he young people ride the skimmington,
There is a general trembling in the town;
Not only he for whom the party rides
Suffers, but they sweep other doors besides;
And by the hieroglyphic does appear
That the good woman is the master there."

According to Douce, _skimmington_ is derived from _skimming-ladle_, used
in the ceremony.

In Butler's "Hudibras," considerable attention is paid to the custom. A
few of the lines are as follow:

"And now the cause of all their fear,
By slow degrees approached so near,
Of horns, and pans, and dogs, and boys,
And kettle-drums whose sullen dub,
Sounds like the hooping of a tub;
. . .
And followed with a world of tall lads,
That merry ditties troll'd and ballads.
. . .
Next pans and kettles of all keys,
From trebles down to double base:
. . .
And at fit periods the whole rout
Set up their throat with clamorous shout."

A notice of an old Welsh ceremony appeared in the _Liverpool Mercury_ on
March 15th, 1887, and it will not be without interest to reproduce it.
"That ancient Welsh custom," says the writer, "now nearly obsolete,
known as riding the ceffyl pren--_Anglice_, 'wooden-horse'--and intended
to operate as a wholesome warning to faithless wives and husbands, was
revived on Saturday night in an Anglesey village some three miles from
Llangefni. The individual who had drawn upon himself the odium of his
neighbours had parted from his wife, and was alleged to be persistent in
his attentions to another female. On Saturday night a large party
surrounded the house, and compelled him to get astride a ladder,
carrying him shoulder-high through the village, stopping at certain
points to allow the womankind to wreak their vengeance upon him. This
amusement was kept up for some time until the opportune arrival of a
sergeant of police from Llangefni, who rescued the unlucky wight."

[Illustration: Ye Ende]

Index.

Aberdeen, jougs at, 180

Abusing a mistress, 179

Admiralty of the Humber, Court of the, 3-5

Adultery, 232-241

Alban, burnt to death, 98

Aldbury stocks, 200

Alfreton, 143

Alive, gibbeted, 58, 76-77

Altrincham, 284

American punishments, 206-207, 274-275

Anglo-Saxon punishments, 41, 186

Applegirth, jougs at, 183

Aram, Eugene, 53-55

Argyle, Earl of, 132

Ascham, R., 177

Ashby-d