I do my SPURS impart,
And to the coward I bequeath my HEART.
To ladies that are light, it is my will
My FEATHERS shall be given; and for my BILL
I'd give 't a tailor, but it is so short,
That I'm afraid he'll rather curse me for 't:
****
Lastly, because I feel my life decay,
I yield and give to Wisbich COCK THE DAY!'(70)

(70) The passages left out in the Will, as marked by asterisks, though
witty, are rather too gross for modern eyes.

To quote from Pegge once more:--What aggravates the reproach and
disgrace upon us Englishmen, are those species of fighting which are
called--"the battle royal and the Welsh main"--known nowhere in the
world, as I think, but here; neither in China, nor in Persia, nor in
Malacca, nor among the savage tribes of America. These are scenes so
bloody as almost to be too shocking to relate; and yet as many may not
be acquainted with the horrible nature of them, it may be proper, for
the excitement of our aversion and detestation, to describe them in a
few words.

'In the battle royal, an unlimited number of fowls are pitted; and after
they have slaughtered one another, for the diversion (dii boni!) of the
otherwise generous and humane Englishman, the single surviving bird is
to be esteemed the victor, and carries away the prize. The Welsh main
consists, we will suppose, of sixteen pairs of cocks; of these the
sixteen conquerors are pitted a second time; and, lastly, the two
conquerors of these are pitted a fifth time; so that (incredible
barbarity!) thirty-one cocks are sure to be most inhumanly murdered
for the sport and pleasure, the noise and nonsense, nay, I may say the
profane cursing and swearing, of those who have the effrontery to call
themselves, with all these bloody doings, and with all this impiety
about them--Christians!' Moreover, this ungenerous diversion was the
bane and destruction of thousands, who thus dissipated their patrimonial
fortunes. That its attractions were irresistible is evident from the
difficulty experienced in suppressing the practice. Down to a very
recent date cock-fighting was carried on in secret,--the police now and
then breaking into the secret pits, dispersing and chasing a motley crew
of noblemen, gentlemen, and 'the scum of rascaldom.'

The practice is very far from having died out; mains are still fought in
various parts of the country; but of course the greatest precautions are
taken to insure secrecy