An object of fear and dislike, a boy's—nay, some men's—perfect delight, yet I am, in one sense, a slang word. Never abroad except at night, then I can no longer be used; yet instead of using me, people shun me, and I am of no use. Black and unsightly; yet, made of any wood, I can be as ornamented as my maker desires. I can't be made, for I am a living thing, and am now, as all my type have been before me. Though used in play, I can inflict a blow. I doubt if any one would ever venture to play with me; do not see how it could be done; and it is generally by a blow that I am killed. I can be broken, or lost, or burned, but not killed; but yet, having life, I die; am not lost nor broken. I live in dark places, and fly; do not walk. I can't move; am an instrument in the hands of others, but can make something else fly.

I am sensible to pain, and have always been an object of interest to naturalists. I am of wood—how can I feel?—and am used only in sport, though I can inflict pain. Thousands of me are made every year in this country, and I am the means by which people who become proficient in the use of me earn their living. I am of no use save to destroy insects, and it is somewhat doubtful whether I do that or no.

There are many varieties of me, and I am more often found in warm countries; the using of me is too heating to be much indulged in in the tropics, and hence it is only at the North and West that I am so popular.