sword-dancing from a pitman of Houghton Colliery, Houghton-le- Spring, Joseph Brown by name, and will simply relate what I heard from him on the subject. He was well qualified to speak, having acted as sword dancer during the past twelve years, in company with eight other men, nine being the number always employed. Five are dancers, one a clothes-carrier, two clowns, and one a fiddler.
There are two sets of verses used near Durham, termed the old and new styles. The old verses are certainly of the date of a hundred years back; they were always used till about ten years ago, and are still sung in turn with the modern ones. They are as follows:
First Clown: It’s a ramblin’ here I’ve ta’en
The country for to see,
Five actors I have brought,
Yet better cannot be.
Now, my actors they are young,
And they’ve ne’er been out before,
But they’ll do the best they can,
And the best can do no more.
Now the first that I call on
Is George, our noble king;
Long time he’s been at wars,
Good tidings back he’ll bring.
One of the sword-dancers here steps from the ring, in which all had been standing, and follows the first clown, holding his sword upright as he walks round the outside of the ring; and the first clown then sings:
The next that I call on,
He is a squire’s son,
He’s like to lose his love,
Because he is too young.
The squire’s son steps forward and follows King George, and the first clown sings:
Little Foxey is the next,
With the orange and the blue,
And the debts he has paid off,
Both French and Spaniards too.
