I take first, on account of the large amount of dancing which remains in it, the play acted at the end of the eighteenth century by ‘The Plow Boys or Morris Dancers’ of Revesby in Lincolnshire[731]. There are seven dancers: six men, the Fool and his five sons, Pickle Herring, Blue Breeches, Pepper Breeches, Ginger Breeches, and Mr. Allspice[732]; and one woman, Cicely. The somewhat incoherent incidents are as follows. The Fool acts as presenter and introduces the play. He fights successively a Hobby-horse and a ‘Wild Worm’ or dragon. The dancers ‘lock their swords to make the glass,’ which, after some jesting, is broken up again. The sons determine to kill the Fool. He kneels down and makes his will, with the swords round his neck[733]; is slain and revived by Pickle Herring stamping with his foot. This is repeated with variations. Hitherto, the dancers have ‘footed it’ round the room at intervals. Now follow a series of sword-dances. During and after these the Fool and his sons in turn woo Cicely, the Fool taking the name of ‘Anthony[734],’ Pickle Herring that of ‘the Lord of Pool,’ and Blue Breeches that of ‘the Knight of Lee.’ There is nothing particularly interesting about this part of the play, obviously written to ‘work in’ the woman grotesque. In the course of it a morris-dance is introduced, and a final sword-dance, with an obeisance to the master of the house, winds up the whole. Secondly, there are the Plough Monday plays of the east Midlands[735]. These appear in Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire. Two printed versions are available. The first comes from Cropwell in Nottinghamshire[736]. The actors are ‘the plough-bullocks.’ The male characters are Tom the Fool, a Recruiting Sergeant, and a Ribboner or Recruit, three farm-servants, Threshing Blade, Hopper Joe[737], and the Ploughman, a Doctor, and Beelzebub[738]. There are two women, a young Lady and old Dame Jane. Tom Fool is presenter. The Ribboner, rejected by the young Lady, enlists as a recruit. The Lady is consoled by Tom Fool. Then enter successively the three farm-servants, each describing his function on the farm. Dame Jane tries to father a child on Tom Fool. Beelzebub knocks her down[739], and kills her. The Doctor comes in, and after some comic business about his travels, his qualifications and his remedies[740], declares Dame Jane to be only in a trance, and raises her up. A country dance and songs follow, and the performance ends with a _quête_. The second version, from Lincolnshire, is very similar[741]. But there are no farm-servants, and instead of Beelzebub is a personage called ‘old Esem Esquesem,’ who carries a broom. It is he, not an old woman, who is killed and brought to life. There are several dancers, besides the performers; and these include ‘Bessy,’ a man dressed as a woman, with a cow’s tail.