Year: 1867

Look at that brace of hands once
soft and pretty, now suffused with
the Egyptian bushes. Then look
into those optics and tell us tales of
sympathy And look at that Mount
Tom on our right cheek bone Base
ball That is the row.


1t came about thus. Secondary
employment is too shirksom for the
system. The doctor said we needed
exercise. Doctor knows. He told
US to join Base ball. We joined.
Bought q book of instruction, and
for five days studied it wisely if not
too we'll. Then we bought a sugar
scoop cap, red belt a green shirt
yellow trousers, pumpkin-collored
shoes, a paper collar and purple
neck tie, and, with a lot of
other delegates, moved gently to the
ground.


There were two mines. These
mines were antagonists. The ball is
pretty drop Of softness, the, size
ofa goose egg, and five degrees har-
der than brick. The two mines
play against each other. 1t is quite
| game, much like chess, only more
chase than chess.


: There was an umpire. His posi-
ton is hard one He sits on a box
and yells''fowl" His duty is Sc
we're.


I took the bat. It is a murdeous
plaything, descended from Pocahun-
tas to the head Of John Smith. The
man in front Of me was the pitcher,
but he sent the balls hot. The man
behind nae was catcher. He caught
it too.


The umpire said "play.' Tt IS the
most radical play l know Of, this
baseball. Saving cord wood is
moonlight rambles beside baseball
So the pitcher sent ball toward
me. It looked pretty coming. SO |
let it come. Then he sent another
I hit it with the club and hove it
gently upward Then | started to
Wake to the first base. The ball lit
in the pitcher, or his hands, and
somebody said he caught fly. Alas
poor fly l walked leisurely to-
ward the base Another man took
the bat. I turned to see how he
was making it, and mule kicked
me on the cheek. The man said it
was the ball. 1t felt like mule, and
l reposed on the grass. The ball
went on!


/ Pretty soon there was two more
flies, and three of us flew out. Then
the other nine came in, and us nine
went out. This was better. Just as
! [ was standing on my dignity in the
left field, hot ball, as they called it
came skyrocketing toward me. My
captain yelled, Take it!''


| I fastened gently forward to
where the ball was aiming to decend.
l have a good eye to measure dis
tances, and saw at glance where
my little aerolite was to light. l
put up my hands. How sweetly the
ball decended Every body looked
i felt something warm in my eye
Muffin - yelled ninety fellers.
'.Muffin" de d-d! It's can
con ballr' For three days I've had
two pounds Of raw beef on that eye
and yet it paineth


Then I wanted to go home, but
my gentle captain said "nay.', So
l mayed and stayed Pretty soon it
was my strike. "Brick to bat y
| yelled the umpire. I went, but not
all serene as was my wont. The
pitcher sent in one hip high. /
missed it. He sent in another neck
high. 1t struck me in the gull It.
Fowl" yelled the umpire. He
sent the ball again. This time
took it son:re and sent it down the
right field through parlor window
"a kerosene lamp and q rip up a
. gainst the head of an infant who was
quitely taking its-nap in his or its
mothers arms. Then l slung tho
1 bat and meandered forth to the first
base. Iheard high words and look
ed. When l slung the bat l had
with it broken the jaw Of the umpire
and was fined ten cents.


The game went on. | liked it
It is so much fun. to run from base
to base just in time to be put out, or
to chase a ball three-fourths Of a
mile down hill while all the specta-
tors yell Muffin p go it," "home
run p ''go round again or go round
a dozen timesn' Base ball is sweet
little game. When it came my turn
to bat again, I noticed everybody
moved back about ten rods The
new umpire retreated twelv rods. He
was timid. The pitcher sent 'em in
hot. Hot balls in time of war are
good. But | don't like it too hot
for fun. After while I got fair one
at it, and you bet it went, cutting the
daisies down the right field. A fat
man and his dog sat in the shade of
an oak enjoying the game. The ball
broke one leg of the dog and landed
like a run away engine in the corpor-
osity of the fat man. He was taken
home to die.


Then / went double-quick to the
field and tried to stop a hot ball. 1t
came toward me from the bat at the
: rate of nine miles minute. I put
) up my hands. the ball went sWeetly
singing OH its way with all the skin
from my palms with it.


, More raw beef! 5-..
That was an eventful chat who


first invented Base ball. It's such