It is one of several which are contributed by a gifted correspondent of the Britannia Magazine, each in the style of a well-known poet; they are very clever imitations, and probably the author is not a cadet, though there is no saying, of course. It is scarcely necessary to name the poet whose style is here adopted:
So all day long the cricket ball was bowled
Among the wooded heights by western seas,
Until Britannia’s champions one by one
Had fallen, hopeful, though the side was out
For only ninety. Then, because the score was small,
The captain put on Bedivel to bowl,
And charged him thus: “Take this our trusty ball,
And fling it straight into the middle stump;
And let the scorer watch with anxious care,
See what thou doest, and deftly note it down.”
Then forth he fared, the bowler Bedivel—
Him Bold Sir Bedivel his comrades called,
Save when they dubbed him Bedivel the bowled—
Clothed in white flannel, solid, muscular,
And taking careful aim, he hurled the ball.
The batsman’s eyes were dazzled at the sight;
He dallied long, dividing his slow mind
In act to swipe. But at last it seemed
Better to block it and to save his stumps.
But lo! too late: the yorker hit its mark.
Then spake the captain to Sir Bedivel:
“Hast thou performed the order that I gave?
What is it thou hast seen? What hast thou done?”
And answer made the bowler Bedivel:
“I hurled the ball forth, aiming near the crease;
I saw the leg-stump prostrate on the ground.”
This is an excellent piece of fooling, whoever wrote it, and should immortalise not only the writer, but Sir Bedivel also. There is a footnote appended in the original: “Probably the same who was afterwards called Bedivere,” which leaves a comical sort of uncertainty which way the anachronism works.
The cricket season of 1896 was marked by two remarkable performances of the third eleven, against Totnes School.
In the first match Britannia made 309, and won by an innings and 225 runs; in the return they made 405, winning by an innings and 220. This is what may be termed “making a holy show” of Totnes; and it argues also a very widely spread proficiency among the cadets, for, even paying both sides the poor compliment of assuming that Totnes were weak, an innings of 405 under any circumstances argues a capacity for batting which is most unusual in a school third eleven.
The first eleven played their two old rivals—Plymouth College and Mannamead School—amalgamated into one establishment; only cadets took part in the match, and they declared at 266 for six wickets, dismissing their opponents for 117.
The season’s record is an exemplary one:—
First eleven.—Won, 11; lost, 3; drawn, 2.
Second eleven.—Won, 11; lost, 4.
The Britannia games are never permitted to stand still—there is no such thing as finality recognised.
In 1893 a regular series of football matches was in full swing, both Rugby and Association being played.