several minutes each day; 5. Never resist the calls of nature a single
moment, if possible to avoid it. In this case, as in numerous others,
"delay is dangerous." Ladies who desire a sweet breath--and what lady
does not--should remember that retained feces are one of the most
frequent causes of foul breath. The foul odors which ought to pass out
through the bowels find their way into the blood and escape at the lungs.
A medical man whose sense of smell is delicate soon learns to know a
constipated person by the breath. As one says, "What is more offensive
than the breath of a costive child?"

Boerhaave, a famous old Dutch physician, left to his heirs an elegantly
bound volume in which, he claimed, were written all the secrets of the
science of physic. After his death, the wonderful book was opened, when
it was found to contain only the following sentence:--

"Keep the head cool, the feet warm, and the bowels open."

An old Scotch physician once gave the following advice to Sir Astley
Cooper for the preservation of health:--

"Keep in the fear of the Lord, and your bowels open."

4. Perhaps nothing tends more directly to the production of menstrual
derangements--as well as uterine diseases of every sort--than
fashionable modes of dress. We have not space here to give to the subject
the attention it deserves; it will be found treated of in works devoted
to the subject of dress exclusively. Some of the most glaring evils
are,--

(1) Unequal distribution of clothing. The trunk, especially the abdomen
and pelvis, is covered with numerous layers of clothing, an extra amount
being caused by the overlapping of the upper and lower garments. Very
frequently, the amount of clothing upon these, the most vital parts,
is excessive. At the same time, the limbs are sometimes almost in a
state of nudity. A single cotton garment, or at most one of thin flannel,
is the only protection afforded to the limbs beneath the skirts, which
often serve no better purpose than to collect cold air and retain it
in contact with the limbs. A thin stocking is the only protection for
the ankles, and a thin shoe is the only additional covering afforded
the feet. Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that a woman catches
cold if she only steps out-of-doors on a chilly or damp day.

(2) Another glaring fault is in the manner of suspending the skirts.
Instead of being fastened to a waist or suspended so as to give them
support from the shoulders