326 "OLD clem" celebrations
[The spirited mnsic, which is traditional, and does not occur in Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time, was kindly written down by Mr. Samuel Willett, of Cuckfield, Sussex, and is confirmed by several Sussex people.]
" Whilst this song was being sung, the tailor crawled under the table and slit up the blacksmith's leather-apron with his new shears into a regular fringe, and from that day no blacksmith ever wears an apron which is not so ornamented or mutilated."
Two points in this interesting, and original legend, require special notice, viz. " the explosion of the anvil," and " the apron fringe." Mr. Young observes that there is in all anvils a deep depression, or hole, which on S. Clement's day is filled with gunpowder, and a plug of wood is driven in tightly ; a hole is next bored through the plug, a little powder poured in, and it is then ignited. This is called "firing the anvil." As regards the slits in the apron, they are almost inva- riably to be seen in a blacksmith's apron, and most of them believe they originated as stated in the legend. One correspondent,* however, says : " You may probably notice at the present day blacksmiths* leather-aprons have five slits in the comer signifying the lion's paw. Having the lions on their smithy is said to constitute a freehold. In olden times many of the smithies were small erections put up on the waste by the roadside."
Another informant says : " When Solomon's Temple was built, all the trades met together at a supper, and everybody was asked to go except the smiths. The latter left off work in disgust, and when the other workmen wanted their tools mended the smiths refused, so Solomon gave a second supper, and had the tags (or fringe) cut in their aprons, which he gilded."
In Sussex on S. Clement's day (Nov. 28rd) there was an old custom of going round from house to house asking for apples and beer, and it was called Clemmening. The Rev. W. D. Parish observes : " The children in some parts of East Sussex still keep up the custom of Catterning and Clemmening, and the Sussex blacksmiths are par- ticularly active in commemorating their patron saint ; the anvils are
♦ Mr. Henry Colgate, of Fletcbing, Sussex.
