petitions will give this, with the possibility of a moment
or two to do nothing but live and breathe and rejoice in air and
sunshine. Without these moments of rest the conditions of life at
present and the constitutions for which the new word "nervy" has had to
be invented, will give us tempers and temperaments incapable of repose
and solitude. A child alone in a swing, kicking itself backwards and
forwards, is at rest; alone in its little garden it has complete rest of
mind with the joy of seeing its own plants grow; alone in a field
picking wild flowers it is as near to the heart of primitive existence
as it is possible to be. Although these joys of solitude are only
attainable in their perfection by children at home, yet if their value
is understood, those who have charge of them at school can do something
to give them breathing spaces free from the pressure of corporate life,
and will probably find them much calmer and more manageable than if they
have nothing but organized play.

There are plenty of indoor occupations too for little girls which may
give the same taste of solitude and silence, approaching to those
simpler forms of home play which have no definite aim, no beginning and
ending, no rules. The fighting instinct is very near the surface in
ambitious and energetic children, and in the play-grounds it asserts
itself all the more in reaction after indoor discipline, then excitement
grows, and the weaker suffer, and the stronger are exasperated by
friction. If unselfish, they feel the effort to control themselves; if
selfish, they exhaust themselves and others in the battle to impose
their own will. In these moods solitude and silence, with a hoop or
skipping-rope, are a saving system, and restore calmness of mind. All
that is wanted is freedom, fresh air, and spontaneous movement. This is
more evident in the case of younger children, but if it can be obtained
for elder girls it is just as great a relief. They have usually acquired
more self-control, and the need does not assert itself so loudly, but it
is perhaps all the greater; and in whatever way it can best be
ministered to, it will repay attention and the provision that may be
made for it.

One word may be merely suggested for consideration concerning games in
girls' schools, and that is the comparative value of them as to physical
development. The influence of the game in vogue in each country will
always be felt, but it is worth attention that some