Lion always took his part, and this was not seldom the case; for Pepper, goodnatured and friendly with dogs of his own size, always flew at larger ones when they came in his way, thus provoking their assaults. His friend Lion was never moved from his equanimity and forbearance by his petulance, but once, and then the large dog's ire was only shown by putting his heavy paw on Pepper to keep him quiet, occasionally showing his formidable teeth if at any time the little fellow evinced unusual restlessness under the pressure.' GAMES OF THE BALL: CRICKET. BY LORD WILLIAM LENNOX. In We consider that this game has a particular claim to patronage, for it is one in which the people of England can generally take a part; it excites no feeling of envy by its exclusiveness; it tends to encourage a good feeling between the higher and the more humble classes, and brings about one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon mortal man-mens sana in corpore sano. The ball presents itself in many varied forms. early youth we have cricket, hockey, trap, foot-ball, and " fives;" as we enter manhood it delights us in the old-fashioned bowling-green, flies over the smooth green baize of the billiard table, or the less-exciting bagatelle board, golfing rackets, and tennis, diversifying the amusement, and in every form the " ball may be kept up" with the greatest satisfaction, as one of the games of Merrie England. China is famed for its "ball practice." Homer sang of it as it was played by the maidens of Corcyra. And Strutt informs us that handball was from very early times a favourite pastime in Great Britain among young persons of both sexes; and in many parts of the kingdom it was customary for them to play at this game during the Easter holidays, for tansy cakes. The last-mentioned authority gives a play from an ancient MS. of the date of the twentieth year of the reign of Edward VI., which represents bowling as early as the thirteenth century. It was at one time a fashionable game; and even in our day there are well-frequented bowling-greens, which are attended by a most respectable class of our fellow-creatures. Some of our former monarchs took part in this recreation; for, according to a statement of a celebrated bas-bleu in the reign of Charles I., we find that ill-fated sovereign trying his skill with Mr. Shute, one of the members of the City of London. Let us describe the circumstance in the literary lady's own words: "Barking Hall, the property of my great-grandfather, Richard Shute, Esq., a Turkish merchant, was an antique building of a castellated form, situated at the end of a long avenue of elms, near the town of that name. Here Mr. Shute made one of the prettiest and most commodious, bowling-greens ever seen; and Charles I., who was partial to the amusement, having heard of the fame of this new bowling-green, told Mr. Shute, when he next came to Court, that he would dine with him the following day, and have a game. Mr. Shute made the best preparation that the shortness of the time would allow; and the King was so well pleased with his entertainment, that he would frequently lay aside his state, and resort thither, with only two or three gentlemen as his attendants. They generally played high, and punctually paid the losings; and though Mr. Shute often won, yet the King would at one time bet higher than usual, and having lost several games, gave over. And if it please your Majesty,' said Mr. Shute, one-thousand pounds, some rubbers more; perhaps luck may turn.' No, no,' replied Charles, laying his hand gently on his shoulder, thou hast won the day, and much good may it do thee; but I must remember I have a wife and children.'" How happy would it have been for this country if every monarch had followed this wise remark! According to Grammont, this game was patronized by the Merry Monarch during his residence at Tunbridge Wells. Of the numerous games to which the ball has given rise, few if any have become more justly popular than cricket, and at no period has it been more encouraged than at the present. The following programme for the month of July and August will bear us out in our assertion; and the names and rank of the players remind us of those palmy days when George IV. formed a cricket ground adjoining the Pavilion at Brighton, and figured as a batsman and fieldsman, supported by the late Dukes of Hamilton, Richmond, and Bedford, Lord Winchelsea, and other members of the aristocracy. CRICKET. A grand match will be played in Lords' Ground, Marylebone, on Thursday, July 1st-The Marylebone Club against the Household Brigade. Marylebone Club. Earl of Coventry E. T. Drake, Esq. W. Whitbread, Esq. Dean Matches to come : PLAYERS. Household Brigade. Lord Garlies Monday, July 5th.-At Lords', County of Kent (with Caffyn Jackson and G. Parr) v. All England. 8th.-At Lords', Zingari Club v. Household Brigade. 9th.-At Lords', Present Etonians v. Present Harrovians. 12th.-At Lords', North of England v. South of England. 15th.-At Lords', The Horse v. The Foot. 19th.-At Lords', Gentlemen v. Players. 26th.-At Lords', The All England Eleven v. United All England Eleven. the benefit of George Parr. (Return match.) For 29th.-At Lords', The Gentlemen of Kent (with two players of Kent) v. The Gentlemen of England. August 12th.-At Manchester, North of England v. South of England. (Return match.) 16th.-At Canterbury, Kent (with Caffyn Jackson and Parr) v. England. (Return match.) 19th.-At Canterbury, The Gentlemen of Kent (with two players of Kent) v. The Gentlemen of England. (Return match.) During the Canterbury gathering, private theatricals by the best amateur com. pany extant will be the order of the evenings. RAMBLES ALONG THE TROUT AND SALMON RIVERS AND LAKES IN THE SOUTH OF IRELAND. "No murmur waked the solemn still, I suppose there is not a reader of the Sporting Magazine who has thrown a fly, but knows there is no better sport, no more exciting manner of passing an hour, nay hours, than fishing-when the fish are taking, And yet, of all those who " go a fishing," not one-fifth know how to fish. It is a science that, to be successfully enjoyed, must be earnestly studied; and not alone the art of fishing, but the habits of the fish you angle for, must be studied likewise. Each resident of the stream, the pool, or the shallow, has its own peculiarities; and, to be successful, the angler must know what those peculiarities are. I would travel any length to spend my month's annual tour with a scientific angler. Not a cast is made, not a corner fished, by such a one, but is the result of study. How often will the unlearned in the ways of trout pass thoughtlessly a small curl behind a stone at the very neck of the stream! Yet it is there the father of the family has taken up his abode, to pick up the various descriptions of prey which he seeks, as they pass away with the endless wave of waters. The scientific fisherman knows the construction, as well as the philosophy of the movement, of the prey he seeks. There are few of this class of anglers but are intelligent men; and so little envious is the true sportsman, that it will add to his enjoyment if you tell him of something requisite for his sport which he has not previously learned. I generally choose the month of May, for my annual ramble amongst the rivers and lakes of Ireland. May has something in it which reminds the old of young manhood, ere the " teens were passed. The air is bracing, and bears on its breath the odour of flowers. Each day becomes warmer as you hurry along to balmy delicious June, when all is bloom and sweetness. Our feelings are buoyant, and in place of the coldness of heart which age has brought on us, we feel the summer of love revivify our frame. No thought of the December of life crosses our minds; and yet that month will come and close our brief existence as surely as it comes to close the year. We live in a crowd and in the bustle of life forget we must die. Friends and relations we have here, but we cannot take them with us beyond the pass that leads to eternity. Some will remain, and we must go alone. He only is happy, who can say with David, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for THOU art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. I am induced into this frame of mind from referring to my diary, as I see entered in it, "Monday, May 17th, visited the cemetery of Father Mathew at the Old Botanic Gardens." Here, along with several others, two dear old friends and relatives of mine are sleeping the sleep of death. This beautiful resting-place for the dead was opened by the late Reverend Theobald Mathew, whose almost superhuman labours in the cause of temperance must be fresh in the recollection of all. He overworked a frame that was not cast in the strongest mould; and although he attained the age of sixty-six, there is little doubt, had he led a more tranquil life, from his regular and most abstemious habits, he would have scen many more years pass away. On entering the cemetery, I was much struck with the sight of several persons praying at his tomb. He is buried in the central enclosure. As I passed the inner gate, I came suddenly on about twenty people, of all ages, and of the lower classes, well and comfortably clothed, praying with great devotion in the open air. They were evidently Roman Catholics, as several had strings of beads in their hands, which one by one they dropped, as they finished their stated prayers. There is something in the observances of religion, no matter what the peculiar form of belief, that makes the thinking man pause, as he notices the performance of its rites. Here, before me, I could trace in the countenance of each kneeling form almost the very thoughts which arose in the mind, as the busy unseen fingers of conscience swept along the trembling strings of the heart, whilst each prayer was wafted upwards. In some, Memory seemed painfully aroused; while in others, Hope gleamed as if awakening with devotion. One group was peculiarly interesting. A wife led a husband and son, both blind, the latter about twenty years of age; and in reply to a question I put to her, she said, they travelled far and near, from holy well to holy well, for relief, and now as a last hope, she brought them to the grave of the good man Father Mathew. "If they get no benefit here," said she, "God's will be done." There was a whole life of struggles told in these few words, and in the humble, contrite way in which the three knelt down to pray: but it was evident to me, from the appearance of the afflicted ones, that the light in their eyes was extinguished for ever to this world; and that until they woke, as I hope they will, in a better, amongst the blessed made perfect, they would never see friend or relative more. I turned painfully away, to ponder on, and read over the various epitaphs around me. Many of the dead were described in glowing terms, as to the good deeds done by them whilst here amongst us. Many were set down been." as, not what they were, but what they should have A plain limestone On the latter is en The highest and truest record of virtue is briefly stated over the resting-place of the founder of the graveyard. cross and tombstone alone pointing out his grave. graven FATHER MATHEW, THE APOSTLE OF TEMPERANCE. BORN OCTOBER 10TH, 1790. DIED DECEMBER 8TH, 1856. Other monuments, amongst the vast number around, are also worthy of a glance. The secretary of Mr. Mathew, James Kenna, formerly my music-master, and some forty years ago anything but a teetotaller, rests not far from the patron who reformed him. A large stone cross also marks his last abode. From it we learn that he died on the 29th June, 1846-ten years before Mr. Mathew. The cross is beautifully engraved by Mr. Wm. Egan, of Cork, who seems to have had a large share of work in preparing monuments for the numerous sleepers in death. On the lime-stone cross at the head of the grave of James Kenna are engraved several temperance emblems-the medala dove with an olive branch-which represents the promised haven of sobriety in the temperance movement, which (we learn from it) was founded by Mr. Mathew, on the 10th April, 1838; but which, if we are to judge by the numerous public-houses recently established in Cork, as well as by the sale of porter and spirits, at present, all over Ireland, appears to have died with him. In another part of the ground is a handsome monument, supported by four fluted pillars, erected by subscription amongst the tradesmen of Cork, to Mr. Thomas Sheahan, one of their fellow-workmen. I was informed that he was an active and talented man, an accomplished Irish scholar; energetic, and uncompromising in the support of his order; a fluent speaker, and a determined advocate of his country's right to hold a high position amongst the nations of the world. This clever Irishman was called away at an early age. It would encroach too much on my space, were I to give a description of even a tithe of a tithe of monuments around. Some of the dead were |