I oilet, and ering ant t up old customs in kitcruck upon ts to carry in ts.

    <span style="color:grey">Just in thrice,

    t mas banquet. A blazing crackling ?re of logs o ment, and t sparkling and hed chimney.

    t picture of te ed  and e  orong doubts about ticity of ting and armor as o tainly amp of more recent days; but I old t ting ime out of mind; and t as to t ed to its present situation by t once determined it to be te auty on all sucs in ter o current acceptation. A sideboard  out just under trope t mig least in variety) emple: quot;?agons, cans, cups, beakers, goblets, basins, and e; tensils of good companions ed tions of jovial ood tars of t magnitude; ots ributed in branctered like a ?rmament of silver.

    e ing scene relsy, ted on a stool beside t  deal more pomas board display a more goodly and gracious assemblage of countenances; t  least udying as a collection of raits or Albert Durers prints. tiquarian lore to be acquired, mucimes. Per may be from inually before traits, ry are stocked; certain it is t t features of antiquity are often most faituated in t lines, and I raced an old family nose ture-gallery, legitimately ion to generation almost from time of t. Someto be observed in tly originated in a Gotions; and ttle girl in particular, of staid demeanor, ique vinegar aspect, e of terpart of one of ors w of henry VIII.

    t a s familiar one, suco ty in t a long, courtly,  school.

    ted, ered tle:

    tended by a servant on eac, and bore a silver dised s mout formality at table. t t made its appearance truck up a ?ouris t from t comic gravity, an old carol, t verse of which was as follows

    to ness many of ttle eccentricities, from being apprised of t, yet I confess troduced someil I gation of t it  to represent trelsy and song at great tables on Cmas Day. quot;I like tom,quot; said t;not merely because it is stately and pleasing in itself, but because it  t Oxford at  brings to mind time s loitering about in t;

    t ed by sucions, and ext timent, objected to t from t sung at college.  on, ator, to give tations, addressing  ?rst to t large; but, ?nding ttention gradually diverted to otalk and ots, one as ors diminisil o a fat-leman next ly engaged in teful of turkey.*

    <span style="color:grey">* tmas Day is still observed in t may be acceptable to sucters, I give it entire:

    Bodeckd able erally loaded ed an epitome of country abundance in tinguis ted to quot;ancient sirloin,quot;

    as mine  termed it, being, as ;tandard of old Englisality, and a joint of goodly presence, and full of expectation.quot; tly decorated, and raditional in ts, but about o appear overcurious, I asked no questions.

    I could not,  notice a pie magni?cently decorated ation of tail of t bird,  of table. ttle ation, ainly t autical; but tality among t  prevail upon o have one killed.*

    * tly in great demand for stately entertainments. Sometimes it o a pie, at one end of s plumage, ; at tail was displayed.

    Suc ts of cs-errant pledged to undertake any perilous enterprise, ice S;by cock and pie.quot;

    tant dismas feast; and Massinger, in ;City Madam,quot; gives some idea of travagance imes:

    Men may talk of Country Cmasses, ty pound butterd eggs, tongues; ts drenc o make sauce for a single peacock!

    It edious, pero my o o mention ts or t, by  ance, t customs of antiquity. I  so ives; o t of ts, less been present at many a reoo, at ty ler and ots executed ties assigned tric. t part, been brougo keeping iquated mansion and ts lord, and most probably looked upon all ions as tablished laws of honorable housekeeping.

    ler brougs appearance mas festivity. tents  ure of  oo abstruse and complex for t. It ation, indeed, t mig of a toper leap  and raciest ed apples bobbing about the surface.*

    * times composed of ale instead of meg, sugar, toast, ginger, and roasted crabs; in t-broill prepared in some old families and round tantial farmers at Cmas. It is also called Lambs ool, and is celebrated by ;tquot;:

    tlemans  as irred ty boo y o   all present,  it brimming round to folloive style, pronouncing it quot;t fountain of good feeling,  toget;+ + quot;tom of drinking out of to eaceo to cry times, assel, assel, assel, and to ans;--Archoeologia.

    t emblem of Cmas joviality circulated and  reacer Simon,  in botruck up an old assail Chanson:

    * From Poor Robins Almanack.

    Mucion during dinner turned upon family topics, to  deal of rallying of Master Simon about some gay ation. ttack  it inued t t-leman next ty of a sloarting game, are unrivalled for talents in ing it do every pause in tion ering in pretty mucerms, er Simon ter, indeed, seemed fond of being teased on t, as old bac to be, and ook occasion to inform me, in an undertone, t tion was a prodigiously ?ne woman and drove her own curricle.

    time passe a y, and, ts time  and revel, yet I doubt nessed more  and genuine enjoyment.  is for one benevolent being to diffuse pleasure around ruly is a kind  a fountain of gladness, making everyts vicinity to freso smiles! tion of tly contagious; o make all ttle eccentricities of  season, in a manner, tness of hropy.

    ired, tion, as usual, became still more animated; many good t of during dinner, but ly do for a ladys ear; and, t positively af?rm t t uttered, yet I ainly ests of rare  produce mucer. it, after all, is a migart, pungent ingredient, and mucoo acid for some stomac  good-ing, and to t .

    told several long stories of early college pranks and adventures, in some of ter it required some effort of imagination to ?gure suctle dark anatomy of a man into trator of a madcap gambol. Indeed, tures of  lots in life. t ty to live lustily on ernal domains in t of prosperity and sunso a y and ?orid old age; rary, y tomes in tudy. Still, to be a spark of almost extinguistom of ed at a sly story of tty milkmaid leman made an quot;alp of faces,quot; leman t took absolute offence at ted gallantries of h.

    I found tide of  gaining on t. ter Simon alk maudlin about t t black-letter itled Cupids Solicitor for Love, containing store of good advice for baco lend me; t verse o effect.

    <span style="color:grey"> make h shine;

    <span style="color:grey"> not stand h her, shall I, shall I,

    <span style="color:grey">But boldly say, ido be mine.

    t-leman, s to tell a ratory out of Joe Miller t  to t uck in ting tter part excepting oo, began to ss of good ctled doo a doze and ting most suspiciously on one side. Just at ture o t, at te instigation of mine , empered h a proper love of decorum.

    After table o ted to all kind of noisy mirter Simon, made its old  as t romping games. I delignessing ticularly at t ealing out of ter. I found t ter Simon,  ancient potentate, t of ttle beings   Falstaff, pinc ts of , and tickling raws.

    One ?ne blue-eyed girl of about teen, iful confusion, orn off e picture of a romp, ormentor; and, from ter Simon avoided ttle nympo jump sed t a .

    * At Cmasse ter of merie disportes, and tuall or temporall.--StO.

    urned to ted round tening to ti?cer of yore, icular accommodation. From ture,  strange accounts of titions and legends of try, ed in tiquarian researco t tleman inctured ition, as men are very apt to be ered part of try and pore over black-letter tracts, so often ?lled ural. es of try concerning tomb by tar. As it  of t part of try, it ition by t o get up from tomb and ormy nigicularly tage bordered on t t  some reasure  t in a state of trouble and restlessness. Some talked of gold and jeomb, over

    cory current of a sexton in old times  nig just as  received a violent bloretc. tales en laug by some of turdier among tics, yet outest unbelievers t pat led across the churchyard.

    From tes t folloo be te -stories t ty. ure, s to ural about it; for t in  of t till ?xed on you. ters oo, at t up in t gossip among ts, af?rmed t in en  on Midsummer Eve, o mount ure, ride about to to visit tomb; on self; not t , for es, and even stone  park gate, making  of paper.

    All titions I found enanced by t superstitious ened to every goblin tale of te gravity, and ers  for the marvellous.

    reader of old legends and romances, and often lamented t  believe in titious person, , must live in a kind of fairy-land.

    tention to tories, our ears  of erogeneous sounds from trelsy er. train came trooping into t mig aken for t of Faery. t indefatigable spirit, Master Simon, in ties as lord of misrule, mas mummery or masking; and o ance t s, t into instant effect. ted; tique cloto yield up t  seen t for several generations; t of tely convened from t into a burlesque imitation of an antique mask.*

    * Maskings or mummeries e sports at Cmas in old times, and t en laid under contribution to furnisastic disguisings. I strongly suspect Master Simon to aken t;Masque of Cmas.quot;

    Master Simon led t;Ancient Cmas,quot; quaintly apparelled in a ruff, a s cloak, ticoats, and a  t migeeple, and must indubitably ers. From under t-bitten bloom t seemed trop. ;Dame Mince Pie,quot; in tomac, and ing dress of Kendal green and a foraging cap assel.

    tume, to be sure, did not bear testimony to deep researc eye to turesque, natural to a young gallant in tress. tty rustic dress as quot;Maid Marian.quot; t of train amorprussed up in t belles of triplings bes, tomed o represent ter of Roast Beef, Plum Pudding, and oted in ancient maskings.

    trol of te cer of Misrule; and I observed t .

    tion of tley cre of drum, according to ancient custom, ion of uproar and merriment.

    Master Simon covered ateliness  Cmas,   ers, umes seemed as traits o join in t. Different centuries  cross  and left; tting pirouettes and rigadoons; and tions.

    templated tastic sports and tion of . ood canding t tter  autically on t and stately dance of t to be derived.* For my part, I inual excitement from t gayety passing before me. It o see y breaking out from among ter, and old age tc. I felt also an interest in tion t ting customs ing fast into oblivion, and t till punctiliously observed. tness, too, mingled  gave it a peculiar zest: it ed to time and place; and as t reeled  seemed ecy of long departed years.+ * Sir Jo;It is a grave and majestic dance; t anciently lemen dressed les, and by trains, tion ;--ory of Music.

    + At time of t publication of ture of an old-fasmas in try  of date. terunity of nessing almost all toms above described, existing in unexpected vigor in ts of Derbvsmas ice of t of  Neead Abbey.

    But enougmas and its gambols; it is time for me to pause in ty. Metions asked by my graver readers, quot;to o be made alk?quot; Alas! is t  for truction of the world?

    And if not, are t ts improvement? It is so mucer to please to instruct--to play tor.

    , after all, is te of  I could to t my sagest deductions may be safe guides for t in ing to amuse, if I fail tment. If,  one  of one moment of sorrorate t a benevolent vieten entirely in vain.