232 SPORTS AND ANECDOTES. 



banks, in form exactly like the pit of a theatre, but 

 much larger. Upon this were seated, in rows of 

 eight or ten or more deep, men, women, and 

 children, all decked out in their Sunday best ; and 

 with their blue and red dresses and white caps they 

 looked most picturesque. In the middle of the 

 amphitheatre, and within a few feet of the road 

 where our carriage was stationed, there was a raised 

 mound, from thirty to forty feet across, and much 

 in the shape of an inverted garden saucer, such as 

 flower-pots often stand in. Upon this elevation, which 

 was about four feet high, with sloping sides to it, 

 stood a large common-looking chair, made of deal or 

 some other white wood, in shape like an ordinary 

 kitchen chair ; and a few feet from it stood a kind 

 of pulpit, or reading desk, made of the same material. 

 The appearance of the whole affair might lead one 

 to suppose that some gymnastic or other performance 

 of the kind was about to take place. The people 

 were most orderly, and they chatted away together 

 as if nothing of a serious or horrible nature was going 

 to take place. In fact, they seemed as if they were 

 met together to see some horsemanship, and were 

 out for a holiday. 



Having sat patiently for more than half an hour, 



