entirely into the hands of the children, the processions have to some extent lost their original character. But the notion that the visit is to bring good fortune, or the ‘May’ or the ‘summer’ to the household, is not wholly forgotten in the rhymes used[393]. An interesting version of the ceremony is the ‘furry’ or ‘faddy’ dance formerly used at Helston wake; for in this the oak-decked dancers claimed the right to pass in at one door and out at another through every house in the village[394]. Room has been found for the summer lustrations in the scheme of the Church. In Catholic countries the statue of the local saint is commonly carried round the village, either annually on his feast-day or in times of exceptional trouble[395]. The inter-relations of ecclesiastical and folk-ritual in this respect are singularly illustrated by the celebration of St. Ubaldo’s eve (May 15) at Gubbio in Umbria. The folk procession of the _Ceri_ is a very complete variety of the summer festival. After vespers the clergy also hold a procession in honour of the saint. At a certain point the two companies meet. An interchange of courtesies takes place. The priest elevates the host; the bearers of the _Ceri_ bow them to the ground; and each procession passes on its way[396]. In England the summer lustrations take an ecclesiastical form in the Rogations or ‘bannering’ of ‘Gang-week,’ a ceremony which itself appears to be based on very similar folk-customs of southern Europe[397]. Since the Reformation the Rogations have come to be regarded as little more than a ‘beating of the bounds.’ But the declared intention of them was originally to call for a blessing upon the fruits of the earth; and it is not difficult to trace folk-elements in the ‘gospel oaks’ and ‘gospel wells’ at which station was made and the gospel read, in the peeled willow wands borne by the boys who accompany the procession, in the whipping or ‘bumping’ of the said boys at the stations, and in the choice of ‘Gang-week’ for such agricultural rites as ‘youling’ and ‘well-dressing[398].’ Some anthropomorphic representation of the fertilization spirit is a common, though not an invariable element in the lustration. A doll is set on the garland, or some popular ‘giant’ or other image is carried round[399]. Nor is it surprising that at the early spring festival which survives in Plough Monday, the plough itself, the central instrument of the opening labour, figures. A variant of this custom may be traced in certain maritime districts, where the functions of the agricultural deities have been extended to include the oversight of seafaring. Here it is not a plough but a boat or ship that makes its rounds, when the fishing season is about to begin. Ship processions are to be found in various parts of Germany[400]; at Minehead, Plymouth, and Devonport in the west of England, and probably also at Hull in the north[401].