St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-12-12


can get over the ground at great rate OF
speed. He reaches his business with a
bfeathless hustle of punctuality, but what
a figure he makes in doing it! BY a fair
and easy start. and by moving with firm and
regular step. the distance could be covered
in the same space of time, or less. and the
man meanwhile present to his fellow crea-
lures an agreeable and admirable object,
instead of spectacle of unbalanced and
errat.c motion.
To walk well man must first stand well.
or. rather. carry himself well. III ears
should be in line with the ~
shoulders. shoulders with U =
hips, heels together. and ~
just enough of tilt for I'm
ward so that if a plumb fIWMN
was dropped from the end J'Ma
of the nose it would fall mi w
clear and sheer to the toes. iM
One common mistake in klI
the general carriage of the ENlf
body is leaning too far WHY
back. Children are told to bN
stand straight, and they Il ,NlA
obey by protruding the IN WN
| stomach. which should. on .sJkMM.
the contrary, be Withdrawn.
Pomposity is expressed by --
prominence of the abdomen, but neither
statelnesS nor dignity. The royal
MUSCLE is in the breast, not in the abdO-
| men. Lean forward rather than back. and
| if the ear is in proper line with the shoulder
| there is no danger of Shopping. To train
| the muscles of the neck. walk about the
room as often as convenient with book on
the top of the head.
| In England girls used to be made TO sit
certain length of time each day with what
was called hack -board."
Mrs. Langtry's famous back was prOba-
bly, nodded in that way. This appliance
was board about eight inches wide in the
middle and narrowed at both ends to about
half that width. This was placed against
| the shoulder blades and the arms brought
over the narrow ends to hold it in place.
| The chest was thus kept out to beautiful
expansion. while the shoulder blades cor
| respondingly retired from view.
| In walking the step must be with the
toes out, pressure on the inside of the foot.
heels in line and legs close together at the
hips The motion of one foot before the
other should suggest the spiral, and one
step run into another like the continuous
links of a chain. You will be properly
posed if you lead yourself by the button on
your coat nearest your heart. Now walk
crack or a mark on the sidewalk, being
sure to have the heels tUuch the ground
every time on that line. The first trial will
probably put some of the muscles into very
unfamiliar relations with each other. But
practice will prove it not only the most
graceful way OF walking but the easiest.
But this is not all of walking Long men
bers should not be moved with a short
rhythm. What is more ludicrous than
tall man, who was born with seven league
boots on. trying to adapt his giant fling to
the pItter- patter OF some dumpy school
gir's feet? She should lengthen her
rhythm in the same proportion that he
shortens his.
A prominent mark of all fine walking is
self possession. No motion which is the
effect Of force is beautiful; whenever beau
tiful the power which produces the force is
concealed. There should be no visible
effort, 10 apparent exertion, nothing of the
dead-lift. Poets like to talk of larry
tread" '''printless feet" and ''rustling
footsteps" West Point officer gave as
rule: Never bend the knee more than is
necessary to fairly clear the foot" Stiffen
the knee and instinctively the head will go
up. tile spine straighten, the arms swing
free, and every organ take its natural posi-
ton.
One of the most effective exercises to Sc
cure balance and hexibllty OF body in walk
ing is called the ''horse walk" 1t would
not do to try it on the public thoIoughfare,
nor in drawing room. but in the seclusion
of ones own room it may be ihdulged in
with resultant grace that will reward all
the absurdity of the private exhibit. A mil
itary position is the starting point. Then
instead of putting the foot forward and
down at once, one leg is made to describe
half circle in front of the other. which
requires perfect balance of the body upon
the leg that supports it. After this circle
is described the foot is lifted as high as
possible by bending the knee up, and is
then brought around into the exact place
the foot would have reached by natural
step. Once or twice around the room of
this ''horse Walk is as good as a mile
tramp.
To be able to walk slowly is the refine
ment of this fine art. A hasty pace in the