A soldier must not be easily knocked off his legs; so there are six positions for the practice devised to teach the soldier how to maintain his equilibrium. He stands alternately on the right or left leg, bending the other against the body with his locked fingers, or he stands on one leg, the other bent behind, or he comes slowly to the kneeling position and springs up smartly, flinging his arms suddenly above his head, the nails turned inward, and then comes to attention, or he bends forward on one foot, or backward in like manner, and to the right or left, all on one foot.
The elementary development of the muscles forms a most important part of the training. By word of command the soldiers strike their breasts with the right or left fist—strike out with the right and left as in boxing—support cannon balls in the hand, one or both arms extended, and hurl the balls to a distance. They fling an iron bar, held by the middle; they support a heavy club in every possible position, at the shoulder, behind the back, one with the left hand, another with the right, at right-angles, or two together, one in each hand. They swing the club horizontally and overhead, or vertically and behind, or round and round the body.
Preparatory to leaping, the proper muscles must be taught their necessary contractions, and this is done to the words of command—“Simultaneous flexion of the legs,” “Simultaneous flexion of the thighs and legs,” whereat they hop on the right or the left leg singly, and then on both together. They are practiced in advancing on the position of kneeling on one leg alternately, obviously a very useful mode of progression for a skirmisher in stealthily changing position behind a low wall or a hedge.
They are taught to walk systematically on the heels alone and on tiptoe, and to fling a cannon ball with the foot by means of a strap attached to it. As practice alone can habituate us to the proper inclination of the body in ascending and descending, both these modes of marching are carefully taught, attention being fixed to throwing the weight of the body on the point of the feet in the former, and on the heels in the latter.
[Their wrestling] takes every shape and mode of contest. With extended arms, the fingers interlocked, the left leg advanced, they push against each other; or, holding each other by the hands or by the wrists, they pull against each other; or, each man holding his left wrist with his right hand, the thumb underneath, seizes with his left hand the wrist of his antagonist, and then at the word “wrestle,” he pulls or pushes uniformly or by jerks, to the right, to the left, forward, to the rear, upward and downward, striving to displace his antagonist.
Furnished with appropriate handles, with a short cord attached, they pull against each other, each striving to drag his antagonist with one hand, then with both hands; and then three wrestle together in like manner, the central man pulling or resisting the outer two, or both of these pulling against him in opposite directions.
Then two wrestle in a sitting posture. They sit, closing the legs, feet to feet, and sole to sole, with the aforesaid handle and cord between their feet, and at the word of command pull away, striving to raise each other. As soon as one is raised the contest ends, and the victor holds the handle in his left hand. The instructor then makes all those wrestle together successively who have won the handle, until only two remain, and then ascertains the strength of these two by a dynamometer, and makes a note of it.
[The last of the elementary exercises are those of traction], or drawing against each other, holding on by a rope, either in pairs, or several together pulling against a fixed point, which may be a dynamometer, indicating the force of the combined pull resulting, or the men are divided into two squads and pull against each other.
As most of these exercises admit of a rhythm or cadenced sound emitted by the men themselves, this vocal accompaniment is strongly recommended. It certainly gives additional animation to the scene. Indeed the cultivation of the voice is considered eminently essential in the course of gymnastics. Singing exerts a salutary influence on the chest, and, moreover, it is incontestable that it will be the means of powerfully acting on the morale of the French soldier, by teaching him songs of patriotic and martial import. The singing-lesson at which I was present was particularly interesting. The system is one recently invented, wherein the ordinary notes are represented by arithmetical numbers—thus occupying about one-third of the usual space. Pointing by means of two canes to each representative number is all that is required by the instructor. The pupils, about 300 men and officers, intoned the notes with admirable precision. When the instructor opened out the canes they made a crescendo—swelling to the loudest—and when he closed them gradually it was a beautiful diminuendo, “in linked sweetness long drawn out.” There was then sung a concerted piece in two parts, extemporized by the highly-gifted Commandant, who figured it on the blackboard. It was at once most accurately sung—first and second so admirably concerted that the whole seemed as it were an organ of human stops—alto, tenor, and bass most harmoniously blending.
Such are the elementary gymnastics of the course.