Being borne on wheeles, which ready drest, and al things meete
therfore,

The asse is brought abroad and set before the churche's doore:
The people all do come, and bowes of trees and palmes they bere
Which things against the tempest great the Parson conjures there,
And straytwayes downe before the asse upon his face he lies,
Whome there another priest doth strike with rodde of largest sise:
He rising up, two lubbours great upon their faces fall

In straunge attire, and lothsomely with filthie tune they ball;
Who, when againe they risen are, with stretching out their hande,
They poynt unto the wooden knight, and, singing as they stande,
Declare that that is he that came into the worlde to save
And to redeeme such as in him their hope assured have:
And even the same that long agone, while in the streate he roade,
The people mette, and olive bowes so thicke before him stroade.
This being soung, the people cast the braunches as they passe,
Some part upon the image, and some part upon the asse,
Before whose feete a wondrous heape of bowes and braunches ly :
This done, into the church he strayght is drawne full solemly:
The shaven priestes before them marche, the people follow fast,
Still striving who shall gather first the bowes that downe are cast;
For falsely they beleeve that these have force and vertue great
Against the rage of winter stormes and thunders flashing heate.
In some place wealthie citizens, and men of sober chere,
For no small summe doe hire this asse, with them about to bere.
And manerly they use the same, not suffering any by

To touch this asse, nor to presume unto his presence ny.
Whenas the priestes and people all have ended this their sport,
The boyes doe after dinner come, and to the church resort:
The sexten pleasde with price, and looking well no harme be done,
They take the asse, and through the streetes and crooked lanes
they rone,

Whereas they common verses sing, according to the guise,
The people giving money, breade, and egges of largest sise.
Of this their gaines they are compelde the maister halfe to give,
Least he alone without his vortion of the asse should live."

In the Doctrine of the Masse Booke, concerning the making of Holye-water, Salt, Breade, Candels, Ashes, Fyre, Insence, Pascal, Pascal-lambe, Egges, and Herbes, the Marying-rynge, the Pilgrimes Wallet, Staffe, and Crosse, truly translated into Englishe, Anno Domini 1554, the 2° of May, from Wyttonburge, by Nicholas Dorcaster," we have:-"The Hallowing of Palmes. When the Gospel is ended, let ther follow the halowyng of flouers and braunches by the priest, being araied with a redde cope, upon the thyrde step of the altare, turning

him toward the south: the palmes, wyth the flouers, being fyrst laied aside upon the altere for the clarkes, and for the other upon the steppe of the altere on the south side." Prayers: "I conjure the, thou creature of flouers and braunches, in the name of God the Father Almighty, and in the name of Jesu Christ hys sonne our Lord, and in the vertue of the Holy Ghost. Therfore be thou rooted out and displaced from this creature of flouers and braunches, al thou strength of the Adversary, al thou host of the Divell, and al thou power of the enemy, even every assault of Divels, that thou overtake not the foote-steps of them that haste unto the grace of God. Thorow him that shal come to judge the quicke and the deade and the world by fyre. Amen."-"Almightye eternal God, who at the pouring out of the floude diddest declare to thy servaunt Noe by the mouthe of a dove, bearing an olive braunch, that peace was restored agayne upon earth, we humblye beseche the that thy truthe may + sanctifie this creature of flouers and branches, and slips of palmes, or bowes of trees, which we offer before the presence of thy glory; that the devoute people bearing them in their handes, may meryte to optayne the grace of thy benediction. Thorowe Christe," &c. There follow other prayers, in which occur these passages: After the flowers and branches are sprinkled with holy-water-" Blesse + and sanctifie+these braunches of palmes, and other trees and flouers"-concluding with this rubrick: "So whan these thynges are fynyshed, let the palmes immediately be distributed.”1

66

1 Dr. Fulke, on the part of the Protestants, has considered all this in a different light from the Rhemists. Your Palm-Sunday Procession," says he, was horrible idolatry, and abusing the Lord's institution, who ordained his supper to be eaten and drunken, not to be carried about in procession like a heathenish idol; but it is pretty sport that you make the priests that carry this idol to supply the room of the Ass on which Christ did ride. Thus you turn the holy mystery of Christ's riding to Jerusalem to a May-game and pageant-play." "I once knew a foolish, cock-brained priest," says Newton, in his Herball to the Bible,' p. 207," which mi nistered to a certaine young man the Ashes of Boxe, being (forsooth) hallowed on Palme Sunday, according to the superstitious order and doctrine of the Romish Church, which ashes he mingled with their unholie holie water, using to the same a kinde of fantasticall, or rather fanaticall, doltish and ridiculous exorcisme; which woorthy, worshipfull medicine (as he persuaded the standers by) had vertue to drive away any ague, and to kill

It is still customary with our boys, both in the south and north of England, to go out and gather slips with the willowflowers or buds at this time. These seem to have been selected as substitutes for the real palm, because they are generally the only things, at this season, which can be easily procured, in which the power of vegetation can be discovered. It is even yet a common practice in the neighbourhood of London. The young people go a palming; and the sallow is sold in London streets for the whole week preceding Palm Sunday, the purchaser commonly not knowing the tree which produces it, but imagining it to be the real palm, and wondering that they never saw the tree growing! It appears, however, from a passage quoted in Halliwell's Dictionary, p. 600, that the sallow was anciently so called. In the North, it is called, "going a palmsoning of palmsning."

In a Short Description of Antichrist, &c., is the following: "They also, upon Palmes Sonday, lifte up a cloth, and say, hayle our Kynge! to a rood made of a wooden blocke." At f. 8, is noted the Popish "hallowinge of Palme Stickes."1

the worms. Well, it so fell out, that the ague, indeed, was driven away; but God knoweth, with the death of the poore yoong man. And no marvell. For the leaves of boxe be deleterious, poisonous, deadlie, and to the bodie of man very noisome, dangerous, and pestilent."

In another curious tract, entitled a Dialogue, or Familiar Talke, betwene two Neighbours. From Roane, by Michael Wodde, the 20 of February, 1554, 12mo., it appears that crosses of Palme were, in the Papal times, carried about in the purse. These crosses were made on Palme Sunday, in Passion time, of hallowed Palm. "The old Church kept a memorye the Sunday before Ester, how Christes glory was openly received and acknowledged among the Jewes, when they met him with Date-tree bowes, and other faire bowes, and confessed that he was the sonne of God. And the Gospel declaring the same was appointed to be read on that day. But nowe our blind leaders of the blind toke away the knowledge of this, with their Latine processioning, so that among x. thousande scarce one knew what this ment. They have their laudable dumme ceremonies, with Lenten Crosse and Uptide Crosse, and these two must justle, til Lent breake his necke. Then cakes must be cast out of the steple, that all the boyes in the parish must lie scrambling together by the eares, tyl al the parish falleth a laughyng. But, lorde, what ape's-play made they of it in great cathedral churches and abbies! One comes forth in his albe and his long stole (for so they call their girde that they put about theyr neckes ;) thys must be leashe wise, as hunters weares their hornes. This solempne Syre played Christes part, a God's name! Then another companye of singers, chyldren, and al, song, in pricksong, the Jewe's part-and the deacon read

[The following lines occur in some curious verses on Palın Sunday in a MS. of the fourteenth century in the British Museum, MS. Sloane 2478.

"Nou zee that bereth to day 3our palme,
Wel auzte ze queme such a qualm,
to Crist your herte al 3yve;

As dude the chyldren of tholde lawe,
3yf ze hym lovede, ze scholde wel vawe
boe by tyme schryve.

Lewede, that bereth palm an honde,
That nuteth what palm ys tonderstonde,
anon ichulle jou telle;

Hit is a tokne that alle and some
That buth y-schryve, habbeth overcome
alle the develes of helle.

3yf eny habbeth braunches y-brozt,
And buth un-schryve, har bost nys nozt
azee the fend to fyzte;

Hy maketh ham holy as y were,

Vort hy boe schryve hy schulleth boe skere
of loem of hevene lyzte."]

The ceremony of bearing palms on Palm Sunday was retained in England after some others were dropped, and was one of those which Henry VIII., in 1536, declared were not to be contemned and cast away. In a Proclamation in the library of the Society of Antiquaries, dated 26th February, 1539," concernyng rites and ceremonies to be used in due fourme in the Churche of Englande," wherein occurs the following clause: "On Palme Sonday it shall be declared that bearing of Palmes renueth the memorie of the receivinge of

the middel text. The prest at the alter al this while, because it was tediouse to be unoccupyed, made crosses of Palme to set upon your doors, and to beare in your purses, to chace away the Divel. Hath not our spiritualitie well ordered this matter (trow ye) to turne the reading and preaching of Christes Passion into such wel favoured pastymes? But tell me, Nicholas, hath not thy wyfe a crosse of Palme aboute her? (Nich.) Yes, in her purse. (Oliver.) And agoon felowshippe tel me, thinckest thou not sometyme the Devil is in her toungue? Syghe not, man. (Nich.) I wold she heard you, you might fortune to finde him in her tong and fist both. (Oliver.) Then I se wel he cometh not in her purse, because the holi palme crosse is ther; but if thou couldest intreate her to beare a crosse in her mouth, then he would not come there neither."

Christe in lyke maner into Jerusalem before his deathe." In Fuller's Church History, also, p. 222, we read that "bearing of palms on Palm Sunday is in memory of the receiving of Christ into Hierusalem a little before his death, and that we may have the same desire to receive him into our hearts." Palms were used to be borne here with us till 2 Edw. VI. ; and the Rhenish translators of the New Testament mention also the bearing of Palms on this day in their country when it was Catholic.I

A similar interpretation of this ceremony to that given in King Henry the Eighth's Proclamation, occurs in Bishop Bonner's Injunctions, 4to. 1555. "To cary their palmes discreatlye," is among the Roman Catholic customs censured by John Bale, in his Declaration of Bonner's Articles, 1554, as is, "to conjure palmes." In Howes's edition of Stow's Chronicle, it is stated, under the year 1548, that "this yeere the ceremony of bearing of palmes on Palme Sonday was left off, and not used as before." That the remembrance of this custom, however, was not lost is evident. In "Articles to be enquired of within the Archdeaconry of Yorke, by the churche wardens and sworne men, A.D. 163+," I find the following, alluding, it should seem, both to this day and Holy Thursday:

"Whether there be any superstitious use of Crosses with Towels, Palmes, Metwands, or other memories of idolaters." Douce says, "I have somewhere met with a proverbial saying, that he that hath not a Palm in his hand on Palm Sunday must have his hand cut off."

In Yet a Course at the Romysh Foxe, a Dysclosynge or Openynge of the Manne of Synne, contayned in the late Declaration of the Pope's olde Faythe made by Edmonde Boner, Byshopp of London, &c. by Johan Harryson (J. Bale) printed at Zurik, A.D. 1542, 8vo., the author enumerates some "auncyent rytes and lawdable ceremonyes of holy churche," then it should seem laid aside, in the following censure of the Bishop: "Than ought my Lorde also to suffre the same selfe ponnyshment for not rostyng egges in the Palme ashes fyre," &c. In Dives and Pauper, cap. iv. we read: "On Palme Sondaye at procession the priest drawith up the veyle before the rode, and falleth down to the ground with all

1 Wheatly on the Common Prayer, Bohn's edition, p. 222.