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]