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Vol. II.
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COCK-FIGHTING.

233

Hackney-coaches were established in Edinburgh in 1673,the number was then twenty. Public fiacres were intro-duced at Warsaw in 1778. In Copenhagen there are 100hackney-coaches; in Vienna 200. In Amsterdam thecoaches have no wheels; nor have they any at l’etersburghin the winter.

The state coach of the city of London is a species ofheir-loom, or the hereditary property of the city; it is avery large and apparently extremely heavy machine, butsuperbly decorated with large pannels of crystal glass, richlygilt, and elegantly painted with several appropriate designs.In one of the centre pannels, among a group of figures,is one supporting a shield bearing the inscription tfjfttfgjFttidUDtn, 1189, in the old English , or rather a speciesof church-text character; therefore, we presume, the coachwas constructed at a period coeval with the above date.

COCK-FIGHTING.

The reason alleged for the continuance of this barbarouscustom by politicians, like numerous other of their axiomsand conceits, is far remote from the wholesome doctrineof mere morality. Leaving civilized and rational Christi-anity out of the question,—can any thing be regarded asmore semi-barbarous, nay, more diabolical, than to inciteinnocent animals to those bloody contests which disgracebeings who ought to be rational.

But then the politician says it is expedient, in order toincite the courage of men, that they should have cock-fighting, bull-baiting, and other robust pugilistic exercises,in order, we suppose, to supply the place of the gymnas-tic#! of ancient Greece, (which, by-the- bye, were institutedfor the purpose of promoting the health, and giving to theframe that activity so essential to its preservation;) asthough those passions inherent in the nature of man didnot receive a sufficient stimulus by the injuries to which heis eyery day, every hour exposed: but the sage Machia-velian steps in, and says, frequent contests will either incitemen to more aggravation, or the exercise these afford willenable them to meet their adversary with better temper;and finally, the more they are exposed to domestic broils,the better able will they be to fight the battles of theircountry.—O shame upon such reasoning!—unworthy, be-cause below the name of sophism. Taking the question