New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-08-27
THE RURALLIFE OF ENGLAND
BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID.
MARKETS. FAIRS, AND "MOP" FAIRS.
XIII.

vi n X
Markets. fcure largely in the rural life of Eng
land for although held in towns il is country peo-
nlc who are chiefly concerned in them. 10 these
thev afford convenient opportunity for the disposal
of farm produce, as also fer purchasing articles OF
household need of a better quality and on pe'er
terms than can be had at the CROSSROADS shop' III
every shire there are ten or a dozen towns pIINr
legged to hold markcts-for il is a thing OF Hoe"So
and Understanding Mt an average oil seven U,
eight miles apart. Seven is the legally prescii"0"
minimum In each the market is weekly; .noSo
nearest to another holding 1t on different "'' o.
so that sellers and buyers NAV attend two or more
of them il needing or desiring IT. In noS' VI '"0
towns every second. OF alternate, market Is 'efieu
stock market" that is, where IN aoui''o" ~ ,o
lesser products of the farm, cattle sheep anu pigs
arc offered for sale Horses are not regarded as
onr,oditv of the ordinary markets though now
and then an aged pony will change hands at them
or a WORKOUT Rosnantc, "screws not "VI'n
sanding to the distant Horse Repository OF ieseiN
ing for the fair Of rarer occurrence. Each marker.
town has its markot-house,' centrally sltua'cu
and often quaint ancient structure supporter
on piers 1t is two stories high the lower one Open
the upper occupied by spacious apartment known
os the "Town Hall" In this. on market-days'
farmers meet millers and corn-dealers' WIN 'n''l
s.mnles. rs also the puIveyors Of ocake ana other
transact business with the agents OF coemlcai
,rro comnanies whose samples aught but
sweet smelling
The Town Hall is the place of Petty Sessions
,aised platform at one end being the magistrates
bench. Public meetings are also held in IT, win
tbo~e of the Boaru of Guardians, ana the IKE /;
while in the winter il is occasionally utillzed as
concert ROOM or let for night or so to some com
many of strolng players. OF late years however,
the more progressive towns have erected Oorh
"-buildings of ample accommodations
ard more attractIve.-So that many OF the aIoVe-
named Assemblages have iorsaken the antiquated
Town Hall for these. still the old maTket-house
remains the place OF petty .trafhc; and on market
DAYS. in its open under-story and the space ADA
cant will be seen an agglOmeration of stalls loaded
with butter eggs dressed poultry, fish. fruit and
vecetabes served by hucksters of both sexes,
thongh chiefly of the fair. There will be display
of fresh meat also,-beef mutton and pork,-Which
some speculative country butcher has brought
thither net to the delight of those OF the town. VINO
deem il somewhat of an intrusion upon their
domain But as the rural knight OF the KNIFE and
steel has paid the markets toll, he is entitled to
stand in it, and they cannot hinder his competition
In the open maIket-place. or q wide street lead
ing from It, will he row of little carts with the
horses out of them but the lading still on. his
consists of live poultry In all its vareteS'-geese
ducks turkeys and barn-doOr fowls carried ID
hampers, crates or under netting 10 prevent
escnnes 4 noisy quarter 1T is for in addition to
the cacklings and Quacklngs, with now ana theh
the resonant crow Ct a chanticleer. some dlspeased
nenwife NAV be heard i'll loud dispute with the
"fowl-badger" as the wholesale poultry dealer IS
called A rough and often foul-mOuthed fellow he {;
though not unfrequently sturdy countrywoman OF
the cottager class with basket of chickens slung
over her robust brawny arm, will give him his
change in full. as 10 kind. When a sale comes of
the fracas reaches its height; dealenlng din, as
the two-legged live stock is transferred from crate
to crate and cart to cart
In and around the market-hOuse are many other
noises: for not all the hucksters sit silent behind
their stalls Some stand up as the hawker OF
cheap fsh,-usualy also an intruder on the domain
of the regular town hshmonger,-loudly asseyerat-
90 the freshness Of his haddocks. behring's and
uackerel Often the sanitary inspector holds a
diherent opinion about this; with result that the
nuryeyor of brain phosphorus gets "pulled up
and fined for selling food unit for human use.
The dealer in china and crockery is also one oil
the noisy ones. He stands i'll tho midst OF his
wares.-a grand spread Of them exposed on the
payement- with dining plate in each hand, or 1t
NAV be a couple Of jugs and while setting forth
their superior quality gives proof OF II by bringing
together
inylv violent enough to shatter both. Yet no
breakare occurs. not so much as crack How
the thing Is zone | have not the slightest idea,
tlonph ctten seeing it done. The ceramic puzzle,
b,,weyer well answers the saesnan's purpose AS
the farmers and cottagers' wives, with sad ex-
perence of the fraily of crockeryware step mp and
purchase his unbreakable plates, mugs and jugs
without furt her hesitation.
Now and then the vendor of patent medicine
appears in the market-pldce with glib tongue
Wanting the virtues of his cure-al or heal-all.
he sits on the box of a wheeled vehicle, OF the
dogcart or commercial travellers "trap kind, COW
cred in. and filled with bottles OF the stun. Nor
does he yaunt it in vain. but with sure success
bottle after bottle being sold. often till the trap is
empty Many the Tustcs. men as well rs
women. who buy his patent medicine have not the
remotest iaca of what it is meant for. beyond his
own inst Dirt They swallow it all the same, soon
AS thew get home. and fancy 1t does them good.
Likely IT does them no great harm since III several
judicial trials the ingredients of such miXturss
proved OH analysis to be harmless enough, though
sufficiently disgusting to have produced sickness of
themselves.
In the ket-house, on market-days, aucrion
sales OF furniture occasionally held; Old and OF
an inferior quality. but comprising all sorts of odds
ana ends from damaged door mat TO a four-post
mahogany bedstead. AT these sales bargains -
are frequently picked up by the poorer class nf
farmers or their wives, 10 be taken back home
with them IN their "market-traps' The still
poorer laborers also avail themselves of such OPP
prtuuities the chattels they buy being carried to
their cottage homes a donkey cart it may be
upon their own backs or in their hands. Still an
other exhibit OF the markets is an array OF aricul
tural implements; these brand-new aud of all the
kinds popular and approved Of with Others seeking
approval. If glaring coloTs could give it, Of
them need be deemed undeser, ing. since all appear
IN the gaudiest Of red and the brightest Of blue
each labelled with the manufacturers name and