268 MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE. 



of the female nobility, and are said often to compose 

 the most brilliant and attractive rural feats which are en- 

 joyed in that country. 



849. Ladies may shoot at the distance of twenty or thirty 

 yards ; and the attitude of an accomplished female archer 

 of one who has studied and practised the art in a 

 proper manner, at the moment of bending the bow, is 

 particularly graceful all the actions and positions tend at 

 once to produce an appearance or vigor in the frame, and 

 to impart a general elegance to the deportment. 



850. The excitement of feeling which a competition 

 among the fair archers produces, together with the mus- 

 cular exertions which such occasions call forth, make this 

 among one of the most healthful and agreeable pastimes in 

 which propriety permits young ladies to indulge. 



851. The face of the target has a gilded centre, around 

 which are four circles, of which the inner one is red ; 

 the second white ; the third black ; arid the outer one 

 white, with a narrow border of green. The propor- 



Fig. 124. 



tions may be as in the above Fig. 124. The diameter may 

 be from one to two feet, according to the distance, and 

 expertness of the shooters. 



852. The mode of ascertaining the value of the hits, 

 which is increased in proportion as they strike near the 

 centre, is as follows. The hits in the centre are multiplied 

 by nine ; in the red by three ; in the inner white circle by 



