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But in the Popish Court it standes in passing hie degree,

As spring and head of wondrous gaine, and great commoditee.
For in St Agnes' church upon this day while masse they sing,

Two lambes as white as snowe, the Nonnes do yearely use to bring:
And when the Agnus chaunted is, upon the aultar hie,

(For in this thing there hidden is a solemne mysterie)

They offer them. The servaunts of the Pope, when this is done,

Do put them into pasture good till shearing time be come.
Then other wooll they mingle with these holy fleeses twaine,

Wherof, being sponne and drest, are made the Pals of passing gaine."

In Jephson's Manners, &c., of France and Italy, is a poetical epistle dated from Rome, 14th February 1793, certifying the use of this ceremony at that time :

"ST AGNES'S SHRINE.

"Where each pretty Ba-lamb most gaily appears,
With ribands stuck round on its tail and its ears;

On gold-fringed cushions they're stretch'd out to eat,
And piously ba, and to church-music bleat;

Yet to me they seem'd crying-alack, and alas!

What's all this white damask to daisies and grass!

Then they're brought to the Pope, and with transport they're kiss'd,

And receive consecration from Sanctity's fist :

To chaste Nuns he consigns them, instead of their dams,

And orders the friars to keep them from rams."

ST VINCENT'S DAY.

January 22.

T VINCENT was a Spanish martyr, said to have been tormented

Douce's MS. Notes, referring to Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, reproduce an old injunction to observe whether the sun shines on St Vincent's Day

"Vincenti festo si Sol radiet, memor esto;"

translated by Abraham Fleming thus

"Remember on St Vincent's Day

If that the sun his beams display."

The sun, it has been conjectured, would not shine unominously on the day on which the saint was burnt.

ST PAUL'S DAY.
January 25.

O one seems to have even hazarded a conjecture why prognostications of the weather and other events for the whole year are to be drawn from the appearance of this day.

In an ancient Calendar of the Church of Rome the Vigil of St Paul

is distinguished as "Dies Egyptiacus ;" and it has been explained that it is so called because there are two unlucky days in every month, and Paul's Vigil is one of the two in January.

Lloyd, in his Diall of Daies, observes on St Paul's that "of this day the husbandmen prognosticate the whole year. If it be a fair day, it will be a pleasant year; if it be windy, there will be wars; if it be cloudy, it doth foreshew the plague that year."

In the Shepherd's Almanack for 1676 we find : "Some say that if on the 12th of January the sun shines, it foreshews much wind. Others predict by St Paul's Day, saying, if the sun shine, it betokens a good year; if it rain or snow, indifferent; if misty, it predicts great dearth; if it thunder, great wind, and death of people that year.”

Lodge, in Wit's Miserie (1596), glances in the following quaint manner at the superstitions of this and St Peter's Day: "And by S. Peter and S. Paule the fool rideth him."

Hospinian also tells us that it is a critical day with the vulgar, indicating, if it be clear, abundance of fruits; if windy, foretelling wars; if cloudy, the pestilence; if rainy or snowy, prognosticating dearness and scarcity: according to the old Latin verses, thus translated in Bourne's Antiquities of the Common People

"If St Paul's Day be fair and clear,

It doth betide a happy year;

If blustering winds do blow aloft,

Then wars will trouble our realm full oft;

And if it chance to snow or rain,

Then will be dear all sorts of grain."

Bishop Hall, in his Characters of Virtues and Vices, speaking of the superstitious man, observes that "Saint Paules Day and Saint Swithines, with the Twelve, are his oracles, which he dares believe against the almanacke."

Horace Walpole, speaking on the alteration of the Style, inquires in the World: "Who that hears the verses, 'If St Paul be fair and clear,' &c., but must grieve for the shepherd and husbandman, who may have all their prognostics confounded, and be at a loss to know beforehand the fate of their markets?"

The prognostications on St Paul's Day are thus reproduced by Gay in his Trivia—

"All superstition from thy breast repel,

Let credulous boys and prattling nurses tell
How, if the Festival of Paul be clear,
Plenty from liberal horn shall strow the year;
When the dark skies dissolve in snow or rain,
The labouring hind shall yoke the steer in vain,
But if the threatening winds in tempests roar,
Then War shall bathe her wasteful sword in gore."

He concludes

"Let no such vulgar tales debase thy mind,

Nor Paul, nor Swithin, rule the clouds and wind."

Schenkius, in his Treatise on Images, says it is a custom in many

parts of Germany to drag the images of St Paul and St Urban to the river, if on the day of their feast it happens to be foul weather.

Bourne observes: " "How it came to have this particular knack of foretelling the good or ill fortune of the following year, is no easy matter to find out. The Monks, who were undoubtedly the first who made this wonderful observation, have taken care it should be handed down to posterity, but why or for what reason this observation was to stand good, they have taken care to conceal. St Paul did indeed labour more abundantly than all the Apostles; but never, that I heard, in the science of Astrology. And why his day should therefore be a standing almanac to the world, rather than the day of any other Saint, will be pretty hard to find out."

This festival was first adopted by the English Church in the year 1662, during the reign of Charles II.

CANDLEMAS DAY.

February 2.

THE PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY.

HIS is called in the North of England the Wives' Feast Day.

is from

which were then distributed and carried about in procession."

*

In the ancient Calendar of the Romish Church, we find the subsequent observations on the 2d of February, usually called Candlemas Day

"Torches are consecrated.

Torches are given away for many days.”+

Douce's MS. Notes say: "This feast is called by the Greeks vrаTAVTA, which signifies a Meeting, because Simeon and Anna the prophetess met in the Temple at the presentation of our Saviour." At the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi, at Aix in Provence, there is a procession of Saints, among whom St Simeon is represented with a mitre and cap, carrying in his left hand a basket of eggs.

"To beare their Candels soberly, and to offer them to the Saintes, not of God's makynge, but the Carvers and Paynters," is mentioned among the Roman Catholic customs censured by John Bale in his Declaration of Bonner's Articles (1554); as also "to conjure Candels."

In a Proclamation dated 26th February, 30 Henry VIII., "concernyng Rites and Ceremonies to be used in due fourme in the Churche of England," we read

"On Candelmas Daye it shall be declared that the bearynge of Candels is done in the memorie of Christe, the spirituall lyghte, whom Simeon dyd prophecye, as it is redde in the Churche that daye."

The same had been declared by a Decree of Convocation.

In Herbert's Country Parson (1675), we read: "Another old custom (he had been speaking of PROCESSIONS) there is, of saying, when light is brought in, God send us the light of Heaven; and the parson likes this very well.-Light is a great blessing, and as great as food, for which we give thanks: and those that think this superstitious, neither know superstition nor themselves."

Pope Sergius, says Becon in his Reliques of Rome (1563), commanded that all people "shuld go on procession upon Candlemas Day, and carry Candels about with them brenning in their hands in the year of our Lord 684."

How this candle-bearing on Candlemas Day came first up, the author of our English Festival explains in this manner : Somtyme," writes he, "when the Romaines by great myght and royal power, conquered all the world, they were so proude that they forgat God, and made them divers gods after their own lust. And so among all they had a god that they called Mars, that had been tofore a notable knight in battayle; and so they prayed to hym for help, and for that they would speed the better of this knight, the people prayed and did great worship to his mother, that was called Februa, after which woman much people have opinion that the moneth February is called. Wherefore the second daie of thys moneth is Candlemas Day. The Romaines this night went about the city of Rome with torches and candles brenning in worship of this woman Februa, for hope to have the more helpe and succoure of her sonne Mars.

Then there was a Pope that was called Sergius; and, when he saw Christian people draw to this false maumetry and untrue belief, he thought to undo this foule use and custom, and turn it unto God's worship and our Lady's, and gave commandment that all Christian people should come to church and offer up a Candle brennyng, in the worship that they did to this woman Februa, and do worship to our Lady and to her sonne our Lord. So that now this Feast is solemnly hallowed thorowe all Christendome. And every Christian man and woman of covenable age is bound to come to church and offer up their Candles, as though they were bodily with our Lady, hopyng for this reverence and worship that they do to our Ladye to have a great rewarde in Heaven.' And it is added: "A Candell is made of weke and wexe; so was Crystes soule hyd within the manhode: also the fyre betokeneth the Godhede: also it betokeneth our Ladyes moderhede and maydenhede, lyght with the fyre of love."

In Dunstan's Concord of Monastic Rules it is directed that "on the Purification of the Virgin Mary the Monks shall go in surplices to the Church for Candles, which shall be consecrated, sprinkled with holy water, and censed by the Abbot.-Let every Monk take a Candle from the Sacrist, and light it. Let a Procession be made, Thirds and Mass be celebrated, and the Candles, after the offering, be offered to the Priest."

A note adds: Candlemas Day. The Candles at the Purification were an exchange for the lustration of the Pagans, and Candles were used "from the parable of the wise virgins."

It was anciently a custom for women in England to bear lights when they were churched, as appears from the following royal bonmot. William the Conqueror, by reason of sickness, kept his chamber a long time, whereat the French king, scoffing, said, "The King of England lyeth long in child-bed:" which when it was reported unto King William, he answered: "When I am churched, there shall be a thousand lights in France" (alluding to the lights that women used to bear when they were churched); and that he

performed within a few days after, wasting the French territories with fire and sword.

In The Burnynge of Paules Church in London, 1561, and the 4 day of June by Lyghtnynge, &c. (1563), we read: "In Flaunders everye Saturdaye betwixt Christmas and Candelmas they eate flesh for joy, and have pardon for it, because our Ladye laye so long in child-bedde say they. We here may not eat so: the Pope is not so good to us; yet surely it were as good reason that we should eat fleshe with them all that while that our Lady lay in child-bed, as that we shuld bear our Candel at her Churchinge at Candlemas with theym as they doe. It is seldome sene that men offer Candels at women's Churchinges, savinge at our Ladies: but reason it is that she have some preferement, if the Pope would be so good maister to us as to let us eat fleshe with theym.'

In Lysons's Environs of London, among his curious Extracts from the Churchwardens' Accounts at Lambeth, occurs the following: "1519. Paid for Smoke Money at Seynt Mary Eves, o. 2. 6." This occurs again in 1521: "Paid by my Lord of Winchester's Scribe for Smoke Money, o. 2. 6."

In some of the ancient illuminated Calendars, a woman holding a taper in each hand is represented in the month of February. Naogeorgus, as translated by Googe, has it

"Then comes the Day wherein the Virgin offred Christ unto

The Father chiefe, as Moyses law commaunded hir to do.

Then numbers great of Tapers large, both men and women beare

To Church, being halowed there with pomp, and dreadful words to heare.
This done, eche man his Candell lightes where chiefest seemeth hee,
Whose Taper greatest may be seene, and fortunate to bee;

Whose Candell burneth cleare and brighte, a wondrous force and might
Doth in these Candels lie, which if at any time they light,

They sure beleve that neyther storme or tempest dare abide,

Nor thunder in the skies be heard, nor any Devil's spide,

Nor fearefull sprites that walke by night, nor hurts of frost or haile."

We read in Wodde's Dialogue," Wherefore serveth holye Candels? (Nicholas.) To light up in thunder, and to blesse men when they lye a dying."

In the Doctrine of the Masse Booke, &c., from Wyttonburge by Nicholas Dorcaster (1554), we find—

"THE HALOWING OF CANDLES UPON CANDELMAS DAY."

The Prayer. "O Lord Jesu Christ, blesse thou this creature of a waxen taper at our humble supplication, and, by the vertue of the holy crosse, poure thou into it an heavenly benediction; that as thou hast graunted it unto man's use for the expelling of darknes, it may receave such a strength and blessing, thorow the token of thy holy crosse, that in what places soever it be lighted or set, the Divel may avoid out of those habitacions, and tremble for feare, and fly away discouraged, and presume no more to unquiete them that serve thee, who with God," &c. There follow other prayers, in which occur these passages: "We humbly beseech thee that thou wilt vouchsafe to blesse

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