Part 22

The art of learning to swim is quite as necessary to be learned by a girl as by a boy; the former has similar muscles, lungs, and other organs to develop as the latter. It is very desirable that in large towns swimming-baths for ladies should be instituted.

Swimming ought, then, to be a part and parcel of the education of every boy and of every girl.

Swimming does not always agree. This sometimes arises from a person being quite cold before he plunges into the water. Many people have an idea that they ought to go into the water while their bodies are in a cool state. Now this is a mistaken notion, and is likely to produce dangerous consequences. The skin ought to be comfortably warm, neither very hot nor very cold, and then the bather will receive every advantage that cold bathing can produce. If he go into the bath while the body is cold, the blood becomes chilled, and is driven to internal parts, and thus mischief is frequently produced.

A boy, after using cold bathing, ought, if it _agree_ with him, to experience a pleasing glow over the whole surface of his body, his spirits and appetite should be increased, and he ought to feel stronger; but if it _disagree_ with him, a chilliness and coldness, a lassitude and a depression of spirits, will be the result; the face will be pale and the features will be pinched, and, in some instances, the lips and the nails will become blue; all these are signs that _cold_ bathing is injurious, and, therefore, that it ought on no account to be persevered in, unless these symptoms have hitherto proceeded from his going into the bath while he was quite cold. He may, previously to entering the bath, warm himself by walking briskly for a few minutes. Where _cold_ sea-water bathing does not agree, _warm_ sea bathing should be substituted.

304. _Which do you prefer—sea bathing or fresh-water bathing?_

Sea bathing. Sea bathing is incomparably superior to fresh-water bathing; the salt water is far more refreshing and invigorating; the battling with the waves is more exciting; the sea breezes, blowing on the nude body, breathes (for the skin is a breathing apparatus) health and strength into the frame, and comeliness into the face; the sea water and the sea breezes are splendid cosmetics; the salt water is one of the finest applications, both for strengthening the roots and brightening the color of the hair, provided grease and pomatum have not been previously used.

305. _Have you any directions to give as to the time and the seasons, and the best mode of sea bathing?_

Summer and autumn are the best seasons of the year for cold sea bathing—August and September being the best months. To prepare the skin for the cold sea bathing, it would be well, before taking a dip in the sea, to have on the previous day a warm salt-water bath. It is injurious, and even dangerous, to bathe _immediately_ after a _full_ meal; the best time to bathe is about two hours after breakfast—that is to say, at about eleven or twelve o’clock in the forenoon. The bather, as soon as he enters the water, _ought instantly_ to wet his head; this may be done either by his jumping at once from the machine into the water, or, if he have not the courage to do so, by plunging his head without loss of time _completely_ under the water. He should remain in the water about a quarter of an hour, but never longer than half an hour.

Many bathers by remaining a long time in the water do themselves great injury. If sea bathing be found to be invigorating—and how often to the delicate it has proved to be truly magical—a patient may bathe once every day, but on no account oftener. If he be not strong, he had better, at first, bathe only every other day, or even only twice a week.

The bather, after leaving the machine, ought, for half an hour, to take a brisk walk in order to promote a reaction, and thus to cause a free circulation of the blood.

306. _Do you think a tepid bath may be more safely used?_

A tepid bath may be taken at almost any time; and a bather may remain longer in one, with safety, than in a cold bath. A tepid bath from 62 to 96 degrees of Fahrenheit.

307. _Do you approve of warm bathing?_

A warm bath may, with advantage, be occasionally used—say once a week. A warm bath from 97 to 100 degrees of Fahrenheit. A warm bath cleanses the skin more effectually than either a cold or a tepid bath; but, as it is more relaxing, ought not to be employed so often as either of them. A person should not continue longer than ten minutes in a warm bath. Once a week, as a rule, is quite often enough for a warm bath; and it would be an excellent plan if every boy and girl and adult would make a practice of having one _regularly_ every week, unless any special reason should arise to forbid its use.

308. _But does not warm bathing, by relaxing the pores of the skin, cause a person to catch cold if he expose himself to the air immediately afterward?_

There is, on this point, a great deal of misconception and unnecessary fear. A person, _immediately_ after using a warm bath, should take proper precautions—that is to say, he must not expose himself to draughts, neither ought he to wash himself in _cold_ water, nor should he, _immediately_ after taking one, drink _cold_ water. But he may follow his usual exercise or employment, provided the weather be fine, and the wind be neither in the east nor the northeast.

Every house of any pretension ought to have a bath-room. Nothing would be more conducive to health than regular systematic bathing. A hot and cold bath, a sitz bath and a shower bath—each and all in their turn—are grand requisites to preserve and procure health. If the house cannot boast of a bath-room, then the Corporation baths (which nearly every large town possesses) ought to be liberally patronized.

309. _What is the best application for the hair?_

A sponge and _cold_ water, and two good hair-brushes. Avoid grease, pomatum, bandaline, and all abominations of that kind. There is a natural oil of the hair, which is far superior to either Rowland’s Macassar oil or any other oil! The best scent for the hair is an occasional dressing of soap and water; the best beautifier of the hair is a downright thorough good brushing with two good hair-brushes! Again, I say, _avoid grease of all kinds to the hair_. “And as for women’s hair, don’t plaster it with scented and sour grease, or with any grease; it has an oil of its own. And don’t tie up your hair tight, and make it like a cap of iron over your scull. And why are your ears covered? You hear all the worse, and they are not the clearer. Besides, the ear is beautiful in itself, and plays its own part in the concert of the features.”

If the hair cannot, without some application, be kept tidy, then a little of the best sweet oil might, by means of an old tooth-brush, be used to smoothe it; sweet oil is, for the purpose, one of the most simple and harmless of dressings; but, as I said before, the hair’s own natural oil cannot be equaled, far less surpassed!

If the hair fall off, castor oil, scented with a few drops of essence of bergamot and oil of lavender, is a good remedy to prevent its doing so; a little of it ought, night and morning, to be well rubbed into the roots of the hair. Cocoanut oil is another excellent application for the falling off of the hair.

CLOTHING.

310. _Do you approve of a boy wearing flannel next the skin?_

England is so variable a climate, and the changes from heat to cold, and from dryness to moisture of the atmosphere, are so sudden, that some means are required to guard against their effects. Flannel, as it is a bad conductor of heat, prevents the sudden changes from effecting the body, and thus is a great preservative against cold.

Flannel is as necessary in the summer as in the winter time; indeed, we are more likely both to sit and to stand in draughts in the summer than in the winter; and thus we are more liable to become chilled and to catch cold.

Woolen shirts are now much worn; they are very comfortable and beneficial to health. Moreover, they simplify the dress, as they supersede the necessity of wearing either both flannel and linen, or flannel and calico shirts.

311. _Flannel sometimes produces great irritation of the skin; what ought to be done to prevent it?_

Have a moderately fine flannel, and persevere in its use; the skin in a few days will bear it comfortably. The Angola and wove-silk waistcoats have been recommended as substitutes, but there is nothing equal to the old-fashioned Welsh flannel.

312. _If a boy have delicate lungs, do you approve of his wearing a prepared hare-skin over the chest?_

I do not. The chest may be kept too warm as well as too cold. The hare-skin heats the chest too much, and thereby promotes a violent perspiration; which, by his going into the cold air, may become suddenly checked, and may thus produce mischief. If the chest be delicate, there is nothing like flannel to ward off colds.

313. _After an attack of Rheumatic Fever, what extra clothing do you advise?_

In the case of a boy, or a girl, just recovering from a severe attack of rheumatic fever, flannel next the skin ought always to be worn—flannel drawers as well as a flannel vest.

314. _Have you any remarks to make on boys’ waistcoats?_

Fashion in this, as in most other instances, is at direct variance with common sense. It would seem that fashion was intended to make work for the doctor, and to swell the bills of mortality! It might be asked, what part of the chest, in particular, ought to be kept warm? The upper part needs it most. It is in the _upper_ part of the lungs that tubercles (consumption) usually first make their appearance; and is it not preposterous to have such parts, in particular, kept cool? Double-breasted waistcoats cannot be too strongly recommended for _delicate_ youths and for all men who have _weak_ chests.

315. _Have you any directions to give respecting the shoes and the stockings?_

The shoes for winter should be moderately thick and water-proof. If boys and girls be delicate, they ought to have double soles to their shoes, with a piece of bladder between each sole, or the inner sole may be made of cork; either of the above plans will make the soles of boots and shoes completely water-proof. In wet or dirty weather, india-rubber overshoes are useful, as they keep the _upper_ as well as the _under_ leathers perfectly dry.

The socks or stockings, for winter, ought to be either lamb’s-wool or worsted; it is absurd to wear _cotton_ socks or stockings all the year round. I should advise a boy to wear socks, not stockings; as he will then be able to dispense with garters. Garters, as I have remarked in a previous Conversation, are injurious—they not only interfere with the circulation of the blood, but also, by pressure, injure the bones, and thus the shape of the legs.

Boys and girls cannot be too particular in keeping their feet warm and dry, as cold wet feet are one of the most frequent exciting causes of bronchitis, of sore throats, and of consumption.

316. _When should a girl begin to wear stays?_

She ought never to wear them.

317. _Do not stays strengthen the body?_

No; on the contrary, they weaken it. (1) _They weaken the muscles._ The pressure upon them causes them to waste; so that, in the end, a girl cannot do without them, as the stays are then obliged to perform the duty of the wasted muscles. (2) _They weaken the lungs_ by interfering with their functions. Every inspiration is accompanied by a movement of the ribs. If this movement be impeded, the functions of the lungs are impeded likewise; and, consequently, disease is likely to follow; and either difficulty of breathing, or cough, or consumption, may ensue. (3) _They weaken the heart’s action_, and thus frequently produce palpitation, and, perhaps, eventually organic or incurable disease of the heart. (4) _They weaken the digestion_, by pushing down the stomach and the liver, and by compressing the latter; and thus induce indigestion, flatulence, and liver disease. (5) _They weaken the bowels_, by impeding their proper peristaltic (spiral) motion, and thus might produce either constipation or a rupture. Several years ago, while prosecuting my anatomical studies in London University College Dissecting-rooms, on opening a young woman, I discovered an immense indentation of the liver large enough to admit a rolling-pin, entirely produced by tight lacing!

Is it not presumptuous to imagine that man can improve upon God’s works; and that if more support had been required the Almighty would not have given it!

“God never made his work for man to mend.”

318. _Have you any remarks to make on female dress?_

There is a perfect disregard of health in every thing appertaining to fashion. Parts that ought to be kept warm, remain unclothed: the _upper_ portion of the chest, most prone to tubercles (consumption), is completely exposed; the feet, great inlets to cold, are covered with thin stockings, and with shoes as thin as paper. Parts that should have full play are cramped and hampered; the chest is cribbed in with stays, the feet with _tight_ shoes,—hence causing deformity, and preventing a free circulation of blood. The mind, that ought to be calm and unruffled, is kept in a constant state of excitement by balls, and concerts, and plays. Mind and body sympathize with each other, and disease is the consequence. Night is turned into day; and a delicate girl leaves the heated ball-room, decked out in her airy finery, to breathe the damp and cold air of night. She goes to bed, but, for the first few hours, she is too much excited to sleep; toward morning, when the air is pure and invigorating, and, when to breathe it, would be to inhale health and life, she falls into a feverish slumber, and wakes not until noonday. Oh, that a mother should be so blinded and so infatuated!

319. _Have you any observations to make on a girl wearing a green dress?_

It is injurious to wear a _green_ dress, if the color have been imparted to it by means of _Scheele’s green_, which is arsenite of copper—a deadly poison. I have known the arsenic to fly off from a _green_ dress in the form of powder, and to produce, in consequence, ill health. Gas-light green is a lovely green, and free from all danger, and is fortunately superseding the Scheele’s green both in dresses and in worsted work. I should advise my fair reader, when she selects green as her color, always to choose the gas-light green, and to wear and to use for worsted work no other green besides.

DIET.

320. _Which is the most wholesome, coffee or tea, where milk does not agree, for a youth’s breakfast?_

Coffee, provided it be made properly, and provided the boy or the girl take a great deal of out-door exercise; if a youth be much confined within doors, black tea is preferable to coffee. The usual practice of making coffee is to boil it, to get out the strength! But the fact is, the process of boiling boils the strength away; it drives off that aromatic, grateful principle, so wholesome to the stomach, and so exhilarating to the spirits; and, in lieu of which, extracts its dregs and impurities, which are both heavy and difficult of digestion. The coffee ought, if practicable, to be _freshly_ ground every morning, in order that you may be quite sure that it be perfectly genuine, and that none of the aroma of the coffee has flown off from long exposure to the atmosphere. If a youth’s bowels be inclined to be costive, coffee is preferable to tea for breakfast, as coffee tends to keep the bowels regular. Fresh milk ought always to be added to the coffee in the proportion of half coffee and half new milk. If coffee does not agree, then _black_ tea should be substituted, which ought to be taken with plenty of fresh milk in it. Milk may be frequently given in tea, when it otherwise would disagree.

When a youth be delicate, it is an excellent plan to give him every morning before he leaves his bed, a tumblerful of _new_ milk. The draught of milk, of course, is not in any way to interfere with his regular breakfast.

321. _Do you approve of a boy eating meat with his breakfast?_

This will depend upon the exercise he uses. If he have had a good walk or run before breakfast, or if he intend, after breakfast, to take plenty of athletic out-door exercise, meat, or a rasher or two of bacon, may, with advantage be eaten, but not otherwise.

322. _What is the best dinner for a youth?_

Fresh mutton or beef, a variety of vegetables, and a farinaceous pudding. It is a bad practice to allow him to dine exclusively, either on a fruit-pudding or on any other pudding, or on pastry. Unless he be ill, he must, if he is to be healthy, strong, and courageous, eat meat every day of his life. “All courageous animals are carnivorous, and greater courage is to be expected in a people, such as the English, whose food is strong and hearty, than in the half-starved commonalty of other countries.”

Let him be debarred from rich soups and from high-seasoned dishes, which only disorder the stomach and inflame the blood. It is a mistake to give a boy or girl broth or soup, in lieu of meat for dinner; the stomach takes such slops in a grumbling way, and is not at all satisfied. It may be well, occasionally, to give a youth with his dinner, _in addition to his meat_, either good soup or good broth, not highly seasoned, made of good _meat_ stock. But after all that can be said on the subject, a plain joint of meat, either roast or boiled, is far superior for health and strength than either soup or broth, let it be ever so good or so well made.

He should be desired to take plenty of time over his dinner, so that he may be able to chew his food well, and thus that it may be reduced to an impalpable mass, and be well mixed with the saliva,—which the action of the jaws will cause to be secreted—before it passes into the stomach. If such were usually the case, the stomach would not have double duty to perform, and a boy would not so frequently lay the foundation of indigestion, etc., which may embitter and even make miserable his after-life.

Meat, plain pudding, vegetables, bread, and hunger for sauce (which exercise will readily give), is the best, and indeed, should be as a rule, the only dinner he should have. A youth ought not to dine later than two o’clock.

323. _Do you consider broths and soups wholesome?_

The stomach can digest solid much more readily than it can liquid food; on which account the dinner specified above is far preferable to one either broth or of soup.

Fluids in large quantities too much dilute the gastric juice and over-distend the stomach, and hence weaken it, and thus produce indigestion.

324. _Do you approve of a boy drinking beer with his dinner?_

There is no objection to a little good, mild table-beer, but _strong_ ale ought never to be allowed. It is, indeed, questionable, whether a boy, unless he takes unusual exercise, requires anything but water with his meals.

325. _Do you approve of a youth, more especially if he be weakly, having a glass or two of wine after dinner?_

I disapprove of it. His young blood does not require to be inflamed and his sensitive nerves excited with wine; and if he be delicate, I should be sorry to endeavor to strengthen him by giving him such an inflammable fluid. If he be weakly, he is more predisposed to put on either fever or inflammation of some organ; and, being thus predisposed, wine would be likely to excite either the one or the other of them into action. A parent ought on no account to allow a boy to touch spirits, however much diluted; they are to the young still more deadly in their effects than wine.

326. _Have you any objections to a youth drinking tea?_

Not at all, provided it be not _green_ tea, that it be not made strong, and that it have plenty of milk in it. Green tea is apt to make people nervous, and boys and girls ought not even to know what it is to be nervous.

327. _Do you object to supper for a youth?_

Meat suppers are highly prejudicial. If he be hungry (and if he have been much in the open air, he is almost sure to be), a piece of bread and cheese, or of bread and butter, with a draught either of new milk or of table-beer, will form the best supper he can have. He ought not to sup later than eight o’clock.

328. _Do you approve of a boy having anything between meals?_

I do not; let him have four meals a day, and he will require nothing in the intervals. It is a mistaken notion that “little and often is best.” The stomach requires rest as much as, or perhaps more than (for it is frequently sadly overworked) any other part of the body. I do not mean that he is to have “_much_ and seldom”: moderation, in everything, is to be observed. Give him as much as a growing boy requires (_and that is a great deal_), but do not let him eat gluttonously, as many indulgent parents encourage their children to do. Intemperance in eating cannot be too strongly condemned.

329. _Have you any objections to a boy having pocket money?_

It is a bad practice to allow a boy _much_ pocket money; if he be so allowed, he will be loading his stomach with sweets, fruit, and pastry, and thus his stomach will become cloyed and disordered, and the keen appetite, so characteristic of youth, will be blunted, and ill health will ensue. “In a public education, boys early learn temperance, and if the parents and friends would give them less money upon their usual visits, it would be much to their advantage, since it may justly be said that a great part of their disorders arise from surfeit, ‘_plus occidit gula quam gladius_’ (gluttony kills more than the sword).”

How true is the saying that “many people dig their graves with their teeth.” You may depend upon it that more die from stuffing than from starvation!

AIR AND EXERCISE.

330. _Have you any remarks to make on fresh air and exercise for boys and girls?_

Girls and boys, especially the former, are too much confined within doors. It is imperatively necessary, if you wish them to be strong and healthy, that they should have plenty of fresh air and exercise; remember, I mean fresh air—country air, not the close air of a town. By exercise, I mean the free unrestrained use of the limbs. Girls, in this respect, are unfortunately worse off than boys, although they have similar muscles to develop, similar lungs that require fresh air, and similar nerves to be braced and strengthened. It is not considered ladylike to be natural—all their movements must be measured by rule and compass!

The reason why so many young girls of the present day are so sallow, undersized, and ill-shaped, is for the want of air and exercise. After a time the want of air and exercise, by causing ill health, makes them slothful and indolent—it is a trouble for them to move from their chairs!

Respiration, digestion, and a proper action of the bowels imperatively demand fresh air and exercise. Ill health will inevitably ensue if boys and girls are cooped up a great part of the day in a close room. A distinguished writer of the present day says: “The children of the very poor are always out and about. In this respect they are an example to those careful mammas who keep their children, the whole day long, in their chairs, reading, writing, ciphering, drawing, practicing music lessons, doing crochet work, or anything, in fact, except running about, in spite of the sunshine always peeping in and inviting them out of doors; and who, in the due course of time, are surprised to find their children growing up with incurable heart, head, lung, or stomach complaints.”

331. _What is the best exercise for youths?_

Walking or running, provided it be not carried to fatigue. The slightest approach to it should warn a youth to desist from carrying it further.