The Sun.
London, England, 1822-12-24 00:00:00

them in their disguise; but, on particular occa-
sions, varied; and was formed into a sort of cha-
racteristic procession of drama. Stowe has pre-
served an account of a remarkable mummery
made in 1377 by the citizens of London, " for
the disport of the young Prince Richard, son to
Edward the Black Prince," who then resided at
the Palace at Kensington. The dresses, &c., in
this, were particularly grand. And the like, he
informs us, took place in compliment to King
Henry the Fourth, in the second year of his
reign, whilst residing at Eltham Palace; " when
twelve Aldermen of London and their sonnes,
rode a mumming, and had great thanks." Before
this, in the year 1348, there was also a splendid
ceremonial of this kind, when, according to
Andrews, in his History of Great Britain, " eight
tunics of buckram, forty-two visors, and a great
variety of other whimsical articles of dress, were
provided for the disguisings at court, at the feast
of Christmas."

The revel-master, called the Lord of Misrule,
was a sort of officer appointed on occasion of
some of the great Christmas festivities, to keep
order during the celebration of the different sports
and pastimes which took place. The Univer-
sities, and in London, the principal Inns of
Court, were the most expensive in the prepara-
tions and pageantry attending this kind of mock
solemnity, which the reader, if he has patience
to read about such sort of foolery, will find
prolixly detailed in Dugdale's " Origines Juri-
diciales." The custom, however, was not con-1
fined to these places ; for Stowe tells us there
was, at the feast of Christmas in the King's house,
wheresoever he lodged, a Lord of Misrule, or
master of merry disports, " and the like had ye
in the house of every nobleman of honour and
good worship, were he spiritual or temporal."
The Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs had their se-
veral Lords of Misrule, ever contending, with-
out quarrel or offence, who should make she
rarest pastime to delight the beholders. These
Lords, beginning their rule at Allhallowtide Eve,
and continuing the same till the morrow after the
Purification, commonly called Candlemas-day, in
which space there were generally fine and subtil
disguisings, masks, and mummeries ; with play-
ing at cards for counters, nayles, and pointes, in
every house. " More," he adds, "to the shame
of 'modern times, 4 for pastime than gain.' "-
I'he name only of the Lord of Misrule is now
remembered. The Lords of Misrule were first
preached against at Cambridge, by the Puritans,
in the reign of James 1., as an appointment un-
becoming the gravity of the University ; and in
Scotland these personages, there called in deri-
sion the " Abbot of Unreason," were thought
worthy to be suppressed by the Legislature as
early as 1555.
The foot and plough dance was a custom used
about this time in the north of England, and still
in part kept up. It consisted of a sort of pageant
in which were a number of sword dancers drag-
ging a plough ; and one, sometimes two, in strange
attire. What was called " the Bessig," in the
grotesque habit of an old woman, and the "fool,"
almost covered with skin, a hairy cap on, and
the tail of some animal hanging from his back,
acted as a sort of clown; and one of them went
about rattling a box amongst the spectators of the
dance, in which he received their little donations.

Christmas boxes which were formerly a matter
of bounty, have in late times been almost de-
manded as a matter of right. This tax on trades-
men; in particular, says the author of the Connois-
seur, gave him a pretence to lengthen out his
bill, and the master and mistress to lower their
wages on account of the vails. Gay, in his
Tristia,mentions the Christmas-box—

" 'Some boys are rich by birth beyond all wants,
Belov'd by uncles and kind good old aunts ;
When time comes round a Christmas box they bear,
And one day makes them rich for all the year."
Parliament, in 1652, by order, enjoined " That
no observation shall be had of the five and
twentieth' day of December, commonly called
Christmas day, nor any solemnity used or exer-
cised in churches in respect thereof." We live
now in more liberal times.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.---About a quarter before

four o'clock yesterday afternoon, an elegrntly
dressed female was observed walking in a de-
jected state in the Birdcage-walk, St. James's
Park ; she looked at several of the trees with
apparent earnestness, and seemed quite insen-
sible of the object of the mob who followed

her, till she arrived opposite Story's Gate, when
she took a handkerchief and made it fast to a
tree, but finding the bough to which she at-
tached it was not her height, she untied it
again, and tied it to another much higher. She
very leisurely tied it round her neck in the pre-
sence of a large crowd of men and boys, who all
the time watched her motions, and springing for-
ward, twisted it ronnd in such a manner that she
was entirely raised from the ground, and would
have been strangled had she not been immedi-
ately cut down. She then abused those around

her in the most gross language, saying she was
by birth a Lady. She was recognised to be a
woman well known in St. James's. She had

been supported by a Noble Peer in splendid
equipages only a few years ago, and through
some fault afterwards abandoned ; since which
she has been seen about the streets, frequently
in despondency. A constable took her to the
workhouse, until she can be got into some proper
asylum.

SHOCKING MURDER AND ROBBERY.--A dread-
ful murder was perpetrated in the village of
Lianbeder, in North Wales, on Monday night.
Jane Williams, an aged widow, many years a re-
spectable shopkeeper in the above village, and
who was generally thought to have amassed a
little wealth, was found murdered behind her
confuter on Monday morning. A little grand-
daughter said she heard her gradmother,
in the night, cry " Murder !" two or three
times, but was too much frightened to stir.—
Three persons are supposed to have been con-
cerned—they had dragged their unfortunate
victim from her bed ; the shop drawers, &c.
were broken open, and several articles stolen, as
well as what money she might have had in them.
'We have not heard of any clue being yet afforded
by which to trace the wretches.