The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-09-29

either, If made the be-all and end-all of
existence, becomes harmful. Life is like
The pendulum of d clock-i sees Its mis-
take, and it swings slowly back again;
so far all is we'll; but it goes on swing
ing up the other side until excess Is
reached, then comes reaction, and back
goes the pendulum. Fifty years ago
women never took any exercise at all;
but then they were not women like we
| are today They were brought up in
h~othouses; they laced tight, and tainted;
they wore low dresses and satin shoes
out Of doors, caught cold, and could not
go out again for a month. The pendu-
lum u and changed all that. We
learned to walk and talk, to play croauet
and tennis, to hunt and swim, to punt
and scuil, to don thick boots and even
brave the rain with umbrella n mack
intosh; and now we nave learned to shoot,
golf, and bicycle. All this is splendid,
and we are much happier, healthier and
more broad minded women for the learn
ing. But Is it not worth pausing for a
! moment and seeing If some Of US are not
| going too far?
Every city: every country village can
now show thin. tired looking girls, who
seem thoroughly worn Out. Surely those
girls have "over exercise written big
all over them. They nave lone too
much; they nave no right to be as thin
as they are: 1t is not healthy. They nave
no right to stoop; that narrow chest and
rounded back come from over exercise.
and if they want a happy old age they
must lie fiat on the floor on their backs
for an hour a day instead of playing
hockey or tennis, cycling, or any of these
things twice a day and all day long as
many of them are prone to do. Once is
quite sufficient, and if one day they play
a match and work extra hard, then the
next day they should eschew exercise,
and rest those o~verexerted muscles; that
attenuated frame is calling loudly for
rest.
Few girls try to acquire a good car
riage, and yet nothing detracts so much
from a beautiful woman as a round back
and slouching gait. Nothing tends to
make an ugly woman so handsome as a
fine carriage. Figure dancing and calls
themes do more to produce a good car
rage the all the exercise In the world.
A woman who carries herself well is new
er overlooked.
Bicycling has done thousands of people
good; it has taken historical women
from their beds and wheeled them back
into life and health; but bicycling, like
everything else. should be taken in mod
Grafton. never attempted when one is tfs-
ed, and such a thing as a record" should
be looked upon as nonsense. She should
bicycle for pleasure, and can see far
more of a country doing twenty or twen-
ty-five miles a day than when struggling
with a century for which a day of reck-
oning is brewing. not today or tomorrow
perhaps. but some day the injudicious rid
err must pay her fee, when nature over
wrought and over-done, will assert her
self.
Women should be womanIy before all
things. II mental work or physical exer-
else taken in excess tend to make her less
so. then let her give them up. But has
it not been proved again and again that
both done properly only tend to make her
more womanly, more sympathetic Ior
others. more capable of giving practical
helm to those around her, and a better
woman in every sense for her honest,
/ STRAIGHTFORWARD work and play? Both
take her out Of herself and bring her N
contact with others whom she mas to con-
slider instead of that baneful ego.
All this o-ver-exertion is just as bad
as the utter want of exercise was fifty
wears ago. Work keeps the mind hap
nv. and exercise makes the body
healthy, but other occupations lie before
us in every home. and we must never
neglect those duties calling for our heir
for either work or play. II we DO we
become selfish. Matrin1ony teaches a
woman to consider others, because with
husband. children and donnestics she
must, but she should learn it in maiden
hood. if she wishes to enjoy the luxury
of being loved, which thinking OF others
before self always brings.
we all have our working life-every
girl has her occupation waiting for her
in her own home; it may be arranging
flowers. reading to or amusing the
young children, helping mother sew
and darn, tightening all in her power
her mothers daily ound. There the
work IS crying to be done, and the girl
who honestly looks for these little du-
ties and performs them c~heerfully
without being asked is far happier af-
terward. and earns the reward of love
and thanks. and appreciates her freedom
and exercise ali the more for knowing
she has done her duty first. Besides,
how proud the girl must be who has
helped her mother so much that that
often overworked and worried soul is
still fresh enough to enjoy a cycling
expedition with her daughter, or a game
Of croquet, for nothing induces a better
understanding between a parent and
child thar the mutual participation In
the same games and accomplishments.
A little more exercise for the mothers
and d little less for the daughters seems
the perfection we now want to attain,
but above all let us remember a mascu-
line woman IS as great an abhorrenct
as a feminine mani Men and women
have their own places to fill in this life
and their positions being mixed up Il
an anomaly.
If middle-aged women took more exer
else we should avoid much g~ossip-tha
simple little tittle-tattie which expands
In repetition like a Dum-dum bullet II
firing and ruins so many lives. And !
our young girls took rather less exercIs'
ana devoted more OF their time to unset
fish work and helping generally at hom'
society would be benefited.
moderation In all things Is an ex
eellent motto, but wondrous difficult Il
carry out: for we are all frafl creatures