Vol. v.— No. 4. 



NEW ENGLAND 1 AKUIOIJ. 



27 



The friends of the measure, knowing that all 



lasses and descriptions of persons, some more, 



ke those yon name, and others less, but that «// 

 ed the vivifying influence of this seminary, have 

 hought that the only condition of entrance should 



e a decent nppcarance, becoming deportment, and 

 ■ he ability to pay such fees of tuition as may be 

 lierely sufficient to keep tlio institution in motion. 



There is something c.xhilirating and expansive 

 n the movements and atmosphere of the Gymnas- 

 um, and he whose ph.ns for its establishment are 

 rss liberal and generous than this atmosphere, 

 ■! out of place ; he should retire from a region 

 . hich is not congenial,and in which he can never be 

 t home. The very contemplation of the subject is 

 nouiih to animate and enlarge the heart beyond 

 he dimensions of any narrow purpose. This up- 

 lard and elastic buoyancy has been fully perc-eiv- 

 d by some of the anti-republican goverSments of 

 Europe, wliich have of course discountenanced it, 

 r put it down. This is consistent, lor who is so 

 nwilling to submit to' unjust restriction as he who 

 as become sensible of his own faculties of body 

 nd miud, and been delighted with the innocent 

 nd profitable exersise of them ? This surely 

 hould endear the system to us, which, if once 

 ,'ell rooted in this free and congenial soil, will 

 ervade the American Union. 



The proper age is any where from si.x to sixty, 

 nd if one older should apply, he would doubtless 

 •e admitted from respect to his age and his en- 

 erprise. At what age men cease to be invigora- 

 «d and to become younger by the training of the 

 lymnasium, I am not fully informed. — I only know 

 or myself that in practising with the pupils of the 

 Uonitorial School, I have been able to do on the 

 •econd and third days what I could not perform on 

 he first and second ; and I am as old at least as 

 beDecIaration of Independence. 



We know, too, that whatever acquirements, 

 lental or corporeal, one may have made at thirty, 

 vill gradually and prematurely decline and disap- 

 lear, tcithovt habitual, appropriate, and adequate I 

 xercise. | 



The present prospect that the school will Mon be 

 )pened, is mtich better than it has before been. j 



As to accidents, the probability of their occur- 

 ence here is less than any where else. Why do 

 leople meet with accidents ? Because they are 

 nattentive, or attempt to do what they cannot per- 

 orm ; and this arises from ignorance of their own 

 acuities. Now the Gymnasium is precisely the 

 place in which the gymnic is to obtain this knowl- 

 nlj-e of himself, and the value of attention and 

 . ircumspection. Courage and selfpossessiou are 

 OSS natural than acquired endowments. Why is 

 t that great and brave men so often feel weak, 

 ind awkward and timid on new occasions ; It is 

 because they are untried occasions, in which they 

 arc ditlident of their strength ; they suspect danger 

 v.itliout feeling a consciousness of being able to 

 guard against or surmount it. Place a young man 

 of tv.-enty, for instancCj^who is strong and not timid 

 where he has ascertained his own resources, on a 

 liorse, for the first time. If the animal is spirited 

 and fond of motion, though perfectly manageable 

 by a horseman, he will feel as helpless as an ini- 

 fant, and be greatly frightened, and justly so, for 

 he will be in constant danger of falling from the 

 saddle at the risk of his limbs or life. Let the same 

 young cavalier practise but a single week in the 

 circus and he vv'ill mount the same horse perfectly 

 •■\t his ease, and be without tl^e smallest peril or ap. 



prehension. It is the same in driving a coach, 

 skating, swimming, navigating a boat, and every 

 thing else. 



An individual who lias passed through the Gym- 

 na..iiiui, is in any emergency, equal to two men, 

 otlicrwise equal, in many instances, to a dozen. — 

 He i.H, in the first place, perfectly sclfpossessed, he 

 knows precisely how far to make attempts, because 

 he knows what he can do. He lias learnt, too, by 

 tlie education of his muscles and his senses, how 

 to estimate the true state of any given case. Still 

 while we are increasing our strength and flexi- 

 bility, and learnin.r; their amount and how far we 

 may safely trust them, it is undoubtedly requisite 

 to proceed cautiously and gradually. " Line on 

 line, precept on precept, here a little and there a 

 little," is as good a lesson in gymnastics as in 

 morals, and these are much more nearly allied 

 than has been imagined. He who best compre- 

 hends the structure, laws, and properties of the 

 living system, will, other things being equal, be 

 best qualified to exercise and improve it. 



It is intended that our school shall be placed 

 under the general supervision of a number of trus- 

 tees, one of whom is to be present while it is open. 



The gymnastic committee have not thought it ex- 

 pedient to sell tickets, fearing tliat if any consider- 

 able delay should occur in preparing the school, 

 this measure might produce disappointment, and 

 dissatisfaction. 



I doubt not, sir, that many of the young men of 

 this city begin to think justly of the Gymnasium, 

 and that their desire to enter it is consequently 

 increasing. The commitee are not unmindful of 

 their wishes, nor will they fail to make the earliest 

 use of every means at their disposal, to gratify 

 this laudable impatience to be in action. 



It has been reported, I am informed, that our 

 cause had failed, or was about to fail. I appre- 

 hend, sir, that this rumor will turn out to be 

 neither history nor prophecy, but merely one of 

 those premature and unfounded articles of intel- 

 ligence with which some of our papers are so well 

 disposed to amuse their readers. The recent ad- 

 mission, in many intelligent and engaged minds, 

 that physical culture is an indispensable part in 

 any general and successful plan of education, is 

 sufficient to secure its adoption. The parent who 

 once realises the truth and importance of this fact, 

 if consistent and faithful, will never be satisfied 

 till his chilldren can avail themselves of this ben- 

 efit. . 



Exactly as the true character and effects of the 

 Gymnasium are understood, and correct notions 

 about making perfect men and women prevail, pre- 

 cisely in this ratio will our cause gain friends, 

 advocates and patrons. With this rule before him, 

 any one can judge of the justness and value of 

 his own ideas on the great question of the best 

 means of improving the race of beings to which 

 he belongs. It is not a week since two proficients 

 from a neighboring " field of action," full of the art 

 and science we cherish, came to inquire if the at- 

 tempt to set up a Gymnasium in Boston had failed; 

 for if so they were ready and disposed to raise and 

 conduct a private one at their own expense. 



The palaestra is a very productive sort of sem- 

 inary, — one good one will every year send forth 

 fifty teachers qualified to conduct as many more. 



It remains to speak of a Gymnasium for females. 

 I am happy to find that you have deemed the sub- 

 ject worth attention. Can it be supposed that a 

 well formed body, that good health, a vigorous 



and cultivated intuUocl, and well disposed atl'ec- 

 tions, are sexual piopt'rlies, av.d all of one gender; 

 or that tliese treasures can be pos.scssed without 

 an ellort to secure them f Is it nothing to the son 

 that he inherits all these blessings from his moth- 

 er, instead of a sickly, crooked frame, imbecile 

 mind, and a morbid, restless irritability,neither per- 

 mittiug him to be happy in himself nur to derive 

 any alleviation of his wretchedness from the hap- 

 piness around him ? The exercises of tliie Gymna- 

 sium are numerous and diversified, and from these 

 may be selected such as shall be sufficient to give 

 selfpossessiou, firm nerves and muscles, courage 

 and adroitness, which, without diminishing, can 

 only multiply and improve those attractions, moral 

 and physical, which make woman what she is in 

 her best estate. 



What is man worth beyond what he can do and 

 enjoy ? If we would reap, then, let us also sow. — 

 " The means are ours, the end to God belongs." 

 Every man, according to his talents, pursuits and 

 affections approximates more or less nearly an 

 angel above, or a demon below. A Gymnasium 

 for females is tontemplated. 



Those who have not examined this subject will 

 be ready to ask, why all tiiis zeal and earnestness 

 about the care of the body .' I answer — The al- 

 lowable gratifications of sense are certainly worth 

 something. This will be conceded, and I am by 

 no means inclined to lessen the value of the admis- 

 sion — temperance being always the truest luxury. 



But the animal system derives its chief value 

 from its direct assistance to the mind and the 

 heart. The body should be trained to a love Vjf 

 labour, to habits of temperance and moderate in- 

 dulgence, to patience and firmness in privation, to 

 a prompt and cheerful obedience to the dictates of 

 a well furnished mind, and a sound moral sense. — 

 To secure this result, the entire being, animal, 

 moral, and mental, must be instructed and disci- 

 plined together, simultaneously, in harmony and 

 proportion. When the more just principles which 

 now begin to predominate, shall prodiice their full 

 operation in our schools, male andfemale,«we shall 

 see results incomparably superior to what humau 

 society has yet exhibited. 



A well directed Gymnasium will always be a 

 school as much for courtesy, kindness, magnanimi- 

 ty, and good manners, as for muscular develope- 

 ment, force and skill. 



The new energies which are here awakened and 

 matured, are to be preserved and put forth in acts 

 of benevolence and courage in the discharge of 

 our social duties. 



Not having sufficient space in this communica- 

 tion, which is already too long, to adduce the facts 

 and evidence on which my assertions and convic- 

 tions rest, I expose myself to the charge of being 

 visionary and presumptuous ; be it so. I submit to 

 the decision of Time, which, if I mistake not, is 

 about to pronounce a verdict, neither equivoctl] 

 nor remote. In the mean time, I do not perceive 

 that there is any more wisdom or sagacity in dis- 

 crediting what is true, than in believing what is 

 false. 



May your good labors be seconded and sustain- 

 ed till a rich harvest is gathered which shall re- 

 ward and bless alike the cultivators and proprie- 

 tors of the soil. J. G. COFFIN. 



Mr Weston of New York has invented ink of 

 various brilliarit colours ; red, blue, black, &c. — 

 For fanciful writing it is beautiful. 



