Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales Part 30

It is written upon a wall in Rome Ribchester was as rich as any town in Christendom.

Camden says that Ribchester was famous for its remains of ancient art.

HAWLEY.

Blow the wind high, blow the wind low, It bloweth good to Hawley's hoe.

These lines are said to relate to one John Hawley, a wealthy merchant of Devon some centuries ago, who was fortunate in his s.h.i.+pping. According to Prince, p. 477, "so was the gentleman's habitation in that town (Dartmouth) call'd the Hoe or Haw."

GOTHAM.

Three wise men of Gotham Went to sea in a bowl; And if the bowl had been stronger, My song would have been longer.

Honour to whom honour is due! Mr. Lower will have it that Suss.e.x is the county of the Gothamites. Gotham is near Pevensey, and many traditionary anecdotes are still current respecting the stupidity of the people of that town. On one occasion, the mayor, having received a letter, was reading it upside down, the messenger very respectfully suggested that he would sooner arrive at the meaning of its contents by reversing its position. "Hold your tongue, sir," replied the chief magistrate; "for while I am mayor of Pemsey, I'll hold the letter which eend uppards I like!"

BUCKLAND.

Buckland and Laverton, Stanway and Staunton, Childswickham, Wickamford, Badsey and Aston.

These are places in Gloucesters.h.i.+re, Worcesters.h.i.+re, and Somersets.h.i.+re.

Staunton is p.r.o.nounced _Stawn_, and Aston is commonly called _Awn_.

COLEBROOK.

There were three cooks of Colebrook, And they fell out with our cook; And all was for a pudding he took From the three cooks of Colebrook.

GILLING.

Tradition informs us, but leaves us in ignorance as to the nature of the offence offered, that once upon a time, a long time ago, his satanic majesty took dire displeasure at the good folks of Hartforth, for some naughty trick, no doubt played upon him, during one of his visits to that locality; so finding a stone of enormous bulk and weight to the south of Gilling, his majesty, in his rage, raised the ponderous ma.s.s in one hand, and uttering this exclamatory couplet,-

Have at thee, Black Hartforth, But have a care o' Bonny Gilling!

cast it from him with all his strength. It would appear that the devil's vision is rather of a telescopic character; for, as luck would have it, he missed his aim, and the stone, which flew whizzing through the air, at last fell harmless far beyond the former place; and now lies, bearing the impression of his unholy fingers, on the rising ground to the north side of Gatherly Moor.[45]

[Footnote 45: Communicated by Mr. M. A. Denham.]

SHREWSBURY.

The inhabitants of Shrops.h.i.+re, and, it is said, especially Shrewsbury, have an unfortunate habit of misplacing the letter _h_. It is scarcely necessary to say that the failing is by no means peculiar to that county. I am unable to vouch for the antiquity of the following lines on the subject, but they have become proverbial, and are therefore worth giving:

The pet.i.tion of the letter _H_ to the inhabitants of Shrewsbury, greeting,-

Whereas I have by you been driven, From house, from home, from hope, from heaven, And plac'd by your most learn'd society In exile, anguish, and anxiety, And used, without one just pretence, With arrogance and insolence; I here demand full rest.i.tution, And beg you'll mend your elocution.

To this was returned the following answer from the Shrewsburians:

Whereas we've rescued you, Ingrate, From handcuff, horror, and from hate, From h.e.l.l, from horse-pond, and from halter, And consecrated you in altar; And placed you, where you ne'er should be, In honour and in honesty; We deem your pray'r a rude intrusion, And will not mend our elocution.

JACK ROBINSON.

There are few proverbial expressions more common than the saying, "As soon as you can say Jack Robinson," implying excessive rapidity. I have seen the phrase with the name of _d.i.c.k Robinson_, but failed to take a memorandum of it. It has since occurred to me that it may have originated in some way or other with the actor of that name mentioned by Ben Jonson. If, however, the following quotation from an "old play,"

given by Carr, be genuine, this conjecture must fall to the ground:

A warke it ys as easie to be doone, As 'tys to saye, Jack! robys on.

WRANGHAM.

Swing'em, sw.a.n.g'em, bells at Wrangham, Three dogs in a string, hang'em, hang'em.

A hit at the Ches.h.i.+re provincial p.r.o.nunciation of the _ng_.

LEICESTERs.h.i.+RE.

Higham on the hill, Stoke in the vale; Wykin for b.u.t.termilk, Hinckley for ale.

BROCKLEY-HILL.

No heart can think, nor tongue can tell, What lies between Brockley-hill and Penny-well.

Brockley-hill lies near Elstree, in Hertfords.h.i.+re, and Penny-well is the name of a parcel of closes in the neighbourhood. See Stukeley's Itin.

Cur. 1776, i. 118. This distich alludes to the quant.i.ty of old coins found near those places.

STANTON DREW.

Stanton Drew, A mile from Pensford, Another from Chue.

A Somersets.h.i.+re proverb, mentioned by Stukeley, in the work above quoted, ii. 169.

SEVERN.

Blessed is the eye, That's between Severn and Wye.

Ray gives this proverb, but appears to misunderstand it, the first line not alluding to the prospect, but to an islet or ait in the river, though I have not met with the word _eye_ used in this sense. There can, however, be no doubt as to its meaning; probably from A.-S. ea.

SHERSTON MAGNA.