den. 



220 ON SPORTS AND EXERCISES* 



of our history. During the military enthusiasm of the 

 irtlddle ages, while jousts and tournaments furnished 

 amusement to the nobility and gentry, martial exercises 

 constituted the chief diversions of the body of the people. 

 Science of dc- Hence arose the establishment of schools for teaching the 

 fighters orEng- " Noble science of defence," as it was called. These 

 liih gladiator*, laid the foundation for professed gladiators, or prize-fight- 

 ers. — The great preralence of murder, robbing and every 

 species of barbarity, in consequence of these proceedings, 

 during the reign of Edward the First, compelled the go- 

 vernment to issue an edict to suppress the schools as well 

 the combats of prize-fighters. 



During the reign of Henry the Seventh and Henry 

 Eighth^ these schools were revived in consequence of a 

 supposed degeneracy in the military spirit of the people ; 

 and the baiting of animals at the same time became a 

 favourite * diversion. 

 The bear gar- The Bear-garden+, during the 16th and the early part 

 of the 17th century, was the place of rendezvous for the 

 highest as well as the lowest classes of society. The Tat- 

 ler, when treating on the barbarous sports of this national 

 circus, and tbe comments of foreigners on the subject, 



of admiring spectators. Another instance of our barbarous inge- 

 nuity must not be omitted. No other nation but the British has 

 contrived to put in practice the Batth-Royaly and the Wehb-Main. — 

 In the former, the spectator may be gratified with the display of 

 numbers of game-cocks, destroying each other at the same moment 

 without order or distinction. In the latter, these courageous birds 

 are doomed to destruction in a more regular, but not less certain 

 manner. They fight in pairs, (suppose i6 in number) and the two 

 last survivors are then matched against each other ; so that out of 

 3a birds, 31 must be necessarily slaughtered.«^See Peggc's Essay on 

 the Archoelogia Britannica. 



* Stephen Gossen, in the latter end of Henry 8th's reign, consi- 

 ders that our ancestors had entirely sunk into the lap of effeminacy, 

 -as may be proved by the following singularly quaint and alliterative 

 style of abuse. " Our wrestling at arms is turned Into wallowing in 

 ladies' laps ; our courage to cowardice ; our running to riot ; our 

 bows into bowls ; and our darts into dishes. 



f Another common diversion, during the period of Queen Eliza- 

 beth and in the two following reigns, consisted in several persons 

 at the same time scourging with whips, a blind-folded bear round 

 the ring, whose sufferings and awkward attempts at revenge highly 

 gratified the noble, as well as ignoble spectators. 



adds, 



