"Item--paid to Morris-dancers and the Minstrels, meat and
drink at Whitsuntide--iii^s. iiii^d."

When the feasting had ended, archery, running races in sacks,
grinning through a horse-collar (each competitor trying to make the
most ludicrous grimaces), afforded amusement to the light-hearted
spectators.

The game of quarter-staff is an old pastime which was a great
favourite among the rustics of Berkshire. The quarter-staff is a
tough piece of wood about eight feet long, which the player grasped
in the middle with one hand, while with the other he kept a loose
hold midway between the middle and one end. The object of the game
was, to use the forcible language of the time, to "break the head"
of the opponent. On the White Horse Hill, where Alfred fought
against the Danes, and carved out on the hill-side the White Horse
as a memorial of his victory, many a rural sport has been played,
and at the periodical "scourings of the Horse" many a Berkshire head
broken to see who was the noted champion of the game. An old
parishioner of mine, James of Sandhurst, was once the hero of
quarter-staff in the early part of the century. The whistling match
was not so dangerous a contest; the prize was conferred upon the
whistler who could whistle clearest, and go through his tune while a
clown, or merry-andrew, made laughable grimaces before him.

[Illustration: QUARTER-STAFF.]

Another diversion common at these country gatherings was the
jingling match. A large circle was inclosed with ropes, in which the