ere seldom to be had.

And now the long evenings have set in, and our ancestors in hall or
cottage assemble round the blazing hearth, and listen to the
minstrel's lays, and recite their oft-told tales of adventure and
romance. Sometimes they indulge in asking each other riddles, and
there exists at the present time an old collection of these early
efforts of wit and humour which are not of a very high order. The
book is called _Demands Joyous,_ and was printed in A.D. 1511. I may
extract the following riddles:--"What is it that never was and never
will be? Answer: A mouse's nest in a cat's ear. Why does a cow lie
down? Because it cannot sit. How many straws go to a goose's nest?
Not one, for straws, not having feet, cannot go anywhere."

With such feeble efforts of wit did the country folk try to beguile
the long evenings. In those days there were no newspapers, very few
books, even if they could be read, and the only means of gathering
information from other parts of the country were the peddlers or
wandering minstrels, who told them the news as they passed from
place to place. Consequently, the above humble efforts of wit were
not to be despised, and served to beguile the tediousness of the
long winter's night. Besides, the villagers had the carols to
practise for Christmas, many of which were handed down from father
to son for many generations, and probably both words and music
received many variations in their course. Old collections of these
carols still exist, such as the one entitled, "Good and True, Fresh
and New, Christmas Carols," which was made in the middle of the
seventeenth century. As an instance of the way in which the words
became changed as they were passed on by illiterate singers, I may
mention a carol of which the refrain is now printed "Now Well, Now
Well"; originally this must have been "Noel, Noel." Some of the
carols degenerated into songs about the wassail bowl, and the
virtues of strong ale, and our forefathers were not unlike some of
their children, who forget the Saviour in the enjoyment of His
gifts. And besides the carols the villagers had the ordinary hymns
to practise, with grand accompaniment of violins, flutes,
clarionets, etc., for each village had its own musicians, who took
great pride and interest in their playing, and used to practise
together in the evenings. The old instruments have vanished: we have
our organs and harmoniums: our choirs sing better and more
reverently; but t