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Old English Sports by P. H. (Peter Hampson) Ditchfield
page 15 of 120 (12%)
or in the festal hall, adorned with evergreens and mistletoe, with
tripping feet they passed the hours "till envious night commands
them to be gone."




CHAPTER II.

FEBRUARY.

"Down with rosemary and bayes,
Down with the mistleto,
Instead of holly, now up-raise
The greener box, for show."

"The holly hitherto did sway;
Let box now domineere,
Untill the dancing Easter-day,
Or Easter's eve appeare."

Hunting--Candlemas Day--St. Blaize's Day--Shrove-tide--
Football--Battledore and Shuttlecock--Cock-throwing.


The fox-hounds often meet in our village during this cheerless
month, and I am reminded by the red coats of the huntsmen, and by
the sound of the cheerful horn, of the sportsmen of ancient days,
who chased the wolf, hart, wild boar, and buck among these same
woods and dales of England. All hearts love to hear the merry sound
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