Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-11-28
THE HARVEST HOME.
THANKSGIVING IN OLD ENGLAND in
THE LONG AGO.

Bringing Home the Last Load of
Grain - Songs and Franks of the
Harvesters -- Old Scottish Customs.
The Harvest Queen.
In the old simple days of England,
before the natural feelings of the peo-
pie had been checked and chilled off by
Puritanism in the first place and what
may be called gross commercialism in
the second, the harvest home was such
a scene as Horaces friends might have
expected to see at his Sabine farm or
Theocritus described in his "Idyls,"
says the Montreal Star. Perhaps it
really was the very same scene which
was presented in ancient times. The
grain last cut was brought home in it's
wagon, called the hook cart, surmount-
ed by figure formed of a sheaf with
gay dressing, presumable representa-
ton of the goddess Ceres, while pipe
and tabor wSnt merrily sounding in
front and the reapers tripped around
in hand in hand ring, singing appro-
pirate songs or simply by shouts and
cries giving vent to the excitement of
the day.
Harvest home, harvest home,
We have plowed, we have sowed
We have reaped, we have moved,
We have brought home every load.
Hip, hip, hip harvest home
So they sang OF shouted. In Lincoln
shire and other districts hand bells
were carried by those riding on the
last load, and the following rhymes
were sung:
The boughs do shake, and the bells do ring,
So merrily comes our harvest in,
Our harvest in, our harvest in,
So merrily comes our harvest in.
Hurrah!
Troops of village children, who had
contributed in various ways to the
great labor, joined the throng, solaced
with plum cake in requital of their lit
tie services Sometimes the image on
the cart instead of being a mere dress
ed up bundle of grain was pretty girl
of the reaping band, crowned with
flowers and hailed as the maiden" OF
this we have q description in ballad
of Bloomfield's:
Home came the iovial hockey load
Last of the whole years crop,
And Grace among the green boughs rode,
Right plump upon the top.
This way and that the wagon reeled,
And never queen rode higher;
Her cheeks coored in the field
And ours before the fire.
In some provinces-we may instance
Buckinghamshire-it was a favorite
some place where high bank or tree
gave opportunity and drench the hook
cart party with water. Great was the
merriment when this was cleverly and
effectively DONE the riders laughing
while they shook themselves as merrily
as the rest. Under all the rustic jocosi-
ties of the occasion there seemed ba-
sis OF pagan custom, but it was such as
not to exclude a Christian sympathy.
Indeed the harvest home of old Eng
land was obviously and beyond ques-
tion piece Of natural religion, an ebul-
lition of jocund gratitude to the divine
source of all earthly blessings.
LII IuC AlOl III tnClC OCCDlC0 " nav z
been some differences in the observ-
ance. 1t was common there for the
reapers on the last day of their busi-
ness to have a contention for superiori-
ty in quickness of dispatch, groups of
three or four taking each ridge and
striving which should soonest get to
its termination.
In Scotland this was called kemp
ing, which simply means striving. In
the north of England it was a NELL
which, / suspect, means the same thing
from French melee. AS the reapers
went on during the last day they took
care to leave good handful of the
grain uncut, but laid down fiat and COW
cred over, and when the field was done
the "bonniest lass" was allowed to cut
this handful, which was presently
dressed up with various servings, tyings
and trimmings, like a doll, and hailed
as corn baby. 1t was brought home
in triumph, with music of fddles and
bagpipes, was set up conspicuously that
night at supper and was usually pre-
served in the farmers parlor fer the re-
mainder of the year.
The bonny lass who cut this handful
of grain was deemed the harvest queen.
In Hertfordshire and probably other
districts of England there was the
same custom of reserving a final hand
full, but it was tied up and erected I'M
der the name of a mare, and the reap
ers then one after another threw their
slckles at it to cut it down. The sue
cessful individual called out, 81 have
herY' "What have your cried the
rest. "a mare. mare, marey' he re-