OUR HOLIDAY. GYMNASTICS-VIII. THE HANGING-BAR, OR TRAPEZE. THIS is an apparatus of which most of our readers have heard, but few who are unacquainted with the gymnasium know its precise nature or value in bodily training. The Flying Trapeze is associated in the popular idea with the feats of Leotard and others-feats dangerous to execute, and unpleasant to witness, from the risk obviously incurred by the performer. But the Trapeze of the gymnasium-although the same thing in the principle of its construction-is an apparatus the use of which need not excite any alarm in the minds of those concerned in the safety of the young gymnast. No doubt the same amount of care, and of abstinence from the attempt to perform feats which are simply daring, but otherwise unmeaning and unnecessary, is required in the practice with this contrivance, as with any other; but such exercises as those we shall have to describe may be performed in perfect safety. The Hanging Bar is, in principle, very much like the Rack, which was described in a former lesson (Vol. I., page 175), and is intended for a somewhat similar series of exercises. In the case of the Rack a horizontal bar is fixed upon two supports let into the ground. In the Trapeze a similar bar is suspended from the ceiling by two ropes, one at each end, as shown in our illus. tration (Fig. 25). The length of the bar should be about three feet; its thickness, about an inch and a half, sufficient to support the weight of the gymnast, and at the same time to be readily grasped by the hands. Its height from the ground, as it hangs when out of use, should be such that the learner can just reach it; its distance from the ceiling or the cross-beam from which it is suspended need not be more than eight or ten feet, unless the gymnast is sufficiently expert and experienced to be entrusted with a greater power of movement. The ropes, we need hardly say, must be strong and well secured; and if they are attached to pulleys or any other contrivance by which they may be raised or lowered at will, it will be found an advantage. The first of the exercises to be practised on the Hanging Bar bear a close resemblance to those on the Rack; and for these we advise the reader to consult the lesson before referred to, in which we have described the various modes of hanging by the hands, rising and sinking, etc. But there are other exercises peculiar to the trapeze, among which may be mentioned Fig. 25. THE HANGING BAR. 1. Rising to the seat.-Stand crossways below the bar (that is, with the bar endways before you; when you are looking between the two ropes, you are said to stand sideways); take one end of the bar in both hands, the right hand in front; then, by a forward swing, raise the right leg over the bar, grasping the bar in the hock. You now remove the hands, one after the other, to the rope nearest you, and can then work yourself up into the seat on one thigh without difficulty. To gain the seat on both thighs, you throw both legs over the bar in the first movement, and hold the bar in one hand, and the rope in the other. Another but more difficult way of attaining the seat is by rising into the rest, as in the Rack movement. 2. Having reached the seat, you can next stand upon the bar, by grasping a rope in each hand, and raising the body gradually by the purchase thus acquired. Standing upon the bar, you may swing gently backward and forward, and practise a firm hold upon the bar with the feet, which will prepare you for the next exercise. 3. The Hammock.-Standing on the bar, you grasp the ropes firmly at about the height of the hips; you then lean forwards, keeping the feet steadily on the bar, and thus come into the position shown in Fig. 26. You may next perform the same movement by taking a higher grasp of the ropes, about the level of the head, and, as you throw yourself forward, the body then describes almost a semicircle. These exercises may be varied by leaning backwards instead of forwards, thus reversing the position of the body as it appears in the illustration. 4. Turning over may be done in various ways, among which may be mentioned the mode of "circling the bar," which was : described in the Rack exercises. Another method is the follow. ing lie upon the bar in the position shown in Fig. 27, holding the ropes firmly, but with sufficient ease to give freedom to the wrist. Then turn gradually over backwards, by lowering the head and raising the feet, which are kept close together, and pass between the ropes. You then come into position hanging below the bar, and with the face directed to the ground. Afterwards you can try to return to the lying position by reversing these movements; but you will find this much more difficult than the backward turn from the bar. 5. Squatting on the bar is a position which is practised in order to obtain a facility in changing the seat, or returning to it from the standing posture. Sitting sideways upon the bar, you grasp the rope on your right hand Fig. 26.-THE HAMMOCK, a little above the level of the head, and then, resting the other hand upon the bar itself, you draw up the knees and raise the body from the bar, thus remaining in the sitting position, but partly suspended in the air. 6. Change of seat is performed readily from the squatting position, by moving the hand which grasps the bar along its surface, and turning the body round until you face the reverse way to that from which you started. At the moment of sitting, you shift the bar-hand from the bar to the rope, while the other hand is passed to the rope on the opposite side. In this change the whole movement takes place between the ropes; but you may also change the seat by passing round and outside either rope, as follows:-Grasp the bar, as you sit, with one hand close to the rope; and let the other hand take firm hold of the same rope a little above the head. Thus, if you intend to pass round the rope which hangs on your right hand, you take hold of the rope with your left hand while the right remains upon the bar. You now raise yourself from the bar, extending the legs horizontally forward, and turn the body round the rope, until you are in position to resume the seat, but facing the other way. Your right arm, which has remained upon the bar, must assist you in preserving the balance of the trapeze, until yen can quickly transfer it to the rope which now hangs at the right hand of you. 7. The exercise called the Rest is something like the Hammock, which has already been described; but it requires a little more practice with the trapeze to perform it steadily. You kneel upon the bar, taking hold of the ropes at about the height of your shoulders; you next draw your legs along the bar until the insteps are resting upon it, and then drop the body downwards and forwards. The weight of the body is divided between the hands which grasp the ropes, and the insteps resting on the bar, but is thrown chiefly upon the former. 8. Hanging by the Fig. 27.-THE TURN OVER. legs and hands together upon the bar may easily be accomplished from the sitting position. Raise the legs and draw them backward until the bar is between the hocks, and held firmly; then shift the hands from the ropes to the bar, either outside of or between the knees and lean backwards. You may thus swing in perfect safety, and can raise yourself to the sitting position at pleasure. Many other exercises are practised upon the Trapeze, such as hanging solely by the hocks or by the insteps, swing and tura, etc., but those we have described are quite sufficient for all bene ficial purposes, and we do not advise any of our readers to attempt the daring class of feats. Even in the simpler exercises, care must be taken to guard against a slip or a fall, for to obtain a perfect command of the Hanging Bar, as well as of your own movements upon it, requires practice. It is a widely dif ferent thing to perform gymnastic exercises on a bar in a fixed position, like the Rack, and to attempt them on one that is swaying in the air; and a corresponding degree of caution is required. who may be seeking a seat in a merchant's counting. house, a clear idea of the kind of writing suitable for mercantile correspondence, while the other exhibits the style best suited for entries in the day book, ledger, journal, and other account books used in every office where a rigid system of book-keeping is maintained, and the accountant's duties efficiently Dear Sir, house of business is closed for the evening; while the latter exhibits in an equal degree unmistakable signs of the deliberation, method, and thoughtfulness that should always be exercised by the bookkeeper or accountant, to prevent errors and the disfigurement of the fair page neatly ruled in red and blue for the the have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of your letter of yesterday, which shall have Your ander is being executed and will be forwarded in a few days SPECIMEN OF BUSINESS HANDWRITING. NO. 1. to mark the difference between the general character of the handwriting suitable for the business letter, and that which is better calculated for records of mercantile transactions. Although it must be conceded that both specimens of penman G. Donaldson bo So H. Stoodley reception of facts and figures, by the use of the pen-knife or eraser to remove any mistake that may have unfortunately been made by undue haste on the part of the writer, lessons (see pages 33,48), they are not carried above or below the body of the letter to the extent that was formerly insisted on in commercial handwriting, and that there is a total absence of all that obnoxious flourishing and redundancy of capital letters, 21 142 Son: 1 - For transfer of amount of Invoice debited to latter account in error 31 December 1867, for: - 500 yards @ 10±d por ya Di 21. 142 SPECIMEN OF BUSINESS HANDWRITING. NO. 2. ship are perfectly satisfactory, as far as neatness and legibility are concerned, the former is marked by the ease and freedom that a good writer naturally imparts to his handwriting, when, with ready thought and practised hand, he uses the pen rapidly to get through the mass of business correspondence that must be cleared off and sent to the nearest post-office before the VOL. II. 21 142 which were once considered as combining to form the height of perfection in the penmanship of the commercial clerk. For business correspondence and the records of mercantile transactions, as well as for official handwriting, a plain, clear hand, devoid of flourishes and ornamentation of capital letters, is the most desirable, and will always command the preference of practical men. 33 w οιν Nom. Acc. a of, to, by. Gen. Dat. aiv Learn these case-endings very carefully. You will then, as it were by anticipation, have acquired the chief forms of the first and second declensions. And observe, here, some general facts, the recollection of which you will hereafter find very useful. These endings are signs or tokens of the feminine gender, namely, η, ης, η, ην, αι, αις, ας. These are usually signs or tokens of the masculine gender, namely, Ol, Ou, w, ov, 06, 015, ous. These are marks of the neuter gender, namely, ov, a. Then, in regard to the cases, observe that ns and ou are indications of the genitive singular, while the iota subscript is the mark of the dative singular, is of the dative plural, and wv of the genitive plural. In the article, as in nouns and adjectives, the nominative and accusative neuter in the singular, plural, and dual numbers are the same; thus: Let us throw away the hyphen, and then from the common form τιμ we have τιμη, τιμης, τιμῇ, τιμήν, τιμαι, τιμών, τιμαίς, τιμας, τιμα, τιμαιν. This explanation will in substance serve for the nouns and adjectives generally. In the preceding tables the vocative case is not given; the reason is, that in the first declension there is no form peculiar to the vocative, the nominative form serving also as the vocative. Acc. Voc. Nouns of the first declension may be divided into such as in the singular haven in all their cases, and such as in the singu lar have a in all their cases. I shall present specimens of both kinds, to be carefully learnt by heart. FEMININE NOUNS. 1. Such as have n in all their cases. Singular. Justice. Victory. Honour. MAS. FEM. MAS. NEUT. MAS. FEM. NEUT. Nom. ης ας w Nom. συκῆς. δικτη. συκτῇ. τιμην. γνωμην. τιμη. γνωμη. συντή. ου Plural. συκ-ει. VIK-WV. τιμων. γνωμων. συκών. VIK-ais. VIK-as. Vik-al. τιμαις. γνωμαις. τιμας. συκαίς. τιμ-αι. γνωμίας. γνωμαι. OvK-as. συκ άι. Dual. N.A.V. Ta G.D. a δικα. ταιν δικ-αιν. συκά. συκαίν. These are the case-endings of the nouns of the three declensions. Knowing these, you can easily form a noun or give any case and number of a noun. Suppose the noun is run, honour: Tun consists of two parts, namely, the stem or crude form Tip, and the nominative singular termination 7. Take from Tun the case-ending, you have the stem Tu; add to the stem Tu the case-ending, you have run, the nominative singular. You will see this exemplified in this table. a short. Μουστα. τραπεζα. Ν.Α.Τ. σκι-α. χωρα. μν-α. σφυρα. In nouns ending in η, the η remains in all the cases of the singular number. In nouns ending in a two kinds are observable: 1st. The nominative in à (a long) or ă (a short), and the a remains in all the cases when it is preceded by p, or the vowels and . (in this last instance the a is called alpha pure) : thus, χώρα, χώρας, etc. ; ιδέα, form, ιδέας; σοφία, wisdom, σοφίας; χρεια, utility, χρειας; εννοια, benevolence, favour, ευνοίας. Hereto belong contracted nouns in a, as μνα; also αλαλά, α tar-cry; and some proper names in a, as Ανδρομεδα, Andromeda ; Ληδά, Leda ; Φιλομηλά, Philomela. 1. Abstain from force. 2. He abstains from force. 3. Η does not abstain from force. 4. They abstain from force. 5. Avoid injustice. 6. You avoid injustice. 7. I avoid injustice as madness. 8. Force brings grief. 9. Through justice pleasure arises. 10. True friendships arise through virtue. 11. The heart is grieved by poverty. 12. Anxious cares are dissipated by the lyre. ETYMOLOGICAL VOCABULARY. 2nd. The nominative ends in ǎ (a short); the a, however, remains only in the accusative and the vocative; in the genitive and dative it is changed into η when the a is preceded by λλ, σ, ΔΙΚΗ, justice, judg-| Κακια, wickedness, | Κακοδαιμων, having σσ, ττ, ζ, ξ, ψ, and (in general) ν. ment. When a is preceded by e or a, a contraction takes place in | Δικησις, vengeance. Rome words, the ea being changed into Ϡ, and aa into a; the last | Δικηφορος, bringing syllable is then circumflexed in all the cases; see the declension of συκή (συκεα) and μνα (μναα). According to these paradigms, decline the feminine gender of adjectives of three terminations. The feminine gender of these adjectives ends in a when preceded by or p. The adjectives in oos have oa in the feminine when o is preceded by p; otherwise they end in on; thus a@poa, dense; oydon, eighth. NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES COMBINED. Write out in full the following nouns :-Μηδεια, Medea; αληθεια, truth; μοιρα, fate ; αρουρα, arable land; δοξα, opinion, Write out also, in pairs, as in the last table, these nouns and adjectives, namely, μικρα μανια, slight madness; μακρα λυπη, long grief, βραχεια ηδονη, short pleasure; πασα κακια, απ wickedness. Κακια, ας, ή, wicked ness. Καρδια, ας, ή, the heart. baseness. Κακιζω, Ι make wicked, revile. punishment, or re- bad counsel, folly. Κακογαμος, unhappily married. Κακογειτων, a bad neighbour. Κακογενης, οι base origin. Κακογλωσσία, speaking. an evil spirit, unhappy, wretched. ΦΙΛΟΣ, a friend. Φιλια, friendship. Φιλικος, befitting a friend. Φίλιος, friendly, or friendlike. Φιλιππια, fondness for horses. Φιλογέλοιος, fond of laughter, sportive. Φιλόδημος, loving the people (Latin, publicola). lawsuit. Δικογραφία, an indictment. Δικολογέω, I speak in a court of justice. Δικολογος, a pleader. Δικομάχεω, I litigate. ΚΑΚΟΣ, bad, wicked. Κακογλωσσος, an evil Φιλοδικος, fond of law-suits. speaker. evil In επαγω you see a preposition prefixed to a verb; επάγω is made up of επι, upon or to, and αγω (Latin, ago), I lead or conduct. Hence επαγω means I lead to. Instead of επι, we might have had the preposition απο, as in απαγω. Now απο means from, away from ; accordingly, απαγω is, I lead away. With ara, which denotes motion upwards, αγω in the form of αναγω, signifes, I lead up; and with κατα, as in καταγω, the same root means, I lead down. You thus see how the prepositions are used as prefixes, and how, as such, they modify the signification and increase the vocabulary. A comparison of the English "meanings" with the Greek verbs as just given, will show that what we express by an uncombined verb and an adverb or preposition, the Greeks express by a verb and a prefix in combination. It may be well distinctly to state, though it has been already Μεριμνα, ης, ή, anxi. implied, that the genitive in Greek is to be Englished by of, and Καταφύγη, ης, ή, α Λύμη, ης, ή, outrage the genitive, and by or for is required for the dative. The subject and direct object are generally without a preposition in English; and when the Greek verb has its object in the genitive or the dative case, the English-idiom must be followed in the translation, and not the Greek, except when the two correspond. An English construction corresponding with the Greek construction is to be preferred, when it can be had with the preservation of perfect purity in the translation. After all, the idioms of the two languages vary considerably, and it is possible for a rendering in English to be too close to the original. Keep as near as you can to the Greek, but never forfeit correctness in the English. is blown upon a flame. A tin blow-pipe with brass nozzle costs 8d. Some practice is required before a steady, good flame can be maintained; this is accomplished by filling the mouth with air, and continuing the pressure with the cheeks, while a lecture-room, may be performed for a few shillings. We shall enumerate the several things which are all but necessary; but the inventive student will soon find ways of adapting a very little apparatus to many purposes. It is advisable that all bottles and breakable apparatus should be kept in a room which can be set apart as a laboratory, or, where this cannot be done, in a closet under lock and key. The most convenient mode of "heating" is either by a "spiritlamp," or by a "Bunsen's gas burner"-the flame of each being smokeless. A Glass Spirit-lamp (Fig. 5a), with a ground-glass cap, which fits on the wick when the lamp is not in use, and prevents the evaporation of the spirit, costs 1s. 4d. The wick-holder is stoneware, which is preferable to brass, as it does not corrode; nor does it conduct the heat of the flame to the body of the lamp, as brass wick-holders do. A lamp of 5 or 6 oz. capacity is the most convenient size. The spirit used is "methylated spirit," the price of which is about 5s. per gallon. Bunsen's Gas Burner.-In this kind of burner (Fig. 6) the gas enters by the horizontal pipe, b, and escapes from a jet a little above the holes in the neck into which the upright pipe a is screwed. The gas thus mixes with the air, and burns with a smokeless flame at the top of the pipe. When a broad surface is to be heated, which is generally the case in evaporation, a rose burner, d, is used. The smallest size of Bunsen's burner (-inch bore) is 1s. 6d. ; with the rose 1s. more. When a greater heat nired we use a blow-pipe (Fig. 5b), which is merely a tube ls in a very small hole, through which a stream of air Fig. 8. breath is taken through the nose. First practise without the blow-pipe in the mouth, inflating the cheeks, and while inflated breathe through the nose; then, without opening the mouth, force the blow-pipe between the lips, and it will be found that the escape of air from the blow-pipe is so little that the former process of breathing with inflated cheeks can be continued, and thus a steady flame procured. Herapath's Gas Blow-pipe, the price of which is 7s. 6d. (Fig. 7), is more convenient, especially for blowing glass, and for fusions. The gas enters at a, and meets at b with a current of air which is blown from c. The flame, therefore, is like that of the Bunsen's burner, smokeless, but hotter and pointed. Glass Tubing may be had any size, from 2s. a pound. The three smallest sizes will be found most useful. If the tube be wanted for combustion-that is, to stand heat without melting-" Bohemian hard glass" must be used; it is not dearer than the English. To Cut Glass Tubing.-Take a key-file, which may be obtained for 4d., and make a mark across the tube with the edge of the file at the place where the tube is required to be broken; take hold of it on each side of the mark, and it will snap when pressed. If the tube be large, the scratch must be continued round the tube. Fig. 9. To Melt or Bend Tubes.-Simply put them in the blow-pipe flame, being careful to do it by degrees; then turn the tube round, so that each part may be alike heated. The flame will soon become tinged with yellow, which is the burning of the soda in the glass, and proves that the glass is melting; then bend the tube to the shape required, but be careful not to allow the hot part, when removed from the flame, to touch anything cold, or it most probably will crack. To Blow a Bulb.-Hold the end of the tube in the flame (Fig. 8), and when it is soft touch it with another piece of tube. The |