e question, "What did you have to eat?" But the answer to this has
been given so many times that it would be merely wearisome now to detail
the various dishes that are or are not "good for training." Enough to
say that, as everybody knows, the old rigorous system of raw beef and
beer is a thing of the past--except the beer. Nowadays, it is considered
sufficient to banish all very unwholesome things from the table, while
keeping as nearly as possible to each man's ordinary diet. In point of
quantity there are practically no restrictions, unless the Captain
considers that any man does not know when he has had enough (which,
alas! may occur); in which case he may remonstrate with him gently, but
firmly. I have seen a man eat for breakfast a sole and a half, three
chops, a poached egg, and some watercress; but I confess that this was
regarded as a work of genius. The ordinary man in training eats only
about twice as much as any sane person, or perhaps a little more; and
as, of course, the system needs recuperating under the great strains
that are put upon it, this trifling excess has its justification.

However, the result of this wear and tear and repair of the muscular
tissue is that the activity of the mind decreases in inverse proportion
to that of the body; and during a hard course of training the rowing man
is generally rather sleepy and unintellectual. This matters all the less
that studies are forbidden--not a very difficult rule to enforce--during
the latter part of the time. But training once over, the strength and
health accumulated can certainly do no harm either physical or mental,
and a healthy body is the best guarantee for an active mind (see Latin
authors and copybooks _passim_).

[Illustration: "LAPPED IN PROFOUNDEST SLEEP."]

About three weeks or less before the race a move is made to Putney,
where, as a general rule, very comfortable quarters are provided. The
pleasantest of all that the Oxford crew have had lately has been the
Lyric Club House; but it is not really a good place for the men's
health. Lying, as it does, just down by the river, the air is not half
so bracing as that of the higher ground. Still, it is undoubtedly very
convenient to have a billiard-table or two to while away the men's time
in the evening. Without something of the kind time is apt to hang very
heavily on their hands. Conversation flags, the chairs feel very
comfortable after the day's work, and Morpheus, drowsy god, steals i