The Merry Past 



they were upon the pilferers, whom they seized and 

 locked up in the stable, with the idea of extracting 

 some fun from the incident, rather than invoking 

 the forces of the law. Tying the two old thieves 

 together, they matted their two beards and smeared 

 them with warm shoemakers' wax. As soon as the 

 wax was cooled, and the people around had enjoyed 

 sufficiently the sight of the venerable patriarchs in 

 this fraternal embrace, the postilions applied to each 

 nose at intervals a few pinches of snuff, which oc- 

 casioned such a concussion of noses, and such sputter- 

 ing, that the crowd of loungers which had collected 

 vowed the sight to be the most amusing they had 

 ever seen. 



Women running in smocks for prizes, or playing 

 matches against each others at various games, was not 

 an uncommon thing. As late as September, 1835, 

 considerable excitement prevailed at Parson's Green, 

 Walham, in consequence of a cricket match for ^10 

 and a hot supper between eleven married women 

 and eleven girls. The married women wore light 

 blue dresses, their waists and heads being decorated 

 with ribbons of the same colour ; the single women 

 were attired in close white dresses, with pink sashes 

 and cap bows. The game commenced about eleven 

 o'clock, the married taking the first innings, and 

 obtaining 47 runs. The single then commenced 

 play, and were not so successful, the whole of them 

 being bowled out after 29 runs. The two next 

 innings were played, and the game was won by the 

 single women, but only by 7 runs. After the match, 



219 



