The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-02-20
Female Base -Baliers.

-J NyAnS " oASouILC lcuuat0 UdSe-
ball club occurred last week. 1t was d
rather incipient affair, but it demonstra
ted everything necessary, and in that
particular answered every purpose. The
idea was cogitated and carried out by
six young ladies. 1t was merely design.
ed for an experiment on which. to base
future action. The young ladies were o,
the house OF one of their number when
the subject was brought up. The prem
lses are capacious, and include quite Il
piece of turf, hidden from the street BY
several dropping, luxuriant, old fashioned
apple trees. The young lady of the
house has a brother who is fond Of base
Dali ana has the necessary machinery fo,
game. This was taken out on the turf
under the trees. The ladies assembled
and divided themselves into two nlnes OF
three each. The first three took the bat
and the second three went to the bases
one as catcher, one as pitcher, and the
other as chaser Or, more technically,
fielder. The pitcher was lovely bru-
nette, with eyes full of dead earnestness
The catcher and batter were blondes,
with faces atiame with expectation. The
pitcher took the ball, braced herself. nut
her arms straight out from her shoulder
then moved it around to her back with,
out modifying in the least its delightful
frigidity. and then threw it. The batter
did not catch it. This was owing to the
pitcher looking directly at the batter
when she aimed it. The fielder got Il
long pole and soon succeeded in pokine
the ball from an apple tree back of the
pitcher, where it had lodged. Business
was then resumed again, although with !,
iaint semblance of uneasiness geaerall ,
visible.
The pitcher was very red in the face
and said Il declared" several times. Thi:
time she took a more careful aim, bu,
still neglected to look in come Other
direction than toward the batter, and the
ball was presently pokcd out of anothe,
tree.
'Why,this is dreadful" said the batter,
whose nerves had been kept at pretty
stiff tension.
Perfectly DREADFUL" chimcd in til.
catcher, with long sigh.
Il think you had better get up in one
Of the Trees" mildly suggested the fielde,
to the batter.
These observations somewhat nettled
the pitcher, and she declared she would
not try AGAIN. Whereupon a change was
made with the fielder. She was certainly
more sensible. Just as she wss ready to
let drive she shut her eyes so tight as to
loosen two of her puffs and pull out he,
back comb, and madly fred away. The
ball flew directly at the batter, which SO
startled that lady, who had the ba,
clinched in both hands with desperate
grip, that she involuntarily cried: 20
my" and let it drop, and ran. This move
ment uncovered the catcher, who had
both hands extended about three feet
apart, in readiness for the catch, but
being intently absorbed in studying the
coil on the back of the batter's head,
she was not able to recover in time, and
the ball caught her in the bodice with
sufficient force to deprive her Of all her
breath which left her lips with ear. picrc.
ing shrillncss. There was lull in the pro.
ceedings for ten minutes to enable the
catcher to t,ke some camphor and the
other members of the club to arrange
their hair.
The latter again took position, when
one of the party, discovering that she
was holding the bat very much as a woman
carries broom when she is after a COW
in the garden, showed her that the tip
must res, on the ground and at her right
side, with her body trife inclined in
that direction. The suggester took the
bat and showed just how it was done, and
brought around the bat with such vehe.
mence as to almost carry her from her
feet, and TO nearly brain the catcher
The party shivered, and moved back
some fifteen feet.
The batter took her place and laid the
tip Of the bat on the ground, and the
pitcher shut her eyes again as tightly as
before, and let drive. The fielder had
taken the precaution to get back of q
tree, or otherwise she must have been
dis6gured for life. The ball was recov.
cred. The pitcher looked heated and
vexed. She didn't throw it this time.
She just gave it q pitching motion, but,
not letting 60 of it in time, it went over
her head, and caused her to sit down with
considerable unexpectedncss.
Thereupon she declared she would
never throw another ball as long as she
lived, and changed off with the catcher.
This young lady was somewhat dett r
mined. which argued success. Then she
looked in an altogether different direction
from that of the batter.
And this did the business. The batter
was ready. She had tight hold On the
bat. Just as soon as she saw the ball
start she made tremendous lunge with
the bat, let go Of it, and turned around
in time to catch the ball in the small of
her back, while the bat, being on its own
hook, seeing a stone figure holding q
vase of flowers, neatly clipped off its arm
at the elbow and let the flowers to the
ground.
There was chorus of screams, and