Originally prepared for textual analysis during his PhD research on the 'Origins and Development of English Folk Plays' by Peter Millington (2002).
Original spelling and typography is retained, except that superscripts, long s and ligatured forms are not encoded.
Line identifiers are those used for line types in the Folk Play Scripts Explorer.
"Communicated by Miss L.Eddy to Mr.A.K.Hamilton Jenkin, a witness of its performance."
R.M.N.'s notes:"NOTE.- This version of the Christmas Play, performed at Redruth within the last fifteen years, is remarkable as being far closer to versions from the North of England than to other West-Country versions. Thus 'Jack's'opening speech is found in Derbyshire, 'Doctor Brown' is a Northern name for this important character, 'Jacky Sweep' uses lines given to 'Devil Doubt' in Yorkshire, and Lord Nelson is a character in Northern 'Pace Egg' plays, performed at Easter. The play, though very much cut down, keeps all the essentials:- A fight; a man slain and revived by the doctor, and comic relief to the tragedy in the 'Jacky Sweep,' with blackened face and broom. There are severel curious substitutions, as - 'sword and thistle,' for 'sword and buckler,' 'Scotland and Wales,' for 'France and Spain,' and in the Wassail Song 'give what you please,' instead of 'choose,' and 'Oh do give us something for singing so well' where one expects 'We've got a little pocket to put a penny in.' R.M.N."
Indexer's notes:The dialogue calling for the doctor, described in the stage directions, has also been rendered as lines in this transcription.