New-York tribune., 1916-07-02

In the lstter's Deeds Of the Longo-
hards" the wicked lady is called Rosa
munde, az she is also In one of the old
German ballads. She was queen OF
the Gepidr. who. aided by her lover
Hclmichis, killed her husband, Alboin.
and then sought refuge from the anger |
Of the Longohards with the Greek pre-
feet Longinus. at Rsvenna. The pre-
feet fell in love with her and urged
her 70 murder Hclmichis and marry
him. Prompted by ambition, she poi
soned her paramour as he came out
of his bath Feeling that he had
taken a fatal draught. Helmichis COM
pellcd the wicked woman, at the point
Of the sword, 10 drink OF the poisoned
cup. "Thus. in the purpose of Al
mighty God" says the pious chronicler,
two infamous murderers lost their
lives at the same instant"
"LEnfant berceau" is the first bal
lad in T. F. Cranes "Chansons popu-
laircs de In France" New York: G. T.
Putnams Sons). Professor Cranes
note on il is as follows: "The poem
is a version. and the only foreign one,
oi the famous Italian popular poe.a
Of Donna Lombarda,' which Nigra
CCanti popolsri del Piemonte,' Turin,
1883. p. 13) believes refers to the tragic
death of Rosamunde, Queen Of the Lom-
bards. which occurred at Ravenna in I
b73. II is not likely that the memory
Of this event should have been pre-
served uninterruptedly by oral trad-
tion. and the story OF the poem differs
entirely in one important point from
history In the account given by
Paulus Disconus and Agnellus, Rosa
munde offers her lover, of whom she
wishes to rid herself, the poisoned COB
let, and it is not until he perceives
/ that he has drunk a deadly draught
that he compels the guilty queen, at
the point Of his sword, 10 drink the
rest. The miraculous Intervention of
the child mot found, il is true, in all
the Italian versions), however, seems
to remove the poem from the domain
of history to that of the popular fancy.
where faithless wives and poisoned
draughts play such large parts"
Adolf Wolf also thought the histori
cal claim unnecessary. at seems TO
me-" he commented, much more prob
able that there live on in this ballad
half-efaced illusions TO myths that
are almost wholly lost in darkness"
Very likely; but have discovered evi-
dence which gives some support 10
Nigra's theory. In Germany and the
Netherlands the story was told in song
as early as the sixteenth century. 1t
is referred 70 in a book printed in /
1916, which tells Of Flandran hsrlot |
who wearied of her husband. Hemich- |
tild, and rid herself Of him by poison
ROYAL POISONINGS IN ENGLAND. /
In one of the German snalogues of
our ballad the hero is named Henry:
Wo bst du dem so lang gewesen.
Heinerich. mein leber Sohn?
So. too. in some Of the English vsri
ants where Henry is a king: Thus, in
Cumberland version in No. 10 Of the
journal of the Folk-Song Society
1900:
on. where have you been wandering.
King Henery. my son?
Oh. where have you been wandering.
Nv pretty one7
I've been to my sweetheart's, mother
Make my bed soon'
For I'm sick 10 the heart
And would fain lay me down
The occurrence of the name and royal /
title has caused some interesting spec
ulation. Does the ballad perchanee
preserve. though vaguely, a memory Of
the death Of Henry | of England he
died in Normandy, A. D. ll35, o. an
indigestion and fever brought on hv
overindulgence in eating a dish OF
lannrevs after a hunting excursion.
Lord Randall has generally been a-hunt
inc when he returns i'll TO his mother
and lampreys are eels. In the very old
Italian and French ballads, which may
have been prototypes Of the English or
Scotch. the poison is extracted from
reptile; But ecls and speckled trout are
innocent enough unless poison has been
mixed with them, as was plainly the
case in the ballad So there may have
once existed a belief that Henry Beau
clerc died Of poisoned food and not of
gluttony. Scott, In note to Lord
Kendall" In his "Minstrelsy,' calls at
tention 10 an old chronicle which re
lates that a monk put venom taken
from toad into the wassail-cup OF
King John, who, after drinking II .
swelled up and died like the hunting
dogs in the ballad. at Is also imagin-
able" says Miss Annie Gilchrist in a
note on king Henry, my son." IN the
Folk-Song Journal, that the King
Henry referred to may have been the
Young King Henry who was crowned
in the lifetime of his father, Henry il.
and died OF "a violent fever and fix
while fighting against him in France
There is possibility that poison was
suspected in his case also; but it seems
much more likely that the person who
first introduced the name Of Henri
into the ballad had in mind the mon
arch who succumbed 10 the dish of
lampreys" Cecil j. Sharp noted hve
versions of Lord Randall" or "Ren-