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lawson's history 69 



cles and kness were liiing bells of several sorts ; 

 having wooden falchions in their hands, (such as 

 stage fencers commonly use) ; in this dress they 

 danced about an hour, showing many strange 

 gestures, and brandishing their wooden weapons 

 as if they were going to fight each other ; often- 

 times walking very nimbly round the room, with- 

 out making the least noise with their bells, a 

 thing I much admired at ; again turning their bo- 

 dies, arms and legs, into such frightful postures, 

 that you would have guessed they had been quite 

 raving made : at last, they cut two or three high 

 capers and left the room. In their stead came in 

 a parcel of women and girls, to the number of 

 thirty odd, every one taking place according to 

 her degree of stature — the tallest leading the 

 dance and the least of all being placed last ; with 

 these they made a circular dance, like a ring rep- 

 resenting the shape of the fire they danced about. 

 Many of these had great horse bells about their 

 legs and small hawk bells about their necks. — 

 They had musicians, who were two old men, one 

 of whom beat a drum, while the other rattled with 

 a gourd that had corn in it to make a noise with- 

 al. To these instruments they both sung a mourn- 

 ful ditty ; the burthen of their song was, in re- 

 membrance of their former greatness, and num- 

 bers of their xiation, the famous exploits of their 

 '-renoAvned ancestors, and all actions of moment 

 that had, in former days, been performed by their 

 forefathers. 



