THE VILLAGE CltlCKET CLUB. 295 



planked wharfage, its open quay, and its corn- 

 brigs, either at anchor or tacking to gain the river's 

 mouth, (no easy matter, from the constant shifting 

 of the sands on that coast) was a charming object, 

 and formed the subject of many a sketch, not only 

 by the young ladies from the neighbouring water- 

 ing-places, but even by London artists, who in their 

 summer rambles had reached our secluded territory. 

 At no great distance from us on the right, was an 

 old half decayed windmill, such as you see in the 

 etchings of Rembrandt and Weirotter ; which 

 served us often both as a shelter from the sudden 

 storms to which cricketers are so exposed, but also 

 in the burning suns of July, as a cool place of 

 refuge, where we deposited in baskets our ginger 

 beer and ale, and other such rinfrescamentos, as 

 active cricketers stand in need of. 



4 Our season commenced on the first Saturday 

 in May, and we ended generally early in October ; 

 we had two full matches in the year, against the 

 clubs of the neighbouring counties, or those in the 

 remote part of our own; and in order to give 

 variety to the game, and spirit and emulation to 

 the players, we had arrangements amongst our- 

 selves, such as playing the married against the 

 single, the left-handed against the right (and it is 

 astonishing how many left-handed players there are 

 among cricketers), or we arrayed the first half of 

 the alphabet against the latter. 



