_Plum-pudding._--Can any of your readers inform me of the origin of the
following custom, and whether the ceremony is still continued? I can find
no mention of it in any topographical dictionary or history of Devon, but
it was copied from an old newspaper, bearing date June 7, 1809:
"At Paignton Fair, near Exeter, the ancient custom of drawing through
the town a plum-pudding of an immense size, and afterwards distributing
it to the populace, _was revived_ on Tuesday last. The ingredients
which composed this enormous pudding were as follows: 400 lbs. of
flour, 170 lbs. of beef suet, 140 lbs. of raisins, and 240 eggs. It was
kept constantly boiling in a brewer's copper from Saturday morning to
the Tuesday following, when it was placed on a car decorated with
ribbons, evergreens, &c., and drawn along the street by eight oxen."