-~-40- first-hand Interest in the outing. Furthermore, the date was set weeks in advance; through word-of-mouth and newspaper advertising the public was kept constantly aware of the impending event. All of which resulted in a greater and more varied type of attendance. Here, as in the basket socials, a younger element looked forward to the day as an opportunity to let off steam; as a chance for a spell of boisteraus carrying~on arid rough-housing - which frequently developed into a free-for-all. Most of those involved were local youths, and the skirmish usually ended with hand-shaking and passing the flask. Actually, at both tea parties and socials, nothing ever got greatly out of hand -~ mainly because the older and more mature men present were quite capable of taking forcible measures to subdue any -roisterers who refused to listen to reason.

Things were handled in a slightly different fashion when, as frequently happened, a delegation of city youths appeared on the scene. The country boys had little love for the "townies"; when these came looking for trouble, they were always promptly and fully accommodated. These were no-holds- barred affairs, with little regard for Queensberry rules -- battles toa finish which came when the city gladiators, many of them the worse for wear, decided to take themselves elsewhere. This sort of thing was seldom experienced at lawn parties, which did not seem of particular interest to the rambunctious element, out for excitement and the possibility of getting into a bit of deviltry. |

An annual event that provided ‘action far in excess of any. ordinary tsa party was the Orange Tea, held on the twelfth:day of July. It. attracted celebrators by the hundreds from all parts of the province and y¥isitors from the mainland -~ all of which made the probabilities of wholesale fistic encounters infinitely greater than at the parish events. Here again,

liquor was always in plentiful supply. In short order, memories of old