The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-03-11
NOT "ToMRoYs" ETHER.
The Lively Way in which Many English
Girls Aluuae Thetnsalva.

The Lively Way in Which Many English
Girls Anuse Jhemselyes-
There is no rational reason why the
American girl cannot initiate her En-
gllsh sisters in their methods of out
door life aud amusements, says an Ok
ford correspondent Here in England
no form of sport seems debarred from
their indulgence or enjoyment To be
sure, it is question whether one wants
ones girls to indulge in every kind of
sport and outdoor game. Shooting and
hunting have long been practiced by
women as well as meu in England, but
l know some persons who draw the
line at cricket
But why should a girl not play crick-
ct If she chooses, as well as tennis? /
know jolly little team of eleven fair
maids in Warwickshire who are the en-
w of half the young men in the county.
The moving spirit of the team is a
fetching. darkeyed maid, with short,
curly brown locks, called Nancy by her
family and intimates- A more winsome
creature never lived-and mind you
she is not the least bit of what is called
tom boy" in the states. Not a bit of
1t. Yet Nancy not only plays cricket,
but hockey aud tennis as we'll She
can row like varsity man, and story
goes that she was coxswain for crew
i'll training on the river near her faith
er's country house not so long ago.
Then she will give almost any man ff-
ty points at billiards and knows how
TO handle a thoroughbred almost as
well as a professional trainer. And
the result? Well about as splendid q
sample of physical perfection as it is
possible to become. At the same time,
/ must repeat that Nancy is not the
least bit forward or ''mannish" in APP
pearance or manner. She has almost
as many accomplishments in drawing
room as in a hunting-field or tennis
court, for she sings exceptionally well,
and plays the violin equally so.
There are any number of English
girls who possess similar attachments.
Could an American girl pursue such
line of amusement to advantage? /
doubt it First of all, she would be
at once termed fast or masculine"
Her brother would resent it, probably,
and her male friends would secretly,
If not openly, disapprove of her. Men
in the states still adhere, believe, to a
fondness for the clinging class of
women. Then, too, the means for in
dulging IN outdoor sports to any ex-
tent in America are limited. There Is
no shooting possible, and scarcely any
hard riding. Base ball is certainly out
of the question, and cricket not as yet
popular. Girls in America, as rule,
are too dainty and pretty to tan their
faces and blister their soft pink palms
with much rowing. to say nothing of
our lakes, bays or rivers being hardly
desirable sheets of water upon which
to spend many hours unprotected.
That is where England again enjoys
an advantage over us. Her countless
tiny rivers, overhung with foliage and
dropping willows, afford gentle pro-
lection for any wandering water nymph
in modern life. River life during the
in England is portion of
every healthy young woman's exist
ence. They even have races and row.
ing matches, and at Oxford the other
day saw a capital photograph of a
six-oared crew made up of young
women who are students at Somerville
hall, an institution in the famous old
city similar to the Harvard
annex. Somerville hall also has its
eleven" team. by the way, and like
the students of Lady Margaret hall at |
Oxford and at Girton and Nunebam at |
Cambridge it plays in the yearly ''anti-
match" at Wimbledon
Boston Herald.