130 DIFFERENT KINDS OF EXERCISE. 



who are left, in conformity with the designs of na- 

 ture, to acquire strength and symmetry from free 

 and unrestricted muscular action. In a seminary 

 for young ladies, for example, containing forty 

 pupils, it was discovered on examination, by Dr. 

 Forbes, that only two out of those who had been resi- 

 dent in it for two years had straight spines ; while 

 out of an equal number of boys, imperfect as their 

 exercise often is, it would be difficult to discover as 

 many whose spines were not straight. Here, then, 

 is ample proof that stays and absence of exercise, 

 so far from contributing to an elegant carriage, are 

 directly opposed to its acquisition ; and that the 

 absence of stays and indulgence in exercise, even 

 when not carried so far as the wants of the system 

 require, so far from being hurtful to the spine, con- 

 tribute powerfully to its strength and security. Yet 

 such is the dominion of prejudice and habit, that, 

 with these results meeting our observation in every 

 quarter, we continue to make as great a distinction 

 in the physical education of the two sexes in early 

 life, as if they belonged to different orders of beings, 

 and were constructed on such opposite principles, 

 that what was to benefit the one must necessarily 

 hurt the other. 



Different kinds of exercise suit different constitu- 

 tions. The object, of course, is to employ all the 

 muscles of the body, and to strengthen those es- 

 pecially which are too weak ; and hence, exercise 

 ought to be often varied, and always adapted to the 

 peculiarities of individuals. Speaking generally, 

 walking agrees well with everybody, but as it exer- 

 cises chiefly the lower limbs and the muscles of the 

 loins, and affords little scope for the play of the 

 arms and muscles of the chest, it is insufficient of 

 itself to constitute adequate exercise ; and hence 

 the advantage of combining with it movements per- 

 formed by the upper half of the body, as in many 



