Various

“ To his surprise, shortly after dark our prisoner heard a shuffling at the door of the cell. He had been shivering in the straw in a thin worn blanket.
"Who's there?" he said, his teeth rattling, and his eyes straining to catch a glimpse of what was going on. There was no answer, but as he put out his hand he touched a bundle. He drew it toward him. It was a heavy patch-work quilt. He drew it around him, grateful for the warmth, and thankful in his heart to his unknown benefactor. Immediately he fell asleep as softly as a child might in its cradle. ”

“ It may be just as Pop says, that living in Hoboken and going to business in New York is a great thing for a man, because it makes going to business a pleasure, but for a boy I don't see what good it is. Even if it's true that Hoboken people don't need yachts, because they've always got the ferry-boats handy for sailing, I can't get excited over the idea of going there. There ain't any fishing, and as for hunting, Pop says there's nothing wild there except Trolly Cars, and I never could see what fun there was in hunting trolly cars. ”

“ Prowling bands of Indians lurked about the stockaded towns, driving off cattle and rendering impossible the cultivation of the fields, so that the settlers were called upon to face starvation as well as the scalping-knife and tomahawk.
There was no meeting the Indians face to face, except by surprise. They fought from ambush, or by sudden assault on unprotected points, and would be gone before troops could be brought to the scene. The white men were unable to follow them without Indian allies, and they were slow to adapt themselves to the Indian mode of fighting. ”

“ Let's open the door enough to put the barrel out."
Dick did not seem to be at all elated over having his offer accepted. "I don't know about it," he said, hesitatingly. "Don't believe I want to."
"But you said you would," urged Billy. "If you don't, that'll be backing out."
"Aleck might butt the barrel with me in it," objected Dick.
"Who ever heard of a sheep butting a barrel? And what if he does? He can't hurt you and you inside of it."
"I'll tell you what I'll do. If you'll give me the knife and marbles, and that long lead-pencil of yours to boot, then I'll get in the barrel and roll." ”

“ The main body hastily mounted and plunged into the forest, seeking to shake off the cloud of savages who hung upon their flanks like a swarm of angry bees.
Young Jonathan was with a detachment of about twenty who were some distance up the river when the retreat began. They ran back to the horses and found their comrades gone. The Indians pressed upon them in numbers they could not hope to withstand. It was every man for himself. ”

“ The first difficulty for the novice to overcome is the laying out of his run and the arrangement of his take-off. These details are both of the highest importance, for although he may be a good sprinter and a good jumper, these two qualities are nullified if the take-off is uncertain. The run differs with almost every individual, each athlete must determine this for himself by experiment. It is necessary to lay out two marks on the cinder track; the first one must be a given number of strides this side of the take-off, and the second at a distance further back, to suit the taste of the jumper. ”

“ The New Manhattan Athletic Club, as is well known, has recently come under a new management, and I have been led to believe that, in the future, the much-tarnished cherry diamond will be polished up and made to stand for purity in amateur sport, as prominently as it was once degraded into representing exactly the other extreme. There is every reason to believe that such will be the case, if we may judge by the characters of the men at present in control. ”

“ A little bit larger than San Marino in population, but six times as large in area, is the republic of Andorra. It lies in a valley of the eastern Pyrenees between France and Spain. It became a free state in 819. It is governed by a Sovereign Council of 24 members, elected by the people, and a Syndic, or president, chosen for life by the Council. It has an army of 1100 men, and one big gun planted in the centre of the republic. This gun carries a ball twenty miles, and Europe trembles at the thought of its being fired. ”

“ When Johnny was quite tired of making himself big pigs out of snowballs, and hammock-chairs for drawing the girls over the snow out of crotched sticks and old shawls, and Scandinavian skates out of barrel staves, he decided he would make an ice-boat, and all the more firmly because the whole family, except his pretty aunt Mamy, told him it was nonsense, and he never could, and an ice-boat was a dangerous thing if he could, and it was of no use anyway. ”

“ George Washington was among the guests, and I was much pleased because he danced with me several times.
Referring to an old Virginia wedding, there is nothing comparable to it, as the preparations go regularly on for successive nights and days—such preparations as ruffle-crimping, jelly-straining, cocoanut-grating, egg-frothing, silver-cleaning, to be ready for guests who arrive a few days before, and, as in our case, remain for a week or more afterwards. Nor do the guests arrive alone; they come in their private carriages, with horses and an army of negro servants to be entertained. ”

“ Relay races are about the most interesting contests to put on an in-door programme, and I am glad to see that the event is coming into such wide popularity. There is a greater element of interest in such a race because it involves team-work, and team-work is always more attractive than individual work. And then again, where a solid body of supporters are encouraging one team, while similar crowds are urging on another, the enthusiasm and rivalry reach a far more inspiriting level than in any other case. ”

“ The sprinter starts down the track, measuring his strides carefully so as to come properly upon the first mark, and then he sprints at his greatest speed down the track to the take-off. If he has measured his distances correctly, he will land, as is shown in No. 3, with his jumping foot squarely upon the take-off. If he feels that he has gotten out of his stride, it is better not to make the jump at all, but to stop, for over-stepping the mark by a few inches will ruin the jump, and under-reaching the mark will detract just that much from the measure of his effort. ”

“ George had winced, but as he did so felt a reassuring pull at the back of his coat.
"He's wounded," said the jailer, noticing that the lad was supporting one arm with the other.
"We'll send a surgeon to him," said Abel Norton. "I may be a soft-hearted fellow; but I hate to see any one suffer."
"There's an empty cell on the second floor," put in the jailer. "I suppose you don't wish him to be placed in the main gallery with the others."
Mr. Anderson managed to whisper, as George was led away: "Courage. Two of your friends are with you. We are Numbers Two and Three." ”

“ The President of the little republic is elected every four years. He receives a salary of $500 a year, but when at Washington on business for the republic he gets $4 a day extra. He is called Chief, and none but a Cherokee of more than thirty-five years is eligible to the chieftainship. When he is absent his duties are performed by an Assistant Chief, whose salary is $250 a year. The Chief has a cabinet of three secretaries, and the Congress comprises two delegates from every 100 members of the tribe. All Cherokee males of sixteen and all white men who have Indian wives have the right to vote. ”

“ When doubting, use caution, may be a good motto, but under some circumstances boldness will answer quite as well. In fact, it is often the only thing that will carry affairs to successful issues.
George determined to hear the result of that meeting if possible, and then put as many miles of land and water between himself and New York as he could accomplish with the remaining hours of darkness. ”

“ It should be noted that all the rides in the vicinity of Washington, especially on the Virginia side, but to a certain extent on the north as well as the south, are apt to be very bad during wet weather. The clay formation of the ground forms a soft mud during a rainy period, which, if it does not make bicycling impossible, makes it most disagreeable and unsatisfactory in every way. This is especially true if you take the run from Washington to Mount Vernon, the best route for which being on the Virginia side. ”

“ You get on a ferry-boat to go the short way, but it takes an ocean steamer about two blocks long and a fog-horn on it to take you the long way. We're to get aboard of the steamer New York, go across to a place called Southhampton, where we take the cars for London. You've heard about London, I guess. Pop says it's the Boston of Europe, and the people there speak the same language; and I guess he is right, because he knows a man that's been there, and saw the Queen. ”

“ Vanderhoven, brought up in the purple, taught to play a little, to embroider a little, to speak a little French—to do a little of many things and nothing well—had been given the sort of education that in her day was the right of every gentleman's son, though denied the gentleman's daughter, would her life be so hard and narrow and distressful now? ”

“ She lives like Queen Victoria, rides in her carriage, dresses in black silk, has four maids to wait on her. She lives like the first lady in the land, in her son's house, and he treats her like a lover. ”

“ The two were of the same age, but Billy was considerably the larger. Billy had on his every-day clothes, and was bare-footed, while Dick looked rather uncomfortable in his Sunday suit and shoes and stockings.
"Guess I'll take these off," he said, seating himself on the doorstep and beginning to untie his shoes. "There, that feels better," he added, as he put the superfluous articles in at the door and looked down at his bare feet. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't care. Anything you say."
"Then let's go swimming," suggested Dick. "Too hot to do anything else." ”

“ There is no doubt, I say to myself, that the secret underlying the formation of so many little representative governments is to be found in the closing sentence, at once so eloquent and so musical—"An single republick is better as towsand kingsdoms." ”

“ These moving spirits have very wisely decided that the best way to achieve prominence in the field of amateur sport is not to gather in the reigning lights of the present, but to educate and bring forward their own men. ”

“ After the athlete has become more or less a master of his event, he will find that half a dozen jumps, two or three times a week, will be enough to keep him in practice, and I should advise him by all means to rest for three or four days before going into a contest. When the time for jumping at a field-meeting arrives, never try to do the best work on the first jump. Be satisfied to make your marks well and to catch the take-off squarely. ”

“ This week we give the last stage of the journey from Philadelphia or New York to Washington. Taking up the route from Cooksville, the run into Washington to the Capitol is between thirty-two and thirty-three miles. On leaving the cross-roads in the centre of the town, run south to Glenwood, thence direct to Roxbury Mills, straight on through the village to Unity, keeping always on the main road to Brookville. The distance is about ten miles over a road that is not of the best, and has some pretty bad places. ”

“ Bringing down the foot with such power serves to throw the body into the air, and this movement is aided by the lifting of the arms. The hardest strain comes on the back muscles, just as in high-jumping. The eyes should be fixed on some distant high point rather than on the ground where the jump will probably end. This seems to give a better "aim," and in many cases adds an inch or so to the distance. The fourth picture shows the jumper just after he has left the take-off. ”

“ The N. I. S. A. A. A. is a purely American affair, and has been organized for the purpose of encouraging and promoting amateur sport in the schools of this country alone. That, as we all know, is a big enough undertaking in itself. The other nations will have to take care of themselves!
That the National Association is to be a power for good, there can be little doubt. ”

“ The Pacific Amateur Press Association is composed of amateurs residing in the States of California, Oregon, and Washington. It meets annually in different cities on the coast. The next convention will be held in San Francisco next July. At conventions we have an exciting time at banquets, political fights, etc. Mr. Edward A. Hering, of Seattle, Wash., is President. The dues are fifty cents per year, no initiation fee being charged.
The Golden State is the largest local association in amateurdom. It meets semi-monthly. The initiation fee is fifty cents, and the dues thirty-five cents per month. ”