Our Girls Part 25

NOISES IN THE BOWELS.

What a mortification it is, when a lady is in company, to hear, from her bowels, that gurgling, glug-glug noise. A great many women have these peculiar sounds. And, generally, they are produced by tight stays. A portion of the small intestine is compressed so that its size is reduced. The contents of the intestine are constantly moving on, and when they come to the portion of the bowel under the whalebone bodice, they find it contracted; and in pressing through, the noise is produced. The cure for these peculiar and disagreeable noises, as well as for many other affections in the organs of the abdomen, including frequently torpid liver, constipation, and some peculiar forms of indigestion, is to be found in removing all pressure, and giving the entire abdominal viscera perfect liberty.

If, after removing all pressure, and giving those wonderful organs in the abdominal cavity full opportunity to perform their vital functions, the mischievous effects of the long continued pressure do not at once disappear, you may percuss and knead the abdomen a few minutes, morning and evening. Weak digestion, torpid liver and constipation are, by this simple means, frequently cured, and invariably relieved.

HOW TO MANAGE A COLD.

In the first place, you mustn't catch it. If you keep your extremities warm by substantial flannels, exercise much in the open air, eat the right quant.i.ty of plain food, sleep with open windows and shun hot drinks, you will avoid colds.

But, suppose you have a cold? Eat nothing but a piece of toast; drink freely of cold water; walk twice a day till you are in a gentle perspiration, and go to bed early. These rules observed, and colds, which produce so much mischief, would be shorn of their power of harm.

FAT AND THIN GIRLS.

_Are you too fat?_ Eat less food, with a larger proportion of meat; rise early in the morning and exercise much. This will reduce your weight. Even diminishing the quant.i.ty of food alone, without any other change, will be sure to do it. It is impossible that excessive fat, either in horse or man, can hold out against a persistent reduction in the quant.i.ty of food. And if the reduction be gradual and judicious, the strength is not lessened, but is steadily increased, until the _excess_ in fat is all gone.

And I will add, that after two or three days, there will be no sense of hunger until the _excess_ has been removed.

_Are you too thin?_ Sleep more by going to bed earlier; do not overwork; eat freely of oatmeal porridge, Graham mush, cracked wheat, and hulled corn; and all with milk and sugar. Cultivate a cheerful, happy temper.

RECREATION _VS._ PROPRIETY.

The n.o.blest women I have personally known, were "regular tom-boys"

in their girlhood. I have made many inquiries about the women who figured conspicuously in the "Sanitary Commission," the "Christian Commission," and in the hospitals, and so far as I have been able to learn from them, and their friends, not one began with being a "_proper_" _young lady!_ I venture the opinion that not one of the women who has risen to literary distinction in America, was a "_proper_" _young lady!_

In brief, I don't believe proper young ladies amount to much. As with a colt and a boy, neither of which, if quiet and staid, is likely to accomplish anything very grand in this world; so if a girl is prim and nice and proper, it is easy to write out the story of her life in five lines; and without waiting for her to live it.

But, if a young woman, of fair mental capacity, breaks through the trammels of propriety, rides the saddle astride, climbs fences and trees, joins a base-ball club, or acquires distinction in any roystering game which demands pluck and endurance, you may expect something; she possesses the elements of a strong womanhood. I would prefer one such woman, either in the hospitals at Gettysburg, or at the head of a family of children, to a dozen women who were chiefly distinguished in girlhood for immaculate collars and bows.

CARE OF YOUR TEETH.

"What a fine face!" I exclaimed; "What a very beautiful girl!" By and bye I whispered to my wife, to ask who that young lady was?-- pointing to the left. While she was looking, I remarked, "What a very plain face she has!" My better two-thirds replied, with the slightest possible sneer:

"It seems to me that you men haven't five grains of common sense about women. Now you don't pretend that you have forgotten that _very beautiful girl!_"

"But you don't mean to say that that is the same one I was admiring?"

"The same," quietly observed my better three-quarters. In a moment a bit of humor came from the platform; the large mouth flew open, and thirty magnificent pearls darted into view.

"Oh, yes, to be sure; why of course, who couldn't tell that?" I remarked, as brave as a sheep.

"My better seven-eighths quietly suggested, from behind her fan, "Now, suppose you attend to the lecture, and stop looking at the girls; how would you like it if you were lecturing, and one of your auditors should be looking all over the house?"

From that moment I kept my eyes on the speaker, but the _points_ in the lecture were very few, and between them I had time to think "what a magic there is in fine teeth!" If a young woman has a mouthful of beautiful teeth, I don't care how long her nose is, nor what the color of her eyes; she looks sweet, wholesome, handsome!

On the other hand, no matter how exquisitely moulded the face, if, when the mouth is opened, decayed, blackened teeth appear; you cease to admire, and exclaim, "poor thing! poor thing!"

Besides this, if you lose your teeth, you can no longer speak plainly.

But more than both of these considerations put together and multiplied by a hundred, if you lose your teeth, you can no longer grind your food well; and then comes indigestion with its train of horrors.

How may the teeth be preserved?

Simply, by keeping them clean! A clean tooth cannot decay. You may eat sweet things, acids, take hot drinks, ice creams,--you may abuse your teeth in a hundred ways,--if you will keep them clean, they will not decay. I will show you as many white blackbirds, as you will show me clean white teeth beginning to decay.

How shall they be kept clean? I answer with a tooth-pick, used thoroughly after eating, and followed by rinsing the mouth, and the morning and evening use of a tooth-brush with a powder composed of pulverized soap and prepared chalk.

In addition to this, cultivate the habit of sleeping with your mouth shut. That dryness and bad taste in the mouth which come of sleeping with it open, is always injurious to everything within the mouth, including the teeth.

And, perhaps, this is the best place to speak of the error or misfortune of sleeping with the mouth open, in its influence upon the respiratory apparatus.

I cannot agree with the famous Catlin, who attributes so much to this bad habit. But really it is difficult to read his remarkable little work, without being convinced that sleeping with the mouth open is a most unfortunate habit. The most obvious mischief is the introduction through the open mouth and wind-pipe of dust and other minute objects, which the nose would strain out. The opening in the nose through which the air must pa.s.s, is only a narrow fissure, and its sides are armed with numerous hairs, which reach over and intertwine with those of the opposite wall, thus making it very difficult for particles of dust to pa.s.s through into the lungs. This point in Mr. Catlin's argument is too obviously true to need any special proofs; and perhaps another point of less moment is sufficiently obvious; viz., if the air be allowed to pa.s.s directly through the wide-open mouth into the lungs, its temperature when permeating the lung tissue is too low, and thus injury to that delicate tissue results; but if the air pa.s.ses through the tortuous and contracted nasal pa.s.sages, it is brought into such immediate contact with the blood in the lining membrane of those pa.s.sages, that it is modified, and the lungs themselves are saved from the rude shock of a raw cold breath.

I have now given the more patent of the reasons for keeping the mouth shut while sleeping, and will only add that the habit of sleeping with the mouth shut, may be formed by a careful clearing of the nasal pa.s.sages on lying down, and by going to sleep with a determination to keep the lips closed. Observing these rules, and being careful not to sleep with the head too low, you will soon awaken in the morning with the lips closed, and with the mouth moist and sweet.

VENTILATION.

If the air of the bed-room be impure, the complexion, eyes and nerves must soon suffer. The hours of sleep are hours of recuperation. But that the building-up work may go on, pure air is indispensable. During the night the doors are not opened; there is no moving about; all is at a stand-still. Now the windows must be wide open. Unless there be a storm or the weather be intensely cold, the upper sash must come half way down, and the lower sash go half way up. If your ears are cold cover them, but give your lungs and blood pure oxygen, and plenty of it.

If you would have beauty of skin and eyes, if you would enjoy a cheerful temper, and retain a youthful bloom, you must breathe a pure air all night, and all day, and always. No other law of health, no condition of beauty, is so imperative as this.

When you go into the street, don't wear a veil and keep the air away from your lungs. Let it come in freely; it is your best friend.

FLANNELS NEXT THE SKIN.

Young ladies take pride in the fact that their skins are so delicate, they can't wear flannels.

"Why, I couldn't live in flannels, my skin is so delicate."

It is to be deeply regretted that this pa.s.sion for delicacy and debility has taken such strong hold of young ladies.

"Miss Fitznoodle, you must wear flannels next the skin, they will save you from colds, and keep up a fine, healthy circulation."

"Oh, my! I couldn't wear flannels next my skin; it would set me crazy; my skin is so delicate!"