180 The Neiv Forest : its History and its Scenery. 



wears a green gown," that is, who lies in the churchyard. The 

 shrewdness and humour of a people are never better seen than 

 in their proverbs. 



Further, there are plenty of local sayings, such as " The 

 cuckoo goes to Beaulieu Fair to buy him a greatcoat," referring 

 to the arrival of the cuckoo about the 15th of April, whilst the 

 day on which the fair is held is known as the " cuckoo day." 

 A similar proverb is to be found in nearly every county. 

 So, also, the saying with regard to Burley and its crop of mast 

 and acorns may be met in the Midland districts concerning 

 Pershore and its cherries. Like all other parts of England, the 

 Forest is full, too, of those sayings and adages, which are con- 

 stantly in the mouths of the lower classes, so remarkable for 

 their combination of both terseness and metaphor. To give an 

 instance, "He won't climb up May Hill," that is, he will not 

 live through the cold spring. Again, " A dog is made fat in two 

 meals," is applied to upstart or purse-proud people. But it is 

 dangerous to assign them to any particular district, as by their 

 applicability they have spread far and wide. 



One or two historical traditions, too, still linger in the 

 Forest, but their value we have seen with regard to the death of 

 the Red King. Thus, the peasant will tell of the French fleet, 

 which, in June, 1690, lay off the Needles, and of the Battle 

 of Beachy Head its cannonading heard even in the Forest 

 but who fought, or why, he is equally ignorant. One tradition, 

 however, ought to be told concerning the terrible winter of 1787, 

 still known in the Forest as "the hard year." My informant, 

 an old man, derived his knowledge from his father, who lived in 

 the Forest in a small lonely farm-house. The storm began in 

 the night ; and when his father rose in the morning he could 

 not, on account of the snow-drift, open the door. Luckily, a back 



