Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-09-20
LAWN TENNIS.
IT'S SUBSTITUTION FOR CROQUET-GREAT GAIN
FOR MORALITY THEREBY = HOW CROoUET
wITHERs AND BLASTS WHATEVER Is GOOD IN
HUMAN NATURE.

FOR MORALITY THEREBY = HOW CROoUET
wITHERs AND BLASTS WHATEVER Is GOOD IN
HUMAN NATURE.
Croquet has lost its popularity and it is only
in remote western towns that one can still hear
the click of the maet as it strikes some bald
but youthful head or the wall of the too
eager girl who has mashed her own foot. Else
where crOquet has not been PLAYED for nearly
two years. The crOquet mallet has been turned
into bean-pole. and the balls have been thrown
at yagrant dogs. SO that of the eleven million
croquet sets formerly in the possession of pri-
vate citizens Of the United States. there are now
not more than sixty-three sets which are COM
plete and fit for use.
The disappearance of this pestileat game is a
great gain for the cause of morality and public
order. Next to horse dealing. which, accord
ing to the Westminster Catechism. ''worketh
the corruption of the whole nature" of him who
sells horses. crOquet has a more whitening and
blasting effect upon whatever is good in human
nature than has any other agency. 1t leads to
lying almost as certainly as does trout-nshing.
Mr.. Herbert Spencer. in his tables of social
statistics, asserts that 50 per cent of all ladies
who play croquet will Systematically claim
to have passed hoops that they have not
passed. and ninety per cent will insist that they
never stirred the ball which received the stroke
of the mallet in that peculiar feat called zero
quoting" OF course, those who habtually in
mldly-such as these must inevitably lose ailre-
spect for the truth They who cheat their lovers
at crOquet will find it easy to deceive their hus-
bands in the game of married life. From cheat
ing to quarreling is step which in crOquet is
is short and inevitable. In nine games out Ofeyery
ten the recording angel is compelled to take
notice that Miss Smith has audibly mentioned
that lit is perfectly sickening to see how that
Brown girl cheats" and that Miss Brown has
openly called Miss Robinson a ''mean, hateful
thing" In its latter days croquet was charac-
terized not merely by cheating and bad lam
guage, but by assassination. 1t was so easy for
quick-tempered and indignant girl to hit her
partner over the shins as a febuke for his bad
play. or to strike faithless lover over the head
who had formed partnership with hated
rival, and perhaps defended her from the &C
cusatiOn OF cheating, that maliet outrages be-
came frightfully prevalent. In England alone,
in the year 1878, seven curates had their skulls
fractured, one hundred and ninety-four were Sc
roasly bruised, either on one or both
shns, and six hundred and five Young
ladies were hit in the region of the
shoes by malets thrown by other young ladies.
like state of things existed about the same
time in this country but in the absence of trust
worthy statistics it can only be said that in all
probability the proportion of mallet Outrages
was as great here as in England. 1t was this
terrible feature of the game which caused
general uprising of all good citizens against it.
and led to the substtutiOnOf lawn-tennis in its
place.
The peculiar feature of lawn-tennis is the net
Which is stretched between the players with the
view of preventing adversaries from assauting
one another. The players use q light ball, with
which it is impossible to infiict any serious in
jury. and instead of clubs they play with instru-
ments somewhat resembling the battledore of
the last generation, and unfit for offensive pur-
poses except. perhaps, in connection with very
young children. The game has commended
itself to parents and peaceable people by it's APP
parent safety, and so far it has certainly been
unstained by any murderOus ARRAYS. Still. it
must be evident to every one that the net COM
monty used is far too frail. 1t could be broken
down by the rush of an Infatuated and heavy
girl. and it would be easy for an agile girl to
climb over it. If lawn-tennis is to maintain it's
reputation as safe and peaceable game. the net
should be made of wire instead of Irvine; it
should be at least foot higher. and the upper
edge of it should be strewn with broken glass
set in cement, or furnished with sharp iron
spikes. Sooner or later some mild but imbe-
cie player will madden his adversary to such
an extent that nothing but personal violence
will be any comfort to her. and she will get over
or through the frail Irvine net with sudden
ness that will dazzle the unhappy victim.
Accidents on aWn-tennis grounds have Oc-
CURED. though not during the progress of the
game. In places where the net is left in pO-
sitiOn over night it sometimes catches the heed
less or intoxicated wayfaring man. and on the
grounds of one of the MOOsehead lake hotels,
the early riser can often find local greenback
statesman caught by the ears i'm the lawn-ten-
mis- net and utterly unable to eXtricate himself.
The catch of small boys and colored servants
at the Lake George hotels is also very large
but has never attracted the attention which the
painful fate of leading citizen of Greenfield.
Conn.,, secured last July. The citizen in
question had a manageable daughter who was
fond OF lawn-tenns. and whOw serenaded one
evening by young druggist with an accOr-
dion. While the serenader was under her win
dow, and in the act of singing Baby Mine" and
accompanying himself on the accordion. the
leading citizen, with the best intention issued
from the house with club and let loose both
the dogs. The druggist, with great presence of
mind. ran round the house and entered the
front door, while the angry father rushed wildly
across the lawn in search of him and came in
violent collision with the lawn-tennis net He
carried it completely away and in falling to the
ground entangled himself hOpelessly in it's
meshes. In these circumstances he was set
upon by the well-meaning but too impulsive
dogs, and it was not until he had been severely
gnawed and denuded of most of his garments
that he could convince them that their zeal was
not according to knowledge.
Still in spite of the incidental troubles to
which the lawn-tennis net may give rise. the
game is certainly vast improvement upon
croquet. and its general adoption in place of the
former pernicious game will doubtless arrest
the flood OF immortality and crime which found
its origin in croquet.-N: Y Times.
The Communicating Power Of Ants.
rnm fhe POI lar Sria, N,,,k