The Young Lady's Book.
Part 3 of 7
Ladies usually shoot at a distance of about fifty yards: two targets are placed opposite each other, and the archers shoot from one to the other; that is, when all the party have shot at one target, they walk up to it, gather their arrows, and shoot back to the one they came from, to which they again return when their arrows are expended; and so on, shooting from one to the other in rotation; so that, not merely the arm, but the whole frame, enjoys the benefit of salutary exercise in the open air, while the mind is interested, and the spirits elevated, by the sport. The attitude of an accomplished female archer, —of one who has studied and practised the art in a proper manner (for archery is not to be acquired without a little application),—at the moment of bending the bow, is particularly graceful; all the actions and positions tend at once to produce a proper degree of strength in the limbs, and to impart a general elegance to the deportment For these and other reasons that might be adduced in its favour, as a healthful and agreeable pastime, Shooting at the Target is equalled by few, and scarcely excelled by any recreation in which propriety permits young ladies to indulge.