FRANCE III 



of sino-le out tirino; it by sheer skill, handiness, and patience — these 

 are the qualifications of the sportsman. 



An examination of the present generation of Frenchmen on its 

 sporting- merits will show, above all, progress in horsemanship. This 

 improvement has been continuous these thirty years, so that we now 

 possess horsemen of first rank, capable of entering in cross-country 

 steeplechases with the finest riders in the world. Moreover, their 

 knowledge of horsemanship is very considerable, and they would get 

 out of their horses more than the finest horsemen in England. 



Again, the sword is in great esteem in France, and we are among 

 the best swordsmen in the world. 



Our fleet of yachts is also becoming remarkably good. Our 

 tennis players are also excellent. In fact, the schoolboys are' imitat- 

 ing the students at English universities, devoting themselves keenly 

 to sport and games, in which indeed they are beginning to take a 

 position the more praiseworthy since it is only gradually, as folks 

 grope their way out from earlier ignorance, that they have got in a 

 position to compete with the English champions. 



And it must, moreover, be remembered that we are handicapped, 

 for the considerable means at the disposal of the better class in 

 England allow sportsmen to attempt things on a scale prohibitive to 

 us. Thus, English yachting men often commission the construction 

 of several boats in order to carry off a big race. Thousands of 

 pounds sterling support every season the yards of the yacht-builders 

 in Enp-land, and it is from them that we derive all the most im- 

 portant elements of our own pleasure craft. There is a lack of 

 money among us, and there is a corresponding lack of yacht- 



