In May 29th, the birthday of Charles II., and the day of his public entry into London after the Restoration, is duly honoured by young people in many parts of the country. Wilts it is known as Shitsack or Shick-shack Day,' when the children carry shitsack, or sprigs of young oak, in the morning, and powder-monkey or even-ash (ash leaves with an equal number of leaflets) in the afternoon. Those who wear these emblems of loyalty have the privilege of pinching or otherwise ill-treating those who do not don the oakleaf. The adoption of this leaf is, of course, intended to commemorate the escape of the King when he hid himself in the famous oak at Boscobel after the battle of Worcester. At Edlesborough, Buckinghamshire, it has always been the custom to attach an oakbough to the flag-staff on the church-tower on "Oak Apple Day," and we remember to have seen a similar practice in Cheshire. The day is called “Oak and Nettle Day" in Nottinghamshire, where the boys arm themselves with oaken sprigs and bunches of nettles. All who cannot "show their oak,' and thus testify to their loyalty, are punished by being struck with the nettles on their hands and face. Rotten eggs used to be instruments of punishment about twenty years ago. 1 Also in Berks. Royal Oak Day is loyally observed at Northampton, which has a grateful remembrance of several generous acts of the Stuart king. A great fire nearly destroyed the town in 1675, and Charles II. gave the citizens a thousand tons of timber out of Whittlewood Forest to enable them to rebuild their houses, and also remitted the duty of chimneymoney for seven years. Hence his memory is duly honoured. The corporation attend All Saints' Church on May 29th, and march thither in procession, followed by all the school-children in the town, the boys having gilt oak-apples in their caps. The statue of the king, near the church, is also decorated with oaken boughs on this day, and many of the houses are similarly adorned. Northampton is evidently very loyal, and does not forget kindness. A very strange custom prevails on this day at Wishford and Barford, near Salisbury. The inhabitants of these villages have certain rights in Grovely woods. These rights are kept up by a meeting on "Oak Apple Day," when boughs are gathered and carried in procession, and the cry is "Grovely! Grovely! Grovely!" It is still the custom for the Durham Cathedral choir to ascend the tower of the cathedral on May 29, and sing three anthems from the three sides of it. This custom is as old as the battle of Neville's Cross, which Queen Philippa fought with David I. of Scotland in the year 1346, when the monks chanted masses from the summit of the tower on behalf of the Queen. Tradition states that a choir boy once overbalanced himself and fell from the tower, and was killed. Hence the choir only sing their anthems on the three sides. CHAPTER VII Club feasts at Whitsuntide-Bampton, Oxon— Morris-dancers-Irish "death ride"-Wakes in Lancashire and Yorks-Rush-bearing at Oldham, Ambleside, Grasmere-Hay strewing at Braunston, Leicester-Horn dance at Abbot Bromley"Flower sermon"-Cornish "feasten" Sunday. WHITSUNTIDE is the great season for the old club feasts. From an economic point of view, no one who has the welfare of the people at heart will regret the decline of the old village benefit clubs. They were nearly all rotten; they were conducted on the most unsound systems of financial organisation; they usually failed to benefit the members when aid was most needed; and their place is well supplied by the admirably conducted benefit societies, the Oddfellows, Foresters, and other sound benefit clubs. But the student of the manners and customs of our race regrets the disappearance of many of our village clubs, because it has entailed the destruction of many old customs associated with the annual club feast, which were not without their special interest and importance. Those that have survived the lapse of time are here recorded. At Bampton, Oxon, in order to celebrate the club feast, which is held on Whit-Monday, a procession goes round the town; it is made up as follows: 1. A drum-and-piper, or, as he is more commonly called, "whittle-and-dub" man (the term pipe-and-tabour was in use within living memory); the music is now, however, played by a fiddler. 2. Eight morris-dancers, dressed in finelypleated white shirts, white moleskin trousers, and top-hats decorated with red, white, and blue ribbons. Only six dance at a time, two standing out to relieve the others. They dance to certain well-known tunes (a list of which is given), and sing while they dance. 3. A clown called the "Squire," who carries a staff with a calf's tail at one end and a bladder at the other, with which he belabours the bystanders. He also carries a money-box, known as the "treasury," which in this case is a wood box with a slit in the lid. The 4. A "sword-bearer," who carries a cake in a round tin impaled on a sword. cake is a rich pound-cake, and is provided by some lady in the town. The tin has its rim cut into zig-zags, and has a slit in the bottom to admit the sword-blade. Both cake and sword are decorated with ribbons. |