“PLEASE TO REMEMBER”

Taranaki Daily News, 7 November 1921, Page 5

“PLEASE TO REMEMBER”

THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER GUY FAWKES AND GUNPOWDER PLOT. Ragged rhymes often persist in keeping ; alive when good verse is buried with things’ forgotten. These three hundred years and more there has persisted the ungrammatical' doggerel: ' “Please to remember The fifth of Novembet Gunpowder treason and plot I see no reason ' Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.” This would have been appropriate for Taranaki children oh Saturday morning, when they appeared in the streets of their towns in all manner of garb begging for pennies to collect “bung-bungs”, “fizzygigsgs”, “Catherine wheels”, “glory candles”, and the like. The result was seen on Saturday night in many bonfires and displays of fireworks of varying excellence. The Gunpowder Plot was an amiable conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5, 1605, when the gentle James was there in. all his royal robes to open the session in person. The successful sending of the King and his legislators skyward'.' was to have been followed up by a rising in the Midlands, but the plot waai frustrated by a letter from one of the leaders, who, impelled by hisi great friendship for Lord Monteagle, wrote to that nobleman warning him not to be in Parliament that day. A search of the precints of Parliament led to the discovery of Guy Fawkes, who was arrested in the cellar, he was about to apply the spark to £he train.

Gunpowder Plot is commemorated in the annual searching of the vaults below the Houses of Parliament at the opening of the session, and by boys in their Fifth qf November , procession, carrying a scarecrow figure, representing Guy Fawkes with a dark lantern and matches, which is finally burned in a bonfire. The old custom is followed even in this .iew land, furnishing a fine excuse for noisy and youthful ex-, überance. I