vious finals. The Vale of Leven emerged from the pavilion first,
and were well received. A few minutes afterwards came the Queen's Park,
who were also loudly cheered with cries of "Good old Q.P." The toss
between the two captains was watched with much earnestness, and when the
Leven team ranged themselves in front of the ball from the gate end, it
became apparent that they had won. The Queen's Park, by Hamilton, kicked
off against the wind, and a short run by Berry was successful in sending
the ball so near the Vale of Leven goal that one of the strangers put it
behind, and gave the Queen's Park a corner-flag kick. This was followed
by a close scrimmage, in which the ball came near Whitelaw, who sent it
down the field. A "foul," however, by Paton gave the Queen's Park a
lift, and in a second scrimmage the ball was again put behind the lines.
Another corner-flag kick was the consequence, and it took the Queen's
Park well in on goal, where the tackling was very severe. The ball again
bobbed about the posts, but the Vale men showed splendid back play on
the slippery ground, and sent it clear. After this Bruce and M'Millan
had a good run on the left for the Vale of Leven, and the former had a
shy that went past the left post. The kick out by Gillespie was followed
up by a steady run on the part of Allan, Berry, and Gulliland, and the
former shied wide past the right post. After the kick out, the Queen's
Park kept up the pressure, and it was some time before the ball emerged
from Vale of Leven territory, which it did from the foot of Rankin. Some
even play ensued, and then the Vale had a run by the right forwards,
and, in kicking clear, Arnott slipped a bit, and the ball, getting the
upper of his boot, rolled over the lines and gave the Vale of Leven a
corner-flag kick. It was taken by M'Lachlan, but he cut the distance too
fine, and the ball rolled harmlessly over the bar. In turn, Gillespie's
kick-out was followed by a run on the part of Sellar and Hamilton, and a
"hand" by one of the Vale of Leven backs gave Smellie a chance of doing
something with a free kick. It was very hard work, however, for both,
and the opinion began to gain ground that the team who could keep up
their stamina longest would be the winners. The ground, in fact, was a
bit treacherous, and in some cases when the ball landed, after a long
kick, it bounded clean over the heads of the backs, and some mis-kicks
now and again occurred. Seven minutes from half