St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-08-21
HOW RUSSIA AmusEs ITSELF.
Has NO Knowledge CT the Healthy
AnElo.SaxOn Games.

Has NO Knowledge CT the Healthy
AnElo-saxon Games.
Unfortunately young Russia has not
the faintest glimmerinS of knowledge
of the practice or even of the existence
of ouch things as football, cricket. fives.
rackets. golf. athletic sports. hockey or
any other of the numerous pastimes
which play SO important 4 part in the
life of every schoolboy in this merry
In ad of England. Therefore there Is
NO question. for him. of staying behind
at the school premises after working
hours, in order to take part In any
game. lie goes home; that much is
certain; most of his time is loafed
away-that. too. is beyond question.
He may skate little, perhaps. in the
winter, If he happens to live near a
skating pond. but he will not go far for
it: and in the summer, which is holiday
time for him from June till September.
he walks up and down the village
street, clothed in white calico garments,
or plays cup and ball in the garden;
fishes a little, perhaps. in the river or
pond if there happen to be one. and
lazies his time away without exerticn.
OF late years .'lortenecce," as lawn ten
mis- is called in the cars country, has
been slightly attempted; but 1t II not
really liked; too many balls are lost.
and the rules of the game have never
yet been thoroughly grasped. A quar-
tette Of men will occasionally rig up
their net, which they raise to the height
OF about 1H feet, and play . species Of
battledoor and shuttlecock over it un-
til the balls disappear; but it is scarce
~ tennis. AS q matter of fact, a Rus
sian generally rushes at the bah and
misses it; on the rore occasions when
he strikes the object, he does 30 with
SO much energy that the ball, unless
stopped by tho adversary's eye, or his
partners, disappears forever into ''the
blue" Croquet is . mild favorite,
too; but 1t is played very languidly and
unscientifically.
Well do I remember . scene at the
custom house some years-o good many
years, fear-ago! I was q schoolboy
at the time. and had arrived from Eng
land In order to spend the summer holi-
days in Russia. Among my impede
menta was a box of croquet parapher-
MALTA which / had been commissioned
to bring out for an English resident.
At that time the game was as yet un-
known to the country. and the custom
house authorities on opening the box
retreated In horror and alarm when
they beheld its awe-inspiring contents.
Instruments of assault, bombs, mys-
terious weapons Of every kind were
contained in that awful box; not one of
them would go near It'll Amid excla-
nations Of warning and horror, drew
forth one of tho bombs and placed it
upon the ground; then q second; to the
accompaniment of cries Of terror and
CONSERVATION I took from the case a
terrible weapon (known to croquet
players as . mallet). and to the mex
pressible alarm Of all present COM
mcnced little exhibition game of cro-
quet upon the floor Of the custom house.
in order to demonstrate the uses OF the
various implements. As the hoops
could not well be utilized on the wood
en- boards these innocent articles were
gravely suspected. believe the OFF,
cials took them to be boomerangs Of a
novel and peculiar description. and the
whole box was consequently detained
for further and fuller investigation.
believe they sunk it in deep water and
sent down scientifically disposed diver
to inspect 1t in safety. My. friends got
their croquet set eventually. but the
balls bore marks Of careful testing;
those officials had felt sure they were
bombs, and had done their very best
to convict them of containing dyna-
Journal.