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HOW TO GET STRONG 
 
 AND 
 
 HOW TO STAY SO 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BLAIKIE 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 HARPER k BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE 
 

 *? 
 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by 
 j HARPER & BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, 
 
TO 
 
 AKCHIBALD MACLAREN 
 
 WHO HAS PROBABLY DONE MORE THAN ANT ONE ELSE NOW 
 
 LIVING TO POINT OUT THE BENEFITS RESULTING 
 
 FROM RATIONAL PHYSICAL EXERCISE, AND 
 
 HOW TO ATTAIN THOSE BENEFITS 
 
 THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY 
 
 Wiintattit 
 
PEEFACE 
 
 Millions of our people pass their lives in cities 
 and towns, and at work which keeps them, nearly 
 all day in-doors. Many hours are devoted for days 
 and years, under careful teachers, and many mill- 
 ions of dollars are spent annually, in educating the 
 mind and the moral nature. But the body is al- 
 lowed to grow up all uneducated; indeed, often 
 such a weak, shaky affair that it gets easily out 
 of order, especially in middle and later life, and its 
 owner is wholly unequal to tasks which would 
 have proved easy to him, had he given it even 
 a tithe of the education bestowed so generously in 
 other directions. Not a few, to be sure, have the 
 advantage in youth of years of active out-door life 
 on a farm, and so lay up a store of vigor which 
 stands them in good stead throughout a lifetime. 
 But many, and especially those born and reared in 
 towns and cities, have had no such training, or any 
 equivalent, and so never have the developed lungs 
 and muscles, the strong heart and vigorous diges- 
 tion—in short, the improved tone and strength in 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 all their vital organs — which any sensible plan of 
 body-culture, followed up daily, would have se- 
 cured. It does not matter so much whether we 
 get vigor on the form, the deck, the tow-path, or in 
 the gymnasium, if we only get it. Fortunately, 
 if not gotten in youth, when we are plastic and 
 easily shaped, it may still be had, even for on in 
 middle life, by judicious and systematic exercise, 
 aimed first to bring up the weak and unused parts, 
 and then by general work daily which shall main- 
 tain the equal development of the whole. 
 
 The aim here has been, not to write a profound 
 treatise on gymnastics, and point out how to event- 
 ually reach great performance in this art, but 
 rather in a way so plain and un technical that even 
 any intelligent boy or girl can readily understand 
 it, to first give the reader a nudge to take better 
 care of his bod}', and so of his health, and then 
 to point out one way to do it. That there are a 
 hundred other ways is cheerfully conceded. If 
 anything said here should stir up some to vigor- 
 ously take hold of, and faithfully follow up, either 
 the plan here indicated or any one of these others, 
 it cannot foil to bring them marked benefit, and 
 
 so to gratify 
 
 The Author. 
 
 New York, July. 1883. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OlIAP. PAGE 
 
 I. DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES ? 9 
 
 II. Half-built Boys 23 
 
 III. Will Daily Physical Exercise for Girls pay? 42 
 
 IV. IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 57 
 
 V. Why Men should Exercise daily 74 
 
 VI. Home Gymnasiums 91 
 
 VII. The School the true Place for Children's 
 
 Physical Culture 104 
 
 VIII. What a Gymnasium might Be and Do 117 
 
 IX. Some Kesults of Brief Systematic Exercise.... 138 
 
 X. Work for the Fleshy, the Thin, the Old 154 
 
 XL Half-trained Firemen and Police 177 
 
 XII. Special Exercise for any given Muscles 199 
 
 a. To Develop the Leg below the Knee 200 
 
 b. Work for the Front of the Thigh 208 
 
 c. To Enlarge the Under Thigh 214 
 
 d. To Strengthen the Sides of the Waist 215 
 
 e. The Abdominal Muscles 218 
 
 /. Counterwork for the Abdominal Muscles 224 
 
 g. To Enlarge and give Power to the Loins 227 
 
 A. Development above the Waist 228 
 
 •• Filling out the Shoulders and Upper Back 230 
 
 j. To obtain a good Biceps 233 
 
 k. To bring up the Muscles on the Front and Side 
 
 of the Shoulder 236 
 
 I. Forearm Work 237 
 
 m. Exercises for the Triceps Muscles 238 
 
 n. To Strengthen and Develop the Hand 241 
 
 o. To Enlarge and Strengthen the Front of the 
 
 Chest 243 
 
 p. To Broaden and Deepen the Chest itself. 2t5 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 OUAI\ PAGE 
 
 XIII. What Exercise to take Dailt 252 
 
 a. Daily Work for Children 253 
 
 b. Daily Exercise for Young Men 273 
 
 c. Daily Exercise for Women 27G 
 
 d. Daily Exercise for Business Men 278 
 
 e. Daily Exercise for Consumptives 283 
 
 Appendix I 29 1 
 
 II 291 
 
 III 292 
 
 IV 292 
 
 V 293 
 
 VI 294 
 
 VII 295 
 
 Conclusion 295 
 
 TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Fig. 1. A warped University Oarsman, imperfectly developed 
 
 in Muscles not used in Rowing 36 
 
 <c 2. A warped Professional Sculler, imperfectly developed 
 
 in Muscles not used in Rowing 37 
 
 11 3. Horizontal Bar and Chest-bars, for Home Use 92 
 
 " 4. Noiseless Pulley-weights 94 
 
 " 5. Appliance for developing the Sides of the Waist 217 
 
 " G. A Correct Position for Fast Walking 220 
 
 " 7. Device for developing the Abdominal Muscles 225 
 
 " 8. A Chest-widener 248 
 
 " 9. A Chest-deepener. 250 
 
HOW TO GET STRONG, 
 
 AND 
 
 HOW TO STAY SO. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES? 
 
 Probably more men walk past the corner of 
 Broadway and Fulton Street, in New York city, 
 in the course of one j T ear, than any other point 
 in America — men of all nations and ages, heights 
 and weights. Look at them carefully as they pass, 
 and you will see that scarcely one in ten is either 
 erect or thoroughly well-built. Some slouch their 
 shoulders and double in at the waist ; some over- 
 step; others cant to one side; this one has one 
 shoulder higher than the other, and that one both 
 too high ; some have heavy bodies and light legs, 
 others the reverse ; and so on, each with his own 
 peculiarities. A thoroughly erect, well-proportion- 
 ed man, easy and graceful in his movements, is 
 
10 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 far from a frequent sight. Any one accustomed to 
 athletic work, and knowing what it can do for the 
 bod} T , must at times have wondered why most men 
 allowed themselves to go along for years, perhaps 
 through life, so carrying themselves as not only to 
 lack the outward grace and ease they might pos- 
 sess, and which they occasionally see in others, but 
 so as to directly cramp and impede one or more 
 of the vital organs. 
 
 Nor is it always the man's fault that he is ill- 
 proportioned. In most cases it comes down from 
 his progenitors. The father's walk and physical 
 peculiarities appear in the son, often so plainly 
 that the former's calling might almost be told from 
 a look at the latter. 
 
 A very great majority of Americans are the sons 
 either of farmers or merchants, mechanics or la- 
 borers. The work of each class soon develops pe- 
 culiar characteristics. No one of the four classes 
 has ordinarily had any training at all aimed to 
 make him equally strong all over. Broad as is the 
 variety of the farmer's work, far the greater, and 
 certainly the heavier, part of it tends to make him 
 stoop forward and become inerect. No man stands 
 up straight and mows. When he shovels, he bends 
 more yet; and every ounce of spade or load pulls 
 him over, till, after much of this sort of work, it 
 requires an effort to stand upright. Ploughing is 
 
DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES? 11 
 
 better for the upper body, but it does not last long. 
 While it keeps one walking over uneven ground, 
 it soon brings on an awkward, clumsy step, rais- 
 ing, as it does, the foot unnaturally high. Chop- 
 ping is excellent for the upper man, but does little 
 for his legs. In hand-raking and hoeing the man 
 may remain erect ; but in pitching and building the 
 load, in nearly every sort of lifting, and especially 
 the heavier sorts, as in handling heavy stone or 
 timber, his back is always bent over. It is so much 
 easier to slouch over when sitting on horse-rake, 
 mower, or harvester, that most persons do it. 
 
 Scarcely any work on a farm makes one quick 
 of foot. All the long day, while some of the mus- 
 cles do the work, which tends to develop them, the 
 rest are untaxed, and remain actually weak. A 
 farmer is seldom a good walker, usually hitching 
 up if he has an errand to go, though it be scarce 
 a mile away; and he is rarely a good runner. He 
 is a hearty, well-fed man, not only because whole- 
 some food is plenty, but because his appetite is 
 sharp, and he eats with relish and zest. Naturally 
 a man thinks that, when he eats and sleeps well, 
 he is pretty healthy, and so he usually is ; but when 
 he is contented with this condition of things, he 
 overlooks the fact that he is developing some parts 
 of his body, and leaving others weak ; that the warp 
 he is encouraging in that body, by twice as much 
 
12 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 work for the muscles of his back as for those of 
 the front of his chest, while it enlarges the former, 
 often so as to even render it muscle-bound, actual- 
 ly contracts the latter, and hence gives less room 
 for heart, lungs, stomach, and all the vital organs, 
 than a well-built man would have. If a man should 
 tie up one arm, and with the other steadily swing 
 a smith's hammer all day, there is little doubt that 
 he would soon have an excellent appetite and the 
 sweet sleep of the laboring man. But in what 
 shape would it leave him in a few years, or even 
 in a few months ? The work of the farmer, ill-dis- 
 tributed as to the whole man, leaves him as really 
 one-sided as the former. It is in a lesser degree, 
 of course, but still so evident that he who looks 
 even casually may see it. 
 
 While the farmer's work makes a man hearty 
 and well, though lumbering, it takes the spring 
 out of him. The merchant is, physically, however, 
 in a worse position. Getting to his work in boy- 
 hood, sticking to it as long as the busiest man in 
 the establishment, his body often utterly unfit and 
 unready for even half the strain it bears, he strug- 
 gles on through the boy's duties, the clerk's, and 
 the salesman's, till he becomes a partner; or per- 
 haps he starts as entry-clerk, rises to be book-keep- 
 , and then stays there. In many kinds of work 
 he has been obliged to stand nearly all day, till 
 
DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES? 13 
 
 his sides and waist could scarcely bear it longer, 
 and he often breaks down under the ceaseless press- 
 ure. If his work calls him out much, he finds 
 that the constant walking, with his mind on the 
 stretch, and more or less worried, does not bring 
 him that vigor he naturally looks for from so much 
 exercise, and at night he is jaded and used up, 
 instead of being fresh and hearty. When excep- 
 tional tension -comes, and business losses or re- 
 verses make him anxious and haggard, there is lit- 
 tle in his daily work which tends to draw him out 
 of a situation that he could have readily and easi- 
 ly fitted himself to face, and weather too, had he 
 only known how. To be sure, when he gets well 
 on and better to do, he rides out in the late after- 
 noon, and domestic and social recreation in the 
 evening may tend to freshen him, and fit him for 
 the next day's round; but, especially if he has been 
 a strong young man, he finds that he is changed, 
 and cannot work on as he used to do. His bodily 
 strength and endurance are gone. The reason why 
 is plain enough : when he was at his best, he was 
 doing most work, and of the sort to keep him in 
 good condition. Now there is nothing between 
 rising and bedtime to build up any such strength, 
 and he is fortunate if he retains even half of what 
 he had. To be sure, he does not need the strength 
 of a stalwart young farmer; but, could he have re^ 
 
14 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 tained it, he would have been surprised, if he had 
 taken sufficient daily exercise to regulate himself, 
 how valuable it would have been in toning him up 
 for the severer work and trial of the day. If, in- 
 stead of the taxed and worn-out nerves, he could 
 have had the feeling of the man of sturdy phy- 
 sique, who keeps himself in condition, who does 
 not know what it is to be nervous, what a priceless 
 boon it would have been for him !. 
 
 Who does not know among his friends business 
 men whose faces show that they are nearly all the 
 time overworked; who get thin, and stay so; who 
 look tired, and are so ; who go on dragging along 
 through their duties — for they are men made of the 
 stuff which does the duty as it comes up, whether 
 hard or easy ? The noon meal is rushed through, 
 perhaps when the brain is at white-heat. More is 
 eaten, both then and in the evening, than will di- 
 gest ; and good as is the after or the before din- 
 ner ride, as far as it goes, it does not go far enough 
 to make the digestion sure. Then comes broken 
 sleep. The man waking from it is not rested, is 
 not rebuilt and strong, and ready for the new 
 day. 
 
 With many men of this kind — and all city men 
 know they are well-nigh innumerable — what won- 
 der is it that nervous exhaustion is so frequent 
 among them, and that physicians who make thit 
 
DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES? 15 
 
 disorder a specialty often have all that they can 
 do ? One of the most noted of them, Dr. S. Weir 
 Mitchell, of Philadelphia, in his valuable little 
 book, "Wear and Tear; or, Hints for the Over- 
 worked," page 46, says : 
 
 "All classes of men who use the brain severely, 
 jfood who have also — and this is important — seasons 
 of excessive anxiety or grave responsibility, are 
 subject to the same form of disease; and this is 
 why, I presume, that I, as well as others who are 
 accustomed to encounter nervous disorders, have 
 met with numerous instances of nervous exhaus- 
 tion among merchants and manufacturers. 
 
 " My note - books seem to show that manufact- 
 urers and certain classes of railway officials are 
 the most liable to suffer from neural exhaustion. 
 Next to these come merchants in general, brokers, 
 etc. ; then, less frequently, clergymen ; still less 
 often, lawyers; and, more rarely, doctors; while 
 distressing cases are apt to occur among the over- 
 schooled young of both sexes." 
 
 And while the more active among business men 
 run into this sort of danger, those less exposed to it 
 still do little or nothing to give themselves sound, 
 vigorous bodies, so as to gain consequent energy 
 and health, and so they go through life far less 
 efficient and useful men than they might have 
 been. Hence their sons have to suffer. The boy 
 
16 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 certainly cannot inherit from the father more vigor 
 and stamina than the latter has, however favored 
 the mother may have been ; so, unless the boy has 
 some sort of training which builds him up, his 
 father's weaknesses or physical defects are very 
 likely to show in the son. 
 
 Nor do most classes of mechanics fare much bet- 
 ter. Take the heavier kinds of skilled labor. The 
 blacksmith rarely uses one of his hands as much 
 as the other, especially in heavy work, and often 
 has poor legs. Indeed, if he has good legs, he does 
 not get them from his calling. The stone-mason 
 is equally one-handed — one hand merely guiding 
 a light tool, the other swinging a heavy mallet. 
 Nine- tenths of all machinists are right-handed. 
 And so on, through the long list of the various 
 trades where severe muscular exertion is requisite, 
 there is a similar uneven distribution of the work 
 to the various parts of the body, the right arm gen- 
 erally getting the lion's share, the left but little, 
 the back more than the chest — or, rather, than the 
 front chest — and the legs having but passive sort 
 of work at best. Puddlers and boiler - makers, 
 plumbers and carpenters, coopers and smiths, ship- 
 wrights, carriage-makers, tinners, and all who fol- 
 low trades calling for vigorous muscular action, 
 not only constantly work one side more than the 
 other, but many of their tools are made, purposely, 
 
DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES? 17 
 
 right-handed, so that they could hardly use them 
 with the left hand if they wanted to. As to those 
 whose work is more delicate, saddlers and shoe- 
 makers, mill-hands and compositors, wood-turners, 
 tailors, jewellers and engravers, and nearly all the 
 lighter craftsmen, learn their trade with one hand, 
 and would never venture to trust any of its finer 
 work to the other. In short, take the mechanic 
 where you will, in the vast majority of instances 
 his right arm and side are larger and stronger 
 than his left, and quite as often his vocation does 
 little or nothing to strengthen and develop his 
 legs. 
 
 The fact that most of these men have active 
 work for some of the muscles, with enough of it 
 to insure a good appetite, combined with inherited 
 vigor, makes them often hearty men, but it leaves 
 them unequally developed. When they get into 
 the gymnasium, they are usually lacking in that 
 symmetry, ease, and erectness which they might 
 all along have had, had they but used the means. 
 The result, then, of overworking one part of the 
 body at the expense of the other, especially in 
 heavier mechanical labors, and of too little vigor- 
 ous action in the lighter, tends to make the aver- 
 age workman more prone to disease. Were there 
 uniform development, and that daily vigorous ex- 
 ercise which would stimulate the dormant parts of 
 
 2 
 
18 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 the man's body, it would add to his life and use- 
 fulness. 
 
 But how is it with the sturdy laborer? He can 
 hardly be liable to the same defects. His work cer- 
 tainly must call into play every muscle of his body. 
 
 Well, watch him awhile and see. Try the coal- 
 heaver. His surely is heavy, hard work, and must 
 make him exert himself all over. But does_it? 
 While it keeps his knees steadily bent, his back is 
 all the while over his work. The tons of coal he 
 lifts daily with his shovel gradually, but with posi- 
 tive certainty, insures his back remaining somewhat 
 bent when his work for the time is done. When a 
 year is spent at such labor, the back must take a 
 lasting curve. While his back broadens, growing 
 thick and powerful, his chest does not get so much 
 to do; hence he is soon a round-shouldered man. 
 As he does not hold his chest out, nor his neck and 
 head erect, he contracts his lung-room, as well, in- 
 deed, as his general vital-room. Scarce any man 
 grows earlier muscle-bound, for few backs do so 
 much hard work. Now, standing erect, let him 
 try and slap the backs of his hands together be- 
 hind his shoulders, keeping his arms horizontal and 
 straight at the elbow. Now lie will understand 
 what is meant by being muscle-bound. It will be 
 odd if he can get his hands within a foot of each 
 other. 
 
DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES? 19 
 
 The navvy is no better. The gardener's help- 
 er has to do much stooping. So do track-hands, 
 stone -breakers, truckmen, porters, longshoremen, 
 and all the rest. Especially are ordinary day-la- 
 borers, whose tools are spade, pick, and bar, who 
 are careless about their skin, who are exposed to 
 dust and dirt, who are coarsely shod, most prone to 
 have bad feet. They, too, have the hearty appetite 
 and the sound sleep. Seldom do they give their 
 bodily improvement a thought, and so often, like 
 their own teeth, they decay before their time, and 
 materially shorten their usefulness and their days. 
 
 Here, then, we see that the vast majority of men 
 in this country — three out of four at least — are 
 born of fathers but partially developed, and uni- 
 formly of inerect carriage. 
 
 And how is it with their mothers? Naturally 
 thev come, to a lar^e extent, from the same classes. 
 They inherit many of the characteristics of their 
 fathers — size, color, temperament, and so on, and 
 generally the same tendency to be stronger on one 
 side than on the other. In the poorer classes their 
 life is one of work, frequently of overwork and 
 drudgery, and in ill -lighted, ill -ventilated apart- 
 ments. Among those better off, they do not work 
 enough, and often, though of vigorous parents, are 
 not themselves strong. 
 
 Thoroughly healthy, hearty women are not com- 
 
20 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 mon among us. Ask the family physician, and he 
 will endorse this statement to an extent most men 
 would not have supposed. American women are 
 not good walkers. Look how they are astonished 
 when they hear of some ]ady who walks from five 
 to ten miles a day, and thinks nothing of it. One 
 such effort would be positively dangerous to very 
 many, indeed probably to the majority of our wom- 
 en, while nearly all of them would not get over its 
 effects for several days. Yet many English and 
 Canadian ladies take that much exercise daily from 
 choice, and, finding the exhilaration, strength, and 
 health it brings, and the general feeling of efficien- 
 cy which it produces, would not give it up. ISTo 
 regular exercise is common among the great ma- 
 jority of the women of this country which makes 
 them use both their hands alike, and is yet vigorous 
 enough to add to the size and strength of their 
 shoulders, chests, and arms. Ordinary house-work 
 brings the hands of those who indulge in it a e;ood 
 deal to do, even though the washing and ironing 
 are left to hired help. The care of children adds 
 materially to the exertion called for in a day. But 
 far too often both the house-work and the looking 
 after the children are sources of great exertion. 
 Were the woman strong and full of vigor, she 
 would turn each off lightly, and still be fresh 
 «md hearty at the end of the day. 
 
DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES? 21 
 
 With the father, as with the mother, the conclu- 
 sion arrived at seems to be as follows : now that the 
 day's work is done, no matter whether it brings 
 with it strength or weakness, let us be perfectly 
 contented with things as they are. If it makes us 
 one-handed, so be it. If it stoops the back over, 
 so be it. If it does little or nothing for the lower 
 limbs, or cramps the chest, or never half fills the 
 lungs, or aids digestion not a whit, so be it. If 
 it keeps some persons thin and tired-looking, and 
 does not prevent others from growing too fleshy, it 
 never occurs to most of them that a very small 
 amount of knowledge and effort in the right di- 
 rection w T ould work wonders, and in a Avay which 
 would be not only valuable but attractive. 
 
 Most of us get, then, from our parents a one- 
 sided and partial development, and are contented 
 with it. Unless we ourselves take steps to better 
 our condition, unless we single out the weak spots, 
 prescribe the work and the amount of it, and 
 then do that work, we shall not remedy the evil. 
 More than this, if w r e do not cure these defects, 
 we will not only go through life with limited 
 and cramped physical resources, with their ac- 
 companying disorders and ailments, but we will 
 cruelly entail on our children defects and tenden- 
 cies which might have readily been spared them, 
 and for which they can fairly blame us. A little 
 
22 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 attention to the subject will show that the remedy 
 is quite within our reach; and so plain is this, that 
 a generation later, if the interest now awakening 
 in this direction becomes, as it promises to, very 
 general among us, our descendants will understand 
 far better than we do that the body can be edu- 
 cated, as well as the mind or the moral nature ; 
 that, instead of interfering with the workings of 
 these, the body will, when properly trained, direct- 
 ly and materially aid them; and, further, that 
 there is no stand-point from which the matter can 
 be viewed which will not show that such training 
 will pay, and most handsomely at that. 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HALF-BUILT BOYS. 
 
 But, whatever our inherited lacks and strong 
 points, few who have looked into the matter can 
 have failed to notice that the popular sports and 
 pastimes, both of our boyhood and youth, good as 
 they are, as far as they go, are not in themselves 
 vigorous enough, or well enough chosen to remedy 
 the lack. The top, the marble, and the jack-knife 
 of the boy are wielded with one hand, and for all 
 the strength that wielding brings, it might as well 
 have been confined to one. Flying kites is not 
 likely to overdo the muscles. Yet top-time, mar- 
 ble-time, and kite -time generally cover all the 
 available play hours of each day for a large por- 
 tion of the year. 
 
 But he has more vigorous work than these bring. 
 Well, what? Why, ball-playing and playing tag, 
 and foot-ball, and skating, and coasting, and some 
 croquet, and occasional archeiy, while he is a pain- 
 fully accurate shot with a bean-shooter. 
 
 Well, in ball-playing he learns to pitch, to catch, 
 
24 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 to bat, to field, and to run bases. How many boys 
 can pitch with either hand? Not one in a hun- 
 dred, at least well enough to be of anv use in a 
 game. Observe the pitching arm and shoulder of 
 some famous pitcher, and see how much larger 
 they are than their mates. Dr. Sargent, for many 
 years instructor in physical culture in Tale Col- 
 lege, says that he has seen a well-known pitcher 
 whose right shoulder was some two inches larger 
 than the left; indeed, his whole right side seemed 
 out of proportion with his left. The catcher draws 
 both hands in toward him as the ball enters them, 
 and passes it back to the pitcher almost always 
 with the same hand. He has, in addition, to spring 
 about on his feet, unless the balls come very uni- 
 formly, and to do much twisting and turning. 
 The batter bats, not from either shoulder, but from 
 one shoulder, to such an extent that those used to 
 his batting know pretty well where he will knock 
 the ball, though, did he bat from the other shoul- 
 der, the general direction of the knocking would 
 be quite different. Some of the fielders have con- 
 siderable running and some catching to do, and 
 then to throw the ball in to pitcher, or baseman, 
 or catcher. But that throw is always with the 
 stronger hand, never with the other. Many of the 
 fielders often have not one solitary thing to do 
 but to walk to their stations, remain there while 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. '25 
 
 their Side is out, and then walk back again, hardly 
 getting work enough, in a cold day, to keep them 
 warm. Running bases is sharp, jerky work, and 
 a wretched substitute for steady, sensible running 
 over a long distance. Nor is the fielder's running 
 much better; and neither would ever teach a boy 
 what he ought to know about distributing his 
 Strength in running, and how to get out of it what 
 he readily might, and, more important yet, how to 
 make himself an enduring long-distance runner. 
 For all the work the former brings, ordinary, and 
 even less than ordinary, strength of leg and lung 
 will suffice, but for the latter it needs both good 
 legs and good lungs. 
 
 Run most American boys of twelve or fourteen 
 six or eight miles, or, rather, start them at it — let 
 them all belong to the ball-nine if you will, too — 
 and how many would cover half the distance, even 
 at any pace worth calling a run ? The English 
 are, and have long been, ahead of us in this direc- 
 tion. To most readers the above distance seems 
 far too long to let any boy of that age run. But, 
 had he been always used to running — not fast, 
 but steady running — it would not seem so. Tom 
 Brown of Rugby, in the hares-and-hounds game, of 
 which he gives us so graphic an account, makes 
 both the hares and hounds cover a distance of 
 nine miles without being much the worse for it. 
 
26 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 and yet they were simply school-boys, of all ages 
 from twelve to eighteen. 
 
 Let him who thinks that the average American 
 boy of the same age would have fared as well, 
 go down to the public bath-house, and look care- 
 fully at a hundred or two of them as they tumble 
 about in the water. He will see more big heads 
 and slim necks, more poor legs and skinny arms, 
 and lankv, half-built bodies than he would have 
 ever imagined the whole neighborhood could pro- 
 duce. Or he need not see them stripped. One of 
 our leading metropolitan journals, in an editorial 
 recently, headed, "Give the boy a chance," said : 
 
 "About one in ten of all the boys in the Union 
 are living in New York and the large cities imme- 
 diately adjacent; and there are even more within 
 the limits of Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and 
 the other American cities whose population ex- 
 ceeds a hundred thousand. The wits of these 
 millions of boys are being forced to their extreme 
 capacity, whether they are taught in the school, 
 the shop, or the street. But what is being done 
 for their bodies ? The answer may be obtained by 
 standing at the door of almost any public or pri- 
 vate school or academy at the hour of dismissal. 
 The inquirer toill see a crowd of undersized, list- 
 less, thin-faced children, with scarcely any prom- 
 ise of manhood about them" 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 27 
 
 Take a tape-measure and get the girth of chest, 
 upper and forearm, of waist, hips, thighs, and calves 
 of these little fellows, likewise their heights and 
 ages. Now send to England and get the statistics 
 of the boys of the same age who are good at hares- 
 and -hounds, at foot -ball, and see the difference. 
 In every solitary measurement, save height, there 
 is little doubt which would show the better figures. 
 Even in height, it is more than probable that the 
 article just quoted would find abundant founda- 
 tion for calling our boys " undersized." 
 
 Next cross to Germany, and go to the schools 
 where boys and their masters together, in vacation 
 days, sometimes walk two or even three hundred 
 miles, in that land where the far-famed German 
 Turners, by long training, show a strength and agil- 
 ity combined which are astounding, and try the 
 tape-measure there. Is there any question what 
 the result would be ? When the sweeping work the 
 Germans made of it in their late war with France 
 is called to mind, does it not look as if there was 
 good ground for the assumption so freely made, 
 that it w T as the superior physique of the Germans 
 which did the business? 
 
 Where work is chosen that only sturdy limbs 
 can do, and that work is gradually approached, 
 and persistently stuck to, by- and -by the sturd} 7 
 limbs come. But when all that these limbs are 
 
28 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 called on to do is light, spasmodic work, and there 
 is none of the spur which youthful emulation and 
 pride in superior strength bring, what wonder is it 
 if the result is a weakly article? 
 
 Another and natural consequence many parents 
 must have noticed. Often, in a city neighborhood, 
 there is not one strong, efficient boy to lead on the 
 rest, and show them the development which they 
 might have and should have. Boys, like men, are 
 fond of doing whatever they can do well, and of 
 letting others see them do it, and, like their elders, 
 they gladly follow a capable and self-reliant lead- 
 er. But if no one of their number is equal to 
 tasks which call for first-class strength and stay- 
 ing powers, when no one will lead the rest up to a 
 higher physical plane, they never will get there. 
 
 It is not a good sign, or one that bodes well for 
 our future, to see the play-grounds of our cities 
 and towns so much neglected. You may stand on 
 many of them for weeks together and not see one 
 sharp, hot game of ball, or of anything else, where 
 each contestant goes in with might and main, and 
 the spectator becomes so interested as to hate to 
 leave the fun. Foot -ball is a game as yet not 
 at all general among us. Excellent is it for de- 
 veloping intrepidity and other manly qualities. 
 The Duke of Wellington is reported to have said 
 that her foot-ball fields w r ere where England's sol- 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 29 
 
 diers were made. The short, hasty school recess 
 in the crowded school-yard, or play snatched in the 
 streets— these will never make robust and vigor- 
 ous men. Yet these are too often all that our boys 
 get, their cramped facilities for amusement soon 
 bringing their natural result in small vital organs 
 and half-developed limbs. 
 
 Many of our large cities are wretchedly off for 
 play-grounds. Such open spaces as we have are 
 fenced around, and have signs nailed all over 
 them saying, "Keep off the grass!' 5 at the same 
 time forbidding games on the paths. One part 
 of Boston Common used to be a famous play- 
 ground ; and many hard-fought battles has it seen 
 at foot-ball, base-ball, hockey, and cricket. Many 
 an active school-boy there has more than once 
 temporarily bit the dust. But now rows of street 
 lamps run through that part of the Common, and 
 the precious grass must be protected at all haz- 
 ards. New York city is scarcely better off. Cen- 
 tral Park, miles away from the great majority 
 of the boys in the city, is elegant enough when 
 they get to it; but let them once set their bounds 
 and start a game of ball, or hares-and-hounds, or 
 try a little jumping or running, on any one of those 
 hundreds of beautiful acres, save in one solitary 
 field, and see how soon the gray-coats will be upon 
 them. The Battery, City Hall Park, Washington 
 
30 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Square, Union Park, Stuy vesant Square, and Mad- 
 ison Square are well located, and would make cap- 
 ital play -grounds, but the grass there is altogether 
 too well combed to be ruffled by unruly boys. If 
 a boy's cousin comes in from the country, and he 
 wishes to try conclusions with him, he must con- 
 fine his efforts to the flashed sidewalk or the cob- 
 ble-stoned street, while a brass-buttoned referee is 
 likely at any moment to interfere, and take them 
 both into custody for disorderly conduct. 
 
 Again, outside of a boy's ball -playing, scarce 
 one of his other pastimes does much to build him 
 up. Swimming is excellent, but is confined to a 
 very few months in the year, and is seldom gone at, 
 as it should be, with any regularity, or with a com- 
 petent teacher to gradually lead the boy on to its 
 higher possibilities. Skating is equally desultory, 
 because in many of our cities winters pass with 
 scarcely a week of good ice. Coasting brings 
 some up-hill walking, good for the legs, but does 
 practically nothing for the arms. 
 
 So boyhood slips along until the lad is well on 
 in his teens, and still, in nine cases out of ten, he 
 has had nothing yet of any account in the way of 
 that systematic, vigorous, daily exercise which looks 
 directly to his weak points, and aims not only to 
 eradicate them, but to build up his general health 
 and strength as well. lie gets no help in the one 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 31 
 
 place of all where he might so easily get it — the 
 school. So far as we can learn, no system of ex- 
 ercise has been introduced into any school or col- 
 lege in this land, unless it is at the military acade- 
 my at West Point, which begins to do for each pu- 
 pil, not alone what might easily be done, but what 
 actually ought to be done. It will probably not be 
 many years before all of us will wonder why the 
 proper steps in this direction have been put off so 
 long. Calisthenics are here and there resorted to. 
 In some schools a rubber strap has been introduced, 
 the pupil taking one end of it in each hand, and 
 working it in a few different directions, but in a 
 mild sort of way. At Amherst College enough 
 has been accomplished to tell favorably on the 
 present health of the student, but not nearly 
 enough to make him strong and vigorous all over, 
 so as to build him up against ill health in the fut- 
 ure. At another college certain exercises, excel- 
 lent in their way, admirable for suppling the joints 
 and improving the carriage, have for some time 
 been practised. But this physical work does not 
 go nearly far enough, nor is it aimed sufficiently 
 at each pupiPs peculiar weak spot. It also neither 
 reaches all the students, nor is it practised but a 
 small part, of the year. In the great majority of 
 our schools and colleges, little or no idea is given 
 the pupil as to the good results he will derive from 
 
32 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 exercise. The teacher's own experience in physi- 
 cal development is often more limited than that of 
 some of his scholars. 
 
 The evil does not end here. Take the son of 
 the man of means and refinement, a boy who is 
 having given him as liberal an education as money 
 can buy and his parents' best judgment can select, 
 one who spends a third or more of his life in fit- 
 ting himself to get on successfully in the remain- 
 der of it. That boy certainly ought to come out 
 ready for his life's work, with not only a thorough- 
 ly-trained mind and a strong moral nature, but 
 with a well -developed, vigorous physique, and a 
 knowledge of how to maintain it, so that he may 
 make the most of all his advantages. 
 
 But how often does this happen ? Stand by the 
 gate as the senior class of almost any college in this 
 country files out from its last examination before 
 graduation, and look the men carefully over. Ask 
 your physician to join you in the scrutiny. If, be- 
 tween you two, you can arrive at the conclusion 
 that one-half, or even one-third of them, have that 
 vitality and stamina which make it probable that 
 they will live till seventy, it will be indeed most 
 surprising. A few of these young men, the ath- 
 letes, will be well-developed, better really than they 
 need be. But this over-development may be far 
 from the safest or wisest course. Even though 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 33 
 
 physically improved by it it is not certain that 
 this marked development will carry them onward 
 through life to a ripe old age. But, with others 
 indifferently developed, there will be many more 
 positively weak. Such men may have bright, un- 
 common heads. Yes ; but a bright and uncom- 
 mon head on a broken down, or nearly broken 
 down, body is not going to make half as effective 
 a man in the life-race as a little duller head and 
 a good deal better body. 
 
 But have these graduates had a competent in- 
 structor at college to look after them in this re- 
 spect? Will some one name a college where they 
 have such an instructor? or a school where, in- 
 stead of building the pupil up for the future, 
 more has been done than to insure his present 
 health? One or two such there may be, but 
 scarcely more than one or two. 
 
 Take even the student who has devoted the most 
 time to severe muscular exercise — the rowing-man, 
 not the beginner, but the veteran of a score or more 
 of races, who has been rowing all his four college 
 years as regularly and almost as often as he dined. 
 Certainly it will not be claimed that his is not a 
 well-developed body, or that his permanent health 
 is not insured. Let us look a little at him and 
 see. What has he done ? He entered college at 
 eighteen, and is the son, say, of a journalist or of a 
 
 3 
 
34 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 professional man. Finding, when he came to be 
 fourteen or fifteen, that he was not strong, that 
 somehow he did not fill out his clothes, he put in 
 daily an hour or more at the gymnasium, walked 
 much at intervals, took sparring lessons, did some 
 rowing, and perhaps, by the time he entered col- 
 lege, got his upper arm to be a foot or even thir- 
 teen inches in circumference, with considerable 
 muscle on his chest. Now this young man hears 
 daily, almost hourly, of the wonderful Freshman 
 crew — an embryotic affair as yet, to be sure, but 
 of exalted expectations — and into that crew he 
 must go at all hazards. lie is tried and accepted. 
 Now, for four years, if a faithful oar, he will row 
 all of a thousand miles a year. As each year 
 has, off and on, not over two hundred rowing-days 
 in all, he will generally, for the greater part of the 
 remaining time, pull nearly an equivalent daily at 
 the rowing-weights. He will find a lot of eager 
 fellows at his side, working their utmost to outdo 
 him, and get that place in the boat which he so 
 earnestly covets, and which he is not yet quite 
 sure that he can hold. Some of his muscles are 
 developing fast. His recitations are, perhaps, suf- 
 fering a little, but never mind that just now, when 
 lie thinks that there is more important work on 
 hand. The young fellow's appetite is ravenous, 
 lie never felt so hearty in his life, and is often 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 35 
 
 told bow well he is looking. He attracts attention 
 because likely to be a representative man. He 
 never filled out bis clothes as be does now. His 
 legs are improving noticeably. They ought to do 
 so, for it is not one or two miles, but three or four, 
 which he runs on almost every one of those days 
 in the hundred in which he is not rowing. 
 
 Our young athlete has not always gone into the 
 work from mere choice. For instance, one of a 
 recent Harvard Freshman crew told the writer that 
 he had broken down his eyes from over-use of 
 them, and, looking about for some vigorous physi- 
 cal exercise which would tone him up quickly and 
 restore his eyesight, and having no one to consult, 
 he had taken to rowing. 
 
 The years roll by till the whole four are over, 
 and our student is about to graduate. He looks 
 back to see what he has accomplished. In physi- 
 cal matters he finds that, while he is a skilful, and 
 perhaps a decidedly successful, oar, and that some 
 of his measurements have much improved since the 
 day he was first measured, others somehow have 
 not come up nearly as fast, in fact, have held back 
 in the most surprising way. His chest-girth may 
 be three or even four inches larger for the four 
 years' work. Some, if not much, of that is certain- 
 ly the result of grow T th, not development, and, save 
 what running did, the rest is rather an increase of 
 
36 
 
 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 the back muscles than of front and back alike. 
 Strong as his back is— for many a hard test has it 
 stood in the long, hot home-minutes of more than 
 one well-fought race— still he has not yet a thor- 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 
 
 37 
 
 Fiji. 2. 
 
 onghly developed and capacious chest. Doubtless 
 his legs have improved, if he has done any run- 
 ning. (In some colleges the rowing-men scarcely 
 run at all.) His calves have come to be well- 
 
38 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 developed and shapely, and so too have his thighs, 
 while his loins are noticeably strong-looking and 
 well muscled up, and so indeed is his whole back. 
 But if he has done practically no other arm-work 
 than that which rowing and the preparation for it 
 called for, his arms are not so large, especially 
 above the elbow, as they ought to be for a man 
 with such legs and such a back. The front of 
 his chest is not nearly so well developed as his 
 back, perhaps is hardly developed at all, and he 
 is very likely to carry himself inereetly, with head 
 and neck canted somewhat forward, while there 
 is a lack of fulness, often a noticeable hollowness, 
 of the upper chest, till the shoulders are plainly 
 warped and rounded forward. 
 
 With professional oarsmen, who for years have 
 rowed far more than they have done anything else, 
 and who have no especial care for their looks, or 
 spur to develop harmoniously, the defects rowing 
 leaves stand out most glaringly. Notice in the cuts 
 on pp. 36, 37 (Figs. 1 and 2) the flat and slab-sided, 
 almost hollow, look about the upper chest and front 
 shoulder, and compare these with the full and well- 
 rounded make of the figure whose body is sketched 
 on the cover. It will not take long to determine 
 which has the better front chest, or which is likely 
 to so carry that chest as to ward off tendencies to 
 throat and lnng troubles. Yet Fig. 1 is from a 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 39 
 
 photograph of one of the most distinguished stu- 
 dent-oarsmen America ever produced, while Fig. 2 
 represents one of the swiftest and most skilful pro- 
 fessional scullers of the country to-day/* Better 
 proof could not be presented of the effect of a 
 great amount of rowing, and of the very limited 
 exercise it brings to those muscles which are not 
 especially called on.' 
 
 After the student's rowing is over, and his col- 
 lege days are past, and he settles down to work 
 with not nearly so much play in it, how does he 
 find that his rowing pays ? Has it made him fitter 
 than his fellows, who went into athletics with no 
 such zeal and devotion, to stand life's wear and 
 tear, especially when that life is to be spent main- 
 ly indoors? When, in later years, with new asso- 
 ciations, business cares, and long, hard head-work, 
 accompanied, as the latter usually is, by only par- 
 tial inflation of the lungs, when all these get him 
 out of the way of using his large back muscles, 
 he will find their very size, and the long spell of 
 warping forward which so much rowing gave the 
 shoulders, tends more to weigh him forward than 
 if he had never so developed them. Instead of 
 benefiting his throat and lungs, this abnormal de- 
 velopment actually inclines to cramp them. 
 
 * The faces of both men have, of course, been disguised. 
 
40 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Here, then, is the case of a man who voluntarily 
 gave much time, thought, and labor to the severest 
 test of his strength, and who had hoped to bring 
 about staying powers, and he comes out of it all, to 
 begin his real race in life, often no better fitted, 
 perhaps not nearly so well fitted, for it as some of 
 his comrades who did not spare half so much time 
 to athletics. The other men, who did not work 
 nearly as much as he did, still managed to hit 
 upon a sort which, instead of cramping their 
 chests, expanded them, enlarging the lung- room, 
 and so gave the heart, stomach, and other vital 
 organs all the freest play. 
 
 If the ordinary play and exercise of the boy do 
 not build and round him into a sound, well-made, 
 and evenly-balanced man ; if the hardest work he 
 has hit on, when left to himself to find out, mostly 
 to be paid for by a considerable amount of money ; 
 if these only leave him a half -developed man, 
 can it not be seen at once that an improvement is 
 wanted in his physical education ? 
 
 Are we not behindhand, and far behindhand, 
 then, in a matter of serious importance to the well- 
 being of the people of our country ? Do we not 
 want some system of education which shall rear 
 men, not morally and intellectually good alone, but 
 good physically as well? which shall qualify them 
 both to seize and to make the most of the advan- 
 
HALF-BUILT BOYS. 41 
 
 tages which years of toil and struggle bring, but 
 which advantages among us now are too frequent- 
 ly thrown away. Men too often, just as they are 
 about clutching these benefits, find, Tantalus-like, 
 that they are eluding their grasp. The reason 
 must be plain to all. It is because that grasp is 
 weakening, and falls powerless at the very time 
 when it could be and should be surest, and potent 
 for the most good. 
 
42 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WILL DAILY PHYSICAL EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? 
 
 Observe the girls in any of our cities or towns, 
 as they pass to or from school, and see how few 
 of them are at once blooming, shapely, and strong. 
 Some are one or the other, but verv few are all 
 combined, while a decided majority are neither one 
 of them. Instead of high chests, plump arms, 
 comely figures, and a graceful and handsome mien, 
 you constantly see flat chests, angular shoulders, 
 often round and warped forward, with scrawny 
 necks, pipe-stem arms, narrow backs, and a weak 
 walk. Not one girl in a dozen is thoroughly erect, 
 whether walking, standing, or sitting. Nearly ev- 
 ery head is pitched somewhat forward. The arms 
 are frequently held almost motionless, and there 
 is a general lack of spring and elasticity in their 
 movements. Fresh, blooming complexions are so 
 rare as to attract attention. Among eyes, plenty 
 of them pretty, sparkling, or intelligent, but few 
 have vigor and force. If any dozen girls, taken 
 at random, should place their hands side by side 
 
WILL DAILY EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? 43 
 
 on a table, many, if not most, of these hands would 
 be found to lack beauty and symmetry, the fin- 
 gers, and indeed the whole hand, too often having 
 a weak, undeveloped, nerveless look. 
 
 Now watch these girls at play. See how few of 
 their games bring them really vigorous exercise. 
 Set them to running, and hardly one in the party 
 has the swift, graceful, gliding motion she might so 
 readily acquire. Not one can run any respectable 
 distance at a good pace. There is abundant vivac- 
 ity and spirit, abundant willingness to play with 
 great freedom, but very little such play as there 
 might be, and which would pay so well. Most of 
 their exercise worth calling; vigorous is for their 
 feet alone, the hands seldom having much to do. 
 The girls of the most favored classes are generally 
 the poorest players. The quality and color of their 
 clothing necessitates their avoiding all aetive,hearty 
 play, while it is the constant effort of nurse or gov- 
 erness to repress that superabundance of spirits 
 which ought to belong to every boy and girl. 
 Holding: one's elbows close to the bodv while walk- 
 ing, and keeping the hands nearly or quite motion- 
 less, may accord with the requirements of fashion- 
 able life, but it's terribly bad for the arms, keeping 
 them poor, indifferent specimens, when they might 
 be models of grace and beauty. 
 
 As the girl comes home from school, not with 
 
44 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 one book only, but often six or eight, instead of 
 looking light and strong and free, she is too often 
 what she really appears to be, pale and weak. So 
 many books suggest a large amount of work for 
 one day, certainly for one evening, and the im- 
 pression received is that she is overworked, while 
 the truth frequently is that the advance to be 
 made in each book is but trifling, and the aggre- 
 gate, not at all large, by no means too great for 
 the same girl were she strong and hearty. It is 
 not the mental work which is breaking her down, 
 but there is no adequate physical exercise to build 
 her up. See what ex-Surgeon-General Hammond 
 says, in his work on " Sleep," as to the ability to 
 endure protracted brain-work without ill result: 
 
 " It is not the mere quantity of brain-work which 
 is the chief factor in the production of disease. 
 The emotional conditions under which work is per- 
 formed is a far more important matter. A man of 
 trained mental habits can bear with safety an al- 
 most incredible amount of brain-toil, provided lie 
 is permitted to work without distraction or excite- 
 ment, in the absence of disquieting cares and anxi- 
 eties. It is not brain-work, in fact, that kills, but 
 bmin-worry" 
 
 The girl, of course, has not the strength for the 
 protracted effort of the matured man, nor is such 
 effort often required of her. Her studying is done 
 
WILL DAILY EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? 45 
 
 quietly at home, undisturbed, usually, by any such 
 cares and responsibilities as the man encounters. 
 Hers is generally brain -work, not brain -worry. 
 Yet the few hours a day exhaust her, because her 
 vital system, which supports her brain, is feeble and 
 inefficient. No girl is at school over six hours out 
 of the twenty-four, and, deducting the time taken 
 for recitation, recess, and the various other things 
 which are not study, five hours, or even less, will 
 cover the time she gives to actual brain-work in 
 school, with two, or perhaps three, hours daily out 
 of school. With the other sixteen hours practical- 
 ly her own, there is ample time for all the vigorous 
 physical exercise she needs or could take, and yet 
 allow ten, or even twelve, of those hours for sleep 
 or eating. But notice, in any of these off-hours, 
 what exercise these girls take. They walk to and 
 fro from school, they play a few minutes at recess, 
 they may take an occasional irregular stroll besides, 
 and may indulge in a game of croquet, but all the 
 time intent on their conversation, never thinking of 
 the exercise itself, and the benefit it brings. Such 
 things fill up the measure of the daily physical, ex- 
 ercise of thousands of our American girls. It is 
 the same thing for nearly all, save those from the 
 poorest classes. 
 
 And what is the result ? Exactly what such ex- 
 ercise — or, rather, such lack of it — would bring. 
 
46 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 The short, abrupt run, the walk to or from school, 
 the afternoon stroll, or the miscellaneous standing 
 about — none of these call for or beget strength of 
 limb, depth of chest, or vitality. None of these 
 exercises is more than almost any flat-chested, half- 
 developed girl could readily accomplish without 
 serious effort, and, going through them for years, 
 she would need little more strength than she had 
 at first. 
 
 But all this time her mental work comes in no 
 meagre allowance. It is all the time pushing for- 
 ward. Subjects are set before her, to grasp and 
 master which requires every day hours of close ap- 
 plication for months together. The number of 
 them is also enlarging, and the task is constantly 
 becoming more severe. A variety of influences 
 spurs her steadily onward. Maybe it is emula- 
 tion and determination which urges her on, not 
 only to do well, but to excel. Maybe it is to grat- 
 ify the teacher's pride, and a desire to show the 
 good fruit of her work. Perhaps oftener than any- 
 thing else the girl is in dread of being dropped 
 into another class, and she resolves to remain with 
 her present one at all hazards. 
 
 But with all this there is an advance in the 
 amount and difficulty of the brain-work. No dis- 
 tinction is made between the delicate girl and the 
 strong one. To those of a like age come like 
 
WILL DAILY EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? 47 
 
 tasks. The delicate girl, from her indifference to 
 physical effort, finding that for the time her weak- 
 ness of body does not interfere with a ready-work- 
 ing brain, gradually inclines to draw even more 
 away from livelier games and exercises, in which 
 she does not excel, and to get more at her books. 
 Can there be much doubt as to the result a few 
 years later? Is it any wonder that the neglected 
 body develops some partial weakness, or too often 
 general debility ? Is it at all a rare thing, in the 
 observation of any one, to notice that this weak- 
 ness, this debility, are very apt to become chronic, 
 and that the woman, later on in life, is a source of 
 anxiety and a burden to her friends, when instead 
 of this she might have been a valued helper ? 
 
 Now, if the body, during the growing years, w T as 
 called on to do nothing which should even half 
 develop it, while the brain was pushed nearly to 
 its utmost, does it take long to decide whether 
 such a course was a wise one? Lea vino; out en- 
 tirely the discomfort to the bod}^, is that a sensible 
 system of education which leaves a girl liable to 
 become weak, if not entirely broken down, before 
 she is well on in middle a°:e? Is this not like 
 giving great care to moral and mental education 
 alone, and actually doing almost nothing for their 
 physical nature? Is this not an irrational and 
 one-sided course, and sure to beget a one-sided per- 
 
48 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 son? And yet is not that just what is going on 
 to-day with a great majority of the young girls in 
 our land ? 
 
 The moment it is conceded that a delicate body 
 can be made a robust one, that moment it is equal- 
 ly plain that there can be an almost incalculable 
 gain in the comfort and usefulness of the possessor 
 of that body, not only during all the last half of 
 her life, but through the first half as well. And 
 yet, to persons familiar with what judicious, daily 
 physical exercise has done, and can do, for a del- 
 icate body, there is no more doubt but that this 
 later strength, and even sturdiness, can be acquired 
 than that the algebra or geometry, which at first 
 seems impenetrable, can be gradually mastered. 
 The rules which bring success in each are in many 
 respects identical. Begin to give the muscles of 
 the hand and forearm, for instance, as vigorous 
 and assiduous use as these mathematical studies 
 bring to the brain, and the physical grasp will as 
 surely and steadily improve as does the mental. 
 Give not only the delicate girls, but all girls, exer- 
 cises which shall insure strong and shapely limbs, 
 and chests deep, full, and high, beginning these ex- 
 ercises mildly, and progressing very gradually, cor- 
 recting this high shoulder, or that stoop, or this 
 hollow chest, or that overstep, and carrying on this 
 development as long as the school-days last. Let 
 
WILL DAILY EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? -±9 
 
 this be done under a teacher as familiar with her 
 work as the mathematical instructor is with his, 
 and what incalculable benefit would accrue, not to 
 this generation alone, but to their descendants as 
 well! 
 
 But will not this physical training dull the mind 
 for its work? If protracted several hours, or the 
 greater part of each day, as with the German peas- 
 ant-woman in the field, or the Scotch fish- woman 
 with her wares, no doubt it would. But if Mac- 
 laren of Oxford wanted but a little while each day 
 to increase the girth of the chests of a dozen British 
 soldiers three inches apiece in four months, is this 
 very moderate allowance likely to work much men- 
 tal dulness ? Did Charles Dickens's seven to twelve 
 miles afoot daily interfere with some masterly work 
 which his pen produced each day? Did Napole- 
 on's whole days spent in the saddle tell very seri- 
 ously on his mental operations, and prevent him 
 from conceiving and carrying out military and 
 strategic work which will compare favorably with 
 any the world's history tells of ? 
 
 And what if this dailv exercise, beside the bod- 
 ily benefit and improvement which ensues, should 
 also bring actually better mental work? Unbend- 
 ing the bow for a little while, taking the tension 
 from the brain for a few minutes, and depleting it 
 
 by expanding the chest to its fullest capacity, and 
 
 4 
 
50 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 increasing the circulation in the limbs — these, in- 
 stead of impairing that brain, will repair it, and 
 markedly improve its tone and vigor. 
 
 There ought to be in every girls' school in our 
 land, for pupils of every age, a system of physi- 
 cal culture which should first eradicate special 
 weaknesses and defects, and then create and main- 
 tain the symmetry of the pupils, increasing their 
 bodily vigor and strength up to maturity. If sev- 
 eral, or a majority, of the girls in a class have flat 
 or indifferent chests, put them in a squad which 
 shall pay direct and steady attention to raising, ex- 
 panding, and strengthening the chest. If many 
 have a bad gait, some stepping too long, others too 
 short, set them aside for daily special attention to 
 their step. If many, or nearly all, have an inerect 
 carriage, wholly lacking la ligne of Dumas, then 
 daily insist on such exercises for them as shall 
 straighten them up and keep them up. The dan- 
 cing-master teaches the girl to step gracefully and 
 accurately through various dancing-sleps. To in- 
 culcate a correct length of step, and method of put- 
 ting the foot down and raising it in walking, is not 
 nearly so difficult a task. If the "setting-up" 
 drill of the West Pointer in a few weeks trans- 
 forms the raw and ungainly country boy into a 
 youth of erect and military bearing, and insisting 
 on that bearing at all times throughout the first 
 
■ 
 
 WILL DAILY EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? 51 
 
 year gives the cadet a set and carriage which 
 lie often retains through life, is there anything 
 to hinder the girl from acquiring an equally erect 
 and handsome carriage of the body if she too 
 will only use the means ? If the muscles which, 
 when fully developed, enable one to sit or stand 
 erect for hours together are now weak, is it not 
 wise to at once strengthen them ? 
 
 But may not this vigorous muscular exercise, 
 which tends to produce hard and knotted muscles 
 in the man, take away the softer and more grace- 
 ful lines, which are essentially feminine? If exer- 
 cise be kept up for hours together, as in the cage 
 of the blacksmith, undoubtedly it would. But that 
 is a thing a sensible system of exercise would avoid, 
 as studiously as it would the weakness and ineffi- 
 ciency which result from no work. A little trial 
 soon tells what amount of work, and how much of 
 it, is best adapted to each pupil ; then the daily 
 maintaining of that proportion or kind of exercise, 
 and its increase, as the newly-acquired strength 
 justifies and invites it, is all that is required. With- 
 out that hardness and solidity which are essentially 
 masculine, there still comes a firmness and plump- 
 ness of muscle to which the unused arm or back 
 was a stranger. Instead of these being incompat- 
 ible with beauty, they are directly accessory to it. 
 ft Elegance of form in the human figure," says 
 
52 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Emerson, " marks some excellence of structure;" 
 and again, "any real increase of fitness to its 
 end, in any fabric or organism, is an increase of 
 beauty/' 
 
 Look at the famous beauties of. any age, and ev- 
 erything in the picture or statue points to this same 
 firmness and symmetry of make, this freedom from 
 either leanness or flabbiness. The Venuses and 
 Junos, the Minervas, Niobes, and Helens of my- 
 thology, the Madonnas, the mediaeval beauties, all 
 alike have the well-developed and shapely arm and 
 shoulder, the high chest, the vigorous body, and 
 the firm and erect carriage. Were there a thin 
 chest or a flat shoulder, a poor and feeble arm or 
 a contracted waist, it would at once mar the pict- 
 ure, and bring down on it judgment anything but 
 favorable. Put now on the canvas or in marble, 
 not the strongest and most comely, neither the 
 weakest and least-favored, of our American girls 
 or women, but simply her who fairly represents 
 the average, and, however well the face and ex- 
 pression might suffice, the imperfect physical devel- 
 opment, and indifferent figure and carriage, would 
 at once justly provoke unfavorable comment. 
 
 That the same vigorous exercise and training 
 which brought forth womanly physical beauty in 
 ancient days will bring it out now, there need be 
 no manner of doubt. A most apt and excellent 
 
WILL DAILY EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? 53 
 
 case in point was mentioned in the New York 
 Tribune of June 19th, 1878. It said : 
 
 "The study and practice of gymnastics are to 
 be made compulsory in all the State schools in 
 Italy. The apostle of physical culture in that en- 
 ervating climate is Sebastian Fenzi, the son of a 
 Florence banker. He built a gymnasium at his 
 own expense in that city, and from that beginning 
 the movement has extended from city to city. He 
 has preached gymnastics to senators and deputies, 
 to the syndic and municipal councillors, and even 
 to the crown princess, now queen. He especially 
 inculcates its advantages on all mothers of fami- 
 lies^ as likely to increase to a remarkable extent 
 the 'personal charms of their daughters. And so 
 far as his own domestic experience goes, his theo- 
 ries have not been contradicted by practice, for he 
 is the father of the most beautiful women in 
 Italy:' 
 
 Suppose Mr. Durant at Wellesley, or Mr. Cald- 
 well at Yassar, should at once introduce in their 
 deservedly famous schools a system of physical ed- 
 ucation which should proceed on the simple but in- 
 telligent plan, first of training the weaker muscles 
 of each pupil until they are as strong as the rest, 
 and then of transferring the young woman thus 
 physically improved from the class of this or that 
 special work, to that which insures to all muscles 
 
54 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 alike ample, daily vigorous exercise. Suppose that 
 all the girls could be made to consider this daily 
 lesson as much a matter of course in their studies 
 as anything else. Suppose, again, that there is a 
 teacher familiar with the work and all its require- 
 ments, one who is capable of interesting others, 
 one Avho fully enters into the spirit of it. If such 
 a master or mistress can be found, if the pupils 
 are instructed — whether they be sitting, standing, 
 or walking — to always remain erect, is there any 
 reason why the Vassar girls should not soon have as 
 fine and impressive a carriage as the manly young 
 fellows at the academy across the river, but a few 
 miles distant ? 
 
 Looking again at the effect on the mental work, 
 would the daily half-hour of exercise in-doors, and 
 the hour's constitutional out-doors, in all weathers, 
 if sensibly arranged, interfere one whit with all 
 the intellectual progress the girls could or should 
 make ? For, is that a rational system of intellect- 
 ual progress which brings out a bright intellect on 
 a half-developed body, and promises fine things in 
 the future, when the body has had no training ad- 
 equate to justify the belief that there will be much 
 of any future ? Is not that rather a dear price to 
 pay for such intellectuality ? Hear Herbert Spen- 
 cer on this point: 
 
 " On women the effects of this forcing system 
 
WILL DAILY EXERCISE FOR GIRLS PAY? 55 
 
 are, if possible, even more injurious than on men. 
 Being in a great measure debarred from those vig- 
 orous and enjoyable exercises of body by which 
 boys mitigate the evils of excessive study, girls 
 feel these evils in their full intensity. Hence the 
 much smaller proportion of them who grow up 
 well-made and healthy. In the pale, angular, flat- 
 chested young ladies, so abundant in London draw- 
 ing-rooms, we see the effect of merciless applica- 
 tion unrelieved by youthful sports ; and this phys- 
 ical degeneracy exhibited by them hinders their 
 welfare far more than their many accomplishments 
 aid it. Mammas anxious to make their daughters 
 attractive could scarcely choose a course more fatal 
 than this which sacrifices the body to the mind. 
 Either they disregard the tastes of the opposite 
 sex, or else their conception of those tastes is erro- 
 neous. Men care comparatively little for erudi- 
 tion in women, but very much for physical beau- 
 ty and good nature and sound sense. How many 
 conquests does the blue-stocking make through her 
 extensive knowledge of history ?" 
 
 This is a question quite worthy of the consider* 
 ation of every teacher of girls in our land, and a 
 paragraph full of suggestion, not only to every par- 
 ent having a child's interests in his or her keeping, 
 but to every spirited girl herself as well. 
 
 Every school -girl in America could be daily 
 
56 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 practised in a few simple exercises, calling for no 
 costly, intricate, or dangerous apparatus, taking a 
 little time, but yet expanding her lungs, invigo- 
 rating her circulation, strengthening her digestion, 
 giving every muscle and joint of her body vigorous 
 play, and so keeping her toned up, and strong 
 enough to be free from much danger either of in- 
 curring serious disease, or any of the lighter ail- 
 ments so common among us. As to her useful- 
 ness, no matter where her lot is to be cast, it will 
 be increased, and, it is not too much to add, her 
 happiness would be greatly enhanced through all 
 her life as well. 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 57 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 
 
 But if the school-days are past and the girl has 
 become a woman, what then? If the girl, tram- 
 melled by few duties outside of school-hours, has 
 found amusement for herself, yet still needs daily 
 and regular exercise to make and keep her fresh 
 and hearty, much more does the woman, especially 
 in a country like our own, where physical exercise 
 for her sex is almost unknown, require such exer- 
 cise. Our women are born of parents who pride 
 themselves on their mental qualifications, on a 
 good degree of intelligence. Our educational sys- 
 tem is one which offers an endless variety of spurs 
 to continued mental effort. 
 
 Are not the majority of our women to-day, es- 
 pecially in town and city, physically weak ? The 
 writers on nervous disorders speak of the astound- 
 ing increase of such diseases among us, of late 
 years, in both sexes, but especially among the 
 women. General debility is heard of nowadays 
 almost as often as General Grant. Most of our 
 
58 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 women think two miles, or even less, a long dis- 
 tance to walk, even at a dawdling pace, while few 
 of them have really strong chests, backs, or arms. 
 (If they wish to test their arms, for instance, let 
 them grasp a bar or the rung of a ladder, and try 
 to pull themselves np once till the chin touches. 
 Not two in fifty w 7 ill do it, but almost any boy can.) 
 Hardly a day goes by when a woman's strength is 
 not considerably taxed, and often overtaxed. 
 
 There is no calling of the unmarried woman 
 where vigorous health and strength — not great or 
 herculean, but simply such as every well-built and 
 well-developed woman ought to have — would not 
 be of great, almost priceless value to her. The 
 shop-girl, the factory operative, the clerk in the 
 store, the book-keeper, the seamstress, the milliner, 
 the telegraph operator, are all confined, for many 
 hours a day, with exercise for but a few of the 
 muscles, and with the trunk held altogether too 
 long in one position, and that too often a contract- 
 ed and unhealthy one. Actually nothing is done 
 to render the body lithe and supple, to develop the 
 idle muscles, to deepen the breathing and quicken 
 the circulation — in short, to tone up the whole sys- 
 tem. No wonder such a day's work, and such a 
 way of living, leaves the body tired and exhausted. 
 It would, before long, do the same for the strong- 
 est man. No wonder that the walk to and from 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 59 
 
 work is a listless affair. No wonder that, later 
 on, special or general weakness develops, and the 
 woman goes through life either weak and deli- 
 cate, or with not half the strength and vigor •which 
 might readily be hers. 
 
 And is it any better with the married woman ? 
 Take one of limited means. Much of the work 
 about her home which servants might do, could 
 she employ them, she bravely does herself, willing 
 to make ten times this sacrifice, if need be, for 
 those dearest to her. Follow her throughout the 
 day, especially where there are children : there is 
 an almost endless round of duties, many of them 
 not laborious, to be sure, or calling for much 
 muscular strength, but keeping the mind under a 
 strain until they are done, difficult to encompass 
 because difficult to foresee. In the aggregate they 
 are almost numberless. A man can usually tell in 
 the morning most of what is in front of him for 
 the day — indeed, can often plan so as to say before- 
 hand just what he will be at each hour. But not 
 so the housewife and mother of young children. 
 She is constantly called to perform little duties, 
 both expected and unexpected, which cannot fail 
 to tell on a person not strong. A healthy child a 
 year old will often weigh twenty pounds ; yet a 
 woman otherwise weak will carry that child on 
 her left arm several times a day up one or more 
 
60 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 flights of stairs, till you would think she would 
 drop from exhaustion. Let sickness come 3 and she 
 will often seem almost tireless, so devotedly will 
 she keep the child in her arms. While children 
 are, of course, carried less when they begin to walk, 
 many a child two, or even three years old, is pick- 
 ed up by the mother, not a few times a day, even 
 though he weighs thirty or forty pounds instead 
 of twenty. Now for this mother to have handled 
 a dumb-bell of that weight would have been 
 thought foolish and dangerous, for nothing about 
 her suggested strength equal to that performance. 
 And yet the devotion of a weak mother to her 
 child is quite as great as that of a strong one. Is 
 it any wonder that this overdoing of muscles nev- 
 er trained to such work must sooner or later tell ? 
 It would be wonderful if it did not. 
 
 Yet now, suppose that same mother had from 
 early childhood been trained to systematic physi- 
 cal exercise suited to her strength, and increasing 
 with that strength until, from a strong and healthy- 
 child, she grew to be a hearty, vigorous woman, 
 well developed, strong, and comely — what now 
 would she mind carrying the little tot on her 
 arm ? What before soon became heavy and a bur- 
 den — a willing burden though it was — now never 
 seems so at all, and really is no task for such mus- 
 cles as she now has. Instead of her day's work 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 6} 
 
 breaking her down, it is no more than a woman of 
 her vigor needs — indeed, not so much as she needs 
 — to keep her well and strong. 
 
 And, besides escaping the bodily tire and ex- 
 haustion, look at the happiness it brings her in the 
 exhilaration which comes with ruddy health, in the 
 feeling of being easily equal to whatever comes 
 up, in being a stranger to indigestion, to nervous- 
 ness and all its kindred ailments. This vital force, 
 sparing her many of the doubts and fears so com- 
 mon to the weak, but which the strong seldom 
 know, enables her to endure patiently privation, 
 watching, and bereavement. And who is the more 
 likely to live to a ripe old age, the woman who 
 never took suitable and adequate exercise to give 
 her even moderate vitality and strength, or she 
 who, by a judicious and sensible system, suited 
 to her particular needs, has developed such pow- 
 ers? 
 
 But, while this is all well enough for young 
 girls, is it not too late for full-grown women to 
 attempt to get the same benefits ? The girl was 
 young and plastic, and, with proper care, could be 
 moulded in almost any way; but the woman al- 
 ready has her make and set, and these cannot read- 
 ily be changed. Perhaps not quite so readily, but 
 actual trial will show that the difficulty is largely 
 imaginary. To many, indeed to most women, the 
 
G2 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 idea is absolutely new, and they never supposed 
 such change possible. Bryant, beginning at forty, 
 made exercise pay wonderfully. Bear in mind 
 how, with a few minutes a day, Maclaren enlarged 
 and strengthened men thirty years old ; that, out 
 of his class of over a hundred, the greatest gain 
 was in the oldest man in it, and lie was thirty-live. 
 Let ns look at what one or two women have man- 
 aged to effect by systematic and thorough bodily 
 training. In "The Coming Man" Charles Reade 
 says (p. 50), "Nathalie, a French gymnast, and 
 not a woman of extraordinary build, can take two 
 fifty -six -pound weights from the ground, one in 
 each hand, and put them slowly above her head." 
 She has "a sister who goes up the slack -rope. 
 Farini saw her pitted against twenty sailors, The 
 sailors had a slack-rope ; she had another. A sail- 
 or went up as far as he could ; the gymnast went 
 as high on her rope at the same time. Sailor came 
 down tired, the lady fresh. Another sailor went 
 up, the lady ditto; and so on. She wore out the 
 whole tiventy, having gone up an aggregate of feet 
 higher than St. Peter's Church at Rome. This 
 feat is due to great strength, complete either-hand- 
 edness, and the athlete's power of pinching a rope 
 witli the sinews of the lower limbs." 
 
 But is this great and unusual strength, especially 
 of the arms, desirable in most women ? Not at all ; 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 63 
 
 but that is not the point. When Farini says that 
 the first step toward making one a skilled gym- 
 nast or acrobat is to bring up the weak arm, and 
 shoulder, and side — usually the left — until equally 
 strong with its, till now, superior mate, and that he 
 is constantly doing that, he is doing more by far 
 than would be needed to make most women, not 
 as strong as acrobats and performers, but — a far 
 more important matter — reasonably and comforta- 
 bly so, sufficiently to keep nervous disorders away, 
 to enable them to be far better equal to the daily 
 duties, and to spend life with an appreciation and 
 zest too often unknown by the weak woman ; final- 
 lj', to preserve for a woman the bloom and healthy 
 look which once in a while she sees, even in a 
 woman of advanced years, and which would be her 
 own did she use the means to have it. 
 
 And what should a woman do to get this health 
 and strength and bloom ? Just what is done by 
 the young girl. Indeed, there are a hundred exer- 
 cises, almost any of which, faithfully followed up, 
 would help directly to bring the desired result. 
 With her, as with girl or man or boy, the first 
 thing is to symmetrize, to bring up the weaker 
 muscles by special effort, calling them at once into 
 vigorous action, and to restore to its proper posi- 
 tion the shoulder, back, or chest, which has been so 
 long allowed to remain out of place. The sym- 
 
64 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 metry once gained, then equal work for all the 
 muscles, taken daily, and in such quantities as are 
 found to suit best. 
 
 The variety of exercises open to woman, espe- 
 cially out-of-doors, is almost as great as to man. 
 Every one knows some graceful horsewoman, and 
 it is a pity there were not a hundred where there 
 is one. One of the most expert of our acquaint- 
 ance is the mother of one of the most gifted meta- 
 physicians in the land, and he already is a middle- 
 aged man. There are a few ladies in this country, 
 and a good many in England, who think nothing 
 of a five or six mile walk daily, and an occasional 
 one of twice that length. Once in a while a mar- 
 ried woman here will do some long-distance skat- 
 ing. In Holland, in the season, it is with manv an 
 every-day affair. Some of the best swimmers and 
 floaters at the watering-places are women, and they 
 certainly do not look much troubled with nervous- 
 ness. More than one woman has distinguished 
 herself in Alpine climbing. The writer once saw 
 a woman, apparently about twenty- eight, a hand- 
 some, vigorous, rosy Englishwoman, row her father 
 from Putney to Mortlake, on the Thames, a dis- 
 tance of four miles and three furlongs, not at rac- 
 ing pace, to be sure, but at a lively speed. The 
 measured precision of that lady's stroke, the stately 
 poise of the body and head, and the clean, neat, and 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 65 
 
 effective feathering, would have done credit to an 
 old Oxford oar. 
 
 What woman has done, woman may do. Bind 
 one arm in a sling, and keep it utterly idle for a 
 month, and meanwhile ply the other busily with 
 heavy work, such as swinging a hammer, axe, or 
 dumb-bell, and is it hard to say which will be the 
 healthier, the plumper, the stronger — the live arm, 
 at the end of the month? And will this only ap- 
 ply to men's arms, and not to women's? Who 
 has usually the stronger, and almost generally the 
 shapelier arm — the woman who, surrounded with 
 servants, takes her royal ease, and has American 
 notions and ways of exercise, or the busy maid in 
 her kitchen ? If the latter's arm is large, yet not 
 well-proportioned, it simply means that some of 
 its muscles have been used far more than the 
 others. 
 
 Now, to her who understands what exercises will 
 develop each of the muscles of that arm, and who 
 can tell at sight which are fully developed or de- 
 veloped at all, and which are not, it is eas} 7 to bring 
 up the backward ones, and so secure the symmetry 
 and the consequent general strength. The same 
 rule holds good of all the other muscles, as well as 
 those of the arm. 
 
 Plenty of active out-door work will go far to- 
 ward securing health. But it will only develop 
 
 5 
 
66 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 the parts brought into play, and there ought to be 
 exercise for all. 
 
 Now what daily work, and how much of it, will 
 secure this symmetry, erectness, and strength, sup- 
 posing that, at the outset, there is no organic de- 
 fect, but that the woman is simply weak both in 
 her muscular and in her vital systems? In the 
 first place, let it be understood that the connection 
 between these systems is intimate, and that the ju- 
 dicious building and strengthening of the former, 
 and the keeping up that strength by sensible daily 
 exercise, tells directly on the latter. Vigorous mus- 
 cular exercise, properly taken, enlarges the respira- 
 tion, quickens the circulation, improves the diges- 
 tion, the working, in fact, of all the vital parts. 
 Dr. Mitchell says it is the very thing also to quiet 
 the excited nerves and brain. 
 
 The amount of that exercise daily depends on 
 the present strength of the woman. If she is 
 weak generally, for the first fortnight the exer- 
 cise, while general enough to bring all the mus- 
 cles into play, must be light and easy. Then, as 
 a little strength is gained, the work advances ac- 
 cordingly. If partially strong at first, invariably 
 the first thing to do is to adapt the exercise main- 
 ly to the weaker muscles till they catch up. 
 
 Suppose the right arm is stronger than the left, 
 as frequently happens, because it has had more to 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 67 
 
 do. For the first month— or, if necessary, for the 
 first two months — let the left arm have nearly all 
 the exercise, and that exercise as vigorous as it can 
 comfortably take. Then, when it is found that it 
 can lift or carry as heavy a weight, and pull or 
 push as hard as the right, keep at it, by means of 
 exercise, until both arms can do the same amount 
 of work, and are equal. But suppose the arms are 
 already equally strong, or, rather, equally weak — 
 that both the back and chest are small ; that is, 
 not so large or well-proportioned as they should be 
 in a well-built woman of a certain height — then 
 all that is necessary is to select work especially 
 adapted to strengthen the back, and other work 
 telling directly on the chest. For the first fort- 
 night very mild efforts should be made, and the 
 advance should be gradual, taking great care never 
 once to overdo it. Let the advance be made a3 
 the newly-acquired strength justifies and encour- 
 ages it. What particular exercises will effect the 
 strengthening and development of any given mus- 
 cles will be pointed out in the chapter on Special 
 Exercise, at the latter part of this book. 
 
 How about the length of time this daily ex- 
 ercising will take ? It is all easy enough for the 
 rich,w T hose time is their owm, and w r ho could spare 
 four or five hours a day if necessary ; but how is 
 the woman to manage it who must work from 
 
68 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 seven to six, or even far into the evening as well? 
 She can hardly get time to read about horseback 
 riding and Alpine climbing, much less take part in 
 them. Well, it is a poor system which cannot suit 
 nearly all cases. The woman who works steadily 
 from early morning till well into the night, espe- 
 cially at employment at all sedentary and confin- 
 ing, is undergoing a test and a hardship which will 
 certainly call for a strong constitution, good condi- 
 tion, and a brave spirit as well, or the strain will 
 surely break her down, and bring to her perma- 
 nent weakness. If so many hours must be spent 
 in labor, then let her secure ten or fifteen minutes, 
 upon rising, for a series of exercises in her room. 
 At the dinner-hour, again at supper-time, and once 
 about mid- morning, and again at mid -afternoon, 
 three or five minutes could generally be spared for 
 a few brisk exercises calculated to limber and call 
 into vigorous action the back, and many of the 
 muscles so long held almost motionless until they 
 stiffen from it. If there is a whole hour at dinner- 
 time, and half of it could be spent in walking, if 
 possible with a cheerful and energetic companion, 
 who would make her forget the dull routine of her 
 day — not dawdling, aimless walking, but stepping 
 out as if she meant it, with a spring and energy 
 which quickens the pulse, driving the morning's 
 thoughts out of the mind, scattering low spirits to 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 69 
 
 the winds — it would bring a pleasant feeling of 
 recreation and change. The benefit to be derived 
 from such a walk would be immediate and marked. 
 
 Is this asking: much? A mile and a half could 
 easily be covered in that time, and, by a strong 
 walker, even two, while the dinner would taste 
 twice as good for the exercise. Another mile, or 
 even half a mile, might be walked at supper-time, 
 the pace always being kept up. If the confine- 
 ment is so close as not to permit even these few 
 snatches of time for a little recreation, never mind. 
 Do not give it up yet. The ten minutes on rising 
 were made sure of anyhow.* Yes, another chance 
 remains. When at last the work is over, even 
 though it is time to retire, get out-of-doors for 
 half an hour's smart walk with brother or friend, 
 and see how refreshing it will prove. The jaded 
 body will almost forget its tire, and the sleep which 
 follows, while it may not be quite as long as be- 
 fore, will make up in quality, and the new day 
 will find a far fresher woman, one better up to 
 her duties, than if no exercise had been taken. 
 
 To her who does not labor so long, but has her 
 evenings to herself, unless already broken by dis- 
 ease, there need be no trouble about getting strong 
 
 * See (page 169) how Mr. Bryant used those morning minutes, 
 and how well he was repaid for it, too ! 
 
70 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 and healthy. Let her do the little exercise above 
 mentioned till evening ; then, first eating a hearty 
 supper, beginning with such distance as she can 
 walk easily, add to the distance gradually, until 
 she finds herself equal to four or five miles at a 
 smart pace for her — say three and a half miles to 
 the hour. (The professional masculine pedestrians 
 do eight miles an hour, to be sure ; but Miss Von 
 Hillern, for instance, is good for about six.) This, 
 taken either every evening, or, say, four evenings 
 a week, will soon give tone, and make the woman 
 feel strong instead of weak, will enable her to 
 digest what she eats, and will visibly improve her 
 appetite. Let her give five or ten minutes for ex- 
 ercising the arms and chest before retiring, and 
 she has had abundant exercise for that day, while 
 any trouble she has had in the past about sleep- 
 ing is at an end. 
 
 But sufficient as the evening walk is, of course 
 if it can be had in daylight and in the sunshine, 
 it is all the better. Few mothers are so placed 
 that they cannot each day, by good management, 
 get an hour for the care of their health. Let them 
 be sure to take a quick, lively walk for the whole 
 time, not with arms held motionless, but swinging 
 easily as men's do — of course, for the first month 
 taking less distances, but working steadily on 
 They will be astonished at the very gratifying dif- 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 71 
 
 ference in the result between it and the old list- 
 less walk, and how much easier the day's duties 
 come now. 
 
 But there is one class of women who are espe- 
 cially favored — a large class too, in our land — the 
 daughters of parents so well to do that, between 
 their graduation from school and the -day they are 
 married, their time is practically their own. If 
 weak at the start, let them, after gradual exercise 
 begins to make them stronger, take more besides 
 the few minutes at rising and retiring, and the 
 hearty constitutional afoot. If their walking is 
 done in the afternoon, let them set apart half an 
 hour in the latter part of the morning (if possible, 
 with another girl similarly placed) for work which 
 shall strengthen the arms and the whole trunk. 
 If there is a good gymnasium convenient — espe- 
 cially if it has a teacher of the right stamp — there 
 will be the best place for this work. But if not, a 
 little home gymnasium like that suggested later in 
 the chapter on that subject, and which every girl 
 ought to have, would be the place. Very soon 
 this extra work will tell. Look what the four 
 hours a week, just with two-pound wooden dumb- 
 bells, very light Indian clubs, and light pulley- 
 weights, did for a youth of nineteen in one year !* 
 
 * See page 147. 
 
72 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 An increase of an inch in height, of one and a 
 half around the upper arm, of three and a half- 
 inches in the girth of the chest, of fifteen pounds 
 in weight — would not these work marked changes 
 in any young woman, and would they not nearly 
 always be most desirable changes? It is not a 
 matter of inches and pounds alone. This increase 
 of girth and weight is almost sure to tell most 
 beneficially on the health and spirits as well — in 
 short, on the general vigor. 
 
 If, with the increase in size and strength, care 
 has been taken to practise special exercises to make 
 and keep her erect, to at all times, whether sitting, 
 standing, or walking, hold the head and neck 
 where they should be, there is not much doubt but 
 that, even in one short year, the difference in any 
 girl, not strong or straight at the beginning, will 
 be very marked. It really lies with young women 
 of this class to make themselves physically — in 
 proportion to their height — what they will. 
 
 Is there any need of pointing out to a spirited 
 girl the value of a sound, healthy, and shapely 
 body ? Is there any sphere in woman's life where 
 it will not stand her in good stead, and render her 
 far more efficient at whatever she is called on to 
 do — as daughter, sister, wife or mother, teacher 
 or friend? Nor is the benefit limited even to her 
 own lifetime, but her posterity are. blessed by it 
 
IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN? 73 
 
 as well. Would she like to have inherited con- 
 sumptive tendencies, for instance, from her parent? 
 Will her children like any better to inherit the same 
 from her? In our Christian lands, we find, if his- 
 tory be correct, that the great men have almost 
 invariably had remarkable mothers, while their fa- 
 thers were as often nothing unusual. The Sand- 
 wich Island proverb, " If strong be the frame of 
 the mother, her sons will make laws for the peo- 
 ple," suggests truths that will hold good in many 
 other places besides the Sandwich Islands. Let 
 every intelligent girl and woman in this land bear 
 in mind that, from every point of view, a vigorous 
 and healthy body, kept toned up by rational, sys- 
 tematic, daily exercise, is one of the very greatest 
 blessings which can be had in this world ; that 
 many persons spend tens of thousands of dollars 
 in trying to regain even a part of this blessing 
 when once they have lost it ; that the means of get- 
 ting it are easily within the reach of all, who are 
 not already broken by disease ; that it is never too 
 late to begin, and that one hour a day, properly 
 spent, is all that is needed to secure it. 
 
71 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 
 
 The advantages to men of a well-built body, 
 kept in thorough repair, are very great. Those of 
 every class, whose occupation is sedentary, soon 
 come to appreciate this. Some part of the ma- 
 chinery gets out of order. It may be the head, or 
 eyes, or throat; it may be the lungs or stomach, 
 liver or kidneys. Something does not go right. 
 There is a clogging, a lack of complete.action, and 
 often positive pain. This physical clogging tells 
 at once on the mental work, either making its ac- 
 complishinent uncomfortable and an effort, or be- 
 coming so bad as to actually prevent work at all. 
 It mav make the man ill. There is very little 
 doubt but that a large majority of ailments would 
 be removed, or, rather, would never have come at 
 all, had the lungs and also the muscles of the man 
 had vigorous daily action to the extent that fre- 
 quent trial had shown best suited to that man's 
 wants. One of the quickest known ways of dis- 
 pelling a headache is to give some of the muscles, 
 those of the legs, for instance, a little, hard, sharp 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 75 
 
 work to do. The reason is obvious. Dr. Mitchell 
 puts it well when he says that muscular exercise 
 flushes the parts engaged in it, and so depletes the 
 brain. 
 
 But fortunately that same exercise also helps 
 make better blood, gets the entire lungs into ac- 
 tion, quickens the activity of the other vital or- 
 gans, and so tones up the whole man, that, if the 
 exercise is taken daily and is kept up, disorder, 
 unless very deep-seated, disappears. 
 
 It is well known that when the system, from 
 any cause, gets run down, disease is more likely to 
 enter, and slower at being shaken off. Thousands 
 and hundreds of thousands of men and women 
 have hard work, mental strain, fret and anxiety, 
 daily, and for years together — indeed, scarcely do 
 anything to lighten the tension in this direction. 
 They tell you they are subject to headache or dys- 
 pepsia, or other disorder, as if it was out of the 
 question to think of preventing it. But had the 
 work been so arranged, as it nearly always could 
 be — far oftener than most persons think — to se- 
 cure daily an hour for vigorous muscular exercise 
 for all the parts, this running down would, in most 
 instances, never come. The sharp, hot work, till 
 the muscles are healthily tired, insures the good 
 digestion, the cleared brain, the sound sleep, the 
 buoyant spirits. 
 
76 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 The president of one of the largest banks in 
 this country told the writer that, disappointed one 
 summer in not getting a run to Europe, reflection 
 told hi in that one marked benefit such jaunts had 
 brought him was from the increased sleep he was 
 enabled to get, that thereupon he determined on 
 longer sleeps at home. He got them, and found, 
 as he well put it, that he could " fight better." Be- 
 set all day long with men wanting heavy loans, 
 that fighting tone, that ability to say "no" at the 
 right time and in a way which showed he meant 
 it, must have not only added to his own well-being, 
 but to the bank's protection as well. 
 
 Again, many men are liable to occasionally have 
 sudden and very protracted spells of head-work, 
 where sleep and almost everything else must give 
 way, so that the business in hand may be gotten 
 through with. " Tom Brown" told the writer that, 
 when in Parliament, he could work through a whole 
 week together on but four hours of sleep a night, 
 and be none the worse for it, provided he could 
 have all he wanted the next week, and that since 
 he was twenty -five he had hardly known a sick 
 day. 
 
 A father, tired from his day of busy toil, may 
 have a sick child, who for much of the night will 
 not let him sleep. Such taxes as this, coming to 
 one already run down and w T eak, cannot be braved 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 77 
 
 frequently with impunity. Unless the five or six 
 miles a day of Tom Brown and his fellow-English- 
 men's " constitutional," or some equivalent, is re- 
 sorted to, and the man kept well toned-tip, one of 
 these sudden calls may prove too severe, and do 
 serious if not fatal injury. This toning-up is not 
 all. If the bodily exercise is such as to get all the 
 muscles strong, and keep them so, the very work 
 that would otherwise overdo and exhaust now has 
 no such effect, but is gone through with spirit 
 and ease. There is that consciousness of strength 
 which is equal to all such trifles. 
 
 The very nervousness and worry which used to 
 be so wearing, at the sudden and ceaseless calls of 
 the day, have gone, and for the reason that strong 
 nerves and strong muscles are very liable to go to- 
 gether, and not to mind these things. What does 
 the athlete at the top of his condition know about 
 nervousness? He is blithe as a lark all the day 
 long. 
 
 Dr. Mitchell says : " The man who lives an out- 
 door life — who sleeps with the stars visible above 
 him, who wins his bodily subsistence at first-hand 
 from the earth and waters — is a beins; who defies 
 rain and sun, has a strange sense of elastic strength, 
 may drink if he likes, and may smoke all day long, 
 and feel none the worse for it. Some such return 
 to the earth for the means of life is what gives 
 
78 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 vigor and developing power to the colonists of an 
 older race cast on a land like ours. A few gen- 
 erations of men living in such fashion store up 
 a capital of vitality which accounts largely for the 
 prodigal activity displayed by their descendants, 
 and made possible only by the sturdy contest with 
 nature which their ancestors have waged. That 
 such a life is still led by multitudes of our coun- 
 trymen is what alone serves to keep up our pris- 
 tine force and energy." 
 
 Now, while this extreme hardiness and tone 
 cannot be had by a person who has twelve hours 
 of busy brain-work daily in -doors, and only one 
 of bodily exercise, still, much can be done, quite 
 enough to calm and tranquillize, and to carry easily 
 over those passes which used to be dreaded. 
 
 If the man who habitually works too long with- 
 out a rest would every hour or so turn lightly 
 from his work, for even sixty seconds, to some vig- 
 orous exercise right in his office, or even in the 
 next room or hall-way, until the blood got out of 
 his brain a little, and the muscles tingled with a 
 hearty glow, he would go back so refreshed as ,o 
 quickly make up, both in the quantity and quality 
 of his work, for the time lost. When his hour for 
 exercise came, instead of having no heart for it, he 
 would spring to it with alacrity, like the school-boy 
 does to his play. 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 79 
 
 Even if the strong man does occasionally be- 
 come jaded, he knows, as Hughes did, how to get 
 back his strength and snap, and that a tired man 
 is many removes from a tired-out one. There is 
 a great deal in knowing whether your work is 
 overdoing you or simply tiring you. One of the 
 strongest and best oarsmen Harvard ever had, used, 
 at first, to think he ought to stop rowing when he 
 began to perspire, and was quite astounded when 
 an older man told him that that was only the be- 
 ffinnins: of the real work. There is no end of 
 comfort to a tired man, either mentally or physi- 
 cally, in the thought that sure relief is near. 
 
 Again, this relief by physical exercise will en- 
 courage the man to hope that, if war or accident 
 do not cut him down, he may look for a long 
 life, no matter how great may be the occasional 
 strain. Few men, for instance, familiar with the 
 life of the Duke of Wellington will claim that 
 they are better workers than he was, or that they 
 get through more in a day or year, or that, heavy 
 as their responsibilities may be, they surpass or 
 even equal those which were his for years together. 
 Yet all the terrible mental strain this illustrious 
 man underwent, battling with one of the greatest 
 captains this w r orld ever saw, all the exposure and 
 forced marching, privation and toil, which come to 
 the faithful soldier, and to him who holds the lives 
 
80 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 of multitudes in his hands, this man knew, and yet 
 so controlled his work, exacting as it all was, as 
 to manage to keep his body superior to all it was 
 called on to do, and his mind in constant working 
 order, and this not merely up to threescore and 
 ten, but to fourscore good years, and three more 
 besides. Did not the vigorous body at the start, 
 and the daily attention to it, pay him? 
 
 Will it be claimed that the president of one of 
 the best-known corporations on this continent did 
 any more work than Wellington ? That president 
 was at it all day, and far into the night, and 
 when away in Europe, nominally on a play-spell, 
 as well. Naturally, he was a strong, energetic 
 man ; but he had so worked, and so neglected his 
 body, that he died at fifty-two. Which of the two 
 men showed the better sense ? 
 
 What does cutting one's self down at fifty-two 
 mean? Five minutes' reflection should tell any 
 reasonable person that the man was overworking 
 himself, and going at a pace no man could hold 
 and live. Does not this show a lack of sense, and 
 especially when much of that work could certainly 
 
 have been done bv subordinates? Was not one of 
 
 t/ 
 
 Daniel Webster's best points his skill in getting 
 work done by others, and saving for himself the 
 parts he liked best? 
 
 When, after long years of toil and perseverance, 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 81 
 
 one lias worked himself up to position and wide 
 influence, is it sensible to do what his humblest 
 employe could rightly tell him is overcrowding, 
 and so forcing the pace that he certainly cannot 
 hold it? Instead of taking that position and that 
 influence and wielding them for greater ends, and 
 improving them very markedly, must there not be 
 a keen pang to their owner when, tantalized with 
 what seems surely within his grasp, that grasp it- 
 self weakens, and the machine goes all to pieces ? 
 
 These later years are especially the precious 
 ones to the wealthy man. They are his best days. 
 Then his savings, and his earnings too, accumu- 
 late as they did not when he was younger. Look 
 at the w r ork done by Vanderbilt, for example, ac- 
 complished almost thirty years after he was fifty- 
 two! Did not the active out-door life on the little 
 periauger of his youth, and the daily constitution- 
 als which, notwithstanding his infirmities, all Xew 
 Yorkers saw him taking in later life, pay him ? 
 And are they less precious in any other line of 
 life? 
 
 Look for a moment at the value health is to a 
 man in any of the learned professions — of having 
 a sound and vigorous bod} 7 , with each branch o£ 
 his vital system working regularly, naturally, and 
 in harmony with the rest. Do these things make 
 
 no difference to the divine ? Had the sturdy, prize- 
 
 a 
 
82 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC. 
 
 fighter make of Martin Luther nothing to do with 
 his contempt for the dangers awaiting his appear- 
 ance before Charles V. and his Diet of Worms, and 
 which caused him to say he would go there though 
 the devils were as thick as the tiles on the houses; 
 and with the grand stand he made for the religious 
 light which now shines so freely upon the whole 
 Christian world? 
 
 Thomas Guthrie, first tying one hand behind 
 him, with the other could whip any man in Ox- 
 ford who would also fight one-handed. Who 
 doubts that the vigor so evinced had much to do 
 with the faithful, arduous life's work he did, and 
 did so well that all Scotland is to-day justly proud 
 of him ? 
 
 Have the magnificent breadth and depth of 
 Spurgeon's chest, and his splendid outfit of vital 
 organs, no connection with his great power and 
 influence as a preacher of world-wide renown? 
 Have the splendid physique and abounding vi- 
 tality of Henry Ward Beecher — greater almost 
 than that of any man in a hundred thousand — - 
 nothing to do with his ability to attend to his du- 
 ties as pastor, author, lecturer, and editor — work 
 enough to kill half a dozen ordinary men — and 
 with the tireless industry which must precede his 
 marked success in them all? Are not the tower- 
 ing form, the ruddy health, and grand, manly vigor 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 83 
 
 of Dr. John Hall weighty elements, first in putting 
 together, and then in driving home, the honest, 
 earnest, fearless words which all remember who 
 ever heard him speak ? Have not the great bodies 
 of those two young giants of the American pulpit, 
 Phillips Brooks and Joseph Cook, proved most 
 valuable accessories to their great brains ? 
 
 Is there anything feeble about any of these? 
 Put the tape-measure around them anywhere you 
 like, and see how generous nature has been with 
 them. Is it all a mere chance that they happen 
 to have splendid bodies? "Why is it that we nev- 
 er hear of such as these having " ministers' sore 
 throat," and " blue Mondays," and having to be 
 sent by their congregations, every now and then, 
 away to a foreign land to recruit their health and 
 keep them up to their work? Do sound and stur- 
 dy bodies, and due attention daily to keeping them 
 in good repair, have nothing to do with their abil- 
 ity to cope at all times with the duty lying next to 
 them — and with their attention to it, too, in such a 
 way as to make them so much more effective than 
 other men in their great life's work? 
 
 That the physician himself needs sound health 
 and plentiful strength, few will question; and yet, 
 does he, from his calling alone, do anything to in- 
 sure it? Dragged from his bed at all hours of the 
 night, thrown daily, almost hourly, in contact with 
 
84 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 deadly disease — often so contagious that others 
 shrink from going where he goes, like the brave 
 man he must be to face such dangers — would not 
 that general toned-up condition of the thoroughly 
 sound and healthy man prove a most valuable boon 
 to him — indeed, often save his life ? And yet, does 
 his daily occupation insure him that boon, even 
 though it does enable him to get out-of-doors far 
 more than most men who earn their living by 
 mental labor? Witness one of their own number, 
 Dr. Mitchell, on this point ; for he says, " The doc- 
 tor, who is supposed to get a large share of exer- 
 cise, in reality gets very little after he grows too 
 busy to walk, and has then only the incidental ex- 
 posure to out- door air." Would not a sensible 
 course of physical exercise daily pay him — espe- 
 cially when pretty much all the muscular work he 
 gets of any account is for his forearms and a little 
 of his back, and then only when he drives a hard- 
 bitted horse? 
 
 And does not a lawyer need a good body, and 
 one kept in good order ? After the first few years, 
 when his practice is once well established, he finds 
 that, unlike men in most other callings, his even- 
 ings are not his own, and that, if he is going to 
 read any law, and to attempt to keep up with the 
 new decisions every year, even in his own State, 
 what between court work, the preparation of his 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 85 
 
 cases, drawing papers, consultation, correspondence, 
 and the other matters which fill up the daily. round 
 of the lawyer in active practice, that reading w T ill 
 have to be done out of office-hours often, or not 
 done at all. Even in his evenings his business is 
 too pressing to allow any time for reading. Here, 
 then, is a man who is in serious danger of being 
 cut off from that rest and recreation which most 
 other men can have. The long, steady strain, day 
 and evening, often breaks him down, where an 
 hour's active exercise daily on the road or on the 
 water, with his business for the time scrupulously 
 forgotten, together with from a quarter to half an 
 hour, on rising and retiring, in strengthening his 
 arms and chest, would have kept him as tough and 
 fresh as they did Bryant, not simply up to sixty, 
 or even seventy, but clear up to his eighty-fourth 
 year. Every lawyer w T ho has been in active prac- 
 tice in any of our large cities for a dozen years 
 can point to members of his Bar who have either 
 broken clean down, and gone to a premature grave 
 from neglecting their bodily health, or who are 
 now far on the road in that same direction. This 
 happens notwithstanding the fact that in many 
 places the courts do not sit once during the whole 
 summer, and lawyers can hence get longer vaca- 
 tions and go farther from home than most men. 
 Let any one read the life of Rufus Choate, and 
 
86 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 say whether there was any need of his dying an 
 old man at fifty-five. He started not with a w T eak 
 body, but one decidedly strong. So little care did 
 lie take of it that, as he himself well put it, "lat- 
 terly he hadn't much of any constitution, but sim- 
 ply lived under the by-laws." Did it hinder his 
 distinguished compeer, Daniel Webster, from mag- 
 nificent success at the bar because he took many 
 a good play-spell with a fishing-rod in his hand? 
 because he not only knew but regarded the ad- 
 vantage and wisdom of keeping his body toned-up 
 and hearty, and so regarded it that he died, not 
 at fifty-five, but at the end of the full threescore 
 years and ten? And did grand physical presence, 
 the most impressive which ever graced American 
 forum or senate-chamber — so striking, in fact, that, 
 as he walked the streets of Liverpool, the laboring 
 men stopped work and backed their admiring gaze 
 by concluding that he must be a king — aid these 
 qualities not contribute to that same magnificent 
 success? Daniel O'Connell was a man of sturdier 
 body even than Webster, of whom Wendell Phil- 
 lips says: "He was the greatest orator that ever 
 spoke English. A little O'Connell would have 
 been no O'Connell. Every attitude was beauty, 
 every gesture grace. There was a magnetism that 
 melted every will into his." 
 
 Had not this wonderful man much to thank 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 87 
 
 these same qualities for? Had they not some- 
 thing to do with the stretching of his vigorous life, 
 not merely up to fifty-five, or even to seventy, but 
 clear up to seventy -three? How many men has 
 the w T orld ever seen w T ho filled, and well filled, more 
 high offices than Henry Brougham, and who, no 
 matter where he was, was always a tireless worker? 
 One biographer says that, as a boy, he was the 
 fleetest runner in the neighborhood, and this man, 
 "as an orator, second in his time only to Canning;" 
 this man, who once spoke in Parliament for sev- 
 en days consecutively, who, even when upward of 
 seventy, showed his zeal for reform by urging the 
 introduction into England of the New York Code 
 of Procedure — this one of England's most famous 
 Lord Chancellors took such care of his body that 
 ho never ceased from his labors until he was eigh- 
 ty-nine. 
 
 Let us look at but one more instance of the way 
 a powerful mind and an uncommonly strong body 
 blend and aid their possessor to his purposes. A re- 
 cent writer in " Blackwood" says of Bismarck : "He 
 is a powerful man. That is what strikes at once 
 every one who sees him for the first time. He is 
 very tall and of enormous weight, but not ungain- 
 ly. Every part of his gigantic frame is well-pro- 
 portioned — the large round head, the massive neck, 
 the broad shoulders, and the vigorous limbs. He is 
 
88 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 now more than sixty-three, and the burden he has 
 had to bear has been usually heavy ; but though 
 his step has become slow and ponderous, he carries 
 his head high — looking down, even, on those who 
 are as tall as himself — and his figure is still erect. 
 During these latter years he has suffered frequent 
 and severe bodily pain, but no one could look upon 
 him as an old man, or as one to be pitied. On the 
 contrary, everybody who sees him feels that Prince 
 Bismarck is still in possession of immense physi- 
 cal power" 
 
 And what holds good as to professional men in 
 this respect of course will apply with equal force 
 to busy brain-workers in any other line as well. 
 It is nowhere claimed here that there have not 
 been in many callings great men whose bodies 
 were indifferent affairs, but endeavor has been 
 made to show, not only that a great mind and a 
 vigorous body can go together, but that the latter 
 is, not to the man of unusual mental power alone, 
 but to every man, a most valuable acquisition, and 
 one tli at he should, if he does not possess it al- 
 ready, take prompt steps to secure, and then, once 
 acquiring it, should use the means, as Bryant did, 
 to retain it. 
 
 In the lS77-'78 annual report of Harvard Col- 
 lege, President Eliot, who has been exceptionally 
 well -placed to observe several thousand young 
 
WHY MEN SHOULD EXERCISE DAILY. 89 
 
 men, and to know what helps and what hinders 
 their intellectual progress, adds his valuable testi- 
 mony to the importance of vigorous health and 
 regular physical exercise to all who have, or ex- 
 pect to have, steady and severe mental work to do. 
 Busy professional men may well heed his words. 
 Speaking of the value of scholarships to poor but 
 deserving young men, he says : " If sound health 
 were one of the requisitions for the enjoyment of 
 scholarships, parents who expected to need aid in 
 educating their boys would have their attention 
 directed in an effective way to the wise regimen 
 of health ; while young men who had their own 
 education to get would see that it was only pru- 
 dent for them to secure a wholesome diet, plenty 
 of fresh air, and regular exercise. A singular 
 notion prevails, especially in the country, that it is 
 the feeble, sickly children who should be sent to 
 school and college, since they are apparently unfit 
 for hard work. The fact that, in the history of 
 literature, a few cases can be pointed out in which 
 genius was lodged in a weak or diseased body, is 
 sometimes adduced in support of the strange prop- 
 osition that physical vigor is not necessary for 
 professional men. But all experience contradicts 
 these notions. To attain success and length of 
 service in any of the learned professions, includ- 
 ing that of teaching, a vigorous body is well-nigh 
 
90 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 essential. A busy lawyer, editor, minister, physi- 
 cian, or teacher has need of greater physical en- 
 durance than a fanner, trader, manufacturer, or 
 mechanic. All professional biography teaches that 
 to win lasting distinction in sedentary r , in-door 
 occupations, which task the brain and the ner- 
 vous system, extraordinary toughness of body must 
 accompany extraordinary mental powers" 
 
HOME GYMNASIUMS. 91 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOME GYMNASIUMS. 
 
 All that people need for their daily in-door ex- 
 ercises is a few pieces of apparatus which are fort- 
 unately so simple and inexpensive as to be within 
 the reach of most persons. Buy two pitchfork 
 handles at the agricultural store. Cut off enough 
 of one of them to leave the main piece a quarter 
 of an inch shorter than the distance between the 
 jambs of your bedroom door, and square the ends. 
 On each of these jambs fasten two stout hard- wood 
 cleats, so slotted that the squared ends of the 
 bar shall lit in snugly enough not to turn. Let 
 the two lower cleats be directly opposite each oth- 
 er, and about as high as your shoulder; the other 
 two also opposite each other, and as high above 
 the head as you can comfortably reach. 
 
 Again, bore into the jamb, at about the height 
 of your waist, a hole as large as the bar is thick. 
 Now work the auger farther into each hole, till it 
 reaches the first piece of studding, and then an 
 inch or so into that. Find how many inches it is 
 from the jamb to the end of the bore in the stud- 
 
92 
 
 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 
 Fia:. 3. 
 
HOME GYMNASIUMS. 93 
 
 dins:, and cut the second fork handle in halves. 
 Pass one half through the hole in the jamb, and 
 Bet its end into the hole in the studding. Bore a 
 similar hole in the other jamb directly opposite, 
 and repeat the last-named process with its nearest 
 studding-piece, and adjust remainder of the fork 
 handle to it. Now cut enough off each piece of 
 the handle to leave the distance between the two 
 about eighteen inches. You have then provided 
 yourself with a pair of bars on which you can 
 try one of the exercises usually practised on the 
 parallel bars, and that one worth almost as much 
 as all the rest. (See Fig. 3.) 
 
 On the following page is a sketch of a pair of 
 pulley- weights recently made, designed by Dr. Sar- 
 gent, which are excellent. Their merits will be seen 
 at a glance. Instead of the weights swaying side- 
 ways and banging against the boxes, as they are 
 liable to do in the ordinary old-fashioned pulley- 
 weight boxes, they travel in boxes, A A, between 
 the rods BB. A rubber bed also prevents the 
 weight from making a noise as it strikes the floor, 
 while another capital feature is the arrangement 
 of boxes, in which you may graduate the weight 
 desired by adding little plates of a pound each, 
 instead of the unchanging weight of the old plan. 
 
 One of these boxes, with its load, can easily be 
 used as a rowing- weight, by rigging a pulley-wheel 
 
94 
 
 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
HOME GYMNASIUMS. 95 
 
 a few inches above the floor, and directly in front 
 of the weight box, and then making the rope long 
 enough to also pass under this pulley. A stick of 
 the thickness of an oar handle can then be attach- 
 ed to the end of the rope. If the old-fashioned 
 pulle3 T -weights are preferred, as they are cheaper, 
 long boxes take the place of these iron rods, and a 
 common iron weight travels up and down in the 
 boxes. At some of the gymnasiums — that of the 
 Young Men's Christian Association in New York, 
 for example — these weights, of various sizes, snaf- 
 fles, ropes, and handles, can all be had, of approved 
 pattern and at reasonable rates. 
 
 Here, then, we have a horizontal bar fitted for 
 most of the uses of that valuable appliance, a pair 
 of parallel bars, or their equivalent for certain pur- 
 poses, a pair of pulling- weights, and a rowing- 
 weight. Now, with the addition of a pair of 
 dumb-bells, weighing at first about one twenty- 
 fifth of the user's own weight, we have a gymna- 
 sium more comprehensive than most persons would 
 imagine. Mr. Bryant was contented for forty years 
 with less apparatus even than this, and yet look at 
 the benefit he derived from it!* The bar, cleats, 
 and parallels ought to be made and put up for not 
 over two dollars, and four or five dollars more will 
 
 * See page 169. 
 
96 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 cover the cost of pulling- weights and gear on the 
 old plan, unless a heavy rowing-weight is added, 
 which can be had at five cents a pound, which is 
 also the price of well-shaped dumb-bells. 
 
 Here is a gymnasium, then, under cover, rent 
 free, exactly at hand, when one is lightly clad on 
 rising or just before retiring, which takes up but 
 little room, can hardly get out of order, which will 
 last a dozen years. With these few bits of appa- 
 ratus every muscle of the trunk, nearly all those 
 of the legs, and all those of the arms, can, by a few 
 exercises so simple that they can be learned at a 
 single trying, be brought into active play. The 
 bar in the upper place will be useful mainly for 
 grasping, hanging, or swinging on by the hands, 
 or for pulling one's self up until the chin touches 
 it. In the lower place it enables one to perform, 
 very many of the exercises usual on the horizontal! 
 bar. The short bars or handles have scarcely more 
 than one oflice, but that is one of the most impor- 
 tant of all exercises for the weak-armed and the 
 weak-chested. This exercise is the one called "dip 
 ping." The bars are grasped with the hands, the 
 feet being held up off the floor ; then, starting 
 with the elbows straight, gradually lowering until 
 the elbows are bent as far as possible, then rising 
 till they are straight again, and so continuing. 
 
 The pulley-weights admit of a great variety o:< 
 
HOME GYMNASIUMS. 97 
 
 uses, reaching directly every muscle of the hand, 
 wrist, arm, shoulder, chest, abdomen, the entire 
 back and neck ; while, by placing one foot in the 
 handle and pulling the weight with it, several of 
 the leg muscles soon have plenty to do, as is also 
 the case with the rowing-weight. The field of the 
 dumb-bells is hardly less extensive. 
 
 If but one of these pieces of apparatus can be 
 had, the pulley-weights are the most comprehen- 
 sive, and so the most important, though it is aston- 
 ishing how closely the dumb-bells follow; and then 
 they have the great advantage of being portable. 
 Combine with the exercises you can get from all 
 this apparatus those which need none at all, such as 
 rising on the toes, hopping, stooping low, walking, 
 running, leaping, and no more tools are needed 
 to develop whatever muscles one likes. What spe- 
 cial work will employ any particular muscle will 
 be indicated later. 
 
 If the apparatus is only to be used by a man or 
 boy, a striking-bag can be made of seven or eight 
 pieces of soft calf- skin, so that the whole, when 
 full of sawdust, shall be either round like a ball or- 
 pear-shaped, and shall be about fifteen inches in 
 horizontal diameter. This should be hung on a 
 rope from a hook screwed into one of the beams 
 of the ceiling. This makes a valuable acquisition 
 to the snug little home-gymnasium. For a person 
 
 7 
 
98 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC, 
 
 having a weak chest, and who aims to broaden and 
 deepen that important region, perhaps no better 
 and safer contrivance can be had than the one 
 sketched in Fig. 8, on page 248. 
 
 The fact of having a few bits of apparatus close 
 at hand, when one is lightly clad, will tend to 
 tempt any one to get at them a little while morn- 
 ing and evening. If a parent wants children to 
 use them, instead of placing the apparatus in his 
 own room, the nursery, or an empty room where 
 all can have ready access, would be better. Of 
 course, in such case there should be additional 
 weights, and dumb-bells suited to the age and 
 strength of those who are to use them.* Indeed, 
 by providing children at home with articles which 
 they like to use, and the use of which brings much 
 direct good, the nursery has a new value — greater, 
 perhaps, when made the most of, than it ever had 
 before. All the exercises needed to make children 
 strong can be readily learned, as all of them are 
 exceedingly simple. In another place these exer- 
 cises will be indicated. The parent can then se- 
 lect those exercises he sees the child needs, and 
 teach them in a few minutes, so arranging it as to 
 get the children to exercise a certain time every 
 day. As has been shown, the cost of all these ap- 
 
 See page 266. 
 
HOME GYMNASIUMS. 99 
 
 pliances will not be nearly as much as a moder- 
 ate doctor's bill, and quite as little as the patent 
 gymnastic articles, which are so often praised, 
 mostly by people who know little or nothing of 
 other forms of exercise than those fitted to their 
 own apparatus. A large beam, for instance, has 
 been devised, with handles fastened by a contriv- 
 ance above it, which is meant to restore the spine 
 (when out of place) to its proper position. But 
 there is scarcely anything it can accomplish which 
 cannot readily be done on some one of these sim- 
 ple, old-fashioned, and far less cumbrous pieces of 
 apparatus. 
 
 Again, in the large cities there are establish- 
 ments where the chief and almost the sole exer- 
 cise is with the lifting-machine. A person, stand- 
 ing nearly erect, is made to lift heavy weights often 
 of several hundred, and even a thousand or more 
 pounds. The writer, when a lad of seventeen, 
 worked a few minutes nearly every day for six 
 months on a machine of this kind; and while it 
 seemed a fine thing to lift six hundred pounds at 
 first, and over a thousand toward the end, there 
 came an unquestioned stiffening of the back, as 
 though the vertebra were packed so closely togeth- 
 er as to prevent their free action. There came also 
 a very noticeable and abnormal development of 
 three sets of muscles : those of the inner side of 
 
100 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 the forearm, the lower and inner end of the front 
 thigh just above the knee, and those highest up on 
 the back, branching outward from the base of the 
 neck. With considerable other vigorous exercise 
 taken at the same time, this heavy lifting still pro- 
 duced the most marked effect, so that the devel- 
 opment caused by it was soon large, out of all 
 proportion compared with that resulting from the 
 other work. 
 
 Now, if it is the fact that they who practice on 
 the " health lift " ordinarily take little or no other 
 vigorous exercise, why is not this same partial de- 
 velopment going to result? And if this is the 
 case, is it not rather a questionable exercise, espe- 
 cially for those to whom it is so highly recom- 
 mended — the sedentary — and even worse for those 
 who stand at desks all day? We have seen it 
 make one very stiff and ungainly in his move- 
 ments, and it is natural that it should ; for he who 
 does work of the grade suited to a truck-horse is 
 far more likely to acquire the heavy and pon- 
 derous ways of that worthy animal than he who 
 spreads his exercise over all, or nearly all, his mus- 
 cles, instead of confining it to a few, and who 
 makes many vigorous and less hazardous efforts 
 instead of a single mighty one. All the muscles 
 of the arm, for instance, which are used in striking 
 out, putting up a dumb-bell, or any sort of push- 
 
HOME GYMNASIUMS. 101 
 
 ing, are wholly idle in this severe pulling — more 
 so, even, than they are in the oarsman when row- 
 ing. Hence, unless they get even work, there will 
 be loss of symmetry, one-sided development, and 
 only partial strength. 
 
 Another popular piece of apparatus is the " par- 
 lor gymnasium;" and, though needlessly expen- 
 sive, it is a surprisingly useful affair, if once one 
 knows how to use it to the best effect. But it has 
 some disadvantages which, while not conceded by 
 its inventor, it is yc' well enough to know. In its 
 more elaborate and complete form it is called the 
 " Parlor Rowing Apparatus," and is also described 
 as "the most complete rowing apparatus in the 
 world." In reality it is very poorly adapted to the 
 oarsman's w 7 ants, and tends to get him into habits 
 he should, if he wishes to be a good oar, be careful 
 to refrain from. It is a matter of supreme impor- 
 tance in rowing to get a strong grip at the begin- 
 ning of the stroke, and to put the weight on heav- 
 ily then ; while it is a glaring fault to do anything 
 like jerking toward the end of the stroke. But 
 with this parlor rowing-machine, instead of lifting 
 a solid weight, as in the ordinary rowing-weight, a 
 rubber strap, or, rather, two rubber straps, are sim- 
 ply stretched while the stroke is pulled, and then 
 slackened to begin the next. The trouble is that 
 the straps have to be pulled nearly half the length 
 
102 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 of the stroke before it begins to grow hard to pull, 
 so that throwing one's weight on heavily at the 
 beginning causes the rower to feel somewhat as he 
 would if, in taking a stroke in a boat, his oar-blade 
 had missed the water entirely, or as a boxer who 
 unexpectedly beats the air. The better the begin- 
 ning of a stroke is caught in the water, the more 
 the fulcrum of water itself solidifies, and by so 
 much more can the rower throw his weight on then, 
 and at just the right time. The effect with the rub- 
 ber straps is the very reverse ; for, in throwing the 
 weight on at the beginning, the straps do not offer 
 enough resistance to have the desired effect, while 
 they offer too much at the finish of the stroke. 
 This same defect stands out plainly in some of the 
 pushing exercises done with it, as well as in using 
 it as a lifting-machine, making it necessary, for the 
 latter purpose, not to catch hold of the handles at 
 all, but, as we have seen the inventor himself do, 
 somewhere toward the middle of the straps, else 
 the knees would get entirely straightened before 
 the tension became great, which would force the 
 bulk of the work to be done with the hands. 
 Great care must be taken, also, to have the bolts 
 at the farther ends of these straps fastened very 
 firmly into the wood-work, or wherever they are 
 attached ; for if, under a heavy pull, one of these 
 bolts should work out, it would be in great danger 
 
HOME GYMNASIUMS. 103 
 
 of striking the performer in the eye or elsewhere 
 with terrific force. 
 
 Still, with these few defects, this parlor rowing 
 apparatus is an excellent contrivance, and, used 
 intelligently and assiduous!}', ought to bring almost 
 any development a person might reasonably hope 
 for, though its range is hardly as wide as that of 
 these few bits of house apparatus before named, 
 when taken together. There is nothing novel 
 about the latter, excepting Dr. Sargent's apparatus 
 for the chest. All have been known for a gen- 
 eration or more. But the many uses of them are 
 but little known, and their introduction into our 
 homes and schools has hardly yet begun. Yet, so 
 wide is the range of exercise one can have with 
 them, and of exercise of the very sort so many 
 people need ; and so simple is the method of work- 
 ing them, so free, too, from danger or anything 
 which induces one to overwork, and so inexpensive 
 are they and easy to make, that they ought to be 
 as common in our homes as are warm carpets and 
 bright firesides. Every member of the family, both 
 old and young, should use them daily, enough to 
 keep both the home-gymnasium and its users in 
 good working order. 
 
104 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SCHOOL THE TRUE PLACE FOR CHILDREN'S PHYS- 
 ICAL CULTURE. 
 
 But, well adapted as our homes are in many 
 ways for the proper care and development of the 
 body, there is one place which, in almost every 
 particular, surpasses them in this direction, if its 
 advantages are understood and fully appreciated, 
 and that is the school. A father may so arrange 
 his time that a brief portion of it daily can be 
 regularly allotted to the physical improvement of 
 the children, as John Stuart Mill's father did his 
 for his son's mental improvement, and with such 
 remarkable results. But most fathers, from never 
 having formed the habit, will be slow to learn it, 
 and their time is already so taken up that it will 
 seem impossible to spare any. The mother, being 
 more with the child, feels its needs and lacks the 
 more keenly, and would gladly deny herself much 
 could she assure her children ruddy health. But 
 her day is also by no means an idle one, and, just 
 when she could best spare half an hour, it is hard- 
 est to have them with her. Besides, in too many 
 
THE SCHOOL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 105 
 
 instances she is herself far from strong, and needs 
 some one to point out to her the way to physical 
 improvement more, even, than do her children. 
 
 There is' a feeling that the child is sent to school 
 to be educated, and that certain trained persons 
 are paid to devote their time to that education. 
 As they are supposed to bring the children forward 
 in certain directions, this leads easily to the con- 
 clusion that they would be the proper persons to 
 care for other parts of that education as well. 
 Nor is this view so wide of the mark. The teach- 
 er has always a considerable number of scholars. 
 He can encourage the slower by the example of 
 the quicker; he can arouse the emulation, he can 
 get work easily out of a number together, where 
 one or two would be hard to move. If he rightly 
 understood his power ; if he knew how easy it is, 
 by a little judicious daily work, to prevent or re- 
 move incipient deformity, to strengthen the weak, 
 to form in the pupil the habit of sitting and stand- 
 ing erect, to add to the general strength, to freshen 
 the spirits, and do good in other ways, he would 
 gladly give whatever time daily would be necessa- 
 ry to the work, while, like most persons who try to 
 benefit others, he would find that he himself w T ould 
 gain much by it as well. He has not a class of 
 pupils stiffened by long years of hard overwork of 
 some muscles, and with others dormant and unde- 
 
106 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC 
 
 veloped. The time when children are with him is 
 almost the best time in their whole lives to shape 
 them as he chooses, not morally or mentally onty, 
 bnt physically as well. The one shoulder, a little 
 higher than its mate, will not be half so hard to re- 
 store to place now as when confirmed in its position 
 by long years of a bad habit, which should never 
 have been tolerated a day. If the chest is weak 
 and flat, or pigeon-breasted, now is the time to re- 
 move the defect. Build np the arms to be strong 
 and comely now r ; accustom the chest and shoulders 
 to their proper place, whatever their owner is at ; 
 cover the back with full and shapely muscles ; get 
 the feet used to the work which comes so easy and 
 natural to them, once they are trained aright ; and 
 the same boy who would have grown up half -built, 
 ungraceful, and far from strong, will now ripen 
 into a manly, vigorous, well-knit man, of sound 
 mind and body, familiar with the possibilities of 
 that bod} T , with what is the right use and what the 
 abuse of it, and knowing well how to keep it in 
 that condition which shall enable him to accom- 
 plish the best day's mental labor. And he will 
 be far fitter to face the privations, anxieties, and 
 troubles of life in the most successful way. 
 
 Nor is the rule at all difficult to follow. Little 
 by little the boy's mind is led along, until the diffi- 
 cult problem in arithmetic seems no harder to him 
 
THE SCHOOL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 107 
 
 than did the adding of two and two at first. For 
 hundreds of years the mental training of yonth lias 
 been a matter of careful thought and study, and no 
 effort is spared to secure the best advantages of all 
 the teaching of the past. But with that past be- 
 fore him; with its many great men — not always, to 
 be sure, but so often — men whose bodies were stur- 
 dy, and equal to the tremendous tasks which their 
 great activity of mind led them willingly to as- 
 sume, he is encouraged and urged to keep his mind 
 under continual pressure for many hours daily, and 
 every incentive is brought to make the most of him 
 in this direction. And yet that which would have 
 helped him in almost every step he took, which 
 would have fitted him to stand with ease what 
 now in a few years so often breaks him down, is 
 totally ignored and left quite out of sight. 
 
 It is plainly no fault of his. The blame lies 
 with the system which, for generations together, 
 has gone along so blindly. The life a farmer's son 
 leads makes him strong and hearty, and when his 
 school-days are over his work is of such a sort as 
 to maintain all his vigor. The city lad who plays 
 on the brick sidewalks, born often of half-developed 
 parents, has no daily tasks which bring his mus- 
 cles into vigorous play, strengthening his digestion. 
 Is there any possible reason why the city lad should 
 be favored physically like the country boy? The 
 
108 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 first has every incentive for daily exercise, the lat- 
 ter none at all. 
 
 There ought to be no more delay in this matter 
 of physical education in the schools. Prompt and 
 vigorous steps should be taken to acquaint every 
 school-teacher in this country with such exercises 
 as would quickly restore the misshapen, insure an 
 erect carriage, encourage habits of full breathing, 
 and strengthen the entire trunk and every limb. If 
 the teachers have not the requisite knowledge now, 
 let it at once be acquired. They, of all persons, 
 are expected to know how to acquire knowledge, 
 and to aid others in doing the same. As soon as 
 they have gained even partial knowledge of how 
 to effect these things, let them lose no time in im- 
 parting that knowledge to the pupil. 
 
 Physical education ought to be made compul- 
 sory in every school in this land. Have it direct- 
 ly under the eye and guidance of the teacher, and 
 have that teacher know that, at the quarterly or 
 semi-annual examinations, reasonable progress will 
 be expected in this department just as certainly ag 
 in any other, and if he is not up to his work, that 
 some one who is will be put in his place. Then 
 that progress will surely come. It has come al- 
 ready, where the means have been understood and 
 used, as witness Maclaren abroad and Sargent 
 here; and it brings such a benefit to the pupil that 
 no pains should be spared to insure it. 
 
THE SCHOOL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 109 
 
 Scarcely a week passes but the press of our 
 larger cities repeats the story of some overworked 
 man or woman breaking completely down with 
 general debility, the body not only a wreck, but 
 too often the mind as well. Had that body been 
 early shaped, and hardened, and made vigorous — 
 as, for instance, Chief -justice Marshall's father 
 looked to it that his great son's was — and the 
 habit formed of taking daily work, and of the 
 right sort to keep it so, and had the importance of 
 that care been impressed on the mind till it had 
 fixed itself as firmly as the sense of decency or the 
 need of being clean, is it likely that the person 
 would have allowed himself to get so run down, 
 or, if he did, to remain so ? 
 
 The trouble usually is that the man does not 
 know what to do to tone himself up and keep him- 
 self equal to his tasks, or that it needs but a little 
 to effect this. He will spend money like water; 
 he will travel fast and far ; he will do almost any- 
 thing, but he knows no certain cure. Is it not as 
 important to have good health and strength as to 
 figure or write correctly, to read the JEneids or 
 Homer, to pick up a smattering of French or Ger- 
 man ? Who is the more likely, if his life be in- 
 door and sedentary, not to live half his days — he 
 who has never learned to build and strengthen 
 his body, and keep it regulated and healthy, 
 
110 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 and to know the value of that health, or he who 
 has? 
 
 Is not work which will almost surely length- 
 en one's life, and increase his usefulness, worth 
 doing, especially when it takes but a very little 
 while daily to do it, and less yet when the habit 
 commenced in childhood? Go through our pub- 
 lic and private schools, and see how few thor- 
 oughly well-built boys and girls there are. Good 
 points are not scarce, but how small the proportion 
 of the deep-chested, the well-made and robust, who 
 give good promise of making strong and healthy 
 men and women ! Fortunately there is nothing 
 really difficult in the work of strengthening the 
 weak, making the somewhat crooked straight, of 
 symmetrizing the partially developed ; indeed, on 
 the other hand, it is, when once understood, sim- 
 ple, inexpensive, and easy. More than all this, it 
 is a work which the teacher will find that almost 
 every scholar will take hold of, not, as in many 
 other branches, with reluctance, but with alacrity ; 
 and it is always pleasant teaching those who are 
 eager to learn. 
 
 But a little time each day is needed, never over 
 half an hour of actual work in-doors and an hour 
 out-of-doors. Suppose a teacher has forty pupils, 
 and that thirty of them have either weak or indiffer- 
 ent chests. Let lier form a chest-class out of the 
 
THE SCHOOL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. Ill 
 
 thirty, and, for ten minutes a day, let them prac- 
 tice exercises aimed exclusively to enlarge and de- 
 velop the chest. Some of such exercises will be 
 pointed out on page 245. Begin very gradually, so 
 mildly that the weakest chest there shall have no 
 ache or pain from the exercise. For the first week 
 do that same work, and that much of it daih r , and 
 no more; but do it carefully, and do not miss a 
 stroke. Let this exercise come at the appointed 
 hour, as certainly as any other study. The second 
 week make the work a trifle harder, or longer, or 
 both. In this, and in every exercise, insist, as far 
 as possible, on an erect carriage of the head and 
 neck, and frequently point out their value. Insist, 
 further, on the pupil's always inhaling as large, and 
 full, and slow breaths as he can, seeing to it that 
 every air-cell is brought into vigorous play. Be 
 careful that he or she does not, without your knowl- 
 edge, get hold of heavier apparatus, or try more 
 difficult exercise in the same direction, before the 
 muscles are trained to take it. Overdoing is not 
 only useless, and sure to bring stiffness and aches, 
 but it is in it that any danger lies, never in light 
 and simple work, adapted to the pupil's present 
 strength, and done under the teacher's eye, or in 
 heavier work after he has been trained gradually 
 up to it. Now, when a fortnight has gone by, use 
 a little heavier weights; stay at the work without 
 
112 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 weights a little longer, or draw the pulley-weight 
 a few more strokes daily, never forgetting to hold 
 the head and neck erect. 
 
 Will dumb-bells and weight-boxes be necessary? 
 Yes, or their equivalents. If the former cannot be 
 had, flat-irons or cobble-stones of the same weight 
 will do pretty well, and sand-bags can be used in 
 the weight- boxes when pear-shaped weights or 
 packed-boxes are scarce. It is a very small mat- 
 ter to supply a school with light dumb-bells, when 
 they cost but five cents a pound, and when, if nec- 
 essary to retrench, a quarter as many pairs of them 
 as there are scholars will suffice. As will be shown 
 in a later chapter, there is a very wide variety of 
 exercises which could be practised in a school- 
 room, which do not need one cent's worth of appa- 
 ratus. They simply need to be known, and then 
 faithfully practised, and most gratifying results 
 are sure. In large cities it would be well to have 
 all the teachers instructed by a competent master 
 in the various exercises which they could so readily 
 teach in school, and which would prove so beneficial 
 to the scholars. London is already ahead of us in 
 this direction. Harpers Weekly of February 8th, 
 1870, says: " The London School Board has ap- 
 pointed Miss Lofving, at a salary of fifteen hun- 
 dred dollars a year, as superintendent of ' physical 
 education' in the girls' schools." 
 
THE SCHOOL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 113 
 
 A man like Dr. Sargent, of the Fifth Avenue 
 Gymnasium, in New York, could easily, in a few 
 half -hour lessons, instruct the two thousand or 
 more teachers of the public schools of that city in 
 the simpler, and yet very valuable exercises. They 
 would be then well qualified, in turn, to instruct 
 all the pupils, and to so grade their exercises as 
 to adapt the work to all. The ordinary gymnastic 
 instructor, as years have shown, in most of our 
 gymnasiums, lets the pupil do about as he has a 
 mind to. This would be just about as effective as 
 if the same rule was followed out in mental train- 
 ing. But men like Sargent, strict disciplinarians, 
 trained physicians, and practical gymnasts as well, 
 are far too scarce among us, and his is a field 
 which many of our young physicians might enter 
 with prospects of doing very great good in the 
 community in which they live. 
 
 Let the school commissioners of each State look 
 to this matter at once. Let them insist that each 
 teacher shall forthwith obtain the knowledge requi- 
 site to properly instruct and bring forward every 
 pupil in his or her class. A knowledge should be 
 had of the exact kind and amount of work requi- 
 site for a class of a certain as;e. Let some suitable 
 person or persons be appointed in the cities to su- 
 pervise this branch' of education, and see that the 
 teachers are thoroughly qualified. Let the scholar 
 
 8 
 
114 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 understand that his body can be trained exactly as 
 well as his niind,and that the sound health of both 
 is intimately connected with having it so trained. 
 Let the school-hours be so arranged that ten min- 
 utes in the middle of the morning session, and 
 again in the afternoon, shall be allotted to this 
 branch. See what Maclaren- did for the Iladley 
 and Magdalen boys in one hoar a week! see what 
 Sargentf did in our country for two hundred youth 
 in two hours a week, and with wooden dumb- 
 bells, very light club's, and a few pulley -weights 
 at that ! Let people at once and forever get rid 
 of the notion that this exercise is a mere play- 
 spell, or that it is only good to make athletes or 
 acrobats. It is as much a branch of education as 
 any taught in our schools to-day; and who will 
 question that, if such uniform and splendid prog- 
 ress was made in each school as was made in the 
 cases just cited, and in different instances, with at 
 first such unpromising pupils, the brief twenty min- 
 utes daily so spent would be as well spent and as 
 valuable to each pupil as any other twenty or thir- 
 ty minutes of his day? It should no more be al- 
 lowed to interfere with their usual play than any 
 other branch is. It is a matter of progress and 
 development, in a way highly important to every 
 
 * See page 140. t See pages 291 , 292. 
 
THE SCHOOL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 115 
 
 scholar, and should be so treated, and the child's 
 play-hours should be in no way curtailed to accom- 
 plish it. 
 
 Superintendent Philbrick, of the Boston schools, 
 is a man of long experience in most matters con- 
 nected with schools, their management, and wants. 
 This gentlemen has lately received, at the Paris Ex- 
 position, high honor for his accomplishments in this 
 direction. But are the schools of Boston to-day 
 taking the care they ought to and could so easily 
 take to make the children healthy and vigorous? 
 Let Mr. Philbrick set about introducing into every 
 public school in that city such a system of physical 
 education as shall effect, for example, simply what 
 Maclaren effected, what Sargent effected and is 
 now effecting, and no more. Let him stick to his 
 task as persistently, if need be, as Stanley stayed 
 at his infinitely harder one, until every boy or girl 
 who is graduated from a Boston school has a 
 strong, shapely, and healthy body, and knows what 
 did much to make it so, and what will keep it so. 
 Then the east wind may blow over that good city, 
 even until no gilding remains on the State-house 
 dome, and the formerly weak throats and lungs 
 will not mind it any more than they do the gen- 
 tlest southern zephyr; Mr. Philbrick can feel, when 
 he looks over his life's work, that he has accom- 
 plished a thing for the scholars of his charge, and 
 
116 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 introduced a public benefit, which will redound to 
 his credit as long as the city stands. There is no 
 more need of Americans having poor legs than 
 Englishmen. There is no more need of a boy's 
 chest remaining a slim and half-built affair at the 
 Brimmer School, or the Boston Latin School, than 
 there was at Radlev. 
 
 When the good work is commenced, when other 
 cities begin to send their delegates and committees 
 to watch methods, progress, and results, to take 
 steps to secure the same benefits for their own 
 schools, then the admirable example Boston has 
 set in leading off in this direction will be better 
 understood. Then all will wonder why so simple, 
 so sensible, so effective a course, conducive to pres- 
 ent and future health and well-being, had not been 
 thought of and been carried out long ago. 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 
 
 Few colleges of any pretension have not some 
 sort of a gymnasium — indeed, hold it out to par- 
 ents as one of the attractions. There is a building, 
 and it has apparatus in it. The former often costs 
 twice as much as needs be ; the latter may be well 
 made, and well suited to its purpose, or may not — 
 in fact, more frequently is not. Instead of having 
 apparatus graded, so as to have some for the slim 
 and weak, some for the stout and broad, too often 
 one pair of parallel bars or one size of rowing- 
 weight must suffice for all. Frequently the ap- 
 paratus getting loose, or worn, or out of repair, re- 
 mains so. The director is little more than a jan^ 
 itor, and is so regarded. In many instances he 
 does so little as to render this opinion a just one. 
 Imperfect ventilation, and in winter lack of proper 
 warmth, help to make it unattractive. The newly- 
 arrived Freshman is generally run down and thin 
 from overwork in preparing himself for college. 
 Many a time, when much work was telling on him, 
 
118 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 he consoled himself with the thought that in the 
 college-gymnasium, with his fellow-students about 
 him all eagerly at work, he would soon pick up the 
 strength he had lost, and perhaps come to be, in 
 time, as strong as this or that fellow, a few years 
 his senior, the fame of whose athletic exploits was 
 more than local. 
 
 As a rule, the American student is not very 
 strong on entering college. President Eliot, of 
 Harvard, said, a few years ago, of a majority of 
 those coming into that university, for instance, that 
 they had "undeveloped muscles, a bad carriage, 
 and an impaired digestion, without skill in out- 
 of-door games, and unable to ride, row, swim, or 
 shoot." 
 
 The student is usually inerect, and really needs 
 "setting up" quite as much as the newly-arrived 
 "pleb" at West Point. But does he get it? No. 
 If coming from good stock, stronger than the aver- 
 age, and it happens to be a year when there is 
 much interest in athletics, the rowing-men or the 
 base-ball or foot-ball fellows will be after him. If 
 they capture him, he will get plenty of work — more 
 than enough — but in one single rut. If he knows 
 something of the allurements of these sports, and 
 desires to steer clear of them and be a reading 
 man, still not to neglect his body, he is at a loss 
 how to go to work. He finds a house full of ap- 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 119 
 
 paratus, and does not know how to use it. He sees 
 the boating and ball men hard at it, but on their 
 hobbies, and looks about for something else to do. 
 He finds no other class of fellows working with 
 any vim, save those eager to show well as gym- 
 nasts. He falls in w T ith these, takes nearly as 
 much work the first day as they do, which is ten 
 times too much for him, quite out of condition as 
 he is. He becomes sore all over for tw T o or three 
 days, has no special ambition, after all, to be a 
 gymnast, and, ten to one, throws up the whole 
 business disgusted. 
 
 In the warmer months even the oarsmen and 
 ball-players work out-of-doors, and, except a little 
 brush by the new-comers during the first month or 
 so, he finds the place deserted. At the start there 
 was nobody to receive him, place him, and to en- 
 courage and invite him on. If naturally persist- 
 ent, and he sticks to it awhile, he gropes about in 
 a desultory way, now trying this and now that, un- 
 til, neither increasing in size nor strength so fast 
 as he had expected, he prefers to spend his spare 
 hours in more attractive fields, and so drops the 
 gymnasium, as many have done before him. 
 
 He has no more given it a fair trial than he 
 would have his chemistry had he treated it in the 
 same way. It is not his fault, for he knew no 
 better. The whole method of bringing up most 
 
120 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 American boys does almost nothing to fit the aver- 
 age boy for even the simpler work of the gymna- 
 sium, let alone its more advanced steps. Often, 
 in the university gymnasium, you Avill see fellows 
 actually so weak in the arms that they can hardly 
 get up in the parallel bars and rest their weight 
 on their hands alone, much less go through them 
 clear to the other end. It is a pretty suggestive 
 commentary on the way these establishments are 
 conducted that the men so lamentably deficient 
 are by no means all from the new-comers, but often 
 those who have nearly completed their course. 
 
 Yet here is a school which, rightly used, would 
 do the average student more good, and would fit 
 him better for his life's duties, than any other one 
 branch in the whole curriculum. 
 
 But a few years since a son of a lawyer of na- 
 tional reputation, a highly gifted youth, made a 
 most brilliant record at one of our best known col- 
 leges. All who knew him conceded him a distin- 
 guished future; and yet he was hardly well out 
 of college when he took away his life. Had there 
 been a reasonable, sensible allowance of daily 
 muscular work, had the overtaxed brain been let 
 rest awhile, and vigor cultivated in other direc- 
 tions, the rank, the general average, might have 
 been a trifle lower, but a most efficient man saved 
 for a long and honorable life. And yet every col- 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 121 
 
 lege has men who are practically following this 
 one's plan, overworking their brains, cutting off 
 both ends of the night, forcing their mental pace, 
 till even the casual observer sees that they cannot 
 stand it long, and must break down before their 
 real life's race is well begun. Now, however ex- 
 ceptional may be the talents such a man has, does 
 not his course show either dense ignorance of how 
 to take care of himself, or a lack of something 
 which would be worth far more than brilliant tal- 
 ents — namely, common-sense ? 
 
 Ought there not to be some department in a col- 
 lege designed to bring round mental development, 
 where the authorities would step in and prevent 
 this suicidal course ? Oh, but there are such and 
 such lectures on health. Yes, and in most in- 
 stances you might as well try and teach a boy to 
 write by merely talking to him, taking care all the 
 time that he have no pen or pencil in his hand. 
 It is a matter of surprise that college faculties are 
 not more alive to the defects of the gymnasium con- 
 ducted light under their very eyes. In every other 
 branch they require a definite and specific progress 
 during a given time, an ability to pass successful- 
 ly periodical examinations which shall show that 
 progress, and, if the pupil fails, it tells on his gen- 
 eral standing, and is an element which determines 
 whether he is to remain in college. 
 
122 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 But iu the gymnasium there is nothing of the 
 sort, and in many cases the young man need not 
 step into it once during the four years unless lie 
 hkes. This state of things is partly accounted for 
 by the fact that too many of the professors in our 
 colleges do not know anything about a gymnasi- 
 um, and what it can do for a man. .Indeed, often, 
 if from practical experience they were better up 
 in this knowledge, it would beneficially affect the 
 reputation of their college as a live institution. 
 
 Nor is the director, with very few exceptions, the 
 right sort of man for his place. Either the facul- 
 ty have no conception what they do need here, or 
 they effectually drive off the man they ought' to 
 have by starving him. Professors' salaries are gen- 
 erally small enough, but the director of the gym- 
 nasium seldom gets half so much as the poorest 
 paid of his brother professors. Indeed, the latter 
 do not regard him as an equal at all, and until 
 they do so with good reason, there is little prospect 
 of improvement in this direction. A doctor as ill 
 up to his work as the average college gymnasium 
 director would soon be without a patient. 
 
 Nor are the gymnasiums of our cities and towns 
 much better off. New York city to-day, with one 
 or two exceptions, is utterly without a gymnasium 
 worthy of her. Two of the best known are situ- 
 ated, one far below the street level, the other di- 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 123 
 
 rectly over a stable, and formerly at least, if not 
 still, a very redolent stable at that. There is gen- 
 erally plenty of apparatus, most of which is good 
 enough ; but the boy or man who comes to use it 
 finds at once the same things wanting as does the 
 student in the college gymnasium. If he can al- 
 ready raise a heavy dumb-bell over his head with 
 his right hand, he may, and often does, go on in- 
 creasing his power in this single direction, but in 
 years actually gains little or no size or strength 
 in his other arm, his legs, or any other part of his 
 body. No one stops him, or even gives him an idea 
 of the folly of his course ; indeed, no one has the 
 power to do so. Ordinarily the place is kept by a 
 man simply to make a living. This secured, his 
 ambition dies. He may be a boxer or an acrobat, 
 or even a fair general gymnast. With one or two 
 exceptions, we have yet to hear of an instance where 
 the instructor has either devised a plan of class ex- 
 ercise which has proved attractive, or in a given 
 time has brought about a decided increase in size 
 and strength to a majority of his pupils in a spe- 
 cific and needed direction. 
 
 College rowing and base -ball, while often un- 
 questionably benefiting those who took part in 
 them, have been found to work detrimentally, but 
 in a way, as will be shown in a moment, certainly 
 not expected by the public. The colleges in this 
 
124 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 country which pay most attention to rowing are 
 Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and Columbia. It is well 
 known that in both Oxford and Cambridge uni- 
 versities the men who row are numbered by hun- 
 dreds ; that over twenty eight-oared crews alone, to 
 say nothing of other classes, are sometimes on the 
 river at once, and that the problem for the "'Var- 
 sity" captain is not, as here, to find eight men all 
 fitted for places in the boat, but, out of many fit, 
 to tell which to take. For years the American 
 press has reported the performances of our student 
 oarsmen even oftener and more fully than the Eng- 
 lish non-sporting papers those of their own oars- 
 men, so that they have filled a larger space in the 
 public eye. Men naturally thought that the inter- 
 est among the students themselves was well-nigh 
 universal, and many fathers expressed misgivings 
 about sending sons to institutions where the reg- 
 ular curriculum seemed a secondary matter, and 
 performance in athletic contests the chief thing. 
 
 Yet, strange as it may seem, this whole idea is 
 an egregious mistake. Most of the students do 
 take some interest in these contests, but it goes no 
 farther than talking somewhat about them, and 
 viewing them when they come off, and perhaps 
 betting the amount of their term -bills on them. 
 The number who actually take part, either in the 
 racing or the ball matches, or in trying for a 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 125 
 
 chance in them, is ridiculously small. Dr. Sar- 
 gent says that at Yale College, where he has been 
 for six years instructor in physical culture, they 
 actually do not exceed three per cent, of the whole 
 number of students, while five per cent, will in- 
 clude every man in college who takes active work 
 at the gymnasium, on the river, or the ball-field! 
 Any one familiar with American college athletics 
 knows that the proportion of students who either 
 play ball or row is probably, taking year and year 
 together, about as great at Yale as anywhere in 
 the country. 
 
 Surprising as these figures are, they prove con- 
 clusively that the present system of college athlet- 
 ics, so far as it assumes to benefit the students at 
 large, or even a tithe of them, is an utter failure. 
 Here, then, instead of the supposed advance in the 
 general physical culture over that of years ago, 
 there has been almost no advance. There are a 
 few men who devote much time and attention to 
 severe athletics, more than there is any need of, 
 and become skilled and famous at them, but the 
 great majority do little or nothing. Better ideas 
 they doubtless have of what is and what is not 
 creditable performance among the athletes, and also 
 as to the progress that can be made in muscular 
 development by direct and steady work. But that 
 progress and that work they have no share in. 
 
126 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 The very natural result follows, that the great ma- 
 jority of students, at graduation, average no betted 
 in size, strength, health, vigor, endurance, or stam- 
 ina than those of a generation ago, or are any fit- 
 ter to stand successfully the wear and tear of their 
 life's work. Indeed, it is very doubtful if they are 
 physically as well fitted for what is before them as 
 the previous generation were, for in the latter case 
 probably more came from farms and homes where 
 much manual labor was necessary, while now a 
 greater fraction are from the cities, or are the sons 
 of parents whose occupation is mainly sedentary. 
 Yet in that day gymnasiums at the colleges w T ere 
 almost unknown, while now they are general. 
 
 Does the gymnasium, then, pay? Yes, like a 
 bath-tub — if used, and used sensibly ; but if not, 
 not. Then, as it is used so little, is it worth hav- 
 ing? 
 
 At Harvard, for instance, to-day there is in proc- 
 ess of erection, at great expense, a gymnasium 
 which, w T hen finished, will doubtless be the most 
 costly building of the sort in this country, and very 
 possibly the best appointed as well. But unless 
 there is introduced some sensible and vigorous sys- 
 tem of bringing the students regularly there, and 
 working them while they are there, it will almost 
 6ii rely prove a failure, and accomplish little or no 
 more good than did the old one. Now, suppose, 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 127 
 
 first that this new institution is to be carried on 
 with no more vigor or good sense than its predeces- 
 sors. Next, suppose that, opposite this expensive 
 affair, on some neighboring field, there were built 
 a commodious shed, costing perhaps one -tenth as 
 much as its more pretentious rival, strongly framed, 
 weather-tight, sensibly arranged, well lit, and com- 
 fortably warmed, large enough, too, to admit, at 
 the edo;e of the main room, of a running track of 
 say twenty laps to the mile. In an L adjoining 
 let there be ample and well -ventilated dressing- 
 rooms, a locker for each student, and sufficient 
 washing facilities to meet the demand. Suppose 
 the ordinary sorts of apparatus were there, but 
 made with great care, and of the proportions skill- 
 ed gymnasts have found most suitable. Let there 
 be, besides, all newly -invented appliances which 
 have proved valuable, such as the twenty or more 
 Dr. Sargent has introduced, and any other good 
 ones as well. Suppose, too, that heavy weights for 
 lifting, and all heavy clubs and dumb-bells, were 
 carefully excluded. 
 
 On the Avails there should be casts and draw- 
 ings, showing well-proportioned and well-developed 
 arms, legs, and trunks, and a brief statement with 
 each of the various measurements and proportions, 
 and the ages of the men from whom they were 
 taken, and, if possible, the sort and amount of work 
 
128 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 done by each in their progress. These need by 
 no means be all modern. Greece and Borne, Troy 
 and Pompeii, could furnish their quota. 
 
 Suppose the director at once, on the joining of a 
 pupil, recorded, on a page set apart specially in his 
 register, the age, height, general physical charac- 
 teristics, weight, girth of calf, thigh, hips, waist, 
 lower chest, upper chest — both at rest and inflated 
 — neck, upper arm — extended and drawn up — and 
 the forearm, hand, and wrist, taking care to note 
 the time of day the measurements were made, and 
 also obtaining a photograph of the man as he then 
 appeared in exercising costume. Suppose that, out- 
 side of the ordinary requirements as to method, 
 decorum, order of using apparatus, and so on, the 
 director refused to take any pupil who would not 
 expressly agree to two things: first, to be at the 
 gymnasium, stripped and ready for work, exactly 
 at such a moment, four days out of the seven ; sec- 
 ond, to obey implicitly the director's orders, both 
 as to what work he should do, and what omit. 
 
 Suppose the director's training had been such 
 that he could tell at once, both from the looks and 
 measurements of the man, where lie was physically 
 lacking, and that he so arranged his classes that 
 all whose left hands were weaker than their right 
 had left-handed work only until they were equal- 
 ized up; that weak thighs, calves, abdominal inns- 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 129 
 
 eles, chests, and backs bad special work given 
 them, bringing the desired parts directly into play, 
 lightly as each needed at first, and then gradually 
 working upward, the stronger parts, meanwhile, be- 
 ing at rest. Suppose this were continued until, at 
 the end of the year, or often long before it, it is 
 found that one arm is now as strong as the other, 
 that the gain in girth at almost every measurement 
 is nearly or all of an inch, and at some even two 
 or more inches. 
 
 Suppose a series of exercises, aimed directly to 
 enlarge and strengthen the respiratory power, were 
 given to all, and every one, also, had a few min- 
 utes each day of "setting up," and other work 
 aimed not so much to add size and strength as to 
 make the crooked straight, to point out and insist 
 on a proper carriage of the head, the neck, the 
 shoulders, the arms, the whole trunk, and the knees, 
 and to show each pupil what length of step best 
 suited him, and which he ought to take. 
 
 Suppose that the director showed at once that 
 he not only knew what to do all through, but how 
 to do it, and so promptly won the confidence of 
 those he sought to instruct and benefit. 
 
 Is there any question in which of these two in- 
 stitutions the vouns: man would make the most de- 
 sirable progress? The first building and apparatus 
 might be grand, fitted up with nearly all that could 
 
 9 
 
130 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 be desired, but the gymnasium lacked a master- 
 head who should show its possibilities. Gymna- 
 sium and apparatus were like an engine without 
 steam. The second building was not of much ac- 
 count as a building, but quite all that was needed 
 for the real end in view. The London Rowing- 
 club boat-houses were for a long time mere sheds, 
 not to be named in the same clav with the taste- 
 fnl stone boat-houses along the Schuylkill, for in- 
 stance ; but those same plain sheds have for many 
 years turned out amateur oarsmen who could row 
 down any in the world. 
 
 And what a benefit a gymnasium conducted on 
 some plan similar to that above suggested would 
 be to any college or university! And yet almost 
 any college, even of limited means, could afford it. 
 Change the plan a little, and make the attendance 
 by all students just as it is in other branches — just 
 as it is at West Point in horseback practice — com- 
 pulsory. Give the director a salary adequate to 
 secure a first-class man in his calling — not merely 
 an accomplished gymnast, acrobat, boxer, or fencer, 
 but an educated physician, the peer of any of his 
 brother-members of the faculty, fond of his calling, 
 fond of the field before him, thoroughly acquaint- 
 ed with the plainer kinds of gymnastics and of ac- 
 robatic work, and a good boxer, an instructor espe- 
 cially quick in detecting the physical defects in his 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 131 
 
 pupil, in knowing what exercise will cure them, 
 zealous in interesting him, in encouraging him on, 
 what incalculable good he could do ! Every stu- 
 dent in that college would practically have to be 
 made over. Long before the four years, or even 
 one of them, were through, that instructor w r ould 
 have made all the men erect (as is daily being done 
 with the West Pointer). But his pupils, instead 
 of being like the latter, developed simply in those 
 muscles which his business called into play, would 
 each be well developed all over, would each be up 
 to what a well-built man of his years and size 
 ought to be in the way of strength, and skill, and 
 staying powers, and — a most important thing — 
 would know what he could do, and what he could 
 not ; and so would not, as is now every day the 
 case with many, attempt physical efforts long be- 
 fore he was fitted for them. 
 
 If he wanted to go into racing, the director 
 wonld be his best friend, and would point out to 
 him that the only safe way to get one's heart and 
 lungs used to the violent action which they must 
 undergo in racing, especially after the racer gets 
 tired, would be by gradually increasing his speed 
 from slow up to the desired pace, instead of, as too 
 often happens, getting up to racing pace before he 
 is half fit for it. 
 
 But he would also show him how one-sided it 
 
132 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 would make him, developing some parts, and let- 
 ting others remain idle and fall behind in develop- 
 ment, and — more important still — how brief and 
 ephemeral was the fame which he was working 
 for, and the risks of overdoing which it entailed. 
 
 Let one college in this land graduate each year a 
 class of which every man has an erect carriage and 
 mien, has the legs and arms, the back and chest, 
 not of a Hercules, not of a prize racer or tighter, 
 but of a hale, comely, strong, and well-proportion- 
 ed man , and see how well it would pay. Bear in 
 mind that an hour a day put in in the right way 
 and at the right work will effect all this in far less 
 time than four years of trvins;. The hardest-read- 
 ing man can readily spare the time for it, especial- 
 ly if he must. What ! would it take him from the 
 thin, cadaverous fellow he too often is, and do all 
 that for him? Beyond all doubt it would. Such 
 vigorous work would soon sharpen his appetite, and 
 he would find that, eat all he liked, he could digest 
 it promptly, and would feel all the better for his 
 generous living. The generous living has fed mus- 
 cles now vigorously used ; they have been enlarged 
 and strengthened: the legs, which never used to try 
 to jump a cubit high, even, once in the whole year, 
 now carry their owner safely over a four-rail fence, 
 and perhaps another rail, or even two of them. 
 The lungs, which were scarcely half expanded, 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 133 
 
 now have every air-cell thoroughly filled for at 
 least one entire hour daily — an excellent thing for 
 weak 1 tings. Correct positions of standing, sitting, 
 walking, and running being now well known and 
 understood, the lungs get more air into them than 
 formerly, even when their owner is at rest. An- 
 other effect of it all is shown in a decidedly more 
 vigorous circulation, and the consequent exhilara- 
 tion and buoyancy of spirits, no matter whether 
 the work in hand is mental or physical. 
 
 But will not this hour's work dull him mentally ? 
 It may be proper to digress for a moment and see 
 if it will. Of men who have done just this kind 
 and amount of work, this work aimed at every 
 part of the body, we find no record, simply be- 
 cause, as we have already shown, considerable as 
 the increased interest is in physical culture and 
 development, this plan of reaching all the parts 
 and being just to all, has scarcely been tried. But 
 abundant proof that some physical exercise will 
 not dull the man, but even brighten him, can be 
 had without difficulty. A moment's reflection will 
 show that a mind ever on the stretch must, like a 
 bow so kept, be the worse for it, and that the strain 
 must be occasionally slacked. There are two ways 
 of slacking it. Both the physician and experience 
 tell us that nothing rests a tired brain like sensi- 
 ble, physical exercise, except, of course, sleep. 
 
134 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 "When in active use," says Mitchell, "the think- 
 ing organs becoime full of blood, and, as Dr. Lom- 
 bard has shown, rise in temperature, while the feet 
 and hands become cold. Nature meant that for 
 their work they should be, in the first place, sup- 
 plied with food ; next, that they should have certain 
 intervals of rest to rid themselves of the excess of 
 blood accumulated during their periods of activity; 
 and this is to be done by sleep, and also by bring- 
 ing into play the physical machinery of the body, 
 such as the muscles — that is to say, by exercise 
 which flushes the parts engaged in it, and so de- 
 pletes the brain."* 
 
 Here, then, some physical exercise will rest his 
 brain, and fit it for more and better work. But 
 this does not necessarily imply so much as is call- 
 ed for in the hour. Happily, however, there is no 
 lack of instances where work, quite as vigorous, 
 though not as well directed, has accompanied men- 
 tal work of a very high order, and to all appear- 
 ances has been a help rather than a hinderance. 
 Instead of one hour a day, Napoleon for years was 
 in the saddle several hours almost daily, but we 
 never heard that it clogged his mind. Charles 
 O'Conor, always fond of long walks, is good at 
 them to-day, and noticeably erect and quick of 
 
 * " Wear and Tear," p. 54. 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 135 
 
 movement, though for weeks he once lay at death's 
 door, and though he was born in 1804. James 
 Russell Lowell, sturdy, broad, and ruddy, is said 
 to never ride when lie can walk, and he is nearly 
 sixty. Gladstone's reputation as an axeman among 
 the Ha ward en oaks has reached our shores. In- 
 deed, it is doubtful if there are many better fellers 
 of his age in Europe, and he was born in 1809. 
 Mr. M. H. Beebee, the present senior tutor at Cam- 
 bridge University in England, who rowed at num- 
 ber two in the "'Varsity" eight against Oxford in 
 '65, not only took the very highest university hon- 
 or — a double-first — but a much higher double-first 
 than even Gladstone had taken years before. The 
 fencing, duelling, and hard riding of Bismarck's 
 youth do not seem to have perceptibly dimmed his 
 intellect, or to have unfitted it for enormous and 
 very important work in later life. 
 
 And while the in-door work equalizes the 
 strength, and takes care of the arms and chest, the 
 hour's "constitutional" daily out-of-doors has an 
 especial advantage, in that it insures at least that 
 much out-of-door life and air. Dr. Mitchell says, 
 "When exposure to out-of-door air is associated 
 with a fair share of physical exertion, it is an im- 
 mense safeguard against the ills of anxiety and too 
 much brain-work. I presume that very few of our 
 generals could have gone through with their terri- 
 
136 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 ble task if it had not been that they lived in the 
 open air and exercised freely. For these reasons 
 I do not doubt that the effects of our great con- 
 test were far more severely felt by the Secretary 
 of War and the late President than by Grant or 
 Sherman." 
 
 A recent, interesting, and wonderfully apt in- 
 stance, more so than any of these, one going 
 straight to the point, and as nearly as possible the 
 equivalent of what we propose to urge later on all 
 sedentary men, one where the proof comes direct- 
 ly from the gentleman's own pen, is that of the 
 late Mr. Bryant, whose letter on the subject, writ- 
 ten to a friend in 1871, will be found on page 169. 
 With characteristic sturdiness, with no one to aid 
 or guide him, he hit on a plan of work to be done, 
 partly in his little home-gymnasium, and partly on 
 the road, and stuck faithfully to it till well over 
 fourscore, and at eighty-two he told the writer that 
 he continued his exercise simply because it paid. 
 His aim was to keep all his machinery in working 
 order, and to prolong his life; and when he did die, 
 at eighty -four, it was not from old age, not because 
 his functions were worn out. With his usual vigor 
 and energy when any writing was to be done, he 
 had thrown himself into his work of preparing his 
 address at the Mazzini celebration, till, tired and 
 exhausted, the undue exposure to the hot sun and 
 
WHAT A GYMNASIUM MIGHT BE AND DO. 137 
 
 the resulting fall were too* much for him, and these 
 were what took him away. 
 
 But the plan here suggested will not only cover 
 all he did, bnt more. Bryant does not seem to 
 have cared for erectness, nor for a harmonious 
 development of all the muscles. But had the 
 amount of work he took been so directed, he might 
 in youth have attained that harmony, and main- 
 tained it through life, as Yanderbilt maintained 
 his erectness. 
 
 There need be little fear, then, that a right use 
 of the gymnasium will overdo. No better safe- 
 guard against that could be had than a wise di- 
 rector, familiar with the capacities of his pupil, 
 watching him daily, instilling sound principles, and 
 giving him the very work he needs. Under such 
 a tutor a young man who went to college, on re- 
 ceiving his degree, would, if his moral and mental 
 duties were attended to, be graduated, not with 
 an educated mind alone, but an educated body as 
 w T ell ; not with merely a bright head, and a body 
 and legs like a pair of tongs. If the history of 
 brave, independent, earnest, pure men goes for 
 anything, it will be found that as the body was 
 healthy and strong, it has in many a pass in life 
 directly aided moral culture and strength, and has 
 kept the man from defiling that body which was 
 meant to be kept sacred. 
 
138 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SOME RESULTS OF BRIEF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 
 
 In a conn try like ours, where the masses are so 
 intelligent, where so much care is taken to secure 
 what is called a good education, the ignorance as 
 to what can be done to the body by a little system- 
 atic physical education is simply marvellous. Few 
 persons seem to be aware that any limb, or any 
 part of it, can be developed from a state of weak- 
 ness and deficiency to one of fulness, strength, and 
 beauty, and that equal attention to all the limbs, 
 and to the body as well, will work like result 
 throughout. A man spends three or four weeks 
 at the hay and grain harvest, and is surprised at 
 the increased grip of his hands, and the new power 
 of arm and back. lie tramps through forests, and 
 paddles up streams and lakes after game, and re- 
 turns wondering how three or four miles on a 
 level sidewalk could ever have tired him. 
 
 An acquaintance of ours, an active and skilled 
 journalist, says that he once set out to saw twenty 
 cords of wood. He was a slight, weak youth. He 
 found he had not enough strength or wind to get 
 
SOME EESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 139 
 
 through one cut of a log — that he had to constantly 
 sit down and rest. People laughed at him, and at 
 his thinking he could go through that mighty pile,. 
 But they did not know what was in him; for, stick- 
 ing gamely to his self-imposed task, he says that in 
 a very few days he found his stay improving rap- 
 idly, that he did not tire half so easily, and, more 
 than that, that there began to come a feeling over 
 him — a most welcome one — : of new strength in his 
 arms and across his chest ; and that what had at 
 first looked almost an impossibility had now be- 
 come very possible, and was before long accom- 
 plished. Now, what he, by his manliness, found 
 was fast doing so much for his arms and chest, 
 was but a sample of what equally steady, system- 
 atic work might have done for his whole body. 
 Indeed, a later experience of this same gentleman 
 will be in place here ; for at Dr. Sargent's gymna- 
 sium in New York, in the winter of 1878-79, he, 
 though a middle-aged man, increased the girth of 
 his chest two inches and Jive-eighths in six weeks ! 
 and this working but one hour a day; and he 
 found that he could not only do more work daily 
 afterward at his profession, but better work as 
 well. 
 
 The youth who works daily in a given line at 
 the gymnasium as much expects that, before the 
 year is over, not only will the muscles used decid- 
 
140 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 edly increase in strength, but in size and shapeli- 
 ness as well, as he does that the year's reading will 
 improve his mind, or a year's labor bring him his 
 salary. It is an every -day expression with him 
 that such a fellow "got his arm up to" fifteen, or 
 his chest to forty-odd inches, and so on. He sees 
 nothing; singular in this. He knows this one, who 
 in a short time put half an inch on his forearm, or 
 an inch ; that one, whose thigh, or chest, or waist, 
 or calf made equal progress. Group and classify 
 these gains in many cases, and note the amount of 
 work and the time taken in each, and soon one can 
 tell pretty w T ell what can be done in this direction. 
 Few of our gymnasiums are so kept that their rec- 
 ords will aid much in this inquiry, simply because 
 the instructor either has no conception of the field 
 before him, or, if he lias, for some reason fails to 
 improve the opportunity. 
 
 Look at what Maclaren effected (as described by 
 him in his admirable " Plrysical Education"), not 
 with here and there an isolated case, but with both 
 boys and men turned in on him by the hundred, 
 and in all stages of imperfect development! Take 
 it first among the boys. Under systematic exercise, 
 
 W , a boy at Eadley College, ten years old in 
 
 June, 1801 ? had, seven years later, increased in 
 height from 4 feet 6f inches to 5 feet 10J inches, 
 or a gain of 1G inches in all; in weight from 66 
 
SOME RESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 141 
 
 pounds — light weight for a ten-year-old boy — to 
 156 pounds ; far -heavier than most boys at seven- 
 teen; showing an advance of 90 pounds. His 
 forearm went from 1\ to 11 j- inches — very large 
 for a boy of seventeen, and decidedly above the 
 average of that of most men ; his upper arm from 
 T§ inches to 13f — also far above the average at 
 that age; while his chest had actually increased 
 in girth from 26 inches — which was almost slen- 
 der, even for a ten-year-old — to 39-J inches, which 
 is all of two inches larger than the average man's. 
 
 His description of this boy was: "Height above 
 average: other measurements average. From com- 
 mencement, growth rapid, and sustained with reg- 
 tdar and uniform development. The whole frame 
 advancing to great physical power." 
 
 Another boy, II , starting in June, 1860, 
 
 when ten years old, 4 feet 6J inches high, and 
 weighing 73 pounds — much heavier than the oth- 
 er at the start — in eight years gained 13f inches, 
 making him 5 feet 7f inches — of medium height 
 for that age. He gained 71 pounds in the eight 
 years, and at 144 pounds was better built than 
 
 W- at 156; for, though his forearm, starting 
 
 at 8 inches, had become 11^, a quarter of an inch 
 
 less than W 's, yet his upper arm had gone 
 
 from 8f to 13^ inches, or one-eighth of an inch 
 larger, while his chest rose from 2SJ to 39 inches 
 
142 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 — within half an inch of the other's, though the 
 latter was 3 inches taller. 
 
 He is described : " Height slightly above aver- 
 age; other measurements considerably above aver- 
 age. From commencement, growth and develop- 
 ment regular and continuous. The ichole frame 
 perfectly developed for this period of life" 
 
 S 's case is far more remarkable. He was 
 
 evidently very small and undersized. "Height 
 and all other measurements greatly below average; 
 the whole frame stunted and dwarfish. Advance- 
 ment at first slight, and very irregular. After- 
 ward rapid, and comparatively regular." 
 
 He only gained in height three-quarters of an 
 
 inch from thirteen to fourteen, where W had 
 
 gained 3f inches, and II Z\ inches. Yet, from 
 
 fifteen to sixteen, where W only went ahead 
 
 half an inch, and II five-eighths of an inch, 
 
 S actually gained 4 inches, which must have 
 
 been most gratifying. His weight changes were 
 even more noticeable. From twelve to fifteen 
 
 W gained 58 pounds, and II 39, while 
 
 all S could show was 12. But from fifteen 
 
 to sixteen see how he caught up ! Where W 
 
 made 11 pounds, and II 10, S made 22. 
 
 Where W 's chest went up 1 inch, and II 's 
 
 1^ inches, S 's went up 3 inches. 
 
 Now, how long did these boys work ? As Mac- 
 laren says 5 "e/u$tf one hour per week!" 
 
SOME RESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 143 
 
 What parent believes that any hour in that 
 week was better spent — better for the comfort, for 
 the welfare of the boy, or better in fitting him for 
 future usefulness — or what nearly so well? Most 
 boys waste that much time nearly every day. 
 
 Look, too, at the benefit to the boy in all his 
 after-life. Indeed, does not this hour a week, in 
 some instances, insure an after-life, and snatch not 
 a few from an early grave ? Had every slim, thin- 
 chested man in America, and every slim, thin- 
 chested boy who never lived to be a man, spent an 
 hour weekly under such tutoring, from the age of 
 ten to eighteen, would not the benefit to our land 
 in working-power, in vigor and force, and comfort 
 as well, have been incalculable ? And had it, in- 
 stead of one hour a week, been two or three, or 
 even an hour a day, might not the results have 
 been even more gratifying? 
 
 Professor Maclaren may well congratulate him- 
 self on such good results among the boys. But 
 what has he done with men ? Some years ago 
 twelve non-commissioned officers, selected from all 
 branches of the service, were sent to him to qual- 
 ify as instructors for the British army. He says: 
 
 " They ranged between nineteen and twenty- 
 nine years of age, between five feet five inches 
 and six feet in height, between nine stone two 
 [128] pounds and twelve stone six [174] pounds 
 
144 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 in weight, and Lad seen from ten to twelve years' 
 service." 
 
 He carefully registered the measurements of 
 each at the start, arid at different times through- 
 out their progress. lie says : 
 
 "The muscular additions to the arms and shoul- 
 ders, and the expansion of the chest, were so great 
 as to have absolutely a ludicrous and embarrassing 
 result, for, before the fourth month, several of the 
 men could not get into their uniforms, jackets, and 
 tunics, without assistance, and when they had got 
 them on they could not get them to meet down 
 the middle by a handVbreadth. In a month more 
 they could not get into them at all, and new cloth- 
 ing had to be procured, pending the arrival of 
 which the men had to go to and from the gym- 
 nasium in their great -coats. One of these men 
 gained five inches in actual girth of chest" 
 
 And he well adds: "Now who shall tell the 
 value of these five inches of chest, five inches of 
 additional space for the heart and lungs to work 
 in?" Hardly five inches more of heart and lung 
 room, though part of the gain must have been of 
 course from the enlargement of the muscles on 
 the side of the chest. 
 
 He also hit upon another plan of showing the 
 change; for he says he had them "photographed, 
 stripped to the waist, both at first and when tho 
 
SOME RESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 145 
 
 four months were over, and the change even in 
 these portraits was very distinct, and most notably 
 in the youngest, who was nineteen, for, besides the 
 acquisition of muscle, there was in his case "a re- 
 adjustment and expansion of the osseous frames 
 work upon which the muscles are distributed." 
 Now let us look a little at the measurements and 
 the actual changes wrought. 
 
 111 the first place, this last instance settles con- 
 clusively one matter most important to flat-chest- 
 ed youth, namely, whether the shape of the chest 
 itself can be changed ; for here it was done, and 
 in a very short time at that. Again, of these 
 twelve men, in less than eight months every one 
 gained perceptibly in height; indeed, there was an 
 average gain of five-twelfths of an inch in height, 
 though all, save one, were over twenty ; and one 
 man who gained half an inch w T as twenty-eight 
 years old, while one twenty-six gained five-eighths 
 of an inch ! (Most people suppose they can get no 
 taller after twenty-one.) All increased decidedly 
 in weight — the smallest gain being 5 pounds, the 
 average 10 pounds; and one, and he twenty-eight, 
 and a five-feet-eleven man, actually went up from 
 149 pounds at the beginning, to 165 pounds in 
 less than four months. It is not likely there was 
 much fat about them, as thev had so much vig- 
 orous muscular exercise. Every man's chest en- 
 
 10 
 
146 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 larged decidedly, the smallest gain being a whole 
 inch in the four months, the average being 2$ 
 inches, and one, though twenty-four years old, act- 
 ually gaining 5 inches, or over an inch a month. 
 Every upper arm increased 1 inch, most of them 
 more than that, and one If inches. As the work 
 was aimed to develop the whole body, there is lit- 
 tle doubt that there was a proportional increase in 
 the girth of hips and thigh and calf. 
 
 Again, from the Royal Academy at Woolwich, 
 Professor Maclaren took twenty-one 3 T ouths whose 
 average age was about eigli teen, and in the brief 
 period of four months and a half obtained an 
 average advance of If pounds in weight, of 2\ 
 inches in chest, and of 1 inch on the upper arm ; 
 while one fellow, nineteen, and slender at that, 
 gained 8 pounds in weight, and 5J inches about 
 the chest! Think what a difference that would 
 make in the chest of any man, and a difference all 
 in the right direction at that! 
 
 But the most satisfactory statistics offered were 
 those of two articled pupils, one sixteen, the other 
 twenty. In exactly one year's work the younger 
 grew from 5 feet 2f inches in height to 5 feet 4f 
 inches. He weighed 108 pounds on his sixteenth 
 birthday; on his seventeenth, 129! At the start 
 his chest girthed 31 inches ; twelve months later, 
 just 3G! His forearm went up from 8 inches to 
 
SOME RESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 147 
 
 10 inches, and his upper arm from 9J inches to 
 
 lit 
 
 While the older gained but three -eighths of 
 an inch in height, his weight went up from 153 
 pounds to 101^, his forearm from 11J inches to 
 12f — an unusually large forearm for any man — 
 and his upper arm from llf inches to 13J, while 
 his chest actually made the astonishing stride of 
 from 34 inches to 40. Not yet a large arm, save 
 below the elbow, not yet a great chest ; five inch- 
 es smaller, for instance, than Daniel Webster's, 
 but greatly ahead of what they were a year ear- 
 lier. 
 
 There is no mystery about the Maclaren meth- 
 od. Others might do it, perhaps not as well as he, 
 for Maclaren's has been a very exceptional experi- 
 ence ; still, well enough. 
 
 Look what Sargent did with a Bow T doin student 
 of nineteen, as shown in Appendix IV. In four 
 hours' work a week this student's upper arm went 
 up If inches — just the same amount as did Mac- 
 laren's student of twenty; his chest went up from 
 36|- inches to 40, while that of Maclaren's man 
 went from 34: ..to 40 ; but it should be borne in 
 mind that 36J is harder to add 6 inches to in this 
 kind of work than 34. In height the Englishman 
 made three-eighths of an inch in the year, while 
 the American made a whole inch. But the lat- 
 
148 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 ter also led easily in another direction, and a very 
 important one too; for, while the Briton, though 
 but a year older, and of almost exactly the same 
 height, gained but SJ pounds in the year, the 
 American made 15 ! His case is further valuable 
 in that it shows, beside this advance above the 
 waist, splendid increase in girth of hips, thigh, and 
 calf as well. 
 
 With us Americans fond of results, many of 
 whose chests, by-the-way, do not increase a hairV 
 breadth in twenty years, better proof could not be 
 sought than these figures offer of the value of a 
 system of exercise which would work such rapid 
 and decided changes. Had they all been with 
 boys, there might have been difficulty in separating 
 what natural growth did, in the years they change 
 so fast, from what was the result of development. 
 But most of the cases cited are of men who had 
 their growth, and had apparently, to a large extent, 
 taken their form and set for life. To take a man 
 twenty -eight years old, tall and rather slim, and 
 whose height had probably not increased a single 
 hairVbreadth in seven years, and in a few short 
 months increase that height by a good half inch ; 
 to take another, also twenty-eight, and suddenly, in 
 the short period between September 11th and the 
 30th of the next April, add sixteen pounds to his 
 weight, and every pound of excellent stuff, was in 
 
SOME KESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 149 
 
 itself no light thing ; and there are thousands of 
 men in our land to-day who would be delighted to 
 make an equally great addition to their general 
 size and strength, even in twice the period. To 
 add five whole inches of chest, and nearly that 
 much of lung and heart room and stomach room, 
 and the consequent greater capacity for all the vi- 
 tal organs, is a matter, to many men, of almost 
 immeasurable value. Hear Dr. Morgan, in his 
 English "University Oars," on this point: "An 
 addition of three inches to the circumference of 
 the chest implies that the lungs, instead of con- 
 taining 250 cubic inches of air, as they did before 
 their functional activity was exalted, are now ca- 
 pable of receiving 300 cubic inches within their 
 cells: the value of this augmented lung accom- 
 modation will readily be admitted. Suppose, for 
 example, that a man is attacked by inflammation 
 of the lungs, by pleurisy, or some one of the va- 
 ried forms of consumption, it may readily be con- 
 ceived that, in such an emergency, the possession 
 of enough lung tissue to admit forty or fifty addi- 
 tional cubic inches of air will amply suffice to turn 
 the scale on the side of recovery. It assists a 
 patient successfully to tide over the critical stage 
 of his disease." A man, then, of feeble lungs — 
 the consumptive, for instance — taken early in 
 hand, with the care which Maclaren or Sargent 
 
150 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 could so well give, gradually advanced in every di- 
 rection, would suddenly find that his narrow, thin, 
 and hollow chest had departed, had given way to 
 one round, full, deep, and roomy; that the fee- 
 ble lungs and heart which, in cooler weather, 
 were formerly hardly up to keeping the extrem- 
 ities warm, are now strong and vigorous ; that 
 the old tendency to lean his head forward when 
 standing or walking, and to sit stooping, with 
 most of his vital organs cramped, has all gone. 
 In their place had come an erect carriage, a firm 
 tread, a strong, well-knit trunk, a manly voice, and 
 a buoyancy and exhilaration of spirits worth un- 
 told wealth. Who will say that all these have not 
 assured him years of life ? 
 
 Well, but did all this increase of weight and 
 size actually change the shape of the chest, for in- 
 stance, and take the hollowness out of it ? That is 
 exactly what it did ; and Maclaren has a drawing 
 of the same chest at the beginning and end of the 
 year, showing an increase in the breadth, depth, 
 and fulness of the lower chest which makes it 
 seem almost impossible that it could have belong- 
 ed to the same person. It will be remembered 
 that Maclaren claimed* that just such a readjust- 
 ment of the osseous framework would result. Is 
 
 * See page 145. 
 
'SOME RESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 151 
 
 not this, then, remaking a man? Instead of a 
 cramped stomach, half-used lungs, a thin, scrawny, 
 caved-in make, poor pipe-stems of legs, with arms 
 to match, almost every one under fort}', at least, 
 can in a very few months, by means of a series of 
 exercises, change those same slender legs, those 
 puny arms, that flat chest, that slim neck, and met- 
 amorphose their owner into a well-built, self-suffi- 
 cient, vigorous man, fitter a hundred times for se- 
 vere in-door or out-door life, for the quiet plod- 
 ding at the desk, or the stormy days and nights of 
 the ocean or the bivouac. Who is going to do bet- 
 ter brain-work : he whose brain is steadily fed with 
 vigorous, rich blood, made by machinery kept con- 
 stantly in excellent order, never cramped, aided 
 daily by judicious and vigorous exercise, tending 
 directly to rest and build him up? or he w T ho over- 
 works his brain, gets it once clogged with blood, 
 and, for many hours of the day, keeps it clogged, 
 who does nothing to draw the blood out of his 
 brain for awhile and put more of it in the mus- 
 cles, who, perhaps, in the very midst of his work, 
 rushes out, dashes down a full meal, and hurries 
 back to work, and at once sets his brain to doing 
 well-nigh its utmost? 
 
 Well, but is not the work which will effect such 
 swift changes very severe, and so a hazardous one 
 to attempt? That is just what it is not. Is there 
 
152 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 anything very formidable in wooden dumb-bells 
 weighing only two and a half pounds each, or clubs 
 of three and a half pounds, or pulley-weights of 
 from ten to fifteen pounds ? or is any great danger 
 likely to result from their use? And yet they were 
 Sargent's weapons with his Bowdoin two hun- 
 dred.* Nothing in Maclaren's work, so far as he 
 points out what it is, is nearly so dangerous as a 
 sudden run to boat or train, taken bv one all out 
 of the way of running, perhaps who has never 
 learned. There a heart unused to swift work is 
 suddenly forced to beat at a tremendous rate, lungs 
 ordinarily half-used are strained to their utmost, 
 and all without one jot of preparation. 
 
 But here, by the most careful and judicious sys- 
 tem, the result of long study and much practical 
 application, a person is taken, and, by work exactly 
 suited to his weak state, is gradually hardened and 
 strengthened. Then still more is given him to do, 
 and so on, at the rate that is plainly seen to best 
 suit him. Develop every man's body by such a 
 method, teach every American school-boy the erect 
 carriage of the West Pointer, and how many men 
 among us would there be built after the pattern 
 of the typical brother Jonathan, or of the thin- 
 chested, round-shouldered, inerect, and generally 
 
 * See Appendix II. 
 
SOME KESULTS OF SYSTEMATIC EXERCISE. 153 
 
 weak make, so common in nearly every city, town, 
 and village in our land ? 
 
 Look, too, at the knowledge such a course brings 
 of the workings of one's own body, of its general 
 structure, of its possibilities ! What a lecture on 
 the human body it must prove, and how it must 
 fit the man to keep his strength up, and, if lost, to 
 recover it ; for it has uniformly been found that a 
 man once strong needs but little work daily to keep 
 him so. A little reflection on facts like the fore- 
 going must point strongly to the conclusion that 
 the body — at least of any one not yet middle-aged 
 — admits of a variety and degree of culture almost 
 as great as could be desired, certainly sufficient 
 to make reasonably sure of a great accession of 
 strength and health to a person formerly weak, 
 and that with but a little time given each day tc 
 the w r ork. 
 
154 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 
 
 While the endeavor has been made to point out 
 the value of plain and simple exercise — for, in a 
 later chapter, particular work will be designated 
 which, if followed systematically and persistently, 
 will correct many physical defects, substituting 
 c;ood working health and vigor for weakness — the 
 reply may be made, "Yes, these are well enough 
 for the young and active, but they will not avail 
 a fleshy person, or a slim one, or one well up in 
 years." 
 
 Let us see about this. Take, first, those burden- 
 ed with flesh which seems to do them little or no 
 good, and which is often a hinderance, dulling and 
 slackening their energies, preventing them from 
 doing much which they could, and which they be- 
 lieve they would do with alacrity were they once 
 freed from this unwelcome burden. There are 
 some persons with whom the reduction of flesh be- 
 comes a necessity. They have a certain physical 
 task to perform, and they know they cannot have 
 either the strength or the wind to get through with 
 
WOEK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 155 
 
 it creditably, unless they first rid themselves of con- 
 siderable superfluous flesh. 
 
 Take the man, for instance, who wants to walk 
 a race of several miles, or to run or row one. He 
 has often heard of men getting their weight down 
 to a certain figure for a similar purpose. He has 
 seen some one who did it, and he is confident that 
 he can do it. He sets about it, takes much and 
 severe physical work daily, warmly clad, perspiring 
 freely, while he subjects his skin to much friction 
 from coarse towels. He does without certain food 
 which he understands makes fat, and only eats that 
 which he believes makes mainly bone and muscle. 
 He sticks to his work, and gradually makes that 
 work harder and faster. To his gratification, he 
 finds that not only has his wind improved, so that, 
 in the place of the old panting after a slight effort 
 — walking briskly up an ordinary flight of stairs, 
 for instance — he can now breathe as easily and 
 quietly, and can stick to it as long, as any of his 
 leaner companions. By race-day he is down ten, 
 fifteen, or twenty pounds, or even more, as the case 
 may be. While he has thus reduced himself, and 
 is far stronger and more enduring than he w T as 
 before, he is not the only one who has lost flesh, if 
 there have been a number working with him, as 
 in a boat -crew. Notice the lists of our univer- 
 sity crews and their weights, published when they 
 
156 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 commence strict training, say a month before the 
 race, and compare them with those of the same 
 men on race-day, particularly in hot weather. The 
 reduction is very marked all through the crew. In 
 the English university eights it is even more strik- 
 ing, the large and stalwart fellows, who fill their 
 thwarts, often coming down in a month an average 
 of over a dozen pounds per man. 
 
 We have seen a student, after weighing himself 
 on scales in the gymnasium, sit down at a fifty-five 
 pound rowing weight, pull forty-five full strokes a 
 minute for twenty minutes, then, clad exactly as 
 before, weigh again on the same scales, and find 
 he was just one pound lighter than he was twenty 
 minutes earlier. 
 
 But the difference is more marked in more ma- 
 tured men, who naturally run to flesh, than in stu- 
 dents. A prize-fighter, for instance, in changing 
 from a life of indulgence and immoderate drink- 
 ing, will often come down as much as thirty, or 
 even forty pounds, in preparing for his contest. It 
 should be remembered that, besides other advan- 
 tages of his being thin, it is of great importance 
 that his face should be so lean that a blow on his 
 cheek shall not puff it up, and swell it so as to shut 
 up his eye, and put him at his enemy's mercy. 
 
 Hut most people do not care to take such severe 
 and arduous work as either the amateur athlete or 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 157 
 
 the prize-fighter. If they could hit on some com- 
 paratively light and easy way of restoring them- 
 selves physically to a hard-mnscle basis, and could 
 so shake off their burden of flesh without inter- 
 fering seriously with their business, they would be 
 glad to try it. Let us see if this can be done. 
 
 In the summer of 1877 the writer met a gentle- 
 man of middle age, whom he had known for years, 
 and who has been long connected with one of the 
 United States departments in New York city. A 
 very steady, hard - working officer, his occupation 
 was a sedentary one. Remembering him as a man, 
 till recently, of immense bulk, and being struck 
 with his evident and great shrinkage, we inquired 
 if he had been ill. He replied that he had not 
 been ill, that for years he had not enjoyed better 
 health. Questioning him as to his altered appear- 
 ance, he said that, on the eighteenth day of Jan- 
 uary, 1877, he weighed three hundred and five 
 pounds ; that, having become so unwieldy, his flesh 
 was a source of great hinderance and annoyance to 
 him. Then he had determined, if possible, to get 
 rid of some of it. Having to be at work all day, 
 he could only effect his purpose in the evenings, 
 or not at all. So, making no especial change in 
 his diet, he took to walking, and soon began to 
 average from three to five miles an evening, and 
 at the best pace he could make. In the cold 
 
158 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 months he says that he often perspired so that 
 small icicles would form on the ends of his hair. 
 Asking if it did not come a little stiff sometimes, 
 on stormy nights or when he was very tired, and 
 whether he did not omit his exercise at such times, 
 lie said no, but, on the contrary, added two miles, 
 which shows the timber the man was made of. 
 On the eighteenth of June of the same year, just 
 five months from the start, he weighed but two 
 hundred and fifteen pounds, having actually taken 
 off ninety pounds, and had so altered that his for- 
 mer clothes would not fit him at all. Since that 
 time we have again seen him, and he savs he is 
 now down to two hundred, and that he has taken 
 to horseback -riding, as he is fond of that. He 
 looks to-day a large, strong, hearty man of about 
 five feet ten, of rather phlegmatic temperament, 
 but no one would ever think of him as a fat man. 
 
 Now here is a man well known to hundreds of 
 the lawyers of the New York Bar, a living exam- 
 ple of what a little energy and determination will 
 accomplish for a person who sets about his task as 
 if he meant to perform it. 
 
 During the war, M , a member of the Bos- 
 ton Police force, known to the writer, was said to 
 weigh three hundred and fifteen pounds, and was 
 certainly an enormously large man. He went 
 South, served for some time as stoker on a gun- 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 159 
 
 boat, and an intimate friend of his informed us 
 that he had reduced his weight to one hundred and 
 eighty-four. 
 
 A girl of fifteen or sixteen, and inclined to be 
 fleshy, found that, by a good deal of horseback- 
 riding daily, she lost twenty -live pounds in one 
 year — so a physician familiar with her case in- 
 formed us. 
 
 Brisk walking, and being on the feet much of 
 the day — as Americans, for instance, find it neces- 
 sary to do when they try to see the Parisian gal- 
 leries and many other of Europe's attractions all 
 in a very few weeks — will tell decidedly on the 
 weight of fleshy people, and dispose them to move 
 more quickly. When you can do it, this is per- 
 haps not such a bad way to reduce yourself. 
 
 Now, if so many have found that vigorous mus- 
 cular exercise, taken daily and assiduously, accom- 
 plished the desired end for them, does it not look 
 as if a similar course, combined with a little 
 strength of purpose, would bring similar benefit to 
 others ? In anv case, such a course has this advan- 
 tage : begun easily, and followed up with grad- 
 ually increasing vigor, it will be sure to tone up 
 and strengthen one, and add to the spring and 
 quickness of movement, whether it reduces one's 
 flesh or not. But it is a sort of work where free 
 perspiration must be encouraged, not hindered, for 
 
160 HOW TO GET STBONG, ETC. 
 
 this is plainly a prominent element in effecting the 
 desired purpose. 
 
 But, while many of us know instances where fat 
 people have, by exercise, been reduced to a normal 
 weight, is it possible for a thin person to become 
 stouter ? A thin person may have a large frame 
 or a slender one. Is there any work which will 
 increase the weight of each, and bring desirable 
 roundness and plumpness of trunk and limb ? 
 
 Take, first, the slim man. Follow him for a day, 
 or even an hour, and you will usually find that, 
 while often active — indeed, too active — still he does 
 no work which a person of his height need be real- 
 ly strong to do. Put him beside' such a person who 
 is not merely large, but really strong and in equal- 
 ly good condition, and correspondingly skilful, and 
 let the two train for an athletic feat of some sort 
 — row together, for instance, or some other work 
 where each must carry other weight in addition to 
 his own. The first mile they can go well together, 
 and one will do about as much as the other. But 
 as the second wears along, the good strength be- 
 gins to tell; and the slim man, while, perhaps, 
 sustaining his form pretty well, and going through 
 the motions, is not quite doing the work, and his 
 friend is gradually drawing away from him. At 
 the third mile the disparity grows very marked, 
 and the stronger fellow has it all his own way, 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 161 
 
 while at the end he also finds that he has not 
 taken as much out of him as his slender rival. He 
 has had more to carry, both in his boat's greater 
 weight, and especially in his own, but his carrying 
 power was more than enough to make up for the 
 difference. Measure the slim man where you will, 
 about his arm or shoulders, chest or thigh or calf, 
 and the other outmeasures him ; the only girth 
 where he is up, and perhaps ahead, is that of his 
 head — for thin, fellows often have big heads. The 
 muscles of the stronger youth are larger as well as 
 stronger. 
 
 No.w, take the slim fellow, and set him to mak- 
 ing so many efforts a day with any given muscle 
 or muscles, say those of his upper left arm, for 
 instance. Put some reward before him which he 
 would like greatly to have — say a hundred thou- 
 sand dollars — if in one year from date he will in- 
 crease the girth of that same upper left arm two 
 honest inches. Now, watch him, if he has any 
 spirit and stuff, as thin fellows very often have, 
 and see what lie does. Insist, too, that whatever 
 he does shall in no way interfere with his business 
 or regular duties, whatever they may be, but that 
 he must find other time for it. And what will he 
 do? Why, he will leave no stone unturned to find 
 just what work uses the muscles in question, and 
 at that work he will go, with a resolution which 
 
 11 
 
162 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 no obstacle will balk. He is simply showing the 
 truth of Emerson's broad rule, that "in all human 
 action those faculties will be strong which are 
 used ;" and of Maclaren's, " Where the activity is, 
 there will be the development." 
 
 The new work flushes the muscles in question 
 with far more blood than before, while the wear 
 and tear being greater, the call for new material 
 corresponds, and more and more hearty food is 
 eaten and assimilated. The quarter-inch or more 
 of gain the first fortnight often becomes the whole 
 inch in less than two months, and long before the 
 year is out the coveted two inches have come. 
 And, in acquiring them, his whole left arm and 
 shoulder have had correspondingly new strength 
 added, quite going past his right, though it was the 
 larger at first, if meanwhile he has practically let 
 it alone. 
 
 There are some men, either at the college or 
 city gymnasiums, every year, who are practical- 
 ly getting to themselves such an increase in the 
 strength and size of some particular muscles. 
 
 We knew 7 one at college who, on entering, stood 
 hardly five feet four, weighed but about one hun- 
 dred and fifteen pounds, and was small and rather 
 spare. For four years lie worked with great stead- 
 iness in the gymnasium, afoot and on the water, 
 and he graduated a five-foot-eight man, splendid- 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 163 
 
 ly built, and weighing a hundred and sixty-eight 
 pounds — every pound a good one, for he was one 
 of the best bow-oarsmen his university ever saw. 
 
 Another, tall and very slender, but with a large 
 head and a very bright mind, was an habitual fault- 
 finder at everything on the table, no matter if it 
 was fit for a prince. A friend got him, for awhile, 
 into a little athletic work — walking, running, and 
 sparring — until he could trot three miles fairly, 
 and till one day he walked forty-five — pretty well 
 used up, to be sure, but he walked it. Well, his ap- 
 petite went up like a rocket. Where the daintiest 
 food would not tempt him before, he would now 
 promptly hide a beefsteak weighing a clean pound 
 at a meal, and that no matter if cooked in some 
 roadside eating-house, where nothing was neat or 
 tidy, and flies abounded almost as they did once 
 in Egypt in Pharaoh's day. His friends frequent- 
 ly spoke of his improved temper, and how much 
 easier it w r as to get on with him. But after a 
 while his efforts slackened, and his poor stomach 
 returned to its old vices, at least in part. Had he 
 kept at what was doing so much for him, it would 
 have continued to prove a many-sided blessing. 
 
 If steady and vigorous use of one set of mus- 
 cles gradually increases their size, why should not 
 a similar allowauce, distributed to each, do the 
 same for all? See (Appendix V.) what it did in 
 
1<)4 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 four months and twelve days for Maclaren's pupil 
 of nineteen, whose upper arm not only gained a 
 whole inch and a half (think how that would add 
 to the beauty alone of many a woman's arm, to say 
 nothing of its strength), and whose chest enlarged 
 five inches and a quarter, but whose weight went 
 up eight pounds ! Or what it did (see Appendix 
 IV.) for Sargent's pupil of nineteen, who in just 
 one year, besides making an inch and a half of 
 upper arm, and three and a half of chest, went 
 up from a hundred and forty-five pounds to a hun- 
 dred and sixty, or a clean gain of fifteen pounds. 
 Or (see Appendix VI.) for Maclaren's man, fully 
 twenty-eight years old, who, in seven months and 
 nineteen days, made sixteen pounds ; or (Appen- 
 dix VII.) for his youth of sixteen, who in just one 
 year increased his weight fall tioenty-one pounds/ 
 
 These facts certainly show pretty clearly wheth- 
 er sensible bodily exercise, taken regularly, and 
 aimed at the weak spots, will not tell, and tell pret- 
 ty rapidly, on the thin man wanting to stouten, and 
 tell, too, in the way he wants. 
 
 It will make one eat heartily, it will make him 
 sleep hard and long. Every ounce of the food is 
 now digested, and the long sleep is just what he 
 needed. Indeed, if, after a hearty dinner, a man 
 would daily take a nap, and later in the day enough 
 hard work to make sure of being thoroughly tired 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 165 
 
 when bedtime came, he would doubtless find the 
 flesh coming in a way to which he was a stranger. 
 Many thin persons do not rest enough. They are 
 constantly on the go, and the lack of phlegm in 
 their make-up rather increases this activity, though 
 they do not necessarily accomplish more than those 
 who take care to sit and lie still more. 
 
 The writer, at nineteen, spent four weeks on a 
 farm behind the Catskills, in Delaware County, 
 New York. It was harvest-time, and, full of ath- 
 letic ardor, and eager to return to college the bet- 
 ter for the visit, we took a hand with the men. All 
 the farm-hands were uniformly on the field at 
 six o'clock in the morning, and it would average 
 nearly or quite eight at night before the last load 
 was snugly housed away in the mow. It was sharp, 
 hard work all day long, with a tough, wiry, square- 
 loined fellow in the leading swath all the morning. 
 But to follow him we were bound to or drop, while 
 the pitchfork or rake never rested from noon till 
 sunset. Breakfast was served at five-thirty; din- 
 ner at eleven ; supper at four; and a generous bowl 
 of bread-and-milk — or two bowls, if you wanted 
 them — at nine o'clock, just before bedtime, with 
 plenty of spring-water between meals ; while the 
 fare itself was good and substantial, just what you 
 would find on any well-to-do farmer's table. And 
 such an appetite, and such sleep ! Solomon must 
 
166 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 have tried some similar adventure when he wrote 
 that " the sleep of the laboring man is sweet, wheth- 
 er he eat little or much." Well, when we returned 
 to college and got on the scales again, the one hun- 
 dred and forty-three pounds at starting had some- 
 how become a hundred and iiftv-six! And with 
 them such a grip, and such a splendid feeling ! 
 We have rowed many a race since, but there was 
 as hard work done by some of that little squad on 
 that old mountain farm as any man in our boat 
 ever did, and there was not much attention paid 
 to any one's training rules either. 
 
 It is notorious, araons: those used to training for 
 athletic contests, that thin men, if judiciously held 
 in, and not allowed to do too much work, generally 
 " train up," or gain decidedly in weight, almost as 
 much, in fact, as the fleshy ones lose. 
 
 Now, were the object simply to train up as much 
 as possible, unusual care could be taken to insure 
 careful and deliberate eating, with a generous 
 share of the fat and flesh making sorts of food, 
 and quiet rest always for awhile after each meal, 
 to aid the digestive organs at their work. Slow, 
 deep, abdominal breathing is a great ally to this 
 latter process; indeed, works direct benefit to many 
 of the vital organs, and so to the whole man. All 
 the sleep the man can possibly take at. night would 
 also tell in the right way. So would everything 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 167 
 
 that would tend to prevent fret and worry, or 
 which would cultivate the ability to bear them 
 philosophically. But most thin people do not 
 keep still enough, do not take matters leisurely, 
 and do not rest enough; while, if their work is 
 ■muscular, they do too much daily in proportion to 
 their strength. 
 
 They are very likely also to be inerect, with flat, 
 thin chests, and contracted stomach and abdomen. 
 Now the habit of constantly keeping erect, whether 
 sitting, standing, or walking, combined with this 
 same deep, abdominal breathing, soon tends to ex- 
 pand not only the lower ribs and lower part of the 
 lungs, but the waist as well, so giving the digestive 
 organs more room and freer play. Like the lungs, 
 or any other organ, they do their work best when 
 in no way constrained. Better yet, if the person 
 will also habituate himself, no matter what he is 
 at, whether in motion or sitting still, to not only 
 breathing the lower half of the lungs full, but the 
 whole lungs as well, and at each inspiration hold 
 the air in his chest as long as he comfortably can, 
 he will speedily find a quickened and more vigor- 
 ous circulation, which will be shown, for instance, 
 by the veins in his hands becoming larger, and the 
 hands themselves growing warmer if the air be 
 cold; he will also feel a mild and agreeable exhila- 
 ration such as he has seldom before experienced. 
 
168 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Some of these are little things, and for that reason 
 they are the easier to do ; but in this business, as in 
 many others, little things often turn the scale. Of 
 two brothers, equally thin, equally over-active, as 
 much alike as possible — if one early formed these 
 simple habits of slow and thorough mastication, 
 deep and full breathing, resting awhile after meals, 
 carrying his body uniformly erect, and sleeping 
 plentifully, and his brother all the while cared 
 for none of these things, it is highly probable that 
 these little attentions would, in a few years, tell 
 very decidedly in favor of him who practised them, 
 and gradually bring to him that greater breadth, 
 depth, and serenity, and the accompanying greater 
 weight of the broad, full, and hearty man. 
 
 And what about the old people? Take a person 
 of sixty. Yon don't want him to turn gymnast, 
 surely. No ; not to turn gymnast, but to set aside 
 a small portion of each day for taking such body 
 as lie or she now has, and making the best of it. 
 
 But how can that be done? and is it practicable 
 at all for a person sixty years old, or more ? Well, 
 let us see what one, not merely sixty, but eighty, 
 and more too, had to say on this point. Shortly 
 after the death of the late William Cullen Bryant, 
 the New York Evening Post, of which he had 
 long been editor, published in its semi-weekly issue 
 of June 14th, 1878, the following letter; 
 
WORK FOli THE FLESHY, THE THIN", THE OLD. 169 
 
 " mr. bryant's mode of life. 
 
 "The following letter, written by Mr. Bryant 
 several years ago, describing the habits of his life, 
 to which he partly ascribed the wonderful preser- 
 vation of his physical and mental vigor, will be 
 read with interest now : 
 
 "'New York, March 30, 1871. 
 " ' To Joseph H. Richards, Esq. : 
 
 "'My dear Sir, — I promised some time since to give you some 
 account of my habits of life, so far at least as regards diet, exer- 
 cise, and occupations. I am not sure that it will be of any use to 
 you, although the system which I have for many years observed 
 seems to answer my purpose very well. I have reached a pretty 
 advanced period of life, without the usual infirmities of old age y 
 and with my strength, activity, and bodily faculties generally, in 
 pretty good preservation. How far this may be the effect of my 
 way of life, adopted long ago and steadily adhered to, is perhaps 
 uncertain. 
 
 " 'I rise early; at this time ot the year about half-past five ; in 
 summer, half an hour or even an hour earlier. Immediately, with 
 \evy little encumbrance of clothing, I begin a series of exercises, 
 for the most part designed to expand the chest, and at the same 
 time call into action all the muscles and articulations of the body. 
 These are performed with dumb-bells, the very lightest, covered 
 with flannel, with a pole, a horizontal bar, and a light chair swung 
 around my head. After a full hour, and sometimes more, passed 
 in this manner, I bathe from head to foot. When at my place in 
 the country, I sometimes shorten my exercises in the chamber, 
 and, going out, occupy myself for half an hour or more in some 
 work which requires brisk exercise. After my bath, if breakfast 
 be not ready, I sit down to my studies till I am called. 
 
 * * " * * * * * 
 
170 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 " 'After breakfast I occupy myself for awhile with my studies, 
 and then, when in town, I walk down to the office of the Evening 
 Post, nearly three miles distant, and, after about three hours, re- 
 turn, always walking, whatever be the weather or the state of the 
 streets. In the country, I am engaged in my literary tasks till a 
 feeling of weariness drives me out into the open air, and I go upon 
 my farm or into the garden and prune the fruit-trees, or perform 
 some other work about them which they need, and then go back 
 
 to my books. I do not often drive out, preferring to walk. 
 ******** 
 
 " 8 I am, sir, truly yours, 
 
 "'W. C. Bryant.' " 
 
 The same paper also contained the following: 
 
 "REMINISCENCES OF A FORMER BUSINESS ASSOCIATE. 
 
 "Mr. William G. Boggs, who knew Mr. Bryant intimately for 
 many years, has given the following reminiscences to a representa- 
 tive of the Evening Post : 
 
 ******* 
 
 " 'During the forty years that I have known him, Air. Bryant 
 has never been ill — never been confined to his bed, except on the oc- 
 casion of his last accident. His health has always been good. 
 
 " 'Mr. Bryant was a great walker. In earlier years he would 
 think nothing of walking to Paterson Falls and back, with Alfred 
 Pell and James Lawson, after office hours. He always walked 
 from his home to his place of business, even in his eighty fourth 
 year. At first he wouldn't ride in the elevator. He would never 
 wait for it, if it was not ready for the ascent immediately on his 
 arrival in the building. Of gymnastic exercises he was very fond. 
 Every morning, for half an hour, he would go through a series of 
 evolutions on the backs of two chairs placed side by side. He 
 would hang on the door of his bedroom, pulling himself up and 
 down an indefinite number of times. He would skirmish around 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 171 
 
 the apartment after all fashions, and once he told me even "under 
 the table." Breakfast followed, then a walk down town; and 
 then he was in the best of spirits for the writing of his editorial 
 article for that day. 
 
 ******* 
 
 " 'lie was a constant student. His daily leading editorial con- 
 stituted, and was for many years, the Evening Post. Sometimes 
 he would not get it written until one o'clock. " Can't I have it 
 earlier?" I asked him one day. "Why not write it the evening 
 before ?" "Ah," he replied, " if I should empty out the keg in that 
 way, it would soon be exhausted." He wanted his evenings for 
 study. ■" Well, then, can't you get down earlier in the morning?" 
 He said, "Oh yes." A few months afterward he exclaimed, with 
 reference to the change: "I like it. I go through my gymnastics, 
 walk all the way down, and when I get here I feel like work. I 
 like it."'" 
 
 Mr. Boggs also tells us that Mr. Bryant's sight 
 and hearing were scarcely impaired even up to his 
 death. 
 
 How remarkable these facts seem ! Here a man, 
 known to the whole civilized world, says at seventy- 
 seven that he "has reached a pretty advanced pe- 
 riod of life without the usual infirmities of old age, 
 and with his strength, activity, and bodily faculties 
 generally in pretty good preservation." Wouldn't 
 most of us like to do that ? Are there not men 
 who would promptly give millions, not "for an 
 incli of time," but to be able to reach seventy- 
 seven, and to say of themselves what Mr. Bryant 
 could say of himself at that age ? Nor at sevent}-- 
 
172 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 seven only, but at eighty-four, for his friend tells 
 the same thing of him then. 
 
 And notice what he did : "Every morning," not 
 for two or three minutes only, but " for half an 
 hour, he would go through a series of evolutions on 
 the backs of two chairs placed side by side." The 
 "dips" which have been recommended in another 
 place,* and which are so excellent for making the 
 chest strong and keeping it so, are doubtless the 
 "evolutions" meant; and as the great majority 
 of men, whether young or old, have not strength 
 of triceps and pectorals enough to even struggle 
 through one of them, some conception can be 
 formed of how wonderfully wiry and strong this 
 large-headed, spare-bodied, illustrious old man w T as, 
 to say nothing of the strength of purpose which 
 would keep him so rigidly up to his work at an 
 age when most men would have thought it their 
 unquestionable duty to coddle themselves. Just 
 think of a man over eighty " pulling himself up 
 and down" — evidently on the " horizontal bar " 
 he mentions — "an indefinite number of times!" 
 Or "always walking" down to the office of the 
 Evening Post, nearly three miles distant, and, af- 
 ter three hours, return, always walking, whatever 
 be the weather or the state of the streets ! Or of 
 
 * See page 240. 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 173 
 
 never waiting; for the elevator if it was not ready, 
 but always walking up the nine flights from the 
 street to his office ! And the writer has often seen 
 him going up the top flight, and, instead of his step 
 being faltering and feeble, it was uniformly a trot! 
 See what two other old men did — in some ways 
 even a more remarkable thing than Mr. Bryant's 
 great activity. The following despatch is from 
 the New York Herald of February 23d, 1879 : 
 
 " THE OLD MEN'S WALK. 
 
 "New Haven, Conn., Feb. 22, 18T9. 
 "The walk between Thomas Carey, of the New York Cotton 
 Exchange, and Joseph Y. Marsh, of this city, terminated to-night 
 at a quarter of an hour before the appointed time, Marsh with- 
 drawing. Carey had walked 211 miles and a fraction, to 209 
 miles and a corresponding fraction for Marsh. After the walk 
 Marsh said that he was convinced that he had been beaten, and 
 Carey made a speech expressing satisfaction with the manner in 
 which he had been treated. The walk began on Wednesday of 
 the present week, at eleven o'clock, and terminated at forty- five 
 minutes past ten to-night. Carey is a great-grandfather, and is 
 sixty-four years old, and Marsh sixty-three. Both had trained 
 for the walk. It is understood that they will walk again in New 
 York." 
 
 Sixty miles a day for three days and a half, and 
 by a great-grandfather at that ! Any man, or any 
 horse, might well hold that a good day's work. 
 
 This activity among men so far on in years 
 seems surprising. And why ? Because, as people 
 
174 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 get past middle-life, often from becoming engross* 
 ed in business, and out of the way of anything to 
 induce them to continue their muscular activity, 
 oftener from increasing caution, and fear that some 
 effort, formerly easy, may now prove hazardous to 
 them, they purposely avoid even ordinary exercise 
 — riding when they might, and indeed ought to, 
 walk, and, instead of walking their six miles a 
 day, and looking after their arms and chests be- 
 sides, as Bryant did, gradually come to do nothing 
 each day worthy of the name of exercise. Then 
 the joints grow dry and stiff, and snap and crack 
 as they work. The old ease of action is gone, and 
 disinclination takes its place. The man makes up 
 his mind that he is growing old and stiff — often 
 before he is sixty — and that there is no help for 
 that stiffness. 
 
 Well, letting the machinery alone works a good 
 deal the same whether it is made of iron and steel, 
 and driven by steam, or of flesh and blood and 
 bones, and driven by the human heart. Maclaren 
 cleverly compares this stiffening of the joints to the 
 working of hinges, which, when "left unused and 
 mioiled for any length of time, grate and creak, 
 and move stiffly. The hinges of the human body 
 do just the same thing, and from the same cause; 
 and they not only require frequent oiling to ena- 
 ble them to move easily, but they are oiled every 
 
WORK FOR THE FLESHY, THE THIN, THE OLD. 175 
 
 time they are put in motion, and when they are 
 put in motion only. The membrane which se- 
 cretes this oil, and pours it forth over the opposing 
 surfaces of the bones and the overlying ligaments, 
 is stimulated to activity only by the motion of the 
 joint itself." Had Bryant spared himself as most 
 men do, would he have been such a springy, easy 
 walker, and so strong and handy at eighty-four? 
 Does it not look as if the half-hour at the dumb- 
 bells, and chairs, and horizontal bar, and the twelve 
 or fifteen thousand steps which he took each daj T , 
 had much to do with this spring and activity in 
 such a green old age? Does it not look almost as 
 if he had, half a century ago, read something not 
 unlike the following from Maclaren : 
 
 " The first course of the system may be freely 
 and almost unconditionally recommended to men 
 throughout what may be called middle life, care 
 being taken to use a bell and bar well within the 
 physical capacity. The best time for this practice 
 is in the early morning, immediately after the 
 bath, and, when regularly taken, it need not ex- 
 tend over more than a few minutes." 
 
 Whether Bryant had ever seen these rules or 
 not, the bell, the bar, and the morning -time for 
 exercise make a noticeable coincidence. • 
 
 Looking at the benefit daily exercise brought in 
 the instances mentioned, would it not be well for 
 
176 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 every man who begins to feel his age to at once 
 adopt some equally moderate and sensible course 
 of daily exercise, and to enter on it with a good 
 share of his own former energy and vigor? He 
 does not need to live in the country to effect it, nor 
 in the cit} T . He can readily secure the few bits of 
 apparatus suggested elsewhere* for his own home, 
 wherever that home is, and so take care of his 
 arms and chest. For foot -work there is always 
 the road. Is it not worth while to make the ef- 
 fort? lie can begin very mildly, and 3-et in a 
 month reach quite a creditable degree of activity, 
 and then keep that up. And if, as Mr. Bryant did, 
 lie should last till well past eighty, and, like him, 
 keep free from deafness and dimness of vision, 
 from stiffness and shortness of breath, from gout, 
 rheumatism, paralysis, and other senile ailments, 
 as he put it himself, " without the usual infirmities 
 of old age " — indeed, with his " strength, activity, 
 and bodily faculties generally in pretty good pres- 
 ervation," and all that time could attend promptly 
 to all the daily duties of an active business as he 
 did, as Vanderbilt did, as Palmerston did, as Thiers 
 did — is not the effort truly worth the making? 
 And who knows what he can do till he tries? 
 
 See page 91. 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 177 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 
 
 There are two classes of men in otir cities and 
 larger towns who, more than almost any others, 
 need daily and systematic bodily exercise, in order 
 to make them efficient for their duties, and some- 
 thing like what men in their lines ought to be. In 
 times of peace they do in many ways what the 
 army does for the whole country in war-time — 
 they protect life and property. These are the 
 police and firemen. 
 
 The work of some of the firemen before they 
 reach a fire is even more dangerous than when 
 actually among the flames. The examining phy- 
 sician of one of our largest life insurance compa- 
 nies told the writer that he frequently had to re- 
 ject firemen applying for insurance, because they 
 had seriously injured their hearts by running hard 
 to fires when quite untrained and unfit for such 
 sudden and severe strain on the heart and lungs, 
 imposed, as it usually is, under much excitement. 
 The introduction of steam fire-engines has in part 
 done away with this, though even they often have 
 
 12 
 
178 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 a man to run before and clear the way ; but in 
 smaller places, of course, the old danger exists. 
 Thorough and efficient as this steam-service is in 
 many ways, and trained as the men are to their 
 duties, they are, very many of them, not nearly so 
 effective as they might easily be, and as, consider- 
 ing the fact that the fireman's work is their sole 
 occupation, they ought to be. Men of pluck and 
 daring, and naturally strong, often for days to- 
 gether they have no fire to go to, and so sit and 
 stand around the engine-house for hours and hours. 
 Soon they begin to fatten, until often they weigh 
 thirty or forty pounds more than they would in 
 good condition for enduring work. Having no 
 daily exercise which gives all parts of the body 
 increased life and strength, neither the stout nor 
 thin ones begin to be so strong, so quick of move- 
 ment, or enduring as they would be if kept in 
 good condition. To carry from an upper story of 
 a high building a person in a swoon or half suf- 
 focated, and to get such a burden safely down a 
 long narrow ladder through stifling smoke and ter- 
 rible flame, is a feat requiring, beside great nerve 
 and courage, decided strength and endurance. 
 Exposure during long periods, perhaps drenched 
 through, perhaps holding up a heavy hose in the 
 winter's cold, or in many another duty all fire- 
 men well know, often without food or drink for 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN" AND POLICE. 179 
 
 many hours, taxes very severely even the strongest 
 man. 
 
 And what training have these men for this trying 
 work outside of what the fire itself actually gives? 
 Practically, none. Suppose every man on the force 
 was required to spend an hour, or even half an 
 hour, daily in work which would call into play not 
 all their muscles, but simply those likely to be most 
 needed when the real work came. Suppose each 
 of them a wiry, hard-muscled, very enduring man, 
 good any day for a three or five mile run at a re- 
 spectable pace, and without detriment to himself, 
 or to go, if need be, hand over hand up the entire 
 length of one of their long ladders — to be, in short, 
 as strong, as handy, as enduring, as even a second- 
 rate athlete. Is there any question that a force 
 made up of such men would be far better qualified 
 for their work, and far more efficient at it, than 
 the firemen of any of our cities are now ? 
 
 And if they think they at present have con- 
 siderable daily exercise, so does a British soldier 
 decidedly more, in his daily drilling, and the whole 
 round of his duties; and yet, after Maclaren had 
 one of them exercising for but a brief period, but 
 in a way to bring up his general strength, the sol- 
 dier said, " I feel twice the man I did for any- 
 thing a man could be set to do." Would it hurt a 
 fireman or a policeman any to have that feeling ? 
 
180 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Would the latter not be more inclined to rely on 
 his own strength, and less on his club? 
 
 If the training suggested seems too hard, look 
 at the younger men in blacksmithing, for instance, 
 and many other kinds of iron-work, swinging, as 
 they often do, a heavy sledge for the whole day 
 together; at the postmen, walking from morning 
 to evening, often up many flights of stairs, and all 
 the year round, and in all weathers; at the iron- 
 puddler,the hod-carrier, the 'longshore-man — all at 
 work nearly or quite as hard, not for one short 
 hour only, but through all the burden and heat 
 of the day. Many of these men are not nearly as 
 well paid as the firemen, and none of them begin 
 to have as great responsibility, or are at any mo- 
 ment likely to be called on to take their lives in 
 their hands, and perhaps to save other lives as well. 
 
 Let us look at the policeman. What exercise 
 lias he ? Standing around, and considerable slow 
 walking, for six hours out of each twelve. Is there 
 anything to make him swift of foot? No. Any- 
 thing to build up his arms and expand his chest, 
 to make those arms help him in his business, and 
 those hands twice as skilful for his purposes as be- 
 fore? Very little. Taught to use his hands he 
 is, but never empty ; there must be something in 
 them — a club or a revolver. And so comes what 
 legitimate result? Why is it that in a conflict, or 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 181 
 
 even a threatened one — or, too often, not even then 
 — and when the culprit, while drunk, is wholly un- 
 resisting, we constantly hear of these dangerous 
 weapons being drawn and freely used ? Some of 
 the very men set to preserve the peace are them- 
 selves every now and then making assaults wholly 
 uncalled for, always cowardly, and often brutal, 
 and such as an athletic man, proud of his strength, 
 w r ould have scorned the idea of making, but, in- 
 stead, would have so quickly displayed his skill 
 and strength that the average offender, especially 
 when he recalled the fact that the officer had the 
 law on his side, would have soon ceased resisting. 
 Every intelligent New Yorker will at one recognize 
 that there is far too frequently good ground for 
 such editorial comment, grim as is its satire, as the 
 following from a well-known New York journal, 
 of September 20th, 1878: 
 
 "A COMPLICATED POLICE CASE. 
 
 "We have recorded from time to time in the T various 
 
 interesting police cases. With all our skill and experience, how- 
 ever, we could not prevent a shade of monotony stealing over them. 
 When in nine cases out of ten the picture presented is that of a 
 policeman clubbing a man nearly to death, by what resource of 
 rhetoric can you avoid monotony ? For the sake of variety, as well 
 as for the public good, many people wish that a citizen would oc- 
 casionally kill a brutal policeman ; only that, in thus ridding the 
 world of a human brute not worthy to live in it, the mockery that 
 is called justice in New York and Brooklyn would probably also 
 
182 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 send out of the world the inoffensive citizen who had accomplished 
 the good work. In a recent case, however, matters have become 
 most ingeniously complicated. One policeman has arrested an- 
 other. On Tuesday night two men got into a fight in the Bowery. 
 Detective Archibald, who was in plain clothes, undertook, it is said, 
 to arrest them. Then, it is stated, Officer Lefferts arrived, and ar- 
 rested the whole party, detective and all. We say that this is a 
 complicated case ; but so it did not seem to Justice Morgan, of the 
 Jefferson Market Police Court. If a policeman arrests a citizen, 
 it is no longer possible for the latter to get justice. He is glad if 
 he can get away with a whole skull and unbroken ribs. But one 
 policeman arresting another ! The only way in which this can be 
 set right depends upon which policeman had the most influence at 
 head-quarters." 
 
 And what sort of man is he who is thus too free 
 with his weapon? Take him in New York city, 
 for instance. Out of nearly twenty-five hundred 
 policemen, it is entirely safe to say that one third 
 — and it would probably be much nearer the truth 
 to say that all of two-thirds — are unathletic men, 
 and that a very large proportion of these are either 
 clumsy, unwieldy, and short- winded, or not pos- 
 sessed of even average bodily strength. Even in 
 their uniforms this is quickly apparent; but the 
 true way to judge is to see them stripped, either in 
 gymnastic costume or at the swimming-bath. Any 
 number of them have indifferent legs ; there are 
 any number of stout, paunchy fellows ; and old 
 ones, too, doubling over with their years; flat- 
 chested ones, Hg-footed and half-built men. 
 
HALF-TKAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 183 
 
 Try to select some of these men for a physi- 
 cal feat, say of speed and endurance, like running 
 or rowing, and see how few would be fit for the 
 work. Pair them off, give them gloves, and set 
 them to boxing, and there would scarce be one 
 hundred good sparrers out of the whole brigade. 
 Once, right in front of Trinity church -yard, on 
 Broadway, we saw two of the Broadway squad put 
 up their hands for a little good-natured sparring, 
 and the way they did it would hardly have been 
 creditable to a ten -year -old. To see two great, 
 hulking six-footers, ignorant of the first rudiments 
 of good sparring, actually whirling their fists round 
 and round each other as if winding yarn, and 
 with no sort of idea how to use even one hand, 
 let alone two, was positively ridiculous. A hun- 
 dred-pound thief, handy with his fists and quick 
 of foot, could have slapped their faces, and, if 
 they could run no better than they sparred, could 
 have been at the Battery before either of them was 
 half-way. And what good would their weapons 
 have been? Their revolvers they would hardly 
 dare to use in a crowded street at broad noon, nor 
 would they have been justified in so doing. And 
 their clubs — of what use would they be if the cul- 
 prit was a block away ? 
 
 The writer once saw a fellow, apparently a sneak- 
 thief, cutting across the City Hall Park, in front 
 
184 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 of the Tribune building, at a clipping pace, while 
 some distance behind came one of those majestic 
 but logy guardians of the peace, making about one 
 foot to the other's two, and, finally, seeing how hope- 
 less was the pursuit, bringing his club around and 
 throwing it after the escaping thief — and with what 
 result? Excellent for the thief, for, instead of 
 coming anywhere near him, it passed dangerously 
 close to the abdomen of a worthy but obese citi- 
 zen, who chanced to be passing that waj\ 
 
 At a public exhibition, held early in 1878, under 
 the auspices of these very Metropolitan Police, at 
 the Hippodrome, in New York, where doubtless 
 the very best boxers on the whole force were on 
 the boards, and with ten thousand spectators to 
 spur them on to their utmost, the thoroughly skil- 
 ful and accomplished workmen could be counted 
 almost on the thumbs ; while, in the tug of war, the 
 string of policemen were overhauled and pulled 
 completely down by the Scottisli Americans, who 
 weighed half a hundred weight less per man than 
 their uniformed antagonists; though it is but just 
 to add that, later on, the latter did manage to win, 
 yet what was that to brag of ? 
 
 The same Police Department held a regatta on 
 the Harlem River on the twenty-ninth of August, 
 1878, for which there were many entries; yet out 
 of them all, with one or two exceptions, there 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 185 
 
 was no performance which was not of the most 
 commonplace character, unworthy of an average 
 freshman crew, and this though many of the row- 
 ers were burly, heavy men. One of the single- 
 scullers • actually did not know how to back his 
 boat over some fifty feet of water, and, after four 
 ineffectual endeavors, had to be told how to do so 
 from the referee's boat. 
 
 Now place the whole force abreast on a broad 
 common, or in half a dozen lines, and set them to 
 run a mile at no racing pace; at no such gait even 
 as John Ennis went in March, 1879, when, after 
 474 miles of walking and running in one single 
 week, he ran his 475th mile in six minutes eleven 
 seconds, but let them go at even a horse-car pace ; 
 and if five hundred get over even half the distance 
 it will be a surprise, while of those who do, many 
 stand a good chance to feel the effects for days, if 
 not for life. We asked the best known police cap- 
 tain in New York city, the president of the old Po- 
 lice Athletic Club, whether he thought one-half of 
 the whole twenty-five hundred could run a mile 
 at any pace which could actually be called a run. 
 After deliberating a little, he said he did not think 
 they could. One of the most successful athletes 
 on the force, in reply to the same question, said : 
 "I'll bet my neck against a purse that not one- 
 third of them can do it." Another, a magnificent- 
 
186 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 looking man, standing over six feet three in height, 
 and weighing upward of two hundred and fifty, 
 not only strongly inclined to the same opinion, 
 but, when urged to tell how successful he himself 
 would probably be in such a trial, he gave, with a 
 little sudden color in his cheeks, substantially as 
 follows, this most interesting incident from his own 
 experience : 
 
 Standing in a rear room on the main floor of 
 
 the station-house of the Precinct, he heard a 
 
 scream. Going quickly to the street, a lady told 
 him that she had been robbed of her pocket-book, 
 while a young person gliding gracefully, and, as 
 the sequel proved, quite fleetly, around the cor- 
 ner, lent force to the statement. Away went the 
 engine of the law, his mighty form bending to the 
 work, with his best foot foremost. Turning up 
 one of the broad avenues, the one hundred and 
 twenty-five feet or so of the thief's start had now 
 shrunk to seventy-five, and, as the two sped on at 
 a grand pace, 
 
 "All and each that passed that way 
 Enjoyed the swift 'pursuit.'" 
 
 Block after block was passed, but the gap would 
 not close. Go as he would, do his mightiest and 
 his best, it was of no use; that lawless young man 
 would somehow all the time manage to keep just 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 187 
 
 seventy-five feet to the fore. Four blocks are now 
 done, and so is the policeman ; and bringing up 
 all-standing — blown, gasping, exhausted — he can- 
 not even muster breath enough to shout, but, reach- 
 ing his big hand out in front of him, and looking 
 at the young person gently fleeting, with seeming- 
 ly unabated vigor, into the dim distance, he sadly 
 points to him, for that is all he is just now equal 
 to. Fortunately for the interests of justice and 
 good order, that point is well taken, for a brother 
 officer sees it, and, rising to the occasion, dashes 
 off after the misguided young person up the ave- 
 nue. " Life is earnest " now, surely, for the latter. 
 Still he has nearly a hundred feet start, and may- 
 be this second guardian of the peace will not stay 
 any better than did his illustrious predecessor. So 
 down to it he settles again, and the street enjoys 
 the fun. Block after block slips away, and so 
 does the official wind, for, at the end of four 
 blocks more, no perceptible decrease of the gap 
 having yet been made, patrolman number two 
 " shuts up." Yes, literally, for he too cannot even 
 yell, but, like the first, striking a tragic position, 
 he points to the flying culprit. And is justice to 
 be cheated out of her victim after all, even now, 
 when she a second time is sure that she has reach- 
 ed the point? And is this light-fingered and light- 
 heeled young person to escape the minion* of the 
 
188 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 law — and all this in broad daylight too, and right 
 on Sixth Avenue ? So it certainly seems. But 
 stop ! Justice, after all, is to prevail, for lo ! a third 
 pursuer has now caught the trail, and is off like 
 a fast mail-train. Have a care now, young man ! 
 No brass buttons adorn your pursuer this time; 
 but the self-appointed private citizen, now in your 
 wake, runs as the wicked flee. There is no cart- 
 horse pace about his work; but with one clean, 
 business-like spurt, he swoops down on the now 
 disturbed young man, and, clutching his upper gar- 
 ments, holds him neatly until the reserves come 
 up, and then hands him over for his six months on 
 the island." 
 
 One more illustration may suffice. The New 
 York Herald of December 20th, 1878, referring 
 to a burglary which had been committed in the 
 2Sth Precinct, said that suspicion fastened on a 
 young man known as "Sleepy Dick." Detective 
 Wilson got on the supposed offender's trail, and the 
 nearer he got to him the worse grew his charac- 
 ter for strength, daring, and ferocity. At last he 
 came up with "Sleepy Dick" on Second Avenue 
 yesterday. 
 
 "'The jig's up, Sleepy,' said the detective; 
 'you're wanted.' 
 
 " ' What for?' calmly inquired the other, straight- 
 ening upon the coal-box. 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 189 
 
 " ' Cracking a crib.' 
 
 " ' How long a stretch V 
 
 " ' A fiver, sure.' 
 
 " ^Fm not your meat then, cully/ and Dick bolt* 
 ed for the corner with no sleepiness about him. 
 Wilson grabbed him firmly by the collar, though, 
 and there was a scene of plunging and tearing 
 witnessed by the crowd around- them that eclipsed 
 Cornwall or Grseco-Roman wrestling. 
 
 " Suddenly a revolver came flashing out of Wil- 
 son's pocket. 
 
 " ' I'm taking this pot,' said he, coolly. 
 
 " ' Show your hand,' growled ' Sleepy.' 
 
 " ' A straight flush ;' and Wilson levelled the pis- 
 tol at his head. 
 
 " ' That takes this pile,' Dick sullenly assented, 
 and he moved on quietly as far as Sixty-first Street. 
 Once at the corner, he plunged backward and broke 
 loose. The detective's revolver came down on his 
 head w T ith a thud, but he rallied under the blow, 
 sprung aside, and made for the river. He was 
 fleet of foot, and, as he flew down the street, he 
 kept looking over his shoulder, evidently in fear 
 of a passing bullet. But the detective was coming 
 on after him, bound to run him down, and as they 
 passed First Avenue the hue and cry was taken up 
 by two other policemen, who joined in the pursuit 
 There was fully a block between ' Sleepy ' and his 
 
190 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 pursuers when he neared the river. He saw his 
 advantage, turned into a stone-yard, dodged among 
 the bowlders, scaled a fence, and made off. Dick 
 has been in the hands of the police before this 
 week, but managed to get away." 
 
 Is there no lesson for our city rulers in such 
 facts as these ? If our police are men of only four 
 block power; if they are so blown in that little dis- 
 tance that they are utterly helpless, and all they 
 can do is, one after another to point to the es- 
 caping felon and indulge in these "brilliant flash- 
 es of silence," inwardly imploring some good civil- 
 ian to kindly catch that thief; if a youngster can 
 first indulge in a tough wrestle with a detective, 
 and then, taking a heavy blow on his head from 
 the butt of a revolver, not only empty-handed get 
 away from his would-be captor, but, although the 
 latter is joined by two policemen, soon put a 
 whole block between him and them, and springing 
 over a fence, go, after all, "unwhipt of justice," 
 does it not strike the reader that a little improve- 
 ment in the speed and stay of our policemen might 
 do no harm ? Had it not better be conceded that 
 it is hopeless for many of the Broadway squad, for 
 instance, in their present condition, to attempt to 
 catch a thief bv running after him, and would it 
 not be well to provide each of them with a lasso, 
 for short-range work, and initiate them in its uses 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 191 
 
 at once? In this way they could certainly make 
 sure of one of those light-heeled gentry once in a 
 while, perhaps — for example, one fond of lady's 
 ear-rings. And who believes that officers always 
 report their failures to catch thieves, or that the 
 public ever hears of one-half of such cases ? 
 
 Let us see, too, where this physical incapacity 
 may lead to graver consequences than the mere 
 allowing a detected thief to run at large. In the 
 great cities there have sprung up within a few 
 years back storehouses for the safe-keeping of se- 
 curities, plate, important papers, and other valua- 
 bles. Hedged around with plates of steel, chro- 
 nometer-locks, massive bolts, and several watch- 
 men, and connected with the nearest police station 
 by wires so arranged that the doors cannot be 
 opened without sounding the alarm at the station- 
 house, the public naturally put their trust in them, 
 and their property too. Within recent years we 
 also hear far more than formerly of burglars go- 
 ing not in pairs or threes, but in gangs of half 
 a dozen or more, and of cracking safes always 
 thought impenetrable. Now, suppose that a de- 
 scent w r ere made on the largest one of these safe 
 depositories in America, the one under the New 
 York Stock Exchange, and by a dozen first-class 
 cracksmen. Their business hours are generally be- 
 tween one and four in the morning. That they 
 
192 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 work with wonderful sagacity, daring, and despatch, 
 is attested by such brilliant performance as that at 
 the Northampton Bank robbery, or when they in 
 a little time, one morning, relieved the Manhattan 
 Bank of a few millions, and that right within a 
 block of police head-quarters in New York city. 
 Suppose that, by collusion or otherwise, the rob- 
 bers get through the outer door. Unlike the Bank 
 of England, there is no platoon of soldiers on 
 guard. They silence the three or four who oppose 
 them. They come to the inner doors, the opening 
 of which alarms the police. At the station-house, 
 when that alarm sounds, three or four, or maybe 
 more, more or less drowsy officers start and run 
 for the Stock Exchange, some ei»*ht hundred feet 
 away. Is there any especial reason why they 
 should be any less exhausted when they get there 
 than the two policemen who failed to catch the 
 Sixth Avenue thief, or the two who let another on 
 First Avenue run clear out of their sight? The 
 four blocks the former two policemen ran do not 
 make much over eight hundred feet. Suppose 
 that three or four, not half -grown fellows like 
 "sleepy" Dick, but stalwart desperadoes, used to 
 rough work, quietly await the arrival of these wor* 
 thy, but well-blown patrolmen. How long would 
 it take the thieves to at least check the advance, if 
 not also considerably impair the usefulness of men 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN" AND POLICE. 193 
 
 so nearly gone that they could not speak, and 
 whose hands shook so that aiming a revolver ef- 
 fectively would be practically out of the question? 
 
 And might not the Press justly have some pretty 
 plain comment to make, then, on the physical in- 
 efficiency of our police force, and wonder why it 
 had not been insisted on long ago that they be 
 trained as men have to be in other callings, until 
 they are fit for their work ? Hear Dr. Morgan, in 
 " University Oars," on fat and unwieldy men, and 
 their unfitness for emergencies calling for strong 
 and quick work : " When, therefore, we hear of a 
 man who, at twenty years of age, weighed 12 stone 
 (168 pounds), and in after-life inclining to corpu- 
 lency, has reached the abnormal weight of 17 or 18 
 stone (238 or 252 pounds), w^e must not consider 
 him proportionately stronger : on the contrary, he 
 should rather excite our pity and commiseration — 
 the five or six stone distributed over his body being 
 composed wholly of adipose tissue. He is thus 
 as completely enveloped in blubber as though lie 
 were a whale or a seal. His muscles being heavily 
 weighted, his powers of locomotion are necessarily 
 limited / and, handicapped in this manner, it is no 
 easy task for him to drag his unwieldy frame on 
 some sweltering 12th of August over the trying 
 inequalities of a Highland moor." 
 
 The broken-winded man, or a man out of wind, 
 
 13 
 
194 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 is almost as useless in an emergency calling for 
 sharp and sudden work as a broken-winded horse. 
 The standing around of the policeman, heavily shod 
 and heavily clad, and the lazy, aimless walking, will 
 never make him hardy, tough, and difficult to face, 
 or likely not to use his club where a strong, quick 
 man would never need it. Swollen hands and 
 feet, and soft, flabby flesh will be the result; and 
 for the variety of sudden and dangerous work 
 which he may be called upon to do at any moment 
 he is not half fitted ; and if he trains no more for 
 his work than he does now, he never will be. 
 
 Again, in the matter of looks — not the least im- 
 portant, by any means, of the qualifications of a 
 police-officer — are they all that they might be, and 
 that they really ought to be ? 
 
 When a thousand of them, averaging two hun- 
 dred pounds apiece, parade down Broadway, with 
 brass buttons gleaming, and every belt well filled, 
 it is easy enough for Press or citizen to say, " What 
 a fine -looking body of men !" But now, notice 
 them closely, and most of them are inerect, many 
 are round-shouldered, and few are at once thor- 
 oughly well-built men and in good condition, being 
 either loose-jointed, too fat, or too thin. Contrast 
 their marching and bearing with that of the little 
 West Point battalion on parade, every man erect, 
 clean -cut, precise, wiry, and athletic; light and 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 195 
 
 young, to be sure, but most hardy, quick, and man- 
 
 lv. Now, we know what it is to be erect. We 
 
 soon discover that the bulk, the sunburn, and the 
 
 uniforms have gone far toward making the favor- 
 er £5 
 
 able impression, which ought to have been better 
 based, and that almost every one of these police- 
 men is plainly faulty. 
 
 Now, suppose every one of these twenty -five 
 hundred men, besides being, as most of them al- 
 ready are, both courageous and faithful in the per- 
 formance of duty, was a skilful and hard-hitting 
 boxer, a good, steady, long-distance runner, a fair 
 wrestler, a strong swimmer, a sound, hale, thor- 
 oughly well-made man. Let the vicious classes 
 once know — and how long would it take them to 
 learn ? — that in a race between them and the po- 
 liceman the latter would be pretty sure to win ; let 
 it be known that, when he once caught his man, 
 the odds would be decidedly in his favor, and that 
 that man would not get away ; let every member 
 of the force be justly known as a formidable man 
 to face, and one whom ..the offender had better 
 avoid — and what an advance it would be in both 
 the moral and physical efficiency of the force! 
 Now let the riot come, and see what that little 
 band of twenty-five hundred trained men could do 
 against ten times their number. To-day they have 
 nothing which makes them enduring at quick, hard 
 
196 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 work, and that is what is wanted for mobs. If 
 they had an abundance of that which would make 
 them so, the plying of a locust for an hour or 
 two amoii^ a lot of unorganized roughs would be 
 almost a diversion, and a game they could continue 
 at by the week if need be. 
 
 And why should not every city in our land have, 
 instead of men very many of them too often far 
 out of condition, these same well-trained men, ed- 
 ucated, as men have to be in nearly every other 
 calling, directly for their work, and all dexterous 
 and able? Is it asking too much? The prepa- 
 ration necessary to it will not compare in its ex- 
 hausting effects with what the war-policeman — the 
 soldier, who is not paid a quarter as much — must 
 do without a murmur: the long forced marching, 
 weighted like a pack-horse, the broken sleep, the 
 stinted food, the bad shoes, the long absence from 
 home, and the lack of all comforts. Why not in- 
 sist on a regime which, if the fat man could go 
 through and retain his corporosity, would make him 
 welcome to retain it ; if the thin man could be up 
 to every day's work in it, then lie could stand far 
 more than he looked equal to? But if either fail- 
 ed, out with him. There need be no fear that 
 good substitutes could not be had in abundance. 
 
 This is no question of mere health, and symme- 
 try of make, and reasonable strength, as with the 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 197 
 
 ordinary citizen. It is a matter of fitness for or- 
 dinary duties — duties often of very great impor- 
 tance to the public weal, which may spring up at 
 any moment, and which call for unusual physi- 
 cal resources. It is a matter of substituting for 
 dangerous weapons, rashly wielded, and when that 
 wielding is often wholly uncalled for, men who, 
 in any ordinary street-brawl, need no weapon, and 
 would scarcely think of using one, any more than 
 would a Morrissey, a Heenan, or a Hyer. 
 
 As nearly as possible in the centre of each four 
 precincts in the larger cities hire a hall, say about 
 eighty feet by forty, and the higher the better, well 
 lighted and ventilated, and easily heated. Two 
 hundred dollars, carefully spent, would buy all 
 needed apparatus, and as much more would keep 
 it swept and dusted, lighted and warmed. Twen- 
 ty-five cents a month from each of four hundred 
 policemen would be twelve hundred dollars a 
 year, which would cover, beside these items, rent 
 and salary of teacher as well. For the teacher 
 need be with them but a little while daily ; for, 
 in about all the exercises necessary to make men 
 good ordinary runners and boxers, a teacher up 
 to his work can drill the men in squads. What 
 they want is not intricate and technical knowl- 
 edge, but plain, straightforward, swift, hard work, 
 and plenty of it, and the condition which keeps 
 
198 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 them easily up to it. Or, better yet, put these 
 gymnasiums in charge of the department, if equal- 
 ly rigid economy could be insured. Then require 
 each man to spend fifteen minutes there every 
 other day, sparring — after he had the rudiments 
 — with some companion who can give him all 
 the exercise he wants, and on the alternate days 
 let an equal period of time be spent in running, 
 not at racing pace, but still good lively work of 
 the kind which brings good lungs and good legs. 
 Now, at the annual or semi-annual athletic meet- 
 ing, let picked men from each precinct contend 
 in foot-races, both for short and long distances; 
 and, to give their work an even more practical 
 turn, give some sneak -thief a reasonable start in 
 such contests^ and let the officers, in full uniform 
 of course, catch him if thev can. Now the waist- 
 bands will begin to lessen, and a considerably small- 
 er measure of cloth will cover the man, but it will 
 clothe a man who, unarmed and unaided, can whip 
 almost half a dozen such flabb^y, untrained, unskil- 
 ful fellows as he used to be. For every duty which 
 may at any moment become his, whether light or 
 heavy, mild or violent, he will be far better qual- 
 ified in almost every respect than before, yet no 
 better in his line than any good business man 
 requires each person in his employ to be in his, no 
 matter what their particular duties may be. 
 
HALF-TRAINED FIREMEN AND POLICE. 199 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 
 
 While symmetrical and thorough physical devel- 
 opment are not at all common among Americans, 
 and undeveloped, inerect, and weak bodies almost 
 outnumber any other kind, the general want of fa- 
 miliarity with what will develop any given mus- 
 cles, and bring them up to the fulness and strength 
 which ought to be theirs, is even more surprising. 
 If proof is wanted of this, let the reader ask him- 
 self what special work lie would choose to develop 
 any given part; the muscles of the forearm, for in- 
 stance, or those of the front of the chest. If he 
 has ever paid any attention to his physical develop- 
 ment — and thousands and tens of thousands have 
 not — he may know one or two things which will 
 bring about the desired result ; but even if he has 
 attended the gymnasium a good deal, lie will often 
 be surprised to find that his time there was main- 
 ly spent in accomplishing some particular feat or 
 amount of work, rather than in bringing about the 
 special development of any given part, or general 
 development of the whole bod} 7 . 
 
200 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC. 
 
 Now, while the exercises which bring any given 
 set of muscles into play are very numerous, if a 
 few can be grouped together which shall be at 
 once simple and plain, and shall call either for in- 
 expensive apparatus or none at all, which will also 
 enable almost any one, by a little energy and de- 
 termination, to bring up any limb or muscles now 
 weak, they may prove of value. 
 
 To develop the Leg below the Knee. 
 
 The main part of the leg below the knee, for 
 instance, is composed of muscles which raise the 
 heel. Stand erect, with the head high, chest out, 
 and shoulders down, keeping the knees all the 
 time well sprung back, having the feet about three 
 inches apart, with the toes turned slightly outward. 
 Xow slowly raise the heels until they are high off 
 the floor, and the whole weight rests on the soles 
 and toes. Now drop slowly down. Then repeat. 
 Next place the hand on the muscles of the calf, 
 and while at first not firm, feel them harden as 
 you rise, and all doubt as to whether the exercise 
 in question uses these muscles will speedily vanish. 
 Continue this exercise at the same rate, keeping at 
 it until you have risen fifty times. Now, it will 
 not be necessary, with most persons, to have to 
 place the hand on these muscles to learn if they 
 are brought into play, for already that is becoming 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 201 
 
 very plain in another way, one that is bringing 
 most conclusive proof to the mind — internal evi- 
 dence it might well be called. Unless the calves 
 are unusually strong, long before the one hundredth 
 effort there is an unmistakable ache in them, which, 
 in the majority of instances, will cause the person 
 to stop outright from sheer inability to proceed. 
 It has not taken much time to get a pretty thor- 
 ough measure of about what power there is in one 
 set of muscles at least. All doubts are gone from 
 his mind now as to whether one exercise he knows 
 will call into play the muscles of his leg below 
 the knee or not. It is equally plain that it is not 
 his forearm, or upper arm, or the back or front 
 of his chest which has been in action, for none of 
 these have felt fatigue, the tire being all confined 
 to the muscles in question. 
 
 Again, had there been beside him two men of 
 nearly the same weight, but one of small and fee- 
 ble calves, the other having them shapely and well- 
 developed, is there any doubt which of the two 
 could have kept at the exercise the longer, yet 
 with the less fatigue ? Few men need be told that 
 a muscle, unused to work at first, can gradually, 
 by direct and systematic exercise, be strengthened ; 
 but not a few there are who are unaware that 
 with the new strength comes increased size as well. 
 
 Yet, to those familiar with athletic work, it is 
 
2C2 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 as plain as that, you must have your eyes open if 
 you want to see. A gentleman of our acquaint- 
 ance, of magnificent muscular and vital develop- 
 ment, was not satisfied with the girth of his calves, 
 which was 14J inches. At our suggestion he be- 
 gan practising this simple raising and lowering of 
 the heels. In less than four months he had in- 
 creased the girth of each calf one whole inch. 
 When asked how many strokes a day he averaged, 
 he said, " From fifteen hundred to two thousand ;" 
 varied some days by his holding in each hand dur- 
 ing the process a twelve -pound dumb-bell, and 
 then only doing one thousand or thereabouts. The 
 time he found most convenient w T as in the morn- 
 ing on rising, and just before retiring at night. 
 Instead of the work taking much time, seventy a 
 minute was found a good ordinary rate, so that fif- 
 teen minutes at each end of the day was all he 
 needed. But this was a great and very rapid in- 
 crease, especially for a man of thirty-five ; far more 
 than most persons would naturally be contented 
 with, yet suggestive of the stuff and perseverance 
 of the man who accomplished it. 
 
 Here, then, one of the most effective exercises 
 which could be desired for the strengthening of 
 these muscles is accomplished actually without ap- 
 paratus, without one cent of expense — one which 
 can be practised anywhere, in the largest or the 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 203 
 
 smallest room, in - doors or out, on land or while 
 at sea. 
 
 But there are many other exercises which w r ill 
 bring this same development. Now stand erect 
 again, with head and chest high, shoulders low, 
 and knees sprung back. Start off at an ordinary 
 pace, and walk. But, instead of , as usual, putting 
 the foot down and lifting it without thinking about 
 it, this time, just as it leaves the ground, press hard 
 with the soles and toes. Go on for a block or two, 
 and you will suddenly find that your calves are 
 having new and unwonted duties — indeed, a very 
 generous share of work. Keep on for a mile— 
 if you can. Good a walker as you thought your- 
 self before, a mile of this sort will be a mile to 
 be remembered — certainly for a few days, till the 
 ache gets out of your calves. 
 
 If walking with this new push is not hard enough 
 on flat ground, try it up-hill. It will not be long 
 before these muscles will ache till it will seem. as 
 if 3 t ou must have a whole gymnasuim concealed 
 in them somewhere. 
 
 Another exercise for the same muscles, which 
 can also be learned in a moment, and a little of 
 which will suffice at first, is running on the toes, 
 or, rather, on the soles and toes. Here the whole 
 weight is held by, and pushed from, first the mus- 
 cles of one calf, then of the other. One will not 
 
204 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 go far at this without convincing proof of the value 
 of this work to the parts in question. 
 
 Of two brothers of our acquaintance — one a 
 •boy of thirteen, the other a little fellow of four — 
 the former walks with no especial spring, and per- 
 forms his running flat-footed. But the little fel- 
 low, whether walking, standing, or running, is for- 
 ever on his toes, and with his knees sprung well 
 back. The former has rather slim legs and no 
 great calf; the latter beautifully developed calves, 
 round, full, and symmetrical, noticeably large for a 
 boy of his size and age. 
 
 Again, work, harder, and telling more directly 
 on the calves, and hence calculated to increase their 
 size and strength faster even than any of these, is 
 hopping on one foot — a really grand exercise, and 
 one of the speediest for bringing strong legs and 
 a springy step. There is not the relief in it that 
 there is in walking or running. There the rest is 
 nearly twice as long as here. Here the work is 
 almost continuous, and soon tires the strongest mus- 
 cles. Jumping also exercises these muscles power- 
 fully, and, practised steadily, soon brings them up c 
 Well developed and strong, these muscles are of 
 great value in dancing, adding astonishingly to the 
 ease and grace so valued in this accomplishment, 
 and to endurance as well. Horseback -riding, 
 where the foot is pushed but a little way into the 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 205 
 
 stirrup, and the whole weight thus thrown on the 
 toes ; rowing, especially with the sliding seat, where 
 the feet press hard against the stretcher; leaping; 
 ordinary walking uphill, and walking on the toes 
 alone — these all call these muscles into most vis;- 
 orous play, and, when practised steadily and with 
 energy, are among the most rapid means known 
 for increasing, not the strength of the calves alone, 
 but their girth as well. 
 
 Try a summer of mountain climbing. Look at 
 the men who spend their lives at it. Notice the 
 best stayers in the Alpine clubs, and almost inva- 
 riably they are found to have large and powerful 
 calves, especially where their knees are not bent 
 much in stepping. In a personal sketch of Ben- 
 digo, the once celebrated British prize-fighter (now 
 a quiet Christian man), much stress was laid on the 
 fact that his calves measured a clean sixteen inches 
 about. Yet, to show that gentlemen are sometimes 
 quite as strong in given directions as prize-fighters, 
 look at Professor Maclaren's own memorandum of 
 not only what a splendid pair of legs he himself had 
 at the start, but what a little mountain climbing did 
 for them ; for he savs that in four months of Al- 
 pine walking, averaging nine hours a day, his calves 
 went up from sixteen inches to seventeen and a 
 quarter! and his thighs from twenty-three and a 
 half inches to twenty -five. If instances nearer 
 
206 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 home are sought, and yet where neither anything 
 like the time Maelaren took was given to it, nor 
 any of the very severe work of the gentleman 
 referred to a little earlier, look at what Dr. Sar- 
 gent accomplished, not witli one solitary man but 
 with two hundred, at Bowdoin College; not giv- 
 ing nine hours a day to it, but only "half an hour 
 a day, four times a week, for a period of six 
 months." In this very brief time, and by mod- 
 erate exercises, he increased the average girth of 
 the calf of these w r hole two hundred men from 
 twelve and a half inches to thirteen and a quarter. 
 There was one pupil, working four hours a week 
 instead of four half-hours, and for one year instead 
 of six months, who increased his calves from thir- 
 teen and a half inches to fifteen — an actual gain 
 of a quarter of an inch more in two hundred and 
 eight hours of exercise, much of which was given 
 to other muscles, and did not tell on the calves, 
 than Maelaren made in nine hundred hours of 
 work, most of which kept these muscles in very 
 active play. 
 
 In all exercises for these muscles, indeed in all 
 foot-work, shoes should be w T orn with soles broad 
 enough to prevent the slightest cramping of the 
 foot, and so giving every part of it its natural play. 
 
 There remains one other prominent muscle be- 
 low the knee, that in front, running down along 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 207 
 
 the outer side of the shin-bone. Develop the calf 
 fully, as is often done, and omit this little muscle 
 and the work which calls it into play, and there ic 
 something wanting, something the lack of which 
 causes a lack of symmetry. Fast walking, when 
 one is unused to it, especially when the knees are 
 held pretty straight, will work this muscle so vig- 
 orously as to make it sore. But a plain, safe, and 
 simple exercise for it, yet one which, if protracted, 
 will soon swell" it into notice, and give it unwonted 
 strength and beauty, is effected by stooping down 
 as low as possible, the feet being but a few inches 
 apart, and the heels never being allowed to rise 
 even a quarter of an inch off the floor. Lift the 
 heels, and this muscle is at once relieved. 
 
 Laying any weight on the foot, and lifting it 
 clear from the ground, will also call on this muscle. 
 So will fastening the feet into straps, like those on 
 a boat- stretcher or rowing-weight, and swaying the 
 body of the sitter back and forth; for these muscles 
 have heavy work to do to aid in pulling the body 
 forward, so that the rower may reach his hands 
 out over his toes for a new stroke. Simply stand- 
 ing on one foot, first holding the other clear of the 
 floor, and then drawing it up as near as possible to 
 the front of its owm ankle, and then opening it as 
 wide as you can, will be found a safe and reasona- 
 bly effective way of bringing forward this small 
 
208 HOW TO' GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 but useful muscle; while walking on the heels, with 
 the toes drawn up high, is simpler yet. For those 
 who want to run heavy risks, and are not content- 
 ed with any exercise which does not threaten their 
 necks, hanging by the toes from a horizontal or 
 trapeze bar will be found to just fill the bill. 
 
 Work for the Front of the Thigh. 
 
 The muscles of the front thigh have a most inti- 
 mate connection with those already mentioned, and, 
 for ordinary purposes, a fair development of them 
 is more necessary than of those below the knee. 
 In common walking, for instance, while the calf gets 
 something to do, the thigh gets far more, especially 
 when the step is low and flat, and the heel never 
 raised far from the ground. A man will often have 
 large and strong thighs, and yet but indifferent 
 calves. A prominent Harvard oarsman, a strong 
 and fast walker, and a man of magnificent develop- 
 ment in most points, was once examined carefully 
 by Greenough, the sculptor. " I should know you 
 were an American," said he, " because you have 
 no calves;" and, indeed, his mistake in developing 
 splendid arms, and trunk, and thighs, and forget- 
 ting all about the calves, is far too common a one 
 among our athletes to-day; though the prominence 
 they are beginning to give to running helps mend 
 matters in this respect. 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 209 
 
 Scarcely any muscles are easier brought into ac- 
 tion than these of the upper or front thigh. Stand 
 erect, with head and chest high, and the feet about 
 six inches apart. Now, bend the knees a little, say 
 until the head has dropped vertically six inches. 
 Then rise to the perpendicular again. Repeat a 
 few times, and it will not be long till these mus- 
 cles will be felt to be in lively action, and this ex- 
 ercise prolonged will make them ache. But this 
 movement is very much akin to that in dancing, 
 the latter being the harder of the two, because the 
 weight is first on one foot, then on the other, while 
 in the former it is always on both. 
 
 Again, instead of stooping for a few inches only, 
 start as before, with head and neck rigidly erect, 
 and now stoop all the way down ; then rise again. 
 Continue this movement several times, and gener- 
 ally at first a few repetitions will be found to be 
 quite enough. By-and-by, as the strength increases, 
 so should the number; and, if time is to be saved 
 and the work condensed, keep dumb-bells, say of a 
 tenth of your own weight, in the hands during the 
 operation. 
 
 A more severe tax yet is had by holding one 
 foot far out, either in front or back, and then 
 stooping down wholly on the other foot. Few can 
 do this many times, and most persons cannot do it 
 at all. For swiftly bringing up a thigh at present 
 
 14 * 
 
210 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 weaker than its mate, and so restoring the svmme- 
 try which should always have been there, this work 
 is almost unparalleled. 
 
 Jumping itself, either high or flat, is admirable 
 for the thighs. Charles Astor Bristecl, in his " Five 
 Years in an English University," says that he at 
 one time took to jumping, and was astounded at 
 the rapid progress he made in a branch of athletics 
 at which before he had been no good. Maclaren 
 says that hardly any work will quicker bring up 
 the whole legs ; but this will probably prove truer 
 where a large number of moderate jumps are 
 taken daily, than where a few extreme efforts are 
 made. 
 
 Both fast walking and running bring vigorous 
 action to these muscles; slow walking does little 
 for them, hence the number of weak, undeveloped 
 thighs among men who do little or no quick foot* 
 work. A man, too, whose body is light and thin, 
 may do a deal of fast walking without greatly en- 
 larging his thighs, because they have comparatively 
 little to carry. But let him, after first getting thor- 
 oughly used to fast and continued walking, carry 
 weight awhile, say a twenty-five-pound bng of shot 
 or sand, or a small boy, on his back, or dumb-bells 
 in his hands — of course, on a gymnasium track, or 
 some other course where his action will be under- 
 stood — and he will find that the new work will 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 211 
 
 soon tell, as would, also, long- distance running, 
 even though not weighted, as Eowell so eminently 
 shows* 
 
 Good, stiff long-distance walking is excellent for 
 the front thigh; but running is better, especially 
 when done as it ought to be, namely, not flat-foot- 
 ed, but with the heel never touching the ground. 
 Any sort of running or walking, at any pace pro- 
 tracted enough to bring moderately tired muscles, 
 will tell, especially on these in question ; while 
 severe work over a long distance will give them 
 a great task, and the consequent ability and size. 
 Many a man may do a little desultory running 
 daily, perhaps for a week or two together once a 
 year, and not find his thighs enlarge or toughen 
 materially. But let him put in a few minutes each 
 day, for several months together, at steady smart 
 running, as far as he can, and go comfortably, and 
 now, besides the work becoming easy, comes the 
 desired size and strength as well. The hopping, 
 which was so good for the calves, is hardly less so 
 for these muscles, and is one of the best possible 
 movements to develop them in the shortest time. 
 
 Dancing, long continued, also tells here, as an 
 acquaintance of ours found, who used to lead 
 the German frequently at Newport ; for, though 
 far from being an athlete, he said that he daily 
 ran a mile during the season, just to keep bis 
 
212 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 legs in good order for the duties his position de- 
 manded. 
 
 A. more moderate exercise than the running, 
 though not always so available, is walking uphill, 
 This, besides, as already mentioned, doing so much 
 for the calves, tells directly and markedly on the 
 thighs as well. Skating makes a pleasant substi- 
 tute for walking during a part of the colder 
 months, and, when much distance is covered daily, 
 brings strong and shapely thighs. 
 
 The farmer and the laboring man, in all their 
 heavier work done stooping over their tasks — such 
 as lifting, shovelling, picking, and mowing — use the 
 thighs much, but keep them so long fixed in one 
 position, with little or no varying exercise to sup- 
 ple and limber them and the joints, that both grad- 
 ually stiffen, and their instep soon begins to lack 
 elasticity, which tendency is too often increased by 
 heavy, stiff, and unwieldy boots. 
 
 Swinging forward when rowing, either in a boat 
 or at the toe-straps, after first swinging far back, 
 takes these upper muscles in a way quite the re- 
 verse of their ordinary use, they now aiding to 
 pull the whole trunk forward, and so acting like 
 two long hooks. 
 
 All lifting of heavy objects from the ground, 
 standing in almost any position, tells heavily on 
 these musdea, being about the severest momentary 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 213 
 
 test they can have, greater even than in jumping. 
 But occasional heavy lifting tends rather to harden 
 the muscle than to rapidly increase its size, pro- 
 tracted effort at lighter but good-sized weights do- 
 ing the latter to better advantage. 
 
 Brisk horseback-riding keeps these muscles very 
 actively employed. Every sort of work which calls 
 for frequent stooping down does the same. Per- 
 sons who take short steps, and many of them, if 
 they walk with vigor, are likely to have legs thick- 
 er and stouter everywhere than they w T ho stride 
 out far, but make the whole step as easy for them- 
 selves as possible. 
 
 Hardly any of the muscles are so useful and 
 valuable as these. One may have weak arms and 
 trunk, yet with strong thighs he can walk a long 
 distance daily, and not be nearly so fatigued as 
 those much stronger elsewhere and weaker here, 
 and, as many men have little or no other exercise 
 than walking, they are often contented with fair 
 development here, and practically none of any ac- 
 count elsewhere. It is astonishing, too, to notice 
 how a man accustomed for years to a poor sham- 
 bling sort of a gait will, with strict attention to 
 taking a clean and strong step over a certain dis- 
 tance daily, with a determination to take no other 
 sort of gait, soon improve the strength and shape 
 of his thighs. 
 
214 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 As hopping on one foot is a swift way to de- 
 velop the calf, so frequent stooping down as low 
 as possible and rising again, daily, at first without 
 weights, but eventually with them, is the sure way 
 to speedily enlarge and strengthen the thighs. 
 
 To Enlarge the Under Thigh. 
 
 The muscles of the under thigh do not get near- 
 ly so much to do as those in front, in many persons 
 seeming almost not to exist. A bad walk, with the 
 knees always slightly bent, is parti} 7 accountable for 
 this ; and a man accustomed to such a walk, and 
 trying suddenly to walk erect, with his knees firm- 
 ly knit, and bowed slightly back, soon tires and 
 aches at the operation, which, to one in the habit 
 of walking erect, long ago became natural. 
 
 The exercise already recommended, of pressing 
 the sole of the foot hard on the ground just as it 
 leaves it, is scarcely more beneficial to the muscles 
 of the calf than to these; likewise walking up- 
 hill, that telling finely on them. Standings as 
 does the West Pointer in his setting-up drill, and, 
 with knees unbent, trying to touch the floor with 
 the hands, tells in this region. Fastening a weight 
 of any sort, a dumb-bell or flat-iron, to the ankle, 
 6ay with strap or towel, and raising the foot as 
 high up backward and outward as possible, and 
 repeating till tired; putting the foot in the han* 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 215 
 
 die of the pulling-weight, and frequently drawing 
 it far down; or, standing with back to the wall, 
 and placing the heel against the base-board of the 
 room, or any solid vertical surface, and pressing 
 hard many times — these all tell on this hidden un- 
 der muscle, which, small as it is, is a most essential 
 one, and especially in looks, while running with 
 the foot thrown high behind, excels them all. 
 
 To Strengthen the Sides of the Waist. 
 
 But while the legs have been so actively engaged, 
 there are other parts which have not been idle, so 
 that the same work brings other strength as well. 
 In every step taken, and especially every vigorous 
 one, as in fast walking or in running, the muscles 
 at the sides of the waist have been all the time at 
 work, a prominent duty of theirs being to aid in 
 holding the body erect. 
 
 Notice a man w T eak just here, and see his body 
 sway a little from side to side as he walks, seem- 
 ing to give at the waist. Were such a one to prac- 
 tise daily hopping straight ahead, on one foot, and 
 then on the other, until he could by -and -by so 
 cover half a mile without fatigue, he would find 
 his swaying propensity fast disappearing; and if 
 he has been troubled with a feeble or unshapely 
 waist, that also will have gradually changed, until 
 at the end it has become firm and well-set 
 
216 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 m. 
 
 'ake the long balancing^ole of the tight-rope 
 walker, and try to walk a rope awhile, or try the 
 more simple expedient of walking on the railroad 
 rail, and these muscles are at once uncommonly 
 busy. Notice the professional tight -rope man, 
 and see how strong he is here, especially when to 
 the weight of his own body he adds another, as 
 did Farini when he carried a man on his shoul- 
 ders across the Niagara River; or as the Eastern 
 porter, with his huge weight of luggage; or the 
 carrier at the meat-market, who shoulders a whole 
 side or more of beef and marches off with it. 
 These men soon get great and unusual power in 
 these side muscles. Wrestling also, whether Cor- 
 nish or Grseco-Roman, or indeed almost any sort, 
 tells directly and severely here. If one prefers 
 to use apparatus made specially, the opposite cut 
 shows a simple device of Dr. Sargent's, which he 
 made purposely to bring up and strengthen these 
 muscles. 
 
 Standing in front of it, with head and neck 
 erect and chest out, and grasping the ends of the 
 bar A A, the operator simply turns it, first well up 
 to the right, then to the left, and then repeats the 
 movements until he has enough. As he turns, the 
 rubber straps B B stretch more and more, of 
 course getting stiffer the farther the bar is turn- 
 ed. It would scarcely be possible to hit upon a 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 217 
 
 Fie. 5 3 
 
218 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 better appliance. for improving these valuable side 
 muscles, and yet without fear of overdoing them. 
 
 The Abdominal Muscles. 
 
 Nor do these include all the muscles which the 
 foot-work arouses to action. Take the horizontal 
 bands or layers of muscle across the abdomen. 
 Every step forward moves them, and the higher 
 and more energetic the step, the more they have 
 to do. A man who is not strong in these muscles 
 will usually have a feeble walk, and very often 
 will double forward a little, until he is in about 
 the position of the two hands of a clock at two 
 minutes past six, giving him the appearance of 
 being weak here. But the strong, high step tilts 
 the body slightly back, and gives these muscles so 
 much to do that they soon grow good at it, and 
 shapely and powerful accordingly. 
 
 Another advantage comes from having these 
 muscles strong, and from forming the habit of 
 stepping as he does who has them so. By walk- 
 ing thus erect, the shoulders, instead of pressing 
 over on the chest as the man tires, and so cramp- 
 ing his breathing, are so habitually held back that 
 it is easier to keep them there, and the consequent 
 fuller respiration keeps him longer fresh. This is 
 very conspicuous in the case of one of the most 
 famous pedestrians in the world to-day, its ex- 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 219 
 
 champion long-distance walker, Daniel O'Leary. 
 Take him when in good condition, and in one of 
 his long tramps; on the first mile or the four hun- 
 dredth, it is always the same : there he is, with head 
 up, shoulders well back, and working busily, and — 
 the most' noticeable thing — the whole centre of the 
 body, from the waist to the knees, thrown, if any- 
 thing, actually forward of a vertical line, instead of 
 as far, or often much farther, back of it ; indeed, 
 the point farthest forward is about two inches be- 
 low his belt. A fair though not clear idea of what 
 is meant can be had from the following sketch of 
 him, taken at the time, on the latter part of his 
 five -hundred -mile walk with Hughes, "the Lep- 
 per," on the track in the Hippodrome,- in New 
 York city, during the first week of October, 1878. 
 Hughes, while proving himself a very tough and 
 determined man, showed, as is too often the case 
 with professional athletes, great ignorance of many 
 things which would have helped him much had 
 he known and followed them, and none more, per- 
 haps, than this very matter of correct position. 
 
 O'Leary's freshness, no matter how many hun- 
 dred miles he has just walked, is remarkable. This 
 rational way of carrying the body during a diffi- 
 cult feat, besides giving the heart and lungs full 
 room for vigorous action, also gives the stomach 
 and other vital organs ample play; for a glance at 
 
220 
 
 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Fig. C. 
 
 the sketch shows none of the thinness of flank and 
 general snnken-in look at the waist in O'Leaiy so 
 plain in Hughes, and so common among walkers 
 in the later miles of the race. 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 221 
 
 Singularly enough, a little boy, only eleven years 
 old, and but three feet nine inches high, lias cop- 
 ied, or rather acquired — for it seems he*had never 
 seen this sensible step and carriage of O'Leary — 
 with astonishing success, as witness the following 
 sketch of his performance from the New York 
 Herald of October 11th, 1878. Foolish in the ex- 
 treme as it is to allow such half-grown youngsters 
 to attempt such feats, it is doubtful if the annals 
 of the cinder-path can match such prodigious stay 
 and skill in one so young : 
 
 "an embryo o'leary. 
 
 "Between the Grand Central Depot and Madison Avenue and 
 Forty-second and Forty-fourth streets is a vacant square, which 
 the boys of the neighborhood have been utilizing as a race-track. 
 Every day dozens of them may be seen scurrying round the track, 
 intent on making the best time ever known. Yesterday afternoon 
 a five-mile walk was in progress, which was headed by a very small 
 boy, who at once attracted the attention of the by-standers by his 
 peculiarly rapid and easy gait. He kept ahead of the other con- 
 testants, and finally distanced them by two laps, and won in the 
 time of 48m. 2s. 
 
 "After this race, at the request of the lookers-on, he travelled 
 around the track once (which is one-seventh of a mile) in lm. and 
 15s. He walks very erect, steps like O'Leary, and does not seem to 
 be easily fatigued. This time is still more surprising, considering 
 that he is only eleven years old and but three feet nine inches high, 
 so that he cannot take a very long step. 
 
 "In a conversation with him it was learned that his name was 
 Joe Havey, residing at No. 144 East Forty-third Street. He has 
 never seen a professional walk, so that his walking ideas are his 
 
222 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC. 
 
 own. With a little practice he bids fair to become a No. 1 pe- 
 destrian." 
 
 But there are other ways of bringing up these 
 useful abdominal muscles, equally easy to learn. 
 
 Sit down at the rowing-weights, placing the feet 
 in the toe -straps. Now sway the body back and 
 forth, and, placing the hand on the muscles in ques- 
 tion, feel how they harden. An ordinary bit of 
 strap screwed to the base-board of one's room, so 
 that each foot shall have a loop of it to go into, 
 and then a stool or cassock some eight inches high 
 to sit on, save the expense of the rowing-weights, 
 yet produce the desired result with these muscles. 
 
 Lie flat on the back, as, for instance, just on 
 awaking. Taking first a deep, full breath, draw 
 the feet upward, keeping the knees unbent, until 
 the legs are vertical. Lower them slowly till hor- 
 izontal, then raise again and continue. It will not 
 take many minutes — or seconds — to bring these 
 muscles enough work for one morning. 
 
 Or this time keep the legs down, and, first fill- 
 ing the chest, now draw the body up until you are 
 sitting erect. Then drop slowly back, and repeat. 
 This will be likely to take even less time than did 
 the other, but it will tell tremendously on these 
 muscles. Indeed, most people are so weak in 
 them, that they can hardly do this once. Yet men 
 who have them strong and well -trained will lie 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 223 
 
 flat on their backs on the floor or gymnasium mat, 
 and while some one holds their ankles, taking a 
 two-hundred-pound man, lying across their chest 
 at right angles with it, will raise him several times 
 till they are in erect sitting posture. 
 
 .Sitting on one of the parallel bars in the gym- 
 nasium, and placing both feet under the other, and 
 now dropping the body back until it is horizontal, 
 then rising to vertical and repeating, is very hard 
 work for these abdominal muscles, and should only 
 be practised by those already strong here. 
 
 These muscles are brought into direct and vig- 
 orous play in rowing, to such an extent that no 
 man who has them weak can be a fast oarsman 
 over any ordinary racing distance. Indeed, this 
 is the very region w T here 3 T oung rowers, otherwise 
 strong, and seemingly fit for hard, fast work, give 
 out first. 
 
 Every time the foot is raised in running, these 
 muscles are called to active duty far more than 
 in walking, and the high, strong, sharp step works 
 them severely, so that no man weak here could be 
 a fast runner with good action. Jumping, vault- 
 ing, leaping, all bring them into sudden, spasmod- 
 ic, almost violent action. Let a man mow awhile, 
 when unused to it, and see how soon it tells across 
 this region, the muscles aching next day from, the 
 twisting motion. 
 
224 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 The latest invention purposely for these muscles 
 is also one of Sargent's, on the following plan : 
 The pupil lies on the plank A A 7 , or, rather, sits 
 on it, when A 7 is a little back of vertical, so as, 
 for instance, to form with A the angle A B A 7 . 
 With feet in the toe-straps C C, he sways gently 
 forward and back as long as he can without fa- 
 tigue. From day to day, as these muscles gain 
 strength, A' is dropped lower and lower, until final- 
 ly it is on a level with A. Or a strap may be 
 placed over the forehead and fastened to A 7 , and, 
 with the feet in the toe-straps, the person may lift 
 his body up till vertical, drawing the weight E with 
 him as he rises. 
 
 Counterwork for the Abdominal Muscles. 
 
 But nearly all the exercises just named for the 
 abdominal muscles, while they make them strong 
 and handsome, tend to contract rather- than length- 
 en them ; and for men of sedentary life inclined 
 to stoop a little forward while sitting", some work 
 is needed which shall stretch these muscles, and 
 aid in restoring them to their natural length. 
 
 Stand erect. Now gradually draw the head and 
 shoulders backward until as far past the vertical as 
 possible. Return slowly to erect position. In the 
 drawing back, these muscles were stretched to a 
 greater length than usual, and in those who accus- 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 225 
 
 15 
 
226 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 torn themselves to drawing far back in this way, 
 like the contortionists of the circus, these muscles 
 grow wonderfully elastic, such men being able not 
 only to touch their heads to their heels, but now 
 and then to go farther yet 5 and drink water from 
 a tumbler set between their feet. 
 
 But while there is no need of such extreme 
 work, moderate performance in this way directly 
 tends to stretch and lengthen muscles which, in 
 the great majority of people, are somewhat cramp- 
 ed and shortened by habitual standing, sitting, or 
 lying, with the back either flat or almost curved 
 outward, instead of slightly hollowed in, and with 
 the consequent sinking of the chest. All work 
 above the head, such as swinging clubs, or an 
 axe or sledge; putting up dumb-bells, especially 
 when both hands go up together ; swinging by the 
 hands from rope or bar, or pulling the body up till 
 the chin touches the hands ; standing with back to 
 the pulley -weights, and taking the handles in the 
 hands, and, starting with them high over the head, 
 then pushing the hands far out forward ; standing 
 two or more feet from the wall, and, placing the 
 hands side by side against it about as high up a£, 
 your shoulders, then throwing the chest as far for- 
 ward as possible ; the hauling down ropes by the 
 sailor; the ceiling- work of the plasterer and the 
 painter, and the like — these all do excellent service 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 227 
 
 in bringing to these important muscles the length 
 and elasticity they ought to have, and so contribut- 
 ing materially to the erect carriage of the body. 
 All kinds of pushing with the hands, such as one 
 does in putting them against any heavy substance 
 and trying to push it before him, striking out in 
 boxing, in fencing, or single-stick, with dumb-bells, 
 or in swimming, are capital; while the drawing of 
 the head and shoulders back swiftly, as in boxing 
 to avoid a blow, can hardly be surpassed as an aid 
 in this direction. 
 
 To enlarge and give Power to the Loins. 
 
 Before leaving the waist, there is one more set 
 of muscles which demand attention ; and if one has 
 them weak, no matter how strong he may be else- 
 where, he is weak in a place where he can ill af- 
 ford to be, and that is in the loins, or the main 
 muscles in the small of the back, running up and 
 down at each side of- the spine. In many of the 
 heavier grades of manual labor these muscles have 
 a large share of work to do. All stooping over, 
 w r hen lifting is done with a spade, or fork, or bar, 
 whether the knees are held straight or bent, or 
 lifting any w r eight directly in the hands, horizontal 
 pulling on a pulley-weight, rope, or oar — in short, 
 nearly every sort of work w T here the back is ac- 
 tively employed, keeps these muscles thoroughly 
 
228 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 active., You cannot bend over without using them. 
 Weed awhile, and, unless already strong in the 
 loins, they w T ill ache. 
 
 A laboring man weak here would hardly be 
 worth hiring. A rowing- man. weak here could 
 never be a first-rate oar till he had trained away 
 the weakness. Heenan, with all his grand phy-. 
 sique, his tremendous striking- power, his massive 
 development above the waist, would not have 
 made nearly as enduring an oar as the sturdier, 
 barrel -chested Morrissey, or as the broad -loined 
 Renforth did make. Strong loins are always de- 
 sirable. He who has them, and is called on in any 
 sudden emergency to lift any heavy weight, as the 
 prostrate form of one who has fallen in a swoon, 
 for instance, is far less likely to work himself se- 
 rious, if not permanent, injury here than he who 
 has them untrained and undeveloped. 
 
 Development above the Waist. 
 
 Little or no work has been suggested, so far, 
 aimed purposely to develop any muscles above the 
 waist. Indeed, it is no uncommon thing, espe- 
 cially among Englishmen, to find a man of very 
 strong legs and waist, yet with but an indifferent 
 chest and shoulders, and positively poor arms. 
 Canon Kingsley had discovered this when he said 
 to the British clergy, " I should be ashamed of be- 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN" MUSCLES. 229 
 
 ing weak. I could not do half the little good I do 
 here if it were not for that strength and activity 
 which some consider coarse and degrading. Many 
 clergymen would half kill themselves if they did 
 what I do. And though they might walk about as 
 much, they would neglect exercise of the arms and 
 chest, and become dyspeptic or consumptive." 
 
 Let us look at a few things which would have 
 proved useful to the brave canon's pupils. The 
 connection between the arms and the muscles, both 
 on the front and back of the chest, is so close that 
 it is practically impossible to have arms thorough- 
 ly developed, and not have all the trunk muscles 
 above the waist equally so. Fortunately, as in 
 foot-work, the exercises to develop these muscles, 
 without having to resort to expensive apparatus, or 
 often to any at all, are very numerous. 
 
 With a pair of dumb-bells, at first weighing not 
 over one-twenty-fifth of what he or she does who 
 uses them, and gradually, as the strength increases, 
 substituting larger ones, until they weigh, say, one- 
 tenth of his or her weight, there is scarcely a mus- 
 cle above the belt which cannot, by steady and 
 systematic work of never over half an hour daily, 
 be rounded and strengthened up to what it ought 
 to be in a thoroughly developed, strong, and ef- 
 ficient person of its owner's sex, size, and age. 
 
230 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC. 
 
 Filling out the Shoulders and ZTpper Bach. 
 
 Notice now what these dumb-bells can do for 
 the shoulders and upper back. 
 
 Stand erect again, with the chin up and chest 
 high (in all these exercises stand erect where it is 
 possible), and have the dumb-bells in the hands 
 hanging easily at the sides. Now carry them 
 slowly backward and upward, keeping the arms 
 straight at the elbows, and parallel, until the hands 
 are about as high as they can well go. Hold them 
 there a moment, then drop them slowly to the 
 sides. Do it again, and keep on until you begin 
 to feel like stopping. Note the spot where you 
 feel it, and you will find that the under or inner 
 muscles of the part of the back-arm which is above 
 the elbow, also those on the shoulder-blade, and the 
 large muscles of the back directly under the arms, 
 have been the ones in action. Laying one dumb- 
 bell down, now repeat the above exercise with the 
 remaining one, say in the right hand, this time 
 placing the left hand on the back just under the 
 right arm, or on the inner portion of the triceps or 
 upper muscle of that right arm. These muscles 
 will be found vigorously at work, and hardening 
 more and more the higher the bell is carried or 
 the longer it is held up. 
 
 A little of this work daily, begun with the light- 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 231 
 
 er dumb-bells, and increased gradually by adding 
 to the number of strokes, or taking larger bells, or 
 both, and long before the year is out, if the person 
 is steady and persevering at it, decided increase 
 in the strength, size, and shapeliness of the upper- 
 back will follow. 
 
 What has been thus done with the dumb-bells 
 could have been done nearly or quite as well with 
 any other small, compact body of the same weight 
 which could be easily grasped by the hands, such 
 as a pair of window -weights, flat-irons, cobble- 
 stones, or even chairs, whichever were convenient. 
 Where there's a will there's a way ; and if one real- 
 ly means to get these or any other muscles strong 
 and handsome, the way is really surprisingly sim- 
 ple and easy. 
 
 Now, instead of using the dumb-bells, stand 
 erect, facing the pulley-weights at the gymnasium, 
 or at home if you have them, taking care only that 
 they weigh at least what the dumb-bells would. 
 Grasping the handles, draw them far back and up, 
 the hands, in other words, doing precisely what 
 they did with the bells, and the same results will 
 follow. 
 
 Rowing, either at the oar or the rowing- weights, 
 would have told equally hard on these muscles, 
 and, as already pointed out, on many "others be- 
 sides, the weight of the body itself aiding the de- 
 
232 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 velopment as it would not with the bells or weights. 
 It would also broaden the shoulders and spread 
 them apart, more, perhaps, than almost any other 
 known exercise. But, like any other single exer- 
 cise calling certain muscles into play and leav- 
 ing others idle, taken as substantially one's only 
 exercise, as is too often the case with rowing-men, 
 it brings a partial and one-sided development, mak- 
 ing the parts used look too large for the rest, the 
 fact being that the rest have not been brought up 
 as fast as the former. Unless one's chest is unu- 
 sually broad and strong, and often, even if it is, 
 constant rowing warps his shoulders forward, and 
 tends directly to make him a round-shouldered 
 man,* while the upper arm, or that part above the 
 elbow, has had practically no development, the in- 
 ner part of the triceps or back -arm alone being 
 called to severe duty, but the bulk being almost 
 idle. Courtney, the greatest sculler the United 
 States has yet produced — a large man, standing 
 six feet and half an inch in height, strongly made 
 in most parts, and weighing ordinarily nearly a 
 hundred and ninety — is a good instance of how 
 rowing does little for the upper arm ; for while 
 1 11s forearm is almost massive, measuring exactly 
 thirteen inches in girth, the upper arm, doubled 
 
 * See Fig. 1 , on page 36. 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 233 
 
 np ? barely reaches fourteen. A well-proportioned 
 arm, of which the forearm girths thirteen, should 
 measure above all fifteen and a quarter. Again, 
 while Courtney's forearm feels sinewy and hard, 
 the upper is not nearly so hard, and does not give 
 the impression of having seen very stiff service. 
 His chest, too, is not so large by over two inches 
 as ought to go with a thirteen-inch forearm. 
 
 Beside these exercises with the dumb-bells, the 
 weights, and the oar, all the vocations which cause 
 one to stoop over much and lift — such as most of 
 those of the farmer, the laborer, and of the artisan 
 in the heavier kinds of work — tell on these same 
 muscles of the upper back and the inner side of 
 the triceps, too often bringing, as already pointed 
 out, a far better back than front, and so injuring 
 the form and carriage. Lifting heavy weights 
 where one stands nearly erect, as when practising 
 on the lifting-machine, pulls very heavily on the 
 extreme upper muscles of the back, those sloping 
 off downward from the back of the neck to the 
 shoulders. 
 
 To obtain a good Biceps. 
 
 Starting with the dumb-bells down at the sides, 
 as before, raise them slowly and steadily in front 
 until they nearly touch the shoulder — technically, 
 "curl" them — holding the head up, the neck rig- 
 
234 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 idly erect, and the chest expanded to its very ut< 
 most. Now lower the bells slowly to the sides 
 again, and repeat, and so continue. In a very few 
 minutes, often less than three, you will want to 
 stop. The biceps muscles, or those forming the 
 front of the upper arms, are getting the work this 
 time, and by applying to that of one arm in action 
 the hand of the other, it is at once found that this 
 muscle is growing quite hard. 
 
 If no dumb-bell or other convenient weight is at 
 hand, place one hand in the other, and bear down 
 hard with the upper hand, holding the chest stub- 
 bornly out. Lift away with the lower hand, and, 
 when it reaches the shoulder, lower it slowly to 
 the side, and then raise again, and so continue. 
 This will be found a good thing to know when a 
 person is travelling, or away from home, and can- 
 not readily get at such apparatus as he has in his 
 own room. 
 
 Now stand erect in front of and facing the pul- 
 ley-weights, and at about arm's-length from them ; 
 draw the hand horizontally in until it is close to 
 the shoulder; let the weight drop slowly back, 
 and then draw it to you again, and so go on. This 
 is splendid work for the biceps, and will soon be- 
 gin to swell and strengthen it ; and then either in- 
 creased weight, or more strokes daily, is all that 
 will be needed. 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 235 
 
 Fasten a stout hook in a beam overhead, and 
 hang a pulley to it. Run a rope through this, at 
 one end of which you can attach weights, and tie 
 the other to the middle of a thick cane or other 
 stick, taking care to have the rope of such a 
 length in all, that when the weight is on the floor 
 the stick is about a foot above your head. 
 
 Begin with, say, one of your dumb-bells of not 
 over one -tenth of your own weight. Grasping 
 the stick with both hands, with their palms toward 
 you, draw it downward until level with your chin; 
 then let it go back; repeat, and continue till you 
 begin to tire. If the single bell seems too light, 
 attach both bells. After a few days with these, 
 fasten on a basket or coal -hod, and increase the 
 load until, say at the month's end, it weighs over 
 half of what you do. If you can take this up a 
 number of times without ache or ill-feeling, you 
 are strong enough to take hold of a fixed bar and 
 attempt to haul yourself up, as Mr. Bryant did,* 
 until your chin touches your hand. But without 
 this preliminary work, such pulling up, frequently 
 as it is attempted, is a foolish and hazardous ex- 
 periment, throwing a great strain on muscles quite 
 unused to such a task, namely, on these very biceps 
 muscles. 
 
 * See page 170 o 
 
230 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 If, on the other hand, one has these muscles 
 already strong, and can with ease puli himself up 
 six or eight times, he will find this stick and weight 
 an excellent affair for training the biceps of one 
 arm, until it gets strong enough to pull him up 
 without the other arm at all. For this simple and 
 valuable contrivance the public is also indebted to 
 Dr. Sargent, who is a regular Edison in devising 
 simple and sensible gymnastic appliances, whieh 
 he freely gives to all without patenting them. 
 
 Mounting a ladder or a rope hand -over -hand; 
 lifting any weight in front of you, whether a 
 feather or a barrel of sugar; picking up anything 
 from the floor; holding weights out in front, or 
 at your side, at arm's-length ; pulling downward on 
 a rope, as in hauling up a sail; hammering — in 
 short, anything which bends the elbow and draws 
 the hand in toward the shoulder, takes the biceps 
 muscle; and, if the work is vigorous and persisted 
 in, this muscle will ere long become strong and 
 well-shaped. 
 
 To bring tip the Muscles on the Front and Side 
 of the Shoulder. 
 
 For the muscles on the front and side of the 
 shoulder, holding out weights at arm's-length, ei- 
 ther at the side or in front, will be found just what 
 is wanted, the arms being horizontal, or the hands 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 237 
 
 being held rather higher than that, the elbows 
 remaining unbent. Holding the mere weight of 
 the hands, as in boxing, bnt keeping at it awhile, 
 keeps these parts well occupied ; while the sword, 
 or foil, or single -stick, freely plied, or the axe or 
 bat, tell directly here. 
 
 Forearm Work. 
 
 Very many of these exercises for the biceps and 
 shoulder have also called on the forearm, while 
 those mentioned for the inner triceps have done 
 the same. Very prominent among the latter is 
 rowing, much of it soon bringing a strong fore- 
 arm, especially on the inner and under side. Any- 
 thing which necessitates shutting the hand, or 
 keeping it partly or wholly shut ; such as holding 
 anything heavy in it, driving, chopping, fencing, 
 single -stick, pulling one's self up with one hand 
 or both, batting, lacrosse, polo, twisting the dumb- 
 bells around when at arm's-length, or a chair, or 
 cane, or foil, or sword, or broom -handle, if the 
 dumb-bells are not convenient, carrying a weight 
 in the hand, using any of the heavier mechanical 
 hand-tools — all these, and more of their sort, will 
 enlarge and strengthen the forearm, and will do 
 much also for the hand. Probably the hardest 
 work for the forearm, and that calling for the 
 greatest strength here, is lifting very heavy weights 
 
238 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 suspended from a stick, bar, or handles which the 
 hands grasp. 
 
 Exercises for the Triceps Muscles. 
 
 One prominent part of the arm remains, or, rath- 
 er, one which ought to be prominent, though in 
 most persons, both men and women, it is not. In 
 boys and girls it is even less so. We refer to the 
 rest of the triceps, or the bulk of what remains of 
 the upper arm after leaving out the biceps and the 
 inner, side of the triceps. When well developed, 
 this is one of the handsomest parts of the arm. 
 No arm will look slim which has this muscle fully 
 developed. 
 
 To bring that development, push with the hands 
 against almost any heavy or solid thing you want 
 to. If these muscles are small and weak, push the 
 dumb-bells up over your head as much as you can 
 daily, till a month's work has given them a start. 
 For two or three minutes each day during that 
 month, stand facing the wall, and about two feet 
 from it. Now fall against it, or, rather, put your 
 hands on it, about three feet apart and as high as 
 your ears, and let your body drop in toward the 
 wall till your chest nearly touches it, your face be- 
 ing held up and back. Then push sharply back till 
 your body is again erect, and continue the move- 
 ment. This exercise is as admirable as it is cheap. 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 239 
 
 If the triceps muscles are tolerably strong in the 
 start, or in any case at the end of the month in 
 which the last two exercises have been practised, 
 try now a harder thing. Place the hands on the 
 floor, hold the body out at full length and rigid, 
 or as nearly so as you can, and push, raising the 
 body till the elbows are straight. Now bend the 
 elbows and lower again, till the face nearly touches 
 the floor, keeping the body all the time as stiff and 
 straight as possible, and then rise on stiff elbows 
 again, and so on. If this is not hard enough work 
 for the ambitious aspirant for stout triceps, he can 
 vary it by clapping his hands between the dips, 
 just as his face is farthest from the floor, though 
 in such case it is sometimes well to have a nose 
 accustomed to facing difficulty. 
 
 So far, in this work for the back-arm the hands 
 at first held merely the weight of the dumb-bells; 
 then, as they pressed against the wall, they had to 
 bear part of the weight of the body, but not a large 
 part, as that rested mainly on the feet. In the 
 pushing from the floor the hands bore still more 
 of it, but yet the feet had quite a share. Now try 
 something where the hands and arms carry the en- 
 tire weight of the body. Get up on the parallel 
 bars, or on the bars in your door-jambs,* or, if no 
 
 * See page 92. 
 
240 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 bars are convenient, place two stout chairs back to 
 back, and then draw them about eighteen or twen- 
 ty inches apart, and, placing one hand on each, 
 holding the arms straight, lift the feet off the floor. 
 Now lower till the chin is level with the hands, or 
 nearly so, and then rise till the arms are straight, 
 and then dip again, and so on, the knees and feet 
 of course never resting on anything. Now you 
 have one of the best known exercises for bringing 
 quick development and good strength to the tri- 
 ceps or back- arm. When by steady daily trial 
 you have gradually increased the number until you 
 can do twenty-five fair dips without great effort, 
 you have strong triceps muscles, and, if you have 
 two legs and a reasonably heavy body to lift, good- 
 sized ones at that. Most of your friends cannot 
 manage five dips respectably, many scarcely one. 
 But, lest you should feel too elated over your 
 twenty-five, bear in mind that one gentleman in 
 New York has accomplished over eighty without 
 stopping, and this though he weighs upward of 
 one hundred and eighty pounds; and if a reason- 
 ably accurate idea of what sort of back-arms were 
 necessary for this marvellous feat, it may be had 
 by observing the cut on the cover of this book. 
 With a forty-four inch chest, his upper arm meas- 
 ures thirteen and a half inches down (half an inch 
 more than Heenan's), and sixteen up, though he is 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 241 
 
 but five feet ten inches in height, while Heenan 
 stood four inches taller. He says that as surely 
 as the ability exists to make many dips, so surely 
 will there be a large back-arm, and it was hard 
 work that brought him his. Slim arms may push 
 up heavy dumb-bells once or twice, but it takes 
 thick ones for sustained effort at smaller, though 
 good-sized ones. 
 
 To Strengthen and Develop the Hand. 
 
 Very many of the exercises so useful in strength- 
 ening the forearm were at the same time improv- 
 ing the grip of the hand. But an evil of so much 
 gripping or drawing the hand together is that, un- 
 less there is an equal amount of w r ork to open and 
 flatten it, it tends to become hooked. Notice the 
 rowing-man's hand, and the fingers nearly always, 
 when at rest, are inclined to be doubled in, as if 
 half clutching something ; and very often, where 
 they have seen years of rowing, their joints get so 
 set that the fingers cannot be bent back nearly as 
 far as other people's. Some of the pushing exer- 
 cises mentioned above for the triceps tend to coun- 
 teract this, notably that where the fingers or the 
 flat of the hands are pressed against the wall. An 
 admirable exercise in this direction is, when vou 
 practice the pushing up from the floor for the tri- 
 ceps, to only touch the floor with the ends of the 
 
 16 
 
242 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 fingers and thumbs, never letting the palm of the 
 hand touch it at all. This will soon help to rectify 
 many a hand now rather cramped and contracted, 
 besides bringing new strength and shape to the 
 fingers. 
 
 To make any particular finger strong, attach a 
 strap to the bar referred to on page 235, and 
 placing that finger in the strap begin with rais- 
 ing a small weight from the floor until yon have 
 drawn your hand down to your chin; then from 
 day to day gradually increase both the weight and 
 the number, until, before a great w T hile, you may 
 find that you can raise an equivalent of your own 
 weight. Now attach the strap to any stationary 
 object as high above your head as you can com- 
 fortably reach, say a horizontal bar, and pull your- 
 self up till your chin touches your hand. Some 
 gymnasts can do this several times with the little 
 finger. 
 
 Just where the thumb joins the palm, and be- 
 tween it and the forefinger on the back of the 
 hand, is a muscle which, w r hile at first usually 
 small, can be developed and enlarged by any ex- 
 ercise which necessitates pinching the ends of the 
 thumb and forefinger together, such as carrying a 
 plate of metal or other thin but heavy substance 
 between the finger and thumb. Harder work 
 yet, calling on both this muscle and a number of 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN" MUSCLES. 243 
 
 others of the hand, consists in catching two two- 
 inch beams running overhead, as in the ceiling of 
 a cellar, and about a foot and a half or two feet 
 apart, and walking along, sustaining the whole 
 weight by the grip, first of one hand, then of the 
 other. He w 7 ho can do this has very unusual 
 strength of fingers. 
 
 For improving the ordinary grip of the hand, 
 simply taking a rubber ball in it, or a wad of any 
 elastic material, and even of paper, and repeatedly 
 squeezing it, will soon tell. Simpler yet is it to 
 just practice opening and shutting the hand firmly 
 many times. An athletic friend of ours says that 
 the man of his whole acquaintance who has the 
 strongest grip got it just by practising this exercise. 
 
 To Enlarge and Strengthen the Front of the 
 
 Chest. 
 
 Every one of the exercises for the biceps tells 
 also on the pectoral muscles, or those on the front 
 of the upper part of the chest, for the two work so 
 intimately together that he who has a large biceps 
 is practically sure to have the adjoining pectoral 
 correspondingly large. 
 
 But there is other work w T hich tells on them be- 
 sides biceps work. Whenever the hands push hard 
 against anything, and so call the triceps muscles 
 into action, these muscles at once combine with 
 
244 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 them. In the more severe triceps work, such as 
 the dips, the strain across these chest-muscles is 
 very great, for they are then a very important fac- 
 tor in helping to hold up the weight of the whole 
 body. This fact suggests the folly of letting any 
 one try so severe a thing as a dip, when his triceps 
 and pectoral muscles have not been used to any 
 such heavy work. Many a person who lias rashly 
 attempted this has had to pay for it with a pain 
 for several days at the edge of the pectoral, where 
 it meets the breast-bone, until lie concluded he 
 must have broken something. 
 
 Working with the dumb-bells when the arms 
 are extended at right angles with the body, like a 
 cross, and raising them up and down for a foot 
 or so, is one of the best things for the upper edge 
 of the pectorals, or that part next to the collar- 
 bone. 
 
 This brings us to a matter of great importance, 
 and one often overlooked. Whoever knows many 
 gymnasts, and has seen them stripped or in exer- 
 cising costume, must occasionally have observed 
 that, while they had worked at exercises which 
 brought up these pectoral muscles until they were 
 almost huge, their chests under their muscles had 
 somehow not advanced accordingly. Indeed, in 
 more than one instance which has come under our 
 observation, the man looked as though, should you 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN" MUSCLES. 245 
 
 jscrape all these great muscles completely off, leav- 
 ing the bare framework, he would have actually a 
 small chest, much smaller than many a fellow who 
 had not much muscle. There hangs to-day — or 
 did some time since — on the wall of a well-known 
 New York gymnasium, a portrait of a gymnast 
 stripped above the waist, which shows an exact 
 case in point. The face of such a man is often a 
 weak one, lacking the strength of cheek-bone and 
 jaw so usual in men of great vitality and sturdi- 
 ness — like Morrissey, for instance — and there is a 
 general look about it as if the man lacked vitality. 
 Many a gymnast has this appearance, for he takes 
 so much severe muscular work that it draws from 
 his vitality, and gives him a stale and exhausted 
 look, a very common one, for example, among men 
 who remain too long in training for contest after 
 contest of an athletic sort. 
 
 The getting up, then, of a large chest, and of 
 large muscles on the chest, while often contempo- 
 rary, and each aiding the other, are too frequently 
 wholly different matters. 
 
 Amd how is the large chest to be had ? 
 
 To Broaden and Deepen the Chest itself. 
 
 Anything which causes one to frequently fill his 
 lungs to their utmost capacity, and then hold them 
 full as long as he can, tends directly to open his 
 
246 now to get strong, etc 
 
 ribs, stretch the intercostal muscles, and so expand 
 the chest. Many kinds of vigorous muscular ex- 
 ercise do this when done correctly, for they cause 
 the full breathing, and at the same time directly 
 aid in opening the ribs. It will be observed that 
 frequently throughout these hints about exercising, 
 endeavor has been made to impress on the reader 
 that, when exercising, he should hold the head and 
 neck rigidly erect, and the chest as high as he can. 
 A moment's thought will show why. He, for in- 
 stance, who "curls" a heavy dumb-bell, but does 
 it with his head and shoulders bent over — as many 
 do — while giving his pectorals active work, is act- 
 ually tending to cramp his chest instead of expand- 
 ing it, the very weight of the dumb-bell all pull- 
 ing in the wrong direction. Now, had he held him- 
 self rigidly erect, and, first expanding his chest to 
 its utmost by inhaling all the air he possibly could, 
 and holding it in during the effort — a most valua- 
 ble practice, by-the-way, in all feats calling for a 
 great effort — he would not only have helped to ex- 
 pand his chest, but would find, to his gratification, 
 that he had hit upon a wrinkle which somehow 
 made the task easier than it ever was before. 
 
 Holding the head and neck back of the vertical, 
 say six inches, with the face pointing to the ceiling, 
 and then working with the dumb-bells at arm's- 
 length, as above referred to, is grand for the upper 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 247 
 
 chest, tending to raise the depressed collar-bones 
 and the whole upper ribs, and to make a person 
 hitherto flat-chested now shapely and full; while 
 the benefit to lungs perhaps formerly weak would 
 be hard to over-estimate. 
 
 Steady and protracted running is a great auxil- 
 iary in enlarging the lung-room. So is plenty of 
 sparring. So is the practice of drawing air slowly 
 in at the nostrils until every air-cell of the lungs is 
 absolutely full, then holding it long, and then ex- 
 pelling it slowly. Most public singers and speak- 
 ers know the value of this and kindred practices 
 in bringing, with increased diaphragmatic action, 
 improved power and endurance of voice. 
 
 Spreading the parallel bars until they are near- 
 ly three feet apart, and doing such arm-work on 
 them as you can, but with your body below and 
 face downward, helps greatly in expanding the 
 chest. So does swinging from the rings or bar 
 overhead, or high parallels, and remaining on 
 them as long as you can. 
 
 Dr. Sargent's ingenuity has provided a simple 
 and excellent chest expander. Pie rigs two or- 
 dinary pulleys over blocks some feet above the 
 head, and from five to six feet apart, as in Fig. 8, 
 and attaching weights at the floor ends of the 
 ropes, puts ordinary handles on the other ends, 
 and has the ropes just long enough so that when 
 
248 
 
 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
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SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 249 
 
 the weights are on the floor the handles are about 
 a foot above the head. Now stand between and 
 directly under them, erect, with the chest as full 
 as you can make it, and keeping the elbows straight, 
 and grasping the handles draw your hands slowly 
 downward out at arms-length, say about two feet. 
 Next, let the weights drop gradually back, repeat, 
 and so go on. This is excellent for enlarging the 
 whole chest, but especially for widening it. A 
 better present to a consumptive person than one 
 of these appliances could hardly be devised. 
 
 Again, to deepen the chest from front to back, 
 he hangs two bars, B and 0, as in Fig. 9, and at- 
 taches the weight at the other end, A, of the rope, 
 the bar B, when at rest, being about a foot above 
 the height of the head. Standing, not under B, 
 but about a foot to one side of it, and facing it, 
 grasp its ends with both hands, and keeping the 
 arms and legs straight and stiff, and breathing the 
 chest brimful, draw downward until the bar is 
 about level with the waist. Let the weight run 
 slowly back, repeat, and go on. 
 
 A great advantage of both these contrivances, 
 besides their small cost and simplicity, is that, as 
 in nearly everything Dr. Sargent has invented, you 
 can graduate the weight to suit the present require- 
 ments of the person, however weak or strong he or 
 she may be, and so avoid much risk of overdoing. 
 
250 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 v 
 
 \f 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
SPECIAL EXERCISE FOR ANY GIVEN MUSCLES. 251 
 
 In the exercises above named it will be noticed 
 that there has been a sufficient variety for any 
 given muscles to bring them within the reach of 
 all. After this, how far any one will go in any de- 
 sired line of development is a matter he can best 
 settle for himself. What allowance of work to 
 take daily will be treated of in the next chapter. 
 
252 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 
 
 An endeavor has been made thus far to point 
 out how wide-spread is the lack of general bodily- 
 exercise among classes whose vocations do not call 
 the muscles into play, and, again, how local and cir- 
 cumscribed is that action even among those who 
 are engaged in most kinds of manual labor. Va- 
 rious simple exercises have been described which, 
 if followed steadily and persistently, will bring 
 size, shape, and strength to any desired muscles. 
 It may be w r ell to group in one place a few move- 
 ments which will enable any one to know at once 
 about w T hat amount and sort of work is to be taken 
 daily. Special endeavor will be made to single 
 out such movements as will call for no expensive 
 apparatus. Indeed, most of these want no appa- 
 ratus at all, and hence will be within the reach 
 of all. As it has been urged that the school is 
 the most suitable place to accustom children to 
 the kind and amount of work they particularly 
 need, a few exercises will first be suggested which 
 any teacher can learn almost at once, but which 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 253 
 
 yet, if faithfully taught to pupils, will soon be 
 found to take so little time that, instead of inter- 
 fering with other lessons, they will prove a posi- 
 tive aid. Though perhaps imperceptible at the 
 outset, in a few years, with advancing develop- 
 ment, the gain made will be found not only to be 
 decided, but of the most gratifying character. 
 
 Daily WorJcfor Children. 
 
 Suppose the teacher has a class of fifty. If the 
 aisles of the school-room are, as they should be, at 
 least two feet wide, let the children at about the 
 middle of the morning, and again of the afternoon 
 session, stand in these aisles in rows, so that each 
 two of the children shall be about six feet apart. 
 Let the first order be, that all heads and necks be 
 held erect. Once these are placed in their right 
 position, all other parts of their bodies at once fall 
 into place. The simplest way to insure this is to 
 direct that every head and neck be drawn hori- 
 zontally back, with the chin held about an inch 
 above the level, until they are an inch or two back 
 of the vertical. Now raise the hands directly over 
 the head, and as high as possible, until the thumbs 
 touch, the palms of the hands facing to the front, 
 and the elbows being kept straight. Now, with- 
 out bending the elbows, bring the hands down- 
 ward in front toward the feet as far as can com- 
 
254 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 fortably be done, generally at first about as low as 
 the knee, taking care to keep the knees themselves 
 absolutely straight ; indeed, if possible, bowed even 
 back. Now return the hands high over the head, 
 and then repeat, say six times. This number twice 
 a day for the first week will prove enough; and it 
 may be increased to twelve the second week, and 
 maintained at that number thereafter, care being 
 taken to assure two things : one, that the knees 
 are never bent; the other that, after the first week, 
 the hands are gradually brought low T er down, un- 
 til they touch the toes. Some persons, familiar 
 with this exercise, can, with the knees perfectly 
 firm and straight, lay the w T hole fiat of the hands 
 on the floor in front of their feet. But after the 
 first week, reaching the floor with the finger-tips 
 is enough for the end sought, which is, namely, 
 to make the pupil stand straight on his feet, and 
 to remove all tendency toward holding the knees 
 slightly bent, and so causing that weak, shaky, 
 and sprung look about the knees, so very common 
 among persons of all ages, to give way to a proper 
 and graceful position. 
 
 Let the pupils now stand erect, this time with 
 backs not bent forward, but with the body abso- 
 lutely vertical. Raise the hands above the head 
 as before, elbows straight, till the thumbs touch. 
 N 0Wj never bending body or knees a hair's-breadth, 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 255 
 
 and keeping the elbows unbent, bring the hands 
 slowly down, not in front this time, but at the sides 
 just above the knees, the little finger and the inner 
 edge of the hand alone touching the leg, and the 
 palms facing straight in front. Now notice how 
 difficult it is to warp the shoulders forward even 
 an inch. The chest is out, the head and neck are 
 erect, the shoulders are held low, the back vertical 
 and hollowed in a little, and the knees straight 
 Carry the hands slowly back through the same 
 line till again high over the head. Then bring 
 them down to the sides again, and do six of these 
 movements twice each day the first week, and 
 twelve afterward. 
 
 While exercises aimed at any given muscles 
 have been mentioned elsewhere, any one might 
 follow them all up until every muscle was shapely 
 and strong, and still carry himself awkwardly, and 
 even in a slouchy and slovenly manner. This last- 
 named exercise is directly intended to obviate this. 
 If steadily practised, it is one of the very best 
 known exercises, as it not only gives strength, but 
 a fine, erect carriage. The whole frame is so held 
 that every vital organ has free scope and play- 
 room, and their healthier and more vigorous ac- 
 tion is directly encouraged. This is one part, 
 indeed the chief exercise, in the West Pointer's 
 " setting-up drill;" aud all who have ever seen 
 
256 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 the cadets at the Point will at once recall how ad- 
 mirably they succeed in acquiring and retaining a 
 handsome carriage and manly mien. 
 
 To vary the work a little, and to bring special 
 development to particular muscles, now let the pu- 
 pil stand with arms either hanging easily at the 
 sides, or else held akimbo, the head and neck al- 
 ways erect, with the heels about four inches apart, 
 and the toes turned outward. Raise the heels 
 slowly off the floor, the soles and toes remaining 
 firm on the floor, sustaining the entire weight. 
 When the heels are as high as possible, hold them 
 there a moment ; then lower slowly till the whole 
 foot is on the floor again ; then rise as before, and 
 so repeat twelve times twice a day the first week, 
 and then twenty-five for the following week, con- 
 tinuing this. If this is not vigorous enough when 
 fifty, after the first month, are tried, it will be 
 found that now this work is telling directly on 
 the size, shape, and effectiveness of the feet and 
 calves, and on the grace and springiness of the 
 step itself. If any boy or girl wants to become 
 a good jumper, or to get decided aid in learning 
 to dance long and easily, he or she will find this 
 a great help. If they even practice it half an 
 hour a day, they will be none the worse for it. 
 
 All the work thus far recommended here can 
 readily be done in two minutes- Standing erect, 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 257 
 
 with the arms still akimbo, and the feet as before, 
 now bend the knees so as to stoop six or eight 
 inches, then rise to the perpendicular, stoop again, 
 and continue this six times, the feet never leaving 
 the floor. This strengthens the knees, while the 
 front of the thighs get the heaviest part of the 
 work, though the leg below the knee is doing a 
 good share. (It is not unlike the exercise prac- 
 tised so assiduously by Rowell on the tread-mill, 
 and which brought him such magnificent legs that 
 he became champion pedestrian of the world.) 
 By the third week the number may be made 
 twenty-five. If among the scholars there are some 
 who are decidedly weak, twenty-five of these exer- 
 cises is about the limit. For strong, hearty boys, 
 twice as many will prove nearer the mark. After 
 two or three months of twenty-five movements as 
 described for every day, fifty might be tried once 
 by all the pupils, to see whether it is too severe, 
 and if not, then maintained daily at the maximum. 
 Thus far the feet have not left their particular 
 position on the floor. Now let the pupil stand 
 with the right foot advanced about twelve or fif- 
 teen inches, suddenly rising on the toes, give a 
 slight spring, and throw the left foot to the front, 
 and the right back; then spring back as before, 
 and do this six times twice a day the first week, to 
 twelve the second, and twice as many by the end 
 
 17 
 
258 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 of the month. This calls the same muscles into 
 play as the last exercise, and brings the same de- 
 velopment, but is a little more severe and vigorous. 
 
 If still harder thigh -work is wanted, starting 
 again, with the feet not over four inches apart, this 
 time do not raise the heels at all, but stoop down 
 slowly, as low as possible, bending the knees great- 
 ly, of course, the back, however, being held straight 
 all the while. Then rise to an erect position, then 
 go down again. Practising this three times each 
 morning and afternoon at first, may be followed 
 up with six a week later; and twelve by the end 
 of the month. Better work than this for quickly 
 fi-ivino; size and strength to the thighs could hard- 
 ly be devised ; while, as has been already noted, 
 scarcely any muscles on the whole body are more 
 needed or used for ordinary walking. 
 
 Still standing erect, with arms akimbo, raise the 
 right foot in front about as high as the left knee, 
 keeping the right knee unbent. Hold the right 
 foot there ten seconds; then drop it; then raise 
 it again, fully six times. Then, standing, do the 
 same thing with the left foot. This calls at once 
 on the muscles across the abdomen, aiding the 
 stomach and other vital organs there directly in 
 their work. 
 
 This time raise the foot equally high behind; 
 then return it to the floor, and so continue, giving 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 259 
 
 each foot equal work to do. The tinder thigh, 
 hip, and loin are now in action ; and when, later 
 on, they become strong, their owner will find how 
 much easier it is to run than it used to be, and 
 also that it has become more natural to stand 
 erect. The rate of increase of these last two ex- 
 ercises may be about the same as the others. 
 
 There is not much left now of the ten minutes. 
 Still, if the work has been pushed promptly for- 
 ward, there may still be a little time. However, 
 all three of the kinds of work suo;o;ested for the 
 front thigh need not be practised at the one re- 
 cess, any one sufficing at first. 
 
 With head and neck again erect, and knees firm, 
 hold the hands out at the sides and at arm's-length, 
 and clasp the hands firmly together, as though try- 
 ing to squeeze a rubber bail or other elastic sub- 
 stance. Beginning with twenty of these move- 
 ments, fifty may be accomplished by the end of 
 the fortnight; and by their continuance both the 
 grip and the shape of the hand will be found 
 steadily improving. 
 
 Clasp the hands together over the head. Now 
 turn them over until the palms are upward, or 
 turned toward the ceiling, and straighten the el- 
 bows until the hands are as high over the head as 
 you can reach. While holding them in this posi- 
 tion, be careful that they are not allowed to drop 
 
260 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 at all. Let the scholar march three or four times 
 around the room in this position. It will soon be 
 found that no apparatus whatever is necessary to 
 get quite a large amount cf exercise for the cor- 
 ners of the shoulders. In this way, while there 
 is an unwonted stretching apart of the ribs, and 
 opening up of the chest, the drawing in of the 
 stomach and abdomen will be found to correct 
 incipient chest weakness, half-breathing, and any 
 tendency toward indigestion. 
 
 Following up the method, now let the class 
 form around the side of the room, standing three 
 feet apart, and about two feet from the wall. 
 Place the hands against the wall, just at a level 
 with and opposite to the shoulders. Now, keep- 
 ing the heels all the time on the floor, let the body 
 settle gradually forward until the chest touches 
 the wall, keeping the elbows pretty near to the 
 sides, the knees never bending a particle, and the 
 face held upturned, the eyes looking at the ceil- 
 ing directly overhead. Now push sharply off from 
 the wall until the elbows are again straight, and 
 the body back at vertical. Then repeat this, and 
 continue six times for each half of the day for the 
 first week. Keep on until you reach fifteen by the 
 third week, and twenty-five by the second month. 
 For expanding and deepening the chest, helping to 
 poise the head and neck so that they will remain 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 261 
 
 exactly where they belong — in an erect position — 
 and for giving the main part of the upper back- 
 arm quite a difficult piece of work to do, this will 
 prove a capital exercise. Whoever will make a 
 specialty of this one form of exercise until they 
 daily take two or even three hundred such pushes, 
 will find that any tendency he or she may have 
 to flatness or hollo wness of chest will soon begin 
 to decrease, and will very likely disappear alto- 
 gether. 
 
 In this last exercise most of the weight was on 
 the feet, the hands and arms sustaining the rest. 
 If the aisles are not over two feet and a half wide, 
 let each pupil stand between two opposite desks 
 and place one hand on each. Now, walking back 
 about three or four feet, his hands still resting on 
 the two desks, let him, keeping his body rigid and 
 knees unbent, bend his elbows and lower his chest 
 very gradually until it is nearly or quite level with 
 the desk tops, then slowly straighten up his arms, 
 and so raise his body again to the original posi- 
 tion. Three such dips twice a day the first week, 
 five or six the second, and by the end of the month 
 ten or twelve, and that number then maintained 
 steadily, will open and enlarge the chest material- 
 ly before the year is out, while at the same time 
 doing much to increase and strengthen the upper 
 back -arm. This is harder work than pushing 
 
262 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 against the wall, because the hands and arms now 
 have to sustain a much greater portion of the 
 weight of the body, but it is correspondingly bet- 
 ter for the chest. 
 
 Tims far exercises have been described calling 
 for no apparatus at all, nor anything save a floor 
 to stand on, a wall to push against, two ordinary 
 school desks, and a fair degree of resolution. For 
 children under ten, wooden dumb-bells, weighing 
 one pound each, ought to be had of any wood- 
 turner, and ought not to cost over five cents apiece. 
 There might be one pair of dumb-bells given to 
 each child, or, if the class is large, then a single 
 dumb-bell for each, and they could be distributed 
 among two classes for dumb-bell exercises. 
 
 Standing in the aisles, and about five feet apart, 
 every child taking a dumb-bell in each hand, keep- 
 ing the knees unbent and the head and neck erect, 
 let them raise or "curl" the bells slowly until they 
 are up to the shoulders, the finger-nails being held 
 upward. Then lower, then raise again, and so on 
 ten or twelve times each half-day for the first fort- 
 night, and double that many thereafter. This tells 
 principally on the biceps or front of the upper 
 arm, on the front of the shoulder, and on the pec- 
 toral muscles, or those of the upper front chest. 
 When, later on, any pupil endeavors to pull him- 
 self up to his chin, he will find what a large share 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 263 
 
 of the work these muscles have to do. Instead 
 of the one-pound dumb-bells then, his whole body 
 will be the weight to be lifted. 
 
 Again, let the dumb-bells hang at the sides. 
 Raise them slowly, high up, behind the back, 
 keeping the elbows straight and the arms paral- 
 lel. After holding them there five seconds lower 
 them ; do it again, and keep on, ten times twice 
 a day at first, making it twenty in a fortnight, and 
 thirty thereafter. This work will enlarge that 
 part of the back of the upper arm next to the 
 body, and will also tell directly on the whole back 
 of the shoulder, and on the large muscles on the 
 back just below where the arm joins it. 
 
 This time, holding the knuckles upward and the 
 elbows straight, lift the dumb-bells till level with 
 the shoulders, the arms being extended sideways 
 as if on a cross. After holding them up five sec- 
 onds, lower them ; then raise them but five or six 
 times at the first lesson, increasing to twenty by 
 the end of the month, and then maintaining that 
 number. The corners of the shoulders are get- 
 ting the work now, and by-and-by not only shape- 
 ly shoulders will come from it, but a noticeable in- 
 crease of the breadth across the shoulders. This 
 work may be varied by raising the arms parallel 
 in front until level with the shoulders, then lower- 
 ing, and so continuing. 
 
264 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 Next raise the two bells to the shoulders ; then, 
 facing the ceiling, push both up together until they 
 are as high over the head as possible ; then lower, 
 push up again, and continue six times twice a 
 day for the first week; make the twelve the third 
 week and the twenty of the fifth, and then keep 
 at that. The outer or more noticeable parts of 
 the upper back, the arms, are busiest now ; and 
 this exercise directly tends to enlarge and strength- 
 en them, and to add materially to the appearance 
 of the arms. 
 
 But one exercise more need be mentioned here. 
 Stand erect; now draw the head and neck back 
 of the vertical all of eight inches, until you face 
 the ceiling. Starting with the dumb-bells high 
 up over the head, keeping the elbows straight, low- 
 er the dumb-bells slowly, until now you are hold- 
 ing them at arm's-length, with your arms spread, 
 as on a cross. Then lift them up again, lower, and 
 continue. If this does not spread the chest open, it 
 will be hard to find anything which will. Do this 
 consecutively twenty times every day for a month. 
 That number will take scarcely a minute to ac- 
 complish, but the little one-pound bells will feel 
 wondronsly heavy before the minute is over. 
 
 Here, then, have been shown quite a variety of 
 exercises, not only safe and simple but inexpen- 
 sive, which can readily be adopted in any school. 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 265 
 
 If they are followed up as faithfully and steadily 
 as are the other lessons, they cannot fail to bring 
 decided and very welcome improvement in the 
 shape and capacity of all the muscles, and hence 
 of the whole body, while it will go far toward 
 giving to all the scholars an erect and healthy car- 
 riage. These results alone would delight many a 
 parent's heart. The making this branch of in- 
 struction as compulsory as any other would soon 
 accustom the pupil to look for it as matter of 
 course. If it were conducted with spirit, it would 
 always be sure to prove interesting, and very likely 
 to send the children back to their studies much 
 fresher and brighter for the temporary mental rest. 
 Besides these exercises, the teacher, insisting 
 on the value of an erect position in school hours, 
 whether the pupil be standing or sitting, and by 
 inculcating the value of this, would soon find that 
 these efforts were being rewarded by making many 
 a crooked girl or boy straight, and so lessening 
 their chance of having either delicate throats or 
 weak lungs. Care should be taken that the school 
 chairs have broad and comfortable seats, and that 
 the pupil never sits on a half of the seat or on the 
 edge of it, but far back, and on the whole of it. 
 This apparently small matter will assist marvel- 
 lously in forming the habit of an erect position 
 while sitting. Some twenty years ago a Mrs. Car- 
 
266 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 man, of Boston, devised a chair-back which should 
 just fit the hollow of the back when the back was 
 held erect, as it should be. This simple contriv- 
 ance greatly encouraged a good position in sit- 
 ting, and could well be made a part of the stand- 
 ard chair in our schools. A pad of the right shape, 
 hung on the back of the chair, would effect the 
 same object. 
 
 The teacher's opportunity to work marked and 
 permanent physical benefit to every pupil under 
 her charge, by daily and steadily following up 
 most or either of the above exercises, or of some 
 substantially equivalent, can scarcely be over-esti- 
 mated. The exercises strengthen the postures, 
 whether sitting or standing. When a teacher in- 
 sists on having her children erect for six hours 
 out of the twenty-four, and makes plain to each 
 one the value of being straight, and the self-re- 
 spect it tends directly to encourage, there need be 
 no great fear that the remaining waking hours 
 will make any child crooked. It is in school gen- 
 erally that the mischief of warping and crook- 
 ing is done; and hence there, of all places, would 
 be the most appropriate place for the undoing 
 of it 
 
 Dumb-bells of but a pound each have been men- 
 tioned here so far. Such would be fitting for pu- 
 pils under ten years of age. For all older pupils 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 267 
 
 the same work with two -pound bells will prove 
 generally vigorous enough ; and whoever wishes 
 to judge what these light weights can do in a short 
 time should examine the results of Dr. Sargent's 
 exercises with them and other light apparatus at 
 Bowdoin College (see Appendix II.). Those who 
 are already decidedly strong can of course try 
 larger bells; but it is astonishing how soon those 
 of only two pounds seem to grow heavy, even to 
 those who laugh at them at first. 
 
 Of course, all the work before described cannot 
 be gone through with in ten minutes in mid-morn- 
 ing, or even in the twenty of the morning and af- 
 ternoon sessions combined ; but much of it can : 
 and an advantage of naming too much is that it 
 enables the teacher to vary the work from day to 
 day, and so, while effecting the same results, pre- 
 vents anything like monotony. 
 
 As the months £0 bv, and it is found that the 
 weaker ones have noticeably improved, and all are 
 now capable of creditable performances at these 
 various exercises, they may be carried safely on 
 to the gymnasium — that is, if the school is fortu- 
 nate enough to possess one. It is but a partially 
 equipped school which is not provided with a good- 
 sized, well- ventilated room, say of forty or fifty 
 feet square (and one fifty by a hundred would do 
 far better), fitted up with the simpler gymnastic 
 
268 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 appliances. Now the teacher, if up to his work, 
 can render even more valuable assistance than be- 
 fore, by standing by the pupil, as lie or she at- 
 tempts the simplest steps on the parallel bars, or 
 the rings, or the high bars, the pulley-weights, or 
 the horizontal bar ; constant explanations are to be 
 given how to advance, and setting the example, 
 detecting defects and correcting them on the spot, 
 and all the while being ready to catch the pupil 
 and prevent him or her from falling. An in- 
 structor soon finds that the pupils progress as rap- 
 idly as they did in the lighter preparatory work, 
 while now they are entering on a field which, if 
 faithfully cultivated, though for only the same 
 brief intervals daily, will later on insure a class of 
 strong, healthy, shapely, and symmetrical boys or 
 girls, strong of arm and fleet of foot, familiar with 
 what they can do, and knowing what is not to be 
 attempted. Much, indeed the greater part, of the 
 good to be derived from the gymnasium would 
 have come from steadily adhering to the exercises 
 above pointed out, so that even with no gymna- 
 sium excellent progress can be had ; but results 
 come quicker in the gymnasium, and the place in- 
 vites greater freedom of action. In ten minutes 
 in the morning, for instance, thirty or forty boys 
 or girls could, following one another promptly, 
 "walk "(on their hands) through the parallel bars 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 269 
 
 with the elbows unbent, the head of the line cross- 
 ing at once to the high bars, and "walk'' or ad- 
 vance through them, first holding the weight on 
 one hand and then on the other, then turning to 
 the horizontal bar and vaulting over it. If the 
 rear of the line is not vet through the forward 
 "walk' 7 on the parallels, those at the head could 
 take a swing on the rings. Next, they could 
 " walk " backward through the parallels, then 
 through the high bars; then vault again, swing 
 again, and then try the parallels anew — this time 
 "jumping" forward, or advancing both hands at 
 once, the arms of course being held rigidly straight. 
 Then turning to the high bars, they could jump 
 or advance through them, springing forward with 
 both hands at once, vault again, the bar having 
 meanwhile been raised, and either try the rings 
 again or rest a moment, and then jump backward 
 through the high bars. 
 
 A little foot- work, for a minute or two remain- 
 ing, would make a good conclusion. With the 
 hands closed and elbows bent, the body and arms 
 held almost rigid, the neck well back, and the head 
 up, let the column now start off around the room 
 on an easy trot, each stepping as noiselessly as pos- 
 sible, and no heel touching the floor. A minute 
 of this at a lively pace w T ill be abundant at first; 
 and as the legs gradually get strong, and the breath- 
 
270 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 ing improves, the run can be either made faster 01 
 longer, or both. 
 
 As the pupils began to grow steadier, with their 
 hands on the bars they could next swing their 
 feet back and forth, and jump with their hands 
 as they swing forward; then, later, could jump 
 forward as the feet are swung backward, and 
 backward as the feet are swung forward. The 
 vaulting-bar for the boys meanwhile may stead- 
 ily rise, peg after peg ; and, when proficiency is 
 reached with two hands, one -hand vaulting may 
 be tried, and the bar gradually raised as before, 
 the teacher always standing near the vaulter. 
 The swinging on the rings, instead of being any 
 longer simple straight -arm work, with the body 
 hanging nearly down, can now be done with the 
 elbows bent much of the time, the knees being 
 curled tip toward the chin as the swinger goes 
 backward. 
 
 After two months of straight-arm work on the 
 parallel bars, even the girls may now try the same 
 exercises they did with their arms when straight, 
 save that now they should always keep them bent 
 at the elbows. This will come hard even yet, and 
 must be tried with care. These are the well-known 
 " dips," followed up little by little, and month af- 
 ter month. By-and-by these exercises will come 
 as easy as was the straight-arm work. 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 271 
 
 To all, or nearly all, the high bar work should 
 how be done with bent elbows, while the vaulting 
 should, say by the end of the year, be nearly at 
 shoulder height for each pupil, and even, for many 
 of them, that high with one hand. The running 
 should have improved correspondingly, so that five 
 minutes of it at a respectable pace, say at the rate 
 of a mile in seven minutes, would not trouble the 
 girls, and even ten minutes of it not distress the 
 boys. 
 
 Now, what have these few exercises done for 
 the muscles and their owners ? 
 
 Well, the straight -arm work on the parallels, 
 by throwing the whole weight on the hands, told 
 directly on the upper back -arm, while the dips 
 brought the same region into most vigorous ac- 
 tion, and at the same time opened and strength- 
 ened the front of the chest very markedly, tending 
 to set the shoulders back, and enlarging the chest, 
 and hence the lung-room as well. The high -bar 
 w r ork told equally upon the biceps muscles, or those 
 of the front of the upper arm, and likewise on the 
 front of the shoulders. The vaulting made the 
 vaulter springy, and strengthened his thighs and 
 calves materially, and his abdominal muscles some- 
 what, while the more advanced work on the rings 
 brought both the biceps and abdominal muscles 
 into most energetic play. The running was excel- 
 
272 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 lent for the entire legs and the abdominals, while 
 as a lung-expander it is difficult to equal. 
 
 Those proficient at these few exercises, if they 
 have heeded the endeavors made to secure at all 
 times an erect and easy carriage of the body, need 
 but one more thing. With regular and sensible 
 habits of eating, sleeping, dressing, and bathing, 
 they would be almost certain to be at once well 
 and strong. The thing wanted is daily constitu- 
 tional out-of-doors exercise ; w T hether taken afoot, 
 on horseback, or at the oar, it matters little, so long 
 as it is vigorously taken and faithfully persisted in, 
 in all weathers. This guarantees that pure and 
 bracing air shall be had, breaks up the thread of 
 the day's thoughts, rests the mind, and quickly re- 
 fits it for new work. This alone gives the full 
 deep breathing, and the healthy tire of the mus- 
 cles. It furnishes constantly varying scene, with 
 needed eye and ear gymnastics — in short, every- 
 thing which is the reverse of that quiet, sedentary, 
 plodding life over books or papers, read too often 
 in poorly lighted offices. 
 
 Home exercise, then, with the out-of-door life, 
 will combine to tone us up, to invigorate our per- 
 sons, and to keep off either mental or physical ex- 
 haustion and disorder. 
 
 The above work, followed up assiduously, ought 
 (<» bring in its train health, symmetry, a good car- 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 273 
 
 riage, buoyant spirits, and a fair share of nerve 
 and agility. But many a young man is not con- 
 tent with merely these ; he wants to be very 
 strong. He is already at or near his majority. 
 He is quite strong, perhaps, in some ways, but in 
 others is plainly deficient. What ought he to do ? 
 
 Daily Exercise for Young Men. 
 
 On rising, let him stand erect, brace his chest 
 firmly out, and, breathing deeply, curl dumb-bells 
 (each of about one-fifteenth of his own weight) 
 fifty times without stopping. This is biceps work 
 enough for the early morning. Then, placing the 
 bells on the floor at his feet, and bending his knees 
 a little, and his arms none at all, rise to an upright 
 position with them fifty times. The loins and 
 back have had their turn now. After another 
 minute's rest, standing erect, let him lift the bells 
 fifty times as far up and out behind him as he 
 can, keeping elbows straight, and taking care, when 
 the bells reach the highest point behind, to hold 
 them still there a moment. Now the under side 
 of his arms, and about the whole of the upper 
 back, have had their work. Next, starting with 
 the bells at the shoulders, push them up high over 
 the head, and lower fifty times continuously. Now 
 the outer part of the upper arms, the corners of the 
 shoulders, and the waist have all had active duty. 
 
 18 
 
274 now to get strong, etc 
 
 Finally, after another minute's rest, start with 
 the bells high over the head, and lower slowly un- 
 til the arms are in about the position they would 
 be on a cross, the elbows being always kept un- 
 bent. Raise the bells to height again, then lower, 
 and so continue until you have done ten, care be- 
 ing taken to hold the head six or more inches back 
 of the perpendicular, and to steadily face the ceil- 
 ing directly overhead, while the chest is swelled 
 out to its uttermost. Rest half a minute after 
 doing ten, then do ten more, and so on till you 
 have accomplished fifty. This last exercise. is one 
 of the best-known chest- expanders. Now that 
 these five sorts of work are over, few muscles 
 above the waist have not had vigorous and ample 
 work, the lungs themselves have had a splendid 
 stretch, and you have not spent over fifteen min- 
 utes on the whole operation. If you want to add 
 a little hand and fore-arm work, catch a broom- 
 stick or stout cane at or near the middle, and, 
 holding it at arm's-length, twist it rapidly from 
 side to side a hundred times with one hand, and 
 then with the other. 
 
 In the late afternoon a five-mile walk on the 
 road, at a four-mile pace, with the step inclined to 
 be short, the knees bent but little, and the foot push- 
 ing harder than usual as it leaves the ground — this 
 will be found to bring the le^s and loins no incon- 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 275 
 
 siderable exercise ; all, in fact, that they will prob- 
 ably need. If, shortly before bedtime each even- 
 ing, the youth, after he has been working as above, 
 say for a month, will, in light clothes and any old 
 and easy shoes, run a mile in about seven minutes 
 and a half, and, a little later, under the seven min- 
 utes, or, three nights a week, make the distance 
 two miles each night, there will soon be a life and 
 vigor in his legs which used to be unknown ; and 
 if six months of this work brings a whole inch 
 more on thigh and calf, it is only what might have 
 been expected. 
 
 For still more rapid and decided advance, an 
 hour at the gymnasium during the latter part of 
 the morning, half of it at the rowing-weights, so 
 thickening and stoutening the back, and the other 
 half at " dipping" and other half-arm work on the 
 parallel bars — so spreading and enlarging the chest 
 and stoutening the back-arms — these will increase 
 the development rapidly, and will sharpen the ap- 
 petite at a corresponding rate. But it must be 
 real work, and no dawdling or time lost. 
 
 Few young men in any active employment, how- 
 ever, can spare this morning hour. Still, without 
 it, if they will follow up the bef ore-breakfast work, 
 the walking in the fashion named, and the run- 
 ning, they will soon find time enough for this 
 much, and most satisfactory results in the way of 
 
276 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 improved health and increased strength as well. 
 Indeed, it will for most young men prove about 
 the rig] it amount to keep them toned up and 
 ready for their day's work. If they desire great 
 development in any special line, let them select 
 some of the exercises described in the previous 
 chapter, as aimed to effect such development, and 
 practice them as assiduously, if need be, as Eowell 
 did his tread-mill work for his legs. 
 
 Daily Exercise for Women. 
 
 And what should the girls and women do each 
 day? "With two-pound wooden dumb-bells at first, 
 let them, before breakfast, go through twenty-five 
 movements of each of the five sorts just described 
 for young men. After six weeks or two months 
 they can increase the number to fifty, and, if this 
 does not bring the desired increase in size, and 
 strength of arm and chest and back, then they can 
 try dumb-bells weighing four or five pounds each. 
 
 Out-of-doors, either in the latter part of the 
 morning or afternoon, if they will, in broad, easy 
 shoes, walk for one hour, not at any listless two- 
 mile pace, but at first as fast as they comfortably 
 can, and then gradually increasing until in a fort- 
 night or more they can make sure of three miles 
 and a half at least, if not of four miles within the 
 hour, and will observe the way of stepping just 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 277 
 
 suggested to the men, they will get about walking 
 enough. And if once in awhile, every Saturday, 
 for instance, they make the walk all of five or six 
 miles, getting, if city ladies, quite out into the sub- 
 urbs and back, they will be surprised and gratified 
 at the greater ease with which they can walk now 
 than formerly, and at their freshness at the end. 
 Recent reports from India say that English ladies 
 there often spend two or three hours daily in the 
 saddle. Every American lady who can manage 
 to ride that much, or half of it, and at a strong, 
 brisk pace, will soon have a health and vigor al- 
 most unknown among our women and girls to-day. 
 
 If walking and horseback parties, instead of be- 
 ing, as now, well-nigh unheard of among our girls, 
 were every-day affairs, and there was not a point 
 of interest within ten miles which every girl, and 
 woman too, did not know well, it would prove a 
 benefit both to them and to the next generation 
 which would be almost incalculable. 
 
 Girls should also learn to run. Few of them 
 are either easy or graceful runners; but it is an 
 accomplishment quickly learned; and begun at a 
 short distance and slow jog, and continued until 
 the girl thinks nothing of running a mile in seven 
 minutes, and that without once touching a heel to 
 the ground, it will do more than almost any other 
 known exercise to make her graceful and easy on 
 
278 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 her feet, and also to enlarge and strengthen her 
 lungs. A roomy school-yard, a bit of lawn, or a 
 gymnasium-track, either of these is all the place 
 needed in which to learn this now almost obsolete 
 accomplishment. The gymnasium is perhaps the 
 best place, as there they can wear costumes which 
 do not impede freedom of movement. 
 
 If besides these things the girl or woman will 
 determine that, as much as possible of the time 
 each day in which she is sitting down, she will 
 sit with head and neck up, trunk erect, and with 
 shoulders low, and that whenever she stands or 
 walks she will at all times be upright, she will 
 shortly find that she is getting to be far straighter 
 than she was, and, if she has a larger and finer 
 chest than formerly, it will be nothing strange, for 
 she has simply been using one of the means to get 
 it. If a still greater variety of daily work is de- 
 sired, she can select it from Chapter XII. ; the ex- 
 ercises on the pulley-weights and on the apparatus 
 sketched in Fig. 8 being especially desirable. 
 
 Daily Exercise for Business Men. 
 
 And what daily work shall the business man 
 take? His aim is not to lay on muscle, not to 
 become equal to this or that athletic feat, but sim- 
 ply to so exercise as to keep his entire physical 
 and mental machinery in good working order, and 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 279 
 
 himself equal to all demands likely to be made on 
 him. 
 
 First he, like the young man or the woman, 
 should make sure of the ten or fifteen minutes' work 
 before breakfast. Not through the long day again 
 will he be likely to have another good opportunity 
 for physical exercise, at least until evening, and 
 then he will plead that he is too tired. But in the 
 early morning, fresh and rested, and with a few 
 minutes at his disposal, he can, as Bryant did, with- 
 out serious or violent effort, work himself great 
 benefit, the good effect of which will stay by him 
 all the day. If he has in his room the few bits of 
 apparatus suggested in the chapter on "Home 
 Gymnasiums," he will be better off than Bryant 
 was, in that he can have a far wider range of ex- 
 ercise, and that all ready at hand. 
 
 Let him first devote two or three minutes to the 
 striking-bag. Facing it squarely, with head back 
 and chest well out, let him strike it a succession 
 of vigorous blows, with left and right fists alternat- 
 ing, until he has done a hundred in all. If he 
 has hit hard and with spirit, he is puffing freely 
 now, his lungs are fully expanded, his legs have 
 had a deal of springing about to do, and his arms 
 and chest have been busiest of all. This bag- 
 work is really superb exercise, and if once or 
 twice, later in the day, say at one's place of busi- 
 
280 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC. 
 
 ness, or at home again in the evening, he would 
 take some more of it, he would find fret, discom- 
 fort, and indigestion flying to the winds, and in 
 their place buoyancy and exhilaration of spirits to 
 which too many men have long been strangers. 
 
 Next grasp the handles in Fig. 8 and bear down- 
 ward, as described on page 249. Repeat this work 
 for about two minutes, standing all the time thor- 
 oughly erect. Whether the sparring left any part 
 of your chest unfilled or not, every air-cell is ex- 
 panded now, while you cannot fail to be pleased 
 with the thorough way in which this simple con- 
 trivance does its work. Care should of course be 
 taken that the air breathed daring these exercises 
 is pure and fresh. 
 
 Now use the dumb-bells two or three minutes. 
 Let them weigh not over one twenty-fifth of your 
 own weight. First, with head and neck a trifle 
 back of vertical, and the chest held out as full 
 as possible, curl the bells, or lift them from down 
 at arm's-length until you have drawn them close 
 up to the shoulders, the finger-nails being turned 
 upward. Lower again and repeat until you have 
 done twenty-five, the chest being always out. The 
 biceps muscles, or those of the front upper arm, 
 and of the front of the shoulders and chest, have 
 been busy now. 
 
 Next, starting with the bells at your shoulders, 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 281 
 
 push both at once steadily up over your head as 
 high as you can reach, and continue till twenty- 
 five are accomplished. The back-arms, corners of 
 the shoulders, and the waist have now had their 
 turn. 
 
 Facing the pulley-weights (Fig. 4), and stand- 
 ing about two feet from them, catch a handle in 
 each hand. Keeping the elbows stiff, draw first 
 one hand and then the other in a horizontal line 
 until your hand is about eighteen inches behind 
 you, the body and legs being at all times held rig- 
 idly erect, and the chest well out. Continue this 
 until you have done fifty strokes with each hand. 
 This is excellent for the back of the shoulders — 
 indeed for nearly the entire back above the waist. 
 
 Again, with back to the pulley- weights, hold the 
 handles high over the head, and leaning forward 
 about a foot, keeping the elbows unbent, bear the 
 handles directly dow r nward in front of you, and so 
 do twenty-five. 
 
 Besides these few things, or most of them, put 
 the bar (Fig. 3) in the upper place, and, catching 
 it with both hands, just swing back and forth, at 
 first for half a minute, afterward longer, always 
 holding the head well back. This is capital at 
 stretching the ribs apart and expanding the chest. 
 If the above exercises seem too hard at first, begin 
 with half as much, or even less, and work gradu- 
 
282 HOW TO GET STKONG, ETC 
 
 ally up until the number named can be easily 
 done. 
 
 If, once in mid-morning and again in mid-after- 
 noon, the man, right in his store or office, will 
 turn for two or three minutes to his dumb-bells, 
 and repeat what he did with his home pair in the 
 morning, he will find the rest and change most re- 
 freshing. But in any case, whether he does so or 
 not, every man in this country whose life is in- 
 door ought to so divide his time that, come what 
 may, he will make sure of his hour out-of-doors 
 in the late afternoon, when the datfs work is 
 nearly or quite done. If he must get up earlier, 
 or get to his work earlier, or work faster while he 
 does work, no matter. The prize is well worth 
 any such sacrifice, and even five times it. Emer- 
 son well says, " The first wealth is health," and 
 no pains should be spared to secure it. Lose it 
 awhile and see. Exercise vigorously that hour 
 afoot, or horseback, or on the water, making sure 
 that during it you utterly ignore your business and 
 usual thoughts. Walk less at first, but soon do 
 your four miles in the hour, and then stick to that, 
 of course having shoes in which it is easy to walk, 
 and before long the good appetite of boyhood will 
 return, food taste as it often has not done for years, 
 sound sleep will be surer, and new life and zest 
 will be infused into all that you do. Let every 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 283 
 
 man in this country who lives by brain-work get 
 this daily "constitutional" at all hazards, and it will 
 do more to secure to him future years of health 
 and usefulness than almost anything else he can do. 
 It will be observed that there is nothing severe 
 or violent in any of these exercises suggested for 
 men — nothing that old or young may not take with 
 like advantage. The whole idea is to point out a 
 plain and simple plan of exercise, which, followed 
 up faithfully, will make sound health almost cer- 
 tain, and which is easily within the reach of all. 
 
 Daily Exercise for Consumptives. 
 
 And what should these people do ? If there is 
 one good lung left, or a goodly portion of two, 
 there is much which they can do. Before break- 
 fast they need to be more careful than others be- 
 cause of their poorer circulation. Still, in a warm 
 and comfortable room they can work to advantage 
 even then. In most instances consumptives have 
 not large enough chests. Stripped to the waist, 
 there is found to be a flatness of the upper chest, 
 a lack of depth straight through from breastbone 
 to spine ; and the girth about the chest itself, and 
 especially at the lower part of it, is often two or 
 more inches less than it is in a well-built person 
 of the same height. Now, to w T eed out these de- 
 fects, to swell up and enlarge the chest, and bring 
 
284 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 it proper breadth, and depth, and fulness, this will 
 c;o far toward insuring healthv and vigorous lunsrs. 
 And how is this done ? 
 
 Standing under the handles in an appliance like 
 that represented in Fig. 8, holding the body rigid- 
 ly erect, the chest out, the knees and elbows un- 
 bent, bear the two handles downward on either 
 side of you until the hands are as if extended on a 
 cross, using only very light weights at first. Lower 
 the weights again, then bear down again, and so 
 do ten. Just as you bear down each time, inflate 
 the lungs to their utmost, and hold the air in them 
 until you have lowered the weights again. Best 
 about a minute, then do ten more, and a little later 
 ten more. This w T ill be enough before breakfast 
 work the first week. At breakfast, and whenever 
 sitting down throughout the day, determine to do 
 two things — to sit far back on your chair, and to 
 sit at all times upright. No matter how many 
 times you forget or fail, even if a thousand, keep 
 trying until the erect posture becomes habitual. 
 This point once reached, you have accomplished a 
 great thing — one which may aid not a Kttle to 
 save vour life. 
 
 at 
 
 Next, about an hour after breakfast, start out for 
 an easy walk. Going quietly at first, the head 
 held, if anything, back of the vertical, and the step 
 short and springy; quicken later into a lively pace, 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 285 
 
 and, holding that as long as you comfortably can, 
 return to your room. If your skin is moist, do not 
 hesitate a minute, but strip at once, and with coarse 
 towels rub your skin till it is thoroughly red all 
 over, and then put on dry under-clothing. If you 
 then feel like taking a nap, take it. When well 
 rested, do thirty more strokes at the pulley- weights. 
 In the afternoon try more walking, or some horse- 
 back work if you can get a steed with any dash in 
 him. After you are through, then more weight 
 work. Finally, just before retiring, take another 
 turn at the weights. 
 
 After the first week run the w T eight work up to 
 fifty at a time, and increase the out-door distance 
 covered both morning and afternoon, being sure 
 to go in all w r eathcrs, and to eat and sleep all you 
 comfortably can. Vary the in-door work also some- 
 what. In addition to the exercise on Fig. 8, prac- 
 tice now an equal number of strokes daily- on the 
 appliance described as Fig. 9, and in the fashion 
 described on page 249. After the first fortnight 
 try hanging by the tw r o hands on the horizontal 
 bar and swinging lightly back and forth. Before 
 breakfast, before dinner, before supper, and just 
 before retiring, take a turn at this swinging. Of 
 it, and the work on the two sorts of pulley-weights, 
 a weak- lunged person can scarcely do enough. 
 These open the ribs apart, broaden and deepen the 
 
286 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC. 
 
 chest, and inflate the lungs — the very things the 
 consumptive needs. The out-door work secures 
 him or her ample good air, vigorous exercise, and 
 frequent change of scene. On the value of this 
 good air, or rather of the danger of bad air, hear 
 Langenbeck, the great German anatomist : " I am 
 sure now of what I suspected long ago, viz., that 
 pulmonary diseases have very little to do with in- 
 temperance, * * * and much less with cold weath- 
 er, but are nearly exclusively (if we except tuber- 
 culous tendencies inherited from both parents, I 
 say quite exclusively) produced by the breathing 
 of foul air." This out-door work should also be 
 steadily increased until the half -hour's listless 
 walk at first becomes six or eight miles before 
 dinner, and as much more before supper. From 
 breakfast to supper one can hardly be exercising 
 out-of-doors too much ; and steadily calling on the 
 heart and lungs in these very favorable ways, in- 
 creased vigor and power are only what might have 
 reasonably been looked for. 
 
 As the months roll on, and this steady work, 
 directed right to the weak spots, has strengthened 
 and toughened you, now put larger weights on the 
 Fig. 8 appliance, and also increase the number 
 of strokes until you do a thousand or even two 
 thousand daily — head and body always being held 
 erect, and full breathing a constant accompani- 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 287 
 
 ment. This making a specialty of these chest- 
 expanding exercises, none of which are severe or 
 violent, but which are still vigorous enough, and 
 the abundance of healthy and active out-door life, 
 are sure to bring good fruits in this battle where 
 the stake is no less than one's own life. They are 
 rational and vigorous means, aimed directly at the 
 weak part, and, with good air, good food, cheerful 
 friends, and ample sleep, will often work marvels, 
 where the filling the stomach with a whole apoth- 
 ecary shop of nauseous oils and other medicines 
 has wholly failed to bring the relief sought. These 
 exercises taken by a man already healthy at once 
 tone him up and invigorate him, until he begins to 
 have something of the feeling of the sturdy pio- 
 neer, as described by Dr. Mitchell.* And if the 
 delicate person tries the same means, using them 
 judiciously and carefully, it is but natural that he 
 should find similar results. 
 
 Some years ago Dr. G ,of Boston, showed us 
 
 a photograph of himself taken several years pre- 
 viously. The shoulders were warped forward, the 
 chest looked flat, almost hollow, and the face and 
 general appearance suggested a delicate man. He 
 said he inclined to be consumptive. Well, by 
 practising breathing, not on an ordinary "blowing- 
 
 * See page 77. 
 
288 HOW TO GET STRONG, ETC 
 
 machine," where you empty your lungs of about 
 all that is in them, but on an inspirometer, from 
 which instead you inhale every inch of air you 
 can, and by practising vigorous working of his 
 diaphragm, he had so expanded his lungs that 
 he could inhale three hundred and eighty cubic 
 inches of air at one breath ! Certainly the depth 
 of his chest at the later period was something 
 astounding, it being, as nearly as we could judge 
 without calipers, all of fourteen inches through, di- 
 rectly from breastbone to spine, while it was a 
 strikingly broad chest as well. 
 
 But an even more astonishing feature was the 
 tremendous power of his voice. He said that at 
 the end of half an hour's public singing with the 
 opera singers (for he was skilled at that), while 
 they would be hot and perspiring lie was only just 
 warming up and getting ready for his work. One 
 thing all who ever heard him sing would quickly 
 concede, namely, that seldom had they anywhere 
 heard so immense a voice as his. lie said that he 
 had also run two blocks in one breath. He look- 
 ed about the farthest remove from a consumptive 
 — a short, stout, fat man, rather. 
 
 Now the in-door chest work above recommended, 
 and the steady and vigorous daily out-door work, 
 all aiming to deepen and strengthen the lungs, are 
 well-nigh sure to bring decidedly favorable re- 
 
WHAT EXERCISE TO TAKE DAILY. 289 
 
 suits; while the doctor's habit of frequent, deep, 
 and slow inhaling, cannot fail to work great good, 
 and can hardly be practised enough. 
 
 After he of weak lungs has once built them up 
 again and regained the former vigor, he should 
 not only be sure of his daily in-door exercise and 
 of his constitutional, but of a longer outing daily 
 than a stronger man would need. President Dav, 
 of Yale, said to have been a consumptive at sev- 
 enteen, by good care of his body lived to be nine- 
 ty-five, and it is far from uncommon for delicate 
 persons, who take good care of the small stock of 
 vigor they have, to outlive sturdier ones who are 
 more prodigal and careless. 
 
 19 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 Showing the average state of the development of 200 men upon enter* 
 ing the Bowdoin College Gymnasium, from the classes of "73, "74, 
 "75, "70, and "77. 
 
 Age. 1S.3 years. 
 
 Height 5 ft. 8 in C7.9T4 in. 
 
 Weight 135 lbs 134.9S1 lbs. 
 
 Chest (inflated) 35 in 35.067 in. 
 
 Chest (contracted) 32± in 32.29 in. 
 
 Forearm. 10 in/ 10.03 iu. 
 
 Upper arm (flexed) . 11 in 10.960 in. 
 
 Shoulders (width) 15£ in 15.602 in. 
 
 Hips 31 i in 31.475 in. 
 
 Thigh 19* in 19.612 in. 
 
 Calf 12* in 12.729 in. 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 Showing the average stale of the growth and development of the same 
 number of men (200) after having practised in the Bowdoin Gym- 
 nasium half an hour a day four times a week, for a period of six 
 months, lender Dr. Sargent. 
 
 Height 5 ft. Si in 6S.254 in. 
 
 Weight 137 lbs 137.123 lbs. 
 
 Chest (inflated) 36£ in 36.829 in. 
 
 Chest (contracted) 33 in 33.206 in. 
 
 Forearm lOf in 10.760 in. 
 
 Upper arm (flexed) 12 in 11.903 in. 
 
 Shoulders (width) 16i in 16.260 in. 
 
 Hips 33f in 33.S75 iu. 
 
 Thigh 21 in 20.964 in. 
 
 Calf 13£ in 13.232 in. 
 
 In this case the apparatus used was light dumb-bells, 2£ lbs. ; Indian 
 clubs, 3£ lbs. ; pulley-weights, from 10 to 15 lbs. 
 
292 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 Showing average increase of 200 students at Bowdoin College, in va- 
 rious measurements, after working but half an hour a day four 
 times a week, for six months, under Dr. Sargent. 
 
 Average increase in height J iu. 
 
 Average increase in weight 2 lbs. 
 
 Average increase of chest (contracted) fin. 
 
 Average increase of chest (inflated) If in. 
 
 Average increase of girth of forerrni £ in. 
 
 Average increase of girth of upper arm 1 in. 
 
 Average increase of width of shoulders i in. 
 
 Average increase of girth of hips 2^ in. 
 
 Average increase of girth of thigh H in. 
 
 Average increase of girth of calf £ in. 
 
 APPENDIX IV. 
 
 Showing the effect of four hours' exercise a week for one year upon 
 a youth of 19, at Bowdoin College, under Dr. Sargenfs direction. 
 This ivas two hours 1 work more each week than was required of the 
 regular classes. 
 
 s . 
 
 6 
 <q 
 
 Yrs. 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 *-> 
 
 § 
 
 o> 
 
 
 a, ■»-> 
 
 -4J ^^ 
 
 53 
 
 Ph es 
 
 CU = 
 
 In. 
 12* 
 
 H 
 
 i 
 
 in. 
 17 
 H 
 
 5 
 
 in. 
 35 
 
 !S 
 
 Eh 
 
 In. 
 
 19$ 
 22 
 
 2* 
 
 73 
 
 In. 
 
 13* 
 15 
 
 H 
 
 Date. 
 
 Nov., '73 
 
 Nov., '74 
 
 Ft. In. 
 5 8 
 5 9 
 
 1 
 
 Lbs. 
 145 
 100 
 
 15 
 
 In. 
 
 30* 
 
 40 
 
 In. 
 
 33* 
 34* 
 
 In. 
 
 10* 
 
 11 
 i 
 
 Increase... 
 
 
 1 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 293 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 Taken from MactarerCs "Physical Education." Showing effect of 
 four months and twelve days' exercise, under his system, on fifteen 
 yoict/is ranging from 16 to 19 years of age. 
 
 Keturn of Course of Gymnastic Training at the Royal Military 
 Academy, Woolwich, from Feb. IOtii, 18G3, to June 22d, 1803. 
 
 No. 
 
 
 MEASUREMENTS, 1 
 
 Etc. 
 
 
 INCREASE. 
 
 
 ? 
 # bfl 
 
 2 
 
 be 
 
 4-1 
 
 i 
 
 11 
 
 as 
 
 •+-3 
 
 .bfl 
 'S 
 
 .w 
 
 In. 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 Lbs. 
 
 1 
 In. 
 
 i 
 In. 
 
 0) .4 
 In. 
 
 Yrs. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 St. Lbs. 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 1 
 
 IS 
 
 5 n 
 
 7 8 
 
 29* 
 
 9* 
 
 8| 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 2* 
 
 7 S 
 
 30 
 
 n 
 
 9* 
 
 1 
 
 i< 
 
 * 
 
 k 
 
 £ 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 5 8* 
 
 9 5* 
 
 28 
 
 ii 
 
 10* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 9 11 
 
 31* 
 
 ii 
 
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 1 
 
 4 
 
 5* 
 
 3* 
 
 C( 
 
 H 
 
 3 
 
 IT 
 
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 20* 
 
 
 s* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 29* 
 
 10f 
 
 10 
 
 | 
 
 u 
 
 3 
 
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 4 
 
 18 
 
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 10 
 
 33 
 
 10f 
 
 10* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 Si 
 
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 35 
 
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 HI 
 
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 3 
 
 2 
 
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 IS 
 
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 32 
 
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 34 
 
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 3 
 
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 6 
 
 17 
 
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 31 
 
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 33 
 
 10* 
 
 11 
 
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 G 
 
 2 
 
 
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 18 
 
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 20 
 
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 29 
 
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 3 
 
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 H 
 
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 28* 
 
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 S* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 31 
 
 9* 
 
 ** 
 
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 2* 
 
 * 
 
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 9 
 
 IT 
 
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 11 3 
 
 31 
 
 Hi 
 
 10* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 9* 
 
 11 3 
 
 33 
 
 11* 
 
 11* 
 
 1 
 
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 2 
 
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 10 
 
 18 
 
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 11 8 
 
 30 
 
 10* 
 
 10* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 33 
 
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 11 
 
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 t< 
 
 3 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 11 
 
 19 
 
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 10 2 
 
 33 
 
 io* 
 
 10* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 Sf 
 
 10 2 
 
 34| 
 
 10* 
 
 10* 
 
 I 
 
 it 
 
 H 
 
 (( 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 18 
 
 5 10* 
 
 10 11 
 
 32 
 
 10* 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 11| 
 
 10 11 
 
 33* 
 
 10* 
 
 11 
 
 If 
 
 <( 
 
 1* 
 
 (I 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 19 
 
 5 7* 
 
 11 13 
 
 33 
 
 11* 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 9* 
 
 11 13 
 
 35* 
 
 11* 
 
 m 
 
 If 
 
 <i 
 
 n 
 
 (( 
 
 * 
 
 14 
 
 IT 
 
 5 Of 
 
 9 13 
 
 29 
 
 lOf 
 
 s* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 10 3 
 
 32 
 
 lOf 
 
 9* 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 " 
 
 l* 
 
 15 
 
 19 
 
 5 10* 
 
 10 1 
 
 27* 
 
 104 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 llf 
 
 10 9 
 
 32* 
 
 10| 
 
 10* 
 
 If 
 
 8 
 
 5* 
 
 u 
 
 U 
 
294 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX VI. 
 
 Taken from MadarerCs "Physical Education." Showing effect of 
 seven months and nineteen days'* exercise, under his system, on men 
 ranging from 19 to 28 years of age. 
 
 Table of Measurements of First Detachment of Non-commissioned Offi- 
 cers SELECTED TO BE QUALIFIED AS MILITARY GYMNASTIC INSTRUCTORS. 
 
 
 
 
 MEASUREMENTS, Etc. 
 
 INCREASE. 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 tp 
 
 
 i 
 
 V A 
 
 53 A 
 cue 
 
 tp 
 
 ■4-3 
 
 tp 
 
 -4-S 
 
 9 
 
 |fj 
 
 I? 
 
 Date. 
 
 No. 
 
 < 
 
 Yrs. 
 
 "53 
 
 t— 1 
 
 *53 
 St. Lbs. 
 
 o 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 "53 
 K 
 
 In. 
 
 '53 
 Lbs. 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Sept. 11 . . 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 5 n 
 
 9 2 
 
 33 
 
 9i 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30. . 
 
 
 
 5 S£ 
 
 10 1 
 
 37i 
 
 K'i 
 
 1U 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 4i 
 
 1 
 
 Ii 
 
 Sept. 11 . . 
 
 2 
 
 21 
 
 5 9 
 
 10 5 
 
 34f 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 9± 
 
 11 1 
 
 3Si 
 
 11 
 
 12i 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 3* 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 Sept.. 11 . . 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 5 5 
 
 9 7 
 
 34 
 
 10i 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 S* 
 
 10 2 
 
 37i 
 
 Hi 
 
 13i 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 3i 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 Sept. 11 .. 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 5 7i 
 
 9 13 
 
 37 
 
 10i 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30. . 
 
 
 
 5 7f 
 
 10 8 
 
 3Si 
 
 Hi 
 
 13 
 
 \ 
 
 9 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 Sept. 11 .. 
 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 5 Si 
 
 9 10 
 
 36 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 Si 
 
 10 6 
 
 37 
 
 m 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 Sept. 11 , . 
 
 6 
 
 23 
 
 5 9i 
 
 11 3 
 
 36i 
 
 ii 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 Pi 
 
 11 12 
 
 3Si 
 
 Hi 
 
 13 
 
 i 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 
 l 
 
 Sept. 11 .. 
 
 7 
 
 23 
 
 5 9 
 
 10 G 
 
 36 
 
 10* 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 9i 
 
 10 11 
 
 3Si 
 
 ii 
 
 13 
 
 i 
 
 5 
 
 H 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 Sept. 11 .. 
 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 5 Si 
 
 10 8 
 
 35 
 
 10* 
 
 12i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 9i 
 
 11 6 
 
 40 
 
 llf 
 
 14 
 
 i 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 1* 
 
 Sept. 11 . . 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 5 Ci 
 
 9 5 
 
 33 
 
 10 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 Ci 
 
 9 Hi 
 
 36 
 
 10i 
 
 12* 
 
 1 
 
 €i 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 H 
 
 Sept. 11 .. 
 
 10 
 
 2Gf 
 
 5 11f 
 
 12 
 
 41 
 
 Hi 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 llf 
 
 13 1 
 
 42 
 
 Hi 
 
 14 
 
 t 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 t( 
 
 l 
 
 Sept. 11 . . 
 
 11 
 
 2S 
 
 5 7i 
 
 10 10 
 
 37 
 
 10i 
 
 12* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 Si 
 
 11 9 
 
 40 
 
 Hi 
 
 13* 
 
 i 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 Sept. 11 .. 
 
 12 
 
 2S 
 
 5 10i 
 
 10 9 
 
 37 
 
 10i 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 30.. 
 
 
 
 5 11 
 
 11 11 
 
 40 
 
 Hi 
 
 14 
 
 I 
 
 1G 
 
 3 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 The men composing this detachment had been irregularly s* 
 
 elected, 
 
 the youngest being 19, the eldest 2S, the average age 24; and, 
 
 after a 
 
 period of eight months' training, the increase in the measur 
 
 ements 
 
 of the men were— 
 
 
 
 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Chest. 
 
 In. 
 
 Forearm 
 
 . Upper 
 
 arm. 
 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 
 
 The smallest gain.. 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 The largest gain . . . 
 
 16 
 
 K 
 
 ii 
 
 If 
 
 
 
 
 The average gain . . 
 
 It) 
 
 2| 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 295 
 
 APPENDIX VII. 
 
 Taken from Maclaren's u Physical Education." Showing the result 
 of one year's continuous practice. 
 
 The following Table shows in another form the Results of thk 
 System ; not by Brief Courses or Periods of Voluntary Attend- 
 ance, rut by a Year's Steady Practice from Birthday to Birthday, 
 with two Articled Pupils, the Younger being 16, the Elder 20: 
 
 
 
 MEASUREMENTS, Etc. 
 
 INCREASE. 
 
 
 ^_« 
 
 -»-< 
 
 
 
 
 -4-3 
 
 ^j 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 CD 
 
 'So 
 
 to 
 
 •4-> 
 
 p £ 
 
 
 43 
 
 to 
 
 43 
 
 to 
 
 CO 
 
 §a 
 
 
 c3 
 
 Date. 
 
 < 
 
 (—1 
 
 St. Lbs. 
 
 Q 
 In. 
 
 o ^ 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 0? 
 
 w 
 
 In. 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 43 
 
 o 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 In. 
 
 
 Yrs. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 A. 
 
 1S61, Oct. 17. 
 
 1G 
 
 5 2f 
 
 7 10 
 
 31 
 
 s 
 
 QA 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1SG2, Apr. 17. 
 
 (< 
 
 5 4 
 
 8 12 
 
 344 
 
 10 
 
 Hi 
 
 li 
 
 16 
 
 £* 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 " Oct. 17. 
 
 17 
 
 5 4f 
 
 9 3 
 
 36 
 
 10 
 
 m 
 
 f 
 
 5 
 
 H 
 
 " 
 
 t( 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sut 
 
 >sequent 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Measurement. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1863, Mar. 23. 
 
 18 
 
 5 6| 
 
 10 10 
 
 37£ 
 
 Hi 
 
 13 
 
 If 
 
 21 
 
 1* 
 
 li 
 
 1* 
 
 B. 
 
 1S62, Feb. 24. 
 
 20 
 
 5 Si 
 
 10 13 
 
 34 
 
 n* 
 
 n* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " Aug. 24. 
 
 tt 
 
 5 S£ 
 
 11 4 
 
 3S4, 
 
 12 
 
 123- 
 
 t 
 
 5 
 
 4* 
 
 f 
 
 1 
 
 
 1S62, Feb. 24. 
 
 21 
 
 (i 
 
 11 7£ 
 
 40 
 
 12* 
 
 13i 
 
 << 
 
 8* 
 
 H 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 T 
 
 hus in the year's work the increase was— 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Height. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Chest. 
 
 I 
 
 ''ore- 
 
 U 
 
 pper 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 irm. 
 
 a 
 
 rm. 
 
 
 
 In. 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 In. 
 
 
 In. 
 
 
 In. 
 
 
 With the younger 
 
 2 
 
 21 
 
 5 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 With the eld 
 
 sr 
 
 • 
 
 5 
 
 H 
 
 6 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 1* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In the first eleven chapters of this little book attempt has been 
 made to call attention both to defects and lacks, resulting largely 
 from not taking rational daily exercise, and to what such exercise 
 has accomplished wherever it has been thoroughly tried. In the 
 
296 APPENDIX. 
 
 last two chapters have been suggested not a long and difficult 
 system of gymnastic exercises needing a fully equipped gymnasium, 
 a trained instructor, and years of work to master, but rather a 
 few plain and simple exercises for any given part or for the whole 
 body, and hints as to how to distribute the little time to be given 
 to them daily. The teacher, the parent — the child even, without 
 the aid of either — the young man or woman, the middle-aged and 
 the old, will all find variety enough of work, which, while free from 
 risk, will still prove sufficiently vigorous to insure to each a good 
 allowance of daily exercise. All else that is needed is a good de- 
 gree of the steadiness and perseverance which are generally insep- 
 arable from everything worth accomplishing. 
 
 THE END. 
 
■