"The study and practice of gymnastics are to be made compulsory in all the State schools in Italy. The apostle of physical culture in that enervating climate is Sebastian Fenzi, the son of a Florence banker. He built a gymnasium at his own expense in that city, and from that beginning the movement has extended from city to city. He has preached gymnastics to senators and deputies, to the syndic and municipal councillors, and even to the crown princess, now queen. He especially inculcates its advantages on all mothers of families, as likely to increase to a remarkable extent the personal charms of their daughters. And so far as his own domestic experience goes, his theories have not been contradicted by practice, for he is the father of the most beautiful women in Italy."
That beauty and grace of person are founded, in large part, upon fine physical development, listen to one of our own experienced instructors in this field.
Dr. Dan Milliken, of Hamilton, Ohio, in an address to the Misses Storer and Lupton's School for Girls in Cincinnati, said:
"What is grace? A graceful act is one which is accomplished with directness, swiftness, certainty, and with apparent ease. Let the act be uncertain in its performance, and at once the charm of grace vanishes. Let the act be sluggish, and there is no grace in it. Let it lack preciseness, certainty, and we can see no grace in it. But, above all, let an act be performed with apparent effort, and we agree at once that there is no grace in it. Now I do not think that I need to argue that celerity, certainty, and steadiness of action are only possible to creatures having a reasonable amount of good muscle. The matchlessly beautiful movements of birds, and squirrels, and antelopes, and horses, and the great family of cats, give us a strong ocular demonstration of the truth that grace goes with strength, and it is impossible to any animal that is slow and uncertain or feeble. This precious gift, then,—grace or beauty of action,—is to be attained, only by means of bodily strength.
"Muscular strength gives beauty in repose. As to the human form, I might at once appeal to classical models admittedly beautiful, and simply urge that they have a certain squareness about
