The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-19
est golfer who has yet swung club. A critic
of the game writes:

THE fame OF young Tom Morris. who for 80
| long held mythical position In the chronicles
| OF the game. has at last suffered eclipse Dur
| ing a whole years play Vardon has. with one
or two exceptions. played up TO his best form.
| His endurance Ia rs remarkable as the brill
lance OF his play. His driving is straiRhter
! and longer than that OF any other player; his
| second shots are the marvols OF his oppon-
| ents; his approaches lay tho ball dan
| gerously near the hole: and his put
| ting Is little short OF miraculous. He
| seldom overruns the hole. As you watch the
ball leave his putter you are at first almost
sure that 1t must be short; but II It is. 1t is
short merely to lie on the lip OF the hole He
is never flurrled. never loses his nerve; he is
| always at his best. To beat him his opponent
must excel himself and 1t Is proverbially DIM
| cult to do that for more than one round. There
seem to be no defects in his qualities which
are strength and sureness. He has unlimited
| caution, but II Ia the reserve OF strength.
| not the result OF timidty. His staying power
| Is unique. Time after time he goes out and
| returns with n score that shows him to have
| made fewer mistakes than any other golfer.
| He never presses. This would seem exagger-
ated praise were 1t not an obvious fact. He
| achieves his m ost notable effects with 80 little
| apparent effort that those who watch see
| nothing remarkable In his play ana wonder at
| the end how his score Ia so low. and wonder
| still more that 1t is not lower. man who can
| do 80 much with apparent ease may surely do
more with little effort. So reason admring
onlookers; and It Is the finest tribute to the
| open cham pion' 3 achievements"
| An international cyclists congress Is In ses-
, sion in London this week. discussing among
| other things the wick edness OF some customs
| regulations ana the backwardness OF many
railway companies. But their pastme is SO
| conducive to a well-conditioned frame Of mind
| that their grievances are not much dwelt on.
Rather they are treated to pleasant discourses
| on thelbreaking down OF national barriers which
they have accomplished. The International
League OF Touring Associations is encour-
aged on all hands to go on with its work.
| The element that the bicycle Mays
in the summer holidays certainly now
/ eclipses every other form OF recreation In this
country. Every year young men and young
women 60 from England by the thousand to
| France. Germany. Belgium and Holland to
skim over their plains: to penetrate into tho
remotest parts to see foreign life as 1t is. far
| away from towns and railways: to receive the
| hospitality Of peasants and country folk: to
| make unex pectcd friends. and to carry away
| pleasant Impressions totally INCOMPATIBLE with
| the retention unmpaired OF narrow projudices.
And this. too. Ia going on all over the Continent;
| youth everywhere roaming over several coun-
| tries as II they one their byways
sought out. and the stranger making himself
at home everywhere. Already tho collective
strength OF the cyclists has managed to get
some fiscal concessions More is being at
tempted. The Union VelocipedIque de France.
the neutrality-suspicious. Beige and other power
full associations are doing their best to remove
certain vexatious restrictions. particularly the
| requirement OF the French customs authori-
ties. who demand from the cyclist a fresh
payment every time he crosses the frontier.
| oven though he may have done so twice or
thrice in the same day. The leaRuers are hope
full OF bringing even the doudniers to reason.
Other conouests and reforms are planned. 1t is
within the range OF possibility that oil over
the civilized world there will soon be. thanks
to the enterprise OF the cyclists organizations.
q uniform system OF danger signboards which
which will mako the course OF the cycling
stranger safe that there will be minimum
standard OF comfort kept UP In the hostelries
which cycists frequent; that they will be Sc
cured against overcharRes. and that there will
as to such matters be a tribunal OF appeal
which hotel keepers will respect. Already over
large parts OF England and Wales the comforts
Of inns have been levelled up. and their charges
| levelled down. owing to the action OF tho
| cyclists and in particular the powerful Cyclists
Touring Club.
Mr. Alfred Austin is living down ridicule and
many OF his countrymen now watch him with
the frlendliest regard 1t Is the invincible sim
cerity Of his highly respectable opinions that
compels notice. Men who know him say that
caricature parody hnd sarcasm are all equally
thrown away OF. him. He forg!ves everybody
with kind OF doughty humility. Doubtless
the faculty Of hippancy has been spared him.
since his bump Of generation is perfect
Some days ago he announced through the
press that though Poet Laureate he was
simply Mr. Alfred Austin. not Sir Alfred
Austin. 1t was on the eve OF tho pub
LEGATION OF the Queens birthday honors
list. The connection was 50 obvious that
the chorus OF laughter was immediate. But
really Mr.. Austin had never thought on the
subject. He came back from Italy to find
an accumulation OF correspondence good
deal OF 1t from America-and noticed that some
of his letters were addressed Sir Alfred Austin.
Poet Laureate. What more natural than to tell
the world the plain truth that he was not Sir
Alfred So little guile did he show that no sen t
| out the announcement the same week as ono
OF his most typical odes.
This week he has been made Vice Pres ident
OF the Dante Society OF London. He most ami
ably proceeded to improve the occasion by
maintaining that the greatest poets since tho
world began were mon like himself. the only
kind OF men his minds eye can see. men of per-
Hay considers that the laurel Mr.. Austin wears
$50 like a good old churchwoman's straw bon
net in her garden on a sunny afternoon max es
him the dean Of contemporary English litera-
ture. it Is Of interest to note the instances he
cites as proving that the poets is the sanest OF
all minds.
The Poet Laureate, after returning thanks
for his election to the Honorary Vice. Presi-
dency OF the society said that in his young
days. and indeed for some considerable time
after. It seemed to be everywhere assumed
that for man to be at one and the same time
man OF affairs and q poet was out Of the ques-
ton. 1t was supposed also that in order to be
possessed OF true poetic fire. man must show
himself absolutely indifferent to tho social laws
and the moral principles that governed the
rest Of mankind and must on 10 account be-
tray the smallest capacity for any func-
, ton any occupation except that OF
writing verses. and. for the most part