The Road to the Real House Beautiful.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVI, Issue 9, 3 March 1906, Page 54

The Road to the Real House Beautiful.

(By

Ella Wheeler Wilcox.)

To make this care-filled world aS beautiful as we can to heart, mind, eye and ear should be one of man’s leading efforts. - , , And by man, of course, is meant also woman. Most womAi” love to adorn their persons and their homes; and having so adorned them, to keep their clothing and their- furniture in -good nrtfifr. If a garment begins to rip or fray, it is repaired; if the furniture or walls of the Iwme show wear, they arc at once looked after. There is scarcely a woman in the land who does not take pride in the thought 1 hat she is regarded as a good housekeeper; one who preserves her mansion with scrupulous care and makes it attractive to the eye of every beholder. If she were told that her home was going to decay for the lack of attention she would feel insulted and disgraced. Then why do so many women feci ashamed to own that they take as good care of the Mansion of the Soul as they take of the mere house of wood or stone’ Why do they give more attention to the clothing of the body than to Hie body itself? Why do so many women call attention to the fact that they are aging am! hasten to tell each observer how little <are they take to arrest the ravages of time? These peculiarities are particularly characteristic of the very women who pride themselves upon their good housekeeping—viz., the women of New England.

If to one of these a friend suggests the scientific care of her skin, her hair, or her figure, she will, in nine eases out of ten, reply with more or less scorn at the intimation that SHE would be so “vain'’ or “silly’ as to give her personal appearance so much attention. When by the persuasion of a worldlywise woiiiah she is finally convinced that il is not absolutely wicked to preserve her good looks she is almost certain to swear her friend and her hair and skin specialist to secrecy. She will confess to employing a "manicure,” but further than .'that she will not “incriminate” herself. There are women who dare not confess to the most intimate friend that they consider the body worthy of care beyond the finger tips. But why confess to the finger tips? Are the nails nobler than the cuticle? Not only do they take this stand, but they delight in calling attention to their own consciousness of departing youth, in order to prove their utter absence of vanity. To all such women I have this to say: Do not he forever harping on the 1 heme of AG E. . Keep the thought of ETERNAL Y'Ol.'T'H in your mind. Fill your lungs with full inhalations of fresh air every day several times, and think of YOETIi, VITALITY and ENERGY while you breathe. Expect to look younger next year, next month, and next week. If you have observed any falling off in your personal appearance, instead of saying or thinking that you have reached the turning point toward old age, think you arc only passing through a subway station ' io NEW YoITH AND BEA I T Y. Begin to care for vour bodv scientifically. Nature cares for our bodies like a great kind nurse, until we grow old enough to care for them ourselves. Their she expects us to do the work. Your skin, and hair, and teeth, and eyes, and digestion, which seemed to need no attention in early youth in order to keep a good condition were under the supervision of nature. But after youth is passed they will not retain their glory unless you supply the. work nature and youth did for you 1 hen. Take 'ess food ,and of a more carefully selected quality than you took in early youth. Y'ou hare impaired the machinery of digestion, probably, by overtaxing it. Reduce the quantity and improve the quality of your sustenance. Use no stimulants, but take more pure liquids than of old. Water, milk, oils are all agents., of eternal youth. Arouse your circulation by active phy-

sieal exercises, massage and baths, which will open the pores. Any horse breeder will tell you that to keep a horse in good condition he needs to thoroughly pbrspire at every pore once a day. The ss&e' is true of man. Themost ancient tribes of Indians left indications that they built crude Turkish baths for the purpose of opening their pores in cave cabinets. If you are livjng-.sedentary lives, or if you are employed in some occupation which does not give you vigorous physical exercise, then use artificial methods to produce circulation”and perspiration. Use oil outwardly, as well as inwardly. Time dries the oil from Hie pores and the skin becomes like parchment, and the joints stiffened, for lack of its lubricat ing ’effect. Physical exercises and oil and massage will avert and overcome these disasters to comfort and beauty. Give the hair, the skin and the.lungs plenty of fresh air. Keep the mind occupied with new thoughts. Cultivate an active, not a passive, interest in everything which’ happens in the world of science and invention and discovery. Think about spiritual things, too; if you were setting sail for a new country you would read whatever you could find about its customs and climate and the habits of its people. You are setting sail for worlds beyond; listen to what men and women wiser than you have to say regarding these realms. Read what the great minds of earth have written on the subject. Cultivate a respectful and receptive attitude of mind. Every day turn your thoughts away from the bustle and rush and worry’of material things and indulge in a little reverie on those REALMS OF PEACE. Invite the messengers who are constantly passing between this earth and other regions to come near'to von. BE ‘ STILL at times, so they may be able to give you vibrations from celestial spheres. Relax mind and body“for fifteen mirttttes daily; and let the divine current flow through you. If you desire these currents they will - -be'sent. Realise The' habit of’ time ‘to speed away, and “make use’of each day—to do some'good deed and to overcome some, weakness or folly. • ' ' Look for the good qualities in everybody. ’

This is one of the most essential aids to keeping time at bay. , Nothing ages a man so. fast as the tendency to .dwell upon' the evil in. the world and the bad qualities of his fellows. Each morning arise’with the thought, “One day nearer the ideal character I am building for myself.” Each night as you fall asleep think, “One more, night in which to draw vitality and youth and power from the Infinite.” Never for an instant imagine you are to be laid upon the shelf labelled “useless.”. '1 nink rather that you are just entering upon your greatest era of usefulness. success and power. Y’OU ARE. '