Year: 1868


Good Company and a Romantic Situation
The First Mutch-Thc Australian Aboriginal
Eleven-Landing Of the Players from the
AntipOdies.


LONDON May 20, 1868.


The clear Skies the bright sunshine and the intense
heat Of the past few weeks rebuke the universal mis-
representations Of English weather 1t is nearly
month since we have had any rain in London and in
no OF the globe have there been more delight
ful days and delicious nights than here during that
period. Fine weather is becoming, however, too
much Of good thing, and we begin to long for the
old fogs and showers. Vegetation is backward; the
market gardeners and their customers complain,
and foreigners who have landed upon these shores
under the impression that it always rains in London
are in o most bewildered state Of mind


During these dreamy May days know of no more
pleasant lounge near London than at Lords Cricket
Ground, where the playing season has just COM
menced. The ground Is retired. but easy OF access
by cabs, omnibuses or underground railway, and it
is attended almost every day by splendid company
Of ladies and gentlemen-On foot, on horseback and
In carriages-who watch with interest the crack
games of the best cricketers in England. All round
the neighborhood are beautiful villas. The ground
is framed in with trees. Billiard rooms tennis and
racquet courts close at hand In the club build
ing. There Is grand stand, like that at Jerome
Park, and brick pavilion for the players. A new
refreshment saloon Is in progress OF erection. No
where cricket be played and seen more comfort
ably and agreeably; and this fact well as the ex
celence OF the games there, has given Lords
world wide reputation.


This cricket season commenced on the 11th OF May
with match between the Marylebone Club and the
Royal Artillery, in which the Marylebone was easily
successful. This club Is nearly seventy five years
old, numbers six hundred subscribers and has
played ffty-fOur years on this ground. Among its
effective members are some of the finest amateur
crcketers in the world, and many professionals are
attached to it. On the 14th the annual match between
the Royal Artillery and the Household Brigade was


and ended In dSaw ae TWO days Sag
the third match Of the season between the Marye-
bone Club and the Colts OF All Engand-the Colts
before-ended by the signal defeat Of the Colts, who
were beaten at every point, and scored less
on one. On Friday the woolwich and Sandhurst
Colleges play their annual match; on the 25th the
Marylebone Club Will play the County OF Surrey and
q contest between the Household Brigade and the
Qudnuncs on the 2Sth concludes the cricketing for
cricket will be furnished by the performances Of the
Australian aborigines eleven Of whom have been
taught the game by English settle settlers and have ar.
men bona tide native Australians, and their pro-
nciency with the bat and ball is said to be
something wonderful One Of them win allow
| himself to be. pelted with crcket-balls at
few yards' distance and, with only the de-
balls to touch him. English crcketers who have seen
the Australians practice say that they are o very
strong eleven, but not too strong to beat In fact,
these negro players will find cricket very different
game when they come to be opposed by the scientific
bowers of England, just the Canadian Indians who
came over here to show us the game Of "La Crosse"
found themselves beaten at their art by the ex-
perienced tents players Of Lords OF whom threw
o te HaI o. S V or se a c 10 e
member what wonders the English professionals ac
complished at Hoboken, and will not easily believe
that Australian natives can cope with such adopts
those. The Australians have their first game In
England next Monday and you will probably learn
the result bytelegraph


The betting is against the Australians.