Roxey Ann Caplin

“ The heaviness of the atmosphere just spoken of, and the rigid silence maintained, broken only by the voice of the teacher, or the apathetic drone of some lazily-repeated and imperfectly-known lesson, create a lassitude which induces the children to place themselves in all kinds of awkward positions, for the purpose of resting the muscles which keep the neck and spine erect. Being seated on forms with­out backs, the children cannot accomplish this by leaning backward, and they therefore place one or both elbows on the desk, and rest on them the weight of the head and trunk. ”

“ Physical education ought to precede that of the intellect, and then proceed simultaneously with it, without cultivating one faculty to the neglect of others; for health is the base, and instruction the ornament of education."—Spurzheim. ”

“ It has often occurred to us that it would be an excellent thing to have a competent dresser in every large establishment. Sufficient time should be allowed for the operation, the child be taught to stand in a proper position, and the whole toilet well arranged, so as to require no shifting, twitching, and shuffling during the day. Not only the com­fort, but the ability of the child to maintain a per­fectly upright and natural position, will depend much upon the proper adaptation and arrangement of its clothing. ”

“ Now, in order to produce equi­librium of the body the muscles of both sides should receive an equal amount of exercise, and this can be accomplished by teaching the child to use both hands indiscriminately, which it would soon do with perfect facility. As the child grows up the right foot will always accompany the right hand, as may be seen by watching it pick a pin from the ground. The right foot will be advanced, the right arm stretched forward, and in stooping the body will be twisted, and the whole of its weight thrown upon the right leg. ”

“ Now is the time when its dress becomes a matter of very serious consideration, as the bones are now attaining something like solidity, and any deviation from the proper position of the body will, day by day, become more difficult to remedy. If the same influences of which I have before spoken be continued, the spine will, even at this early age, show symptoms of yielding; the natural curves of the vertebral column will be more or less distorted, the shoulders will present a rounded appearance, and the size and form of the chest have undergone injurious modification. ”

“ The unhappy infant is con­signed to the care of an inexperienced nursemaid, who, in her anxiety to pass a crossing, seizes the baby by the hand, and literally drags it across, regardless of the child's feet not touching the ground. ”

“ Indications of ex­traordinary mental ability are thus engendered, and the delighted parents, solacing themselves with the belief that time will work wonders in their daughter's behalf, and that her mental powers will compensate for her physical debility, determine on sending her to boarding-school in order that her mind may be properly cultivated—forgetful or ignorant of the wise maxim enunciated by the ancient philosopher, who truly said that a sound mind could only exist in a healthy body. ”

“ The round­ness of the shoulders and projection of the scapula are increased by the forward motion of the baby's arms; and if heavy substances are given it to play with, their weight, at the end of these levers, adds to the injury, while the chest being pressed against the transverse bar, is driven inwards with a force proportioned to the infant's exertions; so that the more active and energetic the child, the greater is the injury done. ”

“ It unfortunately often happens that precocity of mind is allied with physical weakness; and this may be accounted for by the fact, that in a child brought up without the necessary exercise of the muscles, the blood so constantly forced from the heart is carried to the brain, which is thereby stimulated to undue exertion. ”

“ To do this effectually, it will be necessary to review the means and appliances which are brought to bear upon female education; and in doing this we are well aware that many ladies conducting such establishments are unremitting in their en­deavours to promote the health and happiness of their pupils, and attribute many of the evils of that system to the extreme anxiety of parents to see their children eclipse their fellow-students by the multiplicity and brilliancy of their acquirements. ”

“ The first evil to be complained of in large educational establishments is the crowding together of a great number of children in small or insufficiently ventilated apartments. If a fresh supply of pure air be not constantly admitted, the carbon given off from the thirty or forty pairs of lungs accumulates, and is respired over and over again; the children become listless, and complain of headache and a sensation of tightness across the chest. ”

“ The sleeves are also invari­ably made too long on the shoulder and too tight in the arm-holes, causing the shoulders to become unnaturally large and heavy, while the arms and hands are prevented from receiving their proper nutriment. As the child grows the bones increase in size and weight, their nutrition being indepen­dent of motion; not so, however, with the muscles, which must be constantly kept in action to secure their due development. ”

“ Fond, though mistakenly fond as the mother may be, she cheerfully parts with her child, and consigns her to the care of strangers at a period when all her efforts should have been directed to the repression of what we may truly call a morbid cerebral activity. ”

“ The father walks on with long and rapid strides, holding the child by the hand, and as he does not consider that his step is much longer than that of his offspring, he tells the child to "step out like papa." The boy endeavours to obey, and the result is that the pelvis becomes ricketty and deformed. ”

“ In front of the chair a bar is placed for the purpose of guarding against the possibility of a fall. The child is thus literally forced into a certain position, and its playthings being put before it, it will naturally reach forward to grasp them. ”

“ On rising in the morning, the young ladies are expected to be out of bed the moment the bell rings, and in a short time another imperative tinkle sum­mons them to prayers in the school-room. The child is obliged to make her appearance at the wonted moment. ”

“ It cannot be from ignorance, as nobody would start a two-year old colt for a race with a weight on his back equal to that car­ried by a full-grown horse, but would apportion the burden to his size and strength. ”

“ No! they have been like hothouse plants, forced to yield their blossoms before the time for flowering had arrived; and now whilst their hardier but later neighbours are strong and healthy, these victims of early culture are falling into decay, and repaying the pains taken in their development by an early death. ”

“ The weight of the child by this time will become too great to permit of its constant carriage in the nurse's or the mother's arms, and it is therefore too frequently seated in a chair sufficiently high to enable it to reach the table. ”

“ All this while the feet are rest­ing on a board placed underneath them, the lover extremities being thus impeded in their movements; the head falls more and more forward, the muscles of the back are weakened and elongated, while those of the chest derive considerable strength from their constant exercise; the clavicles are unable to support the shoulders in their proper position, and therefore bend, or are forced from their natural situation; the cavity of the chest is diminished, and the foundation of numerous disorders is laid. ”

“ Why should not children be treated in a similarly sensible manner? This would certainly be the case if parents would abandon the habit of considering those things trifles which do not produce immediate deformity, forget­ful that "trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle." ”

“ Each drowsy pupil, in order to avoid the consequences of being too late, huddles on her clothes as rapidly as possible, and as for the corset, or bodice, which is supposed to be for the purpose of keeping its wearer erect, it is either not laced at all, or is laced in such an uneven manner that it had better not be worn. ”

“ The conductors of schools are therefore, from pecuniary motives, compelled to gratify the vanity of the parents, though their own feelings might prompt them to relax the discipline, and afford leisure for more healthful physical exercise. ”

“ When fatigued with long standing it naturally rests itself on this side, the weight falling on the right foot, which loses its arched form and becomes elongated, while the length of the limb is sensibly diminished. ”

“ The dormitories of schools are also often insufficiently ventilated, in consequence of a very unnecessary apprehension of the ill effects of fresh air, which, if introduced freely and without draughts, never did, and never will do any injury. Children are also generally put two in a bed—a practice which we do not approve, but which cannot always be avoided. ”

“ In most cases of spinal deviation it will be found that the column yields on the right side, and the cause of this may be traced to a very early period. In infancy the child is taught to use the right hand in preference to the left ”

“ It is due to the accomplished members of the scholastic profession to say thus much, as we all know the difficulty—­nay, the impossibility—of conforming to all the whims which are dictated by parental soli­citude. ”

“ Where this is the case they should change sides every night; as, from their natural dislike to breathing in each other's faces, they will, if this be not attended to, contract the habit of always lying on the same side, and the weight of the arm above will compress the ribs in the manner which we have before described. ”

“ In our corsets all this is impossible; the fastening is in front, and they can be put on in one minute, so that, if the time for a young lady's dressing be circumscribed, she will not be compelled to neglect the ornamental part of her toilet. ”

“ Many parents have their chil­dren's dresses made so loose as to permit of the passage of the hand round the waist, between the body and the clothing, not remembering that with­out some point of support the clothes would fall off ”

“ As will be at once seen, this action cannot be attained under the process of pinioning; the muscles will not grow in proportion to the bones, and will therefore soon become in­capable of sustaining their weight. ”