Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 4.djvu/607

 io» s. iv. DEC. 23. iocs.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 501 LONDON. SATURDAY, DECEMBER IS. 1905. CONTENTS.-No. 1M. HOTBS :—Christmas Notes, 1390-1714, 601—The Christmas Bush, 502 — Bibliography of Cbrl«tmas, 503 — French Proverbial Phrases, 504—Waits — Christmas Pig's-Head Supper—Black Cat Folk-lore, 505—"An Irish Watch- man"—The Boar's Head — " Drinking" " : "Drinking Time"—"Jack Tar, have you heard of the news ? "—Sir James Pennethorne and 'The Saturday Review,' 508— Parliamentary Whips — " Infant Phenomenon " — John Penhallow—Twizzle-twigs—Rockefeller, 507. QUBRIBS:-'King Nutcracker'—Queen Elizabeth's Por- trait In Holyrood — Toby's Dog— Heraldic—Maidlow— "Passive Resister," 508—Authors of Quotations Wanted —"The Urianl"—"Laying": '• Terlug "—Campbells In the Strand—Timothy Buck—Mutton : Hepburn : Lldder- dale—Fulham Bridge—" Jan Kees "—Johnson's • Irene': Charles Goring — Chaloner : Thomas Melghen : the Fortunate Boy, 509 —London Newspapers—Dr. Cocksou— ••Theseare the Britons," 510. KEPLI8S:— Pig: Swine: Hog, 510 — " Sjambok ": It* Pronunciation — ' ZapHta's Questions' — Charles Lamb, 512-SpIittlng Fields of Ice—Detached Belfries—Authors of Quotations Wanted —'Hugh Trevor'—Horse-pew— •Arabian Nights,' 513—Suicides burled In the Open Fields—"The Screaming Skull," 514— Lincolnshire Death Folk-lore—Ilabi'ah. Son of Mukaddam—"That same"— Hyphens after Street Names, 515 — Welsh Puems — " Tholsels " — Ithamar—Duelling in Germany—Samuel Whitchurch, Poer—Sir Lawrence Dundas, 51*—Female Crucifixes—Sir William De Lancey—"Famous " Chelsea, 517—Antonio Canova iu England, 518. HOTES ON BOOKS:—Gift-Books of Messrs. Houtledge— 'Ancient Carols'—'Festive Songs for Christmas'—• Life and Death of Mr. Badman ' and ' The Holy War '—' The Story of King Lear'—Calendars. Notices to Correspondents. CHRISTMAS NOTES, 1390-1714. IK 1390 the Earl of Derby's party of Englishmen kept Christmas in Prussia. The •expenditure on wine, beer, candles, "farina frumenti" (for frumenty?), pig-meat, and other food, and on waferers,fiddlers, tumblers, harpers, heralds, and minstrels, and "pro lusu domini ad tales " and in money gifts, is set out in Camd. Soc., N.S. Hi. pp. 64, 65,109. The lord's ininistrels had a special gift because they came with their minstrelsy to his chamber early in the morning of the Cir- cumcision. In 1484 Adam Neleson, messenger and usher of the Duchy of Lancaster, was allowed ten shillings for his livery-gown "anenst the Test of Christmas" (North Hiding Record Soc., N.S. i. 115). In 1498 Sir Roger Hastings had a dispute with one Ralph Joyner (or Jenore), from whom he claimed some rent, and upon whose goods he had distrained. Joyner thought it prudent to keep out of the knight's way, but on Christmas Day he ventured to go to his parish church, at Ellerburn, near Pickering, "as belonged to a christen man to doo." Whereupon Sir Roger, with twenty retainers (his customary retinue), armed with " bowes, billes, arrowes, glaves, and other weponj," came into the churchyard, and would have entered into the church to slay him ; but Sir Robert Sawdane, priest, servant (i.e. chap- lain) to Sir Roger, and vicar of Ellerburn, kneeling upon his knees, stopped him, desiring him to suffer Joyner to be in his parish church, " insomuch as it was a solempne and a high day." Meantime Sir Rogers wife hurried into the church to warn Joyner, whereupon he went out at a back door and fled to Pickering, and besought the help of the Cholmleys, stewards of Pickering Forest. On St. Stephen's Day Roger Cholmley and some knights and gentlemen gathered a force of more than 200 armed persons, and came to Sir Roger Hastings's manor of Roxby, where he was at dinner with his friends, and threatened that if he did not come out to fight they would burn him in his house. The quaint details are given at length in N. Riding Rec. Soc., N.S. i. 136-96. Early in the reign of Elizabeth, before 1568, William Watson, parson of Levisham, had a cross-bow weighing 4 Hi., a long-bow, a cur-dog, and a grewe bitch, with which he went poaching in Pickering Forest, and " betwixte Christinmasse and Newyeares day last" he killed a fawn (ibid., 213). In 1586 it is recorded that the foresters had long been accustomed to supply loads of fire- wood to the householders of Lockton, to furnish them "with competent store of fyer duringe all the Christmas tyme." In return, the householders made a feast in one of their houses in turn, between Christmas and Shrovetide, for themselves and the foresters, each householder bringing a hen, so that " they altogether might be merry and make good chere^ (ibid., 224-5). In 1552, on the afternoon of Christmas Day, when the Lord Mayor and aldermen rode to St. Paul's, the 340 children of Christ's Hospital, boys and girls, all in livery, with the masters, physician, four surgeons, and matrons, stood in array from St. Laurence Lane in Cheap to the cathedral (Wriothes- ley's ' Chronicle,' ii. 80, where also is a note about the " lords of misrule "). At Christmas, 1640, 104 does and 5 hinds were sent from 21 royal parks to Whitehall for the use of his Majesty's house (Cox, ' Royal Forests,' 1905, p. 78). In 1644, 25 December was the day of the monthly fast, and the Houses of Parliament went to hear fast-sermons—the Lords in the Abbey, and the Commons in St. Margaret's. But in 1G57 things had changed : hardly &