The Pedestrian's Record

the pedestrian's record. instances eclipsing those of the fabled Hercules ; on the other side, it is asserted that mole-hills have been exaggerated into mountains, and that the ancient deeds of prowess recorded belong rather to heathen mythology than to national history. In comparing the present with the past they ask, could any runner of the Greek or Roman periods, or during the days of the tournament, have run a quarter of a mile in 50 seconds ?did any man of the past ever swim across the Channel, or do anything like it ? yet Captain Webb accomplished the feat,and in a comparativelyshort time considering the distance, and no one before or since, without artificial assistance, has ever attempted to break Webb's record. This style of argument may go some way in one direction, but it by no means solves the difficulty, and no one will deny that men run and walk faster now than they did at the Olympian games ; but at that time the surroundings were different—no cinder-track existed, training was not understood, in fact, the consumption of much food was indulged in before racing, feasts were left for immediate recreation. The Greek and Roman athletes regaled upon raw flesh and new wine, and when Lydas, the Spartan, dropped dead on com­ pleting a three-mile course, we do not learn how he was trained, but we do know that they lived upon raw meat, and the more they partook of it the stronger they were thought to become. If Lydas ran on a full stomach, his death need not surprise any one ; it has happened to other men who have taken