and, in return for the sprig of holly which he—the lucky bird—must present, he will receive a few coppers, or perhaps a sixpenny piece. Subsequent callers are treated with much less liberality, but, by persistent importunity, they may succeed in extracting something, if only an orange. At the approach of daylight the youngsters are expected to disappear, though they do not all answer this expectation. The performances are repeated on New Year's Day, which is "the girls' day." Boys are, however, allowed to appear in the capacity of "lucky bird," as it is considered extremely unlucky if the first person admitted to the house in the new year is a female.
Hereford Custom.—The 11th October stood prominent for autumn sports in the county of Hereford, where an ancient custom prevailed for the young men to assemble in the fields, and choose a leader, whom they followed wherever he might think proper to lead them—over hedges and ditches it might be. This only occurred once in seven years, when they did the business with a hearty good-will. Every publican gave a gallon of beer, and a large plum-loaf, which went by the name of a gauging-cake, which title was also transferred to the day. Any person they might happen to meet was instantly seized upon, and thumped without further ceremony, unless they preferred paying a fine to the leader.—Cambridge Independent, 1 Jan. 1887.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
This is an interesting and valuable book, and is specially remarkable for its form, which is at once less pretentious and more practical
