CUBA STREET GUILD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 215, 11 August 1937, Page 12

CUBA STREET GUILD.

“WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG.” ORIGIN OF NURSERY RHYMES. When the Cuba Street Methodist Ladies’ Guild held its monthly meeting yesterday afternoon, the programme was entitled “When We Were Young.” A particularly interesting talk on the origin of nursery rhymes, picpared by the president, Mrs G. G. Hancox, who was unable to be present, was read by Mrs J. Candy. A competition in keeping with the programme was guessing the identity of membeis from photographs taken in their childhood, and proved most amusing. Mrs A. Blakemore presided and welcomed Mrs Drake as a visitor. The meeting opened with a Scripture ■reading by Mrs Blakemore, after winch Mrs P. J'. Mellcr led the gathering in praver. , ~ The Sunday School Hall, wherein the function was held was fragrant uitn the scent of spring flowers. In view of the programme, it might be appropriate to cast their minds back to some of the nursery rhymes which played such a big part in their childflood education, said Mrs Candy. J ii€sc nursery tales, with their ditties and jingles, rhythmic stories and nonsense, had been sung or related to children right down through the ages. they would all remember listening entranced, when they were very young, to the story of the three little kittens the little pig that went to market, little Miss Muffett, and the courage and daring of Froggy who would a-wooing go, whether his mother would let him 01 no. Theso rhymes might seem mere doggerel to them now, hut it was interesting to trace some of them to then origin. The majority of them had been handed down from generation to generation, with but slight changes in the wording. , One of the oldest rhymes was that of Jack and Jill, which was said to have its origin in a Scandinavian legend of two children who were caught up by the moon, when returning from the well carrying between them a bucket on a pole. To this day the Swedish peasants explained the markings on the moon not as mountains and rivers, but as a boy and girl bearing a pail of water between them. Robin Redbreast had always been a popular character in nursery lore, and his story appeared to be of a Scottish origin. The legend told how, when the Saviour was hanging oil the Cross, a robin flew and tried with its bill to pull the great nails out of His hands, its breast becoming covered with His precious blood. Ever after, the robin had worn the red breast as its badge, a reward for its love of Jesus, the speaker added. Humpty Dumpty’s fame had been traced back to a Greek legend in which the world was believed to be an egg laid by a mythical bird of gigantic ■size. When the egg fell and broke, the upper part became the .vault of heaven, tho lower part the earth; the yolk formed the sun. the white the moon, and the fragments of shell the stars of heaven. Hence, in all the pictures of Humpty Dumpty he was represented as a huge egg. There seemed to be a lot of speculation about the origin of the familiar “song of sixpence.” One theory was that the crust of the pic represented the roof of the world. The four and twenty blackbirds were the flight of the hours. - 'The king was the sun, the queen the pale-faced moon, and the maid possibly represented the work of the day which came to an end when the blackbird, night, descended and “plucked off her nose.” They wondered, then, was there any connection between the pie in “Sing a Song of Sixpence” and the one in “Little Jack Horner.” Round about the 16th century pies seemed to figure largely in the lives of the people, and were used to cover all sorts of surprises and gifts. A Somersetshire tradition was to the effect tiiat John Horner was steward to the Abbott of Glastonbury and he was sent to London with a Christmas nie lor King Henry VIII, a pie containing the title deeds of several manors in the county of Somerset. On the way he “put in his thumb and pulled out a plum” ; in other words, he took out the title deeds of one of the manors and kept it for himself, Mrs Candy concluded. Enjoyable recitations were contributed by Valmai Dalton and Pat Penney. The photograph competition was won by Mrs R. J. Mclver, and an apron competition by Miss E. Moir (fancywork) and Mrs Blakemore (plain). r I he aprons were donated by the competitors to the work stall of the spring fair to be held by the guild. Afternoon tea was served by Mesdames Giles, B. Fisher, and F. Dorset, and Miss Maidwell. Mrs T. R. Hodder thanked the contributors for their entertainment.