Winter's Delights on the Snow

When the cold winds blow and the rain beats down hard upon our coasts, our mountains lie crouched, receiving the white flakes of snow. Winter lengthens, and the little white flakes freeze, spreading for us an enchanted path on which merriment, contemplation, and free flight are sweet.

And though our mountains do not rise very far into the sky like other towering peaks, "Sannine" and "Dahr al-Baydar" are among the finest places for practicing the sport of skiing. They are easy of access and near the city, and the government is working to introduce modern technical means there, to encourage tourists and to give the citizens recreation.

So what do you say, Madam, to a trip to the snow?

Skiing is an astonishing sport: it strengthens the muscles and helps preserve the balance and straightness of the body's parts, making you more graceful and more strong.

And there are necessary preliminary exercises which you must carry out before leaping onto the ice:

1 — Do general physical exercises for all the muscles, from 5 to 10 minutes daily. (It is best to perform these exercises near an open window.)

2 — Practice the use of the skiing equipment.

3 — It is advisable to massage your muscles from time to time so that they become more flexible, more supple, and hardier, to bear rapid movement, and falls, and collisions — above all if you are a beginner.

This sport suits children, and the young, and the old; but I suggest that you consult the doctor before dashing down from the cold high summit (an examination of the heart, and the lungs, and the blood pressure). Then choose the spot that pleases you: beneath the spreading cedar trees, on a mound of white statues, or in the blaze of the burning sun.

Gently, Madam.

Do not stand perplexed, asking: what shall I wear? I have for you nine ideas woven tight against frost, and rain, and motion.

1 — A jacket of Alsatian poplin, proof against the rain, worn on either side. The sleeves close with a zipper.

2 — Gloves lined with silk, which keep the changing temperature from the hands and are easy to pull off.

3 — A gilet, worn under the poplin jacket.

4 — Ski boots of pure leather, the heel of rubber.

5 — The boot is held fast by a strip of Lastex over the trousers, fastened with a strong clasp.

6 — A cap of wool to keep the ears from the frost.

7 — Silk stockings, worn under the woolen stockings, which keep out the changes of temperature.

8 — Narrow trousers of broadcloth, which keeps water from seeping through to the body; they end in the form of stockings.

9 — Finally, a warm woolen skirt that neither bunches up when you sit nor flies up when you move.

* * *

You are now in fullest readiness. One last whisper before your departure:

Know that in every woman two women sleep: the active, sporting woman — and then the woman who dreams beside the stove after a day that was all whirling... A happy journey, and until we meet again.