s ago, yet they did not begin to have the
resources in cosmetic arts that we have now. But they bathed
incessantly, believing that cleanliness and health were the vital
points in their endeavors to be lovely. They went in for athletic games
to a large degree, and thereby hangs the secret of well-developed
figures and fine, stately carriage. Creamy lotions for the face, made
mostly of almond oil and the oil of cocoanut, were their complexion
solaces.

No doubt these beauties of the past centuries had more time than we for
their baths and games, but nevertheless let us make a strong, stern
effort to follow in the wake of their excellent teachings. Surely they
proved the wisdom of them in their own incomparable beauty.

Speaking of baths reminds me of Mme. Tallien, the beautiful French
woman, who lived in the time of the first Napoleon. She went in for
baths galore. Let me tell you what she did.

She gathered together all the strawberries or raspberries that the
corner grocery could supply. These were mashed to a pulp and the
bathtub filled. In this Mme. Tallien bathed until the idea of milk and
perfumed baths appeared to her fancy. There were many absurd and
useless fads those days as well as wise beautifying practices--just the
same state of affairs as now confronts us.

How much more rational than Mme. Tallien's notions were the methods of
Diana of Poitiers, who, history tells us, was fresh and lovely at
sixty-five! She left the berries and things to their rightful place,
the breakfast table, and each morning took a refreshing bath in a big
tub of clear rain-water. There has nothing yet been found, even in this
progressive age of electric elixirs and beautifying compounds, that can
equal this old-time aid to loveliness.

With the delightfully convenient bath-rooms, that even the most
ordinary apartment or flat has now, bathing is not a matter of trouble
and bother, but is, instead, an invigorating pleasure. I believe firmly
in the need of the daily bath. Not the thorough scrubbing, mind you,
but the quick sponging and the plunge. Let the thorough scrubbing be at
least twice during the week, and the five-minute plunges on other days.
Certain it is that one is much refreshed by the dipping luxury, and
still more certain is the fact that in no other way can the flesh be
kept healthy and firm. To those who are robust enough to stand it, the
cold bath is very good, but I would not advise it as a general thing
for women