Various

“ It may surprise you to know that from the time that the range-finder sailors fix their telescopes on the enemy less than one second need elapse before the guns are fired. Of course every man is at his station. Each gun is already fixed at near the proper range. The range-finders give the exact distance. The man in the central office telegraphs it to the gunners. The gunners adjust their weapons and press down their buttons. The gun-firers wait to get the proper sight, probably in the same twinkling of an eye that all this information is being sent over the ship, and he finally fires the gun. ”

“ There are many picturesque characters which make fine studies for the amateur photographer, and our young amateurs are requested to bear them in mind when in search of subjects for our coming contest. There is the old veteran with his faded blue army coat, to which he clings as long as it preserves a remnant of respectability; the shoemaker or cobbler at work on his bench; a sailor who bears marks of his tussle with wind and wave; a ruddy farmer engaged in some one of his many duties; a woman weaving at a hand-loom or spinning on a flax or wool wheel ”

“ And it is wonderful how effective a knowledge of boxing will make a very small amount of strength. The writer remembers seeing a skilled light-weight boxer in a college boxing-room easily best the stroke oar of a class crew—a man of tremendous strength and weight, but one who had never learned to box.
The second reason why a boy should learn to box is because boxing not only teaches him how to utilize the strength that he has, but before long it tremendously increases that same strength. ”

“ The top of the stove rose and danced about in an angular manner. The pipe came down and covered Deacon Crockett and Willy Flint impartially with soot. Legs went here and there. The door bounced off, followed by ashes and coals, and smote Mr. Cummings sorely on the foot. Then the stove settled down, propped only by one leg plainly showing and declaring itself the most disreputable stove in the town of Hagar; and the school resolved itself into anarchy, which proves just what all wise men say, that nihilism results in anarchy. ”

“ Indeed it is only lately that they are beginning to realize in France that boys need a certain amount of athletics to make them healthy and manly, and are trying to encourage out-door sports in all the schools. There has recently been held in Paris a grand international congress to promote the re-establishment of the old Olympic games, but exactly what these re-established Olympic games are going to be it is too early to say yet. Meanwhile lawn-tennis is getting to be as popular in France as at home, and croquet is a perpetual favorite. ”

“ Thus far Brown has not by any means played the game he is capable of. He has met no opponents of his own weight. He is fairly quick, and has a good knowledge of the game. With these conditions his work should be of the brilliant order, but, on the contrary, it has been even at the best mediocre, and at times lamentably weak.
White is probably the best end on any school team about New York. Very seldom is a gain made around his end, and an attempt usually results in a loss. ”

“ Probably the most wonderful of all these devices is the range-finder.
RANGE-FINDERS AT WORK ON THE ENEMY FROM THE FORE AND MAIN TOPS.
It isn't necessary for us to go deep into electrical science to understand how this instrument does its work. Electricity itself is a great mystery, and a puzzle in many ways to those who understand it best. Most of us have not been able to grasp its simpler puzzles until we studied them in college, and even then it would not be well for us to boast of what we knew. All we need to know, however, to understand the range-finder is a little problem in geometry. ”

“ He is a clever dodger when running with the ball, but needs to overcome a slight timidity against being tackled. He punts fairly well, and is the best drop-kicker on the team. On the offensive he plays close up to the line and breaks through well, but his eagerness sometimes leads him to run too far, thus putting himself out of the play.
The best football-player that Berkeley ever boasted is undoubtedly Bien, at full-back. He is as good a man in that position as there is in the New York League this year. He is a first-rate ground-gainer and knows the game thoroughly. He is a strong tackler ”

“ When the enemy gets within 3000 yards, the Kentucky's 13-inch forward guns will each hurl a monster bullet, weighing more than a thousand pounds, at the other vessel. Not a shot must be fired until the enemy is exactly 3000 yards away. Both ships are moving swiftly. In less than one second the enemy will be exactly 3000 yards off. An awful roar follows. A tongue of fire, followed by a rolling, bounding ball of smoke, darts from a great cannon. Nearly a quarter of a mile away the eye can see the half-ton projectile darting straight toward the other ship. ”

“ Long before the distance of an enemy could be computed his ship, and your own as well, would have changed its position, going as war-ships in time of conflict do at the rate of more than a quarter of a mile a minute. ”

“ Always "counter" (i.e., give a return blow with the hand not used in parrying) every lead of your opponent. Remember that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, and always lead a straight blow. It comes more natural for every one to hit "round"—i.e., swinging—blows. But a straight hard lead is the more effective. Swing, if swing you must, when countering, never when leading. Try as much as possible to avoid blows at the face by ducking.
The left hand lead, either at the face or the body, is the most important lead of all, the first taught, and by far the hardest to learn. ”

“ Nearly every muscle of the body is brought into play. The triceps, or pushing muscles on the back of the arm, the shoulder and back muscles, are the ones especially developed in boxing. The bare back of a boxer is a perfect mass of muscle. Great knots and coils appear between and across the shoulders with every movement, while the ridges stand out clear down to the base of the spine. Let a boy practise a single left-hand lead in front of a mirror in gymnastic costume, and note how [Pg 64] many muscles are used. ”

“ When all the answers are given, the player who has gone out is called in, and takes his place on the chair. "Why am I on the sellette?" he asks, and the person who has collected the answers gives one after another, while the person in the centre tries to guess who are their authors. You can see that all the fun of this game, like that of many others, depends upon the cleverness of the players, for each one tries to make a witty hit in his answer at some characteristic or some event in the life of the person in question that is known to the speaker alone. ”

“ After the gun is all ready for firing, however, even the fifth of a second may make the difference between a hit and a miss, and hence the need for the lightning quickness of electricity.
The range-finder and the other appliances used with it are the inventions of Lieutenant Bradley A. Fiske, of the United States navy. No other navy than ours has them, although the naval authorities of other nations are thinking of adopting them. If we should have a war right away, we should have an advantage over an enemy. Constant experience has shown their complete success. ”

“ That is undoubtedly the principal reason why the players put up such an excellent game of football. Men cannot play football and quarrel among themselves at the same time, and, consequently, when they are weak enough to allow their tempers to get the better of them, the sport invariably suffers. ”

“ Never parry with the arm bent, as is often done, for then the arm receives the full concussion of the blow, and may be badly bruised. The left-hand lead and the different parries form the first principles of boxing. Practise them again and again until they come instinctively. With these well learned a boy can do much towards defending himself, even before mastering the counters, cross-counters, upper cuts, side-steps, and all the more complicated part of boxing which can only be taught effectively by a teacher. ”

“ So much for the advantages of boxing. It is not the writer's purpose in this article to do more than give the most general hints in regard to the actual blows and parries. Boxing cannot be taught on paper, and a boy can learn more in one lesson from a good teacher than by reading volumes. But a few brief hints may aid those who are not fortunate enough to be under an instructor.
And first, as to the selection of a teacher. Above all things, get one that is a scientific boxer, not some strapping bruiser that will knock you around at so much an hour. ”

“ Every town has some veteran boxer who will be glad to give boys a start in sparring. The first principles should be learned thoroughly and correctly, or the pupil will always be bothered by some clumsy habit picked up as a beginner. It was only this winter that the writer broke his thumb by a wrong blow learned ten years back from his first teacher, and which, in the excitement of a hard-fought bout, is only too apt to crop out in spite of years of warning from half a dozen instructors. ”

“ Occasionally, however, there comes a crisis when a boy must defend another weaker than himself, and then it is that a boxer knows what to do and does it, while an untrained boy either shirks his duty or, if very brave, tries to interfere, and usually makes matters worse by being hurt himself.
At a Yale-Harvard football game in Springfield, the writer noticed an incident which illustrates very forcibly the advantage of knowing how to box. Some rows ahead of the writer in the grand stand, a slim young fellow, certainly not more than eighteen years old, was sitting with a lady in the aisle seats. ”

“ We will go no more to the wood, for all the laurels are cut. But the beautiful one I present to you will go and pick them up. Enter into the dance, sing and waltz, and embrace the one that you love the best. ”

“ The gun cannot be fired unless the buttons of both gunner and gun-firer are pressed down at the same time. This is done to avoid waste of ammunition. The gunner keeps his finger on his firing-button all the time the range remains fixed. During that time the man at the telescope can fire the gun whenever the cross-hairs of his instrument tell him it is the proper time to fire. If the range is being changed, the gun does not go off. If the range is set, the gun does go off. In either case the man at the telescope has nothing to do with the range. ”

“ His experience, however, makes him as reliable a man as there is on the team. Cluett as snap-back and in attacks on the centre is first rate, but he seems to have the idea that his work ends there, as he very seldom breaks through and is slow in following the ball. Kinney is new at the game this year, but nevertheless he is playing as good football as any of the older members on the team. He is strong and exceptionally quick for his size. He makes many tackles and sure ones, is generally to be found where the [Pg 67] ball is, and when he runs with the ball is pretty sure of making a gain. ”

“ There is probably no other man in America who has had as much football experience or who knows more about the game than Mr. Lewis.... Of value not only to beginners, but to any one who wishes to learn more about football.... We heartily recommend it as the best practical guide to football we have yet discovered.—Harvard Crimson, Cambridge. ”

“ One of the weakest men in the line is Walker, at centre; he has the strength, but he is very slow, and does not seem able to catch the knack of putting the ball into play properly.
The backs are putting up a higher quality of football than the line-men. They are natural athletes, and all except Rice were members of last spring's baseball team. Their experience in catching seems to stand them in good stead now. Pell has been making rapid strides in his knowledge of the game. ”

“ Besides strengthening all the muscles, boxing trains the eye, gives quickness and a lithe, easy carriage, broadens and deepens the chest, and enlarges the lungs, and, best of all, teaches self-control, and gives a certain indefinable feeling of strength and safety that comes only with a strong well-trained body. ”

“ He is making an excellent Captain for the team, and although he does not insist quite strongly enough upon his rights against opposing teams sometimes, this is a shortcoming which will promote rather than injure the welfare of amateur sport. Boyesen is a new man to the game, and a trifle light, but he tackles splendidly and has good grit.
Huntington, who has been playing right tackle, is a trifle careless in his work; he is a powerful player, however, and runs well, and can tackle when he sets his mind on it. Granberry and Thomas have been candidates for the tackle positions ”

“ We are able now to see that the spirit of rivalry between the two schools, which was at first but a healthy stimulus to all forms of athletics, had grown to such unhealthy proportions as to cause a doubt in the minds of thinking people as to the beneficial results of such athletics, not only to those who took part but to the larger school bodies. ”

“ In the silk department there is so much worthy of notice that it seems almost impossible to select special samples of the wealth of beauty which has been imported recently. Satin duchesse, with gold or silver tinsel, in graceful and elegant patterns, specially adapted for dinner and reception dresses, while for street costumes the peau-de-soie material, with colorings of the new blue, new green, and lavender, will be much admired. ”

“ He is well-developed, and is as strong a player as any in the New York League. He knows the game well, but unfortunately, owing to his class-room work, he has not been able to devote as much time to field practice as is necessary to keep him in tiptop shape. Irvine, at left guard, has been running considerably with the ball; he is better in this position than he was at tackle, where he played early in the season. ”

“ There are very few occasions when a boy need ever fight on his own account. Sometimes, of course, it is absolutely necessary, but more often it only seems so, and the older a boy becomes, the more he is convinced that in boys' affairs, as well as in those of nations, arbitration is the only sensible and civilized way of settling disputes. ”

“ In "Chat perché" the mouse is allowed to perch on anything it pleases, and is safe so long as it can hang on. Or the cat perches, and the mice watch the moment when the cat can no longer hold on and must fall. Generally the players agree that nobody is to be kept perched too long at a time. In "Chat coupé," the person who is cat chooses one person to run after. Any one else playing may cut in between the two running, when the cat changes her course to run after him.
Girls play "La Mère Gigogne," a running game in which one of the players is chosen to be the old Mother Gigogne. ”