The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-03-17

of the exercise. These, too, are amuse-
ments in which men alone can engage. What
we especially require is something which, while it |
does not tax the physical powers too heavily shall
be suitable to the climate and shall be of kind in
which the sexes can join, not only without its
being derogatory to the character of either but with
manifest advantage to both. The sport of archery
tnlhlls these conditions 1t requires no particular
number of contestants; it may be taken up i'm
Pr0ntptu at any moment; it trains the muscles
without taguing them; it predisposes to graceful
ness of motion; invgorates the system; promotes
social reunions among friends and neghbors and
is, under any circumstances, delightful mode Of
filling up leisure hours tat are often less agreeably
and frequently, far less usefully employed, The
practice necessary to attain proficiency in archery
operates also as continual incentive to
the learner 10 become perfect in the use of the wea
pom; while the skill and judgment which is thus
brought into play; the calculation and torethought;
the accuracy of eye, and the frmnesS Of hand, are
not without their uses and conveniences in the
graver concerns of life. In sanitary
point of view, therefore, the revival of
the old-fashioned sport of archery deserves to be
commended. Four centuries ago. when such a
thing as standing army unknown in Eng
land, the constant practice of shooting with the
bow was enforced by statutes, which required
every man under sixty, with the exception of
clergym and justices of the peace, TO have bow
in his house, and ordained that targets should be
erected for public use in every township in the
Kingdom. Nearly a century later, LATIMER en-
forced the practice of archery from the pulpit. In
one of the sermons delivered before EDWARD VI,
and which was reprinted about thirty years ago,
he quantity remarks: 'In my time my poor
'father was as diligent to teach me to shoot as to
'1earn me any other thing, and so | think other
s'men did their children. He taught me how to
''draw-how to lay my body in my bow, and not
''to draw with strength of other nations
edo, but with strength of the body. l had my
''tows bought me according to my age and
strength; as I increased in them, so my bows
"were made bigger and bigger; for men shall
'never shoot well except they be brought up in it.
at is godly art wholesome kind of exercise,
"and much commended in physic' Here, then,
We have the old English trick of handling the
bow very clearly set forth, and 1t was to this
familiarity from childhood with the use of their
favorite weapon that their famous victories al
Cressy and Agincourt are to be ascribed. We
fear, however, that we cannot at this late day. rise
to the height of LATIMER's enthusiasm, when he
calls Archery IA godly art' but we unequivocally
agree with him, that it is "a wholesome exercise,
and as such, we should rejoice to see it brought
into vogue among US. In Philadelphia, there has
been organised for several years past, an "United
Bowmen Club" which is still, we believe, in a
1ourishng condition, and efforts now making,
in other Eastern cities, to organise similar asso
Citations. In England and Scotland, Archery
Clubs have long been popular means of recrea-
ton, and as the whole cost of bows and arrows
which can readily be obtained in Philadelphia and
New York-is a mere trihe, there certainly can be
no reason why we should not take to archery will
as much Zest as our neighbors. 1t is Justly en-
titled to the high praise which has been accorded
to it, of being of the most graceful and ex
hilarating of field sports, and whether we regart
it directly, as a means of preserving health, by
the practice it demands, and the interest it. in
spires; as operating benefcially, by indirection
through its offering an additional incentive Il
break through the restraints imposed upon us by
the cares of business, or by the exactions of Ell
quette, its hygienic value is equally worthy of con
sideration.