The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-11

xx,lian Hawthorne in New York Ameri-
 we make too much of business o, athletics in this country saio i-au was about to expound my thesis, when the old gentleman took me up'
 A fine-Iooking old gentleman ne w@s deep-chested, with clear sKin anu o,.s bright eye, and ne sat o, The one foot against the railing or lne veranda of the country club, as 1T, III srite of his white hair, there were st.ll suppfeness in his limbs and viser his body. He could play a good game of tennis, as had had occasion 10 o's- cover that morning.
 .sYou're right" said the old gentie- man holding to- me with his pleasant < smile. I'm. a good American, put think the English have the thing on A better footing. Exercise you hhow, was an essential part of the trainihs of English gentlemen from the Ieuoai ages down, and they've never iet so of 1t; but we came into IL only 's or forty years ago. and we seem to take our tone from the professions. we adopt the professional slang. and our amateur athletes train and compete very much in the professional way Many of 'em, I believe get to De pro fessionals, after while. we thlnS too much of championships ana
 
 is simply to keep in good pnyslcai shape; if you challenge him to walk, or A run, or a bout at handball, heii take YOU up, and do his best to beat you: but If he loses, he's as well pleas edit was all in fun and friendllness. If you ask him what his record ID he'll laugh and look embarrassed lie leaves that sort of thing to the men who make their living by it. Ana then. he's always taking exercise wltn out any question of competition ar ali long walks. and so on. Old Kit North, VOL know--Professor John Wilson-set out one mornig early to go hshlng m lake about thirteen miles away. When he got there he found he'd left ms hook of flies at home: he walked back, cot fhe hook walked back again 10 I inc lake. fished round 1t all day ana walked back In the evening. But It would never have occurred to nlm 70 call himself champion peoes'rIa" rIa ,.,o % to hold a watch on himself. lie was 5ust an English gentleman, having good time"
 An arch twinkle came into the old eentleman's eye, but he, made no re- joinder. .u, have more lisure than we," observed.
 They Find Time for Exercise.
 "well" said the old gentleman, "at any rate they make different use or if. Gladstone was a busy man. but Ahe found leisure to do od-chopplns, And Balfour Is quite golfer. NO" and then. a few of 'em will make sort of little informal association-you aouId hardly call it a club-and do out door things together. remember Wnen was in England twenty-five or more years back, there was group or this kind that called itself the sunday Tramps'; they made me an honorary rnennier of it. There were about dozen of us. The idea was to meet at one another's houses, each sunday and take a walk of ten or fifteen miles getting back to the house for lunch; then spend an afternoon chatting and smoking about the place, and return 10 town in the evenig. Every week, l would get aspost-card, telling me where the meet for the next Sunday was to he As Q matter of fact, during my time. we always met at Box Hlli' George MeredIth's country place-the novelist, you know-chiefiy because, l believe. his house was sucn Il con venient place-nice country all round if ana not too far from London. And then. of course, Meredith was the best sort of host for a thing of that kind; charming fellow. easy, simple Kind, and a divine talker when the mood was on him" T ,n- quired. ,,
 well" replied the old gentleman. af- 10 fer a pause during which, no doubt, he had been agreeably preoccupied with his memories, there was Leslie S+enben for one. He was editor of The cornhill Magazine, then, and member of the Alpine Club; tall, lean, bony chan, with a face of a Don Quixote. but fuIi of humor, and good humor--the dry sort, rather in our American style l thought. He had a long, raking stride. that seemed slow, except when you walked beside him. He was over fifty, but after going dozen miles or so' m hill and down dale. he'd be just get ting warmed to his work. Then there were some Saturday Review fellows oxford men--it was rather literary crowd. you see; and there were some members of Parliament and judge oh, good company, all of 'em-hrst rate. Over fields and fences, down by-paths as old as England, up the chalk hills, through the dingles, stopping for