The Children of the West 87 



beautiful than the most beautiful face ; " I know, 

 also, what athletics has done for the young men of 

 the West; I am well aware of the many (who 

 might have been drunkards and debauchees) whom 

 a love of manly sport has reclaimed and regener- 

 ated. But I cannot blind myself to the fact that 

 in this, as in other matters, the pendulum has 

 swung too far the other way. The strenuous com- 

 petition that stalks in the market-place rages furi- 

 ously in the playing-fields, too furiously for the 

 weal of the athletes. In their play, as in their 

 work, would it not be wise for the Sons of the 

 West to give pause? 



