water, eggs, spice, and other tragicall, magicall inchantments, and then they put it little by little into a frying-pan of boyling suet, where it makes a confused dismal hissing--like the Lernean snakes in the reeds of Acheron, Stix, or Phlegeton--until at last by the skill of the cooke it is transformed into the forme of a _flap-jack_, which in our translation is call’d a _pancake_, which ominous incantation the ignorant people doe devoure very greedily--having for the most part well dined before--but they have no sooner swallowed that sweet candied baite, but straight their wits forsake them, and they runne starke mad, assembling in routs and throngs numberlesse of ungovernable numbers, with uncivill civil commotions. “Then Tim Tatters--a most valiant villaine--with an ensign made of a piece of a baker’s maukin fixed upon a broomstaffe, he displaies his dreadful colours, and calling the ragged regiment together, makes an illiterate oration, stuft with most plentiful want of discretion, the conclusion whereof is that somewhat they will doe, but what they know not; until at last comes marching up another troupe of tatterdemalions, proclayming wars against no matter who, so they may be doing. Then these youths arm’d with cudgels, stones, hammers, rules, trowels, and handsawse, put play-houses to the sacke, and *   *   * to the spoyle, in the quarrel breaking a thousand _quarrels_--of glasse, I mean--making ambitious brickbats breake their neckes, tumbling from the tops of lofty chimnies, terribly untyling houses, ripping up the bowels of feather beds, to the inriching of upholsters, the profit of plaisterers and dirt-dawbers, the gaine of glasiers, joyners, carpenters, tylers and bricklayers; and, what is worse, to the contempt of justice; for what avails it for a constable with an army of reverend rusty bill-men to command peace to these beastes? for they with their pockets, instead of pistols, well charged with stone-shot, discharge against the image of authority whole volleys as thicke as hayle, which robustious repulse puts the better sort to the worst part, making the band of unscowered halberdiers retyre faster than ever they come on, and show exceeding discretion in proving tall men of their heels. So much for _Shrove Tuesday_, Jacke-a-Lent’s gentleman usher; these have been his humours in former times, but I have some better hope of reformation in him hereafter, and indeed I wrote this before his coming this yeere, 1617, not knowing how hee would behave himselfe; but tottering betwixt despaire and hope I leave him.” In connection with the custom of eating pancakes on this day, Fosbroke in his _Encyclopædia of Antiquities_ (vol. ii. p. 572) says that “Pancakes, the Norman _Crispellæ_, are taken from the Fornacalia, on Feb. 18th, in memory of the practice in use before the goddess Fornax invented ovens.”