Peculiarities of the Present System

It is universally complained that the exercises for ladies at present taught are in many instances frivolous, in other instances severe, in all destitute of system; and the employment of soldiers to teach young ladies to walk, a practice adopted by many parents and heads of seminaries, is generally deprecated.

The military principles of exercise are in most instances excellent; but the stiffness acquired under the practical tuition of sergeants and corporals, is justly observed to be ‘adverse to all the principles of grace, and destructive of that buoyant lightness which is so conducive to ease and elegance in the young.’

It is my wish here to combine whatever is really good in the military principles, and in the exercises for ladies as at present taught, to reject what is injurious, to add what seems equally new and necessary, and to present a system suited to the female constitution, nature, and character.

Of the exercises which I here recommend, none accordingly require more strength than the young female possesses, none entail the slightest inconvenience, and all, while they best bestow health, strength, and activity, are calculated to preserve grace and beauty. The whole, I trust, are well suited to the development of the physical faculties in young females, without injury to the perfection of the moral ones.

The introductory views which I give of the structure of the body as connected with exercise – of its functions as affected by exercise; of the constraint to which it is wrongly subjected; of the debility which this causes; of the wrong positions which result from this debility and from the particular pursuits of education when ill directed; of the deformity in which these terminate; of the injury to health and to intellect which accompanies this; and of the particular and special utility of exercises – these views will be acceptable to every parent who desires to know the reasoning by which is guided the education of those who are dearest to him.

The particular exercises, as already said, equally reject whatever is frivolous and whatever is severe, retaining all that contributes to health, strength, beauty of form, and grace of motion.

To obtain the correct position of the figure, the military position of the whole figure,fn1 the positions for the feet in dancing, the military extensions for the arms, and the Spanish exercise, are given.

To increase the power and freedom of the arms, the use of dumb-bells, and, which is far more valuable, that of the Indian sceptres, is described – the latter deriving its name from the form of the instrument which ladies employ, instead of the Indian Clubs used by men. A few of the simplest and most elementary of these exercises are now taught to soldiers for the same purpose for which they are here given: all the more graceful ones are here for the first time added for ladies. The latter will be found to be by far the most useful and most beautiful exercises that ever were introduced into physical education; having vast advantages over the dumb-bells in both these respects, and rendering indeed all other exercises for the arms quite useless. Of these beautiful exercises, both the more simple military ones, and the more advanced and graceful ones now added, are here for the first time described in any work.

To improve the lower limbs, the position in walking, the balance step, the mechanism of walking in all the paces, and various exercises for the feet, are described; the art of walking well being particularly attended to, and more accurately described than usual.

Observations on dancing are subjoined; a series of remarks on deportment, &c. are added; and games of exercise are noticed.

Lastly, the appropriation and guidance of exercises are discussed.