The Concordia eagle. [volume] (Vidalia, La.) 1873-1890, 1885-04-25

with the silk stockings"
How many corns have You,
Blanche?"
"Oh, only too or three little bits of
ones. l send for q chiropodist once in
awhile, and then I'm all right for ever
so long"
"a girl of nineteen with her feet in a
chiropodist's hands," said auntie, with
a wry face.
THAT isn't anything. Why. almost
all the girls"
mot the slightest doubt of it" the
lady interrupted. "You have nothing
else, l suppose, to put on your feet but
these thingsP"
mo, auntie, and l wouldn't wear
any others if had"
81 have now accounted for your
backaches, Blanche" said Miss Har-
rington, land we will proceed to elm
mate the spinal column from tho
charge of malaria; it is perfectly inno-
cent" And now the nurse examined
the other articles laid out for use.
There wasn't an inch OF flannel to be
seen; nothing but the finest and most
deliberately beruffied and embroidered
linen.
"And do you not own flannel pet
ticoat, BlancheP"
What in the world do l want with
flannelsp You know l almost always
go out in the carriage, and there are
lots of warm robes
ut is about as l supposed" Miss
Harrington remarked, sadly. Your
breakdown is due to perfectly plain
and natural causes. There is nothing
in the least mysterious about it. You
have deformed your feet, weakened
your spine, and consequently your
whole nervous system, by the shoes
you have worn. BY series of expos
ures you have reduced your vital force
to such an extent that reaction was i'm
possible without further prostration
causes. Here are your corsets. How
much do they measure, please?"
Nineteen inches, auntie, the
young lady was almost ready to cry
now-''and they are whole inch
larger than most girls of my size
wear"
What is your size? Here Is a tape
measure, and / will soon tell you. You
have lost considerable flesh, and shall
have to allow for shrinkage. Twenty
four inches just as you are, Blanche.
Think of it! A twenty-fouT inch waist
squeezed into nineteen inch corsets!
We will now clear the heart and lungs
from the charge of malaria. Your ir-
regular pulse, the cutting pain in your
side, your uneven and most inadequate
Vsaae tf,a., h.. ia 80
tight lacing. Now have this to say,
my child. shall not permit you to
wear one of these articles az long as
you are under my care. If YOU will ac-
cept pair of my quilted slippers, and
allow me to wrap you in blankets till
you have some clothes suitable for a
convalescent to wear, all right. If not,
you must find some enc else to take
care of you. My time is altogether too
precious to throw away. This may
seem very cruel, Blanche; but l really
think it would be far better for you to
die now than to be nursed back to the
old shameful conditions. There is
nothing before you but life of invalid
ism if you decide to go on as you have
begun"
Out NOW can wear nOTT'u OIu S0OeS
and old scratchy fannels, ard have
waist like a washerwoman's the girl
inquired, between laughing and crying
You haven't said anything about gol-
oshes and leggings yet, hut perhaps
you'd like to have me wear those?"
"Shall l get the blankets and my
quilted slippers, Blanche9" Aunt Mary
inquired.
Yes; bring the gun-boats and the
flannels," her companion replied
And if you can find few hens feath-
ers to stick in my hair, the resemblance
to Sioux squaw will be still more
striking"
After this Miss Blanche had some
lessons in physiology and hygiene, and
very interesting and profitable topics
they proved to be. She learned the
reasons of things, and had sense
enough to accept and utilize them.
Eleanor Kirk, IN Hdrper'S Bazar.