Christmas.With footstep slow, in furry pall yclad,His brows enwreathed with holly never sereOld Christmas comes, to close the wained year;And aye the shepherd’s heart to make right glad;Who, when his teeming flocks are homeward had,To blazing hearth repairs, and nutbrown beer,And views well pleased the ruddy prattlers dearHug the grey mungrel; meanwhile maid and ladSquabble for roasted crabs. Thee, Sire, we hail,Whether thine aged limbs thou dost enshroudIn vest of snowy white and hoary veil,Or wrap’st thy visage in a sable cloud;Thee we proclaim with mirth and cheer, nor failTo greet thee well with many a carol loud.Bamfylde.
Christmas.
With footstep slow, in furry pall yclad,His brows enwreathed with holly never sereOld Christmas comes, to close the wained year;And aye the shepherd’s heart to make right glad;Who, when his teeming flocks are homeward had,To blazing hearth repairs, and nutbrown beer,And views well pleased the ruddy prattlers dearHug the grey mungrel; meanwhile maid and ladSquabble for roasted crabs. Thee, Sire, we hail,Whether thine aged limbs thou dost enshroudIn vest of snowy white and hoary veil,Or wrap’st thy visage in a sable cloud;Thee we proclaim with mirth and cheer, nor failTo greet thee well with many a carol loud.
With footstep slow, in furry pall yclad,His brows enwreathed with holly never sereOld Christmas comes, to close the wained year;And aye the shepherd’s heart to make right glad;Who, when his teeming flocks are homeward had,To blazing hearth repairs, and nutbrown beer,And views well pleased the ruddy prattlers dearHug the grey mungrel; meanwhile maid and ladSquabble for roasted crabs. Thee, Sire, we hail,Whether thine aged limbs thou dost enshroudIn vest of snowy white and hoary veil,Or wrap’st thy visage in a sable cloud;Thee we proclaim with mirth and cheer, nor failTo greet thee well with many a carol loud.
Bamfylde.
The practice of singing canticles or carols in the vulgar tongue on Christmas-eve, and thence callednoelsin the country churches of France, had its origin about the time that the common people ceased to understand Latin. The wordnoelis derived fromnatalis, and signified originally a cry of joy atChristmas.[554]
Mean Temperature 37·87.
[541]Stukeley’s Palæographia Britannica, No. 11. 1745.[542]Ibid.[543]Stowe’s Annals, 159.[544]Baker’s Chronicles, 94.[545]Ibid.[546]Bellman’s Treasury, 1707.[547]“In good king Charles’s golden days.”This is said to have been written by an officer in colonel Fuller’s regiment, in the reign of king George I. It is founded on an historical fact, and, though it reflects no great honour on the hero of the poem, is humorously expressive of the complexion of the times in the successive reigns from Charles II. to George I.[548]“My fond shepherds of late were so blest.”A favourite air in Dr. Arne’s “Eliza.”[549]“There lived a youth in Ballan o Crazy.”This song is ascribed to a lady of great quality: it does not, however, abound with the wit which usually flows from female pens; but it admits of being sung with great humour.[550]Gentleman’s Magazine.[551]Communicated by D. B. C. from Boswell’s Antiquities of England and Wales.[552]Busby’s Concert Room and Orchestra Anecdotes, &c.[553]Miss Plumptre.[554]Burney’s History of Music.
[541]Stukeley’s Palæographia Britannica, No. 11. 1745.
[542]Ibid.
[543]Stowe’s Annals, 159.
[544]Baker’s Chronicles, 94.
[545]Ibid.
[546]Bellman’s Treasury, 1707.
[547]“In good king Charles’s golden days.”
This is said to have been written by an officer in colonel Fuller’s regiment, in the reign of king George I. It is founded on an historical fact, and, though it reflects no great honour on the hero of the poem, is humorously expressive of the complexion of the times in the successive reigns from Charles II. to George I.
[548]“My fond shepherds of late were so blest.”
A favourite air in Dr. Arne’s “Eliza.”
[549]“There lived a youth in Ballan o Crazy.”
This song is ascribed to a lady of great quality: it does not, however, abound with the wit which usually flows from female pens; but it admits of being sung with great humour.
[550]Gentleman’s Magazine.
[551]Communicated by D. B. C. from Boswell’s Antiquities of England and Wales.
[552]Busby’s Concert Room and Orchestra Anecdotes, &c.
[553]Miss Plumptre.
[554]Burney’s History of Music.
CHRISTMAS-DAY.
Bellman’s Verses, 1707,Upon Christmas Day.To the Shepherds.Go, happy shepherds, leave your flocks and hieTo Bethlem, where your infant Lord doth lie:And when you’ve view’d his Sacred Person well,Spare not aloud what you have seen to tell.Write volumes of these things, and let them bearThe title of theShepherd’s Calendar:This I assure you nevershepherdsknewWith all their studies half so much asyou.[555]
Bellman’s Verses, 1707,Upon Christmas Day.To the Shepherds.
Go, happy shepherds, leave your flocks and hieTo Bethlem, where your infant Lord doth lie:And when you’ve view’d his Sacred Person well,Spare not aloud what you have seen to tell.Write volumes of these things, and let them bearThe title of theShepherd’s Calendar:This I assure you nevershepherdsknewWith all their studies half so much asyou.[555]
Go, happy shepherds, leave your flocks and hieTo Bethlem, where your infant Lord doth lie:And when you’ve view’d his Sacred Person well,Spare not aloud what you have seen to tell.Write volumes of these things, and let them bearThe title of theShepherd’s Calendar:This I assure you nevershepherdsknewWith all their studies half so much asyou.[555]
To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.
Whitehaven, 4th Sept. 1826.
Sir,—You furnished your readers last Christmas with a dish, greatly up-heaped, of information regarding the manner in which it was kept in various parts of the kingdom. I enclose herein a printed copy of the play, which is said, or rather sung, at and about that time, by numbers of boys in this town. The comedians, of which there are many companies, parade the streets, and ask at almost every door if themummersare wanted. They are dressed in the most grotesque fashion; their heads adorned with high paper caps, gilt and spangled, and their bodies with ribbons of various colours, while St. George and the prince are armed with ten swords. The “mysterie” (query?) ends with a song, and afterwards a collection is made. This is the only relic of ancient times which exists in this town, excepting, indeed, it be theWaites—a few persons who parade the streets for a fortnight or three weeks before Christmas, and play upon violins one or two lively jig tunes, and afterwards call upon the inhabitants for a few pence each. The same persons, when they hear of a marriage, or of the arrival from abroad of a sea-faring man, regularly attend and fiddle away till they raise the person or persons; and for this they expect a trifling remuneration.
I am satisfied you will join me, in surprise, that for so great a number of years, such a mass of indecent vulgarity as “Alexander and the king of Egypt,” should been used without alteration.
Upon the death of any individual, poor or rich, in this town, and the day before the funeral, the parish clerk, or the clerk of the church in whose church-yard the corpse is to be interred, goes round the town, with or without mourning as the case may be, and rings a bell, like a bellman, and thus announces his purpose: “All friends and neighbours are desired to attend the corpse of A. B. from Queen-street to St. James’s church to-morrow afternoon at four o’clock.”
Some of these hints may be of use to you—if so I shall rejoice; for a kinder-hearted publication than yours I never perused.
For the present I am, Mr. Hone,Yours, most respectfully,An Admirer of your Every-Day Book.
The tract accompanying the preceding communication is entitled “Alexander and the King of Egypt; a mock Play, as it is acted by the Mummers every Christmas. Whitehaven. Printed by T. Wilson, King-street.” Eight pages, 8vo. An opportunity is thus obligingly afforded of making the following extracts:
Act I. Scene I.Enter AlexanderAlexander speaksSilence, brave gentlemen, if you will give an eye,Alexander is my name, I’ll sing a tragedy;A ramble here I took the country for to see,Three actors I have brought, so far from Italy.The first I do present, he is a noble king,He’st just come from the wars, good tidings he doth bring;The next that doth come in he is a doctor good,Had it not been for him I’d surely lost my blood.Old Dives is the next, a miser you may see,Who, by lending of his gold, is come to poverty;So, gentlemen, you see, our actors will go round,Stand off a little while more pastime will be found.Act I. Scene II.Enter ActorsRoom, room, brave gallants, give us room to sport,For in this room we wish for to resort,Resort and to repeat to you our merry rhyme,For remember, good sirs, this is Christmas time.The time to cut up goose-pies now doth appear,So we are come to act our merry Christmas here,At the sound of the trumpet and beat of the drumMake room, brave gentlemen, and let our actors come.We are the merry actors that traverse the street;We are the merry actors that fight for our meat;We are the merry actors that show pleasant play,Step in thou King of Egypt, and clear the way.K. of Egypt.I am the King of Egypt as plainly doth appear,And Prince George he is my only son and heir,Step in therefore, my son, and act thy part with me,And show forth thy fame before the company.P. George.I am Prince George, a champion brave and bold,For with my spear I’ve won three crowns of gold,’Twas I that brought the dragon to the slaughter,And I that gain’d the Egyptian monarch’s daughter.In Egypt’s fields I prisoner long was kept,But by my valour I from them escap’d;I sounded loud at the gate of a divine,And out came a giant of no good design,He gave me a blow which almost struck me dead,But I up with my sword and cut off his head.Alex.Hold, Slacker, hold, pray do not be so hot,For in this spot thou know’st not who thou’st got,’Tis I that’s to hash thee and smash thee as small as flies,And send thee to Satan to make mince pies.Mince pies hot, mince pies cold,I’ll send thee to Satan ’ere thou’rt three days old;But hold, Prince George, before you go away,Either you or I must die this bloody day,Some mortal wounds thou shalt receive by me,So let us fight it out most manfully.Act II. Scene I.Alexander and Prince George fight, the latter is wounded and falls.King of Egypt speaks.Curs’d Christian, what is this thou hast done?Thou hast ruin’d me by killing my best son.Alex.He gave me a challenge, why should I him deny?How high he was, but see, how low he lies.K. of Egypt.O Sambo, Sambo, help me now,For I was never more in need,For thee to stand with sword in hand,And to fight at my command.Doctor.Yes, my liege, I will thee obey,And by my sword I hope to win the day;Yonder stands he who has kill’d my master’s son,And has his ruin thoughtlessly begun,I’ll try if he be sprung from royal blood,And through his body make an ocean flood,Gentlemen, you see my sword’s point is broke,Or else I’d run it through that villain’s throat.K. of Egypt.Is there never a doctor to be found,That can cure my son of his deadly wound?Doctor.Yes there is a doctor to be found,That can cure your son of his deadly wound.K. of Egypt.What diseases can he cure?[The doctor relates in ribald lines his various remedies, and the scene ends.]Act II. Scene II.Prince George arises.Prince George speaks.O horrible! terrible! the like was never seen,A man drove out of seven senses into fifteen,And out of fifteen into four score,O horrible! terrible! the like was ne’er before.Alex.Thou silly ass, that liv’st on grass, dost thou abuse a stranger?I live in hopes to buy new ropes, and tie thy nose to a manger.P. George.Sir, unto you I bend.Alex.Stand off thou slave, I think thee not my friend.P. George.A slave! Sir, that’s for me by far too base a name,That word deserves to stab thine honour’s fame!Alex.To be stabb’d, sir, is least of all my care,Appoint your time and place, I’ll meet you there.P. George.I’ll cross the water at the hour of five.Alex.I’ll meet you there, sir, if I be alive.P. George.But stop, sir, I’ll wish you a wife both lusty and young,Can talk Dutch, French, and the Italian tongue.Alex.I’ll have none such.P. George.Why don’t you love your learning?Alex.Yes, I love my learning as I love my life,I love a learned scholar, but not a learned wife;Stand off, &c.K. of Egypt.Sir, to express thy beauty I’m not able,For thy face shines like the very kitchen table,Thy teeth are no whiter than the charcoal, &c.Alex.Stand off thou dirty dog, or by my sword thou’lt die,I’ll make thy body full of holes, and cause thy buttons to fly.Act II. Scene III.King of Egypt fights, and is killed.Enter Prince George.Oh! what is here? oh! what is to be done?Our king is slain, the crown is likewise gone;Take up his body, bear it hence away,For in this place no longer shall it stay.The Conclusion.Bouncer Buckler, velvet’s dear,And Christmas comes but once a year,Though when it comes it brings good cheer,But farewell Christmas once a year.Farewell, farewell, adieu! friendship and unity,I hope we have made sport, and pleas’d the company;But, gentlemen, you see we’re but actors four,We’ve done our best, and the best can do no more.
Act I. Scene I.Enter AlexanderAlexander speaks
Silence, brave gentlemen, if you will give an eye,Alexander is my name, I’ll sing a tragedy;A ramble here I took the country for to see,Three actors I have brought, so far from Italy.The first I do present, he is a noble king,He’st just come from the wars, good tidings he doth bring;The next that doth come in he is a doctor good,Had it not been for him I’d surely lost my blood.Old Dives is the next, a miser you may see,Who, by lending of his gold, is come to poverty;So, gentlemen, you see, our actors will go round,Stand off a little while more pastime will be found.
Silence, brave gentlemen, if you will give an eye,Alexander is my name, I’ll sing a tragedy;A ramble here I took the country for to see,Three actors I have brought, so far from Italy.The first I do present, he is a noble king,He’st just come from the wars, good tidings he doth bring;The next that doth come in he is a doctor good,Had it not been for him I’d surely lost my blood.Old Dives is the next, a miser you may see,Who, by lending of his gold, is come to poverty;So, gentlemen, you see, our actors will go round,Stand off a little while more pastime will be found.
Act I. Scene II.Enter Actors
Room, room, brave gallants, give us room to sport,For in this room we wish for to resort,Resort and to repeat to you our merry rhyme,For remember, good sirs, this is Christmas time.The time to cut up goose-pies now doth appear,So we are come to act our merry Christmas here,At the sound of the trumpet and beat of the drumMake room, brave gentlemen, and let our actors come.We are the merry actors that traverse the street;We are the merry actors that fight for our meat;We are the merry actors that show pleasant play,Step in thou King of Egypt, and clear the way.K. of Egypt.I am the King of Egypt as plainly doth appear,And Prince George he is my only son and heir,Step in therefore, my son, and act thy part with me,And show forth thy fame before the company.P. George.I am Prince George, a champion brave and bold,For with my spear I’ve won three crowns of gold,’Twas I that brought the dragon to the slaughter,And I that gain’d the Egyptian monarch’s daughter.In Egypt’s fields I prisoner long was kept,But by my valour I from them escap’d;I sounded loud at the gate of a divine,And out came a giant of no good design,He gave me a blow which almost struck me dead,But I up with my sword and cut off his head.Alex.Hold, Slacker, hold, pray do not be so hot,For in this spot thou know’st not who thou’st got,’Tis I that’s to hash thee and smash thee as small as flies,And send thee to Satan to make mince pies.Mince pies hot, mince pies cold,I’ll send thee to Satan ’ere thou’rt three days old;But hold, Prince George, before you go away,Either you or I must die this bloody day,Some mortal wounds thou shalt receive by me,So let us fight it out most manfully.
Room, room, brave gallants, give us room to sport,For in this room we wish for to resort,Resort and to repeat to you our merry rhyme,For remember, good sirs, this is Christmas time.The time to cut up goose-pies now doth appear,So we are come to act our merry Christmas here,At the sound of the trumpet and beat of the drumMake room, brave gentlemen, and let our actors come.We are the merry actors that traverse the street;We are the merry actors that fight for our meat;We are the merry actors that show pleasant play,Step in thou King of Egypt, and clear the way.K. of Egypt.I am the King of Egypt as plainly doth appear,And Prince George he is my only son and heir,Step in therefore, my son, and act thy part with me,And show forth thy fame before the company.P. George.I am Prince George, a champion brave and bold,For with my spear I’ve won three crowns of gold,’Twas I that brought the dragon to the slaughter,And I that gain’d the Egyptian monarch’s daughter.In Egypt’s fields I prisoner long was kept,But by my valour I from them escap’d;I sounded loud at the gate of a divine,And out came a giant of no good design,He gave me a blow which almost struck me dead,But I up with my sword and cut off his head.Alex.Hold, Slacker, hold, pray do not be so hot,For in this spot thou know’st not who thou’st got,’Tis I that’s to hash thee and smash thee as small as flies,And send thee to Satan to make mince pies.Mince pies hot, mince pies cold,I’ll send thee to Satan ’ere thou’rt three days old;But hold, Prince George, before you go away,Either you or I must die this bloody day,Some mortal wounds thou shalt receive by me,So let us fight it out most manfully.
Act II. Scene I.Alexander and Prince George fight, the latter is wounded and falls.King of Egypt speaks.
Curs’d Christian, what is this thou hast done?Thou hast ruin’d me by killing my best son.Alex.He gave me a challenge, why should I him deny?How high he was, but see, how low he lies.K. of Egypt.O Sambo, Sambo, help me now,For I was never more in need,For thee to stand with sword in hand,And to fight at my command.Doctor.Yes, my liege, I will thee obey,And by my sword I hope to win the day;Yonder stands he who has kill’d my master’s son,And has his ruin thoughtlessly begun,I’ll try if he be sprung from royal blood,And through his body make an ocean flood,Gentlemen, you see my sword’s point is broke,Or else I’d run it through that villain’s throat.K. of Egypt.Is there never a doctor to be found,That can cure my son of his deadly wound?Doctor.Yes there is a doctor to be found,That can cure your son of his deadly wound.K. of Egypt.What diseases can he cure?
Curs’d Christian, what is this thou hast done?Thou hast ruin’d me by killing my best son.Alex.He gave me a challenge, why should I him deny?How high he was, but see, how low he lies.K. of Egypt.O Sambo, Sambo, help me now,For I was never more in need,For thee to stand with sword in hand,And to fight at my command.Doctor.Yes, my liege, I will thee obey,And by my sword I hope to win the day;Yonder stands he who has kill’d my master’s son,And has his ruin thoughtlessly begun,I’ll try if he be sprung from royal blood,And through his body make an ocean flood,Gentlemen, you see my sword’s point is broke,Or else I’d run it through that villain’s throat.K. of Egypt.Is there never a doctor to be found,That can cure my son of his deadly wound?Doctor.Yes there is a doctor to be found,That can cure your son of his deadly wound.K. of Egypt.What diseases can he cure?
[The doctor relates in ribald lines his various remedies, and the scene ends.]
Act II. Scene II.Prince George arises.Prince George speaks.
O horrible! terrible! the like was never seen,A man drove out of seven senses into fifteen,And out of fifteen into four score,O horrible! terrible! the like was ne’er before.Alex.Thou silly ass, that liv’st on grass, dost thou abuse a stranger?I live in hopes to buy new ropes, and tie thy nose to a manger.P. George.Sir, unto you I bend.Alex.Stand off thou slave, I think thee not my friend.P. George.A slave! Sir, that’s for me by far too base a name,That word deserves to stab thine honour’s fame!Alex.To be stabb’d, sir, is least of all my care,Appoint your time and place, I’ll meet you there.P. George.I’ll cross the water at the hour of five.Alex.I’ll meet you there, sir, if I be alive.P. George.But stop, sir, I’ll wish you a wife both lusty and young,Can talk Dutch, French, and the Italian tongue.Alex.I’ll have none such.P. George.Why don’t you love your learning?Alex.Yes, I love my learning as I love my life,I love a learned scholar, but not a learned wife;Stand off, &c.K. of Egypt.Sir, to express thy beauty I’m not able,For thy face shines like the very kitchen table,Thy teeth are no whiter than the charcoal, &c.Alex.Stand off thou dirty dog, or by my sword thou’lt die,I’ll make thy body full of holes, and cause thy buttons to fly.
O horrible! terrible! the like was never seen,A man drove out of seven senses into fifteen,And out of fifteen into four score,O horrible! terrible! the like was ne’er before.Alex.Thou silly ass, that liv’st on grass, dost thou abuse a stranger?I live in hopes to buy new ropes, and tie thy nose to a manger.P. George.Sir, unto you I bend.Alex.Stand off thou slave, I think thee not my friend.P. George.A slave! Sir, that’s for me by far too base a name,That word deserves to stab thine honour’s fame!Alex.To be stabb’d, sir, is least of all my care,Appoint your time and place, I’ll meet you there.P. George.I’ll cross the water at the hour of five.Alex.I’ll meet you there, sir, if I be alive.P. George.But stop, sir, I’ll wish you a wife both lusty and young,Can talk Dutch, French, and the Italian tongue.Alex.I’ll have none such.P. George.Why don’t you love your learning?Alex.Yes, I love my learning as I love my life,I love a learned scholar, but not a learned wife;Stand off, &c.K. of Egypt.Sir, to express thy beauty I’m not able,For thy face shines like the very kitchen table,Thy teeth are no whiter than the charcoal, &c.Alex.Stand off thou dirty dog, or by my sword thou’lt die,I’ll make thy body full of holes, and cause thy buttons to fly.
Act II. Scene III.King of Egypt fights, and is killed.Enter Prince George.
Oh! what is here? oh! what is to be done?Our king is slain, the crown is likewise gone;Take up his body, bear it hence away,For in this place no longer shall it stay.
Oh! what is here? oh! what is to be done?Our king is slain, the crown is likewise gone;Take up his body, bear it hence away,For in this place no longer shall it stay.
The Conclusion.
Bouncer Buckler, velvet’s dear,And Christmas comes but once a year,Though when it comes it brings good cheer,But farewell Christmas once a year.Farewell, farewell, adieu! friendship and unity,I hope we have made sport, and pleas’d the company;But, gentlemen, you see we’re but actors four,We’ve done our best, and the best can do no more.
Bouncer Buckler, velvet’s dear,And Christmas comes but once a year,Though when it comes it brings good cheer,But farewell Christmas once a year.Farewell, farewell, adieu! friendship and unity,I hope we have made sport, and pleas’d the company;But, gentlemen, you see we’re but actors four,We’ve done our best, and the best can do no more.
For the Every-Day Book.
On Christmas-day, the following custom has been observed at Hornchurch, in Essex, from time immemorial. The lessee of the tithes, which belong to New College, Oxford, supplies a boar’s head dressed, and garnished with bay-leaves, &c. In the afternoon, it is carried in procession into the Mill Field, adjoining the church-yard, where it is wrestled for; and it is afterwards feasted upon, at one of the public-houses, by the rustic conqueror and his friends, with all the merriment peculiar to the season. And here it may be observed, that there is another custom, at this place, of having a model of an ox’s head, with horns, affixed on the top of the eastern end of the chancel of the church. A few years ago it had been suffered to fall into decay; but in the year 1824 it was renewed by the present vicar. This church formerly belonged to the convent on Mount St. Bernard in Savoy; and it has been suggested, that the ox’s head, with the horns, may perhaps be the arms or crest of the convent, and that the custom, as well as the name of the place, originated from that circumstance. I shall be happy to be informed whether this suggestion be founded on matter of fact; and if not, to what other cause the custom can be assigned.
Ignotus.
Of the ancient doings of Christmas, there is a bountiful imagining, by a modern writer, in the subjoinedverses:—
The great King Arthur made a sumptuous feast,And held his Royal Christmas at Carlisle,And thither came the vassals, most and least,From every corner of this British Isle;And all were entertained, both man and beast,According to their rank, in proper style;The steeds were fed and littered in the stableThe ladies and the knights sat down to table.The bill of fare (as you may well suppose)Was suited to those plentiful old times,Before our modern luxuries arose,With truffles and ragouts, and various crimes;And therefore, from the original in proseI shall arrange the catalogue in rhymes:They served up salmon, venison, and wild boarsBy hundreds, and by dozens, and by scores.Hogsheads of honey, kilderkins of mustard,Muttons, and fatted beeves, and bacon swine;Herons and bitterns, peacocks, swan, and bustard,Teal, mallard, pigeons, widgeons, and in finePlum-puddings, pancakes, apple-pies, and custardAnd therewithal they drank good Gascon wine,With mead, and ale, and cider of our own;For porter, punch, and negus, were not known.All sorts of people there were seen together,All sorts of characters, all sorts of dresses;The fool with fox’s tail and peacock’s feather,Pilgrims, and penitents, and grave burgesses;The country people with their coats of leather,Vintners and victuallers with cans and messes;Grooms, archers, varlets, falconers, and yeomen,Damsels and waiting-maids, and waiting-women.Whistlecraft.
The great King Arthur made a sumptuous feast,And held his Royal Christmas at Carlisle,And thither came the vassals, most and least,From every corner of this British Isle;And all were entertained, both man and beast,According to their rank, in proper style;The steeds were fed and littered in the stableThe ladies and the knights sat down to table.The bill of fare (as you may well suppose)Was suited to those plentiful old times,Before our modern luxuries arose,With truffles and ragouts, and various crimes;And therefore, from the original in proseI shall arrange the catalogue in rhymes:They served up salmon, venison, and wild boarsBy hundreds, and by dozens, and by scores.Hogsheads of honey, kilderkins of mustard,Muttons, and fatted beeves, and bacon swine;Herons and bitterns, peacocks, swan, and bustard,Teal, mallard, pigeons, widgeons, and in finePlum-puddings, pancakes, apple-pies, and custardAnd therewithal they drank good Gascon wine,With mead, and ale, and cider of our own;For porter, punch, and negus, were not known.All sorts of people there were seen together,All sorts of characters, all sorts of dresses;The fool with fox’s tail and peacock’s feather,Pilgrims, and penitents, and grave burgesses;The country people with their coats of leather,Vintners and victuallers with cans and messes;Grooms, archers, varlets, falconers, and yeomen,Damsels and waiting-maids, and waiting-women.
The great King Arthur made a sumptuous feast,And held his Royal Christmas at Carlisle,And thither came the vassals, most and least,From every corner of this British Isle;And all were entertained, both man and beast,According to their rank, in proper style;The steeds were fed and littered in the stableThe ladies and the knights sat down to table.
The bill of fare (as you may well suppose)Was suited to those plentiful old times,Before our modern luxuries arose,With truffles and ragouts, and various crimes;And therefore, from the original in proseI shall arrange the catalogue in rhymes:They served up salmon, venison, and wild boarsBy hundreds, and by dozens, and by scores.
Hogsheads of honey, kilderkins of mustard,Muttons, and fatted beeves, and bacon swine;Herons and bitterns, peacocks, swan, and bustard,Teal, mallard, pigeons, widgeons, and in finePlum-puddings, pancakes, apple-pies, and custardAnd therewithal they drank good Gascon wine,With mead, and ale, and cider of our own;For porter, punch, and negus, were not known.
All sorts of people there were seen together,All sorts of characters, all sorts of dresses;The fool with fox’s tail and peacock’s feather,Pilgrims, and penitents, and grave burgesses;The country people with their coats of leather,Vintners and victuallers with cans and messes;Grooms, archers, varlets, falconers, and yeomen,Damsels and waiting-maids, and waiting-women.
Whistlecraft.
To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.
Dear Sir,—Near Raleigh, in Nottinghamshire, there is a valley, said to have been caused by an earthquake several hundred years ago, which swallowed up a whole village, together with the church.
Formerly, it was a custom for people to assemble in this valley, on Christmas-day morning,to listen to the ringing of the bells of the church beneath them!This it was positively asserted might be heard by putting the ear to the ground, and harkening attentively. Even now, it is usual on Christmas morning for old men and women to tell their children and young friends to go to the valley, stoop down, and hear the bells ring merrily.
I am, &c.C. T.
In an Essay on Christ’s Hospital, “Let me have leave to remember,” says Mr. Lamb, “the festivities at Christmas, when the richest of us would club our stock to have a gaudy day, sitting round the fire, replenished to the height with logs; and the pennyless, and he that could contribute nothing, partook in all the mirth, and in some of the substantialities of the feasting; the carol sung by night at that time of the year, which, when a young boy, I have so often laid awake from seven (the hour of going to bed) till ten, when it was sung by the older boys and monitors, and have listened to it in their rude chanting, till I have been transported to the fields of Bethlehem, and the song which was sung at that season by the Angels’ voices to the shepherds.”
Mean Temperature 37·57.
[555]Bellman’s Treasury.
[555]Bellman’s Treasury.
For some remarkable observances on this festival, see vol. i. 1643.
The representation of this tragedy was omitted in the Christmas holidays of 1819, at both the Theatres, for the first time.
When Mr. Ross performed the character ofGeorge Barnwell, in 1752, the son of an eminent merchant was so struck with certain resemblances to his own perilous situation, (arising from the arts of a realMillwood,) that his agitation brought on a dangerous illness, in the course of which he confessed his error, was forgiven by his father, and was furnished with the means of repairing the pecuniary wrongs he had privately done his employer. Mr. Ross says, “Though I never knew his name, or saw him to my knowledge, I had for nine or ten years, at my benefit, a note sealed up with ten guineas, and these words—“A tribute of gratitude from one who was highly obliged, and saved from ruin, by witnessing Mr. Ross’s performance ofGeorge Barnwell.””
This year, 1742, celebrated in dramatic annals as the year wherein Mr. Garrick first appeared on the stage, the theatrical season at Goodman’s-fields was 169 nights; Garrick played 159 nights; and, it is remarkable that the theatre was open onChristmas-day. The play was the “Fop’s Fortune,” and Garrick performedClodio.
Mean Temperature 38·40.
For wine manchets on this festival to preserve the eaters from poison annually, see vol. i. 1647.
To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.
January 12, 1825.
Sir,—In your account of the ceremonies now practised in Devon at Christmas, regarding theapple-trees,[556]you are wrong in calling it a “clayencup,” it should be aclomeorclomencup: thus all earthenware shops and china shops are called by the middling class and peasantry clome or clomen shops, and the same in markets where earthenware is displayed in Devon, are called clome-standings. I feel assured you will place this note to the right account, a desire that so useful and interesting a work should be as perfect as possible.
Perhaps the spirit of Christmas is kept up more in Devon, even now, than in any other part of England.
I am, &c.An Exonian.
Mean Temperature 36·75.
[556]See vol. i. 41.
[556]See vol. i. 41.
How children were annually whipped on this festival, and of its reputed luck as a day, see vol. i. 1648.
Mean Temperature 36·10.
A play, with this title, appears to have once existed in MS. It is noticed in an early quarto auction catalogue, printed before 1700, though unfortunately without a title,penes me; the catalogue contains a rich sprinkling of English poetry, and this play, with others, occurs in Lot 40, amid a rare, though not very copious collection of old plays and miscellaneous tracts.
J. H. B.
Mean Temperature 38·35.
The following communication, though relating to an earlier period of the year, is now inserted, in order to include it, as its subject requires, in the present work.
To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.
Sir,—As I have frequently derived much pleasure from the amusing descriptions of local customs in yourEvery-Day Book, I take the liberty of forwarding some reminiscences of customs which existed when I first drew halfpence from my breeches pockets, and which still remain in the north of England; I allude to a fair held at Avingham, a small hamlet situated on the banks of the Tyne, about twelve miles west of Newcastle.
Avingham fair is on the 26th of April and 26th of October. Formerly, an agricultural society awarded prizes to the successful candidates for the breed of horses, cows, sheep, &c. TheAprilcattle show was entirely of the male kind, and in every respect calculated to afford pleasure and instruction to the naturalist, being replete with variety, form, colour, and as much beauty as could be found in that part of the animal creation; so much so, that in turning from the scene with reluctance, you might exclaim, “Accuse not nature, she hath done her part; man, do thou butthine.” Morland, Potter, Cooper, andBewick[557]mightallhave found variety for the exercise of their several powers; and, indeed, the latter has given portraits of many of the specimens there exhibited, in his “History of Quadrupeds.” TheOctobershow was of the female kind, and inferior to the former. At this meeting, two additional prizes were given; one to the grower of the finest crop of turnips, which was decided by taking so many rows of a given number of yards in length, and weighing them; the other was the sum of ten pounds, to the person who could prove that he had reared the largest family without assistance from the parish. The privilege of contest was confined to hinds (husbandmen.)
The fair is principally for the sale of cattle, and the show is not greater than that of Smithfield on market-day, excepting pigs, which here and at Stainshaw (Stagshaw) bank fairs supply the principal stock to the Cumberland and Westmoreland pig feeders. In the morning a procession moves from the principal alehouse for the purpose ofriding the fair, as they call it, headed by the two Northumberland pipers, calledthe duke of Northumberland’s pipers, in a light blue dress, a large cloak of the same colour with white cape, a silver half-moon on one arm as acognizance, and white band and binding to the hat. Each is mounted on a rosinante, borrowed, without consent, by the busy hostler from some whiskey smuggler or cadger, reconciled to the liberty by long custom. Those who have noticed the miller and his horse in Stothard’s picture of the “Pilgrimage to Canterbury,” may form a tolerable notion of the manner in which this “Jemmy Allen” and son are mounted; the accompanyingsketch, from recollection, may more conveniently illustrate my description:
“Riding the Fair”—at Avingham.
“Riding the Fair”—at Avingham.
And what have thosetroopersto do here to-day?The duke of Northumberland’spipersare they.
And what have thosetroopersto do here to-day?The duke of Northumberland’spipersare they.
And what have thosetroopersto do here to-day?The duke of Northumberland’spipersare they.
The pipers, followed by the duke’s agent, bailiff, constable, and a numerous body of farmers, principally the duke’s tenantry, proceed first through the fair, where the proclamation is read, that the fair shall last nine days,&c.;[558]and then, the duke being lord of the manor, they walk the boundary of all that is or has been common or waste land. That task completed, they return to the alehouse with the pipers playing before them, where they partake freely of store of punch at the duke’s expense. The farmers are so proud of being able to express their attachment to his grace “in public,” as they term it, that they mount their sons on cuddies, (asses,) rather than they should not join the procession, to drink with them “the health o’ his grace, and lang may he leeve ta pratect and study the interests o’ his tanentry.” Then there’s “Here’s te ye Tam, thank’s te ye Joke,” and so they separate for the fair, there to “settle how mickle per heed they con git for their nowte an swine.”
Avingham fair, like others, is attended by many a “gaberlunzie,” with different kinds of amusement for children, such as the “E and O, black-cock and grey;” and, above all, for the amusement of the pig drivers and “gadsmen,” Punch and Toby, (so called by them,) and a number of those gentlemen who vomit fire, as if they had swallowed the wicks of all the candles they had snuffed for Richardson. Many of those worthies I recollect having attended ever since I was able to see above the level of their stalls. At my last visit, I was much amused with one who seemed to have been just arrived from the sister kingdom; he was surrounded by ploughboys and their doxeys, their cheeks as red as their topknots. He had a large pan suspended from his neck, and, as the girls observed, a “skimmering” white apron and bib, and he bellowed as loud as he could, “Hearse a’ yer rale dandy candy, made ap wa’ sugar an brandy, an tha rale hoile a mint; it’s cood far young ar hold, cough or cold, a shortness a’ breath, ar a pain at tha stamach, it’s cood far hany camplaint whatsamever; A, fate! an yil try it:—noo leddies, hif ye try it, an yer sure ta buy it.” And sureenough this was the case, for whatever might be its qualities, it pleased the “leddies,” who purchased in such abundance, that they besmeared their faces so as to destroy that rosy red, love’s proper hue, which dwells upon the cheeks of our northern rustic beauties.
I must not forget to mention that the October fair is more numerously attended by those who go for pleasure. Unlike the southern holyday folks, they prefer autumn for this reason, that “hearst” is just ended, and they have then most money, which, with the “leddies,” is generally expended in dress suitable to this and similar occasions. After baking a sufficient number of barley bannocks for the following day, and the milk set up, they throw off their “linsey-woolsey petticoats,” and “hale made bed-goons” for a gown, a good specimen of their taste, in the two warmest colours, a red flower or stripe upon a yellow ground, and as much of a third colour round the waste, as would make them vie with Iris. In this butterfly state they hasten to the scene of mirth, and most of them dance till they have reason to suppose it is time to “gang hame, an git a’ ready be’ crowdie time.” The style of dancing is the same as in Scotland, country dances, reels, jigs, and hornpipes; the last mentioned is much admired. No merry-making is allowed to pass over without some rural “admirable Crichton” having shown his agility in this step. The hornpipe is introduced between each country dance, while “Love blinks, wit sleeps, an’ social mirth forgets their’s care upon the earth.” The following day is called by the inhabitants “gwonny Jokesane’s” day; why so is not known; all they know is, that it is and has been so called since the recollection of the oldest alive; and that is sufficient to induce them to continue a custom, which is peculiar to it, as follows. When a sufficient number have assembled, they elect what they are pleased to call a mayor, who they mount upon a platform, which is borne along by four men, headed by the musician that attended the preceding evening, and followed by a number of bailiffs with white “wans,” and all the men, wives, maids, and white-headed urchins in the village. Thus, all in arms, they proceed first to the minister’s house, and strike up a dance in front. His worship, “the mayor,” as a privileged person, sometimes evinces a little impatience, and if the minister has not made his appearance, demands to speak to him. On his advancing, “his worship” begins thus, “A yes! twa times a yes! an’ three times a yes! If ony man, or ony man’s man, lairds, loons, lubburdoons, dogs, skelpers, gabbrigate swingers, shall commit a parliament as a twarliament, we, in the township o’ Avingham, shall hea his legs, an heed, tied ta tha cagwheel, till he say yence, twice, thrice, prosper the fair o’ Avingham, an’ gwonny Jokesane’s day.” This harangue, however ridiculous, is always followed with cheering, in which their good-tempered pastor freely joins, with his hat above his head, and stepping forward, shakes “his worship” by the hand, giving him a cordial welcome, trusting he will not leave the manse till he takes a “drap a yel, a’ his ain brewin.” This is of course acceded to. The ale being handed round in plenty, and being found to be good, “an’ what is na guid that the minister hes,” they engage themselves for some time, “while news much older than their ale goes round.” The musicians meanwhile play such airs as “The Reel Rawe,” “The Bonny Bit,” “Laddie Wylam away,” &c. The dance goes round, “the young contending as the old survey,” until silence is called, when “his worship” gives as a toast, “Health, wealth, milk, and meal, the de’al tak ye a’ thot disent wish him (the minister) weal—hip! hip! huzza!” Raising “his worship” shoulder height again, they proceed round the village, repeating their gambols in front of every respectable house where they meet with a similar reception.
After this, foot-racing commences, for hats, handkerchiefs, and (as Mathews calls them) she-shirts. The several races run and prizes distributed, they return to the last and gayest of their mirthful scenes, not without bestowing some little pains in selecting colours calculated to give the finishing touches to the picture.
“Wi’ merry sangs, an’ friendly cracks,I wat they did na weary;An’ unco tales, an’ funny jokes,Their sports were cheap an’ cheary.****Syne, wi’ a social glass o’ strunt,They parted aff careerin,Fu’ blythe that night.”
“Wi’ merry sangs, an’ friendly cracks,I wat they did na weary;An’ unco tales, an’ funny jokes,Their sports were cheap an’ cheary.****Syne, wi’ a social glass o’ strunt,They parted aff careerin,Fu’ blythe that night.”
“Wi’ merry sangs, an’ friendly cracks,I wat they did na weary;An’ unco tales, an’ funny jokes,Their sports were cheap an’ cheary.
****
Syne, wi’ a social glass o’ strunt,They parted aff careerin,Fu’ blythe that night.”
So ends the fair of Avingham and its sports, which was to me, “in my youthful days,” a source of great amusement, but whether it is in comparing the presentwith the past, from a consciousness of having
“Dealt with life, as children with their play,Who first misuse, then cast their toys away,”
“Dealt with life, as children with their play,Who first misuse, then cast their toys away,”
“Dealt with life, as children with their play,Who first misuse, then cast their toys away,”
that we do not derive the same pleasure from what passes before us in maturer age; or whether, in boyhood, the impressions of such trifles as I have related are deeper rooted in the memory; yet, certain it is, whatever be our situation in life, we all come to the conclusion, that our early days were our happiest.
I am, &c.J—n J—k—n.
In December 1645, the following letter was sent by the mayor and first alderman of Bath, to sir John Harrington, announcing their design of electing him one of their representatives, entreating him to accept the trouble thereof. The bold eagerness with which a seat in parliament issolicitednow, and the modest coyness that marked the conduct of those who werecalledto that honour in the early part of the seventeenth century, strikingly contrast. The person chosen at that period to represent a county or city, was generally allowed a gratuity by his constituents in consideration of his trouble.
Copy.
To our muche honoured and worthie Friend, John Harrington, Esq. at his house at Kelstone, near Bathe.
Worthie Sir,
Out of the long experience we have had of your approved worth and sincerity, our citie of Bathe have determined and settled their resolutions to elect you for a burgess for the House of Commons in this present parliament, for our said citie,and do hope you will accept the trouble thereof; which if you do, our desire is, you will not fail to be with us at Bathe on Monday next, theeighth of this instant, by eight of the morning, at the furthest, for then we proceed to our election: and of your determination we entreat you to certify us by a word or two in writing, and send it by the bearer to
Your assured loving friends,John Bigg, the maior,William Chapman.
Bathe, Dec. 6, 1645.
Sir John’s Account of his Proceedings.
A Note of my Bathe businesse aboute the Parliament.
Saturday, Dec. 26th 1646 went to Bathe, and dined with the maior and citizens, conferred about my election to serve in parliament, as my father was helpless, and ill able to go any more; went to the George inn at night, met the bailiffs, and desired to be dismissed from serving,drank strong beer and metheglin, expended aboutiijs, went home late, but could not get excused, as they entertained a good opinion of my father.
Monday, Dec. 28th went to Bathe, met sir John Horner, we were chosen by the citizens to serve for the city. The maior and citizens conferred about parliament busines.The maior promised sir John Horner and myself a horse apiece, when we went to London to the parliament,which we accepted of, and we talked about the synod and ecclesiastical dismissions. I am to go again on Thursday, and meet the citizens about all such matters, and take advice therein.
Thursday 31st, went to Bathe, Mr. Ashe preached. Dined at the George inn with the maior and four citizens, spent at dinnervjsin wine.
Laid out in victuals at the George innxjs4d.
Laid out in drinkingvijs ijd.
Laid out in tobacco and drinking vessels,iiijs4d.
Jan. 1st,My father gave me£4to pay my expenses at Bathe.
Mr. Chapman the maior came to Kelston, and returned thanks for my being chosen to serve in parliament, to my father, in name of all the citizens.My father gave me good advice, touching my speaking in parliament as the city should direct me. Came home late at night from Bathe, much troubled hereat, concerning my proceeding truly, for men’s good report and mine own safety.
Note. I gave the city messengersijsfor bearing the maior’s letters to me. Laid out in all £3vijs for victuals, drink and horse hire, together with divers gifts.
In December, 1822, a poor man made application to the Bath forum magistrates, and stated that six months prior, he had bought the goods and chattels of a neighbour, together with hiswife, for the sumof four pounds ten shillings, for which he produced a regular stamped receipt.
The man had spent all the money and wanted to have his wife back again, but he refused to part with her. The magistrates told him he had no claim to her, and advised him to deliver her up to her husband, which he at last reluctantly did. The following is a true copy of the stamped receipt.
“Receivedof Edward Gale, the sum of four pounds ten shillings, for good and chattels; and also the black mare and Mrs. Naish, as parting man and wife. As agreed before witnesses this 8th December, 1822.
“Witness, the mark of Edward Pulling X Mary Gale, George Lansdowne, and Edward Gale.
“Settled the whole concern,By me John Naish.”
To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.
Ludgate-hill, 10th Nov. 1826.
Dear Sir,—I was much pleased on reading and being reminded of an ancient game in your book, calledNinepenny-marl; a game I had scarcely heard of during the last twenty years, although perfectly familiar to me in my boyish days, and played exactly the same as described by your correspondentP.[559]
I have since visited my native county, Norfolk, and find the game is still played by the rustics, and called, as it always has been there, “the game ofMorris,” or “Nine Men’s Morris.” The scheme is frequently chalked on the ground or barn floors, and the game played with different coloured stones or beans. I think the name is more appropriate than “Ninepenny-marl;” and moreover, we of Norfolk have the authority of our immortal bard in his “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” where the queen of the fairies, speaking to Oberon, says, “TheNine Men’s Morrisis filled up with mud.”
There are some men who are not a little proud at being proficients at this game. I heard an anecdote at North Walsham of a man named Mayes, still living in that neighbourhood, who is so great a lover of the pastime, that a wager was laid by some wags, that they would prevent his going to church, by tempting him to play; and, in order to accomplish their purpose, they got into a house, building by the road side, where Mayes was sure to pass. Being a great psalm-singer, he had a large book under his arm; they called him in to settle some disputed point about the game, and he was very soon tempted to play, and continued to do so till church time was over, and got a good scolding from his wife for being too late for dinner.
I have been led to make these remarks from the pleasure I have derived from your publication; and you may excuse me, perhaps, if I add, with a smile, that I have found some amusement in the game of Morris, by playing it with my chess men: it requires more art to play it well, than you would imagine at first sight.
I am, dear sir,Yours sincerely,T. B.
With almost the same pleasure that room has been made for this letter, from a well-remembered kind neighbour, will his communication be read in Norfolk by his fellow-countrymen.