The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-05

well was elsewhere engaged, the Queen by
chance opened the door Of the Mulready room
and looked In.
"'oh,' she exclaimed, what nno drawings
these are,' and abe commanded Sir Henry Cole
to bring the Prince and Princess TO SEQ them.
Mr.. Cardwell rushed up, but too late. and he
was obliged to enter the room also and to listen
to the hearty commentators passed by her
Majesty and by the Prince on the drawings
which had 30 shocked his false and spurious
modesty. So pleased was tho Queen with them
that she wished to buy some, and commissioned
Sir Charles Eastlake to communicate with Null
ready on tho subject. Tho artist would not
sell. He, however. presented one to the Queen.
which she accepted. and sent to Mulready her
thanks and a silver inkstand. Her Majesty's
action on that occasion exhibited all the differ
ence between false modesty and true"
The point always raised in such discussions,
that the matter Of covering or non-covering Of
various portions Of the human body lie q ques.
ton OF usage and custom and not of modesty
and morality, Is being argued with great vigor
by the disputants on both sides. The most in.
~teresting contribution to this branch Of the
subject is from Mrs. Alec Tweedie, the writer
Of several books upon foreign habits and Gus
toms. She makes some statements which will
be revelations to most readers. She says:
I'm Morocco the women cover their faces
1T is the Mussulman religion to do so-and
they shrink with holy horror from the gaze Of
men. Therefore the nose, chin, checks, and
mouth of these women are always hidden by q
thick veil; but, by way Of contrast to this
modesty, they think nothing Of exposing their
lower limbs, and the legs Of q Moorish maid
may often DO seen as she wends her way on
Friday their Sabbath to the cemetery TO
wall over the graves Of her ancestors, or plods
for hours and hours to the nearest soko (mar-
ket) with an enormous weight balanced on her
head. What would this Arab girl say. whose
modesty bids her cover her face. no matter tho
heat, II abe entered an English ballroom and
saw not only the faces, but tho necks, backs,
and arms of ladies unblushingly exposedi
MANY European nations stand back amazed
at the sight which presents itself to their gaze
in English society, but we, whose habit 1t is,
consider the spectacle perfectly modest and re-
spectacle. and think nothing of q dtcollete bod.
Ice, believing that o woman never looks dressed
in the evening unless she IL partly undressed,
while SO near US even as Germany o married
woman seldom wears a low neck.
I'VE have all heard and read stories Of Japan
describing the ~bathhouse. where men and wo-
men battle together, and in that interesting
land 1t Is the fashion for either sex entering q
tea house to strip to the waist, although report
says civilization is fast altering these customs
in such largo towns as Toxic or Yokohama.
Ancient habit and custom have robbed tho
Japanese Of all false modesty and prudery at
home, although as q nation they clothe them
cessitates their doing SO.
THE Eskimo goes a step further than the
Jap; the cold necessitates his dressing warmly
outside his home, but within his castle he at
once disrobes completely, and men and women
sit side by side in a state Of nudity. There is
no immodesty in this-it Is their custom. In
Iceland whole families sleep in one room from
choice. Whyi Because doing 80 generates heat,
and in their almost Arctic climate this Is an In
estimable boon.
Last summer I spent in Finland. about
which interesting country I lately published a
book, wherein the subject Of bathing. under
various and strange aspects. has been treated.
The Finlanders are not barbarians: they arc
o most cultivated and refined people, and.
more than that, they can boast of being one of
the most moral nations In Europe, yet their
ideas Of bathing and modesty are far removed
from our own. A real native bath 10 one Of
the specialties of the country. Even In the
old songs OF the 'Kalevala' they speak of the
cleansing and healing vapors of the heated
bathroom Poets have described the bath In
verse, artists have drawn it on canvas, and
singers have warbled forth Its charms- Every
houoo AZ LAX SouhSAys Ao"o'Ct oho eAt
house may be. boasts Its bastu. or bathhouse.
called in Finish sauna
Every Saturday. year In and year out, that
enormous stove is heated, and the whole
family have a bath-not singly. oh, dear. no. but
altogether. mon, women, and children; farm
or. wife, brothers, sisters, laborers, friends, and
the dogs, too. II they have o mind. Pals OF
water are thrown on to the heated stones. and
the steam ascends In volumes. Tho batherl
seat themselves In q row upon Q wide, wooden
staircase arranged for tho purpose. which Il
strewn with straw. 1t is the fashion for everJ
one to wash him or herself with soft soap. using
q large bundle Of white hemp as q sponge. Thii
accomplished, each bather brochures q bundle o.
birch leaves tied up with . string. such as thu
Finlanders also use for sweeping their floors
and, dipping the branches into o pail of no
water, they beat one another all over with thu
leaves. The sensation Is very pleasant. q sort o
tingle or sting which excites the circulation
prior to the massage which follows. At harves
time, when the heat is often intense and tn
work very hard. the laborers have such q batl
every night, and each person vigorously beats
neighbor. quito regardless Of sex, With tn,
birch boughs. 1t 10 the custom Of the country
and tho Finnish peasant thinks nothing of be
Ing seen by his friends or his neighbors In q stat
OF nature.
Massage originated In Finland. and even Il
the remotev villages o bathing woman Is general.
to be found who. for q sum varying from ID. to
shilling, goes from house to house to wash ant
massage the family. No ono ever thinks O
washing himself. and men Of all ages arc bathe'
and rubbed by these women. To US the habit
surprising-to them 1t Is an every day occur
renee, and far less immodest in their eyes tina
the exhibition OF limbs At an English ballet"
Even more extreme Ii an instance given by
correspondent, who writes:
Perhaps ! may be permitted TO cite. In doc
orous language, an incident which occurred :
me in India, and which, in my judgment, yer
c~uriously illustrated the eternal distinctio
between sincere self.respect and chastity q
heart. and the false sort Of shyness which
pruriency In disguise. ! was riding across q
Indian stream at q fora, and encountered
Mahratta woman In midcurrent, wearing tn
usual simple garb Of chon and sari. Obey
ing the custom which causes q respectabl
Hindoo female to covor her face-or make th
movement of covering it-when passing a StraI
ger. she calmly lifted her single crimson ga
maui frnTn har Lnaaa an5 xuaiut that aha min