Bloomfield noted in his introduction that "these customs are going fast out of use". In the illustrations provided by George Cruikshank for the children's edition of 1882, those at the feast are dressed in the fashion of a bygone time. The scene is distanced, much as the poet himself presents it, as a piece of folklore.Baldwin Library, University of Florida But there were still survivals of the custom, and even revivals, as evidenced by news items from 1901-2 that speak of "old-time horkeys" in the village of Foxearth.Foxearth and district local history society
