Waterbury Democrat., 1901-06-25
ST JOHNS DAY.
Brings Back Memories of the Bonfire
 on the Crossroads.


 on the Crossroads.
 Yesterday was St Johns day and it's recurrence must have re- minded many readers of the Democrat of the gay times they had in their youth dancing around the blazing bonfires on rne cross roads, on the hillsides and not infrequently in the market squares in another land. The festivities were invariably kept up all night and the fiddler or piper who furnished inspiration for the merry dancers always went home with well filled wallet, even though one of them did happen to get his violin smashed to smithereens or his squeak ing instrument twisted out of shape once in a while. The musi- clans were genuises of the first order and had way of making money at such places that worked like q charm. When the dance was started the musician usually commenc- ed an unpopular tune and as it re- quired penny to change it, 1t goes without saying that it did not take long for some of the boys or girls to drop a copper into his caubeen, which occupied convenient spot on the ground near hls foot. After a while others would tire of the tune and this was kept up to the end of the set so that the fiddler ofter ralSed i'll a hatfulI of pennies out of one '.heat.'' The dances there last ed longer than the waltzes and polkas ill this country do. They were the kind of exercises Goldsmith referred to in his exquisite poem, '.Tne Deserted vil- lage''
 The dancing pairs that simply
 sought renown
 By holding out to tire each other.
 down.
 They required considerable wind power and the couple that carried off the honors were sure of a big ovation. ln addition to the physical endurance necessary to win fame at this game a certain amount of money was required, too, for the winning couple had to carry tnelr favOrite tune with them to the end and as the contests often lasted half an hour and the tunes constantly cnanglng one can see what the cost would be. But the dancers did not nave to pay all. The onlookers used 70 take q hand in it and frequently toss ed ln pennies accompanied with a shout to ulay up this or that tune. Some of the airs were so popular that people hesitated about changing them and tha nddler or piper, whichever he happened. 70 De- was always old fashioned enough not to play favorite airs If he could help 1t. The man who would stop saIha Wearing of the Green" or .sThe Green { Fields of America" would stand in as much danger of being unable to get a partner during the rest of the perform ance, if nothing worse happened to him, as the fellow who would so far forget himself as to call for some anti national melody and many time it re- quired good deal of coaxfng on the part of the fair sex to save thought less youth from thrashing for his indiscretion in stopping popular airs and calling forth tunes that few cared to hear. 91#B ad lItY gF0si
 About thirty five years ago bonfire dance was in progress on the roadside in one of the country districts of Ire land and about 3 o'clock at night some joker got talking to the fiddler during recess and the man being stranger in the place the fellow suggested that he commence the next dance with "The Boyne Water" telling him that he would not have 1t we'll started when dozens of people would fling pennies into his hat to have it stopped. The O od oil sicv11f being the death of the fiddler As soon as he sounded the first note some one gave his fiddle a kick and others seiz- ed the man and commenced to choke him. The girls screamed and the men who could not get at the fiddler swore and demanded that he be thrown into the fire. Things were in this shape when a priest who was on his way to q sick call rode along and hearing what was up he jumped off his horse and went to the rescue of the fiddler, who at this time had partly satisfied the crowd that he meant no offense. In less time than it takes to tell it the only persons present were the priest and the fiddler, the dancers having skipped ill all directions, some of them rushing out of the place with such haste that they ran through the fire and scattered lighted coals in all. quarters. In the rumpus the fiddler lost all his pennies, the hat containing them being upset and> the coppers strewn about in the dust. That was the end of the dance for that night, but after the facts be- came known delegation looked up the fiddler, apologized for what had happened, bought him a new instru- ment and gave him as much money as he claimed was in the hat when the row started. The next Sunday the priest denounced the businesse in most scathing terms and concluded by stat ing that he would be present at the lighting of the next bonfire at that spot. When another year came around no one cared to take the initiative in col lecting material for the annual bonfire, consequently there was no observance of the day in that village nor has there been from that day to this.
 Of course it should be remembered that this custom of paying musicians was not general. It was a common 4ltx,c fo, s+b<> fddJar fo hn hirpd fnr q