The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-08-21
ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

y gymnasium for ladies is indeed an
innovation for Honolulu, but there is
little doubt but that 1t will have ex-
cellent results. AS the physical culture
of man has been more systematically
attended to of late years, so has the
physical culture of woman begun to be
considered. There is no reason why
women should no have as good O ply
steal training as their sisters of classic
times, when the thorough exercise
and we'll being of the body was scrupu-
times number of the ladies were al
most as skillful as their lords in the
military exercises of the day. Bands
of armed and accoutered ladies at
tended the Crusades, fact just now
made popular by Marion Crawford's
novel of "Via Crucis."
The physical culture of women sank
with the commencement renaissance
period. This is the period which sup
piled the angular, anemic women that
are the heroines of the decadent school
Of poets Of the present day, the vir-
an impossible past. The Chinese .dea
prevailed in the popular notions OF wo-
men. To be all that was beautiful and
high bred, a woman should not work.
1t is for this reason that the Chinese
distort the feet of their women and
cultivate the long finger nails. We
never got to the point of distorting the
feet, but we had many fashions nearly
equally hideous.
This has passed away, however, wn-
man has gradually, within the memory
of life time, gone through an evolu
ton which began with croquet and end
ed in tennis and golf, and more than
anything else in the bicycle. For IL
woman to be a capable shot, a .ood
fly fisher, or any expert horse woman
was regarded as odd at the beginning
or even the middle of this century.
Not that there We're not women who
had these accomplishments, but they
were regarded as somewhat eccentric.
Scott when he drew that most charm
ing and daring of riders, Di Vernon
did it with a sort of fear and tremb ing,
and was very particular to show that
her in the light of a refined and wo-
manly woman in the library
The fact that lady Baker accompani-
ed her husband on his journey to the
African lakes, and was able to use her
rifle made her. and another lady, who
had, in Asia, shown like ability as an
explorer, the wonder of London for a
season. Neither would be regarded as
anything so very astonishing now. At
the time spoken of a woman who rode
and shot was associated in the public
mind with the Amazon, a rough,
beetle proved, Meg Merrilees, or Helen
Macgregor sort of a creature. That
great refinement should accompany
such tastes was considered impossible.
But all this has changed. The world
has learned that because a women Gull
tivates her physical qualities, she by
no means necessarily loses the gentle
ness and beauty of her sex. Indeed
the more she cultivates her physique, |
the better woman and mother she is
likely to become,-and to be the mother
or the coming race, Is woman's highest |
attribute.
AS not all women have the chance of |
their physical attributes by |
outdoor sports, the gymnasium steps |
forward and offers the opportunity |
which they need. Every up-to-date
city now has its female gymnasium.
and it has been an untold boon to thou
sands. The i'll health born of an mac
tive and sedentary life is banished by
the judicious exercise of the gymnasi-
UNI under the skilled eye of the prac-
tised teacher. One can welcome the
of a female gymnasium to Ho-
nolulu, as a step forward. Our young
women are many of them good SWIM
ners, tennis players, riders and so forth
but the discipline of the gymnasium
will be very valuable to them.
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