"Half for you, and half for me,
Between us two good-will shall be. Amen,"

then, so long as they kept their halves, no quarrel would arise
between them. In the West of England it was considered very sinful
to work on Good Friday, and woe betide the luckless housewife who
did her washing on that day, for one of the family, it was believed,
would surely die before the end of the year. There are many other
superstitions attached to the day, such as the preserving of eggs
laid on Good Friday, which were supposed to have power to extinguish
fire; the making of cramp-rings out of the handles of coffins, which
rings were blessed by the King of England as he crept on his knees
to the cross, and were supposed to be preservatives against cramp.

In old churchwardens' account-books we find such entries as the
following--

"To the sextin for watching the sepulture two nyghts viii_d_."

"Paide to Roger Brock for watching of the sepulchre 8_d_."

And as the nights were cold we find an additional item--

"Paid more to said Roger Brock for syses and colles, 3_d._"

These entries allude to the ancient custom of erecting on Good
Friday a small building to represent the Holy Sepulchre, and setting
a person to watch for two nights in remembrance of the soldiers
watching the grave in which our Lord's Body was laid. At the dawning
of the Easter morn the bells rang joyously, and all was life and
animation. The sun itself was popularly supposed to dance with joy
on the Feast of the Resurrection. But the manners and customs,
sports and pastimes, which were associated with Easter, I will
reserve for my next chapter.

CHAPTER IV.

APRIL.

"The spring clad all in gladness
Doth laugh at winter's sadness;
And to the bagpipe's sound
The nymphs tread out their ground.

"Fie then, why sit we musing,
Youth's sweet delight refusing;
Say dainty nymphs, and speak:
Shall we play barley-breake?"

_Old Ballad_ (A.D. 1603).

Easter Customs--Pace Eggs--Handball in Churches--Sports
confined to Special Localities--Stoolball and Barley-brake
--Water Tournament--Quintain--Chester Sports--Hock-tide.

From the earliest days of Christianity Easter has always been
celebrated with the greatest joy, and accounted the Queen of
Festivals. Many curious customs are associated with this feast, some
of which represented in a rude, primitive way the Resurrection