old women were not averse to taking a 
part in the same, and were said to have 
been the most amusing. Although the 
dames were as fond of cheese, as of tea and 
snuff; yet they left it to the male folks to 
“jump in sacks” to win it. Ten or twelve 
candidates were chosen; they were tied in 
sacks up to their necks, and had to jump 
about five hundred yards. Sometimes one 
out-jumped himself and fell; this accident 
generally occasioned the fall of three or 
four others, but some one, being more ex¬ 
pert, got on first, and so claimed the prize. 
Concerning this sport, there is an anecdote 
told which will not be out of place to in¬ 
troduce here. “Many years ago, before 
Cannon—a well-known pugilist—was pub¬ 
licly known, as a native of Wiltshire, he 
naturally visited the Hungerford Revel. 
There was a man there celebrated over the 
country for boxing; it was said that, with 
a blow from his fist, he could break the 
jaw-bone of an ox. Upon the whole, he 
was a desperate fellow, and no one dared 
to challenge him to fight. Cannon, how¬ 
ever challenged him to jump in sacks. It 
was agreed that they should jump three 
times the distance of about five hundred 
yards. The first time, Cannon fell; and, 
accordingly, his opponent won. The sec¬ 
ond time, Cannon’s opponent fell; and the 
third time, they kept a pretty even pace for 
about four hundred yards, when they 
bounced against each other, and both fell, 
so there was a dispute who had won. Can¬ 
non’s opponent was for dividing the cheese; 
but Cannon would not submit to that, and 
proposed jumping again; the man would 
not, but got out of the sack, and, during 
the time that Cannon was consulting some 
friends on the course to be be pursued, ran 
off with the cheese. Cannon, however, 
pursued, and after considerable time, suc¬ 
ceeded in finding him. He then challenged 
him to fight; the battle lasted two hours, 
and Cannon w r as victor. This circumstance 
introduced him to the sporting world.” 
Donkey races were a feature at these 
Revels and caused much fun and vociferous 
laughter, because each candidate rode his 
neighbor’s donkey and he who arrived first 
at the appointed place claimed the prize of 
• a small pack, waistcoat, hat etc., etc. All 
the amusements at these Revels were not of 
an innocent or harmless nature. There was 
one which was downright cruel; so much 
so, that there should have been a society 
for the prevention of the same. It was 
called “Duck Hunting,” and is described 
as follows: “They tie a poor unfortunate 
owl in an upvight position, to the back of a 
still more unfortunate duck, and then turn 
them loose. The owl presuming that his 
inconvenient captivity is the work of the 
duck, very unceremoniously commences 
an attack on the head of the latter; who, 
naturally, takes to its own means of defense, 
the water. The duck dives with the owl 
on its back; as soon as he rises, the aston¬ 
ished owl opens wide his eyes, turns about 
his head in a very solemn manner and sud¬ 
denly re-commences his attack on the op¬ 
pressed duck, who dives as before. The 
poor creatures generally destroy each other, 
unless some humane person rescues them.” 
The festival of St. Clement—th * patron 
of blacksmiths—is kept on November 23rd, 
and a procession occurs in the evening, 
which consists of the smiths, transparancies, 
etc., while one of the senior apprentices is 
chosen to impersonate “Old Clem,” being 
attired in a great coat, his head encased in 
a wig, a masked face and a long white 
flowing beard. He is seated in a large 
wooden chair with crown and anchor made 
of wood on the top. Before him is placed 
a wooden anvil and he holds in his hands a 
pair of tongs and a wooden hammer. He 
is accompanied by a mate, who is also mask¬ 
ed, who carries a sledge hammer and there 
are attendants with torches, banners flags, 
battle axes, drums and fifes. “Old Clem” 
has to stop at all the public houses for re¬ 
freshment and to make liis speech; not for¬ 
getting to take a collection, nor to visit the 
blacksmiths and officers of the dockyard. 
As “Old Clem’s” speech is somewhat pecu¬ 
liar, we transcribe it here: “I am the real 
St. Clement, the first founder 6f brass, iron 
and steel, from the ore. I have been to 
Mount Etna, where the god Vulcan first 
built his forge and forged the armor of the 
thunderbolts for the god Jubiter. I have 
been through the deserts of Arabia; through 
Asia, Africa and America; through the city 
of Pongrove; through the town of Tipmingo; 
