The dumb-cake was made by unmarried women who wished to divine the selection of fate as to their future husbands. The cake was baked in strict silence by two maidens on Midsummer's eve, and afterwards broken into three pieces by another, who placed one under each of their pillows; during sleep the expectant fair ones were rewarded with a vision of their lovers, but the charm was ruined if only a single word were spoken. Hemp-seed, also, was sown by young maidens, who whilst scattering it recited the words "Hemp-seed I sow, hemp-seed I hoe, and he that is my true-love come after me and mow." After repeating the rhyme three times it was only necessary to look over the shoulder, and the apparition of the destined swain would never fail to appear :"At eve last Midsummer no sleep I sought,

But to the field a bag of hemp-seed brought;
I scattered round the seed on every side,
And three times, in a trembling accent cried :
'This hemp-seed with my virgin hand I sow,
Who shall my true love be the crop shall mow.'

I straight looked back, and, if my eyes speak truth,
With his keen scythe behind me came a youth."1

A spinster who fasted on Midsummer's eve, and at midnight laid a clean cloth, with bread, cheese, and ale, and sat down to the table as though about to eat, would be gratified with a sight of the person to whom she would be married. This individual was supposed to pass through the doorway, left open for the purpose, as the clock struck twelve, and, approaching the table, to salute his future partner with a bow and a pretence of drinking her health, after which he vanished, and the maid retired to her couch to rejoice or mourn, according as she admired or contemned the prospect in store for her. Cuttings or combings from the hair were thrown into the fire, and upon their blazing brightly or smouldering away depended the duration of life likely to be enjoyed by the person from whose head they had been taken. Wishing-wells and gates were visited by credulous rustics, who were anxious to make use of their mysterious power in obtaining their desires in matters of love or business. The forefinger was deemed venomous, and on that account children were instructed not to spread salve or ointment with it.

About a century ago oats formed the chief production, and

I. Gay.

nearly, if indeed not quite, the only grain crop cultivated in the Fylde. When reaped, in harvest time, this commodity was carried on the backs of pack-horses to the markets of Poulton, Kirkham, Garstang, and Preston. The "horse bridge" between Carleton and Poulton was originally a narrow structure, capable only of affording passage to a single horse at once, and it was from the practice of the farmers, with their laden cattle, crossing the stream by its aid, when journeying to market, that the bridge derived its name. These horses followed a leader ornamented with a bell, and after they had arrived at their destination and been relieved of their burdens, returned home in the same order without a driver, leaving him to attend to his duties at the market. The old bridge in use at the period to which we allude, still exists, but is built over and hidden by the present erection. Later experience has taught the agriculturist that the soil of the Fylde is capable of producing, under proper tillage, other crops, equal in their abundance to the one to which it appears formerly to have been mainly devoted, and it would be difficult at the present day to enumerate with accuracy the many and varied fruits of the earth that have fonnd a home in the Corn-field of Amounderness.

We mentioned about the commencement of the chapter that marl was in general use as a manure in the Anglo-Saxon era, and here it is perhaps hardly necessary to state that this substance, so rich in lime and so adapted for giving consistency to the sandy soils, is still occasionally had recourse to by the husbandman. Guano was first introduced into this country about the year 1842, but it is probable that it was not commonly used in our district until the beginning of 1845, when a cargo was imported from Ichaboe to Fleetwood by Messrs. Kemp and Co., and offered for sale to the farmers of the neighbourhood. Other cargoes followed. Subjoined are arranged some tables showing the average market values of certain productions of the Fylde in the two years given:—

Jan. to June. July to Dec. Jan. to June. July to Dec.

1. This high price was owing to an almost complete failure in the potatoe crops. 2. Obtained by striking an average of the weekly market quotations in the local periodicals, published weekly during the respective years.

CHAPTER V.

COSTUMES, COUNTRY, RIVERS, AND SEA.

HE history of the dresses and costumes of the inhabitants of the Fylde is interesting not only on account of the multifarious changes and peculiarities which it exhibits, but also as a sure indication of the progress in civilisation, wealth, and taste, made in our section at different eras. To Julius Cæsar we are indebted for our earliest knowledge of the scanty dress worn by the aborigines of this district, and from that warrior it is learnt that a slight covering of roughly prepared skins, girded about the loins, and the liberal application of a blue dye, called woad, to the rest of the body constituted the sole requisites of their primitive toilets. Cæsar conjectures that the juice or dye of woad was employed by the people to give them a terror-striking aspect in battle, but here he seems to have fallen into error, for the wars engaged in by the Setantii would be confined to hostilities with neighbouring tribes, stained in a similar manner, and it is scarcely reasonable to suppose that either side would hope to intimidate the other by the use of a practice common to both. A more probable explanation of the custom is, that it was instituted for the ornamental qualities it possessed in the eyes of the natives. Such a view is supported by the remarks of Solinus, a Roman author, who informs us that the embellishments usually consisted of the figures of animals, "which grew with the growth of the body"; and from this it is evident that before the frame had arrived at maturity, in either youth or childhood, the skin was subjected to the painful and laborious process of tattooing, for such according to Isidore, appears to have been the nature of the operation. The

latter asserts that the staining was accomplished by squeezing out the juice of the plant on to the skin, and puncturing it in with sharp needles. When the Romans established a station at Kirkham, and opened out the Fylde by means of a good road-way to the coast, the Setantii modified their wild uncultivated habits, and, taking pattern from the more civilised garb of their conquerors, adopted a covering for the lower limbs, called bracha, hence the modern breeches, whilst many of the chiefs were not long before they strutted about in all the pride of a toga, or gown. About four hundred years later, when the Anglo-Saxons had taken possession of the soil of the Fylde, and had either appropriated the deserted settlements and renamed them, or reared small and scattered groups of dwellings of their own, a marked change became visible in the nationality, character, and costumes of the people. No longer the semi-civilised and half-clad Briton was lord of the domain, but the more refined Saxon with his linen shirt, drawers, and stockings, either of linen or woollen, and bandaged crosswise from the ankle to the knee with strips of leather; over these a tunic of the same material as the stockings was thrown, and reached as low as the knees, being plain or ornamented according to the means or rank of the wearer. This garment was open at the neck and for a short distance over the chest; the sleeves, extending to the wrists, were generally tight, and a girdle frequently, but not universally, confined the gown round the waist. In addition a small cloak was worn for out-door purposes over the tunic, and fastened on the breast or shoulder with brooches or clasps. The shoes of the Saxon settlers were open down the instep, where they were laced or tied with two thongs. Even the very lowest of the population, although poverty might reduce them to miserable straits, seldom, if ever, went barefooted. Caps, on the contrary, were not in great request, and rarely to be seen, unless on the heads of some of the more affluent. Our female ancestors at that era were habited in a close-fitting dress, falling to the feet and furnished with tight sleeves, reaching as far as the wrists, over which was placed a shorter gown with loose open sleeves. Their head-dress was simply a strip of linen of sufficient length to wrap round the temples and fall on the neck. Amongst the wealthiest of the nation a flowing mantle, ornaments of precious metal, and sable,