consistent with Jeremiah s authorship, his arguments are invalid. The original is pure Hellenistic Greek. The warning against idolatry bespeaks a foreigner living out of Palestine. The place of its origin was probably Egypt; and the writer may have lived in the Maccabean period, as we infer from his making the exile last for seven generations, i.e., about 210 years. Jeremiah, on the contrary, gives the time as 70 years in round numbers. The oldest allusion to the epistle is commonly found in 2 Maccab. ii. 2, where a few words are similar to the fourth verse of our epistle. But
the appropriateness of the supposed reference is doubtful.The old Latin version of the epistle, published by Saba-. tier, which is in the Vulgate, is literal. The Syriac is freer. The Arabic is more literal than the Latin. Both are in the London Polyglott. The Hexaplar-Syriac was published by Ceriani.
(s. d.)
BARYTES, or Baryta, an oxide (BaO) of the metal barium, usually prepared from the two most common ores of the substance, the sulphate and the carbonate of baryta. It is a highly caustic alkaline poisonous body, which with water forms a hydrate of baryta. On a commercial scale baryta is prepared from the native carbonate (Witherite) by exposing ths mineral, mixed with one-tenth of its weight of lamp black, to a very high heat. It is now largely employed in the beet sugar manufacture for sepa rating crystallized sugar from the molasses. A solution of the hydrated oxide, under the name of baryta-water, is of very great use in the chemical laboratory for precipitating metallic oxides, and on account of its sensitiveness to carbonic acid. Sulphate of baryta, or heavy spar, the cawk of miners, is a mineral of very high specific gravity (4 59), found abundantly in veins in the mountain limestone of England and frequently associated with metallic ores. When reduced to powder the white varieties are sometimes used as a pigment, but the powder is more frequently applied as an adulterant to white lead. Heavy spar is also used in the manufacture of pottery. The powdered carbonate of baryta is used to some extent in the manufac ture of glass, taking the place of a part of the alkali in plate glass, and of some portion of red-lead in flint glass. Cassel green, or Rosenstiehl s green, is a pigment manu factured from the calcined manganate of baryta. Both the nitrate and the chloride are of great value as chemical reagents. The nitrate and chlorate are also used to pro duce a green light in pyrotechny.
BASE BALL, a game which holds the same position in the United States of America as cricket does in Great Britain. It was founded on the old British game of rounders, though many additions and alterations have been made. Americans do not appreciate the patience of Englishmen, and do not care to witness a cricket match which may extend to three days, and then remain undecided, whereas the average time of a base ball match is from two hours to two hours and a half. The first regular base ball society was the old Knickerbocker Club, founded at New York in the autumn of 1845 ; and for fifteen years the sphere of play was very limited. In the spring of 1860 tho Excelsior Club was inaugurated at Brooklyn, New York, and the amateur element, in contradistinction to the profes sional, gave a marked impetus to the pastime. This club was second to none in the United States of America, either in social standing or as correct exponents of the game. The secession of the Confederate States soon after, and the sanguinary civil war which followed, was a serious interrup tion to national or other sports, and base ball became almost obsolete till the season of 1865. Then it began to spread throughout the Union, and to be recognized as a profession, not a few devoting their whole time to it and being paid for their services. Now there are hundreds of games played for every one ten years since. In the summer of 1874 the Boston Base Ball Club and the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia crossed the Atlantic and played a series of exhibition matches in England and Ireland ; but, as anticipated, the pastime did not find favour with Englishmen or take root in British soil.
The scene chosen for the pastime should be a clear level piece of turf, not less than 500 feet by 350 feet. The following diagram shows the laying out of the ground.
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Diagram illustrating the Game of Base Ball.
The position of the bases and base lines may be likened to a 90 feet square shaped diamond. The first point to be selected is the rear angle of the home base, which should be not less than 90 feet from the most suitable end of the ground, and equi-distarit from each side. Lay out this base 1 foot square, and from the front apex measure 127 feet 4 inches in a straight line down the ground, and the point reached will be the centre of the second base. Tako a cord, ISO feet long, fixing one end on the front angle of the home base, and the other on the centre of the second base. By hauling the centre of this cord taut on the two sides, two isosceles right angled triangles will be formed, and the 90 feet square completed. Standing on the home base and looking down the ground, the apex of the triangle on the right hand is the centre of the first base, and of that on the left hand the centre of the third base. 48 feet from the front angle of the home base has then to be measured down the diagonal of the square, in order to fix the centre of the pitcher s position, which is 6 feet square. Lastly come the foul ball posts, which are on a line with the home and first bases, and home and third bases, and not less than 100 feet from the centres of first and third bases respectively.
Formerly, nine a side was the usual number of players ; but, latterly, an additional man has been introduced as right short-stop, and the sides increased to ten. Their positions are marked in the above diagram. The theory of the game is that one side takes the field, and the other goes in. The pitcher then delivers the ball to the striker, who endeavours to hit it in such a direction as to elude the fielders, and enable him to run round all the base lines home without being put out. If he succeeds a run is scored. WTien three players are put out the fielding side come in : and after nine innings have been played the side which have scored the most runs wins the game. The rules are voluminous and minute, but the pith of them may be gleaned from the following resume:—
The ball must weigh not less than 5 ounces or more than 5
