Country and City 95 



to-do families ; it is not a question of expense : 

 the matron said that by many mothers it is 

 not considered " good form " for girls to dress 

 warm. The girls are clad in gauzy shivery 

 stuff, and they therefore become hothouse sub- 

 jects, withdrawing from the cold and discom- 

 forted by every change of temperature. 



We magnify the comfort of living indoors. 

 We have made the inside of the house so at- 

 tractive and so suggestive of ease that the 

 temptation is to go outside as little as pos- 

 sible, as if the out-of-doors is to be avoided. 

 We have so many books even about the out- 

 of-doors that we do not need to go out-of-doors 

 to learn about it. 



Americans are fond of saying that the Euro- 

 peans have been far behind us in developing 

 the physical comforts of the home. I also 

 am proud of this ; but I sometimes wonder 

 whether this is not due in part to our dread of 

 the out-of-doors, and whether this very physi- 

 cal perfection of the house may not still further 

 emphasize the breach that has grown up be- 

 tween ourselves and nature. There is, to be 



