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days, Sunday being one. The cock match at 

 a public pit was announced by "hanging out 

 flags and ensigns to give notice of it " ; also 

 " proclamation goes out to proclaim the same " ; 

 by which it will no doubt be correct to under- 

 stand that the entertainment was announced by 

 the street crier 



Philip Stubbes has been called "the first of 

 the Puritans." He attacked all the amuse- 

 ments of the age, with the greater vigour 

 because Sunday when fairs and markets were 

 held was the great clay of the week for bear- 

 baiting, cocking, hawking, hunting and the like 



The old moralist goes to extremes in his anger, 

 including football among what he calls "devilish 

 pastimes " ; but it is for cocking that he reserves 

 his worst epithets. In the cock-pit "nothing 

 is used but swearing, forswearing, deceit, fraud, 

 collusion, cozenage, scolding, railing, convitious 

 talking, fighting, brawling, quarrelling, drinking, 

 and w r hich is worst of all robbing of one 

 another of their goods and that not by direct but 

 indirect means." This last refers to betting, 

 concerning which Stubbes held very strong 

 opinions 



The attitude towards cocking of Roger 

 Ascham, a famous scholar of this period, was 

 representative of the vast majority. Ascham 



