Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-12-25
fact that much of our ballad and lerend.

| Aaa0O t00S WuCu VI OuI OA418O 8uU 1k380QO.
nry lore has been learnt uiu1 yocc, and
handed down from generation to genol-
alton. i
Christmas Jewellers in the "9ood Ia
times" must have had rare digeetbd
if We may. judge from the following
sample of n bill Of fare served up in Il
barOnial hall.
! "Iogshcads Of honey. kildcrkina of mustard:
Muttons and fattod bccv,s, and bacon swine
lIcr",s and btcrns, pcacocks, swans, and bustars,
! Ital lnlllAld, pigeons widgconS and in fine,
Plum buildings, pancakes, apl,l.-cs, and cnsiards,
And will hal, they drank good Gascon wiuc,,
" It'll mead and ale and cider Of Dur own;
For porter pinch, and rcgus were MT knowR
| All fOrts OF people there were seen together,
An SORTS OF characters. all sorts Of dresses:
The TOOL with toXs tail AMI pcacurk's fc ,thcr,
Pilgrims aud pcniIenls aud grave burgesset:
The country people with their COuts of leather,
WINNERS and victuallers with cans and ,nesscs;
Gr0nns, arChrrs, vnrlcts fnlC0ncrs. and ycOmcn;
| lHnscs and waiting-maids and waiting wol,c,l."
Truly, enough to dine an army corps {!
II We are to credit the rhapso.lics Of
Stowe and IUlinshc,l. cooks in those
days were paragons, and a wcll-driilc0
army in the kitchen is half the battle
III preparing IL feast. AS Sam Weller
| observed of the lncat-pics, {" the season.
ing does it..
No mcancr crcaturcs-scar cm all
By fire their food prepare;
Man 10 the cooking animal, ~
And need be nothing mair."~
The harper in the days known as the
"good old times" and Christmas
times in particular, was tiattered by an
attentive audience when he discussed,
as Shelley has it,
..Thc melody of an old air softe ar than slecn :"
or told of the doughty deeds of Sir
Topas, Bevis OF southampton, Guy of
Warwick, Adam Bell, or Clym of the
Clough. Alas, the good old times are
ever on the retreat :! and that there
never was such a Christmas as the last, -
is well-known truism. The fool, too,
Ready in gbss quick answered, sa,,cy and
AS 4uefrulOls AZ the WcAZel,"
n veritable "Wamba the son of Witless, -
excited mirth by his lively sallies upon
the
''Damsels and waiting maids and waiting woman,
and voted by one and all "tco per-
strcperous saucc-box." The squire
and his family mingled i'll the amuse.
ments, surrounded by guests and de-
pendents, beloved by all, the beau
itleat of the English country gentle
man
Good to the poor, to kindred dear,
while the squire's lady,
"A woman in her freshest age,
OtWOndrons beauty and Of bounty rare,
With goodly grace and comc1y parsonage"
had a gracious salutation for all, as,
leaning on the arm of her liege lord,
she passed down the hall, about to be
given over to the mirth of the bolster
GUS household. The heir to the old
estates
"A comely youth to zee,
With curling locks and forehead high,
And flashing cheek and flashing cye"-
stayed behind in order to put in practice
certain druidical ceremonies "undel
the mistletoe bough," the willing victim
being
Beauty ripe as harvest"
The unhappy wren used to be an
object of persecution on Christmas day.
Please, boys, don't be hard on him this
year:
"AIthough heis small, his family's great" etc.
It would be too much to suggest,
"leave off crab-setting, springes, and
figure of-four;" think of the time when
=" Shepards watch'd their nocks by night,
All seated on the ground"
and content yourselves with singing
"God bless you, merry gentlemen!
Let nothing you dismay;
Remember Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas-day."
CADWALLADER WADbY,