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312 PAKK AND PliAYGROUNB;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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> Iw Are We Better Than We Were In The O...
readers who have children , will confirm this observation . Many delicate children require a good diet of wine and meat in London ,
who become strong * and healthy in the country without wine , and with but little animal food . This remark will bear a proportionate
application , less air , more gin , and vice versa . It is true that there is a lamentable amount of drinking in the rural districts , but for this
another cause may be assigned , —the want of intellectual stimulus and nourishment . When the just balance is losteither of mental or
, physical sustenance , mischief will be the result : the effect seems to be the same in either case .
Those who doubt the beneficial influence of Nature , and her fair and varied productions , in leading the spirit naturallythough
imperceptibly , to the Father and source of all , will yet not , dispute the soothing effect on the nerves and temper of a quiet walk . Physically
, morally , spiritually , the value of air , space , and natural scenery , is incalculable .
Some witnesses , among whom are clergymen , advert to the advantage of having the few Free Libraries and Reading Rooms open
on Sunday evenings , after Church time . If we consider the position of a London shopman , of whom there are thousands , we shall at
once perceive how beneficial this measure would be . Few of these young men are married , very many are from the country , and they
have no place in which to spend their Sunday evenings with profit and comfort , unless they depend on visiting friends . It will be well
for this class when the reading rooms are multiplied and accessible to all .
An attempt is now being made to provide safe and well regulated playgrounds for poor children in the most populous places in London ,
by an Association of gentlemen and ladies , called " The Playground and General Recreation Society . " A slight sketch of the design of this
Association was given in the Household Words of January 30 , 1858 , Since that time , a bill has been brought into the House of Commons
by Mr . Slaney , to enable the Society to hold or convey freehold plots of land for the purpose of playgrounds . The Society cannot
proceed in its work until this bill is passed , and we can only wish it success in its very difficult but most promising undertakingand add
, a few words to what has been already said on the subject . That children require fresh air and exercise is unquestionable . They also ,
from the same susceptibility to bodily and mental impressions which makes a good run in the open air absolutely necessary to produce
health and cheerfulness , gather good or evil from surrounding influences more rapidly than grown persons . Those who are familiar
with childhood cannot wonder at the readiness with which not only sounds , but their meanings are caught by street boys and girls ;
how the game at top or marbles is gradually transformed into pitch and toss outside a _piiblic-house , and porter within ; how afterwards
come the short pipe , the thimble rig , and all the low pursuits which
have been already described . If children play where there is no
312 Pakk And Pliaygrounb;
312 PAKK AND _PliAYGROUNB ;
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), July 1, 1858, page 312, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01071858/page/24/
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