Concerning Croquet

It is rtiy böltef thot tfroqiiet was invontd by some suspicious and cynieal young ïan for the purpose df tryirig young laies' témpora. My reason ftir supposing l to have boen a young mart is; that they re said to be in tbo hubit of trying suoh xperiments, whilo I never heard of a 'oung woman attempting anythin of iie kind, owiug, no doubt, to the i icrifioing generosity öf the feminine ' uro which impelí her to love, fuülts and 11. It is also my belief that the immense Oj ularity of croquet, has something to o with tho alarming decline in matrimoiul ventures, as it not only bringa out 30 dispositief in an iinfavornhlu liirht, int luis a tenderiey to spoil it altogethori s well as to cultívate ulany objectionajlo qualitie Ono thing may be said in s favor, however, that if you do come ut ui'scjHthed from the fiory ordes!, you must be very mach ot' a Haint indeed. Judged from an external st-atidpdintf it s a vory innocent guine, consisting main7 in knocking balls through bent wires. íot ur.til you take alt insido view can on fully appreciato how much sin can ie veiled uuder a harruless exterior, or ïow many conflicting passion may bn oüsed by the simple stroke of a mallet, t is popularly supposed to possess the rowiling tixüullonc.o over 11 othor games f biiin liiittily moral. I think it ia lighly wickod and onght to be frowned pon by orthodox people. I was iuvüigled into it the otter oveing, so I can speak fronl exporienec. I mil undoubtedly watched many a gara ■ irough tlia long Slimmer days. I had ven played ocoasionully vith the I reni simple, stl'aiglitforward gaines, sucli s ehildron play before they have learned ie orookod dovices of this sinful world. lut I had altogcther failed to catch its ssential spirit. I considored it dull, and nteresting mainly from a hygiünic poiilt f view. Klsie insistcd that it was lacfe of cnowlcdgei Elsio is fond of croquet. I niight Ray ie is devotod to croquet: Bhe livts, ïoves and has her being in öfoquet. She alks oroqucti and thinks croquet. Sha ats, ctrinks and shnps in an atmosphere f raritíod croquet. Sho gauges uil hunan intellect by skill in croquet. Tin: main road to her heart is through Cro uet. Elsie plays Wcll. I don't pliy veil ; indeed) I oouldn't be said to have layed at all. Ëlsie was bent upon remeying that defectivo point in my educa.on, so she nxade up i Bej to initiato mei 'here were three skillful playera besides my unakillfitl self, but f tllottght if it nly ciqaired i moderate amount of jrains, I might learn. The main point, as I understoml it, wis o malie a èiïcuitöus roilte and return to iio starting point aa quiökly as jMssibli'. plaoed my ball and struck it gently ; it ïit the wire and (lajtfied off in the wrong irection, whereupon Klsie culled me a ory uncivil name. I had never Üéard ïer use sücli a Word befofo, tild looked t her with grave and gorrowful amazement, upon which she laughingly tiUl Tne that it was a part of tho game. It is sually consictered ill nlaiiu.ns tci noticii nistakes, cspeciaUy in that broacl wuy, nd it does not denote a kind heart. 'in-v might, tt least, have f jund a inore jolito n une, or put it in French, wliich vould give it an air of respectability. Jut I don't think croquet i a polite ;ame. My next play was more fortúnate. I ent my ball through two arches and lelt tin excellent position for the tbitd. I wan uite olated, and was gravely oalculating ow many strokes would send it throtrgn ne fourth, when one of my opponents, nstead of going through his own arch, as he ought to have done, carne aftar it, ind, taking it back, usod it to help himelf along. If there is anything I disike, it is being irtado a conveiiience of, and if any people are supremely disagreoable, it is those who make a conveiiience of other people to odvanee themselYeS. t is vcry seltisii, to say tiie least, and selislmess grows upon one. People who jlay croquet agre t deal are apt to be eltish, ospeoially if they play well. After ïny opponent had made a conrenienoe OI niy ball as long as he wished, ie left it, and went on without tho slight■st oompunetion, although he knew hè hiul spoiled all my plans, and that I should havo grcat dimculty m regaiilulg what I had lost. I tried to sond it back ' where it bolongcd, but raissed my aira, ' and luft within easy reaeh of Elsie, who amused horself a long time by knocking t around. Indeed, I think that betwecn ,lii!in they would havo spent the evening ii th.it way if my partner had tuit kindly come t the resoné! and, after sending me )ack to my iosition, suinmarily avenged uy WrongS. I succeeded, at last, in gottiug thr.iu.-U ;he third mvh, and was just ready to jü :hrough the fourïh, when my opponent int. hwaself to tho troublo of coming back i'jain out OÍ pure spite, and scnding ute fi intu the grass. I sliould likc to have whistled if it had been proper aiul I !i:ul known how, just to bouih cheèrflil and make mysulf believe I was enjowiag ii. But, tha't being a doublé impóssibility, I tricd to hide my injui-cd feelings beliind a smilü. It was a palé, sickly, ghost of a smilo, and I am sure cvovy one saw thfjougb it, alUumgh they didn't seem to cure. It makes people heartless to play crocniot. On the whole, I don't think a lady who playod croqin't w.-ll innj.lil make a good wiïo, she would be so inconsidorate of othcr peeple's foelings. I was now so t:ir bóhirid that they d:d not think it worth wliile to trouble themselves about me, so I jiursuucl my lonly way to the sixth aroh. Here my opponuüt's aggrayating tfinper got tlie better of him again, and, altliou-rh hu wás for on his way to thu starting point, he o .inback for the expross pui-posu of annoyinme, but feil short by a few feet. "Now go for him, Aunt Meta," s lid Ned, who was watching the game with intruse inteivst. I suppose that was a technical phraso. I should not be at all surprised if croquet tanght slang ainóftg éitoemg other objeotionable things ; indeed, I think I have observad that. it did. But I had no time to ask questions just tlun. I heaitated a momi'nt, bnt finally aecided to return good fort evil, Sad display my miignanimity ly lcaving lumin The distance of the boll rendated it mueh eaier for me to be magnanimputi, os it mquito olear to me that Í could not. hit it if I tried. So I went thTOTlgh tlic last Iwii archfsand aimed at the stake, but missi l it, owing to its being so very siuall. I lliink croqviet stakes ought to be made larger. They would iook botter, lid.s saving a vast amouut of friction i-: th.' matter of temper. I am sorry to say that my opponent did not appreciate the magnanimity with whieh 1 had trated him, but pursued me with charaoteristic ingratitude. That be was naturally ungrateful I cannot believe, but it was snd to note the extent to whiqb croquet had demoralized him. Once t would not havo believéd it poseib!e. Bát croquet had wvought the meliimlioly ohange. Croquet has a ti-ii'linioy to make people ungrateful. This time the buil stoppéd within two or inches. I knew that. I could hit it. I wns tirod of returning good for evil, as the more good 1 relurned the morn evil 1 reccivod. Magnanimity had clearly i ceasM to bo a virtue, espccially with such a brilliant advantage. My sense of abstract justioe was strong. The die was dá9fr. I aimed ; I striick ; I hit ! i " Now use it to help yourself alolig," i said Nod, enthusiastically. , " No, indeed," I replied. " I am above 1 mnking a convetiience )f peoplo. If I 1 cant win by my own skill, I wou't win at 1 all. I ain just going to sund hiui otf so 1 fat that he won't come back." And I ( ploilted my foet tíruily upon the doomed i ball. "Don't niitch,1' said Ned evidently i feivring that my sympathies would get ( thi! bettcr ot' me. , Flinch ! Not I. The pent-up feelings of ( the last half hour wero condensed irt that blow. Ijjtruek with tlia eneigy of i rfttion, and the ball flew - exactly where í it. wantod to go, straight through tlie j ïiiiddle arch. ijThat is what I cali doing good to 1 your enemios," remarked my opponent, ] uxultjngly. "I hopa it heapcd coaU of firo," was ( ty brief rdplyi as 1 mudo another dash at ' thö stakei and missod it by aboüt tho ) nitiety-ninth part of an inch. " That hit, didn't it'i" said Elsia. " Not quite," I auswored innocently, i without heeding some peculiar i tyms of visage on tho part of Ñed, who i wus standing neai me. i " Oh, Aunt Mota," Lp exclaiined, in a , lmv yoicei ' whv didn't you pretend you , li il Int it, and go onK They thought 1 you did, and it would huve been just the ] saine." " Don't jou know IJiát woüld liare , been chcating, my dear ? " I answered, tryiag to look grave, and feoling quite , shooked ;it tin: dopravity croquet was ingtüling into liis jroong and tendur miad. "Why, no, it isn't real ohcating," , gued tho boyi " Tt's jitst the game, and ovurybody does it. üusides, it did most hit." That is the reason I am so far behind, I refleoted, as the demon of suspicion , tered my lüirid, arid I began to look upon my oppopents :ts partners in a conspinicy tO iliiiiuud ine of my rights. It is , i't to bd dbligüd to guard agrtinst , the machinati-ons of your fellow mortals. imt I am s i;i!i.-d that puople wlio are in the hiibit of playing croquet a great deal i 1 to be watclicd. It is insidious, and undermines the principies beforo one is aWafe of it. The next stroke sent my ball against the stnall stake, wliich was aboüt an inoli away, and by singular good luck I Went througi' twn arches. My partner, who had a goud düal of tiouble on his own acthought I loolccd Iones, me, so he :4V1(' '"wk al'J very skillfully took niv bali with his own through tliree more. As tiic pthois wei1.' on thu terge of oirjg out) he thfn went to the stake and interfereu vith thoir jilans . littlu by 9puding thcni aoross the ground. I tliiuk it a yejnr bad trait of chavacter to rejoice ovor oth'er peopfó's misfprtunes. It is apt to grow u]on önè, too. I feit a littlo sofi'y iit my ttfrpè&jgnt'a disappointnicnt, bul not li-it' so sfrry as I should have feit an lioui earlier, w'hich shows the rupidity with wliich ono can become demoralizud. It I had piayed aiiothor aiiie I don't think I should hare been sorry :i.t all. WntIG (:ii-j voro rffittmback, my partner, who Beem@4 ujuoh lesj selfiiili tban tho othofS) eauie fttter me, and, by Very careftil playing, we reachod tho vicinity of the st.tke before thent. I advisod him to go out whou he hud an opportunity, and leavo ne to my fute, but he very politely dcclined, and, not to bu outdone in geuero:ity, in my turn 1 arranged the balls so that ono stroke wuuld send us both out, and trustod to the chivalry of my opponent not to disturb thetn. But, alas ! I trusted in a broken reed. Tho spell of croquet was upon him, and chivalry had ceased to be. He coolly dealt iny ball a tremendous blow, and. sent it out of sight. Thsn ho served my partner in tbo samo ungenerous manncr, and, profiting by our dowiifall triumphantly won the game. I suppose tliey wove happy ; at loast they lookcd so. I wasu't although I pretended to be ; but if I had done so many unkind things, and spo.lod peoplo's plans in such a heartless marnier, and built niyself up by putting others down, I should have been haunted with remorse for a weck. But I don't play croquet woll. I don't think I could ever learn to play croquet Wel). I would rathcr not play