We'll Go No More A-Rushing- (Derbyshire) 1862
[Although this does not have the riddles added, it's an important early version with music. Of course the riddles could be added to this version as in "A Paradox" and "Go No More A-Rushing" Barrett 1891.]
Excerpt from: Brimington Mummers' Play [Derbyshire, 1862]
A. Helm & E. C. Cawte (1967) pp. 8-13; Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Collection
We'll Go No More A-Rushing [my title]- (Derbyshire) 1862
We'll go no more a-rushing maids in May,
We'll go no more a-rush-ing maids I pray,
For if you go a-rush-inq you're sure to get a brushing,
So gather up your rushes and come this way.
Helm and Cawte's Notes:
Collected by Mr R.W.Shipley in 1933 from two old men who had played Hector and Devil Doubt. The latter said that he first heard it in 1862 and took part during the next five or six years, after which the players were separated and the play discontinued.
The play was known locally as 'St George' and the players as 'mummies'. It was usually performed in crowded rooms and the characters did not 'enter'. A circle was formed by the players in the middle of the room from which they came forward as required, falling back to place at the end of their lines. At the close of the play they linked arms together and sang a few lines. If they were well rewarded, other songs would be called for and they would sing for as long as it was worth while.