THE GREAT GYMNASIUM.

In a recent lecture delivered in Brooklyn, Dr. Sargent spoke of the progress that the Germans, French and Scots are making in athletic sports and gymnastic exercises. "We need in America," said the doctor, "a happy combination of all the systems of athletic development as practiced in these countries-the German for strength, the English and Scotch for sport, and the French for grace. The Western States adopt for the most part the German method, the Eastern and Middle States hail with delight the English athletic games and sports, while in New England the French calisthenics are popular. Each system is good in its way, but in order to make perfect bodies and clear heads the three should be combined. There are probably no sports more invigorating than skating, bicycling, and riding horseback, but if carried to excess they are positively detrimental to the nervous system. This is the great trouble with our athletic clubs and college societies. All sorts of feats are indulged in for personal gratification, for medals, for money. How can a student give that cool, deliberative thought to his books while his mind is fevered with the excitement of the coming regatta, or his dreams are disturbed by visions of victory is the next day's base-ball game? The Hemenway system, as practiced at Harvard, is being successfully introduced in many of the colleges of the United States. Wellesley, John Hopkins University, and many other institutions are to give it a trial, and we are in hopes good results will follow. The Hemenway system is simple and easy to follow, the only requirements being that each student's physical condition is examined and he is then instructed what method of training to adopt, for, unfortunately, all are not born with equally strong and perfect bodies, and each must pursue a course that is in consonance with his physical and mental peculiarities." The Doctor says that it should be the duty of every teacher to know the condition of his pupils, and in this nineteenth century, with so many large cities and constantly increasing population, we need gymasia with men to manage them who thoroughly understand hygienic and physiological laws.