294 THE COUNTRY CLERGYMAN. 



yet pleasure is not confined only to the perfec- 

 tion of accomplishment : our very blunders and 

 mistakes were a constant source of merriment and 

 gratification; while our bloodless victories over 

 our neighbouring rivals were the cause of exulta- 

 tion not only to ourselves, but to all the village, 

 who sympathized deeply in the fortune of our 

 field. The ground in which we exercised twice a 

 week (on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons) 

 derived considerable beauty from its situation ; it 

 formed the centre of a large common, which had 

 been cleared of the gorse for a considerable space 

 round, and which presented a soft, fine, elastic turf, 

 nibbled by flocks of sheep so closely, as to be a 

 beautiful velvet carpet for the ball. There is much 

 dispute among the learned at cricket, whether it is 

 better to play on an open common, or on an enclosed 

 field ; we much preferred the former ; and cer- 

 tainly, if you look to beauty of situation, I fully 

 believe, that every lover of the picturesque would 

 say, that we were blessed beyond the common lot 

 of men. Our Common spread for a considerable 

 distance into the open country, till it was bounded 

 by the turnpike road, and it commenced just at 

 the back of the village, separated only by a small 

 avenue of weather-beaten sycamores. We com- 

 manded a beautiful view of the sea towards the 

 east ; and the little secluded harbour, with its small 



