The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-05-11

belongs in a peculiar and eminent de-
gree to the accomplished swordswoman.
The firm, easy, and beautiful gait: the
pose that has never an appearance of
artificialty or constraint; the gesture
that is neither awkward nor extrava-
CANT, are all marks by which the adept
at the foils may be known. A critic,
with no preconceived bias in favor of
either race would probably say that the
twelve handsomest women in England
were fairer than the twelve acknow-
ledge,l bellies of France. The palm of
grace, on the other hand, he might not
impcssibly award to vanquished III the
first competition. 1t is, at all events,
certain, in the main, that the dlstinc-
tion of grace is more frequent amongst
both sexes on the French that it is on
the English side of the Channel--a
superiority which the French owe in
no small measure to the national use
of the foil. 1t is an accomplishment
which Is nearly as common amorg
ladies IN France as it is rare among
ladies IN England.
Few Frenchw omen would consider
elementary training for the stage or
the concert hall complete unless it had
inc some practice in the art
which enables a young performer to
face an audience without being too
acuely conscious of the possession of
legs and arms; but how many of our
English actresses and public singers
ever learn tn. management of the foil,
unless pll ticular part to be played
should suddenly y nee "ssitate half
dozen hurried and imperfect lessons?
Mrs Langtry is said to fence with some
precision, and Maclnty1e acknowledges
cordially the benefits she derived from
the practice(he singer gets double
advantage, for fencing, which braces
and stimulates the whole frame, has a
grand effect upon the vocal chords);
but what is a signal accomplishment
for an actress OF an operate artist in
England IS an al but universal one
among women Of the sage in France.
Ladies now have their fencing rooms
in Paris, though | cannot say positive
ly how many such places there are. AT
the Conservatoire there is a Cours de
I Escrinae pusa;e de Demoisc'les, under
the direction of NJ. Jacob; but this Is
for the benefit OF actresses only. At
least one fencing school for women is
kept by woman, Nine. Astie de
Valsayre, the same who challenged to
mortal combat Miss Booth of the Sal
walton Army.
| More than one Frenchwoman has
proved herself sword in hand redoubt-
able foe on the duelling-ground; and it
may be questioned whether there is
any other form of combat IN which the
two sexes may meet on terms not dis
advan tageous to the weaker. Fenc-
ing, however is not to be regarded as
an incentive to fighting. Far from it,;
the duel has declined in France since
fencing became national pastime.
No exercis, serves better to keep the
temperin check. The sp'enlt;c fencer
is lost, the passions and emotions must
be closely guarded while the weapons
are in play.
The actress Lea d Asco, took lessons
for the express purpose Of regulating
a too freakish temper, in outbreaks OF
which she had been wont to box the
ears of fellow actress at rehearsal.
Moreover, while it ac $ as a sedative
upon nervous system, irritable or too
highly wrous usht, the use of the foils
may be tried, per contra, as stimulant
in almost every case of n.rve exhaus-
ton. fofthis, indeed, 1t is 'increas-
ing'y recommended by ph hEsicians who
have found it better tonic amt oae
much more keenly relish ed. than the
rather monotonous exercises of the
gymnasium. 1t is a highly intellec-
tual game, and the veteran Legouve,
an enthusiastic and learned exponen
of i, both with the foil and the pen,
lauds it as a sure index of the moral
character: 'Never does the soul
discover itself more plainly than
through the closely woven meshes of
the wire mask.
The costume is an lmpor ant ma ter,
and Lady Colin Campbell rightly in
ST SITS that sit must be p:ac ical above
every her consideration With this
end in view, sit is absolutely necessary
to discard skirts. | have seen women
fence in skirts to the knee. They
were not only perpetually getting in
their way when lunging and recover
ing quickly, but were in much worse
taste than the wearers probably had
any idea of. A pair of very full
knickerbcckers, either buttonel
with a band round the knee
or gathered there by an elastic, are fal
better in every way than bale