Yorkshire,in a letter to the Daily Graphic, May 15, 1899, observes:-"In this part of England the new style has not yet been adopted in its entirety. With few exceptions rents become due and farms are entered or left on the 6th of April and 11th of October, called Lady Day and Michaelmas Day respectively. Midsummer Day is supposed to fall on the-July; and even in Scarborough and the larger towns of the district the 23rd of November is styled Martinmas. I know a few old inhabitants who firmly believe that May Day falls on the 13th of May."

Camp. See Football.

Canaries.—A quick and lively dance. See Halliwell in v. and authorities cited by him.

Candlemas

Bleeze. Colonel Alexander Fergusson writes in Notes and Queries:-"My father, sometime Governor and Captain General of the colony of Sierra Leone, was born about 1804. As a very small child he attended a parish school in the Redgauntlet' country, hard by the Solway. It was then the custom, as I have been informed, on Candlemas Day for every scholar to carry, as an offering to the schoolmaster, a gift of peats, varying in number according to the distance to be traversed and the strength of the pupil. This duty was known by the name of the "Candlemas bleeze, (i.e., blaze)." Any one acquainted with the incomparable nature of the peats from the Lochar Moss -that terror to English troops and sanctuary for Border reivers-cut from a jetty soil as black as ink and smooth and soft as butter, and, when dried in the sun, the thin slices approaching coal in hardness, will understand what a welcome addition to the master's winter store of fuel was thus pleasantly provided. Probably this was about the last of an ancient custom; for in looking over, many years ago, some old accounts of the expenses connected with my father's education, there occurs an item of money paid to the schoolmaster "in lieu of the Candlemas bleeze." I have heard of a similar contribution being made to the parish schoolmaster in other parts of Scotland, where peat was not so common nor so good. It took the form of an offering of candles. I am sorry I can give no date for this latter instance of the survival of what was probably a custom dating from early Popish days."

Candlemas Day. (February 2). The name is evidently derived from the candles, which are then carried in procession; it is otherwse known as the Purification of the Virgin. The word "Purification" itself carries in its original meaning the idea of cleansing by fire or light, and hither, rather perhaps than to Jesus Christ being the Spiritual Light, we ought

to refer the connection of candles with this festival. The idea of celebrating the Purification of the Virgin on the same day strikes us as being an aftergrowth or graft, and was a piece of questionable clerical diplomacy, since it was арраrently inconsistent with the Immaculate Conception. Fosbrooke (British Monarchism, i., 28) says: "The candles at the Purification were an exchange for the lustration of the Pagans, and candles were used "from the parable of the wise virgins."- Alcuinus de divinis Officiis, p. 231. "This feast is called by the Greeks vжажаνта, which signifies a meeting, because Simeon and Anna the prophetess met in the Temple at the presentation of our Saviour." L'Estrange's "Alliance of Divine Offices," p. 147. See Luke ii. In the "Roman Calendar," I find the subsequent observations on the 2nd of February, usually called Candlemas Day:

"Torches are consecrated.

Torches are given away for many days." "Feb. 2. "Purificatio Virginis

Faces consecrantur.

Faces dantur multis diebus."

"To beare their candels soberly, and to offer them to the Saintes, not of God's makynge, but the carvers and paynters," is mentioned among the Roman Catholic customs censured by John Bale in his "Declaration of Bonners Articles," 1554, signat. D 4 b.; as is, Ibid. fol. 18 b. 66 to conjure candels.' There is a canon," says Bourne, "in the Council of Trullus, against those who baked a cake in honour of the Virgin's lying-in, in which it is decreed, that no such ceremony should be observed, because she suffered no pollution, and therefore needed no purification." Pope Sergius, says Becon, in his "Reliques of Rome," 1563, commanded that all the people "shuld go on procession on Candlemas Day, and carry candels about with them brenning in their hands in the year of our Lord 684." How this candle-burning on Candlemas Day came first up, the author of the Festival declareth in this manner: "Sometyme," saith he, "when the Romaines by great myght and royal power, conquered all the world, they were so proude, that they forgat God, and made them divers gods after their own lust. And so among all they had a god that they called Mars, that had been tofore a notable knight in battayle; and so they prayed to hym for help, and for that they would speed the better of this knight, the people prayed and did great worship to his mother, that was called Februa, after which woman much people have opinion that the moneth February is called. Wherefore the second daie of thys moneth is Candlemass Day. The Romaines this

night went about the city of Rome with torches and candles brenning in worship of this woman Februa, for hope to have the more helpe and succoure of her sonne Mars. Then there was a Pope that was called Sergius, and when he saw Christian people draw to this false maumetry and untrue belief, he thought to undo this foule use and custom, and turn it onto Gods worship and our Ladys, and gave commandment that all Christian people should come to church and offer up a candle brennyng, in the worship that they did to this woman Februa, and do worship to our Lady and to her sonne our Lord Jesus Christ. So that now this feast is solemnly hallowed thorowe all Christendome. And every Christian man and woman of covenable age is bound to come to church and offer up their candles, as though they were bodily with our Lady hopyng for this reverence and worship, that they do to our Ladye, to have a great rewarde in Heaven." The Festyvall adds: "A candell is made of weke and wexe; so was Christ's soule hyd within the manhode: also the fyre betokeneth the Godhede: also it betokeneth our Ladyes moderhede and maydenhede, lyght with the fyre of love."

In Dunstan's "Concord of Monastic Rules" it is directed that, "on the Purification of the Virgin Mary the monks shall go in surplices to the Church for candles, which shall be consecrated, sprinkled with holy water, and censed by the Abbot.-Let every monk take a candle from the sacrist, and light it. Let a procession be made, thirds and Mass be celebrated, and the candles, after the offering, be offered to the priest." In some of the ancient illuminated calendars a woman holding a taper in each hand is represented in the month of February. In a proclamation dated 26th of February, 30 Henry VIII., concernyng Rites and Ceremonies to be used in due fourme in the Churche of England," we read as follows: "On Candlemas Daye it shall be declared, that the bearynge of candels is done in the memorie of Christe the spiritual lyghte, whom Simeon dyd prophecye as it is redde in the Churche that daye." The same had been declared by a decree of Convocation. Fuller's Church History," p. 222. We read in Woodde's "Dialogue," cited more particularly under Palm Sunday, signat. d. 1, "Wherefore serveth holye candels? (Nicholas.) To light up in thunder, and to bless men when they lye a dying." See on this subject Dupro's "Conformity between ancient and modern ceremonies," p. 96, and Stopford's "Pagano-Papismus, p. 238. Moresin gives us his conjecture on the use of the candle upon this occasion: "It was an Egyptian hieroglyphic for Life,

meant to express here the ardent desire of having had the life of the deceased prolonged." Papatus, pp. 26-89. In the "Doctrine of the Masse Book," &c., 1554, signat. A 8, we find: "The hallowing of candles on Candlemas Day." The prayer. "O Lord Jesu Christ, blesse thou this creature of a waxen taper at our humble supplication, and, by the vertue of the holy crosse, poure thou into it an heavenly benediction; that as thou hast graunted it unto mans use for the expelling of darknes, it may receave such a strength and blessing, thorow the token of thy holy crosse, that in what places soever it be lighted or set, the Divil may avoid out of these habitacions, and tremble for feare, and fly away discouraged, and presume no more to unquiete them that serve thee, who with God," &c. There follow other prayers, in which occur these passages: "We humbly beseech thee, that thou wilt vouchsafe to to blesse and sanctifie these candels, prepared unto the uses of men, and health of bodies and soules, as wel on the land as in the waters." "Vouchsafe to blesse and sanctifye, and with the Candle of heavenly benediction, to lighten these tapers, which we thy servants taking in the honour of thy name (whan they are lighted) desire to beare, &c. "Here let the candles be sprinkled with holy water." Concluding with this rubrick: "When the halowyng of the candels is done, let the candels be lighted and distributed." Queen Mary, when princess, was a scrupulous observer of the custom of offering tapers, &c., peculiar to this day, as repeated entries in her "Privy Purse Expenses "testify, and in Bishop Bonner's Injunctions," 1555, signat. A i. we read, "that bearyng of candels on Candlemasse Daie is doone in the memorie of our Saviour Jesu Christe, the spirituall lyght, of whom Sainst Symeon dyd prophecie, as it is redde in the Church that day." This ceremony, however, had been previously forbidden in the metropolis: for in Stowe's "Chronicle," edit. 1631, p. 595, we read, "On the second of February, 1547-8, being the Feast of the Purification of our Lady, commonly called Candlemasse Day, the bearing of candles in the Church was left off throughout the whole citie of London," and, in fact, King Edward VI. had declared, by royal proclamation, that no man was to be subject to imprisonment for omitting the Popish ceremonies incidental to the day. At the end of Smart's "Vanitie and Downefall of superstitious Popish ceremonies," 1628, I find, in "a briefe but true historicall Narration of some notorious Acts and Speeches of Mr. John Cosens" (Bishop of Durham), the following: "Fourthly, on Candlemass Day last past, Mr. Cozens in renuing that Popish ceremonie of burning candles to the

honour of our Ladye, busied himself from two of the clocke in the afternoone till foure, in climbing long ladders to stick up wax candles in the said Cathedral Church: the number of all the candles burnt that evening was two hundred and twenty, besides sixteen torches: sixty of those burning tapers and torches standing upon and near the high altar (as he calls it), where no man came nigh." Herrick, in his "Hesperides," has two or three passages illustrating curiously enough the usages peculiar to this season. In the "Country Almanack" for 1676, under February, we read

"Foul weather is no news; hail, rain,

and snow

Are now expected, and esteemed no woe; Nay, 'tis an omen bad the yeomen say, If Phoebus shews his face the second

day."

Martin, in his "Description of the Western Islands," mentions an ancient custom

observed on the second of February: "The mistress and servants of each family take a sheaf of oats and dress it up in women's apparel, put it in a large basket, and lay a wooden club by it, and this they call a Briid's Bed; and then the mistress and servants cry three times, "Briid is come, Briid is welcome." This they do just before going to bed, and when they rise in the morning they look among the ashes, expecting to see the impression of Briid's club there; which if they do, they reckon it a true presage of a good crop and prosperous year, and the contrary they take as an ill omen." There is a proverb:

"If Candlemas day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight;

If on Candlemas day it be shower and
rain,

Winter is gone and will not come again." Which appears to point to the deceptive character of a premature season. The heavy winds which visit us during February and March are sometimes called "Candlemas-eve winds." Hospinian's account of this festival is remarkbaly brief; but as Naogeorgus in Googe's paraphrase is a little more explicit, his account may be here inserted.

"Then comes the day wherein the Virgin offred Christ unto

The Father chiefe, as Moyses law com-
maunded hir to do.

Then numbers great of Tapers large,
both men and women beare
To Church, being halowed there with
pomp, and dreadful words to heare.
This done eche man his candell lightes
where chiefest seemeth hee,
Whose taper greatest may be seene, and
fortunat to bee;

Whose candell burneth cleare and bright
a wondrous force and might

Weep and wring

Every hand, and every head
Bind with cypress and sad yew;
Ribands black and candles blue

For him that was of men most true."

Melton says that "if a candel burne blew, it is a signe that there is a spirit in the house, or not farre from it." Astrologasthe whimsical author makes Hero describe ter, 1620, p. 45. In "Ovid Travestie, 1673, her alarm to her lover in consequence of an

omen she had seen in the candle:

"For last night late to tell you true My candel as I sate burnt blew, Which put poor me in horrid fright, And expectation of black spright, With sawcer eyes, and horns and tail." But, in "A New Tricke to cheat the Divell," by Robert Davenport, 1639, the blue in the candle seems to be regarded as a portent of something different: Constable. My watch is set, charge given and all in peace,

But by the burning of the candel blew, Which I by chance espyed through the lanthorne,

And by the dropping of the Beadles nose, I smell a frost

Goldsmith, in his "Vicar of Wakefield," "speaking of the waking dreams of his hero's daughters, says, The girls had their omens too, they saw rings in the candle." Willsford tells us: "If the flame of a candle, lamp, or any other fire does wave or wind itself, where there is no sensible or visible cause, expect some windy weather. When candles or lamps will not so readily kindle as at other times, it is a sign of wet weather neer at hand. When candles or lamps do sparkle and rise up with little fumes, or their wicks swell, with things on them (like mushrums) are all signs of ensuing wet weather." Nature's Secrets, 120. Boyle makes his 10th Meditation " upon a thief in a candle"-" which by its irregular way of making the flame blaze, melts down a good part of the tallow, and will soon spoil the rest, if the remains are not res

cape death for that once, she would never in all her life after hazard herselfe to the like daunger again; but being at last safely delivered, she then said to one of the midwives, So, now put out the holy candle, and keepe it till the next time." Comp. Churching and Funeral Customs.

Candles (Time).-There were no clocks in England in King Alfred's time. He is said by his biographer Asser, who is supposed to have died in 910, to have measured his time by wax candles, marked with circular lines to distinguish the hour. Capon-Bell. The following passage is in Dekker's "Strange Horse-Race," 1613. Speaking of "rich curmudgeons lying sick, he says: "Their sonnes and heires cursing as fast (as the mothers pray) until the great capon-bell ring out." this does not mean the passing bell, I cannot explain it.

If

Cappy-Hole. This occurs, with other contemporary Scotish_amusements, in the Scotch Rogue, 1722. It is also mentioned in the Notes to "Ancient Scotish Poems" from the Bannatyne MS. 1770, p. 251.

Cards, or the Books of the Four Kings. See Chatto's Facts and Speculations on the History of Playing Cards, 1848, Introductory Section. Cards seem to have evolved from chess, known in ancient times as Chaturanga, or the Four Rajas, which Edward I. learned to play in the Holy Land, and for which, in his wardrobe account, 8s. 5d. is delivered to him by Walter Sturton in 1278. The Arabians doubtless borrowed chess, if not cards, from India. Ducange cites card-playing as known to the modern Greeks in 1498; but it was familiar to Venice at a far earlier date, as in 1441 the Government of the Republic prohibited, on the prayer of the Painters' Gild, the importation of foreign cards, which paralysed the national trade. 1493 is the point of time fixed for their introduction into France in consequence of the necessity, after the King's seizure by sunstroke, for some amusement. This theory, however, is no doubt equally erroneous, since the cards described as being supplied to Charles VI. were evidently products belonging to a fairly advanced stage in the art, and, again, the French would have most probably received the idea from the Spanish Moors. The games alluded to in Benedictus Abbas, under the date 1190, did not include cards, which did not then exist in any shape, and were an accomplishment unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans. But they may very well have played during the Crusades at various forms of dice. Cards are mentioned in the statute 11 Henry VII., c. 2 (1496). At a court held at Edgeware in 1551 two men were fined for playing at cards and draughts (ad pictas cartas et tabulas),

which is a curious notice for so early a date, considering the presumed station of the offenders. Lysons' Environs, 1st edit., ii., 244. Richard Rice, in his Invective, 1579, has a curious passage on this subject: "Is the waie to attain godliness," he inquires, "by plaiyng, and sportyng, or resting of the wearie bones, with the bones of a paire of dice, or with a paire of cardes (otherwise nowe called the bookes of life) and though it be spoken but in iestyng, yet is it not altogether for naught, for the nature of some is to reste more in theim, and are more at quiete with the ace, kyng, queene, or varlet of spades, then thei can be with a spade to digge or delue honestly after Goddes preceptes for

CARD-PLAYING.

(From an ancient MS.)

their hiryng: yea, and delighte quietlier in the ace, king, queene, or varlette of the hartes, then thei dooe in the booke of life." Sir David Lyndsay, in his Complaint, enumerates cards among the amusements of the Scotish Court under James IV. and V., even of a bishop, and in 1503, when the former prince waited on his consort in the Castle of Newbattle, it is said: "The Kynge came prively to the said castell, and entred within the chammer with a small cumpany, whar he founde the quene playing at the cardes." Hazlitt's Warton, 1871, iii., 243. Warton, in a note to Lyndsay's Works, observes: In our Author's tragedie of Cardinal Betoun, a soliloquy spoken by the cardinal, he is made to declare that he played with the