Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/101

 Collectanea. 85

came round early in the evening and begged old tin trays or tea- kettles, and then assembled before the oftender's house, and made a deafening noise. If there was a back way to the house, the man would escape and hide himself till the performance was over ; but, if he could not get away, his position was most miserable, for they would keep on beating their instruments with astonishing perse- verance, until they were tired out, and had to go home to bed.

It was the regular custom on the evening of the 5th of November, which was called " Bonfire Night," for the boys to go round the village to collect faggots for a bonfire, chiefly from the farmers. They would come to the door, and sing, —

" Let gunpowder plot Never be forgot. A stick and a slake. For King George's sake. A faggot, a faggot, a faggot, If you don't give me one, I'll take two, The better for me and the worse for you. Hammer and block, beetle and wedges. If you won't gi%-e me a faggot, I'll cut down your old hedges."

The farmer would promptly fetch a faggot from his ' woodpile,' as he knew that, at the least hesitation on his part, the lads would help themselves to two. The boys still go round the villages, but now they ask for pence instead of firewood.

On Shrove Tuesday, or ' Pancake ' Day, the children used to sing at each door, —

" Pit a pat, the pan's hot, And I be come a srover ; Eat a bit, and bite a bit, And then 'tis all over,"

and ask for pence.

When the harvesting was finished, the labourers rode home on the last load of corn, shouting as they went along, —

" Hip, hip, hip, harvest home, A good plum-pudding and a bacon bone. And that's a very good harvest home."

The harvest-home dinner, (always called " the harvest-home "), usually consisted of large joints, plum-puddings, and tins of