162 RURAL DENMARK 



seemed to me healthy and happy little people and 

 tidy in their dress. There are two gymnasiums, one 

 for boys and one for girls, both of them fine rooms. 

 The younger classes of boys attend here for two hours 

 a week, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh classes for 

 three hours a week. At the word of command a troop 

 of lads, stripped to the shirt and wearing suitable 

 shoes, rush in and go through various evolutions. 

 After this they form up and drill. 



On the floor above I saw the girls doing their 

 physical exercises. These were indeed a pretty sight, 

 dressed in their neat blue serge suits which are sup- 

 plied by the Commune. Every girl, by the way, has 

 her own suit, which is not used by any one else. The 

 activity of these children was really amazing. Some 

 of them climbed ropes like monkeys ; others walked 

 on bars, and others swung to and fro on trapezes or 

 in great iron rings, all of them doing this and that at 

 the word of command. 



There are proper dressing-rooms for these girls, 

 whose hats and cloaks are hung up outside on pegs 

 arranged along the stairs. 



Certainly this school is a remarkable place, and 

 one that I am glad to have seen. For further in- 

 formation on the matter of Danish elementary 

 education I refer the reader to Appendix E. 



