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| Keywords: TheFamilyDoctorJan5 1889page295.png THE FAMILY DOCTOR teachers will stilt hold in reserve to be used in some cases as a last resource and as a sad necessity But it should be a last resource It should never be used until all other measures have failed Then it should be used well In the same way that the most humane war is that which is short and decisive so the rod should be used with decision when the necessity arises so as to bring about the wished-for result with the least delay and with the smallest chance of failure or the necessity for repetition Here is an example of my meaning I have brought up my children practically without corporal punishment but about two years ago one child presuming upon its age and immunity from any punishment for which it really cared became deaf to my admonitions and defiant of authority I made up my mind that the time had arrived when its future welfare necessitated determined action and that it would be culpable weakness in me any longer to withhold the rod A whipping was given to the great astonishment of the child and the result was successful beyond my most sanguine expectations From that moment all trouble ceased Only once when the memory of the whipping seemed to have grown faint had I to mention the word rod The little word acted like a charm I have never had to repeat it The mention of this word after the whipping had more effect than months of kindly entreaty and indeed years of previous exhortation supported only by minor punishments This happy change was the effect of only eight strokes But I doubt whether the whipping would have been so effective if the punishment had not been given in a very solemn and impressive 111anner I am confidp nt that regulation and deliberation are necesiiary to the success of corporal punishment when unfortunately it has to be given The bpst plan I believe is to lay the culprit in its nightdress face downwards on a pillow placed at the end of a narrow table a strap being passed over the bod y and fastened under the table By this means all struggles which are derogatory to authority are avoided The punishment can be given slowly deliberately and effectively with words of kindly admonition between the st·rokes The fact of the child feeHng itself helpless is also conducive to submission and there is less likelihood for the element of temper to enter into the punishment A rod nlade of hirch twigs i~ by far the best instrument to use If birch twigs cannot be obtained then an ordinary garden broom if taken to pieces will supply very respectable rods There is no reason therefore why any other instrument should ever be used It i~ by far the safest and does not raise wales If any 'parent finds himRelf or herself in the difficulty I was in two years ago I would strongly advise the course I have recOlnlnended In conclusion I believe the following propositions to be founded on reason and common sense- 1 That implicit obedience to authority \\-h ch i3 the foundation of education should be insisted upon in every household 2 That authority should in the first instance be supported hy only moral measures 3 That in the event of nlOral measures failing authority should be r;upported by minor punish nents ; but never by bribery 4 That if nlinor punishments fail the rod s~ould then be used 5 That when the rod is used as a last re~o~ p·ce it should be administered with forethought an l deliberation and with sufficient severity to prevent t'le necessity of its further use 6 It being ef equal importance to the welfare of children of both sexes that respw t fe · authority should be 111aintained it is right that the rod when required should be used in the ca3e of both sexes Any other course would be manifestly unjust -I am your obedient servant COMMON SENSE TIGHT LACING AND MALE ATTIRE FOR LADIES TO THE EDITOR OF THE FAMILY DOCTOR SIR --I have been much interested in the discussion which has taken place in your columns upon these two subjects and should like with your permission to make a few remarks Until I saw a copy of your valuable paper upon a bookstall I must confess that I knew little or nothing of the items which go to the making of a well-dressed woman Of course I knew in a dull masculine way when my sisters or any other lady of my acquaintance were well dressed but by what means this end was accomplished I did not endeavour to discover My sisters' slender waists did not much excite my curiosity not that I supposed them to be natural but although I thought they looked more trim and chic than larger waisted girls I did not trouble myself about the matter I bought a copy of your paper and showed them some of the letters and also the illustrations on the front page of young ladies whose waists were certainly smaller than any I have seen They seemed delighted with the pictures and asked me to let them see the paper every week I asked the eldest Maude whether she tight laced Hardly at all she replied Why my waist is 18 inches; half as big again as this girl's pointing to one of the figures in your paper but I shall lace a little tighter now sba'n't you Belle Belle my youngest sister but one who admitted to twitching her staylaces a little and had a waist of 17 inches said she should My sisters even the youngest aged sixteen have since gone in for waist nipping with not only my mother's sanction but even approbation They had stays made at one of the best corsetières and pulled themselves in inch by inch until all three possessed waists of 16 inches They admitted suffering much pain and they told me the pinching sensation was at first perfectly horrible but after few hours only a dull numbed feeling came; and although their faces were very white and bloodless and their thighs felt numb and dead they did not faint or suffer any pain worth mentioning Of course their round small waists tapering figures and full busts were lnuch admired They were none of thern satisfied however and made up their minds for 15 inches or perhaps a trifle less Corsets of the requisite size were got and laced on but after a fortnight's trial all except my youngest sister had to give them up The agony of such compression was so intense that even she slight though she was had to give up lacing below 16 inches as my mother got frightened at her constant headaches loss of appetite and giddiness My sisters seem to think that to lace below 16 inches the size to which they now confine themselves is impossible for any length of time--at least to anyone but a girl whose waist has been systematically compressed from early childhood I have seen and met with and so have they a few girls who comparing their waists with my sisters' must certainly have been two or more inches smaller; but they have without an exception suffered from listlessness headache and ultimately spoiled complexions and to my mind looked absurdly attenuated and out of proportion With reference to ladies adopting male attire I think there are occasions when it would not only be quite admissible but even advisable That it is much more comfortable than their own I think is beyond doubt The fear that it would be ugly we can leave to the ladies who would no doubt be as well able to exercise their taste in trimmings materials and colour of their knickerbockers and I bar trousers as unredeemably hideous as they now do in their skirts The reason that male attire is not adopted is not because it is more immodest than their own dress but that fashion and custom have not thrown their influence into the scale; whenever they do this the costume will be adopted My sisters tight-lacers from fashion though they are say they would be thankful for the change and never felt so free and comfortable as when they appeared in the extreemly scanty attire which is supposed to be worn by the faries when taking part in some of Andersen's Fairy Tale tableaux for a charity The feeling they said afterwards of having no clogging skirts lower than to within 6 or 9 inches of our knees was delightful This mock modesty about showing a lady's ankle is a great piece of cant when one comes to think of It For does not the public sanction and even applaud on a brightly-lighted stage far more exposure than it would with mock indignation allow in a private drawing-room The whole gist of the matter seems that ladies must seldom be supposed to possess two legs anywhere except on the stage and there the more of them shown the better If it is immodest for some women to show these particular limbs it is immodest for all There can be no half-way house and thousands of educated and well-mannered people pay n1ghtly to see or at least knowing that they will see what custom says shall be hidden I am not speaking of the ballets at the Alhambra or Empire where a great many men who go there would hesitate to take their sisters and where not a few of the danseuses what with low bodices and scanty skirts practically appear as a certain person has said mit noddinks on I refer to the higher types of theatre where brevity of skirt on all suitable and unsuitable occasions seems to be in popular demand In a piece now withdrawn after a lengthy run one of the leading ladies of the cast whose skirts were appropriately brief used nightly to throw herself into a position as a lady friend remarked Which would allow the dramatic critics and lady correspondents of the fashion journals to correctly and minutely describe the material and filmy lace trimmings of her expensive lingerie underclothing For the first few nights this pusture which would hardly be tolerated as an illustration in a paper was received almost in silence although the situation was a strong one The public however soon began to take it as a matter of course and at length to judge from their faces thoroughly fell into the humour and delicacy of the lady's action Such is our cant and mock modesty I must apologise for the length of this letter which however I hope you will be able to insert --Faithfully yours L J M P S --How is it that in ordinary life male attire for women is looked upon as indelicate when boy's parts are almost universally played by women upon the stage I Can anyone suggest an answer to this enigma 1 London W D~c 20th 1838 TIGHT LACING TO THE EDITOR OF THE FAMILY DOCTOR SIR -Your fair correspondent Sweet Seventeen seems to doubt that men ever really wear corsets Permit me to set her mind at rest upon this point as I myself am an enthusiastic votary of the corset though not an excessively tight lacer-24 inches for a height of 5 ft 7 ins I am a pupil in a civil engineer's office here and twenty years at age It may be vain and it may be effeminate but I mean to stick to it in spite of the warning voice and if England ever is in danger I dare say I shall do my duty as I am a member of a corps of rifle volunteers I am now studying a girl's part in a piece we are going to do at a large house where I am invited this Christmas my people are abroad and find a good deal of fun in rehearsing my lines in costume at home every evening and I can a~sure you there are many worse looking young ladies than yours truly Hull Dec 18 1888 W R THE BOVRIO TEST in America has had an important educational value That one ounce contains more res nourisment than fifty ounces of Liebig's is not a little star ling pages with transcript Artworks missing infobox template | ||||
