The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-03-27
HOW THE CURATE SAW THE GREAT
UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH.

and in the cricket field, had taken very
degree, for he was by no
means afraid of hard work of any de-
scription. Such men often make capital
persons, and Tom was hardly less ener-
getic in his parish work than he had been
in the very different spheres of action at
Elton and oxford. But there were limits
to Mr.. Bakers endurance; he liked an
occasional holiday, and this was the only
point upon which he had his vicar, Rev.
Septimus Straightway, were not entirely
agreed.
Rev. Septimus was an earnest man and
took a severe and gloomy view of the
pleasures of life. He worked terrible
hard in an East End parish, knew moth
ing and cared less about outdoor sports,
or. in fact, about any form of amusement,
and fully expected his curates to follow
unhesitatingly in the extremely narrow
and steep path up which he led them.
Hence it came to pass that Mr.. Straight
way experienced considerable difficulty
in find curates after his own heart: the
Young men were continually leaving him
for less arduous duties, and the vicar
opinion of human nature in general, and
of the younger generation of curates in
particular, steadily grew worse. In Tom
Baxter, however, he really thought he
possessed a treasurer, and the danger of
working willing horse to death never
so much as entered into his head
Poor Tom did his very best to satisfy
Mr.. Straightway's requirements, for he
really respected the man and valued i'm
mensely his good opinion; butas had al
ready been indicated, he could not help
longing that his superior would enter into
his own harmless liking for occasional
relief, and spmpathize with his passion
for rowing and all that was connected
with athletics
At the time write of, the cricket sea-
son was in full swing, but Toms duties
had not only prevented him from playing
in single match, but even from looking
on at one for few hours from the root
of the pavilion at Lords. Moreover the
university cricket match, in which 1t
took an absorbing interest was fast APP
preaching, and he was sorely troubled
by the. dread that he might not be able
to see it. This fear haunted him day
and night. 1t worried him during his
visiting and mission work, spoilt his rest
and occasionally obtruded itself upon
him in the pulpit. Even the absent
minded Mr.. Straightway at length no
ticed that his curate's mind was i'll at
ease, and one day he went so far as to
inquire the cause. Tom stammered out
something about being out of sorts, and
ventured to hint that lie thought days
holiday would do him good.
"When / was your age, Mr.. Baxter,
never wanted holiday replied the aus.
tere vicar: 'but you are certainly not
looking well. Let me see-tO-day is the
10Th of June. In about fortnight
think can arrange day for you. Say
the 18th of July.
Cant it be managed week soOner?''
uueried Tom. desperately, for the Uni
versity match was fixed for the 4th.
"Quite impossible, | fear" said the
vicar, decisiAely, for he was terrible
martinez with his curates. So, with {
wave of his hand, he dismissed the sub
iect, and Tom knew that further appca
was useless.
cts rather too bad" grumbled Mr.
Baxter, as he walked home to his humble
lodgings. but its no use talking t.
him about cricket he doesn't know ;
| bat from a ball" And with a heavy
heart he tried to resign himself to the in
evitablc.
But two days later circumstance DC
CURED which entirely routed Toms vir
tuous resolutions. \ letter arrived a
the reyened gentleman lodgings whicl
was couched in the following terms:
HEATHCoTE HALL, LoAMSHIRE.
DEAREST TOM-We are actually com
ing to town! Only for two days though
and we are going to Lords to see tn
match. Uncle has got a drag there, bloc
b, OF course | shall never forgive yo
if YOU don't come and see me; ON Wed
nesday afternoon we 90 to Essex to sta
with the Chivertous, so this is our onl
chance of meeting. Do come. i'll terribl
haste. Yours lovingly, ALICE.
| From the foregoing it may be gathcre
that Miss Alice HeathCOte and Mr.. ToI
Baxter were on tOlerably intimate terms
As a matter of fact they had been engage
for six months, during which time the
had very rarely met. BaXter's peOpl
were well off and he had very ric
uncle, among whose possessions was a
excellent family living. destined in I'll
future for Tom and his bride. But I'll
uncle was a stern and conscientious gel
tleman, and he was determined, befol
he definitely agreed to give Tom the VI
cancy-when it occured-to see what I'll
Young gentleman was made of. And tn
was why Baxter was sent to help NJ
Straightway in the East End, why
worked so hard in the parish. and vii
he was so desperately anxious to stan
high in his Wears opinion.
When Tom read the letter his first in
pulse, unclerical though it may appea
. was to use strong language. But he /
= strained himself and fell into thinkil
| "a, nf nsrnhinT fro
his duties. A fresh appeal to Mr.. Straigh
2 way he knew to be hopeless. Tn
5 worthy ascetic did not only look upC
E cricket as frivolous waste of time, bl
/ he was strong advocate of the celibat
!, of the clergy. Moreover, by merely AS
! ing the question Tom might offend hin
md this he certainly could not afford
r do under the circumstances.
There was nothing for it then but
pious fraud, and although Toms co
science rebelled against the idea of d
ceiving his vicar. who trusted him il
. plicitly. he could not make up his mir
= to disappoint Alice, or deny himself Il
pleasure of seeing her. He might und
more favorable circumstances, have din(
ut her uncle's house in Portman squar
but as luck would have it he had mdc
: taken to conduct an evening class {
: + both nights of her stay in town. So
! wrote a very afTectionate answer proI
! ising that nothing short of an earthqual
4 should prevent him from appearing
! Lords and at once set to work to arranl
! plot for the deception of Mr. Staigll
way.
+ On the day before that on which he hf
{ promised to meet his intended, Tom to
: his vicar that he was passing the mig
: with very old friend who had just con
! from India in his rooms near Jenny
y street. This, it must be said was pc
; fectly true. and of course Mr.. Straigll
way could offer no valid objections,
: Baxter had done all his work for the da
. The next day, however, Tom skunk off
J 4 telephone Office, and, in guilty hast
Al. y. 4 -