Sentence:  Some boys had latterly tried to impart gaiety to the ruin by using the central arena as a cricket-ground. But the game usually languished for the aforesaid reason—the dismal privacy which the earthen circle enforced, shutting out every appreciative passer's vision, every <WSD>commendatory</WSD> remark from outsiders—everything, except the sky; and to play at games in such circumstances was like acting to an empty house. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Serving to commend or compliment; complimentary.