We have used the present tense in the foregoing references, but it is in
the past tense that we read in Chambers's "Book of Days," that, "In the
North of England, the reapers were accustomed to leave a good handful of
grain uncut; they laid it down flat, and covered it over; when the field
was done, the bonniest lass was entrusted with the pleasing duty of
cutting the final handful, which was presently dressed up with various
sewings, tyings, and trimmings like a doll, and hailed as a Corn Baby or
Kirn Dolly. It was carried home in triumph with music of fiddles and
bagpipes, set up conspicuously at night during supper, and usually
preserved in the farmer's parlour for the remainder of the year. The fair
maiden who cut this handful of grain was called the Har'st Queen." A
similar custom prevailed, with local variations, in Shropshire,
Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Devonshire, and other parts of England. In
Lincolnshire, and some other counties, handbells were rung by those riding
on the last load, and the following rhyme sung:--
"The boughs do shake and the bells do ring,
So merrily comes in our harvest in,
Our harvest in, our harvest in!
Hurrah!"
Writers on local customs formerly observed in different parts of the
country, have preserved the memory of a curious one connected with the
last handful of wheat. In some parts the reapers threw their sickles at
the reserved handful, and he who succeeded in cutting it down shouted, "I
have her!" "What have you?" the others cried out. "A mare!" he replied.
"What will you do with her?" was then asked. "Send her to ----," naming
some neighbouring farmer whose harvest work was not completed. This rustic
pleasantry was called "crying the mare." The rejoicings attendant on the
bringing in of the last load of corn are thus described in the "Book of
Days":--"The waggon containing it was called the hock cart; it was
surmounted by a figure formed out of a sheaf, with gay dressings,
intended to represent the goddess Ceres. In front men played merry tunes
on the pipe and tabor, and the reapers tripped around in a hand-in-hand
ring, singing appropriate songs, or simply by shouts and cries giving vent
to the excitement of the day. In some districts they sang or shouted as
follows:--
"Harvest home, harvest home!
We ploughed, we have sowed,
We have reaped, we have moved,
We have brought home every load.
Hip, hip, hip, harvest home!"
In some parts the figure on the waggon, instead of an effigy, was the
prettiest of the girl-reapers, decked with summer flowers, and hailed as
the Harvest Queen. Bloomfield, in one of his Suffolk ballads, thus
preserves the memory of this custom:--
"Home came the jovial Hockey load,
Last of the whole year's crop;
And Grace among the green boughs rode,
Right plump upon the top."
These and many other harvest-home customs undoubtedly had their origin in
heathen times, in common with those associated with the New Year, the
Epiphany, May Day, and many other festivals.
Not the least important part of the harvest home observances was the
supper which closed them, and which took place in the kitchen of the
farmhouse or in the barn, the master and mistress presiding. The fare on
these occasions was substantial and plentiful, and good home-brewed ale
was poured out abundantly--we are afraid too much so. The harvest home
supper of the sixteenth century, as graphically portrayed by Herrick,
included:--
"Foundation of your feast, fat beef,
With upper stories, mutton, veal,
And bacon, which makes full the meal;
With several dishes standing by,
As here a custard, there a pie,
And here all-tempting frumentie.
And for to make the merry cheer,
If smirking wine be wanting here,
There's that which drowns all care, stout beer."
Instead of a formal vote of thanks to the givers of the feast, the
prevailing feeling was expressed in a song, one version of which runs as
follows:--
"Here's health to our master,
The load of the feast;
God bless his endeavours,
And send him increase.
May prosper his crops, boys,
And we reap next year;
Here's our master's good health, boys,
Come, drink off your beer!
Now harvest is ended,
And supper is past;
Here's to our mistress's health, boys,
Come, drink a full glass.
For she's a good woman,
Provides us good cheer;
Here's our mistress's good health, boys.
Come, drink off your beer!"
Over the greater part of England a harvest-thanksgivings service has, at
the present day, taken the place of the festive observances of former
times. It would be useless to regret the passing away of the old customs,
even if there was much more reason for such a feeling; for change is an
inevitable condition of existence, and we can no more recall the old
things which have passed away than we can replace last year's snow on the
wolds. Even the harvest-thanksgiving service, with its accompanying cereal
and horticultural decorations of church and chapel, seems destined to a
change. The decorations are too often overdone. We have seen in some
churches piles of fruit and vegetables that would furnish a shop, in
addition to sheaves of corn and stacks of quartern loaves. In some
instances, a more deplorable display has been made in the shape of a
model of a farmyard, thus turning the place of worship into a show.
Sometimes, too, the sermon has no reference to the harvest. Sometimes,
again, the service is held before the harvest has been gathered in; or
thanks are offered for an abundant harvest when it has notoriously been
deficient. Perhaps the need of a collection at this particular time may
account for these discrepancies. Such mistakes are easily avoided,
however, and no fault can reasonably be found with these celebrations when
religious zeal is kept within the bounds of discretion.
Curious Charities.
We obtain some interesting side-lights on the condition of the people in
the past from old-time charities. Several of the prison charities founded
in bygone times are extremely quaint and full of historic interest. One
Frances Thornhill appears to have had a desire to make the prison beds
comfortable. She left the sum of L30 for the Corporation of the city of
York to provide straw for the beds of the prisoners confined in York
Castle. The local authorities in these later years appear to have received
the interest on the capital without carrying out the conditions of the
charity.
Bequests of fuel suggest to the mind the time when persons not only
suffered from imprisonment but also from cold. At Bury St. Edmund's, L10
was left by Margaret Odiam for a minister to say mass to the inmates of
the jail, and for providing faggots to warm the long ward in which the
poor prisoners were lodged. In 1787, Elizabeth Dean, of Reading, left L156
17s. 5d., the interest of which she directed to be spent in buying
firewood for the county jail.
At Norwich, a worthy man named John Norris left Consols to the value of
L300 for buying beef and books for the felons confined in the jail. The
prison food is now regulated by law and the charity beef is banished, but
we believe the interest is spent in supplying the prisoners with
literature. Even as late as 1821, John Hall left Consols to the value of
L127 16s. for providing a Christmas dinner of the good old English fare of
roast beef and plum pudding for the criminals in the Northampton county
prison. In 1556, Thomas Cattell left a rent charge of L35 a year for
buying beef and oatmeal for the poor prisoners of Newgate and other London
prisons.
A singular bequest was made in the year 1556, by Griffith Ameridith, of
Exeter, and it amounted to L524 4s. 11d. in Consols, "for providing
shrouds for prisoners executed at Kingswell, and for the maintenance of a
wall round the burial ground." "But," says a writer on this theme,
"probably for want of subjects for shrouds, the income is now, without any
authority, applied to a distribution of serge petticoats to old women."
One advantage of the change is that the new recipients can at least
express their gratitude. In the olden time it was by no means an uncommon
practice for criminals about to be executed to proceed to the gallows in
shrouds. On July 30th, 1766, two men were hanged at Nottingham for
robbery. "On the morning of their execution," says a local record, "they
were taken to St. Mary's Church, where they heard 'the condemned sermon,'
and then to their graves, in which they were permitted to lie down to see
if they would fit. They walked to the place of execution in their
shrouds." At an execution in the same town in 1784, we read in a local
newspaper report that the unfortunate men were attired in their shrouds.
To add to the impressiveness of the condemned sermon, the coffins in which
the condemned criminals were to be buried, were exhibited during the
service.
Charities and collections in churches were formerly very common in this
country for freeing British subjects from slavery in foreign lands. In
1655, Alicia, Duchess of Dudley, by a deed poll, directed L100 per annum
to be drawn from the rents of certain lands situated in the parish of
Bidford, Warwickshire, for redeeming poor English Christian slaves or
captives from the Turks. Thomas Betson, of Hoxton Square, London, by will
dated 15th February, 1723, left a considerable fortune for the redemption
of British slaves in Turkey and Barbary. He died in 1725, and five years
later the property was estimated to be worth about L22,000, and the
interest on half the amount was to be devoted to ransoming his countrymen
from slavery. In the year 1734, it is stated that 135 men were freed by
this charity. Between the years 1734 and 1826, the large sum of L21,088
8s. 2-1/2d. was expended in the admirable cause of freeing the captive.
Many of the old church books contain entries respecting collections for
this object. In the books of Holy Cross, Westgate, Canterbury, is a long
list of the names of persons in the parish in March, 1670, contributing
L02 07s. 04d., for "Redeeming the Captives in Turkye."
Sir John Gayer, was in his time a leading London merchant, an Alderman for
the ward of Aldgate, and a popular Lord Mayor. He lived in the reigns of
James I. and Charles I., and was a man of great enterprise, ready to
encounter perils in foreign lands to forward his commercial projects. On
one memorable occasion he was travelling with a caravan of merchants
across the desert of Arabia, and by some accidental means managed to
separate himself from his friends, and at night-fall was alone. His
position was one of great peril: he heard the roaring of wild animals, but
failed to find any place of refuge. We gather from the story of his life
that:--"He knelt down and prayed fervently, and devoutly promised, that if
God would rescue him from his impending danger the whole produce of his
merchandise should be given as an offering in benefactions to the poor, on
his return to his native country. At this extremity a lion of an unusually
large size was approaching him. Death appeared inevitable, but the prayer
of the good man had ascended to heaven, and he was delivered. The lion
came up close to him. After prowling round him, smelling him, bristling
his shaggy hair, and eyeing him fiercely, he stopped short, turned round,
and trotted quietly away, without doing the slightest injury. It is said
that Sir John Gayer remained in the same suppliant posture till the
morning dawned, when he pursued his journey, and happily came up with his
friends, who had given up all hope of again seeing him." The journey was
concluded without further misadventure, a ready market found for the
goods, and old England reached in safety with increased wealth. Sir John
did not forget his vow, and many were the deeds of charity he performed,
more especially to the poor of his own parish of St. Katharine Cree. One
of bequests amounting to L200 was left to the needy of that parish on
condition that a "sermon should be occasionally preached in the church to
commemorate his deliverance from the jaws of the lion." The sermon is
known as the "Lion Sermon."
In the church of St. Katharine Cree within the altar rails is a carved
head of Gayer. On the right hand side is a text, as follows:--"The eyes of
the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their
prayers--Ps. 34, v. 15;" on the left hand side this text appears:--"The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much--James V.,
xvi.;" and under the figure this motto:--"Super Astra Spero." There is a
brass bearing the following inscription:--
In Memory of
SIR JOHN GAYER, KNT.,
Founder of the "Lion Sermon" who was descended from
the Old West Country Family of Gayer,
and was born at Plymouth,
and became Sheriff of this City of London in 1635,
and Lord Mayor of London in 1647.
He was a member of the Levant or Turkey Company, and of the Worshipful
Company of Fishmongers, London, and President of Christ's Hospital,
London, and a liberal donor to and pious founder of Charities.
This City has especial reason to be proud of him, for rather than
withdraw his unflinching assertion of the Native Liberties of the
Citizens, and his steadfast support of King Charles I., he submitted
to imprisonment in the Tower at the hands of the Parliament in 1647
and 1648, and his "Salva Libertate" became historical.
He resided in this Parish, and "Dyed in peace in his owne house" on
the 20th of July 1649, and he now lies buried in a Vault beneath this
Church of St. Katharine Cree, Leadenhall St.
This Memorial Brass was subscribed for by Members of and Descendants
from the Family of Gayer, and was placed here by them in testimony of
their admiration for and appreciation of the noble character and many
virtues of their illustrious ancestor.
The work of organising this Memorial was carried out by
Edmund Richard Gayer, M.A. of Lincoln's Inn, Esq., Barrister at Law,
1888.
There are a number of ancient bequests for ringing bells and lighting
beacons to guide travellers by night. These were very useful charities,
for in the days of old, lands were generally unenclosed, and the roads
poorly constructed. It was difficult for the wayfarer to find his way when
the nights were dark. At the ancient village of Hessle, near Hull, a bell
is still rung every night except Sunday, at 7 o'clock. Long, long ago, so
runs the local story, a lady was lost on a dark night near the place, and
was in sore distress, fearing that she would have to wander about in the
cold until daylight. Happily, the ringing of the Hessle bells enabled her
to direct her course to the village in safety, although she had to wend
her weary steps over a trackless country. In gratitude for her delivery
she left a piece of land to the parish clerk, on condition that he rang
every evening one of the church bells.
A similar story is related respecting a Barton-on-Humber bell ringing
custom. Richard Palmer left in 1664 a bequest to the sexton of Workingham,
Berkshire, for ringing a bell every evening at eight, and every morning at
four o'clock. One reason for ringing this, was "that strangers and others
who should happen, on winter nights, within hearing of the ringing of the
said bell, to lose their way in the country, might be informed of the time
of the night, and receive some guidance into the right way."
John Wardall, in his will dated 29th August, 1656, provided for a payment
of L4 per annum being made to the Churchwardens of St. Botolph's,
Billingsgate, London, "to provide a good and sufficient iron and glass
lanthorn, with a candle, for the direction of passengers to go with more
security to and from the water-side, all night long, to be fixed at the
north-east corner of the parish church, from the feast-day of St.
Bartholomew to Lady-Day; out of which sum L1 was to be paid to the sexton
for taking care of the lanthorn." In 1662 a man named John Cooke made a
similar bequest for providing a lamp at the corner of St. Michael's Lane,
next Thames Street.
In past ages churches were frequently unpaved and the floor usually
covered with rushes. Not a few persons have left money and land for
providing rushes for churches. In these latter days rushes are no longer
strewn on the floor for keeping the feet warm in cold weather, but at a
number of places old rights are maintained by the carrying out of the
custom. At Clee, Lincolnshire, for example, the parish officials possess
the right of cutting rushes from a certain piece of land for strewing the
floor of the church every Trinity Sunday. The churchwardens preserve their
rights by cutting a small quantity of grass annually and strewing it on
the church floor. At Old Weston, Huntingdonshire, a similar custom still
lingers. "A piece of land," says Edwards in his "Remarkable Charities,"
"belongs, by custom, to the parish clerk for the time being, subject to
the condition of the land being mown immediately before Weston feast,
which occurs in July, and the cutting thereof strewed on the church floor,
previous to divine service on the feast Sunday, and continuing there
during divine service." At Pavenham, Bedfordshire, the church is annually
strewn with grass cut from a certain field, on the first Sunday after the
11th July. "Until recently," says a well-informed correspondent, "the
custom was for the churchwardens to claim the right of removing from the
field in question as much grass as they could 'cut and cart away from
sunrise to sunset.' A few years ago this arrangement was altered into a
yearly payment on the part of the tenant of the field of one guinea." The
money is spent in purchasing grass for spreading on the church floor. The
parishioners have always taken a deep interest in this old custom. On the
benefaction table of Deptford Church is recorded that "a person unknown
gave half-a-quarter of wheat, to be given in bread on Good Friday, and
half a load of rushes at Whitsuntide, and a load of pea-straw at
Christmas yearly, for the use of the church." In 1721, an offer of 21s.
per annum was accepted in lieu of the straw and rushes, and in 1744, the
sum of 10s. yearly in place of the half-quarter of wheat.
John Rudge, by his will dated 17th April, 1725, left a pound a year to a
poor man to go round the parish church of Trysull, Staffordshire, during
the delivery of the sermon, to keep people awake and drive out of the
church any dogs which might come in. Richard Brooke left 5s. a year for a
person to keep quiet during divine service the boys in the Wolverhampton
church and churchyard.
At Stockton-in-the-Forest, Yorkshire, is a piece of land called "Petticoat
Hole," and it is held on the condition of providing a poor woman of the
place every year with a new petticoat.
We will close this chapter with particulars of a novel mode of
distributing a charity. At Bulkeley, Cheshire, a charity of 19s. 2d. was
given to the poor as follows. The overseer obtained the amount in coppers,
placed them in a peck measure, and invited each of the poor folks to help
himself or herself to a handful.
An Old-Time Chronicler.
We have frequently referred to the writings of John Stow in this work, and
we think a short account of his life and labours will prove interesting to
our readers.
From the ranks of tailors have sprung many famous men. Not one more
worthy, perhaps, than honest John Stow, the painstaking compiler of works
which have found a lasting place in historic literature.
Stow was a Londoner of Londoners, born in 1525, in the parish of St.
Michael, Cornhill. His father and grandfather were citizens, and appear to
have been most worthy men. John Stow was trained under his father to the
trade of a tailor. At an early age he took an interest in the study of
history and antiquities, and, as years ran their course, his love of
research increased. We have had handed down to us from the pen of Edmund
Howes, his literary executor, a well-drawn word-portrait of Stow. We learn
that he was tall in stature, and, as befits the ideal student, lean in
body and face. His eyes were small and clear, and his sight excellent. As
might be expected, through long and active use, his memory was very good.
He was sober, mild, and corteous, and ever ready to impart information to
those that sought it.
He lived in an historically attractive age. It was a period when some of
our greatest countrymen worked and talked amongst men. Gifted authors made
the time glorious in our literary annals. Stow's fame mainly rests on
being an exact and picturesque describer of the London of Queen Elizabeth.
His _Survey_ is not a mere topographical account of the city, but a
pleasantly penned picture, full of life and character, of the social
condition, manners, customs, sports, and pastimes of the people.
John Stow was most minute as a writer, and his attention to slight
circumstances has caused some critics to make merry over his productions.
Fuller, for example, spoke of him "as such a smell-feast that he cannot
pass by the Guildhall but his pen must taste the good cheer therein." It
is his consideration of minor matters that renders his book so valuable to
the student of bygone times. We may quote, to illustrate this, a few
lines from his _Survey of London_. After a description of the Abbey of St.
Clare, he writes: "Near adjoining to this Abbey, on the south side
thereof, was sometime a farm belonging to the said nunnery, at which farm
I myself, in my youth, have fetched many a halfpennyworth of milk, and
never had less than three ale pints for a halfpenny in the summer, nor
less than one ale quart for a halfpenny in the winter, always hot from the
kine, as the same was milked and strained. One Trolop, afterwards Goodman,
was farmer there, and had thirty or forty kine to the pail. Goodman's son,
being heir to his father's purchase, let out the ground first for the
grazing of horses, and then for garden plots, and lived like a gentleman
thereby."
In about his fortieth year, Stow gave up his business as a tailor and
devoted his entire life to antiquarian pursuits. Fame he won, but not
fortune. In place of being wealthy in his old age, he, as we shall
presently see, suffered from poverty. His principal works include his
_Summary of English Chronicles_, first issued in 1561. In 1580, his
_Annals; or, a General Chronicle of England_ was published. His most
important work was given to the world in 1598, under the title of a
_Survey of London and Westminster_. Besides writing the foregoing original
books, he assisted on the continuation of Holinshed's _Chronicle_ and
Speght's edition of Chaucer, and he was employed on other undertakings.
[Illustration: JOHN STOW'S MONUMENT.]
Many a long journey Stow made in search of information. He could not ride,
and had to travel on foot. In the midst of great trials it is recorded
that his good humour never forsook him. In his old age he was troubled
with pains in his feet, and quietly remarked that his "afflictions lay in
the parts he had formerly made so much use of."
We might well suppose that Stow's blameless life would render him free
from suspicion, and that his grateful countrymen would regard with respect
his great work in writing the history of England. Such was not the case.
It was thought that his researches would injure the reformed religion, and
on this miserable plea he was cast into prison, and his humble home was
searched. We obtain from the report of the searchers an interesting
account of the contents of Stow's library. It consisted, we are told, of
"great collections of his own, of his English chronicles, also a great
sort of old books, some fabulous, as _Sir Gregory Triamour_, and a great
parcel of old manuscript chronicles in parchment and paper; besides
miscellaneous tracts touching physic, surgery, herbs, and medical
receipts, and also fantastical popish books printed in old time, and
others written in old English on parchment."
John Stow failed to make much money, but on the whole, he lived a peaceful
life, enjoying the many pleasures that fall to the lot of the student.
Happily for him, to use Howes' words, "He was careless of the scoffers,
backbiters, and detractors."
It is Howes who also tells that Stow always protested never to have
written anything either of malice, fear, or favour, nor to seek his own
particular gain or vain-glory, and that his only pains and care was to
write the truth.
At the age of four score years, his labours received State acknowledgment.
It was indeed a poor acknowledgment, for, in answer to a petition, James
I. granted him a licence to beg. Stow sought help, to use his own words,
as "a recompense for his labour and travel of forty-five years, in setting
forth the _Chronicles of England_, and eight years taken up in the _Survey
of the Cities of London and Westminster_, towards his relief in his old
age, having left his former means of living, and also employing himself
for the service and good of his country."