COLLECTANEA.
Stray Notes on Oxfordshire Folklore. (Continued from p. 74.)
V. — Seasonal Festivals.
Shrovetide.- — At Shrovetide, on the Tuesday, the children at Baldon go round the village begging pence, and singing the following song :
Pit-a-pat, the pan's hot,
I be come a Shroving. Catch a fish afore the net,
That's better than nothing.
Eggs, lard, and flour's dear.
This makes me come a-Shroving here.
If the singers do not get any money given them, they go on as follows :
Pit-a-pat, the pan's hot,
I be come a Shroving, A bit of bread and a bit of cheese,
That's better than nothing.
For eggs, lard, and flour's dear.
So I be come a Shroving here. (1895-)
The following is from Oakley and Ickford, on the Buckingham- shire border of Oxfordshire :
Pit-a-pat ! the pan's hot, I be come a-Shroving ; A bit of bread, a bit of cheese Or a cold apple dumpling.
Up with the kettle ! Down with the pan !
Give me a penny, and I'll be on. (^Circa 1897.)
