Daily Republican., 1883-07-07
Play and Recreation.


the season for play, and those who DO
not find pleasure in playful exercises,
find it in looking at others play. 1t isa
great mistake to suppose that play
should be confined to the period Of
childhood. Happily, children accept it
joyfully as their prerogative, and do not
prize it the less because their elders
think they have outgrown it. The man
ners and customs of the times divide the
playing period into two divisions of
time. Children play until they arrive
at an age when they think it unmanly
to play. The time arrives when Sc
cret feeling of shame, or fear Of being
thought childish, induces man to dis
continue the sports for which he has
not yet lost the relish, and to assume a
slower step and graver demeanor than
his natural gayety Of heart would
prompt. 1t is not until he has passed
the "young man. period of life, and be-
come immersed in business, that ne
begins to feel the need of play and re-
creation as a change.
Generally, we do ourselves great in
justice by relegating play to the time of
kites and dolls, and refusing it admit
tance beyond the threshold of life
Though play in plies joyful activity, it
does not always show itself in fond
ness for cro4net, base ball, lawn tennis,
and difficult physical games that have
become a national characteristic of the
Scotch, but it is often the result of free
and joyful action.
We speak of the free play Of machin-
cry, where there is power without rub,
jaror noise, and we speak Of the play of
the winds upon the prairie and Of the
waves upon the seashore. The same
theory applies to human play. Without
the play of the winds that end often
times in hurricanes we could have no
pure atmosphere and without the roll
ing, restless, moving and dashing Of
the sea we could have no pure water.
Action is inscribed upon all Gods
Universe. Force and freedom delineate
the elements of creation. The child
illustrates this in his constant but un-
constrained motion All day The little
feet and hands are busy with conscious
labor, putting out strength freely, not
for pay of any kind, but because it
loves to play. The period of childhood
ends, but when should the period of
play end? Where is the demarka ion
line, or should there be any line estab-
lished There we fear is W ere the
mistake is made. We accusroln our
selves to placing II great vacuum or gap
between childhood and manhood.
Shall We then consent to leave all in
strnctive activity, all free and Joyful
exertion to the childhood period
Shall we doom ourselves only to the
hard and painful tasks that we call
work, and which probably we would
never undertake except for some ulte::
riOr consideration ?
Play, whether in child or man. is do.
ing what we love to do whatever that
may be. A cheerful and light heart
turns labor into play, but fatigue long
continued makes rest and sleep a
pleasant thing Wherever and when
ever q cheerful heart makes labor light
there will be a disposition to indulge
in manly sports. The dull misanthrope
who bows his head to business and
shuts the heart to all the joyful inhu
tnces of buoyant nature loses much
of the pleasure Of life which God intend
ed he should enjoy
Active, buoyaut exercise, whether a
work that is not enforced labor. o.
whether at crcquet, ball Scottish games
rod and gun, implies tulness of na
ture-an overgushing of the enjoymen
of life that draws ont and puts ini,
healthy circulation every element of {
cheerful nature The gambols of
child betray all overpluS Of strength
and spirits the play Of the waters Civ,
the idea of unStintcd room, the blossom
OF spring, the fragrance Of the woods
the grandeur Of the mountains, and tn.
smiles Of the harvest, all impress will
the feelings Of an abundant nature tha
crop out i'll joyful activity.
So wherever there is plenty of powe
and to spare, plenty of affection and tt
spare, plenty Of resources OF all kind
and to spare, we lose the sense of har,
toll, of cold duty, Of narrow rules an,
expand into that play which is til
height Of power, the depth Of teelin
and the most honest because the trues
excellence Of life.
II this be our true nature, then let Il
enjoy play and rescue it from the stip
ma that it is only for children. Let !
rather be an ideal that we would striv
to reach than Il trivOity from which to
many strive to fly, Work is honorabl
and duty is holy, but when the hear
inspired by ch"ertuInes> turns work an,
duty into play, they rise to n highe
Place in life, which all should strive +
reach.
The Outlook Tor 1854.
Leading political papers are engage
in tOrCastiup thp result of thp mex