le moods which good, vigorous exercise will blow away
entirely, leaving our minds so clear that we wonder at ourselves, and
wonder that we could ever have had those morbid thoughts.

The mind acts and the body reacts, the body acts and the mind reacts,
but of course at the root of it all is the real desire for what is
normal, or--alas!--the lack of that desire.

If physical culture does not make us love the open air, if it does not
make us love to take a walk or climb a mountain, if it does not help us
to take the walk or climb the mountain with more freedom, if it does
not make us move along outdoors so easily that we forget our bodies
altogether, and only enjoy what we see about us and feel how good it is
to be alive--why, then physical culture is only an ornament without any
use.

There is an interesting point in mountain-climbing which I should like
to speak of, by the way, and which makes it much pleasanter and better
exercise. If, after first starting--and, of course, you should start
very slowly and heavily, like an elephant--you get out of breath, let
yourself stay out of breath. Even emphasize the being out of breath by
breathing harder than your lungs started to breathe, and then let your
lungs pump and pump and pump until they find their own equilibrium. The
result is delightful, and the physical freedom that follows is more
than delightful. I remember seeing two girls climbing in the high Rocky
Mountains in this way, when other women were going up on ponies.
Finally one of the guides looked back, and with an expression of mild
astonishment said "Well, you have lungs!" This was a very pleasant
proof of the right kind of breathing.

There are many good points for climbing and walking and swimming and
all outdoor exercise that can be gained from the best sort of physical
culture; and physical culture is good for girls when it gives these
points and leads to a spontaneous love for outdoor exercise. But when
it results only in a self-conscious pose of the body then it is harmful.

We want to have strong bodies, free for every normal action, with quiet
nerves, and muscles well coordinated. Then our bodies are merely
instruments: good, clean, healthy instruments. They are the "mechanism
of the outside." And when the mechanism of the outside is well oiled
and running smoothly it can be forgotten.

There can be no doubt but that physical culture is good for girls
provided it is given and taken with intelligent