of it, not only because the king was fo addicted to it, but also in regard of the great valor and incomparable courage that the Cockes thewed in their battels; the which did inflame their hearts, that they caufed Cocke-pits to be made in many citties, boroughes, and townes, throughout the whole realme. To which Cocke-pits reforted both Dukes, Earles, Lords, Knights, Gentlemen, and Yeomen; there to recreate and delight themselves with Cocke-fighting."

The author relates many hard-fought battles, at the recital of which the Cockers of modern days, had they three ears," would liften with delight. But, in extracting fuch paffages, we thould feel abhorrence. We with that a paftime fo cruel was abolished. We find that it was reprobated in the time of Charles I. by a paffage in an Epigram* of Bancroft, addressed to Master William Latkins, on Cacke-fighting; in which the writer affects to deduce a moral from the barbarous exhibition. "Some, that diflike whate'er their betters love, This paflime as a cruell fport reprove.

But why should not man, of all creatures lord,
So use them as they pleasure may afford?

Is it more cruelty for fowles to fight,

Than beafts by th' butcher's knife to die outright ?

But I can raife good from the Pit, and call

To mind at every found fad Peter's fall;

And, while they fight that are fo neare of kinne,

Spurre up mine anger 'gainft (mine inmate) finne,
That crowes against me, &c."

This paftime, it feems, was prohibited by one of Oliver's Acts, dated March 31, 1654t.

Book IV. Domestic Amusements of various Kinds; and Paftimes appropriated to particular Seafans.

"Chap. I. Secular mufic fafhionable.-Ballad-fingers encouraged by the populace.-Mufic-houfes.-Origin of Vauxhall; Ranelagh; Sadler's Wells; Mary bone Gardens; Operas; Oratorios.-Bell-ringing.-Hand-bells.-Burlefque mufic.-Dancing.-Shovel-board. Anecdote of Prince Henry.-Billiards.-Miffiffipi.-Swinging.Totter-totter. Shuttle-cock.”

In this chapter, Mr. Strutt notices the ringing of bells at funerals, "when they are muffled." Perhaps an extract from the conclufion of a work on this fubject, not mentioned by

• "Two Books of Epigrammes, &c. written by Thomas Bancroft, Lond. 1639, 4to. B. ii. Ep. 236."

+ See Hiftoria Histrionica, 8vo. Lond. 1699."

"Campanologia improved, or, The Art of Ringing made eafie. Svo. Lond.. 1702."

Mr.

Mr. Strutt, may be acceptable to the curious reader; as it records the performance of the funeral peal two different ways.

"The one is by ringing the bells round at a fet pull, thereby keeping them up fo as to delay their friking, that there may be the difzance of three notes at leaft (according to the true compafs of ringing upon other occafions) between bell and bell; and, having gone round one whole pull, every bell (except the tenor) to fet and fland; whilst the tenor rings one pull in the fame compafs as before: and this is to be done whilit the perfon deceased is bringing to the ground; and, after he is interred, to ring a fhort peal of round ringing, or changes in true time and compafs, and fo conclude. The other way is called buffetting the bells, that is, by tying pieces of leather, old hat, &c. round the bail of the clapper of each bell; and then, by ringing them as before is fhewn, they make a dolefull and mournfull found; concluding with a fhort peal after the funeral is over, the clappers being clear as at other times; which way of buffetting is molt practifed in this city of London.'

Chap. II. Sedentary games.-Dice playing; its prevalency and bad effect-An anecdote relating to falfe dice.-Chefs, the origin unknown. The chefs-board.-The pieces, and their form. The various games of chefs.-The philofopher's game.-Draughts, French and Polith.-Merelles, or nine mens' morris.-Fox and goofe.-Soli tary game.-Backgammon, anciently called tables. The different manners of playing at tables.-Domino.-Cards, when invented.Card-playing much practifed; forbidden.-A fpecimen of ancient cards. The games formerly played with cards.--The game of goofe; and of the fake.-Crofs and pile.

Chap. III. The Lord of Mifrule faid to be peculiar to the English. A court officer. The matter of the king's revels.-The Lord of Mifrule and his conduct reprobated.-The king of Chrift mas; of the Cockmes; of the Bean.-Whence originated.-The festival of fools.-The boy-bishop.--The fool-plough.-Eaftergames.-Hock Tuesday.-May games.-Whitfun games.-The vigil of St. John the Baptift, how kept.-Setting the Midfummer-watch. Proceffions on St. Catherine's day.--Waflails.-Harvest-home.— Wakes, church-ales, and fairs; their origin and abuses.-Sports ufual at them. Bonfires.-Fire-works.-Illuminations."

Concerning the origin of Waffail, Mr. Strutt obferves, that, if the derivation of it from the Saxon Was hal, Health to you, be though doubtful, he can only fay, that it has the authority at leaft of antiqui y on its fide, Anciently, we may add, a drinker was called a Was-beiler, or Wifher of bealib. Mr. Nott, however, the learned tranflator of Select Odes from the Perfian poet Hafez, printed in 1787, remarking that feveral English words are deduced from the Perfic and Arabic, confi ders Waffail as derived from the Perfian word Wefel, which fignifies enjoyment, he believes, in almost all its fenfes. Poffibly more light will be thrown on this word, in a work an, nounced

nounced for publication by the Rev. Stephen Wefton, which is entitled A Specimen of the Conformity at the European Languages, particularly the English, with the Oriental Languages, efpecially the Perfian, in the Order of the Alphabet."

We fhall make one more extract from Mr Strutt's amuling volume. Refpecting the Harvest-home, he produces the following obfervations.

"A foreign gentleman* [Hentzner] who was in England at the close of the fixteenth century, and wro ́e an account of what he faw here, fays, as we were returning to our inn, we happened to meet Some country people celebrating their harvest-home their laft load of corn they crown with flowers, having betides an image richly dreffed, by which perhaps they fignify Ceres; this they keep moving about, while the men and women, and men and maid fervants, riding through the streets in the cart, fhout as loud as they can till they arrive at the barn." Another foreign writer alfo tells us, that he faw" in England the country people bring home" from the harveft-field, I prefume, he means, a figure made with corn, round which the men and the women were promifcuously finging, and preceded by a piper or a drumt." "In the north," fays a modern writer of our own country, "not half a century ago, they ufed every where to dress up a figure, fomewhat fimilar to that juft defcribed, at the end of harveft, which they called a kern-baby, plainly a corruption of corn-baby‡." P. 271.

Mr. Strutt will not be difpleafed to find fome of these circumftances relating to harvest-home illuftrated, in a dramatic piece, by one of our own countrymen; we mean "A pleafant Comedie, called Summer's laft Will and Teftament, written by Thomas Nath, 1600;" in which Harvest, perfonified, enters," with a fythe on his neck, and all his reapers with ficcles, and a great black bowle with a poffet in it, borne before him"; they come in finging,

*

"Merry, merry, merry, cheary, cheary, cheary,
Trowle the black bowle to me;

Hey derry, derry, with a poupe and a lerry,

Ile trowle it againe to thee:

Hooky, hooky, we have fhorne,

and we haue bound,

And we haue brought Haruest

home to towne."

"His Itinerary is written in Latin, and tranflated by the late Lord Orford."

"Præcedente tibicine aut tympano. Morefin Deprav. Reliq.

Orig. in verbo Vacina."

本

"As the kern, or churn, fupper is of corn-fupper. Brand's Ob

ferv, on Bourne's Vulg. Antiq. chap. xxxi. p. 303,"

This fong, after a converfation between Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Harvest, is repeated; after which, Summer thus fpeaks of Harvelt.

"Well, go thy waies, thou bundle of Araw; Ile giue thee this gift, thou shalt be a clowne while thou liu'ft. As luftie as they are, they run on the fcore with Georges wife for their poffet, and God knowes who fhall pay goodman Yeomans for his wheat sheafe: They may fing well enough, Trowle the blacke bowle to mee, trowle the black bowle to mee: for, a hundredth to one, but they will bee all drunke, e're they go to bedde; yet, of a flauering foole, that hath no conceyte in any thing, but in carrying a wand in his hand, with commendation when he runneth by the high way fide, this fripling Hareft hath done reasonable well. O that fome bodie had the wit to fet his thatcht fuite on fire, and fo lighted him out: If I had had but a jet ring on my finger, I might haue done with him what I lift; I had fpoil'd him, I had took his apparell prifoner; for it being made of ftraw, and the nature of jet to draw ftraw vnto it, I would haue nailde him to the pommell of my chaire, till the play were done, and then haue carried him to my chamber dore, and laide him at the threshold as a wafpe, or a piece of mat, to wipe my fhooes on, euerie time I come vp durtie."

We proceed to the remaining chapter of Mr. Strutt's work.

Chap. IV. The popular paftimes among the men imitated by the children.-A general defcription of the childrens' games.-Various paftimes, the names of which are unknown.-Amusements mentioned by different writers, but not described."

APPENDIX. An Account of the Manuscripts from which the Subjects of the Plates are taken.

Such are the contents of this laborious and valuable publication; a publication, which will add to the diftinguithed reputation of the author*, and further endear his name to all the lovers of national antiquities.

ART. IX. A Comparative View of the Public Finances, &c. (Continued from our last, p. 279.)

AFTER this difcuffion on annuities, we have next to note, that if our debt during the war was increafed beyond precadent, measures were adopted to reftrain its augmentation, or

The former works of Mr. Strutt are confiderable. Namely, 1. Regal and Ecclefiaftical Antiquities of England, 4to. 1774. 2. View of the Manners, Customs, &c. three vols. 4to. 1774-1776. 3. Chronicle of England, two vols, 4to. 1777-8. 4. Biographical Dictionary of Engravers, 4to. 1785.

to reduce it with a celerity beyond precedent alfo. Such were the convoy tax, the triple affelfments, and, finally, the income tax; of which laft, together with the capital it is pledged to reduce, a fhort account fhall be given, on the principle explained above. Its amount is 5,822,000l. it is engaged for the dif charge of 56,445.000l. capital, in the 3 per cents. the intereft of which is 1,693,350l. To this there is to be added a long annuity of 19,6661. to be paid thereby during the term of its operation; the fum of both is 1,713,016l. leaving a fund of 4,108,984. for the reduction of the capital; the future improvement of which, according to the average which feems to be agreed on by both parties in the ftate, is taken to be at gå per cent. and the mean price of stock 80 per cent. At this rate, that capital will be entirely redeemed thereby, in nine years, five and half months, from the beginning of its application: and if the flocks fhall be at par at the end of that term, by continuing the tax five or fix weeks longer, a capital of 655.5331. will be purchased by its produce; the intereft of which, 19,6661. will pay the annuity, and afterwards fall into the free fund. But the prefent value of this great fund, or affet, provided for the reduction of its capital, 4,108,9841. at 34 per cent. for that term, is 32,210,3251. in money; which, at the rate of the 3 per cent. Itocks, here taken at 80 per cent. would redeem 40,262,9061. leaving 16,182,094. an adverse balance of debt and affet on this head. Here it is to be obferved, that the total debt, 56,455,000l. is a true integral part of the capital, although it will not be inferted in the next Table; because its fund differs in its nature from all others in the column where it fhould be placed; the latter being perpetual, and the former to ceafe at the end of nine years and a half.

Mr. Morgan having determined the funded debt at the end of 1783, or January, 1784, proceeds to give a like statemens for the end of April, 1801, in order to compare it with the former; the great importance of the fubject has induced us to reftate it, according to the principles above laid down, and to continue it to January, 1802, to include the addition made to it in November last, by funding 10,900,000l. Exchequer-bills; which operation is here taken to have been completed. To this account, our limits compel as to give a very compreflec form; brief notes will be found in the margin, on fuch articles as there may be any difficulty to verify, and on fome of the errors of Mr. Morgan, caused by the accounts he followed or otherwife.

To us the rate feems too low for a future term of Peace.

Table