The _burial_ ceremony is said to have been much more joyous among them than that of marriage; which seems to imply something very unnatural, as well as barbarous. The house in which the body lay till its burial, was a perpetual scene of feasting, singing, dancing, and every species of riot. This, of course, was very expensive to the family of the deceased; and it was in some places carried so far, that the corpse was forcibly kept unburied by the visiting friends, till they were certain that they had consumed, in games and frantic festivity, all the wealth the deceased had left behind him.—Nothing can well exceed the barbarism and brutishness of such a custom: and yet it seems to have long continued in some parts of this island after the introduction of christianity, and even of protestantism. Nay, some remains of it are known to have existed in some places within the memory of some of the present inhabitants. It is surprising how tenacious mankind often are of their ancient customs, be they ever so vile, unseemly, or heathenish. Heathenish, certainly, or of pagan origin, must this most odious practice have been: but it is not the only English custom that comes under that description. The _Waites_, that usually go about before christmas, may be considered as of the self-same origin, and belonged, in all likelihood, to a certain pagan, riotous, and lawless feast, celebrated at that time of the year: the precursor and prototype of our principal christian festival. The ushering in of May with the _blowing of horns_, a custom now almost, if not _altogether peculiar to Lynn_, seems evidently to be of the same class. It is still most tenaciously kept up in this town, by the boys and children, though nobody pretends to know either its meaning or its origin. But as May-Day is known to have been one of the highest and most notable days of the year among our heathen ancestors, the said custom may very safely be concluded to have originated with them; especially as that day does not appear to have ever been very much thought of by the papists. A notable custom among the Anglo-Saxon christians of the eighth century, and from which Lynn cannot be supposed exempted, was that of the _Clergy_ usually celebrating Mass, or administering the Sacrament _without Shoes and Stockings_, and with chalices made of horn: which seems to shew, that they had not then arrived at that sacerdotal pride and pomp, at least in regard to their dress, which became so prevalent among those of their order in latter times, when they thought proper to assume a consequence so far above the other orders of the community.