DEDICATION
TO WILLIAM WARD, Esq.
&c. &c. &c.
Dear Sir,
You have kindly consented to my wish of dedicating my little book to you, and I am much pleased that you have done so: first, because you are a countryman of my own having lived in Hampshire; and secondly, and chiefly, because, as a Cricketer, I consider you the most worthy man of the present day to reflect credit upon my choice as a patron.
It would ill become me, Sir, in this place to allude to other weighty reasons for congratulating myself upon this point—an insignificant book of instruction—as to the best mode of excelling in an elegant relaxation, not being the most fitting medium for digressing upon unquestionedly high public worth and integrity, or private condescension and amenity: at the same time, I cannot but feel how happily such a combination of qualities in a patron must redound to my own advantage.
I have not seen much of your playing—certainly not so much as I could have wished; but so far as my observation and judgement extend, I may confidently pronounce you to be one of the safest players I remember to have seen. The circumstance of your rising so much above the ordinary standard in stature
