ARCHERY.

"The stranger he made no muckle ado,

But he bent a right good bow,

And the fattest of all the herds he slew

Forty good yards him fro:

'Well shot! well shot!' quoth Robin Hood."

"Aim at the moon, if you ambitious are,

And failing that, you may bring down a star."

Fashion has brought us again this pretty and romantic pastime, which

has filled the early ballads with many a picturesque figure. Now on

many a lawn may be seen the target and the group in Lincoln green.

Indeed, it looks as if archery were to prove a very formidable rival

to lawn tennis.

The requirements of archery are these: First, a bow; secondly, arrows;

thirdly, a quiver, pouch, and belt; fourthly, a grease pot, an

arm-guard or brace, a shooting-glove, a target and a scoring-card.

The bow is the most important article in archery, and also the most

expensive. It is usually from five to six feet in length, made of a

simple piece of yew or of lance-wood and hickory glued together back

to back. The former is better for gentlemen, the latter for ladies, as

it is adapted for the short, sharp, pull of the feminine arm. The wood

is gradually tapered, and at each end is a tip of horn; the one from

the upper end being longer than the other or lower end. The strength

of bows is marked in pounds, varying from twenty-five to forty pounds

in strength for ladies, for gentlemen from fifty to eighty pounds. One

side of the bow is flat, called the back, the other, called the belly,

is rounded. Nearly in the middle, where the hand should take hold, it

is lapped round with velvet, and that part is called the handle. In

each of the tips of the horns is a notch for the string, called the

nock.

Bow strings are made of hemp or flax, the former being the better

material, for though at first they stretch more, yet they wear longer

and stand a harder pull, and are, as well, more elastic in the

shooting. In applying a fresh string to a bow, be careful in opening

it not to break the composition that is on it. Cut the tie, take hold

of the eye which will be found ready worked at one end, let the other

part hang down, and pass the eye over the upper end of the bow. If for

a lady, it may be held from two to two and a half inches below the

nock; if for a gentleman, half an inch lower, varying it according to

the length and strength of the bow. Then run your hand along the side

of the bow and string to the bottom nock. Turn it around that and fix

it by the noose, called the timber noose, taking care not to untwist

the string in making it. This noose is simply a turn back and twist,

without a knot. When strung a lady's bow will have the string about

five inches from the belly, and a gentleman's about half an inch more.

The part opposite the handle is bound round with waxed silk in order

to prevent its being frayed by the arrow. As soon as a string becomes

too soft and the fibres too straight, rub it with beeswax and give it

a few turns in the proper direction, so as to shorten it, and twist

its strands a little tighter. A spare string should always be provided

by the shooter.

Arrows are differently shaped by various makers; some being of uniform

thickness throughout, while others are protuberant in the middle; some

again are larger at the point than at the feather end. They are

generally made of white deal, with joints of iron or brass riveted on,

and have a piece of heavy wood spliced to the deal, between it and the

point, by which their flight is improved. At the other end a piece of

horn is inserted, in which is a notch for the string. They are armed

with three feathers glued on, one of which is a different colour from

the others, and is intended to mark the proper position of the arrow

when placed on the string, this one always pointing from the bow.

These feathers, properly applied, give a rotary motion to the arrow,

which causes its flight to be straight. They are generally from the

wing of the turkey or the goose. The length and weight of the arrows

vary, the latter in England being marked in sterling silver coin and

stamped in the arrow in plain figures. It is usual to paint a crest or

a monogram or distinguishing rings on the arrow, just between the

feathers by which they may be known in shooting at the target.

The quiver is merely a tin case painted green, intended for the

security of the arrows when not in use. The pouch and belt are worn

round the waist, the latter containing those arrows which are actually

being shot. A pot to hold grease for touching the glove and string,

and a tassel to wipe the arrows are hung at the belt. The grease is

composed of beef suet and wax melted together. The arm is protected

from the blow of the string by the brace, a broad guard of strong

leather buckled on by two straps. A shooting-glove, also of thin tubes

of leather, is attached to the wrist by three flat pieces, ending in

a circular strap buckled around it. This glove prevents the soreness

of the fingers, which soon comes after using the bow without it.

The target consists of a circular mat of straw, covered with canvas

painted in a series of circles. It is usually from three feet six

inches to four feet in diameter, the centre is gilt, and called the

gold; the ring about it is called the red, after which comes the inner

white, then the black, and finally the outer white. These targets are

mounted on triangular stands, from fifty to a hundred yards apart;

sixty being the usual shooting distance.

A scoring-card is provided with columns for each colour, which are

marked with a pin. The usual score for a gold hit, or the bull's-eye,

is 9, the red 7, inner white 5, black 3, and outer white, 1.

To string the bow properly it should be taken by the handle in the

right hand. Place one end on the ground, resting in the hollow of the

right foot, keeping the flat side of the bow, called the back, toward

your person. The left foot should be advanced a little, and the right

placed so that the bow cannot slip sideways. Place the heel of the

left hand upon the upper limb of the bow, below the eye of the string.

Now while the fingers and thumb of the left hand slide the eye towards

the notch in the horn, and the heel pushes the limb away from the

body, the right hand pulls the handle toward the person and thus

resists the action of the left, by which the bow is bent, and at the

same time the string is slipped into the nock, as the notch is termed.

Take care to keep the three outer fingers free from the string, for if

the bow should slip from the hand, and the string catch them, they

will be severely pinched. In shooting in frosty weather, warm the bow

before the fire or by friction with a woollen cloth. If the bow has

been lying by for a long time, it should be well rubbed with boiled

linseed oil before using it.

To unstring the bow hold it as in stringing, then press down the upper

limb exactly as before, and as if you wished to place the eye of the

string in a higher notch. This will loose the string and liberate the

eye, when it must be lifted out of the notch by the forefinger, and

suffered to slip down the limb.

Before using the bow hold it in a perpendicular direction, with the

string toward you, and see if the line of the string cuts the middle

of the bow. If not, shift the eye and noose of the string to either

side, so as to make the two lines coincide. This precaution prevents a

very common cause of defective shooting, which is the result of an

uneven string throwing the arrow on one side. After using it unstring

it, and at a large shooting-party unloose your bow after every round.

Some bows get bent into very unmanageable shapes.

The general management of the bow should be on the principle that damp

injures it, and that any loose floating ends interfere with its

shooting. It should therefore be kept well varnished, and in a

waterproof case, and it should be carefully dried after shooting in

damp weather. If there are any ends hanging from the string cut them

off close, and see that the whipping, in the middle of the string, is

close and well-fitting. The case should be hung up against a dry,

internal wall, not too near the fire. In selecting your bow be careful

that it is not too strong for your power, and that you can draw the

arrow to its head without any trembling of the hand. If this cannot be

done after a little practice, the bow should be changed for a weaker

one; for no arrow will go true, if it is discharged by a trembling

hand. If an arrow has been shot into the target on the ground, be

particularly careful to withdraw it by laying hold close to its head,

and by twisting it around as it is withdrawn, in the direction of its

axis. Without this precaution it may be easily bent or broken.

In shooting at the target the first thing is to nock the arrow, that

is, to place it properly on the string. In order to effect this, take

the bow in the left hand, with the string toward you, the upper limb

being toward the right. Hold it horizontally while you take the arrow

by the middle; pass it on the under side of the string and the upper

side of the bow, till the head reaches two or three inches past the

left hand. Hold it there with the forefinger or thumb, while you

remove the right hand down to the neck; turn the arrow till the cock

feather comes uppermost, then pass it down the bow, and fix it on the

working part of the string. In doing this all contact with the

feathers should be avoided, unless they are rubbed out of place, when

they may be smoothed down by passing them through the hand.

The body should be at right angles with the target, but the face must

be turned over the left shoulder, so as to be opposed to it. The feet

must be flat on the ground, with the heels a little apart, the left

foot turned toward the mark. The head and chest inclined a little

forward so as to present a full bust, but not bent at all below the

waist. Draw the arrow to the full length of the arm, till the hand

touches the shoulder, then take aim. The loosing should be quick, and

the string must leave the fingers smartly and steadily. The bow-head

must be as firm as a vise, no trembling allowed.

The rules of an Archery Club are usually that a Lady Paramount be

annually elected; that there be a President, Secretary, and Treasurer;

that all members intending to shoot shall appear in the uniform of the

club, and that a fine shall be imposed for non-attendance.

The Secretary sends out cards at least a week before each day of

meeting, acquainting members with the place and hour.

There are generally four prizes for each meeting, two for each sex,

the first for numbers, the second for hits. No person is allowed to

take both on the same day. A certain sum of money is voted to the Lady

Paramount, for prizes for each meeting.

In case of a tie for hits, numbers decide, and in case of a tie for

numbers, hits decide. The decision of the Lady Paramount is final.

There is also a challenge prize, and a commemorative ornament is

presented to the winner of this prize.

The distance for shooting is sixty or one hundred yards, and five-feet

targets are used.

The dress or uniform of the club is decided by the Lady Paramount.

The expenses of archery are not great, about the same as lawn tennis,

although a great many arrows are lost in the course of the season.

Bows and other paraphernalia last a long time. The lady archers are

apt to feel a little lame after the first two or three essays, but

they should practise a short time every morning, and always in a loose

waist or jacket. It will be found a very healthy and strengthening

practice and pastime.

We must not judge of the merits of ancient bowmen from the practice of

archery in the present day. There are no such distances now assigned

for the marks as we find mentioned in old histories or poetic legends,

nor such precision, even at short lengths, in the direction of the

arrow. Few, if any, modern archers in long shooting reach four hundred

yards; or in shooting at a mark exceed eighty or a hundred. Archery

has been since the invention of gunpowder followed as a pastime only.

It is decidedly the most graceful game that can be practised, and the

legends of Sherwood Forest, of Maid Marion, Little John, Friar Tuck,

and the Abbot carry us back into the fragrant heart of the forest, and

bring back memories which are agreeable to all who have in them a drop

of Saxon blood.

The usual dress is the Lincoln green of Robin Hood and his merry men,

and at Auburn in New York they have a famous club and shooting ground,

over the gate of which is painted this motto:--

"What is hit is history,

And what is missed is mystery."

The traveller still sees in the Alpine Tyrol, and in some parts of

Switzerland, bands of archers who depend on the bow and arrow for

their game. But there is not that skill or that poetry attached to the

sport which made Locksley try conclusions with Hubert, in the presence

of Prince John, as we read in the immortal pages of Ivanhoe.

The prize was to be a bugle horn mounted with silver, a silken baldric

richly ornamented, having on it a medallion of Saint Hubert, the

patron of sylvan sport. Had Robin Hood been beaten he would have

yielded up bow, baldric, and quiver to the provost of the sports; as

it was, however, he let fly his arrow, and it lighted upon that of his

competitor, which it split to shivers.