4 oo POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the loosely attached abdominal organs is maintained and the waist 

 kept small, preventing unsightly thickening of the tissues in this region. 



A small waist is only beautiful if the lateral line drops into the hip 

 gradually and passes out over the hip bone in a steady but not sudden 

 curve. If the curve dips in abruptly and springs over the hip bone at 

 an acute angle, giving a waspish appearance to the waist, it argues for 

 flabby tissues about the abdomen, sides and back. Such slimness 

 evinces a lack of early development, weak digestive and other vital 

 organs, and tendency to speedy shapelessness. It is a difficult matter 

 to regain vigor in such tissues. The upper chest should be full and 

 fairly broad, and if the collar bones show, as is often seen in both 

 plump and thin people, some fault exists in the tension of the muscles 

 and tissues of the thorax, shoulders and back and the lungs have 

 not attained full apical expansion. This being overcome, the 

 clavicles should not appear at all, because the ribs will then be held 

 normally and nearly at a right angle to the spinal column. There 

 should be ample space in the lower rib areas, indicating lung room and 

 vigor of diaphragm. The arms should hang easily, without tension, 

 and fall a little in advance of the middle of the hip bone. Any stiff- 

 ness in the arms or shoulders or elbows makes for awkwardness. In 

 walking, the pelvis should be kept practically level, the tissues between 

 the shoulder blades and along the backbone should hold the chest erect 

 and keep the breastbone well up in front. Then the thighs will be 

 able to move easily with no undue weight falling on the heel. If a 

 person strikes the heel heavily on the ground in walking, these precau- 

 tionary points are neglected and grace can not follow. The normal 

 sway of the arms in walking is slightly toward the mid line in front; 

 any tendency for them to fall toward the back, or worse than all, 

 behind the back, is a hideous fault, and unless the back is grossly 

 curved, causes the body to pitch forward clumsily on the heels. A 

 good rule is to keep the base of the neck well back against the collar 

 and the lobes of the ears as far as possible above the tips of the 

 shoulders. 



It is obvious that to retain beauty one of the first considerations 

 must be to habitually exercise economy of all the natural forces ; avoid- 

 ing so much of those wastefulnesses of wear and tear as is possible in 

 the ordinary exigencies of daily life. It may be answered to this 

 truism that it is scarcely feasible, or indeed desirable, to order one's 

 life on such a plane of artificiality or selfishness, as shall make for 

 the shirking of communal labors and responsibilities. This need not 

 be claimed -as the result of the practise of these normal economics. 

 It should be the duty of all teachers, parental or professional, to in- 

 culcate in the young a philosophic attitude toward annoyances, dis- 

 appointments, even calamities, for of these every mother's child of us 



