t
expurgated and refined form of the contest which has enabled the
courageous but reasoning youth of this great reforming and Republic
France of ours, to throw open wide her arms and welcome to her heart
elastic and generous _Le Kick-Balle Fight_, as henceforth her own chosen
and peculiar national game.

You can understand, _Mon cher Monsieur_, that I cannot, in the short
space at my disposal in this limited letter, do more than merely outline
the suggestion of the New Rules, but when I assure you that they have
been cautiously thought out, drawn up and revised by a carefully
selected Committee, comprising, among other noted experts, a
Major-General of Engineers, two Analytical Chemists, a Balloon
Proprietor, an Archbishop, a Wild-beast Tamer, a Ballet Master, a
Professor of Anatomy, a Patent Artificial Limb Maker, and a Champion
Fighter of _Le Boxe Americain_, you will see that the features of the
game, gay, murderous, active, and terrible, have all been considered
with a due regard to their preservation where this has been found
compatible with the sacredness of human life and the protection of _le
shin_ from too much furious and brutal bruising. But here I subjoin a
few of the simpler "New Provisions" as adopted by the Committee.

1. "Le Balle."--He will be constructed of Gold-beater's Skin, and
covered with Pink or Blue Satin, with perhaps a few White Silk Bows,
sewn on to him for the purpose of elegant adornment. It is this making
of "Le Balle," a light, gay, and altogether ethereal creation which will
strike the key-note of the new game of _Le Kick-Balle Fight_ as a
recognised pastime for the courageous youth of modern France.

2. _Le Onze_, will all wear one uniform, which will consist of white
satin slippers, pantalons of cashmere, with feather pillows worn as a
protection strapped over the knees, a bolster being wound round the body
to safeguard the chest, ribs, and spinal column. A broad gay, coloured
satin sash with a cocked hat and ostrich feathers completes the costume.
The last to indicate, owing to the risks and dangers in which the
combatants may be involved, its association with _le vrai champs de
bataille_, to which, but for the "new provisions" it would bear such a
terrible and striking resemblance.

3. "Le 'Arf-back."--This dangerous officer is abolished altogether, the
Committee being of opinion, unanimous and decisive, that the position is
only provocative of strife.

4. "Le Forward."--He is