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"The stage on which they fight is round 

 and small. One of the cocks is released and 

 struts about proudly for a few seconds. He 

 is then caught up and his enemy appears. 

 When the bets are made one of the cocks is 

 placed on either end of the stage ; they are 

 armed w r ith silver spurs, and immediately 

 rush at each other and fight furiously. It 

 is surprising to see the ardour, strength and 

 courage of these little creatures, for they 

 rarely give up till one of them is dead 



" The spectators are ordinarily composed 

 of common people, and the noise is terrible ; 

 it is impossible to hear yourself speak unless 

 you shout. At Whitehall cock-pit, on the 

 contrary, where the spectators are mostly 

 persons of a certain rank, the noise is much 

 less ; but would you believe that at this 

 place several hundred pounds are sometimes 

 lost and won ? 



" Cocks will sometimes fight a whole hour 

 before one or the other is victorious ; at 

 other times one may get killed at once. 

 You sometimes see a cock ready to fall and 

 apparently die, seeming to have no more 

 strength, and suddenly it will regain all its 

 vigour, fight with renewed courage, and kill 

 its enemy 



" Sometimes a cock will be seen vanquish- 

 ing its opponent and, thinking it is dead (if 



