THE GAME OWL. 217 



his colour rather gray, yellow, or rose, with black breast ; his 

 spurs rough, long, and looking inward. As to the colour he 

 is of, it is immaterial ; there are good Cocks of all colours ; 

 but he should be thin of feathers, short, and very hard, which 

 is another proof of his being healthy. Remember that a 

 Cock, with all his stoutness, length, and thickness of leg, 

 rotundity of breast, " fine forehand," firmness of neck, and ex- 

 tent of wing, ought not to weigh more than 4 Ib. 8 or 10 oz. ; 

 if he happen to have an ounce or two more in his composition, 

 he is out of the pale of the pit, and is excluded by all match- 

 makers, from (( fighting within the articles." A bird, to be a 

 bird, "fit for the white bag, the trimmed wing, the mat, and 

 the silver spur," must be light upon the leg, light-fleshed, and 

 large-boned, but still no more than 4 Ib. 8 or 10 oz. 



A cock-pit was a large, lofty, circular building, with seats 

 rising, as in an amphitheatre ; in the middle of it was a round, 

 matted stage, of about 18 or 20 feet in diameter, and rimmed 

 with an edge, eight or ten inches in height, to keep the Cocks 

 from falling over in their combats ; there was a chalk ring in 

 the centre of the matted stage, of perhaps a yard diameter, 

 and another chalk-mark within it, much smaller, which was 

 intended for the setting-to, when the shattered birds were so 

 enfeebled as to have no power of making hostile advances to 

 wards each other. This inner mark admitted of their being 

 placed beak to beak. A large and rude branched candlestick 

 was suspended low down, immediately over the mat, which 

 was used at the night-battles. The birds were weighed and 

 matched, and then marked and numbered; the descriptions 

 were carefully set down, in order that the Cock should not be 

 changed ; the lightest Cocks fought first in order. The key 

 of the pens, in which the Cocks were set and numbered, was 

 left on the weighing-table, or the opposite party might, if he 

 pleased, put a lock on the door. The utmost possible care, in 

 short, was taken, that the matched birds should fight, and no 



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