f the statue of the Venus de Medici,
renowned as being the most beautiful representation of a woman's
figure?"

"O, yes, I have seen pictures of it."

"A certain English actress was called a model of loveliness in form and
feature. Some one has made a comparison between the two. Here are the
pictures and measurements:

[Illustration]

Bust measure 36
Waist 26
Hip 45

Fig. 1

Bust measure 38
Waist 32
Hip 43

Fig. 2

"You see how graceful the curves of the Venus (Fig. 2), how abrupt those
of the actress (Fig. 1), and yet to most people her figure looks the
more elegant. But I want to call your attention to the fact that to
create her figure is really to lose much space, and to crowd together
the important vital organs until their working power is greatly
hindered. This same actress has become enlightened and now says: 'Of
course, no woman can breathe properly in a tightly-laced corset. I am
horrified when I think of the way I used to compress my waist, and look
back at the pictures showing my hour-glass figure with positive
amazement.'

"Don't you think it strange that we never want little rooms with
furniture huddled close together, except in our bodily dwellings? The
Divine Architect has given us grand apartments, with all the machinery
harmoniously related, and we think we improve things by putting
everything into the closest possible quarters and disturbing the
harmony! But the damage is not done to the heart and lungs alone. The
liver is crowded out of place until it sometimes reaches clear across
the abdomen and is creased with ruts from the pressure of the ribs upon
it. The stomach is also pressed out of place. It belongs close up under
the diaphragm, but it is crowded by the pressure down until it lies in
the abdominal cavity, as low down, sometimes, as the umbilicus, six or
eight inches below where it belongs."

[Illustration: Showing how much space is lost by constriction of the
waist.]

"O, mother, that seems awful."

"It is awful, my dear, because the body is created to do certain work,
and to do that work well, its laws should be regarded. We would not
think of interfering with the works of a watch or a piano, because they
are valuable, but we do not hesitate to interfere with the more
valuable organs of our bodies, and we do not even think that we are
offering an in