626 Ancient Sports and Pastimes. 
In this most extraordinary morris-dance, “ The musicians 
and the twelve dancers had long coats of the old fashion, 
high sleeves, gathered at the elbows, and hanging sleeves 
behind. The stuff was red buffin, striped with white, with 
white girdles ; they had white stockings, and red roses to 
their shoes. The one six had a white Jew’s cap, with a 
jewel, and a long red feather; the other six a scarlet Jew’s 
cap, with a jewel and a white feather : so the hobby-horse, 
and so the Maid Marian was attired in colours, and the 
whifflers had long staves, white and red.” 
“The hobby-horse,” says Strutt, “ which seems latterly 
to have been almost inseparable from the morrice-dance, 
was a compound figure; the resemblance of the head and 
tail of a horse, with a light wooden frame for the body, was 
attached to the person who was to perform the double 
character, covered with trappings reaching to the ground, 
~so as to conceal the feet of the actor. Thus equipped, he 
was to prance about, imitating the curvettings and motions 
of a horse.” 
On the feast of Christmas, it was customary, in the 
houses of the nobles, and even at the Court, to appoint a 
person called the Lord of Misrule, whose province it was 
to superintend the festivities. This officer was elected by 
the common people in some parishes. A certain Philip 
Stubbs, who lived at the close of the sixteenth century, 
describes this mock potentate:—“ First of all the wild 
heades of the parish, flocking together, choose them a 
grand captain of mischife, whom they innoble with the 
title of Lord of Misrule. This being anoynted, chooseth 
forth twentie, forty, threescore, or an hundred lustie gut- 
ters like himself, to wait on his lordly majesty, and to 
guarde his royal person. Then every one of these men 
he investeth with his liveries of green, yellow, or some other 
light winter colour; and as though they were not gaudy 
enough, they bedeck themselves with scarfs, ribbons, and 
laces, hanged all over with gold rings, precious stones, and 
other jewels. This done, they tie about their legge twentie 
or fortie bells, with rich handkerchiefs in their hands, bor- 
rowed for the most part of pretty missies and loving Bes- 
sies ; and the Lord of Misrule and his followers repaired 
to the church, dancing and singing, and making a dreadful 
disturbance.” 
We have only time to allude to the sports which took 
place in honour of Easter, Midsummer, and other festivals. 
The feasts of the Sheep-shearing and Harvest-home still 
