Manual of British Rural Sports

TIIAINIXG FOK WALKIJTO. 449 prosecuted with renewed vigour. Thus, I have shown how the studious man can j e vote sufficient time for the purposes of preserving or restoring his bodily health; ami,as we shall hereafter see, enougli also toallow him to go into training tor any ordinary competition in rowing or pedes­ trian exercise. Now, with regard to the counting-house clerk. Here the hoursare toil, and all that can be done must be done More 9 or 9.30 a.m.; or, in the summer loason, after offlce hours; nevertheless, manymen have trained themselves in spite ofthese difficulties, but it is arduous and u;)-hillwork. In the winter season there is nolight much before eight o'clock, and, consequently, it is quite out of the question toattempt anything in the way ofregular training. Health, however, may bepre­ served,and preparations made tor training duringthe summer. For thispurpose, the bestcourse to pursue Is to arrange so that It shall be positively necessary to walk backwards and forwards to the counting- house night and morning. This is much betterthau attempting a walk without any special object; for in our climate the obstacles offered by the weather are so numerousthat It would be postponed three or tour times a-week; but when it must be undertaken through all weathers, the toieflt to health is fully attained, and the Encllshman's privilege to grumble is also pnitifled. Thus, by devoting only one hour, ni-'iit and morning, to afour-mile walk to tbe house ot business, sufficient bodily txcrcise may be obtained to keep the health tolerablygood during this season;and In the summer it is possible to extend the , , ' or even, by very earlyrising, to go mo actual training for any particular ".on. Whilst discussing this sub|ect, I "UM strongly impress upon all those who we the management of those establish­ ments where young men are collected for e purposes of trade, that it Is very im- ' J~ n ' U'at some setime shouldbe'fixed , ' ;r theals. It is, I believe, the custom • "ne-third, or one-half, of the young men th5,.I t0 (line flrst ' a " < lthen, as soon as t tla9t " y swa| lowed their meal, for dlvi sion to take their places. This toti 1S su ' 1 ' 103e ^be very advantageous amv! Pr ? prict0r3 i yet evenof this fact I einn r'' doubtful ; but to the assistants it i h'fr! , ly injurious. In many cases, ten tierifwn ay / insome few ev ena longer onlv h Y. 6 g ' venU P to work, interrupted tnorpth scramble for a meal. This is to hpir!" 1t ' le buman frame is calculated "factnn. r 6 " ' he far,n labourer, or the Wd ,1!"n„ a , n i9 avowed his breakfast to (js wn,ti 0Ur ' after which he returns ^ work, having laid in a fresh stock of nervous excitability. The consequence of the long strain upon the mindand animal spirits is, that at times they are over­ powered, and that errors occur whichdo more harm to the parties interested than is counterbalanced by the apparent saving of time. The above directionsare suited to those cases only in wiiich the state of health is still such as to allow of a pr secution of the usual studies or employment.Hut there are numerous instances in which the mind and body are both totally upset, and in which it isnot onlyprudent, but impera­ tively necessary, to give up all attention to business. These are somewhat beyond my province, for In such cases the aid of a medical man must always be required, and his counsels ought to be implicitly followed. They also rarely occur unattended by such a disordered state of stomach as torequire the use of medicine a d diet; and, moreover, such cases are precisely those in whichthe moral control and superintendence of a judicious medical man are demanded. There may be somefew inwhich change of air ami scene, agreeable society, moderate exercise, <fcc., would be quite enough; but it is impossible to draw the line in sucha way as to be useful, and, therefore, my advice would be such as I have given above. Sect. 2.—Actual Tr in-in- G —Genekal Management and Diet. 296. T RAINING FOB W ALKING Whether the oMect is to compete in running or walking, a light run before breakfast for half an hour will just empty the small Intestines of their last meal, and prepare the stomachfor breakfast; more than half an hour, however, I am confident,is too long to wait, especially if, as ought always to bethe case, the supper has been a mere apology for that meal. For an hour after breakfast—that is, till near II o'clock, the pedestrian should amuse himself as he likes best, with billiards or any other game; but at ll he should be ready dressed in bis walking costume, which should be of flannel throughout. For shoes, there is nothing like dogskin upper-leathers, and a moderately thick sole for walking, or a much thinner one for running. From 11 till 2, or half-past 2, his first walk should be kept up without stopping for a moment—that is to say, after the first week, during which time he has been graduallyIncreasing the time from an hour and a half to theabove lengthened period. In any case the p des­ trian should be accompanied by his trainer, who should amuse him as much as possible by anecdote or other mode of conversation. After dinner, one r twohours should be allotted to rest, in the recumbent position, 2 a