chuseth forthe twentie, fourtie, three score, or a hundred Iustie guttes like to hymself, to waite uppon his lordely majestie, and to guarde his noble persone. Then every one of these his menne he investeth with his liveries, of greene, yellowe, or some other light wanton colour. And as though that were not (baudie) gaudy enough I should saie, they bedecke themselves with scarfes, ribons, and laces, hanged all over with golde rynges, precious stones, and other jewelles: this doen, they tye about either legge twentie or fourtie belles, with rich hande-kercheefes in their handes, and sometymes laied acrosse over their shoulders and neckes, borrowed for the moste parte of their pretie Mopsies and loovyng Bessies for bussyng them in the darcke. Thus thinges sette in order, they have their hobbie-horses, dragons, and other antiques, together with their baudie pipers, and thunderyng drommers, to strike up the Deville's daunce withall: then marche these heathen companie towardes the church and churcheyarde, their pipers pipyng, drommers thonderyng, their stumppes dauncyng, their belles jynglyng, their handkerchefes swyngyng about their heades like madmen, their hobbie horses, and other monsters skyrmishyng amongest the throng: and in this sorte they goe to the churche (though the minister bee at praier or preachyng) dauncyng and swingyng their handkercheefes over their heades in the churche, like devilles incarnate, with suche a confused noise, that no man can heare his owne voice. Then the foolishe people, they looke, they stare, they laugh, they fleere, and mount upon formes and pewes, to see these goodly pageauntes solemnized in this sort. Then after this, aboute the churche they goe againe and againe, and so forthe into the churche-yarde, where they have commonly their sommer haules, their bowers, arbours, and banquettyng houses set up, wherein they feaste, banquet, and daunce all that daie, and (peradventure) all that night too. And thus these terrestrial furies spend their Sabbaoth daie. Then for the further innoblyng of this honorable lurdane' (lorde I should saye) they have also certaine papers, wherein is paynted some babblerie or other, of imagerie worke, and these they call my Lord of Misrules badges: these thei give to every one that will geve money for them to maintaine them in this their heathenrie,

1 A clown.-Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 534.

divelrie, whoredome, dronkennesse, pride, and what not. And who will not shewe himselfe buxome to them, and geve them money for these the Deville's cognizaunces, they shall be mocked and flouted at shamefully. And so assotted are some, that they not onely give them money, to maintaine their abhomination withall, but also weare their badges and cognizances in their hattes, or cappes, openly. Another sorte of fantasticall fooles bring to these hellhoundes (the Lord of Misrule and his complices) some bread, some good ale, some newe cheese, some olde cheese, some custardes, some cakes, some flaunes, some tartes, some creame, some meate, some one thing, some another: but if they knewe that, as often as they bring any to the maintenance of these execrable pastymes, they offer sacrifice to the Devill and Sathanas, they would repent, and withdrawe their handes, which God graunt they maie."

I find the following, in Articles to be enquired of within the Archdeaconry of Yorke, by the Churchwardens and Sworne Men, A. D. 163- (any year till 1640): "Whether hath your church or church-yard beene abused and prophaned by any fighting, chiding, brawling, or quarrelling, and playes, Lords of Misrule, summer lords, morris-dancers, pedlers, bowlers, bearewards, butchers, feastes, schooles, temporal courts, or leets, lay-juries, musters, or other prophane usage in your church or church-yard." Lodge, in his Wits Miserie, 1596, p. 84, speaking of a jeaster, says, "This fellow in person is comely, in apparel courtly, but in behaviour a very ape, and no man; his studye is to coine bitter jeastes, or to show antique motions, or to sing baudie sonnets and ballads : give him a little wine in his head, he is continually flearing and making of mouths; he laughs intemperately at every little occasion, and dances about the house, leaps over tables, outskips men's heads, trips up his companions' heeles, burns sacke with a candle, and hath all the feates of a Lord of Missrule in the countrie. It is a special marke of him at table, he sits and makes faces."

The name only of the Lord of Misrule is now remembered. The Lords of Misrule in colleges were preached against at Cambridge by the Puritans in the reign of James the First, as inconsistent with a place of religious education, and as a relic of the Pagan ritual. In Scotland, where the Reformation

took a more severe and gloomy turn than in England, the Abbot of Unreason, as he was called, with other festive characters, were thought worthy to be suppressed by the legis lature as early as 1555. This Abbot of Misrule, or Unreason, appears to have borne much resemblance to the Abbas Stultorum, who presided over the Feast of Fools in France. Rodez, the capital of the province of Rovergne in France, they had an Abbé de la Malgouverné, who corresponds exactly with our Abbot of Misrule.2

At

Fuller, in his "Meditations on the Times," in Good Thoughts in Worse Times, 12mo. Lond. 1647, p. 193, tells us : "Some sixty yeares since, in the University of Cambridge, it was solemnly debated betwixt the Heads to debarre young schollers of that liberty allowed them in Christmas, as inconsistent with the discipline of students. But some grave governors mentioned the good use thereof, because thereby, in twelve days, they more discover the dispositions of scholars than in twelve moneths before." "If we compare," says Prynne, HistrioMastix, p. 757, "our Bacchanalian Christmasses and New Years Tides with these Saturnalia and Feasts of Janus, we shall finde such near affinitye betweene them both in regard of time (they being both in the end of December and on the first of January) and in their manner of solemnizing (both of them being spent in revelling, epicurisme, wantonnesse, idlenesse, dancing, drinking, stage-plaies, masques, and carnall pompe and jollity), that wee must needes conclude the one to be but the very ape or issue of the other. Hence Polydor Virgil affirmes in expresse tearmes that our Christmas Lords of Misrule (which custom, saith he, is chiefly observed in

1 Dr. Jamieson says the prohibition does not appear to have been the effect of the Protestant doctrine: for as yet the Reformation was strenuously opposed by the court. He thinks it was most probably owing to the disorder carried on, both in town and country, under the pretence of innocent recreation.-Etym. Dict. v. Abbot of Vnressoun.

2 See Du Tilliot, Mémoire de la Fête des Fous, p. 22. Warton, in his History of English Poetry, says, "In the French towns there was l'Abbé de Liesse, who in many towns was elected from the burgesses by the magistrates, and was the director of all their public shows. Among his numerous mock officers were a herald and a maître d'hôtel. In the city of Auxerre he was especially concerned to superintend the play which was annually acted on Quinquagesima Sunday. Carpentier, Suppl. Gloss. Lat. Du Cange, i. 7, 923.

England), together with dancing, masques, mummeries, stageplayes, and such other Christmass disorders now in use with Christians, were derived from these Roman saturnalia and Bacchanalian festivals; which (concludes he) should cause all pious Christians eternally to abominate them."

FOOL PLOUGH AND SWORD DANCE.

In the North of England there is a custom used at or about this time, which, as will be seen, was anciently observed also in the beginning of Lent. The Fool-Plough goes about, a pageant that consists of a number of sword-dancers dragging a plough, with music, and one, sometimes two, in very strange attire; the Bessy, in the grotesque habit of an old woman, and the Fool, almost covered with skins, a hairy cap on, and the tail of some animal hanging from his back. The office of one of these characters, in which he is very assiduous, is to go about rattling a box amongst the spectators of the dance, in which he receives their little donations.

It is also called the fond plough, aliter the white plough,1 so denominated because the gallant young men that compose it appear to be dressed in their shirts (without coat or waistcoat) upon which great numbers of ribands folded into roses are loosely stitched on. It appears to be a very airy habit at this cold season, but they have on warm waistcoats under it. Hutchinson, in his History of Northumberland, ii. ad finem, p. 18, speaking of the dress of the sword-dancers at Christmas, adds: "Others, in the same kind of gay attire, draw about a plough, called the stot plough, and when they receive the gift, make the exclamation Largess! but if not requited at any house for their appearance, they draw the plough through the pavement, and raise the ground of the front in furrows. I have seen twenty men in the yoke of one plough." He con

In Nichols's Illust. of Antient Manners and Expences, p. 169, Churchwardens' Accounts of Heybridge, near Malden, Essex, under A. D. 1522, is the following receipt: "Item, receyved of the gadryng of the white plowe, £0. 1s. 3d." To which this note is affixed: "Q. Does this mean Plough Monday, on which the country people come and dance and make a gathering, as on May Day?"

cludes thus: "The stot-plough has been conceived by some to have no other derivation than a mere rural triumph, the plough having ceased from its labour."

In a Compendious Treetise Dialogue of Dives and Pauper, 1493, among superstitions censured at the beginning of the year we find the following: "ledyng of the ploughe aboute the fire as for gode begynnyng of the yere, that they shulde fare the better alle the yere followyng." In a very rare book, entitled Yet a Course at the Romyshe Foxe, 1542, frequently quoted in this work, the author enumerates, among auncyent rites and lawdable ceremonyes of holy churche" then it should seem laid aside, the following, asserting "than ought my lorde (Bonner, Bishop of London) to suffre the same selfe ponnyshment for not sensing the plowghess on Plowgh Mondaye."

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In the printed Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Margaret's, Westminster, 4to. p. 3, under the year 1494, is the following item: "Item of the Brotherhood of Rynsyvale for the plowgere £0 48. Od." In another page of Nichols's Illustrations, among the extracts from the Churchwardens' Accounts of Wigtoft, Lincolnshire, 1575, is, "Receid of Wyll". Clarke & John Waytt, of the plougadrin £1 08. Od." With the following note: "Plow-gathering; but why this was applied to the use of the church I cannot say. There is a custom in this neighbourhood of the ploughmen parading on Plow Monday; but what little they collect is applied wholly to feasting themselves. They put themselves in grotesque habits, with ribands, &c." I find in Stukeley's Itinerary, p. 19, the following article from "A Boake of the Stuffe in the Cheyrche of Holbeche sowlde by Chyrche Wardyns of the same according to the Injunctyons of the Kynge's Magysté:" "Item, to Wm. Davy the sygne whereon the plowghe did stond, xvjd."

There was a light in many churches called the plow light, maintained by old and young persons who were husbandmen, before some image; who on Plough Monday had a feast, and went about with a plough, and some dancers to support it. See Blomefield's Hist. of Norfolk, iv. 287.

This pageant or dance, as used at present, seems a composition made up of the gleaning of several obsolete customs, followed anciently, here and elsewhere, on this and the like festive occasions.