Origins of baseball the hand. Another early print reference is Jane Austen's novel "Northanger Abbey", originally written 1798-1799. In the first chapter the young English heroine Catherine Morland is described as preferring "cricket, base ball, riding on horseback and running about the country to books". About the same time, Austen's cousin Cassandra Cooke mentioned baseball in her novel "Battleridge". In her 1820s "Village Sketch" "Jack Hatch", author Mary Russell Mitford wrote: In 1828, William Clarke of London published the second edition of "The Boy’s Own Book", which included rules for rounders (the oldest known use of that name), and contains the first printed
Northanger Abbey Northanger Abbey. Throughout the novel, General Tilney is checking his watch, and is most insistent that servants and his own family observe the clocks to see if they are doing things on time. During her time in Bath, Catherine had easy-going attitude to time, having no strict schedule and planning nothing in advance. It is only Catherine meets Henry Tilney that the novel begins to speak of the importance of time, with Catherine having to check the clocks to see if she will be on time to meet him. However, after arriving at Northranger Abbey, Catherine discovers that General Tilney