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by name, and after each greeting plays the tune of "St. Dunstan's 

 Hunt's up." 



But I should draw but an imperfect picture of our dalesmen, 

 past or present, if I failed to notice their festivities and their sports. 

 The former were, generally speaking, confined to two seasons — 

 the sheep-shearings or "clippin's" in summer, and the great winter 

 festival of Christmas. In former days, Christmas was far more of 

 a holiday than it is now. From Christmas-day until Twelfth Night, 

 all work was thrown aside, and the time devoted to feasting and 

 merry-making. Fiddling and dancing, "merry neets," and "oald 

 wife haiks," attracted old and young. For graphic descriptions of 

 these festive gatherings, as they were in the time of our forefathers, 

 I must refer you to the ballads of Anderson, "blin' Stagg," Mark 

 Lonsdale, and other Cumbrian bards who were eye-witnesses and 

 sharers in the revels. The clipping feasts were much the same as 

 those with which we are familiar now-a-days, except that the fun 

 was, perhaps, more uproarious. 



The great and characteristic sport of Cumberland and Westmor- 

 land has always been wrestling. Our north country mode of 

 wrestling differs from — and, as we love to think, excels — -anything 

 of the kind practised in other parts of England, or, indeed, of 

 Europe. But as the wrestling ring is, happily, not a byegone 

 institution, but, on the contrary, as any one who cares to see a 

 good "warsle," may easily gratify his wish, it is unnecessary to enter 

 into a minute description of this sport. 



The ancient and barbarous sports of cock-fighting, bull-baiting, 

 and badger-baiting were popular in this, as in other counties, until 

 the year 1835, when they were prohibited by Parliament. It now 

 seems a wonder that they were not suppressed long before that 

 time : their influence on the community must have been brutalising. 

 Cockfighting was an amusement in which our ancestors took great 

 interest, and much care was bestowed in breeding and training game 

 cocks to fight mains or matches. It is not my intention at present 

 to give any description of this barbarous sport, but I may mention 

 that Shrovetide was the favourite season when the great cockfights 

 came ofif. Near several old inns in the district the site of the 



