ON THE CULTURE OF BEAUTY, GRACE, AND HEALTH IN YOUTH

Seções: Índice Geral Seção Atual: Índice Obra: Índice Anterior: 16. Sobre a Cultura da Beleza, Graça e Saúde na Juventude – I Seguinte: 18. Sobre a Cultura da Beleza, Graça e Saúde na Juventude – III

(p. 127)

17. SOBRE A CULTURA DA BELEZA,

GRAÇA E SAÚDE NA JUVENTUDE – II

MY DEAR SIBYL, – Having in my last letter pointed out to you that children are to be considered, not as isolated creations, but as products of hereditary evolution, and that, therefore, their constitution and general characteristics will be those of the stock from which they are derived, you will now be able to understand that the physical training of boys and girls ought, if conducted on an intelligent basis, to be modified and adapted to their particular type of inherited temperament and capacity. For example, the children of a family in which valvular disease of the heart has persistently shown itself, should not be set to violent gymnastic exercises; the boys should not be encouraged to play football, or to row in University races; the girls should not be permitted to become addicted to hunting, or to frequent tennis. Others, among whose relatives a tendency to consumptive lung disease is prevalent, should, on the other hand, from early age, be accustomed as much as possible to a life of robust activity in the open air; sedentary occupations should be avoided as far as is consistent with the demands of a fair education; nourishing food, in small quantities, should be frequently administered, and they should live in a dry climate, if possible at a high altitude, and on a gravel or sandy soil. In short, every special tendency

(p. 128)

requires special adaptation in the method of physical education employed, and a medical opinion should always be taken before any particular course of training is determined upon. As a rule, however, at the present day, children, and more especially girls, suffer considerably from privation of exercise. Games which involve disciplined and free movement of the limbs are not sufficiently encouraged among them. Too much stress is laid upon restraint of demeanour; dancing, of the sedate and subdued order, in close and artificially-lighted rooms, is too often viewed as an efficient substitute for horse-riding, swimming, and other outdoor exercises requiring effort and capacious action; and the consequence is that a large majority of the gentler sex, particularly among town-bred girls, grow up to maturity with narrow chests, crooked spines, and stunted muscular development.

Let us pass in review the method which ought, as a general rule, to be pursued by parents desiring for their children the full benefit of a healthy training. Your young folks, my dear Sibyl, are girls, so we will, while speaking generally for both sexes, treat more particularly of what concerns the physical education of the comelier half of humanity.

It is essential that, from the earliest days of infancy, children should be plentifully supplied with good air and food, if they are to develop clear complexions and robust frames. Nurseries should face the morning sun, if possible; they should be light, spacious, and well ventilated. Do not put stays of any kind on your children before the age of fourteen or fifteen; until then a light-fitting band of jean sufficient to support the under-clothing comfortably, is all that is needed to preserve the grace and contour of the figure. During childhood the bones are comparatively plastic, and undue stricture or pressure of

(p. 129)

any kind is liable to produce deformity. Beware, therefore, of impeding or spoiling the development of the form by artificial bandages, whether corsets, garters, waist-strings, or an excess of weight hung from the hips. All garments worn by children should depend from the shoulders; a simple sash, lightly tied over the outer frock, is quite enough to indicate the waist. In this respect the French are very wise. No Parisian child is ever seen with a “waist.” As for the stockings, they should be held up by means of suspenders, never by ligatures above or below the knee. Garters impede the circulation grievously, and thereby give rise to the distressing and disfiguring complaint of varicose veins. In our variable climate children should wear high-necked frocks, with sleeves reaching at least to the elbow. In winter the sleeves should be quite long, or else warm mittens should be worn as a protection against frostbites. When out of doors, the feet should be stoutly shod as a precaution against damp, for children have in general an inveterate fondness for puddles and moist places, and when not assiduously watched, usually contrive to walk through any marshy grass or watery depressions in the footpath that may chance to be in their way. Indoors, however, I think it is best to leave children’s feet as uncompressed as possible, and I therefore prefer shoes to boots, unless there is any special reason for the use of the latter, as, for instance, a marked tendency to coldness of the extremities, chilblains, weakness of the ankles, and so forth. In any case, never buy for your children pointed or high-heeled shoes or boots, but see that they are made with square broad toes, and a simple lift at the heel of not more than a quarter, or at most half an inch in thickness.

While your children are still infants, let them roll

(p. 130)

and tumble about on the floor as much as and in fashion they please; do not be too anxious to set them on their legs, otherwise you will run the risk of imposing a strain on the hones and muscles of the lower limbs that may induce feebleness of the ankles, curvature of the thighs and legs, and other similar evils. When they begin to get strong, and to acquire the power of control over their limbs, accustom them to the use of rhythmic exercise of the arms, legs, and body. Five years of age is the earliest at which any orderly gymnastic or calisthenic movements should be taught. The object of such movements is to develop muscular force, to give the limbs agility and suppleness, to open the chest and increase the lung capacity, to fortify the constitution, to regulate and facilitate the digestive functions, to equalise the circulation, to enhance the development of the mental powers, to create and preserve beauty of form, grace of outline and of movement, and just proportion and rotundity of limb. The Greek maidens who ran races in the public games, and tossed the “sphaira” or the quoit from hand to hand, who dived and swam like river-nymphs, and even hunted on foot, as did Arcadian Atalanta, were renowned for beauty, grace, and splendid contour of form. And, when they became wives and mothers, they gave birth to heroes whose adventurous prowess, chivalrous valour, and wise patriotism will stand as ideals for the human race as long as the world shall last.

For all the reasons just enumerated, I am, therefore, disposed to advocate strenuously the education of girls in all kinds of physical exercises, using, of course, in every case, due supervision and caution. Swimming is, perhaps, on the whole, the finest of such exercises, because it gives simultaneous and distributed action to nearly all

(p. 131)

the muscles and organs of the body, is beautifully rhythmic and graceful, entails regular and large respiration, and combines with healthful gymnastic movement the advantages of developing intellectual confidence, and of adding a new and keen pleasure to existence. The man or woman who can swim well is in possession of an extra sense. It is the next best thing to being able to fly. In fact, the action of natation is a kind of flying; the motion of propelling the body in the watery fluid is strongly analogous to that of cleaving the aerial fluid. It is a movement which implies the utmost liberty of physical action and empire over the elements which a human creature can enjoy. But the art must be early learnt and judiciously taught. It is most suitable as a corrective and invigorating exercise in cases of lymphatic, debilitated, or scrofulous constitution, curvature of the spine, or nervous excitability, over-work, and hysteria; but it is often dangerous, or at least unadvisable, for persons in whom any specialised weakness of the lungs or of the heart is indicated.

Swimming should be learnt in sea-water, this being, on account of its greater specific density, more buoyant than fresh water, and, therefore, affording easier sustenance to the body immersed in it. The art of floating is usually more readily acquired than that of swimming, and it should, therefore, be taught first, as a means of acquiring confidence. In floating, it is essential to throw the head well back on the water, fill the chest with air, and have the legs and feet close together, and thoroughly under control The teacher should stand beside the pupil in smooth and moderately shallow water, reaching to about the waist, and, in the first few essays, should place the hand firmly under the base of the pupil’s spine, in such a manner as to afford physical support and moral

(p. 132)

encouragement. The other hand might clasp the right hand of the learner, ready, in case of any failure of confidence, to give immediate assistance. Of course, the bathing costume worn must be of such construction as to impede the limbs as little as possible. It should consist of a combination dress of light serge, dark in colour, and reaching a little below the knee, girt in loosely at the waist by a leather belt strong enough to bear the strain of lifting the body by it, if necessary. On no account must any floating skirt, capable of getting inflated or weighted with absorbed moisture, be worn. The temperature of the water in which swimming and floating lessons are given should be nearly tepid, and the time spent in it should, at first, be limited to about half an hour. If headache, shivering, giddiness, or coldness of the extremities appears, the pupil must at once leave the water, and dress, after rubbing the body dry with warm rough towels. It is best to be provided, after the continental fashion, with a large Turkish wrap or peignoir de bain, which should, directly the bathing-dress is stripped off, be thrown over the whole person, from shoulder to foot. This arrangement obviates piecemeal drying, and prevents loss of heat by radiation from the surface of the skin. A hot foot-bath is also a great convenience and benefit to delicate girls and women after a prolonged immersion in the water.