The sun., 1908-04-05
NAEL ROOFS 1AY.
Mere AFS 1AoorsS, Beth crave Sn1 90,
Of IIs OdEia.

NOBODY seems 70 KNOW Nnlu " WV Nu9
first Of April was Set apart - thA day Of
fool making. The custom IEot = GOOD early
start somewhere, for II has SprOad now -
various corners OF The earth. ..-.H
some say that II 10 . survival Of TIE
ancient New Year celebration. Now YsaTS
Day once came on March Is and Was OBJ
served with gundry high jlnks lasting
eight days and winding 1p with particular
fits Of hlarity on the day corresponding
with the presant first Of Apdl. .. q.
Others say that the origin must BE- earlier
than that, for the custom has existed among
the Hindus from time lmmemorial. With
them II was . part Of their feast Of Hull /,
which occurred at the tmO Of year now
called the first Of April Tho pieoe dc
resistance Of tho fun ,At this Toast Of Hull
consisted In sending ones Victim on some
utterly absurd errand-Sleeveleas errands,
as the English and Scotch call them, mean
Ing probably . useless and ridiculous
specimen Of an erand. ...... .t
Another theory is that The hrSt April
fool sent on tho frat Of these slosTelesS
errands was the dove which Noah sent
out Of the Ark 10 hhd what didn't exist
Just then, namely. dry land. This event
occurred on The first day OF the Hebrew
month corresponding with April, and II 10
said that Noah made tho dove about -
tired Hs later victims Of tho day have de-
blared themselves 10 be. ..
In all ssriouaDess the custom Il oon-
sldered by many 10 DO an odd keeping In
memory Of the mockery OF Christ by the
Jews when he was sent from Annas 10
Caiaphas, from Caiapbas 10 PLATE. from
Pilate 10 Herod and from Herod back to
Plate, This Is supposed 10 have taken
place In April. .. .... ..,.
There ere various feasts Of fools which
are guessed at As the forerlnners Of All
Fools Day. and some writer's, hard put 10
IL 10 find theory. say II Is simply general
reference TO the character Of April weather,
which Il 90 deOeitful and ohangeable that
It is always making foolS Of uS. soaking
us with rain when we 90 out In our fine
feathers and shining ironically upon our
raincoats and goloshea when We 60 In
prudent fear Of its showars.
The French do not call the cheated per-
son an April fool but an April fAh OF a
mackerel; "an innocent and unsuspicious
animal easily taken" The phrase 10
probably "A reference 10 the gullibility
which takes the bait easily. IL 10 a sure
thing that the custom Of April fooling was
firmly fixed in France early in the seven
teenth century
AZ that time the King. Louis XIII, had
as prisoners in the Chateau OF Nancy a
Prince Of Lorraine and his wife. On the
first Of April the Prince. .arrayed as work
ingman and carrying hod on his shoulder,
accompanied by his wife, dressed as =
peasant woman carrying q basket, walked
calmly out past the guards and through
the city gates. ..
Some one recognized them and IN great
excitement announced 10 the guards that
the Prince and Princess we're giving them
the slip. The guards were not 20 be fooled
at least they thought they we're not 70
be. SO they laughed, 1Ho-hol' and wagged
their heads and said; "WhO's an April 6sh,
eh?' and vowed they weren't ANYHOW.
The more the discoverer Of the fugitlvee
called on the guard 10 get busy the louder
laughed those wiEeacres. Finally some
one carried the Joke "a. the commandant
who thought he'd rather be made a fool
Of one way than another and sent therefore
10 overhaul the departing pair,
But IL was too late, The Prince and his
wife had made good their escape and the
guards gasped like true April fab oear
out Of water.
In Scotland they call an April fool q
Rowk and have a cheerful little custom
Of giving him a so-called important letter
TO be delivered TO some person At a good
distance il possible, The letter contains
merely this couplet, evidently TO be read
with the accent on 'prile';
On the first Of Aprile
Hunt the gowk another mile
A word to the wise is sufficient, Of course
and the recipient of this communication
forthwith encloses the couplet in another
envelope, which he addresses 10 friend in
another quarter and, dispatches the gowk
with it. admonishing the greatest speed pos
sibe So the poor gowk goes on from pillar
to post and back again until some one takes
pity on him.
few years ago some very we'll known
persons in London we're fooled by receiving
an official appearing communication read'
/ ing as follows;
TOWER OF LoNnoN.
Admit the bearer and friend % 7.5" ;Si
hHnlhl ftIElluUN VI NuhhlHk INV NHltN llbHi
on Sunday. April T.
Admitted only Of the white gate,
II Is particularly requested that no gra
tuities be given To the wardens or theiI
assistants.
The particular nature Of the sleeveless.
errand on which the victim IA sent changes
somewhat as the years 60 by. At least IL
this country children are not sent for a
pennyworth Of pigeons milk for sore eyes
nor half pound Of potato sugar which
used 10 be favorite Items with the fool
makers in England.
But there are those among VA who still
find excruciating delight in gravely telling Q
gentleman that there is something on hli
coat Ia button or with. whispered con-
sideration informing a lady that there ID
something on her face (her nosel. Al
these were already Jokes In good and regu'
lar standing q hundred years ago II is time
10 figure up Just how fast the world dc
move after all.
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