The men and boys form a circle by taking hold of hands, and one of the party standing in the centre, having a gotch of horkey ale placed near him on the ground, with a horn or tin sort of trumpet in his hand, makes a signal, and "halloo! lar-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ge-ess" is given as loud and as long as their lungs will allow, at the same time elevating their hands as high as they can, and still keeping hold. The person in the centre blows the horn one continued blast, as long as the "halloo largess." This is done three times, and immediately followed by three successive whoops; and then the glass, commonly a horn one, of spirit-stirring ale, freely circles. At this time the hallooing-largess is generally performed with three times three. This done, they return to the table, where foaming nappy ale is accompanied by the lily taper tube, and weed of India growth; and now mirth and jollity abound, the horn of sparkling beverage is put merrily about, the song goes round, and the joke is cracked. The females are cheerful and joyous partakers of this "flow of soul." When the "juice of the barrel" has exhilarated the spirits, with eyes beaming cheerfulness, and in true good rustic humour, the lord of the harvest accompanied by his lady, (the person is so called who goes second in the reap, each sometimes wearing a sort of disguise,) with two plates in his hand, enters the parlour where the guests are seated, and solicits a largess from each of them. The collection made, they join their party again at the table, and the lord recounting to his company the success he has met with, a fresh zest is given to hilarity, a dance is struck up, in which, though it can hardly be said to be upon the "light fantastic toe," the stiffness of age and rheumatic pangs are forgotten, and those who have passed the grand climactric, feel in the midst of their teens. Another show of disguising is commonly exhibited on these occasions, which creates a hearty rustic laugh, both loud and strong. One of the party habited as a female, is taken with a violent pang of the tooth ache, and the doctor is sent for. He soon makes his appearance, mounted on the back of one of the other men as a horse, having in his hands a common milking stool, which he bears upon, so as A large stone, ur earthen pitcher. to enable him to keep his back in nearly a horizontal position. The doctor brings with him the tongs, which he uses for the purpose of extracting the tooth: this is a piece of tobacco pipe adapted to the occasion, and placed in the mouth; a fainting takes place from the violence of the operation, and the bellows are used as a means of causing a reviving hope. When the ale has so far operated that some of the party are scarcely capable of keeping upon their seat, the ceremony of drinking healths takes place in a sort of glee or catch; one or two of which you have below. This health-drinking generally finishes the horkey. On the following day the party go round among the neighbouring farmers (having various co loured ribands on their hats, and steeple or sugar-loaf formed caps, decked with various coloured paper, &c.,) to taste their horkey beer, and solicit largess of any one with whom they think success is likely. The money so collected is usually spent at the alehouse at night. To this "largess money spending," the wives and sweethearts, with the female servants of their late masters, are invited; and a tea table is set out for the women, the men finding more virtue in the decoction of Sir John Barleycorn, and a pipe of the best Virginia. I have put together what now occurs to me respecting harvest-home, and beg to refer you to Bloomfield's "Wild Flowers," in a piece there called the "Hotkey;" it is most delightfully described. The glee or catch at the health-drinking is as follows: Here's a health unto our master, Here's your master's good health I wish all things may prosper, Another Health Drinking. He takes it out with such long wind, Behold and see what he can do, Here's a health unto my brother John, To this may be added the following. A Health Drinking. There was a man from London came, The great object is to start something which will catch some unguarded reply in lieu of saying “Mum," when the party so unguardedly replying, is fined to drink two glasses. For the beginning of Harvest there is this Harvest Song. Now Lammas comes in, Our harvest begin, I shall be happy if this will afford the readers of the Every-Day Book any information concerning the harvest customs of this county. I am, Sir, &c. 6. H. I. A valuable correspondent transmits a particular account of his country custom, which will be read with pleasure. " DEVON. To the Editor of the Every-Day Book. Sir,-As the harvest has now become very general, I am reminded of a circumstance, which I think worthy of communicating to you. After the wheat is all cut, on most farms in the north of Devon, the the neck." I believe that this practice is harvest people have a custom of "crying seldom omitted on any large farm in that part of the country. It is done in this way. An old man, or some one else well the occasion, (when the labourers are acquainted with the ceremonies used on reaping the last field of wheat,) goes round to the shocks and sheaves, and picks out a little bundle of all the best ears he can find; this bundle he ties up very neat and trim, and plats and arranges the We have done our endeavours to get the straws very tastefully. This is called "the corn in ; We reap and we mow And we stoutly blow That did sweetly grow. The poor old man 1 hope God will reward Such old harvest man. But the man who is lazy neck" of wheat, or wheaten-ears. After the field is cut out, and the pitcher once more circulated, the reapers, binders, and the women, stand round in a circle. The person with "the neck" stands in the centre, grasping it with both his hands. He first stoops and holds it near the ground, and all the men forming the ring, take off their hats, stooping and holding them with both hands towards the ground. They then all begin at once in a very prolonged and harmonious tone to cry "the neck!" at the same time slowly raising themselves upright, and elevating their arms and hats above their heads; the person with "the neck" also raising it on high. This is done three times. They then change their cry to "wee yen!"— way yen!"-which they sound in the same prolonged and slow manner as before, with singular harmony and effect, three times. This last cry is accompanied by the same movements of the body and arms as in crying "the neck." I know nothing of vocal music, but I think I may convey some idea of the sound, by giving And now we will sing an old harvest song. you the following notes in gamut. And will not come on, Now harvest is over You are welcome, brave boys; And we'll knock along, 66 Very Slow. We yen! way Let these notes be played on a flute with perfect crescendos and diminuendoes, and perhaps some notion of this wild sounding cry may be formed. Well, after having thus repeated "the neck" three times, and "wee yen" or yen" as often, they all burst out into a kind of loud and joyous laugh, flinging up their hats and caps into the air, capering about and perhaps kissing the girls. One of them then gets "the neck," and, runs as hard as he can down to the farmhouse, where the dairy-maid, or one of the young female domestics, stands at the door prepared with a pail of water. If he who holds the neck" can manage to get into the house, in any way unseen, or, openly, by any other way than the door at which the girl stands with the pail of water, then he may lawfully kiss her; but, if otherwise, he is regularly soused with the contents of the bucket. On a fine still autumn evening, the "crying of the neck" has a wonderful effect at a distance, far finer than that of the Turkish muezzin, which lord Byron eulogizes so much, and which he says is preferable to all the bells in Christendom. I have once or twice heard upwards of twenty men cry it, and sometimes joined by an equal number of female voices. About three years back, on some high grounds, where our people were harvesting, I heard six or seven "necks" cried in one night, although I know that some of them were four miles off. They are heard through the quiet evening air, at a considerable distance sometimes. But I think that the practice is beginning to decline of late, and many farmers and their men do not care about keeping up this old custom. I shall always patronise it myself, because I take it in the light of a thanksgiving. By the by, I was about to conclude, without endeavouring to explain the meaning of the words, we yen!" I had long taken them for Saxon, as the people of Devon are the true Saxon breed. But I think that I am wrong. I asked an old fellow about it the other day, and he is the only man who ever gave me a satisfactory explanation. He says, that the object of crying" the neck" is to give the surrounding country notice of the end of harvest, and We July, 1826. yen! that they mean by "we yen!" we have ended. It may more probably mean “we end," which the uncouth and provincial pronunciation has corrupted into "we yen!" I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, R. A. R. P. S. In the above hastily written account, I should have mentioned that “the neck" is generally hung up in the farmhouse, where it remains sometimes three or four years. I have written "we yen,' because I have always heard it so pronounced; they may articulate it differ ently in other parts of the country. After the conclusion of the harvest, a supper is provided, consisting of roast beef and plum-pudding, with plenty of strong ale, with which all the men who have been employed in getting in the corn regale themselves. At the beginning of the supper, the following is sung by the whole of them at the supper. Here's a health to our master, The lord of the feast, And send him increase; That we may reap another year, For she is a good woman, she provides us Here's your mistress's good health, boys, The night is generally spent with great mirth, and the merry-makers seldom disperse till "Bright Phœbus has mounted his chariot of day." I am, &c. AN ESSEX MAN AND SUBSCRIBER. It is the advice of the most popular of our old writers on husbandry, thatIn harvest time, harvest folke, servants and all, Should make, altogether, good cheere in the hall: And fill out the black bole, of bleith to their song, And let them be merry all harvest time long. Once ended thy harvest, let none be beguilde, Please such as did please thee, man, woman, and chlild. Thus doing, with alway such help as they can, Thou winnest the praise of the labouring man. Tusser. "Tusser Redivivus" says, "This, the poor labourer thinks, crowns all; a good supper must be provided, and every one that did any thing towards the Inning must now have some reward, as ribbons, laces, rows of pins to boys and girls, if never so small, for their encouragement, and, to be sure, plumb-pudding. The men must now have some better than best drink, which, with a little tobacco and their screaming for their largesses, their business will soon be done." Harvest Goose. For all this good feasting, Til Ploughman thou givest be she lean, be she fat. Tusser. Whereon "Tusser Redivivus" notes, In France under Henry IV. it is cited According to information derived by Mr. Brand, it was formerly the custom at Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, for each farmer to drive furiously home with the last load of his corn, while the people ran after him with bowls full of water in order to throw on it; and this usage was accompanied with great shouting. HARVEST-HOME. Who has not seen the cheerful harvest-home, Waves on hedge-rows shady. From the hill Which moan the death of Summer. Glowing scene! Beam thro' untutor'd glances. When the dawn Unfolds its sunny lustre, and the dew Silvers the out-stretch'd landscape, labour's sons From sweet and soothing rest; for fev'rish dreams They toil in the fierce beams of fervid noon- To the brook Of wintry desolation; and how fair Hail! harvest-home! Where the rich earth presents her golden treasures; Mrs. Robinson. whole band, and the evening spent in joviality and dancing, while the fortunate lass who took the maiden was the queen of the feast; after which this handful of corn was dressed out generally in the form of a cross, and hung up with the date of the year, in some conspicuous part of the house. This custom is now entirely done away, and in its room each shearer is given sixpence and a loaf of bread. However, some farmers, when all their corns are brought in, give their servants a dinner |