Читать книгу Sandow on physical training: a study in the perfect type of the human form - Eugene Sandow - Страница 20
ОглавлениеIII.
SANDOW'S BOYHOOD AND EARLY LIFE.
A personality so marked as that of Sandow, with such power latent in him, both of will and purpose, as would make of him the character he has become, presents, even in youth, many aspects of view, the presentation of which can hardly fail to be of interest to the reader. It is a trifle tedious, however, as most will admit, to dwell in minute detail on the early life of men who have subsequently made their mark in the world. We shall not fall into this error in treating of Mr. Sandow's youth-time, for all we might say would be to repeat the aphorism, doubtless in his case with variations, that "the child is father to the man." If we enlarged upon this topic, it would be to remark that while from his earliest years young Sandow had a fondness for athletics and exercised his muscles, even furtively when he was denied the opportunity to do so openly, he never dreamed of reaching the perfection of bodily development and muscular power he was afterwards to attain, or of becoming renowned on two hemispheres for mighty deeds of physical agility and strength. He had, nevertheless,
A BOY'S NATURAL AND HEALTHY DESIRE FOR DISTINCTION,
though, as yet, the field of his youthful tests of strength was a modest one, and immature were the powers which one day were to do great feats. In his ambition to train himself, he aimed at being thorough rather than showy, and, as he has counselled many a pupil in athletics since,
HE PUT HIS MIND INTO HIS EXERCISES.
The phrase, in Mr. Sandow's mouth, is worth dwelling upon, for, as he earnestly and persistently avows, it is the key to success as a gymnast. The difference is great, as every learner knows or ought to know, between going through certain exercises in a perfunctory and mechanical manner, and putting the muscles to the strain by concentrating the mind and will-power upon the manipulation of the weights, or whatever muscular exercise is being attempted. Exercise, he of course also maintains, should be systematic, persistent, and thorough. Without this, and disregarding his chief injunction, to put mind into your work, anything like proficiency cannot be reached. How assiduously and laboriously Sandow has himself trained, few men who have not some time or other equipped themselves for competitive contests can know. For years, as we have already observed, he did this for the love of it, and without thought that in the future he should turn his training into an arduous but profitable vocation. This fact, in telling the story of the athlete's early life, we may have occasion to repeat, for Mr. Sandow is fond of referring to it with his young pupils as an encouragement when they are apt to weary of assiduous exercise and the toil it entails. But this and other matters of practical interest we shall come to in the narrative of the life, upon which we now enter.
Eugene Sandow was born at Königsberg, Prussia, on the 2d of April, 1867. He is consequently now only in his twenty-seventh year. As a child he was healthy and well-formed, but there was nothing of the prodigy about him, physically or mentally; nor were either of his parents of anything but normal physique. Up to his fifteenth year, indeed, young Eugene was of slight build and rather delicate constitution. His father, like all patriotic Germans, had served some five years in the army, but took to commerce as his life-vocation, and, in time, became a prosperous jeweller and dealer in precious stones and metals. This worthy citizen of Königsberg is now dead, as is his wife, Mr. Sandow's loving and devoted mother. A half-brother, who also is only of average physique, is a professor in the University of Gottingen. Sandow himself was an earnest student, and in his school-boy years was deemed a fair, all-round scholar, though he had a preference for mathematical studies, in which he was well versed and won honours. Contemporary with his college-days, he devoted himself with great ardour to all forms of gymnastic exercises and athletics. There he stood upon what was now to be commanding ground, for so successful was his training that he soon distinguished himself in all sports, and feats of agility and strength. In these he outrivalled even his senior schoolmates. He loved, beyond anything, to steal off to the gymnasium and the circus, and in the latter, with youthful but wayward ambition, longed to test his strength
WITH ACROBATS, WRESTLERS, AND HEAVY-WEIGHT LIFTERS.
The circus was, however, unhallowed ground with his good and honest parents, and, seeing their son drawn with uncovenanted bonds to the glittering arena, they put the place for him under interdict. This was a sore rebuff to young Eugene, but it led to the redoubling of his own home-efforts to become redoubtable as an athlete.
About this time young Sandow's holidays fell due, and his father, being in good circumstances and fond of his boy, who had been diligent in his studies, gave him the treat of taking him with him on a visit to Rome. Arriving at Rome, what the youthful scholar had imbibed of the classics led him to take keen interest in the art treasures of the Eternal City, particularly in the statuary, representing the gods and heroes of antiquity. Under the local influences of the place, his imagination repeopled the Corso and the Colosseum with the stalwart deities of Roman mythology and he seemed to see, as in a vision, the great pageant of a past day, with mighty concourses of people applauding their laurel-crowned favourites in the wrestler's arena. But, practically, he liked most to frequent the art-galleries, and there to hang about and admire the finely-sculptured figures of heathen deities and the
CHISELLED BEAUTY OF SOME HERCULEAN ATHLETE
or wrestler in the throes of a life or death struggle. With the inquiring mind of youth, he asked his father why our modern race had nothing to show in physical development like those lusty men of the olden time? Had the race deteriorated, or were the figures before him only the ideal creations of god-like men? His father's reply was a disappointment to him, for he had to admit that the race had suffered physical decline, and even in its choicest individual specimens had fallen grievously from its once mighty estate. Later ages, with their ignoble ideals, and the sordid habits and fashionable indulgences of the race, had wrought their due havoc—a havoc which the father took occasion to impress on the youth's mind, and the admonition was not lost. Eugene, contrasting his own slight figure with the mighty thews and graceful forms of the statued heroes about him, conceived the idea to train his body to the utmost pitch of perfection, and so approach, if he did not attain to, the
ANCIENT IDEAL OF PHYSICAL POWER AND BEAUTY.
Returning to his home, in the high ardour of emulation, he devoted himself, more assiduously than ever, to muscular training and the intelligent study of his frame, its capacities and functions. Every opportunity he took advantage of that seemed to further him in his work and brought him nearer the goal of his purpose. Many and furtive, at this time, were his resorts to the circus-tent and the wrestler's arena. But these were forbidden indulgences, and though he tried hard to give heed of his parent's injunctions, his ruling passion was often too strong for him. So all-impelling was his ambition at this period, that we find him repeatedly running away from home, and as repeatedly and ignominiously being brought back.
The battle was of long continuance between young Sandow's inclination and his duty to his parents. It ended at last in his going to the University of Gottingen, where, however, he was permitted a measure of indulgence in physical training. Winning his way, with the exception of the limitations imposed upon him, he pursued his academic studies with zeal and energy, which so commended him in the eyes of his parents that they permitted his proceeding to Brussels to study anatomy. This, it may be said in passing, was not the profession his parents had designed for him. The family were of the Lutheran faith, and its heads had hoped that Eugene, with his gifts and prospects, might take to the ministry. But in this they were disappointed, though they were not loth to see their son turn to the healing art as a profession. Ere long, however, they had a new disappointment, for Eugene, at the medical school, confined himself almost entirely to the anatomical course. Here the reader will, once more, perceive the undeviating bent of the young athlete's purpose. Yet most valuable, it must be said, was the intimate knowledge he gained of the structure and
MUSCLE-RAMIFICATION OF THE HUMAN FRAME.
It was the instruction he most needed in pursuing his training as an athlete, and almost beyond price has he since found the knowledge he then acquired. Meanwhile, it gave new stimulus and a fresh direction to his labours in muscle-culture, and brightened and widened the outlook on his cherished athletic pursuits.
Up to this time, though young Sandow had achieved no inconsiderable local fame as a skilled gymnast and wrestler, he had had no thought of indulging his tastes beyond the limits of the amateur. A quarrel just then with his father altered the condition of things with the young lad, and confronted him with a grave crisis in his life. His parent, seeking to curb Eugene's infatuation for his favourite pastime, cut off his money-allowance and threatened him with other embarrassing deprivations. The result did not meet the fond father's expectations. It threw the high-spirited lad on his own resources, and only too apparent were the resources available. The circus and the theatre became more than ever his resorts, and not unwilling, as we may well imagine, were his feet to go thither. Luck and his skill threw prize-money in his way, and now and then he earned a little by hiring himself out to sculptors and artists as a model.
Only precarious, however, was at this time young Eugene's means of livelihood, and soon he had seriously to debate with himself how or where else he could make money. In debating the question, he bethought himself of a quasi-professional visit to Holland. Before he left Brussels, Sandow made the acquaintance of a well-known and noted professor of athletics, who, at various periods and in different countries, was to figure in exhibitions with him.
SANDOW FIRST MEETS ATILLA.
This was Professor Atilla, who, at the time we are writing of, conducted a gymnastic training school at Brussels. Sandow's introduction to this expert instructor in physical education was due to the enthusiasm of some pupils of Atilla, who had caught sight of the young Prussian wrestler, entering a café opposite the gymnasium, while they were themselves receiving a lesson. Sandow was induced by his eager friends, who knew his skill, to bring himself to the knowledge of "the Professor" by exhibiting some of the more wonderful feats they had known him to perform. The exhibition proved an astonishment to Atilla, for he found that the youth not only surpassed all his pupils in dexterity and strength, but could do many things which the master was himself unable to perform. On the other hand, the partnership which grew out of this chance encounter was, while it lasted, of service to Sandow, for the latter learned something from the expert which was afterwards added to his own repertoire. Together, the two paid professional visits to Rotterdam, Antwerp, and other towns close by, and later on returned with the modest gains of their labour to Brussels. They also found at Leyden, among the students at the University, interested and well-paying pupils, to whom the athletes, for a time gave lessons.
