There are certain customs and usages in connection with this
interesting pastime that deserve to be noted and observed.
Gentlemen unaccustomed to the management of a boat should never venture
out with ladies. To do so is foolhardy, if not criminal. Great care
should be taken not to overload a boat. The frequent boating accidents
that happen are in most instances due either to overloading, or to the
inexperience of the man at the oars. Men who cannot swim should never
take ladies upon the water.
Assisting Ladies to Their Seats.
When the gentlemen are going out with the ladies, one of them steps
into the boat and helps the ladies in and seats them, the other handing
them down from the bank or pier. When the ladies have comfortably
disposed themselves, and not before, the boat may be shoved off. Great
care must be taken not to splash the ladies, either in first dipping
the oars or subsequently. Neither should anything be done to cause them
fright.
[Illustration: A BOATING PARTY.]
Who Should Row.
If a friend is with you, he must be given the preference of seats. You
must ask him to row “stroke,” as that is the place of honor.
If you cannot row, do not pretend you can. Say right out that you
can’t, and thus settle it, consoling yourself with the pleasant
reflection that your confession entitles you to a seat by the side of
the ladies and relieves you from the possibility of drowning the whole
party.
A Popular Exercise.
Rowing has become a great fad among the ladies in recent years, and it
is to be commended as a wholesome and vigorous exercise. But it should
be indulged only on quiet rivers or on private lakes. If ladies venture
into more frequented waters, they must at least have the protection of
a gentleman. And in all cases they must wear costumes proper for the
exercise, which requires freedom of movement in every part. Corsets
should be left at home, and a good pair of stout boots should complete
an equipment in which a skirt barely touching the ground, a flannel
shirt and a sailor hat are the leading features. Rowing gloves should
protect the hands.
The ordinary rowing costume for gentlemen is white flannel trousers,
white rowing jersey and a straw hat. Peajackets are worn when their
owners are not absolutely employed in pulling the oar.
[Illustration: Lady riding long country lane.]