18 SPORTING OF THE PAST 



is certain, that it is much less dangerous to row or 

 run a severe race well 'prepared: it is inward fat 

 that chokes men, causes apoplexy and what-not. 

 Men in training, if they are careful and do not 

 catch cold, and are not too severely taxed, have 

 little to apprehend ; and this is why an experienced 

 trainer is necessary. 



Bicycling, too, is a fine healthy amusement, de- 

 velops the muscles and keeps a man in wind and 

 health : he may get all over the country and at one- 

 tenth the former expense of railway travelling. 

 But bicycling, like all other sports and exercises, 

 has its abuses as well as its uses, and when one 

 sees men flying along a road (to the manifest 

 danger of the public) bent double over the handles 

 of their machines, it gives one pause, as to whether 

 crooked backs, contracted chests, and knee trouble 

 are not in store for a future generation. 



There are many lakes, large and small, in Scot- 

 land, Wales, and Ireland, that cannot be either 

 fished or shot for want of a boat. It is costly to 

 get a boat up the mountains, and very often, 

 especially in Ireland, there are no roads, or horses 

 cannot traverse them. Therefore something light 

 but safe is necessary. The Rev. E. L. Berthon, of 

 Romsey, Hants, has invented a boat which is 

 admirably suited for the purpose : it is a folding 



