to save others from his fate by seeking and formulating the laws of an art hitherto left to the caprice of mediocrity, or the inspiration of genius. After years of unremitting labor and study, study which took him by turns to hospitals, morgues, asylums, prisons, art galleries, etc., patiently unearthing the secrets and methods of past genius, study which kept him enchained by the hour watching the children at play in the great public gardens, weighing humanity everywhere and everyhow, he succeeded in discovering and formulating the laws of aesthetic science. Thanks to him, that science has now the same precision as that of mathematics. He died, without arranging his life-work for publication, July 20, 1871. Many are the names famous in their different careers, that have owed much to his instruction: Rachel, Sontag, Pasca, Monsabre, etc.'-[Ascribed to the Abbe Delaumosne in Mrs. Stebbins's Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression.

THE WHOLE THING IN A NUTSHELL.

I will give you in a very simple, very compact form, a complete definition of what the Delsarte system is of which so much talk is made, usually consisting, however, in hollow echoes. The Delsarte system is a careful analysis of the facts of human nature and experience, generalized into laws which dominate those facts and applied in a system of practical rules for the perfecting of the human instrument physically and spiritually, so that our experience may be raised to the highest possible degree of variety, fullness, and harmony. That is the Delsarte system.-[Rev. William R. Alger, before the Convention of Elocutionists, Chicago, 1893.

A LESS CONCISE, BUT MORE SATISFACTORY DESCRIPTION,

There are two widely differing conceptions of Delsartism. One is Delsarte's own, of a method of training for vocal and pantomimic expression, founded neither on tradition, empiricism, inspiration, nor good luck, but on a reverent study of nature's laws. The other is the popular misconception of the man and his mission as a sort of inspired gymnast, the end and aim of whose life was to enable silly girls to attitudinize in public and private, to move in strange and weird curves and spirals, and to wear costumes more or less suggestive of the apparitions in materializing seance. The prevalence of exhibitions of statue-posing, Greek dances, emotive gestures, tableaux vivants, fan drills, broomstick drills, fainting, dying, and grand and lofty tumbling, dignified by the name of Delsarte, and too often given by people who have never mastered even the elements of harmonic poise is responsible for the popular notion of the master whom we reverence.

It is the misfortune, in one sense, of Delsartism that its possibilities in training for physical perfection have been exemplified, in this country at least, much more fully than the expressive side of the work. The gymnastic side, important and interesting as it is, has come to be regarded as the be-all and end-all of the system; whereas Delsarte himself attached very little importance to it. Nevertheless, it can not be denied that the results of following out these principles of physical training, whether they originated with Delsarte, or, as is sometimes claimed, with Mackaye, have far surpassed those of any other system of gymnastics in grace, freedom, and harmonious cooperation of all the parts of the body.

The essential principle upon which they are based may, I think, be summed up in some such formula as this: In any true system of physical training, muscular development must be proportioned to the supply of vital energy in the individual. Or, in the language of Delsarte, the psychic must transcend the physical. The fallacy

'Mr. James Steele Mackaye first brought Delsartism prominently before the American public in 1869. Mr. Mackaye had studied under Delsarte, in Paris, and returned to this country to prepare the way for the coming of his master. Delsarte, however, was prevented from coming to America by the Franco-Prussian war.

of all other gymnastic systems with which the writer is acquainted is that they measure results by external growth. Even the tabulatis of specialists of the school of Sargent, of Harvard, are devoted mainly to recording differences in size; and their aim seems to be to remodel the external physical shell in accordance with certain hard and fast notions of manly and womanly beauty. While muscle is valuable, it should never be forgotten that mere mass is useless without energy, and that a small arm with a tremendous reservoir of reserve force behind it will win the battle every time against a muscular development, however great, that has been gained at the expense of latent power in the brain.

While Delsarte was probably quite unconscious of the tendency of his teachings in this direction, there is no doubt that this view of the relative value of nerve and muscle has been splendidly reinforced by arguments derived from his theories, and is upheld most forcibly to-day by adherents of the so-called Delsarte system of physical culture.

To harmonize mind and body; to put the soul back in the whole body; to maintain equilibrium of all the functions and principles of being; to render the body plastic; to free all the channels of expression; to remove constrictions that interfere with the flow of emotion to all the parts-this, we were taught again and again, in varying formulas, but with one thought behind the formulas, is the object of harmonic gymnastics. In more accurate language, we could say: To preserve the just proportion between nerve-force and muscle. The physical problem of the future is not how to cultivate muscle, but how to conserve and increase vital energy. Delsartism has helped on the discussion of the problem by example and precept. If it has not furnished a solution, it has at least vehemently asserted the substantial unity of soul and body, and paved the way to a recognition of the undeniable fact that, without in-forming energy, mere physical development is a useless burden to the soul.-[Mr. F. Townsend Southwick, in Werner's Magazine, June, 1893.

FLEXIBILITY, POISE, AND STRENGTH, THE END OF PHYSICAL TRAINING,

I can hardly outline what I consider to be the system of Delsarte, because he would not have claimed that he left a system. It is not a science. It has not been reduced to a science. It is still in a transition condition. Not more than two or three of the so-called laws of Delsarte can be called final laws. Most of them are unfinished rules of expression. But his laws of development, as I understand them, are, first, the training of the body as an instrument of expression; second, the study of the elements of expression; and, third, the application of the principles to the more involved emotional work.

With the latter we have nothing to do at present, but I wish to try to explain what I understand to be the system, as far as it has been developed, in physical training.

The first thing is the cultivation of the physical sensibilities of a pleasure in what we are doing, and with that a cultivation of the various senses. But without an inspiring motive, without some emotion accompanying every act, it seems to me that the physical movement is simply a dead thing, like a body without a soul. Herein lies the danger of reducing it to a mere mechanism.

The principles of Delsarte, the laws, I will pass over and come down to the more tangible work in hand. The first step that Delsarte would undertake with a pupil would be the correction of any mannerisms that he might find. The correction of these mannerisms might be the relaxing of a muscle, if it is very tense, or the strengthening it, if it be over relaxed. The exercises that Delsarte used seem to be derived directly from the common practices that we see in everyday life, the action of the child, the movements of the people in the ordinary healthy state. The first step toward a definite system, I do not think, lies in the principle of relaxation. Before we can relax any part of the body we must necessarily have power to control our body in an equilibrium or balanced state. Therefore the first step toward a

thorough system would be the practice of poise, the resting of the body in its movements in different directions, retaining all parts properly balanced about a common

center.

In that matter of poise, to illustrate the absolute necessity of accompanying emotion with movement, I believe it is not right nor proper to practice a swaying of the body in any direction without accompanying it with some intention of thought or of feeling. The general sway or poise of the body, Delsarte taught, should be taken first of all with the intention of acquiring a sensation of comfort, of pleasure And, second, an intention, as a matter of thought, of reasoning, a desire to accomplish something. Physical exercise ought to be resolved at once into a definite expression, a definite attitude or gesture. That is what it is for, not for the sake of developing a certain amount of strength, but it is for the sake of emotional expression. The use of a dramatic speech or situation or intention should be involved in the physical movement.

I do not think it right to practice a relaxing movement, i. e., the surrendering of any part to gravity, like the state that it has in sleep; I do not believe it is right to cultivate that condition of the muscular system without using it at once emotionally. When a child on the street sways its arms and makes other spontaneous movements, it is doing exactly what I understand Delsarte's intention to be in relaxing movements, abandoning itself to spontaneity of gesture. I would take every relaxing movement and resolve it into some gesture, giving all its value, and not make it merely a mechanical thing. The same with controlling movements. I understand relaxing movements to be surrendering the part to gravity, but of controlling all the other parts and relieving them. We are not only relieving one part, but strengthening another.

Beyond the matter of poising, relaxing, and controlling, I think we ought to approach nearer to expression by practicing involution and evolution of movements; we ought to come nearer to the actual expression of daily life, the bringing in the movement in sensitive impression, and the carrying out of movement in forcible expression. These transitions of movement bring us still a step further into something like pantomimic work. The use of the swaying of different parts of the body, taken by themselves, may be in different forms, but always with the intention to resolve them into positive attitude, gesture, or expression of some kind. The opposition of movements, of course, is a very simple thing, and I need not delay upon it. It is a matter of balance, belonging to the law of consistency, that when one part is in use the other part may not be used. The use of any part without the use of another part is contrary to nature, and will result in an unequal development. It is not right to practice one muscle by itself without the cooperative use of the rest of the muscular system. The recognition of the laws of Delsarte, or the relation between the center and the extremities, the necessity of repose being back of every activity, the law of motion which is absolutely final, the whole matter of magnetism, the law of expression, all these need to be understood and applied in purely physical training.

Perhaps I may draw the line there and say, beyond that we go into emotional expression, which is beyond the function of the physical trainer. The use of the voice and the practice of the voice is certainly a part of physical training, as much as the exercise of the general body.

As a resumé, I would say that, as I understand it, the ultimate matter is reached in physical work when we have attained perfect flexibility, poise, and strength, all equally important. Repose is obtained by relaxation. Energy is the part of physical work which is usually taken care of so much by itself. In making a plea here I might go further and deeper, but the time is short. But, as I understand it, finally, the whole object of physical training is to enlarge the scope of our powers, and its principal object is to develop the body as a means of emotional expression.-[Mr. Franklin H. Sargent before the American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education, meeting of 1892.

THE CHARACTER OF THE EXERCISES.

The outline of the systematic physical culture which I shall bring before you is composed of three widely different elements, all in conformity with the basic idea of Delsarte: (1) The so-called aesthetic gymnastics of Delsarte's training; (2) the Swedish or Ling system; (3) the ceremonial forms of Oriental prayer. These, when properly combined and graded into systematic progressive exercises, constitute a perfect system of gymnastics which brings into being and active use each of the three great principles of François Delsaite. We have sequence, opposition, and correspondence; consequently, we have all the elements essential to evolve beauty of form, graceful motion, and artistic presentation. As will be seen, such a system embraces both physical and aesthetic culture. I shall confine myself now to the purely physical aspect.

I have never searched consciously for trinities; they have turned up of themselves in almost every department of my studies. In my case, I think I may say, that is a way that trinities have. For instance, in physical culture, perfection consists of a judicious blending of relaxation, energizing, and deep breathing.

Relaxation too often has been mistaken for inertia. This is a false conception, and has given rise, in those who do not comprehend its real nature, to the habit of doing things in a semi-lifeless, easy way. Relaxation does not mean acting in a relaxed, lazy manner. It means rest after effort, perfect rest after perfect effort. It implies more than this, for it means the conscious transfer of energy from one department of nature to another, with unaffected ease and grace, after an active tension of body or of brain. True relaxation would mean the resigning of the body to the law of gravity, of the mind to nature, and of the entire energy to a deep, rhythmic breathing. Complete relaxation of the voluntary muscles at once transfers the energy to the involuntary parts, so that, strictly speaking, there can be no such thing as conscious relaxation, except in the voluntary muscles and the brain. But this is quite sufficient. This transfer of energy produces the requisite equilibrium for the renewing of physical strength.

It will, therefore, be seen that the vital principal of relaxation, with the use and processes connected there with, has been misunderstood by a majority of those who profess to follow the Delsarte system. Nothing can be further from the truth than to imagine that Delsarte's idea of training was to produce a state of devitalized action. It was the very reverse. Delsarte, having the instinctive perception of a true artist, must have known perfectly well1 that to free the channels of expression so that the whole form should respond to the image in the mind, nothing was more valuable to commence with than the decomposing exercises which enable the trained individual to rest at will. Remember, then, that relaxation means the ability to rest, and, in resting, to recuperate dynamic power through repose. In all truly graceful action there must be an expressed consciousness of force in reserve and not an evidence of devitalized casiness.

The second principle of our system is energizing. It is based upon the well-known physiological law that use and friction of the parts attract thereto a flow of blood and nerve force. Action means waste, and this waste calls for fresh supplies of molecular energy to renew the cellular tissue. Growth and an increase of muscular strength is the natural result when the energy supplied is fully equal to the demand. The amount of energy is determined by the dynamic capacity of the brain and lungs; and this, in the system under notice, is obtained from the oxygen stored through the rhythmic breathing which accompanies each particular movement. To energize the parts so as to obtain the greatest possible benefit from the amount

Whether it can be proved that he taught the decomposing exercises or not, the fact remains that, as he certainly did teach to his pupils the spiral motion of the arms, he must have taught relaxation in some form, as decomposing exercises are absolutely necessary as a training for spiral motion.

of energy expended there should be a slow increase of muscular tension as the mind directs the flow of nerve force to the parts and an equally slow relaxation. Nothing increases the nervo-magnetic power of the physique more than this method of energizing. Then comes the energizing series of gymnastic exercises which brings each muscle of the body into play in its turn. Much discretion, however, is necessary in such work. Different temperaments require slightly different treatment. Many individuals are physically out of proportion, and, therefore, need special exercises and direction for developing the weak or immature parts.

Every Delsartian should possess a sound knowledge of physiology and the physiological effects of different forms of motion. With such knowledge there is not the slightest difficulty in translating the angular motions of the Swedish system into those which develop grace equally with physical strength. I am a firm supporter of brawn and muscle; but, at the same time, I insist that the same physiological effects and consequent physical development can be obtained in a system which evolves grace and beauty as in a system which produces an angular, jerky, inartistic presentation. A beautiful physique, with graceful strength in every action, is the Delsartian ideal.

The third element in physical culture is breathing. To breathe, one would think, is one of the most natural things in the world. So it is, in a way. But to breathe correctly, healthfully, in other words, to breathe hygienically, is just as much of an art as is anything else in human nature, and requires long practice and careful training. What is more natural than to talk? And yet how many people do you meet in any one day who speak correctly or who express their thoughts in a pleasing tone and a natural manner? Speaking correctly is a matter of grammar and accent, but speaking in a clear tone, with a sweet voice, is largely a matter of proper respiration. In physical culture, then, breathing occupies a most important place. It is the basis of mental life and physical activity. It is the grand foundation pivot, around which every other form of culture must revolve.-[Genevieve Stebbins, in Werner's Magazine, January, 1894.

GYMNASIUMS FOR CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The use of apparatus is not essential to an effective system of physical training, and the lack of funds to equip a gymnasium is no reason for a refusal to begin systematic work in that line. But whatever may be done between the desks in the schoolroom must be regarded simply as a makeshift to serve only in the absence of a regular place for exercising, and none will deny that the work may be prosecuted to still better effect when a sufficient supply of gymnastic appliances is provided. This is especially true of schools for older pupils, for their interest is more easily enlisted in apparatus work than in the free exercises. There is another consideration that seems to be even more weighty than any of those usually urged in favor of the use of apparatus. The free exercises depend for their effectiveness largely upon the action of the antagonistic muscles. Now, if there is such a thing as muscular training, and if physical power is an object to be desired, it would seem that the muscles should not be deliberately trained to act in opposition and therefore to interfere with the movements of each other, even if the appearance of strength is the result. The required resistance. to the muscular movement should come from external objects rather