“Here sits a bad wife,
The devil take her life;
Set her upon a swivell,
And send her to the devil.”
And, in further indignation, they commonly cut the latch of the door, or stop the key-hole with dirt, or leave some more nasty token of displeasure.—Thom’s Anecdotes and Traditions, 1839, p. 113.
March 17.] ST. PATRICK’S DAY.
March 17.]
ST. PATRICK’S DAY.
In the metropolis, says Stow in his Sports, Pastimes, and Customs of London (1847, p. 241), this anniversary is generally observed at court as a high festival, and the nobility crowd and pay their compliments in honour of the tutelary saint of Ireland. It is usually selected, also, for soliciting aid to a great national object—the promotion of education.
Buckinghamshire.
In the Illustrated London News of 22nd March, 1862, p. 285, is the following paragraph:
“Lord Langford, as the highest Irish nobleman in Eton School, presented, on St. Patrick’s Day, the beautifully-embroidered badges, in silver, of St. Patrick, to the head master, the Rev. E. Balston, and the lower master, the Rev. W. Carter, which were worn by the reverend gentlemen during the day. About twenty-four of the Irish noblemen and gentlemen in the school were invited to a grand breakfast with the head master, as is customary on these occasions.”