The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-08-04
Walking and Dress.


kindness to call my rambling talk
"good advice " and put it in print in
stead of the waste-basket, where | ex-
pected it would go, so l am encouraged
to come again. Do you all enjoy walk
ing as much as / do, and how many
make practice of it? A lady once said
to me, &" wish I could walk; can work
half day, or even all day, about the
house, but 1 can't possibly walk half
mile" Now does not that seem I'M
reasonable, to say the least? l believe
walking is the best of exercise and
think any lady who can walk half day
about the house can surely walk out-of-
doors. | know of hospital where the
physicians insist upon the patients
walking, but advise them to walk upon
the ground instead of the plank walks.
! SO they think it is better for any one
and | think it is easier. / do not be-
lieve in working until one is very tired
and then taking long walks; but take
them on days when there is not so very
much to do, or take short ones before
you get tired. To be able to walk with
ease we must dress for it. l have no.
ticed that those ladies who L" can't
walk y wear boots with narrow, pointed
toes and very high heels. 1t is a
wonder that some of them can
walk in the house. Oh, if women
would only have more common-sense
and less fashion-sense, how much
less suffering there would be! Dear
sisters, study the laws of health and
teach them to your daughters before ii
is too late. Our bodies, these houses
we live in" were given us to take care
of; but how many try to keep them in
the perfect order that they ought? five
neglect this duty and are constantly
violating the physical laws, either
through ignorance or carelessness, we
must expect to suffer the consequences
When the mistakes are made through
ignorance, it would seem that the pun.
ishment ought not to be so great; but
it is, and indeed how could it be other.
wise? Some will say, @ This is nothing
new-have heard it all before" / dc
not expect to advance any new ideas
only to urge you to take better care
of yourselves, to try the reform dress
and you will wish you had done so be-
fore, and will never 90 back to the ole
ways. l would like to thank the mar
Gf it was a man) who invented the
low-heeled common-sense shoe"
wish every lady, old and young, would
get pair for homework and walking
even if they must have the "pinchers
for occasional wear. Then, if you vii
leave off corsets and suspend every
article of clothing from the shoulder:
by wearing waists with buttons ant
using shoulder-straps, instead of say
ing, " wish / could walk" you will
say, " l can walk, and enjoy it, too
Those who are not strong enough fol
work and walking should have a ham
mock or cot-bed and lie out-of-doors il
the sun all they can, and they will gair
strength much faster than by staying
shut in" / am glad there are some
ladies leaving off corsets, and hope The
time is not far distant when they viii
go out of fashion entirely. How many
will help to put them out by wearing
some style of waist instead? Don't lie
young girls wear them; and girls, yoI
will one day be glad that you could no
have them. / have talked much toe
long again, but when l get started OF
these subjects | do not know where t.
stop. Will not some one else tax,
them up and do better than can do
There are so many women who coul'
write and talk in way that would d.
much good if they were not afraid o
being unpopular. / do not mind bein!
called queer and odd, if l can onl,
be the means of doing even littl
good. | have patterns of the chemi
settle, corset-waist, Mother Hubbar,
night-dress, and a pretty wrapper pat
tern. If any one wishes, will sem
them by mail on receipt of fifteen cent
for one or twenty-five cents for two.
E. A. BLAIsDELL, f. Randolph.