Household Tales and Traditional Remains (Part One)

Enchanted mountains, the bewitching of puddings and high jinks in the Bonehouse - we've not covered anything quite like this yet! It's Sidney Oldall Addy's 1895 folk tale collection, Household Tales and Traditional Remains.

'Now Kate knew that if you put the ball inside the ring and wished something your wish would be granted. When the giant had got well into the water, Kate slipped the ball into the ring, and wished that the giant were leagues away and herself safe in her own village. Immediately she found herself walking up the village street, and meeting her father and mother and Willie coming out to seek her. And so Kate became the owner of the ring and the ball, and whenever after that she wished anything her wish was granted.'

Tales From Antiquaria is a podcast dedicated to exploring the legacy of work published regarding folklore and local history during the golden age of antiquarian writing in the nineteenth century.

For show notes and links, visit the episodes page at thelocalmythstorian.com

Episode written, produced and presented by Eli Lewis-Lycett. All source material taken directly from the stated publication. Main theme music by Humanoid Media. Incidental music from Restum-Anoush. 

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Transcript

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Enchanted Mountains, the Bewitching of Puddings, and High Jinx in the Bonehouse. My name is Eli and this is Tales from Antiquaria, Household Tales and Traditional Remains Part One. Born in Norton, Derbyshire in 1848, Addy collected folkloric tales from across the north of England, and this collection draws from Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire too. Another Victorian solicitor turned writer like John Slee in episode 1, Household Tales and Traditional Remains, was published by Portland and Brailsford of Sheffield in 1895, and it's one of the most comprehensive story-leg collections I've read. In Sydney's own quite forthright and poetic words, the 52 short stories printed in this volume have been gotten together in the last six or seven years. A deluge of cheap literature has fallen upon us since the days when the brothers Grimm made their famous German collection, and the memory, assisted by books, is apt to forget the unwritten lore. But still the ancient stories, beautiful or highly humorous even in their decay, linger with us here and there in England, and like rare plants may be found by those who seek them. Though some of the stories here printed illustrate the poverty of the present tradition, it is likely that others were never told at greater length or in better form. In every case I have either written the tale down from dictation or a written copy has been given to me. I have added nothing except the occasional formula, once upon a time, or a title to a story which had no title. Nor have I taken anything away. As nearly as I could manage it, the tales are given in the very words of the narrators. For Addy, his collecting folklore and fairy tales was a labour of love by all accounts, and he was heavily invested in first hand fieldwork. Let's get started The Small Toothed Dog from Norton in Derbyshire. Once upon a time there was a merchant who travelled about the world a great deal. On one of his journeys thieves attacked him, and they would have taken both his life and his money if a large dog had not come to his rescue and driven the thieves away. When the dog had driven the thieves away, he took the merchant to his house, which was a very handsome one, and he dressed his wounds and nursed him until he was well. As soon he was able to travel the merchant began his journey home, but before starting he told the dog how grateful he was for his kindness, and he asked him what reward he could offer in return, saying he would not refuse him to give him even the most precious thing that he had. And so the merchant said to the dog, Will you accept a fish I have that can speak twelve languages? No, said the dog, I will not. Or a goose that lays golden eggs? No, said the dog, I will not. Or a mirror in which you can see what anybody is thinking about. No, said the dog, I will not. Then what will you have? said the merchant. I will have none of such presents, said the dog. But let me fetch your daughter and take her to my house. When the merchant heard this he was grieved, but what he had promised had to be done, so he said to the dog, You can come and fetch my daughter after I have been at home for a week. So at the end of the week the dog came to the merchant's house to fetch his daughter. But when he got there he stayed outside the door and would not go in. But the merchant's daughter did as her father told her, and came out of the house dressed for a journey and ready to go with the dog. When the dog saw her he looked pleased. The girl lived with the dog on the promise that he would on occasion take her back to see her father. But when the first opportunity came and she mounted the dog to ride home to her father, about halfway he turned back and galloped back to his own house with the girl on his back. Another week went by. The trip arranged again and the same thing happened. The dog halfway to her father's house turned around and galloped back home. But the following week, as they made the journey again, as they reached the first stile, the point whereby the dog had always returned, he stopped and said to the girl, What do you call me? Sweet as a honeycomb, she replied. And so the dog lipped over the stile, and they went on for twenty miles until they came to another. What do you call me? said the dog with a wag of his tail. This time though the girl was thinking more about her own home and her father than she was the dog, and so she answered truthfully. A great foul small toothed dog, she said. This caused the dog to go into a great rage, and he turned right around and galloped back to his own house as he had before. The following week the whole process was enacted again. But this time when they reached the point by which she had told the truth the week before, the dog asked her again, What do you call me? She said again, sweet as a honeycomb. The dog jumped over the stile and away they went for now the girl had made up her mind to say the most loving thing she could think of until they reached her father's house. When they got to the door of the merchant's house, the dog said, Again, and what do you call me? But just at that moment the girl forgot the loving thing she was meant to say, and began again to say a great, foul, small toothed dog. But she remembered just in time how the dog would act and said sweeter than a honeycomb. When she said this she thought the dog would have been content and have galloped away. But instead of that he suddenly stood up on his hind legs, and with his forelegs he pulled off his dog's head and tossed it into the air. His hairy coat dropped off, and there stood the handsomest young man in the world, with the finest and smallest teeth you ever saw. Of course they were married and lived happily together. The bag of nuts from Calver in Derbyshire. It happened once that two young men met in the churchyard about eight o'clock in the evening. One of them said to the other, Where are you going? And the other answered, I'm going to get a bag of nuts that lie underneath my mother's head in the churchyard. Where are you going? The man replied, I'm going to steal a fat sheep out of this field. Wait here till I come back. The first man went and got the nuts that were hid beneath his dead mother's head, and stood in the church porch cracking them. In those days it was accustomed to ring a bell at certain times in the evening, and just as a man was cracking the nuts, the sexton came into the churchyard to ring it. But as he heard the cracking of the nuts in the porch he was afraid and ran to tell the parson, who only laughed at him and said, Go and ring, fool. However, the sexton was so afraid that he said he would not go back unless the parson would go with him. After much persuasion the parson agreed to go, but he had gout very badly, and the sexton had to carry him on his back. When the man in the porch, who was cracking his nuts, saw the sexton coming into the churchyard with the parson on his back, he thought it was a man who had just gone out to steal the sheep, and had returned with the sheep on his back. So he bawled out, is it a fat one? When the sexton heard this he was so frightened that he threw the parson down and said, Aye, and thou canst take it if you like. So the sexton ran away as fast as he could, and left the parson to shift for himself. The tailor and his apprentices from Culver and Derbyshire. There was once a country tailor who had two apprentices, and he used to keep them at work till eleven o'clock at night. One day the tailor had to go to town to buy cloth, and he came back late in the evening, passing on his way home through a lonely wood. The apprentices, who knew that he would come home through the wood, went out after dark and got up a tree near the footpath on which they knew their master would pass. In short time they heard the tailor coming, and one of them called out, Abraham. The tailor answered, Yes, my lord, thinking it was God who had spoken to him. One of the apprentices in the tree then shouted, If thou keepest thy lads at work till eleven, thou shalt not enter the kingdom of heaven. When the tailor had gone past, the boys ran quickly home a shorter way, and were at work when the master reached the house. As soon as he had opened the door, he said to them, Put away your work, and they were never kept so late at work any more. The boy who feared nothing from Culver in Derbyshire. Once a father made a bet with his son that he dare not go into the bonehouse in their village churchyard at midnight and fetch a skull without taking a light with him. The son accepted the wager, and on the following night went down to the bonehouse. In the meantime the father had told a man to hide himself in the bonehouse and watch for the boy. When the boy got down amongst the bones he picked up a skull. Then the man who had hidden himself said, Don't take that, for that's my mother's skull. And so the boy threw it down in shock and picked up another. This time the man said, Don't take that for that's my grandmother's. So the boy threw that down too. Picking up a third, the man then shouted, And that's my grandfather's. So the boy shouted, Why, they're all thy mother's, all thy grandmothers, but I've come for a skull and I'll have one. So the boy picked up one and ran home to his father and won the wager. The Enchanted Mountains from North Derbyshire. One Sunday afternoon, as two children named Kate and Willie came out of church, they agreed to go for a walk together. So they walked on until they came to a large mountain, which made everyone who went near it go to sleep. As they drew near to the mountain, they began to feel sleepy, and at last they both fell asleep at the foot of the mountain. After they had lain there a while a giant came by and woke the children up, saying he would take the boy and kill him and keep Kate to clean his four and twenty league boots. So he took them to his castle, which was on top of the mountain, and gave them into the charge of the old woman who kept house for him. Willie soon escaped from the castle, but Kate could not find a way out. When the giant arose the next morning and found the boy gone he was very angry, and the first thing he did was make Kate clean his boots. After the boots were cleaned, he said, I will go and bathe me in the river, and thou Kate shall go with me and hold in thy hands this golden ring and golden ball. Now Kate knew that if you put the ball inside the ring and wish something, your wish will be granted. So when the giant had got well into the water, Kate slipped the ball into the ring and wished that the giant were leagues off and herself safe in her own village. Immediately she found herself waking up in the village street, and meeting her father and mother and Willie coming out to seek her. And so Kate became the owner of the ring and the ball, and whenever after she wished anything, her wish was granted. Jack the Buttermilk from Nottinghamshire. Jack was a boy who sold buttermilk. One day he was going on his rounds when he met a witch who asked him for some of his buttermilk and told him that if he refused to give it to her, she would put him into a bag that she carried over her shoulders. But Jack would not give the witch any of his buttermilk. So she put him into the bag and walked off home with him. But as she was going on her way, she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten a pot of fat that she had brought into the town. Now Jack was too heavy to be carried back to town, so the witch asked some men who were brushing the hedge by the roadside if they would take care of her bag until she came back. The men promised to take care of the bag, but when the witch had gone Jack called out to them and said, If you will take me out of this bag and fill it full of thorns, I will give you some of my buttermilk. So the men took Jack out from the bag and filled it with thorns, and then Jack gave them back some buttermilk and ran home. When the witch came back from the town she picked up a bag and threw it over her shoulder as before and walked away. But she'd not gone far before the thorns began to prick her back, and she said, Jack, I think thou'st got some pins about thee, lad. As soon as she had got home she emptied the bag upon a clean white sheet that she had ready. But when she found that there was nothing in the bag but thorns, she was very angry, and said I'll catch thee tomorrow, Jack, and I'll boil thee. The next day she met Jack again and asked him for some buttermilk, and told him that if he would not give it to her, she would put him into a bag again. But again Jack said he would give her no buttermilk, so she put him into a bag. But again she had forgotten something and needed to go back to town. This time she left the bag with some men who were mending the road. Now as soon as the witch had gone, Jack called out to them and said, If you take me out and fill this bag full of stones, I will give you some of my buttermilk. The men took Jack out of the bag and he gave them some buttermilk. When the witch came back she threw the bag over her shoulder, as before, and when she heard the stones grinding and rattling, she chuckled and said, My word, Jack, thy bones do crack. But when she got home and emptied the bag on the white sheet again, she saw the stones and again was very angry. The next day she went out as before and met Jack again and asked for some buttermilk. But Jack said no, so she put him again into her bag but went straight home with him, and then threw him out uponto the white sheet. When she had done this she went out of the house and locked Jack in, intending to boil him when she came back. But while she was away, Jack opened all the cupboards in the house and filled the bag with all the pots that he could find. After he'd done this he escaped through the chimney and got safe home. She emptied the bag up on the sheet again and broke all of the pots that she had in the house. After this, she never bothered Jack any more. Dadera Dad from Eam in Derbyshire. There was once a farmer's wife who made a pudding and set it on a fire to be boiled. As soon as the water began to boil, the pudding jumped, and at last it jumped out uponto the floor and rolled about as if it were bewitched. As the pudding was rolling about on the floor, a travelling tinker came to the door, and the woman picked up the pudding and gave it to him. The tinker put it straight into his budget and slung it over his back. As he trudged along the road, the pudding kept rolling about in the budget until at last it broke into pieces, when out came a little fairy child who cried, Take me to my dad or a dad, take me to my dad or a dad. Jack Otter from Lincolnshire. In Lincolnshire there once lived a man called Jack Otter, who had been married nine times and had murdered all of his wives one after another. One day he was angry with the woman that he was caught in, and whom he intended to take for his tenth wife. So he asked her to go for a walk with him, and when they had got into a lonely place he stabbed her and buried her on the spot. But his crying was found out, and he was gibbeted on a post in the lane. Now a bird called the Willow Biter built her nest on the dead man's mouth as he hung in the gallows tree, and she raised her fledglings in it. And hence the Shridlers asked. The girl who got up the tree from North Derbyshire. A girl who was leaving her master's service as a farm in the country told her sweetheart that she would meet him near a style where they had met many times before. This style was overhung by a large tree. The girl got there before him and found a hole dug underneath the tree and a pickaxe and spade lying by the side of the hole. She was much frightened by what she saw and climbed up the tree. After she had been up the tree a while her sweetheart came along, and another man with him too. Thinking that the girl had not yet come, the two men began to talk, and the girl heard her sweetheart say, She will not come tonight. We'll go home now and come back and kill her tomorrow night. As soon as they had gone, the girl came down the tree and ran home to her father. When she told him what she had seen, the father pondered a while and then said to his daughter, We will have a feast and ask our friends, and we will ask thy sweetheart to come, and the man that came with him to the tree. So the two men came along with the other guests. In the evening they began to ask riddles of each other, but the girl who had gotten up the tree was the last to ask hers. She said, I'll read your riddle. I'll read it you write. Where was I last Saturday night? The wind did blow and the leaves did shake. When I saw the hole the fox did make. When the two men who had intended to murder her realized what she was saying, they quickly ran out of the house. A dream of heaven from Eckington, Derbyshire. A girl called Anne Brown, who had been very ill, fell into a trance, and it was believed that she was dead. When her body had been laid out for ten hours, her mother went into the room where she lay to kiss her, and as she did she thought that she felt her daughter's breath upon her cheek. Then she fetched the clergyman and took a small piece of looking glass and held it over her mouth to see whether it was steamed by her breath. In this way she found that the girl lived. So the clergyman called all the family into the room and told them to stand around the bed. He sat at the head of the bed and took one of the girls' hands into his own, and after a while she opened her eyes and gave three groans. Then the clergyman said to her, Now tell us where have you been? So after a while the girl opened her eyes and said, I have been all the way to heaven, and the first to meet me was the devil. He held his hand in a black book, and the letters in it were written in crimson. The devil asked me to write my name in the book and follow him, but I said, Get thee hence, Satan, and went further on my way. Next I saw an angel dressed in pure white, who took my hand and led me on a path as soft as down and as white as snow until we came to the gate of heaven, and over the gate was written, Behold the Lamb. As we came near to the gate it flew open, and the Lord came out to take me in. Then the Lord led me to a place which was full of girls just like myself. And after that he took me to another place which was full of soldiers that had spears and bayonets and bayonets had seals on them. After this another angel came and took me away from the Lord and led me into another place, which was full of infants singing. I saw the throne of God, which was all bright and shining, but they would never let me see God himself. After I had seen the throne the Lord came to me again, and took my hand and said, It is God's wish that you go back to earth for a little while longer. I said to the Lord, Let me stay here, but the Lord answered, You have served me faithfully from a child, and it is my desire that you go back to the world. The blacksmith who sold himself to the devil from Calver, Derbyshire. There was once a blacksmith who had neither fire nor iron in his forge, and because things did not go according to his mind, he ripped and he tore and he cursed and he swore. One day, as he was grumbling about his want of work, a man who was dressed in black came to see him, and said to him, What dost thou want? The blacksmith answered, I want nought but iron and stuff for my fire. The man in black said, If thou wilt sell thyself to me, thou shalt want for nothing for seven years. So the blacksmith agreed to sell himself, and when he got back to his forge he found there was as much coal and iron there as he wanted, and they had plenty of work and plenty of money for seven years. But when the seven years were ended he was downhearted, for the devil came to him and made a great hole in his garden and put a bridge over the hole. The devil said to the blacksmith, You step on this ring, meaning for the bridge, for he wanted the blacksmith to fall into a hole and break his neck. But the blacksmith defied the devil and said, I won't. Take all my coal and iron back to hell with thee. So the devil went and left the man as poor as he found him. And when the blacksmith got back to his forge he found it was empty, but he vowed that he would go without fire, iron, or coal before he would have anything to do with the devil again. For me, there's a real sense of gossip about them. A vibe of did you hear about the time when? Before we go tonight, I've been receiving emails over the past month or so with your questions and ideas regarding the tales covered on the previous episodes. And I'm thinking it might be a good idea to do a special episode in the future where we dive into them. So by all means, if you have any questions, Or observations you want me to include, fire them over. You can email me directly at tales from pod at gmail.com or use the contact form on the website over at tales from antiquaria.com. When we have enough, it will be really great to dig into them and put a special episode together. We'll be back soon with part two of Household Tales, but until then, take care and may your God go with you. You can find out more about the show and about my other projects at the localmythstorian.com.