,i once read a book about walking4 ,it was a ,french book1 and1 if ,i remember right1 it contained about one hundred and twenty pages4 ,in it the most elaborate directions were given4 ,we were told how to hold our heels and toes1 what part of the foot to bring down first1 how1 when the foot had been brought down1 it was to be moved during the step1 just what angle must be maintained between the two feet1 the style of movement in the ankle itself1 management of the knees1 the hips1 the shoulders1 the head1 the arms1 the hands1 the thumbs1 --the position of the thumbs was the subject of several pages4 ,i have sometimes thought that ,i would write a book on walking4 ,i am sure ,i can write a better one than that ,french book1 and my book would contain only four words4 ,let us see1 we must have two leaves1 and each leaf must be as large as your thumb nail4 ,we have four pages4 ,now we will proceed to print this book4 ,on the first page we will print one single word1 chin2 on the second a single word1 close2 on the third page1 to2 now we approach the end of the volume2 turn over1 and on the last page we print the word neck4 ,the volume is complete4 ,no explanatory notes need be given1 not another word need be said4 ,whoever carries the chin close to neck is all right from top to toe1 and will walk well4 ,strange to say1 the chin is the pivot on which the whole body turns in walking4 ,miss ,howard1 please stand here before us4 ,now push your chin forward after the manner of most girls in walking4 ,there1 girls1 don't you see1 her shoulders are wrong1 hips wrong1 wrong everywhere8 ,now1 ,miss ,howard1 draw your chin back close to your neck4 ,see1 she has brought her shoulders into the right position1 hips right1 every part is right4 ,now1 please walk8 ,don't you see8 ,although1 in this first attempt1 she seems a little stiff1 and awkward1 she exhibits the elements of a fine1 queenly bearing8 ,if she were to keep it up a few weeks1 and make it easy1 wherever she might go1 people would exclaim1 ',queenly6 queenly6' ,oh1 it is pitiable to see fine ,american girls poke along the street with their chins away on in advance1 hastening to inform the people that the girl is coming4 ,come to this window with me1 and look out a moment4 ,there1 there are two girls passing4 ,now look at their chins4 ,if these girls would draw their chins back close to their necks1 their whole appearance would be changed in an instant4 ,i have often said if my adopted daughter should come to me1 and say3 -- ,father1 ,i am going to ,japan2 ,i don't expect to see you again in this world1 and1 now as ,i am about to leave you1 tell me how to preserve my health4 ,i should say3-- ,my daughter1 ,i am glad you came to me about this4 ,i have given my life to the study of the laws of health1 and ,i am sure ,i can give you valuable suggestions4 ,listen4 ,i will give you five rules1 and if you observe them1 no matter where you may live1 you will be almost sure to maintain good health4 ,father1 five rules2 that's a great many4 ,i am afraid ,i shall forget some of them2 give me one1--the most important one1 and ,i promise not to forget it4 ,my daughter1 if ,i can give you but one rule1 it is this3 ,stand up straight1 walk erect1 sit erect1 and even when you are in bed at night1 don't put three pillows under your head1 and watch your toes all night1 but keep yourself straight4 ,if you do this1 your lungs1 heart1 liver1 stomach1 and all the other organs in the body1 will have room for work4 ,my dear child1 if you observe this rule1 you will not only bear with you the air of a noble woman1 but you will contribute more than by any other single rule1 to the vigor of your body1 and the maintenance of your health4 ,why1 my daughter1 you cannot have a good voice even1 unless you stand erect4 ,the ,creator has fitted this little vocal apparatus in the throat to a certain attitude of the body4 ,the vocal apparatus of a cow is so fixed1 that when her backbone is horizontal1 she can do her best bellowing4 ,if she were to stand on her hind legs1 and stick her nose directly up towards the sky1 she couldn't half bellow4 ,the vocal apparatus in a girl's throat is fitted1 not to a horizontal spine1 but to a perpendicular one4 ,the portion of the spine in the neck determines1 mostly1 the action of the music box in the throat4 ,if you drop your-chin down on your chest1 bending your neck1 and then try to sing1 you will find at once that the vocal box is all out of shape4 ,go to the opera and observe the singers4 ,when they wish to make a particularly loud or fine sound1 they don't put the chin down in the pit of the stomach1 but they draw it back close to the neck1 and hold the upper part of the spine1 and1 indeed1 every part of the spine1 in a noble1 erect attitude4 ,no1 my dear ,mary1 you can not even speak or sing well without attending to my volume on the subject of the chin4 ,need ,i say again1 that only in this upright position of the body can your lungs and heart find room to do their great and vital work8 ,need ,i say1 that if you allow your head and shoulders to fall forward1 and the organs of the chest to fall down on the organs of the abdomen1 the stomach and liver and all the other organs in your abdominal cavity will be displaced1 crowded and trammeled8 ,my dear ,japanese missionary1 ,i have given you the most important rule of health1 and if you observe it during your life among the ,japs1 it will do wonders in preserving your health and strength4 ,,important ,,help ,,in ,,learning ,,to ,,walk4 ,you are in haste to become a queen8 ,the ambition is a noble one4 ,you can hurry the change by another practice1 which ,i will describe4 ,a charming lady of the grand1 old-fashioned pattern1 bore herself like an empress at eighty-six4 ,i ventured to ask her3-- ,madam1 what was the source of this remarkable carriage of your person8 ,she replied3-- ,during my young life ,i carried a large book on my head one or two hours every day4 ,my mother had been taught the practice in an ,english school1 and she transmitted it to her daughters4 ,some years ago there was devised a pretty iron crown1 in three parts1 which has been much used for this purpose4 ,the first part1 which rests upon the head1 weighed nine pounds2 when an iron ring was placed inside of this1 it weighed eighteen pounds1 and when the second one was added1 the weight was twenty-seven pounds4 ,this device was ornamental and convenient4 ,but1 while the crown is the best thing2 any weight will do4 ,a bag of corn or beans may be employed1 ,a book will answer very well4 ,i have frequently seen books used4 ,you can use any large book of no value1--say a large law book1--and you will find that the effort to retain it on the head will secure a perfectly balanced1 accurate movement of all the muscles of the body4 ,whatever weight is employed1 let it be carried upon the top of the head1 holding the chin close to the neck1 thirty minutes in the morning1 and about the same time before lying down at night4 ,in this connection let me say that the use of thick pillows tends to produce a curve in the neck4 ,the pillows should be hard and thin4 ,i am glad to see that hair pillows of moderate size are being generally introduced4 ,let me explain the way in which carrying a load upon the head helps the spine into an erect posture4 ,the spine is composed of twenty- four separate bones1 which do not lie upon one another1 but are separated by cushions of elastic cartilage4 ,suppose the thickness of these cushions to be a quarter of an inch4 ,when the spine is erect1 they are of the same thickness all around4 ,when the spine is bent sidewise1 say towards the right1 the elastic cushions become thinner on that side1 and if the bending is decided1 the edges of the spinal bones themselves will nearly touch1 while the mass of elastic or india-rubber substance will be pressed over to the left side4 ,now suppose that one follows an occupation requiring this position of the spine4 ,after a time1 unless pains are taken to counterbalance the mischievous influence of the occupation1 these india-rubber cushions between the spinal bones will become fixed in this wedge- like shape1 being thin on the right side and thick on the left side4 ,now suppose1 instead of bending sidewise1 one bends forward1 as nine persons in ten do1 exactly the same thing takes place in these elastic1 rubber cushions1 only that the rubber is pushed backward1 and the spine bones come together in front4 ,when the chin is drawn back close to the neck1 and the cushions are brought into their natural equality of thickness all around1 if1 at the same moment1 a considerable weight is placed upon the head to press hard upon the spinal cushions1 much will be done in a little time1 to fix them in this natural shape4 ,it requires but a few months of this management to induce a very striking change in the attitude of the spine4 ,many years ago1 when my wife was an invalid1 we spent three winters in the ,south4 ,the plantation negro was a shambling1 careless1 uncouth creature2 but occasionally we saw a negro whose bearing suggested a recent occupancy of one of the kingly thrones in ,africa4 ,after a little we came to understand the source of this peculiarity4 ,these negroes1 of the erect1 lofty pattern1 were engaged in toting loads upon their heads4 ,everywhere1 in certain large districts of ,italy1 one is struck with the singular carriage of the water-carriers1 who bring from the mountain springs1 great tubs of water on their heads4 ,how often we see ,german girls bringing into town great loads of sticks on their heads4 ,and we never look at them1 if we are thoughtful1 without contrasting their proud1 erect carriage1 with the drooping shoulders1 projecting shoulder blades1 stuck-out chins1 and general slip-shoddiness of our wives and daughters4 ,,the ,,language ,,of ,,dress4 ,the dress of a ,french peasant tells you at once of his place in society4 ,throughout ,europe the dress may be taken as the exponent of the wearer's position4 ,this is as true of women as of men4 ,for good reasons1 the language of dress is not so definite and explicit in ,america4 ,but even here we may judge very correctly1 in most cases1 by the every-day dress1 of the position of the wearer4 ,the social character and relations of women1 as a class1 in any country1 may be clearly inferred from certain peculiarities of their dress4 ,for example1 we are in ,constantinople4 ,if1 in a moment1 we could be set down in that city1 and not know where we were1 would any of us doubt the language of that veil over woman's face8 ,would anybody suppose her to be a citizen8 ,would anybody suppose she belonged to herself8 ,leaving ,constantinople1 let us visit an old-time fashionable social gathering in ,vienna4 ,women enter the ball-room4 ,they are dressed in gauze so thin that you can see their skins all over their persons4 ,would any of us mistake the language of that kind of dress8 ,would any of us be in doubt about their relations to men8 ,come to ,america to-day4 ,we attend a social gathering4 ,women appear with their vital organs squeezed down to one-half the natural size1 their arms and busts naked1 while their trails are so long that1 whenever they turn round1 they are obliged to use their hands to push them out of the way4 ,as we all comprehend1 at a glance1 the meaning of the veils in ,constantinople1 and the nudity of the women in ,vienna1 so we all infer the position of woman in ,america from these peculiarities of her dress4 ,i read thus3 ,the compressed vital organs and the encumbered feet mean1 that women are dependent and helpless4 ,having but little use for breath and locomotion1 by a law of nature1 they cramp the instruments of breath and locomotion4 ,while the nudity of the arms and bust signifies a slavery to man's passions4 ,no one supposes that when woman becomes a citizen1 and man's equal1 she will compress her lungs1 fetter her legs1 or appeal to his passions by any immodest exposure of her person4 ,,low ,,neck ,,and ,,short ,,sleeves4 ,as ,i have said but little of the low neck and short sleeves1 ,i want to add a word in this connection4 ,many a modest woman appears at a party with her arms nude1 and so much of her chest exposed that you can see nearly half of the mammal gland4 ,many a modest mother permits her daughters to make this model-artist exhibition of themselves4 ,one beautiful woman said1 in answer to my complaints1 ,you shouldn't look4 ,but1 ,i replied1 do you not adjust your dress in this way on purpose to give us a chance to look8 ,she was greatly shocked at my way of putting it4 ,well1 ,i said1 this assurance is perfectly stunning4 ,you strip yourselves1 go to a public party1 parade yourselves for hours in a glare of gas-light1 saying to the crowd1 ',look here1 gentlemen1' and then you are shocked because we put your unmistakable actions into words4 ,in discussing this subject before an audience of ladies in this city the other evening1 ,i said3-- ,ladies1 suppose ,i had entered this hall with my arms and bust bare1 what would you have done8 ,you would have made a rush for the door1 and1 as you jostled against each other in hurrying out1 you would have exclaimed to each other1 ',oh6 the unconscionable scalawag6' ,may ,i ask if it is not right that we should demand of you as much modesty as you demand of us8 ,but you exclaim1 ,custom6 it is the custom1 and fashion is everything6 ,if you could know the history of the low neck and short sleeves1 how1 and for what purpose they were introduced1 you would as soon join the company of the unfortunates1 as to make this exhibition of your persons4 ,as much as ,i desire to live1 so much do ,i long1 by this book1 to help my country-women to a higher and purer life4 ,cherishing this hope in my heart of hearts1 and knowing that nothing but truth can1 in the long run1 prevail1 ,i have read this discussion of dress over and over again1 and asked myself1 and asked my wife and my sister1 if the statements ,i have made are quite true1 and if they are made in the proper spirit4 ,upon reading the preceding pages upon ,the ,language of ,dress with my wife and sister1 they say3 ,these statements are just and true1 and greatly need to be uttered2 but my wife says1 ,i think you ought to say very plainly1 that a great many pure-minded women dress with 'low neck and short sleeves1' without an impure thought1 and simply because it is the fashion4 ,i have no doubt of it1 and thought ,i had said as much4 ,indeed1 have ,i not been careful to state that ,i was discussing the language of dress1 and not the conscious purpose of each individual wearer4 ,i should never forgive myself if ,i thoughtlessly and unnecessarily wounded the feelings of the thousands of young women who will1 ,i trust1 read this volume4 ,but let me add1 that ,i could not pardon myself2 and the brave1 earnest women who may read these pages would not pardon me1 if ,i discussed this vital subject in a shilly-shally1 easy-going1 disengenuous manner4 ,if ,i can effect a sure and permanent lodgment of vital truths in your minds1 and1 in my manner of doing it1 should1 for the time being1 provoke your anger1 ,i am content4 ,this exposure of the naked bosom before men1 in the most public places1 belongs not to the highest type of ,christian civilization1 but to those dark ages when women sought nothing higher than the gratification of the passions of man1 and were content to be mere slaves and toys4 ,boston contains its proportion of the refined women of the country4 ,we have here a few score of the old families1 inheriting culture and wealth1 and who can take rank with the best4 ,a matron who knows their habits1 assures me that she never saw a member of one of these families in low neck and short sleeves4 ,in the future free and ,christian ,america1 the very dress of woman will proclaim a high1 pure womanhood4 ,and that dress will be an ,american costume4 ,we shall then discard the costumes devised by the dissolute capitals of ,europe4 ,what a strange spectacle we witness in ,america to-day4 ,free1 bravo1 ,american women hold out to the world the bible of social1 political and religious freedom2 and1 anon1 we see them down on their knees waiting the arrival of a steamer1 from ,france1 to learn how they may dress their bodies for the next month4 ,,descriptions ,,of ,,dress ,i wonder women's cheeks do not burn at the sly contempt for themselves1 displayed in this constant description of their dress4 ,it hardly needs an illustration1 though just now one comes to hand1 of which a word4 ,a beautiful1 noble girl was married1 last evening1 in a neighboring city1 and the ,boston newspapers1 of this morning1 are full of the wedding4 ,in the first place1 we have a long description of the young woman's underclothing4 ,every article1 worn upon every part of her person1 is described in elaborate detail1 with the number1 style1 make1 trimmings1 etc41 etc4 ,running over the description of the trousseau1 my eye falls upon3 ,french exquisitely daintily invisible finest delicate exquisite princess elegant coquettish grace jaunty lavender reliefs stylish coquettish ,parisian stylish pretty striking tea-rose bouffant ,cluny graceful ,valenciennes jaunty nondescript becoming square broad high tiny stunning tiny ,china silk finest ,valenciennes rose elegant beautifully lovely unique elegant heliotrope artistic perfection grace delicate rose-buds lovely exquisite finest delicate gossamer airy fairy4 ,,letter ,,from ,,washington4 ,reception at the ,white ,house4 ,from ,our ,washington ,correspondent4 ,senator ,a41 ,general ,b41 and ,vice-,president ,c4 said and did so and so4 ,mrs4 ,a41 ,mrs4 ,b41 and ,mrs4 ,c4 said nothing1 did nothing2 but half the letter is devoted to gorgeous descriptions of their dress- maker's spread4 ,this silent contempt of the woman1 and elaborate detail of her dress-maker's style1 must cut every proud1 sensitive woman to the very quick4 ,it is another piece of what is called ladies' man1 and ladies' small talk4 ,it is of a piece with this taking off the hat1 this excessive bowing and smirking to women1 while they are paid for equal services but one-third a man's salary4 ,we had a capital illustration of this gallantry and injustice1 in a speech made by a leading member of the ,american ,homoeopathic ,institute1 at its great meeting in this city4 ,a resolution was introduced inviting educated woman physicians of the ,homoeopathic school1 to become members of the ,institute4 ,an old and most respectable member of the ,institute1 from----1 spoke very warmly against the resolution4 ,he said3 ,i am a ladies' man2 ,i never pass a woman with whom ,i am acquainted without raising my hat4 ,i do not keep my seat in the cars while ladies are standing1 as ,i see gentlemen do in ,boston4 ,yes1 ,i am the most obedient and devoted servant of the ladies1 gentlemen of the ,convention1 but when you would introduce them to membership in the ,american ,institute of ,homoeopathy1 ,i say no6 never6 ,it is this making woman the occasion for a display of man's gallantries1 with this contemptuous disregard of her claims to common justice2 it is this spirit which passes the woman1 and devotes itself to a description of her dress1 to outlining her low corsage1 her magnificent bust1 etc41 etc4 ,if ,i were a girl1 and one of these besmeared1 bescented1 befaddled1 ladies' man puppies were to condescend to perform his whining and barking for my special delectation1 ,i should mildly suggest to him the infinite wisdom of bestowing his precious slaver upon some small1 gentle poodle4 ,,excessive ,,ornamentation4 ,the trimming mania is frightful4 ,what do you think of one hundred and twenty yards1--three hundred and sixty feet1--four thousand three hundred and twenty inches of ribbon in the trimming of one dress8 ,i wish ,i could command for an hour the pen of a ,jenkins1 and give the names of the various ribbons and shades of ribbons1 of the laces1 their origin1 style1 and value4 7,each kind of lace has a history1 which is dear to the heart of the devotee of fashion47 ,i wish ,i could describe the hundred and one crimps and frills and things4 ,i wish ,i could command the pen of one of these amazing writers about woman's dress4 ,i would give you ten pages of it4 ,i say again1 that the trimming mania has become insufferable4 ,unless a woman has a dressmaker1 she must be the veriest slave4 ,she must be at it morning1 noon and night4 ,gather in one place all the artists1 authoresses1 and women of finest and highest culture1 and how many of them do you suppose could be bribed to go into the street all rigged out in ribbon1 gimp1 frills1 edgings1 ruches1 fringes1 satins1 velvets1 buttons1 nail-heads1 etc41 etc41 etc4 ,i have met many of the women who may be classed as above1 and ,i cannot now recall one who was fashionably trimmed4 ,this rage is1 in essence1 tawdry and vulgar4 ,it is cheap in everything but money4 ,,ear ,,rings ,,and ,,other ,,trinkets4 ,what a barbarism to bore a hole in the flesh1 and stick in a trinket4 ,i have seen several ears in which the ring had cut its way out1 making a slit1 and a new hole had been punched in one of the pieces4 ,men have fallen into this vulgar barbarism4 ,american savages offer many instances of men with gold or silver trinkets in the ears4 ,but among lower savages in different parts of the world the custom is quite general1 and many of them add an ornament in the nose4 ,my own wife1 in her girlhood1 had her ears pierced1 but ,i have never seen them embellished with trinkets4 ,,finger ,,rings1 ,,etc4 ,what a vulgar show you sometimes see among the demi-monde1--a dozen great gold and jeweled rings on the fingers1 two large rings or hoops about the wrists1 a great buckle in the belt1 a gold chain about the neck1 a gold watch1 several charms1 a locket or two1 a breast-pin1--what a barbarous1 vulgar show2 poor things1 ,i suppose they think it helps to advertise their unhappy trade4 ,my dear girls1 leave this trinket show to the ,indians1 and use no other jewelry than a neat small pin to hold the collar1 and a delicate small chain to guard your watch4 ,the watch should be in a pocket1 and not slipped under the belt4 ,the belt must be mischievously tight to hold the watch4 ,to wear a watch pushed half way under the belt1 is to constantly expose it to accident1 and1 at best1 to make a vain announcement of the fact that you have one4 ,in ,england it is a common remark1 that you may know a nobleman by his plain dress1 and by the absence of all jewelry4 ,and ,i will add1 that everywhere you may know a shoddy pretender by an excessive display of jewelry4 ,no person of really fine culture delights in an exhibition of trinkets or gew-gaws of any kind4 ,the refined soul cannot make an ornamental parade4 ,,outrages ,,upon ,,the ,,body4 ,it is barbarous to tattoo the body4 ,among civilized men1 only low sailors1 who spend their lives at sea1 indulge in this barbarism2 and they confine the tattooing to a limited surface1 pricking in the figure of an anchor1 or a ship4 ,the nose1 lips1 teeth1 ears1 and other parts of the body1 are cut or distorted by some of the savages of ,africa4 ,wherever we find among men the custom of tattooing1 cutting or distorting the body1 we need make no further inquiry1--it is a land of barbarians4 ,undeveloped peoples1 in the service of false religions1 maltreat their bodies2 and even followers of ,christ have immured themselves in dark cells1 and caves1 carried the accumulated filth of years1 scrupulously avoiding water1 starved themselves1 pinched and whipped themselves1 made long journeys on their knees or bellies1 made pilgrimages with peas in their shoes1 and kicked1 cuffed and outraged themselves in many other ways4 ,among advanced ,christian nations1 even now we sometimes observe a lingering reflection of this strange hallucination4 ,for example1 a great many people rather fancy a dyspeptic1 ghostly clergyman1 and can hardly bring themselves to listen to a prayer from a preacher with square shoulders1 a big chest1 a ruddy face1 and a moustache4 ,the ghost1 they seem to think1 belongs in some way to the spirit world2 while the beef-eating1 jolly fellow is dreadfully at home in this world4 ,the ghost exclaims3-- ,jerusalem1 my happy home1 ,oh6 how ,i long for thee2 ,when will my sorrows have an end8 ,thy joys when shall ,i see8 ,the other1 like ,mr4 ,beecher1 enjoys a good dinner1 a nimble-footed horse1 a big play with the children and the dogs1 seems joyous in the sunshine1 and1--wretched sinner1--does not sigh to depart4 ,so deep-seated is this old pagan prejudice1 that a ringing shout of laughter from a young woman is very suspicious to the deacons of her church4 ,leaving the religious fanaticisms1 we come upon another form of this prejudice4 ,the fragile1 pale young woman with a lisp1 is thought1 by many silly people1 to be more of a lady1 than another with ruddy cheeks1 and vigorous health4 ,it is1 perhaps1 difficult to define it exactly1 but there exists1 somehow1 in the fashionable world1 the notion that a pale and sensitive woman is feminine and refined1 while one in blooming health is masculine and coarse4 ,but every acute observer knows that the feminine soul1 like the masculine1 utters its richest harmonies only through a perfect instrument4 ,while the languid1 low voice1 and deliberate manner of the invalid lady may suggest refinement to the casual observer1 the discriminating physician who probes the soul1 as well as the body1 finds a marvellous correspondence between them4 ,not only is it true that1 in extreme cases of physical exhaustion1 the mind gives way with the body1 but those keen1 exquisite sensibilities of the soul become weak and blunt4 ,no physician of large experience will fail to recal instances of extreme hemorrhagic exhaustion1 in which all sense of modesty disappears4 ,assuming that the highest possible health of the body is represented by #ajj1 and the lowest possible by the figure #a1 and assuming1 what no physiologist or metaphysician will question1 that the head and heart keep step with the body1 we shall not hesitate long in determining the state of the mind and soul of the fashionable1 languid1 nervous lady whom we meet in ,america at every turn1 and who ranges from #aj to #ej on our scale4 ,it is but natural that she should be occupied with trimmings1 and feel no interest in the great social and moral movements of the day4 ,caeteris paribus1 a young woman whose physical health is represented by #hj on our scale1 has twice as much feminine delicacy and character as another whose health is represented by #dj4 ,if this is not a logical deduction from the laws of physiology and metaphysics1 ,i know of nothing that is4 ,while1 as already suggested1 every discriminating physician is constantly called upon to listen to the harmony between the body and the soul4 ,the notion that delicacy of the body indicates delicacy of the body indicates delicacy of the mind and heart1 contributes more to the fashion of delicacy than all other influences4 ,miss ,leonora1 observing that ,bridget ,o',flaherty1 the scrub-girl1 who is ignorant and coarse1 has a large waist and a powerful chest1 and that ,miss ,seraphina ,flamingo1 who is a perfect angel1 has a fragile1 delicate form1 draws the inference that a woman with a strong body is ignorant and coarse1 while a sylphlike form signifies the spirituel4 ,besides this1 a strong1 muscular body is associated with work1 with a servant2 while ,miss ,leonora is not long in discovering that the mistresses1--the ladies1--are pale and sickly4 ,don't you see now how it is8 ,to have a strong and muscular body is to be suspected of work1 of service2 while a frail1 delicate personnel is a proof of position1 of ladyhood4 ,go through the town and observe the women4 ,are any of the fashionable ladies strong and muscular8 ,not one6 ,are any of them able to perform hard work8 ,not one6 ,but there are women who do hard work1 very hard work4 ,they are not ladies1 they are servants6 ,the ladies are delicate4 ,the servants are strong4 ,don't you see what a plain case it is8 ,miss ,leonora desires1 above all things1 to be a lady1 and to be always1 and everywhere1 and immediately recognized as a lady4 ,how clear it is that the one1 unmistakable1 conclusive proof is1 that she should look and move like a lady4 ,if she looks strong1 and moves with a will1 she will be mistaken for a worker1 for a servant4 ,if she looks delicate1 and moves languidly1 it will be seen at once that she does not belong to the working class4 ,it is true that many strong1 muscular women are coarse and ignorant2 they have given their lives to hard work1 and have been denied all opportunities to cultivate their minds and manners4 ,to compare such with the petted1 pampered daughters of social and intellectual opportunity1 and then to treat the strong body of the one as the source of the coarseness and ignorance within1 and1 in the other case1 to treat the weak1 delicate body as the source of the fine culture1 is to reason like an idiot4 ,in order to arrive at anything like a fair illustration of the influence of health upon the mind and temper1 we must visit a family in which there are daughters in sparkling health1 and others who are languid and delicate4 ,we visited such a family1 in a neighboring state1 three summers since1 and shall never forget our observations and experiences4 ,the oldest daughter was delicate4 ,the youngest two were likewise sensitive and delicate4 ,but there were two girls who were in fine health4 ,when the stage stopped at the gate1 the girls1 who were expecting us1 came out on the piazza1 and the healthy ones came rushing down to the gate1 and threw their arms around one of us1 nearly smothering that one with kisses1 7,i shall not tell you whether it was my wife1 or myself17 while they shook hands most cordially with the other one4 ,they took hold of our hands and fairly danced us up the walk4 ,on reaching the piazza1 we were very cordially and languidly welcomed by the other girls4 ,during our stay1 the well girls ran over constantly4 ,they devised and executed scores of little plans for our amusement1 while the ,misses ,languid were the recipients of attentions from us all4 ,the ,misses ,vigorous ran over and flooded us all1 while the ,misses ,languid absorbed from us all4 ,never have ,i more fully realized the common saying1 that sickness is selfish4 ,the ,misses ,vigorous had enough for themselves and all the rest of us4 ,the ,misses ,languid had nothing to spare1 and were constant borrowers and beggars4 ,do you imagine the well girls were less lovely1 less beautiful in heart and soul1 than the delicate ones8 ,or1 if you prefer1 do you think a young lady who leaves the city in ,june for the mountains1 pale1 nervous1 unhappy1 hardly able to take care of herself1 unable to even think of anything but her own wretchedness1 do you think her more lovely than when1 returning in ,october1 she comes bounding in1 all radiant with joy1 and full of sympathy and helpfulness8 ,,fashionable ,,sufferings4 ,so determined is the esprit du corps of the fashionables1 that ambitious young ladies secretly pride themselves upon the attainment of womanly weaknesses4 ,there are certain female weaknesses which one would think young ladies might hesitate to mention2 but so strong is this secret pride in the signs of ladyhood1 that many fashionable young ladies go over the details with real pleasure4 ,i once heard a conversation between an invalid aunt and four young ladies4 ,the young ladies were all unmarried1 and the oldest not above twenty-three4 ,the aunt was a successful competitor in the race for number and intensity of sufferings1 and embraced every opportunity to make a tabular statement4 ,her spine was the favorite theme4 ,the burning1 the pain1 the sharp and indescribable dartings and excruciating tortures were something fearful to hear4 ,but the girls constantly interrupted her with saying1 ,that is just the way ,i feel2 and1 ,i have exactly that pain2 and1 precisely1 ,i have had that pain for months4 ,the aunt replied1 ,now1 girls1 don't tell me that4 ,it isn't possible for you to have such afflictions at your age4 ,but they declared1 with sparkling eyes1 that every one of the sufferings she had described1--every one of them1--they enjoyed in the most dreadful way4 ,the aunt enjoyed another class of affections1 upon which she lingered with real gusto4 ,i do not feel at liberty to go into particulars2 but here again the young ladies were enough for her4 ,they declared1 without flinching1 that every one of her sufferings1 they had1 and what was more1 they had certain horrible variations which they described1 and which1 in fact1 ,i thought rather outdid the poor aunt4 ,aunt spoke of her headache in the most brilliant style2 but here the girls were not to be beaten4 ,in fact1 it was neck and neck to the end4 ,i have heard conversations of another sort which are pertinent in this discussion4 ,a strong country woman1 accustomed to work in the garden1 and to take long walks1 mentions to a group of fashionable young ladies1 that she has just walked six miles4 ,wonderful6 dreadful6 is it possible8 ,why1 ,i couldn't walk six miles to save my life4 ,perhaps the country aunt says1 ,i finished a large washing before leaving1 and hung the clothes upon the line4 ,miss ,araminta exclaims1 ,i never washed anything in my life4 ,why1 how is it done8 and how dreadful it looks to see all sorts of clothes hanging out in a yard4 ,the common affectation of ignorance of all useful work is another illustration4 ,a young lady sometimes knows how to make certain rare and delicate cake1 but she never knows how to make bread2 she knows how to make pink dogs in worsted1 but not how to make a shirt4 ,she knows how to crochet1 but not how to make garments for herself or her brothers2 and thus on through the whole list4 ,she knows nothing whatever of useful work1 in which the body and heart may be brought into earnest1 womanly play4 ,my dear girls1 ,i could show you in this city a sight1 which would make you sick at heart4 ,i know a home1 in which you could see1 on any day1 just before dinner1 a pale1 thin1 overworked mother hurrying to and fro in her kitchen1 and in the parlor overhead four daughters4 ,one young lady is playing the piano 7classical music71 and the others are crocheting1 tatting1 and feasting upon the ,awful ,secret of the ,mysterious ,milk-,maid1 and one other thing--waiting to be called to dinner4 ,and1 although the mother generally thinks it very hard1 ,i have known many cases where she joined in1 and really advocated this plan of bringing up daughters4 ,you may hear such a mother exclaim1 ,well1 ,i don't care2 my girls shan't be worked to death as ,i have been4 ,let them have an easy time while they can2 their turn will come soon enough4 ,so they screw up their waists1 recline upon a couch1 and ponder the ,fearful ,doom of the ,mysterious ,count1 and thus get ready to take their turn4 ,thousands of young ladies1 in this city1 are being trained for wives and mothers by such means4 ,,woman ,,tortures ,,her ,,body4 ,here ,i want to group the outrages which woman perpetrates upon her beautiful body4 ,to begin at the top1 she almost never permits her hair an opportunity to display its natural beauty4 ,at the present moment1 a mass of ,japanese bark1 or false hair1 or some other foreign stuff1 full of uncleanness1 is piled upon the top of the head1 while her own natural hair is twisted1 and turned1 and pinned1 and broken1 and ruined in doing subordinate1 menial service to the dirty foreign intruder4 ,besides this1 her hair is bedaubed with nameless and dirty greases and oils4 ,i asked one of the largest retail druggists in this city1 ,what one article1 or line of goods1 do you sell most of8 ,he replied1 without a moment's hesitation1 ,preparations for the complexion4 ,these preparations have for their bases three or four deadly poisons4 ,thousands upon thousands of bottles and boxes are used by the women of ,boston every year4 ,those glands which1 in the economy of nature1 are appointed to the most sacred and precious of maternal duties and privileges1 are1 by the pressure and heat of large artificial pads1 almost uniformly ruined4 ,a dressmaker assured me that she very rarely made a dress in which the bust was not padded4 ,the heat and pressure soon spoil the glands4 ,she bores holes in her ears1 and hangs in various trinkets4 ,in this place ,i shall not speak at length of that culminating outrage upon woman's body1 known as lacing2 7not in your case1 dear reader1 of course1 but among your friends47 ,look about you1 and see what a hideous distortion of the beautiful ,greek ,slave you see in living figures4 ,below the waist there are enormous paddings1 which heat and injure the spine4 ,below the knee1 a ligature1 seriously checking the circulation of the feet4 ,reaching the feet1 we find in the fashionable shoe an ingenious torture4 ,what with the narrow soles and the high heels1 the foot is rendered almost helpless1 while the ankles are made so weak1 that turning the ankle is a common occurrence4 ,in this category ,i have by no means included all the body tortures in which women indulge2 but ,i have included all that can be properly spoken of in a work which is designed for general reading4 ,modesty forbids the mention of two or three methods of body torture1 in which fashionable women very generally indulge4 ,,stocking ,,supporters4 ,girls1 ,i do not blame you for wishing to keep your stockings smooth4 ,nothing looks more shif'less than stockings in wrinkles4 ,how shall they be kept smooth8 ,the means usually employed1 is to apply a ligature just below the knee4 ,if the calf of the leg be very large1 the knee small1 and the circulation of the feet vigorous1 ,i suppose an elastic garter may be used1 to keep the stocking smooth1 without serious injury4 ,but1 as most ,american girls have slender legs1 as there is but little enlargement at the calf1 the pressure of the garter required to keep the stocking in position1 is very injurious4 ,it produces absorption of important muscles1 and1 therefore1 weakness of the legs2 a lack of circulation1 and1 therefore1 coldness of the feet4 ,the stocking must be drawn up and held4 ,how shall it be done8 ,let me illustrate4 ,in attaching a horse to a load1 we never draw a strap about its body and attach to that for draft purposes1 but we seek some part of the body where the draft may come at right angles1 or nearly so4 ,that we find at the shoulder1 and it is the only part of the animal upon which1 without great harm1 a considerable draft may be made4 ,when we wish to support the several pounds of skirts1 the stockings1 or any other garment1 we look over the woman's body1 to determine at what point such support1 or draft1 if you please1 may be applied4 ,to apply it about her legs1 or about her waist1 is precisely the same mistake that would be made if the draft were attached to the girth of the harness4 ,there is only one point of support1 and that is her shoulder4 ,in another part of this work ,i have discussed1 in detail1 the straps applied to the shoulder in supporting the skirts4 ,in this place it is only necessary to say1 that a strap should be fastened to the skirt-band at the side1 to run down over the hip1 and on the outside of the leg1 above the knee to divide into two straps1 one of which is to be attached to the stocking on the front of the knee1 and the other on the back of the knee4 ,somewhere in the course of the single strap1 a buckle may be introduced to regulate the tension of the support4 ,this sort of support has been very much used for children's stockings4 ,it has now been adopted by thousands of women1 many of whom have spoken to me very warmly of its value4 ,,large vs4 ,,small ,,women4 ,petite1 applied to a woman1 is a very dear word to the fashionables4 ,ah1 the dear1 delicate1 petite creature6 ,ah1 my darling1 sweet petite6 ,but oh1 how dreadful and monstrous such words as--the great creature6--,she's as big as all out doors6--for mercy's sake1 look at that woman6 why1 she could lift an ox6 ,among fashionable simpletons these words are applied to a woman who weighs1 say1 one hundred and sixty pounds1 who has a fine1 noble physique1 fully competent to the labors and trials of motherhood and life4 ,by a large woman1 ,i mean one who weighs one hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty pounds4 ,a small woman is one weighing from ninety to one hundred and ten pounds4 ,the reason for this preference for little women1 among men1 is simply this4 ,formerly1 women were slaves to the passions of men4 ,in modern times they have1 among our better classes1 risen a little above that1 and have become the pets and toys of men4 ,now a pet or a toy1 say a black and tan1 is valuable in proportion to its diminutiveness4 ,a man in selecting a wife that he intends to dress in silks and laces1 with trinkets hung in her ears1 rings on her fingers1 and little ornaments stuck all over her1 who is to sit in his parlor while he is absent on business1 to dress and redress herself several times a day1 to be ready to receive him1 all corseted1 besilked1 bejeweled and bescented1 when he shall come from his office1--a man who selects a wife as a pet1 a toy1 is very likely to have the same sort of preference for a petite wife1 that he has for a petite black and tan4 ,this is the source of the preference for little women4 ,whenever women shall rise to a true companionship with men1 as their equals1 and not their toys1 then a small woman will no more be preferred than a small man4 ,when the great ideas of use1 of citizenship1 of a true womanhood1 of a dignified motherhood1 shall come to prevail over this ,turkish notion of toy women1 then women of noble bearing and commanding presence will be the style2 and the little woman will suffer the same disadvantage1 in the matrimonial market1 that a little man does4 ,i beg you will not misunderstand me4 ,i am only speaking of the source of a fashion1 a prejudice1 a false preference4 ,some of the most lovely1 delightful women1 as well as the most useful women ,i have ever met1 were small4 ,however1 ,i am bound in truth to say that1 during many years1 ,i have been on the qui vive with reference to the differences between the large and the small1 among women1 and that ,i have reached the conclusion that the average large-sized woman is1 like the average large-sized man1 superior intellectually and otherwise1 to the small-sized one4 ,women of commanding height1 average1 so far as my observation has been able to determine1 a higher morale1 a more dignified character1 and greater amiability than the petite ones4 ,i think this statement is true of both sexes4 ,little men are more irritable1 nervous and unreliable1 as a class1 than large ones4 ,some one says1 ,i don't believe it2 it's no such thing2 there's that little ,mr4 ,r41 who is the brightest1 smartest man in town4 ,this is not at all improbable4 ,but what do you think of this fact3 ,at one time in the history of our great ,revolutionary ,war1 about fifteen of the most prominent actors in that memorable struggle happened to meet at ,west ,point4 ,they were weighed1 and a record made4 ,i have that record4 ,of the fifteen1 only one weighed less than two hundred pounds4 ,a small man weighs one hundred and twenty five pounds4 ,how many men of that size1 or near that size1 can you recall1 who have figured among the solid1 great men in the world's history8 ,we can recall two or three brilliant poets1 perhaps as many celebrated orators1 who were small men2 but when we look among the men who have illustrated the great1 grand1 solid1 enduring traits of human character1 in any of the important departments of life1 we find that1 almost without exception1 they are above the average size4 ,if women were prized for solidity of character1 dignity of bearing1 strength and reliability of judgment and behavior1--if they were prized as women and citizens1 rather than as darlings and toys1 there cannot be a shadow of doubt1 that women of good size would be greatly preferred1 as a class1 to small ones4 ,,why ,,are ,,women ,,so ,,small8 ,american women are becoming the smallest among the civilized peoples1 while the men are among the largest4 ,our army averaged larger than the ,english1 ,french or ,german4 ,but look at the droves of school girls1 who1 at eighteen or twenty years of age1 are so small1 that it requires a stretch of the imagination to think of them as wives or mothers4 ,in a neighboring state ,i was trying to find the house of a friend1 and1 meeting a little girl1 ,i said3-- ,my little girl1 will you please tell me where ,col4 ,grant's residence is8 ,yes1 my little boy2 he resides in the second house on the right hand1 my little boy4 ,now1 as the scales always allude to two hundred and odd whenever ,i step on1 her remark struck me as sarcastic4 ,i said at once1 lifting my hat1 ,i hope you will pardon me1 ,i did not intend any offence4 ,all right1 said she1 but ,i thought you were making fun of me1 by calling me 'little girl4' ,i trust you will believe me when ,i assure you that nothing was farther from my mind2 but you were so small1 ,i supposed you were a little girl1 and so1 without thinking1 ,i called you so2 it is so dark ,i could not see your face4 ,all right1 sir2 but my husband would have been very angry if he had heard you call me a little girl4 ,born of the same parents1 fed at the same table1 educated at the same school1 why1 in ,america1 does a man weigh fifty pounds more than a woman8 ,i know a good many young ladies1 very active in the matrimonial market1 who do not weigh more than ninety pounds1 and1 poor little silly geese1 are squeezing themselves as tight as possible with corsets4 ,this petite size can be accounted for4 ,nothing1 to my mind1 is plainer4 ,exercise is the great law of development ,our girls have no adequate exercise4 ,besides1 the organs on which growth depends1 viz41 the lungs1 stomach and liver1 are reduced1 by the corset1 to half the natural size and activity4 ,these two causes1 with living in the shade1 explain the alarming decrease in the size of the average ,american woman4 ,,idleness ,,among ,,girls4 ,my friend ,mr4---- has three daughters and two sons4 ,the girls are between eighteen and twenty-eight1 one son is thirty-five perhaps1 the other is about fourteen4 ,the father keeps a trimmings store4 ,the oldest son is somewhere in the ,west1 the youngest son has already left school to assist his father in the store4 ,the three girls do nothing whatever but dress1 play a little1 make calls1 receive calls1 and go a shopping1 and1 ,i should add1 that during the summer they visit the country1 for their health4 ,twice the father has compromised with his creditors1 and he told me a week ago1 that sleep1 appetite1 and hope had all left him1 that he had just borrowed two hundred dollars to enable his girls to go up into ,new ,hampshire1 that he saw nothing but ruin before him1 that he was completely exhausted1 that he had recently felt symptoms of paralysis1 and that ,i must tell him1 as a friend1 what he could do to save himself from insanity4 ,these ejaculations culminated in his covering his face with his hands1 and bursting into a flood of tears4 ,why1 sir1 said he1 ,i owe everybody4 ,even that faithful creature in my kitchen hasn't had twenty dollars in a year4 ,a ,,family ,,council4 ,he went on3 ,the other day when the girls got ready to go into the country1 we held our first family council4 ,my poor wife1 who is all worn out1 couldn't bear to have the girls troubled with it4 ,she thought it wouldn't do any good1 and that we had better keep it to ourselves4 ,but ,i said1 'no1 for once we will have a fair understanding4' ,the girls were to go on ,tuesday1 so on ,monday evening ,i said to them1 'now1 as you are going away to-morrow1 let us spend the evening1 as a family1 alone4 ,i want to advise with you4' ,they were very good about it2 they sent1 and broke an engagement with the ,browns1 and we all got together in the parlor4 ,i tell you it was ticklish business1 though4 ,the fact is1 we never had had a perfectly frank talk about business with them4 ,mattie was all curiosity1 and began at once3 ',what in the world is it all about8 ,why1 father1 what makes you look so awful solemn2 and1 dear mamma1 why1 you're as pale as a ghost4' ,well1 ,i saw we were in for it1 and so ,i just let right out4 ,i said1 ',girls1 mother and ,i have talked it over1 night after night1 and we have concluded that we ought to tell you about our circumstances4 ,the fact is1 not to be mealy-mouthed about it1 we are all on the brink of ruin4 ,i am head over heels in debt1 and can't see any way of getting out4 ,your mother and ,i are nearly worn out2 we can't last much longer4 ,and now1 we both feel that we ought to have a plain talk with you4' ,fanny went into regular hysterics4 ,my wife said1 ',don't1 father1 don't6' ,fanny then began to cry and sob1 and declared she shouldn't sleep a minute all night1 she was sure she shouldn't sleep a minute4 ,mattie declared she had always lived like a beggar1 never had a sixpence to buy anything like other girls1 and she wished she had never1 never been born4 ,angie1 who is always good and loving1 said she was very sorry for us4 ,she always was a dear child4 ,she didn't care what the the other girls said1 for her part1 she was real sorry for us1 and what was more1 she hoped that business would soon be first-rate again1 so that we could all have plenty of money4 ,that child has always been a real comfort to us4 ,she wished we could have another war1 it made money so plenty4 ,i tell you she is a sharp one4 ,well1 the whole thing ended just about as my wife said it would2 it really didn't do any good1 but1 you see1 ,i was in hopes the girls might help us to think of some way of cutting down4 ,of course ,i don't blame them1 for1 you know1 they can't help it4 ,now1 my dear friend1 what can you say8 ,i feel as if my hands were slipping1 as if ,i were letting go of everything4 ,what shall ,i do8 ,if you can think of anything1 do tell me1 for ,god's sake4 ,i replied3 ,my friend1 ,i comprehend your difficulty2 ,i believe ,i understand it in all its bearings1 and ,i am confident ,i can help you out4 ,send for your daughters to come home1 at once4 ,when they arrive1 call another family council4 ,say to them1 ',my dear children1 ,i sent for you for imperative reasons4 ,i am worn out1 in debt1 wretchedly unhappy1 disgraced4--,i can't live in this way any longer4 ,you alone can save me4 ,i ask you to abandon1 at once1 the life you are leading1 and help your mother and myself to bear these burdens4 ,i ask you to go with me to-morrow morning to the store1 let me discharge both of the clerks1 and you become my clerks4 ,my daughters1 if you will do this1 we shall all be independent and happy4 ,believe me when ,i tell you1 that these tortures are killing me4 ,while you are all asleep in your beds1 your mother and ,i are grieving and often weeping over the impending ruin4 ,my children1 will you save us8 ,your large acquaintance1 your education1 your manners1 your devotion to our interests1 will turn the current in the right direction4' ,possibly1 ,i said1 they may hesitate2 but ,i don't believe it4 ,in any event1 it is the right thing to do4 ,if it should turn out that they draw back1 then stand up like an honest1 christian man1 and declare1 ',i will not live another day such a life of fraud2 ,i will not ask the jobbers to trust me with another penny's worth2 ,i will no longer obtain goods under false pretences4 ,if worse comes to worst1 you1 my daughters1 must do what thousands of young women have done before you1--go out into the world and earn your own bread4' ,my friend1 ,i have given you the plan1 act at once4 ,your girls will join you with a whole heart1 and1 within a year1 they will be ten- fold more happy1 and you can live an honest1 manly life4 ,,how ,,it ,,terminated4 ,of course you all wish to know how it came out4 ,the reason for my telling you this story1 is1 that ,i was made very happy yesterday1 on dropping in at my friend's store1 to see1 that he had three new clerks1 and1 after a warn hand-shaking1 ,i congratulated them1 from the bottom of my heart1 on having gone into business4 ,at this moment the father called me to the rear of the store1 where he wished to consult me about a new window2 but all he had to say1 was1 that ,i must not drop a word of my acquaintance with the history of certain changes4 ,all right1 my good friend2 but the caution was quite unnecessary4 ,of course the public must understand that it was of their own brave hearts1 that they have gone into this thing4 ,the father dropped in last evening to tell me all about it4 ,he wrung my hand1 laughed1 cried1 and1 in fact1 almost went into some of ,fanny's hysterics4 ,oh6 said he1 it's all right4 ,i can see the light4 ,and you don't know how happy we all are4 ,the girls spend their time in singing about the house1 and asking my forgiveness4 ,it seems to me that we never knew each other before4 ,oh6 ,i can see the light now1 ,i can see the light6 ,give me one year1 and ,i can shout victory6 ,but you ought to have been concealed where you could have overheard our council4 ,it lasted till near morning1 and the first half of it was stormy enough4 ,fanny declared she would die first4 ,mattie said she would put on an old dress1 and go round begging cold victuals4 ,angie proposed that they should go into the attic1 and give their rooms up to boarders1 and have it understood that they had just taken a few friends for company4 ,but1 before we retired1 we were all of one mind2 we all saw that everything but the store was likely to prove a weak1 temporary dodge4 ,it is just as you told me1--that their life of indolence and selfish indulgence had brought every mean trait to the surface2 but that when the depths were stirred ,i should find they were true women4 ,yes1 thank ,god1 they are true women1 as brave girls as ever lived4 ,i can't tell you how happy we all are4 ,they kissed us on coming to the breakfast table this morning for the first time in their lives4 ,we are entering a new life4 ,they already begin to wonder how they could have lived such a life of idleness and good- for-nothingness4 ,i can't thank you enough4 ,when the girls are quite settled in their new life1 ,i will tell them all about it1 and they will invite you down to spend an evening1 and then they will thank you themselves4 ,save yourself that trouble1 ,i replied4 ,the fact is1 the idea is not original with me2 half the men in town feel just as ,i do about this fashionable idleness among fashionable women4 ,in thousands of families it involves a system of studied1 mean pretence1 fraud1 and final ruin4 ,besides1 we all see that1 under its baneful influence1 women sadly deteriorate4 ,without a regular occupation1 no person1 male or female1 can preserve a sound mind in a sound body4 ,,idleness ,,is ,,fashionable4 ,nothing1 perhaps1 is more fashionable than idleness4 ,we all agree1 in theory1 at least1 that the meaning of life is found in that little word--use2 that the happiness of life is found in--work2 that to be idle is to be miserable4 ,here1 however1 we must make a distinction4 ,this law is supposed to apply only to men4 ,men must have an occupation4 ,if a man is without one1 we at once begin to suspect he must have some evil designs upon society4 ,the law adds to the punishment1 if the culprit has no visible means of support4 ,that alone is a strong fact against him4 ,not only the law1 but public sentiment demands that every man shall do something4 ,he is an idler1 disgraces a man almost beyond any other statement4 ,now let us turn to the other side of the house4 ,in ,america we have a million young women without the slightest pretence of occupation4 ,they spend a portion of their time in visiting4 ,miss ,blanche goes to ,new ,york1 in the winter1 to spend three months with her very dear friend1 ,miss ,nellie1 who1 in turn1 comes to spend three months with ,miss ,blanche in the summer4 ,this sort of exchange has become an immense system4 ,blanche and ,nellie1 with this arrangement1 work off six months of the year1 and1 adding one or two other little affairs of a similar kind1 they fill up the residue of the time with the dressmaker1 piano practice1 the theatre1 working sickly-looking pink dogs in worsted1 lying late in the morning1 dressing three times a day1 and reading a few novels4 ,a million young women of the better 787 classes1 in ,america1 are training themselves for the future by these methods4 ,a single year of such life would half ruin a young man4 ,his mind would become unsteady1 his will weak and vacillating1 his body soft and delicate4 ,add a glove-fitting corset to his wardrobe1 and in a few years he would be utterly unfit for husband1 father or citizen4 ,can any one give us a physiological or metaphysical reason why girls should not suffer the same deterioration8 ,would you like direct proof that they do8 ,listen to the conversation of young women1-- educated young ladies6--,beaux1 bows1 engagements1 lovely1 ,charley1 bonnets1 ,gus1 parties1 splendid fellow1 ribbons1 trails1 engaged1 etc41 etc41 till midnight4 ,watch them as they walk past this window4 ,does that look like the earnest pursuit of any object in life8 ,if so1 they certainly won't catch it4 ,look at their bare arms1--candle-dips1 ,no4 #h4 ,no right of women is so precious1 so vital to their welfare1 present and future1 as the right to work4 ,even if a girl had no other object in life than to get a husband1 no investment would pay like an occupation4 ,it would give her independence and dignity4 ,margaret ,fuller says3-- ,that the hand may be given with dignity1 she must be able to stand alone4 ,nothing disgusts young men like the undisguised eagerness with which their advances are met4 ,is a young man a catch8 send him to ,saratoga and watch a few days4 ,the girls do not get down on their knees at his feet1 and implore him to take pity on them and marry them1 but they do everything else that can be conceived of4 ,in order that women may marry generally1 and without sacrificing themselves1 that their hearts may determine their choice2 to the end that marriage may be true marriage1 and not a contract for board1 women must not be compelled to choose between marriage and starvation4 ,of course you will say that men despise working-women1 that they pass them by on the other side1 and seek ladies2 by which you mean such girls as have no regular occupation4 ,for a consideration of this point1 the reader is referred to the article1 ,a ,short ,sermon about ,matrimony4 ,,work ,,is ,,for ,,the ,,poor4 ,we all know that happiness comes of occupation2 and the work must not be irregular and occasional1 and such as we have to look up for exercise1 but it must be regular2 and1 to produce the best results1 it must not be optional1 but imperative4 ,what an ingenious device of the spirit of caste to represent that work is a badge of the low class4 ,how he cheats the possessors of wealth out of all happiness by this mean lie4 ,a man1 or1 if you please1 a woman1 comes into possession of wealth4 ,with this there come the picture gallery1 the beautiful grounds1 the perfect house1--everything to gratify her taste1 every external good2 but caste whispers in her ear1 that rich people must not work1--work is a badge of poverty4 ,caught with this trick1 she soon has no palate for the delicious fruits1 no eye for beauty1 no relish for the thousand sweet and beautiful things which cluster about her2 and1 ere long1 she would fain change places with the jolly ,irishwoman who sweats over her wash-tub4 ,,work ,,for ,,rich ,,girls4 ,you understand all this1 and you want to work2 but the difficulty is to find something to do4 ,housekeeping1 with its thousand and one duties1 offers a useful and pleasant field2 but ,i will suppose that you have already been too much in the house1 and greatly need to go out into the air and sunshine4 ,now1 dear girls1 let me suggest something for you1 something you will like1 and in which you will be1 after a little1 very happy4 ,go to bed to-night early1 say at half-past eight o'clock1 and rise to- morrow morning at six o'clock4 ,i will suppose that you reside in a large town1 or a city4 ,go at once to the suburbs1 and you will find the abodes of poverty4 ,march boldly up to one of them1 and say3--- ,good morning2 how de do1 folkses8 ,thought ,i'd just come out and see how the the morning air tasted6 ,if you are in right down earnest1 it won't take you five minutes to establish yourself in the confidence of ,bridget ,o',flaherty4 ,and if your voice and manner are of just the right sort1 there will follow such a wondrous disclosure of family secrets6 ,you will be told all about ,michael's stone-bruise1 and ,patrick's sore toe2 probably the boys will be hauled out of bed to show you4 ,but ,i must leave the secrets to your imagination1 or1 what is better1 to an actual trial4 ,you find that the mother herself needs a new dress that she may attend mass1 and you make a note of it4 ,the little girl needs a dress1 and a pair of shoes4 ,the next morning you carry a bundle with your own hands1 and leave it with the promise that you will come again in a few days4 ,put together all the soft1 polite things that your fashionable friends have ever said of you1 and as the zephyr to the tornado1 so would they all be compared to the gratitude1 the admiration1 the ,god bless her1 the dear swate angel1 the very worship which that household would pour out upon you during the few days before the next visit2 and when you do go again1 the shanty has been thoroughly cleaned and white-washed1 the children's feet have been soaked and scrubbed1 so that the actual skin has been brought into view2 and everything has become wonderfully smart4 ,tell them of the heart pleasure which all this change gives you1 and then speak warmly of the great advantage of such cleanliness1 of ventilation1 and of such other matters as you see they are ignorant of4 ,and now you mustn't blame them for casting surreptitious glances at your covered basket2 they can't help it1 poor things4 ,they try not to look that way1 but their imaginations are very busy with the contents of that basket4 ,at length you open it1 and taking out a bowl1 you say3-- ,mrs4 ,o',flaherty1 ,i am really troubled about ,katie's being so thin4 ,here is some ,scotch oat-meal1 and if you will try her with some oat- meal porridge1 ,i am sure it will do her good4 ,if you think1 after a little1 that it's doing her good1 ,i will bring you more of it4 ,but oh1 how the youngsters long to see what else there is in that basket4 ,after a moment1 you put your hand in1 and begin to take out things4 ,now1 ,mrs4 ,o',flaherty1 you won't blame me1 will you8 ,i just brought down a few little things2 they are of no great value1 but ,i thought you might as well use them1 as to have them lie idle4 ,here are a few pairs of woolen stockings which ,i have mended all nicely for you4 ,and here is a lot of collars and handkerchiefs which1 perhaps1 you may make some use of2 if so1 ,i am sure you are welcome to them4 ,and now1 ,katie1 ,i have brought a picture for you4 ,i saw it in a shop window yesterday1 and thought you might like it4 ,there1 do you know what that is8 ,why1 yes mum2 that's a picture of the ,blessed ,virgin6 ,be's you a ,catholic1 mum8 ,no1 ,katie1 ,i am not a ,catholic2 but ,i can't see any harm in a picture of the dear ,mother of ,christ4 ,oh1 ,i thank you mum1 ,i thank you with all my heart4 ,and now1 ,katie1 can't you get a frame for this8 ,oh yes1 mum1 ,i can get a frame2 ,i will get a frame in some way4 ,when you go again1 a week later1 what a flutter in the neighborhood6 ,eyes1 eyes everywhere4 ,all the neighboring shanties are alive to see that blessed1 swate angel4 ,as you approach the ,o',flaherty's1 they are all out1 looking wondrously smart1 and the old man1 for the first time1 is without his pipe4 ,your remark about tobacco seems to be working4 ,katie is the first to reach you1 and she holds up in her hands the picture1 in a nice little gilt frame4 ,but how can ,i describe your reception8 ,talk of ,jenny ,lind at ,castle ,garden1--that was a fashionable splurge4 ,talk of the reception of a returning congressman1--that gives the ,mayor and ,aldermen a chance to ride in barouches1 make speeches1 and dine at the expense of the corporation4 ,your reception in ,michael ,o',flaherty's yard is more hearty1 grateful and earnest1 than any of the fashionable welcomes4 ,it comes from their very hearts1 and would be just as warm if they knew you had come to bid them a final farewell4 ,suppose some rich old curmudgeon had given them a few dollars1 with which they had purchased the things you have given them4 ,would they rush out to welcome him8 would they clean up the cabin8 would the children's eyes sparkle with gratitude and love8 ,no1 oh no6 ,it is not the mended stockings1 the bowl of oat-meal1 or the picture which has so touched them1 but it is the gentle1 loving spirit in which you have visited them4 ,the poor and lowly are strangely and wonderfully susceptible to such treatment4 ,a bright woman1 residing in a small city in the state of ,new ,york1 who was a true follower of ,christ1 for1 like him1 she went about doing good1 happened to go into an ,irish neighborhood where the measles were raging1 during ,october4 ,she showed herself an angel of mercy1 though her health was so delicate that she could do nothing more than to ride over in her carriage1 and distribute gruel1 soup1 and good counsel4 ,after the election in ,november1 it came to be known that about fifteen ,irish voters1 from the neighborhood where ,mrs4 ,m---- had acted the good ,samaritan1 had put in ,republican votes1 whereat the ,democratic managers of the ward were exceeding wroth4 ,the delinquents were visited and labored with4 ,what made you go and vote for that--nigger candidate8 ,at first they refused to divulge4 ,but1 at length1 it came out that the candidate's wife1 ,mrs4 ,m--1 had helped their families through the measles4 ,and although their ,mrs4 ,m----- was not1 in fact1 the wife of the candidate1 was not even acquainted with him1 it was enough for those grateful ,irishmen that the name was the same4 ,a ,,true ,,love ,,story4 ,for years ,i have advised idle young ladies1 who were longing for something to do1 to look up poor1 unhappy families1 and minister to their hungry bodies and hungry hearts4 ,i could give you a great many interesting cases1 but one is such a pleasant little love story1 ,i must tell it to you4 ,with the exception of the names1 the story is a true one4 ,twenty years ago ,i was practising my profession in a western city4 ,among my patients was a ,miss ,dinsmore1 a lady of nearly thirty years4 ,her case was what she called the dumps4 ,i thought it indigestion and general debility4 ,after two weeks1 she began to ride out again1 and seemed to be doing well enough1 when one day she astonished me by exclaiming1 ,oh6 ,i wish ,i was dead6 ,after some hesitation1 she told me that she was perfectly disgusted with life1 etc41 etc4 ,i advised her to go out a mile on ,marble ,street and look up a poor widow woman1 a patient of mine1 and see if she could not do something to make her comfortable4 ,she couldn't think of it2 she had troubles enough of her own2 but1 after a little urging1 she consented to ride that way in the morning1 and see if she could do anything4 ,before the next noon she was at my office with a most pitiful story about that poor sufferer4 ,i rode out with her at once1 and found that ,mrs4 ,ramsey needed some beef-soup and some flannels4 ,miss ,dinsmore volunteered to bring them within an hour4 ,my poor ,mrs4 ,ramsey had pretty good times after that4 ,i soon had about ten poor patients in ,miss ,dinsmore's hands4 ,her sympathy and devotion were often more curative than my doctor- stuffs4 ,at length1 she gave me carte blanche to send any poor1 sick ones1 who needed help2 and1 from having been a slave to a round of fashionable dissipations1 she soon became the most devoted friend of the sick and suffering4 ,to those who have studied the causes of bad health among the devotees of fashion1 ,i need not say that ,miss ,dinsmore soon became healthy and very happy4 ,charles ,finlay1 a young man of twenty-five years1 came to our city1 from ,philadelphia1 to establish a large manufacturing business4 ,he was immediately successful1 and quickly won his way to the confidence of our business men4 ,possessed of noble person1 fine culture1 and singularly sweet manners1 he was soon regarded as the greatest catch in town1 and innumerable caps were accordingly set for him4 ,while trying an agricultural machine1 one of his hands was seriously hurt1 and he sent for me4 ,it was my first personal acquaintance with him1 though ,i had long known him by reputation4 ,after amputating one finger1 ,i contrived to save the residue of his hand4 ,our daily intercourse continued for several weeks1 and we became very good friends4 ,among other subjects1 we discussed matrimony4 ,i said1 one evening1 ,finlay1 why don't you get a wife8 ,well1 my friend1 said he1 that's a long story4 ,i will tell you all about that1 sometime4 ,at my next visit he said3-- ,doctor1 speaking of matrimony1 did you know that ,i had purchased the ,temple estate on ,bernard ,street8 ,no2 and then you have concluded to establish a home of your own4 ,and who is the happy woman8 for most sincerely ,i do regard her as happy in such an union4 ,ah1 my friend1 you are getting on too fast4 ,i have no definite purpose in regard to matrimony4 ,mrs4 ,oliver1 on hearing that ,i had purchased a house1 sought me out directly1 and exclaimed1 ',now you have a cage1 of course you must have a bird to put into it4' ,i wonder if she thinks me silly enough to marry one of her daughters8 ,why1 ,i should infinitely prefer one of those show-figures in the shop windows4 ,they look full as well1 have about as much heart1 and then they won't get sick4 ,i don't want a bird for my cage4 ,that's just what fashionable wives are1--pretty birds1 kept in beautiful cages4 ,i don't want1 and ,i won't have anything of the kind4 ,what ,i want is a true wife1 a real1 substantial woman1 a companion1 an adviser1 a friend1 one whose voice is not a mere echo of mine1 but who has a distinct individuality1 with judgment1 opinions and will of her own4 ,of course ,i know that most fashionable ladies are better than they seem1 that this contemptible disguise which they wear1-- this falsehood which they repeat in the hair1 the skin1 the shape and form of each and every part of the body1 is not deliberate falsehood1 but the result of a thoughtless compliance with fashion2 but it is very difficult for me to separate the woman from the lie4 ,and then their voices6 how utterly affected6 no matter what the natural voice may be1 every one learns exactly the same ridiculous intonation4 ,here ,i interrupted him with3-- ,hold on1 my friend1 hold on6 ,i really can't stand this any longer4 ,you greatly underrate fashionable ladies4 ,they seem to you silly1 false and unworthy2 but many of them are not a hundredth part as false and silly as their dress and conversation4 ,many of these ladies who now seem so preposterous and absurd1 will1 when married1 and fairly settled down1 cast off this burlesque1 and become sober1 solid women4 ,but1 as they all dress and talk exactly alike1 how am ,i to tell which is which and who is who8 ,well1 well1 ,i must leave you2 ,i have an engagement4 ,on my rounds ,i kept thinking what a perfect couple ,miss ,dinsmore and ,mr4 ,finlay would make6 ,i determined1 without saying a word to either1 to give them an opportunity to see each other4 ,fortunately for my plan1 ,miss ,dinsmore had just begun to make her rounds early in the morning1 and on foot4 ,i advised ,mr4 ,finlay to take an early ride1 and that he might have company1 ,i invited him to go with me in my early morning round4 ,i took him through ,miss ,dinsmore's parish1 and1 as ,i had calculated1 we met her with a basket on her arm4 ,i drew up to make some inquiries about several poor and sick ones1 for whom we were both interested4 ,just before we started on1 ,i said1 ,mr4 ,finlay1 this is my friend1 ,miss ,dinsmore4 ,five mornings in succession we rode in the same direction1 and every morning but one we met ,miss ,dinsmore4 ,i was pleased to notice that1 as we approached one particular neighborhood1 my friend became a little wandering in his conversation1 and used his eyes with a marked earnestness4 ,it struck me as very curious that1 although ,finlay protracted the conversation more and more each morning on meeting ,miss ,dinsmore1 making many inquiries about her proteges1 and showing a singular interest in her work1 he did not allude to her during the subsequent part of the ride1 nor at any other time4 ,after a week or so1 he said1 when ,i called for him1 that he was getting so well1 he thought it his duty to attend to business4 ,the very next day1 when calling upon the poor widow1 to whom ,i had first sent ,miss ,dinsmore1 she asked1 as ,i was about to leave1-- ,doctor1 who was that gentleman that came here with ,miss ,swan yesterday8 ,he seemed a very nice man4 7,i will here state that1 to save the feelings of her fashionable friends1 ,miss ,dinsmore introduced herself as ,miss ,swan to all her beneficiaries47 ,what kind of a looking man was he8 ,i asked4 ,a large1 tall man1 with a black beard1 and he carried his right hand in a sling4 ,he carried ,miss ,swan's basket in his other hand4 ,well1 ,i said1 ,i suppose it's some friend of hers4 ,oh6 exclaimed the poor widow1 ,i trembled for fear that it might be some one who was going to marry her1 and take her away from me4 ,if that dear1 blessed angel should be taken away from me1 ,i am sure ,i should die4 ,never you fear2 ,i think ,i know all about him4 ,so1 so1 ,mr4 ,charles ,finlay1 ,esq41 you are knocking all my plans into pi4 ,i had got it fixed in my mind that ,i should invite you to spend an evening at my house1 and then ,i would invite ,miss ,dinsmore to drop in on some pretence1 and so on1 and so on1 and in less than half a year1 ,i should have you head over ears in love1 and then all your lives you would think of me as the occasion of all your happiness2 and here you are1 just off a sick bed1 with only one hand1 carrying round a big provision basket before breakfast1 at ,miss ,dinsmore's very heels4 ,so1 so1 ,mr4 ,charles ,finlay1 ,esq4 ,little ,charley ,finlay1 during an attack of scarlatina1 had a convulsion4 ,the fond parents urged me1 as a special favor1 to remain during the night with them4 ,as there was nothing to do but to wait while the little one slept1 we fell into a pleasant talk about old times2 and then ,i told them the part which ,i had played in their first acquaintance1 and the hearty laughs ,i had had over that tall1 black-whiskered porter1 with one arm in a sling1 following a quiet lady1 with a basket of provisions4 ,and1 although they had been so very quiet about it all1 and1 although said porter had followed said quiet lady about among the hovels every day for two or three months1 and1 although both lady and porter saw me frequently1 and always kept profoundly mum about things1 that ,i presumed ,i had heard all about their doings and sayings among their parishoners1 almost every day1 from the time ,i took the porter in my carriage down ,marble ,street1 one fine morning1 on purpose to get him a situation1 up to the time when said black-whiskered porter came into my office one evening1 and revealed unto me as follows-- ,my friend1 do you remember that ,miss ,dinsmore1 to whom you introduced me one morning1 down in the mud in ,marble ,street8 ,let me see2 was she a tall blonde8 ,yes1 that's the one4 ,oh1 certainly1 ,i remember her very well4 ,where is she now1 ,i wonder8 7,i had had an interview with her that very afternoon47 ,and then the tall porter told me1 with glistening eyes1 that ,i would receive1 the very next day1 an invitation card or cards inviting me to attend1 etc41 etc4 ,he was delighted at my surprise and astonishment4 ,notwithstanding the occasion of our long night-watch1 the mother declared she would1 as soon as ,charley was well1 box my ears1 while she did not forget1 the next time she had occasion to rise to attend to our little patient1 to take a seat by the side of her noble husband1 and assure him1 by a fond pressure of the hand1 that the memories were all very precious to her4 ,moral4 ,young women who desire the company and assistance of black- whiskered porters1 should go down ,marble ,street early in the morning1 with a basket of provisions for the widow ,ramsey4 ,,employments ,,for ,,women4 ,in the ,cyclopaedia of ,woman's ,work11 by ,virginia ,penny1 ,i find invaluable suggestions4 ,there are a great many occupations at present pursued exclusively by men1 which offer no considerable difficulties to women4 ,miss ,penny mentions more than five hundred employments in which there are no insurmountable difficulties to women1 but which are pursued almost exclusively by men4 ,i will mention some of these1 without pursuing the order which ,miss ,penny has chosen1 or using her language4 ,but it must not be forgotten1 that to this indefatigable woman ,i am indebted for many of the hints given under this head4 ,,amanuenses4 ,the phonographic amanuensis has become an absolute necessity to literary men1 and to business men of large correspondence4 ,the art of phonography is not a difficult one to learn2 a moderate degree of rapidity is easily acquired1 and first-class rapidity is not beyond the reach of many persons4 ,i have conversed with professional phonographers1 and the general impression is1 that women are particularly well adapted to the art of phonography4 ,the compensation1 turning1 of course1 upon the rapidity1 would range from five hundred to ten hundred dollars a year4 ,the hours would not be long4 ,the occupation is1 in many respect1 a happy one for women4 ,,bank ,,clerks4 ,the clerk services of a bank may be performed by women4 ,their writing is as neat1 their reckoning as reliable1 their devotion to business as certain1 while they would not be tempted1 by gambling1 fast horses1 and other expensive forms of dissipation1 to steal4 ,it is quite clear that vast sums of money would be saved to banks by the employment of women as clerks4 ,cases of defalcation would1 under their hands1 become exceedingly rare4 ,,brokers4 ,already we have firms of female brokers4 ,this is wise and right4 ,broker's establishments1 whether conducted by men or women1 must have many clerks4 ,what has been said about the employment of female clerks in banks1 is applicable to the establishments of brokers4 ,,copyists4 ,already thousands of women are employed as copyists4 ,several hundred find opportunity in ,washington alone1 and some of them receive twelve hundred dollars a year4 ,a great many lawyers in our cities employ women as copyists4 ,indeed1 in the thousand and one institutions and business houses1 lawyer's offices1 and so on1 women are already employed as copyists4 ,the occupation is a good one1 well adapted to women1 and will engage a constantly increasing number4 ,,dentists4 ,nothing has surprised me more1 than that women have not engaged in the profession of dentistry4 ,her gentle touch1 the size and flexibility of her fingers1 her quick sympathies1 her instinctive sense of proportion and beauty1 and her conscientiousness present1 altogether1 singular qualifications for the dental profession4 ,dentistry is a lucrative business1 and the doors are wide open to women4 ,,lawyers4 ,theodore ,parker said3 ,as yet1 ,i believe1 no woman acts as a lawyer but ,i see no reason why the profession of law might not be followed by women as well as men4 ,he must be rather an uncommon lawyer who thinks that no feminine head could compete with him4 ,most lawyers that ,i have known are rather mechanics at law1 than attorneys or scholars at law1 and1 in the mechanical part1 woman could do as well as man1--could be as good a conveyancer1 could follow precedents as carefully1 and copy forms as nicely4 ,i think her presence would mend the manners of the court1 of the bench not less than of the bar4 ,christina ,pisani wrote a work1 which was published in ,paris in #adih4 ,it gives an account of the learned and famous ,novella1 the daughter of a professor of law in the university of ,bologna4 ,she devoted herself to the same studies1 and was distinguished for her scholarship4 ,she conducted her father's cases1 and1 having as much beauty as learning1 was wont to appear in court1 veiled4 ,at twenty six she took the degree of ,,ll4,d41 and began publicly to expound the laws of ,justinian4 ,at thirty she was elevated to a professor's chair1 and taught the law to a crowd of scholars from all nations4 ,others of her sex have since filled professor's chairs in ,bologna4 ,i have seen a good deal of lawyers1 and ,i am free to express the opinion that women would inevitably cleanse and elevate that profession4 ,as a very large portion of legal business consists in writing out deeds1 mortgages1 wills1 indentures1 and other kindred documents1 no one will doubt that1 at least in these departments1 women would prove successful4 ,and after listening1 from time to time1 during the last twenty years1 to female lecturers1 especially in connection with the reforms in laws advocated by the woman's rights women1 ,i cannot doubt that they would make successful advocates at the bar4 ,i should not urge young women to prepare themselves for the legal profession1 as ,i think it would be better to leave the question of propriety to their keen instincts2 but if they decide to enter that profession1 ,i shall1 if possible1 be there to hear their first speech at the bar4 ,,lecturers4 ,it seems unnecessary to comment on the fitness of woman for the platform4 ,she has exhibited a singular adaptation to this1 the most public of all possible lives1 and knowing1 as ,i do1 personally1 most of the female lecturers in the country1 ,i would add1 that the platform has not demoralized them4 ,the leading female lecturers in ,america are among the most womanly women whom ,i have the honor to know4 ,the field is immense1 and would welcome many additions4 ,lectures upon health to women1 by women1 are very useful1 and have almost uniformly proved a success1 pecuniarily and otherwise4 ,i should be rejoiced to see many hundreds added to the corps of woman lecturers upon woman's health4 ,it is a profession for which there are now abundant opportunities to prepare4 ,,librarians4 ,a very large part of the work and remuneration incidental to the management of libraries is in the hands of women4 ,but many places are still occupied by men1 who might be spared for more muscular forms of labor4 ,,physicians4 ,if ,i had been writing this work twenty years ago1 it would have been necessary to argue the fitness and propriety of women doctors4 ,happily1 such an argument is now unnecessary4 ,all but such as live in darkness welcome women to the medical profession4 ,already they have become professors in medical colleges in this country1 as they were for many hundred years in ,europe4 ,whether a woman has nerve enough to perform a grave surgical operation1 ,i do not care to inquire4 ,no thoughtful man who has watched her in the character of nurse1 even when she is uneducated1 will entertain a doubt about her happy qualifications for the management of the sick4 ,the most important responsibilities of a physician have reference to ventilation1 cleanliness1 bathing1 feeding1--in brief1 to nursing2 and no one but a stupid1 obstinate man would suggest her inferiority for such services4 ,i have no doubt that1 finally1 the medical profession will fall almost exclusively into the hands of women1 as its most important part1 nursing1 already has4 ,a very large part of our medical business grows out of the diseases of women1 as such1 and ,i shall not insult my readers by gravely considering the question whether men or women should examine1 manipulate1 and treat such affections4 ,when ,i hear men protesting that women cannot understand and manage these affections1 ,i declare1 some very ugly suspicions occur to me4 ,women and children are the sick ones4 ,very few men have occasion to seek the doctor4 ,if those who read these words understood as ,i do1 how little brain is used in the selection of drugs1 how simple a routine is followed by the doctor in selecting his medicines from day to day1--if those who read this1 knew as ,i do1 how infinitely more important and difficult are the duties devolving upon the nurse1 who stands by1 and watches day and night1 from moment to moment1 the changes in the condition of the patient1 and who1 without having been trained to the profession1 is entrusted with the responsibility of determining1 throughout all those trying hours1 exactly what is to be done upon the occurrence of this or that change2 if those who read this1 understood1 as ,i do1 about these things1 they would smile when asked to consider the propriety or possibility of educating women for the medical profession1 so that1 in addition to performing all the most important services1 they should be entrusted with the selection of the drugs1 if drugs must be given4 ,,preachers4 ,female preachers have appeared among the most enlightened peoples1 and have risen to distinction and influence4 ,in ,america1 among the ,quakers1 women have illustrated the finest pulpit oratory4 ,it has always seemed to me that women were especially adapted to the pulpit4 ,their natural eloquence1 their sweet persuasive voices1 their characteristic unselfishness1 purity and piety constitute their unanswerable claim to a place in the pulpit4 ,it is strange1 how rapidly the prejudices of men against women lecturers and women preachers have disappeared4 ,these prejudices lie on the surface2 they do not rest upon organic instinct4 ,so completely has this prejudice disappeared from ,boston1 that a woman is heard by many because she is a woman4 ,if to-day one of our churches should invite to its pulpit a woman of good capacity1 of fine pulpit manners1 of a noble1 sweet spirit1 and of fine personnel1 its very aisles would be crowded4 ,i should much prefer to go there4 ,a few hundred educated women would find employment1 and good compensation1 in ,new ,england pulpits4 ,,proof-,,reading4 ,this has become a distinct profession1 and employs a great number of persons4 ,it is a profession to which women are perfectly adapted1 and in which a very considerable number could at once find remunerative occupation4 ,,publishers4 ,i know of no good reason why women should not become publishers4 ,of course they can do the work of a publishing house1--,i mean the correspondence1 book-keeping1 counting1 making-up orders1 and packing books4 ,but ,i know of no good reason why they should not conduct the business1 and receive the profits4 ,many authors1 myself among the number1 would be especially gratified to have our works placed before the public by women1 because1 when trained to business1 they have shown a singular exactness and honor2 and1 secondly1 because it would give assurance to the world that the new book was fit to be read4 ,,teachers4 ,it seems unnecessary even to allude to the propriety of teaching as a profession for women4 ,it is1 however1 a modern notion4 ,at present1 in ,new ,england1 an immense majority of the teachers are women4 ,i have had a good deal to do with schools during the last twenty- five years4 ,i was a member of the ,boston ,school ,board for some time1 was at the head of the ,seminary at ,lexington during four years1 an have always been interested in the question of woman as a teacher4 ,i have interrogated1 perhaps a hundred school committee men1 in different parts of the country4 ,their testimony1 and my own1 after all this observation1 is1 that woman is a better teacher than man4 ,i think this is true even in the department of mathematics4 ,i am sure it is true in all those studies1 in the teaching of which1 the social1 moral or religious element is brought into play4 ,the proportion of female teachers in ,american schools is very rapidly increasing1 and it is noteworthy that they are constantly rising into schools of a higher grade4 ,the state authorities in ,massachusetts have recently placed a woman at the head of one of our principal ,normal schools4 ,it is safe to prophesy that1 within fifty years1 teaching1 in the common schools1 ,high schools1 and in the ,normal schools1 will be almost exclusively in the hands of women4 ,i think1 within that time1 a considerable proportion of the professors in our colleges will be women4 ,already several are doing themselves1 and their sex1 great honor1 as professors in colleges4 ,the only dark spot in this bright picture is1 that women are starved while performing this valuable labor4 ,i know a beautiful1 bright young woman1 in this city1 who is regarded as one of the best teachers in the city1 who presides in one of the most beautiful rooms in one of the grandest buildings in ,boston1 but who1 when out of the school palace1 is obliged to crawl away with her mother into a dingy1 miserable garret1 where they spend their time in contriving how to make their pennies last through the year4 ,the schools known as ,kindergarten have already become quite numerous4 ,they will rapidly multiply4 ,within a few years1 children three years old will be sent to these beautiful ,kindergarten schools1 where1 in each others society1 and under the management of bright1 cheery1 loving teachers1 they will engage in a great variety of pleasant games and infantile studies4 ,the physical exercises which constitute a prominent feature of these baby schools1 are very fascinating and profitable to these little ones4 ,in these schools children of from three to five years of age will not only be brighter and happier1 but they will be much healthier1 than when left to the chances of the average home1 without system1 times or seasons4 ,it need hardly be said that such schools will fall into the hands of women1 and will1 within a quarter of a century1 employ a great number of them4 ,the hours will be short1 the occupation perfectly adapted to the finest girls1 and1 as these little ones are objects of the tenderest love1 the compensation for such persons as can successfully manage them1 will always be large4 ,lord ,brougham gave it as his opinion1 that a child learns more during the first eighteen months of its life1 than at any other period1 and that it settles1 in fact1 at this early age1 its mental capacity1 and future well-being4 ,,teachers ,,of ,,gymnastics ,,and ,,dancing4 ,here is a field1 at once healthful1 respectable and immense4 ,in this field women have already displayed a remarkable capacity1 and ,i have no doubt1 as in the progress of civilization special physical training and amusements come to occupy a larger place in our life1 that women will find in this service employment for a large number of the intelligent and ambitious4 ,i have known young women1 neither beautiful nor educated1 but with devotion to their duties1 to earn more than a thousand dollars a year1 in teaching gymnastics4 ,instructions in dancing have long been given by ladies4 ,so far as ,i have learned1 they have been quite successful4 ,,teachers ,,in ,,drawing ,,and ,,painting4 ,the instruction of girls in drawing and painting has now so generally fallen into the hands of female teachers that one need hardly speak of it further than to say that it is an employment entirely fit and proper for women1 and one which usually affords a generous remuneration4 ,,watches4 ,let us speak first of watch-cleaning4 ,what are the qualifications of a good watch-cleaner8 ,nimble1 sensitive fingers1 neatness1 and carefulness4 ,now put your finger there1 and let me show you a watch-cleaner4 ,he works in a window only two squares from my ,boston residence4 ,he weighs about two hundred and twenty pounds1 and has a fist big enough to knock down an ox4 ,the whole thing looked so comical to me1 ,i thought one day ,i would go in and plague him a little4 ,so1 after a little chat about watches in general1 ,i said3-- ,by the way1 it has occurred to me that women might work at watch- cleaning4 ,women1 said he1 why1 they couldn't clean watches4 ,they haven't the skill1 they haven't the mechanical genius for it1 sir4 ,i don't go in for none of your 'woman's rights1' sir2 ,i think women should attend to their own business4 ,and1 pray1 what do you regard as their business8 ,why1 staying at home in their own sphere1 and attending to their domestic concerns2 taking care of their children1 and keeping their husband's clothes mended4 ,i saw at once that the case was altogether too deep for me1 and so ,i simply remarked3-- ,yes1 to be sure1 of course2 and is it not strange1 that they should not be willing to stay at home1 and rock their babies1 especially the seventy thousand in the state of ,massachusetts who can never expect to have husbands8 ,cleaning watches is a business that should at once pass into the hands of women4 ,the opinion that they have not the requisite mechanical capacity to take a watch to pieces and put it together again1 is the opinion of a goose4 ,they can do the work quicker and better than men4 ,it is an employment that naturally belongs to them4 ,in the watch-making establishment at ,waltham1 several hundred bright1 intelligent young women find employment and good pay4 ,there is a manufactory in ,england1 where five hundred women are employed in making the interior chains for chronometers4 ,they are preferred to men on account of their being naturally more dexterous with their fingers1 and1 therefore1 being found to require less training4 ,it may be said1 in one word1 that1 taking the world together1 there are many1 many thousand women employed in manufacturing watches4 ,they do every part of the work1 except what is called finishing1 or putting the pieces together1 and in several establishments they do even this1 and finish the very best class of chronometer watches4 ,the making of watch chains is a business adapted to the delicate fingers1 and to the patience of women4 ,accordingly thousands are occupied in this specialty4 ,,pens4 ,the manufacturing of pens is an employment in which women can excel4 ,it requires patience and quick movements of the fingers4 ,a certain part of the manufacturing of gold pens1 it has been objected1 would be too dirty for women4 ,by the way1 this very objection is made with reference to a great many employments4 ,it is said1 they are too dirty for women4 ,now1 really1 is not this a good joke8 ,why1 there is not a dirty task in house-keeping1--and ,i certainly know of no occupation in which there are so many dirty tasks1--which is not done by women4 ,if there is a dirty thing which men would not touch with the ends of their fingers1 it is sure to be left to girls4 ,the making of gold and steel pens should fall into the hands of women4 ,the making of gold pens is a profitable occupation1 and1 as at present tending1 bids fair1 when women are fairly introduced1 to offer occupation for a great number of them4 ,,aquaria ,,makers4 ,one of the most innocent and pleasant amusements that has attracted attention for some time1 is the making of aquaria4 ,the cases are formed of plate glass1 square1 oblong1 circular1 or any other shape to please the fancy of the owner4 ,the glass is tightly sealed when joined4 ,the aquaria are of two kinds4 ,one is formed of salt water1 and contains marine plants and animals2 the other contains fresh water1 and such plants and animals as are found in rivers and smaller streams4 ,they form a beautiful addition to the garden1 the conservatory1 or the drawing-room4 ,rocks form the foundation1 and the soil on them furnishes subsistence to the plants4 ,zoophytes1 mollusca1 and fish1 constitute the inhabitants of the aquarium4 ,insects also find a place in this miniature ocean or river garden4 ,the size for parlors is from one foot to three feet in length4 ,this is an occupation happily adapted to the graceful1 elegant tastes of cultured women4 ,,architects4 ,propersia di ,rossi1 born in ,bologna in #adij1 furnished some admirable plans in architecture4 ,madame ,steenwyck and ,esther ,juvenal1 of ,nuremberg1 are mentioned as eminent designers4 ,in the #agth century1 ,plantilla ,brizio1 of ,rome1 was a practical architect1 and left monuments of her excellence4 ,the wife of ,erwin ,steinbach materially assisted her husband in the erection of the famous ,strasburg ,cathedral1 and within its walls a sculptured stone represents the husband and wife as consulting together on the plan4 ,the ordinary course of training given1 as a basis1 and ,i have no doubt that women will submit1 in response to public invitations1 as handsome designs for public and private buildings1 as men4 ,,engravers4 ,in the course of my experience as an author1 ,i have had occasion to procure eight hundred engravings on wood4 ,i never see men at work upon them1 without thinking what a perfect employment this would be for women4 ,it is not a difficult business to learn1 but requires mostly a quick sense of touch1 keen vision1 with a patient1 careful manipulation of the fingers4 ,a very large part of the wood engraving should be performed by women4 ,what ,i have said of wood engraving is1 perhaps1 not less true of copper and steel engraving4 ,,photographers4 ,photography now employs many thousands in the country1 and there is no part of the business which may not be as successfully performed by a woman as by a man4 ,already a very considerable percentage of the operators and colorers are women4 ,,schools ,,of ,,design4 ,schools of design have long existed in ,europe4 ,there are quite a number of them in ,paris1 some of them of prodigious proportions1 and about a third of them are for women4 ,there are schools of design scattered throughout the cities of the ,united ,states4 ,the object of these schools is to give a knowledge of some of the industrial branches of the fine arts4 ,in some of these schools drawing is taught with marked thoroughness4 ,designing for paper hangings1 calico1 wood engraving2 designs for carpets1 silks1 ribbons1 furniture1 laces1 plated ware1 silver1 jewelry1 etc41 are beginning to receive much attention4 ,just think of the absurdity of employing men to design calicos4 ,as a woman has a keener instinct for delicate forms1 and beautiful1 harmonious combinations of colors1 so it is certain that she would succeed best in designing for calicos and similar fabrics4 ,these schools of design are to open an unlimited field for the remunerative employment of women4 ,as our civilization is widened and refined1 this field will rapidly enlarge4 ,already1 if there were some thousands of women educated1--and they may be educated1 generally without expense to themselves1--they could find immediate and well-paid employment in the industrial prosecution of various branches of the fine arts4 ,,gardening4 ,this has long seemed to me an employment in which women would not only gain health and strength1 but in which the most modest and retiring might find a congenial occupation1 and the products of which are never depreciated because raised by a woman4 ,a peck of peas has a certain market value1 not dependant upon the hands which raised them4 ,a woman who works at making pants receives fifty cents a day1 not on account of the amount or quality of her work1 but be cause she is a woman4 ,a man engaged upon the same garments receives two dollars a day1 not because of the amount or quality of his work1 but because he is a man4 ,it is doubtless true that1 in very many cases1 the man does his work better than the woman2 but it is not less true that1 in a majority of cases1 the difference in price grows out of the difference in sex4 ,so of the school4 ,a male teacher receives a thousand dollars a year1 not because his moral influence is better1 not because the pupils learn more1 but because he is a man4 ,a woman teaches a similar school1 and receives four hundred dollars1 not because of the inferiority of her moral influence in the school1 not because the pupils learn less1 but because she is a woman4 ,now1 happily1 all this is avoided in gardening4 ,a man who would sell a beet is not obliged to put on a label1 raised by a man1 ten cents1 and upon another1 raised by a woman1 four cents1 but the article brings its market value4 ,this is a great advantage1 and one affording a special gratification to women of spirit4 ,besides1 gardening is an occupation requiring very little capital1 and1 except in the fancy departments1 comparatively little training4 ,near any of the cities a woman can earn more upon a half acre of land1 with four months' work1 than she can earn by sewing twelve months1 saying nothing of the healthfulness of gardening1 and the unhealthfulness of sewing4 ,a young woman1 tired1 disgusted with the difficulties which hamper her on every side1 asks3-- ,what can ,i do to be saved8 ,i reply1 ,cultivate a half acre of ground4 ,you can sell the products of your garden to one of the market-men who make it their business to purchase garden vegetables where they are raised1 and convey them to market4 ,nearly all of our men gardeners sell at their doors1 and have nothing to do with the market4 ,i do not know of another opening which women can enter so easily1 with so little wounding of their sensibilities1 and which promises such sure and generous remuneration4 ,a year ago ,i urged some young women who were out of employment to engage in gardening4 ,they said they had no capital1 no experience1 but would be willing to try if the way could be made smooth for them4 ,i spent a couple of days in driving about among the gardeners1 in the neighborhood of ,boston1 and asked the following questions of some fifty of them3-- ,is there any part of your work that women can do8 ,if so1 what compensation would you give to attentive1 quick- fingered ,american girls8 ,the answer to the first question was uniformly1-- ,a large part of the work of a garden1 or 'truck' farm1 can be done as well by women as by men4 ,to the second question1 the answers ranged from five to eight dollars per week4 ,a ,,capital ,,investment4 ,persons possessing capital1 and interested in the welfare of women1 could hardly make a wiser or more beneficent investment of their means1 than in the purchase of small farms in the neighborhood of cities1 for the use of women4 ,dividing these into half-acre lots1 they should rent them to girls and women1 either without rent1 or for a sum which would simply meet the interest on the capital invested4 ,in every case1 probably1 the investments would pay well1 without any rent1 by the natural increase in the value of real estate in the neighborhood of cities1 and the improvement incidental to nice gardening2 but the occupant would not hesitate to pay a small rent4 ,if entirely unacquainted with farming1 three or four might join to hire a gardener1 and under his guidance they would all soon learn to work advantageously in raising the common garden vegetables4 ,a dozen or twenty of these girls could board in the old farm house1 and would make a pleasant family4 ,naturally they would exchange works with each other1 and thus secure social enjoyment4 ,this is no dream1 but only requires that one man or woman should possess a few thousand dollars1 which it is desired to invest in property with sure returns1 and given1 besides1 twenty girls who are suffering the tortures of dyspepsia and hopelessness in city work1 and who desire a healthy1 pleasant1 remunerative employment4 ,certainly1 both these classes of persons are numerous4 ,i know a great many persons in the neighborhood of ,boston1 7and with our rapid railway communications they may be located at considerable distances17 ,i say ,i know of many persons who have farms which are really producing nothing but a little grass and a few flowers1 but which1 changed into such half-acre gardens1 would become sources of considerable income to all concerned4 ,twenty acres of good land1 and a good-sized farmhouse1 with an advance of two thousand dollars to prepare the land1 and feed the company until their crops begin to return something1 would give a home and independence to forty girls2 and more than this1 would fairly open and illustrate the possibilities in gardening as an employment for women4 ,it need hardly be said that the cultivation of flowers is an occupation perfectly adapted to the finest girls2 and as flowers are in constant demand1 with regularly quoted prices1 every day in the year1 this field bids fair to offer pleasant and profitable occupation to many women4 ,it is enough to say that women should at once be introduced to this branch of industry4 ,it is hardly necessary1 in this place1 to point out the practical difficulties1 which are accessible to every inquirer4 ,under the auspices of the ,new ,england ,woman's ,club1 at ,no4 #c ,tremont ,place1 ,boston1 a horticultural school has been opened a few miles out of ,boston1 for the training of young women4 ,as ,i said in the beginning1 ,i do not know of another branch of industry in which so many women could find immediate and remunerative employment as in cultivating the land2 and ,i cannot doubt1 now that the public mind has been awakened to the subject of woman's employment1 and as under the rapid spread of the social evil1 thousands not interested on the side of benevolence are thoroughly awakened to the importance of multiplying occupations for women1 as a defence of public morals1--,i cannot doubt that this most promising field will soon be invaded by an army of ,american girls and women4 ,it seems to me that one special advantage will be found in the intimate relations between a productive garden and the comfort of a family4 ,what a stimulus to a loving mother1 that the products of her garden not only gratify the palates of her loved ones1 but make important contributions to their health4 ,it seems to me that1 more than any other occupation ,i can name1 the cultivation of a garden in connection with a family1 would come in to afford special gratification to the wife and mother4 ,iowa has an ,agricultural ,college on a plot of land of six hundred and fifty acres1 with over thirty young ladies and one hundred and forty young men1 whose tuition is free1 and their daily work1 which all are to do1 is credited towards their board4 ,this year the college building is to be enlarged to double its present capacity4 ,it is hardly necessary to repeat the facts found every day in the agricultural and other papers1 illustrating woman's capacity for practical farming4 ,some of the rarest successes in general farming1 have been achieved by women4 ,i have personally known several of these farmers1 who were intelligent and refined4 ,,merchants4 ,what an army of men1 some of them big enough to carry an ox1 are engaged1 in the ,united ,states1 in selling silks1 calicos1 thread1 tape1 needles and pins4 ,hundreds of thou sands of stalwart young men1 who might earn twice as much in more active1 muscular1 outdoor occupations1 are shut up in stores2 while a corresponding number of women2 desperate for lack of bread1 lie in wait at night1 when these men come out of their silken stores1 to tempt them to vice and disease1 which may carry all into one common ruin4 ,,carpenters4 ,a kit of carpenter's tools1 and a carpenter's bench1 may be purchased for a few dollars4 ,every house should have such provisions4 ,it is curious how universal is the passion for the use of such tools4 ,nine persons in ten1 including both sexes1 would1 if they enjoyed facilities1 indulge this natural passion for straight lines1 angles and curves4 ,from my observation1 ,i think girls possess this mechanical fancy and tact quite as generally as boys4 ,in several homes where ,i have met facilities for making boxes1 frames1 rulers1 etc41 the girls have displayed more interest in the use of the beautiful carpenter tools1 than the boys4 ,what a priceless knack of fingers1 preparation and fancy for a hundred different occupations1 and healthful1 muscular exercise would thus be won4 ,my friend1 ,capt4 ,r--1 purchased a kit of carpenter's tools and a turning lathe1 nearly twenty years ago1 and encouraged his six daughters to use them4 ,scores of cupboards1 shelves1 frames1 book- holders1 towel-racks1 etc41 etc41 scattered all over his house1 testify to the mechanical taste and skill of his girls4 ,at the holiday season they send to friends many beautiful boxes and book-shelves1 made with their own hands4 ,but for the wealth of the family1 ,i have no doubt that these girls would have sought mechanical occupations4 ,,other ,,occupations4 ,women would succeed well as engravers and chasers of gold and silver1 as etchers and stamp makers1 herbarium makers1 landscape gardeners1 lithographers1 map makers1 modellers1 music engravers1 painters1 picture restorers1 piano tuners1 painters of plates for books1 steel engravers1 sculptors1 telegraphic operators1 wax workers1 book-keepers1 book merchants1 china merchants1 keepers of fancy stores1 grocers1 junk dealers1 music sellers1 sellers of artists' materials1 sellers of seeds1 roots and herbs1 small wares1 toys1 in variety shops1 as bird raisers1 and bird and animal preservers1 fruit venders1 dealers in pets1 restaurant keepers1 thread makers1 glove makers1 makers of shawls1 yarn1 ribbons1 sewing silk1 lace menders1 makers of files1 guns1 hinges1 nails1 screws1 skates1 shovels1 wire1 candle-sticks1 hooks and eyes1 lamps1 pens1 rings1 scales1 buckles1 needles1 saws1 scissors1 spectacles1 surgical instruments1 telescopes1 thermometers1 lanterns1 thimbles1 gold and silver leaf1 pencils1 inkstands1 paper cutters1 porcelain goods1 beads1 harnesses1 pocket-books1 trunks1 whips1 combs1 piano cases4 ,they succeed well as pearl workers1 tortoise-shell workers4 ,they succeed in manufacturing shoes of all kinds1 and gutta-percha goods4 ,they succeed as hair workers1 as artists1 as merchants of all kinds of goods4 ,they succeed in manufacturing artificial flowers1 belts1 bonnet ruches1 dress trimmings1 embroidery1 feathers1 hoopskirts1 parasols and umbrellas1 and so on1 and so on1 to the extent of several hundred occupations1 with a large number of which they have nothing whatever to do1 and from which they are kept by persistent1 blind1 stupid prejudice2 the apology1 explanation1 or whatever you may choose to call it1 generally being1 either that the work is too dirty1 too hard1 requires too much patience1 or1 much more frequently1 that it requires too much skill4 ,with all these occupations open to them1 it is hard to believe that ,new ,england girls will consent to starve1 or for lack of bread1 will wander off into bye and forbidden paths4 ,,employment ,,agency4 ,nothing is more simple or easy than to extend the field of woman's industries4 ,let the young women and their friends call a meeting1 and establish an agency for the neighborhood4 ,this meeting need not cost the girls a penny4 ,a committee of five intelligent ladies and gentlemen can readily be found1 who will undertake the management4 ,the duty of the committee will be to seek new employments for girls1 and smooth the way4 ,,false ,,tests ,,of ,,gentility4 ,everywhere1 among all peoples1 we find the spirit of aristocracy-- caste4 ,the distinction between classes1 in most countries1 appears in dress1 intelligence and manners4 ,in the ,united ,states the distinctions are not thus marked4 ,in the cars1 for example1 you meet a gentleman1 whose address and conversation are very pleasing1 and you are just in the act of congratulating yourself upon the acquisition of a charming acquaintance1 when some one whispers in your ear the appalling fact that he is nothing but a carpenter4 ,you meet a lady1 exquisitely attired1 with a beautiful face1 sweet manners1 and brilliant conversation1 and you wonder who she can be4 ,she must be the daughter of a leisurely1 cultured banker2 but1 after taking pains to ask the conductor1 and several gentlemen in the car1 you are at last informed by the brakeman3-- ,why1 darn it1 she is that ,lizzie ,brown1 the dress-maker4 ,the fact is1 we cannot rely upon the ,european indications of high and low classes1 and so1 in ,america1 we have devised numerous arbitrary1 and often unreasonable and inconvenient habits1 and customs1 which are learned and practised by our set1 you know1 but which are not generally caught up by the earnest1 busy class4 ,one of these1 which will serve for present illustration1 is a rule that you must1 at table1 put everything into your mouth with a fork4 ,in one of our most reputable monthlies1 ,i read1 a day or two since1 a chapter in a story1 in which it was stated1 as a shocking exhibition of depraved vulgarity1 that ,john ,smith put his food into his mouth with a knife1--the deplorable wretch6 ,last summer1 at a sea-side house1 ,i was remarking to an intelligent lady1 in an after-dinner chat1 that of all the gentlemen on the ground1 ,i was most interested in that tall1 reserved1 scholarly- looking man4 ,she replied1 with a toss of her head1 ,i can't bear him4 ,why1 he eats with his knife6 ,of course nobody supposes that for most sorts of food a fork is better than a knife2 but unless some tests of what is called gentility can be maintained1 you see we shouldn't know who's who and what's what4 ,i learned somewhat early in life to use the fork almost exclusively2 but now that it is made a sign of gentility1 ,i am learning to use the knife4 ,i always enjoyed the anecdote of that first gentleman of ,europe1 a certain ,king of ,england1 who1 on a state occasion1 invited to his table a ,scotch nobleman1 with his two daughters4 ,the nobleman was one of the truest friends of the king1 and the daughters were most intelligent1 worthy girls2 but1 living very much out of society1 they had not learned all the rules of table etiquette4 ,so upon sipping their coffee1 and finding it too hot1 they poured from the cup into the saucer1 and drank from the saucer4 ,the king1 who was at the head of the table1 heard a derisive laugh from some of the pets of the court1 and looking over where his ,scotch friends sat1 he saw the occasion of it4 ,immediately he lifted his own cup1 poured into the saucer1 and set the cup down on the table with a great noise1 whereupon the exquisites colored1 and hushed4 ,girls1 ,i advise you to use the fork in eating such things as can be eaten best with it1 unless you wish to make issue with a false and arbitrary test of gentility4 ,there are table habits1 vital in their importance4 ,i may here name the practice of eating only simple food1 with great deliberation1 maintaining1 during the meal1 your legitimate share in the conversation1 and constantly watching for opportunities to assist those about you4 ,,conservatism ,,is ,,fashionable4 ,nothing is more fashionable than conservatism4 ,slavery--what a hot- bed of sensualism6 ,what a pandemonium of cruelty and crime6 ,all over the ,north the merchant1 the politician1 and the clergyman pledged each other to silence4 ,it was the fashion4 ,a few brave souls protested4 ,sneers and ridicule followed them4 ,ah1 can it be believed1--the blue-eyed daughters of ,new ,england joined in the sneers4 ,they drew aside their skirts as they passed the champions of liberty and virtue4 ,no other memory connected with the antislavery revolution is so hard for me to bear4 ,if only they1 hearing the cry of agony from their outraged sisters in the ,south1 had listened1 sympathized1 and1 in their own gentle way1 striven to help the torn and bleeding ones1 ,i could bear the memory of the brutal indifference of men4 ,,woman',s ,,rights ,,are ,,unfashionable4 ,in most of the states women have no legal claim to their own children4 ,in several of them the father may1 in his will1 commit the little ones to the care of strangers1 and the mother can only weep and moan4 ,in many of the states the wife has no right to the property which her father gave her1 or to that which she has earned with her own hands4 ,in not one of the states can a woman express her opinion or wish at the ballot box4 ,her person1 her property1 her claim to her children1 --everything she holds most dear in this life1 is controlled by the ballot box4 ,the most ignorant foreigners are invited to it2 our mothers and wives are forbidden4 ,women and girls receive1 for the same work1 only half the compensation of men and boys4 ,the woman's rights movement seeks the mitigation1 and final removal1 of these outrageous wrongs4 ,my dear girls1 think for yourselves this time4 ,don't simper and giggle when the fools sneer at woman's rights4 ,they don't know what they are talking about4 ,a few days ago ,i heard a sort of jackanapes ridiculing woman's rights1 and several very sweet girls were listening to his coarse scurrilities2 and1 must ,i say it1 smiling their approval4 ,wearing an unfashionable dress is not half so bad2 going into the street with the bonnet of two years ago1 even1 will not unsex you like a smiling indifference to these desperate struggles of your sisters4 ,to avoid starvation on one hand1 and crime on the other1 they plead with the world for justice4 ,in this city of ,boston there are twenty thousand women starving on needle-work1 and five thousand who live1 or die1 by crime4 ,a few brave ones1 driven to the wall1 hope1 by calling attention to their helplessness1 to obtain sympathy and justice4 ,this is essentially the woman's rights movement4 ,suppose you don't like the mode in which they agitate4 ,when you hear criticisms1 or ridicule1 if you haven't the heart to say a word in defence1 at least you can keep silence4 ,i wish ,i dared to tell you how we men almost despise you1 sometimes1 for this abandonment of each other4 ,,the ,,social ,,evil4 ,men go prowling about1 seeking to seduce and ruin girls1 and will stand by each other1 even in this infamous business4 ,when a poor girl1 overcome by the arts of an oily-tongued villain1 perhaps by a promise of marriage1 consents to sin1 how you drop her1 and shun her1 and sneer at her4 ,a hundred times ,i have heard chivalrous men declare that1 women have no honor2 they never stand by each other4 ,if one gets into trouble1 the rest forsake her1 and run away4 ,girls1 if you care to commend yourselves to men1 stand by these unfortunate ones1 encourage them1 help them4 ,you needn't fear being soiled2 the spirit in which you would engage in this angelic service1 would serve as a perfect shield4 ,i know something of men4 ,i have lived in many countries4 ,i have been much in society1 have been1 to some extent1 what is railed a man of the world1 and have talked with men about women1 hundreds of times4 ,i am confident that nothing would so elevate a young woman in the estimation of all noble men1 as the brave defence of an unfortunate sister4 ,it would thrill us all1 and lift you into a heroine4 ,if a few hundred of you would join hands around the social evil1 even in a city like this1 where it has attained huge proportions1 you could bring it within easy reach of christian aid4 ,nothing1 this side of ,god1 do men revere1 as they revere virtuous women4 ,let it be known among men1 that the victims of their lust have been taken under your protection1 and the whole aspect of the question would instantly change4 ,instead of looking upon the unhappy ones as fair game1 men would suddenly become conscious that they were dealing with your friends1 and1 therefore1 with you4 ,a ,,short ,,sermon ,,about ,,matrimony4 ,i would address those young women who want husbands4 ,there are such2 ,i have noticed them4 ,girls1 if any of you have really made up your minds that you wouldn't marry the best man that ever lived1 there6 skip this little sermon1 because it really has no interest for you4 ,men will shut their ears if they have a spark of delicacy2 for every word of this is private and confidential4 ,,my ,,text4 ,the text1 or rather the occasion for what ,i am about to say on the subject of marriage1 was this3-- ,about a week ago1 a young woman of twenty-six 7she said twenty-six1 so ,i am sure about her age17 came to me in regard to her health2 and after the professional conversation was finished1 we fell into a general and pleasant chat4 ,she was delightfully frank1 and said1 while we were discussing the ever fruitful subject of matrimony1-- ,i wish ,i was little4 ,that is too bad1 ,i replied2 ,i have been admiring your grand1 queenly proportions ever since you came in2 and now you spoil it all by showing that you are not grateful4 ,i can't help it2 ,i wish ,i didn't weigh more than eighty pounds1 and wasn't more than four and a half feet high4 ,i am shocked6 ,do tell me what makes you wish so8 ,to be frank with you1 the reason is just this3 ,men are so fond of saying1 ',my little wife4' ,i laughed1 thinking it was intended as a bright speech2 but her flushed face assured me that1 instead1 she was uttering her very heart4 ,go on1 ,i said1 tell me your thoughts4 ,my thoughts are just these2 and ,i believe they are the thoughts of all unmarried marriageable women4 ,i long for nothing this side of heaven as ,i do to bury all my uncertainties and anxieties in the love of a husband4 ,eagerly would ,i make any sacrifice to secure this precious treasure4 ,but ,i fear there is nothing left for me but to be sneered at as an old maid4 ,so while ,i might otherwise be grateful for what you choose to call my queenly proportions1 ,i can only wish ,i was one of the little women whom men seem to fancy4 ,i shall not tell you any more of this conversation1 and my friend will excuse this much1 as a text for my little sermon4 ,only she and ,i will know to whom this refers4 ,i wonder if it is improper to speak plainly about what so many are thinking of4 ,i will venture a little4 ,now don't take on airs and turn up your noses4 ,my hair is of a color which might introduce me to you in the character of father4 ,i shall speak very plainly4 ,it cannot compromise anybody1 for1 as ,i told you1 this is all private and confidential4 ,,you ,,want ,,husbands4 ,now don't deny it2 it sounds silly in you4 ,it is1 all of a piece with the earnest declaration of the mother who is managing her daughters through ,saratoga1 ,newport1 and an endless round of parties1 but who constantly declares1 in the most earnest way1 that she has no more girls than she wants1 that she could not consent to part with a single one of them1 and who1 at length1 when pressed to part with dear ,arabella1 gives a reluctant and painful assent1 and who may be seen on the wedding day penetrated with inconsolable grief at parting with that dear child4 ,girls1 don't join in this farce2 it is too thin4 ,you want husbands4 ,you think of them by day1 and dream of them by night4 ,you talk of nothing else4 ,think on1 and dream on2 even if you never get them1 it will make you better and nobler to think about them4 ,on our side of the house we are all thinking and dreaming of you1 and1 although we may never marry1 our hearts will be the warmer and purer for having been occupied with thoughts of you4 ,,why ,,men ,,do ,,not ,,propose4 ,in entering upon this most important and delightful relation1 we men are expected to take the overt initiative4 ,you are perplexed and grieved that so many of us hold back1 and wander about1 homeless bachelors all our lives1 leaving you to die old maids4 ,let me whisper in your ear4 ,we are afraid of you6 ,as ,i am out of the matrimonial market1 ,i will let my friend ,robert1 who is in said market1 explain4 ,robert is a splendid fellow1 and dying to have a home of his own4 ,he declared in my parlor the other evening1 that he would prefer ten years of happy married life to fifty years of this nothing and nowhere4 ,my wife said1 ,well1 ,robert1 if you cannot find a wife1 you had better give a commission to somebody who can4 ,with a flushed face2 he replied3-- ,now see here1 ,mrs4 ,lewis1 ,i am a banker2 my salary is two thousand dollars4 ,i cannot marry a scrub4 ,i must marry a wife with manners1 one who knows what's what4 ,my mother and sisters1 to say nothing of myself1 would break their hearts if my choice were below their idea4 ,just tell me how1 with such a wife1 ,i could pull through on two thousand a year8 ,why1 her dress alone would cost half of it4 ,board for the two would cost at least fifty dollars a week1 and even with that1 you know1 we should not get first-class board4 ,and then there are the extras1--the little trips1 the lectures1 the concerts1 the operas1 etc42 one cannot live in society without a little of such things4 ,oh no1 unless ,i first make up my mind to rob the bank1 ,i cannot think of matrimony4 ,if ,i had five thousand a year ,i would venture2 but with two thousand1--well1 ,i am not quite a madman1 and so ,i stay where ,i can pay my debts4 ,my lady friends think ,i am so much in love with the--,club that ,i have no time for them4 ,one of them said to me the other day1 when we were discussing this matter1-- ',why1 what you spend in that miserable club1 would support a wife1 easy4' ',it wouldn't pay for her bonnets1' ,i replied4 ,now ladies1 ,robert is getting extravagant1 so we will let him retire1 and ,i will go on with my little sermon4 ,i do not often preach1 but in this case1 nothing but a sermon will do4 ,,beauty ,,of ,,woman',s ,,body4 ,firstly1 you are perfect idiots to go on in this way4 ,your bodies are the most beautiful of ,god's creation4 ,in the continental galleries ,i constantly saw groups of people1 gathered about the pictures of women4 ,it was not passion2 the gazers were quite as likely to be women1 as men4 ,it was the wondrous beauty of woman's body4 ,now stand with me at my office window1 and see a lady pass4 ,there goes one6 ,now isn't that a pretty looking object8 ,a big hump1 three big humps1 a wilderness of crimps and frills1 a hauling up of the dress here and there1 an enormous hideous mass of false hair or bark piled on the top of her head1 and on the very top of that1 a little nondescript thing1 ornamented with bits of lace1 birds' tails1 etc42 while the shop windows tell us all day long1 of the paddings1 whalebones1 and springs1 which occupy most of the space within that outside rig4 ,in the name of all the simple1 sweet sentiments which cluster about a home1 ,i would ask1 how is a man to fall in love with such a compound1 doubled and twisted1 starched1 comical1 artificial1 touch- me-not1 wiggling curiosity8 ,,this ,,dress ,,checks ,,your ,,movements4 ,secondly1 with that wasp waist1 your lungs1 stomach1 liver1 and other organs squeezed down out of their place1 and into one half their natural size1 and with that long trail dragging on the ground1 how can any man of sense1 who knows that life is made up of use1 of service1 of work2 how can he take such partner8 ,he must be desperate to unite himself for life with such a deformed1 fettered1 half breathing ornament4 ,if ,i were in the matrimonial market1 ,i might marry a woman that had but one arm1 or one eye1 or no eyes at all1 if she suited me otherwise2 but so long as ,god permitted me to retain my senses1 ,i could never join my fortunes with those of a woman with a small waist4 ,a small waist6 ,i am a physiologist1 and know what a small waist means4 ,it means the organs of the abdomen jammed down into the pelvis2 it means the organs of the chest stuffed up into the throat2 it means a weak back2 it means a delicate1 nervous invalid2 it means a suffering patient1 and not a vigorous helpmate4 ,thousands of men dare not venture1 because they wisely fear that1 instead of a helpmate1 they will get an invalid to take care of4 ,besides1 this bad health in you1 just as in men1 made the mind1 as well as the body1 faddled and effeminate4 ,you have no power1 no magnetism4 ,i know you giggle freely1 and use big words1 such as splendid1 awful1 etc42 but then1 this does not deceive us2 we see through all that sort of thing4 ,the fact is1 you are superficial1 affected1 silly4 ,you have none of that womanly strength and warmth which are so assuring and attractive to men4 ,why you have actually become so childish1 that you refuse to wear decent names even1 and insist upon little baby names4 ,instead of ,helen1 ,margaret and ,elizabeth you affect ,nellie1 ,maggie and ,lizzie4 ,when your brothers were babies1 you called them ,bobbie1 ,dickie and ,johnnie2 but when they grow up to manhood1 no more of that silly trash1 if you please4 ,i know a woman1 twenty-five years old1 and as big as both my grandmothers put together1 who insists upon being called ,kittie1 and her real name is ,catherine2 her brain is big enough to conduct affairs of ,state1 she does nothing but giggle1 cover up her face with her fan1 and exclaim1 ,don't now1 you are real mean4 ,how can a sensible man propose a life partnership to such a silly goose8 ,my dear girls1 if you would get husbands1 and sensible ones1 dress in plain1 neat1 becoming garments1 and talk like sensible1 earnest sisters4 ,you say you don't care1 you won't dress to please men1 etc4 ,then1 as ,i said in opening this sermon1 ,i am not speaking to you4 ,i am speaking to such girls as want husbands1 and would like to know how to get them4 ,you say that the most sensible men are crazy after these butterflies of fashion4 ,i beg your pardon1 it is not so4 ,occasionally1 even a brilliant man may marry a silly1 weak woman4 ,but to say1 as ,i have heard women say a hundred times1 that the most sensible men marry women without sense1 is simply absurd4 ,nineteen times in twenty sensible men choose sensible women4 ,i grant you that in company men are very likely to gabble and toy with these over-dressed and forward creatures2 but as to going to the altar with them1 they beg to be excused4 ,thirdly1 among the men in the matrimonial market1 only a very small number are rich2 and in ,america very rarely make good husbands4 ,but the number of those who are beginning in life1 who are filled with a noble ambition1 who have a future1 is very large4 ,these are worth having4 ,but such will not1 they dare not1 ask you to join them1 while they see you so idle1 silly1 and so gorgeously attired4 ,let them see that you are industrious1 economical1 with habits that secure health and strength1 that your life is earnest and real1 that you are willing to begin at the beginning in life with the man you would consent to marry1 then marriage will become the rule1 and not as now1 among certain classes1 the exception4 ,ah1 if ever the time shall come1 when young women have occupations1 and can sustain a healthy1 dignified attitude toward men1--if ever the time shall come when women are not such pitiful dependents1 then marriage will become universal1 and we shall all be happier1 better1 nobler4 ,i hear some plucky1 spirited young woman exclaiming3-- ,this is all very well4 ,no doubt your sermon1 as you call it1 contains a good deal of truth2 but how about these young men who spend their time drinking1 smoking1 loafing about club-houses1 and running after strange women8 ,i suppose you think they are perfect angels4 ,my dear friend1 have ,i said anything in this sermon1 or do ,i say anything in this book1 which leads you to suppose that ,i think men better than women8 ,it is because ,i believe that1 in the constitution of the race1 you are the fountain-head of social1 moral and religious influence1 that ,i come directly to you4 ,my mother taught me1 long ago1 the great moral superiority of woman4 ,she taught me that most of the good and pure in this world comes from woman4 ,so far from thinking that man is an angel1 and woman a nothing1 and a bad nothing1 the strongest article in my religious creed is1 that when woman has been redeemed from the shilly-shally1 lace1 ribbon1 and feather life1 into which she has so unhappily drifted1--when woman shall be restored to herself1 she will be strong enough in soul to take us men in her arms1 and carry us to heaven4 ,i beg you will not suppose that1 in my criticisms upon woman1 ,i am prompted by the belief that she needs special exhortation on her own account4 ,i appeal to her on account of us all1 believing that the most direct and effective way to redeem the race1 is to induce woman to lay aside every weight and the special sins that so beset her1 and to run the race with the highest womanly heroism4 ,,piano ,,music4 ,nothing so constantly troubled and pained me during the progress of the school at ,lexington1 as the strange passion for the piano4 ,of the one hundred and forty girls present during the third year1 ,i cannot recall more than three or four who possessed any decided musical capacity1 while nearly a hundred studied music4 ,fifteen pianos were going constantly4 ,take any one of sixty or seventy who were studying music1 simply because it was fashionable1 and consider the waste4 ,one hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars a year for instruction1 with two to five hours' exhaustive daily practice4 ,i cannot bear to think that this foolish waste1 and worse than waste1 was going on for years1 in an institution under my management4 ,but there are influences at work stronger than the will of the teachers4 ,those influences come from established prejudices4 ,although the money and time given to the piano1 among a large proportion of the girls in our school1 was worse than wasted1 ,i soon found that three out of four of them would refuse to enter the school1 or remain in it1 if they were urged not to study music4 ,after a young woman has studied music for five years1 and has twisted her spine all out of shape in practicing upon the piano1 she marries1 plays a little on the splendid ,grand which ,dear ,aunt gives her as a wedding present1 and then drops it forever4 ,if there is decided talent1 she may continue2 but ,i speak of the results as ,i have seen them4 ,,importance ,,of ,,vocal ,,music4 ,if the voice be cultivated1 and the piano used as an accompaniment1 the music in a girl's education would prove ten-fold more valuable4 ,indeed1 vocal music might prove1 with many girls1 the most valuable part of education4 ,it is more likely to be continued1 because of the greater pleasure it affords2 while social singing serves more than any other influence to bind the inmates of a home together4 ,as a source of general health1 it stands unrivalled4 ,in this country of consumptives1 it is especially valuable in fortifying the pulmonary apparatus4 ,let us1 by every means1 foster social singing4 ,its influence is1 in many ways1 most precious4 ,how interesting the group of sisters and brothers gathered about the piano1 and how blessed the home where the evening is welcomed by family song4 ,contrast this with the average mechanical execution of classical music1 by one of the girls1 or with the fashionable operatic singing by one of them4 ,and just here ,i wish to speak of a fashion which should be deprecated4 ,it is another piece of that growing vice1 which would remove music from the social sphere1 and make it1 like some peculiarity of dress1 a mere show4 ,suppose we have singing4 ,instead of four persons performing the several parts of some rich melody1 ,miss ,arabella is invited to give us that exquisite ,aria1 and we all sit by1 and wonder at her execution4 ,the great service of music is one of the heart1 and not of the head4 ,there are departments of music1 there are possibilities in this divinest of the arts1 which appeal to the subtlest appreciations of the intellect1 and the most exalted conceptions of the imagination2 but still it is true that the greatest service which music renders to man is in the social sphere1 is one of the heart ,when our voices blend1 our hearts will not long be kept asunder4 ,the whole tendency of the times is to deprive music of this1 its most precious influence4 ,indeed1 so far has this gone1 that even that natural and most happy of all the harmonies of music1--that between the male and female voice1 is well-nigh lost4 ,it is rare in what is called the better class of music to hear them together4 ,a woman executes for awhile1 then a man executes1 then the woman executes again1 then the man executes a little1 so they execute by turns4 ,the great heart-service of music is subordinated to imagination and vanity4 ,,bad ,,manners ,,of ,,piano ,,players4 ,it is a mistake to suppose that1 even as an accomplishment1 piano playing is so very highly prized4 ,i dropped in to spend an hour with an intelligent friend4 ,i was particularly interested in the ,franco-,prussian war1 and1 as he had lived much1 both in ,paris and ,berlin1 ,i hoped to learn about some things not discussed in the newspapers4 ,his youngest daughter1 a beautiful girl1 had just arrived1 fresh from the glories of the closing exercises of a seminary4 ,we were in the midst of our discussions1 and he was repeating some conversations with ,bismark1 in which ,i was intensely interested1 when the fond1 proud mother said3-- ,now1 if you will listen1 ,gertie will play the piece which she played last ,thursday evening at ,madame--'s4 ,gertie began1 alas1 and she kept on1 and on1 and on4 ,there were four of us gentlemen1 three were callers1 one the editor of a city paper4 ,we were all eager to listen to our host1 of ,bismark and ,napoleon4 ,that unhappy child kept at it4 ,we sat there with a hypocritical smile on our faces but1 internally1 as mad as we could be4 ,when at length1 the sixteen pages had been finished1 and the girl turned around for the prescribed adulation1 all but one of us exclaimed1 wonderful1 exquisite1 delightful6 and the editor1 7who1 when coming down in the car an hour later1 emphasized his disgust with an awful big word17 declared he had never heard anything so wonderful1 and added1 that she really ought to go abroad to study with the great masters4 ,the lying executed by some of us was perfect4 ,i have forgotten whether this kind of falsehood is mentioned in the works upon white lying1 but if ,i ever write upon white lies1 ,i shall give this kind a prominent place4 ,girls1 if you ever obtrude an average piano performance upon a company of intelligent people1 engaged in conversation1 nine in ten of them will secretly regard you as a nuisance1 no matter how much they exclaim exquisite1 delicious1 wonderful6 ,of course your parents will be gratified with your performance2 mamma will be pleased and proud with the show-off1 and papa will smile4 ,how else could he do1 after paying #b1jjj piano bills8 ,it is a pretty picture to their eyes--the loved one seated at a splendid1 great instrument1 executing one of the grandest compositions of one of the immortal masters4 ,and1 although you are not inspired with the passion of the heaven-born composer1 and your performance is a mechanical1 soulless hum-drum1 that matters not to your father and mother1 their loving imaginations will supply all that is needed to make the picture complete4 ,but the rest of us will heartily wish that you had not interrupted our conversation4 ,it is an amazing blindness on the part of parents4 ,it always astonishes me that they don't see the impertinence of the thing4 ,they certainly wouldn't think of asking the company to cease their conversation to hear you speak your piece1 or perform a dance4 ,the piano alone is licensed to say to everybody1 cease your conversation1 and listen to me2 ,i am about to make a big noise6 ,but the fashion has never imposed upon people of sense and real politeness4 ,when the piano has started up without even a notice1 ,i have seen such people flush with indignation4 ,,vices ,,in ,,modern ,,music4 ,it may be mentioned as illustrating still further1 the false tendencies in music1 that it takes a brave man to ask for a sweet1 simple song4 ,i tried it the other night4 ,i asked a ,flora ,mc,flimsey to give us ,way down upon the ,swanee ,river4 ,the words1 it will be remembered1 are singularly pure1 sweet and pathetic4 ,many of the ,italian songs just now so fashionable1 are couched in language1 listened to by pure-minded people1 only because they don't understand it4 ,when ,i said1 ,please sing ',way down upon the ,swanee ,river1' ,miss ,mc,flimsey replied1 ,excuse me1 ,i never sing that class of music4 ,i haven't sung one of those simple airs1 ,i don't know when4 ,i know1 by the way the girls looked at me1 that their respect for my musical taste vanished at once and forever4 ,if ,i had asked her for ,ah1 que j'aime les militaire1 or ,une ,paule sur la mur1 insufferable trash1 both as to music and words1 utterly beneath contempt1 she would have eagerly screamed the bald bosh1 and the weak ones would have declared it ineffably exquisite499 ,,italian ,,opera4 ,if you understand ,italian1 ,i need not explain2 and if you do not1 purchase a libretto1 with ,english translation1 of almost any of the operas1 and read4 ,among those most popular on the ,american stage1 ,i cannot recall more than two1 that ,i should be willing to have my daughter read4 ,but the music pupil must study every word1 often every syllable of a word4 ,the lascivious suggestion1 the sly innuendo1 the bold challenge1-- they are all exhausted in the language of the opera4 ,one of the charms of much of this class of music is similar to that of a new dance introduced into this country last winter2 and it came1 too1 from the land of ,italian opera4 ,of this dance ,i will only say that ,i overheard a buxom lass telling her lady friends that the new dance was perfectly glorious2 but1 said she1 it's of no use to put flowers or bows in your bosom1 for they get pressed flat enough1 long before the first dance is over4 ,is it not a simple fact that operatic songs are popular just in proportion as they are indelicate8 ,i have asked this question of more than a score of devotees of the opera4 ,half of them1 perhaps1 have said yes1 the other half have said that the finest music happened to be associated with naughty words4 ,read the words of ,un mari sage without the music4 ,where1 outside of a brothel1 could there be found a company of girls1 who1 with men present1 would keep their faces uncovered1 and listen4 ,i wish you would go to the opera with me2 ,i will show you something which will impress you more deeply than any words ,i can write4 ,here we are1 so placed1 that we can look into the faces of a part of the audience4 ,let us select a couple1 and1 with our glasses1 watch them4 ,there is a beautiful black-eyed girl1--the one with that fat1 red- faced gentleman4 ,she is about sixteen1 and he about thirty4 ,i know him4 ,he is a regular roue1 although he has the entree of many of our best homes4 ,his companion seems a modest1 sweet girl4 ,the opera is ,faust1 one of the most unclean of the whole unclean batch4 ,they are both using one and the same libretto1 with an ,english translation4 ,this gives him an opportunity to put his arm behind her1 but of course he is careful not to touch her shoulder4 ,but we shall see1 when we come to certain parts of the opera4 ,now look at them4 ,see the red spots on her cheeks2 they tell us of struggling modesty and innocence4 ,the story proceeds2 the lascivious gestures1 the lecherous gaze of the men and half-naked women on the stage1 are beginning to tell upon the whole audience4 ,see our girl4 ,that arm is pressing her against his side1 and her eyes are busy with the words1 as if she were completely absorbed4 ,when she returns to her home to-night1 her mind will be filled with thoughts1 of which she will not speak to her mother4 ,god alone knows the number of pure souls that have been ruined by the insidious poison of the opera4 ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,french4 ,all ,american girls of the rich class1 and a very large number of the poor class1 study ,french4 ,the reasons given for this immense investment in time and money1 are3-- #ast4 ,that ,french words and sentences are common in our literature4 #bnd4 ,that educated people must speak ,french2 for it is the language of polite society everywhere4 #crd4 ,without a knowledge of ,french1 you must forego the science and literature locked up in that language4 #dth4 ,the study of the ,french language involves a peculiar mental discipline of great value4 ,i am quite ready to admit that a knowledge of ,french is not only convenient1 but indispensable to a liberal education4 ,but1 nevertheless1 nineteen in every twenty girls1 who study ,french1 simply waste their time and money4 ,it is not even intended1 when they enter upon it1 that they shall do anything beyond a little grammar1 and one or two readers4 ,it is not expected that they will speak the language1 beyond the class conversations4 ,so whatever may be justly said of the value of ,french1 in view of the considerations ,i have named1 its value1 as managed in our schools1 cannot be seriously discussed4 ,as to the words and sentences which occur so frequently in our books and papers1 it would be easy for any one to learn the meaning of all such as have been domesticated1 in a few hours4 ,as to ,french being the language of polite society everywhere2 in the first place1 it isn't true2 and1 in the second place1 if it were true1 the fact would hardly be pertinent in this discussion4 ,i think this will be fully appreciated1 when ,i state that1 during my own residence in ,paris1 ,i did not hear of more than two or three ,american girls who could be said to really enjoy a social existence among the ,french-speaking population4 ,and yet1 the ,american girls residing in ,paris had1 generally1 ,i presume1 made special preparations in the language4 ,as to the science and literature locked up in the ,french language1 ,i can only say1 that those of us who know how much science and literature our girls get through their knowledge of ,french1 smile1 when we hear this claim mentioned4 ,as to the peculiar mental discipline involved in the study of the ,french tongue1 it is very easy to put forward this claim1 but difficult to defend it4 ,that the study of this language is valuable1 as a mental discipline1 ,i believe2 but that it is peculiar1 or if peculiar1 particularly valuable1 ,i do not believe4 ,i have no doubt that nine-tenths of the money and precious time given to the study of ,french1 in our ladies' seminaries1 is1 in great part1 wasted4 ,french is studied1 in most cases1 for the same reason that the piano is1--it is fashionable4 ,a gentleman without education outside of his store1 takes his daughter to a school1 when about the following conversation might be heard3-- ,i wish to place my daughter in your school4 ,what studies would you have her pursue8 ,well1 she has finished the ,english studies1 and ,i reckon she had better take up music1 ,french and ,italian4 ,why do you select these studies8 ,well1 my daughter thinks she would like to finish off with these4 ,does she know anything of these languages8 ,no1 ,i believe not4 ,how much longer do you intend to keep her in school8 ,only this year4 ,i can't afford to send her more than one year longer4 ,at this stage of the conversation the daughter is brought in2 and the teacher sees a pale1 round-shouldered1 sickly-looking young woman1 and1 upon a little conversation1 finds1 judging from her voice1 manners and intelligence1 that she greatly needs a thorough course of physical and vocal training1 with simple1 rudimentary1 ,english studies4 ,the teacher asks her to go into an adjoining room1 and write him a letter1 giving a brief account of her journey from home4 ,in this note she makes several mistakes in spelling and grammar1 while the chirography is very bad4 ,if the teacher is a true educator1 he advises a course1 which leads the father and daughter to consult a little aside1 after which they leave1 with the promise that they will think of it1 and if he concludes to have her come1 he will drop a line4 ,wouldn't they like to look at some rooms8 ,no1 not just now2 they would think of it1 and drop a line4 ,in passing1 let me say1 that ,i can hardly think of a more trying position1 than that of the ,principal of a private school1 when he is assisting parents to determine upon a course of studies for their daughters4 ,perhaps his institution is financially weak4 ,he must be full1 or stop4 ,he advertises in the papers and sends out circulars4 ,the pupils come in slowly1 and the ,principal is anxious4 ,most of the pupils of private schools are backward in the rudiments4 ,the young ladies1 in a great many cases1 seek private schools1 because they are ashamed to go to the public schools1 where there is no mercy for bad spellers and readers4 ,they know that1 although they are grown women1 and wear silks and gold watches1 if they read badly and don't know the multiplication table1 they will have to stand up with a row of small boys and girls4 ,so it happens that many of the patrons of private schools are singularly backward in the rudiments4 ,the ,principal is dying for the patronage1 and the young ladies are resolved upon ,french and music4 ,when he sits down to talk with them and their parents1 the temptation to acquiesce in their choice of studies is very strong4 ,only in this way is he likely to get them at all2 besides1 the departments of ,french and music are the most profitable4 ,after having been at the head of a large private school for years1 ,i can truly say that ,i heartily sympathize with managers of similar institutions1 exposed to this temptation4 ,believing1 as ,i do1 that the study of languages1 as such1 has been pushed to a most unfortunate1 not to say absurd extent1 and that1 in the case of the particular language under discussion1 the waste has become enormous1 ,i will simply express the hope that soon1 only those who have the time1 capacity and means to really accomplish something1 will undertake the ,french language2 and that the millions in our country who now waste months and much money in the little smattering1 will turn their attention into other very important and greatly neglected departments of education4 ,perhaps ,i should add1 that what ,i have said of the ,french1 as generally pursued in our schools1 is applicable to the ,german1 ,spanish and ,italian languages4 ,,disciplinary ,,value ,,of ,,french4 ,but we are told that many studies are pursued in all schools1 which have no direct practical use2 that they are introduced for their disciplinary value1 and that ,french is one of them4 ,twenty years ago this statement would have ended the argument2 but now the best educators1 on both continents1 have something more to say4 ,a small proportion of the people have the means1 leisure and wish to devote their lives to self-culture4 ,these may embrace the broadest curriculum4 ,but the million cannot give themselves up to such indulgences4 ,we must make our school education a means4 ,let me illustrate4 ,learning to spell the words of our language is a valuable discipline2 besides1 it has a direct1 practical value4 ,for the disciplinary service1 the ,russian language might be added1 with great profit4 ,but ,i should advise the million to forego the intellectual drill involved in the study of ,russian orthography1 and1 in this department1 to confine themselves to ,english words4 ,i should do this1-- #ast4 ,because of the direct1 important practical use2 and1-- #bnd4 ,because1 in the case of the million1 all the time which can be afforded for orthographic studies1 with reference to mental discipline1 may be very profitably devoted to our own language4 ,,comparative ,,value ,,of ,,english ,,and ,,french4 ,our language is as superior to the ,french1 as is our civilization4 ,the language of a people keeps pace with its mental and soul growth4 ,it would require more than a ,lamartine to express our ideas of home1 and of civil and religious liberty with the ,french tongue4 ,,english ,,classics4 ,for us1 for our times1 the ,english classics are infinitely above the classics of any other language--of all other languages4 ,our classics are laden with the richest1 ripest1 christian thought and sentiment4 ,they are indissolubly interwoven with all the great intellectual and spiritual forces1 which1 at this hour1 are marching on conquering and to conquer4 ,how utterly inexplicable that ,american educators should conduct their pupils away from the vast1 rich storehouses of the ,english classics1 radiant all over as the diadem of a queen1 to wander amid the lingual mysteries of the classics1 of undeveloped1 and even pagan peoples4 ,,latin ,,and ,,greek4 ,with regard to the legitimate place of these languages in ,american education1 ,i can only refer my readers to the numerous and able papers and books which have recently appeared in ,great ,britain and ,america4 ,of these1 ,grimke's is one of the most philosophical and convincing4 ,a great number of educators and thinkers have reached the conclusion that the present prominence of the ancient classics in our system1 is not only a barbarism transmitted from the dark ages1 but that1 unlike most anachronisms which generally surprise and amuse us1 this emasculates and paralyzes us4 ,this carries us from the real1 living present1 way back into the dark past4 ,in the pursuit of the ancient classics we immure ourselves in a cloister1 we shut out things1 facts1 society1 nature1 and ponder over the fancies and philosophies of peoples who treated woman as a slave1 and who never enjoyed the first glimmering of the true social or religious light4 ,i speak feelingly on this subject4 ,when a young man1 ,i spent several years almost exclusively upon ,latin and ,greek2 first as a student1 and then as a teacher4 ,one of my sincere regrets in life is1 that ,i prepared about fifty young men for college4 ,but for a painful and rapidly deepening conviction1 that the profession of a teacher1 which ,i had embraced with all my heart1 would1 in the higher departments1 bring me into constant collision with my idea of use as the aim and purpose of a manly life1--but for this1 ,i should never have turned to the profession of medicine4 ,gladly would ,i exchange all that the classics gave me1 for a familiarity with any one of several natural sciences1 which ,i had but little time to examine during my school days4 ,the colleges and universities are rapidly emerging from this darkness of the past4 ,,dancing4 ,during the years of our school in ,lexington1 we danced from two to four evenings a week4 ,beginning about half past seven o'clock1 we danced till half past eight1 which was always our bed-time4 ,in our school family there were several gentlemen1 among them the revered ,theodore ,weld1--our most inveterate dancer4 ,the round dances were not admitted1 for the following reasons3-- #ast4 ,the rotary motion is injurious to the brain and spinal marrow4 #bnd4 ,the peculiar contact between the man and the woman1 may suggest impure thoughts4 ,i have many times asked young men what they thought of it1 and after saying it was jolly1 that they liked it first-rate1 they have generally1 when urged to tell me seriously their convictions1 confessed that1 knowing how men feel and sometimes talk about it1 if they were women1 they should not indulge4 ,i never talked with one father or mother who was not gratified with my rule against round dances1 while a number of them wrote me the warmest commendation4 ,i wish ,i was at liberty to publish a letter on this subject1 which ,i received from a well-known lady1--giving the letter entire1 with the writer's name4 ,i have requested her to allow me to publish it2 but she says the sneers at ,puritanism are too much for her4 ,i ask my reader1 if a mother1 whether1 if her daughter were away from home1 and attending dancing parties1 dancing now with ,lieut4 ,s41 and then with ,capt4 ,w42 in brief1 with such gentlemen as the managers choose to introduce to her2 whether she would like to know that her daughter was being hugged up1 and whisked about in the ,german8 ,very few mothers would answer yes1 to this question4 ,the square dances are certainly very beautiful1 graceful1 chaste1 and healthful4 ,besides1 in a large and interesting way they are social4 ,a large company may join in these dances4 ,the round dance is another illustration of the tendency toward individual display1 so strikingly exhibited in the department of music4 ,how constantly we see at dancing parties a single young lady and gentleman start out alone for a dizzy whirl about the hall4 ,i will not comment upon the wild whirligig of her skirts1 for ,i don't think a girl need be ashamed to show her legs4 ,i only say that her contact with her partner is not a modest one4 ,let a couple stand1 in the presence of a company1 with their arms about each other1 and their persons in contact as for the ,german1 let them stand1 thus intertwined1 and what should we think8 ,the dance is made the excuse for what1 without it1 would be a gross indelicacy4 ,it is as with much of the opera1 in which the fine music is made the apology for words that could not be spoken without it4 ,,the ,,theatre4 ,girls1 ,i advise you not to go to the theatre4 ,i know how much can be said in its favor4 ,i know that1 at one time in the history of the world1 it really served the cause of morality and religion4 ,but how can we study ,shakspeare so advantageously as in the impersonations of the stage8 ,i confess ,i do not know where the great master can be studied so advantageously as in the best impersonations of the stage1 but1 nevertheless1 ,i strongly advise that you should stay away from the theatre4 ,my first objection to the theatre is1 that it is never well ventilated4 ,you must breathe1 three or four hours1 a vitiated atmosphere1 which unfits you for the best physical and mental labor during the whole of the next day1 perhaps even longer4 ,my second objection1 likewise physiological1 is1 that it keeps you up till midnight4 ,my third objection is that which we all make to the yellow-covered literature4 ,while there may be a good thing here and there1 the general tone is morbid1 not to say impure4 ,the managers are opening their theatres once or twice a week for a matinee1 and1 knowing that women and children are likely to constitute a large part of the audience1 they present the most decent representations4 ,i advise that1 if you attend the theatre at all1 you should attend the matinees4 ,,sympathy ,,between ,,the ,,stomach ,,and ,,the ,,soul4 ,conceding the extremest views cherished by the ,christian believer1 in regard to the influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 in the redemption of man's soul1 we cannot shut our eyes to the intimate sympathy between the stomach and the moral nature4 ,the moral sentiments and sympathies are bewildered and lost when the intellect is deranged4 ,no matter though the coronal portion of the brain is grandly developed1 if the intellect be insane1 or if the digestive function be insane1 pure and noble moral impulses are no longer possible4 ,man is one1--body1 mind and heart4 ,these are not three distinct individual partners in a firm1 but they are interlinked and interwoven so completely that they are one and not three4 ,my highest conceptions of the ,trinitarian idea find illustration in this trinity in man4 ,the great function of digestion--assimilation--underlies1 as a foundation1 the intellectual superstructure1 while high above all1 rising into the very heavens1 the moral nature lifts up its sublime heights4 ,,bowels ,,of ,,compassion4 ,when a phrenologist is examining a man's head1 and wishes to know about his heart1 he feels of the stomach4 ,there's where the heart lies4 ,the sacred writer understood it1 when he spoke of the bowels of compassion4 ,a man utters wiser than he knows1 often1 when1 in a crowd surrounding some object appealing to the heart1 he cries out1-- ,gentlemen1 have you no bowels8 ,the dear ,christ suggests the intimate relations between the soul and the stomach1 when1 before appealing to the hearts of the multitude1 he filled their stomachs with good food4 ,in the ,bible there are scores of expressions and phrases which point to the stomach as the seat of the sympathies4 ,all the bright ones1 with subscription papers in their hands1 wait till after dinner4 ,if they catch a man with a perfectly satisfied stomach1 they are likely to get a good round sum1 even for the ,hottentot-red- flannel-shirt-fund4 ,the fact that the bumps of the heart are in the upper part of the brain1 matters little1 if the condition of the digestive apparatus controls their action4 ,when ,i remark that the heart is located in the stomach1 it will1 of course1 be understood in a practical1 rather than in an anatomical sense4 ,the condition of the stomach determines the action of the emotions to an extent which cannot be predicated of the intellectual faculties4 ,when one is dyspeptic1 he may multiply and divide2 he may not disgrace himself even in the role of a logician2 but if you appeal to his sympathies1--to any of his emotions1--you will wake up a pig1 a porcupine1 or1 possibly1 a tiger4 ,leaving out the ,bible intimations and statements1 and the illustrations which abound in ,english and ,german biography1 no observing person will fail to recall numerous illustrations in his own experience4 ,,the ,,waists ,,of ,,jolly ,,grandmothers4 ,what sort of a waist has the grandmother who comes in from the country to take care of you through a typhoid fever8 ,when nine o'clock comes1 she drives the young ladies off to bed4 ,she may not speak it out1 but she thinks1 trash6 trash6 ,oh1 do get out of my way1 and lie down carefully on a soft couch1 where you can rest1 or ,i shall soon have you too on my hands4 ,has she one of these wasp-waists8 ,no indeed2 hers is a jolly one6 ,who ever saw a happy1 helpful grandmother with an hour-glass waist8 ,is a grandmother full of tickle8 ,can she join with the young people in laughter and sports8 ,can she8 ,then ,i know1 without seeing her1 the style of her form4 ,you see all the tickle comes from that part of the body4 ,the conditions of the organs within that part of the body known as the waist1 decide whether you shall be happy or unhappy2 jolly or blue4 ,one condition1 and the most important one1 is that those vital organs shall have room to work in4 ,if you squeeze them1 you squeeze and strangle all the jolly in you4 ,tie a cord about a child's arms and legs1 and then say1 ,now1 my dear1 you may run and play4 ,ah1 ,i used to know a grandmother1 and1 although she has been among the angels thirty years or more1 ,i can't think of her even now1 without a sigh of regret that she could not have lived forever in this world1 she was such a joy to us all4 ,she is happier in heaven1 ,i suppose1 but ,i don't see how she could be happier anywhere1 than she used to be here4 ,when her loving1 laughing face appeared at the door1 how we small chaps did tickle and squirm all over4 ,but ,i must stop writing of her1 or ,i shall have to lay down my pen4 ,never have ,i seen a girl of eighteen who was half so lovely4 ,but let me think2 why did ,i bring forward this treasure of my heart8 ,oh1 ,i remember2 it was to speak of her waist4 ,how we used to laugh at her shape4 ,we insisted that she was bigger around the waist than anywhere else4 ,well1 perhaps so1 boys1 but there is where all my jolly comes from4 ,look at your little slender things1 they aint jolly2 they can't laugh2 they only give little giggles4 ,ah1 the dear1 beautiful1 blessed soul6 ,what a jolly angel she must make4 ,oh1 ,i do hope1 if ,i ever reach there1 ,i may be a little angel1 so that she can take me into her arms1 and press me into her warm1 loving bosom just as she used to4 ,when ,i hear her laugh ,i am sure ,i shall feel at home1 no matter how grand and dazzling the great ,white ,throne may be4 ,,about ,,the ,,treatment ,,of ,,diseases4 ,dear girls1 bye and bye you will be wives and mothers1 and will have occasion to consider the treatment of various diseases4 ,not that diseases are inevitable1 but we must consider things as they are1 and not as they might be4 ,the mother1 if she be wise1 has the selection of the doctor1 and the management of the sick ones4 ,this supervision of the health of the household falls so naturally into the hands of women1 the nursing and other duties incidental to sickness1 are so universally hers1 that even among peoples and tribes where women are but slaves1 their authority in all that concerns the management of the sick is unquestioned4 ,en passant it may be remarked that nothing but the blind1 stupid prejudice of men would oppose the introduction of women to the medical profession4 ,it is a profession which belongs to them4 ,nature herself has decreed it1 and when the hard1 selfish1 overbearing tyranny of men shall permit things to take their natural course1 we shall have very few men in the medical profession4 ,but my object in this chapter is to speak of a fundamental misapprehension underlying the profession of medicine4 ,this misapprehension is1 that diseases are local4 ,let me give an illustration or two4 ,a doctor attempts a case of catarrh4 ,he opens the nostril with his speculum1 turns in a strong light1 takes a long1 careful look1 then examines1 perhaps with a microscope1 some of the fluid which the patient blows out of his nose1 and then the doctor says1 ,ahem6 ahem6 this is a case of sick nose4 ,it is a case of nasal catarrh4 ,the pituitary membrane is congested1 and is secreting a morbid mucus4 ,ahem6 you really should have called upon me before4 ,then the doctor proceeds to inject various stimulating caustic fluids into the nostrils4 ,he gives a snuff4 ,he introduces a crooked tube into the man's mouth1 and turns the end up back of his palate1 and1 getting into the back opening of the nostrils1 he blows in certain medicated powders4 ,the nose is better at once1 the treatment is continued1 the patient is soon cured2 with the first cold or stomach derangement the symptoms return1 the second cure is more difficult1 the third is very difficult1 and then the patient goes to another doctor1 who tells him he is very sorry that he has been so quacked1 but he will make a sure cure this time4 ,he goes through with the same performance1 with similar results4 ,the patient now abandons hope1 and goes snuffling about1 to the great discomfort of himself and friends4 ,in just this way a hundred maladies are treated1--an inflamed eye1 a noise in the ear1 a rheumatic knee1 a gouty toe1 a pain in the liver or spine1 a sore throat1 and so on through the whole list4 ,the doctor finds the sick place1 and then proceeds to attack it4 ,the idea that the disease is in a certain part of the system1 and that the artillery must be directed to that precise spot1 is not only common among the doctors1 but is so plausible that the people all adopt it4 ,this is the fundamental misapprehension underlying the disastrous failure in medicine4 ,the catarrh is not of the nose1 but of the man1 showing itself in the nose4 ,the bronchitis is not a disease of the throat1 but of the man1 showing itself in the throat4 ,the sore eye is not a disease of the eye1 but of the man1 showing itself in the eye4 ,a local disease is impossible4 ,the organism is one and not many4 ,even a gun-shot wound is not a local trouble4 ,suppose a man's little finger is shot away4 ,the man is not in the condition of a table with a corner shot off2 he is not even in the condition of a steam engine with a valve or screw destroyed4 ,neither approaches the case of the man with the maimed hand4 ,the table is1 except the small point touched by the bullet1 exactly as before4 ,feel of it4 ,there is no unusual warmth1 no trembling1 no sympathy with the wounded corner4 ,in fact1 the table is quite well1 thank you1 except where it was hit4 ,now examine the man with the hurt finger4 ,look at his face4 ,how pale and excited4 ,feel his pulse4 ,it is #abj instead of #ge4 ,the skin of his toes is in a peculiar condition4 ,what is the matter with this man's toes8 ,they are suffering from a wound in his little finger4 ,while no doctor fails to talk much of the vis medicatrix naturae1 while the condition of the general system is constantly invoked to explain this and that1 the treatment of most local affections is conducted on the plan of repairing the wound in the corner of the table4 ,here comes a man with a limping gait4 ,he shows an ulcer upon his ankle4 ,the disease1 sir1 is not of your ankle1 but of your system4 ,i will direct you how to improve your general health1 so that this ulcer will disappear1 with no other local treatment than cleanliness4 ,you can't be cured by any doctor stuff put upon the sore4 ,this is the flag of distress which nature hangs out to give notice of trouble within4 ,we are at sea and descry a vessel with a flag of distress4 ,our captain believes in the doctrine of local diseases1 and sends a boat's crew to cut down the flag2 whereupon he struts about the deck exclaiming1 ,we've done it6 we've done it6 we have cured them6 ,the doctor who treats the ulcer1 salt rheum1 catarrh1 or any other local manifestation1 as the disease itself1 is about equally bright4 ,but here comes a bad case4 ,how pale and weak he seems4 ,his pulse is #aaj1 he is distressingly emaciated1 and seems ready for the grave4 ,his cough and labored breathing suggest consumption1 and we apply the stethoscope to the chest4 ,ah1 it's all of a piece4 ,his lungs are terribly ulcerated4 ,now1 says some wise doctor1 here it is4 ,we've found his trouble4 ,we must bring our medicines to bear upon these ulcers4 ,yes1 ,doctor1 that's it1 gasps the patient2 just fix me there1 and ,i shall be all right4 ,then the wise doctor proceeds with his inhalations1 and keeps up the pitiful1 suffocating farce1 until the patient1 notwithstanding this most skillful treatment1 sinks and dies4 ,as a matter of fact1 this man's system1 from some inherited taint1 or from some vicious habit1 unhealthy mode of life1 or some other cause1 was sick all through and through for months or years before the malady was localized in his lungs4 ,the ulcers in his lungs1 like his rapid pulse1 emaciation1 and sickening perspiration1 are simply manifestations of the disease4 ,the real disease is systemic1 like all others1 and must be treated like all other diseases1 by lifting up the general vitality4 ,this must be done through sunshine1 fresh air1 exercise1 cleanliness1 much sleep1 cheerful society1 and a wise diet4 ,to give such a patient medicated vapors1 drugs for his stomach1 or whiskey1 is a barbarism1 that must soon give way before the advancing light of our civilization4 ,,sunshine ,,and ,,health4 ,five or six years ago1 when ,our ,young ,folks was first published1 ,messrs4 ,ticknor ,fields asked me to write some articles for that magazine1 about the management of children4 ,one of those articles was the following4 ,it was published in the ,september number of the year #ahfe3-- ,a ,few ,plain ,words to ,my ,little ,pale-,faced ,friends4 ,three years ago ,i visited my dear young friend1 ,susie4 ,although she lives in the country1 in the midst of splendid grounds1 ,i found her with a very pale face1 and blue semi-circles under the eyes4 ,her lips were as white as if she had just risen from a sick-bed2 and yet her mother told me she was as well as usual4 ,susie was seven years old1 and a most wonderful child4 ,i said to her1 ,well1 my little chick1 what makes you so pale8 ,she replied1 ,oh1 ,i was always pale4 ,annie says it is pretty4 ,when we were all sitting around the dinner-table1 ,i introduced the subject again1 for it was very sad to find this beautiful and promising child so fragile4 ,before ,i left1 ,i took little ,susie's hand and we walked into the garden4 ,and now1 said ,i1 my little one1 you must show me your favorite flower4 ,she took me to a beautiful moss-rose1 and exclaimed1 ,oh1 that is the most beautiful flower in the world2 don't you think it lovely1 sir8 ,i said1 ,now1 ,susie1 ,i shall come here again in two weeks4 ,i wish you would dress up that rose-bush in a suit of your own clothes1 and allow the dress to remain till ,i return4 ,she laughed1 and said1 ,why1 how queer6 why do you want me to do that8 ,i replied1 ,never mind1 but run and get the clothes1 and ,i will help you dress it up1 and see if it looks like you4 ,so off she ran with loud shouts to ask mamma for a suit of her clothes4 ,of course1 mamma had to come and ask if ,i was serious1 and what were my reasons4 ,i said1 ,i cannot give you my reasons today1 but ,i assure you they are good ones1 and when ,i come again ,i will explain it all to you4 ,so a specimen of each and every kind of garment that ,susie was in the habit of wearing was brought forward1 and ,susie and ,i spent some time in rigging out the rose-bush4 ,first came the little shirt1 which made it look very funny2 then came the little waist and skirt1 then the frock1 then the apron1 and1 finally1 over all1 a little ,shaker sun-bonnet4 ,when we had reached this point1 ,susie cried out1 ,now1 how can you put on stockings and shoes8 ,i said1 ,we will cut open the stockings and tie them around2 the shoes we cannot use4 ,of course we all laughed1 and ,susie thought ,i was the funniest man in the world4 ,she could hardly wait for me to come again1 to tell her why ,i had done such a funny thing4 ,in two weeks1 according to my promise1 ,i was at my friend's house again4 ,susie had watched her little rose-bush1 or1 rather1 the clothes which covered it1 and longed for my coming4 ,but when we took the bonnet1 gown1 skirt1 shirt and stockings away1 lo and behold1 the beautiful rose-bush had lost its rich green1 the flower had lost its beautiful color1--had become1 like its mistress1 pale and sickly4 ,oh6 she cried1 what made you do so8 why1 you have spoiled my beautiful rose-bush4 ,i said1 ,now1 my dear little one1 you must not blame me1 for ,i did this that you might remember something of great importance to you4 ,you and this rose-bush live out here in the broad1 genial sunshine together4 ,you are pale and sickly2 the rose-bush has been healthy and beautiful4 ,i put your clothes on this rose-bush to show you why you are so white and weak4 ,if we had kept these clothes upon the bush for a month or two1 it would have entirely lost its color and health4 ,but would you have me go naked1 sir8 ,no1 not altogether2 but ,i would have you healthy and happy4 ,and now ,i am going to ask your papa to build out here in the garden a little yard1 with a close fence1 and when the sun shines you must come out into the yard with your nurse1 and take off all your clothes1 and play in the sunshine for half an hour1 or until your skin looks pretty red4 ,after a hearty laugh1 the good papa asked if ,i was serious about it4 ,i told him1 never more so1 and that when ,i should come to them again1 a month hence1 if ,susie had such a baptism in the sunshine four or five times a week1 ,i could promise that the headache and sleeplessness from which she suffered so much would be lessened1 and perhaps removed4 ,the carpenter was set at work1 and in two days the enclosure surrounding a bed of flowers was completed4 ,at eleven o'clock the next morning1 a naked little girl1 with a very white skin1 might have been seen running about within the pen2 papa1 mamma1 and the nurse clapping their hands and shouting4 ,i had been careful to say that her head should be well protected for the first few days with a large damp towel1 then with a little flat hat1 and1 finally1 the head must be exposed like the body4 ,i looked forward with a good deal of interest to my next visit4 ,susie met me with1 ,oh1 ,i am as black as an ,indian4 ,well1 but how is your health8 ,the good mother said1 ,she certainly has greatly improved2 her appetite is better1 and ,i never knew her to sleep so well before4 ,there were four children in the family1 and all of them greatly needed sun-baths4 ,as there were two boys and two girls1 it came to pass soon that another pen was built1 and four naked children received a daily baptism in the blessed sunshine4 ,and these children all improved in health1 as much as that rose-bush did after we removed its funny dress4 ,the good ,lord has so made children that they are as dependent upon the sun for their life and health as plants are4 ,when you try to make a house-plant grow far removed from the window1 where the direct rays of the sun cannot fall upon it1 you know it is small1 pale and sickly2 it will not long survive4 ,if1 in addition to keeping it from the window1 you dress it with the clothes which a child wears1 it will very soon sicken and die4 ,if you keep within doors1 and do not go into the sunshine1 or if1 when you do go out1 you wear a ,shaker bonnet and gloves1 you must1 like the house-plant1 become pale and sickly4 ,our young folks will ask me1 ,what is to be done8 ,are we to go naked8 ,oh no1 not naked1 but it would add greatly to your health and strength1 and your ability to work with both mind and body1 if every part of your body could be exposed to the sunshine a little time every day4 ,and if you are pale and feeble1 the victim of throat1 lung1 nerve1 or other affection1 you must seek a new life in this exposure of your whole body to the sun-bath4 ,but if you go a great deal in the open air1 and expose your face and hands to the direct rays of the sun1 you will probably do very well4 ,just think of it1 your whole body under the clothes1 always in the dark1 like a potato-vine trying to grow in a dark cellar4 ,when you take off your dress and look at your skin1 are you not sometimes almost frightened to see how white and ghastly it seems8 ,how elastic1 tough and cheerful our young folks would become1 could this white1 sickly skin be exposed every day to the sunshine6 ,in no other way could they spend an hour which would contribute so much to their welfare4 ,carry that white1 sickly potato-vine from the cellar out into the blessed sunshine1 and immediately it begins to get color1 health and strength4 ,carry that pale little girl from the dark parlor1 where she is nervous1 irritable and unhappy1 into the sunshine1 and immediately the blood starts anew2 soon the skin takes on a beautiful tinge1 the little one digests better1 her tongue wears a better color1 she sleeps better1 her nerves are quiet1 and many happy changes come4 ,twenty years ago ,i saw a dear1 sweet child1 of two years1 die of croup4 ,more than thirty hours we stood around its bed1 working1 weeping1 praying1 hoping1 despairing2 but about one o'clock in the morning the last painful struggle for breath gave way to the peaceful sleep of death4 ,on the following ,sunday we gathered at the sad home to attend the funeral4 ,the little coffin was brought out under a shade-tree1 and placed upon a chair1 just under the window of the bedroom where the little one had always slept1 and there the heart-broken mother and father1 with many neighbors1 and the kind-hearted minister1 all wept together4 ,and then we all walked to the graveyard1 only a little distance away1 and buried the little one in the cold ground4 ,on the very evening of that day1 the brother of ,charlie1 who was about two years older1 was taken with the same disease4 ,i was called in to see him4 ,oh1 how pitiful1 how very touching1 were the moanings and groanings of that mother6 ,when the sun rose the next morning1 the sufferer was better2 as night came on he was much worse again1 but on the following day was able to ride out4 ,within a few days ,i sought an opportunity to speak with the parents about the management of their little son4 ,it was painful to tell them that ,i thought they might have prevented the death of ,charlie4 ,but ,i said what ,i thought was true1 and then advised a new policy in the case of the remaining child4 ,i said to them1 ,your son who has been taken from you1 was carefully screened from the sunshine4 ,when he rode out in the baby-wagon1 it was always under cover4 ,and he slept always in that bedroom1 into which the direct rays of the sun never come2 that great tree makes it impossible4 ,a child cannot live where a plant will not grow2 and if you doubt what ,i am telling you1 try a pot of flowers in ,charlie's bedroom4 ,you will find that1 in a single month1 the leaves will fall1 and the plant will die4 ,charlie spent three quarters of his life in that bedroom4 ,the mother1 at length1 when convinced1 cried out in very anguish of soul1 ,what shall we do8 what shall we do8 ,well1 ,i said1 my dear friend1 if you would save this child1 and that is the only available sleeping-room for it1 ,i advise that you have the trees which shade that part of the house cut down4 ,trees should never be allowed to shade human dwellings4 ,they are very beautiful and noble objects1 to my own fancy more beautiful and noble than any other productions of our planet1 and ,i would have them multiplied1 but would not have them near our houses4 ,the trees were cut down1 the blessed sunshine came in to dry1 sweeten and purify the bedroom4 ,its atmosphere was so changed that no one could fail to observe it4 ,the child was kept much in the open air1 and when taking his midday nap1 he was occasionally laid naked upon a mattress1 near a window1 in the direct rays of the sun1 his head protected1 but the rest of the body exposed to the sunshine4 ,the little fellow's health greatly improved4 ,i believe he never had another attack of croup4 ,our young folks should never sleep in bedrooms that have not the direct sunshine4 ,they should never sleep in bedrooms the windows of which are shaded by a piazza or a tree2 and if they would have the very best health1 they must live as constantly as possible in the sunshine4 ,and all who have delicate health must1 with their clothes removed1 take daily sun-baths during the summer season4 ,such a bath will give them very little trouble1 and they have no idea how much it will add to their health and happiness4 ,one good bath in the sunshine is worth more than many baths in water1 valuable as these are4 ,some people admire pale girls4 ,they make very good ghosts1 but are not worth much as girls4 ,god hung up that great sun in the heavens as the fountain of light1 health1 beauty and glory for our earth4 ,our young folks1 by living in houses with piazzas1 shade- trees1 close blinds and curtains1 and by using in their walks broad- brimmed hats1 gloves1 parasols and veils deprive themselves1 in great part1 of the many blessings which our ,heavenly ,father would confer on them through the great sun4 ,the above was widely circulated in ,our ,young ,folks1 and has been copied into other magazines and papers4 ,i can but trust it has been productive of good4 ,for many years ,i have advised1 in the case of a weak1 emaciated child1 the sun-bath4 ,these little1 frail1 half-baked creatures that die of marasmus1 would1 in hundreds of cases recover1 if they could be thoroughly cooked1 or baked over in the sun4 ,with what magical rapidity ,i have seen little1 ghostly1 dying things recover1 by two or three hours daily sleeping and rolling about naked in the sunshine4 ,we all know that hot fomentations1 sharp friction1 mustard poultices1 blisters1 and other counter-irritants constitute the most effective part of medical treatment2 it is the only feature which has continued from age to age in the art of medicine4 ,in everything else there has been constant change1 revolution1 contradiction4 ,but the practice of counter-irritation has continued1 without essential modifications1 from time immemorial to the present hour4 ,in exposing the skin to a burning sun1 we get more of counter-irritation than by all other means2 it reaches every part of the surface1 and more than all this1 there is1 in the sun's rays1 a vitalizing power which comes from no other source4 ,plants soon die in any other light4 ,the strongest gas-light will not help them2 but they reflect the gorgeous beauty of the sun1 and send up a fragrance of thanksgiving4 ,men would become ghastly in the concentrated light of a thousand gas-burners2 it is only in the sun-light that they can live4 ,if this vitalizing power could flood the entire skin of a pale girl two or three hours a day1 in a few months she would astonish us with her abounding vitality and spirit4 ,,experiment ,,upon ,a ,,house-,,plant4 ,i made an experiment upon a house-plant4 ,it had been standing for several weeks in a southern window1 and was just beginning to blossom4 ,the flowers and leaves were particularly rich and beautiful4 ,i removed the plant to a shelf on the rear wall of the room1 and then holding the newspaper near it1 found every word quite legible4 ,in forty-eight hours the delicate tints began to grow a little dim4 ,in six days1 flower and leaf were drooping2 in two days more1 the petals began to fall away2 in two weeks from the beginning of the experiment1 the leaves were yellow1 and many of them had fallen4 ,,experiment ,,upon ,a ,,rose-,,bush4 ,i want to tell you of another experiment4 ,in my friend's garden there stood a beautiful rose-bush4 ,it had just begun to bloom1 and it gladdened our eyes with twelve full blossoms and eighty-six buds4 ,i directed my carpenter to build a little shanty over it4 ,the bush was thus closed in on every side except the north4 ,but it was light enough inside to read the finest print without difficulty4 ,the little shanty closed over our beautiful roses on ,wednesday evening4 ,on the following ,sunday afternoon we visited the poor prisoner1 and found that already it was beginning to look sad4 ,on the following ,sunday our beautiful rose-bush was in a pitiful condition4 ,all the exquisite tints and shades were beginning to fade into a common dullness1 while the whole expression was weak and sick4 ,buds that would have displayed their full beauty in two days were still hesitating4 ,after watching our sweet1 patient1 and dying prisoner for awhile1 and wondering that with so much light it could not see its way1 we tore away the envious1 cruel boards1 and let in a flood of sunshine4 ,the following ,sunday we paid another visit to our rose-bush1 and ,i cannot tell you what a glad sight it was4 ,although the neighboring bushes were much more advanced1 nevertheless ours had become brilliant and joyous again4 ,,another ,,rose-,,bush4 ,we selected another vigorous bush1 and simply put a board cover over it1 leaving the sides open2 and then we removed even this cover one hour in the middle of each day4 ,when this treatment had been continued for eleven days1 we took away the cover1 and asked a few lady friends to visit the garden with us4 ,on coming to the clump of rose-bushes1 they exclaimed3-- ,oh6 how beautiful2 how very beautiful4 ,young ladies1 which of all these rose-bushes do you most admire8 ,i must first tell you that1 some days since1 ,i asked the ,deacon which he thought the most fresh and beautiful1 and he selected this one4 ,what1 that one8 ,yes1 he thought this one looked the strongest1 and had the richest colors4 ,now1 is that really so8 ,yes1 ,i brought him out here on purpose to ask him1 and he selected this one at once4 ,well1 he must have queer eyes4 ,that's just like these men1 they don't seem to know anything2 why1 that is really the meanest one in the whole lot4 ,it looks as if it had a fit of the dumps4 ,then ,i had to tell them that the ,deacon was right1 and that1 in his selection1 he had shown the characteristic discrimination and taste of men6 but that1 during a number of days1 the great solar artist had been partially interrupted in his exquisite touches upon this particular bush1--in fact1 ,i gave them a little lecture1 then and there1 upon the relations between sunshine and beauty4 ,,experiment ,,upon ,a ,,rose-,,girl4 ,one of my neighbors1 ,major ,p----1 has a daughter1 whom we will name ,rose4 ,the ,major not having a rose-bush1 tried an experiment on his ,rose-girl4 ,this was his method3-- ,in the first place1 he sent her up into ,new ,hampshire in ,june1 and kept her there1 living out in the sunshine1 till the last of ,september4 ,then he brought her in town1 and we all had a chance to examine her4 ,she was really in a very strange condition4 ,in the first place1 her manner of walking was singular4 ,i cannot describe it better than to say that she seemed to go by jerk4 ,in putting one foot forward to take a step1 the foot behind gave a sudden and vigorous push4 ,my opinion1 as a medical man1 was not asked2 but my diagnosis1 before a medical class1 would have been this3-- ,gentlemen1 in the case of ,miss ,rose ,p---- there is considerable physical vigor1 which seems to show itself by an extraordinary activity and strength of muscle1 and an unusual ebullition of animal spirits4 ,and1 gentlemen1 although these manifestations are extraordinary1 and very rare among young ladies1 ,i do not regard the case as immediately alarming4 ,indeed1 gentlemen1 it is my opinion that this remarkable malady will disappear without active treatment1 if the patient be confined in a strait jacket1 and kept quiet in a dark room4 ,that peculiar sparkle of the young lady's eyes will1 likewise1 soon disappear1 under this treatment4 ,without asking my opinion1 or a prescription1 the ,major did exactly what ,i have suggested4 ,the daughter was laced in a strait jacket1 or a corset1 7which squeezes a good deal harder17 and she remained in a dark parlor and curtained bedroom all but about an hour a day2 and then1 unless it was particularly bright and pleasant1 she rode during that one hour in a covered carriage4 ,in two months the experiment was a complete success4 ,as in the case of the rose-bush1 so in the case of the ,rose-girl1 the absence of sunshine had produced a limp1 weak1 sick state4 ,miss ,rose had lost all the elastic bound in her manner of walking1 all the hearty ring in her laugh1 all the color in her face1 all the shine of her eyes1 all her power of diffusing joy about her4 ,there are other experiments of a similar kind in progress1 and persons who are interested in this sort of scientific observation1 will1 by calling at their next door neighbor's1 find very interesting opportunities to prosecute such studies4 ,shade-trees1 piazzas1 blinds1 curtains1 carriage-tops and parasols produce weak eyes1 weak nerves1 weak digestion1 weak spines1 weak muscles1 weak volition1 and1 in brief1 weak women4 ,as argued in my recent work1 ,talks about ,people's ,stomachs1 the function of digestion is powerfully affected by the light4 ,place the richest earth and plenty of water about a potato-vine in the cellar2 it can't digest its food1 and must remain pale and weak4 ,go up stairs into the drawing-room1 and you will find girls1 7excuse me1 ,i mean young ladies17 who look so exactly like the potato-vine in the cellar1 that you are not at all surprised to find them under the same roof1 for they are clearly members of the same family1-- the anti-solar family4 ,the next system of treatment for invalids will be the ,sun-,cure4 ,institutions will be established1 to which patients will flock for the cure of chronic maladies4 ,affections of the stomach and liver1 will1 by the ,sun-,cure1 be relieved almost as if by a miracle4 ,one1 two or three hours a day1 patients will be exposed nude1 to the sun1 either in part1--for example1 the abdomen or back1 or over the entire person1 when the fault is one of digestion and assimilation4 ,young ladies in the matrimonial market1 who are such ghosts that the men shudder and run away front them1 will spend three months in one of these institutions1 and return as brown and sweet as their admirers could wish4 ,in the coming sun-cure1 diseases which are now regarded as well-nigh incurable1 for example1 some forms of neuralgia1 will be quickly relieved4 ,whether the banks pay specie or not1 whether trade flourishes or languishes1 whatever may be our success or failure in life1 let us keep wide open the flood-gates of life2 let us be true children of the sun1 worshipping1 not with prostrate forms1 but1 standing upright in the image of ,god1 express our gratitude by baptismal evolutions in the all-glorious light4 ,a ,,word ,,about ,,baths4 ,my dear girls1 ,i want to speak to you very plainly about baths4 ,the clearness of the mind1 the brightness of the spirits1 the beauty of the skin1--in one word1 the purity of the whole system1 depends upon the free escape of the worn-out matter4 ,you all know about this economy of nature4 ,look at this dish of fruit1--grapes1 peaches1 pears2 how beautiful1 how fragrant1 how delicious4 ,how lusciously they melt in the mouth6 ,transfer them to the stomach4 ,if we could watch the interior processes1 we should find1 in a few hours1 these exquisite fruits changed into filthy1 poisonous liquids and gases4 ,how shall we get rid of this stuff8 ,the most simple avenue of escape is found in millions of small holes through the skin4 ,out of these the effete1 poisonous matter passes away4 ,,oily ,,secretions ,,of ,,the ,,skin4 ,the skin is constantly secreting oil4 ,it oozes out and lies on the surface4 ,we live in an atmosphere filled with dust1 besides1 there is constantly escaping from our clothes1 dust and dirt of various kinds4 ,these things1 with the oil of the skin1 plug up a portion of the pores1 so that the effete1 dirty matter cannot escape4 ,keeping these poisons in the system1 not only produces pimples upon the face1 and discoloration of the skin1 but dullness and heaviness of the whole system4 ,the mind becomes foggy1 the spirits low1 the muscles stiff and sore1 the breath and perspiration offensive1 the whole system unclean4 ,those portions of our skins that we cover with clothes are somewhat difficult to keep clean4 ,roll up your sleeve when your arm is perspiring1 and rub the skin hard with your naked hand4 ,you will be surprised at the rolls of dirt which the rubbing will bring away4 ,you may rub some minutes in the same place1 before the little rolls will stop coming4 ,this dirt is held by the oil of the skin4 ,,importance ,,of ,,soap4 ,nothing cleans the skin like soap4 ,wetting the skin every morning with simple water1 and wiping it off1 will not keep it clean4 ,such simple water baths contribute to cleanliness1 and are useful2 but the cleanest condition of the surface cannot be secured by such means4 ,,details ,,of ,,the ,,bath4 ,let me tell you just how to manage your daily baths4 ,you must have a bathing mat1 which you can procure at any rubber store4 ,it consists of a circular1 thin rubber sheet1 four or five feet in diameter1 with the edge turned up two inches4 ,this1 during the day1 has been folded up and thrown aside4 ,when you want to bathe1 spread it out1 and you have a tub four feet in diameter1 and just as good as though the sides were two feet high4 ,this is all the bath-tub you need4 ,perhaps ,i ought to say1 that if it is not convenient to purchase one of these at a rubber store1 you can make one with a large piece of oil-cloth1 by sewing a rope into its edge4 ,of course you must have a wash-bowl with two or three quarts of water4 ,next1 a pair of bathing mittens1--simple bags1--loosely fitting your hands4 ,these are made of the ends of a worn-out crass or ,turkish towel1 though any thick linen will do4 ,now with a piece of good soap1--it matters little what kind1--you are ready4 ,you have removed your night-dress1 you are standing upon the centre of your bathing mat1 with your mittens or bags upon your hands4 ,seize the soap1 make abundant soap-suds1 and go over every part of the skin4 ,rub the soap several times1 that every portion of the skin may be thoroughly covered with soap-suds4 ,now1 dipping your hands into the water1 rinse off the soap1 although if it is winter1 and the free use of water chills you1 you may apply very little water1 and wipe the soap-suds from your skin4 ,indeed1 with many persons1 it is an excellent practice to leave a certain portion of the soap on the skin4 ,it will continue the process of neutralizing the oil4 ,i have myself derived advantage and satisfaction1 during the cold season1 by the free use of soap1 with very limited quantities of water4 ,,bath-,,rooms4 ,the ordinary bath-tub is a humbug4 ,that zinc coffin1 in which you lie down1 put your head upon a strap at one end1 to keep yourself from drowning1 and then balance yourself for a while in a sort of floating condition1 is simply a stupid absurdity4 ,you can't even rub yourself to advantage2 and if you are determined to rub your body1 you are sure to bruise your elbows against the sides of the coffin4 ,with the exception of those baths which are given for some special remedial purpose1 all baths should be hand baths4 ,the bather should apply the soap and water to her own skin1 and that she may use it freely and in her own comfortable bedroom1 the bath-mat1 which ,i have described1 is indispensable4 ,it never wears out1 gives no care1 and is on the whole1 a most happy device4 ,,hot ,,and ,,cold ,,baths4 ,the application of cold or hot water to the skin1 produces two effects1--a primary and a secondary1--action and reaction4 ,if the water be cold1 the primary effect is to make the skin cold4 ,when the secondary effect or reaction comes on1 the skin becomes warm4 ,if hot water be applied to the skin1 the primary effect is to make the skin hot2 the secondary effect1 or reaction1 leaves it cold4 ,the first effect is a momentary one2 the second effect1 or reaction1 continues a long time4 ,timid girls exclaim3-- ,cold water6 of course you don't mean cold water6 ,what1 cold water1 right on me and all over me8 ,why1 ,doctor1 ,i couldn't stand it6 it would kill me6 ,do you think you could take a hot bath8 ,oh1 certainly2 ,i could take a hot bath easy enough4 ,this conversation occurs in ,january4 ,my dear child1 you are entirely mistaken4 ,everybody can take a cold bath1 if properly managed1 every day of the year2 but1 during the cold weather1 it takes a strong constitution to bear a hot bath2 for although the first1 or momentary effect1 is to make the skin warm and comfortable1 the secondary effect1 or reaction1 which comes on very soon and lasts a long time1 is to make the surface very cold4 ,during the warm weather1 the hot bath is a great luxury4 ,for the moment it makes you warm1 but the secondary effect1 or reaction1 which will continue for a long time1 leaves you in a cool1 comfortable state4 ,foot baths afford a happy illustration of this ,homoeopathic law1 ,similia ,similibus ,curantur1--like are cured by like4 ,you are troubled with cold feet4 ,dip the bottoms of your feet in cold water4 ,let the water be half an inch deep4 ,hold the feet there four or five minutes1 and then give them a good rubbing4 ,perhaps stand on the carpet with your naked feet1 and twist from side to side1 until your feet are burning4 ,not only will your feet remain warm all night1 but after practicing this two or three weeks1 unless your digestion is very weak1 your feet will become warm as a habit4 ,on the contrary1 if you are troubled with burning feet1 a frequent hot foot bath will cure you4 ,but in every case the employment of hot foot baths will give tendency to cold in the head4 ,but you say again that you like cold baths well enough in warm weather2 but if you use the cold bath in the winter1 it makes you cold and shivery1 it gives you headache and depresses you4 ,ah1 ,i see you haven't taken the bath in the right way4 ,if you take it in the way ,i suggest1 no such effects will follow4 ,apply soap to every part of your skin rapidly with your bathing mittens4 ,that is the most important part of the bath4 ,now put on just as much or just as little water as your comfort may suggest4 ,if you can bear a good deal1 you may put it on2 but if you are sensitive to the cold1 manage in the way ,i have suggested1--put on the soap1 follow with a damp mitten1 and do it all just as rapidly as your hands can move1 so that from the time you take off your night dress1 until the soap has been applied to every part of the body1 and followed by the damp mitten and dry towels1 will not be more than one to two minutes4 ,if this is done in your bedroom1 instead of a cold bath-room1 you will hardly be chilled or depressed by it4 ,if you are so exceedingly sensitive that even this momentary exposure with a moist skin produces an unpleasant chilliness1 then follow the soap bath by the most vigorous use of a pair of hair gloves4 ,,hair ,,gloves ,,or ,,mittens4 ,for three thousand years1 hair mittens have been in use4 ,hippocrates rubbed himself with a pair4 ,girls1 you should all have a pair of hair mittens4 ,buy ,lawrence's ,english patent4 ,they are the best in the market4 ,at night1 when you are about to retire1 rub every part of the skin till it is as red as a boiled lobster4 ,ah1 how sweet it makes the sleep1 how sure to remove all tendency to morning headache4 ,i have seen this practice entirely break up unpleasant dreams4 ,your skins are always in the dark4 ,they become pale and bloodless4 ,the blood which should circulate in the skin1 retires within the body1 producing congestion of the liver1 with bad complexion2 congestion of the stomach1 with dyspepsia2 congestion of the heart and lungs1 with short and labored breath1 and congestion of the brain1 with headache4 ,if the skin1 which has so many blood-vessels1 and is designed to hold so large a quantity of blood1--if the skin enjoyed a constant1 free1 vigorous circulation1 it would relieve the organs within the body of most of their sufferings4 ,i know of no other simple or single means1 by which such circulation can be established and maintained in the skin1 as by the constant and spirited use of the hair mittens4 ,besides1 it will do wonders for the beauty of your face4 ,giving the skin of the residue of the body a free circulation1 the skin of the face is not likely to be called upon to do more than its share of removing the effete matter in the system1 and1 therefore1 is not likely to take on pimples and other evidences of impurities in the blood4 ,,home ,,gymnasium4 ,the effeminacy of our civilized life1 with the employment of machinery for the hard work1 necessitates a resort to artificial physical exercise4 ,every home1 especially where there are children1 should have a room devoted altogether1 or1 on occasions1 to gymnastic exercises4 ,happily1 ,schreber1 the most eminent of the ,german school of physical training1 has devised a complete apparatus for family use1 to which he has given the name of ,pangymnastikon1 7which may be translated as meaning all exercises upon one piece of apparatus74 ,this piece of apparatus weighs not more than ten pounds1 may be put into a small box1 can be hung up in any room or hall1 a parlor1 for example1 in a minute1 and offers complete facilities for a greater variety of fascinating and effective physical exercises than can be found in a gymnastic hall a hundred feet long1 fifty feet wide1 and filled with the ordinary gymnastic apparatus4 ,when no longer needed1 it may be taken down and put away in a moment4 ,this piece of apparatus is pretty1 inexpensive1 and perfectly safe4 ,the manufacturers furnish with it six little wall maps1 on which are represented1 in engravings1 one hundred different exercises1 arranged in six groups1 and adapted to the varying strength and capacity of the pupils4 ,a very considerable number of the best of these can be performed by girls and women in their ordinary long skirts4 ,but if ,i had daughters in my own family1 and we were using the ,pangymnastikon1 ,i should urge them to drop their long skirts at the hour of exercise1 and wear a pair of loose pants and a jacket4 ,such a dress would permit many profitable exercises for the legs and hips1 which women greatly need4 ,they seem now1 except1 perhaps1 in the case of dancing girls1 to be almost as helpless1 in any extraordinary circumstances1 as our wooden-legged soldiers4 ,for example1 if a woman undertakes to step upon a street car when it is motion1 she is sure to lose her balance2 and if she steps off the car when it is in motion1 though the horses are only walking1 down she goes4 ,an hour's exercise each day with the ,pangymnastikon would soon cure her of this awkward helplessness1 and1 at the same time1 would develop the muscles about the lower part of her body1 and thus save her numberless weaknesses and sufferings4 ,,what ,,you ,,should ,,eat ,in all countries where food is plenty and cheap1 excessive eating is well-nigh universal4 ,the parents indulge in excesses1 the father inflames his appetite with narcotics1 the children inherit an unnatural craving2 during the nursing period they are fed constantly2 during childhood they are bated with cakes1 candies and other sweetmeats1 and afterwards they are tempted with a variety of condimented meats1 and these are followed with appetizing desserts1 fruits1 and other tit-bits4 ,,consequences4 ,the results are seen on every hand1 in almost every individual4 ,the stomach becomes weak and deranged1 the body heavy and in-elastic1 the mind foggy and sluggish1 the temper irritable4 ,in no other department of ,american life do we so much need a thorough reform4 ,fashionable people hate the word reform1 but in this connection no other word will answer2 we must set about a thorough1 earnest1 radical reform4 ,the ,creator has so contrived our bodies1 ,he has made them so resistant and elastic1 that an occasional abuse seems to make little impression4 ,for example1 a man may get drunk once a month1 and at the end of a dozen years he seems scarcely touched by the vice2 although1 as the physiologist has shown us1 upon each indulgence the lining coat of the stomach is strangely inflamed1 and changed in appearance2 indeed1 for three or four days after each debauch the mucous lining of the stomach continues to exude a matter which closely resembles pus4 ,besides these marked and apparently alarming effects1 it is well known that alcohol is a powerful poison to every tissue of the body1 especially to the nerve2 and yet the alcohol is not digested1 but goes1 bodily and unchanged1 creeping through every atom of the brain itself2 nevertheless1 after hours of deep1 death-like lethargy1 the man awakens1 and his wonderful mechanism is ready to grapple again with the duties of life4 ,a child takes into its mouth a bit of tobacco4 ,it is followed by a pale face1 cold sweat1 alarming palpitations1 and violent vomiting4 ,and yet1 after a little practice1 the human system may be deluged with this powerful1 narcotic poison1--a man's mouth may be kept swimming1 month after month1 with the strongest juice of the strongest tobacco1--his very perspiration may be so filled with this intense poison1 that1 falling on the battle-field1 the most loathsome beast of prey will not touch his body4 ,yet so complete is his facility of adaptation1 so immense his power of resistance1 that1 for a life-time1 his bodily1 mental and moral machinery will struggle on in the midst of this sea of poison4 ,and so it is with this almost universal vice of improper and excessive eating4 ,the stomach and liver are clogged and deranged1 the blood is filled with crudities and impurities1 the brain is crowded with this vicious blood1 and yet the ,good ,father has given us such an immense reserve1 that we can bear all this1 and still have force enough left to move about1 to think1 to feel1 and sometimes to have hours of real enjoyment4 ,our ,father gives us signs2 he hangs out flags of distress1-- pimples1 and blotches1 and sores1 a red nose1 inflamed eyelids1 etc42 besides1 he gives us rheumatism1 gout1 and numerous other aches1 but he lets us live on for years1 apparently in the hope that we may learn something4 ,our ,american system of diet is altogether bad4 ,there is too great variety1 the food is too rich1 the cooking is often very bad1 we eat too frequently1 and we eat at the wrong times4 ,i confess to a deep personal interest in this subject4 ,it is my sad1 but most deliberate conviction1 that ,i have wasted a large part of my life-force by taking too much food4 ,i have not made this mistake for some years2 but the gray hairs began to make their appearance before ,i learned about it4 ,ah1 my dear young friends1 how deeply do ,i yearn to help you in this vital department of your life6 ,will you permit me a little of my own experience8 ,i believe that1 in this way1 ,i can speak more acceptably and more effectively1 than by giving the deductions of physiology4 ,for nearly thirty years ,i have been in the habit of visiting one dear woman1 in the ,state of ,new ,york1 once or twice a year4 7,she does not seem any older to me now1 than she did when1 from the front window1 she watched me on my way to ,sunday-school1 on a beautiful ,sabbath morning1 forty years ago4 ,on my visits at the old home for these thirty years1 ,i have been tempted by those dishes which no one but a mother can make1 and have eaten more than usual2 and1 although the visit was1 otherwise1 such as freshens and invigorates the faculties1 ,i constantly observed that1 upon my return1 my lectures were duller rather than sprightlier as they should have been after such a pleasant rest4 ,at length1 ,i came to suspect that visiting1 even with my own mother1 did not agree with me4 ,but it occurred to me1 a few years ago1 to deny myself the custard pie so thick and luscious1 to refuse the chicken pie1 with its rich crust1 to deny myself all the desserts and other tit-bits1 and live on a moderate quantity of plain beef and bread4 ,since then1 my pilgrimages to the home-shrine have greatly refreshed both body and soul1 and ,i return home to resume my duties with new pleasure and new strength4 ,why will people1 7,i trust my mother will pardon the question17 why will people prepare such elaborate and tempting dishes for their friends8 ,if one has a keen appetite1 and sits at the table in a social spirit1 and takes even a little of each article urged upon him1 the variety and quantity must derange his digestion1 and then his capacity for enjoyment is at an end4 ,i was invited1 a few months ago1 to dine at the house of a lady1 who is recognized as standing at the head of the intellectual aristocracy of a most intellectual and refined city4 ,the lady is noted1 likewise1 as the best of housekeepers1 and as a most charming hostess4 ,the plate and crockery were the finest ,i have ever seen at a private table4 ,we had four courses3 #ast1 a small glass of lemonade1 #bnd1 a bit of melon1 #crd1 roast beef and sweet potatoes1 #dth1 ice-cream4 ,our hostess1 with her fine conceptions of life1 could no more have given us soup1 fish1 meat1 game1 puddings1 pies1 raisins1 nuts1 fruits and ice-creams1 than she could have offered us whiskey1 rum1 gin1 brandy and all the rest of them4 ,all this sort of thing1 whether of foods or drinks1 belongs to the vulgar and barbarous4 ,some time since an august ,medical ,association assembled for its annual meeting in ,boston4 ,the city government voted a large sum of money to the entertainment of the distinguished visitors4 ,it was a precious opportunity for the homoepathic physicians of the city1 under whose management the money was to be spent1 to show what a generous and refined hospitality could do4 ,boston has a peculiar reputation4 ,in some respects it stands alone among ,american cities4 ,and this was a peculiar occasion4 ,several hundred representatives of a dominant school of medicine1 one which now commands the intelligence of the country1 were to convene in ,boston4 ,the strangers stopped at hotels and with the brethren1 and1 it may be fairly presumed1 got enough to eat4 ,what do you suppose our doctors did8 ,i will tell you4 ,the evening before the convention1 the delegates were invited to attend a preparatory meeting1 at which meeting the preparation consisted in eating1 in the evening after supper1 sundry salads1 cold chickens1 cakes1 oysters1 creams1 c4 ,the convention adjourned next day at twelve o'clock1 for a collation1 although it may be supposed that the members had all been to breakfast4 ,after the collation1 many of them went to dinner1 then came the afternoon session1 then another stuffing1 then an evening session1 then a surfeit1 and even when the entertainment was given in ,music ,hall1 which was really fine1 the members were invited to another hall to fill up their stomachs before they went to bed4 ,if this meeting had occurred in some frontier town1 where they had nothing but victuals1 it would have been tolerable1 as a good- natured back-woods hospitality2 but in ,boston1 something better was expected4 ,if ,i had been a member of that convention1 ,i could have said3 ,gentlemen1 we can get cold turkey and chicken salad at home1 but if you will permit us to assemble in the art gallery of your splendid ,atheneum1 and your artists who have made this gallery a special study1 will give us their bright thoughts in connection with the works of the great masters there collected2 if you will allow us to spend a half day in your ',natural ,history ,building1' and give us ,prof4 ,agassiz to explain things2 if you will permit us to assemble in that crowning glory of ,new ,england ,education--',the ,institute of ,technology1' and give us ,president ,rogers for a brief explanation2 yes1 gentlemen1 if you will show us any of twenty ,boston institutions with the assistance of intelligent guides1 we shall be most grateful4 ,gentlemen1 don't be afraid of us1 we shall not be offended if you happen to appeal to something above our stomachs4 ,gentlemen1 we have come from the ,west to ,boston1 imagining that your two hundred years of uninterrupted growth and accumulations1 have enriched you with something besides chicken salad1 but here we find1 that nothing is thoroughly organized and placed within our reach1 except another dinner1 exactly such as we get at home at any of our village taverns4 ,gentlemen1 you think we can't appreciate anything else1 and so you kindly condescend to our condition and feed us1 but really we could appreciate your finest music1 and best dramas1 your great pictures1 und your matchless educational institutions4 ,at any rate you should have given us a chance at some of these things1 under the guidance of your eminent specialists1 and if we had shown that lack of appreciation which ,red-,cloud and ,spotted-,tail--the ,indian chiefs--exhibited when taken through the ,patent ,buildings in ,washington1 then you could have fallen back on victuals again2 but until we had shown that utter lack of sense seen in ,r4 ,cloud1 ,esq41 and ,s4 ,tail1 ,esq41 it was hardly fair to deny us all opportunity to examine the treasures of your city4 ,two or three years ago1 while visiting a dear friend in the country1 in a neighborhood where ,i knew many of the people1 my friend proposed to invite in my acquaintances for an evening's chat4 ,i replied that ,i should be most happy1 should feel myself honored1 but could not consent to such a gathering on my account if there was to be any eating4 ,mrs4 ,l4 was already overwhelmed with cares2 if these were to be increased by the re-union1 ,i should be obliged to decline2 besides1 on principle ,i was opposed to evening suppers4 ,mrs4 ,l4 couldn't think of such an omission for a moment1 it would be the talk of the town for months2 but ,i insisted1 and finally she consented if ,i would take the responsibility1 and explain it to the company4 ,i did explain it1 and gave my reasons for it4 ,most of them thought it was the right thing to do1 several wished with all their hearts that the practice could become general1 but one embryotic clergyman said he thought it well enough1 perhaps1 but it was pleasant1 and he did not think it hurtful1 to take refreshments in the evening2 since that time1 however1 under the lash of dyspepsia1 he has changed his opinion4 ,if people have beautiful homes and wealth1 and desire to make the party a recherche affair1 are there not professional players1 singers1 actors1 readers1 florists etc41 etc48 ,something grand could be given for half the expense of an elaborate supper4 ,i need hardly hint to bright people of a less pretentious class1 that social singing1 dancing1 charades1 and a hundred beautiful games are all open to them4 ,these are ten-fold more enjoyable than the more stately methods of the rich4 ,the time will soon come when people of really fine culture will not think of giving their guests a late supper2 indeed1 of the twenty most intellectual and refined homes to which ,i have been invited in ,america and ,europe1 not one gave any refreshments at an evening party1 with perhaps the exception of wine in ,france1 and lemonade in this country4 ,if people have no brains1 but have good stomachs1 then ,i advise eating on all occasions2 in fact it is the only thing left4 ,such people may have already eaten three meals1 but when they assemble in the evening at a sociable1 they had better feed again1 and feed hearty2 what else is there to do8 ,they can't sit and stare at each other by the hour1 and it wouldn't be good manners to lie down on the floor and go to sleep4 ,after they finish the more substantial meats and things1 they can fill up the rest of the evening with nuts1 doughnuts1 apples1 cider1 and other trifling things4 ,but if people happen to have a love of music1 paintings1 conversation1 7the finest of the fine arts17 bright games1 charades1 dramatics1 or any other of twenty amusements2 if they happen to have a love for anything above cold pork1 then ,i advise them1 when assembled in a social way1 to give their brains a chance1 and not stuff their stomachs2 the former is human1 the latter is piggish4 ,few changes in our social life have afforded me such genuine satisfaction as the recent changes1 among a few of our best people1 in the forms and methods of hospitality4 ,only a few years ago1 even among the intelligent class1 the first question was3 ,will you have something to eat8 ,now you frequently hear such questions as3 ,have you seen those new stereoscopic views of the ,yosemite8 ,no6 ,please come this way and ,i will show you one of the most beautiful series you ever saw6 ,or3 ,do let me read you1 or you read to me1 three of the funniest anecdotes ,i have seen for months6 ,or3 ,have you seen that remarkable statement in the papers this morning1 in the circular letter from ,bismark8 ,he affirms that in twenty wars between ,prussia and ,france1 ,france has been the aggressor every time6 ,if this be true1 our sympathy for the ,french would seem to be thrown away2 for after such a history1 ,prussia can hardly be blamed for wishing to so cripple ,france that she shall be unable for half a century1 at least1 to trouble her neighbors4 ,the change from ,will you have a glass of whiskey8 which was addressed to callers fifty years ago1 to the question1 ,will you have something to eat8 which was addressed to them twenty-five years ago1 was1 on the whole1 a great improvement4 ,the change which has now been inaugurated of addressing your hospitality to something above the stomach1 is a still greater improvement4 ,when this has been fairly established1 housekeepers can entertain company1 in the evening1 with real pleasure and profit to all concerned4 ,when an evening sociable means a big feed1 it involves a great sacrifice2 there is roasting1 baking and fussing for two or three days1 and the expense is such as only a few can well afford4 ,and what is it all for8 ,why1 ,i can't think of anything1 unless it is to make the company sick4 ,does anyone doubt that eating late in the evening is injurious8 ,and does any one doubt that the preparation and cost of the supper involve a sacrifice to the housekeeper8 ,if these are admitted1 ,i can't imagine any decent apology for the custom4 ,what shall be done8 ,every important movement must be inaugurated by individual action4 ,let those who have the idea1 and the moral courage1 excuse themselves from all evening refreshments1 and the fashion will soon become general4 ,it is a real pleasure to say1 that already thousands have determined upon this course1 so that now it is quite safe to entertain company without refreshments4 ,well1 after all this about what and how you should not eat1 now ,i will tell you what and how you should eat4 ,to secure a clear1 fresh skin1 bright eye1 active limbs1 a quick brain1 and a cheerful1 pleasant temper1 and if you would enjoy a long life1 you should live about as follows3-- ,,breakfast4 ,oatmeal porridge with milk and sugar4 ,or1 ,graham mush with a little good syrup4 ,or1 cracked wheat1 with milk and sugar4 ,or1 baked potatoes with bread and butter4 ,or1 beef-steak or mutton-chop with baked potatoes1 and bread and butter4 ,if you are thin1 and need fat1 use the first three1 if you are too fat1 use the last named two4 ,drink cold water or a little weak coffee4 ,,dinner4 ,beef or mutton1 roasted1 or stewed1 with any vegetables you may like1 7though tomatoes should be used very sparingly17 good bread and butter1 and1 close the meal with a glass of weak lemonade4 ,eat no dessert1 unless it be a little fruit1 and eat nothing more till the next morning4 ,there is no rule in regard to diet about which ,i am so fixed in my convictions as1 that nothing should be eaten after dinner1 and ,i think that the dinner should be taken early in the day2 not later1 if it can be so managed1 than two o'clock4 ,in regard to the precise hour for the dinner1 ,i am not so clear1 though for myself one o'clock is the best hour2 but in reference to the omission of the third meal1 ,i have1 after long observation1 no doubt whatever4 ,hundreds of persons have come to me with indigestion in some of its many forms1 and have experienced such relief in a single week from omitting the supper1 that ,i have1 for a number of years1 depended upon this point in the diet as the best item in my prescriptions for indigestion4 ,i have never met one person suffering from indigestion1 who was not greatly relieved at once1 by omitting the third meal4 ,eat nothing between meals1 not even an apple or peach4 ,if you eat fruit1 let it be with the breakfast and dinner4 ,cooked fruit is best for persons of weak digestion4 ,i have met hundreds of people who could digest a large beefsteak without a pang1 but who could not manage a single uncooked apple4 ,i think certain dietetic reformers have somewhat overrated the value of fruit4 ,avoid cake1 pie1 all sweetmeats1 nuts1 raisins and candies4 ,manage your stomach as above1 and at the end of ten years you will look back upon these table habits as the source of great advantages1 and happiness4 ,for thirty years ,i have been a constant and careful observer1 7,i have no hobbies about diet17 and in the light of my own experience and these long observations1 ,i assure you that the table habits ,i have advised1 are vital to your health and happiness4 ,pimples1 blotches1 yellow spots1 nasal catarrh1 biliousness1 liver torpidity1 constipation1 sleepiness1 dullness1 low-spirits1 and many other common affections would generally disappear with the adoption of these rules4 ,,jacob ,,schneider ,,and ,,his ,,doughnuts4 ,i cannot close this subject better than with a little story about my friend ,jacob4 ,i called upon him about nine o'clock in the evening1 and found him alone1 and very seriously occupied with a big wooden bowl of doughnuts4 ,i asked him3 ,how many1 so far8 ,oh1 eight or ten1 perhaps4 ,did you have supper8 ,oh1 yes2 ,i ate supper1 and ,i shouldn't touched these1 but somehow ,i didn't feel very well1 and was sorter lonesome1 and these doughnuts are kinder company for me1 ye know4 ,the old woman always fries them in the evening1 and when they are nice and hot ,i sometimes eat more 'n twenty on 'em1 just to sorter pass away the time1 ye know4 ,,wines ,,and ,,other ,,alcoholic ,,drinks4 ,woman rules in the social sphere1 and is responsible for its vices4 ,if women would expressly disapprove of wine-drinking1 soon1 among the decent classes1 it would become obsolete4 ,clara ,p4 came from ,portsmouth to ,boston about twenty years ago1 to seek her fortune as a teacher of the piano4 ,wholesome in person1 and interesting in manners1 she not only won pupils1 but social recognition4 ,at a reception in ,somerset ,st41 she was asked to join in a glass of wine4 ,hinting at a shadow in her family history1 she quietly declined1 and fell into a sad1 thoughtful mood4 ,a month later1 at a similar gathering in the same house1 she was confidentially told by the lady of the house1 that two gentlemen who were present at the previous reception1 had just requested her not to offer wines1 as ,miss4 ,p4 was made unhappy by it4 ,the wines were not brought out1 and no farther allusion was made to the subject4 ,at several other social gatherings1 when ,miss ,p4 was present1 the same respectful deference was paid to her feelings2 and yet this young woman did not belong to the most influential class4 ,mrs4 ,f4 was married two years1 when rum turned her little quiet home into a hell4 ,broken-hearted and sick1 she left her baby son with her sister1 and came to ,boston to rest her aching head and sore heart1 and to earn a living4 ,she advertised for a place as housekeeper1 and had several interviews with ladies and gentlemen who were in pursuit of a housekeeper4 ,she told her story to each one in turn1 and was quickly dropped by one and another1 until her last dollar had been paid for bread and shelter2 and then came a manly man who was touched by her sad recital1 and said at once3 ,come1 work and rest with us4 ,he took her to a beautiful house in ,mt4 ,vernon ,st4 and left her in charge of a fashionable1 helpless family4 ,mrs4 ,f4 soon established herself in the confidence of the household4 ,in a few days there came a party1 and the housekeeper was busy enough4 ,among other duties was the delivery to the waiters of bottles of wine4 ,mrs4 ,f4 called the gentleman of the house1 and said3 ,you have been very kind to me1 and ,i will do anything for you1 but ,i hope you will excuse me from this2 my hands refuse4 ,the ,colonel called one of the colored boys1 and gave him the key of the wine- cellar1 and the entertainment went on as usual4 ,up stairs the housekeeper's notion was mentioned1 and one of the young men cried out3 ,come gentlemen1 fill up1 fill up2 here's to the health of the brave housekeeper1 and long may she wave4 ,the lady of the house thought it very queer1 and next day sought an explanation4 ,it was1 after some reluctance1 given with tears and passionate ejaculations4 ,the lady thought there might be danger2 indeed her husband and oldest son had of late seemed too fond of wine4 ,several conversations followed between the two mothers1 and the lady1 just previous to the next social gathering1 said to her husband at the breakfast table1 in the presence of her sons3 ,what do you say to having no wine tonight8 ,that story of ,mrs4 ,f4's has really frightened me8 ,now1 said the husband1 don't you go to preaching temperance2 it's enough to have one woman in the house teaching morals4 ,but1 said the anxious wife and mother1 ,i was not preaching2 ,i was just asking what you thought of it2 and if you were willing1 ,i had made up my mind to turn over a new leaf in our receptions4 ,husband1--,well1 then ,i shall go in for abandoning coffee and tea4 ,i think they do a great deal more harm than wine6 ,herbert1--,yes1 and how it would sound with all our fellows here1 to tell them with solemn faces1 that we were afraid they would all become drunkards1 and so we must deny them4 ,oh1 pshaw6 ,i should never hear the last of it4 ,mother1--,i can only say that when they were here last1 several of them1 including my own dear ,herbert1 drank too much4 ,herbert1--,i think we had better turn it into a prayer-meeting at once4 ,father1--,oh well1 mother1 let us eat our breakfast in peace4 ,we will speak of it some other time4 ,during the day the two mothers held a long conversation1 in which ,mrs4 ,f described the beautiful1 fresh face and spirit of ,charles1 before the dreadful thirst took possession of him1 and the horrible1 brutal oaths and passion which followed4 ,the two sad ones closed their long conversation1 as women are wont to when in real trouble1 by earnest1 tearful prayer4 ,the lady of the house said to herself1 ,my husband is always declaring that ,i am the queen of his castle2 that he attends to everything in his business outside1 and never wants me to interfere2 but that he leaves everything at home to me1--that here ,i am mistress of all4 ,i wonder if this is so4 ,god helping me1 ,i will try my authority1 this very night4 ,john was ordered to bring round the carriage1 and soon after1 a lady might have been seen down in ,kilby ,st41 in earnest conversation with a certain well-known wine merchant2 and just before dark1 two men1 with a wagon at the back door1 were very busy up in the rear of ,mt4 ,vernon ,st4 ,about eleven o'clock that evening1 the ,colonel rang the bell for ,richard1 when the good wife interrupted him by saying3 ,gentlemen1 will you not join me in a cup of coffee to-night1 instead of the wine8 ,certainly1 madam1 most certainly6 while we are your guests1 we place ourselves at your disposal6 ,the bright urn was brought in1 and placed upon the side-board1 and the waiters1 who had received special instructions1 acquitted themselves with marked success4 ,if you could have placed your ear at a certain keyhole1 after the family had retired that night1 you would have heard a very earnest conversation4 ,a woman is heard to say1 ,but1 husband1 what do you mean1 when you say that ,i rule here1 just as you rule in your business8 ,do you mean to say that when ,i see my own darling son entering the path that leads to a drunkard's grave in our own house1 ,i have nothing to say or do1 but must wait for you to determine the details of our social entertainments8 ,what do ,i rule over in our home1 if not over the entertainment of our guests8 ,what would you say if ,i were to go down to your counting room to-morrow1 and attempt to over-rule your decisions8 ,you are always saying that ,i am supreme here in our home1 and now when ,i alter a little the details of our social entertainments1 you say that ,i have assumed to determine what you shall eat and drink1 that you won't be henpecked1 and that you won't stand it1 and all that sort of thing4 ,will you be kind enough to tell me which portion of the housekeeping you intend to leave to me1 and exactly1 in detail1 what ,i may attend to here in our home1 without asking your permission4 ,it's of no use for you to say that ,i may attend to everything else but this one thing2 ,god has given me a yearning for our boy1 and1 if you will force me to say it1 for my own dear misguided husband1 which forbids my abandonment of my duties and rights in this matter4 ,in the light of this poor woman's dreadful history1 ,god has shown me my duty1 and1 my dear husband1 ,i shall perform it in ,his fear4 ,no more wine will be served in our house1 on any occasion1 with my consent4 ,husband1--,i will turn that meddlesome woman into the street to- morrow morning before breakfast1 bag and baggage6 ,you will do nothing of the kind1 for ,i have determined to keep her4 ,well1 we'll see2 ,i will hustle her off as soon as ,i am out of my bed4 ,of course she was not sent away2 and when1 a year after1 that family was earnestly pushing the interests of the cause of ,temperance1 the ,colonel went himself with ,mrs4 ,f41 the housekeeper1 to bring her little son to the city1 where in the beautiful home on ,mt4 ,vernon ,st4 he soon became not only a pet1 but1 as usual1 a king and tyrant4 ,these events occurred about twenty-seven years ago4 ,to-day ,herbert1 --the oldest son--and ,mr4 ,f41 the housekeeper's husband1 are partners in one of the largest concerns in this city4 ,if women knew how complete is their dominion in the social sphere1 and would exercise their power1 rum and tobacco would quickly disappear from the better classes1 throughout the civilized world4 ,an effort among a few young women in the neighborhood of this city1 induced more than fifty young men to abandon cigars4 ,one young fellow swore by all the gods that he would smoke as long as he pleased1 and so he did2 but he did not please to continue very long after several of the young ladies had had interviews with him4 ,in ,dixon1 ,ill41 fifty good women called at every rum-hole in town4 ,there were forty nine of them4 ,in each place they read a touching ,appeal from the ,women of ,dixon to the ,venders of ,intoxicating ,drinks in ,dixon1 joined in a brief prayer1 sang a verse1 and went on to the next rum-hole4 ,this they repeated every day for a week1 when there were no places left to visit4 ,the women of ,battle ,creek1 ,mich41 tried the same thing4 ,one hundred of them went1 without parade or notice1 to all the rum-holes in the city every day1 till there was not one that dared open its doors4 ,i was there at the time1 and could tell you thrilling stories of the encounters of these noble1 brave women with the venders of what a clergyman--a friend of mine--calls liquid hell-fire4 ,but ,i hasten on to give you a very interesting illustration of the power of woman in the summary abatement of social nuisances4 ,although in lecturing upon ,woman's ,influence in the ,cause of ,temperance1 ,i have frequently given the facts entire1 with the names of the parties1 it has occurred to me that in writing it out for a book1 it would be only just to avoid mentioning names1 as many members of the families involved1 are now most respectable people1 and earnest advocates of ,temperance4 ,well1 this is the story3--,in a small factory village 7say in ,pennsylvania7 with a thousand inhabitants1 there were five rum- holes4 ,the men of the little community spent their time in the drinking places1 while their children earned the family bread by long hours in the mills4 ,the mothers were busy in caring for their children and drunken husbands1 and many of them strove to add to the comforts of the family1 by the use of the needle4 ,at length1 on a ,saturday night1 several boys1 coaxed by a scamp1 drank freely of whiskey1 and were taken home helplessly intoxicated2 two of them came near dying4 ,the good mothers were on fire4 ,they had long since abandoned all hope for their husbands1 but they would never1 never consent that their boys should become drunkards4 ,by a common impulse they gathered in the little church on the hill1 and held a meeting for prayer and weeping4 ,after three hours of passionate ejaculation1 tears and heart-breaking agony1 they resolved as follows3 ,we will make a banner with our own hands4 ,on one side it shall bear the figure of a child drinking from a bucket1 that beverage1 which ,god has prepared for his creatures4 ,on the other side we will work this sentiment1 ',mothers will sacrifice all for their ,children4' ,when it is done1 we will go to these men with our banner for the rallying flag1 pray with them1 plead with them1 and never give up till they stop4 ,in two weeks they were ready1 and eighty-four women 7all mothers but four7 with their little silken banner at their head1 marched down to the first of the rum-holes1 and were met by the landlord 7curious misnomer7 and told that they could pass on2 that if they came in there1 they would be sorry for it1 c4 ,they had had no experience1 did not know their power1 were frightened1 and hurried on4 ,the second landlord was a younger man1 not so hard1 and said1 after looking over the company3 ,why1 is it possible that all the good women in town are after me in this way8 ,why1 of course ,i will stop1 if they all wish it2 that is to say1 ,i will stop if the rest will4 ,mr4 ,warner1 here is our paper2 put down your name and say exactly what you will do2 we are here on no idle errand4 ,so he put down his name with the words3 ,i will stop if the rest will4 ,john ,warner4 ,they went on to the next one1 who kept a bowling and billiard saloon as well as a drinking hole1 and laid their case before him4 ,he was a young man1 and enjoyed a prodigious reputation as a ladies man1 and of course put down his name under ,john ,warner's1 and was careful to prefix the words1 ,ladies1 ,i am your most obedient servant4 ,henry ,hinkle4 ,to make the story as short as possible1 ,i will simply state that all but the first one on whom the ladies called--,hank ,otis--stopped at once 7doubtless at first to see how the thing would turn out7 and then the ladies went down early in the morning and crowded into ,hank's den4 ,he came in1 just out of bed1 and was astonished to find his grocery crowded full of women4 ,he had sworn to his cronies that if he ever caught them women here1 ,i will pitch 'em all into the street2 but on that morning1 looking into the earnest faces of the crowd gathered about him1 it occurred to him that pitching them into the street might not be a popular neighborhood movement1 and so he did the next best thing--sent for his big easy chair1 had a pillow brought for his head1 another chair and pillow for his heels1 and then cried out3 ,ladies1 ,i am glad to see you2 ,i an always glad to see my neighbors1 especially the ladies4 ,now1 ladies1 do take seats 7there was not another chair in the room7 and go on2 ,i shall be delighted to hear you4 ,they did go on2 they cried1 begged1 plead1 argued1 reasoned and expostulated2 they read from the ,bible1 they prayed1 sang1 and kept it up till twelve o'clock4 ,a relative and very dear friend of mine was one of the company1 and she has told me that she never witnessed such a scene1--it was enough to break a heart of stone4 ,about twelve o'clock1 they said3 ,good morning1 ,mr4 ,otis2 we will come again to-morrow morning4 ,do come1 ladies1 and come early2 ,i hope you will never pass without dropping in4 ,i am always glad to see my neighbors1 especially the ladies4 ,the women went next morning before ,hank was out of bed2 as soon as he came in and took his chair1 they began with singing and prayer4 ,pretty soon ,otis pretended to be asleep1 and snored prodigiously2 but they knew he was awfully wide awake4 ,during the whole forenoon they sang1 prayed1 begged1 plead1 expostulated1 and then sang and prayed again4 ,about noon ,otis noticed that they suddenly ceased1 and he wondered what was to come next4 ,he opened one eye a little1 and saw they were pulling out their luncheons4 ,he groaned in spirit1 but comforted himself with the reflection1 that he could sit as long as they could stand4 ,soon they began again with prayer1 and after another hour they closed with a song1 and saying3 ,good afternoon1 ,mr4 ,otis2 we will come again to-morrow morning1 they left him4 ,hank had nothing to say1 for he felt that soon he must give way4 ,but the next morning he was up early1 and ready to receive them4 ,they began1 and when they came to the part where they said1 we will support your family with our needles2 we should be proud and happy to do so1 if you will only close your place1 he could stand it no longer1 and springing to his feet1 cried out3 ,there is one thing ,i want to know1 and that is1 how long is this infernal business going to last8 ,one of the earnest mothers replied3 ,what ,god has in reserve for us we can't say1 but if ,he permits us to live1 we shall come here every day till this place is closed4 ,mr4 ,otis1 you think we are joking1 that it is a foolish whim of ours2 but1 sir1 we have entered into a solemn vow to struggle against this curse1 which threatens to engulf our all1 as long as ,god gives us the breath of life4 ,ladies1 how long will you give me to stop8 ,you will have to take your own time4 ,well1 in ten days ,i will stop1 and on my honor as a gentleman1 ,i will never begin again1 in this town6 ,oh1 ,mr4 ,otis1 exclaimed one poor sufferer1 don't go on ten days2 my poor ,sam may become a drunkard in that time2 stop now1 and ,god will bless you4 ,well1 ladies1 ,i will pour out my liquors to-morrow morning at nine o'clock1 and that shall be the last of it4 ,the next morning the whole village was there to see2 the liquors were brought out with a great flourish1 poured into the gutter1 and they ran down into the stream below4 ,although that village was so situated as to be peculiarly exposed to the evils of intemperance1 and although this happened many years ago1 ,i believe that not one glass of strong drink has been sold within its precincts1 from that day to this4 ,those brave women have ever stood ready to attack1 with their own peculiar weapons1 the enemy who would open a pitfall for their sons4 ,here and there1 throughout the country1 earnest mothers1 wives1 sisters and daughters have undertaken to exterminate the neighborhood grog-shops2 and while men have constantly failed1 these determined women have rarely failed to achieve a complete victory4 ,women rule in the social sphere1 and are responsible for its vices4 ,in all this world1 there is no other spectacle so bewildering and so sad1 as this queen of the social sphere1 living in the midst of drunken howls1 the sickening fumes of tobacco1 and in a hot-bed of licentiousness1 and hiding the magic wand with which she might dispel every social iniquity1 and then standing before a mirror1 paint her cheeks and eyebrows1 and adjust her curls1 and ribbons1 and flowers1 and bows and jewelry4 ,it is no mere figure of speech1 to say that ,god will hold her responsible for all this silly1 shameless abandonment and betrayal of her high and sacred trusts6 ,,what ,,you ,,should ,,drink4 ,i am astonished that a young woman who is ambitious of a clear1 fine skin should drink tea4 ,it is a great enemy to a fair complexion4 ,wine1 coffee and cocoa may be used without tinging the skin2 but as soon as tea drinking becomes a regular habit1 the eye of the discriminating observer detects it in the skin4 ,tea compromises the complexion1 probably1 by deranging the liver4 ,weak tea or coffee may be used occasionally1 in moderate quantity1 without harm2 and those who live much in the open air1 and are occupied with hard work1 may drink either1 in considerable quantities1 without noticeable harm2 but ,i advise all young women who would preserve a soft1 clear skin and quiet nerves1 to avoid all drinks but cold water4 ,it is an excellent practice to drink one or two glasses of cold water on lying down at night1 and on rising in the morning4 ,if you have good teeth1 and can help the food into your stomach without using any fluid1 except the saliva1 it will1 in the long run1 contribute much to your health4 ,,additional ,,health ,,thoughts4 ,it is impossible in preparing a work of this size1 upon the broad and inexhaustible subject of ,education1 to maintain a logical continuity4 ,if my hopes in reference to the favor which this book will receive1 are half realized1 the reader will1 perhaps1 seek some of my works which are exclusively devoted to physical health4 ,i take the liberty to name ,weak ,lungs1 and ,how to make them ,strong1 and ,talks ,about ,people's ,stomachs2 both of which are published by ,fields1 ,osgood1 ,co41 of this city 7,boston74 ,,noises ,,in ,,the ,,bowels4 ,what a mortification it is1 when a lady is in company1 to hear1 from her bowels1 that gurgling1 glug-glug noise4 ,a great many women have these peculiar sounds4 ,and1 generally1 they are produced by tight stays4 ,a portion of the small intestine is compressed so that its size is reduced4 ,the contents of the intestine are constantly moving on1 and when they come to the portion of the bowel under the whalebone bodice1 they find it contracted2 and in pressing through1 the noise is produced4 ,the cure for these peculiar and disagreeable noises1 as well as for many other affections in the organs of the abdomen1 including frequently torpid liver1 constipation1 and some peculiar forms of indigestion1 is to be found in removing all pressure1 and giving the entire abdominal viscera perfect liberty4 ,if1 after removing all pressure1 and giving those wonderful organs in the abdominal cavity full opportunity to perform their vital functions1 the mischievous effects of the long continued pressure do not at once disappear1 you may percuss and knead the abdomen a few minutes1 morning and evening4 ,weak digestion1 torpid liver and constipation are1 by this simple means1 frequently cured1 and invariably relieved4 ,,how ,,to ,,manage ,a ,,cold4 ,in the first place1 you mustn't catch it4 ,if you keep your extremities warm by substantial flannels1 exercise much in the open air1 eat the right quantity of plain food1 sleep with open windows and shun hot drinks1 you will avoid colds4 ,but1 suppose you have a cold8 ,eat nothing but a piece of toast2 drink freely of cold water2 walk twice a day till you are in a gentle perspiration1 and go to bed early4 ,these rules observed1 and colds1 which produce so much mischief1 would be shorn of their power of harm4 ,,fat ,,and ,,thin ,,girls4 ,are you too fat8 ,eat less food1 with a larger proportion of meat2 rise early in the morning and exercise much4 ,this will reduce your weight4 ,even diminishing the quantity of food alone1 without any other change1 will be sure to do it4 ,it is impossible that excessive fat1 either in horse or man1 can hold out against a persistent reduction in the quantity of food4 ,and if the reduction be gradual and judicious1 the strength is not lessened1 but is steadily increased1 until the excess in fat is all gone4 ,and ,i will add1 that after two or three days1 there will be no sense of hunger until the excess has been removed4 ,are you too thin8 ,sleep more by going to bed earlier2 do not overwork2 eat freely of oatmeal porridge1 ,graham mush1 cracked wheat1 and hulled corn2 and all with milk and sugar4 ,cultivate a cheerful1 happy temper4 ,,recreation ,,vs4 ,,propriety4 ,the noblest women ,i have personally known1 were regular tom-boys in their girlhood4 ,i have made many inquiries about the women who figured conspicuously in the ,sanitary ,commission1 the ,christian ,commission1 and in the hospitals1 and so far as ,i have been able to learn from them1 and their friends1 not one began with being a proper young lady6 ,i venture the opinion that not one of the women who has risen to literary distinction in ,america1 was a proper young lady6 ,in brief1 ,i don't believe proper young ladies amount to much4 ,as with a colt and a boy1 neither of which1 if quiet and staid1 is likely to accomplish anything very grand in this world2 so if a girl is prim and nice and proper1 it is easy to write out the story of her life in five lines2 and without waiting for her to live it4 ,but1 if a young woman1 of fair mental capacity1 breaks through the trammels of propriety1 rides the saddle astride1 climbs fences and trees1 joins a base-ball club1 or acquires distinction in any roystering game which demands pluck and endurance1 you may expect something2 she possesses the elements of a strong womanhood4 ,i would prefer one such woman1 either in the hospitals at ,gettysburg1 or at the head of a family of children1 to a dozen women who were chiefly distinguished in girlhood for immaculate collars and bows4 ,,care ,,of ,,your ,,teeth4 ,what a fine face6 ,i exclaimed2 ,what a very beautiful girl6 ,by and bye ,i whispered to my wife1 to ask who that young lady was8-- pointing to the left4 ,while she was looking1 ,i remarked1 ,what a very plain face she has6 ,my better two-thirds replied1 with the slightest possible sneer3 ,it seems to me that you men haven't five grains of common sense about women4 ,now you don't pretend that you have forgotten that very beautiful girl6 ,but you don't mean to say that that is the same one ,i was admiring8 ,the same1 quietly observed my better three-quarters4 ,in a moment a bit of humor came from the platform2 the large mouth flew open1 and thirty magnificent pearls darted into view4 ,oh1 yes1 to be sure2 why of course1 who couldn't tell that8 ,i remarked1 as brave as a sheep4 ,my better seven-eighths quietly suggested1 from behind her fan1 ,now1 suppose you attend to the lecture1 and stop looking at the girls2 how would you like it if you were lecturing1 and one of your auditors should be looking all over the house8 ,from that moment ,i kept my eyes on the speaker1 but the points in the lecture were very few1 and between them ,i had time to think what a magic there is in fine teeth6 ,if a young woman has a mouthful of beautiful teeth1 ,i don't care how long her nose is1 nor what the color of her eyes2 she looks sweet1 wholesome1 handsome6 ,on the other hand1 no matter how exquisitely moulded the face1 if1 when the mouth is opened1 decayed1 blackened teeth appear2 you cease to admire1 and exclaim1 poor thing6 poor thing6 ,besides this1 if you lose your teeth1 you can no longer speak plainly4 ,but more than both of these considerations put together and multiplied by a hundred1 if you lose your teeth1 you can no longer grind your food well2 and then comes indigestion with its train of horrors4 ,how may the teeth be preserved8 ,simply1 by keeping them clean6 ,a clean tooth cannot decay4 ,you may eat sweet things1 acids1 take hot drinks1 ice creams1--you may abuse your teeth in a hundred ways1--if you will keep them clean1 they will not decay4 ,i will show you as many white blackbirds1 as you will show me clean white teeth beginning to decay4 ,how shall they be kept clean8 ,i answer with a tooth-pick1 used thoroughly after eating1 and followed by rinsing the mouth1 and the morning and evening use of a tooth-brush with a powder composed of pulverized soap and prepared chalk4 ,in addition to this1 cultivate the habit of sleeping with your mouth shut4 ,that dryness and bad taste in the mouth which come of sleeping with it open1 is always injurious to everything within the mouth1 including the teeth4 ,and1 perhaps1 this is the best place to speak of the error or misfortune of sleeping with the mouth open1 in its influence upon the respiratory apparatus4 ,i cannot agree with the famous ,catlin1 who attributes so much to this bad habit4 ,but really it is difficult to read his remarkable little work1 without being convinced that sleeping with the mouth open is a most unfortunate habit4 ,the most obvious mischief is the introduction through the open mouth and wind-pipe of dust and other minute objects1 which the nose would strain out4 ,the opening in the nose through which the air must pass1 is only a narrow fissure1 and its sides are armed with numerous hairs1 which reach over and intertwine with those of the opposite wall1 thus making it very difficult for particles of dust to pass through into the lungs4 ,this point in ,mr4 ,catlin's argument is too obviously true to need any special proofs2 and perhaps another point of less moment is sufficiently obvious2 viz41 if the air be allowed to pass directly through the wide-open mouth into the lungs1 its temperature when permeating the lung tissue is too low1 and thus injury to that delicate tissue results2 but if the air passes through the tortuous and contracted nasal passages1 it is brought into such immediate contact with the blood in the lining membrane of those passages1 that it is modified1 and the lungs themselves are saved from the rude shock of a raw cold breath4 ,i have now given the more patent of the reasons for keeping the mouth shut while sleeping1 and will only add that the habit of sleeping with the mouth shut1 may be formed by a careful clearing of the nasal passages on lying down1 and by going to sleep with a determination to keep the lips closed4 ,observing these rules1 and being careful not to sleep with the head too low1 you will soon awaken in the morning with the lips closed1 and with the mouth moist and sweet4 ,,ventilation4 ,if the air of the bed-room be impure1 the complexion1 eyes and nerves must soon suffer4 ,the hours of sleep are hours of recuperation4 ,but that the building-up work may go on1 pure air is indispensable4 ,during the night the doors are not opened2 there is no moving about2 all is at a stand-still4 ,now the windows must be wide open4 ,unless there be a storm or the weather be intensely cold1 the upper sash must come half way down1 and the lower sash go half way up4 ,if your ears are cold cover them1 but give your lungs and blood pure oxygen1 and plenty of it4 ,if you would have beauty of skin and eyes1 if you would enjoy a cheerful temper1 and retain a youthful bloom1 you must breathe a pure air all night1 and all day1 and always4 ,no other law of health1 no condition of beauty1 is so imperative as this4 ,when you go into the street1 don't wear a veil and keep the air away from your lungs4 ,let it come in freely2 it is your best friend4 ,,flannels ,,next ,,the ,,skin4 ,young ladies take pride in the fact that their skins are so delicate1 they can't wear flannels4 ,why1 ,i couldn't live in flannels1 my skin is so delicate4 ,it is to be deeply regretted that this passion for delicacy and debility has taken such strong hold of young ladies4 ,miss ,fitznoodle1 you must wear flannels next the skin1 they will save you from colds1 and keep up a fine1 healthy circulation4 ,oh1 my6 ,i couldn't wear flannels next my skin2 it would set me crazy2 my skin is so delicate6 ,miss ,fitznoodle1 you must rise early in the morning1 take a bath1 and go out for the fresh air4 ,oh1 my6 ,i couldn't think of it2 ,i should be sick in bed all day1 ,i am so delicate6 ,miss ,fitznoodle1 you must sleep with your windows open4 ,oh1 my6 ,i can't1 ,i am so delicate6 ,i am always sorry to meet a young lady with weak1 delicate morals2 but rejoice to meet one with steady1 fixed1 determined morals4 ,i am always sorry to meet a young lady with weak1 delicate mind2 but rejoice to meet one with clear1 sharp1 sturdy mind4 ,and so ,i am sorry to meet a young lady with weak1 delicate body2 but rejoice to meet one with plump1 elastic1 sturdy body4 ,if your skin be so sensitive that you can't wear flannels1 use a pair of hair gloves morning and evening2 put on strong flannels1 be patient1 and in two weeks you will have conquered your delicacy1 and be able to enjoy what1 in this climate1 is an immense advantage in many ways4 ,,amusements ,,for ,,girls4 ,croquet is fashionable and useful1 certainly better than nothing2 but any game which can be played in a tight corset and long skirt cannot serve the muscles much2 but it keeps the players out-doors1 and so far is useful4 ,skating is fashionable1 and better than nothing2 but the finest skating may be performed with arms folded2 showing that the upper half of the body1 which needs exercise ten-fold more than the lower half1 receives little or nothing in this amusement4 ,in addition to this1 the sudden change from the furnace heat of our close houses to the piercing winds of the frozen pond1 is often very damaging4 ,dancing is beautiful and profitable4 ,but the profit depends upon certain conditions1 not always observed1 viz41 seasonable hours1 healthy dress1 and a pure atmosphere4 ,without these conditions dancing may be seriously mischievous4 ,besides1 it may be observed that dancing only brings into play the muscles of the legs and hips2 while the arms and chest1 which are dying for motion1 are not even invited to join in the fun4 ,walking might be spoken of as an amusement among those who walk with real gusto2 but this snail pace1 with the two hands crossed in front1 can hardly be regarded as an amusement except to those who are amused with a funeral procession4 ,while walking is the best possible single exercise for reasons mentioned in another place1 it is defective in the same particular mentioned in skating and dancing2 viz41 it brings into play principally the lower extremities1 which already are well developed1 and neglects the arms1 shoulders and chest1 which are starving for work4 ,but ,i must not forget to speak very earnestly of the great value of walking when it is of a vigorous sort1 and the arms are freely swung4 ,in this way even the shoulders and chest perform a good deal of work4 ,i have spoken in a separate chapter of the great ,,schreber's invention for home exercise--the ,pangymnastikon--which is not only the best means of training the upper part of the body that ,i have ever seen1 but is really one of the most fascinating of amusements4 ,the reader is referred to the chapter ,,the ,,pangymnastikon1 ,,or ,,home ,,gymnasium4 ,battledoor1 and ,graces or ,grace-,hoop1 are capital amusements2 and bring into varied and vigorous play the muscles of the upper part of the body2 besides1 the interest is permanent and constantly increases as the skill increases4 ,base-ball clubs have been organized among young women1 with the happiest results to their health1 spirits1 activity and grace4 ,they look very pretty in their gymnastic costume1 and really they play wonderfully well4 ,the great physiological need of our artificial life is something to save the upper part of the body from falling into weakness and deformity4 ,our exercises fall almost exclusively upon the lower half of the body--we walk1 dance and skate2 but women of the better class do nothing with their upper limbs except to dress and feed themselves4 ,the result is that their arms become consumptively emaciated1 their shoulder-blades project1 their chests become thin1 flat1 concave1 and the vital organs within are correspondingly weak and uncertain4 ,,true ,,education ,,for ,,girls4 ,the ,school at ,lexington1 up to the time the buildings were burned1 was the truest exponent of education for girls1 which has been seen in our country4 ,i say in our country1 because my acquaintance with the ,german methods is not sufficiently complete to justify any comparison between them and the school under consideration4 ,and yet1 as has been shown in other chapters in this work1 the curriculum at ,lexington was far from philosophical or wise4 ,the waste of time and money on music and the languages1 was immense2 the thought of it1 even now1 awakens in my mind the keenest regrets4 ,but in this respect1 it was no worse than other first-class schools1 while in several important particulars1 it was greatly superior4 #ast4--,it was a school for girls and young women1 and not for young ladies4 ,this is a very important distinction4 #bnd4--,it had a very strong corps of resident teachers1 who mingled with the pupils in all their many amusements4 ,in this way a vigilant1 earnest public sentiment was developed1 which made the trammels and friction of school government quite unnecessary4 ,the girls bore themselves precisely as they would in a drawing-room1 in the presence of men and women of dignified manners and fine culture4 ,indeed1 such were the persons constantly mingling with them4 ,they could not escape the feeling that they were placed on their honor4 ,what is called school government1 or discipline1 we had little or no occasion to think of4 ,if ,i had space ,i could tell you some really very touching stories1 illustrating the experiences of girls who1 for the first time1 were in a school where they were not told1 but were expected to behave their best4 ,in so large a company1 definite rules were indispensable to concert of action4 ,we had as many rules as other schools1 but the spirit in which they were observed1 was the distinctive feature of which ,i have spoken4 ,i will venture to give one little anecdote1 which will serve to illustrate the point under consideration4 ,one of our bright girls1 ,mary----1 retired on the ringing of the first bell1 at half-past eight o'clock2 but when the watchman made his nine o'clock round1 he found a light burning in ,mary's room1 and at once left his beat1 to report to me4 ,i sent hint to ask if ,mary was sick4 ,he returned to say that the light was now out1 and that the young woman said she was not sick4 ,he had hardly reported1 before ,mary appeared at my door in her morning-gown1 and said that she was sorry for having failed to observe the hour for turning out the light1 but that she had just received a letter from her mother which she wanted very much to answer2 that she hoped ,i would excuse her4 ,i said1 all right1 and she was turning to go back1 when1 looking very earnestly at me1 she said3 ,if you knew how much better ,i behave here1 than ,i ever did at any other school1 ,i am sure you would not blame me for this4 ,when ,i was at the ---- ,seminary1 we girls spent nearly half our time in devising tricks and dodges4 ,we liked to come it over them1 because they were always watching us4 ,lots of us corresponded with young men1 and we left our letters for each other in the crevices of the garden wall2 ,i used to say that if we were half as much interested in our studies1 as were in cheating our teachers1 we should become as wise as ,solomon4 ,but here--why1 sir1 during all these months that ,i have been here1 ,i have never heard a word from any girl1 which looked like deception4 ,you trust us so completely1 and treat us with such respect1 that ,i don't see how the worst girl that ever lived1 could even think of doing wrong4 ,it really seems to me1 that this spirit in your school is worth more to us than every thing that we could possibly get in our studies4 ,my own horror of these seminaries1 where girls study 7under the suggestions and example of the worst among them17 every species of deception and trick1 is such1 that ,i would prefer that my daughter should never learn to read the name of the ,god who made her1 rather than acquire all learning and accomplishments1 under such demoralizing influences4 ,thousands of young women while learning a little music and ,french1 acquire a habit of concealment and indirection1 which marks all their subsequent career4 ,in discussing the peculiarities of the ,lexington ,school1 ,i would mention3 #crd4--,the physical exercises and amusements4 ,the ,new ,gymnatics were taught to every member of the school1 and practised daily by all1 from half an hour to an hour and a half1 while dancing was introduced three or four evenings of each week4 ,besides these1 we indulged in many amusing games4 ,physical education constituted a part of the regular system1 and nothing was left to chance1 or to individual proclivity4 ,in most seminaries1 physical exercise is optional with the pupil4 ,if arithmetic were treated in the same way1 necessary as it is to civilized life1 ,i fear but little progress would be made4 ,the average ,american girl has a delicate body1 with numerous aches and weaknesses4 ,the ,school which does not provide in its curriculum for this average and fundamental condition1 seems to me strangely deficient in its educational provisions4 ,the graduate of a ,woman's ,seminary1 should1 like the graduate of a ,german ,university1 be as much improved in body as in mind4 ,young women1 on completing the prescribed course1 should be fitted for the active duties of life4 ,this involves1 as primary and fundamental1 a healthy and vigorous body4 ,girls came to our school with the stipulation that they should not room above the second story1 not being able to climb higher1 who within five months1 walked ten miles in three hours1 without fatigue4 ,i was asked to visit a ,female ,seminary1 some miles out of ,boston1 to witness the exercises of a ,commencement4 ,seated on the platform with the ,principal1 she called my attention to the graduating class4 ,covering her lips with a book1 she whispered to me1 that that class of young ladies seated by the organ is the graduating class4 ,and they have finished their education8 ,i asked4 ,she nodded assent4 ,i gave them a good long look1 and felt the wrong so deeply1 that ,i could not resist the temptation to whisper back3 ,if you had said the girls themselves were finished1 ,i should have understood you2 but if you mean that their education is finished1 ,i can only say that it seems to me they have not laid the first stone ,in the foundation of a true education4 ,pale1 thin1 bent--they had been outrageously humbugged4 ,what amount of languages and music could compensate for this outrage upon the very foundations of their being8 ,in the ,lexington school the course in physical training was very complete4 ,the muscle training was varied and abundant1 the pupils retired at half-past eight o'clock1 wore no corsets or close dress1 kept their extremities warm with flannels and strong shoes1 ate plain food1 and enjoyed many amusing games and much hearty laughter4 ,we measured them about the chest1 under the arms1 on entering the school1 and again on leaving1 and found that a common increase in eight months was three inches4 ,there was a still more remarkable enlargement of the arms and shoulders1 while the change in their manner of walking never failed to impress us all4 ,female weaknesses1 which1 in some form1 nearly all of them brought to the school1 were quickly relieved2 and headaches1 after the first month of the school year1 were almost unknown among us4 ,i do not wish to protract this discussion of the possibilities in physical development in our girls' schools2 but ,i will say1 after such opportunities for observation as no other man on either continent has enjoyed1 that it is my deliberate conviction that ninety-nine in every hundred girls1 may be so developed1 physically1 in two years of school life1 that they can walk ten miles without fatigue1 be free from aches and weaknesses1 and be nobly fitted for the grave responsibilities of citizenship and motherhood4 #dth4--,i would add that the true school will magnify nature--will make conspicuous in its programme the natural sciences1 will push very far the rudimentary ,english training1 will give the most emphatic and determined attention to composition and conversation1 and will watch over the manners of the pupil with a truly parental interest4 ,i have seen coarse1 unmannerly boors engaged in teaching girls ,latin and ,trigonometry4 ,it seems to be thought if they understand the technics of the books1 that is enough4 ,of course they must comprehend what they attempt to teach2 but the rare and precious graces in a teacher1 are fine manners and conversational powers4 ,more is learned in an hour's conversation with refined1 cultured people upon almost any topic1 than can be learned in a day from books1 even with the assistance of an unrefined1 mechanical teacher4 ,i shall be happy to correspond with parents about the schools of ,new ,england1 which are earnest in regard to physical education4 ,,heroic ,,women4 ,without pursuing any special order1 ,i will mention ,hypasia1 the much calumniated ,aspasia1 and the ,athenian courtezan ,leaena1 who1 when put to the torture to make her betray her friends and accomplices in a political conspiracy1 bit out her tongue1 and spat it in the face of her tormentor4 ,in more modern times1 as education is placed within the reach of all1 these burning and shining lights become less conspicuous1 set1 as they are1 amid a galaxy of scarcely less brilliant luminaries4 ,instances might be cited by the dozen of women who have taken degrees in theology1 who have lectured in public1 and been celebrated as savans and philosophers4 ,as for those who have received the dignity of canonization1 the ,roman calendar alone is capable of keeping any account of them4 ,yet amongst them1 let us give one word of admiration to that brave ,irish ,abbess1--,ebba of ,coldingham1 who1 to preserve herself from the brutality of the ,danish soldiers1 cut off her nose and lips4 ,her nuns followed her example1 and the enraged barbarians burnt them all1 together with their convent4 ,to whom do we owe the preservation of the ,new ,testament but to the heroic girl-martyrs among the first ,christians1 who1 under the ,roman persecutors1 endured unheard-of tortures1 rather than betray the hiding place of the ,sacred ,writings8 ,en passant ,i may mention the first woman who used her literary abilities to support her household1 was ,christine ,castel1 a ,french woman by education1 though by birth a ,venetian4 ,she lived in the reign of the ,english king ,henry ,,iv4 ,have you ever heard of ,arnande de ,rocas8 ,she must have been a brave1 high-minded girl6 ,when her native town was taken by the ,turks1-- somewhere in the clark sixteenth century1 when ,turks were not the civilized gentlemen that many of them now are1--she and a number of her young and beautiful companions were placed in a vessel bound for ,constantinople1--their destination the ,sultan's seraglio4 ,in the dead of night1 she gained access to the powder magazine1 and blew up the ship1 with her innocent companions and their captors4 ,now let us come nearer home1 and recal the name of ,martha ,bratton4 ,she was a woman for any country to be proud of1 for she helped1 hand and heart1 in establishing the freedom of her native country4 ,her husband was a ,colonel in the first army of ,america1 and in his absence she took charge of1 and defended the ammunition and supplies4 ,think of her courage in blowing up the powder1 rather than suffer it to fall into the enemy's hands6 ,think of her nobility avowing the act that no one else might suffer for it4 ,threats of instant death had no power to make her betray a trust4 ,and she was a womanly woman too1 for she saved the life of an ,english officer1 who had rescued her by his intervention1 and kept him concealed in her house till he was exchanged4 ,grizel ,cochrane6 ,it's not a romantic name1 but what a romance in her life4 ,her father lay a prisoner in the ,tolbooth of ,edinburgh1 condemned to death for high treason4 ,her grandfather1 the ,earl of ,dundonald2 was moving heaven and earth to obtain his son's pardon4 ,but it was known that the warrant for his execution was on its way from ,london4 ,grizel was only eighteen4 ,but she was strong and resolute4 ,she rode on her own fleet horse two days on the road to ,england1 where a trusty friend lent her a suit of man's clothes and a pair of pistols4 ,thus armed1 she attacked the postman1 robbed him of the mail bags1 and destroyed her father's death warrant4 ,the time thus gained saved his life4 ,a better ,grizel this1 ,i think1 than the celebrated ,grizel who is so often held up as a model of womanly virtues4 ,think of the peasant girl1 inspired by spirit voices1 throwing aside the timidity of her country breeding1 her youth1 and her sex1 adopting the costume of a soldier1 heading the armies of ,france1 leading them to victory1 and placing the national crown upon the head of the feeble ,dauphin1 much more of a girl than herself4 ,then change the scene1 and behold the bigoted and fanatical priests conspiring against her2 see her abandoned by her friends2 abandoned even by the ,english whom she had conquered2 see her at last led forth to the fatal pile1 and her ashes cast into the ,seine4 ,how different1 yet how grand1 is the gentle ,heloise1 more remarkable for her faithful affection1 than for her learning and talents1 choosing rather to be dishonored in the world's estimation1 than to injure her craven husband by avowing their marriage4 ,what ,roman or ,spartan mother excelled in heroism that ,lady ,seton1 who1 while she saw from the beleagured tower the preparations of the brutal ,english king to put her two sons to death1 urged her wavering husband rather to let them die for their country1 than to save their lives by ignoble surrender of his great trust4 ,her sons were murdered1 but her husband was not dishonored1 and the town was saved4 ,who has not heard of the heroic ,maid of ,saragossa8 ,no matter that she was really the wife of one of the soldiers engaged in defending the city1 that she had come upon the ramparts to carry some refreshments to her husband the story is not the less thrilling that it was from his hand that she snatched the burning fuse1 and fired the cannon near which he had fallen4 ,calling on the shrinking soldiers to reload the gun1 she avowed her resolution to stand by it1 and fire on the ,french enemy till they were beaten1 or she was dead4 ,she turned the tide of battle1 and will be remembered as long as the world lasts4 ,charlotte ,corday6 ,the name alone is enough to conjure up a moving panorama before one's eyes4 ,we see the beautiful1 heroic girl1 nursing in the depths of her heart the project which1 she fondly hopes1 will free her country from a hideous tyrant4 ,it is not murder that she contemplates1 for she will give her own pure life for that of the savage steeped in every crime4 ,we see her on her journey to ,paris1 gentle and affable1 rousing no suspicion of the terrible errand on which she is bound4 ,we see her when the deed is done1 sitting calmly in the outer room1 and thoughtfully passing her hand across her brow4 ,we see her before her judges1 ,serene1 and resolute1 and still1 and calm1 and self-possessed4 ,we see her on her way to the guillotine1 unconsciously inspiring such a strange and sudden passion1 as surely never man felt before1 and yet a true love1 as poor ,adam ,luz proved by writing her defence1 and dying for it and her4 ,we may all join with the royalist lady1 who fell on her knees and called her saint1 when she heard what she had done4 ,alas6 that it was done in vain6 ,the tyranny that crushed ,france was hydra-like1 and for one head that was struck off1 a hundred more appeared4 ,the mother of the country4 ,is not that a name that any queen be proud to gain8 ,she lived in ,saxony three hundred years ago1 and is still remembered by the peasantry as ,mother ,anna4 ,what had she done to deserve the title8 ,she studied several sciences1 and applied her knowledge to promote the good of her people4 ,she multiplied schools1 and encouraged education4 ,she incited the people to redeem waste lands1 taking a spade in her own honest1 busy hands1 to encourage the workers when the ground looked particularly unpromising4 ,she fostered trade and manufactures1 and when she and her husband travelled about1 they took with them supplies of the best seeds for raising fruit1 and distributed them among the people4 ,the good soul was a careful housewife1 and more than all1 a self-sacrificing ,christian1 teaching more by example than precept4 ,amid all this hard work1 public and private1 she became the mother of fifteen children4 ,i have heard of ladies who complained being fearfully overburdened with two or three4 ,the end of this noble woman was worthy of her life4 ,she died of the plague1 caught while attending on the sick1 like a true ,christian and ,mother4 ,you may never be called upon to perform such acts of heroism as distinguished many ,american women during the struggle for independence2 but it will be good for you to imbibe1 from their contemplation1 a touch of the spirit which prompted them4 ,who would not wish to resemble ,mrs4 ,motte1 when her large new house was garrisoned by the ,english4 ,the ,american generals1 loth to destroy the widow's home1 hesitated to expel them by fire4 ,she presented to them the ,indian bow with its apparatus for igniting the shingle roof1 counting ruin as nothing in the scale against patriotism4 ,then1 again1 the gentlewoman succeeds the patriot as she receives the vanquished foes in her poor termporary home1 entertains them hospitably1 and1 womanlike1 endeavors to soothe the mortification of defeat4 ,picture to yourselves a group of despairing wretches1 clinging all night to a fragment of a wreck1 and to the remorseless rock on which it had been dashed4 ,all through the stormy ,autumn night they had clung there1 amid rain1 and wind1 and darkness1 holding on still1 yet without hope2 they are miles from the shore1 and they know that1 as the tide rises1 they must be swallowed up1 one by one1 or all swept off at once by the hungry waves4 ,far away1 during that terrible night1 they had seen a faint1 twinkling light4 ,it was from a lighthouse--a sailor who was among the group of miserable creatures1 told them it was the ,longstone ,lighthouse1--a mile away1 too far for any one to see them down there on a level with the sea2 and even if they were seen1 there was no life-boat there1 and no person but an old man and woman1 with their son and daughter4 ,they could never bring a boat to their deliverance4 ,there were fewer people than he supposed at that time in the lighthouse1 for the son was absent1--the only one1 it would seem1 who might have had the strength and courage to venture to their assistance4 ,besides1 what chance was there that they would be discovered8 ,yet1 at that very moment1 clear1 bright eye1 looking through a telescope for signs of the storm's cruel havoc1 lights on them1 and takes in at once all the perils of their position4 ,it is the eye of a girl of eighteen2 she has the courage of a ,roman1 the compassion of a ,christian4 ,calling to her father to accompany her1 she hastens to their boat4 ,remonstrance is in vain4 ,she will not listen to her parents1 she will not wait a moment2 all she thinks of1 is those unhappy sufferers1 for the returning tide must wash them off4 ,if her father will not go1 she will go alone1 and1 live or die1 make the attempt to save them4 ,her energy bears down all doubts2 the boat is launched1--even the poor wife and mother helping4 ,and1 ah6 think of her1 as she sees it leave the rock to which it may never return4 ,think what she gives to the service of mercy4 ,she must have been a worthy mother of such a daughter4 ,father and child1 each take an oar1 and pull1 not for their lives1 but for the lives of others4 ,ah6 what a struggle that was1 through a mile of angry1 tumbling waters1 now from the crest of a wave catching a glimpse of thosethey go to rescue1 now sunk in a deep hollow that threatens to engulf them4 ,through all1 the little frail boat goes on its errand of mercy4 ,can we not imagine how the wife and mother watched it through the lighthouse glass8 ,let us take our post by her1 and try to feel for a moment as she felt4 ,from her lofty post she can mark the progress of the boat4 ,it is slow but sure4 ,when first it sank out of her sight in the trough of a great billow1 her heart sank too2 but see1 rises again1 and with it a prayer and thanksgiving ascend from the mother's heart4 ,the daughter rows with a manly strength1--no signs of fatigue4 ,will they reach the wreck in time8 ,oh6 the boat goes so slowly1 though those two devoted ones work so hard4 ,on1 on1 still on1 nearer and nearer4 ,now comes the moment of greatest danger4 ,ah6 they are too eager to get in1--they will swamp the boat4 ,no1 their very weakness prevents that4 ,the stronger help the more feeble2 they are all in now2 all safe so far2 nine human beings saved so far2 but can eleven come safe to land8 ,once more the boat mounts on the creasts of the waves1 once more she sinks into the hollows1 and nearer1 nearer1 nearer she creeps on4 ,other duties now claim the attention of the anxious watcher4 ,fires must be kindled1 and food must be prepared1 or the good work will be left unfinished2 and from time to time she runs to the window to watch their progress4 ,the keel grates upon the beach1--voices are heard2 they are all safely housed1 and the loved girl comes up smiling1 happy in the success of her good deed1 and all unconscious that her name is henceforth famous through the world4 ,england need not envy ,france her ,charlotte ,corday1 while the name of ,grace ,darling shines1 in letters of gold1 upon the pages of her own history4 ,the renowned ,hugh ,grotius had a wife who ought to be called the renowned ,mary ,grotius4 ,when he was condemned for his political writings1 to be imprisoned for life1 she accompanied him1 though the hard condition was1 that she too was to remain a prisoner4 ,after a while she was allowed to go out occasionally4 ,she borrowed books for him1 which were carried to and fro1 with his linen1 in a chest4 ,when long custom had made the guards careless in examining this chest1 she packed her husband in it one fine day1 and sent him to the wash1 staying in the prison herself1 and pretending that he was ill in bed4 ,she was let out too1 after some severe treatment4 ,there was a woman who never performed any grand1 heroic action1 who lived a quiet1 domestic life2 did nothing brilliant1 wrote no poems1 suffered no martyrdom4 ,for thirty-eight years she was a ministering angel to her husband2 and he was not an invalid1 whose caprices tried her temper1 and made her life a lasting trial4 ,on the contrary1 his health was good1 and his spirits ever equal4 ,yet the world is much indebted to that woman4 ,she was to her husband what the cipher is after the figure one4 ,alone1 it is a unit2 with the cipher by its side1 it becomes ten4 ,she was the wife of ,john ,flaxman1 the ,sculptor4 ,down with the ,austrian woman1 shouted the infuriated mob of ,paris1 supposing that they saw before them the ill-fated ,marie ,antoinette4 ,an officer corrected their mistake1 and the lady1 just rescued from the most terrible of deaths1--that of being torn to pieces by savages1--said to him1 ,why undeceive them8 ,you might have spared them a greater crime4 ,she was the same1 who1 when asked her name and rank before the revolutionary tribunal1 replied1 with dignity1 ,i am ,elizabeth of ,france1 the aunt of your king4 ,she was compelled to witness the execution of twenty-four of her fellow-prisoners1 and then met her own death without a complaint4 ,among savage nations what could be more terrific than a volcano8 ,and when1 in addition to its natural mysteries1 a cunning priesthood has invested it with the attributes of a malignant and revengeful deity1 who but an enlightened and civilized person would dare to approach it8 ,it was tabooed1 and whoever insulted it1 would be destroyed by its shower of liquid fire4 ,it is hard to shake off the prejudices and superstitions of a life- time4 ,yet ,kapiolani1 a woman of ,hawaii1 who had already done much to raise the character of her countrymen1 set the heathen priests at defiance1 declared the volcano to be the work of a merciful ,god1 and boldly descended some distance into its crater4 ,there she composedly praised the ,lord in the midst of one of ,his wonderful works4 ,the effect of her faith upon the minds of her countrymen was wonderful4 ,in all that is known of ,assyria1 the most ancient empire of the earth1 every extant fragment1 moral or material1 bears evidence of a sex to which that land of wonders owes the immortality of its grandeur4 ,the name of ,semiramis has preserved 7what ,sardanapalus could not destroy1 nor ,cyrus bury under the ruins of ,babylon17 the memory of the greatest combination of wealth1 power1 art1 and magnificence1 which the world had till then witnessed1 or has since conceived4 ,for the greatest capitals of the most powerful and refined of modern states1 supposed to have reached the acme of civilization1 have but one epithet to mark their supereminence2 and ,rome and ,london 7in boast1 or in reproach17 have each been called the ,babylon of their own proudest times4 ,babylon1 with its hundred gates and towers1 was founded by a woman of low origin and destitute youth1 who attained to supreme power by her genius alone2 and though all that has been ascribed to her may not be strictly true1 though ,diodorous ,siculus in his enthusiasm may have exaggerated1 and ,ctesias may have too vividly colored his brilliant delineations of her greatness1 yet that such a woman lived and reigned in ,assyria1 that she founded its capital1 and influenced her age by her works and her talents1 that she built cities1 raised aqueducts1 constructed roads1 commanded great armies in person1 and1 both as conqueror and legislator1 was among the earliest agents of ,asiatic civilization1 there remains no room for historic doubt4 ,her passage over the ,indus1 her conquests on its shores1 the brilliant triumphs she obtained abroad1 the astute wisdom with which she met conspiracy at home1 and the bold confidence she expressed in the decisions of posterity1 are stubborn facts4 ,these obtained for her the sympathy of the greatest character and conqueror of a nearer antiquity2 but ,alexander1 taking ,semiramis for his model1 vainly tried to restore her gorgeous city1 on her own plans1 and with her own views4 ,posterity has nobly ratified the appeal of ,semiramis to its verdict4 ,at the end of three thousand years1 her life and character have been taken as the inspiration of its genius1 and the spell of its attraction4 ,semiramis1 however1 has paid the penalty of her sex's superiority1 and has been the mark of calumnious pedantry through succeeding ages4 99,since the above was in type1 ,mlle4 ,nilsson has several times sung ,way down upon the ,swanee ,river at her concerts4