He Had Not Realized How Entirely Ignorant All
These Boys Were Of The Whole Mystery Of Managing An Oar And
Of acting
in concert; and besides, he had not had experience enough as a
teacher, to know how short the
Steps must be made, in teaching any
science or art which is entirely new.
In the same slow and cautious manner, Forester taught the boys to let
the blades of their oars fall gently into the water, at the command,
"_Let fall_." He taught one at a time, as before, each boy
dropping the blades into the water and letting the middle of the oar
come into the row-lock, while he held the handle in his hands ready
to row. Then, without letting them row any, he ordered them to
_toss_ again; that is, to raise the oars out of the water and
hold them in the air, with the end of the handle resting upon the
thwart. He drilled them in this exercise for some time, until they
could go through it with ease, regularity, and dispatch. He then gave
the order, "_Crew at ease_," and let the boys rest themselves and
enjoy conversation.
While they were resting, Forester paddled them about. The boys asked
him when he was going to let them row, and Forester told them that
perhaps they had had drilling enough for one day, and if they chose he
would not require any thing more of them, but would paddle them about
and let them amuse themselves. But they were all eager to learn to
row. So Forester consented.
He taught them the use of the oar, in the same slow and cautious
manner by which his preceding instructions had been characterized. He
made one learn at a time, explaining to him minutely every motion. As
each one, in turn, practiced these instructions, the rest looked on,
observing every thing very attentively, so as to be ready when their
turn should come. At length, when they had rowed separately, he tried
first two, and then four, and then six together, and finally got them
so trained that they could keep the stroke very well. While they were
pulling in this manner, the boat would shoot ahead very rapidly. When
he wanted them to stop, he would call out, "_Oars_." This was
the order for them to stop rowing, after they had finished the stroke
which they had commenced, and to hold the oars in a horizontal
position, with the blades just above the water, ready to begin again
whenever he should give the command.
At first the boys were inclined to stop immediately, even if they were
in the middle of a stroke, if they heard the command, _oars_. But
Marco said that this was wrong; they must finish the stroke, he said,
if they had commenced it, and then all take the oars out of the water
regularly together. Forester was careful too to give the order always
between the middle and the end of a stroke, so that the obeying of the
order came immediately after the issuing of it.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 61 of 77
Words from 30902 to 31419
of 39246
