Alas! again, what hearts had they, What hearts had they those babes to kill, With swords when they them caught, In cradles they lay and laughed, And never thought ill. CHAPTER XXVIII New Year's Eve--Wassail--New Year's Eve Customs--Hogmany--The Cl[=a]vie--Other Customs--Weather Prophecy. New Year's eve is variously kept--by some in harmless mirth, by others in religious exercises. Many churches in England have late services, which close at midnight with a carol or appropriate hymn, and this custom is especially held by the Wesleyan Methodists in their "Watch Night," when they pray, etc., till about five minutes to twelve, when there is a dead silence, supposed to be spent in introspection, which lasts until the clock strikes, and then they burst forth with a hymn of praise and joy. The wassail bowl used to hold as high a position as at Christmas eve, and in Lyson's time it was customary in Gloucestershire for a merry party to go from house to house carrying a large bowl, decked with garlands and ribbons, singing the following wassail song:-- Wassail! Wassail! all over the town, Our toast it is white, our ale it is brown, Our bowl it is made of a maplin tree; We be good fellows all, I drink to thee. Here's to our horse, and to his right ear, God send our maister a happy New Year; A happy New Year as e'er he did see-- With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee. Here's to our mare, and to her right eye, God send our mistress a good Christmas pye: A good Christmas pye as e'er I did see-- With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee. Here's to Fill-pail (cow) and to her long tail, God send our measter us never may fail Of a cup of good beer, I pray you draw near, And our jolly wassail it's then you shall hear. Be here any maids? I suppose there be some, Sure they will not let young men stand on the cold stone Sing hey, O maids, come trole back the pin, And the fairest maid in the house let us all in. Come, butler, come bring us a bowl of the best: I hope your soul in heaven will rest: But, if you do bring us a bowl of the small, Then down fall butler, bowl, and all. Until recently, a similar custom obtained in Nottinghamshire; but, in that case, the young women of the village, dressed in their best, carried round a decorated bowl filled with ale, roasted apples, and toast, seasoned with nutmeg and sugar, the regulation wassail compound. This they offered to the inmates of the house they called at, whilst they sang the following, amongst other verses:-- Good master, at your door, Our wassail we begin; We are all maidens poor, So we pray you let us in, And drink our wassail. All hail, wassail! Wassail! wassail! And drink our wassail.