13
Edward Mills Grace. Handwritten twelve page letter from Grace to his Mother, Martha, written from
Auctioneer has chosen not to publish the price of this lot
Leicester
Description
Edward Mills Grace. Handwritten twelve page letter from Grace to his Mother, Martha, written from Melbourne and dated January 1864. This excellent letter is full of comment, both from a cricketing and social perspective. Grace appears very excited and happy with the single wicket match he played in. ‘I wrote a letter when at Ballarat thinking if I sent it by the Great Britain [ship] that you would have it earlier than sending it by mail....When I left off it was on the Wednesday morning at Ballarat. We got them all out and then we had a most exciting single wicket match, Tarrant and myself against 8 of them, we won after a most exciting match by eight runs. I played the ball on to my leg and from there into the wicket, Tarrant bowled three out and then I bowled one out and then threw another the first ball, then they made three runs off me so Tarrant went on to bowl again, the first ball he bowled a man, the second he did the same, the third I ran a man out and the fourth Wills played and the fifth I ran Wills out splendidly, so we won by eight runs’. ‘In the evening... some of us appeared on the Theatre stage to present bats to the highest scorers of the 22, Anderson [G] [one of the Eleven] made a short speech in presenting it to Wills the highest scorer and I had to present a ball to Jerry Bryant as the best bowler in which I made them all laugh by presenting it after the curtain fell. They called one or two of us on the stage when I went on the cheering was incessant and one lady threw a beautiful bouquet to me from the boxes’. He then goes on to describe the journey and match at Ararat ‘’One then had to wait till half past 12 [in the morning] when we started in the coach for Ararat, no road like ours, but through the bush where we bump about most awfully... we arrive there at 10 o’clock..after a sleepless night. They won the toss and put us in, it was a chalky ground, nearly white. I could not see the ball at all, I had three most beautiful half volley balls and missed them all, so got bowled the third one for a round ‘0’, the second one I have got’. ‘On the morning... we found that they could not play much of it. They made 36, so they thought to give them a chance by putting me on to bowl. I never bowled worse in my life. I think that if no one had been at the wicket I should not have hit them more than four times. They could not play at all, I bowled 92 balls, 4 runs, 19 maidens, 7 wickets and we got them out for 34 runs, the least twenty two have made since the Eleven have been out’. He then talks of the return to Ballarat and eventually to Melbourne ‘I went with Mr Kirk to the cattle yards and saw him sell 100 fat bullocks’. Grace talks of seeing cricket at the Melbourne cricket ground ‘of those Gentlemen who seldom played’ and then commenced his journey to Castlemaine and onto Maryborough where the next match was to be played by the Eleven ‘I found them exceedingly nice people at Maryborough. They won the toss and went in but before they were all out it came down to rain’. That evening the two teams went to a ball and Grace was asked ‘if I should be introduced to a nice young lady to take to the ball, I told him I did not mind. It turned out to be his Wife’s sister as common and evil as one could wish to see’. Grace then goes into detail of the names of the dances and dancers during the evening.. ‘went to bed half past five, got up at ten and went to play cricket when I accomplished the highest score [44] and had a bat presented that evening. The Eleven won the game and travelled back towards Melbourne, with a one night stop over at Castlemaine ‘Tarrant was bragging tremendously when I challenged him to run any distance he liked up to a quarter of a mile, he chose 100 yards for a pound a side. We staked the money and started out on the road, there and then... I beat him easily so I should think he would be quiet for some time’. ‘The mail is expected in today, nearly a fortnight late. We start for New Zealand on Monday... I have now come up to Mr Kirk’s again. I hope we will have four letters before we go to New Zealand, I will write more before the mail goes. I hope you will not be surprised if you see me bring a Mrs E.M.G. home. Saturday.... I have made up my mind not to go overland home, May and June are the two hottest months in the year in the Red Sea and thereabouts it is really something awful. I do not think I could stand it and besides it saves more than - cricket £120 going home around the horn. I am very sorry to see such accounts in the Sporting Life about me and I hope that Colonel Marshall will see them for I know they will be contradicted’.... you will be very proud to know what a great favourite your son is with everybody in the colony. The ladies, old and young, at least all I have seen would do anything for me. I shall either come home by a sailing vessel or one of the steamers that turn round the horn.... I make myself quite at home, such lovely grounds here, apricots, green gages, apples, pears, plums are ripe in the garden. But grapes and peaches are not yet’. ‘Grace concludes with ‘Love to everybody, your affectionate son, ‘Edward Mills Grace’. An excellent and extensive account from Grace, covering the matches at Ballarat and Maryborough and time spent in Melbourne, prior to the voyage to New Zealand. Minor wear and nicks to page edges, light folds, ink stain to top corner of first page otherwise in very good condition. - cricket
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Edward Mills Grace. Handwritten twelve page letter from Grace to his Mother, Martha, written from Melbourne and dated January 1864. This excellent letter is full of comment, both from a cricketing and social perspective. Grace appears very excited and happy with the single wicket match he played in. ‘I wrote a letter when at Ballarat thinking if I sent it by the Great Britain [ship] that you would have it earlier than sending it by mail....When I left off it was on the Wednesday morning at Ballarat. We got them all out and then we had a most exciting single wicket match, Tarrant and myself against 8 of them, we won after a most exciting match by eight runs. I played the ball on to my leg and from there into the wicket, Tarrant bowled three out and then I bowled one out and then threw another the first ball, then they made three runs off me so Tarrant went on to bowl again, the first ball he bowled a man, the second he did the same, the third I ran a man out and the fourth Wills played and the fifth I ran Wills out splendidly, so we won by eight runs’. ‘In the evening... some of us appeared on the Theatre stage to present bats to the highest scorers of the 22, Anderson [G] [one of the Eleven] made a short speech in presenting it to Wills the highest scorer and I had to present a ball to Jerry Bryant as the best bowler in which I made them all laugh by presenting it after the curtain fell. They called one or two of us on the stage when I went on the cheering was incessant and one lady threw a beautiful bouquet to me from the boxes’. He then goes on to describe the journey and match at Ararat ‘’One then had to wait till half past 12 [in the morning] when we started in the coach for Ararat, no road like ours, but through the bush where we bump about most awfully... we arrive there at 10 o’clock..after a sleepless night. They won the toss and put us in, it was a chalky ground, nearly white. I could not see the ball at all, I had three most beautiful half volley balls and missed them all, so got bowled the third one for a round ‘0’, the second one I have got’. ‘On the morning... we found that they could not play much of it. They made 36, so they thought to give them a chance by putting me on to bowl. I never bowled worse in my life. I think that if no one had been at the wicket I should not have hit them more than four times. They could not play at all, I bowled 92 balls, 4 runs, 19 maidens, 7 wickets and we got them out for 34 runs, the least twenty two have made since the Eleven have been out’. He then talks of the return to Ballarat and eventually to Melbourne ‘I went with Mr Kirk to the cattle yards and saw him sell 100 fat bullocks’. Grace talks of seeing cricket at the Melbourne cricket ground ‘of those Gentlemen who seldom played’ and then commenced his journey to Castlemaine and onto Maryborough where the next match was to be played by the Eleven ‘I found them exceedingly nice people at Maryborough. They won the toss and went in but before they were all out it came down to rain’. That evening the two teams went to a ball and Grace was asked ‘if I should be introduced to a nice young lady to take to the ball, I told him I did not mind. It turned out to be his Wife’s sister as common and evil as one could wish to see’. Grace then goes into detail of the names of the dances and dancers during the evening.. ‘went to bed half past five, got up at ten and went to play cricket when I accomplished the highest score [44] and had a bat presented that evening. The Eleven won the game and travelled back towards Melbourne, with a one night stop over at Castlemaine ‘Tarrant was bragging tremendously when I challenged him to run any distance he liked up to a quarter of a mile, he chose 100 yards for a pound a side. We staked the money and started out on the road, there and then... I beat him easily so I should think he would be quiet for some time’. ‘The mail is expected in today, nearly a fortnight late. We start for New Zealand on Monday... I have now come up to Mr Kirk’s again. I hope we will have four letters before we go to New Zealand, I will write more before the mail goes. I hope you will not be surprised if you see me bring a Mrs E.M.G. home. Saturday.... I have made up my mind not to go overland home, May and June are the two hottest months in the year in the Red Sea and thereabouts it is really something awful. I do not think I could stand it and besides it saves more than - cricket £120 going home around the horn. I am very sorry to see such accounts in the Sporting Life about me and I hope that Colonel Marshall will see them for I know they will be contradicted’.... you will be very proud to know what a great favourite your son is with everybody in the colony. The ladies, old and young, at least all I have seen would do anything for me. I shall either come home by a sailing vessel or one of the steamers that turn round the horn.... I make myself quite at home, such lovely grounds here, apricots, green gages, apples, pears, plums are ripe in the garden. But grapes and peaches are not yet’. ‘Grace concludes with ‘Love to everybody, your affectionate son, ‘Edward Mills Grace’. An excellent and extensive account from Grace, covering the matches at Ballarat and Maryborough and time spent in Melbourne, prior to the voyage to New Zealand. Minor wear and nicks to page edges, light folds, ink stain to top corner of first page otherwise in very good condition. - cricket
The Dawn of Test Cricket. The important historical collection of Edward Mills Grace, Cricketer
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