its progress imagining some letter which was to correspond with the initials of the "secret love."*

Haythorn, or white thorn, gathered now is an infallible safe-guard against witches, as we are told by that indefatigable discoverer of witchcraft, Reginald Scot. “And now to be delivered from witches themselves, they hang in their entries an hearbe called pentaphyllon, cinque-fole, also an olive branch, also frankincense, myrrh, valerian, verven, palm, antirchmon,‡ &c., also hay-thorne, otherwise called white-thorne,§ gathered on Maie-daie." Finally, in regard to this branch of our subject, a superstition remains to be noticed, peculiar, as I believe, to the Isle of Lewis, one of the Western Islands of Scotland. "The natives in the village of Barvas retain an ancient custom of sending a man very early to cross Barvas river, every first day of May, to prevent any females crossing it first; for that, they say, would hinder the salmon from coming into the river all the year round. They pretend to have learned this from a foreign sailor, who was shipwrecked

* Gay's Shepherd's Week, 4th Pastoral.

+ Discoverie of Witchcraft. By Reginald Scot, cap. xviii. p. 268. 4to. London, 1584.

Although the word is so printed in both editions, I have no doubt whatever of its being a typographical blunder, for antirrhinon, sometimes called anarrhinon,or lychnis agria, Anglicè the herb calves' snout, or snap-dragon; in French mufle de veau; and in Greek cynocephalion. Pliny describes it as having no root-he could have been no very correct observer—of a hyacinthine flower, and the seed like a calf's snout. Magicians, he adds, have a high opinion of this herb, deeming that whoever wears it about the arm is safe from all poison, and evil charms, while to be anointed with it renders the person beautiful. In the first of the two qualities attributed to it, we see the cause of the superstition recorded by Scot.

§ This by a typographical blunder is printed white-horne in the quarto of 1584, but it is corrected in the folio.

on that coast a long time ago. This observation they maintain o be true from experience.'

Had the fanatics endeavoured to cure the people of these and the like superstitious follies they might have done some good, and would certainly have deserved some credit. But in this respect they were to the full as blind as their neighbours, and all the overflowing of their gall, which was not a little, was directed solely to put down an amusement, which they considered, and with reason, as opposed to their own religious traffic; it is not till the mind becomes completely soured and weaned from every thing like pleasure that it is fitted to receive their gloomy tenets. Hence, the jealous hatred borne by the fanatics of all ages towards the popular sports and pastimes, from the time of Lactantius† to those of Stubbes, or of Thomas Hall, the pastor, as he calls himself, of King's Norton-it should have been Hog's Norton, for a verier swine never wallowed in the mire of bigotry. In his Funebria Flora, or the Downfall of May-games, f he brings twenty argu

* Martin's Description of Western Islands of Scotland, p. 7. 8vo. London, 1716.

Lactantius, who flourished at the end of the third, and the beginning of the fourth century, and therefore might have known better, adopted the idle legend of Flora having been a prostitute, and dogmatizes upon this subject with his usual bitterness, "Celebrantur," he says, "illi ludi cum omni lasciviâ, convenienter memoriæ meretricis, nam præter verborum licentiam, quibus obscænitas omnis effunditur, exuuntur etiam vestibus, populo flagitante, meretrices, quæ tunc mimarum funguntur officio, et in conspectu populi usque ad satietatem impudicorum luminum cum pudendis motibus detinentur." Lactantii Institutionum, lib. i.—De Falsa Religione.

As a father of the Church, Lactantius must have been both pious and modest; it follows as a matter of course; but without making any particular pretensions to either of these qualities, I should be ashamed to translate his modesty into English.

$ Quarto. London, 1660.

ments in the form of theses against poor Flora, with a brief dissertation upon each, and ends by trying her before a packed jury of his own Puritans, who as a matter of course bring her in guilty, when the parson, as judge, thus pronounces sentence: 'Flora, thou hast been indited by the name of Flora for bringing in abundance of misrule and disorder into church and state; thou hast been found guilty, and art condemned both by God and man, by scriptures, fathers, councils, by learned and pious divines, both old and new, and therefore I adjudge thee to perpetual banishment."*

There was perhaps no great harm in these impotent railings, and they at least show that the attempts of the parliament about eighteen years before to put down Maygames had not been able to root out this festival from the affections of the people.† In the words of Macbeth,

*Funebria Floræ, p. 30.

"And because," says this precious enactment, "the prophanation of the Lord's day hath been heretofore greatly occasioned by May-poles, (a heathenish vanity generally abused to superstition and wickedness) the Lords and Commons do further order and ordain that all and singular May-poles, that are or shall be erected, shall be taken down and removed by the constables, borsholders, tythingmen, petty constables and church wardens of the parishes,"-mercy on us! what an army to put down a poor May-pole !—" where the same be; and that no May-pole shall be hereafter set up, erected, or suffered to be within this kingdom of England or dominion of Wales.

"And it is further ordained that if any of the said officers shall neglect to do their office in the premises within one week after notice of this ordinance, every of them for such neglect shall forfeit five shillings of lawful moneys; and so from week to week, weekly five shillings, more afterwards 'till the said May-pole shall be removed." The act then goes on to denounce the King's declaration :

"And it is further ordained by the said Lords and Commons that the King's declaration concerning observing of wakes, and use of exercise and recreation upon the Lord's Day; the book intituled The King's Majesties Declaration to his subjects concerning lawfull

they had "scotched the snake, not killed it," and with the restoration of the Stuarts the May-pole was also restored. And yet the Parliament in the time of the great Civil War had been strenuous in their endeavours to put down amusements of every kind, and to make Sunday a day of mourning. They had forbidden travelling on the Sabbath under heavy fines, or the crying or selling of fruits and herbs, or even the dressing of meat at inns except in a moderate way, and had even set their veto upon the ringing of bells, so far as it could be considered an amusement. To crown all, parents and masters were made responsible for the strict conformity with this act sports to be used; and all other books and pamphlets that have been or shall be written, printed, or published, against the morality of the fourth commandment, or of the Lord's Day, or to countenance the prophanation thereof, be called in, seized, suppressed, and publiquely burnt by the justices of peace, &c. April 6, anno 1644."—A Collection of Acts and Ordinances by Henry Scobell, folio Lond. 1658, cap. xxxvii. p. 68.

This however is but a renewal of hostilities against the popular sports; in the year previous they had ordered that King Charles' "Booke of Sports" should be burnt by the common hangman as appears by the following broadside :

"Die Veneris 5o Maii 1643.

"It is this day ordered by the Lords and Commons in Parliament, that the Booke concerning the enjoyning and tollerating of Sports upon the Lord's Day be forthwith burned by the hand of the common hangman in Cheape-side and other usuall places. And to this purpose the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex respectively are hereby required to be assistants to the effectuall execution of this order, and see the said books burnt accordingly; and all persons who have any of the said oks in their houses are hereby required forthwith to deliver them to one of the Sheriffes of London to be burnt according to this order.

JOHN BROWNE, Cler. Parl.

HENRY ELSYNGE, Cler. P. D. Com. The Sheriffes of London and Middlesex have assigned Wednesday next the 10th of this instant May, at twelve of the clock, for the

of those under their control, provided they were not more than fourteen years old.*

putting in execution of the foresaid Ordinance, and therefore doe require all persons that have any of the Bookes therein mentioned to bring them in by that time, that they may be burned accordingly.

LONDON:

JOHN LANGHAM.

THOMAS ANDREWS.

Printed for Thomas Underhill in Great Wood-street, May 9th, 1643.” This rare broadside is to be found in the British Museum with the press-mark 669. f.7

12

I hardly know whether it is necessary to add that a borsholder mentioned in the first of these enactments is a tything-man—“ Tenne tythings," says Spenser, "make an hundred; and five make a lathe or wapentake; of which tenne each one was bound for another; and the eldest or best of them, whom they called the tythingman or borsolder, that is the eldest pledge, became surety for all the rest." "No person, or persons whatsoever shall publickly cry, shew forth, or expose to sale, any wares, merchandizes, fruit, herbs, goods or chattels whatsoever upon the Lord's Day. No person, or persons whatsoever shall, without reasonable cause for the same, travel, carry burthens, or do any worldly labours, or work whatsoever upon that day, or any part thereof.

*

"No person, or persons, shall hereafter upon the Lord's day use, exercise, keep, maintain, or be present at any Wrestlings, Shooting, Bowling, Ringing of Bells for Pleasure or Pastime, Masque, Wake, otherwise called Feasts, Church-ale, Dancing, Games, Sport or Pastime whatsoever.

"Nothing in this ordinance shall extend to the prohibiting of the dressing of meat in private families, or the dressing and sale of victuals in a moderate way in innes or victualling houses for the use of such as can not otherwise be provided for." April 6, 1644.-Scobell's Collection, cap. xxxvii. p. 69.

These saints moreover were pleased to allow milk to be cried before nine and after four from the 10th of September to the 10th of March; and before eight and after five from the 10th of March to the 10th of September.