292 NOTES AND QUERIES. 1 12 s.x. APRIL 15, 1022. MOTHERING SUNDAY (12 S. x. 249). The
- N.E.D.' has no quotation for ' ; Mothering
Sunday " earlier than ' Encycl. Metrop.,' xxi., 1845, nor for " going a-mothering " earlier than Herrick, 1648. The custom was for apprentices, servants and others to go to see their mothers on Mid- Lent Sunday, taking with them or receiving on their arrival some such little present as a simnel. This was in the first instance a bun or cake of fine flour (O.F. simenel, apparently related to Lat. simila, fine flour). Such a simnel would be a great luxury to people who rarely saw any bread but what was made of coarse meal. By a process of culinary evolution the original simnel became the rich currant cake now known by that name. As to the line " Tid, Mid, Misera," I am not aware of any liturgical connexion, and I think that the usual explanation is mere baseless conjecture. There is no Psalm beginning " Mi Deus," and " Te Deum " and " Miserere " are in use all the year through. The sequence of Sundays in the second line is quite right, fifth, sixth, and Easter. The fifth Sunday in Lent, Passion Sunday, properly so called, was also called " Care Sunday," as marking the beginning of Passion-tide, when the mental and bodily sufferings of Our Saviour are more particularly commemorated. " Care " originally meant mental suffering, sorrow, grief. Carlings are fried peas, at first eaten by way of sympathetic mortifi- cation on Care Sunday, which accordingly came to be called Carling Sunday. I have often seen carlings exposed for sale in the poorer sort of shop windows in Durham for Carling Sunday, as also pace eggs for Easter. J. T. F. Winterton, Lines. It is impossible to say when this name was first given to the fourth Sunday in Lent, and the earliest reference quoted in the
- N.E.D.' is the one by Herrick, Neverthe-
less the name is a very old one, and has been used in Lancashire and the northern counties from early times. Originally called " Mothering Sunday " from the ancient usage of visiting the mother or cathedral churches of the dioceses, when Lent or Easter offerings were made, the name is still retained for the substituted custom of going to see parents on that day and taking small offerings, such as money, trinkets, or cakes. Harland and Wilkinson's ' Lan- cashire Folklore ' says jthat the public processions formerly held on this day have been discontinued since the thirteenth century. In this district the day is now generally known as Simnel Sunday from the promi- nence given to the simnel cake, every house- hold making a point of celebrating Simnel Sunday. In other parts of Lancashire it is known as " Bragot Sunday " from the use of a beverage called " bragot," consisting of a kind of spiced ale, which always accompanied the sweet cake. Many conjectures as to the origin of the word " simnel " have been made. Chambers's 'Book of Days' gives rather a humorous origin, deriving it from a peculiar cake made by a husband and wife named Simon and Nelly, which cake became known as a "Simon and Nelly" and ultimately a " simnel." Others connect the name with Lambert Simnel, the well-known pretender in the reign of Henry VII., who was a baker. Dr. Cowell, in his ' Law Directory,' derives " simnell " from the Latin simila, the finest part of the flour : " ' panis simila - gineus,' simnel bread still in use, especially in Lent." ARCHIBALD SPARKE. "ONCE ABOARD THE LUGGER" (12 S. X. 150, 198, 232). MR. WAINEWRIGHT is mis- taken about Burnand having written this line, but it is not unlikely that Dewar used it as a gag. Many of the older actors have told me that they have spoken the words but none knew in what play they first appeared. I have been given two variants of the original which are interesting : Meet me to-night, upon the bridge, at mid- night. The old man will be there. Should he attempt violence, choke him. You for the Gold, I for the Girl. Once aboard the Lugger and we'll sail for Mexico. Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! The second variant is probably from some burlesque : Once aboard the lugger All is well, Your's the Booty, Mine the Girl. In one form or another it is highly prob- able that the lines were used at the Bower, as MR. PENGELLY suggests, but I think they belong to a still earlier period and might be discovered in one of the dramas in Cumberland's Minor Theatre which were played at the Surrey or the Coburg. As I have been asking this question for more than ten years and was, I believe, instrumental in raising the subject in The Era, I shall be very glad if someone can settle the matter. * C. N. R.
