OF CORNWALL. 295 
“ this cuftom took its rife from the earneft defire of the people to 
fee their king, who feldom appearing at other times, made his pro- 
cefiion at this time of the year to the great aflembly of the Rates 
held in the open air 3 the women and men therefore, drawn by 
curiofity, palled their nights and days, but efpecially the night be- 
fore the firft of May, (allured by the vernal feafon) in dancing and 
feafts in the open air and in the woods,” in memory of which rural 
nocturnal aflemblies, early on the firft of May every houfe has its 
bough or branch at the door, as if the matter was but juft returned 
from the woods. This is not improbable, but it is as likely that 
this cuftom is nothing more than a gratulation of the fpring, and 
had no other foundation than to difplay the leaves and blofloms 
which begin at this time to adorn every hedge, tree, and ftirub 3 of 
this every houfe was to take notice, and by exhibiting a proper 
fignal of the fpring’s approach, to teftify their univerfal joy at the 
revival of vegetation. 
It is a general cuftom in Cornwall to make bonfires in every vil- sect.vii. 
lage on the eve of St. John Baptift s and St. Peter’s day, which I Bonfires, 
have in another place expatiated upon m , as the remains of part of 
the Druid fuperftition. 
Another general cuftom was the PLAT or interlude in the Cornifli sect.viii. 
tongue. Of thefe plays the fubje&s were taken from Scripture, and Pla >' s- 
the defign fuitably good, even that of inftructing the common peo- 
ple in the meaning and excellency of the Holy Scriptures ", although 
the defign, it muft be owned, is executed in a coarfe and rude 
manner. 
“ There are two MSS in the Bodleian Library which 0 contain 
fome interludes, or, as the author calls them, Ordinalia : the firft 
in parchment, written in the fifteenth century, exhibits three Ordi- 
nalia 3 the firft treats of the creation of the world, the fecond of 
the paflion of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the third of the refurre&ion \ 
The other M S is on paper, written by William Jordan, An. 1611. 
This has only one ordinale , of the creation of the world and the 
deluge \ There is a third book written in Cornifh on vellum, which 
Mr. Ed. Lhuyd (late keeper of the Mufaeum at Oxford) received 
from John Anftis, Efq; Garter King at Arms before mentioned. 
m Antiquities of Cornwall, page 130, 1 31. 
" Bifhop Nicholfon’s Letter to Dr. Charlett, 
November 14, A. D. 1700; of which fee Anti- 
quities of Cornwall, page 196. 
0 Mr. Lhuyd’s account of them in a letter to 
Thomas Tonkin, Efq; 1707 MS Tonkin, 
page 36. 
p Bib. Bodl. B. 40, Art. given by James But- 
ton, Efq; of Worcefterfhire, An. 1615. 
s Mr. Hals in his M S (viz. Defer", of Corn- 
wall) fays, that thefe plays in M S were brought 
into Oxford A. D. 1450 ; but this muft be a mis- 
take (if he means all), the laft-mentioned being 
not written till the beginning of the laft century. 
It 
