The San Francisco call., 1895-11-24
WHAT BIG FOLKS FORGET.

what q lot OF Things cDlufen KNOW IAdL
grown people never think about?
For instance there's the doggerel for
games children couldn't possibly grow up
without:
Erie Ira, Ickery, Ann,
Phyllis and Pholls,
And Nicho as John.
Queevy, Quavy,
English navy,
Tfnklin, Tonklin,
Billee Bee, BeauX, Buck.
Now children have been repeating that
group of words in every quarter of the
world where English is spoken for hun
dreds of years, and everybody supposed it
was mere senseless jingle, without any
meaning at all. But finally one of those
peculiar men who have somehow fallen
into the habit of thinking about things
they see and hear went to work to find out
what it was ali about.
This thinking man happened to be
learned, too, and to know especially about
history and langua es. He studied the
matter very carefully, and was able to
form an opinion, not only of the meaning
of those words and of the way they are
strung together, but even of the period OF
English history when they were first said
or sung.
Ever since the days when the Bad Kin G
John, who died in 1915, put TO death his
innocent nephew, the young Prince Ar
thur, English-s speaking children have been
unconsciouslv mOcking that Johnnie who
was dubbed John Lacklands-with iingles
that We're invented to deride him.
Just remember little folks, when you
are playing your games, that you are re-
peating words that were first hissed in
anger against a king who dared to put
children to death. The big folks always
forgot, or perhaps they did not dare breathe
treason. So the words have been handed
down from child to child, hardly ever
even heard by their elders.
There are lots of absurd superstitions
that children have and laugh at them
selves that used to be regarded solemnly
by learned judges i'll powdered wigs, by
lords and ladies. even by the kings and
queens themselves.
If YOU handle toads you will have warts
on your hands.
What child doesn't know that, and what
grown person that hasn't been dead FIVE
hundred years ever heard of it?
And if you do get wart you must steal
a bean, split it, bury one-half at night ard
lose the other when you don't know it.
Every English-speaking child on earth
knows that, while plenty OF learned pro-
fessors have forgotten 1t. When you have
tooth pulled you must bury it, or some
thing dreadful will be sure to happen to
you.
Isn't that so. children? There are hun
dreds more of those superstitions of chill
dren, and the funny part of it is that all
the fairy tales and ghost stories and absurd
nonsenses generally, the things that every
body used to believe in-enough to be
afraid to pass graveyard at night, any
way-all those things are given over to the
children for few hundred years before
they are thrown away altogether
There is one comfort for the small folks,
though. In some remote, tucked-away
corners of England, Scotland and Ireland
there are, or were, only very few years
ago, plenty OF grown-up folks who believe
in ghosts and fairies just as sincerely as any
of the children do. America isn't a very
good country for superstitions somehow,
but if the children were to give them up
whatever would they do for secrets to tell
each other and always hide away from the
prOWn-uDs?