The Cruise of the Branwen

THE WREATH OF OLIVE It will perhaps be well if I conclude this portion of my subject with a few general observa– tions on the Athenian Games, and a sketch of their results (which I quote from Bailey's Magazine) before I say anything of our subse– quent adventures. The official programme of these Games show~d the large number of 901 entries. The absentees were relatively very few indeed, and were more than cornpensated for by the names accepted after the lists had officially closed. Seventy– three names, for instance, were printed before– hand for the Marathon Race, and seventy-seven starters, of whom about a score were Greeks, were announced in the stadium on the day of the contest. The next highest total of entries were seventy– five and seventy-three for the rifle-shooting matches; and the average was remarkably good throughout the seventy-two competi– tions. The distribution of the first and second prizes among the many competing nationalities suggests a geographical theory of sport which deserves attention; and it will be seen, contrary to public opinion hitherto, that if the specialised and expensive organisation of the American team enabled them to score heavily in the "track athletic " events with some quite first-rate performers, it was reserved for other nations to show an all-round excellence in various events which many will value even more highly.