he conversation. I had already observed that he never spoke about
the Fixed Period in our house, though, in the condition in which the
community then was, he must have heard it discussed elsewhere.

The day for the match had come. Jack's face was so nearly healed that
Mrs Neverbend had been brought to believe entirely in the efficacy of
violent exercise for cuts and bruises. Grundle's back was still bad,
and the poor fellow with the broken leg could only be wheeled out in
front of the verandah to look at the proceedings through one of those
wonderful little glasses which enable the critic to see every motion
of the players at half-a-mile's distance. He assured me that the
precision with which Jack set his steam-bowler was equal to that of
one of those Shoeburyness gunners who can hit a sparrow as far as
they can see him, on condition only that they know the precise age of
the bird. I gave Jack great credit in my own mind, because I felt
that at the moment he was much down at heart. On the preceding day
Sir Kennington had been driving Eva about in his curricle, and Jack
had returned home tearing his hair. "They do it on purpose to put him
off his play," said his mother. But if so, they hadn't known Jack.
Nor indeed had I quite known him up to this time.

I was bound myself to see the game, because a special tent and a
special glass had been prepared for the President. Crasweller walked
by as I took my place, but he only shook his head sadly and was
silent. It now wanted but four months to his deposition. Though there
was a strong party in his favour, I do not know that he meddled much
with it. I did hear from different sources that he still continued to
assert that he was only nine years my senior, by which he intended to
gain the favour of a postponement of his term by twelve poor months;
but I do not think that he ever lent himself to the other party.
Under my auspices he had always voted for the Fixed Period, and he
could hardly oppose it now in theory. They tossed for the first
innings, and the English club won it. It was all England against
Britannula! Think of the population of the two countries. We had,
however, been taught to believe that no community ever played cricket
as did the Britannulans. The English went in first, with the two
baronets at the wickets. They looked like two stout Minervas with
huge wicker helmets. I know a picture of the goddess, all helmet,
spear, and petticoats, carrying her spear over h