The record-union., 1896-11-06
ATHLETIC SPORTS.
The English Love of Games Predoml-
mates All Classes.

j ne En&IlSn Love OF OdmeS PreOOml.
mates All Classes.
All men who passed through the
Strand on Tuesday had an opportunity
OF noticing a fact highly characteristic
of the hour. The street was full Of
newspaper placards announcing that
the Australians We're picking up" A
great Government had just suffered a
considerable disaster; ominous tele-
grams were arriving every hour from
South Africa; and there was, of course,
the usual crop of murders, suicides and
social events; but the news which in
the judgment of the proprietors of
evening newspapers would interest the
public was a struggle on the cricket
field. There is no reason to suppose
that these gentlemen do not know their
own business, nor are they in the least
peculiar in their notions as to the in
formation which it pays newspapers to
circulate. The conductors of the
Times are grave men enough, but
they frequently devote the longest sin
gle paragraph in their jealousy COM
pressed news of the day to a statement
of cricket events, and they give up, like
every other daily paper, entire columns
to reports Of racing, cricket, football,
golf, and sometimes other sports, such
as bicycling and billiards. Every as
semblage for the purpose of witnessing
games is attended by increasing crowds,
sometimes SO vast that, as at Lord s
this week, they Illustrate their own OBJ
ject, and not only interfere with the
players, but spoil their own enjoyment
of the playing. And, as we noticed some
weeks ago, games are becoming the
leading topic in universities and public
schools.
There Is, however, no need to give evil
dences OF the thesis. The increase of
the desire not SO much for games as for
seeing games, reading about games
and talking over games is admitted on
all hands, and is condemned by a good
many moralists as a sign that the ma
ton is deteriorating, and giving up both
work and thought for frivolous forms Of
recreation The moralists are right in
part, but as often happens when social
questions are discussed, they perhaps
read into a social change more evil than
there Is in it. 1t is quite true that the
nation is a little more frivolous than it
was, that it is under the influence of q
mood which it has betrayed several
times before, mood in which it is
impatient of hard thinking, wants
everything short, even it's stories, likes
no plays that are not exciting, gossips
with gusto principally about the great,
whose movements fill columns even in
grave papers, and in fact is keenly de-
sirous Of any distraction which does not
burden its mental powers. All that is
regrettable, if only because there is in
it such dissipation Of energy, of which
there is never too much for the incseas-
ing heavy demands that fall upon every
class and every country in the world
We should not admit, however, having
some notion Of what society was like in
the eighteenth century, that the Eng
llsh public is more Vicious than it has
ever been; it certainly drinks a great
deal less than it did, and though it's de-
sire for amusement has increased, the
kind Of amusement is almost infinitely
less barbaric. There are causes at
work in favor of amusements, which in
themselves are by no means to be re-
gretted.
One is undoubtedly increased pros
perity among the masses of the people.
We all talk about depression" and
none but the bad question the existence
of terrible suffering from poverty among
US, but the majority are SO much bet
ter off that they are inclined, with the
sanguine temperament which is part of
national character, to be little waste
full of money. More is spent upon diet.
much more upon clotheS-God only
knows how the children of working
households are turned out SO trig-and
more, therefore, upon easements. Just
look in an evening at the crowds of BIZ
cyclists who pass, watch their dresses
and their faces, and explain, if you can,
on any theory except that of the work
ingman's prosperity, how they get their
machines They do not of course paw
the quoted prices, the rich, in fact. in
bicycling as in surgery, being taxed a
good deal for the benefit of the poor, but
they cannot pay in silver for any kind
of bicycle, and if they want one they
always contrive to get it. Whoever is
ruined the steady workers are not, and
after all, in this country though there
are loafers at every street corner, and
though the mass of what must be de-
sCribed as the precipitate of humanity Is
enormous, still the steady workers are
IL; an overwhelming majority-London
Spectator.