The times., 1899-03-19
A BEAUTY HOSPITAL.
Where WOmnn's Physical Imperfec-
tiOns May He Treated.


tiOns May He Treated.
New York, March 1s.-'what first gave
| me the idea of this business?" said DR..
Matilda S. Edwards the owner, general
| manager, and house physician of the In
| frmary for the Physical Perfection of Wo-
men, when questioned about her work and
experience. why, the knowledge that all
women long to be beautiful. / know it is
generally called the Beauty Hospital, and /
think the names suits it very well, indeed.
Il am from Indiana, and came to New
York for the purpose of studying medicine.
After taking my degree l located here, and
tried every means in my power TO secure
good-paying practice. At the end of my
second year l was as nearly disheartened
as woman can very well be and yet keep
going.
1T is not an easy matter to confess that
you have failed in your chosen work, and
before making the admission you may be
sure l thought of many different means
for earning my bread. Professional mas
seures, women who steam and rub the
faces of other women for the purpose of
| improving their compilations, always ap-
peared to thrive, while after two years !
could not count on making enough in one
year to pay months expenses. / was sore,
| money willingly for such trifies. Then
flashed on my mind the question, is beauty
trifle?' Being woman, l answered No.
Then / set to work and evolved the plan
for my infirmary.
In less than six weeks the Beauty
Hospital was opened, with four patients.
/ can only accommodate twenty-five, and
since the first six months the infirmary
has always been full Our waiting list is
large, and as soon as one woman is dis
charged as cured, there is another to take
her place.
Are our patients ever really i'll? No.
that is, never dangerously so. Ladies come
to us frequently from other hospitals where
they have undergone some treatment or
operation. They want to be put in shape
before returning to their friends. In the
majority of such cases, rest, with the prop
er amount of exercise and food, is all that
is required. We give it TO them. and as
result they go home looking their best.
"Of course we have number of women
and girls with absolute blemishes TO be
removed or cured. In every instance they
are attended to by physicians who make
specialties of such cases. 1t is surprising
to know how many women grow to maturi-
ty with some physical defect which could
have been easily cured or prevented when
they were small children. So many have
malformed feet, spider-like legs and arms
and fiat chests.
rs there a cure for spindling limbs?
Why, certainly. OF one thing be assured
there is a way to develop and perfect every
healthy human body. The groundwork is
health. When we get a patient in a good
physical condition, then we feel confident
of curing their defects. Legs and arms can
be either enlarged or made smaller, accord
ing to the treatment.
I'VE have a patient who came to us
Weighing eighty-one pounds. She is twenty
FIVE and had literally worked herself to the
verge of the grave. She was t-chested,
her neck was shriveled and her face lined
until she looked fully forty-five. She has
been with us nine months, and is as near
perfection physically as any woman you
ever saw. There is not line on her face,
and no one would ever credit her with
day over twenty-five. Her treatment was
the right sort of food, plenty of rest, the
necessary amount of exercise and rubbing
out the lines Of care and worry from her
face She goes out from us healthy wo-
man, without a physical defect from the
crown of her head to the soles of her feet
There is not a corn on her feet, a rough
ness on her skin, and her hair is as vigor-
Gus and as glossy as one could wish.
How about women and girls with spi-
nal diseases?" Dr. Edwards shook her head
discouragingly. THAT depends. We new
er take incurables. No one is put on our
waiting list without previous examination
by some medical man or woman on whose
judgment We can place perfect reliance.
I'VE have a great many applications
from women who are disfigured by pox-
marks, and in many instances have effected
perfect cures. But that depends entirely
on the depth of the marks. Some are too
deep and nothing can be done Hairs
from the face cannot be removed perma-
nently in every instance. But if removed
every few months by the electric needle in
the hands of an expert. they will gradually
become less vigorous and in time the roots
will die. / can say, without fear of con-
tradiction from any reputable physician,
that a bad complexion can always be i'm
proved if the general health is properly
looked after.
Now about my inirmary as a business
enterprise. ] am never puzzled about max
ing both ends meet now. / have as many
clients as l can attend to and they pay well.
Ny work is founded on my knowledge of
medicine, and the services of a specialist
are called in whenever there is the slight
est necessity. 1t is, ! am aware, a new
departure, this putting good looks, or per-
haps ] should say, the lack of 1t, on foot
ing with serious diseases. But / see no
reason, professionally nor otherwise, why
1t should not be done
II also think there is an opening for