and less recreative than that of archery practice, there being a
decided difference between the methodical work of a calisthenic class
and the pleasurable excitement incident to shooting with a bow and
arrow at a target, surrounded by all the attractions of a field archery
meeting. One is, in a measure, work, while the other is enjoyable
exercise and play; and exercise that is not fully recreative in its
nature is not very beneficial in a sanitary point of view. Standing in
front of an archery target thirty yards distant, and watching the
movements of a practised archeress, as she grasps her bow, places an
arrow in position, and then with comparative ease sends it flying to
the centre of the " gold," the whole action, with its final result, looks
so easy of attainment that a casual observer is deceived in an estimate
of the amount of patient practice that is necessary to accomplish the
feat. But when the young novice tries her hands at this apparently
simple act, and realizes by practical experiment what difficulties beset
her, and what a number of thincrs she has to learn before she can
even hit the target at all, not to mention the " gold," her respect for
the sport increases in the ratio of the obstacles she meets with. To
become expert in the use of her bow gives a girl of brains something
to reflect upon, something to study up and to analyze as to cause
and effect; and with this naturally comes hearty respect for the art
and a love for the enjoyable excitement it yields. Any novice in
archery who has ultimately achieved success will tell you what a
thrill of pleasure she felt when, after weeks of disappointing practice,
blunders in handling her bow, mistakes in "nocking" her arrows,
errors of getting into " bad form " in taking up her position to shoot,
and in other ways experiencing all the little shocks to one's amour
propre which novices are heirs to, she all at once gets into " good
form," and as a result sees her arrow enter the magic circle of the
" gold," and that, too, not by chance but by the skill which her final
mastery of the art yields. It is then that the exclamation comes,
" Isn't that perfectly elegant ? " It is then, too, that she has passed the
outer works of archery and captured its citadel. In no sport a lady
can engage in does the old saying that " practice makes perfect "
SPORTS AND GAMES FOR LADIES. 93
apply with such force as to archery. There are so many little but
important details to be attended to which constant practice can alone
make you properly familiar with, that any regular rule for special
observance fails to be advantageously applicable. It is all very well to
put down in a book of instructions in the art that the young novice
must do this, that and the other ; but it is by practical experience in
the field only, and frequent practice at that, that she will be enabled
to overcome the obstacles she has to encounter in her efforts to
become an expert.
Page 54
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
and less recreative than that of archery practice, there being a decided difference between the methodical work of a calisthenic class and the pleasurable excitement incident to shooting with a bow and arrow at a target, surrounded by all the attractions of a field archery meeting. One is, in a measure, work, while the other is enjoyable exercise and play; and exercise that is not fully recreative in its nature is not very beneficial in a sanitary point of view. Standing in front of an archery target thirty yards distant, and watching the movements of a practised archeress, as she grasps her bow, places an arrow in position, and then with comparative ease sends it flying to the centre of the " gold," the whole action, with its final result, looks so easy of attainment that a casual observer is deceived in an estimate of the amount of patient practice that is necessary to accomplish the feat. But when the young novice tries her hands at this apparently simple act, and realizes by practical experiment what difficulties beset her, and what a number of thincrs she has to learn before she can even hit the target at all, not to mention the " gold," her respect for the sport increases in the ratio of the obstacles she meets with. To become expert in the use of her bow gives a girl of brains something to reflect upon, something to study up and to analyze as to cause and effect; and with this naturally comes hearty respect for the art and a love for the enjoyable excitement it yields. Any novice in archery who has ultimately achieved success will tell you what a thrill of pleasure she felt when, after weeks of disappointing practice, blunders in handling her bow, mistakes in "nocking" her arrows, errors of getting into " bad form " in taking up her position to shoot, and in other ways experiencing all the little shocks to one's amour propre which novices are heirs to, she all at once gets into " good form," and as a result sees her arrow enter the magic circle of the " gold," and that, too, not by chance but by the skill which her final mastery of the art yields. It is then that the exclamation comes, " Isn't that perfectly elegant ? " It is then, too, that she has passed the outer works of archery and captured its citadel. In no sport a lady can engage in does the old saying that " practice makes perfect "
apply with such force as to archery. There are so many little but important details to be attended to which constant practice can alone make you properly familiar with, that any regular rule for special observance fails to be advantageously applicable. It is all very well to put down in a book of instructions in the art that the young novice must do this, that and the other ; but it is by practical experience in the field only, and frequent practice at that, that she will be enabled to overcome the obstacles she has to encounter in her efforts to become an expert.