Rubbing

“ Rubb′ing, an application of friction: a copy of an inscribed surface produced by rubbing heel-ball or plumbago upon paper laid over it.—ns. Rubb′ing-machine′, a machine used in linen bleaching; Rubb′ing-post, a stone or wooden post set up for cattle to rub themselves against; Rubb′ing-stone, a gritstone for erasing the marks on a stone.
Rubbish, rub′ish, n. waste matter: the fragments of ruinous buildings: any mingled mass: nonsense: trash: trumpery: litter.—n. ”

“ The skin should be made soft and pliable by hot water, and any decent oil or embrocation may be used; not so much, perhaps, because it is in itself beneficial, but because the rubbing, which is beneficial, thus becomes easier to the manipulator, and spares the skin of the patient; for it is impossible to stand more than a minute or two of dry rubbing, if the rubbing is vigorous, owing to the soreness which it produces. ”

“ Continuing the pressing and rubbing, and by repeating these operations for some time, the motions are transmitted to all the inclosed fibres of wool with an irritating feeling, as it were, exciting their propensity for travelling, till the outer hairs, in their motions, warp themselves with each other and the surface appears skin-like and becomes smooth. ”

“ As directions have been given with regard to cleaning mahogany in the bed-rooms, it is needless so particularly to repeat them here; the rubbing is at first the great matter, and cannot be done too often; very little oil and a great deal of rubbing is the root of the business; it is not enough to rub the furniture of a room with a view to polish it on the great cleaning days, a little every day makes, in time, a great impression ”

“ The sweat that overspreads a rubbed varnish surface by reason of the absorption of atmospheric impurities can be quickly removed by lightly rubbing with a little rotten stone and water. The sweating out of a surface rubbed before it has adequately hardened can only be remedied by allowing the surface to become hard and then re-rubbing. ”

“ I called to one of the dalâks (bathing men) to wait upon me, and to go through the different operations of rubbing with the hand, and of the friction with the hair bag, and I also ordered him to shave my head, to get ready the necessary materials for dying my beard, moustaches, and curls, as well as my hands and the soles of my feet, and also to prepare the depilatory ”

“ If extra people had been required to take turns sitting up at night, any number were ready to come on duty. One woman, who is exceedingly capable, though [285] an amateur masseuse, came to inquire if it was a case where rubbing would be beneficial. ”

“ The shampooer, having dashed on a little warm water, begins by stretching and kneading the skin of one arm, the rubbing being done in the direction of the blood current; the knuckles of the fingers he cracks with a sudden jerk. ”

“ Billroth, massage is as old as surgery itself and that means as old as mankind. Rubbing is spoken of by Homer, and was practiced among the Greeks and Romans, by people of different classes, in their gymnasia and their baths, among whom it seems to have been highly appreciated by men of note, eminent as physicians or philosophers, poets or historians ”

“ The care of the skin is of paramount importance, and the first desideratum is to employ systematic and thorough rubbing and brushing of the surface from head to heel. The flesh brush or mitten made of coarse toweling, used by the patient for half an hour at a time night and morning, serves many admirable ends and is better than too much bathing. ”

“ If they cry and fight against washing, it is usually because of the rudeness of the operator, who, with brawny palm or rough sponge takes the child unawares, nearly suffocating it, and briskly and rudely rubbing over the surface of the tender face, regardless of such small obstructions as nose, chin, and lips, and not unusually dashing a quantity of yellow soap suds into the infantile eyes. ”

“ But a few seconds should be occupied in applying the sheet. Then commence rubbing the patient vigorously with both hands, one upon each side, rubbing to and fro three or four times in each place, passing over the whole body very rapidly, and then repeating the same, 100to prevent chilling of any part. Coarse, robust, and phlegmatic people may be rubbed with a good deal of severity; but persons with delicate skin and acute sensibilities require gentler manipulation. ”

“ Several attendants should be employed in rubbing the body with stimulating articles, such as mustard, hot brandy, &c., and bags of hot sand, hot bricks, &c., applied to the feet and other parts of the body. ”

“ Even the palms of your hands, if you rub them briskly together, when they are dry, will smell as if they were scorched. The method of exciting fire by rubbing two sticks of wood together, was anciently practised by country people, and is still retained in some parts of the world. ”

“ Bathing after hard exercise must be indulged in judiciously: a bath after a day’s shooting or cricketing, or an afternoon at lawn-tennis—to an enthusiast, who really plays, by far the hardest and most tiring form of amusement of the three—is pleasant and invigorating, and better understood than when it was an article of faith that to plunge into 38cold water, when heated, was almost equivalent to committing suicide. ”

“ It is this function of the sweat glands which makes it necessary for us to bathe the surface of our bodies with water. Dirt, in the ordinary sense of the word, is not harmful to a sound skin. Our reason for bathing is really to remove the wastes which we ourselves have poured upon the surface of the skin. ”

“ No objects can be more deplorable than these poor children. You meet them with a brush in the hand, a bag upon the shoulders, and a sort of woollen cap, or rather bandage swathed round the head; their skin, and all their accoutrements, equally ingrained with soot, every part being black except the white of the eyes and the teeth, which the soot keeps beautifully clean. ”

“ If rough work is done the soft and delicate hand is pained; if, however, the work is persevered in, the hand ceases to be so sensitive, the skin grows thick and horny, so that rough surfaces, and even hot coals, can be handled with impunity ”

“ Out oozes a thickish white substance, some of which drops on to your fingers. Without a moment’s thought or hesitation, it comes natural to you to rub thumb against sticky fingers, whereupon the substance gradually solidifies, and at last breaks loose in the form of a tiny pellet. In a similarly simple way the mere savage discovered rubber hundreds of years ago ”

“ If it is a long article rub away, up and down, gradually rolling up or turning over the part you have done till you have come to the end of it and have turned it completely over, then rub that side in the same way, but unless your clothes are very dirty they will not need such very particular treatment. ”

“ Pipes, rags, shells, broken and discarded tubs: every one flung whatever was useless to him into the street, thus affording the passer-by an opportunity of exercising all his five senses with the rubbish. ”

“ Another writer thus describes it:—
“When all is done, a soft and luxurious feeling spreads itself over your body; every limb is light and free as air; the marble-like smoothness of the skin is delightful ”

“ Men and women tear their clothes off, looking to see if they have anywhere upon them a rash or a patch of mottled skin, find that they have, or imagine that they have, and rush, screaming, half-undressed, into the street. ”

“ As each wall falls it throws up a cloud of dust, and the filth of ages in small particles enters your eyes, your ears, your hair, and your mouth, and covers your clothes: no small matter when the clothes in which you stand may be the only suit you possess, and the function of having a bath cannot be undertaken lightly, but needs due warning, ample preparation, and assured leisure. ”

“ By and by we perceived what those super-delicate colors, and their continuous play and movement, reminded us of: it is what one sees in a soap-bubble that is drifting along, catching changes of tint from the objects it passes. A soap-bubble is the most beautiful thing, and the most exquisite, in nature: that lovely phantom fabric in the sky was suggestive of a soap-bubble split open, and spread out in the sun. ”

“ Ever and anon the tiny forceps of the hand are employed to seize and pull off any fragment of extraneous matter which clings to the skin too firmly to be removed by brushing; it is plucked off, and thrown away, clear of the body and limbs. ”

“ This whole matter of cleaning is a neglected science and worthy of a thesis all to itself. The face of a rug will stand the slapping which is its usual punishment for being dirty; but do not forget, in the end, to stroke it, with the nap, and so soothe its feelings. ”

“ The old and excellent definition that dirt is suitable matter, but in the wrong place, suggests that the place should be changed. This can be done only by regular habits of personal cleanliness, not only of the skin, the hair, the teeth, the nails, and the clothing, but also by the rigid observance of a proper system in daily living. ”

“ Then disentangling ourselves, we rose and laved our parts in cold water, not only to purify ourselves, but as a stimulant to further exertions in all the wildest excesses of lubricity that any of us could fancy. ”

“ The pores of the skin play a large part in carrying off the wastes of the body, through the perspiration, and if these become clogged, this poisonous material remains in the system. We have all noticed how a bath refreshes and gives tone to the entire body by opening the pores. ”

“ Anything which thickens or makes the water firmer, makes the bubbles last longer, Artie; and the oil in your soap does that. You have often seen men along the streets with those bright-colored balloons you are so fond of; those are gum-elastic bubbles, and the sides of which are quite firm. ”

“ But there is a good deal to be said against washing, at least one's face, when crossing Gobi. The dry, scorching winds burn and blister the skin, and washing makes things worse, and besides you are sometimes short of water ”

“ Rubber air-brake hose on railroad trains makes safe the travel of a nation, air-drill hose rivets our ships, fire hose protects the properly in city and town and garden hose brings nourishment to our growing plants. Rubber clothing protects against storm and rubber footwear guards us against cold and wet. Tennis balls and golf balls and rubber-cored baseballs give healthful sport to the millions. In hospitals and medical work the uses of rubber are without number. ”

“ These feeble limbs are indeed cleansing brushes, with which he keeps certain portions of his person clean, applying them with the greatest ease to the whole surface of the abdomen, and under-side of the carapace or body-shell, while the delicate fingers [Pg 189] of the little hand are used to pick off adhering matters that cannot be removed by brushing. Then having done his washing, he cleans his brushes with his mouth, and snugly folds them up, and packs them away in their groove till he wants them again. ”

“ It's like the chimbleys that get stuffed up with soot, but they can set a sweep with a brush to clear them out. No doctor can get with a chisel and hammer into my lungs and chip out the clay as is formed there, and no brush will sweep out the dust as is lodged there. ”

“ When his skin is perfectly dry, but still warm, smooth, and satiny to the touch, then, and then only, slowly and leisurely, he should begin to resume his usual clothing. If he dress too soon he will be apt to break out into a perspiration while putting on his clothes, or after quitting the bath ”

“ What luxury to slip under the shower, hot first till the dirt was all off, then turn the handle, cool, cool, cooler, cold—to lean forward and feel it patter on your back, lean backward and feel the cold hard drops sting your face and chest. ”

“ Although, of course, in coming out of the bath, the patient rubs himself dry, and apparently perfectly clean, yet the rust, by exercise, comes out so profusely, that not only is the linen of those people who bathe stained, but even their sheets are similarly discoloured ”

“ The toilette of these children of nature requires, moreover, a much longer time than that of our European ladies, for the number of curls which are matted together with oil and grease and dust, until they form one dense mass, demand considerable time for their dressing. ”

“ Plunging them into hot water, washing, and especially wringing the clothes, destroys both the shape and texture of the hands. However, with care and attention they will recover much of their beauty when the necessity for hard work ceases. ”

“ I am afraid you do not understand the awful character of these lashes. You must bring it before your mind. A human being in a perfect state of nudity, tied hand and foot to a stake, and a strong man standing behind with a heavy whip, knotted at the end, each blow cutting into the flesh, and leaving the warm blood dripping to the feet ”

“ Wipe, my friend, wipe, I beseech thee, and in the meanwhile I will go get some moss to put into it; for thus ought we to succour and help one another. Wipe it hard, thus, my friend; wipe it well, for this wound must be often wiped, otherwise the party cannot be at ease. Go to, wipe well, my little gossip, wipe; God hath furnished thee with a tail; thou hast a long one, and of a bigness proportionable; wipe hard, and be not weary. ”

“ Soon after this we had an official visit from one of those laundry critics, called "Medical Inspectors." As there were no sheets or counterpanes to look after, he turned his attention to a heap of dry rubbish in the vestibule, which gave the place an untidy appearance, as seen from the street. To remove this eyesore he had one of my nurses hunt up a wheel-barrow, and two shovels—shovels were accessible by this time—and ordered him and another to wheel that rubbish out into the street. ”

“ When engaged in begging, they cut the skin of the thighs with the knife, lie down and beat their chests with the stone, vomit, roll in the dust or mud, and throw dirt at those who will not contribute alms. ”