Golf. medals or prizes of honour, the laurels being decided, at this time, by doing the holes in rotation in fewest strokes, as individual contests, for a majority of holes, would be interminable. Next day is resumed the more pleasant fashion of party contests this and counting the holes: makes matters go much more pleasantly than by a long reckoning. Each hole stands for itself, as that one is gained or lost, and with the exception of scoring one (in, say a round of twenty, to either party) the errors of the past are left behind-one hole lost being the direst result from any single act of bad play or turn of fortune, however disastrous at the moment. This elasticity is the beautiful feature of the game. So, gentle reader, having both lucidly and curtly shown you the golfer's weapons and mode of warfare, let us now have a pleasant little journey and see a veritable campaign. Fancy then, that, Asmodeus-like, I have carried you to St. Andrews, the Melton of golf, and the very Palmyra of ecclesiastical ruins. Fancy that we have traversed the clean, airy streets of the Scottish Oxford, visited her grand and perfect library, and admired her noble colleges; that we have passed by hoary tower and through mouldering archway; moved thoughtfully by the tombs of burly soldier, gentle scholar, and scheming priest; flitted in monastic gloom through the gorgeous and gigantic cathedral remains of this antique little city; and that we now stand, in the blazing sunshine, on the battery fronting the German Ocean. What a change! from the contemplation of hoary damp and ghoulish decay, to face the everliving freshness of the glittering sea, stretching in unruffled beauty to the very verge of the horizon. Is it not a vision of promise and peace? From far below come the sweet voices of children gathering shells, and out in the bay the seamews are floating listlessly on the smooth swell of the tide wave. Now take a cigar and come along to the links. Not yet. You are asking what are these great ivy- At last we are at the right placethat neat building below the obelisk Come in and is the club-house. be introduced. Well, we shall suppose friendly greetings, &c., within the fine, cheerful, roomy parlour, whose windows look right upon the glorious expanse of that paradise of golfers, the Links of St. Andrews. It is now half-past eleven in the forenoon; several parties have already started, with the proper intervals demanded by strict rule, for the safety and convenience of players. There are still a few players left, and these are donning their light jackets and hob-nailed shoes, or giving out their implements to their caddies: two or three old gentlemen, non-players, are quietly smoking their morning cigar, and disAh! here they cussing the news. come at last, the two I wish you to and Mr. see play (Capt. FM-); they are very well matched, and both first-rate golfers. While the Captain is giving out his clubs, and Mr. M- scribbling a note, we shall go out to the startingplace, they will be on the links presently. In Before they come out, I may premise that there are few games where the probable results may be so nearly calculated on as golf. cricket or billiards a slip or a fluke may be fatal. Not so in golf; what is called luck is, on the whole, an unimportant item-a bad break, perhaps, that means, the ball being diverted in its course from alighting on a stone or broken ground; but this does not necessarily lose the hole, and is not often ruinous if it should: good luck, on the other hand, is nearly confined to a good break, or to a steal, that is, holing the ball at an unusual and unlikely distance; but even this is not all luck, for the ball must have been well and carefully played, although, perhaps, a trifle over-rewarded. Indeed, as a rule, with very few exceptions (and these neither frequent nor vital) good play leads to good results, while bad play infallibly leads to grief. No flukes in golf; and the Devil himself could not cheat. Oh! the caddies have just placed the balls for the hit off, and the players, club in hand, are about making the start. You observe they are both handsome men, in prime vigour and activity. As you must see golf in perfection, we shall go the round along with them. The balls being teed, Captain F hits off, driving his ball about one hundred and sixty yards towards the hole. Mr. Mlows, and his ball lies a little to the right of that of the Captain. Let us go on. fol On coming to the balls, Mr. Mis farthest from the hole, and so he plays again, 'One more:' this time he uses one of his iron-headed clubs, lifting his ball clear and neatly across the watercourse, and dropping it within ten yards of the hole. Captain F plays his second stroke, or the like,' and his ball is run close to the hole. Mr. M plays his third to the very edge of the hole, but not into it. Captain F-plays his third, and holes his ball, and therefore wins the first hole. One-in favour of the Captain. He has the honour of leading, as winning the last, and again strikes off a fairish hit. Mr. M follows with one of those beautiful strokes now and then made, the ball flying for fifty or sixty yards close to the ground, and making a high, sweeping curve before alighting: this hole is well contested and halved, each player doing it in equal strokes. Away they go for the third. This is a very ticklish hole, and requires both dash and prudence to make it in five strokes. Well and fairly struck both. The next stroke equally good. The third the Captain's ball falls short, and drops into a bunker, or sandpit. While M- lies clear, F takes his heavy iron, and aiming for a sloping stroke, and a little below his ball, hits with great force, and the ball, amidst a great puff of sand, is lifted clear of the pit. M- though not so fortunate as might have been looked for, has yet an advantage, and he brings his skill and care to take full benefit of his better ground, and runs his ball beautifully to the edge of the hole. Of course F- requires two more strokes to hole, and M- holes easily in one, and wins this hole. And thus the play is carried on with varied success from hole to hole. We are now at the far end of the links, and at the turn to play home Captain F is one hole ahead. All the way home the play is close and steady. Mr. M- has succeeded in rubbing off the hole he was behind, and at one period was some holes ahead. When three holes from the finish, they are again equal, the first is divided, the second skilfully won by the Captain, and the last is halved. So Captain Fwins the match only by one hole: a very equal and capital game. Let us go into the club, and get some soda and sherry. Many of the players are now in the room, chatting over the events of the first round. Several go round a second time, making, in all, a ten miles' walk, amongst others our friends F and MBut we have had a stiff walk, so it may be better to take a gentle saunter up the links, and see the different players coming in. Amusing enough it is to note the variety. You see that party of four who have just passed: the match is a gentleman and a professional against another gentleman and a professional. The weakest of the gentlemen gets the best of the two professionals as his partner. They have been playing the same match over and over for weeks, with varied success, but unvaried interest. See, again, these two elderly men; you can tell at a glance they are not habitués of the links, but steady |