950,7 HARVAR US COLLEGE NOV 22 1904 LIBRARY Bestor Allin vacum Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1849, by in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. SWIMMING. "The same Roman arm, That ran victorious o'er the conquer'd earth, First learned, while tender, to subdue the wave." THOMSON. THE ART OF SWIMMING appears to be as natural to man, as it is useful, and, in some cases, necessary for the preservation of his life. Cleanliness and exercise, both so necessary to health, are combined with a high degree of enjoyment in the practice of this art. The importance of frequent ablutions can scarce be over-rated. In fact, the Water Cure has become a popular remedy for most of the diseases to which humanity is liable. But however excellent the various kinds of bathing may be for curing diseases, there can be no doubt that in preventing them they are still more efficacious. Those who swim daily in summer, and continue the use of ablutions in some form in winter, are not liable to sudden colds, or inılammatory diseases, and rarely, if ever, suffer from chronic complaints. Their bodies become indurated, their skin is healthy, and all the functions of life are carried on with healthful vigor. They who merely bathe, without being able to swim, lose half the pleasure and more than half the benefit which arises from frequent ablutions. Swimming is an exercise which brings more muscles into action than any other; and the body being supported by an equal pressure on every part, their action is harmonious |