Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-12-05

The DepravIty Of the Bed.Slat.
Alden In Hsrper's Bazaar.

Alden In Hsrper's Bazaar.
Archaologists do not inform Us at what period
man first made the discovery that an elastic bed
was preferable to non-elastic one The en-
clients regarded stone beds as the height of COM
Tort, and the patriot, Jacob, held that good,
smooth stone made perfectly satisfactory pill
iow 1t Is not certain what was the earliest
manner in which the principle Of elasticity was
applied to beds, but there is good reason to be-
iieVe tnat the corded bedstead originated at a
time not later than the Fourth Crusade.
Inc Development of the bedstead has been
wonderfully slow. The corded bedstead held
its place substantially without change far into
the present century. In this form of bedstead
elasticity was furnished by anetwork of cordage
connecting the beams of the bedstead, and
ahordng support to the bedding. The work Of
"c0rding up" bedstead was difficult and
dangerous one. The full strength of muscular
man was needed to strain the cOrdage tight,
and the accidental parting of the cord instantly
caused the whole affair to collapse. with results
that were sometimes extremely painful to the
surprised sleeper.
The modern bedstead. in which class NAV be
included all the bedsteads of later date than
the corded bedstead, may be divided into two
subordinate classes-those in which the desired
elasticity is confined to the mattress, and those
III which elastic metallic springs underlie the
possess the attributes of both classes, but the
best scientific authorities do not regard these as
constituting Class by themselves.
To the cord of the corded bedstead succeeds
the Stat. This feature is of almost universal ap-
pl!catiOn. for in all classes of betIsteads the
fundamental support of springs or mattress is
the transverse slat. Had this nefariOus article
oil furniture been invented In the middle ages
It would unhesitatingly have been ascribed to
that eminent patron of the medieval patent
ONCE the ID. Although We now know that
the adversary. as he was formerly delicatey
styled in New England circles, does not con-
Germ himself with mechanical Inventions
the bed-slat would do credit to his far reach
ing maievolence. 1t IS never long enough.
Strange as this may seem. when it would be
so easy for the cabinet-maker to give sufficient
length to bed-slats, it is strictly true as every
housewife will testify. The result is that bed
Stats are continually slipping out OF place. No
one who has not been awakened in the dead OF
night by the fall OF bed-slat can have any Just
conception of the terrific and utterly disprOpOr-
tlOnate noise which single stat can make It's
crash will resound through the whole house,
and as it is usually mistaken for one of the
noises which burglars habituay make when
seeking to quietly rob a house, its effect upon
the nerves OF timid women and of fearless
though judiciOusly cautious men may be
imagined.
The condition of the unhappy person who oc-
cupies bed of the class in which the mattress
rests directly upon the Stats, and who is
awakened by the fall of one of the middle Stats
Is pitlable in the extreme The immediate effect
OF the fall OF the slat is that the mattress sinks
INTO the gap, and threatens to close together
Ike smut jack-Knlfe, and SuffOcate its victim.
If the danger of sutfocatiOn is not imminent the
occupant OF the bed is still compelled to lie with
his leet and head elevated far above the rest OF
his oody-a position utterly intoerabe to any
person who is not born an animated right angle
In those circumstances the victim usually arises
and makes desperate effort to replace the Stat
There is no case on record in which the attempt
TO replace midnight slat has been successful
lts lnVaria0le result is to bring about the fall OF
| two or three more Stats. and to render all hope
OF sleeping in the bed hollow mockery There
IS nothing left to be done except to drag the
bedding from the bed. to spread it on the va
cant floor aud to snatch such sleep as is COM
patlbie with the hardness of the mattress and
the draughts which enter the room from under
the doors and through the fireplace.
Not only will the bed-slat fall with the slightest
proy0cation, but it will never miss an OppOrtu-
| nifty to creak. Housewives have exhausted the
resources of the feminine intellect in endeavor-
| ing to put a stop to the creaking of Stats The
extremities of the Stats have been heavily coat
ed with soap without in the slightest degree
! checking their readiness to creak. Strips of
cloth have also been carefully wrapped around
the Stats. This has occasionally put stop to
creasing the tendency of the Stats to Slip out of
place. In most cases the attempt to improve
the character of bed-slats is soon abandoned
and it is only the sangune and inexperienced
woman who imagines that they can ever be
made anything but care and vexation.
The most remarkable feature of the plague or
oed-slats is that it is wholly unnecessary. The
Ded-slat is simply the survival Of the principle
underlying the corded bedstead. 1t was Origi-
nally imagined that the bed-slat would be elias
| tlc and would thus form substitute for the
elastic cord The idea that there is sufficient
elasticity in the bed-slat to be ofthe slightest
service has long since been abandoned and its
only use is to afford support for the elastic
mattress or the metallic springs. This office
would be filled infinitely better by solid floor
ing extending across the entire bedstead. Such
a flooring would never give way in the night
and would never creak or rattle That 1t has
not yet been adopted can be explained only by
the fact, already mentioned, that the develop
ment of the bedstead has been strangely and un-
accountably slow.