THE HOLLY AND THE IVY.

[AN old broadside, printed a century and a half since, supplies the following. It does not appear to have been inIcluded in a collection before. The curious similes betwixt the holly and certain events in the life of Christ may yet be occasionally heard in the discourse of aged people. The Holly, from time immemorial, has been looked upon as a favoured evergreen, typical of the mission of Our Saviour.]

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Of all the trees that are in the wood

The holly bears the crown.

Chorus.

The rising of the sun,

The running of the deer,

The playing of the merry organ,
The singing in the choir.

The holly bears a blossom

As white as the lily flower,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ To be our sweet Saviour.

The holly bears a berry

As red as any blood,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To do poor sinners good.

The holly bears a prickle

As sharp as any thorn,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ On Christmas day in the morn.

The holly bears a bark

As bitter as any gall,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

For to reedem us all.

The holly and the ivy

Now are both well grown,

Of all the trees that are in the wood

The holly bears the crown.

PART V.

CAROLS IN PRAISE OF THE BOAR'S

HEAD.

TIDINGS I BRING YOU FOR TO TELL.

[UNDER the head of Boar's Head Carols I have grouped together a few that were formerly in much request at Christmas celebrations. In those days Carols of this kind usually heralded the entertainment of good things provided by the generous host.

The first dish that was served up in the old baronial halls was the Boar's Head, which was brought in with great state, and with minstrelsy. Between the flourishes of the heralds' trumpets, Carols were chanted forth. The one which immediately follows is taken from Mr. T. Wright's MS., the spelling being modernised.]

IDINGS I bring you for to tell
What in wild forest me befell,

When I in with a wild beast fell,

With a boar so bryme.1

Fierce.

A boar so bryme that me pursued,
Me for to kill so sharply moved,

That brymly beast so cruel and rude,
There tamed I him,

And reft from him both life and limb.

Truly, to show you this is true,
His head I with my sword did hew,
To make this day new mirth for you
Now eat thereof anon.

Eat, and much good do it you;

Take you

bread and mustard thereto.

Joy with me that this I have done,

I pray you be glad every one,

And all rejoice as one.

THE BOAR'S HEAD IN HAND I BRING.

[THE following is, perhaps, the most ancient of all the Boar's Head Carols. It is preserved in a manuscript of the fifteenth century. It has been remarked, that, in spite of the invitations contained in these Carols to partake of the "first mess," the Boar's Head, it is conjectured, was little else but a show dish; for, in all the allusions to it, mention is only made of one head being served at each feast, though, even were the number greater, it could hardly have been sufficient to have yielded a mouthful a-piece to the numerous guests who were generally present at these entertainments. Between the courses the minstrels played and sang, the jesters cracked their smartest jokes, and practised their most extravagant antics; and I dare say, the famous Dance of Fools was not unfrequently performed at this particular juncture, before the attention of the guests came to be directed to the more exciting business which was so soon to follow.]

EY! Hey! Hey! Hey!

The Boar's head is armèd gay.

The boar's head in hand I bring
With garlands gay encircling,1

1 Porttorying in the original,—a word not explained in any glossary.