The morning call., 1890-04-01
:" APRIL FOOL!"
A Day Given to JoeuIarities and
Playing Of Tricks.
The Origin of the Custom Has Never Been
Determined-A Few Samples of April
Fooling Copied From Old Books.
They shot him dead on the Nine stone Rig
Beside the Headless Cross,
And they left him. lying in MS pioou
Hmm m q p,oor and moss.

postors that ever the sleuth-hound of criti-
| cism has scented out and exposed, while
the person whom he deceived and duDed
| was, without cavil, the most famous novel
ist of his time. This impostor, Robert
Surtees, was born on the LIST of April, and
seems to have been endowed at his birth
with the propensity to indulgein the prac-
tice of deception and hoaXing with which
! his natal day was being celebrated. The
| particulars of tie fraud are these: Shortly
after Walter Scott's Border Minstrelsy"
| was first published that writer received a
\ communication from Surtees, a man of
| property III the county of Durham, England,
well educated, and of undoubted ability
and learning. The communication con-
tanned ballad pr0fessedly taken down in
writing from tue lips of an aged .crone
| living in his neighborhood, {but in
reality a composition of Snrtees ;himself.
1t was accompanied by such sbe1and cru
dte criticisms by the sender that Scott re-
ceived it in good faith and published it
| in the next edition Of his Border Min
strelsy. Spurred on by this success.
| 'Surtees afterward palmed off several of
such spurious, productions as original
ballads, and established very friendly rela-
| tionS and correspondence between Sir Wal
ter Scott and himself Scott died before
| the discovery of the fraud and thus escaped
the bitter modification which his participa-
| ton in the knowledge of it would have in
fcted upon him. So much with regard to
| the curious coincidence of April 1st having
| been the birthday of the .perpetrator of a
very remarkable hoax.
IA DAY OF TRICKS.
As to the origin of the widely prevailing
| custom of giving loose. to .jocularties and
/ tricks on this day, antiquaries have been
| unable to trace IL to any certain Source.
| Many illusions to April fooling are TO be
| found in the English literature of the last
| century, but no references to it have yet
been NOTICED In the earlier writers
I either pro or con, with regard to the 4
/ antiquity Of the custom. 1t is true
/ that at Christmas there was the Feast
| of the Ass. and various mummngs with
| practical joking were in vogue. festivities
| corresponding with the Saturualia of Rome
but the dates do not agree. More signif-
| cant IS the fact that the HindoOs have in
| their Hull" which terminates with the
| 31st Of March, IA precisely similar festival,
during which the principal aim of amusc-
| ment is to send persons ON bootless errands,
| as for instance to individuals known to be alb
| sent from home, and then enjoy a laugh at
| the dupe's expense. That this custom prevails
| IN country so widely distant and distinct
| from Europe, with so near a coincidence of
| day, seems to point to very remote origin.
| Indeed, some theorists boldly trace the Gus 1
tom to the time of Noah as a commemora-
| ton OF his sending the dove out of the ark
| on a bootless quest. Others, again, refer
its origin TO the miracle plays performed in
| early times, in which Christ is represented
| as being carried from Annas to Caiaphas
| and from PLATE to Herod without any IA
voTable result being attained. There are
| traces of the prevalence of Aprl-fooing in
| France at much earlier period than IN
| other parts of Europe, and it seems that
| both England ana Germany derived the
| fashion from that country. In France the
| dupe is called Poisson dAvril," April
| fish, and in Scotland "gOwk," that is
| cuckoo.
| ANCIENT JOKER REVIVED.
Instances have occurred where greatnum-
bers of people have been stultlfied by a
single well-planned hoax, one of the most
| lndcrous of which was got off in London
in 1860. In March of that year a multitude
| of persons received through the London
following Inscription on It:
Tower Of London-Admitt tile bearer and friend
to view tue annual ceremony OF Washing The
| White Lions on Sunday April l, 1860.
Admitted only at the " bite Gate. II Is parte-
ulary requested that no grdtuites be given to
the wardens or their assistants
In one corner Of the card was the impress
| sion Of what, to superficial observers,
seemed to be an official seal, but which was
made by simply stamping it with an En-
| gllsh slXpence. An official appearance was
thus given II. The trick was most success
ful, and during all that Sunday morning
| carriages and cabs were driven through the
streets about the Tower, their occupants
Vainly endeavoring to find the White Gate.
| Swift being In London in 17l3 planned, in
| colleague with Lady Masham and Dr.
| Arbuthnot a hoax of the same general char
| acter. a few days before the Let of April
a man named Noble had teen hanged, and
| on the evening of March 31st the three laid
i their heads together TO concoct a story and
i spread the report that Noble had been re-
1 suscitated by his friends, but, having been
i seized by the Sheriff, was detained by him
i at the Black Swan in Holborn. The Joke
L. foil fyh l,ov pnt rf
4 parties to the compact took any action in
/ it, each probably hoping that the other two
would play off tile hoax andhaye to bear
i the onus of it.
/ DoUBLE-BARRELED ONE.
Curiosity, kindness and simplicity are the
i traits OF human character that are most sue
/ cessfuliy worked upon by the hoaxer, while
| surprise and ingenious deception or tempta-
| ton are his most effective abstract weap-
/ ons. Of attack A person of benevolent dis
! position will fall into n trap baited with an
appeal to it, when all other means of de-
| ception have failed to catch him. l forget
/ who it was that narrates that while in New
I York, sallying forth on the morning of an
| April. fools day, he determined that he
/ would not be made dupe, and to fortify
1 himself he kept the subject uppermost in
his mind. For a long time he ran the
gauntlet of all attempts to fool him un-
scathed, and finally stopped to watch some
children enjoying among themselves
the engrossing sport of the day. Pres
Q emily an urclin from the throng ran
up to him. and with appealing look timidly
Foo card @ sT b % you asa the April
little fellow" replied onr wise man, and,
turning the boy round, discovered that no
such advertisement was there. Lightly
springlng away the youngster gleeiully
cried out: II amt got no FOOLS paper on
my back, but you haye!' The victim in
i voluntarily turning his head round spied
over, his shoulder another boy stealing
away from him; thereupon he unhestat-
| ingly pulled off his coat to take off the OBJ
| Jectionable show-card. But his ulster had
received no insult Then there was mirth
among the youngsters; it was double-bar-
reled joke. His kindly nature had sue
| cumbed TO ingenious deception, and the
| dIpllcity of the one boy in representing
| himself as victim and the pretense of the
! other were masterpieces of impromptu
| April fooling
| HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD.
On this day of the year it not unfre-
| quenty happens that persons. in their ap-
| prehen6lons or reliance on their own smart
| ness, constitute themselves their own
| durers. n o more Interesting instance of such
cases can be found than that narrated in con-
| nection with the escape of Francis, Duke
| of Lorraine. He and his wife were in cap
| tivity at Nantes and on April 1st disguised
| as peasants, the one bearing hod on his
shoulder, the other carrying basket of
| rubbish on her back at an early hour of
the day succeeded in passing the city gates
| A woman, who was SO well acquainted with
| their features that she could recognize item
in spite of their DISCUSSES, met them out
| side and at once hurried off to the guard
and gave notice of the evasion to the
| sentry. april fool!" cried the soldiers,
| and all the guard to man greeted her
| derisiyely with April fooll' Hours later
the story reached the Governors ears, told
| to him as a jest. He, however conceived
| some suspicion, and ordered an investige-
| ton 10 be made. The truth came out, but
| it was too late. The Duke and his wife had
| escaped beyond reach of pursuit, saved by
| the foolery practiced on the first of April.
| Several eminent men have been born on
| the first of April, among whom mention
| may be made of William Harvey, in 1878