Evening star., 1896-02-29

moment it would have been IL could have
| turned on all those ili-bred scoafers at Nice
| selves and said: Gentlemen, bewarei Ny
niece is a member of the Ladies' Foot Esall
Club! Disrespect ii at your PERIL!
Phllippa-"You would o5lise me and a
| few other members uncle, by substituting
| women for the more ansi4uatei word.
we"
Uncle John-''You can rely upon me, my
| love, never to cali YOU ladies' again Ard
were you much damaged at the match,
Phillippa? Legs much bruised? Sims cut
about at ali?"
Phillippa-.trising and with whitening dig
nity)-"Cnc1er'
Uncle John (hastily)-"Excuse me- my
| love! I assure you I should never have
| mentioned anything so improper. but that
my own recollectioas Of the game are ex-
cluSively connected with the lifelong n lrm
done to my =. Don't pc alarmed. Phillip
pa, I should not dream of repeating the
words:to my-in short. you know. Any
one killed at the match?'
Phillippa with an Irresistible note of
| alarm in her voice)-"kiiied, uncle! What
! In the world should MAKE you suppose
| that?"
Uncle John (casuaily)-'fOh--one of tho
players generally is. you know! Uar.,er
adds to the excitement-don't you think?"
Phillippa rather fafntiy)-"Yes. But. Of
| course. foot ball isn't the only way--of de-
| veloping ourselves, uncle. practice tina L
| certainly. a good deal by myself in our
| back garden, but-what tre YOU laughing
| at?'
Uncle John-"Laughing, my love? Not at
all. It's this confounded cough 1 caught on
| board"
Phillippa Geassured)-"And there's BIZ
| cycling, you know"
Uncle John-"CapItal sport tha.-capital.
Very glad you go in for that. Saw a young
| fellow-by-the-by, I am not sure it WASN'T
| a young woman-on Reiglte Hill last sum
mer spinning down at a beautiful pace
came off, head over heels. Picked up~life
4 d.. MT
| trousers. Phillippa?'
Phllippa (outraged)-"Unclaw
Uncle joint beg your paradon, my
| love. I am sure. Er-how are you o,fed
| for these sports, mean to sayY'
Phillippa-"We wear what delicate-mind-
ed people call rational dress. Then
| there's hockey. We play that against me n,
| you know. And If they did not cheat most
horribly, and hit at youf-ankles on pur-
pose, know We should win sometimes'
Uncle John-"of course. my love. of
Matthews? No? Well, I'm glad of It
Front teeth. nose. upper lip broken in one
match-in another. jaw, collar bone. and a
finger: Still it's fine game, hockey; fine
game"
Phillippa Gather tremulously)-"AIl games
seem dangerous according to you. / don't
| believe 1t; What about cricket? We 60 in
Uncle John-''Not much danger tbere
Disngurlng only. Know q young felI,w
| VINO mad his nose nattened-young woman
Wouldn't marry him. Black eyes with
beef steaks on them for weeks. Nothing
| more than that"
Phillippa (with some slight vexation,-
| However dangerous these games are no
one can deny that they are splendid FOR
| physical Development
Uncle John-"He would be a fool who did
| Why. my dear, you'll be pleased to know i
! notice quite a change in you already
Hands larger and redder. Feet eettsns
quite-rattonal. month or two's training
on raw beef steaks and that kind of thing
and we shall have you as tough ana hard
as prize fighter
Phillippa (dissolving into tears,-"you
| needn't make II sound so hideous as that -
Uncle John-"Hideous! Not at all. Seen
with the physically developed eve IL In
| beauty. AS for muscle-ever seen those
| assure you you needn't despair of getting
yours like that In time with your foot bali.
and cycling. and cricket and hockey. And
| though they wont perhaps have that soft
plump, little out-of-date prettiness that
only does for a ball room-considered ply
sically developy. if 1 may use the term,
they will be splendid
Phillippa (still somewhat moved)-"And
| what horrid things the undeveloped girls
will say about them"
Uncle John-''Oh, that wouldn't matter.
Not more than the horrid things the Great
| Unwashed shouted at the foot ball match,
and the underbred journalists wrote after
| wards. And as for really disgraceful things
Charles remarks-you remember your
Cousin Charles-about the foot bail women
| (of course. he did not know that you play
ed). were quite unfit for publication"
PhiiAppa (rather eagerly with heightened
color)-'T didn't know that Charlie disap-
proved Of physical progress"
Uncle John-"oh! he's quite enete. you