ood,
and has feelings just the same as any other human being. He is not
chosen because of his dishonesty or ignorance of the rules of the game,
neither is he an ex-horse thief nor an escaped felon; on the contrary,
he has been carefully selected by the President of the League from among
a great number of applicants on account of his supposed integrity of
character and peculiar fitness for the position; indeed, in private life
he may even pass as a gentleman.

His duties are arduous; he must decide all points of play, though taking
place on widely separated portions of the field; he determines whether a
ball has been fairly pitched over the home-base, whether a hit is "fair"
or "foul," or whether a player has been put out in accordance with the
rules. In brief, he is expected to see all parts of the field at once
and enforce all the principal and incidental rules of the game. It would
not be strange, therefore, if he made an occasional mistake or failed to
decide in a way to suit all.

I have given thus concisely, and with the use of as few technical terms
as possible, the first principles of the game. Many things are purposely
left for the novice to learn, because any attempt to go into detail
would prove confusing. For the instruction of those who wish to master
the technical terms generally used, I subjoin some definitions. They are
intended for beginners, and though not in all cases covering the entire
ground, will yet convey the idea.

DEFINITIONS.

A batsman, batter, or striker is the player who is taking his turn at
bat.

A base-runner is what the batter becomes instantly after having hit a
fair ball, though for convenience of distinction he is often still
called a batter until he has reached first base.

A fielder is any one of the nine fielding players.

A coacher is one of the batting players who takes his position within
certain prescribed limits near first or third base to direct base-
runners and to urge them along.

A fair hit is, generally speaking, a ball hit by a batsman which falls
within the foul lines.

A foul hit is one which falls without the foul lines. A base hit is a
fair hit by a batsman which can neither be caught before touching the
ground nor fielded to first base in time to put out the striker. It may
be either a two-base hit, a three-base hit, or a home run, according as
two or three or four bases have been made on the hit without an
intervening error.

An error is made when a