of amazement, but with empty
pockets, with the defendant standing by his side. 'They are a set of
rascals!' said the defendant; 'but don't fret, my fine fellow! I'll take
you to somebody that shall soon get your money again; and so saying
he led him off in a direction thus described in court by the fleeced
Frenchman.--'You tooke me the WRONG way! The thieves ran one way, and
you took me the other, you know, ahah! You know what you are about--you
took me the WRONG WAY--ahah!'

CHAPTER XI. COCK-FIGHTING.

Cock-fighting is a practice of high antiquity, like many other
detestable and abominable things that still cling to our social fabric.
It was much in vogue in Greece and the adjacent isles. There was an
annual festival at Athens called 'The Cock-fighting,' instituted
by Themistocles at the end of the Persian war, under the following
circumstances. When Themistocles was leading his army against the
Persians, he saw some cocks fighting; he halted his troops, looked on,
and said:--'These animals fight neither for the gods of their country,
nor for the monuments of their ancestors, nor for glory, nor for
freedom, nor for their children, but for the sake of victory, and in
order that one may not yield to the other;' and from this topic he
inspirited the Athenians. After his victorious return, as an act of
gratitude for this accidental occasion of inspiring his troops with
courage, he instituted the above festival, 'in order that what was
an incitement to valour at that time might be perpetuated as an
encouragement to the like bravery hereafter.' One cannot help smiling
at these naive stories of the ancients to account for their mightiest
results. Only think of any modern warrior halting his troops to make use
of a cock-fight for the purpose of inspiriting them to victory!

On one occasion during the Peninsular war, when an important point was
to be carried by assault, the officers were required to say something
encouraging to their men, in order to brace them up for the encounter;
but whilst the majority of the former recalled the remembrance
of previous victories, an Irish captain contented himself with
exclaiming--'Now, my lads, you see those fellows up there. Well, if you
don't kill THEM, SHURE they'll kill YOU. That's all!' Struck with the
comic originality of this address, the men rushed forward with a laugh
and a shout, carrying all before them.

Among the ancient Greeks the cock was sacred to Apollo, Mercury, a