The times., 1899-06-11

ward from height of eighty feet and turn
! ing a somersault before striking the water,
is just a little trick to be INDUCED in by
her upon any casual occasion. From a
height OF fifty feet she goes through the
same performance with a depth Of only
six and one-half feet Of water TO recover
herself in Indeed, she has made, success
I full dives IRON the same height into sheet
iron tank containing but three and one
half feet of water.
One of her prettiest feats, however, is
TO lie gracefully on her bach, hold Jap
anese parasol in one hapd, and fan herself
! with the other, while she p-opals herself
/ forward with her feet. i SIN more aitil-
1 cult one is to make a dive WITH both hands
and feet tied together in d hard knot unite
them under water and proceed on the even
tenor-of her way For this trick she prac-
ticed a long time at her home simply un-
tieing her hands after they had been Sc
cured by hard and fast knot once she
had become expert in this maneuver the
rest was easy.
/ II is, indeed hard for madame to UNDER
stand why so many people drown, when,
as she says, floating is an especial ar
/ rangement OF providence for mans bene-
i fit.
/ Everyone floats naturally" says she,
4 ''if he will Just let himself alone and trust
1 10 the water to carry him. l could live
on top of the water, l am sure, as long as
! did not become faint through hunger or
/ thirst But, then, l may almost be said
I to have been born swimming. My early
/ years were all spent on the banks Of the
Weichsel In Eastern Prussia, a great flax
growing country. Here the river fire.
quently overiiows its banks flooding the
Z whole region round, so that the people are
sometimes obliged to gather their flax
/ standing up 10 their necks in water l
really cannot remember when / was not
/ as much at ho:ne in the water az on land. ~
After her marriage TO Swedish officer,
/ Nine LiliienstoIpe became ambitious TO
J take degree al the Royal Association.
and went in for the examinations. In or
/ der to secure a profCssorship az this insti-
tuition it is necessary to show oneself a
master of twenty points. One must
tread water, dive twenty feet, swim pre-
+ scribed course completely dressed, even to
hat boots. and gloves, rescue drowning
person-that is to say, a sham victim
makes himself as heavy, unwieldy and
( difficult to manage in the water as possi-
I BILE, and is brought safely to shore by the
candidate etc the most difficult of them
all TO swim a Swedish mile t6 3-4 English
miles, with the plain breast stroke in
stead of the usual professional overland
movement. Nine. Lilijenstolpe, however,
went beyond the required twenty one
points covering twenty-three, twenty four
being the greatest number ever achieved
{ by man or woman at the institution.
Her phenomenal strength and absolute
/ fearlessuess make learning TO swim q royal
road to her pupils. One or two dives in
I her powerful arms. and fear is annihilat-
/ ed-the alpha and omega OF swimming.
/ With so adequate a teacher and a magnifi-
! cent pool costing not less than 100000,
swimming promises to be one Of the most
successful courses in the only athletic club
for women, as yet, in the world. If any
thing could add to the popularity of the
course ii would be Nine. Lili1enstolpes su-
perb figure and radiant complexion. which
say everything for her mode Of living. One
might as well try to dent an iron post as
her contracted muscles, and though con-
( fessedly thirty-six years OF age, her com
plexion still retains the bloom of the ear
ly twenties. This happy combination is
without doubt. due TO the exercise which
she never relaxes, and TO the strict regime
which she observes in her diet.
Il never drink tea nor coffee, and, in
deed, take no liquid with my meals. We
have nothing in the way of hot breads
and confine ourselves almost exclusively
to rye. Sweets are, of course, debarred
and we do not have the superfiuity o
dishes usual with American families. Coco
meats, fruit rye bread and a vegetable ar.
the chief of our Diet wholesome. simpl,
fare, without the sweets, starches an(
liquids whose only Office is to fatten, stiff
fen and clog"