612 Of the Salubrity of Warm Bathing. 



scaly matter and other impurities which obstructed the 

 pores of the skin are removed, and the skin becomes 

 quite soft, and as smooth as satin. 



" When this operation is ended, the bather is con- 

 ducted into a closet, in which there is a cistern sup- 

 plied with hot and with cold water, which comes into 

 it through two separate pipes, each furnished with a 

 brass cock. Here a lather of perfumed soap is poured 

 over him. 



" After being well washed and wiped, a warm sheet 

 is wrapped round him, and he follows the attendant, 

 through a long winding passage, into an external and 

 more spacious apartment. This transition from heat 

 to cold produces no disagreeable sensations nor any 

 bad consequences. 



" In this airy apartment a bed of repose is found pre- 

 pared, and fresh and dry linen is brought. A pipe is 

 also brought, and coffee is served. 



" Coming out of a hot bath, where one was sur- 

 rounded by a cloud of warm vapours till the sweat 

 gushed from every pore, and being transported into 

 the free air of a spacious apartment, the breast dilates, 

 and one breathes with voluptuousness. The pores of 

 the body being perfectly cleaned and all obstructions 

 removed, one feels, as it were, regenerated, and one 

 experiences an universal comfort. The blood circu- 

 lates with freedom, and one feels as if disengaged from 

 an enormous weight, with a sense of suppleness and 

 lightness which is as new as it is delightful. A lively 

 sentiment of existence diffuses itself over the whole 

 frame, and the soul, sympathizing in these delicate sen- 

 sations, enjoys the most agreeable ideas. The imagina- 

 tion, wandering over the universe, which it embellishes, 



