To me their merits appear equal; but the judges see a difference, and award the prizes accordingly.

Then the end of the lists is opened again, for the Hurdle Race is to be run: five hundred yards, and five hurdles three feet high to be leaped. Fourteen men enter, all in drawers and vests, and some without shoes. They spring lightly over the hurdles on their way up the slope to the starting-point. They are off, and in an instant, as it seems, are at the first hurdle, and over they fly altogether, as if a white wave had suddenly risen and sunk. Ere we have recovered from our surprise they are at the second hurdle, but the movement is broken and the leaps are scattered; still more so at the third and fourth, but on they come to the fifth, in the middle of the lists, bound over without pause, and the three prizes are fairly won. Two or three are in the language of the turf "nowhere;" and one who walks mournfully in with dress besoiled, and in disarray, showing how heavy has been his fall, is treated to more laughter than all the rest put together.

And so ends the first act, and with due consideration for dinner, we are to have an hour before the second begins. Every body goes to dinner, and soon the booths are over-crowded, and ham and beef, and muttonpies are clamorously sought after; some have brought supplies in baskets, and lack nothing but beer. And beer is to be had in abundance, but in bottles; you must either take a quart, or go without. An arrangement which to me seems stupid.

It is surprising what good appetites we all have, and how good humoured we all are. Those who can't find room at the tables wait with exemplary patience, and those who are seated make all the haste they can, to let the others in, and those who are satisfied stroll

GRAND WRESTLING MATCH.

343

about and look at the stalls, and listen to the balladsingers, or contemplate the thimble-riggers with cautious admiration.

As the hour draws to a close we find our way back to the lists. The rustics are in their former place, and I take mine as before. And now we see how the crowd has multiplied; many have come up from the town who could not get away in the forenoon, and late arrivals from a distance have had time to travel in. There are about four thousand present, densely packed on each side of the lists. Yet there is no quarrelling, no riot, no drunkenness; the only sign of tippling is one shabby-looking man who wants to get on the ground, but the police tame him forthwith, and he disappears. A more orderly concourse, one that more thoroughly enjoyed their pastime, I never saw.

So keen is the eagerness to see that hundreds swarm into the lists, where they fill the ground on each side, most of them squatting or lying on the grass. There is a notable sprinkling of shepherds among them, wrapped in their grey weather-beaten mauds. The buzz of voices grows louder, and every pause in the sports is filled by the music: now the full band; now the drums and fifes. And the piper strikes up again, and the Reel o' Tulloch is danced with a vigour that shows how intimate is the sympathy between dinner and dancing.

Then follows a grand wrestling match, for which the first prize is six pounds and a belt, and no sooner has the clapper struck the signal to the "compeetitors," than sundry men among those on the ground in the lists begin to undress, and presently appear in vest and drawers, some without stockings and all without shoes. Couple after couple come together, and exhibit mas

P

terly wrestling, whereat Rustic cries "Thot's a good yane." Some are thrown almost as soon as they have gripped; others prolong the struggle for five or ten minutes, and avail themselves of all the resources of the art. The most are Scots; but wrestlers have come from over the Border to show that Cumberland, and Westmoreland, and Northumberland, and Durham have not forgotten their ancient prowess: and a man from Carlisle is pointed out to me as the fairest wrestler in all the north-country. Clearly this is the great event of the day; every one gazes with eager attention; and Rustic even forgets his observations on the "wund."

Of course time has flown quickly; the morning programme encroached an hour on the afternoon, and now it is five o'clock and the wrestlers have not got through their first round. No sooner have one couple separated than another come on. When will they stop?

For my part, I have planned to sleep to-night in England, and must therefore depart. Not without difficulty I shoulder my way down from the seats, and out from the throng; and before I am out of hearing the blast repeats its chilly rush, and Rustic declares once more, "Hey mon! it's an awfu' wund."

While walking down to the town I may as well tell what further happened. Forty wrestlers, twenty couples, stood up for the first round. Hercules was one of those who fell. The twenty conquerors then made ten couples for the second round, in which the Carlisle man went down. The third round mustered five couples; the fourth, two, until at last the man from Longtown and the man from Weardale met for the final struggle. Durham fell; and the victory remained with "canny aul Cummerlan."

A STEEPLE-CHASE.

345

And the other games were, the dancing of Ghillie Callum; a hurdle-race for two purses of gold and one of silver, given by the ladies of Jedburgh; a foot-race for tobacco; a race in sacks; high leaping with and without a pole; and last, a grand steeple-chase on foot to the top of the Dunion and back, a distance of two miles, the first all up hill, growing steeper and steeper. A most formidable task. Eleven men started; but the first to turn the flagstaff was one from Edinburgh, and as the local historian says, "he distanced the others by a good few yards." Owing to the repeated encroachments made on the allotted time, this race was not run till eight o'clock, and then heavy rain caused a hasty clearance.

The town looked deserted, with shops all shut, and inhabitants migrated. I saw the postmaster sealing up a mail: he wanted to know how the games went, having been kept prisoner hitherto, but told me he should now be able to run up for a peep, only he must be back in time to make up the seven o'clock mail. The Harrow too, was all but deserted, scarcely any one left competent to tell me what I had to pay. However, we arrived at a result, and then I started for the Carter.

CHAPTER XXIV.

A Quiet Walk-Vale of Jed-Good News for Anglers-The Carter Fell— Walking under a Rainbow-The Summit-Grand Prospect-Redesdale -Whitelee-Unsavoury Mutton-Shepherds' Diet-The Carrier and the Carter-Road to Chevy Chase and Bremenium-A Trackless Walk -Girdle Fell-Hideous Mountains-A Moss-hag-Loneliness--Effect of Dreams-Treacherous Heather-A Swamp-A Rest by the Brook— The Keeldar Burn-Cottages and Farms-A Pastoral Vale-The Cout of Keeldar--Keeldar Castle-Friendly Reception-Helping the Haymakers-A Bruff round the Sun-Cranberry Gathering-The Storm -The Freshet-Vale of North Tyne-The Road into LiddelsdaleEffects of the Rain-A Happy Dinner-A Brisk Walk-Falstone— Bellingham.

AFTER all that excitement, a quiet walk will do us good. I have had a last look at the abbey in passing, a last drink at the Memorial Fountain, and am now enjoying the scenery of the valley of the Jed. There is wood in abundance; great slopes of trees that come near together in places, and give the impression of a dell; and here and there the red bank peeps through, or a long red scar interposes a streak of rich colour, while the river, now hidden by foliage, now showing its cheerful current and stony bed to the wayfarer, flows beneath with many a winding. The road passes from side to side with the changing level, and to vary the walk, and discover what there is of romantic and picturesque, you may descend to the edge of the stream, and pick a way along its margin under the deep shadows, and take to the road again at the next bridge. You then see all the pretty humours of the river, and