THE GAME FOWL. 215 



first introduced into England. We have no notice of Cock- 

 fighting earlier than the reign of Henry II. William Fitz- 

 Stephen describes it, then, as the sport of school-boys, on 

 Shrove Tuesday ; the theatre was the school, and the school- 

 master, it seems, was the controller and director of the sport. 

 The practice was prohibited in the 89th of Edward III., but 

 became general under Henry VIII., who was personally 

 attached to it, and established the cock-pit at Whitehall, to 

 bring it more into credit. James the First was so remarkably 

 fond of it, that, according to Monsieur de la Bodenie, who was 

 ambassador for Henry IV. to the king, he constantly amused 

 himself with it twice a week. Under Elizabeth, it was not 

 less in vogue, and the learned Roger Ascham then favoured 

 the world with a treatise on the subject. There was then a 

 pit in Drury-lane, Horseferry-road, and Grray's-Inn-lane, St. 

 James's Park, and another in Jewin-street ', but the practice 

 was a second time prohibited, by an act under the Protector- 

 ship, in 1554. Our Dublin pits are of a more recent date, the 

 principal of which were in Clarendon-street and Essex-street, 

 where the Meaths and Kildares often proved the powers of 

 their Cocks. The lights were managed by men, who made a 

 livelihood by it, and were called handlers : they alone were 

 admissible within the " magic circle." 



A cock-pit, like a race-course, in a sporting point of view, 

 was for every person, and selection of company was entirely 

 out of the question. The noble'lord, and the needy commoner, 

 were both at home, after they -had paid their tip for admis- 

 sion ; and persons who enter the pit to sport a crown, bet a 

 sovereign, or put down their pounds, are too much interested 

 upon the main, to consider who they may choose to (( rub 

 against" for the time being. 



Cocking was kept up with great spirit at Newcastle. At one 

 of their last meetings, the cockers at the above place, in point 

 of extent, exceeded every thing of the kind known in Great 



