Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, February 1885Various
Religion
Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, February 1885
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Literature -- Periodicals
The clothing recommended for women is not very different, so far
as shirts and drawers are concerned, to that advised for men. The
night-dresses are the same, except a slight trimming of lace at the
neck. The union, or “combination” garment, a pair of woollen stays,
a petticoat of knitted undyed wool, and another, if desired of woven
stockingette, constitute all the clothing needed, in addition to
the outward dress, made of pure wool also, high to the neck, and
having a double lining over the chest, as advised in the case of
men. The lace collars for use are also of woollen yak lace, and the
pocket-handkerchief is of fine cashmere, either white or of a handsome
dark red. This last, Dr. Jaeger declares, is a very effective agent in
the cure of the colds and catarrhs of winter.
Against such “cherished finery” as silk dresses, white starched
petticoats, linen stays, cotton and silk stockings, and white or
colored cotton starched dresses, Dr. Jaeger protests; and says he
fears he shall be considered a disturber of the peace of households,
when he remembers the delight women take in interminable washings and
starchings. But he takes courage, seeing that his own wife has not only
become used to the new order of things, but declares she would not
willingly revert to the _statu quo ante_, and that women, if possible,
need the advantages offered by woollen clothing more than men.
The last of Dr. Jaeger’s plans I shall consider is the substitution of
woollen materials for linen and cotton in our beds. The bed itself must
be free from vegetable fibre, the mattress filled with hair or wool,
and the covering of both should be woollen; for this reason feathers of
course cannot be used, although they are all an animal substance. The
linen or cotton sheets are replaced by sheets made of the finest white
cashmere, or, if preferred, by woollen blankets or camel-hair rugs; and
a special form of dress, having a hood, is given, to enable the wearer
to sleep with the window open without fear of taking cold. This last
he regards as an important part of the sanitary rules of his system.
The covering meant for travellers to sleep in has also a hood, and
the skirt is long enough to contain two square pockets for the feet.
Covered in this way, the traveller may defy damp beds, and all the
general discomfort of foreign hotels.
In reward for our adoption of his “normal” system of clothing, Dr.
Jaeger promises us—not indeed complete immunity from disease, but
health equal to the animal creation that spend their lives in an
artificial state. We shall have flesh thoroughly hardened, and
tendencies to corpulence will be reduced. In a word, the physical and
mental working powers will show a great and general improvement, the
nervous action will be accelerated, and the body will have resumed its
“normal,” or true condition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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