Читать книгу How to Amuse Yourself and Others: The American Girl's Handy Book - Adelia B. Beard - Страница 41

Table of Contents

LET us see; it was that old medical gentleman, Galen the Greek, who first wrote upon tennis, speaking of the sport as healthy exercise, was it not? Well, girls, it really does not matter much to us whether he was the first to write it up and the Greeks the first to play it, or whether the game originated in France in the fifteenth century, as some claim. What we want to know is, can we all learn to play tennis? Does it cost much? What kind of gowns and shoes must we wear? And is it an enjoyable game?

There is no doubt, we think, of its being a right royal pastime, as it has been called both the “king of games” and the “game of kings;” the latter because it was enjoyed by princes and nobles—so much enjoyed, that in both England and France edicts were published forbidding the common people to play it.

Girls, do you wonder if they always had the choice of courts, and so never took part in the fun of spinning the racket in the air while the adversary called out “rough” or “smooth;” or whether they played as we do, taking their defeats pleasantly and wearing their honors gracefully, while always doing their very best?

They must have played well, for it is said that Louis XI., Henry II., and Charles IX., were experts, and that Henry VIII. of England was extremely fond of the sport.

We can easily learn to play this most popular and exhilarating of games. But we must be suitably clothed in order to thoroughly enjoy it and receive all the benefit the recreation brings to both mind and body.

Flannel seems to be the best material for a tennis suit—it is so soft and yielding, and so well adapted for a defence against either cold or heat. Then, make your tennis gown of flannel; the skirt in plaits, without drapery; the postilion basque of Jersey cloth, soft and elastic, matching the skirt in color.

Sew the skirt of your gown on a sleeveless waist, made of lining or muslin. The Jersey will fit nicely over this, and you can play better and feel far more comfortable than when the weight is allowed to drag on the hips. For it is nonsense to attempt to take part in any athletic game unless you can have perfect freedom of action; in short, you should be so dressed as to be utterly unconscious of your clothing.

An Old Game.

Either crochet a Tam O’Shanter hat or make one of the dress material, as these are not so apt to fall off while running as a straw hat. “Last, but not least,” come the shoes. Of course, rubber-soled shoes are the best. But if these are not to be had, remove the heels from an old pair of ordinary shoes, and they will do very well; heels roughen and cut the courts.

The actual cost of a lawn-tennis set need only be the price of the rackets and balls, and rope and cord necessary when you learn