Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-03-29

Entering he Bdfh40n entering the bath,
the iirst apartment consists Of q spacious
ball or rotunda the central summit Of which
Is open, admitting a gentle but free oircula-
zion Of air, and is IN form not unlike the
eupola ofSt. Stephens, WaIbrook. Running
round by the wall is q raised ldsis or plnt-
form, covered with q carpet, and divi6elinio
compartments, one OF which is appropriated
TO each visitor. In the center Of the build
Ing IL a fountain, which plays refreshihgly
into a marble basin, raised on a pedestal Of
masonry. otis raaI
On a couch, on the platform above mem
toned, you undress; your clothing Is tied up
N a napkin, and you are attired in three
scarfs of toweling, off peculiar fabric, warm
and rough, but yet soft and gaily bordered
with blue or red raw silk one of these, the
subligar or subligaculnm of the Romans,
girds the loins, another is thrown over the
shoulder, and the last Is twisted up into a
turban for the head.
Throughout this operation, every care is
taken TO preserve decorum and with a
serupulousness aud delioacy almost unknown,
we regret 10 add, to, Europeans. Two at
tendants hold a cloth before you until you
have uBdressed and properly adjusted the
bathing attire; you then are furnished with
wooden pattens, and quit the undressing
room (apOdyterium) for the heated cham
bers; the W attendants, walking behind,
still accompany you, and as you are on pat
tens, each holds you by the arm.
BEGINNING Of The Bdth.-The swinging
doors give access to a narrow passage, where
the heat strikes upon the face, and announces
very ser Sibly that the bath has begun. This
passage makes sudden turn az q right
angle, and the heat then increases; though
the temperature is still not high, and the
mist Of vapor is very slight, if at all per-
ceptible. You now enter the tepid cham
Der, the tepidariUm of the a~ncients. Some
times 'tbe passage above alluded to, is
dispensed with, and the tepiddrium itself
forms the junction between the two halls.
In The latter case it is oblong in form, and
has a marble platform on each side, raised
about a foot aud a half above the central
part; this, serving as a passage, is of course
or the same level rs the two hambers
which it connects but whether as a passage,
or as a hall in ITSELF it is all paved with mar
bic.
The mattress and cushion which are car
rled before You, are laid on the dais and
against the wall; the paraphernalia of other
guests being similarly disposed all round.
Coffee and pipes are now brought. In this
apartment, dimly lighted, day sometimes
being quite excluded, a Pickering lamp re-
veals uncertainty the nature of the place and
of its occupants. The perspiration gently
starts from its myriad ducts, while the sol
emn murky air tranquilizes the spirit, and
seems to exclude with a lull of calmuess,
thoughts of the fretful world, 1t is here
that a stranger in town or village first min
giles with the inhabitants, and glides imper-
ceptibly, and Invested of the adventurous
aids of dress and attendance, into the niche
which his social status qualities him to &C.
cupy. A gentle foretaste of shampooing is
given in this apartment an attendant chafes
the feet, or lightly taps the neck or the limbs
TO start the perspiration. When it has fully
broken out, you are ready for the hot cham
Der lcdtddTiRm or ldcoHicUm( which you now
enter.
The Hot Gham6er.-This is somewhat
similar in form to the first hall, and is geu-
orally covered in with a dome, the lipht
being admitted through loopholes filed with
stained glass. Early in the morning the
place is quite clear and the atmosphere is
dry, but as the washing takes place here, it
becomes, at a later hour of the day, filled
with vapOr; this has led many to imagine
that the Turkish bath is, like the Russian,
essentially a vapor bath which is not the
case. The Turkish bath is, in principle, and
in fact, a hot air bath; the vapor being al
most an accident. Here the towels are all
removed, except that which e~ncircles the
loins. Addition is then performed, to which
the sounds Of clanbing bowls and dropping
water duly correspond.
Through the light gray mist the attend
ants and bathe1s fit in a spectral manner,
and ever and anon there arises a clapping of
the hands, which is the bathmau's method of
sigualizing. The process of shsmpooing
| which is here undergone is most peculiar,
and is that part OF the bath which of all
Others will be found least easy of adoption
into this country. II is, in itself an art of
no mean attainment, aDd proves, as has been
well remarked, that an animal magnetism has
been practiced in the East for centuries, aud
rendered so practically manageable as to
be fairly designated the hRudmaideh of
health.
The RuJJing.-Next comes the washing,
or rather the use of the glove made of cam
els or goats hair. After remoistening the
body, which you do for yourself with a cup
given you fer that purpose, you, in a sitting
position, bend toward the attendant, who
bending over you, rubs down the back, COM
mencing from the neck. The loose aed s,urf
skin peels of in little elongated rolls, and if
collected will form a ball as bigas q hyacinth
root. 1t was for the removal of this dead
cuticle that the strigil was anciently used
and how it has fallen into disuse would be a
curious subject of research. We may infer
from an epigram of MaTtial's, that it was
originally an Eastern implement, for he
speaks OF its coming from Pergamus. Au.
eustus borrowed bis wooden reclining couch,
called GUTetd, from Spain, and Suetonius ex-
pTessly says that the word is Spanish. Many
Think that the word SutgiI is also ~Iberian;
but stTiRgere, to Craze lightly, to pull or peel
of, denotes its true derivation.
The Sodpirg.-Following upon the glove
comes the soaping process. A bow Of wa
ter is brought, frOthed with Cretan soap,
which is sometimes perfumed, and the soft
fbIous life of the palm-tIee to rub the body
with. With this the body is washed, begin
mir g at the head thiso operation is repeated
twice. Then come the hot cloths, in which
49,, --, $3.50 81 A. G-.l - . IL
bath is 10 dash q bowl of water over the
feet; a very important custom this, and enc
which opens up a very singular subject of
inquiry, though we shall not at present
touch upon it.
Cooling of.-GOu now return to the cool
ing room, or .trigidariuns. There you recline
upon a couch with a sense Of ease and tran
quillity almost indescrib8b!e. The blood
CiTculates freely, the chest dilates, the fresh
air comes charged with vitality. The
wretched find life tOlerable, and the aged
cast off for a moment the burden of years.
Sayary, describing the sensation, says; d" 1t
feels as if one was just born, and began 10
live for the first time. A lively sense Of ex-
istence spreads over the whole body; one
yields to the most pleasant imaginations,
and The mind is entertained with the most
delightful r~eTeries. The fancy ransacks all
nature, and finds in it nothing but the gay.
est pictures and images Of pure delight.
"If life lac runs on, philosophizing after
Locke, as was the manner of his country
men il that day-"if lite is but the success
sion Of ideas, the rapidity with which the
memory then traces them, the Yigor with
which the spirit then tIaYerses every link,
would lead one to suppose that in the two
hOuls of unbTOken calm which follow the
bath many years have elapsed" Every one
who bas experienced the processes of the
real Turkish bath, in their perfection, bear
witness to The same effect. The whole man
wakes, and yet the whole man is in a state
of Iepose. There is a sense of reconcile en-
ergy coupled with the silent serenity of ab.
solute rest, The air grows electrical, aud
we find, for the FIRST time, that breathing is
ihspiIation. This feeling soon gives place 70