J.P.B. (1893)

Main Variant

Transcription
ENGLISH FOLK DRAMA.

In the June issue of "Folk-lore" is a
paper by Mr. T. Fairman Ordish, on the "Eng-
lish Folk Drama." In it the writer says:- "It
is with great pleasure that I bring to your notice
now a version of the Plough Monday play which
has been communicated to me by Mrs. Chaworth
Musters, along with the most interesting dress
worn by the actors of thus version, as repeatedly
witnessed by Mrs. Chaworth Musters at her res-
idence, Wiverton Hall, near Bingham, Nottingham-
shire. The version wears a modern look, but, like
the hobby-horse performances just noticed, it has
its elements of archaism which persist. I should
like, first, to read an extract from a letter I re-
ceived from Mrs. Musters, as it is in effect a mes-
sage to the society, and brings before us the aspects
of the play, as they impressed themselves on an
eye-witness:- 'I hope that if all is well another
year, I may have the pleasure of seeing some members
of the Folk-Lore Society here for Plough-Mon-
day, and I hope the play will not die out in this
neighbourhood for long, for the actors this time were
all youths who had learnt their parts by word of
mouth. I had some difficulty in getting a copy of
the words a few years ago, as it seems never to have
been written down, but I did get it, very ill-spelt
and difficult to make out, except that I heard it
several times, and I had it printed in the appendix
of a Notts. story I wrote, so that it might be pre-
served. I enclose the book. The same version
seems to be known in Lincolnshire, Leicestershire,
and Northamptonshire. I wish I could have got a
photograph of the performers, but they could only
come in the evening, being farm labourers. The
man who is called Hopper Joe has a basket slung
before him, as it he was going to sow seeds, in
which you put any money you like to give. The
sergeant gets hold of any bit of old uniform he can
meet with, and the young lady always has a veil.
Beelzebub, a black face, and either besom of
straw or a club with a bladder fastened to the end
of it. The chief feature of the play is the raising
to life of the old woman (who is knocked down by
Beelzebub) by the doctor, who is always dressed
in the smartest of modern clothes, with a riding
whip and top hat if possible. This year the men
had no cut out figures on their shirts, only ribbons
and rosettes and feathers in their hats, and the
brass ornaments of their horses' harness hanging
down in front. But I have generally seen them
with small horses, and ploughs in red and black
stuck on. They do not bring a plough with them
here. Little boys with ribbons on come round beg-
ging in all the villages in the Vale of Belvoir here;
on Plough-Monday, but no women or girls ever
seem to take part in it.' Mrs. Musters subsequently
sent me the dress exhibietd. In a letter which
accompanied it she said:-- 'The group of
men are intended to represent the Plough Monday
boys. . . . . The idea of the man who made it
is that all the live creatures connected with a farm
ought to be represented! Mrs. Musters also sent
me a copy of the verses sung on the occasion of the
play. These have never before been recorded. I
exhibit the M.S. of the ploughman who sang them
on Plough Monday last, and who wrote them down
for Mrs. Musters. I also exhibit, a figure of a horse
cut out to be worn on the dress, which I received
from Mrs. Musters the interesting fact that although
these players no longer bring a plough with them
they figure it on the dress. I begged her to obtain
a specimen of the dress for exhibition this evening,
a request with which she at once complied. It was
made by the man from whom she had obtained the
figure of the horse. The dress seems to present us
with an example of picture writing, and such a sur-
vival must be very encouraging to the anthropologist
and folk-lore collector. I shall hope to hear pre-
sently from the present and others their views on
this point. It will be observed that the execution
of the letters is not superior, but rather the reverse
to that of figures." - J. P. B.