A WINTER moon threw black shadows from stock and stone, tree and cot in
the valley of the Teign. Heavy snow had fallen, and moor-men, coming
down from the highlands, declared it to lie three feet deep in the
drifts. Now fine, sharp weather had succeeded the storm, and hard frost
held both hill and vale.

On Old Christmas Eve a party numbering some five-and-twenty persons
assembled in the farmyard of Monks Barton, and Billy Blee, as master of
the pending ceremonies, made them welcome. Some among them were aged,
others youthful; indeed the company consisted mostly of old men and
boys, a circumstance very easily understood when the nature of their
enterprise is considered. The ancients were about to celebrate a
venerable rite and sacrifice to a superstition, active in their boyhood,
moribund at the date with which we are concerned, and to-day probably
dead altogether. The sweet poet[2] of Dean Prior mentions this quaint,
old-time custom of "christening" or "wassailing" the fruit-trees among
Christmas-Eve ceremonies; and doubtless when he dwelt in Devon the use
was gloriously maintained; but an adult generation in the years of this
narrative had certainly refused it much support. It was left to their
grandfathers and their sons; and thus senility and youth preponderated
in the present company. For the boys, this midnight fun with lantern and
fowling-piece was good Christmas sport, and they came readily enough; to
the old men their ceremonial possessed solid value, and from the musty
storehouse of his memory every venerable soul amongst them could cite
instances of the sovereign virtue hid in such a procedure.


[2] _The sweet poet._

"Wassaile the trees, that they may beare
You many a Plum, and many a Peare;
For more or lesse fruites they will bring,
As you doe give them Wassailing."

_Hesperides._


"A brave rally o' neighbours, sure 'nough," cried Mr. Blee as he
appeared amongst them. "Be Gaffer Lezzard come?"

"Here, Billy."

"Hast thy fire-arm, Lezzard?"

Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his biting wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Raised in Dublin he later studied at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford. After graduating with honours he spent the next few years in London, the United States and Paris. He married Constance Lloyd in 1884 and the couple had two sons. As the result of a widely covered trial, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of gross indecency.

Various, or Various Production, is an English dubstep/electronic music duo formed in 2003. The group blends samples, acoustic and electronic instrumentation, and singing from a revolving cast of vocalists. Its members, Adam and Ian, purposefully give very little information about the group or themselves, and tend to do little in the way of self-promotion.[1] Nevertheless, the group began winning critical acclaim with its single releases in 2005 and 2006.[2] Their full-length for XL, The World is Gone, arrived in July of 2006.[3][4][5][6][7] They have released a large number of vinyl EPs and 7 records, as well as digital exclusives for Rough Trade, iTunes, and Boomkat.[8]