o back his opinion to any
amount), Cumberland very unwillingly owned that, if he was forced to
say what he thought, he believed Oaklands had made his stroke before the
sneeze caused him to start, but that it was a near thing, and he might
very possibly be mistaken. This was quite enough for Oaklands, who
declared that he was perfectly satisfied, and begged Cumberland to
play, which, with some apparent reluctance, he did, and, as was almost a
matter of certainty, proved the conqueror.

"'Pon my life, in all my experience, I never knew a gentleman lose a
match in such a tremendously unfortunate way," observed the Captain.
"I am certain that if you had not been flurried, Mr. Oaklands, sir, you
could have done the trick as clean as a whistle. Allow me to place the
balls as they were then--I know how they stood to a nicety--there,
that's it to a demi-semi fraction; oblige me, sir, just as a personal
favour, by trying the stroke once more."

Thus invoked, Oaklands approached the table, and, without a moment's
deliberation, struck the ball, and succeeded in doing with perfect ease
the very thing which a minute before would have won him ten pounds.

~70~~"There! I was super-certain you could do it; the match was yours,
sir, as safe as the bank, if that wretched little abortion there hadn't
made that disgusting noise. Play him again, sir; play him again: Mr.
Cumberland's a pretty player, a very pretty player; but you're too
strong for him, Mr. Oaklands; it's my firm conviction you're too strong
for him."

"What do you say to giving me my revenge, Cumberland?" asked Oaklands.

"Oh! _I_ can have no possible objection," replied Cumberland, with
the slightest imaginable assumption of superiority in his tone, which
annoyed my ear, and which I felt sure would produce the same effect upon
Oaklands. The next game Oaklands won; and they continued to play the
rest of the afternoon with various success, and for what appeared to me
very high stakes. I calculated that, by the time they left off, Oaklands
must have lost more than thirty pounds; and yet, in spite of this, to a
superficial observer he appeared to be the better player of the two: he
certainly made the most brilliant strokes, but he also made blunders,
and failed now and then; while Cumberland's score mounted up without
one's exactly knowing how; he never seemed to be playing particularly
well, and yet there was always something easy for him to do; while, when
Oaklands had t