We repeat here—the less frippery indulged in by way of uniform, the better, though all should dress alike, so as to be recognized a long way off. A white band round the cap, with the letters of the club name, is enough to show out at a distance; and the captain could have a different colored cap to distinguish him. The Westchester club is composed of young men in good circumstances, and they can afford velvet collars and gold tassels. The less of these that our schoolboys affect, the better for the success of the club.
[ARCHERY.]
The pastime of archery, once the national sport of England, has in late years experienced a sudden and remarkable revival, both in that country and the United States. In England, as a revived amusement it became popular about the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria; but in that country it has never been more than the pastime of a few dilettanti, the ladies forming the greatest portion of every gathering. In the United States it has only become a recognized sport within the last few years, the archery fever dating from the month of July, 1877, when Mr. Maurice Thompson issued his first illustrated article on the subject in Scribner's Monthly. Since that time this gentleman and his brother William have roused a great interest in the subject, and have superintended or instigated the foundation of a number of archery clubs in the various sections of the Union. The new sport spread so rapidly that in 1879 these clubs sent delegates to a grand archers' congress in Chicago, where they held a successful and well-attended meeting which bids fair to be repeated yearly and has roused enthusiasm for archery all over the Union.
The secret of this success lies in the fact that the brothers Thompson have appealed to the practical side of the American character in their plea for archery. They have shown that as an amusement it is cheap and healthful, giving the best of exercise in the open air. They have further shown that as a means of sport in the pursuit of game it has many advantages over the shot-gun, and these advantages are so well stated by Maurice Thompson in his first paper that we cannot do better than to reproduce them.
He says: "If you can keep the shot-gunners away, three or four miles of a well-stocked stream will afford two archers plenty of sport for a whole season. Hunting them with the bow does not drive the birds off to other haunts; but the sound of a gun soon depopulates a stream, whether any duck be killed or not. * * * * * * * *
"I do not wish to put in a special plea for archery, but I venture to say that no man or woman who cares at all for out-door sport can resist its fascination after he has once mastered its first difficulties. I have yet to find a person so grave and dignified that archery could not coax him into a bending humor. Indeed the bow is the natural weapon of man, and it affords him the most perfect physical and mental recreative exercise that can be conceived of. It is to the mind and body what music and poetry are to the soul—it trains them to the highest degree of healthfulness and strength.
ARCHER'S POSITION.