The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-11-08
A FAD WITH FUN In 1T
AS WELL AS HEALTH, GOOD LOOKS,
AND GOOD SPIRITS.
How Society Girls Arrayed in Turkish
Trousers Kick Up Their Heels, Climb
Ropes, and Swing Indian Clubs in a
Female Gymnasium.

"Well, I'm not the same girl you saw In the
spring." exclaimed young lady well known
In society In answer to the remark of friend
who complimented her on the wonderful i'm
provement in her appearance since their last
meeting. II look like a new GIRL think;
and know feel like a new girl. No, it wasn't
my summer In the mountains that did it.
That may have helped a little, but most of
the improvement you say you see in me has
taken place since l came home a couple of
months ago. What was It Oh, there's no
secret about it It's all the result of a new
fad I've got and have been working for all it's
worth. Excuse the slang, but since I've be-
come so outrageously healthy feel like talk
ing slang all the time. l always did have an
idea that good health wasn't quite compati-
BILE with extreme refinement, and fear I'm
not nearly as refined as used to be when /
was languid and lackadasical.
"But about the secret and the fad. All
there lie to 1t is that I've taken up systematic
physical culture, and find not only health but
heaps Of fun in It. / was walking home from
shopping trip one day, feeling all tagged
out and looking like a fright, I've no doubt,
when saw sign on house indicating that
within was an establishment devoted to the
physical culture Of women. / had heard of
the place before and decided to see what It
was like on the spot. So in 1 went.
"There was pretty little woman teacher in
a req costume consisting OF pair of loose
Turkish trousers and blouse waist, with
black velvet collar and cuffs. She wore
black stockings and low ties. She had the
shapliest Of calves aud tiny feet Her eyery
motion was grace. After watching class of
aYQ mt =
taken to the new fad with a rush. | ordered
nobby blue flannel suit before went home
to be ready for me next day. I bought suit
OF fine black silk underwear and pair of
white canvas slippers without heels. began
my exercise next day. There were nine of us
who met for the first time IN the locker-room
below stairs to transform ourselves from
women of fashion into free human creatures
with legs. That Is the first overwhelming dis
covery women makes about herself in
gymnasium-that she has legs and can kick
up before or behind in most reckless abandon
and nobody frowns or looks Mortified. That
is what | did when got my new things
on. l kicked up and raced round the
3 lockerroom like colt just out of the barn,
and that is what all the other girls did, too.
We had little preliminary circus of our own
to warm us up to work. We all wore
gymnast suits No awkward squad
OF new recruits ever caused drill
officer more trouble than we green ones did
our instructor, for we had never learned how
to manage legs or arms on a systematic plan
1t was fun to see the others mistakes, and
concluded was equally amusing. We soon
got the hang of the exercises and could swing
dumb bells in circles or clubs over our heads
or in any direction. The funniest sight is to
see the first attempts Of young woman who
was only bred for the drawing-room try to go
up rope hand d-over-hand. She will clutch
wildly at the air instead Of the rope over her
head after the first hold; then wobble round
aimlessly and try to catch on with her feet
like that nimble and graceful teacher, but all
in vain. One after another down we Slip In
attitudes more grotesgue than any clowns.
There is one exercise that we all abominate,n
the young lady continued. ssNone Of us like
being 'percussed,' and 1 suspect that the
masculine gymnast omits it entirely, or the
first syllable at least, and speaks of 1t as the
'cussed' exercise 1t consists of patty-pat
pounding OF each other sideways from armpit
to thigh, and up and down your neighbours
spinal column until she feels like choking or
as though she had swallowed live toad, since
every organ in your body seems on the jump
while the percussion is going on"