Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 4, 1893.djvu/318

 310 outside for his welcome; storms being considered of no account on such occasions, but rather added to the glee.

The first-foot, on crossing the threshold, at once announced "A gude New Year to ane and a', and mony may ye see," or "A happy New Year tae ye, and God's blessing"; then kissing the young woman, and shaking her by both hands, they passed into the household. If the visitor had not been seen for some time, the news of the families were gone into, and other matters of that sort; then the whisky-drinking, with health-giving toasts, eating of shortbread, currant loaf, scones, oat-cakes, and cheese were all heartily consumed, then song-singing, sometimes a dance, then more drinking, and at last came the parting, in much hilarity and glee, the "toozling" (or hugging) and kissing of the young woman or women, and then off went the nocturnal visitor or visitors for other calls, until daylight appearing stopped their fun; or else the first-footers kept on making their calls, drinking and carousing all through New Year's Day, and even on, far on. New Year's Night, when, possibly, they were worn out, and utterly prostrated with fatigue and want of sleep. Of course the first-footing only strengthened the courtship, the regular visiting continuing, and generally ending in marriage on a subsequent New Year's Day.

In "Auld Reekie", the custom of first-footing ("first-fittin", in Scotch) dates from time immemorial; generally, the* preparations for the midnight orgies of New Year's Eve begin to show themselves in the early part of the evening in the stir and bustle of the leading thoroughfares of the city; groups of young men moving listlessly about, as evidently wearying for the fun to begin. The church of the Tron Men, or labourers of the city, has long been the gathering-place or rendezvous of the first-footers. Some sixty or seventy years ago, first-footing in Edinburgh required ingenuity and courage on the part of young men who went first-footing from the Tron Church, owing to the danger and rioting and fighting;