Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/242

222 were daily packed. Every class resorted thither to gamble and bet, quarrel and thieve.

"To Shoe Lane," writes Pepys in 1663, "to see a Cocke-fighting at a new pit there, a spot I was never at in my life: but Lord! to see the strange variety of people, from Parliament man &hellip; to the poorest prentices, bakers, brewers, butchers, draymen and what not; and all these fellows are cursing and betting. I soon had enough of it." To render the cocks fit for this horrid sport their crests and spurs were cut off, while their food was mixed with pepper, cloves, and the yolks of eggs, to heat them and render them more vigorous for battle, which ended only with the death of one or the other. Play-going was enthusiastically revived, but the drama was very different to what it had been in the glorious days of Shakspere. True, we hear of revivals of "Henry IV.," "Hamlet," and "Henry VIII.," but for the most part the new comedies to which our forefathers flocked at this time were of the coarsest nature, a clear reflection of their ideas and manners. We see them crowding the theatres with noisy enjoyment, roaring applause to brilliant dialogue, sparkling wit and repartee. Love, marriage, immorality were treated with coarse freedom; virtue