davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09

ger incurred by the perpetrators, and
the inadequate motives they could
have to excite them to n crime OF so
much horror, we may reasonably con-
clude the whole charge to be ground
less and malicious"
This suficed the right reverend and
admirable editor of the "RelIqucs Of
Ancient English Poetry" for an ex-
planstiop OF one of the most singular
and incxplicable phenomena in reli-
gious history and was faithful knowl-
edge of the subject held by liberal
minds a century and half ago. Mod
ern research and modern experience,
however, have demonstrated that the
whole case is not summed up in Bishop
Percy's words. Is there, indeed, any
where in the world another song like
this another song which preserves
such a story OF malicious superstition,
OF such infamous hatred of sect against
sect. race against race Is there an
other song which, despite its account
Of inconceivable horror and atrocity,
has been handed down from generation
to generation, sung and listened to
with such careless indifference for all
it's weird fascination that children
have heard it at their mothers knees
and nurses have with il wooed sleep 10
the eyes of their little charges? lmagi-
nation staggers at the tale, yet history
insists on dealing with il as one Of the
verities Of life. Before the Christian
era communities slandered each other
with accusations of murder for the
purposes OF religious ritual, and in the
days of the primitive church Christian
sect brought the charge against Chris
tian sect.
As ballad material the story seems 10
be English; but before it entered
English literature it was current in the
East The earliest ballad form in
which it appears is that called "Sir
Hugh of Lincoln" to which no date can
be attached except that OF its first
publications; but it has been traced in
pseudo o-history or legend to the
Chronicles of st. Thomas OF Mon
mouth, where it figures in an account
Of the martyrdom Of Sir William Of
Norwich in l142. To this fact my atten-
ton was called in The Tribune OF
August II, 1902, by the Rev. DR.. Max j.
Kohler in a communication called out
by my recital of the Fitch story These
chronicles antedate by nearly century
the better known stories of the murder
Of Christian children by Jews in de-
spite Of Christ. The story of the cruel
fxion of Sir Hugh of Lincoln is said
in the Annals of Waverly to have oc-
Cured in the time Of Henry lll;
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09

Matthew Paris refers u specifically 20
A. u. 1855. Such an incident IS also
the subject Of the Prioress's narrative
in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Here
the victim was
This gemme % chas,itc. this smsrsude.
And exc Of martirdom the ruby bright.
whose throat was cut by false Jewes,
and who was then cast into PIT from
the depth of which there came his
chant in honor Of
This welle Of mercy, Christes moder sweet
Chaucer. though ne refers to Sir
Hugh Of Lincoln, docs not make Eng
land tho scene Of the crime. but says Il
occurred "in Asye, in a great citee.
The burden Of the ballad versions OF
the story is the victims longing ior
Christian burial an element which has
been wholly lost sight OF, as has the
original motive Of the crime, IN the
versions which have been recovered IN
the United States. Sough. for by his
mother, Sir Hugh calls Vut from the
pit, or we'll, into which his body has
been thrown. asks for winding sheet
candles. prayer books, ETC., which
being brought next morning, the
funeral rites are properly performed
and the child IS az rest. How trag-
mentary the ritualistic feature = be
come will appear when the American
variants are presently discussed.
The ballad which s the third in
Bishop Percy's "Reliques' "a Scottish
and it's first stanza, WITH the tune "a
which IL is traditionaly sung, IS pre-
sented elsewhere on this page. The
poem is obviously fragment. Bishop
Percy himself observes that its con
clusion appears 70 be wanting, and re-
fers his readers TO Chaucer for the end
Of the tale. Here is the substance OF
the ffty-eight lines Of the ballad: II
rains in Maryland town Merry Lin
colin, where the boys are playing ball
Out Of her house comes the Jew:
daughter and invites one Of the lads
in 10 dine. On his declining unless ne
is accompanied by his nine playfellow'
she entices him into the house with a
red and white apple. There she takes
his life with "litSe penknife,' lays
him on a dressing dresses him
"like a swine" and mockingly tells him
to 60 now and play with his "swei'
play feres nine" Then she rolls hin
in cake" Of lead and throws hin
I into a well that is fifty fatnoms deep
/ The lads mother misses him afel
mass. and. drawing her mantle abou
/ her, she goes TO seek her child, running
/ in 70 the Jews castle while all arr
asleep.
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09
THE SUPERSTITION OF XII Al MO hDEh

Out came the Jewish lady
All dressed in silk and green
Come in. my little boy" she said.
"You shall have your bail again
II won't come in. shan't come in
Without my playmates. too.
For I've often heard who would come in
Should never come out again.
At first she showed him rosy red apple
And then again gold ring,
And then cherry red as blood
To entice the little boy in.
She led him in the parlor,
And then into the hall.
And then into the dining room
Where no one would hear his call.
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09

In one respect all collectors seem 10
have the same experience. Ii is fre-
quently difficult 70 get singer to sing
the songs one wants to hear, and some
times equally difficult to make the
singer stop. Mr Sharp, in his book on
English folksong, which is as delight-
ful as it is scholarly, tells of the de-
vices resorted to to get a folksinger
started who has been persuaded by the
young life about HIM that there Is
something mira digpi' tenn in singing
the songs which were popular when
be was lad. The old-fashioned songs
would make him appear ridiculous. Lit
lie by little, and by dint of insinuating
suggc o-, could the shamefacedness
be- overcome and memories that had
gone TO a bashful sleep be awakened.
But once started the singer might go
on FOR days and even weeks. Miss Nc
Gill writes me: zone OF the difficulties
Of collecting is, of course, that those
who sing at all seem TO have such eX-
tensive repertories mot being confined
to few selections, as are many of u.s.
that IT is often hard to work around to
what one would most like TO hear. In
the case Of The Greenwood Side !
found but one person who knew H. and
it was only after several visits to her
that she surprised me by unearthlng It
from her memory. Once their recoi-
leetions' become active IT is quite IKE
ly that singers who at first can re
member nothing but meeting mouse
songs will bring forth some Jewel oil
an old ballad that warns the cookies OF
collectors heart"
No doubt scores and hundreds OF
Aro-American folksongs, especially OF
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09
Civic Orchestral Programme.

Programme for the Civic Orchestral
Society symphony concert A. Madison
square Garden on Tuesday evening.
July II:
F-rsa March ,rd lynn 20 Losry ~ - Nsaa
s.rrlary No 90 minor n,nshsi'
s-futN
Con.srto DO minor 'or Violin 80 - Mencs ssoan
Absr sgains
ltaIal Caprcci' op N rschs.sosss5
"Hiere,u' rGrsf.l snd yasn" Lo'
Sprns Oris<
Pa--4e - MDlsfslA.sn 4 >uFVn0srs ~sEa
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09
American Version Of The
Two Brothers,

Miss McGnl sends % ne ballad
from Kentucky which she calls John
and William but which Is d version.
with significant changes. OF the old
Scottish "Twa Brothers" Child who
numbers it 40 in his collection. says
that all the Scottish versions were oO-
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09
AMERICAN VERSIONS OF THE BALLAD.

fails). the draw-well, the mothers
search and the chld's speech from the
pit. Mr.. c. Alphonso Smith prints in
the magazine already quoted version
given to him by student az the Uni
versity OF Virginia who had learned It
from his negro nurse on plantation IN
Alabama In this, a fragment Of hve
stanzas, the story is told in the first
person:
Ny ball few over in Jews garden.
Where no one dared to 90:
| saw Jew lady in a green silk dress
A-standing by the do.
The lady takes the lad "by her lily
white hand leads him into the
kitchen. sets him down on golden
chair, feeds him sugar and rice, lays
him down on a golden plank and stabs
him like a sheep. Two versions printed
in "The Journal of American Folk
Lore" for October December, 1906, were
collected i'm Clinton County, Missouri,
the contributor of one having learned
it in Kentucky. As yet have received
no copy from that state. The first
version bears strong resemblance 70
the Berks County song; the second Is
widely divergent. In the latter it is a
lad braver than his playmates who vol
unteers 10 20 into the Jews garden 10
get the ball
lie climbed IL W, he climbed il down
He climbed it ard got in;
But. alas. alas for the brave little boy
He never came back again
Ny bonuy Sir Hew. my pretty Sir Hsv.
/ pray thee 20 me spk
lady. rim 10 the dep draw-well
Gin ze zour zonne AVID seik.
Lady Helen ran to the deip draw-we
And knelt upon her knc:
Ny bonny Sir Hew. and ze be here
pray thee to me speik.
The lead is wondrous heavy. mithsr,
The well is wondrous deip:
A keen pen-knife sticks IN my hert.
A word / dounse spek.
Gae hame. gae hame, my mither DER.
Fetch me my winding sheet
And at the back Of Mirri-land toun
It's THAR we twa sail meet.
Here the poem breaks off abruptly,
but we know the denouement from
other versions of the ballad. The
mother brings the articles essential 20
Christian burial to the place OF ap-
pointment the next morning, the son
meets her. the funeral rites are per
formed by angels and that day all the
books in Mirri-land town are read
without tongues and all the bells toll
without hands.
They" pinned a napkin around his
neck. called for tin basin 70 catch his
lfeblood in. dug his grave wide and
deep by a juniper tree, placed a marble
slab at mis- head and his ball at his
feet. Mr Smith does not give US the
text to the tunes which he prints from
Campbell and Rockingham counties in
Virginia. The version from Pomfret,
Conn, came TO me from the lady who
communicated a version Of Lord Ran
dal" described in The Tribune last
Sunday It's melody IS the prettiest
that have yet seen associated with
the ballad. The holds over the words
ball so. low" are an Interpretation Of
my informant's description OF how her
mother sang the song. Her note on
the manuscript reads: THE three notes
which I have marked must be sung
very slowly. remember very well
that this was the place where the
sleepy came in"
New-York tribune., 1916-07-09

tanned in the first third Of the nines
teenlh century. since which time no
other versions have been heard Of. He
had, however two American variants,
which Ir. Newell took down from the
singing Of a beyy OF little girls who
were going 20 a picnic in South Boston
and child in New York. The ballad
has also been collected since in Ken
tucky. Missouri and Virginia. Pro-
fessor Child has one version from
Sharpe's Ballad Book" three versions
from Nothervelps Ms, one from
MotherwelPs "Minstrelsy," one from
Jamieson's Popular Ballads" and one
from Buchan's Ms. All OF these ver-
sions save one make the killing seci-
dental. The brothers are en-
gagged in friendly bout at
wrestling, and a knife in the pouch or
pocket Of one stsbs -te other as they
fall together. The exception is that
in the Motherwell Ms, collected in
1926: The boys are goirY TO school;
they see three brothers playing at ball
and ladies "dansing hey" One lad
asks the other whether he viii play
ball "or else throw az the stone" the
game which in Ohio half century ago
We called Duck and Drake. probsbly);
the boy answers that he is TOO lttls
and TOO young. and begs 70 be let
alone, but the other
He pulled out Me prnknfs
That was bath AarD and .ma;
lie gave HE brothey\ deadly wound
That was deep. lo and ,air
As the little girls NSouth Boston
sang the ballad. the kilNsV was delio.
crate and Intentional:
So John took out Of MS pockV
A knife both long and sharp,
And stuck it through his brother\ heart
And the blood came pouring -
So, too, in the version Of theSrev
York child. Child mentions sonSNn-
troduced in a St. Georges play anA
ally played in a village near Chest&
which mas elements Of thought sndJ
form in common with the ballad Of
Edward" in which the motive for the
killing is given;
And it's what did'st thou Kill thy poor
brother for, my son.
Come tell il unto me
Because he killed two pretty little birds
Which flew from tree 70 tree.
Jealousy as a motive for the fratri-
eide seems unique in the Kentucky ver-
sion. A parallel for the excessive
mourning over the dead youth is found
in version written down at Ayr:
She ran distraught she wept. she sieht.
She wept t-- sma birds frae the tree
She wept the starrs abound frae the lft.
She Uept the hsh out o. the sea.
Miss McGll is puzzled by the second
line Of the first stsnza: TO view the
iron band" She writes: in The
Turkish Lady the knight is reminded
of the lady who freed him from the
cold iron band Would the iron band
of The Two Brothers be some place OF
punishment situated, as was the plllorN
for the public confusion Of the eulprN
or accused? This solution may De
wide enough Of the mark, but 1t is tho
best my Imagination can con)ute'
Some versions of the Lord BatemAn
or Turkish Lady" story have the nero
chained by the middle 70 tree, as for
instance. in song collected by MI
Percy Granger in Lincolnshire IN
1904; but as a rule his shoulders are
bored through and he Is yoked' MISE
McGills speculation seems ts''
fetched. but nothing better presen"
itself 70 me just now.
e
The Detroit times., 1916-02-24
Would Save Babes
Through the Schools

The circulation OF instructions on
how 10 care for babies is Eoing TAX
en- Up by the National Congress of
Mothers. and II is hoped TO save
100000 of the 100000 hat Gle an.
uually.
This work Is being done through
the school systems. and has reached
its greatest development in the
schools OF Los Angeles. There,
many mothee who work sent the
babies 10 school With the older chill
uren. Ii was necessary ii the chill
drcn were 20 come TO all, and J. r.
Francis, superintendent OF schools
ConceiNed the idea of not only bet
tering the conditions of thcse babies
but laying foundation ior the we'll
being OF the next generation.
lie erected building on the
school ground. not an expensive
structure. but one in which there
was plenty OF light and sir, and the
babies were put here. under the
care OF trained nurses, while the
children were in school The girls
were sent To the baby building in
Classes and taught how TO take care
of babies. and do for them as moth
ers should Every girl who goes out
of thai school is a competent little
mother ready - take intelligent
care OF a baby IN all It's physical
needs, an acc omplishment OF unriv
aled importance 90 Americas wei
fare and one neglected by the mos,
select schools in the east
The babies thriv" u higher stand.
ard of living is being instituted in
the surrounding homes, anU the cost
H. very small
The Detroit times., 1916-02-24
Backward "Kids"
Nations Problem

What are little BOYS mad" Of?
Quips. and suails and puppy dog tails.
SO runs IN" old rhyme in our
nursury tales. and II seems TO have
a very close bearing on the educa-
ton OF boys in the public schools OF
America.
At least that was the belief of
Mrs. Frederick School In the rourd
table discussion, on the nationwide
plan for helpang children who are
problems in home and school, which
She delivered In be course OF her
discussion before the National Edu-
cational association Thursday morn.
ing. She said 80 per cent OF truan.
cy occurred among boys
In fact most Of the sessions OF the
y, T.. \. on Thursday dealt with the
problem of improving backward
children, and thuse that were prob
Inns In the house and home. Com
pulsory education as part Of this
plan was also discussed.
More humanity. ard more under.
standing methods OF hoy nature
were urged as a ans OF combat.
ting the evil 5l delinquency, and
backwardness among pupils which
IL growing TO an alarming extent.
Ninety per cent of truancy oc-
ours with boys said Mrs School
Ninety per ceG' OF the juvenile
court children are boys. Worse even
Than infant mortality ~ The entrance
into life OF crime Of so many boys.
individual sympathetic treatment
ana study beyond what is possible
for any busy teacher without home
cooperation is essehtia. it these
bows are To- hc led upward Force
viii not do IT, Laws will not do IL.
Each is an individual needing indi-
,idual loving care and guidance.
Definite systematic cooperation OF
homo. school, church and business
rdeu. and The court will II conducted
on the basis OF insight into boy ma
tnrc and hoyhood's race tendencies,
help these boys over critical
period, and raKr SpoG men Of them.
II II crisis IN life which has never
been met ~ !, huuld. The Parent
Teacher association. or any associa-
tion connected with school or
church, can help save tho boys by
having committee OF fathers and
mlthers who will have confidential
relations with the teachers and will
give quiet unCstertatious help
Most valuable cooperation of
some of the leading business men
OF the country HIS been offered 10
The National Congress of Mothers
aud Parent Teacher associations in
us plan 10 have, IN connection with
every school, group Of men and
womci who viii earnestly give their
thought and influence in helping
children when such help will count
TO all eternity" "
The Detroit times., 1916-02-24
Don't Smother
Your Child"
DO you smother your child?

DO you smother your child?
II he cuts out a pig whose only
mark OF Identification is we'll
curled tail. do you tell him it's all
wrong, and cut one out for him that
satisfies your matured notions or
art?
II you do. you smother him, and
Miss Ella Victoria Dobbs. OF the
University of Missouri. who spoke
Wednesday before the kindergarten
council OF the n. f. A.. pointed out
for all parents and teachers that 1t
was an evil The child is being de-
prived OF the great JOY OF saying
honestly, II did that all myself" or
else he is having the perm of dis
honesty planted in his infant mind
by claiming your superior art for
his.
To tell the truth. your child really
doesn't think that your pig is any
better than his. To mis- mind, his.
really. had all the proper equipment,
only your grown up binoculars were
not focused TO catch the elusive
qualities OF his imagination.
Education must be fitted TO the
child in the kindergarten, and We
must be content with childish stand
ards OF satisfaction. and never sup
p!ement his seemingly crude efforts
with our grown-up ideas. Miss Dobbs
declared
when you take a mere baby out
OF the kindergarten and put him in
the first grade in stiff seat. and
tell hin. to fold his hands, not TO
look at the little girl across the
aisle or speak to the little boy be.
hind, there must be- some active out
let like hand work for relaxation" "
she said, You mustn't crush all
the spontaneity out OF him.
we must come down to the level
OF the child and be satisfied with
the best he can do. We may not be
so proud of our exhibitions, but they
will be honest al least, and they
will be truly exhibitions OF what
the children can do"
The Detroit times., 1916-02-24

ming OF a new drive on Paris. ac'
cording TO Amsterdam dispatches
today quoting advices from Berlin.
BY the blasting fire of thousands
OF guns, the Germans plan TO wreck
the defenses OF Verdun and begin
great march on the French capt.
tai, 1872 miles away, Amsterdam re
ported
Berlin believes the fall OF Verdun
will signal the beginning OF the end
OF the war.
Half a million men are now lock
ed in the great struggle In the wood
north and northeast of the French
fortress. The fercest artillery and
infantry fighting is proceeding on
both banks OF the Meuse.
The Germans have battered In the
head OF the strong French salient
nine miles north of Verdun. ac.
cording to Berlin dispatches today
The Berlin war Office claims the cap
French trenches to depth OF two
miles, at some places, the greatest
gain made by either side on tho
western front since the French drive
in the Champagne last September.
II the Berlin report is true, the
Germans are now approaching the
outer forts of Verdun and by an.
other equally effective drive may
bring their 42-eentimcters to bear
upon the Verdun defenses
Paris dispatches. reporting thai
the battle has spread along a %
mile front. indicated today that the
Germans are pressing their attacks
with the utmost fury, counting upon
overwhelming the Verdun defender
by the weight of their assault.
Amsterdam asserted that the Ger
man losses have exceeded the cas-.
ualties in any fighting in five
months. For as hours streams OF
dangerously wounded have 3eep
making their way toward Germany.
according to Amsterdam. reports.
A Paris dispatch to the Times.
emphasizing the importance of the
Verdun battle, declared, however.
that German losses i'm the past 4S
hours have been so heavy as to
insure the defeat of the attempt
against Verdun.
The Detroit times., 1916-02-24
Makes Plea for
Deficiant Pupil

More humane and scientific hand
ling Of deficient school children.
With q view to aiding in the general
Improvement Of our backward pu-
pills, was the theme OF G. Edward
Jones, superintendent OF schools in
Albany, n. V. before the National
Educational association. Thursday
afternoon.
"The character OF our discipline
must be radically changed. Its pri.
mary purpose I'm school IL no long.
or TO punish the individual nor to
make an example to society, but
the problem lis one OF finding the
activity htted to train this individ.
ual mentally dwarfed and retarded. .
said DR. Jones.
cit may be- the girl OF lG with
the mentality OF 10 years, struggling
with the desires OF the adolescent:
II may be the boy OF ~ who stopped
The Detroit times., 1916-02-24

growing at eight years of age. or
the more serioas case OF the boy
OF 10 or over who knows no mental
experience beyond that Of II years.
This type as DIR. Goddard has shown
In his late book, The Criminal I'm
beetle" may develop into the insane
lover. the docile dupe of the intelli.
gent leader or the brutal criminal.
or in case of a girl almost inevita-
bly, the immoral woman. These
facts have been theoretically recog-
nized. yet In few cases seriously
acted upon by school authorities.
The Detroit times., 1916-02-24

LONDON. Feb. 24.-The great
German often sive, directed by the
crown prince. against the outer de
fenses OF vesdun. marks the begin.