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OBSERVATIONS

POPULAR ANTiaUITIES

GREAT BRITAIN:

CHIEFLY ILLUSTRATING

THE ORIGIN OF OUR VULGAR AND PROVINCIAL CUSTOMS,
CEREMONIES, AND SUPERSTITIONS.

JOHN BRAND, M.A.,

7SLL0W AHJ) 8XCSXTAST 01 THB SOCIETT OV ANTIQUAUBS OV LONDOH.
AftRAHCBD, MXVnRS, AND OaSATLT BHLAROBD, BT

SIR HENRY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S., Sec. S.A., &c.

PUirCIvA LIBKAHIAN OF THE BHITXaU HUSKUK.

A NEW EDITiaN, WITH FURTHER ADDITIONS.

IN THEEE VOLUMES. VOL. I.

LONDON:

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVSNT GARDEN.

MDCC^XJilX.

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PREFACE

THE THIRD EDITION.

The great populanty of Brand's Work on the Customs
and Provincial Antiquities of Great Britain having led to the
demand for a new edition, it was thought advisable to attempt
some more convenient arrangement of the matter. With this
object, the most entertaining and popular portions have been
inserted in the text, while the merely recondite and subordi-
nate have been thrown into foot-notes. This plan will, it is
hoped, render the work more acceptable to the general reader.
Various articles and passages also, that did not before appear
to be inserted in their proper places, have been transposed :
the long notes, for example, which in the former edition were
subjoined to the Author's preface, are now placed under the
heads to which they particularly relate. A copious Index, to
be given in the last volume, will at once obviate any incon-
venience that might arise to those who have been accustomed
to the previous arrangement. In some few instances, where
foreign books of an accessible description have been exten-
sively quoted, it has been thought advisable to adopt an
English translation in preference ; especially with regard to
Naogeorgus, the English version ^ of whose book is in reality
the only one in which the reader of Brand is concerned. No
information or amusement whatever, which is contained in any

' By our old English poet Bamaby Ooogc.

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IV PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

of the previous editions^ has been omitted ; but coDsiderable
additions have been made from every available source, and
of these, some have never before appeared in print. Notwith-
standing all the pains that have been taken, there will still
remain many relics of the older superstitions entirely un-
noticed by Brand and his editors. Those who possess op-
portunities of coUecting such notices, should place them on
record before they entirely disappear. Any additional infor-
mation on these subjects, addressed to the Publisher, will be
gladly acknowledged.

Nofvember 1848.

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THE PREVIOUS EDITION.

BY SIR HBNRT ELLIS.

Ths respected Aathor of the following work, as will be seen
by the date of his Preface, had prepared it to meet the pablic
eye so long ago as 1 795. The subjects, howeyer, which form
the different sections were then misceUaneously arranged, and
he had not kept even to the chronological order of the Feasts
and Fasts observed by his predecessor Bourne.

The idea of a more perspicuous method was probably the
first occasion of delay ; till the kindness of frienos, the perse-
verance of his own researches, and the vast accession of intel-
ligence produced by the statistical inquiries in Scotland, so
completely overloaded his manuscript, that it became necessary
that the whole work should be remodelled. This task, even
to a person of Mr. Brand's unwearied labour, was discouraging;
and, though he projected a new disposition of his materials,
he had made no progress in putting them in order at the time
of his death.

In this state, at the sale of the second part of Mr. Brand's
library, in 1808, the manuscript of his * Observations on Po-
pular Antiquities' was purchased for the sum of six hundred
pounds. An examination, howeyer, soon proved that great
revision was wanting ; and though one or two antiquaries of
eminence engaged in the task of its publication, each, after a
time, abandoned it.

In 1810 the present Editor undertook the work, and gave it
to the public in 1813, in two volumes, quarto. The whole
was entirely rewritten with his own hand, and in many parts
augmented by additional researches. Mr. Brand's extracts

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VI ADVEETISEMENT.

from books and manuscripts, too, which were very faulty,
were all, as far as possible, collated with their originals ; and
a copious index added to the whole.

Whatever of importance has occurred to the Editor in aug-
mentation of the work since the publication of the last edition
has been added to the present, and another copious index
supplied.

The arrangement of the work, founded on a sketch drawn
out by Mr. Brand, is the same in the present as in the last
edition, beginning with the days of more particular note in
the calendar, to which popular observations attach, taken in
chronological order. These, now, fill the first volume. The
two which follow contain, first, the Customs at Country
Wakes, Sheep-shearings, and other rural practices, with such
usages and ceremonies as are not assignable to any particular
period of the year. The Customs and Ceremonies of Common
Life are next introduced, followed by the numerous train of
Popular Notions, Sports, and Errors.

Mr. Brand, the author of the present work, was bom at
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as is believed, about 1743, and was
educated at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was, for a short
time, usher at Newcastle School.

His earliest literary production was a Poem " written among
the ruins of Godstow Nunnery," 4to, 1775. His next was
the first edition of the present work, printed at Newcastle-
upon-Tyne in 1777. He was elected Fellow of the Society of
Antiquaries, on May 29th of that year, and in 1784, upon the
death of Dr. MoreU, succeeded to the office of its resident
secretary. In 1784 he was also presented to the London
rectory of St. Mary-at-Hill, by the Duke of Northumberland,
to whom he was likewise librarian. In 1789 he pubhsbed the
History of his native town, in two volumes, quarto. He died,
in a fit of apoplexy, September 10, 1806. A small volume
of his Letters to Mr. Ralph Beilby, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
was published there in 1825. The History of Newcastle,
and the Observations on Popular Antiquities, afford proofs
of deep research, too evident to need a panegyric here.

British Museum;
May 22, 1841.

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PREFACE.

Teadition has in no instance so clearly eTinced her faith-
fhlness as in the transmittal of yulgar rites and popular
opinions.

Of these^ when we are desirons of tracing them backwards
to their ori^, many may be said to lose themsehes in the
mists of andqaity.^ They have indeed travelled to ns through
a long succession of years, and the greater part of them, it is
not improbable, will be of perpetual observation: for the
generality of men look back with superstitious veneration on
the ages of their forefiftthers, and authorities that are gray with
time seldom fail of commanding those filial honours claimed
even by the appearance of hoary age.

It must be confessed that many of these are mutilated,
and, as in the remains of ancient statuary, the parts of some
have been awkwardly transposed : they preserve, however, the
principal traits that distinguished them in their origin.

Things that are composed of such flimsy materials as the
fancies of a multitude do not seem calculated for a long dura-
tion ; yet have these survived shocks by which even empires
have been overthrown, and preserved at least some form and
colour of identity, during a repetition of changes both in the
religious opinions and dvil polity of states.

1 The following very sensible observation occurs in the St. James's
Chronicle from Oct 3d to Oct. 5th, 1797 : — *' Ideas have been entertained
by fuidfiil men of discovering the languages of ancient nations by a reso-
lution of the elements and powers of speech, as the only true ground of
etymology ; but the fact is, that there is no constant analogy in the organs
of different people, any more than in their customs from resemblance of
their climates. The Portuguese change I into r, II into cA, ch into y/, but
not always. The Chinese change h^ d, r, «, Xj z, into p, t^ /, «, «. For
Cmx they say Cuhau; for Baptizo, Papetizo ; for Cardinalis, KzaubuuUig;
for Spiritus, Stgtelitigu ; for Adam, Vatam. Here the words are so changed
that it is impossible to say that they are the same. A more sure way of
going to work is by a eoTHpariaon qf euttomst as when we find the same
customs in any two remote countries, Egypt and China for instance, which
customs exist nowhere else, they probably originated in one of them."

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TIU PEEFACE.

But the strongest proof of their remote antiquity is, that
they haye outlived the general knowledge of the very causes
that gave rise to them.^

The reader will find, in the subsequent pages, my most
earnest endeavours to rescue many of those causes from ob-
livion.^ If, on the investigation, they shall appear to any to
be so frivolous as not to have deserved the pains of the search,
the humble labourer vnll at least have the satisfaction of
avoiding censure by incurring contempt. How trivial soever
such an inquiry may seem to some, yet all must be informed
that it is attended with no inconsiderable share of literary toil
and difficulty. A passage is to be forced through a wilder-
ness, intricate and entangled : few vestiges of former labours
can be found to direct us in our way, and we must oftentimes

' '* The study of popular antiquities/' says a writer with the signature of
V. F., in the Monthly Magazine for April 1798, p. 273, "though the ma-
terials for it lie so widely diffhsed, and indeed seem to obtrude themselves
upon every one's attention, in proportion to the extent of his intercourse
with the common people, does not appear to have engaged so much of the
notice of inquirers into human life and manners as might have been ex-
pected."

' In the year 17771 republished Bourne's Antiquitates Yulgares, a little
work on this subject, which then had become extremely scarce, and sold
very high, making observations on each of his chapters, and throwing new
discoveries into an appendix at the end. That volume, too, by those who
have mistaken accident for merit, is now marked in catalogues at more
than double its original price. In the following work I have been advised
to dissolve amicably the literary partnership under the firm of Bourne and
Brand, and to adopt a very different plan, presenting to the public a col-
lection which, not only from the immense variety of fresh, matter, but also,
from the totally different arrangement of the subjects, I flatter myself I
may, with equal truth and propriety, venture to denominate an entirely
new one.

[n this I shall only cite my predecessor Bourne in common vrith the
other writers on the same topics. I am indebted for much additional
matter to the partiality and kindness of Francis Douce, Esq., who, having
enriched an interleaved copy of ray edition of 1777 with many very perti^
nent notes and illustrations, furnished fh>m his own extensive reading on
the subject, and from most rare books in his truly valuable library, gene-
rously permitted me to make whatever extracts from them I should think
interesting to my present purpose. It were invidious also not to make my
acknowledgments on this occasion to George Steevens, Esq., the learned
and truly patient, or rather indefatigable, editor of Shakspeare, who had
the goodness to lend me many scarce tracts, which no collection but his
ovni, either public or private, that I know of, could have supplied me with.

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PREFACE. IX

trace a very tedions retroBpective conne^ perhaps to return at
last, weary and unsatisfied, from researches as fruitless as
those of some ancient enthusiastic trayeller, who, ranging the
barren African sands, had in Tain attempted to inyestigate the
bidden sources of the Nile.

Rugged, howeyer, and narrow as this walk of study may
seem to many, yet must it be acknowledged that Fancy, who
shares with Hope tfie pleasing office of brightening a passage
through every route of human endeayours, opens from hence,
too, prospects that are enriched with the choicest beauties of
her magic creation.

The prime origin of the superstitious notions and ceremo-
nies of the people is absolutely unattainable. We must despair
of ever being able to reach the fountain-head of streams which
have been running and increasing from the beginning of
time.^ All that we can aspire to do is only to trace ^eir

' MIsson, in his Travels in England, translated by Ozell, p. 66, has
some sensible observations upon customs. *' All reasonable people will
imagine," he says, ** that, as there is man and man, so there is custom and
custom. }i has been in all ages a practice to talk and write upon the
manners and customs of different nations ; but it has also in all ages been
known that there was nothing so general as not to admit of some excep*
tion. By degrees, customs alter in the very same country, conformably to
the quality and education of the inhabitants. By a nation we always
miderstand the greater number ; and this greater number is not made up
of the persons of the highest birth or merit, no more than it is of the
beggars and scoundrels that compose the lees and chaff of the country. It
consists of the people that live in a certain state of mediocrity, and whose
humour, taste, and manners, as to certain respects, differ from each other
only as to more or less."

'White, in his Natural History of Selbome, p. 202, observes : ** It is the
hardest thing in the world to shake off superstitious prejudices : they are
sacked in as it were with our mother's milk ; and, growing up with us at
a time when they take the fastest hold and make the most lasting impres-
sions, become so interwoven with our very constitutions, that the strongest
sense is required to disengage ourselves from them. No wonder, there-
fore, that the lower people retain them their whole lives through, since
their minds are not invigorated by a liberal education, and therefore not
enabled to make any efforts adequate to the occasion. Such a preamble
seems to be necessary before we enter on the superstitions of this district,
lot we should be suspected of exaggeration in a recital of practices too
gross for this enlightened age.*'

** Superstition," says Mr. Harris, in the iMe of Charles L, p. 52, note,
" is a debasement of reason and religion ; 'tis entertaining misapprehen-
sious of Almighty God ; 'tis the practice of things weak and ridiadoas, in

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X FBEFACE.

courses backward^ as far as possible, on those charts that now
remain of the distant countries whence they were first per-
ceived to flow. *

Few who are desirous of inyestigating the popular notions
and vulgar ceremonies of our own nation can ful of deducing
them, in their first direction, from the time when Popery was
our established religion.' We shall not wonder that these
were able to sunive the Reformation, when we consider that,
though our own sensible and spirited forefathers were, upon
convictiou, easily induced to forego religions tenets which had
been weighed in the balance and found wanting, yet were the
bulk of the people by no means inclined to annihilate the
seemingly innocent ceremonies of their former superstitious

order to pleaae Him, whereby it exdtes in the mind chimerical hopes, ill-
grounded fears, and vain expectations : in short, it is weakness, attended
with uneasiness and dread, and productive of confusion and horror. Every
one knows the mischiefs superstition has produced in the world ; gods of
all sorts and kinds : sacrifices of beasts and men ; rites, ceremonies, and
postures ; antic tricks and cruel torments ; vrith every other thing which,
from time to time, has been falsely called by the name of religion, have
arose from hence. It took its rise early in the world, and soon spread
itself over the face of the earth ; and few, very few, were there who were
wholly free from it. The doctrine of Christ, indeed, was calculated to
destroy its dominion, and to restore religion to its original lustre : yet,
notwithstanding this, superstition very soon found an entrance among
Christians, and at length encreased to an enormous size. The reformation
of religion and the revival of letters were somewhat unfriendly to it ; but
whether it be the craft of those who subsist by the credulity and ignorance
of others, or whether it be a proneness in men to superstition, or their
laziness and inattention to other than sensible objects — I say, whether it
be owing to one or all of these causes, superstition remained still alive,
and shewed itself even among those who gloried that they had got rid of
the Papal yoke."

* A sensible writer in the Gent. Mag. for July 1783, vol. liii. p. 677,
says : " I have often wished to know the first foundation of several popular
customs, appropriated to particular seasons, and been led to think how-
ever widely they may have deviated from their original design and meaning,
of which we have now wholly lost sight, they are derived from some reli-
gious tenets, observances, or ceremonies. I am convinced that this is the
case in Catholic countries, where such like popular* usages, as well as
religious ceremonies, are more frequent than amongst us ; though there
can be little doubt but that the customs I refer to, and which we retain,
took their rise whilst these kingdoms were whoUy Catholic, immersed in
ignorance and superstition." See a further quotation frt>m this vmter's
remarks under the head of Shere Thuradajft in the present volume, p. 149.

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PBEFACE. Zl

ftitb. These, consecrated to the fiemcies of the multitude by
a usage from time immemorial, though erased by public au-
thority from the written toord, were committed as a venerable
deposit to the keeping of oral tradition ; and like the penates of
another Troy, recently destroyed, were religiously brought off,
afler having been snatched oat of the smoking ruins of Popery.

It is not improbable, indeed, but that, in the infancy of
Protestantism, the continuance of many of them was connived
at by the state. ^ For men, who '' are but children of a larger
growth," are not to be weaned all at once ; and the reforma-
tion both of manners and religion is always most surely
established when effected by slow degrees, and, as it were,
imperceptible gradations.

Thus, also, at the first promulgation of Christianity to the
Gentile nations, though the new converts yielded through the
force of truth to conviction, yet they could not be persuaded
to relinquish many of their superstitions, which, rather than
forego altogether, they chose to blend and incorporate with
their new faith.

And hence it is that Christian, or rather Papal, Rome has
borrowed her rites, notions, and ceremonies, in the most
luxuriant abundance, from ancient and Heathen Rome,^ and
that much the greater number of those flaunting externals
which Infallibility has adopted by way of feathers to adorn
the triple Cap, have been stolen out of the wings of the dying
Eagle,

With regard to the rates, sports, &c. of the common people,
I am aware that the morose and bigoted part of* mankind,^

* It is wittily observed by Fuller, Ch. Hist., p. 375, that, as careful
mothers and nurses, on condition they can get their children to part with
knives, are contented to let them play with rattles, so they permitted
ignorant people still to retain some of their fond and foolish customs, that
they might remove from them the most dangerous and destructive super-
stitions.

' In proof of this assertion, see Dr. Middleton's curious letter from Rome.

' In A Disputation betwixt the Devill and the Pope, &c., 4to. Lond.
1642, signat. A 3, to the Pope's inquiry, ** What Factious Spirits doe in
England dwell ?" the DcyU answers :

" Few of your party : they are gone as wide,
As most report, and mad on t'other side ;
There, all your bookes and beades are counted toyes,
Altars and tapers are pull'd downe by boyes.

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XU PREFACE.

witbont distinguishing between the right use and the abuse of
such entertainments, cavil at and malign them : yet must such,
be told that shows and sports have been countenanced in all
ages, and that too by the best and wisest of states ; and though
it cannot be denied that they have sometimes been prostituted
to the purposes of riot and debauchery, yet, were we to repro-
bate everything that has been thus abused, religion itself could
not be retained : perhaps, indeed, we should be able to keep
nothing.

The common people, confined by daily labour, seem to
require their proper intervals of reliucation ; perhaps it is of
the highest political utility to encourage innocent sports and
games among them. The revival of many of these would, I
think, be highly pertinent at this particular juncture, when
the general spread of luxury and dissipation threatens more
than at any preceding period to extinguish the character of
our boasted national bravery. For the observation of an
honest old writer. Stow (who tells us, speaking of the May
games. Midsummer Eve rejoicings, &c.,^ anciently used in
the streets of London, " which open pastimes^ in my youth.

Discord they say doth so possesse the land,

'Tis thought they will not let the organs stand,

The cleane-washt surples which our priests put on,

There is the smock o' th' Whore of Babylon,

And I have had report by those have seen them,

They breake the windows 'cause the Saints are in them :

A taylor must not sit with legs on crosse.
But straite he's set by th' heeles (it is a signe
Of ceremony only, not divineV'f

* I call to mind here the pleasing account Sterne has left us, in his
Sentimental Journey, of the grace-dance after supper. I agree with that
amiable writer in thinking that Religion may mix herself in the dance,
and that innocent cheerfulness forms no inconsiderable part of devotion ;
such, indeed, cannot fail of being grateful to the Good Being, as it is a
silent but eloquent mode of praising him.

' '* The youths of this city," he says, ** have used on holidays, after
evening prayer, at their master's door, to exercise their wasters and
bucklers ; and tlie maidens, one of them playing on a timbrel, in sight of
their masters and dames, to dance for garlands hanged athwart the
streets." Strype's edit, of Stow's Survey, book i. p. 251.

t See more of the Puritan detestation of the Cross-form in the present
volume, 156.

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FBEFA.OE. XIU

being now snppreat, worse practices within doors are to be
feared,") may with too singular propriety be adopted on the
most transient survey of our present popular manners.^

Bourne, my predecessor in this walk, has not, from what-
eyer canse, done justice to the subject he undertook to treat
of. Let it not be imputed to me that I am so Tain as to think
that I haye exhausted it, for the utmost of my pretensions
is to the merit of having endeavoured, by making additions
and alterations, to methodise and improve it. I think it
justice to add, too, that he was deserving of no small share of
pndse for his imperfect attempt, for '* much is due to those
who first broke the way to knowledge, and left only to their
successors the task of smoothing it."

New and very bright lights have appeared since his time.
The English antique has become a general and fashionable
study: and the discoveries of a chartered Society of Antiquaries,
patronised by the best of monarchs, and boasting among
its members some of the greatest ornaments of the British
empire, have rendered the recesses both of Papal and Heathen
Antiquities much easier of access.

I shall presume to flatter myself that I have, in some
measure, turned all these circumstances to advantage. I have
gleaned passages that seemed to throw light upon the subject,
as my numberless citations will evince, from an immense
variety of volumes, both printed and manuscript ; and those
written too in several languages : in the doing of which, if I
shaU not be found to have deserved the praise of judgment, I
must at least make pretensions to the merit of industry.

Elegance of composition will hardly be expected in a work
of this nature,^ which seems to stand much less in need of

' The Bev. Mr. Ledinch, in his Statistical Account of the Parish of
Aghaboe in the Queen's County, Ireland, 8vo. Dubl. 1796, tells us, p. 95 :
** A delineation of the customs and manners of the people of this parish
would seem to be a proper and interesting addition to this work. This I
should have attempted, did their peculiarity demand notice. The national
character of the original natives iff, with ua, entirely lost. Their diversions
of foot-ball and hurling are seldom practised, or their ancient customs at
. marriages and interments." It must not, however, be dissembled that the
learned writer is of opinion that the change is for the better.

^ In general it may be observed that readers, provided with keen
appetites for this kind of entertainment, must content themselves with the
homely manner of serving it up to them. Indeed, squeamishness in this

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JQT PE£FAG£.

Attic wit than of Roman perseverance, or, if we glance at
modern times, of Dutch assiduity.

I shall offer many discoveries which are peculiarly my own,
for there are not a few customs yet retained in the North,
where I spent the earliest part of my life, of which I am
persuaded the learned in the Southern parts of our island
nave hardly once heard mention, which is perhaps the sole
cause why they have never before been investigated.

I have, once for all, to premise that, in perusing the subse-
quent observations, the candid reader, who has never before
considered this neglected subject, is particularly requested not
to be rash in passing sentence ; but to suspend his judgment,
at least till he has carefully examined all the evidence ; by
which caution let it not be understood that my determinations
are in any degree thought to be infallible, or that every
decision to be found in tibe following pages is not amenable
to higher authorities: in the mean time prejudice may be
forewarned, and it will apologise for many seemingly trivial
reasons assigned for the beginning and transmitting of this or
that popular notion or ceremony, to reflect that what may
appear foolish to the enlightened understandings of men in
the eighteenth century, wore a very different aspect when viewed
through the gloom that prevailed in the seventh or eighth.

I should trespass on the patience of my reader were I to
enumerate all the books I have consulted on this occasion :
to which, however, I shall take care, in their proper places,
to refer ; but I own myself under particular obligations to
Durand's Ritual of Divine Offices,^ a work inimical to every
idea of rational worship, but to the inquirer into the origin
of our popular ceremonies, an invaluable magazine of the
most interesting intelligence. I would style this performance
the great Ceremonial Law of the Romanists, in comparison

particular would, in a variety of instances, suit but ill with the study of
the English Antique. For it must be confessed, that a great deal of
wholesome meat of this sort has ever been brought on upon wooden
platters, and very nice guests, it is to be feared, will think that our £unou8
old cook, Thomas Heame himself, was but a very slovenly and greasy
kind of host.

> This curious book is the fountain-head of all ecclesiastical rites and
ceremonies. It was printed at Mentz so early as 1459. See Fabricii
Bibliotheca medie et infims iGtatis, edit. 8to. 1734, vol. ii. p. 206, and
Maittaire's Annales Typogr , vol. L p. 271, pars prior.

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PREFACE. XT

with which the Mosaic code is barren of rites and ceremonies.
We stand amazed, on perusing it, at the enormous weight
of a new yoke, which Holy Church, fabricating with her own
hands, had imposed on her ancient devotees.^

Tet the forgers of these shackles had artfully enough
contii?ed to make them sit easy, by twisting flowers around
them : dark as this picture, drawn by the pencil of gloomy
Superstition, appeared upon the whole, yet was its deep shade
in many places contrasted with pleasing lights.

The calendar was crowded with Red-letter days, nominally,
indeed, consecrated to saints, but which, by the encourage-
ment of idleness and dissipation of manners, gave every kmd
of countenance to sinners.

A profusion of childish rites, pageants, and ceremonies,
diverted the attention of the people from the consideration of
their real state, and kept them in humour, if it did not some-
times make them in love, with their slavish modes of worship.

To the credit of our sensible and manly forefathers, they
were among the first who felt the weight of this new and
unnecessary yoke, and had spirit enough to throw it ofl*.

I have fortunately in my possession one of those ancient
Boman calendars, of singular curiosity, which contains under
the immoveable Feasts and Fasts (I regret much its silence
on the moveable ones), a variety of brief observations,
contributing not a little to the elucidation of many of our
popular customs, and proving them to have been sent over from
Rome, with Bulls, Indulgences, and other baubles, bartered,
as it should seem, for our Peter-pence, by those who trafficked
in spiritual merchandise from the continent.

These I shall carefully translate (though in some places it
is extremely difficult to render the very barbarous Latin in
which they are written, the barbarity, brevity, and obscurity
of which I fear the critic will think I have transfused into my
own English), and lay before my reader, who will at once see
and acknowledge their utility.

A learned performance by a physician in the time of King
James I, and dedicated to that monarch, is also luckily in my
library : it is written in Latin, and entitied * The Popedom, or

' It is bat justice to own that the modern Roman Catholics disclaim
the greater number of those superstitious notions and ceremonies, equally
the misfortune and disgrace of our fore&thers in the dark ages.

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*^ PREFACE.

the Origin and Increaae of Depravity in Religion ;*> containing
a very masterly parallel between the rites, notions, &c., of
Heathen, and those of Papal Rome.

The copious extracts from this work with which I shall
adorn and enlighten the following pages will form their truest
commendation, and supersede my poor encomiums.

When I call Gray to remembrance, the Poet of Humanity,
who, had he left no other works behind him, would have
transmitted his name to immortality by ' Reflections,' written
among the little tombstones of the vulgar in a country
churchyard, I am urged by no false shame to apologise for the
seeming unimportance of my subject.

The antiquities of the common people cannot be studied
without acquiring some useful knowledge of mankind ; and it
may be truly said, in this instance, that by the chemical
process of philosophy, even wisdom may be extracted from the
follies and superstitions of our forefathers.^

' ** Papatus, sea depravatsB Religionia Origo et Incrementum ; sumina
fide diligentiaque e gentilitatis suae fontibus erQta: nt fere nihil sit in
hoc genus cultu, quod non sit promptum, ex hisce, meis reddere suis
aathoribus: ut restitutse Evangelice Religionis, qaamprofitemur, simplicitas,
fuds amotis, suam aliquando integritatem apud omnes testatam faciat per
Thomam Moresinum Aberdonanum, Doctorem Medicum. Edinborgi
excudebat Robertus Waldegrave, Typographus Regius, Anno M.D.XCIIII.
Cum privilegio Regali." A small octayo : most extremely rare.

' In the Statistical Account of Scotland, voL ix. 8vo. Edinb. 1793,
p. 253, parish of Clunie, co. of Perth, the inhabitants, we are told, ** are
not, as formerly, the dnpes of superstitious credulity. Many old useless
rites and ceremonies are laid aside. Little attention is paid to bug-bear
tales. Superstitions, charms, and incantations have lost their power.
Cats, hares, magpies, and old women cease to assume any other appearance
than what nature has given them : and ghosts, goblins, witches, and fairies
have relinquished the land."

In the same volume, p. 328, parish of Tongland, co. of Kircudbright ;
from a statistical account of sixty or seventy years before, we learn that
"the lower class in general were tainted strongly with superstitious
sentiments and opinions, which had been transmitted down from one
generation to another by tradition. They firmly believed in ghosts, hob-
goblins, furies, elves, witches, and wizards. These ghosts and spirits
often appeared to them at night. They used many charms and incantations
to preserve themselves, their cattle and houses, from the malevolence of
witches, wizards, and evil spirits, and believed in the beneficial effects of
these charms. They believed in lucky and unlucky days, and seasons in
marrying or undertaking any important business. They frequently saw
the devil, who made wicked attacks upon them when they were engaged
in their religious exercises and acts of devotion. They believed in

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PEBFACB. Xni

The People, of whom society is chiefly composed, and for
whose good all superiority of rank, indispensably necessary,
as it is in every govemment,^ is only a grant, made originally

benerclent spirits, which they termed hrownies, who went ahout in the night
time and performed for them some part of their domestic labour, sach as
threshing and winnowing their com, spinning and cbnming. They fixed
branches of mountain ash, or narrow-leaved service tree, above the stakes
of their cattle, to preserve them from the evil effects of elves and witches.
All these superstitious opinions and observations, which they firmly
believed, and powerfully influenced their actions, are of late years almost
ohliterated among the present generation."

Ibid- voL xiv. p. 482, parish of Wigton, co. of Wigton, •« The spirit of
credulity, which arises out of ignorance, and which overran the country,
is now greatly worn away ; and the belief in witches, in fairies, and other
ideal bemgs, though not 'sntirely discarded, is gradually dying out."

1 «< Degree being vizarded,
Th' unworthiest shows as fairly in the mask.
The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre,
Observe degree, priority, and place,
Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,
Oflce, and custom, in all line of order :
Andtherpforr. is the glorious phinet, Sol,
In noble eminence enthroned and sphered
Amidst the ether ; whose med*cinable eye
Corrects the ill aspects of planets evil.
And po<ts, likp the commandment of a king,
Sans check, to good and bad : But when the phinets,
In evil mixture, to disorder wander.
What plagues, and what portents ! what mutiny 1
What raging of the sea ! shaking of earth !
Commotion in the winds ! frights, changes, horrors.
Divert and crack, rend and deracinate
The unity and married calm of states
Quite from their fixure I 0, when degree is shak'd,
Which is the ladder to all high designs,
The enterprise is sick ! How could communities,
Degrees in schools, and brotherhoods in cities,
Peaceful commerce from dividable shores,
The primogenitive and due of birth.
Prerogative of age, crowns, sceptres, laurels.
But by degree, stand in authentic place ?
Take but degree away, untune that string.
And, hark, what discord follows ! each thing meets
In mere oppugnancy : The bounded waters
Should lift their bosoms higher than the shores,
And make a sop of all this solid globe."

Troilus and Cressida, Act i. Sc. iii.

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XVIU PREFACE.

by mutual conceBsion, i^ a respectable subject to every one
who is the finend of man

Pride, which, independent of the idea arising from the
necessity of civil poUty, has portioned out the human genua
into such a variety of different and subordinate species, must
be compelled to own that the lowest of these derives itself
from an origin common to it with the highest of the kind.

The well-known beautiful sentiment of Terence, —

" Homo suni» humani nihil k me aliexium puto/'—

may be Udopted, therefore, in this place, to persuade us that
nothing can be foreign to our inquiry, much less beneath
our notice, that concerns the smallest of the vulgar ;^ of those
little ones who occupy the lowest place, though by no means
of the least importance, in the political arrangement of human
beings.

J. B.
SoMBRSBT Placb, London ;
Auffust 4/A, 1795.

1 *< These several particulars, if considered separately, may appear trifling ;
but taken altogether, they form no inconsiderable part of what (with only
some slight variation,) the religion of the vulgar will always be, in every
age, and in every staige of society, and indeed, whatever be the religion
which they profess, unless they are so grossly stupid, or so flagitiously
immoral, as to be incapable of feeling the restraints of any system of
religion, whether rational or superstitious/' Sir John Sindair'B Statist.
Account of Scotland, vol. v. p. 85.

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CONTENTS OP VOL. I.

New Year's Ere

New Tear's Day .

Twelfth Day .

St. Agnes's Day or Eve

St Vmccnf s Day .

St. Paul's Day .

Candlemas Day ^ .

St. Blaze's Day .

Valentme's Day

Gollop or Sliroye Monday .

Shroyetide, or Shroye Tuesday

Throwing at Cocks .

Pancake Customs

Ash Wednesday

St. Dayid's Day .

St. Patrick's Day

Mid-Lent Sunday

Pafan Sunday .

All Fools' Day .

Shere Thursday, also Maunday

Thursday.
Good¥tiday
Easter Eye
• Day .

and

Little

Easter Holidays .
liftmg on Easter Holidays

PAGE PAGE

1 Hoke Day 184

. 10 St. George's Day .

. 21 St. Mark's Day or Eye .

. 34 Bogation Week and Ascension
. 38 Day or Holy Thursday

. 39 May-day Customs . . .

. 43 Maypoles

. 51 Moaais-DANCEBS
. 53 Maid Marian

. 62 Robin Hood .

. 63 Friar Tuck .

. 72 The Fool.

. 82 Scarlet, Stokesley,
. 94 John .

. 102 Tom the Piper

. 108 The Hobby-horse

. 110 Low Sunday

. 118 St. Urban's Day

. 131 Hoyal Oak Day .
Whitsun Ale .

142 The Boy's Bailiff.

150 ' Trinity, or Trinity Sunday,

157 Coyentry Show Fair

161 Eye of Thursday after Trinity

168 Sunday ....

176 St. Barnabas' Day

181 Corpus Christi Day, and Plays

Eyen

192
ib.

197
212
234
247
253
258
262
263

266
ib.
267
271
272
273
276
284
ib.
286

293
ib.

294

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CONTENTS.

PAGE

PAoa

St Vitus'8 Day

297

Queen Elizabeth's Accession

404

Midsummer Eve .

. 298

St Clement's Day

408

St. Peter's Day

337

St. Catharine's Day .

410

JProcessus and Martinian

338

Stlr.up Sunday . . . .

414

Translation of St. Thomas

. 339

St Andrew's Day .

ib*

St. Ulric.

ib.

StNichoUs'sDay

415

Translation of Martin .

ib.

On the Montem at Eton

432

St. Swithin's Day .

340

Barring Out . . . .

441

St. Eenelm's Day

. 342

Going a Gooding at St. Thomas's

St. Margaret's Day .

. 345

Day . . . .

455

St. Bridget ....

. ib.

Hagmena

457

St. James's Day

. 346

Mumming • . . .

461

Mace Monday .

347

Of the Tule Clog, or Block, burnt

Gule of Augost, commonly called

on Christmas Eve . . .

467

Irfimmas Day .

ib.

Going a HodeniDg .

474

St Siztus ....

. ^9

Of the word Yule, formerly used

Assumption of the Viigin Mary

ib.

to signify Christmas . .

ib.

St Roch's Day

. 350

Christmas Carol

480

St Bartholomew's Day

351

Hobby-horse at Christmas . .

492

Holyrood Day . . . .

ib.

Christmas-box.

493

Michaelmas

353

Lord of Misrule ....

497

AU the Holy Angels . .

356

Fool Plough and Sword Dance .

505

Michaelmas Goose . .

367

Decking Churches, Houses, &c.

St Michael's Cake or Bannock

372

with Evergreens at Christmas

519

St Faith, Virgin and Martyr

373

Yule Doughs, Mince Pies, and

St Ethelburgh's Day

374

Plum Porridge. . . .

526

St Luke's Day .

. ib.

St Stephen's Day .

532 ,

St. Simon and St. Jude's Day .

375

St. John the Evangelist . .

534

AUhallow Even

377

Childermas, or Holy Innocents'

The Fifth of NoTember

397

Day

535

Martinmas

399

TheQuaaltagh

538

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OBSERVATIONS

POPULAR ANTIQUITIES.

NEW YEAR'S EVE.

Enter Wassel, like a nest lempster and songster, her page bearing a
brown bowl| drest with ribbons and rosemary, before her. — Bbn Jonson.

Thebe was an ancient castom, which is yet retained in many
places, on New Year's Eve : young women went about with a
Wassail Bowl of spiced ale, with some sort of verses that were
sung by them as they went from door to door. Wassail is
derived from the Anglo-Saxon Wees heel. Be in health. It
were unnecessary to add, that they accepted little presents on
the occasion, from the houses at which they stopped to pay
this annual congratulation. '' The Wassail Bowl," says
Warton, " is Shakspeare's Gossip's Bowl, in the Midsummer
Night's Dream. The composition was ale, nutmeg, sugar,
toast, and roasted crabs or apples. It was also called Lamb's
Wool." (Warton's ed. of MUton's Poems, Lond. 1785, 8vo,
p. 51, note,) See also the Beggar's Bush, act iv. sc. 4,
and the following in Polwhele's Old English Gent., p. 1 1 7, —

'* A massy bowl, to deck the jovial day,
Flash'd from its ample round a sunlike ray.
Full many a century it shone forth to grace
The festive spirit of th' Andarton race,
As, to the sons of sacred union dear,
It welcomed with Lamb's fVool the rising year."

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2 NEW teak's ete.

It appears from Thomas de la Moore's Life of Edward II. that
Was-haileand Drinc-heilwere the usual ancient phrases of quaff*
ing among the English, and synonymous with the " Come,
here's to you," and " I'll pledge you," of the present day.*
[These pledge-words were frequently varied in olden time. In
the tale of King Edward and the Shepherd, MS. Cantab. Ff. y.
48, one says, PassUodion, and the other, Berafrynde ; a
strange kind of humour, the amusement of which is difficult
to be comprehended, though '' I warrant it proved an excuse
for the glass." In this tale the king says, —

'' Passilodyon that is this.
Who 80 drynkes furst i-wys,

Wesseyle the mare dele :
Bera£rynde also I wene,
Hit is to make the cup dene,

And fylle hit efte fiiUe wele."

But the best explanation of Wassail is that given by Robert
de Brunne, in the following passage : —

" This is ther custom and her gest
When thei are at the ale or fest.
Ilk man that loyis qware him think
Salle say fVoneiUtf and to him drink.
He that bidis salle say, Wasaailet
The tother salle say again DrinkhaiUe,
That says WoueiUe drinkis of the cop,
Kissand his felaw he g;ives it up."

This explanation is stated to have been given on Yortigem's
first interview with Rowena, or Ronix, the daughter of
Hen^st, the latter kneeling before him, and presenting a cup
of wme, made use of the term. Vortigem, not comprehend-
ing the words of Rowena, demanded their meaning from one
of the Britons. A fragment, preserved by Hearne, carries
the origin of the term to a much earlier period.]

* Verstegan giyes the subsequent etymology of Wassail : " As wot is
our verb of the preter-imperfect tense, or preter-peifect tense, signifying
Tune been, so vxu^ being the same verb in the imperative mood, and now
pronounced wax, is as much as to say grow, or become ; and Waetheal,
by corruption of pronunciation, afterwards came to be Wassail." — Resti-
tution of Decayed Intelligence, ed. 1653, p. 101. Wassd, however, is
sometimes used for general riot, intemperance, or festivity. See Love's
Labour Lost, v. 2. A wassel candle was a large caudle lighted up at a
feast. See 2 Henry IV. L 2.

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NEW tsae's eyb. 3

The learned Selden, in his Table Talk (article Pope\ gives
a good description of it : ** The pope/' says he, '* in sending
TelickB to princes, does as wenches do to their Wassels at
New Tear's tide — ^they present yon with a cnp, and you must
diink of a slabby stnior, but the meaning is, you must give
them money, ten times more than it is worth.** The fol-
lowing is a note of the same learned writer on the Polyolbion,
song 9 : *' I see/' says he, ** a custome in some parts among
us : I mean the yearly Was-haile in the country on the vigil
of the new yeare, which I conjecture was a usuall ceremony
among the Saxons before Hengist, as a note of health-wishing
(and so perhaps you might make it Wish-heil), which was
exprest among other nations in that form of drinking to the
health of their mistresses and friends. ' Bene vos, bene vos,
bene te, bene me, bene nostram etiam Stephanium,' in
PLautus, and infinite other testimonies of that nature, in him,
'Martial, Ovid, Horace, and such more, agreeing nearly with
the fashion now used : we calling it a health, as they did also,
in direct terms ; which, with an idol called Heil, antiently
worshipped at Ceme in Dorsetshire, by the English Saxons, in
name expresses both the ceremony of drinking and the new
yeare' s acclamation, whereto, in some parts of this kingdom,
is joyned also solemnity of drinking out of a cup, ritually
composed, deckt, and filled with country liquor."

In Herrick's Hesperides, p. 146, we read,

'' Of Chriatnuu tports, the WasaeU Boule,
That tost up, after Fos-i^ -Whole, -
Of BUnd-man-ii^e, and of the care
That young men have to ahooe the Mare .*
Of Ash-hetqiee^ in the which ye use
Husbands and wives by streakes to chuse
Of crackling laurell, which fore-sounds
A plentious harvest to your grounds."

In the Antiquarian Repertory (i. 218, ed. 1775) is a wood-
cut of a large oak beam, the antient support of a chimney-
piece, on which is carved a large bowl, with this inscription on
one side, [WoM-heil, and on the other Drinc-keile. The bowl
rests on the branches of an apple-tree, alluding, perhaps, to
part of the materials of which the liquor was composed.] The
ingenious remarker on this representation observes, that it is
the figure of the old Wassel Bow], so much the delight of our

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4 NEW year's EYB.

hardy ancestors, who, on the vigil of the New Year, never
failed to assemble round the glowing hearth with their cheer-
ful neighbours, and then in the spicy Wassel Bowl (which
testified the goodness of their hearts) drowned every former
animosity — ^an example worthy modem imitation. Was9el
was the word, Wauel every guest returned as he took the
circling goblet from his friend, whilst song and dvil mirth
brought in the infant year.

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine (liv. May, 1784, p.
347) tells us, that '' The drinking the Wassail Bowl or Cup
was, in aU probability, owing to keeping Christmas in the
same manner they had before the feast of Yule. There was
nothing the Northern nations so much delighted in as carous*
ing ale, especially at this season, when fighting was over. It
was likewise the custom, at all their feasts, for the master of
the house to fill a large bowl or pitcher, and drink out of it
first himself, and then give it to him that sat next, and so it '
went round. One custom more should be remembered ; and
this is, that it was usual some years ago, in Christmas time,
for the poorer people to go from door to door with a Wassail
Cup, adorned with ribbons, and a golden apple at the top,
singing and begging money for it ; the original of which was,
that they also might procure lamb's wool to fill it, and regale
themselves as well as the rich."^

[The following doggrel lines were communicated by a cler-
gyman in Worcestershire, but the occasion and use of them
appear to be unknown, and it is not unlikely some corruption
has crept into them : —

1 Milner, on an ancient cap (Archieologia, xL 420), informs va, that
" The introduction of Christianity amongst our ancestors did not at ail
contribute to the abohtion of the practice of wasselling. On the contrary,
it began to assume a kind of religious aspect ; and the Wassel Bowl itself,
which, in the great monasteries, was placed on the Abbot's table, at the
upper end of the Refectory or eating-hall, to be circulated amongst the
community at his discretion, received the honorable appellation of * Pocu-
Inm Charitatis.' This, in our universities, is called the Grace-cup." The
Poculum Charitatis is well translated by the toast-master of most of the
public companies of the city of London by the words, *' A loving cup."
After dinner the master and wardens drink " to their visitors, in a loving
eup, and bid them all heartily welcome." The cup then circulates round
the table, the person who pledges standing up whilst his neighbour drinks
to him.

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NEW TB All's EVE. 5

** WassaU brews good ale,
Good ale for Wassail ;
Wassail comes too soon,
In the wane of the moon."]

In Ritaon's Antient Songs, 1790, p. 304, is given " A
Garrol for a Wassell Bovl, to be sang upon Twelftti Day, at
night, to the tone of * Gallanta come away,* from a collection
of New Chiistmas Carols ; being fit also to be sung at Easter,
Whitsuntide, and other Festival Days in the year." No date,
12mo, 6. /., in the carious study of that celebrated antiquary,
Anthony k Wood, in the Ashmolean Museum.

** AjoUyWasaelBowl,
A Wassel of good ale,
WeU fare the butler's soul,
That setteth this to sale—

Our joUy Wassel.

Good Dame, here at your door

Our Wassel we begin,
We are all maidens poor,

We pray now let us in,

With our Wassel.

Our Wassel we do fill

With apples and with spice,
Then grant us your good will.

To taste here once or twice

Of our good Wassel.

If any maidens be

Here dwelling in this house,
They Idndly will agree

To take a full carouse

Of our WasseL

Bat here they let us stand

All freedng in the cold ;
Good master, give command

To enter and be bold,

With our Waaac

Much joy into this hall

With us is entered in,
Our master first of aU,

We hope will now begin,
Of our WasseL

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NEW TEAB S EVE.

And after, his good wife

Our spiced bowl will try,—
The Lord prolong your life !

Good fortune we espy,

For our Wassel.
Some bounty from your hands,

Our Wassel to maintain :
We'll buy no house nor lands

With that which we do gain,
With our Wassel.
This is our merry night

Of choosing King and Queen,
Then be it your delight

That something may be seen
In our Wassel.
It is a noble part

To bear a liberal mind ;
God bless our master's heart !

For here we comfort find.

With our WasseL
And now we must be gone.

To seek out more good cheer ;
Where bounty will be shown,

As we have found it here,

With our Wassel.
Much joy betide them all,

Our prayers shall be still,
We hope, and ever shall.

For this your great good will
To our Wassel.

Macanlay, in his History and Antiquities of Claybrook, in
Leicesterslure, 1791, p. 131, observes: "Old John Payne
and his vife, natives of this parish, are well known firom
having perambulated the hundred of Guthlazton many years,
during the season of Christmas, with a fine gewgaw which
they odl a Waaaail, and which they exhibit from house to
house, with the accompaniment of a duet. I apprehend that
the practice of wMsailing will die with this aged pair. We
are by no means so tenacious of old usages and diversions in
this coimtry, as they are in many other parts of the world."

In the Collection of Ordinances for the Royal Household,
4to, 1790, p. 121, we have some account of the ceremony of
WaueUingy as it was practised at Court, on Twelfth Night, in
the reign of Henry Vll. From these we learn, tluit the

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NEW YEAU 8 EVE. 7

ancient custom of pledging each other out of the same cup had
now giyen place to the more elegant practice of each person
having his cup, and that, '* When the steward came in at the
doore with the Wassel, he was to crie three tymes, Wawel,
Woisel, Wassel; and then the chappell (the chaplain) was to
answere with a songe." Under '* Twelfdi Day/' an account
will he found of the wassailing ceremonies peculiar to that
season. At these times the fare, in other respects, was better
than usual, and, in particular, a finer kind of bread was pro-
vided, which was, on that account, called Wassel-bread.
Lowth, in his Life of William of Wykeham, derives this name
from the Westellum or Vessel in which he supposes the bread
to have been made. See Milner, ut supra, p. 421. [The
earliest instance in which mention is made of Wastel-bread is
the statute 51 Henry III., whence it appears to have been fine
white bread, well baked. See Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 918.]
The subsequent Wassailers' song, on New Year's Eve, as
still sung in Gloucestershire, was communicated by Samuel
Lysons, Esq. [and has since been given in Dixon's Ancient
Poems, 8vo. 1846, p. 199.] The Wassailers bring with them
a great bowl, dressed up with garlands and ribbons.

"Wassail! Wassail! all over the town,
Our toast it is white, our ale it is brown :
Oar bowl it is made of a maplin tree,
We be good fellows all ; I drink to thee.

Here's to onr horse, and to his right ear,

God send our maiftter a happy New Year ;

A happy New Year as e'er he did see —

With my Wassailing Bowl 1 drink to thee.

Here's to our mare, and to her right eye,

God send our mistress a good Christmas pye ;

A good Christmas pye as e'er I did see —

With my Wassailing Bowl I drink to thee.

Here's to Fillpail^ and to her long tail,

God send our measter us never may fail

Of a cup of gooH beer : I pray you draw near,

And our jolly Wassail it's then you shall hear.

Be here any maids ? I suppose there be some

Sure they will not let young men stand on the cold stone ;

Sing hey maids, come trole back the pin,

And the fairest maid in the house let us all in.

1 The name of a cow.

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8 NEW tear's etb.

Come, butler, oome bring ub a bowl of the best t
I hope your soul in heaven will rest :
But if you do bring us a bowl of the smalli
Then down fall butler, bowl, and all/

Hutchinson, in his History of Cumberland, i. 570, speak-
ing of the parish of Muncaster^ under the head of " Ancient
Custom," informs us : "On the eve of the New Year the
children go from house to house, singing a ditty which craves
the bounty ' they were voont to have in old King Edward" 9
daye^ There is no tradition whence this custom rose ; the
donation is twopence, or a pye at every house. We have to
lament that so negligent are the people of the morals of
youth, that great part of this annual salutation is obscene, and
offensive to chaste ears. It certainly has been derived from
the vile orgies of heathens."

Sinoen-Een, Dr. Jamieson tells us, is the appellation given
in the county of Fife to the last night of the year. The de-
signation seems to have originated from the Carols sung on
tins evening. He adds, '* Some of the vulgar believe that the
bees may be heard to wng in their hives on Christmas Eve."

Dr. Johnson tells us, in his Journey to the Western Islands,
that a gentleman informed him of an odd game. At New
Tear^s Eve, in the hall or castle of the Laird, where, at festal
seasons, there may be supposed a very numerous company,
one man dresses himself in a cow's hide, upon which other
men beat with stic^. He runs with all this noise round the
house, which all the company quits in a counterfeited fright ;
the door is then shut. At New Year's Eve there is no great
pleasure to be had out of doors in the Hebrides. They are
sure soon to recover from their terror enough to solicit for re-
admission : which, for the honour of poetry, is not to be
obtained but by repeating a verse, with which those that are
knowing and provident take care to be furnished. The
learned traveller tells us that they who played at this odd
game gave no account of the origin of it, and that he described it
as it might perhaps be used in other places, where the reason
of it is not yet forgotten. It is probably a vestige of the Fes-
tival of Fools. The " vestiuntur pellibns Pecudam" of Da
Cange, and '' a man's dressing himself in a cow's hide," -both,
too, on the 1st of January, are auch circumstances as leave no

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NEW YE Aft' S SYB. 9

lOOm for doubt, but that, allowing for the mutilations of time,
they are one and the same custom.

[It was formerly the custom in Orkney for large bands of the
common class of people to assemble on this eve, and pay a
round of visits, singing a song, which commenced as follows :
" Thi« night it is guid NewV E'een's night,

We're a' hare Queen Mary's men j
And we're come here to crave our right,
And that's before our Lady !"J

In Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, 1794,
xiL 458, the minister of Rirkmichael, in the county of Ban£^
under the head of Superstitions, &c., says : " On the first
night of January, they observe, with anxious attention, the
disposition of the atmosphere. As it is calm or boisterous ;
as the wind blows from the south or the north — from the east
or the west, they prognosticate the nature of the weather till
the conclusion of the year. The first night of the new year,
when the wind blows from the west, they call dkr-na-coille,
the night of the fecundation of the trees ; and from this dr-
cumstance has been derived the name of that night in the
Gaelic language. Their faith in the above signs is couched in
verses, thus translated : '' The wind of the south will be pro-
ductive of heat and fertility ; the wind of the west, of milk
and fish ; the wind from the north, of cold and storm ; the
wind fW>m the east, of fruit on the trees."

In the Dialogue of Dives and Pauper, printed by Richard
Pynson, in 1493, among the superstitiona then in use at the
beginmng of the year, the following Lb mentioned : '* Alle
that take hede to dysmal dayes, or use nyce observaunces in
the aewe moone, or in the new yere, as setting of mete or
drynke, by mghte on the benche, to/ede Alholde or Oobelyn,"
[Apple-howling. — A custom in some counties, on New
Year's Eve, of wassailing the orchards, alluded to by Herrick,
and not foi^otten in Sussex, Devon, and elsewhere. A troop
of boys visit the difierent orchards, and, encircling the apple-
trees, they repeat the following words : —
** Stand hat root, bear well top,

Pray God send us a good- howling crop }

Every twig, apples big ;

Bvery bough, apples enou ;

Hats full, caps full,

Full qoarter sacks fiilL"

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10 NEW YEAU'S DAT.

They then shout in choras, one of the hoys accompanying
them on the cow*8-horn. During this ceremony they rap the
trees with their sticks.

The following indications from the wind, on New Tear's
Eve, are said to be still observed and believed in the highlands
of Scotland :—

*' If New Tear's Eve night-wind blow south,
It betokeneth warmth and growth ;
If west, much milk, and fish in the sea ;
If north, much cold and storms there will be ;
If east, the trees will bear much fruit ;
If north-east, flee it man and brute."]

NEW YEAR'S DAY.

Froze January, leader of the year.

Minced pies in van, and calf's head in the rear.'

Churchill.

As the vulgar, says Bourne, are always very careM to end
the old year well, so they are no less solicitous of making a
good beginning of the new one. The old one is ended with a
hearty compotation. The new one is opened with the custom
of sending presents, which are termed New Year's Gifts, to
friends and acquaintance. He resolves both customs into
superstitions, as being observed that the succeeding year ought
to be prosperous and successful. I find the New Year's Gift
thus described in a poem cited in Poole's English PamassoB,
in V. January :

" The king of light, father of aged Time,
Hath brought about the day which is the prime
To the slow gliding months, when every eye
Wears symptoms oi a sober jollity ;
And every hand is ready to present
Some service in a real compliment.

* Alluding to an annual insult offered on the 30th of January to the
memory of the unfortunate Charles I.

yGoogk

NEW teak's day. 11

Whilst some in golden letters ifrite their love,

Some speak affection by a ring or glove.

Or pins and points (for ev'n the peasant may

After his ruder fashion, be as gay

As the brisk courtly Sir)/and thinks that he

Cannot, without gross absurdity.

Be this day firugaJ, and not spare his friend

Some gift, to shew his love finds not an end

With the deceased year."

From the subsequent passage in Bishop Hall's Satires,
1598, it should seem that the usual New Year's Gift of
tenantry in the country to their landlords was a capon.

" Tet must he haunt his greedy landlord's hall
Wfth often presents at ech festivall ;
With crammed capons every New Yeare's mome,
Or with greene cheeses when his sheepe are shome,
Or many maunds-full of his mellow fruite," &c.

So, in A Lecture to the People, by Abraham Cowley, 4to,
Lend. 1678 :

*' Ye used in the former days to £idl
Prostrate to your landlord in his hall,
When with low legs, and in an humble guise,
Ye offered up a capon-sacrifice
Unto his worship, at a New Year's tide.*'

An orange, stuck with cloves, appears to have been a New
Tear's Gift. So, Ben Jonson, in his Christmas Masque : " He
has an orange and rosemary, but not a clove to stick in it."
A gilt nutmeg is mentionea in the same piece, and on the
same occasion. The use, however, of the orange, stuck with
doves, may be ascertained from the Seconde Booke of No-
table Things, by Thomas Lupton, " Wyne wyll be pleasant
in taste and savour, if an orenge or a lymon (stickt round
about with cloaves) be hanged within the vessel that it touch
not the wyne : and so the wyne wyll be preserved from foys-
tiness and evyll savor."— Reed's edition of Shakspeare, Love's
Labour's Lost, v. 2. The quarto edition of that play, 1598,
reads, " A gift nutmeg."

Li a volume of Miscellanies, in the British Museum library,
without title, printed in Queen Anne's time, p. 65, among
•* Merry Observations upon every month and every remark-
able day throughout the whole year," under January it is
said, " On the first day of this month will be given many

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12 NEW yeae's day.

more gifts than irill be kindly received or gratefully rewarded.
Children, to their inexpressible joy, will be drest in their best
bibs and aprons, and may be seen handed along streets, some
bearing Kentish pippins, others oranges stuck with cloves, in
order to crave a blessing of their godfathers and godmothers.**

In Stephens's Characters, 8vo, Lond. 1631, p. 283, " Like
an inscription with a flat goose against New Tear's Tide."

Bishop Stillingfleet observes, that among the Saxons of the
northern nations the Feast of the New Year was observed with
more than ordinary jollity : thence, as Olans Wormius and
Schefifer observe, they reckon their age by so many lolas :'
and Snorro Sturleson describes this New Year's Feast, just as
Buchanan sets out the British Saturnalia, by feasting and
sending presents or New Year's gifts to one another.^

In Westmoreland and Cumbenand, " early on the morning
of the 1st of January, the Fsex Populi assemble together, car-
rying stangs and baskets. Any inhabitant, stranger, or who-
ever joins not this rufiian tribe in sacrificing to tibeir favorite
saint-day, if unfortunate enough to be met by any of the
band, is immediately mounted across the stang (if a woman,
she is basketed), and carried shoulder height to the nearest
pubUc-house, where the payment of sixpence immediately
liberates the prisoner. None, though ever so industriously
inclined, are permitted to follow their respective avocations on
that day."— Gent. Mag. 1791, p. 1169-*

The poet Naogeorgus is cited by Hospinian, as telling ns,
that it was usual in his time, for ^ends to present each other
with a New Year's Gift ; for the husband to give one to his
wife ; parents to their children ; and masters to their ser-

^ Johf to make merry. Goth.

* There is a curious account of the manner m which the Romans
passed theur New Year's Day, in Libanii Ekphrasin. Kalendr. p. 178;
ed.1606.

' '< It seems it was a costom at Rome, upon New Tear's Day, for all
tradesmen to work a little in their business by way of omen^for luck's
nke, as we say,— that they might have constant business all the year
after."— Massey's Notes to Ovid^s Fasti, p. 14. He translates the passage
in his author thus :

With business is the year auspiciously begun ;
But every artist, soon as he has try'd
To work a little, lays his work aside.

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NEW yeae's day. 13

TnnU, &c, ; a castom deriyed to the ChriBtian world from the
times of Gentilism. The superstition condemned in this by
the ancient fathers, lay in the idea of these gifts being con*
sidered as omens of success for the ensuing year. In thia
sense also, and in this sense alone, could they have censured
the beneyolent compliment of wishing each other a happy New
Tear. The latter has been adopted by the modem Jews, who,
on the first day of the month Tisri, have a splendid entertain-
ment, and wish each other a happy New Year. Hospinian also
informs us that at Kome, on New Year's Day, no one would
suffer a neighbour to take fire out of his house, or anything
composed of iron ; neither could he be prevailed upon to lend
any article on that day.

The following is Bamabe Googe's translation of what relates
to New Year's Day in Naogeorgus, better known by the name
of " The Popish Kingdom," 1570.

** The next to this is New Yeare's Day, whereon to every frende
They costly presents in do bring, and Newe Yeare's Giftes do sende.
These giftes the husband gives his wife, and father eke the childe,
And maister on his men bettowesthe like with favour milde ;
And good beginning of the yeare they wishe and wishe againe.
According to the auncient g^eof heathen people vaine.
These eight days no man doth require his dettes of any man.
Their tables do they furnish out with all the meate they can :
With marchpaynes, tartes, and custards great, they drink with

staring eyes,
They rowte and revell, feede and feaste, as merry all as pyes :
As if they should at th' entrance of this New Yeare hap to die.
Yet would they have their bellies full, and auncient friends allie."

Pennant tells us that the Highlanders, on New Year's Day,
bum jumper before their cattle ; and on the first Monday in
every quarter sprinkle them with urine. Christie, in his
" Inquiry into the ancient Greek Game, supposed to have been
invented by Palamedes," 1801, p. 136, says, " The new year
of the Persians was opened with agricultural ceremonies (as is
also the case with the Chinese at the present day)."

The Festival of Fools at Paris, held on this day, continued
for two hundred and forty years, when every kind of absurdity
and indecency was committed.^

* For the following lines, which the common people repeat upon this

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14 NEW year's DAT.

*' At this instant/' says Brand, '* a little before twelve
o'clock, on New Year's Eve, 1794, the beUs in London are
ringing in the New Year, as they call it." The costom is still
continued.

In Scotland, upon the last day of the old year, the children
go about from door to door asking for bread and cheese, which
they call Nog-Money, in these words :

<< Get up, gude wife, and binno sweir (i. e. be not lazy)
And deal your cakes and cheese while you are here ;
For the time will come when ye'U be dead.
And neither need your cheese nor bread."

It appears, from several passages in Nichols's Qneen Eliza-
beth's Progresses, that it was anciently a custom at court, at
this season, both for the sovereigns to receive and give New
Year's Gifts. In the preface, p. 28, we read, " The only
remains of this custom at court now is, that the two chaplains
in waiting, on New Year's Day, have each a crown piece laid
under their plates at dinner." [According to Nichols, the
greatest part if not all of the peers and peeresses of the realm,
all the bishops, the chief officers of state, and several of the
Queen's household servants, even down to her apothecaries,
master cooks, serjeant of the pastry, &c., gave New Year's
Gifts to Her Majesty, consisting, in general, either of a sum
of money, or jewels, trinkets, wearing apparel, &c.

In the Banquet of Jests, 1634, is a story of Archee, the
king's jester, who, having fooled many, was at length fooled
himself. Coming to a nobleman's upon New Year's Day, to
bid him good morrow, Archee received twenty pieces of gold,
but, covetously desiring more, he shook them in his hand, and
said they were too light. The donor answered, " I prithee,
Archee, let me see them again, for there is one amongst them I
would be loth to part with." Archee, expecting the sum to be

occasion, on New Year's Day, in some parts of France, I am indebted to
Mr. Olivier ;

" Aguilaneuf de ceans
On le voit a sa fenetre,
Avec son petit bonnet blanc,
U dit qu'il sera le M&itre,
Mettra le Pot au feu ;
Donnez nous ma bonne Dame,
Donnez nous Aguilaneuf."

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KXW YEAK S DAY. 15

increased, retamed the pieces to his lordship, who put them
into his pocket with the remark, *' I once gave money into a
foors hands who had not the wit to keep it."*]

Dr. Moresin tells us that in Scotland it was in his time the
cnstom to send New Year's Gifts on New Year's Eve, but that
on New Year's Day they wished each other a happy day, and
asJted a New Year's Gift. I beheve it is still usual in North-
umberland for persons to ask for a New Year's Gift on that
day.

[On New Year's Day they have a superstition in Lincoln and
its neighbourhood, that it is unlucky to take anything out of
the house before they have brought something in : hence you
will see, on the morning of that day, the individual members
of a family taking a small piece of coal, or any incon-
siderable thing in fact, into the house, for the purpose of pre-
venting the misfortunes which would otherwise attach to them ;
and the rustics have a rhyme in which this belief is expressed:

" Take out, then take in,
Bad Inck will begin ;
Take in, then take out.
Good luck comes about."]

It appears from a curious MS. in the British Museum, of
the date of 1560, that the boys of Eton school used, on the
day of the Circumdsion, at that time, to play for little New
Year's Gifts before and i^er supper ; and that the boys had a
custom that day, for good luck's sake, of making verses, and
sending them to the provost, masters, &c., as also of present-
ing them to each other.^

1 [In a curious manuscript, lettered on the back, " Publick Revenue, anno
quinto regni Edwardi Sexti," I find, " Rewards given on New Year's Day,
that is to say, to the King's officers and servants of ordinary, 155/. 5#., and
to their servants that present the King's Ma^** with New Year's Gifts."
The custom, however, is in part of a date considerably older than the time
of Edward the Sixth. Henry the Third, according to Matthew Paris,
appears to have extorted New Year's Gifts from his subjects — ** Rex autem
regalis magnificentiae terminos impudenter transgredieus, k civibus Lon-
dinensibus quos novit ditiores, die Circumcision is Dominioe, k quolibet
exegit siugulatim primitiva, quae vulgares Nova Dona Novi Armi supersti-
tiose Solent appellare."~Matt. Paris, an. 1249, p. 757, ed. Watts, fol.
1611.]

* " In die Circumcisionis luditur et ante et post ccenam pro Strenulis.
Paeri autem pro consuetudine ipso Calendarum Januariarum die, velut
ominis boni gratia, carmina componunt, eaque vel Prsposito vel Praecep-

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16 NEW teab's day.

Sir Thomas Overbury, in his Characters, speaking of " a
Timist/' says, that " his New Yeare's Gifts are ready at Al-
halomas, and the sute he meant to meditate before them."'

The title-page of a most rare tract in my library, entitled
" Motives grounded upon the word of (rod, and upon honoar,
profit, and pleasure, for the present founding an UniTersity in
the Metropolis, London ; with Answers to such Objections aa
might be made by any (in their incogitancy) against the same,"
1647, runs thus : " UnEohlj presented (instead o/heatkenitk
and superstitious New Teare*s Gifts) to the Right Honourable
the Lord Mayor, the right worshipfull the Aldermen, his bre-
thren, and to those faithful and prudent citizens which were
lately chosen by the said city to be of the Common Counsell
thereof for this yeare insueng, viz. 1647 ; by a true Lover of
his Nation, and especially of the said city.''

In another rare tract, of an earlier date, entitled " Vox
Graculi," 4to, 1623, p. 49, is the following, under " January :'*

** This month drink you no wine commixt with dregs :
Eate capons, and fat hens, with dumpling legs."

*' The first day of January being raw, colde, and comfort-
lesse to such as have lost their money at dice at one of the
Temples over night, strange apparitions are like to be scene :
Marchpanes marching betwixt Leaden-hall and the little Con-
duit in Cheapey in such aboundance that an hundred good

tori et Magistris vel inter se ultro citroque communiter mittunt" — Status
Scholae Etonensis, A.D. 1560. MS. Brit. Mas. Donat. 4843, fol. 423. The
very ingenious Scottish writer, Buchanan, presented to the unfortunate
Mary Queen of Scots one of the above poetical kind of New Year's gifts.
History is silent concerning the manner in which her Majesty received it ;

Jd Mariam Scotia Reginam,
Do quod adest : opto quod abest tibi, dona darentur

Aurea, sors animo si foret sequa meo.
Hoc leve si credis, paribus me ulciscere donis :

£t quod abest opta tu mihi : da quod adest.

> ♦* Gevying of New Yeare's Giftes had its original there likewysc (in old
Rome), for Suetonius Tranquillus reporteth that the Knights of Rome
gave yerely, on the calendes of January, a present to Augustus Caesar,
although he were absent. Whiche custom remayneth in England, for the
subjects sende to their superiours, and the noble personages geve to the
Kynge some great gyftes, and he to gratifye their kyndnesse doeth liberally
rewarde them with some thyng agun." — Langley's Polydore yirgil,fol. 102.

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NEW teak's DAY. 17

fellows may sooli^ staire than catch a corner or a comfit to
sweeten their monthes.

" It is also to be feared that through frailty, if a slip be made
on the messenger's default that carries them, for non-delivery
at the place appointed ; that unlesse the said messenger be
not the more inward with his mistris, his master wiU give
him ribrost for his New Yeaie's Gift the next morning.

" This day shall be given many more gifts than shall be asked
for, and apples, egges, and oranges, shall be lifted to a lofty
rate ; when a pome-water, bestucke with a few rotten cloves,
shall be more worth than the honesty of an hypocrite ; and
halfe a dozen of egges of more estimation than the vowes of
a strumpet. Poets this day shall get mightily by their
pamphlets ; for an hundred of elaborate lines shall be lesse
esteemed in London, than an hundred of Walfleet oysters at
Cambridge."

In the Monthly Miscellany for December, 1692, there is an
Essay on New Year's Gifts, which states, that the Romans were
" great observers of the custom of New Year's Gifts, even when
their year consisted only of ten months, of thirty-six days each,
and began in March ; also, when January and February were
added by Numa to the ten others, the calends or first of Janu-
ary were the time on which they made presents ; and even
Romulus and Tatius made an order that every year vervine
should be offered to them vnth other gifts, as tokens of good
fortune for the New Year. Tacitus makes mention of an order
of Tiberius, forbidding the giving or demanding of New
Year's Gifts, unless it were on the calends of January ; at
which time as well the senators as the knights and other great
men brought gifts to the emperor, and, in his absence, to the
Capitol. The ancient Druids, with great ceremonies, used to
scrape off from the outside of oaks the misleden, which they
consecrated to their great Tntates, and then distributed it to
the people through the Gauls, on account of the ereat virtues
which they attributed to it ; from whence New Year's Gifts
are still called in some parts of France, Guy-V an-neuf. Our
English nobility, every New Year's tide, still send to the King a
purse vrith gold in it. Reason may be joined to custom to
justify the practice ; for, as psssages are drawn from the first
things which are met on the beginning of a day, week, or year,
none can be more j>leasing than of those things that are given

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18 in£w year's day.

us. We rejoice with our friends after hanng escaped the
dangers that attend every year, and congratulate each other
for the future by presents and wishes for the happy continu-
ance of that course which the ancients called Strenarum Cam"
mercium. And as, formerly, men used to renew their hospi-
talities by presents, called Xenia, a name proper enough for
our New Year's Gifts, they may be said to serve to renew
friendship, which is one of the greatest gifts imparted by
Heaven to men : and they who have always assigned some day
to those things which they thought good, have also judged it
proper to solemnize the Festival of Gifts, and, to show how
much they esteemed it, in token of happiness, made it begin
the year. The value of the thing given, or, if it is a thing of
small worth, its novelty, or the excellency of the work, aud the
place where it is given, makes it the more acceptable, but above
all, the time of giving it, which makes some presents pass for
a mark of civility on the beginning of the year, that would ap-
pear unsuitable in another season/'

Prynne, in his Histrio-Mastix, p. 755, has the following
most severe invective against the Bitea of New Tear's Day.

" If we now parallel our grand disorderly Christmasses with
these Roman Saturnals and heathen festivals, or our New
Yeare's Day (a chiefe part of Christmas) with their festivity
of Janus, which was spent in mummeries, stageplayes, dancing,
and such like enterludes, wherein fidlers and others acted las-
civious effeminate parts, and went about their towns and cities
in women's apparel ; whence the whole Catholicke Church (as
Alchuvinus with others write) appointed a solemn publike
faste upon this our New Yeare's Day (which fast it seems is
now forgotten), to bewaile those heathenish enterludes, sports,
and lewd idolatrous practices which had been used on it:
prohibiting all Christians, under pain o/excommunication,/rotn
observing the calends, or first of January (which wee now call
New Yeare^s Day), as holy, and from sending abroad Neio
Teare^s Gifts upon it (a customs now too frequent), it being a
meere relique of paganisme and idolatry, derived from the
heathen Romans fea^t of two-faced Janus, and a practise so
execrable unto Christians, that not onely the whole Catholicke
Church, but even the four famous Councels of," &c. (here he
makes a great parade of authorities) *' have positively prohi-
bited the solemnization of New Yeare's Day, and the sending

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NEW YEAE's DAT. 19

abroad of New Teare^a Gifis^ under an anathema andexeom-
munieation,**

In the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1793, rii. 488,
PaiisbeB of Cross, Bumess, &c. county of Orkney, — New
Tear^B Gifts occur, under the title of " Christmas Presents,"
and aa given to servant-maids by their masters. In the same
work, p. 489, we read, '"There is a large stone, about nine or
ten feet high, and four broad, placed upright in a plain, in
the Isle of North Ronaldshay ; but no tradition is preserved
concerning it, whether erected in memory of any signal
event, or for the purpose of administering justice, or for re-
ligious worship. The writer of this (the parish priest) has
seen fifty of the inhabitants assembled there, on the first day
of the year, and dancing with moonlight, with no other
music than their own singing." And again, in the same
publication, 1795, xv. 201, the minister of Tillicoultry, in
the county of Clackmannan, under the head of Diseases,
says, ** It is worth mentioning that one William Hunter, a
collier, was cured in the year 1 758 of an inveterate rheuma-
tiam or gout, by drinking freely of new ale, full of barm or
yest. The poor man had been confined to his bed for a year
and a half, having almost entirely lost the use of his limbs.
On the evening of Handsel Monday, as it is called, (i. e. the
first Monday of the New Year, O.S.), some of his neighbours
came to make merry with him. Though he could not rise,
yet he always took his share of the ale as it passed round the
company, and, in the end, became much intoxicated. The
consequence was, that he had the use of his limbs the next
morning, and was able to walk about. He lived more than
twenty years after this, and never had the smallest return of
hia old complaint." And again, in vol. v. p. 66, the minister
of Moulin, in Perthshire, informs us, that '* beside the stated
fees, the master (of the parochial school there) receives some
Bmall gratuity, generally two-pence or three-pence, from each
scholar, on Handsel Monday or Shrove-Tuesday*'

Upon the Circumcision, or New Year's Day, the early
Christians ran about masked, in imitation of the superstitions
of the Gentiles. Against this practice Saint Maximus and
Peter Chrysologus declaimed ; whence in some of the very
ancient missals we find written in the Mass for this day.

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20 H£W yeae's day.

'' Missa ad probibendum ab Idolis." See Maeri Hiero-Lez-
icon, p. 156.

[It is a saying still beard in tbe Nortb of England, —

At New Year's tide,
The days lengthen a cock's stride.
And,

If the grass grows in Janiveer,

It grows the worse for't all the year.

According to tbe Sbepberd's Ealender, 1709, p. 16, ''if
New Year's Day in the morning open witb duskey red clouds,
it denotes strifes and debates among great ones, and many
robberies to happen that year."

Opening the Bible on this day is a superstitions practice
still in common use in some parts of tbe country, and much
credit is attached to it. It is usually set about with some
little solemnity on tbe morning before breakfast, as the cere-
mony must be performed fasting. The Bible is laid on the
table unopened, and the parties who wish to consult it are
then to open it in succession. They are not at liberty to
choose any particular part of the book, but must open it at
random. Wherever this may happen to be, the inquirer is
to place his finger on any chapter contained in the two open
pages, but without any previous perusal or examinatioii.
The chapter is then read aloud, and commented upon by the
people assembled. It is believed that the good or iU fortune,
the happiness or misery of the consulting party, during the
ensuing year, will be in some way or other described and
foreshown by the contents of the chapter.

Never allow any to take a light out of your house on New
Year's Day ; a death in the household, before the expiration
of the year, is sure to occur if it be allowed.

If a female is your first visitant, and be permitted to enter
your house on the morning of New Year's Day, it portendeth
ill-luck for the whole year.

Never throw any ashes, or dirty water, or any article, how-
ever worthless, out of your house on this day. It betokens
ill-luck ; but you may bring in as many honesUy gotten goods
as you can procure.]

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TWELFTH DAY.

This day, which is well known to be called the Twelfth from
its being the twelfth in number from the Nativity, is called
also the Feast of the Epiphany, from a Greek word signifying
manifestation, our hojd having been on that day made mani-
fest to the Gentiles. This, as Bourne observes, is one of the
greatest of the twelve, and of more jovial observation for the
visiting of friends, and Christmas gambols. ''With some,"
according to this author, ''Christmas ends with the twelve
days, but with the generality of the vulgar, not till Candle-
mas." Dngdale, in his Origines Juridiciales, p. 286, speaking
of " Orders for Government — Gray's Inne," cites an order of
4 Car. I. (Nov. 17)i that "all playing at dice, cards or other-
wise, in the hall, buttry, or butle?s chamber, should be
thenceforth barred and forbidden at all times of the year,
the twenty days in Christmas only excepted" The following
extract from Collier's Ecclesiastical History, i. 163, seems to
account in a satisfactory manner for the name of Twelfth
Day. " In the days of King Alfred a law was made with
relation to holidays, by virtue of which the twelve days
after the Nativity of our Saviour were made Festivals."

From the subsequent passage in Bishop Hall's Satires,
1598, p. 67, the whole twelve days appear to have been de-
dicated to feasting and jollity : —

" Except the twelve days, or the wake-day feast.
What time he needs must be his cosen's guest.'"

The customs of this day vary in different countries, yet
agree in the same end, that is to do honour to the Eastern
Magi, who are supposed to haye been of royal dignity. In
France, while that country had a court and king, one of the
courtiers was chosen king, and the other nobles attended on
this day at an entertainment. "Of these Magi, or Sages
(vulgarly called the three Kings of Colen), the first, named,
Melchior, an aged man with a long beard, offered gold ; the •
second, Jasper, a beardless youth, offered frankincense ; the

' " Atque ab ipso natali Jesu Christi die ad octavam usque ab Epi-
phania lucem, jejunia nemo observato, nisi quidem judicio ac voluntate
noerit sua, aut id ei laerit k sacerdote imperatum.'' Seld. Analecton
Anglo-Britannioon, lib. iL p. 108.

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22 TWELFTH DAY.

thirdy Balihasar, a black or Moor, with a large spreading
beard, offered myrrh, according to this distich —

'' Tree Beges Regi Vitgam tria dona ferebant ;
Myrrham Homixii, Uncto Aunim, Thura dedere Deo."

Festa Anglo-Romana, p. 7

The dedication of The Bee-hiye of the Romish Church
concludes thus : '* Datum in our Mnsseo the 5th of January,
being the even of the three Kings of CoUen, at which time all
good Catholiks make merry and crie ' The King drinkes.' In
anno 1569. Isaac Rabbolence, of LoTen." Selden, in Ms
Table Talk, p. 20, says, " Our chusing Kings and Queens on
Twelfth Night has reference to the three Kings."

[According to Blount, the inhabitants of Staffordshire made
a fire on the eve of Twelfth Day, " in memory of the blazing-
star that conducted the three Magi to the manger at Beth-
lem." See Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 184.]

At the end of the year 1792, the Coundl-general of the
Commons at Paris passed an arrdt, in consequence of which
" La F^te de Rois" (Twelfth Day) was thenceforth to be called
"La F^te de Sans-Culottes." It was called an and-dvic
feast, which made every priest that kept it a Royalist.

There is a very curious account in Le Rous, Dictionnaire
Comique, tome ii. p. 431, of the French ceremony of the
" Roi de la Feve,'' which explains Jordaens' fine picture of
" Le Roi boit." See an account of this custom in Busalde
de Yerville, Palais des Curieux, edit. 1612, p. 90, and also
Pasquier, Recherches de la France, p. 375. Among the
Cries of Paris, a poem composed by Guillaume de Villeneuve
in the thirteenth century, printed at the end of Barbasan's
Ordene de Chevalerie, Beam for Twelfth Day are mentioned,
* Gastel a feve orrois crier."

To the account given by Le Roux of the French way of
choosing King and Queen, may be added that in Normandy
they pliu;e a child under the table, which is covered in such a
^manner with the cloth that he cannot see what is doing;
and when the cake is divided, one of the company taking up
the first piece, cries out, " Fabe Domini pour qui?" The
child answers, *' Pour le bon Dieu:" and in this manner the
pieces are allotted to the company. If the bean be found in
piece for the "bon Dieu«'' the king is chosen by drawing

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TWELFTH BAT. 23

long or short stravB. Whoever gets the bean chooses the
King or Queen, according as it happens to be a man or
voman. Sir Thomas Urquhart» of Cromarty, in his curious
vork, entitled The Discovery of a most exquisite jewel,
found in the kennel of Worcester streets, the day after the
fiehl^ 1651, says, p. 237, ''Verily, I think they make use
M KhugB— as the French on the Epiphany-day use their Roy
de la fehve, or King of the Bean; whom after they have
honoured with drinking of his health, and shouting aloud,
'Le Boy bolt, Le Roy boit,' they make pay for all the
reckoning ; not leaving him sometimes one peny, rather than
the exorbitande of their debosh should not be satisfied to the
fbll," In a curious book, entitled A World of Wonders,
fol. Lond. 1607, we read, p. 189^ of a Curate, "who having
taken his preparations over evening, when all men cry (as
the manner is) the King drinkethj chanting his Masse die
next morning, fell asleep in his memento: and when he
awoke, added with a loud voice, the King drinketh"

In Germany they observed nearly the same rites in cities
and academies, where the students and citizens chose one of
their own number for king, providing a most magnificent ban-
quet on the occasion.

The choosing of a person king or queen by a bean found
in apiece of a divided cake, was formerly a common Christmas
gambol in both the Enghsh universities.* Thomas Randolph,
in a curious letter to Dudley, Lord Leicester, dated Edin. 15
Jan. 1563, mentions Lady Flemyng being '^Queene of the
Bene" on Twelfth Day. Pinkerton's Ancient Scot. Poems,
ii. 431.

When the King of Spain told the Count Olivarez, that
John, Duke of Braganza, had obtained the kingdom of Por-
tugal, he slighted it, saying that he was but Bey de Havas, a
bean-cake King (a King made by children on Twelfth Night).
Seward's Anecdotes, iii. 317.

The bean appears to have made part of the ceremony on

* Mr Donee's MS. notes say, « Mos inolevit et liget spud plnrimss
nstioiies, ut in profesto Epiphanic^ sen trinm Regum, in quaque Emilia
sea alia societate, sorte vel alio fortuito modo elig^ant sibi Regem, et con-
viTSntes nna ac genialiter riventes, bibente rege, acdamant, Rex bibit,
bibit Rex, indicta mnlta qui non damaverit. See the Sylva Sermonum
jpcondisaimonun, 8vo. Bas. 1568, pp. 73, 846."

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24 TWELFTH DAY.

choofiing king and queen in England ; thus, in Ben Jonson's
Masque of Christmas, the character of Baby-Cake is attended
by " an usher bearing a great cake with a bean and a pease."

Misson, in his Travels in England, translated by Ozell,
p. 34, tells us, in a note, " On Twel^ Day they divide the
cake, alias choose King and Queen, and the King treats the
rest of the company."

Anstis, in his Collections relative to the Court of Chi-
valry, among the Addit. MSS. in the British Museum, i. 93,
says, " The practisers of the Parliaments or Courts of Justice
in France chose a governor among them, whom they styled
Roy de BoMoche^ which calls to remembrance the custom ob-
served in our Inns of Court, of electing a king on Christmas
Day, who assumed the name of some fancied kingdom, and
had officers with splendid titles to attend on him. Answer-
able hereto some of our colleges in Oxford did, from the
time of their first foundation, annually choose a Lord at
Christmas, styled in their registers Rex Fabarum, and Rex
regni Fabaruniy which was continued down to the Reforma-
tion of ReUgion, and probably had that appellation because
he might be appointed by lot, wherein beans were used, as
the Ray de la Febue on the feast of the Three Kings, or
Twelfth Day, was the person who had that part of the cake
whereyi the bean was placed."

In the ancient calendar of the Romish church I find an
observation on the fifth day of January, the eve or vigil of
the Epiphany, " Kings created or elected by beans." The
sixth is called ''The Festival of Kings," with this additional
remark, " that this ceremony of electing kings was continued
with feasting for many days." There was a custom similar
to this on the festive days of Saturn among the Romans, Ore-
dans, &c. Persons of the same rank drew lots for kingdoms,
and, like kings, exercised their temporary authority. (Alex,
ab Alexandro, b. ii. ch. 22.)

The learned Moresin observes, that our ceremony of choos-
ing a king on the Epiphany, or feast of the Three Kings, is
practised about the same time of the year ; and that he is
called the Bean King, from the lot. This custom is prac-
tised nowhere that I know of at present in the north of
England, though still very prevalent m the south. I find the
following description of it in the Universal Magazine, 1774.

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■nriLFTH DAT. 25

After tea a cake is prodaced, and two bowls, containing the
fortunate chances for the different sexes. The host fim up
the tickets, and the whole company, except the king and
queen, are to be ministers of state, maids of honour, or ladies
o£ the bedchamber. Often, the host and hostess, more by
design perhaps than accident, become king and queen. Ac-
cording to Twelfth-day law, each party is to support his
character till midnight! <

In Ireland " On Twelve-Eye in Christmas, they use to set
up as high as they can a sieve of oats, and in it a dozen of
candles set round, and in the centre one larger, all lighted.
This in memory of our Saviour and his Apostles, lights of
the world." Sir Henry Piers's Description of the County of
Westmeath, 1682, in Vallancey's Collectanea de Rebus Hiber-
nids, vol. i. No. 1, p. 124.

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxxiv. Dec.
1764, p. 599, thinks the practice of choosing king and queen
on Twelfth Night owes it origin to the custom among the

* Johannes Boemns Aubanos ** Mores, Leges, et Ritum omnium Gen-
tium." 12mo. Genev. 1620, p. 266, gives the following circumstantial
description of this ceremony : —

<* In Epiphania Domini singulis Familise ex melle, farina, addito zinzi-
bere et pipere, libum confidunt, et Regem sibi legunt hoc modo : Libnm
mater&milias fadt, cui absque consideratione inter subigendum denarium
nnum immittit, postea amoto igne supra calidum focum illud torret, tos-
tum in tot partes firangit, quot homines familia habet : demum distribuit,
caique partem unam tribuens. Adsignantur etiam Christo, beatseque
Vlrgini, et tribus Magis suae partes, quae loco eleemosynae elargiuntur.
In cujus autero portione denarius repertus fuerit, hie Rex ab omnibus
salutatus, in sedem locatur, et ter in altum cum jubilo elevatur. Ipse in
dextera cretam habet, qua toties Signum Crucis supra in Triclimi hique-
ariis delineat: quae Cruces quod obstare plurimis malis credantur, in
multa observatione habentur."

Here we have the materials of the cake, which are flour, honey, gin-
ger, and pepper. One is made for every family. The maker thrusts in,
at random, a small coin as she is kneading it. When it is baked, it is
divided into as many parts as there are persons in the family. It is dis-
tributed, and each has his share. Portions of it also are assigned to
Christ, the Virgin, and the three Magi, which are given away in alms.
Whoever finds the piece of coin in his share is saluted by all as King,
and being placed on a seat or throne, is thrice lifted aloft with joyful
acdamatioits. He holds a piece of chalk in his right hand, and each
time he is lifted up, makes a cross on the ceiling. These crosses are
thought to prevent many evils, and are much revered.

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26 TWELFTH DAT.

Romans, which they took from the Orecians, of castisg dice
▼ho should be the Rex Convivii : or, as Horace calls him,
the Arbiter Bibendi, Whoever threw the lucky cast, which
they termed Venua or Basilicua, gaye laws for the night. In
the same manner the lucky down, who out of the several
divisions of a plum-cake draws the king, thereby becomes
sovereign of the company ; and the poor clodpole, to whose
lot the knave falls, is as unfortunate as the Roman, whose
hard fate it was to throw the damnontm Cameulum.

It appears that the twelfth cake was made formerly full of
plums, and with a bean and a pea : whoever got the former,
was to be king ; whoever found the latter, was to be queen.
Thus in Hetrick's Hesperides, p. 376 : —

" Twelfe Nighty or King and Queene.

** Now, now the mirth comes

With the cake full of plums,
'Where beane's the king; of the sport here ;

Besides we must know,

The pea also
Must revell, as queene, in the court here.

Begin then to chuse,

(This night as ye use)
Who shall for the present delight here,

Be a king be the lot,

And who shall not,
Be Twelfe-day queene for the night here :

Which knowne, let us make

Joy-sops with the cake ;
And let not a man then be seen here.

Who unurg'd will not drinke

To the base from the brink
A health to the king and the queene here.

Next crowne the bowle full

With gentle himb's-wooll ;
Adde sugar, nutmeg, and ginger,

With store of ale too ;

And thus ye must doe
To make the Wassaile a swinger.

Give them to the king

And queene wassailing ;
And though with the ale ye be whet here ;

Yet part ye from hence,

As free from offence.
As when ye innocent met here."

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TWELFTH DAY. 27

And at p. 2/1 we find the Bubsequent : —

** For sports, for pagentrie, and playes,
Thou hast thy eves and holidayes :
Thy wakes, thy qnintels, here thou hast,
Thy May-poles too, with garlands grac't :
Thy Morris-dance ; thy Whitsun ale ;
Thy shearing feast, which never faile.
Thy Harvest Home ; thy Wassaile Bowie,
That's tost up after Fox-i'-th'-Hole ;
Thy mmnmeries : thy ttpeffe-tide kingt
And queens : thy Christmas revellings."

So also in Nichola's Qaeen Elizabeth's Progresses,
" Speeches to the Qaeen at Sadley>" ii. 8, —

"Melibieua. Nisa.

" Mel. Cut the cake : who hath the beane shall be king ;
and where the peaze is, shee shall be queene.
** Nis. I ha?e the peaze, and mast be Queene.
'* MeL I the beane, and king ; I most commaunde."
Thus p. 146, ibid., we read —

** Of Twelfe-tide cakes, of peas and beanes,
Wherewith ye make those merry scenes,
Whenas ye chuse your king and queene,
And cry oat, Hey for our town greenJ*

In the Popish Kingdome, Bamabe Googe's Translation,
or rather Adaptation of Naogeorgus, f. 45, we haye the fol-
lowing lines on " Twelfe Day :** —

'* The wise men's day here foUoweth, who out from Persia farre
Brought gifts and presents unto Christ, conducted by a stane.
The Papistes do beleeve that these were kings, and so them call,
And do aflSrme that of the same there were but three in all.
Here sundrie friends together come, and meet in companie,
And make a king amongst themselves by voyce or destinie :
Who after princely guise appoyntes his officers alway.
Then unto feasting doe they go, and long time after play :
Upon their hordes in order thicke the daintie dishes stande,
Till that theire purses emptie be, and creditors at hande.
Their children herein follow them, and choosing princes here,
With pomp and great solemnitie, they meete and make good chere :
With money eyther got by stealth, or of their parents eft.
That so they may be traynde to know both ryot here and theft
Then also every householder, to his abilitie.
Doth make a mightie cake, that might suffice his companie :

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28 TWELFTH DAY.

Herdii a pennie doth be put before it come to fire,

This he divides according as his hoiueholde doth require.

And every peece distribnteth, as round about they stand,

Which in their names unto the poore is given out of hand :

But who so chaunceth on the piece wherein the money lies,

Is counted king amongst them all, and is with showtes and cries

Exalted to the heavens up, who taking chalke in hande.

Doth make a crosse on every beame, and rafters as they stande :

Great force and powre have these agaynst all iiguryes and harmes

Of cursed devils, sprites, and bugges, of conjurings and charmes.

So much this King caii do, so much the crosses bring to passe.

Made by some servant, maide, or childe, or by some foolish asse.

Twice size nightes then from Christmasse, they do count with diligence.

Wherein eche maister in his house both bnme up frankensence ;

And on the table settes a loafe, when night approcheth nere.

Before the coles, and frankensence to be perfumed there :

First bowing down his heade be standes, and nose, and eares, and eyeSf

He smokes, and with his mouth reoejrves the fume that doth arise :

Whom followeth straight hii vrife, and doth the same fiill solemnly,

And of their children every one, and all their family :

Which doth preserve they say their teeth, and nose, and eyes, and eare.

From every kind of maladie and sicknesse all the yeare :

When every one receyved hath this odour, great and small,

Then one takes up the pan with coales and franckensence and all.

Another takes the loafe, whom all the reast do follow here,

And round about the house they go, with torch or taper dere.

That neither bread not meat do want, not witch with dreadful charme.

Have powre to hurt their children, or to do their cattell harme.

There are that three nightes onely do perfourme this foolish geare.

To this intent, and thinke themselves in safetie all the yeare.

To Christ dare none commit himselfe. And in these dayes beside.

They judge what weather all the yeare shall happen and betide :

Ascribing to each day a month, and at this present time,

The youSi in every place doe flocke, and all apparel'd fine.

With pypars through the streets they runne, and sing at every dore.

In commendation of the man, rewarded well therefore :

Which on themselves they do bestowe, or on the church, as though

The people were not plagude with roges and begging friers enough.

There cities are, where boyes and gyrles together still do runne,

About the streets with like, as soon as night beginnes to come.

And bring abrode their Wassell Bowles, who well rewarded bee

With cakes and cheese, and great good cheare, and money plenteouslee."

In Gloucestershire there is a custom on Twelfth Day of
having twelve small fires made, and one large one, in many
parishes in that county, in honour of the day. In the South-
hams of Devonshire, on the eve of the Epiphany, the farmer,
attended by his workmen, with a large pitdier of cider, goes

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TWELFTH DAY. 29

to the orchard, and there encircling one of the best bearing
trees, they drink the following toast three several times : —

" Here's to thee, old apple-tree,
Whence thou mavst bud, and whence thou mayst blow !
And whence thou mayst bear apples enow !
HatsfoU! capsfiiUl
Bushel — ^bushel — sacks fiiU,
And my pockets full too ! Huzza I"

This done, they return to the house, the doors of which they
are snre to find bolted by the females, who, be the weather
what it may, are inexorable to all intreaties to open them till
some one has guessed at what is on the spit, which is gene-
rally some nice little thing, difficult to be hit on, and is the
reward of him who first names it. The doors are then thrown
open, and the lucky clodpole receives the tit-bit as his re-
compense. Some are so superstitious as to beheve, that if
they neglect this custom, the trees will bear no apples that
year. See Gent. Mag. 1791, p. 403.

On the eve of Twelfth Day, as a Cornish man informed me
on the edge of St. Stephen's Down, October 28, 1790, it is
the custom for the Devonshire people to go after supper into
the orchard, with a large milk-pan full of cider, having
roasted apples pressed into it. Out of this each person in
company takes what is called a clayen cup, i. e. an earthen-
ware cup full of liquor, and standing under each of the
more fruitful apple-trees, passing by those that are not good
bearers, he addresses it in the following words : —

<< Health to thee, good apple-tree,
Well to bear pocket-fulls, hat-fulls,
Peck-fuUs, bushel bag-fiiUs ;''

And then drinking up part of the contents, he throws the
rest, with the fragments of the roasted apples, at the tree.
At each cup the company set up a shout.

So we read in the Glossary to the Exmoor dialect: —
" Watsail, a drinking song, sung on Twelfth-day eve, throw-
ing toast to the apple trees, in order to have a fruitful
year, which seems to be a relic of the heathen sacrifice to
Pomona."

[The following lines were obtained from this district, and
probably form another version of the song above given, —

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30 TWELFTH DAT.

** Apple-tree, apple-4Ke,
Bear apples for me :
Hats fiill, laps full,
Sacks faU, caps full :
Apple-tree, apple-tree,
Bear apples for me."]

This seemB to have been done in Bome places upon CJhrist-
mas Eve ; for in Herrick's Hesperides, p. 31 1, I find the fol-
lowing among the Christmas Eve ceremonies : —
** Wassaile the trees, that they may beare
You many a plum and many a peare ;
For more or lesse fruits they will bring,
As you do give them wassailing.*'

The same is done in Herefordshire, under the name of
Wassailing, as follows : At the approach of the evening on
the vigil of the Twelfth Day, the farmers, with their friends
and servants, meet together, and about six o'clock walk out
to a field where wheat is growing. In the highest part of the
ground, twelve small fires, and one large one, are lighted up.
The attendants, headed by the master of the family, pledge
the company in old cider, which circuhites freely on these
occasions. A circle is formed round the lai^e fire, when a
general shout and hallooing takes place, which you hear
answered from all the adjacent villages and fields. Some-
times fifty or sixty of these fires may be aU seen at once.
This being finished, the company return home, where the
good housewife and her maids are preparing a good supper.
A large cake is always provided, with a hole in the middle.
After supper, the company all attend the baili£f (or head of
the oxen) to the wain-house, where the following particulars
are observed : The master, at the head of his friends, fills the
cup (generally of strong ale), and stands opposite the first
or finest of the oxen. He then pledges him in a curious
toast : the company follow his example, with all the other
oxen, and addressing each by his name. This being finished,
the large cake is produced, and, with much ceremony, put
on the horn of the first ox, through the hole above-men-
tioned. The ox is then tickled, to make him toss his head :
if he throw the cake behind, then it is the mistress's perqui-
site ; if before (in what is termed the boosy), the bailiff him-
self claims the prize. The company then return to the
house, the doors of which they find locked, nor will they be

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TWELFTH DAY. 31

opened till some joyous soDgs are sung. On their gaining
admittance, a scene of mirth and jollity ensues, which lasu
the greatest part of the night. — Gent. Mag. Feb. 1791.

Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland, giving an account
of this custom, says, *' that after they have drank a chearful
glass to their master's health, success to the future harvest,
&c., then returning home, they feast on cakea made of car-
raways, &c., soaked in cyder, which they claim as a reward
for their past labours in sowing the grain. This," lie ob«
serves, '* seems to resemble a custom of the ancient Danes,
who, in their addresses to their rural deities, emptied on
every invocation a cup in honour of them.'*

In the 6entleman*s Magazine for February, 1784, p. 98,
Mr. Beckwith tells us that *' near Leeds, in Yorkshire, when
he was a boy, it was customary for many families, on the
Twelfth £ve of Christmas, to invite their relations, friends,
and neighbours to their houses, to play at cards, and to
partake of a supper, of which minced pies were an indispen-
sable ingredient : and after supper was brought in, the Was-
sail Cup or Wassail Bowl, of which every one partook, by
taking with a spoon, out of the ale, a roasted apple, and eat-
ing it, and then drinking the healths of the company out of
the bowl, wishing them a merry Christmas and a happy new
year. (The festival of Christmas used in this part of the
country to hold for twenty days, and some persons extended
it to Candlemas.) The ingredients put into the bowl, viz.,
ale, sugar, nutmeg, and roasted apples, were usually called
Lambi Wool, and the night on which it used to be drunk
(generally on the Twelfth £ve) was commonly called WoMoil
Eve.** This custom is now disused.

A Nottinghamshire correspondent (ibid.) says, '*that
when he was a schoolboy, the practice on Christmas Eve
was to roast apples on a string till they dropt into a large
bowl of spiced ale, which is the whole composition of Lambs*
Wool" It is probable that from the softness of this popular
beverage it has gotten the above name. See Shakespeare's
Midsummer Night*s Dream, —

** Sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl,

In very likeness of a roasted crab ;

And when she drinks, against her lips I bob.

And on her withered dew-lap pour the ale."

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32 TWELFTH DAY.

In Vox Graculi, 4to. ]623» p. 52, Bpeaking of the
sixth of January, the writer teUs us, " This day, about the
houres of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 ; yea, in some pbices till
midnight well nigh, will be such a massacre of spice-bread,
that, ere the next day at noone, a two-penny browne loafe
. will set twenty poore folkes teeth on edge. Which hungry
humour will hold so violent, that a numW of good fellowes
will not refuse to give a statute marchant of idl the lands and
goods they enjoy, for hatfe-a-crowne's worth of two-penny
pasties. On this night much masking in the Strand, Cheap-
side, Holbume, or Fleet-street."

Waldron, in his Description of the Isle of Man (Works, p.
155), says, ''There is not a barn unoccupied the whole twelve
days, every parish hiring fiddlers at the public charge. On
Twelfth Day the fiddler lays his head in some one of the
wenches' laps, and a third person asks who such a nudd or
such a maid shall marry, naming the girls then present one
after another ; to which he answers according to his own
whim, or agreeable to the intimacies he has taken notice of
during this time of merriment. But whatever he says is aa
absolutely depended on as an oracle ; and if he happen to
couple two people who have an aversion to each other, tears
and vexation succeed the mirth. This they call cutting off
the fiddler's head ; for after this he is dead for the whole
year."

In a curious collection, entitled Wit a sporting in a pleasant
Grove of New Fancies, by H. B. 8vo. Lond. 1657, p. 80, I
find the following description of the pleasantries of what is
there called —

St, DUtaJ^s Dayy or the Morrow after Twelfth-Bay.

" Partly worke and partly play,
You must on St. DistafTs Day :
From the plough soon free your teame ;
Then come home and fother them :
If the maides a spinning goe,
Burne the flax ami fire the tow ;
Scorch tlieir plackets, but beware
That ye singe no maiden haiie.
firing in pales of water then,
Let the maids bewash the men.

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TWELFTH DAI. 33

^Te St. Dittaff all the right :
Then give Christmat-sport good night.
And next moirow erery one
To his owne vocation."*

[In the parish of Pauntley, a village on the borders of the
county of Gloucester, next Worcestershire, and in the neigh-
bourhood, a custom prevails, which is intended to prevent the
smut in wheat. On the eve of Twelfth-day, all the servants
of every farmer assemble together in one of the fields that
has been sown with wheat. At the end of twctlve lands, they
make twelve fires in a row with straw, around one of whicb,
made lai^r than the rest, they drink a cheerful glass of cider
to their master's health, and success to the future harvest ;
then, returning home, they feast on cakes soaked in cider,
which they claim as a reward for their past labours in sowing
the grain.]

It may rather seem to belong to religious than popular
customs to mention, on the authority of the Gentleman's
Magazine for January, 1731, p. 25, that at the Chapel-Royal
at St. James's, on Twelfth Day that year, '* the king and the
prince made the offerings at the altar of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh, according to custom. At night their majesties,
&c., pLsyed at hazard for the benefit of the groom-porter."

Feb. 18, 1839^ Edward Hawkins, Esq., of the British
Museum, showed to the editor (Sir Henry Ellis) a silver
token or substitute for money, marked to the amount of ten
pounds, which appears to have passed among the players for
the groom-porter's benefit at Basset. It is within the size of
a half-crown, one inch and a half in diameter. In the centre

of the obverse within an inner circle is ^ : Legend round,

AT . THE . GBOOM . PORTEBS . BA8SETT. Mint-mark, a fleur-de-
lis. On the reverse, a wreath issuing from the sides of, and
surmounting, a gold coronet : the coronet being of gold let in.
Le^nd, nothing . ventubd . nothing . winns. Mint-mark,
again, a fleur-de-lis. Brand HoUis had one of these pieces.
They are of very rare occurrence.

The groom-porter was formerly a distinct officer in the
lord-steward's department of the royal household. His

* This is also in Herrick's Hesperides, p. 374.

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34 ST. AGNBS'S DAY, OB EVE.

business was to see the king's lodgings famished with tables,
chairs, stools, and firing ; as also to provide cards, dice, &c.,
and to decide disputes arising at cards, dice, bowling, &c.
From allusions in some of Ben Jonson's and of Chapman's
plays, it appears that he was allowed to keep an open gamb-
ling table at Christmas ; and it is mentioned as still existing
in one of Lady Mary Montague's eclogues : —

** At the ffroom-porteri batter'd bullies play."

TkuTiday, Eel iv. Dodsley's CoUect. i. 107.

This abuse was removed in the reign of George III. ; bat
Bray, in his Account of the Lord of Misrule, in Archeeo-
logia, xviii. 317, says, Greorge L and IL played hazard in
public on certain days, attended by the groom-porter. The
appellation, however, is still kept np : the names of three
groom-porters occurring among the inferior servants in the
present enumeration of her Majesty's household.

ST. AGNES'S DAY, or EVE.

Januaey 21.

St. Aones was a Roman virgin and mart^, who sofTered in
the tenth persecution under the Emperor Dioclesian, a.d. 306.
She was condemned to be debauched in the public stews be-
fore her execution, but her virginity was miraculously pre-
served by lightning and thunder from heaven. About eight
days after her execution, her parents, going to lament
and pray at her tomb, saw a vision of angels, among whom
was their daughter, and a lamb standing by her as white
as snow, on which account it is that in every graphic repre-
sentation of her there is a lamb pictured by her side.

On the eve of her day many kinds of divination were prac-
tised by virgins to discover their future husbands. [Dreams
were the most ordinary media for making the desired discovery,
and many allusions to the belief may be traced even in late
works. The following notice of it occors in Poor Robin's
Almanack for 1734: —

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ST. AONES'S DAY OB EYE. 35

** Saint Agnes Day comes by and by,
When pretty maids do fast to try
Their sweethearts in their dreams to see,
Or know who shall their husbands be.
Bat some when married all is ore,
And they desire to dream no more,
Or, if they must have these extreams,
Wish all their sufferings were but dreams."

And in the same periodical for theprevions year, 1733, we
haYe a similar account : —

" Tho' Christmas pleasure now is gone,
St. Agnes' Fast is coming on ;
When maids who fain would married be.
Do fast their sweethearts for to see.
This year it has come so about,
That Sunday shoves St. Agnes out :
But lovers who would fortunes tell.
May find her here, and that's as welL"]

This is called fafiting St. Agnes's Fast. The following Unes
of Ben Jonson allude to this : —

And on sweet St. Anna's night
Please you with the promis'd sight,
Some of husbands, some of lovers,
Which an empty dream discovers.

Aubrey, in his MiscellanieSi p. 136, directs that, " Upon
St. Agnes' 8 Night, you take a row of pins, and pull out every
one, one after another, saying a paternoster, sticking a pin in
your sleeye, and you will dream of him or her you shall
marry."* ;

Barton, in his Anatomy of Melancholy (ed. 1660, p. 538),
speaks of Maids /aating on St. Agues* s Eve, to know who
shall be their first husband. In Cupid's Whirligig, 1616,
iii. 1, Pag says, " I could find in my heart to pray nine times

> I find the subsequent curious passage concerning St. Agnes, in
the Portiforium sen Breviarium Ecclesiae Sarisburiensis, foL Par. 1556.
Pars. Hyemalis : " Cumque interrogasset praeses quis esset sponsus de
eigus se Agnes potestate gloriabatur, exstitit quidam ex parasitis qui
dioeret hanc Christianam esse ab infantia, et magieU artibus ita oeag^atam,
nt dicatnr sponsum suum Christum esse. R. Jam corpus ejus corpori
meo sodatum est, et sanguis ejus omavit genas meas. C^jus mater Virgo
ert, cujus pater feminam nescit. Ipsi sum desponsata cui angeli serviunt,
cojns puldiritudinem Sol et Lnna mirantur, cujus mater ^irgo.''

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36 8AJNT AONES'S DAT OE BTX,

to the moone, and fast three St. Agnes's Eres, so that I might
bee sure to have him to my husband."*

The following is the account of this festival, as preserved
in the Translation of Naogeorgus, f. 46 :

^ Then commes in place St. Agnes' Day, which here in Germanie
Is not so much esteemde nor kept with such solemnitie :
Bat in the Popish Court it standes in passing hie degree,
As spring and head of wondrous gaine, and great commoditee*
For in St. Agnes' church upon this day while masse they sing.
Two lambes as white as snowe the nonnes do yearely use to bring :
And when the Agnus chauntedis upon the aulter hie,
(For in this thing there hidden is a solemne mysterie)
They offer them. The servants of the pope, when this is done,
Do put them into pasture good till shearing time be come.
Then other wooll they mingle with these holy fleeces twaine,
Wherof, being sponne and drest, are made the pals of passing
gaine."

A passage not unsimiiar occurs in The Present State of
the Manners, &c. of France and Italy — ^in Poetical Epistles to
Robert Jephson, Esq., 8vo. Lond. 1794, from Borne, Febru-
ary, 14, 1793, p. 58.

St. AgneB^B Shrine,

" Where each pretty JSo-lamb most gayly appears.
With ribands stuck round on its tail and its ears ;
On gold fringed cushions they're stretch 'd out to eat.
And piously ba, and to church-musick bleat ;
Yet to me they seem'd crying — alack, and alas !
What's all this white damask to daisies and grass !
Then they're brought to the pope, and with transport

they're kissM,
And receive consecration from Sanctity's fist :
To chaste nuns he consigns them, instead of their dams,
And orders the friars to keep them from rams."

* [" There are two remarkable days this month, and both on the getting
hand, which our customers like best. There is St. Agnes's Fast, for the
maids to get sweethearts, which happens the twenty-first day ; and Term
begins on the twenty-third day, for the lawyers to get money, but it is with
a difference, and the lawyers in this, as indeed in most other cases, have
the advantage. The maids, if they do undergo the mortification of fasting,
expect nothing but a dream for their labour ; only if they dream of the
man that afterwards they are married to, it makes amends. But the
lawyer is not buoy'd up with dreams, for he is awake, and will have the
money, ipso facto^ before he speaks ; and if the client lose both <
and money, it will make him awake too."— Poor Robing 1733.]

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ST. AGNES' DAT OR XVE. 37

[The present raral address to the saint, as still heard in
Dorham, is as follows :—

** Fur Saint Agnes, play thy part,
And send to m« my own iweetiieart,
Not in hia beat nor worst anray,
But in the clothes he wears every day ;
That to-moiTow I may him ken.
From among all other men."

A enrious old chap-book, called Mother Bunch's Closet
newly Broke Open, has seyeral notices of the St. Agnes divinsr
tion : — " On that day thou most be sure that no man salute
thee, nor kiss thee ; I mean neither man, woman, nor child,
must kiss thy lips on that day ; and then, at night, before
thou goest into thy bed, thou must be sure to put on a clean
shift, and the best thou hast, then the better thou mayst
speed. And when thou hest down, lay thy right hand under
thy head, saying these words. Now the god of Love send me
my desire; make sure to sleep as soon as thou canst, and
thou shalt be sure to dream of him who shall be thy husband,
and see him stand before thee, and thou wilt take great* no-
tice of him and his complexion, and, if he offers to salute thee,
do not deny him." And again, in the same tract, " There is,
in January, a day called Saint Agnes' Day. It is always the
one and twentieth of that month. This Saint Agnes had a
great favour for young men and maids, and will bring unto
their bedside, at night, their sweethearts, if they follow this
rule as I shall declare unto thee. Upon this day thou must
be sure to keep a true fast, for thou must not eat or drink all
that day, nor at night ; neither let any man, woman, or child
kiss thee that day ; and thou must be sure, at night, when
thou goest to bed, to put on a clean shift, and the best thou
hist the better thou mayst speed ; and thou must have clean
doaths on thy head, for St. Agnes does loye to see dean
doaths when she comes ; and when thou liest down on thy
back as streight as thou canst, and both thy hands are laid
ondemeath thy head, then say, —

Now, good St Agnes, play thy part,
And send to me my own sweetheart,
And shew me such a happy bliss,
This night of him to have a kiss.

And then be sure to fall asleep as soon as thou canst, and

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38 ST. Vincent's day.

before thou awakest out of thj first sleep thou sbalt see him
come and stand before thee, and thou shalt perceive by hiB
habit what tradesman he is ; but be sure thou dechirest -not
thy dream to anybody in ten days, and by that time thoa
mayst come to see thy dream come to pass.'

Mr. Hone has preserved a curious charm for the agae,
which is said to be only efficacious on St. Agnes's Eve. it is
to be said up the chimney by the eldest feniale in the family :

** Tremble and go !
First day shiver and bam
Tremble and quake !
Second day shiver and learn ;
Tremble and die I
Third day never return."]

ST. VINCENT'S DAY.

Januaby 22.

Mb. Douce's manuscript notes say, " Vincenti festo si Sol
radiet memor esto;" thus Englished by Abraham Flendng :

^ Remember on St. Vincent's Day,
If that the sun his beams display/'

Scott't Dulbot, of Witchcraft, b. xi. c. 15.

[Dr. Foster is at a loss to account for the origin of the
command ; but he thinks it may have been derived from a
notion that the sun would not shine unominously on the day
on which the saint was burnt.]

y Google

ST. PAUL'S DAY.

January 25.

I DO not find that any one has even hazarded a conjecture
why prognostications of the weather, &c., for the whole year,
are to be drawn from the appearance of this day.>

Lloyd, in his Diall of Daies, observes on St. Paul's, that
" of this day the husbandmen prognosticate the whole year :
•if it be a fair day, it will be a pleasant year ; if it be windy,
there will be wars ; if it be cloudy, it doth foreshow the
plague that year." In the ancient calendar quoted below,' I
find an observation on the thirteenth of December, " That on
this day prognostications of the months were drawn for the
whole year." — " Prognostica mensium per totum annum."

In the Shepherd's Almanack for 1676, among the ob-
servations on the month of January we find the following :
** Some say that, if on the 12th of January the sun shines,
it foreshows much wind. Others predict by St. Paul's Day ;
saying, if the sun shine, it betokens a good year ; if it rain or
snow, indifierent ; if misty, it predicts great dearth ; if it
thunder, great winds and death of people that year."*

Hospinian, also, tells us that it Ib a critical day with the
vulgar, indicating, if it be clear, abundance of fruits ; if windy,
foretelling wars ; if cloudy, the pestilence ; if rainy or snowy,
it prognosticates deamess and scarcity : according to the old
Liain yerses, thus translated in Bourne's Antiquities of the
Common People :

1 In an ancient calendar of the Chnrch of Rome, which will fireqnently
be quoted in the course of this work, it is caUed Diei Egyptiaem.

* [This cnrioas calen daralso contains the following very singular notice
for the 24th of January, the vigil of St Paul's Day, Viricumuxoribut
wmeubmU.']

' Thomas Lodge, in his most rare work, entitled ' Wit's Miserie, and
the World's Madnesse, discovering the Devils Incamat of this Age/ 4to.
Lond. 1596, glances in the following quaint manner at the superstitions
of this and St. Peter's Day, p. 12, " And by S. Peter and S. Paule the
fool rideth him."

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40 ST. Paul's day.

** If St. Paul's Day be fair and dear,
It doth betide a happy year ;
If blustering winds do blow aloft,
Then wars will trouble our realm full oft;
And if it chance to snow or rain,
Then wiU be dear all sorts of grain.''

The Latin is given differently in Heame*8 edition of Robert
of ATesboiT's History of Edward III., p. 266 :

** Clara dies Pauli bona tempora denotat anni
Si nix Td pluvia, designat tempora cara.
Se fiant nebulae, morientur bestia qusque.
Se fiant venti, pneliabunt praelia genti."*

Thus translated (ibid.) under the title of '' The Saying of
Erra Pater to the Hosbandnum :"

** If the day of St. Paule be cleere.
Then shall betide an happie yeere :
If it doe chaunce to snow or raine.
Then shall bee deare all kinde of graine.
But if the winde then bee alofte,
Warres shall vex this reahne full oft :
And if the doudes make dark the skie.
Both neate and fowle this yeare shall die."*

' And in a MS. Register of Spalding, transcribed in Cole's MSS., vol.
44, Brit. Mas.

" Clara dies Pauli bona tempora denotat anni ;
Si nix, vel pluvia, designat tempora chara;
Si fiant venti, designat pnelia genti ;
Si fiant nebulae, periant animalia quaeque."

* Among Bagford's fragments of books preserved with the Harieian
MSS. in the British Museum, No. 5937, are several pieces of an almanack
in French, printed at Basle, in 1672. These lines occur in one upon St.
Paul's Day :

** De Sainct Paul la claire joum^
Nous denote une bonne ann^e ;
S'il fait vent, nous aurons la guerre,
S'il ndge on pleut, cherts snr terre,
S'on voit fort epais les bionillars,
Mortality de toutes pars.
S'il y a beaucoup d'eau en ce moia,
Cet an pen de vin croutre tn voia."

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ST. Paul's day. 41

Wilkford, in his Nature's Secrets, p. 145, tdls us, << Some
observe the 25th day of January, celebrated for the conversion
of St. Paul ; if fair and clear, plenty ; if cloudy or misty,
much cattle will die : if rain or snow i^U that day, it pre-
sages a dearth ; and if windy, wnrs ; as old wives do dream."
He gives the verses as follow : —

" If St. Paul's Day be fair and clear,
It does betide a happy year ;
But if it chance to snow or rain.
Then will be dear all kind of grain :
If clouds or mists do dark the skie.
Great store of birds and beasts shall die ;
And if the winds do fiy alofti
Then wars shall vex the kingdome oft.''

He farther informs us, that " Others observe the twelve
days of Christmas, to foreshow the weather in all the twelve
succeeding moneths respectively.'' A pleasant writer in the
World, No. 10 ^I believe the late Lord Orford), speaking on
the alteration or the style, observes, " Who that hears the
following verses, but must grieve for the shepherd and hus-
bandman, who may have all their prognostics confounded, and
be at a loss to know beforehand the fate of their markets ?
Antient sages sung —

" « If St Paul be fair and clear,' &c."

Bishop Hall, in his Characters of Virtues and Vices, speak-
ing of the superstitious man, observes that " Saint Paules
Day and Saint Swithines, with the Twelve, are his oracles,
which he dares believe against the almanacke." The prog-
nostications on St. Paul's Day are thus elegantly modernized
l>y Gay, in his Trivia : —

" All superstition from thy breast repel,
Let cred'lous boys and prattling nurses tell
How, if the Festival of Paul be clear,
Plenty from lib'ral horn shall straw the year ;
When the dark skies dissolve in snow or rain.
The lab'ring hind shaU yoke the steer in vain
But if the threat'ning winds in tempests roar.
Then war shall bathe her wasteful sword in gore."

He concludes.

' Let no such vulgar tales debase thy nund.
Nor Paul nor Swithin rule the clouds and wind."

yGoogk

42 ST. Paul's day.

[The following notices are taken from the Book of Know-
edge, 1703: — "if, on New Year's Day, the clouds in the
morning he red, it shall he an angry year, with much war and
great tempests. If the sim shine on the 22nd of January,
there shall he much wind. If it shine on St. Paul's Day, it
shall he a fruitful year ; and if it rain and snow, it shall be
between both. If it be very misty, it betokeneth great
dearth. If it thunder that day, it betokeneth great winds,
and great death, especially amongst rich men, that year."]

Schenkius, in his treatise on Images, chap, xiii., says, it is
a custom in many parts of Germany to drag the images of
St. Paul and St. Urban to the river, if, on the day of their
feast, it happens to be foul weather. Bourne observes, upon
St. Paul's Day, " How it came to have this particular knack
of foretelling the good or ill fortune of the following year, is
no easy matter to find out. The monks, who were un-
doubtedly the first who made this wonderful observation, have
taken care it should be handed down to posterity, but why or
for what reason this observation was to stand good they have
taken care to conceal. St. Paul did indeed labour more
abundantly than all the apostles ; but never, that I heard, in
the science of astrology. And why his day should therefore
be a standing almanadc to the world rather than the day of
any other saint will be pretty hard to find out."'

> *' [Clara dies Pauli boniiatem denotat anni ;
Si fiierint venti, crudelia praelia genti ;
Quando sunt nebulae, pereunt animalia quseque ;
Si nix aut plavia sit, tunc fiunt omnia chara.
Fevrier de tons les mois,
Le plus court et moins courtois.

En Mars me lie, en Mars me taille,

Je rends prou quand on m'y travaiUe."— ^fS. HarL 4043.]

yGoogk

CANDLEMAS DAY.

Febeuaet 2.
THE PURfflCATION OP THE VIRGIN MARY.

This is called in the north of England the Wiyes' Feast
Day. The name of Candlemas is evidently derived from the
lights which were then distributed and carried about in pro-
cession.^

In the first volume of Proclamations, &c., folio, remaining
in the Archives of the Society of Antiquaries of London, is
preserved, p. 138, an original one, printed in black letter,
and dated 26th February, 30 Hen. VlIL, *' concemyng rites
and ceremonies to be used in due fourme in the Churche of
Englande," in which we read as follows : — " On Candelmas
Daye it shall be declared that the bearynge of candels is done
in the memorie of Christe, the spirituall lyghte, when Simeon
dyd prophecy e, as it is redde in the churche that daye."
The same had been declared by a decree of Convocation.
See Fuller's Church History, p. 222.

In Herbert's Country Parson, 12mo. Lond. 1675> third
impression, p. 157^ he tells us, "Another old custom (he had
been speaking of processions) there is, of saying, when light
is bsought in, God sends us the light of Heaven ; and the
parson likes this very well. Light is a great blessing, and as
great as food, for which we give thanks: and those that
Qiink this superstitious, neither know superstition nor them-
selves." This appears to be at this time totally forgotten.
In the ancient calendar of the Bomish Church, before cited,

> Mr. Douce's MS. Notes say, " This feast is called by the Greeki
oirairavra, which signifies a meeting, because Simeon and Anna the
prophetess met in the temple at the presentation of our Saviour.''
L'Estrange's Alliances of Divine Offices, p. 147. See Luke ii.— At the
celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi, at Aix, in Provence, there is a
procession of Saints, among whom St. Simeon is represented with a mitre
and cap, carrying in his left hand a basket of eggs. Hist, de la FSte
Dien, p. 100. '* To beare their candels soberly, and to offer them to the
saintes, not of God's makynge, but the carvers and paynters," is men-
tioned among the Roman Catholic customs censured by John Bale in his
' Declaration of Bonner's Articles,' 1554, signat. d. 4 b ; as is ibid., fol.
18 b. ** to conjure candels."

y Google

44 CANDLEMAS DAY.

I find the Bubsequent observations on the 2d of February,
usually called Candlemas Day : —

** Torches are consecnted.
Torches are giyen away for many days."

Pope SergiuB, says Bacon, in his Beliques of Rome, fol.
164, "commanded that all the people should go on proces-
sion upon Candlemass Day, and carry candels about with
them brenning in their hands in the year of our Lord 684."
How this candle-bearing on Candlemas Day came first up,
the author of our English Festival declareth in this manner c
" Somtyme," saith he, " when thp Romaines by great myght
and royal power conquered all the world, they were so
proude, that they forgat God, and made them (JUvers gods
after their own lust. And so among all they had a god that
they called Mars, that had been tofore a notable knight in
battayle ^ and so they prayed to hym for help, and for that
they would speed the better of this knight, the people prayed
and did great worship to his mother, i£at was called Februa,
after which woman much people have opinion that the
moneth February is called. Wherefore the second dale of
thys moneth is Candlemass Day. The Romaines this night
went about the city of Rome with torches and candles
brenning in worship of this woman Februa, for hope to have
the more helpe and succoure of her sonue Mars. Then there
was a Pope that was called Sergius, and when he saw Chris-
tian people drawn to this false maumetry^ and untrue belief,
he thought to undo this foule use and custom, and turn it
unto 6od*s worship and our Lady's, and gave commandment
that all Christian people should come to church and ofier up
a candle brennyng, in the worship that they did to this
woman Februa, and do worship to our Lady and to her
Sonne our Lord Jesus Christ. So that now this feast is
solemnly haUowed thorowe all Christendome. And every
Christian man and woman of covenable age is bound to
come to church and offer up their candles, as though they
were bodily with our Lady, hopyng for this reverence and
worship, that they do to our Ladye, to have a great rewarde
in heaven," &c.

1 Idolatry. Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 545.

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CANBLBMAS DAT. 45

The FestyvBll adds^ " A candell is made of weke and weze ;
80 was Crystes soule hyd within the manhode : also the fyre
betokeneth the Godhede : also it betokeneth cor Laydes
moderhede and maydenhede, lyght with the fyre of love I"
In Danstan's Concord of Monastic Roles it is directed that,
on the Purification of the Virgin Mary, the monks shall go
in surplices to the church /or candles, which shall be eon-
seeratedy sprinkled with holy water, and censed by the Abbot,
Let every monk take a candle from the Sacrist, and light it.
Let a procession be made. Thirds and Mass be celebrated, and
the candles, after the offering, be offered to the priest.'* See
Fosbroke's British Monachism, i. 28. A note adds : '' Candle-
mas Day. The candles at the Purification were an exchange
for the lustration of the Pagans, and candles were used from
the parable of the wise virgins." (Alcuinus de Divinis
Officiis, p. 231.)

It was anciently a custom for women in England to bear
lights when they were churched, as appears from the follow-
ing royal bon mot. William the Conqueror, by reason of
sickness, kept his chamber a long time, whereat the French
King, scoffing, said, " The King of England lyeth long in
child-bed ;" which when it was reported unto King WilJ^tun,
he answered, " When I am churched, there shaU be a
thousand lights in France;" (alluding to the lights that
women used to bear when they were churched :) and that he
performed within a few daies after, wasting the French ter-
ritories with fire and sword. ^

In a most rare book entitled The Bumynge of Panics
Church in London, 1561, and the 4 day of June, by Lyght-
Dyi^gCj &c. 8vo. Lond. 1563, we read, "In Flaunders everye
Saturdaye betwixt Christmas and Candlemas they eate fiesh
for joy, and have pardon for it, because our Layde laye so
long in child-bedde say they. We here may not eat so : the
Pope is not so good to us ; yet surely it were a good reason
that we should eat fleshe with them all that whQe that our
Lady lay in child-bed, as that we shuld bear our eandel at her
ehurchinge at Candlemas with theym as they doe. It is sel-
dome sene that men ofier candels at women's churchinges,
aavinge at our Ladies : but reason it is that she have some

> Camden's Remains, edit. 8vo. Lond. 1674, p. 318.

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46 CANDLEMAS DAY.

preferement, if the Pope would be bo good maister to us as
CO let as eat flesbe with theym.'*

In Ly sons' Environs of London, i. 310, among his
carious extracts from the churchwardens' accounts at Lam-
beth, I find the following:— '' 1519. Paid for Smoke
Money at Seynt Mary's Eve, 0. 2. 6." This occurs again in
1521.— "Paid by my Lord of Winchester's scribe for
Smoke Money, 0. 2. 6."

The following is Bamabe Googe's Translation of Naogeor-
gus, in the Popish Kingdome, f. 47 : —

" Then comes the day wherein the Virgin offered Christ ante
The Father chiefe, as Moyses law commanded hir to do.
Then numbers great of iiqten large both men and women beare
To church, being halowed there withpongi>, and dreadful words to beare.
This done, eche man his candell lightes where chiefest seemeth hee.
Whose taper greatest may be seene, and fortunate to bee ;
Whose candell bumeth deare and brighti a wondrous force and might
Doth in these candels lie, which if at any time they light.
They sure Iteleve that neyther storme or tensest dare abide,
Nor thunder in the ekiee be heard, nor any deoiTe spide,
NorfearefkUle epritet that waUee by night, nor hurts qf frost or haiie"

We read in Wodde's Dialogue, cited more particularly
under Palm Sunday, *' Wherefore terveth holye candeU ?
(Nicholas). To light up in thunder, arid to bleue men when
they lye a dying "^ Thomas Legh, in a letter to Lord
Cromwell, of the time of Henry VIIL (MS. Cotton. Nero,
b. iii. f. 115), finishes, "Valete Hamburgise in fasto Purifi-
cationis Beatee Marise quo Candelas accensas non yidebam,
satis tamen clara dies."

In some of the ancient illuminated Calendars a woman
holding a taper in each hand is represented in the month of
February. In the Doctrine of the Masse Booke, &c.
from Wyttonburge by Nicholas Dorcaster, 1554, 8yo. we
find—

** I%e Hallowing of Candles upon Candlemas Bay**

The Prayer. — **0 Lord Jesu Christ, I-blesse thou this
creature of a waxen taper at our humble suppUcation, and by
the vertue of the holy crosse, pour thou into it an heavenly

I See on this subject Dupr^'s ' Conformity between Ancient and
Modern Ceremonies,' p. 96, and Stopford's ' Pagano-Papismus/ p. 238.

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OAMI$L£MAS DAY. 47

benediction ; that as thou hast graunted it unto man's use for
the expelling of darkness^ it may receaVe such a strength and
blessing, thorow the token of the holy crosse, that in what
plcieet soever it he lighted or set, the Devil may avoid out of
those hahitadoTis, and tremble for feare, and fiy away dis-
couraged, and presume no more to unquiet them that serve
thee, who with God,** &c. Then follow other prayers, in
vhich occur these passages : " We humhiy beseech thee, that
thou wilt vouchsafe + to blesse and sanctify these candels
prepared unto the uses of men, and health of bodies and
eotdes, as wel on the land as in the waters** "Vouchsafe
+ to blesse and H- sanctifye, and with the candle of heavenly
benediction, to lighten these tapers ; which we thy servants
taking in the honour of thy name (when they are lighted) de-
sire to beare,'* &c. " Here let the candles be sprinkled with
holy water." Concluding with this ruhnc^Li — " TFhen the
halowyng of the candels is done, let the candels be lighted and
distributed.**

In Bishop Bonner's Inj auctions, a.d. 1555, printed that
year by John Cawood, 4to. we read, "that bearyng of candels
on Candelmasse Daie is doone in the memorie of oar Saviour
Jesu Christe, the spirituall lyght, of whom Sainct Symeon
dyd prophecie, as it is redde in the church that day." The
ceremony, however, had been previously forbidden in the
metropolis : for in Stowe's Chronicle, edited by Howes, ed.
1631, p. 595, we find, "On the second of February, 1547-8,
being the Feast of the Purification of our Lady, commonly
CandUemasse Day, the bearing of candles in the church was
left off" throughout the whole citie of London."

At the end of a curious sermon, entitled " the Vanitie and
Downefall of the superstitious Popish Ceremonies, preached
in the Cathedral Church of Durham, by one Peter Smart, a
Prebend there, July 27, 1628," Edinb. 1628, I find, in "a
briefe but true historicall narration of some notorious acts
and speeches of Mr. John Cosens," (Bishop of Durham,) the
following : " Fourthly, on Candlemass Day last past, Mr.
Cosens, in renuing that Popish ceremonie of burning candles,
to the honour of our Ladye, busied himself from two of the
docke in the afternoone till foure, in dimbing long ladders
to stick up wax candles in the said cathedral church : the
number of all the candles burnt that evening was two hun-

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4 8 CANDLEMAS DAY.

dred and twenty, besides sixteen . torches : sixty of those
burning tapers and torches standing upon and near the high
altar (as he calls it,) where no man came nigh."

In Nichols's Churchwardens' Accompts, 1797, p. 270, in
those of St. Martb Outwich, London, under the year 1510,
is the following article : " Paid to Randolf Merchaunt, wex-
chandiler, for the Pascall, the Tapers affore the Rode, the
Cross Candelles, and Judas CandeUes, ix* iiij*.'* In the
churchwardens' accounts of the parish of Alhallows Staining,
mention of these frequently occurs. " Item : paid to William
Bruce, peyntur, the xiij. day of Aprill, for peyntjrng the
Judasis of the Paschall, and of the Rode^loft, xx'. Item : paid
the XX. day of Aprile to Thomas Arlome, joynour, for stuff
and workmanship, planyng, and settyng up the said Judasis
of the Paschall and the Bode-loft, and for the horde that
file Crucifix, Marie, and John standen in, iij' vj*." And ad-
verting to their dealings with William Symmys, wax chaun-
deller, the churchwardens observe, " Also he receyved of us
Churchwardens of the beame lighte in cleyr wax xlviij'*. be-
side the Judaces, Also receyrid of hym in tenable candylls
for the Judas and the Crosse Candyll on Ester evyn and the
paschall." Tenable is a misnomer for teneber or tenebree. ^
So in a subsequent entry, " for our sepulchre light, our pas-
chall and Judas candells called teneber candylls."

" There is a canon," says Bourne, in the Council of Tml-
lus, '' against those who baked a cake in honour of the
Virgin's lying-in, in which it is decreed that no such cere-
mony should be observed, because she suffered no pollution,
and therefore needed no purification." The purple-flowered
Lady's ThistUy the leaves of which are beautifully diver-
sified with numerous white spots, like drops of milk, is vul-
garly thought to have been originally marked by the falling
of some drops of the Virgin Mary's milk on it, whence, no
doubt, its name Lad't/s, \, e. Our Lady's Thistle, An inge-
nious little invention of the dark ages, and which, no doubt,
has been of service to the cause of superstition.*

' Teneble Wednesday is mentioned by Palsgrave, 1530. See further
in Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 858.

' Marry ^ a term of asseveration in common use, was originally, in
Popish times, a mode of swearing by the V'vr^n Mary ; q. d. by Mary

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CAKBLEMAS DAT. 49

At Ripoiiy in Torkshire> the Sunday before Candlemas
Day the collegiate chorch, a fine ancient building, is one con-
tinned blaze of light all the afternoon by an immense num-
ber of candles. See Gent. Mag. 1790, p. 719.

The following is from Herric^'s Hesperides, p. 337 : —

** Cerem&niet /or CandlemoM Eve"

** Down with the RoMmary and Bayes,
Down with the Misleto ;
Instead of Holly, now up-raise
The greener Box for show.

The Holly hitherto did sway,

Let Box now domineere
Until the dancing Easter Day

Or Easter's Eve appeaie.

Then youthful Box, which now hath grace

Your houses to renew.
Grown old, surrender must his place

Unto the crisped Yew.

"When Yew is out, then Birch comes in,

And many flowers heside ;
Both of a fresh and firagrant Idnne

To honour Whitsontide.

Green Rushes then, and sweetest Bents,

With cooler Oaken boughs.
Come in for comely ornaments,

To re-adorn the bouse.

Thus times do shift ; each thing his tume do's hold ;
New- things succeed, as former things grow old."

So again, p. 361 :—

" Down with the Rtmemaiy and so
Down with the Baiet and MUMoe :
Down with the H0U9, hie, aU
Wherewith ye dren the ChrUtnuu Hatt :
That so the superstitious find
No one least brtmeh there Uft behind :
For look how many leaves there be
Neglected there, (maids, trust to me)
So numy goblms yov shaU see"

So also Marrow'bones, for the knees. Ill bring him down upon bis
Marrow-bones, L e. FU make him bend his knees as he does to the
Ftfyni Mctry,

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CANDLEMAS BAT.

The subsequeDt ''Ceremonies for Candlemasae Da/' are
also mentioned in p. 337 : —

" Kindle the Chrutnuu hremdf and then
Till 8unne-set let it burne ;
Which quencht, then lay it up agen
Till Christmas next returne.

Part must be kept wherewith to teend^

The Christmas Log next yeare ;
And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend

Can do no mischiefe there."

Also in p. 338 :—

** End now the white lottfe and ihepye,
And let aU sports with Christmas dye"

"There is a general tradition" says Sir Thomas Browne,
" in most parts of Europe, that inferreth the coldness of suc-
ceeding winter from the shining of the sun on Candlemas
Day, according to the proverbiall distich : —

** Si Sol splendescat Maria purlficante,
Major erit glades post festum quam fiiit ante/'

In the Country Almanack for 1676, under February we
read,

" Fonl weather is no newsi hail, rain, and snow
Are now expected, and esteem'd no woe ;
Nay, tis an omen bad, the yeomen say,
If Phcebus shews his face the second day/'

The almanack printed at Basle in 1672, already quoted,
says,

" Selon les Anciens se dit :
Si le Soleil clairment luit,
A la Chandeleur yous verrez
Qu'encore un Hyver yous anrez :
Pourtant gardez bien votre foin,
Car il Tous sera de besoin :
Par cette reigle se gouveme
L'Ours, qui retoome en sa caveme.*'

Martin, in his description of the Western Islands, 1716, p.
119, mentions an ancient custom observed on the second of
February : " The mistress and servants of each family take
a sheaf of oats and dress it up in woman's apparel, put it in

> To light. See Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 855.

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ST. BLAZE'S DAT. 51

a lai^ basket, and lay a wooden clab by it, and this they call
Biiid'sBed; and then the mistress and servants cry three
times, Briid is come, Briid is welcome. This they do just
before going to bed, and when they rise in the morning they
look among the ashes, expecting to see the impression of
Bnid's dub there ; which if they do, they reckon it a true
presage of a good crop and prosperous year, and the contrary
they take as an ill omen.''

Bay, in his Collection of Proverbs, has preserved two re-
lating to this day. " On Candlemas Day, Uirow candle and
candle-stick away i" and " Sow or set beans on Candlemas
Waddle/' Somerset. In Somersetshire waddle means wane
of the moon. [Another proverb' on this day may also be
mentioned, —

** The hind had as lief see
His wife on a bier,
As that Candlemas Day
Should be pleasant and clear."

And it is a custom with old country people in Scotland to
prognosticate this weather of the coming season by the
adage, —

** If Candlemas is fair and clear,
There'll be twa winters in the year."] <

ST. BLAZE'S DAY.

Febbuary 3.

MiwsHEW, in his Dictionary, under the word Hocke-tide,
speaks of ''St. Blaze his day, about Candlemas, when
country women goe about and make good cheere, and if they

■ [The following lines are copied from an early MS. in Cole's MSS. toI.
44, Brit. Mns.^—

Imber si datur, Virgo dum purificatur,
Inde notatur quod hyemps abinde fugatur ;
Si sol det radium, frigus erit nimium.]

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52 ST. BLAZB's DAT.

find any of their neigbbonr vomen a spinning that day, they
burne and make a blaze of fire of the distaSe, and thereof
called S. Blaze his day." Dr. Percy, in his notes to the
Northumberland Household Book, p. 333, tells us, ''The
Anniversary of St. Blazius is the 3d of February, when it is
still the custom in many parts of England to light up fires
on the hills on St. Blayse night : a custom anciently taken up,
perhaps, for no better reason than the jingling resemblance of
his name to the word Blaze." ^

Reginald Scott, in his Discovery of Witchcraft, ed. 1665, p.
137, gives us a charm used in the Romish Church upon St.
Blaze's Day, that will fetch a thorn out of any place of one's
body, a bone out of the throat, &c., to wit, " Call upon Grod,
and remember St. Blaze." [An ancient receipt " for a stop-
page in the throat" was the following, — '* Hol& the diseased
party by the throat, and pronounce these words. Blaze, the
martyr and servant of Jesus Christ, commands thee to pass
up and down."]

The following is the account of Blaze in the Popish
Kingdome, f. 47: —

" Then foUoweth good Sir Blaze, who doth a waxen candell give,
And holy water to hia men, whereby they safely live.
I divers barreb oft have aeene, drawne out of water cleare.
Through one small blessed bone of this same Martyr heare :
And caryed thence to other townes and cities farre away,
Ech superstition doth require such earnest kinde of play.''

In The Costumes of Yorkshire, 4to., 1814, PI. 37, is a
representation of the wool-combers' jubilee on tbis day. The
writer, in illastration of it, says, ** Blaize or Blasius, the prin-
cipal personage in this festivity and procession, was bishop
of Sebasta in Armenia, and the patron saint of that country.
Several marvellous stories are related of him by Mede, in his
* Apostacy of the Latter Times,' but he need only be noticed
here as the reputed inventor of the art of combing wool. On

> I find the following in Da Gauge's Glossary, in voce Fettum S,
Blaaiu " Cur hac die Populus lumina pro domibus vel animalibua ae-
cendere soleret, atque adeo eleemosynos largiri docet Honorius Augustod.
Lib. ilL cap. 25." Hospinian, in his book De Orig. Festor. Christian. foL
43, speaking of St Blasius' Day, says, " In sacris ejus candela offertur;
T<7ugantur enim, viduam quandam pord roactati caput, pedes candelam et
panem BUsio in carcerem attulisse." These candles were said to be
good for the tooth-ache, and for diseased cattle.

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VALENTINE* 8 DAY. 53

thiA account the wool-combera have a jubilee on his festival,
the 3d of Febmary. The next principal character is Jason ;
but the story of the Golden Fleece is so well known that no
introduction can be necessary to the hero of that beautiful
allegory. The enterprising genius of Britain never ceases to
realize the fable by rewarding many a British Jason with a
golden fleece. The following is the order of this singular
procession, denominated £rom its principal character Bishop
Blaize :— The masters on horseback, with each a white sliver ;
the masters' sons on horseback ; their colours ; the ap-
prentices on horseback, in their uniforms ; music ; the king
and queen ; the royal family ; their guards and attendants ;
Jason ; the golden fleece ; attendants ; bishop and chaplain ;
their attendants; shepherd and shepherdess; shepherd's
swains, attendants, &c. ; foremen and wool-sorters on horse-
back ; combers' colours ; wool-combers, two and two, with
ornamented caps, wool-wigs, and various coloured slivers."
See a further account in Hone's Every Day Book, i. 210.

VALENTINE'S DAY.

FEfiBUART 14.

It is a ceremony, says Bourne, never omitted among the
vulgar, to draw lots, which they term Valentines, on the eve
before Valentine Day. The names of a select number of one
sex are, by an equal number of the other, put into some
vessel ; and after that every one draws a name, which, for the
present, is called their Valentine, and is looked upon as a good
omen of their being man and wife afterwards. He adds, there
is a rural tradition, that on this day every burd chooses its
mate, and concludes that perhaps the youthful part of the
world hath first practised this custom^ so common at this
season. This idea is thus expressed by Chaucer : —

" Nature, the Ticare of the Almightie Lord,
Thtt hote, colde,hevie, light, moist, and drie.
Hath knit b j even number of accord.
In eaiie voice began to spealc and say,
Foules, take heed of my sentence I pray.
And for yonr own ease in fordring of your need,
As fast as I may speak I wiU me speed.

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54 valentine's day.

Ye know well, how on St. Valentine's Day,
By my statute and through my goyemaunce,

Ye doe chese your makes, and after flie away
With hem as I prieke you with pleasaunce."

Shakespeare^ in his Midsummer Night's Dream, alludes to
the old saying, that birds begin to couple on St. Valentine's
Day:—

" St Valentine is past ;

Begin these wood-birds but to couple now ?''

I once thought this custom might have been the remains of
an ancient superstition in the Church of Rome on this day, of
choosing patrons for the ensuing year; and that, because
ghosts were thought to walk on the night of this day, or about
this time, and that gallantry had taken it up when supersti-
tion at the Reformation had been compelled to let it fall.*
Since that time I have found unquestionable authority to
show that the custom of choosing Valentines was a sport
practised in the hotises of the gentry of England as early aa
the year 1476. See a letter dated February 1446, in Fenn's
Paston Letters, ii. 211. Of this custom John Lydgate, the
monk of Bury, makes mention, as follows, in a poem written
by him in praise of Queen Catherine, consort to Henry V.
MS. Harl, 2251.

" Seynte Valentine, of custom yeere by yecre
Men have an usaunce in this regioun
To loke and serche Cupide's Kalendere,
And chose theyr choyse by grete affecdonn ;
Such as ben prike with Cupides mocioun,.
Takyng theyr choyse as theyr sort doth falle ;
But I love oon which excellith alle."

In the catalogue of the Poeticall Devises, &c., done by
the same poet, in print and MS., preserved at the end of
Speght's edition of Chaucer's works, fol. Lond. 1602, f. 376,
occurs one with the title of Chuging Loves on S. Valentine*9
Bay. " Lydgate," says Warton, " was not only the poet of
his monastery, but of the world in general. If a Diaguidng
was intended by the Company of Goldsmiths, a Mask before
his Majesty at Eltham, a Maygame for the Sheriffs and Alder-
men of London, a Mumming before the Lord Mayor, a Pro-
ceuion of Pageants from the Creation for the Festival of

I I find in the old Romish calendar, already cited, the following ob*
servation on the 14th of February : — ** Manes nocte vagaii creduntnr/

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valentine's DAT. 55

Corpus ChriBti, or a Carol /or the Coronatumt Lydgate was
consnlted, and gave the poetry." The above cataLogue men-
tions also, by Lydgate, '* a Disguinng before the Mayor of
London, by the Mercers ; a Disguising before the King in the
Castle of Hartford ; a Mumming before the King, at Eltham ;
a Mumming before the King, at Windsore ; and a ballad given
to Henry YL and his mother on New TeareU Day, at Hart-
ford/' Warton has also given a curious French Valentine,
composed by Gower. See a curious, but by no means satis-
&ctory, note upon this subject, by Monsieur Duchat, in the
quarto edition of Rabelais, i. 393. There is an account of the
manner in which St. Valentine's Day was anciently observed
in France, in Goujet, Biblioth^ue Fran^oise, ix. 266, together
with some poems composed by Charles Duke of Orleans, the
father of Lonis XIL, when prisoner in England, in honour of
that festival.

The following is one of the most elegant jeuz d'esprits on
this occasion that I have met with.

" To Dorinda, on Valentine's Day.

" Look how, my dear, the feather'd kind,
By mntual caresses joyn'd,
Bill, and seem to teach us two
What we to love and custom owe.

Shall only you and I forbear
To meet, and make a happy pair ?
Shall we alone delay to liye ?
This day an age of bliss may giive.

But ah ! when I the proffer make,
Still coyly you refuse to take
My heart I dedicate in vain.
The too mean present you disdain.

Tet, since the solemn time allows
To choose the object of our vows,
Boldlf I dare profess my flame,
Proud to be yours by any name."

Satyr9 of Boileau Imitated, 1696, p. 101.*

1 In the French Almanack of 1672, which has been before quoted, we
read, '* Dn 14 Fevrier, qui est le propre jour Sainct Valentin on souloit
dire,—

" Saigtt^dn jour Sainct Valentin
Faict du Sang net soir et matin :
Et la saignee du jotur devant
Garde de fievres eh tout Tan."

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56 valentine's day.

Herrick has the following in his Hesperides, p. 172 : —

" To his Valentine on S. Valentine's Day.

** Oft have I heard both youth and yirfpm say,
Birds diuse their mates, and couple too, this day.
But by their flight I never can divine
When I shall couple with my Valentine."

In Dudley Lord North's Forest of Varieties, 1645, p. 61» in
a letter to lus brother, he says, " jd lady of wit and qualitie,
whom you well know, would never put herself to the chance of
a Valentine^ saying that shee unnUd never couple herself e hut
by choyee. The customs and charge of Valentines is not ill
left, with many other such costly and idle customes, which by
a tacit generall consent wee lay downe as obsolete." In Ga-»
rolina, or Loyal Poems, by Thomas Shipman, p. 135, is a
copy of verses, entitled, "The Rescue, 1672. To Mrs. D.C.,
whose name being left after drawing ViUentines, and cast into
the fire, was snatcht out.*'

" I, like the angel, did aspire
Your Nitme to rescue from the Are.
My zeal succeeded for your namet
But I, alas 1 caught all the flame I
A meaner offering thus suflSc'd,
And Itaae was not sacrificed."

I have searched the legend of St. Valentine^ but think there
is no occurrence in his life that could have given rise to this
ceremony. Wheatley^ in his Illustration of the Common
Prayer, 1848, p. 57^ tells us that St. Valentine "was a man of
most admirable parts, and so famous for his love and charity,
that the custom of choosing Valentines upon his Festival
(which is still practised) took its rise from thence." I know
not how my readers will be satisfied with this learned writer's
explication. He has given us no premises, in my opinion,
from which we can draw any such conclusion. Were not all
the saints supposed to be famous for their love and charity!
Surely he does not mean that we should understand the word
love here as implying gallantry !

In the British Apollo, 1708, vol. i. No. 3, we read, —

Why Valentine's a day to choose
A mistress, aad our freedom loose,

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VAUENTINK'a DAY. 57

May I my reason interpoie,

The question with an answer close,

To imitate we have a mind,

And couple like the winged kind."

In the same work, vol. ii. No. 2, 1709 :— " QueUion : In
chuaiiig Valentines (according to custom), is not the party
chnsing (be it man or woman) to make a present to the party
chosen? Answer : We think it more proper to say, drawing
of Valentines, since the most customary way is for each to
take his or her lot — ^and diance cannot be termed choice. Ac-
cording to this method the obligations are equal, and there-
fore it was formerly the cnstom mutually to present, but now
it is customaiy only for the gentlemen.'^

The learned Moresin tells us that at this festival the men
used to make the women presents, as, upon another occasion,
the women used to do to the men : but that presents were made
reciprocally on this day in Scotland.

Gay has left us a poetical description of some rural ceremo-
nies used on the morning of this day :

*' Last Valentine, the day when birds of kind
Their paramours with mutual chirpings find,
I early rose, just at the break of day.
Before the sun had chas'd the stars away :
A-fidd I went, amid the morning dew,
To milk my kine (for so should house-wives do),
Thee first I spied, and the first swain we see,
In spite of Fortune, shall our true love be."

Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland, tells us, that in February
young persons draw Valentines, and from thence collect their
future fortune in the nuptial state; and Goldsmith, in his
Vicar of Wakefield, describing the manners of some rustics,
tells us they sent true-love knots on Valentine morning.^

' The following is from Buchanan :—
** Festa Valentino rediit Lux -

Quisque sihi Sodam jam legit ales Avem.
Inde sibi Dominam per sortes querere in Annum

Mansit ab antiquis mors repetitus avis :
Quisque legit Dominam, quam casto observet amore,

Quam nitidis sertis, obsequioque colat :
Mittere cui possit Uaadi Munuscula Yens."

Poemata, Lugd. Bat. 1628, p. 372,

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58 valentine's day.

Lewis Owen, in hiB work entitled the UnmaBking of
all Popish Monks, Friers, and Jesuits, 1628, p. 97, speaking
of its being '^ now among the Papists as it was heretofore
among the heathen people," says that the former '* have as
many saints, which they honour as gods, and every one have
their several charge assigned unto them by God, for the soo-
cour of men, women, and children, yea, over countries, com-
monwealths, cities, provinces, and churches; nay, to help
0069^ et boves, et emtera peeora campi ;" and instances, among
many others, '* S, Valentine for Lover9**

We find the following curious species of divination in the
Connoisseur, as practised on Valentine's Day or Eve. ^' Last
Friday was Valentine's Day, and the night before I got five
bay-leaves, and pinned four of them to the four corners of
my pillow, and the fifth to the middle ; and then, if I dreamt
of my sweetheart, Betty said we should be married before
the year was out. But, to make it more sure, I boiled an egg
hard, and took out the yolk, and filled it with salt ; and when
I went to bed, eat it shell and all, without speaking or drink-
ing after it. We also wrote our lovers' names upon bits of
paper, and rolled them up in clay, and put them into water,
and the first that rose up was to be our Valentine. Would you
think it ? — Mr. Blossom was my man. I lay a-bed and shut
my eyes all the morning till he came to our house ; for I .
would not have seen another man before him for all the
worid."

Grose explains Valentine to mean the first woman seen by a
man, or man seen by a woman, on St. Valentine's Day, the
I4th of February. [Mr. Halliwell, in his Dictionary, p. 907,
says the name drawn by lots was the Valentine of the writer,
and quotes the following from the MS. Harl. 1735 : —

" Thow it be ale other wyn,
Godys bleacyng have he and myn,
My none gentyl vofon/yn,
Good Tomas the frere.''

On Valentine's Day, 1667, Pepys says, " This morning
came up to my wife's bedside, I being up dressing myself
little Will Mercer to her Valentine, and brought her name
written upon blue paper, in gold letters done by himself, very
pretty ; and we were both well pleased with it. But I am also
this year my wife's Valentine, and it will cost me ^5, but that

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valentine's bat. 59

I most baye laid out if we had not been Valentines.*' He after-
wards adds, " I find that Mrs. Pierce's little girl is my Yalen*
tine, she having drawn me; which I was not sorry for, it
easing me of something more that I must have given to others ;
Bat here I do first observe the fashion of drawing of mottos as
well as names ; so that Pierce, who drew my wife, did also
draw a motto, and this girl drew another for me. What mine
was I forgot; but my wife's was, ' most courteous and most
fair ;' which, as it may be used, or an anagram upon each
name, might be very pretty. One wonder I observed to-day,
that there was no music in the morning to call up our new
married people, which is very mean methinks."]

From the following lines in Bishop Hall's Satires, iv. 1, it
would seem that Valentine has been particularly famous for
chastity : —

" Now play the Satyre whoso list for me,
Valentine self, or some as chaste as hee."

From Donee's manuscript notes I leam that Butler, in his
Lives of the Saints, says, " To abolish the heathen, lewd,
superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in
honour of their goddess Februata Juno, on the 15th of Febru-
ary, several zealous pastors substituted the names of Saints in
biUets given on that day." See his Account of St. Valentine.
And in vol. i, Jan. 29, he says, that " St. Frances de Sales
severely forbad the custom of Valentines, or giving boys in
writing the names of girls to be admired and attended on by
them ; and to abolish it, he changed it into giving billets with
the names of certain Saints, for them to honour and imitate in
a particular manner." But quaere this custom among the
Romans above referred to.

Herrick, in his Hesperides, p. 61, speaking of a bride,
says,—

" She must no more a-maying ;
Or by Roie-htdi divine
Who* I be her Valemiine r

Misson, in his Travels in England, translated by Ozell,
p. 330, says, " On the Eve of the 14th of February, St.
Valentine's Day, a time when all living nature inclines to
couple, the young folks in England and Scotland too, by a very

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60 valentine's bat.

ancient custom, celebrate a little festival that tends to the i
end. An equal number of maids and batchelors get together,
each vrites their true ur some feigned name upon separate
billets, which they roll up, and draw bv way of lots, the maids
taking the men's billets, and the men the maids' ; so that each
of the young men lights upon a girl that he calls his Valen-
tine, and each of the girls upon a young man which she calls
her's. By this means each has two Valentines : but the man
sticks faster to the Valentine that is fallen to him, than the
Valentine to whom he is fallen. Fortune having thus divided
the company into so many couples, the Valentines give
balls and treats to their mistresses, wear their billets several
days upon their bosoms or sleeves, and this little sport often
ends in love. This ceremony is practised differently in differ-
ent counties, and according to the freedom or severity of
Madam Valentine. There is another kind of Valentine, which
is the first young man or woman that chance throws in your
way in the street or elsewhere on that day.

[In Norfolk it is the custom for children to '^ catch" each
other for Valentines ; and if there are elderly persons in the
family who are likely to be liberal, great care is taken to catch
them. The mode of catching is by saying '' Good morrow,
Valentine ;" and if they can repeat this before they are spoken
to, they are rewarded with a small present. It must be done,
however, before sun-rise ; otherwise, instead of a reward, they
are told they are sun-burnt, and are sent back with disgrace.
Does this illustrate the phrase sunrbttmed in Much Ado About
Nothing?]

[In Oxfordshire the children go about collecting pence,
singing—

" Good morrow, Valentine,
First 'tis yours, then 'tis mine,
So please give me a Valentine."]

In Poor Robin's Almanack, fof* 1676, that facetious observer
of our old customs tells us opposite to St. Valentine's Day, in
February, —

** Now Andrew, Anthony, and '^HUiam,
For VaUntmu draw Prae, Kate, Jilian.**

[The same periodical, for the year 1757, has the following
verses on this day : —

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valentine's day. 61

This month bright Phcebiu eaten Pisces,
The maids will have good store of kisses,
Por always when the sun comes there,
Valentine's Day is drawing near,
And both the men and maids incline
To chuse them each a Valentine;
And if a man gets one he loves.
He gives her first a pair of gloves ;
And, by the way, remember this,
To seal the favour with a kiss.
This kiss begets more love, and then
That love begets a kiss again,
Until this trade the man doth catch.
And then he does propose the match ;
The woman's willing, tho' she's shy,
She gives the man this soft reply,
* I'll not resolve one thing or other.
Until I first consult my mother.'
When she says so, 'tis half a grant,
And may be taken for consent."

This is still one of the best observed of oar popular festivals,
and the extraordinary length to which the custom of Valen-
tine letter-writing is carried may be gathered from the follow-
ing enumeration of the letters which passed through the
London post-office on St. Valentine's Day^ 1847, vastly ex«
ceeding the usual average, and principally owing to this
practice. '* Monday being the celebration of St. Valentine's
day, an extraordinary number of letters passed through the
post-office. Not less than 150,000 letters of all descriptiona,
besides 20,000 newspapers, were delivered at nine in the
morning by the general post letter-carriers, while in the Lon-
don district office the numbers stood thus : — At the ten o'clock
delivery 25,000, and during the successive ' turns' of the
duty, 175,000 were stamped, assorted, and delivered, forming
a total of 200,000 district letters during the day. Independ-
ently of these numbers, not less than 12,000 letters and 5,000
newspapers were received by the midday mails and delivered
throughout the metropolis, and at night not fewer than
120,000 newspapers were despatched, and 60,000 letters ; the
grand total, therefore, of letters and newspapers passing
through the post-office stands as follows : — Letters 422,000 ;
newspapers, 145,000."

In an old English ballad, the lasses we directed to pray

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62 COLLOP» OB SHBOVS MONDAY.

cross-legged to St. Valentine for good lack. In some parts of
England the poorer classes of children array themselves fan-
tastically^ and visit the houses of the wealthy, singing, —

** Good morning to you, Valentine,
Cnrl yonr locks as I do mine,
Two before and three behind,
Good morrow to you, Valentine."]

COLLOP, OR SHROVE MONDAY.

In the North of England, the Monday preceding Shrove
Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday, is called Collop Monday.
Eggs and collops compose a usual dish at dinner on this
day, as pancakes do on the following, from which customs they
have plainly derived their names. It should seem that on
Collop Monday they took their leave of flesh in the papal
times, which was anciently prepared to last during the winter
by salting, drying, and being hung up. Slices of this kind
of meat are to this day termed collops in the north, whereas
they are called steaks when cut off from fresh or unsalted
flesh ; a kind of food which I am inclined to think our an-
cestors seldom tasted in the depth of winter. A writer in
the Gentleman's Magazine asserts that most places in England
have eggs and collops (slices of bacon) on Shrove Monday.

My late learned friend, the Rev. Mr. Bowles, informed me
that in the neighbourhood of Salisbury, in Wiltshire, the
boys go about before Shrove-tide, singing these rhymes : —

^ Shrove-tide is nigh at hand.
And I am come a shroving ;
Pray, Dame, something,
An apple or a dumpling,
Or a piece of truckle cheese
Of your own making,
Or a piece of pancake."

At Eton school it was the custom, on Shrove Monday, for
the scholars to write verses either in praise or dispraise of
Father Bacchus, poets being considered as immediately
under his protection. He was therefore sung on this occasion
in all kinds of metres, and the verses of the boys of the

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SHSOYE-TIBE, OB 8HB0YE TUESDAY. 63

serenth and eixih, and some of the fifth forms, were afSxed
to the inner doors of the CoU^e. Verses are still written
and put up on this day, but I believe the young poets are no
longer confined to the subject of writing eulogiums on the
go4 of wine. It retains, howeyer, the name of Bacchus.

In the Ordinary of the Butchers' Company at Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, dated 1621, I find the following yery curious
dause : '' Item, that noe one Brother of the said Fellowship
shall hereafter buy or seeke any Licence of any person what-
soeyer to kill Flesh within the Towne of Newcastle in the
Lent season, without the general consent of the Fellowship,
upon payne for every such defaute to the use aforesaide,
£b" They are enjoined, it is observable, in this charter,
to hold their head meeting-day on Ash-Wednesday. They
have since altered it to the preceding Wednesday.

Sir Thomas Overbury, in his Characters, 1615, speaking of a
Franklin, says, that among the ceremonies which he an-
nually observes, and that without considering them as re-
liques of Popery, are Shrovings. [The passage is sufficiently
curious to deserve a quotation : *' He aUowes of honest pas-
time, and thinkes not the bones of the dead anything brused,
or the worse for it, though the country lasses daunce in the
churchyard after evensong. Bocke Monday, and the wake
in summer, shrovings, the wakefull ketches on Christmas
Eve, the hoky or seed cake, these he yearely keepes, yet
holdea them no reliques of Popery."]

SHROVE-TIDE, or SHROVE TUESDAY ;

FASTERN'S, FASTEN, OR FASTING EVEN, aud PANCAKE TUESDAY.

Shrove-tidb plainly signifies the time of confessing sins,
as the Saxon word shrive, or shift, means confession. This
season has been anciently set apart by the church of Rome
for a time of shriving or confessing sins. This seemingly
no bad preparative for the austerities that were to follow in

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64 8HBX)y£-Tn>E| OB 8HE0TB TUESDAY.

Lent, was, for whatever reason, laid aside at the Reformation.
In the Oxford Almsnacks, the Saturday preceding this day is
called the Egg-Feast, Perhaps the same as onr GoUop
Monday. See, under Paste Eggs, Hyde's Account of the
Featum Ovorum, In the churchwardens' accounts of .St.
Mary-at-Hill, in the City of London, a.d. 1493, is the follow-
ing article : ** For a mat for the Skreving Pewe, iij. d."

The luxury and intemperance that usually prevailed at this
season were vestiges of the Romish carnival, which the
learned Moresin derives from the times of Gendlism, intro-
ducing Joannes Boemus Auhanus as describing it thus:
'' Men eat and drink and abandon themselves to every kind
of sportive foolery, as if resolved to have their fill of pleasure
before they were to die, and as it were to forego every sort of
delight." 1 Thus also Selden : ''What the church deban
us one day, she gives us leave to take out another — ^first
there is a Carnival, and then a Lent."

" Shrove-tide," says Warton, " was formerly a season of

■ J. Boemus Aubaniu gives us tlie followuig desciiption of the manner
of spending th« three days before the Lent^Faet commenced, commonly
called the Cantmal^ that is, " the bidding farewell to flesh." " Quo item
modo tres pnecedentes quadragesimale jejnniam dies peragat, dicere
opus non erit, si cognoscatur, qua popuhui, qua spontanea insania csetera
Germania a qua et Franconia minimi desdscit, tunc vivat. Comedit enim
et bibit, seque ludo jocoque omuimodo ad^ dedit, quasi usus nan-
quam veniant, quasi eras moritura, hodie prius onmiom rerum satietatem
capere velit. Novi aliquid spectaculi quisque excogitat, quo mentes et
oculos omnium delectet, admirationeque detineat. Atque, ne pudor ob-
stet, qui se ludicro ill! committunt fades larris obducunt, sexum et
etatem mentientes, viri mulierum vestimenta, mulieres virorum indount.
Quidam Satyros, aut malos dasmones potius repnesentare Tolentes, minio
se aut atramento tingunt, habituque nefando deturpant, alii nudi discur-
rentes Lupercos agunt, a qoibus ego annuum istum delirandi morem ad
nos defluxisse existimo." p. 267. And Bishop Hall, in his Triumph of
Rome, thus describes the Jomal Cameval: "Every man cries Seiolta,
letting himself loose to the maddest of merriments, marching wildly up
and down in all forms of disguises ; each man striving to outgo other in
strange pranks of humourous debauchedness, in which even those of the
holy order are wont to be allowed their share ; for howsoever it was by
some sullen authority forbidden to clerks and votaries of any kind to go
masked and misguised in those seemingly abusive solemnities, yet more
favourable construction hath offered to make them believe it was chiefly
for their sakes, for the refreshment of their sadder and more restrained
spirits, that this free and lawless festivity was taken up." p. 19.

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SHROVE-TIDE, OE SHEOVE TUESDAY. 65

extraordinary sport and feasting.^ In the Romish Church
there was anciently a Feast immediately preceding Lent,
which lasted many days, called Carniscapium. (See Car^
pentier et Sapp. Lat. Gloss. Da Cange, i. 381.) In some
cities of France an officer was annually chosen, called Le
Prince d'Amoreux, who presided over the sports of the youth
for six days before Ash- Wednesday. Ibid. v. Amoratus, p.
195; V. Cardinalis, p. 818; v. Spinetum, iii. 848. Some
traces of these festivities still remain in our universities. In
the Percy Household Book, 1512, it appears " that the
Clergy and Officers of Lord Fercy^s Chapel performed a play
before his Lordship, upon Skrowftewesday at night, '^ p. 345.
See also Dodsley's Collection of Old Plays, xii. 403, and
notes in Shakespeare on part of the old song, "And wel-
come merry Shrove-tide.'*

In a curious tract, entitled, "Vox Graculi," quarto, 1623,
p. 55, is the following quaint description of Shrove-Tuesday :
"Here must enter that wadling, stradling, bursten-gutted
Camifex of all Christendome, vulgarly enstiled Shrove-
Tuesday, but more pertinently, sole Monarch of the Mouth,
high Steward to the Stomach, cMefe Ganimede to the Guts,
prime Peere of the Pullets, first Favourite to the Frying
pans, greatest Bashaw to the Batter-bowles, Protector of
the Pan-cakes, first Founder of the Fritters, Baron of
Bacon-flitch, Earle of figge-baskets, &c. This corpulent
Commander of those choUericke things called Cookes, will
shew himselfe to be but of ignoble education ; for by his
manners you may find him better fed than taught wherever
he comes."

The following extract from Bamaby Googe*s Translation
of Naogeorgus will show the extent of these festivities : —

" Now when at length the pleasant time of Shrove-tide comes in place,
And cniell fasting dayes at hand approach with solemne grace :
Then olde and yong are both as mad as ghestes of Bacchus feast,
And foure dayes long they tipple square, and feede and never reast.'

* Sec Dufresne's Glossary, v. Camelevamen. Wheatley on the Com.
Pnyer, ed. 1848, p. 216.

* '* This fumishyng of onr bellies with delicates, that we use on
Faatmgham Tvietdayy what tyme some eate tyl they be enforsed to for-
beare all again, sprong of Bacchus Feast es, that were celebrated in Rome
with great joy and delicious fare/' — Langlcy's Polidore Vergile, fol. 103.

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Ci6 SHBOVL-TIDE, OB SHBOVE TUESSAT.

Downe goes the hogges in every place, and paddings every wheare
Do swarme : the dice are shakte and tost, and cardes apace they

teare:
In every house are showtes and cryes, and mirth, and revell route,
And daintie tables spred, and all beset with ghestes aboute :
With sundrie playes and Christmasse games, and feare and shame

away,
The tongae is set at libertie, and hath no kinde of stay.
And thinges are lawfiill then and done, no pleasure passed by.
That in their mindes they can devise, as if they then should die :
The chiefest man is he, and one that most deserveth prayse,
Among the rest that can finde out the fondest kinde of playes.
On him they looke and gaze upon, and laugh with lustie cheare.
Whom boyes do follow, crying "foole," and such like other geare.
He in the meane time thinkes himselfe a wondrous worthie man,
Not mooved with their wordes nor crycs, do whatsoever they can.
Some sort there are that runne with staves, or fight in armour fine.
Or shew the people foolishe toyes for some small peece of wine.
Eche partie hath his favourers, and faythfuil friendes enowe.
That readie are to tume themselves, as fortune liste to bowe.
But some againe the dreadfull shape of devils on them take,
And chase such as they meete, and make poore boys for feare to

quake.
Some naked runne about the streetes, their faces hid alone
With visars close, that, so disguisde, they might be knowne of none.
Both men and women chaunge their weede, the men in maydes aray.
And wanton wenches, drest Uke men, doe travell by the way.
And to their neighbours houses go, or where it likes them best,
Perhaps unto some auncient friend or olde acquainted ghest ;
Unknowne, and speaking but fewe wordes, the meat devour they up
That is before them set, and deane they swinge of every cup.
Some runne about the streets attyrde like monks, and some like kings.
Accompanied with pompe and garde, and other stately things.
Some hatch young fooles as hennes do egges with good and speedie

lucke.
Or as the goose doth use to do, or as the quacking ducke.
Some like wilde beastes doe runne abrode in skinnes that divers bee
Arayde, and eke with lothsome shapes, that dreadfull are to see,
They counterfet both beares and woolves, and lions fierce in sight,
And raging bulles : some play the cranes, with wings and stilts up-
right.
Some like the filthie forme of apes, and some like fooles are drest.
Which best beseeme these Papistes all, that thus keepe Bacchus fenst.
But others beare a torde, that on a cushion soft they lay.
And one there is that with a flap doth keepe the flies away.
I would there might another be, an oflicer of those,
Wliosc roome might serve to take away the scent from every nose.
Some others make a man all stuft with straw or ragges within,
Apparayled in dublet faire, and hoaen passing trim :

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8HE0VB-TIDE, OR SHROYB TUESDAY. 67

'Whom as a man that lately dyed of honest life and fame,

In blanket hid they beare about, and stndghtwayes with the same

They hurl him ap into the ayre, not suffring him to fall.

And this they doe at divers tymes the citie over all.

I shew not here their dannces yet, with filthie jestures mad,

Nor other wanton sportes that on these holydayes are had.

There places are where such as hap to come within this dore.

Though old acquainted friendes they be, or never seene before,

And say not first here by your leave, both in and out I go.

They binde their handes behinde their backes, nor any difference tho

Of man or woman is there made, but basons ringing great.

Before them do they daunce with joy, and sport in every streat.

There are that certain praiers have that on the Tuesday fall.

Against the quartaine ague, and the other fevers all.

But others than sowe onyon seede, the greater to be seene.

And persley eke, and lettys both, to have them always greene.

Of truth I loth for to declare the foolish toyes and trickes.

That in these dayes are done by these same Popish Catholickes :

If snow lie deep upon the ground and almost thawing bee,

Then fooles in number great thou shalt in every comer see :

For balles of snow they make, and them at one another cast.

Till that the conquerde part doth yeelde and run away at last.

No matrone olde nor sober man can freely by them come,

At home he must abide that will these wanton feiiowes shonne.

Besides the noble men, the riche, and men of hie degree,

Lieaat they with common people should not seeme so mad to bee,

There wagons finely framde before, and for this matter meete.

And lustie horse and swift of pace, well trapt from head to feete

They put therein, about whose necke and every place before

A hundred gingling belles do hang, to make his courage more.

Their wives and children therein set, behinde themselves do stande.

Well armde with whips, and holding faste the bridle in their hande ;

With all their force throughout the streetes and market-place they

ron,
As if some whirlewinde mad, or tempest great from skies should

come:
As fast as may be from the streates th' amazed people flye.
And give them place while they about doe runne continually.
Yea sometimes legges or armes they breake, and horse and carte and all
They overthrow, with such a force they in their course doe fall.
Much lease they man or chllde do spare, that meetes them in the waye,
Nor they content themselves to use this madnesse all the daye :
But even till midnight holde they on, their pastimes for to make.
Whereby they hinder men of sleepe and cause their heads to ake.
But all this same they care not for, nor doe esteem a heare.
So they may have their pleasure still, and foolish wanton geare."

AmoDg the records of the city of Norwich, mention is
inad2 of one John Gladman, " who was ever, and at thys our

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68 8HE0VE-TIDE, OR SHROVE TUESDAY.

is a man of sad disposition, and trewe and feythfiill to God
and to the Kyng, of disporte as hath ben acustomed in ony
cit^ or bargh thorowe alle this reame, on Tuesday in the
last ende of Crestemesse [1440,] viz*. Fastyrigonge Tuesday ^
made a disport with hys neyghbours, hayyng his hors
trappyd with tynnsoyle and other nyse disgisy things, co-
rouned as Kyng of Crestemesse, in tokyn that seson shoiSdd end
with the twelve monethes of the yere ; afom hym went yche
moneth dysguysed after the seson requiryd, and Lenton clad
in white and red heryngs skinns, and his hors trappyd with
oystershells after him, in token that sadnesse shnld folowe and
an holy tyme, and so rode in divers stretis of the cit6 with
other people with hym disguysed, makyng myrth, disportes,
and plays, &c." Bloomfield's Norfolk, ed. 1745, ii. 1 1 1,

A very singular custom is thus mentioned in the Gentle-
man's Magazine, 1779, — " Being on a visit on Tuesday last
in a little obscure village in this county (Kent), I found an
odd kind of sport going forward : the girls, from eighteen to
five or six years old, were assembled in a crowd, and bumiug an
uncouth effigy, which they called an Holly-Boy ^ and which it
seems they had stolen from the boys, who, in another part of
the village, were assembled together, and burning what they
called an Ivy-Girl, which they had stolen from the girls : aU
this ceremony was accompanied with loud huzzas, noise, and
acclamations. What it all means I cannot teU, although I
inquired of several of the oldest people in the place, who
could only answer that it had always been a sport at this season
of the year." Dated East Kent, Feb. 16th. The Tuesday be-
fore Shrove Tuesday in 1779 fell on February the 9th.

[In some places, if flowers are to be procured so early in
the season, the younger children carry a smaU garland, for
the sake of collecting a few pence, singing, —

'* Flowers, flowers, high-do !
Sheeny, greeny, rino I
Sheeny greeny, sheeny greeny,
Rum turn fra !"]

** The peasantry of France," says the Morning Chronicle,
March 10th, 1791, "distinguish Ash Wednesday in a very
singular manner. They carry an effigy of a similar descrip-
tion to our Guy Faux round the adjacent villages, and collect

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SHBOVS-TIDE, OK SHROVS TUESDAY. 69

money for his faneral, as this day, according to their creed,
is the death of good living. After sundry absurd mum-
meries, the corpse is deposited in the earth." This is
somewhat similar to the custom of the Holly Boy.

Armstrong, in his History of Minorca, p. 202, says,
*' During the Camiyal, the ladies amuse themselres in throw-
ing oranges at their lovers ; and he who has received one
of these on his eye, or has a tooth beat out by it, is con-
vinced from that moment that he is a high favourite with the
fair one who has done him so much honour. Sometimes a
good handfull of flour is thrown full in one's eyes, which
gives the utmost satisfaction, and is a favour that is quickly
rollowed by others of a less trifling nature. — ^We well
know that the holydays of the ancient Romans were, like
these carnivals, a mixture of devotion and debauchery. —
This time of festivity is sacred to pleasure, and it is sinfhl
to exercise their calUng until Lent arrives, with the two
corses of these people. Abstinence and Labour, in its train."

Among the sports of Shrove Tuesday, cock-fighting and
throwing at cocks appear almost everywhere to have pre-
▼aOed. Fitzstephen, as cited by Stowe, informs us that
anciently on Shrove Tuesday the school-boys used to bring
cocks of the game, now called game-cocks, to their master,
and to delight themselves in code-fighting all the forenoon.
One rejoices to find no mention of throwing at cocks on the
occasion, a horrid species of cowardly cruelty, compared with
which, cock-fighting, savage as it may appear, is to be
reckoned among '' the tender mercies" of barbarity.

The learned Moresin informs us that the Papists derived
this custom of exhibiting cock-fights on one day every year
from the Athenians, and from an institution of Themistocles.
" Gralli Gallinacei," says he, " producuntur per diem singulis
annis in pugnam k Fapisequis, ex veteri Atheniensium forma
ducto more et Themistodis instituto." Gael. Rhod. lib. ix.
variar. lect. cap. xlvi. idem Pergami fiebat. ; Alex, ab Alex.
lib. V. cap. 8. — ^Moresini Papatus, p. 66, An account of the
origin of this custom amongst the Athenians may be seen in
iBfiani Yariae Historiae, lib. ii. cap. xxviii.

This custom was retained in many schools in Scotland
within the last century. Perhaps it is still in use. The

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70 SHEOVE-TIDE, OE SHKOVE TUESDAY.

schoolmasters were said to preside at the battle, and claimed
the run-away-cocks, called Fugees, as their perquisites.*

According to Fitzstephen : " After dinner, all the youths
go into the fields to play at the ball. The scholars of every
school have their ball or bastion in their hands. The
ancient and wealthy men of the city come forth on horseback
to see the sport of the young men, and to take part of the
pleasure, in beholding their agility." Strype's edit, of Stowe,
i. 247. See also Dr. Pegge's edit, of Fitzstephen's London,
4to. 1772, pp. 45, 74. It should seem that Foot-Ball is
here meant. In Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of
Scotland, 1795, zy. 521, the minister of Kirkmichael, in
Perthshire, speaking of the manners and customs of the in-
habitants, says, *' Foot-ball is a common amusement with
the school-boys, who also preserve the custom of cock-
fighting on Shrove Tuesday."

Hutchinson, in his History of Cumberland, ii. 322, speak-
ing of the parish of Bromfield, and a custom there, that
having now fallen into disuse, will soon be totally forgotten,
teUs us, " TiQ within the last twenty or thirty years, it had
been a custom, time out of mind, for the scholars of the free
school of Bromfield about the beginning of Lent, or, in the
more expressive phraseology of the country, at Fasting's
Even, to bar out the master ; i. e. to depose and exclude him
from his school, and keep him out for three days. During
the period of this expulsion, the doors of the citadel, the

* Carpentier calls " Gallorum pugna" ludi genus inter paeros scholarea,
non uno in loco usitatL Lit. remiss. An. 1383, in Reg. 134. Chaitoph.

Reg. ch. 37. — ^" En ce Karesme entrant a une feste ou dance

que Ten faisoit lors d'enfans pour la jouste des coqs, ainsi qull est ac-
coustum^ (en Dauphin^)." Du Cange, in his Glossary, ii. 1679, says, that
although this practice was confined to schoolboys in several provinces of
France, it was nevertheless forbidden in the Council of Copria (supposed
to be Cognac) in the year 1260. The decree recites *' that although it
was then become obsolete, as well in grammar schools as in other places,
yet mischiefs* had arisen, &c." " Dubllum Gallorum gallinaceomm
etiamnum in aliquot provindis usurpatum a scholaribus puerulis, vetatur
in Concilio Copriniacensi An. 1260, cap. 7. quod scilicet superstitionem
quamdam saperet, vel potias sortilegii aut purgationls vulgaris nesdo quid
redoleret ; quia ex duello gallorum, quod in partibus istis, tarn in Scholia
Grammaticae, quam in alus fieri inolevit, nonnulla mala aliquoties sunt
exorta,'* &c. Du Cange, in verbo. Vide Carpentier, v. Jamoi.

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SHB07£-TID£» OE SHROVE TUESDAY. 71

school, were strongly barricadoed within : and the boys, who
defended it like a besieged city, were armed in general with
bore-tree or elder pop-guns. The master meanwhile made
Yarions efforts, both by force and stratagem, to regain his lost
authority. If he succeeded, heavy tasks were imposed, and
the business of the school was resumed and submitted to ;
but it more commonly happened that he was repulsed and
defeated. After three days' siege, terms of capitulation were
proposed by the master, and accepted by the boys. These
terms were summed up in an old formula of Latin Leonine
verses, stipulating what hours and times should for the year
ensuing be allotted to study, and what to relaxation and play.
Securities were provided by each side for the due perform-
ance of these stipulations, and the paper was then solemnly
signed both by master and scholars.

"One of the articles always stipulated for and granted, was
the privilege of immediately celebrating certain games of long
standing ; viz. a foot-baU match and a cock-fight. Captains,
as they were called, were then chosen to manage and preside
over these games : one from that part of the parish which
lay to the westward of the school ; the other from the east.
Cocks and foot-ball players were sought for with great dili-
gence. The party whose cocks won the most battles was
victorious in the cock-pit ; and the prize, a small silver bell,
suspended to the button of the victor's hat, and worn for
three successive Sundays. After the cock-fight was ended,
the foot-ball was thrown down in the churchyard ; and the
point then to be contested was, which party could carry it
to the house of his respective captain, to Dundraw, perhaps,
or West-Newton, a distance of two or three miles, every inch
of which ground was keenly disputed. All the honour ac-
cruing to the conqueror at foot-ball, was that of possessing
the b^. Details of these matches were the general topics of
conversation among the villagers, and were dwelt on with
hardly less satisfaction than their ancestors enjoyed in re-
lating their feats in the border wars. It never was the for-
tune of the writer of this account to hear the hell (a pleasure
which it is not at all improbable had its origin in the heU
having been the frequent, if not the usual reward of victory
in such rural contests). Our Bromfield sports were some-

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72 SHEOTE-TIDE, OR SHKOVE TUESDAY.

times celebrated in indigenous songs : one Terse only of one
of them we happen to remember : —

" At Scales, great Tom Barwise gat the ba' in his hand,
And t' wives aw ran out, and shouted, and banned :
Tom Cowan then pulch'd and flang him 'mang t' whins,
And he bledder'd, Od-white-te, ton's broken my shins.

" One cannot but feel a more than ordinary curiosity to be
able to trace the origin of this improYement on the Romish
Saturnalia; and which also appears pretty evidently to be
the basis of the institution of the Terra filius in Oxford,
now likewise become obsolete ; but we are lost in a wilder-
ness of conjectures : and as we have nothing that is satis-
factory to ourselves to offer, we will not uselessly bewilder
our readers."

Part of the income of the head master and usher of the
Grammar School at Lancaster arises from a gratuity called a
Cock-penny, paid at Shrove-tide by the scholars, who are sons
of freemen. Of this money the head master has seven-
twelfths, the usher five-twelfths. It is also paid at the schools
at Hawkshead and Clithero, in Lancashire ; and was paid at
Burnley till lately, and at Whiteham and Millom, in Cum-
berland, near Bootle.

[There is a schoolboy's rhyme, used in a game not uncom-
mon in some parts of Yorkshire, which may possibly have
some reference to this practice, —

A nick and a nock,
A hen and a cock.
And a ponny for my master.]

THROWING AT COCKS.
The unknown but humane writer of a pamphlet entitled
Clemency to Brutes, 1761, after some forcible exhortations
against the use of this cruel diversion, in which there is a
shocking abuse of time, (" an abuse so much the more shock-
ing as it is shewn in tormenting that very creature which
seems by nature intended for our remembrancer to improve
it : the creature whose voice, like a trumpet, summoneth
man forth to his labour in the morning, and admonisheth
him of the flight of his most precious hours throughout the
day,") has the following observation : — " Whence it had its

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SHROYE-TIDB, OE SHROYB TUESDAY. 73

rise among us I could never yet learn to my satisfaction ;
bat the common account of it is, that the crowing of a cock
preyented our Saxon ancestors from massacreing their con-
querors, another part of our ancestors, the Danes, on the
morning of a Shrove Tuesday, whilst asleep in their beds."
In an old jest-book entitled Ingenii Fructus, or the Cam-
bridge Jests, &c., by W. B., Lond. printed for D. Pratt,
comer of Church-lane, Strand, no date, 12mo, is given what
is called the original of " the throwing at cocks on Shrove-
Tuesday," in which the rise of this custom is traced up to an
unlucky discovery of an adulterous amour by the crowing of
a cock. This account, I scarce need observe, is too ridicu-
lous to merit a serious confutation.

In the pamphlet just cited, Clemency to Brutes, is the
foUovring passage : *• As Christians, consider how very ill the
pastime we are dissuading from agrees with the season, and
of how much more suitable an use the victims of that pas-
time might be made to us. On the day following its tumul-
tuous and bloody anniversary, our church enters upon a long
course of humiliation and fasting : and surely an eve of riot
and carnage is a most unfit preparative for such a course.
Surely it would be infinitely more becoming us to make the
same use of the cock at this season which St. Peter once
made of it. Having denied his master, when it crew he
wept." The author adds, though by mistake, "no other
nation under heaven, I beheve, practises it but our own."

In the British Apollo. 1708, vol. i. No. 4, is the fol-
lowing query : *' How old, and from whence is the custom
of throwing at cocks on Shrove Tuesday? A. There are
several different opinions concerning the original of this cus-
tom, but we are most inclined to give credit to one Cranen-
stein, an old German author, who, speaking of the customs
observed by the Christian nations, gives us the following
account of the original institution of the ceremony : When
the Danes were masters of England, and lorded it over
the nations of the island, the inhabitants of a certain great
dty, grown weary of their slavery, had formed a secret con-
spiracy to murder their masters in one bloody night, and
twelve men had undertaken to enter the town by a stratagem,
and seizing the arms, surprise the guard which kept it ; and
at which time their fellows, upon a signal given, were to

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74 SHBOTB-TIDE> OE 8H110VE TUESDAY.

come out of their houses and murder all opposers : but when
they were putting it in execution, the unusual crowing and
fluttering of the cocks, about the place they attempted to
enter at, discovered their design ; upon which the Danes be^
came so enraged that they doubled their cruelty, and used
them with more severity than ever. Soon after they were
forced from the Danish yoak, and to revenge themselves on
the cocks^ for the misfortune they involved them in, insti-
tuted this custom of knocking them on the head on Shrove
Tuesday, the day on which it happened. This sport, tho' at
first only practised in one city, in process of time became a
natural divertisement, and has continued ever since the Danes
first lost this island."

In the Gentleman's Journal, or the Monthly Miscellany,
for January 1692-3, is given an English epigram, "On a
cock at Rochester," by Sir Charles Sedley, wherein occur
the following lines, which imply, as it should seem, as if the
cock suflfered this unusual barbarity by w^ of punishment
for St. Peter's crime in denying his lord and master :—

** May'st thou be punish'd for St. Peter's crime.
And on Shrove Tuesday perish in thy prime."

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. liii. July, 1 783,
p. 578, says, ''The barbarous practice of throwing at a cock tied
to a stake at Shrovetide, I think I have read has an allusion
to the indignities offered by the Jews to the Saviour of the
world before his crucifixion." In the preface to Heame's
edition of Thomas Otterboume, p. 66, he tells us that this
custom of throwing at cocks must be traced to the time of
King Henry the Fifth, and our victories then gained over the
French, whose name in Latin is S3rnonymou8 with that of a
cock ; and that our brave countrymen hinted by it that they
could as easily, at any time, overthrow the Gallic armies as
they could knock down the cocks on Shrove Tuesday. To
those who are satisfied with Heame's explanation of the cus-
tom we must object that, from the very best authorities, it
appears also to have been practised in France, and that, too,
long before the reign of our Henry the Fifth.

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. vii. Jan. 1737,
p. 7, says, (I think very erroneously,) that the " inhabitants
of London, by way of reproach for imitating the French in

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SHUOVE-TIDI, Oft SHROVE TUESDAY. 75

their modes and fashions, were named Cockneys^ (taming
upon the thought of a cock signifying a Frenchman,) i. e.
vpes and mimics of France."

With regard to the word Cockney^ my learned friend Mr.
Donee is of opinion, that perhaps dfter aU that has heen said
with respect to the origin and meaning of this word, it is
nothing more than a term of fondness or affection used to-
wards male children, (in London more particularly,) in the
same manner as Pigsnie is used to a woman. The latter
word is yery ancient in our tongue, and occurs in Chaucer :

^ She wu a primerole, a piggesnie,
For anie Lord to liggen in his bedde,
Or yet for any good yeman to wedde."

Cant. 7 a/e«, 1.3267.

The Bomans used Octdua in the like sense, and perhaps
Pigsnie, in the vulgar language, only means Ocellus, the eyes
of that creature heing remarkably small. Congreve, in his
Old Batchelor, makes Fondle-wife call his mate " Cockey."
Burd and Bird are also used in the same sense. Shadwell
not only uses the word Pigsney in this sense, but also
Birdmey, See lus Pkys, i. 357> iii. 385. The learned
Hickes, in his Gram. Anglo.-Saz. Ling. Yett. Septentr. Thes.
L 231, gives the following derivation of Cockney : ''Nunc
Co<^uin, Coquine, quse olim apud Gallos otio, gulae et ventri
deditos ignavum, ignavam, desidiosum, deidiosam, segnem
significabant. Hinc urbanos, utpote a rusticis laboribus, ad
vitam sedentariam et quasi desidiosam avocatos pagani nostri
olim Cokaignes, quod nunc scribitur Cockneys, vocabant.
Et poeta hie noster in monachos et moniales, ut segne genus
hominum, qui desidise dediti, ventri indulgebant et coquinse
amatores erant, malevolentissim^ invehitur; monasteria et
monasticam vitam in Descriptione Terree Cokaineae parabolice
perstringens." See also Tyrwhitt's observations on this word
m his Chaucer, ed. 1775, iv. 253, C. Tales, 4206; Reed's
Old Pkys, V. 83, xi. 306, 307; Donee's Illustrations of
Shakespeare, ii. 151

The sense of the word Cockney seems afterwards to
have d^enerated into an effeminate person. Buttes, in his
Dyets Dry Dinner, Lond. 1599, c. 2, says, " A Cochni is in-
verted, bcong as much as incoet, unripe ;" but little stress can>
be laid upon our author's etymology. In the Workes of John

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76 SHBOYE-TIDE, OR SHBOVfi TUESDAY.

Heiwood, newly imprinted, 1598, is the following carious

passage: —

" Men say

He that comth every day, shall have a Coeknayt
He that comth now and then, shall have a tai hen."'

Carpentier, under the year 1355, mentions a petition of the
scholars to the masters of the school of Ramera, to give them
a cock, which they asserted the said master owed them upon
Shrove Tuesday, to throw sticks at, according to the usual
custom, for their sport and entertainment.^

Among the games represented in the margin of the
" Roman d' Alexandre," preserved in the Bodleian Library at
Oxford, is a drawing of two boys carrying a third on a stick
thrust between his legs, who holds a cock in his hands.
They are followed by another hoy, with a flag or standard
emblazoned with a cudgel. Mr. Stnitt has engraved the
group in his Sports and Pastimes, pi. 35. He supposes, p.
293, that it represents a boyish triumph : the hero of the
party having either won the cock, or his bird escaped unhurt
from the dangers to which he had been exposed.^

This sport, now almost entirely forgotten among us, we
wish consigned to eternal oblivion ; an amusement fit only
for the bloodiest savages, and not for humanised men, much

* [Brand has fallen somewhat into confusion here, the word Cociney
having several distinct meanings. See a full account of them in HalU-
well's Dictionary, p. 261.]

' In Carpentier's Glossary, under the words *' Gallorum png^/' a.d.
1458, some differences are mentioned as subsisting between the mayor
and aldermen of Abbeville, and the dean and chapter of the church of St.
Ulfra, which are made up on the following condition ; " C'est assavoir
que lesdiz Doyen et Cappitle accordent que doresenavant ilz souffreront
et consentiront, que oellui qui demourra roy d' Tescolle la nuit des Quar
resmiaulz, apporte ou fache apporter devers le Maieur de laditte Ville ou
Camp S. George, le Cocq, qui demourra ledit jour ou autre jour victorieux,
ou autre cocq ; et que ledit roy presente au dit maieur pour tTiceUtu
faire le choUe en la maniere accoutumee. Quae ultima verba explicant
Lit. remiss, an. 1355, in Keg. 84, ch. 278. " Petierunt a moffisiro Erardo
Maquart magistro scholarum ejusdem viUae de Kameru quatenut UAeraret
et traderet eis unum galhim^ quern, sieut dicebant, idem magieter fckola-
rum debebat eh die ^ta (Camiprivii) ut jacerent baculos ad gaUum ^
tttiM, more toUto, pro eorum exhiUaratione et ludo,"

* The date of the iUuraination is not 1433, as Mr. Stnitt mentions, but
1343. See the MS. BodL 264.

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SHEOTB-TIDE, OE 8HB0VE TUESDAY. *]*]

le8s for Christians. That ingenious artist, Hogarth, has
satirised this barbarity in the first of the prints called the
Four Stages of Cruelty. Trusler's description is as follows :
•* We have several groupes of boys at their di£ferent bar-
barous diversions ; one is throwing at a cock, the universal
Shrove-tide amusement, beating the harmless feathered
animal to jelly."

The custom of throwing at cocks on Shrove Tuesday is
still (1791) retained at Heston, in Middlesex, in a field near
the church. Constables have been often directed to attend
on the occasion, in order to put a stop to so barbarous a
custom, but hitherto they have attended in vain. I gathered
the following particulars from a person who regretted that in
hia younger years he had often been a partaker of the sport.
The owner of the cock trains his bird for some time before
Shrove Tuesday, and throws a stick at him himself, in order
to prepare him for the fatal day, by accustoming him to
watch the threatened danger, and by springing aside, avoid
the fatal blow. He holds the poor victim on the spot marked
out by a cord fixed to his leg, at the distance of nine or ten
yards, so as to be out of the way of the stick himself.
Another spot is marked at the distance of twenty-two yards,
for the person who throws to stand upon. He lias three
nhysy or throws, for twopence, and wins the cock if he can
knock him down and run up and catch him before the bird
recovers his legs. The inhuman pastime does not end with
the cock's life, for when killed it is put into a hat, and won
a second time by the person who can strike it out. Broom-
sticks are generally used to Bhy with. The cock, if well
trained, eludes the blows of his cruel persecutors for a long
time, and thereby clears to his master a considerable sum of
money. But I fear lest, by describing the mode of throwing
at cocks, I should deserve the censure of Boerhaave on
another occasion : ''to teach the arts of cruelty is equivalent
to committing them."^

In Men-Miracles, with other Poems, by M. Lluellin, Stu-

' The London Daily Advertiser, Wednesday, March, 7, 1759, says,
" Yesterday, being Shrove Tuesday, the orders of the justices in the City
and Liberty of Westminster were so well observed that few cocks wer^
seen to be thrown at, so that it is hoped this barbarous custom will be
left off."

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78 SHBOVE-TIDE, OE SHROVE TUESDAY.

dent of ChriRt-Church, Oxon, 1679, p. 48, is the following
song on cock-throwing, in which the author seems ironically
to satirise this cruel sport : —

** Cocke a doodle doe, 'tis the bravest game,
Take a cock firom his dame,

And bind him to a stake.
How he struts, how he throwes,
How he swaggers, how he crowes.

As if the day newly brake.

How his mistress cackles.
Thus to find him in shackles.

And tied to a packe-thread gart«r.
Oh the beares and the bulls
Are but corpulent gulls

To the valiant Shrove-tide martyr."

'* Battering with massive weapons a cock tied to a stake, is an
annual diversion/' says an essayist in the Gentleman's Maga-
zine, Jan. 1737, p. 6, " that for time immemorial has prevailed
in this island." A cock has the misfortune to he called in Latin
by the same word which signifies a Frenchman. '^ In our wars
with France, in former ages, our ingenious forefathers," says
be, '' invented this emblematical way of expressing their de-
rision of, and resentment towards that nation ; and poor Mon-
sieur at the stake was pelted by men and boys in a very
rough and hostile manner." He instances the same thought
at Blenheim House, where, over the portals, is finely carved
in stone the figure of a monstrous lion tearing to pieces a
harmless cock, which may be justly called a pun in architec-
ture. '' Considering the many ill consequences," the essayist
goes on to observe, " that attend this ^port, I wonder it has
so long subsisted among us. How many warm disputes and
bloody quarrels has it occasioned among the surrounding
mob ! Numbers of arms, legs, and skulls have been broken
by the massive weapons designed as destruction to the sufferer
in the string. It is dangerous in some places to pass the
streets on Shrove Tuesday ; 'tis risking life and limbs to ap-
pear abroad that day. It was first introduced by way of con-
tempt to the French, and to exasperate the minds of the
people against that nation. 'Tis a low, mean expression of
our rage, even in time of war." One part of this extract
is singularly corroborated by a passage in the Newcastle

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SHEOVE-TIDE, OK SUKOYE TUESDAY. 79

Gourant, for March 15th, 1783. " Leeds, March 1 1th, 1783 :
Taesday se'nnight, being Shrove-tide, as a person was amusing
himself, along with several others, with the barbarous custom
of throwing at a cock, at Howden Clough, near Birstall, the
stick pitched upon the head of Jonathan Speight, a youth
about thirteen years of age, and killed him on the spot. The
man was committed to York Castle on Friday."

Another writer in the Grentleman's Magazine, Jan. 1751,
p. 8, says, "Some, yet more brutal, gratify their cruelty on that
emblem of innocence the dove, in the same manner, to the
reproach of our country and the scandal of our species."
That hens were thrown at as well as cocks appear from many
miquestionable evidences. In the same work, April, 1749, is
'' A strange and wonderful relation of a Hen that spake at a
certain ancient borough in Staflfordshire, on the 7th of Fo-
bruary, being Shrove Tuesday, with her dying speech." Dean
Tucker wrote " An earnest and affectionate Address to the
Common People of England, concerning their usual Recrea-
tions on Shrove Tuesday," London, 12mo. no date, consisting
of ten pages only.

In King Henry the Seventh's time it should seem this di-
version was practised even within the precincts of the court.
In a royal household account, communicated by Craven Ord,
I find the following article : — " March 2, 7 Hen. VII.
Item to Master Bray for rewards to them that brought cokkes
at Shrovetide, at Westm'. xx\" In the manuscript Life of
Thomas Lord Berkeley, the fourth of that name, by Mr.
Smith, still remaining at Berkeley Castle, speaking of his
recreations and delights, he tells the reader, " Hee also would
to the threshing of the cocke, pucke with hens blindfolde and
the like," ii. 459. This lord was born a.d. 1352, and died in
1417.

[A curious notice of cock-fighting is contained in a letter
firom Sir Henry SaviUe, dated 1546, printed in the Plumpton
Correspondence, p. 251. He invites his relation to " se all
our good coxs fight, if it plese you, and se the maner of our
cocking. Ther will be Lanckeshire of one parte, and Derbe-
shire of another parte, and Hallomshire of the third parte. I
perceive your cocking varieth from ours, for ye lay but the
battell ; and if our battell be but ^10. to £5. thear wil be
£10. to one laye or the battell be ended."]

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80 SHBOVE-TIDE, OE SHEOVE TUESDAY.

In the hamlet of Pinner, at Harrow-on-the-Hill, the crael
cuBtom of throwing at cocks was formerly made a matter of
public celebrity, as appears by an ancient account of receipts
and expenditures. The money collected at this sport was ap-
plied in aid of the poor-rates.

" 1622. Received for cocks at Shrovetide 12«. 0*.
1628. Received for cocks in Towne . . 19». lOJ.
OutofTowne 0». 6."

This custom appears to have continued as late as the year
1680. (Lysons's Environs of London, ii. 588.)

By the following extract from Baron's Cyprian Academy,
1648, p. 53, it should seem to appear that hens also were for-
merly the objects of this barbarous persecution. A clown is
speaking : — " By the maskins 1 would give the best cow in my
yard to find out this raskall ; and I would thrash him as I
did the henne last Shrove Tuesday,'* The subsequent passage
in Bishop Hall's Virgidemarium, 1598, iv. 5, seems to imply
that a hen was a usual present at Shrovetide, as also a pair
of gloves at Easter : —

" For Easter gloves, or for a Shrovetide Hen,
AVhich bought to give, he takes to sell again."

In Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, we
find the ploughman's feasting days or holidays, thus enume-
rated : 1 . Plough Monday ; 2. Shrove Tuesday, when, after
confession, he is suffered to thresh the fat hen ; 3. Sheep-
shearing, with wafers and cakes ; 4. Wake Day, or the vigil
of the church Saint of the village, with custards ; 5. Harvest-
home, with a fat goose ; 6. Seedcake, a festival kept at the
end of wheat-sowing, when he is to be feasted with seed-cakes,
pasties, and farmenty pot.

" At Shrovetide to shroving go thresh the fat hen.
If blindfold can kill her, then give it thy men."

These lines in Tusser Redivivus, 1 744, p. 80, are thus ex-
plained in a note. *' The hen is hung at a fellow's back, who
has also some horse-bells about him ; the rest of the fellows
are blinded, and have boughs in their hands, with which they
chase this fellow and his hen about some large court or small
enclosure. The fellow with his hen and bells shifting as well
as he can, they follow the sound, and sometimes hit him and

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SHEOVE-TnXB, 0£ SHBOYE TUESDAY* 81

his hen ; other times, if he can get behind one of them, they
thresh one another veil favonredly : but the jest is, the maids
are to blind the fellows, which they do with their aprons, and
the canning baggages will endear their sweethearts with a
peeping hole, wUle the others look oat as sharp to hinder it.
After iSaa, the hen is boiled with bacon, and store of pancakes
and fiitters are made. She that is noted for lying a-bed long,
or any other miscarriage, hath the first pancake presented to
her, which most commonly &lls to the dog^s share at last, for
no one will own it their dae." This latter part of the note is
to illastrate the following lines : —

** MaidBi fritters, and pancakes, y-now see ye make,
Let Slut have one pancake for company sake."

Heath, in his account of the Scilly Islands, p. 120, has the
following passage : '^ On a Shrove Tuesday each year, after
the throwing at cocks is over, the boys in this island have a
coBtom of throwing stones in the evening against the doors of
the dwellers* houses ; a priyilege they claim from time imme-
morial, and put in practice without control, for finishing the
day's sport. I could never learn from whence this custom
took its rise, but am informed that the same custom is now
used in several provinces of Spain, as well as in some parts of
Cornwall. The terms demanded by the boys are pancakes, or
money, to capitulate."

Mr. Jones informed me that, in Wales, such hens as did
not lay eggs before Shrove Tuesday <were, when he was a boy,
destined to be threshed on that cfay by a man with a flail, as
being no longer good for anything. If the man hit the hen,
snd consequently killed her, he got her for his pains.

** A learned foreigner (qu. if not Erasmus ?) says, the
English eat a certain cake on Shrove Tuesday, upon which
they immediately run mad, and kill their poor cocks. * Q%iod'
dam placenta genus, quo comesto, protinus insaninnt, et gaUoe
truddant ; as if nothing less than some strong infatuation
could account for continuing so barbarous a custom among
Christians and cockneys." Note to * YeiU^ ^ la Campagne,
or the Simnel, a Tale,' 1745, p. 16.

[Shying at Cocks. Probably in imitation of the bar-
barous castom of '' shying," or throwing at the Hving animal.
The " cock" was a representation of a bird or a beast, a

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82 8HE0VB-TIDB, OB SHEOVB TUESDAY.

man or horse, or some device, with a stand projecting on all
sides, but principally behind tiie figure. These were made of
lead cast in moulds. They were shyed at with dumps from a
small distance agreed upon by the parties, generally regulated
by the size or weight of the dump, and the value of the cock.
If the thrower overset or knocked down the cock, he won it ;
if he failed, he lost his dump. Shy for Shy, — ^This was played
at by two boys, each having a cock placed at a certain dis-
tance, generally about four or five feet asunder, the players
standing behind their cocks, and throwing alternately ; a bit
of stone or wood was generally used to throw with, and the
cock was won by him who knocked it down. These games
had their particular times or seasons ; and when any game was
out, as it was termed, it was lawful to steal the tlung played
with ; this was called smuyffiny, and it was expressed by the
boys in a doggrel, —

" Tops are in, spin 'em agin ;
Tops are out, smugging about."

Hone's Every-Day Book, L 253.]

PANCAKE CUSTOMS.

In the north of England Shrove Tuesday is called vulgarly
Fasten's E'en ; the succeeding day being Ash-Wednesday,
the first day of the Lenten Fast.'

At Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the great bell of St. NichoUs's
church is tolled at twelve o'clock at noon on this day*; shops
are immediately shut up, offices closed, and all kinds of busi-
ness ceases : a little carnival ensuing for the remaining part
of the day. [At Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire, the old curfew
bell, which was anciently rung in that town for the extinction
and relighting of '^ all fire and candle hght," still exists, and
has from time immemorial been regularly rung on the morn-
ing of Shrove Tuesday, at four o'clock, after which hour the
inhabitants are at liberty to make and eat pancakes, until the

' [" St. Taffy is no sooner gone,
But Pancake day is coming on :
Now eat your fill, drink if you're dry,
For Lent comes on immediately.
Now days exceed the nights in length.
And Titan's heat improves in strength.''

Poor Robin's Almanack f 1731.]

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SHEOYE-TIDE, OE SHEOYS TUESDAY. 83

bell rings at eight o'clock at night. This custom is observed so
closely, that after that hour not a pancake remains in the town.]
** Let glad Shrove Tuesday bring the pancake thin,
Or Mtter rich, ^th apples stmd within."

Ojtford Sautoffe, p. 22.

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1790, p. 256
Bays that at Westminster School, upon Shrove Tuesday, the
under clerk of the college enters the school, and preceded by
the beadle and other officers, throws a large pancake over the
bar which divides the upper from the under school. A gentle-
man, who was formerly one of the masters of that school,
confirmed the anecdote to me, with this alteration, that the
cook of the seminary brought it into the school, and threw it
ofver the curtain which separated the forms of the upper from
those of the under scholars. I have heard of a similar custom
at Eton school.

[At Baldock, in Hertfordshire, Shrove Tuesday is long anti-
cipated by the children, who designate it as Dough-nut day ;
it being usual to make a good store of small cakes fried in
hog's lard, placed over the fire in a brass skillet, called dough-
nuts, wherewith the youngsters are plentifully regaled. In
Dorsetshire boys go round, begging for pancakes, singing,—

" I be come a shrovin
Vor a little pankiak,
A bit o' bread o' your biakin,
Or a little tnickle cheese o' your miakin.
If you'll gi' me a little, I'U ax no more,
If you don't gi' me nothin, I'll rottle your door."]

The manuscript in the British Museum before cited. Status
Seholm Etanensia, 1560, mentions a custom of that school on
Shrove Tuesday, of the boys being allowed to play from eight
o'clock for the whole day ; and of the cook's coming in and
fastening a pancake to a crow, which the young crows are
calling upon, near it, at the school-door. " Die Maxtis Car-
nis-privii luditur ad horam octavam in totum diem : venit
coquus, affigit laganum comid juxta illud pullis corvorum
invocantibus eum, ad ostium scholee." The crows generally
have hatched their young at this season.*

1 " Most places in England have Eggt and CoUops (slices of bacon) on
Shrove Monday, Pancakes on Tuesday^ and Fritters on the Wednesday in
the same week for dinner."— Gent. Mag. Aug. 1790, p. 719. From * The
Westmoreland Dialect,' by A. Walker, 8vo., 1790, it appears thut cock-

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84 SHROVE-TIDE, OR SHROVE TUESDAY.

Shakespeare, in the followlDg passage, allades to the veil-
known custom of having pancakes on Shrove Taesday, in the
following string of comparisons put into the mouth of the clown
in All's Well that Ends Well.—" As fit as Tib's rush for Tib's
forefinger, as a Pancake for Shrove Tuesday y a Morris for May-
day, &c. In Gay ton's Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixot, 1654,
p. 99, speaking of Sancho Panza's having converted a cassock
into a wallet, our pleasant annotator observes, " It was ser-
viceable, after this greasie use, for nothing but to preach at a
Camivale or Shrove Tuesday, and to tosse Pancakes in after the
exercise ; or else (if it could have been conveighed thither) no-
thing more proper for the man that preaches the Cook's Sermon
at Oxford, when that plump society rides upon their govem-
ours horses to fetch in the Enemie, the Flie.'* That there
was such a custom at Oxford, let Peshall, in his history of
that city, be a voucher, who, speaking of Saint Bartholomew's
Hospital, p. 280, says, " To Uiis Hospital cooks from Oxford
flocked, bringing in on Whitsun-week the Fly." Aubrey saw
this ceremony performed in 1642. He adds : *' On Michael-
mas-day they rode thither again, to convey the Fly away."
(Remains of Gentilisme and Judaisme. MS. Lansd. 226.) In
the Life of Anthony k Wood, p. 46, are some curious particu-
lars relating to indignities shown at that time (1647) to fresh-
men at Oxford on Shrove Tuesday. A brass pot full of cawdle
was made by the cook at the freshmen's charge, and set be-
fore the fire in theCoUege-hall. '^ Afterwards every freshmaDy
according to seniority, was to pluck off his gowne and band,
and if possible to make himself look like a scoundrell. This
done, they were conducted each after the other to the high
table, and there made to stand on a forme placed thereon, from
whence they were to speak their speech with an audible voice
to the company : which, if well done, the person that spoke
it was to have a cup of caudle, and no salted drinke; if
indifferently, some caudle and some salted drinke; but if
dull, nothing was given to him but salted driuk, or salt put in

fighting and easting Paiieakesare still practised on Shrove Tuesday in that
county. Thus, p. 31, " Whaar ther wor tae be Cock-fdghtin, for it war
Pankeak Tuesday.'' And p. 35, " We met sum Lads and Lasses gangin
to iest their PankeiUks" It appears from Middleton's Masque of the
World tossed at Tennis, which was printed in 1620, that batter was
used on Shrove Tuesday at that time, no doubt for the purpose of making
pancakes.

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SHBOVE-TIDE, OE SHEOVE TUESDAY. 85

CoUege-beere, with TuckB^ to boot. Afterwards, when they
were to be admitted into the fraternity, the senior cook was to
administer to them an oath over an old shoe, part of which
mns thus : * Item, tu jurabis, qaod PenniUu Bench non
yisitabis,' &c., after which, spoken with gravity, the freshman
kist the shoe, put on his gowne and band, and took his place
among the semors/' The Editor observes, p. 50 : '* The cus-
tom described above was not, it is probable, peculiar to Mer-
ton College. Perhaps it was once general, as striking traces
of it may be found in many societies in Oxford, and in some
a very near resemblance of it has been kept up till within
these few yean."

** The great bell which used to be rung on Shrove Tuesday,
to call the people together for the purpose of confessing their
flins, was called Pancake Bell, a name which it still retains in
some places where this custom is still kept up.''— Gent. Mag.
1790, p. 495. Macaulay, in his History and Antiquities of
Glaybrook, in Leicestershire, 1791, p. 128, says : ** On Shrove
Tuesday a bell rings at noon, which is meant as a signal
for the people to begin frying their pancakes."

In a curious Tract, entitled A Vindication of the Letter
omt of the North, concerning Bishop Lake's Declaration of his
dying in the belief of the Doctrine of Passive Obedience, 1 690,
p. 4, I fold the subsequent passage :— *' They have for a long
time at York had a custom (which now challenges the privi-
l^e of a prescription) that all the apprentices, journeymen,
and other servants of the town, had the liberty to go into the
Cathedral, and ring the Pancake-bell (as we call it in the
country) on Shrove Tuesday ; and that being a time that a
great many came out of the country to see the city (if not their
friends) and church; to oblige the ordinary people, the
Minster used to be left open that day, to let them go up to see
the Lanthom and BeUs, which were sure to be pretty well
exercised, and was thought a more inliocent divertisement
than being at the alehouse. But Dr. Lake, when he came
first to reside there, was very much scandalized at this custom,
and was resolved he would break it at first dash, although all

I Tuck, L e. set the nail of their thumb to their chin, jnst under the lip,
^d by the help of their other fingers under the chin, they would give a
mark which sometimes would produce blood.

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86 SHBOTE-TIDE, OB SHBOYB TUESDAY.

his brethren of tlie clergy did dissuade him from it. He
was resolved to make the experiment^ for which he had like to
have paid very dear, for I'le assure you it was very near cost-
ing lum hik life. However, he did make such a combustion
and mutiny, that, I dare say, York never remembered nor saw
the like, as many yet living can testify." Dr. Lake's zeal and
courage on this occasion are more minutely detailed in * A
Defence of the Profession which the Bight Reverend Lord
Bishop of Chichester made upon his death-bed, concerning
Passive Obedience, and the New Oaths : together with an ao-
count of some passages of his Lordship's life,' 1690, p. 4.

The Pancake-bell, at this period, was probably common
everywhere. In Poor Bobin, for 1684, we read, in February,

** But hark, I hear the Pancake-bell,
And fritters make a gallant smell.''

Taylor, the Water Poet, in his Jacke-a-Lent, Workes,
1630, i. 115, gives the following most curious account of
Shrove Tuesday : —

'' Shrove Tuesday, at whose entrance in the morning, all the
whole kingdom is in quiet, but by that time the clocke strikes
eleven, which (by the helpe of a knavish sexton) is commonly
before nine, then there is a bell rung, cal'd the Pancake-bell,
the sound whereof makes thousands of people distracted, and
forgetfull either of manner or humanitie; then there is a
thing cald wheaten flowre, which the cookes doe mingle with
water, egges, spice, and other tragicall, magicall inchantmentsy
and then they put it by little and little into a frying-pan of
boyling suet, where it makes a coni^sed dismaU hissing (like
the Leamean snakes in the reeds of Acheron, Stix, or Phlege-
ton), untill, at last, by the skiU of the Cooke, it is transformed
into the forme of a Fkp-jack, cal'd a Pancake, which ominous
incantation the ignorant people doe devoure very greedily.'^

1 know not well wtat he means by the following : *• Then
Tim Tatters (a most valiant villaine), with an ensigne made of
a piece of a baker^s mawkin,^ fixt upon a broome-staffe, he

[ * " A cloth usually wetted and attached to a pole, to sweep dean a
baker's o^en. This word occurs in the dictionaries of Hollyhand and
Miege, and is still in use in the West of England."— Ualliwell's Dictionary,
p. 545.]

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SH£OY£-TIDE, OE SHBOYE TUESDAY. 87

displaies his dreadfdll colonrs, and calling the ragged re^ment
together, makes an illiterate oration^ stoft irith most plenti-
ful want of discretion."

Selden, in p. 20 of hia Table-talk, under Christmas, has
this passage relating to the season : " So likewise oar eating
of fiitters, whipping of tops, roasting of herrings, jack-of-
lents, &c., they are all in imitation of church works, emblems
of martyrdom."

8ir Frederick Morton Eden, in the State of the Poor,
1 797, i. 498, teUs us : " Crawdie, a dish very common in
Scotland, and accounted a very great luxury by labourers, is
a never-failing dinner in Scotland with all ranks of people on
Shrove Tuesday (as Pancakes are in England), and was proba-
bly first introduced on that day (in the Papal times) to
strengthen them against the Lenten Fast : it being accounted
the most substantial dish known in that country. On this day
there is always put into the bason or porringer, out of which
the unmarried folks are to eat, a ring, the finder of which, by
fair means, is supposed to be ominous of the finder's being
first married." Crvwdie u made by pouring boiling water over
oatmeal and stirring it a little. It is eaten with milk or
butter.

In Fosbrooke's British Monachism, ii. 127, we read : ** At
Barking Nunnery, the annual store of provision consisted of
malt, wheat, russeaulz, herrings for Advent, red ones for Lent ;
almonds, sfd^fish, salt salmones, figs, raisins, ryce, all for
Lent ; mustard ; twopence for cripsis (some crisp thing) and
cmmcakes [eruman ia/riare, Skin.] at Shrove-tide.''

Dr. €k)ldsmitb,in his Vicar of Wakefield, describing the man-
ners of some rustics, tells us, that among other old customs
which they retained, "they eat Pancakes on Shrovetide."
Poor Bobin, in his Almanack for 1677, in his Observations
on February, says there will be " a fall sea of Pancakes and
Fritters about the 26th and 27th days," (Shrove Tuesday fell
on the 27th), with these lines, —

'* Pancakes are eat by greedy gut,
And Hob and Madge ran for the dut."

[In Oxfordshire, the children go from door to door, singing
the following doggrel rhyme, —

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88 SHROVE-TIDE, OE SHEOVB TUESDAY.

** Knicky knock, the pan's hot,
And we he come a shroving :
A hit of hread, a hit of cheese,
A hit of harley dompling.
That's hetter than nothing,
Open the door and let us in,
For we be come a pancaking ;"

and then begging for half-pence.

[At lalip, in the same county, this version is used, —

** Pit a pat, the pan is hot,
We are come a shroving ;
A little bit of bread and cheese
Is better than nothing.
The pan is hot, the pan is cold ;
Is the fat in the pan nine days old ?"]

A kind of Pancake Feast, preceding Lent, was used in
the Greek Church, from whence we may probably have
borrowed it with Pasche Eggs and other such like ceremoniea.
'' The Busses," as Hakluyt tell us, " begin their Lent always
eight weeks before Easter; the first week they eat egg8>
xmlk, cheese, and butter, and make great cheer with Pancakes
and such other things." The custom of frying Pancakes (in
turning of which in the pan there is usually a good deal of
pleasantry in the kitchen) is still retained in many families of
the better sort throughout the kingdom, but seems, if the
present fashionable contempt of old customs continues, not
likely to last another century.

The apprentices, whose particular holiday this day is now
esteemed, and who are on several accounts so much interested
in the observation thereof, ought, with that watchful jealousy
of their ancient rights and Uberties, (typified so happily on
this occasion by pudding and play,) as becomes young
Englishmen, to guard against every infringement of its cere-
monies, so as to transmit them entire and unadulterated to
posterity. In Dekker's Seven Deadly Sinnes of London,
4to. 1606, p. 35, is this passage: "They presently (like
Prentices upon Shrove Tuesday) teke the lawe into their owne
handes, and do what they list." And it appears from con-
temporary writers that this day was a holiday &om time imme-
morial, for apprentices and working people. (See Dodsley's
Old Plays, vi. 387, vii. 22, and xii. 403.) ^

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SHROVE-TIDB, OE SHROVE TUESDAY. 89

[" February welcome, though still cold and bitter,
Thoa bringest Valentine, Pan cake, and Fritter ;
Bat formerly most dreadful were the knocks
Of Prentices 'gainst Whore-houses and Ck>cks/'

Poor RobtHf 1707.^

Two or three customs of less general notoriety, on Shrove
Tuesday, remain to be mentioned. It is remarked with much
probabUity in a note upon the old play of the Honest Whore,
by Dekker, that it was formerly a custom for the peace-
officers to make search after women of ill fame on Shrove
Tuesday, and to coDfine them during the season of Lent.
So, Sensuality says in Microcosmus, Act 5, —

** But now welcome a Cart or a Shrove Tttetday's Tragedy**

In Strype's edition of Stow*s Survey of London, 1720, i.
258, we read that in the year 1555, '' An ill woman who kept
the Greyhound in yfestminster was carted about the city, and
the Abbot's servant (bearing her good will) took her out of
the cart, as it seems, before she had finisht her punishment,
who was presently whipt at the same cart's tail for his pains."
In 1556, ''were carted two men and three women. One of
Uiese men was a bawd, for bringing women to strangers.
One of the women kept the Bell in Gracechurch-street,
another was the good wife of the Bull beside London-stone ;
both bawds and whores." 1559. " The wife of Henry Glyn,
goldsmith, was carted about London, for being bawd to her
own daughter." Several curious particulars concerning the
dd manner of carting people of this description may be
gathered from the second part of the Honest Whore, 1630.

" Enter the two Masters — rafter them the Constable, after
them a Beadle beating a bason, &c." — Mistris Horsleach
says: —

" Tou doe me wrong — I am knowne for a motherly honest
woman, and no bawd." — To an inquiry, " Why before does
the bason ring ?" It is thus answered : —

** It is an emblem of their revelling ;
The whips we use lets forth their wanton blood,
Making them calme, and more to calme their pride,
Instead of coaches they in cartt do ride."

And again, — "Enter Constable and BiUmen.
"How now?
Fst Shrove Tuesday, that these ghosts walke ?"

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90 SHBOVE-TIDE, OE SHBOVE TUESDAY.

In Nabbe's Comedy entitled Tottenham Court, 1638,
p. 6, the following occnrs : — " If I doe, I have lease mercy
then Prentices at Shrovetide,**

Sir Thomas OTerbury, in his Characters, speaking of "a
Maguerela^ in plaine English, a bawde," says, '* Nothing
daunts her so much as the approach of Shrove Tuesday."
Again, speaking of ** a roarine ooy," he observes that *' he
is a supervisor of brothels, and in them is a more unlawful
reformer of vice than prentises on Shrove Tuesdav." In the
Inner Temple Masque, 1619, we read, —

^ Stand forth Shrove Tuesday, one 'a the sile&Grt Bridttlqren*
T'is in your charge to poll down hawdy-honses.
To set your tribe awoike, cause spoyle in Shorditch/' &c.

The punishment of people of evil fame at this season
seems to have been one of the chief sports of the apprentices.
In a Satyre against Separatists, 1675, we read, —

-The Prentises — ^for they

Wh0| if upon Shrove Tuesday , or May Day,

Beat an old Bawd or fright poor Whores they could,

Thought themselves greater than their Founder LudJ

Have now vast thoughts, and scorn to set upon

Any whore less than her of Babylon.

They'r mounted high, contemn the humble play

Of Trap or Foot-baU on a holiday

In Finesbury-fieldes. No, 'tis their brave intent,

Wisely f advise the King and Parliament."^

The use of the game of Foot-ball on this day has been
ahready noticed from Fitzstephen's London, and it appears
from Sir John Bramston's Autobiography, p. 110, that it vaa
usual to play Foot-ball in the streets of London in the seven-
teenth century. In the Penny Magazine of April 6th, 1839,
p. 131, is along account of the Derby Foot-ball play, [and
till within the last few years, the game was sufficienUy com-
mon in the neighbourhood of London, so much to the
annoyance of the inhabitants that it was in some places

^ In Dekker's Play of Match me in London, BUboa says : " FU beats
down the doore, and put him in mind of Shrove Tuesday, the fatal! day
for doores to be broke open.'' See the custom further explained in
HalliweU s Dictionary, p. 739.

' The allusion of this passage, though published later, is evidently to
the period of the great Rebellion.

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SHSOVS-TIDEy OK 8HS0TS TUESDAY. 91

suppressed by order of the magistrates. Billet or tip-cat is also
a favorite game for this day, and in some parts of the North
of England, it is customary for the girls to occupy some part
of the festival by the game of battledore and shuttlecock,
WBging,—

" Great A, little A,
This is pancake day ;
Toss the hall high,
Throw the baU low,
Those that come after
May sing heigh-ho !*']

In the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1795, xvi. 19,
Parish of Inverness, County of Mid-Lothian, we read : " Chi
Shrove Tuesday there is a standing match at Foot-ball be-
tween the married and unmarried women, in which the former
are always victorious." In the same work, 1796, xviii. 8S,
parish of Scone, county of Perth, we read : " Every year on
Shrove Tuesday the batchelors and married men drew them-
selves up at the Cross of Scone, on opposite sides. A ball
was then thrown up, and they played from two o'clock till
sunset. The game was this. He who at any time got the
ball into his hands, run with it till overtaken by one of the
opposite party, and then, if he could shake himself loose
fin>m those on the opposite side who seized him, he run
on : if not, he threw the ball from him, unless it was wrested
from him by the other party ; but no person was allowed to
kick it. The object of the married men was to hang it, i. e.
to put it three times into a small hole in the moor, the dool
or limit on the one hand: that of the batchelors was to
drown it, i. e. to dip it three times into a deep place in the
river, the limit on the other. The party who could effect
either of these objects won the game. But, if neither party
won, the baU was cut into equal parts at sun-set. In the
course of the play, one might always see some scene of violence
between the parties : but as the proverb of this part of the
country expresses it, 'All was fair at the Ball of Scone*'
This custom is supposed to have had its origin in the days of
chivalry. An Italian, it is said, came into this part of the ,
country, challenging all the parishes, under a certain penalty
in case of declinmg his challenge. All the parishes declined
the challenge except Scone, which beat the foreigner, and in

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92 SHBOY£-TID£, OE SHftOYE TUESDAY.

commemoration of this gallant action the game was inati-
tated. Whilst the custom continued, every man in the
parish, the gentry not excepted, was obliged to turn out and
support the side to which he belonged ; and the person who
neglected to do his part on that occasion was fined : but the
custom, being attended with certain inconveniencies, was
abolished a few years ago."

With regard to the custom of playing at Foot-ball on
ShroYC Tuesday, I was informed, that at Alnwick Castle, in
Northumberland, the waits belonging to the town come
playing to the Castle every year on Shrove Tuesday, at two
o'clock p. m., when a Foot-ball was thrown over the Castle
walls to the populace. I saw this done Feb. 5th, 1788. In
King's Yale Royal of England, p. 197, there is an account
that, at the city of Chester in the year 1533, " the offerinff
of ball and foot-balls were put down, and the silver beU
offered to the maior on Shrove Tuesday."

[In Ludlow, the custom of rope-pulling has been observed
on Shrove Tuesday from time immemorial. The following
account of it in 1846, is taken from a contemporary news-
paper : — " The annual and time-out-of-mind custom of rope-
pulling was duly observed last week. A little before four
o'clock, the Mayor, accompanied by a numerous party of
gentlemen, proceeded towards the Market-hall, out of one of
the centre windows of which was suspended the focus of attrac-
tion, viz. the ornamented rope. Many thousand people of
all degrees were here assembled, the majority of them pre-
pared for the tug of war ; and precisely as the chimes told
four, the Mayor and assistants gradually lowered the grand
object of contention, amidst the deafening cheers of the mul-
titude. The struggle then commenced in earnest, which,
after the greatest exertion, ended in favour of the Corve-street
Ward. As is always the case, the defeated party went round
collecting subscriptions to purchase the leviathan rope from
the successful possessors ; which being accomplished, another
fierce and mamy struggle through the town ensued, and this
time victory declared in favour of the Broad-street Ward.
The approaching shades of night only put an end to the sports,
and we are happy to add that not any accident occurred to
mar the pleasures of the day."]

In Pennant's account of the citv of Chester he tells us of

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8HB0VE-TIDE, OE SUKOVE TUESDAY. 93

a place ▼ithout the walls, called the Rood Eye, where the
lusty youth in former days exercised themselves in manly
sports of the age ; in archery, running, leaping, and wrest-
Img ; in mock fights and gallant romantic triumphs. A
standard was the prize of emulation in the sports celebrated
on the Rood Eye, which was won in 1578 by Sheriff Mont-
ford on Shrove Tuesday.

In the Shepherd's Almanack for 16/6, under February,
we find the following remarks : . " Some say thunder on
Shrove Tuesday foreteUeth wind, store of fruit, and plenty.
Others affirm, that so much as the sun shineth that day, the
like will shine every day in Lent."

From Lavaterus on Walking Spirits, p. 51, it should seem
that, anciently, in Helvetia, fires were lighted up at Shrove-tide.
*' And as the young men in Helvetia, who with their fire-brand,
which they light at the bone-fires at Shrof-tide," &c. Donee's
manuscript notes say : " Among the Finns no fire or candle
may be lundled on the Eve of Shrove Tuesday.'*

I shall close this account of the customs of Shrove Tues-
day with a curious poem from Pasquil's Palinodia, 1634. It
contains a minute description of all that appears to have
bean generally practised in England. The beating down the
barber's basins on that day, I have not found elsewhere : —

" It was the day of all dayes in the year,^

That unto Bacchus hath his dedication,
When mad-hrain'd prentices, that no men feare,

O'erthrow the dens of hawdie recreation ;
When taylors, cohlers, plaist'rers, smiths, and masons,
And every rogue will beat down barbers^ btuoru,
Whereat Don Constahle in wrath appeares,
And runs away with his stout halhadiers.

It was the day whereon hoth rich and poore
Are chiefly feasted with the self-same dish.

When every paunch, till it can hold no more,
Is firitter-fiU'd, as well as heart can wish ;

And every man and maide doe take their tume,

And tosse their pancakes up for feare they hume ;

And all the kitchen doth with hiughter sound.

To see the pancakes fall upon the ground.

' [A common vernacular phrase. So the Nurse' in Romeo and Juliet
says, ** Of all the days in the year, upon that day."]

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94 SHBOYE-TIDE, OE SHSOVE TUESDAY.

It was the day when eTeiy kitchen reekes,

And hungry belliea keepe a jubile.
When flesh doth bid adieu for divers weekes,

And leaves old ling to be his deputie.

It was the day when pullen goe to block,

And every spit is filled with belly-timber,
When cocks are cudgel'd down with many a knock,

And hens are thrasht to make them short and tender ;
When country wenches play with stoole and ball,

And run at barly-breake untill they faHL"

[The author of the Book of Knowledge, 1703, sap, "On
Shrove Tuesday, whosoever doth plant or bow, it shall remain
always green : how much the sun did shine that day, so
much shall it shine every day in Lent ; and always the next
new moon that falleth after Candlemas Day, the next Tuesday
after that shall always be Shrove Tuesday." A MS. Miscel-
lany in my possession, dated 1691, says that if the wind
blows on the night of Shrove Tuesday, "it betokeneth a
death amongst them are learned, and much fish shall die in
the following summer."]

ASH WEDNESDAY.

This, which is the first day of Lent, is called Ash Wednes-
day, as we read in the Festa Anglo-Romana, p. 19, from the
ancient ceremony of blessing Ashes on that day, and therewith
the priest signeth the people on the forehead, in the form of
a cross, affording them withal this wholesome admonition :
" Memento, homo, quod pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris ;"
(Remember, man, thou art dust, and shalt return to dust).
The ashes used this day in the Church of Rome are made of
the palms consecrated the Sunday twelve months before. i In
a convocation held in the time of Henry the Eighth, men-
tioned in Fuller's Church History, p. 222, " giving of ashes
on Ash Wednesday, to put in remembrance every Christian
man the beginning of Lent and Penance, that he is but ashes

* Or rather, " The Ashes which they use this day, are made of tie
Pa/me« blessed the Palm-Sunday before."— iVeto Helpe to JHieourte, 1684,
p. 319.

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▲SH WEDNESDAY. 05

and earth, and thereto shall return/' ia reserved, with some
other rites and ceremonies which sorviyed the shock that, at
that remarkable era, almost overthrew the whole pile of Ca-
tholic superstitions.'

Durandas, in his Rationale,^ tell us. Lent was counted to
begin on that which is now the first Sunday in Lent, and to
end on Easter Eve ; which time, saith he, containing forty-two
days, if you take out of them the six Sundays on which it
was counted not lawful at any time of the year to fast, then
there will remain only thirty-six days : and, therefore, that
the number of days which Christ fasted might be perfected.
Pope Gregory added to Lent four days of the week before
going, viz. that which we now call Ash Wednesday, and the
three days following it. So that we see the first observation
of Lent b^an from a superstitious, unwarrantable, and indeed
profane conceit of imitating our Saviour's miraculous absti-
nence.3

There is a curious clause in one of the Romish Casuists
concerning the keeping of Lent, viz. " that beggars which are
ready to afGsimish^ for want, may in Lent time eat what they
can get." See Bishop Hall's Triumphs of Rome, p. 123.

In the FestyvaU, 1 5 1 1 , f. 1 5, it is said : " Ye shall begyn your
faste upon Aishe Wednesdaye. That daye must ye come to
holy chirche, and take ashes of the Preestes hondes, and thynke
on the wordes well that he sayeth over your hedes. Memento,
homoy quia cinis eg, et in cinerem reverteris, have mynde, thou
man, of ashes thou art comen, and to ashes thou shalte toume
agayne.*' This work, speaking of Quatuor Temporum, or Ymbre

^ [The consecrated ashes are thus mentioiled in an early MS. cited by
Ducange : " Cineres qui in capite jejunii fratrum ollm penitentium hodie
fidelimn omnium imponuntur." Ash Wednesday was the caput Jtyumi.'}

* Lent is so called from the time of the year wherein it is observed, in
. the Saxon language signifying Spring, being now used to signify the
' Spring-Fast, which always begins so that it may end at Easter, to remind

OS of our SaTioor's sufferings, which ended at his resurrection. (Wheatley
oo the Common Prayer, ed. 1848, p. 218.) Ash Wednesday is, in some
places, called Pulver Wednesday, that is Diet Puheris. The word Len-
tron, for Lent, occurs more than once in the Regiam Majestatem, 1609.
Lengten-tide for Spring, when the days lengthen, occurs in the Saion
Heptateuch, ed. 1698, Exod. xxxiv. 18.
' Quoted in the Weekly Pacquet of Advice from Rome, i. 186.

* [To ^ish. The word occurs in Spenser.]

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96 ASH WEDNESDAY.

Days, now called Ember Days, f. 41, says, they were so called
" because that our elder fathers wolde on these days ete no
brede but cakes made under ashes." In a proclamation, dated
26th Feb. 1539, in the library of the Society of Antiquaries of
London, concerning Rites and Ceremonies to be retained in
the Church of England, we read, " On Ashe Wenisday it shall
be declared that these ashes be gyven, to put every Christen
man in remembrance of penaunce at the begynnynge of Lent,
and that he is but erthe and ashes." ^

In the Doctrine of the Masse Booke, from Wyttonbuige,
by Nicholas Dorcastor, 1554, we find translated the form of
" the haloiffing of the ashes," The Masse Book saith, that
upon Ash Wednesdaye, when the Prieste hath absolved the
people, then must there be made a blessynge of the ashes by
the Priest, being turned towards the East. In the first prayer
is this passage : *' Vouchsafe to + blesse and + sanctifie
these ashes, which because of humilitie and of holy religion,
for the clensyng out of our trespaces, thou hast appointed ns
to cary upon our heades, after the manner of the Ninivites."
And after directions to sprinkle the ashes with holy toater^ and
another prayer, this rubrick is added, '' Then let them distri-
bute the ashes upon the heades of the darckes and of the lay
people, the worthier persons makyng a sygne of the crosse
with the ashes, saying thus : Memento, homo, quod cinis,
&c. Remember, man, that thou art ashes, and into ashes shaU
thou retourne." In Bonner's Injunctions, 1555, we read,
*' that the hallowed ashes gyven by the Priest to the people
upon Ashe Wednisdaye, is to put the people in remembrance of
penance at the begynnynge of Lent, and that their bodies ar
but earth, dust, and ashes." Dudley Lord North, in his Forest
of Varieties, 1645, p. 165, in allusion to this custom, styles
one of his essays, " My Ashewednesday Ashes."

From a passage cited by Hospinian, from Naogeorgus,
it appears that anciently, after the solemn service and
sprinkling with ashes on Ash Wednesday, the people used

1 Howe's edition of Stow's Annals, p. 595, states, sub anno 1547-8,
^ the Wednesday following, commonly called Ash Wednesday, the use of
giving aslies in the church was also left throughout the whole dtie of
London ;" and ** mannerlye to take theyr ashes devoutly,'' is among the
Roman Catholic customs censured by John Bale, in his Declaration of
Bonner's Articles, 1554, as is also *' to conjure ashes.''

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iLSU WBBNBSDAY, 97

to repeat the fooleries of the CarDiTnl, Then follows the
Fool-rloogh, for which the reader is referred to the sports
of Christmas. The whole passage from Naogeorgos is thus
translated hy Bamahy Googe : —

■ The Wednesday next a solemne day to Charch they early go ;
To sponge oat all the foolish deedes by them committed so,
fhey money give, and on their heddes the Prieste doth ashes laye,
And with his holy water washeth all their sinnes away :
In woondrous sort against the veniall sinnes doth profite this,
Tet here no stay of madnesse now, nor ende of follie is,
^th mirth to dinner straight they go, and to their woonted play,
And on their devills shapes they pat, and sprightish fonde araye'
Some sort there are that mooming go with lantames in their

hande,
"While in the day time Titan bright amid the skies doth stande,
And seeke their Shroftide Bachanals, still crying every where,
Where are oar feastes become ? alas, the crnell fastes appere !
Some beare about a herring on a sti^e, and loude doe rore,
Herrings, herrings, stincking herrings, puddings now no more.
And hereto joyne they foolish playes, and doltish dogrell rimes,
And what beside they can invent, belonging to the times.
Some others beare vpon a staffe their fellowes horsed hie,
And carie them onto some ponde, or running river nie,
That what so of their foolish feast doth in them yet remayne.
May undemeth the floud be plungde, and wash't away againe.
Some children doe intise with nuttes, and peares abrode to play,
And singing through the towne they go before them all the way.
In some pl^es all the youthful flocke with minstrels doe repaire,
And oat of every house they plucke the girles and maydens fayre,
And then to plough they straightways put with whip one doth them

hit,
Another holds the plough in hande : the minstrell here doth sit
Amidde the same, and drunken songes with gaping mouth he sings,
Whome foloweth one that sowes out sande, or ashes fondly flinjjps.
When thus they throui^h the streetes have plaide, the man that

goideth all
Doth drive both plough and maydens through some ponde or river

small, t

And dabbled all with durt and wringing wette as they may be,
To supper calles, and after that to daunsing Instilee :
The follie that these dayes is usde can no man well declare,
Their wanton pastimes, wicked actes, and all their franticke fare.
On Sunday at the length they leave their mad and foolish game,
And yet not so, but that they drinke, and dice away the same.
Thus at the last to Bacchus is this day appoynted cleare,
Then (O poor wretches !) fastings long approaching doe appeare :

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98 ASH WEDNESDAY.

In fortie dUtyes they neyther milke, nor fieshe, nor egges doe eate,
And butter with their lippes to touch is thought a trespasse great :
Both ling and saltfish they devoure, and fishe of every sorte,
Whose purse is full, and such as live in great and wealthie porte :
But onyans, browne bread, leekes, and salt, must poore men dayly

gnaw,
And fry their oten cakes in oyle. The Pope devisde this law
For shines, th' offending people here from hell and death to poll,
Beleeving not that all their sinnes were earst forgiven full.
Yet here these wofiil soules he helpes, and taking money fast,
Doth all things set at libertie, both egges and flesh at last.
The images and pictures now are coveI^de secretlie
In every Church, and from the beames, the roof and rafters hie,
Hanges painted linen clothes that to the people doth deckre.
The wrathe and fnrie great of God, and times that fasted are.
Then all men are constrainde their sinnes, by cruel law, to tell,
And threatned, if they hide but one, with dredful death and hell ;
From hence no little gaines unto the Priestes doth still arise.
And of the Pope the shambles doth appeare in beastly wise."

According to Aubanus, trans, p. 279, there is a strange cus-
tom used in many places of Germany upon Ash Wednesday,
" for then the young youth get all the maides together^ which
have practised dauncing all the year before, and carrying them
in a carte or tumbrell (which they draw themsehes instead of
horses), and a minstrell standing a-top of it playing all the
way, they draw them into some lake or river, and there wash
them favouredly."

The ancient discipline of sackcloth and ashes, on Ash Wed-
nesday, is at present supplied in our church by reading pub-
licly on this day the curses denounced against impenitent
sinners, when the people are directed to repeat an Amen at
the end of each malediction. Enlightened as we think our-
selves at this day, there are many who consider the general
avowal of the justice of Grod's wrath against impenitent sin-
ners as cursing their neighbours : consequently, like good
Christians, they keep away from church on the occasion. In
the Churchwarden's account of St. Mary-at-Hill, in the city of
London, for 1492, is the following article : — *' For dyssplying
roddys, ij*;" and again, in 1501, " For paintynge the Crosse
Staffe for Lent, iiij*." It appears from the Status Schol» Eton-
ensis, 1560, already quoted, that at that time it was the custom
of the scholars of that seminary to choose themselves confessors
out of the masters or chaplains, to whom they were to confess

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ASH WEDNESDAY. 99

their sms. Herrick, in his Noble Nomben, has some lines on
keeping Lent by fasting : —

" To keep a true Lent.

" Is this a Fsst, to keep
The larder leane,
And cleane,
From fat of veales and sheep ?

Is it to quit the dish

Of flesh, yet stiU

To mi
The platter high with fish ?

Is it to faste an houre,

Or rag'd to go,

Or show
A down-cast look and sowre ^

No ; 'tis a Fast to dole

Thy sheaf of wheat,

And meat,
Unto the hungry soule.

It is to fast from strife.

From old debate,

And hate;
To drcumcise thy life ;

To show a heart grief-rent,

To starve thy sin.

Not bin ;
And that's to keep thy Lent/'

[Aubrey, in MS. Lansd. 231, gives the following very
cnrions information : '' It is the custom for the boys aod
girls in country schools, in several parts of Oxfordshire, at
their breaking up in the week before Easter, to goe in a gang
from house to house, with little clacks of wood, and when they
come to any door, there they fall a^beating their clacks, and
singing this song : —

1 For iererai curious customs or ceremonies observed abroad during the
three first days of the Quinquagesima Week, see Hospinian de Origine
Festorum Chnstianorum, foL 45, and the translation of Naogeorgus, by
Bamaby Googe, so frequently quoted in this work.

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100 ASH WEDNIBDAY.

Herrings, heningB, white and red.

Ten t penny, lient's dead;

Rifle, dame, and give an egg

Or else a piece of bacon. ,

One for Peter, two for Paal,

Three for Jack a Lent's all—

Away, Lent, away !

They expect from every house some eggs, or a piece of ba-
con, which they carry baskets to receive, and feast apon at
the week's end. At first coming to the door, they all strike
up very loud, " Herrings, herrings," &c., often repeated. As
soon as they receive any largess, they begin the chorus, —

** Here sits a good wife.
Pray God save her life ;
Set her upon a hod,
And drive her to God."

But if they lose their expectation, and. must goe away
empty, then with a full cry, —

" Here sits a bad wife
The devil take her life ;
Set her upon a swivell.
And send her to the devilL"

And, in further indignation, they commonly cut the latch of
the door, or stop the key-hole with dirt, or leave some more
nasty token of oispleasure."]^

At Dijon, in Burgundy, it is the custom upon the first
Sunday in Lent to miake large fires in the streets, whence it is
caUed Firebrand Sunday. This practice originated in the
processions formerly made on that day by the peasants with
lighted torches of straw, to drive away, as they called it, the
bad air from the earth.

[Miss Plumptre has given us an account of a ceremony in
Marseilles, on Ash Wednesday, called interring the carnival.
A whimsical figure is dressed up to represent the carnival,
which is carried, in the afternoon, in procession to Arrens, a
small village on the sea-shore, about a mile out of the town,
where it is pulled to pieces. This ceremony is usuallv
attended by crowds of the inhabitants of Marseilles, of aU
ranks and classes.]

■ Thorns' Anecdotes and Traditions, p. 113.

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ASH WEDNESDAY. 101

A JackH^-Lmi was a puppet formerly thrown at» in our
own country, in Lent, like Shroye Cocks. So, in the Weakest
goes to the Wall, 1600, '*a mere anatomy, a Jack of Lent."
Again, in the Four Prentices of London, 1615, " Now you
old Jack of Lent six weeks and upwards," and in Green's
Tu quoque, ** for if a boy, that is throwing at his Jack o' Lent,
chance to hit him on the shins." So, in the old Comedy of
Lady Alimony, 1659 : —

" Throwing cadgeb

At Jack-a-Lenta or Shroye-cockB«"i

[Elderton, in a ballad, caUed Lentm Stuff", in a MS. in the
Ashmolean Museum, thus concludes his account of Lent: —

" Then Jake k Lent comes justlynge in,

With the hedpeece of a herynge,
And saythe, repent yowe of yower syn,

For shame, syrs, leve yower swerynge :
And to Palme Sonday doethe he ryde.
With sprots and herryngs hy hys syde.
And makes an end of Lenton tyde T']

In Quarle's Shepherd's Oracles, 1646, p. 88, we read,—

'< How like a Jack a Lent
He stands, for hoys to spend their Shrove-tide throws,
Or like a pnppit made to frighten crows."

[The term, as now used in the proTinces, is applied to a
scarecrow of old clothes, sometimes stuffed, and Fielding em-
ploys the term in that sense in his Joseph Andrews. It was
also a term of contempt (See Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 481).
Taylor, the Water-poet, wrote a yery curious tract, called
" Jack a Lent, his beginning and entertainment, with the
mad prankes of his gentleman-usher, Shrove Tuesday, that

* Again in Ben Jonson's Tale of a Tnh : —

<« On an Ash-Wednesday,

When thou didst stand six weeks the Jack o' Lent,
For hoys to hurl three throws a penny at thee."

And in Beaumont and Fletcher's Tamer Tamed : —

"If I forfeit,

Make me a Jacko' Lent and break my shins
For untagged points and counters."

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1^2 ST. dayid's day.

goes before him, and his footman Hunger attending." It
commences as follows : —

" Of Jacke an Apes I list not to endite,
Nor of Jack Daw my gooses quill shall write ;
Of Jacke of Newbery I will not repeate,
Nor Jack of Both Sides, nor of Skipjadie neate.
But of the Jacke of Jackes, great Jacke a Lent,
To write his worthy acts is my intent."

It is a proverb in Norfolk that wherever the wind lies on
Ash Wednesday, it continues during the whole of Lent.]

ST. DAVID'S DAY.

March 1.

** March, yarions, fierce, and wild, with wind-crackt cheeks,

By wilder Welshman led, and crmm'd vrith Leeka, — Churcbill."

AccoBDiNG to Pitts, St. David, Archbishop of Menevy,
now from him called St. David's, in Pembrokeshire, flourished
in the fifth and sixth centuries of the Christian era, and died
at the age of a hundred and forty years.' [His day is still
annually celebrated in London by the Society of Ancient
Britons, and has long been assigned to the Welsh. In the
Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VII., 1492, is the following
entry under March 1st, '' Walshemen, on St David Day,

We read in the Festa Anglo-Romana, 1678, p. 29, that
' the Bntons on this day constantly wear a Leek, in memory
of a famous and notable victory obtained by them over the
Saxons ; they, during the battle, having Leeks in their hats,

[The Britannia Sacra says he was a Bishop of Meneria, and died in
544 ; and, according to Hospinian, as quoted by Hampson, he was not
commemorated before the twelfth century.]

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ST. datib's DAT. 103

for their military colours and distinction of themsehes, by the
persuasion of the said prelate, St. David.'* Another account
adds, that they were fighting under their king Cadwallo, neai-
a field that was replenished with tbi^t vegetable. So, Walpole,
in his British Traveller, tells us : •' in the days of King Arthur,
St. David won a great vict<Mry over the Saxons, having ordered
every one of his soldiers to place a Leek in his cap, for the
sake of distinction : in memory whereof the Welsh to this
day wear a Leek on the first of March."

The following verses occur among Holmes* MS. collections
in the British Museum, HarL 1977, f. 9,—

** I like the Leeke above all herbs and flowers,
When first we wore the same the feild was ours.
The Leeke is white and greene, whereby is ment
That Britaines are both stout and eminent ;
Next to the lion and the Unicom,
The Leeke the fairest emblyn that is womc."

[In the Salyshurye Prymer, 1533 are the following carious
lines, —

" Davyd of Wales loveth well lekes,
That wyll make Gregory lane chekes ;
Yf Edwarde do eate some with them,
Mary sende hym to Bedlem.*'

The court at one time practised the custom of wearing
leeks on this day; the Flying Post, 1699, informs us, "Yes-
terday, heing St. David's Day, the King, according to custom,
wore a leek in honour of the ancient Britons, the same heing
presented to him hy the Serjeant-porter, whose place it is,
and for which he claims the cloaths which his Majest}' wore
that day. The courtiers, in imitation of his Migesty, wore
leeks likewise." — ^Archseologia, xxxii. 399. Aubrey, MS.
Lansd. 231, says, "the vulgar in the West of England doe
call the moneth of March hde : a proverbial rhythm, —

" Eate leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May,
And all the year after Physitians may play.''

The following proverbial sayings relative to this day are
still current in the North of England, —

*« Upon St. David's day,
Put oats and barley in the day."

y Google

104 ST. davtd'b day.

<< On the first of Much,
The crows begin to search/'

'* First comes David, next come Chad,
And then comes Winnold as though he was mad."]

In the Diverting Post, No. 19, from Feb. 24 to March 3,
1705, we have these lines : —

** Why on St. David's Day, do Welshmen seek
To beautify their hat with verdant Leek
Of nauseous smell? * For honour 'tis/ hur say,
' Duiee et decorum ett pro patria,'
Right, Sur, to die or fight it is, I think ;
But how is't duk€f when you ifor it stink ?"

To a Querist in the British Apollo, 1708, vol. i. No. 10,
asking, why do the Ancient Bntons (viz. Welshmen) wear
Leeks in their hats on the first of March? the following
answer is given : " The ceremony is observed on the first of
March, in commemoration of a signal victory obtained by
the Britons, under the command of a famous general, known
vulgarly by the name of St. David. The Britons wore a
Leek in their hats to distinguish their friends from their
enemies, in the heat of the battle.*' So Rolt, in his Cam-
bria, 1759, p. 63,—

<* In Cambria, 'tis said, tradition's tale
Recounting, teUs how fsm'd Menevia's Priest
Marshalled his Britons, and the Saxon host
Discomfited ; how the green Leek the bands
Distinguithed, eince by Britona yearly worn,
Commemorates their tutelary Saint"

Misson, in his Travels in England, translated by Ozell, p.
334, says, speaking of the Welsh, " On the day of St. David,
their Patron, they formerly gain'd a victory over the English,
and in the battle every man distmguish'd himself by wearing
a Leek in his hat ; and, ever since, they never fail to wear a
Leek on that day. ne King himself is so complaisant as to
hear them eonwan^** In the Royal Apophthegms of King
James, 1658, I r^ the following in the first page : " IHe
Welchmen^ in commemoration of the Great Fight hy the
Black Prince of Wales, do wear Leeks as their chosen en-
sign:" and the Episcopal Almanadc for 1677 states that

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ST. DATID*8 DAT. 105

St. David, who was of royal extraction, and imcle to king
Arthur, " died aged a hundred and forty-siz years, on the
first of March, still celehrated hy the Welsh, perchance to
perpetuate the memory of hia abitineneCi whose contented
miiid made many a fsTonrite meal on snch roots of the
earth." The commemoration of the British yictorv, how-
erer, appears to afford the hest solution of weannir the
Leek.i

[It would appear from some lines in Poor Rohin's Alma-
nack for 1757, that in England a Welshman was formerly
humt in efiBgy on this anniversary, —

'* Bat it would make a stranger laugh
To see th* English hang poor Taff :
A pair of breeches and a coat,
Hats, shoes, and stockings, and what not,
All stuffed with hay to represent
The Cambrian hero thereby meant :
With sword sometimes three inches broad,
And other armour made of wood,
They drag hur to some pubUck tree,
And hang hur up in effigy."

To this custom Pepys seems to allude in his Diary for 1667,
" In Mark Lane I do observe (it being St. David's Day)
the picture of a man dressed like a Welshman, hanging by
the neck, upon one of the poles that stand out at the top of
one of the merchant's houses in full proportion, and very
handsomely done, which is one of the oddest sights I have
seen a good while." Possibly arising from this was the
practice till lately in vogue amongst pastrycooks of hanging
or skewering tajiee or Welshmen of gingerbread for sale on
St. David's Day.]

Coles, in his Adam in Eden, says, concerning Leeks, " The
Gentlemen in Wales have them in great regard, both for
their feeding, and to wear in their hats upon St. David's
Day."

In an old satirical Ballad, entitled "The Bishop's last

* [Dr. Owen Pughe, the British lexicographer, differing from his mar-
tial countrymen, supposes that the custom originated in the Cymmorthat
still observed in Wales, in which the farmers reciprocate assistance in
ploughing their land, when every one contributes his leek to the common
repast.— Hampson's Kalend. L 170. See also p. 107.]

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106 ST. David's day.

Good-night," a single sheet, dated 1642, the 14th stansa
runs thus : —

** Landaff, proTride for St. David's Day,
Lest the Leeke and Red-henring run away,
Are you resolved to go or stay ?
Yon are called for LandaJQT:
Come in, Landaff/'

Ray has the following proverb on this day, —

" Upon St. David's Day, put oats and barley in the day."

In Cazton's Description of Wales, at the end of the St.
Alban's Chronicle, 1500, speaking of the ''Manners and
Rytes of the Walshemen," we read, —

<< They have gruell to potage,
And Leekeg kynde to companage."
as also, —

" Atte meete, and after eke,
Her solace is salt and Leeke."

In Shakespeare's play of Henry the Fifth, Act. v. Sc. 1,
Gower asks Fluellen, '' But why wear you your Leek to-day ?
Saint Davy's Day is past.** From Fluellen's reply we gather,
that he wore his Leek in consequence of an afiront he had re-
ceived but the day before from Pistol, whom he afterwards
compels to eat Leek, skin and all, in reyenge for the insult ;
quaintly observing to him, " When you take occasion to see
Leeks hereafter, I pray you mock at them, that is all."
Gower too upbraids Pistol for mocking ** at an ancient tradi-
tion—begun upon an honourable respect ^ and worn as a
memorable trophy of predeceased valour.'*

[This seems to show that Shakespeare was acquainted with
the tradition above quoted from the Festa Anglo-Romana.
It is, however, sufficiently singular that Grimm quotes a
passage from an ancient Edda in which a chieftain is repre-
sented as carrying an onion either as a returning conqueror,
or because it was a custom to wear it at a name giving. See
a paper by Mr. Thoms in the Archeologia, zxzii. 398. The
onion was held sacred by the ancient Egyptians, a super-
stition ridiculed by Juvenal, —

■ " "lis dangerous here

To violate an onion» or to stain

The sanctity of leeks with tooth profane.*^

yGoogk

ST. David's day. 107

in the Flowers of the LiTes of the most renoinied Saints,
we read of St. David, that ''he died Ist March, ahoat a.d.
550, which day, not only in Wales, hut all England over, is
most £unoas in memorie of him. But id these our unhappy
daies, the greatest part of this solemnitie consisteth in wear-
ing of a greene Leeke, and it is a tufficient theme for a zealous
WeUhman to ground a quarrell againat him that doth not
honour hie eapp vfith the like ornament that dayP ^ Ursula is
introduced in the old play of the Vow-breaker, or the Fayre
Maid of CHfton, 1636, as telling Anne— '* Thou marry Ger-
man! Hie head^e like a WelchmaiCe creet on St, Davie* e
Day ! He looks like a hoary frost in December ! Now
Venus blesse me, Fde rather ly by a statue !"

Owen, in his Cambrian Biography, 1803, p. 86, says : ''In
consequence of the romances of the middle ages which
created the Seven Champions of Christendom, St. David has
been dignified with the title of the Patron Saint of Wales :
but this rank, however, is hardly known among the people of
the Principality, being a title diffused among them from
England in modem times. The writer of this account never
heard of such a Patron Saint, nor of the Leek as his symbol,
until he became acquainted theretoith in London,'* He adds,
" The wearing of the Leek on Saint David's Day probably
originated from the custom of Cymhortha, or ihe neighbourly
aid practised among farmers, which is of various kinds. In
some districts of South Wales, all the neighbours of a small
farmer without means appoint a day when they all attend to
plough his lands and the like ; and at such a time it is a
custom for each individual to bring his portion of Leeks, to
be used in making pottage for the whole company ; and they
bring nothing else but the Leeks in particular for the occa-
sion." The reader is left to reconcile this passage with what
has been already said upon the day.

' For a Life of St. David, Patron Saint of Wales, who, according to a
Welsh pedigiee, was son of Caredig, Lord of Cardiganshire, and his
mother Non, daughter of Tnyr, of Caer Gawch, see Anglia Sacra, voL ii.
The battle gained over the Saxons, by King Cadwallo, at Hethfield or
Hatfield Chase, in Yorkshire. a.d. 633, is mentioned in Britannia Sancta,
iL 163 ; in Lewis's Hist, of Britain, pp. 215, 217 ; in Jeffrey of Monmouth,
Engl. Translat. Book xii. chaps. 8 and 9; and in Carte's History of
England, i. 228.

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108 ST. Patrick's day.

[An amnring aoooant of the origin of the leek coBtom m
given in Howell's Cambrian Superstitions. The Welsh in
olden days were so infested by ourang-outangs, that they
could obtain no peace by night nor day, and not being them-
selves able to extirpate them, they invited the English, who
came« but through some mistake, killed several of the Welah
themselves^ so that in order to distinguish them from the
monkeys, they desured them at last to stick leeks in their
hats!

The leek is thus mentioned in the Antidote against Mdan-
dioly, 1661, speaking of Welsh food,—

" And oat cake of Gnarthenion,
With a goodly leek or onion,
To give as sweet a rellis
Ai e'er did harper Ellis."

The following amusing lines are found in Poor Robin's
Almanack for 1757, —

" The first of this month some do keep,
For honest Taff to wear his leek :
Who patron was, they say, of Wales,
And since that time, cuts plutter a nails,
Along the street this day doth stmt
With hor green leek stuck in hur hat ;
And if hur meet a shentleman,
Salutes in Welsh, and if hur can
Discourse in Welsh, then hur shall be
Amongst the greenhorn 'd Taffy s free."]

ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

The Shamrock is said to he worn by the Irish upon the
anniversary of this Saint, for the following reason. When
the Saint preached the Gospel to the Pagan Irish, he illus-
trated the doctrine of the Trinity by showing them a trefoil,
or three-leaved grass with one stalky which operating to their
conviction, the Shamrock, which is a bundle of this grass.

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ST. Patrick's day. 109

was ever afterwards worn upon this Saint's anniyersary, to
eommemorate the event,' —

" Chosen leaf
Of bard and chief,
Old Erin's natiye Shamrock.''

The British Druids and bards had an extraordinary venera-
tion for the number three. " The misletoe/' says Vallancey,
in his Grammar of the Irish Language, " was sacred to the
Druids, because not only its berries, but its leaves also, grow
in dusters of three united to one stock. The Christian Irish
hold the Seamroy sacred in like manner, because of three
leaves united to one stalk." Spenser, in his view of the
State of Ireland, 1596, ed. 1633, p. 72, speaking of ''these
late warres of Mounster," before, " a most rich and plentiful!
countrey, full of come and cattle," says the inhabitants were
reduced to such distress that, "if they found a plot of water-
cresses or Shamroeh, there they flocked as to a feast for the
time."

Mr. Jones, in his Historical Account of the Welsh Bards,
1794, p. 13, tells us, in a note, that '' St. Patrick, the Aposde
of Ireland, is said to be the son of Calphumius and Concha.
He was bom in the Yale of Ehos, in Pembrokeshire, about
the year 373." Mr. Jones, however, gives another pedigree
of this Saint, and makes him of Caernarvonshire. [In fact,
the various biographies of this holy personage are most con-
flicting, some asserting that he was bom in Scotland.] He
adds : '' His original Welsh name was Maenwyn, and his
ecclesiastical name of Patricius was given him by Pope Cele»-
tine^ when he consecrated him a Bishop, and sent him
missioner into Ireland, to convert the Irish, in 433. When
St. Patrick landed near Wicklow, the inhabitants were ready

' I found the following passage in Wyther's Abases Stript and Whipt,
1613,p. 71:-

" Andy for my cloathing, in a mantle goe,
And feed on Sham-roots, as the Irish doe.''

Between May Day and Harvest, *' butter, new cheese and cords, and
skamroeiSf are the food of the meaner sort all this season/' Sir Henry
Piers's Description of West Meath, in Vallancey's Collectanea de Rebns
Hibemicis, No. 1, p. 121. ** Seamroiff clover, iarefmlf worn by Irishmen
in their hats, by way of a cross, on St. Patrick's Day, in mem<nry of that
great saint,'' Iiish-English Dictionary, in y.

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1 10 HIB-LENT SUNDAY. %

to Stone I4m for attempting an innovation in the religion of
their ancestors. He requested to be heard, and explained
unto them that God is an omnipotent, sacred spirit, who
created heaven and earth, and that the Trinity is contained in
the Unity; but they were reluctant to give credit to his
words. St. Patrick, therefore, plucked a trefoil from the
ground, and expostulated with the Hibernians : ' Is it not as
possible for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as for these
three three leaves, to grow upon a single stalk V Then the
Irish were immediately convinced of their error, and were
solemnly baptized by St. Patrick."

In Sir Thomas Overbury's Characters, when /describing a
Footman, he says^ '"Tis impossible to draw his picture to
the life, cause a man must take it as he's running ; onely
this : horses are usually let bloud on St. Steven's Day : on
S, Patrickes hee takes rest, and is drencht for all the yeare
after, ed. 1615, sig. K3."»

MID-LENT SUNDAY.

MOTHERING.

In the former days of superstition, while that of the
Roman Catholics was the estabhshed religion, it was the cus-
tom for people to visit their Mother-Church on Mid-Lent
Sunday, and to make their offering at the high altar. Co^el,
in his Law Dictionary, observes that the now remaining

' Gainsford, in the Glory of England, or a true Description of many
excellent Prerogatives and remarkable Blessings, whereby shee triumpfaeth
over all the Nations in the World, 1619, speaking of the Irish, p. 150,
says, ** They use incantations and spellt, wearing girdles of women's haire,
and locks of their lover's. They are curious about their horses tending to
witchcraft" Spenser also, in the work already quoted, at p. 41, says:
" The Irish, at this day, (a.d. 1596,) when they goe to battaile, say cer-
taine prayers or charmes to their swords, making a crosse therewith upon
the earth, and thrusting the points of their blades into the ground, think-
ing thereby to have the better succesae in fight. Also they use com-
monly to sweare by their swords." At p. 43 he adds : " The manner of
their women's riding on the wrong side of the horse, I meane with their
faces towards the right side, as the Irish use, is (as they say) old Spanish,
and some say African, for amongst them the women (they say) use so to
ride."

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? MID-LENT SUNDAY. 1 1 1

practice of Mothering^ or going to yisit parents npon Mid-
Lent Sunday, is owing to that good old costom. Nay, it
seems to be oilled Mothering from tbe respect so paid to the
Mother-Church, when the £pistle for the day was, with some
allusion, Galat. iv. 21, ''Jerusalem Mater omnium;" which
Epistle for Mid-Lent Sunday we still retain, though we have
forgotten the occasion of it.

The fourth Sunday in Lent, says Wheatly on the Common
Prayer, 1848, p. 221, is generally called Mid-Lent, "though
Bishop Sparrow, and some others, term it Dominica Re/ec-
iionuj the Sunday of Refreshment ; the reason of which, I
suppose, is the Gk>8pel for the day, which treats of our
Saviour's miraculously feeding five thousand; or else, per-
haps, from the first lesson in the morning, which gives us
the story of Joseph's entertaining his brethren." He is of
opinion, that *' the appointment of these Scriptures upon this
diay might probably give the first rise to a custom still retained
in many parts of England, and well known by the name of
Mid'lenting or Mothering." i

The following is found in Herrick's Hesperides, p. 278 : —

" To Dianeme. A Ceremonie in Gloeester.

" I 'le to thee a Simnell bring,
'Gainst thou go'st a mothering ;
So that, when she blesseth thee.
Half that blessing thou'lt give me."

In the (rentleman's Magazine for February, 1784, p. 98,
Mr. Nichols tells us, " that whilst he was an apprentice, the
custom was to visit his mother (who was a native of Notting-
hamshire) on Midlent Sunday (thence called Mothering Sun-
day) for a regale of excellent furmety."*

I^A mothering cake is thus alluded to in Collins's Miscel-
lanies, 1762, p. 114,—

" Why, rot thee, Dick ! see Dundry's Peak
Lucks like a shnggard Motherin-cake.''

* In Kelham's Dictionary of the Norman, oi old French Language,
Mid-Lent Sunday, Dominica Rtfectionitf is called Pasquet Chamieulx,

^ Furmety is derived from frumentum, wheat. It is made of what is
called, in a certain town in Yorkshire, " kneed wheat," or whole grains
first boiled plump and soft, and then put into and boiled in milk, sweet-
ened and spiced. In Ray's North Country Words, " to cree wheat or
barley, is to boil it soft.** See further in HaJliwell's Dictionary, p. 383.

yGoogk

112 MID-LENT SUNDAY.

The mothering cakes are Yery highly ornamented, artists
being employed to paint them. It is also usual for children
to make presents to their mother on this day, and hence the
name of the festival is vulgarly derived.]

A correspondent in the same journal for 1783, p. 578,
says : '* Some things customary probably refer simply to the
idea of feasting or mortification, according to the season and
occasion. Of these, perhaps, are Lamb's Wool on ChristmaB
Eve ; Furmety on Mothering Sunday ; Braggot (which is a
mixture of ale, sugar, and spices) at Uie Festival of Easter ;
and Cross-buns, Saffron-cakes, or Symnels, in Passion week ;
though these being, formerly at least, unleavened, may have
a retrospect to the unleavened bread of the Jews, in the
same manner as Lamb at Easter to the Paschal Lamb."
Macaulay, in his History and Antiquities of Claybrook, 1791,
p. 128, says : ** Nor must I omit to observe that by many of
the parishioners due respect is paid to Mothering Sunday."

In a curious Roll of the Expenses of the Household of 18
Edw. I. remaining in the Tower of London, and commu-
nicated to the Society of Antiquaries in 1805, is the following
item on Mid-Lent Sunday. " Pro pisis j.d.," i. e. for pease
one penny. Were these pease substitutes for Jurmeniy^ or
earlings, which are eaten at present in the North of England
on the following Sunday, commooly called by the vulgar
Carling Sunday ?

Another writer in the Gent. Mag. 1784, p. 343, tells us,
''I happened to reside last year near Chepstow, in Mon-
mouthslure ; and there, for the first time, heard of Mothering
Sunday, My enquiries into the origin and meaning of it were
fruitless ; but the practice thereabouts was, for all servants
and apprentices, on Mid-Lent Sunday, to visit their parents,
and make them a present of money, a trinket, or some nice
eatable ; and they are all anxious not to fail in this custom." ^

1 There was a sing^ular rite in Franconia on the Sunday called Lattwrt
or Mid-Lent Sunday, This was called the Expuiaion if Death, It n
thus described by Aubanns, 1596: ''In the middle of Lent, the youth
make an image of straw in the form of Death, as it is usually depicted.
This they suspend on a pole, and carry about with acclamations to the
neighbouring villages. Some receive this pageant kindly, and, after re-
freshing those that bring it with milk, peat^ and dried pears, the usuai
diet qf the aeaton^ send it home again. Others, thinking it a presage of
something bad, or ominous of speedy death, forcibly drive it away from
their respective districts.''

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MIB-LBKT BUITDAT. 113

CASUNGS.

At Newcastle-npon-Tyne, and many other places in the
North of England, grey peas, after having heen steeped a night
in water, are fried with hatter, given away, and eaten at a kind
of entertainment on the Sunday preceding Palm Sunday, which
was formerly called Care or Cane Sunday, as may be yet seen
in some of our old almanacks. They are called Carlings,
probably, as we call the presents at Fairs, Fairlings.

In Randal Holme's Academy of Armory and Blazon, 1688,
ill. 3, p. 130, I find the following: — "Carle Sunday ib the
second Sunday before Easter, or the fifth Sunday from Shrove
Tuesday."

In the Glossary to the Lancashire Dialect, 1775, Carlings
are explained : — "Peoi boiled on Care Sunday, i. e. the Sunday
before Palm Sunday." So in the popular old Scottish song, —
«Py ! let us all to the Briddel:"-

" TherHl be all the lads and the lasses

Set down in the midst of the ha.
With sybows, and rifarts,^ and carHngt,

That are both sodden and ra."

[Hone quotes an account of a robbery in 1825, in which an
allusion is made to this custom: ''It appeared that Hindmarch
had been at Newcastle on Ci^rling Sunday, a day so called
because it is the custom of the lower orders in the North of
England to eat immense quantities of small peas, called carl-
ings, fried in butter, pepper, and salt, on the second Sunday
before Easter, and that on his way home about half-past ten
his watch was snatched from him."]

This day is also called Passion Sundayin some old almanacks.
In the Gent. Mag. for 1785, p. 779, an advertisement for
the regulation of Newark Fair is copied, which mentions that
"(ktreing Fair will be held on Friday before Careing Sunday:"
and Nichols remarks on this passage, that he had heard the
following old Nottinghamshire couplet: —

" Care Sunday, Care away ;
Palm Sunday, and Easter-day."^

' Sybowt are onions ; and rtfarti radishes.

* Marshall, in his Observations on the Saxon Gospels, elucidates the old
name (Care) of this Sunday in Lent. He tells us that, " the Friday on which
Christ was crucified is called, in German, both Gute Freytag and Carr
Fryetag." That the word Karr signifies a satisfaction for a fine or penalty ;
and that Care, or Carr Sunday, was not unknown to the English in his

8 3gle

114 MID-LENT SUNDAY.

Another writer in the Gent. Mag. for 1789, p. 491, tells as
that, '' in several villages in the vicinity of Wisbech, in the
Isle of Ely, tJie fifth Sunday in Lent has been, time imme-
morial, commemorated by the name of Whirlin Sunday , when
Cakes are made by almost every family, and are called, from
the day, Whirlin Cakes," ^ In Yorkshire, the rustics go to
the public-house of the village on this day, and spend eacli
their Carling groaty i. e. that sum in drink, for the Cartings
are promded for them gratis; and a popular notion prevails
there that those who do not do this will be unsuccessful in
their pursuits for the following year.

Rites, peculiar, it should seem, to Good Friday, were used
on this day, which the Church of Rome called, therefore.
Passion Sunday, Durand assigns many superstitious reasons
to confirm this, but they are too ridiculous to be transcribed.
Lloyd tells us, in his Dial of Days, that on the 1 2th of March,
at Rome, they celebrated the Mysteries of Christ and his
Passion with great ceremony and much devotion.

In the old Roman Calendar so often cited, I find it observed
on this day, that *'a dole is made of soft Bcoits,^^'^ I can
hardly entertain a doubt but that our custom is derived from
hence. It was usual amongst the Romanists to give away
beans in the doles at funerals : it was also a rite in the funeral
ceremonies of heathen Rome.^ Why we have substituted

time, at least to such as lived among old people in the country. Passion
or Carling Sunday might often happen on this day. Easter always fell
between the 2l8t of March and the 25th of April. I know not why these
rites were confined in the Calendar to the 12th of March, as the moveable
Feasts and Fasts are not noted there. Perhaps Passion Sunday might fall
on the 12th of March the year the Calendar was written or printed in.
However that may be, one cannot doubt of their having belonged to what
Durand calls Pastion Sunday,

> [A passage here quoted by Brand from the AnnaUa Dubrentia re-
specting "oountrie wakes and whirlings" has no connexion with this
subject.]

' '* Quadragesimae Beformatio cum stationibus et toto mysterio pas-
sionis. Fab<B moUet in sportulam dantur." The soft Bearu are much to
our purpose : why «o/lf, but for the purpose of eating ? Thus our Peas
on this occasion are steeped in water,

' ** The repast designed for the dead, consisting commonly of Beans,
Lettuces,'' &c. Kennet's Roman Antiq. ed. 1699, p. 362. In the
Lemuria, which was observed the 9th of May, every other night for three
times, to pacify the ghosts of the dead, the Ronuxns threw beans on the
fire of the Altar, to drive them out of their houses. See also Ovid's Fasti,
and a well-known account in Pliny. ^ ,

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MID-LENT SUNDAY. 115

peas I know not, unless it was because they are a pulse some-
what fitter to be eaten at this season of the year. They are
given away in a kind of dole at this day. Oar Popish ancestors
celebrated (as it were by anticipation) the funeral of our Lord
on this Care Sunday, with many supersddous usages, of which
this only, it should seem, has travelled down to us. Durand
tells us, that on Passion Sunday, "the church began her
public grief, remembering the mystery of the Cross, the
vinegar, the gall, the reed, the spear," &c. There is a great
deal of learning in Erasmus's Adages concerning the religious
use of beans, which were thought to belong to me dead. An
observation which he gives us of Pliny, concerning Pythagoras' s
interdiction of this pulse, is highly remarkable. It is, ** that
Beans contain the souls of the dead." For which cause also
they were used in the Parentalia. Plutarch also, he tells us,
held that pulse was of the highest efficacy for invoking the
manes. Ridiculous and absurd as these superstitions may
appear, it is yet certain that our Carlings thence deduce their
origin.

These beans, it should seem from the following passage in
Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, were hallowed. He is
enumerating Popish superstitions : '* Their Breviaries, Bulles,
hallowed Beans, Exorcisms, Pictures, curious Crosses, Fables,
and Babies," Democritus to the Reader, ed. 1632, p. 29. Bale,
in his Yet a Course at the Romysh Foxe, attributes to Pope
Eudcianus '* the blessynge of benes upon the aultar."^

In Fosbrooke's British Monachism, ii. 127, is the following:
" At Barking Nunnery the annual store of provision consisted,
inter alia, of Green Peas for Lent; Green Peas against Mid-
summer ;" and in the Order and Government of a Nobleman's
House, in the Archnologia, xiii. 373, '' if one will have pease
soone in the year following, «ucA ^ease are to hs sowenne

> Chandler, in his Travels in Greece, tells ns, that he was at a funeral
entenainmeut amongst the modem Greeks, where, with other singular
rites, " two followed carrying on their heads each a dish oi parboiled wheat.
These were deposited over the body." And the learned Gregory says,
there is ** a practice of the Greek Church, not yet out of use, to wt boy led
come before the singers of those holy hymnes, which use to be said at
their commemorations of the dead, or those which are asleep in Christ.
And that which the rite would have, is, to signifye ike resurrection qf the
body. Thou foole ! that which thou sowest is not quickened except it
dye," Opuscula, ed. 1650, p. 128.

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116 MID-LENT SVNDAT.

in the waine of the moone at St, Andro^s tide bejbre Christ^

In Smith's MS. lives of the Lords of Berkeley, in the
possession of the Earl of Berkeley, p. 49, we raid that
on the anniversary of the Founder of St. Augustine's, Bristol,
i. e. Sir Robert Fitzharding, on the 5th of February, "at
that monasteiy there shall be one hundred poore men re-
freshed, in a dole made unto to them in this forme : every
man of them hath a chanon's loafe of bread, called a myche, '
and three hearings therewith. There shall be doaUd also
amongst them two huehelU of pesys. And in the anniversary
daye of Dame Eve*' (Lady Eve, wife of the above Sir Robert),
" our Fonndresse, a dole shalbe made in this forme : that daye
shalbe doled to fifty poore men fifty loafes called miches, and
to each three hearings, and, amongst them all, one bushell of
pease." Lord Robert Fitzharding died Feb. 5th, 1170, and
Dame Eve died in 1 173.

The vulgar, in the North of England, give the following
names to the Sundays of Lent, the first of which is anonymoiu:

Tid, Mid, Misera,

CarUng, Palm, Paste Egg day.*

The three first are certainly corruptions of some part of the
ancient Latin Service, or Psalms, used on each.

The word Care is preserved in the subsequent account of
an obsolete custom at marriages in this kingdom. ** According
to the use of the Church of Sarum," says Blount, in his
Glossographia, 1681, p. 108, ''when there was a marriage
before Mass, Uie parties kneel' d together, and had a fine linen
cloth (called the Care Cloth) laid over their heads during the
time of Mass, till they received the benediction, and then
were dismissed.*' Palsgrave calls this the carde clothe, and
seems to say that it was in his time (1530) out of use.
(Haliiwell's Dictionary, p. 232.)

' A kind of bread. Halliweirs Dictionary, p. 552.

' In the Festa Anglo^Romana, 1678, we are told that the fint Simdaj
in Lent is called Quadragesima or Invoctwit; the second RemnUaeere; the
third OeuH ; the fourth Lcstare; the fifth Judica ; and the sixth Dommiea
Magna. Oculi^ from the entrance of the 14th verse of the 25th Psalm,
« Oculi mei semper ad Dominum," &c. Reminiscere, from the entrance
of the 5th verse of Psalm 25, " Reminiscere Miserationum," &c.; and so of
the others. Thus our Tid may have been formed from the beginning of
Psalms, Te dexan — Mi deua — Miserere mei.

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MID-LENT SUNDAY. 117

I snapect the following passage to be to our purpose.
Skdton, in his Colin Clout, has these words, in his usual style :

** Men call yon therefore prophanes,
Ye pick no fthrympes, nor pranes ;
Salt-iUh, stock-fish, nor herring,
It is not for your wearing.
Nor, m holy Lenton Season^
Ye wiU neither Beaneg ne Peaaon,
But ye look to be let loose
To a pigge or to a gooie."

In a book, intituled A World of Wonders, 1 607, translated

by B. C. from the French copy, speaking of a Popish book,

intituled Qnadragesimale Spirituale, printed at Paris, 1565,

the writer extracts certain periods. Thus, chap. 2 : " After

the saUad (eaten in Lent at the first service) we eat fried

beartes, by which we understand Confession. When we would

hare beanes well sooden, we lay them in eteepe, for otherwise

they wiU never seeth kindly. Therefore, if we purpose to

amend our faults, it is not sufficient barely to confess them at

all adventure, but we must let our confession lie in steepe in

the water of Meditation .'* And a little after: ''We do not

use to seeth ten or twelve beans together, but as many as we

meane to eate ; no more must we steepe, that is, meditate,

open ten or twelve sinnes onely, neitner for ten or twelve

dayes, but upon all the sinnes that ever we conmiitted, even

from our birth, if it were possible to remember tiiem."

Chap. 3 : '* Strained pease (Madames) are not to be forgotten.

Ton know how to handle them so well, that they will be

delicate and pleasant to the tast. By these strained pease

our allegorizing flute pipeth nothing else but true contrition

of heart. River-water, which continually moveth, runneth,

and flowethy is very good for the seething of pease. We must

(I say) have contrition for our sins, and take the running-

water, that is, the teares of the heart, which must runne and

come even into the eyes."

Googe, in his Popish Kingdome, has the following sunmiary
for Care Sunday, f. 49 :

" Now comes the Sunday forth of this same great and holy £ute :
Here doth the Pope the shriven blesse, absolving them at last
From all their sinnes ; and of the Jewes the law he doth allow,
Ai if the power of God had not sufficient bene till now,

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118 PALM SUNDAY.

Or that the law of Moyses here were stiU of force and might.

In these same happie dayes, when Christ doth raigne with heavenly lig^i.

The boyes with ropes of straw doth frame an ugly monster here,

And call him Deaths whom from the towne, with prowd and solenme chere.

To hilles and valleyes they conyey, and villages thereby,

From whence they stragling doe retume, well beaten commonly.

Thus children also beare, with speares, their cracknelles round about.

And two they have, whereof the one is called Sommer stout,

Apparalde all in greene, and drest in youthfull fine araye ;

The other Winter, clad in mosse, with heare all hoare and graye :

These two togither fight, of which the palme doth Sommer get.

From hence to meate they go, and all with wine their whistles wet.

The other toyes that in this time of holly fastes appeare,

I loth to tell, nor order like, is used every wheare.''

[On this day at Seville there is an usage evidently the re-
mains of an old custom. Children of all ranks, poor and
gentle, appear in the streets, fantastically dressed with caps
of gilt and coloured paper. During the whole day they make
an incessant din with drums and rattles, and cry, " Saw down
the old woman." At midnight parties of the commonalty
parade the streats, knock at every door, repeat the same cries,
and conclude by sawing in two the figure of an old woman
representing: Lent. This division is emblematical of Mid-
Lent.]

PALM SUNDAY.

This is evidently called Palm Sunday because, as the
Ritualists say, on that day the boughs of Palm-trees used to
be carried in procession, in imitation of those which the Jews
strewed in the way of Christ when he went up to Jerusalem.
The Palm-tree was common in Judea, and planted, no doubt,
everywhere by the waysides. Sprigs of Boxwood are still
used as a substitute for Palms in Roman Catholic countries.
The Consecration Prayer seems to leave a latitude for the
species of Palm used instead of the real Palm.^

* These boughs, or branches of Palm, underwent a regular blessing.
"Dominica in ramis Palmarum. Finito Evangelio sequatur Benedietio
Florvm et Frcndium a sacerdote induto Cappa serica mbea super giadum

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PALM SUNDAY. 119

The author of the Festyyall, 1511, f. 28, speaking of the
Jews strewing Palm-branches before Chiisl^ says: ''And
thus ire take palme and flovres in Ihe proceasyon as they
dyde, and go m prooessyon knelynge to the Crosse in the
woTshyp and mynde of hym that was done on the Crosse,
worshyppynge and welcomynge hym with songe into the
Chyrche, as the people dyde our Lord into the cyt6 of Jheru-
salem. It is called Palme Sondaye for bycaase the Palme
betokeneth yyctory, wherefore all Crysten people sholde here
Palme in processyon, in tokennynge that he hath foughten
with the fende our enemye, and hath the yyctory of hym."
In the Horda Angel-Cynnan, iii. 174, Strutt ates an old
manuscript, printed also in Cazton's Directions for Keeping
Feasts, which says, '* Wherfor holi Chirche this daye makith
solempne processyon, in mynde of the processyon that Cryst
made this dey : but for enekeson} that wee have noone olyve
that bearith greene leves, therefore we taken palme, and geven
insiede of olyve, and beare it about in processiane. So is
thys daye called Palme Sonday."^ A writer in the Gentle-
man's Magazine, Dec. 1779, p. 579, observes on the above, —
'' It is evident that something called a Palm was carried in
procession on Palm Sunday. What is meant by our having
no olive that beareth green leaves I do not know. Now it is
my idea that these palms, so familiarly mentioned, were no

tertium altaris amtnlem oonveno : positis prius pabm $eumJloribu$n^fra
aUare pro dericis, pro aliis vero saper gndom dtaiiB in parte austn^"
Among the Prayers, the subsequent occurs: ''Omnipotens sempiteme
Dens, qui in Dilnirii effbsione Noe famulo tuo per os columbn gestantis
ramum oUvm pacem terns redditam nunciasti, te supplices deprecamnr
at hanc creaturam florum et frondium, spatulasque palmamm sen frondes
arborum, quas ante conspectum gloriae tuas offerimns Veritas tua sancti-
ficet -}-: ut devotus populus in manibua eas susdpiens, benedictionis tuae
gratiam consequi mereatnr, per Christum." Then is the following passage
in the prayer before they are blessed with holy-water: ** Benedic. + etiam
et hos ramos palmarum ceterarumque arborum quos tui famuli — susci-
phmt," &c. with the Rubric, " His itaque peractis distribuantur Palmse."
Sprigs of flowers, too, appear to haye been consecrated on the occasion :
" Et hos palmarum ceterarumque arborum ac florum ramos benedicere
& sanctificare digneris," &c. See the Missale ad Usum Ecdeaiae Saris-
buriensis, 1555.

' Occasion ; cause. Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 333.

' A similar account occurs in MS. Cott. Claud. A. ii.

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120 PALU SUKDAT.

other than the branches of yew-trees." Googe, in the Popish
Kingdome, f . 42, says :

<< Besides they candles up do light, of vertue like in all,
And willow branches hallow, that theypalmes do use to calL
This done, they verily beleeve the tempest nor the storme
Can neyther hurt themselves, nor yet their cattel, nor their oome."

Coles, also, in his Adam in Eden, speaking of Willow, tells
us, ** The blossoms come forth before any leases appear, and
are in their most flourishing estate usually before Easter,
divers gathering them to deck up their houses on Palm Sunday,
and therefore &e said flowers are called Palme.** Newton, in
his Herball for the Bible, 1587, p. 206, after mentioning that
the Box-tree and the Palm were often confounded together^
adds : '' This error grew (as I thinke) at the flrst for that the
common people in some countries used to decke their church
with the boughes and branches thereof on the Sunday next
before Easter, commonly called Palme Sunday ; for at that
time of the yeare all other trees, for the most part, are not
blowen or blomed."

In Nichols's Extracts from Churchwardens' Accompts, 1797,
among those of St. Martin Outwich, London, we have these
articles: 1510-11, " First, paid for Pa/m^, Box-Jloures, and
Cakes, iiij^. ; 1525 : Paid for Palme on Palme Sunday, ijl^, ib.
Paid for kaks. Flowers and Tow, ii*.** The following smiilar
entries occur in the churchwardens accounts of the parish of
Alhallows, Staining : '* Item, for paulme-Jlowers, cakes, trashes,
and for thred on Palme Sonday, viij^ : Item for box tmdpalme
on Palme Sondaye : Item for gennepore for the churche, ij^."

Stow, in his Survay of London, 1603, p. 98, under '' Sports
and Pastimes," tells us, that '* in the weeke before Easter had
ye great shewes made for the fetching in of a twisted tree or
with,^ as they termed it, out of the woodes into the kinge's
house, and the like into every man's house of honor or wor-
ship." This must also have been a substitute for the pabn.
An instance of the high antiquity of this practice in England

^ By an Act of Common Council, 1 and 2 PhO. and Mary, for retrench-
ing expenses, it was ordered, " that from henceforth there shaU be no wyth
feteht home at the Maior^e or Sheriffs Houtet, Neither shall they keep
any lord of misrule in any of their houses." Strype's Stowe, Book i.
p. 246.

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MIB-LENT BUNBAT. 121

is afforded b^ the Domesday Sarrey, under Shropshire, i. 252,
where a tenant is stated to have rendered in payment a bundle
of box twigs on Palm Sunday, " Terra dimid. car unus reddit
mdefoKem buxt in tUe Palmarum"

The Church of Rome has given the following account of her
ceremonies on this day, as described in the Rhemists' Trans-
lation of the New Testament : ** The blessed sacrament rever-
ently carried, as it were Christ upon the Ass, with strawing of
bashes and flowers, bearing of palms, setting out boughs,
spreading and hanging up the richest clothes, &c., all done in
a very goodly ceremony to the honour of Christ, and the me-
mory of his triumph upon this day."

In the Statistidu Account of Scotland, 1795, xv. 45, parish
of Lanark, county of Lanark, we read of ** a ^da kept by the
boys of the grammar-school, beyond all memory in regard to
date, on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. They then parade
the streets with a Palm, or its substitute, a large tree of the
willow kind, Salix caprea, in blossom, ornamented with dafifo-
dile, mezereon, and box-tree. This day is called Palm Satur^
day, and the custom is certainly a Popish relic of very ancient
standing."

I know not how it has come to pass, but to wear the willow
on other occasions has long implied a man's being forsaken by
his mistress. Thus the following, from a Pleasant Grove of
New Fancies, 1657 : —

" The Willow Garland.

** A willow garland thou didst send
Perfiiin'd last day to me.
Which did but only this portend—
I was forsook by thee.

" Since it is so, Pie teU thee what,
To-morrow thou shalt see
Me weare the willow, after that
To dye npon the tree."

[Shakespeare alludes to the custom in Much Ado about No-
thing, act li. sc. 1, " Even to the next willow about your own
business. Count : what fashion will you wear the garland of 7"
This tree, says Douce, might have been chosen as the
symbol of sadness from the Psalm, '* We hanged our hups

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122 MID-LENT SUNDAY.

upon the willows in the midst thereof;*' or else from a
coincidence between the weeping willow and falling tears.
Another reason has been assigned. The Jgtius CastKs was
supposed to promote chastity, " and the wiUow being of a much
like nature/' says Swan, in his Speculum Mundi, 1635, '* it is
yet a custom that he which is deprived of his love must wear
a willow garland.'']

The Columbine, too, by the following passage from Browne's
Britannia's Pastorals, had the same import, ii. 81 : —

" The Columbine^ in tawing often taken,
Is then ascrib'd to such as are forsaken.''

The following, "To the Willow Tree," is in Herrick's Heft-
perides, p. 120 : —

" Thou art to all lost love the best,
The only true plant found,
Wherewith young men and maids, distrest
And left of love, are crown'd.

" When once the lover's rose is deao,
Or laid aside forlome, ^

Then willow-garlands 'bout the head,
Bedew'd with tears, are wome.

" When with neglect (the lover's bane)
Poor maids rewarded be,
For their love lost, their onely gaine
Is but a wreathe from thee.

" And underneath thy cooling shade
(When weary of the light)
The love-sick youth and love-sick maid
Come to weep out the night."

In Lilly's Sappho and Phao, ii. 4, is the following passage:
" Enjoy thy care in covert ; weare willow in thy naty and
bayes in thy heart." A willow, also, in Fuller's Worthies
(Cambr. p. 144), is described as " a sad tree, whereof such
who have lost their love, make theii mourning garlandey and we
know* what exiles hung up their harps upon such doleMl sup-
porters. The twiggs hereof are physick to drive out the folly
of children. This tree delighteth in moist places, and is tri-
umphant in the Isle of £ly, where the roots strengthen their
banks, and lop affords fuel! for their fire. It groweth incre-

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MID-LSNT SUl^DAT. 123

dibly fast, it being a by-word in this coanty, that the profit by
willows will buy the owner a horse before that by other trees
will pay for his saddle. Let me adde, that if green ashe may
bume before a queen, withered willows may be allowed to bume
before a lady." To an inquiry in the British Apollo, vol. ii.
No. 98, 1710, " why are those who have lost their love said to
wear the willow garlands ?" it is answered, " because willow
was in ancient days, especially among herdsmen and rusticks,
a badge o/mouminff, as may be collected from the several ex-
pressions of Virgil, in his Eclogues, where the nymphs and
herdsmen are frequently introduced sitting under a willow
mourning their loves. You may observe the same in many
Greek authors, I mean poets, who take liberty to feign any
sort of story. For the ancients frequently selected, and, as it
were, appropriated several trees as indexes or testimonials of the
▼arious passions of mankind, from whom we continue at this day
to use ewe and .rosemary at funerals, in imitation of antiquity ;
these two being representatives of a dead person, and mllow
of love dead ox forsaken. You may observe that the Jews,
upon their being led into captivity. Psalm 137, are said to
hang their harps upon willows, i. e. trees appropriated to men
in affliction and sorrow, who had lost their beloved Sion."

In Marston's play of What you Will, ed. 1663, sig. 0,
where a lover is introduced serenading his mistress, we read —
''he sings, and is answered ; from above a toillow garland is
fUmg downe, and the song ceaseth." — *' Is this my favour ?
am I crown'd with scome ?"

[The earliest willow song is contained in a MS. collection
of poems by John Heywood, about 1530.

*' All a grene wyllow, wyUow, wyllow,
All a grene wyllow is my garland.
Alas ! by what meane may I make ye to know
The unkyndnes for kyndnes, that to me doth growe ?
That wone who most kynd love on me shoold bestow,
Most unkynd unkyndnes to me she doth show,
For all a grene wyllow is my garland !"]

In the Comical Pilgrim's Travels thro' England, 1723,
p. 23, is the following : " Huntingdonshire is a very proper
county for unsuccessful lovers to live in ; for, upon the loss
of their sweethearts, they will here find an abundance of wil-
low-trees, so that they may either wear the willow green, or

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124 MID-LENT SUNDAY.

hang themselyes^ which they please : but the latter is reckoned
the best remedy for slighted love." Coles, in his Art of
Simpling, an Introduction to the Knowledge of Plants, p. 65,
says, *' the willow garland is a thing talked of, but I had
rather talk of it then weare it."

" Wylowe-tree — ^hit is sayd that the sede therof is of this
vertue, that, if a man drynke of hit, he shall gete no sones, bat
only bareyne doughters." — ^Bartholomeas de Propriet. Remm,
fol. Lond. T. Berth, fol. 286.

[The practice does not appear to be obsolete. Macanlay, in
his History of Claybrook, 1791, says, " the only custom now
remaining at weddings, that tends to recall a classical image
to the mind, is that of sending to a disappointed lover a
garland made of willow, variously ornamented, accompanied
sometimes with a pair of gloves, a white handkerchief,
and a smelling-bottle."] According to Owen's Welsh Dic-
tionary, in V. CoUy " There is an old custom of presenting a
forsaken lover with a stick or twig of hazel ; probably in allu-
sion to the double meaning of the word. Of the same sense is
the following proverb, supposed to be the answer of a widow,
on being asked why she wept : ' painful is the smoke of the
hazel.*"

[At Kempton, in Hertfordshire, it has long been a custom
for the inhabitants to eat figs on this day, there termed fig-
Sunday, when it is aUo usual for them to keep wassel, and
make merry with their Mends. A grocer in that village
assured Hone that more figs were sold &ere the few days pre-
vious than in all the rest of the year.]

Naorgeorgus's description of the ceremonies on Palm Sun-
day is thus translated by Bamabe Googe : —

** Here comes that worthie day wherein our Savior Christ is

thought
To come unto Jerusalem, on asse's shoulders brought :
^Whenas againe these papistes fonde their foolish pageantes have
With pompe and great solemnitie, and countnaunce wondrous

grave.
A woodden asse they have,* and image great that on him rides.
But underneath the asse's feete a table broad there slides,

> *' Upon Palme Sondaye they play the foles sadely, drawynge qfter tkem
an ofte m a rope, when they be not moche distante from the Woden Asse
that they drawe.''--Pref. to A Dialoge, &c~the Pylgremage of pure De-
votyon, newly translatyd into Englyshe, printed about 1551.

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MID-LSKT SUNDAY. 125

Being borne on wheeles, which ready dxett, and al things meete

therfore,
The asse is brought abroad and set before the churche's doore :
The people all do oome, and howet of trtea andpabnet they here
Which tkmga agamat the tempeet great the Pareon eoi^furee there,
And stray twayes downe before the asse upon his face he lies,
Whome there another priest doth strike with lodde of largest sise :
He rising up, two lubbours great upon their faces fjEdl
In strannge attire, and lothsomely with filthie tune they ball ;
Who, when againe they risen are, with stretching out their hande,
They poynt unto the wooden knight, and, singing as they stande,
Dedare that that is he that came into the worlde to save
And to redeeme such as in him their hope assured have :
And even the same that long agone, while in the streate he roade,
The people mette, and olive bowes so thicke before him stroade.
This being soung, the people caet the braunehei at theypaney
Some part upon the image, and some part upon the asse.
Before whose feete a wondroueheape ifbowee and braunehee ly .-
This done, into the church he strayght is drawne full solemly :
The shaven priestes before them marche, the people follow fast,
Still ttrieing who ahaU gather firtt the howet that downe are east ;
Forfakely they beleeve that thete hat>e force andvertue great
Agamet the rage qf winter etormee and thundereJUuhing heaie.
In some place wealthie citizens, and men of sober chere,
For no small summe doe hire this asse, with them about to here.
And manerly they use the same, not suffering any by
To touch this asse, nor to presume unto his presence ny.
Whenas the priestes and people all have ended this their sport.
The boyes doe after dinner come, and to the church resort :
The sexten pleasde with price, and looking well no harme be done,
They take the asse, and through the streetes and crooked lanes

they rone.
Whereas they common verses sing, according to the guise,
The people giving money, breade, and egges of largest sise.
Of this their gaines they are compelde the maister halfe to give.
Least he alone without his nortion of the asse should live."

In the Doctrine of the Masse Booke, concerning the making
of Holye-water, Salt, Breade, Candels, Ashes, Fyre, Insence,
Pascal, Pascal-lamhe, Egges, and Herbes, the Marying-rynge,
the Pilgrimes Wallet, Sti&e, and Crosse, truly translated into
Englishe, Anno Domini 1554, the 2° of May, from Wytton-
bnrge, hy Nicholas Dorcaster," we have : — ** The Hallowing
of Palmes, When the Gospel is ended, let ther follow the ha-
lowyng of flouers and braunches by the priest, being araied
with a redde cope, upon the thyrde step of the altare, turaing

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126 MID-LENT SUNDAY.

him toward the south : the palmes, wyth the flouera, being
fyrst laied aside upon the altere for the clarkes, and for
the other upon the steppe of the altere on the south side-**
Prayers : '^1 conjure the, thou creature of flouers andbraunches^
in the name of God the Father Almighty, and in the name
of Jesu Christ hys sonne our Lord, and in the vertue of the
Holy Ghost. Therfore be thou rooted out and displaced
from this creature of flouers and braunches, al thou strength
of the Adversary, al thou host of the Divell, and al thoa
power of the enemy, even every assault of Divels, that thou
overtake not the foote-steps of them that haste unto the grace
of God. Thorow him that shal come to judge the quicke and
the deade and the world by fyre. Amen." — "Almightye eternal
Grod, who at the pouring out of the floude diddest declare to
thy servaunt Noe by the mouthe' of a dove, bearing an olive
braunch, that peace was restored agayne upon earth, vre
humblye beseche the that thy truthe may + sanctifie this
creature of flouers and branches, and slips of palmes, or bowes
of trees, which we offer before the presence of thy glory ; that
the devoute people bearing them in their handes, may meryte
to optayne the grace of thy benediction. Thorowe Chriate»"
&c. There follow other prayers, in which occur these pas-
sages: After the flowers and branches are sprinkled with
holy-water — " Blesse + and sanctifie + these braunches of
palmes, and other trees and flouers*' — concluding with this
rubrick : '* So whan these thynges are fynyshed, let the palmes
immediately be distributed,'**

' Dr. Fulke, on the part of the Protestants, has considered all this in a
different light from the Rhemists. *' Your Palm-Sunday Procession/' says
he, " was horrible idolatry, and abusing the Lord's institution, who or-
dained his supper to be eaten and drunken, not to be carried aboat in pro-
cession like a heathenish idol ; but it is pretty sport that you make the
priests that carry this idol to supply the room of the Ass on which Christ
did ride. Thus you turn the holy mystery of Christ's riding to Jerusalem
to a May.game and pageant-play." " I once knew a foolish, cock-brainod
priest," says Newton, in his * HerbaU to the Bible/ p. 207, *' which mi-
nistered to a certaine young man the Mhes ofBoxe^ being (forsooth) haJU
lowed on Palme Sunday, according to the superstitious order and doctrine
of the Romish Church, which ashes he mingled with their unholie holie
water, using to the same a kinde of fantasticall, or rather fanaticall, dolt-
ish and ridiculous exorcisme ; which woorthy, worshipfiill medicine (as he
persuaded the staaders by) had vertue to drive away any ague, a$ul to kill

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PALM SUNDAY. 127

It is still customary with our boys, both in the south and
north of EngUnd, to go out and gather slips with the willow-
flowers or buds at this time. These seem to have been
selected as substitutes for the real palm, because they are
generally the only things, at this season, which can be easily
procured, in which the power of vegetation can be discovered.
It is even yet a common practice in the neighbourhood of
London. The young people go a palming; and the sallow is
sold in London streets for the whole week preceding Palm
Sunday, the purchaser commonly not knowing the tree which
produces it, but imagining it to be the real palm, and won-
dering that they never saw the tree growing! It appears,
however, from a passage quoted in Halliwell's Dictionarv,
p. 600, that the sallow was anciently so called. In the North,
it is called, '* going a palm^ning of palmsning."

In a Short Description of Antichrist, &c., is the following:
" They also, upon Palmes Sonday, lifte up a cloth, and say,
hayle our Kynge I to a rood made of a wooden blocke.*' At
f. 8, is noted the Popish <<hallowinge of Pahne Stickes."'

the worms. Well, it so fell oat, that the ag:ae, indeed, was driven away ;
bat God knoweth, with the death of the poore yoong man. And no mar-
veil. For the leaves of boxe he deleterious, poisonous, deadlie, and to the
bodie of man very noisome, dangerous, and pestilent."

' In another curious tract, entitled a Dialogue, or Familiar Talke, be-
twene two Neighbours. From Roane, by Michael Wodde, the 20 of Fe-
bruary, 1554, 12mo., it appears that crosses of Palme were, in the Papal
times, carried about in the purse. These crosses were made on Palme
Sunday, in Passion time, of hallowed Palm. ** The old Church kept a
memorye the Sunday before Ester, how Christes glory was openly received
and acknowledged among the Jewes, when they met him with Date-tree
bowes, and other faire bowes, and confessed that he was the sonne of God.
And the Gospel declaring the same was appointed to be read on that day.
But nowe our blind leaders of the blind toke away the knowledge of this,
with their Latine processioning, so that among x. thousande scarce one
knew what this ment. They have their laudable dumme ceremonies, wiLh
Lenten Crotte and Uptide Croeee, and these two must justle, til Lent breake
his necke. Then cakes must be cast out of the steple, that all the boyes
in the parish must tie scrambling together by the eares, tyl al the parish
fiilleth a Uughyng. But, lorde, what ape's-play made they of it in great
cathedral churches and abbies ! One comes forth in his alb^ and his long
stole (for so they call their girde that they put about theyr neckes ;) thys
must be leashe wise, as hunters weares their homes. This solempne Syre
played Christes part, a God's name ! Then another companye of singera,
chyldreo, and al, song, in pricksong, the Jewe's part — and the deacon read

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128 PALM SUNDAT.

[The following lines occur in some curious verses on Palm
Sunday in a MS. of the fourteenth century in the Britii^
Museum, MS. Sloane 2478.

" Nou 566 that bereth to day 30ur palme,
Wei aojte 56 queme such a qualm,

to Crist 5our herte al jyve ;
As dude the chyldren of tholde lawe,
3yf 5e hym lovede, 56 scholde wel vawe

boe by tyme schryve.

Lewede, that bereth palm an honde,
That nuteth what palm ys tonderstonde,

anon ichulle 50U telle ;
Hit is a tokne that alle and some
That buth y-schryve, habbeth oyercome

alle the develes of helle.

5yf eny habbeth braunches y-bro5t,
And buth un-schryve, bar bost nys nojt

a;ee the fend to fyjte ;
Hy maketh ham holy as y were,
Vort hy boe schryve hy schulleth boe skere

of loem of hevene lyste."]

The ceremony of bearing palms on Palm Sunday was re-
tained in England after some others were dropped, and was
one of those which Henry YllL, in 1536, dedared were not
to be contemned and cast away. In a Proclamation in the
library of the Society of Antiquaries, dated 26th February,
1539, ''concemyng rites and ceremonies to be used in due
fourme in the Churche of Englande," wherein occurs the
following clause : " On Palme Sonday it shall be declared that
bearing of Palmes renueth the memorie of the receivinge of

the middel text The prest at the alter al this while, because it was tedi-
ouse to be unoocupyed, made crosses of Palme to set upon your doors, and
to beare in your purses, to chaoe away the Divel. Hath not our spiritualitie
well ordered this matter (trow ye) to tume the reading and preaching of
Christes Passion into such wel favoured pastymes ? But teU me, Nicholas,
hath not thy wyfe a crosse of Palme aboute her ? {Nich.) Tes, in her
purse. (Oliver,) And agoon felowshippe tel me, thinckest thou not some*
tyme the Devil is in her toungue ? Syghe not, man. {Nich.) I wold she
heard you, you might fortune to finde him in her tong and fist both.
(Oliver,) Then I se wel he cometh not in her purse, becauee the hotipabme
erotse w ther; but if thou couldest intreate her to beare a ero8$einher
mouih, then he would not come there neither."

yGoogk

PALM SUNDAY. 129

Christe in lyke maner into Jerusalem before his deathe." In
Fuller's Church History, also, p. 222, we read that *' bearing
of palms on Palm Sunday is in memory of the receiving of
Chnst into Hierusalem a Httle before his death, and that we
may have the same desire to receive him into our hearts."
Palms were used to be borne here with us till 2 Edw. VI. ;
and the Rhenish translators of the New Testament mention
also the bearins of Palms on this day in their country when
it was Gathohc'

A similar interpretation of this ceremony to that given in
King Henry the Eighth's Proclamation, occurs in Bishop
Bonner's Injunctions, 4to. 1555. '*To cary their palmes
diacreatlye," is among the Roman Catholic customs censured
by John Bale, in his Declaration of Bonner's Articles, 1554,
as is, "to conjure palmes." In Howes' s edition of S tow's
Chronicle, it is stated, under the year 1548, that " this yeere
the ceremony of bearing of palmes on Palme Sonday was left
off, and not used as before." That the remembrance of this
custom, however, was not lost is evident. In " Articles to be
enquired of within the Archdeaconry of Yorke, by the churche
wardens and swome men, a.d. 163+," I find the following,
alluding, it should seem, both to this day and Holy Thursday :
— " "Whether there be any superstitious use of Crosses with
Towels, Palmes, Metwands, or other memories of idolaters."
Douce says, " I have somewhere met with a proverbial saying,
that he that hath not a Palm in his hand on Palm Sunday
must have his hand cut off."

In Yet a Course at the Romysh Foxe, a Dysclosynge or
Openynge of the Manne of Syime, contayned in the late
Deckuration of the Pope's olde Faythe made by Edmonde
Boner, Byshopp of London, &c. by Johan Harryson (J. Bale)
printed at Zurik, a.d. 1542, 8vo., the author enumerates
some "auncyent rytes and lawdable ceremonyes of holy
churche," then it should seem laid aside, in the following
censure of the Bishop : " Thau ought my Lorde also to suffre
the same selfe ponnyshment for not rostyng egyes in the Palme
ashes /yre,** &c. In Dives and Pauper, cap. iv. we read :
" On Palme Sondaye at procession the priest drawith up the
?eyle before the rode, and falleth down to the ground with all

* Wheatly on the Common Prayer, Bohn's edition, p. 222.

yGoogk

130 PALM SUNDAY.

the people, and saith thrice, Ave Rex Noster, Hayle be thou
our King. He speketh not to the image that the carpenter
hath made, and the peinter painted, but if the priest be a
fole, for that stock or stone was never King ; but he speakethe
to hym that died on the crosse, for us all, to him that is Kynge
ofallthynge."!

"Upon Palm Sunday," says Carew, in his Surrey of
Cornwall, "at our Lady Nant's Well, at Little Golan, idle-
headed seekers resorted, with a palm crosse in one hand and
an offering in the other. The offering fell to the priesfs
share ; the cross they threw into the well, which, if it swanune,
the party should outlive that yeare ; if it sunk, a short ensaiog
death was boded, and perhaps not altogether untruly, while a
foolish conceyt of this halsenyng (i. e. omen) might the sooner
help it onwards.'*

The Russians (of the Greek Church) have a very solemn
procession on Palm Sunday.

[There lb a very singular ceremony at Caistor Church,
Lincolnshire, on Palm Sunday, which must not be passed over
unnoticed. A deputy from Broughton brings a very large

1 In the churchwardens' accounts of St. Maiy-at-Hill, in the city of
London, 17 to 19 Edw. IV., I find the following entry : " Box and Pdm on
Palm Sunday, \2d" And among the annual church disbursements, *' Patm,
BojCt Cakes, and Flowers^ Palm Sunday Eve, 8dL 1486 : Item for flmof%
obleyeit and for Bojp and Pabne ayenst Palm Sondaye, 6d, 1493 : For set-
tyng up the frame over the porch on Palme Sonday Eve, M, 1531 : Paid
for the hire of the rayment for the Prophets, I2d.f and of clothes of Ana,
If. 4d.f for Palm Sunday." (Nichols's Illustrations of the Manners and Bz-
pences of Ancient Times.) In Coates's History of Reading, p. 216, Church-
wardens' Accounts of St. Laurence parish, 1505 : '* It. payed to the Clerk
for tyngyng of the Pasnon on Palme Sunday, in Ale, Id, 1509 : It. payed
' for a quart of bastard, for the nttgert of the Pauhyon on Palme Sonday,
m}d, 1541 : Payd to Loreman tot playing the Prophet, on Palme Sondaye,
iiij<f." Among Dr. Griffith's Extracts from the old Books of St. Andnw
Hubbard's parish, I found, " 1524-5 : To James Walker, for making clene
the churchyard against Palm Sonday, Id. : — On Palm Sonday, for PaAk,
Cakes, and Flowrs, 6<f. ob. — 1526-7. The here qf the Angel on Palme Son-
day, %d., Chthee at the Tower, on Palme Sonday, 6(i.'- 1535-7. For Brede,
Wyn, and Oyle^ on Palm Sonday, 6<f. : A Preest and Chylde thatplayde a
Messenger, Srf.— 1538-40. Rec. in the Church of the Players, Is. : Pd. for
syngyng bread, 2d. : — For the Aungel, id." In Mr, Lysons's Environs of
London, i. 231, among his curious extracts from the Churchwardens' and
Chamberlains' Accounts, at Kingston-upon-Thames, occurs the following :
*' 1 Hen. YIII. For ale upon Palm Sonday on synygngof the Passion, Id."*

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ALL fools' DAT. 131

ox-whip, called there a gad-whip. Gad is an old lincolnshire
meaame of ten feet ; the stock of the gad-whip is, perhaps, of
the same length. The whip itself is constructed as foUows.
A lai^ piece of ash, or any other wood, tapered towards the
top, forms the stock ; it is wrapt with white leather half way
down, and some small pieces of mountain ash are inclosed.
The thong is very large, and made of strong white leather.
The man comes to the north porch about the commencement
of the first lesson, and cracks his whip in front of the porch
door three times ; he then, with much ceremony, wraps the
thong round the stock of the whip, puts some rods of moun-
tain ash lengthwise upon it, and binds the whole together
with whipcord. He next ties to the top of the whip-stock a
purse containing two shillings (formerly this sum was in
twenty-four silver pennies) ; uien taking the whole upon his
shoulder, he marches into the church, where he stands in
front of the reading-desk till the commencement of the second
lesson : he then goes up nearer, waves the purse over the
head of the clergyman, kneels down on a cushion, and con-
tinues in that position, with the purse suspended over the
clergyman's he^ till the lesson is ended. After the service
is concluded, he carries the whip, &c. to the manor-house of
Undon, a hamlet adjoining, where he leaves it. There is a
new whip made every year ; it is made at Broughton and left
at Undon. Certain lands in the parish of Broughton are held
by the tenure of this annual custom.]

ALL FOOLS' DAY,

(OR APRIL POOLS' DAY.)

" While April mom her Folly's throne exalta ;
While Dobb calla Nell, and laughs because she halts ;
While Nell meets Tom, and says his tail is loose,
Then laughs in turn and call poor Thomas goose ;
Let us, my Muse, thro' Folly's harvest range,
And glean some Moral into Wisdom's grange."

Venet on several Occasions, 8yo. Lond. 1782, p. 50.

A CUSTOM prerails everywhere among us on the 1st of
April, when everybody striyes to make as many fools as he

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132 ALL fools' day.

can. The wit chiefly consists in sending persons on what are
called sleeveless errands,^ for the History of Eve^s Mother,
for Pigeon's Milk, with similar ridicolons absurdities. ['' A
neighbonr of mine," says the Spectator, "who is a hi^er-
das^er by trade, and a very shallow conceited fellow, makes
his boasts that for these ten years successively he has not
made less than a hundred fools. My landlady had a falling
out with him about a fortnight ago for sending every one of
her children upon some sleeveless errand, as she terma it.
Her eldest son went to buy a halfpenny worth of incle at a
shoemaker's ; the eldest daughter was despatched half a mile to
see a monster ; and, in short, the whole family of innocent
children made April fools."] He takes no notice of the rise
of this singular kind of anniversary, and I find in Poor
Robin's Almanack for 1760 a metrical description of the
modem fooleries on the Ist of April, with the open avowal
of being ignorant of their origin : —

" The first of April some do say,
Is set apart for All Foob Day ;
But why the people call it so, ^
Nor I nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment ;
And though the day is known before,
Yet frequently there is great store
Of these forgetfuls to be found,
Who're sent to dance Moll Dixon* s round;
And, having tried each shop and stall,
And disappointed at them all,

' In Jolm Heywood's Workes 1566, 1 find the following couplet . —

" And one morning timely he tooke in hande
To make to my house a sleeveless errande"

The word is used by Bishop Hall in his Satires : —

** Worse than the logogryphes of later times.
Or hundreth riddled shak'd to sleeveless rhymes/*

B. iv. Sat. 1.

In Whimzies: or a New Cast of Characters, 12mo. Lond. 1631, p. 83,
speaking of " a Launderer," the author says : " She is a notable, witty,
tatling titmouse, and can make twentie sleevelesse errands in hope of a
goodtume." See further in Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 755.

y Google

ALL pools' DA.Y. 133

At last some tells them of the cheat,

Then they return from the pursuit,

And straightway home with shame they run,

And others laugh at what is done.

But 'tis a thing to be disputed,

Which is the greatest ybo/ reputed.

The man that innocently went,

Or he that him designedly sent.''

[Tlie BaimBla Foaks Annual for 1844 says, ''Ah think ah
needant tell you at this iz April-fooil-day, cos, if yor like me,
yol naw all abaght it, for ah wonee sent a this day to a sta-
shoner's shop for't seckand edishan a Cock Robin, an a hau-
path a crockadile quills ; ah thowt fasuTe, at when ah axt for
am, at chap it shop ad a splittin f caanter top we laffiin."]
A similar epoch seems to have been observed by the Bomansy
as appears from Plutarch, ed. 1599, ii. 285, — "Why do they
call the Quirinalia the Feast of Fools T Either, because they
allowed this day (as Juba tells us) to those who could not
ascertain their own tribes, or because they permitted those who
had missed the celebration of the Fomacalia in their proper
tribes along with the rest of the people, either from business,
absence, or ignorance, to hold theur festival i^art on this day."

[The following verses on the tricks practised on this day
occur in Poor Bobin*s Almanack for 1738, —

' No sooner doth St. All-fools mom approach.
But waggs, e'er Phebut mount his gilded coach.
In sholes assemble to employ their sense.
In sending fools to get inteihgence ;
One seeks hen's teeth, in farthest part of th' town ;
Another pigeons mUk ; a third a gown,
From stroling coblers stall, left there by chance ;
Thus lead the giddy tribe a merry dance :
And to reward them for their harmless toil.
The oobler 'noints their limbs with stinup oiL
Thus by contrivers inadvertent jest.
One fool ex]>08'd makes pastime for the rest.
Thus a fam'd cook became the common joke, f
By frying an unboiled artlchoak, ^

And tum'd his former glory into smoak. ^
Oft have I seen a subtle monkey fix
His eyes, intent on our weak, sUly tricks,
No sooner shaU our backs be tum'd but he,
WiU act distinctly each deformity.
VThere then is room to follow such a course.
Monkeys to teach and make the world still worse ?"]

yGoogk

134 ALL fools' day.

In Ward's Wars of the Elements, 1708, p. 55, in his
Epitaph on the French Prophet, who was to make his resnr-
rection on the 25th May, he says : —

"O* th' fint of April had the scene been laid,
I should hftve laugh'd to'ye seen the living made
Stteh April Foolt and blockheads by the dead."

Dr. Goldsmith, also, in his Vicar of Wakefield, describing
the manners of some rustics, tells us, that, among other coa-
toms which they followed^ they *' showed their wit on the
first of April/'

A late ingenious writer in the World (No. 10), if I mia-
take not, the late Earl of Orford, has some pleasant thoughts
on the effect the alteration of the style would have on the
First of April. " The oldest tradition affirms that sucli an
infiEituation attends the first day of April as no foresight can
escape, no vigilanoe can defeat. Deceit is successful on thai
day out of the mouths of babes and sucklinff s. Grave citizens
have been bit upon it : usurers have lent their money on bad
security : experienced matrons have married very disappointed
young fellows: mathematicians have missed the longitude:
alchymista the philosopher's stone: and politicians prefer-
ment on that day. What confusion will not follow if the
sreat body of the nation are disappointed of their peculiar
holiday I This country was formerly disturbed with yery
fatal quarrels about the celebration of Easter ; and no wise
man will tell me that it is not as reasonable to fall out for the
observance of April Fool Day. Can any benefits arising from
a regulated calendar make amends for an occasion of new
sects 7 How many warm men may resent an attempt to pky
them off on a false first of April, who would have submitted
to the custom of being made fools on the old computation !
If our dergY come to be divided about Folly's anniversary,
we may well expect all the mischiefs attendant on religious
wars." He then desires his friends to inform him what they
observe on that holiday both according to the new and old
reckoning. ** How often and in what manner they make or
are made fools : how they miscarry in attempts to surprise^
or baffle any snares laid for them. I do not doubt but it
will be found that the balance of folly lies greatly on the
side of the old first of April ; nay, I much question whether

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ALL FOOLS* DAY. 135

mfEttnation will have any force on what I call the false April
Fool Day :" and concludes with requesting an union of en-
deayouTs *'in decrying and exploding a reformation which
only tends to discountenance good old practices and vener-
able superstitions."

The French too have their AU FooU Day,^ and call the
person imposed upon an April Fish, PoUson (TAvril, whom
we term an April Fool. Bellingen, in his Etymology of
French Proverbs, 1656, gives the following explanation of this
custom : the word PoUson, he contends, is corrupted through
the ignorance of the people from PoMum, and length of
time has almost totally defaced the original intention, which
was as follows : that as the Passion of our Saviour took place
about this time of the year, and as the Jews sent Christ back-
wards and forwards to mock and torment him, i. e. from
Annas to Caiaphas, from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to
Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate, this ridiculous
or rather impious custom took its rise from thence, by which
we send about from one place to another such persons as we
think proper objects of our ridicule.

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for July, 1783, p.
578, conjectures that '< the custom of imposing upon and ridi-
culing people on the first of April may have an allusion to the
mockery of the Saviour of the world by the Jews. Something
like this which we call making April Fools, is practised also
abroad in Catholic countries on Innocents' Day, on which occa-
sion people run through all the rooms, making a pretended
search in and under the beds, in memory, I believe of the
search made by Herod for the discovery and destruction of the
child Jesus, and his having been imposed upon and deceived by

> CaUing this All Fook' Day seems to denote it to be a different day
firom the " Feast of Fools," which was held on the 1st of January, of which
a very particular description may be found in Du Gangers learned Glos-
sary, nnder the word KalendcB. And I am inclined to think the word
** iJl" here is a corruption of our Northern word ** auld" for old ; be-
cause I find in the ancient Romish Galendar which I have so often dted
mention made of a " Feast of oid Fools." It must be granted that this
Feast stands there on the first day of another month, November ; but
then it mentions at the same time that it is by a removal. — ** The Feast of
old Fools is removed to this day." Such removals, indeed, in the very
crowded Romish Galendar were often obHged to be made.

yGoogk

136 ALL pools' DAT.

tne wise men, Srho, contrary to his orden and ezpectatus!,
' returned to their- own country another way.' "

There is nothing hardly, says the author of the Essay to
Retrieve the Ancient Celtic, that will bear a clears demonstra-
tion than that the primitive Christians, by way of conciliating
the Pagans to a better worship, humoured their prejudices by
yielding to a conformity of names and even of customs, where
they did not essentially interfere with the fundamentals of the
Gospel doctrine. This was done in order to quiet their posses-
sion, and to secure their tenure : an admirable expedient, and
extremely fit in those barbarous times to prevent the people
from returning to their old religion. Among these, in imitation
of the Roman Saturnalia, was the Festum Fatuarum, when
part of the jollity of the season was a burlesque election of
a mock pope, mock cardinals, mock bishops, attended with
a thousand ridiculous and indecent ceremonies, gambols, and
antics, such as singing and dancing in the churches, in lewd
attitudes, to ludicrous anthems, all allusively to the exploded
pretensions of the Druids, whom these sports were calculated
to expose to scorn and derision. This Feast of Fools, conti-
nues he, had its designed effect ; and contributed, perhaps,
more to the extermination of those heathens than all the col-
lateral aids of fire and sword, neither of which were spared in
the persecution of them. The continuance of customs (espe-
cially droll ones, which suit the gross taste of the multitude),
after the original cause of them has ceased, is a great, bu| no
uncommon absurdity.^

In the British Apollo, 1708, vol. i. No. 1, is the following
query : " Whence proceeds the custom of making April Fools ?
Answer.^ It may not improperlv be derived from a memorable
transaction happening between the Romans and Sabines, men-
tioned by Dionysius, which was thus : the Romans, about the
infancy of the city, wanting wives, and finding they could not
obtain the neighbouring women by their peaceable addresses,
resolved to make use of a stratagem ; and, accordingly, Romu-
lus institutes certain games to be performed in the beginning
of April (according to the Roman Calendar), in honour of

[} Brand here introduces a conjecture that the term was a corruptioD tA
Old FooV Day, for which, as Mr. Soane says, he does not offer even tfao
shadow of a reason.]

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ALL fools' day. 137

Neptime. Upon notice thereof the bordering inhabitants, with
their whole families, flocked to Rome to see. this mighty cele-
bration ; where the Romans seized upon a great number of the
Sabine yirgins, and ravished them, which imposition we sup-
pose may be the foundation of this foolish custom." This
solution is ridiculed in No. 18 of the same work, as follows :

*• Ye witty sparks, who make pretence
To answer questions with good sense,
How comes it that yoor monthly Phoebus
Is made a fool by Dionysius ?
For had the Sabines, as they came,
Departed with their virgin fame,
The Romans had been styl'd dull tools,
And theo, poor girls ! been April Fools.
Therefore, if this ben't out of season.
Pray think, and give a better reason."

The following, by Dr. Pegge, is from the Gentleman's Ma-
gazine, April 1766, p. 186 : — " It is matter of some difficulty
to account for the expression, ' an April Fool,' and the strange
custom so universally prevalent throughout this kingdom, of
people making fools of one another, on the first of April, by
trying to impose upon each other, and sending one another
upon that day, upon frivolous, ridiculous, and absurd errands.
However, something I have to offer on the subject, and I shall
here throw it out, if it were only to induce others to give us their
sentiments. The custom, no doubt, had an original, and one
of a very general nature ; and, therefore, one may very rea-
sonably hope that, though one person may not be so happy as
to investigate the meaning and occasion of it, yet another pos-
sibly may. But I am the more ready to attempt a solution
of tliis difficulty, because I find Mr. Bourne, in his Antiqui-
tates Vulgares, has totaUy omitted it, though it fell so plainly
within the compass of his design. I observe, first, that this
custom and expression has no connection at all with the Festum
Hypodiaconorum, Festum Stultorum, Festum Fatuorumj Fe^
turn Innocentium^ &c., mentioned in Du Fresne; for these
jocular festivals were kept at a very different time of the year.
Secondly, that I have found no traces, either of the name or
of the custom, in other countries, insomuch that it appears to
me to be an indigenal custom of our own. I speak omy as to
myself in this ; for others, perhaps, may have discovered it in

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138 ALL FOOLS DAY.

other parts, thougli I have not. Now, thirdly, lo acconnt for
it ; the name undoubtedly arose from the custom, and this I
think arose from hence : our year formerly began, as to some
purposes, and in some respects, on the 25 th of March, which
was supposed to be the Incarnation of our Lord ; and it is cer^
tain that the commencement of the new year, at wLatever time
that was supposed to be, was always esteemed a high festiyal,
and that both amongst the ancient Romans and with us. Now
great festivals were usually attended with an Octave, that is,
they were wont to continue eight days, whereof the first and
last were the principal ; and you will find the first of April ia
the octave of die 25th of March, and the dose or ending, cod-
sequently, of that feast, which was both the Festival of dn
Annunciation and of the New Year. From hence, as I take it,
it became a day of extraordinary mirth and festivity, especially
amongst the lower sorts, who are apt to pervert and make a
bad use of institutions which at first might be very laudable
in themselves."

The following is extracted from the Public Advertiser, April
13th, 1769:—

** Humorous Jewish Origin of the Custom of making Fools
on the First of April, — ^This is said to have begun from the
mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the
water had abated, on the first day of the month among the
Hebrews, which answers to our first of April ; and to perpe-
tuate the memory of this deliverance, it was thought proper,
whoever foigot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them
by sending them upon some sleeveless errand similar to that
ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the
patriarch."

The subsequent, too, had been cut out of some newspaper :
" No Antiquary has even tried to exphun the custom of mak-
ing of April Fools. It cannot be connected with the ' Feast of
the Ass,' for that would be on Twelfth Day ; nor with the
ceremony of the * Lord of Misrule,' in England, nor of the
* Abbot of Unreason,' in Scotland, for these frolics were held
at Christmas. The writer recollects that he has met with a
conjecture somewhere, that April Day is celebrated as part of
the festivity of New Year's Day. That day used to be kept
on the 25th'of March. All antiquaries know that an octavei,
or eight days usually completed the festivals of our forefathers.

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ALL POOLS* DAT. 139

If 80, April Day, making the octave's dose, may be supposed
to be employed in Fool-making, all other sports having been
exhausted in the foregoing seven dap." Douce says, 'M am
oonTinced that the ancient ceremony of the Feast of Fools has
no connexion whatever with the custom of making fools on
the first of April. The making of April Fools, after all the
conjectures which have been formed touching its origin, is cer-
tainly borrowed by us from the French, and may, I think, be
deduced from this simple analogy. The French call them
April Fish (Poissons d'Avril)/ i. e. Simpletons, or, in other
wordfly silly Mackerel, who suffer themselves to be caught in
this month. But, as with us, April is not the season of that
fish, we have very properly substituted the word Foob."*

[Mr. Hampson relates a curious tale of a French lady, who,
on April Ist, 181 7> pocketed a watch in a friend's house, and
when charged with the fact before the police, she said it was
tmpauion d'Avril, an April joke. On denying that the watch
was in her possession, a messenger was sent to her apartments^
who found it on a chimney-piece, upon which the lady said
she had made the messenger un poiMon cTAvriL She was con-
victed and imprisoned until April 1st, 1818, and then to be
discharged, eomme un poiswn d^AmrUJ]

The custom of malon^ fools on the 1st of April prevails
among the Swedes, it bemg alluded to in Toreen's Voyage to
China, 1750-2 ; [and in Germany we have the making of an
April fool described in the phrase *^ Einen zam April shicken."
In Scotland the persons sent on errands were called corbie^
mesaengers^

In the north of England persons thus imposed upon are
called " April Qouks." A gouk, or gowk, is properly a cuckoo^
and is used here, metaphorically, in vulgar language, for afooL
The cuckoo is, indeed, everywhere a name of contempt.

■ [Poison (mischief) of April, would seem the more correct reading.]
• <• On the Sunday and Monday preceding Lent, as on the first of April in
England, people are piiTileged here (Lisbon) to play the fooL It is thought
very jocose to pour water on any person who passes, or throw powder on
his fine ; but to do both is the perfection of wit." — Southey's Letters from
Spain and Portugal, p. 497. Of this kind was the practice alluded to by
Dekker : " The booke-seller ever after, when you passe by, pinnes on your
oackes the lodge qf fboUt^ to make you be huight to scome, or of tUHe
torpen to make you be pitied."

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140 ALL FOOLS* DAY.

Oaueh, in the Teutonic, is rendered stulius, tool, whence also
our northern word, a Ooke, or a Gawky. In Scotland, npon
April Day, they have a custom of Hunting the Gowk, as it is
termed. This is done hy sending silly people upon fools' errand%
from place to place, by means of a letter, in which is written : —

" On the first day of April
Hunt the Gowk another mfle.">

Maurice, in his Indian Antiquities, tI. 71, speaking of
" the first of April, or the ancient feast of the yemal equinox^
equally observed in India and Britain," tells us : " The first
of April was anciently obsenred in Britain as a high and gene-
ral festival, in which an unbounded hilarity reigned through
every order of its inhabitants ; for the sun, at that period of
the year, entering into the sign Aries, the New Year, and with
it the season of rural sports and vernal delight was then sup-
posed to have commenced. The proof of the great antiquity
of the observance of this annual festival, as well as the pro-
bability of its original establishment in an Asiatic region, arises
from the evidence of facts afforded us by astronomy. Although
the reformation of the year by the Julian and Gregorian Ca-
lendars, and the adaptation of the period of its commence-
ment to a different and far nobler system of theology, have
occasioned the festival sports, anciently celebrated in this
country on the first of April, to have long since ceased, and
although the changes occasioned during a long lapse of years,
by the shifting the equinoctioal points, have in Asia itself
been productive of important astronomical alterations, as to
the exact era of the commencement of the year ; yet, on both
continents, some very remarkable traits of the jocundity which
then reigned remain even in these distant times. Of those
preserved in Britain, none of the least rema;|^ble or ludicrous
is that rehc of its pristine pleasantry, the general practice of
making April-Fools, as it is called, on the first day of that
month : but this. Colonel Pearce (Asiatic Researches, ii. 334)

* In the old play of the Parson's Wedding, the Captain says : ** Death !
you might have left word where you went, and not put me to hunt like
Tom Fool." So, in Secret Memoirs of the late Mr. Duncan Camphel,
1732, p. 163 : ** I had my labour for my pains; or according to a silly
custom in fashion among the Tulgar, was made an April Fool of, the penon
who had engaged me to take this pains never meeting me."

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ALL fools' day. 141

proves to have been an immemorial custom among the Hin-
doos, at a celebrated festival holden about the same period in
India, which is called the Huli Festival, ' During the Huli,
when mirth and festivity reign among the Hindoos of every
class, one subject of diversion is to send people on errands and
expeditions that are to end in disappointment, and raise a
laugh at the expense of the person sent. The Huli is always
in March, and the last day is the general holiday. I have
never yet heard any account of the origin of this English cus-
tom ; but it is unquestionably very ancient, and is still kept
up even in great towns, though less in them than in the
country. With us, it is chiefly confined to the lower class of
people ; but in India high and low join in it ; and the late
Suraja Doulah, I am told, was very fond of making Huli Fools,
though he was a Mussulman of the highest rank. They carry
the joke here so far as to send letters making appointments,
in the names of persons who it is known must be absent from
their houses at die time fixed upon ; and the laugh is always
in proportion to the trouble given.' The least inquiry into the
ancient customs of Persia, or the minutest acquaintance with
the general astronomical mythology of Asia, would have told
Colonel Pearce, that the boundless hilarity and jocund sports
prevalent on the first day of April in England, and during the
Huli Festival of India, have their origin in the ancient prac-
tice of celebrating with festival rites the period of the vernal
equinox, or the day when the new year of Persia anciently
began."

[Cardanus mentions having tried with success a precept,
that prayers addressed to the Virgin Mary on this day, at eight
o'dock a.m., were of wonderful efficacy, provided a Pater
Noster and Ave Maria were added to them. The day was much
esteemed amongst alchemists, as the nativity of Basilius Yalen-
tinus. In some parts of North America, the first of April is
observed like St. Valentine's Day, with this difierence, that the
boys are allowed to chastise the girls, if they think fit, either
with words or blows.]

yGoogk

142

SHERE THURSDAY,

ALSO

MAUNDAY THURSDAY.

Shebe Thttbsday ia the Thursday before Eaater, and ia so
called, says an old homily, " for that in old Fathers' days the

ale would that day shere theyr hedes and clypp theyr
es, and pool theyr heedes, and so make them honest
ayenst Easter day." It was also called Maunday Thursday,
and is thus described by the translator of Naogeorgus in the
Popish Kingdome, f. 51 : —

'* And here the monkes their Maiindie make, with mndrie BoLemne

rights,
And signes of great humilitie, and wondroos pleasant sights :
Ech one the others feete doth wash, and wipe them cleane and drie.
With hatefull minde, and secret f rawde, that in their heartes doth

lye:
As if that Christ, with his eiumples, did these things require,
And not to helpe onr brethren here with zeale and free desire,
Ech one supplying others want in all things that they may,
As he himselfe a servaunt made to senre us every way.
Then strait the loaves doe walke, and pottes in evoy place they

siduke,
\nierewith the holy fathers oft to pleasaunt damsels drinke.^

In Fosbrooke's British Monachism, ii. 1 27> mention occurs at
Barking Nunnery, of " russeaulx (a kind of allowance of com)
in Lent, and to bake with eels on Sheer Thursday .•" also p.
128, "stubbe eels and shafte eels baked for Sheer Thursday."
A writer in the Gentieman's Magazine for July 1779, p. 349,
says : " Maunday Thursday, called by Collier Shier Thursday,
Cotgrave calls by a word of the same sound and import, Sheere

* *' On Maunday Thursday hath bene the maner from the beginnyng of
the Church to have a general drinjcyng, as appeareth by S. Pauleys writyng
to the Corinthians, and TertulUane tohis wyfe/' — Lanffley*» PoHdore VeriiB,
f. 101.

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SHEBX THUS^DAY. 143

Thmsday. Perhaps, for I can only go upon conjectnre, aa
skeer meanBpurus, muftdus, it may aUnde to the waaning of the
diaciplea' feet (John ziii. 5, et aeq.), and he tantamount to
dean. If this does not please, the Saxon seiran signifies di-
tddercy and the name may come from the distribation of alms
upon that day; for which see ArchseoL Soc. Antiq., i. 7> seq.
Spelman, Gloss. ▼. Mandatmn; and Du Fresne, iv. 400.
Pleaae to observe too, that on that day they aUo woihed the
altars, so that the term in question may allude to that busi-
ness. See Collier's Ecdes. Hist. ii. 197.'"

Cowell describes Maunday Thursday as the day preceding
Good Friday, when they commemorate and practise the con^
mands of our Saviour, in washing the feet of the noor, &c., as
our kings of England have long practised the good old custom
of washmg the reet of poor men in number equal to the years
of their reign, and giving them shoes, stockings, and money.
Some derive the word firom numdatum, command ; but others,
and I think much more jprobably, from maund, a kind of great
basket or hamper, contaming eight bales or two fats.

[Dr. Bright has given us the following very singular account
of a ceremony he witnessed on this day at Vienna : " On the
Thursday of this week, which was the 24th of March, a sin-
gular religious ceremony was celebrated by the Court. It is
known in German Catholic countries by the name of the
Fttsswaschung, or the '* washing of the feet." The large saloon
in which public court entertainments are given, was fitted up
for the purpose; elevated benches and galleries were con-
structed round the room, for the reception of the court and
strangers ; and in the area, upon two platforms, tables were
sprean, at one of which sat twelve men, and at the other

' In Moore's Aniwer to Tyndal, on the Souper of our Lord (pref.) iB the
foUowing passage : ** He treateth in his seconde parte the Maundye of
Chryste wyth hys Apostles upon Shere Thursday." Among the receipts
and disbursements of the Canons of the Priory of St. Mary in Hunting.
don, in Nichols's Illustrations of the Manners and Expenoes of Ancient
Times in England, 1797, p. 294, we have: " Item, gyven to 12 pore men
qpon Shere Thursday, 2t." In an account of Barking Abbey, in Select
Views of London and its Environs, 1804, we read in transcripts from the
Cottonian Manuscripts and the Monasticon, ** Deliveryd to the Convent
coke, for ruahefals for Palme Sundaye, xxj. pounder fygges. Item, dely-
veryd to the seyd coke on Sher Tkurtday viij pounde ryse. Item, dely-
veryd to the said ooke for Shere T^ttrtday xviij pounde almans.''

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144 SHERE THUB8DAY.

twelve women. They had been selected from the oldest and
most deserving paupers, and were suitably clothed in black*
with handkerchiefs and square collars of white muslin, and
girdles round their waists. The emperor and empress, with
the archdukes and archduchesses, Leopoldine and Clementine,
and their suites, having all previously attended mass in the
royal chapel, entered and approached the table to the sound
of solemn music. The Hungarian guard followed in their
most splendid uniform, with their leopard-skin jackets falling
from their shoulders, and bearing trays of different meats,
which the emperor, empress, archdukes, and attendants placed
on the table, in three successive courses, before the poor men
and women, who tasted a little, drank each a glass of wine,
and answered a few questions put to them by their sovereigns.
The tables were then removed, and the empress and her
daughters, dressed in black, with pages bearing their trains,
approached. Silver bowls were placed beneath the bare feet
of the aged women. The grand chamberlain, in a humble
posture, poured water upon the feet of each in succession from
a golden urn, and the empress wiped them with a fine napkin
she held in her hand. The emperor performed the same cere-
mony on the feet of the men, and the rite concluded amidst
the sounds of sacred music."]

The British Apollo, 1709, ii. 7, says : "Maunday is a cor-
ruption of the Latin word mandatumy a command. The day
is therefore so called, because as on that day our Saviour
washed his disciples' feet, to teach them the great duty of
being humble ; and therefore he gives them in command to
do as he had done, to imitate their Master in all proper in-
stances of condescension and humility." Maunday Thursday,
says a writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for July, 1779,
p. 354, "is the poor people's Thursday, from the Fr. maundier,
to beg. The King's liberality to the poor on that Thursday
in Lent [is at] a season when they are supposed to have lived
very low. Maundiant is, at this day, in French, a beggar."

In Copley's Wits, Fits, and Fancies, 1614, p. 82, is the
following : "A scrivener was writing a marchant's last will
and testament ; in which the marchant expressed many debts
that were owing him, which he will'd his executors to take
up, and dispose to such and such uses. A kinsman of this
marchant's Uien standing by, and hoping for some good thing

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SHEBE THUESDAY. 145

to be bequeathed him, long*d to heare some good newes to
that efifect, and said unto the scriyener, Hagh, hagh, what
saith my uncle now? doth he now make his Maundies? No
(answered the scrivener), he is yet in his demaunds" Perhaps
in this passage maundies is merely an error for maundes,
commands.

In Quarles' Shepheard's Oracles, 1646, p. 66, is the follow-
ing passage :

Nay, oftentimes their flocks doe fare

No better than chamelions in the ayre;

Not having substance, but with forc'd content

Making their maundy with an empty sent"

[The order of the Maundy, as practised by Queen Elizabeth
in 1572, is here given from a MS. collection, as quoted by
Hone : — ''First, the hall was prepared with a long table on
each side, and formes set by them ; on the edges of which
tables, and under those formes, were lay'd carpets and cushions,
for her majestic to kneel when she should wash them. There
waj3 also another table set across the upper end of the hall,
somewhat above the footpace, for the chappelan to stand at.
A little beneath the midst whereof, and beneath the said foot-
pace, a stoole and cushion of estate was pitched for her
majestie to kneel at during the service-time. This done, the
holy water, basons, alms, and other things being brought into
the hall, and the chappelan and poore folkes having taken
the said places, the laundresse, armed with a faire towell, and
taking a silver bason filled with warm water and sweet flowers,
washed their feet aU after one another and wiped the same
with his towell, and soe making a crosse a little above the
toes kissed them. After hym, within a little while, followed
the subalmoner, doing likewise, and after him the almoner
hymself also. Then, lastly, her majestic came into the hall,
and after some singing and prayers made, and the gospel of
Christ's washing of his disciples feet read, 39 ladyes and
gentlewomen (for soe many were the poore folkes, according
to the number of the yeares complete of her majesties age,)
addressed themselves with aprons and towels to waite upon
her majestie ; and she, kneeling down upon the cushions and
carpets under the feete of the poore women, first washed one
foote of every one of them in soe many several basons of warm

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146 SHEBB THUSSDAT.

water and swete flowers, brought to her severally by the said
ladies and gentlewomen; then wiped, crossed, and kissed
them, as the almoner and others had done before. When her
majestie had thus gone thr6ugh the whole number of 39, (of
which 20 sat on the one side of the hall, and 19 on the other,)
she resorted to the first again, and gave to each one certain
yardes of broad clothe to make a gowne, so passing to them
all. Thirdly ; she b^an at the first, and gave to each of them
a pair of sieves. Fourthly ; to each of them a wooden platter,
wherein was half a side of salmon, as much ling, six red
herrings and lofes of cheat bread. Fifthly; she began with
the first again, and gave to each of them a white wooden dish
with claret wine. Sixthly; she received of each waiting-lady
and gentlewoman their towel and apron, and gave to each
poore woman one of the same, and after this the ladies and
gentlewomen waited noe longer, nor served as they had done
throweout the courses before.'' The Queen then gave them
money, and departed ** by that time the sun was setting."]

The following is from the Gentleman's Magazine, April,
1731, p. 172 : '' Thursday, April 15, being Maunday Thursday,
there was distributed at the Banquetting House, Whitehall,
to forty-eight poor men and forty-eight poor women (the
king's age forty-eight) boiled beef and shoulders of mutton,
and snudl bowls of ale, which is called dinner ; after that,
large wooden platters of fish and loaves, viz. undressed, one
large old ling, and one large dried cod ; twelve red herrings,
and twelve white herrings, and four half quarter loaves. Each
person had one platter of this provision ; after which were
distributed to them shoes, stockings, linen and woollen doth,
and leathern bags, with one penny, two penny, three penny,
and four penny pieces of silver, and shillings ; to each about
four pounds in value. His Grace the Dord Archbishop of
York, Lord High Almoner, performed the* annual ceremony
of washing the feet of a certain number of poor in the Royed
Chapel, Whitehall, which was formerly done by the kings
themselves, in imitation of our Saviour's pattern of humility,
&c. James the Second was the last king who performed this
in person."* In Langley's Polydore Vergil, f. 98, we read:

> Times, April 16th, 1838.—" The Qaeen's Royal alms were distributed
on Saturday by Mr. Hanby, at the Almonry Office, to the Maunday men
and women placed on the supernumerary lists, owing to the difference of

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8HEBE THUESDAY. 147

'' The kyBges and qaenes of England on that day waahe the
feete of so many poore menne and women as they be yeres
olde, and gere to every of them so many pence, with a gowne,
and iuiother ordinary almes of meate, and kysse their feete ;
and afterward gete their gownes of their backes to them that
they se most nedy of al the nomber."

Nor was this castom entirely confined to royalty. In the
Earl of Northmnberhind's Honsehold Book, began in 1512,
f. 354, we haye an enumeration of

*' Jl manner of things yerly yeven by my Lorde of his
Maundy, ande myLaidis and his Lordshippis childeren,
as the eonsideracion why more playnly hereafter
foUnoith.

" Fnrst, my Lorde nseth ande accustomyth yerely uppon
Maundy Thursday, when his Lordship is at home, to gyf
yerly as manny gownnes to as manny poor men as my Lorde
is yeres of aige, with hoodes to them, and one for the yere
of my Lordes aige to come, of russet cloth, after iij. yerddes
of brode cloth in every gowne and hoode, ande after zij.</.
the brod yerde of clothe. Item, my Lorde useth ande accus-
tomyth yerly uppon Maundy Thursday, when his Lordship is
at home, to gyf yerly as manny sherts of lynnon cloth to as
manny poure men as his Lordshipe is yers of aige, and one
for the yere of my Lord's aige to come, after ij. yerdis dim.
in every shert, ande after .... the yerde. Item, my Lorde
useth ande accustomyth yerly uppon the said Mawndy
Thursday, when his Lordship is at home, to gyf yerly as
manny tren' platers after ob. the pece, with a cast of brede
and a certen meat in it, to as manny poure men as his Lord-
ship is yeres of aige, and one for the yere of my Lordis aige
to come. Item, my Lorde used and accustomyth yerly, upon
the said Maundy Thursday, when his Lordship is at home, to
gyf yerely as many eshen cuppis, after ob. the pece, with wyne

the ages between the late King and her present Migesty : both men and
women reoeired £2. 10«. and 19 silver pennies (being the age of the
Qaeen). To the men, woollen and linen clothing, shoes and stockings
were gxTen ; and to the women, in lien of clothing, £\ 15«. each. The
Maunday men and women also received £i 10«., a commntation instead of
the prtnisions heretqfore distributed.**
1 Wooden. See Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 887.

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148 SHEBB THUB8DAY.

in them, to as many poure men as his Lordeship is yeres of
aige, and one for the yere of my Lordis aige to come. Item,
my Lorde naeth and accustomy th yerly uppon the said Mawndy
Thursday, when his Lordshipe is at home, to gvf yerly aa
manny pursses of lether, after oh. the pece, with as many
pennys m every purse, to as many poore men as his Lordship
is yeres of aige, and one for the yere of my Lord's aige to
come. Item, my Lorde useth ande accustomyth yerly, uppon
Mawndy Thursday, to cause to he bought iij. yerdis and iij.
quarters of brode yiolett cloth, for a gowne for his Lordshipe
to doo service in, or for them that schall doo service in his
Lordshypes abscence, after uys. viij.t/. the yerde, and to be
furrede with blake lamb, contenynge ij. keippe and a half
after XXX. skynnes in akepe, and lUfter ^.«. iij. d. the kepe, and
after ij.^. ob. the skynne, and after Ixzv. skynnysforfurringe
of the said gowne, which gowne my Lord werith all the tyme
his Lordship doith service ; and after his Lordship hath done
his service at his said Maundy, doith gyf to the pourest man
that he fyndyth, as he thynkyth, emongs them all the aaid
gowne. Item, my Lorde useth and accustomyth yerly, upon
the said Mawnday Thursday, to cans to be delyvered to one
of my Lordis chaplayns, for my Lady, if she be at my Lordia
fyndynge, and not at hur owen, to comaunde hym to gyf for
her as many groits to as many poure men as hir Ladyship is
yeres of aige, and one for the yere of hir aige to come, owte of
my Lordis coffueres, if sche be not at hir owen fyndynge.
Item, my Lorde useth and accustomyth yerly, uppon the said
Maundy Thursday, to cans to be delyvered to one of my
Lordis chaplayns, for my Lordis eldest sone the Lord Percy,
for hym to comaunde to gyf for hym as manny pens of ij. pens
to as many poure men as his Lordship is yeeres of aige, and
one for the yere of his Lordshipis age to come. Item, my
Lorde useth and accustomyth yerly, uppon Mawndy Thursday,
to cans to be delyverit to one of my Lordis chaplayns, for
every of my yonge maisters, my Lordis yonger sonnes, to gyf
for every of them as manny penns to as manny poore men
as every of my said maisters is yeres of aige, and for the yere
to come.'*

Among the ancient annual Church Disbursements of St.
Mary-at-Hill, in the City of London, I find the following
entry : " Water on Mauridy Thursday and Easter Eve. 1^."

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8HBRE THURSDAY 149

[CarendiBh, in hia Life of Wolsey, says, that in 1530, at
Peterborough Abbey, that prelate on Maundy Thursday
*' made his maundy diere in our Lady's chapel, having fifty-
nine poor men whose feet he washed and kissed ; and after he
had wiped them, he gave every of the said poor men twelve
pence in money, three ells of good canvas to make them
shirts, a pair of new shoes, a cast of red herrings, and three
white herrings ; and one of these had two shillings." At the
Maundy festival in 1818, in consequence of the advanced age
of the King, the number of the poor was one hundred and
sixty, it being customary to relieve as many men and a like
number of women as he is years old. A new stair-case being
then erected to Whitehall chapel, a temporary room was fitted
up in Piivy Gardens for the ceremony to take phice, where
two cod, two salmon, eighteen red herrings, eighteen pickled
herrings, and four loaves, were given to each person in a
wooden bowl, to which was afterwards added three pounds
and a half of beef, and another loaf.]

Dr. Clarke, in his Travels in Russia, 1810, i. 55, says :
'* The second grand ceremony of this season takes place on
Thursday before Easter, at noon, when the Archbishop of
Moscow washes the feet of the Apostles. This we also
witnessed. The priests appeared in their most gorgeous
apparel. Twelve monks, designed to represent the twelve
Apostles, were placed in a semicircle before the Archbishop.
The ceremony is performed in the cathedral, which is crowded
with spectators. The archbishop, performing all, and much
more Oian is related of our Saviour in the thirteenth chapter
of St. John, takes off his robes, girds up his loins with a towel,
and proceeds to wash the feet of them all, until he comes to
the representative of St. Peter, who rises, and the same inter-
locution takes place as between our Saviour and that Apostle."

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, li. 500, states, that
"it is a general practice of people of all ranks in the Roman
Catholic countries to dress in their very best clothes on
Maunday Thursday. The churches are unusaally adorned,
and everybody performs what is called the Stations ; which is,
to visit several churches, saying a short prayer in each, and
giving alms to the numerous beggars who attend upon the
occasion." Another writer in the same journal, for July
1783, p. 577, tells us that "the inhabitants of Paris, on

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150 GOOD FSIDAT.

Thursday in Fasrion Week, go regularly to the Boia de
Boulogne, and parade there aU the evening with their equi-
pages. There uaed to be the Penitential Psalms, or Tenebres,
sung in a chapel in the wood on that day, by the most excel-
lent voices, which drew together great numbers of the best
company from Paris, who still continued to resort thither,
though no longer for the purposes of religion and mortification
(if one may judge from appearances), but of ostentation and
pride. A similiu* cavalcade I have b\bo seen, on a like occa-
sion, at Naples, the religious origin of which will probably
soon cease to be remembered."

GOOD FRIDAY.

[In the north of England a herb-pudding, in which the
leaves of the passion-dock are a principal ingredient, is an in-
dispensable dish on this day. The custom, says Carr, is of
ancient date ; and it is not improbable that this plant, and the
pudding chiefly composed of it, were intendea to excite a
grateful reminiscence of the Passion, with a suitable acknow-
ledgment of the inestimable blessings of Redemption. This
plant, in the parts of fructification, produces fancied repre-
sentations of the cross, hammer, nails, &c.]

Hospinian tells us that the kings of England had a custom
of hallowing rings, with much ceremony, on Good Friday,
the wearers of which will not be afi9icted with the falling
sickness. He adds, that the custom took its rise from a ring
which had been long preserved, with great veneration, in
Westminster Abbey, and was supposed to have great efficacy
against the cramp and falling sickness, when touched by those
who were afiiicted with either of those disorders. This ring
is reported to have been brought to King Edward by some
persons coming from Jerusalem, and which he himself had
long before given privately to a poor person, who had asked
alms of him for the love he bare to St. John the Evangelist.

Andrew Boorde, in his Breviary of Health, 1557, f. 166,
speaking of the cramp, adopts the following superstition among

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GOOD FRIDAY. 151

the remedies thereof: "The Kynge's Majestie hath a great
helpe in this matter in halowyng crampe ringes, and so geven
withoat money or petition." I^rd Bemers, the accomplished
translator of Froissart, when ambassador to the Emperor
Charles V., writing "to my Lorde Cardinall's grace, from
Saragoza, the xzj. daie of Jnne/' 1518, says : "If your grace
remember me with some crampe ryngs^ ye shall doo a thing
muche looked for ; and I trust to bestowe thaym well with
Goddes grace, who evermor preserve and encrease your moost
reverent astate," Harl. MS. 295, f. 119.i

Hearne, in one of his manuscript diaries in the Bodleian,
Iv. 190, mentions having seen certain prayers, to be used by
Qneen Maiy at the consecration of the cramp-ring. Mr.
Gage Bokewode, in his History of the Hundred of Thin^e,
1838, Introd. p. xxvi, says that in Suffolk "the superstitious
use of cramp-rings, as a preservative against fits, is not
entirely abandoned ; instances occur where nine young men
of a parish each subscribe a crooked sixpence, to be moulded
into a ring for a young woman afflicted with this malady."

[In the confession of Margaret Johnson, in 1633, a reputed
witch, she says : " Good Friday is one constant day for a
generall meeting of witches, and that on Good Friday last
Uiey had a generall meetinge neere Pendle Water syde ;*' and
Mr. Hampson quotes an old charm for curing the bewitched, —

*' Upon Good Friday
I will fast while I may,
Until I hear them knell
Our Lord's own bell r

In the midland districts of Ireland, viz. the province of

■ *' On s'imagine en Flandre, que kt ettfoMt nez le Vendredy-Saint, ont le
ponooir de guerir naturellement det fieires tierees, dea fievret gtutrtet, et
de phtaiewn autrea mmue. Bdais ce poavoir meat beaucoup suspect, parce-
que j'estime que c'est tomber dans la superstition de Pobservanoe des
*oim et des temps, que de croire que les enfans nes le Vendredy-Saint
puissent guerir des maladies plutost que ceux qui sont nez un autre jour,"
Traits des Superstitions, 1679, i. 436. M. Thiers, in the same work,
p. 316, says that he has known people who preserve all the year such eggs
as are laid on Good-Friday, which they think are good to extinguish fires
b which they may be thrown. He adds, that some imagine that three
loaves baked on the same day, and put into a heap of com, will prevent
its being devoured by rats, mice, weevils, or worms.

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152 GOOD FRIDAY.

Connaughty on Good Friday, it is a common practice witb the
lower orders of Irish Catholics to prevent their young from
having any sustenance, even to those at the breast, from twelve
dn the previous night to twelve on Friday night, and the
fathers and mothers will only take a small piece of dry bread
and a draught of water during the day. It is a common sight
to see along the roads, between the different market towns^
numbers of women, with their hair dishevelled, barefooted,
and in their worst garments ; all this is in imitation of Christ's
passion.]

The old Popish ceremony of Creepinge to the Crosse on
Good Friday, is given, from an ancient book of the Ceremonial
of the Bangs of England, in the Notes to the Northumberland
Household Book. The usher was to lay a carpet for the
Kinge to '^ creepe to the crosse upon.'' The Queen and her
Ladies were also to creepe to the Crosse, In an original
Proclamation, black letter, dated 26th February, 30 Henry YIII,
in the first volume of a Collection of Proclamations in the
Archives of the Society of Antiquaries of London, p. 138, we
read : *' On Good Friday it shall be declared howe creepyng
of the Crosse signifyeth an humblynge of ourselfe to Chnste
before the Crosse, and the kyssynge of it a memorie of our
redemption made upon the Crosse."

In a Short Description of Antichrist, the author notes the
Popish custom of " Creepinge to the Crosse with egges and
apples." ''Dispelinge with a white rodde" immediately
fellows ; though I know not whether it was upon the same
day. " To holde forth the Crosse for egges on Good Friday"
occurs among the Roman Catholic customs censured by John
Bale, in his Declaration of Bonner's Articles, 1554, as is " to
creape to the Crosse on Good Friday featly."

It is stated in a curious Sermon, preached at Blandford
Forum, in Dorsetshire, January 17th, 1570, by William Kethe,
minister, and dedicated tp Ambrose, Earl of Warwick, p. 18,
that on Good Friday the Roman Catholics ''offered unto
Christe egges and bacon, to be in his favour till Easter Day
was past ;" from which we may at least gather with certainty
that effffg and bacon composed a usual dish on ^hat day. Id
Whimsies, or a New Cast of Characters, 1631, p. 196, we have
this trait of "a zealous brother :*\ — " he is an Antipos to all
church-government : when she feasts, he fasts ; when she fieufttis

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GOOD FRIDAY. 153

he feasts : Good Friday is his Shrove Taesday : he commends
this notable camall caveat to his family— eate flesh upon days
prohibited, it is good against Popery."

[A provincial newspaper, of about the year 1810, contains
the following paragraph : — Good Friday was observed with
the most profound adoration on board the Portuguese and
Spanish men-of-war at Plymouth. A figure of the traitor
Judas Iscariot was suspended firom the bowsprit end of each
ship, which hung till sunset, when it was cut down, ripped
UD, the representation of the heart cut in stripes, and the
mole thrown into the water ; after which, the crews of tbe
different ships sung in good style the evening song to the
Virgin Mary. On board the Iphigenia, Spanish frigate, the
effigy of Judas Iscariot hung at the yard-arm till Sunday
evening, and when it was cut down, one of the seamen ventured
to jump over after it, with a knife in his hand, to show his
indignation of the traitor's crime, by ripping up the figure in
the sea ; but the unfortunate man paid for his indiscreet zeal
with his life ; the tide drew him under the ship, and he was
drowned.]

The following is Barnabe Googe's account of Good Friday,
in his English version of Naogeorgus, f. 51 : —

*' Two priestes, the next day following, upon their shoulders beare
The image of the crucifix about the altar neare, ^

Being clad m coape qf cnmozen die,^ and doleftilly thev sing :
At length before the steps, his coate pluckt of, they straight him

bring,
And upon Turkey carpettes lay him down full tenderly,
With cushions underneath his heade, and pillows heaped hie ;
Then flat upon the grounde they fall, and kisse both hand and

feete,
And worship so this woodden god with honour farre unmete ;
Then all the shaven sort* falles downe, and foloweth them herein,
As workemen chiefe of wickednesse, they first of all begin :
And after them the simple soules, the common people come,
And worship him with divers giftes, as golde, and ^ver some,
And others come or egges againe, to poulshome persons sweete.
And eke a long-desired price for wicked worship meete.

1 In the list of Church Plate, Vestments, &c., in the Churchwardens'
Aeeoants of St. Mary-at-Hill, 10 Henry Yi. occurs, ** alao an olde vest-
ment of red Hike \ynid with 3elow for Good Friday."

* Company. Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 773.

yGoogk

J 54 GOOD FfiTDAT*

How are the idoles worshipped, if this religion here
Be Catholike, and like the spowes of Christ accounted dere ?
Besides, with images the more their pleasure here to take.
And Christ, that everywhere doth raigne, a laughing-stock to

make,
Another image doe they get, like one hut newly deade.
With legges stretcht out at length, and handM upon his body

spreade ;
And him, with pompe and sacred song, they beare unto his grave.
His bodie all being wrapt in lawne, and silkes and sarcenet brave ;
The boyes before with clappers go, and filthie noyses make ;
The sexten beares the light : the people hereof knowledge take.
And downe they kneele or kisse the grounde, their hands held

up abrod.
And knocking on thdr breastes, they make this woodden blocke

agod:
And, least in grave he should remaine without some oompanie.
The singing bread is layde with him, for more idolatrie.
The priest the image worships first, as falleth to his tume.
And franckencense, and sweet perfumes, before the breade doth

bume:
With tapers all the people come, and at the barriars stay.
Where downe upon their knees they £sll, and night and day they

pray.
And violets and every kinde of flowres about the grave
They straw, and bring in all their giftes, and presents that they

have:
The singing men their dirges chaunt, as if some guiltie soule
Weje buried there, and thus they may the people better poule."

[It WBB customary in Popish oountries, on Good Friday, to
erect a small building to represent the Holy Sepulchre. In
this they put the host, and set a person to watch both that
night and the next. On the following morning, very early,
the host heing taken out, Christ is risen. This ceremony
was formerly used in England. In the Churchwardens' Ac-
counts of Abingdon, co. Berks, 1557, is the entry, " to
the seztin for watching the sepulture two nyghts, viij.cf."]

GOOD FBIDAY CB08S BtNB.

[The following curious lines are found in Poor Rohin's
Almanack for 1733:—

** Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs
With one or two a penny hot cro9$ bum,
Whose virtue is, if you belieye what's said,
Theyll not grow mouldy like the common bread.'']

y Google

GOOD FRIDAY. 155

Hatchinson, in his History of Northumberland, following
Bryant*B Analysis, deriyes the Good Friday Bun from the
aaoped cakes which were offered at the Arkite Temples,
atyled Boon, and presented every seventh day. Bryant has
also the following passage on this subject: "The offerings
which people in ancient times used to present to the Gods
were generally purchased at the entrance of the Temple;
especially every species of consecrated bread, which was
denominated accordingly. One species of sacred bread which
used to be offered to the Gods, was of great antiquity, and
called Boun, The Greeks, who changed the Nu final into a
Si^fmOf expressed it in the nominative /3ovf, but in the accn-
^tive more truly Boun, ^vr. Hesychius speaks of the
Boun, and describes it a kind of cake with a representation
of two horns. Juhus Pollux mentions it after the same man-
ner, a sort of cake with horns. Diogenes Laertius, speaking
of the same offering being made by Empedocles, describes the
chief ingredients of which it was composed. " He offered
one of the sacred liba, called a Bmue, which was made of fine
flour and honey." It is said of Cecrops that he first offered
up this sort of sweet bread. Hence we may judge of the anti-
quity of the custom, from the times to which Cecrops is re-
rerred. The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of
offering, when he is speakine of the Jewish women at Path-
ros, in Egypt, and of their base idolatry ; in all which their
husbands had encouraged them. The women, in their ex-
postulation upon his rebuke, teU him : *' Did we make her
cakes to worship her?" Jerem. xliv. 18, 19 ; vii. 18.
'* Small loaves of bread," Hutchinson observes, " peculiar in
their form, beine long and sharp at both sides, are called
Buns." These ne derives as above, and condudes : " We
only retain the name and form of the Boun; the sacred uses
are no more."

[In several counties a small loaf of bread is annually baked
on the morning of Good Friday, and then put by till the same
anniversary in the ensuing year. This bread is not intended
to be eaten, but to be used as a medicine, and the mode of
admimstering it is by grating a small portion of it into water,
and forming a sort of panacui. It is believed to be good for
many disorders, but particularly for a diarrhoea, for which it
is considered a sovereign remedy. Some years ago, a cottager

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156 GOOD FRIDAY.

lamented that her poor neighbour mast certainly die of thia
complaint, because she had already given her two dosea of
Good Friday bread without any benefit. No information
oould be obtained from the doctress respecting her nostrum,
but that she had heard old folks say that it was a good thing,
and that she always made it.]

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, for July, 1783, p.
578, speaking of Cross Buns, Saffron Cakes, or Symnels, in
Passion Week, obsenres that '* these being, formerly at least,
unleavened, may have a retrospect to the unleavened bread
of the Jews, in the same manner as Lamb at Easter to the
Paschal Lamb." These are constantly marked with the
form of the cross. Indeed, the country people in the
North of England make, with a knife, many little cross-
marks on their cakes, before they put them into the oven.
I have no doubt but that this too, trifling as the remark
may appear, is a remnant of Popery. Thus also persons
who cannot write, instead of signing their names, are
directed to make their marks, which is generally done in the
form of a cross. From the form of a cross at the beginning
of a horn-book, the alphabet is called the Christ-Cross Row.
The cross used in shop-books Butler seems to derive from
the same origin : —

** And some agsinst all idolizing
The cross in shop-books, or baptizing."*

[It is an old belief that the observance of the custom of
eating buns on Good Friday protects the house from fire, and
several other virtues are attributed to these buns. Some
thirty or forty years ago, pastry-cooks and bakers vied with
each other for excellence in making hot cross-buns ; the de-
mand has decreased, and so has the quality of the buns. But
the great place of attraction for bun-eaters at that time was
Clielsea ; for there were the two " royal bun-houses.'' Before

> The round of a milk-soore is, if I mistake not, also marked with a
cross for a shilling, though unnoted by Lluellin (Poems, 1679, p. 40), in
the following passage : —

" By what happe

The fat harlot of the tappe
Writes, at night and at noone,
For a tester half a moone,
And a great round Ofora MUmg.**

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EA8T2B BYE* 157

and along tlie whole length of the long front of each stood
a flat-roofed neat wooden portico or piazza of the width of
the footpath, beneath which shelter " from summer's heat and
winter's cold" crowds of persons assembled to scramble for
a chance of pnrchasing "royal hot cross Chelsea buns,"
within a reasonable time ; and several hundreds of square
Uack tins, with dozens of hot buns on each tin, were disposed
of in every hour from a little after six in the morning till
after the same period in the evening of Good Friday. Those
who knew what was good better than new-comers, gave the
preference to the '' old original royal bun-house," which had
been a bun-house " ever since it was a house," and at which
'' the king himself once stopped," and who could say as much
for the other ? This was the conclusive tale at the door, and
from within the doors, of the "old original bun-house."
Alas ! and alack ! there is that house now, and there is the
house that was opened as its rival ; but where are ye who
contributed to their renown and custom among the ap-
prentices and journeymen, and the little comfortable trades-
men of the metropolis, and their wives and children, where
are ye? With thee hath the fame of Chelsea buns departed,
and the "royal bun-houses" are little more distinguished
than the humble graves wherein ye rest. — Hone.']

EASTER EVE.

Various sujierstitions crept in by degrees among the rites
of this eve ; such as putting out all the fires in churches
and kindling them anew from flint, blessing the Easter Wax,
&c. They are described by Hospinian, in the poetical lan-
guage of Naogeorgus, in his Popish Kingdom," thus trans-
lated by Googec —

*' On Easter Eve the fire all is qnencht in every place,
And fresh agHine from out the flint is fetcht with solemne grace :
The priest doth halow this against great daungers many one,
A brande whereof doth every man with greedie minde take home,
That, when the fearefuU storme appeares, or tempest black arise, '
By lighting this he safe may be from stroke of hurtful skies.

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153 EA.8TER £V£.

A Uper great, the PatekaU namdei with mnsicke then they blene,
And fiunckencense herein they pricke, for greater holynease ;
This bumeth night and day as signe of Christ that conquerde hell.
As if 80 be this foolish toye suffiseth this to telL
Then doth the bishop or the priest the water halow straight,
That for their baptisme is reservde : for now no more of waight
Is that they usde the yeare before ; nor can they any more
Young children christen with the same, as they have done before.
With wondrous pomp and furniture amid the church they go.
With candles, crosses, banners, chrisme, and oyle appoynted tho' :
Nine times about the font they marche, and on the Saintes do call ;
Then still at length they stande, and straight the priest begins

withall.
And thrise the water doth he touche, and crosses thereon make ;
Here bigge and barbrous wordes he speakes, to make the Devill

qusJce;
And holsome waters conjureth, and foolishly doth dresse,
Supposing holyar that to make which God before did blesse.
And after this his candle than he thrusteth in the floode,
And thrice he breathes thereon with breath that stinkes of former

foode.
And making here an end, hit chrisme he poureth thereupon,
The people staring hereat stande amazed every one ;
Beleaving that great powre is given to this water here,
By gaping of these learned men, and such like trifling gere.
Therefore in vessels brought they draw, and home they carie some
Against the grieves that to themselves or to their beastes may come.
Then clappers ceasse, and belles are set againe at libertee,
And herewithal the hungrie times of fasting ended bee/'

On Easter Even it was customary in our own country to
light the churches with what were called Paschal Tapers. In
Coates's History of Beading, 1802, p. 131, under Church-
wardens' Accounts, we find the subsequent entry^ 1559:
"Paid for makynge of the Paschall and the Funte Taper,
5*. 8«?." A note on this ohserres, ** The Pascal taper was
usually yery large. In 1557 the Pascal taper for the Abbey
Church of Westminster was 300 pounds weight/'

The Cottonian MS. Galba E. iv. f. 28, gives the following
assize for the different sorts of candles used anciently in the
sacristy of Christ Church, Canterbury : '' Cereus Paschalis
continere debet ccc. libr. Cereus ad fontes z. libr. Cerena
super hastam, j. libr. Cerei ad septem brachia, 1. libr., vis.
yj. quibus vij. libr. et septimus in medio, Tiij. libr."

In the ancient annual Church Disbursements of St. Mary-
at-Hill, in the City of London, I find the following article :

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SASTEB EYE. 159

"For a qaarter of coles for the hallowed fire on Easter Eve,
6^."^ Also, "To the derk and sexton, for two men fo
watching the Sepulchre from Qood Friday to Easter Eye, and
for their meate and drinke, I4d," I find also in the Church-
wardens' Accounts, ibid. 5th Henry YL, the following entries :
" For the Sepulchre, for diyers naylis and wyres and glu, 9d,
ob. Also payd to Thomas Joynor for makyng of the same
Sepulchre, 4s, Also payd for bokeram for penons, and for
the makynge, 22d. Also payd for betyng and steynynge of
the penons, 6«. For a pece of timber to the newe PascaU, 2«.
Also payd for a dysh of peuter for the Paskall, 8d» Also
payd for pynnes of iron for the same Pascall, 4d.

We haye abready alluded to the custom of watching the
Sepulchre at Easter. In Coates's Hist, of Reading, p. 130.
imder Churchwardens' Accounts, we read, sub anno 1558 :
"Paide to Roger Brock for watching of the Sepulchre, Sd.
Paid more to the said Roger for syses and colles, 3d.'* With
this note : *' This was a ceremony used in churches in re-
membrance of the soldiers watching the Sepulchre of our
Saviour. We find in the preceding accounts, the old Sepul-
chre and *the toumbe of brycke' had been sold.*' The
accoonts alluded to are at p. 128, and run thus: ^M551.
Receyyid of Heniy More for the Sepulcher, xiij*. m.}d. Re-
ceyvid of John Webbe for the toumbe of brycke, Jijd."
Under 1499, p. 214, we read, "Imprimis, payed for wakyng
of the Sepnlcre, y'ujd. It. payed for a li. of encens, zijc?.
and under Recypt, "It. rec. at Estur for the PascaU,
xxiTii*." Ibid. p. 216, under 1507 are the following :— "It.
paled to Sybel Derling for nayles for the Sepulcre, and
for rosyn to the Resurrection play, i}d. ob. It. paied to
John Cokka for wry ting off the Fest of Jhesus, and for vj.
hedds and herds to the church. It. paid a carter for carry-
ing of pypys and hogshedds into the Forbury, ijd. It. paid to
the laborers in the Forbury for setting up off the polls for the
scaphoid, bid. It. paied for bred, ale, and here, that longyd
to thepleye in the Forbury, ij«. }d. It. payed for the ij.
Boks of the Fest of Jhesu and the Vysytacyon of our Lady,
ij«. viijrf. 1508. It payed to Water Barton for xxl. wex

* In a Short Description of Antichrist, &c. already quoted at p. 152,
the author censores, among other Popish customs, " /Ae hahwyng qffiere.

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160 BASTEB EVE.

for a pascall pic. le li. Yd, Summa viij«. iiijJ. It. payed for
one li. of grene flowr to the foreseid pascall^ Yjd, Ibid. p.
214, 1499, — It. rec. of the gaderyng of the stage-play^ xvija.
It. payed for the pascall bason, and the hanging of the same,
xviij«. It. payed for making lenger Mr. Smyth's molde,
with a Judas for the pascall, vid. It. payed for the pas-
call and the fonte taper to M. Smyth, iiijf." St. Giles's
parish, 1519,— ''Paid for making a Judas for the pascall,
iiijrf."*

Among the ancient annual Disbursements of the Church of
St. Mary-at-Hill, I find the following entry against Easter: —

ea and 1 „

" Three great garlands for the croasea, of rosea and

lavender

Three dozen other garhinda for the quire

The same also occurs in the Churchwardens* Accounts,
1512. Also, among the Church Disbursements, in the Waz-
Chandler*s Accompt, "for making the pascal at Ester,
2«. 8£?. — For garnishing 8 torches on Corpus Christi day,
2*. 8</." Ibid. 1486, "At Ester, for the howslyn people for
the pascal, lU. 5rf."2

[During the last century it was the custom in Dorsetshire
on Easter Eve for boys to form a procession bearing rough
torches, and a small black flag, chanting the following
lines,—

*< We fasted in the Ught,
For this is the night."

This custom was no doubt a relic of the Popish ceremo-
nies formerly in vogue at this season.]

' '* To houl over the pascal*' is mentioned among the cnstoms of the
Roman Catholics censured by John Bale in his " Declaration of Bonner's
Articles," 1554, f. 19.

* A more particular account of the ceremony of the Holy Sepulchre, as
used in this and other countries, will be found in the Vetusta Monn-
menta of the Society of Antiquaries, in the letter-press of voL iii. pL
31, 32.

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161

EASTER DAY.^

[Th£ day before Easter Day is in some parts called ** Holy
Saturday." On the evening of this day, in the middle dis-
tricts of Ireland, great preparations are made for the finish-
ing of Lent. Many a fat hen and dainty piece of bacon is
put into the pot, by the cotter's wife, about eight or nine
o'clock, and woe be to the person who should taste it before
the cocJc crows. At twelve is heard the clapping of hands,
and the joyous laugh, mixed with an Irish phrase which
signifies " out with the Lent :" all is merriment for a few
hours, when they retire, and rise about four o'clock to see the
sun dance in honour of the Resurrection. This ignorant cus-
tom is not confined to the humble labourer and his family,
but is scrupulously observed by many highly respectable and
wealthy families, different members of whom I have heard
assert positively that they had seen the sun dance on Easter
morning.]

Sir Thomas Browne, the learned author of the Vulgar
Errors, has left us the following quaint thoughts on the sub-
ject of sun-dancing : " We shall not, I hope," says he, " dis-
parage the Resurrection of our Redeemer, if we say that the
sun doth not dance on Easter Day : and though we would

1 Eister is so called from the Saxon Oater, to rise, being the day yf
Christ's Resurrection ; or as others think, from one of the Saxon god-
desses called Easter, whom they always worshipped at this season.
"Wheatly on the Common Prayer, p. 228. See also Gale's Court of the
Gentiles, b. ii. c. 2. Or, perhaps, from the Ang^o-Saxon yf r, a storm,
the time of Easter being subject to the continual recurrence of tem-
pestuo&s weather. A Sermo breviSt in the Liber Festivalis, MS. Cotton
Claud. A. ii. of the time of Henry the Sixth, upon Easter Sunday, he-
gins " Gode men and wommen, os je knowe alle welle, this day is <»lled
in some place Astur Day, and in some place Pasch Day, and in some
place Goddus Sounday. Hit is callde Asturday as Kandulmasse Day of
Kandulles, and Palme Sounnday of Palmes, ffor wolnoz in uche place hit
is the maner this day for to done fyre oute of the houce at the Astur
that hath bene all the wyntur hrente wyt fuyre and blakud with smoke,
hit scbal this day bene arayed with grene rusches and swete floures
itrowde alle aboute, schewyng a heyghe ensaumpal to alle men and wom-
men that ryjte os thei machen dene the houce, alle withine bering owte
the fyre and strawing thare flowres, ryjte so se schulde clanson the houce
of 50ure sowle."

^^ le

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162 EASTER DAY.

willingly assent unto any sympathetical eznltationy yet we
cannot conceive therein any more than a tropical expression.
Whether any such motion there was in that day wherein
Christ arised. Scripture hath not revealed, which hath been
punctual in other records concerning soUtary miracles ; and
the Areopagite that was amazed at the eclipse, took no notioe
of this ; and, if metaphorical expressions go so far, we may
be bold to affirm, not only that one sun danced, but two
arose that day ; that lisht appeared at his nativity, and dark-
ness at his death, and yet a light at both; for even that
darkness was a light unto the Gentiles, illuminated by that
obscurity. That was the first time the sun set above the
horizon. That, although there were darkness above the
earth, yet there was light beneath it, nor dare we say that
Hell was dark if he were in it."

In the Country-man's Counsellor, by E. P. Phil. 1633, p.
220, is the following note : — " Likewise it is observed, that
if the sunne shine on Easter Day, it shines on Whitsunday
likewise.** The following is an answer to a query in the
Athenian Oracle, u. 348 : " Why does the sun at his rising
play more on Easter day than Whitsunday? — The matter
of fact is an old, weak, superstitious error, and the son
neither plays nor works on Easter day more than any other.
It's true, it may sometimes happen to shine brighter that
morning than any other; but, if it does, 'tis purely acci-
dental. In some parts of England, they call it the lamb-
playing, which they look for as soon as the sun rises in some
clear spring or water, and is nothing but the pretty reflection
it makes from the water, which they may find at any time, if
the sun rises clear, and they themselves early, and unpreju-
diced with fancy." In a rare book, entitled Recreation for
Ingenious Head Pieces, 1667, I find this popular notion
alluded to in an old ballad : —

** Bat Dick, she dances tuch a way^
No sun tqfon an Easter day
Is half so fine s sight/'

[Sir Walter Scott introduces a similar image applied to the
reflection of the moon in the water, —

" The stag at eve had drunk his fill,
Where danced the moon on Monan's rilL"]

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EASTEU DAY. 163

In the Britiah Apollo, 1708, vol. i. No. 40, we read : —

Q. " Old wives, Phoebus, say
That on Easter Day

To the musick o' th' spheres you do caper.
If the fact, sir, be true,
Pray let's the cause know.
When you have any room in your Paper.

J, The old wives get merry,
With spic'd ale or sherry.

On Easter, which makes them romance :
And whilst in a rout
Their brains whirl about,

They fancy we caper and dance."

I have heard of, when a boy, and cannot positively say from
remembrance, whether I have not Been tried, an ingenious
method of making an artificial sun dance on Easter Sunday.
A vessel fall of water waa set out in the open air, in which
the reflected sun seemed to dance, from the tremulous motion
of the water. This will remind the classical scholar of a
beautiful simile in the Loves of Medea and Jason, in the
ArgonauticB of ApoUonius Bhodius, where it is aptly applied
to the wavering reflections of a lovesick maiden.

** Reflected from the sun's fisr cooler ray,
As quiv'ring beams from tossing water play
(Pour'd by some maid into her beechen bowl).
And ceaseless vibrate as the swellings roll.
So heaVd the passion^," &c.

In Lysons's Environs of London, i. 230, amongst his ex-
tracts from the Churchwardens' and Chamberlains' Books at
Kingston-upon-Thames, are the following entries concerning
some of the ancient doings on Easter Day : —

£ 8. d.

5 Hen. VIIL For thred for the Resurrection ..GDI

For three yerds of Domek> for a pleyer's coat, and the

makyng 13

12 Hen. VIII. Paid for a skin of parchment and gun-
powder, for the play on Easter Day . . .008

For brede and ale for them that made the stage, and

other things belonging to the play . '. .012

' A coarse sort of damask.

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164 EASTEBDAY.

By a subsequent entry these pageantries seem to baTe been
continued during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 1565,
"Rec*. of the players of the stage at Easter, 1/. 2*. IJJ."

Bamabe Googe, in his adaptation of Naogeorgus, has thua
preserved the ceremonies of the day in the Popish Kingdome,
f. 52 :—

*' At midnight then with carefiill minde they up to mattens ries.
The Clarke doth come, and after him, the Priest with staring des.
At midnight strait, not tarying till the daylight doe appeere,

• Some gettes in flesh, and, glutton lyke, they feede upon their cheere.
They rost their flesh, and custardes great, and egges and radish store.
And trifles, clouted creame, and cheese, and whatsoever more
At first they list to eate, they hring into the temple straight,
That so the Priest may halow them with wordes of wond'itnis

waight.
The friers besides, and pelting priestes, firom house to house do roame,
Receyving gaine of every roan that this will have at home.
Some radduh rootes this day doe take before all other meate,
Against the quartan ague, and such other sicknesse great.
Straight after this into the fieldes they walke to take the viewe,
And to their woonted life they fall, and bid the reast adewe."

In the Doctrine of the Masse Book, from Wytton-
burge, by Nicholas Dorcastor, 1554, in the form of "the
halowing of the Pascal Lambe, effff^ and herbes, on
Easter Daye," the following passage occurs : " God ! who
art the Maker of all flesh, who ^yest commaundmenta unto
Noe and his sons concerning cleane and undeane beastes,
who hast also permitted mankind to eate dean four-footed
beastes even as egges and green herbs'^ The form concludes
with the following rubrick : " Afterwards, let al be sprinkled
with holye water and censed by the priest." Dugdale, in his
Ohgines Juridiciales, p. 276, speaking of Gray's Inn Ck)m-
mons, says : — <^ In 23 Eliz. (7 Maii) there was an agreement
at the cupboard by Mr. Attorney of the Duchy and all the
Readers then present, that the dinner on Good Friday, which
had been accustomed to be made at the cost and charges of
the chief cook, should thenceforth be made at the costs of the
house, with Uke provision as it had been before that time.
And likewise, whereas, they had used to have eggs and green
sauce on Easter Day, after service and communion, for those
gentlemen who came to breakfast, that in like manner they
should be provided at the charge of the house."

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EASTEB BAT. 165

A miter in the GenUeman's Magazine, July 1783, p. 578,
oonjectures that '* the flowers, with which many churches are
oniamented on Easter Day, are most probably intended as
emblems of the Resurrection, having just risen again from
the earth, in which, during the severity of winter, they seem
to have been buried."

[Every person must have some part of his dress new on
Easter Day, or he will have no good fortune that year.
Another saying is that unless that condition be fulfilled, the
birds are lOcely to spoil your clothes. This is alluded to in
Poor Robin : —

" At Easter let your clothes be new
Or else be sure you will it rue/'

So says Mr. Barnes, the Dorsetshire poet, —

" Laste Easter I put on my blue
Frock cuoat, the vust time, Tier new ;
Wi' yaller buttons aal o' brass,
That glitter'd in the zun lik glass ;
Bekiaze 'twer Easter Zunday."]

The Festival, 1511, f. 36, says, "This day is called, in
many places, Godde's Sondaye : ye knowe weU that it is the
maner at this daye to do the fvre out of the hall, and the
blacke wynter brondes, and all thynges that is foule with
fume and smoke shall be done awaye, and there the fyre was
shall be gayly arayed with fayre floures, and strewed with
grene ryashes all aboute." In Nichols's Illustrations of An-
cient Manners and Expences, 1797, in the Churchwardens'
Accompts of St. Martin Outwich, London, under the year
1525 is the following item: — "Paid for brame ageynst
Ester, id."

" There was an ancient custom at Twickenham," according
to Lysons, *' of dividing two great cakes in the church upon
Easter Day among the young people ; but it being looked
upon as a superstitious relick, it was ordered by Parliament,
1645, that the parishioners should forbear that custom, and,
instead thereof, buy loaves of bread for the poor of the parish
with the money that should have bought the cakes. It
appears that the sum of ll.per annum is still charged upon

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166 EASTEBDAY.

the Ticarage for the purpose of huying penny loaTes for poor
children on the Thursday after Easter. Within the memory
of man they were thrown from the church-steeple to be
scrambled for ; a custom which prcTailed also some time ago
at Paddington, and is not yet totally abolished."

Hasted, in his History of Kent, iii. 66, speaking of Bidden-
den, tells us that "twenty acres of land, called the Bread
and Cheese Land, lying in ^Ye pieces, were given by peraona
unknown, the yearly rents to be distributed among the poor
of this parish. This is yearly done on Easter Sunday, in
the afternoon, in 600 cakes, each of which have the figures
of two women impressed on them, and are given to all sach
as attend the church ; and 270 loaves, weighing three pounds
and a half a-piece, to which latter is added one pound and a
half of cheese, are given to the parishioners only, at the same
time. There is a vulgar tradition in these parts, that the
figures on the cakes represent the donors of this gift, being
two women, twins, who were joined together in their bodies,
and lived together so till they were between twenty and thirty
years of age. But this seems without foundation. The
truth seems to be, that it was the gift of two maidens of the
name of Preston ; and that the print of the women on the
cakes has taken place only within these fifty years, and were
made to represent two poor widows, as the general objects of
a charitable benefaction." An engraving of one of these
cakes will be found in Hone*s Every Day Book, ii. 443.

The following is copied from a collection of Carols in
Donee's collection, —

** Soone at Easter cometh Alleluya,
With butter, cheese, and a tansay :*'

which reminds one of the passage in the Oxford Sausage,
p. 22,-

" On Easter Sunday be the pudding seen,
To which the tamey lendt her sober green,"

On Easter Sunday, as I learnt itom a clergyman of York-
shire, the young men in the villages of that county have a
custom of taking off the young girls' buckles. On Easter
Monday young men's shoes and buckles are taken off by the
young women. On the Wednesday they are redeemed by

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EASTEB DAT. 167

little pecuniurj forfeits, out of which an entertainment, called
m Tanaej Cake, is made, with dancing. An account of this
coatom at Ripon, in Yorkshire, occurs in the Gentleman's
Magazine for August 1790, p. 719, where it is added, that,
" some years ago no traveller could pass the town without
being stopped, and having his spurs taken away, unless re-
deemed by a little money, which is the only way to have
your buckles returned."

The following is from Seward's Anecdotes of some dis-
tinguished Persons, i. 35. " Charles (the Fifth) whilst he
was in possession of his regal dignity, thought so slightly of
it, that when, one day, in passing through a village in Spain,
he met a peasant who was dressed with a tin crown upon his
head, and a spit in his hand for a truncheon, as the Easter
King (according to the custom of that great festival in Spain),
who told the Emperor that he should take o£f his hat to
bim : * My good friend,' replied the Prince, * I wish you joy
of your new office : you will find it a very troublesome one,
I can assure you.' "

A superstitious practice appears to have prevailed upon the
Continent, of abstaining from flesh on Easter Sunday, to
escape a fever for the whole year. I know not whether it
ever reached this island. It was condemned by the Provin-
cial Council of Rheims, in 1583, and by that of Toulouse in
1590. (Traits des Superstitions, 1679, i. 319, 320.)

The following is taken from the Antiquarian Repertory,
1780, iii. 44, from the MS. Collection of Aubrey, in the
Asbmolean Museum at Oxford, dated 1678 : " The first dish
that was brought up to the table on Easter Day was a red-
herring riding away on horseback ; i. e. a herring ordered by
the cook something after the Hkeness of a man on horseback,
•et in a com sallad. The custom of eating a gammon of
bacon at Easter, which is still kept up in many parts of
England, was founded on this, viz. to shew their abhorrence
to Judaism at that solemn commemoration of our Lord's
Resurrection."

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168

EASTER EGGS ; couuonlt called PASCHE, ok PASTE EGGS.

[In the North of England it is still the custom to send re-
ciprocal presents of eggs^ at Easter to the children of families
respectively betwixt Whom any intimacy exists. The modes
adopted to prepare the eggs for presentation are the follow-
ing : there maybe others which have escaped my recollection.
The eggs being immersed in hot water for a few moments,
the end of a common tallow candle is made use of to in-
scribe the names of individuals, dates of particular events, &c.
The warmth of the egg renders this a very easy process.
Thus inscribed, the egg is placed in a pan of hot water,
saturated with cochineal, or other dye-woods ; the part over
which the tallow has been passed is impervious to the ope-
ration of the dye ; and consequently when the egg is removed
from the pan, there appears no discoloration of the egg
where the inscription has been traced, but the egg presents a
white inscription on a coloured ground. The colour of
course depends upon the taste of the person who prepared
the eg^ ; but usually much variety of colour is made use of.
Another method of ornamenting "pace eggs" is, however,
much neater, although more laborious, than that with the
tallow candle. The egg being dyed, it may be decorated in
a very pretty manner, by means of a penknife, with which
the dye may be scraped o£f, leaving the design white, on
a coloured ground. An egg is frequently divided into com-
partments, which are filled up according to the taste and
skill of the designer. Generally one compartment contains
the name, and (being young and unsophisticated) also the

* The learned Court de Gebelin, in his Religious History of the Calen-
dar, Iy. 251, informs us that this custom of giring eggs at Easter is to
be traced up to the theology and philosophy of the Egyptians, Persians,
Gauls, Greeks, Romans, &c., among all of whom an egg was an emblem
of the universe, the work of the supreme Divinity. Coles, in his Latin
Dictionary, renders the Pasch, or Easter Egg, by Otmrn Ptuehale^ ero-
ceum, »eu luteunu It is plain, from hence, that he was acquainted with
the custom of dying or staining of eggs at this season. Ainsworth leaves
out these two epithets, calling it singly Ovum Paschale. I presume he
knew nothing of this ancient custom, and has therefore omitted the
croceum and bttetan, because it is probable he did not understand them.

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EASTEB EGOS. 169

age of the party for whom the egg is intended. In another
is perhaps a landscape ; and sometimes a Cupid is found lurk-
ing in a third : so that these " pace eggs*' become very useful
aoziliaries to the missives of St. Valentine. Nothing is
more common in some northern villages than to see a
number of these eggs preserved very carefully in the comer-
capboard; each egg being the occupant of a deep long-
stemmed ale-glass, through which the inscription could be
read without remoTing it. Probably many of these eggs
now remain in Cumberland, which would afiford as good
evidence of dates in a court of justice as a tombstone or a
family Bible. It will be readily supposed that the majority
of pace ^gs are simply dyed or dotted with tallow to present
a piebald or bird's-eye appearance. These are designed for
the junior boys, who have not began to participate in the
pleasures of " a bended bow and quiver full of arrows," a
flaming torch, or a heart and a true lover's knot. These
plainer specimens are seldom promoted to the dignity of the
ale-giass or the comer-cupboard. Instead of being handed
down to posterity, they are hurled to swift destruction. In
the process of dying they are boiled pretty hard, so as to pre-
vent incouTenience if crushed in the hand or the pocket.
But the strength of the shell constitutes the chief glory of a
pace egg, whose owner aspires onlj to the conquest of a
rival youth. Holding his egg in his hand, he challenges a
companion to give blow for blow. One of the eggs is sure
to be broken, and its shattered remains are the s^il of the
conqueror, who is instantly inyested with the title of ''a
cock of one, two, three," &c., in proportion as it may have
fractured his antagonists' eggs in the conflict. A successful
egg in a contest with one which had previously gained
honours adds to its number the reckoning of its vanquished
foe. An egg which is " a cock" of ten or a dozen, is fre-
quently challenged. A modern pugilist would call this a set-
to for the championship. Such on the borders of the Solway
Frith were the youthful amusements of Easter Monday.]

Hutchinson, in his History of Northumberland, ii. 10, speak-
ing ofPasche Eggs, says, " Eggs were held by the Egyptians
as a sacred emblem of the renovation of mankind itter the
Deluge. The Jews adopted it to suit the circumstances of
their history, as a type of their departure from the land of

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170 EASTEHEGOS.

Egypt ; and it was used in the feast of the Paasover as part
of the fbrnitare of the table, with the Paschal Lamb. The
Christians have certainly used it on this day, as retaining the
elements of future life, for an emblem of the Resurrection.
It seems as if the egg was thus decorated for a religious
trophy, after the days of mortification and abstinence were
over, and festivity lutd taken place ; and as an emblem of
the resurrection of Hfe, certified to us by the Besurrectioii
from the regions of death and the grave." The ancient
£g3rptians, if the resurrection of the body had been a tenet
of their faith, would perhaps have thou^t an egg no im-
proper hieroglyphical representation of it. The exdusion of
a living creature by incubation, after the vital principle has
laid a long while dormant, or seemingly extinct, is a process
so truly marvellous, that, if it could be disbelieved, would be
thought by some a thing as incredible to the full, as that the
Author of Life should be able to reanimate the dead.

A writer in the Gentieman's Magazine, July 1783, p. 578,
supposes the egg at Easter " an emblem of the rising up out
of the grave, in the same manner as the chick, entombed, as
it were, in the egg, is in due time brought to life." Le Brun,
in his Voyages, i. 191, tells us that the Persians, on the 20th
of March, 1704, kept the Festival of the Solar New Year,
which he says lasted several days, when they mutually pre-
sented each other, among other things, with coloured eggs.

Easter, says Gebelin, and the New Year, have been marked
by similar distinctions. Among the Persians, the New Year is
looked upon as the renewal of all things, and is noted for
the triumph of the Sun of Nature, as Easter is with Christians
for that of the Sun of Justice, the Saviour of the World, over
death, by his Resurrection. The Feast of the New Year, he
adds, was celebrated at the Yemal Equinox, that is, at a tuhe
when the Christians, removing their New Year to the Winter
Solstice, kept only the Festival of Easter. Hence, with the
latter, the Feast of Eggs has been attached to Easter, so that
eggs are no longer made presents of at the New Year.^

* Father Carmeli, in his History of CottomSi tells us that, doling
Easter and the following days, hard eggs, painted of different odours,
but principally red, are the ordinary food of the season. In Italy, Spain,
and in Provence, says he, where almost every ancient superstition is re-
tained, there are in the public places certain t/HfrU with eg^. This

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EA8TEE BGGS. 171

The Jews, in celebrating their Fafisoyer, placed on the
\able two unleayened cakes, and two pieces of the Lamb ; to
this the J added some small fishes, because of the Leviathan ;
a hard egg, because of the bird Zi2 ; some meal, because of
the Behemdth ; these three animals being, according to their
Babbinical Doctors, appointed for the feast of the elect in the
other life. I saw at the window of a baker's shop in Lon-
don, on Easter Eve 1805, a Passover cake, with four eggs,
bound in with slips of paste, crossways, in it. I went into
the shop and inquired of the baker what it meant ; he assured
me it was a Passover cake for the Jews.^

The learned Hyde, in his Oriental Sports, tells us of one
with eggs among the Christians of Mesopotamia on Easter
Day, and forty days afterwards, during which time their
children buy themselves as many eggs as they cau, and stain
them with a red colour in memory of the blood of Christ,
shed as at that time of his Crucifixion. Some tinge them
with green and yellow. Staiued eggs are sold all the while
in the market. The sport .consists in striking their eggs one
against another, and the egg that first brealu is won by the
owner of the egg that struck it. Immediately another egg
is pitted against the winning egg, and so they go on (as in
that barbarous sport of a Welsh main at cockfighting), till
the last remaining egg wins all the others, which their re-
spective owners shaU before have won. This sport, he
observes, is not retained in the midland parts of England,
bat seems to be alluded to in the old proverb, *' an egg at
Easter," because the liberty to eat eggs begins again at that
Festival, and thence must have arisen this festive egg-game ;
for neither the Papists, nor those of the Eastern Church,
eat eggs during Lent, but at Easter begin again to eat them.
And hence the egg-feast formerly at O^ord, when the

cnstom he derives from the Jews or the Pagans, for he observes it is com-
mon to both. The Jewish wives, at the Feast of the Passover, upon a
table prepared for that purpose, place hard eggs, the symbols of a bird
called Ziz, concemiog which the Rabbins have many fabulous accounts.

> « On y fit aussi des deffenoes de vendre des ceufs de couleur apres
Psiqiies, parce que les enfans s'en joiioyent auparavant, qui estoit de maa-
vais ezemple/' — Satyrre Menipp^ de la Vertu du Catholicon d'Espagne,
1595, 1 94. The English version of this work renders ceuft de conkur,
ipedkled eggt.

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172 £AST£B EGGS.

scholars took leaTe of that kind of food on the Saturday after
Ash Wednesday, on what is called ''Cleansing Week."

In the Museum Tradescantianum, 1660, p. 1, we find,
" Easter Egges of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem."

In the North of England, continues Hyde, in Cumberland
and Westmoreland, boys beg, on Easter Eve, eggs to play
with, and beggars ask for them to eat. These eggs are
hardened by boiling, and tinged with the juice of herbs,
broom-flowers, &c. The eggs being thus prepared, the boya
go out and play with them in the fields, rolling them up and
down, like bowk upon the ground, or throwing them ap«
like balls, into the air. Eggs, stained with Tarious colours
in boiling, and sometimes covered with leaf-gold, are at
Easter presented to children, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and
other places in the North, where these young gentry ask for
their Paste E^s, as for a fairing, at this season. Paste is
plainly a corruption of Pasque, Easter.

In the neighbourhood of Newcastle they are tinged yellow
with the blossoms of furze, called their Whin-bloom. A
curious tract, 1644, lies before me, entitled. To Sion's Lovers,
being a golden Egge, to avoide Infection, a title undoubtedly
referring to this superstition. In a curious Roll of the Ex-
penses of the Household of 18 Edw. I., communicated to the
Society of Antiquaries, 1805, is the following item in the
Accounts of Easter Sunday : — '' Four hwndred and a half of
^9^9 eighteen pence :" highly interesting to the investigator
o£ our ancient manners : not so much on account of the
smallness of the sum which purchased them, as for the pur-
pose for which so great a quantity was procured on this day
in particular : i. e. in order to have them stained in boiling,
or covered with leaf gold, and to be afterwards distributed to
the Royal Household.

That the Church of Rome has considered eggs as emblema^
tical of the Resurrection, may be gathered from the subse-
quent prayer, which the reader wul find in an extract from
the Ritual of Pope Paul the Fifth, for the use of England,
Ireland, and Scotland. It contains various other forms of
benediction. ''Bless, Lord! we beseech thee, this thy
creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance
to thy faithfid servants, eating it in thankfulness to thee, on
account of the Resurrection of our Lord."

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EASTER EGOS. 173

The following, from Emilianne's Frauds of Romish Monks
and Priests, is much to our purpose : " On Easter Eve and
Easter Day, all the heads of families send great chargers, fuU
of hard eggs, to the church, to get them blessed, which the
priests pei^orm by saying several appointed prayers, and
making great signs of the cross oyer them, and sprinkling
them with holy water. The priest, having finished the cere-
mony, demands how many dozen eggs there be in every bason ?
These blest eggs have the virtue of sanctifying the entrails of
the body, and are to be the first fat or fleshy nourishment
they take after the abstinence of Lent. The Italians do not
only abstain from flesh during Lent, but also from eggs,
cheese, butter, and all white meats. As soon as the eggs are
blessed, every one carries his portion home, and causeth a
lai^ table to be set in the best room in the house, which they
cover with their best linen, all bestrewed with flowers, and
place round about it a dozen dishes of meat, and the great
chaiger of eggs in the midst. 'Tis a very pleasant sight to
see these tables set forth in the houses of great persons, when
Uiey expose on side-tables (round about the chamber) all the
plate they have in the house, and whatever else they have that
is rich and curious, in honour of their Easter eggs, which of
themselves yield a very fair show, for the shells of them are
all painted with divers colours, and gilt. Sometimes they
are no less than twenty dozen in the same charger, neatly
laid together in the form of a pyramid. The table con-
tinues, m the same posture, covered, all the Easter week,
and all those who come to visit them in that time are
invited to eat an Eastern egg with them, which they must
not refuse."

In the Beehive of the Romishe Churche, 1579, f. 14,
Easter ^gs occur in the following list of Romieji supersti-
tions : " Fasting Dayes, Years of Grace, Differences and Di-
versities of Dayes, of Meates, of Clothing, of Candles, Holy
Ashes, Holy Face Eggs and Flanes, Palmes and Palme Bougbes,
Staves, Fooles Hoods, Shelles and Belles, Paxes, Licking
of Rotten Bones," &c. The last article relates to pilgrims and
relics. The author of Le Yoyageur ^ Paris, ii. 112, supposes
that the practice of painting and decorating eggs at Easter,
amongst the Catholics, arose from the joy which was occa-

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174 SASTEB £668.

Bioned by their returning to their £&Yorite food after so long
an absence from them daring Lent. ^

In the ancient Calendar of the Romish Chorch, to which I
have BO often referred, I find the following : " Ova annunei-
at<Bi ut aiunt, reponuntur" i. e. eggs laid on the Annuncia-
tion of the Virgin Mary are laid by. This must have been for
some Bach purpose as the following : " ad banc superstitionem
diariam referendi quoque sunt, — qui ova, quse gaUinse parinnt
die Parasceues, toto asservant anno, quia eredunt ea vim ha-
bere ad extinffuenda incendia ei in ignem injieidnturJ' (Delrio
Discj^uiB. Magic, p. 205.) Lebrun, too, in his Superstitiona
Anaennes et McMiemes, says that some people keep eggs
aid on Good Friday all the year.

Dr. Chandler, in hisTrayels in AsiaMinor, giTes the following
accountof the manner of celebrating Easter among the modem
Greeks: "The Greeks now celebrated Easter. A small bier,
prettily decked with orange and citron buds, jasmine, flowers,
and boughs, was placed in the church, with a Christ crucified,
rudely painted on board, for the body. We saw it in the
erening, and, before day-break, were suddenly awakened by
the blaze and crackling of a large bonfire, with singing and
shouting in honour of the Resurrection. They made ub pre-
sents of coloured egge and cakes of Easter bread."

Easter Day, says the Abb^ d*Auteoroche, in his Journey to
Siberia, is set apart for yisiting in Russia. A Russian came
into my room, ofiered me his hand, and gave me, at the same
time, an egg. Another followed, who also embraced, and
^ye me an egg. I gave him in return the e^ which I had
just before received. The men go to each other's houaea in
the morning, and introduce themselves by saying, " Jeana
Christ is risen." The answer is — " Yes, he is risen." 'Hie
people then embrace, give each other eggs, and drink a great
deal of brandy. The subsequent extract from Hakluyt*s
Voyages is of an older date, and shows how little the custom
has varied : ** They Tthe Russians) have an order at Easter,
which they alwaies ooserve, and that is this : every yeere,
against Easter, to die or colour red* with Brazzel (BrazU wood),

* According to Gebelis, Monde Primitif, 1787, iv. 251, ooloored eggs
were also employed at the commencement of the New Year.

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EA.STEEBOQS. 1/5

a great number of egges, of which every man and woman giveth
one unto the priest of the parish upon Easter Day, in the
morning. And, moreover, the common people use to carrie
in their hands one of these red egges, not only upon Easter
Bay, but also three or foure days after, and gentlemen and
gendewomen have egges gilded, which they carry in like
maner. They use it, as they say, for a great luve, and in token
of the Resurrection, whereof diey rejoice. For when two
friends meete during the Easter Holydayes, they come and
take one another by the hand ; the one of them saith, ' The
Lord, or Christ, is risen ;' the other answereth, ' It is so of a
tmeth ;' and then they kiss and exchange their egges, both
men and women, continuing in kissing four dayes together."
Our ancient voyage- writer means no more here, it shoidd seem,
than that the ceremony was kept up for four days. On the
modem practice of tms custom in Russia, see Dr. Clarke's
Travels, i. 59.*

In Germany, sometimes, instead of eegs at Easter, an
emblematical print is occasionally presented. One of these is
preserved in the Print-room of the British Museum. Three
hens are represented as upholding a basket, in which are
placed three eggs, ornamented wi|ih representations illustra-
tive of the Resurrection. Over the centre egg the Agnus Dei,
with a chalice representing Faith ; the other eggs bearing the
emblems of Charity and Hope. Beneath all, the following
lines in German

" Alle g^ute ding seynd drey.
Drum schenk dir drey Osier Ey
Glaub nnd Hofihung sambt der Lieb.
NiemahU auss dem Herzen scbieb
Glaub der Kirch, Tertran auf Gott,
Liebe Ihn bias in den todt."

' " On Kaster Day they greet one another with a kiss, both men and
women, and give a red egg, saying these words, ChrUtot voa ChrUte, In
the Easter Week all his Mi^esty's servants and nobility kiss the patriarch's
hand, and receive either gilded or red eggs, the highest sort three, the
mid^ two, and the most inferior one.'' — Preteni State qfRuma, 1671>
p. 18.

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176 EASTER HOLIDAyS.

All good things are three.

Therefore I present you three Easter eggs,

Faith and Hope, together with Charity.

Never lose from the heart

Faith to the Church ; Hope in God

And love him to thy death.

[The Pace-Egger's song, as still heard in the North, com-
mences as follows : —

'' Here*8 two or three jolly boys, all of one mind,
We have come a pace-egging, and hope you'll prove kind ;
I hope you'll prove kind with your eggs and strong beer
And we'll come no more near you until the next year."

A sort of drama appears to form part of the amusements of
this day. I possess a tract of this kind, entitled the Peace
Egg, with woodcuts, which concludes as follows, —

'* Enter Devil Bouht.

'* Here come I, little Devil Doubt,
If you do not give me money,
ril sweep you all out ;
Money I want, and money I crave,
If you do not give me money
m sweep ^rou all to the grave."]

EASTER HOLIDAYS.

Easter has ever heen considered by the Church as a season
of great festivity. Belithus, a ritualist of ancient times, tells
us that it was customary in some churches for the Bishops and
Archbishops themselves to play with the inferior clergy at hand-
ball, and this, as Durand asserts, even on Easter Day itself. Why
tbey should play at hand-ball at this time rather than any other
game. Bourne tells us he has not been able to discover ; certain
it is, however, that the present custom of playing at that game
on Easter Holidays for a tansy-cake has been derived from
thence. Erasmus, speaking of the proverb, Mea estpila, that
is, " I've got the ball," tells us that it signifies " I*ve obtained
the victory ; I am master of my wishes." The Romanists cer-
tainly erected a standard on Easter Day, in token of our Lord's

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EASTEB HOLIDAYS. 177

victory ; but it would perhaps be iudulging fancy too far to
suppose that the bishops and governors of churches, who used
to play at hand-ball at this season, did it in a mystical way,
and with reference to the triumphal joy of the season. Cer-
tain it is, however, that many of their customs and supersti-
tions are founded on still more trivial circumstances, even
according to their own explanations of them, than this ima-
ginary analogy.^

Titzstephen, as cited by Stow, teUs us of an Easter holiday
amusement used in his time at London : *' They fight battels
on the water. A shield is hanged upon a pole (this is a spe-
cies of the quintain) fixed in the midst of the stream. A boat
is prepared without oars, to be carried by violence of the water,
and in the forepart thereof standeth a young man ready to
giye charge upon the shield with his lance. If so be he break
bis lance against the shield and do not fall, he is thought to
have performed a worthy deed. If so be that without breaking
his laonce, he runneth strongly against the shield, down he
fidleth into the water, for the boat is violently forced with the
tide; but on each side of the shield ride two boats furnished
with young men, which recover him that falleth as soon as they
may. Upon the bridge, wharfs, and houses, by the river side,
atand great numbers to see and laugh thereat." Henry, in his
History of Britain, iii. 594, thus describes another kind of quin-
tain : '* A strong post was fixed in the ground, with a piece
of wood which turned upon a spindle, on the top of it. At one
end of this piece of wood a bag of sand was suspended, and at
the other end a board was nailed. Against this board they
tilted with spears, which made the piece of wood turn quickly
on the spindle, and the bag of sand strike the riders on the
back with great force, if they did not make their escape by the
swiftness of their horses."

They have an ancient custom at Coleshill, in Warwickshire,
that if the young men of the town can catch a hare, and bring
it to the parson of the parish before ten o'clock on Easter
Monday, the parson is bound to give them a calf s head and a
hundred of eggs for their break&st, and a groat in money.

* By the law ooncerning holidavg, made in the time of King Alfred the
Great, it was appointed that the week after Easter should be kept holy. —
CoBier^s Eeeleritut Hut. I 163. See also Lambarde't Jrchaionomia, 1644^
p. 33.

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178 EA8TBR HOLIDATS.

(Beckwith'B edit, of Blounf s Jocular TemutB, p. 286.) A
writer in the Gent. Mag. for Jnly, 1783, p. 578, mentioii» a
be?erage called " Braggot (which is a mixture of al^ av^ar,
and spices) in nse at the festiyal of Easter/*'

Tansy, sa^ Selden, in his Table Talk, was taken from the
bitter herbs in use among the Jews at this season. Oar meats
and sports, says he, *' have much of them relation to church
works. The coflSn of onr Christmas pies, in shape long^ ia in
imitation of the cratch,^ i. e. nek or manger, wherein Christ
was laid. Oar tansies at Easter have reference to the bitter
herbs, though at the same time 'twas always the fashion for a
man to have a gammon of bacon, to show himself to be no
Jew/' In that carious book, entitled Adam in Eden, or Na-
ture's Paradise, 1657, by William Coles, oar author, speak-
ing of the medicinal virtues of tansy, says : " Therefore it is
that Tan&ay9 were so frequent not long since about Easter,
being so called from this herb tansey : though I think the
stomach of those that eat them late are so sqaeamish that

* It was an andent custom for the mayor, aldermen, and sheriff of New-
castle-upon-Tyne, accompanied with great numbers of the burgesses, to go
every year, at the Feasts of Easter and Whitsuntide, to a place without the
walls called the Forth, a little Mall, where everybody walks, as they do in
St. James's Park, with the mace, sword, and cap of maintenance carried
before them. The young people of the town still assemble there on thoe
holidays, at Easter particularly, play at hand-ball, and dance, but are no
longer countenanced in their innocent festivity by the presence of their
goTcmors, who, no doubt, in ancient times, as the bishops did with the
inferior clergy, used to unbend the brow of authority, and partake with
their happy and contented people the seemingly puerile pleasures of the
festal season.

' Among the MSS. in Benet College, Cambridge, is a translation of
part of the New Testament, in the English spoken in the 1 4th oentmy.
The 7th verse of the 2d chapter of St. Luke is thus rendered : " And
layde hym in a cratches for to hym was no place in the dyversory." I vrill
venture to subjoin anoUier specimen, which strongly marks the mutabiity
of language. Msrk vi. 22 : <' When the doughtyr of Herodias was in
comyn, and had tombylde and pleside to Harowde, and also to the sittaade
at meate, the kyng says to the wench — " If the original Greek had not
been preserved, one might have supposed from this English that, instead
of excelling in the graceful accomplishment of dancing, the young lady had
performed in some exhibition like the present entertainments at Sadler's
Wells.— See Lewis's Hist, of the Engl. Transition of the Bible, p. 16.
Bimnd has here confused the archaical and modern uses of the word. See
HaDiwell's Dictionary, p. 894.

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SABTEB HOLIDAYS. 179

ikey put Utile or tume of it into them, having altogether /or^o^
tern the reaeon of their originall, which was to purge away
from the stomach and guts the pblegme engendered by eating
of fish in the Lent season (when Lent was kept stricter then
now it is), whereof worms are soon bred in them that are
thereunto disposed, besides other humours, which the moist
and cold constitution of Winter most usually infects the body of
man with ; and this I say is the reason why tanseys were
and should be now more used m the Spring than at any other
time of the year, though many understand it not, ana some
simple people take it for a matter of superstition so to do."
Johnson, in his edition of Gerard's Herball, 1633, p. 651,
speaking of tansy, says : " In the spring time are made with
the leayes hereof newly sprung up, and with egs, cakes, or
tatmee, which be pleasant in taste, and good for the stomacke ;
for, if any bad humours cleave thereunto, it doth perfectly
concoct them and scowre them downewards.*' Tansy cakes
are thus alluded to in Shipman's Poems, p. 17. He is de-
scribing the firost in 1 654 :

** Wherever any gnuy turf is Tiew'd,
It seems a tansie all with sagar strew'd/'*

It is related in Aubanus's Description of Ancient Rites in
his Country, that there were at this season foot-courses in the
meadows, in which the victors carried off each a cake, given
to be run for, as we say, by some better sort of person in the
neighbourhood. Sometimes two cakes were proposed, one for
the young men, another for the girls ; and there was a great
concourse of people on the occasion. This is a custom by no
means unlike the playing at hand-ball for a tansy-cake, the
winning of which depends chiefly upon swiftness of foot. It
is a trial, too, of fleetness and speed, as veil as the foot-race.

In Lewis's English Presbyterian Eloquence, p. 17, speaking
of the tenets of the Puritans, he observes that " aU games
where there is any hazard of loss are strictly forbidden ; not
so much as a game of stool-ball for a tansay, or a cross and
pyle for the odd penny at a reckoning upon pain of damna-

' The method of making the cake called a tansy, is folly described in
Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 850. It was composed of eggs, sugar, sack,
cream, spinach leaves, and batter.

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180 EASTER HOLIDAYS.

tion." The following is in a curious collection, entitled A.
pleasant Grove of New Fancies, 1657, p. 74 :

" At stool-ball, Lucia, let us play
For sugar, cakes, and wine
Or for a tansey let us pay,
The loss be thine or mine.

If thoQ, my dear, a winner be,

At trundling of the ball,
The wager thou shalt have and me.

And my misfortunes alL"

Poor Robin, in his Almanack for 1677, in his obserrations
on April, says :

** Ycung men and maids, now very brisk,
At barley-break and stool-ball frisk."

[There is a custom at this season, which yet prevails in
Kent, with young people, to go out holiday-making in pablic
houses to eat pudding-pies, and this is called going Apuddinff-
pieing. The pudding-pies are from the size of a teacup to
that of a small tea-saucer. They are flat, like pastry-cooks'
cheesecakes, made with a raised crust to hold a small quantity
of custard, with currants lightly sprinkled on the surface.
Pudding-pies and cherry-beer usuaUy go together at these
feasts. From the inns down the road towards Canterboir
they are frequently brought out to the coach travellers, with
an invitation to taste the pudding-pies.]

Durand tell us, that on Easter Tuesday wives used to beat
their husbands, on the day following the husbands their wives.
The custom which has been already mentioned in a preceding
page, on Easter Sunday, is still retained at the city of Dur-
ham in the Easter holidays. On one day the men take off
the women's shoes, or rather buckles, which are only to be
redeemed by a present: on another day the women make
reprisals, taking off the men's in like manner.

" In the Easter Holidays," says the account in the Anti-
quarian Repertory, from MS. Collections of Aubrey, in the
Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, 1678, was *' the clerk'eale, tar
his private benefit and the solace of the neighbourhood.'* Dome,
in his Account of Stone Figures carved on the Porch of

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LIPTINO ON BA8TEE HOLIDAYS. 181

Chalk Church," (Archceol. xii. 12,) says: "the clerks' tie
was the method taken hy the clerks of parishes to collect
more readily their dues." Denne is of opinion that Give-Ales
▼ere the legacies of indiyiduals, and from that circumstance
entirely gratuitous.

The rolling of young couples down Greenwich-hill, at Easter
and Whitsuntide, appears hy the following extract from R.
Fletcher's Translations and Poems, 1656, p. 210, in a poem
called " May Day," to be the yestiges of a May game :

" The game at best, the girls May rmUd miut bee,
Where Croyden and Mopsa, he and sh'ee,
Each happy pair make one hermophrodite,
And tumbling, bounce together, black and white."

[A Warwickshire correspondent in Hone's Every Day Book,
L 431, says, — ^When I was a child, as sure as Easter Monday
came, I was taken * to see the children clip the churches.'
This ceremony waa performed amid crowds of people, and
shouts of joy, by the children of the different charity schools,
who at a certain hour flocked together for the purpose. The
first comers placed themselyes hand in hand with their backs
against the church, and were joined by their companions, who
gradually increased in number, till at last the chain was ot
aafident length completely to surround the sacred edifice.

As soon as the hand of the laat of the train had grasped that
of the first the party broke up, and walked in procession to
the other church (for in those days Birmingham boasted but
cyf two), where the ceremony waa repeated.]

LIFTING ON BASTEE HOLIDAYS.

In 1805, Lysons communicated to the Society of Antiquaries
the following extract from a record in the Tower, entitled '* Li-
ber Contrarotulatoris Hospicii," 18 Edw. I. "Dominse de camera
Begins, xt. die Maii, Tij. dominabus et domicillis reginee,
quia ceperunt dominum regem in lecto suo, in crastitno Paschee,
et ipsum fecerunt finire versus eas pro pace regis, quam fecit
de dono suo per manus Hugonis de Ceru, scutiferi dominse de
Weston, xiiij. li." The tiSdng Edward Longshanks in his
bed by the above party of ladies of the bedchamber and maids
of honour, on Easter Monday, was very probably for the pur-

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182 LIFTING ON EASTSB H0LIBAT8.

pose of heaving or li/Hng the king, on the aathority of a i
torn which then doubtless prevailed among all ranks through-
out the kingdom, and wluch is yet not entirely laid aside in
some of our distant provinces ; a custom by wWh, howerer
strange it may appear, they intended no less than to represent
our Saviour's Resurrection. At Warrington, Bolton, and Man-
chester, on Easter Monday, the women, forming parties of sax
or eight each, still continue to surround such of the opposite
sex as they meet, and, either with or without their oonsenl»
lift them thrice above their heads into the air, with loud shoute
at each elevation. On Easter Tuesday, the men, in parties as
aforesaid, do the same to the women. By both parties it is
converted into a pretence for fining or extorting a small aum,
which they always insist on having paid them by the persons
whom they have thus elevated.

In the Gentleman's Magazine for February 1784, p. 96, s
gendeman from Manchester says, that '' JAflmg was orimi-
ally designed to represent our Saviour's Resurrection. The
men lift the women on Easter Monday, and the women tlie
men on Tuesday. One or more take hold of each 1^, and
one or more of each arm near the body, and lift the person
up, in a horizontal position, three times. It is a rude, in*
decent, and dangerous diversion, practised chiefly by tlis
lower class of people. Our magistrates constantiy prohibit
it by the bellman, but it subsists at the end of the town ;
and the women have of late years converted it into a money
job. I believe it is chiefly confined to these Northern
counties."

The following extract is from the Public Advertiser Ibr
Friday, April 13th, 1787:— "The custom of rolling down
Greenwich-hill at Easter is a reUque of old City mannen^
but peculiar to the metropolis. Old as the custom has
been, the counties of Shropshire, Cheshire, and Lancashiie
boast one of equal antiquity, which they odl Heaving^ and
perform with the following ceremonies, on the Monday and
Tuesday in the Easter week. On the first day, a party of
men go with a chair into every house to which they can get
admission, force every female to be seated in their vehide,
and lift tiiem up three times, with loud huzzas. For this
they daim the reward of a chaste salute, which those who
axe too coy to submit to may get exempted from by a fine of

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LirriNO ON BA8TBB HOLIDAYS. 183

sliilliiig, and receiTe a written teatunony, vhich secures
tbem horn a repetition of the ceremony fo^ that day* On
the Tuesday the women ckim the same privilege, and pursue
tbeir business in the same manner, with this addition — ^that
they guard every avenue to the town, and stop every pas-
senger, pedestrian, equestrian, or vehicuhur." That it is not
entvdy confined, however, to the Northern counties, may be
ntheved icom. the following letter, which Brand received
nrom a correspondent of great respectability in 1799: —
** Having been a witness lately to the exorcise of what
appeared to me a very curious custom at Shretoahury, I take
the liberty of mentioning it to you, in the hope that amongst
your researches yon may be able to give some account of Sie
oonnd or origm of it. I was sitting alone last Eaater
Tuesday at breakfiMt at the Talbot at Shrewsbury, when I
was surprised hj the entrance of all the female servants of
the house handing in an arm-chair, lined with white, and
decorated with riboons and favours of diflferent colours. I
ftsked them what they wanted? Their answer was, they came to
keaoe me. It was the custom of the place on that morning,
and they hoped I would take a seat in their chair. It waa
impossible not to comply with a request very modestiy made^
and to a set of nymphs in their best apparel, and several of
them under twenty. I wished to see all the ceremony, and
aeated myself accordinglv. The group then lifted me from
the ground, turned the chair about, and I had the felicity of
a salute firom each. I told them I supposed there was a fee
due upon the occasion, and was answered in the affirmative ;
and, baring satisfied the damsels in this respect, they with-
drew to heave others. At this time I had never heard of
such a custom; but, on inquiry, I found that on Easter
Monday, between nine and twelve, the men heave the
women in the same manner as on the Tuesday, between the
same hours, the women heave the men, I will not ofier any
eonjecture on the ground of the custom, because I have
^nothing like data to go upon ; but if you should happen to
have heard any thing satisfactory respecting it, I should be
highlygratified by your mentioning it," &c.

[A Warwickshire correspondent says, Easter Monday and
Saater Tuesday were known by the name of heaving day^
because on the former day it was customary for the men to

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184 HOKE BAY.

heave and kiss the women, and on the latter fbr the womcsi
to retaliate upon the men. The women's heaying day mm
the most amusing. Many a time have I passed along the
streets inhabited by the lower orders of people, and seen
parties of jolly matrons assembled round tables on which
stood a foaming tankard of ale. There they sat in all the
pride of absolute sovereignty, and woe to the luckless man
that dared to invade their prerogatives ! as sure as he was
seen, he was pursued — as sure as he was pursued, he was
taken, and as sure as he was taken he was heaved and kissed,
and compelled to pay six-pence for ''leave and licence" to
depart.]

Another writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, for July
1783, p. 578, having inquired whether the custom of Lifting
is '' a memorial of Christ being raised up from the grave^''
adds : ** There is at least some appearance of it ; aa there
seems to be a trace of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the
heads of the Apostles in what passes at Whitsuntide Fair, in
some parts of Lancashire, where one person holds a stick
over the head of another, whilst a third, unperoeived, strikes
the stick, and thus gives a smart blow to the first. But tins,
probablv, is only local. In a General History of Liverpool,
reviewed in the Gent. Mag. for 1798, p. 325, it is said, " the
only ancient annual commemoration now observed is that of
lifting ; the women by the men on Easter Monday, and the
men by the women on Easter Tuesday." Pennant saya, that
*'in North Wales, the custom of heaving, upon Monday and
Tuesday in Easter week, is preserved ; and on Monday the
young men go about the town and country, from house to
house, wiUi a fiddle playing before them, to heave the women.
On the Tuesday the women heave the men."

HOKE DAY.

Bt some this is thought to have been the remains of a
heathen custom, which might have been introduced into this
island by the Romans. Hoke Day, according to the most
oommoxily received account, was an annual festival, said to

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HOKE DAT. 185

htLYe b^n institated in memory of the almost total destrac-
tkm of the Danes in England by EtbGlred, in 1002. Bryant
haa ahown thia to be destitute of any plausible support. The
meaanre is proved to have been as unwise as it was inhuman,
fyfr Sweyn, the next year, made a second expedition into
Bn^and, and laid waste its Western Provinces with fire and
sword. The conquest of it soon followed, productive of such
ndaary and oppression as this country had, perhaps, never
before experienced. A holiday could therefore never have
been instituted to commemorate an event which afforded
matter rather for humiMation than of such mirth and festivity.
The strongest testimony against this hypothesis is that of
Henry of Huntingdon, who expressly says that the massacre
of the Danes happened on the feast of St. Brice, which is
well known to be on the 13th of November.' Dugdale and
odiers say it was instituted on the death of Hardicanute.

Yersteffan, with no great probability, derives Hoc-tide from
Heaghtyde, which, says he, in the Netherlands means a fes*
tival season ; yet he gives it as a mere conjecture. The sub-
stance of what Spelman says on this subject is as follows.
Hoc Day, Hoke Day, Hoc Tuesday, a festival celebrated
annually by the English, in remembrance of their having
ignominiously driven out the Danes, in like manner as the
Bomans had their Fugalia, from having expelled their kings.
He inclines to Lambajrde*s opinion, that it means " deriding
Tuesday," as Hocken, in German, means to attack, to seize,
to bind, as the women do the men on this day, whence it is
called ** Binding Tuesday." The origin he deduces from the
alanghter of the Danes by Ethelred, which is first men-
tioned in the Laws of Edward the Confessor, c. 35. He
says the day itself is uncertain, and varies, at the discretion
of the common people, in difiierent places ; and adds, that he
is at a loss why the women are permitted at this time to have
the upper hand.^

■ See a good deal of uformttion conoerning Hoc-tide in Plott's History
of Oxfonlshire, 1677, p. 201.

* Matthew Paris has the followlDg passages concerniDg Hoc-tide.
** Po8t.diem Martis qiise vulgariter Hokedaie appellatur, factum est Par-
itamentom Londini/' p. 963. *' Die yidelidt Lunae quae ipsum diem pne-
eedit prozimb qoem Hokedaie vulgarit* appellamus," p. 834. — **Iii
qnmdeiia Pasdue qns vulgariter Hokedaie appellatur," p. 904. — On these

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186 HOKfi BAT.

Our ancient authorities for the mention of Hoctide ai8»-l.
Matthew of Westm. p. 307, " Die Lunse ante le Hokeday/'
2. Monast. Anglic, old edit. i. 104, *' A die quse dicitnr Hobe-
dai uaqne ad festam S. Michaelis.'' 3. An instrument in
Kennet's Paroch. Antiq. dated 1363, i^ch speaks of a
period between Hoke Day and St. Martin's Day. 4. A
chartnlary at Caen, cited by Da Cange, p. 1150, in whidx a
period between " Hooedie usque ad Augostum" is mentioned.
5. An Inspezimus in Madoz's Formukre, p. 225, dated 42
Ed. III., in which mention is made of " die Martis prozumo
post quindenam Paschse qui Yocatur Hokeday." It seenia
pretty dear then that that Hoc Tuesday fell upon the Toes-
day fortnight after Easter Day, and that it could not be ia
memory of the Danish massacre, if that happened on St»
Brice's Day» and whichj in 1002, would fall on a Fndkjm
Matthew Pans appears to be the oldest authority for tne
word ** Hokedaie," and be, as Plott well obserres, makes it
fall both on a Monday, ** quindena Paschic;," and on a
Tuesday, " die Martis." And yet he does not call the Monday
by the name of Hokedaie. Plott ez]pressly mentions that in
his time they had two Hocdays, viz.— ''The Monday for
the women," which, says he, " is the more solemn ; and the
Tuesday for the men, which is very inconsiderable." BloQnt»
in his edition of Cowell's Glossary, says, that Hoc Tuesday
money was a dut3r given to the landlord, that his tenants
and bondsmen might solemnize that day on which the
English mastered die Danes, being the second Tuesday after
Easter week.

[In MS. Bodl. 692, a curious miscellany of the fifteenth
century, f. 163, is an order from the Bishop of Worcestei^
dated April 1450, to the Almoner of Worcester Cathedral and
othm, *' ut subditi utriusque aUgationibus et ludis inhonestia
in diebus communiter vocatis hok-day* cessent sub poena ez-
communicationis."]

Blount, in his Law Dictionary, v. Hokeday, says he has
seen a lease, without date, reserving so much rent payable
'*ad duos anni terminos, sdl. ad le Hokeday, et ad festum

passages Watts, in his Glossary, observesp "adhne in ea die
mnlieres jocose Tias oppidorum fanibns impedire, et tnaseontes ad n
attrahere, ut ab eis munnsculiMp aliquod extorqnesnt, in oios osus aliqaoi
erogandum;" and then relen to Spehoan.

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HOKE DAT. 187

8. Mich/' He adds, that in the accounts of Magdalen College,
in Oxford, there is yearly an allowance pro mulieribM hoemu
ti6u9, of some manora of theirs. in Hampshire, where the
men hoc the women on Monday, and contra on Tuesday.

Higgins, in his Short View of English History, says, that at
Hoctide the people go ahout beating brass instruments, and
singing old rhymes in praise of their cruel ancestors, as is re-
ooided in an old diiiomcle.

This festiTBl was celebrated, according to ancient writers,
on the Qnindena Paschse, by which, Denne informs us, the
second Sunday after Easter cannot be meant, but some day in
ihe ensuing week : and Matthew Paris, and other writers, haye
ezpresalT named Tuesday. There are strong eyidences remain*
ing to show that more days were kept than one. Denne sup-
poses the change of the Hock, or Hoketyde, from June to the
second week after Easter (changes of this nature he eyiooes
wen frequent), might be on the following account: <<when
the 8th of June fdl on a Sunday, the keeping of it on that
day would not haye been allowed ; and as, when Easter was
late, the 8th of June was likely to be one of the Ember days
m the Pentecost week (a fast to be strictly obseryed by people
of sU imnks), the prohibition would also haye been extended
to that season.'' The expression Hock^ or Hoke-tyde, com*
prises both days. Tuesday was most certainly the principal
mjf^ediesMartu ligfaiona, Hoke Monday was for themen^
snd Hock Tuesday fbr the women. On both days the men
and women, alternately, with great merriment intercepted the
pabUc roads with ropes, and pulled passengers to them, from
whom they exacted money, to be laid out in pious uses. (See
Jacob's Diet, in y.) So that Hoketyde season, if you will
allow the pleonasm, began on the Monday immediately rollowing
the second Sunday after Easter, in the same manner as seyertu
fbuta of the dedications of churches, and other hoUdays, com-
menced on the day or the yigil before, and was a sort of pre-
paration for, or introduction to, the principal feast.

I find tlds, among other sports, exhibited at Kenilworth
Castle by the Earl of Leicester, for the entertainment of Queen
JBIizabeth» 1575, — ^^And that there might be nothing wanting
that these parta oould afford, hither came the Coyentr6 men»
and acted uie ancient play, long since used in that city, called
Boeis-2WM{0y, ietHnff firth Ske dettruetUm of the Danea in

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188 HOKE DAY.

Sinff EihelreePs time, with ▼hich the Queen was bo pleas'd,
that she gave them a hrace of hacks, and five marks in money,
to bear the charges of a feast." (Dugdale's Warwickshire, 1656,
p. 166.)

[According to Laneham'sLetter, thisstorial show ''set forth
how the Danes were for ^nietness borne, and allowed to
remain in peace withal, until, on the said St. Brice's night,
they were ' all despatched and the realm rid ;' and becaaae
the matter did show ' in action and rhymes,' how yaliantly
our English women, for love of their country, behaved, the
'men of Coventry' thought it might move some mirth in her
majesty. ' The thing,' said they, ' is grounded in story, and
for pastime was wont to be played in our city yearly, without
ill example of manners, papistry, or any superstition :' and
they knew no cause why it was then of late laid down, ' un-
less it was by the zeal of certain of their preachers ; men very
commendable for their behaviour and leaminff, and sweet in
their sermons, but somewhat too sour in preadning away their
pastime.' By license, therefore, they got up their Hodc-tide
play at Kenilworth, wherein Capt. Cox, a person here in-
describable without hindrance to most readers, ' came march-
ing on valiantly before, clean trussed, and garnished above
the knee, all fresh in a velvet cap, flourishing with his ton-
sword, and another fence-master with him, making room for
the rest. Then proudly came the Danish knights on horse-
hack, and then Uie English, each with their alder-pole mar-
tially in their hand.' The meetine at first waxing warm, then
kindled with courage on both sides into a hot skirmish, and
from that into a blazing battle, with spear and shield ; so that,
by outrageous races and fierce encounters, horse and man
sometimes tumbled to the dust. Then they fell to with sword
and target, and did clang and bang, till the fight so ceasing,
afterwaids foUowed the foot of both hosts, one after the other
inarching, wheeling, forming in squadrons, triangles and
circles, and so winding out again ; then got they so grisly
together, that inflamed on each side, twice the Danes had the
better, but at last were quelled, and so being wholly van-
quished, many were led captive in triumph by our English
women. This matter of good pastime was wrought under the
window of her highness, who beholding in the chamber de-
lectable dancing, and there with great thronging of the people.

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HOKE DAY. 189

saw bat little of the Coyentry play ; wherefore her majesty
commanded it on the Taesday following to have it fall out,
and being then accordingly presented, her highness laughed
right well."]

Denne conjectures the name of this festivity to have been
derived from '' Hockzeit," the Grerman word for a weddings
and which, according to Bailey's Dictionary, is particularly
applied to a wedding-feast. ** As it was then," says he, " at
the celebration of the feast at the wedding of a Danish lord,
Canute Prudan, with Lady Githa, the <]Utughter of Osgod
Qape, a Saxon nobleman, that Hardicanute died suddenly,
our ancestors had certainly sufficient grounds for distinguish-
ing the day of so happy an event by a word denoting tl^
wedding feast, the wedding day, the wedding Tuesday. And,
if the justness of this conjecture shall be allowed, may not
that reason be discovered, which Spelman says he could not
learn, why the women bore rule on this celebrity, for all will
admit that at a wedding the bride is the queen of the day V

In an indenture printed in Hearne's Appendix to the His-
tory and Antiquities of Glastonbury, p. 328, constituting
John atte Hyde steward of the Priory of Poghley, among
many other things granted him, are two oxen for the larder
on Hoke-dayy — '* Item ij. boves pro lardario apud Hoecoday**
It is dated on the Feast of the Annunciation, in the 49th of
Edward the Third.

Dr. Plott says, that one of the uses of the money collected
at Hoketyde was, the reparation of the several parish churches
where it was gathered. This is confirmed by extracts from
the Lambeth Book.^ The observance of Hoketyde declined
soon after the Reformation. Joyful commemorations of a re-
lease from the bondage of Popery obliterated the remembrance
of the festive season instituted on account of a deliverance
from the Danish yoke, if we dare pronounce it certain that it
was instituted on that occasion.

In Peshall's History of the City of Oxford, under St. Mary's
Parish* are the following curious extracts from old records—

I « 156fr~1557. Item of Godman Rundell's wife, Godman JackBon'i
wife, and Godwife Tegg, for Hoxet numeyt by them received to thetueqf
tk€ Ckurek, jiyt. —• 1518—1519. Item of William Elyot and John Cham,
berlayne for Hoke money gydered in the pareys, iij«. ixd. Item of the
gade^rng of the Ckurekwardeiu w^fei on Hoke Mondaye, yuj$, iigJ.''

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190 HOKE BAT.

*' 1510 : ReceptB reed, atte Hoetyde : of the wyfes ^aderytt^e,
XYs. i}d. From 1522—23, Rec. far the vn/fee gatheryng at
Hoctyde de daro, xvitf. xd. — Parish of St. Peter in the
East, 1662 : About that time it waa customary for a poridi
that wanted to raise money to do any repairs towurda the
church to keep a Hoektyde, the benefit of which was often
very great: as, for instance, this narish of St. Peter
in the East gained by the Hocktiae and Whitsuntide
anno 1664, the sum of £\4. 1663: Hocktide brought in
this year £6. 1667 : £4 10«. gained by Hoetide; the last
time it is mentioned here." In the Churchwardens' Acoounta
of St. Mary-at-Hill, in the city of London, under the year
1496, is the following article: "Spent on the wyrea that
gadyred money on Hob Monday, lOd," In 1518, ^ere iaaa
order for several sums of money gathered on Hob Monday, Ac.
to go towards the organs, but crossed out with a pen after-
wards. In 1497, ''Gktherd by the women on Hob Mondirf,
13<. Ad. By the men on the Tuesday, 5«." In Nichols's Illua-
trations of Antient Manners and Expences, 1797, are other
extracts from the same accounts. Under the year 1499, is
the following article : " For two rybbs of bief, and for bred
and ale, to the wyvys yn the p^sh that gathered on Hok
Monday, 1«. \d** Under 1510, "Reoeiyed of the gaderynge
of Hob Monday and Tewisday, £\ 12». 6^."

In Lysons's Environs of London, i. 229, among manyother
curious extracts from the Churchwardens' and Chamberlain's
Books at Kingston-upon-Thames, are the following concerning
Hocktyde :— << 1 Hen. YIII. Bee' for the garderyng at Hoc-tyde,
14«. — 2 Hen. YIII. Paid for mete and drink at Hoc-tyde,
12<l." The last time that the celebration of Hocktyde appears
is in 1578: — "Bee* of the t9om«n upon Hoc Monday, 6*. 2rf."
Ibid. ii. 145, Parish of Chelsea; — '<0f the women that went
a hocking, 13 April, 1607, 45<." In Coates's History of
Reading, p. 214, in the Churchwardens' Accounts of St.
Laurence's parish, 1499, are the following entries : — "It. rec
of Hock money gaderyd of women, xxe. — It. rec. of Hok
Money gaderyd of men, iiij«." Ibid. p. 226, we read the
following observation, 1573: — "The collections on Hock
Monday, and on the festivals, having ceased, it was agreed that
every woman seated by the churchwardens in any seat on the
south side of the church, above the doors, or in the middle

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HOKE DAY. 191

ZBOge above the doors, should pay 4d, yearly, and any aboTe
the pulpit 6d. at equal portions. Ibid. 1559: — ''Hoctyde
money, the men's gatheryng, iiiu. The women^t, xij«."
Ibid. St. Giles, Reading, 1526 :— '' Paid for the wyres supper
at Hoctyde, xxiiijrf." Here a note observes : — " The Patent
of the 5th of Henry V. has a confirmation of lands to the
Prior of St. Frideswide, and contains a recital of the Charter
of Ethelred in 1 004 ; in which it appears that, with the advice of
hia lords and great men, he issued a decree for the destruction
of the Danes." According to Milner*s History of Winchester,
i. 172, ''the massacre took place on November the 5th, St.
Brice's Day, whose name is still preserved in the Calendar of
our Common Prayer : but, by an order of Ethelred, the sports
were transferred to the Monday in the third week after
Easter." Under 1 535, — " Hock-money gatheryd by the wyves,
ziiif. ixd" It appears clearly, from these different extracts,
that the women made their collection on the Monday : and it
18 likewise shown that the women always collected more than
the men.

The custom of men and women heaving each other alter-
nately on Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday, must have been
derived from this Hocking each other on Hok-days, after the
keeping of the original days had been set aside.

There is, however, a curious pyssage in Wythers' Abuses
Stript and Whi{)t, 1618, p. 232, which seems to imply that
Hocktide was still generally observed : —

'* Who think (forsooth) because that once a yeare
They can affoord the poore some slender cheere,
Observe their country feasts or common doles,
And entertaine their Christmass wassaile boles
Or els because that, /or the Churches good.
They tn defence of HocJktide cuttome ttood,
A Whitsun-ale, or some such goodly motion,
The better to procure young men's devotion :
What will they do, I say, that think to please
Their mighty God with such fond things as these ?
Sure, very ilL"

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192

ST. GEORGE'S DAY.

It appears from the old play of Bam Alley, that blue coate
were formerly worn by people of fashion on St. George's Day,
April 23d. [Compare also the following passage in Freeman's
Epigrams, 1611 : —

** With's eorum nomine keeping greater sway
Than a court blew on St. George's day.'']

In Coates's History of Reading, p. 221, under Church-
wardens' Accoants, 1536, are the following entries : '* Charges
of Saynt George. First payd for iij. caffes-skynes, and ij.
horse-skynnes, iiij". vj*. Paid for makeying the loft that
Saynt George standeth upon, vj*. Payd for ij. plonks for
the same loft, viij*. Payd for iiij. peases of clowt lether,
ij*. ij^. Payd for makeyng the yron that the hors resteth
upon, ^*. Payd for makeyng of Saynt George's cote, viij*.
Payd to John Paynter for his labour, xIy*. Payd for roses,
beUs, gyrdle, sword, and dager, iij\ iiij*. Paydforsettyngon
the bells and roses, iij'. Payd for naylls necessarye thereto,
X*. ob."

Among the Fins, whoever makes a riot on St. Geoi^'s Day
is in danger of suffering from storms and tempests. (Tooke's
Russia, i. 47.)

[Aubrey, in his Natural History of Wilts, a MS. in the
library of the Royal Society, has recorded the following
proverb : —

" St. George cries ^m;
St. Mark cries Aoe/"]

ST. MARK'S DAY or EVE.

It is customary in Yorkshire, for the common people to tit
and watch in the church porch on St. Mark's Ere, April 25th,
from eleven o'clock at night till one in the morning. The
third year (for this must be done thrice) they are supposed to
see the ghosts of all those who are to die the next year, pass

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8T. MABK*S BAY. 193

by into tbe church, [which they are said to do in their asnal
dress, and precisely in the order of time in which they are
doomed to depart. Infiints and young children, not yet able
to walk, are said to roll in on the pavement. Those who are
to die remain in the church, but those who are to recover
return, after a longer or shorter time, in proportion to the
continuance of their future sickness.] When any one sickens
that is thought to have been seen in this manner, it is pre-
sently whispered about that he will not recover, for that such
or such a one, who has watched St. Mark's Eve, says so.
Tfais superstition is in such force, that, if the patients them-
adves hear of it, they almost despair of recovery. Many are
said to have actually died by their imaginary fears on the
occasion ; a truly lamentable, but by no means incredible,
instance of human folly. [According to Willan, a person,
supposed to have made this vigil, is a terror to his neighbours ;
for, on the least offence received, he is apt, by significant hints
and grimaces, to insinuate the speedy death of some cherished
friend or relation.

On the eve of St. Mark, the ashes are riddled or sifted on
the hearth. Should any of the family be destined to die
within the year, the shoe will be impressed on the ashes ; and
many a mischievous wight has made a superstitious family
miserable by slily coming down stairs after the rest of the
family have retired to rest, and impressing the ashes with a
shoe of one of the party. Poor Robin, for 1770, says, —

" On St. Mark's Eve, at twelve o'clock,
The fair maid will watch her smock,
To find her husband in the dark,
By praying nnto good St. Mark."]

Pennant says, that in North Wales no farmer dare hold his
team on St. Mark's Day, because, as they believe, one man's
team was marked that did work that day with the loss of an
ox. The Church of Rome observes St. Mark's day as a day
of abstinence, in imitation of St. Mark's disciples, the first
Christians of Alexandria, who, under this Saint's conduct,
were eminent for their great prayer, abstinence, and sobriety.
See Wheatly on the Common Prayer, 1848, p. 198. Strype,
in his Annals of the Reformation, i. 191, under 1559, informs
us : •' The 25th April, St. Mark's Day (that year), was a pro-
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194 8T. HIlBK'S DAT.

cession in divers parishes of London, and the citkeiu vent
with their bannen abroad in their respective parishes, siiiging
in Latin the Kyrie Eleeson, after the old fashion."

In Pilkington's work, entitled the Boraynge of Paoles Cfaturch
in London, 1561, and the 4 day of June, by Lyghtnynge;,
1563, we read: ''Althoughe Ambrose saye that the churche
knewe no fastinge day betwix Easter and Whitsonday, yet
beside manye fastes in the Rogation weeke, our wise popes of
late yeares have devysed a monstrous fast on St. Marke's
Daye. All other fastinge daies are on the holy day even, only
Sainte Marke must have his day fasted. Tell us a reason
why, so that will not be laughen at. We knowe wel ynough
vour reason of The. Beket, and thinke you are ashamed of
It : tell us where it was decreed by the Churche or Generall
Counsell. Tell us also, if ye can, why the one side of the
strete in Cheapeside fastes that daye, being in London diocesse,
and the other side, beinge of Canterbury diocesse, fastes not ?
and soe in other townes moe. Could not Becket's holynea
reache over the strete, or would he not ? If he coulde not,
he is not so mighty a Saint as ye make hym ; if he would
not, he was maliciouse, that woulde not doe soe muche for
the citye wherein he was borne."

** In theyeare of our Lord 1589, I being as then but a boy,
do remember that an ale wife, making no exception of dayes,
would needes brue upon Saint Marke' s days ; but loe, the
marvailouB worke of God ! whiles she was thus laboring, the
top of the chimney tooke fire ; and, before it could bee
quenched, her house was quite burnt. Surely, a gentle
warning to them that violate and prophane forbidden daies,"
— Vaughan's Golden Grove, 1608. "On St. Mark's Day,
blessings upon the com are implored," — Hall's Triumphs,
page 58.

The followmg custom at Alnwick, in Northumberland, on
St. Mark's day, is thus described in Tom ThumVs Travels,
p. 96 : "I was at Alnwick on a court-day, when the whimsical
ceremony was performed of making free two young men of
the town. They jumped, with great solemnity, into a miry
bog, which took one of them up to his arm-pits, and would
have let me in far enough over head and ears, which made
me glad I had no right to the freedom of Alnwick. It seems
King John imposed this upon the townsmen in their charter.

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8T« KAttK^S PAY. 195

as a punishinent for not mending the road : his Majesty hayitig
ftllen into this very hole, and stuck there in state till he was
reiiered." And in the Gent. Mag. 1756, — "The manner of
making freemen of Alnvnck Common is not less singular than
ridiculous. The persons that are to be made free, or, as the
phrase is, that are to leap the weU, assemble in the market-
place Tcry early in the morning, on the 25 th of April, being
St. Mark's day. They are on horseback, with every man his
sword by his side, dressed in white with white nightcaps,
and attended by the four Chamberlains and the Castle Baililfe,
who are also mounted and armed in the same manner. From
the market-place they proceed in great order, with musick
playing before them, to a large dirty pool, called the Freemen's
Welly on the confines of the Common. Here they draw up
in a body, at some distance from the water, and then, ail at
once, rush into it, like a herd of swine, and scramble through
the mnd as fast as they can. As the water is generally breast
high, and very foul, they come out in a condition not much
better than the heroes of the Dunciad after diving in Fleet
Ditch ; but dry cloathes being ready for them on the other
side, they put them on with all possible expedition, and then,
taking a dram, remount their horses, and ride full gallop
round the whole confines of the district, of which, by this
atchievement, they are become free. And, after having com-
pleted this circuit, they again enter the town sword in hand,
and are generally met by women dressed up with ribbons,
bells, and garlands of gum-flowers, who welcome them with
dancing and singing, and are called timber-waits (perhaps a
corruption of timbrel-waits, players on timbrels, waits being
an old word for those who play on musical instruments in
the streets.) The heroes then proceed in a body till they
come to the house of one of their company, where they leave
him, having first drank another dram ; the remaining number
proceed to the house of the second, with the same ceremony,
and so of the rest, till the last is left to go home by himself.
The houses of the new freemen are, on this day, distinguished
by a great holly-bush, which is planted in the street before
them, as a signal for their friends to assemble and make merry
with them at their return. This strange ceremony is said to
have been instituted by King John, in memory of his having
once bogged his horse in this pool, called FreemevCs IFelL"

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196 8T. HABK*8 DAT.

[The following popular sayings for the month of April may
find a place here :

^ The nightingale and cackoo sing both in one month.
Timely blossom, timely ripe.
April showers bring milk and meal.
April fooU— or gowks.
Sweet as an April meadow.
To smell of April and May
Black-Cross Day.

April showers

Bring Summer flowers.

April weather —
Rain and sunshine,
Both together.

In April a Dole's flood
Is worth a king's good.

The bee doth love the sweetest flower
So doth the blossom the April shower.

The Cuckoo comes in Aperill

And stays the month of May ;
Sings a song at Midsummer,

And then goes away.

— Wiltshire.

[n the month of Averil,

The gowk comes over the hill,

In a sbower of rain :
And on the — of June,

He turns his tune again.

— ^Craven.

On the first of Aperill,

Ton may send a gowk whither you wil).

On Lady-day the later.

The cold comes over the water."]

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197

ROGATION WEEK and ASCENSION DAY.

It was a general custom fonnerly, says Bourne, i and is still
obaeryed in some country parishes, to go round the bounds
and limits of the parish on one of the tbree days before Holy
Thursday, or the Feast of our Lord's Ascension, when the
minister, accompanied by his churchwardens and parishioners,
were wont to deprecate the vengeance of God, beg a blessing
on the fruits of the earth, and preserve the rights and pro-
perties of the parish. To this Wither alludes in his Emblems,
1635, p. 161,--

*' That ty'rj man might keep his owne posaessions.
Our fathers us'd, in reverent proeettiont,
(With zealous prayers, and ^th praisefiil cheere,}
To walke their parish-limits once a yeare :
And well-knowne markes (which sacrilegious hands
Now cut or breake) so bordered out their lands.
That ev'ry one distinctly knew his owne,
And many brawles, now rife, were then unknowne.''

[These gcmg-days not only brought to the recollection oi
Englishmen the settlement of the Christian faith on the soU,
but they also impressed on the memory correct notions con-
cerning the origin and nature of proprietorship in land. These
religions processions mark out the limits of certain portions
of land, under which the whole kingdom is contained ; and in
all these the principle of God's fee is recognised by the law
and the people. The prinUtuB, or eyriC'Scot^ or church-rate,
is admitted as due throughout the bounds, and the tithes, also,
as a charge on the parish ; but, together with these admis-
sions, there is formed in the mind a mental boundary, and a
sacred restraint is placed upon the consciences of men, that
co-mingles religious awe with the institution of landed right
and landed inheritance, and family succession to it. Until
these previous notions as to God's right and God's property

1 *' It is the custom in many villages in the neighbourhood of Exeter to
* bail the Lamb,' upon Ascension mom. That the figure of a lamb ac-
tually appears in the East upon this morning is the popular persuasion ;
and so deeply is it rooted, that it hath frequently resisted (eyen in intelli-
gent minds) the force of the strongest argument." See Gent. Mag. for
1787, p. 718.

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198 ROGATION WEEK AND ASCENSION DAY.

were formed, the inhabitants of this country held very vague
and fluctuating opinions as to the parties to whom the soil
belonged, or upon what terms or principles landed occupatioa
rested. The walking of the parish bounds on the gang-dayM,
in religious procession, very materially contributed to form
and keep fresh in the minds of each passing generation the
teniis on which property was held, and some of the duties
belonging to the holding. There is a short service ordered to
be read occasionally, such as — " Cursed is he that translateth
the bounds and doles of his neighbour.'*]

Bourne cites Spelman (in y. Perambulatio), as deriving the
custom of processioning from the times of the Heathens, and
that it is an imitation of the Feast called Terminalia, which
was dedicated to the Gk>d Terminus, whom they considered as
the guardian of fields and landmarks, and the keeper up of
friendship and peace among men. The primitive custom used
by Christians on this occasion was» for the people to accom-
pany the bishop or some of the clergy into the fields, where
Litanies were made, and the mercy of God implored, that he
would avert the evils of plague and pestilence, that he would
send them good and seasonable weather, and give them in due
season the fruits of the earth. In Lysons's Environs of London,
i. 309, among his extracts from the Churchwardens' Accounts
at Lambeth> I find the following relative to our present
subject :

£ 9. d.

" 1516. Paidfor dyinge (xi buckram ior the Lett^ ciothes 8

For paynting the LetVny clothes 8

For lynynge of the Letfny clothes 4

probably for the processions in which they chanted the Litany
on Rogation Day."

A writer in ue Gentleman's Magazine for August 1 790»
p. 719, tells us : " Some time in the spring, I think the day
before Holy Thursday, all the clergy, attended by the singing
men and boys of the choir, perambulate the town (Ripen) in
their canonicals, singing hymns ; and the blue-coat charity
boys follow singing, with green boughs in iheir hands." In
London, these parochial processions are still kept up on Holy
Thursday. Shiaw, in his History of Staffordshure, ii. part 1»
p. 165, speaking of Wolverhampton* says : " Among the local
customs which have prevailed here may be noticed Uiatwhid)

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ROGATION WEEK AND ASCENSION DAY. 199

was popularly called * Processioning.' Many of the older in-
habitants can well remember when the sacrist, resident pre-
bendaries, and members of the choir, assembled at Morning
Prayers on Monday and Tuesday in Rogation Week, with the
chanty children bearing long poles clothed with all kinds of
flowers then in season, and which were afterwards carried
through the streets of the town with much solemnity, the
clergy, singing men, and boys dressed in their sacred vest-
ments, closing the procession, and chanting, in a graye and
appropriate melody, the Canticle, Benedicte, Omnia Opera, &c.
Tkn ceremony, innocent at least, and not illaudable in itself^
was of high antiquity, haying probably its origin in the Roman
oflSerings of the Primitise, from which (after being rendered
conformable to our purer worship) it was adopted by the first
Christians, and handed down, through a succession of ages;
to modem times. The idea was, no doubt, that of returning
thanks to God, by whose goodness the face of nature was re-
noyated, and fresh means provided for the sustenance and
comfort of his creatures. It was discontinued about 1 765
The boundaries of the township and parish of Wolverhampton
are in many points marked out by what are called Gospel Trees,
from the custom of having the Gospel read under or near them
by the clergyman attending the parochial perambulations.
Those near the town were visited for the same purpose by the
proeeseianers before mentioned, and are still preserved with
the strictest care and attention.'' One of these Grospel trees
was till lately standing at Stratford-on-Avon, and a represen-
tation of it may be seen in Halliwell's Life of Shakespeare,
p. 159. The subsequent is from Herrick's Hesperides, p. 18:

■ Dearest, bury me

Under that Holy-Oke, or Gospel Tree,

Where (though thou see'st not) thou may'st think upon

Me, when thou yerely go* st procession.**

It appears, irom a sermon preached at Blandford Forum,
1570> oy William Kethe, minister, p. 20, that in Rogation
Week the Catholics had their "Gk)spelle8 at superstitious
Crosses, deek'd like idoU."

Plott^ in his History of Oxfordshire, p. 203, tells us that at
Stanlake, in that county, the minister of the parish, in his
procession in Rogation Week, reads the Oospel at a barreVs

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200 KOOATION WEEK AMD ASCENSION DAY.

keady in the cellar of the Chequer Inuy in that town, where
some say there was formerly a hermitage, others that there
was anciently a Cross, at which they read a Gospel in former
times ; oyer which the house, and particularly the cellar, being
built, they are forced to continue the custom in manner as
above.*

At Oxford, at this time, the little crosses cut in the scones
of buildings, to denote the division of the parishes, are whitened
with chatk. Great numbers of boys, with peeled willow rods
in their hands, accompany the minister in the procession.

In one of Skelton's Merie Tales, the poet says to a coblor,
" Neybour, you be a tall man, and in the kynge's warres you
must here a standard : A standard, said the cobler, what a
thing is that ?" Skelton said, '* It is a srreat banner, suck a
one as thou dooest use to beare in Rogacyon Weeke.'* Of the
magnificence of processions in former times on Rogation Day,
the following may serve as a specimen, from MS. Cott. Gralbk.
£. iv. They are the banners belonging to Christ Chnrcb,
Canterbury: — "Vexilla pro Rogacionibus — Vexillum Sancti
Thomse de panno albo de serico brad: — Item ii. vexill. de armls
Regis Angliee. — Item ij. vexiJl. dearmis Comitis Glovernise. —
Item ij. vexill. de armis Comitis Warennae. — Item ij.vexill.de
armis de Hastingg: — Item ij. vexill. de rub. damicto com
leopardis aur :" In Bridges's History of Northamptonabire
are recorded various instances of having processions on Grose
Monday.

Pennant, in his Tour from Chester to London, p. 30, tells
us that, '' on Ascension Day the old inhabitants of Nantwich
piously sang a hymn of thieinksgiving for the blessing of the
Brine. A very ancient pit, called the Old Brine^ was also

1 Aubanus tells iu, that in Franconia, in his time, the following rites
were used on this occasion, some of which are stiU retained at Oxford, and
in London, and probably in many other places : " Tribus iliis diebus,
quibns, Apostolico Instituto, majores Litaniae passim per totum orbem
peraguntur, in plurimis Franconis locis rmUta Cruees (sic enim dicnnt
parochianos ccetus, quibus turn Sanctae Crucis vexillum prseferri wki)
conyeniunt In sacrisque aedibus non simul et unam melodiam, sed sin-
gule singulam per choros separatim canunt : et puellae et adoleacentea
mundiori quique habitu amicti firondentibus sertis caput coronati omnes
et scipionibus salignis instructL Stant sacrarum sedium sacerdotes dili*
genter singularum cantus attendentes: et quamcunque suavius oantare
oognoBCunt, illi ex yeteri more aliquot vini conchas dari acyudicsnt.''

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ROGATION WEEK AKB ASCENSION DAY. 201

held in great veneration, and till within these few years was
annually, on that festival, hedecked with boughs, flowers, and
garlands, and was encircled by a jovial band of young people,
f9elebrating the day with song and dance.'*

[Aubrey, in MS. Lansd. 231, says : *' This cnstome is yearly
observed at Droitwich, in Worcestershire, where, on the day
of St. Richard, they keepe holyday, and dresse the well with
green boughs and flowers. One yeare in the Presbyterian
time it was discontinued in the civil warres, and after that, the
springe shranke up or dried up for some time ; so afterwards
they revived their annual custom, notwithstanding the power
of the parliament and soldiers, and the salt water returned
again, and still continues. This St. Richard was a person of
great estate in these parts, and a briske young fellow that
would ride over hedge and ditch, and at length became a very
devout man, and after his decease was canonized for a saint." J

In the Episteles and Gospelles, London, imprinted by
Richard Bankes, 4to, f. 32, is given '' a Sermon in the Crosse
Dayes, or Rogation Dayes." It begins thus : " Good people,
this weke is called the Rogation Weke, bycause in this weke
we be wonte to make solempne and generall supplications, or
prayers, which be also called Lytanyes." The preacher com-
plains : " Alacke, for pitie 1 these solemne and accustomable
processions be nowe growen into a right foule and detestable
abase, so that the moost parte of men and women do come
forth rather to set out and shew themselves, and to passe the
time with vayne and unprofitable tales and mery fables, than
to make generall supplications and prayers to God, for theyr
lackes and necessities. I wyll not speake of the rage and
furour of these uplandysh processions and gangynges about,
which be spent in ryotyng and in belychere. Furthermore,
the banners and badges of the Crowe be so unreverently
handled and abased, that it is merveyle God destroye us not
in one daye. In these Rogation Days, if it is to be asked of
God, and prayed for, that God of his goodnes wyll defende
and save the come in the felde, and that he wyll vouchsave to
pourge the ayer, for this cause be certaine Gospels red in the
wyde felde amonges the corne and grasse, that by the vertne
and operation of Gk>d's word, the power of the wicked spirites,
which keepe in the air and infecte the same (whence come
pestilences and the other kyndes of diseases and syknesses).

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202 B06ATI0N WSBK A.N]> ASCSN8ION DAT.

may be layde downe, and the aier made pure and cleane, to
th' intent the come may remaine unharmed, and not infected
of the sayd harteful spirites, but serve ns for oar use and
bodely sustenance." The Litanies or Rogations then used
gave the name of Rogation Week to this time. They occut
as early as a. D. 550, vhen they were first observed by
Mamertus, Bishop of Yienne, on account of the frequent
earthquakes that happened, and the incursions of wild beasts
which laid in ruins and depopulated the city.

Blount tells us that Rogation Week (Saxon Gang dafftu,
i. e. days of perambulation) is always the next but one before
Whitsanday ; and so called, because on Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday, of that week, Rogations and Litanies were
used ; and fasting, or, at least, abstinence, then enjoined by
the Church to all persons, not only for a devout preparative
to the feast of Christ's glorious Ascension, and the descent of the
Holy Ghost shortly after, but also to request and supplicate
the blessing of Gk>d upon the fruits of the earth. And, in
this respect, the solemnization of matrimony is forbidden
from the first day of the said week till Trinity Sunday. The
Dutch call it Crays-week, Cross-week, and it is so called in
some parts of England, because of old (as still among the
Roman Catholics), when the priests went in procession this
week, the Cross was carried before them. In the Inns of
Court, he adds, it is called Grass-week, because the commons
of that week consist much of salads, hard eggs, and green
sauce upon some of the days. The feast of the old Romans,
called Robigalia and Ambarvalia (quod victima arva ambiret),
did, in their heathenish way, somewhat resemble these instita-
tions, and were kept in May, in honour of Robigus.

Gerard, in the third book of his Herbal, speaking of the
birchrtree, p. 1295, says : '* It serveth well to the decking up
of houses and banquetting-roomes, for places of pleasure, and
for beautifying the streetes in the CroMe or Gang Weeke, and
such like." Rogation Week, in the northern parts of England,
is still called Gang Week, from to gang, which, in the north,
signifies to ^o. Gang-days are classed under certain *' Idola-
tries maintained by the Church of England,'' in a work en-
tiUed the Cobler's Book.

In the Tryall of a Man's Owne Selfe, by Thomas Newton*
1602^ p. 47> he inquires, under " Sinnes extemaU and out-
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&06ATION WESK AND A8CKNSI0N DAY. 203

ward" agaiost the first Commandmeut, whether the parish
deigyman '' have patiently winked at, and quietly suffered,
any ry tes wherein hath heen apparent superstition — as gadding
a»d rtmnging about with procesnon" To gadde in procession
is among the customs censured by John Bale, in his Declaration
of Bonner's Articles, 1554. In Michael Wodde's Dialogue
(already cited under Palm Sunday), 1554, we read : "What
say ye to procession in Gang-daies, when Sir John saith a
Gospel to our come feldes ? (Oliver.) As for your Latine
Gospels read to the come, I am sure the come understandeth
as much as you, and therefore hath as much profit by them
as ye have, that is to sai, none at aL'* Kennett, in MS.
Lansd. 1033, says: " Gang-Flo web, Rogation Flower, a sort
of flower in prime at Rogation Week, of which the maids made
garlands and wore them in those solemn processions.'*

By the Canons of Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury,
made at Cloveshoo, in the year 747, it was ordered that
Litanies, that is, Rogations, should be observed by the clergy
and all the people, with great reverence, on the seventh of
the Calends of May, according to the rites of the Church of
Rome, which terms this the greater Litany, and also according
to the custom of our forefathers, on the three days before the
Ascension of our Lord, with fastings, &c. In the Injunc-
tions also made in the reign of Queen Eiizabeth, it is ordered
" that the Curate, at certain and convenient places, shall ad-
monish the people to give thanks to God, in the beholding of
God's benefits, for the increase and abundance of his fruits,
saying the 1 03rd Psalm, &c. At which time the minister shall
inculcate these, or such sentences, — 'Cursed be he which
translateth the bounds and doles of his neighbours,' or such
orders of prayers as shall be hereafter." What is related on
this head in the Life of Hooker, author of the Ecclesiastical
Polity, is extremely interesting: "He would by no means
omit the customary time of procession, persuadmg all, both
rich and poor, if they desired the preservation of love and
their parish rights and liberties, to accompany him in his
perambulation ; and most did so ; in which perambulation he
would usually express more pleasant discourse than at other
times, and would then always drop some loving and facetious
observations, to be remembered against the next year, espe-
cially by the boys and young people : still inclining them,
and all his present parishioners, to meekness and mntuid

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204 BOGATION WEEK AND ASCEM8IOK BAT*

IdndnesBes and loTe ; becaaae love thinks not evil, but ooven
a multitade of infirmities." By '* Advertisements partly for
due Order in the publiqne Administration of Common
Prayers, &c. by vertue of the Queene's Majesties Letters com-
manding the same, the 25th day of January (7 an. £liz.)"
4to., it was directed, — " Item, that, in the Rogation Daies of
Procession, they singe or saye in EngUshe the two P^almes
beginning 'Benedic Anima mea,' &c. with the Letanye ^
suffrages thereunto, with one homelye of thankesgevying to
God, already devised and divided into foure partes, witliout
addition of any superstitious ceremonyes heretofore used."
I find the following in Articles of Enquiry within the Arch-
deaconry of Middlesex, a.d. 1662, 4to : " Doth your Minister
or Curate in Rogation Days go in Perambulation about yonr
Parish, saying and using the Psalms and Suffrages by law
appointed, as viz. Psalms 103 and 104, the Letany and
Suffrages, together with the Homily, set out for that end and
purpose? Doth he admonish the people to give thanks to
God, if they see any likely hopes of plenty, and to call upon
him for his mercy, if there be any fear of scarcity ; and do
you, the Churchwardens, assist him in it?" In similar
Articles for the Archdeaconry of Northumberland, 1662, the
following occurs : " Doth your Parson or Yicar observe the
three Rogation Dayes?" In others for the Diocese of
Chichester, 1637, is the subsequent: '' Doth your Minister,
▼eerely, in Rogation Weeke, for the knowing and distinguish-
mg of the bounds of .parishes, and for obtaining Grod's
blessing upon the fruites of the ground, walke the Perambu-
lation, and say, or sing, in English, the Gospells, Epistles,
Letanie, and other devout Prayers ; together with the 103rd
and 104th Psalmes?"*

' In Herbert's Country Parson, 1652, p. 157, cb. 35, we are told :
" The Country Parson is a lover of old customs, if they be good and
harrolesse. Particularly, he loves ProeessioHf and maintains it, because
there are contained therein four manifest advantages. First, a blessing of
God for the fruits of the field. 2. Justice in the preservation of bounds.

3. Charitie in loving, walldng, and neighbourly accompanying one
another, with reconciling of differences at that time, if there be any.

4. Mercie, in relieving the poor by a liberal distribution and laigesa,
which at that time is or ought to be used. Wherefore he exacts of all
to be present at the Perambulation, and those that withdraw and sever
themselves from it he mislikes, and reproves as undiaritable and nn-
neigfabourly ; and, if they will not reformci presents them/'

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B06ATI0N WEBK ANB ABOnSION DAY. 205

In Nichols's ChuFchwardens* Acconnts, 1797> St. Har-
garefs Westminster, nnder a.b. 1555, is die following
article : — " Item, paid for spiced bread on the Ascension-Even,
and on the Ascension Day, U. 1556. — Item, paid for bread,
wine, ale, and beer, upon the Ascension-Eyen and Day,
against my Lord Abbott and his Covent came in Procession,
and for strewing herbs the sanune day, 7s, Id, 1559. —
Item, for bread, ale, and beer, on Tewisday in the Rogacion
Weeke, for the parishioners that went in Procession, Is.
1560. — Item, for bread and drink for the parishioners that
went the Circuit the Tuesday in the Rogation week, 3s. Ad.
Item, for bread and drink the Wednesday in the Rogation
Week, for Mr. Archdeacon and the Quire of the Minster,
3tf. Ad. 1585. — Item, paid for going the Perambulacion, for
fish, butter, cream, milk, conger, bread and drink, and other
necessaries. As. 8^^. 1597. — Item, for the charges of diet
at Kensington for the Perambulation of the Parish, being a
yeare of great scarcity and deemess, 6/. 8«. 8<^. 1605. —
item, paid for bread, drink, cheese, fish, cream, and other
necessaries, when the worshipfull and others of the parish
went the Perambulation to Kensington, 15/."

*'0n Ascension Day,'' says Hawkins, in his History of
Music, ii. 112, ''it is the custom of the inhabitants of
parishes, with their officers, to perambulate in order to per-
petuate the memory of their boundaries, and to impress the
remembrance thereof in the minds of young persons, espe-
cially boys ; to inrite boys, therefore, to attend to this
business, some little gratuities were found necessary ; accord-
ingly it was the custom, at the commencement of the
procession, to distribute to each a willow-wand, and at the end
thereof a handful of points, which were looked on by them
as honorary* rewards long after they ceased to be use^il, and
were called Tags."

In the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Mary-at-Hill, in the
City of London, 1682, are the following entries :—

£ a. d.
For frnit on Perambulation Day . 10

For points for two yeres . • . . 2 10

The following extracts are from the Churchwardens'
Books of Chelsea (Lysons's London, ii. 126) : —

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206 BOGATION WEEK AKB ABCSKSION DAT.

£ s, d.

1679. Spent at the Perambulation Dinner . 3 10

Given to ihe boys that were whipt . . • 4

Paid for poynts for the boys . . . • 2

The second of these entries alludes to another expedient
for impressing the recollection of particular boundaries on
the minds of some of the young people. Bumping persons
to make them remember the parish boundaries has been kept
up even to this time. A trial on the occasion, where an
angler was bumped by the parishioners of Walthamstow
parish, is reported in the Observer newspaper of January
10th, 1830. He was found angling in the Lea, and it was
supposed that bumping a stranger might probably produce
an independent witness of parish boundary. He obtained
50/. damages.

[The custom of perambulation, as now practised in Dori^et-
shire, is well described by Mr. Barnes in Hone's Year Book,
1178-9, and he gives an amusing account of the modes
taken to impress the situation of the bonndaries on the
memory. A man, perhaps, if asked whether such a stream
were a boundary, would reply, ** Ees, that *tis, Fm sure o't,
by the same token that I were tossed into't, and paddled
about there lik a water-rot, till I wor hafe dead."]

It appears from an order of the Common Council of New-
castle-upon-Tyne, 15th May, 1657, that the scholars of the
public grammar-school there, and other schools in the town,
were invited to attend the magistrates when they perambu-
lated the boundaries of the town. On Ascension Day, the
Magistrates, River Jury, &c. of the corporation of that town,
according to an ancient custom, make their annual procession
by water, in their barges, visiting the bounds of their juris-
diction on the river, to prevent encroachments. Cheerful
libations are offered on the occasion to the genius of the
" coaly Tyne."

[Aubrey, in MS. Lansd. 231, says, "In Cheshire, when
they went in perambulation, they did blesse the springs, i. e.
they did read a Gospell at them, and did believe the water was
the better :" to this account is added in pencil : " On Roga-
tion days Gospells were read in the corn-fields here in England
untill the Civill Warrs :*' and Kennet has added, " Mem. A

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ROGATION WEEK AND ASCENSION DAY. 207

go«pell read at the head of a barrel in procession within the
parish of Stanlake, Co. Oxon."]^

Heath, in his History of the SciUy Islands, 1750, p. 128,
tells us: "At Exeter, in Devon, the boys have an annual
cuatom of damming up the channel in the streets, at going
the bounds of the several parishes in the city, and of splash-
ing the water upon people passing by. Neighbours as well
as strangers are forced to compound hostilities, by given the
boys of each parish money to pa$s without ducking : each
parish asserting its prerogative in this respect."

The following is from Hasted's History of Kent, i. 109 :—
" There is an odd custom used in these parts, about Keston
and Wickham, in Rogation Week, at which time a number of
young men meet together for the purpose, and with a most
hideous noise, run into the orchards, and, incircling each
tree, pronounce these words : —

" Stand fast root ; bear well top ;
God send us a youling sop !
Every twig apple big,
Every bough apple enow."

For which incantation the confused rabble expect a gratuity
in money, or drink, which is no less welcome ; but if they are
disappointed of both, they with great solemnity anathematize
the owners and trees with altogether as insignificant a curse.
It seems highly probable that this custom has arisen from the
ancient one of perambulation among the Heathens, when they
made prayers to the Gods for the use and blessing of the fruits
coming up, with thanksgiving for those of the preceding
year; and as the Heathens supplicated Eolus, God of the
Winds, for his favorable blasts, so in this custom they still
retained his name with a very small variation : this cere-
mony is called Youling, and the word is often used in their
invocations."

Armstrong, in his History of Minorca, 17i>2, p. 5, thus
alludes to processioning, ''as the Children in London are ac-
customed to perambulate the limits of their Parish, which they
call processioning : a custom probably derived to them from
the Romans, who were so many ages in possession of the

^ Thorns' Anecdotes and Traditions, p. 9 1.

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208 HOOATION WXBK AND AB0EM8I0N DAY.

Island of Great Britain."^ The following customs can pro-
perly find a place nowhere but in this section : " Shaftesbury
is pleasantly situated on a hill, but has no water, except whi^
the inhabitants fetch at a quarter of a mile's distance from the
manour of Gillingham, to the lord of which they pay a yeariy
ceremony of acknowledgment, on the Monday before Holy
Thursday. They dress up a garland yery richly, calling it the
Prize Besom, and carry it to the Manor-house, attended by a
calf 's-head and a pair of gloves, which are presented to the
lord. This done, the Prize Besom is returned again with the
same pomp, and taken to pieces ; just like a milk-maid's gar-
land on May Day, being made up of all the plate that can be
got together among the housekeepers." — Travels of Tom
Thumb, p. 16.

Brand's servant, Betty Jelkes, who lived several yean at
Evesham, in Worcestershire, informed him of an ancient
custom at that place for the master-gardeners to give their
workpeople a treat of baked peas, both white and gray (and
pork), every year on Holy Thursday.

The following is the account given of Procession Weeke
and Ascension Day, in Bamaby Googe's Translation of Nao-
georgus, f. 63 :

'* Now comes the day wherein they gad abrode^ with Crone m haide,
To boundea qf every field, and round about their neighbour's lande :
A.nd, as they go, they sing and pray to every saint above.
But to our Ladie specially, whom most of all they love,
AVhen as they to the towne are come, the Church they enter in.
And looke what Saint that Church doth guide, they humbly pray to him,
That he preserve both come and fruite from atorme and tempest great
And them defend from horme, and send them store qfdrinke and meat
This done, they to the taveme go, or in the fieldes they dine,
Where downe they sit and feede apace, and fill themselves with wine,
So much that oftentymes without the Crosse they come away,
And miserably they reele, still as their stomacke up they lay.
These things three dayes continually are done, with solemne sport;
With many Crosses often they unto some Church resort,
^liereas they all do chaunt alowde, whereby there streight doth spring
A bawling noyse, while every man seeks hyghest for to syng.

^ In the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1795,xv. 45, Parish of Lanark,
in the county of Lanark, we read of *' the riding of the Marches, which is
done annually upon the day after Whitsunday Fair by the magistrates and
burgesses, called here the Landsmark or Langemark Day, from the Sazoo
langemark"

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ROGATION WEEK AND ASCENSION DAY. 209

Then comes the day when Christ ascended to his Father's seate,
Which day they also celebrate with store of drinke and meate ;
Then every man some birde must eate, I know not to what ende,
And after dinner all to Ohttrch they come, and there attende.
The biocke that on the aultar still till then was scene to stande,
Is drawne up hie above the roole, by ropes and force of hande ;
The Priestes about it rounde do stand, and chaunt it to the skie,
For all these mens religion great in singing most doth lie.
Then out of hande the dreadful! shape of Sathan downe they throw,
Oft times, with fire burning bright, and dasht asunder tho ;
The boyes with greedie eyes do watch, and on him straight they fsll.
And beste him sore with rods, and breake him into peeces small.
This done, the wafers downe doe cast, and singing cakes the while,
With papers rounde amongst them put, the children to beguile.
With laughter great are all things done : and from the beames they let
Great streames of water downe to fall, on whom they meane to wet.
And thus this solemne holiday, and bye renowned feast
\nd all their whole devotion here is ended with a jeast."

The following superstition relating to this day is fonnd in
Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft, 1665, p. 152. "In some
countries they ran out of the doors in time of tempest, hlessing
themselyes with a cheese, whereupon was a cross made with a
rope's end upon Ascension Day. — Item, to hang an egg laid
on Ascension Day in the roof of the hoase, preserveth the
same from all hurts." The same writer mentions the cele-
brated Venetian superstition on this day, which is of great
antiquity. ** Every year, ordinarily, upon Ascension Day, the
Duke of Venice, accompanied with the States, goeth with great
solemnity to the sea, and, after certain ceremonies ended,
casteth thereinto a gold ring of great value and estimation, for
a pacificatory oblation ; wherewith their predecessors supposed
that the wrath of the sea was assuaged." This custom "is
' said to have taken its rise firom a grant of Pope Alexander the
Third, who, as a reward for the zeal of the inhabitants in his
restoration to the Papal chair, gave them power over the
Adriatick Ocean, as a man has power over his wife. In me-
mory of which the chief magistrate annually throws a ring
into it, with these words : ' Deaponsamus te. Mare, in s^um
perpettfi dominii ;' We espouse thee, Sea, in testimony of
our perpetual dominion over thee," — Gent. Mag. Nov. 1764,
p. 483. See also Gent. Mag. March 1735, p. 118. In another
▼olume of the same miscellany, for March 1798, p. 184, we
have an aceoont of the ceremony rather more minute : " On

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210 BOGATIOK W££K AKD ASCENSION DAY.

Ascension Day, the Doge, in a splendid barge, attended by a
thousand barks and gondolas, proceeds to a particular place
in the Adriatic. In order to compose the angry golph, and
procure a calm, the patriarch pours into her bosom a quantity
of holy water. As soon as this charm has had its effect, the
Doge, with great solemnity, through an aperture near his seat,
drops into her lap a gold ring, repeating these words, ' De-
tponsamus te, Mare, in gignum vert perpetuique dominii .-' We
espouse thee, Sea, in token of real and perpetual dominion
over thee."

[Brockett mentions the wioek-raee on Ascension Day, a
race run by females for a smock. These races were frequent
among the young country wenches in the North. The prize,
a fine Holland chemise, was usually decorated with ribands.
The sport is still continued at Newburn, near Newcastle.
The following curious poem on this amusement is extracted
from a small Tolume, entitled Poetical Miscellanies, consisting
of Original Poems, and Translations, by the best hands, pub-
lished by Mr. Steele, 8yo, 1714, p. 199 :

** Now did the bag-pipe in hoarse notes begin
Th' expected signal to the neighboring green ;
While the mild sun, in the decline of &y.
Shoots from the distant West a cooler ray.
Allarm'd, the sweating crowds forsake the town,
Unpeopled Finglas is a desart grown.
Joan quits her cows, that with full udders stand.
And low unheeded for the milker's hand.
The joyous sound the distant reapers hear,
Their harvest leave, and to the sport repair.
The Dublin prentice, at the welcome call,
In hurry rises from his cakes and ale ;
Handing the flaunting sempstress o'er the plains.
He struts a beau among the homely swains. ,

" The butcher's foggy spouse amidst the throng,
Rubb'd clean, and tawdry drest, puffs slow along ;
Her ponderous rings the wondering mob behold,
And dwell on every finger heaped with gold.
Long to St. Patrick's filthy shambles bound,
Surpiis'd, she views the rural scene around ;
The distant ocean there salutes her eyes,
Here tow'ring hills in goodly order rise ;
The fruitful valleys long extended lay.
Here sheaves of com, and cocks of fragrant bayi

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BOGATION WEEK AND ASCENSION DAY. 21 1

Mliile whatsoe'er she hears, she smells, or sees,
GWes her fresh transports, and she doats on trees.
Yet (hapless wretch), the servile thirst of gain
Can force her to her stinking stall again.

** Nor was the country justice wanting there,
To make a penny of the rogues that swear ;
With supercilious looks he awes the green,
* Sirs, keep the peace — I represent the queen.'
Poor Paddy swears his whole week's gains away,
While my young squires blaspheme, and nothing pay.
All on the mossie turf confus'd were laid
The jolly rustick, and the buxom maid.
Impatient for the sport, too long delay'd.

** When, lo, old Arbiter, amid the croud.
Prince of the annual games, proclaimed aloud,
' Ye Tirgins, that intend to try the race.
The swiftest wins a smock enrich'd with lace :
A cambrick kerchiff shall the next adorn,
And kidden gloves shall by the third be worn.'
This said, he high in air (Usplay'd each prize ;
All Tiew the waving smock with longing eyes.

'^ Fair Oonah at the barrier first appears,
Pride of the neighb'ring mill, in bloom of years
Her native brightness borrows not one grace.
Uncultivated charms adorn her face,
Her rosie cheeks with modest blushes glow.
At once her innocence and beauty show :
Oonah the eyes of each spectator draws.
What bosom beats not in fair Oonah's cause ?

** Tall as a pine majestick Nora stood.
Her youthful veins were swell'd with sprightly blood,
Inur'd to toyls, in wholesom gardens bred,
Bxact in ev'ry limb, and formed for speed.

** To thee, O Shevan, next what praise is due ?
Thy youth and beauty doubly strike the view,
Fr^ as the plumb that keeps the virgin blue !
Each well deserves the smock, — ^but fates decree,
But one must wear it, tho' deserv'd by three.

" Now side by side the panting rivals stand,
And fix their eyes upon th' appointed hand ;
The signal giv'n, spring forwarid to the race,
Not fam'd Camilla ran with fleeter pace.
Nora, as lightning swift, the rest o'er-pass'd.
While Shevan fleetly ran, yet ran the last.
But, Oonah, thoa hadst Venus on thy side ;
At Nora's petticoat the goddess pl/d,

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212 MAY-DAY CUSTOMS.

And in a trice the fatal string nnty'd.

Quick 8top'd the maid, nor won'd, to win the prize,

Expose her hidden charms to Tnlgmr eyes.

But while to tye the treach'roos knot she staid,

Both her glad rivalB pass the weeping maid.

Now in despair she plies the race again,

Not winged winds dart swifter o'er the plain :

She (whHe chaste Dian aids her hapless speed)

Shevan outstrip'd — ^nor further cou'd succeed.

For with redoubled haste bright Oonah flies.

Seizes the goal, and wins the noblest prize.

* Loud shouts and acclamations fill the place,
Tho' chance on Oonah had bestow'd the race ;
Like Felim none rejoyc'd — ^a lovelier swain
Ne'er fed a flock on the Fingalian plain.
Long he with secret passion loVd the maid,
Now his encreasing flame itself betra/d.
Stript for the race how bright did she appear !
No cov'ring hid her feet, her bosom bare,
And to the wind she gave her flowing hair.
A thousand charms he saw, conceal'd before.
Those yet conoeal'd he fancy'd still were more.

** Felim, as night came on, young Oonah woo'd.
Soon willing beauty was by truth subdu'd.
No jarring settlement their bliss annoys,
No licence needed to defer their joys.
Oonah e'er mom the sweets of wedlock try'd,
The smock she won a virgin, wore a bride."]

MAY-DAY CUSTOMS.

- — ** If thou loT*st me then,
Steal forth thy father's house to-morrow night ;
And in the wood, a league without the town.
Where I did met thee once with Helena,
7b do obierwmeefor a mom of May,
There will I stay for thee."

Midi. Night't Dream, Act L sc. 1.

It was anciently the custom for all ranks of people to go
out a Maying early on the first of MaT. Bourne tells as that
in his time, in the villages in the North of England, the
iuvenile part of hoth sexes were wont to rise a Httle after
midnight on the morning of that day, and walk to some

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MAT-SAT CUSTOMS. 2 1 3

neighboaiing wood« accompanied with music and the blowing of
harass wheie they broke down branches from the trees and
adorned them with nosegays and crowns of flowers. This
dcaie;» they retomed homewards with their booty about the
time of sunrise, and made their doors and windows triumph
in the flowery spoil.

StabbSp in the Anatomic of Abuses, 1585, f. 94, says: —
«« Against Maie, CYcry parishe, towne, and Tillage, assemble
themsdyes together, bothe men, women, and children, olde and
yofnj^ ciTon aU indifferently : and either goyng all together, or
dcTmyng themselyes into companies, they goe some to the
woodes and groves, some to the niUes and mountaines, some to
one place, some to another, where they spende all the night in
pas^rmes, and in the mornyng they retume, bringing with them
birch, bowes, and braunches of trees to deck ^eir assemblies
withidl. I haye heard it credibly reported (and that viva voce)
by men of great eraritie, credite, and reputation, that of fourtie,
threescore, or a hundred maides goyng to the woode oyer night,
there haye scarcely the thirde parte of them returned home
agiaine undefiled."

Heazne, in his Prefiace to Robert of Gloucester's Chronide,
p. 18, speaking of the old custom of drinking out of horns,
obserres : — ^* 'Tis no wonder, therefore, that upon thejolHHei
tm thefirtt of May formerly, the custom of hlomng with, and
drinking in, konu so much prevailed, which, though it be
now generally disus'd, yet the custom of blowing them
prevaiU at this seasoHy even to this day, at Oxford, to remind
people of the pleasantness of that part of the year, which
oug^t to create mirth and gayety, such ss is sketch'd out in
some old Books of Offices, such as the Piymer of Salisbury,
printed at Rouen, 1551, 8yo." Aubrey, in his Remains of
Gentilisme and Juadisme, MS. Lansd. 266, f. 5, says: —
** Memorandum, at Oxford, the boys do blow eow^ home and
hoUaw eanee all night ; and on May Day the young maids of
erery parish carry about garlands of flowers, which afterwards
they hang up in their churches." Mr. Henry Rowe, in a note
inlus Poems, ii. 4, says : — "The Tower of Magdalen College,
Oxford, erected by Cardinal Wolsev, when bursar of me
College, 1492, contains a musical peal of ten bells, and on May
Day the chorietere assemble on the top to usher tn the spring.
Dr. Chandler, however, in his Life of Bishop Waynflete,

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214 MAY-DAY CUSTOMS.

aasores us that Wolsey had no share in the erection of the
atractore ; and Mr. Chalmers, in his History of the UniVenilnry
refers the origin of the custom to a mass or reqoiem, which,
before the Reformation, nsed to be annoally performed on the
top of the tower, for the sonl of Henrj VII. ''This was
afterwards commuted*" he observes, "for a few pieom of
musick, which are executed by the choristers, and for which
the Rectory of Slimbridge, in Glonoestershize, pays annually
the sum of lOL"

In Herrick's Hesperides, p. 74, are the following alluaions
to customs on May Day : —

'' Come, my Corinna, come : and comming, marke
How each field turns a street, each street a park

Made green and trimmed with trees : see how

Devotion gives each honse a bough,

Or branch : each porch, each doore, ere this,

An arke, a tabemade is.
Made up of white-thome neatly enterwove.

A deale of youth, ere this, is come

Back, and with white-thome laden home.

Some have dispatch'd their cakes and creime,

Before that we have left to dreame."

[In an old ballad called the Milk-maid's life, printed about
1630, weare toldr-
'^UponthefirstofMay,
With garlands fresh and gay.
With mirth and musick sweet.
For such a season meet,
They passe their time away :
They dance away sorrow,
And all the day thorow
Their legs doe never fayle.
They nimbly their feet doe ply,
And bravely try the victory
In honour o' th' milking paile."]

There was a time when this custom was observed by noble
and royal personages, as well as the vulgar. Thus we read
in Chaucer 8 Court of Love, that^ early on May Day, "fourth
ffoth al the Court, both most and lest, to fietche the flouris
nresh, and braunch, and blome." It is on record that King
Henry the Eighth and Queen Katherine partook of this diver-
sion i and historians also mention that he with his courtiers,

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MAT-DAT CUSTOMS. 215

m the begmning of his reign^ rose on May Day very early to
fetch May, or green boughs, and they went with their
bows and arrows, shooting to the wood. Shakespeare says
(Hen. YIII.) it was impossible to make the people sleep on
May morning ; and (Mids. N. Dream) thati they rose early to
observe the right of May. The court of King James the First,
and the popidace, long preserved the observance of the day,
as Spelman's Glossary remarks under the word Maiuma.
Milton has the following beautiful song on May morning : —

" Now the hrig^t morning star, day's harhinger,
Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her
The llow'ry May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose.

Hail, bounteous May ! that dost inspire

Mirth and youth, and fond desire ;

Woods and groves are of thy drening,

Hm and dale doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early tonff,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.''

Stow, in his Survay of London, 1603, pp. 98-9, quotes
firom Hall an account of Henry the YIII.'s riding a Maying
£rom Greenwich to the high ground of Shooter' s-hill, with
Queen Katherine his wife, accompanied with many lords and
ladies. He tells us also, that '' on May Day in the morning,
every man, except impediment, would walke into the sweete
meadowes and greene woods, there to rejoyce their spirites
with the beauty and savour of sweete flowers, and with the
harmony of birds praysing God in their kind. I find also,
that in the moneth of May, the citizens of London, of all
estates, lightly in every parish, or sometimes two or three
parishes joyning togither, had their several! Mayings, and did
fetch in May-poles, with diverse warlike shewes, with good
archers, morice-dauncers, and other devices, for pastime all the
day long, and towards the evening they had stage-playes, and
bonefiers in the streetes. Of these Mayings we reade, in the
ndgne of Henry the Sixt, that the aldermen and shiriffes of
London being, on May Day, at the Bishop of London's wood,
in the parish of Stebunheath, and having there a worshipfoU
dinner for themselves andother commers, Lydgatethe poet, that
was a monke of Bery, sent to them by a pursivant a joyfull

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216 1CAT*DAT CUSTOMS

commendation of that seuon, containing oxteen atafes in
meter royally beginning thos : —

** Mightie Flora, goddease of fresh flowers,

Which doihed hath the soyle in lostie greenCt

Made buds spring with her sweete showers.
By inflnenoe of the sonne -shine ;

To doe pleasanee of intent full deane,
Unto the States which now sit here,

Hath Vere downe sent her owne daughter deare."

Polydore Vergil says, that ** at the Galendes of Maie," not
only houses and gates were garnished with boughs and flowery
bnt ''in some places the churches, whiche fashion is deiired
of the Romaynesj that use the same to honour their goddesae
Flora with suche ceremonies, whom they name Goddesse of
Fruites.'* (Langle/s Polyd. Ye^. f. 102.) In an account of
Pariah Expenses in Coates's Hist, of Beading, p. 216, 1504,
we have : " It. Payed for felling and bryngyng home of the
bow set in the Mercat-place, for settyng up of ^e same, mete
and drink, viij*."

In Vox Graculi, 1623, p. 62, under May, are the follow-
ing observations :—

** To Isliniton and Hogsdon ronnes the streame
Of giddie people, to eate cakes and creame."

" May is the aieiry moneth : on the first day, betimes m
the morning, shall young fellowes and mayds be so enveloped
with a mist of wandering out of their wayes, that they shall
fall into ditches, one upon another. In the aftemoone, if the
side deare up, shall be a stinldng stirre at Pickehatch, with
the solemne revels of morice-dancing, and the hobble-horse so
neatly presented, as if one of the masters of the parish had
plavd it hiniselfe. Against this high-day, likewise, shall be
such preparations for merry meetings, that divers durty sluts
shall bestow more in stuffe, lace, and making up of a gowne
and a peticote, then their two yeares wages come to, Msides
the benefits of candles' ends and kitchen stufie.** InWhim-
ries, or a True Cast of Characters, 1631, p. 132, speaking
of a ruffian, the author says : '' His soveraignty is showne
highest at May-ffomei, Wakes, Summerings, and Bosh-
bearinss.'*

In the old Calendar of the Romish Church so often referred

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MAY-DAY CUSTOMS. 217

to, I find the following observation on the 30th of April:
'* The boys go out and seek May trees." This receives lilns-
tration from an order in a MS. in the British Museum, entitled
" The State of Eton School," 1560, wherein it is stated, that
on the day of St. Philip and St. James, if it be fair weather,
and the master grants leave, those boys who choose it may rise
at four o'clock, to gather May branches, if they can do it with-
out wetting thdr feet : and that on that day they adorn the
windows of the bedchamber with green leaves^ and the hooaes
are perfumed with fragrant herbs.

Mis8on,in his Travek in England, transkted by OzeU, p. 307,
says : '' On the 1st of May, and the five and six days follow-
ing, all the pretty voung country girls that serve the town with
milk dress themselves up very neatly, and borrow abundance
of silver plate, whereof they make a pyramid, which they
adorn with ribbands and flowers, and carry upon their heads,
instead of their common milk-pails. In this equipage, accom-
pany'd by some of their fellow milk-maids, and a bagpipe or
fiddle, they go from door to door, dancing before the houses of
their customers, in the midst of boys and girls that follow them
in troops, and everybody fives them something." In the Dedi-
cation to Colonel Martin s Familiar Epistles, 1685, we have
the following allusion to this custom : " What's a May-day
milking-pail without a garland and fiddle ?" ** The May-
ings/' says Strutt, ii. 99, '' are in some sort yet kept up by
the milk-maids at London, who go about the streets with their
pxlands, music, and dancing : but thb tracing is a very
unperfect shadow of the original sports ; for May-poles were
set up in streets, with various martial shows, morris-dandng,
and other devices, with which, and revelling and good cheer,
the da^ was passed away. At night they rejoiced, and lighted
up theur bonfires."

Scott, in his Discovery of Witchcraft, p. 152, tells us of an
old superstition : '* To be delivered from witches, they hang
in their entries (among other things) hay-thorn, otherwise
white-thorn, pthered on May-day." The following divina-
tion on May-day is preserved in Gay's Shepherd's Week, 4th
Pastoral:

** hut May-day fair, I searched to find a snail,
That might my secret Iotct's name reveal :

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218 .MAT-DAT CU8TOM8.

Upon a goosebetry-bufth a snail I fcnmd,
For always snails near sweetest fruit abound*
I seized the yermine ; home I quickly sped,
* And on the hearth the milk-white embus spread :

Slow crawl'd the snail, and, if I right can spell.
In the soft ashes marked a curious L :
Oh, may this wondrous omen lucky prove !
For L is found in Lubberkin and Love.**

The May cnstomsare not yet forgotten in London and its
vicinity. In the Morning Post, May 2d, 1791^ it was men-
tioned, ''that yesterday being the Ist of May, according tQ
annual and superstitious custom, a number of persona went
into the fields and bathed their faces with the dew on the
graas, under the idea that it would render them beautifuL"

« Vain hope I No more in choral bands unite
Her virgin votaiies, and at early dawn,
Sacred to May and Love's mysterious rites.
Brush the light dew-drops from the spangled ]awn«"

I remember, too, that in walking that same morning, be-
tween Hounslow and Brentford, I was met by two distinct
parties of girls, with garlands of flowers, who begged money of
me, saying, " Pray, sir, remember the garland." The young
chimney-sweepers, some of whom are fantastically dressed in
girls' clothes, with a great profusion of brick-dust, by way of
paint, gilt paper, &c., malung a noise with their shoyels and
brushes, are now the most striking objects in the celebration
of May-day in the streets of London.

[May-dew was held of singular virtue in former times. Peprs,
on a certain day in May, makes this entry in his diary: ** My
wife away down with Jane and W. Hewer to Woolwich, in order
to a little ayre, and to lie there to-night, and so to gather May*
dew to-morrow morning, which Mrs. Turner hath taught her is
the only thing in the world to wash her face with ; and,'* Pepys
adds, " I am contented with it." His reasons for contentment
seem to appear in the same line ; for he says, " I went by watei
to Fox-hall, and there walked in Spring-garden." And there he
notices " a great deal of company, and Uie weather and garden
pleasant ; and it is very pleasant and cheap going thither, &r
a man may go to spend what he will, or nothine — all as one.
But to hear the nightingale and other birds, and here a fiddler,
and there a harp, and here a Jew's trump, and here laughing,

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MAT-DAY CUSTOMS. 219

and there fine people walking, is mighty diverting/' says Mr.
Pepya^ while his wife is gone to lie at Woolwich, " in order
to a little ayre and to gather May-dew."]
• I have more than once been diatarbed early on May morn-
ing, at Newcastle-npon-Tyne, by the noise of a song which a
woman snng abont the streets, who had several garlands in
her hands, and which, if I mistook not, she sold to any that
were superstitions enough to bay them. It is homely and
low, but it must be remembered that our treatise is not on
the sublime : —

*' Rise up, maidens ! fj for shame !
For Fve been four lug miles from hame :
I've been gathering my garlands gay :
Rise np, fair maids, and take in your May."'

[At Islip, 00. Qzon, the children with their May garlands
■ing,—

*' Good morning, Missus and Master,
I wish you a happy day ;
Please to smell my garhmd,
Because it is the First of May."]

The following shows a custom of makinff fools on the 1st of
May, like that on the Ist of April : " U. P. K. spells May
Goslings,'' is an expression used by boys at play, as an insult
to the losing party. U.P.K. is " up pick," that is, up with
your pin or peg, the mark of the goal. An additional punisb-
ment was thus : the winner made a hole in the ground with
his heel, into which a peg about three inches long was driven,
its top being below the surface ; the loser, with his hands tied
behind him, was to pull it up with his teeth, the boys buffeting
with their hats, and calling out, " Up pick, you May Gosling,"
or " U.P.K. Gosling in May." A May Gosling on the 1st of
May is made with as much eagerness in the north of England,

' Here is no pleonasm. It is simply, as the French have it, your May.
In a Royal Household Account, communicated by CraTen Ord, Esq., I find
the following article : " July 7, 7 Hen. VII. Item, to the maydens of
Lunbeth for a May, lOsh." So among the Receipts and Disbursements of
ttie Canons of the Priory of St. Mary, in Huntingdon, in Nichols's Illu»>
trations of the Manners and Expenses of Ancient Times in England,
1797, p. 294, we have : " Item, gyren to the Wyres of Heiford to the
makyng of there Bfay, 12if."

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220 MAT-BAT CU8T0XS.

as an April Noddy (Noodle), or Fool, on the lot of April"—
Oent. Mag. for April, 1791, p. 327.

[If, however, a May gosling was made on the second of the
month, the following rhyme was uttered to torn the ridieale:

" May-day's past and gone ;
Thou's a gosling, and I'm none."]

To May*Day sports may he referred the singular hequat
of Sir Dudley Diggs (mentioned in Haated's Kent, ii. 787)i
who, by his last will, dated in 1638, left the yearly sum of
20/., *' to be paid to two young men and two maids, who, on
May 19th, yearly, should run a tye at Old Wivei LeeB in
CkUham, and prevail ; the money to be paid out of the profiti
of the land of this part of the manor of Selgrave, which
escheated to him after the death of Lady CUve. These lands,
being in three pieoes, lie in the parishes of Preston sad
Faversham, and contain about forty acres, all commonly called
the Running Lands. Two young men and two young maids
run at Old Wives Lees in Ghilham, yearly, on May 1st, and
the same number at Sheldwich Lees on the Monday foUowinj^
by way of trial: and the two which prevail at each of thoie
places run for the 10/. at Old Wives Lees, as above mentioned,
on May 1 9th." A great concourse of the neighbouring gentry
and inhabitants constantly assemble there on this occasion.
** There was, tiU of late years," says the same writer (Hist
of Kent, ii. 284), ** a singular, though a very ancient, custom
kept up, of electing a Deputy to Sie Dumb Borsholder of
Charts as it was called, claiming liberty over fifteen houses in
the precinct of Pizein-well; every householder of which was
formerly obliged to pay the keeper of this Borsholder one
penny yearly. This Dumb Borsholder was always first called
at the Court-Leet holden for the hundred of Twyford, when
its keener, who was yearly appointed by that court, held it
up to his caU, with a neckcloth or handkerchief put through
the iron ring fixed at the top, and answered for it. Thii
Borsholder of Chart, and the Court-Leet, has been discontinued
about fifty years : and the Borsholder, who is put in by the
Quarter Sessions for Watringbury, claims over the whole
parish. This Dumb Borsholder is made of wood, about three
feet and half an inch long, with an iron ring at the top, and
four more by the sides, near the bottom, where it has a square

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MAY-DAY CUSTOMS. 221

iron spike fixed, four inclies and a half long, to fix it in the
groand, or, on occasion, to hreak open doors, &c., which used
to be done, without a warrant of any justice, on suspicion of
goods having been unlawfully come by and concealed in any
of these fifteen houses. It is not easy at this distance of
time, to ascertain the origin of this dumb officer. Perhaps it
might hare been made use of as a badge or ensign by the
office of the market here. The last person who acted as
deputy to it was one Thomas Clampard, a blacksmith, whose
heirs have it now in their possession."

In the Laws of the Market, printed by Andrew Clark,

Cter to the Honourable City of London, 1677, under "The
Dtes of the Streets of this City against Noysances," 29, I
find the following: ** No man shall go in the streets by night
or by day with bow bent, or arrows under his girdle, nor with
sword unscabbar'd, under pain of imprisonment ; or with
hand-gun, having therewith powder and match, except it be
in a usual May-game or Sight"

Audley, in a Companion to the Almanack, 1802, p. 21,
BSya: "Some derive May from Maia, the mother of Mercury,
to whom they offered sacrifices on the first day of it ; and this
seems to explain the custom which prevails on this day where
the writer resides (Cambridge), of children having a figure
dressed in a grotesque manner, caUed a May Lady, before
whieh they set a table, having on it wine, &c. They also b^
money of passengers, which is considered as an offering to
the manikin ; for their plea to obtain it is, ' Fray remember
the poor May Lady* Perhaps the garlands, for which they
also beg, originally adorned the head of the goddess. The
bush of hawthorn, or, as it is called. May, placed at the doors
on this day, may point out the first fruits of the Spring, as
this is one of the earlieat trees which blossoms."

Browne, in his Britannia's Pastorals, 1625, ii. 122, thus
describes some of the May revellings :

As I have seene the Lady qf the May
Set in an arbour (on a holy-day)
BmU by the May-pole, where Uie joctind swainei
Dance with the maidens to the bagpipe's straines,
When envious Night commands them to be gone,
Call for the merry youngsters one by one,
And for their weU performance, soone disposes
To this a garland interwove with roses ;

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222 MAT-DAY CUSTOMS.

To that a carved hooke or well-wronglit scrip;

Gracing another with her cherry lip ;

To one her garter ; to another then

A hand-kerchiefe cast o'er and o'er agen :

And none retumeth emptie that hath spent

His paines to fill their ninll merimeat"

Hutchinson, in his History of Northmnberland, ii. 14^ tdls
us '* that a syllabub, is prepared for the May Feast, which is
made of wann milk from the cow, sweet cakes and wine : and
a kind of divination is practised, hy fiMng with a ladle for a
wedding-ring, which is dropped into it, for the purpose of
prognosticating who shall be first married."

Toilet, in the description of his famous window, of which
more will be said her^ifter, tells us : " Better judges may de-
cide that the institution of this festival originated from the
Roman Floralia, or from the Celtic La Bdtine, while I ood-
ceiye it derived to us from our Gothic ancestors." OImib
Magnus de Gentibus Septentrionalibus, lib. xy. c. 8, says^
** that after their long winter, from the beginning of October
to the end of April, the Northern nations have a cuBtom to
welcome the returning splendour of the sun with dancing,
and mutually to feast each other, rejoicing that a better season
for fishing and hunting was approached." In honour of May
Day the Goths and Southern Swedes had a mock battle be-
tween Summer and Winter, which ceremony is retained in the
Isle of Man, where the Danes and Norwegians had been for a
long time masters.

£)rla8e, in his curious account of the manners of Corn-
wall, speaking of the May Customs, says : ** This usage is
nothing more than a gratulation of the Spring ;" and every
house exhibited a proper signal of its approach, " to testify
their universal joy at the revival of vegetation." He says :
" An antient custom, still retained by the Cornish, is, that of
decking their doors and porches on die first day of May with
green boughs of sycamore and hawthorn, and of planting
trees, or rather stumps of trees, before their houses."

In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1754, p. 354, a custom is
alluded to, I believe, not yet entirely obsolete. The writer
says, " They took places in the waggon, and quitted London
early on May morning; and it being the custom in this month
for the passengers to give the waggoner at every inn a ribbon

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MAT-DAT CUSTOMS. 223

to adorn hU team, she soon discoyered the origin of the
proTerb, ' as fine as a horse ;' for, before they got to the
end of their journey, the poor beasts were almost blinded
by the tawdry party-colonred flowing honours of their
heads/'

Another writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for June,
1790, p. 520, says: "At Helstone, a genteel and populous
barongh-town in Cornwall, it is customary to dedicate the
e%hth of May to reyelry (festive mirth, not loose jollity). It
ia called the Furry Day, supposed Flora's Day ; not, I imar
gine, as many have thought, in remembrance of some festival
instituted in honour of that goddess, but rather from the
garlands commonly worn on that day. In the morning, very
early, some troublesome rogues go round the streets with
drama, or other noisy instruments, disturbing their sober
neighbours, and singing parts of a song, the whole of which
nobody now recollects, and of which I know no more than
that there is mention in it of ' the grey goose quill,' and of
going to the ereen wood to bring home ' the Summer and the
May-o.' And, accordingly, hai^om flowering branches are
worn in hats. The commonalty make it a general holiday ;
and if they find any person at work, make him ride on a
pole, carried on men's shoulders, to the river, over which he
is to leap in a wide place, if he can ; if he cannot, he must
leap in, for leap he must, or pay money. About 9 o'clock
they appear before the school, and demand holiday for the
Iditin boys, which is invariably granted; after which they col-
lect money from house to house. About the middle of the
day they collect together, to dance hand-in-hand round the
streets, to the sound of the fiddle, playing a particular tune,
which they continue to do till it is dark. This they call a
' Faddy.' In the afternoon the gentility go to some farm-
house in the neighbourhood, to dnnk tea, syllabub, &c., and
return in a morris-dance to the town, where they form a
Faddy, and dance through the streets till it is dark, claiming
a right of going through any person's house, in at one door,
and out at the other. And here it formerly used to end, and
the company of all kinds to disperse quietly to their several
habitations ; but latterly corruptions have in this, as in other
matters, crept in by degrees. The ladies, all elegantly dressed
in white muslins, are now conducted bv their partners to the

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224 MAT-DAY CUSTOMS.

ball-room, where they continue their dance tiU supper-time ;
after which they all faddy it out of the house, breakmg off by
degrees to their respective houses. The mobility imitate their
saperiora, and also adjourn to the several public-houses, where
they continue their dance till midnight. It is, upon the whole,
a very festive, jovial, and withal so sober, and, I believe, sin-
gular custom : and any attempt to search out the original of
it, inserted in one of your future Magazines, will very much
please and gratify Duboan."

[I am enabled to furnish a copy of the Furry-day bod^
wluch has escaped the memory of tiiis writer : —

** Robin Hood and Little John,

They both are gone to the fair,
And well go to the merry green wood,

And see what they do there.
For we were np as soon as any day

For to fetch the summer home,
The summer and the May, O,

For the summer now is come !
Where are those Spaniards

That make so great a boast ?
They shall eat the grey goose feather,

And we will eat the roast.
As for the brave St. George,

St. George he was a knight ;
Of all the knights in Christendom

St. Georgy is the right.
God bless Aunt Mary Moses,

And all her powers and might,
And send us peace in merry England,

Both day and night !"]

The month of May is generally considered as an unlucky
time for the celebration of marriage. This is an idea which
has been transmitted to us by our Popish ancestors, and was
borrowed by them from the ancients.

In Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, 1794, zi. 620,
the minister of Callander, in Perthshire, says, the people of
district " have two customs, which are fast wearing out, not
only here but all over the Highlands, and therefore ought to
be taken notice of while they remain. Upon the first day of
May, which is called Baltan or Bitl'tein-^y, all the boys in
a township or hamlet meet in the moors. They cut a taUe
in the green sod, of a round figure, by casting a trench in the

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KAT-DAT cusToais. 225

ground of &acb circamference as to hold the whole company.
They kindle a fire, and dress a repast of eggs and milk of the
conaistence of a castard. They knead a cake of oatmeal,
which is toasted at the embers against a stone. After the
cuBtard is eaten op, they divide the cake into so many por-
tions, as similar as possible to one another in size and shape,
as there are persons in the company. They daub one of these
portions all over with charcoal until it be perfectly black.
They put ail the bits of the cake into a bonnet. Every one,
blindfold, draws out a portion. He who holds the bonnet is
entitled to the last bit. Whoever draws the black bit is the
devoted person who is to be sacrificed to Baal, whose favour
they mean to implore, in rendering the year productive of the
snatenanoe of man and beast. There is Utde doubt of these
inhuman sacrifices having been once offered in this country as
well as in the East, although they now omit the act of sacri-
ficing, and only compel the devoted person to leap three times
through the flames ; with which the ceremonies of this festival
aore closed." (The other custom, supposed to have a similar
mystical allusion, will be found under Allhallow Even.)
" Bal-tein signifies the Fire of Baal. Baal or Ball is the
only word in Gaelic for a globe. This festival was probably
in honour of the sun, whose return, in his apparent annuid
course, they celebrated, on account of his having such a visible
influence, by his genial warmth, on the productions of the
earth. That the Caledonians paid a superstitiouB respect to
the sun, as was the practice among many other nations, is
evident, not only by the sacrifice at Baltein, but upon many
other occasions. When a Highlander goes to bathe, or to drink
waters out of a consecrated fountain, he must always approach
by going round the ^luce Jrom East to West on the South side,
in imitation of the apparent diurnal motion of the sun. This
is called in Gaelic going round the right, or the lucky way.
The opposite course u the wrong, or the unlucky way. And
if a person's meat or drink were to affect the wind-pipe, or
come against his breath, they instantly cry out deaheal!
which is an ejaculation, praying that it may gq by the right
way." In the same work, v. 84, the minister of Logierait,
in Perthshire, says: " On the Ist of May, 0. S., a ^stival
called Beltan is annually held here. It is chiefly celebrated
by the cowherds, who assemble by scores in the fields to dress

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226 KAY-BAY CUSTOMS.

a dinner for themselTes of boiled milk and eggs. These dishei
they eat vith a sort of cakes baked for Sue occasion, and
having small lamps, in the form of nipples, raised all ofer
the surface. The cake might, perhaps, be an offering to some
deity in the days of Druidum."

Pennant*a account of this rural sacrifice is more minate.
He tells us in his Tour in Scotland, p. 90, that, on the 1st id
May, in the Highlands of Scotland, the herdsmen of eveiy
village hold their Bel-tein. " They cut a square trench in the
ground, leaving the turf in the middle ; on that they make i
fire of wood, on which they dress a large caudle of eggs,
butter, oatmeal, and milk, and bring, besides the ingrediento
of the caudle, plenty of beer and whisky : for eacn of the
company must contribute something. The rites begin with
spilling some of the caudle on the ground, by way of libation:
on that, every one takes a cake of oatmeal, upon which are
raised nine square knobs, each dedicated to some particular
being, the supposed preserver of their flocks and herds, or to
some particular animal, the real destroyer of them. Each
person then turns his face to the fire, breaks off a knob, and,
fiingmg it over his shoulders, says : ' This I give to thee, pre-
serve thou my horses /' ' This to thee, preserve thou my sheep' ;
and so on. After Uiat they use the same ceremony to the
noxious animals. ' This 1 give to thee, Ofox ! spare thou my
lambs/* 'this to thee, O hooded crow!* 'this to thee, eagUP
When the ceremony is over, they dine on the caudle ; and,
after the feast is finished, what is left is hid by two persoiu
deputed for that purpose ; but on the next Sunday they re-
assemble, and finish the reliques of the first entertainment."

I found the following note in p. 149 of the Muses' Thre*
nodie, 1774 : " We read of a cave called * The Dragon Hole,'
in a steep rock on the face of Einnoul Hill, of very difficult
and dangerous access. On the first day of May, during the
era of Popery, a great concourse of people assembled at that
place to celebrate superstitious games, now (adds the writer)
unknown to us, which the Reformers prohibited under heavy
censures and severe penalties, of which we are informed hem
the ancient records of the Kirk Session of Perth."

Martin, in his Account of the Western Islands of Scotland
(ed. 1716, p. 7), speaking of the Isle of Lewis, says, that
" the natives in the village Barvas retain an ancient custom of

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MAY-DAT CUSTOMS. 227

iiding a man very early to eross Barvas river, every first day
ckf May, to prevent any females crossing it first ; for that, they
Miy, would iiinder the salmon from coming into the river all
tbe year round." They pretend to have learned this from a
foreign sailor, who was shipwrecked upon that coast a long
tiine ago. This obserTation they maintain to be true, from
experience.

For an account of the custom called Hobby-kornnff, on the
lat of May, at Minehead, county Somerset, see Savage's
History of the Hundred of Carhampton, p. 583.

Sir Henry Piers, in his Description of Westmeath, 1 682,
tells us that the Irish '* have a custom every May Day, which
they count their first day of Summer, to have to their meal
one formsl dish, whatever else they have, which some call
stir-about, or hasty-pudding, that is, flour and milk boiled
thick ; and this is holden as an argument of the good wife's
good huswifery, that made her com hold out so well as to
have such a dish to begin summer fare with ; for if they can
hold out so long with bread, they count they can do well
enough for what remains of the year till harvest ; for then
milk becomes plenty, and butter, new cheese, and curds, and
sham-rocks, are the food of the meaner sort all this season.
Nevertheless, in this mess, on this day, they are so formal,
that even in the plentifullest and greatest houses, where bread
is in abundance all the year long, they will not fail of this
dish, nor yet they that for a month before wanted bread."
Camden, in his Antient and Modem Manners of the Irish,
says : ** They fancy a green bough of a tree, fastened on May
Day against the house, will produce plenty of milk that
summer." General Yallancey, in his Essay on the Antiquity
of the Irish Language, 1772, p. 19, speaking of the 1st of
May, says : *' On that day the Draids drove all the cattle
through the fires, to preserve them from disorders the ensuing
year. This Pagan custom is still observed in Munster and
Connanght, where the meanest cottager, worth a cow and a
wisp of straw, practises the same on the first day of May, and
with the same superstitious ideas."

In the Survey of the South of Ireland, p. 233, we read
something similar to what has been already quoted horn the
Statistical Account of Scotland. " The sun," says the writer,
"was propitiated here by sacrifices of fire : one was on the

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228 MAY-DAY CUSTOMS.

let of May, for a blessing on the seed sown. The Ist of May
is called in the Irish language La Beal-tine, that is, the day of
Beal's fire. Yossius says it is well known that Apollo was
called Belinns, and for this he quotes Herodian, and an in-
scription at Aquileia, Apollini Belino, The Gods of Tjrre
were Baal, Ashtaroth, and all the Host of Heaven, as we lean
from the frequent rebukes given to the backsliding Jews fbr
following after Sidonian idols: and the Fhenidan Baal, or
Baalam, like the Irish Beal, or Bealin, denotes the sun, ai
Asturoth does the moon."

Aubrey, in his Remains of Gentilisme, MS. Lanad. 226, in-
forms us that, ** 'Tis commonly say*d in Grermany that ^
witches do meet in the night before the first day of May, upon
an high mountain, called the Blocksberg, situated in Ascanien,
where they, together with the devils, do dance and feast ; and
the common people doe, the night before the said day, fetch a
certain thorn, and stick it at their house-door, believing the
witches can then doe them no harm."

Dr. Clarke, in his Travels in Russia, 1810, i. 110, speaking
of the '* First of May," says : " The promenades at this sea-
son of the year (during Easter) are, amongst the many
sights in Moscow, interesting to a stranger. The principal is
on the 1st of May, Russia style, in a forest near the city. It
affords a very interesting spectacle to strangers, because it is
frequented by the bourgeoisie as weU as by the nobles, and
the national costume may then be observed in its greatest
splendour. The procession of carriages and persons on horw-
back is immense. Beneath the trees, and upon the green
sward, Russian peasants are seen seated in their gayest drenes^
expressing their joy by shouting and tumultuous songs. The
music of the Balalaika, the shrill notes of rustic pipes, dap-
ping of hands, and the wild dances of the gipsies» all mingle
in one revelry."

Bourne dtes Polydore Ye^ as telling us that, among the
Italians, the youth of both sexes were accustomed to go into tbt
fields on the Calends of May, and bring thence the brancbei
of trees, singing all the way as they came, and so place them
on the doors of their houses. This, he observes, is a relic d
an ancient custom among the Heathens, who observed the
four last days of April, and the first of May, in honour of the
goddess Flora, who was imagined the deity presiding over the

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fruit and flowers : a festival that was obserred with all manner
of obscenity and lewdness. Dr. Moresin follows Polydore
Vergil in regard to the origin of this custom.

[It was an old custom in Suffolk in most of the farm-
hoQses, that any servant who could bring in a branch of haw*
thorn in full blossom on the 1st of May, was entitled to a dish
of cream for breakfast. Tins custom is now disused, not so
much from the reluctance of the masters to give the reward,
as from the inabihty of the servants to find the white-thorn
in flower. To this custom the following stupid jingle ap-
pears to belong, —

*< This is the day,
And here is our May,
The finest ever seen.
It is fit for the qneen ;
So pray, ma'am, give ns a cap of your cream."

A gentleman residing at Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, commu-
nicated to Mr. Hone a curious account of the way in which
May-day is observed at that place. The Mayers there express
their judgment of the estimableness of the characters of thdr
neighbours by fixing branches upon their doors before morn-
ing ; those who are unpopular find themselves marked with
netde or some other vile weed instead. ** Throughout the day
parties of these Mayers are seen dancing and frolicking in va-
itofui parts of the town. The group that I saw to day, which
remained in Bancroft for more than an hour, was composed as
follows : — First came two men with their faces blacked, one
of them with a birch broom in his hand, and a large artificial
bump on his back ; the other dressed as a woman, all in rags
and tatters, with a large straw bonnet on, and carrying a ladle:
these are called * Mad Moll and her husband.' Next came
two men, one most fantastically dressed with ribbons, and a
great variety of eaudy-coloured silk handkerchiefs tied round
nia arms, from, the shoulders to the wrists, and down his thighs
and legs to the ankles ; he carried a drawn sword in his hand ;
leaning upon his arm was a youth dressed as a fine lady, in
white muslin, and profusely bedecked from top to toe with
say ribbons ; these, I understood, were called the ^ Lord and
Lady of the company.' After these followed six or seven
conples more, attired much in the same style as the lord and

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230 MAT-DAT CUSTOMS.

lady, only the men were without swords. When this group
received a satisfactory contribntion at any house, the music
struck up from a violin, darionet, and fife, accompanied by
the long drum, and they began the merry dance, and very well
they diwced, I assure you ; the men-women looked and footed
it so much like real women, that I stood in great doubt as to
which sex they belonged to, till Mrs. J. assured me thtt
women were not permitted to mingle in these sports. Whfle
the dancers were merrily footing it, the principal amnsemeot
to the populace was caused by the grimaces and clownish
tricks of Mad Moll and her husband. When the circle of
spectators became so contracted as to interrupt the dancers,
then Mad Moll's husband went to work with his broom, and
swept the road dust all round the circle into the faces of the
crowd ; and when any pretended affronts were offered (and
many were offered) to his wife, he pursued the offenders, broom
in hand ; if he could not overtake them, whether they were
males or females, he flung his broom at Uiem. These flights
and pursuits caused an abundance of merriment. The Hitehin
Mayers have a song, much in the style of a Christmaa Carol,
which Mr. Hone has also given : —

** Remember us, poor Mayers all,
Ajid thus do we begin
To lead our lives in rigfateousness,
Or else we die in sin.

We have been rambUng all this night,

And almost all this day ;
And now returned back agaia,

We have brought you a branch of May.

A branch of May we have brought you,
And at your door it stands ;
It is but a sprout,
But it's well budded out
By the work of our Lord's hands.

The hedges and trees they are so green,

As green as any leek ;
Our heavenly Father he watered them

With his heavenly dew so sweet.

The heavenly gates are open wide.

Our paths are beaten plain.
And if a man be not too far gone,

He may return again.

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MAY-DAY CUSTOMS. 231

The life of man is but a span,

It flourishes like a flower ;
We are here to-daf and gone to-morrow

And we are dead in an hour.

The moon shines bright, and the stars give a light,

A little before it is day ;
So God bless you all, both great and small.

And send you a joyful May !"

In London, May-day was once as much observed as it was in
any rural district. There were several May-poles tliroughout
the city» particularly one near the bottom of Catherine-street,
in the Strand, which, rather oddly, became in its latter days
a support for a large telescope at Wanstead in Essex, the pro-
perty of the Royal Society. The milkmaids were amongst the
laat conspicuous celebrators of the day. They used to dress
themselves in holiday guise on this morning, and come in
hands with fiddles, whereto they danced, attended by a strange-
looking pyramidal pile, covered with pewter plates, ribands,
and streamers, either borne by a man upon his head, or by
two men upon a hand-barrow : this was called their garland.
The young chimney-sweepers also made this a peculiar festi-
yal, coming forth into the streets in fantastic dresses, and
making all sorts of unearthly noises with their shovels and
hmahea. The benevolent Mrs. Montagu, one of the first of
the dass of hterary ladies in England, gave these home slaves
an annual dinner on this day, in order, we presume, to aid a
little in reconciling them to existence. In London, May-day
still remains the great festival of the sweeps, and much finery
and many vagaries are exhibited on the occasion.

The following account of May-day in the streets of London
in 1844, is extracted from the Times of the following day : —
" Yesterday being May-day, the more secluded parts of the
metropolis were visited by Jack-in-the-Green, and the usual
group of grotesque attendants. Among numerous displays
of this nature, the only one that exhibited any novelty was a
group of tinselled holiday-makers, attended, not by the usual
' My lady,' with a gilt ladle, but by a very sturdy-looking im-
personation of the * Pet of the ballet,' attired in a remarkably
short gauze petticoat, beneath which were displayed apairof legs
and ankles that had certainly been brought to a most extraor-
dinary state of muscular development. Thb strapping repre-^

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232 HAT-BAT CUSTOMS.

aentatiYe of stage elegance wan attended by a protector in die
somewhat anomalous garb of Jem Crow, and who addressed
his lady by the title of * Marmselle Molliowski/ mtrodacing^
her to me spectators as a foreign dancer of notoriety, who had
that day condescended to make her first appearance in public
by dancing the polka as it really ought to be duiced, and in
such a manner as would at once eatisfy everybody that it was
the most extraordinary dance ever invented. After this intro-
duction, Marmselle Molliowski went through a most huxtknn
burlesque, combining all the various absurdities of 8tag;e
dancing, and ending, by way of climax, with a regular sum-
merset ; and the somewhat lavish display of a pair of yeUow
buckskins, the discovery of which, together with a moek
curtesy that terminated the performance, excited shoats of
laughter among the multitude, who rewarded the very maa-
culme-looking Mademoiselle MoUiowski with a heavy shower
of 'browns.'"

I am induced to ^ve at length a very interesting commoni-
cation on this anniversary by Mr. L. Jewitt, printed in the
Literary Qszette, May, 1847 : — " While you are deafened by
the discordant sounds of the drums and other instruments,
and the host of hooting boys, accompanying Jack-in-the«Green
in his perambulations through your busy streets, and while
you are bewildered by the giddy whirling dance of the sooty
monarch under the green extinguisher, and his gay attendants,
with their flaunting ribands, their flowers, their brass ladles,
and tinsel, the cocked hats and court dresses of the males,
and the rustic broad-brimmed straws, the short white dresses,
and graceful sylph-like movements of the chummy females^
it wiU be a relief to you to turn and contemplate the pretty
and simple celebration of this * sweet May-day* in a quiet
country village. And now the milkmaids' garlands are no
more, and the dancing round the Maypole has passed away,
and other May customs and ceremonies are fast beins buied
in that oblivion where many remnants of the habits and saper-
stitions of our forefathers have long been laid, it will be plea*
sant to you to know that in some secluded spots May-day cus-
toms are still observed, and are looked forward to with as
much interest as ever. In Oxford, the singing at Magdalen
CoUege still takes place, as you are aware, on the top of the
magnificent tower. The choristers assemble there in their white

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MAY^DAT CUSTOMS. 233

gowDB, at a little before fiye o'clock in the morning, and aa soon
astbe dock has struck, commence singing their matins. The
baaatifol bridge and all around the college are covered with
spectators ; indeed it is quite a little fair ; the inhabitants of
the city, as well as of the neighbouring villages, collecting
together, some on foot and some in carriages, to hear the choir,
and to welcome in the happy day. Hosts of boys are there
too, with tin trumpets, and stalls are fitted up for the sale of
them and sweetmeats ; and as soon as the singers cease, the
beUs peal forth their merry sounds in joyful welcome of the
new month ; and the boys, who hare been impatiently await-
ing for the oondusion of the matins, now blow their trumpets
lustily, and, performing such a chorus as few can imagine, and
none forget, start off in all directions, and scour the fields and
lanes, and make the woods re-echo to their sounds, in search
of flowers. The effect of the singins is sweet, solemn, and
idmost supernatural, and during its celebration the most pro-
foand stillness reigns over the assembled numbers ; all seem
impressed with the angeUc softness of the floating sounds, as
ibej are gently wafted down by each breath of air. All is
hushed, and calm, and quiet-— even breathing is almost for-
gotten, and all seem lost even to themselves, until, with the
first peal of the bells, the spell is broken, and noise and con-
fnaion usurp the pUce of silence aud quiet. But even this
costom, beautiful as it is, is not so pleasing and simple as the
one observed at Headington, two miles from Oxford, where
the children carry garlands from house to house. They are
aQ alert some days ^forehand, gathering evergreens, and levy-
ing contributions of flowers on all who possess gardens, to
decorate their sweet May offerings. Each garhmd is formed of
a hoop for a rim, with two half hoops attached to it, and
crossed above, much in the shape of a crown ; each member is
beautifully adorned with flowers, and the top surmounted by
a fine crown imperial, or other showy bunch of flowers. Each
gariand is attended by four children, two girls dressed in all
th&r best, with white frocks, long sashes, and plenty of
ribands, and each wearing a cap, tastefully ornamented with
flowers^ &c., who carry the garland supported betwixt them,
by a stick passed through it, between Uie arches. These are
followed by the lord and lady, a boy and girl, linked together
by a white handkerchief, which they hold at either end^ and

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234 MAT-POLES.

who are dressed as giuly as may be in ribands, saabes, ro-
settes, and flowers — the 'lady* wearing a smart taaty cap,
and carrying a large purse. They then go from honae to
house, and sing this simple rerse to a yery primitLve tone : —

' Gentlemen and ladies,

We wish yon happy May ;
We come to show you a garland, .
Because it is May-day."

" One of the bearers then asks, ' Please to handsel the lord
and lady's purse ;' and on some money being giyen, the ' lord*
doffs his cap, and taking one of the ' lady's* hands in his
right, and passing his left arm around her waist, kisses her ;
the money is then put in the purse, and they depart to repeat
the same ceremony at the next house. In die village are up-
wards of a dozen of these sarlands, with their 'lords and
ladies,* which giye to the place the most gay and animated
appearance."

The May Grarlands are thus alluded to in Fletcher's Poems,
12mo, Lond. 1656, p. 209.

** Heark, how Amyntas in melodious loud
Shrill raptures tunes his horn-pipe I whiles a crowd
Of snow-white milk-maids, crownd with garlands gay.
Trip it to the soft measure of his lay ;
And flelds with curds and cream like green-cheese lye ;
This now or never is the Gallaxie.
If the facetious Gods ere taken were
With mortal beauties and disguis'd, *iis ben.
See how they mix societies, and tosse
The tumbling ball into a willing losse,
That th' twining Ladyet on their necks might take
The doubled kisses which they first did stake."]

MAY-POLES.

Bourne, speaking of the 1st of May, tella us : " The after
part of the day is chiefly spent in dancing round a tall pole,
which u called a May Pole ; which being placed in a conyenient
part of the yiUage, stands there, as it were, consecrated to the
Goddess of Flowers, without the least yiolation ofiPer'd to it in the
whole circle of the year." Stubbs, a puritanical writer, in his
Anatomie of Abuses, aays : ** But their dieefest jewell they

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KAT-POLES. 235

bring from thence [the woods] is their Mate poole, vhiehe they
bring home with greate Yeneration, as thus : — ^They have
twentie or fourtie yoke of oxen, every oxe havyng a sweete
noaegaie of flowers tyed on the tippe of his homes, and these
oxen drawe home this Maie poole (diis sdnckyng idoll rather),,
which is ooTered all over with flowers and hearbes, boonde
roonde abonte with stringes, from the top to the bottome, and
sometyme painted with variable colours, with twoo or three
hondred men, women, and children followyng it with create
devotion. And thus beyng reared up, with handkerdhiefes
and flaggea streamyng on the toppe, they strawe the grounde
abonte, binde greene boughes about it, sett up sommer haules,
bowers, and arbours, hard by it. And then fall they to ban-
quet and feast, to leape and dannce aboute it, as the Heathen
people did at the dedication of their idoUes, whereof this is a
perfect patteme, or rather the thyng itself."

[No essay on this subject can be considered complete with*
QQt the curious old ballad in the Westminster Drollery , called
the ** Rural Dance about the Mav-pole, the tune the first
figure dance at Mr. Young's ball. May 1671 :"—

'* Come laases and lads, take leave of your dads,

And away to the May-pole hie ;
For every he has got him a she.

And the minstrers standing hy.
For Willy has gotten his Jill, and Johnny has got his Joan.
To jig it Jig it, jig it, jig it up and down.

Strike np, says Wat Agreed, says Kate,

And, I prithee, fidler, play ;
Content, says Hodge, and so says Madge,

For this is a holiday I
Then every man did put his hat off to his lass,
And every girl did curchy, cnrchy, curchy on the grass.

Begin, says Hall. Aye, aye, says Mall,

We'll lead up Packingi<m*9 Pound:
No, -no, says Noll. And so, says Doll,

We'll first have SeUenger't Round,
Then every man beoan to foot it round about,
And every girl did jet it, jet it, jet it in and out.

You're out, says Dick. Tis a lie, says Nick ;

The fiddler played it false :
Tis true, says Hugh ; and so says Sue,

And so says nimble Aloe.
The fiddler then bogan to play the tune again.
And every girl did trip it, trip it, trip it to the men." . .

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236 MAT-POLES.

"I shall never forget," sajB Washington Irnng, *Uhe
delight I felt on first seeing a May-pole. It was on the banks
of the Dee, close by the picturesque old bridge that stretches
across the river from the quaint little city of Chester. I had
already been carried back into former days by the antiquities
d that venerable place, the examination of which is equal to
toming over the pages of a black-letter volume, or gazing oo
the pictures in Froissart. The May-pole on the margin of
that poetic stream completed the illusion. My fancy adorned
it witn wreaths of flowers, and peopled the green bank with
all the dancing revelry of May-day. The mere sight of this
May-pole gave a elow to my feelii^, and spread a charm over
the country for &e rest of the day ; and as I traversed a part
of the fair plain of Cheshire, and the beautiful borders of
Wales, and looked from among swelling hiUs dovnialoDff
green valley, through which ' the Deva wound its wizaid
stream,' my imagination turned all into a perfect Arcadia."]

In Vox Graculi, 1623, p. 62, speaking of May, the author
says : ** This day shall be erected lone wooden idols, called
May-poles ; whereat many greasie churles shall murmure, that
will not bestow so much as a faggot-sticke towards the warm-
ing of the poore : an humour that, while it seems to smell of
eoMcienee, savours indeed of nothing but covetcumesa** Ste-
venson, in the Twelve Moneths, 1661, p. 22, says, *'Theta]l
young oak is cut down for a May-pole, and the frolick fry of the
town prevent the rising of the sun, and, with joy in their
faces and boughs in their hands, they march before it to the
place of erection." I find the following in A Pleasant Orofe
of New Fancies, 1657, p. 74 :—

" The Maypole is ap,

Now give me the cap,
111 drink to the garUmdB around it.

Bat fint unto those

Whose hands did compose
The gloiy of flowers that crown'd it."*

In Northbrooke's Treatise, wherein Dicing, Dauncing, vaine
Playes or Enterluds, with oUier idle Pastimes, &c., commonly
used on the Sabbath-day, are reproved, 1577, p. 140, is the

' In the Chapel -wardens' Accounts of Brentford, 1623, is the foOowiag
srtide : *' Received for the Maypole £\ 4«." Lysons's Enfir. of Losd.
iL54.

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MAT-POLES. 237

foQowing pauage : " What adoe make oar vong men at the
tune of May ? Do they not use night-watchings to rob and
steale yong trees out of other men's gronnde, and brinff them
into their parishe, vith minstrels paying before : and when
they have set it up, they will decke it with floures and gar-
lands, and daunce rounde (men and women togither, moste
vnseemely and intolerable, as I haye proyed before) about the
tree, Hke unto the children of Israeli that daanced about the
golden calfe that they had set up."

Owen, in his Welsh Dictionary, in y. Bedwen^ a birch-tree,
explains it also by " a May-pole, because it is always (he saya)
made of birch. It was customary to haye games of yarious
aorta round the bedwen ; but the chief aim, and on which the
fame of the yillage depended, was to preserye it from being
stolen away, as parties from other places were continually on
the watch for an opportunity, who, if successful, had their
feats recorded in songs on the occasion.'*

ToUett, in the account of his painted window, printed in
the Variorum Shakespeare, tells us, that the May-pole there
represented " is painted yellow and black, in spiral lines."
Spelman's Glossary mentions the custom of erecting a tall
May-pole, painted with yarious colours : and Shakespeare, in
A Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 2, speaks of a painted May-
pole. " Upon our pole," adds ToUett, " are displayed St.
George's red cross, or the banner of England, and a white
penon or streamer, emblazoned with a red cross, terminating
like the blade of a sword, but the delineation thereof is much
faded."' Keysler, in p. 78 of his Northern and Celtic Anti-

Suitiea, giyes us, perhaps, the origin of May-poles ; and that
be French used to erect them appears also from Mezeray's
History of their King Henry lY., and from a passage in Stow's
Chronicle in the year 1560. Mr. Theobald and Dr. Warbur-
ton acquaint us that the May-games, and particularly some

1 Lodge, in his Wit's Miserie, 1596»p. 27, describing Usury, says : ** His
spectacles hang beating tike the flag in the top of a May-pole.^* Borlase,
speaking of the manners of the Cornish people, says, ** From towns they
make inenrsions, on May Eve, into the country, cut down a tall elm, bring
it into the town with rejoicings, and having fitted a straight taper pole to
the end of it, and painted it, erect it in the most public psrt, and upon
holidays and festivals dress it vrith garlands of flowers, or emignM and
ttreamert"

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238 MAT-POLES.

of the characters in them, became exceptionable to the puri-
tanical humour of former times. By an ordinance of the
[Long] Parliament, in April, 1644, all May-poles were taken
down, and remoyed by the constables, churchwardens, Ac.
After the Restoration they were permitted to be erected
a^ain.

By Charles I/s warrant, dated Oct. IS, 1633, it was en-
acted, that, " for his good people's lawfoU recreation, after
the end of Divine Service, his good people be not disturbed,
letted, or discouraged from any lawruU recreation ; such as
dancing, either men or women ; archery for men, leaping,
vaulting, or any other such harmless recreations : nor from
having of May Games, Whitson Ales, and Morris Dances, and
the setting vp of May-poles, and other sports therewith used ;
so as the same be bad in due and convenient time, without
impediment or neglect of Divine Service. And that women
shall have leave to carry rushes to the church for the decorat-
ing of it, according to their old custom. But withal his Msr
jesty doth hereby account still as prohibited, all nnlawfiil
ffames to be used on Sundays only, as bear and bull-baitingi,
interludes, and, at all times, in the meaner sort of people bv
law prohibited, bowling." (Harris's Life of Charles L, p. 48.)
The following were &e words of the ordinance for their
destruction, 1644 : " And because the prophanation of the
Lord's Day hath been heretofore greatly occasioned by May-
poles, (a heathenish vanity, generally abused to superstition
and wickednesse,) the Lords and Commons do furtner order
and ordain that all and singular May-poles, that are or shall
be erected, shall be taken down and removed by the con-
stables, borsholders, tything-men, petty constables, and
churchwardens of the parishes, when the same shall be ; and
that no May-pole shall be hereafter set up, erected, or sniFered
to be within this kingdom of England, or dominion of Wales.
The said officers to be fined five shillings weekly till the said
Mi^-pole be taken downe."

In Burton's Judgments upon Sabbath Breakers, a work
written professedly against the Book of Sports, 1641, are
some curious particulars illustrating May-games, p. 9, ISx-
ample 1 6 : — ** At Dartmouth, 1 634, upon the coming forth and
publishing of the Book of Sports, a company of yonkers, on
May-day morning, before day, went into the country to fetch

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MAY-POLES. 239

liome a May-pole with drumme and trumpet, whereat the
neighbouring inhabitants were affiighted, supposing some
enemies had landed to sack them. The pole being thus
brought home, and set up, they began to drink healths about
it, and to it, till they could not stand so steady as the pole
did : whereupon the mayor and justice bound the ringleaders
oyer to the sessions; whereupon these complaining to the
Archbishop's Yicar-generall, then in his visitation, he prohi-
bited the justices to proceed against them in regard of the
King's Book. But the justices acquainted him they did it for
their disorder in transgressing the bounds of the book. Here-
upon these libertines, scorning at authority, one of them fell
suddenly into a consumption, whereof he shortly after died.
Now although this reyelling was not on the Lord's Day, yet
being upon any other day, and especially May-day, the May-
pole set up thereon giving occasion to the prophanation of
the Lord's Day the whole year after, it was sufficient to pro-
voke Crod to send plagues and judgments among them." The
greater part of the examples are levelled at summer-poles.

In Fasquil's Paiinodia, a Poem, 1634, is preserved a curious
description of May-poles :

" Fairely we marched on, tiU our approach
Within the spacious passage of the Strand,
Objected to our sight a summer-broach,

Ycleap'd a May-pole, which, in all our land,
No city, towne, nor streete, can parralell,
Nor can the lofty spire of Clarken-well,
Although we hare the advantage of a rocke,
Pearch op more high his turning weathercock.

Stay, quoth my Muse, and here behold a signe

Of harmlesse mirth and honest neighbourhood.
Where all the parish did in one combine

To mount the rod of peace, and none withstood :
When no capritious constables disturb them,
Nor justice of the peace did seeke to curb them,
Nor peevish puritan, in rayling sort,
Nor over-vrise church-warden, spoyFd the sport.

Happy the age, and harmlesse were the dayes,
(Tor then true love and amity was found)

When every viUage did a May-pole raise.
And Whitson-ales and May-games did abound :

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240 MAY-POLBS.

And all the lusty yonkers, in ft rout,
With merry lasses daunc*d the rod about,
Then Friendship to their banquets bid the guests,
And poore men far'd the better for their feasts.

The lords of castles, mannors, townes, and towers,
Rejoic'd when they beheld the farmers flourish.

And would come downe unto the summer bowers
To see the country gallants dance the morrioe.

But since the summer poles were overthrown,
And all good sports and merriment decay'd.

How times and men are changed, so well is knowne,
It were but labour lost if more were said.

Alas, poore May-poles ! what should be the cause

That you were almost banish't from the earth ?
Who never were rebellious to the lawes ;

Your greatest crime was harmlesse honest mirth :
What fell malignant spuit was there found.
To cast your tall pjTamides to ground ?
To be some envious nature it appeares,
That men might fall together by the eares.

Some fiery, zealous brother, fiill of spleene.
That all the world in his deepe wisdom scomes.

Could not endure the May-pole should be scene
To weare a coxe-combe higher than his homes :

He took it for an idoU, and the feast

For sacrifice unto that painted beast ;

Or for the wooden Trojan asse of sinne.

By which the wicked merry Greeks came in.

But I doe hope once more the day will come.

That you shall mount and pearch your codes as high
As e'er you did, and that the pipe and drum

Shall bid defiance to your enemy ;
And that all fidlers, which in comers lurke.
And have been almost starved for want of worke,
Shall draw their crowds, and at your exaltation,
Play many a fit of merry recreation.

And you, my native town (Leeds), which was of old,
Wbenas thy bon-fires bum'd and May-poles stood.
And when thy wassall-cups were uncontrord

The summer bower of peace and neighbourhood ;
Although since these went down, thou lyst forlorn.
By factious schismes and humours overbome.
Some able hand I hope thy rod will raise,
That ihou mayst see once more thy happy dales.*'

yGoogk

XAT-POLES. 241

Douce obserreB that, 'Muring the reign of Blizabeth, the
Puritans made considerable haYOc among the May-games by
their preachings and invectiYes. Poor Maid Marian was
aasimibited to me whore of Babylon ; Friar Tack was deemed
a remnant of Popery ; and the Hobby-horse as an impious
and Pagan superstition : and they wer& at length most com-
pnt to the root, as the bitterest enemies of religion.
James's Book of Sports restored the Lady and the
Hobby-horse: bat daring the Commonwealth, they were
again attacked by a new set of fanatics ; and, together with
the whole of the May festirities, the \yhitsan-ales, &c., in
many parts of England, degraded." (Illustr. of Shajcespeare,
ii. 463.) In a curious tract, entitled the Lord's loud Call
to England, published by H, Jessev, 16Q0, there is given
part of a letter from one of the Puritan party in the North,
dated Newcastle, 7th of May, 1660: "Sir, the countrey, as
wdl as the town, abounds with vanities ; now the reins of
liberty and licentiousness are let loose : May-poles^ and playes,
and juglers, and all things else, now pass current. Sin now
appears with a brazen hce,'* &cJ

in Rich's Honestie of this Age, 1615, p. 5, is the following
passage: ''The country swaine, that will sweare more on
onndaiesy dancing about a May-pole^ then he will doe all the
week after at his worke, will have a cast at me."

In Small Poems of divers Sorts, written by Sir Aston
Cokain, 1658, p. 209, is the following, of Wakea and May-
poles: —

** The zetlota here are grown so ignorant,
That they mistake wakes for some ancient saint,
They else would keep that feast; for though they all
Would be cal'd saints here, none in heaven they call :
Besides they May-polea hate with all their soul,
I think, because a Cardinal was a Pole:*

■ Dr. Stukeley, in his Itinerarium Curiosum, 1724, p. 29, says;
There is a May-pole hill near Horn Castle, Lincolnshire, *' where pro-
bably stood an Hermes in Roman times. The boys annually keep up the
festival of the Floralia on May Day, making a procession to this hill with
May gads (as they call them) in their hands. This is a white willow
wand, the bark peel'd off, ty'd round with cowslips, a thyrsus of the
Bacchinals. At night they have a bonefire, and other merriment, which
is reallv a sacri^ce or religious festival"

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242 MAY-POLES,

SteyensoD^ in the Twelve Moneths, p. 25, has these ob-
sertratioiiB at the end of May : —

** Why should the priest against the May-pole preach ?
Alas 1 it is a thing oat of his reach ;
How he the errour of the time condoles.
And sayes, 'tis none of the caelestial poles ;
Whilst he (fond man !) at May-poles thus peipleaEty
Forgets he makes a May-game of his text.
But May shall tryumph at a higher rate.
Having trees for poles, and boughs to celebrate ;
And the green regiment, in brave array.
Like Kent's great walking grove, shall bring in May.''

After the Restoration, as has been already notioed. May-
poles were permitted to be erected again. Thomas Hall,
however, another of the puritanical writers, pnblished his
Funebrise Florae, the Downfall of May Games, so late as
1660. At the end is a copy of verses,' from which the sab-
sequent selection has been made : —

" I am Sir May-pole, that's my name ;
Men, May, and Mirth give me the same.

And thus hath Flora, May, and Mirth,
Begun and cherished my birth.
Till time and means so favour'd mee.
That of a twig I waxt a tree :
Then all the people, less and more,
My height and tallness did adore.

under Heaven's cope.

There's none as I so near the Pope ;
Whereof the Papists give to mee.
Next papal, second dignity.
Hath holy lather much adoe
When he is chosen ? so have I too :
Doth he upon men's shoulders ride ?
That honour doth to mee betide :
There is joy at my plantation.
As is at his coronation ;
Men, women, children, on an heap,
Do sing, and dance, and frisk and leap ;
Yea, drumms and d^nkards, on a rout.
Before mee make a hideous shout ;
Whose loud alarum and blowing cries
Do fright the earth and pierce the skies.

> [A copy of these lines may be seen in MS. HarL 1221, where th^
are entitled, " A May-pooles speech to a traveller."]

yGoogk

MAY-POLES. 243

Hath holy Pope his holy guard,
So have I to do it watch and ward.

For, where 'tis nois'd that I am come,
My followers simimoned are by drom.
I have a mighty retinue,
The scum of all the raskall crew
Of fidlers, pedlers, jayle-scap't slaves,
Of tinkers, turn-coats, tospot-knaves.
Of theevss and scape-thrifts many a one,
With boimdng Besse, and jolly Jone,
With idle boyes, and journey-men,
And vag^rants that their country run :
Yea, Hobby-horse doth hither prauoe,
Maid-Marrian and the Morrice-dance.
My summons fetcheth, far and near.
All that can swagger, roar and swear,
, All that can dance, and drab and drink,
They run to mee as to a sink.
These mee for their commander take.
And I do them my black-guard make.

I tell them 'tis a time to laugh,
To give themselves free leave to quaff.
To drink- their healths upon their knee,
To mix their talk with ribal(bry

Old crones, that scarce have tooth or eye,
But crooked back and lamed thigh,
Must have a frisk, and shake their heel.
As if no stitch nor ache they feel.
I bid the servant disobey,
The childe to say his parents nay.
The poorer sort, that have no coin,
I can command them to purloin.
All this, and more, I warrant good.
For 'tis to maintain neighbourhood.

The honour of the Sabbath-day
My dancinff-greent have ta'en away
Let preachers prate till they grow wood :
Where I am they can do no gooi"

At page 10, he says: "The most of these May-poles are
BtoUen, yet they give out that the poles are given them.—
There were two May-poles set up in my parish [King's Nor-
ton] ; the one was stollen, and the other was giren by a
profest papist. That which was stolen was said to hee riven
when twas proved to their faces that 'twas stollen, and they

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244 MAT-POLES*

were made to acknowledge their oflfence* This poll that '
BtoUen was rated at fiye shillings : if all the poles one with
another were so rated, which was stoUen this May, what a
considerable sum would it amount to I Fightings and blood-
shed are usual at such meetings, insomuch that 'tis a oonunon
saying, that 'tis no festival unless there bee somefighHng^r
'Uf Moses ^ere angry," he says in another pace, "when he
saw the people dance about a golden calf, wdl may we be
angry to see people dancing the morrice about a post in
honour of a whore, as you shall see anon/' *' Had this rude-
ness," he adds, **been acted only in some ignorant and
obscure parts of the land, I had been silent ; but when I
perceived that the complaints were general from all parts of
the land, and that eren in Gheapside itself the rude rabble
had set up this ensign of profaneness, and had put the lord-
mayor to the trouble of seeing it pulled down, I could not,
out of my dearest respects and tender compassion to the
land of my nativity, and for the prevention of the like dis-
orders (if possible) for the future, but put pen to paper, and
discover the sinful rise, and vile profaneness that attend aoch
misrule."

So, again, in Randolph's Poems, 1646,

" These teach that dancing ia a Jezabel,
And Barley-Break the rndy way to Hell ;
The Morioe idols, Whitsnn-Ales, can he
But prophane reliques of a jubilee :
There is a zeal t' ^resse how much they do
The organs hate, have silenc'd bagpipes too ;
And harmleti May-pokt aU are raiVd t^on,
At tf they were the tow're of BabyUm:*

So in the Welsh Levite tossed in a Blanket, 1691 : '' I re-
member the blessed times, when every thing in the world that
was displeasing and offensive to the brethren went under the
name of horrid abominable Popish superstition. Organs
and May-poles, Bishop's Courts and the Bear Garden, sur-
plices and long hair, cathedrals and play-houses, set-forms and
painted glass, fonts and Apostle spoons, church musick and
bull-baiting, altar rails and rosemary on brawn, nay fiddles,
Whitson ale, pig at Bartholomew Fair, plum pornge, puppet
shows, carriers bells, figures in gingerbr^, and at last Moses
and Aaron, the Decalogue, the Creeds, and the Lord's Prayer.

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MAT-P0LX9. 245

A crown, a cross, an angel^ and bishops head, could not be
andnred, so mnch as in a sign. Oar garters, bellows, and
warming pans wore godly mottos, onr bandboxes were lined
with wholesome instroctions, and even our tronks with the
Assembly-men's sayings. Ribbons were converted into Bible-
strings, Nay, in onr seal we visited the gardens and apothe-
cary's shops, Unffuentum ApottoHeum, Carduus benedietWf
Angdiea, St John's Wort, and Our Ladies Thistle, were sum-
moned before a class, and commanded to take new names.
Weunsainted the Apostles/'^

The author of the pamphlet entitled The Way to Things
by Words, and Words by Things, in his specimen of an
Etymological Vocabulary, considers the May-pole in a new
and curious light. We gather from him that our ancestors
held an anniversary assembly on May-day; and that the
column of May (whence our May-pole) was the great standard
of justice in the Ey-Commons or Fields of May.' Here it
was that the people, if they saw cause, deposed or punished
their governors, their barons, and their kings. The judge'«
bough or wand (at this time discontinued, and only faintly
represented bv a trifling nosegay), and Uie staff or rod of
anthority in the civil and in the military (for it was the mace
of civil power, and the truncheon of the field officers), are
both derived from hence. A mayor, he says, received his
name from this May, in the sense of lawful power; the
crown, a mark of dignity and symbol of power, like the maoe
and sceptre, was also taken from the May, being representa-
tive of tne garland or crown, which, when hung on the top of
the May or pole, was the great signal for convening the

' [" He rides up and down the countrey, and every town he cornea at with
« Majf-polef he wonders what the Aiistotelean panon and the people
mean, that they do not presently cnt it down, and set up such a one as is
at Gresham CoUege, or St James's Park ; and to what purpose is it to
preach to people, and go about to save them, without a telescope, and a
glass for fleas. And for all this, perhaps this great undenraluer of the
dergie, and admirer of his own ingenuity, can scarce tell the difference
between aqua fortis and aqua vitSB, or between a pipkin and a erudble."
— Sachard'a Observations, 8vo. 1671, p. 167.]

* "At Hesket (in Cumberland) yearly on St Bamabas's Bay, by the
highway side, under a thorn-tree (according to the very ancient manner
of holding assemblies in the open air), is kept the court for the whok
Forest of Englewood."— Nioolson and Bum's Hist of Westmor. and
Cumb. iL 344.

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246 MAY-POLES.

people ; the arches of it, which spring from the drdet^ and
meet together at the mound or round bell, being neoesearily
so formed, to suspend it to the top of the pole. The wwd
May-pole, he observes, is a pleonasm ; in French it is called
singly the Mai. He further tells us, that this is one of the
most ancient customs, which from the remotest ages haa
been, by repetition from year to year, perpetuated down to
our days, not being at this instant totally exploded, especially
in the lower classes of life. It was considered as the boun-
dary day that divided the confines of winter and summer,
allusively to which there was instituted a sportful war
between two parties ; the one in defence of the continnanee
of winter, the other for bringing in the summer. The youUi
were divided into troops, the one in winter livery, the other
in the gay habit of the spring. The mock battle was alwaya
fought booty; the spring was sure to obtain the victory,
which they celebrated by carrying triumphantly green branchea
with May flowers, proclaiming and singing the song of joy»
of which the burthen was in these or equivident terms : *' We
have brought the summer home."

Reysler, says Mr. Borlase, thinks that the custom of the
May-pole took its rise from the earnest desire of the people
to see their king, who, seldom appearing at other times, made
his procession at this time of year to the great assembly of
the States held in the open air.

Sir Henry Piers, in his Descnption of 'Westmeath, in
Ireland, 1682, says: "On May Eve, every family sets np
before their door a green bush, strewed over with yellow
flowers, which the meadows yield plentifully. In countries
where timber is plentiful they erect tall slender trees, which
stand high, and they continue almost the whole year ; so as a
stranger would go nigh to imagine that they were all signs
of ale-sellers, and that all houses were ale-houses."

'* A singuhir custom," says Ireland, in his Views of the
Medway, '' used to be annually observed on May Day by the
boys of Frindsbury and the neighbouring town of Stroud.
They met on Rochester bridge, where a skirmish ensued
between them. This combat probably derived its origin from
a drubbing received by the monks of Rochester in the reign
of Edward I. These monks, on occasion of a long drought,
set out on a procession for Frindsbury to pray for rain ; but

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MOBRIS'DANCBES 247

the day proviiig windy, they apprehended the lights vould be
blown out, the banners tossed about, and their order much
discomposed. They therefore requested of the Master of
Stroud Hospital leave to pass through the orchard of his
house, which he . granted without &e permission of his
brethren ; who, when they had heard what the Master had
done, instantly hired a company of ribalds, armed with dubs
and bats, who way-laid the poor monks in the orchard, and
gave them a severe beating. The monks desisted from pro-
ceeding that way, but soon after found out a pious mode of
revenge, by obliging the men of Frindsbury, with due humility,
to come yearly on Whit Monday, with their dubs, in pro-
cession to Bochester, as a penance for their sins. Hence
probably came the by-word of Frindsbury Clubs."

In the British Apollo, 1708, vol. i. No. 25, to one asking
" whence is derived the custom of setting up May-poles, and
dressing them with garlands ; and what is the reason that
the milk-maids dance before their customers' doors mth their
paHs dressed up with plate .^*' it is answered : " It was a
custom among the andent Britons, before converted to
Christiaiiity, to er&ct these' May-poles, adorned with flowers,
in honour of the goddess Flora ; and the dancing of the milk-
maids may be only a corruption of that custom in comply-
ance with the town."

" The Tears of Old May-Day.

" To her no more Augusta's wealthy pride
Pours the fiiil tribute from Potosi's mine ;
Nor fresh-blown garlands village- maids provide,
A purer offering at her rustic shrine.

No more the May-pole's verdant height around,
To valour's games th' ambitious youths advance ;
No merry bells and tabor's sprightly sound
Wake the loud carol and the sportive dance."

MORRIS-DANCERS.

Thb Morris-dance, in which bells are gingled, or staves or
swords clashed, was learned, says Br. Johnson, by the Moors,
and was probably a kind of Pyrrhic, or military dance.

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248 HO&BI8-I>A17CSB8,

<«Mori8co/' Bays Blount, *' (Span.) a Moor; also a danee, so
called, irherein there were naaally five men, and a boy dieaaed
in a girrs habit, whom they called the Maid Marrion, or per-
haps Morian, from the Italian Morione, a head-piece, becaoae
her head was wont to be gaily trimmed up. Common pelade
call it a Morris-dance."

The Churchwardens' and Chamberlains' Books of Kingston-
upon-Thames furnished Lysons with the following partaculara
illustratiye of our subject, giyen in the Environs oi London,
i. 226 ;—

£ ». d.

** 23 Hen. VII. To the menstorel upon May-^y . .004

I, For paynting of the Mores garments, and fior

•erten gret leveres* 2 4

„ For paynting of a bannar for Robm-hode .003

„ For 2 M. and i pynnys . . 10

,9 For 4 plyts and | of laun for the Moret gar-

mente . . . . . . 2 11

„ For orseden [L e. tinsel] for the same . . 10

„ For a goun for the lady • • • .008

„ For bellys for the dawnsars • . . . 12

24 Hen. VII. For Little John's cote 8

1 Hen. VIII. For silver paper for the More$ dawnsars .007
„ For Kendall, for Robyn-hode's cotes . .011

„ For3 yerds of whitefor thefrere'scote .030

„ For 4 yerds of iLendall for Mayd Marian's

huke' 3 4

„ For saten of sypers for the same hnkee .006

„ For 2 payre of glovys for Robyn-hode and

Mayde Maryan 3

1 The word Lhety was formerly nsed to signify anything ddiverad :
see the Northumberland Household Book, p. 60. If it ever bore sadi an
acceptation at that time, one might be induced to suppose, from the
following entries, that it here meant a badge, or something of that
kind: —

£ 9. €L

15 c of leveres for Robin-bode . . .050
For leveres, paper, and sateyn . 20

For pynnes and leveryea 6 5

For 13 c. of leverys 4 4

For 24 great lyverys 4

Probably these were a sort of cockades, given to the company fim

whom the money was collected.
* [*' A kind of loose upper garment, sometimes furnished whh a hood,

and originally worn by men and soldiers, but in later times the tarn

seems to have been applied exclusively to a sort of cloak wocn by i

HalliweQ's Dictionary, p. 465.]

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H0BBI8-DANC£Ba«. 249

£ 9. d.

I Hen. VIIL For 6 brode aronys 6

„ To Mayde Marian, for her labour for two yeen 2

„ To Fygge the taborer . . .060

„ Rec' for Robyn-hood's gaderyng 4 marks'

5 Hen. VIIL Vboc^ for Robin-hood's ^eryng at Croydon 9 4

I I Hen. VIIL Paid for three brode yerda of rosett for makyng

thefrer*8 00te 3 6

M Shoes for the Moret dawuart, the frere, and

Mayde Maryan, at 7<L a peyre . .054

13 Hen. VIU. Eight yerds of foatyan for the Morei damuan

coats 16

„ A dosen of gold skynnes* for the Mwret . 10

15fien.VIIL HireofhaUforRobynhode . • 16

„ Paid for the hat that was lost . . . 10

16Hen.VIIL Rec' at the Chnrch^e and Robyn-hode, all

things deducted 3 10 6

n Payd for 6 yerds ^ of satyn for Robyn-hode's

cotys 12 6

M For makyng the same . • , • .020

„ For 3 ells of locram* 16

21 Hen. VIIL For spunging and brushing Robyn-hode's cotys 2

28 Hen. VIIL Five hats and 4 porses for the daunsars . 4|

M 4 yerds of cloth for the fole*8 cote . .020

M 2 ells of worstede for Maide Ifaryan's kyrtle 6 8

M For 6 payre of double soUyd showne . .046

„ To the mynstrele 10 8

„ To the firyer and the piper for to go to Croydon 8

" 29 Hen. VIIL Mem. lefte in the keping of the Wardens
now beinge, a firyer's cote of russet, ana a kyrtle of worsted
weltyd with red cloth, a mowren's^ cote of buckram, and 4
Monres daunsars cotes of white fustain spangelyd, and two
gryne saten cotes, and a dysardd's^ cote of cotton, and 6
niyre of garters with bells." After this period, says Mr.
Lysons, I find no entries relating to the above game.^ It

^ It appears that this, as well as other games, was made a parish concern.

* Probably gilt leather, the pliability of which was particularly aooom-
aodatfd to the motion of the dancers.

* A sort of coarse linen.

* Probably a Moor's coat ; the word Morian is sometimes used to ex-
pren a Moor. Black buckram appears to haye been much used for the
dresses of the ancient mummers.

* Disard is an old word for a fooL

' In the Churchwardens' Accounts of Great Marlow, it appears that
dresses for the Morris Dance "were lent out to the neighbouring
parishes. They are accounted for so late as 1629/' See Langl^'i
Antiquitiei of Desborough, 4to. 1797, p. 142.

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250 MORRIS-PAKCEES.

was 80 much in fashion in the reign of Henry VIII. that the
king and his nobles would sometimes appear in disguise as
Robin Hood and his men, dressed in Kendal, with hoods and
hosen. See Holinshed's Chron. iii. 805.

In Coates's History of Reading, p. 130, Churchwardens'
Accounts of St. Mary*s parish, we have, in 1557,—

£ M. d.

Item, payed to the Mynstrels and the Hobby Horse uppon

May Day 030

Item, payed to the Morrys Daunsers and the Mynstrellea,

mete and drink at Whitsontide 3 4

Payed to them the Sonday after May Day . . . 20
P^ to the Painter for painting of their cotes . . .028
P<i to the Painter for 2 dz. of Lyveryes . . . 20

In the rare tract of the time of Queen Elizabeths-entitled Plaine
Perceyall the Peace-maker of England, mention is made of a
'* stranger, which, seeing a quintessence (beside the Foole and
the Maid Marian) of all the picked youth, strained out of a
whole endship, footing the Morris about a May-pole, and he
not hearing Uie minstrelsie for the fidling, the tune for the
sound, nor the pipe for the noise of the tabor, bluntly de-
maunded if they were not all beside themselves, that they so
lip'd and skip'd without an occasion."

Shakespeare makes mention of an English Whitson Mor-
rice-dance, in the following speech of the Dauphin in
Henry v.: —

*< No, with no more, than if we heard that England
Were busied with a Whitson Morrice-dance." .

" The English were famed," says Dr. Grey, ^' for these and
such like diversions ; and even the old as well as young per-
sons formerly followed them : a remarkable instance of which
is given by Sir William Temple, (Miscellanea, Part 3, Essay
of Health and Long Life,) who makes mention of a Morrice
Dance in Herefordshire, from a noble person, who told him
he had a pamphlet in his library, written by a very ingenious
gentleman of that county, which gave an account how, in
such a year of King James's reign, there went about the
country a sett of Morrice-dancers, composed of ten men, who
danced a Maid Marrian, and a tabor and pipe: and how
these ten, one with another, made up twelve hundred yean.

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1I0BRI8*]>ANG£E8. 25 1

TU not 80 much, Bays he» that bo many in one county should
lire to that age, as that they should he in vigour and humour
to travel and dance." (Notes on Shakspeare, i. 382.)

The following description of a Morris-dance occurs in a
rery rare old poem, entitled Cobbe's Prophecies, his Signes
ana Tokens, his Madrigalls, Questions and Answers, 1614:*—

" It was my hap of late, by chance.
To meet a country Morris-dance,
When, cheefest of them all, the Foole
Plaied with a ladle and a toole ;
When every younker shak't his bels,
Till sweating feete gave fohing smels :
And fine Maide Marian with her smoile
Shew'd how a rascall plaid the roile :
But when the hobby-horse did wihy,
Then all the wenches gave a tihy :
But when they gan to shake their boxe,
And not a goose could catch a foxe,
The piper then put up his pipes,
And all the woodcocks look't like snipes/*

As is the following in Cotgrave's English Treasury of Wit
and Language, 1655, p. 56 : —

*' How they become the Morris, with whose bells
They ring all in to Whitson Ales, and sweat
Through twenty scarfs and napkins, till the hobby horse
Tire, and the Maid Marian, resolved to jelly,
Be kept for spoon-meat."

[Compare, also, the follovnng curious song pnnted in Wita
Recreations, 1640: —

** With a noyse and a din,

Comes the Maurice-dancer in,
With a fine linnen shirt, but a buckram skin.

Oh ! he treads out such a peale

Ftom his paire of legs of veale.
The quarters are idols to him.

Nor do those knaves inviron

Their toes with so much iron,
Twill mine a smithr to shooe him.

I, and then he flings about,

His sweat and his clout,
The wiser think it two ells :

While the yeomen ftnd it meet

That he jingle at his feet, ^

The Ibre^horses' right eare jewels/']

yGoogk

25i2 MOB&IS-BANGSES.

We haye an allusion to the Morm-danoer in die prefiuw to
MythomiateSf a tract of the time of Charles I. *' Tet such
hdpes, as if nature liave not beforehand in his byrth, given a
Poet, all such forced art will come behind as lame to the
businesses and deficient as the beat taught eountrey Morm-
dauneer, with all his belU and napkine, will ill deserre to be^
M an Inne of Courte at Christnuu, teanued the thing tbej
call ajitie reveller"

Steyenson, in the Twelve Months, 1661, p. 17» speakiog
of Aprils tells us : ^' The youth of the country make ready
for the Morris-dance, and the merry milkmaid supplies them
with ribbands her true love had given her." In Artides of
Visitation and Inquiry for the Diocese of St. David, 1662,
I find the foUowing article : ** Have no minstrels, no Morrk'
daneerey no dogs, hawks, or hounds, been suffered to be
brought or come into your church, to the disturbance of the
congregation?" Widdron^ in his edition of the Sad
Shepherd, 1783, p. 255, mentions seeing a company of
Morrice-dancers from Abington, at Richmond, in Surrey, bo
late as the summer of 1783. They appeared to be making t
kind of annual circuit. A few years ago, a May-game;, or
Morrice-dance, was performed by the following eight men io
Herefordshire, whose ages, computed together, amounted to
800 years : J. Corley, aged 109 ; Thomas Buckley, 106 ; John
Snow, 101; John Edey, 104; George Bailey, 106; Joseph
Medbury, 100 ; John Medbury, 95 ; Joseph Pidgeon, 79.

Since these notes were collected, a Dissertation on the
ancient Enghsh Morris Dance has appeared, from the pen of
Mr. Douce, at the end of the second volume of his lUnS'
tr&tions of Shakespeare. Both English and foreign glossaries,
he observes, uniformly ascribe the origin of this dance to the
Moors : although the genuine Moorish or Morisco dance vUi
no doubt, very different from the European Morris. Stmtt,
in his Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, has cited
a passage from the phiy of Variety, 1 649, in which the Spamsh
Morisco is mentioned. And this, he adds, not only shows the
legitimacy of the term Morris, but that the real and nncor-
rupted Moorish dance was to be found in S{)ain, where it still
oontinues to delight both natives and foreigners, under the
namiB of the Fandango. The Spanish Morrice was also danced
at puppet-shows by a person nabited like a Moor, with ess-
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M0BBIS-DANC1E8. 253

tagnete ; and Janius has infonned hb that the Moms-danoera
usually hlackened their flBicea with aoot, that they might the
better paas for Moors.

Having noticed the cormption of the PyrrMea Saltatio of
the ancients, and the uncorrupied Morris-dance^ as practised
in France ahont the beginning of the thirteenth century.
Douce says : '* It has been supposed that the Morris-dance
was first brought into England in the time of Edward the
Third, when John of Gaunt returned from Spain (see Peck's
Memoirs of Milton, p. 135), but it is much more probable that
we had ic from our Galhc neighbours, or even from the
Flemings. Few, if any, yestiges of it can be traced beyond
the time of Henry the Seyenth, about which time, and par-
ticolarly in that of Henry the Eighth, the churchwardens*
accounts in several parishes afford materials that throw much
light on the subject, and show that the Morris-dance made a
very considerable figure in the parochial festivals. We find,
also, that other festiyals and ceremonies had their Morris ; as.
Holy Thursday ; the Whitsun Ales ; the Bride Ales, or Wed-
dings ; and a sort of play, or pageant, called the Lord of
Minnie. Sheri£fs, too, had their Morris-dance."

" The May-games of Robin Hood," it is observed, " appear
to haye been principally instituted for the encouragement of
archery, and were generally accompanied by Morris-dancers,
who, nevertheless, formed but a subordinate part of the cere-
mony. It is by no means clear that, at any time, Robin Hood
and his companions were constituent characters in the Morris.
In Lanebam's Letter from Kenilworth, or Killingworth Castle,
a Bride Ale is described, in which mention is made of ' a liyely
Moris dauns, according to the auneient manner : six dauncerz,
Mawd-marion, and the fool.' "

MAID MARIAN, OR QUEEN OF THE MAT.

In Pasquill and Marforius, 1589, we read of "the May-
game of Martinisme, verie defflie set out, with pompes, pagents»
motions, maskes, scutchions, emblems, impresses, strange
trickes and deyises, betweene the ape and the owle ; the like
was neyer yet scene in Paris Garden. Penry the Welchman is
the foregallant of the Morrice with the treble belles, shot

yGoogk

i54 HOBKIS-DANCXftS^

ihroagh the wit with a woodcock's bill. I would not for the
fayrest home-beast in all his conntrey, that the Church of
England were a cup of methegliu, and came in his way when
he is oyerheated ; every Bishopricke would procure but a
draught, when the mazer is at his nose. Martin himselfe is
the Mayd-Marian, trimlie drest uppe in a cast gowne, and a
kercher of Dame Lawson's, hb £tu>e handsomelie muffled with
a diaper napkin to cover hia beard, and a great nose-gay in his
hande of the principalest flowers I could gather out of all hys
works. Wiggenton daunces round about him in a cotten-
coate, to court him with a leatheme pudo^ng and a wooden
ladle. Paget marshalleth the way with a couple of great
clubbes, one in his foote, another in his head, and he cries to
the people, with a loude voice, * Beware of the man whom God
hath markt.' I cannot yet finde any so fitte to come lagging
behind, with a budget on his necke to gather the devotion of
the lookers on, as the stocke-keeper of the Bridewelhonse of
Ganterburie ; he must carry the purse to defray their ehargee,
and then hee may be sure to serve himselfe."

[Maid Marian is alluded to in the following very curious
lines in a MS. of the fifteenth century : —

'* At Ewle we wonten gambole, daunse, to carol, and to sing,
To have gud spiced sewe, and roste, and plum pie for a king ;
4t Easter Eve, pampuffes ; Gangtide-Gates did olie masses bring;
At Paske began oure Morris, and ere Pentecoste oure May,
Tho' Roben Hood, liell John, Frier Tuck, and Mariam ddtly play.
And lord and ladle gang 'till kirk with lads and lasses gay;
Fra masse and een songe sa gud cheere and glee on every green,
As save oure wakes 'twixt Eames and Sibbes, like gam was never scene.
At Baptis-day, with ale and cakes, bout bonfires neighbours stood ;
At Martlemas watum'd a crabbe, thilk told of Roben Hood,
Till after long time myrke, when blest were windowes, dores, aod

lightes,
And pailes were fild, and harthes were swept, gainst fiurie elves and

sprites:
Rock and Plow-Monday gams sal gang with saint feasts and kiik

ToUett, in his Description of the Morris Dancers upon his
Window, thus describes the celebrated Maid Marian, who, as
Queen of May, has a golden crown on her head, and in her
left hand a red pink, as emblem of Summer. Her vesture
was once fashionable in the highest degree. Margaret, the

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MOBHIS-DAI^CSRS. 255

eldest daughter of Henry YII., was married to James King of
Scotland with the crown upon her head and her hair hanging
down. Betwixt the crown and the hair was a yery rich coif,
hanging down behind the whole length of the body. This
simple example saf&ciently explains the dress of Marian's
heaa. Her coif is purple, her surcoat bine, her cuffs white,
the aldrts of her robe yellow, the sleeves of a carnation colour,
and her stomacher red, with a yellow lace in cross bars. In
Shakespeare's play of Henry the Eighth, Anne Boleyn, at her
coronation, is in her hair, or, as Holinshed says, her hair
hanged down, but on her head she had a coif, with a circlet
about it full of rich stones. ^

In Greene's Quip for an upstart Courtier, 1620, f. 11,
that effeminate-looking young man, we are told, used to act
the part of Maid Marian, '' to make the foole as faire, forsooth,
as if he were to play Maid Marian in a May-game or a Morris-
dance." In Shakerley Marmion's Antiquary, act iv., is
the following passage : " A merry world the while, my boy
and I, next Midsommer Ale, I may serve for a fool, and he
for Maid Marrian." Shakespeare, Hen. IV., Part I., act iii.
sc. 3, speaks of Maid Marian in her degraded state. It appears
by one of the extracts already given from Lysons's Environs
of London, that in the reign of Henry VIII., at Kingston-
upon-Thames, the character was performed by a woman who
received a shilling each year for her trouble. In Braithwaite's
Strappado for theDivell, 1 6 15> p. 63, is the following paasage: —

• ** As for his bloud»

He says he can deriv't from Robin Hood
And his May-Marian, and I thinke he may,
Foi^s mother plaid May-Marian t'other day."

Douce, however, considers the character of Marian as a
dramatic fiction : /' None of the materials," he observes, " that
constitute the more authentic history of Robin Hood, prove
the existence of such a character in the shape of his mistress.
There \b a pretty French pastoral drama of the eleventh or
twelfth century, entitled Le Jeu de Berber et de la Bergh'e,

* In Coates's History of Reading, 1802, p. 220, in the Churchwardens'
Accounts of St. Lawrence parish is the following entry : *' 1531. It. for
ffyre ells of canYSS for a cote for Made Maryon, at iij**. ob. the ell., xvy' .
ob."

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256 HOIUUB-DANOBRS.

in which tlie principal characten are Bobin and Mariam, a
shepherd and Bhepherdess. Warton thought that oar Eng^ah
Marian might be iiluBtrated from this composition ; bat Bitaon
is onwilling to assent to this opinion, on the ground that the
French Robin and Marion are not tlie * Bobin and Marian of
Sherwood.' Yet Warton probably meant no more than that
the name of Marian had been suggested from the above dranuiv
which was a great favourite among the common people in
France, and performed much about the season at which the
May-games were celebrated in England. The great intercourae
between the countries inight haye been the means of importing
this name amidst an infinite variety of other matters ; and
there is indeed no other mode of accounting for the intro-
duction of a name which never occurs in the page of English
history. The story of Robin Hood was, at a yery early period,
of a dramatic cast ; and it was perfectly natural that a principal
diaracter should be transferred from one drama to another.
It might be thought, likewise, that the English Robin deserved
his Marian as well as the other. The circumstance of the
French Marian being acted by a boy contributes to aupport
the above opinion ; the part of the English character having
been personated, thoush not always, in like manner."

After the Morris de^nerated into a piece of coarse buf-
foonery, and Maid Manan was personated by a down, this
once elegant Queen of May obtained the name of Malkin.
To this Beaumont and Fletcher allude in Monsieur Thomas : —

" Pat on the slupe of order and hnmtnity,
Or yon most marry Malkyn, the May lady."

Percy and Steevens agree in making Maid Marian the
mistress of Robin Hood. It appears from the old play of
the Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntingdon, 1601, that
Maid Marian was originally a name assumed by Matilda, the
daughter of Robert Lord Fitzwalter, while Robin Hood re-
mained in a state of outlawry :

" Next 'tis agreed (if thereto shee agree)
That faire Matilda henceforth change her name ;
And while it is the chance of Robin Hoode
To li?e in Sherewodde a poore outlaw's life.
She by Maid Marian's name be only call'd.

Mat. I am contented ; reade on, little John :
Henceforth let me be nam'd Maide MttrianJ'

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MOBEIS-DANC£RS. 257

This lady was poisoned by Sang John at Dunmow Priory,
alter he had made several fruitless attempts on her chastity.
I>rayton has written her legend.

[« In this onr spaciouB isle I think there is not one,

Bnt he hath heard some talk of him [Hood] and Little John ;

Of Tack, the meny Friar, which many a sermon made

In praise of Rohin Hood, his outlaws and their trade ;

Of Robin's mistress dear, his loved Marian,

Was soverei^ of the woods, chief lady of the game ;

Her clothes tuck'd to the knee, and d^ty braided hair,

With bow and quiver ann'd."

DraytmCt Polyolbion^ Song 26.

So also Warner, in Albion's England, —

" Tho' Robin Hood, hell John, Frier Tucke,
And Marian deftly play ;
And lord and ladie gang till kirke
With lads and lasses gay/']

Waldron, in his Description of the Isle of Man, (Works,
p. 154,) tells us that the month of May is there every year
ushered in with the following ceremony : " In almost all the
great parishes, they choose from among the daughters of the
most wealthy farmers a young maid for the Queen of May.
She is drest in the gayest and best manner they can, and is
attended by about twenty others, who are called maids of
honour : she has also a young man who is her captain, and
has under his command a good number of inferior officers.
In opposition to her is the Queen of Winter^ who is a man
dressed in woman's clothes, with woollen hoods, furr tippets,
and loaded with the warmest and heaviest habits one upon
another : in the same manner are those who represent her
attendants drest, nor is she without a captain and troop for
her defence. Both being equipt as proper emblems of the
beauty of the Spring, and the deformity of the Winter, they
set forth from their respective quarters ; the one preceded by
Tiolinsand flutes, the other with the rough musickof the tongs
and cleavers. Both companies march till they meet on a
common, and then their trains engage in a mock battle. If
the Queen of Winter's forces get tiie better, so far as to take
the Queen of May prisoner, she is ransomed for as much as
pays the expences of the day. After this ceremony. Winter
and her company retire, and divert themselves in a bam, and

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258 U0SSIS-DANCSB8.

the others remain on Hie green» where, having danced a oon-
aiderable time> they oondade the eyening with a feast : the
Queen at one table with her maida, the Captain with his troop
at another. There are seldom less than fifty or sixty persons
at each board, but not more than three knives."

Douce says, '' It appears that the Lady of the May was
sometimes carried in procession on men's shoulders; for
Stephen Batman, speaking of the Pope and his ceremonies,
states that he is carried on the backs of four deacons, ' after
the manner of carying Whytepot Queenes in Western May
Games.' " He adds, *' There can be no doubt that the Queen
of May is the legitimate representative of the Goddess Flora
in the Roman Festival."

In the Gentleman's Magazine for Oct. 1793, p. 188, there
is a curious anecdote of Dr. Geddes, the well-known trans-
lator of the Bible, who, it should seem, was fond of innocent
festivities. He was seen in the summer of that year, *^ mounted
on the poles behind the Qiteen of the May at Marsden Fair,
in Oxfordshire."

[A very curious tract appeared in 1609, entitled, *01d Meg
of Herefordshire for a Maid Marian, and Hereford Towne for
a Morris Dance, or twelve Morris dancers in Herefordshire of
twelve hundred years old.' It gives us, however, very few
particulars respecting the manner of conducting the morris,
the humour of the author being chiefly occupied with the ex-
treme age of the performers. '* And howe doe you like this
Mowis dance of Herefordshire? Are they not brave olde
youths? Have they not the right footing? the true tread?
comely lifeting up of one legge, and active bestowing of the
other ? Kemp's morris to Norwich was no more to this than
a galliard on the common stage at the end of an old dead
comedie is to a caranto daunced on the ropes."]

ROBIN HOOD.

Bishop Latimer, in his sixth sermon before King Edward
VI., mentions Robin Hood's Day, kept by country people in
memory of him. " I came once myself," says he, " to a place,
riding a journey homeward from London, and sent word over-
night into the town that I would preach there in the morn-
ing, because it was a holy-day, and I took my horse and my

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MOBBIS-DANCSBS. 259

company and went thither (I thought I shoold have found a
great company in the church) ; vhen I came there, the church
door vas fast locked. I tarried there half an hour and more;
at last the key was found, and one of the parish comes to me
and says : * This is a basy day with us, we cannot heare you ;
this is Robin Hoode's daye, the parish is gone abroad to gather
for Robin Hoode.' I thonght my rochet should have been
regarded, though I were not : but it would not serve, but was
fayne to give place to Robin Hoode's men/'^

We read, in Skene's Regiam Majestatem, " Gif anie provest,
baillie, counsell, or communitie, chuse Robert Hude, litell
John, Abbat of Unreason, Queens of Maii, the chusers sail
tyne their Medome for five zeares ; and sail bee punished at
die King's will; and the accepter of sick ane office salbe
banished furth of the realme." And under " jpecuniall crimes,"
— " all persons, quha a landwort, or within burgh, chuses
Bobert Hude, sail pay ten pounds, and sail be warded induring
the King's pleasure."^

Douce thinks '^ the introduction of Robin Hood into the
celebration of May, probably suggested the addition of a King
or Lord of MayP The Summer King and Qve^, or Lord
and Lady of the May, however, are characters of very high
antiquity. In the Synod at Worcester, a.d. 1240, can. 38, a
strict command was given, '^ Ne intersint ludis inhonestis nee

' In Coates's History of Reading, p. 214, in the Churchwardens' Ac-
counts of St. Lftwrenoe Parish, 1499, is the following article : '< It. rec.
of the gaden/mg of Robyn-hod, xiu." In the Churchwardens' Accounts
of St. Helen's, Abingdon, 1566, we find eighteen pence charged for setting
tq> Robin Hood's bower. See Nichols's Illustrations of Ancient Manners
and Expences, p. 143.

* Ihre, in his Suio*6othic Glossary, makes the foUowing mention of the
King or Lord of May upon the Continent :—'' Maigrefwe dicebatur, qui
mense Maijo serto iloreo redimitus solenni pompa per plaieas et vicos
dreumduoebatur. Commemorant Historici, Gustavum I. Suionum Regem
anno 1526, sub nundinis Eridanis vel d. 18. Mali ejusmodi Comitem Ma-
jum creasse Johannem Magnum, Archiep. Upsaliensem. Et quum moris
esset, nt Comes hie imaginarius satellitium, quod eum stipaverat, oonvivio
ezdperet, fedt id Johannes non sine ingenti impensa, ut ipse in Historia
MetropoUtana conqueritur. Conf. Westenhielms Hist. Gust. I. ad annum,
necnon Tegel in Historia hujus Reg. Part. 1. In Anglia quoque ejusmodi
Reges et Reginse M^}ales floribus omati a juventute olim creabantur, quo
£BCto circa perticam eminentiorem, nostris Maistang dictam, choreas duce-
bant, et varios alios ludos exercebant." Tom. ii. p. 118, sub «.

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260 MOBBIS-DANCERS.

Bustineant ludos fieri de rege et regina^ nee arietes leyari, nee
palestras publicas/' ^

Lysons, in his extracts from the Churchwardens' and Cham-
berlains' Accounts at Kingston-upon Thames, affords us some
curious particulars of a sport called the " Kyngham," or King-
game. "Be yt in mynd, that the 19 yere of King Hairy
the 7, at the geyeng out of the Kynggam by Harry Bower
and Harry Nycol, cherchewardensy amounted derely to
£A, 2s, 6d. of that same game.

£ s, d,
'< Mem. That the 27 day of Joan, a». 21 Kyng H. 7, that
we, Adam Bakhous and Hany Nycol, hath made ac-
count for the Kenggam, that same tym don Wyhn
Kempe, Kenge, and Joan Whytebrede, quen, and all

costs deducted 450

23 Hen. 7. Paid for whet and malt and vele and motton

and pygges and ger and coks for the Eyngam . . 33

To the taberare 068

To the leutare 020

1 Hen. 8. Paid out of the Churche-box at Walton Kyng-

ham 03 6

Paid to Robert Neyle for goyng to Wyndesore

for maister doctor's horse agayues the Kyngham day 4

For bakyng the Kyngham brede 6

To a laborer for bering home of the geere after

the Kyngham was don 10''

The contributions to the celebration of the same game,
Lysons observes, in the neighbouring parishes, show that the
Kyngham was not confined to Kingston. In another quota-
tion from the same accounts, 24 Hen. VII., the " cost of the
Kyngham and Bobgn-hode" appears in one entry, viz.

£ ». d.

*' A kylderkin of 3 halfpennye here and a kHderldn of sing-

gyl here 024

7 bushels of whete 063

2 bushels and j^ of rye 18

3 shepe 05O

A lamb 014

2 calvys 054

ftpyggc8 020

3 bushell of colys 003

The coks for their labour 1 111**

> [This passage is quoted by Kennett, in his Glossary, p. 15 in his ex-
planation of the quintain.]

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U0BBIS-DANGEB8. 261

The dear profits, 15 Henry YIII. (the last time Lysons
found it mentioned), amoanted to ^9 lOtf. 6d,, a very con-
siderable anm for that period.

In a comedy by Beaumont and Fletcher, entitled the
Knight of the burning Pestle, 1613, Bafe, one of the chA-
XBcters, appears as Lord of the May :

** And» bj the common-cottncell of my fellows in the Strand,
With gilded staff; and crossed skarfe, the Maj-Lord here I stand."

He adds:

'* The Morrice rings while Hohhj Horse doth foot it featously ;*'

and, addressing the group of citizens assembled around him,
** from the top of Conduit-head,'' he says :

" And lift aloft your velyet heads, and, slipping of yonr gowne,
With bells on legs, and napkins cleane unto your shoulders tide,
With scarft and gsdrters as you please, and hey for our town cry'd :
March out and shew your willing minds by twenty and by twenty,
To Hogsdon or to Newington, where ale and cakes are plenty.
And let it nere be said for shame, that we, the youths of London,
Lay thrumming of our caps at home, and left our custome undone.
Up then, I say, both young and old, both man and maid, a Maying,
With drums and guns that bounce aloude, and meny taber playing."

In Sir David Dalrymple*8 extracts from the Book of the
Uniyersal Kirk, in the year 1576, Robin Hood is styled King
qf May.

[The foUowing curious account is extracted from Stow's
Survay of London, 1603, p. 98 : ''In the moneth of May,
namely on May-day in the morning, every man, except impe-
diment, would vaUce into the sweete meadowes and greene
woods, there to rejoyce their spirites with the beauty and
savour of sweete flowers, and with the harmony of birds,
praysing God in their kind, and for example hereof, Edward
Hall hath noted that K. Henry the Eight, as in the 3. of his
raigne and divers other yeares, so namely in the seaventh of
his raigne, on May-day in the morning, with Queene Katheren
his wife, accompanied with many lords and ladies, rode a
Haying from Greenwitch to the high ground of Shooters
Hill, whereas they passed by the way, they espied a companie
of tall yeomen cloathed all in greene, with greene whoodes^
and with bowes and arrowes to the number of two hundred.
One, being their chieftaine, was called Robin Hoode, who re-
quired the king and his companie to stay and see^his men

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262 MOSBIS-DANCERS.

shoote, wherennto the king graanting, Robin Hoode irhialled.
and all the 200 archers shot off, loosing all at onoe» and wlien
he whistled againe, they likewise shot againe, their arrowes
whistled by craft of the head, so that the noyse was strannge
and loude, which greatly delighted the king, queene, and thdr
companie. Moreover, this Robin Hoode desired the king and
queene, with their retinue, to enter the greene wood, where,
in harbours made of boughes and decked with flowers, they
were set and served plentifully with venison and wine by
Robin Hoode and his meynie, to their great contentment, and
had other pageants and pastimes." TUs description has been
already slighUy alluded to.]

. FRIAR TUCK.

Tollett describes this character upon his window, as in the
full clerical tonsure, with a chaplet of white and red beads in
his right hand : and, expressive of his professed humility, his
eyes are cast upon the ground. His corded girdle and his
russet habit denote him to be of the Franciscan Order, or one
of the Grey Friars. His stockings are red ; his red girdle is
ornamented with ft golden twist, and with a golden taasd.
At his girdle hangs a wallet for the reception of provision, the
only revenue of uie mendicant orders of religious, who weie
named Walleteers, or Budget-bearers. Steevens supposes this
Morris Friar designed for Friar Tuck, chaplain to Robin Hood,
as King of May. He is mentioned by Drayton, in lines already
quoted at p. 257.

He is known to have formed one of the characters in the
May-'games during the reign of Henry the Eighth, and had
been probably introduced into them at a much earlier period.
From the occurrence of this name on other occasions, there is
good reason for supposing that it was a sort of generic appd-
lation for any friar, and that it originated from the dress of
the order, which was tucked or folded at the waist by means
of a cord or girdle. Thus Chaucer, in his Prologue to the
Canterbury Tdes, says of the Reve :

** !l\i«Mhe was, st is s firere shouts t**
and he describes one of the friars in the Sompnour*s Tale :
" With sorippe and tipped staff, y^tucked hie."

This Friar maintained his situation in the Morris under the

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MOBRI S-B AK GEES . 263

reign of Elizabeth^ being thns mentioned in Wamer^B Albion's
England :

Tho' Robiii Hood, litcll John, frier Tucke, and Marian, deftly play :
but is not heard of afterwards. In Ben Jonson's Masque of
Gipsies, the clovn takes notice of his omission in the dance :
** There is no Maid Marian nor Friar amongst them, which is
8 anrer mark."

The Friar's coat, as appears from some of the extracts of
Churchwardens' and Chamberlains' Accounts of Kingston,
already quoted, was generally of russet. In an ancient drama,
called the Play of Robin Hood, very proper to be played in
May-games, a fiiar, whose name is Tuck, is one of the prin-
cipal characters. He comes to the forest in search of Robin
Hood, with an intention to fight him, but consents to become
chaplain to his lady.

THE FOOL.

ToUett, describing the Morris-dancers in his window, calls
this the counterfeit Fool, that was kept in the royal palace,
and in aU great houses, to make sport for the family. He
appears with all the badges of his office ; the bauble in hie
hand, and a coxcomb hood, with aeeet^ eare, on hie head. The
top of the hood rises into the form of a cock's neck and
head, with a bell at the latter : and Minshew's Dictionary,
1627, under the word Cock's-comb, observes, that " natural
idiots and fools have [accustomed] and still do accustome
themselves to weare in their cappes cocke's feathers, or a hat
with the necke and head of a cocke on the top, and a bell
thereon." His hood is blue, guarded or edged with yellow at
its scalloped bottom ; his doublet is red, striped across, or
rayed, with a deeper red, and edged with yellow ; his girdle
yellow ; his left-side hose yellow, with a red shoe ; and his
light-side hose blue, soled with red leather. ^

In the Churchwardens' Accounts of the parish of St. Helen's,

> There is in Olans Magnna, 1555, p. 624, a delineation of a Fool, or
Jester, with seyeral beUs upon his habit, with a bauble in his hand ; and
he has on his head a hood with asses' ears, a feather, and the resemblance
of the comb of a cock. It seems, from the Prolo^e to the play of King
Henry the Eighth, that Shakespeare's Fools should be dressed ** in a lonff
wtotley coat guarded with yeliow,"

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264 MORRIS-DANCEHS.

in Abingdon, Berkshire, from Phil. & Mar., to 34 Elix., the
Mortice bells are mentioned: 1560, — "For two dossin of
Morres bells." As these appear to have been purchased by
the community, we may suppose the dirersion of the Morris-
dance was constantly practised at their public festiTals.
" Bells for the dancers" have been already noticed in the
Chiirchwardens' Accounts of Kingston-upon-Thamea: and they
are mentioned in those of St. Mary-at-HiU, in the dty A
London.

Morrice-dancing, with helU on the lege, was common in
Oxfordshire, and the adjacent counties, on May-day, Holy
Thursday, and Whitsun Ales, attended by the Fool» or» as he
was generally called, the Squire, and also a lord and lady ;
the latter, most probably, the Maid Marian mentioned in Mr.
Tollett's note : nor was the Hobby-horse forgot. The custom
is by no means obsolete.

In the Knave of Hearts we read, —

" My $leetfes are like some Morris-dansing fello,
My stockings, ideot-liket red,greene, yeUow"

Steevens observes : ** When fools were kept for diversion m
great families, they were distinguished by a calf-akin coat,
which had the buttons down the back ; and this they wore
that they might be known for fools, and escape the reaent-
ment of those whom they provoked with their waggeries. The
custom is stUl preserved in Ireland ; and the Fool, in any of
the legends which the mummers act at Chnstmas, always ap-
pears in a calf's or cow's skin."

« The properties belonging to this strange personage," says
Strutt, " in the early times, are little known at present ; they
were such, however, as recommended him to the notice of his
superiors, and rendered his presence a sort of requisite in the
houses of the opulent. According to the illuminators of the
thirteenth century, he bears the squalid appearance of a
wretched idiot, wrapped in a blanket which scarcely covers
his nakedness, holding in one hand a stick, with an inflated
bladder attached to it by a cord, which answered the purpose
of a bauble. If we view him in his more improved states
where his clothing is something better, yet his tricks' are so

1 " In one instance he is biting the tail of a dog, and seems to |ilaee
his fingers upon his body, as if he were stopping the holea of a flute, and

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MOBSIS-DANCEKS. 265

exceedingly barbarous and Yulgar, that they would disgrace
the most despicable Jack-pudding that ever exhibited at Bar-
tholomew Fair : and even when he was more perfectly equip-
ped in his party-coloured coat and hood> and completely &•
oorated with bells/ his improyements are of such a nature
as seem to add but little to his respectability^ much less qui^
lify him as a companion for kings and noblemen. In the six-
teenth and seventeenth centuries the fool, or more properly
the jester, was a man of some ability ; and, if his character hais
been strictly drawn by Shakespeare and other dramatic
writers, the entertainment he afforded consisted in witty
retorts and sarcastical reflections ; and his licence seems,
upon such occasions, to have been very extensive. Sometimes,
however, these gentlemen overpassea the appointed limits,
•nd they were, therefore, corrected or discharged. The latter
misfortune happened to Archibald Armstrong, jester to King
Charles the First. The wag happened to pass a severe jeet
Dpon Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, which so highly
afiended the supercilious prelate, that he procured an order
from the King in council for his discharge."'

probably moved them as the animal altered its cry. The other is riding
on a stick with t bell, having a blown bladder attached to it."

» •* This figure," referred to by Strutt, " has a stick surmounted with a
Uidder, if 1 mistake not, which is in lieu of a bauble, which we frequently
•ee representing a fool's head, with hood and bells, and a cock's comb
upon the hood, very handsomely carved." William Summers, jester to
Henry the Eighth, was habited ** in a motley jerkin, with motley hosen."
— HUiory qf Jack qf Newbury.

* The order for Archy's discharge was as follows : *' It is, this day,
(March 11, 1637,) ordered by his Majesty, with the advice of the board,
that Archibald Armstrong, the King's Fool, for certain scandalous words,
of a high nature, spoken by him against the Lord Archbishop of Canter-
bury, & Grace, and proved to be uttered by him by two witnesses, shall
have his coat pulled over his head, and be discharged the king's service,
and banished the court ; for which the Lord Chamberlain of the King's
household is prayed and required to give order to be executed." And im^
mediately the same was put in execution. — Rughworth't CoUeciiont, part 2,
toL i- p. 471. The same authority, p. 470, says, " It 'so happened that,
on the 11th of the said March, that Archibald, the King's Fool, said to his
Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, as he was going to the council-table,
• Whea's feule now ? Doth not your Grace hear the news firom Striveling
about the Liturgy ?' with other words of reflection. This was presently
complained of to the council) which produced the ensuing order."

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266 M0BKIS-DANCES8.

SCARLET, STOKESLEY, AND LITTLE JOHN.

These appear to hare been Robin Hood's companiona, from

the following old ballad : —

** I hive heard talk of Robin Hood,

Derry, Deny, Deny down.
And of brave Little John,
Of Friar Tack and Will Scarlet,
Stokeeley and Maid Marrian,
Hey down," &c.

Among the extracts given by Lysons, from the Chnrch-
wardens' and Chamberlains' Accounts of Kingston-npon-
Thames, an entry has been already quoted " for Little John's
cote." Douce says, Little John '' is first mentioned, together
with Robin Hooa, by Fordun, the Scotti^ historian, who
wrote in the fourteenth century (Scotichron. ii. 104), and
who speaks of the celebration of the story of these persons in
the theatrical performances of his time, and of the minstrek'
songs relating to them, which he says the common people pre-
ferred to all other romances."

TOM THE PIPER, WITH TABOUR AND PIPE.

Among the extracts already quoted in a note from Lysons's
Environs of London, there is one entry which showa that the
Piper was sent (probably to make collections) round the conn*
try. Tollett, in the description of his window, says, to prove
No. 9 to be Tom the Piper, Steevens has very happily quoted
these lines from Drayton's third Eclogue : —

*< Myself above Tom Piper to advance,
Who 80 bestirs him in the Morris-danoe,
For penny wage."

His tabour, tabour-stick, and pipe attest his profession:
the feather in his cap, his sword, and silver-tinctured shield'
may denote him to be a squire-minstrel, or a minstrel of the
superior order. Chancer, 1721, p. 181, says: *' Minstreb

> Douce says : " What Mr. Tollett has termed his «tl^«r thiM seems a
mistake for the lower part, or flap, of his &tomacher."-*7ZA(fflr. qfShak^
iL463.

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M0»BIS-DAN0£B8. 267

uaed a red hat." Tom Piper's bonnet is red, faced or tamed
up with yellov, his doublet blae, the sleeves blue, turned up
with yeUow, something like red muffetees at his wrists ; oyer
his doublet is a red garment, like a short cloak with arm-holes,
and with a yellow cs^ ; his hose red, and garnished across
and perpendicularly on the thighs with a narrow yellow l&ce«
His shoes are brown.

THE HOBBY-HORSB.

Tollett, in his description of the Morris-dancers in his
window, is induced to think the famous Hobby-horse to be
the King of the May, though he now appears as a juggler and
a bnffoon, from the crimson foot-cloth,' fretted with gold» the
golden bit, the purple bridle, with a golden tassel, and studded
with gold, the man's purple manue with a golden border,
which is latticed with purple, his golden crown, puiple cap,
with a red feather and with a golden knop. " Our Hobby,"
he adds, ''is a spirited horse of pasteboard, in which the
master dances and displays tricks of legerdemain, such as the
threading of the needle, the mimicking of the whigh-hie« and
the daggers in the nose, &c., as Ben Jonson acquaints us, and
th^eby explains the swords in the man's cheeks. What is
stock in the horse's mouth I apprehend to be a ladle, orna-
mented with a ribbon. Its use was to receive the spectators*
pecuniary donations. The colour of the Hobby-horse is
reddish-white, like the beautiful blossom of the peach-tree«
The man's coat, or doublet, is the only one upon me window
that has buttons upon it ; and the right side of it is yellow,
and the left red/'

In the old play of the Vow-Breaker, or the Fayre Maid
of Clifton, 1636, by William Sampson, is the following
dialogue between Miles, the Miller of Buddington, and Bal£
which throws great light upon this now obsolete character : —

1 The foot-doth, however, was used by the fooL In Bzaithwaite's
Stnppsdo for the Divell,we read: —

** Erect our aged fortunes, make them shine.
Not like Foole nCtfoot-ehath^ but like Time
Adora'd with troe experiments," &c

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268 MOBEIS-DANGEaS.

''BaU. Bat who shall play the Hobby-hone? Master

M^or.?

"Milea. I hope I looke as like a Hobby-hone as Master
Major. I have not li^'d to these yeares, but a man woo'd
thinke I should be old enough and wise enough to play the
Hobby-hone as well as ever a Major on 'em all. Let the
Major play the Hobby-horse among his brethren, an he wiU ;
I hope our towne ladds cannot want a Hobby-hone. HaTe
I practie'd my reines, my carree'res, my pranckers, my ambles,
my false trotts, my smooth ambles, and Canterbury psoea»
and shall Master Major put me besides the Hobby-horae?
Haye I borrowed the fore hone-bells, his plumes, and braTeiiea,
nay, had his mane new shome and firizl'd, and shall the Major
put me besides the Hobby-horse? Let him hobby-horse si
home, and he will. Am I not going to buy ribbona and toyea
of sweet Unula for the Marian, and shall I not play the
Hobby-horse ?

" Ball. What shall Joshua doe ?

" Miles, Not know of it, by any meanes ; hee*l keepe more
stir with the Hobby-horse then he did with the Pipen at
Tedbury Bull-running : provide thou for the Dragon, and
leave me for a Hobby-hone.

** Ball, Feare not, Fie be a fiery Dragon." And afterwards,
when Boote askes him : " Miles, the Miller of Buddington,
gentleman and souldier, what make you here ?'*

** Miles. Alas, sir, to borrow a few ribbandes, braodeti,
eare-rings, wyer-tyen, and silke girdles and hand-kerchen for
a Morice, and a show before the Qaeene.

" Boote, Miles, you came to steale my neece.

" Miles. Oh Lord ! Sir, I came to furnish the Hobby-horse.

" Boote. Get into your Hobby-hone gallop, and be gon
then, or I'le Moris-dance you— Mistris, waite you on me. [Exit.

" Ursula. Farewell, good Hobby-horse. — fFeehee." [Exit

Douce informs us, that the earliest vestige now remaining
of the Hobby-horse is in the painted window at Betley, already
described. The allusions to the omission of the Hobby-horse
an j&equent in the old plays ; and the line.

For 0, for 0, the Hobby-horeeis forgot,'

is termed by Hamlet an epitaph, which Theobald supposed,
with great probability, to Lave been satirical.

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MOBBIS-DAKCEBS. 269

(^Compare also Ben Jonson,—

I" But see, the Hobby-horse is forgot.
Fool» it must be your lot
To supply his want with faces.
And some other buffon graces/']

A scene in Beanmont and Fletcher's Women Pleased,
act iy.j best shows the sentiments of the Puritans on this
occasion.

[The following lines occur in a poem on London^ in MS.
Harl. 3910:—

" In Fleet strete then I heard a shoote :
I putt off my hatt, and I made no staye.
And when I came unto the rowte,
Good Lord ! I heard a taber playe,

For so, God save roee ! a Merrys-daunce :
Oh ! ther was sport alone for mee,
To see the Hobby-horse how he did praunce
Among the gingling company.

I proffer'd them money for their coats,

But my conscience had remorse,

For my father had no oates,

And I must have had the Hobbie-horse."]

** Whoever," says Douce, " happens to recollect the manner
in which Bayea's troops, in the Rehearsal, are exhibited on
the stage, will have a tolerably correct notion of a Morris
Hobby-horse. Additional remains of the Pyrrhic, or sword-
dance, are preserved in the daggers stuck in the man's cheeks,
which constituted one of the hocus-pocus or legerdemain
tiicks practised by this character, among which were the
threading of a needOie, and the transferring of an egg firom one
hand to the other, called by Ben Jonson, in his Every Man
out of his Humour, the travels of the egg. To the horse's
mouth was suspended a ladle, for the purpose of gathering
money from the spectators. In later times the fool appears
to have performed this office, as may be collected from Nashe's
play of Summer's last Will and Testament, where this stage-
direction occurs : ' Yer goes in and fetcheth out the Hobby-

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270 MOKETS-DANGERS.

horse and the Morrioe-dannce, who daanoe about/ Yer then
says : ' About, about, lively, put your horse to it, reyne bim
hajrder, jerke him with your wand, sit fast, ait fast, man:
FooU, hold up your ladle there* Will Summers is made to
say, * You friend with the Hobby-horse, goe not too fast, for
fear of wearing out my lord's tyle-stones with your bob-
nayles.' Afterwards there enter three clowns and th^ee maids,
who dance the Morris, and at the same time sing the fdlowing
song : —

' Trip and goe, heave and hoe.
Up and downe, to and fro.
From the towne to the grove
Two and two, let us rove,
A Maying, a playing ;
Love hath no gainsaying :
So merrily trip and goe.' '*

Lord Orford, in his Catalogue of English Engravers, under
the article of Peter Stent, has described two paintings at
Lord FitzwiUiam's, on Bichmond Green, which came out of
the old neighbouring palace. They were executed by Vincken-
boom, about the end of the reign of James I., and exhibit
views of the above palace : in one of these pictures a Morris-
dance is introduced, consisting of seven figures, viz. '' a fool, a
Hobby-horse, a piper, a Maid Marian, and three other dancers,
the rest of the figures being spectators.'' Of these, the first
four and one of the dancers. Douce has reduced in a plate
from a tracing made by the late Captain Grose. The fool has
an inflated bladder, or eel-skin, with a ladle at the end of it,
and with this he is collecting money. The piper is prettf
much in his original state ; but the Hobby-horse wants the
legerdemain apparatus, and Maid Marian is not remarkable
for the elegance of her person.

A short time before the revolution in France, the May-
games and Morris-dance were celebrated in many parts of that
country, accompanied by a fool and a Hobby-horse, The latter
was termed un chevalet; and, if the authority of Minahew
be not questionable, the Spaniards had the same character
under the name of tarasca}

> [A great deal of the above is literally transcribed from Donee's IUi»-
trations of Shakespeare.]

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271

LOW SUNDAY.

[A CTTBious volume of sermons, printed in 1652, is entitled,
' The Christian Sodality, or Catholic Hive of Bees sacking
the honey of the Chorch's prayers from the blossoms of the
Word of Gbd, blown out of the £pistles and Gospels of the
diviiie service throughout the year. Collected by the puny
bee of all the hive, not worthy to be named otherwise than
by these elements of his name, F. P.' The author, in his
Bermon for White or Low Sunday, the first Sunday after
Saster, thus writes : — " This day is called JFhite or Low
Sunday, because, in the primitive Church, those neophytes
that on Easter-EYB were baptised and dad in white garments
did to-day put them off, with this admonition, that they were
to keep within them a peipetual candour of spirit, signified
by the Agnus Dd^ hung about their necks, which, falling
down upon their breasts, put them in mind what innocent
lambs they must be, now tiiat, of sinful, high, and haughty
men, they were, by baptism, made low and little children of
Ahnighty God, such as ought to retain in their manners and
lives the Paschal feasts which they had accomplished." Other
writers have supposed that it was called Low Sunday because
it is the lowest or latest day that is allowed for satisfying of
the Easter obligation, viz. the worthily receiving the blessed
Eucharist. The former, however, appears the most probable
reason for the designation of Low Sunday, and may be more
correct and better founded than other speculations which
were advanced. For certainly, in ancient Teutonic, lowe
signifies a flame, and to lowe signifies to burst into flame or
light. It may be, too, that in England the Sunday in ques-
tion was never actually called White, but Low Sunday. The
author, however, of the Christian Sodality, says, ^' it is called
White Sunday, or Low Sunday." If so, the designation
white, as Dominica in albis, was naturally traceable to the fact
of the neophytes that day putting off the white garments
which they received at their baptism on Holy Saturday; and

* [AfftiMa Dei is the name giyen to wax cakes bearing the impression of
a lamb cairying the standard of the cross, solemnly blessed by the Pope on
the Low Sunday following his consecration, and every seven years after ;
to be distributed to the people.]

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272 ST. ueban's day.

the epithet low^ alluded to the newness of life, which neo-
phytes were exhorted to cultivate : they had been proud and
haughty : now they must be low, little, humble, mortified,
&c. Aiiother name for the Sunday in question is Quanmodo
Sunday, from the first word in Latin opening the introit of
the mass — ^* Like new-horn in/anU" &c. The Greek church
also designates it the new (xoci'i?) Sunday, in allusion to the
newness of life preached to the neophytes. These £bu^ are
noticed as tending to show that a preyailing thought, which
may have been generative of the appellation of the Sunday,
was the newness of life then preached. Hence Low Sunday.
You were, neophytes, high and proud ; you must now be low
and humble. — Literary Gazette,]

ST. URBAN'S DAY.
May 25.

Under St. Paul's Day, I have shown that it is customary
in many parts of Germany to drag the image of St. Urban
to the river, if on the day of his feast it happens to be foul
weather. Aubanus tells us, that *' upon St. Urban*8 Day all
the vintners and masters of vineyards set a table either in the
market-steed, or in some other open and public place, and
covering it with fine napery, and strewing upon it greene
leaves and sweete flowers, do place upon the table the image
of that holy bishop, and then if the day be cleare and faire^
they crown the image with greate store of wine ; but if the
weather prove rugged and rainie, they cast filth, mire, and
puddle- water upon it; persuading themselves that, if that day
be faire and calm, their grapes, which then begin to flourish,
will prove good that year; but if it be stormie and tem-
pestuous, they shall have a bad vintage." (p. 282.) The same
anecdote is related in the Begnum Papisticum of Naogeorgus.

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273

ROYAL OAK DAY.

On the 29th of May^ the anniyersary of the Restoration of
Charles II., it is still customary, especially in the North of
England, for the common people to wear in their hats the
leaves of the oak, which are sometimes covered on the occa-
sion with leaf-gold. This is done, as everybody knows, in
commemoration of the marvellous escape of that monarch
from those that were in pursuit of him, who passed under the
very oak-tree in which he bad secreted himself after the de-
cisive battle of Worcester.

'* May the 29th,'' toys the author of the Festa Anglo-
Bomana, ** is celebrated upon a double account ; first, in com-
memoration of the birth of our soveraign king Charles the
Second, the princely son of his royal father Charles the First
of happy memory, and Mary the daughter of Henry the
Fourth, the French king, who was bom ue 29th di^ of May,
1630; and also, by Act of Parliament, 12 Car. II., by the
passionate desires of the people, in memory of Ids most happy
Restoration to his crown and dignity, after twelve years forced
exile firom his undoubted right, the crown of England, bv
barbarous rebels and re^cides. And on the 8th of this month
his Majesty was with umversal joy and great acclamations pro-
daimed in London and Westminster, and after throughout all
his dominions. The 16th he oame to the Hague; Uie 23rd,
with his two brothers, embarqued for England ; and on the
25th he happily landed at Dover, being received by General
Monk and some of the army ; from whence he was, by several
voluntary troops of the nobility and gentry, waited upon to
Canterbury; and on the 29th, 1660, he made Ids magnificent
entrance into that emporium of Europe, Ids stately and rich
metropolis, the renowned City of London. On this very day
also, 1662, the king came to Hampton Court with his queen
Catherine, after Ids marriage at Portsmouth. This, as it is
Ids birth-day, is one of his collar-davs, without offering."

*^ It was the custom, some years back, to decorate the mo-
nument of Richard Penderell (in the church-yard of St. Giles
in th^ Fields, London), on the 29th of May, with oak-
branches ; but, in proportion to the decay of popularity in

18 )gle

274 EOYAL OAE'DAY.

kings, this practice has declined." (Caulfield's Memoirs of
Remarkable Persons, p. 186.) Had Caulfield attributed the
decline of this custom to the increasing distance of time firom
the event that first gave rise to it, he would perhaps hate
come much nearer to the truth. [It is to this day the prac-
tice to decorate the statue of Charles I. at Charing Cross with
oak-leaves on this anniversary.]

I remember the boys at Newcastle-upon-Tyne had formeily
a taunting rhyme on this occasion, with winch they used to
insult such persons as they met on this day who had not oak-
leaves in their hats :

" Royal Oak,
The Whigs to provoke."

There was a retort courteous by others, who contemptuously
wore plane-tree leaves, which is of the same homely sort d
stuff:

" Plane-tree leaves ;
The Church-folk are thieves."

Puerile and low as these and such-like sarcasms may appear,
yet they breathe strongly that party spirit which they were
intended to promote, and which it is the duty of every good
citizen and real lover of his country to endeavour to suppress.
The party spirit on this occasion showed itself very early: for
in the curious tract entitled the Lord's loud Call to England,
published by H. Jessey, 1660, p. 29, we read of the following
judgment, as related by the Puritans, on an old woman for
her loyalty: ''An antient poor woman went from Wap-
ping to London to buy flowers, about the 6th or 7th of May,
1660, to make garlands for the day of the king^e proelamaium
(that is. May 8th), to gather the youths together to dance for
the garland ; and when she had bought the flowers, and was
going homewards, a cart went over part of her body, aud
bruised her for it, just before the doors of such as she might
vex thereby. But since she remains in a great deal of miserie
by the bruise she had gotten, and cried out, the devill saying,
the devil had owned her a shame, and now thus he had paid
her. It's judged at the writing hereof that she will never
overgrow it.**

I find a note too in my MS. collections, but for|;et the
authority, to the foUowing effect: " Two soldiers were whipped

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SOTAXi OAK DAT. 2/5

almost to death, and turned out of the service, for wearing
boughs in their hats on the 29th of May, 1716."

The Boyal Oak was standing in Dr. Stukeley's time, in-
closed with a hrick wall, but fdmost cut away in the middle
by travellers whose cariosity led them to see it. The king,
a&er the Restoration, reviewing the place, carried some of the
acorns, and set them in St. James's Park or Garden, and used
to water them himself. " A bow-shoot from Boscobel-house,'*
says Dr. Stukeley (Itinerarium Curiosnm, 1724, iii. p. 57),
" jnst by a horse-track passing through .the wood, stood the
Royal Oak, into which the kii^ and his companion. Colonel
Carlos, climbed by means of the hen-roost ladder, when they
iudg'd it no longer safe to stay in the house; the family
reaching them victuals with the nuthook. The tree is now
enclosed in with a brick wall, the inside whereof is covered
with lawrel, of which we may say, as Ovid did of that before
the Augustan palace, * mediamque tuebere quercum.' Close
by its side grows a young thriving plant from one of its
acorns. Over the door of the indosure, I took this inscrip-
tion in marble: ' Felicissimam arborem quam in asylum
potentissimi Regis Caroli II. Deus 0. M. per quem reges
regnant hie crescere voluit, tam in perpetuam rei tantse me-
moriam, quam specimen firmse in reges fidei, muro cinctam
posteris commendant Baailius et Jana Fitzherbert. Quercus
amica Jovi.' "

In Carolina, or Loyal Poems, by Thomas Shipman, 1683,
p. 53, are the following thoughts on this subject :

" Blest Charles then to an oak his safety owes ;
The Royal Oak 1 which now in songs shall live,
Until it reach to Heayen with its houghs ;
Bongfas that for loyalty shall garlands give.

" Let celehrated wits, with laurels crown'd,

And wreaths of ha3rs, boast their triumphant brows ;
I will esteem myself far more renown'd
In being honoured with these oaken boughs.

" The Genii of the Druids hover'd here,

Who under oaks did Britain's glories sing ;
Which, since, in Charles compleated did appear,
They gladly came now to protect their king.'' .

[At Tiverton, Devon, on the 29th of May, it is customary

for a number of young men, dressed in the style of the seven-
ogle

276 WHIT817K-ALB.

teenth century^ and armed with swords, to parade the streets,
and gather contributions from the inhabitants. At the head
of the procession walks a man called Oliver, dressed in black,
with luB face and hands smeared over with soot and grease^
and his body bound by a strong cord, the end of wmch is
held by one of the men to prevent his running too far. After
these come another troop, dressed in the same style, each man
bearing a large branch of oak ; four others, carrying a Imid
of throne mi^e of oaken boughs, on which a child is seated,
bring up the rear, A great deal of merriment is excited
among the boys at the pranks of Master Oliver, who capen
about in a most ludicrous manner. Some of them amuse
themselves by casting dirt, whilst others, more mischievoustj
inclined, throw stones at him. But woe betide the Young
urchin who is caught I His face assumes a most awnil ap-
pearance from the soot and grease with which Oliver begrimes
it, whilst his companions, who have been lucky enough to
escape his clutches, testify their pleasure by loud shouts and
acclamations. In the evening the whole party have a feast,
the expenses of which are defrayed by the collection made in
the morning. This custom is probably as old as 1660.]

WHITSUN-ALE.

Fob the church-ale, says Carew, in his Survey of ComwaD,
p. 68, " two young men of the parish are yerely chosen by
their last foregoers to be wardens, who, <uviding the taak,
make collection among the parishioners of whatsoever pro-
vision it pleaseth them voluntarily to bestow. This they
employ in brewing, baking, and other acates,' against Whii-
sontide ; upon which holydays the neighbours meet at the
church-house, and there menly feed on their owne victoalsb
contributing some petty portion to the stock, which, by many
smalls, groweth to a meetly greatness : for there is enter-
tayned a kind of emulation between these wardens, who;, fa^
bis graciousness in gathering, and good husbandly in expend-
ing, can best advance the churches profit. Besides, the ndgh*
hour parishes at those times lovingly visit each one another,
> Proyinons. Halliwdl's Dictionary, p. 13.

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WHITSUN-ALX 277

and thiB way firankly roend their money together. The
aftemoones are conBumea in such exercues as olde and yong
Iblke (haying leisnie) doe accustomably weare out the time
withall. When the feast is ended, the wardens yeeld in their
account to the parishioners ; and such money as ezceedeth
the disbursement is kyd up in store, to defray any extraordi-
nary charges arising in the parish, or imposed on them for
the good of the countrey, or the prince's serrice ; neither of
which commonly gripe so much, but that somewhat stil re-
mi^rneth to cover the purse's bottom/'

The Whitsun-ales have been abready mentioned as common
in the vicinity of Oxford. There lies before me, * A serious
dissuasiye against Whitsun Ales, as ihey are commonly so
called : or the public diversions and entertainments which are
usual in the country at Whitsuntide. In a Letter from a Mi-
nister to his Parishioners, in the Deanery of Stow, Glouces^
terBhire,Mto, 1736. At page 8 we read: '' These sports are
attended usually with ludicrous gestures, and acts df foolery
and buffoonery — ^but children's play, and what therefore
grown-up persons should be ashamed of. Morris-dances,
so called are nothing else but reliques of paganism. It was
actually the manner of the heathens, among other their diver-
dons, to dance after an antick way in their sacrifices and wor-
ship paid to their gods ; as is the fashion of those who now-a*
days dance round about their idol the Maypole^ as they call
it. Hence the ancient fathers of the Christian church, as they
did rightly judge it to be sinful to observe any reliques of pa-
ganism, so they did accordingly, among other practices of
Uie heathens, renounce MorrisHdances." Our auuior adds in
llie Postscript : ** What I have now been desiring you to con-
sider, as touching the evil and pernicious consequences of
WkUmu^AleB among us, doth also obtain against Down
M^tinff, and other uie noted places of publick resort of this
nature in this country ; and also against Midsummer Ales and
Meadrmowinge : and likewise against the ordinary violations
of those festival seasons, commonly called Wakes, And these
latter, in particular, have been oftentimes the occasion of the
profanation of the Lord's Day, by the bodily exercise of wrest-
ling and cudgel-playing, where &ey have been suffered to be
practised on that holy&y."

In CkMites's History of Reading, 1802, p. 130, under Church-
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278 WHIT8TTN-ALS.

wardens' Accounts, St. Mary's parish, we find the foUofwing :•—
" 1557 • Item, payed to the Morrys Dannsers and the Myn-
strelles, mete and drink at Whytsontide, iij«. iiij^." Ako,
p. 216, Parish of St. Laurence, 1502,— It. payed to WiU'm
Stayn' for makyng up of ihe mayden's baner cloth, Yujd, 1 504.
It. payed for bred and ale spent to the use of die church at
Whitsontyd, ij«. vjcf. ob. It. for wyne at the same ^nie,
liiijcf. 1505. It. rec. of the mayden's gaderyng at Whit-
sontyde by the tre at the church dore, derly ij«. yjd. It. rec
of Richard Waren, for the tre at the church dore, u}d.
Ibid. p. 378, Parish of St. GUes, 1535,— <' Of the Kyng ^
at Whitsuntide, xzxTJ«. yiijcf. This last entry probably alludes
to something of the same kind with the Kyngham, afa'eady
mentioned in p. 260. In p. 214 of Coates*s History, parish of
St. Laurence, we read : '' 1499. It. payed for horse mete to
the horses for the kyngs of Colen on May-day, vjcl." A note
adds : ** This was a part of the pageant called the King-play,
or King-game, which was a representation of the Wise Men's
Offering, who are supposed by the Romish church to hafe
been kings, and to have been interred at Cologne." Then
follows : *' It. payed to mynstrells the Bame day, xiJ€^."

In Sir Richard Worsle/s History of the Isle of Wight,
p. 210, speaking of the parish of Whitwell, he teUa us, that
there is a lease in the parish chest, dated 1574, **of a house
called the church house, held by the inhabitants of WhitweH,
parishioners of Qatcombe, of the Lord of the manor, and de-
mised by them to John Brode, in which is the following
proviso : Provided always, that, if the Quarter shall need at
any time to make a Quarter-Ale, or Church-Ale, for the main-
tenance of the chaoel, that it shall be lawfhl for them to have
the use of the said house, with all the rooms, both above and
beneath, during their Ale." It appears from a Sermon
made at Blanford Forum, 1570, by wiUiam Kethe, that it was
the custom at that time for the Church-Ales to be kept upon
the Sabbath-day; which holy day, says our author, ''the
multitude call their revelyng day, which day is spent in bul-
beating8,bearebeatings, bowlings, dicyng, cardyng,daunsynge8,
drunkenness, and whoredome, in so much, as men could not
keepe their servauntes from lyinge out of theyr owne hooses
the same Sabbath-day at night."

"At present," says Douce, quoting from Rudder, "the

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WHTTSUN-AUS. 279

Wbitfim-aleB are conducted in the following manner. Two
penona are chosen, previously to the meeting, to be lord and
lady of the ale, who dress as suitably as they can to the
character they assume. A large empty bam, or some such
building, is provided for the lord's hall, and fitted up with
seats to accommodate the company. * Here they assemble to
dance and regale in the best manner their circumstances and
the place will afford ; and each young fellow treats his girl
with a riband or favour. The lord and lady honour the hall
with their presence, attended by the steward, sword-bearer,
puiBe-bearer, and mace-bearer,^ with their several badges or
ensigns of office. They have likewise a train-bearer or page,
and a fool or jester, drest in a party-coloured jacket, whose
ribaldry and gesticulation contribute not a little to the enter-
tainment of some part of the company. The lord's music,
oonsBstingof a pipe and tabor, is employed to conduct the
dance. Some people think this custom is a commemo-
ration of the ancient Drink-lean^ a day of festivity formerly
obaerved by the tenants and vassals of the lord of the fee
within his manor ; the memory of which, on account of the
jollity of those meetings, the people have thus preserved ever
since. The glossaries inform us that this Drink-lean was a
contribution of tenants towards a potation or Ale provided to
entertain the lord or his steward."^

[In Pericles, it is recorded of an old song, that

** It hath heen sung at festivala,
On ember eves and holy alet**

' [The mace is made of silk, finely plaited, with ribands on the top, and
filled with spices and perfumes for snch of the company to smell to as
desire it.]

* Douce previously observes that, " concerning the etymology of the
word Jle much pains have been taken, for one cannot call it learning. The
best opinion, however, seems to be that, from its nse in composition, it
means nothing more than a feast or menry-making, as in the words Leet-
Ale, Lamb-Ale, Whitsun-Ale, Gerk-Ale, Bride-Ale, Church-Ale, Scot-
Ale, Midsummer-Ale, &c. At all these feasts ale appears to have been the
predominant liquor, and it is exceedingly probable that from this circum-
stance the metonymy arose. Dr. Hidu informs us, that the Anglo-Saxon
Ceol, the Dano-Saxon /o/, and the Icelandic OA respectively have the
same meaning ; and perhaps Christmas was called by our northern ances-
tors Yule, or the feast, by way of pre-eminence." He dtes here Warton's
History of Poetry, iiL 128, and Junins's Etymologicon Angllcum, voce
Teol. Douce is of opinion that Warton has confounded Churdi-Ales with
Saints' Feasts.

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280 WHIT8UN-ALE.

And Ben Jonson asjB, —

*' All the neighbourhood, from old records,
Of antique proverbs, drawn from Whitntn lordsp
And their authorities at wakes and ales,
With country precedents, and old wives tales,
We bring yott now,"

The WhitsoD Lord is also alluded to by Sir Philip Sidney,—

" Strephon, with leavy twigs of lanrell tree,
A garhint made, on temples for to weaze,
For he then chosen was the dig^tie
Of Tillage lord that Whitsuntide to bears."]

StubbSy in his Anatomie of Abases, 1585, p. 95,
following account of the Manner of Church-Ales in £ng
" In certaine townes, where dronken Bacchus bearea swaie,
against Christmas and Easter, Whitsondaie, or acme other
tyme, the churchewardens of every parishe, with the coDsent
of the whole parishe, provide halfe a score or twentie quff-
ters of mault, whereof some they buy of the churche stocke,
and some is given them of the parishioners themselves^ ererj
one conferring somewhat, according to his abilitie ; whiche
maulte being made into very strong ale or here, ia sette to
sale, either in the church or some other place assigned to that
purpose. Then when thia is set abroche, well is he that can
gete the soonest to it, and spend the most at it. In this Idnde
of practice they continue sixe weekes, a quarter of a yeare,
yea, halfe a yeare together. That money, they aay, is to
repaire their churches and chappels with, to buy bookes for
service, cuppes for the celebration of the Sacrament, snrplesaes
for sir John, and such other necessaries. And theymaintaine
other extraordinaiie charges in their parish besides.''

At a vestry held at Brentford, in 1621, several articles woe
agreed upon with regard to Uie management of the parish
stock by the chapelwardens. The preamble stated, that the
inhabitants had for many years been accustomed to have
meetings at Whitsontide, in their church-house and other
places there, in friendly manner, to eat and drink tosether,
and liberally to spend their monies, to the end neigmMnily
society might be maintained ; and also a common stock raised
for the repairs of the church, maintaining of orphans, placing
poor children in service, and defraying other charges. In the

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WHIT8I7N-ALE. 281

Acoompts for the Whitsontide Ale^ 1624, the gains are thoa
diicrinunated ; —

£ «. d.
« Imprimis, deared by the pigeon-holes . • 4 19

- by hocking . .737

byriffeling . .200

byvictualBng . . .802

22 2 9"

The hocking occurs aknost every year till 1640^ when it
appears to have been dropped. It was collected at Whitsnn-

£ 9. d.
" 1618. Gained with hoddng at Whitsuntide . 16 12 3"

The other games were oontinned two years later. RiffeUng
ia synonymous with raffling. (Lysons's Environs of London,
ii. 55.) In p. 54 are the following extracts from the Chapel-
wardens' Account Books :

£ i. d,
<«1620. Paidfor6boules . . 8

6 tynn tokens . . 6

for a pair of pigeon holes . 16

1621. Paid to her tkaiwuLjLDY at WMt^

nmHde, by consent . • 5

— Good wife Ansell for the pigeon holes 16

— Paid for the Games . .'110
1629. Received of Robert Bicklye, for the

use of our Games . 2

— Of the said R. B. for a silver bar

which was lost at Elyng 3 6

1634. Paid for the silver Games 11 8
1643. Paid to Thomas Powell for pigeon

holes 2 0"

The following occur in the Ghorchwardens' Books, at
Cbiswick :

£ 9. d.
"1622. Cleared at Whitsuntide 5

— Paide for making a new pair of

pigeing-holes . . . 2 6**

At a Court of the Manor of Edgware, in 1555, ** it was
presented that the hutts at Edgware were very ruinous, and
that the inhabitants ought to repair them, which was ordered
to be done before the ensuing Whitsontide.'* Sir William

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282 WHIT8UN-ALB.

Blackstone says, that it was uBiial for the lord of this :

to provide a minstrel or piper for the diyersion of the tenanti

while they were emjployed in his senice.

In the Introduction to the Survey and Natural History of
the North Division of the County of Wiltshire, by Aubrey, at
p. 32, is the following curious account of Whitsun-Ales :
** There were no rates for the poor in my grand&tther's days ;
but for Kingston St. Michael (no small parish) the Church-
Ale of Whitsuntide did the business. In every parish is (or
was) a church-house, to which belonged spits, crocks, Jk«.,
utensils for dressing provision. Here the housekeepers met
and were merry, and gave their charity. The young people
were there too, and had dancing, bowhng, shooting at butts,
&c., the ancients sitting grav^ by, and looking on. AU
things were civil, and without scandal. The Chuich-Ale is
doubtless derived fh>m the Aya«xii, or Love Feasts, mentioned
in the New Testament." He adds, *' Mr. A. Wood aanxres
that there were no almshouses, at least they were very scaree^
before the Reformation; that over against Christchuich,
Ozon, is one of the andentest. In every church was a poor
man's box, but I never remembered the use of it ; nay, there
was one at great inns, as I remember it was before the wars.
These were the days when England was famous for the grey
goose quills.*'

The following lines on Whitsunday occur in Bamaby
Googe's translation of Naogeorgus :

" On Whitsunday whyte pigeons tame in Mrinxs from heaven flie,
And one that framed is of wood stiU hangeth in the side.
Thou seest how they with idols play, and teach the people too ;
None otherwise than little gyrls with puppets used to do/'

Among the ancient annual church disbursements of St
Mary-at-HiU, in the city of London, I find the following
entry: " Garlands, Whitsunday, iijcf." Sometimes also the
subsequent: "Water for Me /Vcnf on Whitson Bve, jA"
This is explained by the following extract from Strutf s
Manners and Customs, iii. 174 : ''Among many various cere-
monies, I find that they had one called ' the Font hallowing,'
which was performed on Easter Even and TFkiinmday Eve;
and, says the author of a volume of Homilies in Harl. MS.
2371, 'in the begynnyng of holy chirch, all the children
weren kept to be crystened on Uiys even, at the Font hal-

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WHIT8UN-ALE, 283

lovyng ; but now, for enchesone that in bo long abydynge they
might dye without erystendome, therefore holi chirch or-
deyneth to crysten at aU tjme» of the yeare ; aaye eyght dayes
before these Evenys, the chylde shaile abyde till the Font
hallowing, if it may aavely for perrill of death, and ells not.' "

Gollinson, in his History of Somersetshire, lii. 620, speaking
of Yatton, says, that '< John Lane of this parish, gent, left
half an acre of groond, called the Groves, to the poor for ever,
reaerving a quantity of the gra»Bfor the strewing church on
Whiteunday:'

A superstitious notion appears anciently to have prevailed
in England, that '^whatsoever one did ask of God upon
Whitsunday morning, at the jnstant when the sun arose and
pla/d, God would grant it him.'' See Arise Evans's Echo
to the Voice from Heaven ; or, a Narration of his Life, 1652,
p. 9. He says, " he went up a hill to see the sun rise betimes
on Whitsunday morning," and saw it at its rising ''skip, play,
dance, and turn about Uke a wheel."

''At Kidlington, in Oxfordshire, the custom is, that on
Monday after Whitsun week Uiere is a fat live lamb provided;
and the maids of the town, having their thumbs tied behind
them, run after it, and she that with her mouth takes and
holds the lamb, is declared Lady of the Lamh^ which being
dressed, with the skin hanging on, is carried on a long poLe
before the lady and her companions to the Green, attended
with music, and a Morisco dance of men, and another of
women, where the rest of the day is spent in dancing, mirth,
and merry glee. The next day the lamb is part baked, boiled,
and roast, for the Lady's Feast, where she sits majestically at
the upper end of the table, and her companions with her,
with music and other attendants, which ends the solemnity."
(Beckwith's edition of Blount's Jocular Tenures, p. 281.)

In Poor Robin's Almanack for 1676, stool-ball and barley-
break are spoken of as Whitsun sports. In the Almanack for
the following year, in June, opposite Whitsunday and Holidays,
we read:

" At Islington a £Edr they hold,
Where cakes and ale are to be sold.
At Uighgate and at HoUoway,
The like is kept here every day ;
At Totnam Court and Kentish Town,
And all those places up and down."

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284 TEIKITI, OB TBINITT StTKBAT, EVEN.

[A custom formerly prevailed amongst thepeople of Bnrford
to hunt deer in Whichwood Forest, on Whitsunday. An
original letter is now in the possession of the Corporation,
dated 1593, directing the inhabitants to forbear the hunting
for that year, on account of the plague that was then raging
and stating that an order should be given to the keepers of
the forest, to deliver to the bailiffs two bucks in lieu of the
hunting ; which privilege, was not, however, to be prejodioed
in future by its remittance on that occasion.]

THE BOrS BAILIFF.

[An old custom so called fom^erly prevailed at Wenlock, in
Shropshire, in the Whitsun week. It consisted, savs Mr.
Collins, of a man who wore a hair-doth gown, and was cidLed the
bailiff a recorder, justices, and other municipal officers. They
were a large retinue of men and boys mounted on horsebai^
begirt with wooden swords, which they carried on their right
sides, so that they were obliged to draw their swords out
with their left hands. They used to call at the gentlemen's
houses in the franchise, where they were regaled with refresh-
ments ; and they afterwards assembled at the Guildhall, where
the town clerk read some sort of rigmarole which they called
their charter, one part of which '

** We go from Bickbury, and Bftdger, to Stoke on the Clee,
To Monkhopton, Round Acton, and so return we."

The three first-named places are the extreme points of the
franchise ; and the other two are on the return to Mndi
Wenlock. Mr. Collins supposes this custom to have originated
in going a bannering.]

TRINITY, OE TRINITY SUNDAY, EVEN.

The observance of Trinity Sunday is said to have been first
established in England by Archbishop Becket, soon after his
consecration. — '^ Hie post consecrationem suam instituit fes-
tivitatem principalem S, Trinitatis anms singulis in perpetoam

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TBIKITT, 01 TBINITT SUNDAT, ETEN 285

GelebTandain, quo die priinain Mitsam simin oelebnvit/*
Whart. Anglia Sacra, P. i. p. 8.

In Lysons's Enyirons of London^ i. 310, among hia ez-
tracta fh>m the Chnrchwardena' Acconnta at Lambeth are the
foUowing :

£ i. d.
" 1519. Item, for gsrlonds and drynk for the chyldeme

on Trenyt^ Eveii 6

— — To Spryngwell and Smyth for lyngyng with the

Procession on Treneti^ Sonday Even . . 12
— ~ Item, for four onssyi of ganiesyng rebonds, at

9d. the onse 3 0"

In the Mdmoirea de TAcad^mie Celtique, iii. 447* in
** Notice snr qaelqnea Usages et Groyancea de la ci-deyanl
Lorraine/' we read, — "Le jour de la ffete de la Trinity
qnelqnes personnes vont de grand matin dans la campagne,
pour y voir lever trait aoleilsti la fois."

In a Letter to Aubrey (Miscellanies, 1714), dated Ascension
Day, 1682, is an account of Newnton, in North Wiltshire ;
where, to perpetuate the memory of the donation of a common
to that place, by King Athelstan and of a house for the hay-
ward, i^ e. the person who looked after the beasts that fed
upon this common, the following ceremonies were appointed :
" Upon every Trinity Sunday, the parishioners being come to
the door of the hayward's house, the door was struck thrioe
in honour of the Holy Trinity ; then they entered. The bell
was rung ; after which, silence being ordered, they read their
prayers aforesaid. Tlien was a ghirland of flowers (about
the year 1660 one was killed striving to take away the
ghirland) made upon an hoop, brought forth by a maid of the
town upon her neck; and a young man (a bachelor) of
another parish, first saluted her three times, in honour of the
Tiinity, in respect of God the Father. Then she puts the
ghirland upon his neck, and kisses him three times, in honour
of the Trinity, particularly God the Son. Then he puts the
ghirland on her neck a^ain, and kisses her three times, in
respect of the Holy Trinity, and particularly the Holy Ghost.
Hien he takes the ghirland from her neck, and, by the custom,
must ftive her a penny at least, which, as fanc^ leads, is now
exceeded, as 2s. 6J., or &c. The meUiod of giving diis ghir-
land is from house to house annually, till it comes round. In

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286 COTENTBT SHOW FAIR.

the evening every commoner sends his supper np to this house,
which is <»lled the £^e House ; and having before laid in
there equally a stock of malt which was brewed in the house,
they sup together, and what was left was given to the poor."

COVENTRY SHOW FAIR.

[This celebrated Fair commences upon the Friday in Trinity
week, and continues for eight days. It is of very high
antiquity, the Charter being granted by Henry III. in 1218,
at the instigation of RancQe, Earl of Chester. For many
centuries it was one of the chief marts in the kingdom for the
sale of the various articles of merchandise in general consump-
tion. Of late years, it has been principally celebrated for the
Show or procession, which is exhibited at intervals -of from
three to seven years, on the first day of the fair, and on that
account has acquired a great degree of notoriety and interest.
This procession is beheved to have been first instituted in 1678,
or at least the procession of Ladv Godiva was then first
introduced into the pageant, thus laying the foundation of
that splendid cavalcade usuidly designated the Proee^sum of
Lady Godiva^ and to the same period must be referred the
first public exhibition of the far-famed Peeping Tom of
Coventry.

Leofric, Earl of Mercia, Lord of Coventry, imposed certain
hard and grievous services upon the place, which his Countess
Godiva, out of feelings of compassion for the inhabitants,
frequently and earnestly implored her husband to free them
from, but without efiect ; and unwUling to give up an exaction
which tended so much to his profit, he at length commanded
her to urge him no more on the subject. Godiva was not thus
to be diverted from her purpose, and, resuming her impor-
tunities, he thought to silence her at once, by declaring that
he never would accede to her wishes, unless she would consent
to ride naked from one end of the town to the other, in the
sight of the inhabitants. To this extraordinary proposal,
however, he heard with astonishment her reply in these words,
<* But will you give me leave to do eo f" and being compelled

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COTENTBl SHOW FAIB. 287

to answer " Fm/' the good Countess soon afterwards, upon a
day appointed for that purpose, got npon her horse, naked,
her loose and flowing tresses forming a complete covering
down to her legs, and having achieved her undertaking
returned with joy and triumph to her husband, who faithfully
redeemed his pledge, by granting to the inhabitants a Charter
of Freedom, in the words of an old chronicler, *' from servi-
tude, evil customs, and exactions." Until of late years, in a
window of Trinity Church, a memorial of this event was
preserved in ancient stained glass, representing the portraits
of Leofiic and Godiva, the former holding in his hand, as in
the act of presenting to his Countess, a scroll or charter,
inscribed thus :

** I, Luriche, for the love of thee,
Doe make Coveatrie tol-fre."

The dty legends relate that before their good patroness
performed her task, an order was issued requiring all the
inhabitants, on pain of death, to remain within their houses
during her progress ; but that a tailor, whose curiosity was
not to be restrained by this denunciation, was resolved to have
Kpeep at the fair Countess, and paid for his presumption
and inqnifiitiveness by the immediate loss of his sight. In
commemoration of this incident, and in proof of the veracity
of the tradition, a figure, whose name and fame are widely

Siread, called P&sping Tom, is still to be seen at the comer of
ertford Street, in an opening at the upper part of a house.
The figure itself is of considerable antiquity, and in size
rather exceeds the usual proportions of a man : it is formed
from a single piece of oak, hollowed out in the back to render
it less weighty, and in its original state represented a man in
complete plate armour with skirts, the legs and feet also
armed, and a helmet on the head, the crest of which has
been cut away to make room for a flowing wig, that, until
of late years, formed a part of the dress of this ngure, which,
upon being brought forth from some unknown receptacle, to
personify the celebrated Peeping Tom, underwent a consider-
able degree of alteration in its external appearance, by the
application of paint, so as to show the resemblance of clothing;
this, with a la^ and long cravat, shoulder-knots, and other
ornaments^ and a hat of corresponding fashion, clearly pointed

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288 GOYSNTBl SHOW FAIB.

out a perfect agreement in his dress with that of the period
when the enb^ged procession was instltated, in 1678. Of
late years the wig has been discontinned, as well as the long
cravat and shoulder-knots ; and a hat of military fashion bu
been introduced, with some alterations in the manner of
painting the figure. In its original state, the effigy called Peeping
Tom had the lower part of the arms (now wanting) fixed to
the trunk by pegs, the indications of which are still visible ;
and the position of the body and legs show that the figme
was in a posture of attack, having, probably a shield and spetr
or ancient bill.

The first persons in the Ck>diva procession are the (%
Ouartb, the representatives of a once important class of men,
who were trained and armed at the costs of the Corporation
and various trading companies, and in days of ^ore formed
an aggregate body of considerable numbers^ and importance ;
from whence were famished fh>m time to time, as need
required, reinforcements to the national forces. The armoor
consisted of corslets, with and without skirts, back pieces,
and morions, and their offensive weapons, either the English
long-bow, or the variously-formed bill, of which several dif-
ferent specimens may be observed in the procession; the
whole being an interesting display of the ancient city armonr.'
The next character in the procession is that of St. George,
completely armed; the helmet, to which the vizor only is
attached, is of considerable antiquity, and the whole suit is a
fine specimen of entire body armour. St. George, it will be
remembered, was a native of (Coventry, according to the old
ballad--

'' Where being in short space arriv'd.
Unto his native dweUing-plaoe ;

Therein vnth. his dear love he liv'd,
And fortune did his nuptials grace ;

They many years of joy did see,

And led their lives at Coventry, **

The City Streamer and two City Followers are the next pro-
cessioners. The streamer bears the arms of Coventry, being

1 So recently as 1710, no less than forty armed or " harnessed" men
attended the mayor and aldermen at the fair.

' This armour has been cleaned and restored, and is now arranged in
firont of the Minstrel Gallery at St Mary's HalL

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COVINTET SHOW FAIE. 289

party per pale, ^^des and vert, an elephant argent, on a mount
firoper, b^ing a castle triple-towered on hia back, or; crest,
a cat ^ mountain. In actdition to which the cognizance of
the Princes of Wales has been used by the city from the time
of Edward the Black Prince, who first assumed it. The city
followers, whose original characters, probably, were those of
pages or train-bearers, and, as the name imports, used in such
capacity to follow the person on whom they attend, are
habited in antique dresses, the singular costume of which
produces a remarkable contrast to the showy and tasteful
style generally used in the decoration of this most interesting
juTenile portion of the procession.

The next object of attraction is the renowned Lady Chdiva,
mounted on a white horse, with rich housings and trappings.
On each side of this celebrated personaffe rides the city crier
and beadle, whose coats present a singular appearance, being
in conformity with the field of the arms of CoTentry, half
green and hdf red, dirided down the centre. On the left
arm each wears a large silver badge, wrought with the elephant
and castle. The female representing 3ie fair patroness of
Coventry is usually habited in a white cambric dress, closely
fitted to the body, and a profusion of long-flowing locks, de-
corated with a fillet or bandeau of flowers, and a plume of
white feathers, generally complete her dress and ornaments.

The city officers, who next appear in the procession, re-
quire but few remarks. The sword and large mace, which
are on this occasion decorated with pink ribands, are hand-
some and costly ; and the cap of maintenance and crimson
Telvet hat, worn by the official bearers of this part of the city
insignia, produce an antique and interesting effect.

The Mayw^B FoUawert, These are generally children of
about five years of age, attired in elegant fancy dresses, with
tastefully ornamented scarfs, and head-gear of ostrich plumes.
The horse on which each rides is richly caparisoned and at-
tended by two men, the one as its leader, die other as pro-
tector to the child ; the attendants are without coats, their
white shirt-sleeyes being tied round with pink ribands, a
rosette of which is frequently worn on the breast, and a large
one in front of the hat. The same style is observed by the
attendants on most of the other followers.

The Mayor and Corporation, The magistrates, on /th\a

19 ^ /.,

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290 GOYSNTBr SHOW FAIR.

occasion, vear their scarlet robes, which add coiuidenLlilj to
the effect of the procession. The remaining members of the
corporation wear black gowns. The sheriff, chamberlains,
and wardens are each attended by two followers.

The city companies now commence their appearance in the
cavalcade, beginning with the most ancient^ and following
according to their seniority.

In the printed order of the procession, for several yean
past, the Mercers, according to its right of precedency, has
always been placed at the head of the incorporated companies;
but neither master nor followers have been seen in the show,
to represent the premier company in the city. The proces-
sion of the companies and numerous benefit societies is ter<
minated by that of the Wool-combers, which, although last
in the cavalcade, is by no means least in its display of attrac-
tions; for, instead of confining themselves, as in the case
of the other companies, to an exhibition of the streamer,
master, and followers, the latter having in general no mark or
distinction (a few only carrying little ornamented tmncheons,
surmounted by a device or symbol, showing the trade to which
they belong), this junior fraternity has, for many years past,
contrived to obtain and deserve a greater share of notice than
any other company. The streamer is, with great characteristic
propriety, woollen, instead of silk, and discovers some inge-
nuity in its fabric. This is followed by the master and his
customary attendant, as in the case of Uie other companies ;
but the Wool-combers stop not here, adding first, a Shepherd
and Shepherdess, the former of whom used to ride upon a
horse, bearing a dog before him, whilst the shepherdess was
seated upon another horse, within a sort of bower, formed of
branches and flowers, and in her lap an artificial lamb, each
carrying the emblematic crook. At the procession of 1824,
this interesting little pair were first displayed underneath a
large bower, constructed upon a platform affixed to a carnage
drawn by a pair of horses, and a living lamb supplied the
place of the former artificial one, the dog attending upon the
shepherd as usual, and has been so repeated on each sue*
ceeding occasion. Following is the representative of the re-
nowned Jason, bearing the golden fleece in triumph, in hii
left hand, and in his right a naked sword, with numerous
wool-sorters, in characteristic fancy dresses; and next appears

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CTOVBNTEY SHOW PAIB. 291

the patron saint of the irool-combers. Bishop Blaze, the repre-
aentatiye of this saint and martyr of the Romish Church was,
until very recently, dressed ont with great ingenuity, by the
adapting of combed jersey to yarious parts of his costume.
The mitre was black, with white lining, and in a remarkable
degree produced the desired effect. Two broad belts of black
jersey, crossing over the front of his body, served, upon the
white ground of a shirt, to give a very good appearance to
that part of the dress; whilst the *'lawn sleeves" were at once
recognised in those of the bishop's shirt. A black gown has
been substituted for the more characteristic dress above de-
scribed, but the mitre is still formed according to that descrip-
tion, and he bears a book in his left hand, and the iron comb
of the trade in his right. An indefinite number of wool-
combers follow, who usually excite .a considerable degree of
attention, from their dresses being composed of various com-
binations of coloured jersey.

The foregoing account of this celebrated pageant describes
it as seen until the year 1826,^ since which period the corpo-
ration have ceased to form any part of the cavalcade, and by
the change in the disposal of corporate funds, prescribed by
the Municipal Reform Act, the pecuniary aid fornerly contri-
buted by the old corporation has been withdrawn. The
masters of the companies have also discontinued their pre-
sence, but allow the use of their streamers, and supply a
representative and followers. The feeling of the citizens for
processional display has not, however, been removed ; and
some spirited individuals have projected, and successfully car-
ried out, various additions to the late processions, to supply
the place of the corporation group ; this has been occupied
by a characteristic attendant upon Lady Grodiva, in the repre-
sentative of the celebrated Leofric, Earl of Mercia, with pages,
esquires, and attendants, attired in the costume of the period,
^d forming a novel and imposing addition to the procession.

The following account of the procession in 1848, is extracted
from the Coventry Herald: — '< Large as was the influx of visitors
contributed by common stages, horse, and foot, it was prodi-
giously augmented by the torrent of human beings which poured
into the town in rapid succession by the railway trains, which,

> We are indebted for it to a minute account of the procession published
years since by Mr. Menidew of Coventry.

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292 COYSNTBT SHOW VAIK.

from authentic informatioii, we are enabled to state, broDglit
into Coventry on that day the amazing number of 15,6()0
persons. In various parts of the town had been erected
triomphal arches of great height, ornamented with flowers
and evei^reens ; and of which verdant materials wreaths were
suspend^ across the public thoroughfares in many other
places. Many private houses were also similarly decorated in
front. The cavalcade started at eleven o'clock, headed by
Mr. Wombwell's elephant bearing a castle, and thus fbnning
a living and Utersl representation of the city arms of Coventrj.
Madame Wsrton's performance of Godiva was regarded fu
highly satisfactory. She was attired in a close-fitting elsstic
silk dbress, of pinky-white colour, entire from the ne& to the
toes, excepting the arms, which were uncovered ; over this a
simple white satin tunic, edged with gold fringe, completed
her riding habit. Her only head-dress was the perfectly qd-
artificial and not very profuse supply of glossv black hsir,
simply braided in firont, and hanging down, slightly confined
behind. Mr. Warton, her husband, rode a short distance in
the rear, as Edward the Black Prince, clad in a suit of mail.
Queen Margaret, Sir John Falstaff, Robin Hood, Friar Ta^
William and AdamBotoner (the celebrated mayors of Coventry)}
Sur Thomas White (its great benefiebctor), and Sir W. Dogdale^
the eminent local historian, also found representatives in the
cavalcade. Last in the procession was a ' sylvan bower bear-
ing the Shepherd and Shepherdess,' — a capacious plstfiffm
furnished with flowers, fountains, and foreign birds in goldes
cages. The fleecy lambs and fidthfnl dog formed an object
which attracted all eyes, while the arbour of evergreens riamg
and tapering off to the height of forty feet, formed a magnifi-
cent finish to the cavalcade. The show concluded at three
o'clock."

There are many who consider this custom would be "more
honoured in the breach than in the observance." Some, even,
perhaps, who go so far as to recall the adage of Qoees
Elizabeth,—

" Ye men of Ck>ventT7,
Good lack, what fools ye be 1'']

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BVB OF THURSDAY aftbr TRINITY SUNDAY.

'< Iv Wales, on Thnnday after Trinity Sunday, which they
oaU Dndd son Duw» or Dydd gwyl daw, on the ere before,
they strew a sort of fern before their doors, called Bed yn
Mair.'* This is at Gaerwis. Mr. Pennant's MS.

ST. BARNABAS^ DAY.

June U.

In the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Mary-at-HiU, in the
city of London, 17 and 19 Edward iy.» Palmer and Clerk,
churchwardens, the following entry occurs : '* For Ba$€
garlondU and Woodrove^ garlondis on St. Bamebe's Daye,
j^d.** And, under the year 1486 : *' Item, for two doss' di
5oe9e garlands for prestes and derkes on Saynt Bamabe daye,
j«. xd,'* Ibid. 15I2» Woulffe and Marten, churchwardens,
die following : " Rec' of the gadryug of the Magdetu on St.
Barnabas' Day, y}s. yiijcf." And, among the church disburse- '
ments of the same year, we haye: ** Bose-garlands and Laven-
der, St. Barnabas, y. y^d" In the same accounts, for 1509,
is ^e following : " For bred, wine, and ale, for the singers of
the King's Chapel, and for the Clarks of this town, on St.
Barnabas, j«. iijef."

ColHnson, in his History of Somersetshire, ii. 265, speaking
of Glastonbury, tells us, that ''besides the Holy Thorn, there
grew in the Abbey cfanrchyardj on the north side of St.
Joseph's Chapel, a minicolous walnut-tree, which never
budded forth before the feast of St Barnabas, viz. the 11th

■ Genrd, in his Histoiie of Plants, p. 965, says, " Woodrooffe hath many
aqnare stalkes fiill of jointSi and at every knot or joint seaven ot eight
long narrow leaves, set round about like a starre or the rowell of a spurre;
the flowers grow at the top of the stemmesi of a white colour, and of a
▼ery sweete smell, as is the rest of the herbe, which being made up
into garlands, or himdks, and hanged np in houses in the heate of sommer,
doth very well attemper the aire, coole, and make fresh the place, to the
delight and oonfort of sach as are thefein."

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294 COBPUS CHBI8TI DAY.

of June, and on that veryday shot forth leases, and flonrished
like its usual species. This tree is gone, and in the place
thereof stands a very fine walnut-tree of the common sort. It
is strange to say how much this tree was sought after by the
credulous; and, though not an uncommon walnut. Queen
Anne, King James, and many of the nobility of the realm,
even when the times of monkish superstition had ceased, gave
large sums of money for small cuttings from the original.^'

Among Ray's Proyerbs, the following is preserved relating
to Saint Barnabas :

•« Baraaby Bright,
The longest day and shortest night."

It was formerly beliered that storms were prevalent on this
day. So in the ancient Romish calendar, — " Bamabae Apost.
tempestas seepe oritur."

The author of the Festa Anglo Romana says, p. 72, '^ This
Barnaby-day, or thereabout, is the summer solstice or sun-
sted, when the sun seems to stand, and begins to go back,
being the longest day in the year, about the 11th or 12th of
June ; it is tidcen for the whole time, when the days appear
not for fourteen days together either to lengthen or shorten.'^

CORPUS CHRISTI DAY and PLAYS.

CoBFDs Chbisti Day, says the Festa Anglo Romana, p. 73,
in ah Roman Catholic countries is celebrated with music,
lights, flowers, strewed all along the streets, their richest tiqpes-
tries hung out upon the walls, &c.

. The following is 6ooge*s translation of what Naogeoi]g;iifi
has said upon the ceremonies of this day in his Popish King-
dom, f. 53.

" Then doth ensue the solemne feast of Corpus Chiisti Day,
Who then can shewe their wicked use, and fond and foolish play :
The hallowed bread, with worship great, in silver pix they beare
About the church, or in the dtie passing here and theare.

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eORFt78 CHSI8TI DAY. 295

Hia trmes that beares the sane two of the wdthiett men do holde,
And over him a canopey of silke and cloth of golde.
Foore others used to beare alonfe, least that some filthie thing
Should fall from hie, or some mad birde hir doung thereon shoold

ffing.
Christe's {mssion here derided is with snndrie maskes and playes,
Fkire Ursley, with hir maydens all, doth passe amid the wayes :
And. vatiant George, with speare thou kiUest the dreadfiiU dragon here
The Devil's house is drawne about, wherein there doth appere
A wondrous sort of damned sprites, with foule and fearfull looke ;
Great Christopher doth wade and passe with Christ amid the brooke :
Sebastian, full of feathred shaftes, the dint of dart doth feele.
There walketh Kathren, with hir sworde in hande, and cruel wheele :
The challis and the singing cske with Barbara is led,
And sundiie other pageants playde, in worship of this bred,
That please the foolish people well : what should I stand upon
Their banners, crosses, candlestickes, and reliques many on,
Their cuppes and carved images, that priestes, with countenance hie,
Or rude and common people, beare about full solemlie ?
Saint John before the bread doth go, and poynting towards him.
Doth shew the same to be the liambe that takes away our sinne :
On whome two clad in angels shape do sundrie flowres fling,
A number great with sacring belles, with pleasant sound doe ring.
The common wayes with bowes are strawde, and every streete beside.
And to the walles and windowes all are boughes and braunches tide.
The monkes in every place do roame, the nonnes abrode are sent,
The priestes and schoolmen lowd do rore, some use the instrument.
The straunger passing through the streete upon his knees doe fall
And earnestly upon this bread, as on his God, doth call ;
For why, they counte it for their Lorde, and that he doth not take
The form of flesh, but nature now of breade that we do bake.
A number great of armed men here all this while do stande,
To looke that no disorder be, nor any filching hande :
For all the church-goodes out are brought, which certainly would bee
A bootie good, if every man might have his libertie.
This bread eight dayes togither they in presence out do bring,
The organs all do then resound, and priestes alowde do sing :
The people flat on faces fall, their handes held up on hie,
Beleeving that they see their God, and soveraigne M^estie.
The like at masse they doe, while as the bread is lifted well,
And chaUys shewed aloft, whenas the sexten rings the beU.
In villages the husbandmen about their come due ride,
"^^h many crosses, banners, and Sir John their priest beside.
Who in a bag about his necke doth beare the blessed breade.
And oftentyme he downe alightes, and Gospel lowde doth reade.
This surely keepes the come from winde, and raine, and from the

blast;
Snch fayth the Pope hath taught, and yet the Papistes hold it fast."

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296 PORPUS GKEI8TI DAT*

In Lysons't EnTirons of London, i. 229, I find the foUov-
ing extracts from the Chnrchwtrdens' and Chambeilains'
Accounts at Kingston-npon-Thames, relating to this day

** 21 Hen. VII. Mem. That we, Adam Backhons £. «. dl
and Hany Nyool, amounted of a play .400
27 Hen. VII. Paid for paektkred on CofpoB

ChristiDay 1

" This," Lysons adds, *' was probably used for hanging
the pageants, containine the History of our Saviour, which
were exhibited on this day, and explained by the Mendicant
Friars." The Cotton MS. Vesp. D. viii. contains a Collection
of dramas in old English yerse (of the fifteenth century)
relating principally to the History of the New Testament
Sir William Dugdale mentions this manuscript under the name
of Ludu9 Corporis CkrUH, or Ludm CovefUrke, and adds,
'' I have been told by some people, who, in their younger
years were eye-witnesses of these pageants so acted, that Uie
yearly confluence of people to see that shew was extraordinary
great, and yielded no small advantage to this city," See
Antiq. of Warwickshire, p. 1 16. It appears by the latter end
of the prologue, that these plays or mterludes were not only
played in Coventry, but in other towns and places upon occa-
sion. [This MS. was edited by Mr. Halliwcll in 1841, for the
Shakespeare Society. The elder Heywood thus alludes to the
devil, as a character in these mysteries, —

'' For as good happe wolde have it ebaonoe,
Thys devyll and I were of olde aoqneyntannee ;
For oft in the play of Corpos Christi
He hath played the devyll at Coventry."]

In the Royal Entertainment of the Earle of Nottingham,
sent Ambassador firom lus Majesde to the Kins of Spaine,
1605, p. 12, it is stated that on Corpus Christi Day, <' the
greatest day of account in Spaine in ful the yeare," at Yalla-
dolid, where the Court was, " the king went a prooeaaion
with all the apostles very richly, and eight giants, foure men
and foure women, and the cheefe was named G^og-magog."

In the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Mary-at-HiU, m the
city of London, 17 and 19 Edw. IV., Palmer and Clerk

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&i,TXTU8*tt DAT. 297

ehurchwardenay the Mowing entry occurs : " Garlands on
Gonras Christi Day, z'." I find also, among the ancient an-
nniu church disbursements, " For four (six or eight) men
bearing torches about the parish" on this day, payments of
Id, each. Among the same accounts for the 19th and 21st
years of Edw. IV. we have : *' For flaggs and ^londis,
and pak-thredde for the torches, upon Corpus Christi Day,
and for six men to here the said torches, iiij«. vij^." And in
1485, " For the hire of the gaiments for pageants, j«. yiijuf."
Rose-garlands on Corpus Christi Day are also mentioned under
the years 1524 and 1525, in the parish accounts of St. Mar-
tin Outwich. Pennant's Manuscript says, that in North
Wales, at Llanasaph, there is a custom of strewing green
herbs and flowers at the doors of houses on Corpus Christi
Eve.

[On this day the members of the Skinners' Company of
London, attended by a number of boys which they have in
Christ's Hospital school, and girls strewing herbs before them,
walk in procession from their hall, on Dowgate-hill, to the
elmrch of St. Antholin, in Watling-street, to hear service.
This custom has been observed time out of mind.]

Nares, in his Glossary, p. 103, says this festival was held
annually on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, in memory,
as was supposed, of the miraculous confirmation of the doc-
trine of Transubstantiation under Pope Urban lY. Its origin,
however, is involved in great obscurity.

ST. VITUS'S DAY.

JUNB 15.

In the Sententiae Bythmicae of J. Buchleitis, p. 384, is a
passage which seems to prove that St. Yitus's Day was equally
famous for rain with St. Swithin's :

'* Lux sAcrata Vito ri sit plnriosa, sequentes
Triginta fadtnt omne madere solum.''

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298 ICIDSUMMEB EVS.

Googe^ in the translation of Naogeorgos, says :

" The nexte is Vitus sodde in oyle, before whose ymage faire
Both men and women bringing hennes for offring do repaire :
The cause whereof I doe not know, I thinke for some diaeaae
Which he is thought to drive away firom such as him do please."

See a Charm against St. Vitus's Dance in Turner on the
Diseases of the Skin, p. 419.

[The following rural charm on parchment was actually car-
ried by an old woman in Devonshire, as a preyentive against
this complaint :

" Shake her, good devil,
Shake her once well ;
Then shake her no more
Till you shake her in ."]

MIDSUMMER EVE.

The Pagan rites of this festival at the summer solstice may
be considered as a counterpart of those used at the winter
solstice at Yule-tide. There is one thing that seems to prove
this beyond the possibility of a doubt. In the old Bunk
Fasti, as will be shown elsewhere, a wheel was used to denote
the festival of Christmas. The learned Gobelin derives Tula
from a primitive word, carrying with it the general idea of
revolution and a wheel; and it was so called, says Bede,
because of the return of the sun's annual course, after the
winter solstice. This wheel is common to both festivities.
Thus Durand, speaking of the rites of the Feast of St John
Baptist, informs us of this curious circumstance, that in some
places they roll a wheel about, to signify that the sun, then
occupying the highest place in the zodiac, is beginning to
descend,^ and in the amplified account of these ceremonies

* " Rotam quoqve hoc die in quibuadam lods volvont, ad signifiGaiidnm
qnod sol altissimum tunc locum in ccelo occupet, et desoendere ineipiai
in zodiaco." Among the Harleian ManuscriptB, in the British Museum,
2345, Art. 100, is an account of the rites of St. John Baptist's Etc, in
which the wheel la also mentioned. The writer is speaking " de Tripudiis
quse in Vigilia B. Johannis, fieri solent, quorum tria genera." " In YigOia
enim beati Johannis," the author adds, *' colligunt pueri in quflmadaa

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HIDSUMliZK STE. 299

giTen by the poet Naogeorgas, ve read that this wheel was
taken up to the top of a moantain and rolled down from
thence ; and that, aa it had previonsly been coTered with straw,
twisted aboat it and set on fire, it appeared at a distance as if
the sun had been falling from the sky. And he farther
observes, that the people imagine that all their ill luck rolls
away from them together with this wheel.

Googe, in the transktion of Naogeorgus, says :

" Then doth the joyfiill feast of John the Baptist take his tnrnei
When bonfiers great, with loftie flame, in everie towne doe burne ;
And yong men round about with maides doe daunce in eTerie streete,
With garlands wrought of motherwort, or else with vervain sweete,
And many other flowres faire, with violets in their handes,
Whereas they all do fondly thinke, that whosoever standes,
And thorow the flowres beholdes the flame, his eyes shall feel no paine.
When thus tfll night they daunced have, they through the fire amaine
With striving mindes doe runne, and all their hearbei they cast therein.
And then with wordes devout and prayers they solemnely begin.
Desiring God that all their illes may there consumed bee ;
Whereby they thinke through all that yeare from agues to be free.
Some others get a rotten wheele, all wome and cast aside.
Which, covered round about with strawe and tow, they closely hide :
And caryed to some mountaines top, being all with fire light.
They hnrle it downe with violence, when darke appears the night :
Resembling much the sunne, that from the Heavens down should hi,
A straunge and monstrous sight it seemes, and fearefuU to them all :
But they suppose their mischiefes all are likewise throwne to hell,
And that from harmes and daungers now in safetie here they dwe^"

The reader will join with me in thinking the following
extract from the Homily De Festo Saneti Johannis BaptUttB
a pleasant piece of absurdity : — <' In worshyp of Saint Johan
the people waked at home, and made three maner of fyres :
one was dene bones, and noo woode, and that is called a Bone
Fyre ; another is dene woode, and no bones, and that is called
a Wode Fyre, for people to sit and wake therby ; the thirde
is made of wode and bones, and it is callyd Saynt Johannys

regionibus ossa et qusedam alia immunda, et in simul cremant, et exinde
producitur f nmus in aere. Cremant etiam B randas (seu Fksoes) et drcuiunt
arva cum Brandis. Teriiam, de Rota quam faehmt voM. Quod cum
immunda cremant, hoc habent ex Gentilibus." The catalogue describes
this curious manuscript thus, " Codex membranaceus in 4to. cujus nunc

plura desiderantur folia : quo tamen oontinebantur diversa agusdam i

chi, Qti videtur, Winchelcumbenaisi opuscula."

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300 laDsumcBB btb.

fyre. The fint fyre, aa ft great derke Johan BeUeth telletk
he was in a certajne conntrey, so in the countxej there vas
aoo greate hete the which canaid that dragons to go togythtf
in tokenynge that Johan dyed in brennynge loye and charyt^
to God and man» and they that dye in charyt^ shall have parte
of all good prayers, and they that do noty shall neyer be aayed.
Then as these dragons flewe in th'ayre Uiey shed down to thai
water froth of ther kynde^ and so enyenymed the "waUn,
and caused moche people for to take theyr deth therby, and
many dyrerse sykenesse. Wyae clerkes knoweth well that
dragons hate nothyng more than thestenche of brennynge boneB»
and therefore they ^iideryd as many as they mighte fynde^ and
brent them ; and so with the stenche thereof they droye away
the dragons, and so they were brought out of greete dyseaae.
The second fyre was made of woode, for that wyi brenne lyght,
and wyll be seen farre. For it is the chefe of fyre to be seoi
farre, andbetokennyngethat Saynt Johanwasalantemeof ly^t
to the people. Also the people xnade biases of fyre, for that they
shulde be seene farre, and specyaUy in the nyght, in token of
St. Johan's haying been seen from far in the spirit by Jeremiah.
The third fyre of bones betokenneth Johan's martyrdome, for
hys bones were brente, and how ye shall here." The Homilist
accounts for this by telling us that after John's disdplea had
buried his body, it lay till Julian, the apostate emperor, came
that way, and caused them to be taken up and burnt, ** and
to caste the ashes in the wynde, hopynge that he shuld neyer
ryse again to lyfe."

Boome tells us, that it was the custom in his time, in the
North of England, chiefly in country yillages» for old and
young people to meet together and be merry oyer a large fire;,
which was made for that purpose in the open street. This,
of whateyer materials it consisted, was called a Bonefire.^

* These fires are supposed to have been called bonefiies because thej
were generally made of bones. There is a passage in Stow, however,
wherein he speaks of men finding tifood or labour towards them, which
seems to oppose the opinion. Dr. Hickes also grres a yery different ety-
mon. He defines a Iranefire to be a festiTe or triumphant fire. In the
Islandic language, he says, Baal signifies a burning. In the Anglo-Saio ,
Bael-py|i, by a change of letters of the same organ is made Baen-py*-,
whence our bime-Jire. In the Tinmouth MS. cited in the History of New-
castle, '* Boon-er,'' and " Boen-Harow," occur for ploughing and harrow-
ing gratis, or by gift. There is a paisage also, much to our mnpoae, hi

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XlDSUmCBB EVB. 301

Orer and aboye thia fire they frequently leap, and play at
▼ariona games, auch aa rannine, wrestling, dancing, &c.: thia,
however, is genoraUy confined to the younger sort ; for the
old ones, for the most part, sit by as spectatora only of the
yagaries of those who compose the " Lascira decentiua eetas,"
and enjoy themselves over their bottle, which they do not qnit
till midnight, und sometimes till cock-crow the next morning.
The learned Gebelin, in his Allegories Orientalea, accounta
in the following manner for the custom of making fires on
Midsummer Eve: ''Can one," says he, "omit to mention
here the St. John Fires, those sacred fires kindled about mid-
night, on the very moment of the solstice, by the greatest
part as well of ancient as of modem nations ; a religioua
ceremony of the most remote antiquity, which was observed
for the prosperity of states and people, and to dispel every
kind of evil f The origin of this fire, which is still retained
by so many nations, though enveloped in the mist of anti-
quity, is very simple: it was a Feu de Jaie^ kindled the
very moment the year began ; for the first of all years, and
the most ancient that we know of, began at this month of
June. Thence the very name of this month, junior, the
youni/eet, which is renewed ; while that of the preceding one
18 May, major, ike ancient. Thus the one was the month of
young people, while the other belonged to old men. These
Fetix de Joie were accompanied at the same time with vows
and sacrifices for the prosperity of the people and the fruits
of the earth. They danced also round this fire (for wbat
feast IB there without a dance ?), and the most active leaped
over it. Each on departing took away a firebrand, great or

Aston'i Trantlation of Aubanns, p. 282, — " Common jiru (or, aa we caU
them here in Englandi bone-flres)." I am therefore strongly indmed to
think that bone-fire means a contribution-fire, that is, a fire to which every-
one in the ndghbonrhood contribatea a certdn portion of materials. The
contribnted ploughing days in Northumberland are called bone-dargt.
** Bon-fire," says Lye (apud Junii Etymolog.), ** not a fire made of bones,
bnt a loon-fire, a fire made of materials obtained by begging. Boon, bone,
bene, vet Angl. petUiOf preeet,*' Fuller, in p. 25 of his Mixt Contem-
plations in Better Times, 1668, says he has met with ** two etymologjes
of bone-fires. Some deduce it from fires made of bones, relating it to
the burning of martyra, first fashionable in England in the rdgn of King
Henry the Fourth ; but others derive the word (more truly in my mind)
from ftoon, thai is good, and fires."

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502 HIDSUHMEB SVE.

small, and the remains were scattered to the wind, wbich, at
the same time that it dispersed the ashes, was thoagbt to
expel every evil. When, after a long train of years, the year
ceased to commence at this solstice, still the custom of m a kin g
these fires at this time was continued by force of habit, and
of those superstitious ideas that are -annexed to it. Besides,
it would have been a sad thing to have annihilated a day of
joy in times when there were not many of them. Thus has
the custom been continued and handed down to us."

So far our learned and ingenious foreigner. But I can by
no means acquiesce with him in thinking that the act of leap-
ing over these fires was only a trial of agility. A great dal
of learning might be produced here to show farther that it
was as much a religious act as niaking them.^

In the Gent. Mag. for May 1733, p. 225, a poethmnoiiB
piece of Sir Isaac Newton, entitled Observations upon the
Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John, is cited,
where that great philosopher, on Daniel ii. ▼. 38, 39, ob-
aerres, that " the Heathens were delighted with the festivals
of their gods, and unwilling to part with those ceremonies ;
therefore Gregory, Bishop of Neo-Ceesarea, in Pontns, to hd-
litate their conversion, instituted annual festivals to the saints
and martyrs: hence the keeping of Christmas with ivy, feast*
ing of Christmas with ivy, feasting, plays, and sports, came
in the room of the Bacchanalia and Saturnalia ; the celebrat-
ing of May-day with flowers, in the room of the Floralia; and
the festivals to the Virgin Mary, Jokn the Baptist, and divers
of the Apostles, in the room of the solemnities at the entrance
of jbhe sun into the signs of the zodiac in the old Julian
Calendar."

Borlase, in his Antiquities of Cornwall, p. 130, tells ua:

1 Levinus Lemnius, in his treatiBe de Occultis Nature Mirsculia, lib. iii,
cap. 8, haa the following : " Natalis dies Joannis Baptistae — ^non solum
Jodieis ac Christianis, sed Mauris etiam ac Barbaris, quique a nostn reli-
gione alieni ac Mahumeto addicti sunt, Celebris est et sacro-sanctus, ta-
metci nonnulli hujus noctem superstitioso quodam cultu congestis lignonun
acerris, accensisque Ignibus, ut Corybantes ac Cybeles cultores, strepita ac
furiosis clamoribus transigant, quin et impuberes congestis oolUsisqae
ignitis earbonibus bombos ac crepitacula excutiunt." He cites Olan
Magnus as describing how the Goths kept this night " Omnis enim
generis sexusque homines turmatim in publicum concurrunt, extnictisqae
luoolentis ignibus atque aocensis facibus, choreiBi t^pudiisque le ezeroent"

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.MtBSUXXSB EYE. 303

" Of the fine we kindle in many parts of England at some
stated times of the year, we know not certainly the rise, rea-
son, or occasion, but they may probably be reckoned among
the relics of the Druid superstitious fires. In Cornwall, the
festiTal fires, called bonfires, are kindled on the Eve of St.
John Baptist and St. Peter* s Day; and Midsummer is thence,
in the Cornish tongue, called ' Goluan,' which signifies both
light and rejoicing. At these fires the Cornish attend with
lighted torches, turr'd and pitched at the end, and make their
perambulations round their fires, and go from village to vil-
lage, carrying their torches before them ; and this is certainly
tlie remains of the Druid superstition, for 'faces prseferre,'
to carry lighted torches, was reckoned a kind of Gentilism,
and as such particularly prohibited by the Gallick Councils :
they were in the eye of the law ' accensores facularum,' and
thought to sacrifice to the devil, and to deserve capital punish->
ment.*'

In Ireland, ^* on the Eves of St. John Baptist and St. Peter,
they always have in every town a bonfire late in the evenings,
and carry about bundles of reeds fast tied and fired ; these
being dry, will last long, and flame better than a torch, and
be a pleasing divertive prospect to the distant beholder; a
stranger woidd go near to imagine the whole country was on
fire." (Sir Henry Piers's Description of Westmeath, 1682.)
The author of the Survey of the South of Ireland, says, p. 232 :
'* It is not strange that many Druid remains should still exist;
but it is a little extraordinary that some of their customs
should still be practised. They annually renew the sacrifices
that used to be offered to Apollo, without knowing it. On
Midsummer's Eve, every eminence, near which is a habitation,
Uazes with bonfires ; and round these they carry numerous
torches, shouting and dancing, which affords a beautiful sight,
and at the same time confirms the observation of Scaliger :
* £n Irlande, ils sont quasi tons papistes, mais c'est Papaut6
m^slee de Paganisme, comme partout.' Though historians
had not given us the mythology of the Pagan Irish, and though
they had not told us expressly that they worshipped Beal, or
Bealin, and that this Beal was the sun and their chief god,
it might nevertheless be investigated from this custom, whTch
the lapse of so many centuries has not been able to wear
•way. I have, however, heard it lamented that the altemdon

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304 XIDStTMUXB STB.

of the style had spoiled these eihibitions : for the Eonum
Catholics light their fires by the new style, as the correctioii
originated horn a pope ; and for that Tery same reason the
Ph)testants adhere to the old/'

I find the following, much to onr purpose, in the Gentle-
man's Magazine for February 1795, p. 124 : "The Irish hare
ever been worshippers of fire and of Baal^ and are so to this
day. This is owing to the Roman Catholics, who have artfully
yielded to the superstitions of the natives, in order to gain
and keep up an establishment, grafting Christianity upon
Pagan rites. The chief festival in honour of the sun and fire
is upon the 21st of June, when the sun arrives at the aummer
solstice, or rather begins its retrograde motion. I was sp
fortunate in the summer of 1782 as to have my curiosity
gratified by a sight of this ceremony to a very great extent of
country. At the house where I was entertained, it was told
me that we should see at midnight the most singular sight in
Ireland, which Was the Ugkting fires m honour of the mh.
Accordingly, ezacUy at midnigh^ the fires began to appear:
and taking the advantage of going np to the leads of the
house, which had a widely extended view, I saw on a radios
of thirty miles, all around, the fires burning on every eminence
which the country afibrded. I had a futher satisfaction in
learning, from undoubted authority, that the people danced
round thefires^ and at the dose went through these fires, and
made their sons and daughters, together with their cattle, pass
through the fire ; and the whole was conducted with religious
solemnity." This is at the end of some Reflections by the
late Rev. Donald McQueen, of Kilmuir, in the Isle of Sky, on
Ancient Customs preserved in that island.

The late Dr. Milner was opposed to the notion of the Irish
having ever been worshippers of fire and of Baal. In An
Inquiry into certain Vulgar Opinions concerning the Cathotie
Inhabitants and the Antiquities of Ireland, 1808, p. 100, he
tells us that the '' modem hunters after Paganism in Ireland
think they have discovered another instance of it (though they
derive this neither from the Celtic Druidesses nor the Roman
Vestals, but from the Carthaginians or Phoenicians) in the
fires lighted up in different parts of the country on the Eve of
St. Johxk the Baptist, or Midsummer-day. This they repre-
sent as the idolatrous wcHrship of Baal, the Philistine 'god of

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HIDSUKIUBE £YE. 305

fire, and as intended by his pretended Catholic Totaries to
obtain from him fertility for the earth. The fact is, these
fires, on the eye of the 24th of June, were heretofore as com-
mon in England and all over the continent as they are now in
Ireland, and have as little relation with the worship of Baal
as the bonfires have which blaze on the preceding 4th of June,
being the King's birthday: they are both intended to be
demonstrations of joy. Tliat, however, in honour of Christ's
precursor is particularly appropriate, as alluding to his cha-
racter of hearing mtness to the light, John i. 7, and of his
being himself a bright and shining light, John v. 35." The
anthor of the Comical Pilgrim's Pilgrimage into Ireland,
1 723, p. 92, says : " On the vigil of St. John the Baptist's
Nativity, they make bonfires, and run along the streets and
fields with wisps of straw blazing on long poles to purify the
air, which they think infectious, by believing all the devils,
spirits, ghosts, and hobgoblins fiy abroad this night to hurt
mankiiid. Farthermore, it is their dull theology to afiirm the
souls of all people leaye their bodies on the eve of this feast,
and take their ramble to that very place, where, by land or
sea, a final separation shall divorce them for evermore in this
world."!

Leyinus Lemnius, in the work already quoted, tells us that
the Low Dutch have a proverb, that " when men have passed
a troublesome night's rest, and could not sleep at all, they
say, we haye passed St. John Baptist's Night ; that is, we have
not taken any sleep, but watched all night; and not only
so, but we haye been in great troubles, noyses, clamours, and
stirsy that haye held us waking." " Some," he previously
observes, " by a superstition of the Gentiles, fall down before
his image, and hope to be thus freed from the epileps ; and
they are further persuaded that if they can but gently go unto
this saint's shrine, and not cry out disorderly, or hollow like
madmen when they go, then they shall be a whole year free
from this disease ; but if they attempt to bite with their teeth
the saint's head they go to kisse, and to revile him, then they
shall be troubled with this disease every month, which com-
monly comes with the course of the moon, yet eztream

* The Times Newspaper of June 29, 1833, gives an account of a riot at
Cork, in consequence of some soldiers refusing to subscribe money towards
the fires which were to be lighted on St. John's Eve.

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306 UIBSUKKSB EVE.

jnglings and frauds are wont to be concealed under
matter." English translat. fol. 1658, p. 28.

Leaping over the fires is mentioned among the BuperBtitioas
rites used at the Palilia in Ovid's Fasti :

*< Mozque per ardeutes stipule crepitantis aoervos
Trajicias celeri strenua membra pede.'*

The Palilia were feasts instituted in honour of Pales, the
goddess of shepherds (though Varro makes Pales masculine),
on the calends of May. In order to drive away wolves from
the fold and distempers from the cattle, the shepherds on this
day kindled several heaps of straw in their fields, which they
leaped over. See Sheridan's Persius, 2d edit. p. 18. The
following passage may be thought, however, to confirm
Gebelin : it is in an old collection of satyres, epigrams, &c.
where this leaping over a Midsummer bonefire is mentioned
among other pastimes :

** At shove-groate, venter-point, or crosse and pile,
At kegnng oner a Midtommer bone-Jter,
Or at the drawing Dun out of the myer."

In the Works ofWilliam Browne, ed. 1772, "The Shepherd's
Pipe,*' iii. 53, occur the following lines :

" Neddy, that was wont to make
Such great feasting at the wake,
And the Blesring Fire:*

with a note on Blessing Fire, informing us that " the Mid-
summer fires are termed so in the west parts of England."

The following very curious passage on this head is extracted
from Torreblanca's Demonology, p. 106 : " Ignis lustrationis,
quae in filiorum consecratione fiebat, sive expiatione, ad stabi-
liendam eorum fortunam, de qua agit sacra Parcemia, Reg. 4,
c. 17. Et consecraverunt filios suos, et filias per ignem.
Quee fiebat ex transjectione per ignem, ex qua similiter fehcis
illi casus prsenunciabant, quam superstitionem damnatam in-
venio Deut. c. 18. Nee inveniatur in te, qui lustrat filinm
suum, aut filiam ducens per ignem. In quo peccant Germsni
in successione pyrarum, quas pie in honorem D. Johannis
accendunt, dum ad crepitum, iiimum, flammee modum, et
similia attendunt. Nam sunt reliquiee veteris paganismi, nt
censet Conrad. Wissin de Divinat. c. 2. Necnon qui pyns

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MIDSUMMEB EVE. 307

hujusmodi definitis vicibus se drcumire et trandilire aeoere
putant in fiituri mail averruncatione, ut tradit Gliucaa, p. 2.
Annal. fol. 269, quod at hodie, ita teste 0?id, lib. iv, Fastor.

' Certe ego tmuilii positas ter in ordine flammas.' "

In a most rare tract, entitled Perth Assembly, 1619, p. 83,
probably printed in Scotland, but without printer's name, we
read, '* BeUarmine telieth us (De Beliquiis, c. 4), Ignis accendi
solet ad Isetitiam significandam etiam in rebus prophanis, that
fire useth to be kindled even in civil and profane things.
Scaliger calleth the candels and torches lightened upon Mid-
9omerEven, the foote steps of auneient gentility J' DeEmendat.
Tempor. hb. yii. p. 713.

Stow, in his Survey of London, tells us, " that on the vigil
of St. John Baptist, every man's door being shadowed with
green birch, ^ long fennel, St. John's wort,^ orpine, white

■ In the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Mary-at-Hill, in the 17 and 19
Edward IV. Palmer and Clerk, Churchwardens, 1 find the following entry :
** For birch at Midsummer, ymjd" As also, among the annual church dis-
bursements, the subsequent : " Birch, Midsummer Eve, iujd. Ibid., 1486 :
** Item, for birch bowes, agenst Midsummer." Coles, in his Adam in Eden,
apeaking of the birch-tree, say : ** I remember once, as I rid through
little BrickhUl, in Buckinghamshire, which is a town standing upon the
London-road, between Dunstable and Stoney Stratford, every signe-post
in the towne almost was bedecked with green birch/' This had been done,
no doubt, on account of Midsummer Eve. Coles quaintly observes, among
the civil uses of the birch>tree, " the punishment of children, both at home
and at school ; for it hath an admirable influence on them when they are
out of order, and therefore some call it Makepeace." In the Churchwardens'
Accounts of St. Martin Outwich (see Nichols's Illustrations, p. 273), we
have: " 1524. Payde for byrche and bromes at Midsoms ij<f." '* 1525.
Payde for byrch and bromes at MydsomS iijrf." In Dekker*s Wonderful
Yeare, 1603, we read," Olive trees (which grow no where but in the
Garden of Peace) stood (as common as beech does at Midsomer) at every
man's doore."

' Pennant's MS. informs us, that in Wales *' they have the custom of
sticking St. John's wort over the doors on the Eve of St. John Baptist."
The following curious extract from Bishop Pocock's Repressour, c. 6, is
given by Lewis, in his Life of that prelate, p. 70 : " Whanne men of the
cuntree uplond bringing into Londoun, on Mydsomer Eve, braunchis of
trees from Bischopis-wode, and flouris fro the feld, and bitaken tho to
citessins of Londoun, for to therwith araie her housis, that thei make there
with her houses gay, into remembraunce of Seint Johan Baptist, and o
this, that it was prophecied of him that many schulden joie in his burthe.'

yGoOgl

308 MIDSUHMSB X7Z.

lilies and such like, garnished upon with garlands of beautifol
flowers, had also lamps of glass, with oil burning in them all
the night. Some," he adds, " hung out branches of iron,
curiously wrought containing hundreds of lamps lighted at
once." He mentions also bonefires in the streeta, every man
bestowing wood and labour (without any notice taken of
bones) towards them. He seems, however, to hint that they
were kindled on this occasion to purify the air.

In a most curious sermon preached at Blandford Fonun,
Dorsetshire, Jan. 17, 1570, by WiUiam Kethe, minister, and
dedicated to Ambrose Earl of Warwick, 8vo. p. 18, speaking
of the Jews, he says, '' for the synnes they daylie committed,
they would be very busie in ofiryng sacrifioes and exercising
themselves in ceremonies ;" adding, " a lyke kynde of policie
was practised by the Papistes in the tyme of Poperie (in Eng-
land) to bynde God to forgeve them theyr sinnes. For
whereas, in the tyme of Christmasse, the disorders were mar-
velous in those dayes (and how it is now God seeth), at Can-
dlemasse, which some connte the ende of Christmasse, the
Papistes would be even with God, by the tyme they had
offered hym a bribe, and such a bribe (beyng a candle or
taper) as a very meane officer would take foule scorne of,
though he could do a man but small pleasure in his sate.
Shroft Tuesday was a day of great glottonie, surfetting, and
dronkennes, but by Ashe Wensday at night, they thought God
to be in their debt. On Good Friday they offered unto Christ
egges and bacon, to be in hys favour till Easter Day was past.
The sinnes committed betwene Easter and Whytsontyde they
were fuUye discharged by the pleasaunt walkes and processyons
in the rogyng, I should say Rogation Weeke. What offences
soever happened from that tyme to Midsommer, the /ume» of
the fiere dedicated to Johuy Peter, and Thomas Becket the
traytor, consumed them. And as for all disorders from that
tyme to the begynnyng of Christmasse agayne, they were in
this countrey all roonge away, upon All Halloun Day and All
Soule's Day, at night last past." He adds, at page 20, '' So
sayth God to the brybyng Papistes, who requireth these
thynges at your handes whiche I never commaunded, as yonr
candles at Candlemasse, your Popish penaunce on Ash Wens-
day, your egges and bacon on Good Friday, your gospelles at
superstitious crosses, decked lyke idols, your fires at Midsom-

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HIDSUMMEE SVE, 309

mter, and your ringyng at AUhalloontide for all Christen
Boules ? I require, sayth God, a sorrowful and repentaunt
hart ; to be mercyfuU to the poore/' &c.

In a Royal Household Account, communicated by Cra?en
Ord, of the Exchequer, I find the following article : " 23 June,
8 Hen. VII. Item, to the making of the Bonefuyer on Midde-
somer Eve, us" [In a MS. at the Rolls House, A. y. 15,
dated July Ist, 1 Hen. VIII., " Item, to the pages of the
hall» for makyng of the Kinges bonefyre upon Mydsomer
evyn, x«,"]

Douce says he does not know whether Fraunce, in the fol-
lowing passage in his Countesse of Pembroke's Ivy Church,
alludes to the Midsummer E?e fires:

•* most mighty Pales, which still bar'st love to the coantry
And poore countrey folk, hast thou forgotten Amyntas,
Now, whenas other gods have all forsaken Amyntas ?
Thoa on whose feast-day bonefires were made by Amyntas,
And quyte leapt over by the bouncing dauncer Amyntas ?
Thou for whobe feast-dayes great cakes ordayned Amyntas,
Supping mylk with cakes, suk] casting mylk to the bonefyre ?"

The learned Moresin' appears to hare been of opinion that
the custom of leaping over these fires is a vestige of the ordeal,
where to be able to pass through fires with safety was held to
be an indication of innocence.^ To strengthen the probability
of this conjecture, we may observe that not only the young
and vigorous, but even those of grave characters used to leap
over ti^em, and there was an interdiction of ecclesiastical

^ ** Flammam transiliendi mos videtnr etiam pnsds Gneciae temporibus
usurpatus fuisse, deque eo versus Sophoclis in Antigone quosdam intelli-
gendos putant : Cum enim Rex Creon Polynicis cadaver, humare prohi-
buisset, Antigone autem ipsius soror illud humo contexisset, custodes, ut
mortis poenam a Rege, constitutam vitarent, dicebant se paratos esse
fernim candens manibus contrectare et per pyram Incedere. Uotom.
Disput. de Feudis. cap. zliv. Hie mos Gallis, Germanis et post Christianis-
mum remansit etiam pontificibus : et adulteria uxorum ferro candenten
probant Germani. Mmil. lib. iv. &c. — Et Vascones accensis ignibus in
urbium vicis vidi per medios saltare ad Festum Joanni sacrum in testate;
et qui fimus antiquitus prosequuti fiierant, ad proprios Lares reversi, aqua
aapersi, ignem supergradiebantur, hoc se piaculo ex funere ezpiari
arbitrati," &c. Papatus, p. 61.

' See also in another passage: "Majores vero natu ad Festum D.
Johannis sacrum accensis vespere in platea ignibus, flammam transiliunt
stnunineam Mares et Foeminee, pueri pupseque, ac fieri vidi in Gralliis inter
Caduroos ad oppidulum Pny la Rocque." p. 72. ^

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310 MIDSUMMER EVE.

authority to deter clergymen from this superstitious instance
of agility.

In the Appendix No. 11. to Pennant's Tour, Shaw, in his
Account of Elgin and the Shire of Murray, tells us, '' that in
the middle of June, farmers go round their com with biimiDg
torches, in memory of the Cerealia.'*

Every Englishman has heard of the '' dance round our coal-
fire," which receives illustration from the probably ancient
practice of dancing round the fires in our Inns of Court (and
perhaps other halls in great men's houses). This practice
was still in 1 733 observed at an entertainment at the Inner
Temple Hall, on Lord Chancellor Talbot'^s taking leave of the
house, when " the master of the revels took the chanceUor by
the hand, and he, Mr. Page, who with the judges, Serjeants,
and benchers, danced round the coal fire, according to the old
ceremony, three times ; and all the times the ancient song,
with music, was sung by a man in a bar gown.'* See Wynne's
Eunomus, iv. 107. This dance is ridiculed in the dance in
the Rehearsal.

Mr. Douce has a curious French print, entitled " L'este le
Feu de la St. Jean ;" Manette ex. In the centre is the fire
made of wood, piled up very regularly, and having a tree stuck
in the midst of it. Young men and women are represented
dancing round it hand in hand. Herbs are stuck in their hate
and caps, and garlands of the same surround their waists, or
are slung across their shoulders. A boy is represented carrying
a large bough of a tree. Several spectators are loeking on.
Hht following lines are at the bottom :

*' Qae de feux bruians dans les airs \
Qu'ils font une douce harmonie !
Redoublons cette melodie
Par nos dances, par nos concerts !"

The sixth Council of Constantinople, a.d. 680, by its 65th
canon (cited by Prynne in his Histriomastiz, p. 585), has
the following interdiction : '' those bonefires that are kindled
by certaine people on new -moones before their shops and
houses, over which also they are ridiculously and foolishly to
leape, by a certaine antient custome, we command them from
henceforth to cease. Whoever therefore shall doe any such
thing; if he be a clergyman, let him be deposed ; if a layman, let
him be excommunicated ; for in the Fourth Book of the Kings*
it is thus written, — ' And Manasseh built aiualtar to all Uie

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ICUDSUVMEB EYE. 311

hoast of heaven, in the two courts of the Lord's house, and
made his children to passe through the fire/ " &c. Prynne
obaeryes upon this : " Bonefires, therefore, had their originall
from this idolatrous cnstome, as this General Councell hath
defined ; therefore all Christians should avoid them/' And
the Synodus Francica under Pope Zachary, a.d. 742, cited ut
supra, p. 587, inhibits "those sacrilegious fires which they call
NedJH (or bonefires), and all other observations of the Pagans
whatsoever/'

"Leaping o'er a Midsummer bonefire" is mentioned
amongst otiber games in the Garden of Delight, 1658, p. 76.
A dei^yman of Devonshire informed me that, in that county,
the custom of making bonfires on Midsummer Eve, and of
leaping over them, still continues. In the Statistical Account
of ScotUnd, xzi. 145, parish of Mongahitter, it is said : " The
Midsummer Even fire, a relic of Druidism, was kindled in some
parts of this county."

The subsequent extract from the ancient Calendar of the
Bomish Church, so often cited in this work, shows us what
doings there used to be at Rome on the Eve and Day of St. John
the Baptist.

'*June.
" 23. The Vigil of the Nativity of John the Baptist
Spices are given at vespers.
Fires are lighted up.

A girl with a little drum that proclaims the garland.
Boys are dressed in girls cloaths.
Carols to the liberal; imprecations against theavaritious
Waters are swum in during the night, and are brought

in vessels that hang for purposes of divination.
Fern in great estimation with the vulgar, on account

of its seed.
Herbs of different kinds are sought with -many

ceremonies.
Girl's thistle is gathered, and an hundred crosses by
the same.
24. The Nativity of John the Baptist. Dew and new
leaves in estimation.
The vulgar solstice."*

> The following extracts from Morenn illuBtrate the above observations
in the ancient Calendar, as well as Stow's account : " Apad noatros qnoque

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312 MID8CMM£ft ETB.

Monsieur Bergerac, in his Satyrioal Characten and Haad-
some Descriptions, in Letters, translated out of the French by
a Person of Honour, 1658, p. 45, puts into the mouth of a
magician the following very curious catalogue of superatitiiNM
on the Continent : *' I teach the shepherd the woolTs pater-
noster, and to the cunning men how to turn the sieve. I kxiA
St. Hermes fire to the marches and rivers^ to drown travellen.
I make the fairies to dance by moonehght. I encourage the
gamesters to look under the ^Edlows for the foure of clubs.
I send at midnight the ghosts out of the churchyard, wrapt
in a sheet, to demand of their heires the performance of those
vows and promises they made to them at their deaths. I
command the spirits to haunt the uninhabited castles^ and to
strangle those that come to lodge there, till some resolute
fellow compels them to discover to him the treasure. I make
those that I will enrich find hidden wealth. I cause the
thieves to burn candles of dead men's grease to lay the boasts
asleep, while they rob their houses. I give the flying money,
that retumes again to the pocket after 'tis spent. I give
those annulets to footmen that enable them to go two hun-
dred miles a day. 'Tis I, that invisible, tumble the dishes
and bottles up and down the house without breaking or
spoiling them. I teach old women to cure a feaver by wordi.
I waken the country fellow on St. John* 9 eve to gather kis hearbf
fasting and in silence. I teach the witches to take the form of
woolves and eate children, and when any one hath cut off one
of their legs (which prove to be a man's arme), I forsake them
when they are discovered, and leave them in the power of
justice. I Bend to discontented persons a tall black man,
who makes them promises of great riches, and other felicitiesi
if they'll give themselves to him. I blind them that take
contracts of him, and when they demand thirty years time, I

proavofly inolevit longa annomm serie penuasio Artemisiam in Festia divo
Joanni Baptistae sacris ante domos suspensam, item alios fnitices et plantas,
atque etiam candelas, iacesqne designatis quibosdam diebus celebrioribos
aqua lustrali rigatas, &c. contra tempestates, fulmina, tonitrua, et advenus
Diaboli potestatem, &c. quosdam incendere ipso die Johannis Baptists
fasciculom lustratarum herbarum contra tonitraa, fulmina," itc Papstos,
p. 28. " Toral, sen Toralium antiquo tempore dicebatur florum et herba-
rum suaveolentium manipulus, seu plures in restim ooUigati, qui sospende-
bantur ante Tbalamorum et Cubilium fores : et in papatu ad S. loannis •
mutuato more suspendunt ad Ostia et Januas hiyus modi serta et restei
et saepius ad aras.^' Ibid. p. 1 7 1.

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MIDSUMMSH £V£. 313

make tbem Bee the (3) before the (0) which I have placed
after. "lis I that Btraogle those that when they have called
me up, give me an haire, an old shoe, or a straw. I take
away from those dedicated churches the stones that have not
been paid for. I make the witches seem to those that afe
invited to Sabat, nothing but a troope of cats, of which Marcou
(a ^h-caX) is prince. I send all the confederates to the
offeiing, and give them the goates taile (seated on a joint-
stoole) to kisse. I treat them splendidly, but give them no
salt to their meat; and if any stranger, ignorant in the
cuatomes, gives God thanks, I cause all things to vanish, and
leave him five hundred miles from his owne home, in a desart
full of nettles and thornes. I send to old letchers beds succu-
busses, and to the whorish, incubusses. I convay hob-goblins
in shape of a long piece of marble, to lye by those that went
to bed without making the signe of the crosse. I teach
negromancers to destroy their enemies by making a little
image in waze, which they throwing into the fire, or pricking,
the original is sensible of those torments that they expose the
image to. I make witches insensible in those parts where
the ram hath set Ms seale. I give a secret virtue to nolitefieri^
when 'tis said backwards, that it hinders the butter from
coming. I teach husbandmen to lay under the grounds of
that sheep-fold which he hath a mind to destroy, a lock of
haire, or a toade, with three curses, that destroyes ail the
sheep that passe over it. I teach the shepherds to tye a
bridegroomes point the marriage day,' when the priest sayes
conjuncgo voa, I give that mony that is found by the leaves
of an old oak. I lend magitians a familiar that keepes them
from undertaking anything without leave from Robin Good-
fellow. I teach how to break the charmes of a person bewicht,
to kneade the triangular cake of Saint Woolfe, aud to give it
in almes to the first poore body. I cure sick persons of the
hob-thrush, by giving them a blow with a forke just between
the two eyes. I make the witches sensible of the blowes
that are given them with an elder-stick. I let loose the hob-
goblin at the advents of Christmass ; and command him to
rowle a barrell, or draw a chaine along the streets, that he
may wring off" their necks that look out at the window. 1
teach the composition of the charms, seales, talismans, spells,
of the magique looking glasses, and of the inchanted figures.

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314 MIDSUUMEK EVE.

I teach them to find the misseltoe of the new yeare, the
wandring hearbs, the gamahely, and the magnetique plaster.
I Bend t£e goblins, the shod-mule, the spirits, the hob-goblin^
the haggs, the night bats, the scraggs, the breake-neckes, the
bkek men and the white women, the fantasms, the apparitions,
the sear-erowes, the bug-beares, and the shaddowes : in fine, I
am the divel of Van vert, the Jew-errant, and the grant huntsman
of Fountain-bleau Forrest."

Mr. Douce has a carious Dutch mezzotinto, representing
one of the months " Junius." " C. Ihuart. inv. J. Cole eg
Amstelod.*' There is a young figure (I think a boy dressed
in girl's clothes) with a garland of fiowers about her head;
two rows, seemingly of beads, hang round her neck, and so
loosely as to come round a kind of box, which she holds with
both hands, perhaps to solicit money. She has long hair
flowing down her back and over her shoulders. A woman is
represented bawling near her, holding in her right hand a
bough of some plant or tree, pointing out the girl to the
notice of the spectators with her left. She has a thrift-box
hung before her. Another woman holds the girl's train with
her right hand, and lays her left on her shoulder. She too
appears to be bawUng. The girl herself looks modestly down
to the ground. Something like pieces of money hangs in
loose festoons on her petticoat.

''Fern-seed," says Grose, ''islookedonasharing great magical
powers, and must be gathered on Midsummer Eve. A person
who went to gather it reported that the spirits whisked by his
ears, and sometimes struck his hat and other parts of his
body ; and, at length, when he thought he had got a good
quantity of it, and secured it in papers and a box, when he
came home he found both empty." [BovetyinhisPandsemonium,
1684, gives a narrative of some ladies who say, " We had been
told divers times that if we fasted on Midsummer Eye, and
then at 12 o'clock at night laid a cloth on the table with bread
and cheese, and a cup of the best beer, setting ourselves down
as if we were going to eat, and leaving the door of the roam
open, we should see the persons whom we should afterwards
nuirry, come into the room and drink to us."] Torreblanea,
in his Dsemonologia, 1623, p. 150, suspects those per-
sons of witchcraft who gather fern-seed on this night :
"Vel si reperiantur in nocte S. Joannis colligendo grana

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UID8UXHER EVE. 315

herbn Fuelicis, vulgo Helecho, qua Magi ad maleficia sua
utimtur."

A respectable countryman at Heston, in Middlesex, informed
me in June, 1793, that, when he was a young man, he was
often present at the ceremony of catching the fern-seed at
midnight on the eve of St. John Baptist. The attempt, he
said, was often unsuccessful, for the seed was to fall into the
pUte of its own accord, and that too without shaking the plant.

Dr. Rowe, of Launceston, informed me, Oct. l/th, 1790,
of some rites with fern-seed which were still observed at that
place. " Fern," says Gerard, " is one of those plants which
have their seed on the back of the leaf, so small as to escape
the sight. Those who perceived that fern was propagated by
semination, and yet could never see the seed, were much at a
loss for a solution of the difficulty ; and, as wonder always
endeavours to augment itself, they ascribed to fern-seed many
strange properties, some of which the rustick virgins have not
yet forgotten or exploded." This circumstance relative to
fern-seed is alluded to in Beaumont and Fletcher's Fair Maid
of the Inn :

" Had you Gyges' ring ?

Or the herb that gives Invisibility ?"

Again, in Ben Jonson's New Inn :

•* I had

No medicine, sir, to go invisible,
No fern-seed in my pocket."*

Again, in Philemon Holland's Translation of Pliny, book
xxvii. ch. 9 : "Of feme be two kinds, and they beare neither
flonre nor seed." The ancients, who often paid more attention
to received opinions than to the evidence of their senses, be-
lieved that fern bore no seed. Our ancestors imagined that
this plant produced seed which was invisible. Hence, from
an extraordinary mode of reasoning, founded on the fantastic
doctrine of signatures, they concluded that they who possessed
the secret of wearing this seed about them would become in-

1 I** Gather fearne-seed on Midsomer Eve, and weare it about the con-
tinuidly. Also on Midsomer Day take the herb milfoile roote before
sun -rising, and before you take it out of the ground say these words fol-
lowing, &C., and gather the femseed on Midsomer Eve betweene 11
and 12 at noone and att night." MS. temp. Eiiz.]

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316 MIDSUMMER £V£.

vifiible. This superstition Shakespeare's good sense taught
him to ridicule. It was also supposed to seed in the course
of a single night, and is called, in Browne's Britannia's
Pastorals, 1613,

" The wond'rous one-oight-seeding ferne."

Absurd as these notions are, they were not wholly exploded
in the time of Addison. He laughs at a doctor who was
arrived at the knowledge of the ereen and red dragon, and
had discovered the female fern-seed. (Tatler, No. 240.)

In the curious tract, entitled Plaine Percevall the Peace-
maker of England, temp. Bliz. 4to. is this passage: " I thinke
the mad slave hath tasted on a ferne-stalke, that he walkes so
invisible." Butler alludes to this superstitious notion, Hudi-
bras. Part III. Cant. iii. 3, 4 :

** That spring like fern, that insect weed,
Equivocally without seed."

Levinus Lemnius tells us : " They prepare fern gathered
in the summer solstice, pulled up in a tempestuous night,
rue, trifoly, vervain, against magical impostures." English
Translat. 1658, p. 392. In a most rare little book, entitled
a Dialogue or Communication of Two Persons, devysed or set
forthe, in the Latin Tonge, by the noble and famose clarke
Desiderius Erasmus, intituled, the Py]gi*emage of pure De-
votyon, newly translatyd into Englishe, printed about 1551,
is the following curious passage: " Peraventure they ymagyne
the symylytude of a tode to be there, evyn as weguppowwkem
we cutte the 'feamestalke there to be an egle, and evyn as
chyldren (whiche they see nat indede) in the clowdes, thynke
they see dragones spyttynge fyre, and hylles flammynge with
fyre, and armyd men encounterynge."

It was the custom in France, on Midsummer Eve, for the
people to carry about brazen vessels, which they use for culi-
nary purposes, and to beat them with sticks for the purpose
of making a great noise. A superstitious notion prevailed
also with the common people, that if it rains about this time,
the jQJiberts will be spoUed that season.^

' ** Persuasum denique est vulge, si circa diem S. Joannis plnat, off.
oere id avellania. Causa fortaase est ipsarum teneritudo, humoris impa-
tiens." Hospin. de Orig. Fester. Christian. foL 113.

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MIDSUMMSB EVE. 317

In Bacelini Historiee UnivenAlis Nucleus, 1659i there is ft
calendar entitled "CalendariumAstronomicumpriscam/' with
** Obseryationes rusticee" at the end of every month, among
which I find the following : " Pluvias S. Joannis 40 dies
pluTii sequuntur, certa nucum pemieiea" And again: '* 2 Julii
pluvia 40 dies similes conducit."

Bourne cites from the TruUan Council a singular species
of diyination on St. John Baptist's Eve : '' On the 23d of
June, which is the Eve of St. John Baptist, men and women
were accustomed to gather together in the evening by the
sea-side, or in some certain houses, and there adorn a girl,
who was her parents' first-begotten child, after the manner of
a bride. Then they feasted and leaped after the manner of
Bacchanals, and danced and shouted as they were wont to do
on their holy-days : after this they poured into a narrow-
neck' d vessel some of the sea-water, and put also into it cer-
tain things belonging to each of them. Then, as if the devil
gifted the girl widi the faculty of telling future things, they
would enquire with a loud voice about the good or evil for-
tune that should attend them : upon this the girl would take
out of the vessel the first thing that came to hand, and shew
it, and give it to the owner, who, upon receiving it, was so
foolish as to imagine himself wiser, as to the good or evil
fortune that should attend him." (The Words of the Scholiast,
Can. 65. in Syn. Trul. in Bals. P. 440. Bourne, chap, xx.)

Midsummer-eve festivities are still kept up in Spain. " At
Alcala, in Andalusia," says Dairy mple, in his Travels through
Spain and Portugal, "at twelve o'clock at night, we were
much alarmed with a violent knocking at the door. ' Quein
esV says the landlord ; ' Isabel de San Juan,' replied a voice:
he got up, lighted the lamp, and opened the door, when five
or six sturdy fellows, armed with fusils, and as many women,
came in. After eating a little bread, and drinking some brandy,
they took their leave ; and we found that, it being the Eve
of St. John, they were a set of merry girls with their lovers,
going round the village to congratulate their friends on the
approaching festival." A gentleman who had resided long
in Spain informed me that in the villages they light up fires
on St. John's Eve, as in England.

The boys of Eton School had anciently their bonfires at
Midsummer, on St. John's Day. Bonfires were lately, or still

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318 MIPBUMHSA Btr£.

continue to be made, on Midsummer Eve, in the villagee of
Gloucestershire.

In the Ordinary of the Company of Cooks at Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, 1575, 1 find the following clause : " And alsoe that
the said Felloship of Cookes shall yearelie of theire owne cost
and charge mainteigne and keep the bone-fires, according to
the auntient custome of the said towne on the Sand-liill; that
IB to say, one bone-fire on the Even of the Feast of the Nati-
vitie of St. John Baptist, commonly called Midsomer Eyen,
and the other on the Even of the Feast of St. Peter the
Apostle, if it shall please the maior and aldermen of the said
towne for the time being to have the same bone-fires." In
Dekker's Seayen deadly oinnes of London, 1606, speaking of
"Candle-light, or the Noctumall Triumph," he says : "what
expectation was there of his coming ? Setting aside the ban-
Jiers, there is not more triumphing on Midsommer Night"
In Langley's Polydore Vergil, f. 103, we read: "Our Mid-
somer bonefyres may seme to have comme of the sacrifices of
Ceres, Goddesse of Come, that men did solenmise with fyrea,
trusting thereby to haye more plenty and aboundanoe of
come."

They still prevail also, on the same occasion, in the northern
parts of England.' Pennant's Manuscript, which I have so
often cited, informs us that small bonfires are made on the
Eye of St. John Baptist, at Darowen, in Wales. Hutchinson,
in his History of Northumberland, ii. 15, says it is usual to
raise fires on the tops of high hills, and in the villages, aud
sport and dance around them. On Whiteborough (a large
tumulus with a fosse round it), on St. Stephen's Down, near
Launceston, in Cornwall, as I learnt at that place in October
1/90, there was formerly a great bonfire on Midsummer Eve:
a large summer pole was fixed in the centre, round which the
fuel was heaped up. It had a large bush on the top of it^
Round this were parties of wrestlers contending for small
prizes. An honest countryman informed me, who had often

1 Hutchinson, in his History of Cumberland, i. 177, speaking of the
parish of Cumwhitton, says : " They hold the wake on the Eve of St.
John, with lighting fires, dancing, &c. The old Bei-teing"

* The boundary of each tin-mine in Cornwall is marked by a long pole,
with a bush at the top of it. These on St. John's Day are crowned with
flowers.

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MID8UMMEB EYE. 319

been present at these merriments, that at one of them an evil
spirit had appeared in the shape of a black dog, since which
none could wrestle, even in jest, without receiving hurt ; in
consequence of which the wrestling was, in a great measure,
laid aside. The rustics hereabout believe that giants are buried
in these tumuh, and nothing would tempt them to be so sacri-
l^ous as to disturb their bones. [The custom of lighting
fires on Midsummer Eve is still observed in many parts of
Cornwall. On these occasions, the fishermen and others
dance about them, and sing appropriate songs. The following
has been sung for a long series of years at Penzance and the
neighbourhood, and is taken down from the recitation of a
leader of a west country choir, as communicated by Mr.
Sandys to Dixon's Ancient Poems, p. 189 :

" The bonny month of June is crowned
With the sweet scarlet rose ;
The groves and meadows all around
With lovely pleasure flows.

** A» I walked out to yonder green,
One evening so fair,
All where the fair maids may be seen
Playing at the bonfire.

** Hail ! lovely nymphs, be not too coy,
But freely yield your charms ;
Let love inspire with mirth and joy,
In Cupid's lovely arms.

" Bright Luna spreads its light around,
The gallants for to cheer,
As they Uy sporting on the ground.
At the fair June bonfire.

" All on the pleasant dewy mead.
They shared each other's charms.
Till Phoebus' beams began to spread,
And coming day alarms.

** Whilst larks and linnets sing so sweet,
To cheer each lovely swain.
Let each prove true unto their love,
And so farewell the plain."]

Hutchinson, in his History of Northumberland, mentions
another custom used on this day ; it is, "to dress out stools

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320 HIDSUMMEB EYE.

with a cofibion of flowers. A layw of day is placed on the
stool, and therein is stuck, with great regalarity, an arrange-
ment of all kinds of flowers, so close as to form a beaatifiil
cushion. These are exhibited at the doors of houses in the
viUages, and at the ends of streets and cross lanes of larger
towns" (this custom \b very preyalent in the city of Durham),
*' where the attendants beg money from passengers, to enable
them to have an evening feast and dancing.'' He adds:
*' This custom is evidently derived from the Ludi CompitaKi
of the Romans; this appellation was taken from the compita,
or cross lanes, where they were instituted and celebrated by
the multitude assembled before the building of Rome. Servins
Tullius revived this festival after it had been neglected for
many years. It was the feast of the lares, or hoasehold gods,
who presided as well over houses as streets. This mode of
adorning the seat or couch of the lares was beautiful, and the
idea of reposing them on aromatic flowers and beds of roses
was excellent. We are not told there was any custom among
the Romans of strangers or passengers ofiering gifts. Our
modern usage of all these old customs terminates in seeking
to gain money for a merry night."

Dr. Plott, in his History of Oxfordshire, p. 349, mentions
a custom at Burford in that county (yet within memory), of
making a dragon yearly, and carrying it up and down the
town in great jollity, on Midsummer Eve ; to which, he says,
not knowing for what reason, they added a giant. It is curi-
ous to find Dr. Plott attributing the cause of this general
custom to a particular event. In his Oxfordshire, f. 203, he
tells us " that, about the year 750, a battle was fought near
Burford, perhaps on the place still called Battle-Edge, west
of the town towards Upton, between Cuthred or Cuthbert, a
tributary king of the West Saxons, and Ethelbald, king of
Mercia, whose insupportable exactions the former king not
being able to endure, he came into the field against Ethelbald,
met, and overthrew him there, winning his banner, whereon
was depicted a golden dragon : in remembrance of which
victory he supposes the custom was, in all likeUhood, first in-
stituted. So far from being confined to Burford, we find oar
dragon fiying on this occasion in Germany : thus Aubanus,
p. 270 : " Ignus fit, cui orbiculi quidam lignei perforati im-
ponuntur, qui quum infiammantur, flexilibus virgis prsefixi.

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MIDSUMMER EYE. 321

arte et vi in aerem supra Moganum amnem excutiuntur : Bra-
conem igneum Yolare putant, qui prias non yiderunt."

The dragon is one of those shapes which fear has created
to itself. They who gave it life^ have, it seems, famished it also
with the feelings of animated nature : hut our modem philo-
sophers are wiser than to attrihute any no3dou8 qualities in
water to dragon's sperm. Gihhon, in his Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire, ed. 1788, vi. 392, speaking of the times of
the British Arthur, tells us that " Pilgrimage and the holy
"Wars introduced into Europe the specious miracles of Arahian
magic ; fairies and giants, y^ytn^ dragons, &c. were blended with
the more simple fictions of the west."

It appears from the Husbandman*s Practice, or Prognostica-
tion for ever, 1664, p. 105, that a kind of fiery meteors in the
air were called buming dragons. In a curious book, entitled
a Wonderful History of all the Storms, Hurricanes, Earth-
quakes, 1704, p. 66, is the following account of " Fiery Bra-
gtms and Fiery Brakes appearing in the air, and the cause of
them. These happen when the vapours of a dry and fiery
nature are gathered in a heap in the air, which, ascending to
the region of cold, are forcibly beat back with a violence, and
by a vehement agitation kindled into a flame; then the highest
part which was ascending, being more subtile and thin, ap-

Eareth as a dragon's neck smoaking ; for that it was lately
wed in the repulse, or made crooked, to represent the dra-
gon's belly; the last part, by the same repulse, turned
upwards, maketh the tail, appearing smaller, for that it is
both further off, and also the cloud bindeth it, and so with
impetuous motion it flies terribly in the air, and sometimes
tumeth to and fro, and where it meeteth with a cold cloud it
beateth it back, to the great terror of them that behold it.
Some call it a fire-drake, others have fancied it is the devil,
and in popish times of ignorance, various superstitious dis-
courses have gone about it." In a rare work by Thomas Hill,
entitled a Contemplation of Mysteries, printed about 1590,
is a chapter " Of the Flying Bragon in the Ayre, what the
same is" (with a neat wooden print of it). Here he tells
us : " The flying dragon is when a fume kindled appeereth
bended, and is in the middle wrythed like the bdly of a
dragon : but in the fore part for the narrownesse, it repre-
senteth the figure of the neck, from whence the sparkes are

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322 HID8UKMBB EYE.

breathed or forced forth viih the same breathing." He
concludes his wretched attempt to explain it, with attributing
his phenomenon to the '* poUicie of deyils and inchantments
of the wicked." Asserting that " in the yere 1532, in
manye countries were dragons crowned seene flying by flocks
or companies in the ayre, having swines snowtes ; and some-
times were there seene foure hundred flying togither in a
companie."

In the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1793, yi. 467, pariah
of New-Machar, Presbytery and Synod of Aberdeen, we read :
" In the end of Noyember and beginning of December last
(1792), many of the country people observed very uncommon
phenomena in the air (which they call dragons) of a red fiery
colour, appearine in the north, and flying rapidly towards the
east, from which tney concluded, and their conjectures were right,
a course of loud winds and boisterous weather would foUow."
In the same work, xiii. 99, parish of Strathmartin, county of
Forfar, we read : '* In the north end of the parish is a large
stone, called Martin's Stone. Tradition says that, at the
place where the stone is erected, a dragon, which had devoured
nine maidens (who had gone out on a Sunday evening, one nfta
another, to fetch spring-water to their father), was killed by a
person called Martin, and that hence it was called Martin's
Stone." Borlase tells us, in his Antiquities of Cornwall, p.
137, that in most parts of Wales, and throughout all Scotland,
and in Cornwall, we find it a common opinion of the vulgar,
that about Midsummer Eve (tho' in the time they do not all
agree), it is usual for snakes to meet in companies, and that by
joyning heads together and hissing, a kind of bubble is form'd,
which the rest, by continual hissing, blows on till it passes
quite through the body, and then it immediately hardens, and
resembles a glass-ring, which, whoever finds (as some old
women and children are persuaded) shall prosper in all his
undertakings. The rings thus generated are calFd Gleinau
Nadroeth; in English, Snake-stones.'* In the printed Ac-
counts of the Churchwardens of St. Margaret, Westminster,
(Illustrations of the Manners and Expenses of Ancient Times
in England, 1797, p. 3,) under the year 1491, are the follow-
ing items : " Item, Received of the Churchwardens of St.
Sepulcre's for the Dragon, 2s, 8d, Item, Paid for dressing
of the Dragon and for packthread, "S.'^d. Ibid. p. 4, under

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HIDSUHMEB EYE. 323

1502 : Item, to Michell Wosebyche for making of viij. Bra-
goriM, 6«. %d. In King's Yale Royal of England, p. 208, we
leam that Henry Hardware, Esq., mayor of Chester in 1599,
" for his time, altered many antient customs, as the shooting
forthe sheriff's breakfast; the going o/theGiantsat Midsammer,
&c. and would not sufifer any playes, bear-baits, or buU-bait."
Ormerod, in his History of Cheshie, i. 210, says: " 1677,
Jane 7. The antient Midsummer shows ordered to be abo-
lished at Chester from that time forward." Puttenham, in
his Arte of English Poesie, 1589, p. 128, speaks of ^'Midsom-
mer pageants tn London, where, to make the people wonder,
are set forth great and uglie gyants, marching as if they were
alive, and armed at all points,^ but within they are stuffed full
of browne paper and tow, which the shrewd boyes, underpeep-
ing, do guilefully discover, and turne to a greate derision."
In Smith's Latin poem, De Urbis Londini Incendio, 1667,
the carrying about of pageants once a year is confirmed :

GvildhaU,

** Te jam fata vocant, •ublimis, curia, moles ;

Purpureus prsetor qak sua jura debit. ,

Quk solitus toties lautis accumbere mensis, ,

Annua cum renovat pegmata celsa dies ;
Qua senior populus venit, populique senatus,
Donee erant istis prospera fata locis."

And in Marston's play, called the Dutch Courtezan, we read :
*' Yet all will scarce make me so high as one of the gyanfs
ttilte that stalks before my Lord Maior's pageants." This
circumstance may perhaps explain the origin of the enormous
figures still preserved in Guildhall. From the New View of
London, ii. 607, it should appear that the statues of Gog and
Magog were renewed in that edifice in 1706. The older
figures, however, are noticed by Bishop Hall, in his Satires,
who, speaking of an angry poet, says he —

" makes such faces that mee seemes I see

Some foul Megtera in the tragedie
Threatening her twined snakes at Tantales ghost ;
Or the grim visage of some frowning post.
The erab'tree pwter of the Guild Hall gates,
YJhWe he his frightfull beetle elevates.''

1 Completely ; in every particular. See an account of the phrase in
Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaisms, p. 103.

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324 MIDSUMMER EYE.

Stow mentions the older figures as representations of a
Briton and a Saxon. See Pennant's London, 1793, p. 374.
See also Malcolm's Londinium Bediviynm, iii. 525; and
the Picture of London, 1804, p. 131. The giants are thus
noticed in the Latin poem, Londini quod rdiquom, 1667,
p. 7:

*' Hand procul, excelsis olim pnetoria pinnis

Surgebant pario marmore fiibit opus.
Alta duo jEtnei servabant atnAfratres.

Pneteztaquefirequena splenduit aula toga.
Hie populo Augostiu reddebat jura senatus,

£t sua pnetori sella cunilis erat.
Sed neque Vulcanum jnris reverentia cepit,

Tata satellitio nee fait aula suo.
Vidit, et exurgas, dixit, spedosior aala

Atqae frequens solita curia lite strepat."

Bragg says, in his Observer, Dec. 25, 1706, '* I was hemmed
m, like a wrestler in Moorfields ; the cits begged the colours
taken at Bamilies, to put up in Guildhall. When I entered
the Hall, I protest, Master, I never saw so much joy in the
countenances of the people in my life, as in the cits on this
occasion ; nay, the very giants stared at the colours with aH
the eyes they had, and smHed as well as they could."

In Grosley's Tour to London, translated by Nugent, 1772,
ii. 88, we find the following passage : '' The English have, in
general, rambling tastes for the several objects of the polite
arts, which does not even exclude the Gothic : it still prevails,
not only in ornaments of fancy, but even in some modem
buildings. To this taste they are indebted for the preserva*
tion of the two fftants in Guildhall, These giants, in com-
parison of which the Jacquemard of St. Paul's at Paris is a
bauble, seem placed there for no other end but to frighten
children: the better to answer this purpose, care has fre-
quently been taken to renew the daubing on their faces and
arms. There might be some reason for retaining those mon-
strous figures if they were of great antiquity, or if, like the
stone which served as the first throne to the kings of Scot-
land, and is carefully preserved at Westminster, the people
looked upon them as the palladium of the nation ; but they
have nothing to recommend them, and they only raise, at fiist

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MIDSUHHEK £TE. 325

▼iew, a sniprise in foreigners, who must consider them as a
prodaction in which both Danish and Saxon barbarism are
happily combined.'' In the Churchwardens' Accounts of St.
An(uew Hubbard parish, in the city of London, A.n. 1533 to
1535, we haye : '' Receyryd for the Jeyantt lax.d. Beoeyryd
for the Jeyantt ij^. yu}d.," perhaps alluding to some parochial
Midsummer pageant.

K the foUowing Scottish custom, long ago forgotten in the
city of Edinburgh, is not to be referred to the Midsummer Eye
featiyities, I know not in what class to rank it. Warton, in
his History of English Poetry, ii. 310, speaking of Sir Dayid
Lyndesay, a Scottish poet, under James the Fifth, tells us :
** Among ancient peculiar customs now lost, he mentions a
superstitious idol annually carried about the streets of Edin-
burgh:

" Of Edinbargh the great idolatrie,

And manifest abominatioun !
On tharefeut-dayj all creature may see,

Thay beir one aldgtok-imaffe throw the toun,
With talbrone, trumpet, ahalme, and darioun,

QnhiUc has bene usit mony one yeir bigone,
With priestis and fireris, into prooesdoun,

Sidyke as Bal was borne through Babilon."

" He also speaks of the people flocking to be cured of yarious
infirmities, to the auld rude, or cross of Korrail." Warton
explains " aid stok-image" to mean an old image made of a
stock qf wood : as he does ** talbrone" by tabor. The aboye
passage is from Sir Darid Lyndesa/s Monarchic.

On the subject of giants, it may be curious to add, that
Dr. Milner, in his History of Winchester, 1798, p. 8, speak-
ing of the gigantic statue that inclosed a number of human
yictims, among the Gauls, giyes us this new intelli^nce con-
cerning it : " In different places on the opposite side of the
channel, were we are assured that the rites in question pre-
vailed, amongst the rest at Dunkirk and Douay, it has been an
immemorial custom, on a certain holiday in the year, to build
up an immense figure of basket-work and canyas, to the
height of forty or fifty feet, which, when properly painted and
dressed, represented a huge giant, which also contained a
number of liying men within it, who raised the same, and
caused it to moye from place to place. The popular tradition

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326 MIDSUMMER EYE.

was, that this figure represented a certain Pagan giant^ who
used to devour the inhabitants of these places, until he was
killed by the patron saint of the same. Have not we here a
plain trace of the horrid sacrifices of Druidism offered up to
Saturn, or Moloch, and of the beneficial effect of Christianity
in destroying the same V

In a most rare poem, entitled London's Artillery, by Bichard
Niccolls, 1616, p. 97, is preserved the following description of
the great doings anciently used in the streets of London on
the VigiU of St, Peter and St. John Statist, " when," says
our author, *' that fomous marching-watch, consisting of two
thousand, beside the standing watches, were maintained in this
citie. It continued from temp. Henrie III. to the 31st of
Henry VIIL, when it was laid down by licence from the king,
and revived (for that year only) by Sir Thomas Gresham, Lord
Mayor, 2 Edw. VI."

" That once againe they seek and imitate
Their anoestora, in kindling those faire lights
Which did illustrate these two famous nights.
When drums and trumpets sounds, which do delight
A cheareful heart, waking the drowzie night.
Did fright the wandring moone, who from her spheare
Behol£ng earth beneath, lookt pale with feare.
To see the aire appearing all on flame,
Kindled by thy bon-fires, and from the same
A thousand sparkes dispmt throughout the skie.
Which like to wandring starres about did flie ;
Whose holesome heate, purging the aire, consumes
The earthe's unwholesome vapors, fogges, and fomti^
Thewakefiill shepheard by his flocke in field,
With wonder at that time farre off beheld
The wanton shine of thy trjrumphant fiers,
Playing upon the tops of thy tall spiers :
Thy goodly buildings, that till then did hide
Their rich array, opened their windowes wide.
Where kings, great peeres, and many a noble dame,
Whose bright, pearle-glittering robes did mocke the
Of the night's burning lights did sit to see
How every senator, in his degree,
Adom'd with shining gold and purple weeds,
And stately mounted on rich-trapped steeds.
Their guard attending, through the streets did ride
Bdbre their foot-bands, graced with glittering pride
Of rieh-guilt armes, whose glory did present
A sunshine to the eye, as if it ment,

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MIDSUMMEB EYE. 327

Amongst the cresset lights shot up on hie,

To chase darke night for ever from the skie :

While in the streets the stickelers to and fro,

To keepe decorum, still did come and go ;

Where tables set were plentifrilly spread,

And at each doore neighbor with neighbor fed ;

Where modest mirth, attendant at the feast,

With plentye, gave content to every guest ;

Where true good will crown'd cups with fruitful! wine,

And neighbors in true love did fast combine ;

Where the lawes picke purse, strife 'twixt friend and

friend,
By reconcilement happily tooke end.
A happy time, when men knew how to use
The gifts of happy peace, yet not abuse
Their quiet rest with rust of ease, so farre
As to forget all discipline of warre."

A note says: ''Ring Henrie the Eighth, approving this
marching watch, as an anncient commendable custome of this
dttie, lest it should decay thro' neglect or covetousnesse» in
the fUvt yeare of his reigne came privately disguised in one
of his guard's coates into Cheape» on Midsommer Even ; and
seeing the same at that time performed to his content, to
countenance it, and make it more glorious by the presence of
bis person, came after on St. Peter's Even, with Queen
Katherine, attended by a noble traine, riding in royall state to
the King's Heade in Cheape, there to behold the same ; and
after, anno 15 of his reigne, Christerne, King of Denmarke,
with his Queene, being then in England, was conducted
through the cittie to the King's-heade, in Cheape, there to
see the same."

Donee's MS. notes say, *' It appears that a watch was
formerly kept in the city of London on Midsummer Eve, pro-
bably to prevent any disorders that might be committed on
the above occasion. It was laid down in the 20th year of
Henry YIII. See Hall's Chronicle at the latter end of the
year. The Chronicles of Stow and Byddell assign the sweating
sickness as a cause for discontinuing the watch." NiccoLs
says, the watches on Midsummer and St. Peter's Eve were
laid down by licence from the king, ''for that the cittie had
then bin charged with the leavie of a muster of 15,000 men."
'We read in Byddell's Chronicle, under the year 1527 : "This
yere was the sweatinge sicknesse, ibr the which cause there

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328 MIDSUUMEB ETE.

was no watche at Mydsommer." See also Grafton's Chronicle,
p. 1290, in ann. 1547, when the watch appears to have been
kept both on St. John Baptist's Eve and on that of St.
Peter.

[It was asain prohibited in 1539, and appears to have been
discontinued from that period tUl 1547, when it was leviTed
under the mayoralty of Sir John Gresham, with more than
usual splendour. Mr. Gage Rokewode quotes the following
entry from Lady Long's household book, relating to this
ceremony : ** Paid to zzx. men for weying of your La : hameys
on Midsommer eve and St. Peter's eve, that is to say z. «. to
my Lord Mayor and zx. to Sir Roland Hill."]

Sir John Smythe*s '* Instructions, Observations, and Orders
Militarie," 1595, p. 129, say: ''An ensigne-bearer in the
field, carrieng his ensigne displayed, ought to carrie the same
upright, and never, neither in towne nor field, nor in sport*
nor earnest, to fetche flourishes about his head with his
ensigne-Rtafif, and tafiata of his ensigne, ob the eMigne-hearen
of London do upon Midwmtner 'Night.**

** In Nottingham," says an old authority quoted by Deering,
p. 123, "by an antient custom, they keep yearly a general
watch every Midsummer Eve at night, to which every inhsr
bitant of any ability sets forth a man, as well voluntaries as
those who are charged with arms, with such munition as they
have; some pikes, some maskets, calivers, or other guns,
some partisans, holberts, and such as have armour send their
servants in their armour. The number of these are yearly
almost two hundred, who at sun-setting meet on the Row, the
most open part of the town, where the Mayor's Seijeant at
Mace gives them an oath, the tenor whereof foUoweth, in
these words : ' They shall well and truly keep this town till
to-morrow at the sun-rising; you shall come into no house
without license or cause reasonable* Of all manner of casi^
alties, of fire, of crying of children, you shall due warning
make to the parties, as Qie case shall require. Tou shall due
search make of all manner of affrays, bloudsheds, outcrys, and
all other things that be suspected,' &c. Whidi done, they
all march in orderly array through the principal parts 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 until the sun dismiss them in the morning. In

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MIDSUMMEB EVE 32Q

this business the fashion is for every watchman to wear a
garland, made in the fashion of a crown imperial, bedeck'd
with flowers of various kinds, some natural, some artificial,
bought and kept for that purpose, as also ribbans, jewels, and,
for the better garnishing whereof, the townsmen use the day
before to ransack the gardens of all the gentlemen withm six
or seven miles about Nottingham, besides what the town itself
affords them, their greatest ambition being to outdo one ai^
other in the bravery of their garlands. This custom is now
quite left off. It used to be kept in this town even so lately
as the reign of King Charles I.

Plays appear to have been acted publicly about this time.
We read in King's Vale Royal, p. 88, that in 1575, " Sir John
Savage, maior, caused the Popish Plays of Chester to be
played the Sunday, Munday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after
Mid-sommer Day, in contempt of an Inhibition, and the
Frimat's Letters fromYork, and from the Earl of Huntingdon."
In the same work, p. 199, it is said : '* Anno 1563, upon th6
Sunday after Midsummer Day, the History of Eneas and
Queen Dido was pla/d in the Roods Eye ; and were set out
by one Willliam Croston, gent, and one Mr. Man, on which
triumph there was made two forts and shipping on the water,
besides many horsemen, well armed and appointed."

In Lyte's Translation of Dodoen's Herball, 1578, p. 39, we
read : " Orpyne. The people of the countrey delight much
to set it in pots and shelles on MicUummer Even, or upon
timber, slattes, or trenchers, daubed with clay, and so to set
or hang it up in their houses, where as it remayneth greene h
long season and groweth, if it be sometimes oversprinckled
wit£ water. It floureth most commonly in August." The
common name for orpine plants was that of Mieliununer Men.
In one of the Tracts printed about 1800 at the Cheap
Repository, was one entitled Tawney Rachel, or the Fortune-
TeUer, said to have been written by Hannah More. Among
many other superstitious practices of poor SaUy Evans, one
of the heroines of the piece, we learn that ** she would never
go to bed on Midsummer Eve without sticking up in her
room the well-known plant caUed Midsummer Men, as the
bending of the leaves to the right, or to the left, would never

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330 MIBSUMUES EVE.

fail to tell her whether her lover was tme or false." Spenser
thus mentions orpine :

*^ Cool violets, and orpine growing siiU."

It is thus elegantly alluded to in the Cotta£;e Girl, a
^oem "written on Midsummer Eve, 1786 :"

" The rustic maid invokes her swain.
And hailSf to pensive damsels dear,
This Eve^ though direst of the year.
Oft on the gkrub she casts her eye,
That spoke her true-love's secret dgh ;
Or else, alas ! too plainly told
Her true-love's faithless heart was cold."

On the 22d of January, 1801, a small gold ring, weighing
eleven pennyweights seventeen grains and a half, was exhi-
bited to the Society of Antiquaries by John Topham, Esq.
It had been found by the Rev. Dr. Bacon, of Wakefield, in a

Sloughed field near Cawood, in Yorkshire, and had for a
evice two orpine plants joined by a true-love knot, with this
motto above : " Ma fiance velt ;" i. e. My sweetheart wills, or
is desirous. The stalks of the plants were bent to each other,
in token that the parties represented by them were to come
together in marriage. The motto under the ring was, "Joje
Tamour feu." From the form of the letters it appeared to
have been a ring of the fifteenth century.

The orpine plant also occurs among the following love
divinations on Midsummer Eve, preserved in the Connoisseur,
No. 56: — "I and my two sisters tried the dumb-cake toge-
ther : you must know, two must make it, two bake it, two
break it, and the third put it under each of their pillows (but
you must not speak a word all the time), and then yon will
dream of the man you are to have. This we did : and to be
sure I did nothing all night but dream of Mr. Blossom. The
same night, exactly at twelve o'clock, I sowed hemp-seed in
our back yard, and said to myself, ' Hemp-seed I sow. Hemp-
seed I hoe, and he that is my true-love come after me and
mow.' Will you believe me ? I looked back, and saw him

* [Mr. Soane, in his New Curiosities of Literature, i. 210, quotes an old
work for this curious custom.]

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HIDSUMMEB £YS. 331

behind me^ as plain as eyes eonld see him. Aflter that, I took
*a clean shift and wetted it^ and turned it wrong-side ont, and
hung it to the fire upon the back of a chair ; and very likely
my sweetheart would haye come and turned it right again
(for I heard his step)» but I was frightened, and could not
help speaking, which broke the charm. I likewise stuck up
two Midsummer Men, one for myself, and one for him. Now
if his had died away, we should never have come together, but
I assure you his blowed and turned to mine. Our maid Betty
tells me, that if I go backwards, without speaking a wordC
into the garden, upon Midsummer Eve, and gather a rose^
and keep it in a clean sheet of paper, without looking at it
till Chnstmas Day, it will be as fresh as in June ; and if I
then stick it in my bosom, he that is to be my husband will
oome and take it out."

The same number of the Connoisseur fixes the time for
watching in the church porch on Midsummer Eve : '^ I am sure
my own sister Hetty, who died just before Christmas, stood
in the church porch last Midsummer Eye, to see all that were
to die that year in our parish ; and she saw her own appa-
rition.'' This superstition was more generally practised, and,
I beUeve, is still re1;ained in many parts on the Eve of St.
Mark. (See p. 193.) Cleland, however, in his Institution
of a young Nobleman," has a chapter entitled "ARemedie

rlnst Love," in which he thus exclaims : '* Beware likewise
these fearful superstitions, as to watch upon St, John's
evening, and the fint Tuesdaye in the month of Marche, to
conjure the moon, to lie upon your backe having your ears
stopped with laurel leaves, and to fall asleepe, not thinking
of God, and such like follies, all forged by the infernal
Cyclops and Plutoe*s servants."

Grose tells us that any person fasting on Midsummer Eve,
and sitting in the church porch, will at midnight see the
spirits of tbe persons of that parish who will die that year,
come and knock at the church door, in the order and succes-
sion in which they will die. One of these watchers, there
beinff several in company, fell into a sound sleep, so that he
could not be waked. Whilst in this state, his ghost, or spirit^
was seen by the rest of his companions knocking at the church
door. (See Pandemonium, by R. B.) Aubrey, in his Remains
of Gentilisme, mentions this custom on Midsummer Eve

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332 MIDSUMMEB EVE.

nearly in the same words with Grose. It is also noticed ia
the poem of the Cottage Girl, abready quoted :

" NoW| to relieTe her growing fear,
That feels the haunted moment near
When ghosts in chains the church-yard walk,
She tries to steal the time by talk.
But hark 1 the church-dock swings around,
With a dead pause, each sullen sound,
And tells the midnight hour is come,
That wraps the groves in spectred gloom V

On the subject of gathering the rose on Midsummer Ere,
we have also the following lines :

« The moss-rose that, at fall of dew,
(Ere eve its duskier curtain drew,)
Was freshly gather'd from its stem,
She values as the ruby gem ;
And, guarded from the piercing air,
With all an anxious lover's care.
She bids it, for her shepherd's sake.
Await the new-year's finolic wake—
When, faded, in its alter'd hue
She reads — ^the rustic is untrue !
But if it leaves the crimson paint.
Her sick'ning hopes no longer funt.
The rose upon her bosom worn.
She meets him at the peep of mom ;
And, lo ! her lips with kines prest.
He plucks it from her panting breast."

With these^ on the sowing of hemp:^

" To issue from beneath the thatch.
With trembling hand she lifts the latch.
And steps, as creaks the feeble door.
With cautious feet, the threshold o'er ;
Lest, stumbling on the horse-shoe dim.
Dire spells unsinew ev'ry limb.

Lo ! shuddering at the solemn deed.
She scatters round the magic seed,
And thrice repeaU, * The seed I sow.
My true-love's scythe the crop shall mow.
Strait, as her firame fresh horrors freeze.
Her true-love with his scythe she sees.

■ The •sowing of hemp-seed, as will hereafter be shown, was also used
on Allhallow Even.

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HIDSUHM£E £V£. 333

And next, she seeks the yew-tree shade.
Where he who died for love is laid ;
There binds upon the verdant sod
By many a moon-light fairy trod,
The cowslip and the lily-wreath
She wove, her hawthorn hedge beneath :
And whispering, * Ah ! may Colin prove
As constant as thou wast to love !'
Kisses, with pale lip, full of dread,
The turf that hides his clay-cold head !
At length, her love-sick projects tried.
She gains her cot the lea beside ;
And on her pillow, sinks to rest,
With dreams of constant Colin blest."

Grose eajs : ** Any munanied woman fasting on Midsummer
Eve^ and at midnight laying a clean cloth, with bread, cheese,
and ale, and sitting down as if going to eat, the street-door
being left open, the person whom she is afterwards to marry
will come into the room and drink to her by bowing ; and
after filling the glass will leave it on the table, and, making
another bow, retire."

[Mother Bunch mentions '' the old experiment of the Mid-
smnmer shift." It is thus : '' My daughters, let seyen of
yon go together on a Midsummer's Eve, just at sun-set, into
a silent grove, and gather every one of you a sprig of red
sage, and return into a private room, with a stool in the
middle : each one having a clean shift turned wrong side out-
wards, hanging on a line across the room, and let every one
lay their sprig of red sage in a dean basin of rose-water set
on the stool; which done, place yourselves in a row, and
continue until twelve or one o'clock, saying nothing, be what
it will you see ; for, after midnight, each one's sweetheart or
husband that shall be, shall take each maid's sprig out of the
rose-water, and sprinkle his love's shift ; and those who are
so unfortunate as never to be married, their sprigs will not
be moved, but in lieu of that, sobs and sighs will be heard.
This has been often tried, and never failed of its effects."
Another edition of Mother Bunch says : '' On Midsummer
Eve three or font of you must dip your shifts in fair water,
then turn them wrong side outwards, and hang them on chairs
before the fire, and lay some salt in another chair, and speak
not a word. In a short time the Ukeness of him you are to

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334 M1DSUMHER EYE.

marry will come and turn your smocks, and drink to yon ;
bat, if there be any of you will never marry, they will
hear a bell, but not the rest.'*]

Lupton, in his Notable Things, b. i. 59, tells us : '^ It ia
certainly and constantly affirmed that on Midsummer Ere
there is found, under the root of mogwort, a coal which sares
or keeps them safe from the plagne, carbuncle, lightning, the
quartan ague, and from burning, that bear the same about
them : and Mizaldus, the writer hereof, saith, that he doth
hear that it is to be found the same day under the root of
plantane, which I know to be of truth, for I havefonnd them
the same day under the root of plantane, which is especially
and chiefly to be found at noon. In Natural and ArtifieiiQ
Conclusions, by Thomas Hill, 1650, we have : " the vertae of
a rare cole, that is to be found but one houre in the day, and
one day in the yeare. Diverse authors affirm concerning the
verity and vertue of this cole ; viz. that it is onely to be found
upon Midsummer Eve, just at noon, under every root of plantine
and of mugwort ; the effects whereof are wonderful ; for who-
soever weareth or beareth the same about with them, shall be
freed from the plague, fever, ague, and sundry other diseases.
And one author especially writeth, and constantly averreth«
that he never knew any that used to carry of this marvellous
cole about them, who ever were, to his knowledge, sick of
the plague, or (indeed) complained of any other maladie."

''The last summer," says Aubrey, in his Miscellanies, 1696,
p. 103, ''on the day of St. John Baptist, [1694,] I acci-
dentally was walking in the pasture behind Montague house ;
it was twelve a clock. I saw there about two or three and
twenty young women, most of them well habited, on their
knees, very busie, as if they had been weeding. I could
not presently learn what the matter was ; at last a young man
told me that they were looking for a coal under the root of a
plantain, to put under their heads that night, and they should
dream who would be their husbands. It was to be found that
day and hour."

The following, however, in part an explanation of this
singular search, occurs in the Practice of Paul Barbette, 1675,
p. 7 : " For the falling sicknesse some ascribe much to coals
pulled out (on St. John Baptist*B Eve) from under the roots
of mugwort : but those authors are deceived, for they are not

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MIDSUMMEB EVE. 335

coals, but old acid roots, coDsisting of much Tolatile salt, and
are almost always to be found under mugwort : so that it is
only a certain superstition that those old dead roots ought to
be pulled up on the eve of St. John Baptist, about twelve at
nightr

The Status Scholse Etonesis, a.b. 1560, (MS. Addit.
Brit. Mus. 4843,) says, '* In hac Yigilia moris erat (quamdiu
stetit) pueris, ornare lectos variis rerum variarum picturis, et
carmina de vita rebusque gestis Joannis Baptistse et preecnr-
soris componere: et pulchre exscripta affigere Clinopodiis lee-
torum, eruditis legenda." And again, — '' Mense Junii, in
Festo Natalia D. Johannis post matutinas preces, dum con-
suetudo floruit accedebant omnes scholastici ad rogum extruo-
tnm in orientali regione templi, ubi reverenter a sympho-
niacis cantatis tribus Antiphonis, et pueris in ordine stantibus
Tenitur ad merendam."

In Torreblanca's Dsemonologia, p. 150, I find the following
superstition mentioned on the night of St. John, or of St.
Paid : " Nostri sseculi puellee in nocte S. Joannis vel S. Pauli
ad fenestras spectantes, primas prsetereuntium voces captant, ut
cui nubant coDJectant." Our author is a Spaniard.

Scott, in his Discovery of Witchcraft, p. 144, tells us :
Against witches '' hang boughs (hallowed on Midsummer Day)
at the stall door where the cattle stand.''

Bishop Hall, in his Triumph of Rome, p. 58, says, that
*' St. John is implored for a benediction on wine upon his
day."

A singular custom at Oxford, on the day of St. John,
Baptist, still remains to be mentioned. The notice of it, here
copied, is from the Life of Bishop Home, by the Rev. William
Jones, (Works, vol. xii. p. 131 .)— " A letter of July the 25th,
1755, informed me that Mr. Home, according to an established
custom at Magdalen College, in Oxford, had begun to preach
before the University, on the day of Saint John the Baptist.
For the preaching of this annual sermon, a permanent pulpit of
stone is inserted into a comer of the first quadrangle ; and so
long as the stone pulpit was in use, (of which I have been a
witness,) the quadrangle was furnished round the sides with a
large fence of green boughs, that the preaching might more
nearly resemble that of John the Baptist in the wilderness ;
and a pleasant sight it was : but for many years the custom

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336 MIDSTJMMEB EYE.

has oeen discontiimed^ and the assembly have llioaght it safer
to take shelter under the roof of the chapel."

[A chap-book in my possession gives iSit following method
*' to know what trade your husband will be : On Midsummer
Eve take a small lump of lead (pewter is best), put it in your
left stocking on going to bed, and place it under your pillow ;
the next day being Midsummer Day, take a pail of water, and
place it so as the sun shines exactly on it, and as the dock is
striking twelve, pour in your lead or pewter melted and boil-
ing hot; as soon as it is cold and settled, take it out, and you
will find among the emblems of his trade, a ship is a sailor,
tools a workman, trees a gardener, a ring a silversmitli or
jeweller, a book a parson or learned man, and so on."]

Lupton, in his Book of Notable Things, ed. 1660, p. 40,
says : " Three nails made in the vigil of the Nativity of St.
John Baptist, called Midsommer Eve, and driven in so deep
that they eannot be seen in the place where the party do^
fail that hath the falling sickness, and naming the said par-
ties name while it is doing, doth drive away the disease quite."

CuUinson, in his Somersetshire, iii. 586, says : " In the
parishes of Congresbury and Puxton are two lajrge pieces of
common land, called East and West Dolemoors (from the Saxon
dal, which signifies a share or portion), which are divided into
single acres, each bearing a peculiar and di£ferent mark cut in
the turf, such as a horn, four oxen and a mare, two oxen and a
mare, a pole-axe, cross, dung-fork, oven, duck's nest, hand-reel,
and hare's- tail. On the Saturday be/ore Old Midsummer, several
proprietors of estates in the parishes of Congresbury, Poxton,
and Week St. Lawrence, or their tenants, assemble on the
commons. A number of apples are previously prepared,
marked in the same manner with the beforementioned acres,
which are distributed by a young lad to each of the commonen
from a bag or hat. At the close of the distibution each per-
son repairs to his allotment, as his apple directs him, and
takes possession for the ensuing year. An adjournment then
takes place to the house of the overseer of Dolemoors (an
officer annually elected from the tenants), where four acres,
reserved for the purpose of paying expenses, are let by indi
of candle, and the remainder of the day is spent in that soci-
ability and hearty mirth so congenial to the soul of a Somer-
setshire yeoman." [Midsummer Eve was formerly thooght

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ST. Peter's day. 337

to be a season prodactire of madness. So Olivia observes,
speaking of Maivolio's seeming frenzy, that it " is a very
Midsummer madness ;'' and Steevens thinks that as '' this
time was anciently thought productive of mental vagaries, to
that circumstance the Midsummer Night's Dream might
have owed its title." Heywood seems to allude to a similar
belief, when he says* —

" As mad as a March hare ; where madness compares,
Are not Midsummer hares as mad as March hares ?"]

ST. PETER^S DAY.

June 29.

Sto^v tells us that the rites of St John Baptist's Eve were
also used on the Eve of St. Peter and St. Paul: and Dr.
Moresin informs us that in Scotland the people used, on this
latter night, to run about on the mountains and higher
grounds with lighted torches, like the Sicilian women of old
in search of Proserpine.*

In Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, 1792,
iii. 105, the Minister of Loudoun in Ayrshire) under the head
of Antiquities, tells us : '' The custom still remains amongst
the herds and young people to kindle fires in the high grounds,
in honour of Beltan. Beltan, which in Gaelic signifies Baal,
or Bel's fire, was anciently the time of this solemnity. It is
now kept on St. Peter's Day."*

I have been informed that something similar to this was
practised about half a century ago in Northumberland on this
night ; the inhabitants carried some kind of firebrands about
the fields of their respective villages. They made encroach-

^ Halliwell's Introduction to a Midsummer Night's Dream, p. 3.

' '* Faces ad Festum divi Petri noctu Scoti in montibus et altioribus
locis discurrentes accendere soliti sunt, ut cum Ceres Proserpinam quserens
uoiversum terrarum orbem perlustr^set." — Papatus, p. 56.

> Sir Henry Piers, in his description of Westmeath, makes the cere-
monies used by the Irish on St. John Baptist's Eve common to that of
St. Peter and St. Paul.

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338 ST. peteb's bay.

ments, on these occasions, upon the bonfires of the neigh-
bouring towns^ of which they took away some of the ashes
by force : this they called " carrying off the flower (probably
the flour) of the wake." Moresin thinks this a vestige of the
ancieut Cerealia.

It appears from the sermon preached at Blandford Fomm,
in 1570, by W. Kethe, that, in the Papal times in this counlay,
fires were customary, not only on the Eves of St. John ihe
Baptist at Midsummer, and of St. Peter and St. Paul the
Apostles, but also on that of St. Thomas k Becket, or, as he
is there styled, " Thomas Becket the Traytor."

The London Watch on this evening, put down in the time
of Henry the Eighth, and renewed for one year only in that
of his successor, has been already noticed under Midsummer
Eve. It appears also from the Status Scholee Etonensis, 1560,
that the Eton boys had a great bonfire annually on the east
side of the church on St. Peter's Day, as well as on that of
St. John Baptist.

In an old Account of the Lordship of Gisborough in Cleve-
land, Yorkshire, and the adjoining coast, printed in the Anti-
quarian Repertory from an ancient manuscript in the Cotton
Library, speaking of the fishermen, it is stated, that " upon
St. Peter's Daye they invite their friends and kinsfolk to a
festyvall kept after their fashion with a free hearte, and noe
shew of niggardnesse : that daye their boates are dressed
curiously for the shewe, their mastes are painted, and certain
rytes observed amongst them, with sprinkling their prowes
with good liquor, sold with them at a groate the quarte, which
custome or superstition suckt from their auncestors, even
contynueth down unto this present tyme."

PROCESSUS AND MARTINIAN.

[The following proverbial lines relating to this day (July 2,)
were copied from an early MS. by Cole, in vol. 44 of his MS.
Collections :

** Si ploat in festo Process! et Martiniani,
Imber erit grandis, et suffocatio gram.'']

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339

TRANSLATION OF ST. THOMAS.

" In Tranalatione D. Thomee (mense Julii) solebant rogum
conatruere, sed nee omare lectos, nee carmina eomponere, sed
ludere si placet preeeptori." Statas Seholse Etonensis^ a.I).
1560, MS. ut supra.

ST. U L R I C.

July 4.

The following aie the ceremonies of this day preserved in
(Jooge's Translation of Naogeorgua :

" ST. HULDRYCHE.

" WberesoeYer HulcUyche hath his place, the peos^e there brings in
Both carpes and pykes, and mullets fat, his faTour here to win.
Amid the church there sitteth one, and to the aultar nie,
That selleth fish, and so good cheep, that every man may bale :
Nor any thing he loseth here, bestowing thus his paine.
For when it hath beene offred once, 'tis brought him aU againe,
That twise or thrise he selles the same, ungodlinesse such gaine
Doth still bring in, and plentiously the kitchin doth maintaine.
Whence comes this same religion newe ? what kind of God is this
Same Huldryche here, that so desires and so delightes in fishe ?*'

TAe Popish Ku^fdome, fol. 55.

TRANSLATION OP MARTIN.

[A similar tradition was current on this day, July 4th, to
that now ascribed to St. Swithin —

" Martini magni tranalatio in pluviam det
Qoadraginta dies continuere solet."]

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340

ST. SWITHIN'S DAY.

July 15.

The following is said to be the origin of the old adage :
*'If it rain on St. Swithin's Day, there will be rain more or lets
for forty-five succeeding days.'' In the year 865, St. Swithin,
Bishop of Winchester, to which rank he was raised by Rinf^
£thelwolfe, the Dane, dying, was canonized by the then Pope.
He was singular for his desire to be buried in the open churcli-
yard, and not in the chancel of the minster, as was usual with
other bishops, which request was complied with ; bnt the
monks, on his being canonized, taking it into their heads that
it was disgraceful for the saint to lie in the open churchyard,
resolved to remove his body into the choir, which was to have
been done with solemn procession on the 15tli of July. It
rained, however, s(fviolently on that day, and for forty days suc-
ceeding, as had hardly ever been known, which made them set
aside their design as heretical and blasphemous ; and instead,
they erected a chapel over his grave, at which many miraclea
are said to have been wrought.

Blount teUs us that St. Swithin, a holy Bishop of Winchester
about the year 860, was called the weeping St. Swithin, for
that, about his feast, Prsesepe and Aselli, rainy constellatxons,
arise cosmically, and commonly cause rain. Gay« in his
Trivia, mentions—

" How if, on Swithin's feast the welkin lours.
And ev'ry pent-house streams with hasty shoVrs,
Twice twenty days shall clouds their fleeces drain.
And wash the pavements with incessant rain."

Nothing occurs in the legendary accounts of this Saint,
which throws any Ught upon the subject ; the following lines
occur in Poor Robin's Almanack for 1697 :

" In this month is St. Swithin's Day ;
On which, if that it rain, they say
Full forty days after it will,
Or more or less, some rain distill.
This Swithin was a sanit, I trow,
And Winchester's hishop also.

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ST. SWITHIN'S DAY. 341

Who in his time did many a feat,
As Popish legends do repeat :
A woman having broke her eggs
By stumbling at another's legs,
For which she made a woeful cry,
St. Swithin chanc'd for to come by.
Who made them all as sound, or more
Than ever that they were before.
But whether this were so or no,
Tis more than you or I do know.
Better it is to rise betime,
And to make hay while sun doth shine.
Than to belieye in tales or lies
Which idle monks and fnars devise."

[And in Poor Robin for 1735 :

" If it rain on St. Swithin's Day ;
Vve heard some antient farmers say
It will continue forty days,
According to the country phrase.
'Tis a sad time, the lawyers now.
And doctors nothing have to do.
Likewise the oyster women too."

Ben Jonson, in Every Man out of his Humour, thus
alludes to the day : — ''0, here St. Swithin's, the fifteenth day;
variable weather, for the most part rain ; good ; for the most
part rain. Why, it should rain fourty days after, now^ more
or less ; it was a rule held afore I was able to hold a plough,
and yet here are two days no rain; ha! it makes me to muse."]

Churchill thus glances at the superstitious notions about
rain on St. Swithm's Day :

'' July, to whom, the dog-star in her train,
St. James gives oisters, and St. Swithin rain."'

These lines upon St. Swithin's Day are still common in
many parts of the country :

^' St. Svrithin's Day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain :
St. Swithin's Day, if thou be fair,
For forty days 'twill rain na mair."

1 A pleasant writer in the World, No. 10 (the late Lord Orford),
speaking on the alteration of the style, says : ** Were our astronomers so
ignorant as to think that the old proverbs would serve for their new-
fiingled calendar ? Could they imagine that St. Swithin would accommo-
date her rainy planet to the convenience of their calculations ?"

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342 ST. kenelh's t)ay.

There is an old saying, that ivhen it raibs on St. Swithin'a
Day, it is the Saint christening the apples.

In the Churchwardens' Accounts of the parish of Horley, in
the county of Surrey, under the years 1505-6, is the following
entry, which implies a gathering on this saint's day, or accoiint:
*' Itm. Saintt Swithine £urthyngs the said 2 jeres, 3s. 8d.'*

In Ly sons' 8 Environs of London, i. 230, is a list of chnidi
duties and payments relating to the church of Kingston-npon-
Thames, in which the following items appear : " 23 Hen. YII.
Imprimis, at Easter for any howseholder kepying a brode
gate, shall pay to the paroche prests wages 3d, Item, to the
paschall ^d. To St. Swithin Id, Also any howse-holder
kepyng one tenement shall pay to the paroehe prests wages 2d.
Item, to the Paschal ^d. And to St. Swithin Id"

[The following locsl proverbs may find a place here :

" If St. Swithin greets [weeps], the proverfo says.
The weather will be foul for forty cUys.
A shower of rain in July, when the com begins to fill,
Is worth a plough of oxen, and all that belongs theretill.
Some rain, some rest ;
Fine weather isn't always best.
Frosty nights, and hot sunny days,

Set the corn-fields all in a blaze, (i.e. they have a tendency to Ibr-
ward the ripening of the • white* crops."]

ST. KENELM'S DAY.

July 17*

[A VERY curious custom was formerly practised at Clent, in
the parish of Hales-Owen, co. Salop. "A fair was wont to be
held in the field in which St. Kenelm's Chapel is situate ; it
is of very ancient date, and probably arose from the congre-
gating together of numbers of persons to visit the shrine of
St. Kenelmon the feast of the Saint, 17th of July. By the
33d Henry VIII., the fair, or rather, we presume, the tolls of
the fair, were granted to Roger de Somery, the Lord of Clent.
The article of cheese was the principal commodity brought for
sale till, about a quarter of a century ago, the fair was num-
bered amongst the bygones. Clent was royal demesne* and

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ST. KENELM^S DAY. 343

•till enjoyfi peculiar priyileges : the inhabitants are free from
serving on juries at assizes and sessions, and also of tolls
throughout the kingdom, and at St. Kenelm's fair, and also
at the fair of Holy Cross, in the parish of Clent, and the inha-
bitants sold ale and other refreshments without license or the
intervention of the ganger, by an old charter which was
granted by Edward the Confessor, and confirmed by Elizabeth.
St. Kenelm's wake is held, or rather used to be held, for 'tis
now but little noticed, on the Sunday after the fair ; on which
day, within the recollection of numbers of persons now Hving,
it was the annual practice to crab the parson. The last
clergyman but one who was subjected to this process was a
somewhat eccentric gentleman, named Lee. He had been
chaplain to a man-of-war, and was a jovial old fellow in his
way, who could enter into the spirit of the thing. My in-
formant well recollects the worthy divine, after partaking of
dinner at the solitary house near the church, quietly quitting
the table when the time for performing the service drew nigh,
and reconnoitiing the angles of the building, and each ' but-
tress and coign of vantage' behind which it was reasonable to
suppose the enemy would be posted, and watching for a
favourable opportimity, he would start forth at his best walking
pace (he scorned to run) to reach the church. Around him,
thick and fast, fell from ready hands a shower of crabs, not a
few telling with fearful emphasis on his burly person, amid
the intense merriment of the rustic assailants ; but the distance
is small ; he reaches the old Saxon porch, and the storm is
over. Another informant, a man of Clent, states that he has
seen the late incumbent, the Rev. John Todd, frequently run
the gauntlet, and that on one occasion there were two sacks of
<arabs, each containing at least three bushels, emptied in the
chnrch field, besides large store of other missiles provided by
other parties; and it also appears that some of the more
wanton not unfrequently threw sticks, ' stakes, &c., which
probably led to the suppression of the practice. The custom
of crabbing the parson is said to have arisen on this wise.
• Long, long ago,' an incumbent of Frankley, to which St.
Kenelm's is attached, was accustomed, through hornd, deep-
rutted, miry roads, occasionally to wend his way to the seques-
tered depository of the remains of the murdered Saint King, to
perform divine service. It was his wont to carry creature

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344 ST. kenelm's day.

comforts with him, which he discassed at a lone farm-honse
near the scene of his pastoral daties. On one occasion,
whether the pastor's wallet was badly furnished, or his stomach
more than usually keen, tradition sayeth not ; but having eat
up his own proyision, he was tempted (after he had donned
his sacerdotal habit, and in the absence of the good dame)
ta pry into the secrets of a huge pot in which was simmering
the savoury dinner the lady had provided for her household ;
' among the rest, dumplings formed no inconsiderable portion
of the contents. The story runs that our parson poached
sundry of them, hissing hot, from the caldron, and nearing
the footsteps of his hostess, he, with great dexterity deposited
them in the ample sleeyes of his surphce ; she, however, was
conscious of her loss, and closely following the parson to the
church, by her presence prevented him from disposing of
them, and to avoid her accusation, he forthwith entered the
reading-desk and began to read the service, the derk beneath
making the responses. Ere long a dumpling slips out of the
parson's sleeve, and falls on sleek John's head ; he looked up
with astonishment, but took the matter in good part, and
proceeded with the service ; by and bye, however, John's pate
receives a second visitation, to which, he, with upturned eyes
and ready tongue, responded, ' Two can play at that, master !'
and suiting the action to the word, he forthwith begem pelting
the parson with crabs, a store of which he had gathered,
intending to take them home in his pocket to foment the
sprained leg of his jade of a horse ; and so well did the derk
play his part, that the parson soon decamped amid the jeers of
the old dame, and the laughter of the few persons who were
in attendance ; and in commemoration of this event (so saith
the legend), ' crabbing the parson' has been practised on the
Wake Sunday from that time till a very recent period."*

This very singular custom is alluded to in the Gentleman's
Magazine for Sept. 1797, p. 738 : "At the wake held there,
called Kenelm's Wake, alias Crab Wake, the inhabitants have
a singular custom of pelting each other with crabs ; and even
the clergyman seldom escapes, as he goes to, or comes from
the chapel." It would seem from this, that the clergyman
was not the only object of attack.]

» From a paper by Mr. J. Noake, of Worcester.

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345

ST. MARGARET'S DAY.

July 20,

Gkanger, in his Biographical Histoiy of England, iii. 54,
quotes the following passage from Sir John Birkenhead's
Assemhly Man: ''As many Sisters flock to him as at Paris on
St. Margaret's Day, when all come to church that are or hope
to be with child that year."

"From the East," says Butler, " the veneration of this Saint
was exceedingly propagated in England, France, and Germany,
in the eleyenth century, during the holy wars."

ST. BRIDGET.

July 23

" July 23. The departure out of this life of St. Bridget,
widdow, who, after many peregrinations made to holy places,
fiill of the Holy Ghost, finally reposed at Rome : whose body
was after translated into Suevia. Her principal festivity is
celebrated upon the seaventh of October." See the Roman
Martyrologe according to the Reformed Calendar, translated
into English by G. K. of the Society of Jesus, 1627. In the
Diarium Historicum, 4to. Francof. 1590, p. Ill, we read,
under 23^ Julii, " Emortualis Dies S. Brigittse Reg. Suecise,
1372."

Col. Yallancey, in his Essay on the Antiquity of the Irish
Language, 1772, p. 21, speaking of Ceres, teUs us: "Mr.
Bollm thinks this deity was the same queen of heaven to
whom the Jewish women burnt incense, poured out drink
offerings, and made cakes for her with their own hands."
Jerem. ch. xvii. v. 18 ; and adds : "This Pagan custom is
still preserved in Ireland on the eve of St. Bridget ; and which
was probably transposed to St. Bridget's Eve, from the festival
of a famed poetess of the same name in the time of Paganism.
In an ancient Glossary now before me, she is described :
'Bridget, a poetess, the daughter of Dagha; a goddess of
Ireland.' On St. Bridget's Eve every farmer's wife in Ireland

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346 ST. James's dat.

makes a cake, called Bairinhreac; the neighbours are inTited,
the madder of ale and the pipe go round, and the eyening
concludes with mirth and festivity."

Yet, according to the Flowers of the Lives of the most
Renowned Saints of the three Kingdoms, England, Scotland,
and Ireland, by Hierome Porter, 1632, p. 118, Bridgitt's Day
(Virgin of Kildare, in Ireland) was February the Ist.

ST. JAMES'S DAY.

Jdly 25.

The following is the blessing of new apples upon this day,
preserved in the Manuale ad Usum Sarum, 1555, f. 64.
" Benedictio Pomorum in Die Sancti Jacobi. Te deprecamor,
omnipotens Deus, ut benedicas huncfructum novorum pomo-
rum : ut qui esu arboris letalis et pomo in primo parente justa
funeris sententia mulctati sumus; per illustrationem unid
&[ii tui Redemptoris Dei ac Domini nostri Jesa Chiisti et
Spiritus Sancti benedictionem sanctificata sint omnia atqoe
benedicta: depulsisque primi facinoris intentatoris insidus,
salubriter ex hujus, diei anniversaria solan nitate diversisteins
edenda germina sumamus per eundem Dominum in unitate
ejusdem. Deinde sacerdos aspergtU ea aqtia benedicta"

Hasted, in his History of Kent, i. 537, parish of Clifi^ in
Shamel hundred, tells us that " the rector, by old custom,
distributes at his parsonage house on St. James's Day, annoaUy*
a mutton pye and a loaf, to as many persons as chuse U>
demand it, the expense of which amounts to about 15/. ptf
annum."

On St. James's Day, old style, oysters come in, in London:
and there is a popular superstition still in force, like that
relating to goose on Michaelmas Day, that whoever eats oysten
on that day will never want money for the rest of the year.*

' Buttes, in his Dyet's Dry Dinner, 1599, Bays : ** It is unieasonahleaiid
unwholesome in all monthes that have not an R in their name to eat <&
oister, because it is then venerious."

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347

MACE MONDAY.

[Thb first Monday after St. Anne's Day, July 26, a feast is
held at Newbury, in Berkshire, the principal dishes being
bacon and beans. In the course of the day, a procession
takes place ; a cabbage is stuck on a pole, and carried instead
of a mace, accompanied by similar substitutes for other
emblems of civic dignity. A character in the Devonshire
Dialogue, ed. 1839, p. 33, says,— "Why, danfe know the old
zouls keep all holidays, and eat pancakes Shrove Tuesday,
bacon and beam Mace Monday ^ and rize to zee the zin dance
Easter Day r]

GULE OP AUGUST, or LAMMAS DAY.

De. Pettinqal, in the second volume of the Archseologia,
p. ^7y derives Gule from the Celtic or British WyU or Gwyl^
signifying a festival or hohday, and explains " Gule of August"
to mean no more than the holiday of St Peter ad Vincula in
August, when the people of England under Popery paid their
Peter pence. This is confirmed by Blount,^ who teUs us that
Lammas Day, the Ist of August, otherwise called the Gule, or
Yule of August, may be a corruption of the British word Gwyl
Awaty signifying the Feast of August. He adds, indeed, " or
it may come from Vincula, chains, that day being called^ in
Latin, Festum Sancti Petri ad Fincula"

Gebelin, in his Allegories Orientales, says, that as the month
of August was the first in the Egyptian year, the first day of it
was called Gule, which being latinized makes Gula. Our
legendaries, surprised at seeing this word at the head in the
month of August, did not overlook, but converted it to their
own purpose. They made out of it the feast of the daughter
of the Tribune Quirinus, cured of some disorder in the throat
(Gula is the Latin for throat) by kissing the chains of St. Peter,
whose feast is solemnized on this day.

' [In another place, however, he says it was named Gule from the
liAtin QulHf a throat. SeeSoane's New Curiosities of literatore, iL 123.]

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348 GULE OF AUGUST, OE LAMMAS DAT.

Geoelin's etymon of tlie word will hereafter be conBidered
under Yule as formerly used to signify Christmas.

In the ancient Calendar of the Romish Church which I
have had occasion so frequently to cite, I find the subsequent
remark on the first of August :

" Chaitu are worshipped, &c.

" Catenae cohintor ad Anun in Exquiliis
Ad Vicum Cyprium jwxta Titi thermas."

Antiquaries are divided also in their opinions concerning the
origin of the word Lam, or Lamb-mass. We have an old
proverb, "At latter Lammass," which is synonymous with
the "ad Greecas Calendas" of the Latins, and the vulgar
saying, " When two Sundays come together," i. e. never. It
was in this phrase tnat Queen Elizabeth exerted her genius in
an extempore reply to the ambassador of Philip II. : " Ad
Grsecas, bone Rex, fient mandata Ralendas."

" Lammass day, in the Salisbury Manuals, is called ' Bene-
dictio novorum /ructuum ;' in the Red Book of Derby, hlaF
maerre *&8e3; see also Oros. Interp. 1. 6. c. 19. But in the
Sax. Chron. p. 138, a.d. 1009, it is halam-maen-e. Mas8
was a word for festival : hence our way of naming the festivals
of Chnstmass, Candlemass, Martinmass, &c. Instead therefore
of Lammass quasi Lamb-masse, from the offering of the tenants
at York, may we not rather suppose the F to have been left
out in course of time from general use, and La-mass or hla-
mserre will appear." Gent. Mag. Jan. 1799, p. 33.

Some suppose it is called Lammass Day, quasi Lamb-masse,
because, on that day, the tenants who held lands of the
Cathedral Church in York, which is dedicated to St. Peter ad
Vincula, were bound by their tenure to bring a live lamb into
the church at high mass. Others, according to Blount, sup-
pose it to have been derived from the Saxon Hlap Mserre,
i.e. loaf masse, or bread masse, so named as a feast
of thanksgiving to God for the first-fruits of the com. It
seems to have been observed with bread of new wheat ; and
accordingly it is a usage in some places for tenants to be
bound to bring in wheat of that year to their lord, on or
before the 1st of August.

Vallancey, in his Collectanea de Rebus Hibemicis, x. 464,

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ASSUMPTION OP THE VIRGIN MARY. 349

cites Connac, Archbishop of Casbel in the tenth century, in
his Irish Glossary, as telling us that, " in his time, four great
fires were lighted up on the four great festivals of the Druids;
viz. in February, May, August, and November." Vallaneey
also tells us, p. 472, that this day (the Gule of August) was
dedicated to Uie sacrifice of the fruits of the soU. La-ith-mas
was the day of the oblation of grain. It is pronounced
La-ee-mas, a word readily corrupted to Lammas. Ith is all
kinds of grain, particularly wheat: and mas, fruit of all kinds,
especially the acorn, whence mast. Cul and Gul in the Irish
implies a complete circle, a belt, a wheel, an anniversary."

ST. SIXTUS, Aug. 6.

[The following lines are quoted by Cole in vol. 44 of his
MS. collections :

^ In Sixti festo venti yalidi memor esto ;
Si sit nulla quies, farra valere scies.*']

. ASSUMPTION OP THE VIRGIN MARY.

August 15.

Barnabe Gogge has the following lines upon this day in
the English version of Naogeorgus :

The blessed Virgin Maries feast hath here his place and time,
Wherein, departing from the earth, she did the heavens clime ;
Great bundeU then of hearbes to church the people fast doe beare,
The which against all hurtfiill things the priest doth hallow theare.
Thus kindle they and nourish still the peoples wickednesse,
And vainly make them to believe whatsoever they expresse :

for sundrie witchcrafts by these hearbs are wrought, and divers charmes,
.nd cast into the fire, are thought to drive away all harmes,
And every painefull griefe from man, or beast, for to expell.
Far otherwise than nature or the worde of God doth tell."

Popish Kingdome, p. 55.

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350 ST. BOGH's DAT.

Bishop Hall also tells us, in the Triamphs of Rome, p. 58«
** that upon this day it was customary to implore blessings
upon herbs, plants, roots, and fruits."

ST. ROCH'S DAY.

August 16.

AicoNG the Extracts from the Churchwardens' Accounts of
St. Michael Spurrier-Grate, in the city of York, printed in
Nichols's Illustrations of Ancient Manners, I find—" 1518.
Paid for writing of St. Royke Masse, 9c?."*

Dr. Whitaker thinks that St. Roche or Rockes Day was
celebrated as a general harvest-home.

In Sir Thomas Overbury's Characters, 1 630, under that of
the Franklin, he says : " He aUowes of honest pastime, and
thinkes not the bones of the dead any thing bruised, or the
worse for it, though the country lasses dance in the church-
yard after even-song. Bock Monday, and the wake in summer,
shrovings, the wakefuU ketches on Christmas Eve, the hoky,
or seed cake, these he yeerely keepes, yet holds them no
reliques of Popery."

I have sometimes suspected that " Rocke Monday^' is a mis-
print for " Hock Monday;'* bat there is a passage in Warner's
Albions England, ed. 1597 and 1602, p. 121, as follows: •

*' Rock and Plow Monday gams sal gang with saint feasts and kirk sights."

And again, ed. 1602, p. 407,

** rie duly keepe for thy delight Rock Monday and the wake,
Have shrovings, Christmas gamboli, with the hokie and seed cake."

< On this passage, Pegge, by whom the extracts were commanicated,
remarks, " St. Royk, St. Roche (Aug. 16). Q. why commemorated in
particular ? There is Roche Abbey, in the West Riding of the county of
York, which does not take its name from the Saint, but from its situation
on a rock, and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. — Tanner. The wiiiing
probably means making a new copy of the music appropriated to the dty,"

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351

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY.

August 24.

In New Essayes and Characters, by John Stephens the
yonnger, of Lmcohies Inne, Gent. 1631, p. 297, we read : —
" Like a bookseller's shoppe on Bartholomew Day at London,
the stalls of which are so adorn' d with Bibles and Prayer-
bookes, that almost nothing is left within, but heathen
knowledge."

Mr. Goagh, in his History of Croyland Aboey, p. 73, men*
tions an ancient custom there of giving little knives to all
comers on St. Bartholomew's Day. This abuse, he says,
" was abolished by Abbot John de Wisbech, in the time of
Edward the FourUi, exempting both the abbot and convent
from a ^eat and needless expense. This custom originated
in allusion to the knife wherewith St. Bartholomew was
flead. Three of these knives were quartered with three of
the whips so much used by St. Guthlac, in one coat borne by
this house. Mr. Hunter had great numbers of them, of dif«
ferent sizes, found at different times in the ruins of the abbey
and in the river. We have engraved three from drawings in
the Minute Books of the Spalding Society, in whose drawers
one is still preserved. These are adoptea as the device of a
town-piece, called the Poore's Halfe-peny of Croyland, 1670."

[In allusion, says Mr. Hampson, to the forty days of rain
which were supposed to depend upon the state of St. Swithio's
Day, there is a proverb, —

" All the tears that St. Swithin can cry,
St. Bartholomew's dusty mantle wipes dry.'']

HOLY-ROOD DAY.

S£PT£MB£B 14.

This festival, called also Holy Cross Day, was instituted
on account of ^e recovery of a large piece of the Cross by
the emperor Heraclius, after it had been taken away, on the
plundering of Jerusalem by Chosroes, king of Persia, about
the year of Christ 615.

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352 HOLY-ROOD DAY.

Rood and cross are synonymous. From tJie Anglo-Saxon
pot). " The rood," as Fuller observes, " when perfectly made,
and with all the appurtenances thereof, had not only the
image of our Saviour extended upon it, but the figures of the
Virgin Mary and St. John, one on each side: in allusion to
John xix. 26, ' Christ on the Cross saw his mother and the
disciple whom he loved standing by.' " See Fuller's Hist
Waltham Abbey, pp. 16, 17.

Such was the representation denominated the rood, usually
placed over the screen which divided the nave from the chancel
of our churches. To our ancestors, we are told, it conveyed
a full type of the Christian church: the nave representing the
church militant, and the chancel the church triumphant;
denoting that all who would go from the one to the other
must pass under the rood, that is, carry the Cross and suffer
affliction. Churchwardens* accounts, previous to the Refor-
mation, are usually full of entries relating to the rood^oft.
The following extracts belong to that formerly in the church
of St. Mary-at-Hill, 5 Hen. VI. : " Also for makynge of a
peire endentors betwene William Serle, carpenter, and us, for
the rode lofte and the under clerks chambre, ij«. viijrf." The
second leaf, he observes, of the churchwardens' accounts con-
tains the names (it should seem) of those who contributed to
the erection of the rood-loft.^ *' Also ress. of serteyn men
for the rod loft ; fyrst of Ric. Goslyn 10/. ; also of Thomas
Raynwall 10/. ; also of Rook 26«. 7d. ; and eighteen othen.
Summa totalis 95/. 1 U. 9c?." The carpenters on this occasion
appear to have had what in modern language is called '' their
drinks" allowed them over and above their wages. '* Also
the day after St. Dunston the 19 day of May» two car-
penters with her Nonsiens*'^

* Other entries respecting the rood-loft occur, ibid. " Also payd for a
rolle and 2 gojons of iron and a rope xiiijtf. Also payd to 3 carpenters
removing the stallis of the quer xjuf. Also payd for 6 penv nail and
5 peny nail xj^. Also for crochats, and three iron pynnes and a staple xiijd
Also for 5 yardis and a halfe of grene hokeram iij«. d, ob. Also for
lengthyng of 2 cheynes and 6 5erdes of gret wyer xiiij^f. Also payd for
eleven dozen pavyng tyles, iijv. m]d"

* Nunchion (s. a colloquial word), a piece of victuals eaten between meals.
The word occurs in Cotgrave's Dictionary : " A nundons or noncheoa (or
aftemoones repast), gouber, gouster, recin^, ressie. To take an aftemooae's
nuncheon, reciner, ressiner."

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MICHAELMAS. 353

In Howe's edition of Stow's Chronicle, 2 Edw. VI. 1547,
we read; "The 17 of Nov. was begun to be pulled downe
the roode in PauUs Church, with Mary and John, and all
other images in the church, and then the like was done in all
the churches in London, and so throughout England, and
texts of Scripture were written upon the walls of those
churches against images, &c." Many of our rood-lofts, how-
ever, were not taken down till late in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth.

It appears to have been the custom to go a nutting upon
this day, from the following passage in the old play of Grim
the Collier of Croydon :"—

« This day, they say, is called Holy-rood Day,
And all the youth are now a nutting gone."

[The following occurs in Poor Robin, 1709 :

** The devil, as the common people say,
Doth go a mttting on Holy-mod day ;
And sure snch leachery in some doth lurk,
Going a nutthiff do the devil's work."]

It appears from the curious MS. Status Scholae Etonensis,
1560, tnat in the month of September, " on a certain day,"
most probably on the 14th, the boys of Eton school were to
have a play-day, in order to go out and gather nuts, with a
portion of which, when they returned, they were to make
presents to the different masters of that seminary. It is
ordered, however, that before this leave be granted them, they
should write verses on the fruitfulness of autumn, the deadly
colds, &c. of advancing winter.

MICHAELMAS.

Septembeb 29.

*^ Michaelmas," says Bailey, ^' is a festival appointed by
the church to be observed in honour of St. Michael the Arch-
angel, who is supposed to be the chief of the Host of Heaven,
aa Lucifer is of the infernal ; and as he was supposed to be

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354 MICHAELMAS.

tbe protector of the Jewish, so is he now esteemed the g;aar-
dian and defender of the Christian Church."

It has long been and still continues the custom at this time
of the year, or thereabouts, to elect the governors of towns
and cities, the ciyil guardians of the peace of men, perhaps,
as Bourne supposes, because the feast of angels naturally
enough brings to our minds the old opinion of tutelar spirits,
who have, or are thought to have, the particular charge of
certain bodies of men, or districts of country, as also that
every man has his guardian angel, who attends him from the
cradle to the grave, from the moment of his coming in, to his
going out of life.^ The following account is taken from the
Gentleman's Magazine for October, 1804, p. 965 :

" Monday, October Ist, 1804. This day the lord mayor
and aldermen proceeded from Guildhall, and the two sheriffs
with their respective companies from Stationer's Hall : and
having embarked on the Thames, his lordship in the dty
barge, and the sheriffs in the stationers' barge, went in aquatic
state to Palace-yard. They proceeded to the Court of Ex-
chequer, where, after the usual salutations to the bench (the
cursitor baron, Francis Maseres, Esq., presiding), the recorder
presented the two sheriffs ; the several writs were then read,
and the sheriffs and the senior undersheriff took the usual
oaths. The ceremony, on this occasion, in the Court of Ex-
chequer, which vulgar error supposed to be an unmeaning
farce, is solemn and impressive ; nor have the new sheriffs the
least connexion either with chopping of sticks or counting of
hobnails. The tenants of a manor in Shropshire are directed

* The following extract from a very rare book entitled Cariosities, or
the Cabinet of Nature, by R. B. Gent. (Ro. Basset), 1637, p. 228, infonos
us of a very singular office assigned by ancient superstition to the good
genii of infants. The book is by way of question and answer. ** Q.
Wherefore is it that the childe cryes when the absent nurse's biests doe
prickc and ake ? jin. That by dayly experience is found to be so, so that
by that the nurse is hastened home to the infant to supply the defect; and
the reason is that either at that very instant that the infant hath finiahfid
its concoction, the breasts are replenished, and, for want of drawing, tbe
milke paines the breast, as it is seen likewise in milch cattell ; or rather
the good genius of the infant seemeth by that means to soUicite or trouble
the nurse in the infant's behalfe : which reason seemeth the more firm and
probable, because sometimes sooner, sometimes later, the child cryeth,
neither is the state of the nurse and infant alwayes the same."

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MICHAELMAS. 355

to come forth to do their suit and seryice; on which the
senior alderman below the chair steps forward, and chops a
single stick, in token of its having been customary for the
tenants of that manor to supply their lord with fuel. The
owners of a forge in the parish of St. Clement (which for-
merly belonged to the city, and stood in the high road from
the Temple to Westminster, but now no longer exists) are
then called forth to do their suit and service; when an officer
of the court, in the presence of the senior alderman, produces
fiiz horseshoes and sixty-one hob-nails, which he counts over
in form before the cursitor baron, who, on this particular oc-
casion, is the immediate representative of the sovereign. The
whole of the numerous company then again embarked in their
barges, and returned to BlackMars-bridge, where the state car-
riages were in waiting. Thence they proceeded to Stationers'
Hall, where a most elegant entertainment was given by Mr.
Sheriff Domville."

For a custom after the election of a mayor at Abingdon, in
Berkshire, see the Gent. Mag. for Dec. 1782, p. 558. The
following occurs in the same periodical for 1790, p. 1191 :
" At Kidderminster is a singular custom. On the election of
a bailiff the inhabitants assemble in the principal streets to
throw cabbage-stalks at each other. The town-house bell
ffives signal for the affray. This is called Jawless hour. This
done (for it lasts an hour), the bailiff elect and corporation,
in their robes, preceded by drums and fifes (for they have no
waits), visit the old and new bailiff, constables, &c. &c.,
attended by the mob. In the mean time the most respectable
families in the neighbourhood are invited to meet and fling
apples at them on their entrance. I have known forty pots
of apples expended at one house."

In the ancient Romish Calendar, the following entry oc-
curs on Michaelmas Day : *' Arx tonat in gratiam tutelaris
numims." Bishop Hall, in his Triumphs of Rome, ridicules
the superstitions of Romish sailors, who, in passing by St.
Michael's Grecian promontory Malla, used to ply him with
their best devotions, that he would hold still his wings from
resting too hard upon their sails. A red velvet buckler is said
by the bishop to be still preserved in a castle of Normandy,
and was beheved to have been that which the archangel made
use of when he combated the dragon.

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356 ALL THE HOLY ANGELS.

Steyenson, in his Twelve Moneths, 1661, p. 44, says:
" They say so many dayes old the moon is on MirhwelnMm
Day, 80 many floods after."

[The following lines are proverbial in Suffolk :

'* At Michaelmas time, or a little before.
Half an apple goes to the core ;
At Christmas time, or a little after,
A crab in the hedge, and thanks to the grafter.*'

At this season village maidens in the west of England go
up and down the hedges gathering crab-apples, wMch they
carry home, putting them into a loft, and forming with them
the initials of their supposed suitors' names. The initials
which are found on examination to be most perfect on Old
Michaelmas day, are considered to represent the strongest
attachments, and the best for the choice of husbands.]

ALL THE HOLY ANGELS.

The following saints are invoked against various diseases :
St Agatha against iK)re breasts ; St. Anthony against inflam-
mations ; St. ApoUonia and St. Lacy against the toothache ;
St. Benedict against the stone and poison ; St. Blaise against
bones sticking in the throat, fire, and inflammations ;* St.
Christopher^ and St. Mark against sudden death ; St. Clara
against sore eves ; St. Gtenow against the gout ; St. Job and
St. Fiage against the venereal disease ; St. John against epi-
lepsy and poison ;^ St. Liberius against the stone and fistula;

' He had cured a hoy that had got a fish-hone in his throat. (See the
Golden Legend.) And was particularly invoked by the Papists in the
Squinnancyor Quinsy. Fabric. Biblio. Antiq. p. 267. Gent. Mag.vaLzliii
p. 384.

' " A cock is offered (at least was wont to be) to St. Christopher in
Tonraine for a certaine sore which useth to be in the end of mens fingen,
the white-flaw." World of Wondos, p. 308. The cock was to be a
white one.

> " Apollini et ^sculapio ejus filio datur morbo medicinam hcert, apud
nos Cosme et Damiano : at pestis in partem cedxt Rocho : oealocniB Up-
pitudo Clar». Antonius suibus med^uUs soflKelt : et ApoUo noster den-

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▲LL THS HOLT AVGELS. 357

St. Maine sgainst the 8cab ; St. Mai^iaiet against danger in
cbild-bearing, also St. Edine ; St. Martin^ for the itch ; St.
Marus against palsies and conynlsions; St. Manre for the
gont; St. Otilia against sore eyes and headache, also St.
Juliana ; St. PetronSla and St. Oenevieye against ferers ; St.
Quintan against coughs ; St. Romanus against derils pos-
sessing people; St. Buffin aeainst madness; St. Sebastian
and St. Booh against the plague ; St. Sigismund against
ferers and ague ; St. Yalentine against the epilepsy ; St.
Yenisa against green-sickness; St. WaJlia or St. Wallery
against the stone ; and St. Wolfgang against lameness.

In imitation of heathenism, the Romanists assigned tutelar
gods to distinct professions and ranks of people (some of them
not of the best sort), to different trades, &c. ; nay, they cTen
condescended to appoint these celestial guardians also to the
care of animals, &c. It is observable in Qiis place how closely
Popery has in this respect copied the Heathen mythology. She
has the Supreme Being for Jupiter; she has substituted angels
for genii, and the souls of saints for heroes, retaining all
kinds of demons. Against these pests she has carefolly
provided her antidotes. She exorcises them out of waters,
she rids the air of them by ringing her hallowed bells, &c,

Bamaby Bicb, in the Irish Hubbub, or the English Hue
andCrie, 1619, p. 36, has the following passage: ''There

tixim morbis. Morbo sontico olim Hercules, nunc Joannes et Valentintis
pnesunt. In arte obstetricandi Lucinam long^ superat nostra Margareta,
et quia hnc moritur virgo, ne non satis attenta ad curam sit, quam neque
didkit, neque ezperientia cognovit, iUi in officia jungitur fungendo ex-
X»ertu8 Marpurgus. Aliqui addunt loco Junonis, Reginam nostri coeli divam
Mariam. Ruffinus et Romanus phrenesi pnesunt, AcJ' Moresini Papatus,
ip. 16. See also the World of Wonders, foL 1607, p. 308.

** Diana the huntress new worshippers inns.
Who call her St. Agnes, confessing their sins !
To the god Escnlapius incurables pray,
Since the doctor is christianized St. Bartlomd {
Tho* the goddess of Antipertussis we scoff,
As Madonna dell' Tossa she opiates a cough.''

See the Present State of the Manners, &c, of France and Italy: in
poetical epistles, addressed to R. Jephson, 1794, p. 64.

* In the introduction to the old play called A Game at Chesse, 4to., is
Hhe folkiwing line ;

** Roch, Maine, and Petrondl, itch and ague cnrers."

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358 ALL TH£ HOLY ANOELS.

be many miracles assigiied to saints, that (they say) are
good for all diseases ; they can give sight to the blinde, make
the deafe to heare, they can restore limbs that be cripled, and
make the lame to goe upright; they be good for horse, swine,
and many other beasts. And women are not without their
shee saints, to whom they doe implore when they would have
children, and for a quick dehyerance when they be in labour.

" They haTe saints to pray to when they be grieTed with a
third day ague, when they be pained with the tooth-ach, or
when they would be reyenged of their angry husbands, lliey
have saints that be good amongst poultry, for chickins when
they haye the pip, for geese when they doe sit, to haye t
happy successe m goslings : and, to be short, there is no dii^
ease, no sicknesse, no greefe, either amongst men or beasts,
that hath not his physician among the saints."

We find the following in Moresini Papatus, p. 133:
'' Porcus Pani et Sylyano commendabatur (Alex, i^ Alexand.
hb. iii. cap. 12), nunc autem immundissimus poroorum greges
custodire cogitur miser Antonius." In the World of Wonden
is the following translation of an epigram :

** Once fed'st thou, Anthony, an heard of swine,

And now an heard of monkes thon feedest stUl : —
For wit and gut, alike hoth charges bin :

Both loven filth alike ; both like to fiU
Their greedy paunch alike. Nor was that kind

More beastly, sottish, awinish than this last
All eke agrees : one faidt I onely find,

Thou feedest not thy monkes with oken mast."

The author mentions before, persons ** who runne up and
downe the country, crying, 'haye you anything to bestov
upon my lord S. Anthonie's swine?'" A writer in the
Gentleman's Marine for Dec. 1790, p. 1086, deriyes the
expression, ** An it please the pigs," not from a corruption of
*' An it please the Pia?," i. e. the host, but fh>m a saying of the
scholars of St Paul's school, London, founded in the reign of
king Stephen, whose great riyals were the scholars of the
neighbouring foundation of the brotherhood of St.- Anthony
of Vienna, situated in the parish of St. Bennet Finke, Thread-
needle-street, and thence nicknamed " St. Anthony's Pigi.''
So that wheneyer those of St. Paul's answered each other in
the aflS rm ati y e, they added this expression, scoffingly intinuat-

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AliL THE HOLY ANGELS. 359

ing a i CB etve of the approbation of the competitorB of St.
Andiony's^ who cLuined a Buperiority over them.'*

In Michael Wodde's Dialogue^ 1554, we read: <* If we were
sycke of the pestylence we ran to Sainte Rooke; if of the ague,
to Saint Pemel, or Master John Shome: if men were in
pziaon, thei pnded to St. Leonarde ; if the Welchman wold have
a porsse, he praied to Darvel Gfatheme ; if a wife were weary
of her husband, she offred otes at Poules, at London, to St.
Uncumber.^ Thus we have been deluded with their images."

Newton m his Tryall of a Man's Owne Selfe, 1602, p. 50,
censures '' Physitions, when they beare their patient in baud,
or make him to think that some certain saints have power to
send, and also to take away this or that disease."

St. Agatha presides over nurses ; St. Catherine and St.
Gregory are the patrons of literati, or studious persons ;
St. Catherine also presides over the arts in the room of Minerva;
St. Christopher and St Nicholas preside over mariners,^ also
St. Hermns ; St. Cecilia is the patroness of musicians ; St.
Cosmas and St. Damian are the patrons of physicians and
snrgeonSy also of philosophers. (See Patrick's Devotions,
p. 264.) St. Dismas and St. Nicholas preside over thieves;
St. Eustace and St. Hubert over hunters ;' St. Felicitas over
young children ; St. Julian is the patron of pilgrims ;* St.
Leonard and St. Barbara protect captives ; St. Luke is the
patron of painters ; St. Magdalen, St. Afra (Aphra or
Aphrodite) and St Brigit preside over common women;
St. Martin and St Urban over ale-knights to guard them from
falling into the kennel; St. Mathurin over fools; St. Sebastian
oyer archers ; St. Thomas over divines ; St. Thomas Becket
over blind men» eunuchs, and sinners ; St Valentine over lovers ;

' St. Wilgford was also invoked by women to get rid of their husbandB.

* St. Barba^^ St. Andrew, and St. Clementi are also noticed as sea
saints. Warner, in lus Hist, of Hampshire, vol. i. p. 155, note, says ** St.
Christopher presided over the weather, and was the patron of field sports."
He is citing an ancient description of a hunter, in yerse :

" A Christofre on lus breast of silver shene :
An horn he bare, the baudrie was of greene."

■ Melton, in Astrologaster, p. 19, says, ''they hold that St. Hugh and
St. Eustace guard hunters firom perills and dangers, that the stagge or
bucke may not hit them on the head with their homes."

* Also of whoremongers : v. Hist, des Troubad. L 11.

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360 ALL THX HOLT AfOELS.

St. Winifred oyer viigins; and Bt Yyet aver Uwycts and
dyilians. St. ^thelbert and St. .£liaii were inyoked againat
thieyes. Here also may be noticed that St. Agatha preaidea
oyeryaileya; St. Anne oyer riches; St Barbara oyer MQa;
St Florian oyer fire ; St. Gilea and St Hyacinth are inyoked
by barren women ; St Osyth by women to guard their ki^a ;
St. Sylyester protects the woods ; St Urbui wine and yine-
yards ; and St. Vincent and St. Anne are the restorers of lost
things. St Andrew and St. Joseph were the patron saints of
carpenters; St. Anthony of swineherds and grocers; St Arnold
of millers ; St Blase of wool-combers ; St. Catherine of spinncn ;
St. Clement of tanners ; St. Cloud of nailsmiths, on acoonnt
of his name ; St. Dunstan of goldsmiths ; St. Elo^ of black-
smiths, farriers, and goldsmiths ; St Enloge (who u probably
the same with St. Eloy) of smiths,* though oUiers say of jockeys;
St. Florian of mercers ; St Francia of butchers ; St. George
of clothiers; St. Goodman of tailors, sometimes called St
Gutman, and St Ann ;^ St Gore, with the deril on hia shoulder
and a pot in his hand, of potters, also called St Goarin ;
St Hilary of coopers ; St, John Port-Latin of booksellera f
St. Josse and St. Urban of ploughmen ; St. Leodagar of drapers;
St Leonard of locksmiths, as wdil as captiyes ; St. Louia of
periwig-makers ; St. Martin of master shoemakers, and 8t
Crispin of cobblers and journeymen shoemakers; St Nidiolas
of parish clerks, and also of butchers ; St Peter of fishmongen ;
St Sebastian (^ pinmakers, on account of his being stuck with
arrows ; St. Severus of fillers ; St. Stephen of weayera ;
St Tibba of falconers;^ St Wilfred of bakers, St Hubert

> *' Fabroram Dens Vnlcaniis ftiit femrionim, naDC in papata eommots.
runt Vulcanam cum Eulogio. Billing. Orig. cap. 34. Sed quia Bnllin-
genu dedit nnper Eqnii Eulogiom, meliiu cat cum Seotis aaitire, qui tab
papata olim hisce fabris dederant Aloisium, qoem ooleTent, ut et rdiqais
qm malleo atontar." Moreaini Papatoa, p. 56.

' See Moreaini Papatua, p. 15&. ** Sartoribua nemo deoram yatenm
pneest, qaem legere contigit mai ait Mereariooa Fnr, cam ipai tAatfimad^m
Hmi. Bulling, cap. 34, Orig. ex Pape decreto conoedit illia, cam tint
pleramque belli homuncuU, oignnm suit moribus deum Gutmannum neado
quem. Sed barbarum nomen cogit fateri civiliorea esae Scotos, qui Annam
matrem Virginia Marie coluerunt, qns ac dicont Tanicam Cbritti tcxnit,
et ideo merito illis dea eat."

* Sauval» Antiq. de Paria, torn. iL p. 621.

* See Pjller'8 Worthiea. Rutland, p. 347.

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ALL THE HOLT ANGELS. 361

also,i and St. Honor or Honore ;' St. William of hatmakera ;
and St. Windeline of shepherds. St. Anthony protects hon ;
St. Ferioll presides over geese, others say St. GaUicet, St.
Gallos, or St. Andoch ; St. Gallns also protects the keepers of
geese; St. Gertrude presides over mice and eggs; St. Hubert

groteots dogs, and is invoked against the bite of mad ones; St*
[agnus is invoked against locusts and caterpillars ; St. Pelagius,
otherwise St. Pelage, or St. Peland, protects oxen ; and St.
Wendeline, sheep ; or, as one writer has it, St. Wolfe. St. Eloy,
or Eligius, was the guardian of farriers. Bridges, in his
History of Northamptonshire, i. 258, speaking of Wedon-
Pinckney, says : " In this church was the Memorial of St.
Loy's kept, whither did many resort for the cure of their
Horses; where there was a house at the east end thereof,
plucked down within few years, which was called St. Loy's
house." A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, however, for
1779) p. 190, would have St. Loy to be the diminutive of St.
Lucian : ** In the uncertainty we labour under about the
miracle supposed to be commemorated on the Frekenham bas-
relief (see Gent. Mag. xlvii. 416, xlviii. 304), I cannot concur
with my ingenious Mend your correspondent in the last
month's Mag. p. 138, in ascribing it to St. Eligius. Bridges
gives no authority for this opinion. He would rather lead us
to suppose St. Loy to be St. Lucian, to whose monastery
Wedon-Pinckney was a cell, though its parish church was
dedicated to the blessed Virgin ; and Tyrwhitt seems of
this sentiment. Tioy is a more natural abbreviation of Lewis,
or Lucian, than of Elegius ; for Eloy rests only on Urr/s
anthoritr. Eligius served his time to one Abbo, a goldsmith,
and made for King Clotaire two saddles of gold set with jewels,
such as one might suppose Mr. Cox would make for the Nabob
of Arcot. He became bishop of Noyon, where he died.
(Lippelii Yit. Sanctor. iv. 632, ex Baronii Annal. viii.) Not a
word of his patronizing Barriers. Till the particular miracle

t See Moresini Papatas, p. 127.

« Puller's Ch. Hist. p. 381. " St Honore t baker." World of Wondew,
p. 310. It should appear from Dekker's Wonderfull Yeare, 1603, that
St. Clement was also a patron saint of bakers. " He worships the baker's
good lord and maistcr, charitable S. Clement," &c Lewis Owen, in the
Unmasking of all Popish Monkes, 1628, p. 98, says ihat ** St. Clement is
for bakers, brewers, and victuallers."

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362 ALL THE HOLT ANGELS.

in question is ascertained, I think the daim lies at present
between St. Anthony and St. Hippolytus." In the Ordiuary
of the Smiths' Company in Brand's History of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, ii. 318, the fraternity is ordered to meet on '* St. Loy's
day.'^ St. Loy, says Brand, is certainly not St. Ludan. In
the World of Wonders, p. 308, we have the following remarks,
in part only to our present, though altogether to our general
purpose. The opening at least serves to show that Eloy does
not rest only on Urr/s authority. " When St. Eloy (who is
the Saint for smiths) doth hammer his irons, is he not instead
of God Vulcan ? and do they not give the same titles to St
George, which in old times were given to Mars ? and do they
not honour St. Nicholas after the same manner that Pagans
honoured God Neptune 7 and when S. Peter is made a porter,
doth he not represent Qod Janus ? Nay, they wonla fsine
make the Angell Gabriel beleeve that he is God Mercury. And
is not Pallas, the Goddesse of arts and sciences, represented
to us by St. Katherine ? And have they not St. Hubert, ^
God of Hunters instead of Diana? (which office some give to
St. Bustace.) And when they apparell John Baptist in a
lion's skin, is it not to represent Hercules unto us i And is
not St. Katherine commonly painted with a wheele, as they
were wont to paint Fortune i They will needa have St
Genneuiefue (her especially at Paris) to bestir her stumps in
hastening God to cause raine, when there is a great drought :
as also to leave rayning when it poureth down too fast, and
oontinueth over long. And as for the thunder and the thunder-
bolts, St. Barbe (their Saint for harquebuziers) obtained this
office, to beate backe the blowes of the thunderbolt. They
have made St. Maturin physitian for fooles, having relation to
the word Matto. St. Acaire cureth the acariastres, i. e,
frantic or furious bedlams. St. Avertin curith the avertineox,
i. e. fantasticall lunatic persons, and all the diseases of the
head; St. Eutrope the dropsie; Saint Mammard is made
physitian det nummeUes^ that is, of the paps ; Saint Phiscre
of the phy, or emeroids, of those especially which grow in the
fundament ; St. Main healeth the scab de9 mains, that is, of
the hands ; St. Genou the gout ; St Agnan, or St. Tignan, the
filthy disease called la tigne, the scurfe."

[The following lines occur in Bab's Interlude concerning
the Laws of Nature, 1562 :

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ALL THE HOLY ANGELS. 363

" With blessynges of Saynt Germayne
I will me 80 determyne,
That neyther fox nor vennyne

Shall do my chyckens harme.
For your gese seke Saynt Legearde,
And for your dnckes Saynt Leonarde,
There is no better charme."]

Barnabe Googe, in the Popish Kingdome, ff. 98, 99, has
eiyen us the following translation of Naogeorgos oq this sub-
ject, under the head of Helpers :

** To erery saint they also doe his office here assine,
And fourtene doe they count of whom thou mayst haTe ayde divine ;
Among the which our Ladie still doth holde the chiefest place,
And of her gentle nature helpes in every kinde of case.
Saint Barban lookes that none without the body of Christ doe dye.
Saint Cathem favours learned men, and gives them wisedome hye ;
And teacheth to resolve the doubtes and alwayes giveth ayde
Unto the scolding sophister, to make his reason stayde.
Saint Appolin the rotten teeth doth helpe, when sore they ake ;
Otilla from the bleared eyes the cause and griefe doth take ;
Booke healeth scabbes and maungines, with pockes, and skurfe, and

skall.
And cooleth raging carbuncles, and byles, and botches alL
There is a saint whoae name in verse cannot declared be.
He serves against the plague, and ech infective mahidie.
Saint Valentine beside to such as doe his power dispise
The Ming sicknesse sendes, and helpes the man that to him cries.
The raging minde of furious folkes doth Vitus pacific.
And doth restore them to their witte, being calde on speedilie.
Erasmus heales the collicke and the griping of the guttes ;
' And Laurence from the backe and from the shoulder sicknesse puttes*
Blase drives away the quinsey quight with water sanctifide.
From every Christian creature here, and every beast beside.
But Leonerd of the prisoners doth the bandes asunder pull,
And breakes the prison doores and chaines, wherewith his church

isfnU.
The qnartane ague, and the rest, doth Pernel take away.
And John preserves his worshippers from pryson every day :
Which force to Benet eke they give, that helpe enough may bee
By saintes in every place. 'What dost thou omitted see ?
From dreadful unprovided death doth Mark deliver his.
Who of more force than death himselfe, and more of value is.
Saint Anne gives wealth and living great to such as love hir most.
And is a perfite finder out of things that have beene lost :
Which vertue likewise they ascribe unto another man,
Saint Vincent; what he is I cannot tell, nor whence he came.

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364 ALL THS HOLT ANGELS.

Against reproache and in&my <m Suaaa doe they call ;
Romanus driveth sprites away, and wicked derills alL
The byshop Wolfgang heales the gonte, S. Wendlin kepes the shepe^
With shepheardesi and the oxen fatte, as he was woont to keepe.
The bristled hogges doth Antonie preserve and cherish well,
Who in his life tyme alwayes did in woodes and forrestes dwelL
Saint Gartrude riddes the house of mise, and kiUeth all the rattes ;
The like doth bishop Huldrich with his earth, two passing cattes.
Saint Gregorie lookes to little boyes, to teach their a, b, c,
And makes them for to love their bookes and scbolUrs good to be.
Saint Nicolas keepes the mariners from daunger and diseas,
That beaten are with boystroos waves, and tost in dreadfuU seas.
Great Chrystopher, that painted is with body big and tall.
Doth even the same, who doth preserre and keepe his servants aU
From fearefull terrours of the night, and makes them well to rest,
By whom they also all their life with divers joyes are bleat.
Saint Agathse defendes thy house from fire tad fearefiill flame,
But when it bumes, in armour all doth Florian quench the same.
Saint Urban makes the pleasant wine, and doth preserve it still,
And spourging vessels all with must continually doth fllL
Judocus doth defende the come from myldeawes and from blast.
And Magnus from the same doth drive the grasshopper as £ut
Thy office, George, is onely here the horseman to defende.
Great kinges and noble men with pompe on thee doe still atteode.
And Loye the smith doth looke to horse, and smithes of all degree.
If they with iron meddle here, or if they goldesmithes bee.
Saint Luke doth evermore defende the paynters facnltie,
Phisitions eke by Cosme and his feUow guided be.''

Morefiin tells ns that Papal Borne, in imitation of this tenet
of Gentilism^ has fabricated such kinds of gemi for guar-
dians and defenders of cities and people. Thns she has
assigned St. Andrew to Scotland, St. George to England, St
Dennis to France ; thus, Egidios to Edinburgh, Nicholas to
Aberdeen.*

I « Sic papa populis et urbibus oonsimiles £sbricat eoltua et genios coi-
todes et defensores, ut Scotise Andream, Anglie Georgium, Gallis Diony-
sium, &c. Edinburgo Egidinm, Aberdonin Nioolanm, &c." Monnai
Papatus, p. 48. See also Burton's Anat. of Melancholy, 1621, p. 751
I find the subsequent patron-saints of cities : St. Eligia and St. Norbert
of Antwerp ; St. Hulderich or Ulric of Augsburgh ; St Martin of Bou-
logne ; St. Mary and St. Donatian of Bruges ; St Mary and St Godnla
of Brussels ; the three Kings of the East of Cologne, also St Ursula and
the eleven thousand Virgins; St George and St. John B^^tist of Genoa;
St Bavo and St Libum of Ghent ; St Martial of limoain ; St Yinceat
of Lisbon; St. Mary and St Rusnold of Meehlin; St Martin and St
Boniface of Mentz ; St Ambrose of Milan ; ^ Thomas Aqainas and St

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ALL THE HOLT ANGELS. 365

I find the following patronnsaints of countries in other
authorities: St. Colman and St. Leopold for Austria; St.
Wolfgang and St. Mary Atingana for Bayaria ; St. Winceslans
for Bohemia; St. Andrew and St. Mary for Burgundy;
St Anscharius and St. Canute for Denmark ; St. Peter for
Flanders : to St. Dennis is added St. Michael as another patron
Saint of France ; St. Martin, St. Boniface, and St. Geoi^
Gataphractus, for Grermany ; St. Mary for Holland ; St. Mary
of Aqnisgrana and St. Lewis for Hungary ; St. Patrick for
Lceland ; St. Anthony for Italy ; St. Firmin and St. Xavierus
for Navarre ; St. Anscharius and St. Olaus for Norway ; St.
StanialauB and St. Hederigafor Poland; St Savine for Poitou ;
St. Sebastian for Portugal ; also St. James and St. Greorge ;
St. Albert and St. Andrew for Prussia; St. Nicholas, St. Mary,
and St. Andrew, for Russia; St. Mary for Sardinia; St.
Maurice for Savoy and Piedmont ; St. Mary and St. George
for Sicily; St. James (Jago)for Spain; St.AniM;harius, St. Eric,
and St. John, for Sweden ; and St. GalL and the Virgin Mary
for Switzerland.

It were superfluous to enumerate the tutelar gods of hea-
thenism.^ Few are ignorant that Apollo and Minerva pre-
sided over Athens, Bacchus and Hercules over Boeotian Thebes,
Juno over Carthage, Yenus over Cyprus and Paphos, Apollo
over Rhodes ; Mars was the tutelar god of Rome, as Neptune
of Teenarus ; Diana presided over Crete, &c.

St. Peter succeeded to Mars at the revolution of the reli-
gious Creed of Rome. He now presides over the castle of St.
Aneelo, as Mars did over the ancient Capitol.

The Romanists, in imitation of the heathens, have assigned
mtelar gods to each member of the body.'

Jaausinis of Naples ; St. Sel>ald of Nuremberg ; St. Fridetwide of Ox-
ford; St Genevieye of Paris; St. Peter and St. Paul of Rome: St.
Bnpert of Soltzberg; the Virgin Mary of Sienna; St. Ursus of St.
Solenre ; St. Holderich and St. Ulrie of Strasburgh ; St. Mark of Venice ;
ad St. Stephen of Vienna.

■ " The Babiloaians had Bell for their patron ; the Egyptians Isis and
Osiris ; the Bhodisns the Sunne ; the Samians Juno ; the Paphians Venus ;
the Delphians Apollo ; the Ephesians Diana ; all the Germans in general
St. George. I omit the saints who have given their names to cities ; as
81. Quintin, St. Disian, St. Denis, St. Agnan, St. Paul, St. Omer."
Stephens's World of Wcmders, fol. 1607, p. 315.

' " Membris in homine veteres prsfecere suos deos, siquidem capiti
numen inesse qnoddam fertnr. Frontem sacram Genio nonnulU tradunt,

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366 ALL THE HOLY AKGELS.

" They of the Romish religion," says Melton in his Astro-
logaster, p. 20, " for every limhe in man's body have a saint ;
for St. Otilia keepes the head instead of Aries ; St. Blasins is
appointed to goveme the necke instead of Tanros ; St. Law-
rence keepes the backe and shoulders instead of Gemini,
Cancer, and Leo ; St. Erasmus rules the belly with the en-
trayles^ in the place of Libra and Scorpins : in the stead of
Sagittarius, Capricomus, Aquarius, and Pisces, the Holy
Church of Rome hath elected St. Burgarde, St. Rochos, St.
Quirinus, St. John, and many others, wUch goveme the
thighes, feet, shinnes, and knees."

It is, perhaps, owing to this ancient notion of good and
evil genii attending each person, that many of the vulgar pay
BO great attention to particular dreams, thinking them, it
should seem, the means these invisible attendants make use of
to inform their wards of any imminent danger.

In Bale's comedy of Thre Lawes, 1538, Infidelity begins
his address :

« Good Christen people, I am come hyther verelye
As a true proctour of the howse of Saint Antonye."

And boasts, among other charms :

** Lo here is a belle to hange upon your hogge,
And save your cattell from the bytynge of a dogge.*'

He adds,

" And here I blesse ye with a wynge of the Holy Ghost,
From thonder to save ye, and from spretes in every coost"

sicuti Junoni brachia, pectus Neptuno, cingulum Marti, renes Veneri,
pedes Mercurio, digitos Minervae consecravit antiquitas. Romanae mn-
Ueres supercilia Lucinse consecrarunt, quia inde lux ad oculos flnit ; et
Homerus carmine singulos membris honestavit deos : namque Jonoiiem
facit Candidas ulnas habere, Auroram roseos lacertos, Minervam oculos
glaucos, Thetidem argenteos pedes, Heben vero talos pulcherrimoa. Dex-
tram fidei sacram Numa institut, etiam cum veniam sermonis a diis posci-
mus, proximo a minimo digito secus aurem locum Nemeseos tangere, et
OS obsignare solemus, &c. Alex, ab Alex. lib. ii. cap. 19. Jam ad
banc similitudinem caput, ita, non omnibus cognita Dea, obtinet. Oculoa
habet Otilia. Linguam instituit Catharina, in rhetoricis et dialecticis
exerdtatissima. Apollonia dentes curat. Collo praesidet Blasius spiritalis
Deus. Dorsum una cum scapuHs obtinet Laurentius. Erasmi venter est
totus cum intestinis. Sunt qui Burgharto cuidam et crura et pedes coo-
secraverint, in parcipitatum nonnunquam admittit Antonium, Quirinum,
Joannem, et nescio quos alios dives. Apollinaris quidam Priapi vices
subiit, pudendorum Deus effectus. Buling. cap. xxxiv. lib. de Orig. Cult.
Deor. Erron.'^ Moresini Pepatus, pp. 93, 94.

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MICHAELMAS GOOSJt. 367

In the TryaU of a Man's own Selfe, by Thomas Newton,
1602j p. 44j he inquires, under ''Sinnes eztemall and ouU
ward*' against the first commandment, ''whether, for the
avoiding of any eviU, or obtaining of any good, thou hast
trusted to the heipe, protection, and furtherance of angels,
either goode or badde. Hereunto is to be referred the paultring
mawmetrie and heathenish worshipping of that domestical!
god, or familiar aungell, which was thought to bee appro-
priated to everie particular person.'*

In answer to a query in the Athenian Oracle, vol. i. p. 4,
" Whether every man has a good and bad angel attending
him?" we find the following to our purpose : *' The ministra-
tion of angels is certain, but the manner how, is the knot to
be untied. 'Twas generally believed by the ancient philoso-
phers, that not only kingdoms had their tutelary guardians,
but that every person had his particular genius, or good
angel, to protect and admonish him by dreams, visions, &c.
We read that Origen, Hierome, Plato, and Empedocles in
Plutarch, were also of this opinion ; and the Jews themselves,
as appears by that instance of Peter's deliverance out of
prison. They believed that it could not be Peter, but his
angel. But for the particular attendance of bad angels we
believe it not, and we must deny it till it finds better proofs
than conjectures."

MICHAELMAS GOOSE.

** September, when by castoin, right divine,
Geese are ordained to bleed at Michael's shrine."— Churchill.

There is an old custom still in use among us of having a
roast goose to dinner on Michaelmas-day. ** Goose-intentos,"
as Blount tells us, is a. word used in Lancashire, where "the
husbandmen claim it as a due to have a Ooose-intentos on the
sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost : which custom took origin
from the last word of the old church-prayer of that day : ' Tua

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368 MICHAELMAS GOOSE.

nos qusesnmns, Domine, gratia temper prseveniat et seqnatar;
ac bonia operibos jagiter pneatet esae intenios* The common
people very hamorouaiy mistake it for a goose with ten. toet.
This is by no means satis&ctory. Beckwith, in his new edi-
tion of the Jocular Tennres, p. 223, says, npon it : " Bnt be-
sides that the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, or sfter
Trinity rather, being moveable, and seldom falling apon )&
chaelmas-day, which is an immoveable feast, the service for
that day could very rarely be used at Michaelmas, there does
not appear to be the most distant allusion to a goose in the
words of that prayer. Probably no other reason can be given
for this custom, but that Michaelmas-day was a great festivsi,
and geese at that time most plentiful. In Denmark, where
the harvest is later, every family has a roasted goose for sap-
per on St. Martin's Eve.^

[The old custom of eating goose on Michaelmas-day has
much exercised the ingenuity of antiquaries. Brady remarks
that this festival ** is no longer peculiar for that hospitality
which we are taught to believe formerly existed, when the
landlords used to entertain their tenants in their great halls
upon geese : then only kept by persons of opulence, and of
course considered as a peculiar treat, as was before the esse at
Martinmas, which was the old regular quarterly day : thourii
as geese are esteemed to be in their greatest perfection in the
autumnal season, there are but few families who totallv neglect
the ancient fashion of making that bird a part of their repast
on the festival of St. Michael." There is a current but eiro-
neous tale, assigning to Queen Elizabeth the introduction
of this custom of the day. Being on her way to Tilbory Fort
on the 29th September, 1588, she is alleged to have dined with
Sir Neville HumfreviUe, at his seat near that place, and to

' See Molesworth's Account of Denmark, p. 10. From Frolidi's Vir
torium, p. 254, I find that St. Martin's Day is celebrated in Germany with
geese, but it is not said in what manner. See Sylva Jucund. Serm. p. 18, aod
Martinmas infra. The practice of eating goose at Michaelmas does not
i4;}pear to prevail in any part of France. Upon St. Martin's Day they est
turkeys at Paris. They likewise eat geese upon St. Martin's Day, TwelfUi
Day, and Shrove Tuesday, at Paris. See Mercer, Tableau de PariSi toDLJ.
p. 131. In the King's Art of Cookery, p. 63, we read, —

*' So stubble geese at Michaelmas are seen,
Upon the spit ; ner/ May produces green."

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HICHAEUfAS 0008S. 369

haire partaken of a goose, which the knight, knowing her taste
for high-seasoned dishes, had provided ; that afler her dinner
she drank a half-pint bumper of Bargnndy to the destmction
of the Spanish Armada ; soon after which she received the
joyfiil tioings that her wishes had been fulfilled ; and that,
being delighted with the event, she commemorated the day
annually by having a goose for dinner, in imitation of Sir Ne-
ville's entertainment; and that, consequently, the court
adopted the like practice, which soon became general through-
out the kingdom. This anecdote is a strong proof that the
usage was sanctioned by royalty in Hie days of Queen Bess,
but there is evidence that it was practised long anterior to the
destruction of the Spanish Armada.] Among other services,
John de la Haye was bound to render to William Bamaby,
Lord of Lastres, in the county of Hereford, for a parcel of
the demesne lands, one goose fit for the lord's dinner on the
feast of St. Michael the Archangel. And this as early as the
tenth year of King Edward the Fourth. The custom may have
origiuated in a habit among the rural tenantry, of their bring-
ing a good stubble goose with their rent to the landlord at
Michaelmas, in the hope of making him lenient. In the Poesies
of George Gascoigne, 1575, are the following lines :

** And when the tenanntes come to paie their qaarter's rent,
They bring some fowle at Midsummer, a dish of fish in Lent,
At Christmasse a capon, at Michaehnasie a gooHe,
And somewhat else at New Yere's tide, forfeare their letueJUe
looae:\

A pleasant writer in the periodical paper called The World,
No. 10 (if I mistake not, the late Lord Orford), remarking on
the effects of the alteration of the style, tells us : " When the
reformation of the calendar was in agitation, to the great dis-
gust of many worthy persons, who urged how great the har-
mony was in the old establishment between the holidays and
their attributes (if I may call them so), and what confusion

1 " Crossthwaite church, in the Yale of Keswick, in Cumberland, hath five
chapels belonging to it. The minister's stipend is £5 per annum, and
Goo9e^gra89j or the right of commoning his geese ; a Wkittle-gaity or the
valuable privilege of using his knife for a week at a time at any table in the
parish ; and, lastly, a hardened saric, or a shirt of coarse Iinen."^Note by
Mr. Park.

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370 MICHAELMAS GOOSE.

would follow if Michaelmas-day, for instance, was not to be
celebrated when etubble-geeee are in their highest perfection;
it was replied, that such a propriety was merely imaginary, and
would be lost of itself, even without any alteration of the
calendar by authority ; for if the errors in it were suffered to
go on, they would in a certain number of years produce such
a variation that we should be mourning for good King Chaila
on a false dOth of January, at a time when our ancsetors used
to be tumbling over head and heels in Greenwich Park in
honour of Whitsuntide ; and at length be choosing king and
queen for Twelfth Night, when we ought to be admiring the
London Prentice at Bartholomew Fair."

It is a popular saying, '' If you eat goose on Michaelmas-
day you wiU never want money all the year round.*' Geeee
are eaten by ploughmen at harvest home. ^ In Poor Bobin's
Almanack for 1695, under September, are the following quaint
lines :

" Geese now m their prime aeaeon are.
Which, if well roasted are good fare :
Yet, however, firiends, take heed
How too much on them you feed,
Lest when as your tongues run loose,
Yonr discourse do smell ofgooee*'

Buttes, in his Dyets dry Dinner, 1599, says, on I know
not what authority, that *' a goose is the emblem of meert
madestie"

In a curious tract entitled A Health to the Gentlemanly
Profession of Servingmen, or the Servingman^s Comfort
1598, is the following passage : *' He knoweth where to have
a man that wUl stande him in lesse charge — his neighbour's
fionne, who will not onely maynteine himselfe with all neces-
saries, but also his father will gratifie his maister's kindnesse
at Christmas with a New Yeere's Gyft, at other festivall times
with pigge, ffoose, capon, or other such like householde provi-
sion." It appears, by the context, that the father of the serr-

' In the margin of a MS. in the Harleian Collection, No. 1772, fbl. 115
b, is written, in a hand of the ninth or tenth century, the following, which
I give as I find it : " Cave multum ne in his tribus diebus, sanguinem
minuas, aut pocionem sumas, aut de Anxere" ( Ansere) " manducas ; nono
Kalendis Aprilis die lunis ; intrante Augusto die lunis xx ; exennte Decem-
bris die lunis.''

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HIOHABLMAB GOOSE. 371

ingman does this to keep his son from going to serve abroad
as a soldier. In Deering's Nottingham, p. 107, mention occors
of ** hot roasted geese" having formerly been given on
Michaelmas-day^ there by the old mayor, in the morning, at
his house, preyious to the election of the new one.

In the British Apollo, fol. Lond. 1708, vol. i. No. 74, is the
foU owing :

" Q. Supposing DOW ApoUo's sons

Just rose from picking of goose bones,
This on you pops, pr^y tell me whence
The custom^ proverb did commence,
That who eats goose on Michael's-day
Shan't money lack his debts to pay.

A. This notion, fram'd in days of yore,
Is grounded on a prudent score ;
For, doubtless, 'twas at first designed
To make the people Seasoru mind,
That so they might apply their care
To all those things whidi needful were,
And, by a good industrious hand.
Know when and how t'improve their land."

In the same work, 1709, ii. 55, we have :

" <2. Tet my wife would persuade me (as I am a sinner)
To have a fat goose on St. Michael for dinner :
And then all the year round, I pray you would mind it,
I shall not want money — oh ! grant I may find it.
Now several there are that belieTc this is true,
Yet the reason of this is desired from you.

A, We think you're so far from the having of more.
That the price of the goose you have less than before :
The custom came up from the tenants presenting
Their landlords with geese, to incline their relenting
On folbwing payments."

Our ancestors, when they found a difficulty in carving a
goose, hare, or other dish, used to say, jestingly, that they
should hit the joint if they could but think on the name of a
cuckold.

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372

ST- UnCHAEI/S CAKE or BANNOCK.

Martin, in his Description of the Western Islands of Scot-
land, p. 213, speaking of the Protestant inhabitants of Side,
says, '* They obserre the festivals of Christmas, Baster, Good
Friday, and that of St. Michaers. Upon the Litter they have
a cavalcade in each parish, and several families bake the cake
called St. Michael's Bannock." In the same work, p. 100,
speaking of Kilbar village, he observes : " They have likewise
a general cavalcade on St. Michael's Day, in Kilbar village,
and do then also take a turn round their church. Every family,
as soon as the solemnity is ended, is accustomed to bake St.
Michael's Cake, and all strangers, together with those of the
family, must eat the bread that night."

In Macauley's History of St. Kilda, p. 82, we read : *' It
was, till of late, an universal custom among the islanders, on
Michaelmas-day, to prepare in every family, a loaf of cake of
bread, enormously hurge, and compounded of different ingre-
dients. This cake belonged to the archangel, and had its
name from him. Every one in each family, whether strangers
or domestics, had his portion of this kind of shew-bread, and.
had, of course, some tide to the friendship and protection of
Michael." He adds, " In Ireland a sheep was killed in every
family that could afford one, on the same anniversary ; and it
was ordained by law that a part of it should be given to the
poor. This, as we gather from Keating's General History of
Ireland, ii. 12, and a great deal more, was done in that king-
dom to perpetuate the memory of a miracle wrought there hj
St. Patrick, throueh the assistance of the archangel. In
commemoration of this, Michaelmas was instituted a festal
dayof joy, plenty, and universal benevolence."

The following very extraordinary septennial custom at
Bishops Stortford, in Hertfordshire, and in the adjacent
neighbourhood, on Old Michaelmas-day, I find in a London
newspaper, Oct. 18, 1787 : " On the morning of this day,
called Ganging-day, a great number of young men assemble
in the fields, when a very active fellow is nominated the
leader. This person they are bound to follow, who, for the
sake of diversion, generally chooses the route through ponds
ditches, and places of difficult passage. Every person they

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ST. PAITH. 373

meet is bnmped, male or female ; which is performed by two
other persons taking them up by their arms, and swinging
them against each other. The women in general keep at
home at this period, except those of less scrupulous character,
who, for the sake of partaking of a gallon of ale and a plum-
cake, which every landlord or publican is obliged to furnish
the revellers with, generally spend the best part of the night
in the fields, if the weather is fair ; it being strictly according
to ancient usage not to partake of the cheer anywhere else.'*

ST. FAITH, VIRGIN AND MARTYR.

[On St. Faith' 8-day, Oct. 6th, a very curious love charm is
employed in the north of England. A cake, of flour, spring-
water, salt, and sngar, must be made by three maidens or
three i^dows, and each must have an equid share in the com-
position. It is then baked before the fire in a Dutch oven,
and all the while it is doing, silence must be strictly observed,
and the cake must be turned nine times, or three times to
each person. When it is thoroughly done, it is divided into
three parts, each one taking her share, and cutting into nine
slips, must pass each slip three times through a wedding-ring,
previously borrowed from a woman who has been married at
least seven years. Then each one must eat her nine slips as
she is undressing, and repeat the following verses :

« good St. Faith, be kind to-night,
And bring to me my heart's d^ght ;
Let me my future husband view,
And be my visions chaste and true."

Then all three must get into one bed, with the ring suspended
by a string to the head of the couch ; and they will be quite
sure to dream of their future husbands.]

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374

ST. ETHELBURGffS DAT.
October 11.

In Fosbroke's British Monachism, ii. 127, mention oocnra
amidst the annual store of provision at Barking Nunnery, of
" wheat and milk for frimit^ upon St. Alburg'g Day."

ST. LUKE'S DAY.

OCTOBEB 18.

Dbakx tells US in his Eboracum^ p. 219, that " St. Lake's
Day is known in York by the name of Whip-dag-dayy firom a
strange custom that schoolboys use here of whipping all the
dogs that are seen in the streets that day. Whence this un-
common persecution took its rise is uncertain: yet, though
it is certamly very old, I am not of opinion, with some, that
it is aB ancient as the Romans. The tradition that I have
heard of its origin seems very probable, that in times of Popery
a priest, celebrating mass at this festival, in some church in
York, unfortunately dropped the pax after consecration, which
was snatched up suddenly and swallowed by a dog that lay
under the altar-table. The profanation of this high mystery
occasioned the death of the dog, and a persecution began, and
has since continued, on this day, to be severely carried on
against his whole tribe in our city."

[The following curious extract is taken from the second part
of Mother Bunch's Closet Newly Broke Open:— "The next
which entered the room was Margaret, the miller's maid, who,
after making a low curtesy, and giving Mother Bunch the
time of the day, desired to know for what reason she sent her
a letter. " Why," quoth the old woman, " that I misht
reveal to you some secrets that are both relative and conducive
to love, which I have never yet discovered to the world."
" But, mother," said Margaret, " I am ameer stranger to love,
for I never knew what it meant." " That may be,"
quoth she ; " yet you know not how soon you may receive
the arrows of Cupid, and then you'll be glad of my advice ; for

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ST. SIMON AND ST. JUDB'b DAT. 375

I know the best of you desires to lie with a man, and I'll ap-
peal to you if yon would not be glad of a husband." *' Mo-
ther," quoth Margaret, " you come too close to the matter,
and if I may speak my mind, I'd willingly embrace such a
one ; for although housekeeping is chargeable, yet marriage
is honourable." " Thou sa/st well, daughter," quoth Mother
Bunch, " and if thou hast a mind to see the man, follow my
directions, and you shall not fail. Let me see, this is St.
Luke's Day, which 1 have found by long experience to be fitter
for this purpose than St. Agnes' s, and the ingredients more
excellent. Take marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram, thyme,
and a little wormwood ; dry them before a fire, rub them to
powder, then sift it thro' a fine piece of lawn ; simmer these
with a small quantity of virgin honey in white vinegar, over
a slow fire ; with this anoint your stomach, breast, and lips
lying down, and repeat these words thrice :

<' St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me ;
In dreams let me my true loTe see !"

This said, hasten to sleep, and in the soft slumber of your
night's repose, the very man whom you shall marry will
appear before you, walking to and fro, near your bedside, very
plain and visible to be seen. You shall perfectly behold his
visage, stature, and deportment ; and if he be one that will
prove a loving husband, he will approach you with a smile ;
which, if he does, do not seem to be over fond or peevish,
but receive the same with a mild and modest blush. But if it
be one, who after marriage will forsake thy bed to wander
after strange women, he will offer to be rude and uncivil with
thee."]

ST, SIMON AND ST. JUDE'S DAY.

OCTOBEB 28.

It appears that St. Simon's and St. Jude's Day was
accounted ndny as well as St. Swithin's, from the following
passage in the old play of the Roaring Girls : " As well as I

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376 ST. aiicoN AND ST. jude's day.

know 'twill rain upon Simon and Jude's Day." And agwn :
*' Now a continaal Simon and Jude'a nan hetit all your feap
thers at flat down as pancakes." And we learn from Holin-
shed that, in 1536, when a battle was appointed to have been
fought upon this day, between the king's troops and the rebek,
in Yorkshire, that so great a quantity of rain fell upon the
eye thereof as to prevent the battle from taking place. In the
Sententiss Rythmicse of J. Buchlerus, p. 390, I find the fol-
lowing obseryations upon St. Simon and St Jude's Day :

** ftsU dies Judse prohibet te inoedere nude,

Sed vult ut corpus yestibus omne tegas.
Festa dies Judse cum transiit atque Simools

In foribus nobis esse putatur biems.
Simonis, Judse post festum vse tibi nude,

Tunc inflant genti mala gaudia veste carenti.'*'

[On this day take an apple, pare it whole, and take the
paring in your right hand, and standing in the middle of the
room, say the following verse :

" St. Simon and Jude, on you I intrude,
By this parting I hold to discover.
Without any delay, to tell me this day
The first letter of my own true lover."

Turn three times round, and cast the paring over your left
shoulder, and it will form the first letter of your future hus-
band's surname, but if the paring breaks into many pieoes, so
that no letter is discernible, you will never marry ; take the
pips of the same apple, put them into spring water and diink
them. Why this latter injunction my informant sayeth not.]

^ In the Runic Calendar, St. Simon and St. Jude's Day was mariced by a
ship, on account of their having been fishermen. Wormii Festi Danici,
lib. iL c. 9. " A la Saint Simon et Saint Jude on envoi an temple les gens
un pen simple, demander des nefles" (medlars), " afin de les attraper et
faire noircir par des valets.^' — Sauval, Antiq. de Paris, tom. iL p. 617.

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377
ALLHALLOW EVEN :

VULGARLY HALLE E'EN, OR NUTCRACK NIGHT.

In the ancient Calendar of the Church of Rome, so often
cited, I find the following observation on the 1st of Noyem-
ber : '' The feast of Old Fools is removed to this day." Hal-
loir Even is the vigil of All Saints' Day^ ▼hich is on the Ut
of November.

It is customary on this night with young people in the
north of England to dive for apples, or catch at them, when
stuck upon one end of a kind of hanging beam, at the other
extremity of which is fixed a lighted candle, and that with
their mouths only^ their hands being tied behind their backs. ^

Dr. Goldsmith, in his Vicar of' Wakefield, describing the
manner of some rustics, tells us, among other customs which
they preserved, that they " religiously cracked nuts on AH-
hallow Eve.*' In the Life and Character of Harvey, the
famous Conjuror of Dublin, 1728, in a letter, dated Dublin,
31st of October, the author says, p. 10, " This is the last day
of October, and the birth of this packet is partly owing to the
affiur of this night. I am alone ; but the servants having
demanded apples^ ale, and nutSy I took the opportunity of
running back my own annals of AllhMows Eve ; for you are
to know, my lord, that I have been a meer adept, a most
famous artist both in the college and country, on occasion of
this anile, chimerical solemnity, When my Life, which I have
almost fitted for the press, appears in public, this Eve inR
produce some things curious, admirable, and diverting/*

Nuts have not been excluded from the Catalogue of Super-
stitions under Papal Rome. Thus, on the 10th of August, in
the Romish ancient Calendar I find it observed that some
religious use was made of them, and that they were in great
estimation : " Nuces in pretio et religiosse."

' Something like this appears in an ancient inuminated missal in Donee's
Collection, in which a person is represented balancing himself upon a pole
laid across two stools. At the end of the pole is a lighted candle, &om
which he is endeavouring to light another in his hand, at the risk of
tumbling into a tub of water placed nndec him. See Stratfs Sports and
Pastimes, p. 294, plate zxxvi.

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378 ALLHALLOW EVEN.

" The Istof November," says Hutchinson, in his Noiihnm-
berland, yoI. ii. ad finem, p. 18, " seems to retain the cele-
bration of a festival to Pomona, when it is supposed the
summer stores are opened on the approach of winter. Divina-
tions and consulting of omens attended all these ceremonies
in the practice of the heathen. Hence, in the rural sacrifice
of nuts, propitious omens are sought touching matrimony : if
the nuts lie still and bum together, it prognosticates a happy
marriage or a hopeful love ; if, on the contrary, they bounce
and fly asunder, the sign is unpropitious. I do not doubt
but the Scotch fires kindled on this day anciently burnt for
this rural sacrifice."

Nuts and apples chiefly compose the entertainment, and
from the custom of flinging the former into the fire, or crack-
ing them with their teeth, it has doubtless had its vulgar name
of Nutcrack-mghty and under that name is thus alluded to m
Poor Robin for 1 735 : '' This quarter begins the 12th of Sep-
tember, and holds till the 1 1th of December, in which time
the landlord has a quarter-day, as he has in every one of the
other quarters. This quarter also affords a Term begins for
the lawyers, a Crispin for the shoemakers, a Lord Mayor's day
for the citizens, a NutcrcLck-night for young people and sweet-
hearts; it brings on a winter, and a long dark nights for
tallow-chandlers and linkboys, and concludes with a shortest
day for everybody on this side the equinoctial." See in Staf-
ford's Niobe, or his Age of Teares, 1611, p. 107, where this
is called a Chrietmas Gambol. Polwhele describes it in his
Old English Gentleman, p. 120 :

" Or catch th* elusive apple with a hound.
As nvith its taper it flew whizzing round."

Mr. Pennant tell us, in his Tour in Scotland, that the young
women there determine the figure and size of their husbands
by drawing cabbages blind/old on Allhallow Even, and, like
the English, ^tn^ nuts into the fire. This last custom is bean-
tifnlly described by Gay in his Spell :

" Two hazel nuts I threw into the flame,
And to each nut I gave a sweetheart's name :

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ALLUALLOW BTXM. 879

ThiB with the hudeH bounce me sore amas'd,
That in Ajlame qfbrightett colour blaz'd ;
As blaz'd the nut $o may thypaaekm ffrow.
For 'twM thy nut that did so brightly glow !"

Nor can I omit the following lines^ by Charles Graydon,
" On Nuts boming, Allhallows Eve," in a Collection of Poems»
Dublin, 1801, p. 137 :

" These glowing nuts are emblems trae
Of what in human life we view ;
The ill-match'd couple fret and fume,
And thus in strife themselves consume ;
Orfirom each other wildly start,
And with a noise for ever part.
But see the happy, happy pair,
Of genuine love and truth sincere ;
With mutual fondness, while they bum,
Still to each other kindly turn ;
And as the vital sparks decay,
Together gently sink away :
Till life's fierce ordeal being past.
Their mingled ashes rest at last."

Owen, in his Welsh Dictionary, voce Cyniver, mentions " A
play in which the youth of both sexes seek for an even-leaved
sprig of the ash ; and the first of either sex that finds one calls
out Cyniver, and is answered by the first of the other that
succeeds ; and these two, if the omen fails not, are to be joined
in wedlock."

It is a custom in Ireland, when the young women would
know if their lovers are faithful, to put three nuts upon the
bars of the grates, naming the nuts after the lovers. If a nut
cracks or jumps, the lover will prove unfaithful ; if it begins
to blaze or bum, he has a regard for the person making the
trial. If the nuts named after the girl and her lover bum
together, they will be married.

[Our account of the ceremonies and divinations practised on
this night will be best illustrated by the following extracts
from Bums's poem, the notes to which will furnish the reader
with much curious information : —

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380

▲LLHALLOW EVEN.

HAJiLOWEENJ

Amang the bonnie winding banks

Whar Doon rins, * wimplin', clear,
Where Bruce* ance rul'd the martial ranks,

An' shook his Carrick spear,
Some merry, friendly, countra folks.

Together did convene.
To bum their nits, an' pou their stocks,

An' baud their Halloween

Fu' blythe that night.

Then, first and foremost, thro' the kail.

Their stocks' maun a' be sought ance ;
They steek their een, an' graip an' wale,

For muckle anes, an' straught anes
Poor hav'rel Will fell aff the drift.

An' wander'd through the bow-kail.
An* pou't, for want o' better shift

A runt was like a sow-tail,

Sae boVt that night

Then, straught or crooked, yird or nane,

They roar an' cry a' throu'ther;
The vera wee-things, todlin', rin,

Wi' stocks out-owre their shouther ;
An' gif the custoc's sweet or sour

Wi' joctelegs they taste them ;
Syne coziely, aboon the door,

Wi' cannie care they've placed them.
To lie that night.

* It is thought to be a night, when devils, witches, and other miadiiel-
making beings, are all abroad on their baneful midnight errands ; particu-
larly those aerial people, the fairies, are said, on that night, to hold a grand
anniversary.

a The famous family of that name, the ancestors of Robert, the great
deliverer of his country, were Earls of Carrick.

* The first ceremony of Hallowe'en is pulling each a stock or plant of kail.
They must go out, hand in hand, with eyes shut, and pull the first they
meet with ; its being big or little, straight or crooked, is prophetic of the
wot and shape of the grand object of all their spells — ^the husband or wife.
If any yird or earth stick to the root, that is tocher, or fortune ; and the
taste of the custoc, that is, the heart of the stem, is indicative of the
natural temper and disposition. Lastly, the stems, or, to give them their
ordinary appellation, the runts, are placed somewhere above the head of
the door ; and the Christian names of the people whom chance brings into
the house, are, aooording to the priority of placing the rants, the names in
question.

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ALLHALLOW lYXN. 381

The lasaes staw frte 'mang them a'.

To pott their gtalks o' corn ;'
Bat Rab slips out, an' jinks about.

Behint the muckle thorn :
He grippet Nelly hard an' fast ;

Loud skirrd a' the lasses ;
Bat her tap-pickle maist was lost.

Whan kuittlin' in the Pause-house'
Wi' him that night.

The aold gmdwife's weel-hoorded nits'

Are round an' round divided,
An' monie lads' and lasses' fates

Are there thai night decided :
Some kindle, couthie, side by side,

An' bumthegither trimly;
Some start awa wi' sancy pride,

And jump out-owre the chimHe,

Fu' high that night.

But Merran sat behint their backs,

Her thoughts on Andrew Bell ;
She lea'es them gashin' at their cracks,

An' slips out by hersel' :
She thro' the yard the nearest taks,

An' to the kiln she goes then,
An' darklins graipit for the banks.

And in the blue clue* throws then.

Right fear't that uigfat

' They go to the ham-yard, and pull each, at three several times, a stalk
of oats. If the third stalk wants the top-pickle, that is, the grain at the
top (rf the stalk, the party in question will come to the marriage-bed any-
thing but a maid.

' When the com is in a doubtful state, by being too green or wet,
the stack-builder, by means of old tunber, &c, makes a large apartment in
his stack, with an opening in the side which is fairest exposed to the wind ;
this he calls a fause-house.

' Buming the nuts is a famous charm. They name the lad and lass to
each particular nut, as they lay them in the fire ; and accordingly as they
bum quietly together, or start fiom beside one another, the course and
issue of the courtship will be.

* Whoever would, with success, try this speU, must strictly observe
these directions : Steal out, all alone, to the kUn, and, darkling, throw into
the pot a due of blue yam. Wind it in a new clue off the old one ; and,
towards the latter end, something will hold the thread. Demand, ** Wha
hands?" that is, " Who holds?" An answer will be retumed from the
kiln-pot, by naming the Christian and somame of yonr future spouse.

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382 iXLHALLOW BYEN.

An' ay^ ahe win't, an' aye she swat ; ^

1 wat she made nae jankm' ;
TUl something held within the pat ;

Guid L — d ! hut she was quauldn' ! ^

But whether 'twas the deil himsel', ^

Or whether 'twas a bauk-en',
Or whether it was Andrew Bell,

She did na wait on talkin' >

To spier that night.

Wee Jenny to her grannie says,

" Will ye go wi' me, grannie ?
Ill eat the apple* at the glass,

I gat frae uncle Johnnie."
She fuff 't her pipe wi' sic a lunt,

In wrath she was sae vap'rin',
She notic't na, an aizle brunt

Her braw new worset apron

Out thro' that night.

^ Our stibble-rig was Rob M'Graen,
A clever, sturdy fallow ;
He's sin gat Eppie Sim wi' wean,

That liv'd in Achmacalla :
He gat hemp-seed,' I mind it weel,

Ajq' he made nnoo light o't

But monie a day was by-himsel'

He was sae sairly frighted

That vera night."

Then up gat fechtin' Jamie Fleck,

An' he swoor by his conscience,
That he could saw hemp-seed a peck

For it was a' but nonsense.
The auld guidmanraught down the pock.

An' out a handfu' gied him ;
Syne bad him slip frae 'mang the folk,

Sometime when nae ane see'd him.
An' tiy't that night.

> Take a candle, and go alone to a looking-glass ; eat an apple before it,
and, some traditions say, you should comb your hair all the time ; the £aoe
of your coigugal companion to be, will be seen in the glass, as if peeping
over your shoulder.

* Steal out unperceived, and sow a handful of hempseed, harrowing it
with anything you can conveniently draw after you. Repeat now and then
" Hemp-seed, I saw thee, hemp-seed, I saw thee ; and him (or her) that is
to be my true-love, come after me and pou thee." Look over your left

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ALLHALLOW EYEK. 383

He marches thro' amang the stacks

Tho'be was something sturtin ;
The graip he for a harrow taks,

An' haurls at his carpin :
4n' every now an' then he says,

" Hemp-seed, I saw thee ;
An' her that is to he my lass,

Come after me, an' draw thee

As fast this night.

Meg fain wad to the barn hae gane.

To win' three wechts o' naething ;i
Bnt for to meet the deil her hine,

She pat but little faith in :
She gies the herd a pickle nits,

An' twa red-cheekit apples,
To watch, while for the barn she sets,

In hopes to see Tam Kipples

That vera night.

They hoy't out WOl, wi' sair advice ;

They hecht him some fine braw ane :
It chanc'd the stack he faddom't thrice,*

Was timmer-propt for thravnn' :
He taks a swirlie, anld moss oak,

For some black, groasome carlin :
An' loot a winze, an' drew a stroke.

Till skin in blypes cam haurlin'

Aff 's nieves that night.

■honlder, and yon will see the appearance of the person invoked, in the
attitude of pulling hemp. Some traditions say, " Come after me, and show
thee ;" that is, " show thyself," in which case it simply appears. Others
omit the harrowing, and say, " Come after me, and harrow thee."

1 This charm must likewise be performed unperceived and alone. You
go to the bam, and open both doors, taking them off the hinges, if possible ;
for there is danger that the being about to appear may shut the doors, and
do you some mischief. Then take that instrument used in winnowing the
com, which, in our country dialect, we call a wecht, and go through all the
attitudes of letting down corn against the wind. Repeat it three times,
and the third time an apparition will pass through the bam, io at the
windy door, and out at the other, having both the figure in question, and
the appearance or retinue marking the employment or station in life.

' Take an opportunity of going, unnoticed, to a bean-stack, and £ithom
it three times round. The last fathom of the last time you will catch in
your arms the appearance of your future conjugal yokefellow.

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384 ALLHALLOW SVXN.

A wanton widow Leezie waa.

As canty as a kittlen ;
Bat, och I this night, amang the ahawi,

She got a fearfii' settlin' !
She thro' the whins, an* by the cairn,

An' owre the hill gaed scrierin,
Whare three lairds' lands met at a bom.

To dip her left sark-sleeve in,

Was bent that night

In order, on the clean hearthstane,

The luggies three* are ranged ;
And ev'ry time great care is ta'en.

To see them duly changed :
Anld uncle John, wha wedlock's joys

Sin' Mar's-year did desire,
Because he gat the toom-dish thrice,

He heay'd them on the fire

In wrath that night

Wi* merry sangs, an' friendly cracks,

I wat they did na weary ;
An' unco' t^es, an' funny jokes.

Their sports were cheap an' cheery ;
Till butter'd so*ns,s wi' fragrant lant.

Set a' their gabs a-steerin' ;
Syne, wi' a sodal glass o' strunt,

They parted aff careerin',

Fu' biythe that night

Gray mentions another species of love divination by the
insect called the lady-fly: —

' Ton go out, one or more (for this is a social spell), to a south nmning
spring or rivulet, where ** three lairds' lands meet," and dip your left ahiit-
sleeve. Go to bed, in sight of a fire, and hang your wet sleeve before it to
dry ; lie awake, and some time near midnight an apparition, having the
exact figure of the grand object in question, will come and turn the sleeve,
as if to dry the other side of it

' Take three dishes ; put clean water in one, foul water in another,
leave the third empty. Blindfold a person, and lead him to the hearth,
where the dishes are ranged ; he (or she) dips the left hand — ^if, by chance,
in the clean water, the future husband or wife will come to the bar of
matrimony a maid ; if in the foul, a widow ; if in the empty dish, it fore-
tells, with equal certainty, no marriage at all. It is repeated three times;
and every time the arrangement of the dishes is altered.

' Sowens, with butter instead of milk to them, is always the Halloweea
supper.

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ALLHALLOW EYEN. 385

** This lady-fly I take from off the grass,
Whose spotted back might scarlet red surpass.
Fly, lady-bird, north, south, or east, or west,
Fly where the man is found that I love best."

And thus ako another, with apple-parings :

'* I pare this pippin round and round again.
My shepherd's name to flourish on the plain ;
I fling th' unbroken paring o'er my head,
Upon the grass a perfect L is read." f

Girls made trial also of the fidelity of their swains by
sticking an apple-kernel on each cheek. (The Connoisseur,
No. 56, represents them as being stuck upon the forehead.)
That which feU first indicated that the loye of him whose
name it bore was unsound. Thus Gay :

'* This pippin shall another trial make ;

See from the core two kernels brown I take :
This on my cheek for Lubberkin is worn,
And Booby Clod on t'other side is borne :
But Booby Clod soon drops upon the ground,
A certain token that his Ipve's unsound ;
While Lubberkin sticks firmly to the last ;
Oh! were his lips to mine but join'd so fast !"

Something of this kind occurs in Beroaldus's Commentary
on the Life of Claudius Ceesar, cap. 8 : " Hac tempestate
pneri ossiculis cerasorum> quae digitis exprimunt, incessere
homines ludibrij causa consueverunt. Scnbit Porphyrio Ho-
ratianus interpres solere amantes duobus primis digitU com-
pressare pomorum semina, eaque mittere in cameram, veluti
augurium, ut si cameram contigerint sperare possint ad efectum
perduci quod animo conceperunt.^' (Ad. C. Sueton. Tranq.
zii. Csesares Comment, fol. Par. 1610, col. 560, a.)^

> On the subject of Iotc divinations there is ^a most curious passage in
Theocritus, Idyllium 3d, where the shepherd says —

«< Byviav vpdv, oku fitv iitfivafuvia d 0(XcciC f^t
OvH t6 ri}Xi^tXov TroTifUL^aro to icXardynfiaj
AAX' avTbiQ airaXtf irorc 7rd%€'c i^tfiapavBti."

** Intellexi nUper, cum quererem, an me amares,
Telephilum alUsum non edidit sonum :
Sed frustra in tenero cubito exaruit."

— ** Nam ^ut Scholiastes ibi annotavit) amatores papayeris folium, brachio,

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386 ALLHALLOW EVEN.

[I extract the following from an old chap-book» called the
True Fortune-Teller, in a chapter headed To know whether a
woman will have the man she wishes. — " Get two lemon-peels,
wear them all day, one in each pocket ; at night rub the four
posts of the bedstead with them ; if she is to succeed, the per-
son will appear in her sleep, and present her with a couple of
lemons ; if not, there is no hope !"]

The subsequent passage from Gay's Pastorals g^reatly
•esembles the Scottish rite, though at a different time of the
year:

** At eve last Midsammer no sleep I sought,
But to the field a bag of hemp-seed brought ;
I scattered round the seed on ey'ry side,
And three times, in a trembling accent, crie
This hemp-seed with my virgin hand I sow.
Who shall my true love be, the crop shall mow."

[The following curious love divinations are extracted from
the old chap-book, entitled Mother Bunch's Closet Newly
Broke Open : '' First, if any one here desires to know the
name of the man whom she shall marry, let her who desires
this seek a green peascod, in which there are full nine peas ;
which done, either write or cause to be written, on a small
slip of paper, these words ' Come in, my dear, and do not
fear; ' which writing you must inclose within the aforesaid
peascod, and lay it under the door, then mind the next per-
son who comes in, for you'll certainly marry one of the same
name. Secondly, she who desires to be satisfied whether she shall
enjoy the man desired or no, let her take two lemon-peels, in
the morning, and wear them all day under her arm-pits ; then
at night let her rub the four posts of the bed with them ;
which done, in your sleep he will seem to come and present
you with a couple of lemons, but if not, there is no hope.

humero, manusve carpo impositum, percutiebant, et si sonum ederet
redamari se credebant et de futuris nuptiis bene ominabantur; sin minus
odio se haberi inde coUigebant. Interdum coloris, ex percussione cutem
tingentis, experimentum capiebant. Etenim si rubicundum duntaxat inde
colorem cutis traheret, quem roseum appellabant, ab amatis redamari eos
indicium fadebat ; si ver6 cutem inflammari atque exulcerari contingeret,
contemn! se odioque esse existimabant.'' (Lydii Ritus Sponsaliorum, p. 20,
in Faces Augustse sive Poemata, &c., a Gaspare Barheo, &c 4to.
Dordraci, 1643.)

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ALLHALLOW EVEN. 387

Thirdly, she who desires to know to what manner of fortune
she shall be married, if a gentleman, a tradesman, or a tra-
veller, the experiment is this : a walnut, a hazle-nut, and a
nutmeg, grate them, and mix them ; and mix them up with
butter and sugar into pills, which must be taken at lying
down, and then, if her fortune to marry a gentleman, her
sleep* will be filled with golden dreams ; if a tradesman, odd
noises and tumults, if a traveller, then will thunder and
lightning disturb her. Fourthly, St. Agnes's Day I have not
yet whoUy blotted out of my book, but I have found a more
exact way of trial than before. You need not abstain from
kisses, nor be forced to keep fast for a glance of a lover in the
night. If you can but rise, to be at the church door between
the hours of twelve and one in the morning, and put the fore-
finger of your right hand into the keyhole and then repeat the
following words thrice :

** O sweet St. Agnes, now draw near,
And with my true love straight appear."

Then will he presently approach with a smiling countenance.
Fifthly, my daughters, know ye the 14th of February is Valen-
tine's day, at wMch time the fowls of the air begin to couple ;
and the young men and maids are for choosing their mates.
Now, that you may speed, take this approved direction : Take
five bay-leaves, lav one under every ooraer of your pillow, and
the fifth in the middle ; then lying down to rest, repeat these
lines seven times :

" Sweet guardian angels, let me have,
What I most earnestly do craye,
A Valentine endowed with love,
That will both kind and constant prove.''

Then to your content you'll either have the Valentine you
desire, or one more excdlent.

The Ditmb-Cake. — In order to make the dumb-cake to
perfection, it is necessary to observe strictly the following
instructions : Let any number of young women take a hand-
ful of wheat flour, and place it on a sheet of white paper.
Then sprinkle it over with as much salt as can be held between
the finger and thumb ; then one of the damsels must make it

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388 ALLHALLOW BVEX.

into a dough without the aid of spring-water ; which, being
done, each of the company must roll it up, and spread it thin
and broad, and each person must, at some distance from each
other» make the initials of her name with a large new pin
towards the end of the cake. The cake must then be set
before the fire, and each person must sit down in a chair as
far distant from the fire as the room will admit, not speaking
a single word all the time. This must be done soon after
eleven at night ; and between that and twelve o'clock each per-
son must turn the cake once, and in a few minutes after the
clock strikes twelve, the husband of her who is first to be mar-
ried will appear, and lay his hand on that part of the cake
which is marked with her name. Silence must be strictly
preserved throughout this operation. Some say that the cake
must be made of an eggshell-full of salt, an eggsbell-foll of
wheat meal, and an eggshell-full of barley-meal.]

Snails, too, were used in love divinations ; they were sent
to crawl on the hearth, and were thought to Ynark in the ashes
the initials of the lover's name. See some lines on this sub-
ject at p. 218. Shaw, in his History of the Province of
Moray, p. 241, seems to consider the festivity of this night as
a kind of harvest-home rejoicing : " A solenmity was kept,"
says he," on the eve of the 1st of November, as a thanksgivinff
for the safe in-gathering of the produce of the fields. This I
am told, but have not seen it, is observed in Buchan and other
countries, by having Hallow Eve fire kindled on eome ruing
S^round."^

In Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, 1793, v. 84,
the minister of Logierait, in Perthshire, describing the super-
stitious opinions and practices in the parish, says : *' On the
evening of the 3 1st of October, O. S., among many others,
one remarkable ceremony is observed. Heath, broom, and
dressings of flax are tied upon a pole. This faggot is then
kindled. One takes it upon his shoulders, and, running, bears
it round the village. A crowd attend. When the first faggot

* The fires which were lighted ap in Ireland on the four great festinls
of the Druids have been already noticed under the Guls or Aitgust.
Thjs Irish, General Vallanccy tells us, have dropped the Fire of NoTember,
and substituted candles. The Welsh, he adds, still retain the Fire of No-
fember, but can give no reason for the illumination. Collectanea de Rebni
Hibemicis, iii. 464, note.

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ALLHALLOW EVEN, 389

M burnt out, a second is bound to the pole and kindled in the
same manner sa before. Numbers of these blazing faggots are
often carried about together, and when the night happens to
be dark they form a splen^d illumination. This is Hallow-
e'en, and is a night of great festivity." The minister of Cal-
lander, in Perthshire, ibid., xi. 62 1, mentioning peculiar
customs, says, " On All Saints' Even they set up bonfires in
erery village. When the bonfire is consumed, the ashes are
carefully collected into tlie form of a circle. There is a stone
put in near the circumference, for every person of the several
families interested in the bonfire ; and whatever stone is
removed out of its place or injured before the next morning,
the person represented by that stone is devoted, or fey, and is
supposed not to live twelve months from that day ; the people
received the consecrated fire from the Druid priests next
morning, the virtues of which were supposed to continue for
a year." In the same work, 1795, xv. 517, the minister of
Kirkmichael, in Perthshire, speaking of antiquities and curi-
osities, says, '* the practice of lighting bonfires on the first
mght of winter, accompanied with various ceremonies, still
prevails in this and the neighbouring Highland parishes. The
custom, too, of making a fire in the fields, bd^ing a conse-
crated cake, &c., on the Ist of May is not quite worn out."
Ibid. xxi. 145, parish of Monguhitter, county of Aberdeen, we
are told that formerly " the Midsummer Even fire, a relic of
Druidism, was kindled in some parts of this county ; the Hal-
low Even fire, another relic of Druidism, was kindled in Buchan.
Various magic ceremonies were then celebrated to counteract
the influence of witches and demons, and to prognosticate to
the young their success or disappointment in the matrimonial
lottery. These being devoutly finished, the hallow fire was
kindled, and guarded by the male part of the family. Societies
were formed, either by pique or humour, to scatter certain fires,
and the attack and defence were often conducted with art and
fbnr. But now, the hallow fire, when kindled, is attended by
children only ; and the country girl, renouncing the rites of
magic, endeavours to enchant her swain by the charms of
dress and of industry."

In North Wales (Mr. Pennant's MS. informs me) there is a
custom upon All Saints' Eve of making a great fire called Coel
Coeth, when every family about an hour in the night makes a

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390 ALLHALLOW EVEN.

great bonfire in the most conspicuous place near the house,
and vhen the fire is almost extinguished every one throws a
white stone into the ashes, having first marked it ; then having
said their prayers turning round the fire, they go to bed. In
the morning, as soon as they are up, they come to search out
the stones, and if any one of them ia found wanting they have
a notion that the person who threw it in will die before he
sees another All Saints' Eve. They have a custom also of
distributing Boulrcakes on All Souls' Day, at the receiving of
which the poor people pray to God to bless the next crop of
wheat. There is a general observation added : — " N. B. 1735.
Most of the harmless old customs in this MS. are now disused.'*
In Owen's account of the Bards, however, preserved in Sir
B. Hoare's Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales,
ii. 315, we read: ''The autumnal fire is still kindled in
North Wales, being on the eve of the 1st day of November,
and is attended by many ceremonies ; such as running through
the fire and smoke, each casting a stone into the fire, and all
running off at the conclusion to escape from the black short-
tailed sow ; then supping upon parsnips, nuts, and apples ;
catching at an apple suspended by a string, with the mouth
alone, and the same by an apple in a tub of water ; each
throwing a nut into the fire; and those that bum bright
betoken prosperity to the owners through the following year,
but those that burn black and crackle denote misfortune.
On the following morning the stones are searched for in the
fire, and if any be missing, they betide ill to those who threw
them in." Owen has prefaced these curious particulars by
the following observations: "Amongst the fint aberrations
may be traced that of the knowledge of the great Huon, or
the Supreme Being, which was obscured by the hieroglyphics
or emblems of his different attributes, so that the grovelling
minds of the multitude often sought not beyond those repre-
sentations for the objects of worship and adoration. This
opened an inlet for numerous errors more minute ; and many
superstitions became attached to their periodical solemnities^
and more particularly to their rejoicing fires, on the appearance
of vegetation in spring, and on the completion of harvest in
autumn."

A writer in the Gent.'s Mag. for 1783, p. 578, thinks ''the
custom prevailing among the Roman Catholics of lighting Jirtt

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▲LLH ALLOW EY£N. 391

upon the hilU on All Saints' night, the Eve of All Soute,
scarcely needs explaining : fire being, even among the Pagans,
an emblem of immortality y and well calculated to typify the
ascent of the soul to heaven." In the same work, for Noyember
1784, p. 836, it is stated, that "at the village of Findem, in
Derbyshire, the boys and girls go every year in the evening
of the 2d of November (All Souls* Day), to the adjoining
common, and light up a number of small fires amongst the
furze growing there, and call them by the name of Tindlee.
Upon inquiring into the origin of this custom amongst the
inhabitants of the place, they supposed it to be a relic of
Popery, and that the professed design of it, when first institu-
ted, was to light souls out of purgatory. But as the commons
have been inclosed there very lately, that has most probably
put an end to the custom, for want of the wonted materials."
A third writer in the Gent.'s Mag. for 1788, p. 602, speaks
of a custom observed in some parts of the kingdom among
the Papists, of illuminating some of their grounds upon the
Eve of All Soub by bearing round them straw, or other fit
materials, kindled into a blaze. The ceremony is called a
Tifdey, and the vulgar opinion is, that it represents an emble-
matical lighting of souls out of purgatory. Accounts of the
origin of the f^ast of All Souls may be seen in the Golden
Legend and other Legends, and in Dnpre's Conformity of
Ancient and Modem Ceremonies, p. 92. In Sir William
Duedale's Diary, at the end of his Life, 1827, p. 104, we
read, " On All-HaUow Even the master of the fjEunHy anciently
used to carry a bunch of straw, fired, about his come, saying —

' Fire and Red low
Light on my teen low.' "

The original memorandum was at the end of one of Dugdale's
Almanacks of 1658.

Difierent places adopt different ceremonies. Martin tells
us that the inhabitants of St. Kilda, on the festival of All
Saints, baked " a large cake in the form of a triangle, furrowed
round, and which was to be all eaten that night." The same,
or a custom nearly similar, seems to have prevailed in different
parts of England. The same writer, speaking of the Isle of
Lewis, p. 28, says, " The inhabitants of this island had an
ancient custom to sacrifice to a sea god, call'd Shony, at

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392 . ALLHALLOW BVXN. .

Hallow-tide, in die aumner following : the inhabitants round
the island came to the church of St. MuWay, having each man
his provision along with him ; every family fomish'd a peck
of malt, and this was brewed into ale : one of their number
was picked out to wade into the sea» up to the middle, and
carrying a cup of ale in his hand, standing still in that postare,
cried out with a loud voice, saying, ' Shony, I give you this
cup of ale, hoping that you'll be so kind as to send us plenty
of sea-ware for enriching our ground the ensuing year ;' and
so threw the cup of ale into the sea. This was performed in
the night time. At his return to land they all went to church,
where there was a candle burning upon the altar : and then
standing silent for a little time, one of them gave a signal, at
which the candle was put out, and immediately all of them *
went to the fields, where they fell a drinking their ale, and
spent the remainder of the night in dancing and singing, &c."
fie adds, *' the mimsters in l^wis told me they spent several
years before they could persuade the vulgar natives to abandon
this ridiculous piece of superstition."

In the FestyVaU, 1511, f. 149, is the following pasaage :
" We rede in olde tyme good people wolde on AU hallowen
daye bake hrade and dele it for all crysten soules." I find
the following, which is much to my purpose, in Festa Anglo-*
Romana, p. 109 : "All Souls' Day, Nov. 2d : the custom of
Soul Mass eakesj which are a kind of o<U cakes, that some of
the richer sorts of persons in Lancashire and Herefordshire
(among the Papists there) use still to give the poor on this day ;
and they, in retribution of their charity, hold themselves
obliged to say this old couplet :

* God have your saul,

Beens and aU.' "

At Ripon, in Yorkshire, on the eve of All Saints, the good
women make a cake for every one in the family : so this is
generaUy called Cake Ni^ht. See Gent. Mag. for Aug. 1790,
p. 719. "My servant, B. Jelkes," says Brand, "who is firom
Warwickshire, informs me that there is a custom in that county
to have seed cake at All-hallows^ at the end of wheat seed-time.*

^ Weever, Fun. Mon. p. 724, speaking of the monks of St. Bdmimds*
bury, says, " They bad certain wax candles, which ever and onely they

yGoogk

ALLHALLOW EVSN. 393

As alBO that at the end of barley and bean seed-time there is a
castom there to give the ploughmen /raise, a species of thick
pancake."

Bishop Kennett mentions the seed cake as an old English
custom. It is also noticed by Tusser in his Five Hundred
Pointes of Good Husbandrie, 1580, f. 75 :

" Wife, some time this weeke, if the wether hold cleerci
An end of wheat^owing we make for this yeare.
Remember you, therefore, though I do it not,
The Seed-cale, the Patties, and Furmentie-pot.**

"It is worth remarking," says Tollett, in a note on the
Two Gent, of Verona, ii. 2, "that on All Saints' Day, the
poor people in Staffordshire, and perhaps in other country
places, go from parish to parish a stmling^ as they call it, i. e.
begging and puling (or singing small, as Bailey's Dictionary
explains puling) for sovl ciikes, or any good, thing to make
them merry. This custom is mentioned by Peck, and seems
a remnant of Popish superstition to pray for departed souls,
particularly those of friends. The Sonler's Song in Stafford-
shire is different from that which Mr. Peck mentions, and is
, by no means worthy of publication."

[The custom of going a Soulmg still continues in some parts
of the county, peasant girls going to farmhouses, singing, —

** Soul, soul, for a soul cake.
Pray you, good mistress, a soul cake."

And other verses sung on the same occasion, but which I
suspect are not the ancient ones, will be found under the
article Catheminff, Not. 25th. It was formerly usual to keep
a soulmass-cake for good luck. Mr. Young, in his History
of Whitby, says, " a lady in Whitby has a soul-mass lou
near a hundred years old."]

Aubrey, in the Remains of GentUiBme, ^^ S. Lansd. 227,
says that, in his time, in Shropshire, &c., there was set upon
the board a high heap of soul-cakes, lying one upon another,
like the picture of the shew-bread in the old Bibles. They

used to light in wheat seeding ; these they Ukewise carried about their
wheat grounds, believing verily that hereby neither damell, tares, nor any
other noisome weedes would grow that yeare amongst the new come."

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394 ALLHALLOW EYEN.

were about the bigness of twopenny cakes, and eTery Tisitant
that day look one. He adds, *' there is an old rhyme or saying,
* A tmiXe-eakey a wule-eake, have mercy an all Christen eoules
for a saule-eake,' "^

Brand, in his Description of Orkney, p. 62, speaking of
the superstitions of the inhabitants, says, " when the beasts,
as oxen, sheep, horses, &c., are sick, they sprinkle them with
a water made up by them, which they c^\ fore-spoken water;
wherewith likewise they sprinkle their boats when they anc-
ceed and prosper not in their fishing. And especially on
HcUlow Even they use to sein or sign their boats, and pat a
cross of tar upon them, which my informer hath often seen.
Their houses also some use then to sein/* In the Statistical
Account of Scotland, zii. 459, the minister of KirkmichaeU in
Banffshire, tells us, *' the appearance of the three first days
of winter is observed in yerses thus translated from the Graelic :
' Dark, lurid, and stormy, the first three days of winter ; who-
ever would despair of the cattle, I would not till summer/ "

It is stated in Kethe*s Sermon preached at Blandford
Forum, 1570, p. 19, that " there was a custom, in the |^apal
times, to ring bells at Allhallow-tide for all Christian soiida.
In the draught of a letter which Henry YIII. was to send to
Cranmer "against superstitious practices," (Burnet's Hist.
Ref. 1683, p. ii., Records and Instr. i. 2370 "^^ ^gil And
ringing of bells all the night long upon Allhallaw Day at
niffhf* are directed to be aboUshed ; and the said vigil to have
no watching or ringing. In the Appendix also to Strype's
Annals of the Reformation, vol. i., the following injunction,
made early in the I'eign of Queen Elizabeth, occurs : *' That
the superfluous ringing of bels, and the superstitious ringing
of hells at Allhallowntide, and at Al Souls 2)ay, with the two
nights next before and after, be prohibited."

' ['' SonutS'Cake, that is, # ottl-fROf-caAe, a sweet cake made on the 2d
of November, All Souls' Dayi and always in a triangular form. The custom
of making a peculiar kind of cake on this day is recognised in a deposition
of the year 1574, given in Watson's History of the House of Warrren, L 217,
wherein the party deposes that his mother knew a certain castle of the
Barl of Warren's, having, when a child, according to the custom of that
country, gathered aouUcakes there on All Souls' Day. The making of
these Mkes is now almost the sole relic of ancient customs which had
their origin in the superstitious usages of the Catholic times." — Hunter's
Hallamshire Glossary.]

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ALLHALLOW EVEN. 395

In Nichols's Churchwarden's Accounts, p. 154, parish of
Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex, 1517, are the following items :
^'Inprimis, payed for frankyncense agense HoUowmasse,
0/. 0«. Id. Item, payed to Andrew Elyott, of Maldon, iornewe
mendinge of the third bell knappeU agenate HaHoumtUBe^
OL Is. Sd. Item, payed to John Gidney, of Maldon, /or a new
bell-rope agenete HaUowmaeee^ 0/. 0«. SdJ* In articles to be
inquired of within the archdeaconry of York by the Church-
wardens and sworn men, 163. . any year till 1640), I find the
following : ** Whether there be any within your parish or
chappelry that use to ring belU auperetitumaly upon any
obligated hoUdag, or the evee thereof.*'

In a poem entided Honoria, or the Day of All Souls, 1782,
the scene of which is supposed to be in the great church of
St. Ambrose at Milan, the 2d of November, on which day
the* most solemn office is performed for the repose of the deacf,
are these lines :

« Te hallowed bells, whose Toices thro' the ur
The awful sammons of aiBictions bear."

The description of *' All Soulne Day," in Barnabe Googe's
Translation of Naogeorgus's Popish Kingdome, is grossly
eza^erated.

There is a great display of learning in Vallancey's Collec-
tanea de Rebus Hibemicis, yol. iii., on AUhallow Eve. " On
the Oidhche Shamhna (£e Owna) or Vigil of Saman," he says,
" the peasants in Ireland assemble with sticks and dubs (the
emblems of laceration), going from house to house, collecting
money, bread-cake, butter, cheese, eggs, &c. &c., for the feast,
repeating verses in honour of the solemnity, demanding pre-
parations for the festival in the name of St. Columb Kill,
desiring them to lay aside the fatted calf and to bring forth
the black eheep. The good women are employed in making
the griddle cfdce and candles ; these last are sent ^m house
to house in the vicinity, and are lighted up on the (Saman)
next day, before which they pray, or are supposed to nray, for
the departed soul of the donor. Every house abounos in the
best viands they can afford ; apples and nuts are devoured in
abundance ; the nut-shells are burnt, and from the ashes many
strange things are foretold ; cabbages are torn up by the root ;
hemp-seed is sown by the maidens and they believe that

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396 ALLHALLOW EVEN.

if they look back they will see the apparition of the man
intended for their future spouse; they hang a smock before the
fire on the close of the feast, and sit up all night, concealed
in a comer of the room, convinced that his apparition
will come down the chimney and turn the smock; they
throw a ball of yam out of the window, and wind it on the
reel within, convinced that if they repeat the Pater Noster
backwards, and look at the ball of yam without, they will
then also see his sith or apparition ; they dig for apples in a
tub of water, and endeavour to bring one up in the month ;
they suspend a cord with a cross stick, with apples at one
point, and candles lighted at the other, and endeavour to
catch the apple, while it is in a circular motion, in the month.
These, and many other superstitious ceremonies, the remains
of Druidism, are observed on this holiday, which will never
be eradicated while the name of Saman is permitted to
remain."

A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine,, for May, 1784,
p. 343, says, he has often met with lambs^ wool in Ireland,
where it is a constant ingredient at a merry-making on Holy
Eve, or the evening before All Saints* Day ; and it is made
there by bruising roasted apples and mixing them with ale« or
sometimes with milk. Formerly, when the superior ranks
were not too refined for these periodical meetings of joUity,
white wine was frequently substituted for ale. To lambs'
wool, apples and nuts are added as a necessary part of the
entertainment, and the young folks amuse themaelves with
burning nuts in pairs on the bar of the grate, or among the
warm embers, to which they give their name and that of their
lovers, or those of their friends who are supposed to have
such attachments, and from the manner of their burning and
duration of the flame, &c., draw such inferences respecting
the constancy or strength of their passions as usually pro-
mote mirth and good humour."

The feast of Allhallows is said to drive the Finns almost
out of their wits. See an account of some singular ceremo-
nies practised by them at this time in Tooke*s Russia, i. 48.

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397

THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER,

THE ANNIVERSARY OF GUNPOWDER PLOT.

It is still customary in all parts of the country for the boys
to dress up an image of the infamous conspirator Guy Fawkes,
holding in one hand a dark lantern and in the other a bundle
of matches, and to carry it about the streets, begging money
in these words, " Pray remember Guy Fawkes !" In the even-
ing there are bonfires, and these frightful figures are burnt in
the midst of them. In Poor Robin's Almanack for the year
1677 are the following obserrations on the Fifth of November:

" Now boys with
Squibs and crackers play,
And bonfires blaze
Turns night to day."

[The House of Commons instituted this day " a holiday for
ever in thankfulness to God for our deliverance and detesta-
tion of the Papists." See a letter dated Feb. 10th, 1605-6,
in the Court and Times of James I., 1848, i. 46.]

When the Prince of Orange came in sight of Torbay, in
1688, we are told by Burnet, it was the particular wish of his
partisans that he should defer his landing till the day the
English were celebrating their former deliverance from Popish
tyranny. Bishop Sanderson, in one of his Sermons, p. 242,
says: " God grant that we nor ours ever live to see November
the Fifth forgotten, or the solemnity of it silenced.** The
Standard Newspaper of Nov. 6th, 1834, has a paragraph re-
lating to the falling off of the exhibition of Guy Fawkes ; but
descriptive of the old practice, in the memory of ancient
people, of burning the figures of Guy Fawkes in Lincoln's
Inn Fields, near what at that time was the Duke of New-
castle's house, as many as twelve or fourteen, between the
hours of six and twelve at night.

[The following song is used in some parts of the North of
England on this occasion :

** Hollo, boys, hollo, boys,

Let the bells ring ;

Hollo, boys, hollo, boys,

God save the king.

y Google

398 THE FIFTH OF KOYSMBER.

Pray to remember,
The fifth of NoYember,

Gunpowder treason and plot,
When the king and hia train
Had nearly been slain,

Therefore it shall not be forgot.

« Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,

And his companions,
Strove to blow all England up ;
But God's mercy did prevent,
And sav'd our king and his parliament.
Happy was the man,

And happy was the day,
That caught Guy,

Going to his play.
With a dark lanthom,
And a brimstone match.
Ready for the prime to touch.

*' As I was going through the dark entry,
I spied the devO,
Stand back I stand back!
Queen Biary's daughter,
Put your hand in your pocket
And give us some money,
To kindle our bonfire.

Huzza! Huzza!"

In the parish accounts of Islip, Oxfordshire, for 1700, is
the entry, ** For ringing on gunpowder treason, 2«. 6d,** The
following is the baUad now used in that village :

<* The fifth of November,
Since I can remember,

Gunpowder treason and plot :
This i9 the day that God did prevent.
To blow up his king and parliament.

A stick and a stake

For Victoria's sake ;
If you wont give me one

III take two :
The better for me.

And the worse for you.''

The soTcreign's name is of course adapted to the period ;
but the aboye has certainly been current in the parish for
nearly a century.]

yGoogk

399

OF MARTINMAS.

November 11.

Fo&ME&LY a custom prevailed everywhere amongst us,
though generally confined at present to country villages, of
killing cows, oxen, swine, &c., at this season, which were
cured for the winter, when fresh provisions were seldom or never
to be had. In Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Husbandry,
under June, "The Farmers Daily Diet," are the following
lines: —

" When Easter comes, who knows not than,

That veale and bacop is the man ?

And MartUman Beefe doth bear good tacke,

When countrey folke do dainties lacke."

With this note in Tusser Redivivus, 1744, p, 78 : "Martle-
mass beef is beef dried in the chimney, as bacon, and is so
called because it was usual to kill the beef for this provision
about the feast of St. Martin, Nov. 11." Hall, in his Satires,
mentions

— ** dried flitcnes of some smoked beeve,
Hang'd on a writhen wythe since Martinis Eve."

'* A piece of beef Aun^ up since Martlenuua*' is also mentioned
in the Pinner of Wakefield, 1599.

In the Statistical Account of Scotland, 1793, vi, 517, parish
of Forfar, we read : about fifty or sixty years ago, " between
Hallowmass and Christmass, when the people laid in their
winter provisions, about twenty-four beeves were killed in a
week ; the best not exceeding sixteen or twenty stone. A man
who had bought a shilling's worth of beef, or an ounce of tea,
would have concealed it from his neighbours like murder.*'
In the same work, ix, 326, parish of Tongland, Kirkcud-
bright, we have some extracts from a Statistical Account,
"dLrawn up about sixty or seventy years ago," i. e. from 1793,
in which it is stated that '* at Martilmass" the inhabitants
'* killed an old ewe or two, as their winter provision, and used
thie sheep that died of the braxy in the latter end of au-
tumn." Ibid. xiv. 482, parish of Wigton: "Almost no beef,
and very little mutton, was formerly used by the common

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400 MARTlKliAS.

people ; generally no more than a sheep or two, which were
killed about Martinmass, and salted up for the proTision of
the family during the year." Ibid. xvi. 460, parishe* of
Sandwick and Stromness, Orkney, we read : " In a part of the
parish of Sand wick, every family that has a herd of swine,
kills a sow on the 17th day of December, and thence it is called
Sow-day. There is no tradition as to the origin of this practice."

Two or more of the poorer sort of rastic families still
join to purchase a cow, &c., for slaughter at this time, called
always in Northumberland a mart;* the entrails of which,
after having been filled with a kind of pudding meat, consist-
ing of blood, suet, groats,^ &c., are formed into little sausage
links, boiled, and sent about as presents. They are called
black-puddings from their colour.

The author of the Convivial Antiquities, tells us that in
Germany there was in his time a kind of entertainment called
^' The feast of Sausages, or Gut-puddings,"' which was wont to
be celebrated with great joy and festivity. Butler mentions the
black-pudding in his Uudibras, speaking of the religious
scruples of some of the fanatics of his time :

" Some for abolishing black-pudding.
And eating nothing with the blood in."

> Mart, according to Skinner, is a fair. He thinks it a contraction of
Market. These cattle are usually bought at a kind of cow fair, or mart, at
this time. Had it not been the general name for a fair, one might hav^
been tempted to suppose it a contraction of Martin, the name of the saint
whose day is commemorated. This word occurs in * the Lawes and Con-
stitutions of Burghs made be King David the Ist at the New CasteU upon
the Water of Tyne,' in the RegiamMajestatem, 1609, " Chap. 70, of buchers
and selling of flesh. 2. The fleshours shall serve the burgessis all the time
of the slauchter of iVatr/«; that is, fra Michaelmes toZule, in preparing of
their flesh and in preparing of their flesh and in laying in of their lardner."

' Groats, i. e., Oats hulled, but unground. — Gloss, of Lancashire words.
The etymology is from the Anglo-Saxon. The common people, in the
North of England, have a saying that " blood without groats is nothing,**
meaning that " family without fortune is of no consequence." There is
some philosophy in this vulgarism, the pun in which is absolutely unin-
telligible except to those who are acquainted with the composition of a
black-pudding.

3 " Hujusmodi porrb conviviis in ovium tonsnraapud Hebreos antiquitos
celebrari solitis videntur similia esse ilia quse apud nos, cum in urbe, turn
in pagis, post pecorum quorundam, ut ovium, boum, ac pncsertim suniu
mactationem summa cum Isetitia agitari solent. * Fareimmum etmnvia'
Tttlgo appellantur." p. 62.

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MABTINMAS. 401

The Feast of St. Martin is a day of debauch among Christians
on the Continent : the new wmea are then begun to be tasted,
and the Saint's day is celebrated with carousing. Aubanns tells
us that in Franconia there was a great deal of eating and
drinking at this season ; no one was so poor or so niggardly
that on the feast of St, Martin had not his dish of the entrails
either of oxen, swine, or calyes. They drank, too, as he also
informs us, very liberally of wine on the occasion.

In the ancient Calendar of the Church of Rome, so often
quoted in this work, I find the subsequent observations
on the 11th of Noyember. *' Martinalia, geniale Festum.
Vini delibantur et defecantur. Yinalia, veterum festum hue
translatum. Bacchus in Martini figura," i. e. wines are tasted
and drawn from the lees. The Yinalia, a feast of the ancients,
removed to this day. Bacchus in the figure of Martin. In
Nichols's Illustrations^ 1797, among the churchwardens'
accounts of St. Martin Outwich, London, pp. 272-3, are the
following articles: 1517. "Payd on Seynt Marten's Day for
bred and drynke for the syngers, vrf." 1524. "It'm for
mendyng of the hoTcll on Sent Marten, yjd. It'm for rose
garlands, brede, wyne, and ale, on ij. Sent Marten's Days, xvd.
ob." 1525. " Payd for brede, ale, and wyne, and garlonds,
on Seynt Martyn's Day, the translacyon, xvjc?."

Stakely, Iter. vi. 131, speaking of Martinsall-hill, observes:
'* I take the name of this hill to come from the merriments
among the northern people, Call'd Martinalia, or drinking
healths to the memory of St. Martin, practis'd by our Saxon
and Danish ancestors. I doubt not but upon St. Martin's
Day, or Martinmass, all the young people in the neighbourhood
assembled here, as they do now, upon the adjacent St. Ann's-
hill upon St. Ann's Day." A note adds, " St. Martin's Day,
in the Norway clogs, is marked with a goose ; for on that day
they always feasted with a roasted goose : they say, St. Martin
being elected to a bishoprick, hid himself (noluit episcopari),
but was discovered by that animal. We have transferred the
ceremony to Michaelmas.*'

The learned Moresin refers the great doings on this
occasion, which, he says, were common to almost all Europe
in his time, to an ancient Athenian festival, observed in
honour of Bacchus, upon the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth
days of the mondi Anthesterion, corresponding with our

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402 MASTINMA8.

November.^ Aabanas, before cited^ seemg to confirm this
conjecture, though there is no mention of the slaughter of any
animal in the description of the rights of the Grecian festival.
The eleyenth month had a name from the ceremony oi
"tapping their barrels on it;" when it was customary to
make merry. See Potter's Grecian Antiquities. It is very
observable that the fatted gooae^ so common in England at
Michaelmas, is by the above foreign authors^ and others,
marked as one of the delicacies in common use at every table
on the continent at Martinmass.^

< Ilcdoiyta mense Novembri cdebrabantiir apnd Athenienses. Plutaidi,
in 8. Sympos. 10, sicati nostris temporibus in omni fere Europa wuleetMS
Nwembru^ quae D. Martino dicata est. Mercor. variar. lect. lib. i. cap. 15.
Papatus, p. 127.

^ The learned Moresin tells ns : '< Anur Isidi sacer erei. Alex. ab.
Alex. lib. iii. cap. 12. In papatu autem ea cura est cuidam Gallo omnii
commendata. Billing, cap. 34, lib. de On%, Erron. Cult. Deorum." p. 12.
I find the following epigram in a Collection in quarto, entitled, in Menshim
Opera et Donaria Decii Ausonii Magni, Nov. :''

'* Carbaseo surgens post hone indatus amictu
Mensis, ab antiquis sacra deamque colit.
A quo vix avidus sistro compescitur oiuer,
Devotusque satis ubera fert humeris."

Also in another collection, " de iisdem : Henrid Ranzovii Eq. et Proieg.
Holsat. Nov. :"

" Ligna vehit, mactatque boves, et laetus ad ignem
Ebria Martini festa November agit.
Ad pastum in sylvam porcos compellit, et tptt
FvnguibuM mterea vefcitur taueribw"

MifceOanea Menolojfieot 4to. Francof. 1590.

3 In profesto autem Martini mos e$t apud Ckriatianos anaere et mmto
liberaliter per aingulae fere adee Jruendu Unde et Martmiamu tauer
ille appellatur : et mustum creditur mox sequenti die in vinum verti. De
hoc ritu ita canit Thomas Naogeorgus, lib. iv. Papistid Regni :

** Altera Martinus ddn Bacchanalia praebet.
Quern coUt aneeribue populut, multoque Lytso,
Tota nocte dieque. Aperit nam dolia quisque
Omnia, degustatque haustu spumosa frequenti
Musta, saoer quie jxMt Martinus vina vocaii
ElBcit. Ergo canunt ilium, laudantque bibendo
Fortiter ansatis patens, amplisque culullis.
Quin etiam ludi prosunt haec festa magistr
Circumeunt etenim sumpto grege quisque canoro,
Non ita Martini laudes festumque cineutes

yGoogk

MARTINMAS. 403

The following is Qooge's translation of Naogeorgns :

" To belly cheare yet once againe doth Martin more encline,
Whom all the people worshippeth with rosted geese and wine :
Both all the day long and the night now ech man open makea
His vessels all, and of the must oft timer the last he takes,
Which holy Martyn afterwarde alloweth to be wine ;
Therefore they him unto the skies eztoll with prayse derine,
And drinking deepe in tankardes large, and bowles of compasse wide
Yea, by these fees the schoolemaisters have profite great beside ;
For with his scholars e^ery one about do singing go,
Not praysing Martyn much, but at the goose rejoyeeing tho\
Whereof they oftentimes have part, and pioney therewithall ;
For which they celebrate this feast, with song and mnsicke all/'

It may be proper to notice here M. Millin's tract, ' Les
Martinales, ou Description d'une M6daille qui a ponr Type
I'Oie de la Saint-Martin, par A. L. Millin, Membre de I'lnstitut
Royale, 1815.' The medal alluded to, found in Denmark, had
the appearance of having been struck about 1 700 ; bearing a
goose on one side, and on the reverse the word " Martin alia."

I read in the Glossary to Rennet's Parochial Antiquities,
" Salt Silveb. One penny paid at the Feast of Saint Martin,
by the servile tenants to their lord, as a commutation for the
service of carrying their lord's salt from market to hia larder."

Douce says, that on St. Martin's night, boys expose vessels
of water, which they suppose will be converted into wine.
The parents deceive them by substituting wine. Dresier de
festis diebus. Weinnacht is explained in Duben. Catal.
Prodig. p. 22. See also Hospinian. Orig. Festor. f. 159.

[The following verses are extracted from an old ballad
entided Martilmasse Day :

'< It is the day of Martilmasse,
Cuppes of tde should freelie passe,
What though Wynter has begunne
To push downe the summer sunne
To OUT fire we can betake,
And enjoye the crackling brake,
Never heeding winter's face,
On the day of Martilmasse.

Jnterem ut astatum ridendo carmine jactant.
Cujus notawmquiom partem nummotve vidttim
jiccynuntf celebrantque hoc festum musice et ipsi."
" Moris etiam est plurimis in locis ut ad diem Martini census debitaquc
toWantur."— //oqntitan de Orig. Feator, Christianor, t 146.

yGoogk

404 QUEEN Elizabeth's accession .

" Nel had left her wool at home,
The Flanderkin hath stayed hU loom.
No beame doth swinge, nor wheel go zoand»
Upon Gurguntum*8 walled ground.
Where now no anchorite doth dwell,
To rise and pray at Lenard's bell :
Martyn hath kicked at Balaam's aae.
So merrie be old Martilmasse

When the dailie sportes be done,
Rounde the market crosse they nrnne,
Prentis laddes, and gallant blsides,
Dancing with their gamesome maids.
Till the beadle, stont and sowre,
Shakes his bell and calls the hoore :
Then farewell ladde and farewell lasse
To th' merry night of Martilmasse.

" Martilmasse shall come againe,
Spite of wind, and snow, and ndne ;
But many a strange thing must be done,
Many a cause be lost and won,
Many a tool mast leave his pelfe.
Many a worldlinge cheat himselfe,
And many a marvel come to passe^
Before return of Martilmasse.'']

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ACCESSION.

November x7.

From a variety of notices scattered in different publications,
the anniversary of Qaeen Elizabeth's Accession appears to
have been constantly observed even within the last century ;
and in many of the almanacs was noted, certainly as late as
1684, and probably considerably lator.^

In a Protestant Memorial for the Seventeenth of November,

' In Le Guide de Londres poor les Estrangers : recoilli et oompoa^ ptr
F. Colsoni, 1693, p. 36, we rea^ : *' On aYoit accoutum^ cy-devant de £dre
une figure du Pape, le jour de la naissanoe de la reine Elizabeth ; on la
promenoit en Triomphe par les rues, et puis snr le soir on dressoit un
bucher oik on la jettoit dedans, avec des oris et acclamations de joye :
nuds cela a iiU suspendu depuis une ann^ ou deux, sons le rdgne de
notre glorieuz onarque, 6. 3.'

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aUESN ELIZABXTH'S ACCESSION. 405

being the Inangaiation Day of Queen Elizabeth, 1713, is the
foUowing passage: "In a grateful remembrance of God's
mercy in raising up, continuing, and prospering this most
illustrious benefactor of England, the good Protestants of this
nation {those especially of London and Westminster) haye
annually taken notice (and not without some degree of decent
and orderly solemnity) of the 1 7th of November y being the day
on which her Majesty Queen Elizabeth began her happy
reign. And at present," the author adds, <*such decent
and orderly observation of it seems to me not only warranted
by former motiyes, but also enforced by a new and extra-
ordinary argument. For this present Pope, call'd Clement XL,
has this very year canoniz'd the forementioned enemy of
England^ Pope Pins the Fifth, putting him into the number
of heavenly saints, and falling down and worshipping that
image of a deity, which he himself has set up. Now the good
Protestants of England, who well consider that this present
Pope has, so far as in him lies, exalted that Pope who was so
bold and so inveterate an adversary of Queen Elizabeth, and
all her subjects, as also that he is an avowed patron of the
Pretender, will think it behoves them to exert their zeal now,
and at all times, (tho' always in a fit and legal manner,)
against the evil spirit of Popery, which was cast out at the
Reformation, but has ever since wandered about seeking for a
remittance, which I verily hope the good providence of God,
at least for his truth's sake, will never permit. I say we have
now a new motive to this zeal, the preservation of our most
gracious Queen Anne being to be added to the vindication of
the most gracious Queen Elizabeth."

[A jest related in the Plesant Conceites of Old Hobson,
1607, commences, — "Upon Saint Hewes Day, being the
seventeenth of November, upon which day the triumph was
holden for Queene Elizabeth's happy government, as bonfiers,
ringing of bells, and such like, &c."]

The figures of the Pope and the Devil were usually burnt
on this occasion. In the Gentleman's Magazine for November
1760, p. 514, is an account of the remarkable cavalcade on
the evening of this day in 1679, at the time the Exclusion
Bill was in agitation, copied from Lord Somers's Collection,
vol. XX. The Pope, it should seem, was carried on this
occasion in a pageant representing a chair of state covered

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406 aUEEN ELIZABETH'S A0CSS8I0N.

with scarlet, richly embroidered and fringed; and at his hack,
not an efBgy, hut a person representing the De^il, acting as
his holiness* s pnTy-councillor ; and *' frequently caressing,
hugging, and whispering him, and oftentimes instructing him
aloud." The procession was set forth at Moorgate, and
passed first to Aldgate, thence through Leadenhall street, by
the Royal Exchange and Cheapside to Temple Bar. The
statue of the queen on the inner or eastern side of Temple Bar
having been conspicuously ornamented, the figure of the Pope
was brought before it, when, after a song, partly alluding to
the protection afforded by Elizabeth to Protestants, and partly
to the existing circumstances of the times, a vast bonfire
haying been prepared '' over against the Inner Temple Grate,
his holiness, after some compliments and reluctances, vas
decently toppled from all his grandeur, into the impartial
flames; the crafty devil leaving his infallibilityBhip in the
lurch, and laughing as heartily at his deserved ignominioaa
end, as subtle Jesuits do at the ruin of bigoted lay Catholics
whom have themselves (^awn in.'*

Bishop Kennett, in one of his MSS. now in the Maseiun«
notices a "Sermon at St. Paul's Cross, the 1 7th of November,
1599, by Thomas Holland, D*D., Professor of Divin. in Oxford,
on Mat. xii. 42 ; to which is annexed the Apologie or Defence
of the Church and Commonwealth of England for their annual
celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Pay, the 17th of
November, 4to. 1601." In the Apology he lays down "The
State of the Question. 1. Whether the sacred solemnities at
these times yearly celebrated by the Church of England, the
17th of November, commonly named 'Queen Elizabeth's
Holiday,' be repugnant to the immaculate institutions of the
law of God, and to the reverend and Christian constitutions
of the Holy Catholique Church. 2. Whether the triumphs
undertaken and performed at Court that day, bonfires, ringing
of bells, discharging of ordnance at the Tower of London in
the honour of the Queen, and other signs of joy than usually and
willingly exhibited by the people of our land to express their
unfeigned love to her Majestie, be laudable, convenient, and
in their own natures tolerable in a Christian commonwealth.
The adversaries hold the negative, particularly Nic. Sanders, in
his book de Schismate, Ep. 302-3 ; Will Reynolds, in Calvino-
Duraismusy lib. 2, p. 347, cap. 18 ; and Nicholaus Serrariaa.

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aUEXN BLIZABETH^a A001BBION» 407

Manner of celebrating the day :— The particular office on the
I7ih. of November now used is an exposition of some part of
scripture and public prayer. The exposition of scripture
chosen by the minister that day is such as is fitte to perswade
the auditory to due obedience to her Majestic, and be
thankful to God for her Majesty's happy and flourishing
regiment," &c.

One great objection of the Papists was, that the solemnizing
of Queen Elizabeth's Holiday shut out the Memorial of St.
Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, a canonized saint. "Time of
beginning of the observation of the 17th of November : — ^About
the 12th year of the reign of her Excellency, was the first
practice of the publick solemnization of this day, and (as
farre-forth as I can hear, or can by any diligent inquiry
leame) the first public celebrity of it was instituted in Oxford,
by D. Cooper, being then their Vice-chan., after B. of line,
and by remove from thence, B. of Winches., ^m whence
this institution flowed, by a voluntary current, over all tluB
realme, not without the secret motion of God's Holy Spirit," &c.

In Queen Anne's time a fresh advantage was taken of this
anniversary ; and the figure of the Pretender, in addition tp
Aose of the Pope and the Devil, was burnt by the populace.
This custom was probably continued even after the defeat of
the second Pretender, and no doubt gave rise to the following
epigram printed in the works of Mr. Bishop :

** Three Strangers blaze amidat a bonfire's revel :
The Pope, and the Pretender, and the Devil.
Three Strangers hate our faith, and faith's defender :
The Devil, and the Pope, and the Pretender.
Three Strangers will be strangers long we hope :
The Devil, and the Pretender, and the Pope.
Thus in three rhymes, three Strangers dance the hay :
And he that chooses to dance after 'em may."

In the volume of Miscellanies, without a title, in the British
Museum, of the time of George I., I find, p. 65, '' Merry ob-
servations upon every month, and every remarkable day
throughout the whole year." Under November, p. 99, it is
aaid : " The 1 9th of this month will prove another Protestant
holiday, dedicated to the pious memory of that antipapistical

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408 ST. clkmsnt's bay.

princess and virgin preserver of the Reformed Cknrchesy Queen
Elizabeth. This night will be a great promoter of the tallow-
chandlers' welfare : for marvellous illuminaiioM will be set
forth in every window, as emblems of her shining mtues ; and
will be stuck in clay, to put the world in mind that grace,
wisdom, beauty, and idrginity, were unable to preseire the
best of women fh)m mortality.

With the Society of the Temple, the 17th of NoTemJber is
considered as the grand day of the year. It is yet kept as a
holiday at the Exchequer, and at Westminster and Merchant
Tailors' Schools. At Christ's Hospital also the anniversary of
Queen Ehzabeth is a prime holiday. The GoTemors attend
an annual sermon at Christ Church, and afterwards dine toge-
ther in their hall.

ST. CLEMENTS DAY.

NOYXMBEE 23.

Ds. Plott, in his History of Staffordshire, p. 430, describ-
ing a Clog-Almanack, says, '' A pot is marked against the
23d of November, for the Feast of St. Clement, firom the
ancient custom of going about that night to beg drink to make
merry with.

[Hone has printed the following account of an annual cere-
mony on the evening of St. Clement's day, by the blacksmiths'
apprentices of the dockyard at Woolwich : " One of the senior
apprentices being chosen to serve as Old Clem (so called by
them), is attired in a great coat, having his head covered with
an oakum wig, face masked, and a long white beard flowing
therefrom. Thus attired he seats himself in a large wooden
chair, chiefly covered with a sort of stuff called bunting, with
a crown and anchor made of wood, on the top and around it,
four transparencies representing the ' blacksmiths' arma,*
' anchorsmiths at work,' ' Britannia with her anchor,' and
' Mount Etna.' He has before him a wooden anvil, and in
his hands a pair of tongs and wooden hammer, which, in
general, he makes good use of whilst reciting hia ipe^. A

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ST. Clement's day. 409

mate, also masked, attends him with a wooden sledge ham-
mer ; he is also snrroanded by a number of other attendants,
some of whom carry torches, banners, flags, &c. ; others bat-
tle-a&es, tomahawks, and other accoutrements of war. Tins
procession, headed by a drum and fife, and six men, with
Old Clem mounted on their shoulders, proceed round the
town, stopping and refreshing at nearly every public-house,
(which, by the by, are pretty numerous) not forgetting to call
on the blacksmiths and officers of the dockyard. There the
money-box is pretty freely handed after Old Clem and his
mate nave recited their speeches, which conmience by the
mate calling for order, with —

' Gentlemen all, attention give.
And wish St. Clem, long, long, to liye.*

Old Clem then recites the following speech : M am the real
St. Clement, the first founder of brass, iron, and steel, from
the ore. I have been to Mount Etna, where the god Vulcan
first built his forge, * and forged the armour and thunder-
bolts for the god Jupiter. I have been through the deserts of
Arabia ; through Asia, Africa, and America ; through the city of
Pongrove ; through the town of Tipmingo, and all the northern
parts of Scotland. I arrived in London on the 23rd of Novem-
ber, and came down to his majesty *s dockyard, at Woolwich,
to see how all the gentlemen Tulcans came on there. I found
them all hard at work, and wish to leave them well on the
24th. The mate then subjoins :

' Come all you Yulcana stout and strong,
Unto St Clem we do belong,
I know this house is well prepared
With plenty of money, and good strong beer,
And we must drink before we part,
All for to cheer each merry heart,
Come aU you Yulcans strong and itout.
Unto St. Clem I pray turn out ;
For now St. Clem's going round the town
His coach and six goes merrily round.

Huzza-a-a!'

After having gone ronnd the town and collected a pretty
decent sam, they retire to some public-house, where they
enjoy as good a supper as the money collected will allow."]

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410 ST* CATHAHINS'S DLY.

In a proclamation, July 22, 1540, in an ancient Chianide
respecting London, 8vo., it is ordered " neither that children
should be decked, ne go about upon S. Nicholas, S. Kathaiine,
8, Clement, the Holy Innocents, and such like dayes."

Brady, in his Clavis Calendaria, 1812, ii. 279, observes that
Old Martinmas continues to be noticed in our almanaoa on
the 23d of November, because it was one of the ancient quar-
terly periods of the year, at which even at this time a few rents
become payable. A payment of com at Martinmas occnra in
the Domesday Survey, i. 280.

ST. CATHARINE'S DAY.

November 25.

Saint Catharine has been already noticed from Googe's
translation of Naogeorgus as the favourer of learned men. The
same writer adds,

<* What Bhould I tell what sophisters on Cathrin's Day devise ?
Or else the superstitious joyes that maisters exercise."

Camden, in his Ancient and Modem Manners of the Irish,
says, " The very women and girls keep a fast every Wednea-
day and Saturday throughout theyeare, and some of them also
on St. Catharine's Day ; nor will they omit it though it hap-
pen on their birthday, or if they are ever so much ont of order.
The reason given by some for this is, that the girls may get
good husbands, and the women better by the death or deser-
tion of their present ones, or, at least, by an alteration in their
manners."

[" Old Symon Brunsdon, of Winterton Basset, in Wilts, he had
been parish-darke there, tempore Marin Reginae : the tntekr
saint of that church is Saint Katharine. He lived downe till
the beginning of King James I. When the gad-flye had hap-
pened to sting his oxen or cowes, and made them to run away
in that champagne country, he would run after them, crying
out, praying '* Good Saint Katharine, of Winterborne, stay
my oxen."— lf£^. Aubrey. Thom'e Aneedotea tmdTradiHom,
p. 87.]

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BT. CATBASINE's BAT. 411

In an original MS. of the Churchwardens' Acconnta of
Horley^ co. Surrey, I find : — " Mem. that reste in the hands
of the wyffe of John Kelyoke and John Atye, 4 merkes, the
yere of ower Lord God 1521, of Sent Kateryn many* Mem.
that rests in the hands of the wyff of John Atthy, and the wyff
of Bye Mansell, 3 pounds, 2«. 9d. the yere of our Lorde God
1522, of Sent Kateryn many, Summa totalis 8'ete Katerine
V, Lundnis remanet in manibus nzoris Johannis Peers et
nxoris Wyl'i Celarer, anno D*Di 1526, tres libras et undecim
solidos. Summa totedis S'cte Katerine Luminis remanet in
manibus uxoris Wyl'i Cowper, et uxoris Thome Leakeforde,
anno D*m 1527, quatuor marcas. Summa totalis UTa/erintf Lit-
minis remanet in manibus uxoris Thome Leakeforth, et uxoris
Henrici Hnett, anno Dm 1528, quatuor marcas. Item remanet
in manibus uxoris Joh*is Bray, de eodem Luminis^ anno supra-
dicto, 17*."

[The Charms of St. Catharine, ^Let any number of young
women not exceeding seven, nor less than three, assemble in a
room by themselves, just as the clock strikes eleven at night.
Take from your bosom a sprig of myrtle, which you must have
worn there all day, and fold it up in a piece of tissue paper ;
then light up a small chafing-dish of charcoal, and let each
maiden throw on it nine hairs from her head, and a paring ot
each of her toe and finger nails. Then let each sprinkle a
small quantity of myrrh and frankincense in the charcoal, and
while the vapour rises, fumigate the myrrh with it. Go to bed
while the dock is striking twelve, and place the myrtle exactly
under your head. You will then be sure to dream of your
future husband. This curious account is taken irom
Mother Bunch's Golden Fortune Teller, a chap-book in my
possession.]

THB CUSTOM OF CATHERNING.

La Motte, in his Essay on Poetry and Painting, 1730, p. 126,
says : " St. Catharine is esteemed in the Church of Rome as
the saint and patroness of the spinsters ; and her holiday is
observed, not in Popish countries only, but even in many

S laces in this nation ; young women meeting on the 25th of
Tovember, and making merry together, which they call
Catheminff,**

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412 ST. Catharine's bat.

[The following account of this custom was comnranicated
by a correspondent to the Athemman, October Slst^ 1846 : —
^* Hanng been reared in a remote Tillage in Woroe8ferBhire»
your papers on Folk-Lore have recalled a custom to my me-
mory, which was called going ' a Cattaring,' from St. Ca-
tharine, in honour of whom, and of St. Clement, it originated.
About this season of the year the children of the cottaeera
used to go round to the neighbouring farm-houses, to oeg
apples and beer, for a festival on the above saints' days. The
apples were roasted on a string before the fire, stuck thickly
over with cloves, and allowed to fall into a vessel beneath.
There were set verses for the occasion, which were sung, in a
not unmusical chant, in the manner of carol singing. I can
only recollect the first few lines :

Catt'n and Clement comes year by year.

Some of your apples and some of your beer ;

Some for Peter, some for Paul,

Some for Him who made us aU.

Peter was a good old man,

For his sake give us some :

Some of the best, and none of the worst,

And God will send your souls to roost.

I well remember it always concluded with —

' Up the ladder and down with the can,
Give me red apples and 111 begone.'

The ladder alluding to the store of apples, generally kept in a
loft, or somewhere at the top of the house; and the can,
doubtless, to the same going down into the cellar for the
beer."

Some years ago (1 844) Mr. George Stephens, now resident at
Stockholm, communicated to me another version of the above
lines, which contained some trifiing variations. The last lines
were,

** Not of the worst, but some of the best,
And God will send your soul to rest."

Until within a very recent period, it was the custom of the
dean and chapter of Worcester, yearly, on St. Catharine's Day,
being the last day of their annual audit, to distribute amongst
the inhabitants of the college precincts a rich compound of

yGoogk

ST. cathaeike's bat. 413

vine^ spicesy &c., which was specially prepared for the occa-
sion, and called the Cattem or Catharine bowl. In another
paper, in the Atkerueum, 1847, Mr. Allies informs us, that the
roUowing lines were sung by the children on the occasion of
Gatheming :

" If you're within.
Open the door and let us in,
And when we're in,
"We won't come out
Without a red apple
RoDed up in a clout.

" Roll, roll,
Gentle butler, fill the bowl ;
if yon fill it of the best,
God will send your soul to rest ;
But if you fill it of the small.
The devil take butter, bowl and alL

" Our bowl is made of the ashen tree.
Pray good butler drink to we !
Some for Peter some for Paul,
A few red apples will serve us alL"

Mr. Allies adds, '* I recollect that, in my juvenDe days, I
once saw, at the season in question, apples roasting on strings
before the kitchen fire, at a farm-house, in Leigh parish, in
this county, in the manner above alluded to. lliey were
studded thickly with oats instead of cloves, and some of the
apples so studded were not roasted, but each affixed on a
wooden skewer, and dredged all over with flour> resembling, in
a manner, a dandelion in full seed."

The following Unes were taken down verbatim from the lips
of one of the merry pack, who sing them from door to door
on the eve of All Souls' Day, in Cheshire, and are similar to
those quoted above :

" Soul Day, Soul Day, Saul !
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Him who made us all.
An apple or a pear, a plum or a cherry.
Any good thing that will make us all merry.
Put your hand in your pocket and pull out your keys,
Go down in the cellar, bring up what you please.
A glass of your wine, or a cup of your beer,
Aiid we'll never come Souling till this time next year.

y Google

414 ST. ANDREW'S DAY.

We are a pack of merry boyt all in a mind.
We haye come a souling for what we can find.
Soul ! soul ! sole of my shoe,
If jou have no apples, money will do.

** Up with yonr kettle and down with your pan,
Oiye us an answer and let us be gone.'*]

STIR-UP SUNDAY.

[The twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity is called by scbool-
boys Stir-up Sunday, from the collect used on that day ; and
they repeat the foUowing lines^ without considerinic its irre-
verent application :

« Stir up, we beseech thee,
The pudding in the pot :
And when we get home,
We'U eat it all hot."]

ST. ANDREW'S DAY.

NOYSMBER 30.

LuTHEE, in his CoUoquia, i. 233, says, that on the evening
of the feast of St. Andrew the young maidens in his country
strip themselves naked : and, in order to learn what sort of
husbands they shall have, they recite the following prayer :
** Deus, Deus mens, O Sancte Andrea, effice ut bonum pium
acquiram virum; hodie mihi ostende quaiis sit cui me in
uzorem ducere debet." Googe, in the translation of Nao-
georgus, f. 55, probably alludes to some such observances :

** To Jndrew all the lovers and the lustie woers come,
Beleeying, through his ayde, and eertaine cerenumUt done,
(While as to him they presentes bring, and conjure all the night,)
To haye good lucke, and to obtaine their chiefe and sweete delight"

In the Statistical Account of Scotland, xviii. 359, Dndings-
ston parish^ distant ttom Edinburgh a little more than a mUe,

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ST. NICHOLAS'S BAT. 415

we read that many of the opulent citizens resort thither in the
enminer months to solace themselves over one of the ancient
homely dishes of Scotland, for which the place has been long
celebrated. The use of singed sheep's heads, boiled or baked, so
frequent in this village, is supposed to have arisen from the
practice of slaughtering the sheep fed on the neighbouring
bill for the market, removing the carcases to town, and leav-
ing the heads, &c., to be consumed in the place. Singed
sheep's heads are borne in the procession before the Scots in
London, on St. Andrew's day.

Hasted, in his History of Kent, ii. 757, speaking of the
parish of Easling, says, that *' On St. Andrew's Day, Novem-
ber 30, there is yearly a diversion called squirrel-hunting in
this and the neighbouring parishes, when the labourers and
lower kind of people, assembling together, form a lawless
rabble, and being accoutred with guns, poles, clubs, and other
such weapons, spend the greatest part of the day in parading
through the woods and grounds, with loud shoutings, and
under pretence of demolishing the squirrels, some few of which
they kill, they destroy numbers of hares, pheasants, partridges,
and, in short, whatever comes in their way, breaking down the
hedges, and doing much other mischief, and in the evening
betidcing themselves to the alehouses, finish their career there,
as is usual with such sort of gentry."

[A correspondent of the Athenseum, 993, says that this cus-
tom was kept up in Sussex till within the last thirty or forty
years, many people now living having often joined in it ; but
now, in consequence of the inclosure of the coppices, and the
more strict preservation of the game, it has wholly dropped.]

In Scotland this day is called Andrys Day, Androiss Mess,
and Andermess.

ST. NICHOLAS'S DAY.

Decxmbeb 6

St. Nicholas was bom at Patara, a city of Lycia, and, for
his piety, from a layman was made bishop of Myra. He died
on the 8th of the ides of December^ 343.

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416 ST. NICHOLAS'S DAT.

Some have thonght that it iras on account of bis very early
abstinence' tbat be was chosen patron of schoolboys ; bnt a
much better reason is afforded to us by a writer in the C}ent.'s
Magazine for April, 1777, p. 158, who mentions having in his
possession an Italian life of St. Nicholas, 1645, from which
he translates the following story, whidi f uUy explains the occa-
sion of boys addressing themselves to St. Nicholas's patronage :
— '* The fame of St. Nicholas's virtues was so great, that an
Asiatic gentleman, on sending his two sons to Athena for
education, ordered them to call on the bishop for his benedic-
tion, but they, getting to Myra late in the day, thought pro-
per to defer their visit till the morrow, and took up their
lodgings at an inn, where the landlord, to secure their bag-
gage and effects to himself, murdered them in their sleep, and
then cut them into pieces, salting them, and putting them into
a pickling tub, with some pork which was there already,
meaning to sell the whole as such. The bishop, however,
having had a vision of this impious transaction, immediately
resorted to the inn, and, calling the host to him, reproached
him for his horrid villany. The man, perceiving that he was
discovered, confessed his crime, and entreated the bishop to
intercede on his behalf to the Almighty for his pardon ; who,
being moved with compassion at ms contrite behaviour, con-
fession, and thorough repentance, besought Almighty God not
only to pardon the murderer, but also, for the glory of lus
name, to restore life to the poor innocents who had been so

* This reason is indeed assigned in the English festival, f. 55. " It b
sayed of his fader, hyght Epiphanias, and his moder Joanna, Sec., and when
he was bom, &c they made him Christin, and called hym Nycholas, that
was a mannes name ; but he kepeth the name of the child, for he choae to
kepe Tertuc3, meknes, and simplenes ; he fasted Wednesday and Friday ;
these dayee he would souke but one» qf the day, and therwyth held Mm
pleeed. Thus he lyved all his lyf in vertues with his childes name, and
therefore children doe him worship hffore all other sainit, &c." — Liber Fes-
tivalis in die S. Nicholai. A curious old MS. legendary metrical account ol
Saints, of the age of Henry VI., speaking of St. Nicholas, has the following
couplet :

" Te f urst day that was y-bore, he gan to be good and dene.
For he ne wolde Wednesday ne Friday never more soute but ene"

So the Golden Legend : « He wolde not take the breast ne the pappe, bnt
ones on the Wednesday and ones on the Fridaye."

yGoogk

8T. Nicholas's bat. 417

inhnmaBly put to death. The saint had hardly finished his
prayer, when the mangled and detached portions of the two
yoaths were, by divine power, reunited, and perceiving them-
Belves ali?e, tlurew themselves at the feet of the holy man to
kiss and embrace them. But the bishop, not suffering their
humiliation, raised them up, exhorting them to return thanks
to God alone for this mark of his mercy, and gave them
good advice for the future conduct of their lives ; and then
giving them his blessing, ^he sent them with great joy to pro-
secute their studies at Athens." And adds : '' This, I suppose,
sufficiently explains the naked children and tub," the well-
known emblems of St. Nicholas.^

[A curious practice, still kept up in schools, refers to this
patron saint. When a boy is hard pressed in any game de-
pending upon activity, and perceives his antagonist gaining
ground upon him, he cries put Nicolas, upon which he is
entitled to a suspension of the play for a moment ; and on any
occasion of not being ready, wanting, for instance, to fasten
his shoe, or remedy any accidental inconvenience, the cry of
Nicolas always entitles him to protection.]

It appears that Gregory the Great was also the patron of
scholars, and that on his day boys were called, and in many
places, in Hospinian*s time, still continued to be called, to the
school with certain songs, substituting one in the place of St.
Gregory to act as bishop on the occasion with his companions

■ It is remarkable that this same story is told in a metrical Life of St.
NichoUs, by Maitre Wace» a priest of Jersy, and chaplain to King Henry
the Second, in MS. Douce 270 :

*' Treis clers aloent h. escole,
Nen frai mie longe parole ;
Lor ostes par nuit les oscioit
Les COTS musca, la ... . prenoit
Saint Nicolas par Deu le soat,
Sempris fat la si cum Deu plut,
Les clers al oste demands,
Nes peut musder, einz lui mustra.
Seint Nicholas par sa priere
Les ames mist el cors ariere.
Por ceo qe as clers fit tiel honor,
Font 11 clerc feste a icel jor."

This story, however, is not to be foond in the Golden Legend.

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418 ST. Nicholas's dat.

of the sacred order. Presents were added, to indace the bays
to love their schools. This custom is stated to have descended
from the heathens to the Christians. Among the ancient
Romans, the Qoinqnatria, on the 20th of March, were the
holidays both of masters and scholars, on which occasion the
scholars presented their masters with the Minerralia, and the
masters distributed among the boys ears of corn.^

From the circumstance of scholars being anciently denomi-
nated clerks, the fraternity of Parish Clerks adopted St.
Nicholas as their patron. In Shakespeare's First Part of
Henry IV., act ii. sc. 1, robbers are called St. NichoU£s
clerks. They were also called St. Nicholas's knights. St.
Nicholas being the patron saint of scholars, and Nicholas, or
Old Nick, a cant name for the devil, this equivocal patronage
may possibly be solved ; or, perhaps, it may be much better
accounted for by the story of St. Nicholas and some thieves,
whom he compelled to restore some stolen goods, and brought
"to the way of trouth ;" for which the curious reader is re-
ferred to the Golden Legend. In Plaine Percevall, the Peaoe-
Maker of England, 4to., we read, p. 1 : '^ He was a tender-
harted fellow, though his luck were but hard, which hasting
to take up a quarrell by the highway side, between a brace of
St. Nicholases clargtemen, was so courteously imbraoed on
both parties, that he tendered his purse for their truce."

There is no end of St. Nicholas's patronship. He was also
the mariners' saint. In the Vitee Sanctorum, by Lippeioo
and Gras, 1603, we read, in his life, that St. Nicholas pre-
served from a storm the ship in which he sailed to the Holy
Land; and also certain mariners, who in a storm invoked his
aid ; to whom, though at a distance and still living, he ap-

* " Gregorius cognomento magnus, ex monacho Pontifex Romanus LXVL
efficitur. Habitus est patronus scholasticorum. Indeqae factum est at
in hoc ipsius festo die, certis Cantilenis, ad scholam vocati sint olim H
adhuc vocentur pueri pluribus in locis, snbornato episcopo, sub S. Gregorii
persona, cum adjunctis satellitibus sacii ordinis. Addi quoque solent dona
quibus invitentur ad tcbolarum amorera puerL Manavit hie mos ad
Christianos ab Ethnids. In Quinquatriis enim, quae Romani solenniter
celebrarunt 20 Martii, p^^eoeptores et discipuli feriati sunt. Et disdpuli
quidem Minervalia sive iidaierpa persolverunt pneceptoribus ; praeceptores
vero discipulis spicas distribuerunt, unde ilind est Horatii: " Crustula blaoda
dant praeceptores pueris.'' — Vide Hospin. de Orig. Festor. Christianomm,
f. 50.

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BT. Nicholas's day. 419

peared in person, and sayed tbem.' See Gent. Mag. Oct.
1790, p. 1076. Armstrong, in his History of the Island of
Minorca, 1756, p. 72, speaking of Cindadella, says: "Near
the entrance of the harbour stands a chapel dedicated to St.
Nicholas, to which the sailors resort that have suffered ship-
wreck, to return thanks for their preservation, and to hang
up votive pictures (representing the danger they have escaped),
in gratitude to the Saint for the protection he vouchsafed
them, and in accomplishment of the vows they made in the
height of the storm. This custom, which is in use at present
throughout the Roman CathoHc world, is taken from the old
Romans, who had it, among a great number of other super-
stitions, from the Greeks ; for we are told that Bion the phi-
losopher was shown several of these votive pictures hung up
in a temple of Neptune near the sea-side. Horace alludes to
them in his Odes, i. 5. St. Nicholas is the present patron of
those who lead a seafaring life (as Neptune was of old), and
his churches generally stand within sight of the sea, and are
plentifully stocked with pious moveables."

Hospinian tells us that in many places it was the custom
for parents, on the vigil of St. Nicholas, to convey, secretly,
presents of various kinds to their little sons and daughters,
who were taught to believe that they owed them to the kind-
ness of St. Nicholas and his train, who, going up and down
among the towns and villages, came in at the windows,
though they were shut, and distributed them. This custom,
he says, originated from the legendary account of that
Saint having given portions to three daughters of a poor
citizen, whose necessities had driven him to an intention of
prostituting them, and this he effected by throwiug a purse
filled with money, privately, at night, in at the father's bed-

■ Hospinian says, f. 153, the invocation of St. Nicholas by sailors took
its rise from the legendary accounts of Yincentius and Mantuanus : " Solet
etiam Sanctus Nicolaus a periclitantibas in man aut quavis alii aqu&, invor
can. Huic idolomanise fabula originem dedit, quse extat apud Vincentium,
libro xiv. capite 70, et Mantuanum, lib. xii. Fastonmi, ubi sic canit :

" Cum turbine naute
Deprensi Cilices magno clamore vocarent
Nicolai viventis opem, descendere quidam
Coelituom visus sancti sub imagine patris :
Qui freta depulso fecit placidissima vento."

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420 ST. Nicholas's day.

chamber window, to enable bim to portion tbem out honestly.
So Naogeorgus :

** Saint Nicholas money usde to give to maydens secretlie,
Who, that he still may use his wonted liberalitie.
The mothers all their children on the Eeve do cause to fast,
And when they every one at night in senselesse sleepe are cast.
Both app]es, nuttes, and peares they bring, and other things beside.
As caps, and shooes, and petticotes, which secretly they hide.
And in the morning found, they say, that this St. Nicholas brought :
Thus tender mindes to worship saints and wicked things are taughc"

There is a festiyal or ceremony observed in Italy (called
Zopata, from a Spanish word signifying a shoe), in the courts
of certain princes, on St. Nicholas's Day, wherein persons hide
presents in the shoes and slippers of those they do honour to,
in such manner as may surprise them on the morrow when
they come to dress. This, it is repeated, is done in imitation
of the practice of St. Nicholas, who used in the night-time to
throw purses in at the windows of poor maids, to be marriage
portions for them.

'* St. Nicholas," says Brady, in the Clavis Calendaria, ii.
297, " was likewise venerated as the protector of virgins ; and
there are, or were until lately, numerous fantastical customs
observed in Italy and various parts of France, in reference to
that peculiar tutelary patronage. In several convents it was
customary, on the eve of St. Nicholas, for the boarders to
place each a silk stocking at the door of the apartment of the
abbess, with a piece of paper inclosed, recommending them-
selves to great St, Nicholas of her chamber: and the next day
they were called together to witness the Saint's attention,
who never failed to fill the stockings with sweetmeats, and
other trifles of that kind, with which these credulous virgins
made a general feast." See a curious passage in Bishop

* *< Mos est plurimis in locis, ut in vigilia Sandd Nicolai parentes paeiii
ac poellis clam munuscula varii generis dent, illis opinantibus, S. Nicolanm
cum suis famulis hinc inde per oppida ac vicos discurrere, per clauau
fenestras ingredi, et dona ipsis distribuere. Originem duxit hie mos ex
fabella, quae S. Nicolao affingitur, qu6d dotem dederit tribus filiabus egeni
cujnsdam civis, ipsas ob egestatem prostituere volentis, hoc modo : cod-
jecit crumenam pecuni& refertam clam, notu, per fenestram in cubiculum
patris earuro, unde honeste eas elocare potuit." — Hospinian de Orig. Festor.
Christian, fol. 153.

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ST. Nicholas's day. 421

Fisher's sermon of the ' Monthes Minde' of Margaret Countess
of Richmond, where it is said that she prayed to St. Nicholas,
the patron and helper of all true maidens, when nine years
old, about the choice of a husband, and that the Saint ap-
peared in a vision, and announced the Earl of Richmond.

Aubanus,^ describing some singular customs used in his
time in Franconia, tells us, that scholars, on St. Nicholas's
Day, used to elect three out of their numbers, one of whom
was to play the Bishop, the other two the parts of Deacons.
The Bishop was escorted by the rest of the boys, in solemn
procession, to church, where, with his mitre on, he presided
during the time of divine worship : this ended, he and his
Deacons went about singing from door to door, and collected
money, not begging it as alms, but demanding it as the Bishop* t
9ubsidy, On the eve of this day the boys were prevailed upon
to fast, in order to persuade themselves that the little presents,
which were put that night for them into shoes (placed under
the table for that purpose), were made them by St. Nicholas :
and many of them kept the fast so rigorously on this account,
that their friends, in order to prevent them from injuring
their health, were under the necessity of forcing them to take
some sustenance.

I know not precisely at what period the custom of electing
Boy-Bishops on St. Nicholas's Day commenced in England,
but there is little doubt that, after it had been established on
the Continent, it would soon be imported hither. Warton
thought he found traces of the religion^ mockery of the Boy-
Bishop as early as 867 or 870. His words are: *'At the
Constantinopolitan Synod, 867, at which were present three
hundred and seventy-three bishops, it was found to be a solemn

> <' In die vero Sancti Nicolai adolescentes, qui disdpliiiarum gratia
scholas frequeotant, inter se tres eligpnt : unum, qui episcopum ; duos, qui
diaconos agant : is ipsa die in sacram sedem solenniter a scholastico coetu
introductus, divinis offidis infulatus pnesidet : quibus 6niti8, cum eleotis
domesticatim cantando nummos coUigit, eleemosynam esse negant, sed
episcopi Bubsidium. Yigiliam diei pueri a parentibus jejunare eo modo
invitantur, qu6d persuasum habeant, ea munuscula, qwe noctis ipsis in
calceos sub mensam ad hoc locates imponuntur, se a largissimo pnesule
Nicolao perdpere : unde tanto desiderio plerique jejunant, ut quia eorum
aanitati timeatur, ad dbum oompellendi sint/' p. 272. The ceremony of
fasting was pToba.bly adopted fit>m the Saint's example already quoted
from the Golden Legend.

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422 ST. Nicholas's day.

castom in the conrto of princes, on certain stated days, to dren
some layman in the episcopal apparel, who should exactly
personate a bishop, both in his tonsure and ornaments. This
scandal to the clergy was anathematised. But ecdesiaBtical
synods and censures hare often proyed too weak to suppress
popular spectacles, which take deep root in the public man-
ners, and are only concealed for a while, to spring up afreeh
with new vigour."

In Bishop Hall's Triumphs of Rome is the following curious
passage on this subject: ''What merry work it was here
in the days of our holy ikthers (and I know not whether, in
some places, it may not be so still), that upon St. Nicholas,
St. Katherine, St. Clement, and Holy Innocent's Day, children
were wont to be arrayed in chimera, rochets, surplices, to
counterfeit bishops and priests, and to be led, with songs and
dances, from house to house, blessing the people, who stood
giming^ in the way to expect that ridiculous benediction.
Yea, &at boys in dbat holy sport were wont to sing maases,
and to climb into the pulpit to preach (no doubt learnedly
and edifyingly) to the simple auditory. And this was so
really done, that in the cathedral church of Salisbury (unless
it be lately defaced) there is a perfect monument of one of
these Boy-Bishops (who dyed in the time of his young pontifi-
cality), accoutred in his episcopal robes, still to be seen. A
fashion that lasted until the later times of King Henry the
Eighth, who, in 1541, by his solemn Proclamation, printed by
Thomas Bertlet, the king's printer, cum privilegio, straitly
forbad the practice." In the year 1299 we find Edward the
First, on his way to Scotland, permitted one of these Boy-
Bishops to say vespers before him in his chapel at Heton, near
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and made a considerable present to the
said biahop, and certain other boys that came and sang with
him on the occasion, on the 7th of December, the day after
St. Nicholas's Day. This appears from the Wardrobe Ac-
counts of 28 Edw. I., published by the Society of Antiquaries^
p. 25. Warton, in his History of English Poetry, aeema to
restrain the custom of electing Boy-Bishops on this day to
coUegiate churches, but later discoyeries adduce evidence of
its having prevailed, it should seem, in almost every pariah.

' Grinning; laughing.

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ST. NIOHOLAS'S DAT. 423

Though the election was on St. Nicholafi's Day^ yet the office
and authority appears to have lasted from that time till
Innocent's Day, i. e. from the 6th to the 28th of Decemher.
In cathedrals, this Boy-Bishop seems to have heen elected
from among the children of the choir. After his election,
being completely apparelled in the episcopal vestments, with
a mitre and crosier, he bore the title and state of a bishop,
and exacted ceremonial obedience from his fellows, who were
dressed like priests. Strange as it may appear, they took
possession of the^church> and, except mass, performed all
the ceremonies and offices. In the Statutes of Salisbury Ca-
thedral, sub anno 1319, tit. 45, de Statu Choristarum MS.,
it is ordered that the Boy-Bishop shall not make a feast.
The Boy-Bishop, as it should seem in the following extract
from the Register of the Capitulary Acts of York Cathedral,
was to be handsome and elegantly shaped : ''Dec. 2, 1367.
Joannes de Quixly confirmatur episcopus puerorum, et capi-
tnlnm ordinavit quod electio episcopi puerorum in ecdesia
Bboracensi de cetero fieret de eo qui diutius et magis in dicta
eodesia laboraverit, et magis idoneus repertus fuerit, dum
tamen competenter sit corpore /ortnonts, et quod aliter facta
electio non valebit."

There is printed in the Notes to the Northumberland
Household Book, p. 441, firom an old MS. communicated by
Thomas 'Astle, Esq., an inventory of the splendid robes and
ornaments belonging to one of these (Boy, called also Beam)
Bishops. »

'* Contenta de Omamentis Episcopi pueri.

*' Imprimis, i. myter, well garnished with perle and pr^
cions stones, with nowches of silver and gilt before and be-
hind. Item, iiii. rynges of silver and gilt, with four ridde
precious stones in them. Item, i. pontifical with silver aud
gilt, with a blue stone in hytt. Item, i. owche, broken, silver
and gilt, with iiii. precious stones, and a perle in the mydds.
Item, a croose, with a staff of coper and gilt, with the ymage
of St. Nicolas in the mydds. Item, i. vestment, redde, with
lyons, with silver, with brydds of gold in the orferes of the
same. Item, i. albe to the same, with starres in the paro.
Item, i. white cope, stayned with tristells and orferes, redde
sylke, with does of gold, and whytt napkins about the necks.
It. iiii. copes, blew sylk with red orferes, trayled, with whitt

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424 ST. NICHOLA.8'8 DAT.

braunchis and flowres. It. i. steyned cloth of the ymage of
St. Nicholas. It. i. tabard of skarlet, and a hodde thereto
lyned with whitt sylk. It. a hode of skarlett, lyned with
blue sylk."

In Heame's Liber Niger Scaccarii^ 1728, ii. 674, 686, we
find that Archbishop Botheram bequeathed " a myter for the
Bamebishop, of cloth of gold, vith two knopps of silTer g;ilt
and enamyled." In Lysons's Environs of London, i. 310,
among his curious extracts from the Churc^ardens* Accounts
at Lambeth, is the following.: " 1523. For the Bishop's dyn-
ner and hys company on St. Nycolas Day, ij«. ▼iije?." The
Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Mary-at-Hill, London, 10
Henry VI., mention ** tWo childrens copes, also a myter of
doth of gold set with stones." Under 1549, also, Lucas
and Stephen, churchwardens, is: ''For 12 oz. silver, being
clasps of books and the bishop*s mitre, at y«. yiijd, per ox.
vj/. xyj«. jrf." These last were sold. In the Inventory of
Church Goods, belonging to the same parish, at the same time,
we have : " Item, a mitre for a bishop at St. Nicholas-tyde,
garnished with silver, and amelyd, and perle, and counterfeit
stone." In Nichols's Illustrations of Ancient Manners, 1797,
p. 110, among some extracts from the same Church Accounts^
1554, is the following entry : " Paid for mskyng the bishop's
myter, with staff and lace that went to it, iij«. Paid for a
boke for Nicholas, viijc^." This was the restoration of the
ceremony under Queen Mary.

The Boy-Bishop at Salisbury is actually said to have had
the power of disposing of such prebends there as happened
to fail vacant during the days of his episcopacy. If he died
during his office, the funeral honours of a bishop, with a
monument, were granted him. In the Processionale ad nsom
insignis et preclare Ecclesie Sarum, 1 566, is printed the ser-
vice of the Boy-Bishop set to music. By this we learn that,
on the Eve of St. Innocents' Day, the Boy-Bishop was to go
in solemn procession with his fellows " ad altare Sanctae Tn-
nitatis et Omnium Sanctorum" (as the Processional), or, ''ad
altare Innocentium sive Sanctse Trinitatis" (as the Pie), " in
capis et cereis ardentibus in manibus," in their copes, and
burning tapers in their hands. The bishop beginning, and the
other boys following: "Centum quadraginta quatuor," &c.
Then the verse " Hi emti sunt ez omnibus/' &c., and this wis

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' ST. NICHOLASES DAT. 425

sung by three of the boys. Then all the hoys sang the ** Prosa
sedentem in superno majestatis, arce/' &c. The chorister
bishop, in the mean time, famed the altar first, and then the
image of the Holy Trinity. Then the bishop said, modesta yooe,
the verse " Laetamini,'* and the response was " Et gloriamini,*'
&c. Then the prayer which we yet retain : *' Dens cajus hodi-
ema die preconium Innocentes Martyres non loquendo, sed
moriendo, confessi sunt, omnia in nobis vitiorum mala mortifica,
nt fidem tuam qnam hngaa nostra loquitur, etiam moribus yita
fateatnr : qui cum patre," &c. In their return from the altar,
prsecentor puerorum incipiat, &c., the chanter-chorister began
" De Sancta Maria," &c. The response was '* Felix namque,"
&c. et " sic processio," &c. The Procession was made into
the quire, by the west door, in such order that the dean and
canons went foremost ; the chaplains next ; the bishop, with
his little prebendaries, in the last and highest place. The
bishop took; his seat, and the rest of the children disposed
themselves upon each side of the quire, upon the uppermost
ascent, the canons resident bearing the incense and the book ;
and the petit canons the tapers, according to the Kubrick.
And from this hour to the fuU end of the next day's proces-
sion, "NuUtts clericorum solet ffradum mperiorem ascendere
cujuscumqae conditumis fuerit.*^ Then the bishop on his seat
said the verse " Speciosus forma, &c. diffusa est gratia in labiis
tuis," &c. Then the prayer, " Deus qui saluds seternse," &c.
" Pax vobis,'* &c. Then, after the " Benedicamus Domino,"
the bishop of the children, sitting in his seat, gave the bene-
diction to the people in this manner: ''Princeps ecclesis
pastor ovilis cunctam plebem tuam benedicere digneris," &c.
Then, turning towards the people, he sung, or said, *' Cum
mansuetudine et charitate humiliate vos ad benedictionem :"
the chorus answering " Deo gratias." Then the cross-bearer
delivered up the crosier to the bishop again, et tunc episcopus
puerorum primb eignando ee in front e tic dicat, *' Adjutorium
nostrum," &c. The chorus answering, "Qui fecit ccelum et
terram." Then, after some like ceremonies performed, the
Boy-Bishop began the Completorium, or Complyn ; and that
done, he turned towards the quire, and said, ''Adjutorium,"
&c., and then, last of all, he said, " Benedicat vos omnipotens
Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus." In die sanctorum
Innocentium ad secundaa vesperae accipiat cruci/erarius haeu-

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426 ST. KICHOLAS^S DAY,

lum epUcopi puerarum et content Antiphon : " Princepa ec-
deftise," &c., sicut ad primas ve^peraa. Similiter episcopus
puerorum benedicat populum supradicto modo, et uc com-
pleatur servitiuin hujus diei. (Rubric. ProceBsional.) And all
this was done with solemnity of celebration^ and under pain of
anathema to any that should interrupt or press upon these
children. (See Gregory's Posthumous Works^ 1649, p. 114.)
Having had occasion to trace the ceremony of the Boy-Bishop
at Canterbury, Eton, St. Paul's, London, Colchester, Win-
chester, Salisbury, Westminster, Lambeth, York, Beverley,
Botherham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, there can be little
doubt that the discoveries of future antiquaries will prove it to
have been almost universal. Gregory, in his Account of the
Episcopus Pjierorum, thought he had made a great discoyery,
and confined it to Salisbuiy.

It appears that in Germany, 1274, at the Council of Saltx-
burg, the "ludi noxii quos vulgaris eloquentia 'i^pwecpa^M
Puerorum appellat" were prohibited, as having produced great
enormities. (See Du Fresne, v. Episcopus Puerorum.) In
Spain, Mr. Bowie informs us, anciently, in cathedral churches,
in memory of the election of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, a
chorister being placed with solemnity in the midst of the choir,
upon a scaffold, there descended from the vaulting of the
ceiling a cloud, which, stopping midway, opened. Two
angels within it carried the mitre, and descended just so low
as to place it on his head, ascending immediately in the same
order in which they came down. This came to be an occasion
of some irregularities ; for till the day of the Innocents, he
had a certain jurisdiction, and his prebendaries took secular
offices, such as alguazils, catchpoles, dog-whippers, and
sweepers. " This, l£ank God," says the auUior Covarruvias^
under the article ObatpUlis, ^* has been totally done away."
He is, however, contradicted in the great Dictionary, where it
is asserted that it is still kept up, particularly atCorunna, and
other cities, and in some universities and colleges. The word
is Latinised " Puer episcopali habitu ornatus." See Archseo-
logia, iz. 43.^

' <' Pape Colas. Enfant qui dans les demiers aiedes, paraissait, uo
moment, au deasus de sa condition. Le jour de Saint Nicolas on fisisoii
choix dans certaines Eglises d'un petit tondu a voiz glassisaaote : on hn
mettait une mitre sur la t^te, on le revStait d'habits pontificauz : ainsi

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ST. Nicholas's dat. 427

The following is an extract from the St. Jameses Chronicle,
Nov. 1797: "From Zug, in Switzerland, it is observed that
the annual procession of the i^te of the bishop and his scholars,
on the Fair Day, Dec. 6, is suppressed by authority. The
bishop, it seems, was only a si^hoUr, habited as such. Going
through the streets, he was preceded by a chaplain carrying
tuB crozier, and followed by a fool in the usual costume, the
latter also carrying a staff with a bladder filled with pease.
Other scholars, dressed like canons, with a military guard»
made up the procession. After going to church, it was the
bishop's custom to go and demand money from all the booths
and stands in the fair. The French, and other traders, it is
said, had complained of this absurd exaction, and the bishop,
it is added, means to appeal to the Pope."

Of the several sports or entertainments, that mixed in the
solemnization of this most singular festival, few particulars
seem to have been transmitted.^ Warton thmks we can trace

chai^ de Reliqaes, il alait par tout donnant des benedictions et disant des
Oremus pour avoir des biscuits et des petits gateaux." Fond du sac, i. 13.
See also Sauval, Antiq. de Paris, ii. pp. 622, 623 : Ducange, in voce; Dom
Maxlot. Histoire de la Metrop. de Rhdms, ii. 769 ; BriUon, Dictionn. des
Arrets, artic. Noyon, ed. 1727 ; Voyages Liturgiques de France, 1718,
p. 33 : and among English authorities, Dugd. Mon. old edit. iii. 169, 170,
279; Dngd. Hist. St. Paul's, pp. 205, 206; Anstis's Ord. Gart. ii. 309;
Drake's Eboracum, p. 481 ; Blomef. Hist, of Norf. it 516 ; Cough's Brit.
Top. ii. 362. There was a boy bishop at Exeter Cathedral. See Bishop
Ijyttleton's Account of that building, pp. 10, 11.

1 Steevens found a curious passage on this subject, in Puttenham's Art
of Poesie, 1589. " Methinks this fellow speaks like bishop Nicholas : for
on St. Nichoks's night, commonly, the scholars of the country make them
a bishop, who, like a foolish boy, goeth about blessing and preaching with
■uch childish terms as make the people laugh at his foolish counterfeit
speeches." Prynne, Histrio-Maatix, p. 601, cites the following interdict of
the Council of Basle, 1431 : *' This sacred Synode, detesting that foule abuse
frequent in certaine churches, in which, on certaine festivals of the yeare,
certain persons with a miter, staffe, and pontificall robes, blesse men after the
manner of bishops ; others being clothed like kings and dukes, which is
called the Feast of Fooles, of Innocents, or of Children in certaine countries :
others practising vizarded and theatrical sports : others making traines and
dances of men and women, move men to spectacles and cachinnations :
bath appointed and commanded as well ordinaries, as deanes and rectors of
diarches, under paine of suspension of all their ecclesiasticall revenues
for three monthes space, that they suffer not these and such like playes and
pastimes to be any more exerdsed in the church, which ought to be the
hoaae of prayer, nor yet in the churchyard, and that they neglect not to
puniah the offenders by ecclesiasticall censures, and other reme^es of law."

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428 ST. Nicholas's day.

in them some rude vestigeB of dramatic exhibitions. We have
evidence that the boy bishop and his companions walked
about in procession, and find eyen a statute to restrain one ci
them within the limits of his own parish.^ That the arts of
secular entertainment were exercised upon this occasion,
appears from a curious entry, which states that one of these
boy bishops received a present of thirteen shillings and six-
pence for singing before King Edward the Third, in h£ chamber,
on the day of the Holy Innocents.^

The show of the boy bishop, rather on account of its levity
and absurdity than of its superstition, was abrogated by a
proclamation, July 22, 1542. The conclusion of King Henry
the Eighth's proclamation is much to our purpose : " And
whereas heretofore dyvers and many superstitions and chyldysh
observauncis have been used, and yet to this day are observed
and kept, in many and sundry partes of this Realm, as upon
Saint Nicholas, the Holie Innocents, and suche like, children
be straingelie decked and apparayled to counterfeit Priests,
Bishops, and women,^ and to be ledde with songes and dances
from house to house, blessing the people, and gathering of
money,^ and boyes do sing masse, and preache in the pulpitt,

' In the Statutes of the collegiate church of St. Mary Ottery, foanded
by Bishop Grandison in 1337, there is this passage : " Item statuimoa,
quod nulltts canonicus, vicarius, vel secundarius, pueros choristas in fesio
sanctorum lunocentium extra parochiam de Otery trahant, aut eis lioentiam
vagandi concedant." Cap. 50. MS. Regist. Priorat. S. Swithin. WinUm.
quat. 9.

* In the Wardrobe Rolls of King Edward the Third, an. 12, we hava
this entry, which shows that our mock-bishop and his chapter somedmea
exceeded their adopted clerical commission, and exercised the arts of
secular entertainment: "Episcopo puerorum Ecdesie de Andeworp
cantanti coram domino Rege in camera sua in festo Sanctoram luno-
centium, de dono ipsius Regis xiij«. vid.**

' In explanation of that part of the above which mentiona womem, i^
appears that divine service was not only performed by boys on the abovs
occasion, but by little girb also, for there is an injunction given to the
Benedictine Nunnery of Godstowe, in Oxfordshire, by Archbishop Peckham,
in the year 1278, that on Innocbnts' Day thepubUe prayers ektmid not
any more be taid m the church of that monattery per PAAvniiAS, L e.
Uttleffirk.

* Warton in his History of English Poetry, has preserved the form of
the acquittance given by a boy bishop to the receiver of his subsidy, then
amounting to the considerable sum of £3 15«. Id, ob. — "Dominns
Johannes Gisson, Magister Choristarum ecclesise Eboracensi^, liberavit
Roberto de Holme, choristae, qui tunc ultimo fuerat Episcopna pttenurnm,

yGoogk

ST. Nicholas's day. 429

with suche other unfittinge and inconvenient usages, rather
to the derysyon than anie true glorie of God, or honour of his
Sayntes. The Kynge's Majestie wylleth and commaundeth that
henceforth all such superstitious observations be left and clerely
extinguished throwout all this Realme and Dominions," &c.
According to a small Cronide of Yere*s respecting London,
it should seem that there had been a previous Proclamation,
dated July 22d, 1540, in part, at least, to the same effect.

In " Yet a Course at the Bomyshe foxe : A dysclosynge or
openynge of the Manne of Synne, contayned in the late
declaration of the Pope's old faythe, made by Edmonde Boner,
Bysshopp of London," &c. by Johan Harryson, [i. e. Bale,]
Zurik, 1542, the author ennmerates some " auncyent rytes and
lawdable ceremonyes of holy churche," then, it should- seem,
laid aside, with the following censure on the bishop : " than
ought my lorde also to suffer the same selfe ponnyshment^ for
not ffoj/nge ahougkt with Saynt Nycholas clarkesy" &c.

With the Catholic liturgy, all the pageantries of popery
were restored to their ancient splendour by Queen Mary.
Among these, the procession of the boy bishop was too popular
a mummery to be overlooked.

In Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials, iii. 202, we read that,
Nov. 13," 1554, an edict was issued by the Bishop of London
to all the clergy of his diocese, to have a boy bishop in pro-
cession. In the same volume, however, p. 205, we read :
Anno 1554, December 5, "the which was St. Nicholas Eve,
at even-song time came a commandment that St. Nicolas
should not go abroad nor about. But, notwithstanding, it
seems, so much were the citizens taken with the mock of St.
Nicolas, that is, a boy bishop, that there went about these
St. Nicolases in divers parishes, as in St. Andrew's Holbom,
and St Nicolas Olaves, in Bread street. The reason the
procession of St. Nicolas was forbid, was, because the cardinal
had this St. Nicolas Day sent for all the convocation, bishops,
and inferior clergy, to come to him to Lambeth, there to be
absolved from all their perjuries, schisms, and heresies." In
the following page, Strype gives some account of the origin
of this ceremony, in which there is nothing that has not been

iij. libras, x¥«. id, ob de perquisitii ^mut ^riseopiper ^itum Johanmem
ree^iit: and the said Robert takes an oath that he will never molest the
said John for the above sum.

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430 ST. KICHOLAS'S DAY.

already noticed. He says, ibid. iii. 310, that in 1556, on
St. Nicholas Even, '* St. Nicholas, that is, a boy habited like
a Bishop in pontificalibns, went abroad in most parts of
London, singing after the old fashion, and was received with
many ignorant but well-disposed people into their housea, and
had as mnch good cheer as ever was wont to be had before, at
least in many places."

Warton informs us that one of the child bishop's songs, as
it was sung before the Queen's Majesty, in her privy chamber,
at her manor of St. James in the Fields, on St. Nicholas's
Day, and Innocents' Day, 1555, by the child bishop of St.
Paul's, with his company, was printed that year in London,
containing a fulsome panegyric on the queen's devotions,
comparing her to Judith, Esther, the Queen of Sheba, and
the Virgin Mary.

The pageantry of the boy bishop would naturally be put
down again when Queen Elizabeth came to the crown : but
yet it seems to have been exhibited in the country villages
toward the latter end of her reign.

The practice of electing a boy-bishop appears to have sub-
sisted in common grammar-schools.* St. Nicholas, says
Warton, was the patron of scholars, and hence, at Eton Col-
lege, St. Nicholas has a double feast ; i. e. one on account of
the college, the other of the schools. He adds, " I take this
opportunity of observing that the anniversary custom at Eimt
of going ad montem, originated from the ancient and popular
practice of theatrical processions in collegiate bodies." But,
with great deference to his opinion, I shedl endeavour to show
that it is only a corruption of the ceremony of the boy-bishop,
and his companions, who, being, by Henry the Eighth's edict,
prevented from mimicking any longer their religions superiors,
gave a new face to their festivity, and began their present play
at soldiers. The following shows how early our youth began
to imitate the martial manners of their elders in these sports,
for it appears from the close rolls of Edward I. memb. 2, that
a precept was issued to the sheriff of Oxford in 1305, from the

> ** Hoc anno 1464, in Festo Saneti Nicolai, non erat Episcopus pueromm

in Scola Grammatica]i in civitate Cantuariie, ex defecta Magistroriim, vis.

J. Sidney et. T. Hikson, Sec" Lib. Johannis Stone, monachi Scdes. Cant

^8C. de Obitibns et aliis memorabilibnB >ai caenobu, MS. Corp. Chr. Cantab.

417.

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ST. Nicholas's day. 431

King) "to prohibit tournaments being intermixed with the
sports of the scholars on St. Nicholas's Day."

It appears, by Hasted's History of Kent, iii. 174, that the
master of Wye School, founded by Archbishop Kempe in 1447,
was to teach all the scholars, both rich and poor, the art of
grammar gratis, unless a present was voluntarily made, and
except " eonmetam gaUan/an et denariorum Sancti Nicolai
gnUuitam oblathnem,^* the usual offerings of cocks and pence
at the feast of St. Nicholas. See also Gent. Mag. for May,
1777, p. 208, and for Dec. 1790, p. 1076.

In the statutes of St. Paul's school, a.d. 1518, (see Knight's
Life of Colet, p. 362,) the following clause occurs : " All
these children shall every Childennas Daye come to Pauli's
Churche, and hear the Clulde-bishop sernfon : and after he be
at the hygh masse, and each of them offer a Id, to the Childe-
bishop, and with them the maisters and surveyors of the
scole." Strype, in his Ecclesiastical Memorials, speaking of
the boy-bishop among scholars, says : " 1 shall only remark,
that there might this at least be said in favour of this old cus-
tom, that it gave a spirit to the children ; and the hopes that
they might one time or other attain to the real mitre made
them mind their books."

The following most curious passage from the " Status
Scholie Etonensis," a.d. 1560, shows that in the Papal times
the Eton scholars (to avoid interfering, as it should seem, with
the boy-bishop of the college there on St. Nicholas's Day,)
elected their boy-bishop on St. Hugh's Day, in the month of
November. St. Hueh was a real boy-bishop at Lincoln. His
day was on November 17th. " Mense Novembri. In die
Sancti Hugonis Pontificis solebat ^tonee fieri electio Episcopi
Nihilensis: sed consuetudo obsolevit. Olim Episcopus ille
puerorum habebatur nobilis. In cujus electione et literata et
laudatissima exercitatio ad ingeniorum vires et motus excitan-
dos ^tonse Celebris erat."

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432

THE MONTEM AT ETON.

<' But weak the harp now tuned to praise,
When fed the raptured sight,
When greedy thousands eager gaze,
Devoured with delight :

" When triumph hails aloud the joy
Which on those hours await :
When Montem crowns the Eton boy.
Long famed triennial fete "

Poems by Henry Rowe, 1796, L 11.

I HAVE just shown that the ceremony of the boy-bishop
vas called down by a proclamation under the reign of Henry
the Eighth, and that, with its parent Popery, it revived under
that of Queen Mary : as also, that on the accession of Queen
Elizabeth it would most probably be again put down. Indeed,
such a mockery of episcopal dignity was incompatible with the
principles of a Protestant establishment.

The loss of a holiday, however, has always been considered,
even with '' children of a larger growth," as a matter of some
serious moment ; much more with the tyros of a school, that
of an anniversary that promised to a young mind, in the
cessation from study, and the enjoyment of mirth and plea-
sure, every negative as well as every positive good. Invention
then would be racked to find out some means of retaining,
under one shape, the festivities that had been annually forbid-
den under another. By substituting for a religious, a military
appearance, the Etonians happily hit upon a method of eluding
every possibility of giving offence.

The Lilliputian see having been thus dissolved, and the
puny bishop '* unfrocked," the crozier was extended into an
ensign, and, under the title of captain, the chieftain of the
same sprightly band conducted his followers to a scene of
action in tihe open air, where no consecrated walls were in
danger of being profaned, and where the gay stripUngs could,
at least, exhibit their wonted pleasantries with more propriety
of character. The exacting of money from the spectators and

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THE MONTEM AT ETON. 433

passengers, for the use of the principal remained exactly the
same as in the days of Popery ; but it seems no eyidence has
been transmitted whether the deacons t&en, as the salt-bearers
do at present, made an offer of a little salt in return when
they demanded the annnal subsidy. I have been so fortunate,
however, as to discover, in some degree, a similar use of salt,
that is, an emblematical one, among the scholars of a foreign
university, at the well-known celebrity of " Deposition," in a
publication dated at Strasburgh so late as 1666.^ The con-
sideration of every other emblem used on the above occasion^
and explained in that work, being foreign to my purpose, I
shall confine myself to that of the salt^ alone, which one of the
heads of the college explains thus to the young academicians :
•* With regard to the ceremony of Salt," says he, " the senti-
ments and opinions both of divines and philosophers concur
in making salt the emblem of wisdom or learning \ and that
not only on account of what it is composed of, but also with
respect to the several uses to which it is applied. As to its
component parts, as it consists of the purest matter, so ought
wisdom to be pure, sound, immaculate, and incorruptible: and
similar to the effects which salt produces upon bodies ought to
be those of wisdom and learning upon the mind." In another

1 It was formerly the custom on the foundation of Westminster School
for the senior boys, on the day of the admission of a new junior election, to
address the last of them at supper-time, accompanying the first thiee words
of the formula with their appropriate actions : " SdUanduB^ calcandus, in-
spuendus ; denique non credendus ; abi junior.'* This custom has for many
years been obsolete. To these indignities also at initiation (or rather to
oompromise to prevent them) I am desirous to refer the custom of exact-
ing Gamith money at the first admission of debtors into prison, concerning
which I find the following in the Gent. Mag. for May, 1752, voL zxii. p.
239 : " The sheriffs of London have ordered that no debtor, in going into
any of the gaols of London and Middlesex, shall, for the future, pay any
ffomith, it haying been found for many years a great oppression."

* There are twenty plates illustrating the several strange ceremonies of
the ** Depositio." The last represents the giving of the Salty which a per-
son is holding on a plate in his left hand, and with his right hand about to
pnt a pinch of it upon the tongue of each Beanua or Freshman. A glass,
holding wine (I suppose), is standing near him. Underneath is the fol-
lowing couplet, which is much to our purpose ; for even the use of wine also
is not altogether unknown at present at our Montem procession at Eton :

** Sal Sophia gustate, bibatis vinaque Iseta,
Augeat Immenstts vos in utrisque Deus T'

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434 THE MONTEM AT ETON-

part of the oration he tells them, " This rite of salt is a pledge
or earnest vhich you give that you will most strenuously apply
yourselves to the study of good arts, and as earnestly devote
yourselves to the several duties of your vocation." How ob-
vious is it then, to make the same application of the use of
salt in the present ceremony at Eton ! May we not» therefore,
without any forced construction, understand the salt-bearers,
when, on demanding of the several spectators or passengers
their respective contributions, they Laconically cry, * Salt,
salt,' as addressing them to the following purport : *' La-
dies and Gentlemen, your subsidy money for the captain
of the Eton scholars ! By this aalt, which we give as an earn eat,
we pledge ourselves to become proficients in the learning we
are sent hither to acquire, the well-known embletn of which
we now present you with in return." The text is so meta-
phorically concise, that it cannot otherwise be explained but
by a difiiise paraphrase, or what, in the language of sdiolars,
is called '^ a liberal translation."

The Montem is said by some to have been an old monkish
institution, observed yearly for the purpose of raising money
by the sale of salt, absolutions, or any other articles, to pro-
duce a fund that might enable the college to purchase lands :
and the mount now called Salt-hill, with other land con-
tiguous, is said to belong to the college : which idea, upon the
authority of the late provost, Dr. Roberts, I can assert has no
foundation in truth.