And now let me give a few hints in paragraphs, which I feel certain will appeal to many of my readers.
Unnatural Deformities.
By this I mean those which are not congenital, such as club-foot, for instance; deformities, in fact, that girls bring on themselves. I will go down as low as the feet first. Well, it is, of course, greatly to be deplored that Providence did not give you feet to fit your shoes; but really, to compress the feet means perpetual discomfort and danger. Cases of headaches and extreme nervousness may often be traced to the wearing of tightly-fitting boots or shoes. Pimples or acne, red nose, dyspepsia and varicose veins may also be produced through the same cause. Nearly all deformities of the feet can now be removed by surgical appliances. Flat foot, or want of arch, is one of these. It is not only remediable, but it should be remedied.
The toes ought to have play in a shoe, else girls can never walk, or dance, or play tennis, or golf gracefully. God never meant your foot to be all one solid lump squeezed into a shoe three sizes too small for you, or depend upon it He never would have given you toes.
Corns will not form—whether hard or soft—on the foot that wears a nice smooth stocking and an easy-fitting boot. The nails should be attended to every morning or evening after the bath, and ought to be cut square off, and not down the sides, else the consequence may be an in-growing nail and painful ulceration.
Never sit long with your legs crossed one over the other. It interferes greatly with the circulation, and may cause varicose veins.
Bent spine.—This is preventible in many ways. When writing, reading or typing do not lean forward; sit erect, and keep even the neck straight. Throw the shoulders well back, and thus will you expand chest and lungs. The same rule holds good if cycling. All kinds of exercises should be taken that tend to develop the muscles of the chest and give plenty of room for heart and lungs. Tight-lacing causes shocking and dangerous deformity, displacing all the internal organs and interfering with their work, so that your tight-laced girls are at best but hanging to life by the eyelashes, and the man who marries such a one is no better than a fool.
Pure Blood.
Blood purifiers sold in shops are one of the swindles of the age, and the time is not far distant, I hope, when quackery will be banished entirely from the British Isles. Meanwhile beware of everything you see on a chemist's counter that bears a government three-halfpenny stamp.
You cannot be happy, it is true, if the blood be impure, and moreover, while it is so you are far more liable to catch colds and coughs and any ailment that may be epidemic, such as influenza.