The Athlete for 1866

T i RAi i s r i ^ a . Its Object,Advantages and Abuses. *' HK who conquers himself is greater tban he who conquers kingdoms." Without in anyway wishing to trenchupon the subject of self-denial, this old adage ie one that we would first ot all impress on the athlete about to prepare himself for a race. In the athletic exercises,which we have to deal with here, the proficiency of the work is tested in a manner that secures for individual excellence its own special KvSot, and vice versa deficiency in any points its certain notice. Training to_parental minds conveys notions of rising with the sun, Ion" - fatiguing exercisein several suits of clothes, consequent profuse perspiration half-done meat, blue perhaps, if the imagination is ambitious, all-potentelee­ mosynary water gruel ad, libitum, brokenblood vessels, worn out constitution, and premature decay, not to mention utter neglect of books and studies and perfect absorption during non-working hours in fhe mysteries of bull-dogs and other low forms of civilization. We may perhaps be slightly stretching a point in thislist, but the opinions of many who are entirely ignorant of athletic exercises have been partly formed from the unfair descriptions of the devotees of sports in many of the publications of the day at fhe Universities and elsewhere ; and the ominous tale, too, that no man of cither '*A arsity" crews ina certainyear is now alive, is often quoted in opposition to Training, but this is explained most dearly by the fact of there not having beena racethat year. Training, as accepted by athletes,signifies improvingthepower ofcertainmusclesby regimenand practice m a manner shown by theory and experience to effect most naturally a required result. Without cioubt certain instances could be selected where permanent intei nal injury has been caused by a course of training on a subject in no way lifted for the work ; but few, if any, of the cases of premature decay that are * speciallynoticeable amongprofessional pugilists and pedestrianscan be laid at the door of training. The absence of regard on the part of the friends for their man's health when the contest is over, and the change from restraint to freedom invari­ ably induce a debauchand excesses that, in the highly sensitive state of the body after training react withtelling effect at some future period. From this weak­ ness it is a matter of much regret that amateurs are far from exempt. Going out of training is often considered to be aswide astep in diet, occupation,&c.. for the better as going into is for the worse. Could the digestive organs have a voice m the matter, we should hear of no sudden relaxation of restraints Common sense is the only means to supply their want of voice, and in such cases it is but seldom applied. The excitement attending a pub­ lic contest (varying according to the temperament of the individual), and the finely strung muscles of the interral organs all tend to leave the Iv hlete on the race day quite unfitted for a sudden change of living. The ex­ haustion of the contest, or perhaps the rupture of some small, (hcurdi iin- portanfly situated fibre, imperceptible d ring this nervous excitement, requires