it may probably give me encouragement to proceed on fome other fpeculations, if poffible, of greater importance than what I now offer; and which have been the labour of many years, as well as of conftant watchings, that I might be ufeful to mankind, and particularly to mine own country. Defcription of a Rape-threshing, in the North Riding of Yorkshire; from a letter by the Rev. Mr. Comber to the publishers of the Museum Rufticum. him; for the people who come must be entertained. The confequence of this, that the farmer has always great numbers of useless, troublesome, and expenfive guests. Every man who brings his flail from any distance, brings his wife, his daughter, or both, or even little children, to partake of the feast. Another bad confequence is, that almoft every man is ambitious of being a threther, which is a work he may make almoft as light as he pleafes; and when there are more threshers than fufficient, they confound both each other and the T is the established cuftom, in attendants, who cannot bring the I this part of the world, to receive no money for any part of the labour of thrething of rape; but then the farmer is obliged to treat all who come, not only with meat, but drink, infomuch that he makes a feaft, and this for all comers. He brews feveral quarters of malt; he kills a fat beaft and several fheep; he has his oven more than once filled with pies, puddings, and bread; he has a fidler at every cloth; he has barrels of ale ready broached near every cloth; and perfons to attend, that every comer may be fupplied to his with. For fear he should be obliged to have more than one day (the expence of which is fo great, as to fall fomewhere between ten and fifteen pounds) he not only invites all his relations, friends, acquaintance, and neighbours near, but even at some distance; and therefore, if the propofed day, of which they have notice fome time before, prove rainy, it is a terrible lofs to rapes, or remove the ftraw or feed The numbers of people on the Sz field are fuch, that the farmer frequently knows not the greater part, nor dares he ask them their names, or places of abode, as fuch a question would be thought a vis. lation of hofpitality, and fecure to him. and perhaps his defcendants, the name of mifer. Such are the obftacles, above hinted at, to a reform in this fhameless practice. Many people come to the field fo well dreffed, that their drefs is a plain proof they do not intend to work. A neighbour of mine is thought to have had three hundred people, or more, on his field. As it is impoffible to entertain thefe in any farm-houfe, the famer erects long crofs tables, formed of planks laid over firkins, on fome dry pleasant hill near his houfe, and, if he can, under fhade. The very people employed in preparing and conducting the feaft are a confiderable number. The fight of thefe preparations for dinner, and the defire of having nothing to do but to eat, drink, fing, and dance, are the frongeft, nay almoft only, inducements to the tumultuous multitude to finish the work, which is indeed completed in a very few hours. They begin at ten or éleven in the morn ing, and end at two or three in *the afternoon. From this time, all is a scene of riotous merriment. Though the graver people retire *fooner, the wilder ftay till next morning, or at leaft till they have drunk the farmer dry. One great inconvenience attending our method of thrething of rape, regards not the farmer who threshes, but the public, and this is, the drawing a vast number of useful hands and eyes, both the workers and the overfeers, from country bufinefs, especially our hay-harveft, in a whole track of country; fo that, if we happen to have three or four rape-fields in our neighbourhood, it is incredible how much we fuffer in our hay, &c. efpecially if the weather proves catching, as it has been remarkably this year. Another great inconvenience attending this method of threshing is, that the damp weather, which often prevents threshing, fpoils the fresh meat provided, and puts the farmer to the expence of new provifions. I have known a fariner provide three times. The laft inconvenience which I fhall mention is, that all comers turn their horfes into the farmer's ground nearest to his house, which is almoft always his cow-pafture; and forty or fifty hungry horfes or even a much lefs number, do him infinite damage there, efpecially if his pafture be not large and well grown. I have endea voured, gentlemen, to perform the offer made by Your humble fervant, Eaft Newton, Auguft 21, 1764. POETRY. POETRY. THE ANCIENT BALLAD OF CHEVY-CHASE. From the ingenious Mr. Percy's Reliques of ANCIENT ENGLISH POETRY; with that gentleman's obfervations upon this curious piece of antiquity. I never heard the old fong of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet: and yet it' is fung but by fome blinde crowder, with no rougher voice, than rude ftile; which being fo evill aparelled in the duft and cobweb of that uncivill age, what would it work, trimmed in the gorgeous eloquence of Pindare? SIR PHILIP SYDNEY'S DEFENCE OF POETRY, The fine beroic fong of CHEVY-CHASE has ever been admired by competent judges. Thofe genuine ftrokes of nature and artless paffion, which have endeared it to the oft fimple readers, have recommended it to the most refined; and it has equally been the amusement of our childhood, and the favourite of our riper years. Mr. Addifm has given an excellent critique (1) on this very popular ballad, but is mistaken with regard to the antiquity of our present copy; for this, if `one may judge from the ftyle, cannot be older than the time of Elizabeth, and was probably written after the eulogium of Sir Philip Sydney; perhaps in conSequence of it. I flatter myself, I have here recovered the genuine antique poem: the true original fong, which appeared rude even in the time of dir Philip, and caufed him to lament that it was fo evil apparelled in the rugged garb of antiquity. This curiofity is printed from an old manufcript, at the end of Herne's preface to Gul. Newbrigenfis Hift. 1719. 8vo, vol. 1. To the MS. Copy is fubjoined the name of the author, RICHARD SHEALE (2), whom Hearne had fo little judgment as to supppose to be the fame with a R. Sheale, who was living in 1588. But whoever examines the gradation of language and idiom in the following volumes, will be convinced that this is the production of an earlier poet. It is indeed expressly mentioned among fume (1) Spectator, No. 70, 74: (2) Sutfcribed, after the ufual manner of our old poets, EXPLICETH [explicit] QUOTA RICHARD SHEALE. very ancient fongs in an old book, intituled, The Complaint of Scotland (3), (fol. 42) under the title of the HUNTIS OF CHEVET, where the two following lines are alfo quoted: The Perffee and the Mongumrye mette (4) Which, though not quite the fame as they fland in the ballad, yet differ not more than might be owing to the author's quoting from memory. Indeed, whe ever confiders the flyle and orthography of this old poem, will not be inclined to place it lower than the time of Henry VI.: as, on the other hand, the mention of JAMES THE SCOTTISH KING (6), with one or two Anachronisms, forbid us to affign it an earlier date. King James I. who was prifoner in this kingdom at the death of his father (7), did not wear the crown of Scotland till the fecond year of our Henry VI. (8), but before the end of that long reign, a third had mounted the throne (9). A fucceffion of two or three James's, and the long detention of one of them in England, would render the name familiar to the English, and difpofe a poet in thofe rude times to give it to any Scottish king be happened to mention. So much for the date of this old ballad: with regard to its fubje&t, altho' it has no countenance from hiftory, there is room to think it had originally fome foundation in fact. It was one of the laws of the marches, frequently renewed between the two nations, that neither party should hunt in the other's borders, without leave from the proprietors or their deputies (10). There had long been a rivalship between the two martial families of Percy and Douglas, which, heightened by the national quarrel, must have produced frequent challenges and Aruggles for fuperiority, petty invafions of their respective domains, and sharp contefts for the point of honour; which would not always be recorded in biftory. Something of this kind, we may suppose, gave rife to the ancient ballad of the HUNTING A' THE CHEVIAT (11). Percy, earl of Northumberland, had vowed to hunt for three days in the Scottish border, without condefcending to ask leave from Earl Douglas, who swas either lord of the foil, or lord warden of the marches. Douglas would not fail to refent the infult, and endeavour to repel the intruders by force: this would naturally produce a sharp conflict between the two parties: (3) One of the earliest productions of the Scottish prefs, now to be found. The title page was wanting in the copy bere quoted; but it is fupposed to barve been printed in 1540. See Ames. .36. 140. (4) See Pt. 2. v. 25. (5) See Pt. 1. v. 104. (6) Pt. 2. v. (7) Who died Aug. 5, 1406. (8) James I. was crowned May 22, 1424: murdered Feb. 21, 1436.7. (9) In 1460.-Hen. VI. was deposed 1461: reftored and flain 1471. (10) Item.... Concordatum eft, quod,... NULLUS unius partis vel alterius ingrediatur terras, bofchas, forreftas, warrenas, loca, domina, quæcunque alicujus partis alterius fubditi, caufa venandi, pifcandi, aucupandi, difportum aut folatium in eifdem, aliave quæcunque de caufa ABSQUE LICENTIA ejus... ad quem loca.. pertinent, aut de deputatis fuis prius capt. & obtent. Vid. Bp. Nicholfon's Leges Marchiarum. 1705. 8vo. p. 27. 51. (11) This was the original title. See the ballad, Pt. 1. v. 106, Pt. 2. v. 165. .... Jome fomething of which, it is probable, did really happen, tho' not attended with the tragical circumstances recorded in the ballad: for thefe are evidently borrowed from the BATTLE OF OTTERBOUN, a very different event, but which aftertimes would easily confound with it. That battle might be owing to fome fuch previous affront as this of CHEVY-CHACE, though it has efcaped the notice of hiftorians. Our poet has evidently jumbled the two events together: if indeed the lines (12) in which this mistake is made, are not rather Spurious, and the after-infertion of fome perfon, who did not diftinguish between the two ftaries. Hearne has printed this ballad, without any divifion of flanzas, in long lines, as he found it in the old written copy: but it is ufual to find the diftinction of ftanzas neglected in ancient MSS.; where, to fave room, two or three verfes are frequently given in one line undivided. See flagrant inftances in the Harleian Catalogue," No. 2253. S. 29, 34, 61, 70, & passim. |