Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

by Washington Irving

  16 As this inscription is rife with excellent morality, I transcribe it for the admonition of delinquent Tapsters. It is no doubt the production of some choice spirit who once frequented the Boar’s head.

  17 Thou didst swear to me, upon a parcel-gilt goblet, sitting in my Dolphin chamber, at the round table, by a sea coal fire, on Wednesday in Whitsunweek, when the prince broke thy head for likening his father to a singing man of Windsor; thou didst swear to me then, as I was washing thy wound, to marry me, and make me my lady thy wife. Canst thou deny it? III Part. Henry IV.

  18 In Latin and French hath many soueraine wittes had great delyte to endite, and have many noble thinges fulfilde, but certes there ben some that speaken their poisye in French, of which speche the French men have as good a fantasye as we have in heryng of Frenchemen’s Englishe. Chaucer’s Testament of Love.

  19 Holinshed, in his Chronicle, observes, “afterward, also, by diligent travell of Geffray Chaucer and John Gowre, in the time of Richard the second, and after them of John Scogan and John Lydgate, monke of Berrie, our said toong was brought to an excellent passe, notwithstanding that it never came unto the type of perfection until the time of Queen Elizabeth, wherein John Jewell, Bishop of Sarum, John Fox, and sundrie learned and excellent writers, have fully accomplished the omature of the same, to their great praise and immortal commendation.”

  20 Live ever sweete booke; the silver image of his gentle witt, and the golden pillar of his noble courage; and ever notify unto the world that thy writer was the secretary of eloquence, the breath of the muses, the honey bee of the dayntiest flowers of witt and arte, the pith of morale and intellectual virtues, the arme of Bellona in the field, the tongue of Suada in the chamber, the spirite of Practise in esse, and the paragon of excellency in print. Harvey’s Pierce’s Supererogation.

  21 Herrick

  22 The erudite reader, well versed in good for nothing lore, will perceive that the above tale must have been suggested to the old Swiss by a little French anecdote, of a circumstance said to have taken place at Paris.

  23 i.e. CATSELBOW. The name of a family of those parts very powerful in former times. The appellation, we are told, was given in compliment to a peerless dame of the family, celebrated for a fine arm.

  24 Sir T. Brown.

  25 Poor Robin’s Almanack, 1684.

  26 Peacham’s Compleat Gentleman, 1622.

  27 The misletoe is still hung up in farm houses and kitchens at Christmas; and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked, the privilege ceases.

  28 The Yule clog is a great log of wood, sometimes the root of a tree, brought into the house with great ceremony, on Christmas eve, laid in the fire place, and lighted with the brand of the last year’s clog. While it lasted, there was great drinking, singing, and telling of tales. Sometimes it was accompanied by Christmas candles; but in the cottages the only light was from the ruddy blaze of the great wood fire. The Yule clog was to burn all night; if it went out it was considered a sign of ill luck.

  Herrick mentions it in one of his songs: The Yule clog is still burnt in many farm houses and kitchens in England, particularly in the north, and there are several superstitions connected with it among the peasantry. If a squinting person come to the house while it is burning, or a person bare footed, it is considered an ill omen. The brand remaining from the Yule clog is carefully put away to light the next year’s Christmas fire.

  29 From “The Flying Eagle,” a small Gazette published December 24th, 1652.- “The House spent much time this day about the businesse of the Navy for settling the affairs at sea, and before they rose were presented with a terrible remonstrance against Christmas day, grounded upon divine Scriptures, 2 Cor. v. 16. 1 Cor. xv. 14.17; and in honour of the Lord’s day, grounded upon these Scriptures, John, xx. 1. Rev, i. 10. Psalms, cxviii. 24. Lev. xxiii. 7.11. Mark. xvi. 8. Psalms, lxxxiv. 10. In which Christmas is called Antichrist’s masse, and those Masse-mongers and Papists who observe it, &c. In consequence of which Parliament spent some time in consultation about the abolition of Christmas day, passed orders to that effect, and resolved to sit on the following day, which was commonly called Christmas day.”

  30 “Ulel Ule! Three puddings in a pule; Crack nuts and cry ule!”

  31 “AnEnglish gentleman at the opening of the great day, i.e. on Christmas day in the morning, had all his tenants and neighbours enter his hall by day break. The strong beer was broached, and the black jacks went plentifully about with toast, sugar, nutmeg, and good Cheshire cheese. The Hackin (the great sausage) must be boiled by daybreak, or else two young men must take the maiden ( i.e. the cook,) by the arms and run her round the market place till she is ashamed of her laziness.” -Round about our Sea-coal Fire.

  32 Sir John Suckling.

  33 The old ceremony of serving up the boar’s head on Christmas day is still observed in the hall of Queen’s College Oxford. I was favoured by the parson with a copy of the carol as now sung, and as it may be acceptable to such of my readers as are curious in these grave and learned matters, I give it entire.

  34 The peacock was anciently in great demand for stately entertainments. Sometimes it was made into a pie, at one end of which the head appeared above the crust in all its plumage, with the beak richly gilt; at the other end the tail was displayed. Such pies were served up at the solemn banquets of chivalry, when Knights errant pledged themselves to undertake any perilous enterprize, whence came the ancient oath, used by Justice Shallow, “by cock and pye.”

  The peacock was also an important dish for the Christmas feast, and Massinger in his City Madam gives some idea of the extravagance with which this, as well as other dishes, was prepared for the gorgeous revels of the olden times:—

  Men may talk of Country-Christmasses, Their thirty pound butter’d eggs, their pies of carps’ tongues; Their pheasants drench’d with ambergris; the carcasses of three fat wethers bruised for gravy to make sauce for a single peacock!

  35 The Wassail Bowl was sometimes composed of ale instead of wine; with nutmeg, sugar, toast, ginger, and roasted crabs: in this way the nut brown beverage is still prepared in some old families, and round the hearths of substantial farmers at Christmas. It is also called Lamb’s wool, and is celebrated by Herrick in his Twelfth Night:Next crowne the bowle full

  With gentle Lamb’s wooll,

  Add sugar, nutmeg, and ginger,

  With store of ale too;

  And thus ye must doe

  To make the Wassaile a swinger.

  36 “The custom of drinking out of the same cup gave place to each having his cup. When the steward came to the doore with the Wassel, he was to cry three times Wassel, Wassel, Wassel, and then the chappel ( chaplain ) was to answer with a song.” ARCHÆOLOGlA.

  37 From Poor Robin’s Almanack.

  38 At christmasse there was in the Kinges house, wheresoever hee was lodged, a lorde of misrule, or mayster of merie disportes, and the like had ye in the house of every nobleman of honor, or good worshippe, were he spirituall or temporall. STOW.

  39 Masquings or mummeries were favourite sports at Christmas in old times; and the wardrobes at halls and manor houses were often laid under contribution to furnish dresses and fantastic disguisings. I strongly suspect Master Simon to have taken the idea of his from Ben Jonson’s Masque of Christmas.

  40 Sir John Hawkins, speaking of the dance called the Pavon, from pavo, a peacock, says, “It is a grave and majestic dance; the method of dancing it anciently was by gentlemen, dressed with caps and swords, by those of the long robe in their gowns, by the peers in their mantles, and by the ladies in gowns with long trains, the motion whereof, in dancing, resembled that of a peacock.” HISTORY OF MUSIC,

  41 At the time of the first publication of this paper, the picture of an old fashioned Christmas in the country was pronounced by some as out of date. The author had afterwards an opportunity of witnessing almost all the customs above descr
ibed, existing in unexpected vigor on the skirts of Derbyshire and Yorkshire, where he passed the Christmas Holydays. The reader will find some notice of them in the author’s account of his sojourn at Newstead Abbey.

  42 It is evident that the author of this interesting communication has included in his general title of Little Britain, many of those little lanes and courts that belong immediately to Cloth Fair.

  43 As mine host of the Half moon’s Confession of Faith may not be familiar to the majority of readers, and as it is a specimen of the current songs of Little Britain, I subjoin it in its original orthography. I would observe that the whole club always join in the chorus with a fearful thumping on the table and clattering of pewter pots.

  44 The following is the only stanza extant of this lampoon:—

  45 The luce is a pike, or jack, and abounds in the Avon about Charlecot,

  46 A proof of Shakespeare’s random habits and associates in his youthful days, may be found in a traditionary anecdote, picked up at Stratford by the elder Ireland, and mentioned in his “Picturesque Views on the Avon.”

  About seven miles from Stratford lies the thirsty little market town of Bedford, famous for its ale. Two societies of the village yeomanry used to meet, under the appellation of the Bedford topers, and to challenge the lovers of good ale of the neighbouring villages, to a contest of drinking. Among others, the people of Stratford were called out to prove the strength of their heads; and in the number of the champions was Shakespeare, who, in spite of the proverb, that “they who drink beer will think beer,” was as true to his ale as Falstaff to his sack. The chivalry of Stratford was staggered at the first onset, and sounded a retreat while they had yet legs to carry them off the field. They had scarcely marched a mile, when, their legs failing them, they were forced to lie down under a crab tree, where they passed the night. It is still standing, and goes by the name of Shakespeare’s tree.

  In the morning his companions awakened the bard, and proposed returning to Bedford, but he declined, saying he had had enough, having drank withPiping Pebworth, Dancing Marston,

  Haunted Hillbro’, Hungry Grafton,

  Dudging Exhall, Papist Wicksford,

  Beggarly Broom, and Drunken Bedford.

  “The villages here alluded to,” says Ireland, “still bear the epithets thus given them; the people of Pebworth are still famed for their skill on the pipe and tabor: Hillborough is now called Haunted Hillborough: and Grafton is famous for the poverty of its soil.”

  47 Scot, in his “Discoverie of Witchcraft,” enumerates a host of these fireside fancies. “And they have so fraid us with bull-beggars, spirits, witches, urchins, elves, hags, fairies, satyrs, pans, faunes, syrens, kit with the can’sticke, tritons, centaurs, dwarfes, giantes, imps, calcars, conjurors, nymphes, changelings, incubus, Robin-good-fellow, the spoome, the mare, the man in the oke, the hell-waine, the fier drake, the puckle, Tom Thombe, hobgoblins, Tom Tumbler, boneless, and such other bugs, that we were afraid of our own shadowes.”

  48 This effigy is in white marble, and represents the Knight in complete armor. Near him lies the effigy of his wife, and on her tomb is the following inscription; which, if really composed by her husband, places him quite above the intellectual level of Master Shallow:Here lyeth the Lady Joyce Lucy wife of Sr Thomas Lucy of Charlecot in ye county of Warwick, Knight, Daughter and heir of Thomas Acton of Sutton in ye county of Worcester Esquire who departed out of this wretched world to her heavenly kingdom ye 10 day of February in ye yeare of our Lord God 1595 and of her age 60 and three. All the time of her lyfe a true and faythful servant of her good God, never detected of any cryme or vice. In religion most sounde, in love to her husband most faythful and true. In friendship most constant; to what in trust was committed unto her most secret. In wisdom excelling. In governing of her house, bringing up of youth in ye fear of God that did converse with her moste rare and singular. A great maintayner of hospitality. Greatly esteemed of her betters; misliked of none unless of the envyous. When all is spoken that can be saide a woman so garnished with virtue as not to be bettered and hardly to be equalled by any. As shee lived most virtuously so shee died most Godly. Set downe by him yt best did knowe what hath byn written to be true. Thomas Lucye.

  49 Bishop Earle, speaking of the country gentleman of his time, observes, “his housekeeping is seen much in the different families of dogs, and serving men attendant on their kennels; and the deepness of their throats is the depth of his discourse. A hawk he esteems the true burden of nobility, and is exceedingly ambitious to seem delighted with the sport, and have his fist gloved with his jesses.” And Gilpin, in his description of a Mr. Hastings remarks, “he kept all sorts of hounds that run buck, fox, hare, otter and badger; and had hawks of all kinds both long and short winged. His great hall was commonly strewed with marrow-bones, and full of hawk perches, hounds, spaniels and terriers. On a broad hearth paved with brick, lay some of the choicest terriers, hounds and spaniels.”

  50 The American government has been indefatigable in its exertions to ameliorate the situation of the Indians, and to introduce among them the arts of civilization, and civil and religious knowledge. To protect them from the frauds of the white traders, no purchase of land from them by individuals is permitted; nor is any person allowed to receive lands from them as a present, without the express sanction of government. These precautions are strictly enforced.

  51 While correcting the proof sheets of this article, the author is informed, that a celebrated English poet has nearly finished an heroic poem on the story of Philip of Pokanoket.

  52 Now Bristol, Rhode Island.

  53 The Rev. Increase Mather’s History.

  54 MS. of the Rev. W. Ruggles.

  55 From this same treatise, it would appear that angling is a more industrious and devout employment than it is generally considered.—“For when ye purpose to go on your disportes in fishynge ye will not desyre greatlye many persons with you, which might let you of your game. And that ye may serve God devoutly in sayinge effectually your customable prayers. And thus doying, ye shall eschew and also avoyde many vices, as ydelnes, which is principall cause to induce man to many other vices, as it is right well known.”

  56 J. Davors.

  57 The whip-poor-will is a bird which is only heard at night. It receives its name from its note which is thought to resemble those words.

  58 Closing the second volume of the London edition.