should be removed from the skin, this is accomplished in the moment, and by the very act of their union, in the form of evaporation. It is, therefore, essential to health that the textures of which the clothing is composed shall be sufficiently open to admit of this evaporation.

The materials usually selected to form articles of clothing are wool, silk, cotton, and linen or flax. Of these, wool, woven into cloth of various kinds, as flannel, merino, &c., ranks first as a bad conductor and good radiator of heat; and its value in this respect is increased by the character of its textures, and also by the cellular structure of the material itself, which is actually hair, each of the little cells of which contains its separate collection of air. The looseness of the texture of all woollen preparations also provides for the second requisite by rendering them perfect ventilators. Silk ranks next to wool as a non-conductor and radiator; but, from the roundness of its filaments, and the closeness of its textures, it is very defective as a ventilator. Cotton possesses considerable claims both as a non-conductor and radiator, and also as a ventilator; for, the filaments from which the threads are spun being unequal and flat, these characteristics are preserved in the threads themselves, securing the openness of the cloth into which they are woven. Linen has the smallest claims in any of these capacities. It is a good conductor and a bad radiator of heat; moreover, from the porous character of its fibres, it is highly retentive of moisture, itself a rapid conductor of heat.

Another material frequently brought into use as an article of clothing is fur. It has the same qualities as wool in extreme, save that, being quite impervious to air or moisture, it has no ventilating properties whatever.

Thus fur, the natural protective covering of animals which inhabit the coldest countries of the globe, is the most powerful of all preservers of the heat generated in the frames which it coverstoo powerful, indeed, for use in a moderate climate, save as small local Coverings.

Wool, manufactured from the natural protective coverings of animals which have to encounter the vicissitudes of the seasons in a moderate climate, holds the second place.

Silk, manufactured from a material produced by an insect for its protection during a state of transformation, holds the third place.

Cotton, manufactured from the product of a plant growing in hot countries, and forming the protective covering of its seeds, holds the fourth place.

Linen, derived from the fibres of the bark of a plant, which springs from a cold and moist soil, holds the last place.

Linen has, therefore, little claim as a skin-covering garment. Its qualities of readily conducting heat, and of imbibing and retaining moisture, combine to unfit it for this purpose. Linen is now generally superseded by cotton, and deservedly so; for this second material possesses all the qualities desired for the preservation of the temperature requisite to the comfort and health of the body. Flannel, being a preparation of wool, holds, of course, the first place as a nonconductor and ventilator; but it possesses a third quality, which, while enhancing its value as a skin-covering garment in some cases, renders it objectionable in others. From its open and unequal texture, presenting every gradation of inequality, the skin is subjected to an active and sustained stimulus, amounting, with an unaccustomed wearer, to actual irritation. Now this stimulus is invaluable to the delicate and the ailing; to those whose skin, from enforced sedentary pursuits, from illness, or from constitutional weakness, is wanting in vigour and tone; to all, indeed, who stand in need of powerful artificial means to maintain the functional activity of the skin. But, with the additional power of flannel as a non-conductor, it is too great in a moderate climate for the healthy and active frame. For this reason, with children in moderate health, who are able to make use of the agents of bathing and exercise, the more gentle friction of the cotton garment is infinitely preferable.

But it is not alone to the material of which the fabric is composed, nor to the texture of the fabric that we must confine our attention. The shape of the garment, its weight and even its colour, have an important effect in determining its fitness. All clothes should be light; and this is especially the case with those of children. It is a great error to put heavy clothes on a child; and, unfortunately, this is frequently done at the very time when it is least desirable— when about to take what is often its only exercise and recreation, a walk -thereby compelling the child to carry an uninteresting burden. Now, although a healthy child will voluntarily undergo an amazing amount of exertion in the form of play-that is when it has merely itself to carry-it will undergo very little if it has to support any extraneous weight; in fact, there is no part of a child's frame fitted for it. It is a mistake also to think that weight gives warmth. It in no way does so, except by pressure on certain parts of the body, and the continuous and exhausting efforts of those parts to support it. Besides, it is an ascertained fact that respiration is diminished in proportion to the weight of the clothing; and the full expansion of the lungs and

free inhalation of air is one of the chief objects of all recreative exercise. Proper warmth is best obtained by selecting a soft and light material that will fall around and drape itself about the figure, and follow the shape and action of the parts it covers. Again, all clothes should be loose. No tight garment, however thick, can be warm, because the stratum of air which should lie between it and the inner garment is lost. No garment whatever, nor any part of one, should press or lie tight upon any part of the body, but, on the contrary, should have a margin for that expansion which takes place when it is in motion. The hand cannot be opened or closed, the foot cannot be lifted, without certain parts of hand and arm, foot and leg, expanding under the operation; and the whole trunk is lifted upwards and outwards at every breath inhaled. Let, therefore, the clothes of children not only be free but loose; for every restraint is an injury-an injury exactly proportionate to the extent of the restraint. On this subject I shall be more precise in another paper, in which I shall also make some remarks on Exercise for Children, and the various forms of it.

of revolution, if reform were not swiftly attempted. Large funds had accumulated, the property of the University, which, if not expended in accordance with modern requirements, might be snatched from the grasp of those then in command, and applied to purposes which some of the elder children of the Academies shuddered to think of. Ultimately 30,000l. were granted for the shell of the building required; and from thirtytwo designs obtained in competition, that since executed was chosen-being the work of Sir John Deane and Mr. Woodward, architects, of Dublin.

A Gothic design was chosen, because the majority of the committee intrusted with the office of selection considered that the true spirit of that order of art, if realized in practice, would amply and alone ensure that fitness to function which, being the law of all constructive beauty in nature, is also the indispensable requirement of good art. From Gothic they expected to get satisfaction for the demands, however apparently incompatible, to which the building proposed would be subject-a huge, open, and sky-lighted space for a Museum; lecture-rooms of divers sizes, one of which must perforce receive the sun's rays; apartments of various width; galleries of communication suitable for displaying objects; also laboratories for chemical studies, and dissecting-rooms, removed from the main body of the edifice. That, wisely disposed, such a gathering of apartments should produce a fine architectural effect was, of course, imperative. From the untrammelled spirit of true Gothic art the means of accomplishing all these things was confidently expected. Its advocates said that in perfect freedom was perfect power, and that, wherever a failure happened, there was the true soul of Gothic art absent. In short, the long-contested question between this and the classic style was to be put to experiment. That the sum of money voted was barely adequate to the end in view could hardly be quoted as a real disadvantage, seeing that the revivalists averred that Gothic art could be perfectly exhibited, at a cost not need

fully greater than Classic or Italian art would require, if only the fundamental principle were laid down that good art, being essentially constructive, did not demand mere decoration (craving source of costliness), but would be noble and honestly true without "goldsmith's work" from the carver, or jewelry from the glass-stainer.

How far these convictions have been confirmed by the event, we may now inquire, bearing in mind that the very "practice of architecture has been con"fused by the inventions of modern "science," such as the application of iron in construction, "and is hardly "yet organized completely, with respect "to the new means at its disposal.”

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In considering the general success of the edifice in adaptation to its purposes, we must state that the architect was bound to have a large central area, covered with a glass roof, supported upon iron columns, and lofty enough to admit of a gallery, and fulfil further conditions hinted at above. We may here extract from Dr. Acland's excellent little handbook1 a general account of the interior. "For the illustration of "nature the student requires four things "-first, the work-room, where he may "practically see and work for himself; "secondly, the lecture-room, where he 'may see and be taught that which by "himself he can neither see nor learn, "and, as an adjunct to these, a room for "more private study for each; thirdly, "a general space for the common display "of any illustrative specimens capable of "preservation, so placed as to be conve"nient for reference and comparison "between all different branches; and, "fourthly, a library in which whatever "has been done or is now doing, in "the sciences of this and other periods "and countries, may be conveniently "ascertained. The centre of the edifice, "which is intended to contain the "Collections, consists of a quadrangle. "This large area is covered with a glass

1 Remarks on the Oxford Museum, by Dr. Acland, Regius Professor of Medicine. Oxford: J. H. and J. Parker. London: Smith, Elder, and Co.