Mincing Lane.
At Marchington, in Staffordshire, the custom exists of having what is
called a "Rantipole Riding" for every man who beats his wife. The ceremony
is performed with great care and solemnity. A committee is formed to
examine into the case. Then the village poet is employed to give a history
of the occurrence in verse. The procession goes round in the evening with a
cart, which serves as a stage on which the scene is acted and from which
the verses are recited. The custom has been there observed, with so much
judgment and discretion, that it has been productive of much good, and has
now almost entirely put a stop to this disgraceful practice. I can remember
several "ridings" in my younger days.