Evening star., 1922-08-27
Fifty Years Ago
. i'm The Star
Croquet as
Exercise

America fifty years ago
Croquet as and croquet was the =
r..; popular sport for those
who could not stand the
more strenuous exercise of base bail.
Strange as this may seem to readers
Of today, croquet was rated in the
early seventies and for some years
afterward as an ideal recreation. In
The Star of August 3. 1872, is the fol-
lowing editorial which proposes still
another game for importation from :.
Europe:
Tho Introduction of out-of-doors
games like croquet has done much to
induce open air exercise on the part
OF those not disposed to participate in
violent exercises OF doubtful benefit
such as base ball. cricket etc. Henry
Ward Beecher. like our DR.. Newman,
Is a stout advocate of croquet. He
says: 'Croquet is one OF the most
charming Of outdoor games. and the
to be honored with annual gifts and n
dead his name ought to be cut in gold -
and put in Westminster Abbey as
among the benefactors Of the race.
A minister. like any other man, may :
say that this fascinating sport has no
charms for him. But to decline II on
moral grounds as something too
worldly for minister ought to send
man to Coventry. A creature who
does not play croquet for fear he will
lose his influence may be sure that he
has no influence which he would not
be all the better for losing
The objection is made now. how
ever, to croquet and similar popula.-
games that they tend to induce a
habit of STOPPING and to produce
round shoulders. wSiter in the
London Echo argues in Favor of in-
PRODUCING new Italian game. in
playing which every motion and atti~
tude when at rest is necessarily Of tse
The game is played with a ball six
inches in diameter. filled with air bv
means of powerful syringe. II 10
always kept high in the air and con-
sequently all faces are turned upward,
instead of being fixed on the ground.
as in cricket or croquet. The ball 10
not struck with bat. but with a
hollow armlet OF wood. surrounded
with blunt iron spikes, to prevent tho
ball from giancing irregularly. BY the
every position becomes artistic ana
noble. The ball is never touched by
the hand except at starting. when II
is pitched to the leading player TINS
game is much the same as the follis
of the Romans, which was played
W III a
air by the close fist. either naked or
hound with thick thongs. The old Eng
lish balloon ball also resembles this
follis OF the Romans. 1t was a large
ball made OF double leather Each
player had round. hollow bracer or
wood covering the hand and lower
part of the arm with which to strike
the ball and cause the rebound. The
pastime was usually practiced IN
an open field and is commended by old
o.. 80 ft,1f
Let US have the new-old game ana
see how il works Anything to in
duce open air exercise on the part OF
the sedentary American people
Half a century ago il was a common
American custom
Summer Resort for those VINO
went to watering
Correspondence. places to condue,
a correspondence for their home pa
per.. In The Star of August "a. 1877,
is the following on the subject:
"rhe Cincinnati Commercial throws
cold water upon the business OF letter
writing by people who go to summer
resorts 1t holds that when a man
goes into the country TO ENJOY nature
he should Invite his soul to loaf. as
Walt whitman says. not burden II
with newspaper correspondence. and
therefore declines one of the most
generous motives and offered series
of letters penned by a friend Will.
sitting beneath the umbrageous and
widespreading branches OF the locust
trees which shade the Great Miami. =
Besides sitting, he also inhales pure.
fresh, untainted breezes' which come
to him over abundant yielding corn
and wheat fields and orchards which
bend beneath their weight OF golden
tinted apples and blushingly radiant
peaches. And this is not enough for
him TO do: he listens to the murnur
of water falling over mill dam up
the river. and then proceeds TO tell
about it