The King hath his forests, chases, and parks, full of variety of game, for hunting red and fallow deer, foxes, otters, hawking; his paddock courses, … - Edward Chamberlayne

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The King hath his forests, chases, and parks, full of variety of game, for hunting red and fallow deer, foxes, otters, hawking; his paddock courses, horse-races &c. abroad and at home; tennis, balloon, billiards, interludes, balls, masks, &c. The nobility and chief gentry have their parks, warrens, decoys, paddock courses horse-races, hunting, coursing, fi shing, fowling, hawking, setting dogs, tumblers, lurchers, duck-hunting, cock-fi ghting, tennis, bowling, billiards, tables, chess, draughts, cards, dice, catches, Questions, Purposes, stage-plays, dancing, singing, all sorts of musical instruments, &c. The citizens and peasants have hand-ball, foot-ball, skittles or nine-pins, shovelboard, stow-ball, golf, troll-madam, cudgels, bear-baiting, bull-baiting, bow and arrow, throwing at cocks, bowlings, quoits, leaping, wrestling, pitching the bar, and ringing of bells, a recreation used in no other country in the world.
Amongst these, cock-fighting seems to all foreigners too childish and unsuitable for the gentry, and for the common people bull-baiting and bear-baiting seem too cruel, and for the citizens foot-ball very uncivil, rude, and barbarous within the city