beth, and James, contain numberless entries from which, had we room, we could make amusing extracts of the expenses incurred in promoting these Christmas festivities; of the sums paid to the different lords of misrule, and laid out in the various "Disguisings," "Interludes," &c. These we forbear to quote, but perhaps the following notices of some entertainments of Henry VIII.'s reign may not be uninteresting, as exhibiting the tastes of the time.

"In his 19th year King Henry kept a solemn Christmas at Greenwich, with revels, masks, disguisings, and banquets, and the 30th of December, and the 3d of January, were solemn jousts holden, when at night the king and fifteen other with him, came to Bridewell, and there put on masking apparel, took his barge, and rode to the cardinal's place, where were at supper many lords and ladies, who danced with the maskers, and after the dancing was made a great banquet. This Christmasse was a play at Graye's-Inne, made by one Master Roe, a serjeant at law; the effect whereof was, that Lord Governance was ruled by Dissipation and Negligence, by whose order Lady Public Weal was put from governance. This the cardinal took to be meant by him, and therefore sent the said Master Roe to the Fleet, though the play were made long before the cardinal had any authority: by which we may see how inseparable a companion suspition is to a guilty conscience.' "#

Christmas, 1514-15. "For to do pleser to the kyngs grace, and for to pas the tyme of Chrestemas, by Sir Harry Gyllfurth (Guildford), Master of the Revells, was devysed an interluit, in the wheche conteyned a moresks (moresco) of vj persons and ij ladys: wherefor by hys commandement, of our soverayne lorde the kyng, and at apoyntment of Sir Harry Gylforth, was preparyd, had and wrought dyuers and sundry garments.

"The interlud was callyd the Tryumpe of Love and Bewte, and y' was wryten and presentyd by Mayster Cornyshe and oothers of the chappell of our soverayne lorde the kyng, and the chyldern of the sayd chapell. In the same Venus and Bewte dyd tryumpe over al ther enemys, and tamyd a salvadge man and a lyon, that was made very rare and naturall, so as the kyng was gretly plesyd therwyth, and gracyously gaf Mayster Cornysshe a ryche rewarde owt of his owne hand, to be dyvydyd with the rest of his fellows. Venus dyd synge a songe with Bewte, which was lykyd of al y' harde yt, every staffe endyng

after this sorte:

"Bowe you downe, and doo your dutye

To Venus and the goddes Bewty:
We tryumpe hye over all,

Kyngs attend when we do call.'

“Inglyshe, and the oothers of the kynges pleyers, after pleyed an interluyt, whiche was wryten by Mayster Midwell, but y' was so long y' was not lykyd: yt was of the fyndyng of troth, who was caryed away by ygnoraunce and ypocresy. The foolys part was the best, but the kyng departyd befor the end to hys chambre."t

The jocund festivities of Henry VIII. suffered no abatement in the

Baker's Chronicle.

+ Collier, vol. i., p. 64. Taken from a roll in the Chapter House, Westminster.

time of his daughter Elizabeth; and so attractive was her court at Christmas for the splendour of its festivities, and the magnificence of its hospitalities, that it being found these pageantries induced many from the country, to the detriment of their dependents at home, it was ordered, in 1589, that the gentlemen of Norfolk and Suffolk should depart from London before Christmas "to keep hospitality at home." And in this reign the sombre retreats of the law glistened with splendour and pageantry, and resounded with the voice of revelry, to which their echoes chimed almost till the season of Lent. Great rivalry existed between the different inns, and the result was that their pageantries outdid in expense and grandeur those of the court.

At this great season of festivity all the apartments in a great mansion were opened for the reception of guests, musicians and minstrels were placed in each, and entertainments, according to the taste of the times, and in which, at some times, there was little propriety or delicacy, were merrily pursued; and feasting, drinking, music, dancing, tumbling, singing, jesting, juggling, and buffoonery ran riot together.

There were several orders or degrees of minstrels; and some of them, excellent players on the harp, and withal of some cultivation of mind, would recite tales of chivalry to its stirring, thrilling chords; or with gentler inspiration would breathe forth a lay of hapless love, a note of sorrow, at which the hearers could not choose but weep.

But now a clarion note of joyous invitation makes the very echoes ring, and all rush to the great hall where the "PAGEANT" is about to be exhibited. Musicians with cornets, shaulms, flutes, horns, and pipes of various kinds, are stationed aloft; not far off are trumpeters and players on the clarion; beneath them are inferior musicians, interspersed with jugglers, magicians, &c. The pageant is stationed in the wide space below; and the dragon, the giants, the hobby-horses, with knights, buffoons, dwarfs, minstrels, gods, satyrs, and clowns, enact a drama of which it is scarce possible to hear a syllable for the clamour of the musicians, the roaring of the dragon, the yelling of the satyrs, the screaming of the dwarfs, the shouting of the giants, the challenging of the knights, and the merry deafening din caused by the obstreperous applause of every individual present.

This may appear an exaggerated picture, but we believe it is not so. These immensely expensive and very absurd pageants were the delight of the English for some centuries, and were never in greater vogue than in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth.

There was a pageant, which " according to ancient custom" had been yearly exhibited at Chester during Christmas, which consisted of "four giants, one unicorn, one dromedary, one luce, one camel, one ass, one dragon, and sixteen naked boys." It was discontinued during the Commonwealth, but restored in the reign of Charles II., when the city corporation (we believe) defrayed the expenses, considerable ones, attendant on its reorganization. One item of the expenditure was "for arsnick to put into the paste to save the giants from being eaten by the rats, one shilling and fourpence."

In James I.'s time, the Christmas festivities declined, though not professedly so; for his son, the unfortunate Charles I., took a part in several Christmas plays; but the puritan power which afterwards swept

over the length and breadth of the land, was then silently but surely making its way.

In 1642 the first ordinances were issued to suppress the performance of plays; but the interference of parliament was not limited to the abolition of merely festal and merry observances; for, in 1647, it was ordained that the feast of the Nativity, with other holidays, be no longer observed,* and in 1652 it was

"Resolved by the Parliament,

"That the markets be kept to-morrow, being the five and twentieth day of December; And that the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, and the Justices of Peace for the City of Westminster and liberties thereof, do take care, That all such persons as shall open their shops on that day, be protected from wrong and violence, and the offenders punished.

"Resolved by the Parliament,

"That no observation shall be had of the five and twentieth day of December, commonly called Christmas day; nor any solemnity used or exercised in churches upon that day in respect thereof, &c. &c."

This blow Christmas has never recovered. Attempts were made after the restoration to revive the ancient sports, but in vain; and it is only in the productions of such as him who has so inimitably revived the mouldering hall of Haddon-a beautiful old mansion, which, in its desolation and loneliness, we have often visited-it is only in such vivid creations as these we can now ever see the lordly abbot of misrule, with his mummers, his hobbyhorse, his knights and dragons, and all his "makers of inerry disports."

There are yet many lingering superstitions connected with this ancient time. The TWELFTHDAY CAKE, for instance, which is still so generally procured for the sake of merriment and good eating, had long ago, for the usage is of considerable antiquity, an important ceremonial attached to it. The cake was, as now, cut into shares, and he whose portion was found to contain a bean, was elected king of that day's feast, and treated with all courtly reverence. Subsequently a pea was also inserted in the cake, and conferred on its fortunate possessor the style and title of the queen for the time being. Thus Herrick :

The accounts of the churchwardens of St. Margaret's, Westminster, for the year 1647, have the following entries:

"Item. Paid for rosemarie and baies that was stuck about the church at Christmas, 1s. 6d.

"Item. Paid in fees unto Mr. Friend and Mr. Denham, twoe of the messengers unto the serjeant-att-armes, attending the Commons House of Parliament, when their accomptants were committed for permitting ministers to preach upon Christmas-day, and for adorning the church, 31."

In 1657, as Evelyn, his wife, and others were receiving the sacrament on Christmas-day, the chapel was surrounded by soldiers, and the parties all taken into custody.

In some countries, portions of the cake were always assigned to our Saviour, the Virgin Mary, and the three wise men; or, as they were more usually called, the three Kings of Cologne. These portions were uniformly bestowed upon the poor, and did the bean, or its frequent substitute a coin, chance to be in any of them, his majesty was chosen by pulling straws.

The remnant of the YULE LOG, which is still burnt in many places (the largest and most knotty log having been reserved for the purpose); this remnant is carefully put by to kindle the fire the next Christmas, not merely for general luck, but because the place where the fragment is preserved is safe for the twelve months from any machinations of the devil or his employés.

There are scores of old women in the country of both sexes, and of all ages, who still peer out earnestly on Christmas morning to see the sun shining through the apple-trees; for if it do so, the boughs are sure to rejoice under a rich burden in the ensuing season; and in some places the farmers drink toasts round the more favourite trees, and pour a libation of good ale over them. The preceding night is of equal, or even more reverence than the day itself. Bees are heard to sing on Christmas-eve, as if it were a day in June; cattle kneel in their stalls as if in devotion; it is averred that the celebrated thorn at Glastonbury, planted by Joseph of Arimathea, always puts forth hlossom on this night; and that no minute circumstance may be uninfluenced by the season, it is said, that bread baked on this eve, will not become mouldy. Can Shakspeare be too hacknied to quote?

"Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long ;
And then they say no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."

The evergreens with which, according to ancient custom, we deck our churches and houses at this season, are not only beautiful ornaments,

So late as 1790, a peasant near Launceston, in Cornwall, affirmed that he had seen this. See Bourne's Pop. Ant. And Mr. Sandys, quoting from Howison, relates the cir cumstance of his meeting on Indian at midnight on Christmas-eve (during a beautiful moonlight) cautiously creeping along, who beckoned him to silence in vain, and in answer to his inquiries, said, "Me watch to see the deer kneel; this is Christmas night, and all the deer fall upon their knees to the Great Spirit, and look up."

but fitting emblems of joy and gladness. The prophetic BAY, whose sacred branches are a sure protection from devouring fire, or the lightning's vivid flash ; and a leaf of which, held in the mouth, will protect the wearer from misfortune or pollution. The sacred MISTLETOE

first planted in the venerable oak. The IVY which wards off pernicious influences from the merry cup which it encircles :+

"And if care were killed by an ivy bough,
What a killer of care, old tree, wert thou!
As high in hall, with laughter merry,

They hang thy twigs with their powder'd berry;
And the red-gemmed holly they mix also

With the spectral branches of mistletoe."

But far above the ivy, the bay, or the mistletoe, ranks the "redgemmed" HOLLY, or more properly HOLY TREE. For tradition says that, unknown before, it sprang up in perfection and beauty beneath the footsteps of Christ when he first trod the earth, and that though man has forgotten its attributes, the beasts all reverence it, and are never known to injure it.

These fancies may be all quite untrue-very foolish: yet are they not destitute of value since they form a link-a broken, a slight one perhaps but still a link in the chain by which we ascend from the merely corporeal pleasures, to the less tangible, but more beneficially interesting associations of the time. All pure and holy things shed their gracious influences on this hallowed season. So holy is the earth now, that the angels, it is said, the angels from heaven come down to keep Christmas on it. It is said, that the earth is thronged with bright and beautiful forms which we see not; that the air is filled with soft low melodies, though we hear them not: it is said that myriads of seraph voices swell the chant which now peals from every church and temple; that unnumbered gracious beings are smiling witnesses at many a merry fireside; and that winged messengers waft instantaneously to heaven the gleaming record of every deed of love.

ΖΕΜΙΑ.

"At this day, peasants of the Pyrenees cover themselves with its branches as a security from lightning; and we have known it planted by our own villagers as a protection from fire."-Phillips's Sylva Florifera.

+ Some say it prevents intoxication, and hence intwined the brow of Bacchus to keep off the fumes of wine.

It was always, until lately, called and written, the holy tree.