Abstract

City and Country at the Oar

Before every boat-race the newspapers are naturally full of comments on the crews and of speculations as to the result, and what they say in many cases furnishes a somewhat curious illustration of the way in which even the most skeptical keep little corners of their minds for faith, into which they will on no account allow positivism to enter. The process of training for a boat race is constantly talked of as if it were simply an affair of muscle, and, therefore, as if the man who had cut down most trees or pitched most hay was sure to stand it best, and win the race. The man who can on the appointed day, after two or three months of hard work, worry, and excitement, bring his bodily powers most completely within the control of his brain, will win the race.