Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-02-21
OF QUOITs,
CAN be PLAYED ANY PLACE AND IS
SPLENDID EXERCISE.

sin,e. and Its Beginnings Are Loss
In the Mist Of Axes-Fine TSnintnS
For the Eye and Arm.
There arc some games which have
never had their boom, and quoits Is one
If them. Still, as nothing happens but
the unexpected. II may he that the time
is neaSly ripe for quoits 10 be taken out
of its undeserved obscurity. TO he exalt-
ed 10 the stains of national game, 10
nave weekly papers named after IL and
10 have columns in the sporting press
devoted to the doings Of its champions.
Stranger things have happened. Who
for instance. would have said when ut
the end If the sixties few energetic
pportsrnen went wobbling about on bone
shaking bicycles which II would have
been far easier TO push than TO ride
that Mt the end Of the century consider
nhiy more than 100. 900 bicycles would
he manufactured annually in Great
Britain alone and that q great part
OF the population would adopt this
means Of locomotiong One cannot I'M
agine that quoits will ever attain such
popularity as the bicycle. but the nm
preiudiccd person can see no reason
why N should not become as favorite
pastinie IA xblf. which very few years
ago was almost unheard OF south OF the
Tweed.
Quo;ts is n very fine game, especially
in the winter time. II is splendid exer'
else and trains the eye and the hand to
act together in way that few other
sports can do for the very essence OF 1t
is accuracy Of aim at a mark placed be-
lew the level Of the hand II has been
objected that throwing quoits makes
the player lop~ided. but. after all. that
is easily remedied. for there Is nothing
10 prevent the player throwing the
ouoit with his left hand If he so pieascs.
and such a change would make n varia-
ton in the game and also afford an ex-
cellent method of handicapping the men
of unequal skill. Quoits strengthens the
arms and shoulders. but IL is not u pas
time which primarily demands strength.
A great advantage OF the game IL that
IL can be played in any small space and
that the ground need not be particular
" level Any rough field or waste bit
of ground is good enough for qnoits
pitch. and no rolling or cutting is re-
quired TO satisfy the demands of the
most exigent For cricket you need a
carefully prepared wicket. for lawn
tennis and croqnet piece Of turf like
a billiard table and for golf the bcst
part Of country all TO yourself. but for
auoits you only need few yards OF
rough ground. and you have ~ COOL
place for throwing as any one can pos
sibly require.
People certainly might play quoits
more than they do. but the taking up
of game is usually matter of fancy.
and perhaps two things stand in the
way Of quoits First. there IL an idea
Glat q = "gAss.c" spsz.l a.. can only
be played by the rough country lads,
and. second. there is the legend that
the game is derived from the classical
discus throwing. a suspicion which II
must be confessed is enough to throw
| slur on any well regulated game
| No treatise on quoits can begin with
out the time honored pedigree Of the
quot from the discus Strut, who lived
ut tho end of the last century, OF course
dealt with it, and equally Of course ht
dragged in the discus even If be- did moi
invent the descent Of quOits from the
sports Of ancient Greece. The thing. OF
| course. il absurd To make n discus,
| the artisan did not. in the words Of the
immortal Irishman. take hole and put
some iron around IL. The discus was
more like a fattened Dutch cheese and
was solid missile. Moreover. II wai
not held in the same manner as quot
but was bowled underhand. in which
indeed il alone differs from putting th'
weight. That quoits Is now playet
| chiefly in the country is the fault OF
those who do not play 10 and bring i
into fashion.
II is no doubt very ancient Englisl
game. and its beginnings are lost IN tn
mist of ages. Hakluyt mentions 1t II
his book Of Voyages, 80 il was wei
known in Queen Elizabeth's time. whe'
IL probably was one Of the favorit'
sports Of Merrie England In SOM
parts OF the conutry the rustics used q
employ horseshoes for want Of properl.
made quoits, and there are districts IL
which the quot is called shoe even
TO this day. This gives US the clew Il
the most probable origin Of the spor
and hints that the first game OF quot
was started by throwing old horseshoe
at the hob or mark. and from this grad
ually grew up the practice Of havin;
quoits specially made for throwing. -
| much for the discus legend As for III
! word ..queit'' itself. it's etyrnology Il
| more than doubtful. and it gives IA NJ
clew whatever To the origin Of thu
game.
Shakespeare, who mentions every
thing except tobacco, OF course has
reference to the sport, and as Hakiuy
was a contemporary of has 1t may b
held 70 show that the spacious times o
Great Elizabeth were the palmy perio'
of uuoits. IL is true that he does no
speak of the sport in very reputabl
connection. for the only mention OF /
occurs in the scene in which Primo
Henry. FalstaH. Poins and the res
were in The Bears Head tavern. il
Eastchepe. Fal5taff. in giving char
acter sketch of the young prince. oh
serves that he plays quoits well. but tn
context very clearly shows that il
Queen Elizabeth's time at any rat
quot playing was looked down upon a
the idle man $ recreation. much a. skit
ties is with Us. That IA. Jack Falstaff
disreputable old fellow as he was
meant to imply no good Of the prime
BY his reference to quoits is very evi
dent. This is the only reference Z
quoits in Shakespeare, and it Is libel
though the sting is taken out of it b.
the fact that it is put into the moutl
of Falstaff. Physical Culture.
The white Moss Rose.
There is very pretty German tradi