The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

370 'i'lIE BOY TRAVELLERS.
" Well, wo liave liacl enoiigli of these disagreealjle tilings, and will turn
to something else. We passed b)' the place where the candidates for niilitary
honors compete for prizes by shooting with the bow and arrow. At
the first examination they are re(piired to shoot at a mark with three ar-
rows, and the one who makes the best shots is pronounced the winner of
the prize. At the second examination they must practise on horseback,
with tlie horse standing still; and at the third they must shoot three ar-
rows from the back of a running horse. Afterwards the^' are exercised in
the bending of some very stiff bows and the handling of heavy swords and
stones. There is a certain scale of merit they must ])ass to be successful;
and when they succeed, their names are sent up for another examination
before higher officials than the ones they have passed before. It is a
curious fact that a man who does well as an archer is entitled to a degi-ee
among the literary graduates, though he may not be able to cari-y away a
single prize for his literary accomplishments alone."
MILITAKl CAM>IDATLS COMFLTINt, V, iTH lUL EOW AhD AliIvUW.