Rural Sports of Old England. 
BY FRANK S. FINN. 
NUMBER ONE. 
The rural population of old England has 
always been noted for its healthiness and 
happiness; the former, possibly on account 
of the people taking so much bodily exer¬ 
cise, living among the green fields and 
upon wholesome food; while the latter 
has been caused by mingling play with 
work and because of the numerous holidays 
given them as a reward for their toil and 
labor. 
In the olden time, each month had its 
holidays whether religious or secular, and 
brought with it customs and sports pecu¬ 
liar to itself. It gave the writer much 
pleasure in reading of these sports and 
pastimes; and, believing they would have 
as much interest to others, he thought it 
would not come amiss to let those interest¬ 
ed in such matters share in the gratification. 
Some of these sports may seem rude, and 
many of them have become obsolete, while 
others have died out one by one just as 
have the individuals who participated in 
the same. 
New Year’s Day, in the Church calendar, 
known as Circumcission, began the year of 
merry-making, and the Wassail Bowl was 
carried from door to door just as it had 
been done on the previous eve. Wassail 
has come to mean all that is of love, good 
will and kindly cheer, and though the bowl, 
itself, was filled with something stronger 
than many would approve, it must be re¬ 
membered those were not “temperance 
times” and people looked on drinking liq¬ 
uors as no harm and as an actual necessity. 
“Riding Stang” was one of the peculiar 
amusements for the opening of the new 
year; one of our old authors describes the 
Stang and its riding in the following lacon¬ 
ic way: “The Stang is a cowl staff; the 
cowl is a water-vessel, borne by two per¬ 
sons on the cowl-staff, which is a stout pole 
whereon the vessel hangs. On the first of 
January, multitudes assemble early in the 
morning with baskets and ‘stangs’, and 
whoever does not join them, whether in¬ 
habitant or stranger, is immediately mount¬ 
ed across the ‘stang’, and carried, shoulder 
height, to the next public house, where 
sixpence liberates the prisoner. Women 
are seized in the same way and carried in 
baskets—the sex being privileged from 
‘riding stang’ in compliment, perhaps, to 
the use of side-saddles. In the same part 
of the country, no one is allowed to work 
on New Year’s day, however industrious.” 
We have read that it was a New Year’s 
day custom in ancient Rome for trades¬ 
men to work a little only for luck’s sake, 
that they might have constant business all 
the year after. 
Truthful Day always comes on the sixth 
of January and closes the Christmas holi¬ 
days; and, in the olden time, Christmas 
day alone, was not kept but the season of 
twelve days from the Nativity to Epiphany, 
and as the term shortened, the fun and 
frolic grew fast and furious until they 
reached the climax on Twelfth Night. 
What would Twelfth Night have ^been 
without the Twelfth Cake ? It was made 
so rich and was the promoter of so many 
nightmares and indigestions that it seemed 
lucky it was not eaten only once a vear. 
I can well remember seeing some sugar 
images on the mantle-piece in the house of 
an old English uncle of mine; and he 
always pointed to them with pride—albeit, 
at the same time, a tear found its way down 
his cheek as he exclaimed: “Those figures 
came off the very last piece of Twelfth 
Cake I ate in dear old England.” 
A couple of beans were baked in the cake, 
and the gentleman and lady who held the 
slices in which these beans were, were de¬ 
clared to be king and queen for the evening 
and all the rest of the company their sub¬ 
jects. The evening was passed in singing 
and dancing, playing games and guessing 
riddles. These were for the gentlefolks in 
the hall, the serving men and women, 
as well as the rural population, had to 
content themselves with other kinds of 
pastimes; but being hale and hearty, they 
were more inclined to fancy rougher and 
ess refined gambols. Again I must quote, 
for, in describing these old time amuse¬ 
ments, one must take the description from 
one who was a participator in the same. 
“The rustics met in a large room. They 
