_Our_ grandmothers who adopted this view, were not like some of the present generation of girls educated at Girton and Zurich, or they might have called to mind Homer’s graphic description of the nocturnal expedition of Ulysses and Diomede to the Trojan camp, and their refreshing plunge into the sea when they returned reeking with heat and moisture from their successful raid; certainly none need fear to follow the example of such an old soldier as the cautious Ithacan. [Illustration: A Midsummer Night’s dip.] _A plunge_ into cold water when one is warm from exercise is intensely grateful, and may be indulged in with impunity even when much heated, provided the plunge be taken the moment the clothes are removed; the danger is in standing about on the brink, during which time the body rapidly cools, and cold may be taken. _Although_ perfectly safe to plunge into cold water, no matter how much the body may be heated, care must be taken to avoid it if there are feelings of lassitude and exhaustion; these are sure signs of over fatigue, and a cold bath under such circumstances is not only weakening, but might prove absolutely dangerous. A complete change of clothing must be ready, both for comfort, and to prevent any chance of taking cold through putting on clothes rendered damp by previous exercise. _The_ morning-bath forms a tolerably sure index as to the manner in which the previous evening has been spent. Morning exhaustion, and antipathy to cold water, may follow after an evening’s dancing with its attendant late hours, and nature will probably protest against too great a shock: it will be advisable to take the cold bath from five to ten degrees warmer than usual, or it may be deferred two or three hours. _The_ much vexed question as to the advisability of continuing the bath through a severe and prolonged, or even an ordinary winter, must be left open, as it is not only unadvisable but absolutely impossible to lay down fixed rules. Each bather must be guided entirely by his own state of health and sense of vitality. _Even_ among the well-to-do, the bath is by no means so universal or so well appreciated as might be desired, the daily thorough ablution being looked upon by too many as a necessarily unpleasant process to be shunned or superficially hurried through, with no enjoyment and little advantage: thorough ablution in the form of the _Soap-bath_ is an absolute luxury, and moreover is followed by an immediate increase of health, strength and mental vigour. _The_ primary object of taking a bath is cleanliness, and it is now better understood that the mere application of cold water to the skin does not cleanse, but merely closes the pores, the after vigorous use of towels doing so still further by rubbing in the impurities and natural secretions of the skin.