Lives in Cricket No 26 - HV Hesketh-Prichard

57 John Buchan was on the staff of the Spectator at the time, which might be why the piece appeared there. Kate describes it as ‘an exquisite piece of work’. To modern eyes it might seem a little overcooked: All round the hut, especially upon the western promontory, the Atlantic beats with a trumpeting of surf, and unceasingly the wind cries through the rifted masonry of the oratory. It seems to be calling aloud the tale of Irish wrong and Irish sorrow to the night, and between the hoarse water-voices, and against the shrill insistence of the wind, the imaginative can almost hear the strenuous wrestling of the saint in prayer, perhaps even echoes of the tuneful, strong-throated psalm. On June 19, the Westminster Budget had reported that the June number of Strand Magazine is exceptionally strong in fiction. The contents lead off with a new serial, By Tammer’s Camp Fires , by K. and Hesketh Prichard. It tells of adventures among some of the tribes in the Soudan when the Senussi Sultan started to preach a holy war. The Soudan and its people will always have a keen interest for English readers, and the vivid narrative, we doubt not, will be closely followed. It then followed on by mentioning new stories by Conan Doyle and H.G.Wells, so undoubtedly the Prichards were at the top of their game. On August 21 Hex set off for Labrador with Johnnie Millais to shoot caribou. He shot five stags, having been given a special licence by the Newfoundland government. According to Kate, Hex as a boy had always wanted to see the caribou when he visited the zoo. Millais suggested they collaborate on a book. Hex declined the offer and when they got to Newfoundland Johnnie cried off the trip. Hex then arranged for Johnnie to leave a boat for him at a certain place so that he could hunt in October, but apparently Johnnie sold the boat to his guide, who then rented it out to someone else: Hex found another boat but was not happy. This was his first trip to Labrador: it was by no means the last or the biggest. Labrador was a tough place: earlier in the year Leonidas Hubbard, who had led an expedition starting in July, died of exhaustion and exposure. Kate said of Hubbard that he ‘started in a vague romantic spirit, but the lack of common sense ... was deplorable.’ Hex was more practical. Once Hex had returned from Newfoundland, Christmas of 1903 was spent in London. * * * * * * * Early in 1904 Kate and Hex purchased a flat at 74 Carlisle Place, at the western end of Victoria Street in central London. This was the first property owned outright and must have indicated an improvement in their finances. In March he had spoken at a Society of Authors dinner, a further indication that his writing was seen as something more than just a spare-time activity. In the summer of 1904 Hex played more first-class cricket than in any other season, and it was certainly his most successful. He started early and on 28 April he played a game for London County against Surrey at Crystal Palace. He had a good long bowl in the first innings, too, taking five One of the Gentlemen