OUR NATIONAL GAME.

THE HE game of base ball has been greatly improved upon since it first became a game of much prominence. It used to be played in New England by a method quite different from that now employed. Four stakes were driven up in the corners of a large square, to which the players ran; and the ball, instead of being thrown to a man at the posts, was thrown at the person of a player running the goals. The ball was thrown at the striker, and in many ways the game differed from that of the present day. The Knickerbocker Club of New York were the pioneers in the style of game, and it is a gratifying fact, that, although not taking a very active part in the season's play, yet the organization is kept up; and once in a while the members go out upon the ball field and have a "match day" among themselves, thus renewing their old love for the game they helped to establish. The first club in New England to change from the old to the present style of game was the Trimountain Club of Boston.

The Mutuals' Visit South.

It is with a feeling of great pleasure, in recording, for the first time in the new year, the playing of matches, that we can announce a match between clubs belonging to the northern and southern sections of the country. The game of base ball in the southern portion of our land is yet in its infancy; and the visit of a club like the Mutuals of New York can but be of great benefit to the game in developing an interest in it which will be the means of causing as great a furore in regard to it as has been manifested north and west the past three years. The Mutuals, upon their arrival in New Orleans, were greeted as brothers. Every attention was shown them; suppers and balls were given in their honor, and every one, whether a ball player or not, vied with each other in doing all in their power to make their stay agreeable. They arrived

in the city on Friday, December 24, and on Sunday, we regret to say, played the first game of the tour with the Southern Club, defeating them by a score of fortytwo to fourteen.

To us, who have always resided in New England, it seems strange that games like base ball should be permitted on the Sabbath day; but in some southern cities Sunday is regarded as a holiday. The theatres are open, picnics are held, regattas take place, and ball matches are played. All this is wrong, contrary to the commands of the Bible, injurious to morals, and in every way bad in its influence. We hope never to hear of another Sunday match.

The 28th they played the Pelican Club, defeating them by a score of thirty-four to five. The next day, the 29th, the Lone Star Club were the opponents of the Mutuals. But seven innings were played, owing to the game being commenced late; and the score at the close stood sixteen to ten in favor of the Mutuals.

The Mutuals returned home much pleased with the treatment they received from their southern brethren; and if any club from the south should visit New York, they can count on a hearty welcome from at least one club.

ASCOLIASMUS, or leaping upon the leather bag, was one of the many kinds of amusements in which the Athenians indulged. A goat-skin bag was smeared with oil, and the players then tried to dance upon it. The various accidents accompanying this attempt afforded great amusement to the spectators. He who succeeded was the victor, and received the skin as a reward.

CHEMICAL EXPERIMENTS. Ice-making in Summer. To those who know how, it is as easy as can be; but try it and see. Fill a very thin glass bulb half full of water, and continue to drop ether slowly upon it, so that it may evaporate, and not glide from the surface of the glass, and in a few moments you will find the inside frozen.

A Beautiful Light. Such a light can be easily made, and I'm sure Our Boys all wish to cultivate the beautiful; so let us dissolve some chlorate of lithium in spirits of wine, and we shall obtain the necessary preparation. When lighted in a dark room, it will burn with a very pretty purplish flame.

RICHDORE.

safest for learners; currents require skill and strength both in swimming and rowing. Hedwig's letters are always so neatly written that we don't like to decline the puzzles; but we have so many contributors that there must be some "taking turns.". Aha! Ski Hi, don't blame your uncle if he ever should make light of one of your puzzles, for you say your mother lighted the gas with one! Was it our fault or yours that we misspelled your name? Your little anecdote is quite good,

some of the veterans in the service are

skilful with the pen and pencil. When we find, among the great pile of letters on our table, one that is neatly and correctly written, we rub our hands, wink knowingly with our editorial eyes, call to Hannah, and the rest of our Magazine family, to look at it, and settle back in our high-backed arm-chair, and indulge in a little honest pride over Our Boys and Girls. And when a well-drawn rebus tells us of diligent, careful work of head and hand in the family circle, we feel that our "head work" is accomplishing a good purpose.

Shade, your name is darker than your sanstêtes; they are very good, but quite too easy. -Ned Nevins says he has no "head work" for us, because he is attending school examinations. We rather think his head will have all the work it wants until examinations are over. We do take an interest in the "school doings" of our young friends; and if they are as bright scholars as they are correspondents, their teachers may be proud.-C. A. Binet has ingenuity almost worthy of our pages. The lines Dick Shinerry asks for may be found in Longfellow's Retribution, but are not original with him, being a translation; the exact words are,

"Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;

Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all."

We have some verbal squares from Our Boys and Girls, but they are too easy. - Pitcher of the Red Stockings had better write to some member of the Athletic Club. Dan D. Lyon's puzzles are under consideration. Try again- try harder; the next time will succeed. - Oliver Optic, "with all the modesty at his command," acknowledges the honor conferred upon him in the pretty dedication of the American Joker, by John R. Robertson, of Rutherford Park, New Jersey. The Joker is fully worth the fifteen cents John asks for it. De Morale will find that still water is the

lations. "Troubles sore long time he bore," because his letters went astray. All right now, however.

When we opened Don Quixote's last letter, out dropped what we at first took for his photograph, but it proved to be a very well-drawn head of Elijah. You "drew it in school"-did you? But perhaps it was a "drawing school," and we will not scold. Your taste for drawing is worth cultivating. - Hautboy sends one, which we shall use; it is as handsome as an engraving. We had begun to grow solemn over the dearth of geographical rebuses, when Horatio's ingenious half dozen gladdened our eyes; they are good, "in my mind's eye, Horatio," as a poet says, - but who is he? - Audax is on file for insertion, and so are some of the effusions of our friend Zephyr.

We are glad to hear from those to whom prizes are sent, for we like to be sure that no mistakes are made. - Hector's anagrams are very good, as our readers will find out ere long. The mysterious initials of the new book for boys, "B. O. W. C.," puzzled us at first; but Essex, out in Chicago, is vice-president of the "O. O. L. O. P.!" He informs us that he is writing a book of hints to young authors; if every young author buys a copy, what a sale the book will have! - Lloyd S. Everton, No. 9 Irving Street, Worcester, wants a partner in a new juvenile paper. Does the poor soldier's orphan mean all he . says in his letter? We hope not.

WISH CORRESPONDENTS.

- Fiour City, 280 Main Street, Rochester, N. Y.; Buffalo Bill, 40 Main Street, Rochester, N. Y,; Tad, editor of the North Star, wants photographs of his friends; send to Box 120, Winona, Minn. A. K., Box 297, Easton, Pa., wants letters from students, especially those having a taste for mathematics. Here is an opportunity to 'cut a figure." - Item (on phonography), Box 630, Bath, Me.; Bertie Skinner, Valparaiso, Indiana (on Sandwich Islands); Charles Simpson, 143 Charles Street, Boston, Mass. (on stamps).

66

OUR BOYS GIRLS

OLIVER OPTIC, Editor.

GORMANDS AND EPICURES.

MAN

ANY men of our day devote a disproportionate part of their time and thoughts to their eating and drinking. Still the world is little worse in this respect than it was some two thousand years ago. Men like some of those mentioned by ancient writers would hardly be tolerated in this age. Athenæus names one Philoxenus, a Leucadian, who carried his disregard of his neighbors so far that he would hold hot water in his mouth that it might be less affected by heat; he also used his hands after the same fashion. Thus prepared, he would gain over the cooks to set very hot dishes before him, that he might have them all to himself, while the other guests were waiting for them to cool. It was this same Philoxenus who wished to have the neck of a crane, in order to enjoy his dinner the longer.

Then there was the Italian Apicius, who lived about the time of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. He was very rich, and a noted epicure; he lived chiefly at Minturnæ, a city of Campania, because a very expensive kind of crawfish was found there. But, when he heard that these fish were found very large in a certain part of, Africa, he sailed thither without waiting a single day, and suffered exceedingly on the voyage. When he came near the place, - as his arrival had made a great noise among the Africans, the fishermen did not wait for him to disembark from the ship, but came alongside in their boats, and brought him some very fine crawfish. He asked if they had any finer; and, when they answered that there were none finer than those they had brought, he recollected those of Minturnæ, and ordered the master of the ship to sail back into Italy, without going near the land.

the more common kinds of food, none was satisfactory unless it came from some favorite locality. They had eels from Boeotia, oysters from Cape Pelorus, fish from Sicyon, pork from Syracuse, goats from Scyros, cheese from Sicily, mustard from Cyprus, thyme from Mount Hymettus, quinces and figs from Attica, apples from Delphi, prunes from Damascus, and cherries from Pontus. And yet this people, in the midst of all their luxury and magnificence, were without what we should consider the most necessary conveniences of life. In sight of the most splendid buildings ever constructed by mortal hands, they lived in small houses, deprived of space, without gardens, and almost without air and water. They had no way of sending a letter, except by a friend; no stage lines; no way of transporting merchandise, except by sea; no roads, until a very late day, except paths hardly passable for beasts of burden; no water-mills or wind-mills to grind their grain. At sea, they had no compass, no maps or charts, and no spy-glasses. The art of printing, and fire-arms, were unknown to them, and so were saddles and stirrups for their cavalry. At their sumptuous banquets they had neither table-cloths, napkins, spoons, nor forks. Nor had they even table-knives, but divided meat at the table with their poniards.

Though they were called at fixed hours to deliberate on public affairs, they had no clocks; and, elegant and perfumed as they were, they knew not the luxury of shirts, stockings, or pantaloons.

They had no glass in their windows, or chimneys in their houses; their doors were fastened with a latch, which was raised from the outside by means of a key in the form of a hook to pull at a leather string inside.

History teaches us that the various stages of civilization do not follow the order in which we should place them. Frequently the first steps do not appear to us to be the most necessary ones. The savage will put up with the scantiest amount of clothing, the cheapest kind of house-room, and the most primitive style of furniture, to invest his surplus funds in a string of beads, or a ring to wear in his nose. But perhaps the good people who may be living A. D. 3870, may see where we might have mended.