Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-04-24

THE FASCINATION OF ARCHERY.

So long rs the new moon returns il
heaven bent, beautiful bow, SO Ion!
will the fascination of archery keep hol,
OF the hearts of men. can demon
strate this fascination, and can give th,
reason why it exists. But first a word a,
TO the fact of its existence. Since the
publication in this magazine for July,
1877. of an article on archery, have re-
ceived nearly five hundred letters of in
quiry. aud men have come hundreds OF
miles TO see what manner OF bows and
arrows use. You have but to mention
an archer or archery 10 your friend and
Immediately his interest is aroused. lie
NAV scotf AT the bow and sheer at the
arrow /; but he will inquire and show Gu
riosity. Hang long bow and culver
OF arrows conspicuously In your hall or
library, and you will suon discover that
no exquisite painting or bit OF statuary
will receive more attention from guests
than will be accorded to these ancient
weapons. No doubt it one could procure
a shell strung with gold and silver cords,
after the fashion OF the old time instru-
ment wherewith the gods made music.
the same fascination would attach. In
deed music and poetry sprang from the
bow as did the goddess of wisdom from
the head of Jove. The bow is the old
first lyre, the monochord, the first rune
OF fine art and is as nseparably connect
ed with the history of culture as are the
alphabets OF the learned languages. What
the fragments of Sapphc song and the
Homeric epics are to the literature Of to-
day, the bow is to the weapons of to-day.
When man shoots with a bow it is his
own vigor of body that drives the arrow.
and his own mind that controls the mis-
sile's flight. Not so with gun shooting.
The modern weapon is charged with a
power acting independently of muscular
operations. and will shoot just as power
fully for the schoolboy or the weak ling as
it will for the athlete. The Sapphic
songs were the natural music OF love :;
the Homeric epics were the natural out
pourings of great, strong, seli-sutlicient
soul. surcharged with inspiration OF hero
ism; and when Apollo is represented
with drawn bow he is the symbol of the
natural perfect physical manhood il an
attitude displaying its highest powers and
graces. 1t Is curious to note how surely
The bow and arrows have found their way
into the hands OF all wild peoples whose
mode OF life has made physical culture a
necessity with them. and it is equally
interesting and significant to discover
that among these wild peoples a chieftan
is invariably chosen on account of his
ability to draw mighty bow. We are
nothing better than refined and enlght-
ened savages. The fiber OF our nature
is not changed in substance it is polished
and oiled The wild side of the prism OF
humanity still offers its pleasures to us,
and il is healthful and essentially neces-
sary to broad cultare that we accept them
in moderation. Sport, by which | mean
pleasant physical and mental exercise
ombined,-play, in the best sense,-is a
requirement OF this wild element. this
glossed-over, physical, heather side of
our being, and the bow is its natural
implement From MERRY Days Wih Bo,o
and Quiper," Maurice Thompson, Scribner
for May.