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ally part of a day, when attending a "Dancing School".
Capt Bullock, sent his children to the dancing
school, almost the only school he ever sent them to.
They had then, as now County Court, which sat once
a month, every body went to Court - the taverns were
full of people, from an early in the day, until
the next morning. The people would quarrel and
fight, as it seems to me now, just for the love of it.
Nearly 50 years, have now passed by, since I was in the
habit of being at public places & what a change.
I remember at the first Court (June 1798) there
was an immense crowd of people, at an indiffer-
ent tavern, (so called) really a pot house, kept by
an old Dutch woman. It was on the street that
leads in the direction of Capt B's house, and
as we passed it, on our way home, so great was
the crowd, and so uproarous were the people
that Capt. B. altho' a very moral man, had
to stop & go in; of course "the boys" followed
him. I don't choose to record what was there
publickly to be seen - the young gentlemen of
the bar, I distinctly remember were there, as hap-
py and as a jovial a set of fellows as I ever
saw, collected together. Many of the most re-
spectable married men of the county, were
present, & that house continued to be the center
of attraction during the sitting of the Court
(3 or 4 days).
Cock fighting was then a fashionable amuse-
ment [amusement]. On Christmas Day 1798, a main was
fought on the public square in Winchester
for a large wager. One of the parties & one site
of fowls, were brought from Lexington 18 miles
the other from the Slate Furnace about 30 miles.
A pit was prepared for the combat on the pub-
lic square, & an amphitheatre erected around
it, for the accomodation of the spectators
who had to pay 25 to 50 cents for admittance. The crowd
was immense. For days before, nothing was to be
seen but the preparations for this "cock fight"