Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-06-04

animals In which they deal--uuder- !
took to dance the morris with him |
from Sudbury 10 Bury, but became |
completely exhausted aud was very /
reluctantly obliged TO give up before |
they had danced half mile. Kemp
then goee ON 10 say, In his quaint |
style; "As he and were parting, a
lusty country lasse being amDug tho
people, called him feint.hcattci lout.
saying; III hal begun 10 dance
would have held out one mile thou h
II had cost me my life,' at which words
many laughed. Nay saith she, 1T
tho dancer win lend me lease Of HE
bells | will venture 20 tread one mile
with him my-eli.' | looked upon her,
saw mirth ia her eyes, heard bOldntsa
In her words, aud behcli her roaiy 10
tucklo up her russat petiicOaie, fittsd
hor up with bells, which She m.rfiy
taxing, girnishpd her thick short legs
with, and with smooth brow bnde
the tabrer begiu. Tie drum atIueku,
forward marciL ! with my merry
Maybe Marian, who ahOOke her Fat
sides and iToted II merrlly 10 Molforl,
being long myle. hade her aiieu,
| aud, 10 give ner her due. ahs had q
good care, daunst truly, aud We Iar oil
triends.0
Dancing OF almost any kind IL said
TO be among the healthiest AID most
conclusive TO longevity Of all occupa.
tons, but Morris dancing would seem
entitled b. the palm IN those respects "
We are g. believe amphlet printed
during the reign n Jamrs |, which
staies that the united ages OF ten re-.
tired Morri- dancers then living In
Hercf1rdshirg amounted to 300 years,
while Of eight Others the youngest WA
seventy-nine ami the oldest 1903 ycars.
Morris dancing continued 10 hs H.
vOfite Whitsuntilc diversion In Eng.
land down 10 the early yeats OF the
| present century, ami was publicly
danced Ia Gouwell street Road, Lon.
don, A. late as ~ 1896.
Dawn to the middle VI the sovoD-
teenth century tho representation VI
"mystefies" aud "InirAclu playev
always took place nj Whitsunilde
thfoug hout Great Britain and IN mauy
countries Of cpntine tai Europe. They
were dramatic spectaclc- devised dur.
| ing the middle agcs-whon tue Bible
was an interdictrd book--to instruct
the people In sacred story. The "mys.
toriss" represented the narratives Of
the Old and New Iestaments, while
| the miracle ulayFn doliueaied the
lives OF the sainlb. Originally written
aud acted by monks, they continued
iayorite Whit-untiis diversion tor
nearly two centuries after the reforma.
ton, Tor they wefesirungly condemned
| by some churchmen-Rmour them
being Micklltis aud his iollowera--as
| proianc treatment " sacred subjects,
! yet Lulhrr gave Thorn his sanction,
saying that Ia his op,ninn "Suoh
upeciRcles o.ten dp more good and
produce more Impression than SER
mons"
These religious dramas were usually
performed IA churches, though ffo.
quently Ia cemeteries, market plac r
aud public squares ~ we'll. Three
stages were usually rrccicd-Our
above the other. Upon the highest
wAa a representation Of the Creator
aud Hts aAgels, aud upon the next
lower u the saints, while the action OF
the drama took place upon the lowest.
Upon one side VI the last named there
wln representation Of tue mouth Of
hell whence oame lire aud smoke aud
the crles ~ the lost. Demons also
Issued from II, Their coarse iesls and
horse play forming tue low comedy
part Of the entertainment and afford.
Ing inhnite amusement 10 the audi.
cnce.
IL was my good. fortune, while
sojourning In Naples some years ago,
10 participate In tue elaborate fiesta III
Monte Nirglnie, which the Neap0li.
taus annually celebrate ou Whit sun
day and during the two succeed ~
days. fhe principal features OF the
celebration take place al a church
erected upon mountain near Avo.
lino, n lays Journey On loot from Ma.
pies, and the pretiesti most Interest
lag part VI the ceremony II the loug traiu
OF Carriares, wagons, carreias, and
all sorts OF WONDERFUL, nOnd.sctipt
vehicles, gaily decorated with nowors,
ribbons AMI garlauda-as are also the
horses, oxen and asses drawing them
which winds from tho city along pic
turesque roads TO the summit OF the
mountains, attended by great crowd.
OF merry makers ON foot singing and
dancing untltingly and bearing sticks
which support brightly oolored pie
lures Of Madonna.
In 81. Petersburgh In 1875, | wit.
mes ied what was perhaps the last oh
te.yance Of Whit 5untide custom
which though once highly popular had
long been gradually dying out. II wa,
n saow OF marrlngeble women ant
girls desirous OF obtaining huslan e.
and took place on Whit Sunday al,of'
noon In the "Suminer Garden" +,
place Of poiulht rrsott. Tue y>iuug
WON IN were attended by their parents
or some other elderly relative through
I d AZ Anal Lar
with maid, he conducted his negotia
ton for her hand.
II is, OF coursc, needless TO gay tha
this age was confined TO the lowe
aud middle classes,
GloFFREy wILLIsToN CHRISTINE
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