CONTENTS
Reading edition
CHAPTER PAGE
I. First appearance of Rhymes in Print 1
II. Early References 13
III. Rhymes and Popular Songs 23
IV. Rhymes in Toy-books 36
V. Rhymes and Ballads 45
VI. Rhymes and Country Dances 57
VII. The Game of "Sally Waters" 67
VIII. "The Lady of the Land" 78
IX. Custom Rhymes 89
X. Riddle-rhymes 104
XI. Cumulative Pieces 115
XII. Chants of Numbers 134
XIII. Chants of the Creed 143
XIV. Heathen Chants of the Creed 152
XV. Sacrificial Hunting 171
XVI. Bird Sacrifice 185
XVII. The Robin and the Wren 200
XVIII. Concluding Remarks 215
List of Foreign Collections 221
Alphabetical Index 223
... To my gaze the phantoms of the Past, The cherished fictions of my boyhood, rise: . . . . . . The House that Jack built—and the Malt that lay Within the House—the Rat that ate the Malt— The Cat, that in that sanguinary way Punished the poor thing for its venial fault— The Worrier-Dog—the Cow with crumpled horn— And then—ah yes! and then—the Maiden all forlorn! O Mrs. Gurton—(may I call thee Gammer?) Thou more than mother to my infant mind! I loved thee better than I loved my grammar— I used to wonder why the Mice were blind, And who was gardener to Mistress Mary, And what—I don't know still—was meant by "quite contrary."
C. S. C.
The dates that stand after the separate rhymes refer to the list of English collections on p. 11; the capital letters in brackets refer to the list of books on p. 221.
COMPARATIVE STUDIES IN NURSERY RHYMES