The Copy Book

A Full Day’s Play

It was one of those rare occasions when a game of cricket had not been interrupted by the weather, but would the Church be so forgiving?

Part 1 of 2

1836
In the Time of

King William IV 1830-1837

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A Full Day’s Play

By Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), via WIkimedia Commons. Public domain. Source

A cricket match in Bedford Park, London, in 1897.

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‘Match de cricket à Bedford Park, Londres’ or cricket match at Bedford Park, London, painted by Danish-french artist Camille Pissaro (1830-1903). In Dickens’s time, some people of strong religious conviction were adamantly opposed to sports on a Sunday, regarding it as an infringement of the commandment to ‘keep the Sabbath day holy’, which Christians had tranferred from Saturday to Sunday in honour of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dickens, a Christian by conviction, was in favour of Sunday observance but he believed in another divine commandment, ‘The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath’. See The Great Baby.

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A cricket match in Bedford Park, London, in 1897.

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By Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), via WIkimedia Commons. Public domain.

‘Match de cricket à Bedford Park, Londres’ or cricket match at Bedford Park, London, painted by Danish-french artist Camille Pissaro (1830-1903). In Dickens’s time, some people of strong religious conviction were adamantly opposed to sports on a Sunday, regarding it as an infringement of the commandment to ‘keep the Sabbath day holy’, which Christians had tranferred from Saturday to Sunday in honour of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dickens, a Christian by conviction, was in favour of Sunday observance but he believed in another divine commandment, ‘The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath’. See The Great Baby.

Introduction

Charles Dickens was very much frustrated with the behaviour of religious campaigners who declared that playing games on Sunday was a sin. During one Sunday evening walk, he stumbled across a meadow where there was a cricket match in full swing, not a stone’s throw from the parish church, and he trembled to think what the ecclesiastical authorities would say if they knew about it.

As I approached this spot in the evening about half an hour before sunset, I was surprised to hear the hum of voices, and occasionally a shout of merriment from the meadow beyond the churchyard; which I found, when I reached the stile, to be occasioned by a very animated game of cricket, in which the boys and young men of the place were engaged, while the females and old people were scattered about: some seated on the grass watching the progress of the game, and others sauntering about in groups of two or three, gathering little nosegays of wild roses and hedge flowers.

I could not but take notice of one old man in particular, with a bright-eyed grand-daughter by his side, who was giving a sunburnt young fellow some instructions in the game, which he received with an air of profound deference, but with an occasional glance at the girl, which induced me to think that his attention was rather distracted from the old gentleman’s narration of the fruits of his experience.

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Précis

Writing in 1836, Charles Dickens recalled how he had been on a Sunday evening stroll past a churchyard when he stumbled across a cricket match in the neighbouring meadow. An old gentleman, with his grand-daughter, was among the scattered spectators, holding forth on the game to a young man who was listening politely, but had eyes only for the girl. (60 / 60 words)

Writing in 1836, Charles Dickens recalled how he had been on a Sunday evening stroll past a churchyard when he stumbled across a cricket match in the neighbouring meadow. An old gentleman, with his grand-daughter, was among the scattered spectators, holding forth on the game to a young man who was listening politely, but had eyes only for the girl.

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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, besides, if, must, otherwise, ought, unless, whether.

Word Games

Sevens Based on this passage

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

What were the women doing while the men played cricket?

Suggestion

Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.

Jigsaws Based on this passage

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Dickens went for a Sunday stroll. He heard voices. It turned out to be a cricket match.

Variation: Try rewriting your sentence so that it uses one or more of these words: 1. Investigate 2. Prove 3. Sound

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