XXX Appendix. 
Their women practised those out-door exercises which were calculated to 
develope the physical frame, such as ball, often accompanied by dancing and 
singing; proof of this is to be found in Homer. It is probably by such 
attention being paid to physical strength, that they earned for themselves 
the name of being the most beautiful race the world ever saw ; side by side 
with this training went mental culture, in which they excelled, being per- 
haps amongst the cleverest of people. 
It may, perhaps, have occurred to some of you, that I ought to lay 
before you some ideal scheme by which all the dangers I have mentioned 
might be averted. I have no such intention ; my object has been simply to 
show some points upon which the present system of teaching is at variance 
with the laws of health, for that is the part which comes more immediately 
under my notice in my daily work. 
I am of opinion that unless some alteration be made in the amount, 
and ever increasing amount, of work expected of boys and girls in our 
higher schools, in the next generation those who will take the highest 
places in the intellectual world will be those who come from our National 
Board Schools, where less is asked of them, and where they are taught suf- 
. ficient to give them an interest in their work, and are taught how to do their 
work, and to carry it on after they have passed the usual age for being at 
school. In these schools there is not the high standard of the Universities, 
doubtless there is competition, but it is not of that severe kind we find in 
higher examinations, and so the pupils, while doing a fair amount of work, 
have not their time so completely taken up by study that they have none 
for the physical exercises necessary to keep them in health. 
Since this paper was written I am glad to hear that in some of the large 
public schools at home—Harrow, I am particularly alluding to—it is made 
compulsory upon all the boys that they shall take some part in the school 
sports. This, I think, is a wise step, and, if systematically carried out, 
will tend in time to avert many of the dangers I have been speaking of. 
I believe many of these dangers might be prevented if parents and 
teachers had some knowledge of those physiological laws which are con- 
cerned in the preservation of health. How frequently it happens that after 
a young lady leaves school she employs her time in fancy work, singing, 
drawing, and such occupations; she next becomes a parent, and without 
any knowledge of the training of children is obliged to look after one of her 
own; she is frequently uncertain what to do, and now it is that she seeks 
the advice of ignorant nurses, with what result I need not say. What 
should we think of a merchant commencing business without a knowledge 
of book-keeping ; we should certainly look for failure; but parents frequently 
begin the task of bringing up their children without ever having thought of 
a 
