Confidences | Page 9

are
judged a good deal by the little things. It will pay you to get up half an
hour earlier if necessary so as to give yourself time for those little
personal attentions that help to make a girl dainty. You will be
surprised at the effect on your mind of extra well-brushed hair, clear,
bright complexion, polished nails and a well-put-on tie, also neat
gloves and shoes.

* * * * *
Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber, Holy angels guard thy bed!
Heavenly blessings without number Gently falling on thy head.
Watts.

* * * * *
CHAPTER VII
REST AND SLEEP
You have seen, Violet, how all the parts of the body work together,
although each one has its especial part to do. You remember, we found
the stomach must have a time to rest between meals. The other parts of
the body require rest, too. This they usually get while we are asleep.
We must not be neglectful and fail to give them enough rest, or they
will soon get worn out and give us trouble. Most little girls require
eight or ten hours' rest every night.
Sometimes, when people are not well or are all tired out, they find they
cannot sleep well at night. There are a number of little things that can
be done to induce sleep. A warm bath before retiring, followed by a
gentle massage, especially along the spine, often will, by relaxing the
nerves and muscles, produce very good results. A hot foot bath, which
draws the blood away from the brain, frequently will be found
beneficial. A glass of hot milk or cocoa, taken just before retiring, often
will have the same effect. If the sleeplessness is a result of indigestion,
a plain diet will relieve. Sleeping upon a hard bed without any pillow
sometimes produces the desired effect. Always have plenty of fresh air
in the room. Keep the mind free from the cares of the day. If they will
intrude, crowd them out by repeating something else--some soothing
sentence or bit of poetry. One good plan is to close the left nostril by
pressing on it with the finger, then take four deep breaths through the
right nostril. Then close the right nostril and take four deep breaths
through the left one. Repeat this about four times. Then breathe slowly
through both nostrils, but count your breaths. You seldom will count
very many. Never take any sleeping powders or tablets except upon the
advice of a physician, for they usually contain drugs that will injure the
heart.
You will find, Violet, that you will meet a number of women who are
nervous, which means they have not control of their nerves, but let

them run away with them. Sometimes this is shown in palpitation of the
heart, headache, backache, and many other disorders. There may be a
tendency to cry at trivial things, or a feeling of having "the blues." The
cause usually can be found in uncongenial surroundings or occupation,
loss of friends, or real or fancied troubles. Whatever the cause, it should
be removed, if possible, and measures taken to restore the worn out
nerves that are crying for rest or food. Tonics help, so does nourishing
food, such as eggs and milk; also a change of scene and occupation, if
possible. A woman who is nervous frequently does not realize what is
the cause of her condition, and considers only the symptoms. So when
she has a headache, resorts to headache powders or various
effervescing drinks. In taking these she only is deadening the pain and
not removing the cause, so the pain is liable to return. Most of the
remedies taken for headache contain some harmful drug. If you look
carefully at the label, you usually will find that they contain morphine,
phenacetin, or acetanilid, which are very depressing to the heart. Pain is
the cry of tortured nerves, so if one suffers from headaches or
backaches, she should not take any of these harmful drugs, but should
hunt for the cause of the pain and remove that.

* * * * *
Even from the body's purity, the mind Receives a secret sympathetic
aid.
Thomson.
* * * * *
CHAPTER IX
INJURY OF THE NEST
We who love birds would not do anything to injure their homes, but
there are some children who have not learned to love birds or who are
thoughtless and injure their nests, sometimes even tearing them to

pieces or breaking off the limb of the tree.
There also are thoughtless children who do things to injure their bodies.
You would think it very foolish to allow someone to put a bee on your
face that would sting you and yet there are some thoughtless children
who