Then, when tea time comes round, our sensible girl will either take milk again, or else will dilute her tea largely with milk, or, failing that, with water, and will refuse altogether to drink tea that has "stood" for more than a quarter of an hour. In the evening she will feel less tired (i.e., less exhausted from want of air and food), and will repeat her method of procedure of the morning on her journey home. Arrived there, she will feel far less weary and exhausted, and will enjoy a quiet, social evening, a book, a little music, or some such relaxation.
But we can hear her, O. S. G., saying, after pursuing this régime for awhile, "It is true I am better in a great many ways, but I do still have back-ache, I do still have the weight in my chest, which I know now to be indigestion; you say nothing about that. Even your pea-soup or your oatmeal porridge punishes me, and make me wish we could altogether live without eating."
Be not so impatient, my dear sensible one, we are coming to that now. One great reason of your back-ache is that stoop of yours. You seem to think it essential to maintain your spine in the shape of the letter C. You have got into a very bad habit, and if you try now to sit upright you get as tired as possible—your back, too, is not the only sufferer; your digestive organs are all cruelly cramped—all the delicate machinery, by the aid of which occur the changes of the food in its conversion to the different bodily tissues, is impeded in its action, is hemmed in, is fretted. Instead of a free circulation, and an unimpeded course between all the channels of communication, the functions of digestion are carried on with difficulty, and the stooping pose is the cause of many other complications into which we have not space to enter here.
We have said that exercise is necessary. A great part of that is indeed gained by the walk to and from business. But that is not sufficient. Indeed, we do not consider that walking exercise, exclusive of any other, is sufficient to keep the body in health; but in the instance we are imagining it is especially insufficient. The body ill brooks being kept in one posture for any length of time; and during sedentary occupation some of the muscles are maintained in a state of extension, whilst others are as unduly kept in a state of relaxation. These relative conditions, kept up as they are for hours and hours, cannot fail to have their marked results on the health of our girl. If she were at home, she would throw her work aside, get up and walk about a little, or run upstairs to stretch out her limbs; but in business this is not to be thought of; so she must bear it as best she can. Not so, say we. There is even here a remedy—even here a way of procuring an immense amount of relief. Our only fear for its adoption, however, rests in its extreme simplicity. But when our girl thinks a little more she will learn that all really great and effective things are simple, and that it is only their useless wrappings that blind people to their real simple grandeur. We shall give O. S. G. our remedy in its modest garb of truthfulness, and she will, we think, not reject it. We would advise her, then, three or four times during the day, to stand upright by her chair—she need not even move from her place—throw her shoulders back, stretch her head up, expand her chest, and arch the spine well inwards, remaining in that position for at least half a minute. This will entirely change the posture of all the muscles, those which before were expanded being now contracted, and vice versâ. She will then send her arms straight up over her head, and either bring them down from there like a wheel, or, if she has not room for this, will bend her arms so as to form a V with each arm, the two points of the V being respectively the shoulder and hand and the lower point the elbow. If done properly, this will beautifully expand the chest, and will contract the muscles of the back both laterally and longitudinally. Our girl must take care, however, to keep her head very erect, if she would have the whole benefit of the exercise. The whole business occupies about a minute and a half; it is as easy and as simple as breathing; and, we repeat, its usefulness is not to be measured.
The chief difficulty in this part of our régime, after its extreme simplicity, will lie in its novelty. It will seem absurd and ridiculous to those who do not understand these matters, but O. S. G. will have to learn to bear the ridicule of others some time during her life, and she might as well begin now. She may be sure that only those will laugh at her whose opinions are not worth considering, and if she quietly persists in doing what is right, the ridicule will first be changed into respect, and then into imitation.
O. S. G. must remember that her health is her all. At least, it is the all of the girl of whom we are speaking. Now, it is most imperative that she should guard that health as she would a treasure. Once aware of the simple rules which must be observed to that end, she will shape her actions so as to make them fit in with the circumstances of her life.
The dress of our girl workers is also a point to be considered. It should be durable, suitable, comfortable, and should be made simply and practically. The dress is far better when made in one, i.e., not divided at the waist, then the weight of the garment is equally distributed over the body, from the waist and shoulders. There should be no steels or kindred impediments, which have to be considered in sitting down. A durable wool material, thicker in winter, thinner and lighter in colour and texture in summer, is always the most durable, and keeps its freshness longer. The bodice should fit well and comfortably at the neck and round the arm-holes, so that there is no pressure anywhere.
For a working gown there is nothing, in our opinion, to equal the princess dress, made to clear the ground, and modernised, if our girl wills, by a flouncing, and a little puffed drapery behind, either with or without a scarf loosely tied round the waist.
For slender girls the round-gathered dress and bodice (in one) are very useful and suitable. The principal advantage of the princess dress is its continuity from the shoulders downwards, leaving the waist free of bands and tapes. With spotless collars and cuffs, our girl will be both suitably and well dressed. A good woollen combination under-garment for warmth and protection from the cold, thicker in winter, thinner in summer. One, or at the most two, woollen petticoats, made with sloping bands, to prevent pressure at the waist, will form a very comfortable and practical dress, and, moreover, one that will present a very fair appearance.
No, we know we have said nothing about stays; we are no friend to them; we dislike them heartily, and we shall never rest until we can release our girls from their trammels. We know the difficulties that present themselves on all sides, but these can be met and overcome. Once release our girls from this bone and steel bondage, her health will rise to a high state of excellence. But she has so accustomed herself to use her stays as a prop upon which she leans, that not without great resolution on her part will she consent to pass through the small discomfort of the change.