CHAP. IV.] Mr. G. Payne. 141 



contend^ though weakened by its tail^ was by no means 

 a bad one. Its strongest elements consisted of Charles 

 Meyrick, a Wykehamist and college friend of W. Payne's 

 — a beautiful bat and fieldsman ; the Rev. W. Fox, rector 

 of Cottesbach — a good bat and thorough, cricketer, but 

 unable to run the hits he made, from heart-complaint. It 

 used to be said of this worthy parson, that like the cuckoo^ 

 lie laid his own eggs, but could not hatch them, a view 

 more in accordance with the eccentric habits of that bird 

 than that taken by the schoolboy who, when asked by 

 an examiner in what respect the cuckoo differed from 

 other birds, replied " that he never laid his own eggs/' 

 Also two brothers from Leicester — W. and J. Davis — 

 the one a superior batsman and g'ood wicket-keeper, the 

 other a fair left-hand round bowler; Sir St. Vincent 

 Cotton, a well-known figure in sporting circles, who, if in 

 practice, was likely by his hard-hitting to keep the 

 fielders on the move ; the Rev. R. J sham — a useful man all 

 round ; and two Pells from Clipston, William and Walton, 

 with the two Paynes and members of the household, 

 usually made up the eleven. In the Northampton team, 

 Messrs. H. 0. Nethercote, Jefi'ery, Shaw, Hewlett, HoUis, 

 H. P. Markham, Emery, Wellneger-Davis, Dean, and 

 '^ Jack^^ Smith — the latter a stalwart "lad o' wax,'-* fully 

 believing that there was nothing like leather; but pre- 

 ferring it in the form of a cricket ball. Unaccustomed 

 to dining in marble halls, he on one of these occasions 

 caused much amusement to his host by emptying the 

 contents of a boat of lobster-sauce on to his cherry- 

 tart ! — a mixture that seemed to be highly palatable to 

 the omnivorous son of St. Crispin. Not content with 

 treating his opponents to a sumptuous repast in the 



