"Last Monday being the anniversary of the restoration of that royal scamp Charles II, - the day was generally observed by the little boys and schoolmasters as a holiday.
"The urchins kept up the traditional cry of the restoration by challenging youngsters who did not display the sign of the Stuart ascendancy, and cries of 'show your oak,' resounded through the streets.
"A few of the greener sort of tradesmen sported oak boughs at their door - but the display was not equal to what we recollect of a few years since."
The escape of Prince Charles and his hiding in the oak is a good story that young people in England today have not heard. Many young people have never heard of the Restoration nor, for that matter, of Alfred burning cakes nor of Harold losing his eye, Bruce critically examining spiders, Nelson putting the telescope to his blind eye, Lord Uxbridge losing his leg at Waterloo. Many, indeed, have never heard of the Danish Invasion, Hastings, Bannockburn, Copenhagen or Waterloo et cetera, ad infinitum!
What is History? Well, in my opinion it doesn't do to take it too seriously, it is mostly lies, of course, but the kind of half-true lies that, for the most part, are heuristic, provide holidays and bonfires, offer some drama and fun, do (mostly) no harm, improve morale and bind communities and nations together. Schoolboys and schoolmasters (let us at once include their female equivalents,) no longer get a holiday on May 29th nor do they stick oak-leaves in their hats. The narratives they ingest in schools these days are dismal to a degree and just as much half-truth and propaganda as populat history and they provide no fun and no holidays. It seems a shame to me. Bring back Oak-Apple Day!
Source: The Western Times, 3rd June, 1843
No comments:
Post a Comment