NATIVE GYMNASTICS. 
149 
air, and hitting the iron, forced it through the clay to 
the distance of several yards. The man now made his 
salaam with an expression of conscious triumph; and 
gave place to one of his competitors; who advanced; 
and with equal skill sent his instrument through the 
aperture made in the clay; striking the wall beyond; 
with a force that showed such a weapon in battle 
to be scarcely less formidable than the matchlock or 
musket. Four others tried their skill; but not' with 
equal success. Each struck the frame and forced his 
instrument through ; but not one hit the centre, though 
the man who made the fifth throw was very near it. 
They all, nevertheless, seemed to think themselves 
entitled to the applause of the company ; and he who 
had been least successful appeared much disappointed 
that the plaudits which followed his performance were 
so faint and few. 
After these men had retired, a person entered with 
a sort of quarter-staff, full six feet long, and as thick 
as a man’s thumb, with a wooden ball at either end, 
enclosed in a quilted cotton bag. He was followed 
by three slender Hindoos, with sticks nearly a yard in 
length, and of much the same thickness as the single- 
stick used by the players at that rustic game in England. 
When all was ready, this party commenced their play ; 
he who had the long staff defending himself against 
the attacks of the three with extraordinary agility and 
adroitness. His evolutions were so rapid, that he ap- 
peared every instant to present his front to each of his 
antagonists ; and the instrument, which he held at 
the centre of the shaft, he turned with such amazing 
rapidity, protecting his back and front at the same 
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