The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-05-27
THE CRAB.
1.-THE SPORTSMAN
Ana a Few Ideas CONCERNING Field
Sports.

AAeahAAN So
dicates, is devoted exclusively to the record
| ing and encouraging Of those amusenents
| which have the Hood and field for theatre and
| tend more than all others to the development
OF manhood and the perfection OF physical
faculties
Some philosophers have labored to estab-
| lish a distinction between the soul and the
mind, and high seriptural authority has been
quoted in favor OF that theory, as for exam
pie, Jesus Christ saying that he felt troubled
s'even to the division Of the soul and the mind
(uesqse I'D dieisions animB ct spiritus).
A certain gentleman well known in litera-
ture named Bulwer, has even written very
entertaining novel on the subject, entitled "A
Strange Story"
We admit that we have q certain weakness
for these questions, but time is precious, and
we cannot afford to squander it upon meta
physics. which, between the reader and our
selves, may be very entertaining, but can
scarcely be said to be useful on practical. No
doubt however, there Is some such thing as
soul, mind or spirit, and we will call 1t
''mind,'' to suit our present purposes We
deal in facts and ''mind" Is a fact which has
great deal Of affinity with the body. Thebody
reacts upon It, and 1t reacts upon the body
so closely and practically, indeed, that the
health Of the one is necessary to the proper
working of the other. Athletic sports,
whether on the flood or In the field, strengthen
| the body, thereby cultivating the mind, and
the sports that require skill and patience are
very favorable to the mind, In that they rest
| it from the routine of everyday work, direct
| 1T towards new and practical channels, and
| invigorate the body ut the same time by
| means of exposure TO the sun, the breathing
Of fresh air. and the exhilaration necessarily
| incident upon any close contact with universal
| nature.
1t is the old fable of Hercules wrestling
| with Anteus, the son OF Cybele; whenever he
was thrown to the ground he would gather
new strength from contact with his mother,
SO that Hercules, In order to vanquish him,
had to lift him up in his arms and smother
him In deadly embrace. Thus the sports
man gathers new life and vigor by coming In
contact with nature, the universal mother
II Is the general custom OF practicing and
education In athletic and sportsmanlike exer-
cses that have made the English nobility the
finest In the world. Their healthy bodies In
vigorated by exercise in the open air, give the
proper balance to their well-trained minds,
and place them mentally and physically in
the front rank Of the worlds aristocraoy
So much for the efficacy and utility of
sports and the mission of the sportsman.
Our young and lively contemporary ap-
peared on Saturday of last week with quite an
erudite article commencing and commenting
upon the three articles of the DEMOCRAT con-
corning what to eat Tt suggests that we do
not stop there, and that we continue our
learned disquisitions on that subject. So it is
our intention to do hereafter, now
and then as we go along. In its article
the Sportsman discourses with quite erudite
literature about frogs and crabs; In fact. to
certain extent IL exhausts the frog question,
but we scarcely think that it did sufficient
Justice to the crab That delicate crustaeeous
animal, which, whether boiled in salt water,
stuffed and served up in It's Uwtt sf15tf uf
supervision of scientific cook, is remarkably
nutritious and palatable, deserved a more ex-
tensive notice at the hands of our eonteni-
porary
Without him what would become Of the ten
der youths, male and female. that visit our
watering places on the Lake coast to idle
away the lazy but warmhearted summer?
How would the barefooted boy do If there were
no crabs to entice from the measurable
piece Of meat tied to the end OF the proverbial
string. All, the memories of boyboodl How
fresh they are and how they caress the
soul like the scent OF some last prim-
Fose IN h. the Side r. bd The no sgss dsngng
precipitous wharf. The eyes following the
twisted Irvine as it makes q tangent after
passing the surface Of the transparent light
green water, the piece OF beef on the end OF
the tantalizing trap. What hallowed remin- |
iscences What anxiety when the tenacious |
crustacean is being. gently pulled up by wary |
and trembling hands, and what triumph when |
the dimnutive monster has been hauled up |
and deposited In the basket Can such memo |
RIGS ever be forgotten? Time may pass |
love. may be oblfterated, dreams Of glory |
may vanish Fortune, slippery as the eel |
may glide through our fingers, but the con- |
guering sensation experienced by the small |
boy when he has VIGOROUSLY pulled up the |
crab OF his bygone days is monument OF the |
past that can neither be overthrown nor |
obliterated. For the young lady, just out
from school, who enjoys the luxury OF having |
crustacean sport come in. He holds the UNI |
brella over her head, that is to protect her |
from the kisses of the garish sum- and to |
screen both from the prying eyes of unappre-
pure and holy aspirations, what thrilling |
sensations caused by the mere contact
with @ white linen dress, find sacred |
refuge behind that umbrella, the angels only |
KNOW, DuL OWING bO our very SllRub HCQuaIuu~ |
ance with these ETHEREAL beings they have not |
communicated the same to US. 1t is a notice |
able fact, however, that the sportive crab is |
comparatively safe in the environs OF the line
that descends from that umbrella covered |
group, and veterans boast Of many o square
meal taken beneath it's protecting shades.
But the crab is not only a source of enjoy |
ment to the masculine youth, or a poetical |
pretext for haf-grown up lovers. Sacred his |
tory shows that this mailed hero of deep and |
shallow sea waters has been elevated at times |
by the Deity to the rank of an intelligent in |
for the performance of undenable |
We believe it was st. Francis Xavier, the |
immortal missionary who, when travelling on |
a Spanish galley, bound for some forlorn isle |
of the ocean, whose inhabitants the renowned |
preacher had the mission of converting to |
Christianity, unaccountably dropped in mid |
ocean and lost a valued cross which had been |
given him by a brother saint and martyr, |
to which was attached numberless plenary |
indulgences.
Wrapt in holy meditations, ST. Francis |
reached the shore of ike destined island I'M |
conscious pf hic LOGO Tho dirsy