Her een were o' the jet sae black, She rode upon a milkwhite steed, A gallant ship cam ower the sea; Nae danger did she reck; But the morrow's sun saw that gallant bark On Barry's sands a wreck. And they that trod that good ship's deck Alas, will wauken never mair; And nocht remained o' all her pride, To tell the tale o' her sad fate, Save where yon busy fisherman A basket cuninglie contrived Midst silks an' furs o' costlie price A bairn lay fast asleep. It floated sae upon the sea, An' did sae calmly sleep, It might have been some sea nymph's child But he snatched up that lovely babe, Though time had blanched his raven locks, He has hied him to his lonely cot, An' fondly gazed an' smiled To share his love wi' his good dame 'Twas aye their fondest anxious care Prized as a charge that heaven had lent And he grew up a bonnie boy His is the name he bears; To cheer their growing years. His raven locks waved ower his brow, But he walked all alone 'mong the fisher boys, And oft by Lochtie's sunny stream, Swift as the changing wind, He roamed at will 'mong wood an' wild, And nursed a noble mind. Anon midst Panmure's stately halls, He trips sac lichtsomlie, And pours the wine in the bold baron's cup, And a comelie page was he. But what betides Lady Margaret young Lord Ethie has promised her to wed, What though she be an earl's daughter, An' mony a knicht o' courage bricht Has kissed her lilie hand? 'Twas his to weave the silken band Of love, would bind that fair ladie, And oft they met, an' oft they sat, O, true love is a siller stream, That neath the sunbeams likes to roam, Sair sair they feared her father proud, Their love that they might hide. And sorrow be his bosom's bride For doing of that deed! The sun had sunk o'er Carnoustie, And the mune come ower the tide, And the vesper bell had lang been rung Frae the chapel o' Panbride. When the ladie stole from her bower door, Wrapt in her mantle green, An' hied her to the Pillar wood: She thought she wasna seen. She hied her to the Pillar wood, To meet Walter Ogilvie; But her brither spied her hastening steps, An' followed her stealthilie. Concealed beneath a willow's shade, Concealed beneath a willow shade, The page has taen her by the hand An' led her by the stream sae clear, But down her cheeks, where smiles were wont, Came tumbling the saut saut tear. "Come tell me, Lady Margaret," he said, "What makes the saut tear blind your e'e? Does your father proud our secret ken, Or would my Margaret part from me? "O nane, O nane does our secret ken, Nor would thy Margaret part frae thee; "He bids them busy, busy be My cousins an' my maidens three, "But sooner may they wreathe a shroud "And my proud father he ne'er will bruik "O that I had been lowlie born, And he kissed her cheek, her tears to chide "We man part a while-ah, cruel fate! But I'll yet come back an' claim my bride, "The gallant Douglas, Prince of men, Goes out to fight the English host; And wealth and honour are the boon Of him that asks them most. "I'll bind a sword on my left side, And in the foremost ranks o' fame Wi' your true love my steps to guide, I'll return, and you for my bride will claim." "O no! O no! my Walter dear, May angels guard your life! But wha would cheer your Margaret, And you afar in bloody strife?" "We'll meet at evening when the mune's Ower Castle Kelly's turrets grey, I'll wait to bear you secretly 'Mong the holy nuns a while for to stay." One parting kiss in loving mood They turned them round to leave the wood- My sword your bride shall be. "And tak thou that, thou saucy page!" An' he smote him cruellie, Till his warm heart's blood ran trickling down, The lady stretched too late to save, But lovers brook not parting breath, As a whole the language is poor, yet there are one or two excellent stanzas. There is no historical foundation for the tale. ALISON. ANCIENT CHESHIRE CUSTOMS. THE ancient and medieval customs of the various counties of England, now fast falling into oblivion, form a good subject for the study of the archeologist, by comparing them with the customs of the neighbouring counties and with those of the Continent, and lastly, by tracing these remnants of the times of our forefathers to their origin. In the following paper I shall allude to a few of the old customs of Cheshire, which partake more of the social and domestic than perhaps do the customs of any other county. Lucian describes the inhabitants of Cheshire as hard-working, hospitable in their entertainments, social, but soon brought to temper; honest in their dealings, and particularly fond of borrowing that which belongs to their neighbour. They are said to belong to a county most staunch in keeping up the ancient customs, so "that many home and fireside mysteries still exist in the county, and the observance of them is kept up with strict fidelity." The characters in these fireside plays, which were generally acted at the farm-houses, were taken by the husbandmen and rustics. "St. George and Slasher," a favourite play, commences with a prologue, spoken by the first and second officers respectively, in which they say they are come to act the champion, and call on St. George to enter, and uphold his far-famed reputation. The Champion, entering, introduces himself to the audience in the following words : "I am St. George, the noble champion bold, And with my glittering sword I won three crowns of gold. And by that means I won fair Sabra, The King of Egypt's daughter. Seven have I won, yet married none; But since they've begun the thing Called matrimony in the land Which our King George doth rule, And who is he who dares against me stand? I'll swear I'll cut him down With my victorious brand!"* See" Omerod's History of Cheshire," Vol. i., p. 53. The valiant Slasher here steps in, and crosses swords with the Champion, who wounds him. A rustic, playing the rôle of the doctor is called in; and, after prating greatly on his own account, and for the furtherance of his reputation, he administers to the wounded man a dose of his medicine saying, "Here, Jack, take a little out of my bottle, And let it run down thy throttle; If thou be not quite slain, Rise, Jack, and fight again." Upon this admonition, the wounded Slasher rises to his feet, by no means the worse for the blow received, and utters a lengthy eulogium on the healing qualities of the quack's medicine. This piece of amusement is ended by the entrance of the fool, repeating the following rhyme, "I am not the prince of Beelzebub, He then presents his ladle amongst the spectators, solicit ing their patronage, and they, according to the bent of their liberality, contrive to bestow a few coppers on the "Motley Fool." On "All Souls' Eve" the soulers go about a "souling," or begging, for whatever they can get, performing tricks and dances, and singing the following or some similar kind of song: "You gentlemen of England, pray you now draw near, Sweet melody of music all on this evening clear, "Step down into your cellar, and see what you can find; "God bless the master of this house, and the mistress too, This last verse, from the language in which it is couched, probably chanted or sung after the "apples and strong beer" have been bestowed upon the beggars. is This custom has a very early origin, and was not confined to the Palatine County of Chester, but was practised in the neighbouring and other counties, for Shakespeare, in his writings, thus alludes to it : "To speak puling like a beggar at hallowmas." From the beginning of the month of November to Christ. mas "Old Hob" is carried about. This was a horse's head enveloped in a sheet, which the rustics in the evening bore about from farmhouse to farmhouse, singing doggrel rhymes, and begging.t May-day was looked upon as a general holiday, not only in country places but also in many large towns. It was customary on this day for the young men to place birchen boughs over the doors of their lovers' dwellings, and also to mark the dwelling of the scold by decorating her door with a branch of ouler, much to the dislike of the virago. A nat branch marked the dwelling of a slut. At Easter time the country children went about to the farmhouses collecting pasch, or pace-eggs, and they are *See "Two Gentlemen of Verona," act ii., sc. 1. This custom is observed in various parts of Lancashire. ↑ Alder. § A hazel branch. "Eggs, bacon, apples, or cheese, Bread, or corn, if you please. Queries. HENRI JULES DE BOURBON.-Can any reader of the Antiquary give me information respecting the member of the Bourbon family alluded to in the following old cutting? 'Henri-Jules de Bourbon, the last twenty years of his life, was frequently subject to fits of hypochondriacis. In Or anything good that will make us merry."* these fits he would utter the strangest things imaginable, These eggs are oftentimes boiled in vinegar to colour and act in every respect like an insane person. In his last them, and many are the cottages the ceilings of which are journey to Burgundy, for instance, of which he was governor, thickly hung with these trophies. On the Continent,† where he fancied himself a hare, and ordered the bells not to be this custom is to a certain degree even now observed, pace-rung, for fear they should frighten him, and compel him to eggs are seen coloured red, blue, pink, violet, scarlet, and take refuge in the woods. green. These are not kept as in England, but are used in a game similar to our "blind egg." There is a custom of strewing the floors of churches with rushes, on the anniversary of their consecration. This was done-most of the floors of country churches not being flagged-to add to the warmth of the place, and to the comfort of those who had walked a long distance in the wintry wind, when the snow covered the ground, to chapel, as also to keep down the sludge. It was not, however, necessary that this ceremony should be performed on the anniversary day itself, for at Altcar, although the feast of the dedication of the church is on St. Michael's (September 29), the rushbearings take place in July. At various places, both in and out of Cheshire, a cart, adorned with differert patterns worked in rushes and ribands, is drawn from door to door of the principal inhabitants by the morrice-dancers, who perform an uncouth kind of dance around the cart. They are accompanied by one, dressed in a costume, a compound of the dress of the medieval fool and that of Maid Marion, whose duty it is to crack jokes, solve the various enigmas proposed by the spectators, ask witty questions, and collect the pence. This custom is observed at Lymm, but it is fast losing its pristine purity and antiquity, and giving place to drunkenness, debauchery, and riotous crowds. At Knutsford, an old custom was observed of strewing, on the event of a wedding, that part of the street fronting the house of the bride, with brown sand, upon which various figures, emblems, and mottoes, respective of happiness, were worked in white sand. In the district of the brine pits, the workmen decorate them with a variety of ribands and rosettes, thus making a striking contrast with all around. On the opening of a marl-pit, the marlers choose one from amongst their number to act as their lord, and to take charge of any moneys which may be given them. When any donation is made, they cry out simultaneously, "Oyez! oyez ! oyez ! Mr. of -, has been with us to day, and given my lord part of a hundred pounds; "§ then, joining hands, they form a circle, and bowing to the centre, shout four times, each shout being longer and louder than the preceding one, until the fourth, which is sustained the longest, dies gradually away. There are many little customs observed in the various counties, which, although unheeded by the inhabitant himself, contain that which would lead the antiquary back to the medieval firesides of our forefathers, there to take a retrospective view of those pageants, tournaments, trouba dours, mysteries, minstrels, &c., of which the early writers have written, and with which he is, in some degree, familiar. J. P. S. * Journal of Archæological Association, Vol. v., p. 253. $ When the donation exceeds sixpence, it is said to be part of one housand pounds. "What was strange is, that these fits in no way deprived him of his right senses, and during them he would transact business with the same degree of attention and presence of mind as when free from their influence. This "He once fancied himself a plant, and, as such, ordered himself to be watered. For this purpose he placed himself in the garden of the Hotel Condé, and insisted on being watered by M. de Plainville, one of his pages. page, however, was unwilling to perform such a strange office, and leaving the two watering-pots full of water, that he had brought, made his escape, and hid himself. His royal highness was filled with indignation at the page's disobedience, and threatened worlds of mischief in retaliation. The threats, however, died away as the fancy lost its hold of his imagination." E. BYRNE. the use of cavalry in war? The writer of the book of Job speaks of the war-horse, but leaves us in doubt whether the animal was ridden, or driven in a chariot. Most of the allusions to war in the earlier parts of the Bible speak of the enumeration of Job's wealth, it would seem that they chariots; and, from the fact of no horses being mentioned in were kept exclusively for war purposes. Homer, too, talks much of chariots, but not of cavalry; and in Egypt, Greece, have relied most in battle on a charge of two-wheeled warPersia, and Great Britain, alike, the earlier warriors seem to carts, or chariots, and only to have discontinued the use of the vehicles when they had improved in civilization. CAVALRY.-Where is the earliest mention to be found of The PAROGARDYNE.-I shall be glad of any information ex planatory of this word. It occurs in a Latin rent-roll of an estate, about the year 1465, and I conjecture was equivalent to the later words pleasaunce, paradise, or parvis. expressions are "in fine orientali cujusdam loci vocati parogardyne," and "ex parti australi dicti loci vocati Paro. gardyne." M. D. LONG MEG OF WESTMINSTER.-In the east cloister of Westminster Abbey is a large flagstone inscribed with the name of Gervasius de Blois, but supposed by Dean Stanley to cover the remains of Abbot Byrcheston and twenty-six monks, who perished of the Black Death in 1349, and a new inscription is now cut on the stone to that effect. Many years ago I have often heard it stated that this huge slab covered the grave of a very tall woman who lived in the reign of Henry VIII., and who was known as Long Meg of Westminster. The stone itself was at one time known to the habitues of the abbey as "Long Meg." I shall be glad of any information relating to this Long Meg, of whom dim traditions even now linger in Westminster. J. HARRIS. QUEEN MARY.-In Miss Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England," Vol. iii. p. 558, edition of 1851, the following strange passage occurs :— "Queen Mary, having overcome the repugnance of the English to be governed by a sovereign lady, was disposed to place her own sex in stations of authority, of which there had been few examples before or since. She made Lady Berkeley a justice of the peace for Gloucestershire, and Lady Rous she appointed of the quorum for Suffolk, who did usually sit on the bench at assizes and sessions, among the other justices, cincta gladio, girt with the sword.'" As I have not seen any notice of these appointments in the works of any other historian, I should be glad to know whether the statement is perfectly reliable. A female judge "girt with a sword," must have excited attention, and it is strange that we have no contemporary remarks thereon. I should have thought that John Knox, in his attack on "The Monstrous Regiment of Women," would have commented on so unusual an occurrence, and it would be interesting in these days, when so much is said and written on the "Woman's Rights" question, to know how the fair sex conducted themselves in their judicial functions, and supported the dignity of the Bench. S. KING. J. CUBITT. THE JUNGFERN KUSS (Vol, iv. 190, 229, 239).-Your correspondent, Mr. H. Fraser, will find a long and interesting of the Society of Antiquaries, in a paper read by Mr. R. account of this instrument of torture in the " Archæologia" L. Pearsall, 12th June, 1837. There appears to have been more than one of these terrible implements of torture on the Continent in use two or three centuries since. Their first introduction is generally attributed to the Spaniards, during their domination in the Netherlands. Holland, and in certain German Provinces. The Castle of Koningstien, near Frankfort, is said to have contained one of these instruments. Mr. Pearsall, inspired by the tradition of the "Jungfern Kuss" of Nuremburg, partly obtained from a German work which fell under his observation, and partly from Dr. Mayer, keeper of the archives at Nuremburg, who posi tively assured him that the existence of the object of his inquiry was no fable, some years since commenced a series of indefatigable exertions in its search. He ransacked the dungeons, caverns, passages, and torture-rooms of various castles, prisons, and town halls; but beyond suspicious niches, trap-doors, oaken beams, and obscure recesses, it was a long time before he found any conclusive evidence. The "Virgin's Kiss" seems in some instances to have THE FALCHION.-Are there any specimens of the peculiar been confounded with another implement, equally terriblekind of sword called a falchion now extant? I have never an object, composed of a number of iron blades, which met with one in any collection I have seen. Romance projected on the face of each other, and being screwed into writers have a habit of terming all knightly swords falchions, cylinders, crossed each other like sword blades. They were but this is an absurdity. The true falchion was a very broad-placed over a vault above the waters of the Rhine, or Danube, bladed sword, widening towards the point, and with a curved or other rivers, and the unhappy victim being thrown upon edge. Planch, in his "British Costume," gives some en- them, they instantly revolved, cutting his body into pieces, gravings from the Painted Chamber, Westminster, in one the fragments of which passed through them into the dark of which a woman is fighting with a falchion, the figure river beneath. Whenever any discolouration arose, caused being of the time of Edward II. Can any one inform me perhaps by stormy weather, producing a turbid state in the where a genuine falchion can be seen; or failing that, where water, the peasantry would commonly exclaim-"The Virgin I can see a correct and carefully-executed engraving of one? has been at her work again!” N. MORGAN. But to return to the implement referred to by Mr. Frase! Mr. Pearsall after a long search succeeded in his wishes. belonging to a Baron Deidrich, kept in his castle of Feistritz He traced the "Jungfern Kuss," to a collection of antiquities on the borders of Steirmark. Here he was permitted HYPOCAUSTS.-What was the purpose of the square or oblong aperture in one of the sides of the hollow quadrangular flue-tiles which the Romans employed to convey the heat and smoke from the hypocaust? Unless furnished with a lid or stopper, the efflux of smoke into the dwelling-personally to inspect it. Outwardly, the object represented rooms must have been intolerable, and to me incredible. a woman of Nuremburg of the sixteenth century, in broad trimmed hat, frilled cap, with a ruff and tippet. It consisted of a hollow case of iron about seven feet high, fitted with spikes projecting inwardly. The figure was constructed to open, doorwise, and the victim being thrust into it, it was forcibly closed, and death ensued in a terrible manner. The instrument I am describing came, as Baron Deidrich informed Mr. Pearsall, from Nuremburg. "I bought it," he said, "of a person who obtained it, with the left hand, during the French Revolutionary wars; and had it with the greater portion of the contents of the arsenal of Nuremburg. From him I received it in a cart, with other articles. It arrived covered with rust and in a bad condition, but with the pedestal upon which it now stands." The instrument in question had been used, evidently; blood stains were on it, internally. Two of the spikes were so fixed, as to pierce the brain, through the eyes of the victim. In the chambers of the Inquisition at Madrid, an informant of Mr. Pearsall found a torture instrument, denominated "Mater Dolorosa," representing the ordinary appearance of a fair woman, standing with her arms crossed over her breast; but she was treachery and cruelty itself. By a certain mechanical contrivance the arms of the "Virgin," set with spikes or "stilettes," opened and closed. The person compelled to undergo the torture was placed opposite to her; the arms suddenly expanded and then as instantly closed upon him. Powerful screws were applied and the "stilettes" entered his flesh. A trap-door opened beneath the victim, and in this position he was exhorted to confess the charge or crime imputed to him; but more strongly and closely the arms of the fearful thing shut on him, until life was squeezed out of his body. But a few years since at Baden Baden, in one of the old Schlosses, a torture instrument constructed with revolving knives existed, and the vault in the dungeons prepared beneath it, was shown to visitors. An image of the Virgin was at hand to which the victim was importuned to bow, and as he did this a trap-door opened, and he was precipitated upon the revolving knives or sword blades. "Virgins" in one form or another, each equally horrible, formerly existed at Prague, in the castle of Ambrass, near Innspruck, at Saltzburg, and in the royal castle at Berlin; and a somewhat similar instrument was said to have once been in operation in the Ducal Prison at Florence. JOHN BRENT, F.S.A. tored to the office of Master of the Rolls in January, 1692, As Sir John Hawkins has the unenviable reputation of being the first English commander who practised trafficking in human flesh and blood, so Sir John Trevor has the next point of honour in having established, if not introduced, the detestable practice of government bribery and corruption. This system was afterwards carried on unblushingly by Sir Robert Walpole; but the foundation of it was laid by those infamous ministers of King Charles II., Danby and Clifford. Sir John's personal appearance seems to have given a clue to his character; for, when studying the law with a relation, Mr. Arthur Trevor-his peculiarly crafty look was noticed by a client of the above-named gentleman. He asked who he was, and received the reply A kinsman of mine that I have allowed to sit here to learn the knavish part of the law." Macaulay calls him half a pettifogger, half a gambler, and a parasite of the infamous Jefferys, whose cousin he was. He was born in 1633, a member of an old Welsh family, another branch of which had already become greatly distinguished. He was Solicitor-General (Charles II.), Master of the Rolls, Speaker of the House of Commons, and Privy SIR JOHN TREVOR (Vol. iv. 227).—This worthy flourished Councillor (James II.). He remained in office after the in the reigns of Charles II., James II., and William III. Revolution, and made himself extremely useful to William His father, John Trevor, Esq., of Brynkynalt, co. Denbigh, III. The Parliament being dissolved, he was re-elected represented the elder line of the ancient Welsh family of Speaker; but in 1695 it was discovered that he had received Trevor, a younger branch of which was ennobled in 1711, in a bribe of 1050l. from the City of London for parliamentary the person of Sir Thomas Trevor, Chief Justice of the Com-influence, exerted by him in procuring the expeditious passmon Pleas to Queen Anne, created Baron Trevor, of Brom-ing of the " City Orphans' Bill." After sitting for six hours ham (ancestor of the Viscounts Hampden). Adopting the law as a profession, Sir John Trevor became, successively, Recorder of London in October, 1678, and Master of the Rolls in October, 1685, from which latter office he was removed on the accession of William and Mary. He had, however, previously, in July, 1688, been sworn on the Privy Council, and in May, 1690, was appointed First Commis." sioner of the Great Seal, an office he continued to hold until March, 1693. In political life he represented successively in Parliament the borough of Beeralston in 1679, co. Denbigh, 1681, Denbigh town, 1685, Beeralston again, 1689, and Yarmouth, 1690. In the Parliament of 1690, he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons, but was compelled to resign that office, and was expelled the House, March 16, 1695, under circumstances of disgrace. "to be called to nought before his face," he put the question The JAMES STANLEY LITTLE. "cast The incident is quite true, and is given fully by Macaulay Sir John Trevor, who was a kinsman of Sir George Jeffreys, "The proceedings of this session disclosed, what was no was Speaker in the time of James II. and William III. It secret to men of all parties, the frightful corruption by which was on March 12, 1695, that he put from the Chair the resostatesmen in power, and statesmen in opposition, were moved lution which declared himself guilty. He retained the office to support or to resist some measure in which large pecuniary of Master of the Rolls, which he held more than twenty interests were involved; or to screen some public delinquent. years after. When he was expelled the House of Commons Trevor, the Speaker of the House of Commons, was proved for bribery, of course the wits of the day found in him fair to have received a bribe of a thousand guineas from the Cor-game for satire. Having a strong poration of London, for assisting in passing An Act for relief of the orphans and other creditors of the City of London;' that Act under which, when a poor man buys a sack of coals in this winter of 1858, he has still to pay a tax to this long-tolerated phantom of a departed greatness. Trevor had to put the question from the Chair whether he himself was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour, and had to say, The Ayes have it.' He was expelled the House." See Knight's "History of England," Vol. v. p. 177. Before his expulsion from the Commons, he had been res in the eye, it was said, "Justice was blind, but Bribery only squinted!" Sir John Trevor was second Mayor of Oswestry, the charter of incorporation having been granted by Charles II. He was born at Brynkynalt, near that town, now the seat of Lord Edwin Hill-Trevor. The grandson of Sir John Trevor was made Lord Dungannon in 1762, but the title became extinct a few years ago. ASKEW ROBERTS. All, and little is that all, that I can find anent him, is in Beeton's "British Biography," wherein he is stated to have |