The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1877-03-30
Fourth Month Ounce.

The curious custom of joking on the first
of April, sending the ignorant or the UNI
wary on .ruitless errands, for the sake OF
making them feel foolish and having a
laugh at them, prevails very widely in the
world. And whether you call the victim
a "Fourth month Ounce" an april fool, u
an April fish" Gas in Franco, or an april
gowk" Gas in Scotland), the object, to de-
ceive him and laugh at him, is everywhere
the same.
The custom has been traced back for
ages all through Europe, as far back as
the records go. The I" Feast of Fools" is
mentioned as celebrated by the ancient
Romans. In Asia the Hindoos have a
festival ending on the 31st of March, call
ed the "Huli festival" in which they play
the same sort of first of April pranks,-
translated into Hindoo, - laughing at the
victim, and making him Hull fool."-
1t goes back even to Persia. where it is
supposed to have beginning, in very
ancient times, in the celebration of spring,
when their New Year begins.
How it came to be what we everywhere
find it, the wise men cannot agree. The
many authorities are so divided, that see
no way but for us to accept the custom as
we find it, wherever we may happen to be,
and be careful not to abuse it.
Some jokes are peculiar to particular
places. In England, where it is called
"All Fools Day." one favorite joke is to
send the greenhon to a bookseller to buy
the " Life and Adventures Of EYES Grand
mother" or to cobblcr to buy few cents
worth of "strap oil,"-strap oil being, in
the language Of the shoe-making brother
hood, personal application of the leather
The victim usually gets good whipping
with strap.
There was an old superstition in England
that prayers to the Virgin at eight o'clock
on All Fools Day" would be of wonder.
full efficacy, and it is seriously mentioned
by grave writers of old days.
In Scotland the first of April fun is call
ed hunting the gowk," and consists most
often of sending person to another long
way off, with a note which says, "Hunt
the gowk another nile" The recipient
of the note gives him new missve to
still another, containing the same words
and SO the sport goes on, till the victim re
members the day of the month, and sits
down to rest and think about il.
In France, where the custom is very an.
cient, the Jokes are much the same; but
the victim is called an april fish," be-
cause he is easily caught. In one part O.
France there is a custom of eating a certain
kind of peas which grow there, called
pois chiches. The joke there is to send thu
peasants to a certain convent to ask fol
those peas, telling them that the fathers
are obliged to give some to every one who
comes on that day. The joke is as mucl
on the monks as on the peasants, for Their
is often perfect rush of applicants al
day.
A more disagreeable custom prevails il
Lisbon on the first of April, when the grea
object is to pour water on passers-by, OF
failing in that, to throw powder in thei
faces. If both can be done, the joker i
happy.
need not tell you the American style
of joking: mailing piece Of silver to til
sidewalk tying string to purse, ant
jerking it away from greedy fingers; leav
ing tempting-looking packages, filled wit
sand, on door-steps; frying doughnuts wit
an interlining of wool; putting salt in tn
sugarbowl, etc. You know too many a
ready.
But this custom, with others, commo
in coarser and rougher times, is fast dyin