t afternoon.

During the noon hour the local band came marching down the principal
street to the dock, and shortly afterward it started at the head of a
procession of carriages containing the ball players and two tally-hos
containing the passengers of the Alameda, who attended the game as our
guests. The enclosure in which we played that day was as handsome as any
that we saw in New Zealand, the grounds being as level as a billiard
table and the turf as smooth and soft as velvet. The game was one that
was remarkable on both sides for its heavy batting, the ball rolling
away over the smooth surface of the outfield in a way that almost broke
the hearts of the fielders and at the same time gave them more exercise
than they had had for weeks. The 4,500 people that witnessed the contest
waxed enthusiastic over the heavy batting of the visitors from the
"States" and also over the splendid fielding. Baldwin was in the box for
us in this game and pitched great ball, Crane doing the twirling for the
All-Americas. The Chicago: proved to be the winners and the score, 22 to
13, shows the cannonading done on both sides. This was a good game for
both teams to play when the fact is taken into consideration that the
players still had their sea legs on and simply shows the good condition
that the cricket practice on board the ship had kept them in.

When the "Alameda" left the dock at Auckland that afternoon, a crowd of
at least 2,000 people had assembled to see us off. With Sydney 1,243
miles distant we still had quite a voyage before us. That night we
skirted the coast until after the darkness had fallen and watched the
green hills that seemed to rise abruptly from the water's edge. When the
morning came and we once more sought the deck there was no land in sight
and nothing to be seen save the watery waste of the ocean that stretched
away to the horizon on every side. We had a rough voyage from Auckland
and were glad enough when, on the afternoon of December 14th, we sighted
the Australian coast. At five o'clock that evening, after a hearty
dinner, we again assembled on the deck to watch the headlands that grew
each moment more and more distinct, and' soon afterward a tugboat came
to meet us, bringing the pilot and Manager Leigh Lynch, the latter
notifying us as soon as he could gain the deck of the great reception
that was awaiting us at Sydney.

The harbor at Syndey is a delight to the eye, and as we steamed through
the Heads wit