rd a few that survive.
Some years ago I wrote a volume on the subject, and searched
diligently to find existing customs in the remote corners of old
England.[61] My book proved useful to Sir Benjamin Stone, M.P., the
expert photographer of the House of Commons, who went about with his
camera to many of the places indicated, and by his art produced
permanent presentments of the scenes which I had tried to describe. He
was only just in time, as doubtless many of these customs will soon
pass away. It is, however, surprising to find how much has been left;
how tenaciously the English race clings to that which habit and usage
have established; how deeply rooted they are in the affections of the
people. It is really remarkable that at the present day, in spite of
ages of education and social enlightenment, in spite of centuries of
Christian teaching and practice, we have now amongst us many customs
which owe their origin to pagan beliefs and the superstitions of our
heathen forefathers, and have no other _raison d'etre_ for their
existence than the wild legends of Scandinavian mythology.

[61] _Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time_ (Methuen and
Co.).

We have still our Berkshire mummers at Christmas, who come to us
disguised in strange garb and begin their quaint performance with the
doggerel rhymes--

I am King George, that noble champion bold,
And with my trusty sword I won ten thousand pounds in gold;
'Twas I that fought the fiery dragon, and brought him to the slaughter,
And by these means I won the King of Egypt's daughter.[62]

[62] The book of words is printed in _Old English Customs_, by
P.H. Ditchfield.

Other counties have their own versions. In Staffordshire they are
known as the "Guisers," in Cornwall as the "Geese-dancers," in Sussex
as the "Tipteerers." Carolsingers are still with us, but often instead
of the old carols they sing very badly and irreverently modern hymns,
though in Cambridgeshire you may still hear "God bless you, merry
gentlemen," and the vessel-boxes (a corruption of wassail) are still
carried round in Yorkshire. At Christmas Cornish folk eat giblet-pie,
and Yorkshiremen enjoy furmenty; and mistletoe and the kissing-bush
are still hung in the hall; and in some remote parts of Cornwall
children may be seen dancing round painted lighted candles placed in a
box of sand. The devil's passing-bell tolls on Christmas Eve from the
church tower at Dewsbury, and a muffled