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 /<? 6 7/4 
 
 THE PHILIP H. 
 
 ANDA.S.W. 
 ROSENBACH 
 
 FOUNDATION 
 MUSEUM 
 
 MX 
 
YOUTHFUL 
 
 RECREATIONS* 
 
 " A LL work and no 
 XX play, makes Jack a 
 dull boy/ 1 
 
 Who this Jack was, we 
 never heard, but we assent 
 to the principle j and it 
 
 i 
 
must be confessed, that 
 youth is the time to obtain 
 I a stock of health, and that 
 
 I is best promoted by mode- 
 I rate exercise. 
 
 For he who fits by the fire all 
 
 And never goes abroad to play 
 May keep himfelf from being 
 cold, 
 
 But may not live till he is old, 
 
 f To prevent bodily weak- 
 
 ness and infirmity , exerciseis 
 necessary ; and one physi- 
 cian has said, that " he did 
 s not know which was most 
 
c necessary to the human 
 c frame, food or motion" To 
 play with battledore and 
 shuttlecock or with a trap 
 and ball, is good exercise ; 
 and if we had it in our 
 power to grant, not only 
 the children of the affluent, 
 but even such of the poor 
 as are impelled by necessity 
 to pick cotton, card w r ool, 
 to sit and spin or reel all 
 day, should have at least 
 one hour, morning and 
 evening, forsome youthful 
 recreation ; and if they 
 could obtain neitherbattle* 
 
dorenor shuttlecock, trap, 
 bat, nor ball, they should 
 at least play at Hop-Scotch.* 
 
 Indeed, if we could ob- 
 tain it, they should even 
 have a Rocking-Horse to ride 
 on, or Marbles to play 
 with, which might divert 
 their little minds, if it did 
 notyieldthem so much ex- 
 ercise as some other sports. 
 
 * This exercife was fre- 
 quently pra£Hfed by the Greeks * 
 and Spartan women. Might it 
 not be very ufeful in the pre- 
 fent day, to prevent children 
 having of chilblains ? 
 
 A 2 
 
1 
 
It is reported, that Ba- 
 ron Trench, who was long 
 confined in a damp prison, 
 though loaded with fetters 
 of seventy pounds weight, 
 leaped about as a lion, in 
 order topreservehishealth* 
 
 In the beginning of the 
 Bible it is said, " In the 
 " sweat of thy face shalt 
 " thou eat bread." 
 
 This has been looked 
 upon as a curse by too 
 many ; but it has proved, 
 to those who have prac- 
 
tised it, a valuable medi- 
 cine : and this reminds us 
 of some other proverbs, 
 such as, 
 
 " Exercife is the befl phyfic." 
 u A good appetite is the beft 
 " fauce." 
 
 Trundling a Hoop^ on a 
 level ground, affords good 
 exercise, and was used by 
 the ancient Greeks. They 
 had rings, or little plates 
 of tin or brass, fastened 
 to their hoops, to make a 
 noise j so that we find the 
 
1 
 
lads of Greece were as 
 fond of a jingle as the boys 
 of England are. 
 
 " Who will ride in my 
 * Chair V 
 
 This question saluted our 
 ears one morning in Lon- 
 don ; when on looking to- 
 ward t h e p 1 ac e f r o m whence 
 it came, there were two 
 boys carrying a little girl 
 seated on a leather strap, 
 and fastened at each end 
 to a mop-stick ! It was dif- 
 ficult to tell which looked 
 the most pleased, they who 
 
carried or she that rode, 
 The novelty of the scene 
 caused many spectators, 
 who gazed with equal de- 
 light. Indeed, it is a plea- 
 sant sight to see cheerful, 
 healthy children, and no- 
 thing contributes so much 
 to makethem so, as proper 
 exercise in the open air, 
 and keeping their hands 
 and faces clean. We do 
 not mean to say that chil- 
 dren should never dirty 
 their hands, but that the 
 dirt should be frequently 
 washed off again. 
 
Even Swinging is a plea- 
 sant exercise inline weather 
 in the open air ; but those 
 who swing should be care- 
 ful that the rope on which 
 they sit be made quite fast 
 at both ends, as a tumble 
 might be attended with 
 very bad effects. 
 
 Playing at Foot-Ball is a 
 manly exercise, and though 
 not proper for girls, it af- 
 fords good exercise for 
 boys on a cold day. When 
 a proper foot-ball cannot 
 be had, a bladder well 
 
blown will answer the pur- 
 pose. 
 
 In playing at foot-ball, 
 care should be taken not 
 to kick or hurt one an- 
 other ; indeed, caution is 
 necessary for youth in all 
 they do ; and even in fly- 
 ing of a Kite, though they 
 themselves may beas safely 
 employed as in almost any 
 recreation they enjoy; yet, 
 care should betaken not-to 
 raise it in or near to a pub- 
 lic road, for thereby horses 
 have been affrighted, their 
 riders thrown and bruisedo 
 
H99HHBRHHHKS3 
 
Bows and Arrows were 
 formerly used to kill beasts 
 and birds ; indeed, some 
 men were so simple as to 
 kill one another with them 
 in war : they were used 
 in hunting the wild boar, 
 stag, bull, &c. So long 
 since as the days of Saul, 
 Jonathan his son used a 
 bow 7 and arrow for a signal 
 to David in a time of'-dan- 
 ger. See the 1st book of 
 Samuel, chap. xx. and the 
 35th verse. 
 
I Spie ! Hi / 
 
 This is a recreation but 
 little known in London, 
 except at the Blue-Coat, 
 Charter-House, and West- 
 minster Schools, where the 
 situations of the buildings, 
 walls, and pillars, admit 
 of a lad concealing him- 
 self. The method of play 
 is, for six or eight boys 
 to stop at a home, as it is 
 called, whilst an equal 
 number go out and hide 
 themselves within a given 
 district j then, at a signal 
 
given, those who staid at 
 home go in quest of the 
 concealed; when, if any 
 one espy a lad in his 
 hiding-place, he exclaims, 
 / spie Tom Brown ; home 
 for Tom Brown. Then the 
 boy concealed runs forth 
 and catches if he can any 
 one of the seekers, and 
 rides home on his back. 
 Thus, the principle of this 
 play is, for those who hide 
 to rush from their secret 
 places, catch the seekers, 
 and ride home on their 
 backs. 
 
Blindman's Buffn so well 
 known that we need not 
 describe it ; though we 
 think it right to caution 
 children never to play at 
 it near a fire, as some 
 serious accidents have fre- 
 quently happened by chil- 
 dren falling into, or by 
 their clothes catching the 
 
 fire. — Skipping over 
 
 a Rope is such an useful 
 exercise, that we would 
 have every boy and girl 
 occasionally practise it in 
 cold weather. Indeed it, 
 is far preferable to Hunt 
 
the Slipper, or Bait the 
 Bear. 
 
 Youth should be en- 
 gaged in some rational re- 
 creations, and then 5 says a 
 celebrated writer, " Chil- 
 " dren will remain more 
 " apt for instruction, if 
 ^ we do not break the 
 " spring of their capacity 
 " for it, by too early over- 
 " straining; nay, they may 
 <c enjoy it perpetually, if 
 u we have but the art of 
 " mixing with it their 
 " bodilv exercise/*