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,«

NOniNGHAMSHIEE

FACTS AND FICTIONS :

A MISCELLANY OF

GUBIOnS MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ;

LEGENDS, TRADITIONS, AND ANECDOTES; AND

DEMONOLOGY, WITOHCRAFT, AND MISOEIiLANEOUS

SUPERSTITIONS.

SI '

COLUECTBO AMD XDnXD

BY JOHN POTTER BRISCOE, F.R.H.S., &c.,

FaiMCIPAL LlBBARIAH OP THB NOTTINGHAM FkXX PuBLIO

lilB&A&IBS.

SECOND EDITION, PRICE SIXPENCE.

NOTTINGHAM :
Printbd AND Published bt Shephebd Bros., Angel Row.

1876.

CONTENTS.

" All ill 666 things h6r6 coll6oted ar6 not mm6,
Bat diy6n grap6s make but one kind of vine ;
So I from many learned authors took
The Tarious matters written in this book.

Some things are yery good, pick out the best ;
Good wits compiled them, and I wrote the rest."

PART I.

CUBIOUS 1CANNEB8 AND CUSTOMS.

PAOX

Twelfth Cake 6

Plough Bullocks 6

ShroTetide at Aspley Hall in 1767 8

Shrove Tueedaj 10

Old Cnstozas at Newark 10

Fenny Loaf Bay at Newark 10

Mothering Sunday 11

Hot Cross Buns 11

Nottingham Corporation's Visit to
St. Ann's WeU 12

Eakring Ball Play 12

MayDayFestiyitiee 12

Nottingham Corporation's Annual
Visit to SoutiiweU 13

Oak and Nettle Day 14

Midsummer Eye Watch in Nottm. 14
Ancient mode of Electing Netting^

ham Mayors 15

OooseFair 16

Curious Customs at Baleigh and
Grymston 18

PAOX

Ferry Custom at Clifton 18

New Tear's Eve Customs 18

Biding the Stang 19

Serenading in Nottingham in 1710 20

Butchers' Serenades 21

Bull Baiting 22

Badger Baiting 28

Bear Baiting 2S

Cock Fighting 24

Puhlic Whipping in Nottingham... 25

Nottingham Cuckstool 26

Southwell Ducking Stool 26

Nottingham Pillory 26

Matrimonial Customs 27

Nottinghamshire Gretna Green ... 28

Bahies' Gifts 28

Passing Bell 28

Curfew Bell 29

Wilford Ferry and Tea Gardens ... 80

PART II.

LEGENDS, TRADITIONS, AND ANECDOTES.

PAGE

Fair Maid of Clifton A 83

Maid of Broxtowe and the iRepub-

lican Officer 36

The King and the Miller of Mans.

field 40

LegendofNtiWstead Abbey 43

Lake at Newstead , 44

Jottings about Byron 45

Marshal Tallard 49

Nottingham Mayor reproved by a

King 60

The Nottingham Jacobite Mayor... 50
Nottingham Schoolmaster and the

Lawyer 52

Parsimony of a Nottingham Bene-
factor 52

Anecdote of a Nottingham His-
torian 53

Story of Cecilia Bidgeway 53

Kuling Passion strong in death ... 53

FAOB

An absolute Fact 64

Remarkable Character 64

Squire Musters and the young

anglers 53

Queen's Example 55

The King and the Newark Alder-
man 55

An illiterate Newark Alderman ... 55
King and the Southwell Shoemaker 55
Jaines I. and Southwell Minster ... 56
"Wife and "Widow in five minutes... 56
Consequential Servant pf Norwood

Park 57

Parsimonious Nottingham Clergy-
man 57

Shelford Men and their Velvet

Collars 57

Story of the Stocking Frame 58

Extraordinary tenacity of life 58

Why Dunblain Chapel was erected 59

PAKT III.

DEMONOLOGY, WITCHCRAFT, AND

PAOB
Contest with the Devil near Not-
tingham 60

Demoziology and Witchcraft in

Nottingham 63

Preventive against Tempests 65

Children's Nails 65

Cats and Children's Breath 66

UISCELLANEOUS SUPERSTITIONS.

PAOK

Present of Sharp-edge Tools 68

Weddings, Childbirth, Cure for
Hooping Cough, Hanging Soot 66

Salt, Tea Stalks, Ear Burning, Dog
Howling, Funerals, Moles on
the person 67

Horse Shoes 68

NOTTINGHAMSHIEE FACTS AND FICTIONS.

PAET I.
CXJSIOUS ilLANNEBS AND CUSTOMS.

"Oldontfeems! obl rjovetiiersooiMty
HowBvor sixixplo they nsy bo :
"Wliate'er with time lukth saactioa Ibimd
Ib ireloome and is dear to me.
Ptide growB abore simpKoityi
ikiid ipuniB thm ficaxi hat hanghly tntn^j
And soon the poe^s song ^rall be
Xjbe only xefoge they can^^lncL'* Ckw4.

"Than ave sot imfra^oently sabstantial leasoDS midvBeatilk lor cnrtOBi*
that appear to ns abemdJ'—CharloUe Bronte,

*'Be not 80 bigoted to any oostom as to worship it at the espenae of tnLth."**

IBB TWHLVTH OAXB.

rfftHE very ancient costom of putting certain artidoB into a rich
-L cake is still preserved in Nottinghamshire. Usiially a silver
coin, a wedding ring, and a thimble are employed. These are mixed
with the dough, and baked in the cake. On Twelfth Night the
cake is divided amongst the family of the house and their guests.
The person who obtaiits the coin will not want money for that
year; the one who has the ring will be the first married ; and the
possessor of the thimble win die an old maid, or bachelor, as the

case may be.

Then also every hooaeholder,

To bis ability,
Doth nuke a mightf calces tliat may

Snffloe bis company :
Herein some silyer doth he pu^

Before it oome to fixe;
Ibis he ditides aooording as

His bonsehold doth reqnizc^
And every piece distzibntetb,

As round aboat they stand.

And wbofD dumoeth ontike ^Me

NOTnNGHAMSHIBB FACTS AND FICmOlTS.

WliQreixi fhe momiBy lies,

Is shouted king amongst them all,
And is with shouts and cries

Exalted to the heavens above ;
And she who gets the wedding ring

Will ere long married be,
But she who doth the thimble get

Will ne'er her husband see.

Adapted from Naogeorgus' Popish Kingdom,

PLOUGH BULLOCKS.

One of the moiBt important, if not the most important, camiyal
of the agpricultural labourers in Nottinghamshire, is held on the
second Monday in January, and is generally known in the county
as "Plough Monday," or " Plough Bullock Day." In Shelf ord,
a village in Nottinghamshire, it is a usual custom on Plough
Monday for the youngsters of the village to decorate their
hats, &c., with strips of coloured paper, and with red-ochred faces,
to present themselves at all the doors of the residents with the
words, * Please can you remember the Plough Bullock f* The
proceeds are divided amongst the youngsters of both sexes who
participate in ^'plough bullocking." In the evening, as soon as it is
dark, the youths go out on a similar errand, with their fauces
blacked, some with masks, and shake a small tin in solicitation of
gifts of money. Immediately follow the men, who are fantasti-
cally arranged, actually drawing the plough itself, which is well
cleaned and decorated for the occasion. Its exhibition is
accompanied by the singing of the words : —

** My back is made of iron, my body's made of steel,
And if you don't believe it, put your h^ds on and fbel."

In past years, if any refused to present them with anything, they

would plough up the groimd roimd about the doors of such

persons. In South Nottinghamshire the ^ Plough Bullocks," after

being admitted into the houses of farmers and other residents, would

proceed with the following novel play, a copy of which I received

from my friend Mr. Brown, F.B.9*S*» editor of Notes about Ifotta, :

In oomes bold Anthony.

As bold as a mantle tree (mc).

I am oome to show you sport, activity.

A room, a room,a gaJUant room I

And give us leave to sport,

For in this house I do resort.

It is a merry day.

Btep in, the King of England, and boldly dear the way.

0U&I0X7B MANKBR8 AND CU8TOK8.

[JEnt0r Kinff.]

I am the King of England, .

And 80 boldly do appear ;

Fm come to seek my only son,

My only son and heir.

If you don't agree to what I say,

Step in, Prince Qeorge, thou yaUant knight,

And boldly dear the way.

lEtUer the PrineeJ]

I am Prince George, the valiant knight, ^

In fighting I took great delight ;

I fought two fiery dragons, and brought about great daughter,
And by those means I gained Selina, the King of England's
daughter.

[At this juncture, mirabile dictu, a scrimmage ensues, and the warlike Prince

is overcome.]

[Enter Selina."]

"Who calls for Selina 7

Ths Kino : Selina, to thee I call, behold !
They have killed my prince.
Oh, terrible I what hast thou done !
Thou hast rained me, and killed my son.
Is there ne'er a doctor to be found !
To cure this deep and deadly woimd.

[Enter Boctor.]

Oh, yes, there is a doctor to be found.
To cure this deep and deadly wound.

Ths Kiko : What is your pay ?

DocTOH : Tenpounds is my pay.
But as thou art an old Mend, I'll take nine of thee.

Thb Knro : What canst thou cure 7

Doctor : t c^n cure tiie palsy and the gout,
Pains within and pains without ;
Bring to me a woman aged three score years and ten,
I*U take her collar bone out and put it in again.

Thk Kimq : Then, cure me my son.
DocTOK : FU cure your son as safe and sound
As any man on England's ground.

[Applies somethinff to the lipM of the youth.]

Here, George, take a little of my nip-nap {sic.),
Put it down ^y liotap (no.),
Arise, and fight again.

[Qeorge rises accordingly.]

Fve searched his wounds, Fve drained his blood,
Fve given him that that's done him good.

Washington Irying thus describes the antics of the swains on
Plongh Monday, at Newstead Abbey : — " As I was walking in the

doiflters, I heard the aonnA of rustic miudo, and now and then
a burst of merriment, proceeding from the interior of the mansion.
Presently the chambeimaid came and informed me that a party
of oomitiy lads were in the servants' hall, perfomixng Plough
Monday antics, and invited me to witness their mummery.
I gladly assented, for I am somewhat curious about these relics
of popular usages. The servants' hall was a fit place for the
exhibition of an old gothic game. It was a chamber of great
eoctont, which in monlrish times had been the refectory of the
abbey. A row of massive columns extended lengthwise through
the centre, whence qarung gothic arches, supporting the low
vaulted ceiling. Here was a set of rustics, dressed up in some-
tldng Ufa) the style represented in the books concerning popular
antiquities. One was in a rough garb of frieze, with lids head
muffled in bearskin, and a bell hanging behind him, which jingled
at every movement. He was the down, or fool of the party,
probably a traditional representative of the andent sat3rr. The
rest were decorated with ribands, and armed with wooden swords.
The leader of the troop recited tiie old ballad of St. George and
the Dragon, whidi had been current among the country people
for ages ; his companions accompanied the recitation with some
rude attempt at acting, while the clown out all sorts of antics.
To these succeeded a set of morris-dancers, gaily dressed up with
ribands and hawks' bells. In this troop we had Bobin Hood and
Marian, the latter represented by a smooth-faced boy; also
Beelzebub, equipped with a broom, and accompanied by his wife
Bessy, a termagant old bddam. These rude pageants are the
lingering remains of the old custom of Plough Monday, when
bands of rustics, fantastically dressed, and furnished with pipe and
tabor, dragged what was called the "fool plough" from house to
house, singing ballads and performing antics, for which they
were rewarded with money and good cheer."

BHBOTBTIDB AT ASPLBT OLD HALL IK 1767*

Aspley HaII, at the time of whidi we write, was the residence
of an old lady and gentleman, members of the family at WoUaton
Qall, who were always recognized as ^'His Honour," and
« Madam" Willonghby. The old squire had a marked predilec-
tion for generous and promiscuo^ hospitality, and condescending
ftmrfliftrity on particular occasions witii persons in humble life, so
ohasactsBistio of the manners and habits of the English countiy

csBioxra UAnmuBM aha eussoics.

genileman a oentqry a^* Bailey writes :-r-'' At BhfOT«^de i%
was the oustoin of the TTall to provide butter an4 kxtL, firo m^
drying pans, for all the poor families of WoUaioB» Trowdl, and
Gossall, who chose to come axxd eat their pancakes at his Honom^B
mansion. The only conditions attached to the {east were that no
qnarreling should take place, and that each wife and nu^her
should fry for her own f amiiy, and that when the cake needed
turning in the pan, ihe ac?uiould he performed hy tossing it Vi
the air and catching it again in the pan with the uncooked side
downwards; and many were the roars of laughter which took
place among the merry groujte in the kftchen at the mishaps
which occurred in the perfonnance of the feat, in which his
Honour and Madam heartily joined. Sometimes the unfortunate
pancake came slap upon the floor; sometimes it fell across the
edge of the pan, half in and half out, and had to be gathered up
in the best way it could. When these disasters befel the younger
wives and mothers of the assembly, which was generally the case,
owing to their want of experience, the old couple would playfully
remark, amidst the general titter of those around, that the
defaulter would do better by the time she had 'half a dozen
more children to fry for.' As no stint was put upon any person
or &mily in respect of how much they should eat, the visitors
generally took away what they came for, a good feast of Madam
Willoughby's pancakes. To preserve order, as well as to enjoy
the humour of the scene, his Honour and Madam always graced
the kitchen with their presence, seated in the large high-backed
chairs, and dressed each in one of their best holiday suits. Beside
the squire and his lady was generally seen, through most of tho
entertainments, a pale thoughtful looking man in black, who at
intervals pronounced a benediction on the food, and whose
presence at the hall was a mystery to most of the villagers round,
as he was never known to visit at any of the houses in the neigh-
bourhood, and seldom was seen far from the precincts of the
house, except it might be when indulging in a ramble in the
adjoining wood. This person was in truth a Koman Catholic
priest, kept in the house, not only to conduct the devotions of
the family, but likewise to perform mass on those stated days
when the small flock of Catholics from Nottingham, who at that
time had no place of public worship in the town, were assembled,
as was their wont, in the private chapel of Aspley Hall. In
addition to the pancakes, each man had a quart of ale, each woman
a pint, an^ each child a gill. There being as little stint put by

-I

NOTTINGHAMSHIBE 7ACTB AXTb PICTIONS.

the worthy host and hostess on gossip and goodhumoured
pleasantry among the- rustics as their eating, and there being
uniformly about eight or ten families in the kitchen at a time,
either waiting for or partaking of the products of the four or five
frying-pans that were always kept going at the wide fire-grate,
the utmost hilarity and cheerfulness preyailed throughout the
whole day. It was indeed a real n^^ carnival ; a day towards
which scores of villagers, and especially the janior branches,
looked forward to every year with feelings of the greatest delight."

SHBOVB TUESDAY.

It is customary to present the first pancake cooked on Shrove
Tuesday to Chanticleer for his sole gratification.

OLD CUSTOMS AT NEWAAK.

In that curious misce^any of popular antiquities, Hone's Every.
Day Book, mention is made of a custom which existed on the
anniversary of King Charles' execution, also on Shrove Tuesday.
On those days the Market Place presented the appearance of a
regular market, but the stalls only contained oranges, which
might be raffled for, or, if preferred, purchased.

FENNY-LOAF DAY AT NEWAKK.

About two hundred and thirty years ago, a personnamed Hercules
Clay resided in the Market Placis of Newark. He was a tradesman
of some consequence, and an alderman. During the siege of
Newark, on the night of &larch the 11th, 1643, he dreamed three
times that his house was in flames ; on the third warning he arose
much terrified, alarmed the whole of his family, and caused its
members to leave the premises, though at that time fill appeared
to be in perfect safety; but soon afterwards a bomb from the
Parliamentary army on Beacon Iffill fell into the house. This
bomb was evidently intended for the destruction of the Governor's
house, which was immediately opposite Mr. Clay's residence. In
commemoration of this extraordinary deliverance Mr. Clay
bequeathed £200 to the Corporation in trust to pay the Vicar of
Newark ibr a sermon to be preached on each anniversary of this
event, when the congregation is reminded of the happy deliver-
ance. The interest of the other is devoted to the purchase of
bread. Penny loaves are given to every one who makes

CUBIOtTS KANNEBS AND CUSTOMS.

application. Formerly they were distributed in the Church, but
afterwards at the Town Hall. The applicants are admitted
at the door in single file, and in order to prevent a second
application, they are locked in until the whole is distributed.

MOTHEBINO SUNDAY.

The harshness and general painfulness of life in old times must
have -been much relieved by certain simple and affectionate
customs which modem people have learned to dispense with.
Amongst these was a practice, which existed last century, of
visiting the parents on Mid-Lent Sunday, taking for them some
little present. A youth engaged in this act of duty was said to go
"a-mothering,'' and thence Mid-Lent Sunday itself became to be
called *^ Mothering Sunday." One can readily imagine how, after
a stripling or maiden had gone to service, or launched out into
independent housekeeping, the old bonds of filial love would be
brightened by the pleasant annual visitation, signalized, as custom
demanded it should be, by the excitement attending some novel,
and perhaps, surprising gift. There was also a cheering and
peculiar festivity appropriate to the day, the prominent dish of
'' furmety,'* which is made of whole grains of wheat first boiled
plump and soft, and then put into, and boiled in, milk, and
sweetened and. spiced. This practice originated from the Eoman
Hilaria, or feast in honour of the mother of the gods, on the
eighth of March, on which day she is said to have been converted
into the mother church.

HOT CROSS BUNS.

Who amongst us has not been awakened from "balmy sleep" by

Young Nottingham calling out to the height of his voice, in not

musical sounds, the usual

** Hot cross buns,
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns!"
If you have no daughters,
Give 'em to your sons.

and if you have been prevailed upon to give an order to one or
more of your juvenile neighbours to be roused from the warm
blankets by a ran-tanning at your doors by the youngsters
bringing your round every-day buns with the addition of 4wo
slashes of the baker's knife, forming a cross— not the three-

NOTHKOHiJftHiBa 7A0T8 AND nonom.

cornered han, wHch are pzoTided for Gtood Fridi^ in some fixtp
4>f the oonntiy. The castom of having ** hot oroflB hnna" on Good
IViday ia no doubt a memorial of the ancient snperatitloii regard-
ing bread halced on Gk>od ^Viday. Bread so buJced was kept \>f
familiea throughout the ennniTig year, under a belief that a few
eatings of it would prove a spedfio for any ailment^ but partioa-
larly diazrhoea.

.nontifaKAJt ootoroEAnoM's tisit to nr. Axm'a wbll.

'<By a custom time beyond memory/' writes Bearing^ "tbe
mayor and aldermen of the town and their wives have beoi used
on Monday in Easter week, morning prayers ended, to march from
the town to the well, having the town waits to play before them,
and attended by all Ihe clothing and their vrives, together with
tiie officers of 'die town, and many other burgesses and gentlemen,
such as wish well to the woodward, this meeting being at first
instituted, and since continued, for Ids benefit.'

MAXaSJXQ BALL PLAT.

An annual festival called ^Eakring Ball Flay" was lormerly
hM every Easter Tuesday, end had no doubt derived its name
from its being andently a great meetix^ for a trial of skill in the
game of footfball, which was f oxmerly such a favourite amusement
in this county, liiat the lusty peasants offc^i ki<&ed the ball to and
from the church on a Simday ; mdeed, a reliable writw says he
himself had witnessed this pollution of the sabbath, aadeometimes
seen the kicking of balls changed oh the same day to the kicking
of shins, which he stated was another sport in which this county
had long excelled, and perhaps never been suxpassed, not even by
fiamous wrestlers of the southern counties.

XAY DAT FSSTIVITZBS.

The celebration of Mayday originated amongst the Bomans.
Jax England we have to go back several generations to find the
observance of Mayday in its fullest development. It was usual,
at EdwinstowCf and no doubt at many other villages in ibis
oounty, on May mornings, for the you1& of both sexes to hie
themselves to the forest and gather token flowers and branches
before day, and return with them, with accompaniments of
muslo and all signs of merriment^ to decorate the doors and

imaojm luaims ahd oitotoxs.

vmd^wis oi Huk lovers wd aeiigbibcmn before they were up m
the moming. This is one of the nual ciutoDS which have passed
away, never to return. Not contflnt with this, these merry people
had in every town and village a fixed pole, to which, on Mayday,
they suspended wreaths of flowers. It was also decorated with
ribbons. There was the milkmaid's dance, when they borrowed
all the plates they could, and raised a pyramid of tankards and
salvers on their pails, and then danced w^ these on their heads
from door to door, receiving small gratuities from each of their
customers. We only find mention of one in Nottingham. It was
erected in 1747, and remained in its position at the end of Parlia*
ment Street until 1780, when it was ordered to be taken down by
Hr. Thomas Wyer, one of the overseers of the highways for that
year. This Maypole was the gifb of Sir Charles Sedley, who
presented this, tbe highest fir tree in Nuthall, to commemorate
the triumph of his party, it not having returned a member since
1715. About the end of last century, Mr. Prime (in his autobio-
graphy) states that he saw a Maypole at firadmore, where the people
were dancing roimd it. It was made so that it could be lowered
to the [ground, in order to be dressed with flowers, and raised
again. William Howitt says that about 1838 there was a May-
pole at Linby, and another at Famsfield. Gkurlands were
generally wreathed by the hands of some fair damsel, and carried
by some adventurous lad. Maypoles were recently standing at
linby, Stapleford, and Wellow; the former being blown down
only a few months ago.

THB NOTTINOHAX COBPOBATIOK's ANNUAL VISIT TO 80T7THWBLL.

The following is a transcript frem the Begister at Southwell :~-
" The Maiore of Nottingh. and his Brethren and all the clothing is
likewise to ride in their best livery at their entry into Southvill
on Wytson Monday, and so to procession te Deum, mithout the
Maior and oder thick the contrary because of fouleness of way,
or distemperance of weder. Also the said Maiore and his
Brethren and all the clothing is likewise to ride in their livery
when they be comyn home from Southvill 'on the said Wytson
Monday through the town of Nottingh. and the said Justices of
Peace to have their clokes borne after them on horseback at the
same time through the Town." ** This is copyed out of ihe Leiger
of Nott : Town by me Fran. Leek, Preb. de Woodborougt." TWs

N0TTINOHA1C8HI&B PACTS AMD FICTIONS.

shows a great likelihood that Southwell was the acknowledged
tioiother church of Nottmgham.

OAK AND NETTLE DAT.

A custom 90w dying out existed in Nottinghamshire on the
twenty-ninth of May, or " Oak and Kettle Day," as it is termed in
Kottinghamshire. Th6 rising generation sally out in the morning,
their caps and button-holes adorned with sprigs of oak. They
also provide themselves with a bunch of nettles. They request all
persons whom they meet with to "show your oak." If a single
leaf even is produced they are permitted to pass along unmolested,
but supposing they are unprovided with the necessary slip of leaf
their face, neck, and hands are well ** nettled." When punish-
ment has thus been bestowed for disloyalty, a slip of oak is
presented to the offending party, who is thus provided with
protection from the next gang of youths and lads they meet. This
nettling business is only performed up to midday. It is not
recognized as "lawful" to nettie afterwards. Some, who are
unable to procure it, endeavour to avoid the penalty by wearing
dog-oak (maple), but the punishment is always more severe on
discovery of the imposition. A more unpleasant custom
prevailed in the northern portion of the county about twenty
years ago. Those who did not conform to the usages of the
"Koyal Oak Day" were pelted with rotten eggs. In order
to be well supplied with the " needful " for that day the young
men would hoard' up hen eggs for about a couple of months before
they would be brought into requisition, so that the eggs would
become rotten before they were required. This custom was
in time carried to such an extent that the " strong arm of the
law" was often brought into requisition to suppress it; the rough
young folk pelting persons indiscriminately. Smaller eggs are
still used by the school lads on " King Charles' Day."

HIDSUMMBB EVE WATCH AT NOTTINGHAM.

This custom, which probably originated in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, and terminated in tiiat of Charles the First, is described
by Deering's Anonymous Author as follows : — " In this town by
ancient custom they keep yearly a general watch every Midsummer
Eve at night, to which every inhabitant of any ability sets forth
a man, as well voluntaries as those who axe charged with arms,
with such munition as they have; some pikes, some muskets,

CT7BI0US MAKNEB8 AND CUSTOMS.

calivers, or other guns, some partisans, halberts, and such as haye
armour send their servants in their armour. The nimiber of these
are yearly almost two hundred, who at sun-setting meet on the
Kow, the most open part of the town, where the Mayor's Sergeant-
at-Mace gives them an oath, the terms whereof foUoweth in these
words : — * You shall well and truly keep this town till to-morrow
at the sun-rising, you shall come into no house without licence or
cause reasonable. Of all manner of casualties, of fire, of crying
of children, you shall due warning make to the parties, as the
case shall require you. You shall due search make of all manner
of afi&ays, bloodshed, outcries, and all other things that be sus-
pected. You shall presentment make of the same, either to Mr.
Mayor, the Sheriffs, or other officers. If any stranger come
to the town, well and demeanably to behave yourself to them
courteously, and to entreat them, and to bring them to their Inns,
and well and secretly keep the watch, and other things that belong
to the same watch, well and truly do, to your cuiining and power,
so help you God.' Which done they all mardi in orderly array
through the principal streets of the town, and then they are sorted
into several companies, and designed to several parts of the town,
where they are to keep the watch till the sun dismiss them in the
morning. One reason besides the points in the oath rendered for
this custom is to keep their armour clean and fair, with all their
accoutrements fit and ready to use upon any sudden occasion. In
this business the fashion is for every watchman to wear a garland
made in the fashion of a crown imperial, bedecked with flowers of
various kinds, some natural, some artificial, bought and kept for
that purpose, as also ribbons, jewels, and for the better garnishing
whereof the townsmen use the day before to ransack the gardens
of all the gentlemen within six or seven miles about Nottingham,
beside what the town itself affords them, their greatest ambition
being to outdo one another in the bravery of their garlands."

ANCIENT MODE OF ELECTINO MATOBS IN NOTTINOHAM.

On the 29th of September, the aldermen and all those ^ho had
served the office of chamberlain or sheriff (or both) assembled in
.the morning at the mayor's house, who entertained them, besides
tea and coffee, with a cold collation (formerly with hot roasted
geese), from whence they went at ten o'clock to St. Mary's
Church, attended by the waits (with scarlet cloaks laced with
silver), who preceded them playing; and heard a sermon preached

NOTTUfQWAMBHTim FACTS AND FXOTZONS.

Iby <me of tho miniflten of the three pariahes of St. Kaiy, St. Peter,
aad St. Niohola^, who took the^r torn axmually. For this seryice
the chaplain received £20 by the hands of the chamberlains.
Divine service ended, the whole body went inio the vestry^ where
the old mayor seated himself in an arm chair, at a table covered
with black doth, the mace being laid in the middle of it, covered
with rosemary and sprigs of bay, which they termed burying the
mace; then the mayor presented the person nominated and virtually
elected on the 14th of August at an hall meeting. The late
mayor then took the mace up, and having kissed it, delivered it
into the hands of the newly elected mayor, with a suitable com-
pliment, who proposed the sheriff and chamberlains. They then
went into the chancel, where the senior coroner administered the
oath to the new mayor, in the presence of the old mayor^ after
which the sheriff and chamberlains took their oaths at the hands
of the town clerk. This being done they marched on before to
the hall. When near the Weekday Gross the town clerk pro-
claimed the mayor and sheriff. On the following market day
they were again proclaimed (from the Malt Gross) in the feice of
the whole market. Long ago the mayor and sheriffs gave
extravagant feasts, but these gave way to others of less splendour,
which were held in the long room of the shambles, wit;h bread
and cheese, and fruit in season, pipes and tobacco, with plenty of
wine, pimch, and ale, if called for. On leaving each guest was
presented by the sheriff with a piece of rich cake made expressly
for that purpose.

NOTTJNaHAM QOOSB FAIR.

The Goose Fair is referred to in a charter granted to the town
of Nottingham by Edward the First in 1290. It formerly con-
tinued twenty-one days. Yarious tales are current of this, the
greatest fair in the year, the most popular one being that related
by H^one in his Table Book. It is as follows : — ^'^ A farmer who for
some reason or other (whether grief for the loss of his wife, or her
infidelity, or from mere curiosity, or dread of the fedr sex, or some
other reason equally unreasonable, according to various accounts)
had brought up his three sons in total seclusion, during which
they never saw woman. On arriving at man's estate he brought
them to the October Fair, promising to buy each of them whatever
he thought best. They gazed about them, asking the names of
whatever they saw, when beholding some women walking, dressed

CtTBIOtS MAHNSU AND OUffTOltt.

m white, they ddmanded what they were. The farmer, aomewhat
abimed at tiie eagemees of the question, replied, 'Pho, those lilly
things are geese.' When, without waiting an instant, all three
exdaimed, *OhI father, bny me a goose.'" Another old story,
told to suit circnmstances and places, is given of the origin of this
&ir, whidi nms thus : — An angler was engaged in angling in
the Trent, near Kottingham. In a time he felt or saw a bite that
had been made. Unlike modem anglers he jerked the line high
up in the air, together with the catch, which preyed to be a large
pike. A wild goose happening at that time to be flying OTorhead
espied the fish in the air, which he at once secured. Not content
with the pike, he carried off with him the rod, line, and anffler too.
The story goes on to relate that when passing over the Nottingi^
ham Market Place, either from fatigue or other cause, the goose
dropped his booty of man, fish, and tackle. Very stnmge indeed
to reJate, the hero of our story alighted very comfortably, unhnrt.
To celebrate this ezoeeding good luck a holiday was proclaimed,
and there was great rejoicing among the good folks of old Not-
tingham. Not very long ago large quantities of geese, from 16,006
to 20,000, were annually driven up from the Lincolnshire fens fbr
sale here, at this time of the year, in the Market Place. Goose
eating on Michaelmas-Day wall considered very lucky, for it was
supposed that he or she

*' Who eats gooee on lOchaefanas-Day,
Shan't money lack his debts to pay."

and ** Yet my wife would persuade me (as I am a sinner)
To haye a fot goose on St. Minhaa] for dinner ;
And then all the year round, I pray yon would mind it,
I shall not want money— oh I grant I may find it."

It was customary for landlords to receive presents from their

tenants of a goose, which would at this time of the year be at its

perfection, in consequence of the benefit derived from the stubble

fields.

The custom came up from the tenants presenting
Their laadhnds with geese^ to inolins tiieir relentiiig
On loUowing payments, tte.

The fiur is now prodaimed on the 2nd of October, unless that dity
frkOs on Sunday, and usually continues eight days. By the
alteration of the style it shoidd be proclaimed on the 8rd of
October in the present century, but by an oversight this has nevatr
been done. As it has been, so it is no#.

IfOTTINOHAMBHIBB PACTS AND FICTIONS.

CUSIOUS CUSTOMS AT SALEIOH AND GB.TM8T0N.

Near Baleigh there is a valley, said to have been caused hj an
earthquake several hundred years ago, -which swallowed up a
whole village, together with the^church. Formerly it was a cus-
tom of the people to assemble in this valley every Christinas Day
morning to listen to the ringing of the bells of the church beneath
them. This it was positively asserted might be heard by putting
the ears to the ground and barkening attentively. As late as
1827 it was usual on Christmas Day morning for old men and
women to tell their children and young friends to go to the
valley, stoop down, and hear the bells ring merrily. Our country
cousins were evidently ignorant of a fact with which the North
American Indians are perfectly conversant, that sound is com-
municated by the ground from a distance, and may be heard by
placing the ear to the ground. The villagers' evidently heard the
ringing of the bells of some neighbouring church. We give
this story on the auth6rity of Hone, but we are not aware in what
part of the county Haleigh is situated, or whether Hone's informant
is mistaken in the county. Tradition states that the village of
of Grymston was once entirely destroyed by a fearful earthquake,
and wonderful stories are told of the ghosts who are said to haunt
its site. The villagers affirm that upon old Christmas Day the
church bells of Grymston may be heard ringing merry peals
beneath the ground.

A DUBIOUS CUSTOM.

The inhabitants of North Clifton were formerly ferry free. In
consequence the ferryman and his dog were indulged with a
dinner each at the vicar's at Christmas, and it is said that the
minister's dog was turned out of doors whilst the ferryman's dog
enjoyed itself. The ferryman also on that day received of the
inhabitants a prime loaf of bread.

NEW YBAa's EVB CUSTOMS.

The close of the year brings along with it a mingled feeling of
gladness and melancholy; of gladness in the anticipation of
brighter days to come with the advent of the new year, and
of melancholy in reflections on the fleeting nature of time, and
the gradual approach to the inevitable goal in the race of Hfe.
That so interesting an occasion should be distinguished by some

CUBZOUB MANNXBS AND CUSTOMS.

observance or ceremony appears bnt natoral, and we accordingly
find various customs prevail, some sportive, others serious, and
others in which both the mirthful and pensive moods are inter-
mingled. The most general of these is that of sitting up until
midnight on New Tear's Eve, and when the eventful hour has
struck by the bells of the neighbouring churches, to proceed to
the house door at the knock of friends who have come to ** let in
the new ;^ear,'* and admit such friends who wiU bring them good
luck, who must be' dark complezioned gentlemen. Should any
friend not answering this description present himself at the door
he is firmly denied admission until one of the lucky complexion
is admitted. Not unfrequently does oile of the family, previous
to locking the door for the last time in the year, cautiously deposit
a gold coin in close proximity to the door, and immediately on
the entry of the new year take in the gold. This is believed to
be a sure sign that in the new year the family will never want
money. More especially amongst the dissenters, it is usual to
have a midnight service, termed the ^' watch," the occasion being
deemed peculiarly adapted for meditation and thankfulness.
Everyone knows that the arrival of the new year is heralded by
the peals of bells, which burst from the steeples of the churches.

BIDINa THB STANO.

Formerly punishment for minor offences were intended to pro-
duce shame in the offenders by exposing them to public ridicule.
It was with this view that the carrying out of the punishment was
left greatiy in the hands of the people. This was the practice in
the case of the cucking stool, the stocks, the pillory, &c., all of
which are now banished by the progress of civilization ; but there
is one species of punishment which the people seem determined,
chiefly in country places, to carry out. If a husband is known to
beat his wife, or allow himself to be "henpecked," &o., the
offender, if living in a village, wiQ probably soon be serenaded
with a rough concert of "music." This is produced by men,
women, and children of the village assembling, each provided
with a frying pan, warming pan, and tea ketties, which are
drummed on with a key ; iron pot lids serve as cymbals ; fire
shovels and tongs contribute to the noise; pokers or marrow
bones ; in fiEiot, anything with which a loud, hiureh, and discordant
sound can be produced. Thus provided, the villagers proceM to
the house of the culprit and salute him or her with an outburst

HOTTINOttAXBHtBS tACIB ANB TSCttOVB.

of their mnsio. TIom cortom rtill lingers in moat ports of f9to
county. Tlie following is a brief description of ''stang riding/' as
practised near Southwell forty-four years ago. The practice was
when any man had been beating his wife his effigy was made and
placed in a cart, and drawn through the village by the people,
dumtbg these lines, accompanied by the beating of the cans, Arc. :

Wifii a ntn, tan, tan.

This man has been licUng** bis good, Ufl good iroman, ^beatfag

"For what, and for why T

Tor eating so math when haagiy,

AjDddxinking so much when diy.

'With a ran, tan, tan.

After going the round of the village the effigy was brought to the

door of the house of the offending husband, and there set on fire.

The following lines were Intoned by the leader of the stang riders

ol North Nottinghamshire about fifty yean ago : —

With a ran, dan, dan.
Sign o' my owd frying pan,

A braBen-HEtoed Tillain has been paying bis best wo-man ;
He neither paid her wi' stick, stake, nor a stower.
But he np wi* his flases, an' he knodked her ower.
With a ran, dan, dan.

This is not all that Fye got to say;

If they should'ohanoe to f aw an* fight another day.

She shall have tha ladle, and he shall have his fisses,

And them that wins the day

Shall wear the dawbin' bridhees.

With a ran, dan, dan.
Gome all yon owd whinnin, oome all yon winrmfn-lfltut^
Ton get together an* be in a mind;
Be in a mind your hiuban*s to gang.
And you may depend upon*t I shall ride th' stang.

And if he does th* like again.
As I suppose he will,
, ni set him on a nanny-goat,

An'heshaUiidetohaU.

Other stang riding doggerels might be added, but we have given
a&oogh to give our zeaders a suffideot idea of their character.

KOXKXDTKa IN KOTTINOaAM IN 1710.

The practice of serenading appears to have been carried out to
a very considerable extent in the early pMrtioa of last ceatiiry
in flie ancient town (or city) of Nottingham, judging from tha
IbUowing, which appeared in tiie pages of the Tatl$r ;— >*< WheveaSy

by letters from Nottingham, we have adyice that the yomig
ladies of that place complain for want of sleep, by reason of certain
xiotons lovers who for this last snmmer have very much infested
the streets of that eminent eitp with violins and bass viols, between
the hours of twelve and four in the morning, to the great dis-
turbance of many of her Majesty's peaceful subjects. And
whereas I have been importuned to publish some edict against
those midnight alarms which, under the name of serenades, do
greatly annoy many well disposed persons, not only in the place
above mentioned, but also in most of the polite towns of this
island, I have taken that matter into my serious consideration, and
do find that this custom is by no means to be indulged in in this
country and climate.''

BUTCHSBS' 8BKBNADB8.

The butchers of Nottingham, on the return of Members of
Parliament, and on other occasions, rang peals on their cleavers
with marrow bones with some e£fect. On the return of Mr. D. P.
Coke in 1776, the butchers, dressed in blue waistcoats, rang a peal
which made a favourable impression on the company present.
Another peal was given in the Market Place, and a third in the
Com Market, before the King's Head gate. They were then sent
for by Mrs. Pole, of Badboume, to ring another peal at her
lodgings, which so delighted her that she offered them a guinea
and a half. A party of these having duly accomplished themselves
for the purpose, made a point of attending in front of a house
containing a wedding party with their cleavers, and each provided
with a marrow bone, wherewith to perform a sort of rude serenade,
of course with the expectation of a fee in requital for their music.
Sometimes the group would consist of four, the cleaver of each
ground to the proportion of a tone ; but a full band — one entitled
to the highest grade or reward — ^would be not less than eight,
producing a complete octave ; and where there was a fair skill,
this series of notes would have all the fine effect of a peal of bells.
When this serenade happened in the evening the men would be
dressed neatly in clean blue aprons, e^ch with a portentious
wedding favour of white paper in his breast or hat. It was
wonderful with what quickness and certainty the serenaders *^ got
wind" of a coming marriage, and with what tenacity of purpose
they would go on with their performance until the expected fee
was forthcoming. .

NOTTDfOlIAMSHIBB FACTS AXD FICTIONS.

BT7LL BAITING IN NOTIINOHAMSHmB.

The Kottingliam butchers in times past, whenever they intended
to kill a bull, were obliged to first bait him in the Market Place,
for which purpose there used to be a ring fixed in the ground, and
the mayoress was to find a rope, for which she had the considera-
tion of one sliilling from everyone who tdok up his freedom of the
town. Instead of this, Deering says the butchers paid to the lady
of the mayor 3s. 4d., called pin money, for every bull they killed.
This brutal sport was also carried on in Burton Leys, and at the
bottom of Hockley, behind the Leather Bottle Tnn. The practice
of bull baiting seems to have been compulsory on the inhabitants
of Worksop, for by a bye-law on the court rolls of the lord o,f the
manor, it is provided that '* no bull shall be killed and sold in
the market of Worksop without having been first baited in the
bull ring." It was explained that the bye-law was enacted with
the laudable intention of saving our worthy ancestors from the
unpleasantness of eating "bull beef,'' whidh they might incau-
tiously have purchased, had not the fact of the slaughter of each
tender victim beep, made public in this maimer. So provident
were the g^d men of those times. The bull ring was on the Lead
Hill, and existed until the middle of the eighteenth century. The
following description of the English bull baiting from the pen of
Miason, the French advocate, who resided in this country in the
reign of William the Third, may prove interesting to our readers : —
''They tie a rope to the root of the horns of the bull, and fasten
the other end of the cord to an iron ring fixed to a stake driven
into the ground ; so that the cord, being about fifteen feet long,
the bull is confined to a space of about thirty feet diameter.
Several butchers, or other gentlemen, that are desirous to exerdse
their dogs, stand round about, each holding his own by the ears ;
and when the sport begins they let loose one of their dogs. The
dog runs at the bull ; the bull, immoveable, looks down on the dog
with an eye of scorn, and only turns a horn to him to hinder him
from coming near. The dog is not daunted at this, he runs round
him, and tries to get beneath his belly. The bull then puts
himself in a position of defence ; he beats the ground with his
feet, which he joins together as closely as possible, and his chief
aim is not to gore the dog with the point of his horn (which, when
too sharp, is put into a kind of wooden sheath), but to slide one of
them under the dog's belly, who creeps dose to the ground to
hinder it, and to throw him so high in the air that he may break

ODBIOV0 XAHVBRa AMD CU87K>1C8.

lu8 neck in the faXL To avoid tins dangfior the dog's frieodfl are
ready beneatJi him, some with their backs, to give him a soft
vecep^on, and others vdth a pole, which they offer him slantways,
to the intent that, sliding down them, it may break the force of
his fall. Notwithstanding all this care, a toss generally makes
him sing to a very scurvy tmie, and draw his phiz into a pitifnl
grimace. But unless he is totally stunned with the fall he is sure
to crawl again towards the bull, come on't what will. Sometimes
a second frisk into the air disables bim for ever ; but sometimes,
too, he fastens upon his enemy, and when be has once seized him
with his eye-teeth he sticks to him like a leech, and would sooner
die than loose his hold. Then the bull bellows and bounds and
kicks, all to shake off the dog. In the end either the dog tears
out the piece he had laid hold on, and falls, or else remains fixed
to him with an obstinacy thai would never end, did not they pull
lom off. To call him away would be in vain ; to give bim a
hundred blows would be as much so ; you might cut him to pieces,
joint by Joint, before he would let him loose. What is to be done
then P While some bold the bull, others thrust staves into the
dog's mouth, and open it by main force." The practice of bull
baiting was not forbidden by Act of Parliament until 1835 ; and
after an existence of at least seven centuries, this ceased iio rank
among the amusements of the English people.

BADOBa BAITINa.

Badger baiting was a fiivourite sport in this coimtry until the
dose of the last century, and perhaps until early in llie present
one. It was a very ancieDt amusement. The sport consisted in
kennelling the animal in a tub, where dogs were set upon him to
worry him out. When dragged from his tub by his tormentors,
the poor beast was allowed to retire to it till he recovered the
attack. This process was repeated several times a day, especially
in public-houses, where a badger was kept for the delectation of
the customers. From the AtUohiogrophy of George Frime, nephew
of the Bev. Owen Dinsdale, rector of Wilford, who was placed
with the Bev. W. Beetham, vicar of Bunny, in 1792, we gather
that this cruel sport was carried on at Bradmore at that time.
He had seen wild badgers in Bandiffe Wood.

BBAE BAZTINO.

From about Vhb twelfth to the commancement of the nineteenth

NOTTINOHAM8HISB FACTS AND FICTI0K8.

oentory bear baiting was a popular sport of the "RngliRh people. It
was considered a very proper one even for the ladies. " Gtood Queen
Bess," soon after her accession to the throne, entertained the French
ambassadors with the baiting of bulls and bears, and herself
watched the proceedings until six o'clock in the evening. From
an ancient book, belonging to the Nottingham Corporation, greatly
damaged by fire, written early in the sixteenth century, we glean
the following curious, note : — " Item. — ^The sd mayre for tyme
being is lykewise to give them knowlege of every here bailyng
and bull baityng within towne, to see the sport of the game after
the old custom and usage." Hentzner, who visited this country
in 1598, thus describes the place and brutal sport of bear
baiting : — '* There is a place built in the form of a ^eatre, which
serves for the baiting of bulls and bears. They are fsustened
behind, and then worried by great English bulldogs; but not
without great risque to the dogs, from the horns of the one and
the teeth of the other : and it sometimes happens they are killed
on the spot. Fresh ones are immediately supplied in the place of
those that are wounded or tired. To this entertainment there
often happens that of whippiug a blinded bear, which is performed
by five or six men, with whips, which they exercise upon him
without any mercy, as he cannot escape from them because of his
chain. He defends himself with eil his force and skill, throwing
down all who come within his reach, and are not quite active
enough to get out of it, and tearing the whips out of their hands
and breaking them. At these spectacles, and everywhere else,
the English are constantly smoking tobacco." James the First
prohibited the baiting of bears on Sunday, although he did not
otherwise discourage the sport. In the reign of Charles the First
the garden at Bankside was still a favourite resort, but the
Commonwealth ordered the bear to be killed, and forbade the
amusement. However, with the Restoration, the custom was revived.
In 1802 a bill was introduced into the Commons for the suppres-
sion of the practice, but it was rejected. It was not until 1835
that baiting was finally put down by Act of Parliament; and
after at least seven centuries it ceased to exist as one of the
amusements of the English people.

COCK FIGHTING.

The following advertisement, with a rude woodcut) is a specimen

0UBI0U8 XANNBBS AND CUSTOMS.

of an announcement of a cock fight, which appeared in the
Nottingham Journal in 1795 : —

COCKING.

A main of cocks and stags will be fought at the White lion
Inn, in Nottingham, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the
16th, 17th, and 18th of February [1795]) betwixt the Gentlemen
of Derbyshire and the Gentlemen of Nottinghamshire. To shew
sixteen stags, and twenty-five cocks in the main, and ten byes,
to fight for four guineas a battle, and one hundred guineas the main.
Feeders : Bedfem, jun., for Derbysh. Clay, for Nottinghamsh.

PUBLIC WHIPPINO IN NOTTINOHAM.

Public fiagellation originated directly after the dissolution of the
monasteries. Owing to such dissolution, a great number of poor
persons were suddenly thrown on the country without any means
of support except chuity. They naturally wandered from town to
town in quest of subsistence from the beneyolent. This roving
life soon produced theft to a considerable extent, when stringent
measures were resorted to for the suppression of the crime. In the
reign of Henry the Eighth an act was passed by which vagrants
were ** carried to some market town or other place, and there tied
to the end of a cart naked, and beaten with whips throughout
such market town or other place, till the body should be bloody
by reason of such whipping." This pumshment was slightly
mitigated in the reign of Elizabeth. In Nottingham, vagrants,
thieves, and others were usually whipped at the tail of a cart,
from the comer of the Exchange to tbe comer of what is now
Market street, and occasionally back again. A young woman,
aged 19, was sentenced in 1769 to be publicly whipped through
the Nottingham Market Place on the Saturday for obtaining goods
under false pretences. This brutal order was carried into execu-
tion. Dr. K. Chambers, in the Soak of Days, informs us that the
whipping of female vagrants was expressly forbidden by a statute
of 1792. Bailey says that he could distinctly remember, when a
youth, seeing a middle-aged female publicly flogged. A writer in
the Nottinghain Guardian Local Notes and Queries, says : — " I
remember well, being at thai time a pupil at Dr. Nicholson's
school, in Parliament Street, in 1830, seeing a man publicly flogged,
not at the cart tail, for he stood in the cart, his hands being
fastened to a framework in front. He was naked to the waist,
and a little man who rode with him briskly applied a birch rod to

NomiraHAiuHiBB taotb and nonoNs.

luB 1)aok. Th0r^ was rery little crowding or ezdtwrant. The
cart moyed slowly from the House of Gorreotion to tiie pomp,
near the top of Sheep Lane, and hack again. I rememher it also
heing a saliject of conversation amongst the hoys that another
flogging took place in the Market Place within a flow weeks of the
Ibrmer one." A friend informs me that about the same period he
saw a person flogged, tied to a cart tail, the operator being a little
man known as '* Jerry." The cart proceeded slowly np the Long
Bow to the end of old Sheep Lane, and there tamed. It appeared to
be a by no means rare occurrence. The last public whippin^f
took place in Nottingham, May 26th, 1830.

THB CUCXSTOOL IN NOTTINOHAM.

This instrument of torture, which was used for the exposure of
females of bad repute, was situated about midway between Timber
Hill (now the South Parade) and the top of Wheeler Gate. It
consisted of a hollow box, which was sufficiently large to admit
of two persons being exposed at the same time. Through holes
at the side the heads of the culprits were plaoed. In fact, the
Nottingham cuckstool was similar to a pillory. The last time this
ancient instrument of punishment was brought into requisition
was in 1731, when the mayor (Thomas Trigge) caused a female to
be placed in it for immorality, and left her to the mercy of the
mob which had assembled, who ducked her so seyerely that her
death ensued shortly afterwards. The mayor, in consequei^oe,
was prosecuted, and the Nottingham, cuckstool was ordered to be
destroyed.

THB SOUTHWELL DUCKING STOOL.

Shilton stated, in 1818, that within the memory of some oif the
older inhabitants, there was, at the water mill, a then useless
machine known by the name of the ducking stool, wherein
ladies (?) who ''overstepped the modesty of nature" in their
declamations, or perhaps showed too much of the animal, were
secured, and treated (?) to a little salutary aquatic purgation.

THI NOTTINGHAM FILLOBT.

A pillory usually consisted of a wooden frame erected on a stool,
with holes and folding boards for the admission of the head and
hands of bakers who sold bread of light weight, vendors of
adulterated food, impostors, boggars, thieves, and persons of bad

CUBtOTTS 1CAKNSS8 AND OUBTOHS.

character generally. Qlie pillory was for ages frequently to lie
met with in moat ISixropean oonntriea. It is aaid to have eadated
in England prior to the Korman Oonqnest (1066) in the form of a
atretoh-neck, in which the head only was inserted. By an Act of
Parliament, dated the 30th of June, 1887, the pillory became
abolished in the United Kingdom. Of the early history of the
pillory in Nottingham we can glean but little information. We
leanrthat about 1740 the pillory was used in Nottingham; who
was the culprit, and what the offence was, we cannot learn. In
1808, on the 6th of April, a great concourse of the Nottingham
people assembled in the Market Place to witness the exposure in
the pillory (which was specially erected in the Market Place for
the occasion) of a wretch named Bobert Calvin, a Scotchman. He
remained there exposed to a very heavy fall of rain, which to him
was no punishment. To gpiard against any disorder, or any
attempt to abuse the criminal, the magistrates, bearing in mind
the maltreatment of a female who was placed in the cuckstool,
which was the cause of her death (already alluded to), caused a
large force of constables to be in attendance. This was the last
occasion on which the pillory was used in Nottingham.

MATRXMOIOAL CUSTOMS.

It has been the custom from time immemorial in the parish of
Wellow, when the banns of marriage are published, for a person
selected by tl\e clerk to rise and say " God speed them well," the
clerk and congregation responding "Amen." Owing to the
death, la the early part of 1853, of the person who officiated in
this ceremony, on Sunday, April 22nd, 1853, after the banns of
marriage were read, a perfect silence prey< iled, the person appointed
to this office, either from want of courage or loss of memory, did
not perform his part until after an intimation from the clerk,
and then he did so in so faint a tone as to be scarcely audible. His
whispered good wishes were however followed by a hearty "Amen,"
mingled with some laughter in different parts of the church. — It
appears to be one of the privileges of the chimney sweepers in the
neighbourhood of Nottingham to levy "blackmail" upon all
persons who reside in the nighbourhood who are about to be
admitted into the bonds of matrimony. Should the demand not be
recognized, "the knight of the brush" threatens to shake his soot
bag over the intended bride on emerging from the house to enter
the wedding equipage (if one is provided). In order to prevent

MOTTINOHAMSHIBB PACTS AND FICTIONS.

this the demand is complied with, and the bride is allowed to proceed
to church, with the host wishes of the neighbouring chimney
sweep. — In North Nottinghamshire a curious wedding custom
exists. Upon the wedding equipage is placed, immediately upon
going to church, an old boot. This is said to be carrying luck
with the couple, instead of having it thrown after them in the
ordinary way. , Another curious custom which prevails in North
Notts, is to throw rice and wheat at the wedding party. This is
said to ensure domestic happiness and a large fiimily. In some
parts of this county a custom exists at weddings to throw com,
and say,

" Bread for lifSe, and pudding for efver."
Amongst the country people it is usual to make plum and preserve
tarts for the young people to eat on these festive occasions. Par-
ticular notice is taken while these tarts are disposed of to ascertain
the number of stones' found in the first tart. It is stated that as
many years will elapse before the young person enters the
matrimonial fstaie as there are stones foimd in the tart.

THE O&BTNA ORBEN OF NOTTINGHAM.

In the early portion of the last century the scattered village of
Fledborough received the appellation of the Gretna Green of Not-
tinghamshire, from Mr. Sweetapple, the rector, who, like the
blacksmith of the Scottish border, fettered with the chain which
cannot be broken, except by death and the divorce court, all w;ho
made application to him for that purpose.

BABIBS' OIFTB.

It is usual to give, amongst other gifts to a baby, the well-known
toy with bells, ring, and a piece of coral at the end, which is
generally suspended from the neck by a coloured ribbon ; but the
giver is very rarely aware of the meaning which was formerly
attached to such a gift. An old writer on witchcraft says that
« the coral preserveth such as bear it from fascination or bewitch-
ing." For this reason were they hung about the neck. The bells
were also supposed to preserve the child from evil spirits.

THE PASSING BELL.

At the present day there are many ceremonies and customs in
use amongst us for the existence of which we are at a loss to

CUBIOUS MANNBB8 AND CUSTOMS.

account. The change of circumstances, and the opinions of men,
as time rolls on its way, cause us no longer to see the origin of
numberless institutions which we still possess, and which we
retain with respect and affection, although we no longer know
their cause or their meaning, and whereby we often unconscioHsly
celebrate that of which we might not approve. Of such is the
ceremony of tollihg the bell at the time of death, still called

THB PASSING BELL, OB SOUL BELL,

which seems to be as ancient as the first introduction of bells
themselves, about the seventh century. Venerable -Bede (bom
672 or 673, died 73d) is the first who makes mention of bells,
and he tells us that, at the death of Saint Thilda, one of the
sisters of a distant monastery, as she was sleeping, thought she
heard the beUs which called to prayers when any of them departed
this life. The custom was therefore as ancient as his day, and
the reason of this institution was not, as some imagine, for no
other purpose than to acquaint the neighbourhood that such
a person was dead, but chiefly that whoever heard the bell should
ofEer up their prayers for the soul that was departing, or passing. It
was also rung to drive away the evil spirits which were supposed
to wait about the house, ready to seize their prey, or to molest
and terrify the soul in its passage. By the ringing of a bell the
evil ones were supposed to be kept aloof (for Durandus tells us
that they are afraid of bells), and the soul allowed to pass quietly
away. The passing bell is rung in many places in the county. At
Woodborough it is rung, for a man, three times three, and rung
up, and then down ; for a woman, three times two, and rung up
and down. When the age is rung it is by tens. At G^dling, for
a man, three times three, the age tolled, then rung up, then down;
age tolled, three times three. For a woman, three times two, the
age tolled ; then rung up and then down, &c For a child it is
the same, the age being omitted. At Kuddington it is tolled for
an hour, then three times three, for a man, and three times two
for a woman.

CUBPEW BELL.

The practice of ringing the curfew bell (Fr. eouvre-feu^ <i07ec
fire) prevailed throughout the continent of Europe at an early
period, its object being that of preventing fires, which were very
frequent and destructive, owing to the houses being composed
of wood; but it was not until the conquest of this country by

VOTtlNOHAlfSHIRB PACTS AND PTOTtONS.

Wiiiiam of Normaiidy thai it was xntiodaoed into England, (he
object of it being to warn the people to oorer np their fires, and
retire to rest, so as to prevent any meetings of the conqnered
people being held ; heavy penalties being imposed on all who <]id
not attend to the signal. The curfew b^ was nmg in the
summer at sunset, and in the winter at eight o'clock. The custom
of ringing this bell at eight or nine o'clock is still continned in
many parts of England, though its original significance is of
course lost. It is still rung at Bingham, Sutton Bonningtoo,
Wysall, and other places in the county. At Wysall it is rung at
eight o'clock every evening, excepting Saturday, when it is rung
at seven o'clock, and on Sunday, when it is omitted. After the
onrf ew has rung, the days of the month are then tolled on a large
bell. Mr. Prime, in his autobiography, states that about 1792 the
eorf ew bell was rung at Bunny.

A BELIO OF BYGONE DAYS.
WILFOBD FBn&T AND TBA OABDBNS, 1861.

It is a holiday afternoon ; the sun is in the equinox, and the
gaily dressed parties wending their way across the meadows
appear fatigued, though just commencing their rambles. The
entire pathway from the railway to

THB PBRBY*

is thronged with pedestrians, all respectably, and many of them
fiashionably, attired. Here a -paxtj of mechanics, with their wives
and femiUes, trudge along in their Sunday finery, seeming
determined to enjoy their holiday, sultry as tiie weather is, and
enlivening their walk with merry jest and laughter. There
a prim shopman saunters along the pathway with his ''ladye-love,"
whose fair face seeks shelter from the sunbeams under one of the
tiniest of parasols, and jogging along after them is a globular old
couple, with a spoiled g^ndchild sulking behind them, wondering
whether "the boat" will be very crowded. To Wilford do old
and young, stout and slim, alike wend — all save that gaunt,
melancholy old man, who, with fishing rod upon his shoulders, is
intent upon winning a meal from the waters of the Trent. We,
as we too have our half-hoUday, wHl e'en make a pilg^mage to

* This was really a primitiYe ferry. A massive iron chain stretohed across
the xiyer, and acting on a moyeable pillar, or short mast, which stood at the
head of the ferry boat, required but the brawny arms of the boatman to keep
shifting his hold of the chain ; and, with a score or two of pulls, he brought his
passengers safe to the sloping and grarelly shore.

otnuous

Asm 0OBTOK8.

VnHoitd diir8«lT68. A walk of flye minuteB* durttion bringi ns
to our gionotis old xiyer, 'whose gay green banki are dotted with
]^artie&--lie»e a family, and there a pair of fond lovers redlinxDg
upon the ewazd, and gasing upon the river from beneath the
scanty canopy of a parasol ; whUst near the landing plaoe stands
H crowd, pushing and jostling lest they shoold be nnabie to cross
the river at t&e next opportunity. Bat, steady, here is the boat.
Bnmp it oomes against the platform, and see how the mnltitade
are straggling and squeezing to get in. Ha ! our old acquaintance,
the piirn little shopman, is floundering in the Trent, and meeting
with nothing but jeers and laughter as he emerges from the river,
dripping like a naiad ! And worse still, his new Parisian hat is
floating down the river, and to add to this unfortunate disaster
a niunber of wicked urchins are pelting at it with stones as it sails
mournfully along. At length we arrive safely on board, and
become one of a compact mass of human beings, who are wedged
to the very sides of the boat. The chain creaks, and 'midst curses
and complaints, we cross the bosom of old Father Trent ; and,
after being jostled and crushed to our heart's content, we set our
willing feet upon the green grass ag^ain. Here we are at last^
entering the widely-famed

WILFOBD TBA OABDBN8.

What a picture of suburban enjoyment! The thick foliage of
dusteriag elms, oak trees, and hazels completely embower the
place, offering a grateful coolness to the languid rambler. As you
enter you perceive three diminutive cribs, resembling neither coal
sheds nor dog kennels, but still partaking of the description of both,
wherein are seated several loving couples, having before them
divers jugs and glasses. The young ladies are eating shrimps,
and the young gentlemen smoHng very bad cigars with all the
nonchalance they are capable of assuming. Almost the entire
length of the groimds is occupied by a series of impromptu tables,
formed of boards and tressels, at which are seated a medley
multitude of visitors from the town. At one table a group of
mechanics are smoking their yards of day, and discussing the
politics of the week over foaming jugs of ale. At another a dozen
of embryo Brummels are sipping gin and water, and criticizing
the feminine portions of the passers by in terms very discreditable
to their gentility. Whilst at a third a party of soldiers, wearing
the somewhat inelegant costume of *' the line," are making the
place echo with their boisterous revelry. Here and there may be

NOTTQfOHAMSHIBJI 7A0T8 AND PICTIONS.

Been a fat old tradesman, taking hia bottled stouty or a pxim
middle-aged bachelor, moralizing upon the scene before him. The
paths are crowded with promenaders, and ever and anon may be
descried the waiters, conspicuous in their ''jackets of jean," at
one time invitingly inquiring if "any g^Ueman called here?"
at another hurrying off in a state of bewilderment, with their orders
to the wrong places : whilst hawkers provokingly pester you with
their "comestibles," as if the greatest duty in life were to eat
shrimps and gingerbread, or break your teeth by cracking nuts.
Moving slowly onward, we arrive at an extraordinary piece of
arehiUeture, which is said, by professedly competent judges, to
resemble '* Noah's Ark." A circular table ornaments the interior
of the ''Ark," upon which are broken pipes and waste provisions ;
every available space being occupied by pleasure seekers. Joy
irradiates every countenance ; young and old alike feel its genial
influence. Children are romping about, and making as much as
they can of their half -holiday, and the "elder folk" seem to be
enjoying a sweet respite from all the little carking duties and
troubles which embitter our daily life. Sweet Wilford, thou art
losing thy rural honours, as round about thee new buildings and
streets are stretching in every direction, swallowing up sweet spots
and sunny nooks, which were dear to us, and thy sward is
becoming polluted by the refuse of the neighbouring coalpit.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE FACTS AND FICTIONS.

PABT II.

LEGENDS, TBADinONS, AND ANECDOTES.

*< Will you mock at an ancieat tradition 1"— J7«nry V.

THB FAIR MAID OF CLIFTON.

CLIFTON is abont four miles Boath--we8t of Nottingham. Clifton
Grove, now &med for the tragedy depicted in the ballad, ia a
place of popular resort for the Nottingham people, who assemble
there in great numbers in the summer season ; indeed, in holiday
tim^, the Grove presents the appearance of a fair. There are
various legends of the Fair Maid of Clifton^ both in prose and
verse. Throsby, refeiring to the tragic occurrence, says : — "Here,
tradition says, the Clifton beauty, who was debauched and
murdered by her sweetheart, was hurled down the precipice into
her watery grave. The place is shown you, and it has long been
held in veneration by lovers." The late Sir Bobert J. Clifton,
Bart., M.P., some years ago gave the following version, which
varies from that already given : — *' A perjured maid, sheltering
from a storm, was struck by lightning, and carried from the
Grove into the Clifton Deeps below ; and, as people say, curiously
enough from that day to this the spot on which she was struck,
and the declivity down which she fell, have remained a belt of
arid land !" Henry Kirke White, the youthful poet of Notting-
ham, has devoted one of his longest poems to this subject In the
British Museum are preserved several versions of the old story
under the title of JBatetnan's Tragedy. Dr. Booker has given
a pretty sketch of this occurrence. Each of these writers give
different versions of the tragic end of Bateman. Our townsman,
Mr. Goodyer, has devoted much attention to this subject, and has
modelled the story for the stage. The following ballad was
written from the dictation of the schoolmistress of Wells' Hospital,
at Nottingham ; and printed in Waiks round Nbttinffham, a work

KOTTINOHAlfSHIBB PACTS AND FICTIOKB.

written by Capt. Barker, the old saflor, under the pseudonym of
** A Wanderdr," and issued an 1835 :—

Te gallant dames so finely framed in beanty's ohoieert m(nd4»
And yon that trip it up and down like lambs in Oapid's fold.
Here is a lesson to be leam'd of a peculiar Und,
By sndh as do prore false in loTe and bear a iUthlesB mind.

Not fEur from Nottingham, of late (in OUfton as we hear,)
There liVd a rich and comely maid who never knew compeer ;
Met cheeks were like the crimson rose, bnt as you will pereeiTe,
!nie Ikirest face may have fidse heart, and soonest will decelTe.

'* This beauteous dame she was belor'd by many in that place.
And many strore in marriage bonds to hold her in embrace;
At length there came a proper youth, yoimg Bateman call'd by nama.
And speedily they both did feel a mntoal glowing flame.

'* Such love and liking there was found tbat he, from all the rest^
Soon stole away this maiden's heart, and she did like him best;
Then secretly the pUg^ted oath did pass between these two.
Hut nothing could, but death itself this true lora-knot undo.

<* She broke a piece of gold in twain— one half to him she gave^

* Hie other, as apledge,' said she, 'I for myself will have :
If ever I do break my vow while I remain alive.

May everything I take in hand be never known to thrive.'

" This passed on for three monthaP space, and then this maid began
To settle all her love and like upon another man ;
Old Oermain (who a widower was) must needs her husband be^
Because he was of greater wealth, and better in degree.

** The TOWS she had to Bateman made she solemnly denied.
And in despite of him and his, she utterly defied :
*Oh, welli' quoth he, * if it be so, and thou wilt me forsake.
And like a false and foresworn wretch another husband take,

<* Thou Shalt not live one quiet hour, for thee FU surely have ;
Aliye or dead FU daim my right— and when Fm in the grave,
Hien frtithless maid thou shalt repent ; of this be well assured,
Pll make you soffar for my sake the troubles I've endured.'

« But mark how BatCTian died Ibr love, and finished his life ;
For on that day that she was wed, and made old Oeimain's wife,
He with a strangling cord, Gtod wot, great moans and cries tbereAmef
Hang'd up himself, with despair ihuight, before the young bridals door.

" Wherewith sudi sorrow pierced hsr hdart, and trouble seind her mind,

That she ooald never after that one day of comfort find;

For wheresoever she did go, her fuioy did sormise

Young Bateman*s pale and ghastly ghost standing before her eyes.

** One night as she in bed did lie, within her husband's aims,

In hopes thereby to sleep and rest secure from all alarms,

I>eep groans and grievous moans she heard, and a voioe that aonatiiiMi oriad,

* thou art aha whom I mwt hafs^ and will not ba daniad.'

LBOmn»y TBADITI0N8, AND AIOSODOTIS.

" But being in a thriYing way, the fbr the inlasiff 8 sake,

Was shielded from the spirit's power, no vengeanoe ooold it talcs ;

The habe unborn did safely keep (as Ood appointed so,)

Its mother's body flrom the fiend which son^^t her overthrow.

"Bat when at last tiie time came xoimd, and she was bioa^t to bed,
Her cares and grielSi began anew, and inward sonow bred ;
Host of her friends she did invite, desiring them to stay,
< For from my bed this very night I shall be borne away.

« * rye seen the spirit of my love, with psle and ghastly fsce,
Until he bears me hence he'll not depart the place ;
Aliye or dead he daims n^y vow, and me hell surely have,
Por I am his by solemn oath snd the promises I gave.

" OhI watdi with me this night, I pray, and see you do not deep,
For only whilst you keep awake my body you csn keep."
They promised to do their best, but nothing can soffioe,
Forat the middle <tf the night soft slumber sealed their eyes.

So being all thrown o£P their goard, to them unknown which way
The child-bed woman on that night from Hum. was borne away ;
And to what place no creature knew, nor to this day can telt^
The oddest thing that ever yet in any age befel.

Ye maidens that desire to love, and would good husbands choose,
The man with whom you've broken gold, oh 1 never do refuse ;
For Ood, who knows such secret oaths, will surely vengeance tsike
On soch as dare their solemn vows and promises to break.

Kirke White, in the poem preTionslj alluded to, after Margaret's
XDarriag;e, Bay&—

" Six guilty months had marked the ihlse onePs crime,

"When Bateman hailed once more his native dime.

Sure of her oonstan<7, elate he came,

The lovely partner of his soul to daim.

light was his heart, as up the well-known way

He bent his steps— and all his thoughts were gay.

Oh 1 who can paint his agonising throes.

When on his ears the f atsl news arose !

Chilled with smasement— senseless with the blow,

He stood a marble monument of woe ;

Till call'd to all the horrors of despair.

He smote his brow, and tore his honent hair

Then msh'd impetuous from the dreadful spot.

And sought those soenep, (by memory ne'er fSorgot,)

Those scenes the witness of their growing flame,

And now like witnesses of Kargaret's shame.

*Twas nifl^t— he sought the river's londy shore^

And traoed again the former wanderings o'er.

Now on the bank in silent grief he stood.

And gased intently on the stealing flood.

Death in his mien, and madness in his eye.

He watdi'd the waters as they muxmnr'd by :

NOTTINOHAICBHIBB FACTS AND FICTIOKS.

Bade fhe baae murderess triumph o'er Us gniTe—

Freparad to plimge into the whelming wave.

Yet still he stood irresolutely bent ;

Beligion sternly irtay'd his rash intent.

He knelt— oool played upon his cheek the wind.

And ftum'd the terreac of his maddening mind.

The willows waved, the stream it sweetly swept, '

The paly moonbeam on its Btafaoe slept,

And all was peace ;— he felt the general calm

O'er his rack'd bosom shed a genial balm :

When casting far behind his streaming eye.

He saw the grove,— in fimcy saw her lie.

Bis Margaret lull'd in Oexmain's arms to rest,

And all the demon rose within his breast.

CkmvnlsiTe now, he dench'd his trembling hand,

CSast hiB dark eye once more upon the land,

Then, at one spring he spum'd the yielding bank.

And in the calm decdtfdl current sank.

Sad on the solitude of night, the sound.

As in the stream he plimged, was heard around ;

^en all was still, the wave was rough no more,

The river swept as sweetly as before ;

The willows waved, the moonbeams ^one serene,

And peace returning brooded o'er the scene."

Tradition states that Margaret was earned away by demons to
the deU. When at the si^mmit she clung so closely to a tree that
the fiend struck the fair maid's head violently against the trunk.
From this grew a wen, which has been seen in the memory of some
now living. This tree has been down about forty years, but the
spot on which it stood is still pointed out.

THE MAID OF BROXTOWE AND THE BBPUBLIOAN OFFICER:

A BBOXTOWB TRADITION.

Tradition tells the following love story, arising out of the
occupation of Broxtowe by the Bepublican forces. The lover, who
was likewise the commander of the fort, was a gallant and hand-
some young man, of gentle birth, though an uncompromising
Bepublican in politics, and a Puritan in religion. The object
of his affection was Agnes Willoughby, only daughter of the then
recent occupier of Aspley Wood Hall, a Boyalist and a Papist.
Oaptain Thomhalgh^ son of the brave and virtuous officer who
acted so distinguished a part in many a bloody fray at that period
(and at length perished in battle witiii the Scots at Preston Pans),
had rescued the beautiful maiden from the rude hands of a party
of vagabonds'— half soldiers and half robbers, who infested all

LSOBND8, TRADinOira, AWD AMB0DOTB8.

parts of the country during the time of the dvil commotions— ai
she was returning to her home, after a risit of mercy to the house
ef a poor sick man at the adjoining village of Bilborough.
Aroused by a cry of female distress, as he was walking, with his
hible in his hand, at a short distance ttom the fort, in the cool of
the evening, the gallant officer rushed forward to the spot from
whence the sounds proceeded, when he discovered a young female
engaged in a struggle for her honour, if not for life, with three
wretches, who had already hurled her to the ground. Drawing
a {MStol from his belt, he fired, and shot one of the ruffians, the
ether two mnkiDg their escape over the fields, when the young
officer, unwilling to leave his act of heroism and gallantry incom-
plete, undertook, on being informed of her name and parentage,
to escort the terrified damsel to her father^s house. Struck with
her beauty, and impressed with the religious feeling that it was
by an act of special providence that he was sent to her rescue,
Captain I'homhalgh, in spite of the difference of religious creed and
political sentiments whidi he was aware existed between himself
and the inmates of Aspley Hall, could not dispossess his mind of
the influence which their providential meeting had cast over it.
The young Roundhead officer, in spite of his puritanical formality
of dress, and, in some respects, of language and manners, was still
handsome and accomplished : that he was brave axtd generous too,
he had given Agnes Willoughby sufficient proof, in that, without
stopping to calculate personal risks, he had hazarded his own life
in order to save her from injury, if not from disgrace and death.
Under such circumstances, could a woman's heart at the impulse
of the moment, do other than yield itself up to the tenderest of
emotions P A call by Captain Thomhalgh on a subsequent day
at Aspley, to inquire after the health of the rescued damsel,
developed to him charms in her mind equal to those which were
displayed in her person. Agnes saw too, in her deliverer, even
more of beauty and excellence of character than she had before
discovered. She could not but look upon him with more than
admiration — with affection; yet the obtruding thought that he
was a rebel and a heretic compelled her painfully to check the
rising passion within her heart Beligion in those days was an
earnest thing ; something that was believed as well as professed —
that waa felt in the heart, as well as uttered by the lips ; a thing
for which men, aye, and tender women too, were content to suffer,
and even to die. Nor was this profound feeling, this stem main-
tenance of faith, believed by either party, though in direct opposition

MOTTINGHAMSHI&B FACTS AND FICTIONB.

to eacli other, to /be ''that once delivered to the saints/' less

deeply seated in the heart of the Puritan than in that of the

Papist. It cannot, therefore, but be expected that the gallant

Thomhal^i^h, in his calmer moments, felt the same check to the

indulgence of the tender passion infavoux of Agnes Willoughby,

as the maiden experienced in reference to himself. Still they

loved each other. Nor did the character of the young soldier,

though viewed as a heretic, and a supporter of the usurpation,

produce anything like so unfavourable an impression upon the

minds of the parents of the damsel, as might previously have been

expected. It is true, that though they honoured and respected

him as the deliverer of their beloved child from the hands of

lawless ruffians, and had never, seriously, even warned her against

the impropriety of allowing the tender intimacy, which they could

not but see was growing up between the young couple, from

ripening into ardent affection, yet, in their solemn and solitary

musings on the events passing before them, they never could

bring their minds, in all, to tolerate the idea of a Koundhead and

a Puritan, a rebel, and a contenmer of the venerable and holy

faith which they professed, and in which their daughter had been

carefully educated, becoming that daughter's husband, and their

son-in-law. Several stolen interviews between the lovers served

but the more to influence the ardour of their passion for each

other; and at the same time, as the period for decision drew

nearer, to increase their embarrassment, by revealing to them the

danger and difficulties in which their union would involve them.

They saw in each other all those natural and acquired excellencies

of character that

" Fair high fancy forms, or lavish hearts can wish,
Or looked they on the mind, or mind illumined face."

They, indeed, seemed made to love, and to be loved by each other ;
but love, the ordinary master passion of our nature, more
especially in the heart of woman, was, in the solemn moments of
deep reflection, met in each of their bosoms by a feeling stronger
— when conscientiously cherished — than love itself, the deep sense
of religious duty ; the consideration of what was really owing to
their faith, their profession, their God. Could Agnes Willoughby
think of becoming a heretical Protestant — of abandoning the
creed of her fathers, and her own deeply cherished faith ; could
she think of bringing up her children in ways which she now
believed would lead them to eternal perdition ; could she sacrifice
all peace of mind on these important subjects — all religious

LKOBMDSy TRADITIONS, AND ANECDOTES.

consolation on earth, all hope of heaven in fature, for a lover and
husband, however much she admired and loved, and honoured
him as a man, a friend, and earthly deliverer P She could not.
The sacrifice might break her heart, but the cost might save her
soul. Nor was the young officer, who had a great reputation
among the troops, as a man mighty in words and doctrine, and
who regularly led his regiment in prayer, as well as in battle,
a whit less straitened in mind than was the damsel. He sought
the Lord often, with tears and deep anguish of spirit, for ae-sis-
tance and direction in this, the most trying and critical in his
whole life's affairs ; but, as yet, he saw that his union with her
was all but an impossibility. It was on a morning, early in
November, in the year one thousand six hundred and forty-five,
that after he had been seeking the Lord on his knees for a con-
siderable time, for direction on this important subject, he received
an order from Colonel Hutchinson, the governor of Nottingham
Oastle, to join him with all possible speed, along with 'vi hatever
number of men that could be spared from the fort of Broxtowe,
preparatory to the attack on the fortresses of Shelford and Wiver-
ton, on their way to the siege of Newark, then held in considerable
force for the king. Captain Thomhalgh had only just time,
through the agency of the trusty person employed by him on all
former occasions in his commanication with Agnes Willoughby,
to inform the angel of his heart of this new call of duty ; to
commend his love to her, and ask her prayers for his preservation,
ere he was on his way to Nottingham Castle. Agnes received the
message with a heavy heart. A deep foreboding of evil seemed
to seize upon the maiden's spirit as she contemplated this
dangerous enterprize. She retired to her chamber, and before
the images of her patron saint, and that of the blessed Virgin
Mother, she poured out the deep anguish of her overladen heart,
mingled with fervent supplications for her lover. The day
following the troo^ left Nottingham, en route for Newark, and on
the morning €fter commenced making preparations for the assault
on Shelford Manor-house, which had been converted into a fort,
and, from its situation, was a place of considerable strength. In
the storming of one of the half-moon batteries, erected by the
besieged within the fort, and whilst performing prodigies of
valour, at the head of his detachment, Captain Thomhalgh
received a musket ball in his breast, and« without uttering a word,
fell, never to rise again. The intelligence of the fall of the late
commander of Broxtowe was not long in reaching that place.

XOXTXNOKAlttSXKB VAOTS Al^ WlOnOW,

ti^ence the dismal tidingi wen speedily eonyeyed io Asplegr HaH.
Poor Agnes WiUonghby reoeired it with a thriU of emotion wbkh
•hook, to its Tory ceBire, her inmost soul, but her ^^rieit o«twardly»
was expressed only by a flood of teiurs. But the man she loved^-
almost revered, had died by a sudden, stroke in battle, without
time for repentance-*a heretio — ^had died in open rebellion against
his sovereign and his Gtod. Tbepe were the solsemn oonsideratioiM
which now sunk deep into her heart, and made her at <moe
resolve to live i^ life of holy virginhood ibr his suke, and deveHs
all her remaining days, to whatever length her life might be p«o-
longed, to prayer and fiuting, and almsgiving, if so be, that by
tappUcations of the saints in heaven, joined wii^ her prayers,
the mercy of GK>d might rescoie his predons soul from that utbor
perdition, to which, she else feared, it would be inevitably doomed,
and faithfully she kept her word. The maiden imm,ediately flunif
aside all her dainty attire, oldthed herself in sable habiliments of
the lowest possible construction consistent with her station in life,
abandoned all the vain and idle amusements of ,t^e world, and
lived, for sixty years afterwards, in the perf oimanoe of all good
works — a perfect pattern in manners, temp^, and <UspoBitioii, of
•very christian grace which could adorn the female character»
and at length, m a xipe old age, amidst the tears and regrets of aH
who knew her, sank into the grave with a quiet spirit, in thie
cheering hope of yet meeting, in heaven, him she had so long and
faithfully loved on earth.

THB KINO A3n> THB XILLBR OP lUKSFISLD.

Henry YIII., 3Bang of England, loved the chase. One day (as

the old stories commence) he proceeded to merry Sherwood with

his nobles for sport. Darkness coming on, they were compelled

to retrace their steps. As the night advanced, and the king

rode quickly, he quite lost his lords in the wood. Wandering

along wearily, and considerably fatigued, flenry met with a

miller, of whom he inquired the most direct way to **iair

Nottingham."

"iBir, quoth the miller, I mean not to jert, ~
Yet I think, whai I think aooth for to aa^.
You do not lightly ride out of your vay."

Upon the miller being interrogated by the king as to his hasly

judgment, the miller expressed his conviction that he was but

some '* gentleman thief," and bade him stand back, else he should

'* crack his knavish crown." Upon hearing tins abuser the kin^

Btated tbat mieb was not the case. **Thoa hast not," »aid the
nsHUer, **(me groat in thy pnxse; all thy inheritance hangs on thy
hack." Thie king oontndieted this statement, adding that he had
'*goId to diacharge all he called, if it be forty pence." '< If then
adi a true man," quoth the miller, ** I'll lodge thee all night"
Upon the king'a assertion that sneh he was, they proceeded to
the miller's. house, which the mUler entered, followed by King
Henry. ** New," said the miller, ** I like well thy conntenance,
than hast an honest face ; with my son Richard this night then
shalt lie." The miller's wife had the impression that the king
was a ran away youth ; bat the king assured her that such was
not the ease, adding that he was a poor courtier. After some
qviet conversation between the miller and his dame, they came to
the ooodusion that he shonld stay the night in their domicile,
inlonning him that they had laid ireAi straw and good brown
hempen sheets on the bed he was to occn|:iy with their son. The
wearied king was heartily glad to partake of their supper, which
oonsisted of hot bag-puddings and apple pies, and ale supplied in
a brown bowl. After the mutual pledging, the wife brought
a venii>on pasty, which the king was invited to partake of, with an
admonition to make no waste. The hungry king so relished it that
he exclaimed that he never ate anything so dainty. The son
replied that it was no dainty, but their daily fare. The king
inquired where such might be purchased, but was informed that
the veuison was obtained from the king's own deer. The king was
enjoined to keep the secret^ which he promised to do. Before
retiring for the night they partook of a cup of what was termed
''lamb's wool," which consisted of ale and roasted apples. Ilie
nobles sallied forth early next morning to search for their lost
king in the neighbouring towns. At last they perceived their
king just as he was in the act of mounting his horse, and fell
down on their knees before him. On perceiving this, and dis-
covering that it was the king, the miller trembled and shook,
believing that he would be hanged for questioning the character
of the lost king. Seeing the miller trembling, the king unsheathed
his sword, but did not speak. The miller at once dropped on his
knees, expecting that he was about to be decapitated, imploring
for mercy. But l^e king had no such intention, as he bestowed
upon him great living, and confened knighthood on the hospitable
miller of Mansfield. On the king's return from Nottingham to
Westminster he recounted hia^sports, but of them all the miller
of Hansfield's spoit pleased him the best. The king sent off to

NOTTIMOHAMSHIBB FACTS AND FIOTXONS.

the newly confirmed knight and the king's bedfellow, Blchard,
the miller's son, desiring their company at court. The message
was received in fear by the recipients, as the miller thought it was
only a jest, asking of what use their presence would be. The son
expected that they, were about to be suspended in mid-air. Thet^e
fears were allayed by the messenger, who added that they would
be the chief guests at a ieast given by the king. The miller
could not comprehend that they were to be guests, and sent a
messagt) that they would *' wait on hiR mastership in everything."
The king's mes-enger, smiling at their simplicity, took leave of
them. The miller btgan to discuss what would be the expense,
but be what it n^ight they must attend. New garments were
wanted, and they roust have horses and serving men. The wife
told the null', r not to fiet, as she would tui^i and trim up her old
russet gown, and they would ride to court on their mill horses.
Thus they went, with their son as their advance guard.- He, for
good luck, placed a cock*s feather in his hat, and strutted aljng.
The king, with his nolles, henring of the approach of his late
entertain IS, issued forth to meet them. " Welcome, Sir Knight,"
said the kini^, " with your gny lady ; good Sir John Guckle, once
welcome again." Dick, hearing no allusion to him, said, *' A bots
on you ! do you know me ?" As this greeted their ears, the ki ig
and couLtiers laughed light heartily, llien they sat down to the
banquet, when, after they had eaten well, they fell to jesting,
and the king, in a bowl of wine, drank to the knight; atterwards
in w.ne, ale, and beer, to both. The compliment was returned by
Sir John Cockle. llie king then expressed his wish th it they
had f>ome < J the pasty which he had partaken of to supper in the
miller's hut Poor Kichard, imagining that something unpleasant
was about to occur (for the pasty was made of the kit.g'8 deer),
bui st out with the expression, ** Ho ! ho ! 'tis knavery to eat it,
and then betray it." Their f'^^ars being allayed, Dick intimated
that the diehes provided were so small, that he pref^-rred a bla k
pudding to them all. Then the company prepared for a dance,
when the king placed the miller-knight and his son into position.
Their m vements being so droll and heavy, great amusement was
caused to both nol les and ladies. The king, in thanking them fur
their presence, asked Kichard if he would wed, and if so, which
from the C' m >any would he select as his partmr. *' Jugg Grum-
ball, Sir," the miller's son said, " she's my love, and her only will
I wed." Then the miller of Mansfield, Sir John Cockle, received
fiom the king tho appointment of overseer to Sherwood Foreit,

^LEGENDS, TBAl)ITIONS, ASD ANECDOTB8.

with a salary of £300 per annum ;, adding^ that he was not in
fdtnre to steal his deer, and commanding his attendance quarterly,
bade him adieu.

A LEGEND OF NEW8TEAD ABBEY.

The rising g^sts of an autumnal evening sighed around the
Abbey of Newstead, and fearfully howled through the adjacent
Forest of Sherwood, bestrewing the dark and silent gla'les with
russet foliage, aud throwing up the ohilling waters of the lake. ^
The fallow deer bounded through the trees at eveiy hollow
sound, and amidst the elemental uproar, at intervals, was heaid
the monastery bell swinging slow its sullen roar, caUing to
vespers the cowled inmates, when, along the borders of thti lake,
approached two green-garbed figures, bearing between thein, on
a stake, an antlered tenant of the woods. Approacbin;^ t>ie abbey,
they threw down their burden, and leaning against a postern,
awaited the conclusion of the service, listening with seem'ng
reverence to the solemn chant of choral voices, which rose in the
anthem of De Profundi. A hollow sounding blow at the stuldt-d
door brought forth ihe porter, a lay brother of the order. hh«1 they
were admitted. The venison is now laid along the oaken board
of the Refectory, and presently the portly father abbot, wiih rosy
cheeks, and an eye neither faded nor lustreless with toil or priva-
tion, dropped in from the cloisters, attended by h|s tonsured
brethren, whose cowls thrown back disclosed plump and polish d
vi>ages, seemingly well pleast d wiih the world's service. Joyou-ly
they pat the plump sides of the animal, and now the hale superior
hiccups a plenary pardon for the sins of the outlaws, for which
it appears the buck was a propitiatory sacrifice. The subsequent
morning rose bleak and cloudy ; a ruddy tinge in the e lutum
Yaonzon indicated stormy weather ; the wind eigh'-d mournfully
through the dark woods, and their early mhtins were fearfully
interrupted by the ap, ailing tidings of the fatal decree of the
capricious monarch to piepare to receive the commissioners, and
yield the charter deeds of the foundation. The abbot, with
blanched cheeks, called a convocation in the chnpel, and it was
resolved to foil the tyrant in the substance of his prey, m .intaining
a latent hope that the pope's supremacy might yet be made
manifest, and finally restore their ancient privileges. In the
silence of midnight, the sacristan, with three stuidy friars, got in
readiness the massive'iron chest containing the sacred uten^ils, gold

MOTTINOBAMSHIBB VACTS AMD PIOTIOMt.

and alver chalices, and jewels, secured by many locks, and also
the massive molten spread eagle used to support the huge black*
letter bible in the church, in the hollow of which was safely con*
cealed the charter deeds of the hou^^e, together with a grant of
certain indulgences, thereby handed down to posterity, on a
discovery of the figure some centuries afterwards. The keel
of the fishing boat is now drawn upon the shore, the ponderous
cargo is soon afloat in the centre of the water. Resting upon the
oars they warily cast an eye on either side, fearful that some
prowling outlaw or stroller might detect their midnight plot.
Nothing was seen but the gloomy foliage, or the but skimming
the surface ef thn lake ; nothing heard save the solemn sighing of
the breeze, or the distant howling of some famished wolf. Now
the brazen engle is safely sunk in di ep water, and the undulation
caused by the heavy mass disturbing the scarcely ruffled bosom of
the lake, moved the vessel some fathoms onward. Now the
monks essay to hoist the massive chest upon the oars laid over
the side, which task performed, they raise them as levers ; they
strain and creak, it falls on one side, and lo ! the weight oversets
the boat, and all are overwhelmed in a black chilUng vortex;
hissing bubbles arise ; the holy canons are for some seconds sunk
in twenty feet of water ; low and stifling crie^ for help '^ ake the
echoes of the forest ; lights quickly approach and gleam on the
bank; another boat skims the water; and the supplicmts are
soon drawn from a watery fate, faint, terrified, and exhausted, and
being placed before a rousing fire of oak faggots, they were soon
restored to vitality.

• I

THB LAKE AT KEWSTBAB

has inherited its share of the traditions and fables connected with
everything in and around the abbey. It was a petty Mediterranean
Sea, on which *' the wicked old lord *' used to gratify his nautical
taetes and humours. He had his mimic castles and fortresses
along its shores, and his mimic fleets upqn its waters, and used to
get up mimic sea fights. The remains of his petty fortifications
still awaken the curious inquiries of visitors. In one of his vagaries
he caused a large vessel to be brought on wheels from the sea
coast. The country people were surprised to see a ship thus sailing
on dry land. They called to mind a saying of Mother Shipton,
the famous prophet of the vulgar, that whenever a ship freighted
with ling should cross Sherwood Forest Newstead would pass out

of the Byron famUy. The country people, i^ho detested the old
lord, were anxious to verify the prophecy. Ling, in the dialeot
of NottiDghamtyhire, ie the name for heather; with this plant they
heaped the fated hark as it passed, so that it arrived full freighted
at Newstead. The nlo^t iiD{>ortant stories ahout the lake, how-
ever, relate to the treflsiitee which a^ supposed to be buried in its
bosei&. These may have taken their oiigin in a ftujt which
actually occurred. There w»s one time fished up from the deep
part of the lake a great eagle of molfcen brass, with expanded
wings, standing on a pedestal or perch of the same material. It
had doubtless served as a stand or reading desk in the abbey
chapel, to hold a folio bible or missal. The sacred reHo was sent
to a brazier to be cleaned. As he was at work upon it he
discovered that the pedestal was hollow, and comx>osed of several
pieces. Unscrewing these, he drew forth a number of parchment
deeds appertaining to the abbey, and bearing the seals of Edward
the Third and Henry the Eighth, which had thus been concealed,
ultimately siink iu the lake by the friars, to substantiate their
right and title to these, domains at some future day. The brazen
eagle has been transferred to the parochial and collegiate church
of Southwell, where it may still be seen in the centre of the
chancel, supporting, as of yore, a ponderous bible. As for the
documents it contained, they are carefully treasured, amon^
the other dteds and pHpers, in an iron chtst, secured by a patent
lock of nine bolts, almost equal to a magic spell.

JOTTINGS ABOUT BTBON.

BTRON S FIRST RHTMINO EFFUSION.

An elderly lady, who was m the habit of visiting the mother of
Byron, had made use of some expression that greatly affronted the
future poet. These slights, his nurse said, he resented violently
and implacably. The old lady had some curious notions respect-
ing the soul, whi( h she imagined took its flight to the moon after
dtaih, as a preliminary essay before it proceeded further. One
day, after a repetition, it is ^upposed, of her original insult to the
boy, he appeared before hiH nurse in a violent rage. ** Well, my
little hero," she asked, ** what's the matter with you now !" Upon
which the child answered that '* this old woman had put me into
a most terrible passion, that I cannot bear the sight of her,
&C., &c.," and then broke into the following doggerel lines, which

NOTTINOHAMSHIRB FACTS AND FICT10N8.

he frequently repeated, as if delighted with the vent he had found
for his rage : —

** In Nottinghain town, very near to Svine Onea,
Lives as curat an old lady as erer was seen :
And when she does die, which I hope will be soon,
She finnly believes she will go to the moon."

This is conjectured to have been the earliest rhyming effusion of
£yr< n, though he himself dated his "first dash into poetry," as
he termed it, a year later.

BT&ON AND THB SKULL.

Whilst living at Newsteid, Lord Byron once found a human
skull of large dimensions and peculiar whiteness. He concluded
that it belonged to some ** jolly old soul" of a friar, who had been
domesticated at Kewstead, prior to the confiscation of the monas-
teries by Henry the Eighth ; and thought it no harm in convertin:;
the cranium of this "Friar Tuck" into a drinking vessel.
Accordingly he dispatched it to London, where it whs elegantly
mounted .On its return to Newstead, Byron instituted a new
order at the abbey, constituting himself Grand Master, or Abbot,
of the Skull. The members, twelve in number, were provided with
black gowns. Th^.t of Byron, as head of the fraternity, was
distinguished from the rest. A chapter was hi Id at certain times,
when the skuU-di inking goblet was filled with clnret, and handed
abijut among>t the gods of this consistory, in imitation of the
Goths of old, ^hilfit many a grim joke was era ked nt the expense
of this caput mortuum. The following lines were inscribed upon
it by Byron :—

** Start not, nor deem my spirit fled ;
In niti behold the only skull
From which, unlike a living head,
Whatever flows is never dull.

I lived, I loved, I quaffed like thee ; '

I di( d : let earth uiy bones resign ;
Fill up, thou canst not injure me ;

llie worm hath fouler hps than thine.

Where once my wit, perchance hath shone,

In aid of othera' let me shine ;
And when, alas ! our brains are gone,
\ What nobler substitute than wine.

Qui^ while thou canst : another race,
When thun and thine, like me are sped.

If ay rescue thee from earth's imbraoe,
And rhyme and revel wi h the dead.

LBOBNDS, TRADITIONS, AND ANECD0TB8.

Why not T sinoe through lifers little day

Our heads such bad effects produce ;
Bedeem'd from worms and wasting day*

This chance is theirs, to be of use."

The skull is buried beneath the floor of the chapel at Newstead

Abbey.

Byron's supbrstitions.

Lord Byron was a firm believer in omens ; a few instances of
which we shall gfive : — The first time he saw Miss Millbanke, the
fature wife of the bard, was at the house of a lady of title. On
going upstairs he stumbled, and remarked to Mooie, his future
biographer, who accompanied him, that it predicted no good.
Having married this lady, and the marriage proving very unfor-
tunate, Byron remarked that he ouiiht to have taken warning of
that omen. — On receiving a note informing him of the decease
of his old physician, Polidori, Byron remarked, " I was convinced
something very unpleasant hung over me last night. I expe< ted
to hear that somebody £ knew was dead ; so it turned out. Who
can help being superstitious? Scott believed in sncond sight,
lluusseau tried whether he wuuld be dammed or not by aiming at a
tree with a stone, Goethe trusted to a chance of a knife's sti iking
the water whether he was to succeed in some undertrtking." — On
another occasion Byron remarked, "Several extraordinary things
happened on my birthday ; so they did to Napoleon ; and a more
wonderful circumstance still occurred to Marie Antoimtte. At
my wedding someth nij; whispered to me that I was signing my
death warrant. At the last moment I would have retreated if I
could have done so. I am a great believer in presentiment,
fejocrate^' demon was no fiction; Monk Lewis had his monitor;
and Bonaparte many warninsi;s." — Byron likewise believed in
unlucky days. He once refused an introduction to a lady because
it WHS on a Friday the introduction was to take place. He would
never pay vicdts on this day.

btron and a ladt*s tonoub.
A party came into the public rooms at Buxton /Somewhat later
in the morning than usual, and r< quested some tongue. They
were informed that Loid Byron had eaten it all. **I am very,
angry with bis lordhhip," said a lady, sufficiently loud for the
observai ion to be heard by Byron, upon hearing which hn retorted,
'* I am sorry for tt, madam, but befoie I ate ti^e tongue, I w^8
assured ifou did not want it."

On reading some lines addressed to Lady Holland by the Earl

NOTTINOHAlfSHXBB FACTS AMII FIOTZOMI.

of Carlisle, persuading her to rcrjeot the snuffbox bequeathed to
her by the great Napoleon, begioning

** Lady, rqeet the gift."

Byron, a strong admirer oi Napoleon, immediately composed the

following parody on those Hnes, but conveying a sentiment qmta

Hke reverse of that in Lord Carli»le'8 lines:— *

**Iiad7, aeoept the gift a boo wtnra^
« In spite of all this degiao stuff;

Let not seven btanzas, written by a bore,
Pirerent your ladyship from taking snuff.**

At the time when Byron and Scott were the two lions of London,
Hookham Frere observed,, ** Great poets formerly (Homer and
Milton) were blind, now they are lame."

An instance of the occasionally plain diet of Byron is given in
Bogers' Taiie Talk. Having accepted an invitation to dine at
Bogers' to meet Moore, Byron sat down to dinner, when Bogers
asked hiih if he would take soup. No, he never took soup, was
the effect of his reply. Would he take some fish ? No, he never
took fish. Presently he was asked to partake of mutton, but his
lordship stated that he never ate mutton. He was next asked if
he wuuld partake of wine, but Byron never tasted wine. It was
now necessary to inquire what he did eat and drink; and the
answer was, *' Nothing but hard biscuits and soda water."
Unfortunatel3% neither hard biscuits nor soda water were at hand,
but he dined upon potatoes bruised down on his plate, and
drenched with vinegar. Some days after, meeting Hobhouse,
Bogers asked him, ** How long will Lord Byron persevere in his
present diet?" He replied, "Just as long as you continue to
notice it." After leaving Rogers' house, B^nron went to a club in
St. James' street, where he ate a hearty meat supper.

After Byron had become the rage many manoeuvres were made
by certain noble ladies to form an acquaintance with him through

his iriend Rogers, who would receive a note from Lady ,

requesting the pleasure of his company on a particular evening,
with a postsciipt, '* Pray, could you not contrive to bring Lord^
Byron with you f.' Once, at a grei^t party given by Lady Jersey,
Mrs. Sheridan ran up to Bogers, saying, " Do, as a favour, try if
if you can place Lord Byron beside me at supper."

B3Ton, at one period of his life, never dined with Lady Byron,
for it was one of his fancies, or affectations, that he could not
endure to see women eat. On one occasion he refused to meet

UOBKIM, TSiAITlONfl, AVD AVICDOTn.

Madame de Bta^l at dinner, Imt came ib the evening. If He
veoeived an invitation to dinner from an intimate friend withoot
mentioning t^e company, he would write to aaoeitain if he had
invited any women.

BTBOW'S TETS.

Shelley and Byron were familiar acquaintaneea. They made
an^zcnrsion together roimd the Lake of Geneva, and afterwards
saw a great deal of eadi ol&er in Italy. Shelley believed
implicitly in Byron's g^us, yet their natures were not, in many
respects, congenial. Byron was a problem to Shelly, and some-
times a source of amusement. We meet with a playful instanee
of his quiet sarcasm in a letter to Peacock, . written in August,
1821, which wil^ also afford a curious illustration of their manner
of life :— '* Lord Byron gets up at two. I get up, quite contrary
to my usual custom, but one must sleep or die, like Sonthey's sea
snake in KehamSf at twelve. After breakfast, we sit talking tiU
six. From six till eight we gallop through the pine forests whidb
divide Ravenna from the sea; then come home an^ dine, and sit
up gfossiping till six in the morning. I do not think this will kill
me in a week or a fortnight, but I shall try it no longer. Lord
B.'s establishment consists, besides servants, of ten horses, eight
enormous dogs, three monkeys, jBve cats, an eagle, a crow, and a
falcon; and all these, except Uie horses, walk about the house,
which every now and then resounds with their unarbitrated
quarrels, as if they were masters of it. . . . P.S. — ^After I
h«ve sealed my letter, I find that my enumeration of the fti^Mnt^ay
in this Circean palace was defective, and that in a material poial.
I have just met on the grand stttircase five peacocks, two Guinea
hens, and an Egyptian orane. I wonder who all these wtija,]^
were before they were changed into these shapes.'

ICAltSHAL TALLASD.

In 1704 Marshal Tallard, the French commander at Blenheim,
and other distinguished prisoners taken on that field, were brought
to Nottingham, where they resided for sevmil years. The party
included the Marquis de Montperroux, general of horse; the
Ckmvpte de Blanzac ; lieutenaat-General de HautefuiUe, general
of dragoons; the Marquis de Yalsome ; Marquis de Leppeville ;
jKud several other officers of distinction. Tallard resided in the
houae near the top of Castle Ghite, on th^ right hand proceeding
from the Castle, recently occupied by Mr. Jallaxid, architect.

I » t- L

KOTTINOHAMSHIBB PACTS AND FICTIONS.

There he occupied liis compulsory leisure by cultirating a garden,
full of rare flowers, and most tastefully laid out (the admiration
of the whole neighbourhood). The Nottingham housewives he
blessed by writing a little cookery book, which taught them
especially the art of making French rolls and fancy bread. These
light pursuits the Marshal varied, says tradition, by setting, the
boys in the Market Place to trials of their skill in wrestliiig and
fisticuffs for suitable rewards; and Tallard and his companions
were lost in admiration at the early developed power of receiving
punishment, and the love of fair play shown by the young Britons,
giving it as their opinion that in those respects they were above
all other species of the genus boy to be found in the world;
though whether the Nottingham mothers regarded the cookery
book as a set off to this employment of their sons is somewhnt
questionable. It is said that Marshal Tallard, when here, wrote
to the King of France, telling him to contmue the war, for
England was nearly drained of men. Shortly afterwards he
visited Goose Fair, and immediately wrote off to France, counsel-
ling his Majesty to give up the war, because he had seen as many
men at one time in one English market place as could conquer
the whole of France.

A NOTTINGHAM MAYOB BEFROVED BV A KINQ.

After receiving an address and a purse of £50 from the Notting-
ham Corporation, headed by the deputy recorder, the king
(Charles I.) simimoned the mayor of the town to his presence,
and demanded from him his insignia of ofiice — the mace. On
receiving this the king chided the mayor for not publishing his
proclamation, as was his duty, nor attending him as required at York,
returned the mace, with some advice as to the future. His
worship, greatly crestfallei^ received his mace, and marched
slowly back to his residence, amidst the jeers and laughter of the
crowd.

STOBY OF THB NOTTINGHAM JACOBITE MAYOB.

The following sketch, illustrative of local Jacobitism, appeared
in The Town Magazine : — ** The house standing on the north-east
comer of Chapel Bar, formerly known by the sig^ of the * Eagle
and Child,' [and at present occupied as a spirit store], was
erected in 17 14 by Mr. Thomas Hawksley, an alderman of the town.
Mr. Alderman Hawksley was a violent Jacobite, or maintainor of

LEGENDS, TEADITIOMS, AND ANECDOTES. 51

the rights of the Stuarts, in favour of which family there had
always existed a powerful party in the town. Jn the year 1715,
the eventful yexr of the first rehellion in the north in favour of
the exiled family, Mr. Hawksley was nominated to the mayoralty,
which period, and probably on the occasion of some temporary
success that followed the first movements of the partizans of
Charles James, Mr. Hawksley gave an entertainment to a party
of his political friends ; when, probably in a state of inebriety or
elevation of spirits from the copious libations of strong ale, in
whxh the aldermen of Nottingham, along with the rest of the
inhabitants, were at that time accustomed to indulge on festive
occasions, and to which Mr. Hawksley, from the nature of his
business, might be considered to be more than ordinarily addicted,
he went down on hit bare knees before the company, and, from a
large silver tankard, drank ' Success to the H«inse of Stuart, and

to his enemies.' At least, so swore one Mather, an attendant

or waiter, on whose oath the mayor was committed by a brother
magistrate to the house of correction. As might have been
expected, a considerable degree of confusion attended the execution
of this warrant, and several persons were severely injured. The
Orange party, however prevailed, and his worship was safely
lodged within the walls of the prison. A ' hall ' was inmiediately
called, and, after a very stormy contention, during which the
whole of the corporate body were more than once on the point of
getting to cudgels or handycufis, the Whigs succeeded in carrying
a vote to deprive Mr. Hawksley of his official dignity, and invest
Mr. Alderman Watkinson with the mace. During the period of
Mr. Hawksley's detention in prison, which was only for a short
time, he was visited by vast numbers of his brother Jacobites,
more especiiUy those of the higher class in society, for many miles
round, the novelty of the circumstance having created a consider-
able sensation in the adjacent parts, with many congratulations
on his spirit and patriotism, and offers of pecuniary and legal
assistance. It is creditable to the parties opposed to the recusant
mayor to say that they offered no reasonable opposition to him
receiving all the comforts and acconmiodation during his confine-
ment which himself or his friends deemed necessary. He kept a
good table in the house of correction, and had every day a party
to dine with him ; the bed on which he slept was furnished from
his own house ; the bed furniture was green damask, and of these
curtains a flag was afterwards made, which was many years the
rallying standard of the Tory, or High Church party

§>t MomwoBAifBHntB 7ACT0 AMU nonomi.

Ifr. Hawksley bronglxt three distinct actions against 13ie commit-
ting magistrate for false imprisonment, bnt failed in eyery one of
ISiem. l%e date of the -imprisonment was engrayed on one of the
■tones at tiie oomer of the buildinir, and is still seen distinctiy.**

THB NOmNOHAX SCHOOUCA8TB& AMO THB ItAVTBB.

The Bev. Bichard Johnson, head master of the Free (now High)
School, was a learned and very eccentric character. Kaily in the
hut centnry the Corporation brought an action against him to
nmove him from his position on the ground of incapacity ; bat,
previous to its being brought into court, he obta^Md sll the
aldermen's signatures to a paper ezpresstvo of his capability to
teach a sdiool^ imder pretence of obtaining another school, pro-
fessing himself conscious that he must lose his situation as ibaster
ef the Free School, but he cunningly presented this paper in court
as evidence of his capability, and the Corporation th^vby lost the
suit. In the course of the Irial one of the counsel, who was
engaged in the interests of the Corporation, said to Mr. Johnson,
Ufh^ icaa nUemed of unaound mind, ^ Mr. Johnson, I think I may
say to you, as Festus said to St. Paul, 'too much learning haa
made tiiee mad:'" to which Mr. Johnson replied, ** Truly, sir,
but if you should go mad no one toiU toy the eame of fou,** This
bronght on such a peal of laughter upon the counsel as caused
him to sit down in a not very peaceM frame of mind.

FABSIMOirr 07 A NOTTINOKAX BBNSFACTOB.

WooUey, of whom we are about to write, was an eccentrio
character, residing at Codnor, but who was identified with Not*
tingham as the maker and donor of tl^e (dock in the Notting^iam
F<xchftnge. When young he was detected shooting .on tha
estate of Home, the murderer, when he made a vow never to cease
from labour except when nature compelled him until he had
sufficient property to justify him following his favourite sport on
his own grounds. He accordingly set to work, and continued at
it day and night. He denied himself the use of an ordinary bed,
and of every other comfort, as weU as neeessariea, except of the
meanest kinds. When his object was attained his relish for spoxt
had departed, and he continued to work at dock making, SKeept
when he found an opportunity of trafficking in land, until he had
amassed a considerable fortone^ which on his deatht irhidi

LBOBNDBy TBADinOlfS, A2n> AHECDOTBB. 63

happened about 1770, he bequeathed to one of hiB relations. The
following anecdote will clearly show his character in full : — <* A
person came one Sunday to pay him for a dock, and after having
paid the money was actually invited by this miserly dockmaker
to stay. The invitation having been accepted, the host said:
' Wdl, then, I will boil a tohole penny loaf, otherwise I should
have boiled half of one ;* which he did, over a cow-dung fire,
and this constituted the Sunday dinner of two men."

ANSCDOTE OF A VOTSISiXRAM HI8T0BIAN.

Doctor Charles Deering, the Nottingham historian, who died in
1749, whilst on his deathbed was visited by a lady named Turner,
on hearing of the doctor's long illness and poverty, at his rooms,
on the south side of St. Peter's square (now pulled down). After
conversing with him for some time, she left him half a guinea with
the mistress of the house. When the latter produced the gift,
and told him whence it came, he exdauned, " If you had stabbed
me to the heart I should have thanked you, but this I cannot
bear."

THB BTO&Y OF CECILIA SIDOEWAT.

There is a curious record of a pardon preserved in the Tower of
London, which was granted to a female named Gedlia Ridgeway,
who refused to plead g^iilty of murdering her husband,
at the assizes held at Nottingham, and was remanded back to
prison, where, it is rdated, she remained forty days without
8uatenanee, for which miraculous (?) preservation she received the
pardon alluded to, under the Great Seal of England. This
eztremdy remarkable occurrence took place about the year one
thousand three hundred and fifty-seven, when people's credulity
waa considerably greater than it is in the nineteenth century.

THE BITLINO PASSION STKONG IN DEATH.

We have heard of many men whose natural propensitieB for
drollery never left them, and who died with a joke upon their
lips ; but it is almost unnatural to suppose a man. about to suffer the
last ignominious penalty of the law would '* go off" with a pun,
but sudi is a fact. A criminal, executed at Nottingham, when
his fetters were knocked off, said he freely forgave his enemies.

NOSTQ^HAUSHIBB VAOVS AM> PZCOIOIVS.

lir ASSOIiVTB PACT.

Strange as it may appear, it is neveirtheless most tme, tiiat a
ydoBg and respectable female, connected with her sisters in the
management of a ladies' school in Nottingham, had, until twenty-
four years of age, never seen a green field. Accident enforced
a idfiit to Buddington, and on her arrival at the end of h^ journey,
a distance of three mUes and a half, she exclaimed, in expressions
of real amazement, " I never would have ventured out if I had
known the world had been so large."

A bsuakkablb ohakacteb.

James Hutchinson, a framework-knitter, died 28th July, 1813,
at the age of ninety-three. He never was more than seven miles
from Nottingham, never drank a cup of tea in the course of his
long life, and for fourteen years never tasted ale. His principal
food for more than thirty years was milk, which he liked best
when thick and sour, and which he boiled till it coagulated, and
then called it cheesecake. He usually had fourteen pennyworths of
milk, standing in a row, which he made use of in order, always
taking the oldest, that he might have it as sour as possible. He
had worked at the frame seventy-six years, during fifty-six
of which he was employed by one firm, that of Messrs. Hawson ;
and for.twenty-nine years he worked by the light of one window,
during which time his frame was never removed. He died at the
house of his granddaughter, in Narrow Marsh, Nottingham. He
left more than thirty descendants.

SQUIBB MUSTBBS AND THB TOUNG ANOLEBS.

Old John Musters, squire of Golwick, was a strict conserver of
the fishing on his estate, and was wont to keep a sharp look-out
on the youngsters from Nottingham, who daily visited the banks
of the Trent on his estate. '* Ho ! young fellow, what paper do^
your father read ?" " Please, sir, he takes in the Review" " Get
off, you sboundrel, instantly !" At which of course the lad took
to his heels. If the Journal was read by the father of the would-
be angler, then the squire permitted the youth to remain as long
as he wished. The drift of the squire's question soon got wind in
Nottingham and the neighbourhood. If the tales tolcL the squire
-vi[ere true the circulation of the conservative Journal amongst the
red-hot radical parents of young Nottingham must have been
unmense.

LBGBNDS, TRADinONB, AKD ANB0D0TB8.

A aUEBN's BZAXFLi: A NEWABK ANBCDOTB.

Echard, the historian, speaking of Newark, states that thfi
ladies of that town are obedient to their husbands, owing to the
g^ood example of one of our queens who Yisited the town during
the troubles for the furtherance of her royal husband's cause,
where she remained for a few days, during which time she treated
the ladies of the town and neighbourhood in a very polite manner.
They pressed her majesty to remain with them, but her reply was
to the effect that she was under the commands of the king, and
was about to march by his orders to another place ; and though
she could not comply with their request, she, by her obedience,
would set them an example to obey their husbands.

THB KINO AND THE MEWABK ALDEBMAM-.

An anecdote is related of King James the First, who, on his way
to London, ariived in Newark on the twenty-first day of April,
in the year one thousand six hundred and two, on which occasion
he was received by the Corporation of that town, and addressed
by the alderman (there being then no mayor), Mr. Twentyman,
in a long Latin speech, with which his majesty was so well pleased
that he conferred upon him the office of '< purveyor of wax to the
royal household " in the counties of Nottingham, York, Lincoln,
and Derby. When about to depart the king ordered him to
repeat the speech ; then asked him his name, and, on being told,
replied sharply, ** Then, by my saul, man, thou art a traitor ; the
Twentymans pulled down Redkirk, in Scotland." This, however,
must have been in jest, as he continued his favour to him, and
was often accompanied by him in his hunting excursions in the
forest.

AN ILLITEBATE NEWABX ALDEXMAN.

A certain alderman of Newark, having occasion to write to a
Duke of Newcastle, actually made thirteen mistakes in spelling
a word of five letters. Li writing the following sentence, ** such
usoffe is not to be borne," he omitted the whole of the right letters
of the second word (usage), and spelt it " yowzitch," substituting
eight fresh letters in place of the five omijbted.

THE KINO AND TUB SOUTHWELL SHOEHAKEB.

Walking about the town, as it was his practice to do, Charles

NOTTINOHAMBHIBB FACTS JLSD FICTIONS.

the First entered the shop of a fanatical shoemaker, named James
Lee. Finding that his person was nnknown to the '* knight of
the awl and lapstone/' the king ekitered into conversation with
ViiTTi^ and in the end wished to be measured for a pair of shoes.
Lee had no sooner taken his majesty's foot in his hand to measure
it, than, eyeing him very attentively, he was suddenly seized with
a panic, and would not go on. The king, surprised at his
hehaviour, pressed him to proceed, but this disciple of St. Crispin
absolutely refused, informing the king that he was the customer
himself whom he had been warned of in his sleep the preceding
night; that the king was doomed to destruction, and those who
performed any work for him would never thrive. The forlorn
monarch, whose misfortunes had opened his mind to the impres-
sions of superstition, uttered an ejaculation expressive of his
resignation to the will of providence, and retired.

JAMBS THB FIRST AND SOUTHWELL MINSTBB.

On his way to take possession of the throne of England, King
James the First passed through Southwell in April, 1603. He was
struck with surprise on beholding so large a pile of building as
the church in the centre of so small a town. One of his retinue
observing that York and Durham 'were far more magnificent
churches, James replied rather peevishly, in his Scotch accent,
"Vare wele, vare wele, but by my blude this kirk shall justle
with York or Durham, or ony in Christendom."

A WIFE AND WIDOW IN FIVE MINUTES.

It is seldom that we hear of any persons entering the bonds of
matrimony when they are at death's door, but a case of this
character occurred at the church of Southwell, on the second
of April, 1807. Robert Barlow Cook, a young man twenty-seven
years of age, had for some years paid his addresses to a female of
the name of Sarah Sandaver. Their union having been protracted
in consequence of the declining state of his health, he, this
morning, having arrived at the last stage of consumption, deter-
mined upon attempting a marriage. Being with great difficulty
raised from his bed, and, after much trouble, clothed, he proceeded,
supported by the arm of his intended brother-in-law, to the church.
His rallied spirits supported him tolerably well throughout the
ceremony. The priest dosed the book ; but before he could make

LBOBITDS, T&ADinONS, AMD AITBCDOTBS.

fhe nsual entry in the charch register Gook sank on the floor, and
instantly expired.

THB CONSBQUBirriAL BBBYAMT OF KOBWOOD PABX.

An anecdote has heen handed down to us from the seventeenth
century of a confidential servant of Mr. Oludd, a county magis-
trate, who resided at Norwood Park, in this county, which serves
to show the weight of the master's character in the neighbourhood.
Being despatched to the metropolis with information respecting
the movements and approximation of the royal army, and also
what measures Mr. Gludd thought advisable to be taken towards
defeating their designs, he was asked by some person how matters
went on in Nottinghamshire. His reply was (to the same effect
as Wolsey's, '^I and my king") **1 and my master rule all there."

A PABSIMONIOUS N0TTIM0HAM8HIBB CLBBOTMAN.

It is stated that one of the former incumbents of Flintham was
of such a parsimonious disposition that he would perform any
duties for persons of all ranks of society for a trifling consideration.
He had been known to perform duties forthatchers so as to enable
him to save a single penny. On another occasion he is said to
have been the bearer of a letter to Newark for twopence. He is
said to have accumulated the sum o^ one thousand five hundred
poimds by his penurious mode of living.

SHBLPOBD MBN AND THBIB VBLVBT COLLARS.

Some years ago ^e people of Shelford were much talked of
among their neighbours for wearing red velvet collars to their
coats. Everyone wondered whence this strange fashion could
have arisen. At length the vicar, a sagacious and pious man,
discovered it proceeded from a cause as sing^ar as lamentable.
The dandy tailor, who gave the fashions to the village, was also
the sexton. As Shelford is the burial place of the Earls of Chester-
field, '*Mr. Tailor and Sexton" had *' cabbaged" red velvet
from the coffins of the noble sleepers for the cotmtry round. The
vicar wrote in terms of great horror and lamentation to the earl
on the subject of this unhallowed depredation. The witty
nobleman, however, administered but ghostly comfort to the vicar.
His lordship exhorted him to moderate the excess of his sorrow,
and to join with himself in admiring and commending the provi-

MOTTIirOHAVSHIBB FACTS AKD FICTIONS.

dent ingeniiity of tlie Tillage tailor, for bringing into light, and
employing usefully, what his ancestors and himself had consigned
to eternal darkness and decay.

STOET OF THB BTOCKDrO FBAMB.

There are two stories current as to the origin and invention of
the machine for stocking making. The first supports the trite
saying that whatever ohstades are placed in the way of lovers
''love will find out a way'* to overcome them. The stocking frame
was invented by the Hev. William Lee, M.A., a native of Wood-
borough, in this county, in the year 1589. The inventor was heir
to a pretty freehold estate, and being deeply in love with a young
person to whom he paid his addresses, but whom he found more
intent upon her knitting than to his vows and protestations, he
was induced to contrive a machine which should render the mode
of knitting by hand entirely useless. We have, however, seen it
stated that Mr. Lee was a poor curate, and married, and his wife
being obliged to occupy herself industriously with knitting, which
interfered very much with the attention necessary to her family,
he was prompted to attempt the invention of a stocking knitting
machine. It is certain that he or his brother exhibited the loom
before Queen Elizabeth ; but his invention being despised in his
native country, he went to France with several English workmen,
where he was patronized by Henry the Fourth. The murder of
that monarch overturned all his hopes of success. Mr. Lee died
of grief and chagrin at Paris.

BXTRAOBDINABT TENACITY OF LIFE.

IxL this county a most remarkable case of the tenacity of life in
the lower n,Tiima.lB occuired near the close of last century. Two
sheep, during a most severe winter, were found thirteen feet
beneath the surface of the snow, where, most wondexiul to relate,
they had remained twetUy^ine daye* The diameter of space in
which they lived, or rather existed, did not exceed five feet, and
that was not only eaten bare, but turned up to get at the roots of
the grass. The miserable anfmals were discovered by means
of their breath, which ascended through pores of the snow,
occasioned by the warmth of breathing. Notwithstanding that
care was taken to recover them, one of them expired a short time
after it was housed.

LBOSNDSy TBADITIONB, AND ANBCDOTM.

WHT DX7NBLAIN OHAPBL WAS SBBOTBD.

Oral tradition gives the following drcttmstances which led to
the erection of Donhlain Chapel. A swineherd oi a happy
countenance was placed near Flawford Church (of which Bunblain
Chapel was cemetery) to tend pigs. A gentleman comiog by
questioned him respecting his parentage, and subsequently, by fair
promises, persuaded the boy to go away with him. At the decease
of this stranger this swineherd came into possession of his property.
Many years afterwards he returned to his native village, and
discovered that his parents were dead, and were interred near the
church, he caused a tomb to be placed over their graves, on
which their figures were cut, with a dog at their feet. These
graves were afterwards walled in, and from that date this ground
WB8 called Duublam's Chapel, from the name of the swineherd's
parents.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE FACTS AND FICTIONS.

PART III.

DEMONOLOGY, WITCaBCCRAFT, AND MISOELIiANEOXJS

STTPEKSTITIONS.

" Supentition I that horrible inonbits whidh dwells in darkness, shuming HhB
light ... is pasang away, never to return. BeUgion cannot pass away.
The burning of a little straw may hide the stars of the sky ; but tiie stars are
there, and will reappear." — Carlyle.

**1 tlunk we cannot too strongly attack superstition, which is the disturber
of society ; nor too highly respect genuine religion, whidh is the supporter of
it.**-— Bou8seau»

" Superstition renders a man a fool, and soeptioism makes him mad.*'—

THE OONTEST WITH THE DEVIL

IN A P08SI8SED MAN.

NBA& NOTTINGHAM, BT THE KEY.
BOTHWBLL.

BICHABD

THE following accoant is taken from a very scarce work printed
in Bolton about 1787, being Grower's Life of the Rev, Richard
RothweU, The subject of this biography lived between 1563 and
1627 : — ^^ There was one John Fox, living about Nottingham, who
had no more learning than enabled him to read and write. This
man was possessed with a devil, who would violently throw him
down, and take away the use of every member of his body, which
turned as black as pitch in those fits, and then spake with an
audible voice in him, which seemed sometimes to be heard out of
his belly, sometimes out of his throat, and sometimes out of his
mouth, his lips not moving. He lay thus, if I mistake not, some
years. Many prayers were put up to God for him, and great
resort, especially of godly ministers to him : amongst the rest
Mr. Bernard, of Batcomb, then of . Worksop, and Mr. Langley, of
Truswel, betwixt whom and John Fox I have seen divers passages
in writing, he relating by pen his temptations, and they giving
answers when he was stricken dumb. As Mr. Bothwell was
riding to see him, the devil told all that were in the house,

BBMONOLOOT, WITCHOBAFTy AND mflGSLLANBOVS 8I7PBB8TITIOK0. 61

* Yonder comes Bothwell ; but I will make a fool of him before be
goes.' The people looked forth, and saw him coming about
a qnarter of a mile from the house. As soon as he entered the
room the deyil said, 'Now Bothwell is come;' and spake thus:
' Bothwell, thou sayest there is no possession ; what thinkest thou
now P Here is a man opens not his lips, and yet he speaketh.'
And, after a while, he further said, * Say nothing to me of this
man, for I tell thee he is damned ;' and he added thereto many
fearful blasphemies. Bothwell replied, * Thou art a liar, and the
father of lies ; nor art thou so well acquainted with the mind of
God concerning this man, which makes thee thus to torment him,
therefore I believe thee not. I believed he shall be saved by
Jesus Christ.' ' He is a murderer, and thou knowest no murderer
must come into heaven.' ' Thou liest, for David murdered, and is
in heaven ; and the Jews with wicked hands crucified the Lord of
glory, yea, but Christ prayed for them, and Peter exhorts them to
repentance, that their sins may be blotted out.' ^ But this man
hath not, cannot, shall not repent.' ' If he had not thou wouldst
not have told him so, but if he have not I believe Gk>d will give
him repentance, and thou shalt not be able to hinder it.' 'Thou
art a murderer thyself, and yet talkest thus.' * Thou liest again.
I have fought the Lord's battles against his known enemies, the
idolatrous and bloody Papists in Lreland, rebels to the Queen my
sovereign, by whose authority I bore arms against them ; other-
wise I have killed no man.' The devil swore and blasphemed, and
said, ' Thou didst murder one this day, and there is one behind
thee will justify it.' Bothwell looked over his shoulder, and with
that the devil set up an hideous laughter, and nothing could be
heard for a great while, and then said, ' Look you now, did I not
tell you I would make Bothwell a fool ? and yet it is true, for thou
didst murder one this day ; for as thou earnest over the bridge
(which he named) there I would have killed thee, and there thy
horse trod upon a fly and killed it.' Mr. Bothwell's horse, you
must know, had stumbled there; it seems the devU had the power
to cause it, but without the least hurt to Mr. Bothwell or his
horse. * Thou hast oft beguiled me ; I hope God will in time give
me wisdom to discern, and power to withdraw^ all thy delusions;
and he it is that hath delivered me out of his hands, and will, I
doubt not, also deliver this poor man.' The devil blasphemed
fearfully, quoted many scriptures out of the Old and New
Testaments, both in Hebrew and Greek, cavilled and played the
critic, and backed his allegations with sayings out of the Fathers

womyoHAmnTTHE HAcn asd victioks.

and Poets in iheir own language, wMdh he zeadily qaoted, so tibat
the company trembled to hear sach thing £rom one that understood
no learning, and that neither moved tongne or lip. Mr. BothweU
was mightily enabled by God to detect the devil's sophistry.
'Why stand I talking with thee P All men know thou urt Bold
Sothwell;* and Bothwell, turning to the people, said, 'Qood
people, you see the goodness of our God, and his great power;
though the deVil' made a fool of me now through my weakness,
God hath made the devil dumb now ; do you see how he lieth ?
Therefore let us go to prayer, that Otod who hath made him dumb
will, I doubt not, drive him out of this poor man.* The devil
raged and blasphemed, and said, ' And wilt thou go to prayer ?
If thou do I will make such a noise that the prayer shall be dis-
tracted, and thou knowest God wiU not hear a distracted prayer ;
but thou has got a device, because thou wilt not be distracted
with thy eyes in prayer, thou winkest (so he always did), but if
thou pray I will pull out thy eyes.' ' I look to find thee as great
an enemy in this duty now as I have done heretofore, but I fioar
not thy threat, I know thou art limited. God heareth the prayers
of the upright, hath promised to give his spi^t to supply informa-
tion ; therefore, in confidence of his spirit, and in the name and
intercession of his son Jesus Christ, we will go to prayer/ They
did so. Mr. Bothwell kneeled by the bed on which the poor man
lay. The devil, for a quarter of an hour together, or more, made
a horrid noise ; nevertheless Mr. Bothwell's voice was louder than
the devil's. After a while the devil roared at Mr. Hothwell's face
(this was the first motion of any part of the man's body). Mr.
Bothwell opened his eyes and brought down the hand, which he
held with great ease, two men being scarcely able to hold the other
hand. Prayer still continued. At length the devil lay silent in
the man, and after that the devil departed &om him. The man
fetched divers sighff, insomuch as they thought he had been
expiring, but his colour returned to him, and the use of all his
members, senses, and understanding ; and at the next petition
he said (to the glory of God) to the amazement, bat com-
fort, of all the company, * Amen;' and so continued to repeat his
amen to every petition. Prayer was now turned into thanksgiving,
and so concluded. After prayer, John Fox said, 'Good Mr.
Bothwell, leave me not ; I shall not live long, for the devil tells
me he will choke me with the first bit of meat that I eat.'
Mr. Bothwell answered, ' Wilt thou believe the devil, who seeks
thy destmction, before thou wilt trust in God through Jesus Cbxiat

DBMONOLOGY, irTTCECBAFt, AMD KIBCBIiLANSOUS BITPBBSTITIONS. 68

^M^»^.^-^^^— ■ ■ ■■■ — 1^1 ■■■■ I ■■ ■ — ^^M^^^— ^^^^^^^^^M ■■! ■■■■»■! II I I ll»^ — M^— ^— ■

Ihat seeks tliy salTatioti P Hath, not Qod by His alimglity power
difipoflsessed him P Had lie had his will thou hadst been, in hell
before nol7 : bat he is a liar, and as lie is not able to hinder thy
soul's Hfe, so neither shall he be able to destroy the^Iife of thy
body, wherefore get m6 something ready, saith be for him, and I
will see him eat before I go, and will crave a blessing upon it/
Wben it was brougbt, * Eat,' saith Mr. Botbwell, ' and fear not
the devil ;' shewing him that he migbt do it in faith of that
ordinance by which Gtod appoints meat to preserve hmnan Hfe,
and urged that place of Jairus' daughter restored to life. * He
commanded to give her meat.'—- XmA;^ viii., 56. With much ado,
and in great trembling, at last the man took and eat it. * Look,'
says Mr. Rothwell, ' you all see the devil is a Har, the first bit
hath not choked him, neither shall the rest' Mr. Bothwell left
him, after which he was stricken dumb for three years together.
I had a book written with his own hand, of the temptations the
devil haunted him with afterwards, and the answers divers godly
and reverend ministers gave to those temptations ; but the Oavaliers
got them, and all my books and writings. Thus the poor man
remained tempted, but no longer possessed. At length by prayer
also (w^ch was instantly put up to God for him every sabbath and
and lecture day, in many places) the Lord opened his mouth, and
restored his speech to him ; one using this petition, ' Lord, open
thou his mouth, that his Hps may shew forth thy praise.' He
answered in the congregation, omm, and so continued to speak,
and spake graciously to his dying day."

DEMONOLOOT AND WITCHCBAFT IN NOTTINGHAM.

Among those who have raised themselves in the town to a " bad
eminence," we find William Somers and the Rev. James Darrol,
two impostors, who, at the dose of the sixteenth century, came to
Nottingham, and practised their vile frauds upon the credulity of
the inhabitants, under the delusion of witchcraft and demonology,
of which so many instances were exhijbited during many ages of
the Reformation. Somers, in his boyhood, had lived servant at
Ashby-de4a-.^uch, in the house where Barrel lodged, and where
that wily priest (whe had entered the Church from lazy and selfish
motives) first instructed him in the art (White says heart) of con-
torting his body, so as to exhibit what were called ** the fourteen
f^gns of demoniac possession." Somers having come to live in
Kottingham, repeatedly threw himself into these violent paroxysma^

KOTTINQHAlCSHniB PACTS AMD FICTIONI.

in which he declared he was bewitched, and that no person could
relieve him but the "pious Mr. Darrel," who was then Hving at
Mansfield, but was sent for to " cast the devils out " of the sup-
posed sufferer. Having arrived, he declared the impostor was
"sufiering for all the sins of Kottingham," and that there must
be a fast in the town, held especially for the youth's recovery.
This fast afforded (White says afored) Barrel an opportunity of
performing a grand exorcism in the &ce of a crowded congrega-
tion in St. Mary's Church, where the youth, after feigning much
agony during the imposing ceremony, as ingeniously feigned
a recovery, and declared the pious man had " dispossessed hinu"
After this happy conclusion, the duped auditors made a large
collection for the performers, and Mr. Barrel was chosen curate
of the church, where he afterwards gave out in his sermon that
Somers was still in great danger, as well as the rest of the family;
for, said he, the devil often repeats his visits to the same house,
coming sometimes in the shape of a cock, a crane, a snake, a toad,
a set of dancers, or an angel. To verify the prophecies of this
reverend cheat Somers again showed signs of ''possession," and
added to them the discrimination of pointing out witches, under
which name he caused thirteen poor aged women to be committed
to the town gaol. Soon after this, Mary Cooper, the half-sister
of Somers, commenced the lucrative profession of "witch-finder,'
and pointed out Alice Freeman as the bewitching tormentor ; but
this lady being sister to Alderman Freeman (who was mayor in
1606 and 1613), caused Somers to be apprehended and examined
by the corporate magistrates, to whom he confessed the whole to
be an imposition, in which he had been instructed by the Eev.
James Barrel, who was afterwards conveyed to London, and tried
before the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and
two Lords Chief Justice, who convicted him of contriving the
whole imposture, for which he was ejected from his living, and
committed to prison.

WITCHCnAFT IN NOTTINGHAM.

" In Nottingham, a town of twenty thousand inhabitants," says
William Howitt in his Sural Life, "I knew a shoemaker, who
stood six feet in height, and might dance in iron mail, who lately
lived in constant dread of the evil arts of 'witches and wizards.
On the lintel and sill of his door he had the ancient charm of
reversed horseshoes, nailed, but he said he found them of little

DBMONOLOOT, WITCaSCBAPTy JOXD MI8CBLLANB0U8 SXTFBBSTITIOira. 66

use against the audacious malice of witchcraft. He had standing
regularly by his fireside a sack-bag of salt, for he bought it by a
bag at a time for the purpose ; and of this he frequently during
the day, but more especiaUy on dark and stormy nights, took
a handful, with a few horsenail stumps and crooked pins, and
casting them into the fire together, prayed to the Lotd to torment
all witches and wizards in the neighbourhood, and he believed
that they were tormented. As I stood by the man's fire while he
related this, it was burning with the purple hue of salt. On all
other subjects he appeared quite as grave and sober as his
neighbours."

A FBBVENTIVB AGAINST TBMPESTS.

On the north wall of St. Iiiaty's Church, Nottingham, there
were the remains of an ancient gigantic picture of a man, which
was supposed to represent St. Christopher. Why the figure of
St. Christopher should be painted in a church not dedicated to that
saint could not be imderstood. Br. Stukely, the noted antiquarian,
who died in 1 687, states, in his dissertation on the cave at Royston,
that *' St. Christopher was a Canaanite or Syrian by birth. He,
considering his great stature and strength, and how he might best
serve Gk>d, and be useful to mankind, built himself a cell by a
river side, where there was neither bridge nor boat, and there
employed himself in carrying over all passengers. Further, this
saint was thought to have a special privilege in preventing tem-
pests and earthquakes, for which reason we often see him so
painted in churches." Deering was of opinion that this painting
was placed on the walls about the year 1185, immediately after
the earthquake of March of that year (which split Lincoln
Cathedral from top to bottom), to guard against a similar catas-
trophe to St. Mary's Church, Nottingham.

CRILDRSZr'S NAILS.

It is a firm belief, current throughout Nottinghamshire, that if
the nails of a child are cut before it is twelve months old the child
will be unfortunate through life. Prior to reaching the age of a
year the nails may be bitten when they require shortening.

CATS AND CHILDBBN's BKBATHS.

The notion that cats suck the breath of infants, and thus destroy

NOITIKOHAMaHIBB YMTSM AKD FICTIONS.

Sle, 18 cnirent in this county. I%i6 extremely tinpMosopliioel
notion of cats preferring exhausted to pui^ air is frequently
a caiise of great annoyance to poor pussy, when, after haying
estahlished herself close to baby, in a snug warm cradle, she finds
herself ignominiously hustled out under susjAcion of compassing
tiie death of her quiet new acquaintance, who is not yet big
enough to pull her tail.

PRESENT OF SHABP-EDGED TOOLS.

To make a present of a knife, a pair of scissors, &c., to a friend,
is said to '* cut love;" for a difference is certain to arise between
the giver and the receiver of the present.

WEDDINGS.

The sun shining upon a bride is said to betoken future happiness
and prosperity for her ; if it rains while the wedding jlarty are on
their way to church, or returning, it betokens a life of bickering
and unhappiness.

" Happy is the bride whom the stm shines on."

CHILDBI&TH.

A Tnnf.bflr m.ust not go outside her own house until she goes jx>
be " churched." Of course the principle of this is a good one ;
it is right under such circumstances. The first use a woman
should make of her restored strength should be to go to church, and
thank God for recovery ; but in pn^tice this principle sometimes
degenerates into mere superstition.

0X7BE FOn HOOPING COUGH.

Cut some hairs from the back of the head of the child having
hooping cough, place them between two pieces of buttered bread,
and give them to the first dog you meet. If the dog eats it an
immediate cure is effected, so it is believed. This belief is still
current in Nottingham.

HANGING SOOT.

It is said that if the soot hangs loosely on the bars of the fire
grate a stranger may be expected to visit that domicile in a very
short time. The pieces of hanging soot are termed ** strangers."

DBMONOLOOT, WITOHCBAXT, AMD MISCaiLLANBOVB BUFBRSTITIONB. 67

If the ** stxanger " haagB from the top bar a gexitlfiman visitor ma7
be expected ; if on the next, a lady may be loolced for ; <m the
nexty a gentleman, and so on.

SALT.

It is deemed very unluoky to lend salt.

TEA STALKS.

stems of tea floating in ^* the cnp that cheers, but not inebriates/'
indicate the near approach of a sweetheart or a stranger. The time
of his arrival may be known by placing the stem on the back of
the hand, and smacking it with the back of the other. The num-
ber of blows given before it is removed indicates the number of
days before the arrival.

BAB BUBNmO.

Jf a person's ear bums it is said to be a sure sign that he or she
is the subject of conversation at that moment. If it is the right
ear that is affected it is an indication that the person is very well
spoken of ; if the left ear, the contrary.

BOO HOWLING A SION OF BEATH.

-A strong feeling exists in the minds of many residents in this
county that a dog howling before a house is a certain indication
of an approaching death, either of some person residing in that
house, or of some friend and acquaintance.

PUNEBALS.

The rain falling upon a coffin is generally believed to be
indicative of the happiness of the departed spirit.

" Blessed is the dead whom the rain falls on.'*

MOLES ON THE PERSON.

A belief was formerly current throughout the country in the
significance of moles on the human body. Many works have been
written on the subject, from one of which, published in 1663, we
gather that " When a mole appeareth on the upper side of the
right temple, above the eye, to a woman it signifies good and
happy fortune by marriage, ap. industrious carriage." This one

NOTTIHGHAMBHIBB FACTS AMD PICTIOKS.

in paitictilar was belieyed in in this county early in the present

century, as we learn from the following lines, which were often

repeated by a poor girl at Bunny : —

" I have a mole above my tight eye,
And shall be a lady before I die.
Aa fhings may happen, as things may lUl,
Who knows but that I may be Lady of Bunny Hall."

It is stated that the poor girl's hopes were realized, she ultimately
becoming ** Lady of Bunny Hall.'*

HOBSE SHOBS.

The horseshoe, which is so frequently seen nailed to the doors
of stables and cow hoyels, was formerly used as a chaim against
the machinations of witches. It is said to owe its yirtue chiefly
to its shape. Any other object presenting two points or forks is
said to possess similar power.

iriliaiiiiaM i i