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and should any base-runner be forced thereby to vacate his base he shall also take one base. Each base-runner thus given a base shall be at liberty to run to other bases besides the base given, but only at the risk of being put out in so running.

Section 9.-A base-runner shall be considered as holding a base, viz., entitled to occupy it, until he shall have regularly touched the next base in order..

[A base is regarded by the rules as being occupied or held if the baserunner has not touched the next base legally. Thus, if a runner be on first base and one on second, and the latter, thinking he can steal safely to third, runs there the runner on first base in the interim running to second and standing on second-he can return to second at his option, provided he does not first touch third base-that base at the time not being occupied or held. In such case the runner who has touched second must vacate it and return to first, as he was not entitled to hold second until the runner on second had touched third, the latter, at the time, having a right to remain on third.]

Section 10.-No race shall be run or run be scored when a fair or foul ball has been caught or momentarily held before touching the ground, unless the base held, when the ball was hit, is retouched by the base-runner after the ball has been so caught or held by the fielder.

Section 11.-No run or base can be made upon a foul ball that shall touch the ground before being caught or held by a fielder, and any player running bases shall return, without being put out, to the base he occupied when the ball was struck, and remain on such base until the ball is held by the pitcher. Section 12.-Any player running the bases on fair or foul balls, caught before touching the ground, must return to the base he occupied before the ball was struck, and retouch such base before attempting to make another or score a run, and said player shall be liable to be put out in so returning, as in the case of running to first base, when a fair ball is hit and not caught flying.

Section 13.-If the player running the bases is prevented from making a base by the obstruction of an adversary, he shall be entitled to that base, and shall not be put out.

Section 14.-No player shall be allowed a substitute in running the bases, except for illness or injury incurred in the game then being played; and such substitute shall take such ill or injured player's place only after he reaches first base. The opposing captain shall select the man to run as substitute.

Section 15.-Any player running the bases shall be declared out if, at any time while the ball is in play, he is touched by the ball in the hand of a fielder, without some part of his person is touching a base. The ball must be held by the player after touching the runner.

If a ball be held by a fielder on the first base before the base-runner, after hitting a fair ball, touches that base, he shall be declared out.

If a base-runner shall have touched the base he is running for before being touched with the ball in the hands of a fielder, and such base shall break from its fastening, he shall be entitled to such base.

Any base-runner failing to touch the base he runs for shall be declared out if the ball be held by a fielder, while touching said base, before the baserunner returns and touches it.

Any base-runner who shall in any way interfere with or obstruct a fielder while attempting to catch a fair fly-ball, or a foul ball, shall be declared out.

If he wilfully obstructs a fielder from fielding a ball he shall be declared out, and, if a batted fair ball strike him, he shall be declared out.

If a base-runner, in running from home to first base, shall run inside the foul line, or more than three feet outside of it, he shall be declared out.

RULE VI. THE UMPIRE.

Section 1.--The umpire shall be chosen by the captains or officers of the two contesting clubs, and he shall determine all disputes and differences between the contesting players which may occur during the game.

Section 2.-The umpire in a match shall be the sole judge of fair and unfair play, and there shall be no appeal from his decision, except through the Judiciary Committee of the National Association of Professional Players. [This is the fundamental rule of umpiring. "The umpire is the sole judge." He only can decide upon any disputed point, and in every case, except when the printed rules of the game are plainly misinterpreted, his decision must be abided by, and should be silently acquiesced in. There is only one court of appeal from his decision on any case occurring in the progress of a match, and that is to the Judiciary Committee, and that appeal must be sent in, duly attested in writing, and within a certain specified period. By this section the umpire is empowered to render a decision on every point of play, whether specially referred to in the rules or not; he applying the rule of equity in the case of the absence of any printed rule contained in the code of laws of the game bearing upon the point.]

Section 3.-The umpire shall not be changed during the progress of a match game, except for reason of illness or injury, or by the consent of the captains of the two contesting nines, in case he shall have wilfully violated the rules of the game.

Section 4.-Before the commencement of a match, the umpire shall see that the rules governing the materials of the game, and also those applicable to the positions of batsmen and pitcher, are strictly observed. Also that the fence in the rear of the catcher's position is distant not less than ninety feet from the home base, except it mark the boundary line of the field, in which case the umpire, for every ball passing the catcher and touching the fence, shall give each base-runner one base without his being put out.

Before calling "play," the umpire shall ask the captain of the home club whether there are any special ground rules to be enforced, and if there are, he shall see that they are duly enforced, provided they do not conflict with any rules of the game.

Section 5.--No decision rendered by the umpire on any point of play in base running shall be reversed upon the testimony of any of the players. But if it shall be shown by the captain of either of the contesting clubs that the umpire has palpably misinterpreted the rules, or given an erroneous decision, he shall reverse said decision.

Section 6.-No person not engaged in the game shall be permitted to occupy any position within the lines of the field of contest, or in any way interrupt the umpire during the progress of the game. No player except the captain or player expressly designated by him shall address the umpire concerning any point of play in dispute, and any violation of this rule shall subject the offender to an immediate reprimand by the umpire.

Section 7.-The umpire shall require the players on the batting side who are not at the bat or running the bases, to keep at a distance of not less than

FIVES.

fifty feet from the line of home and first base and home and third base, or farther off, if he so decide. The captain and one assistant only shall be permitted to coach players running the bases, and they must not approach within fifteen feet of the foul lines.

Section 8. Should any fielder stop or catch the ball with his hat, cap, or any part of his dress, the umpire shall call "dead ball," and the base-runners shall each be entitled to two bases for any fair hit ball so stopped or caught. Should the ball be stopped by any person not engaged in the game, the umpire must call "dead ball," and players running bases at the time shall be entitled to the bases they were running for, and the ball be regarded as dead until settled in the hands of the pitcher while standing within the lines of his position, and the player at the bat shall vacate the position and not obstruct the catcher when a ball is returned from the field for the purpose of putting out a player at the home base.

Section 9.-Any match game in which the umpire shall declare any section of this code of rules to have been wilfully violated shall at once be declared by him to have been forfeited by the club at fault.

From this voluminous code of rules it will be seen that Baseball throws an enormous amount of work and responsibility on the umpire. The importance of the umpire is the weak point of the game, which also differs from other ball games in the misses being much more numerous than the hits. The fine art of the baseball player is the making the ball curve in the air when pitched for the striker to hit-or, rather, to miss. There is a great similarity between our old fashioned Rounders and Baseball; but there is one point in which they differ. In Rounders the ball is gently pitched for the striker to hit; in Baseball it is hurled in with all the force of yorker" at cricket.

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While these pages are passing through the press, an endeavour is being made to introduce a Baseball that is not so complicated as the American game herein described, but the formal rules have not yet been decided on.

FIVES.

closed" court.

THIS is a game of great antiquity, and is generally played with the hand. It may be played either in an very simple affair, merely requiring a high and smooth wall, with a level open" or a asphalte area in front. For a The former is a Along the "back" wall, a piece of board, about six inches wide, and the top closed court two side walls must be added. edge generally three feet from the ground, should be nailed. The chief point in the game is for the ball to strike the wall above this line, which is made of wood; and the sound caused when the ball strikes the board instantly signals a foul stroke.

The game is now almost entirely confined to our chief public schools, where it is played according to certain traditional, but unwritten, codes of laws. In all, however, the main object is to make the ball hit the front wall above the wooden board. Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Marlborough and Cheltenham cach play a different kind of game.

Fives is a capital game for a back yard, played, as we have seen it played, as follows:

The wall and ground require some little preparation, which need not, however, take more than a few minutes. A line must be drawn horizontally along the wall with chalk or other suitable substance, at about thirty inches from the ground; and three lines on the ground, two extending parallel from the wall, about fifteen feet apart, to a distance of some eighteen or twenty feet; and one parallel with the wall and about six feet from it. The line on the wall is called simply "the line," the two long ones on the ground "the boundaries," and the cross line "the scratch." The ball when in play must be made to strike the wall above the line, and must fall to the ground inside the boundaries. The number of players may be two or four. As there is no material difference between the game with two and that with four players, the description of the one will do for the other; for simplicity's sake, therefore, the game with two players will be described.

The theory of the game is as follows: One player strikes the ball with his hand up against the wall above the line, making it fall beyond the scratch, and the other is then bound to meet it, and before it touches the ground a second time, to return it again to the wall for the first player to meet it in like manner, and so on alternately, only that after the ball is "served" it is not requisite that it should fall outside the scratch. The players toss up for first lead off, and the winner serves or delivers the ball as above described; if he himself is first to fail in properly returning the ball to the wall, he is out, and player No. 2 becomes server; but if the second player so fails, the server counts one towards his game, and serves the ball afresh for a new bout. The game is mostly eleven or fifteen, the former number being perhaps the more common. The real art of the game, as in the next game, "Rackets," after the knack of striking the ball fairly with the hand is once mastered, lies in the serving. The server, as will be perceived, has every advantage: in the first place, if he fails, he only loses his turn, while if his opponent fail, he loses one to his score, which is no slight advantage, especially near the end of the game. In the next place, the server takes his own time in delivering the ball, and is left perfectly cool and collected to make it as difficult as possible to his opponent to play it, while the latter must take it as it comes, and very often be only too glad if he can get it duly back to the wall, without any consideration of the chance it may offer to the former; so that the server may often have a series of easy balls to play, while he is enabled to return them in such a manner that his opponent must strain every nerve to keep the ball up. This cannot but tell in his favour, and in this way a first-rate server will very often get the better of a much more active and brilliant, though less crafty, player.

When four play, they play two against two, and the game proceeds exactly as above, it only being necessary that the ball should be played by one of either side alternately. Usually they divide the ground between them, one of either side standing near the wall and the other well back.

It will be seen that the game is very simple in theory, encumbered by few rules, and therefore very easily learnt; it is, nevertheless, a game of the first class, and one that can be very strongly recommended to all who are fond of athletic exercises. It brings into play every muscle of the body, and from its constant variety never palls or becomes monotonous.

We would advise the beginner, unless his hands are blessed with palms of a peculiarly horny texture, to wear at first a pair of stout leather gloves until his hands have become accustomed to the work, or they will get so beaten and bruised as to be a source of much discomfort for many days after; a very

short perseverance in tolerably constant practice will soon give the hands the required measure of hardness and insensibility.

Another piece of advice, too, he will find valuable,—not to play too long or too hard the first few days. If he is in good general training he may, of course, venture further than would be otherwise desirable; but even then he will find so many muscles brought into active use that never did much hard service before, that even he must not be surprised at developing no inconsiderable amount of general stiffness the next day; and as for the unfortunate who, not being in the habit of taking much violent exercise, should go in without preparation for a hard bout of fives, words can hardly convey an idea of the extremity of soreness and stiffness to which every muscle of his body will be reduced. A little moderation, however, at first, will entirely obviate all chance of stiffness, and practice will soon inure the hitherto unaccustomed muscles to almost any amount of work to which they may be put.

Regular fives-courts are very general now wherever there is sufficient population to make them pay, but they differ from the ground above described only in a greater elaboration of fittings and detail, and so require no particular notice.

It may be, perhaps, well to add a few words upon points in the game not considered above. If the ball when served strike the wall below the line, or in rebounding falls without the boundaries, it is no ball," and the opponent need not take it, and it must be served again.

If one player in playing at the ball is obstructed by the other, and the ball is let fall, there is no score, and the ball is called a "let ball," and served afresh. If the ball in the course of play falls without the boundary, the striker pays the same penalty as if he had missed it. In some places the server delivers the ball under the same conditions, but the rule given above is the more general. In any case an agreement should be come to beforehand in the matter.

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A bat is sometimes used instead of the hand, and the game is then called Bat-fives," but the hand game is the more common.

RACKETS

This is a game very similar to the above; indeed, it is in all its leading features, its rules and general theory, almost identical. The only variations arise from the use of a racket instead of the hand, which necessitates an increase in the size of the court in which the game is played, and some slight modifications of the rules. Rackets may be played in the open air, like fives, an enlarged fives-court answering the purpose very fairly; but the game is generally played in a specially constructed court, which is indeed absolutely necessary for the development of the full beauties of the game.

THE BEST AREA for a double-match court is eighty feet by forty feet. The front wall should be thirty feet high, and the back one twelve feet, covered in by a roof well lit with skylights. In a single-match court, the usual area is sixty feet by thirty feet. The "short" line is thirty-two feet from the back wall in the double court, and twenty-four in the single one; and the two service spaces in each are eight feet six inches by six feet six inches. The following is a diagram of the court, which is alike for the double and single-match, the only difference being in the dimensions that have just been given.

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