The hunting of the wren[150] on St.Stephen's Day, in this country, is said, by Vallancey, to have been originated by the first Christian missionaries, to counteract the superstitious reverence with which this bird was regarded by the druids.

Classic readers will remember the origin of the respect paid to this bird in pagan times.

The peasantry in Ireland, who have never read either Pliny or Aristotle, are equally conversant with the legend.
The common and undignified game of "jacks" also lays claim to a noble ancestry.

In Mr.St.John's work on _The Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece_, he informs us that the game was a classical one, and called _pentalitha._ It was played with five _astragals_--knuckle-bones, pebbles, or little balls--which were thrown up into the air, and then attempted to be caught when falling on the back of the hand.

Another Irish game, "pricking the loop," in Greece is called _himantiliginos_, pricking the garter.