The Book Of Curiosities Part 55

"The clerical process being thus abolished, it was thought proper, at the same time, to empower the temporal judges to inflict a further punishment where they should regard it as proper. The eighteenth Elizabeth, c. vii.

empowered them, therefore, to direct the convict to be imprisoned for a year or any shorter period. But the law on this subject was still in many respects imperfect. Females were still liable to the punishment of death, without any exemption, in all cases of simple felony; because, being never eligible to the clerical office, they were not included in any of the extensions of the _Benefit of Clergy_. No other proof need be adduced to shew the absurdity of the very foundations of the system. At length it was enacted that women convicted of simple larcenies under the value 10s.

should be punished with burning in the hand and whipping, exposure in the stocks, or imprisonment for any period less than a year. And in the reign of William and Mary they were admitted to all the privileges of men, in clergiable felonies, on praying the benefit of the statute; though they can only once be allowed this means of escaping. In the same reign, the punishment of burning in the hand was changed for a more visible stigma on the cheek, but was soon afterwards brought back to the original practice.

"Hitherto all laymen except peers, who, on their conviction, were found unable to read, were liable to suffer death for every clergiable felony.

But it was at length discovered, that ignorance, instead of an aggravation, was an excuse for guilt, and that the ability to read was no extenuation of crime; and, therefore, by fifth Ann, c. vi. the idle ceremony of reading was abolished, and all those who were before ent.i.tled to clergy on reading, were now to be admitted without any such form to its benefits. At the same time it was sensibly felt that the branding, which had dwindled into a mere form, and the year's imprisonment which the judges were empowered to inflict, were very inadequate punishments for many clergiable offences; and, therefore, the court were authorized to commit the offenders to the house of correction for any time not less than six months nor exceeding two years, and to double it in case of escaping.

"Further alterations have since been made in the penalties consequent upon clergy. The fourth Geo. I. c. xi. and sixth Geo. I. c. xxiii. provide, that the court, on the allowance of this benefit for any larceny whether grand or petty, or other felonious theft not excluded from the statutable indulgence, may, instead of judgment of burning in case of men, and whipping in that of females, direct the offender to be transported for seven years to America, which has been since altered to any part of his majesty's colonies. To return within the period, was, at the same time, made felony without _Benefit of Clergy_. And by several subsequent provisions, many wise alterations have been made respecting transportation, and the mode of treating offenders while under its sentence.

"At length the burning in the hand was entirely done away, and the judges were empowered to sentence the criminal, in its room, and in addition to the former penalties, to a pecuniary fine, or, except in the case of manslaughter, to private whipping, not more than thrice to be inflicted, in the presence of three witnesses. Provisions were at the same time made for the employment of this description of convicts in penitentiary houses, where a system of reformation might be adopted, and an experiment made how far punishment might become conducive to its n.o.blest and most legitimate use--the reformation and benefit of the offender. But this regulation, though applauded by Blackstone and other humane writers, after having been continued by several subsequent acts, was recently suffered to expire. It appears from these several modern regulations, that, as observed by Mr.

Justice Foster, we now consider _Benefit of Clergy_, or rather the benefit of the statutes, as a relaxation of the rigour of the law, a condescension to the infirmities of the human frame, exempting offending individuals in some cases from the punishment of death, and subjecting them to milder punishment; and therefore, in the case of clergiable felonies, we now profess to measure the degree of punishment by the real enormity of the offence, and not, as the ignorance and superst.i.tion of former times suggested, by a blind respect for sacred persons or sacred functions, nor by an absurd distinction between subject and subject, originally owing to impudent pretension on one hand, and to mere fanaticism on the other."

CURIOUS TENURES.--A farm at Broadhouse, in Langsett, in the parish of p.e.n.i.ston, and county of York, pays yearly to G.o.dfrey Bosville, Esq. 'a snow-ball at Midsummer, and a red rose at Christmas.'

William de Albermarle holds the manor of Loston, 'by the service of finding, for our lord the king, two arrows, and one loaf of oat bread, when he should hunt in the forest of Eartmoor.'

Solomon Attefield held land at Repland and Atterton, in the county of Kent, upon condition 'that as often as our lord the king would cross the sea, the said Solomon and his heirs ought to go along with him, to hold his head on the sea, if it was needful.'

John Compes had the manor of Finchfield given him by Edward III. for the service of 'turning the spit at his coronation.'

Geoffrey Frumbrand held sixty acres of land in Wingfield, in the county of Suffolk, by the service of paying yearly to our lord the king two white doves. John de Roches holds the manor of Winterslew, in Wiltshire, by the service that when the king should abide at Clarendon, he should go into the butlery of the king's palace there, and draw, out of whatever vessel be chose, as much wine as should be needful for making a pitcher of claret, which he should make at the king's expense, and that he should serve the king with a cup, and should have the vessel whence he took the wine, with all the wine then in it, together with the cup whence the king should drink the claret.

The town of Yarmouth is, by charter, bound to send the sheriffs of Norwich a hundred herrings, which are to be baked in twenty-four pies or patties, and delivered to the lord of the manor of East Carlton, who is to convey them to the king.

At the coronation of James II. the lord of the manor of Heyden, in Ess.e.x, claimed to hold the basin and ewer to the king by virtue of one moiety, and the towel by virtue of the other moiety of the manor, whenever the king washed before dinner; but the claim was allowed only as to the towel.

The privileges of the great officers of the ancient British court, were particularly striking. Each was annually presented by the king and queen with a piece of linen and woollen cloth, besides some old clothes from the royal wardrobe. The king's riding-coat was three times a year given to the master of the mews; his caps, saddles, bits, and spurs, became the perquisite of the master of the horse; and the chamberlain appropriated to himself his old clothes and bed-quilts.

The third in rank, in the court of the Anglo-Saxon kings, was, the steward, who had a variety of perquisites, of which the following were the most remarkable:--'As much of every cask of plain ale, and as much of every cask of ale with spiceries, as he could reach with the second joint of the middle finger; and as much of every cask of mead, as he could reach with the first joint of the same finger.'

Our next article is on THE ORIGIN OF MAY POLES AND GARLANDS.--It was a custom among the ancient Britons, before they were converted to Christianity, to erect May-poles, adorned with flowers, in honour of the G.o.ddess Flora; and the dancing of milkmaids on the first of May before garlands, ornamented with flowers, is only a corruption of the ancient custom, in compliance with other rustic amus.e.m.e.nts.

The leisure days after seed-time had been chosen by our Saxon ancestors for folk-motes, or conventions of the people. It was not till after the Norman conquest that the Pagan festival of Whitsuntide fully melted into the Christian holiday of Pentecost. Its original name is Whittentide, the time of choosing the wits or wis.e.m.e.n to the wittenagemotte. It was consecrated to Hertha, the G.o.ddess of peace and fertility; and no quarrels might be maintained, no blood shed, during this truce of the G.o.ddess. Each village, in the absence of the baron at the a.s.sembly of the nations, enjoyed a kind of saturnalia. The va.s.sals met upon the common green around the May-poles, where they erected a village lord, or king, as he was called, who chose his queen. He wore an oaken, and she a hawthorn wreath; and together they gave laws to the rustic sports during these sweet days of freedom. The Maypole, then, was the English tree of liberty. How are these times of village simplicity and merriment vanished!

CURIOUS CUSTOM AT OAKHAM.--Oakham is remarkable for the following curious custom. Every peer of the realm, the first time he comes within the precincts, forfeits a shoe from his horse to the lord of the manor and castle, unless he agrees to redeem it with money; in which case a shoe is made according to his direction, ornamented in proportion to the sum given by way of fine, and nailed on the castle hall door. Some shoes are of curious workmanship, and stamped with the names of the donors: some are made very large, and some gilt. An ancient poet says of this county,

"Small shire that can produce to thy proportion good, One vale of special name, one forest, and one flood."

A CURIOUS PRACTICE IN NORTH HOLLAND.--To every house, of whatever quality, there is an artificial door, elevated near three feet above the level of the ground, and never opened but upon two occasions. When any part of the family marries, the bride and bridegroom enter the house by this door; and when either of the parties die, the corpse is carried out by the same door. Immediately after the due ceremonies are performed in either of these cases, this door is fastened up, never to turn on its hinges again, till some new event of a similar nature demands its services.

CHAP. LXIII.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND.--(_Continued._)

_Shrovetide--Candlemas Day--Origin of Valentine's Day--Origin of Plough Monday--New Years Gifts--Origin of Christmas Boxes--Chiltern Hundreds--Origin of the Term "John Bull"--Origin of the Old Adage, "If it rains on St. Swithin's Day, it will rain Forty Days afterwards"--Curfew Bell._

SHROVETIDE,--in its original meaning, signifies the time of confessing sins to a priest. _Tide_ refers to time; and _shrove_, _shrive_, or _shrift_, are derived from the Saxon, and signify confession. In the earlier const.i.tution of the church, it is ordered, "That on the week next before Lent, every man should go to his shrift, and his shrift should shrive him in such a manner as the deeds which he had done required."

This custom of confessing to the priest at this season, was laid aside at the Reformation.

Fitzstephen informs us, that anciently, on Shrove-Tuesday, schoolboys used to bring "c.o.c.ks of the game" to their masters, and entertain themselves with c.o.c.k-fighting. The masters presided at the battle, and claimed the runaway c.o.c.ks as their perquisite.

The custom of throwing at c.o.c.ks on this day is not of very ancient inst.i.tution: it is gradually growing out of use; to which amendment of our manners, the ingenious pencil of Hogarth probably contributed.

Shrove-Tuesday is, in the north, called Fastern's E'en, because the following day is the commencement of Lent.

Shrove-Monday is also termed Collop-Monday; in the north, collops and eggs being on that day a constant dish, as on the next day the Papists take leave of flesh.

Our custom of eating pancakes on Shrove-Tuesday, was probably borrowed from the Greek church. The Russians begin their Lent always eight weeks before Easter; the first week they eat eggs, milk, cheese, and b.u.t.ter, and make great cheer with pancakes, and such other things.

In the Oxford almanacks, the Sat.u.r.day preceding this day is termed _Festum Overum_, Egg feast.

On Shrove-Tuesday, the people in every parish throughout England were obliged, one by one, to confess their sins to their own parish priests, in their own parish churches. And that this might be done more regularly, the great bell in every parish was rung at ten o'clock, or perhaps sooner, that it might be heard by all, and that they might attend according to the custom then in use. And though we are now Protestants, yet the custom of ringing the great bell in an ancient parish church still continues, and has the name of the _pancake bell_, probably, because after the confession it was customary to dine on pancakes or fritters; and many people even now have these articles as part of their dinner on this day.

This used to be a great holiday amongst apprentices; but a contempt of old customs seems gaining ground in this country, and those, or many of them above-mentioned, will probably soon be forgotten.

Another account of the origin of frying pancakes on Shrove-Tuesday, has been given. It is said that one Simon Eyre, a shoemaker, being chosen lord-mayor of London, made a pancake feast on Shrove-Tuesday for all the apprentices in London; and from that it became a custom.

He ordered, that upon ringing of a bell in every parish, the apprentices should leave work, and shut up their shops for that day; which being ever since yearly observed, is called the pancake bell: he made them a large feast of puddings, pies, and pancakes, and what remained, when all had dined, was given to the poor: afterwards in that year (1446,) he built Leadenhall.

CANDLEMAS DAY.--This is the feast of the purification, which was formerly celebrated with many lights in churches. The custom of going in procession on Candlemas-day with lighted candles in the hand, is said to have been derived from the Romans, who went about Rome with torches, and candles _brenning_ (burning) in worship of Februa, the mother of Mars. This was afterwards, by Pope Fergius, converted into the worship of our Lady, and her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Wheatley says, "The practice of using abundance of lights, both in churches and processions, continued in England till the second year of Edward VI. when Bishop Cranmer forbade it, by order of the Privy Council."

VALENTINE'S DAY.--Valentine was a pope, or bishop of Rome, that lived in the ninth century; who, on this day, established an annual custom of the poorer clergy drawing patrons by lots for the commenced year; and these patrons, or benefactors, were called Valentines. After his death he was canonized for a saint, and his feast-day kept on the fourteenth day of February, which was thought to be his birth-day. Mr. John Gordon, in his memoirs and account of the popes, says, "that Valentine was too good a man to be a good pope, and died forty days after his consecration, or instalment; being choked with a fish-bone."

This custom, in Britain, evidently appears to have been copied by the laity from the clergy, in the days of popery, and is a very ancient custom, being almost of a thousand years standing. The birds too are supposed to choose their mates, and pair, on this day; which, no doubt, is an additional reason to our youth of both s.e.xes who are approaching to maturity, to write their verses, and with much ingenuity ply scissars, pen, and pencil, in honour of their selected or allotted lovers.

PLOUGH-MONDAY.--This day is held on the ninth of January, the Monday after Twelfth-day. The ploughmen, in the north country, draw a plough from door to door, and beg money for drink; from whence this took its name.

Plough-day had its origin when the feudal system prevailed in this country, when the lords and barons had their lands tilled by their va.s.sals, or tenants. The Christmas holidays terminated on Twelfth-day, and the ploughing season for the new year commenced the first Monday after; on which day, the sock-men (as this sort of ploughmen were then called) were obliged to appear with their ploughs, &c. at a place appointed there, to have them examined, whether they were in a proper condition to perform their lord's work; for ploughs were then scarce, and it was a mark of some consequence to possess one in good order. Hence the appellation of Plough-Monday has ever since being applied to the first Monday after Twelfth-day. It is conjectured, that the system of begging money arose at a time when they could not plough the land on account of its being frozen, as watermen drag about a boat in severe frosts, and beg money, because they are then unable to ply on the river.

NEW YEAR'S GIFTS.--Nonius Marcellus refers the origin of New Year's Gifts among the Romans to t.i.tus Tatius, king of the Sabines, who reigned at Rome conjointly with Romulus, and who, having considered as a good omen a present of some branches cut in a wood consecrated to _Strenua_, the G.o.ddess of strength, which he received on the first day of the new year, authorized this custom afterwards, and gave to these persons the name of _Strenae_. The Romans on that day celebrated a festival in honour of Ja.n.u.s, and paid their respects at the same time to Juno; but they did not pa.s.s it in idleness, lest they should become indolent during the rest of the year.

They sent presents to one another of figs, dates, honey, &c. to shew their friends that they wished them a happy and agreeable life. Clients, or those who were under the protection of the great, carried presents of this kind to their patrons, adding to them a small piece of silver. Under Augustus, the senate, the knights, and the people, presented such gifts to him, and in his absence deposited them in the capitol. Of the succeeding princes, some adopted this custom, and others abolished it; but it always continued among the people. The early Christians condemned it, because it appeared to be a relic of paganism, and a species of superst.i.tion; but when it began to have no other object than that of being a mark of esteem, the church ceased to disapprove of it.

CHRISTMAS BOXES.--On looking into history, we find that this custom derived its existence much about the time that ma.s.s was first said by a Catholic priest. Rome, which originally gave birth to superst.i.tion, had an incredible number of clergy to support, and, among other devices, this was invented as one, and took its name of Ma.s.s from the Latin word _mitto_, to send. This word _mitto_ was a kind of remembrancer, or rather dictator, which said, "Send gifts, offerings, and oblations to the priests, that they may intercede with Christ to save your soul by saying so many _ma.s.ses_."

Hence it was called _Christ's ma.s.s_, or, as it is now abbreviated, Christmas. Thus far the etymology of the word is indisputable, and every man who has attended to the minutiae of sacred history, must know the fact to be as here related. The word _box_, is a part of the same priestcraft trade, and took its origin from the following circ.u.mstance:--

Whenever a ship sailed from any of those ports where the religious profession was under the authority of Rome, a certain saint was always named, unto whose protection it's safety was committed, and in that ship there was a box, and into that box every poor person put something, in order to induce the priests to pray to that saint for the safe return of the vessel; which box was locked up by the priests, who said the money should not be taken out until the vessel came back.