CHAPTER V.

SPORTS AND HOME DUTIES

There were always plenty of jobs for boys and girls on the farm. We had to perform our assigned tasks before we went to play. If I

went to bed without having the wood and kindlings in for the morn- ing, father would call me up, even if I were asleep, and see that I at- tended to my work. But he was very thoughtful of our need of play and fun; he knew that “All work and no play made Jack a dull boy”; and that all play and no work would make any boy useless. We had plenty of time for sports and engaged in them with keen delight: skat- ing and coasting, fishing and hunting were the great sports in winter. Work may be made enjoyable.

S katin g

When the lakes and ponds froze over in the fall, and after thaws during the winter, there were great stretches of smooth ice. After school and on moonlight nights the boys of the whole district would gather and have a delightful time skating. It was not thought proper for girls to skate, but they could watch the fun and sing and cheer

and add to the merriment, and help quicken the ambition of the boys they admired. A few of the more progressive ones broke the rules of

the community etiquette, and strapped on the skates; they could glide along very gracefully. Some of the boys could skate very fast. I think I was a match for any one of my age. After the thaws, or winter rains, we could skate all over the settlement, and show off our finest and fastest skating. Later on I will tell you of my narrow escape When I went through the ice in the channel. It was one of my many narrow escapes, some of which I will relate in the next chapter. I de- lighted in skating. It was a healthful sport, especially when engaged in out-of-doors. We did not always use good judgment or good sense

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