For Elegance and Beauty

It is not difficult for a lady to perform certain exercises that give the skin softness and smoothness. These exercises are not meant to take the place of a doctor's special instructions; nevertheless, they often spare the lady grumbling and vexation whenever she enters her bath or comes out of it.

It is well known that massage is of many kinds: some intended for nervous ailments, some meant to remove the overflow of fat, some meant to hasten the process of digestion, and much else besides.

What is intended here, in this brief notice, is to take up the practice of massage so as to profit from it in a general, comprehensive way...

And you can, Madam, by studying these drawings at your leisure, form a clear idea of the method you are to use.

You must begin with the fingertips. They belong, one might say, to all people... wherever the gaze wanders, it is bound to come to rest upon them...

And may it not, pray, come to rest upon these fingers as they touch his palm?... If those fingers are rough or hard, what impression will they leave upon him, when they are supposed to be soft as magic?!

Do not be flustered if you pass from the fingertips — the fingertips of the hand — to the upper surface of the foot... The foot, too, has its right to softness... And if it is not so, with what weapon will you arm yourself when you enter a shop that sells shoes?... And besides, if you leave the foot without care, it ends in a lengthening or a swelling that goes beyond the bounds of proportion required in the elegant body.

And you must not forget the ankle joint of the foot — especially now that the high heel has come back into vogue. If you do not massage this joint so that it stays straight, time after time, it will force you to change your shoes every two wearings; otherwise it loses its straight bearing and becomes crooked... and what lady would accept such a flaw?...

And beware of neglecting your lower leg... It must possess a large share of proportion and flowing line, for sagging flesh in this part of the leg is the ugliest sight the eye can fall upon. Try, then, to massage it in the way shown to you in the drawing, and you will then be blessed with two legs, at the very least, on which all eyes will meet.

Likewise the upper leg: you must give it care enough to lift from it the sagging flesh that tires you in walking and in sitting, and that mars the proportion, or the harmony, of a beautiful figure.

And try, as far as possible, to do without the "corset" for hiding the swelling of flesh above the hips, by using the massage shown to you in the drawing. Stoutness is the plague from which the beautiful woman flees... And with a little care you can obtain a figure that has harmony, if you use this method of massage. And this method, besides benefiting the body from the standpoint of beauty, benefits it also from the standpoint of hygiene, by giving the chest vigor for breathing and giving the intestines vigor for digestion.

And after all this...

Is it permissible to neglect your neck, and the features of your face?! I leave to you, Madam, the choice of replying to that question.