The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1884-11-06
Outdoor Exercise.

ably healthy condition to my friends.
| several of whom, fearing an assessment
for funeral expenses, had been much
concerned about my recovery, said that
| must take more outdoor exercise. He
| advised me to play little solo once or
twice day at my wood-pile, using
sharp saw. and to daily for an hour or
| two of the pleasant summer afternoons
with the gay and tuneful lawn-moWer.
| am person who will take advice,
especially when have to pay for it at
| full rates whether / take it or not; so [
| added a wood-saw to my personal eff
| fects, and borrowed a lawn mower from
neighbor who had once owned lawn,
but had inadvertently lost it by giving
it heavy top-dressing of mortgage.
| Though cruel fate and the sheriff had
| snatched away his lawn, he had held on
| to his lawn-moWer as sort of family
heirloom, which he wanted to hand
down to his posterity, not necessarily
| for publication, but as an evidence that
he had once owned a lawn.
This year my neighbor had all his
available real estate under a chicken
coop, and he said l could use the lawn
mower all summer if would be kind
to it and not leave it out of nights to fall
into the hands of some person who
would forget to bring it back in the
morning. | assured him that while in
my charge his lawn-mower should not
get into bad company.
think feel great deal better for
| the exercise have been taking.
| would not have believed, had | not
| tested the matter to my own satisfac-
ton, that outdoor exercise wenld have
so thoroughly agreed with me,
L began by saving cord of oak
wood into stove lengths. That is, |
sawed all of the cord save that which
a tramp sawed under my personal di-
rection. had just got stick on the
horse, and had hung my coat on the
willow, as the poet remarks, when the
tramp came along and said he had
had nothing to eat since the middle of
the week before and was hungry, and
would saw awhile for me for some
breakfast. A person who is hungry or
dry always touches my deeper sym
pathies, and besides, / had long had
great desire to see tramp at work.
| After he had appeased his appetite !
gave him the saw, and then sat under
tree and watched him throw all the
vigor and enthusiasm of his nature into
the work. 1t was the most enjoyable
outdoor exercise [ ever had, and | en-
tered into the spirit of it with great eclat.
Before ten o clock / was feeling like a
new man, at eleven | believe | had
gained a pound, and attwelve / had an
appetite like a thrashing machine.
Then the tramp said if [ would give
him his dinner and dollar he would
finish the wood pile, and accepted the
proposition at once, though [ feared |
was exceeding the proper allowance of
exercise as prescribed by my most ex-
cellent physician. But / seemed to
stand it so well that could hardly fear
any i'll results.
The following day brought home
the lawnmower. Every person who
has run lawn-mower for any length
of time knows what a Joy forever it is.
But | should feel more friendly to lawn
mowers in general if they were worn in
cold weather rather than in the heat of
summer. They come in fashion at a
time when they do not ill me with as
much delight as claret- punch with
two straws in it, and | do not think at
this writing that the habit of running a
lawn-mower would, under any circum
stances, grow upon me until could not
shake it off. / feel that / could turn
away from the wiles of the lawn mower
at any moment without deep-seated re-
greet. | may be mistaken, but | am
willing to put myself on record to that
effect.
ran my adopted lawn-mower until
/ acquired blister on each hand about
the size and shape of an adult almond,
and then hired man to run it while
| sat in the shade of the porch and
directed his conrse. After that the
exercise was extremely pleasurable.
enjoyed it very much and | felt that it
was doing me great good. [ don't
think there is any more healthful or
pleasant outdoor exercise than that af-
forded by sitting in the shade and di-
recting the campaign of a gay and
tuneful lawn-mower, which. singing
merrily as ii goes, in the hands of the
hired man, trims off your lawn till il
looks as if it were covered with green
velvet carpet worth seven and a-hali
dollars yard.
] When the doctor came out next time
to look at my tongue and charge UP
another visit, he said he had never seen
3 convaleseent pick upin flesh and take
on healthy color as rapidly as |
seemed to be doing. He then advised
me to be careful and not overtax my
strength after which he left bill for
$3.50 aud tore himself rather relue.
family away.
P. S.-Since the above was written
have again sat on my porch and moved
my lawn, and think [ enjoyed the
exercise even more than at the first
, performance. My proxy, who fol
, lowed the lawn mower around as ]
! directed, says he never saw a man toll
with so much zeal and enthusiasm as
do when get in earnest about it and
become thoroughly warmed up at my
, | work.
, Ny health is improving very rapidly.
called fer third piece of pie to-day
at dinner. And just here, while think
about it, want to say that it seems to
:. me that pies are cut much lower in the
neck and shorter in the sleeves this
season than formerly. This is fashion