Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/332

308 north of the Thames, and fourteen miles west of Oxford. It is even now two miles from the nearest railway station, and its isolated position, — for till recently no made road at all passed near it — has been very favourable to the survival of ancient custom. Up to within forty or fifty years ago, a party of children used to go round the town on May Day, dressed in white, with red, white and blue ribbons (these are now the colours of the club). A boy called the "Lord" carried a stick dressed with ribbons and flowers, which was called a "sword," and a collecting box for pence. Two girls, known as the "Lady" and her "Maid," carried on a stick between them the "garland," which was made of two hoops crossed, and covered with moss, flowers and ribbons. The "Lady" also carried a "mace," a square piece of board mounted horizontally on a short staff, on the top of which were sweet-smelling herbs under a muslin cover, decorated with red, white and blue ribbons and rosettes (pl. v., No. 3). The "Lord" and "Lady" were accompanied by a "Jack-in-the-Green." From time to time the "Lady" sang the following words : After the words "kiss my face," it was the "Lord's" duty to kiss the "Lady," and then to hand round his money box. The farmers and well-to-do people, so my informants say, used to give as many half-pence as possible, for the fun of seeing the "Lord" kiss the "Lady" after the giving of every half-penny. This custom has been almost discontinued on May Day for many years past, but is kept up, without the Jack-in-the-