Page:Lacrosse- The National Game of Canada (New Edition).djvu/55

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38
THE PRESENT GAME.

yawn; there is none of that serious work and gloomy pleasure which is the bane of some field games, and which some players try to counteract by light gymnastics, or feats which have nothing to do with the game. It unbends the mind better than any other sport, because of the ubiquity of the ball; it is more like genuine recreation, and is a holiday to the blood to play, and a half-holiday to look on.

One grand element in Lacrosse is its native attraction and amusement to spectators—and how soon it converts them into players! The indefatigable running and fascinating contests between opponents wherever the ball goes; the excitement of dodging and of battles around the goals, are watched with breathless interest, while the frequent sudden upsets and somersaults would make even a Plato laugh, and the moroseness of an Antisthenes take flight for ever. Any one who has taken the trouble to study the faces of spectators at a match may have seen in their expression an index of the character of the game. Gouty old gentlemen forget their big toes in the excitement of watching a struggle for the ball; the faces of crusty bachelors soften into the old smiles of their youth, while low