Olympic Cavalcade

22 OLYMPIC CA:VALCADE the approval of the Congress to his Olympic Plan, de Coubertin, who had a good friend in Mons. Waddington, French Ambassador at the Court of St. James's, visited England to study our Public Schools' life, of ~hich lie -was so great an admirer, ahd of which Dr. Arnold of Rugby was our first exemplar. Be visited Rugby School and forgathered with the late Dr. W. P. Brookes at Much Wenlock. He was supported in his own country by, notably, the Count de Pourtales and Dr. Jean Charcot, who strongly urged the renaissance of that .royal ball- gam<: 'Jeu de Paume' so woven into the web of the most dramatic moments ofFrench history. Baron de Coubertin played a big part, also, in bringing French oarsmen to row at Henley Regatta. Not long after his visit to England, a member of the Cercle de L'Aviron in Paris w0n a heat of the Diamond Sculls and a French crew beat an eight from London on the Seine at Andn§sy. Sir John Astley welcomed de Coubertin to a dinner at the Sports Club, and both the Prince of Wales and the Rt. Hon. Arthur Balfour gave their _approyal to the Olympic Plan. _ A visit to America had ensure~ neutrality if not, as yet, active suppqrt, except from people like Professor William Millingt2..n Sloane of the Arnateur 'Athletic Uni<'m of America, who was als:o Professor of History in Columbia University. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, Pro£essor W. M. Sloane and Mr. C. .,_ Herrrert, Secretary of the English Amat~ur ·Athletic Association, were in– vited to cQnvene_ the C~ngress, at which -tlte- proposal, made first by de Coubertin in-the spring of 1893-, was to be put before the nations which had assembled, ostensibly to discuss the question of amateurism. The Congress was held in the Grand Ball of the Sorbonne on r6 July, 1894. The proposal was warmly received by- -the delegates present from America, Belgium, Bohemia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain and Sweden. Messages offering future st.l:eporLwere received from Australia, Holland, and Hung~ry. - - _ ~ _ _ Tlie revival of-the, Olympic Game§ in mode-rn form having been decided 11pon, it then remained to fix tHe date -and the venue fo_!'-the first of the instaurated Festivals. Colonel Balck, of Swed(m, wlro had been a great sup– porter of de Coubertin all through his_struggle, mad~ an eloquent plea that the first of the revived F_:estivals should be given to -Sw§den, but Mons. ~ Bikelas, who had offered~ to donate a cup for the first -Marathon race, established the claim , that -the Games _sho~lcl be revived on the original site in Olympia, which had but recently been excavated by German archaeologists. · The projects were welcomed by the King of Greece and the Duke of Sparta and, in the autumn of 1894? -de Coubertin and Bikelas went to Athens. They found available a legacy left t6 the State by the brothers Zappas. It had provided for the erection of the Zappeion and funds in the charge of a committee directed to encourage physical endeavour. Here, obviously, was the nucleus of the desired organization, but the