Comparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes Part 6

Sir Walter Scott in _Redgauntlet_ cites a catch on _Sir Thom o' Lyne_.

In some nursery collections the adventures of Tommy Lin, the Scotchman, are appropriated to Bryan O'Lin, the Irishman.

Bryan O'Lin had no watch to put on, So he scooped out a turnip to make himself one: He caught a cricket and put it within, And called it a ticker, did Bryan O'Lin.

Bryan O'Lin had no breeches to wear, So he got a sheepskin to make him a pair: With the skinny side out and the woolly side in, Oh! how nice and warm, cried Bryan O'Lin. (1842, p. 212.)

Many nursery rhymes which dwell on cats are formed on the model of these verses. A rhyme that comes from America is as follows:--

Kit and Kitterit and Kitterit's mother, All went over the bridge together.

The bridge broke down, they all fell in, "Good luck to you," says Tom Bolin.

A modern collection of rhymes (1873, p. 136) gives this as follows:--

The two grey cats and the grey kits' mother, All went over the bridge together; The bridge broke down, they all fell in, May the rats go with you, sings Tom Bowlin.

The a.s.sociation of cats with Tommy Linn reappears in the rhyme in which Tommy, who in the romantic ballad begged immersion for himself, practised immersion on a cat. Perhaps the cat was figured as a witch, who, being suspected, was cast into the water in order to prove her witchcraft.

Ding dong bell, poor p.u.s.s.y has fall'n i' th' well, Who threw her in? Little Tom O' Linne, What a naughty boy was that To drown poor p.u.s.s.y cat, That never did any harm, But catch'd a mouse i' th' barn. (1797, cited by Rimbault.)

Other variations of this rhyme mention Johnny Green (_c._ 1783, p. 23) and Tommy Quin (Rusher), which, considering the relative antiquity of Tommy Linn, are obvious degradations of this name.

The rhyme in some collections is quoted in an enlarged form:--

Who put her in? Little Tommy Lin, Who pulled her out? Little Tommy [_or_ d.i.c.key] Stout.

I have heard also:--

Who put her in? Little Tommy Thin.

Who pulled her out? Little Tommy Stout.

Stout is perhaps a traditional name. For it occurs in the nursery piece on the old woman who went to sleep out of doors and forgot her ident.i.ty.

I know no earlier version of this piece in English than the one recorded by Rimbault which begins:

There was a little woman as I've heard tell, Who went to market her eggs for to sell.

It further relates how she went to sleep out of doors, how the man Stout "cut her petticoats round about," and how on waking she did not know herself, and decided to go home and find out if her dog knew her (1864, p. 6). But the story is an old one, for we come across it in Grimm's _Fairy Tales_, where it forms a sequel to "Kluge Else," (No. 35). In this the part of Stout is taken by the woman's husband, who hung her skirt about with bells, and it is further stated that the woman fell asleep when she was cutting corn. The same story in a more interesting form was recovered in Norway. Here we read that the woman fell asleep while she was cutting hemp, which explains why her mind failed her. For hemp newly cut has strongly narcotic properties. It was probably the herb which the witches smoked in their diminutive clay-pipes in pre-Christian times. Presumably on account of these narcotic properties sowing and cutting of hemp were a.s.sociated all over Europe with peculiar dances, such as _Enfille aiguille_, our _Thread-the-Needle_. Its connection with heathen rites of divination is suggested by the well-known rhyme:--

Hemp-seed I set, hemp-seed I sow, The young man whom I love, Come after me and mow. (1890, p. 414.)

In this form the rhyme is also cited in _Mother Bunch's Closet newly broke open_, as a charm to secure the vision of one's future husband.

CHAPTER VI

RHYMES AND COUNTRY DANCES

Many true nursery rhymes go back to traditional dancing and singing games which are now relegated to the playground, but which were danced by rustics within the memory of man, and which are heirs to the choral dances of our heathen forefathers. For dancing in its origin was no idle and unmeaning pastime. Dances were undertaken for serious purposes, such as warding off evil and promoting agricultural growth, conceptions which hang closely together. These dances formed part of festivities that took place at certain times of the year. They were accompanied by expressive words, and by actions which were suited to the words, and which gave the dance a dramatic character. Our carol is related to the _caraula_ that was prohibited among heathen customs by Bishop Eligius of Noyon (d.

659), in the north of France in the seventh century, and has the same origin as the _Ch.o.r.eia_ of the Greeks, the _reihe_ or _reigen_ of Germany, the _karol_ of Brittany, and the _caraula_ of eastern Switzerland. In course of time the religious significance of the choral dance was lost and its practice survived as a sport. At a later stage still, it became a pastime of children and a diversion of the ballroom.

Among the dances that can be traced back through several stages, is the one which in its latest survival is known as the _Cotillon_. This is mentioned in England as far back as the year 1766. Burns in _Tam o'

Shanter_ speaks of it as "brand new from France." The peculiar features of the Cotillon as it is danced nowadays, include free choice of partners, the women being at liberty in one figure to choose the men, the drawing into the dance of the a.s.sembled company, and the presence of a cushion which is put to a variety of uses. The Cotillon usually concludes the ball.

In an earlier form the Cotillon is represented by the dance which was known in the seventeenth century as _Joan Saunderson or the Cushion Dance_. The way of dancing _Joan Saunderson_ is described in _The Dauncing Master, a collection of dances with tunes for young people_, published by H. Playford. Of this the first volume was issued in 1650, which was enlarged in subsequent editions, when further volumes were added. _The Dauncing Master_ of Playford shows how traditional country dances were appropriated to the ballroom, for many of these dance tunes, such as _Mulberry Bush_, and _Green Sleeves_, correspond with the names of traditional dancing and singing games.

In _Joan Saunderson or the Cushion Dance_ as described by Playford,[29]

a cushion and a drinking-horn were brought in by two dancers to the sound of a fiddle. The cushion-bearer locked the door and pocketed the key, and danced round the room alone. Then he exchanged words with the fiddler as to the need of finding a maid and pressing her into the dance. The name Joan Saunderson being proposed, the cushion-bearer placed the cushion before the woman of his choice, and knelt upon it.

She did the same, and drank from the horn. They kissed and danced together. The same ceremony was then gone through by the girl, who, when the name John Saunderson was proposed, approached the man of her choice bearing the cushion, the first dancer accompanying her. The ceremony was repeated again and again, alternately by man and woman, and as each dancer chose a partner, the number of those following the cushion-bearer increased. Finally the whole a.s.sembled company were drawn into the ring.

[29] Playford, _The Dauncing Master_, 1686, p. 206.

A scene in _Joan Saunderson_ is said to be represented in a Dutch engraving of the year 1624 (1876, p. 254). _Joan Saunderson_ is still danced in different parts of the country under the same or some similar name. In Derbyshire it is known as the _Cushion Dance_, and those who are drawn into the ring are addressed as John Sanders and Jane Sanders.

In the Lowlands the dance is known as _Babbity Bowster_, bowster standing for bolster; in the north it is the _Whishin Dance_, whishin standing for cushion (1894, I, pp. 9, 87). The Cushion Dance was the last dance that was danced at a wedding,[30] and at Northampton it came at the conclusion of the May-Day festival (1876, p. 253).

[30] Murray's Dictionary: _Cushion Dance_.

In the Cotillon of the ballroom, the ring finally breaks up and the company dances in couples; the Cushion Dance leads up to the withdrawal of the married pair, and concludes with a romp. A later edition of _The Dauncing Master_ (1698, p. 7), perhaps with a view to forestalling this, adds a sequel to the dance, according to which the game, after it had been wound, was unwound, that is, each dancer in turn bade farewell to his partner, and after doing so left the room.

The points of likeness between the Cotillon and the Cushion Dance are such as to favour the belief that they are connected. The free choice of partners, the presence of the cushion, the drawing in of the whole a.s.sembled company, and the fact that the dance terminates the ball, are peculiar to them both. The Cushion Dance being the older sport, preserves the a.s.sociation with weddings and with the May-Day festival, which at one time was the occasion for mating and marriage.

The a.s.sociations with mating and marriage are preserved also in a traditional game that is still played throughout the greater part of England, which is generally known as _Sally Waters_. The verses recited in playing it render it probable that the Cushion Dance is a later development of the game known as _Sally Waters_.

In playing _Sally Waters_ the players stand in a ring, a boy and a girl alternately choose a partner and seal the bond by joining hands, or by kneeling, or by a kiss. The verses recited in playing the game were first recorded by Halliwell (1849, p. 133). Forty-nine further variations, used in different parts of the kingdom in playing the game, have been printed by Mrs. Gomme, who cla.s.sed this among marriage games, (1894, II, 461). In the book of Playford the Cushion Dance is called also _Joan Saunderson_, and those who are pressed into the dance are designated as Joan Saunderson and John Saunderson, or as Jane Sanders and John Sanders. In playing the game of _Sally Waters_ similar names are used. Thus the children in Penzance stand in a ring and sing the following verse:--

Little Sally Sander sitting in the Sander, Weeping and crying for her young man. (1894, No. 26.)

In playing the game in Liverpool they begin:--

Little Polly Sanders sits on the sand, etc. (_Ibid._, No. 42.)

The verses used in Yorkshire begin:--

Little Alice Sander sat upon a cinder, etc. (_Ibid._, No. 31.)

These names Sally Sander, Polly Sanders, etc., must be derived from the same source as Saunderson and Sanders of the Cushion Dance. A host of other rhymes current in the nursery deal with the same theme, and are formed on the same model. There is one step only from _little Sally Sander_ of Penzance, _little Polly Sanders_ of Liverpool, and _little Alice Sander who sat upon a cinder_, to the following rhymes which are included in different nursery collections. All these rhymes describe a person sitting and waiting, and most of them dwell on the idea of a seat or a cushion, while the allusion to matters matrimonial, being unsuitable to children, is altogether dropped.

Little Polly Flinders sat among the cinders, Warming her pretty toes; Her mother came and caught her, and scolded her little daughter, For spoiling her nice new clothes. (1846, p. 212.)

Little Miss m.u.f.fet sat on a tuffet, Eating of curds and whey, There came a great spider and sat down beside her And frightened Miss m.u.f.fet away.[31]

Little Mary Ester sat upon a tester Eating of curds and whey; There came a little spider and sat down beside her, And frightened Mary Ester away. (1842, p. 61.)

[31] _Songs for the Nursery_, published by Darton & Co., 1812. The verses included in this collection were altered with a view to rendering them more suitable for children.

Tuffet and tester are words for a footstool.