“Spades”4“Two Spades”14“Three Spades”24“Clubs”6“Two Clubs”16“Three Clubs”26“Diamonds”8“Two Diamonds”18“Three Diamonds”28“Hearts”10“Two Hearts”20“Three Hearts”30“Without Trumps”12“Two without Trumps”22“Three without”32
Declaring.—The dealer commences with one declaration, then the player on left hand, and so on; each declaration must be of a higher value than the previous one.Any number of declarations may be made by any player, but after each declaration all the other players have the right to declare in their turn, but no declaration can be made after all the 4 players have consecutively said “Pass.” A player not wishing to declare says “Pass.” Should, at the commencement, no declaration be made by the dealer, and all the players in their turn say “Pass,” the cards are thrown up, and the deal passes on as usual. This is called a “Bird,” and 300 points are noted, to be added to the score of points of the winners of the rubber. Several “Birds” may occur during a rubber, and are noted thus ⩋ = 300 points. A declaration of “Spades” or other suit, or “Without trumps,” means that 7 or more tricks will be made with declared suit trumps; “2 Spades” or other suit, 8 tricks will be made; “3 of a suit, or without trumps,” 9 tricks, and so on.
Scoring—Is noted at the end of each hand, every trick counting thus, with a declaration of “Spades,” AB., 7 tricks = 28; CD., 6 tricks = 24. A declaration of, say “3 Diamonds,” then AB. 9 tricks = 252; and CD., 4 tricks = 112; or if AB. make 10 tricks = 280; and CD. 3 = 84. Big Schlem, 1000; little ditto, 500; rubber, 1000; game, 500. Bird 300 each, scored to winners of rubber.
Honours, &c.—The 10 counts as an honour; 1 or 2 honours do not count; 3 honours, score according to value of suit thus: 3 honours spades score 120 (a zero always being added); 4 = 160; 5 = 200.
3 honours in, say hearts = 300; 4, 400; 5, 500. 3 aces count 150; 4, 200; 1 or 2 do not count. A game being played “without trumps,” honours do not count; but aces score, for 3, 300, 4, 400. The honours and aces may be in the 2 partners’ hands, as at whist.
Penalties.—Should the number of tricks declared not be made, the penalty is reckoned thus: For a declaration of, say “Spades,” other suit, or “without trumps,” 400 points for every trick under the number declared; a declaration of “Two” of any suit, 800 points; for “Three,” 1200 points for every trick, and so on. Thus, if the declaration was “Five” of a suit, or “without trumps,” and only 9 tricks were made, or 2 short, the penalty would be 4000 to be scored to the opponents. Penalties, honours, aces, &c., are scored above the line, and do not count towards game, but are scored as points. The total number of points scored by the losers during the game, and also the rubber, must be deducted from the winners’ score, the balance, if any, credited to the winners; or it may happen that the winners of a rubber may lose in points. Should the game be for stakes, so much per point should be calculated.
Illustrative “Vint” Hand.
A.’s Hand.C.’s Hand.Ace, 10, 7♠King, Qn, 5, 4♠10, 5♥Ace, Kg, Kv, 7, 4♥King, 7♣5, 3♣Ace, Kg, Q, 8, 7, 2♦9, 5♦B.’s Hand.D.’s Hand.9, 3, 2♠Knave, 8, 6♠3, 2♥Queen, 9, 8, 6♥Ace, Knv, 9, 6, 2♣Queen, 10, 8, 4♣Knave, 6, 3♦10, 4♦
A. and B. are partners. A. is the dealer, and begins declaring
A.—“Diamonds.”C.—“Pass.”C.—“Hearts.”B.—“Pass.”B.—“Two clubs.”D.—“Pass.”D.—“Two hearts.”A.—“Four diamonds.”A.—“Three spades.”C.—“Pass.”C.—“Pass.”B.—“Pass.”B.—“Three diamonds.”D.—“Pass.”D.—“Pass.”A.—“Pass.”A.—“Four clubs.”
A. and B. have to make 10 tricks, with diamonds as trumps. C. leads.
A. and B. make 10 tricks, scored thus:
CD.AB.3 aces1504 honours320————————————————114380
The above hand is only given to show how the declaring may be made. (The Field.)
Supplementary Literature.
Mrs. Orrinsmith: ‘The Drawing-room; its decorations and furniture.’ London, 1878. 2s.6d.
Henry J. Dakin: ‘The Stage in the Drawing-room; or the Theatre at Home. Practical Hints on Amateur Acting for Amateur Actors.’ London, 1883. 1s.
Capt. Crawley: ‘The Handy Book of Games for Gentlemen. Billiards, Bagatelle, Backgammon, Chess, Draughts, Whist, Loo, Cribbage, Écarté, Picquet, All Fours, Quadrille, Pope Joan, Matrimony, Vingt-un, Quinze, Put, Speculation, &c.’ London, 1876. 5s.
Cavendish’s ‘Pocket Guides to Backgammon, Chess, Draughts, &c.’ London, 1878. 6d.each.
The Room.—Some of the conditions affecting bedrooms have been already discussed on p.101. It is not necessary to say anything about the special ventilation of bedrooms, for the same principles apply to them as to other rooms; but, in passing, it will be well to mention that there should be a floor space of at least 42 ft. to each person, and at least 500 cub. ft. of air space—more if possible; 12 ft. is quite high enough for ordinary rooms; all space above this is wasted, so far as health is concerned. There should be as little in the way of carpeting, bed and window curtains, as is consistent with comfort. Light metal bedsteads are the best. The floor is best stained and polished. Avoid crowding with heavy furniture as much as possible. If the bed is out of the way of direct draught, it is a good plan in summer to let down the top sash of the window a little way. Sleep will be more refreshing and sounder than if the window had been closed all night.
Edis would have the whole floor of the room stained and varnished, or painted, and strips of carpet, matting, or rugs thrown down only where required; these can be taken up and shaken every day without trouble, and the evil of fixed carpets is thus avoided. If, however, a carpet must be laid down, let it on no account go under the bed or within 2 ft. of the walls; the spaces under the bed or wall furniture would rarely be swept, and under heavy wardrobes and chests of drawers there would be a gradual accumulation of dirt and dust, until such time as the annual general turn-out and cleansing takes place. At least, leave the floor uncarpeted underneath a bed, so that the boards can be swept daily and scoured weekly. But if the room is close carpeted, a tightly-stretched piece of holland should be pinned down under the bed to receive the flue, which is certain to accumulate; the holland cloth can be taken away and replaced as frequently as occasion requires.
For the walls, Edis suggests a dark matting dado as a base, and the remainder of the wall to be distempered of some grateful soft tint, with graceful pattern border and frieze stencilled on, and here and there panels formed in the decoration, with enclosing lines of bright and well-selected colours, wherein might be enframed looking glasses, and here and there watercolours or photographs, as forming part of the decoration of the room, but not standing out of it in any too prominent manner. All this kind of work can be treated simply, and at little cost, and the distemper work can be rubbed over with bread crumbs, or brushed down, and so easily cleaned.
The general woodwork of the doors, windows, and skirtings should be painted in some plain colour to harmonise or contrast with the wall decoration, and the whole varnished; woodwork finished in this way can be easily washed or cleaned, and the extra expense of varnishing will be saved in a few years. Now that good painted tiles can be obtained at small expense, they may be used in washing stands with good effect, or the wall above might be lined entirely with them to a height of 2-3 ft.
With regard to warming bedrooms. It surely requires but very little common sense to see that it must be thoroughly bad for people to spend their evenings in warm comfortable rooms, with the thermometer at 60° F., and then to take their departure for chilly bedrooms, along cold passages, and to undress in a temperature of 30°-35° F. Even the strongest constitution must suffer more or less by such a proceeding. The favourite argument against warm bedrooms is that it is weakening. Sleeping in badlyventilated,hotrooms, may be weakening; but sleeping in a temperature of 50°-60° F. cannot possibly be so. If it were, then healthy sleep in the summer would be impossible. It is, of course, essential that the heating apparatus—be it a stove, a fire-place, hot-water pipes, hot-air ducts, or gas-stoves—should not consume the oxygen from the room without at the same time provision being made for the admission of fresh air from without. This fresh air from without need not, however, come into the room in a cold state. It may be first warmed by passing near to the fire or heating apparatus. Providing the above precautions be taken, there is no fear of warm rooms being injurious to health. Some grates suited to bedrooms have been described on pp.61-71, especially the “Eagle”; but all grates possess objections for a bedroom, and probably the very best warming medium would be a soda acetate stove, as spoken of on p.82.
As to flowers in a bedroom, it seems pretty safe to assume that the mischief of a dozen or two is theoretical rather than practical, and that those who like flowers in their bedroom may indulge their fancy quite safely. But it should be borne in mind that certain plants may throw off much larger quantities of carbonic acid gas than others; and some emit unpleasant odours. In any case, where flowers are grown in bedrooms, there should be very free ventilation.
The position of the bed in the room is of much importance, although many are utterly regardless of it. It depends on the size of the room, the part occupied by the fireplace, and the position of the windows. If possible, the bedstead should always be put between the door and windows; not at the end of a long room, where the fresh air can never blow upon it; and not opposite to the windows, as the glare from them is not agreeable on first awakening. It is not easy to lay down fixed rules, but the housewife should give this a proper amount of thought and care. It is wrong to place beds sideways against a wall, as they invariably spoil the paper or paint, and will very likely be badly made.
Servants are very often put in attics without fireplaces. This is an unwholesome plan which should be avoided, as without a chimney there cannot be proper ventilation. When an attic is the only available servants’ room, some ventilation should be effected by boring holes in the wall, or by making one large hole and inserting a grating. An open grate is, however, far preferable, as it greatly conduces to the wholesomeness of any sleeping room to have a fire lighted in it several times in the course of the winter. Bare boards, with good strips of carpet round the beds, a chest of drawers, looking-glass, and neat washstand for each servant, and a couple of cane chairs, would be quite enough for a room occupied by two maids. Each maid should certainly have a separate bed, and a comfortable one. Servants’ beds should never have valances round them, as it encourages a habit of keeping boxes and rubbish under the beds, which is most untidy and unwholesome. There should be a couple of bags hung up for soiled linen, unless a wash-basket can be spared. The room should be not only swept out every week in turn with the other bedrooms, but also well scrubbed all over with carbolic soap, and left to dry with windows and door open. If this is done, the room will never get stuffy. Encourage everything in the way of neatness and refinement. Cotton, twill, or unbleached linen is suitable for sheeting. Each servant should have one clean sheet a week, changing the upper one to the lower regularly. A clean pillowcase every week is generally necessary, and one large or two small towels. A bell communicating between the mistress’s room and the servants’ is a great convenience for calling them in the morning. Insist on having the beds stripped and the window opened as soon as the servants are up.
The Bed.—To revert to the bedstead, its size and length are well worthy of consideration. Of course these may vary according to the fancy of the occupant; but, unless in exceptional cases, a bed should never be less than 6 ft. 6 in. in length for a grown person. A tall man may be made utterly miserable by a bed too short for him, while the extra inches make but little difference, even in a small room. The widthmust vary as the tenant likes; but a bedstead to contain 2 persons should certainly never be less than 5 ft. 6 in., and will be better at 6 ft. in width.
The feather bed is now acknowledged to be a mistake, and detrimental to health and strength. It is both enervating and luxurious; it heats and relaxes the spine, and enfeebles the whole frame. Notwithstanding that warmth is considered of the utmost necessity for an infant, feather beds are now never put in their cots or bassinettes, wool and hair mattresses being used instead. In larger bedsteads in private houses, spring and hair mattresses have almost completely taken the place of the feather bed. Nevertheless, it should by no means be tabooed in the case of the old and infirm, who, having lost the quick pulsation so necessary for the warmth of the body, and still more the pliability of their limbs, require the surrounding softness of the feather bed to afford them the caloric they so much need, and a greater support and more yielding substance than the mattress to afford them rest. For them the feather bed is highly useful and desirable; but for the vigorous and the young there is not this excuse, and it should never be allowed. Besides which it is expensive, and requires much care to protect it from the moth.
The advantages of chaff beds are many. Real chaff, not chopped straw, is used for them, and they are cheap, easily filled, and easily renewed; the latter should be done once a year. Delightfully soft, and at the same time supporting, they have not the stuffy heat of feathers, but are warmer than mattresses. A chaff pillow and bolster to those suffering from headaches are luxuries. In making the bed, chaff must be well shaken.
The horsehair mattress is now usually preferred, and is an agreeable substitute, being cooler, more comfortable, and far better than the feather bed from a sanitary point of view. Then there is the wool or flock mattress, much less expensive, and very commonly found in servants’ rooms and in the dwellings of the poorer classes. It soon, however, wears flat, and even with care becomes lumpy after a short time, and moth is very likely to attack it. Even when mixed with hair, it makes an unsatisfactory bed, and loses much of the springiness which is so pleasant a sensation in one of superior horsehair. It must be owned, however, that not a little of the discomfort of wool mattresses is owing to the carelessness with which they are treated. If now and again they were unpicked, and the wool well carded, they could easily be restored to their first state and made clean and comfortable—for the tick which contains the wool is capable of being washed during the picking and carding process. French mattresses are irreproachable. It is the custom throughout France to renew the mattress once a year; and taking advantage of the summer months, they remove the tick covering, and pick, card, and pull the wool or hair until they have restored it to its original elasticity. The tick or covering is then replaced by a clean one, and very wholesome and pleasant is the result. The wool mattress is not at any time so pleasant as one made of horsehair, nor is it so durable; and indeed it is well to bear in mind, that the most economical method in the end is invariably to purchase the best material.
The housemaid should have strict injunctions to beat, shake, and turn all mattresses each morning, and they should be brushed all over from to time, in order to prevent dust and flue from accumulating underneath the little leather stars through which the thread for ticking the mattress down is passed. To prevent the edge of the mattress from becoming soiled, it is an admirable plan to sew or tack a border of glazed holland all round the palliasse and mattresses; and a still better one is to have them put into large white covers, after the fashion of a pillow case, as these may be removed and washed at will, keeping the external tick always as good as new.
A straw palliasse is the first thing placed upon the laths of the bed: with a proper amount of care this should last a lifetime. The spring mattress takes the place of it in many instances, being an invention of modern times. It is much more expensive, but is held in high esteem by most housewives, being considered superior in comfort to anyother kind. But some housewives still prefer the palliasse, declaring that, with two good hair mattresses placed above it, no bed can be superior to it in elasticity and comfort.
The spring bed has its faults; the wires underneath, not easily reached, collect dust, and they may get out of order, in which case they occasion no small discomfort. The best spring bed is that called the Sommier Tucker—on a new principle, without a covering, so that it can be entirely cleaned and dusted throughout. These beds are undoubtedly cool and have the advantage of giving great elasticity to the bed, as indeed do all of their kind. A hair mattress is always placed on the springs; this, if well brushed and tended, ought to require only occasional renewal, perhaps once in 8-10 years.
The bolster is always of feathers; the pillows may be manufactured either of feathers or down, according to the fancy of the housewife. This is quite a matter of taste; and some like a hard, others a very soft pillow. The shape must also vary, according to the ideas of those most concerned. The oblong is the usual form, but a square cut one, after the French fashion, is a very comfortable style of pillow. The number of blankets must vary, according to each person’s taste and the time of year, but 2 on an average, are enough for temperate weather. Great care should be taken in the purchasing of these: they should be of the best quality, and the wool free from a mixture of cotton. They should be washed at least once a year; but that ought to be enough, as they are impoverished by constant cleansing. For winter wear the Witney blanket is a delightful covering. Sheets may be made either of linen or cotton, and their textures are numerous; varying from the delicate fine linen of the wealthy and luxurious housewife, to the thick, coarse, unbleached cotton of the poorer classes. Linen is the most durable, and is generally used in preference to cotton, as being more pleasant to the touch. It is cooler, preferable for summer wear, and some people are rendered hot and uncomfortable when sleeping in cotton sheets at any time of the year. In winter however, much may be said in their favour. By using them, the chill which first contact with linen invariably gives the skin is avoided. For children’s beds they are much the best, and can be bought of as fine a quality as the housewife desires. Twilled cotton wears the longest, and is a very suitable material for servants’ sheets. For keeping the feet warm there is no covering so pleasant as the eider down quilt, its lightness being its greatest recommendation. But each person has his or her idiosyncrasies on the matter of quilts, and the arrangement of the bed.
Making Beds.—Bear in mind, to begin with, that, unless a bed is properly aired every day, it certainly will not be a place of rest. Remember the instant you get up, to throw back all top clothes, and let the air come freely to the lower sheet. This will be a great help to the housemaid later on. A bed should always be stripped daily.
Every girl should, as a matter of course, learn to make her bed, and it would be very good for her if she had to do it regularly as part of the daily routine. Naturally, while little, she would require help and supervision; but after 14 she ought to make her bed, and be responsible for the general tidiness of her room, with no further interference than the sweeping and a little help in turning the mattresses. Rooms would be more daintily kept if girls were encouraged to see to such things and the housemaid would be saved a good deal of work.
The proper course in bed-making is as follows: The bolster and pillows should, after a slight shake, be laid aside; the mattress freed of the bedclothes, should be raised and allowed to stay in an arch for a few minutes, to let the air get to the palliasse or spring bed; then it should be turned head to foot, or side to side, to equalise the wear, and well kneaded and shaken, to prevent any hard lumps gathering. Next lay the binder blanket smoothly over it, then the sheet, allowing the piece at the top to roll the bolster in, if you do not use a bolster-case, tuck sheet and blanket firmly in at foot and sides; shake and toss the bolster well, and see the feathers are evenly distributed, roll it up in the sheet-end left for that purpose, and tuck the ends in well under the mattress, straining the sheet evenly and carefully to prevent folds and creases.Then lay on the top sheet, tucking it in well first at the foot end. Draw it up straight and even to the top; repeat this process with the blankets and the quilt; fold blankets and sheets well in under the mattress, letting the sides of the quilt hang evenly and loose over them all; then turn back the top of the sheet ½ ft. over blankets and quilt and finally turn all together back just below the bolster; shake the pillows as you did the bolster, place them in position, and then when you have laid the eider down quilt in its place your bed is made. The mattress should be dusted daily, and once a week the whole bed should be brushed and overhauled.
Sleep.Bedfellows.—There is nothing that will so derange the nervous system of a person who is eliminative in nervous force as to lie all night in bed with another person who is absorbent in nervous force. The absorber will go to sleep and rest all night; while the eliminator will be tumbling and tossing, restless and nervous, and wake up in the morning fretful, peevish, fault-finding, and discouraged. No 2 persons, no matter who they are, should habitually sleep together. One will thrive and the other will lose. So say the doctors.
Length of Sleep.—It is manifestly impossible to lay down any universally applicable rule as to the number of hours which it is desirable to sleep. Probably no two persons require precisely the same amount of slumber, and it is scarcely likely that any person needs the same length of sleep on all occasions. Sleep is the state in which the fires are, so to say, damped down, and the machinery has opportunity for cooling. The bow is, as it were, unstrung, and may recover its elasticity during the recurring periods of slumber. The great point is to secure what Bichât characterised as “general” sleep made up of particular sleeps. The whole body should be rested—so far as any avoidable demand on its energy is concerned—during sleep. If sleep be thorough, then a short spell will do more good than a much longer duration of sleep that is incomplete and imperfect, both in its nature and in its effects. Sleep is a distinctly natural function, and therefore, both as regards its induction and management, ought to be performed in conformity with natural laws. Practically, a man should sleep until he is refreshed. The mistake many persons make is in attempting to govern what must be a matter of instinct by volitional control. When we are weary we ought to sleep, and when we wake we should get up. There are no more vicious habits than adopting measures to “keep awake” or employing artifices, or, still worse, resorting to drugs and other devices to induce or prolong sleep. Dozing is the very demoralisation of the sleep function, and from this pernicious habit arises much of the so-called sleeplessness—more accurately wakefulness—from which multitudes suffer.
The secret of good sleep is (the physiological conditions of rest being established) to so work and weary the several parts of the organism as to give them a proportionally equal need of rest at the same moment. The cerebrum or mind organ, the sense organs, the muscular system, and the viscera should be all ready to sleep together, and, so far as may be possible, they should be equally tired. To wake early and feel ready to rise, this fair and equal start of the sleepers should be secured; and the wise self-manager should not allow a drowsy feeling of the consciousness or weary senses, or an exhausted muscular system, to beguile him into the folly of going to sleep again when once his consciousness has been aroused. After a very few days of self-discipline the man who resolves not to “doze,” that is, to allow some still sleepy part of his body to keep him in bed after his brain has once awakened, will find himself, without knowing how, “an early riser.”
Wakefulness.—The difficulties about sleep and sleeplessness—apart from dreams—are almost uniformly fruits of a perverse refusal to comply with the laws of nature. Take, for example, the case of a man who cannot sleep at night, or rather who, having fallen asleep, wakes. If he is what is called strong-minded, he thinks, or perhaps reads, and falls asleep again. This being repeated lays the foundation of a habit of waking in the night and thinking or reading to induce sleep. Before long the thinking or reading fails to induce sleep, and habitual sleeplessness occurs, for which remedies are sought and mischief is done. If the wakeful man would only rouse himself on waking, and getup and do a full day’s work, of any sort, and not doze during the day, when next the night came round his 16 or 20 hours of wakefulness would be rewarded by a sleep of 9-10 hours in length; and one or two of these manful struggles against a perverted tendency to abnormal habit would rectify the error and avert the calamity. The cure for sleeplessness must be natural, because sleep is a state of natural rhythmical function. You cannot tamper with the striking movement of a clock without injuring it, and you cannot tamper with orderly recurrence of sleep without impairing the very constitution of things on which the orderly performance of the function depends. (Lancet.)
Nothing lowers the vital forces more than sleeplessness, which may generally be traced to one of four causations: (1) Mental worry; (2) a disordered stomach; (3) excessive muscular exertion; (4) functional or organic disease. Loss of sleep is, when rightly understood, one of Nature’s premonitory warnings that some of her physical laws have been violated. When we are troubled with sleeplessness, it becomes requisite to discover the primary cause, and then to adopt suitable means for its removal. When insomnia (sleeplessness) arises from mental worry, it is indeed most difficult to remove. The best and perhaps only effectual plan under such circumstances is a spare diet, combined with plenty of outdoor exercise, thus to draw the blood from the brain; for it is as impossible for the brain to continue active without a due circulation of blood, as it is for an engine to move without steam.
When suffering from mental distress, a hot soap bath before retiring to rest is an invaluable agent for obtaining sleep, as by its means a more equable blood pressure becomes established, promoting a decrease of the heart’s action and relaxation of the blood vessels. Many a sleepless night owes its origin to the body’s temperature being unequal. In mental worry, the head is often hot and the feet cold, the blood being driven to the brain. The whole body should be well washed over with carbolic soap and sponged withveryhot water. The blood then becomes diverted from the brain, owing to an adequate diffusion of circulation. Tea and coffee should not be taken of an evening when persons suffer from insomnia, as they directly induce sleeplessness, being nervine stimulants. A sharp walk of about 20 minutes is also very serviceable before going to bed. (Chambers Journal.)
Sleeplessness is sometimes engendered by a disordered stomach. Whenever this organ is overloaded, its powers are disordered, and wakefulness or a restless night is its usual accompaniment. No food should be taken at least within 1 hour of bedtime. It cannot be too generally realised that the presence of undigested food in the stomach is one of the most prevailing causes of sleeplessness. (Dr. C. J. B. Williams.)
Persons suffering from either functional or organic disease are peculiarly liable to sleeplessness. When inability to sleep persistently occurs, and cannot be traced to any perverted mode of life or nutrition, there is good reason for surmising that some latent malady gives rise to so truly a distressing condition. Under these circumstances, instead of making bad worse, by swallowing deadly sleeping drugs, a scientific physician should be without delay consulted. Functional disorders of the stomach, liver, and heart are often the primary source of otherwise unaccountable wakefulness.
Recently, the dangerous and lamentable habit of promiscuously taking sleeping draughts has unfortunately become very prevalent, entailing misery and ill health to a terrible degree. Most persons addicted to this destructive practice erroneously think that it is better to take a sleeping draught than lie awake. A greater mistake could hardly exist. All opiates more or less occasion mischief, and even the state of stupefaction they induce utterly fails to bring about that revitalisation resulting from natural sleep. The physiological effect of hypnotics, or sleeping draughts, upon the system is briefly as follows: They paralyse the nerve centres and disorder the stomach, rendering it unfit for its duties; they have life destroying properties in a low degree; the condition they produce is not sleep, but a counterfeit state of unconsciousness; and they directly poison the blood, consequent upon its carbonisation, resulting from their action. Of allhypnotics, chloral is by far the most deadly, and should never, under any circumstances, be taken except under medical supervision.
To epitomise what has already been said regarding wakefulness; its rational cure should be arrived at in each individual case by seeking out the cause, and then removing the morbid action, of which it is but a natural sequence. Lastly, sleeplessness under no circumstances should be neglected, as it acts disastrously both on the mental and physical forces.
Dr. Corning drops a few simple hints which may be of value. In the first place, he insists that people should have a regular time for going to sleep, and it should be as soon as can well be after sunset. People who sleep at any time, according to convenience, get less benefit from their sleep than others; getting sleep becomes more difficult; there is a tendency to nervous excitability and derangement; the repair of the system does not equal the waste. The more finely organised people are, the greater the difficulty and the danger from this cause. The first thing in order to sleep well is to go to bed at a regular hour, and make it as early as possible. The next thing is to exclude all worry and exciting subjects of thought from the mind some time before retiring. The body and mind must be let down from the high-pressure strain before going to bed, so that nature can assert her rightful supremacy afterwards. Another point is, never to thwart the drowsy impulse when it comes at the regular time by special efforts to keep awake, for this drowsiness is the advance guard of healthy, restorative sleep. Sleep is a boon which must not be tampered with and put off, for if compelled to wait, it is never so perfect and restful as if taken in its own natural time and way. The right side is the best to sleep on, except in special cases of disease, and the position should be nearly horizontal. Finally, the evening meal should be composed of food most easily digested and assimilated, so that the stomach will have little hard work to do. A heavy, rich dinner taken in the evening is one of the things that murder sleep, says Dr. Corning; yet many people will say just the opposite, and find they sleep most readily on a full stomach; obviously this rule varies with surrounding conditions. Late suppers with exciting foods and stimulating drinks make really restorative sleep next to impossible. Narcotics are to be avoided, save as used in cases of disease by competent physicians. The proper time, according to Dr. Corning, to treat sleeplessness is in the day-time, and it must be treated by a wise and temperate method of living rather than by medicines.
Dr. Rogers asserts that invalid children with little disposition to sleep may be induced to do so by placing their cots due north and south, with the child’s head to the north. There may be some truth in this popular superstition that the magnetic current induces sleep; but “due north” is not “magnetic north” by a long way.
Frank Buckland’s remedy for insomnia is “onions—simply common onions raw, but Spanish onions stewed will do.” The oil contained in onions, he thinks, has highly soporific powers, and in his own case they never fail.
Great benefit is sometimes derived from the use of a hop pillow on special occasions.
Snoring.—This is caused by sleeping with an open mouth. It is just possible that by a resolute and determined effort of will the habit may be overcome; breathing by day through the nostrils only and pursing up the mouth firmly will help much towards it. It is well to urge upon all parents and nurses the absolute necessity of their training all young children to sleep with mouth shut. Never allow an infant to get the contrary habit. Watch it in early life, and close its lips when it is falling off to sleep, which can easily be done with thumb and finger, holding them together for a few seconds. The habit thus acquired wards off consumption in after-life. Coughs and colds contribute to the tendency to snore by stopping the nostrils wholly or partially, thus rendering breathing through the mouth imperative. In this case, clear your nose well at night, using snuff if necessary, and keep your mouth closed.
Supplementary Literature.
Lady Barker: ‘The Bedroom and Boudoir.’ London, 1878. 2s.6d.
The Toilet.—Beyond the advice to avoid all cheap scented soaps, the following notes will be useful:—
The Hands.—A little ammonia or borax in the water you wash your hands with, and that water just lukewarm, will keep the skin clean and soft. A little oatmeal mixed with the water will whiten the hands. Many people use glycerine on their hands when they go to bed, wearing gloves to keep the bedding clean; but glycerine does not agree with every one. It makes some skins harsh and red. These people should rub their hands with dry oatmeal and wear gloves in bed. The best preparation for the hands at night is the white of egg with a grain of alum dissolved in it. Quacks have a fancy name for it; but all can make it and spread it over their hands, and the job is done. They also make the Roman toilet paste. It is merely white of egg, barley flour, and honey. They say it was used by the Romans in olden time. Any way, it is a first-rate thing; but it is a sticky sort of stuff to use, and does not do the work any better than oatmeal. The roughest and hardest hands can be made soft and white in a month’s time by doctoring them a little at bed time, and all the tools you need are a nail brush, a bottle of ammonia, a box of powdered borax, and a little fine white sand to rub the stains off, or a cut of lemon, which will do even better. To soften hard water use Maignen’s “anti-calcaire.” If a man works at any mechanical business, or any which involves muscular exertion, the hands will always, do what he may to them, show signs thereof. But some men’s hands show work much more than others. In some the epidermis does not seem to get callous and horny, nor the muscles thicken nor swell much, while in others the least contact with tools makes the hand look as if the owner had worked as a day-labourer all his life. It seems to me that the thinner the skin, the more, as a rule, the hands show the effect of work. The only palliative is working in gloves, but this is a great nuisance. Sandballs or pumice soap will remove horniness. Now, as to the care of the nails. The great beauty of the nails is being long, the “quick” coming close to the extremity of the fingers, and the “half-moon” near the root being as large as possible. The best chance of cultivating these merits is, first, never to touch the quick with a penknife and to press back with a towel, on drying the hands, the skin which grows over the half-moon. This skin ought never to be cut, as that only stimulates and increases its growth. In some, however, it seems to show no tendency to do so. Nothing more than this can be done by art towards obtaining delicate finger nails, which, of course, are a great attraction in either sex; and, as they show personal cleanliness and niceness, are a laudable object of ambition.
Removing a Tight Ring.—A novel method of effecting the removal of a ring which has become constricted around a swollen finger, or in any other similar situation, consists simply in enveloping the afflicted member, after the manner of a circular bandage, in a length of flat indiarubber braid, such as ladies make use of to keep their hats on the top of their heads. This should be accurately applied—beginning, not close to the ring, but at the tip of the finger, and leaving no intervals between the successive turns, so as to exert its elastic force gradually and gently upon the tissues underneath. When the binding is complete, the hand should be held aloft in a vertical position, and in a few minutes the swelling will be perceptibly diminished. The braid is then taken off and immediately applied in the same manner, when, after another5 minutes, the finger, if again rapidly uncovered, will be small enough for the ring to be removed with ease. This plan need only be resorted to when wetting and soaping the fingers have failed.
The Hair.—Baldness comes chiefly of the artificial determination of blood to the head, and to the heat and perspiration thence arising. The result is a relaxed condition of the scalp and loss of hair. If the skin of the head be kept in a healthy state the hair will not fall off. To keep it healthy, the head-covering should be light and porous, the head kept clean by washings with water, and the hair cut short.
Ladies are often in trouble about their hair between the ages of 17-30. The hair may be unruly; it may come out; the scalp may be at fault, or the fat-glands act improperly. The hair may be too dry, and get brittle; this arises sometimes from the too free use of spirit washes of various kinds, or from dyes. The remedy is plain. The great complaint is that the hair gets thin. If there be any debility present the hair will mostly thin out. In these cases it is as well, for a time at any rate, to keep the hair rather shorter than usual, and to take general tonics. If there be indigestion present this must be remedied; if neuralgia, quinine should be taken. The most troublesome instances of loss of hair follow in the wake of violent attacks of neuralgia of the head, brought on by some mental excitement or depression. In these cases very much may be done by the use internally of remedies that give tone to the nervous system, such as nux vomica, bark, quinine, and steel. After these have done good service, local applications, especially ammonia, are serviceable.
It is a fashion with very many young ladies to wear their hair in different styles, that necessitate frequent variations in its length. This is productive of much harm. At one time nature has to furnish a large, at other times a small crop, and lapses into a state of indifferent weakness in consequence. The one great cause of thinning of the hair is unquestionably general debility. In the majority of such cases 1 teaspoonful tincture of gentian, with about 10 drops diluted hydrochloric acid, should be taken twice a day in a wineglassful of water, and the scalp rubbed with some such as the following lotion night and morning: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.; tincture of nux vomica, 3 dr.; tincture of capsicum, 7 dr.; otto of roses, 2 drops; and rosewater, 4 oz. It is almost identical with the nux vomica lotion of Corbyn and Co., Bond Street, the very best preparation of its kind.
The heated and crowded rooms at balls and parties are in some cases very injurious to a good state of the hair. The gas acts very hurtfully in those cases in which the hair and the scalp are very dry. The only plan here is to use to the scalp such a simple preventive as the glycerine lotion already recommended.
At no time is general thinning of the hair more marked or more frequent than after confinements, or in mothers who are nursing when in a somewhat debilitated condition. Here general tonics are needed. The following lotion, of a stimulating character, may be employed with great advantage at the same time: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.; rum, 1 oz.; glycerine 2 dr.; tincture of lytta, 4 dr.; elder-flower water, 4 oz.; or tincture of bark, 4 dr.; cherry-laurel water, 4 oz.; glycerine, 2 dr. It will be seen at once that the treatment of almost all cases of general thinning of the hair is not merely local but constitutional, and that we may pour and besmear tons of the most nutritious liquids and pastes, pomades, and the like upon an unfortunate head without doing much good. It is necessary that the machinery itself be given the power to work healthily and happily, and such power is given from the nutritive organs in the centre of our bodies, and by the vital fluid that flows in our veins and arteries.
As a remedy for dandriff, a French physician recommends that a solution of chloral hydrate, containing 5 per cent., should be applied to the scalp by means of a sponge every morning. The quantity employed should be ½-1 oz. A slight burning sensation and reddening of the scalp occurs, disappearing after 2 minutes. If the hair has fallen off in consequence of the dandriff it will be renewed in about a month.
A teaspoonful of ammonia, added to 1 qt. of water, is the best possible agent for cleansing hair brushes.
Shaving.—(a) Soreness from shaving may be cured by anointing the part with glycerine every night before going to bed, and dusting it with precipitated Fuller’s-earth after shaving.
(b) Before you begin, study the grain of your beard in the glass, and do not shave against the grain. In some beards the grain runs from one ear to the other, instead of both shaping to the chin. In others the grain runs half way down the neck, and then half way up. Next wash very thoroughly before you shave in warm water, which will be lathering No. 1, rubbing the beard with the lump of soap and fingers with good perseverance. Then commence lathering No. 2, using the brush with really hot water, aiming to produce as thick a soapy composition on the skin as possible to fill up the spaces between the hairs. Dipping the fingers in a little oil softens the beard, and prevents the lather drying so quick. You cannot lather too much. Strop your razor on your own hand, and preserve it from damp by wiping it only on chamois leather. Never lay a razor down open, and put it away safely in its case. If you will take extra trouble in the lathering you will get an easy shave. Hairdressers set razors better than cutlers.
Toothbrushes.—Tap the brush before using it, to see if you can jerk out any loose bristles. Tap the brush after using it, to shake out the water, and put it away fairly dry. Do not keep it closely shut up in a brush tray or dressing-bag bottle. Loose bristles may be found in a new brush in consequence of the wire having cut the bristles in half while drawing them into the hole, the knot being too full. Bristles may project beyond the level of the serge, the knot being too slack; clip them off; do not withdraw them, and thereby make the knot still more slack. Bristles will perish if brushes are put away thoroughly wet, and left for days to get thoroughly dry; after a time, even with the greatest care, this will happen. Brushes will smell offensively if closely shut up when wet; they will also become discoloured. Some people select a brush too soft for their requirement, and make it harder by pressure, breaking down the bristles, which they would not do if their brush was sufficiently hard.
Dressing-jackets and gowns.—Under the term “combing jacket,” people often include, not only the loose garment thrown over the shoulders while doing one’s hair, but the warm, becoming jacket required by an invalid sitting up in bed. It is best to distinguish between the two, and to call the latter a camisole. The combing jacket should always be of some washing material. A three-quarters length loose-fitting jacket, with long open sleeves, is best. White muslins and percales in summer, and white flannels and serges in winter, are the most suitable materials; but ordinary prints, if the pattern be pretty, will answer every purpose of home wear. If meant for invalid wear, they should be made as coquettishly as possible—of pale-blue cashmere, with jabots of cream-coloured lace falling down the front.
A very showy little dressing gown, in which one can see servants, tradesmen, and even friends, is made as follows: Run up a crimson quilted sateen walking skirt. As this is to form part of the dressing gown, it must be cut up in front from hem to waist, and fastened together in the ordinary way with buttons. Then choose some pretty chintz or Pompadour material and make up a loose polonaise, separating into two side curtains in front, and bunched up behind. Fasten the band of your quilted petticoat securely to the waist of your polonaise, and you are then able to put on the whole arrangement as you would an ordinary dressing gown. If you make, in addition, a muslin mob cap, trimmed with crimson ribbon, you will present a marked contrast to the usual slovenliness of ordinary dressing gowns.
Undressing.—A certain amount of organic matter gets into the outer clothing, and, therefore, when these garments are taken off they should always be hung up in a current of air. It is a common practice to spread clothing upon the bed, to give additionalwarmth during the night; but this practice is really very pernicious, as the woollen clothes get charged with organic matter, that slowly putrefies, and gives off not only a nasty fusty smell, but also dangerous poisonous fumes. Clothes should always be hung upon pegs.
Dress.—Requirements of clothing.—The object of clothing in cold climates is to retain and economise the heat which is constantly being produced within the body by vital processes, such as digestion, respiration, muscular exercise, and brain work. In hot countries the body must be covered as a protection against the rays of the sun. A secondary object of clothing among women is adornment.
All clothing should be as light as is consistent with sufficient warmth, and should be so fashioned as not to interfere with the proper movements of the body. Easy clothes are much warmer than tight ones, and, paradoxical though it seems, are cooler in warm weather. Admitting of more perfect ventilation, they do not so readily become moist with perspiration, and then cling unpleasantly to the wearer. Some materials permit heat to pass too quickly through them, and do not sufficiently impede evaporation. Of the various substances which only admit of gradual radiation or escape of heat from the body, wool of many different sorts is most generally suitable; and this is produced in such abundance and at such a price that all can obtain clothes made from it. In this we only copy the lower animals which, being exposed to great alternations of temperature, have a loose open fleece or hairy covering; so a loose, open-wove porous material makes the warmest garment. Hence knitted underclothing and fleecy or thick soft cloth for outer wear are cosiest, though it must be admitted not in all cases the most durable. The warmth of the dress depends, too, on the way it is manufactured. It is an established fact that the weight of a material may be largely diminished without destroying any of its heat-preserving powers, and this may even in some cases be increased by manufacturing it very loosely, so as to contain a quantity of air in its meshes, stationary air being a bad conductor of heat. It is in this way that the silk and cotton-netted vests, with meshes ½ in. in diameter, which have been lately introduced, are so warm and sanitary, as, with the aid of the linen and other garments worn over them, a stationary layer of warm air is kept continually next the skin. In warm weather the clothing should be loose, so as to admit freely of currents of air passing over the surface of the body; in winter it should be moulded to the figure, but without being tight. Colour, too, has an influence. If equally thick, dark stuffs are warmest, because such absorb more of the sun’s rays. Light coloured articles of dress reflect more of these rays, and hence are cooler. Grey presents a medium tint which suits our climate well.
Underclothing.—Underclothing should always be of wool, and every one ought, in this climate, and even in India, at all seasons, to wear woollen materials next the skin. This is even more imperative at the two extremes of life; in the cases of infants and aged persons, whose powers of reducing heat are less active than those of individuals in the vigour of middle life or of youth, and who are therefore less able to resist cold. In winter, either hand-knitted under-vests and drawers, or machine made, in imitation of hand-knitted, are the best. In summer these woollen under garments should on no account be entirely laid aside, but when the warm season has fairly set in, here scarcely ever till June is well advanced, thinner and lighter ones, made of merino, should replace the thicker worn in winter and spring. If any article of underclothing is to be thrown off in summer, it should be the drawers, the under vest never during the day. Clothing worn in the daytime should invariably be put off at night, to be replaced by cotton or linen night dresses. Many wear under-flannels night and day, but the good effects which result from wearing flannel next the skin are thus much lessened. Flannel is worn by day when one is actively occupied (and the perspiration is thereby increased) to prevent becoming suddenly chilled. This is unnecessary, as a rule, during sleep. Flannel night dresses are preferable for children to linen or cotton. Children haveless heat-producing powers, and are apt to throw off the bed-clothes. For them a night dress, made somewhat like a bathing costume, suits best, as it is then impossible that, though the bed-clothes are tossed off, the child can be entirely exposed. In old persons, and in those with strongly developed rheumatic tendencies, flannel is also the best material for night dresses; but in all these cases there must be special garments for day and night, each to be reserved for its proper time and use. At night the feet must be kept warm, warmed artificially if cold on going to bed, since, unless they are warm, it is not possible to sleep soundly—in many instances even to sleep at all.
Underclothing for use in the day should not extend farther down the arms than half-way to the elbow, for healthy men, as this permits much greater freedom of movement for the arms; in women and children it should reach from wrists to toes and be cut with a high neck. It should never be allowed to become too dirty before being changed, since this renders it both unwholesome to the wearer and unpleasant to those around him. It gets loaded with perspiration and particles cast off from the skin, which, being animal products, tend readily to decompose. A week is the limit to the time they should be worn before being changed, and thus an endeavour should be made to have a sufficient number of underclothes to allow of this necessary frequency of change. There is no special virtue in coloured flannel. One often hears red or blue flannel, especially when new, credited with surprising qualities; but it has a doubtful advantage in that it does not show dirt so soon as white or cream-coloured, is assuredly not warmer, and brightly dyed wools are often the cause of eruptions on the skin.
Intermediate clothing.—The material of which this is made, varies in the two sexes. Whatever its component parts, it should not be tight. Were the strict underclothing, that worn next the skin, made warm enough, perhaps worn double, there would be less need for the multiplicity of skirts and heavy petticoats still used by some. One woollen under-garment is not so warm as two, even though the one be as thick and as heavy, as the two are separated by a layer of air, and so heat is less rapidly transmitted and lost. Something of what is known as the Bloomer, or rather the modern combination dress, might very well replace all but the gown proper. A very warm material, and not heavy, is found in chamois leather. An under-dress of this has really reason, besides elegance, on its side.
Much has already been said on the subject of stays and tight lacing, but with little real effect. Many women complain that they cannot walk uphill or upstairs without feeling short of breath. This is largely due to the natural expansive movements of breathing being limited to a minimum by stays. Their effect, bad in all cases, is worst in growing girls, whose ribs are still yielding and elastic, and thus more easily compressed. Parents are now becoming somewhat more alive to the fact, that there must be for girls as well as boys a due proportion of free out-door exercise associated with the lessons at school. In too many girls the natural supports of the spine, the muscles of the back and chest, have partly been left undeveloped by want of exercise, partly been wasted and cramped by the pressure and the artificial support of hard, unyielding, and too often tightly laced stays. Hence it is that far more girls than boys have twisted spines. Girls would be as straight as boys are usually had they only fair treatment. The muscles of the back being weak, the girl sits habitually to one side or the other, and what was at first merely an awkward habit, becomes very soon a decided curvature. If something must be worn to support the figure, a softer and more pliant article than ordinary stays might easily be devised. The corset recommended and used at the Girton Ladies’ College is reported to be such. Though the stays may be loose and easy, or absent altogether, dresses are often made or become too tight across the chest. When unbuttoned or unhooked, often a considerable space exists between the buttons and the button-holes, when the shoulders are held only properly back. This should not be. Such dresses prevent the lungs from expanding in the movements of respiration, interfere with easy and full breathing, narrow the chest round the shoulders, and favourif they do not directly lead to, consumption. Dresses for grown up persons should be full across the chest, for growing girls specially so; and when first made they ought to have enough cloth laid in to admit of ready enlargement, for a dress often becomes too small before it is worn out.
Here a few words are needed as to the place from which to hang the clothing—whether it should be supported from the shoulders or the hips (not waist). We heartily endorse Dr. Bernard Roth, when he says that Dr. Richardson is quite wrong in recommending that ladies’ dresses should be made to hang from the shoulders, and not from the hips. Many cases of spinal lateral curvature may be attributed to hanging an excessive weight of clothing from the shoulders. Growing girls and weakly women have sufficient difficulty as it is in holding themselves erect while carrying the head, neck and trunk, and upper extremities, without unnecessarily dragging down the shoulders by the weight of the long and heavy skirts exacted by fashion. It is much more sensible and scientific to attach the skirts to bands round the pelvis, where only the solid hip bone is pressed upon. Another great objection to suspending the skirts from the shoulders is that the respiratory movements of the upper part of the chest are unavoidably impeded by this arrangement.
For similar reasons braces are not so beneficial as Dr. Richardson believes, even for men who are not over-strong, and who would stoop less and find their chests freer by wearing braceless trousers fitted with an elastic band round, but not above the hip bones. Who among us would do heavy work or exercise in braces and no belt? Every labourer and every athlete discards braces for a waistbelt when actively engaged. At the same time the belt must not compress the inside—the trousers should hang from the hip bones. There is an additional value in the waistbelt, if it take the form of a woollen or silk sash, that it protects the viscera from sudden chills, and this is deemed of high importance in fever and cholera countries.
As to the question between trousers and knee-breeches, there can be no doubt that knee-breeches are on the whole more seemly and convenient than trousers. Certainly all callings which entail much physical exertion would profit by the change. In particular, this is true of labour in the open air. In this form of work especially, where there is frequent and prolonged movement of joint and muscle, the weight of surplus clothing soon occasions weariness, and the surroundings are not the most cleanly. The labourer if knee-breeched and gaitered would be disencumbered of as much heavy moleskin or corduroy as would otherwise fall below the knee, a part of his clothing would not then as now flap about the feet for no good purpose but to be soiled by the mire of his work, or in wet and cold weather to lead to illness by chilling or freezing on his legs. Gaiters of some close and not too heavy material might be worn over the stockings. They would be comparatively out of the way of dirt, would maintain warmth, would brace the muscles by equal and moderate pressure (a noteworthy consideration with men who are much on their feet), and if wetted might be easily removed and replaced by another pair. (Lancet.)
Though in summer cotton socks are cool and pleasant, when one can wear thin shoes, and there does not exist any necessity for walking a long distance, woollen stockings are actually much more suitable at all seasons. Woollen stockings woven of coarse yarn absorb the perspiration and preserve the feet from blistering, and are cooler than cotton ones on a long walk. Tight garters are frequently worn below the knee by women. Garters in any position are bad, but if used they should be worn above the knee, as the two tendons to be felt at the back of the joint receive the pressure and act as a bridge to the veins which pass beneath. The garters as usually worn are a frequent cause of enlarged veins in the leg, and by interfering with the blood supply of the foot also favour the development of chilblains. Stocking suspenders bearing on the hips are far better.
Boots.—Boots and shoes must be easy, broad in the toes and sole generally, whilethe waist should have some degree of elasticity and not be absolutely rigid. High and narrow heels give an insecure hold of the ground, and throw the weight, which ought to be distributed over the sole, forward on the front part of the base of the toes. This unnatural position, besides rendering the risk of sprained ankles much greater, stretches the fibrous bands which bind the various and complicated bones of the instep into a beautiful arch, strong yet springy. The tough fibres yield, the foot flattens, elasticity and grace of movement disappear to a large extent, and aching pains are complained of. If we wish to walk elegantly, comfortably, far, and with ease, straight broad soles and low heels must be worn. Attention should constantly be paid to children’s boots and shoes, so as to have them lengthened or renewed as soon as they become short. The foot elongates considerably in walking, so all boots should have a full ½ in. or more of spare length to permit of this. Women’s boots and shoes are generally far too thin. Besides being worn thicker, the addition of an inner sole of cork covered with felt excludes damp from the ground or pavement, and aids in keeping the feet warm. These soles should, however, be taken out and dried at night or when the boots are laid aside. Lacing boots are better than elastic side ones, though in some ways the latter are more convenient. Patent leather boots are only suitable for occasional wear; like galoshes, they do not allow the escape of perspiration, hence are unhealthy, and if worn constantly engender habitual cold feet.
Do not purchase boots the uppers of which are formed of leather possessing an artificial grain. This is easy to detect; the rollers from which the skins receive their impressions are of too even a pattern, and the imitation is struck deeper than the real. Good upper leathers should handle mellow; leather destitute of suppleness and soft silkiness, or that leaves a decided line whenever pressed into a crease, should, in all instances, be avoided. With regard to the soles of boots, great precautions should be used to see that they are of the thickness they seem to be. It has become a practice with cutting manufacturers to use an outer sole of extremely light substance, making up the deficiency by means of an extra inserted welt. By this plan a box is formed between the inner and outer sole, the hollowness of which is filled in with scraps of leather, cardboard, or any foreign substance that is easily procurable and is fitted for the purpose. When sole leather has been cut and affixed as soles, the distinguishing marks that characterise good and bad leather are hidden from sight, so that the means of detecting that which should be avoided are few, and difficult to point out to a tyro. Sole leather being placed to resist moisture, it should not be too porous; in other words, it should be close in its grain, and possessed of a full share of firmness. The firmness here spoken of is something entirely distinct from brittleness. There can be solidity without brittleness, and this should be easily distinguished.
A boot should have a good and sufficient stiffener inserted at the heel to strengthen its back, and facilitate the getting of it on or off. This should be carefully inserted, and be shaped away so as to offer no resistance to the entrance of the foot. The top portion should be firmly secured to the back that it is meant to strengthen; so much so that there should be no possibility of its rucking down upon the insertion of the foot. It should be observed whether there is a superfluity of leather in the waist of the foot, that is, under the arch of the foot. The existence of such useless leather is a sure sign that the boot has been badly lasted, and that it has little or no spring in it, and that it will consequently give little or no support to the arch of the foot it covers. The buttonholes of a boot upper, if it have any, should be well and carefully stitched, and they will be found to wear much better if they are protected by the insertion of a cord. This cord sustains the drag or strain that the unprotected leather would otherwise have to bear. The channel is that portion of a hand-sewn boot in which the thread that attaches the outer sole to the welt lies hidden. Care should be taken by the purchaser to see that this channel is well and sufficiently closed over, otherwise it is easy to perceive that the sole has lost more than half its resisting power to damp or wet, andthat the stitches will get soaked and speedily rot. The “seat” of a boot is that portion just above its heel. Look at this carefully. If it is likely to tread over by failing to resist the pressure it will be called upon to bear, do not by any means be persuaded to become the purchaser of boots with this defect. The reason why the front part of the upper of a boot is cut in two portions is because that practice conduces to economy. In selecting a pair of boots great care should be taken to avoid those in which the join falls over the great-toe joint.
Some time ago a correspondent ofThe Fieldgave an excellent and simple method of treating the soles of boots to make them last as long as the “uppers.” The plan was to apply to them when new as many coats of coachmaker’s varnish as the leather would soak up. In varnishing the soles the following hints are of value, though, however roughly the operation is performed, they will become waterproof and durable:—(a) See that the soles are dry before using the varnish; also scrape off the black polish from the face of the heels; (b) thin the varnish according to circumstances; 1 tablespoonful turps to ½ pint varnish will usually be the right proportions; (c) place the boots, soles upwards, in a dry place, and give soles and heels 3 copious coats of varnish the first day, 2 the second day, and one coat each day after that until the leather will absorb no more; (d) do not miss a day, or the soles will harden and no more varnish will go into the leather; (e) 2 days after the last coat the boots should be worn, so that the soles may get shaped to the feet whilst moist. These directions may appear elaborate, but they are really very simple; and however badly the varnishing is done, the results will, to a certain extent, be good.
Ladies who have much walking are strongly advised to have kid leggings made at a bootmaker’s to button on from the tops of their boots to their knees; they can then go out in wet, damp, or extremely cold weather with perfect impunity. For girls who walk to and fro to attend school, or for those who are forced to go out in all weathers, the plan is a good one and well worthy of trial. The leggings are no weight, they are very warm, and will keep out damp and cold; whilst they are small enough to be carried about in a pocket, and put on or left off at a moment’s notice; so that they need only be worn when extra protection is absolutely needed.
Squeaky boots may be cured by the injection of powdered French chalk through a perforation in the inner sole; the free use of the same substance between the soles when boots are being made will effectually prevent any trouble of this nature.
Gloves.—In winter, at least, woollen gloves should be worn, as best preserving the proper circulation of the blood in the hands, and lessening the chance of chilblains. In the warm seasons silk or cotton ones are preferable to kid.
Head-gear.—Were it possible to form a covering for men’s heads which would admit both light and air in due proportions, a great problem would be solved, and baldness would be reduced to a minimum. Since hats are a necessity, they should be very light, pliant as far as may be, well ventilated, and with a soft band which will compress the arteries of the temple as little as possible. The hat, too, should only be worn when it cannot be laid aside—not constantly, or when in the house. Ventilation is best secured by having a slight space between the band and the hat proper in front and behind, the hat being close to the head at the sides, to avoid conveying the impression of being over large. In addition, there should be a hole in the crown for cold weather, and in the sides and crown in summer. As to women’s bonnets, any advice would be a mere waste of words.
Veils, especially those ornamented with spots, &c., have a bad effect on the eyes. Persistent mischief is done by the practice of binding a veil tightly round the face in such a way that not only is the sight obscured, but the eyes are mechanically irritated by the fabric clouding them.... Veils of to-day are semi-transparent eye-bandages, and must tend to disturb the vision, as well as to set up irritation in the eye-lids. (Lancet.)
Waterproofs.—It is highly important that the public should clearly understand the manner in which waterproof garments may prove injurious to health, and how any effect of this kind may be prevented. A mackintosh is perspiration-proof as well as rain-proof, and, consequently, when one is worn the perspiration, being unable to escape, accumulates in the clothes, and they become damp. Upon its removal, the evaporation of this fluid—in other words, the drying process—commences, with its attendant loss of heat and well-known risk of “chill.” The retention of this heat, which would otherwise be gradually lost, makes the mackintosh invaluable during a long drive on a cold winter’s day. The disadvantage of this garment is, not that it inflicts any injury while it is on; but that our clothes being damp, we may catch cold upon its removal, unless our dress be changed at the same time; and when the dampness is very decided this precaution should certainly be taken. Endeavour to avoid excessive perspiration by walking slowly when you have a mackintosh on, and do not wear it in hot weather except for driving. (Dr. P. Foster.)
How to Buy Clothes.—Low-priced materials do not wear so well as those for which a fair amount is paid; but it is not in the power of every woman to purchase materials which are necessarily expensive. The woman of small means will do well to confine her purchases to some well-established shop, famed rather for the soundness of its goods than for their apparent cheapness.
Ladies’ boots and shoes cannot be well made and of good materials for a little money; 21s.to 25s.for boots, 16s.to 18s.for walking shoes, suited for town wear, is about the lowest price for which a really good serviceable article can be obtained; but each of these will wear out three so-called cheap ones, and will look well to the last, after being twice soled. No boot or shoe will last if the servant is allowed to scrape the dirt off with a knife, put blacking on soft kid, or smear it over with some patent satin polish or peerless gloss. See to the cleaning of your boots and shoes yourself—that is, only have the dirt wiped off, and the kid well rubbed dry by the servant, and put on the polish yourself if it must be used. Evening shoes of a colour suitable for any dress can scarcely be had good for anything under 10s.6d.or 12s.6d., but they will wear out several cheaper pairs, and look well to the last.