the improved circulation. His arms, too, instead of falling in front of the body, will hang rather backwards, his head become more erect, and he will experience a sensation of comfort to which he has hitherto been a stranger. A feeling of unpleasant stiffness may be complained of on his assuming this manly attitude, and this arises from the muscles of the chest and back being brought more into action, and also to the back part of the intervertebral cartilages having become thickened, from his long habit of stooping. We frequently hear a remark of the same kind made by ladies on being first placed perfectly erect; but this stiffness is invariably succeeded by a sensation of relief. Proud in the consciousness of his vigour, the boy now shows his enjoyment of it by a thousand antics; his pace becomes rapid, he runs without fatigue, and when in the playground exercises his chest by exhilarating though frequently discordant shouts. All this good is effected simply by the change from an improper to a judicious mode of clothing; and it will be at once seen that our views on the subject of female dress would, if properly carried out, produce precisely analogous results. *[1]
There is a mode of dressing boys which is calculated to perpetuate the stooping position contracted in infancy; but it is now, fortunately, falling into disuse. We mean the wearing of a little waistcoat, to which the trousers button in lieu of braces. Of course, by this, the trousers must be drawn up tightly in the front, and the pressure fall upon the back of the neck, thereby dragging the head and arms forward. Some years ago, I ordered a dress of this description for my own son, and when it was tried on, found that he stooped very much. I accordingly unbuttoned the front buttons which attached the trousers to the waist-
- ↑ * Boys are, however, subject to an annoyance to which girls are comparatively strangers. The upper portion of the body is kept warm from the inordinate quantity of clothing, whilst the legs are left perfectly bare, and exposed to all the inclemency of the weather. I once had a beautiful boy brought by his mother into my room. Fascinated by the beauty of the dear child, I grasped his legs to shake them, as I believe most mothers would do, and was shocked to find them so blue and cold that he actually had no sensation there whatever. He wore a little bear-skin coat which kept the upper portions of the body at a temperature of 68° Fahrenheit, but, upon applying the thermometer to his dear little legs, it only indicated a heat of 42°. He looked ill, and had been taken to several medical men, who pronounced his liver out of order; but I thought that warm stockings might be useful, and accordingly recommended them, and in a few weeks had the satisfaction of hearing that the child's health was restored.
