At Houghton Chapel, Nottinghamshire, says an old writer, "the good Sir William Hollis kept his house in great splendour and hospitality. He began Christmas at All Hallowtide, and continued it till Candlemas, during which time any man was permitted to stay three days without being asked who he was, or from whence he came." This generous knight had many guests who rejoiced in the couplet:--
"If I ask'not my guest whence and whither his way, 'Tis because I would have him here with me to stay."
It is no part of our purpose to enter into details of the events which led up to the Revolution. Suffice it to say, that during the reign of Charles II. began the great struggle between the King and the people, but Charles steadily refused to alter the succession by excluding his brother James. He died on the 6th of February, 1685, and
in the midst of an unsettled state of affairs. James made a bold, but unsuccessful, attempt to restore the power of Romanism in England, and, ultimately, consulted his own safety by fleeing to France, landing at Ambleteuse, in Brittany, on Christmas Day, 1688,
The flight of James put an end to the struggle between Crown and people, and the offering of the Crown, with constitutional limitations, to William, Prince of Orange, and his wife Mary, daughter of King James II. and granddaughter of King Charles I. of England, speedily followed.
accepted the invitation of the English people, and began their reign on February 13, 1689. They both took an interest in the sports and pastimes of the people. Strutt says William patronised horse-racing, "and established an academy for riding; and his queen not only continued the bounty of her predecessors, but added several plates to the former donations." The death of Queen Mary, from small-pox, on the 28th of December, 1694, cast a gloom over the Christmas festivities, and left King William almost heart-broken at her loss. As to
Brand says that in "Batt upon Batt," a Poem by a Person of Quality (1694), speaking of Batt's carving knives and other implements, the author asks:--
"Without their help, who can good Christmas keep? Our teeth would chatter and our eyes would weep; Hunger and dullness would invade our feasts, Did not Batt find us arms against such guests. He is the cunning engineer, whose skill Makes fools to carve the goose, and shape the quill: Fancy and wit unto our meals supplies: Carols, and not minc'd-meat, make Christmas pies. 'Tis mirth, not dishes, sets a table off; Brutes and Phanaticks eat, and never laugh.