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 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE 
 WORDSWORTH COLLECTION 
 
 FOUNDED BY 
 CYNTHIA MORGAN ST. JOHN 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 VICTOR EMANUEL 
 
 OF THE CLASS OF I919 
 
 
 
 II 'II Nvr 'i«« 
 
 'Ai - 'isnovwg 
 
 tMaXVN 
 
^^...^tlHyWr^ 4^ (AA*^A^^^^-^t/y\ 
 
 / 
 
 THE 
 
 BUSHBEARINC. 
 
 ' Content with calmer scenes around us spread 
 And humbler objects, give we to a day, 
 Of annual joy one tributary lay ; 
 
 Wordsworth, 1815. 
 
 PRINTED AT THE ' WEEKLY CHURCHMAN ' PRESS, 
 BRAMLEY. 
 
/{lj>3d^'od 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 On page 23, lines 8 and 9, instead of ' This timely intervention,' read 
 ' His timely intervention.' 
 
 The first line on page 31 should be the first line on page 27. 
 On page 36, line 11, instead of 'great grandson,' read 'great-grand- 
 nephew.' 
 
 The text of the sermon on page 37 is taken from S. John, viii. 37. 
 
 4 
 
* In these days we speak of a thing which bears iu 
 our eyes no value as being " not worth a rush." There 
 was a time when rushes had their value, and that by no 
 means a trivial one.' So writes Mr. J. C. Shepherd, in 
 a notice of the Ambleside Rushbearing of 1890, and he 
 goes on to say, ' Our ancient palaces were carpeted 
 with, our old Church aisles were covered with them. 
 In the Herhall to the Bible, 1587, mention is made ot 
 "Sedge and rushes, the which manie in the countrie doe 
 use in summer time to strew their parlours and 
 Churches, as well for coolness as for pleasant smell." 
 So essential was the supply of rushes for domestic 
 comfort that, so far back in the pages of our history as 
 the eleventh century, we read that William the Con- 
 queror granted certain of the Aylesford lands upon 
 condition that the tenant should render therefore to 
 the king, straw for his bed-chamber, three eels for his 
 use in winter, and iu summer rushes; and when Henry 
 III. of France enquired of M. Dandelot what he had 
 especially observed during his travels in England, the 
 latter replied that "nothing had so much struck him as 
 that the people did drink in bootes, eate rawe fish 
 CoystersJ, and strewed all their bedroomes with rushes." ' 
 
 The following allusions to the custom occur in 
 Shakespeare : — 
 
 Taming of the Shrew, iv. 1. 47. ' Where's the cook, is 
 supper ready, the house trimmed, rushes strewed, cob- 
 webs swept? ' 
 
 Richard II. 1. 3. 288. * Suppose the singing birds 
 musicians. The grass whereon thou stread'st the 
 presence strewed.' 
 
 1 Henry lY. iii. 1.214. — 'She bids you on the 
 wanton rushes lay you down.' 
 
 2 Henry IV. v. 5, 1. — Enter two grooms strewing rushes. 
 
 First groom, ' More rushes, more rushes.' 
 Romeo and Juliet, i. 4. 35. — 'A torch for me: let 
 
 wantons light of heart Tickle the senseless rushes 
 
 with their heels.' 
 Cymberline ii. 2. 12. — ' Our Tarquin thus 
 Did softly press the rushes.' 
 
Jpl^^ 33.trs|^kanit0. 
 
 Lucrece. 316. — ' And being lighted, by the light he 
 spies Lucretia s glove, wherein hev needle sticks : 
 He takes it from the rushes where it lies.' 
 
 In his Essay on Riishbearing, in Curiosities of the 
 Church, Mr. Andrews quotes from Beaumont and 
 Fletcher : 
 
 ' Where is the stranger? Rushes, ladies, rushes, 
 Rushes as green as Summer for this stranger.' 
 
 2he Valentinian. 
 And he adds : ' The wits of the EHzabethan age had an 
 old saying to the effect that many strewed green rushes 
 for a stranger who would not give one to a friend. It 
 was deemed an act of politeness to cover the floor with 
 fresh rushes for a guest.' 
 
 Rushes were strewn before a wedding couple on the 
 wav to Church. See Popular Antiquities of Great 
 Britain.— (Bvandaind Ellis, ed. W. C. Hezlitt. 187. Vol. 
 2. p. 69.) 
 
 Cf. Herrick. Ilesperides (1648), p. 169 : — 
 Braithwaite : 'All haile to Hymen and his marriage 
 
 day! 
 Strew Rushes and quickly come away : 
 Strew Rushes, Maids, and ever as you strew, 
 Think one day, Maids, what will be done for vou.' 
 
 [Year 1615.] 
 Browne. Britannia's Pastorals. (Devonshire before 
 16U) :— 
 
 ' As 1 have seen, upon a Bridall day, 
 
 Full many maids, clad in their best array. 
 
 In honour of the bride come with their flasket s 
 
 Filled full with flowers ; others in wicker baskets 
 
 Bring from the marish rushes to o'erspread 
 
 The ground whereon to church the lovers tread. 
 
 Whilst that the quaintest youth of all the plain 
 
 Ussher their way with many a piping strain.' 
 
 The following entries appear in the Churchwardens' 
 account books of the respective Churches : — 
 
 S. Mary-AT-Hill, London : 
 
 1493. For three burdens of rushes for new pews. 3d. 
 1504. Paid for 2 berdeus rysshes for the strewyng 
 newe pewes 3d. 
 
 S. Margaret's, Westminster: 
 
 1544. Paid for rushes against the Dedication Day 
 Is. 5d. 
 
IW^t 3S.tts|^Ijtarm0. 
 
 KiRKHAM, Lancashire : 
 
 1604. Rashes to strew the Church cost this year 
 
 yg. 6d. 
 1631. Paid for canyiog the rushes out of the Church 
 in the sickness time 5s. 
 Castleton, Derbyshire : 
 
 1749. Pd. at rush cart for ale Is. 8d. 
 The floor of Castleton Church was unpaved, and 
 covered with rushes down to 1 820. 
 
 Mr. Shepherd quotes from the Rev. Gr. Miles Cooper's 
 paper on the Abbey of Bayham, which appeared in the 
 Sussex Archeological Collections of 1857, ' Though few 
 are ignorant of this ancient custom of Rushbearing, it 
 may not be so generally known that the strewing of 
 Churches grew into a religious festival, dressed up in all 
 that picturesque circumstance wherewith the old 
 Church knew well how to array its ritual.' ' The neigh- 
 bourhood of Ambleside (continues the writer) was 
 until lately and may be still (1857) one of 
 the chief strongholds of this popular practice.' 
 
 Brand says: 'At the conversion of the Saxons by Austin 
 the monk the Heathen Paganalia (village feasts) were 
 continued among the converts. . . . Such are the founda- 
 tions of the country Wake. This feast was at first kept 
 on that day in every year on which the Church was 
 dedicated ; but .... by an Act of Convocation passed 
 by Henry VIII in 1530 the feast of the dedication of 
 every Church was ordered to be kept upon one and the 
 same day everywhere, that is on the first Sunday in 
 October, and the saint's day to which the Church was 
 dedicated entirely laid aside. This Act is now disre- 
 garded, but probably it arose from thence that the 
 feast of Wak«^s (Dedication feast) was first put oif till 
 
 the Sunday following the proper day It appears 
 
 that in ancient times the parishioners brought rushes at 
 the feast of dedication, wherewith to strew the Church, 
 and from that circumstance the festivity itself has ob- 
 tained the name of " Rushbearing," which occurs for a 
 Country Wake in a Glossary to the Lancashire dialect. 
 —(Brand and Ellis, London, 1813, vol. i. p. 422.) 
 
 In his recent work on 'Rushbearing,' the late Mr Alfred 
 Burton says : ' The custom of taking these rushes to 
 Church gradually developed into a religious festival, 
 and although some writers deny that there is any con- 
 nection between the rush-bearing and the wakes, or 
 feast of the dedication of the Church to some saint, the 
 
W^\it JM.nB\fhmxmQ. 
 
 evidence is overwhelming that the custom of annually 
 
 reuev/ing the rushes did take place at that time 
 
 — {Rushhearing, by Alfred Burtou, edited by William 
 Andrews, F.R.[-T.S., Secretary of the Hull Literary Club, 
 published by Brook and Chrystal, Manchester.) 
 
 Of Mr. Burton's book the Manchester Guardian 
 says : ' The late Mr. Alfred Burton, of this city, took a 
 keen interest in this quaint and picturesque old-world 
 custom fof rushbearingj, and brought together a remark- 
 able collection of artistic and archeological memoranda 
 on the subject. Since his death the monograph has 
 been issued in a liandsome quarto volume, which forms 
 a memorial of the zeal and industry of the author. He 
 has ransacked books, gleaned from the files of old 
 periodicals, reproduced drawings and engravings, and 
 has called in the help of photography to ensure faithful 
 representations of the rush carts of modern days. 
 
 ' Mr. Alfred Burton's JRusJibearing, which is pub- 
 lished by Messrs. Brook and Chrystal, can best be 
 described as a remarkable collection of data bearing 
 on the history of that custom, once so common, 
 but now so rare, and yearly becoming rarer. . . . . 
 It is well that it has found a faithful historian.' — 
 {Manchester Guardian, Wednesday, June 10th, 1891.) 
 
 Rushbearings appear to have been quite common all 
 over England, and especially in the northern counties, 
 but during the last twenty or thirt}'' years they have 
 died out in all but a few places. 
 
 T. F. Dyer (Popular Customs, 1876, p. 33:?) says : 
 
 ' At Faruborough in Kent the Sunday after feast of 
 S. Peter (June 29) is called Reed Day or Flag Day, 
 and the floor of the porch is strewed with rushes, in 
 the will of George Dalton (1556), among other bene- 
 factions, is one of 10/- for a sermon to be preached on 
 Reed Day. , Tbe local traditon is that George Dalton 
 was saved from drowning by reed.' — {Maidstone Gazette^ 
 1859.) 
 
 P. 334. — ' At Allcar in Lancashire, a rushbearing is 
 held in July. The church is dedicated to S. Michael.' 
 
 P. 367. — ' At Dorrington in Lincolnshire, maidens 
 strew a chapel with rushes on August 24th. The cere- 
 mony is followed by football, wrestling, and other 
 sports.' — {History of Lincolnshire, 1854, ii. 255.) 
 
 P. 367. — 'At Dent, in Yorkshire, is held a rushbearing 
 on S. Bartholomew's Day.' 
 
 P. 280. — 'At Heybridge, near Maiden, in Essex, the 
 
Jpl^ie JS.trsIjkarm0 
 
 Church was formerly strewa with rushes on Whit- 
 sunday, and budding twigs were put in holes in the 
 pews.' — {Notes and Queries, 2^ud series, i. 471.) 
 t P. 280.— 'The Church of S. Mary Redcliffe, at Bristol 
 in Gloucestershire, is annually strewn.' — (Edward's Old 
 English Customs and Charities, pp. 216, 217.^ 
 
 P. 294. — .'At Clee, in Lincolnshire, exists a right of 
 cutting rushes from a piece of land called ' Bescars,' to 
 strew the Church on Trinity Sunday. Grass is cut 
 annually to preserve the right. — (Edward's op. cit. 217. 
 
 P. .-^55.^ — 'At Warton io Lancashire, a rushbearing is 
 held on S. Oswald's Day, August 5th, or the nearest 
 Sunday. It is described in \¥hitaker's History of, 
 Richmond, h. 293. Lucas, a school-master of Warton, 
 wrote the following which is still in manuscript : 
 
 ' " The vain custom of dancing, excessive drinking, 
 etc., having been many years laid aside, theiuhabitants 
 and strangers spend that day in duly attending the 
 service of the Church, and making good cheer, within 
 the rules of sobriety, in private houses ; and the next 
 in several kinds of diversions, the chiefest of which is 
 usually a Rushbearing, which is in this manner. They 
 cut hard rushes from the marsh, which they make up 
 into long bundles, and then dress them in fine liuen, 
 silk ribands, flowers, etc. ; afterwards the young 
 women of the village, which perform the ceremony 
 that year, take up the burdens erect, and begin the 
 procession ('precedence being always given to the 
 Churchwardens' burden), which is attended not only 
 with multitudes of people, but with music, drums, 
 ringing of bells, and all other demonstrations of joy they 
 are able to express. When they arrive at the Church, 
 they go in at the west end fthe only public use that I 
 ever saw that door put to), and setting down their 
 burdens in the Church, strip them of their ornaments, 
 leaving the heads or crowns of them decked with 
 flowers, cut paper, etc., in some part of the Church, 
 generally over the caucelli. Then the company return 
 to the town, and cheerfully partake of a plentiful 
 collation provided for that purpose, and spend the 
 remaining part of the day, r„nd frequently a great part 
 of the night also, in dancing, if the weather permits, 
 about a may-pole adorned with greens and flowers, or 
 else in some other convenient place." — ^(Written at close 
 of 18th century.)' 
 
 Unless good Mr. Lucas was in the habit of seeing 
 things through a very kindly pair of spectacles, we of 
 S. Oswald, Grasmere, could hardly, even in these 
 
J^^c J^xts^^haring. 
 
 boasted modern times, improve upon the Rushbearing 
 of our namesake a hundred years ago ! A pretty Rush- 
 bearing is still, we believe, to be seen at Disley in* 
 Cheshire, also at Warcop in Westmoreland, and some- 
 thing of the kind at Ha worth in Yorkshire. 
 
 The Rush-cart and the Rush-sheet have been the 
 characteristic features of the Rushbearing, and the ob- 
 jects of all the smart decoration which the ingenuity 
 and taste of the people could devise. 
 
 Mr Burton, in the afore-mentioned book, writes: 
 ' South-east Lancashire was the home of the rush-cart. 
 Almost every village had one, and the rivalry between 
 the people sometimes rose to such a pitch that blood- 
 shed occurred. . . Elijah Ridings, a Lancashire poet, 
 in his Village Festival writes : 
 
 ' Behold the rush-cart and the throng 
 
 Of lads and lasses pass along ! 
 
 Now watch the nimble morris-dancera, 
 
 Those blithe, fantastic, antic prancers, 
 
 Bedecked with gaudiest profusion 
 
 Of ribbons in a gay confusion 
 
 Of brilliant colours, richest dyes, 
 
 Like wings of moths and butterflies ; 
 
 Waving white 'kerchiefs here and there, 
 • And up and down and everywhere. 
 
 Springing, bounding, gaily skipping, 
 
 Deftly, briskly, no one tripping. 
 
 All young fellows, blithe and hearty, 
 
 Thirty couples in the party ; 
 
 And on the footpaths may be seen 
 
 Their sweethearts from each lane and green 
 
 And cottage home ; all fain to see 
 
 This festival of rural glee ; 
 
 The love betrothed, the fond heart plighted, 
 
 And with the witching scene delighted ; 
 
 In modest guise and simple graces. 
 
 With roses blushing on their faces. 
 
 Behold the strong-limbed horses stand, — 
 
 The pride and boast of English land, 
 
 Fitted to move in shafts or chains. 
 
 With plaited glossy tails and manes ; 
 
 Their proud head each a garland wears 
 
 Of quaint devices — suns and stars. 
 
 And roses, ribbon-wrought abound ; 
 
 The silver plate, one hundred pounds. 
 
 With green oak boughs the cart is crowned. 
 
 The strong, gaunt horses shake the ground.' 
 
 
Jpl^£ J^jttsl^hanng 
 
 THE RUSH-SHEET. 
 
 The rushes were neatly tied in bundles, and piled up 
 into a pyramid, decorated with ribbons etc. ; in front of 
 the load a sheet was suspended on which were fastened 
 the valuable articles lent. ' Arranging this Sheet,' 
 says Bamford, another Lancashire poet, ' was exclusively 
 the work of girls and women ; and in proportion as it 
 was happily designed, and fitly put together, or other- 
 wise, was the praise or disparagement meted out by the 
 public : a point on which they would be not a little 
 sensitive. The sheet was a piece of white linen, 
 generally a good bed sheet; and on it were pretty 
 rosettes, and quaint compartments and borderings 
 of all colours and hues which either paper, 
 tinsel, ribbons, or natural flowers could 
 supply. In these compartments were arranged 
 silver watches, trays, spoons, sugar-tongs, tea-pots, 
 quart tankards, drinking cups, or other fitting articles of 
 ornament and value, and the more numerous and 
 precious the articles were, the greater was the deference 
 that party which displayed them expected from the 
 wondering crowd.' On the Sunday following the 
 rush bearing, the banners and garlands were hung up in 
 the Church. Music and morrib-dancers formed an 
 attractive feature in the festival. 
 
 The following are extracts from Hone's Year Book : — 
 
 P. 596. — ' Whitsunday, CoUinson, \n History of Somerset^ 
 
 said that at Yatton, John Lane left half an acre of ground, 
 
 called the groves, to the poor, reserving a quantity of 
 
 the grass for strewing the Church on Whitsunday.' 
 
 P. 1103. — Sketch of rush-cart and banner, from Roch- 
 dale, Lane, with communication. May 81, 1826. 'A 
 few years ago, I was told by an old man, now deceased, 
 that he remembered the rushes to have been borne on 
 the shoulders of the country people in bundles, some 
 very plain, and others ornamented with ribands, 
 garlands, etc., to the Chnrch-yard in Rochdale : that 
 they were there dried, previous to being put into 
 the Church, and that these rushbearers received a small 
 compensation from the Churchwardens, This was 
 before Churches were floored with wood . . . The 
 improvements m education, manufactures, and 
 commerce have rendered the taste and manners of the 
 working classes more refined, and the old homely 
 method of rush-bearing on the shoulders has given 
 place to the more luxurious and gorgeous display of 
 the rush-cart and banner The rushes are 
 
W^l^t J^us^rljearing. 
 
 laid transversely on the rush-cart, and are cut by sharp 
 knives to the form desired, in which no little art is 
 required. The bolts, as they are termed, are formed ot 
 the largest rushes, tied up in bundles of about two 
 inches in diameter. These bolts are, . as the work ot 
 making proceeds, affixed to rods fixed in the four 
 corners of the cart, and curved to the form required, 
 AVhen the cart is finished, the load of rushes is 
 decorated with carnations and other flowers, 
 in dijfferent devices, and surmounted by branches ot 
 oak, and a person rides upon the top. The carts are 
 sometimes drawn by horses gaily caparisoned, but more 
 frequently by young men, to the number of twenty or 
 thirty couple, profusely adorned with ribands, tinsel, 
 etc. They are generally preceded by men with horse 
 bells about them, grotesquely jumping from side to 
 side, and jingling the bells. Often there is a band of 
 music, and sometimes a set of morris dancers (but with- 
 out the ancient appendage of bells) followed by young 
 women bearing garlands; then comes the banner made 
 of silk of various colours, joined by narrow ribands 
 fretted, the whole profusely covered on both sides with 
 roses, stars, etc., of tinsel (which in this part is called 
 horsegoldj, and which, being viewed when the sun 
 shines, dazzles the eyes. The banners are generally 
 from four to five yards broad, and six to eight yards 
 long, havins: on either side in the centre a painting of 
 Britannia, the King's arms, or some other device. The 
 whole procession is flanked by men with long cart- 
 whips which they keep continually cracking to make a 
 clear path. On the front of some carts is a white cloth, 
 to which is attached a number of silver spoons, tankards, 
 pups and watches, tastefully displayed. Great rivalry 
 exists between the young men of the neighbouring 
 villages which shall produce the best formed cart and 
 banner. . . Six or seven rush-carts are frequently in the 
 town (Rochdale) on the third Monday in August, which 
 is the day for strewing them. . . . The practice 
 is general in the months of July, Augus"', and Septem- 
 ber. Those held round this place are at Ashworth, 
 Littlebrow, Minbrow, Shaw, Oldham, Rayham, Mid- 
 dleton, Heywood, and Whitwortn, the customs at each 
 place being much alike. The person who has the 
 forming of a rush-cart is called a " featturer," and it was 
 one of these men who unfortunately lost his life at the 
 riots in this town on Easter Monday in April 1794 or 5. 
 He resided at Marland, and for a number of years after- 
 wards, in commemoration of his death, each of the 
 
young men who drew the rush-cart from Marlaud 
 wore a black scarf, but it is now discontinued.' 
 
 (Signed) J. L, 
 
 May 4th 1831.-—' At Birstal (near LeedsJ I remem- 
 ber once to have seen a procession.' .... Where Ver 
 our Churches are paved or flagged, ag most have been 
 since the, Tudor reigns, and all since the Reformation, 
 there has been no necessity to strew the Churches ; and 
 this part of the ceremony has, generally, it not always, 
 been dispensed with. I can, however, refer to one place 
 where the whole ceremony (with the exception of the 
 May-pole dance) is gone through, and that place is 
 Grasmere. . . . This place I visited in 1»28. ... 1' 
 found the very seat floors all unpaved, unboarded, and 
 the bare ground only strewed with rushes. My eye 
 was also particularly attracted by the paper garlands 
 which I found deposited in the vestry ; they were 
 curiously and tastefully cut, and 1 was almost tempted 
 to buy one of them.' MORRISON SCATCHERD. 
 
 Marsham, Norwich, April 27, 1831. — 
 
 ' In the town account book of the parish of Hard ley, 
 near Leddon, Norfolk, it seems to have been customary 
 to strew the Church with rushes, as the entries therein 
 plainly shew, commencing with the year 1709, and the 
 last in 1736; it is generally entered thus, " paid for 
 rushes for the Church, 3s.," but in some years it is en- 
 tered in two half-yearly payments of Is, od. each. 
 After the last years are entries of the same annual sum 
 of Ss. for " nats or knats (I presume for mats) for the 
 Church." 
 
 ' It is still the custom to strew Norwich Cathedral, 
 on the mayor's day, or guild day, out of compliment to 
 the corporation, who on that day attend the cathedral 
 service. I must here observe that it is the sweet- 
 scented flag, acorus calamus, that should be used on 
 these occasions, whose roots when bruised give out a 
 very powerful and fragrant odour, somewhat resem- 
 bling that of the myrtle. This plant, from the great de- 
 mand the root has attained in our breweries (under 
 the name of quassia) has not been attainable for many 
 years, and the yellow water iris, iris pseudo-acorus, 
 has been substituted. The flags were formerly strewed 
 from the great west door to the entrance of the mayor's 
 seat, but are now laid no further than the entrance of 
 the choir. Twelve shillings per annum are now 
 allowed by the Dean and Chapter for this service. 1 am 
 informed that it is yet the custom to strew the Trinity- 
 House at Hull.' GoDDARD Johnson." 
 
10 Wfee'^jKltt^ear^g. 
 
 We uow coriie to cohsider Hjorw particularly the 
 Kushbearing at the village of Grasmere. The Rush- 
 ■cart does not seem to have penetrated into these far 
 away dales, aud the Sheet appears to have actually 
 served to bear the rushes. We repriut here, wich some 
 ■corrections, an account of Grasmere Riishbearing which 
 appeared in the August number of the Grasmere Parish 
 Magazine for 1890 : — 
 
 ' ♦' What is the Rushbearing ?" This question is often 
 asked by strangers visiting Grasmere, and it is not a 
 v*^ry easy one to answer in tew words. Some account, 
 therefore, of Rusabeariugs in general, and of the 
 Grasmere one in particular, may be useful to v^isitors, 
 and also interesting to residents. The custom of strew- 
 ing churches and halls with rushes was a common one 
 in olden times, when mother earth served for flooring, 
 and stone pavings were rough at the best. Private 
 dwellings were so carpeted in honour of any high festi- 
 vity, and annually in the Parish churches, especially in 
 the North, the rushes were laid aciew at the Dedication 
 Festival, which was the great village feast of the year. 
 Every town or village^had its annual " Feast," older 
 even than the days of Christianity, but associated in 
 Christian times with the festival of the saint to whom 
 the Parish church was dedicated. In Observations on 
 \ Popular Antiquities we read: "It appears that in 
 /ancieqt times the parishioners brought rushes at the 
 kFeast of Dedication, Avherewith to strew the church, 
 land from that circumstance the festivity itself has ob- 
 tained the name of ' Rushbearing,' which occurs tor a 
 * Country Wake,' in a Glossary to the Lancashire 
 Dialect." (Brand and Ellis, vol. i. p. 422, London, 1813. 
 
 ' The Rushbearings seem to have been accompanied 
 by as much pomp and solemnity as possible. In those 
 days of greater reverence, when everything that was 
 for service in God's house was esteemed sacred, no 
 matter how humble its use, the rushes, after being 
 gathered, were borne in procession through the town or 
 village with strains of sacred music and other manifest- 
 ations of religious joy. The church was then strewn 
 and made fresh and bright for another year, after which 
 J followed dancing and amusements of various kinds. 
 
 'This is a meagre sketch of what took place in "merrie 
 England," but it may suffice to explain the interest and 
 charm of the few Rushbearing processions which have 
 survived up to the present time. Traces of Rush- 
 bearings may be met with in many northern localities. 
 
The writer has. been told of a yearly procession of a 
 rush-cart through the squalid streets of Miles Platting, in 
 Manchester, and a very dismal appearance it is said to 
 present. There are only three or tour places where a 
 procession of any beauty or importance has been pre- 
 served, namely. Grasmere, Ambleside. JKarcujp. and 
 possibly one or two others. Of these, Grasmere is the 
 most distinguished for various reasons. Grasmere is 
 the mother church of both Langdaltj and Ambleside, 
 which latter place, we believe, discontinued the Rush- 
 bearing for some years of this century. Besides this 
 the beautiful little spot has attracted the notice of poets 
 and celebrities from the poet Gray down to the present 
 lime. The church of Grasmere is dedicated to S. 
 Oswald (August 5th), but the Rushbearing for long took 
 place on the Saturday nearest to the 20th of July. The 
 origm oi the fixmg of this date is losOn oDscuntyr 
 People believe there may have been a connection be- 
 tween it and the observance of old S. Peter's Day. 
 There is some reason, however, for thinking that it was 
 fixed upon in the present century, though no living in- 
 habitant can remember a different date. Persons 
 flocked to the Grasmere Rushbearing from Keswick, 
 Ambleside, Langdale, and even, we believe, from Ken- 
 dal. Four young girls used to walk in the procession^ 
 bearing a sheet full of rushes, and decorated at the 
 edges with flowers, but this died out with the past 
 generation. Much that was quaint and interesting is 
 \ within the memory of living men and women. The 
 floor of the church was earth, with a tew rough stones 
 for pavement up the "alleys," as they were commonly 
 called, and a better paving within the Sanctuary. In 
 July, George Mackerith, the clerk (succeeded by his 
 son David) would remind the statesmen and inn-keepers 
 that it was time to collect the rushes again. These 
 were the small rushes known as "sieves," that grow on 
 the fells; they were cut and brought to the village in 
 carts, and a good many cart loads must have been 
 needed to strew the broad old church ! " Rushbearings'* 
 had been preparing for days befbrehand ; these were 
 tall poles decked with rushes and flowers, sometimes 
 the flowers would be wild ones, then paper would be 
 used, and then again, as gardens increased, flowers of 
 gorgeous hue. Sometimes the pole would be a large 
 holly bough, but in all cases they \yere much larger 
 than the present ones, and were carried by boys and 
 girls up to the age of fifteen. Doubtless a century 
 earlier they were borne by grown people. 
 
12 W^t Jiitts|^harm0. 
 
 ' On the Saturday afterroou, wheu the rushes, no 
 longer carried round the village, were all strewn in the 
 Church, a procession was formed on the Church Bridge, 
 headed by " Jimn;y Dawson," the fiddler of Grove 
 Cottage, who would play the same "Rushbearing 
 March "year after year. How old this march is we can- 
 not tell, but the oldest inhabitant, a man of ninety, knew 
 no fiddler before Jimmy Dawson, He was succeeded 
 in his olfice by Anthony Hail. On the return of the pro- 
 cession to the Church, each bearer was presented by the 
 churchwardens, James Fleming, John Green, Tyson, 
 etc., with two-pence worth of ginger bread, paid for 
 out of the Church collections. The Rushbearings were 
 carried into Church, and formed a bright and festive 
 decoration. Later in the evening there was always a 
 dance, held at onetime in a loft or barn near the Red 
 Lion Hotel, which was entered by an abutment. 
 Children retired about nine o'clock, and grown persons 
 danced till close upon mid-nigbt. Simple refreshments 
 were served by Jane Atkinson, Nannie Patty, and two 
 or three other village dames from Grasmere and Lang- 
 dale. Wrestling also took place in an adjoining field. 
 
 ' Such was the yearly village feast until about 1840^ 
 With the re-flooring of the Church, at that time, the 
 Rushbearing proper may be said to have terminated,, 
 but the procession has been kept up ever since, in 
 memory of past doings, as a treat to children, and as an 
 occasion for a pleasant social gathering. A pretty 
 Rushbearers' hymn, actually composed, it is said, in the 
 old post-office at Ambleside, by the Rev. Owen Lloyd, 
 about the year 1835, has been sung in Grasmere every 
 year as the time came round. Dancing and wrestling^ 
 have also been kept up, but have not been encouraged 
 so much as, we venture to think, they deserve to be. 
 The Rushbearings are varied in device; simple poles,. 
 crosses, hearts, wreaths, are all common, and among 
 others have been wont to appear a tall pole with a ser- 
 pent twisted round about it, a little Moses in the bul- 
 rushes, and a harp, designs which probably at one time 
 conveyed Scripture lessons, or bore witness to some 
 old legend. 
 
 ' In 1885 theDedication Festival was revived, and the 
 Rushbearing has since then taken place on the Saturday 
 in that week. A banner for S. Oswald's Day has been 
 given to the Church, and is carried at the head of the 
 Procession, and a hymn composed in memory of the 
 Saint is sung in addition to the one before mentioned. 
 Jimmv Dawson's March has been recovered and is^ 
 
played by the Band when the Procession starts forward.' 
 
 Two very old accounts by eye-witnesses of the 
 Grasmere Rushbearing are extant. The oldest is in 
 James Clarke's Survey of the Lakes of Ciimherlandj 
 Westmorland^ and Lancashire, second edition, 1789,. 
 page 134. He says : — 
 
 ' 1 happened once to be at Grasmere, at what they 
 call a " Rushbearing." This is an ancient annual 
 custom, formerly pretty universal there, but now 
 generally disused, and consisted of the following Rural 
 Procession : 
 
 ' About the latter end of September, a number of 
 young women and girls (generally the whole parish) go 
 together to the tops of the hills to gather rushes. 
 These tbey carry to the Church, headed by one of the 
 smartest girls in the company. She who leads the 
 procession is styled the Queen, and carries in her hand 
 a large garland, and the rest usually have nosegays. 
 The Queen then goes and places her garland upon the 
 Pulpit, where it remains till after the next Sunday. 
 The rest then strew their rushes upon the bottom of the 
 pews, and at the Church door they are met by a fiddler, 
 who plays before them to the public house, where the 
 evening is spent in all kinds of rustic merriment. . . / 
 
 This account of the Grasmere Rushbearing is interest- 
 ing for several reasons. In the first place, it is an 
 account by an eye-witness of what took place at the 
 Rushbearing rather more than a hundred years ago, and 
 that is a good long time I 
 
 There are not, we should say, many village feasts 
 in England which can point to a clear and distinct 
 account of themselves written a hundred years ago, 
 and by an eye-witness. We know well that most 
 country feasts are of very ancient observance, bat there 
 is usually little to elucidate them or describe them 
 beyond the rather hazy and uncertain details stored in 
 the memories of very old people, and James Clarke's 
 simple, unpretending account of the Grasmere Rush- 
 bearing, as he saw it so long ago, links the past with 
 the present in a forcible manner ! 
 
 One point to be observed in his account is the time of 
 year when the Rushbearing took place. This he 
 describes as ' about the latter end of September.' It 
 does not seem likely that, having been present himself, 
 he should make a mistake between the end of July and 
 the end of September. The former month was the 
 regular date within the memories of living people until 
 
the year 1885, but it seems probable that it became 
 thus fixed somewhere between 1790 and 1827, and was 
 not, as has been generally believed, of much older 
 "origin, for not only have we James Clarke's 
 witness to the later observance, but there 
 are residents in Grasmere who can remem- 
 ber the gathering of rushes being spoken of 
 by their elders as an autumns i task, to be accomplished 
 after the farmers had safely stored their hay, and 
 before the cold winter had set in. The rushes were, 
 in truth, far more for warmth than for anything else, 
 and we can well believe that the faithful few who came 
 to worship must have needed them in those hardy 
 days when stoves, cushions, and curtains were 
 unknown. The custom of choosing a Queen to head 
 the procession was a very pretty one, and seems to 
 have orly died out a generation or two ago, but so 
 short and so treacherous is the human memory that it 
 is very doubtful whether any inhal)itaut of Grasmere at 
 this day ever heard of such a thing taking place at the 
 Rushbeariug, Let us hope that by help ot the modern^ 
 cheap, and easy press, we may be able to hand down 
 to our great great grandchildren, lively accounts of all 
 that we did at the Rushbearing of 1891 ! 
 
 One more interesting point remains to be noted. 
 James Clarke mentions, ' a fiddler,' and this fiddler 
 may well have been James Dawson, the father of 
 ' Jimmy Dawson,' who is remembered by middle-aged 
 people in Grasmere at the present day. There is 
 another account by an eye-witness of the Grasmere 
 Rushbearing, as it took place in 1827, and in this the 
 writer says that the fiddler, Dawson, boasted to him of 
 having played at the Rushbearing for forty-six years. . 
 James Clarke's Survey was published in 1789, so James 
 Dawson had been ' fiddling ' at the Rushbearing eight 
 years before the appearance of his book ! Jimmy 
 DaAvson the second was known to have invariably 
 played one particular march for the procession, and aa 
 his father was evidently, from the account of him, a 
 great authority on the proper tunes to be used, it is- 
 reasonable to suppose that the later Jimmy bad 
 received the march from him. If this be so, we may 
 more than ever congratulate ourselves upon having- 
 recovered this time-honoured march, and restored it to 
 its old importance in the procession. 
 
 The other account is by T.Q.M., ' a pedestrian,' and 
 may be seen in Hone's Year Booh This traveller 
 
walkedfrom Craven, arriving at Grrasmere on July 21st, 
 1827. Here is his description of whathe saw : — 
 * The church door was open, and 1 , discovered that 
 ^ the villagers were strewing the floors with fresh rushes. 
 1 learnt from the old clerk, George Mackereth, that, 
 according to the annual custom, the rushbeariug pro- 
 cession would be in the evening. 1 asked the clerk if 
 there were any dissenters in the neighbourhood. He 
 said "No ; not nearer than Keswick, where there were 
 some who called themselves Presbyterian." During the 
 whole of this day 1 observed the children busily 
 employed in preparing garlands of .such wild flowers as 
 the beautiful valley produces, for the evening pro- 
 cession, which commenced at nin^, in the following 
 order:— The children, chiefly girls, holding their gar- 
 lands, paraded through the villaj^e, preceded by the 
 Union band. They then entered the chiu-ch, when the 
 three largest garlands were placed on the altar, and the 
 remaining ones in various parts of the place. la the 
 procession 1 observed the " Opium Eater," Mr.Barber, an 
 opulent gentleman residing in the neighbourhood, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wordsworth, Miss Wordsworth, and Miss Dora 
 Wordsworth. Wordsworth is the chief supporter of 
 these rustic ceremonies. The procession over, the party 
 adjourned to the ball room, a hayloft at my worthy 
 Iriend Mr. Bell's (now the Red Lion), where the country 
 lads and lasses tripped it merrily and heavily. Thej' 
 called the amusement dancing. I called it thumping ; 
 for he who made the most noise seemed to be esteemed 
 the best dancer ; and on the present occasion 1 think 
 Mr. Pooley, the schoolmaster, bore away the palm. 
 Billy Dawson, the fiddler, boasted to me of having been 
 the officiating minstrel at this ceremony for the last six 
 and forty years. He made grievous complaints of the 
 outlandish tunes which " Union band chaps introduce," 
 In the procession of this evening they annoyed Billy by 
 playing the " Hunter's chorus," in friskets. "Who," said 
 Billy, " can keep time with such a queer thing ?" 
 Amongst the gentleman dancers was one Dan Birkett. 
 He introduced himself to me by seizing my coat-collar 
 and saying " I am old Dan Birkett, of Wythburu, 6Q 
 years old, not a better jigger in Westmorland." No, 
 thought 1, nor a greater toss-pot. On my relating this 
 to an old man present, he told me not to judge the 
 Westmorland manners by Dan's," for," said he,"you see, 
 sir, he's a statesman, and has been to Lunnon, and so 
 takes liberties." The dance was kept up to a quarter 
 to twelve, when a livery servant entered and delivered 
 
16 J^]^t J^us^Ircanng. 
 
 the following verbal message to Billy. " Master's 
 respects, and Avill thank you to lend him the fiddlestick." 
 Billy took the hint, the Sabbath morn was at hand, and 
 the pastor of the parish (Sir Richard le Fleming) had 
 adopted this gentle iuode of apprising the assembled 
 revellers that they ought to cease their revelry. The 
 servant departed w'ith' the fiddlestick, the chandelier was 
 removed, and when the village clock struck twelve, not 
 an individual was to be seen out of doors in the village. 
 Dan Birkett was the only person at all " how came you 
 so,'* and he was non se ipse before the jollity commenced.' 
 — A Pedestrian, July 2l8t, 1827. 
 
 It is very interesting to compare these two accounts 
 both written long ago, and with an interval of thirty-^, 
 eight years between them. The latter is the mqre 
 detailed of the two, and several persons are actually 
 named whose memories have not yet passed away from 
 Grasmere. The well-known old fiddler is called Billy 
 by mistake for. 'James' Dawson, and the evenmg 
 procession is stated to have taken place later than it 
 can well have done ; otherwise the account is probably 
 a very true, as it i« certainly a very picturesque, one. 
 
 What changes had passed over the observance of the 
 Rushbearing since James Clarke witnessed it in or 
 ishoitlj' before 1789? The first that appears is as to 
 the date at which it was held, James Clarke writing 
 that he was present at it ' about the latter cud of Sep- 
 tember,' while the 'Pedestrian ' arrived in Grasmere to 
 find it being celebrated on July 21st, that being the 
 Saturday nearest to the 20th of July and the time, at 
 which it was held at any rate from that year up to 1885. 
 Next we notice that the order of proceedings seems to 
 have been reversed some time between 178y and 1827: 
 at the time of the former date the Procession precedes 
 the strewing ot the Church ; the very rushes that vere 
 to carpet the House ef God being still carried in the 
 Procession through the township; but in 1827 we see 
 that the Church was strewn before the Procession, and 
 so a beautiful custom was dying out before its time and 
 the lesson which it yearly presented to the eyes of old 
 and young was lost. The Queen of the Rushbearing 
 had disappeared from the Procession by 1827, and the 
 Rushbearers as a whole are described as ' children ' ; 
 while in 1789 James Clarke calls them ' young women 
 and girls.' 
 
 The following paper on the Rushbearing at S. 
 Oswald's, Grasmere, by the Rev. H. D. Rawnsley, ap- 
 
W^^t '^m'^Wmm^. ' 17 
 
 peared ia the October number of the Carlisle Diocesan 
 Magazine iov 1890 : 
 
 ' The custom of Rushbearing may or may not have 
 been a relic of the Roman Florah'a. It appears to have 
 been, at any rate adopted by the early Church as a 
 village holiday, and when the dedication festival of the 
 Church fell in summer the Rushbeanng was made a 
 means not only of remembering the patron saint of the 
 village, but of renewing the very necessary floor-cloth 
 of the churches. For the floors of the churches were 
 in pre-reformation times only 'soil, and though wood or 
 pavement was introduced after the Reformation, it was 
 not till intra-raural burial ceased that it became general. 
 Here, in Cumberland, readers of Bishop Nicholson's 
 Miscellany Account of the. Diocese of. Carlisle will note 
 that he constantly alludes to the unevenness of the 
 earth flooring of the churches, owing to this craze for 
 intra-mural sepulture. Take one instance. He is speak- 
 ing of Crosthwaite Parish Church under date Sep. 15, 
 1703, and he says : — 
 
 " The body of the Church is very uneven in its pave- 
 ment, occasioned by the frequent burying there, and 
 the little or ho care that's tuken by those who break 
 the ground to put the floor into the same order wherein 
 they found it, and a search in the registers shews" that 
 with an average of 60 burials per year about 30 parish- 
 ioners were buried annually within the four walls of 
 the old church of S. Kentigern." 
 
 Rushes then were very necessary not only for warmth 
 to the feet of the worshipper, but for sweet scent for his 
 nose, and thus we find that in olden time— as for ex- 
 ample, in the Norv/ich Cathedral — ^the Rush that was 
 sought after was the sweet-scented Flag, acorus 
 calamus, which when bruised emits the fragrance of 
 the myrtle-flower. 
 
 \ It is remarkable to find that the custom of Rushbear- 
 ing has remained to us longest in this Diocese in 
 association with some cf our oldest Church dedications. 
 Thus, until last year, it was found associated with the 
 village church of S. Theobald at Great Musgrave. It 
 is found at S. Colomba's Church at Warcop. It is found 
 at !S. Oswald's Church at Grasmere, and associated 
 with the name of S. Anne at Ambleside. 
 
 I cannot her.r that Rushbeaiiug exists at Hugill, 
 Ttiwaites, or Grassgarth, where the name of S. Anne 
 is had in honour, nor can I discover why at Ambleside, 
 originally a chapelry of S. Oswald's, Grasmere, whose 
 
18 JP^£ M.m^itutmQ. 
 
 present church is dedicated to S. Marj, there should be, 
 as there undoubtedly is, a detertoinatiou to keep to 
 Rushbearing on the Saturday u&arest to S. Anne's 
 Day. 
 
 If the Floralia of the Romans, who made the • street' 
 to Pavement End inaugurated the Rushbearing, or as 
 is more probable, the village festival, to which in after 
 years the Rushbearing became an adjunct, the date of 
 this latter festival was perhaps deterhaiued by the fact 
 of the ' sheep-shearing ' and ' sheep-gathering ' having 
 been completed, and by the other quite as important 
 fact that the sheperds would have breathing space to 
 go to the fells and collect the 'sieves' or rushes for 
 the purpose of the strewing of the Church floor. 
 
 Be that as it may, the date of the Rushbearing took 
 place till 1885 on the Saturday nearest July 20th in the 
 Grasmere valley, and now takes place on the Saturday 
 nearest S. Oswald's Day, which according to the Sarum 
 Calendar is August 5th. The idea of the old village 
 Rushbearing feast havingsome connection with the Latin 
 Floralia, as alluded to above, gains a little colour from 
 the fact that at Warton, in Yorkshire, as little is it 
 possible to ascertain why, as at S. Oswald's, Grasmere, 
 the Rushbearing should not have taken place on or near 
 S. Oswald's Day. 
 
 It is probable that the date of Rushbearing in 
 Grasmere on the Saturday nearest the '20th of July, 
 governed the date of the Rushbearing at the Amble- 
 side chcipelry, which always took place on the Saturday 
 following the last Saturday in July. But it was not 
 till 1885 that the Rushbearing at Grasmere was moved 
 forward to the Saturday in August nearest to S. 
 Oswald's Day, and while we wonder how it was that 
 the 20th of July was fixed on in olden time in the 
 Grasmere Vale as a day of honour, it is allowed us to 
 conjecture either that it was fixed on the Saturday 
 nearest to it because of some great tribal battle in 
 olden time at the Raise, or some tradition of it. 
 According to Whittaker in his Richmondshire, the 
 Rushbearing festival seems to have always been 
 associated with Maypole dancing. 
 
 Indeed, there in the olden time, the people bore their 
 rushes to the Church of S. Oswald on the Sunday 
 nearest August Ist ; and bearing their bundles of 
 rushes decked with crowns of cut paper and flowers in 
 the Church, went off straight to the Maypole and spent 
 the rest of the day in dances about it. This by the 
 way. 
 
It would be a most interestiug thing if the 
 notices of payment for the Rushbearing in the Church- 
 warden's accounts at the several Churches in the diocese 
 could be collected. So far, 1 hear only of one such 
 notice. It appears that at Kirkby Lonsdale, Rush- 
 bearing was a particularly thirsty job, for in the 
 Churchwarden's accounts there is recorded that 3s. was 
 paid for drink for the Ruphbearings. This in 1660. 
 
 At Grasmere, if the money went in liquor, the 
 Churchwardens, so far as I know, said 
 nothing about it, but Mr. Fuller, the school-master, who 
 kindly searched the registei's, has ti'aced back payments 
 to the Rushbearers to 1659. 'Ye Rushbearers, 2s. 6d.,^ 
 is the form the entry takes from 1689 to 1630. In 1830, it 
 takes another form, from which we can draw our own 
 conclusions. Gingerbead for Rushbearers 6s. 8d. ; or 
 cakes for Rushbearers, 98. 4d. This continues till 1857, 
 when it is to be supposed that some very strict over- 
 hauling of churchwarden's expenditure, or some very 
 searching question at Easter Vestry put an end to a 
 custom from time immemorial, and a voluntary ginger- 
 bread fund has since been in vogue at Grasmere, as 
 at Ambleside, 
 
 At Grasmere, up till 1885, there was in addition to 
 the twopennyworth of gingerbread for each rush- 
 bearer, a donation of 6d., the gift lor 47 years of Mr. 
 Thomas Dawson, late of Allan Bank. 
 
 At the time of the change of date from the Saturday 
 nearest the 20th July, to the Saturday nearest S. 
 Oswald's Day, this gift was discontinued. There 
 appears to have been a chance of the annual Rush- 
 bearing procession being discontinued also in 1879,. 
 but this, largely owing to the public spirit of one of the 
 parishioners, who undertook to collect the necessary 
 funds for the band and gingerbread, was prevented. 
 
 And so the Village Feast, known to be more than 
 200 years old in the Grasmere Vale, probably as old as 
 the building of the first ' Wattle ' Church in the seventh 
 century, has been preserved to us. This year a closer 
 return to olden time was made. For this year the 
 * Alleys,' or aisles were strewn with rushes, a practise 
 tbat had been discontinued in 1841. 
 
 There is in Hone's Table Book, vol. ii., p. 277, a very 
 interesting account of the Rushbearing under date 
 July 21st. 1828. The villagers were then found strewing 
 the'Church with rushes. The children were preparing 
 garlands for the procession which commenced at 9 p.m. 
 
J 
 
 20 M-^t JWi^^hmmQ, 
 
 Eather late in the day. The girls, headed ^ay the Union 
 Band, went through the village bearing garlands. The 
 three largest ot these were placed upon the altar. 
 
 in the procession were noted De Quincey, Words- 
 worth, and his wife Dorothy Wordsworth, and Miss 
 Wordsworth. « Wordsworth,' says the writer, ' is the 
 chief supporter of these rustic ceremomes.' There 
 appears to have been no service in the Church, but all 
 adjourned to Mr. Jonathan Bell's hay loft, and finished 
 out the evening by * jigging,' dancing they" called it, 
 the visitor called it * thumping.' 
 
 Old Billy Dawson was the officiating minstrel at this 
 post-processionaldance, and had filled the office for the 
 past 46 years. Peace to his ashes. The Grasmere 
 folk still think of him, for though Anthony 
 Hall succeeded him as fiddler, the tune wo 
 marched to round the village in this year of grace, 
 1890, on Rushbearingday, was not Anthony Hall's it 
 was Billy Dawson's march- 
 
 The Rushbearing ball broke up just before midnight, 
 on Saturday, July 21st, 1828, in the prettiest way, for 
 the vicar's livery servant entered Jonathan Bell's hay 
 loft and delivered the following message to Billy the 
 fiddler,— T-' Master's respects and will thank j^ou to' lend 
 him the fiddle-stick.' Billy took the hint, and the 
 Sabbath morn was ushered in decently and quietly. 
 When the village clock struck twelve, not a soul was to 
 be seen outside their doors in Grasmere village. 
 
 But it seems that there is at Grasmere some remnant 
 of the miracle play still clinging to the Rushbearing. 
 
 Moses in the bulrushes, the serpent on a pole, are stiU 
 made of reeds and flowers, and carried in procession ; a 
 bust of Miriam or David comes in with the harp that is 
 also borne among the burdens. 
 
 Of old time fair girls carried a white sheet decorated 
 with ribgnds and cut paper filled wiih rushes or flowers. 
 This may have had allusion to the vision of the sheet 
 let down from Heaven, and the opening of the door to 
 the Gentiles. Who can tell ? 
 
 At any rate one was glad to find that the Maypole 
 was set up among the children at their village games 
 this year in the Rectory field, and glad also to hear S. 
 Oswald's hymn sung cheerily. For it is well to think 
 sometimes of the days when the Latin children looked 
 upon the hillsand val6s of Strathclyde, and the Mission 
 Church of Northumbria under the guidance of Aidan 
 and Finan; stretched forth its hands to help us to -a 
 
knowledge of Christ, and to continue under Oswald, 
 the soldier and servant of our Lord, the good work 
 done for the diocese by Niniau and Kentigern of old. 
 
 We break with the past at our peril.' 
 
 Mr. Hawnsley writes that the Rushbearing ' is now 
 .held upon the Saturday nearest S. Oswald's Day.' 
 It should rather have been said ' the Saturday aftei- S. 
 Oswald's Day.' The Dedication Festival continues for 
 eight days in obedience to the spirit of the Bible and 
 Prayer Book which observe an octave for the greatest 
 Festivals. The Rushbearing thus falls within the 
 octave, and is rightly considered as a part of the 
 Festival. 
 
 Further on in the same paper he says ' at the time 
 of the change of date from the Saturday nearest the 
 
 20th of July to etc this gift (a donation 
 
 of 6d. to each rushbearer from Mr. Dawson) was dis- 
 continued.' It ought to be explained that a Feast is 
 now substituted for the gift of a sixpence. The 
 expense of this and all the other attractions of the 
 Rushbearing, such as the band, the gingerbread etc., 
 is met by subscriptions from the village of Grasmere 
 itself, nearly every house in the valley contributing 
 small sums that vary between one penny and half-a- 
 crown. 
 
 One or two other trifling inaccuracies appear in the 
 comse of Mn Rawnsley's interesting paper, but they 
 ^ are of no importance. 
 
 Two or three short notices of the Grasmere Rush- 
 bearing have been written by diiferent people, within 
 the last few years. In 1884, Will Carleton thus describes 
 it : ' The bouquets were so large and the children so 
 small, that the procession looked like a little garden of 
 flowers creeping away on their stems ; or, as says 
 
 the poet :— 
 
 Like a string of rainbows 
 
 Appears that cortege bright 
 "Winding among the crooked lanes 
 
 In the golden evening light. 
 
 The inbuntains, listening around, took up the 
 musicians' instrumental song, and echo after echo went 
 flying over the little fair heads as they moved slowly 
 towards the Church. The murmuring river welcomed 
 them as their feet pattered on aged door-stones, and 
 those old walls smiled to see the children come with 
 their flowers once more. 
 
 After the bouquets had been tastefully bestowed 
 
22 -Wl^t l^m\ibmmQ. * 
 
 until the venerable Sanctuary looked as if it were 
 adorned for a wedding, there were some appropriate 
 religious ceremonies, and an old hymn was sung. 
 
 In 1885, a correspondent writing to the Queen, a 
 description of the Ambleside Rushbearing adds : ' At 
 Grasmere, the Rushbearing Festival was com- 
 memorated this year three weeks later in the season 
 than usual. The Patron Saint of the ancient Grasmere 
 Church is Oswald, and the vicar (rectorj of the parish, 
 after consulting the desires of his parishioners, this year 
 determined upon S. Oswald's Day <^^5th. August) for the 
 Rushbearing Festival. In almost every respect the 
 festival is observed here in the same manner as at 
 Ambleside, but the Church, being situate in the very 
 centre of the village, the custom of Grasmere is for the 
 children to meet together in the (Jhuroh-yard, and 
 place their Rushbearings on the wall of the Church- 
 yard, where they remain for about half an hour, to be 
 inspected by the crowd of people who are collected 
 there.' — From Ruslihearing by Alfred Burton; Brook 
 and Chrystal, Manchester. 
 
 A third description runs thus : 
 
 ' The days when Churches were strewn with rushes 
 seem so far from our own, that it is almost like taking 
 part in a fairy tale to find ourselves at a Rushbearing 
 Festival, such as took place one Sunday last * ugust, at 
 the littlie village of Grasmere, in Westmoreland. Most 
 people know that quiet little spot, where the Old 
 Church stands on the bank of the hurrying river, a spot 
 doubly sacred from being the last resting-place of the 
 poet Wordsworth and his sister. On Rushbearing 
 evening the church-yard wall is crowded with childish 
 figures, each with a ' Rush-bearing,' often nearly as big 
 as itself. These ' Rushbearings ' are generally tall 
 crosses, or shepherds' crooks, the design is made in 
 rushes, and stands from one to four feet high, the 
 whole is ornamented, often covered with flowers, and 
 in some cases the result is very beautiful. The children 
 gather gradually in the church-yard, amid an admiring 
 crowd ; and then walk in procession to the Church, 
 where the ' Rush-bearings' are placed on boards along 
 the edges of the pews. Probably in former days the 
 Rushbeareis were men and women, and not children. 
 Still the little bearers and the trophies they carry are 
 a touching link with the past, and it is interesting to 
 think for how many years the simple country folk hav& 
 
W-l^t ^tts^kanng. 23 
 
 come trom all sides of the quiet little valley to their 
 bright Festival in the quaint Old Church.'— TAe Graphic, 
 June 22ud, 1889. 
 
 1 hie notice of the Grasmere Rushbearing must not 
 close without a tribute to the gracious part taken in it 
 by Mr. Dawson of Allan Bank. Bat for him, as far as 
 We can tell, the pretty Rushbearing Procession would, 
 long ere now, have been a thing of the past. This 
 timely intervention saved it, and this should ever be 
 remembered by true lovers of Grasmere. 
 
 We subjoin accounts from the local paper of the 
 successive Rushbearings as they have taken place since 
 1885, and in conclusion we cannot do better than quote 
 the greater part of a sermon preached in Grasraere 
 Church on * Rushbearing Sunday ' 1863 by the Rev. R. 
 P. Graves, M.A. 
 
 GRASMERE RUSHBEARING, 1885. 
 
 This time-honoured custom of Rushbearing wag 
 commemorated at Grasmere on Saturday last. This 
 year its celebration is some weeks later than usual 
 being the Saturday nearest to S. Oswald's Day, the' 
 Patron Saint of the Church. The alteration in the date 
 seemed to have been perfectly successful ; the weather 
 was more favourable than on the day when it was 
 generally held, and it being later in the season there 
 were more people able to enjoy a glimpse of this 
 uncommon scene. 
 
 Shortly before six o'clock, the quiet little village 
 began to assume an air of gayness and activity, little 
 children were hurrying towards the Church, with their 
 hands full of ' offerings from the flowery sod,' and from 
 the surrounding district men and women, rich and poor, 
 all seemed to be going in the direction of S. Oswald's. 
 As the children arrived, one by one they placed their 
 burdens on the top of the Churchyard wall, and stood 
 by the side of them, and before long all the rushbearers 
 were present. At this moment the scene must nearly 
 have reached the acme of rustic beauty. The smiling, 
 happy faces of the children : the bright and pretty 
 dresses and gracefulness of the numerous ladies, and 
 the pervading atmosphere of geniality all tended to 
 make it a most pleasurable occasion. Of course, the 
 bearings were the chief objects of attraction, and 
 indeed they thoroughly deserved all the attention 
 bestowed upon them, for even in this neighbourhood 
 where flowers grow luxuriantly on every side, such a 
 
24 ^^c J^tts^harin0. 
 
 mass of the most magaiticeut ot bouquets is seldom 
 witnessed ; the arraagemeat aud designs also dis- 
 
 Elayed much iusjenuity. The greater number of vttie 
 earings consisted of crosses, of varied form aud size, 
 and wreaths, but h'res, harps, shepherd's crooksj of 
 indescribable designs, and finally ' Moses iu^ the bul- 
 rushes.' were represented. One cross of sprays of ivy, 
 moss, white roses, and little sprigs of piak verbena, was 
 very neat, but, the most attractive of the crosses wag 
 without doubt one in which the upright and cross piece 
 were covered with cotton wool ; four grand liluim 
 auratums adorned the three points and the centre, 
 while some most beautiful terns (adiantum formosus, 
 and adiantum cunatum) were arranged profusely to 
 to contrast with tha white. Some of the prettiest 
 bearings were conspicuous for their simplicity, one of 
 which was an upright of reeds to which were 
 attached small bouquets of calceolaria,, phlox, and 
 daisies, and from the crosspiece hung sprays of lovely 
 fuchsias. A basket of roses amongst moss was attrac- 
 tive, but one of the most unique devices was a spire 
 of reeds decorated Avith water lilies, entwined 
 with a snake constructed admirably of moss. 
 Several harps and lyres were very nice, the 
 frame work being covered with moss and flower?, and 
 rushes constituting the strings ; but, all being so beauti- 
 ful, it would be a difficult task to assert dogmatically 
 that any one rushbearing excelled another to any 
 appreciable extent, and it would be invidious to do so, 
 for it was evident that everyone had done their best to 
 adorn the Parish Church on this annual festival. 
 
 Before leaving the church-yard, the children, to the 
 number of about 115, were each given a sixpenny piece, in 
 accordance with the custom that has prevailed for over 
 the last fifty years. The origin of this gift of sixpence 
 will perhaps be of interest to many. In 1834 there were 
 only seven rushbearors, audit seemed that this revered 
 custom was on the decline. Mr. Dawson, of London' 
 and owner of Allan Bank, was present, and he gave 
 each of the rushbearers sixpence, which gift he has 
 continued yearly ever since. The next year the num- 
 ber of bearers was increased to fifty, and year by year 
 this figure has been added to. It is said that Mr. 
 Dawson does not intend to continue his gift any longer, 
 so that it appears the year 1885 vvill. be the last one in 
 which the children will receive their brand new six- 
 pence, unless someone takes the matter in hand, or Mr. 
 Dawson reconsiders his decision. At half past six the 
 
procession was begun, headed by. the band ot the 
 Ambleside yolnuteei-s. The children proceeded, blithely- 
 round the village, atid oq returning they carried their 
 burdens into the Church, where they were placed down 
 the. centre and both sides of this ancient House of God, 
 ^ud increased the effect of the work of decoration already 
 accomplished by the ladies of the district. ... . The 
 Church when completely decorated was most beautiful 
 and there could be no doubt that every effort had been 
 made to make it as much so as possible. As the children 
 left the church after depositing their flowers, each 
 received a vbiglump' of gingerbread, and from the 
 delight expressed by the little ones it must have been 
 ' real good stuff.' A service was then held in the Church 
 conducted by the Rector, and at the CDmmencement 
 the rushbearers' hymn was sung. The offertories for 
 the schools on Rnshbearing Sunday amounted to 
 £25 6s. 3d. 
 
 GRASMERE RUSHBEARING, 1885. 
 
 In describing the Grasmere Rnshbearing two years 
 ago we incidentally mentioned the fact that the rush- 
 bearings common in Yorkshire and the neighbouring 
 counties up to the early part of the present century 
 always were connected with the Dedication Festival 
 of the Patron Saint. A great number of notices 
 concerning rushbearings may be found scattered in 
 different works, and many are collectei together by 
 Brand among his Popular Antiquities. Ambleside 
 Rnshbearing is an example of the custom reterre^I to, 
 bpiing always held on the Saturday immediately before 
 or after S. Anne's Day (July 26), We suggested that 
 this custom under the old style had been followed at 
 Grasmere, and so the rnshbearing had taken place on 
 or near August 5th, which in the old Sarum calendar 
 was observed as S. Oswald's Day. Since that account 
 was written the day has been altered, and the old 
 custom of observing the dedication and connecting the 
 rnshbearing with it revived. It was then said that 
 Grasmere had seen its last rnshbearing, but the 
 celebration on Saturday and Sunday last shows that a 
 new vigour has been thrown into it, and that the 
 interesting ceremony may yet delight another 
 generation. The number of children bearing garlands 
 was upwards of 120, a larger number than has been 
 recorded in the past quarter of a century. The rush- 
 bearings were on the whole very pretty, bat much' 
 
16 Jpl^c JUttsj^Iiearmg. ^ • 
 
 smaller thau they used to be, aad for this reason less 
 effective. The usual cereraouy was followed. ' The 
 children, all dressed ia their best, assembled at the 
 church and exhibited their rushbearings on the low 
 churchyard wall. They afterwards carried them in 
 procession round the village and on Teturning placed 
 them round the church. One popular addition to this 
 year's festival was a tea for the children, very kindly 
 provided in a tent in the Rectory Field. The children 
 also received a . present of gingerbread after the 
 service in church. At this service, which was much 
 crowded, the h^^mu for rushbearers was sung, but the 
 chief services were of course those of the Sunday. Dr. 
 Hayman, Rector of Aldiughain, preached both morning 
 and evening, and the offertories were devoted to the 
 fund of the Parish School. The sum oftered was 
 larger than at anj* previous rushbearing, and was 
 made up as follows : — At the celebration of Holy 
 Communion (early) 4/, 5s. Id., at Matins and Choral 
 Celebrationis^. 10s. 6^d., and at Evensong 61. 8s. l|d. 
 total, 29/. 3s. 9^d. This was further augmented by the 
 profits on the sale of photographs and other mementos 
 of the dedication festival undertaken by several ladies 
 on Saturday eveniag, and a refreshment, stall was also 
 prov^ided with the same generous purpose. We were 
 not able to ascertain the sums realised, but were told 
 they were very satisfactory. The interior of the 
 church was tastefully decorated. The Ambleside 
 Volunteer Band was in attendance on Saturday and 
 played during 1 he evening. Later on some wrestling 
 was indulged in among the village lads, followed by a 
 dance at the Drill Hall. 
 
 RUSHBEARING, 1886. 
 
 This festival was held on Saturday last in celebration 
 of the dedication of S. Oswald's Church, and was a 
 success throughout. The weather was rather unfavour- 
 able at the forepart of the day, but as afternoon 
 approached it cleared up, and for the remainder of the 
 time was all that could be desired. It is unnecessary 
 for us to say anything with regard to the origination of 
 this pleasing ceremony, as our readers will be quite 
 conversant of its connection with the ' good old times,' 
 and on looking into Grasmere Church and scrutinising 
 the ancient architecture of the sacred edifice we can 
 well imagine our ancestors assiduously engaged in the 
 task of carpeting its floor with a plentiful supply ot 
 
Grasmere. -Now, however, as these are not required to 
 contribute to the comfort of the assembled congregation 
 their presence has given way to a great extent to the 
 niore gaudy productions of our gardens. As usual, in 
 addition to the rushbearings, the Church itself was de- 
 corated,^ and those engaged in the work had been at 
 some pains to make it attain the attractive appearance 
 which it bore on Saturday and Sunday last. . . . During 
 the afternoon, the children gathered near the Church, 
 bringing with them their Eushbeariugs, which were 
 arranged along the wall partly surrounding it, and 
 being set in a long single Hue, gained the admiration 
 of the many ladies and gentlemen who had gathered 
 to witness the ceremony. The devices were numerous 
 and suited in size to their bearers, and though there 
 was a great contrast in this respect, yet in all could be 
 seen some distinguishable mark of beauty, a few of 
 course gaining special admiration. Soon after five 
 o'clock, the order was given for the little ones to take 
 the mugs which they carried, and repair to a marquee 
 in the field near the Rectory, where tea was provided 
 by Mrs. Coward, of Churchtown, and considerably over 
 one hundred obeyed the call, making a vigorous attack 
 upon the many good things set before them. Whilst 
 this part of the proceedings was taking place the band 
 of the Ambleside Volunteers, which had been engaged 
 for the occasion, discoursed a number of pleasing selec- 
 tions near to the marquee and occupied the attention of 
 the bystanders who were waiting for a further move to 
 be made. It was not long before the troops were mar- 
 shalled, accoutred with their rushbearings, and ready 
 for the word ' by the left,' but previously to this being 
 given the band played the rushbearing hymn, after- 
 wards leading off with a lively strain, to which the 
 
 children marched in military order At seven 
 
 o'clock a short service was held and the church was 
 fairly well filled. The opening hyn)n was one usually 
 sung at these festivals, ' Our Fathers to the House of 
 God,' anddurirg the service another hymn was sung 
 * Blessed City, heavenly Salem,' and appropriate 
 
 lessons read After this the little ones wended 
 
 their way homeward, whilst the men of the village re- 
 sorted to a field near the Red Lion Hotel, to indulge in 
 their favourite sport of wrestling. . . . Before the 
 wrestling had terminated a room near the Red I^ion 
 Hotel had been tenanted by a number of lovers of 
 dancing who continued their pastime far into the 
 night. .... 
 
GRASMERE RUS EI BEARING, 1887. 
 
 The animal feast ot S. Oswald, on which the festival 
 of lushbearing.is now held, took place on Saturday 
 evening last. The weather was all that could h& 
 desired for such a ceremony, which was witnessed by a 
 goodly throng of residents and visitors. At about five 
 o'clock the scene around the old church of S. Oswald 
 began to be a very busy one, children hurrying from 
 all parts of the village with their rushbearings, which 
 were placed in a line along the top of the churchyard 
 wall. 
 
 Shortly after five o'clock, the children proceeded to a. 
 field near the church, where tea was served out to thera^ 
 when over 120 sat down to the temptingthings provided. 
 While this was going on, the Ambleside Volunteer 
 Band, which was stationed close to, discoursed strains- 
 of sweet music, pleasing both to the children and their 
 elders, who had assembled from all parts. The rush- 
 bearings were left on the wall during tea, and they 
 made a very good display, there being over 120- 
 designs, consisting of harps, crosses, wreaths, baskets, 
 stars, etc. , Among the most noticeable was one 
 composed of a cross inside a circle, the background 
 being covered with moss, whilst on the top were 
 geraniums, pan«ies, marigolds, maiden hair fern, etc. 
 Another beautiful one consisted of three upright sticks,, 
 the outside ones being covered with white holly, and 
 the centre one consisting of geraniums and ferns, the 
 three having a background of rushes and moss. A 
 large harp of moss, marigolds, berries, and strings was^ 
 also very ehoice. Another noticeable one, though of 
 rather plainer design, was a large quantity of rushes- 
 fastened together and interspered with flowers. 
 Amongst the wreaths we noticed one with a layer of, 
 moss over the framework, then geraniums, sweet 
 William, maiden hair fern, etc., laid on the top. There- 
 were also several pretty baskets, filled with a profusion 
 of beautiful flowers. 
 
 At a little after six o'clock, the order was passed to 
 the children to get into line witii their rushbearings,. 
 and after singing the Rushbearing hymn, they 
 proceeded round Churchtown, the band leading the 
 way with a lively quick-step. On returning to the- 
 church gates, the children marched into church, placiug^ 
 the rushbearings along the walls and down the partition 
 of the pews, the wreaths being hung up on the walls,, 
 an altogether the sacred structure was most gaily 
 
decorated. A short evening service was.held. at seven 
 o'clock, being well attended. The opening hymn was 
 the one usually sung on this occasion, ' Our fathers to 
 the house of God,' and during the service the hymn for 
 S. Oswald was sung. ,. 
 
 The church was nicely decorated, the font being 
 covered with moss, on which were laid water-ililies, 
 while the altar had four vases of geraniums, water- 
 lilies, and rushes. The window of the chancel was also 
 nicely decorated with ivy and flowers. 
 
 Alter the service, the children streamed towards 
 the schools, to partake of a huge square of ginger- 
 bread, and this seemed to be the most important part of 
 the day to them. 
 
 With respect to the celebration of the rushbearing at 
 Grasmere Church, the following short notice appears in 
 Echoes of the Lakes and Mountaijis, published by Jas. 
 Ivison :-— ' The Church of Grasmere is dedicated to S. 
 Oswald, and has been very celebrated, not only tor the 
 beauty of its position, and its neighbourhood, but for 
 the annual celebration of rushbearing. This ceremony 
 has long been known in Lancashire, Westmorland, and 
 Cumberland. S. Oswald's Day is on the Sunday- 
 nearest to the first of August, and upon this day the 
 rushbearing annually takes place in Grasmere. 
 Anciently, when the floors of the churches in England 
 were neither paved nor boarded, rushes were indispen- 
 sable articles of comfort to Church-going people ; but 
 with the progress of elegance in architecture it became 
 rare to find unpaved churches, and the ceremony of 
 strewing the rushes fell, consequently, into disuse. 
 We find in Hone's Year Book, 1831, that the sweet- 
 scented flag, or acorus calamus, was commonly made 
 use of on these occasions, having been selected 
 originally in consequence of their roots giving out, 
 when bruised by the heat of feet, a very powerful and 
 fragrant odour, resembling that of the myrtle. This plant 
 however, from its great demand in breweries, under the 
 name of g^wassm, has not been attainable for many 
 years, and the yellow water iris has been substituted in 
 its place. The rushbearing at Grasmere generally takes 
 place in the evening, when the children of the village, 
 chiefly girls, parade through the streets to the church, 
 preceded by a band of music, bearing garlands of wild 
 flowers as well as bundles of rushes ; the latter of 
 which they deposit on the altar, or strew about the 
 floor of the church. The same annual ceremony was 
 also observed at Ambleside and other places.'. , 
 
30 J^i^^e JUttsfekaring. 
 
 Sunday being Rushbearing Sunday, spiecial. sermons 
 were preached, both in the morning and at evensong, 
 in aid of the Grasmere schools. The rector, Rev. xi. M. 
 Fletcher, was the preacher, taking for his text on both 
 occasions the 6th chap, of Deuteronomy and th.e 6th and 
 7th verses, ' And these words which I command thee 
 this day shall be in thine heart : and thou shalt teach 
 them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them 
 when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou 
 walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and 
 when thou risest up.' The preacher first of all explained 
 the object to which their offerings that day were 
 to be devoted, stating that it was and had been cus- 
 tomary for a little over 200 years for a special collection 
 to be made on Rushbearing Sunday for the Grasmere 
 Schools. He said thab the requirements were more, 
 teachers' salaries more, and that it needed a greater 
 amount ot money to have them on the right side 
 and earnestly appealed for help. The treasurer had 
 made a circuit of the village during the latter part of 
 the year, and had helped them considerably, receiving 
 subscriptions from the villagers to the amount of £100, 
 and if this sum was got every year it would be well 
 with them. But some had not, he was sorry to say, 
 given anything when a^ked, and a burden had fallen 
 on to one or two individuals. If a Board School was 
 established, they (the parishioners) would have twice as 
 much to pay, and it would be compulsory. The 
 speaker then dwelt upon the words of the text to this 
 end, that they teach their children in the way that they 
 should go. The offertory throughout the day amounted 
 to £23 ys. 8d. 
 
 During Saturday evening, the usual rushbearing 
 wrestling came off, for sums of money subscribed by 
 residents and visitors on the spot. The ring was pitched 
 in a field opposite the Red Lion Hotel, kindly lent for 
 the purpose by Mrs. Hudson, and the various contests 
 excited a considerable amount or interest. The sports, 
 this year, were got up by Mr. Thomas Wilson, who 
 announced the prizes for competition to be five shillings 
 for the first, three shillings for the second, and two 
 shilhngs for the third, and as the entrance was free a 
 good many names were given in as competitors. The 
 wrestling throughout was very exciting, and much to 
 the credit of the profession. ' Billy ' Wage, of Gras- 
 mere, who threw all his opponents most cleverly and 
 successfully with his favourite ' hank,' received the first 
 prize, amidst loud cheers from the ring. The second 
 
rushes which grow so abuadantly in the vicinity of 
 prize was bestowed upon J. Kirby, of Langdale, and 
 T. Bigland and J. Fleming divided the third prize. 
 
 RU«HBEARING, 188«. 
 
 The festival of Rushbeariag which takes place 
 annually in counectiou with S. Oswald's Church, at 
 Grasraere, was held on Saturday last, and though dur- 
 ing the afternoon the weather was dull, heavy, and 
 wet, it cleared up during the time this interesting spec- 
 tacle was actually in progress, and the large concourse 
 of visitors and residents who had assembled in the 
 neighbourhood of the Church were able to witness it to 
 advantage. . . . The Grasmere Brass Band, under the 
 direction of Mr. R. Birkett, ' discoursed sweet music ' 
 and at about half-past six the children were formed 
 into line, and with the baud at their head, banners 
 flying, and rushbearings in hand, the procession moved 
 round the centre of the village, and the appearance was 
 greatly admu'ed. ... On Sunday the usual rush- 
 bearing services were held in the church and were well 
 attended. The preacher in the morning was the Rev. 
 A. Johnstone, who gave an able and spirited sermon, 
 making reference to the Grasmere school as being one 
 of those schools with which the poet Wordsworth had 
 been closely* connected, ... It was now a little more 
 than a third of a century since the preacher had 
 preached in S. Oswald's church. Time, men, and 
 generations had passed away, but the outline of the 
 hills around was just the same. Faith was the great 
 thing which is taught in these schools, and it this was 
 continued they would be good citizens hereafter. The 
 visitors had come into that delightful vale of scenery, 
 and would no doubt take blessings away with them. 
 He hoped (this being the case) they would leave a 
 blessing behind them to the scholars of the schools. By 
 so doing, they would be obeying our Lord's command 
 to ' Feed my lambs,' The Bishop of Capetown was 
 to have preached in the evening, but on account of ill- 
 health he bad to cancel that engagement, and the Rev. 
 H. M, Fletcher appeared instead. . . . ' The fear of the 
 Lord was the beginning of wisdom', said the preacher ; 
 and this he urged was the principle on which the Gras- 
 mere schools were based 
 
 The offertories throughout the day amounted to 
 £22 Is. 0|d. 
 
GRASMEBE RUSHBEARING, 1889. 
 
 Jiidgiiig from the greater interest evinced in the 
 proceedings of recent years, there can be ho doubt that 
 the ancient ceremony of ru'shbearing is becoming 
 increasingly popular, especially amongst the visitors to 
 the Lake District, and it is very sfitisfactory to find this 
 is so, for the custom is a most pleasing one, and quite 
 in harmony with surroundings ot which the people of 
 this country are yearly becoming more appreciative. 
 The Qrasmere rush bearing was formerly held rather 
 earlier in the year, but was altered to S.Oswald's Day, 
 as beirg a fitting time, S. Oswald being the patron 
 saint of the church, ot which the rushbearing hymn 
 says : . • , • 
 
 Our fathers to the IJouse pf God, 
 As yet a building rude, 
 
 Bore offerings from the fiowery sod, 
 And fragfant rushes strewied. 
 
 Saturday last was a most beautiful day in point of 
 weather, and at about four o'clock the young children 
 of the parish, assembled in the rectory field, bringing 
 with them their rushbearings. It was formerly the 
 custom to give the children a sixpenny piece and soipe 
 gingerbread, but in place of the coin, they were, on the 
 present occasion, regaled with a capital tea, which 
 was spread out on tables in the field ; the gingerbread 
 was distributed, at the schools at the close of the 
 proceedings. The wants of the young ' bearers ' 
 were fully attended to by a number of adults, and all 
 were well satisfied with the provision made for them. 
 Towards half-past five the stream of traffic seemed 
 to centre in the vicinity of S. Oswald's Church, and 
 long before the appointed time for making the usual 
 parade of the village the multitude ot sight-seers was 
 a large one. Meantime, the devices of the rush- 
 bearers were placed in line upon the wall surrounding 
 the churchyard, and a very pretty appearance they 
 presented, harps, crosses, and crowns of dahlias, 
 asters, stocks, penstemons being interspersed in most 
 admired confusion. By half-past six, all the children 
 had been formed into processional order, and the 
 rushbearings distributed amongst them. A splendid 
 embroidered banner, with a groundwork of gold, upon 
 which was raised a figure of !S. Oswald, was then led to 
 the front, and behind this stood the Grasmere Brass 
 Band, in their telling uniform. The rushbearers 
 
hymn was then sung, and, at the conclusion, the word 
 of command was given by Mr. Fuller, the band struck 
 up, and the procession wended its way round the 
 centre of the village. Ici about a quarter of an hour 
 it returned to the church, into which the devices were 
 at once taken, and deposited down the centre and at 
 other vantage places within the building. This 
 adornment, combined with the chaste decoration of 
 the commuunion table and within the rails generally, 
 the beautifying of the font, and the lighted lan.ps, 
 produced a unique and most gratifying effect. A 
 short service was then held, being opened by the 
 singing of the ' hymn of S. Oswald,' 
 
 ' By him up-reared, the Cross far threw 
 It's shadow on Northumbrian sod, and, 
 A folk that oaly idols knew 
 
 Stretched forth their hands to God.' 
 
 This was followed by a short service, of prayer and 
 praise, but no sermon, the officiating clergy being 
 Rev. H. M. Fletclaer, rector, and Rev. A. D. Crake, 
 vicar of Cholsey. 
 
 On Sunday, the ceremony was continued, and 
 offertories taken in aid of the Grasmere National 
 Schools, which amounted to £9 9s. 2^d. In the 
 morning the building was filled, all the available seats 
 being occupied, and the sermon was preached by the 
 Rev. A. D. Crake, the text being taken from the 12th 
 verse of the 16th chapter S. John, 'I have yet many 
 things to say nn to you, but ye cannot bear them now.' 
 The attendance in the evening was not so large. The 
 preacher was the same as in the morning, and based his 
 remarks on the last verse of the 2nd chapter of S. Luke, 
 * And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in 
 favour with God and man.' 
 
 The usual wrestling generally held after the rush- 
 bearing walk took place on Saturday evening, in the 
 small paddock near the Red Lion Hotel, which was 
 kindly placed at the disposal of the wrestlers by Mrs. 
 Hudson. A good deal of interest was shown, and a 
 number of tight tussle, engaged in. The recipient of 
 the first prize came from over the Raise, he being, as 
 most of the others were, from the pipetrack. A book 
 for the purpose of soliciting subfecriptions for the 
 wrestling was taken hand by ' Johnny ' Mackereth, and 
 these afforded sufficient encouragement to cause a good 
 number to compete. The prizes numbered four, and 
 were as follows, 1st, 15s. ; iind, 8s. ; 3rd, 5s. ; 4tii, 5s, 
 
34 IW-^t J^^yktmriQ. 
 
 Events ct.- 
 
 
 
 
 SECOND 
 
 ROUND. 
 
 
 Stood. 
 
 Fell. 
 
 
 Barker 
 
 Ben 
 
 
 Lightfoot 
 
 WilliDgton 
 
 
 Doyle 
 
 FJeming 
 
 
 Walker 
 
 Clough 
 
 
 Newby 
 
 G. Coward 
 
 
 Maffin 
 
 Minikin 
 
 
 W.Wilson 
 
 T. Nelson 
 
 
 THIRD 
 
 ROUND. 
 
 Lightfoot Doyle 
 
 V/alker Newby 
 
 W.Wilson Baker 
 
 Maffin, odd man. 
 
 FOLTRTH ROUND. 
 Maffin Walker 
 
 Lightfoot W. Wilson 
 
 FINAL. 
 Maffin Lightfoot 
 
 Lightfoot Maffin 
 
 Lightfoot Maffin 
 
 GRASMERE RUSHBEARING,1890. 
 
 This most interesting ceremony was celebrated on 
 Saturday last, when the occasion was graced with fine 
 weather and every complement to success. At the pre- 
 sent season Grasmere is full of visitprs, who with a few 
 folk from neighbouring villages, and very nearly the 
 whole Grasmeriau population constituted a goodly 
 crowd to witness and take part in the ceremony. The 
 time has gone by when, for the ease and comfort of 
 worshippers, rushes had to be strewn on the rough 
 stone floor (.f the church — for the rushes of old, comfort- 
 able matting and block pavement is substituted — but 
 the ancient custom has its annual revival, and last Satur- 
 day and Sunday the worshippers in the quaint church 
 of S. Oswald found the floor ' with rushes strewed' and 
 nature's choicest flowers adorning the walls. Prior ta 
 the rushbearing there were traces that delicate fingers 
 and tasteful skill had earlier been engaged about the 
 church. On the re-table were bundles of rushes,, 
 bouquets of roses, and bunches of liliums ; the alter rail 
 had been wreathed in mountain heather, the lectern 
 and pulpit were caressed with entwining flowers ; the 
 old worn stones of the font were all but lost to view 
 under a bed of moss, on which reposed water lilies and 
 marigolds. So was the church adorned. 
 
W^t MM^hmtinQ, ' B5 
 
 Early ip the afternoon of Saturday the school children 
 assembled in a field near the church and danced merrily 
 touud the maypole, ©r went through the raiaze of 
 country dances to the music of the Grrasmere Brass 
 Band^ other games diversified the pleasure, and at four 
 o'clock the welcome announcement that tea was ready 
 . was m,ade» Those of the children who were unable to 
 get to tea bad sixpence given them. Later, the child- 
 ren brought their rushbearings and placed them on the 
 church wall, this forming the principal tableau in the 
 day's events, and a pretty scene indeed it was. Alto- 
 gether the children numbered about 148, and when at 
 the wall side extended nearly its whole length. iSome 
 had wreaths, others crosses, harps, garlands, standards, 
 shields, and every conceivable device to be formed of 
 rushes and flowers. Though comparisons are odious, 
 perhaps we may be forgiven in saying the bearings 
 were prettier than those of Ambleside, a fortnight ago, 
 but on the other hand were only about a third as 
 numerous. One specially attractive was a shield of 
 moss emblaisoned with a red cross of geraniums ; it was 
 quite suggestive of the crusaders' shields, and alto- 
 gether seemed a most happy device. A star of yellow 
 pansies with red geranium centre was rather striking. 
 Another star with a centre of marigolds, and each of 
 the radiating points a spike of oats, was very pretty 
 too. The happiest combinations were bearings of 
 heather, fading fern and roses, the subdued hillside 
 hues contrasting well with the brighter garden flowers. 
 Many of the standards were simply a mass of choice 
 flowers, .geraniums, fuchsias, roses, gladoli, penstemens, 
 all crowded into a brilliant mass, without the display of 
 any particular tastefulness. A wreath of pure white 
 flowers and maiden hair fern was extremely beautiful, 
 as were also the wreath of roses and standard of liliams 
 and ferns that, with a bonnie baby, filled a florist's 
 bassinette. To view the show of flowers many hun- 
 dreds of people gathered in the roadway around the 
 ■church, and indicated by their general holiday appear- 
 ance and attire that the occasion was decidedly looked 
 upon as no common festival. Almost as bright as the 
 children's burdens were some of the dresses in which 
 the ladies arrayed themselves. The simple white dresses 
 predominated, and nothing could have been more 
 appropriate and tasteful, especially if relieved as some 
 were with a few gay flowers or bright sashes. 
 
 At half-past six, the procession was commeDced, At 
 the head were two tall standards of rushes, and between 
 them 8. Oswald's banner. The officiating clergy came 
 
36 Plj^j 3lltr«feharm0. 
 
 next, followed by the band, and the main body of 
 children brought up the rear. After going round the 
 village, the children gathered again at the church 
 porch, and sanej the rushbearing hymn, and at its close 
 entered the House of Worship, and placed the rush- 
 bearings down the centre of the church, and in the 
 window niches. In the absence of the Rev. H. M. 
 Fletcher, who is taking a holiday, the service was con- 
 ducted by the locum tenens who has been in charge for 
 the last fortnight, the Rev. Louis Wellesley Wesley, of 
 Hatchford, Surrey, a great grandson of John Wesley, 
 the founder of the Wesleyan body. The Rev. R. S. 
 Hulberc, vicar of Laugdale, and the Rev. Mr. Hutchin- 
 son, curate of Hatchford, also took part in the service. 
 The hymns were ' Light's abode, celestial Salem,' and 
 * The sons of God.' On leaving the church each child 
 was presented with two pieces of ginger-bread. On 
 Sunday the locum tenens preached morning and evening, 
 but made no special reference to the occasion. Special 
 hymns and psalms were sung, and the organist recog- 
 nised the festival with special voluntary music. The 
 collections, which amouuted to £3 8s. 3d. at Holy 
 Communion, £12 Is, 9|d. in the morning, and £4 5s. 
 lOd. in the evening, were in aid of the School funds. 
 
 On Saturday night, in accordance with the usual 
 custom, a bit of wrestling took place in a field lent by 
 Mrs. Hudson, for subscriptions raised on the spot, the 
 results being as follows : 
 
 second round. 
 Stood. Fell. 
 
 H. Dixon. — ^Lightfoot. 
 
 J. Crone J. Fleming 
 
 W. Wilson — Dixon 
 
 G. Wilson J. Townley 
 
 P. Doyle Fairclough 
 
 G. Stewart Baker 
 
 J. Fleming Cobbler 
 
 THIRD ROUND. 
 
 P. Doyle J. Fleming 
 
 G. Wilson G. Stev/art 
 
 H. Dixon J. Crane 
 
 W. Wilson, odd man. 
 FOURTH ROUND. 
 
 G. Wilson H. Dixon, 3s. 6d. 
 
 P. Doyle W. Wilson, 3s. 6d. 
 
 FINAL ROUND. 
 P. Doyle, 128. G. Wilson, 7s. 
 
 P. Doyle G. Wilson 
 
IW-^t J^tts|hann0 37 
 
 RUSHBEARINQ. 
 
 « In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, 
 " If any man thirst, let him unto Me and drink." ' 
 
 The great Feast, or Festival, spoken of in the text, is the Feast 
 of Tabernacles ; as we may see by referring to the second versing, 
 this chapter. The last, or eighth day, was indeed, strictly speake of 
 the feast of ingathering of harvest ; but following so immediately it 
 was generally regarded, and is frequently spoken of in Scripture, aa 
 part of the great Feast of Tabernacles. I cannot but consider it as 
 a happy coincidence, that the second lesson of this morning's 
 service brings before us so prominently a Jewish festival which, 
 though more important, has, as I hope to show you, many, points 
 instructively in harmony with the annual celebration which is the 
 honoured custom of this valley, and which we this day witness and 
 partake in. 
 
 With regard to time, the concurrence would be singularly exact 
 if the Hebrew months corresponded precisely with ours ; for the 
 Divine command recorded in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus, by 
 which the Feast of Tabernacles was instituted, is this : — ' Speak 
 unto the children of Israel, saying : The fifteenth day of this seventh 
 month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the 
 Lord.' The ingathering of harvest beicg celebrated at this feast by 
 the Jews, might lead the inhabitant of this region to suppose that* 
 a later time of year than the present must be signified ; but this 
 inference has to be corrected by remembering how much earlier is 
 the occurrence of harvest in a southern country than here ; and, in 
 point of fact, we are informed that now, in Palestine, the celebration 
 takes place ' in the early part of the autumn.' 
 
 In addition to the special sacrifices which were appointed for 
 each day of the feast, and which are particularly detailed in the 29th 
 chapter of Numbers, the most striking feature of the celebration, 
 that which gave it its name, was the booths, or tabernacles, which 
 were everywhere to be seen, formed of the goodly branches of 
 green and flexible trees, in which, commemorating the wilderness- 
 life of tiieir forefathers, they sojourned throughout the festival — 
 these leafy structures being at the same time shelter by day and 
 night, refreshment to their eyes, tokens of their joy and thankful- 
 ness, and memorials of hardships through which the people had 
 been led by God, and from which in His good time He had dehvered 
 them. ' And ye shall take you ' is the command, ' on the first day 
 the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and the boughs 
 of thick trees, and willows of the brook ; and ye shall rejoice before 
 the Lord your God seven days.' ' Ye shall dwell in booths seven 
 days ; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths : that your 
 generations may know that I made the children of Israelites to dwell 
 n booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt : I am the 
 Lord your God.' 
 
-S8 m^i,m.m^omtn^. 
 
 And as the mauuer of the celebration and Its object are thus 
 particularly laid down, so is itii character emphatically declared to, 
 be one of general joy. ' And thou »halt rejoice in thy/east, thou and 
 thy son and thy daughter, and thy man-servant and thy maid-servant 
 and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow that 
 are within thy gates . . . because the Lord thy God shall bless 
 thee in all thine increase and in all the works of thine hands, i?iere- 
 fore thou ahalt surely rejoice.^ 
 
 But another circumstauce connected with the Feast of 
 Tabernacles, and one which is not so often brought to mind, is, that 
 by command of Moses, it was linked with the religious instruction 
 of the children of the Jewish people : for thus we read in the Slst 
 chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, at the 10th and following 
 verses : — ' And Moses commanded them, saying : At the end of 
 every beven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the 
 Feast of TabernAcles, when all Israel is come to appear before the 
 Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read 
 this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people 
 together, men, and women, and c/ii/c/ren, and thy stranger that is 
 within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and 
 fear the Lord your God, anJ observe to do all the words of this 
 law : and that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, 
 and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as , ye live in the land 
 whither ye go over Jordon to possess it.' 
 
 All these features of the Feast of Tabernacles are interestingly 
 and affectingly combined in the celebration which is recorded in 
 the Book of Nehemiah, as having been conducted by him after his 
 rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, subsequently to the return of 
 the Jews from their Babylonish captivity. In the commencement 
 of the seventh mouth, ' Ezra the priest brought the law ' (' the 
 book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to 
 Israel') * before the congregation both of men and women, and all 
 that could hear with understanding.'' Most affecting is the account 
 which is then given of the deep reverence and compunction of 
 heart with which the people, after their long deprivation of religious 
 privileges, heard the word of God : — » And Ezra opened the book in 
 the sight 6f all the people; and when he opened it all the people 
 stood up : and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the 
 people answered Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands : and 
 they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces 
 to the ground.' And then he and others ' read in the book in the 
 law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to 
 understand the reading.' ' And all the people wept when they 
 heard the words of the law.' And Nehemiah and their teachers 
 had to comfort them and remiad them that it was a time of gladness 
 and rejoicing, which they ought to celebrate with thankfulness and 
 mutual congratulations and kindnesses, ' eating the fat, and drink- 
 ing the sweet, r.ud sending portions unto them for whom nothing is 
 prepared,' ' for the joy of the Lord (as he beautifully added/ is 
 your strength.' It was iiniuedlately after this that • they found 
 written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses that 
 the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the 
 seventh month : and that they should publish and proclaim in all. 
 their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, 
 and fetch olive-branches, and pine-branches, and myrtle-branches, 
 and palm-branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as 
 it is written. So the people went forth, and brought them, and 
 made themselves booths every one upon the roof of his house.' 
 
nmvtQ '^ 
 
 (the flat roofs of their Eastern houses), ' and in their courts, iand in 
 the courts ot the house of God. ... And all the congregation of them 
 that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat 
 under the booths. . . . And there was very great gladness. Also 
 day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he resvdin the book 
 of the law of God.' 
 
 A recent traveller, recording her visit to the Samaritans, and 
 speaking of Mount Gerizim, thus describes the proceeding aa 
 carried on at the present day : — ' The Feast of Tabernacles is also 
 kept "in this mountain." It happens in the early part of the 
 autumn, when tent-life is very pleasant and refreshing. The people 
 *' take the branches of goodly trees," such as the evergreen, oak, and 
 the arbutus, and they "make booths," roofing them with interlacing 
 willows, pliant palin-fronds, and boughs of the glossy-leaved citron 
 and lemon trees, with the green fruit hanging from them in clusters. 
 For seven days the people dwell there, rejoicing and giving thanks 
 to God.' • 
 
 We have, th6n, in the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, a summer^ 
 festival of gladness, commemorating the people's forefathers, their 
 manner of life, and God's dealings with them ; acknowledging, be 
 the lively emblems employed both at home and in the courts of thy 
 house of God, His mercies continued from generation to generation, 
 in the gifts of the fruits of the earth and the goodly trees, whose 
 verdant foliage was their refreshment and delight ; and ordained to 
 minister to the religious education of the young by their instruction 
 in the law of God. 
 
 And so, in this our summer-festival, its name, like that of the 
 Jewish Feast, connects it with the past forefathers of the valley by 
 its reference to the usage, now extinct, of strewing fresh rushes in, 
 the church — a practice not, indeed, to be considered as a hardship 
 from which their descendants have been delivered, but telling of 
 simpler manners, of a life more primitive, of a community not so 
 advanced in the conveniences and luxuries of civilisation, yet nofc 
 less impelled by a right religious instinct, and t»y a feeling as refined 
 as any of which we now can boast, to accompany the rude provision 
 for their comfort as worshippers by the manifestation in flowery 
 garlands of their joy in these beautiful ornaments of earth, and 
 their thankfulness for the pure pleasures thus scattered at their feet 
 by the hand of a gracious Creator. Most right is it that thanks- 
 giving should be warmly offered to God for those fruits of the earth 
 which are necessary for the support of our bodily existence ; and I 
 may add, that the hay-harvest of this lovely season — a harvest here 
 so important to man and beast — may well call upon us to blend 
 with the other meanings of our present festival a tribute of special 
 thanks for it to our Heavenly Benefactor ; but as ' man doth not 
 Jivc' (in the full sense of the word 'live '^ 'by bread alone, but 
 by every word of God,' by every utterance to him of God's power, 
 and wisdom, and goodness, I own that I rejoice in the thought of 
 this celebration linking forefathers and descendants, parents and 
 children, in an open expression of thanks to God for other gifts 
 than those of food of the body— for gifts so pure, so refined, so little 
 liable to abuse, so in harmony with the higher parts of our nature, 
 so full of that perfection in beauty, and gracefulness of form and 
 texture, in glory of brightness and colour, which attests the perfec- 
 tions of their Maker, as the flowers and foliage which in lavish 
 abundance deck our fields and woods and gardens, and are now 
 made by you to adorn with their pure decoration the courts of the 
 house of our God. 
 
 Domestic Life in Palestine, by Anne Eliza Rogers. 
 
40 jpi^e JS.us&ireanng. 
 
 Be it yours, dear brethren, always to associate with the sight and 
 enjoyment of them this feeling of thankfulness to Him who gave 
 them — of admiration of that Divine glory which shines through 
 them, of that tender and delicate benevolence which has thus pro- 
 vided fyr the innocent recreation of our spirits, and the unselfish 
 refinement of oiir tastes. Take up, in regard to them and to the 
 other elevating influences of nature by which you are surrounded, 
 the words of departing Moses, and say * Blessed be the Lord for the 
 precious things of Heaven, for the dew and for the deep that coucheth 
 beneath, and for the precioui fruits brought forth by the sun, and 
 for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief 
 things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the 
 lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and fulness 
 thereof, and for tlie good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush.' " And 
 bless the goodness of that Divine Teacher, who, drawing your ad- 
 miration to the short-lived lilies of the field, and the surpassing 
 glory in which they are arrayed, consecrated them to be at the sam 
 time proofs to you of the infiuite-y deeper concern which is felt bye 
 your Heavenly Father for your own immortal spirits. Of 
 that infinite concern we see before us, among these festal wreaths, 
 the sacred, awfiil emblem of pur religion as Christians, in the forna 
 of that Cross on which the Saviour died. Regard not, my brethren 
 ■ — regard not, beloved children — that sacred emblem lightly or 
 carelessly ; mingled with the wreaths of thankfulness and joy, it 
 speaks of the marring of this beauteous world by sin, and of the 
 spiritual ruin of its noblest inhabitant : it reminds you, that by 
 fallen and sinful man this earth was made to yield to its Divine 
 Lord and Master, not the thank-offerings of flowers and foliage, 
 but the mocking crown of thorns, the wood for the death of torture : 
 it tells of infinite love manifested in the unspeakable sufiFering of a 
 Divine Sacrifice, because only thus could the reaemption of man- 
 kind from all the evils of sin be accomplished. Reverently, then, not 
 with superstitution, not with the mere associations of taste, not 
 with religious party-spirit either for or against, but wit'i a 
 chastened feeling made up of penitence and gratitude, regard that 
 emblem, which is a record at once of the deep guilt of man, and of 
 the infinite love of the Saviour-God ; and take from the place it 
 holds among your festal wreaths the lesson, that now no pleasures of 
 earth are to be enjoyed by us, no blessings of the present life are 
 to be recognised, without our being willing at the same time to 
 bear in mind, for the sobering of our joy, for the deepening of our 
 thankfulness, that Cross of Christ which is thus both the 
 remembrancer of our sins and the standard of our hope. 
 
 And again, this our summer festival has been for many years 
 connected with the religious instruction of the children of the 
 valley. They not only bear a prominent part, so harmonious to the 
 eye of taste and to the heart of feeling, in the procession which 
 brings to this sacred house the flowery tokens of religious joy and 
 thankfulness, but they hold in the deeper and more serious aspect 
 of the celebration a pecular interest : for they have come into tie 
 House of God not merely as bright and happy bearers of garland?, 
 but as young Christians, as Children of our Church, as Pilgrims 
 commencing in their early years their progress through a world of 
 dangers towards their heavenly home, as youthful Scholars learniog 
 in the Schools of the Church the law of their God, the weakness 
 and sinfulness of their own fallen nature, the blessed tidings of 
 pardon, and mercy, and redemption in their Saviour Christ, — the 
 principles which can alone guide them with safety through the 
 temptations and trials of life, make them here useful 
 
Wl^t J^ml^htmns - *i 
 
 members of society and fit them for eternal inheritance- 
 How all-important is it that advantage should be taken 
 of those early years for laying deep the foundation of a 
 building that is to be eternal ; of sowing seed in the spring time of 
 life whicli cannot else bear timely fruit 5 of saving, through God's 
 blessing upon His own commanded process, these precious beings 
 from the evil of their own hearts, from the downfalls of sin, from the 
 misery of living apart from God both here and hereafter I 
 
 I am requested, dear brethren, to invite you to aid in the ful- 
 filment of this duty by contributing to the current expenses of the 
 the Grasmere National and Infanc Schools. From the expenses 
 thus to be supplied are excepted the salaries of the teachers, which 
 are otherwise provided for; but they include, beside other necessary 
 objects connected with the building and grounds, the purchase and 
 lenewal of the various apparatus and books required in carrying on 
 the instruction of the schools. I need scarcely add, tliat linked as 
 they are with our Church, superintended by the Pastor of the 
 parish, and taught by teachers, both engaged and voluntary, 
 authorised by him, you have every guarantee that the instruction 
 therein imparted is in its nature sound and solid, spiritual and 
 tactical, and calculated to be a permanent blessing to those who 
 partake of it. I hope, therefore, that all who hear me, whether 
 parishioners, or sojourners enjoying the elevating refreshment of 
 the beautiful nature which encircles us, will be willing to contribute, 
 according to their means, to an object of sivch importance, and so 
 essentially bound up with so vital and principal a part of the 
 festival which we now celebrate. 
 
 Besides the objects directed by the Law of Moses to be kept in 
 view in the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles, it appears, from 
 early Jewish writers, that later generations before the time of our 
 Lord had added a new observance, commemorating another gift of 
 nature of peculiar value in Eastern countries — the gift of water, 
 and which was made by them in this observance to bear, 
 according to the frequent language of Scripture, a spiritual meaning 
 also. The following description is given of this ceremony : — ' On 
 the last day of the feast the Priest, properly attended, repaired to 
 the Fool of Siloam, from which he drew water with a golden pitcher ; 
 and returning to the temple by the Water-gate poured it out, mixed 
 with wine, upon the sacrifice on the altar. Manifestations of great 
 joy, with the sounding of horns and trumpets, attended this 
 ceremony : so that it became a common proverb, " He who never 
 saw the rejoicing of drawing water never saw rejoicing in 
 all his life' This custom was alleged to be founded 
 on the passage in the 12th of Isaiah : ' With joy shall ye 
 draw water out of the wells of salvation.'* By turning to that 
 short chapter of the prophet, you will see how beautiful is the hymn 
 of thankful gladness, of which this verse forms a part. It is 
 probable that it was in reference to this custom that our Lord 
 spoke the words of the text ; that He was, in fact, at the time a 
 witness of the striking ceremony which has been described, and of 
 the demopstrations of joy which accompanied it. This is in 
 accordance with that habit of considerate wisdom and tenderness 
 by which He was led to convert to spiritual use present objects and 
 passing circumstances — the flower of the field, the labours of the 
 husbandman — and to welcome whatever He saw of religious 
 intention and expression, and to give it a deeper and fuller meaning. 
 
 * Kitto's Pictoral Bible. 
 
^^2 JpS|rMi^s|ban% 
 
 Thus He attended, as we learn fp©m S. John, the I'east of tfa« 
 'Dedication of the Tettiple,' a commemoration for -which there wists 
 no scriptural command, btit vrkich was justified by a genuine 
 feligio'ug feeling; and now ' beautifying with His presence' this 
 divinely appointed feastfa? He appears regularly to hare done in 
 all similar cases), He willingly seized upon the human addition to 
 the prescribed ceremonies as the occasion for Conveying to the 
 assembled people, under an image rendered all the more lively and 
 forcible by the scene before them, the most important spiritual 
 truth which it was possible for them to hear. Probably He saw*, 
 that with them the external ceremony Was all in all ; that their jojr 
 was one rather of social exhilaration than of religious feeling ■; 
 certainly He knew that tLeir views and their principles were 
 Utterly defective, and incapable of imparting to them lasting peace 
 oi real spiritual lif e ; and therefore, ' In the last day, that great day 
 of the feast, Jesus stood and cried. If any man thirst, let him come 
 unto me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flovv 
 rivers of living water. This spake He ' (is added by the Evangelist) 
 ' of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.' 
 They are words similar to what He had spoken to the woman of 
 Samaria : ' Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again : bat 
 Whosever drinketh of the water that I shall give him 
 shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give shall be in him a 
 well of water springing up into everlasting life ; ' similar to what 
 He had addressed to the whole multitude at the sea of Tiberias: 
 ' He that believeth on me shall never thirst;' And when He refers 
 to Scripture in the words, 'As the Scripture hath said,' we may^ 
 probably suppose that He refers to thoae other passages in the 
 prophet Isaiah (Iviii. 11; xliv. 3, 4), 'The Lord shall guide thee 
 continually, and satisfy thy soul iu drought : and thou shalt be like 
 a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.'^ 
 ' I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the 
 dry ground. I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing^ 
 upon thine offspring : and they shall spring up as among the grassy 
 as willows by the water-courses.' 
 
 From all these passages, brethren, we see, that what Jesus said 
 to the Jews in the Temple He meant for all men. How large, how 
 universal, is His language! 'If any man thirst;' ' ]^Aoaoct;«r 
 drinketh of the water that I shall give him.' Let it be our wisdom, 
 then, to hear Jesus speaking to us these words in this our festival, 
 and to apply them to our own circumstances, our own hearts and 
 consciences. 
 
W^t MyxBlibmiriQ. 43 
 
 HYMN FOR S. OSWALD. 
 
 As break of dawn on heathen gloom, 
 Thy Saints, O Christ, like Oswald shine ; 
 
 A living light that scorns the tomb, 
 And glows within a shrine. 
 
 By him up-reared, the Cross far threw 
 Its shadow on Northumbrian sod, 
 
 A folk that only idols knew, 
 Stretched forth their hands to God. 
 
 The battle's din V the exile grief, 
 
 Trained him to rule with righteous hand ; 
 His bounty fell with large relief. 
 
 His learning taught the land. 
 
 They won us peace. Thy Saints, O Lord, 
 Even though, like Royal David, they, 
 
 Smiting and smitten with the sword, 
 Toiled through their mortal day. 
 
 Thou mak'st the wrath of man Thy praise ; 
 
 Like torrent down a mountain's brow, 
 That cleft its way in ancient days. 
 
 And feeds the valleys iiow7 
 
 To Thee, weieep these festal hours, 
 
 Green with i,he rush from vale and inere ; 
 
 Thy sun wakes colour in 'dur flowers, 
 By Thee Thy Saints shine clear. 
 
 THE RUSH BEARERS' HYMN. 
 
 Our fathers to the House of God, 
 
 As yet a building rude, 
 Bore offerings from the flowery'sod, 
 
 And fragrant rushes strew'd. 
 
 May we, their children, ne'er forget 
 
 The pious lesson given, 
 But honour still, together met, 
 
 The Lord of Earth and Heaven. 
 
 Sing we the good Creator's praise. 
 Who gives us sun and showers. 
 
 To cheer our hearts with fruitful days. 
 And deck our world with flowers. 
 
 These, of the great Redeemer's grace, 
 Bright emblems here are seen ; 
 
 He makes to smile the desert place 
 With flowers and rushes green. 
 
 All glory to the Father be, 
 
 All glory to the Son, 
 All glory Holy Ghost to Thee, 
 
 While endless ages run. — Amen. 
 
Friated by G. W. Wardman at the * Weekly Churchmiu ' PreS3, 
 Bramley, Lee -is. 
 
PYJ^N W^ g. 0gW^IiD. 
 
 As break of dawn on heathen gloom. 
 Thy Saints, O Christ, like Oswald shine ; 
 
 A living light that scorns the torab, 
 And glows within a shrine. 
 
 By him up-reared, the Cross far threw 
 Its shadow on Northumbrian sod, 
 
 A folk that only idols knew 
 
 Stretched forth their hands to God. 
 
 The battle's din, the exile's grief, 
 
 Trained him to rule with righteous hand 
 
 His bounty fell with large relief, 
 His learning taught the land. 
 
 They won us peace. Thy Saints, O Lord, 
 Even though, like Royal David, they. 
 
 Smiting and smitten with the sword. 
 Toiled through their mortal day. 
 
 Thou mak'st the wrath of man Thy praise ; 
 
 Like torrent down a mountain's brow. 
 That cleft its way in ancient days. 
 
 And feeds the valleys now. 
 
 To Thee, we keep these festal hours. 
 
 Green with the rush from vale and mere 
 
 Thy sun wakes colour in our flowers, 
 By Thee Thy Saints shine clear. 
 

 
 
 ^— ^~^-ri^... 
 
 
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 f 
 
 
 ^^ Hymn for the Rush Bearers. 4i^ 
 
 •' 
 
 
 ^^===^- 
 
 
 OUR fathers to the House of God, 
 
 
 
 As yet a building rude, 
 
 
 
 Bore ofiFerings from the flowery sod. 
 
 
 
 And fragrant rushes strew'd. 
 
 ■i 
 
 
 May we, their children, ne'er forget 
 
 
 
 The pious lesson given. 
 
 
 
 But honour still, together met. 
 
 
 
 The Lord of Earth and Heaven. 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 Sing we the good Creator's praise, 
 
 • 
 
 
 Who gives us sun and showers, 
 
 ' 
 
 
 To cheer our hearts with fruitful days, 
 
 
 
 And deck our world with flowers. 
 
 
 
 These, of the great^Redeemer's grace, 
 
 
 
 Bright emblems here are seen; 
 
 
 
 He makes to smile the desert place 
 
 
 
 With flowers and rushes green. 
 
 
 
 All glory to the Father be. 
 
 ' 
 
 
 All glory to the Son, 
 
 
 
 All glory Holy Ghost, to Thee, 
 
 
 
 While endless ages run. — Amen. 
 
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