ery few have been helped by it.

Look at a good walker. Shoulders, head, and hips drawn well back, and
the chest thrown forward. What a firm, vigorous tread! Such a walk may
easily be secured by carrying a weight upon the head. An iron crown has
been devised for this purpose. It consists of three crowns, one within
the other, each weighing about nine pounds. One or all three may be worn
at a time.

The water-carriers of Southern Europe, although belonging to the lowest
class, have a noble bearing. Certain negroes in the South, who "tote"
burdens upon the head as a business, can be readily pointed out in a
crowd. The effort required to keep the burden directly over the spine so
develops the muscles of the back and neck, that in the absence of the
burden the head is carried in a noble, erect attitude.

By carrying one of these crowns upon the head half an hour two or three
times a day, while walking in the garden or through the halls of the
house, one may soon become a fine walker. One tenth of the time occupied
in learning a few tunes on the piano, given to this exercise, would
insure any girl a noble carriage. The crown is not necessary. Any weight
which does not press upon the very crown of the head, but _about_ it,
will answer the purpose equally well.

Fig. 14 exhibits John as the photographer took him the first time he
wore the crown. You observe how his form is changed.

_False Positions while walking, in Schools._

Fig. 15 shows the worst of them. This is no exaggeration of what I have
seen in our New-England schools. It is not common among scholars to join
the hands thus, and carry the body erect. Fig. 16 shows a still worse
position. If you stand erect, with your arms hanging by the sides, and
then deliberately fold the arms, as in this figure, you will find the
points of the shoulders are drawn forward two inches, and the chest much
contracted. Experiments prove that the amount of air which the lungs can
inhale is reduced fifteen to eighteen per cent when the arms are thus
folded.

Fig. 17 secures a good position of the spine, and opens the chest. Fig.
18 is not very seemly, but, practised five minutes two or three times a
day, would do much to develop the muscles of the spine, and particularly
those of the back of the neck, whose weakness permits the head to
droop. This subject I commend to teachers and school-committees.

[Illustration: Fig. 14. Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 18.]

_The Muff._