Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-02-02
PRACTICAL POINTS.
WHAT we SHALL EAT AND WEAK;
HOW COOK AND HOW MAKE.
Eleanor KIRK ON Proper Modes Of Living
How to breath and How 20 Dress Tor
Cdmfort and Health.
Written for the DispaschI

tions come futtering in. and have at last
| concluded to take the oft-repepeated In
quries as texts, and try and treat them IN
/ q manner which shall be both interesting
| and useful. The interest in all OF these
subjects was never so vital AZ now. Inere
| were never so many women who want 10
| know things NJ now. Where once it was
somewhat of reflection upon the feminine
! head Of family, if not an absolute dis
grace, TO be practically acquainted with
her kitchen, IL now il UNREASONABLE not TO
be on intimate terms with
THE CULINARY DEPARTMENT.
MANY ladies whose establishments are so
large and entertainments so elaborate "a
10 require the services OF q professional
chef. do not now leave all the buying. ca
teI,ns s0t gb sna bctiopary is made
TO understand in the outset that the In
| fluence of the mistress of the house is as
potent in the kitchen as the drawing-room.
| had the pleasure the other day of partaking
of an American luncheon prepared by o
| French chef under the careful instruction OF
| the lady Of the house. Among other deli
cacies were baked black beans, Boston
style, Rhode Island brown-bread, ana
| pumpkin-pie. When asked how the COOK
| bore her lessons and her presence in the
| domain which was formerly sacred to Tor
eign authority she replied that he some
| times threatened to leave, after learning
all he could, and establish an American
restaurant in Paris. ~ Should like to help
him in such an enterprise" she added,
@ for that would be consulting the greatest
good of the greatest number"
IN THE SOUTH.
Perhaps nowhere in this wide-awake land
| has there been 80 much growth IN these
important and practical matters as IN the
South. The letters received from south
| ern housekeepers and southern girls on
these subjects are as interesting as they
are inspiring. Indeed they box the COM
pass Of questions, and / confess that some
Of them are puzzlers. But they do me good,
| because when l am able to answer ques-
ton for others have added as much to
my own stock of information as to. theirs,
| and who among US does not love to
learn2 am happy to say that my south
gienic matters as in those pertaining to
STYLES and fashions. They truly wish to
know what kind of food will best nourish
the body and what kind Of clothes will
best promote health. From these quarters
also come various queries about art mat
tiers, comprising everything from the paint
ing of pictures to house decorations.
| These subjects I shall treat later, on the
principle that "art is long and life Is fleet,
ing" and that in consequence food and
raiment are the first great essentials.
HOW TO DEyATH.
Our most scientific physicians bear me
out in the statement that human beings
generally do not know how to breathe.
This is moro true of women than OF men
because the former have so long COM
pressed and outraged their vital organs by
tight-lacing. Fashion has for years de
manded full busts, pipe-stem waists; and
large hips. The first and the last could be
attained without any especial detriment TO
health by means OF artistic PADS whlch
any competent dressmaker knows how TO
prepare But the full. plump. shapely-by-
nature waist was O perpetual STUN bling
block to successful oostuming. Nothing
but steel and string could bring this
refractory part of the human anato-
my to terms, and string and steel have
been so thoroughly utilized that our homes
and our hospitals have been fliled with IN
yalids, and our cemeteries with the lowell
est of earth But gradually came change.
Brave, earnest, wide-swake women began
TO talk and write of these things. Good
seed was dropped everywhere, and now we
have an abundant crop. Nothing could
better illustrate the healthful growth OF
this seed than the fact that such autocratic
dressmakers and designers as Worth. and
many others almost as popular here, as
we'll as abroad, have been obliged to sue
cumb to the general voice. Now we are
informed by Paris journals that "a small
waist is opposed to every principle OF art"
and we hear more of the Venus de Me-
dici" than ever.
HEART FAILURE.
No person can be in good health who
does not know how to breathe. Proper
breathing does not alone conduce to the
strength and development of the lungs,
but without it there can be no true diges-
ton and assimilation of food. Heart fail
ure, so common to-day, comes, among
other causes, from the long strain that has
been put on the vital organs of our mothers
and our grandmothers. A prominent and
Intelligent Young man died suddenly
the other day from heart failure
How did II happen3" | asked asked
his physician. "Oh," he replied, with
an impatient shrug of his shoulders, only
cried, Ibid that splendid fellow lace?"
"No,n was the answer, but his mother
did, and she is at present under my care.
She is quite belle even now, and enter
tains most charmingly when L can ease
her deformed ribs, and her intercostal neu-
ralgia, and her painting breath sufficiently
for her 10 sit up an hour or two. Such IS
heredity, madam, and the more you, look
into it the more You will Know, ana the
All this is very shocking, but il is true,
and We have got to face 1t.
TEE BREATH OF LIFE.
Again, the woman who breathes proper
" and takes necessary exercise will rot be
apt to develop an unpleasant emount or
adipose tissue in the region OF the ado
men. This taking on of fat is largely due
to the habitual disuse of the abdominal
muscles If my lady readers VIII place
their hands over this region and breathe
as they are in the habit of doing they Will
see how little or how much these very. I'M
portant organs are involved In the
of them will be surprised at the inaction
they will find there. After, this, OK
pertinent close the mouth, throw
the shoulders we'll back, with the weight |
of the body resting on the balls OF the
feet. This is the only. correct way TO
stand. Such posture throws the abdo- |
men backward instead of forward, exactly
where it belongs. BY means. OF the nos
trils draw in the breath deeply and slowly, |
and let it out in the same manner. If
those of my readers who are troubled with
superfluous abdominal tissue Will do this
dozen times day and get into the habit
of breathing with the stomach and abdo- |
men and initiating every part. OF the lungs,
they will not only lay the foundation OF
good health, but they will be shapely in
figure and graceful in carriage.
CHAPTER Ii.
A Baltimore lady in a most delightful |
and appreciative communication asks me |
to give few practical rules for breathing. |
II was thoroughly alarmed she writes,
when made test of your directions and |
found that only breathed with the upper /
part of my chest, and that the abdominal |
muscles could not have been more quiet II |
had been dead. | weigh 40 pounds and |
am only abnormally hcshy in the abdoml-
nal region. This is great modification as
well as great hindrance TO exercise and |
out-of-door enjoyment" This is by no
means an exceptional case. Improper
breathing and improper food are responsi-
BILE for an incredible amount of invaiidism.
How is it possible for a woman to breath
naturally with her vital organs compressed
by corsets, and further borne down ana |
irifamed by the weight of heavy skirts
Under such conditions a woman can De
neither healthy nor useful.
INJURIOUS LAcING.
@ol, . ha ., m, al a byaat hing |