onsidered
necessary before lessons were resumed; and the "recreation," as a rule,
resolved itself into taking flying leaps over forms piled in
extraordinary positions one on the top of another, or alongside each
other. I am afraid it is not a very dignified confession for an elderly
matron to make, but those impromptu gymnastics on forms are amongst the
most delightful recollections of my childhood. The little girls of the
present day practise calisthenics, and perform wonderful feats with
ropes and giant strides; I hope they know something of the delight we
used to get out of our deftly-arranged forms.

As I have already said, however, afternoon school is a thing unknown to
the majority of the fortunate girls who attend our high schools and
collegiate establishments. According to present arrangements girls reach
school at half-past nine, and they remain till half-past one, having an
interval of half an hour between eleven and twelve for rest and
refreshment. Then the pupils separate, and the elder ones go home with
any amount of "home work" to prepare, while the younger ones remain at
school to learn their home lessons with the assistance of the teachers.
It is with the necessities of these young ones who remain that I am just
now concerned. Very often dinner is provided for them at the school, and
a few partake of it there under the superintendence of a teacher who is
told off for the duty. It is my experience, however, that only a small
proportion of the whole number of those who stay avail themselves of
this opportunity. Either the price charged is too high, or conversation
is too much restricted, or from some other reason girls for the most
part prefer to bring food with them "for luncheon," and postpone a
proper meal until they reach home.

Now it is a very bad thing for growing girls to go so long without a
proper meal. Supposing they have to be at school by half-past nine, it
is not unsafe to conclude that this means that breakfast is taken about
half-past eight, if not earlier. Leaving school at four or half-past, it
will not be likely that dinner, or the "meat tea," can be enjoyed before
half-past five. This long fast, broken only by eating an unsatisfactory
"snatch" of one sort or another, is likely to be very injurious to
health. Brain-workers need really to be better fed even than those who
work with their hands, because brain-work is exceedingly exhausting. If
it could be arranged that there should be hal