y.

Time passed on, and the practice on the Little Christchurch ground
was continued. Several accidents happened, but the cricketers took
very little account of these. Jack had his cheek cut open by a ball
running off his bat on to his face; and Eva, who saw the accident,
was carried fainting into the house. Sir Kennington behaved
admirably, and himself brought him home in his curricle. We were
told afterwards that this was done at Eva's directions, because old
Crasweller would have been uncomfortable with the boy in his house,
seeing that he could not in his present circumstances receive me or
my wife. Mrs Neverbend swore a solemn oath that Jack should be made
to abandon his cricket; but Jack was playing again the next day, with
his face strapped up athwart and across with republican black-silk
adhesive. When I saw Bobbs at work over him I thought that one side
of his face was gone, and that his eye would be dreadfully out of
place. "All his chance of marrying Eva is gone," said I to my wife.
"The nasty little selfish slut!" said Mrs Neverbend. But at two
the next day Jack had been patched up, and nothing could keep him
from Little Christchurch. Bobbs was with him the whole morning, and
assured his mother that if he could go out and take exercise his
eye would be all right. His mother offered to take a walk with him
in the city park; but Bobbs declared that violent exercise would
be necessary to keep the eye in its right place, and Jack was at
Little Christchurch manipulating his steam-bowler in the afternoon.
Afterwards Littlebat, one of the English professionals, had his leg
broken, and was necessarily laid on one side; and young Grundle was
hurt on the lower part of the back, and never showed himself again
on the scene of danger. "My life is too precious in the Assembly
just at present," he said to me, excusing himself. He alluded to
the Fixed Period debate, which he knew would be renewed as soon as
the cricketers were gone. I no doubt depended very much on Abraham
Grundle, and assented. The match was afterwards carried on with
fifteen on each side; for though each party had spare players, they
could not agree as to the use of them. Our next man was better than
theirs, they said, and they were anxious that we should take our
second best, to which our men would not agree. Therefore the game was
ultimately played with thirty combatants.

"So one of our lot is to come back for a wife, almost immediately,"
said Lord