Health, or, How to Live

FASHIONABLE WOMEN

FASHION kills more women than toil or sorrow. Obedience to fashion is a great transgression of the laws of woman’s nature, a greater injury to her physical and mental constitution, than the hardships of poverty and neglect. The slave woman at her task will live and grow old, and see two or three of her mistresses fade and pass away. The washerwoman, with scarce a ray of hope to cheer her toils, will live to see her fashionable sisters all die around her. The kitchen-maid is healthy and strong when her lady has to be nursed like a sick baby. HHTL 355.3

It is a sad truth that fashion-pampered women are almost worthless for all the great ends of human life. They have but little force of character, they have still less power of moral will, and quite as little physical energy. They live for no great purpose in life; they accomplish no worthy ends. They are all doll-forms, in the hands of milliners and servants to be dressed and fed to order. They dress nobody, they feed nobody, they instruct nobody, they bless nobody, they save nobody. They write no books, they set no rich examples of virtue and womanly life. If they rear children, servants and nurses do all, save to conceive and give them birth. And when reared what are they? What do they ever amount to, but weaker scions of the old stock? Who ever heard of fashionable woman’s child exhibiting any virtue or power of mind for which he became eminent? Read the biographies of our great and good men and women. Not one of them had a fashionable mother. They nearly all sprung from strong minded women, who had about as little to do with fashion, as with the changing clouds. — Sel. HHTL 356.1

SLEEP. — Invalids generally do not sleep enough. The importance of sound, quiet, and sufficient sleep cannot be too highly estimated, as may be inferred from the physiological fact, that it is during sleep that the structures are repaired. The materials of nutrition are digested and elaborated during the day; but assimilation — the formation of tissue — only takes place during sleep, when the external senses are in repose. Literary persons require more sleep, other circumstances being equal, than those who pursue manual-labor occupations. If the brain is not duly replenished, early decay, dementation, or insanity will result. The rule for invalids is, to retire early, and remain so long in bed as they can sleep quietly. If their dietetic and other habits are correct, this plan will soon determine the amount of sleep which they require. Gross, indigestible, and stimulating food, heavy or late suppers, etc., necessitate a longer time in bed, for the reason that the sleep is less sound. And for the same reason, nervine and stimulating beverages as tea and coffee, prevent sound and refreshing sleep and thus wear out the brain and nervous system prematurely. Those who are inclined to be restless, vapory, or dreaming, during the night, should not take supper. — Dr. Trall. HHTL 356.2