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 but newly deade

With legges stretcht out at length, and handes 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 their breastes, they make this woodden blocke
a god :

And, least in grave he should remaine without some companie,
The singing bread is layde with him, for more idolatrie.
The priest the image worships first, as falleth to his turne,
And franckencense, and sweet perfumes, before the breade doth
burne :

With tapers all the people come, and at the barriars stay,
Where downe upon their knees they fall, 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
Were buried there, and thus they may the people better poule."

[It was customary in Popish countries, 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 being taken out, Christ is risen. This ceremony was formerly used in England. In the Churchwardens' Accounts of Abingdon, co. Berks, 1557, is the entry, the sextin for watching the sepulture two nyghts, viij.d."]

GOOD FRIDAY CROSS BUNS,

"to

[The following curious lines are found in Poor Robin's Almanack for 1733:

"Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs

With one or two a penny hot cross buns,

Whose virtue is, if you believe what's said,

They'll not grow mouldy like the common bread."]

Hutchinson, in his History of Northumberland, following Bryant's Analysis, derives the Good Friday Bun from the sacred cakes which were offered at the Arkite Temples, styled Boun, 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 Sigma, expressed it in the nominative Bous, but in the accusative more truly Boun, Bovv. Hesychius speaks of the Boun, and describes it a kind of cake with a representation of two horns. Julius Pollux mentions it after the same manner, 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 Bouse, 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 antiquity of the custom, from the times to which Cecrops is referred. The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of offering, when he is speaking of the Jewish women at Pathros, in Egypt, and of their base idolatry; in all which their husbands had encouraged them. The women, in their expostulation upon his rebuke, tell 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, being long and sharp at both sides, are called Buns." These he derives as above, and concludes: We only retain the name and form of the Boun; the sacred uses are no more."

وو

[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 administering it is by grating a small portion of it into water, and forming a sort of panada. 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

lamented that her poor neighbour must certainly die of this complaint, because she had already given her two doses of Good Friday bread without any benefit. No information could 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, observes 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 crossmarks 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 against 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 demand has decreased, and so has the quality of the buns. But the great place of attraction for bun-eaters at that time was Chelsea; for there were the two "royal bun-houses.” Before

1 The round O of a milk-score 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 O for a shilling."

66

and along the 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 purchasing royal hot cross Chelsea buns," within a reasonable time; and several hundreds of square black 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 apprentices and journeymen, and the little comfortable tradesmen 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 Superstitions 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 language of Naogeorgus, in his Popish Kingdom," thus translated by Googe:

"On Easter Eve the fire all is quencht in every place,

And fresh againe 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 fearefull storme appeares, or tempest black arise,
By lighting this he safe may be from stroke of hurtful skies.

A taper great, the Paschall namde, with musicke then they blesse,
And franckencense herein they pricke, for greater holynesse;

This burneth night and day as signe of Christ that conquerde hell,
As if so 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

quake;

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, his 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 Reading, 1802, p. 131, under Churchwardens' Accounts, we find the subsequent entry, 1559: "Paid for makynge of the Paschall and the Funte Taper, 58. 8d." A note on this observes, "The Pascal taper was usually very 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 x. libr. Cereus super hastam, j. libr. Cerei ad septem brachia, 1. libr., viz. vj. quibus vij. libr. et septimus in medio, viij. libr."

In the ancient annual Church Disbursements of St. Maryat-Hill, in the City of London, I find the following article: