December 1956 School Magazine

'Brisban£, Girls' Grammar School Ma~azine

December, 1956

December, 1956

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

NURSERY RHYMES Those nursery rhymes with their ageless charm, which we have all learned to know and love so well, have their origin very often in history, and as they are sung, an event or character from the past comes magically to life again. When children sing, "Polly, Put the Kettle On," little do they realize that they are singing of a courageous act, typical of many following the reign of the unfortunate Charles I. Polly was the daughter of a Cavalier for whom the Roundheads were searching. One day they came when he was hidden in his own house, but his wife successfully misled them by her clever enter- tainment. Her daughters, Polly and Sukey, assisted their mother by providing the refreshments, as the children tell us in the rhyme . Another favourite nursery song is, "Mary, Mary, Quite Con- trary," which is said to refer to Ann Boleyn, for whom Henry VIII built Hampton Court Palace, and the beautiful Kew Gardens which surround it. Originally, this rhyme was: "Ann Boleyn, Ann Boleyn, How is your garden growin'?" A RoYal lady is again portrayed in the old rhyme, "The Queen of Hearts," as the Queen of Hearts was Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England. The Princess married the King of Bohemia, and was so well loved that she was called the Queen of Hearts. In her early life, however, she had been crossed in love, and had lost a great part of her . personal fortune to the / Knave of Hearts, as the rhyme tells. One of our favourite and oldest nursery rhymes is, "Mary Had a Little Lamb," which was orh:?;inally sung very contemptu- ously in France about the fourteenth century. At this time, the son of the Lord of the Province of Dauphiny, then first called the Dauphin, fell violently in love with a young French girl by the name of Marie. The infatuated youth used to follow her everywhere, even to her classes in needlework and music, and was looked upon with disgust by the peasantry, who called him "Marie's Lamb." The historical background enriches for us the meaning of these nursery rhymes, which will always remain among the favourites of a nation's literature, for these rhymes preserve for us all some of the delight and wonder of our childhood. - CORAL ANN READDY, Form Va. BEFORE THE PLAY You tiptoe into the darkened wings past the other actors waiting ready for the first scene. You mouth hurried "Good Lucks" as you pass, and receive them absentlY. Is your belt

t

f

38

39