Various

“ The first thing most of the New York children learn is how to mind the baby. Even a small boy soon learns how to "hush" a child in his arms, and almost all the small girls are good little mothers. The babies on our block are the most beloved little people you ever saw. There are a great many of them, and they tumble around on the sidewalks so that we have to walk very carefully; but somewhere near there is generally to be found a little girl who loves that baby with all her heart, and the more trouble the baby is the more she seems to love it. ”

“ Yellow Stripe's boy had played generously. After the game he had presented Elk with a large bag of marbles. He was a brave white boy. Elk always had liked him until he had killed the bear.
Elk looked after the white speck irresolutely.
"Windfoot might get there even now before his slow horse," he was thinking. His heart beat hard; his body leaned unconsciously forward towards Alan.
Impelled by a sweep of changed feelings, he suddenly raised his quirt to start up his pony, when a dark hand fell with deaden force upon his arm.
Lone Dog's evil face looked up at him. ”

“ The slugger or vicious player is of absolutely no use to a team. A man cannot play his game and play his opponent at the same time. He necessarily neglects his team-work, and reduces the strength of his own side by one. In other words, he is worse than a passenger. Keep such men off the team, and there will be no more injuries from brutality. As to the latter class of injuries, those resulting from accident, the writer has always thought that the beginner or young player might be, and ought to be, taught what the older player acquires by experience—the art of self-protection. ”

“ She had an impression that boys never did what girls enjoyed doing; for instance, a boy would never play with a doll. But then Elizabeth did not care much for dolls herself. She had always preferred live animals.
"What shall I do with him?" she sighed to herself.
"I wish I had my wheel here," remarked Valentine, presently. "Do you ride?"
"A bicycle? No, indeed!"
"You ought to see Marjorie go. Why, she rides off on my machine like a breeze, though she is so short compared to me that her feet don't go anywhere near the pedals when they are down. What do you do all day?" ”

“ After the third effort Blacky looked around at him with a good deal of surprise. Then he put down the leg to which the man was still clinging, and with the other gave him a blow which was half a kick and half a push which sent the man sprawling over by his anvil.
"The critter don't seem to take to it nohow, does he?" said the blacksmith, cheerfully, as he again got up.
"He's a very peculiar horse," answered Jack. "Has violent likes and dislikes. His likes are for food, and his dislikes for everything else."
"I'll tackle him again, though," said the man. ”

“ The most wonderful thing that comes into the lives of city girls who have grown up on the crowded East Side is their first trip to the country. They don't know the most ordinary things. One of my friends, who had tried every word she could think of, finally told some children to run up on the fire-escape, and they all scrambled for the piazza, as she thought they would. The country seems very lonely at first, and the dark rather terrifying. They have never known what dark is, for lamps are burning all night in most of the tenements. ”

“ Elk had not relaxed his gloomy silence since the bear's death. He scarcely spoke to any one; he sulked off by himself.
Bluebird had an errand at the trader's this morning. She was crossing the prairie to the fort when, glancing over to the west where the hills lay, she saw Elk disappearing into the cañon beside Flat Butte. She looked after the lonely figure with a sigh. ”

“ George had begun his work with a fierce disappointment gnawing at his heart, and thought he should never live to see the day when he would not regret that he was not in the navy. But at sixteen, with health and work, despair cannot long abide. ”

“ A stranger in New York, seeing the crowds of people and the sidewalks swarming with children, might go away with a feeling about a tenement-house neighborhood quite different from the feeling of one who knew the people well. ”

“ The Earl told George that William Fairfax had heard of the proposed expedition, and was so anxious to go as George's assistant that his father was disposed to gratify him if it could be arranged.
"But I shall not communicate with him until I have talked with you, George," said the Earl; "for William, although a hardy youngster, and with some knowledge of surveying, is still but a lad, and there might be serious business in hand. However, this season's surveys are not to be far from here, so that if you care for his company I see no reason why he should not go." ”

“ They spent the morning and many other mornings searching the fields and woods, peeking into bird homes, and learning a good deal about them, and George, before his departure, began to love the happy days spent in this fascinating way.
Their afternoons were passed on the surface of Black Pond catching pickerel or gathering lily-pads, and giving the youngsters great sport.
George found his vacation ended all too quickly, but gladly promised to come again the next summer, inviting his cousin to his city home for the Christmas holidays. ”

“ The rushers on the defence should go through hard and fast every time, and tackle the runner behind his own line. The position of the feet and the form of the body are much the same as that in blocking. The forward should remember, however, that the conditions are now reversed. He should keep at arm's distance from his opponent who is trying to block him, but that distance should be in the opponent's territory and not in his own. He should watch the ball, and break through with it, and not after it. ”

“ The player should choose the method of holding the ball which is most natural to him and in which he can attain the highest efficiency.
The round kick, or side kick, as sometimes called, is made by a round, instead of a straight, swing of the leg. The ball may be held in any of the three ways, generally the first. A step or two is taken to the kicking side and forward, a kind of right-oblique, and the leg brought into contact with the ball in much the same way as a man makes a swinging blow with the arm, the aim being to get the weight of the body into the drive. ”

“ The ball is very seldom "dead" in a game, but it may sometime occur that twenty-two men are after a ball that has lost nearly all motion. In that case the most skilful man at diving upon the ball will be more than likely to get it. The player should run to within about once and a half his length from the ball, and then leave the ground, the same as a swimmer makes a dive, care being taken to land upon the ball, to offset the force of gravity. ”

“ The houses, indeed, are often as bad as they can be, for without light and air a house is, of course, totally unfit for human habitation; and there are also some very unhappy homes; but as a rule up through the tenements at six o'clock you will find the father reading his paper or holding the baby while the mother cooks the supper, and the children come climbing up the stairs—just the same kind of children that we find everywhere. ”

“ George Moore from New York was visiting his cousin Frank up in New England, and was being shown Frank's pet birds.
"I had a time catching that oriole," said Frank. "The nest was on the end of a slender limb of the big elm back of the barn. The oriole is the smartest bird we have, when it comes to house-building, always putting his hanging nest where even a squirrel is afraid to venture. I got Jonah, one of father's hired help, to hold the longest ladder we have under the nest while I climbed to the top of it. ”

“ The requirements for good kicking are cool-headedness, a good eye, a good leg, and a good square-toe shoe. There are three kinds of kicks—a punt, a place, and a drop. Of these, the most important is the punt. There are two kinds of punts—a common punt, which is generally used, and a "twister," or "floater." The latter, which is not of much importance, is made by dropping the ball so that the longer axis will be horizontal, or at right angles to the body (ends resting to and away from the body) , and giving the impetus to the ball a little to one side. ”

“ The girls in the country are sometimes surprised to see what good manners our little girls have. One girl I knew said to her father, "I never saw such polite girls; they say 'thank you,' and 'you're welcome,' and 'excuse me,' when they are just playing with one another." One reason for this is that they see so many people all the time that they are not self-conscious and shy, and when they think that it would be nice to say, "Excuse me," they are not afraid to do so. ”

“ Washington, many a brave fellow has got to lay down his life before the English learn how to fight in the woods."
These prophetic words came back vividly to George before many years had passed.
The summer came on apace. Never had George seen anything more beautiful than the outburst of tree and leaf and flower among these lonely peaks. The out-door life agreed with him perfectly, as it did with William Fairfax. They worked hard all the week, always leaving camp before sunrise, and generally not returning until after sunset. Lance always had a good fire and a capital supper waiting for them. ”

“ A drop kick is made by letting the ball fall from the hands, and kicking it at the very instant it rises from the ground. If a drop kick is made from behind the rush-line, the kicker should stand about fifteen yards back. The ball should be held as in the first case, by the ends, or by the sides, as in the second case. The ball should be directed towards the ground at just the angle you desire, and then let fall naturally from the hands. The exact spot upon which the ball should be booted will be obtained by practice. ”

“ The player should take his position the same as in blocking. The rusher should allow his opponent to make the holes himself, if possible, by foxing him away from where the hole is called for, then blocking him in or out, as the necessity requires. The forward should manœuvre for the advantageous position, which is on the side of the man where the hole is called for, but not giving it away. Then he should get lower than the man in front of him, unless his opponent gets his nose on a line with his knees. If he can get lower than his man, he should lift him up and shove him back, and out or in. ”

“ The brown bear, a good-natured creature that was always frightened at the sight of a human being, was common to them, and deer enough to keep their larder supplied were found. Lance was a skilful fisherman, and the mountain trout was on their daily bill of fare. Tho only thing they feared was the snakes, but as they always wore long and stout boots, they escaped being bitten while at their work, and Lance and Billy kept a close watch on the camp, examining the tent and ground every night before they slept. ”

“ Injuries resulting from interference, from being knocked over by an interferer, may be avoided by keeping the body angular, well forward, and arms extended so as to ward off the blocker whose business it is to put you out of the way. Never let an interferer touch you. Keep him off by using your arms. Injuries from mass plays may be avoided by never allowing such a play to reach you on your feet. If it does you are bound to go over on your back or be doubled up under it. Dive into it before it reaches you with your head and shoulders, and then hug the ground flat. ”

“ The man doing the tackling will avoid injury by making his tackle sure and breaking his fall with the man tackled. If others pile on, he should remember to keep his feet and legs behind him. The runner need not be hurt if he will fall forward and upon the ball when he is thrown. It is only the man who is thrown backwards who is likely to be hurt. ”

“ The Individual may be subdivided into Fundamentals and Position Play. Fundamentals comprehend passing, catching, dropping on the ball, kicking, blocking, making holes, breaking through, tackling. The Team is divided chiefly into two parts—the offence and defence. The offence comprises the direct attack, the indirect or strategic play, and kicking. The defence embraces the general defence, the theory, styles of defence, defence to particular plays, and defence at given points of the field. In this first paper I shall treat of the Fundamentals of Individual Play.
FIG. 10. ”

“ They want to know how to sew, and nothing makes a lady so popular with school-girls as to tell them that they can have a sewing-class at her house. Then if after the sewing there can be stories and singing and games, the girls are sure to have a fine time. They save their pennies to buy the cloth on which they work. I have seen many a mother much pleased with the tiny stitches her daughter has learned to make. A blue cheese-cloth duster, neatly hemmed, makes a nice present from the youngest ones to their mothers, while the older girls make clothes for themselves or for the children at home. ”

“ The first thing a player should do in order to avoid accident is to begin training early; get into good condition early, and keep so. Careful attention should be paid to football clothes. An effusion upon the elbow or water on the knee is often the result of not having sufficient padding on the elbows or knees. A dislocated shoulder or collar-bone often comes from lack of pads over the shoulder. A sprained ankle may be avoided by having well-fitting shoes, and keeping them well cleated. Shoes should have new cleats at least once in every two weeks. ”