THE GAME OF POLO.
The Polo family have always been great travellers. The adventurous Venetian, Marco Polo, who started Eastward long enough before Columbus thought of discovering America—or, indeed, before anybody thought of Columbus—was the first of the long line to make himself known throughout the world. This was about the year 1280, or more than six hundred years ago; and almost as long ago as that, according to all accounts, another branch of this distinguished family, which we have come to know as the game of Polo, was known and liked in other parts of the Orient. Travellers tell us that for centuries the inhabitants of certain districts of India have played the game, and liked it so well that they gave it a name signifying in their language "the game of all games." This game was born in a country where there were no telegraphs, no railroads, not even an old-fashioned stage-coach. All travelling was done on horseback, and all business depended upon the skill and fidelity of the horsemen. A game that taught the dusky lads to be good horsemen was more than an amusement—it was a national blessing. Polo was for ages, and is still, the national game of these districts. The boys are hardly large enough to lay their hand on a pony's back before they learn to play Polo. The English in India have taken up the game, but even with their superior ponies and equipments they can not vanquish the natives in a friendly contest with the ball and mallet. This is because the Indians from their earliest boyhood are taught to play the game, just as we, at a similar age, are taught the beauties of the Latin grammar. The English are almost as fond of good horsemanship as the East Indians, and as soon as their soldiers in India saw the game, they learned it and played it. Thus Polo travelled from India to England. Five or six years ago it took a trip to America; and although it still makes New York its head-quarters on this side the Atlantic, it has travelled all over the United States, visiting nearly every principal city, and generally making a long stay.
A GAME OF POLO.—Drawn by J. E. Kelly.
The only thing to prevent American boys from learning to play this exciting game is the great lack of ponies. While an East Indian boy would have a pony, even if he were too poor to have a coat, many an American boy with plenty of coats is not able to have a pony. But with the ponies once at hand, and boys who can ride them well, the game is easily learned. It is no more, indeed, than "shinny" on horseback, and if there is any American boy who does not know how to play shinny, he is yet to be heard from. Ordinary horses are too large for Polo, even when the players are full-grown men, for the higher a player is from the ground, the more difficult it is for him to strike the ball. The smaller the pony, the better for the player; and it should be as gentle as a kitten, as quick as a flash, and as swift as a deer. The ponies generally used in New York and Newport are brought from Texas and Mexico, and, as most boys know, these animals do not unite all the good qualities of the Arabian steed. They are a little too fond of kicking, and of stopping suddenly, and smiling with their ears, while their rider slides over their head. Sometimes, however, a young member of the party appears mounted upon a Shetland pony, a shining, bright-eyed little animal, as gentle as it is beautiful. These ponies are scarce, and often expensive; but it will be good news to some of the boys to hear that a gentleman has recently stocked a farm with them in Westchester County, only a few miles from New York, and that he intends to raise hundreds of them for sale.