FoodNetArchive

The hearthstone; or, Life at home

1883

Page 63

Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
We are glad to note the fact that ladies' walking parties are be- coming fashionable. Walking clubs, too, comprising lady and gentlemen members, are coming into vogue, the object in view being periodical tramps into the country, such walks occupying the best hours of a fine day and frequently covering a distance of twelve or fifteen miles. What women are capable of in the way of walking, under circumstances of the possession of a naturally strong and healthy physique, is not only shown by the tramping from camp to camp by Indian squaws, with their pappooses on their backs, but also by wealthy English country ladies, who love their walking trips as much as they do their equestrian exercise. Of course, to the city belle of delicate physique, who breathes only the vitiated air of her boudoir or carriage, the healthy invigoration of a fair pedestrian is an unknown sensation. The former manages to drawl her way through a fashionable dance, only to loll in bed the next day to rest from the work of the previous night at the party or the ball. If a girl is of weak physique or is sickly, or in other respects is unfitted for the duties of healthy girlhood, carriage riding, or taking a car rather than walk a few blocks, is excusable. But for a girl who has good limbs, healthy lungs, and is in "good form" for the require- ments of her position as a well-formed and healthy young lady, to fail in her share of walking exercise each day is something every such individual should be heartily ashamed of As regards certain sanitar}'- rules, applicable to lady pedestrians, it is worthy of note to remember that walking too soon after meals is SPORTS AND GAMES FOR LADIES. 107 not the regular thing to do ; nor should you proceed to sit down to the table too soon after a long and rather fatiguing walk. Walking on either a full or an empty stomach is not according to hygienic rules. You must bear in mind that, while exercise aids digestion, it is only after the food has begun to be assimilated this assistance is rendered. To get up from a hearty meal and proceed to any exer- cise beyond that of a quiet, slow-strolling kind of walk is to un- healthily hurry the process of digestion. It is also objectionable to healthy digestion to fill the stomach with food after the system has been subjected to over-fatigue. A little rest before eating, after a long walk, is very essential to good digestion. BILLIARDS. It is only of late years that the game of Billiards has become a fashionable pastime with American ladies, though in England the game has been in vogue with the ladies of the nobility for nearly half a century past. Given a model table, a well-fitted billiard room and a party of lady and gentleman contestants of an afternoon when out-door sports are debarred by the condition of the weather, or of an evening when home recreation is specially in order, and a more attractive in-door game for a family party of both sexes, pleasurable alike to the lookers on as well as to the participants, it would be diffi- cult to find. To learn to play billiards is a comparatively easy task to some, while to others its difficulties seem insurmountable. " Oh, I can't hit a ball properly to save m}- life ! " is a familiar exclamation with the lady novice at billiards.