Morris dances (old English country dances) and the folk-songs.
Endurance is Useful
Have you not often heard of accidents on the ice? In the winter of 1895 some schoolgirls were sliding on a frozen canal, when one girl twelve years old ventured into the middle. Then there was an ominous cracking, and in a moment she was struggling in water many feet deep.
Miss Alice White, a teacher, happened to witness the accident. Notwithstanding the warnings of several persons standing on the towing-path, who assured her it was most dangerous, she at once went on the ice and approached as close to the hole as she dared with safety. She then lay down at full length, so as to more equally distribute her weight, and tried to seize the struggling child. But under her weight the ice broke, and the brave girl was precipitated into the cold water. The bystanders shouted to her to forsake the child, and at least save her own life, but she did nothing of the kind. She held on to her precious burden, and literally fought her way out. Piece after piece of the ice broke off, but she at length reached the bank in a state of great exhaustion. Her hands were cut in many places by the sharp ice, but they were wounds of which any one might well have been proud. Miss White was only sixteen years old, and it was the second time she had saved a life.
Laying a pole or a branch across the hole is a good plan.
An Easy Way to Grow Strong
It is possible for any girl, even though she may be small and weak, to make herself into a strong and healthy woman if she takes the trouble to do a few body exercises every day. They take only about ten minutes, and do not require any kind of apparatus.
This should be practiced every morning, the first thing on getting up, and every evening before going to bed. A girl of ten years should weigh at least fifty pounds, the average height at that age being forty-nine inches. The value of this exercise is much increased if you think of the object of each move while you are doing it, and if you are very particular to breathe the air in through your nose. A great many people who are pale and ill are made so by living in rooms where the windows are seldom opened and the air is full of poisonous gases or germs. Open your windows, especially at the top, every day to let the foul air out.
Do not exercise immediately after eating; let your meal be digested.
Girls who have not done these exercises before should begin them gradually with care, bit by bit, doing more every day. Brush your hair, clean your teeth, wash out your mouth and nose, drink a cup of cold water, and then go on with the following exercises.