Gipsies," supplies further evidence to the same effect:--

They should be a Morris dancers by their jingle, but they have no
napkins.

No, nor a hobby horse.

Oh, he's often forgotten, that's no rule; but there is no Maid
Marian nor friar amongst them, which is the surer mark.

Nor a fool that I see.

But other characters, introduced for whatsoever reason, gradually
disappeared, until the Morris company, as a general thing, consisted only
of the dancers, the piper--that is, the musician--and the fool.

The hobby-horse, described later, was habitually associated with the
Morris, until the Puritans, by their preachings and invective, succeeded
in banishing it as an impious and pagan superstition. This accounts for
the expression, "The hobby-horse quite forgotten"; and gives a touch of
prophecy to Shakespeare's lament: "For, O, for, O, the hobby-horse is
forgot." As is well known, however, the hobby-horse still prances in
England to-day; at Minehead and Padstow, for instance, as an ancient and
hallowed institution on its own account, and performing with the
Morris-men at Bidford.

Other implements and characters may be found, used by and performing with
the Morris-men, that originally had no connection with the Morris, but
were borrowed from other pastimes. As we have said, however, this sets
out to be no exhaustive study, whether of the Morris when it was a