Connecticut western news., 1877-05-11
Fourth Month Ounce,

The curious custom of joking on the first of April, sending the ignorant or unwary on fruitless errands, for the sake of making them feel foolish and having a laugh at them, prevails very widely in this world. And whether you call the victim Fourth month dunce," an "April fool" an April fish" Gas in France), or an April gowk" Gas iD Scotland), the object, to deceive 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 Feast of Fools" is mentioned as celebrated by the ancient Romans. In Asia the Hindoos have festival, ending on the 31st of March, called the ''Huli festival" |" in which they play the same sort of first of April pranl1s,-translated into Hin doo,-laughing at the victim, and mak- him 'Huli fool" It goes back even to Persia, where it is supposed to have a beginning. in very ancient times, in the celebration of spring when their New Year begins. .... How it came to be what we every where 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, wher- ever we may happen to be, and be care- ful 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 greenhorn to a bookseller to buy the ''Life and Adventures of Eve's grandmother" or to cobbler to buy few cents worth of "strap oil, ,"- strap oil being, in the language of the shoe- making brotherhood, 8 personal appli- cation of the leather. The victim usu- ally gets good whipping with 8 strap. There was old superstition in Eng land that prayers to the Virgin at eight o'clock on All Fools Day would be of wonderful efficacy, and It is seriously mentioned by grave writers of old days. In Scotland the first of April fun is called hunting the gowk," and con- sists most often in sending person to another long way off, with a note which says, Hunt the gowk another mile." The recipient of the note gives him new missive to still another, con- taining the same words; and so the sport goes on, till the victim remembers the day of the month, and sits down to rest and think about it.
 In France, where the custom IS very ancient, the jokes are much the same; but the victim is called an April fish, |" because he is easily caught. In one part of France there is custom of eat ing certain kind of peas which grow there, called pois clutches. The joke there is to send the peasants to cer- tain convent to ask for these peas, tell ing them that the fathers are obliged to give some to every one who comes on that day. The joke is as much on the monks as on the peasants, for there is often perfect rush of applicants all day.
 A more disagreeable custom prevails in Lisbon on the first of April, when the great object is to pour water on the passers-by, or, failing in that, to throw powder in their faces. If both can be done, the joker is happy.
 need not tell you the American styles of joking: mailing piece of sil- yer to the side walk; tying string to a purse, and jerking it away from greedy fingers; leaving tempting look ing packages, filled with sand, on door steps; frying doughnuts with an inter- lining of wool; putting salt in the sugar bowl, cts. You know too much al- ready.
 But this custom, with others, com mon in coarser and rougher times, is fast dying out. Even now it is left almost entirely to playful children and the un- educated classes. This sentiment, quoted from an English almanac of a hundred years age, will I'm sure, meet theapproval of grown ups"of the nine- teenth century:
 "But t is thing to be disputed, Which is the greatest fool reputed, | The who innocently went
 Or he that him designedly sent" M NioboLne