CONTENTS

man in a velvet ooat”- " See- aaw”—“Onea pennynever a maiden in all the town ”

“ Pinky, pinky. bow-hell“—Romeria l NurseryRhyme—Baker's“

x. Scam — " Oh. slumber, my darling, thy sire is a

knight Bye, baby bumpltin “Noae. none,

jolly red noae”— “ I sawa man in the moon "

A Henry VIII. Rhyme—“ Peg- Peg

"— “Ronnd

about Father Long- legs Two - penny rice“ Come when you

’re called

"—A Game—“NannyNatty Coat -

“As Iwasgoing down Sandy Lane”

-“Therewas an oldwoman — “Robert Rowley

"

Little GeneralMonk ” Dr. Tom Tit

TommyTrot Gooaey Gander TheWhiteDove eat on the CastellWall "— “Thia Little Pig

"

— “Little Bo Peep ”— “ See-mv ,MargeryDaw"Fonr- and- twenty Tailors LittleMoppettHub- a -dnb, dub Diddle Dumpling — “

Jackand Jyll

"The Cat and the Fiddle

”-

“Baa l

baa ! black aheep "— “Here oomea a pooa lte ont

ofSpain — “Ride to themarket — “Cm a-patch'

TheMan ofthe South —A In a shire Fragment Dieketydoclt Therewasan oldwomantoa

'd up in ablanket”—

“We 're all in the dnmpa'

SONGS—“Will the love that you’re no rich in i

”

Cock-a -doodle-doo” — “ King Cole Rowaty

dowt There was a LittleMan —The Creole'

a

Tom. the Piper’a Son

”—“Oh dear, what can the

matter he ? ” Simple Simon I saw a Shipa -miling David theWelahman My Fatherhe Died

xi

CONTENTS

l oom:Mun —“Ml m ap the nn ndy nill”

- 8eotehn i on ol &yanO'Lyu—

“Cripple Dlek”

—A0rnaaomal iddla— “King ana aen d Cantelan - IIidaa

J t ayomM?

AM Nnn ery By- n—‘

I'

ha h th n i on d the

” hue -m a n na mme ont ol Kent"—“ l(artin

lu v -“Gen t A. little B

”—A Nursery Tale“A huh. a dmha'—“ Bark l Hark l"—A B C

h e. Rum —“ Bantu" G em” “ Gay go up.and p y go do' n

'—“ l lary.Mary.qaita eontrary "-dq”

W W d Iu - y l hy- o Come.Jack

'- l el va h —Pan orinl. Ia d Grey.

INTRODUCTION

ITHOUT advancing any theo ry

touching the progression of the

mother’s song to her babe, other than

declaring lullabies to be about as old as

babies, a statement which recalls to mind

an old story, entitled The Owl's Advice

to an Inquisitive Cat. ”

0 cat,”

said the sage owl ofthe legend.

to pass life agreeably most ofall you need

a philosophy ; you and I indeed enjoy manythings in common, especially night air and

mice. yet you sadly need a philosophy to

search after, and think about matters most

difiicult to discover." After saying this the

gut

INTRODUCTION

owl rufi ed hie feathers and pretended to

Bm the eat obaerved that it was foolish

to search after such things.“ Indeed.

"she

pmringly said.“ I only trouble about m y

“Ahl Iwill give you an examwe ofmy

philoaophy. and how inquiry ought to be

made. You at least know, I presume.”

Mngly exclaimed the owl. “that the

chicken arisea from the egg, and the egg

comes from the hen. Now the object of

mem in all itabearing'a, and oonaider which

m 6rat. the egg or the bird.

”

The cat waaquite atruck with the pro

“ Ir isquite clear,’ went on the owl. “

to

all hut the ignorant one or other appel red

h i noe neither ia immortal."

m

INTRODUCTION

The a t inquired, Do you find out this

thing by philosophy ?

Really I' how absurd of you to ask,

”

concluded the feathered one. And I

thank the gods for it, were it as you

suggest, 0 cat. philosophy would give no

delight to inquirers, for knowing all things

would mean the end and destruction of

philosophy.

”

With this owl’s apology nursery- lore is

presented to my readers without the legion

of verified references of that character de

manded as corroborative evidence in the

schools of criticism to day.

A few leading thoughts‘

culled from

such men as Tylor, Lubbock. Wilson.McLennan, Frazer, and Boyd Dawkins,etc. , the experiences of our modern

travellers among primitive races, Indian

and European folk lore, the world's

INTRODUCTION

past and preaent. have helped

the idea that amongst the true

the of

A HISTORY

NURSERY RHYMESp art i .

CHAPTER I.

“The scenewas savage,but the scenewas new.

“

CIENTISTS tell us many marvellous

tales, none the less true because marvellous, about the prehistoric past. Like

the owl in the preface, they are not dis

couraged beca use the starting- po int is be

yond reach; and we. like the cat, should

try to awaken our interest when evidences

are presented to us that on first hearing

sound like the wonderful tales of the

Orient.

B

HISTORY OF NURSERY RI-IYMESThousands ofyears ago in our own land

dwelt two races of‘

pedple, the River Drift

men and the Cave- dwellers. The River

Drift-man was a hunter.

ofa very loworder,possessing only the limited intelligence of

the modern Australian native. This man

supported life much in the same way we

should expect a man to do , surroundcd bysimilar conditions ; but. on the other hand.the Cave- dweller showed a singular talen t for

sepreaenting the animals he hunted and his

sketches reveal to us the capacity he had

for seeing the beauty and grace ofnatural

objects. Were a visit to be paid to the

BritishMuseum, his handicraft, rude when

compared to modern art, could be seen in

the fragments beyond all cavil recording his

Without. then, any very great stretch of

man asbelonging to one ofthe moat primi

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEStive types ofour race, having little occasion

to use a vocabulary— save ofa most meagre

order ; and indeed his language would em

body only a supply ofwords just expressive

ofhis few simple wants. Without daringto compare primitive culture with modern

advancement, this prototype’

s appetiteswould

have been possibly served for the greater

part by sign- language, and the use ofa few

easy prot0phones. To - day, after the lapse

ofages since this Second Stone Age. man

went up and possessed the land ; wewithour

new inventions, wants, and newly - acquired

tastes have added a legion ofscientifically

constructed sounds, built up on the founda

tion he laid with his first utterances, for

language is not the outcome of race. butofsocial contact. As an interpolation the

tale ofthe Egyptian Psammetichus is worth

telling at thiswasDesirous offinding— as the ancients then

3

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESthought existed— the original language of

mankind. Psammetichus isolated two babiesfrom birth in separate apartmen ts, and for

two years they were not allowed to hear

the sound ofa human voice. At the end of

hep: for a fewhours without food. Peam

metichus then entered the room. and bothchildrenuttered the same strange cry,

“Becos.

Becca.” “Ahl

”

said

Becos,’ why ! that is Phrygian for bread.

"

and Phrygian was said to have been the

ancient universal language ofman. Still.

mok place in the Baby Kingdom ofthese

made to the veiled past, when either sign

hnguage or reliqor myths oflong descentare preaented to us in the form ofnursery

Howmany thousands ofyears have gone0

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESby since the period known to scientists as

the Pleistocene was here— a time when the

whole of Britain and North-West Europe

wore a glistening mantle ofice, and when

man could scarce exist, save on the fringe

ofthe south- east littoral ofEngland— none

can say. At all events it may be safely

assumed that not till the end of the

Pleistocene Era was Britain or Scandinavia

the abode ofman, when the fauna and flora

assumed approximately their present condi

tion , and the state ofthings called Recent

by geologists set in.

Whether the Aryans be accepted as the

first people to inhabit our ice-bound shores

in the remote past matters little, and from

whence they sprang (according toMaxMuller somewhere in Asia,”

or Dr.

Schrader European Russia."

or Herr

Penka from the east to the far west of

the Scandinavian Peninsula matters still

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYNES

lea ,“for,

”

says Professor Huxley, the

been (themselves) a mixture of two or

more racea just as are the speakers of

English or ofFrench at the present time”

;

and archa ology takes us no further backthan into the Neolithic or Second Stone

Age, when the poetry ofthe human voice

gave a dramatic value to the hitherto

primitive sign- language limitation of the

Old Drift-men . At this age. the Neolithic,

of life wmtld necessa rily assume a voeal

value instead ofa digital one. No longer

would fifteen be counted by holding out

ten fingers and five toes. but an idiomatic

phrase. descriptive of the former sign

language“of m tarrdr n d m /wfrM' wmdd he used just as to - day an

African would expreas the same problemin a numher ofcows, and as the compara~

s

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEStively modern Roman used such pictorial

bad From this era, centuries before the

Celt traversed our shores, the progress of

civilisation has gone on in one unbrokencontinuity from the Second Stone Age man

to the present time.

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESHe may have, this prehistoric man , this

Cave- dweller, chattered like a monkey in a

patois understood only by his own family ;butwhat is more reasonable to suppose than

that the Drift-men ofthe marshes and coast

lines had only a restricted use for vocal

sounds, sign language being expressive

enough to meet their fewwants ? Meagresocial conditions, peculiar isolation, savagery,strife for life, call for no complex language,but sign

- language has the authority of

people living on the globe to - day, not only

amongst uncivilised races, but traces are

seen in our very midst.

The few examples of custom and signs

given belowwill better illustrate the force

ofthe statement.“Amongst the Uvinza,when two grandees

meet, the junior leans forward, bends hisknees, and places the palms ofhis hands

on the ground, one on either side his feet.9

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESwhile the senior claps hands over him six

In the morning among the Walunga all

the villagers turn out, and a continuous

clapping is kept up to the vocalisation of

a shrill “Kwi- tata i ' or“ How do you

do ?”

Two speeial signs for“

good”

are in the

sign - vocabulary of the North Ameriean

Indians. and are worth recording. The

person greeting holds the right hand. has]:

un in frmt ofand dose m the heamwiththe fingers extended and pointing to the

left. Ana her hahit is that of passing the

open right hand. palm downwards, from the

heart, towards the person greeted. A

stranger making his appearance on the

frontier line ofan lndian camp seldom fails

to moognise the true sentiment ofthe chief'

s

salutation, the extended fingers on the

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESnear my heart— expect no

treachery, a most solemn surety ; while

the hand sent from the heart towards the

visitor seems to say

Iextend hospitality to you.

”

The “attingere extremis digitis of the

Romans expressed the same temperate

conduct.

But greetingby gesture andhand- clappingstill live, and are discovered in the first

lessons given by a mother to herbabe.

Clap hands. papa comes,”

“Pat a cake, pat a cake, my little man,

have a universal signifieance in Child Land.

a vestige ofa habit belonging to primitive

people, does not begin and end in our

modern nursery.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES‘When l was a child l spake as a child,

hut when l heeame a man l put awaychildish things.

”

is a resolve daily for

In the theatre, when our sentiment is

awakened by the craft ofthe stage player,we show approbation by a round ofhand

d apping not one whit less savage than the

habit of the insa grandee or the good

morning among the Walunga tribe.

‘ Owad some Power the giftie gle us

To sse oursels as others see us l"

This demonstration offeeling may have

more serfs «I'Mthan the feeble hear,

hear'

ofthe educated or self- restrained man.ht: sign

- language, especially among the

is on the wane. Its

exodus is slowly go ing on, lingering

in the ritual of religions, yet in social life

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESIt is rude to point, says the nursemaid

to her little charge.

“ Is it rude to shake hands, nurse ?”

once

exclaimed a child cynic. The nursewas non

plussed. The middle- class mother answers

the child’s question

Yes, deer with anyone in a lower

position.

“That’

s a case, said an Irishman on

hearing it, oftwopence-halfpenny lookingdown on twopence,

”

or by another com

parison, it is a case ofone English grandee

clapping his hands over another grandee’

s

head. Still, though educational influences

and nine- tenths ofthe coterie ofsocietywage

war against sign - language, ill-mannered men

and badly -behaved children must always

be with us.

’

Tis rude to laugh is another precept

ofthe hypercritical mother. Why ? Goodness only knows l— for none but a pompous

‘3

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEShloekhead or a solemn prig will pretend

that he never relaxes. But let ancient

Plato. brimful as he was of philosophy,

answer the question “When not to laugh?”

Indulging one day in idle waggery, Plato ,on seeing a staid disciple approach, suddenlyexclaimed to his fellows, “ Let 's be wisenow, for I see a fool coming,

”

and under

hypocrisy'

s mask all merriment cea sed.

Agesilaus in mere sport romped withhis

children , and delighted them by riding on

a stick round the nursery, possibly singing,

after the manner ofmany a modern rollick

‘ Rlde a cock-horse to Banbury Cross.”

hwa empires pass away and are forgotten,

time oblitersten heir memoriea but in ChildLand all the inhabitants from the tiniest

m m the ten -

year- old hoy, show an

ta

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESeager appreciation in the conservation of

the pleasing lore contained in the lullabies,the jingles, the tales, the riddles, the

proverbs, and the games of the nursery

classics.

And what terrible crities these babiesare ! What a perverse preference they

have for the soft jingle of nonsensical

melody ; blank verse with its five accents

and want of rhythm does not 800the :

they must have the

Lalla, lalla, lalla,

Aut dormi, aut lacta

oftheir prototype ofRoman days.

Howthey revel and delight in themother’

s

measured song of

Dance, littlebaby, dance up high,

Crowand caper, caper and crow,

‘S

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CHAPTER III.

“I‘

hsmoon isup ; by Heaven, a lovely eve lLong streams d light o

’er dancingwaves expand.

“

HE Norwegian explorer, Dr. Nansen,in his address to the Royal Geogra

phical Society on February oth, 1 897,

The long Arctic day was beautiful in

itself, though one soon got tired ofit. But

when that day vanished and the long Polar

night began, then began the kingdom of

beauty. then they had the moon sailing

through the peculiar silence of night and

day. The light ofthe moon shining when

allwas marble had a most singular effect.”

Writers on Comparative Religions for the

1Mreport. February 1 0th, 1 897.

37

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESmost part assert that moon worship amongst

the almost utterly savage tribesin Africaand Ameriea, the hunting, nomad races of

to -day, is a noteworthy feature“ It is not

the sun that first attracted the attention of

the savage." In order of birth the

worship of the night sky, inclusive of that

ofthe mm precedea that ofthe day sky

and the sun. It was observed long ago

that wherever sun worship existed moon

p as to be found being a residuum

ofan earlier state ofreligion"

?

What the early primal melody ofthou

matter of the song was mythical there

can he very little doubt, and. like folk- lore

tales. huilt upon and around nature worship ;for as the capacity for creating language

tm m m ust.rs

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESdoes not exhaust all its force at once, butstill continues to form newmodes ofspeech

whenever an alteration of circumstances

demands them, so it is with myths. The

moon during a long Polar night reigning

in a kingdom of crystalline beauty, when

all around is silence and grandeur, would

suggest to the dweller on the fringe of

the ice fields— his deity. The sun , in like

manner shedding forth its genial warmth,the agriculturist would learn to welcome,

and to ascribe to its power the increase of

his crop, and just as the limitation ofreason

holds the untutored man in bondage, so the

myth, the outcome ofhis ignorance, becomeshis god.

Even though social advancement has

made rapid strides among comparativelymodern peoples and nations, not only

traces of mythological, but entire religious

Observances, reclothed in Christian cos

1 9

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEStumea are still kept up. Praying to an

apple tree to yield an abundant crop was

the habit of the Bohemian peasant, until

Christian teaching influenced him for the

better ; yet such a hold had the tradition

ofhis ancestors over him that the custom

still survives, and yearly on Good Friday

there on his knse s says

“Ipray. O green tree. that God may malte

thee good.”

The old form ran thus

‘ Ipray thea O green tree that thouyield

In some districts the lashofthe Bohemian

pa ssnt’swhip iswell applied to the hark of

the tree reminding one ofthe terse verse

“Awomama spaniekandwalnut tree.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

apples. Coming to the cores they take out

the pippins and throw them over the left

Pippin, PIPPID. fly away 3Bringme an apple another day.

”

Surely a tree hidden within its fruit.

In the German fairy tale ofAshputtel,

also known as the golden slipper— a similar

legend is extant amongst the Welsh people— and from which our modern tale of

Cinderella and her glass slipper came,

a tree figured as the mysterious power.

After sufi'

ering many disappo intments Ash

puttel, so the legend relates, goes to a hazel

tree and complains that she has no clothes

in whichto go to the great feast ofthe king.

Shake, shake, hazel tree,

Gold and silver over me,”

I !

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESshe exclaims. and her friends the birdsweave garments for herwhile the tree makes

her resplendent with jewels of gold and

Children's sport, popular sayings, absurdcustoms. may he practieally unimportant, but

they are not philosophieally insignifica nt,

hearing as they do on primitive culture.

”

Trans-Alpine Eumpe was a greater mysteryto the nations on the littoral oftheMeditartanesh at the time ofChrist

'

s appearance in

Syria than any spot in Central Africa is to

Across the Northern mountain chains

were regions unaflectedby Greek or Romanatrium . and the only light shed on the

memoriah ofNorthern Europe's early youth

comes from the contributory and dimly illuminative rays offolk- lore.

‘M

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESTHE BABY’

S RATTLE

at this juncture isworthaccording a passing

notice, though degenerated into the baubleit nowis.

Among the Siberian, Brazilian . and Red

skin tribes it was held as a sacred and

mysterious weapon. This sceptre ofpower

ofthe modern nursery— the token primitive

man used, and on which the Congo negro

takes his oath— has lost its significance.

The Red Indian ofNorth America had

his Rattle man , who, as physician , used it

as a universal prescription in the cure of

all disease, believing, no doubt. that its

jargon would allay pain , In like manner as

it attracts and soothes a cross child ; and

this modern type ofprimitive man , the Red

Indian . although fast dying out, has no

obscured visions ofthe records ofchildhood ;they have remained since his arms m sds

'

as

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESand ancestral worship of a people cut 03

from the advancing civilisation oftheir time.

Luckily for the archaeologist. superstitious

beliefs and folk- lore tales have preserved

the graves of the Stone Age inhabitants

of the country from desecration. As in

Norway so in the Isle ofMan , and in the

western districts ofIreland.

InMan until the fifties many ofthe in

habitants believed in the Spirit of theMountains ; indeed, even in County Donegal and the West Riding of Yorkshire,up to the last twenty years, fairy super

stition was rife. Boyd Dawkins gives in

his chapter, Superstition ofthe StoneAge :

EarlyMan in Britain ," an account of an

Isle ofMan farmer who , having allowed

investigation to be made in the interests

ofscience on portions ofhis lands,becomingso awed at the thought ofhaving sanctioned

the disturbing ofthe dead, that he actuallyas

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

ofi'

ered up a heifer as a bm-nt sacrifice to

avert thewrath ofthe hlanes. After- lunar

of the lale of hl an farmer ranks next in

point of age a survival of which is seen

in d'e m pect mid by m wpeoale wthe fairies. the gohlina and the elves.

Equally so has the spirit offormer beliefsheen handed down to us in the song of

the nmse and in the

ofa Polishmother

hears traces in the last stansa ofaquasi‘ Shina sh ra God

’

s sentinels on hlgb.Ptoclalmers ofHis power and mlzht.

Hay all things evil fromus fly ;

O sh ra good- nlght good- nlght l

"

Other instances of namre worahippers

are anassing as well as beipg instmctive.as

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYI ES

The ebway Indians believe in the mor

tality of the m for when an eclipse tahes

place the whole m'

be in the hope of re

kindling the obscured light. keep up a

his majesty of light. Amongst the New

Caledonians the wizard. if the sesson con

tinue to he wet and cloudy, ascends the

highest accessible peak on a mountain - range

and fires a peculiar sacrifice, invoking his

ancestors, and exclaiming

“Sun , thls l do that youmay be hurninghot,And eat up all theblack clouds ofthe sky.

”

reminding one of the puerile cry of the

weather-bound nursery child

Come again another day.

”

Wind -making among primitive people

was universally adopted ; even at a late

37

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESperiod the cultured Greeks and Romans

believed in a mythiesl wind god.

It was the custom of the wind clan of

the Omahas to flap their overalls to start

a breese, while a sorcerer of New Britain

desirous ofappeasing the wind god throws

burnt lime into the air, and towards the

point of the compass he wishes to make

a prosperous journey, chanting meanwhile

a song. Finnishwiza rds made a pretence

of selling wind to land-bound sailors. A

Norwegian witch once boasted of sinkinga vemel by opening a wind-bag she pos

sta nd. Homer speaks ofUlysses receivingthe winds as a present from E olus, the

King ofWinds. in a leather bag.

In the highlands of Ethiopia no storm

driven wind ever sweeps down without

being stabbed at by a native to wound

the evil spirit riding on the blast. In some

parts ofAustria a heavy gale is propitiatedal

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

by the act and speech of a peasant who,

as the demon wings his flight in the

a handful ofmeal or chafi'

to the enraged

sprite as a peace ofl'

ering, at the same

‘ There, that’

s for you; stop, stop l"

A pretty romance is known in Bulgarian

folk- lore. The wife ofa peasant who had

been mysteriously enticed away by the

fairies was appealed to by her husband’

s

mother to return.

“Who is to feed thebabe and rock its

cradle ?”

sang the grandmother, and the wind wafted

back the reply

“If it cry for food, I will feed it with copious

dews ;Iflt wish to sleep, l will rock its cradle with a

gentle breeze.”

so

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESHow devoid of all sentiment our Eng

fished version ofthe same tale reads.

‘ Hush-a -bye baby, on a tree top.When thswindblows the cradlewill rock,When theboughbrealts the cradlewill fall,Down oomes thebaby and cradle and all.

‘

No wonder this purposeless lullaby is

satirised in the orthodox libretto ofPunch's

Opera or the Dominion ofFancy, for Punch.having stmg it, throws the child out of the

h rich in expremiomher voice soothing and

magnetic as she sways her hahe to and fro

m the melody of

“Sleep.baby. sleep lThy father tends ths sheep,

Thy mothwahahes thsbranches small.Whmcshappy dreams tn showars fall.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYI ES

‘ Sle g hbyfi leep lThe sky

'

mfnll ofsbeep.The atars the lambs ofheavu are,

Sleep.bahy , sleep l"

The hsllahy of the Black Guitar, told bythe Grimm bro thers in their German fiiry

talea. gives us the same thought.

In nedby dse whisperings ofthe treea"

yet commanding tone tra nslates

‘ Baby, go to sleep lMother has two little shcep,One isblaclt and one iswhite ;Ifyoudo not sleep to

- night,

Shall give your little toe abite.’

0Wagnww msmnficmwhkhhhm g'

3s

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d'

minstrelsy, and when the divine right to

fill the ofi ce of bard mea nt the divine

faculty to invent a few heroic stanm to

meet a dramatic oceasion .

One morewell- known Britishlullaby

To get a little kan rh’

s

To wrap thebaby bunting in.

"

The more modern version gives“

O

r-

46h?

CHAPTER

‘ Ons vc y duk night when the goblins' lightWas as long and aswhite as a feather,

Ammgst the gorse and heather.

Ths piaies’gles enamouredme.

Thsy wsro asmerry asmerry couldbs.

‘ Thsy hsld in eachhand a gold rops ofsand.

To everyblue-bell that grewin the dell

Dancsd to themusic ofthebellsDymsmsalvqmerry, merry littls selvsa 'O the kingdom ofelf- land fewEngl

nursery poems have any referen

Ow continental neighbours have presena few, but the major number are found

versions of the folk- lore tales belongito the people dwelling in the hilly dim

-i

so

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESof remote parts of Europe. Norway,

Switzerland. Italy. and even Poland present

weird romances, and our own country folk

in the merrie north country , and in the

lowlands of bonnie Scotland, add to the

collection. The age to which most of

them may be traced is uncertain ; at all

events, they bear evidences of belongingto a period when nature worship was

universal. and the veneration of the mys

terious in life common to our ancestors.

The Second Stone Age men , it is said, cre

mated their dead who were worthy of

reverence, and worshipped their shades,and the nursery sales ofpixies and goblinsand elves are but the mythical remains of

their once prevailing religion— universal the

world over. The inception ofthis ancestra l

period known as the Neolithic Age, when

the moon, stars, and sun no longer remained

as

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESshipped. In the dreary process ofevolution

a gradtn l development took place. and nature

worship and ancestral veneration evolved

into the more comprehensive systems of

Buddha, Confucius. and the later polytheism of Greece, Ancient Tuscany, and

Rome. leaving high and dry, stranded, as

it were. in Northern Europe. Ireland, and

North Britain. an undisturbed residuum of

ante-chronological man’

s superstitions. Evi

denoes ofprimitive man’

s religion are seen

in the customs and practise s of our rural

In vast forest districta or in hilly regions

far away from the refining influences of

social contact, the old- time superstitions

lingered changing little in the theme, and

inspiring the a rcceeding generations. as

they unfolded in the long ro ll- call of life.

with the aame fears of the mystery of

H

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

death and of a future life. One of the

customs of recent practice is fitly described

In Yorkshire and in north- west Irish

homesteads, and even far away in the East

amongst the Armen ian peasantry, a mstom

was, until late years, in vogue, ofprovidinga feast for the departed relatives on certain

fixed dates. All Hallows’ Eve being one

ofthe oceasions a meal was prepared. and

the feast spread as though ordinary livingvisitants were going to sit round the “

gay

and festive board.” The chain hanging

down from the centre ofthe chimney to the

fireplace was removed— a boundary line

ofthe domestic home— but at these times

especial carewas taken to remove it so that

the pixies and goblins and elves could

have a licence to enter the house. In spite

of Christian teaching and Other wideninginfluences the belief remained fixed in the

37

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESminds of the rural classes that elves,

goblina sprites. pixies, and the manes were

The Erl King ofGoethe, a sprite endowed

with more than human passions, elegantly

portrays the modern idea ofan old theme.

Howbe haunted the regions of the Black

Forest in Thuringia. snatching up children

rambling in the shades ofthe leafed wood.to kill them in his terrible shambles. The

King of theWood and the Spirit of the

Waters were both early among the terrors

of old- time European peasantry’

s super

to the peoples of the Balltan States. In

time of water - famine, more particularlyin Servia. the girls go through the neigh

houring villages ainging a Dodolo song

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEStoo, the north- country people speak of the

River Sprite as Jenny Greenteeth, and chil

dren dread the green, slimy- covered rocks on

a stream’

s bank or on the brink ofa blackpool. ‘ Jenny Greenteethwill have the if

thee goest on’

t river banks is the warningofa Lancashire mother to her child.

The Irish fisherman’

s beliefin the Souls’

Cages and theMerrow, orMan ofthe Sea,

was once held in general esteemby the menwho earned a livelihood on the shores ofthe

Atlantic. ThisMerrow, or Spirit of the

Waters. sometimes took upon himselfa half

human form, andmany a sailor on the rockycoast ofWestern Ireland has told the tale

ofhowhe saw theMerrowbasking in the

sun , watching a storm - driven ship. His

form is described as that ofhalfman, half

fish, a thing with green hair, long green

ma , legs with sea les on them, short arms

like fins. a fish’

s tail, and a huge red nose.

4!

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESHe wore no clothes. and had a cocked hat

like a sugar- loaf, which was carried under

the arm— never to be put on the head unlessfor the purpose ofdiving into the sea. At

such times he eaught all the souls of those

drowned at sea and put them in cages

The child’

s tale ofthe German fisherman

and hiswife tells the aame story

“O Han ofthe Sesmome list unto me.For Alice my wife. the plague ofmy life,Hathsentme tobeg aboon ofthee.

’

Unless such past credulities as these be

considered it would be moat diflicult to

acootmt for many of the aayings of child

daya and the archaic ideas that have drifted

into our folk- lore tales. On all hands it is

admitted that it is no unusual thing to find

a game or practice outliving the serious

pwformance of which it is an imitation.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES

THE CORN SPIRIT.

Another spirit. dreaded by all European

peoples, was the Spirit of the Corn. In

Russia especially children ofthe rural class

aing songs of a very distant age mother

handing down to child themes unexposed

to foreign influence. It is true the Church

has altered the application of many bydressing up afresh pagan observances inChristian costumes. There are several, but

one of the songs of the Russian serf to

ment. Before reading ic it should be horne

in mind tbat Ovsen is the Teutonic Sans

Gel who possessed a boar, and that the

antiquity of the song belongs to a time

when the Russian peasant’s forefathers wor

ahipped the glories ofthe heavena deifying

the Sun for his fire and lustre.

translatinn of th’

s poem d’

theThe

old Slav wunan Singing it to

Min the pine fmest,

OhOvsen l OhOvun l

Sawed it into planks.

OhOvsen l OhOvsen l

‘Who will goOver thebridge ?

Ovsen will go there.

OhOvsen l OhOvsen l"

4S

“On whatwill he comerOn a dnsky swine.Whatwill he chase ?Abrisk little pigf

The present singers ofsongs ahout Ovsen

receive presents in lieu of the old contri

hutions towards a sacrifice to the gods.

The habit is to ask in some such words

as these

‘ (iiveus a pig for Vasily’s Eve.

’

Pigs‘trotters used to be ofl

'

ered as a

sacrifice at the heginning ofthe NewYear,and the custom still prevails in Russia of

profl'

ering such dishes at this time. The

compliments of the season are commemo

ratedby giving away the feet ofthe“brisk

little pig.

”

The first day ofthe NewYear

the memory of Sa Basil the Great. The

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In one d'

our home connties— Hertfiud

shire

“crying the mare

'

has allmion to the cmn

spirit. and is spoken d in some villagea

a notice ofcornfield games.

‘ Ring a ring a rosses,

A pocltet full ofposies.

Hushl—The Cry P— Hushl— The Cry ?

All fall down.

”

O O O O O“Little hoy blue comeblowme thy horn ,

The sheep in the meadow,

The cow'

s in the corn.

Where is the hoy that looks after the sheep ?Under the haystack fast asleep.

”

The Little Boy Blue rhyme, it has

been urged, had only reference to the

butcher’a boy. The rhyme is very much

older than the blue- smocked butcher’s boy,and in truth it may be said the butcherboy ofa century ago wore white overalls.

3 49

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

In one of the Lithuanian districts the

Sister, dear,Mottled cuckoo !Thouwho spinnest silken threada.

Slng. O cuckoo ,

Shall Isoon be married ? ”

In Law’s Labour ’

s Lost a pass age occurs

where the two seasons, Spring and Winter,vie with each other in extolling the cuckoo

and the owl.

When daisies pied, and violetsblue,And lady

- smocks all silver white,And cuckoo -buds ofyellowhue,Do paint the meadowswithdelight,

The cuckoo then , on every tree,Mocksmarriedmen , for thus sings heCuckoo !

Cuckoo ! cuckoo !

0 word offear,Unpleasing to the married ear !

5!

tree to tree to have herquestion, “ Shall

I soon be married ? " answered, the song

‘ Two hnndred then she counted o'

er.

The cnckoo still cried asbefore,

In our earliest published song. words and

music composed by John ofForsete, monk

ofReading Abbey, date 1 3 3 5, and entitled“ Sumer is icumen in.

”

the cuckoo is also

“Summer is a- coming in, loudly sing, cuckoo

Groweth the seed, bloweth the mead, and

Sing, cuckoo ! Merry singmuckoo.Cuckoqcuckoqcucltoo l"The peasantry of Russia. India, and

Germany contribute to the collection of

$3

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

Hill in Gauchsberg. The cuckoo and

not the hill may have had the mystic

Identia l with this Cuckoo HilL in its

in the game of Hot Cockles, played

‘Where is the poor man to go ? ’

the friends whine and the mutes who are

in readiness to follow the cofi n beat theirknees with open hands and reply

' Over the Cuckoo Hill, Iohl'

The association of ideas about the pro

phetic notes of the cuckoo’

s mocking voice

many points ofidentity in the tales told hy

30

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESthe children ofIndia and Southern Russia.

Like the Phoenix idea amongst the people

ofEgypt, Persia, and India, these traditions

allegorise the soul’

s immortality.

A WORD ON INDIAN LORE.

The old prose editions ofthe sacredbooksof India— the law codes of the Aryans

were suitably arranged in verse to enablethe contents to be committed to memory

by the students. In these rules the ritual

ofthe simplest rites is set forth. Newand

full moon ofl'

erings are given, and regulations

minutely describing as to the way salutation

shall be made.Much after the fashion of the grandees

or the Red Indian moon worshipper of

North America, it is told how a BrAh

mana must salute stretching forth his

55

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESour nursery tales, children

’

s games, are like

wise known to them. The same legends

are extant in the East andWest. all ofwhich

have a common origin, and

one.

p art 1 1 .

CHAPTER I.

“ma n l youngbve l bound in thy rosybaad.u sage or eynic prartle as hewill,

m ym s ofill t'

GAHES.

HE annual calendar of dates when

certain ofthe pastimes and aongs of

our street children become fashionahle is antmcertain one yet games have their seasons

most wonderfully and faithfully marked.

Yearly all boys seem to knowme actual

time for the revivification of a custom.

whether it he of whipping tops, flirtingst

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESmarbles, spinning peg-mp3, or playing tip

cat or piggy. This survival of custom

speaks eloquently ofthe child influence on

civilisation, for the conservation of the

human family may be found literally por

trayed in the pastimes. games, and songs

ofthe children ofour streets.

Curious relics of past cruelties are

shadowed forth in many of the present

games— some ofwhichare not uninteresting.

The barbarous custom ofwhipping martyrs

at the stake is perpetuated by the game of

whip- top. In a black- letter book in the

BritishMuseum, date rs occurs this

Iamgood at scourging ofmy toppe.Youwould laughto see me morsel the peggs.Upon one foot Ican hOppe,And dance trimly round an egge.

”

The apprentices ofthe London craftsmen

59

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESfollowed the papular diversion of cock

throwing on Shrove Tuesday and tossing

is still kept up atWestminster School. Bothhear allusion to the sufl

'

erings and torments

ofmen who died for conscience sake.

Dice and pitch-and- toss. also modern

games of the present gutter children. in

adopted by the learned to consult the

oracles. Much in the aameway the Scotch

‘ Daha prln ln my lottery-bookDahana dabtwe daba

’

your prlns

by sticking at random pins in their school

hooka hetwoen the leaves of which little

hom the pictures the prissa and the pins

«was

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

Another favourite Scotchgame is

m k

Girls’ pleasures are by no means so

diversified as those ofboys. It would he

considered a trifle too efl'

eminate were the

little men to amuse themselves with their

sisters'

game“

of Chucks— an enchanting

amusement. played witha large- sited marble

and four octagonal pieces ofchalk. Beds,

another girlish game, is also played on the

pavement— a piece of broken pot, china

or earthenware, being kicked from one of

the beds or divisions marked out on the

flags to another, the girls hoppingbn one

leg while doing so. It is a pastime betterknown as Hop Scotch, and is played in

every village and town ofthe British Isles,

varying slightly in detail. The rhymes

used by street children to decide who is to

begin the game are numerous.os

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

‘ Z lckety, dicksty. dock. the mouse ran up the

The nock shnck one down themouss ran.

Aliby, a ackeby, ten or eleven

Pin pan. muskidan.

Amongst the notable men in the world’s

history who have depicted children'

s games,

Sa l -uke the Evangelist tells in a pleasant

pamsge of how Jesus likened the men of

His day to children sitting in the market

‘We have piped unto you and ye have not

danced '

We have momned unmyouand ye ln vs not

wept.’

A vivid picnne illustrating puerile peeviah

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

In the thousands of years that street

plays have been enacted by the youngsters,no poet

’

s, philosopher’

8, nor teacher'

s words

have been more to the point. Every

child wants to take the most prominent

part in a game, but all eannot he chief

ing weepers.

“Who ’ll be chief mourner ? I, said the dove,I

’

ll mourn for my love.”

To - day things are better arranged.counting

- out rhyme settles the question of

appointment to the coveted post. Like

the

Z ickety, dickety , dock, the mouse ran up the

clock

ofthe north- country children .

“Whoever Itouchmustbe he ”

ends and begins the counting- out verse of

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESNone sulking in nursery or playground over

games just as the little Israelites did 1 900

years ago in the market- place at Nain ?

Remember the lesson ofold

“We have piped, and ye have not danced ;We have moumed to yom and ye have

wept.”

MARRIAGE GAMES.

In India and Japan marriage ceremonies

bear a feature ofyouthful play. Amongst

theMoslems in the former country— where

the doll is forbidden the day previous to

a real wedding the young friends of the

bridegroom are summoned to join in a

wedding game. On the eve of the day

they all meet and surround the bridegroomelect. then they make for the house ofthe

bride’s parents. On arrival at the gates

r 65

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESthe bride's relatives shut the doors and

“to dare obstruct the king

's cavalcade ?

Behold the bridegroom cometh! Go ye

not out to meet him ?‘ The answer comes

from within tbe abode.

“ lt is a ruse - ao

able youand yourband are ofthem.

”

In England in r557 the boys ofLondontown sang a rhyme at their mock wedding

‘ lfever l marry l'

ll marry a mald,

To marry a widowl 'm sore afrald.

Butwidows full oft as they aay knowtoo much'

Hall. r557 a n.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES

LONDON STREET GAMES.

AWEDDING.After the preliminary rhyme of

‘n a s a a d n

A penny on thewaterfiwopence on the sea,Threepence on the railway, and out goes she,

"

has been said, the lot falls on one of the

girls to be the bride. A ring is formed and

a merry dance begins, all the children

singing this invitation

“Choose one, choose two, choose the hearestone to you.

”

The girl bride then selects a groom from

the rest ofthe other children. He steps into

the centre ofthe ring. joins hands and kisses

her, afterwhich, collecting a posy from each

ofthe others, he decorates her with flowers61

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESformed— figuratively the wedding ring ; the

whole ofthe children caper rotmd singing

Gold and silverby her alde.l knowwho shall hemybrlde.

’

“Q oa e one choa e twqehoose the nearest

one to you.‘

Lead her acro ss thewater.Give her khses one two. thres,

THE KING OF THE BARBARINES.

In this street game an entire regal court

is appointed. the children taking the

characters of king.queen. princea. and

courtiera When these preliminaries

Q

HISTORY OFM Y am

majesty, attired in roya l rohes. and wearinga paper crown , retires to h

'

s palace—one

d those places“built without walls. ' The

soldiers, the king’s bodyguard. are sum

moned, and orders are given to them to

suppress the insurrection and eapture the

little rebels. As each one is taken prisoner

the soldiers ask

“Will yousurrender ? Oh,will yousurrender

To the King ofthe Barbarines?’

During the struggle reinforcements come

69

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESup from the rebel camp and try to beat ofi

'

To the King ofthe Barbarines."

To the Ring ofthe Barbarinea'

To the Ring ofthe Barbarinea'

‘We l l go to the King we ‘ll go to the Ring.

To the ICing ofthe Barbarines.‘

‘ Youcan go to the King. youcan go to theRing.

To the Ring ofthe Barbarines.’

The rebels nowbuild an imaginary castle

by joining handa. The king's soldiers sun

rotmd the place and after a skirmishbreakit down.

“We l lbruk down your casthwe 'llbreak down

For theRing ofthe Barbarlnea'

7.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES

A LANCASHIRE ROUND GAME .

Two rows of lassies and lads face each

other ; the boys, hand in hand, move

backwards and forwards towards the

“I’ve got gold, and I

'

ve got silver.

I'

ve got capper, and I'

ve gotbrass.I

’

ve got all the world can give me.All Iwant is a nice young lasa

"

“F'

ly to the ea st fly to the west,Fly to the one youlove thebest.

“

In the scramble which takes place the

young lass of each one’

s cho ice is seized.

A ring is formed. and a rollicking dance

takes places to the characteristic chorus

of

Fol th’

riddle, Ido, Ido, Ido ;

Fol th’riddle, Ido, Ido, dey.

”

7!

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HISTORY OF NURSERY m“ Pray,Mr. Fox, what time is i ? ’

Fo r.

They are safe and fall hack to tll i h

“ Twelve o'

dock'

shoutsMr. Foa, at thescann ing them in all directions. Th e

den are h'

s priaonera and the game is fiayed

the fox.

“ Tm o'

clock.”

it is to be oh ervedJ s

Mr. Fox what time is it rsam e “m

as ram . cam ,

”

a . “

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES

MOTHER. BUYME AMILKING CAN.

“

“m kyed br sifls u

Sell my father's featherbed.

Where must your father sleep ?Sleep in theboys

’ bed.

Where will theboys sleep ?Sleep in the cradle.

Wherewill thebaby sleep ?Sleep in the thimble.

What shall l sewwith?Sewwiththe poker.

Suppose l burn myself?Serve youright.

’

At the time ofsaying serve you right

all tbe children scamper away from the girl

who acts the part of mother. It is little

70

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESmore than a mild reproof on the over

indulgent mother who would sell or give

anything to satisfy the fancies of her

children . and the “serve you right

"

girl'

s idea ofwhat a foolishmother deserves-less impudent than corrective.

The town and country boys’

game of

Bell horses,bell horses, what time ofday,One o

’

clock, two o'

clock, three and away,”

comes into fashion with all the reckless

frivolity of early years, when the old

English festivities ofMaying take place,reminding one ofthe old custom ofbringing theMay- pole from the neighbouringwoods, when each ofthe eighty oxen yoked

to theMay- pole waggon had a nosegay of

wild- flowers tied to the horns.

75

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES

‘ HERE COMES A POOR SAILOR FROMBOTANY BAY.

”

“Here comes a poor aailor from Botany BayPray,what are yougoing to give him to-day ?

'

is played as a preliminary game to decide

who shall join sides in the coming tug- of

The chiefdelight ofthe youngsters playing Here comes a poor sailor,

”

is in putting

before replying.

”Youmust sayBlack:White,

’

or Grey.

'

Nowwhat are yougoing to give him to -day i'

' A pair ofboots."

‘What colour are they ? ’“Brown.

”

‘ Have youanything else to give himl'

‘ Ithink eo ; l'

ll go and aea'

“What colour is it l 'OM.

YL’

Rc a R‘x

'

RHYMES“What is this made ofi ’

pointirg ho s oost or

“Cloth.

“

“And the oolour ?'

“Brown .

“

“Have youanything else to give himi'

“Would yon like a sweet i "”Yes.

"

the faml replies has been given . The child

who exclaimed “Yes"

goes to a den . After

taking all the children through the same

form of questioning the youngsters are

found divided into two classes. those who

avoided answering in the prohibited terms.Yes,

” “ No ," “ Nay,

” “ Black," “White.

"

Grey, and the little culprits in the den or

prison who have failed in the examination.

The tug- of- war nowbegins, either class

being pitted against the other. No rope is

used ; arms are entwined round waists. skirts

pulled. or coat- tails taken hold of.

77

HISTORY OP NURSERY RHYMES

“CAN I GET THERE BY CANDLELIGHT ? "

This is one ofthe most universally played

chain games in the BritishIsles. Itbelongsas mucbto the child with a rich Dublinbrogue as to the Cockney boy, one thing

being altered in the verse— the place. “How

many miles toWexl'ord or Dublin " beingsubstituted for Wimbledon. Coventry and

Burslem take tbe child l'

ancy in the Nor-

tho!

England.

lt probably dates from'

l‘

udor times. The

expression.“ l get there by eandle

light ?"and “ He went out of town as far

as a farthing candle would light him,

“ were

amongst the common sayings ofthe people

ofElizabeth's time.

“Howmany mlles toWlmbIedon ?l‘

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESCan Iget thereby candle- light?

Yes ! andback again.

Then open the gates and letme go.

Notwithout a beck and a bow.

Here’s abeck and there ’

s a bow;NowOpen the gates andwe

’

ll all pass find .

"

The chain ofchildren first formed to playthis game is re

- formed into two smaller ones.

Hands are then uplifted by one ofthe sides

to form an archway ; the other children.

marching in single file, approachthe sentinel

near the gateway ofarched hands and ask

Howmany miles to Wimbledon P

The answer is given

Three score and ten,”etc.

When the gates are Opened those who are

alert enough pass through, but others are

caught andmade prisoners.

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESIt is played after this fashion. l-lowever,

itwill notbe amiss to remove the tea- things

before anything is attempted. All seated.

the parent or nurse then places the first and

second fingers ofeachhand on the coverlet,

the youngsters imitating her. Everybody's

fingers are nowmoved up and down in a

perpendicular way, like the needle of a

sewing machine. All singing

Cows and horseswalk on four legs.

The next line requires a change, only one

finger on eachhandbeing used, and

Little children walk on two legs (sure ).

Fishes swim in water clear

demands the waving of arms horizontally,

to imitate the action ofswimming in water.

“Birds fly up into the air.”

When this line is sung the hands are heldG 8:

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESup, and moved from the wrists like the

wings ofbirds flapping in the air.

“One twqthree fourj ve”

is said to the clapping ofhands.

“Catching fisbes all slive”

is sung to the action ofgrabbing at supposedfisheswiththe fingers.

“Why did youlet themgo ? ”Everybody shakes their head and replies

“Becsuse tbey bitmy finger so l"

“Whichfinger did tbey bite? ”Holding up the little finger, youanswer

“Thls little finger on the right l"

“m orass NURSERY TABLE can , sv‘

r

NEARLY soo YEARS OLD.

”

Some of the thousands of the nurserytales in vogue come to us without a trace

as to their origin . In James I. 's time the

ending ofballads ran witha tuneful

“Ft ls h ls hkde'

so

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESA collection ofballads in book-form byJohn Hilton, and called Garlands,

"are also

described as the “Ayres and Fa las"in the

Halliwell gives The tale of two birds

sitting on a stone the same date. It is

scarcely a tale, but a game still played byall classes ofchildren

There were two birds sitting on a stone,

Fa, la, la, la, lal, do.

One flewaway, and then there was one,Fa, la, la, la, la], de.

The other flewafter, and then therewas none,Fa, la, la, la, la], do.

And so the poor stone was left all alone,

The way boys play it may be briefly told

as follows — Pieces ofpaper are wetted and

fixed on the fingers, the first finger ofeach

hand. Being thus ornamented, they are

33

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESplaced on tbe table or knee and the rhyme

Therewere two birds sitting on s stone.

”

Then by a sudden upward movement. throw

ing the paper on one finger, as itwere. over

the shoulder, the next finger— the second

is substituted for it, and the hand is again

brought down and placed beside the remain

‘ Fs h h h hhde'

The same sleight-of-hand is gone through

withthe other finger‘ The other flewawsy, snd then therewss none.And so tbe poor stonewss left sli slone.

”

Anotherbut more modern game, embodying the same ides, is told in

‘ There wene two blsckbirds sitting on s hill,

Onc nsmed jsck snd the otber nsmed jyll.WW”. I“ fly ‘n yo jyu'Com m-h iuk m mh lvn

Is

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESto the wonderment ofthe child watching the

quick change offingers.

It is the earliest sleight - of- hand trick

taught to the nursery child.

AB C GAME.

A spirited game may be played after thisfashion. All seated round the table or fire

place. One child sings a solo— a verse of

some nursery rhyme. For instance

Hi diddle diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,The cowjumped over the moon ;

The little dog laughed to see suchfine sport,And the dishran away withthe spoon.

”

A chorus ofvoices takes up the tune and

the solo is repeated, after whichthe alphabetis sung through, and the last letter, Z , sus

tained and repeated again and again, to

bother the next child whose turn it now is35

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESto sing the next solo. The new solo must

be a nursery rhyme not hitherto sungby anyofthe company. Ifunable to supply a freshrhyme the child stands out ofthe game and

“IAPPRENTICE HY SON.

”

In another parlour game ofa rather in

teresting kind the youngest in the room

“I spprentice my son to s butcher nbe flrst

thing he sold wss s pound ofl l .”

Eachbas a turn to guess whatMmaystand for— some kind ofmeet the butcherusually sells. Should the first person in the

circle guess the correct meaning, itbecomeshis or ber turn to ask the nextquestion.

Baker or grocer, cbemist or draper. in factany trsde may be selected by the person

whose turn it is to put thequestion.

sr

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYI ES

of a thousand years ago is still played bythe Christian children ofAsia. Like our

Western street games oftops and tip cats

it perpetuates the cruelties of the persecu

tions which their ancestors sufl'

ered, a most

terrible instance ofthe child's game outlivingthe serious performance of that which it

represented. The frontier ofthe Armenian

kingdom had been destroyed by one ofthe

the Seljouck Turks to pass through the

Armenian kingdom,and deal out to the

unofl'

ending Asiatic Christians the terrors

of pillage by firing their peaceful home

steeds. England, France, and Germanyhave a modification ofthe game. In France

Petitbonhomme vit encore."

87

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CHAPTER III.

JEWISH m uss.

S unknown until a late day in Jewish

history. Within the walls ofJerusa lem. or

indeed throughout the whole length of

Palestine, no theatre, circus, hippodrome,

nor even gallery was to be found, until

Jason, the Greek- Jew of theMaccabeesdynasty, became ruler, and built a place of

exercise under the very tower of the

Temple itself. (2Macc. iv. 1 0 Herod

subsequently completed what Jason had

begun, and erected a hippodrome within

the Holy City to the delight ofthe younger

Hebrews, later building another at Cmarea.

89

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESappointment, and it is not difi cult to under

stand how certain gloomy censors and

theologians condemn merriment. To serve

the Lord withgladness wasquite an after

thought of the Israelitish leaders and

teachers. But when the great fairs or

wakes of the whole nation were held, pas

times and diversions crept in similar to

the merry meetings ofour own times, and

religion. commerce, and amusement becamethe cardinal features of the great Jewish

The Guy Fawkes Festival of Judaism.

the Purim Feast, appointed by Esther and

massacrewhichHamarhad determinedby lot

against them. gave occasion for relaxation.

Even the most austere and gloomy rejoiced.while the younger people abandoned themselves to dissolute mirth, opposite sexes

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYI ES

dressing up in the clothes of uch other

a habit at present in favour amongst the

coster fraternity ofEast IA ndoo on Bank

No old- time imagery of the older nations

enchanted them ; they were car-

chilly taught

to live for themselves and by themselves.

but to make their profit out ofotherswhenever possible to do so . The spoiling of

the Egyptians took place more than once

in their history. Whatever nation they

colonised amongst had to enforce strict laws

and rigid punishments in defence of their

own less shrewd people.

Even their nursery rhymes are distinctive,full ofreligious and national sentiment, and

may be counted on the fingers ofone hand.

They necessarily kn‘bwthe ones in common

usebelonging to the country oftheir adoption,but so important are the two Hebrewrhymes

considered tobe that every pious Jewteaches9!

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HISTORY OF NURSERY m m

Then carne thc Angd ofDa th ad kfl h

lunches, “

T'

hm a me tt d y Om Blused he He ! fl

water. thatquerrched the firr, thzt b- nd

that ate thc kidfl hat my father hoqln fitwo pieces ofmoney— A kidl s kid !

’

Now for the interpretation— for it is a

historical and'

a prophetic nursery rhyme.

The kid which Jehovah the father pur

chased denotes the select Hebrew race ; the

two pieces ofmoney representMoses and

Aaron ; the cat signifies the Assyrians, bywhom the ten tribes were taken into esp

tivity ; the dog is representative of the

Babylonians ; the stafftypifies the Persians ;the fire is Alexander the Great at the head

of the Grecian Empire ; the water the

Roman domination over the Jews ; the

ox the Saracens who subdued the Holy93

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESLand and brought it under the Caliph:thebutcher is a symbol of the Crusaders'

slaughter ; the Angel ofDeath the Turkish

power ; the last stanaa is to showthat God

will take vengeance on the Turks when

Israel will again become a fixed nation and

occupy Palestine. The Edomites (the

Europeans) will combine and drive out

the Turks.

Everyone, big and little, will recognise

the source of the nursery fable of “The

house that Jack built. ”

‘ Thls is the house that Jackbuilt.

Thls is the malt that lsy ln the house that Jack

built.

m s memm m mm r that lsy ln the

Thls is the cst that killed the rat that ste the

malt ete.

Thls is the dog thatworrled the cst that killed

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThis is the cowwitha crumpledborn that tossed

the little dog over thebarn, thatworried thecat that killed the rat, etc.

This is the maiden all forlorn that milked the

cowwith a crumpled born, that tossed thelittle dog over thebarn, etc.

This is the man all tatters and torn , that kissed

the maiden all forlorn , that milked the cow

witha crumpled horn , etc.

This is the priest all shaven and shorn, that

married the man all tatters and torn to the

maiden all forlorn, etc.

This is the cock that crowed in the mom, that

wakened the priest all shaven and shorn,

that married the man , etc.

This is the farmer sowing his corn , that fed'

the

cock that crowed in the morn, thatwakened

the priest all shaven and shorn, thatmarried

the man all tatters and torn unto the

maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow

witha crumpled horn, that tossed the littledog over the barn, that worried the cat,

that killed the rat, that ate the malt, that

lay in the house that Jackbuilt.”

95

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESShe went a little further and met an ox.

Ox, ox, drinkwater,’

etc.

She went a little further and met abutcher, etc.Shewent a little further and met a rope, etc.

She went a little further and met some grease,etc.

‘Grease, grease, grease rope.’

Shewent a little further and met a rat.

Rat, rat, eat grease,’etc.

Shewent a little further andmet a cat.

Cat, cat, kill rat,’

etc.

The cat began to bite the rat, the rat began toeat the grease the grease began to grease

the rope, the rope to hang the butcher, thebutcher to kill the cat, the ox to drink the

water, thewater to quench the fire, the fireto burn the stick, the stick to beat the kid,and so the kidwent home.

”

In other accounts of the same tale the

kid is a pig, the silver penny a crooked

sixpence ; the pig would not go over the

stile, and the old woman could not get her

old man'

s supper ready.

H 97

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThe several prefigurations are not difficult

to make out. Very many ofthe babblings

put into the mouths ofEnglish children are

offoreign origin ; the story of The Kid

was known in Leipsic and sungby Germanchildren in x73x, very possibly coming in

this way from the Jewish colony.

In Denmark it is also a favourite with

the school children.

The other Jewish rhyme, kept in remem

brance by modern Jews, is printed at the

end of their Passover Service in English

and in Hebrew.

On is known as the Chad Gadya. It

‘Who knowethOne ? '

and earthl"

‘Who knowethtwo ? ’‘ I knowtwt o tables ofthe Covenant but

n th!”

—WM’AM0

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

When the Latin Ofour churches was on

the lips of everyone in theMiddle Ages,taught to little Christians, beginning

Unus est Deus.”

butwitha Christian theme.

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThe following was commonly sung in the

early years ofHenry VIII.’

s reign :

‘ It was a frog ln the welL Humbledum,

humbledum,

And the merry mouse in the mill, Tweedle,

The frog he would a-wooing ride, Humbledum, humbledum,

Sword and buckler by his side, Tweedle,tweedle, twine .

When upon his high horse set, Humbledum,

humbledum,

His boots they shone as black as jet,Tweedle, tweedle, twino.

”

Then he came to the merry mill- pin.

Saying, Lady mouse,be youwithin 2’

Then out came the dusty mouse,

Saying, I’m the lady ofthis house.

’

Hast thouany mind ofme?’

asked the gallant

Sir Froggy .

‘Ihave e’

en great mind ofthee,’her Iadyship

‘Who shall make our marriage ?’suggested

‘Our lord, the rst l’exclaimed the mouse.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYHES

‘What shallwe have for supper?’ the thoughtful frog exclaimed.

‘Barley,beans, andbresd and butter l’

ously repliedMissMouse.9 Butwhen the supper they were at,

The fieg themouse and the rat.

In came Gib. our cst,And csught the mouseby thebsck

The frog lespt on tbe floor so flat,I A In came Dick, our dralte,

And drewtbe frog into the lake.a” The rat ran up tbewall,

And so the comp ny psrted all.’

The rhyrning tale of “The frog who

mthe above.

In Japan one of the most notable fairytales relaws a story ofa mouse

’

swedding.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESSONGS OF LONDON BOYS IN TUDOR

TIMES.

In the next two reigns, Edward VI. and

Philip andMary’s, the musical abilities of

the Lo ndon boy were carefully looked after

and cultivated. The ballads he sang recom

mended him to employers wanting ap

prentices. Christ’

s Blue Coat School and

Bridewell Seminary offered unusual facil

ities for voice training. One happy illus

tration of the customs of the sixteenth

centurywas the habit ofthebarber- surgeon'

s

boy, who amused the customers, waiting for

next turn to be shaved or bled,'

withhis

ballad or rhyming verse ; and a boy witha good voice proved a rare draw to the

bloods about town, and those who frequented the taverns and ordinaries within

the City.

In the next reign the condition of the

poor was much improved ; the efl'

ect ofthe

to:

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESEven Daniel De Foe, writing one

hundred and twenty years after, paid a

passing tribute to Queen Elizabeth, and

said that the faint-hearted economists of

1 689 would show something worthy of

themselves if they employed the poor to

the same glorious advantage as did Queen

Elizabeth.

Going back to the centuries prior to

the Tudor period, one is reminded that

all the best efforts at minstrelsy song,

romance— came from the northern

counties, or from just on either side the

borders.The prevalence of a northern dialect

in the compositions show this suggestion

to be in a great degree real. The poems

of minstrelsy, however, claim somethingmore than dialect the martial spirit,ever fever heat on the borders of the

kingdoms of England and Scotland ; the

WS

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESwith the subject ofhis poem.

But with the strife of war ended, on

Henry VII.’

s accession, ballads took the

of the people, and they sang songs of

peace and contentment. Bard. scald, min

strei, gleernan, with their heroic rhymes

and long metrical romances, gave way in

the evolution of song and harmony to

the ballad-monger with his licence. How

‘740

‘ Ofall sorts ofwit he ’

smost fond ofaballad,But asses choose thistles instead ofa salad.

’

Another of the wayside songs ofHenry

VIII.’

s time. sung by man. woman, and

‘

a thJchn to JoanWllt thouhave me ?Iprithea nowwllt ? and I’

semsrry withtheefl

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESMy cow. my calf, my house, my rents,

And all my land and tenements

Oh. say, my Joan,will that not do ?

Icannot come eachday to woo.

I’

ve corn and hay in tbe bam hardby,And three fat hogs pent up in a str

Ihave a mamand she’

s coalblackIride on ber tail to save herbsck.Ihave cheese upon tbe shelf,And Icannot eat it all myself

I’

ve three goodmarks that lie in a ragIn the nook ofthe chimney instead ofabag.

”

The London surgeon-barber’sboy pleased

his master’

s patrons with a whole host of

similar extravagances, but he was not alone

in the habit, for so usual was it for the

poorest of the poor to indulge in mirth,

that literary men of the day wrote against

the practice.

In a black- letter book— a copy ofwhich

is in the BritishMuseum, date 1 560

and entitled, The longer thou livest more

1 07

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES“Toma Lin, and hiswife and hiswife

’smother,

They allwent over thebridge together ;Thebridgewasbroken and they fell in,

‘The devil go withall,’ quothToma Lin.

"

Another version, more particularly the

Irish one, runs

Bryan O’

Lynn. and hiswife andwife’smother,

Allwent over thebridge together ;Thebridgewas loose, they all fell in,What a precious concern,

’

cried Bryan O’Lynn.

Bryan O’Lynn had no breeches to wear,

So he got a sheep’

s skin to make hima pair.”

This rhyme is evidently much older than

the Tudor age, and one is reminded ‘

ofthe

timewhen clothandwoollen goodswere not

much used by the lower classes. The

Tzigane ofHungary to- daywears his sheep

skin breeches, and hands them down to

posterity, with a plentiful supply ofquick-3

silver and grease to keep them soft and

clean. Bye baby bunting and the little

1 09

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESbare skin

"is the other nursery rhyme

having a reference to skins ofanimals beingused for clothing. But Baby buntinghas no purpose to point to, unless indeed

the habits ofthe Esquimaux are taken in

account. In the list ofnursery songs sung

ing extract from The longer thoulivest the

more foole thouart gives four:

‘ Ihsve twentiemo songs yet,A fondwoman to my motber

As arwont ln her lappe to sit,She tsughtme these andmany other.

“Ican slng a song of‘Robin Redbreast:

And ‘My Iitle pretie Nightingale,’‘There dwelletha Jolly Fisher hereby thewest,

’

Also,‘I com to drink som ofyouChristmas“ 0

‘Whm alkeby myselfe alone,It dothme goodmy songs to render

Suchpretie thingeswould soonebe gon

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESTo get back again to the true nursery

“WE 'LL HAVE AWEDDING AT OUR

HOUSE ?

‘ A cat came fiddling out ofabarnWitha pair ofbagpipes under her arm;Themouse hathmarried thebumble-bee.

Pipe, cat ; danca mouse ;We ’ll hsve awedding at our house.

’

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fi'

g t ueen Bes'

s srwmed m have

had on diswverirg a m in the firltk

d ha drm — firr it was she d'

virgin fime

bem a ked again and agah'Why

it is to sa re as did the cat in the rhyme.

What are youdoing, my little men ?We ’re making some clothes for gentlemen .

Shall Icome in to cut your threads ?

No , kind sir, you’

llbite ofl’

our heads.’

9 9 Q 9 9

One more rhyme ofQueen Elizabeth’

s

time begins

The rose is red, the grass is green,

Serve Queen Bess, our noble queen .

”

9 9 0 0

"3

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES“Kitty, the spinner.Will sit down to dinner,And eat the leg ofa frog.

Will look o ’er the steeple

And aee a cat play witha dog.

”

9 9 9 9

“ Ilove little pussy, her coat is so warm,

And ifIdon’

t hurt her she’

IIdo me no harm

Iwon ’

t pull her tail, nor drive her away,But pussy and Itogether will pIay.

’

9 9 9 0

“Three cats satby the fireside.In a basltet full ofcoal-dust ;One cat said to the other,‘Supu, pell mell—Queen Anne

’

s desd l’

‘ Is she i’quothGrimalkin , ‘

then I'

ll reign

in her stesd.

’

“Great AJ ittleb,The cat

’

s in the cupboardAnd she can

’

t C.

’

”4

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEScroolsed mile

He found a croolted sixpence upon a croobd

He bought a a o oked a t she canght a crooh d

0 O 9 0 0

“Ding dongbell, pussy’

s in thewell.

Wbo puther in ? Little Tommy Thin.

Who pulled her out7 Little Johnny Stout.What s naughty boy was thatTo drown poor pussy cat !

”

Or“What a naughty trick was that to drown my

Who never did any harm, but caught the micein father

’sbarn.

"

CAT TALE OF DICKWHITTINGTON.

This legend of Dick Whittington is of

Eastern origin. The story of the poor

boy whose ill-fortune was so strangely re

versed by the performances ofhis cat and

" 5

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CHAPTER VI.

A CRADLE SONG OF THE FIRST

CENTURY.

ANY authorities pronounce this lul

laby to be of the earliest Christian

era. Somebelieve that in times ofyore theVirgin herselfsang it to the infant Jesus.

Sleep, 0 son, sleep,Thy mother sings to her firstborn ;

Sleep, 0boy, sleep,Thy father cries out to his little child.

Thousands ofpraiseswe sing to thee,A thousand thousand thousands.

Sleep,my heart andmy throne,Sleep, thoujoy ofthy mother ;

xx1

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESLet a soothlng, hushed lullabyComemurmuring to thy hesvenly ura

Thonsands ofpraiseswe sing to thee.A tbousand tbousand thousands.

‘May nothingbewanting to thee,Withroses lll cover thee,

Withviolet garlands l will entwlne thee.Thy cradlebuiltupwiththe petals ofwhits

Thousands ofpraiseswe slng to tbee,A tbousand tbousand thousands.

“Ifthouwishest for muslc

Iwill instantly call togdber the shepherdaNone arebefcre them,

No mortal singsmore hcly songs.

Thousands ofpraiseswe slng to thee,A thousand tbousand thoussnds."

Ifaughtbe distinct in this early Christianlullaby. it is that old- time ideas of stars on

”

and other

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESsimilar figures ofmythical word- pictures are

wanting. Amother’s sympathy and affection

alone bind together the words ofher song

in illimitable praises— a thousand thousand

thousands.Milton says

“But see the Virgin blest

What abright sanctified glory the child Kingbrought to hisbaby throne.

Thee in all children . the eternal child. The

to whom thewise men gave adoration, and

the shepherds praise.

”

What countless hosts ofchild-bands are eversinging some dreamy lullaby of praise to

their child King.

In the pastoral district ofVallauria, in the

heart ofthe Ligurian Alps, within a day’

s

journey from the orange groves ofMentone,rr9

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEScarols ofher festivals. and in theMiddleAges the libretto of her Church mystery

plays, setting forthher history and doctrines

to the lower orders. Ifone were to remove

the obstacles of idiom and grammar in the

poetry of France, Germany, Italy, Spain ,

Switzerland, or even Russia, and expose

the subject of the theme. a mere skeleton

ofpast delusions would remain.

Long before modern European nations

received this imagery of past credulities

the poets ofGreece and Rome had versified

the same o ld- time beliefs. Before Rome

was founded the Etruscan race, who

flourished in what is nowmodern Tuscany,had the Books of the Tages fashioned in

rhythmieal mould, from which their tradi

tions, ordinances, and religious teachings

were drawn. They believed in genii as

fervently as a Persian . Here is one

Etruscan legend ofthe nursery, recalling

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES“Howthe wendrous boy- Tages sprang out of

the seil just previeusly tnrned over by the ploeghin the fields em ninfi and cemmnnicsted to

Im mense the doctrines ef divination. bysacrifiee, by fli¢ht efbirds. and by observaticnef the lighufing a sen ofgenius and

ofJapiusf—Ctk l sbisv’sd l ss.

It was the ancient tale of“

Jack

Beanstalk”

CHAPTER VII.

JACK RHYMES.the preceding chapter it noted

how the wondrous boy Tages was

believed in by the ancients. Jack and

the Beanstalk, our modern tale, though

adapted to the present age, is the same

legend, and known and told in their own

way by the Z ulus in SouthAfrica and bythe Redskin ofNorth America, as well as

to other isolated peoples. In these tales

of primitive peoples the same wonderful

miracle of the soil’

s fertility takes place,in the one case by the birth of the boyTages, in the other by the marvellous

growth of the twisting beanstalks whichrs)

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESin authority longed to change the robeof revel for the shroud. Not only were

theatres and public gardens closed, but

a war of bigotry was waged againstMay poles, wakes, fairs, church music,

fiddles, dancing, puppet shows, Whitsun

ales— in short, everything wearing the

attire ofpopular amusement and diversion .

The rhyme recording Jack Homer’s gloomy

conduct was, in fact, a satire on Puritanical

aversion to Christmas festivities.

“Jack Homer was a pretty lad, near London hedid dwell,

His father’s heart he made full glad,his motherloved himwell.

A pretty boy ofcuriouswit, all people spoke hisPraise.

And in a corner he would sit on ChristmasHoly

- days.

When friends they did together meet to passaway the time,Why, little Jack,he surewould eat his Christmaspie in rhyme,

rs;

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESAnd ssy,

‘

Jack Horner, in the corner, eats good

Christmas pie,Andwithhis thumbpulls out a plum,

SayingWhat a goodboy am I."The copy ofthe history ofJack Horner,

containing his witty pranks and the tricks

he played upon people from his youth to

old age, is preserved in the Bodleian

There are a number ofmen and women

who recall a time when the rhymes of

Jack Horner "

and “Jack the Giant Killer”

appeared finer than anything in Shakes

peare ; but this much may be said for

“ Jack Homer,"the cavalier

'

s song of de

rision at the straight- laced Puritan, that

it soon lost its political signification, gradu

ally becoming used as a mark ofrespect.

When he to agewas come,Asbelng only fourteen inches hlgh,A giant to TomThumb.

"

us

CHAPTER VIII.

RIDDLE -MAKING.

IDDLE -MAKING is not left alone

by the purveyors of nursery yarns,

though belonging . to the mythologic state

of thought. The Hindu ca lls the sun

seven -horsed ; so the German riddle asks

“What is the chariot drawn

Seven white and seven black horses.”

The Greek riddle of the two sisters— 3

Day and Night. Another one given byDz

'

og. Le ft. i. 9 1 , Atbcxagom x. 45 1 ,

One is father, twelve the children, and born toeach other

"7

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThis nursery rhyme

’

s date is fixed bythe reference to Old Noil, the Lord Pro

tector.Q

“As round as an apple, as deep as a cup,And all the king

'

shorses can’

t pull it up.”

“A well.”

0

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,Humpty Dumpty had a great fallThree scoremen , and three score more,CannotmakeHumpty Dumpty asbefore

“An egg.

”

Or

“And all the king’

s horses, and all the king'smen,

Couldn’

t put Humpty together again .

"

Plutarch says of Homer that he died

of chagrin, being unable to solve a

riddle.

The Phoenix myth, once believed in

by the Egyptian priests, is now, and

x u,

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES

time, degenerated into a mere child- story

of a bird, who lived, and died, and rose

again from its own ashes. As a relic of

a mysterious faith, this fabulous bird hascome down to us with diminished gloryeach century. Old Herodotus, the father

ofhistory, tells us that he saw it once

not the bird itself, but a painting of it

—at Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, in

Egypt. Even this old Greek historian

could not quite believe the current story

in his day concerning this bird ; that it

was suppa ed to revisit the earth after a

five - hundred -

year sojourn in the land of

gods was to him, at least, a little strange.

Pliny. the Roman, likewise gives a descrip

tion of it. “ I have been told,”

he writes,“ it was a s big as an eagle yellow in

colour. glittering as gold about the neck,

with a body- plumage of deep red- purple.t’

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESIts tail is sky

- blue, with some of the

penna:ofa light rose colour. The head is

adorned with a crest and pinnacle beautiful

to the sight.”

Another ancient retells the story some

what difl'

erent to both the Greek and

Roman historians. Thus runs the Indian

version. Bear in mind, however, beforereading it, that, like the Second Stone Age

people, it was the habit of many races

in India to cremate their dead“A high funeral pyre is erected ofdry

wood, on which the body of the dead is

laid, and in course of time after ignitingthe faggots the corpse is consumed. While

this cineration is going on vultures and

carrion fowl not infrequently pounce downupon the body, and tear away pieces of

flesh from the ghastly, smoking corpse.These charred parts of the body they

carry away to their nests to feast uponus

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES“Ladybird ! ladybird l pretty one stay l

Come, sit on my finger, so happy and gay.

Thy house is a - fire thy chlldren wlll roam.

Hark ! hark ! to thy children bewailing.”

Yearly, as these harvest bugs, with theircrimson or golden - coloured shields, appear

in our country lanes, the village youngsters

delight in eapturing them, and play a game

similar to the German child’s. They

Ladybird l ladybird l fly away home,Your house is on fire, your children will roam.

Excepting the youngest, and her name is Ann,And she has crept under the dripping-

pan .

”

CHAPTER IX.

NURSERY CHARMSO charm away the hiccup one must

repeat these four lines thrice in one

breath. and a cure willbe certain

‘When a twister twisting twists him a twist,For twisting a twist three twists he must twist ;But ifone ofthe twists untwists from the twist,

AN ESSEX CHARMFORA CHURN. 1 650 A D.

Waiting for hlsbuttered cake

The late Sir Humphry Davy is said to

m

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEShave lea rnt this cure for cramp when a

boyMatthew,Mark, Luke, and John, ease us, Ibeg !The devil has tied a knot in my leg

Crosses three 1 ' 1 ' 1' we make to ease us,

A CHARMAGAINST GHOSTS.

There are four corners atmy bed.There are four angels there.Matthew,Mark, Luke, and John,Godbless thebed that IIay on

"

TheMatthew,Mark. Luke, and John

rhymes were well known in Essex in Eliza

beth’

s time. Ady, in his Candle after

dark,”

1 655, mentions an old woman he

knew, who had lived from QueenMary’stime, and who had been taught by the

priests in those days many Popish charms.

The old woman , amongst other rhymes,

‘35

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESLittleMary Esther sat upon a tester,

There came a big spider, and sat down besideher,

And frightened littleMary Esther away l”O O O

Sing a song ofsixpence,A pocket full ofrye ;

Baked in a pie.

When the pic was openedThebirdsbegan to sing,Was not that a dainty dishTo setbefore the king?

The kingwas in his counting-house,

Counting outhis money,The queen was in the parlourEatingbread and honey .

“The maidwas in the gardenHanging out the clothes,

Then came a littleblackbirdAnd snapped offher nose.

“

r37

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESIn Shakespeare’

s Ta dj“N tiguSirTobyalludes to the “ Sing a Song a Sixpence,

”

Act II. , Sc. 3:

‘ Come omthere is a sixpence for you; let’

s

In Beaumont and Fletcher’s Bonds“ it is

O O O O O‘ There was an old man in a velvet coet,

He kiss’

d a maid and gave her a groat

The groetwas cracked andwould not go ,

0 0 O O O“See- sawa penny a day , Tommy must have a

Why must he havebut a penny a dsy iBecausehe can work no faster.’

O O O O O‘ One a penny, two a penny, hotcroesbunaIfyour daughters do not llke themgive them toMm ;

But if you should have none of these prettylittle elves

Youcannot do muehbetter ifyouest themmyourselves.

”

lfi

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESWritten about t6o8

“There’

s never a maiden in the town but sheknows thatmalt ’

s come down ;Malt ’

s come down , malt’

s come down from an

o ld angel to a Frenchcrown.

The greatest drunkards in the town are very ,

very glad thatmalt’

s come down.

”

In NewYork the children have a common

saying when making a swop or change of

one toy for another, and no bargain is

supposed to be concluded between boys and

girls unless they interlock fingers— the little

finger on the right hand— and repeat the

following doggerel

Pinky, pinky bow-bell,Whoever tells a lieWill sink down to thebad place,And never rise up again.

”

Rumsmcsr. NURSERY Ram'

s.

One, two,buckle my shoe ;Three, four, shut the door ;

x39

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CHAPTER x.

SCRAPS.

troh. slumber, my darling, thy Site Is a knightThy mother a lady so lovely andbright.The hills and the dales and the towers which

yousee,

They all shallbelong, my dear baby, to thee.“

O O O O O

Bye,baby bumpkin,where’s Tony Lumpkin ?My lady ’

s on her death-bed,witheating halfapumpkin .

”

O O O

Nose, nose, jolly red nose.

Andwho gave thee this jolly red nose ?

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves,

And they gave me this jolly red nose.”

Q O O O O

Story- telling in the Reformation period

was so prevalent that the wonderful talesqr

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESwere satirised in the following rhyme dated

r588

“Isawa msn in themoun. FIe,man, fie.

Isswa hsre chase a hound. Fie. man, fle.

Twenty miles above tbe ground. Fie,man. fie.Who ’

s the fool now? ”

“Isawa goos ng ebog,And a snailbrte a dog l

Isawa mouse cstcha cst,And a cheeee est a rat. Fie. man. fle.Who ’

s the fool now? ‘

O O O O

A Henry VIII. rhyme

“ l ym m m mym w mShe is a jolly une and as gentle as canbe ;Withabeck she cumes anon ,Withawink and she is gcne.”

“Peg. Peg, witha wooden leg,Her fatherwas a miller ;

IIc tossed a dumpling at her head.

And swore thsthe would kill her. ’

us

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESRound about, round aboutMassotty pie (magpie).My father loves good ale,And so do I.

”

G G O O

Old father long- legswill not say his prayers,Take himby the left leg and throwhim down ;

stairs.

e e e e

Halfa pound oftwopenny rice,Halfa pound oftreacle.

Stir it up and make it nice,

Pop goes theweasel.”

G G O O

In I754 mothers used to say to their

children

Come when you’

re called,

Do what you’

rebid,Shut the door after you,

Neverbe chid.”

A GAME.

A greatbigwide-mouthwaddling frog,Two pudding endswould choke a dog.

”

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESLittle GeneralMonkSat upon a trunk

Eating a crust ofbread ;There fell a hot coal

Andburnt into his clothes a hole,Nowlittle GeneralMonk is dead.Keep always from the fire,

Ifit catch your attire

Youtoo , like GeneralMonk,willbe dead.

”

MORE FRAGMENTS.

Withhartshorn in his hand

Came Doctor Tom- tit,

Saying, Really, good sirs,

It’

s only a fit.

5

Cowardly, cowardly custard,Eats his mother’smustard.

”

5 G O O

Tommy Trot. a man oflaw,Sold hisbed and lay on straw.

Sold the strawand slept on grassTo buy hiswife a looking-

glass”

L "95

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES

Upstairs. downstairsIn my lady’s chamber ?

Dilly, dilly, dilly , dilly ,Come here andbe killed.”

A nursery- tale rhyme of Henry VIII.

’

s

“Thewhite dove sat on tbe castellwall,Ibend my bowand shoote her l shall

Iput hir in my d oue bothfethers and all ;I layd my bridle on the shelfe.

Ifyouwill any more sing it yourself"

O O O 0 O

“This little plgwent to market,

And thls one cried outwee,wee,wee,I’ll tell my motherwhen Iget home.

‘

Q G O 0 0

“Little Bo Peep she lost her sheep,

And cuuld not tellwhere to find themLet themalone and they

'

ll come home,

Carry ing their tsilsbehind them.

”

"s

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESWritten about r608

“There’

s never a maiden in the town but sheknows thatmalt ’s come down ;Malt ’

s come down , malt’s come down from an

old angel to a Frenchcrown.

The greatest drunkards in the town are very,

very glad thatmait’

s come down.

”

In NewYork the children have a common

saying when making a swop or change of

one toy for another, and no bargain is

supposed to be concluded between boys and

girls unless they interlock fingers— the little

finger on the right hand— and repeat the

following doggerel

Pinky, pinky bow-bell.Whoever tells a lieWill sink down to thebad place,And never rise up again.

”

NUMERICAL NURSERY RHYME.

One, two,buckle my shoe ;

Three, four, shut the door ;

339

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESWritten about 1 608

There’

s never a maiden in the town but sheknows thatmalt ’

s come down ;Malt ’

s come down , malt’s come down from an

old angel to a Frenchcrown.

The greatest drunkards in the town are very,

very glad thatmalt’s come down.

”

In NewYork the children have a common

saying when making a swop or change of

one toy for another, and no bargain is

supposed to be concluded between boys and

girls unless they interlock fingers— the little

finger on the right hand— and repeat the

Pinky, pinky bow-bell,Whoever tells a lieWill sink down to thebad place,And never rise up again.

”

NUMERICAL NURSERY RHYME.

One, two,buckle my shoe ;Three, four, shut the door ;

09

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESFive. 012 . pick 09 sticks :

Nine ten, a good fat hen

Eleven, twelve,who will delve ?

Fifteen, slxteen, maids ln the kitchen ;

Prick it and pdck it andmark itwithB.

And tues it in the oven furbaby andme.”

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThe baby game of tickling the palm of

the hand will be remembered in“Round about, round about, runs the little hare,First it runs thatway, then it runs up there.

”

A PROVERB.

Needles and pins, needles and pins,When youget married your troublebegins ;Troublebegins, troublebegins,When yougetmarried your troublebegins.

”

A COMPLIMENT.

“The rose is red, the violet’s blue.

Pinks are sweet, and so are you.”

THE REVERSE

The rose is red, the violet’sblue,

The grass is green , and so are you.”

5 0 e e O

Little Tommy Tupper,waiting for his supper,Whatmusthe have ?

Somebrown bread andbutter.”

r5r

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES“Cock- a - doodle doo,my dame has lost her shoeMy master ’

s lost his fiddling stick and doesn’t

knowwhat to do.

Cock- a- doodle doo,what is my dame to do ?

Till master finds his fiddling stick she’

ll dance

without her shoe.

“Cockos- doodle doo , my dame has found her

shoe, and master’

s found his fiddling stick.

Sing doodle. doodle doc— Cock- a-doodle doo.My damewill dancewithyou,

While master fiddles his fiddling stickFor dame and doodle doc.

”

The third - century monarch, King Cole, is

seriously libelled in the nursery jingle of“Old King Colewas a merry old soul,A merry old soulwasbe,

He called for his glass, he called for his pipe.He called for his fiddlers three.

”

6 O O G

“Rowsty dowt, my fire’s all out,My little Dame Trot is not athome ! Ohmy !

But I’ll saddle my cock andbridle my hen,

And fetchmy little dame home again ! Home

aga in !5 3

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESHome she came tritty - ti- trot,

She asked for some dinner she left in the pot

Some she ate and some she shod,

And the rest she gsve to the truckler’s dog.

She took up the ladle and knocked itshesd,

And nowpour dapsy dog isdesd !”

O O O O O“Therewas a little man and he hsd a little gun,

And hisbullets they were made oflesd,Hewent to thebrook and shot a little duck

Right throughits head, hesd, hesd.

“He tuok ithume to hiswife Joan

And hede her a goud fire to malue,While he went to the brook where he shot the

little duck

To see lfhe could shoot the little drake.

“The drakewas a- swimmingWithits curly tail.The little man made it hismark,

He let ofl'

his gun

And the drake flewaway with aquack,quack,quack.”

‘S‘

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThe Creole

’

s slave- song to her infant is

the same lines, and runs

“ Ifyouwere a littlebirdAnd myselfa gun ,

Iwould shoot you.

Bum! Bum! Bum!

Oh! my precious littleOfmahogany,

I love you

As a hog loves mud.

”

O O

Some say the devil’

s dead,

Andburied in cold harbour ;Some say he

’

s alive again,

And’prenticed to a barber.”

Q Q 0

Ihad a little pony, his namewas Dapple GreyI lent him to a lady , to ride a mile away.

She whipped him and she lashed him,

She rode him throughthe mire ;

Iwould not lendmy pony now

For all that lady’

s hire.

”

‘55

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESAs Do lly was milking the cows one dayTom took outhis pipe andbegan to playSo Doll and the cows danced the Cheshire

cheese round,

Till the pail was broke and the milk spilt onthe ground.

He met o ld Dame Trotwitha basket ofeggs,He used his pipe, she used her legs.She danced, he piped, the eggswere allbroke ;Dame Trotbegan to fret, Tom laughed at hisjoke.

He sawa cross fellowbeating an ass

Laden withpots, pans, dishes, and glassTom took outhis pipe and played a tune,And the jackass’s loadwas lightened full soon.

”

“on DEAR,WHAT CAN THEMATTER am“Ohdear,what can the matterbe ?

”

Ohdear,what can the matterbe ?Ohdear,what can the matterbeJohnny

’

s so long at the fair.

He promised to buy me a bunch ofblue

To tie up my bonny brown hair.”

r57

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESSIMPLE SIMON.

” Simple Simon went a- fishing

For to catcha whale,All thewater he had gotWas in hismother’s pail.

“SimpIe Simon went to look

Ifplums grewon a thistle,

He pricked his fingers very much,

”SimpIe Simon went to townTo buy a pieee ofmest,

He tied it to his horse’s tall

To keep it clean and sweet.”

” I SAWA SHIP A-SAILING.”

Isawa ship a-eailing,

And itwas filledwithpretty thlngsForbaby and for me.

There were raisins ln the csbin.Sugar kisses in thebold ;

The sailswere made ofsilk,And themastswere made ofgold.

The mastswere made ofgold.

m

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThere were four and- twenty-sailors

A- sitting on the deck,

And thesewere littlewhite mice,Withrings around their neck.

The captain was a duck,Witha jacket on hisback,

Andwhen the shipbegan to sailThe captain cried Quack ! quack

Quack I— quack I— quack !The captain cried Quack quack !

DAVID THEWELSHMAN.

Taffy was a wicked Welshman ,

Tafl'

y was a wicked thief,Tafl

'

y came to my house

And sto le a piece ofbeef.Iwent to Tafl

'

y’s house,

Taffy was in bed,Igot the poker

And hithim on the head.”

Sung in derision along the Welshborders

on St. David's Day. Formerly it was the

custom ofthe London mobon this day to

859

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMEShowever,who dissent from this view, holdingthat many ofthe child’s songs sung to -day

were known to our Saxon forefathers. In

r835Mr. Gowler, who wrote extensively

on the archaeology ofEnglish phrases and

nursery rhymes, ingeniously attempted. to

claimwhole songs and tales, giving side byside the Saxon and the English versions.

There certainly was a phonetic similaritybetween them, but the local value of the

Saxon , when translated, reads in a strange

way,being little more than a protest against

the Church’

s teaching and influence.

“Who killed Cock Robin P”

is given at

length byMr. Gowler, as well as many

scraps ofOther nursery rhymes. Mr. Gowlerseemed to claim that though the lettered

language ofeach succeeding age fashions

afresh, the Baby Kingdom knows no such

vocal revolutions.

CHAPTER XII.

SCOTCH RHYME S .

HE great and alluring exercise of

Through the needle- e’

e, boys

“As entup the Brandy Hill

Imet my fatherwi’

gudewill ;He had jewela he hsd fiuzt .

He hsd many brswthings,He

’

d a catu rd- nlne- tails,

He’

d a hammerwantin ’

nalls.

UPJock down Ttm.

Brotha Jock ifye m miM.Iwould give youclaretwine ;

‘

I‘

hroughthe needle

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESTHE SCOTCH VERSION OF BRYAN O’LYNN.

“Tamo’tbe Lin and a

’hisbairns

Oh,quo ’thebunemost, Iha

’e abet skin

It’shetterbelow,quo’ TamO

’

the Lin.”

O O O O O

“Cripple Dick upon a stlck.Sand your soo, ride away

Tobuy a pound o’woo.”

0 O O

Pan. pa". play .Pm. Pa“:Play’

And gi’

e thebairn meal,It

’s gotten nane the day.

”

O O 0

The robin and thewrenAre God

’

s cock andhen.

”

O 0 O

“Gi’e a thing, tak

’a thing,

Auldman ’

s deid ring ;

Liebutt, lie hen,

The above is said by Scotchchildren as ato3

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESoflast century used to say

“Two before r, and 3before 5,

Nowr, and then r, and 3 at a cast,

NowI, and twin z, and Jack up at last.”

In the game Of Hides the laddies and

lassies cry

Keep in, keep in,where’

ver yebe,The greedy gled

’

s seckin’

ye.”

“WHA ’S YOUR DADDIE ? ”

Littlewee laddie,Wha ’

s your daddie

Icam out o’

a buskit, lady,Abuskit, lady

’

s owre fine ;Icam out o

’

a bottle 0’wine,Abottle 0’ wine ’

s owre .dear

Icam out o’

a bottle 0’beer,Abottle 0’beer ’

s owre thick ;I earn out o

’

a gauger’s stick,

A gauger’

s stick’

sbutt andben ;Icam out o

’a peacock hen.

”

r65

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESIn Lancashire. where this rhyme is a

popular one, the reading difi'

ers,“candle

stick” being used for

“

gauger’

s stick.

”

“A csndlestick is over- fat,

Icame out ofa gentleman’

s hst

Icame over the garden wallThe garden wall is over-hlgh.An angel droppedme from the sky.

”

The Scotch “Old Woman who Lived in

a Shoe”is a sad jumble of “OldMother

Hubbard and Little Blue Betty.”

“There was aweebitwlfieWho lived in a shue,She kenn

’d nawhat to du.

She geed to themarltetTo buy a sheep

’sheed.

They were a’

lying deed.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESShewent to thewright

To get thema cofi n.

They were a’

lying laughln’.

She gaed up the stair

To ring thebell,Thebell- ropebroke,And down she fell.

”

”THEMOON IS A LADY.”

The moon is a lady who reigns in the sky

As queen ofthe kingdom ofnight

The stars are her army she leads forthon high

Asbright little soldiers oflight.

Her captains are Jupiter, Saturn, andMars,Three glitteringwarriorsbold ;

And theMilkyWay’

s studdedwithforces ofstars

In numbers that cannotbe told.867

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CHAPTER XIII.

A FAVOURITE NURSERY HYMN,

NOWN to the rusties of England,France, and Italy since the days of

the great Charlemagne, has a peculiar

history. Like many other rhymes ofyore

it is fast dying out of memory. The

educational influences of the National

Schools in the former part ofthis century,

and the Board Schools at a later date,have killed this little suppliant’s prayer,as well as most ofthe other rural rhymes

and folk- lore tales handed down by motherto child.

The hymn, though still used in some

parts ofNorthern England, and especially1 69

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESamongst the Nonconformists. as

”Gentle Jesua meek andmlld,Look upon thls little child ;

Sufl’erme to cume to Thee.”

next verse a more modern

“Fala ould to Theebebrought,LambofGodJ orbid it not ;In the kingdom ofThy grace

Give thls little child a plsce.”

Leo III. is the supposed author of the

was abook ofmagic and not autborised hythe Church ofRome but used by spurious

monks and charlatans wisards and quacks,in their exploits amongst the credulous rural

folk. It was firll of charma pmyera and

rhymes to ward off evil spirits. The

no

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESMatthew,Mark, Luke, and John verses

are part ofthe same “Gentle Jesus, meek

and mild. ” The Embr'

n’

drbrrwas first published in 1 532. This hymn was, in the

main, derived from the'

White Paternoster.

served by the rustics.

LATIN VERSION OF THE VIRGIN’S

LULLABY.

Dormi fili, dormi ! materCantutunigenito,

Dormi, puer, dormi ! paterNato clamat parvulo :Millies tibi laudes canlmusMille,mille,millies.Dormi cor, etmeus thronus,Dormimatris jubilum;Auriumce lestis sonus.

'

Et suave sibilum !Millies tibi laudes canimusMille, mille, millies.1 71

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CHAPTER XIV.

“THEREWAS AMAID CAME OUT OF KENT.”

HERE was a maid came out ofKent.Dangerousbe. dangerousbe ;

There was a maid came out ofKent.Fayre, propre, small, and gentAs ever upon the groundwent,For so should itbe.”

Ofauthentic currency inMary’s time.O O O O O

Martin Smart and his man, fodledum. fodledumMartin Smart and hisman, fodledum,bell.”

'

Same date.

O O O“Isee the moon, and themoon seecme ;

Godbless the moon, and Godblessme.

”

Child’s saying.

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES“t, zl $ 4. 5.

Iceught a hare alive

6. 7. m.

I lether go againl’

O O O O O

Be

howto rpellA B C. D E I' G. H IJ K LM.N O PO. RS T U. VWX Y LL Z .

"

“HMJ ebymo a green bocHSaxouforin ch)

“ In ddledmy m witha rieve ofbuttermilk put my foot into the stirrup. “

leaped up nine miles beyond the moon

into the hnd of tentpemnoe where there

nothing but hammer: and hatchet:

i“

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESand mndlesticks, and there lay bleedingOld Noll. I let him lie and sent for Old

Hipper N01 1 , and asked him if he could

grind green steel five times finer than

wheat flour. He said he could not.

Gregory’

s wife was up a pear tree gather

ing nine corns ofbuttered beans to pay

St. James’s rent. St. James was in a

meadow mowing oat cakes ; he heard a

noise, hung his scythe to his heels, stumbled

at the battledore, tumbled over the,barn

door ridge, and broke his shins against

a bag ofmoonshine that stood behind thestairs- foot door ; and if that isn

’

t true. you

know as well as I all about it. "

O O

A duck, a drake, a barley cake,

A penny to pay thebaker ;A hop, a scotch, another notch

Slitherum, slitherum, take her."

A verse repeated when playing at

1 75

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESA was an apple pie ;B bit it,C out it,

D danced for it,E eat it,

F fought for it,

G got it,

H hid it,”etc. etc.

A CATCH RHYME.

Tottle’

em,bottle'

em,bother aboo ,Who can count from one to two“Ican , I can !

” “Do , do .

”

“One and two See. calf, see,

That'

s not two,but three, three."“Three or two '

s all one to me.”

'77

CHAPTER

BELL RHYMES.

HE jingle oi'

thebeIls in nursery poetry

is certainly the prettiest of all the

features in the poetical fictions of Baby

The oft- repeated rhyme oi

Ride a cock-horse toMy Cm .

“

To n e s/d d lady upon a whiteborse

has a charmwithevery child.

The ride of my Lady of Godiva is

fancifully suggested by the Coventry

O O O O O

One o’clock, two o’clock, three and away.

”

“Or a n- wa ver. Tm t his“an

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMES“Gay gv up andgay gv downTo ring thebells ofLondon town.

“

Bull’s- eyes and targets, say the bells of St.Marg’- ret’s ;Brick-bats and tiles, chime the bells of St.

Giles'

;

Halfpence and farthings, ring the bells ofSt.Martin’

s ;

Oranges and lemons, toll the bells of St.

Clement’s ;Pancakes and fritters, say the bells of St.

Peter'

s ;

Two sticks and an apple, say the bells of

Whitechapel ;Old Father Baldpate, toll the slowbells of

Aldgate ;You owe me ten shillings, say the bells ofSt.

Helen’

s ;

When will you pay me ? say the bells ofOld

Bailey ;When I grow rich, chime the bells of Shore

ditch;

Pray when will that be ? ask the bells of

Stepney ;I

’m sure Idon’

t know, tolled thebigbell atBore.

Gay go up and gay go downTo ring thebells ofLondon town.

"

379

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESbeing sung to a quick tune and in a high

key

Old Father Baldpate. toll the slowbells of

Aldgate,’

suggesting a very slow movement and a

deep, low tone.

The round singing of the ancients. of

which this game is a fitting illustration,

is probably a relic ofCeltic festivity. The

burden of a song, chorussed by the entire

company, followed the stanza sung by the

vocalist, and this so loist, having finished, had

licence to appoint the next singer,“canere

ad myrtum, by handing him the myrtle

branch. At all events round singing was

anciently so performed by the Druids, the

Bardic custom of the men of thewand.O O O O O

Lancashire

Mary ,Mary, quite contrary,Howdoes your garden growP

Withcockle shells and silverbells,And pretty maids all in a row,

”

1 8:

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESis one ofthe songs the cottage mother sings

to her chiid.

Ring thebells ofSt. John's.

Why ring so high?'

I'

is the little chiidren in the siry l"

O O O O O“Maids in white aprons, say the bells of

Catherine’s.“

O O O O O

Every locality furnishes examples ofhell

rhymes. Selling the churchbells ofHutton.in Lincolnshire. gave rise to this satire of

the chiidren

“The poor Hutton peopie

Sold theirbeils to mend the steeple.Ahl wlcked people,To sell theirbellsTobuild the steeple.

’

In 1 793 Newington Church. London. was

pulled down. the bells sold, and the sacred

l l .

edifice rebuilt without a belt'

sy . h e d ri

dren of the neighbouring p rfl n s

afterwards jeered at the Newig t -‘

an

Sold theirbells to build a steeph.

A very fine trick ofthe Newirg tm ln nfi

In Derbyshire a large number d’

the

churches have bells with peculiar peak

Crichhas two ro ller-boulders.Wingfield ting- tangs,

Alfreton kettles,

And Pentrichpans.

Kirk- Hallan candlesticks,’

Corsall cow-bells,Denby cracked puncheons,And Horsley merry bells.

”

The bells of Bow Church ringing out

the invitation to Dick Whittington to

return to his master’s house should not

be forgotten

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CHAPTER XVI.

POLITICAL SIGNIFICATIONS OFNURSERY RHYMES.

In 1 660, when the Restoration ofCharles

II. took place, the great procession of

State to St. Paul’s Cathedral called forth

this rhyme

“Come, Jack, let's drink a pot ofale,

And Ishall tell thee sucha tale

Will make thine ears to ring.My coin is spent, my time is lost,And Ithis only fruit can boast,That once I sawmy king i

"

A Roundhead sneer at the man in the

street, after the Royalist rejoicings were

over.

is;

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESIn a copy of rhyming proverbs in the

BritishMuseum, written about the year

1 680, occurs the following Puritan

Charles II.’

s changeability“A man ofwords and not ofdeeds.Is like a garden fuil ofweeds ;

And when the weedsbegin to grow,

It's like a garden fuil ofsnow;

And when the snowbegins to fall,It

’

s like a bird upon the wall ;Andwhen the bird away does fiy,It

'

s like an eagle in the sky

And when the sky begins to roar,It

’s iike a lion st your door ;

Andwhen the doorbegins to crack.It

'

s lilee s stick across yourback ;Andwhen yourbackbegins to smart.It

’

s like s penknife in your heart ;

And when your heartbegins tobieed,You’

re dead. you’

re dead. and

AmongMarvel’s works (vol. i. pp. 434- 5)a witty represen tation of the kings style

a s

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESof speech is given with the ja r d awn ?so distinctively peculiar toMarvelMy proclamation is the true picture ofmy

mind. Some may perhaps be startled and cry ,‘How comes this sudden change ?

’ To which I

answer, ‘ I am a changeling, and that'

s sufficient,

I think. But, to convince men further that I

mean what I say, these are the arguments. First.

I tell you so , and you know I never break myword ; secondly, my Lord Treasurer says so, and

he never told a lie in his life ; thirdly, my Lord

Lauderdale will undertake it for me. I should

be loath by any act ofmine he should forfeit

the credit he has with you.

’

In England Charles gave-his Royal

Indulgence to Dissenters, and granted them

full liberty of conscience. They who had

been horribly plundered and ill- treated now

built meeting-houses, and thronged to them

in public. Shaftesbury, who afterwards

became a Papist, exclaimed, Let us blessGod and the king that our religion is

1 87

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESand eighteen thousand Dissenters perished,not counting those who were accused of

rebellion. He was “a man of words,

”

and the rhyme of this period depicts his

whole character.

O O O O

Two of the courtesans of Charles IL'

s

time were Lucy Locket and Kitty Fisher.

The following rhyme suggests that KittyFisher supplanted Lucy Locket in Charles

'

fickle esteem

Lucy Locket lost her pocket,Kitty Fisher found it

Nothing in it, nothing in it,

But thebinding round it.”

On his death-bed themonarchcommendedthe Duchesses ofCleveland and Portsmouth

to his successor, and said to James, Do

not let poor Nelly (Nell Gwynne) starve l

Even their pockets were as badly lined as

Lucy Locket’

s.

“9

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESThe hatred of the Roman Catholic re

ligion“had become,” saidMacaulay, “

one

of the ruling passions of the community.

and was as strong in the ignorant and pro

fane as in those who were Protestants from

conviction. Charles II. was suspected bymany ofleaning towards the Roman Catholic

religion. Hisbro ther, and heir presumptive,was discovered to be a bigoted Catholic, andin defiance to the remonstrances of the

papist—Mary ofModena.

The common people apprehended a return

ofthe times ofher whom they unreasonablycalled BloodyMary. Sons ofthis marriage.

they feared, meant a long succession of

princes and kings hostile to the Pro testant

faith and governmen t by the people. In

r689, when William of Orange becameking in James II.

'

s place. a political squibwent ofl

'

in the style ofa nursery lullaby,lso

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESentitled Father Peter’s policy discovered

or, the Prince of Wales proved a Popish

Perkin

In Rome there is a fearful rout,

Andwhat do youthink it’s all about ?

Sing, Laliabybabes.by,by,by.

”

The DouceMS. contains

Sec- saw, sack a day ,Monmouthis a pretieboy, Richmond is another ;Grafton is my onely joy , and why should I these

To please a piousbrother

At the beginning of this present centurythe renowned Pastorini contributed his shareto simple rhyming. A writer in theMomz'

ng Chronicle of that period points out

Pastorini as being no less a personage than

the Right Rev. CharlesWalmesley, D.D. ,

a Roman Catholic prelate, whose false

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HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESAnd

Robbin, abobbin , thebig-bellied Ben,He ate more meat than threescore men ;

He eat a cow, he eat a calf,He eat abutcher and a halfHe eat a church, he eat a steeple,He eat the priest and all the people ”

The other rhymeswere

“There was an oldwoman wentup in abasketNinety - nine times as highas the moon,Where shewas going Icouldn

’

tbut ask it,For in herhand she carried a Brougham!

Oldwoman, oldwoman, oldwoman, said I,Why are yougoing up so high?

To sweep the cobwebs offthe sky ,But I

’

llbe withyouby - and-by.

"

O O O O

OldMother Bunch, shallwe visit the moon PCome, mount on your broom, I

'

ll stride on the

Then hey to go,we shall be there soon !”

This rhyme was sung at the time in

O 393

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESderision to Earl Grey

’

s and Lord Brougham’

s

aerial, vapoury projects of setting the

Church'

s house in order.

Lord Grey,"said the satire - monger.

provided the cupboards and larders for

himselfand relatives. Hewas a paradoxical

oldwoman who could never keep quiet.”

“There was an oid woman , and whst.

ds you

think.

She iived upon nothingbut victuals and drink ;Victusls and drinkwere the chiefofher dlet.And yet this old woman could never keepquiet "

As a prototype ofreform this oldwoman

was further caricatured asMadame Reform.

The going“up in a basket ninety

- nine

times as high as the moon'

referred to

Lord Grey'

s command to the English

bishops to speedily set their house in

order. The ascent was flighty enough.“ninety

- nine times as high as the moon.

m

HISTORY OF NURSERY RHYMESto sweep the cobwebs offthe sky — in other

words, to set the Church, our cathedrals and

bishops' palaces in order— and augured well ;but this old woman journeyed not alone, in

her hand she carried a broom (Brougham).Itmayhave been a case ofultra - lunacy this

journey ofninety- nine times as high as the

moon , and“one cannot help thinking, said a

writer ofthat period, ofthe song, Longlife to theMoon but this saying becamecommon, Ifthat time goes the coach, praywhat time goes thebasket i"

The Robbin, a bobbin, the big-belliedBen parody alluded to Dan O

'

Connell ;

the butcher and a halfto the Northampton

shire man and his driver ; eating church

and steeple meant Church cess.

O’

connell certainly did cut the Church

measure about. In his curtailment he

would not leave a room or a church for

Irish Protestants to pray in.

'95

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