Our New Field Sports.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3061, 22 November 1888, Page 2

Our New Field Sports.

Wellington baa been taken possession of by tbe exponents'of two field games new to' tbe colonies, but ,• :wbicb linve-gained • suoh strong hold upon bur American cousins • that we cannot venture to dismiss i then) with tlie common remark of ! the careless bystandor that " thoro's i nothing in 'em." 'Li view of the ■ interest that is already awakened in i baseball and La Crosse, a brief out- ■ line of the purpose of each game will i not be out of place. BASEBALL, i Baseball is tlio National game of ■ the United States of Amerioa. It i is played with nine men aside, and i they are termed the pitober, catcher, i first, second and third basemen, short stop, and right, left; and i centre fields, The ground must'., be ' of sufficient length to allow eaob ' player to play in bis position, the • infield. being thirty yards square. • The bases are four in number, and i designated first, second, third, and i home bases, and are placed at the 1 corners of the infield, which is in ) the shapo of a diamond, The t pitoher stauds fiOft from the Home • plate, and must deliver the ball ) fairly over the plate at any elevation I between the batsman'B knees or i shouldors. Any ball not so dolivered i is called an unfair ball, and five ) such entitle tho batsmen to walk at i leisure to the first base. A game 1 consists of nine' innings to oaoh coni testing nine. A run is scored when , abatsman hits a ball. a sufficient i distance to enable him to ruu round • the diamond, touching eaob base in i his course, finishing at the home i plate or when lie completes the I round by stages. A batsman may be caught out on a "fly" or deepi field stroke, oitlier from a fair or ' foiil hit, and may bo.put out at either of the bases by being touched with a ball in the hands of a player of the opposite nino, or when running from home to first base, if the ball is held on the base until the batsman reaches it, A "foul ball"is one from which the ball after being atruoh by the batsman, touohea the ground behind either qf the two sidos of tho diamond that branoh away from the home base, Tha bat is made of ash or hiokofy, is round, and about 2J inches iu diameter at its thickest part, and may be 42 inohes long, The ball weighs from 5 ozto s}oz, and measures from 9 to 9\ inohes in circumference. There are many fine points in the game which are not at once apparent to the casual qjiserver, and which demand, the closest attention mi the, part of the players. A proper description of the gamo would take, up, more space than wo oan spare, so, wo must leave the members Of the Wellington Baseball Club to explain it to thosowho care to visit the Basin Reserve, where they practice morning and evening. IA CROSSE, Originating with tho Amorican Indians, by whom it is called '•'tekontshikweks," this game, whioh had been adopted, as the national sport of the Canadians, was takon up by the French colonists, and received its moro pronouncable name from the slight iwrablauoe winch/the playing sticks or bats bear to an opiscopal crozior. It is played by two teams of twelve men a-side, on ground ; measuring from 100 to 150 yards in length, by about 80 yards broad, The : requisites are an inditbpibbcr ball • from eight to nino inohes in oiroum- ' ferenQO, itnd a light" orosse" ourved ' at the further end, like thehandlo of ' a walking-3tiok, and with catgut ' netting atretohed from the crook, so ' as to make it somewhat resemble the ' blade of an oar in shape, Tjra. goaf ' posts. 6ft high aud 6ft apart stand at ' each end of the field,, and the object < of each, side, is to put the. f#' hatween these posts, There "•" a gaol-keeper to guard the ir DO :«'J parts of the field! and Vg tSFJti from go !"c-;ver.point," in frout o>»t"s»centre,"in the middle field; "homo," nearest tho I opponents goal; the remainder being | termed "fielders," Handling or 1 kicking the ball is prohibited, and all play must bo done with thocrosse, '. excepting that tho goal-keeper may ■ put the ball away with his baud or ' hlook it in any way with his crosseor ' body. A matoh is decided by the greatest number of goals scored during the time for whioh the captains have agreed to play.—Post. A Costly Introduction-

A" prellyliltle quarrel" between, Mr Larkworthy (tho managing director oi tho Bank of New Zealand) and tho directors of the Manawatu Bailway Compauy has leaked out in the city, and causes somo amusement. It appears that some timo ago the direotors of the Company wanted to raise a considerable sura of monoy on debentures, and instructed their rep-resentative-Sir Edward Stafford, on the subject. Sir Edward naturally went to the Company's bankers in Londoner advice. Mr Larkworthy promptly said that he could introduce him to a firm who would negotiate the business and find the money; and he accordingly escorted ,'Sir: i Edward .across the street, to the offices of Messrs Scrimgeour & Co,, I who were already brokers to'the Company, %t money was raised witlipAU; any difficulty, and Messrs Sortageoui & Co, charged a com,, WSM of ,£7,600, ■ wirier was promptly and cheerf% paid..: To the' astonishment, however,, of the directors, I Mr - llien sent in aolaua' 'of £7,?00 for having -"introdijced," (hen to the negtyia-

tors I This demand Jhe Company met with a flat refusal, and the claimant tlirealbnedlegalproceedings. Whilst matters were in this position, Mr Travers, 'the Company's solicitor in New ! Zealand, paid a flying visit to England, aud the directors entrusted tohim arid Mr J.:E, : Nathan (tho chairman of tho company, who happened to be in London) the duty of coming to an auiioable settlement if possible with Mr Larkworthy. The bank director, with his accustomed shrewdness, referred the gentlemen to his solicitors, Several interviews took place, and in the end Mr Travers offered (without prejudice) to pay Mr Larkwortby a fee' of iMOO in full settlement of his claim. The offer-was declined, and hostilities recommenced; so that the public may look ere long for some, novel and instructive revelations*.' The Wellington and Manawata Railway Company have been liberal enough in the payment- of commissions and the charges of every kind, but " this lest straw breaks the camel's back."—London correspond dent..

The True Story of "Cherry Ripe."

Mr W. L. Thomas, the founder and proprietor of the Grapbio gives the following account of one of the most popular prints ever issued with' that paper:—"No picture ever painted, to my knowledge, has even gained snch .extradionary popularity as Millais's 'Cherry Bipe/ and' As numerous fond parents have dressed ;up their children, at costumo balls with, auoh . perfect imitation that [ tlioy at last have convinoed their friends and- themselves that their (darling Bat to Sir Everett for' tho [original picture, it will be well to sat down in black and white its history, I had a children's fanoy dress ball at my own house, and my niece, with her artistio taste, brought her little girl, Edio Ramans, exactly as shown in the picture. Everybody waa charmed with her winning appearance; but more bo. when she trotted about with a little fair-head boy of my own, dressed, all in while as a man cook,'. Next morning I took them both; dressed in their costumes, to 'Millias, and : I recollect now the expression of the great master's face as tho two litte dots, hind in hand, entered the door of his studio. He was dolighted, andsaidso.andthesubject he arranged to paint was the little girl sitting on the stairs, and the boy offering her some fruit, He decided to paint the girl in first. After some days' hard work Millais was so pleased with his demure little sitter, and his own rendering of tho snbjcot, that he decided she should be alone, and do : without her attendant cook—and of course ho was right. It was reproduced in colours remarkably well, Nothing on so large a scale had ever been before attempted, and the sensation was extraordinary. We printed 500,000- copies." Our publisher had to refund £4,000. in hard cash for orders he could not execute, and defend actions at-law" for not supplying the trade with the quantity' required. .',An amusing episode was a telegram (reply, 'paid) addressed to me, with the suggestive uory. 'ls the mother of "Cherry Ri|io"a widow? Wire reply.' And another, a lady calling lately at our office, and offering to sell us one of own prints (that we had issued with the Christmas number for Is, for 45."