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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



are in reality almost as far from it as in 

 the case cited. In fact there seems to be 

 a general lack of understanding in the 

 popular mind as to what "simple living" 

 is. Yet everybody seems to approve of 

 it and to feel that it, and it alone, leads 

 to health and genuine comfort. It is 

 worth while to try and get at a proper 

 definition of a term which seems to be so 

 widely misunderstood. 



Undoubtedly our pioneer forefathers 

 enjoyed something akin to the "simple 

 living" which we want. We need to 

 "backslide," after Mr. Ruskin's defini- 

 tion of backsliding. "On the ways most 

 of us go," says that fiery apostle of sim- 

 plicity, "the faster we slide back, the 

 better. Slide back into the cradle, if 

 going on is to the grave— back, I tell 

 you, back, out of your long faces and 

 into j^our long clothes." 



An old proverb says: 

 Sunrise, breakfast; sunhigh, dinner; 

 Sundown, sup, makes a saint of a sinner. 



The dwellers in cities cannot well ad- 

 just their meals to the simple hours of 

 our forefathers; but they can and should 

 see that their children's meals are thus 

 adjusted; and we can also see that they 

 are of proper food. But what is truly 

 "simple" food? 



There are three "simple" modes of 

 cooking. They are baking or roasting, 

 broiliiiff and boiling. gom>*-oi the cus- 

 toms and utensils of our estimable fore 

 fathers and foremothers,even Mr. Ruskiii 

 would hardly advise our "sliding back'' 

 to. Among these are frying and thp 

 frying pan. The latter should be ban- 

 ished from the modern kitchen, titillat- 

 ing though its products be to the un- 

 taught palate. 



The simplest form of food is fruit. An 

 abundance of ripe fruit should be sup- 

 plied to every family, whatever other 

 expense has to be curtailed to procure it. 

 The most uniformly healthful house- 

 holds are those where fruit is j udiciously 

 eaten daily. 



The simplest form of living is the reg- 

 ular diurnal routine. Old George Her- 

 bert says: 



Slight those who say amidst their sickly- 

 healths, 



"Thou liv'st by rule." What doth not so but 

 man? 

 Houses are built by rule, and commonwealths. 



Entice the trusty sun, if that you can. 

 From his ecliptic line; beckon the sky. 

 Who lives by rule then keeps good company. 



Without being castiron in qne's habits. 



it is possible, and it is the only safe and 

 prudent way, to "live by rule." That 

 means rise, breakfast, dine, sup and re- 

 tire at as nearly the same hours every 

 day as you can. Cleanse your body both 

 inside an'd out with regularity. Clothe 

 yourself uniformly at the same season. 

 It is risky in the extreme to go out in 

 furs in the morning and then to drive to 

 an entertainment in the evening with a 

 light opera cloak thrown over bare neck 

 and shoulders. 



The simplest form of living is in the 

 open air. Get all the fresh air, there- 

 fore, that you can. Go out to walk in it 

 every day. Ventilate every room in 

 your house every morning. Never sleep, 

 unless except in the most bitter weather, 

 without an abundance of fresh air in 

 your chamber. Wear flannel night 

 gowns, night caps and mufflers if neces- 

 sary, and, while using "comfortables" no 

 more than you are compelled to, do not 

 be afraid to employ plenty of blankets 

 and down quilts. Do not sleep in a 

 draught, unle<5s heroically protected, and 

 do allow heat to radiate from your fur- 

 nace throughout the house if you want 

 it; but insist upon having in abandance 

 also, that rarest boon of the modern 

 dwelling house, fresh air. 



Let your clothing be plain, warm, light 

 and loose. There is no foe to simple liv- 

 ing like the clothes fiend. It introduces 

 all sorts of ghastly complications into 

 our modern life. Dress for the weather 

 without regard to the calendar. Refuse 

 to carry, at the behest of a fashionable 

 dressmaker, several pounds more of lin- 

 ings and draperies and jet trimming than 

 you need to. Give every organ of your 

 body room to do its simple duty. A re- 

 stricted circulation, and vital organs 

 misplaced and tightly pressed by the 

 vicious system of dress now in vogue are 

 at the bottom of two-thirds of the horri- 

 ble, nameless diseases of women. 



The praise of simplicity is in all men's 

 mouths, but, as with many another vir- 

 tue, its praise and its practice are two 

 very different things. Many have falJen 

 into inconsistency in this regard from 

 ignorance; yet even for those who un- 

 derstand it — that "first step in nature 

 and last in art" — its pursuit, under the 

 unfavorable conditions of modem life, 

 is sufficiently difficult. In "simple liv- 

 ing," however, lie the germs of true and 

 and abiding happiness. 



