Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-02-19

following macaronic version of Mother
Goose and the subjoined commentary:
CARMEN.
Cano carmen sixpcnce a corbis plena rye
Aulta> avcs atra~ perco,tas IN pie
Jbi PIE aIertu- tum can't ''vium greN;
Fui~>et rex in parlor, multo de nunmo tumens ;
Regina in culIua. bread and mel consumens;
Nucilia Wa IN hotto, Dependents out her clothes,
Quum VENT parva cornIN demorsa est her nose-
NOTES.
Cqno carmen Sirpence-The grandeur
of the opening is remarkable 1t reminds
Us at once of the opening lines of the
Eneid or Had The poetess announces
the subject of her verse, the sixpence or
to translate into her own idiom, the q" al
mighty dollar" and proceeds at once TO re-
late the workings Of the wonderful sixpence.
Compare Cd. l.. l.
lNuitaS arcs atraS perc0ctGS IN a pie
The maid mentioned in line seven, has
taken the sixpence. and bought at the mar
ket a basket full Of rye; She has used the
rye to ensnare some blackbirds and has
baked those birds IN a PIE. Observe the
force of the proposition per. The bird-pie
was not only pat into the oven. but allowed
to remain there until thoroughly baked
Wide Zumpt.)
tbi PIE aferfaes ft<,,s ea,sft <z,,is1s, s>,-4r-
The birds, although baked in pie. through
the wonderful Slxpence, still live; and.
when the pie is opened, hail their deliver
ance from the imprisoned crust with songs
OF rejoicing The birds with their volatile
natures are ready to sing in the midst of
adversely.
Elisset rer in parlor, multo de numn,o
tumenS;
Re /iaa IN culinq, Jread and mel consu-
n5euS.-'' The alusion here" says Mr.
Rogers. is to the story of King Henry
VII. This monarch, about the fifth year
Of his reign. fell very much in love with
his workmaid and at last he married her,
after he had gone through the necessary
preliminary Of beheading the wife he then
/ had. The new queen, although she was
well pleased with her change of station,
still felt great affection for her kitchen.
aud used to retire unobserved into the
/ pantry and there indulge in the delicacies
to which she had been accustomed before
her marriage 1t at last became generally
known that the queen had an extraordinary
liking for such good things: and, after her
death. she was distinguished by the name
! OF Queen OF the UOOdIeS.
The phrase multo de nuDanlO tunens has
been very generally msrepresented. In
the vuigate we read The king was IL
his parlor, counting out his money :" but
parlor seems to be Il very inappropriate
place to he counting money 1t is better,
then, to translate, The king is in his
parlor swelling with his money Here
you instantly picture TO yourself the king
IN the parlor. surrounded by his courtiers,
playing, perhaps, some game of chance ,
out, at any rate, making great display with
his money. Fuisset is the suhjunctive OF
the reason. The queen was in the pantry.
because the king was in the parlor and
would not miss her.
-dncilId 1cdS an horto depemdenS out her
clothes Quum remit para cornir denaorsa
est ter nose. These last two lines contain
d great deal of hidden meaning, and should
be carefully studied The maid who had
been so unfortunate as to make The pie, is
quietly hanging out her clothes. Her
mind is at rest. The tolls of washing -day Y
for her are almost over. She is finishing
her work, all unconscious of the terrible
fate that awaits her. She thinks of hel
intended visit to the play that night, anc
resolves that the king himself shall be
completely fascinated by her charms, and
then who knows but-when 10 , her charm.
are fled forever; her hopes of royalty
blasted. One of those blackbirds, which
the poetess calls raven, to show that i
was of supernatural size to the terrified eye
of the maid, one of those very birds which
she thought were cooked and eaten, i'm
PEELED by anger and thirsting for revenge
flies up, and, in the language of the vul
gate. "nipS off her noSe"!!!