PLAY BALL BY EAR. . BLIND BOYS PLAY THE NATIONAL GAME WITH ENTHUSIASM. The “Wish of the Ball” is the Important Factor of the 'Game, and Sound Take; the Place of Sight. Catcher Sits oi! the Ground and Wears a Mask. As a matter of very strange fact. blind men can and do play baseball, and derive a very considerable amount of pleasure as well as physical benefit out of the national game. In the Kentucky Institute there are two regularly organized nines, between which there is the fiercest rivalry, and the institute pennant is highly prized, and will be bitterly contested for. Professor R. B. Huntoon, of the Ken- tucky school, describing baseball among the blind, makes the astonishing state- ment by way of preface, that among the boys and young men, who must go through life in darkness there is a fond- ness for athletic exercises, and an am- bition to excel in feats of physical pow- er almost as deep founded as among the students of the universities. The baseball game differs, of course, in many of its details from the regular games played by the youth of America. The diamond is not of regulation size, but is of regular form. The distances between bases is but forty feet instead of ninety. The catcher sits on the ground, well back from the home plate, and to guard against injury, he wears a mask and a chest protector. His position is such, that when a pitcher delivers the ball it strikes the ground just between his knees and is taken on the short bound. The batsmen takes his position at the plate, with a heavy flat bat, somewhat like those used in cricket. The umpire, who must be a man of unimpaired vision, calls upon the pitcher to get ready, and then clearly sings out “One, two, three 1” At the word three the pitcher must loyally deliver the ball. He pitches in the slow, underhand way, peculiar to the game twenty-five or thirty years ago, the idea being to de- liver a ball that can be hit by the bats- man, who, standing there in the dark- ness. with a sharpened sense of hearing and a wonderful conception of the time that must elapse before the ball reaches him, is prepared to strike. Baseball writers often refer to “the whish of the ball as, like an arrow, it fairly split the space over the home plate.” ' To the quickened sense of the blind, this“whish of the ball” is a reality, and it is astonishing, guided by this refined development of the hearing faculty, how often the ball is struck by the bats» man. i If the batsman should miss, the ball bounces into the catcher’s lap, and is at once returned to the pitcher by a single toss with a precision which is wonder- ful. When the ball is batted, the um- pire calls out quickly to the fielder in whose direction it is traveling, and he, guided by a sense of hearing, either catches the ball or follows it in its course through the grass. Six strikes are an out. In fielding, any number of bounds are permitted. If the batted ball is a “hot liner,” and traveling straight for an infielder‘s head, the um- pire shouts a warning and in such cases the endangered player ducks or falls to the turf. It is possible, in fact the ball is fre- quently fielded to first in time to put the runner out. When throwing to first the asssisting player, who is guid- ed by the voice of the baseman, calcu- lates the distance with nicety and throws, the ball so that it strikes the ground a few yards in front of the base- man. The latter hears it coming and usually gets it without further assis tance. ' Running bases was formerly a. diffi- cult thing. There were then three trees on the diamond, toward which the run- ner ran with outstretched hands. Bags have since been substituded for bases, and the runner is guided by the voice of the baseman, who is required to shout “First, first, first.” In like man- ner the other bags are won. Once on a base the runner is pretty sure to get home, unless his side dies at the home plate. Six outs puts a side out. Naturally there’s no approach to sci-g entific ball playing, but under all cir- cumstances it is astonishing to note the \ frequency of clean hits, while the base running and fielding are at times almost marvellous and present a most wonder- ful development of the sense of hearing in an edort to compensate for the loss of sight. Trick Horses. The cleverest tricks ever performed by a horse are writing his name on a slate, performing on a harmonium, and playing a game at nap. Last year, at the Aquarium, London, a remarkably clever horse, named Alpha, gave a per- formance which included all these items. Some time ago at the Crystal Palace a horse was shown capable of understanding two languages, French , and German, and by means of signs was able to answer any questions put, such as the number of persons occupying each set in the audience, and the num- ber of each sex; it could also add up with ease _a sum marked on a black- board and state the exact time indicated by the hands of a watch. How to Call a Man a Thief. “Do you remember,” asked the young lawyer and promoter, “that you once said that I would never be rich? I rather think I am on the road to riches at last.” “I never said you would not be rich,” answered the elderly cynic. “I only said you would never have any money of your own, and I still say so.”—Indi- anapolis Journal. According to the author of an Eng- lish book entitled “Criminal Statistics,” authors, editors, and journalists fur- on. a larger proportion of criminals man any other profession. InFrance I‘LL: n... -ms are the greatest rogues. A SUMMER CABIN. Built of Logs and a Jolly Reminder of Primitive Times. copyright by Co~0perators Building Plan Aesociation, N. Y A club of men camping in the woods might easily diversify their sport 'by building with their own hands a cabin like that illustrating this article. About all that would need to be purchased in the way of materials would be a wagon- load of flooring, a few sashes, a keg of nails, a pair of strap hinges, one pound of rope, a small pulley, canvas for doors, a stovepipe and a barrel of cement. The cement may be omitted if good, stiff clay is available. A few axes, a saw, a hammer, a trowel and a shovel would be all the tools required. If the club’s resort be far from the haunts of men, they may put in prac tice‘ squatter severeignty, but it would be wiser to get permission to use the land. Following will be found a brief de- scription; ' General Dimensions-Width, not in- cluding projections of chimney, 42 feet; depth, including veranda and not in- cluding cook shed, 37 feet 6 inches. Heights of Stories—First story, 8 feet 6 inches; second story to ridge, 11 feet; at side walls, 4 feet. Exterior Materials—Foundation,large stones and logs; all walls and gables, logs. Joints to be filled with clay. Roofs made of bark, laid like Spanish tiling and nailed with one nail to each piece under lap. \\\\\\\\\\_~\\\\\\\\\\ “ '5 r- ‘l k " a i: . fVL94' s § , - - 0PM - \ I $\\\\\\~-r—*‘ sx\\\\\\- . i . x a" Vera? .‘fi‘f J‘Wige'. floored with spruce. Interior walls left with logs showing. Stone fireplace and chimney laid in clay. Accommodations—_All rooms and their sizes shown by floor plans. Attic floored and well ventilated. Large openings from sleeping room and living room to have canvas curtains hung at top and arranged with flap strings to shut so curely. Sleeping room to have four bunks at end, as shown on plans. case ladies are in the party they could sleep in this room, the men sleeping in the attic, or, reversing the arrange- ment, give the ladies the attic, where they would probably feel more secure. Access to the attic room from open din. ing room by a cuttle and steps. Steps arranged with rope and pulley to swing up against ceiling of first story when not in use. In case window frames cannot be procured conveniently, the window openings may be covered with canvas. Passage between open dining ~ room and cook shed to be uncovered. Stovepipe hole and pipe at rear of cook shed as shown on plan. When cabin is not ten anted all openings to be boarded up. A Dramatic Incident. The coming of Robert Hilliard to this city, where he fills an engagement the coming week, recalls a very amusingin- cident which occurred several years ago at the Park Theatre where Mr. Hilliard was filling a professional date. His little son, then about three years old, was in a box viewing the perform- ance. During the play Mr. Hilliard was required to make a daring jump from the second story window to the (stage; street below. The dark faced, sloucl. hat man in the play had spoken his threatening line: “Jump, I say, or, by the ’tarnal, I’ll brain ye as I would a dog.” The here was abOut to go when the excitement became too great for the lit- tli fellow in the box. Jumping up and running to the front rail of the box, he shouted, so that his shrill little voice could be heard throughout the auditor" ium :— ' “Don’t do it, papa. Oo’ll hurt 00’- self.” Mr. Hilliard was broken up for the en- tire act—Boston Transcript. ‘ Mark Twain’s Latest. Mark Twain has become so used to Eastern customs that he says he cannot avoid slamming a door at present. In , ' N law was “For. ”oafifiksantss: Go with Your “Guns" on a “Bat,” but Keep Sober Yourself. . “I was out last night doing the town,” said he, “and of all the rackets I ever had in my life it beat all of them.” “Why, I thought you had sworn ofl drinking,” remarked his friend, appar- ently surprised. “So I have—and that’s where the racket. comes in. You see, I had never done such a thing when I was sober. It was a new sensation. And. incidentally I have discovered a new cure for drunk- enness. Keeley isn’t in it—cure you in one night, see?" “No; I can’t say that I do.” “Well. I will tell you. Just go out with the gang you have been used to traveling with, and stick to soft stuff and cigars yourself all night; "go where they go and see what they see and do and listen to them talk. In‘I other words, get their measure of fun and see what you would have called fun your- self if you had been drinking. You’ll then understand what a fool you have been lots of times. “I tell you if I had had a stenograph- er and taken down everything that was said, writing in the action and back- ground, and showed these fellows the plain truth, they would never touch another drop as long as they lived. “Of all the drivel that passed for wit and the lugubrious stuff that posed as humor! “And they were smart fellows, too— sober. They laughed at everything. When one said anything they laughed. They went to a new bar every ten min- utes till midnight, and the most bril~- liant thing uttered up to that time was ‘Cheer up I’ This created such enthusi- asm that he repeated it every now and then as they sat about the all night places. Funniest thing I ever saw in my life! Fact, I’ll never drink again. Not where I can beseen and heard—bet your life!” FRENCH COOKING. Some of the Tricks that Cheapen Food to the Parisian. For generations passed the triumphs of French cookery have been extolled on every hand, but it is only lately that it has occurred to any one to investigate the French trickery of the kitchen. vii-El Soup seems'an articie of food that it would be difficult to counterfeit, for soup, one would say, must be soup plainly good or bad. Yet, some Parisi- an cooks actually manage to pass off hot water, colored and flavored with cara- mel and burnt onions. To get a very small taste of animal substance in the liquor they use bones that have been twice well stewed and have been pur- chased e b them from larger restaurants for almost nothing. Nevertheless, counterfeiting soup, so that nobody can detect the fraud, is not a circumstance to the way hams are turned out in France. Somebody cal- culated lately that as many hams are eaten in the city of Paris alone as could be furnished by all the pigs killedwith- in the boundaries of the republic each year if they had eight hind legs apiece. Yet all the hams set before those per- sons with eager appetites seem to be genuine, The explanation of this is that a few clever restaurant suppliers buy up all the ham bones at two cents apiece and deftly insert them into pieces of pickled pork, which they trim into shape and cover with grated bread crusts. The article turned out resem- bles a ham wonderfully, and thus a single bone can do duty hundreds of times. Golf Growing in Favor. The United States Golf Association is constantly growing in influence as well as in strength. Eighteen months ago it was organized with but five clubs on its rolls. The second year book of the As- sociation showed fifteen associate and twenty-six allied members on its r011. To this total of forty- one the Executive Committee is asked at every meeting to make ,additions, and by August next there is no doubt that the membership will include at least fifty clubs. Next year thefassociation will unquestionab- ly be able to assume practically com- plete control of golfing in this country. This will be of vast benefit to the game. as it will tend to make the clubs outside as well as those in its membership, ob- serve the niceties of the game, a disre gard of which is one of the great dan- gers in amateur organizations. Paderewski’s Expression \Vas of Value. Why was Paderewski able to earn $247,000 in five months, while most other pianists barely make enough to cover expenses? His technique is no better than that of several other pianists now in the field; his superiority lies entirely in the fact that he plays with expression, and therefore touches hearts which others leave cold. The same lesson was taught by Lizst and Rubinstein; yet, music- teachers continue to devote 99 per cent. of their pupils’ time to more technical exercises which are as insufficient to make a real pianist as mere erudition to make an author. Whoever shall write a perfect treatise on the art of musical expression will erect for himself alast ing monument. The Diodern “fay. “I thought I saw you riding along with a gentleman last evening.” “You did.” ' “But does your mother let you go bi- cycling with gentlemen without a chaperon?” , ' “N o, indeed.” “But you had none.” "Oh, we had one when we started. but we punctured her tire to get rid of her.”-—-Chicago Post. - Quite the Contrary. “I haven’t seen your husband for several days," said the friend of the fam- ily,-who had dropped in. “But he’s a candidate, and 'I suppose he is ‘saying nothing and sawing wood.’ ” ‘ “I should say not,” answered the woman with the towel wrapped around her head. “He’s out in the back yard pounding the carpets and saying a great _ deal l"—-Chicago Tribune. "I " WEEKLY -"'No'R WALK -GAzn T Tn. New York Announcement. “ Our American Homes and Howto Furnish Then.“ ‘Horner’s Furniture The Best in the Market. All who desire to buy reliable Furni- ture in moderate priced or more costly grades will find our stock the most advantageous to select from for these reasons : It represents the productions of the best makers only, and is the largest and most varied in America. The completeness of our 'assortments can best be understood from the fact that we exhibit more than two hundred and fifty diferem Bedroom Sets in every variety of wood. over 70 patterns of Brass Bodsteads. as well as endless lines of Parlor. Drawing Boom. Library and Dining Room Furniture of the most artistic styles. and ranging from the modest and inexpensive to the most elab- orately carved and inlaid. In a word, every article required for use, comfort and adornment in the household can be had with its , plainly marked moderate price at our I GREAT FURNITURE EMPIIRIIIM, 6I-65 West 23d. St., N. Y. (Adjoining Eden Mil-ea.) Homer & Co.’s establishment is one of the sights of New York—Newspaper Comment. MADAMROSSfiliall’t.11 CLAI RVOYA. NT Throughout the States. Consultation on Past Present and Future in regard to any matter busmess or otherwise that may be desxred Consultation for Ladies and Gentlemen, $1 Short snssmn for Ladies. 530. Office, Room 10 Lauder Building. No. 4 South Main Street Can be seen at any hour. J. D. Jennings. UNDERTAK‘ER 0. Knight street. opposite Street Railway Depot BELL A1 OFFICE. I l LIGHT PARCEL and LIIIJKWIIIIII . PACKAGE DELIVERY Cheap rates. Will also take orders for mes wager service in New York. Goods called .01 and delivered to all parts of the town, Orders received at E. P. Weed’s Drug Store. :JWa-ll Street. With telephone connectlon un- ‘ 30' c. E. Locxwoon. CENTRAL NATIONAL BANK, 26 WALL ST... N ORWALKH ORPORATED SEPT. 1. 1876. Ak’lTAL. ' ‘ ' ‘ ' ‘ $100.00C nun M. HOLMES. President. . L. Berna, Vice-President. WILLIAM A. CUBrrs, Cashier DIRECTORS : oxen lII. HOLMES, H. E. DANN, h. CUNNINGHAM. J. T. Pnowrrr ' a. L. Bornu, S. H. HOLME J . CousmsfiJR. ulscounl Day, Saturday. IRINK HAIHURN SPRING WATER» FOR THE Stomach, Bo wels, Liver and Kidneys. FOR SALE BY The Holmes, Keeler &Selleck Co WILLIAM S. KEMP, Carpenter -:- and -:- Builder, 34 West Main St.. Norwalk. Mr. Kemp has been a carpenter and builder in Norwalu for the past 25 years. and refers to own-rs of buildings erected under 1118 super- vision as to workinanship. Chilton Paint, Every gallon of paint made by the Chilton Mfg. Company is mixed and ground in pure Linseed Oil. All shades are mixed and ground by machinery seven times, making them uniform and even. Compare the size of cans and weight with the cheaper makes. You get an honest gallon. Give it a trial and you will be convinced. - ‘H. H. WILLIAMS . 17 Main St. SPECIAL SALE *QF— Sailor Hats NOW READY. Unlrlmmed, we and Upwards, Trimmed, 50° and llpwards, ‘ FAWEETTS. 3 Water Street, I'Norwalk about ” mount can only manship. BUFFALO. N. Y. is embodied in this “fast, easy-running, much-talked- approved methods, finest material and skilled work- The ’9o Stearns is the best bicycle it is possible to produce. meshed at your option in orange or black. Address now for beautiful new catalogue. “the Yellow fellow.” E. C. STEARNS 6: C0., Makers, Syracuse, N. Y. SAN FRANCISCO..CAL. xexexex be secured by the most TORONTO, ONT. H. R. BULKLEY & c'o., Agents, SOUTH NORWALK. YOUR FRIENDS ARE USING PLAISTED’S cauoH REMEDY AND RECOMMEND I’I S USE Get a Bottle at once. 25 and 50 Cents. ALL DRUGGISTS. PIERGE, .AMES, LIGHT, GOLIIMBIIS, III) YOU KNOW,“ I’m Doing It“— If you Don’t believe it, Come and See $|00 BICYCLES FOR $65. WE ARE NOT IN Lalesl ’96 Pattern. Buill to Sell at Top Price. Full Guarantee. Easy Terms. T'HE COMBINE. For Terms and Lease of Norwalk Fair Grounds, apply to LUTHER M. WRIGHT, Carriage Factory and Repository, Franklin & Madison Sis., So. IIorwalk. Branch Shops at 3:031 River and Darlen. If you are able to pay sloo for a b3;- cle, Willie content with any_ but a STANDARD OF Nineteen years of re‘ ‘ ' $100 station for building the best bicycle, backed 7 by the certainty 0 quality assur should mean much to any buyer of Columbia. quality—onc'Columbia price—— TO ALL ALIKE. ‘ 1 Art Catalo e of Columbia and Hartford Bicycles is free lfyou call upon any Beautifu Colugi‘bia Agent; by mail from us for two 2-cen1: stamps. POPE MFG. CO., Hartford, Conn. B such Stores and A encies in almost every c! .and town. If Columbia: are not :- progperly represented in your VictI’mty, let us know. THE WORLD. ed by our scientific met a bicycle. There is but one fl That. you can save money by buying your Meats and Fish‘at F. w. smrn's, 55 Main. Street. Everything First Class. OPEN _ EVENING!» P R IVAT E I Instructions given in BOXING ' at the pupil’s home. CLASS ' Now forming, and ap- plicants desiring to join should apply at once to Prof. Geo. Yoerger, _ South Nor-"walk. a‘ carat this office.- “'
Norwalk Chronicler