Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-09-25

WOO iCtt NtOi o"sS Pee~t ~
whenever after he saw a bald.head-
ed person, he always shouted, mock
ingly, 'Ah you told about the
eel.'p
Monkeys, too, were prime favor.
ties, and on the antics Of one Of
them once hung the destiny OF
England. When Oliver Cromwell,
of whom all have heard, was q
baby, he was taken on a visit to
his grandfather, old Sir Henry
Cromwell, who owned a very large
and strong monkey. One day
when the nurse was out of the way
this monkey snatched little Oliver
ont of the cradle, and ran swiftly
with him to the root Of the house.
AS you may imagine, his mother
and all the family were terribly
alarmed, and as they could not
catch the animal, they placed
feather.beds all around the house
for the child to fall on If the
monkey dropped him. But Master
JockO was q better nurse than thay
thought, and when he had given
his little charge an airing, brought
him back, and deposited him quite
safe and sound.
There were, too, many grand
festivals every year: the May.day
dance around the May.pole, cherry
feasts in the fruit orchard; "har-
vest home," and "sheep.shearing,p
with their "cheese cakes and
"warden pies" and, above all,
Christmas, with it's reyels, music
and pageants. We can fancy the
merry troops going to one Of these
fetes, the girls with their long hair
bound with fillets Of silver, and the
boys dressed to look like men in
miniature. The hobby.horse dance,
hot cookies, and blndman's.buff,
were the chief Christmas sports,
led by the Lord of Misrule, who
reigned for twelve days; but there
was rather a dOleful ending to the
fun on Innocents' Day, when early
in the morning all the poor children
we're whipped in their beds to i'm
press upon their minds the murder
OF the innocents.
After the reformation learning
spread rapidly, but still there were
no charming story.bOoks, papers OF
magazines published expressly fol-
young people, although it is said
we owe our art of printing on paper
indirectly TO children. A citizen OF
Harlem was walking in the woods,
when he employed himself by cut
ting letters on tree and taking
of impressions of them in ink tc
amuse his grandchildren. This
suggested the idea of printing, and
from the wish to please some little
Dutch Hans or Trudchen came the
many books that have been the joy
and comfort of millions. In the
time of Queen Elizabeth scholar:
learned to read from q book
a sort of tablet mounted on wood
and covered with horn, on which
were printed the alphabet, vowels,
words of two letters, and the Lords
Prayer.
In some things, however, young
folks we're ahead of those of today
Girls, particularly, excelled in
needle. work, and Queen Elizabeth
herself, when only six years old
made the christening shirt for heI
baby brother Edward VIA royal
example to our little maids OF that
age who can hardly sew their dolls
clothes.
1t would seem very odd now fol-
q boy or girl of ten to be brought
in from play and informed that ht
or she was to be married within q
month. Yet formerly this Otter
happened among the children OF
the nobility. An incident is told
of little Isabella Of Valois, whs
was chosen for the second wife o.
King Richard ii. when scarcely
eight. She must have been q stait
little woman, for when the Ear
Marshal of England waited on her
and said, Madam, if it please
God, you shall be our Queen," she
spoke up of her own accord, "Sir
if it please God and my lore
and father that l be Queen of Eng
land, | shall be well pleased
thereat, for I have been told | shall
then be great LADY," aud frou
that time, an old chrOnicler says
it was pretty to see her practicine
: show to act queen.'
} Gradually, however, times i'm
proved, and child.life with them
The bond between parents anc
children became more that Of love
and less that of fear. The Dutcl
sent more and more beautiful toyi
broadcast over the world, for
"What the children Of Holland take pleas
ure In making,
The children OF England (snd America)
take pleasure in breaking"
Juvenile books began to appear;
and an ancient family in England
has preserved playhouse made
in the time Of Queen Anne, will
"the doll dressed in the costume oI
that period. and the plate of reaI
silver" Il was probably the
greatest treasure of some old
fashioned little lady, and kept as