Trafalgar Day is celebrated by the usual custom on October 21st—by the hoisting of the British flag on the public buildings and by the decoration of the Nelson Monuments in Liverpool and London. This battle was fought in 1805, and decided the supremacy of Britain as a sea power. Long may the deathless signal of our greatest hero continue to be the lode star of the man and the nation: "England expects that every man will do his duty."
Let us trace the connection between Lord Nelson and the Danes in our own county. Admiral Nelson bore a genuine Scandinavian name, from "Nielsen," and was a native of one of the districts which were early colonised by the Danes, namely, Burnhamthorpe, in Norfolk. His family were connected with the village of Mawdesley, near Rufford, which still has for its chief industry basket-making. Fairhurst Hall, at Parbold, in the same district of Lancashire, was the home of a Nelson family for many centuries.
This recalls the fact that we have still in existence a curious survival. "A strange festival" is celebrated each year on January 31st at Lerwick, or Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney Isles. The festival called "Up-helly-a" seems to be growing in favour. Lerwick becomes the Mecca of the North for many days, and young people travel long distances to witness the revels that go to make up the celebration of the ancient festival. All former occasions were eclipsed by the last display. At half-past eight o'clock a crowd of about 3,000 people assembled in the square at the Market Cross. In the centre stood a Norse war galley or Viking ship, with its huge dragon head towering upwards with graceful bend. Along the bulwarks were hung the warriors' shields in glowing colours, the Norse flag, with the raven, floating overhead. On board the galley fiddlers were seated. Then a light flared below Fort Charlotte, which announced that the good ship Victory would soon be on the scene. And a stately ship she was, as she came majestically along, hauled by a squad in sailor costume, while a troop of instructors from the Fort walked alongside as a guard of honour to the good vessel. The Victory immediately took up her position, and the guizers began to gather. Torches were served out, the bugle sounded the call to light up, and then the procession started on its way round the town. The guizers who took part numbered over three hundred, and seen under the glare of the torches the procession was one of the prettiest. The Norse galley led the way, and the Victory occupied a place near the centre of the procession. The dresses were very tasteful and represented every age and clime. There were gay Cavaliers, Red Indians, Knight Templars, and squires of the Georgian period. The procession being over, the Victory and the Norse galley were drawn up alongside each other, near the market cross, while the guizers formed a circle round them. Toasts were proposed, songs were sung, and thereafter the proceedings were brought to a close by the guizers throwing their flaming torches on board the ships. As soon as the bonfire was thoroughly ablaze, the guizers formed themselves in their various squads, each headed by a fiddler, and began their house to house visitation. The guizer was costumed as an old Norse jarl, with a sparkling coat of mail, and carried a prettily emblazoned shield and sword. The squad of which he was chief were got up as Vikings. Curiously enough, these were followed by Dutch vrows.
The Orkneys and Shetland Isles were ceded to James III. of Scotland, as the dowry of his wife, Margaret, in 1469, and became part of Great Britain on the union of Scotland with England. James I. married Ann of Denmark, and passed through Lancashire in August, 1617, when he visited Hoghton Tower. The effusiveness of the Prestonians was outdone at Hoghton Tower, where His Majesty received a private address in which he was apostrophised as "Dread Lord." He is reported to have exclaimed "Cot's splutters! What a set of liegemen Jamie has!"
[Patronymics]
[CHAPTER IV.]
Patronymics.
We are sprung from the sea; a county of seaports is our dwelling-place, and the sea itself our ample dominion, covered throughout its vast extent with our fellow subjects in their "floating cities." These are filled with our wealth, which we commit to the winds and waves to distribute to the extremities of the four quarters of the world. We are therefore no common people, nor are they common events which form eras in our history; nor common revolutions which have combined and modified the elements of our speech.