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WHITEHAVEN CUSTOMS.

To the Editor of the Every-Day Book.

Whitehaven, 4th Sept. 1826. Sır,-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 jung, 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 the mummers are 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 the Waites-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 Queenstreet 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 kinderhearted 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 Alexander Alexander 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 poSo, gentlemen, you see, our actors will go round,

verty;

Stand off a little while more pastime will be found.

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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.

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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 discases can he cure? [The doctor relates in ribald lines his various remedies, and the scene ends.]

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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!

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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.

HORNCHURCH.

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 subjoined verses :—

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 stable
The 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 prose

I shall arrange the catalogue in rhymes:
They served up salmon, venison, and wild boars
By 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 fine
Plum-puddings, pancakes, apple-pies, and custard
And herewithal they drank good Gascon wine,
With mead, and ale, and cider of our own;
For porter, punch, and negus, were not known.

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.

SUBTERRANEAN CHRISTMAS BELLS. 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

WHISTLECRAFT.

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 Christmasday morning, to listen to the ringing o the bells of the church beneath them!

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CHRISTMAS AT CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. 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."

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wrongs he had privately done his em ployer. 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 guincas, and these words-" A tribute of gratitude from one who was highly obliged, and saved from ruin, by witnessing Mr. Ross's performance of George Barnwell."

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THE CLAYEN CUP.

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 the apple-trees,* you are wrong in calling it a "ciayen cup," it should be a clome or clomen cup: 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.

up more in Devon, even now, than in any Perhaps the spirit of Christmas is kept other part of England.

I am, &c.

AN EXONIAN.

NATURALISTS CALENDAR.

Mean Temperature... 36 75.

* See vol. i, 4

December 28.

INNOCENTS.

How children were annually whipped on this festival, and of its reputed luck as a day, see vol. i. 1648.

NATURALISTS' CALENDAR. Mean Temperature. . . . 36 10.

December 29.

"CHRISTMAS GAMBOLS."

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.

NATURALISTS' CALENDAR. Mean Temperature.... 38. 35.

December 30.

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.

AVINGHAM FAIR AND SPORTS.

To the Editor of the Every-Day Book. Sir, As I have frequently derived much pleasure from the amusing descriptions of local customs in your Every-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. The April cattle

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 ir. 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 but thine." Morland, Potter, Cooper, and Bewick might all have 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." The October show 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 of riding the fair, as they call it, headed by the two Northumberland pipers, called the duke of Northum berland'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 a cognizance, 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 accompanying sketch, from recollection, may more conveniently illustrate my description:

The small cottage wherein Bewick was born, stands at a short distance from this village (Aving. ham.

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