tin (ie., smelted tin) was first made in Cornwall; hence its name, Chewidder or White Thursday. (Notes and Queries.) Fishermen are somewhat superstitious folk, and love to preserve their ancient customs. The seamen of Burghead, Elgin, on Yule night meet at the west end of the town, carrying an old barrel, which they proceed to saw in two. The lower half is then nailed to a long spoke of firewood, which serves as a handle. The half barrel is then filled with dry wood saturated with tar, and built up like a pyramid, leaving a hollow to receive a burning peat. Should the bearer stumble or fall, the consequences would be unlucky to the town and to himself. The Claire is thrown down the western side of the hill, and a scramble ensues for the burning brands, which bring good luck, and are carried home and carefully preserved till the following year as a safeguard against all manner of ills. The Claire used to be carried round all the ships in the harbour, but this part of the custom has now been discontinued. (Folk-Lore.) Before the days of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, boys were accustomed in many places, notably Essex, Ireland, and the Isle of Man, to kill wrens, and carry them about on furze bushes from house to house, repeating the words "The wren, the wren, the king of the birds, The origin of the cruel custom is curious. There is a Norse legend of a beautiful siren who bewitched men and lured them into the sea, after the fashion of the Lurlie of Rhineland fame. A charm was obtained to counteract her evil influence and capture the siren, who contrived to escape by assuming the form of a wren. Once every year, presumably on St. Stephen's Day, she was compelled by a powerful spell to appear in the guise of the bird, and ultimately to be slaughtered by mortal hand. Hence poor wrens are killed in the hope of effecting the destruction of the beautiful siren. The feathers of the birds. are plucked and preserved as a prevention from death by shipwreck, and formerly its body was placed in a bier, and buried with much solemnity in a grave in the churchyard, while dirges were sung over its last resting-place. Few wrens are stoned now, and I imagined that the custom had happily died out. However, in the Isle of Man I find that it still lingers, and the "hunting of the wren is solemnised to a large extent. Numerous "bushes' are borne about by groups of lads chanting a monotonous ditty. They adorn the "bushes" with much taste, but a large number are usually minus the wren itself. The bush consists of two hoops crossed, with a wren suspended by the legs in the centre. The usual rhyme is "We hunted the wren for Robin the Bobbin ; The boys collect money, and present a feather of the bird to each donor, which is supposed to avert the danger of shipwreck. Afterwards the bird is buried on the seashore (formerly in the churchyard) with much solemnity, and dirges in Manx language are sung over it. (Folk-Lore and Notes and Queries.) A wren-box was sold at Christie's a few years ago, which used to be carried in procession in some parts of Wales on St. Stephen's Day. It is about seven inches square, and has a glass window at one end. Into this box a wren was placed, and it was hoisted on two long poles, and carried round the town by four strong men, who affected to find the burden heavy. Stopping at intervals, they sang— "O where are you going?' says milder to melder; 'Owhere are you going?' says the younger to the elder. 'O I cannot tell,' says Festel to Fose; 'We're going to the woods,' said John the Red Nose. We're going, &c. 'O what will you do there?' says milder to melder; 'O what will you do there?' says the younger to the elder. 'O I do not know,' says Festel to Fose; 'To shoot the cutty wren,' says John the Red Nose. To shoot, &c.” And so on for eight more verses, taking the form of question and answer, as in the ballad of "Cock Robin," and describing the method of shooting the wren, cutting it up, and finally boiling it. Fanciful interpreters have seen in the stoning of the wren a connection with the stoning of St. Stephen, whose martyrdom occurred on the day of the observance of this barbarous custom. Another legend is that one of St. Stephen's guards was awakened by a bird just as his prisoner was about to escape. In Worcestershire St. Stephen's Day is a great occasion for pigeon-shooting. Possibly this may have arisen from the oldworld custom of hunting the wren. In the North of England children are still regaled with Yule "doos," which are flat cakes, from six to twelve inches long, roughly cut into the shape of a human figure, raisins being inserted for the eyes and nose. The name is probably derived from dough, and the shape was doubtless originally intended. to represent the Infant Saviour with the Virgin Mary. In Cornwall, too, they have a peculiar cake, a small portion of the dough in the centre of each top being pulled up; and this small headpiece to the cake is called "The Christmas." The cakes are given away to poor people, and each member of the family has his own special cake. The whole subject of local cakes, feasten and customary, is full of interest; and at a recent Folk-lore Congress, Mrs. Gomme exhibited a large collection gathered from different parts of Great Britain. There are cakes peculiar to certain towns and villages; cakes commemorative of special events; cakes connected with harvest, sowing, births, marriages, funerals, and the great Church festivals, and others. It is surprising to learn the amazing number of peculiar forms which local custom has sanctioned and ordained, and the old Yule "doos" were not the least interesting of this remarkable. collection. Children of both "larger and smaller growth" still look forward to the Christmas Pantomime, which, in spite of modern developments, maintains its popularity, especially in the provinces. Pantomimes have entirely changed their character since they were first introduced into this country by a dancing - master_of_Shrewsbury, named Weaver, in 1702. The humours of Grimaldi and his successors, the merry tricks of the |