á sound flogging every day or two! This old Roman writer tells us that in his day the slave dealers whipped their chattels soundly, so as to get them in fine, plump condition for the market. Then, too, it was so much cheaper than mutton and corn! "No doubt," says Dr. John Bell, in his work on Beauty, "such flagellation tends to increase the circulation at the surface, and give tone to languid muscles;" but no one need be afraid that we are proposing to recommend it.

THE NECK AND BUST.

WE

THE PROPER FORM OF THE NECK.

E believe it is Burke who somewhere says, "that of all the beautiful objects in nature, none surpasses the well-moulded neck of woman." There are,

indeed, a softness of outline and a harmony of motion about it worthy to challenge the admiration of philosophers.

In length it should be one-half the height of the head from the level of the chin to the summit, and at its narrowest part should have twice the circumference of the wrist.

Through the neck the great vessels pass to the head, and the spinal column conveys the sensations of all parts of the body to the brain, where resides the intellect. Therefore it is of marked significance in reading character, and reveals much to the physiognomist, and also to the physician. The crises which take place in the physical life of woman, and her liability

to certain serious accidents are portended by the shape of her neck. When it is full in front it signifies a plethoric constitution, liable to the accidents which arise from a too sanguineous habit. At about the age of forty a deposit of fat occurs low down at the back of the neck, over the vertebræ, forming sometimes a small prominent mass, which reveals the age more certainly than words.

WRY-NECK AND GOITRE.

The most common defects in the contour of the neck are owing to irregular action of the muscles drawing it over to one side, or to the peculiar swelling of the glands known as goitre.

Children not unfrequently seem unable to hold the head erect for any length of time. It drops forward on the chest or to one side. Others have "wry-neck," in which complaint the head is drawn forcibly toward one shoulder by a shortening of the muscles.

Such conspicuous disfigurements as these should have prompt attention, the more so as they are readily remedied by proper means. It has been recently discovered that an injection of the active principle of belladonna beneath the skin often acts with great efficiency, but other cases require surgical appliances and sometimes an operation, quite too formidable to be described here.

Goitre is a swelling in the front part of the neck.

CURIOUS NOTION OF BEAUTY.

57

It grows slowly, but finally arrives at such a size that it constitutes a serious deformity. To a slight extent it is by some regarded as an advantage, giving the neck a full and rounded appearance. In Switzerland, where it is very prevalent, it is indeed considered quite essential to beauty. A traveller in that country relates that once he heard some Swiss ladies commenting on the personal appearance of a fine-looking Englishman. "What a handsome man he would be," exclaimed one of them, "if he only had a goitre!" Doubtless the Englishman was well content at the absence of this additional charm.

In this country we have seen quite a number of persons with a tendency to this deformity, especially in districts where limestone water had to be used. This is one of its supposed causes, but in one case now under our treatment, and in others we have seen, it is undoubtedly hereditary. It occurs more frequently in females than in males, and is apt to make its first appearance about the period of puberty. Although not a dangerous, it is a most objectionable complaint on account of the deformity it causes, and, moreover, when the tumor increases in size, it gives rise to many inconveniences by pressure on the large blood vessels in the neck, and renders the voice harsh and coarse.

When taken early, it can be cured almost without fail, but if allowed to run on for many years the sub

stance of the swelling often changes into a bony substance, to remove which is beyond the reach of art. It is important, therefore, that parents should be on the watch, and call the attention of the family physician to any fulness of the neck, at an early enough period to allow him to administer those remedies which at this epoch of the disease are almost certain to remove it promptly and permanently. Change of climate is advantageous but not necessary.

THE SHOULDERS AND CHEST.

Rounded, sloping, regular shoulders are indispensable to beauty, and they are the more important as full-dress frequently requires them to be displayed. They should be equal in height, and slope symmetrically in graceful curves from the base of the neck to the summit of the chest.

One of their most frequent faults is to be square instead of curved-to start almost horizontally from the base of the neck on either side. For this deformity it is nothing less than a deformity-most women have nobody but themselves to thank. In four cases out of five it has been brought about by too close-fitting corsets, which press the shoulder-blades behind, and collar bones in front, too far upward, and thus ruin the appearance of the shoulders. When this ugliness is once acquired, it is by no means easy