regard to athleticism of all descriptions at the present time, is the continued surpassing of former achieve old tutor, except possibly in infancy: for he was only six years old when Law buried himself in his cloistered life at King's Cliffe, and twenty-ments, or, as it is technically called, three when Law died there. But the family tradition in some degree made up for the lack of personal acquaintance; and as it interested him sufficiently in Law to induce him to peruse several of his works, and to regard them with less of antipathy than he must otherwise have felt for writings so alien from his own cast of mind, his judgment has a real weight and it may, as Dean Milman says, be pronounced on the whole a fair one. The following extracts give the substance of it: "In our family he left the character of sible visions of Jacob Behmen; and his Law as a wit and a scholar. His argu- Mr. Law's masterwork, the 'Serious Call,' is still read as a popular and powerful book of devotion. His precepts are rigid, but they are founded on the Gospel; his satire is sharp, but it is drawn from the knowledge of human life; and many of his portraits are not unworthy of La Bruyère."-Quarterly Review. "the cutting of records." A "rec- Since "records" have been registered with methodical exactitude, it that every now and again some has been found, as was only likely, athlete has been able to surpass what has been done before in the various branches of sport. Particularly has this been the case in recent years, but the last one has been most remarkable for the numerous "records" which have been "cut. Week after week some fresh-achievement has been accomplished, and there is scarcely a single branch of athletics in which one or more have not been registered. This has been so in every description of contest, The most remarkable thing with and has caused astonishment to the [CONCLUDED.] ATHLETES OF THE PRESENT AND PAST. older generation of athletes, who have seen the performances, which they had been in the habit of thinking approached the marvelous, exceeded again and again. Does this indicate that the men of the present day are vastly superior in physical power to those of the past? Taking the modern past first into consideration, I should say that in the majority of cases it certainly does not; the increased result of their exertions being in a great measure due to the improvements of the machines they use. This, however, is not always so; for, although in rowing, shooting, bicycling, etc., it may be, it can hardly be altogether so in running, cricket, jumping, etc.; though even in these cases to a certain extent it is, as the improvement in the condition of the ground where the contests take place has something to do with the greater performances now accomplished. With reference to the ancients, we know very little of the real performances of their athletes. It is only very occasionally that any of the classical historians relate details, and some of those are obviously incorrect. For instance, it is recorded that the Grecian Phayllos, with the aid of halteeres (aripes), leaped a distance of 55 ft. Halteeres were something similar to our dumbbells, which the Greeks held in their hands when leaping. They put their arms. back, and, swinging them forward with a sudden motion, took the leap. There is no doubt their use enabled them to jump farther than they could have done without them. This has been proved by experience, 29 ft. 7 in. having been covered in 1854 by an athlete with weights in his hands, whereas the "record" for the long jump at the annual InterUniversity sports is only 22 ft. 10 in., which was made in 1874; and the longest distance ever known to have been jumped without the aid of weights is the "record" of 23 ft. 2 in., made in 1883. But, after allowing everything for the superior skill which the ancient Greeks probably possessed in the application of the power of these halteeres, they being in the habit of constantly using them, it is incredible that they could have succeeded in jumping with them nearly double the distance that it has been possible to cover in modern times. In running, it would seem that our modern athletes are able to accomplish more than those of Ancient Greece. The foot-races at the Olympic Games were of three lengths-namely, once over the course, or "stadion" (orádior), as it was called, and which became the unit of the Greek road measure, being 600 Greek feet, equal to about 606 feet 9 inches English; twice over it-that is, from one end to the other and back again; and the third 12, 20, or 24 times over, for the various reports are not clear as to which it was. Taking the longest distance, this would only be 14,562 English feet, or just over two and three-quarter miles; and yet, when the Spartan Ladas dropped down dead on completing this course, apparently it was not considered a matter of great surprise, for it was evidently thought a wonderful performance for an athlete to be able to run so far. Now our runners would make light of such a distance, and races for twenty miles and more continually take place: It is only reasonable to suppose that a Grecian athlete would con sider the distance he had to run, and regulate his pace accordingly, and would not attempt to "sprint"that is, to run at the highest possible speed-for the whole way; and I am rather disposed to the view that the men of the present day have greater physical power than the ancients. matches in their galleys and various other descriptions of craft, although we have no definite particulars of them; but when we come to modern times, there is scarcely more difference between the warships of the Grecians and our ironclads than between the racing boats of fifty years ago and those of to-day. A reference to statistics, however, shows the curious fact that in 1845, the first time that the Oxford and Cam To return to the moderns: In running at nearly every distance have "records" been recently "cut;" the same with rowing, swimming, crick-bridge Universities rowed their race et, etc. How is this to be accounted for? Training, no doubt, has something to do with it. The system of diet and work which tends most to develop a man's muscular powers is far better understood now than it was in the past, and the quite recent past too; but there is a great deal yet to be learned, and there is too much tendency, even now, to respect traditional ideas that have nothing but their age to recommend them. Then, again, even if the men of the present are not so much physically superior to their modern predecessors, they may, and probably do, use their powers to greater advantage, for they have the benefit of better instruction than those received who have gone before. More particularly is this the case in rowing, where the "coaching," as it is called, is much more efficient than that in force not many years ago. Year after year distances are covered more quickly than previouslv. In this case it is without doubt the boats, as well as the improved "coaching," that are to a very great extent the cause. Besides which. the whole system of boat-racing has undergone a change during the present century. We know that the ancients had between Putney and Mortlake, which course they have adopted ever since, the time occupied was only 23 min. 30 sec., the boats rowed in being inrigged skiffs. This time has been exceeded since boats of the present pattern have been used, with outriggers, sliding seats, absence of keel, and every other improvement, and would not be considered so very bad even now, with the "record" standing at 19 min. 35 sec. But this is possibly one of those times which are not reliable, and, even if it is correct, the crew may have been an exceptionally good one; and besides, so much more depends on the state of the elements in rowing than in any other sport, that, unless oue knows every circumstance, mere "times" are often deceptive. With cricket, where phenomenal scores have recently been made, it can hardly be said that the machinery employed is the principal cause. Bats, balls, and stumps are practically what they have been for many years, and I do not think that on the whole there has been much alteration in the grounds. They may be sometimes a little smoother and better kept, but that is as much, or more, to the advantage of the bowler as to the batsman, and which of them has the mastery depends a great deal on the state of the weather. On what are called "bowlers' days," when rain has made the ground suitable for them to make the most of their powers, they have been as phenomenally successful with the ball as the batsinen have with the bat when the weather has been in their favor. The real reason is to be found in the more scientific practice of the game, and in the very keen competition that exists in it, causing all to use their utmost to excel. It may be objected that many of its followers have no knowledge of science as applied to cricket, and this is no doubt true; but, although they have none themselves, they see what is done by those that have, and learn to make use of its principles without thoroughly un derstanding them. Let us turn to another branch of athletics, in which certainly those who follow it have no better means for its use than their predecessors. I allude to walking, more particularly to walking on the open roads; for, of course, as regards doing so on tracks there is the same advantage on them that there now is for runners. For many years past, the favorite course for road walking, when an athlete wished to try his powers, has been from London to Brighton, and for a long time the "record" was 10 h. 52 min. A year . or two back this was "cut," and stood at 9 h. 48 min., and last year it was again reduced, and now stands at 9 h. 25 min. 8 sec. It must also be remarked that this last was made under exceptionally disadvantageous circumstances, the weather being of the very roughest description-so bad that several of the competitors were obliged to retire from the contest. If the elements had not been so unpropitious, probably faster time would have been made. What was done many years ago we have no means of knowing, as history does not tell us; but this increase in pace in the last few years is very remarkable. And it is not only in long-distance walking that there is this increase. Twenty years ago, a man who could walk a mile in eight minutes was considered to be able to do a very fair performance; but now, unless he could cover the distance in considerably under seven minutes, he would have no chance whatever of winning any prize at an athletic meeting. When we come to consider feats of strength and agility, and to compare as far as possible those performed now and in earlier times, the advantage appears to lie with the moderns. There are really no definite accounts of what the ancient Greeks and Romans were able to do. There are many mythical ones, and even when there are any that may possibly be statements of facts, there is nothing to gauge what they may be really worth. We have a little more knowledge of what was done in the middle ages, but not much. For instance, King Teutobach of the Teutons is said to have vaulted over six horses standing side by side; and another king, Olaf Tryggesson of Norway, according to an old chronicle of that country, was— "Stronger and more nimble than any man in his dominion. He could climb up the rock Smalserhorn, and fix his shield upon the top of it; he could walk round the outside of a boat upon oars, while the three darts, alternately throwing them in men were rowing; he could play with the air, and always kept two of them up, while he held the third in one of his hands; he was ambidexter, and could cast two darts at once, and he excelled all men of his time in shooting with the bow, and he had no equal in swimming." What amount of skill and exertion might be required to place his shield on Smalserhorn it is impossible to say; and as we do not know the powers of shooting with the bow, or of swimming, that the men of his time had, we cannot judge of his ability from the fact that he excelled them; but there is nothing extraordinary in his being able to keep three darts alternately in the air. Hundreds, probably thousands, of people at the present time could do that, and many professors of sleight-of-hand would play with a much larger number. The walking outside the boat on the oars while the men were rowing certainly shows that he was possessed of a good deal more than an average amount of agility, and it must have required a considerable amount of practice and power of balancing, but scarcely more than every rider of a bicycle must attain before he can work his machine. With regard to King Teutobach's vaulting feat, it is not stated in what manner it was performed, and therefore we can hardly judge of it. But the mere vaulting over six horses, if placed on convenient ground, is nothing, and similar feats are daily exhibited by acrobats at almost every circus. the country; whereas in ancient the archers were a most important times it was a serious business, and portion of the armies of those days. The discovery of gunpowder and the introduction of firearms are of course the causes of its decline. Now 100 or 120 yards is usually the extreme distance at which shooting takes place, 60 or 80 yards being more general; but 240 to 400 yards were once no uncommon ranges. As early as the sixteenth century an inclination was shown on the part of the people to discontinue shooting at the longer ranges, and before then, in the reign of Edward the Third, complaint was made that the practice of archery was much neglected; that monarch and succeeding ones making various regulations insisting on its being followed. As the distances at which the shooting takes place are less than formerly, so also has the accuracy of the aim decreased, if we are to believe the stories that are told of the deeds of the archers of former times. There has always been a halo of ro mance around them, and it is impossible to separate with certainty the truth from the fable. Robin Hood and William Tell are heroes of our childhood, but there are skeptics who assert that neither ever really existed. con- really existed. Certainly the story of the latter's adventure is told of several others; as by Saxo Grammaticus of a Danish king named Harold, and also of one Toko, and in the Wilkima Saga a similar one is mentioned. Archery is one branch of athletics in the practice of which the moderns are decidedly inferior to their predecessors. This is now entirely followed as an amusement, principally by ladies, who so far back as the seventeenth century are said to have been fond of it, and by gentlemen of There are many games and athletic exercises that are practiced now, which, although considered modern inventions, were in a different form in use among the ancients. |