Morning journal and courier., 1893-07-15

.f repnis' the lowland growth of Scottisi l- foyk ore and wsll-beloved olden ways. d Hst all doubters of the existence fir Fl scotland Of most ancient customs and pas
 times step into the great farm Kitchens Q,
 tne Lotnians at Hallowmas eve. Let them
 ss Aulo Reekle's ancient cross, at midnight
 of any New Years eve learn what A Seot
 Hsh Hogmsnsy truly Is. Let them in
 spring and summer and autumn follow the
 heen-eyed, sure-armed golfer, or know the
 thrill Of winter curling joys. Let them
 vlsit thst most ancient and glorious of
 scottish fairs, the St. George cattle fair of
 heiso, where the Tweed and Teviot minRle
 tneir historic waters. Let them wander to
 that decsying realm of gipsydom, quaint
 olo 6etholm, hidden from both English
 ana scottish eyes in the msxss of the
 grewsome Teviot hills, and see the 'sFasten
 Fen" games of Bowmontside, in February,
 almost as ancient as the Teviots them. | serves, and so brave, rough and brawny
 that the spirit of battle and Che strength Of giants are required to withstand thsnn or sull, let them wander to old Hawiok gown sown ana view something that church and sta'e could never put down-the annusI common Ridings; and, as the Cornet Is mounted, feel the thrill of the hero-dsvs within them ss Hogg's soul-stirring lines Sons of heroes slain at Flodden,-
 met to ride ane trace our Common
 burst from thousands of borderers' throsts. and they will know that the Scotia of old
 in tradition, feeling, pastime and yenera, tod custom, ia the sase to-day as lono
 long before the solemn league and cove. nant.
 Down in scared and s,,l Il, Cornwall little indeed has be-. anr r,e o-u ner of change tor hundreds of s~sy. IT. is within the memory of tbose nt ,,- ing when old folk were constantly mentipg in their ancient language, "Cor- noack ewe all ne ces yer yen pope younkl''-"Cornish is all forgot with the young peopleI"-but there has ben no
 oiid oid to lament in truth the dsps7~.uiTTS .iT,.s or
 9tI @ C.stoms in the rugged land 't Ires, | Fol ana nsn." See what a hrst Of these
 oear ola a,NIs, and theae but few out
 or hundreds; S Ss,sn Yankse can find and
 remember: ihe ,Tskin' Sunday" when | all the lads and hssss meet to select
 "pairdners" for Mszsi (cherry) fair, that
 most beloved and anctpt fair at Prnzs; scrub6ing, day; the "yatchinan over
 night for the may-day's coSing; the bless | ing of apple trees on St. ames day and
 at Christmas time; "rook"Ndsy on the
 great estates, when all the \easant folk i! can shoot rocks to their hears content
 and luxuriste in pot pie mao of the | young rocks for a fortnight tereafter;
 "cob-nutting," that ferocious conest be-
 tween Cornish lads, and quite ss won
 derful kite flying by grave old muers;
 that immemorial custom of mothen of
 bestowing gifts to the first person net,
 when returning from a christening; he
 "taking the New Year" into houses inra.
 riably by men first, on s"eoant of tho i'll luck always follr-fng a woman ac ! cfdentel first entrance, custom allhos.
 as upivsrssl in Scotland, Ireland and | # NA.. nF Enotann the ssturnalia of flowers st Helston called
 Furry (Flors) day, as ancient as the duchy itself; and the "huers" of Caring plsden and Porthmins.er hills, St. lves,
 and their horn blowing and bush-vaying
 as the shoaIa of pitchers are sighted.
 | Tnsn there are the Beltsin fires, as iu
 Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, older
 than Christianity iteelf; the touch pipe | or siests of the Cornish miner, 'sooT' grass" and below; the "vsgrom fAirs oi | wild, barbaric conveying by children Of al yapsbond travelling sbsws; the "wiping o the shoe" by the pitcher packing ishwlveI of St. Ives, or daubing the strangers she 2 . with oil, for which half crown "tor luci | of the fair maids that feed and clothe th' . | poor" the pilchers) must be paid, CT hustlinz or a duoking will follow; the yer. | ancient hsrvest-home custom ot "eryini the neck,n which consists of elevsting
 | small smear Ine Dcnk VI
 three times and crying 1.-The Neck" as
 token that the field Is done, and a sign
 for farmside generosity and iollity; ar f those quaint old customs at Cornish fun
 Ffsyin' oot" the corpse, vSscnIn ~nis is nearly equivalent h all essentials 10 il ), Irish wake, the display of the ''bierer e (besrers) and their unique cofhn-tsckle, Il l. slow, weird. pssim chanting procssslona to the churchysrd, the wailing of all [ males at the church, the compensation If the "pa.son" in coin iu the presence O. Il @ multitude; the finsl "cheerin'" Of q D. mourners at the homes of the latter. ar
 the gallons of ''shnaegrum" at the publ x house, over which the lamented "CCi' 's Jack" Is paid the highest euiogy known ,f Cornish genius, '"E knowed tin!'
 In England generally the greAt~numb
 of old customs surviving, and almost pr St vailiny. is far more remarkable to tho l. who will see than can tue sbsence of the ys like be either striking or lamentable sa II. to those of completely opaque vision.
 modern London. modem ss Paris or NJ al York in mos: 0: it's cosmopolitan cssTi S. teristics, thero are 20 end of ancient CT
 toms still in vogue, especially among | ,- ancient guilis and smong the extremes
 society. from the costernongeTs' amt sn outlandjsh parade to the Lord Mayo | te these odd old crrrmonlsls and things th may at any time b. observed h and sbo psrlIsment aBd the hcuss of lorde; wh te for eyery half dozen court ceremOnisls u- voRns during tho time uf Elizabeth q re have been discsTd-d, any persOn of in;
 tieence csn point cut @ score, equally {
 tioua, curiou-, and some might insist 't- diculnus, which have been dauutlassiy Lal tained.
 s. Az have previously snOwn in these sb t!cleu, English villsges and village life
 In lnost par,!culEra ss charming and ch aS aoterfnl ss they w-rr auy time at or ia yord a century ago The customa rem
 with these practically the same; and ,r change in essentials is largely in the jun
 fnstion of those who remove to the citi .he and who are thelnaelves subject to sI lea radical chaugs that their former provinC ,ak environment Ecems mean and detoru ,5 from the new and wnrdrous view.
 coming directly to the mos; important ( hl- effective illustration that can ba uih an, take life in aud about the great Engli of | or for that mssIeT SoOttish and Irish, ,ho blsmea's estates As British inst!tuu and sociology go, these provide the hi
 est possible example. With few exc Ian | tions-such as tt:e di.continuaucs of hol hal brewing ale, and the provision ot B ,h vants' hal in plscs of the common tsbl A the entire regime of these splsrdid pls in remains the same as In the time when ne. old robbsr barons' fortified stone bar md | with ditches around them were tri its formed into prinosly Eiizabethisn csstl' 'ro- hall.
 md In nearly every detail of relations ss tween lord aud tenant; between ten me- and hind; iu the management of the ht ted demesne; in the force of retssnsrs out their dutiss-from steward or agent, d. 'ess past head forester and under forest nth hesd gamekeeper, helpers and "bsate ant head gardener and under gardeners, lo' and keepers and all house servsnts-there nce mains, strong and fixed and seemingly the chanceabie, every oldeH cuetom, oh firm vance. duty, grstuity and pleasant or arg, pleasant association of master and ird, that have for nearly a qUaItsr of tl ling sand yesre, provided the most interes
 pages of English literature and secI d O the almost uns5sken admiration, If ten always affection, Of those who have, host spite all political turmoil, held the Br tern nation together; all of which Ia not 1T heir fense of a system, but the statement 'wn- historic fact and practical illustration nay, most interesting sociological spectacle still Gsnerslizing, there are innumerabl the cient customs and observsnces renal
 in England peculiar 10 its people V ) the are almost ss unconscious fade you The greatest host of these are of a hal not iigious and half social nsture, solsly and ontgrovth of the influence of the Oh nd | avzNA n raal