The herald., 1897-02-14
SITTING DOWN
Distinctiveiy European Custom. II Has
Grown to Be Somewhat General


1t would seem at glance that therN Is
nothing profitable to be said about sitting
down. The humorist by trade could manu- !.
facture some jests out of attitudes and
movements. no doubt; his ingenuity works
up hess promising material. But what Is
there for serious debate? Sitting down
comes natural" like eating. Persons not
hasty to grant that a thing must be fash
ioned by Providence for the use to which
we put 1t may allow that the thigh
bones are added in order that we may SIT
upon them without discomfort. Until
lately. indeed, another purpose was assign
ed to those cushions. Our forefathers
proved the manifest destiny of children to
be whipped by the same anatomical ar
second cause. Anyhow, it has passed
out of use. But If the operation be nat
ural, all human creatures must sit down.
and there is an end Of the theory, for they
of the globe. 1t seems likely that the men
and women who sit are less than 10 per
cent. To begin with. the millions In China
and India must be excluded Only the hun
dreds there turn the cushions to their des-
tined use, so that more than one-half of
mankind Is excepted a stroke! But that
is not nearly all. Japan follows, with the
lands and isles of the far east, Asia in gem
eral the most part of Africa, the Indian
territories of America, from the Arctic cir
Gle to Cape Horn. When we look closely
it appears that only Europeans, their
descendants and those whom they have
instructed, sit.
The custom is not universal. even in
Europe. At the time Of the war neither
chair chair nor m st9ol rarely dyan nc could be
the table was only foot high. and the
family squatted round it on the floor. The
Bulgars are not people to adopt a new
principalities. indeed, seats are an unnecc-
essary article of furniture for the bulk Of
the population: even the divan is rare
in a farmhouse Of Albania and Mortene-
te 90 cd hot fn{1 N n q
or example banished chairs and stools.
That is improbable In any case but when
we observe that outside Of Europe nearly
all mankind squats. it becomes far more
likely that these people follow the prac-
tice OF their remotest ancestors. The Turk
has simply arrested development at this
as at other points
Men who do not sit have two attitudes
for resting: women use one Of their own.
Squatting "on the heels" is favored in India
and China. In this position the weight Of
the body falls upon the toes, and to keep
the balance comfortable the arms must lie
over the knees. the hands dangling. A
European trussed In this manner promptly
feels pain in the calves, but he can un-
derstand that habit makes 1t restful pos
ture. In fact, our colliers use it. There is
legend current in North Staffordshire re-
ferring to the embodiment Of militia or
volunteers-for authorities differ--early in
the century. After divers eccentric man
euvers. the officer cried. ''Stand at ease"
When his order had been explained every
mani squatted on his heels like an Indian
coolie. There is, however. a mode of rest
ing practiced by some jungle tribes which
is utterly incomprehensible. Being fa-
tigued. these people stand on one leg and
curl the foot of the other round the calf.
The same extraordinary custom is seen in
Africa. We ask, in bewilderment, why on
earth they do not lie, or at least squat? 1t
may be hazarded as mere conjecture.
without any pretence or Justification. that
they or their forefathers dwelt in swamps
especially malarious. But the custom
shows what unnatural usages men will de-
wise before 1t occurs to them to sit down
''uke Christians. New Review.