in the general acceptation of the term, denotes every exercise which tends to develop and invigorate the bodily powers; such as walking, running, riding, fencing, rowing, skating, dancing, and many others. In a narrower sense gymnastics includes those manly and health- Gymnastics which have been encouraged by all high-minded nations as calculated to improve the physical strength, and to keep alive the martial spirit of their inhabitants. In a yet more limited sense, the term gymnastics has been employed to denote that modern system of bodily exercises, some account of which will be given in this article.

The elements of a system of gymnastics are to be found in most nations from the earliest times. In the infancy of society, when the individual was valued according to his personal strength and prowess, it was only natural that the utmost care should be bestowed on those arts which most surely led to distinction. All education then consisted chiefly in the practice of such exercises as were best calculated to develop muscular strength, and make the tenure of life as secure as possible. Thus the first gymnastic exercises, both of those nations that have reached the highest civilization, and of those that are now dying out in their primitive barbarism, were the same, viz., running, leaping, swimming, and the throwing of missiles. These exercises were at a very remote period systematized and reduced to a science by the Greeks in the manner described in the article Gymnasmum.

With the invention of gunpowder gymnastic exercises began to be neglected. Rousseau in his Emile was the first to call attention to the injurious consequences of such indolence; and it is in a large measure to his eloquent appeals that gymnastics have in recent times been made to constitute an integral part of school education. The good effects of this innovation have in no country been more strikingly exemplified than in Germany. When many parts of that country groaned under the iron yoke of Napoleon, Jahn and his followers, encouraged by the Prussian minister Stein, were establishing turn-plätze or gymnastic schools, from which issued the well-trained youth who in due time drove the French legions across the Rhine.

The propriety of employing training to develop the powers of the body is now almost as readily acknowledged in most countries as the necessity of education to cultivate the faculties of the mind. But nothing is privileged from abuse; and empiricism, which has brought so many other things into disrepute, has unluckily fastened upon gymnastics. In the Encyclopédie Moderne we find the subject divided into—1. Gymnastique civile et industrielle; 2. Gymnastique militaire, terrestre et maritime; 3. Gymnastique médicale; and, 4. Gymnastique scientifique ou hygiénique.

Nor is this all. Each of these divisions is subdivided into four or five branches, as if the subject, forsooth, admitted of the most systematic arrangement. Thus, under the head of Gymnastique médicale, are included, first, Gymnastique hygiénique, ou prophylactique, pour conserver une santé robuste; secondly, Gymnastique thérapeutique, pour le traitement des maladies; thirdly, Gymnastique analeptique, ou des convalescents; fourthly, Gymnastique orthopédique, qui a pour but la guérison des déformités.

This affectation of method is exceedingly absurd, insomuch as it confounds with the exercises themselves certain hypothetical uses, and assumes as the very basis of the classification results which have not been satisfactorily ascertained. But however this may be, the importance of gymnastics, in another point of view, cannot possibly be disputed. If persevered in, they are calculated to develop every muscle of the trunk, arms, and legs, to its utmost extent; they give the student the most perfect command of his whole bodily frame; they are the best preparatives for the elegant and manly accomplishment of fencing; and they afford excellent training for the amateurs of running, leaping, wrestling, and sparring. Nor are the advantages derived from such exercises confined to the soldier or the sailor; their usefulness is experienced in many other situations of life. But their importance can only be fully known when we are called upon in emergencies of unexpected danger—amidst fire, shipwreck, the destruction of bridges, or the fall of buildings—to evince the superiority resulting from that presence of mind and fertility of resources which are conferred by the consciousness of physical strength and nerve, and by the habit of acting and moving where other men would be instantly paralysed. Lastly, clear heads and light hearts, the natural concomitants of health, are the rewards of a judicious and moderate prosecution of gymnastics.

The elementary exercises in gymnastics are performed by means of the horizontal pole, the parallel bars, the masts or poles, the ropes, the triangle and trapezium, the ladder, the wooden horse, the inclined plane, and the flying course or giant's steps. The pupils, after being prepared by a course of comparatively gentle but active exertion, proceed to take lessons on the horizontal pole; the principal use of which is to develop the strength of the hands and arms, though many other exercises are performed on it. The parallel bars are usually made circular, and vary from six to eight feet in length, and from three to four inches in diameter; they are fixed about two feet apart, and placed at a height of from three to four feet from the ground. Captain Clas gives sixteen movements in this apparatus, and Colonel Amoros thirty-eight; but it is obvious that the lessons are susceptible of great variety, and that the interest may be increased by fixing the bars occasionally at the height of six or seven feet from the ground. The exercises on the masts or poles are varied by the latter being placed in different positions, either vertically or angularly, and by the introduction of rope-ladders or knotted ropes. The ropes are used sometimes plain, sometimes with large knots in them, and sometimes with a bar across. They are placed vertically, horizontally, and angularly, to give variety to the exercises, which is also increased by loosening and tightening them. The triangle and trapezium are two of the most amusing instruments in modern gymnasia; and, from the lightness of their construction, and their being constantly in motion, give an appearance of ease and grace to all the evolutions performed on them. The invention of the triangle has been claimed by Captain Clas, though of right it belongs to the mountebanks of Italy, who employed it to amuse the public long before this celebrated gymnast was heard of; the trapezium owes its origin, or at least its introduction into the schools, to Colonel Amoros.

The wooden ladder is usually fixed firmly between two walls, with the lower end just high enough for the pupils to reach it with both hands. Sometimes it is also placed perpendicularly with one end resting on the ground; but the exercises admit of more variety when it is placed in the position first described. The distance between the bars in the perpendicular ladder is commonly from eight to twelve inches; but when its position is inclined, the spaces should always be wide enough to admit of the pupil passing easily through them. The rope ladder is susceptible of still greater variety of position, and the bars are usually placed closer together, as few movements beyond the different modes of ascending and descending are practised upon them. The wooden horse is for exercise in vaulting and leaping, and may be raised or lowered upon its stand so as to suit the progress of the different classes. The inclined plane is ordinarily a deal plank of 25 or 30 feet in length, and about 2 feet in breadth; it admits of some highly useful exercises, tending to strengthen the hands, arms, chest, abdomen, legs, and feet. The flying course, or giant's steps, is an amusing exercise, but affords no advantages which are not attained by the apparatus already described. For the detail of the exercises performed, with figures illustrative of the different positions, we refer to the works of Clas, Amoros, and Roland.

Almost all the advantages which are generally supposed to result from gymnastic exercises, may be attained by the practice of our own national games, which, if not in every case British in their origin, are peculiarly so by their adoption and continued improvement. They merit notice, therefore, first, by reason of their nationality, and because, for the most part, they require in an eminent degree the union of strength, perseverance, and courage. 1st, Wrestling, though conspicuously introduced into all foreign works on the present system of gymnastics, is little more than theoretically known on the Continent; whereas, in some of the English counties, the practical wrestlers are unrivalled. We therefore claim this as one of our national games, and venture to affirm that its champions will not hesitate to enter into competition with any foreign gymnast. 2d, Boxing is an exercise which brings the body into active and healthy exertion, increasing the elasticity of the limbs, improving the play of the lungs, and giving great firmness on the legs and power to the arms. Quickness of eye, and accuracy in measuring distances, are also acquired by the practice of boxing; by which, be it observed, we mean sparring, as practised by gentlemen, that graceful imitation battle, which differs as widely from the brutalizing exhibitions of prize-fighting, as the cestus with which Dares dashed out the teeth of Entellus differs from the well-stuffed gloves of a modern master. 3d, Riding, walking, and running, are exercises requiring strength, perseverance, and activity; and, as a nation, our recorded equestrian and pedestrian feats may challenge Europe. We have, indeed, heard of three Frenchmen, Gervois, Labat, and Stumon, who are said to have run a French league in ten minutes, an exploit which surpasses anything in our sporting annals; but the story is too improbable to be admitted without strong confirmation. 4th, Archery, one of our most ancient and manly recreations, is still kept up in many parts of England and Scotland; and although its champions would no doubt cut but a sorry figure in competition with the Lockesley of Ivanhoe, or even with him whose grandsire "drew a good bow at Hastings," yet the spirit of emulation has produced no mean degree of excellence in this graceful and healthy exercise. 5th, Cricket is so indisputably our own, that nothing need be said upon the subject, except that it is yearly becoming a greater favourite in Scotland, where formerly it was seldom played. 6th, Singlestick has now but a small number of admirers, and its professors are of course still more limited. 7th, Putting the stone, and throwing the hammer, fall more appropriately under the head of Scottish gymnastics. In the Highlands of Scotland there are instances of celebrity in throwing the hammer descending from father to son for generations, as a family characteristic. This is most graphically described in the account given by Sir Walter Scott of the contest between Norman Ord and Hal o' Wynd, who is represented as a perfect prince amongst the gymnasts of an age when such accomplishments were in the highest repute. It may be added that at the present day the Scottish national games are kept up with great spirit, and that clubs have been instituted in various parts of the country, for the purpose of encouraging them, by awarding medals, and other honorary distinctions, to such as excel in these pastimes.