"Why, they used to march in smocks, and with garlands and blows, same as on May Day. Holy Thursday war the great day, I've heard tell, and 'em used to shout till 'em fair broke their lungs, singing such old songs as 'Blow winter snows across the plain,' 'Fair shines my lady's garden,' 'Spring voices strong,' and 'Phoebus smiles on groves anew.' Who Phoebus was I never knowd," remarked old Timothy, "but Salter Mapps used to sing that finely and mak' the whole place alive when he roared it out." "And the maids," I said, "did they have no part in the merry-making?" [Sidenote: "THE MAIDS HELD THEIR PEACE"] "The maids," answered Master Theobalds, severely, "held their peace. If they did anything, they peeped out of the winders, waved hankies, and kissed their hands. 'Twas enough for the maids in those days." "Yes; but tell me," I urged, "about the rite. What did the young men do in the orchards?" "Why, them rampaged round like young cart colts on spring grass, and they seized each others' hands and danced aunty-praunty, as if their arms were made of cart-ropes, round the trees, and they capered like young deer, as the deer do at Apley Park, up beyond Bridgenorth, and they kind of hugged a tree, crying out-- "'Stand fast root, bear well top, God send us a youngling sop. Every twig big apple, Every bough fruit enough.' And then wherever they passed they got cakes and ale. There war holy beer, made from church water caught in a butt from the roof, and that war supposed to be the best--'the life of the season,' folks called it then. And if the lads got a touch too merry, folk knew what to do--they looked the other way. Rough play, rough pleasure; but they war men then." As the old man ceased talking, I remembered having read in some old book on "Strange Customs" an account of "Apple Blow Youling," as it was called in the West. The rite was probably a survival of an old heathen custom. It is supposed that it arose from a Roman practice of giving thanks to Æolus, the god of the winds, and that this pious invocation was instituted by them soon after their conquest of Britain. Anyway, the rite became popular, and long survived the occupation of the Romans; and in some places, apple youling, or howling, went on through the early part of the nineteenth century. There was a pause, and then old Timothy began to talk about the difficulty of inducing village maids to go into domestic service.