HINTS ON SWIMMING.
There is not an effect without a cause,
Swimming is an outcome of nature’s laws.
It is easy to learn to swim, and hence,
The main requisition is confidence,
Men cannot do it—at least so they say—
Till they’ve been taught by those who know the way.
How do brutes learn?—swim splendidly they can—
Nature guides them, and nature teaches man,
_Minus_ teaching, lower animals swim.
The training they get is just “a throw in!”
I have had a good deal of experience in the matter and my advice to
any person swimming _towards_ heavy seas is this—When a large wave is
coming, don’t wait till it breaks on you, dive under it to save being
struck and carried away. On the other hand, if swimming _with_ the
seas—that is, in the direction in which they are going—and a larger
one than usual is coming along behind you, turn round, face it, and
dive as in the former case. I don’t know whether Shakespeare could
swim, or not, but in his play of “The Tempest” he describes exactly
the mode of procedure in rough water, thus—
“I saw him beat the surges under him,
And ride upon their backs; he trod the water,
Whose enmity he flung aside, and breasted
The surge most swol’n that met him; his bold head
’Bove the contentious waves he kept, and oar’d
Himself with his good arms in lusty stroke
To the shore.”
I am so convinced of the merits of swimming, that if I had the
power I would make a law compelling everybody, male and female, to
learn the art when young. Once learnt—like riding on horseback—it
is an exercise having a method that can never be forgotten, even
although years may elapse between the times of practice. It may be
said that everyone is not called upon to swim, but no one knows how
soon he, or she, may be placed in a position requiring the use of
it, and the fact of being able to do something for oneself inspires
confidence—the great thing needed—to a person in the water, whether
there voluntarily, or by accident.
Nowadays, everyone knows by reading, that the human body will not
sink in water—and especially salt water—unless the lungs are filled
with it instead of air. Yet each one, except a swimmer, when fallen
into the water, either does not believe in the truth of this natural
law, or else gets so frightened as to forget all about it! No one can
become a swimmer till he possesses thorough confidence in the power
of the water to support him, and he can easily get this confidence by
a little practical lesson:—Go down to the beach at Port Melbourne, or
any other where having a sloping sandy beach, strip off your clothes,
take a small white stone in one hand, wade out from the shore till
the water rises as high as your waist. Then turn face shoreward
and throw the stone to the bottom, the water being clear you will
see the stone plainly. Stoop down and try to pick it up. You will
find the water, even against your inclination, prevents you from
sinking to the stone, and if you want to get it, you must use active
force by diving. To encourage you to dive, remember that you are in
shallow water, and can put your feet to the ground at any moment you
wish to stand upright. Having this practical knowledge, if a person
unacquainted with swimming should happen, accidentally, to fall into
the water, all he has to do when he comes to the surface—which he
must do if he keeps his mouth shut and does not attempt to breathe
while under—is to turn on his back, refrain from struggling and
plunging, or raising his hands above his head. He can easily keep
himself from turning over face downwards by putting his arms a little
distance out from his sides, at the same time taking care that the
hands are open and flatly in line with the surface of the water.
In this position he can float in safety for hours, if the water be
smooth, and call for assistance meanwhile. This method is very well
in its way, but the better plan is to learn swimming, and then, under
ordinary circumstances, a man can help himself confidently.
My story now draws to a close, but I feel that it would be the height
of ingratitude for me to conclude without a few special words to my
many benefactors.
[Illustration: Decoration]