ATHLETIC SPORTS.
"A swim to-night," shouted John to Frank, on his way home from school.
"All hands be there."
"Will you come, Nat?" inquired Frank.
"Yes; and swim three rods under water," was Nat's reply.
At this period of Nat's boyhood, there was almost a passion among the
boys for athletic sports, such as swimming, jumping, running,
ball-playing, and kindred amusements. For some time they had received
special attention, and no one of the boys enjoyed them more than Nat. It
was one of the principles on which he lived, to do with all his heart
whatever he undertook. In the school-room, he studied with a keen relish
for knowledge, and on the play-ground he played with equal gusto. If he
had work to do it was attended to at once, and thoroughly finished in
the shortest possible time. In this way he engaged in athletic sports.
An hour before sunset, a dozen or more boys were at "the bathing place."
"Now, Nat, for your three rods under water," said Frank. "If I was half
as long-winded as you are, I should keep company with the fishes pretty
often."
"He swam more than three rods under water the other day," said Charlie.
"I shouldn't want to risk myself so long out of sight. Suppose the cramp
should seize you, Nat, I guess you'd like to see the dry land."
"You must remember," suggested John, who was usually ready to turn
things over, and look at the funny side, "that doctors won't wade into
the water after their patients."
One after another the boys plunged into the water, as if it were their
native element. Most of them had practised swimming, diving, and other
feats, until they were adepts in these water-arts. Some of them could
swim a surprising distance, and feared not to venture a long way from
the shore. Frank was very skilful in performing these water feats, but
even he could not equal Nat.
"Now for a swim under water," exclaimed Nat, as he disappeared from the
view of his companions. All stopped their sports to watch Nat, and see
where he would make his appearance. Not a word was spoken as they gazed
with breathless interest, and waited to see him rise.
"He's drowned," cried one of the boys.
"No, no," responded Frank. "We shall see him in a moment," and yet Frank
began to fear.
"I tell you he _is_ drowned," shouted John, much excited. By this time
there was a good deal of consternation among the boys, and some of them
were running out of the water. A man who was watching on the shore, was
actually stripping his coat off to make a plunge for Nat, when up he
came.
"He is safe," shouted half a dozen voices, and the welkin rang with
cheer after cheer.
"There, young man, better not try that again," said the gentleman on the
shore, as Nat swum around in that direction.
"That was more than three rods," said Frank.
"And more than four," added Charlie. "You beat yourself this time, Nat.
You never swam so far under water before. We thought you were drowned."
"There is no use in trying to beat _you_," continued Frank. "If you had
gills you would be a regular fish."
Everybody in the village heard of Nat's swimming feats under water, as
well as on the water, and it was not unusual for spectators to assemble
on the shore, when they knew that he was going to bathe.
Not far from this time, a little later in the year perhaps, there was to
be a special game of ball on Saturday afternoon. Ball-playing was one
of the favorite games with the boys, and some of them were remarkable
players. When the time arrived it was decided that John and Charlie
should choose sides, and it fell to the latter to make the first choice.
"I choose Nat," said he.
"I'll take Frank," said John.
It was usually the case that Nat and Frank were pitted against each
other in this amusement. Nat was considered the best player, so that he
was usually the first choice. Frank stood next, so that he was the
second choice. In this way they generally found themselves playing
against each other. It was so on this occasion.
The game commenced, and John's side had the "ins."
"You must catch," said Charlie to Nat. It was usually Nat's part to
catch.
"And you must throw," responded Nat. "I can catch your balls best."
The very first ball that was thrown, John missed, though he struck with
a well-aimed blow, as he thought, and Nat caught it.
"That is too bad," was the exclamation heard on one side, and "good,"
"capital," on the other.
Charlie took the bat, and was fortunate in hitting the ball the first
time he struck. Now it was Nat's turn, and, with bat in hand, he took
his place.
"Be sure and hit," said Charlie.
"I should like to see a ball go by _him_ without getting a rap,"
answered Frank, who was now the catcher. "The ball always seems to think
it is no use to try to pass him."
"There, take that," said Nat, as he sent the ball, at his first bat,
over the heads of all, so far that he had time to run round the whole
circle of goals, turning a somerset as he came in.
"A good beginning, Nat; let us see you do that again," said Frank.
"When the time comes I'll give you a chance," replied Nat.
We will not follow the game further, but simply say that, before it was
half through, quite a number of men, old and young, were attracted to
the place by the sport.
"What a fine player for so young a boy," said one bystander to another,
as Nat added one after another to the tallies.
"Yes; no one can excel him; he never plays second fiddle to anybody. He
will run faster, catch better, and hit the ball more times in ten, than
any other boy. I saw him jump the other day, and he surpassed any thing
I have seen of his age."
"If that is not all he is good for, it is well enough," replied the
other.
"He is just as good at studying or working, as he is at playing ball;
it seems to be a principle with him _to be the best_ in whatever he
undertakes. I was amused at his reply to one of the neighbors, who asked
him how he managed to swim better than any one else. 'It is just as easy
to swim well as poorly,' said he, and there is a good deal of truth in
the remark. At another time he said, 'one might as well run fast as
slow.'"
"Does he appear to glory in his feats?"
"Not at all. He does not seem to think there is much credit in being the
best at these games. One of the boys said to him one day, 'Nat, you
always get all the glory in our games.' He replied, 'I don't think there
is much glory in playing ball well. If that is all a person is good for,
he is not good for much.' He has very good ideas about such things."
This was really a correct view of Nat's case. He enjoyed athletic sports
as much as any of the boys, and yet he actually felt that it was no
particular credit to him to be a good swimmer, jumper, runner, or
ball-player. He did not study to excel therein because he thought it was
honorable to beat every other boy in these things. But what he did, he
did with all his soul, and this is necessary to success. He had
confidence in his ability to succeed in what he undertook. When he first
went into the water, he knew he could learn to swim. When he took his
stand to catch the ball, he knew he could catch it. Others did these
things, and he could see no reason why he could not. He seemed to feel
as one of the Rothschilds did, who said, "I can do what another man
can." The same elements of character caused him to excel on the
play-ground, that enabled him to bear off the palm in the school-room.
It is generally the case that a boy who does one thing well will do
another well also. Employers understand this, and choose those lads who
exhibit a disposition to be thorough. Said Samuel Budgett, "In whatever
calling a man is found, he ought to be the best in his calling; if only
a shoe-black, he ought to be the best shoe-black in the neighborhood."
He acted upon this principle himself from his boyhood; and so did Nat,
whether he was fully conscious of it or not. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the
great painter, said that his success resulted mainly from one principle
upon which he had acted, namely, "_to make every picture the best_."
Buxton, of whom we have spoken already, had as much force of character
in his youth as almost any boy who ever lived. His determination was
invincible, and his energy and perseverance were equal to his
resolution. The consequence was that he became famous for boating,
shooting, riding, and all sorts of fieldsports, though he cared little
for any thing else. But when, at last, his attention was turned to
self-improvement and philanthropy, by the influence of the Gurney
family, he carried the same qualities with him there, and through them
won a world-wide fame. It was thus with Sir Walter Scott, who was second
to no one in his youth for his dexterity and proficiency in athletic,
games, and the various forms of recreation. He could "spear a salmon
with the best fisher on the Tweed, and ride a wild horse with any hunter
in Yarrow." The same energy and unconquerable will helped him achieve
that herculean labor afterwards, of paying off a debt of six hundred
thousand dollars, with his pen. The Duke of Wellington acknowledged the
same principle, when he said, as he stood watching the sports of boys on
the play-ground of Eton, where he spent his juvenile years, "It was
there that the battle of Waterloo was won."
Twenty-five years after Nat bore off the palm in athletic games, an
early associate asked him to what he owed his success, and he answered,
in a vein of pleasantry, "To swimming under water." Whatever may have
been his meaning, it is not at all difficult to discover the same
elements of character in squash-raising, declamation, and arithmetic,
that appear in the games he played.
His skill in the water served him a good purpose one day, or rather, it
served another boy well. Nat and two or three of his companions were at
play near the factory, when some one cried out, "A boy in the water!"
In an instant Nat sprung, followed by his companions, and made for the
water, when lo! a little boy was seen struggling to keep from sinking.
He had carelessly ventured too near and fallen in, and must have
perished but for the timely aid thus rendered him. Nat plunged in after
him, and his play-fellows did the same, or brought rails, by which he
was saved. He proved to be Charlie's younger brother.
This event made a deep impression upon Nat's mind, and he reflected upon
his act with far more satisfaction than he did upon his superiority in
swimming or playing ball. He had saved, or helped save, a lad from a
watery grave, and that was an act worth performing. He went home, and
after relating the incident with the greatest enthusiasm, he sat down
and drew a picture representing the scene. There was the water and
buildings near, a little boy struggling for life, and Nat and associates
plunging in after him. It was really a good representation of the
terrific scene; and Nat considered it quite an accession to his
collection of drawings. Thus he used this bit of experience to advance
himself in one branch of education. With his traits of character, he
could not excel in innocent games, without receiving an impulse
therefrom to excel in more important acquisitions.