214 Life and Times of " The Druid." 



followed me through my school days. My 

 faults were those of an energetic and way- 

 ward disposition, unhelped by a mother's 

 sympathy and solace." 



The amusements of the boys were in some 

 respects peculiar to the district. Wrestling, 

 or as it was called in the Cumbrian vernacu- 

 lar, " worsling," was the favourite sport. At 

 it the boys tried their strength with each 

 other on every possible occasion. They got 

 to know the best way of " takin' haud," and 

 became familiar with all the technical terms 

 and phrases of the game, such as chips and 

 hypes ; buttocks and crossbuttocks ; the 

 back-heeling, the hank, and the click inside. 

 The wrestling of Cumberland and West- 

 moreland is well known to be less savage 

 than that of Cornwall. There is no hard 

 kicking of the shins or legs, and the com- 

 batants, whether men or boys, never cease 

 to be good friends. " Men of all classes 

 wrestle," says George Moore, "statesmen, 

 ploughmen, cobblers, labourers, and even 

 clergymen. One of the most noted wrestlers 

 in Cumberland was a curate — the Rev. 

 Abraham Brown." The boys began to test 



