Various

“ Every one who has played tennis, no matter how little, knows what an amount of exertion and lung-power is expended in a three or five set match, especially if the weather is at all warm or humid, as it usually is in this part of the country on the day set for a tennis-match— (unless it rains!) In order to be able to stand the strain of such an exertion, any one who is going to play tennis regularly and in tournaments during the summer should make it a point to lead as much as possible a regular life. ”

“ So many of the Spanish boys go to Cuba, and often they forget Spain, take a Cuban girl for a wife, and never go home again. And then their children are Cubans with Cuban mothers. Cuba is so near to the United States, these Cuban children often come here, where they learn something about our system of government, and the education and freedom enjoyed by our people. ”

“ About twenty-eight years ago many of the Cubans got together in the eastern part of the island, and thinking they could throw off the Spanish rule, they armed themselves and went into the mountains, where they fought against the Spanish rule for ten years. At that time the negroes of Cuba were still slaves, their masters buying and selling them as though they were cattle instead of human beings. As these black men were all strong and hardy fellows, the Cubans told them that if they would help them fight they would give them their liberty. ”

“ In every window merry black faces peered with beady eyes and shining ivories; for under the mild and patriarchal rule in Virginia in those days the negroes were considered as humble members of the family, who had a share in all its pleasures, as in all its sorrows. ”

“ Shall we continue year in and year out wasting our valuable time in the making of honey that nobody wants, or shall we look about for something new to do which, after we have made all the honey that is needed, shall still keep us busy, so that people seeing us shall be able to call us 'the busy bees' as of yore? ”

“ The remaining time of George's stay at Greenway Court sped on rapidly—too fast for Lord Fairfax, who realized every day how close the boy had got to his heart.
As for Lance, a real friendship had grown up between him and George, and the old soldier thought with keen regret of the impending departure.
Black Bear had remained at Greenway until his wound was well on the way to recovery, but, as Lance said, "an Injun can walk on a broken leg and climb a tree with a broken arm," so that when Black Bear considered himself recovered a white man would have thought his cure scarcely begun. ”

“ It has sometimes been asked if a tennis-player should maintain any especial kind of training. He should—that is, he should keep in training in the sense of keeping in good condition and, as I have said above, in keeping in form. If a man wishes to win a closely contested five-set match, he has got to be absolutely fit. Such a game requires endurance as much as skill, and the man who is in the better condition, even if he is the poorer player, so far as science goes, is likely to be the winner. ”

“ So, there being no water, we of course had to provide ourselves with a craft that could navigate dry land; which is precisely what the Rattletrap was—namely, a "prairie schooner."
"I've got a team of horses and a wagon," went on Jack, that rainy night when we were talking. "You've got a pony and a saddle. We've both got guns. When we drive out of town some stray dog will follow us. What more'll we want?"
"Nothing," I said, as I clapped my stick down in the space-box. "We can put a canvas cover on the wagon and sleep in it at night, and cook our meals over a camp-fire, and—and—have a time." ”

“ All were delighted to see him; and his brother Laurence, telling him that Admiral Vernon, his old friend, for whom he had changed the name of the plantation to Mount Vernon from Hunting Creek, was visiting him, was for presenting him then and there to the Admiral. But Betty interposed.
"Wait until George has changed his clothes, brother, for I am sure he looks much better in his blue cloth jacket and his brocaded waistcoat, made of our mother's wedding-gown; and I want the Admiral to think well of him at first, and—oh, George has a sword! He thinks he is a man now!" ”

“ This question of practice is a very important one, and no player who hopes to become proficient in tennis can ever hope to do so unless he keeps himself in shape by working daily on the court during the open season. In tennis, as in everything else, there is no high-road to success, [Pg 1006] and while it is possible that some men may have a greater facility for making strokes and covering the court than others, there is no such thing as a born tennis-player, and all who have succeeded in the game have earned their laurels by hard and persistent work. ”

“ And as there were many of these inhabitants, the Spaniards counted their lives of no value, and not only overworked them, treating them with great cruelty, but killed them out of pure wantonness, just as some boys delight in stoning dogs and killing birds. ”

“ It is bad on general principles to drink when overheated, and while exercising in this way cold drinks will surely make a player feel badly, and eventually give him dyspepsia, if nothing worse. It is well to have a pail of fresh water—better still, oatmeal water—near the court, and there is no reason why the players should not occasionally wash out their mouths. In England, where there is even a greater fear of ice-water than there is among our own sensible people, tennis-players frequently take a little warm tea between sets when playing important matches. ”

“ To the amazement of all the American travellers the natives uttered howls of dismay, and gathered up their goods and fled. Nothing could persuade them to come back again, and the Americans were considerably at a loss to know what had caused their fright. They learned a few days later from a low-caste Hindoo that the fakir and his friends had been scared almost out of their wits by the lighting of the match. "They are willing to do tricks with human beings," said the man, "but they have great fear of one who can pick up a small stick from the ground, and with it draw fire from his foot. ”

“ They do not see why they should be ruled by a King who lives so far away, and then they do not see why they should have a King at all. Besides, they say they are taxed a great deal to support this King and his ministers in Spain, and every year more Spaniards come to Cuba, and as these are poor and anxious to work, they occupy all the places which would otherwise be held by the Cubans. Thus there is a jealousy between the Cubans and the new arrivals, who soon begin to regard their cousins born in the island very much as their ancestors regarded the native Indians. ”

“ In their place remain the negroes, who are the descendants of the slaves from Africa, and the white Cubans, who are descended from the Spanish settlers. But owing to the climate, the fertility of the soil and other conditions which surround them, they have grown up to be different men from their Spanish grandfathers.
Now Spain is a land ruled over by a King, and its lands are in the hands of a few fortunate men called counts and marquises, so that the poor people have no land of their own which they may cultivate, and thus earn their living as our country farmers do. ”

“ They are not a fighting people, like our ancestors, who fought against a tax of threepence on a pound of tea because they considered it unjust. The Cubans wanted to be let alone, and often paid their taxes without complaint. But as Spain still sent her boys as colonists to Cuba, the Cubans found it very hard to compete with these boys, pay their taxes, and make a living. A great many of them left the island and came to this country, where they have made their homes, but always looking across the water, hoping that some day their island would be free from Spanish rule. ”

“ There are no great battles fought, and while the Spaniards claim that they cannot find the rebels, the Cubans destroy and lay waste the country, believing that the Spaniards will eventually get tired and give up trying to rule them, for Cuba's wealth, they say, is the cause of the yoke she bears, and all must be destroyed rather than submit again to Spanish rule. ”

“ This week we begin describing the trip from Chicago to Waukesha. A trip in the vicinity of Waukesha was given last week as being one of the best rides in that part of the country. The quickest way, of course, to reach Waukesha is by train, but it is a pleasant ride all the way from Chicago there on the wheel, and there is no reason why a wheelman with some time on his hands should not begin his journey at Chicago instead of at Waukesha. ”

“ For this reason tennis-players, and especially the younger men among them, to whom I hope to appeal in these columns, should avoid hops and dances at summer resorts, for this is the most common reason for sitting up late at night. A couple of hours' dancing in the evening, while it is fun, is exercise, and tires one. The man who has to play a match in the morning will feel that unpleasant weary sensation under the knees if he has danced the night before, and in the middle of about the second set he will wish he had gone to bed instead of to the ballroom. ”

“ Since the formation of the National Association there has been a great boom in track athletics in many of the Western States, where hitherto the interest had been more or less desultory, especially among the graduates, and without graduate interest little can be done by the young sportsmen themselves. Now, however, it looks as if Iowa and Wisconsin, and Ohio and Minnesota were in a fair way to develop strong school athletes, and within the next year or so these lads will surely become a factor in the interscholastic athletic development of this country. ”

“ The Cubans wanted self-government, and, among other things, they stipulated that the negroes who had fought with them should be recognized as free men. This did not seem reasonable, because the negroes who had remained faithful to Spain were still slaves, while those who had rebelled were to be rewarded. General Campos agreed, however, and the Cubans laid down their arms. Thus the first successful blow for freedom was struck, and Spain soon passed laws which eventually gave the rest of the negroes their liberty. ”

“ Many Presidents have taken office as poor men, but with the money they have saved during their term, and the influence that the office has brought them in business pursuits afterwards, they have died comparatively rich.
The country instals the President in the White House—a magnificent residence—and surrounds him with every convenience. ”

“ Can you tell a New York city boy, who is interested in architecture, where he can get a chance, without expense, to read the illustrated architectural papers or magazines as they come out? Can you suggest the names of those which are best suited to help a boy ambitious to become familiar with this study? ”

“ In its struggle for liberty the American residents had rendered such splendid service, that when freedom was finally gained they were granted many especial privileges by the Mexican government. These were highly prized, and everything went smoothly, until General Santa Aña headed a revolution, overthrew the existing government, and made himself Dictator.
"Hating Americans, and jealous of their increasing power, Santa Aña began to withdraw their privileges, and declared that Texas, disappearing as a separate territory, should thereafter belong to the older Mexican state of Coahuila. ”