Some interesting revelations have been published in _The Daily Mail_ on
the tonic effect of the bath on our greatest workers, notably
stockbrokers, novelists and actors.
Mr. ARTHUR BOURCHIER declared that he read plays in the bath and that
the best results were obtained by those selected either in the bath or
on a long railway journey. "A man," he added, "is always at his best in
his bath." Again, Mr. CHARLES GARVICE, the famous novelist, said that he
always felt intensely musical while having his bath, though the ideas
for his stories came chiefly while he was shaving.
We are glad to be able to supplement these revelations with some further
testimony from the _elite_ of the world of letters.
Mr. CLEMENT SHORTER, in the course of an interesting interview, spoke
eloquently on the daily renewal of the bath. From the day when he first
became a Wet Bob at Eton he had never wavered in his devotion to
matutinal and vespertinal ablutions. In fact, his philosophy on this
point might be summed up in the quatrain:--
A bath in the morning
Is the bookman's adorning;
A bath at night
Is the bookman's delight.
His ideal form of exercise was a ride in a bath-chair, just as his
favourite diet was bath-chaps and bath-buns. For the rest he found that
the ideas of his best pars came to him while he was using a
scrubbing-brush which had belonged to Posh, EDWARD FITZGERALD'S boatman.
Mr. LAURENCE BINYON, the poet and art critic, confessed that some of his
choicest lyrics had been composed when he was using a loofah. But it
must be applied rhythmically, to the accompaniment of a soft hissing
sound such as was affected by stable-hands when grooming high-mettled
steeds. Mr. BINYON added that it was a curious thing that while frequent
references abounded in the classics to drinking from the Pierian spring,
no mention occurred of bathing in it. But the divine afflatus no doubt
worked differently in different ages. DIOGENES lived in a tub, but there
was no evidence that he ever took one.
Mr. PERCY FITZGERALD, in reply to a request for his views on the
subject, said that he considered soap and water to be an invaluable
intellectual stimulant. DICKENS was a great believer in it; so, too, was
_Lady Macbeth_ and the famous Bishop WILBERFORCE, known as "Soapy Sam"
from his excessive addiction to detergents. CHARLES LEVER, again, whom
he knew intimately, had a passion for washing and, so he believed,
started a soap factory, which was still in existence.
The Baroness ORCZY pointed out to our representative that there was a
natural harmony between different sorts of baths and different styles of
composition. For heroic romance, cold baths were indispensable. For the
novel of sensation she recommended champagne with a dash of ammoniated
quinine. Similarly with regard to the use of soaps. Thus in any of her
stories in which royalty, played a prominent part she found it
impossible to dispense with Old Brown Windsor.
Mr. MAX BEERBOHM contented himself by cordially endorsing Mr. ARTHUR
BOURCHIER'S statement that he was (if ever) at his best in his bath.
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