Athletics and Football. By Montague Shearman. (Longmans.)— This is a
book about which one might easily say much. It brings the whole subject down to date, and the subject is one in which a vast number of people are more or leas interested. From the point of view of the general reader, the first chapter, "The History of Athletic Sports in England," is the most interesting. As one reads it, one wishes again and again that our ancestors had invented stop-watches and the other contrivances which now give accurate records of athletic performances. If they had, we should not have heard of the butcher who ran twenty miles in an hour and a half, the last four being done in so leisurely a style, that he seemed to be meditating. The best modern performance—and modern performances are found to surpass the old whenever an accurate comparison is possible—was something under two hours. Sir Walter Scott, again, would hardly have made the bearer of the Fiery Cross leap "three fathoms" from the side of a boat, or the Douglas hurl a stone "a rood beyond the furthest mark" which the shepherds had reached in "hurling the massive bar in air." Historical matters being dismissed, running, walking, and other athletic sports are discussed seriatim. There is a specially notable chapter on training. Mr. Shearman has liberal views, but he pronounces with emphasis against smoking. The second part of the volume is devoted to football. The account of the various school games, showing how their peculiarities were developed out of the cir- cumstances of the school-grounds in which they were played, is curious. The chapter on "Football as a Sport" is particularly good.
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