ashes on the hearth, for the purpose of keeping the fire in till next day. During the night my poor playmate fell upon the embers, and being unable to help himself, burned his side so severely that he did not survive twenty-four hours.
Richard Francis was a Surrey man. One day I met him in the street of Hambledon, and ran to tell our General that the famous Francis had come to live among us; he could scarcely believe me—perhaps for joy. This was the luckiest thing that could have happened for us, for Brett had just about the same time left off playing. Francis was a fast jerker; but though his delivery was allowed to be fair bowling, still it was a jerk. We enlisted him immediately, for we all knew what he could do, having seen him play on the Surrey side against us. At that time he was a young man, and he remained many years in the club. He was a gamekeeper; a closely made, firm little man, and active. His batting did not deserve any marked praise, still we always set him down for a few runs. He was both a better batter, however, and field too, than Brett; but as a bowler he ranked many degrees below that fine player.
About the same period Richard Purchase joined us. He was a slowish bowler—rather faster than Lord Beauclerc. His balls got up uncommonly well, and they were generally to a length. But he had no cunning about him; nor was he up to the tricks of the game. In playing, as in all other actions in life, he was the same straightforward honest fellow. Purchase was a fair hitter, and a tolerably good field. He was a slightly made man, and of a dark complexion.
At this great distance from the period at which my recollection of cricketing commenced, and having no data by which to regulate them, the reader will
