Various

“ As soon as supper was over came a thundering knock upon the door, and the host ushered in Sir John Peyton, of Gloucester, a colonial dandy, whose pride it was that he had the handsomest foot and leg in the colony. Sir John was very elegantly dressed, and carried upon his left arm a muff, which effeminate fashion he had brought from England on his last visit.
"Ah, my Lord Fairfax! Most happy to meet you," cried Sir John, affectedly. "'Tis most unkind of you to pitch your tent in the wilderness, instead of gracing the viceregal court, where gentlemen of rank and wealth are sadly needed." ”

“ As the Lieutenant of No. 5 reaches the conning-tower of his little boat, the flotilla is going at full speed, nearly twenty-five knots an hour, in column, his vessel in the lead. They are heading for the sombre outline of the distant land where he knows is the entrance to the harbor.
By his side stands a young ensign, his assistant, looking fixedly out into the night. Not a word is spoken. Each knows his life is to be staked at awful odds for his country.
Death has always seemed of little consequence to these young lives. ”

“ They have in the few years of their lives barely given it a thought, but now in the little tomb of the conning-tower they are almost face to face with the grewsome intangible hereafter. They think of the time when as children they have whispered their prayers at their mothers' knees—prayers almost forgotten; but they come back to them now with startling clearness, and are mentally repeated, coming like a soothing draught of water to a thirsty mortal. On flies the little craft, while behind her noiselessly follow her nine sisters. ”

“ In both cases the end on the long side of the field should keep a sharp lookout for a dash around the end. When a team gets possession of the ball in close proximity to its own goal-line, it is really on the defensive, as has been said before. The ball, more than likely, must be kicked from behind its own goal-line. Then it is that the full-back should exercise great judgment, and if the opposing forwards are through the line and on him before he can get his kick, he should allow a safety, and not give the other side a touch-down. ”

“ In plays within the side-lines the short field should be carefully guarded, and a concerted effort made to force the play outside and into touch, thus making the offensive team lose its first trial to advance.
A team should never play slowly simply because the other side is ahead. It is an unfair practice, and unquestionably poor generalship. The other side, seeing that it has an easy thing, will simply play all the more boldly; whereas a constant, stubborn resistance, a "die-in-the-last-ditch" defence, will keep the other side guessing all the time. ”

“ The prevailing notion about end-rush play is that the duty of that player is simply to turn the runner in, and to look out for the outside, as a result of which the end will often retreat to the side-line and leave an immense amount of territory to be covered by tackle, guard, and rush-line back. ”

“ Every light on board the vessels is masked, and the lookouts are vigilantly peering into the darkness, for fear that one of the swift and unmerciful torpedo-boats of the enemy steal unseen and unheard upon their ship and launch its deadly charge of destruction. ”

“ On both sides of the palace were spacious gardens, with a straight canal, bordered with cedars, cut in the stiff, artificial manner of the time, and with small summer-houses, in the form of Greek temples, made of stucco. A coach was driving out and another was driving in, while an officer, evidently an aide-de-camp, picked his way along the gravelled path that led to the side where the offices were. Opposite the palace towered the plain but substantial brick buildings of William and Mary College, and a crowd of students were going into the common hall for supper. ”

“ To lie down in front of it, and tackle all legs in sight may result in having the play roll around you and on you; besides, you cannot tackle a man who has not the ball.
Momentum plays may be easily stopped by allowing the flying men to pass you and not strike you. If a man stands with his body well forward and his arms outstretched in front of him, he can bear off to one side or swing to one side the man who tries to hit and get him out of the way. ”

“ You see, I really wasn't hungry last night, or I'd have got supper."
"But we were hungry!" answered Ollie. "I don't think I was ever much hungrier in my life; and then to get nothing but a pint of gooseberries! I could eat my hat this morning."
"I'm sorry," said Jack, coming out; "but I can't cook unless I'm hungry myself. The hunger of others does not inspire me. I gave you all there was—your hunger ought to have inspired you to do something with those gooseberries." ”

“ When the ball starts, the half-back takes the tackle and literally hurls him through the line on the inside of his man, while the half and the end take the outside. This scheme seems to work pretty well, the tackle almost invariably gets through, and if the play has not advanced beyond centre, he is in a good position to stop it. The hole between the guard and tackle being well protected by the tackle going through it every time, the guards face in toward the centre, and so protect the centre holes fairly well. The line from tackle to tackle is very strong in this defence. ”

“ Blair in Edinburgh—a dull, psalm-singing town it is. Lady Christine, having great beauty, illumines the college where her husband is Professor. And the lovely, the divine Evelyn Byrd, and Mistress Tyler, who is one of those French Huguenots, and has a most bewitching French accent—all ladies worthy of your lordship's admiration."
"No doubt," replied the Earl, gravely, but inwardly tickled at Sir John's ineffable impudence, "they would but slightly value the admiration of an ancient recluse like myself, and would prefer my young friends Mr. Washington and Mr. Fairfax." ”

“ He maintains a creditable standing in his class, and finds time to play football, or the game his fancy dictates. He becomes acquainted with all members of his class, and many besides, and forms numerous warm friendships. He may take college honors, and is likely to receive honors on class-day. His life on the campus, in the class room, on the athletic-field, and at his boarding-club is taken as the measure of his real worth, and length of purse and of ancestry are of equally small value. And he lives comfortably on $500 a year. ”

“ The primary and secondary defence of the different holes or parts of territory may seem somewhat puzzling at first, but it is absolutely necessary to secure consistency or firmness in the rush-line, as the strength and power of resistance of the rush-line depend upon the unity of the parts.
The tackles and guards should go through on as small an arc of the circle as possible in order not to pull the line open. The centre should hold his ground until he sees that his position is not attacked, and then take the nearest hole to the runner. ”

“ The present code of playing-rules requires that the ball be kicked at least ten yards into the opponent's territory; but as an attempt is seldom made to kick only that distance and no further, the three centre men are placed on the 40-yard line to look out for a short kick along the ground, and be ready to drop on it. If the ball pass them, they should block the nearest man, who will always be the fastest and most dangerous. The quarter-back is placed on the 30-yard line to look out for a short kick, and to look out for the middle of the field. ”

“ But often a team may find itself being pushed steadily back towards its own goal, and with no apparent good reason. The cause may be simply a little nervousness on the part of the men, and if the captain will simply call time a moment, the result often is that the men get right together and steady down to their work. A team that is forced to be on the defensive most of the time will do well to kick constantly and frequently whenever it gets the ball. ”

“ Rolling one's self up in a blanket is a science by itself, and an old-timer will give as much care to his "rolling-up" process each night as a mother will to tucking a baby in its crib on a cold night. In the first place, one end of the blanket is laid on the bows. Then the camper lays himself out on that end. He then draws the longer end of the robe over him as he lies on his back. ”

“ Here, then, is a nation of little over six million inhabitants, occupying an area about half the size of New York State, of themselves industrious and peaceable, yet obliged to contribute millions and millions yearly for the support of an army which, including the militia, exceeds two hundred thousand men. What would the tax-payers of New York, with its population of nearly six millions and its militia of twelve thousand men, say to a proposition to put them on the same military footing with Belgium? ”

“ That enables them, in case of a false kick, to get back to stop an end run, or, in case it is a bona fide kick, to get back so as to protect the backs while catching the ball. When the opposing team kicks inside its own 35-yard line, the ends should break through with the other forwards to help stop the kick.
The University of Pennsylvania has a unique and singular style of defence used by no other eleven, so far as the writer knows. Its point of difference from that of other teams lies in the play of the tackle and the rush-line half-back. ”

“ The best picture—artistically speaking—represents a group of Belgian gendarmes around a camp-fire. It is a masterpiece of artistic photography. The gendarmes are also a very important branch of the service, and their duties are most onerous, since they are not only called upon to police the rural districts, suppress strikes, and make themselves generally useful as servants of the law, but in war-time they form part and parcel of the regular army, and are obliged to fight their country's battles like the rest. ”

“ Thus far Allen seems to be the strongest candidate for centre; Weeks, Griffin, and Costello are the best men trying for guards. Griffin is new at the game, but he will improve; he weighs 200 pounds, and stands 6 ft. 2 in. Weeks is considerably lighter, but he can play good football; he is a lazy worker, however, and needs hard coaching. Costello ranks third in excellence, but should make the team if Weeks does not go in more seriously.
Strong, who played end last year, has been moved into tackle. On the other side of the line Bush and Marsh have about equal chances for the same position. ”

“ Many teams allow the half to get in between tackles and guard. This makes the line longer but not thicker. The half-backs to play this game must be good, big, strong fellows, otherwise they have no business in the line.
Defence to special plays.—The defence to special plays depends upon the character or underlying principle of the play itself. To stop a closely formed mass play, the player or players against whom it is aimed should go into it low and hard with the shoulders and fall flat. A loosely formed mass play should be stopped by ripping through the players to the runner. ”

“ Some of the hardest work in connection with modern field manœuvres is entailed in the necessity of constantly throwing up intrenchments, and two of the photographs show the fighting under these conditions. The modern infantryman must be an adept with the pick and the spade, otherwise he is entirely at the mercy of the modern repeating-rifle. The Belgians understand that their future [Pg 1171] war will be a defensive one against an unscrupulous invader, and the throwing up of intrenchments at short notice will constitute an important factor in their scheme of defence. ”

“ It is easier for the amateur to make portraits out-of-doors than in the house. The article referred to gives directions for managing the light in-doors. When making portraits out-of-doors it is better to arrange the background, etc., in the angle of a building, as this gives a more artistic picture than where the sitter is exposed to the full light. It is immaterial which side the light falls on the sitter. The window next to the sitter in the bay-window described should be darkened, and the lower part of the other two windows. ”

“ GETTING DINNER IN THE FIELD.
The most picturesque body of troops in the Belgian army are the dragoons, or "Guides." One of the accompanying photographs shows a party engaged in preparing a meal in an open field. The men in the foreground are wearing the forage-cap, but when on active duty they don the imposing bear-skin busby seen on one or two of the figures in the rear. They are the favorites of King Leopold, himself an ardent military man, and the barrack of the 1st Regiment near Brussels is a marvel of good accommodation and comfort. The "Guides" are picked men, the majority Walloons. ”

“ Defence to a scrimmage or down.—A given territory to defend and a certain number of men to do it with is the problem of the defence. Whenever the two opposing elevens are lined up on the field, there is theoretically a line of 160 feet through any part of which the eleven on the offensive may advance. The shorter the territory is made through which an advance is possible, the better that territory may be protected by the eleven men. ”

“ A book that is carefully and judiciously extra-illustrated is not only much more attractive in appearance, but its value is greatly increased, and the amount of pleasure and instruction to be gained by the extra illustration of one book is a rich reward for the trouble and time it costs. ”

“ If it is fishing, then the best available fishing-grounds must be the site of the camp. The site of a camp should be on comparatively high ground, on some knoll where water will drain away on all sides. This avoids the danger of having water run down into the tent. One of the best of sites is the edge of a bluff, over the sea or a lake, which in the main slopes back inland on its other three sides. Such places can always be found if time is spent in searching sufficiently far for them. ”