Roxey Ann Caplin

“ Life is carried on by certain great functions, which we call Respiration, Digestion, Circulation, and Secretion, all of which proceed under the im­pulse of the involuntary nerves; all of them are, however, dependent upon the voluntary nerves and muscles for their proper operation. Breathing requires exercise, change of air and position; diges­tion demands the procuring and preparing of the food; circulation can only be brisk when the body is in motion: and all these motions are necessary to a proper and healthy secretion of the fluids and solids taken into the stomach. ”

“ It is a sad reflection that this tendency to a contracted chest is more common amongst the middle and higher classes, in whose children we ought to witness the most perfect physical organizations, than it is amongst the poor. Children who are allowed to jump, play, and skip, or roll on the floor or flags, are much more likely to have robust bodily health than those who are always "taken care of." The enemy of the poor child is neglect, that of the rich inactivity. ”

“ The only exception to this statement will be found in the cases of those mechanics and artisans who are obliged to lean forward over their work, and whose hands are taught, by constantly practising one thing, to strike curves like compasses; but one glance at that pale and haggard face is enough to convince any one that nature takes ample vengeance for the crushing to which the vital organs are daily subjected. The poor child who is cooped up in the nursery, and deprived of that freedom of action which is essential to the growth of every organized being, can never be properly developed. ”

“ Now exercise, proper daily ablutions, friction, plenty of pure air, and the constant motion of the muscles, are all necessary for the purpose of keeping the skin in a perfectly healthy condition.
It will be perceived from these remarks that we fix a very high standard for the development of the body. Ignorance and idleness are the sole causes of so much deformity and disease as it is our fate to witness; and hence it only requires the proper adaptation of the means to ensure a healthy, vigorous, and beautiful physical organization. ”

“ Our space forbids that we should discuss this question in reference to every organ of the body; but if there be anyone part more than another which requires constant exercise, it is the skin. This membrane, which envelopes the whole body, performs functions of the highest physical and moral importance. ”

“ The construction of the clothing, however, always a matter of the highest importance in every period of life, is more especially so during the time of its growth, and just before the body reaches maturity. Economy dictates the wearing of the clothes so long as they look well, and if they should become too small for the elder, that they should be passed on to the second and third, if need be, until they are worn out. ”

“ It is not simply the original form so much as the culture, which gives beauty to humanity. The higher beauty, the beauty of soul, is never seen—no, not in the face of a Georgian, unless education has given its aroma to the original grace of the flower.
How, then, it will be asked, is this consummation to be attained? for all exercise is not alike beneficial; and in addition to this, we do not want a partial development. Ladies especially do not need the muscular energy of the mechanic. ”

“ They do not indeed require to be made masculine at all. Our reply is, that as we have two objects to accomplish, namely, the full and perfect culture of the well-formed, and the restoration of such as are only imperfectly developed, we must adapt our means to the end proposed, and exercise the body upon itself, as is done in running, walking, swimming, for those only who require this training; but in all cases where there is deformity, or only partial evil, the curative means must be adapted to the restoration of the im­perfect organs. ”

“ Amongst the causes, however, which produce spinal deviations in young ladies, there is none that is more general than improper clothing. Fashion has superseded utility to such an extent amongst the rich, that the limbs of the young are contracted by their dress; and amongst the poor a want of skill in the adaptation of the materials to the form of the body is so common, that it is a rare thing indeed to see anyone who can be said to be properly clothed. ”

“ Now, all who are acquainted with physiology know perfectly well that the mind cannot be properly unfolded unless the organism through which it is manifested be in a healthy condition, so as to be enabled to register the impressions made upon it by external circumstances. ”

“ Talking—not screaming—in the open air should be encouraged, that the lungs may be thoroughly inflated with fresh air; nor can this absolute free­dom and proper healthy exercise ever take place unless the clothing be properly adapted to the un­dulating outline of the female form, so as to allow it to fall with ease into those elegant curves on which physical beauty depends. ”

“ Everyone is aware that by proper education the intellectual faculties may be improved; but there are few who have ever reflected on the fact that the ugly might have been made handsome, and the de­formed comely, if the body had received the same amount of culture which has been bestowed upon the mind. This, however, is the lowest aspect of physical training; for as the body is the organism through which the mind is manifested, the per­fecting of that organism gives free scope to the exercise of the soul, and hence lays the basis of a higher life ”

“ In early life the same causes which affect the one operate also to the detriment of the other; and we accordingly find that boys are equally subject to poking of the head, roundness of the shoulders, contraction of the chest, and curvature of the spine, as girls at that particular epoch. Boys' dresses at that period differ little from girls', and as we have shown that these evils are occasioned by a bad method of dressing, the same effects must be produced irrespective of sex. Mark, however, the difference of the subsequent clothing and exercise of the boy as compared with that of the girl. ”

“ No organ is of greater importance to life than the lungs; and hence it is necessary not only to breathe a pure atmosphere, but also that we take in enough of it at every respiration to inflate the whole chest. The lungs may be said to commence with the soft lining of the trachea, and to extend in two huge lobes down into the chest ”

“ It is the almost universal practice to educate only one hand, to sleep constantly upon one side, stand upon one leg, or bend and keep the body in some awkward position. Hence, in a long experience, I have never found one person physically perfect, and conclude, therefore, that nine hundred and ninety-nine of every thousand people that we meet with are imperfectly developed. ”

“ When this change is made in the clothing, it will be found on careful admeasurement that the boy will immediately in­crease in height in a very perceptible manner, that his chest will become broader, his back narrower, his breathing less laborious, and his countenance redolent of health, in consequence of the improved circulation. His arms, too, instead of falling in front of the body, will hang rather backwards, his head become more erect, and he will experience a sensation of comfort to which he has hitherto been a stranger. ”

“ The importance of commencing the physical training of the child at a very early age will be rightly esteemed by all who consider how much it has to learn during the first two years of its life; for it is in this period that all things emerge from chaos, and become defined by the senses, and their form, size, shape, and colour noted. ”

“ With us it is necessary that they should not only look well, but they should also be well suited to the requirements of the wearer. Now, it is generally known that when the body ceases to grow, the bones become fixed, and it is conse­quently more difficult to correct any deviation, or restore the figure to its normal state, after this period. It naturally follows, therefore, that the period of growth being that in which the body is more yielding, it is at that time more subject to deformity than at a later period of life. ”

“ Wide elastic garters, such as those which we have invented, that do not obstruct the capillary circulation, should be substi­tuted for the old, unyielding strings, and the boots should not be laced so tight as to stop the supply of blood to the feet, as it causes them to swell in sum­mer, and increases the liability to chilblains in the winter. When these general rules are attended to, the clothing will be elegant, and always conducive to health. ”

“ PRESENT FASHION.
is required, and how and when to exercise the neg­lected parts, so as to ensure an equal distribution of the strength in every organ and member; for if this be attended to, there will be no more humpbacks, crooked knees, or stiff joints, nor indeed right-handed and left-handed people; for as each limb receives an equal share of exercise, all will be alike under the command of the will; for this is indeed what is accomplished in physical education. No organ is created, but all are brought under the dominion of mind. ”

“ Writers upon phthisis are at present speculating upon the cause of the frequency of this malady, and some of them find it in the moist condition of our atmosphere, others in the supposed hereditary scrofulous state of the blood; but if those gentlemen will only look at the common practice of diminishing the width of the chest by stooping, or the shortening of the spine, consequent, perhaps, upon ill-adapted clothing, they will find in this a much more frequent cause of premature death from diseased lungs than any other that might be named. ”

“ Parents and teachers should bear in mind that to train a lady it is not necessary that she should be an invalid, and good bodily health will always be found favourable to every kind of intellectual culture. ”

“ During the whole of this time all the vital functions are active in preparing for the growth and higher development of the body, whilst at the same time the bones are soft, the cartilages and ligatures yielding and easily bent, and any perversion of the growth which may now take place is likely to leave its impression on the frame for life. ”

“ Now, when the lungs are contracted by a compressed chest, two evils naturally result: in the first place, there is a low and feeble circulation, which is sure to induce weakness, languor, or idleness, for the brain and other organs, are unable to fulfil their functions for the want of that stimulus which is essential to bodily and mental activity ”

“ The upper portion of the body is kept warm from the inordinate quantity of clothing, whilst the legs are left perfectly bare, and exposed to all the inclemency of the weather. I once had a beautiful boy brought by his mother into my room. ”

“ If it be in any way obstructed, the internal organs are oppressed, and hence fever or inflammation results; and when there is any cutaneous eruption, the malady is not only preju­dicial to health, but is also attended with an irritable temper, and too often with bad moral results. ”

“ This great extent of surface has been given for the purpose of multiplying the air-cells, of which there are about six hundred millions, and their office is to take the oxygen from the atmosphere, vitalize the blood, and send it back to the heart, and from thence to every part of the body. ”

“ The kitten plays and the lamb bounds and skips, but the "good child" is expected to be quiet, and then it is made a matter of wonder that it is sickly or deformed when so much care has been taken of it. ”

“ Forms arise before the eye and sink again; sounds thrill upon the ear and vanish; the infant begins to give the bounds to forms, and to catch the sounds that float upon the air, and discriminate between them. * * * By innu­merable attempts which comprise the first exercise of the limbs, the child learns to distinguish dis­tance; thousands of experiments bring the gradual knowledge of surrounding things ”

“ During its progress through this equivocal state there is one thing above all others that youth requires, and that is absolute freedom. The exer­cises should be sufficient to bring all the organs of the body into action, and yet not so severe as to exhaust the energies or cause an undue development of some particular members. ”

“ The ribs incline downward with the spine, and hence, when we bend forward, the inclination is greater; and as a natural conse­quence, the capacity of the chest is diminished, and the ability to breathe freely suspended. ”

“ The compression of the chest brings the thin membrane of the lungs into contact, and upon the slightest inflammation suppuration naturally takes place, and hence pul­monary consumption is established. ”

“ When the tuition is irksome it will always be shunned, and hated when it cannot be avoided. It is possible, we know, to drill a human being into a routine of mechanical movements, mental as well as bodily ”

“ To this we reply, that she must always adapt both teaching, exercise, and discipline to the nature and constitution of the child, that is, to the especial requirements of that particular child to which she may have to direct attention. In the first place, the school seats must be so constructed as to afford support to the back whenever the pupil needs to recline backwards. ”

“ HAVING now discussed the more important matters relative to child­hood, we may advance another stage with our subject, and take into consideration a few of the many important matters which pertain to the period of adolescence, which is the transition-state from childhood to womanhood. ”