Up to recent years scarcely any merry-makings occurred in the villages of Gascony that were not accompanied with stilt races. The prizes usually consisted of a gun, a sheep, a cock, etc. The young people vied with each other in speed and agility, and plucky young girls often took part in the contests.
Some of the municipalities of the environs of Bayonne and Biarritz still organize stilt races, at the period of the influx of travelers; but the latter claim that the stiltsmen thus presented are not genuine Landese shepherds, but simple supernumeraries recruited at hazard, and in most cases from among strolling acrobats. The stilt walkers of Landes not only attain a great speed, but are capable of traveling long distances without appreciable fatigue.
Formerly, on the market days at Bayonne and Bordeaux, long files of peasants were seen coming in on stilts, and, although they were loaded with bags and baskets, they came from the villages situated at 10, 15, or 20 leagues distance. To-day the sight of a stilt walker is a curiosity almost as great at Bordeaux as at Paris. The peasant of Landes now comes to the city in a wagon or even by railway.--La Nature.
REMAINS OF A ROMAN VILLA IN ENGLAND.
A correspondent of the Lincolnshire Chronicle writes: For some weeks past, remains of a Roman villa have been exposed to view by Mr. Ramsden's miners in Greetwell Fields. From, the extent of the tesselated pavements laid bare there is hardly any doubt that in the Greetwell Fields, in centuries long gone by, there stood a Roman mansion, which for magnitude was perhaps unrivaled in England. Six years ago I drew attention to it. The digging for iron ore soon after this was brought to a standstill by the company, which at the time was working the mines, ceasing their operations. Then the property came into other hands, and since then more extensive basement floors of the villa have from time to time been laid bare, and from tentative explorations which have been just made, still more floors remain to be uncovered which may be of a most interesting and instructive character. What a pity it is that the inhabitants of Lincoln have not made an effort to preserve these precious relics of the grandeur of the Roman occupation, an occupation to which England owes so much. From the Romans the people of this country inherit the sturdy self-reliance and perseverance in action which have helped to make England what it is, and from the Romans too, in a great degree, does England also inherit her colonizing instincts, which impel her people to cover the waste places of the world with colonies. If the Roman remains which have been so abundantly discovered of late years in Lincoln and its vicinity had been collected and laid out for exhibition, they would have formed a most interesting collection of antiquities worthy of the town, and well worth showing to visitors who now annually make Lincoln a visitation. Although these relics of a remote age are being dug up and are being destroyed, it is not the fault of Mr. Ramsden, for he not only preserved them as long as he conveniently could, but he also had the soil removed from over them, and had them thoroughly washed, in order that people might have an opportunity of seeing their extent and beauty. One of these patches of pavement extended 48 yards northward from what might be called the main building, which had previously been broken up. This strip was 13 ft. in breadth, and down its center ran an intricate pattern worked in blue tesseræ. The pattern is much used in these days in fabrics and works of art, and is, I think, called the Grecian or Roman key pattern. On each side of this ran alternately broad ribbons of white and narrower ribbons of red tesseræ. There is also another strip of pavement to the south of the preceding patch, which has been laid bare to the extent of 27 yards. This patch is about 10 ft. in breadth, and its western portion is cut up in neat patterns, which show that they formed the floors of rooms. From the eastern extremity of these floors evidently another long strip of 48 or 50 yards still remains to be uncovered. Doubtless there are other remains beneath the ground which will be laid bare as the work of mining goes on. All these floors were not deeper than from 18 to 30 inches below the surface of the soil. The bones of animals and other relics have been found in the covering soil and have been turned up by the miners from time to time. The pavement is all worked out with cubes, varying in size from an inch and a half to two inches square, each piece being placed in position with most careful exactness. The strip which extends 48 yards and is 13 ft. wide runs due north and south. There is a second patch, running east and west, and this is 27 ft. long by 10 ft. wide, while a third is 27 ft. long by 11 ft. wide, this also running in a northern direction. To the north of this latter piece, and separated only by about two feet (about the width of a wall, which very possibly was the original division), there is a strip of tesseræ 16 ft. wide, which had been laid bare 40 yards. It was thought probable that at the end of the last named strip still another patch would be found. Mr. Ramsden, the manager of the Ironstone Works, is keeping a plan of the whole of the pavement, which he is coloring in exact imitation of the original work. This, when completed, will be most interesting, and he will be quite willing to show it to any one desirous of inspecting the same. Many persons have paid a visit to the spot where the discoveries have been made, and surprise is invariably expressed at the magnitude and beautiful symmetry of the work.
Several interesting fragments of Roman work have been brought to light in the course of excavations that are being made for building purposes at Twyford, near Winchester. About a month ago, a paved way, composed entirely of small red tiles, six feet in width and extending probably a considerable distance (a length of 14 ft. was uncovered), was found while digging on the site for flints. The more recent excavations are 20 ft. west of this passage, and there is now to be seen, in a very perfect state of preservation, an oven or kiln with three openings. Five yards away from this is a chamber about eight feet square, paved with tiles, and the sides coated with a reddish plaster. On one side is a ledge 15 in. from the ground, extending the whole length of the chamber; on the floor is a sunk channel with an opening at the end for the water to escape. This chamber evidently represents the bath. Portions of the dividing walls of the different chambers have also been discovered, together with various bones, teeth, horns and ornaments, but very few coins. It is probable that an alteration in the plans of the house which was about to be built on the spot will be made so as to preserve all the more interesting features of these remains in the basement. These discoveries were made at a depth of only two or three feet from the surface of the ground, and are within about a quarter of a mile of other Roman remains which were similarly brought to light a few months ago.