The Toilet.
There are many boys and girls who pride themselves on their utter disregard of their personal appearance, most fully comprehending the old phrase “that beauty unadorned is adorned the most,” or perhaps think it a mark of genius to appear so occupied with study as to neglect their person. Such boys and girls are repulsive to both God and man. One of the first laws Nature teaches us, is perfect cleanliness. Look at the birds and squirrels; indeed, all wild animals are taught by instinct to take a daily bath, if possible. Tame animals are less cleanly than wild ones in their habits, as far as our observation goes. They look to man to cleanse them. But God teaches the untamed beast and bird laws of cleanliness. Look at the woods! God sends the rain to wash them, and the winds to sweep them, and the sun to brighten them. The Creator of all gives to every boy and girl the mind to know how to take good care of their own persons, and if they neglect the laws of health, just so sure will come bodily suffering. Besides, it is a Christian duty, as well as a social duty, of every boy and girl, to make the most of all their personal attractions, and to preserve every agreeable quality they may have been endowed with, to the latest period of their lives. It is not vanity. It is a duty we all owe to ourselves, and we owe it to others. Habits rightly formed in youth will often prolong life, and add tenfold to any personal attraction.
We trust all boys and girls who read this book, will not pass over this chapter on the toilet. We will try and give them some useful hints and recipes.
In the first place, every boy and girl, no matter how young, should strive to make their sleeping and dressing apartment attractive. Perfect neatness is an essential quality in every room. Never leave any article of clothing on a chair, table, or floor, which can be either neatly folded and placed in a drawer, trunk, or closet shelf, or hung on some nail placed for that purpose. Never leave a draw partly open. We once knew a young girl who was always leaving her drawers open, and articles of dress hanging from them. One Christmas, before a room full of friends, she received from the Christmas tree a little bureau, with every drawer partly open, and things hanging out of each drawer. Of course it was soon known to all why she received such a gift. That lesson she never forgot. We must confess it also cured us of the careless habit of leaving drawers partly open. We hope our young friends will take this lesson to heart, and profit by it.
When you rise in the morning, always (even if you can afford plenty of servants), throw the clothes of your bed carefully over the foot-board, or some chair, to give your bed a sufficient chance to be well aired—a most necessary requisite for health. Before leaving your room, even in midwinter, open your window. Never allow your bed to be made till thoroughly aired. Though you are not blessed with even a competency, you can make a plain room attractive. A few pictures on the walls, and by covering a plain pine toilet table with pretty, cheap chintz, and exercising a little ingenuity in making pretty articles of furniture out of old boxes. But always be a foe to all dust; keep a dusting cloth at hand. After washing, if you cannot have a chambermaid, arrange your washing apparatus neatly, and carefully spread your towels to dry, if clean. There are so few, comparatively, in America, who can afford the constant attendance of servants, we desire all boys and girls to learn how to care for themselves.
1.—THE BATH.
In olden times, in this country, baths were but little used. It was considered a luxury but few could possess. Now there is scarcely a decent house built without a bathroom. In England and France, “there was a time when many ladies had a most hydrophobiacal dread of water; they thought it injured the delicacy of the complexion. Their ablutions often consisted in wiping the cheeks with a cambric handkerchief, dipped in elder flower or rose water.”
A daily bath is now the rule rather than the exception, and its effect is admirable. A cold bath, from sixty to seventy degrees, is, to most persons, the most health-giving and invigorating process one can undergo; but beyond its invigoration, it is of no essential service in cleansing the skin. No one can preserve a purely clean skin by the use of cold baths only, though the purifying effect is increased by the use of rough towels, which help to remove the impurities from the surface of the skin. The skin is constantly throwing off fine dust like scales, and these, blending with other foreign matter, stop up the pores, and prevent the skin from performing its natural functions.