Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-09
THE QUl'yT or BEAUTY
Children Games Build Up
Grace Il aid Strength.
WILL WORK WONDERS
TAG, TUG-AWWAY HoP-scorcH ARE
SOME OF THEM.
The Thing Now is to Indulge in These
Forms Of Ex-
ercise.

Hfiltch iOf Inc EFeHlHS star Dy 'hoi'oh.
A bright little gymnasium teacher, who
found her class of fashionable girls bored
with all the well-known systems of physi-
cal culture In which she had been drilling
them week in and week out, realized that
If she would keep UP their interest she must
devise something new. The ladder. rings
and bars were .oId as the hills to them;
the rowing machine had become stale: they
went Il, their pully weights as a veteran
dray horse goes to his shafts. 1t was the
wrong time of year for her to take her
class outdoors, SO she had to set her wits
to work to think up a novel exercise that
could be contained within the four walls OF
her classroom. 49, 's
While she was still raeking Der brains
she passed a public school .louse vhere
children were playing in me yard sThey
were squealing, laughing anu 20 .:sing In the
excitement of old-fashoned tag.
i THAT S, the very thing, the gymnaSt saio
to herself. MY girls are tired of running
in regular little. jegtrot. professions, thelr
hands all on their hips in uniform style.
Still worse Isl running on place. Ihey can
perform this feat on bath rug, and It's
a f1rst-class exercise for hall bed room.
But how much more fun they would get
out of free-for-al scamper such as these
children are having. instruction In tag
begins tomorrow at 800 sharp
A little ripple of surprise passed over the
girls when they were ordered to form III
line, and their instructor, lately from Ger
many and study of the newest European
methods, proceeded to count out an 1T by
means of the ancient and time-honored
'Eeny. meeney.. n1iny. mo. eaten Niger
by the toe" After seventeen instructions
to ''if he hollers let him CO." one of the
best athletes of the class remained stand
ing and She was instructed to set the game
going.
tba the
rest ten counts to get away from base
which was a door mat placed in a corner
of the room. Then the scramble began.
Grew Young Again.
There was no monotony about this kind
Of running as the girls complained there
was in the ordinary class work. There was
hot competition and quick shifting of
'its" The girls were all GREATNESS and
pink when the game finally was stopped,
and they owned that they felt the same old
thrill as when fibbon-tied braids had hung
down their backs. There was the same old
eagerness to pursue, the same old panic
when base looked far away.
ITS only matter of habit this thing
of thinking we are grown up, one of them
said Il shouldn't be surprised if We could
find fun in every one Eof the kid games we
used to play ~ ~
You'll have alehance to see before 1 get
through with yoa,~ said the Instructor.
And they did. 1aAs often the class meet
ing day came around, just SO often did she
revive a child game. She ransacked school
yards to find enough. She invented Yarla-
tons of her own She insisted that an art
be made of each game
Tag, she says. is always the favorite game
and the best alFaround exercise. The rum
ming benefits the leg muscles. Quick BEND
ing and twisting often occurs in avoiding
pursuit and These motions bring the trunk
muscles into play There are frequent long
reaches made by the pursuer. and these
benefit arm and shoulder. Above all, tag
stirs up the sharpest excitement of any
child's game and a wholesome. mid ex-
element always helps to start the circula-
ton of the blood. Monotony and dullness,
both physical ami mental. are ruinous. Not
one organ of the body attends cheerfully
to its function while under the strain of
them. The appetite for exercise must be
Kept up.
No Laziness Allowed.
The instructor forces her pupils to re-
main out on the floor, away from base, I'M
less they are really tired. Thus laziness is
nipped in the bud. But soon as runner
shows a tendency to breathe very heavily
or to become extremely flushed she Is taken
out of the game for a while. Every pupil
has passed through careful physical exam
inatioR before entering the class. and those
known to have weak action of the heart
are given, tag in small doses or denied it
altogether
.Hop-seotch is given for the sake of the
feet and legs. Besides this, it trains the
sense of balance. and this means everything
il one aims to grace Mental poise cannot
be complete without physical poise Pupils
are trained to hop lightly while poised as
high as possible upon the toes. During the
first lessons the arms are extended to assist
the balance; later, the hands placed on
the hips and balancing grows more difficult.
Right-foot games and left-foot games al
ternate. The foot and leg used as hopper
is given the strain of bearing the Whole
weightsef the body. and this gives strength
to the muscles. You know that the most
prettily formed leg must have a muscular
calf as a basis for its plumpness. BY the
way. remember that the high instep. slender
ankle and full calf go together II the foot
is accustomed to being placed fatty the
weight coming the heel, there is conse-
quent tendency of the instep to hollow in
stead of arch and the leverage causes a
siighter pulling upon the calf muscles, hence
less development of them It is explained
by scientists that this is the cause of the
negro's straight leg.
Meanwhile, the leg that is held raised
while It's partner bears the body's weight is
undergoing it's discipline. 1t is decided
effort to hold 1t in this position for any
length of time, and l 8 muscles learn their
lesson. - ~.
The Tug-of-War.
What is improperly known to most chill
drea as "tug-of-war," sometimes called tug
away. II bound TO produce a splendid devel-
opment. The class is divided into two fac
tions, balanced according to strength as
evenly as possible 3, The leaders meet
standing face to nfaee. ones toes braced
against the Others clasping each others
hands The next member OF each faction
clasps Ler arms about the leaders waist
al the rest form in line in the same posi-
ton. At given signal the Juggling begins
and each side tries TO pull the other over
1t amounts to q ig-of-war with the rope
left out-a case of Hamlet with Hamlet left
out to some. But remember that tug-of-war
wI.h a rope is a genuine gymnasium game,
and this teacher is seeking novelty. The
rope is first-class practice. but very hard
on the hands. and the new pupil has to be
gloyed against 1t.
STICKS Is a royal good game that no.
body Is too old to find of interest Sides
are chosen. the two lines are drawn up
facing each other. each sides pile of sticks
several feet behind the line. and 1t Is every
body's game to steal stick from the other
side and bring 1t home without being tagged.
There Is more of watchfulness and darling
in this than OF any hard physical exercise.
But who dare say that eye training Is not
physical training?
Alertness. too, is part Of charming man.
ner and therefore one with beauty; hence
by a long chain OF logic We bring this old
fashioned childs game forward as a phase
Of modern beauty training. Goods" was
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