Page:Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders.djvu/91

Rh Little Foxey steps forward and follows the squire’s son, and the clown sings:

The King of Sicily steps forward and follows Little Foxey, and the clown sings:

The pitman follows the rest, and the clown sings again:

The five men then commence dancing round, with their swords all raised to the centre of the ring, till the first clown orders them to tie the points of their swords in “the knot.” When this is done, and the five swords are knotted, the knot is held upright by one of the dancers, whom they call Alexander, or Alick. Alick then takes the sword from the knot, and, retaining it, gives the second dancer his sword; then the second dancer gives the third dancer his sword, the third dancer gives it to the fourth, and the fourth to the fifth.

The first clown, called the Tommy, is dressed in a chintz dress with a belt, a fox’s head for a cap, and the skin hanging below his shoulders.

The second clown, called the Bessy, wears a woman’s gown, which of late years has been well crinolined, and a beaver hat.