The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1906-01-09
OLD BANBURY TOWN
1T HAS SEEN MANY STIRRING EVENTS
IN ENGLISH HISTORY.

More Famous For Its Rhymes and
Its Cakes Than For Its Part In the
Affairs of State.
Would you not think, IL you found
the following lines,
ES ROHK co CAED IR!
Seogeh sreve ereh wcisume vahl
lah sehs Sc otreh nos llebdnas
regni freh nos gnires rohyer
ganoed iryd ale nifae esots sorcy
rub nabot es rohk co caed ir,
that you had discovered some quaint
old Runic rhyme or a verse in some
language so ancient that it would take
an antiquarian to decipher it?
That was exactly what an enthusiast
tic band of archaeologistS did think one
time, so the story goes, when they
found this inscription cut in the corner
stone of a very old building in Ban
bury, England. These gentlemen were
on the lookout for just such quaint old
bits, and you can imagine how excited
they were over this when they discov-
cred it.
''Thls is certainly prehistoric Welsh"
said they and took it straightway to
the president of the archaeological So
ciety to which they belonged. He rub
bed his hands softly and smiled. This
discovery is something quite worth
while" he said. And all these wise
gentlemen felt very virtuous as they
wrinkled their brows and wondered
what story or what great secret the
queer old words would unfold.
But they puzzled in vain. They could
not read it, so then they telegraphed
to a widely known professor Of dead
languages, asking him to translate it
| for them.
| Very soon the return message arrived,
and all clustered around the president
to hear the telegram.
Read backward" it suggested, "and
when it Is deciphered it will be found
| to be well known rhyme"
So it is, as you see for yourselves,
and these wise gentlemen found that
fine hoax had been played upon them
| You all know how it goes:
Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross
| To see fine lady upon a gray horse;
| Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes.
She shall have music wherever she goes.
Banbury is best known the English
speaking world over by this nursery
rhyme, although, as a matter of fact,
this famous little town is in the heart
of a country that has seen many stir
ring times in English history. 1t is in
| Oxfordshire, seventy-seven miles from
| London
One of the first conflicts known to
have taken place there was that in $50
between Cymric king of the West
Saxons, and the Britons. Later, dur
| ing the wars of the roses (1442-44),
| 1t was besieged, and again In 1914 and
| 1916, during the struggle between the
parliamentary troops and the royal
arms. 1t was here that the leaders Of
Cromwell's forces discussed and per-
fected many of their plans, and it was
here that some of the fiercest conflicts
were waged
Battlefields are shown in many
places near by, and every village for
miles around can display something
of historical interest either in Roman
relics OF mementos Of the civil wars.
The hundreds of dramatic or tragic
stories that are told by the people
would fill many volumes.
Mother Goose has, however, been
quite as valuable as history in keep
ing green the name of Banbury, and
to a student of the immortal nursery
rhymes it is interesting to observe how
many of them are founded on fact, re-
cord quaint customs or mention real
places or people, even though not abso-
lutely accurate historically.
The procession of the fine lady Of
the rings and bells mentioned in the
rhyme takes place each year in Ban
bury with considerable ceremony The
lady is usually mounted ON a white
horse, however
The present cross, which stands at
the top Of High street, in wide open
space at the junction of four cross
roads, is an ornate affair, with a steeple
point, erected in 1859 near the site Of
the old Banbury cross. 1t commem-
crates the marriage Of the late EN-
peror Frederick III. of Germany to the
princess royal Of England on Jan. 20,
1858, and is decorated with the arms
Of Banbury, those of the German en-
peror, of Queen Victoria and Of several
other sovereiens, earls, knights, bish-
ops and Wears.
One more thing makes Banbury ia
nous, and that is its cakes, which are
known throughout the kingdom. They
are said to have been introduced In
1908. Banbury cakes are undeniably
delicious tidbits of pastry. They must
be eaten when quite fresh, preferably
at Banbury town itself. They are like
extremely rich turnovers, filed with a
mince Of fruits, which melts delectably
down ones throat and causes a pro-
nounced sensation of desire for more.
There is a rivalry in the bakeshops
as to which is the really true, original
one. Who knows? Perhaps the cakes
are, after all, the real Queen Of Hearts
tarts!-Millicent Olmsted in st. Nicho-
| lac