Introduction
German club cricket began in 1858, courtesy of British and American expatriates living in Berlin. But there is a much earlier game on record, played in Leipzig on June 10th, 1837. One of the participants was William Sterndale Bennett, a young and promising composer, and inevitably perhaps, a Yorkshireman.
Diary for June 10th, 1837.
WELL, I’m off on Monday. Beginning to pay my visits p.p.c..* Count Reuss is gone away to Kreutz.* Called yesterday on Madame von Goethe,* dined with Benecke,* and played at Cricket with some Englishmen, which made the Germans stare very much, as they never saw the game before — we had English bats and balls.
8 o’ clock evening. Schumann has been to spend an hour with me and drink a bottle of Porter,* I am so sorry to part from him, for I think he is one of the finest hearted fellows I ever knew — My heart springs up when I think that I leave Leipzig on Monday, but yet I don’t know whether it is with sorrow at leaving this place or joy at seeing my England again. I could never believe before that one was so fond of his own country — especially mine. As Sir Walter Scott says, ‘Merry England which is the envy of all other countries and the pride of all who can call themselves her natives’.
Amen, say I.
“When a person or family is about to remove from a city, or to be absent for some time, it is customary to call upon the friends to take leave. Should those upon whom the call is made not be at home, a card is left with the letters P.P.C. written upon it. These letters stand for ‘Pour prendre congé’, a French phrase signifying ‘to take leave’.” From Student and Family Miscellany Vol. X (1855), edited by N. A. Calkins.
The future Heinrich II, Prince of Reuss-Köstritz (1803-1852), who had been schooled for a time in Yorkshire, and according to Bennett’s biographer, his son J.R. Sterndale Bennett, ‘seemed to Bennett quite an Englishman’.
Ottilie von Goethe (1796-1872), daughter-in-law of the famous poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Bennett knew her through her son Walter.
‘One of two brothers, F.W. and V.’ says J.R., ‘probably the latter’. They were the uncles of Mendelssohn’s wife, Cécile. FW’s children settled in England.
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Bennett spent many nights together on the town. Robert was already suffering from serious depression and paranoia, in particular fear of poisoning or attack with metallic objects such as cutlery. He attempted suicide in 1854, then confined himself in an asylum, where he died two years later. Bennett ensured that Robert’s widow Clara, a brilliant professional pianist, came to perform in London in later years.
Précis
Young composer William Sterndale Bennet left Leipzig in 1837 with a mixture of regret for the friends he must part from, especially Robert Schumann, and happy anticipation at returning home to England. A game of cricket had helped to remind him, somewhat to his own surprise, just how much he missed his native heath. (54 / 60 words)
Young composer William Sterndale Bennet left Leipzig in 1837 with a mixture of regret for the friends he must part from, especially Robert Schumann, and happy anticipation at returning home to England. A game of cricket had helped to remind him, somewhat to his own surprise, just how much he missed his native heath.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, may, or, otherwise, ought, until, whereas, who.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
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.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Fine. Merry. Mine.
2 My. Porter. Which.
3 Call. Spend. Well.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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