OLD VILLAGE JOKES AND GAMES. 15 



" wrestler," and only passed away about two years ago. As 

 nails in the soles were strictly prohibited, it was permissible to 

 harden the leather of the soles artifically, so as to give it as 

 good a cutting edge as possible. The prescription of one of the 

 above combatants to this end was to soak the soles of his boots 

 well in bullock's blood and then dry them off. 



I have been given to understand that the scarred head of a 

 Dorset "player" and the scarred shins of a Devon "wrostler" 

 were as much the subject of pride as the scarred cheeks of a 

 German officer who had been wounded in his military duels. 



Such were some of the jokes, pranks, and manly games which 

 enlivened village life before the days of railways and daily 

 papers. It will be seen that we are just on the verge of losing 

 touch with the generation of those who have either participated 

 in or actually seen these sports, and probably the next genera- 

 tion of these villagers will be totally ignorant of these old 

 customs and games. I trust that by thus putting on record 

 such of the remnants as can now be scraped together, it may 

 at least pass on to those who come after us some insight into 

 the doings of our forebears. 



