The first object with Bernardi, is to enable the pupil to float in an upright position, and in this the head is made the great regulator of all the motions. After having been by practice familiarised to keep his equilibrium, a variety of motions are gradually practised, until the swimmer is enabled at every stroke to urge himself forward a distance equal to the length of his body, and to travel, without fatigue, at least three miles an hour, and to continue this without great fatigue for many hours. Bernardi, speaking of the success of his practice, says, "Having been appointed to instruct the youths of the Royal Naval Academy at Naples in the art of swimming, a trial of the pupils took place in the presence of a number of persons assembled on the shore, and under the inspection of authorities appointed to witness and report upon the experiment. A twelve-oared boat attended the progress of the pupils, from motives of precaution. They swam so far out in the bay, that at length the heads of the young men could with difficulty be discerned with the naked eye; and the Major-General of Marine, Fortguerri, for whose inspection the exhibition was attended, expressed serious apprehensions for their safety. Upon their return to the shore, the young men, however, assured him that they felt so little exhausted, as to be willing immediately to repeat the exertion." After devoting a month to the investigation of Bernardi's plan, the Neapolitan government state in their official report-- "That it has been established by the experience of more than a hundred persons of different bodily constitutions, that the human body is lighter than water, and, consequently, will float by nature, and that the art of swimming must be acquired to render that privilege useful. "That Bernardi's system is new, in so far as it is founded on the principle of husbanding the strength, and rendering the power of recruiting it easy." The speed, according to the new method, is no doubt diminished, but security is much more important than speed, and the new plan is not exclusive of the old when occasions require great effort. Little more need be said on the subject of swimming, except giving a few directions in diving and plunging, which require to be performed with caution and elegance. When the swimmer prepares to dive, he must take a full inspiration of air, the eyes must be kept open, the back made round, and the head bent forwards on the breast; the legs must be thrown out with force, and the arms and hands, instead of being struck forward as in swimming, must move backward. When the swimmer would ascend, the chin must be held up, the back bent inwards, the hands struck out high and brought sharply down, and the body will immediately rise to the surface of the water. [Illustration]