Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1880-04-15

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5 universal signorance that others seek I
. 1.-The first of April some do say,
Is set apart for All-fools' day;
r. But why the people cali it SO am :.
Nor I nor they Themselves do know
But OF this day are people sent
On purpose of pure merriment;
4 And though the day is known before
Yet frequently there is great store
OF these forgetfLls to be found,
Who're sent to dance Molly DiXson'
round;
4 AID having tried eachshop and stall
, And disappointed at them all,
At last some tells them of the cheat
i Then they return from the pursuit,
And straightway home with sham,
they run.
I And others laugh at what is done.
+ But tits thing to be disputed,
| Which is the greatest fool reputed-
The man that innocently Went,
Or he that him desIgn'dly seut.r r
The theory has been advanced, bu1
apparently without very much to sup
port it, that the custom of imposing
upon and ridiculing people:on the Isl
of April may have an ailus;on to the
mockery of the Saviour of the world by
the Jews. Something like what we call
making Apriidools is practiced abroad
in some Roman Catholic countries on
Innocents' Day, on which occasion
people ru.l through all the rooms of the
house, making a pretended search, in
memory, perhaps, of the search made by
Herod for the Child Jesus, and his
having been imposed upon and deceived
h,-+ +I,a ha
orders, g returned to their own country
another way. EVr-T --riFl
In "a copy of the British Apo!zo,
published III 170s, appears the follow
ing query: Whence proceeds the
custom of making Ap,il-fools :" IF we
may trust the answer that is appended,
it may not improperly be derived from
a memorable transaction mentioned by
Dionysius as having occurred between
the Romans and the Sabines: :. The
Romans, about the infancy OF the city,
wanting wives, and findilg they could
mt obtain the ncighboring women By
their peaceful addresses, resolved to
make use of stratagem and accordingly
Romuius instituted certain games to be
performed III the beginning of April
according to the Roman calendar) in
honor of Neptune. Upon notice there
of the bordering inhabitants, with their
whole families, tiocked to Rome to see
this mighty celebration, when the Ro-
mans seized upon great unmbcr of the
Sabine virgins and ravished them, which
imposition m y be the foundation
of this foolish CUSTOM
In some cases the custom of making
fools in April is originally ascribed to
the. Jews,and is sid to have begun from
the mistake made by n oah, in sending
the dove out of the ark before the wa
ter had abated, on the day Of the calen.
dar among the Hebrews which CORE.
spends to our Ist Of April; and to
perpetuate the memory of this deliver
ance it was thought proper to punish
whoever. forgot so remarkable circum-
stance by sending them upon some
sleeveless errand similar to that upon
which the bird was sent by the patriarch
One writer sums up our common igno-
rance regarding the origin Of All-fools'
Day as follows :. 1t can not be connect
ed with 'Feast of the ASS for that
would be on TwelfthDay ;. nor with the
ceremony of the Abbot of Unreason'
IN Scotland, for these frolics we're held
at Christmas. The writer recollects'
that he has met. with a conjecture
somewhere that April-day is celebrat-
ed as part of the festivity of New
Years Day. That day used to be
kept on the 25th Of March. All anti
qnaries anow that an octave, or eight
days, usually completed the festivals
of our forelathers. II 50, April day,
making the octave's close, may be
supposed to be employed in fool max
ing, all other sports having been ex-
bausted in the seven foregoing days" !"
Donce says. Il am convinced that the
ancient ceremony of the Feast Of
Fools has no connection whatever
| with the custom Of making fools on IL e
lst of April"
April-fooling, the victims being
called April7fish (poissons d'Avril)
was very commcn in France but a
short time ago. We also get some
traces of it in the literature of that
country at an earlier period than we
ldo in that of England. 1t is related,
for instarce, that Francis, Duke OF
iIorraine, and his wife. being in cap
Itrylty in Nantes, effected their escape
|ln consequence of the attempt having
been made on the-1st of April. The
4 story reads-that,, "dlsguised as peas
ants, the one bearing a hod upon his
4 lSlDutder Che other oarr,.;no n b.eEo.
tof rubbish upon her back, they both
at an early hour ofIhe day, passed
through the gates Of the CITY. Ia
woman having a knowledge OF theil
persons ran, to the guard to give no
tice to the, sentry ril-fool!' cried
the soldier, and all the guard to &
man shouted April fool! beginplns
with the sergeant in charge 7of the
post. The Governor, to whomi the
story was told as jest, became sus-
4 fpteious in regard to the matter, ait
ordered the prison to be visited. By