As a matter of health you ought to wear next your
skin, shirt and drawers of some woollen material, heavy in
winter and light in summer, for this is a safeguard against
sudden changes of temperature or the depressing effect upon
the vital forces of extreme oj: unaccustomed cold. The wo-
ven undergarments, which can be bought at almost any dry-
goods shop, are cheap and convenient, though flannel, either
ON HABITS AND MANNERS. 33
white or colored, is, on some accounts, better for this pur-
pose. These garments mast; be changed at least once a
week; do not on any account wear them longer than that ;
for, although they may not look soiled, they are most cer-
tainly saturated with the impurities thrown off by the skin,
and will probably show it by their color. It is well, too, to
wear woolen stockings in winter, and for them the only rule
I can give you is to change them whenever they are dirty.
You will see, of course, that I am taking it for granted
that you yourselves are cleanly in your habits, that you un-
derstand the necessity of keeping your bodies pure and
healthy, and knowing that this cannot be done without scru-
pulous attention to details, are glad to learn from the expe-
rience of others just what those details are.
Eemember, therefore, in your daily life, in your choice
of garments, in the formation of your personal habits, and
in the expenditure of your money, that the thing above all
others which Society insists upon is "cleanliness," and that
this cleanliness must begin with your skin and the clothes
which you wear next it. You must make it a duty, a mat-
ter of conscience, to be clean trom head to foot, and to this
end you must faithfully take the daily bath, about which I
have already so strongly spoken to you. Then you must
change your underclothes throughout once a week, or often-
er if necessary, and be very careful never to wear the same
shirt at night which you have been wearin ^ through the day.
34 ON HABITS AND MANNERS.
13 1 P.ly yourselves with night shirts of white cotton, and
wear these and nothing else at night, taking off every arti-
cle of clothing that you have worn through the day, for
there is no more unwholesome personal habit than that of
wearing a garment both day and night. You must change
your night shirt once a week, and when you take it off* in
the morning must see that it is properly aired before it is
put away for the day.
As to your outer garments, the clothes in which you
work will naturally be suited to the purpose for which they
are used, and the fact that you do work in them will usually
imply that they are not very clean nor entirely whole, but as
most of you have it in your power to have one or more good
suits, I want to say a word or two to you about those gar-
ments, in the selection of which you have an opportunity to
show your individual taste.
Perhaps the first thing to be said here is what I have
already once said, namely, that your linen must be clean and
neat and alwrays simple — ruffles, embroideries, or any peculi-
arity of cut, being out of place and unsuitable. A clean
shirt, collar and cuffs, are indispensable, and when the two
latter cannot, from motives of economy or convenience, be of
linen, paper, celluloid, etc., make neat and excellent substi-
tutes.
Page 13
Presented as published in 1888. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
As a matter of health you ought to wear next your skin, shirt and drawers of some woollen material, heavy in winter and light in summer, for this is a safeguard against sudden changes of temperature or the depressing effect upon the vital forces of extreme oj: unaccustomed cold. The woven undergarments, which can be bought at almost any drygoods shop, are cheap and convenient, though flannel, either
white or colored, is, on some accounts, better for this purpose. These garments mast; be changed at least once a week; do not on any account wear them longer than that ; for, although they may not look soiled, they are most certainly saturated with the impurities thrown off by the skin, and will probably show it by their color. It is well, too, to wear woolen stockings in winter, and for them the only rule I can give you is to change them whenever they are dirty.
You will see, of course, that I am taking it for granted that you yourselves are cleanly in your habits, that you understand the necessity of keeping your bodies pure and healthy, and knowing that this cannot be done without scrupulous attention to details, are glad to learn from the experience of others just what those details are.
Remember, therefore, in your daily life, in your choice of garments, in the formation of your personal habits, and in the expenditure of your money, that the thing above all others which Society insists upon is "cleanliness," and that this cleanliness must begin with your skin and the clothes which you wear next it. You must make it a duty, a matter of conscience, to be clean trom head to foot, and to this end you must faithfully take the daily bath, about which I have already so strongly spoken to you. Then you must change your underclothes throughout once a week, or oftener if necessary, and be very careful never to wear the same shirt at night which you have been wearing through the day.
[illustration: page marker]ly yourselves with night shirts of white cotton, and wear these and nothing else at night, taking off every article of clothing that you have worn through the day, for there is no more unwholesome personal habit than that of wearing a garment both day and night. You must change your night shirt once a week, and when you take it off in the morning must see that it is properly aired before it is put away for the day.
As to your outer garments, the clothes in which you work will naturally be suited to the purpose for which they are used, and the fact that you do work in them will usually imply that they are not very clean nor entirely whole, but as most of you have it in your power to have one or more good suits, I want to say a word or two to you about those garments, in the selection of which you have an opportunity to show your individual taste.
Perhaps the first thing to be said here is what I have already once said, namely, that your linen must be clean and neat and always simple — ruffles, embroideries, or any peculiarity of cut, being out of place and unsuitable. A clean shirt, collar and cuffs, are indispensable, and when the two latter cannot, from motives of economy or convenience, be of linen, paper, celluloid, etc., make neat and excellent substitutes.