128 OUR HERITAGE THE SEA 



the most unpractical nation on earth. We spend more, 

 far more, upon utterly useless forms of so-called sport 

 every year than would suffice to find funds for dozens of 

 technical colleges for the teaching of things that really 

 matter to us. 



Believe me, I am not carping at sport or play, for 

 I know their value, but I do hate, to see several 

 thousands of men gathered to witness the performances 

 of a few gladiators no, footballers, or cricketers, or 

 racehorses each paying dearly in time and money for 

 his place, and each hoping to recoup himself for his 

 outlay by a successful bet. It spells decadence of the 

 worst kind. I listened the other morning to a group 

 of newsboys at King's Cross station discussing the 

 prospects of various cricketers this season. They were 

 all versed to the last detail in the exploits of the men 

 they were discussing. Their memories were wonderful. 

 And then I took the brightest, as I thought, of them 

 aside, and asked him how many counties were included 

 in the administrative county of London ; and he said, 

 with a resentful note in his voice, " I don't know what 

 you're talking about ! " 



A journey round the saloon bars of London on any 

 evening of the year, and a quiet listening to the con- 

 versation, will elicit the astounding fact that the chief 

 interest of the manhood of England is vicarious sport, 

 always with the underlying prospect of winning some- 

 body's money without working for it. Occasionally a 

 question of politics arises ; but if so, it means a row, 

 because nobody knows anything really about the 

 matter. Such pitifully garbled opinions as they have 

 (for which most of them are ready to fight) they have 

 taken from the columns of their evening paper after 



