Part 113
Sir,--On surveying the plays and pastimes of children, in these northern parts especially, it has often struck me with respect to some of them, that if traced up to their origin, they would be found to have been “political satires to ridicule such follies and corruptions of the times, as it was, perhaps, unsafe to do in any other manner.” In this conjecture I have lately been confirmed, by meeting with a curious paper, copied from another periodical work by a contributor to the old London Magazine, vol. for 1738, p. 59. It is an article which many would doubtless be glad to find in the _Table Book_, and nobody more so than myself, as it would be a capital accompaniment to my present remarks.
To come at once to the point; we have, or rather had, a few years ago, a game called the “bear and tenter,” (or bear and bear warden, as it would be called in the south,) which seems, certainly, to have been one of the sort alluded to. A boy is made to crawl as a bear upon his hands and knees, round whose neck is tied a rope which the keeper holds at a few yards’ distance. The bystanders then buffet the bear, who is protected only by his keeper, who, by touching any of the assailants, becomes liberated; the other is then the bear, and the buffeted bear becomes the keeper, and so on. If the “tenter” is sluggish or negligent in defence of his charge, it is then that the bear growls, and the blows are turned upon the guardian, wholly or partially, as the bearbaiters elect.
Now, my conjecture as to the origin of the game of “bear and tenter” is this.--Our English youths and their tutors, or companions, were formerly distinguished in foreign countries by the names of the bear and the bear leader, from the absurd custom of sending out the former, (a boisterous, ungovernable set,) and putting them under the care of persons unfit to accompany them. These bears were at first generally sprigs of royalty or nobility, as headstrong as need be; and the tutor was often some needy scholar, a Scotsman, or a courtier, who knew little more of the world than his pupil; but who, when he had put on his bag-wig and sword, was one of the most awkward and ridiculous figures imaginable. While these people were abroad, there can be no doubt that they were formerly the dupes and laughingstocks of those who dealt with them; and that, in exchange for the cash out of which they were cheated, they brought home a stock of exotic follies, sufficient to render them completely preposterous characters in the eyes of their own countrymen. Considering therefore how much good English gold was wasted and lost in these travels, how hurtful to the national pride the practice was, and how altered for the worse were both guardian and ward, it is not to be wondered at if the middling and lower classes of Englishmen were highly incensed or disgusted. But as complaints would, at least, be unavailing when such persons as “Baby Charles” and “Stenny” Buckingham were the “bear and tenter,” the people revenged themselves, as far as they dared, by the institution of this game, in which they displayed pretty well what hard knocks, ill treatment, derision, and scorn, awaited those who forsook their homes to wander in a land of strangers. And not only so, but they illustrated, at the same time, the contamination which ensued the touch of bad tutors, and the general character of the parties ridiculed.
I am well aware, Mr. Editor, that there was formerly a _pastime_ of buffeting the bear; but that, as I apprehend, was a very different sport from that of “bear and _tenter_,” and had not a political origin. That this had, I am well assured, from the game being kept up in these parts, where the Stuarts were ever almost universally execrated; where patriotism once shone forth in meridian splendour, and the finest soldiers that the world ever saw, were arranged under the banners of Cromwell, of Fairfax, or of Lambert.
I remain, yours respectfully,
N. S.
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GLANCES AT BOOKS ON MY TABLE.
THE HISTORY _and Antiquities of_ WESTON FAVELL, _in the County of Northampton_. _By_ JOHN COLE, _Editor of ‘Herveiana,’_ &c. SCARBOROUGH: _Printed_ (only 50 copies) _and published by John Cole; and Longman and Co. London_, 1827.--8vo. pp. 74.
According to Mr. Cole, Weston Favell is entered in Domesday book as “Westone,” and the addition of Favell was derived from a family of that name, who formerly possessed the manor. From each of three mansions standing there at the commencement of the last century, but not one of which remained at its close, the important equipage of a “coach and six” formerly issued to the admiration of the villagers. The church is dedicated to St. Peter, “and consists of a body, south porch, and chancel, with a coped tower at the west end, containing five bells.” Mr. C. remarks, on the authority of _tradition_, that the tower had once a spire to it, which was many years ago destroyed by lightning; and this observation induces him to cite, by way of note, that “_Tradition_ is a very poetical, a very pleasing personáge; we like to meet him in our travels, and always ask him a question. You will find him grey and blind, sitting among old ruins, and ‘Death standing, dim, behind.’”
Mr. Cole copies several monumental inscriptions within the church, chiefly in memory of the Hervey family, and one especially on his favourite, viz.:--
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF THE REV. JAMES HERVEY, A. M. LATE RECTOR OF THIS PARISH: THAT VERY PIOUS MAN AND MUCH ADMIRED AUTHOR! WHO DIED DEC. 25TH 1758 IN THE 45TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
Reader expect no more to make him known Vain the fond Elegy and figur’d Stone, A name more lasting shall his Writings give; There view displayed his heavenly Soul, and live.
Such are the lines on the tomb of the author of the “Meditations among the Tombs; Reflections on a Flower Garden; and Contemplations on the Night, and on the Starry Heavens.” He was buried under the middle of the communion-table in the chancel: when his body was conveyed to the church it was covered, according to his express desire, with the poor’s pall. He was the most popular rector of Weston Favell, of which living he was the patron and incumbent, as his father had been. Hervey was not born in that parish, but in the neighbouring one of Hardingston.
In this house (the representation of which is derived from Mr. Cole’s History of Weston Favell) the author of the “Meditations” first saw light. He was instructed by his mother in reading till the age of seven, and then sent to the free grammar-school at Northampton, where he remained till seventeen, at which age his father placed him at Lincoln college, Oxford, and there he resided seven years, and gained an exhibition of twenty pounds. In 1736 he returned to his father, who was then rector of Weston Favell, and became his curate. In May, 1737, he succeeded the celebrated George Whitefield in the curacy of Dummer, Hampshire, and in about a twelvemonth removed to Stoke Abbey, Devon, where he lived with his friend, Mr. Orchard, upwards of two years. In 1739 he accepted the curacy of Bideford, which he retained till his final settlement at Weston Favell, where he
To ampler plenitude and sweeter days Proceeded hourly.
It was in Hervey’s native parish, Hardingston, that the battle of Northampton was fought on the 10th of July, 1460, and king Henry VI. taken prisoner by the earl of Warwick: the duke of Buckingham, the earl of Shrewsbury, and other noblemen were killed: and many of the slain were buried in the convent of Delapre, and at St. John’s hospital, Northampton. In Hardingston parish is a military work, supposed to have been raised by the Danes, and therefore called the Danes’ camp.
The wake of Weston Favell is held on the next Sunday after St. Peter’s day. In the afternoon the rector preaches an appropriate sermon, the choristers prepare suitable psalms, and throngs of visitants from the neighbouring villages attend the service in the church. During the first three or four days of the feast-week there are dances at the inns, with games at bowls and quoits, and throughout the week there are dinner and tea-parties from the environs, whose meetings usually conclude with a ball. On St. Valentine’s day the village lads and lasses assemble, and go round with a wish of “Good morrow, morrow, Valentine!” to the principal inhabitants, who give money to the juvenile minstrels. On Shrove Tuesday, at noon, it is the custom to ring one of the church-bells, called the “Pancake bell;” its sound intimates a holiday and allowance of sport to the village youngsters. The fifth of November is jovially celebrated with a bonfire, which may be viewed throughout a circuit of many miles. Christmas is kept merrily, but the ancient usages of the season have passed away, except the singing by the church-choir, of whose carols Mr. Cole produces three, “which may serve,” he says, “as an addition to Mr. Gilbert’s collection.”
In this “history” there is an engraving of two “figures on bricks, near the pulpit:” the other engravings are from a former work by Mr. Cole, entitled “Herveiana,” (2 vols. foolscap 8vo. 1822,) wherein is collected a large number of particulars concerning Hervey from various sources. The latter work enumerates from Hervey’s “Theron and Aspasio,” the plants of the parish, and agreeably describes the common but beautiful plant, called Cuckoo-pint, or Wake Robin, which abounds under the hedge-rows. It is spoken of by its scientific name: “_Arum_--a wild herb, which unfolds but one leaf, formed after a very singular pattern, bearing some resemblance to the hare’s ear. It is really one of the prettiest fancies in Nature’s wardrobe, and is so much admired by the country-people, that they have dignified it with the appellation of lords and ladies; because it looks, I suppose, somewhat like a person of quality, sitting with an air of ease and dignity in his open sedan. In autumn, after both flowers have vanished, a spike of scarlet berries, on a simple stalk, is all that remains.”
On the first publication of Hervey’s “Meditations and Contemplations,” and for several years afterwards, they were highly popular, and are still greatly admired by young persons, and others who are delighted by a florid interjectional manner of writing. Hervey’s work occurs in Mr. Bohn’s “Catalogue of the Library of the late reverend and learned Samuel Parr, LL.D.” with the following remarkable note attached to the volume--“This book was the delight of Dr. Parr, when he was a boy; and, for some time, was the model on which he endeavoured to form a style.”
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ARUM--CUCKOO-PINT--STARCH-WORT.
Old John Gerard, who was some time gardener to Cecil lord Burleigh, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, says, in his “Herbal,” that “beares, after they have lien in their dens forty dayes without any manner of sustenance, but what they get with licking and sucking their owne feet, do, as soon as they come forth, eate the herbe Cuckoo-pint, through the windie nature whereof the hungry gut is opened, and made fit againe to receive sustenance.”
Gerard further tells, that “the most pure and white starch is made of the roots of Cuckow-pint; but is most hurtful to the hands of the laundresse that hath the handling of it, for it choppeth, blistereth, and maketh the hands rough and rugged, and withall smarting.” From this ancient domestic use of the _arum_, it was called “Starch-wort:” it bore other and homelier names, some of them displeasing to a modern ear.
Gerard likewise relates of the _arum_, medically, that after being sodden in two or three waters, whereby it may lose its acrimony, and fresh put to, being so eaten, it will cut thick and tough humours in the chest and lungs; “but, then, that Cuckow-pint is best that biteth most--but Dragon’s is better for the same purpose.”
I know not whether I have fallen in with the sort of _arum_ “that biteth _most_,” but, a summer or two ago, walking early in the afternoon through the green lanes to Willsden, and so to Harrow on the Hill, its scarlet granulations among the way-side browse and herbage, occasioned me to recollect the former importance of its root to the housewife, and from curiosity I dug up one to taste. The piece I bit off was scarcely the size of half a split pea, yet it gave out so much acrid milk, that, for more than an hour, my lips and tongue were inflamed and continued to burn, as if cauterized by hot iron; nor did the sensation wholly cease till after breakfast the next morning. Gerard says that, according to Dioscorides, “the root hath a peculiar virtue against the gout,” by way of cataplasm, blister-wise.
Hervey introduces the flower of the Cuckoo-pint as one of the beautiful products of the spring. “The hawthorn in every hedge is partly turgid with silken gems, partly diffused into a milk-white bloom. Not a straggling furze, nor a solitary thicket on the heath, but wears a rural nosegay. Even amidst that neglected dike the _arum_ rises in humble state: most curiously shrouded in her leafy tabernacle, and surrounded with luxuriant families, each distinguished by a peculiar livery of green.” I am almost persuaded that I have seen the fruited _arum_ among the ornaments of gothic architecture, surmounting pinnacles of delicate shrine-work.
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MEMORIALS OF JOHN KEATS.
_To the Editor._
Sir,--The anecdote of Keats, which appeared in a late number of your _Table Book_,[356] recalled his image to my “mind’s eye” as vividly, through the tear of regret, as the long-buried pictures on the walls of Pompeii appear when water is thrown over them; and I turned to reperuse the written record of my feelings, at hearing him spoken of a few months since. These lines I trouble you with, thinking they may gratify the feelings of some one of his friends, and trusting their homeliness may be pardoned for the sake of the feeling which dictated them.
I should also be glad of this opportunity to express the wishes of many of his admirers for a portrait of Keats. There are two in existence; one, a spirited profile sketch by Haydon; the other, a beautiful miniature by his friend Severn; but neither have been engraved. Mr. Severn’s return to England will probably produce some memorial of his “span of life,” and a more satisfactory account of his last moments than can be gleaned from report. The opportunity that would thus be afforded of giving to the world the posthumous remains of his genius, will, it is to be hoped, not be neglected. Such a volume would be incomplete without a portrait; which, if seen by the most prejudiced of his literary opponents, would turn the laugh of contempt into a look of thoughtful regret. Hoping my rhymes will not frustrate my wishes, I remain, sir,
Your obliged correspondent,
and humble servant,
GASTON.
_Sept. 13, 1827._
EXTEMPORANEOUS LINES, SUGGESTED BY SOME THOUGHTS AND RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN KEATS, THE POET.
Thy name, dear Keats, is not forgotten quite E’en in this dreary pause--Fame’s dark twilight-- The space betwixt death’s starry-vaulted sky, And the bright dawn of immortality. That time when tear and elegy lie cold Upon the barren tomb, and ere enrolled Thy name upon the list of honoured men, In the world’s volume writ with History’s lasting pen.
No! there are some who in their bosom’s haven Cherish thy mem’ry--on whose hearts are graven The living recollections of thy worth-- Thy frank sincerity, thine ardent mirth; That nobleness of spirit, so allied To those high qualities it quick descried In others’ natures, that by sympathies It knit with them in friendship’s strongest ties-- Th’ enthusiasm which thy soul pervaded-- The deep poetic feeling, which invaded The narrow channel of thy stream of life, And wrought therein consuming, inward strife.-- All these and other kindred excellencies Do those who knew thee dwell upon, and thence is Derived a cordial, fresh remembrance Of thee, as though thou wert but in a trance.
I, too, can think of thee, with friendship’s glow, Who but at distance only didst thee know; And oft thy gentle form flits past my sight In transient day dreams, and a tranquil light, Like that of warm Italian skies, comes o’er My sorrowing heart--I feel thou art no more-- Those mild, pure skies thou long’st to look upon, Till friends, in kindness, bade thee oft “Begone To that more genial clime, and breathe the air Of southern shores; thy wasted strength repair.” Then all the Patriot burst upon thy soul; Thy love of country made thee shun the goal (As thou prophetically felt ’twould be,) Of thy last pilgrimage. Thou cross’d the sea, Leaving thy heart and hopes in England here, And went as doth a corpse upon its bier!
Still do I see thee on the river’s strand Take thy last step upon thy native land-- Still feel the last kind pressure of thy hand. A calm dejection in thy youthful face, To which e’en sickness lent a tender grace-- A hectic bloom--the sacrificial flower, Which marks th’ approach of Death’s all-withering power.
Oft do my thoughts keep vigils at thy tomb Across the sea, beneath the walls of Rome; And even now a tear will find its way, Heralding pensive thoughts which thither stray.-- How must they mourn who _feel_ what I but _know_? What can assuage their poignancy of woe, If I, a stranger, (save that I had been Where thou wast, and thy gentleness had seen,) Now feel mild sorrow and a welcome sadness As then I felt, whene’er I saw thee, gladness?-- Mine was a friendship all upon one side; Thou knewest me by name and nought beside. In humble station, I but shar’d the smile Of which some trivial thought might thee beguile! Happy in that--proud but to hear thy voice Accost me: inwardly did I rejoice To gain a word from thee, and if a thought Stray’d into utterance, quick the words I caught. I laid in wait to catch a glimpse of thee, And plann’d where’er thou wert that I might be. I look’d on thee as a superior being, Whom I felt sweet content in merely seeing: With thy fine qualities I stor’d my mind; And now thou’rt gone, their mem’ry stays behind. Mixt admiration fills my heart, nor can I tell which most to love--the Poet or the Man.
GASTON.
_November, 1826._
[356] Col. 249.
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FUNERALS IN CUMBERLAND.
_To the Editor._
Sir,--It is usual at the funeral of a person, especially of a householder, to invite persons to attend the ceremony; and in Carlisle, for instance, this is done on the day of interment by the bellman, who, in a solemn and subdued tone of voice, announces, that “all friends and neighbours of ----, deceased, are requested to take notice, that the body will be lifted at ---- o’clock, to be interred at ---- church.” On this occasion the relatives and persons, invited by note, repair to the dwelling of the deceased, where they usually partake of a cold collation, with wine, &c.; and at the outside of the door a table is set out, bountifully replenished with bread and cheese, ale and spirits, when “all friends and neighbours” partake as they think proper. When the preparations for moving are completed, the procession is accompanied by those persons who are disposed to pay their last mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. This custom, it has been remarked, gives an opportunity for “that indulgence which ought to belong to the marriage feast, and that it is a practice savouring of the gothic and barbarous manners of our unpolished ancestors.” With deference to the writer’s opinion, I would say that the custom is worthy of imitation, and that the assembling together of persons who have only this opportunity of expressing their respect for the memory of the deceased, cannot fail to engage the mind to useful reflections, and is a great contrast to the heartless mode of conducting interments in many other places, where the attendants frequently do not exceed half a dozen.
The procession used often to be preceded by the parish clerk and singers, who sang a portion of the Psalms until they arrived at the church. This part of the ceremony is now, I understand, seldom performed.
I am,
Yours, &c.
W. C.
_Newcastle upon Tyne,_
_August, 1827._
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BIDDEN WEDDINGS
IN CUMBERLAND.
Sir,--It was a prevalent custom to have “_bidden_ weddings” when a couple of respectability and of slender means were on the eve of marriage; in this case they gave publicity to their intentions through the medium of the “_Cumberland_ Pacquet,” a paper published at Whitehaven, and which about twenty-nine years ago was the only newspaper printed in the county. The editor, Mr. John Ware, used to set off the invitation in a novel and amusing manner, which never failed to ensure a large meeting, and frequently the contributions made on the occasion, by the visitors, were of so much importance to the new married couple, that by care and industry they were enabled to make so good “_a fend as niver to look ahint them_.”[357]
A long absence from the county precludes me from stating whether this “good old custom” continues to be practised: perhaps some of your readers will favour you with additional information on this subject, and if they would also describe any other customs peculiar to this county, it would to me, at least, be acceptable.
The following is a copy of an advertisement, as it appeared in the Cumberland Pacquet in a number for June, 1803:--
A PUBLIC BRIDAL.
JONATHAN and GRACE MUSGRAVE purpose having a PUBLIC BRIDAL, at Low Lorton Bridge End, near Cockermouth, on THURSDAY, the 16th of June, 1803; when they will be glad to see their Friends, and all who may please to favour them with their Company;--for whose Amusement there will be various RACES, for Prizes of different Kinds; and amongst others, a Saddle, and Bridle; and a Silver-tipt Hunting Horn, for Hounds to run for.--There will also be Leaping, Wrestling, &c. &c.
☞ Commodious ROOMS are likewise engaged for DANCING PARTIES, in the Evening.
Come, haste to the BRIDAL!--to Joys we invite You, Which, help’d by the Season, to please You can’t fail: But should LOVE, MIRTH, and SPRING strive in vain to delight You, You’ve still the _mild_ Comforts of LORTON’S sweet VALE.
And where does the GODDESS more charmingly revel? Where, ZEPHYR dispense a more health-chearing Gale, Than where the pure _Cocker_, meandring the Level, Adorns the calm Prospects of LORTON’S sweet VALE?
To the BRIDAL then come;--taste the Sweets of our Valley; Your Visit, _good Cheer_ and _kind Welcome_ shall hail. Round the _Standard_ of Old ENGLISH CUSTOM, we’ll rally,-- And be blest in _Love_, _Friendship_, and LORTON’S sweet VALE.
With this, the conclusion of the “bridal bidding,” I conclude, Sir,
Your constant reader,
W. C.
_Newcastle upon Tyne,_
_August, 1827._
[357] An endeavour as to render any additional assistance unnecessary.
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~Discoveries~
OF THE
ANCIENTS AND MODERNS.
No. VIII.
THE MILKY WAY.