Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-07-13
Correspondence Of the Beacon.l
OUR ARCHERY rTHR

II
Gent and athletic sport Of archery.
A rare and racy club it is. abound.
ing in fun and jest, in merry meet
and artistic handling Of the long bow.
The ladies. by-the-way, have mastered
the latter science more thoroughly than
the gentlemen, but. il an eminantIy
progressive association, there IL hope
for all and the men may ret rival
their fair competitors. The Geld on
which the archers meet, seems de-
signed for just such an array a. il
presented every Saturday, and a. Won
are now fairly on the grounds YOU
must be introduced to the officers al
the club, 90 that yoa may know wh9
good fellows they are. 80
''Ons would aim a. arrow fair,
But-send b slaekiy from the string.
And one woald piercs IN outer ring,
And one an inner here and there" ~
This poetry Is not intended to re-
feet on these officers; it simply is APP
propriate to the subject and had to
fit into the only niche that could be
found. l think the. poet could not
have been given the first seat on the
grounds, from the pessirnic tendency
Of his lines.
We meet the president FIRST, q man
Of nerve, who holds the bow like a
genuine disciple Of Diane; he has
great and lofty aims, sometimes too
lofty for the success of his shots, but
when he comes down to the work in
hand, irregular practisers of archery
tremble, because they are cleft" In
his way he is quite a dandy, and is
an authority on all matters Of taste
and dress; he is the umpire concerns
ing the costumes of the club, who look
to this admirable Crichton asa devotee
Of Krishna looketh up to his God.
Our Vice-President is altogether of
different build, grasping his Bow with
sarcastic leer, which says "I've
got you now and I'd like to see
you get away" he coniposes his
face into look of calm scorn which
changes at the loose into an express
sion Of polite indifference. This off,
Ger is always on hand when weighty
questions are to be discussed; he IS the
scientific authority of the. club, and
is by some supposed to, have dealings
in the black art, but this is merely
on dit.
But of all the officers, our secreta-
ry deserves more than passing note;
of kingly mien and flashing eagle eve.
he takes his stand with the assurance
Of an autocrat gazingsupon a subject,
he. the autocrat, his bow, the subject.
One almost fancies he sees the tar
get blench before the naughty com
mand of those subduing eyes; the
goodIy yew is held with steady hand,
and as the bowstring twangs, the ar
row flies with answering course to
the target-or, somewhere near it.
The secretary il one of the crack
shots, and is much beloved for his
high standing.
The last officer is the treasurer; he
carries the "bag" and metes out the
pence to all who can prove the club 9
Indebtedness to them. A most kind
ly disposed young man, who regards
women as angels in disguise and would
not for the world, harrow their sensi-
tive natures by the mention of money
affairs-alight remark about dues, etc.
His chivalric soul prompts him to all
manner of Quixotic attentions to the
fair creatures, such as, careering over
. fifty yard range with forty pound
target on his head, bringing water,
shying sticks and stones at imprudent
horses that wander too near; he has
even been heard to say "hi there"
to an unconscious and innocent cow
that endeavored 10 make a meal off
one Of the targets. This gentleman
is beloved Cor his noble and dociIe
nature.
Besides the officers few other mo-
tables might be found among the
ranks; there is the dead shot archer,
who strikes the goal every time and
only misses when he doesn't try" or
doesn't feel like it" the artistic
archer, who turns up his nose at the
target as If it were q contemplate
foe, plants his feet two yards apart,
raises his bow with grim determine
ton, shuts one eye and with wrath
full face watches the fight Of the ar
row after it leaves the string. his ar
rows do not always hit the goal; then
there IL the fascinating archer. who
thinks himself beloved Of womankind,
well pass him lightly by and disturb
not his meditation sweet, 'twonld be
pity to tread too roughly on the
conceptions Of this benighted youth.
Let him dream and dream and soothe
his soul with extreme JUNCTION.
And now, the ladies,-dear crea-
lures who could have the heart to
mention them Their sweet, ETHEREAL
souls would wither at the slightest
touch Of hand prOfane, they could not
bear the least remark, not even praise,
for. if but mentioned. all the men
would rise up in wrath and cry in
unframed but melodious bases Cd and
tenor chorus. Lord incline our hearts
TO protect theirright to blush unseen. :
Women are always supposed to be
disconnected and incoherent in the
expression of their ideas, so / close
with the lady archer's sOliloquy on
this sport.
A day oflight and bloom,
OF troPie warmth and glow,
With never = eloud 10 gloom
The hearts Estate Gov.
Oh, there are days in life.
Too ripe and rich with light;