he land? Nothing the matter, is
there?'

"'No, no. Mr. Miller was saying our land was
better than Mullins' meadows.'

"'How should he know anything about it?' inquired
the old lady indignantly. 'Miller's a conceited
coxcomb, and you may tell him I said so.' Saying
which, the old lady, quite unconscious that she
had spoken above a whisper, drew herself up, and
looked carving-knives at the hard-headed
delinquent."

* * * * *

In the course of our tramp we fall in with "a very queer small boy,"
rejoicing in the Christian names of "Spencer Ray," upon which we
congratulate him, and express a hope that he will do honour to the
noble names which he bears, one being that of the great English
philosopher, and the other that of the famous English naturalist. This
boy, who is just such a bright intelligent lad as Dickens himself would
have been at his age (twelve and a half years), gives us some
interesting particulars respecting Town Malling and its proclivities for
cricket, upon which he is very eloquent. It appears that in the year
1887 the cricketers of Town Malling won eleven matches out of twelve;
but during this year they have not been so successful. He directed us to
the cricket-ground, which we visit, and find to be but a few minutes'
walk from the centre of the town, bearing to the westward. It is a very
fine field, nearly seven acres in extent, in splendid order, as level as
a die, and as green as an emerald. It lies well open, and is flanked by
the western range of hills of the Medway valley.

[Illustration: CRICKET GROUND--TOWN MALLING.]

The marquee into which Mr. Pickwick and his friends were invited, first
by "one very stout gentleman, whose body and legs looked like half a
gigantic roll of flannel, elevated on a couple of inflated
pillow-cases," and then by the irrepressible Jingle with--"This
way--this way--capital fun--lots of beer--hogsheads; rounds of
beef--bullocks; mustard--cart-loads; glorious day--down with you--make
yourself at home--glad to see you--very," has been replaced by a
handsome pavilion.

There is no cricket-playing going on at the time, but there are several
cricketers in the field, and from them we learn confirmatory evidence of
the long existence of the ground in its present condition, and the
enthusiasm of the inhabitants for the old English game.

A