THE SCHOOL IN THE FOREST.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 2, 27 September 1907, Page 3

THE SCHOOL IN THE FOREST.

In tho pine forests of Germany, which Ji- fairy-talo times wero inhabited exclusively by witches, orges, and-poor woodcutters' families, tho German school authorities aro 'now conducting the . most up-to-dato; osperimerit in tho shapo -of open air schools for sickly children, Tlio-idea is to streugthon ' and at tho same timo cducate tliosc children >f the poor who aro born with weak constitutions, and would succumb in'.Vi;.homo surroundings, and in crow .Id city schoolrooms. - air. Alfred Sidgwick, tells in tho "Daily Mail" of a visit sho paid to the first established school of 'his kind near Charlottonburg. Tliei'o s'lVeot-smolling pine forests with sandy soil not very far from tho city, • and hero every, day in tho week, Sundays and all, during live and a lialf summer months, • tho electric car's bring 240 delicate children from the elementary schools cf tho-town—children who, if left to the confinement and heat of their ' crowded homes ivould probably never live, and would certainly neither thrive nor learn. ■ . The children: of. the German artisan do not livo in little houses with gardens where they can play, but in tiny Hats in many-storied buildings, and as the-rooms often open on to a - courtyard surrounded with lofty buildings ,tho rooms are dark and airless. The little sickly child in cuch a house who tosses about restlessly, and' gasps for breath througlit the hot stufty night, finds relief in tho morning. Then ho is up early, away to tho forest in time for ii~ipast seven broakftst, and -tliero ho remains till seven at night when he has supper and is sent homo. They give tho children five meals a day and watch with great interest to see ha wtho weight, of each child increses. "Meals in fiuo weather arc takes at long tables.in tho.open air.When it rains they aro served in big shelters closed on threo sides. Dotted about- tho forest there are mushroomshaped shelters, with seats and tallica beneath them—sufficient cover m slight showers. Thero aro well-light-ed, well-ventilated . classrooms where tho children are taught for twentyfive minutes at a time. Each child has two and a half hours' work a day; all who- aro stron gonough do gymnastics, and all havo baths at school. ."Each child! has, its, own locker, and its own numbered rug for use out of doors on damp or . chilly, days. The doctor, visits tho school twice a week. Tho school is kept open all through the summer holidays, but no work is done then, and two-' thirds of-tho toachers aro away." : The techers in theso schools have a hard timo because .tho strain isjiovet relaxed. The children must bo vratcb-d and 'guarded as . -Veil'' as taught, sholtered from changes in thowoatlW, 1 and. prevented from over-tiring ..them-/ ■solves. Indeed when one romembors that theso arc.tliefrailest. of lives, and that thero are . 240 from whom'death must be .warded' off, it is easy to understand what a heavy strain is upon the teachers. But tho children do no.t seem to bo spoilt by all this care. Although-they aro at play for tho greater part-.of tho day in termitinvv and all.day n the vacation,-thnhcti:-■mastor says they give no troiibJ-.--.: "'Certainly," : s?ys jvj&lgßSPVi there was not a-dirty or--untidy cbiW; to be seen, oi- one,with rndo manno;;; ■ The children- are*aUowe<i/4o,t'plny: ih• tho light,sandy,soil of the foreit sue'i: as-English. children play :afc- i'.o sea I side, and they have the best of, good! cijnos.' They practically spon i tix summer -in! Paradise.' They get 'a 1 training that must'.shape their whcl->: future,.morally and. physicaliv. '

A GREAT SOCIETY DESSfdAKER.

Mr. W. F. Loncrgan, forvriany years a Paris correspondent of .one c'f tin) leading London/dailies, has a big oudget of anecdotes t'o'relate.'in his reminiscences' of "Forty Years in Paris," which Mr. Fisher Unwin has' recently published. Mr. Loncrgan.' "for instance,' had au interview .vitli' Worth_ not long beforo ho died, uuv was given somo, interesting facts' abdut tho great'patrons of"tho famous; society dressmaker.- ~;,-..-.;

■ "For ■• oxainplo," romarked ' M, 1 Worth, "a telegram comes from the .Empress of Russia, ' Send mo a'dinner dres3 !•'• Nothing more. " "Wo aro loft absolute freedom as to stylo and material. Not'that the. Empress is indifferent in the.mattcr of dress. Quite the contrary. She will sometimes require that all the ladies' costumes at a certain ball be pink, or red, or bluo. And her own dresses aro always masterpieces of elegance. The point is that she trusts our judgment rather than- her own. In the same ,way i - ccent!y we have received ovor (\vi nty telegrams from Madrid for ball di esses, and we shall mako them up as' wo think fit. AVo.'can finish a cos■fcumo in twenty-four hours. . French ladies have ordered a dross in the morning and havo dancod in it at night. I onco made a gown for the Empress Eugenio in three ; hours and a half. • That would not, of course, do for elaborate work. It often takes weeks to complete an ■ embroidered gown. 'For the Coronation of tho Tsar and Tsaritsa wo had to mako a Court. train. .It..was for itho Empress, and was covered with magnificent, embroidery in real ' silver. Women were engaged on it night and day for six weeks. As to prices paid, wo havo had 120,000 francs for a single gown ,tho laco almo cost'ing 118,000 francs'; Wo havo Gold a cloak for 45,000 francs, of which 44,000 francs went for tho fur. Wo have worked for all tho Court.!,' ! ':t never for Queen Victoria."

- Officials of tho Manchester Bofor•?nco library havo caused to bo circulated a description of tho valuable copy of 'The Golden Legend," printed Ivy Caxton, and bearing tho date 1483. This, is a first edition, and is one of the sixteen known to bo in oxistonco. ft was missed from tho library on May 1. Tho book is valued at considerably over £1000.

On August 1 there arrived in London, after' an absence of six years, Anton Hanotan, who has in that-in-terval walked round tho world. Anton, who left Vienna 'on September 12, 1900. covered 28,510'mlica, accompanied during tho groatnr part- of his way by his wife and' little girl. To his groat and lasting grief, however, his wife, died in Sunderland on July 1, after sharing his hairbreadth esacpos in five continents: Onco, in Arizona, they wcro four days without wator, and" more, than once all-night vgiili: were spent on. account of rattlesnakes. Ninety-nine pairs of boots were worn out during his . tramp, and a knowledge of 22 languages was acquriod by. theJ'ather and daughter. ~ "Our Dumb Friends' League" (London) has begun the supply of oatmeal an '('water foi draught horse sat, different, points in the metropolis;* The maintenance of a station ■ to-supply the-horses with this welcome refreshment, costs the sooiet yabout 25s pev' week for each point. So far, two points havo been opened, ona nt, tho Marb'.'j Arch and one tit. th« .Strand (by permission of the Commissioner of Police). Tho scheme is carried out under the auspice? of'the drivers' and horsskoopers' 'bre.uo hof tho League, which deals with all matters connected with the welfare «f■ horses.,