Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-11
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
A dear woman of sixty whose up-to-date
gymnastic daughter is always urging her
to go out for long walks and take calls
themes in her room always replies:
What nonsense, child! When I'm on
my feet all day long doing Homework!
Those foolish notions may be all very well
for you, but 1 guess 1 get all the physical
culture need
1t sounds plausible enough, and yet in a
way this daughter is right. There are
times when woman may be actually
fatigued by overwork in the kitchen and
find rest in properly conducted gymnastics.
Sitting or lying are not always the best
forms of rest. 1t may be that while certain
muscles have been taxed beyond their
strength certain other muscles have been
cramped and tense, not in use. Those are
the ones that need work. When they have
been used gently a relaxed feeling comes
over the whole body.
If you are compelled to do much house
work try to remember that the more you
vary 1t and the more you use all parts of
the body evenly the more it will take the
place of real gymnasium to you. There
is no question that there is benefit to be
derived from threading bread, sweeping and
scrubbing; the only question is, do you de-
rive that benefit by making the most of
these exercises Y GU can use them or abuse
them, as you will; you can make them a
school OF physical training or dull system
of drudgery that saps your spirit and spoils
your figure.
For instance, if you sweep stif1y, holding
your body rigid all the while and making
your arms do the work alone, you will
be tired at the end of the labor, and will
certainly need mat work or some other
form of physical training to rest you and
relax the tense muscles. But if you will
sweep with your whole body, swinging
Justify to the movements of the broom,
sWaying back and forth, breathing deeply
the fresh air that pours in from the widely
opened windows, you will feel invigorated
by the exercise.
Do It Gracefully.
Think of yourself a pretty picture while
you proceed with this so-called homely
duty; you will be that picture. Half the
pretty women in the world make them
selves that by feeling that they are so. Let
your motions be graceful let your song be
heard, and the results will pay. There Is
tale of a girl who was so bewitching while
she swept daily that she won the heart
of a young artist lodging across the way.
TT was adorable the way those yellow
curls peeped from beneath the sweeping
cap" says the author.
Now, don't all of you write to me for a
hair bleach and a curling fluid the
strength of this anecdote, but be charming
in your own Individual way and let your
Prince Charming find you out in his own
and individual way.
But for your own health'S sake, well
as for the tidinesS of the room, throw the
windows open top and bottom. There will
not be perfect circulation of air other
wise Get rid of all the dust pos
sible and take in all the new air pos
sible. Tie up your hair; if you are a con-
scientious housewife you cannot keep it
clean through sweeping. If your nostriIs
are irritated by the dust rub in them a lit
tie vaseline before going to work and wipe
1t away with the dust which adheres to 1t
afterward. Wipe the face after sweeping
with cold cream before the dust has had
time to work its way into the pores of the
skin and form in the shape of blackheads.
Beating rugs on the line may be one of
the best chest developers you can find.
Beat SO hard that there is not speck of
dust left in the article, and then beat a
little more for the sake of good measure.
Take the switch or rattan beater In both
hands and go at It, swelling out your chest
whacks from the right side; then turn and
give ten from the left. In this way your
work will prosper just as well and your ex-
ercise will not be one-stded.
Do Some Hard Work.
1t is a mistake to think that you had
better devote yourself to dishwashing and
peeling potatoes while you leave the "hard
wor'-," meaning this, to man or ser
va. This thing Of carpet beating Is one
of the most precious kinds Of housework
that you can do, and you can Ill afford to
give 1t over to some one else. The best
thing about 1t is that 1t takes you out into
the fresh air. while the hard work prevents
you taking cold The dust blows away
better than in sweeping the house, and
your lungs are left free to enjoy good
cleansing of their own-for that is what 1t is
to them to throw out old, stale air and take
In new.
Right here is another point in which
homework fails as physical training. Ex-
ercise, no matter how good, loses value seri-
ously when kept indoors. 1t Is hard to cor
rect this fault while we live as we do, and
will always do. within doors. Houses have
come to stay, and We can never return to
the methods of those very ancient grand
parents of ours who washed their dishes In
the babbling brook. But we can help our
selves to a great extent.
During the summer months, In this very
year of 1905, resolve to take your work as
far as possible to a piazza behind the kitch-
en- or into an arbor in the back yard or
under a tree. 1t will cost only few more
steps to carry the pan Of beans or berries
out there to look them over The air of
your kitchen is artificially heated by the
range and is more or less vitiated by use.
than your neighbor and keep 1t up later
A Practical Help.
Do you women who. complain of over
large hips realize that mopping the floor is
excellent to reduce hips and abdomen?
Crawling on the floor brings the muscles of
those regions into play. and consequently
the flesh is worn away, so to speak. Much
bettar than this Ii thu exercise Of ual)xinn