Ah! here was the secret of the difference between
the two girls. One mother had allowed her daughter
to choose her own company and had not inquired into
their plays and talks; whereas the other knew the secrets
of her child’s heart and could advise and instruct
her in any matter. Between Bessie and her mother
there was a tie of which Nora and her mother knew
nothing. “Train up a child in the way he
should go: and when he is old he will not depart
from it.” Prov. 22:6.
TEMPTATIONS.
At Christmas time Bessie received the following letter
from one of her friends:
Dear Bessie:
I have long wondered what to send you
as a Christmas gift, and it seemed a hard problem
to solve. I fear you will wonder at what
I am sending; but, knowing that you are nearly
thirteen years old and must be growing very fast, I
have decided to send you a corset. I hope
you will like and appreciate it enough to wear
it.
Lovingly your friend,
Lizzie.
On receiving the package, Bessie looked at the corset
and said, “Mama, shall I wear it?”
Mrs. Worthington looked anxiously at her daughter;
for she knew that Bessie would have strong temptations
along this line, as she did not have a pretty form,
and was growing rapidly. She had hoped, however,
that the subject would not be mentioned for some time.
Silently she breathed a little prayer for wisdom to
answer the question, and then said:
“Bessie, God used great wisdom in forming your
body. He knew just what shape it would have to
be in order to perform its natural functions.
Do you think it would be proper to try to change it?
Do you wonder why something snug around your waist
could be harmful? Listen, dear, and I will tell
you. Let us take the corset and examine it.
It certainly looks very innocent and pretty, but just
see how stiff it is. These steel ribs and this
whalebone make it more like a piece of harness than
anything else I can think of. When worn about
the waist, it produces pressure upon the vital organs
and thus deforms the body. These long strings
at the back are often drawn so tightly as to cause
the misplacement and derangement of those organs whose
functions are most necessary to health and happiness.
As a consequence, many a woman has to suffer long years
of torture.
“Many women say they don’t wear the corset
tight, and think, therefore, that no harm results;
but, let one of them put a snug-fitting bandage on
any other part of the body, and she will see how quickly
the muscles of that part will weaken and decrease
in size. Should a young woman who has never worn
a corset attempt to wear one about her waist as loosely
as they are ever worn, she would, if honest with herself,
cast it aside as an abominable thing.
“The reason why Lizzie wants you to begin wearing
a corset while you’re young is that, if you’ll
bind your waist before you’ve reached your full
growth, your waist will never attain the size it would
have attained under natural conditions. In other
words, you would be deformed.”
