136 Old Customs of Morpeth. By Wm. Woodman. 



was to be driven by a young girl ; the farmer's daughter was 

 sometimes asked to perform this task : was it luck to the corn ? 

 or luck to the girl ? After the first quarter of the century the 

 Irish came literally in the thousand : almost every citizen was 

 sworn in, a special constable, and dragoons were stationed in 

 the town to preserve order.* 



News. — Of all the changes which have taken place in our 

 habits and customs during the last two hundred years, none is 

 greater than the transmission and distribution of home and 

 foreign news. In the beginning of last century news was sent 

 by MS. news-letters to the county families who could pay for 

 them. There is one before the writer, dated "London, 3rd 

 April, 1700," and written on three sides of a sheet, in which 

 are the following paragraphs : — 



"The Lettrs from Muscovy are very different from those we lately 

 " had concerning ye mighty Levies yt were making by ye Czar for 

 "these last doe not speake of above 1800 men yt are raiseing in Lien 

 "of the like number of the. Strelitz wh have been beheaded and are 

 "continued to be pat to death by different ways for their sedition. 

 " These Lettrs add yt ye Czar is gone to Vernewik in order to continue 

 " there some time to hasten by his p'sence the building of sev'l more ships 

 " of war to be Imployed against the Turkes at the end of the 2 yeares 

 "truce, if the same be not prolonged and converted into a peace." 



" No petitions for saving clauses ; and this day yr Ld-ships spent 

 " going through the remainder of ye bill wh admitted of great debates, 

 "and upon a division Yeas 56 Noes 33 they flung out the clause 

 "Impowering the King the revenue of the Excise and have allowed ye 

 'clause investing the fee of the forfeited Estates in Ireland and 

 "ye 13 Corars. in trust for the King." 



In the first years of this century, George Burn, the only one 

 of the old barbers, in the early morning went around his few 

 customers to shave them : periwigs and powder being no longer 

 fashionable, there were then in the tow^n but one cocked hat, 

 two pig-tails, and one powdered head. He passed away, and 

 his place was taken by barbers and haircutters, each of whom 

 had a shop where the Newcastle Courant supplied the smaller 

 tradesmen with the events of the day. 



At the end of the 18th century and afterwards the Earl of 

 Carlisle sent to the Bailiffs the Evening Mail, published three 

 times a week. When it contained any extraordinary news the 



* V. Sir U. Rawlinson's Report, 40-1-2. 



