In Ireland also the wren was generally hunted during the eighteenth century, and continues to be hunted in Leinster and in Connaught, but I have come across no chant of the hunt. The bird was slain by the peasants, and was carried about hung by the leg inside two crossed hoops, and a custom rhyme was sung which began:-- The wren, the wren, the king of all birds, Was caught St. Stephen's Day in the furze; Although he's little, his family's great, Then pray, gentlefolks, give him a treat. (1849, p. 166.) The bird was slain, but it was not therefore dead. This is conveyed by the tale told in the Isle of Man, and by the following custom observed in Pembrokeshire on 6 January, that is on Twelfth Day. On this day one or several wrens were secured in a small house or cage, sometimes the stable lantern, which was decorated with ribbons and carried from house to house while the following lines were sung:-- Joy, health, love, and peace, Be to you in this place. By your leave we will sing Concerning _our king_: Our king is well drest, In silks of the best, With his ribbons so rare No king can compare. _In his coach he does ride_ With a great deal of pride And with _four footmen_ To wait upon him. We were four at watch, And all nigh of a match; And with powder and ball We fired at his hall. We have travell'd many miles, Over hedges and stiles, To find you this king Which we now to you bring. Now Christmas is past, Twelfth Day is the last. Th' Old Year bids adieu; Great joy to the new. (1876, p. 35.) On grouping together these various pieces, we are struck by their likeness, and by the antiquity of their allusions. The bird was usually slain with stones and sticks, which are among the most primitive weapons. In Wales _bows and arrows_, which are old also, were declared preferable to _cannons and guns_. In Wales the bird was cut up with _hatchets and cleavers_ in preference to _knives and forks_; it was boiled in the _brewery pan_, or in _cauldrons and pans_, in preference to _kettles and pots_; and it was conveyed about in a _waggon or cart_ in preference to being _carried on four men's shoulders_. Sometimes the bird was plucked. Finally it was cut up in a sacrificial manner; one wing--another--one leg--another--and the spare ribs or the pluck, as the least valuable part of the feast, went to the poor. The representative huntsmen in England are Robbin, Bobbin, Richard, and John-all-alone. In Scotland they are Fozie-Mozie, Johnie Rednosie, and Foslin, besides "the brethren and kin." In Wales they are Milder, Malder, Festel, Fose, and John the Rednose. Of these characters only Robin and Bobbin (the names are sometimes run together) and Richard, reappear in other nursery pieces. In the oldest collection of 1744 stand the lines:--