Now on observing that my daughters suffered in the same manner, I said to myself, “There must surely be something wrong here.” And here I would mention the fact that when I was 12 or 13 years of age I learnt the violin, and afterwards for upwards of 35 years discontinued it. But later in life, desiring to accompany my children, I was induced to take up the violin again. I then found that, although I was in all other respects exceedingly strong and healthy and capable of all athletic exercises, my fingers and hand in a few minutes became painfully fatigued. The same result followed whenever I took the violin in hand,—in fact, I found that my fingers were the only weak parts of my body. This happened a few years ago, about the same time when the above-mentioned inquiries took place, exciting in me great surprise and an earnest desire to search into the cause. I thought to myself, “There must underlie some unknown hidden cause to account for this phenomenon. I will thoroughly probe the matter.” For this purpose I now put myself in the way of those individually who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, viz., the smith, the joiner, the bricklayer, the labourer, the peasant, the gardener, the wood-cutter, the miner, &c. &c. I found that all these persons work with their _arms_, and thereby acquire muscle like steel and arms like giants; but that none of them work with their _fingers_. After this I visited boys’ and girls’ schools, and also observed them in their families; and there I found again that nearly all of them in their work made _no use_ of the _fingers_. The same observation I made with the educated classes, of every age and sex. This discovered to me the fact that the muscles of the fingers are _extremely little exercised_ in the ordinary occupations of life; and must, therefore, on physiological ground, be weak; a fact of much importance. I then repaired to the most renowned gymnastic establishments of the Continent, and begged to be shown all the varied gymnastic exercises practised on the body, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, and when all these various movements had been exhibited before me, I inquired “But where are your gymnastic exercises for the _fingers_?” “We have none.” “Why?” “We never thought of it.” “But they require them surely as much or more than all!” “It has never occurred to us; we did not know the fingers required gymnastics, and they have been entirely overlooked.” This disclosed to me another great fact; namely, that the fingers are the _only active members_ of the human body to which a properly constituted system of gymnastic exercises has NOT been applied.