"Yes, because the oldest girl in the MacAlpine family is always named Jane," put in Tom.
"And then when papa came down to the wharf to meet them," said Alec, "there was Janie standing on the ship and waving to him, and under her arm was a bundle and a pair of bright eyes, and there was Lassie come sailing back when he was a grown-up man."
[BOXING FOR BOYS.]
BY S. SCOVILLE, JUN.
There are two reasons why a boy should understand and practise boxing. First, because in the life of every one there come times when it is necessary to defend one's self or others. There are very few occasions when a boy need ever fight on his own account. Sometimes, of course, it is absolutely necessary, but more often it only seems so, and the older a boy becomes, the more he is convinced that in boys' affairs, as well as in those of nations, arbitration is the only sensible and civilized way of settling disputes. Occasionally, however, there comes a crisis when a boy must defend another weaker than himself, and then it is that a boxer knows what to do and does it, while an untrained boy either shirks his duty or, if very brave, tries to interfere, and usually makes matters worse by being hurt himself.
At a Yale-Harvard football game in Springfield, the writer noticed an incident which illustrates very forcibly the advantage of knowing how to box. Some rows ahead of the writer in the grand stand, a slim young fellow, certainly not more than eighteen years old, was sitting with a lady in the aisle seats. During the intermission between the halves he stepped some distance down the aisle to speak to a friend. Just then a rough-looking character, who had been drinking enough to be quarrelsome, pushed his way into the row, insisting that the lady was in his seat, and seizing her by the shoulder, tried to pull her out into the aisle. The boy turned at her call and sprang back. As the rough faced him the other stepped easily forward, and like a flash his left shot out from the shoulder and landed just under his opponent's chin—a clean scientific lead with all his weight back of it. The rough went down, striking his head heavily against the boards, lay there a moment, and then climbing unsteadily to his feet, slunk off without a word. There were no police officers nearer than the field, the lady was in the boy's care, was insulted, and in danger of being injured. In time the crowd would have interfered, but it was a case for immediate action. To protect a woman at any cost is the duty of every American boy. This one had developed and trained his strength so as to make it effectual for exactly such an emergency. He knew just how and where to strike, and—the thing was over. Altogether the incident convinced the writer more than ever that boys owe it to themselves and their manhood, as protectors of all things weak, to learn to use their strength most effectively. And it is wonderful how effective a knowledge of boxing will make a very small amount of strength. The writer remembers seeing a skilled light-weight boxer in a college boxing-room easily best the stroke oar of a class crew—a man of tremendous strength and weight, but one who had never learned to box.
The second reason why a boy should learn to box is because boxing not only teaches him how to utilize the strength that he has, but before long it tremendously increases that same strength. Nearly every muscle of the body is brought into play. The triceps, or pushing muscles on the back of the arm, the shoulder and back muscles, are the ones especially developed in boxing. The bare back of a boxer is a perfect mass of muscle. Great knots and coils appear between and across the shoulders with every movement, while the ridges stand out clear down to the base of the spine. Let a boy practise a single left-hand lead in front of a mirror in gymnastic costume, and note how many muscles are used. Besides the above-mentioned ones, the leg, thigh, fore-arm, stomach, and breast muscles are all called upon indirectly. Besides strengthening all the muscles, boxing trains the eye, gives quickness and a lithe, easy carriage, broadens and deepens the chest, and enlarges the lungs, and, best of all, teaches self-control, and gives a certain indefinable feeling of strength and safety that comes only with a strong well-trained body.
So much for the advantages of boxing. It is not the writer's purpose in this article to do more than give the most general hints in regard to the actual blows and parries. Boxing cannot be taught on paper, and a boy can learn more in one lesson from a good teacher than by reading volumes. But a few brief hints may aid those who are not fortunate enough to be under an instructor.
And first, as to the selection of a teacher. Above all things, get one that is a scientific boxer, not some strapping bruiser that will knock you around at so much an hour. Every town has some veteran boxer who will be glad to give boys a start in sparring. The first principles should be learned thoroughly and correctly, or the pupil will always be bothered by some clumsy habit picked up as a beginner. It was only this winter that the writer broke his thumb by a wrong blow learned ten years back from his first teacher, and which, in the excitement of a hard-fought bout, is only too apt to crop out in spite of years of warning from half a dozen instructors.