Sports & Recreation Books

I.—FOOTBALL: ANCIENT AND MODERN. "Then strip, lads and to it, though cold be the weather,And if, by mischance you should happen to fall,There are worse things in life than a tumble on heather,For life is itself but a game at Football."—Sir Walter Scott. In Scotland, so closely associated with traditional lore, and the acknowledged birth-place of romance and patriotic song, it would be... more...

The Bounty of The Chesapeake The voyage to America in 1607 was like a journey to a star. Veteran rovers though the English were, none of them had any clear idea of what to expect in the new land of Virginia. Only one thing was certain: they would have nothing there but what they took with them or wrought from the raw materials of the country. What raw materials? They had reliable information that the... more...

THE CONFESSIONS OF A DUFFER These papers do not boast of great sport.  They are truthful, not like the tales some fishers tell.  They should appeal to many sympathies.  There is no false modesty in the confidence with which I esteem myself a duffer, at fishing.  Some men are born duffers; others, unlike persons of genius, become so by an infinite capacity for not taking pains.  Others, again,... more...

INTRODUCTION. Riding on Horseback is, confessedly, one of the most graceful, agreeable, and salutary of feminine recreations. No attitude, perhaps, can be regarded as more elegant than that of a lady in the modern side-saddle; nor can any exercise be deemed capable of affording more rational and innocent delight, than that of the female equestrian. Pursued in the open air, it affords a most rapid, and,... more...

A stands for ARTHUR, a boy fond of fun,When Base-Ball he plays, none like him can run. B stands for BALL, for BAT, and for BASE. C stands for CATCHER, with mask on his face. D stands for DIAMOND drawn flat on the ground. E stands for EDWARD, who marks out the bound. F stands for FOUL on which Arthur goes out. G stands for "GO"—How the merry boys shout! H stands for HIGH-BALL, knocked up to... more...

NOTICE At the annual meeting of the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, held at Washington, D.C., January 24, 1906, the question of building up an interest in target practice throughout the schools of the country was discussed, and a special committee consisting of Gen. L. M. Oppenheimer, of Texas; Gen. George W. Wingate, of New York, and Gen. Ammon B. Critchfield, of Ohio, was... more...

CHAPTER I I hope and believe there are comparatively few people who will deny that athletics have done much for the health and mind of the modern girl. Exercise in some form or other is essential, and although I am quite ready to admit that games of the strenuous type, such as hockey and lawn tennis, can be and sometimes are overdone, yet the girl of to-day, who enters into and enjoys her game with... more...

THE IMPORTANCE OF SWIMMING That all persons ought to know how to safeguard themselves when in deep water is becoming more and more recognized as time passes. While swimming is probably the oldest pastime known to man, and has had, and still has, its votaries in every country, civilized or uncivilized, it is curious that this most useful science should have been so much neglected. For an adult person to... more...

CHAPTER I. THREE YEARS AFTER. "This is the spot, Bessie," said Levi Fairfield, as he paused on the bank of the brook which flows into the bay near Mike's Point. "But what was the thing you made?" asked Bessie Watson, as she looked with interest at the place indicated, though she could not see anything very remarkable, or even strange. "It was a young saw-mill," laughed... more...

FISHING WITH A WORM "The last fish I caught was with a worm."—IZAAK WALTON. A defective logic is the born fisherman's portion. He is a pattern of inconsistency. He does the things which he ought not to do, and he leaves undone the things which other people think he ought to do. He observes the wind when he should be sowing, and he regards the clouds, with temptation tugging familiarly at... more...