All of these causes combined, operating almost constantly,--with
others that might be mentioned,--produce permanent local congestions,
with ovarian and uterine derangements. The latter affections have long
been recognized as the chief pathological condition in hysteria, and
especially in that peculiar form of disease known as _nymphomania_,
under the excitement of which a young woman, naturally chaste and modest,
may be impelled to the commission of the most wanton acts. The
pernicious influence of fashionable dress in occasioning this disorder
cannot be doubted.
Reform in Dress Needed.--The remedy for these evils, the only way to
escape them, is reformation. The dress must be so adjusted to the body
that every organ will be allowed free movement. No corset, band, belt,
or other means of constriction, should impede the circulation. Garments
should be suspended from the shoulders by means of a waist, or proper
suspenders. The limbs should be as warmly clad as any other portion
of the body. How best to secure these requirements of health may be
learned from several excellent works on dress reform, any of which can
be readily obtained of the publishers of this work or their agents.
Fashionable Dissipation.--The influence of so important an agent for
evil in this direction as fashionable dissipation, cannot be ignored.
By fashionable dissipation we mean that class of excesses in the
indulgence in which certain classes, usually the more wealthy or
aristocratic, pride themselves. Among this class of persons a man who
is known to be a common drunkard would not be recognized; such a person
would be carefully shunned; yet a total abstainer would be avoided with
almost equal care, and would be regarded as a fanatic or an extremist
at least. With persons of this class, wine-drinking is considered
necessary as a matter of propriety. Along with wine are taken the great
variety of highly seasoned foods, spices, and condiments in profusion,
with rich meats and all sorts of delicacies, rich desserts, etc., which
can hardly be considered much less harmful than stimulants of a more
generally recognized character.
These indulgences excite that part of the system which generally needs
restraint rather than stimulation. A participant, an ex-governor,
recently described to us a grand political dinner given in honor of
a noted American citizen, which began at 5 P.M., and continued until
nearly midnight, continuous courses of foods, wines, etc., being served
for nearly six hours. Similar scenes have been enacted in a score of
our large cities for the same ostensible purpose. Knowing that public
men are addicted to such gormandizing on numerous occasions, we do not
wonder that so many of them are men of loose morals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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