482 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2n<i S. VIII. Dec. 17. '69. 



a day of pleasure in the Christmas holydays ; the tables 

 were all spread from the first to the last, the sir-loyns of 

 beef, the minc'd-pies, the plumb-puddings, were all 

 brought upoa the board ; and all those who had sharp 

 stomachs and sharp knives eat heartily and were welcome, 

 which gave rise to the proverb, 



' Merry in the hall, when beards wag all.' 

 " There were then turnspits employed, who by the time 

 dinner was over, would look as black and as greasy as a 

 Welch porridge-pot, but the Jacks have since turned 

 them all out of doors. The geese, which used to be fatted 

 for the honest neighbours, have been of late sent to 

 London, and the quills made into pens to convey away 

 the Landlord's estate ; the sheep are drove away to raise 

 money to answer the loss at a game at dice or cards, and 

 their skins made into parchment for deeds and inden- 

 tures ; naj', even the poor innocent bee, who was used to 

 pay his tribute to the Lord once a year at least in good 

 metheglin, for the entertainment of the guests, and its 

 wax converted into beneficial plaisters for sick neigh- 

 bours, is now used for the sealing of deeds to his disad- 

 vantage." 



The Squire of olden times was a man of mighty 

 influence. If he happened to ask a neighbour 

 what it was o'clock, he received for answer, with 

 a low scrape, " It is what your Worship pleases." 

 But, withal, he was good to his neighbours, kept 

 no " mock-beggar hall ; " and " give me the man 

 who has a good heart in his belly, and has spirit 

 enough to keep up the old way of hospitality." 



Among the amusements of our own time, the 

 author of Round about our Coal Fire mentions 



" Mumming, or Masquerading, when the Squire's 

 wardrobe is ransacked for dresses of all kinds, and the 

 coal-hole searched around, or corks burnt to black the 

 faces of the fair, or make deputy-mustaches, and every 

 one in the family, except the Squire himself, must be 

 transformed from what they were." 



Among the games, Blindman's buff, puss in the 

 corner, questions and commands, hoop and hide, 

 and story-telling, were also resorted to for variety, 

 but cards and dice were especially avoided, " un- 

 less a lawyer is at hand to breed some dispute for 

 him to decide, or at least have some party in." 

 Dancing, of course, was in great request, and here 

 the writer takes an opportunity of saying, " The 

 dancing and singing of the Benchers in the great 

 Inns of Court on Christmas, is in some sort 

 founded upon interest ; for they hold, as I am in- 

 formed, some priviledge by dancing about the 

 fire in the middle of their Hall, and singing the 

 song of Round about our Coal Fire," &c. 



Gentlemen of the long robe may smile when 

 they look back upon the antics of their predeces- 

 sors, but they may rest assured that these " dan- 

 cings " actually took place. Once upon a time, 

 indeed, according to that high authority Dugdale, 

 the barristers of Lincoln's Inn were, " by declam- 

 ation, put out of Commons for example's sake, 

 because the whole bar offended by not dancing on 

 Cafidlemas day preceding, according to the ancient 

 order of this Society." This occurred in the reign 

 of James I. (See DugdaWs Orig. Jurid. cap. 

 64.) 



Turning over the pages of stories about " Hob- 

 goblins," " Raw-heads and Bloody-bones," " Con- 

 jurers," " Witches," &c. &c., including an in- 

 teresting wood-cut of the " Hobgoblin Society," 

 we arrive at " A Chapter on Fairies," which is 

 interesting enough to call for quotation : — 



" My grandmother has often told me of fairies dancing 

 upon our green, and that they were very little creatures 

 cloathed in green ; they would do good to the industrious 

 people, but they pinch the sluts; they would steal 

 children, and give one of their own in the room ; and the 

 moment any one saw them they were struck blind of one 

 eye. All this I have heard, and my grandmother, who 

 was a very tall woman, said she had seen several of 

 them, which I believe because she said so; she said, 

 moreover, that they lived under-ground, and that they 

 generally came out of a mole-hill; they had fine music 

 always among themselves, and danced in a moon-shiny 

 night around, or in a ring, as one may see at this day 

 upon every common in England where mushrooms grow. 

 But, though mj' grandmother told me so, it is not un- 

 lawful to enquire into a secret of this nature, and so I 

 spoke to several good women about it. 



" When I asked one whether there was such things as 

 fairies, • A}',' says she, ' I have seen them many a time ; ' 

 another said, ' There's no room to doubt of it, for you 

 may see thousands of their rings upon our common,' &c. 



" I found, however, another way to be satistied of the 

 matter, and heard the following story of fairies from a 

 person of reputation. 



" A gentlewoman and her husband were going into the 

 country, and thought it best to retire out of town four 

 or five miles the night before, to receive the stage-coach, 

 and avoid the ceremony of taking leave of their friends, 

 which are generally more troublesome than welcome on 

 that occasion ; and' being gone to bed in a country town 

 where fairies walked about twelve o'clock, up comes a 

 little woman, not much bigger than one's thumb, and 

 immediately follows a little parson, also a great number 

 of people, and a midwife, with a child in her arms ; and 

 I suppose by their power chairs were set for them : but 

 it happened they wanted a godmother for the child, for it 

 was to be christened that night ; so says the good fairy, 

 * Father, the gentlewoman in the room will do us that 

 favour.' ' Ay,' says the rest of the company, • it is a 

 good thought;' and up brisked the fairy father to the 

 bed-side, and called out the lady who did the office ; for 

 which the father gave her a large diamond ring. All this 

 while the lady's husband was as fast as a church, and 

 knew nothing of the matter. But in the morning, good 

 lack, the case was altered ; he espied the fine ring upon 

 his wife's finger : ♦ How came you by that, my dear ? ' 

 says he. ' Why, my love! 'replies she, 'the fairies have 

 been here to-night;' and told him the story of the 

 christening. ♦ Zounds,' says he; • the ring is Sir John's 

 ring ; I know the stone : I have often seen familiarities 

 between you and him, and now am convinced of your 

 treachery.' And so I suppose he took his wife for a 

 wanton. 



" The fairies were very necessary in families, as much 

 as bread, salt, pepper, or any other such commoditj', I 

 believe ; because they used to walk in my father's house, 

 and if I can judge right of the matter, they were brought 

 into all the families by the servants ; for in old times folks 

 used to go to bed at'nine o'clock, and when the master 

 and mistress were lain on their pillows, the men and 

 maids, if they had a game at romps, and blundered up 

 stairs, or jumbled a chair, the next morning every one 

 would swear it was th'e fairies, and that they heard them 

 stamping up and down stairs all night, crying, « Waters 



