William Martin

“ There is not a more useful and pleasant amusement than that of "Carpentering." Every boy should be able to do little jobs with the plane and chisel; for whether he may turn out a gentleman or a poor man, it will be of great use to him. If a gentleman, he can amuse himself with it, and if a poor man, it will be of essential service to be able to put up a row of palings in his garden, to make a gate, to build a pig-stye, to make and fix up shelves, build out-houses, and perform sundry odd jobs about the house for his comfort and convenience. ”

“ Should a companion be in danger of drowning, it is our duty to use every exertion to save his life; and, indeed, not to use the utmost exertion is a high degree of moral guilt, but in doing this, we must not rashly hazard our own life, nor put ourselves into a position in which the swimmer can cling to us or grasp any part of our body, or the loss of both will be inevitable. ”

“ The bowler now begins to bowl, and the striker should endeavour to hit any ball which comes within his compass, or if the ball given be not favourable for that purpose, he may block it; but in blocking he must be careful never to let the tip of the bat come before the handle, as the ball in such a case will probably rise in the air towards the bowler, and he will be caught out. In running, the striker must touch the bowling-stump with his bat or person, or it is no run, and he may be put out if he do no put his bat or some part of his person on his ground before the ball touches his wicket. ”

“ A balancer finds that a body to be balanced, is the best for his purpose if it have a loaded head, and a slender or pointed base, for although the higher the weight is placed above the point of support, the more [Pg 53] readily will the line of direction be thrown beyond the base, yet he can more easily restore it by the motion of his hand,—narrowly watching with his eyes its deviations. Now the same watchfulness must be displayed by the gymnastic balancer: he first uses the balancing pole,—he then mounts the balancing bar without it. ”

“ The young gardener should make up his mind before he sets foot in his garden to have no weeds in it; for however assiduous he may have been in other respects, however he may have planted, watered, dug, or attended to his garden, if it show a crop of weeds, he is a bad gardener, and will be sure to get laughed at. Weeds may either be pulled up by the hand or cut up by the hoe. In both cases, the roots must be eradicated. They must not be plucked from the stem, or cut from the level ground by the edge of the hoe, but hoed or plucked up, root and all ”

“ If a player on either side can break over the fort and capture one of the flags without being touched, he may bring it off and place it on his own ramparts as a trophy, and the party from whom the flag is captured must not replace it; but if in this act he is touched, he becomes a prisoner, and must make snow-balls for his adversaries. Every one who is thrown down, either from his horse or by any other means, is considered a dead man, and can do nothing but make snow-balls for the opposite party. ”

“ When the ball has been lodged in the wicket-keeper's or bowler's hands, it is considered dead, that is, no longer in play, and the striker need not keep within ground, till the umpire has called "play;" but if the player goes off his ground, with intent to run, the bowler may put him out.
Should the striker be hurt, he may retire from his wicket and return to it any time during that innings. Some other person may stand out for him, but not go in.
If any person stop the ball with his bat, the ball is to be considered as DEAD, and the opposite party to add five notches to their score. ”

“ Should the learner wish to swim, he must strike out with his legs, taking care not to lift his legs too high; in this position the arms may occasionally be folded across the breast.
To tread water, the legs must be suffered to drop in the water till the swimmer finds himself upright, he then treads downwards with his feet, occasionally paddling with the palms of his hands. The swimmer, when long in the water, will soon find himself tired, changes of action are therefore necessary; there are many which are highly advantageous to learn, such as swimming like a dog, porpoise, etc. ”

“ In the long leap, a person ought to be able to clear with a run, three times the length of his body.
The high leap, the deep leap, and the long leap, may be all practised with the pole. For the high leap, the pole should be taken with the right hand, about the height of the head, and with the left hand, about the height of the hips; when put to the ground, the leaper should spring with the right foot, and pass by the left of the pole, and swing round as he alights, so as to face the place he leaped from. ”

“ The leader starts off at a moderate pace, and all the other boys, in a line, one after the other, follow him. They are not only bound to follow him, but do exactly what he does. If he hops on one leg, or crawls on the ground, or coughs, or sneezes, or jumps, or rolls, or laughs, all must do the same. If any boy fail to follow his Leader, he is called the "Ass," and must be ridden by the boy next him. Sometimes the Leader will leap a ditch, climb a tree, or run into a river. ”

“ Sometimes it will happen, that of all the boys who have bowled at the shy, not one has thrown it down; the King then looks sharply at each one who tries to take up his stone, to touch him. It generally happens, that whilst the King is pursuing one, who has taken up his stone, to touch him, all the rest take to their stones, and make off home. But it should have been said, that by the place from which they bowl, a string is stretched for a leap, over which a player running from the King is obliged to jump before he is considered home. ”

“ A drill resembling a dog's hinder leg, never looks well in a garden, and therefore the little gardener must have recourse to his line. This ought to be long enough to stretch quite across his ground, and when he wants to strike a drill, he should stretch it across from path to path, and, taking his hoe in his hand, cut or scrape a little furrow, about three or four inches deep, by the side of his line. In sowing peas and beans, the drills are generally a yard apart, and between them other crops are sometimes sown. ”

“ It is quite necessary that a young gardener should have proper tools. He should have a small but strong spade, a small but strong rake, a digging fork, a hoe, a trowel, a good pruning-knife, a box for seeds, a little wheelbarrow, a line, and above all, a little gardener's apron, and a straw hat with a broad brim. Thus equipped, he may commence his gardening operations with great comfort to himself and some chance of success. ”

“ The season is now closing, yet a good deal is to be done by those who love a garden,—a vast deal of planting and transplanting of every variety of flowers. Roots of many may be separated, and fresh sorts planted. Nearly every kind of bulbous roots, if not previously planted, may now be put in the earth. The cuttings of gooseberry and currant trees may also be planted, and young trees raised in the spring be transplanted to their proper situation. It is also a good time to plant filberts, hazel-nuts, and barberries. Strawberry plants should have a dressing of good manure. ”

“ Though the legs, arms, and head of a human body, being solid parts, are specifically somewhat heavier than fresh water, yet the trunk, particularly the upper part, from its hollowness, is so much lighter than water, as that the whole of the body, taken altogether, is too light to sink wholly under water, but that some parts will remain above until the lungs become filled with water, which happens from drawing water to them instead of air, when a person in the fright attempts breathing while the mouth and nostrils are under water. ”

“ The cold bath, when too long continued, not only occasions an excessive flux towards the head, but chills the blood, cramps the muscles, relaxes the nerves, and wholly defeats the intention of bathing; hence expert swimmers are often injured, and sometimes lose their lives. All the beneficial purposes of cold bathing are answered by one immersion at a time, and the patient ought to be rubbed dry the moment he comes out of the water, and should continue to take exercise some time after. ”

“ Cricket is the king of games. Every boy in England should learn it. The young prince of Wales is learning it, and will some day be the prince of cricket-players, as I trust he will some day, a long while hence, however, let us hope, be king of merry England. ”

“ It neither requires speed, nor agility, nor wit. The game is played by one boy resting his head against a wall and making a back, upon which the other jumps, who, when seated, holds up as many of his fingers as he pleases, and cries, "Buck, Buck, how many horns do I hold up?" The player who is leaped upon, now makes a guess; if he guesses correctly, it is his turn to leap, if not, the leaper leaps again. ”

“ In running, as the swiftness of the motion steadies the body in its course, without the aid of the oscillations of the arms, they are naturally drawn up towards the sides, and, bent at the elbows, form a right angle. Their motion is almost suspended in very swift running. In moderate running, a gentle oscillation is observed, increasing in proportion as the body approaches to the walking pace. The knees are now more bent,—the same part of the foot does not touch the ground, the body being carried forward more by the toes. ”

“ Now all this is very easily performed with a little practice, but will be very difficult if the learner have not coolness and self-possession. A slow long stroke, the hand thrust forward with energy, and the legs brought up and struck out with a regular and even stroke, is the whole art of simple swimming. The swimmer must, however, be careful to draw his breath at the time when his hands are descending towards his hips; if he attempt it when he strikes out his legs, his head will partially sink, and his mouth will fill with water. ”

“ But, as I said before, I would not advise you or any one to depend on having this presence of mind on such an occasion, but learn fairly to swim, as I wish all men were taught to do in their youth: they would on many occasions be the safer for having that skill, and on many more, the happier, as being free from painful apprehensions of danger, to say nothing of the enjoyment in so delightful and wholesome an exercise. Soldiers, particularly, should all be taught to swim ”

“ Single wicket may be played with any number of players, and is better than double wicket for any number of players under seven. At double wicket, a small number of players would get so fatigued with running after the ball, that when it came to the last player's turn, he would find himself too tired, without resting a while. The first innings in single wicket must be determined by chance. The bowler should pitch the wickets, and the striker measure the distance for the bowling-stump. ”

“ Make neat the borders, dig all loose ground, turn the manure, plant suckers from old roots, roll green and gravel walks, gather seeds on fine days, cut away old wood, nail fruit trees, prepare hot-beds, get matting to put over tender plants during the frost, look over seeds, and see that they are dry and properly put away and make all clean, nice, and neat for the coming spring.
Such is an outline of what a boy may be expected to do with his little garden. A great deal more is to be learned than can be learned from a book ”

“ At single wicket the striker with his bat is the protector of the wicket; the opponent party stands in the field to catch or stop the ball; and the bowler, who is one of them, takes his place by the side of a small baton or stump, set up for that purpose, twenty-two yards from the wicket, and thence delivers the ball with the intention of beating it down. It is now usual to set up two stumps with a bail across, which the batsman, when he runs, must beat off before he returns home. If the bowler prove successful, the batsman retires from the play and another of his party succeeds ”

“ The man of high moral principle and virtuous integrity, walks with a very different step to the low sensualist, or the cunning and unprincipled knave; therefore the young pupil will be sure that even the art of walking, which seems to be an exertion purely physical, will not be acquired properly if his mind has taken a vicious and unprincipled bias: it will either indicate his pride or his dastardly humility, his haughty self-sufficiency, or his mean truckling to the opinion of others, his honest independence, or his cringing servility. ”

“ He is also out if he strike the ball into the air and it is caught by any of his antagonists before it reaches the ground, and retained long enough to be thrown up again. When double wicket is played, two batsmen go in at the same time,—one at each wicket: there are also two bowlers, who usually bowl four balls in succession alternately. The batsmen are said to be in as long as they remain at their wickets, and their party is called the in-party; on the contrary, those who stand in the field with the bowlers, are called the out-party. ”

“ When a player has bowled, if he knocks the stone off the brick, he may take up his own stone and run back to his bounds, if he can do so before the king sets his brick and stone up again; but if the King can touch the player after having set his brick up, he is obliged to answer a "Why," or be King instead of him. ”