Of the Salubrity of Warm Bathing, 587 



stance to an intelligent gentleman who happened to 

 lodge in the house, and who had long been in a habit 

 of visiting Harrowgate every year. He advised me to 

 change my hour of bathing, and to stay longer in the 

 bath, and, above all, to avoid going into a warmed bed 

 on coming out of it. I followed his advice, and shall 

 have reason all my life to thank him for it. 



I now went into the bath regularly every third day, 

 about two hours before dinner, and stayed in it half an 

 hour, and on coming out of it, instead of going into a 

 warmed bed, I merely had myself wiped perfectly dry 

 with warmed cloths in a warmed room adjoining to the 

 bath ; and dressing myself in a bed-gown, which was 

 moderately warm, I retired to my room, where I re- 

 mained till dinner-time, amusing myself with walking 

 about the room, and with reading or writing, till it was 

 time to dress for dinner. 



The good effects produced by this change of method 

 were too striking not to be remarked and remembered. 

 I was no longer troubled with any of those feverish 

 heats after bathing which I experienced before ; and so 

 far from feeling chilly, or being particularly sensible to 

 cold on coming out of the bath, I always found myself 

 less sensible to cold after bathing than before. I even 

 observed, repeatedly and invariably, that the glow of 

 health and pleasing flow of spirits, which resulted from 

 the full and free circulation of the blood which bathins: 

 had brought on, continued for many hours, and never 

 was followed by any thing like that distressing languor 

 which always succeeds to an artificial increase of cir- 

 culation and momentary flow of spirits which are pro- 

 duced by stimulating medicines. 



I regularly found that I had a better appetite for my 



^(library 



