Iron County register., 1891-11-05
OLD-TIME LONDON.
Pleasures aud Pa.time. of tn. p.o,,.

aud Pastimes of the People Gem
turtles Ago.
mediRval London was a city of
u work, It was also city of play in
p'enty- London citizens, old and
soang' nave always delighted beyond
edsore In games. shows, sports and
anusements of every kind There
many holidays, and Sunday was
not day of gloom.
Inc calendar of sport begins with the
last day. '>-' WIN INC
Inc year began with New Years
inese CITIES the husband gives his w;,.
father eke the child
anu master on his men bestoyys the Ike
with favour miIde
And good beginning of the vaa- ,no- -rt.h
according to the ancient guise of heather
people vaine
1hese eight days no man doth reouIre hf-
debtes of any man:
1heir tables do they furnish forth with al.
the meat they can
mere was skating and sliding upon
the Ice IN Aoorfelds, where the shallow
ponds froze easily; or they played at
quarter-staf, at hooking. at single
suck, at football and at buclllers In
the evening they played at cards and
tables" and dice
NOW men and maids do merry make
Al stooI-ball at barley break
on Shrove Tuesday they had cock,
nghtlng, a sport continued with una
dated popularity until within the mem
ory OF man-nay, it is rumored that he
VINO knows where to look for it NAV
sun enjoy that humanizing spectacle.
Every Friday in Lent the Young men
went forth to Smithfield and held mock
nights, but the custom was in time dis
continued; at Easter they had boat
tournaments At this holy season also
they had boar fights. and the batting of
onlIs and bears They had stage PLAYS
the parish clerk in Chaucer ssplaved
Heroo on a scaffold high In the wear
1891 the parish clerks had a play at
SINNERS Well, Smithfield, which lasted
for three days In 1909 they represent
ed the creation of the world, and il
lasted eight days
Then there were the pageapts. shows.
ana rialnGs ID the citr 1.enever an ex-
cuse could se &c found, the mayor, sheriffs
aho aldermen held a solemn riding in
all their bravery. Not even in Ghent
or Antwerp We're there such splendid
rldlngs and so many of them. Search
all chronicles" says an old writer, all
histories and records in what language
or letter soever, let the inquisitive man
waste the deere treasures of his time
and eyesight. he shall conclude his life
only in the certainty that there is no
subject received into the place of his
government with the like style and
magnificence as is the lord mayor of the
city of London We shall see later on
what kind of show would be held in the
time of Queen Elizabeth.
As for pageants, they were so splen-
did that he was unhappy, indeed, who
could not remem Der one. But there
Were few so unfortunate Whenever the
king paid visit to the city, on his ac-
cession. on his marriage, on the birth
OF a prince, the city held a pageant
When You read the account of the
pageant when Henry V. and the city re-
turned thanks for the victory Of Agin-
court remember to cover in imagiua-
ton the houses with scarlet cloth, to
dress the people with such bravery of
attire and such colors as you can imag-
inc, to let music play at every corner.
to let the horses be appareled as brave
IL as their riders. to let the bells be
pealing and clasping. to fill up the mar
rative with the things which the his
torian neglects- and then own that in
the matter of pageants we are poor. in
deed, compared with our forefathers
five hundred years ago.-Walter Be
SAINT in Harper's Magazine