to Scottish antiquaries, as the reader will find by an inspection of the Archæologia Scotica. A suggestion of the late Professor Robinson of Edinburgh seems the best, that the word was derived from Au qui menez ("To the mistletoe go"), which mummers formerly cried in France at Christmas. Another suggested explanation is, Au queux menez—that is, " Bring to the beggars." At the same time, it was customary for those persons to rush unceremoniously into houses, playing antic tricks, and bullying the inmates, for the money and choice victuals, crying, "Tire-lire (referring to a small money-box they carried), maint du blanc, et point du bas." These various cries, it must be owned, are as like as possible to "Hogmonay, trollolay, give us of your white bread, and none of your grey." Chambers' Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, pp. 164, 165; see Hales's Analysis of Chronology, 1830, i. pp. 50, 51; also Notes and Queries, 5th ser., ii. pp. 329, 517. P. 505, 506.

Brewer, Dictionary Phrase and Fable, derives it from the Saxon hálig monath = holy month. He continues, "King Haco of Norway fixed the feast of Yole on Christmas Day, the eve of which used to be called hogg night, but the Scots were taught by the French to transfer the feast of Yole to the feast of Noel, and hogg-night has ever since been the last of December."

Dver, p. 14, quoting Brand's Popular Antiqs., 1870, i. 11, gives the surviving fragment of the Yorkshire Hagmena Song

To-night it is the New Year's night, to-morrow is the day,
And we are come for our right, and for our ray,
As we used to do in old King Henry's day,

Sing fellows, sing, hag-man ha!

If you go the baconflick, cut me a good bit;
Cut, cut, and low, beware of your maw;
Cut, cut, and round, beware of your thumb,
That me and my merry men may have some.
Sing fellows, etc.

If you go to the black ark, bring me ten marks;

Ten marks, ten pound, throw it down upon the ground,
That me and my merry men may have some,

Sing fellows, etc.

It is a recognized custom, even now, for boys and men to "let the New Year in " at houses. They shout the following rhyme at the front door, which is then opened, and one of their number passes through the house, and, receiving a small present of money, leaves by the back door. The idea that a male person should first

enter a house in the New Year is universal. From the rhyme, one might judge that it was formerly said on Christmas eve.

"I wish you a merry Christmas, And a happy New Year,
A pocket full of money, And a cellar full of beer,
And a good fat pig To serve you all the year.
Ladies and gentlemen Sat (sic) by the fire,
Pity we poor boys Out in the mire."

Bromyard, Herefordshire: see The Antiquary, 1873, iii. 7.
In Warwickshire and Staffordshire the last lines are—

Open the door, and let the old year out,

And the New Year i-in.

On New Year's eve, the wassailers of Gloucestershire go about carrying with them a large bowl, dressed up with garlands and ribbons, and repeat the following song

"Wassail! wassail! all over the town,
Our toat it is white, our ale it is brown,
Our bowl it is made of a maplin tree;
We be good fellows all, I drink to thee.
Here's to our horse, and to his right ear,
God send our maister a happy New Year;
A happy New Year as e'er he did see-
With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee.

Here's to our mare and to her right eye,
God send our mistress a good Christmas pye;
A good Christmas pye as e'er I did see-
With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee.

Here's to Fillpail (cow) and to her long tail,
God send our measter us never may fail,
Of a cup of good beer, I pray you draw near,
And our jolly wassail it's then you shall hear.

Be here any maids? I suppose there be some,

Sure they will not let young men stand on the cold stone;

Sing hey, O maids, come trole back the pin,

And the fairest maid in the house let us all in.

Come, butler, come bring us a bowl of the best :

I hope your soul in heaven will rest;

But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,
Then down fall butler, bowl and all."

See Dixon's Ancient Poems, 1846, p. 199. P. 502, 503.

In Nottinghamshire the young village women go about from door to door, bearing a bowl richly decorated with evergreens and ribbands, and filled with a compound of ale, roasted apples, and toast, and seasoned with nutmeg and sugar. The bowl was offered to the inmates with the singing of the following amongst other

verses

Good master at your door,

Our wassail we begin;
We all are maidens poor,
So we pray you let us in,

And drink our wassail.

All hail, wassail!

Wassail, wassail!

And drink our wassail!

See Journal of the Archæological Association, 1853, viii. 230. At Yarmouth the following doggerel is sung

Wassal, wassal, to our town,

The cup
The cup is made of the ashen tree,
And so is the ale of the good barley;
Little maid, little maid, turn the pin,
Open the door and let us come in ;
God be here, God be there,

is white and the ale is brown;

I wish you all a Happy New Year.

Halliwell's Popular Rhymes, 1849, p. 236.

In the neighbourhood of Sheffield, the wassailers carry a bough of yew or holly, decorated with coloured paper, ribbons, oranges, etc. Their rhyme is

We've been a while a wandering,

All through the fields so green,
And now we've come a wesseling,
So plainly to be seen,

Pray God bless you, pray God bless you,
Pray God send you a happy New Year.-R. 278.

b. THE DAY (January 1st).

On this day an old custom, says Train in his History of the Isle of Man, 1845, ii. 115, is observed, called the Quaaltagh. In almost every parish throughout the island, a party of young men go from house to house singing the following rhyme

"Again we assemble, a merry New Year,
To wish each one of the family here,
Whether man, woman, or girl, or boy,

That long life, and happiness, all may enjoy ;
May they of potatoes and herrings have plenty,
With butter and cheese, and each other dainty;
And may their sleep never, by night or day,
Disturbed be by even the tooth of a flea;
Until at the Quaaltagh again we appear,

To wish you, as now, all a happy New Year."

The whole party are then invited into the house to partake of the best the family can afford. On these occasions, a person of dark complexion always enters first, as a lighthaired male or female is deemed unlucky to be the first foot or quaaltagh on New Year's morning. The actors do not assume fantastic habiliments like the mummers of England, or the guisards of Scotland, nor do they, like the rude performers of the Ancient Mysteries, appear ever to have been attended by minstrels playing on different kinds of musical instruments. P. 8.

I imagine that the following rhyme formed part of some custom at this period, in the Isle of Wight. It was sung by children, full ninety years ago, and is included in the Smith's Isle of Wight Glossary, dial. soc.

"A sale, a sale in our town,

The cup is white, and the eal is brown,
The cup is made from the ashen tree,
And the eal is brew'd from good barlie.

Cake and eal, cake and eal,

A piece of cake, and a cup of eal,
We'll sing merrily one and all,

For a piece of cake, and a cup of eal.

Little maid, little maid, troll the pin,
Open the door, and we'll all vall in ;

Give us a cake, and some eal that's brown,

And we don't keer a fig for the sale in the town."

Each received a cake and a little wooden cup of ale. AK. 60.

Twelfth Night, or the Epiphany.

This being Old Christmas Day, the customs observed on it and its eve resemble in many instances those which take place on our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (December 25th).

At Kingsbridge and Salcombe, Devonshire, it was formerly customary for the ciderist, attended by his workmen with a large can or pitcher of cider, guns charged with powder, etc., to repair to the orchard, and there at the foot of one of the best-bearing apple trees, drink the following toast three times repeated, discharging the firearms in conclusion.

"Here's to thee, old apple tree,

Whence thou may'st bud,

And whence thou may'st blow!

And whence thou may'st bear apples enow!
Hats full caps full !

Bushel-bushel—sacks full !

And my pockets full too! Huzza!"

See BD. i. 21: P. 21. Kingsbridge and Salcombe Historically Depicted, 1819, p. 71; Gent's Mag., 1791, lxi. 403.

Brand, on the authority of a Cornishman, relates it also as a custom with the Devonshire people to go after supper into the orchard with a large milkpan full of cider, having roasted apples pressed into it. Out of this each person in company takes what is called a clome, i.e. earthenware cup, full of liquor, and standing under each of the more fruitful apple trees, passing by those that are not good bearers, he addresses them in the following words—

"Health to thee, good apple tree,
Well to bear pocketfulls, hatfulls,
Peckfulls, bushel bag fulls;"