Thus at Braller
on Ash Wednesday or Shrove Tuesday two white and two chestnut horses
draw a sledge on which is placed a straw-man swathed in a white
cloth; beside him is a cart-wheel which is kept turning round. Two
lads disguised as old men follow the sledge lamenting. The rest of
the village lads, mounted on horseback and decked with ribbons,
accompany the procession, which is headed by two girls crowned with
evergreen and drawn in a waggon or sledge. A trial is held under a
tree, at which lads disguised as soldiers pronounce sentence of
death. The two old men try to rescue the straw-man and to fly with
him, but to no purpose; he is caught by the two girls and handed
over to the executioner, who hangs him on a tree. In vain the old
men try to climb up the tree and take him down; they always tumble
down, and at last in despair they throw themselves on the ground and
weep and howl for the hanged man. An official then makes a speech in
which he declares that the Carnival was condemned to death because
he had done them harm, by wearing out their shoes and making them
tired and sleepy.
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