Part 22 (1/2)

TREE-EARTH BATHS.

Where a boy's aversion to study arises from physical weakness, we do not urge him to persevere any more than we urge him against his inclination to leap from a high rock; but, on the contrary, when a boy's bodily strength fails him, and more especially in a case of superior intelligence, his studies are suspended until the weakness is remedied.

Were the boy forced to persevere, he would probably suffer both in body and mind. He is merely placed in a separate department of the college--a kind of infirmary for strengthening the young, and promoting their healthy development.

For giving the desired strength we most commonly employ ”Tree-earth Baths,”--that is to say, baths of fresh earth taken from beneath the roots of certain trees, in which the boy is as it were buried, every part of his body being covered, with the exception of his head. This earth bath is placed in another bath containing hot water. The effect of this operation in renewing the boy's strength and repairing the waste of his body is marvellous.

When removed from the bath the boy is washed with tepid water, mixed with a solution of bark, and on the following day a cold _douche_ is administered. The bath, in which the boy is kept for about an hour, is administered at intervals of about ten days, and is so efficacious that not more than twelve are required for the worst cases.

Previously to being immersed the boy is made to walk sharply for half an hour, and, while he is in the bath, warm liquid food is administered.

The pores being opened facilitate the reception of the fresh exhalations from the earth and the expulsion of the impure gases from the body. The boy often sleeps whilst thus immersed, as it is considered highly beneficial to inhale the fresh fragrance of the earth.

The electricities proper to the earth and trees being very sympathetic to the human frame, they readily mingle with the electricity of the patient and a.s.sist in repelling the unhealthy gases and impurities in his body.

Earth electricity is of itself most beneficial, but its curative and invigorating effects are vastly increased when impregnated with tree electricity, which is strongest about the roots.

There are men whose sole occupation it is to collect the tree-earth, and who become skilful in digging and removing the soil from underneath the roots, without in the slightest degree injuring the tree.

The earth under many trees is good for the purpose above described, but that about the roots of the oak, especially when of a ripe middle age, is exceptionally efficacious.

The roots of another tree that you have, viz., the weeping willow, offers a good earth for girls and also for boys of a susceptible nature, for whom the oak-root earth might be too strong.

The elm, horse-chestnut, and lime-earths are all more powerful than that of the oak, and therefore are rarely used, for their exceeding strength would overpower the natural electricity and leave a la.s.situde in the patient. The tree-earth baths are rarely used for adults, except in cases when, earlier in my reign, the mental powers of several persons had been overtaxed at the expense of their physical strength.

x.x.xIV.

THE AMUs.e.m.e.nT GALLERY.

”The simplest electricities are often meet to discover the most precious.”

The Amus.e.m.e.nt Gallery const.i.tutes an interesting feature in the child's education, and so admirable have been its results, that the opening of the first inst.i.tution of the kind--recorded, as I have said, in one of the great pictures in my summer palace--is regarded as a memorable event, and is celebrated by the people in a yearly festival.

In a very long gallery, attached to each college, is a collection of instructive toys adapted to all ages and dispositions. Amongst these are harps and other musical instruments, made on a small scale to suit the capacity of children, materials for drawing, painting, modelling, and sculpture; maps, in relief, of cities and other parts of our world, and all kinds of small birds and dwarf animals. I should not omit to state that we have living horses and deer _in miniature_: they are about the size of an ordinary lap-dog, though in many other respects resembling the larger species. These with their little clothes and harness are placed in the gallery, which likewise contains fresh fruit and flowers, indeed almost everything that can be imagined for the recreation and enjoyment of the child.

In the Girls' Amus.e.m.e.nt Gallery there are various kinds of fancy-work, lace-work, and basket-work. Our basket-work is very beautiful, the baskets being elegant in form and elaborately painted. Indeed, elegance of form and harmony of colour are studied in all the objects selected.

Boys, being trained by manly recreations, necessarily have their Amus.e.m.e.nt Gallery separate from that of the girls, though many of the more elegant and refined amus.e.m.e.nts are to be found in both. The girls attend their gallery, whatever may be their age, until they leave school. On the other hand, the boy ceases to attend when the Character divers and Judges think his attendance no longer desirable.

At each of the stalls in the gallery is stationed an intelligent person skilled in some particular art. Of these some play on musical instruments, some paint or model, others give oral instruction, according to the nature of the compartment or the wishes of the child.

There are also ”Walkers,” who perambulate the gallery, encouraging the child to amuse herself with what she likes, explaining the use of different objects, answering the young inquirer's questions, and noting in her any particular qualities or peculiarities. The results of these observations are drawn up in the shape of reports for the use of the Judges.

No restraint is put upon the children when in the gallery, but they are allowed freely to follow the bent of their own inclinations. I have often observed some of these little creatures ardent for amus.e.m.e.nt responding to their own predilections; others taking interest in frivolous things; others, again, listless, and interesting themselves in nothing. Whilst many would examine with breathless attention, others would ask questions, more or less intelligent, of the persons at the head of each stall.