The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-06 00:00:00

NING, AUGUST 6,

SCOTTISH NATIONAL .FETE.
, grand national
'Ai - fête was h&c' yesterday .
Holiaed'e park, A . 1
cesien race. and the weather eves On the present CC-
the assenibltaPelohPiftm" Toe stands were well filled, end
of these a ho'liTcomperty, including the vast number.;
outside the, harrier, taken tickets to view the eutertainment
parsons.
eat have amounted to seen or
eight thousand
The company werds.
e rather late in coming, but they
mustered tv, 11 at last, and appeared greatly pleased with
the entertainments, which commenced about half past
one o'clock aith a
Highland reel very spiritedly danced.
Then came,
D.wilthi a 191 b. iron ball, in which
" nutting,"
a Highlander, named
mass
forty-throe
achieved an easy
triumph, hurling the
air. It seems a great orty-thrcei feet through, the
stone in
potting
sh,niti pityL,oli that tho custom of using a
the thing is much better; ardeParted from.
The look of
in the North the gaine is always' we may also ohteree that
down hill, as wits the case yesterday.
plea ed against and not
a
succeeded some really adiaiira-,ae!‘o.rday. To the putting
by two men named Williamson le Cutnberland Wrestling,
other round the hoc...y. they huggedand Hiade. Grasping each
finely balanced power and skies,
and strained with
for the mastery it was most , and. in their struggles
little
,the greatest efforts of at c.. tenons to observe how
easily one dexterous movement Avon
availed, and how
liameou was a shightly built men comparedwon the deters. Wit-
ponent, but beat him fairly neverh with his op-
over his back in true Cumberlandtel°s'l' throwing him
over
him his falls with a neatness a style, and giving
o
One may easily imagine how effective
truly surprising.
seen in the centre of a fine grassy eletive this sport was,
intercept the view. To the wrestling dope,
with nothing to
English Morris Dance," by thirty-tt
ladiessucceeded the "Old
men, who were placed under the direction° and gentle-
more. The admirable manner in, which a 14r- Flex-
performed elicited universal applause. The this dance was
was fellowed by singlestiek practice, in morns dance
and Newton, the guardsmen, especially which Jackson
tbeineelves; and then came the "Sworddistieguished
Highland terpsichorean effort, wherein a D"
a
very e
Dance,"
sl"ti
Celt belonging to the clan Pel'lntyre performed-
glee of pedipniation. A sack race follo prods
we
well-
known, rather vulgar, but most amusing 7a
pertornaance joined, ,
in which more than a dozen competitors and
which caused a good deal of very hearty laughtLr. •
Scarcely
had this attraction terminated when tw
athletes in full flesh coloured circus costume esFrench
appeared
on the platform in front of the stands. They
certainly
looked rather thinly clad for the situation, but hyperformed many gymnastic prodigies with a finished easy
well Well entitling them to the applause which they received.
To them succeeded a revival °lsom° of the ancient chi-
valric games connected with the tournament; bat as
Don Quixote in the latter days of knight errantry went
forth on his travels sorrily mounted on Rozinante, and
comically equipped in a helmet made from a barber's
basin—so the knights of Holland-park wore fencing
masks for head-pieces -- and bestrode steeds that we
have certainly seen On Sundays inspiring mingled
feelings of pride and insecurity in the hearts of their
ambitious riders. Tilting at the ring is not a very
interesting performance, and tho first effect of seeing
so many screws swerving under the weight of pon-
derous guardsmen could not be overcome, but " the
jousts," or lance against lance, was better, the " Be.
hordicum," or sword opposed to lance, a further im-
-1-.1 rovement, sword against sword better still, and the
final combat of lances and swords mounted against
the bayonet on foot was extremely good and
amusing. These differenint
the encouuteraafternoon took piece at
two distinct intervals , hut for the
sake of convenience we club them together. The ap-
parent superiority of the contrasted weapons no doubt
turned mainly upon the dexterity with which they were
handled, and in this respect there was every ground for
satisfaction; but it seems pretty clear that a determined
foot soldier, armed with a bayonet, and expert in its use
is on a vir with any trooper, whether armed wilt. lance
or sword. The retreading figh on horseback yester-
day formed aloe a curious lecture of the daT's proceed-
intga. To the combats of the grand tournament me-
ceeded a dance round a maypole, 40 feet high, gaily or-
namented with garlands and streamers. Mr. Flexmore
had arranged this dance so as to represent tho weaving
of a tartan with the variegated streemers, and the effect
of the performance altogether, shared in by 32 people
in appropritato costume, and seen under such adet,uta_
geous cirournstancri, was extremely pleasing, Another
point in yesterday's proceedings was the exhibn of
the French cause and baton—a mild form of the old
English quarterstaff practice. Toe quietness and ease,
combined with great rapidity, with which the Staves were
wielded indicated perfect training, and yet formed a
curious contrast to that rough and boisterous sport, of
which, in Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott has left us so
graphic a description. The cosine and Baton
was followed by a new and extraordinary
feat of strength exhibited by the brothers
Siegrist and called Le percke. This display beats the
caber tossing hollow, as will be at once understood when
its details are' described. One of the performers ba-
lances on a socket attached to his waist in front a pole 40
feet high, up which, while in an almost perpendicular po-
sition the other nimbly climbs. Having reached the top ho
executes summersaults upon it, twists himself about in
every possible way, and, finally, glides down it head fore-
most. After such a display " throwing the hammer,"
which was 171 b. weight, came off with less éclat than
u.ual, though tie victor, D. Kennedy, sent it spinning
through the air to a distance of 107 feet. The exhibi-
bition of hawking, by Mr. Barr, the Scottish falconer,
did not
chief
interest
itpossesses is _ was expected, and the
sses that stated in the pro-
gramme, that nothing of the kind has been
attempted so near London since the time of
Henry VIII. The `,,-;', state of th
fa-
voured the sport, but the view frome weather the park is
not sufficiently open and extensive.
daced two fine hawks, bus Mr. Barr pro-
the first flew away in
the direction of ga,,
he,ersea, where the supply of pigeons
is good, though
in hunting them. run some risk of being shot
encircling the Theparkfor other, more obedient to call, after
radidity a pigeonsome distance, descried with great
which
swooping down struck 'the Mr. Barr had let off, and
once enabled him to settle poor bird a blow which at
dis-
pose of it so far as his appetite own with his prey, and
let go a second time, and again
enabled him. Ho was
shrill call, but the first hawgkainr returned at:the falconer's
part of the programme was
altogethereturned no more, and this
in-
teresting as might have beene not nearly so
and percussion locks have made people ' :6"ii".Piee"
falconry, and all attempt!:People incl9pendent of
to
com-
parative failures. Besides the revive Cumberland it have proved
there was, later in the day, a wrestling,
style. It is heavier, morespecimen of the Cornish
more really dependent _ apparently tricky, and yet
the north of England. °R Thy strength than that of
each other round the bed wrestlers do no grasp
y
or collar, and the first effort is
but by the hands
victory turns upon a singly effort, The two com-
petitors were rough, cross-mace,
ler looking men,
wno seemedto immensely muscu-
shook hands in true " fancy" style before setting too.
be miners, and tbey
Mr. Harrison's Indian club exercise mustT not be omitted
among the list of performances clubs he now
wields are larger and heavier than he
year, yet he whirls them round his h those
of last
ead with perfect
ease. A three-legged race, managed by Mr. Flexmore,
excited much amusement, as' l '
but the jingler being bliudfoldeads.o aßutjinglitg match, all
perhaps the most
laughable of the entertainments of this class was a race
with one half of the competitors
on stilts, tho rest with
their arms and logs tied, and all blindfolded.

The unatbements terminated at £ix o'clock with High-
land :Tel dancing and 'Cumberland wrestling. In the
evening Lord Holland entertained vary hoopitably a
largo pasty of the visitors to his grounds during the af-
ternoon. The attractions of the fete are by no meats
exhausted, and to-day, if the weather proves at all pro-
pitious, there will, no doubt, be a large attendance. •