2 NURSERY RHYMES.

 

Every fiddler he had a ffhe fiddle,

And a very fine fiddle had he;

Twee tweedle dee, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers,
Oh, there’s none so rare
As can compare 3

With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

[The traditional: Nursery Rhymes of England commence with a legendary satire on
King Cole, who reigned in Britain in the third century after Christ. According to
Robert of Gloucester, he was the father of St. Helena, and if so, Butler:must be wrong
in ascribing an obscure origin to the celebrated mother of Constantine, King Cole
was a brave and popular man in his day.]

Il.

WHEN good King Arthur ruled this land,
He was a goodly King;

He stole three pecks of barley-meal,
To make a bag-pudding.

A bag-pudding the King did make,.
And stuffed it well with plums,

And in it put great lumps of fat
As big as my two thumbs.

The King and Queen did eat thereof,
And noblemen. beside ;

And what they could not eat that night,
The Queen next morning fried.