63 



cocks can think), jump on the body of the 

 bird and crow noisily with triumph, when 

 the fallen bird will unexpectedly revive and 

 slay the victor. Of course such cases are 

 very rare, but their possibility makes the 

 fight very exciting. Ladies never assist at 

 these sports " 



Mons. de Saussure was referring to the 

 Royal Cock-pit when he wrote of silver spurs : 

 these, being less fatal than spurs of steel, were 

 always used at the St. James's resort, when the 

 stake on the battle was ^5 or more, unless 

 special conditions were made to the contrary ; 

 the object being to prolong the fight 



Daniel Defoe, writing four years earlier,* 

 says he attended several cock matches and 

 never saw a cock run away. He did not care 

 about cocking, regarding it as a " remnant 

 of the barbarous customs of this island, and 

 too cruel " to please him, by reason of the use 

 of steel spurs, which he says were called 

 "gaffles" 



There are in the Elsenham collection a set 

 of six pairs of silver spurs in a sharkskin 

 case ; such a set of uniform pattern by the 

 same maker is very rare. The initials of the 

 maker, stamped on the blade sockets, are 



5 Jouvney through England. (1724) 



