Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-29
BATHING IN SWEDEN.
Women Do all the Rubbing and Manip-
nj

ulaIlnS.
George Alfred Townsend in Boston Globe.I
The use OF women as barmaids, steward
esses, theater-box attendants, theater-
ushers ETC., was universal in Europe. The
higher degree of respect observed towards
women in America is, perhaps, the distin-
gushing feature of the Western society.
| may have forgotten to tell you that in
Sweden and throughout the North the
bathing houses are served by females, to
the establishment of the modest customer
from this sphere. Long before / got to
the far North a hotel waiter who had
been there, said to me that strangers met
with their first amazcmeut in Sweden
when women came in to bathe them. The
first day | was in Stockholm / passed an
archway upon the central island there
and observed half dozen women with
bare arms lettering around the por-
tai. Raising my eyes to the Intel above,
| saw the word bad" which means bath.
On this occasion it conveyed bad idea,
and | wheeled about and went in
Some slight commotion ensued among
these females, rather of competitive sort,
and presenting myself at an Office, modest
looking female there granted me ticket
for small sum of money, about 80 cents,
l think, and consigned me to a creditable
looking woman of about 80 years, or there
abouts. Passing into the open court or
paved place in the middle of the bath, /
was shown up stairs to small parlor with
two windows, at the further end of which
a door opened into bath-roo much
larger than we are accustomed to. The
female Immediately began to draw water
from two spigots into the larger tub, and
mixed up the required degree of heat. l
waited some time for her to retire, but it
was soon apparent that she was not of
retiring disposition. So the customs of
the country had to be observed In few
minutes was undergoing scrubbing with
soap IN that sort of attire which | family
remembered to have been the domestic
habits, upon my mothers knee, when on
Saturday night, if not oftener, she found
1t Christian duty to clew me, fill my
ears with soap, tantalize my hair, and
finally discharge me yelling, but clean, to
be put to bed an extremely bad boy, who
did not love to be washed
The Swedish female adhered to all her
clothing; in addition she tied around her
neck and waist the strings of an oilcloth,
to prevent the splashing water, or possibly
the resisting hands, from taking the starch
out of her dress. With a scrubbing-brush
and soap she traversed me, like lawyer
in his replications. Having been soused
and scrubbed, l was turned over and re-
scrubbed and bound In full calf This,
however, was only the commencement of
the exercise. The next thing was to get
some Mexican hemp, or Swedish shavings,
and, with clean water, recommence the pro-
cess. AT last | was stood up in state of
Adam and showered and needle -bathed,
wearing only a smile. | was at last encom-
passed with long warm towel, and after
that was rubbed again with a softer towel,
and then tucked up in my little bed, a be-
but clean, being.
The next process was to bring in some
beer. If hoped, however, to get nap,
as in similar baths at home, l was mis-
taken foI in few minutes the lady ap-
peared and handed me some article of my
and expressed desire that l
should get out, which she, being unable
to speak my vulgar tongue, emphasized by
pointing to the ticket which had brought
me there, which indicated / was only to
have that bath between certain hours of
the clock, say from l to o'clock. | was
then told to ask for No. the next time |
came, as matter of loyalty and gratitude.
The next day it occurred to me that
felt better than / had done during the
three weeks in Paris, where there is hardly
enough water to wash small child al
loted to every ward of that great city. In
a French bath house you are given a
room, as favor, after waiting some time,
and every attendant looks half a franc to a
franc at you; begging in France seems to
be the common law. In Sweden nobody
begs and everything is cheap. l inquired
at my hotel where | could get the best
bath in Sweden and was told to go up the
street TO a certain number which l found
In highly aristocratic quarter, directly
opposite the American ConsuFs abode. |
There | fully expected to find a male
bather, but such was not the case. Again,
at the head of the stairs, female cashier
gave me a ticket at a little more than the
price charged at the democratic bath
Again / encountered bevy of females in
the hail, each apparently anxious to take
charge of me. Without the presence of
mind to select for myself on this occasion
| fell into the hands of a female perhaps
40 years of age, and was taken into
smaller and more scientific apartment, pro-
yided with the latest endowmeu.s In the