Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Saturday 4 June 1904, page 5


AT A FOOTBALL MATCH.

-*-

Bv "BUSHWOMAN."

'If you'll look slippy, and wear old togs, well take you to the St Kilda v Carlton football match say my boys.

We hasten to Flinders street station and have just time to rush into a train for St Kilda. Fifteen minutes later we are on St Kilda platform hurrying along with the

eager crowd.

Soon we are seated with our chins on a level with the picket fence and our feet in mud eating peanuts amongst the errand boys There is a rang of bicycles inside the picket fence placed there for safety. Spec tators are whistling laughing betting cracking jokes till the play begins. Men are puffing away at pipes and an air of great peace rests upon them generally. Every small boy has for the time cast off the trammels of home and mother. Here they arc collarless garterless and glorying in it too. All wear their colours. One in-genious youth being resourceful has torn a good white handkerchief into strips and pinned them on to his cap to represent the

St Kilda colours

The afternoon is very cold rain begins to drizzle down: the peanut merchant who is doing a busy trade turns up his collar and an Autolycus who is calling out "One hun-drcd and twenty songs for thrippence, comic and sentimental" muffles his throat up with a handkerchief.

Good hiavens I murmur as T pull up my boys colhrs about then cars who w nits to s n_ songs now'

It s foi something to read Miss

1 lughed tie lil beside me But here thej come \ io ir bursts from the crowd,

Como on S nut conic on "saints

AIj ncicjilxnii siy3 Thev 11 have their tails 1 noel ed off em-boo boo boo Hele comes Cailton-gool old Carlton, bullj old

Cirlton

C> it Saint crj mv bovs barrad mother 1 laj up for it faints Good old Cunibi Go on ¡saints Put j oui foot

into it

Goal1 M Shine1 roai the drltonilcs who shout dinec wivefl (, ind clap Inn ticallv V. roar ot dis_u t "oes up fioni the

far kilda barnie! ors

The players are competing vigorously, thev jostle hustle swine, c ich other lound, sprawl over each othei lud go down hie

ninepins

Rough eni up, Carlton erica one fac tion frantic illy

lear cm ilovvn Saints -go the other side Come on S-i i n ts-you nin t dead vet Saints Oh1 what a jiuss out they add as a Cirlton man is sent sprawling

Is he hint* I isl

Hurt' 1 ucaljptus will soon liven lum up-he s got eraiup-Uiere s a cove nibbing

lum non he s up

( o it Cumble calls out a boy as that player catches the ball lake it home with lou Get forward-now then'-oh h h li1

he bhouts rapturously, when Cumble ends

w lth a hue kiel

Co it S lints' shouts the crowd when St Jxdda scores a goal 1 veil the policemen and the peanut merchants biri iel One pe mut min cists bil mess to the winds purses out his lil s and bc_ius to hoot v i_or

onslv

Go on' erics a spectator "You don t know the game* A\ hat are yon hooting

at

Down comes the ram up goes a mush room like crop of umbrellas But no one is coing to let the ram spoil his enjoyment of the fun yilncli is gettin- fist and furious Staid old gentlemen are bojs again they clap and shout and birracl thou faces nie transformed thev tike their beloved pipes fioni then mouths md give chcci iftei cheer I ¡,et quite camel nvviv amid so much enthusnsir and fin 1 myself cheering and clappinc. and vi tiling Go it Saints' The inn lceps on and tho afternoon hfcht grows dim \.t liBt the match is ovei uni the poor Saints aie

beaten

lu oin homeward train is a 6inall boj sit ting upon Ins f ithei s 1 nee

Brought bim down to seo the Covernor arnve cxpluns the fathci all the way irom Wirreiiheip took lum home, and his mothei wv s to bun Seen the Goiernoi J mun j '

"No," he says, "but I seen Cumbie!"

"How did I barrack, eh?" I say gleefully

to my son.

"You barracked a bonza," he answers, "but there were moments when I was ashamed of you!"