FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



of gay ribbons at all points, and many little bells 

 which jingled with the movements of the dance. 

 They were accompanied by a fiddler and by a 

 " Squire " or " Fool " he answered to both 

 designations who was more elaborately costumed 

 than the rest, and more after the fashion of a 

 jester. He carried a stick with a calf's tail at 

 one end and an inflated bladder at the other, 

 with which he kept a clear space for the dancers, 

 bestowing hearty thwacks upon the backs and 

 sides of any among the crowd who encroached 

 too much ; he also collected the bystanders' 

 contributions in a tin box. Among the dances 

 performed was one with sticks, each man striking 

 the stick of the opposite dancer, keeping time to 

 the music, something after the manner of a 

 melodramatic backsword combat, whilst there 

 were other dances in which handkerchiefs were 

 prominent features. 



Not very long ago I had a pleasant reminder 

 from my native county that one of the dancers 

 of my young days was still on the move, and able 

 to show the rising generation the true art of 

 Morris dancing, as handed down from generation 

 to generation. Years ago, a celebrated troupe of 

 Morris dancers hailed from Headington, near 

 Oxford, among them being William Trafford, who 

 has danced in his troupe for more than sixty years. 

 As he is over eighty years of age, he must have 

 begun his practice of the art somewhat early in 

 life. His fame had travelled to London, and 

 not long since he was asked to go there in order 

 to show a modern Guild of Morris dancers what 

 the real, genuine article was like. As the old 



74 



