Though prepared to witness many of these little eccentricities, frombeing apprised of the peculiar hobby of mine host; yet, I confess, theparade with which so odd a dish was introduced somewhat perplexedme, until I gathered from the conversation of the squire and theparson, that it was meant to represent the bringing in of the boar'shead; a dish formerly served up with much ceremony and the sound ofminstrelsy and song, at great tables, on Christmas day. "I like theold custom," said the squire, "not merely because it is stately andpleasing in itself, but because it was observed at the college atOxford at which I was educated. When I hear the old song chanted, itbrings to mind the time when I was young and gamesome- and the nobleold college hall- and my fellow-students loitering about in theirblack gowns; many of whom, poor lads, are now in their graves!"The parson, however, whose mind was not haunted by suchassociations, and who was always more taken up with the text thanthe sentiment, objected to the Oxonian's version of the carol; whichhe affirmed was different from that sung at college. He went on,with the dry perseverance of a commentator, to give the collegereading, accompanied by sundry annotations; addressing himself atfirst to the company at large; but finding their attention graduallydiverted to other talk and other objects, he lowered his tone as hisnumber of auditors diminished, until he concluded his remarks in anunder voice, to a fat-headed old gentleman next him, who wassilently engaged in the discussion of a huge plateful of turkey.** The old ceremony of serving up the boar's head on Christmas day isstill observed in the hall of Queen's College, Oxford. I was favoredby the parson with a copy of the carol as now sung, and as it may beacceptable to such of my readers as are curious in these grave andlearned matters, I give it entire.
The boar's head in hand bear I,
Bedeck'd with bays and rosemary;
And I pray you, my masters, be merry
Quot estis in convivio.
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes domino.
The boar's head, as I understand,
Is the rarest dish in all this land,
Which thus bedeck'd with a gay garland
Let us servire cantico.
Caput apri defero, etc.
Our steward hath provided this
In honor of the King of Bliss,
Which on this day to be served is
In Reginensi Atrio.
Caput apri defero,
etc., etc., etc.
The table was literally loaded with good cheer, and presented anepitome of country abundance, in this season of overflowing larders. Adistinguished post was allotted to "ancient sirloin," as mine hosttermed it; being, as he added, "the standard of old Englishhospitality, and a joint of goodly presence, and full of expectation."There were several dishes quaintly decorated, and which hadevidently something traditional in their embellishments; but aboutwhich, as I did not like to appear over-curious, I asked no questions.
I could not, however, but notice a pie, magnificently decorated withpeacock's feathers, in imitation of the tail of that bird, whichovershadowed a considerable tract of the table. This, the squireconfessed, with some little hesitation, was a pheasant pie, though apeacock pie was certainly the most authentical; but there had beensuch a mortality among the peacocks this season, that he could notprevail upon himself to have one killed.** The peacock was anciently in great demand for statelyentertainments. Sometimes it was made into a pie, at one end ofwhich the head appeared above the crust in all its plumage, with thebeak richly gilt; at the other end the tail was displayed. Such pieswere served up at the solemn banquets of chivalry, when knights-errantpledged themselves to undertake any perilous enterprise, whence camethe ancient oath, used by justice Shallow, "by cock and pie."The peacock was also an important dish for the Christmas feast;and Massinger, in his City Madam, gives some idea of theextravagance with which this, as well as other dishes, was preparedfor the gorgeous revels of the olden times:-Men may talk of Country Christmasses,
Their thirty pound butter'd eggs, their pies of carps' tongues;Their pheasants drench'd with ambergris; the carcases of three fatwethers bruised for gravy to make sauce for a single peacock.
It would be tedious, perhaps, to my wiser readers, who may nothave that foolish fondness for odd and obsolete things to which I am alittle given, were I to mention the other make-shifts of this worthyold humorist, by which he was endeavoring to follow up, though athumble distance, the quaint customs of antiquity. I was pleased,however, to see the respect shown to his whims by his children andrelatives; who, indeed, entered readily into the full spirit ofthem, and seemed all well versed in their parts; having doubtless beenpresent at many a rehearsal. I was amused, too, at the air of profoundgravity with which the butler and other servants executed the dutiesassigned them, however eccentric. They had an old-fashioned look;having, for the most part, been brought up in the household, and growninto keeping with the antiquated mansion, and the humors of itslord; and most probably looked upon all his whimsical regulations asthe established laws of honorable housekeeping.