This page has been validated.
136
The Science of Dress.
[CHAP. IX.

These young ladies have not yet suffered from their enforced obedience to fashion.

To débutantes I would point out that the time of greatest danger for them is when, after having become heated with dancing, they pass into a conservatory or refreshment-room, or on to the staircase, which is cold and draughty. The cold air then comes directly in contact with their bare skin, and a chill which will lead to more or less serious results is the probable consequence. Seats beneath open windows should be avoided, and after dancing, a few minutes should be allowed, so that undue heat may have subsided, before passing into a cooler atmosphere.

A very good plan, but one which is not always practicable, is to have a small shawl or wrap to throw round the shoulders after dancing. Dancing is so delightful and healthy an amusement, that it is unjust for people to blame it as the cause of evils for which improper dress or imprudence in regard to draughts are really accountable. A motive which for some girls would be much more powerful than any consideration in regard to health is that, if they catch cold at one ball, the probability is they will not be able to go to the next, or that if they do go to it, they will labour under the disadvantages of a red nose, watery eyes, and the liability to interrupt the sweet nothings whispered by their partners with a violent sneeze.

But to return to my muttons, or rather my wool. While recommending it as the natural and most healthy substance out of which to make clothes, I