said. Everybody was in tears except the twins, and as we started for the
train they appeared with the precious goldfish. Here was a dilemma!
Mother said firmly that she could not possibly go all the way to Rome
with more than one pair of twins. Grief and dismay made their eyes brim
over, and uncle said: "Let's keep some dry eyes in this party. I'll
bring the fish to the station." He brought them in a little tin pail
with holes in the cover for air, and in this style Romulus and Remus set
forth on their wanderings. The sleeping-car porter looked on them with a
friendly eye, and thus we arrived safely in New York, where we went
aboard a Mediterranean steamer bound for Naples. Mother left the twins
with their pail in a safe place on deck, while she looked after the
baggage. They were gone when she returned, and rather frightened, she
rushed to her state-room, where she was still more startled to find the
Captain stooping over something on the floor. He rose and spoke
courteously, "I beg your pardon, madam, but I found the children and
their Romans on deck. I am a Roman myself, and I will give orders that
no one of this quartette lack for anything on my ship." Thanks to the
Captain's patriotism, we had a most comfortable voyage as we steamed
across the Atlantic and past Gibraltar, through the beautiful
Mediterranean. The eyes of the twins opened wide when they reached
Naples and saw the fires of Vesuvius, but in the hurry to reach Rome we
drove straight to the railway station. As we stood in the long line of
people who were pushing and crowding to the train, some impatient
traveller jostled the pail so that poor Romulus and Remus wriggled on
the stone floor. Mother almost abandoned them to their fate, but a
porter was quick-witted enough to clap them into the pail and rush off
for fresh water. He returned in time to hand them through the train
window to their beaming owners, and with an eye to further reward he
brought a bottle of water also. There is no water on Italian trains, and
but for this happy thought the fish would have perished during the seven
hours by rail to Rome. The swaying motion of the train was far worse
than that of the steamer, and mother and twins were kept busy filling
the pail as fast as the water splashed out. By-and-by we rolled into the
Roman station, and father was so glad to see his loved ones that he
declared he felt like eating the whole party, fish included.
Thus the little American goldfish came to live in the shadow of the
Roman Capitol, in sight of their wolfish namesakes. Every visitor heard
the story of their adventures, and one sympathetic listener brought them
a new globe with two dear little bronze wolves in the bottom; but, alas!
their stay on classic soil was brief. During the long sea-voyage they
had lost their bright golden hue, and wore rather a pale, silvery look,
so that the twins became anxious about the health of their pets. A
fish-dealer said that goldfish thrive best when fed with the wafers used
for taking medicine. Half a wafer was dropped in for their supper, but
next morning poor Romulus and the wafer floated on the water together.
The twins were inconsolable, till mother organized a grand funeral
procession to the flat house-top, where Romulus was buried in state
under a peach-tree which mother had grown in a packing-box from a seed
brought from her American home.
Remus lived on alone without the luxury of wafers, for the fishman, when
interviewed by the tearful twins, said that Romulus died of over-eating,
since wafers are mince pie and plum-pudding to goldfish, who are such
gluttons that they can be trusted with but a pin-point of their favorite
dish. The tragic end of Romulus was forgotten in the joys of
Christmas-time, when the twins showed some little Italian friends their
first Christmas tree, for they know nothing of Santa Claus in Rome, but
receive gifts from an old woman called Befana. She comes at Epiphany,
when there is also a procession up the 124 marble steps that lead to the
Ara Coeli Church, in which there is a "presepio," or representation of
the infant Christ in the manger. The nursery window overlooked these
steps, and just underneath was a fine array of toys and sweets to tempt
the Roman children, who go every year to recite poetry before the
"presepio." The twins spent the morning watching the crowd and driving
an occasional bargain with the toy-seller beneath their window. They
borrowed the servant's basket, which she lets down with a string, Roman
fashion, when she hears the postman's knock and does not want to go down
the long stairway to the _portone_, or big street door, to receive
letters. They sent down pennies in the basket, and drew it up with the
desired plaything, until lunch called them from their fascinating
employment. Poor lonely Remus was set in the window to enjoy the fun,
but on their return the globe was tenantless. The toy-woman below saw
the dismayed little faces peeping over the window sill, and called up to
say that she had picked up a dead fish on the cold marble step. The
basket went down once more, and was drawn up slowly and sadly with poor
Remus's body.
We buried him, too, under the peach-tree on the house-top, and set up
the little bronze wolves for a double monument; but the twins have never
wanted any more goldfish. They write their own letters now, and seal
them with a tiny stamp of the Roman wolves; but to this day they bemoan
the fact that while Remus met rather a historic fate, their favorite
Romulus died a glutton. But father comforts them by saying that those
"noble Romans" were very fond of good things, and their fish no doubt
followed the example of many another Roman citizen.
[Illustration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORT]
To continue the subject of aquatics, which the Department took up last
week, let us turn to the art of diving. Before learning to dive, the
beginner should accustom himself to keep his head under water as long as
he can hold his breath, and he should practise opening the eyes under
water in order to become used to the appearance of things below the
surface. Diving, even more than swimming, demands that a boy or man
should have confidence in himself. Nobody should attempt to learn how to
dive when alone; even more than when learning to swim, he should have
some one near at hand in case help is needed.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
To learn how to dive, the beginner should first squat down on the edge
of the float or spring-board from which he is to plunge into the water,
holding his hands out before him just as he does in the breast stroke in
swimming (described in this Department last week)--that is, with the
arms extended, the hands horizontal, and the fingers close together, the
thumb tips and the forefinger tips touching one another. Then he should
allow himself to tumble forward into the water, striking with his hands
first. The eyes must be kept closed when plunging into the water, and
should not be opened until after the head is immersed.
It is very dangerous to plunge into the water with the eyes open, and a
number of people have been blinded by so doing. Always duck the chin a
little in toward the breast just before the head strikes the water. As
soon as the body has entered the water the hands should be bent back and
the head raised to an upright position. The bending back of the hands
sends the body upward toward the surface again. As I have said, the
first trials at diving should be mere drops into the water off the edge
of the float from a sitting position.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--THE DETAIL OF DIVING.]
After the beginner has learned to do this he should lean from the waist
over (as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 6), and likewise fall
forward. When he has mastered this method he may stand upright, as shown
by the figure drawn in heavy lines in Fig. 6, and as also shown in the
photographic illustration No. 1.
The accompanying series of pictures illustrating the dive in detail are
made from instantaneous photographs of Professor Gus Sundstrom. They
show, in No. 1, the upright pose of the body just before taking the
plunge. The diver stands upright on a spring-board or on the edge of a
float, with the arms held stiff to the sides, the chest well filled with
air so as to give buoyancy to the body, and the eyes resting on about
that spot in the water where he expects to plunge below the surface.
The diver then raises his arms before him, the palms downward, not held
closely together like an arrow-point--a position assumed by many divers
who do not know the correct way. He then allows his body to fall
forward, bending his knees and giving a slight spring with his legs. As
the body rises in the air the arms are gradually lifted, until, when the
body is about to enter the water, it lies practically in a straight line
from toes to fingers. Fig. 6 shows very clearly what happens as soon as
a man plunges into the water and turns his palms upward. The body
describes a sort of arc under water, and the head comes to the surface
about six feet from the point where it entered.
The whole science of diving depends upon the spring taken before leaping
into the water--that is, the diver should be careful to give enough
spring to throw his body sufficiently forward to give the legs time to
follow a curve, otherwise the body will fall flat on the water, and this
might result in serious injury to the performer.
The high dive is different from the low dive only in that a run is
taken, instead of plunging into the water from a standstill. Of course
in this case the spring is greater, the body goes higher into the air,
describing a greater arc, and dives deeper under the water, unless some
effort is made to prevent. This effort is very simple, and consists of
bending the hands back as aforesaid, in throwing the chest back, and in
bending the legs back.
If the intention of the diver is to sink to the bottom of the stream or
pool, to pick up something, for instance, he should not perform any of
these motions, but allow his body to go unrestrained. To rise again
from the bottom, keep the hands well below the shoulders, and work the
feet as when treading water. The body will thus come to the surface very
quickly.
As was said last week, the fastest way to swim on the breast is to use
the over-hand stroke. It is the most common stroke in racing, both for
long distances and short distances. But in order to acquire speed in
swimming, one must practise considerably and maintain a certain kind of
more or less strict training. The swimmer needs plenty of sleep. He
should go to bed not later than 10.30 every night, and should rise
early. He should then take a very light breakfast--a glass of milk and a
piece of toast, for instance--and take a walk of a mile or so.
When he comes home he should exercise with light dumbbells and rub down
with a coarse towel. Then he should take a more solid breakfast,
consisting of coffee, eggs, and steak. An hour or so afterwards he
should go for another walk, this time of from five to ten miles, and
every now and then during this promenade he should sprint from 50 to 100
yards. This sprinting limbers the legs, which is necessary for the
swimmer.
Punching the bag is another good exercise, and of course a certain
amount of swimming should be done, though it is not necessary by any
means to swim every day. Mr. Arthur T. Kenney, the champion amateur
swimmer of America, swims only three times a week, and manages, in that
way, to keep himself in first-rate condition. He believes in keeping the
muscles pliant and in preventing them from becoming hard. Therefore it
is well for the swimmer not to indulge in much rowing, for that is the
exercise which hardens the muscles of the arms.
It goes without saying that when training for a race the swimming should
be done in a stream or lake, and not in a tank in-doors, for the open
air is much better to exercise in than the close air of the tank or
gymnasium. Young swimmers should practise short swims in order to
develop a speedy stroke, and not attempt long distances until they have
acquired the leg action necessary for racing. Short swims of 50 or 100
yards are the best distances.
Furthermore, it should be remembered that fast and hard work should not
be attempted before the body has been gotten into perfect condition,
otherwise the swimmer becomes overwearied, and is unable to perform the
work which he otherwise could.
It is only natural to suppose that any one who expects to enter a
swimming race has been swimming enough during the summer to be in fair
condition. Therefore if he follows the course of training briefly
described above for about a week--which is Mr. Kenney's method, and has
made him the champion of American amateurs--he will then be in condition
to work systematically in the water.
As in every other kind of athletic sport, a swimmer must give the
greatest attention to form. Do not allow yourself to be carried away by
the desire to acquire speed, but try so to master the action of the arms
and legs that presently they will work almost automatically, and perform
to the best advantage for the expenditure of energy. It is well to swim
half the distance of the race about three times a week, but no more, and
after this has been done for about two weeks it will be noticed that the
action of the body has become much easier, and that speed has increased.
Then a certain amount of time should be devoted to the practice of
starting.
A start in a swimming race is very much like the action of a standing
broad jump; it is a spring from a mark. The proper attitude to assume at
the starting-line is to have the legs bent, the arms held back, the body
leaning forward just as far as equilibrium will allow. As soon as the
pistol is fired, or the word to start is given, swing the arms forward,
and spring with all the strength of your legs as far out into the water
as possible. Pay no attention to the other competitors, and do not look
forward into the course, but give all your thoughts to making a long
leap. This start should be a low dive (what swimmers call a
"skip-jack"), and the head should be brought to the surface as quickly
as possible by taking a stroke under water.
An important thing to remember is to have the arms in position to take a
strong, steady stroke as soon as the head comes above the surface. It
will require a great deal of practice to master all these details of the
start, and therefore it is advisable to practise these things on the
intermediate days of swimming. For instance, swim half your distance one
day, practise starting the next, and then swim half your distance the
next day, and so on.
After coming out of the water the swimmer should be well rubbed down
with a coarse towel, and he should, if possible, have somebody to knead
his muscles, for this sort of massage helps greatly to limber the
tissues.
The football season will open in the colleges in a very few weeks, and
the schools will follow their elders shortly afterwards. The question of
summer training for football-players has been more or less mooted for
the past few years. I believe that the best opinion among athletes is
that for young players it is not advisable to try to get into training
much before September. The summer is intended for recreation and not for
work, and sport is a pastime, not a business.
Those college-men who set to work in August, gathering at the
training-table a month before the term opens, are making a business of
football. They are devoting their energies to the sport for the sake of
winning, and not for the pleasure they get from playing. And this sort
of thing is bad for athletics, and bad for that particular branch of
athletics which becomes the victim of summer training. Nevertheless,
there are cases where a little preliminary thought and work may be of
service--I mean especially with captains of teams, or with half-backs
and quarter-backs, who have the ambition to make their school or college
teams, but who feel that they have not had enough experience as yet to
feel sure that their work in the fall will assure them of the place.
It is a very different thing if an individual, or two individuals, at
their homes in the country, choose to kick a football over an improvised
goal-post, or choose, two or three times a week, to go out on the grass
and fall on the ball, or to go out in the road and run a few miles to
improve their wind. It is a different thing from getting eleven men
together for concerted work. In fact, it is well for the amateur
sportsmen who recognize their own weaknesses to try to remedy them at
home in the early fall. This is not making a business of sport--it is
rather developing a healthy interest and ambition.
Captains of teams, as I have said before, can spend several weeks prior
to the opening of the school term in reading and learning the rules of
the game, and in planning out plays and tricks which they think can be
effective against their opponents. The captain of a school team has
usually played one year or more on his school's eleven, and is
consequently more or less familiar with the style of play of the other
schools in his league; and by giving thought to the work as he has seen
it performed by each one of his rivals, he may very well be able to
develop some sort of counter-strategy which shall prove most effective
later in the season.
Recognizing the fact that the school captains all over the country will
probably wish to be giving some consideration to the new season from now
on, this Department will shortly begin a series of four papers on the
science of football, and on this game as it is to be played this year,
illustrating the text with photographs and diagrams. But before we begin
with the theory of the game, it will probably be well to touch lightly
upon training and practice.
Let us assume that the majority of school teams will be getting together
toward the end of September. At that season of the year, especially
after a long summer vacation, in which, if there has been any exercise
taken at all, it has been exercise of an entirely different kind from
football, most of the players will be soft, and their muscles will need
hardening. During the first few days practice should not exceed more
than twenty-five minutes at a stretch. It should consist of dropping on
the ball, and of snapping the ball back from the centre to the quarter,
and of passes from the half-backs to the full-back and to one another. A
little running, for wind, is also advisable.
The running should not be of the long-distance kind to begin with, but
sprinting, and very short sprints at that. A good way is to line the
whole team up across the field, and to have them sprint to the 25-yard
line. This might be done twice a day--once at the beginning of the
practice, and once at the end. As the days go by, the second sprint can
be lengthened, until the men are required to run as far as the 50-yard
line, and a week or so later they should be made to run the entire
length of the field.
Where it is possible, the players should return home from the field on
which they have been practising at a swinging trot, and upon reaching
their various rooms they should bathe and rub down so as to avoid
stiffness resulting from the new exercise. It ought not to be necessary
for me to say that football-players, and especially young
football-players, should make a point of getting to bed early--before
ten o'clock, if possible--and of rising regularly in the morning.
After this preliminary work has been going on for a week or two, more
serious practice can be undertaken. The candidates should be divided
into squads, the centres and quarter-backs, the half-backs and the
line-men working together. Practice may now be kept up for
three-quarters of an hour each afternoon, the backs, of course, devoting
themselves to punting and catching, whereas the line-men work at
breaking through, and at tackling, and at falling on the ball. Not more
than half of the time devoted to practice should be spent in playing the
game itself; but in that time, when the two teams, the first and the
scrub, are opposed to one another in regular football array, they should
play as hard and as carefully as if they were indulging in a contest
with some strong rival.
On alternate days the scrub team should keep the ball in its possession
constantly, in order that the first team may get practice in defensive
play. On the other days the first team should hold the ball, in order to
develop the strategy of offensive work. It is also well, as the season
grows older, to have the regular half-backs play on the scrub team, in
order that the rush-line players of the first team may have the
advantage of playing against the best backs their schools can turn out.
H. P. BOARDMAN, BURLINGTON, VT.--You can get the information you
ask for in Zimmerman's book on bicycling. Any dealer in sporting
goods can secure the book for you.
"TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL."--ILLUSTRATED.--8VO, CLOTH, ORNAMENTAL,
$1.25.
THE GRADUATE.
[Illustration: THE CAMERA CLUB]
Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly
answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to
hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
COLORING PHOTOGRAPHS.
A very simple and easy way to color photographs, and one by which a
person with little or no knowledge of painting can produce quite
pleasing effects, is called the "Hallotype," from the name of the
inventor, Mr. J. B. Hall.
The process consists in printing two paper positives from the same
negative, rendering one transparent by the use of dammar varnish, and
painting the other, and placing the transparent print over the painted
one, and fastening them securely between two plates of glass.
To render the print transparent, after it has been toned and dried, lay
it face down on a sheet of glass, and varnish with dammar varnish. This
varnish can be bought ready prepared, or may be made of one ounce of
dammar-gum dissolved in two ounces of spirits of turpentine. If one coat
does not make the print transparent enough, apply a second when the
first is dry. Be careful that the print, when drying, does not stick to
the glass.
Another way to make the print transparent is to apply the print to
glass, and remove the paper, leaving the film on the glass. To do this
take a spoiled negative or piece of clear glass, clean it thoroughly,
and polish it with French chalk to remove all trace of grease. Varnish
the glass with varnish made of one ounce of balsam of fir and two ounces
of spirits of turpentine. As soon as the varnish begins to set, take the
print, which must be thoroughly wet, blot off the moisture from the face
with clean blotting-paper, and place the print face down on the glass.
Roll down smoothly with a squeegee, taking care that no air-blisters
remain between the print and the glass. The paper can now be removed by
rubbing it gently with the fingers, moistening it with a wet sponge as
it dries. When the paper is removed, varnish the film and set it away to
dry.
The other print is now to be colored. For this one may use either oil or
water-colors. If water-colors are used, they should be mixed with
Chinese white to give them body. The paints are applied roughly, the
only care being necessary is to follow the outlines of the objects, and
to use appropriate colors. The result will be a daub without any special
form.
When the colors are dry place the print under the transparent picture,
matching the outlines of the two pictures perfectly. If the print has
been rendered transparent by varnishing, it is best to attach it to a
glass by pasting it at the corners before fitting the colored print over
it. Back the two prints with a piece of thin white card-board, and place
another glass back of the paste-board. Bind the glasses with a strip of
adhesive paper, such as is used for binding lantern slides, and then
frame or finish in any way desired.
If the film has been transferred to glass, a pretty way to finish the
picture after the painted print has been fitted to it, and the glasses
bound together, is to take gilt paper and cut an opening of a size to
correspond with the picture, and place it over the face of the picture
like a mat. Put another piece of plain paper over this and fasten to the
picture. The picture may either be framed or bound with ribbon.
This is a good way to use up spoiled plates, and after a little practice
one can make very good colored pictures.
* * * * *
FALSE ECONOMY
is practised by people who buy inferior articles of food. The Gail
Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk is the best infant food. _Infant
Health_ is the title of a valuable pamphlet for mothers. Sent free by
New York Condensed Milk Co., New York--[_Adv._]
ADVERTISEMENTS.
[Illustration: ROYAL BAKING POWDER]
A cream-of-tartar baking powder. Highest of all in leavening
strength.--_Latest United States Government Food Report._
ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO., NEW YORK.
[Illustration: THOMPSON'S EYE WATER]
[Illustration: BICYCLING]