RIDING AND DRIVING 69 



Except in relation to clothes used for riding, 

 you may think I am going somewhat beyond the 

 subject of this book in discussing health, but fully 

 to enjoy horseback exercise you must be strong, 

 and boys do not always realise the importance of 

 keeping themselves fit. 



The one essential thing to health is fresh air, 

 both for lungs and body. You should never think 

 of going to sleep without opening your window 

 top and bottom. The cold bath in the morning is 

 not always pleasant to contemplate in mid-winter, 

 but it is a duty which should never be shirked, and 

 the afterglow will reward you for the momentary 

 inconvenience. In winter and summer I make a 

 practice of drying myself after the cold bath in 

 front of the open window. The oxygen of the air 

 thus finds its way direct to the pores of the skin, so 

 that you start the day refreshed and invigorated for 

 whatever work there is to be done. 



The air bath is not always possible if you live 

 in a town, for reasons which you will understand, 

 but I anticipate in a few years that all bathrooms 

 will be built facing the east, and will have windows 

 so arranged that one will be able to air the body 

 without exposing it to the public gaze. In your 

 clothing, the principle you should ever bear in 

 mind is to wear material that admits the greatest 

 amount of air, and at the same time allows the 

 moisture from your body to escape. 



We all know the old saying that *^ cleanliness is 

 next to godliness," but I consider it is a part of 



