crossing the path, St. Martin's birds flying from left to right, a humpbacked man, or the sound of distant thunder, were welcomed as heralds of prosperity. All amusements were of an athletic kind, and consisted of archery, casting heavy stones, spear darting, wrestling, running, leaping, and sword and buckler playing. On festivals, and occasionally at other seasons, the barbarous and cruel sports of bull and bear-baiting were indulged in,[1] but cock-fighting was considered, until a later epoch, an entertainment only suitable for children, and on Shrove Tuesday each boy took his pet bird to the school-house, which was for that day converted into a cock-pit, superintended by the master.
In 1444, the wages received by different classes of agricultural servants were:—
A bailiff £1 3s. 4d. per year, and 5s. for clothing, with board.
A chief hind }
" carter } £1 0s. 0d. " and 4s. for clothing, "
" shepherd }
A woman servant £0 10s. 0d. " and 4s. for clothing, "
A boy under 14 £0 6s. 0d. " and 3s. for clothing, "
A common husbandman £0 15s. 0d. and 40d. for clothing, "
At harvest time, when special labour was required, the scale of remuneration was:—
A mower 4d. per day, with board.
" 6d. " without "
A reaper or carter 3d. " with "
" 5d. " without "
A woman labourer, or
other labourer 2-1/2d. " with "
" 4-1/2d. " without "
The statute which arranged the above rates of payment concluded by saying that "such as deserve less shall take less, and also in places where less is used to be given less shall be given from henceforth;" so that the table just completed would seem to represent the maximum rather than the ordinary scale of wages. This statute also enacted that farm servants who purposed leaving their employers, must engage themselves to other masters and give reasonable warning before leaving their present ones, by which idleness and mendicancy were effectually guarded against.
The common pastimes of the inhabitants during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in addition to some of those already
- ↑ A bear was baited at Weeton fair less than a century ago.
