BY BEN HOGAN.
Flourens, the famous French physiologist, and member of the Paris Academy of Science, asserts that the normal period of the life of man isONE HUNDRED YEARS. How comes it, then, that so few attain to this age, and that the alarmingly small average of thirty-three years only is now the measure of human existence? The question is a most momentous one, inasmuch as it affects vitally every fireside and project in the world, and bears strongly upon whatever measure of health, happiness and prosperity may be permitted to us in this world.
Monsieur Flourens’ theory of the longevity of our race is founded upon data the most conclusive. By the careful and lengthened observation, and by numerous analytical experiments, he ascertained, beyond a shadow of doubt, that it is a law of animal life, that all creatures that move upon the face of the earth, and doubtless the tenants of the watery world also, should exist for five times the number of years it took their physical structure to come to a state of perfection. Man, it has been decided, attains this condition of perfection at the age of twenty—that is, his bones become united to the epiphyses and no longer grow. He has reached the ultimatum of his stature. As long as the bones are not united to the epiphyses he continues to grow; but oncethe epiphyses (which is a portion of a bone separated from the body of the bone by a cartilage) becomes converted fully into bone by age, then he has attained the climax of his natural growth, so far as his osseous structure is concerned.
“For example,” says this distinguished Frenchman, “the union of the bones with the epiphyses takes place in the camel at eight years of age, and he lives forty years; in the horse at five years, and he lives twenty-five years; in the ox at four years, and he lives from fifteen to twenty; in the dog at two years, and he lives from ten to twelve years; and in the lion at four years, and he lives twenty. This is strongly corroborative of the correctness of the theory in relation to the longevity of man, which cannot now, I think, fail to be accepted generally.” As a necessary consequence of this feature of life, assured to us by Monsieur Flourens, that able gentleman modifies seriously the different ages or stages of our existence. “I prolong the duration of infancy,” he says, “up to ten years, because it is from nine to ten that the second dentition is terminated. I prolong adolescence up to twenty years, because it is at that age that the development of the bones ceases, and consequently the increase of the body in length. I prolong youth up to the age of forty, because it is only at that age that the increase of the body in bulk terminates. After forty the body does not grow, properly speaking; the augmentation of its volume which then takes place is not a veritable organic development, but a simple augmentation of fat. After the growth, or, more exactly speaking, the development in length and bulk has terminated, man enters into what I call the period of invigoration—that is, when all our parts become more complete and firm, our functions more assured, and the wholeorganism more perfect. This period lasts to sixty-five or seventy years, and then begins old age, which lasts for thirty years.” To those who may be desirous of inquiring why it is that man, who is obviously designed to live to so great an age, so seldom attains it, Monsieur Flourens replies: “With our manners, our passions, our torments, man does not die; he kills himself!”
In view of these facts, then, and of the universally received opinion that, in this day and generation, man does not live out even one-half of the years apportioned to him by the Creator of all things, is it not astonishing that physical culture and the best and surest modes of attaining health and strength, as well as this maximum of human life, do not command the first place, not only in every family, but in the councils of the nations also? The generations come and go on half time only; and that, too, under a pressure of weakness, disease, and discomfort which renders the life of millions a burden to them.
Take the healthiest acorn that has ever fallen from the soundest and most gigantic oak, and plant it in poor and uncongenial soil, or in any locality shut out from the atmosphere or the sun, and it must die, or at best present sent us with but a sickly sapling which can never attain the strength or the dimensions of its progenitors; at least, not until it is transplanted into the sunlight, and brought under the benign influence of the nutriment proper to its healthy development and growth. Light and heat, fresh air and pure water, are indispensable to its existence from the moment of its first appearance above the soil; for without these it must perish. Here, however, its requirements seem to cease; for, under the influence, presuming the soil to be suitable, its mission may be accomplished to the fullest extent. And so it is,measurably, with the animal kingdom also. All these elements are part and parcel of its existence, so to speak; for failing the proper and unrestricted enjoyment of any one of them, it must suffer generally, and in many cases to a fatal extent. As regards man, however, his true physical development requires more care and caution than that of any of the lower animals. Nature, and the instincts of the latter, are sufficient to meet all the necessities of their case; but man being endowed with the higher attribute of reason for his guidance to mental as well as physical perfection, he is called upon to use that attribute in relation to building up his physical structure on a broad and sure foundation, and in so doing establishing a true and healthy basis for his metaphysical structure also. The brain sympathizes with the whole system, and is, consequently, affected by the imperfections or the disarrangements of any of the other organs. A vigorous mind is incompatible with a diseased brain; and as a sound and healthy brain cannot possibly be associated with a physical system suffering from the feebleness and the countless ills that result from a neglect of those means which are found to be indispensable to the creation as well as the preservation of health and strength in the animal, we all can, at a single glance, perceive where we stand, and what our duty is in the premises. The case lies in a nutshell: are the men and women in whom the rising generation shall culminate to be splendid types of strength and physical beauty—to be possessed of that noble manliness of form that characterizes some of the ancient sculptures on the one hand, and the beautifully moulded and exquisitely developed bust and limbs which individualize the Venus of Titian on the other? I ask again, shall they present those exalted features, individually, or shall they, like so many of the men and womenof the present time, go shuffling along the streets hollow-eyed, narrow-shouldered skeletons, with complexions that would do no discredit to a charnel house, and bearing, even while yet young, all the impress of declining years?
Of course I, in the first place, address myself to parents and to all those who are interested with the care of youth; and here I would observe that, for the most part, a long life of health and happiness is utterly unattainable, save through the medium of a pleasant and systematic course of physical culture or training, to be observed from early youth to manhood, and from this latter to the utmost limits of our declining years. It will, however, be readily perceived that this system of training must be such as to adapt itself to the necessities of the various physiques and natures which so widely characterize all communities; and that care must be taken not to confound these different constitutions one with the other.
Plenty of pure, fresh air, and gentle exercise, a sufficiency of plain, wholesome and suitable food; the proper quantity of sleep, and a judicious use of the sponge and slightly tepid or not absolutely cold water, are the starting points for the young on the way to health and strength, and the possession of a physique capable of the greatest endurance, and of ministering, in the highest degree, to the realization of those mental and sensuous enjoyments which so crown the sum of our earthly happiness. During the period of dentition, or for the first ten years, as Flourens has it, great care must be taken not to overtax the brain or the physical organs of the child to any extent whatever. While yet in the arms of the nurse, the babe should have an abundance of open air sunlight in mild weather, and, when practicable,be permitted to inhale the pure, fresh country breezes. This, when supplemented by the nutritious element of a mother’s milk only, will lay the first, sure stone in the foundations of future health and strength, and soon enable the little prattler to move about unsupported as best he can, until, at last, he takes to his feet and, prompted and sustained by more solid, but yet simple food, begins to shift for himself on a small scale. As he grows up, and his bones and muscles begin to assume consistence, care must be taken that he is never permitted to remain long standing on his feet at one time, as the superincumbent weight of his, or her, body, as the case may be, tends to bow the legs, and thereby destroy the symmetry of the whole form. It is because of the neglect of nurses in this relation that we meet with so many persons who are rendered physically incapable of stopping a cat in even the narrowest passage, and that are neither more nor less than deformed for life. The wooden walking-frame on wheels, to which the child clings, must not be placed too near the cradle. No child should be entrusted to his legs before he is a year old, and then only for a short period at a time, as just observed.
The great secret of the success sometimes observable in the early education of children, lies in the faculty of their preceptor to divest their lessons of everything pertaining to the character of a task, by surrounding them with the fascinations of a pastime. In this way, their mental faculties will become gradually developed, and with their own concurrence as it were—a result which is seldom or never realized by keeping them staring into the dull features of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, framed in the monotonous page of monotonous primer. Familiar objects and pleasant pictures should furnish the firstmental food for the young; nor should their faculties be taxed beyond these, until both brain and muscle acquired something like true consistence. When it is time to begin to educate the mind in a more serious and formal manner, it is time, whether the subject be boy or girl, to begin the course of physical training of which I have already spoken, and failing which both mind and body must suffer alike.
Let me, then, while entering upon this part of my subject, direct attention to the fact, in the first place, that every household in the land, rich or poor, high or low, has within itself the elements of a gymnasium; nay, more, that every individual who walks the streets or the fields, can, in his or her own person, command those elements to a large extent. For example, every movement of ours, no matter how simple or complex, brings a certain muscle or set of muscles into play, and such movement is represented by some fact in the gymnasium which takes precisely the same muscle or set of muscles, and which tends to develop and strengthen them. Now, from this one observation, it will be apparent to even the most casual reader, that a gymnasium contains within itself all the aids necessary to the true development of brawn and muscle; and that it tends toward perfecting and assuring every physical motion made by us in the pursuit of our daily avocations, or in the pursuit of any project, no matter how trifling, laborious or trying. The truth is, the gymnasium is the great builder up and educator of our mere physical system, and the promoter of health and strength and manly or feminine beauty. It is the deadly enemy of all disease and nervous debility; from the fact that it enlarges the chest, invigorates the lungs, and gives them fuller scope and power, and so strengthens, trains and indurates the muscles, that themechanism of the human frame, under its wondrous influence, becomes almost invincible and capable of performing, with ease and precision, feats of strength, agility and endurance, of which the mere novice has no idea whatever. Whether we practice its usages in public or in our own private apartments, the result is the same—health, strength and manly or feminine beauty wait upon them. Our enjoyment of life is keener, our presence more impressive, and our movements filled with easy assurance and well-defined grace. Between the ladies and gentlemen given to these healthy and invigorating exercises, and those who neglect them and wear their flesh loosely upon their bones, there is as much difference, and to the prejudice of the latter, as there is between day and night. The one class moves with head erect and expanded chest, while the pavement rings beneath its heel and the flush of health suffuses its cheek; the other, with mincing step, sallow cheek, contracted chest and lack-luster eye, picks its way along, as best it can; and, when fatigued in any degree, throws itself into an easy chair to languish many a weary hour away. This is no overdrawn picture, as a 3 o’clock saunter through any of our fashionable squares or thoroughfares will verify. But sad as the case is in this one relation, there is a remedy for it if it be taken in time; and that is, a judicious course of physical training and exercise, as much as possible in the open air; gentle and with but little exertion at first, but gradually leading up to that glorious and matchless point, where the patient, now a totally new being, revels in feats of strength and agility that he or she formerly supposed to be unattainable on the part of either.
In order to insure perfect health, the body ought to be sponged with cold water daily, the various musclesshould be exercised for a short period, and submitted to the action or tension proper to them, whether in running, lifting, striking, stretching or posturing. The chest should be expanded by the use of dumb-bells; and the muscles of the arms strengthened by the use of clubs or the trapeze—which latter is of general utility, inasmuch as it can be brought to bear upon nearly all the muscles. The lungs, also, must be distended to their fullest capacity, by frequent gulps of pure, fresh air; while the chest, during the time they remain inflated, must be gently beaten with the palms of the open hand, so that the air may find its way into the minutest of the cells. If this system of training were observed with any degree of intelligence and regularity its beneficial results would be felt almost instantly, and even in the case of the weak or suffering, who would, at first, be obliged, of course, to indulge in but homœopathic doses of this regime, until they became accustomed to it, and began to delight in all its fascinating phases. Physical strength or beauty without physical health being an impossibility, we can perceive how necessary it is to establish, restore or preserve the latter, as the case may be; and as this cannot be effected if the muscular system is not adequate to all the reasonable demands upon it, we cannot fail to apprehend the vital importance of keeping it in a state of the highest efficiency. But while attempting to accomplish this latter we must remember that to overtax either it or the nervous system would be to frustrate the object had in view, and to almost make the cure as bad as the disease. To avoid this, we must therefore study the peculiarities of ourphysique, and the precise nature of our constitution, in relation to the exercise and the food we take. There is an old saying, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison,” and a true saying it is. And here itmay be said that the opinion and advice of the experienced athlete and professional trainer may be of some value, who invariably makes himself acquainted with the peculiarities of thephysiqueand the constitution, before he makes a single move, and who cleanses the system of all impurities before he begins to build it up into a perfect and impregnable whole. To adopt any other course than this would be but to mask or paralyze the seeds of disease for the time being only; for, if the system is not purged until it is as free from crudities, and as pure as that of a child, the seeds of decay and death will lie at the foundations of any superstructure into which it may be sought to build it.
Those who are conversant with the mysteries and mechanism of the human frame, and who have studied its anatomy and its physiology, will tell you that its four hundred muscles, that are the primary agents in all our physical movements, are, in so far as the voluntary ones are concerned, sure to suffer vitally if not properly trained and kept in constant use. It is, indeed, to their exercise only that their efficiency is mainly due; for to allow them to fall into disuse for any length of time, would tend, not only to weaken them, but to paralyze them completely, which, of course, means to paralyze the whole frame. If we would set wind and weather, fatigue and hardships, at defiance, our muscles must be as hard as iron and our lungs as tough as leather. This condition once attained, the world is ours for the winning, for with these characteristics, an industrious spirit, and the fear of God before our eyes, we may, with a fair education, aspire to any eminence attainable in this free land. By constant and judicious exercise our muscles become fully developed, enlarged and strengthened. Look, for example, at the arm, or any of the limbs, orthe chest of a young man who has never had any physical training, and what do you behold? Nothing in true shape; nothing full of life or resistance; everything soft and flabby and girlish; in short, a frame incapable of the slightest endurance, and a hot bed ready to receive and force at any moment the seeds of disease. On the other hand, take in at a glance the limbs and form of the man of trained muscles, and who is accustomed to the exercise necessary to their perfection. Mark his well assured and elastic step! His flesh, through the constant use of the sponge and proper exercise, is at once as fine as silk and as firm as steel. Were he to spring from a height of thirty feet, not a fibre of it would shake on his bones when he had struck the ground. Look at his finely developed chest, and his classic arm, glistening and corded like that of the Farnese Hercules. In truth, he is every inch a man, and such a one as a woman might well take to her bosom as her protector and the partner of her life. In like manner, compare the limp and delicate young miss of eighteen or nineteen who languishes her life away in drawing rooms, at evening parties, or in her carriage, with the brusque beauty of the same age who indulges in the training and exercises proper to her sex—whose muscles, through judicious manipulation and use, have become firm and strong, and who can walk two or three miles at a rapid rate, without suffering the slightest fatigue. What a contrast we have here: The cheek of the one is dull and colorless, and her eyes devoid of true fire and brilliancy. Her whole frame is unstrung and limp, and her step uncertain and feeble. On the part of the other, we perceive the roses of health lighting up her face; we observe her arms beautifully rounded and firm, and her bust splendidly developed, while her step is as elastic as that ofthe fawn. All her muscles having been trained, her whole form becomes a model of classic beauty, and she, in consequence of her constant use of the sponge and cold water, and from her absolutely breathing fresh, pure air only, renders her skin as fair as snow and as smooth and fine as satin, while her health becomes so robust that she enjoys all the blessings and comforts of life with tenfold zest.
But, as already observed, physical culture must never be characterized by anything approaching overtraining; for to tax the muscles or the system beyond their well-defined power of endurance, would be to injure both materially and perhaps permanently. We must, in this relation, study our ownphysique, and be guided by its premonitions. If we find that any of our muscles are weak and not fully developed, we must bring them into training gradually, never testing them to the fullest at first. If we are capable of lifting but eighty or a hundred pounds when putting forth our full strength, let us begin with fifty or sixty pounds, adding to that weight, day by day, a single pound for example, until we reach the eighty pounds, which we shall be able then to lift with the greatest ease. By this system of judicious or gradual augmentation we shall find ourselves, in a few weeks, able to lift a hundred pounds with greater ease than we had lifted the sixty pounds when first testing our strength in this direction. And this may be taken as an example of how we ought to proceed in all our exercises for developing, strengthening and hardening the muscles, expanding the chest and enlarging the lungs. We must perform the work gradually and intelligently. We must not fatigue ourselves to an uncomfortable extent when we first take up our dumb-bells, or clubs, but accustom ourselves to them by degrees, until their useinvolves but little exertion. In like manner, when we would inflate our lungs with fresh air, should they be weak in any degree, we must commence by inhaling smaller volumes, gradually augmenting them until we feel that our chest is distended to its utmost capacity. By observing caution in all these relations we shall, if we persevere intelligently, soon begin to feel and enjoy the inestimable blessings that arise from true physical culture, and be able to accomplish feats of strength and agility of which we were before utterly incapable.
And when we come to consider that the brain shares essentially and largely in the benefits arising from this culture, and that through its agency it is capable of doing more and better work than if it should be unaided by the physical training of our body generally, how important does this subject become at once. No man can perform with ease any great amount of mental labor where physical culture has been neglected, or who does not use the sponge freely and indulge daily in the proper amount of physical exercise. This, together with pure cold air as food for the lungs and suitable diet, will accomplish miracles, and tend to secure health and happiness, presuming always that our habits are temperate, and that we eschew those excesses—such as the immoderate use of wine and tobacco—of which we perceive so many victims of all ages and sexes, and which in even the healthiest constitutions sometimes sow the seeds of disease and death.
It would, of course, be almost impossible to lay down rules for every case, but as a general thing the system of physical culture, as explained by me to the gentlemen referred to in my introductory notice, and of which I have given some hints here, may be followed without the slightest misgiving. Obviously, however, it must bemodified to suit the years and the constitution of those subjected to it; but how young or aged soever, how delicate or robust, it can, under judicious guidance, be made to build up into perfect health and strength those who are feeble, constitutionally or otherwise, and assure and develop the muscular resources of those who are already in possession of a sound and healthy constitution. The aged also will find great benefit from it, and from a careful and gentle exercise of their muscles and the constant use of the sponge and cold water. To all of what I have hitherto observed on this subject, well ventilated residences and bedrooms must be added, as asine qua non, for neither health nor strength, nor anything pertaining to true comfort, can be found in connection with badly ventilated bedrooms. The air we breath becomes impure and vitiated while being expelled from the lungs, and is utterly unfit to be inhaled again. Consequently, if through some open casement or door there is no mode of escape for it, once it has performed its mission, or no mode of ingress for fresh, pure air from without, we are, while slumbering during the silent watches of the night, not only marring the completeness and refreshing character of our repose, but actually poisoning ourselves by slow degrees. We must, therefore, never submit to any conditions that will shut out the pure, fresh air of heaven from us, awake or asleep; for it and the bright, warm sunlight falling upon us whenever it may, are indispensable to our mental and physical well being—the sun bath itself being a great promoter of health.
In my experience as a trainer and athlete, I have met with numerous instances where ladies and gentlemen, of weak constitutions originally, and frames the most feeble, became, through a judicious course of physical culture, not only healthy in the first degree, but robust,powerful and agile. In fact, I question very much whether any disease common to our race may not be thoroughly eradicated by a system of physical training, while it is equally obvious that the adoption of such a system under all ordinary circumstances secures the body from the attacks to which it is subject in this relation. In addition, should fate so decree it that a frame developed and strengthened through a good system of physical training, should fall within the power of any of the diseases incident to us, it is quite plain that the chances of recovery are infinitely beyond those shared by the patient whose body is all unstrung, and who is incapable of presenting any physical resistance to the inroads of the malady. Let this be engraven upon our memories, for rest assured that long life and happiness wait on physical culture; and that no good work, mental or otherwise, can ever be achieved where it is wholly neglected.
Our whole structure, with all its delicate and complex machinery, is entrusted to our keeping; and when we come to glance at its numerous nerves, its four hundred muscles, its two hundred and fifty-two bones, and its various organs, we will be able to perceive that it behooves us to be most careful and systematic in our treatment of it. Some persons may possibly be inclined to say that our involuntary muscles are not under our control; but, then, the objection can be disposed of summarily by instancing the act of the suicide, that in a single moment stills them forever. It is, therefore, incontrovertible that our physical organism is placed in the charge of our mental, and that any neglect or mismanagement of it must result in disease or discomfort, and the lowering of its legitimate powers and mission to a grave extent.
Rock salt, dissolved in the tub, when we are about touse the sponge, will be found to heighten the efficacy of our bath. When well sponged, from head to foot, so that our flesh and pores are thoroughly cleansed of the effects of perspiration, which so tend to clog the latter, crash towels should be applied briskly until we feel a warm glow, when soft ones may be used to dry the skin thoroughly. None save those who have tried it can be aware of the pleasure derived from this invigorating process, and the absolute comfort to ourselves, which invariably follows it and abides with us until we again perform our ablutions. The clogging of the pores is a fruitful source of disease, and should never be permitted to obtain for a single hour. If perspiration be obstructed in any way, our internal organs and whole system begin to suffer at once. All our secretions must flow freely to make health possible; therefore, the constant use of the sponge and the bath is necessary to our very existence. Any neglect in this relation will register itself at once in a sallow complexion, eruptions of the skin, and general debility, if not the active development of some serious disease. Let this be borne well in mind, and acted upon, and we shall have cause to be grateful. The bath and sponge form a primary element of physical culture, for without them the proper training of our muscles becomes utterly impossible. The pores must be kept comfortably and uniformly open before we can realize the benefit of active physical training, and this can be effected only by means of the sponge, which should be applied every morning, and after any violent exercise, which had caused us to perspire to any unusual extent. In this latter case, however, care must be taken to use tepid or slightly warm water only; for cold water, under the circumstances, might be accompanied with injurious effects, and tend to close suddenly the poresthat had been already so much relaxed through over or active exertion.
There is another advantage connected with physical culture and athletic exercises which is of all importance, and especially to the young; it is that of a tendency toward temperance, and the utter rejection of all excesses touching the use of spirituous liquors, and that of tobacco also. There is nothing so prejudicial to the system and to manly beauty as the immoderate use of the wine cup. No man who indulges in alcoholic drinks or in the “weed” as it is called, can ever be all that he should be. The love and the respect of a pure and good woman is lost to a man, or never accorded to him if he will persist in the debasing use of the bowl; and when he is deprived of this—when he is a pariah to the sex—there is not much left for him to live for here below. Let me not be misunderstood in this important point:—no man who is given to the immoderate use of whisky and such abominations has ever secured happiness to himself or the partner of his bosom. I need not dwell on this part of the subject. The newspaper press and the experience of thousands bear evidence to the truth of what I say, in the countless illustrations presented to us daily. We must, then, if we would be men, eschew the bottle and take the way pointed out by temperance and virtue, which simply means the way of happiness, prosperity and peace.
The mind and body appear to go hand in hand. When virtue imbues the one, health and strength appear to wait on the other. It is the order and the way of heaven. Neither soul nor body is ever itself in abnormal conditions. The way is clear before us; and we who would attain the highest standards of perfect man or womanhood must obey natural laws, and conform to them systematically.
Against what is called the “manly art of self-defense,” or pugilism, there is a popular prejudice, which is not founded, I think, in experience or common-sense. There is not a gentleman of my acquaintance, or, I presume, in the world, who does not recognize the utility of the art of self-defense. Not very long ago the newspaper press published an incident which may, I think, be regarded as a case in point. It occurred on a railroad car, and in relation to a couple of ladies, evidently of delicacy and refinement, whose ears had been assailed by some indecent language and ribald jests on the part of two burly scoundrels, who were seated behind them. Fortunately, there was a well-known athlete in one of the seats directly opposite the ladies, and he interfered at once, begging the two men to discontinue their objectionable language or to retire to the smoking-car. This was the signal for a volley of abuse, and certain threats, which had for their object the intimidation of the speaker, and which were followed by a renewal of their objectionable sayings, intended still further for the ears of the ladies. Upon this, the champion of decency and good conduct arose from his seat, observing, at the same time, if there was a repetition of the offense he would eject both the men from the car, in which there were but two or three additional passengers. Upon this, the two ruffians jumped up, and, bounding over to him, with most opprobrious epithets, dared him to make good his threats. There was not another word on the subject; for, with the speed of lightning, the athlete sprang upon them, caught one in each hand, and, dashing their heads together, whipped them off their feet and dragged them out of the car, and into the smoking-car, upon the floor of which he threw them, simply announcing his name, which was quite enough for the pair of vagabonds, asthey did not put in an appearance in the car from which they had been ejected for the rest of the journey.
Now, it is quite obvious, that had not this gentleman undergone a course of physical training, he could not have disposed of the ruffians as summarily or have done such meritorious work in the service of the two refined and delicate creatures whose ears had been thus outraged—nay more, he could not have protected himself from an assault had it been made upon him, had he not had trained muscles, which enabled him to illustrate the utility of this art by not only avenging himself for an outrage committed on all decency, but upon ladies into the bargain. Had he not been in a position through a well trainedphysique, he would have been constrained to submit to all he had seen and heard, and the axiom “self-preservation, etc.,” would have been a dead letter to him; but as the case stood, he not only vindicated his manhood, but won a handsome and wealthy wife besides.
Strange as it may sound in some ears, I have not met a noted pugilist who was not a gentleman. True, there are some men connected with the profession who forget themselves from time to time, but, as a general thing, all the stars of the ring have been good members of society. Sayers, Heenan, Goss, Spring, Crib, Morrissey, Edwards, etc., have all fine records; and yet I am very far from recommending the profession as a desirable one. It has its disadvantages, and serious ones of course, but, then, it has its redeeming side also. It repudiates the pistol, the bowie-knife, and every implement of the assassin, and is, withal, an art of peace, so to speak. I have never met a true son of the ring who was not as peaceable as a child, however unflinching or dogged his courage when once before the public.
Habit, they say is second nature. How necessarytherefore, that our habits should be pure and good and conducive to health and strength. Our diet, our clothing, and the manner of our exercise should all tend to building up a perfect manhood. Under proper training, the human frame is capable of most wondrous feats of activity and endurance. I have been informed, and quite recently, that not long since a gentleman who holds a position in one of the gas companies of this city picked up in one hand a weight of two hundred and twenty pounds, at an exhibition in Gilmore’s Garden, and flourished it above his head. This was a wondrous feat of strength, and could no more have been accomplished by a man with untrained muscles, than could the removal of the Adirondacks by an infant. What should be the question, then, with every young person of either sex in the land? It is this, “Shall we enjoy the whole—the entirety of the life that the Good Father has given us, or shall we drawl out an imperfect existence from the cradle to the grave?”
Wealth has its mission, but what can it in any individual case accomplish without health? No matter how soft the cushions, no matter how luxurious the appointments, without health there is no enjoyment. When, therefore, life and light and health are placed in our keeping, to neglect the great boon is criminal. I tell you that you must cultivate life as you would an apple tree. It is in your keeping. You must not slur it over, and pet it one day and neglect it the next. Take it to your hearts all who read; keep your frame, your body, free from all impurities through the medium of temperance, healthy exercise, and the bath, and when the Angel of Death calls you home to God, you will have already acquired the rudimentary wings.
Now, to be more explicit, were such within my power,take an individual case: Here we shall suppose a delicate lad, as nerveless as the chicken that has just cracked its shell, and what shall we do with him? Say his years are ten or twelve. We shall begin to develop his muscles, which means strengthen his flesh until he feels himself that he can do something. We must take him inch by inch, so to speak, and give, by exercise and judicious manipulation, strength and consistence to his frame. If we find him weak in any particular direction, we must see to it. We must grasp the muscles that are known to be identified with that particular feature, and develop their power and capacity. When we come into contact with anything that is feeble, we must treat it with care; we must manipulate it, knead it, so to speak, until it has got true consistence and a name. We must call it into action gradually and cautiously, until it grows, as it were, under our hands, and begins to perform its mission with an efficacy and certainty of which we had no previous conception. And what does it all mean? It means health, strength, enjoyment of animal life, and enjoyment generally, so far as our merephysiqueis concerned. We are all subject to disease and discomfort bodily; but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred we can avoid it or stave it off; we can fortify ourselves against it if we only keep the citadel of our body well manned by pure organs and good desires.
All the feats of strength of which we hear and read, are not the result of merely accidental muscular action, but an effort of well-trained muscles and of a desire to accomplish with ease and precision something out of the ordinary course of our action. The man who lifted the two hundred and twenty pounds with one hand in Gilmore’s Garden began, perhaps, with lifting twenty-eight pounds. Nor was there so much of a difference betweenthe weights lifted this day and the next, so to speak. There was a gradual augmentation of weight and of power; and here is where the secret of all physical strength lies.
Now, much that I have said in relation to gentlemen applies to ladies also. Both are subject to the same laws of health and development. No matter how perfect and beautiful the form, it is still in a plastic condition. God gives the exquisite outlines, but it is for us to fill them up as it were. There is the arm, the bust and the limbs generally, but without physical culture they cannot attain the contour of expression in which their strength and loveliness should culminate. The spirit never glories in its habitation to so great an extent as when the body is at its best. The mysterious link between the one and the other is placed in our hands, and if we would unite them perfectly we must do it through temperance, true religion and physical culture. The means of the latter are placed within the reach of every individual, and to neglect them is to rebel against heaven and our own existence. Pope said more than he had intended, when he wrote “the proper study of mankind is man.” No doubt he had special reference to man’s metaphysical nature, for his was an age of metaphysics to a very grave extent; but the truth is, the study of our physical structure is of the first importance, for without a knowledge of it, its peculiarities and necessities, we shall be unable to give fair play to our other self.
A marked illustration of the benefits of physical training may be found in the fact that the skeleton of the famous Tom Sayers—for, if it must be confessed, the body of that noted pugilist was not permitted to remain undisturbed beneath the sod—presented bones of a texture so hard and so fine as to create surprise on the part ofthe medical men who inspected them. They were almost like ivory, and this, it was admitted, was owing to the continual hard rubbing of his limbs and the constant exercise of his muscles. This hand rubbing is a wondrous advantage in more than one relation. In my own experience I have found it to almost work miracles. In one case, a youth of seventeen, who had been given up by the doctors as a hopeless consumptive, happened to mention the circumstance to me. One of his lungs was, as I could perceive, very much diseased; but I thought that he might, notwithstanding, be saved yet. I took him in hands, and began by sponging his body regularly with tepid salt and water, and then drying and rubbing him gently with the palms of my hands, until his body was all aglow. I now insisted that he should, when the weather permitted it, take daily a short walk, during which he was to endeavor to inhale as much fresh, pure air as his lungs would contain. I soon found that with judicious diet, he was beginning to creep up a little, so I began to lengthen his walks, and at times to give him a short drive over rough roads in a common wagon. Although he came into my hands an absolute skeleton, in three months he gained eight pounds in weight, and was evidently determined to cheat the doctors. And yet, during that period he did not take a single particle of physic. The fresh air, the gentle exercise, and the constant hand rubbing of his limbs and his chest, which I began to expand, first with wooden dumb-bells, did the work, for the man is alive and well to-day.
It may not be generally known, but it is nevertheless true, that the hand of a healthy man when brought to bear in rubbing the body of an invalid, imparts a portion of his own strength and magnetism to the sufferer. And, although there are certain instances in which theservices of the educated physician may not be dispensed with, yet, in the matter of weak lungs, weakphysiqueand spinal derangements, the professor of physical culture has the advantage beyond all question. And this reminds me of another incident in my experience. The daughter of a very dear friend of mine, a child of about nine years of age, had a spine so weak that it became curved and shapeless; indeed, so much so that the poor little thing was quite deformed, to the despair of her parents, who loved her as they did the apple of their eye. Every remedy had been applied by them, but without avail; for there still sat the poor, pale, sickly thing, with the prospect of an early grave staring her in the face, or at best a life of suffering and misery. The first time I saw the sufferer and was informed of her malady, I felt assured that the rock salt bath and hand-rubbing would relieve her, if not result in a permanent cure. I gave directions, to be followed in my absence, having first myself performed one operation, during which I permitted the cold water from the sponge to drip from time to time along the spine. About two months afterward I made another visit to my friend, when I was well pleased to meet my little patient apparently quite well, and playing briskly on the sidewalk with some children of her own age. And so I found it in every case in which this treatment was applied to a weak frame or deranged nerves. There is an efficacy and a magnetism about it that is irresistible, as all who may have occasion to try it can prove to their satisfaction.
It may be interesting to many to be informed of the mode adopted by experienced trainers and gymnasts in building up the system of a man when preparing him for great feats of endurance and strength. In the first place,the system must be purified and the liver and all the organs brought into the healthiest of conditions, which is now generally effected by the free use of lemons and castor oil. Formerly calomel and the black draught were resorted to for this purpose; but as the former was sometimes inclined to remain in the system, lemons came into use as safer and more efficacious. When the system, then, is purified of every impurity, the building up and strengthening process begins. Early in the morning the subject arises, and after a slight ablution, during which he carefully scrapes what is called the fur from his tongue with a thin piece of whalebone that he between his teeth bent, and then draws over his tongue after the manner of a rake. By this means, and by gargling his mouth and throat with cold water he is in a condition to enjoy a cup of tea without milk or sugar and a single piece of dry toast. This disposed of, he takes a short walk of say a quarter of a mile, and returns to breakfast, when he sits down to a mutton chop and toast, etc., still taking tea without milk or sugar. After breakfast he takes a rest of about half an hour, and then starts forth on a walk of from four to ten miles. Returning about 10 o’clock, after perspiring freely, he is rubbed dry and permitted to rest on his bed until he becomes quite cool. Then comes the strong rock-salt bath and sponge, after which, and on being rubbed dry once more, his muscles and flesh are manipulated by the naked hands of the trainer for two hours. His next meal is composed of a heavy beefsteak, some calf’s foot jelly, toast, and perhaps a bottle of Bass’ ale. He drinks but little or no water, as this liquid has a tendency to fatten and render the muscles flabby when taken internally. An hour’s sleep may now be indulged in with advantage, after which comes a regular course of exercise, embracing pulleys, bars, clubs, dumb-bells, sandand bean bags—the sand bags hanging from the ceiling, to be hit in the manner of a man, right and left, with a view to strengthening the hands and packing and hardening the muscles, and the bean bags to be thrown between him and the trainer, the one and the other catching them in turn, so as to train the eye and the hand to quickness. In these exercises every muscle is brought into play, and all the limbs made to perform every movement of which the body is capable, so that all the muscles are developed alike, and ready at any moment to do, with the utmost efficacy and precision, the work proper to them. After a good rest, and at about 5 o’clock P. M., there is a moderate sponge bath and lots of rubbing. Indeed, so important is this latter, that if one man is not able to accomplish it, more help is called in. Supper at 6 o’clock, of broiled chicken, without a particle of grease or butter, a cup of beef tea, some dry toast, and, if found necessary, sometimes a little genuine old port wine and beef tea mixed. Oat-meal and a few raisins are now and then called into requisition—the former in the shape of porridge and the latter mixed with gruel made of oat-meal also.
But this treatment must not be supposed to apply to all cases, as there are constitutions which might require one totally different in so far as diet is concerned. Indeed, the trainer’s judgment must be exercised here with the greatest caution, for to be unable to discriminate between constitutions, or to determine the quantity and quality of the food, as well as the quantity of exercise necessary in every individual case, would be to fail signally in his profession, and to be liable at any moment to do almost irreparable damage to his man.
Although the implements of training proper to the muscular development of ladies may be lighter than thosesuitable for gentlemen, yet they are all modeled after the same fashion. Of course, it would be quite unnecessary and indeed wrong to subject the gentler sex to the excessive exercises necessary in the case of those who are supposed to be engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with the world, or any of those vocations which require iron brawn and muscle in their successful pursuit. Still, the principle running through both modes of training is the same, and the treatment moderated only in the one case, to meet the necessities of sex and organization. But, as already laid down, I hope impressively, no matter how lovely or symmetrical the form, to secure strength and consistence the muscles must be well trained and the bath constantly used, if health and personal beauty are to be secured permanently. We are not to suppose, however, a lady needs that degree of physical culture that would enable her to lift two hundred weight in one hand and flourish it above her head, but we are to expect that she will keep her frame in a condition that will enable her to endure any moderate degree of fatigue without the slightest inconvenience, and that a brisk walk of three or four miles will only serve to sharpen her appetite rather than to prostrate her for a whole afternoon.
There is no enjoyment of life without health; and there can be no health where physical culture is neglected. To be sure, there is a certain class of beings who believe they are possessed of health so long as they are able to move about without any great trouble to themselves; but let these once taste the sweets of well-trained muscles and steady nerves, and they will soon begin to find that they had only been vegetating previously. How culpable, then, would it not be on the part of any person of ordinary understanding to neglect the means of health and strength and comfort placed within the reach of eventhe poorest in the land? For it will be remembered, I have stated plainly, that every man and woman in the world is a gymnasium, so to speak, to himself or herself, and that there is not in this or any other country a single household, gentle or simple, that has not within itself more than one implement of physical culture. Any one can improvise a club, a pair of dumb-bells, a bar, or something answering to weights and pulleys. Every person can manipulate and exercise his own muscles; can use the sponge bath, and, in most cases, obtain pure, fresh air, posturing, throwing back his shoulders and thus expanding the chest; stooping, swinging the arms and legs to and fro; hanging by the hands, sustaining the whole weight of the body from time to time, and taking long gulps of fresh air, and relaxing them as long as possible on the lungs, are all modes of educating and strengthening the muscles. And although the exercises thus accomplished may not be as effective as those under the direction of the accomplished trainer, yet they are in the right direction, and cannot fail, if persisted in, to culminate in the happiest results.
I do not intend to be egotistical when I say that I have done something in this my native land for gymnastics and physical culture generally. There are in this city and elsewhere gentlemen of distinction, in and out of the learned professions, who can bear witness to what I here state, and who can speak of me from their own personal experience. Nay, more, I think I may venture to say that I have been the means of building up into perfect strength many a weak and shattered constitution on the part of more than one lady and gentleman within the limits of this fair city to-day, not to speak of others that are scattered through the length and breadth of the land. In this direction, as well as in that of physicalculture generally, my experience has been very far from limited, and I freely give the world the benefit of it, so far as what I have now said here is of any value. I speak with the heart and the pride of a man who is wedded to his profession, because of the benefits it is so eminently calculated to bestow on every age and condition; because I have known it to alleviate suffering and to eradicate disease, and to develop to the highest state of perfection the human system, and to make it all that the good Father intended it to be. As the case stands at present, men and women are suicides who, by their own neglect, curtail not only their happiness but their existence. If a hundred years is the natural length of the life of man, how comes it that so few attain that age? Monsieur Flourens has only answered the question in part, in so far as I am aware. He only pointed out the case, but did not, I believe, enumerate the remedies applicable to it. It is because that we have become accustomed to this shrivelled span of our life that we do not shrink with horror from its contemplation. But let us, while looking the matter full in the face, examine how far we are ourselves a party to it, and we shall begin to discover that, in our neglect of the means of securing health and strength, and of fortifying ourselves through good habits and judicious physical culture against the inroads of both time and disease, we are surely acting the part of suicides.
Let me then, before bringing these brief and imperfect observations of mine to a close, direct, once for all, the serious attention of both old and young—parents and teachers—to this all important subject of physical culture, or the art of preserving health and strength and happiness, till called hence in thetruenatural order of things. Let me say to the delicate young miss whoseframe shrinks from every passing breeze, and whose cheek is a stranger to the flush of the rose, that she may become a very model of health and brilliant feminine beauty if she will follow intelligently the advice already laid down. If she would have a figure and step like that of Diana, she must see to her muscles and her bath, and go into daily training proper to her sex. Her fate in this relation is in her own hands. In relation to weak or sickly children, also, there is much to be done on the part of parents, who sometimes permit the delicate little sufferers to become almost confirmed invalids, although the sponge and the hand rubbing process, with other judicious operations, would restore them to perfect health and strength, and lay the foundation of a true man or womanhood. And what shall I say to the delicate and robust youths, who alike mismanage their case—the one in not endeavoring to build up his constitution into a perfect whole; and the other in not giving proper direction to the strength already pertaining to him naturally? I shall warn him of the feeble constitution, that, unless he begins a course of physical culture, he will never be able to fill the true mission of a man, mentally or physically; while to him of the robust frame I shall say that he is simply carrying a weight of flesh about him useless and flabby, and will continue to do so until he enters on a course of physical training, that will give consistence and proper tone to his brain and muscle.
There are, I am aware, certain parents and guardians who are opposed to gymnastic or athletic exercises, as the process of training is something like that adopted in the case of pugilists. And this brings to my recollection an incident that occurred to me personally when engaged in teaching the art in Michigan, not very long ago. I was engaged at the period in directing a gymnasiumconnected with an educational institution, and had besides opened my own rooms, where I gave private instructions. I had not been engaged over a month or so, when a legal friend of mine introduced me to a wealthy grocer, whose two sons, aged respectively seventeen and nineteen, were going to school, but who were tall, consumptive-looking creatures, with but little apparent life or strength in them. On entering into conversation with the father of these boys, I happened to introduce my profession as a great promoter of health, and one that could be brought to bear with advantage upon his two sons. He did not take my observation kindly, but, in a manner that was very far from polite, intimated to me that he wanted to make scholars and gentlemen of his sons, rather than entrust them to my tuition, which he plainly hinted would tend to leading them off in a different direction. I felt a little nettled at his rudeness, but was determined that I should not imitate it, although he had insulted me to some extent.
“Well, sir,” I observed, in reply to his remark, “it is quite proper, and is very creditable to you to give these young gentlemen a fine education, for I know, to my cost, what a poor education means, although I am satisfied that neither wealth nor learning are the only constituents of a gentleman. I regret to say that my education is very defective, although, in knocking about the world, I have learned some things, and among them, that of being polite to strangers and of being considerate of the feelings of others. And now let me ask you to give me, if you can, any intelligent or good reason for your sneer at my profession, which has for its object physical culture only. Had you made yourself thoroughly acquainted with the subject, and with its mission and benefits, you would have been able to perceive thatin the present state of the health and thephysiqueof your two sons, neither of them can attain to anything like proficiency in their studies. Their brain sympathizes with their feeble and undeveloped frame and hence no good mental work can be performed by them. Again, if they are permitted to continue their studies on the same plan upon which they are now conducted, they will be old men before they reach the age of thirty-five. You object to allowing them to attend my class for a couple of hours in the evening, imagining that were they to attend it they would become fighters and pugilists; but in this you are mistaken. I am no friend or champion of pugilism, but simply a physical trainer who develops the muscles, strengthens the system and the brain, and gives the whole frame something like true consistence. And whether, I should like to ask you, would your two sons, who are all but skeletons, be safer in my hands for a couple of hours after school every evening, for a few weeks, than in standing at the corners of the streets or in visiting drinking and billiard saloons, where the foundation of drunkenness and gambling are so often laid, and where the seeds of active disease are so often sown? In the one case they would be subjected to a pleasant course of physical training, resulting in health, strength and activity, and out of the reach, for the time being, of bad examples and bad habits. In the other, they would be breathing an atmosphere not always pure, and fragrant at times with some of the worst vices of the age. Whether would you rather see your boys men with finely developed forms, active and athletic, or mere apologies for men, with nophysique, and with no life or health in them, not only from a neglect of their systems, but from the excesses and indulgences to which yourconduct so tends to expose them. With me their health and morals are safe for that length of time, at least; and, as they are taught nothing that does not tend toward their mental and physical welfare, as they suffer in neither language or deportment, and are rather led in the way of generous and manly sentiments, I think they would not deteriorate from any contact with me, or with the true gentlemen of the profession.”
ADOC AND PAINE—PEDESTRIANS.
He was impressed and taken aback with what I had said, but did not at the moment make any observation on the subject. On the next day, however, happening to meet my friend the lawyer, I learned that he had informed him that he feared he had acted wrongly toward me, and had, in addition, done some injustice to my profession. The result was, that very shortly after both he and his two sons visited my rooms during one of my exhibitions, or rather lectures, that I was illustrating with gymnastic feats. He was struck with my observations and with the performance of some of my pupils, as well as with the marked difference between theirphysiqueand activity and those of his own boys. For his edification and that of those who had come to witness the exhibition, I referred to the well known fact that the ancient Greeks and Romans were gymnasts, and that their nobles frequently contested in public for the prize; and besides, that he who performed the greatest feats of strength and agility was crowned with laurels. At the close of my lecture he came forward with a frankness and a manliness I was pleased to see, and made an ample apology for his treatment of me on a former occasion, and at once placed his two sons under my charge. In fact I had won, and when some months afterwards I presented him his two boys as strong as young lions and as agile as panthers, I noticed a tear of gratitude in his eye, and we have been warm friends ever since.
It is all a mistaken idea that a true course of physical training tends towards pugilism or to foster a spirit of aggression. The case is quite the reverse, for it engenders a spirit of nobility and generous manliness only. It is averse to treachery and meanness, and is indorsed by all the educational institutions in the land. Show me a college without a gymnasium or its physical culture and I shall be much astonished. It is now an accepted fact, that a true course of mental culture is impossible without a true course of physical training. For the student to succeed in the former, he must undergo the latter. They must travel side by side, irrespective of sex, and there must be teachers for both. One is the body and the other is the soul of the man, so to speak; and as a healthy brain and an unhealthy body are incompatible—are not to be found centered on the same person—we must see that the latter is always kept in order and at its best, and there is no fear for the success of the former.
One parting word, and I have done. All our physical organization has been constructed with a view to ministering to the comforts and the necessities of our body as a whole, as well as to our mind or soul. Of themselves, our physical organs know nothing, and are completely under the control of our immortal part. When, therefore, we find that the slightest feebleness or derangement on the part of any one of them results in the greatest discomfort to us, and when we find that, to support health and to pursue with effect any vocation in life, active or sedentary, it requires the fullest development of our muscles and all the parts of our frame, does it not behoove all those who have not yet turned their attention to the subject to take it up at once, and endeavor to achieve that state of physical perfection which is so necessary to their success and happiness in this world, if not in the next?