Impressions of Northern Athletes and Athletics

those who reside in the country and work in the open, and upon whom the sun is (sometimes!) shining, and, on the other hand, the pale, etiolated faces, comparatively stunted forms, and nervous irritability of those whose occupation in life deprives them of the healthful and salutary influence of sunlight. Readers have no doubt, in their individual experiences, had confirmation of the doctor’s views, and have probably been impressed with the difference in their condition after a good spell of outdoor recreation. Longevity of Athletic Life. It is maintained by many that an athlete’s life, as an athlete, is a short and merry one. Even if he be a sober, industrious man, and lives his life as becomes a decent citizen, he begins to find at the age of thirty that speed and the fiery enthusiasm of early youth is gradually leaving him. But in its place will be left as a life-long legacy the vigour and strength of manhood, which remains with some men for three score years and ten. For instance Martin Markell, a veteran of seventy-nine years, completed successfully a tramp of 60,000 miles [96,561 kilometers]. Joe Spencer, who some time ago joined the great majority, laughed at a walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back at the age of eighty-seven. Jem Mace, one of the greatest pugilists the world has ever seen, and the last of his generation, is a marvellous man for his years. Jem ward, another old-timer, defeated a proficient boxer forty years his junior. Dr Furnival, in honour of his eight-third birthday, sculled fourteen miles on the Thames; T.C. Harris, an old London surgeon, went for a thousand-mile constitutional on his bicycle a few years ago; Dr Deighton, at sixty-one, walked from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 21¼ days; greatest of all, J. M’Cloed, who, in the years 1790, on his 102nd birthday, ran ten miles on the Hammersmith Road in 2 hours 23 minutes. “Nil sine magno vita labore dedit mortaliteus” (Life has given nothing to mortals without great labour.)