224 LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 



clothing, closed doors, carpeted rooms, soft beds, 

 hot food, are infinitely worse than absurd ; because 

 the opposites of all these luxuries, so far from being- 

 injurious to health, are absolutely necessary to 

 it. We actually kill ourselves with "comforts" 

 It is absolutely disgusting to see the excessive care 

 and caution with which great fellows, with rough 

 beards on their chins, and with fists large and strong 

 enough to fell an ox, and legs long enough to be- 

 stride the Thames I say, it is neither more nor less 

 than disgusting to see these lackadaisical women 

 in the likeness of men, or, rather, these monsters, 

 which are neither men nor women I say, it is 

 literally disgusting, and degrading too degrading 

 to our nature, to our being degrading to the phy- 

 sical energies of Nature's master-work to see the 

 care and pains-taking with which these abortive mon- 

 strosities, the progeny of a morbid and excessive re- 

 finement, protect their delicate and precious persons 

 from a few drops of rain, or a little mist, or a little 

 unusual inclemency of the weather, of whatever kind. 

 I got into a coach, a mile from London, the 

 other day, because there was no room outside. 

 The weather was dry, but cold and sharp. In the 

 corner of the coach there sat a mighty combina- 

 tion of bone and muscle and thew and sinew, all 



