trailing in
the mud it cannot come to much harm. It looks as neat as anything can
look that is surrounded by rain and mud. A dark stuff skirt, on the
other hand, which many players use in wet weather, does not wash, and
is absolutely ruined after a soaking. Moreover, it is twice as heavy to
drag about the court.

If you do not happen to have steel-pointed shoes with you, and are
called upon to play in the wet, it is a good plan to wear a pair of
men's thick shooting stockings or socks over your tennis shoes. It is
wonderful what a firm grip they give without in any way impeding your
movements.

I find, after having tried nearly every sort of shoe for tennis, that
the simple white gymnasium shoe suits me best. Most players use a proper
tennis shoe or boot with a thick sole. I have tried these, but find they
make me much slower in court and are not as comfortable as the "gym"
shoe. Some people say the thicker sole is less tiring to the feet, but I
find I am much less foot-weary after a match when playing in the thin
shoe--there is less weight to carry about. Of course thin soles soon
wear through, but then they have the advantage of being very cheap. I
pay half a crown a pair for mine, and one can have several pairs in use
and can always replace them without any great expense.

I think it is best, if you can, to play without any hat at all. There is
not the bother of keeping it on, and it is much cooler. Nor is it easy
to find a suitable hat for lawn tennis. A girl's hair is generally a
good safeguard against sunstroke. A long warm coat is a very necessary
article of wearing apparel, especially for girls who are playing in
tournaments. It should be put on immediately after a strenuous match,
however hot the day. There is the great danger when overheated of
contracting a chill. The coat should be of a thick warm
material--blanket is very popular and serviceable--and it should reach
to the end of your skirt, if not beyond.

I do not think it is wise to wear bracelets when playing unless they
are plain and tight to the wrist. Although you might not think it,
ornaments, however small, can and do get in your way. I remember one
match that was entirely lost because of the presence of a gold curb
bracelet with a small dangling chain attached. Putting up her hand to
adjust a hairpin, the owner did not know that the chain had caught on to
her fringe-net, and, bringing her hand down quickly, the fringe-net and
most of the hair