"OX WITH THE DAXCE!"
A Wholesome Exereisc — Greek
Methods Advised for Moderns.
The value of dancing, net only afl a physical
exercise, not merely as a means of recreation,
but as an aid to aesthetic development, is be
girning to regain the place it held in the esti
mation of the ancients. The term "dancing-"
s?hould not be understood as meaning simply the
abii'ty to dance the two-step, or even the waltz.
A? a p<x'ial diversion to-day only the two-step
is commonly danced, both to the rhythm of
waltz and to march music. According to Oscar
Duryea, the president of the Duryea Normal
School of the Art of Dancinp; and Esthetics, in
this city, the waltz itself threatens to become a
lost art in America, and is, he declares, tau.cht
correctly only by a few instructors in danelnc
in this Country. This he feels to be a distinct
misfortune, as. in his opinion, the waltz is of
much more value than the two-step in every
way.
"WHAT IS MEANT BY DANCING."
What is meant by "dancing" as here used, is
the knowledge and practice of step dancing ard
of folk and national dances, and of the higher
forms of dancing which bring into play all the
muscles of the body and impart grace and ele
gance of movement to those who become adept
in them. Even if only step dancing and national
dances are attempted, however, they will be
found to be exceedingly interesting both as a
study and as an amusement, and will contribute
largely to the physical improvement of the
dancers, imparting suppleness, strength and
grace.
Suppleness is. in fact, synonymous with danc
ing, and dancing produces stamina. Muscle In
dicates strength, but the strength of the strong
est is easily overcome by suppleness and stam
ina. The great universities and colleges have
come to an acknowledgment of the great a.l
vantages of dancing, and jigs, reels and step
dancing, as well as other forms, are now includ
■l in Use gymnastic exercises to produce better
men and women physically.
ITS PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES.
The aim of the physical instructor is not
merely to produce a strong man or woman, but
to produce one with staying powers; and for
this suppleness is needed above everything else.
The man who is to wir. collegiate athletic honors
for his university is the man who can stay, and
stay indefinitely, because his muscles are not
onJy well developed but are pliable and supple
enough to do their work without soreness or
excessive fatigue from continuous repetition.
Fuch muscles must be like the parts of a care
fully oiled marine, running smoothly without
Jar or shock. Women also profit by the practice
of Saucing, and the exercise is especially adapt
ed to their needs and physiques. It is far less
violent than most other forms of physical de
velopment, and it gives not only endurance but
that grace, elegance and freedom of movement
that are so much sought after and so difficult
to obtain by any other means. When asked
-what dance was best fitted to produce these de
sired results, Mr. Duryea suggested that the
study of Greek dancing was one of the best
introductions for the beginner to the higher
forms of the art.
"Dancing." said Mr. Duryea. "may not make
women beautiful, but it makes for beauty, and
I base this assertion upon some remarkable in-
Ftances that have come under my personal ob
servation. Woman does not try to fulfil her
destiny if she does not try for beauty; dancing
attunes the mind to the beautiful, and mind
governs matter — the body.
"DANCING POETS."
"Grecian poetry and dancing." Mr. Duryea
continued, "were undoubtedly closely, even in
timately, related; Greek poets themselves often
teaching the choruses, or those who performed
the dancing which expressed the ideas of their
poems. Thesbes. Pratfavas and Phrynichus were
called 'dancing poets.' Plato says that one kind
of darting imitates musical recitation and aims
at preserving dignity and freedom, the other
aims at producing health, agility and beauty in
the limbs and parts of the body, giving the
proper flexion and extension to each of them; a
harmonious motion being diffused everywhere,
and forming a suitable accompaniment to the
__dance. ..it. in his 'Musique de l'Antiquite,'
say;: that ancient poetry is already music from
the point of view of rhythm; to make real mel
ody of it, the composer has only to adopt mel
odic contour. Plato's opinion on the educational
I value of dancing is well worth quoting: 'Educa
tion is given through Apollo and the Muses, and
he v.; is well educated will be able to sing and
fiance well.' '
AN AID TO ORAL EXPRESSION.
The early Greek pacts appear to have devot
ed much of their time to teaching new rhythmi
cal movements to the dancing of their choruses,
and it can safely be said they invented many
nevr figures and instructed the dancers person
all}-, not intrusting this important task to the
- ..dancing masters. They themselves were often
•:nplish<-d dancers, and are said to have been
ablo to use the action of the hands as an aid
to oral expression. Socrates, in Xenophon's
'Symposium,' is made to say that no part of
■he body is inactive in dancing, but that the
neck, leg and hands are alike exercised, so that
be- who would have his body Improved in sup
< pieness should learn to dance.
~TeJestes, the Athenian dithyrambic poet,
composed new dancing figures and taught men
to use the action of their hands' to aid the oral
expression of hi.- poems. Sophocles is also said
to have b«*en an accomplished and graceful
dancer. Thaletas, the Cretan lyric- poet, and
.flCschylua are said to have spent much time in
devising and teaching new rhythmical move
ments and to have conceived many figures new
to the dancers.
"A commonly erroneous impression is that the
STEW-YORK DAILY TRIBUNE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1007
Greek dancers were usually women: but while
women did dance, the men dancers predomi
nated and danced nuu-- to the accompaniment
of flutes, while cymbals wore sometimes used
both by the dancers themselves and by others,
who beat out a sort of accompaniment on them.
"Thes.- dances of the Greek women of yester
day," Mr. Duryea concluded, "I recommend the
women of to-day to heed, to learn and to por
tray, for the sake of the health, the happiness
and the beauty that will I"- found in them."
SCHOOL FOR CONSULS.
Men Unfitted for Posts No Longer
Sent Out.
Washington, Aug. 10.— Consulships for the ask
ing, but you need to so to school to capture one
the«« days. Just at present the demand for men
Qualified to enter the consular service of the United
States exceeds the supply. State Department ex
aminations held recently were taken by thirty-eight
candidates, representing appointees eager. if
passed, to so to different posts scattered all over
the world. This number, however, does not by any
means represent the actual needs of the service.
In which the weeding process is now more marked
than ever before. Political influence becomes less
and less a feature of consular credentials. The ele
ment of personal worth increases under this ad
ministration.
To help along the movement for better prepared
consuls the State Department, by authority of Sec
retary Root, has just granted permission to John
Ball Osborne. chief of the bureau of trade rela
tions of the State Department, to accept a position
on the faculty of the College of Political Sciences
connected with George Washington University.
Mr Oaborne will henceforth be a lecturer on the
consular service. He is one of the younger mm in
important government posts, a graduate of Yale
in the class of '89. who served his apprenticeship
as United States consul at Ghent. Belgium, from
l«tf to ISSG. and who -.%.».-, joint secretary of the
Reciprocity Commission between LOT and lftG.
Mr. Osborne's connection with the CoD of
Political Sciences reinforces the Idea which for
many years has prevailed among students of the
consular service that sooner or later the political
science department of George Washington Univer
sity will be officially recognised as a school of
diplomacy and examinations now held at the offices
of the State Department will be held at the uni
versity.
It takes a man with a pretty fair knowledge or
several Important subjects to qualify for the ser
vice to-day. The candidates that took the exam
ination just finished at the Stale Department had
to pass in Frew I . German or Spanish; on the nat
ural, industrial and commercial resources of the
United States; political economy; international,
maritime and commercial law; American history:
government and its different institutions; political
and commercial geography; arithmetic and the hlß
tory of Europe, South America and the Far Kast
since 185 a
The examination was conducted under the per
sonal supervision of Chief Examiner Kecgan of
the Civil Service ' mission. The percentage re
quired to pass was 80, which is ten points higher
than that usually required In competitive "exami
nations for government positions. Many of the
candidates were young business men. It has been
found, on the whole, that some of the most suc
cessful applicants for consulships have come from
the ranks of Journalists. In the old days the ser
vice had strong attractions for young men of a
literary bend, who desired to polish their style In
Europe. Hawthorne. Ilowells and Bret Harte were
In the service for a while, and during- their terms
found abundant time to follow their literary pro
clivities.
Times, in many ways, have changed since the
consular service was conducted on the principle
so boldly enunciated by President Jackson — "To
the victors belong the spoils.'' In the early days
of the Republic the only consuls under salary were
those assigned to the several posts in the Barbary
States, on the northern coast of Africa. Such other
consuls as the President saw tit to appoint, with
the advice and consent of the Senate, received fees
or commissions. As late as JSS3 there were only
ten posts in the consular service whose occupants
received annual salaries— -namely, the three In the
Barbary States, three more in China and the con
sulates at Iyindon. Alexandria, Beirut and Smyrna.
The fees, however, received at other posts were
sometimes substantial and attractive. The con
sular pest at Liverpool, for example, to which Na
thaniel Hawthorne mi appointed by President
Pierce in UH, was estimated to be worth $20.000
a year. Nowadays, all of the several positions in
the service have fixed salaries.
The Brat attempt to systematize the service was
mad- by Congress In 1856. James G. Blaiae was a
conspicuous champion "f consular reform. The
practice of examining candidates for posts of any
importance began under President Cleveland.
Later, largely through the efforts of Secretary Hay,
this practice was still further extended during the
first administration of President Roosevelt. To-day,
under Secretary Root, the purpose of the State
Department, which since the beginning has con
trolled the consular service, is to make the, ex
aminationi" more searching than ever, and In this
way to enhance the effectiveness of the service.
At first the examination or probationary period
was supposed to last from two weeks to a month.
The candidate reported at the office of one of the
assistant secretaries of state, showed his notice of
appointment, received a copy of the Service Man
ual, and if the man in i barge happened not to lie
in good humor was asked a lot of grammar school
questions). Sometimes the appointee went straight
to his post without bothering about these formali
ties, paying bis own way, of course, as all consuls
do. Thus it came about that a pood many unfit
men still got into the service. But nowadays there
Is no escape from the examinations, during which
the appearance and character of the candidate are
studied as carefully as his intellectual capacity.
Consequently, the tone of the service is being raised
rapidly.
Although the consular and diplomatic service Is
not yet on a permanent basis, the organized school
of diplomacy under the auspices of George Wash
ington University has been in existence since
IK<S. It was opened in the presence of ITesident
McKir.ley and a large gathering of American and
foreign diplomats under the name of the School of
Comparative Jurisprudence and Diplomacy. This
was the fust school of political science in the New
World. Since 1898 this preparatory school for dip
lomats has been greatly enlarged and strengthened,
so that to-day, under its new name of the College
of Political Sciences, it is to all Intents and pur
poses a recognized adjunct of the State Depart-
This national training ground for diplomats of
high and low degree seems, so far as its faculty
is concerned like a government institution. Two
members of the United States Supreme Court. John
M Harlan and David J. Brewer, conduct courses,
the former on American constitutional law and the
latter on international law. John W. Foster, for
mer SeS-etary of State and On of th m ° St , x
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PHYSIOLOGY UP TO DATE.
After a kelson on digestion the teacher, anxious
to know just how much her instruction bad .»ee:i
understood, questioned Uie class. The first answer
was rather discouraging, as the girl called upon
made this startling statement :
"Digestion begins in the mouth and ends In the
big and little testament."
It was the same, teacher who received the fol
lowing note:
•'Pleas teacher do not tel Mary any more about
her ir.eides it makes her so proud."— (School Edii
catiou-
— ■ »
Schools of
New York.