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The Holme Riddles (Ms. Haul. 1960)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2020
Extract
Ms. Harl. 1960 is thus described by Wanley (“Account of Harl. mss.,” Brit. Mus. Cat.):—“A thin paper book in 12mo. mostly written by one of the Holmes and containing a collection of Riddles with their Solutions; being such as young lads and lasses use to make sport with. At the end is a table to the same.” So closely indeed is the little volume associated with at least one member of the Holme family of Chester—the possessors of the ms. until the early 18th century, when it passed with other writings of that race of antiquaries into the keeping of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford (mss. Harl. 1920–2177 and a few others)—that to understand its history we must first know a little of the lives of the four Holmes and chiefly of the third Randle.
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- Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1903
References
Note 1 in page 211 For my sketch of these worthies I am indebted to J. P. Earwaker's pamphlet, The Four Randle Holmes of Chester, Antiquaries, Heralds and Genealogists (1571–1707), 1892, 8vo. Unfortunately this young Chester scholar died before his further researches among the Holme mss. were well begun. Hardy's account of the Holmes, Dict. Nat. Biog., s. v. is, in a few minor points, inaccurate, as Earwaker's records show.
Note 1 in page 213 His will (June 2, 1704) shows that he was a man of substance and that he could hardly have been the Liverpool tapster recalled by Wanley (Description of ms. Harl. 2002)—see also Hardy, Dict. Nat. Biog., s. v. Randle Holme 3d. Earwaker would assign the doubtful honor of that identity to the 4th Handle's brother, John or George.
Note 2 in page 213 I cite two of these domestic entries:—“Mem.—that Elizabeth Renolf (?) came to my house the 4th day of November, 1598.”
“Item—paid to Mr. Dutton's sonne on quarter's rent for the garden on ladyday in lent last past, 1602, xij d.”
Note 1 in page 214 On the inner-side of the fly-leaf is written in a 17th century hand: “the interpretation of dreams, the academy of complaments of palmestry to tell the fortune by hand one 9 french—159 (?) english.” This title-phrase does not in the least suggest the contents of the book, nor is the writing similar to that of the scribes of the body of the text, though it doubtless belongs to the same period.
Note 2 in page 214 The weak answers to Nos. 51, 56, 61, 62 and 64 are due, I think, not to the forgetfulness or error of the first scribe, but to the lapse of solution so often noted in purely popular riddles (Mod. Lang. Notes, xviii, 5 f.)—compare Nos. 4, 12 and 131; and the obscene jests, 3 and 114, 85 and 138, 112 and 129.
Note 1 in page 215 I base this statement directly upon the authority of Mr. Bickley, expert in Palæography, whose generous assistance many American readers in the ms. room of the British Museum will gratefully recall. “Somewhere very near 1650” was that gentleman's verdict.
Note 2 in page 215 See Puttenham, Arte of English Poesie, 1587, Book iii, “Arber Reprints,” p. 198.
Note 3 in page 215 On the last page of the ms. is pencilled in a large hand the name “Alice Holme the yr.” Now, there were two Alice Holmes (Earwaker, 23 f.):–1) The youngest sister of Randle 3d, born August, 1636, married Peter Stringer of Chester, and died December 1, 1670. 2) Our Handle's youngest daughter, baptized October 23, 1676, and died probably before 1704. “The yr” certainly points to the second of these; but all things are against our believing that Randle Holme, when elderly, finished in such wise a puzzle-book for his troop of boys and girls.
Note 1 in page 216 Halliwell, Popular Rhymes, 1849, printed seven of the Holme riddles:—32, Nettle (p. 149); 108, Fly (p. 150); 119, Pump (p. 149); 121, Dew (p. 149); 137, Dog Bin (p. 141); 139, Man, deer, etc. (p. 150); 140, Bee (p. 149).
Note 2 in page 216 The repeated numhers are:—3 and 114 (Heart); 19 and 127 (Oyster-women); 23 and 77 (Pilate and Christ); 35 and 141 (Bow and Arrows); 54 and 88 (One's thought); 107 and 132 (Strawberry). In each of the following groups one motive is applied to different solutions: 4, 12 and 131; 57 and 104; 61 and 83; 85 and 138; 112 and 129.
Note 3 in page 216 As literary enigmas (Kunsträtsel) may be reckoned:—Nos. 19 and 127, 65, 68, 69, 70, 113 (acrostic). Yet even in some of these appear popular elements.
Note 4 in page 216 The double entente riddles are:—Nos. 3 and 114, 20, 47, 49, 71, 74, 75, 83, 85 and 138, 107 and 132, 112 and 129, 117, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 133, 143. In these a broad humor utterly offensive to present taste is really heightened by perfectly decorous solutions—often inappropriate as the innocent answer is but a pretext. Conversely four queries themselves seemly,— Nos. 73, 91, 106 and 134—are frankly coarse in their answers. Thus at least twenty-five problems must be dismissed in disgrace by a modern editor despite their popular interest.
Note 6 in page 216 The only copy of this important collection of 54 “demands” is, according to Kemble (Solomon and Saturn, p. 285), in the Cambridge Univ. Libr. (A. b. 4. 58). The queries have been twice reprinted:—by Hartshorne, Ancient Metrical Tales, London, 1829, pp. 1–8, and by Kemble, l. c. Kemble shows that the English text is “a very discreet abridgement of a French book, Demaundes Joyeuses en manière de quolibetz, of which a copy in black letter and without date is found in the British Museum” (assigned by Catalogue to 1520; by Kemble with greater probability to a date before 1500).
Note 1 in page 217 H. 6 (D. J. 46); H. 73 (D. J. 45); H. 78 (D. J. 47); H. 94 (D. J. 14); H. 121 (D. J. 12); H. 140 (D. J. 40).
Note 2 in page 217 H. 17 (H and D, 27)—exact; H. 18 (H and D, 28)—exact; H. 19 and 127 (H and D, 29)—many verbal differences; H. 20 (H and D, 50)—exact; H. 21 (H and D, 51)—exact. H. 143 and H and D, 41 treat somewhat similar motives.
Note 3 in page 217 Of this group containing 76 riddles, 16 questions and 133 proverbs, Hazlitt (Handbook, 508) notes eight editions: 1600, 1617, 1629, 1631 (Bodl. Libr.), 1660 (Brit. Mus.), 1672, 1673, 1685. The edition of 1629 is reprinted by Halliwell, Literature of XVI and XVII Centuries Illustrated, London, 1851; and the edition of 1660 by the same scholar in 1866 (25 copies). Halliwell surmises—it is only empty speculation—that ‘his text is a reprint of an “Old Book of Riddles,” mentioned by Laneham in 1575, which was perhaps the book lent by Master Slender to Alice Shortcake’ (Merry Wives, I, i, 211). A former owner of the Brit. Mus. copy of H and D claims the same honor for that book.
Note 4 in page 217 The twenty-six parallels between the problems of the two groups vary from mere likeness of motive to the closest verbal resemblance:—H. 2 (B. M. R. 71), same motive differently treated; H. 28 (B. M. R. 70); H. 30 (B. M. R. 24); H. 38 (B. M. R. 66); H. 40 (B. M. R. 4); H. 41 (B. M. R. 45); H. 50 (B. M. R. 1); H. 54 (B. M. R. 49); H. 55 (B. M. R. 16); H. 58 (B. M. R. 58)—different answer; H. 59 (B. M. R. 60); H. 62 (B. M. R. 67); H. 63 (B. M. R. 42); H. 78 (B. M. R. 61); H. 93 (B. M. R. 52)—exact; H. 104 (B. M. R. 69)—exact; H. 105 (B. M. R. 76)—almost exact; H. 110 (B. M. R. 15 and 21); H. 115 (B. M. R. 37); H. 121 (B. M. R. 41); H. 126 (B. M. R. 6)—exact even to wording of answer; H. 131 (B. M. R. 2); H. 135 (B. M. R. 44)—almost exact; H. 136 (B. M. R. 73)—exact; H. 144 (B. M. R. 28).
Note 1 in page 218 Among the more famous riddles are these:—Nos. 1 (Sphinx); 4 and 12 and 131 (variations of Homer's Flea riddle); 5 (Ice); 6 (Cain); 9 (Coffin); 10 (Lot's Daughters); 11 (Lot's Wife); 13 (Bookworm—Sym. 16); 14 (Smoke—Sym. 7); 15 (Oak); 22 (Androgius the Eunuch); 24 (Cock in Noah's Ark); 39 (Mill-sails); 50 (Two-legs, Three-legs, etc.); 53 (Sow with Pigs); 76 (Samson's riddle); 144 (Rose).
Note 2 in page 218 See my Notes for the German parallels to the following:—Nos. 2, 7, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 39, 45, 63, 78, 86, 99, 101, 121, 122, 125, 135, 136, 137.
Note 3 in page 218 I include in this list three groups of Holme problems:—a) Those found only in the three early riddle-books, Nos. 17 (H and D), 19 and 127 (H and D), 20 (H and D), 41 (B. M. R.), 54 (B. M. R.), 55 (B. M. R.), 62 (B. M. R.), 93 (B. M. R.), 110 (B. M. R.), 115 (B. M. R.), 126 (B. M. R.); b) Those common to early riddle books and other English collections, Nos. 18, 21, 38, 59, 105, 140; c) Those found only in the later collections, Nos. 43, 48, 51, 52, 56, 61, 89, 96, 113, 116, 118, 120, 123, 128, 130, 137, 139, 142. To these I may add as a fourth group all those isolated riddles to which I can discover neither native nor foreign analogues (infra).
Note 1 in page 219 Such lonely problems are Nos, 3 and 114, 8, 16, 23 and 77, 33, 35 and 141, 42, 46, 47, 49, 60, 65, 66, 68, 69 and 70, 71, 72, 80, 83, 87, 90, 92, 95, 97, 98, 102, 103, 106, 107 and 132, 108, 109, 112 and 129, 117, 124, 133. This list would be greatly diminished by an investigation of the riddles, unpublished as yet, in English mss. (a few such I have examined, Notes) and in the peasant speech. The popular riddle of England has been sadly neglected by collectors and students of folk-lore; hence the printed material is totally inadequate for the proper study of variant versions of native queries.
Note [1] in page 245 The history of the Sphinx riddle has been traced by Gyraldus (Reusner, i, 10), Friedreich, 84 f. and Ohlert, pp. 31–35. Among many classical forms cited by these scholars note that of Asklepiades (Athenaeus, x, p. 456 b; comp. Anthol. Palat., Didot, xiv, No. 64): and among modern versions see Karlsruhe ms. (Mone, Anzeiger, viii, 1838, p. 259, No. 175); Sloane ms. 1489 (17th cent.), fol. 14 a, No. 9 (Latin); Rev. des Langues Romanes, xii (1877), p. 172, No. x (Limousin); and Wossidlo, No. 344. Compare Laistner, Das Rätsel der Sphinx, Grundzüge einer Mythengeschichte, Berlin, 1889.
Note [2] in page 245 For slightly different forms, consult “An account in Record Office, Jan. 9, 8 Henry VIII” (N and Q, 6th Ser., i, 294, April 10, 1880); Sloane ms. 1489, fol. 16 a; and B. M. R., No. 71. Strass. Rb., No. 305, and Simrock3, p. 99, offer a very similar riddle; and Pitrè, p. cxx, cites a Sardinian dramatic story (28 lines) with like motive.
Note [3] in page 246 Crossed through, and repeated, No. 114.
Note [4] in page 246 Infra, Nos. 12, 131.
Note [5] in page 246 The Roman grammarian, Pompeius, tells us that this question was often in the mouths of the boys of Rome (Keil, Scriptores Art. Gram., v, 311, cited by Ohlert, p. 30, Note). It appears in Bede's “Flores” (Migne, Pat. Lat., 94, 539 f.; Kemble, S. and S., 325), in E. B. R., xxxiv, in Vienna ms. 67 (9th cent.), No. 39 (Mone, Anz., viii, 224), in Karlsruhe ms. von Engelhusen (Mone, Id., 316) and in three of Reusner's authors (i, 21, 82, 259). I note several versions among the unpublished mss. of the British Museum:—in Latin form in Arundel 248 (14th cent.), fol. 67 b, and in Harl. 3831 (16th cent.), fol. 7 a; and as a four-verse enigma in Harl. 7316 (18th cent.), p. 60, fol. 28 b. See Puttenham, Arte of English Poesie, 1589, Bk. iii, Arber's Reprint, p. 198; and, among modern German Volksrätsel, Carstens (Schleswig Holstein), Zs. d. V. f. Vk., vi (1896), p. 422, and Simrock3, p. 96. Compare my article, Mod. Lang. Notes, vol. xviii, No. 1 (Jan., 1903), p. 4.
Note [6] in page 246 The pedigree of this world-riddle is traced by Wossidlo, No. 411, Notes. He finds it in Reinmar von Zweter (Roethe's Ed., 1887, 205, cf. 512 f.); Freidank (Grimm's Ed., 1834, p. 109, 8 f.); Strass. Rb., No. 284; Augsburg Rb. (Wackernagel, H. Z., iii, 33); Therander (Ænigmatographia, No. 77); Rolland, p. 112, No. 263 (here combined, as in Mecklenburg version, with Holme Rid., No. 78); and elsewhere. I mark its appearance in Tubinger ms. 1493 (Mone, Anz., viii, 93); Reusner, i, 265 (Lorichius); D. J., No. 46 (Kemble, S. and S., 290, 294); B. M. R., No. 25; Simrock3, p. 148; Archiv per. stud. delle tradiz. popolari, x, 397, No. 6 (Siena); and Rev. d. Langues Romanes, xi, 1877, p. 7 (Catalonia).
Note [7] in page 247 Compare Tub. ms. 1493 (Mone, l. c.); Strass. Rb., No. 279; and R., i, 265 (Lorichius).
Note [8] in page 247 The fable of Mahomet's tomb is discussed at length, N. and Q., 7th Ser., viii, 1889, 188, 274. Among familiar references to the legend are Addison's Spectator, No. 191, and Gibbon, Decline and Fall, etc., c. l, Milman Ed., Paris, 1840, vi, p. 232, N. G. remarks: “The Greeks and Latins have invented the vulgar and ridiculous story that Mahomet's tomb is suspended in the air at Mecca by the action of equal and potent loadstones (Bayle, Dictionnaire, 1715, s. v. ”Mahomet“ d.d.) * * * 1) The prophet was not buried at Mecca; 2) The tomb at Medina is on the ground.” Alex Neckam, De Naturis Rerum, ii, c. 98 (Rolls Ser., 1863, p. 183), mentions magnet-balanced statue—not tomb—of Mahomet at Mecca. To the riddle I have discovered no analogues.
Note [9] in page 247 For numerous references to this widespread riddle, consult Wossidlo, No. 403, Notes, and Petsch, 107–110. English instances are R. R. B., p. 4; Halliwell, N. R., p. 74, No. cxxiv; Chambers, p. 108; and Gregor, p. 79.
Note [10] in page 247 One of the oldest and best-known of relationship-riddles, as E. B. R., xlviii, shows. Schechter (“ Riddles of Solomon in Rabbinic Literature,” Folk-Lore, i, London, 1890, p. 354) cites this from Midrash Hachephez (Brit. Mus. Yemen ms. Or. 2382) as second query proposed by Queen of Sheba to Solomon (Compare Friedreich, pp. 98–99, citation of an older Midrash; Hertz, “Die Rätsel der Königin von Saba,” H. Z., xxvii, 1883, 1–33; Wünsche, Rätselweisheit bei den Hebräern, Leipzig, 1883, p. 16). It appears twice in Reusner's collection (i, 335, 353), in the second case as a mock-epitaph; is noted by Wossidlo, No. 983, Notes, in several modem German forms; and is considered by Petsch, p. 14. Compare the Scandinavian versions (Izlenzkar Gatur, 594, 688, and Hylten-Cavallius, No. 117), and the English forms (Chambers, p. 113, and Gregor, p. 76).
Note [11] in page 248 In N and Q, 4th Ser., viii, 56, July 15, 1871, is discussed “a Latin riddle published as the concluding lines of the celebrated Bologna enigma, ‘D. M. Celia Laelia Crispis’ engraved on marble in Senator Volta's country-seat—but, in fact, not on marble at all but taken from an old parchment at Milan, written in Gothic characters:—
'Hoc est sepulchrum intus cadaver non latens
Hoc est cadaver sepulchrum extra non habens.'“
This is assigned to Politian in Reusner's collection (Friedreich, 208)—with answer, “Niobe.” The enigma is solved, “Lot's Wife,” in N and Q, July 29, 1871, and is shown, Id., ix, 82, Jan. 27, 1872, to be simply ‘another version of the epitaph to Niobe by Ausonius (No. 29), of which the Greek form, sometimes attributed to Agathias, appears among’ in Brunck's and Jacobs' collections. Friedreich, 45, cites two similar epigrams of Lauterbach (1562)—one with “Lot's Wife,” the other with “Niobe” as answer. Rolland, No. 262, presents a French variant (Mantôche), “Quelle est la femme qui est morte sans laisser de cadavre?” and ms. Harl. 7316 (middle 18th cent.), p. 58, furnishes an English verse-form of the enigma:—
“Stay, Traveller, and wondering here behold
A Tomb, which doth within no corps enfold.
Said I, a Tomb? Here I mistaken was,
It is a Corps and wants a Tomb, alas !
Was I mistaken ? No, for it is either;
Nay, it is both; and truly it is neither.“
Note [12] in page 249 This is one of the three Holme versions (compare Nos. 4, 131) of the famous “Louse” or “Flea” riddle, which, tradition tells us, so baffled Homer that he died of shame (“Vita Homeri” by Plutarch, Westermann, p. 23, Bergck, Gr. Lit., i, 244). Ohlert, pp. 41 f., has carefully outlined its history. It passed into a proverb (Strabo, iii, 2, 9, p. 147; Athenæus, vi, 233 e), and was written on the walls of Pompeii (Dilthey, Epig. gr. Pomp. rep trias, p. 12). It is found in Symphosius (No. 30, Pediculus); in Alcuin (DPA, 90); still in a Latin form in a Tyrolese ms. of first half of 14th cent. (Anz. f. d. Alt., xv, 1889, 143); and in Reusner, i, 378. Ohlert discovers it still living in Spain (see Demófilo, No. 843), and Gascony; and Wossidlo, No. 450, Notes, marks its occurrence in Mecklenburg, in the Aargau (Rochholz, Alemannisches Kinderlied, Leipzig, 1857, p. 274) and in the Tyrol (Renk, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., v, 147, No. 1). In England the riddle takes its place as a Latin enigma in ms. Sloane, 955, fol. 1, A 1612 (“In densis silvis venor bis quinque catellis,” etc.); in third Holme form in B. M. R., No. 2, and in R. R. B., p. 10; and, as an art-riddle, in N and Q, 3d Ser., vi, 288, Oct. 8, 1864. See Mod. Lang. Notes, xviii, i, p. 3.
Note [13] in page 249 The ultimate source is Symphosius, 16, Tinea. See E. B. R., xlviii, and Iz. Gat., No. 761; and note recent English forms, W. N. R., p. 2, R. R. B., p. 14 (“ mouse in a study ”), and R. C. C., No. 64.
Note [14] in page 249 [a] The Smoke riddle of Symphosius (No. 7). Ohlert, p. 138, notes that a Greek riddle (Anthol. Pal., xiv, 5) is very like Sym.; and Wossidlo, No. 148, Notes, offers many analogues to the final motive of the Latin. See also Therander, No. 31, and Demófilo, Nos. 548, 550. ms. Sloane 848 (early 17th cent.), fol. 32, translates Sym.'s enigma:—
“I teares doe cause, though cause of grief be none:
My father wh' begott me, without me never was borne.“
[b] The Holme motives are found in 10th-cent. Reichenau ms. 205 (M and S, Denkmäler 3, 20), “Quid est quod fuit et modo non est?” and in Yorkshire1, No. 6.
Note [15] in page 250 For many continental parallels, see Wossidlo, No. 78, Notes. Additional references are Heinrich von Neuenstadt's Apollonius, No. 3 (Schröter, Mitt. der deutschen Gesellschaft zur Erforschung vaterl. Sprache und Alterthümer, v, Heft 2, Leipzig, 1872, p. lv f.); Reusner, i, 280, ii, 71; Simrock3, p. 97; and R. R. B., p. 2:—
“Full forty years I live and oft do alms give,
Yet never roam half a mile from home;
But, when I'm dead, it plainly doth appear,
I travel night and day both far and near.“
Here the contrast between “the dead” and “the living” is weakened.
Note [17] in page 250 H and D, 27 (exact).
Note [18] in page 250 H and D, 28 (exact). R. R. B., p. 7 (exact).
Note [19] in page 250 Crossed out, and repeated, No. 127. H and D, 29 (slightly different).
Note [20] in page 250 H and D, 50 (exact). Somewhat different double-meaning riddles of the Candle appear, Rolland, pp. 78–79, No. 162; W. D. W., p. 1.
Note [21] in page 250 H and D, 51 (exact). Wit's Recreations, reprinted from four editions (1640, 1641, 1654, 1663) by Hotten, London, n. d., p. 301 (nearly exact). See slightly different French riddle, Rolland, p. 80 No. 163.
Note [22] in page 250 Ohlert, pp. 28–30, gives Greek versions of this riddle (Athenaeus, x, 452e; Suidas, s. v. avos; Schol. Plat. de rep., v, 479c) and cites two modern forms, one German (Simrock3, p. 42), the other Swedish (Zs. f. d. Myth., iii, 349). For further discussion of the. problem, compare Hagen, Antike und mittelalt. Rätselpoesie, 1869, p. 17; N. Pr. Prov. Bl., ix, 379; Frischbier, Urquell, ii, x, 167; Pitrè, p. xlix. The query belongs to the same class as the famous Snow and Sun riddle (Wossidlo, No. 99, Notes).
Note [23] in page 251 Crossed out, and repeated, No. 77.
Note [24] in page 251 Wossidlo, No. 648, Notes, gives several analogues to the similar Mecklenburg Ass in the Ark riddle:— Tannhuser, M and S3, ii, 70; Freidank (Grimm, 1834), p. 109, 10; Köhler, 15th-cent. Weimar ms., No. 6 (Weimar Jhrb., v, 334); Strass. Rb., No. 285; Therander, No. 214; Rolland, p. 113, No. 265. I find other examples of this:—Tübinger ms. 1493, 15th cent. (Mone, Anz., viii, p. 50); Rockenbüchlein, bl. 2b, l. 102 (Petsch, Palaestra, iv); Augs. Rb., No. 56; Reusner, i, 265 (Lorichius); Simrock3, p. 149; and the current English version (Kemble, S and S, p. 294).
Note [25] in page 251 Compare German riddle on the same subject, Haase (Ruppin), Zs. d. V. f. Vk., v, 399, No. 169:—
“Gott sprach ein Wort und meint es nicht,
Der Mensch vollbracht's und that es nicht.“
Note [26] in page 251 The Gallician riddle, Demófilo, App. 2, Pt. I, No. 39 (“Tèn pès e non anda, Alas e non voa”) is very like Holme. Lincoln riddle, No. 13, which the German query (Simrock3, p. 68) closely resembles, is not so specific:—
“Black within and black without,
Three legs and an iron cap.“
Yet different are the Shetland guddik (Spence, Shetland Folk-Lore, Lerwick, 1899, p. 184), and the Italian Pentola problems (Pitrè, Nos. 587–593).
Note [27] in page 252 Halliwell, N. R., p. 79, No. cxlv, gives a more usual form of this riddle, “Little Nancy Etticoat, etc.” Compare Halliwell, P. R., p. 146; Lancashire1, No. 5, “Nancy Neppicoat;” Lincoln, No. 20, “Nanny goat;” the German riddle of “Lütt Johann Oölken” (Wossidlo, No. 416, Notes; Petsch, 113; Simrock3, p. 65); and the Norwegian Candle-problem (Landstad, Norske Folkeviser, 1853, p. 305, No. 36, cited by Müllenhof, Zs. f. d. Myth., iii, 1855, 13).
Note [28] in page 252 B. M. R., No. 70, furnishes a more complete version:—
“Down in a dale there sits and stands,
Eight legs and two hands,
Livers and lights and legs three:
I count him a wise man that tells this to me.“
Tylor, Primitive Culture, 3d Ed., 1891, p. 94, compares Heidreks Gatur, 35 (“Odin on Slepnir”), with the order of the Oracle of Delphi to Temenos ‘to find a man with three eyes (i. e.,—“a one-eyed man on horseback”), to guide the army.‘ See Hylten-Cavallius (Swedish), No. 5, Notes; Rolland, p. 15, No. 35 (“Man on Horseback”); Pitrè, No. 866; Rev. d. L. R., xii (1877), p. 172 f. (Limousin); Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., xxiii, 256, No. 162 (many ref.); Wossidlo, No. 424, and New Coll. of Enigmas, 1810, Query xvi, p. 199. The Anglo-Saxon runic riddles (E. B. R., xx, lxv) are perhaps fragments of a similar problem.
Note [29] in page 252 This Cherry riddle with many variations is widespread in England:—Halliwell, N. R., p. 75, No. cxxx, “Dick Red Cap, / A stick in his hand and a stone in his throat;” Chambers, p. 109, “A little wee man in a red coat, etc.;” Gregor, p. 80; Lincoln, No. 6, “A man with a red coat.” In Germany these “Cherry” motives are found not only in Kirsche riddles (Reusner, i, 243; Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., ix, 67, No. 11; Wossidlo, No. 181), but also in Arbutus and Hagebutte problems (Reusner, i, 281; Simrock3, p. 21; Wossidlo, No. 209).
Note [30] in page 253 Compare B. M. R., No. 24, “What is that, as high as a hall, as bitter as gall, as soft as silk, as white as milk?” and Halliwell, P. R., pp. 142–143. Continental analogues are Strass. Rb., No. 153; Reusner, i, 282–283 (Latin and German); Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., ix, 69, No. 24; Rolland, pp. 50–51; Demófilo, App. 2, Pt. vii, No. 17, p. 385; Arch. * * * trad. pop., i, 398 f., No. 35 (Marchigiani); ii, 577, No. 27 (Bologna); iv, 537, No. 17 (Ticino).
Note [31] in page 253 The German analogue is offered by Simrock3, p. 18:—
“Hoch wie ein Haus
Klein wie ein Maus
Stachlich wie ein Igel
Glänzend wie ein Spiegel.“ (Kastanie.)
Very similar is the version of Haase (Ruppin, Zs. d. V. f. k., iii, 74, No. 73). But the Holme riddle has nothing in common with the well-known Castanea logogriph (Mod. Lang. Notes, xviii, p. 7, Note).
Note [32] in page 253 This Holme riddle was printed by Halliwell, P. R., p. 149. With it we may compare the Shropshire counterpart (No. 2), “Itty pitty in the hedge, Itty pitty out, etc.;” the Scotch Nettle-name problems of Chambers, 109, “Heg-beg adist the dike, etc.”, and of Gregor, p. 80, “Hobbity-bobbity; Robbie Stobbie, etc.;” and the less vivid “nameless” queries of W. D. W., pp. 9–10, and R. R. B., p. 17. German parallels are Simrock,3 p. 28, “Krippel die Krappel;” Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., ix, 75, No. 69, “Doktor Kraus;” and Wossidlo, No. 51:—
“Achter'n hus' steit Peter Krus;
Wenn man em anfött, denn bitt he.“
Note [33] in page 254 For this I find no analogues. The various French, German, Italian and Spanish riddles are of a very different sort: compare Rolland, pp. 34–37; Simrock3, pp. 30–33; Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., xi, 352–355, Nos. 56–78; Renk, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., v, 152, Nos. 85–93; Pitrè, Nos. 868–875; Demófilo, Nos. 533–547.
Note [34] in page 254 Pitrè, lxxx-lxxxvii (“Il corpo dell'amante ucciso”), traces this ghastly riddle-motive through the folk-literature of many countries:—Italy (Pitrè, No. 941), Greek island of Milo, Hungary and Spain (Demófilo, p. 332). The problem is known in every part of England: R. R. B., p. 7; Gregor, p. 82; Chambers, p. 108 (No. 1); Henderson, Notes on Folk-Lore of Northern Counties, etc., London, 1866, Appendix, p. 318 (Devonshire); Folk-Lore, ix, London, 1898, p. 260 (Lincolnshire). Petsch, pp. 17–18, cites the English riddle, compares it with Simrock3, p. 173, “Op Leef seet ek, op Leef eet ek, u. s. w.,” and shows that it is but a stronger form of the famous Halslösungsrätsel of Ilo (Simrock3, p. 171; Wossidlo, pp. 191–198, No. 962; pp. 321–322):—
“Auf Ilo geh ich,
Auf Ilo steh ich,
Auf Ilo bin ich hübsch und fein,
Rat't, meine Herren, was soll das sein ? “
Note [35] in page 254 Repeated, No. 141.
Note [36] in page 254 Compare Halliwell, P. R., p. 148, “Link-lank on a bank, ten against four;” Lancashire,1 No. 4, “Clink-clank under a bank, ten against four;” and Shetland guddik (Spence, p. 182), “Tink-tank, twa in a bank, ten about four.” Close foreign analogues are Hylten-Cavallius, No. 10, “Tio draga fyra,” and Meltzl, Szekler Volksrätsel, etc., London, 188-?, No. 10, “Tiz huz negyet” (Ten draw four). More remotely connected are the Mark riddle (see Simrock3, p. 34), cited by Müllenhof, Zs. f. d. M., iii, 5, “Twe ruhe ranken, vier kummandanten, u. s. w.,” and the French query, Rolland, p. 21, No. 43, “Dix tirans, quatre pendans.” Pitrè, p. cxxxi, cites the English version under “alliterative problems.”
Note [37] in page 255 Of the same sort is R. R. B., p. 12 (cf. Halliwell, P. R., p. 146):—
“At the end of my yard there is a vat,
Four and twenty ladies in a plat (?);
Some in green gowns, and some in blue hats.
I count him a wise man, who tells me that.“
See Renk (Tyrol), Zs. d. V. f. Vk., v, 153, “77
Schwestern haben gleiche Kappeln auf.;“ and Demófilo, App. 2, Pt. iii (Catalonia), No. 6, p. 360:—
“Cuatro senyoretes
Ballan dins un plat,
Cotilleta verda
Y vestit morat.“ (Berengena.)
Compare Id., Pt. iv, No. 19, p. 369; Pt. vii, No. 22, p. 386.
Note [38] in page 255 “Two millstones” is the subject of this riddle in B. M. R., No. 66; and in Shetland (Spence, p. 184):—
“Twa grey grumphies lay in ae sty,
Da maer dey get, da maer dey cry,
Da less dey get, da stiller dey lie.“
Note [39] in page 256 Similar English riddles are R. R. B., p. 14; and Lincoln, No. 26:—
“Mother, father, sister, brother,
All runnin' after one another
An' can't catch one another.“ (Mill Sails.)
More like the Holme version is the 15th cent. French problem, Rolland, p. 101, No. 235, “Emmy les champs a quatre soeurs qui courent aussi fort l'une comme l'autre et si ne peuvent rataindre l'une l'autre.” Bladé, Prov. et Dev. Pop. (Armagnac), 1879, p. 218, No. 95, gives many French and Italian parallels. German analogues abound: Simrock3, p. 98; Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., xxiii, p. 257, No. 168; Wossidlo, No. 156. All these are Windmill riddles, but the same motive is found in the Rotae enigma of Symphosius (No. 77), and in numerous Wheel queries of the present:—Rolland, p. 96, No. 218; Wossidlo, No. 157; Arch. per stud. trad. pop., vii, p. 427, No. 141 (Florence, 1558); x, p. 397, No. 44 (Siena); Rev. d. L. R., xi, p. 7 (Catalonia), xii, p. 172, No. 61 (Limousin).
Note [40] in page 256 The second answer, added afterwards, is undoubtedly correct and is the only one given to the riddle in Holme's' Index. Compare B. M. R., No. 4, “What is that that shineth bright all day and at night is raked up in its own dirt ? (Fire);” and Rolland, p. 74, No. 152.
Note [41] in page 256 B. M. R., No. 45, is the same riddle.
Note [43] in page 256 Compare Shropshire, No. 10, and Lincoln, Nos. 7, 8:—
“Round the house and round the house,
And leaves a white glove in the window (Snow).“
“Round the house and round the house
And leaves a black glove in the window. (Rain).“
Note also Sunshine riddles of Lincoln, No. 9, and Yorkshire2, No. 3, and the Sunbeam query of Shropshire, No. 11.
Note [44] in page 257 Shropshire, No. 13, is exactly like Holme; and the same motives are found:— W. N. R., p. 12; R. R. B., p. 20; Lincoln, No. 22; Wossidlo, No. 291. The Broom enigmas of Symphosius, No. 78, and Vienna ms. 67, No. 19 (Mone, Anz., viii, 219), are of a very different sort.
Note [45] in page 257 Though this riddle does not appear in the English collections that I have consulted, yet it is common in the folk-mouth in both England and America. I mark two German versions:—Schell, No. 52, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., iii, 297, “De Būr Schmitt et fott on de Städter steckt et en de Täsch;” and Haase, No. 214, Id., v, 402, “Der Arme schmeisst's weg und der Reiche steckt's in die Tasche (Der Nasenschleim).” The problem is well-known in France, Italy and Spain:—Bladé, Prov. et Dev. Pop. (Armagnac), 1879, p. 212, No. 66, La Morve; Arch. * * * trad. pop., ii, p. 575, No. 6 (Bologna); Pitrè, No. 475; Demófilo, App. 2, Pt. i, No. 24, p. 345; Pt. ii, No. 18, p. 356; Pt. vii, No. 39, p. 390.
Note [46] in page 257 The Spanish Estrapajo riddles (Demófilo, Nos. 438, 439), full of vivid personification, are far superior to the Holme problem.
Note [48] in page 257 W. D. W., p. 8, is somewhat similar. The Holme query has nought in common with the excellent pen-riddle of Brit. Mus. mss. Sloane 1489 (17th cent.), fol. 16 a, No. 6, and Harl. 7316 (18th cent.), fol. 33 b, p. 70; and its German parallels, Wossidlo, Nos. 83–86; nor with the obscene Prussian riddle, Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., xi, 357.
Note [50] in page 257 A universal riddle, the germ of which I discover in Bede's “Flores,” No. 13 (Migne, Pat. Lat., 94, 539), “Vidi bipedem super tripodem sedentem: cecidit bipes, corruit tripes.” Wossidlo, No. 15, Notes, furnishes many German, Frisian, Danish and French examples (compare Petsch, p. 80), to which I may add Swedish (Hylten-Cavallius, No. 83) and Italian (Pitrè, No. 923) and Spanish (Demófilo, App. 2, Pt. vii, No. 36, p. 389) variants; and I offer as English references:— B. M. R., No. 1; Halliwell, N. R., p. 74, No. 126; Lincoln, No. 31.
Note [51] in page 258 The Holme solution is much weaker than that of Lincoln, No. 3:—
“As I was going over Humber,
I heard a great rumble,
Three pots a-boilin';
An' no fire under.
(Water under the boat).“
Note [52] in page 258 Halliwell, P. R., p. 145, gives a more elaborate version; and I find yet another form in ms. Sloane 1489, fol. 16 b, No. 10, “As I walke downe yon gate, I spyde a boy, was weeping and wayling, I ask what a[i]lde him, he sd. his fa. and mo: dyed 20 yeare ago, and he was but 7 yeares old.” With this Dyer riddle compare John Hey wood's epigram of the Dyer's Wife (“5th Hundred of Epigrams,” 1562, No. 36, Proverbs and Epigrams of J. H., Spenser Soc., 1867, p. 185):—
Were he gone, diar woulde I never mo wed;
Diars be ever diying, but never ded.“
Note [53] in page 258 This “monster” riddle has a famous history. Ohlert, pp. 38–39, marks its appearance in the “Melampodie” of Hesiod (Strabo, xiv, 1, 27, p. 642), and points to the Icelandic parallel, Heidreks Gatur, No. 12 (Sow with nine young); and Heusler, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., xi, 1901, 141–142, compares with the H. G. version:—Aldhelm, vi, 10; E. B. R., xxxvii (Sow with five pigs); and the modern riddles of the Faroës (Zs. f. d. M., iii, 125) and Iceland (Izl. Gat., Nos. 447, 448). R. R. B., p. 9, is very like Holme. Riddles with a similar theme are found in Hungary (Mag. für die Litt. des Auslandes, 1856, p. 364) and in the Tyrol (Renk, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., v, p. 152, No. 76); and the Latin homonym of Reichenau ms. 205, No. 6 (M and S, Denkmäler 3, vii, p. 20) has a like motive.
Note [54] in page 259 Compare B. M. R., No. 49, “Here I have it and yonder I see it (My breath in a misty morning).” Repeated, infra, No. 88.
Note [55] in page 259 B. M. R., No. 16, offers both the Holme version and the following:—
“A thousand and one (M and I) made great moan,
When a hundred (c) upon a hundred (c) was left alone.“
Note [56] in page 259 Professor Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, vol. i, No. 1, “Riddles Wisely Expounded,” cites several groups of ballads, containing these questions and others of like sort, which are duly answered by a maiden, who thus gains a husband or foils a fiend. In the English forms, “Love is longer than the way, Hell deeper than the sea; Thunder louder than the horn, and Hunger sharper than the thorn;” in the Scotch (Motherwell), “Wind is longer than the way * * * Shame is louder than the horn.” In “Captain Wedderburn's Courtship” (Child, i, 419), “Hell is deeper than the sea;” and in the 15th-cent. Dialogue, “Inter Diabolus et Yirgo” (Furnivall, Eng. Stud., xxiii, 444; Child, v, 282) we have the usual English answers with the exception that “Loukynge ys longer than the way.” The foolish Holme solutions of Sting and Tromp are due perhaps to a lapse of the scribe's memory. In the many “husband-gaining” riddles of the Continent (Child, i, 1) our queries do not appear.
Note [57] in page 260 R. R. B., p. 13, offers an interesting variant:—
“Old mother old, she stands in the cold,
Her children die with age;
She lives and brings forth young,
And everyone without a tongue.
(Apple-tree).“
See infra, No. 104.
Note [58] in page 260 Compare B. M. R., No. 58, “What is that goeth through the wood; and leaveth on every bush a rag ? (Snow).” Contrast infra, No. 62.
Note [59] in page 260 The parallels are suggestive:—B. M. R., No. 60, The Needle “goes through thick and thin and draws his guts after him;” the Silk-weaver's Shuttle of W. D. W., p. 7, 'leaves its guts still behind;“ while in the Needle riddle of Halliwell, N. R., p. 81, No. 153, ”Old Mother Twitchett * * * left a bit of her tail in a trap“ (cf. Rolland, p. 87, No. 188). Tylor, Primitive Culture, 1891, p. 92, cites an Aztec analogue, ”What goes through a valley and drags its entrails after it?“ Compare Pitrè, No. 14; Demonio, App. 2, Pt. i (Galicia), No. 21, p. 344; Meltzl, Szekler Volksrätsel, No. xv.
Note [61] in page 260 The same query appears, Yorkshire2, No. 5, and Shropshire, No. 14, with the far better answer, “A woman crossing a bridge with a pail of water on head” (cf. infra, No. 84). Very similar in motive are the German Sun riddle (Simrock3, p. 96) and the Italian Shadow query (Pitrè, No. 525).
Note [62] in page 260 A less commonplace solution is given to B. M. R., No. 67, “What is it that goeth through the wood and toucheth never a twig ? (The blast of a horn or any-other noise).” See supra, No. 58.
Note [63] in page 261 Wossidlo, No. 283, cites Mecklenburg form, “Geit to holt un kickt to huus,” and points to German, Norwegian and Slavonic parallels. Another English version is B. M. R., No. 32.
Note [64] in page 261 The tame answer suggests a lapsed solution; though Curé riddles are not uncommon in France (Rev. d. L. R., xii, 1877, p. 172, No. 10).
Note [65] in page 261 This has little in common with the long Anglo-Saxon Bagpipe enigma (E. B. R., xxxii).
Note [67] in page 261 Compare ms. Sloane 848 (early 17th cent.), fol. 32:—
“I alwaies run as eache man sees as though
I weare in chase,
And yet I never use to change or once
move from my place.“
The spirited German Gedanke riddle (Wossidlo, No. 106 c), “Es lief ein Häschen wohl wacker, u. s. w.” is not unlike Holme; and the Spanish Pensamiento problem is a very close analogue (Demófilo, App. 3, L, No. 8, p. 435):—
“Cual es el ave de tanto bolar
Que buela en un punto más alta que el cielo
La tierra y abismos traspasa de un buelo
Y a do se aposenta no ocupa lugar,“ etc.
Note [69] in page 261 To these literary enigmas with their interesting popu-
Note [70] in page 261 lar elements I have discovered no close parallels. Compare, however, E. B. R., xxxiii; W. N. R., pp. 14, 23, and P. Cap., p. 5 (good art-riddles); Wossidlo, No. 101, Notes; Petsch, p. 47 (Schiller's enigma); and the many ship-riddles of Izl. Gat.
Note [73] in page 262 This riddle was well-known in 15th-century France (Rolland, p. 141, No. 352) and 16th-century Italy (Arch. per stud. trad. pop., vii, p. 429, Florence, 1558; compare Pitrè, No. 1133), and appears in England in both D. J., No. 45 (Kemble, S and S, p. 290), and ms. Sloane 1489, fol. 44 b, No. 6. Kemble, p. 294, notes its appearance in Howell's English Proverbs, p. 12.
Note [76] in page 262 Samson's riddle is considered at length by Friedreich, pp. 151–155, and Wünsche, Rätselweisheit bei den Hebräern, Leipzig, 1883, pp. 11–13. It appears in Latin form in Reusner, i, 357 (Lauterbach), and in Buchler's Gnomologia, 1614 (cited by Friedreich). It has left its traces on the Offices of the Church (Fitzgerald, Gentleman's Mag., N. S., 27, 1881, p. 179) as well as on profane poetry (compare Waller's poem, “Of the Lady Mary, Princess of Orange.”)
Note [78] in page 262 A widely known riddle. I note first the English versions:—D. J., No. 47, “What was he that was begoten or his fader and borne or his moder and had the maydenhede of his beldame ?” (Abel); B. M. R., No. 61, “What was he * * * grandame?” The Earth is Abel's grandmother or “Adam's mother:” compare D. J., No. 3, and the many references to this seeming incest in Kemble's S and S, pp. 295–298. Wossidlo, No. 411, Notes, furnishes a dozen continental parallels to our riddle:—early and modern German (Reinmar, 205; Freidank, p. 109, 8; Strassb. Rb., No. 284; Augs. Rb., No. 55, and Therander, No. 77), Frisian, French (Rolland, p. 112, No. 263), Italian and Hungarian. Add to these the Spanish query (Demófilo, No. 13) and the 9th-cent. Latin version, Joca Monachorum, No. 3 (Monatsber. d. k. pr. Akad. d. Wiss. zu Berlin, 1872, p. 106 f.), “Qui aviam suam virginem violavit ? ”
Note [79] in page 263 Compare Tubinger ms. 1493 (Mone, Anz., viii, 50, No. 161), which has as answer, “J. Baptista locutus est antequam natus.”
Note [81] in page 263 See Joca Monachorum, No. 33, “Qui femina ante cognovit filium quam maritum (Sancta Maria);” the Mary riddle of Aurelius Prudentius (Reusner, i, 295); and Hylten-Cavallius, No. 122, “Ett barn utan man (Jungfru Marie son).”
Note [82] in page 263 This riddle appears in many English collections. Note Sir G. G., p. 11, for its usual form:—
“As round as a hoop
As deep as a cup
All the king's horses
Can't draw it up.“
Compare Halliwell, N. R., p. 75, No. 129 (“As round as an apple, etc.”), and Yorkshire,1 No. 1. Rolland, p. 97, No. 221, cites the Paris riddle:—
“Qu'est-ce-qui est rond comme un dé
Et que des chevaux ne peuvent porter ?“
The shape-motive is found in many riddles of the Romance languages:—Bladé, Prov. et Dev. Pop., p. 212, No. 67; Pitrè, No. 649; Demófilo, No. 832. See Virgil's Well enigma (Eclogues, iii, 104).
Note [84] in page 263 See supra, No. 61, Note.
Note [85] in page 263 Repeated, infra, No. 138, with answer, Strawberry.
Note [86] in page 263 A variant of No. 78.
Note [89] in page 263 Somewhat similar is the fine riddle of Lancashire2, No. 1:—
“Bloodless and boneless
And goes to the fell footless. (A snail.)“
The Snail riddle, B. M. R., No. 34, is very different.
Note [91] in page 264 The same riddle is met in both America (P. Cap, p. 23, Husband) and France (Rolland, p. 124, No. 283, “Un mari et le lait”).
Note [93] in page 264 See B. M. R., No. 52 (exact).
Note [94] in page 264 Though this query appears, with the Holme answer, in New Coll. of Enigmas, London, 1810, p. 199, Qu. xiii, yet it is but a variant of D. J., No. 14, “What thynge is it that never was nor never shall be? Never mouse made her nest in a cattes ear.” This second solution is that of a French analogue (Souché, Bulletin de la Soc. de Statistique * * * Deux-Sèvres, Niort, 1881, p. 579); and Kemble, S and S, p. 293, cites from Howell's British Proverbs, p. 24, a similar Welsh saying.
Note [96] in page 264 Compare Sir G. G., p. 16:—
“Cloth'd in yellow, red and green,
I prate before the king and queen;
Of neither house nor land possessed,
By lords and ladies I'm caressed.
(A Parrot.)“
The well-known Itum Paraditum riddle of the Holly (Lincoln, No. 30) is transferred to the Parrot (Lancashire2, No. 4).
Note [97] in page 264 The obscene Fan of Feathers problem, H and D, No. 25, is very different.
Note [98] in page 264 This has nothing in common with Symphosius, No. 59, Pila, and its many descendants.
Note [99] in page 264 This is a weaker version of the fine Räiselmärchen of the 15th-century Weimar ms. (Köhler, Weimar Jhrb., v, 336, No. 14; cf. Friedreich, p. 242):—
“Ein herr hett einen lieben bulen und er schicket seinen knecht zue ir und liess sie fragen, wen er zu ir solt kommen. Do sprach sie zu im:—
Sag deinem herrn, dass er kum
Wenn all tann lere stien,
Und all baum, zue samen gien,
Und wenn das tot das lebendig hat überwunden,
So wirt dein herr in grossen freuden gefunden.
So sprich und kum also: wenn all tann lere stien, das ist wenn all krausen lere stien; wenn all baum zue samen gien, das ist wenn man die leden vor den venstern zue thut; wenn das tot das lebendig überwindt [Augs. Rb., No. 3; Reusner, ii, 70], das ist wenn man den aschen über das feuer legt.“
Note [100] in page 265 The same riddle appears, R. R. B., p. 21; A. R. B., p. 20; P. Cap, p. 6.
Note [101] in page 265 This corresponds closely to the German riddle, Simrock3, p. 85:—
“Ich bin nicht, ich war nicht, ich werde nicht sein,
Du meinest ich scherze, ich sage dir nein,
Ich stehe ja sichtlich vor deinem Gesicht,
Und kannst du mich rathen, so nennst du mich nicht.“
And ms. Sloane 1489, fol. 28 a, No. 11, has a similar theme:—
“I doe it, yet I doe not: I see it is not:
I goe, my foot moves not: I speake,
my tongue stirres not.“
Compare Polle, Wie bezeichneten die alten Griechen den Witz, Leipzig, 1896, pp. 31–43, “Ueber Nichts.”
Note [104] in page 265 See B. M. R., No. 69 (exact). W. N. R., 23, “Ring of Bells,” Id., 24, “St. Nicholas Steeple” and W. D. W., p. 4, “Bell in Steeple” are not like the Holme riddle. But a Spanish problem (Demófilo, App. 2, Pt. vii, No. 62, p. 395) is a very close analogue:—
“En medio del campo hay un tronco (torre),
En medio del tronco una astilla (campana),
En medio de la astilla una cuerda;
Tira la cuerda y canta el hueso (badajo).“
Note [105] in page 266 B. M. R., No. 76, is a variant of the same riddle. Compare supra, No. 57.
Note [106] in page 266 R. R. B., p. 20, treats the same subject in different fashion.
Note [108] in page 266 This has been printed, not very accurately, by Halliwell, P. R., p. 150.
Note [110] in page 266 Compare Introduction for discussion of possible reference to year of ms. (1641 ?). B. M. R., No. 15, has the same answer:—
“Yonder side there is a boate
The king's daughter of England, there she sate;
Ann if I you tel her name, no man it wot.
What is the maid's name that sate in the boat ?
Solution—Her name is An * * * but this riddle is not to be seene on the booke, but to be put without the book or else it will be soon understood.“ See also B. M. R., No. 21, ”L and U, and C and I, So hight my Lady at the Font-stone.“ The German ”Und“ Namenrätsel (Simrock3, p. 85; Wossidlo, No. 960) is unlike our problem.
Note [111] in page 266 A slightly different form of this riddle is furnished by Halliwell, N. R., p. 77, No. 138:—
“As I was going o'er Westminster Bridge,
I met with a Westminster scholar,
He pulled off his cap an' drew off his glove,
And wished me a very good morrow.
What is his name ? (Andrew).“
Compare also Lincoln, No. 2.
Note [112] in page 267 Repeated, infra, No. 129, with slight changes and with another answer.
Note [113] in page 267 This word-acrostic appears in ms. Sloane 1489, fol. 47 a.
Note [115] in page 267 Compare B. M. R., No. 37, “Ten men's strength and ten men's length, and ten men cannot set it on end (A Rope or Cable of ten fathom long);” and Lincoln, No. 18.
Note [116] in page 267 See Gregor, p. 78 (exact).
Note [118] in page 267 An interesting parallel is the Yorkshire name-riddle, cited by Halliwell, P. R., p. 149:—
“There was a man rode through our town,
Gray Grizzle was his name,
His saddle-bow was gilt with gold;
Three times I've named his name.
(Gaffer Was.)“
Note, too, Lincoln, No. 16, “Was.”
Note [119] in page 267 Halliwell, P. R., p. 149, printed this Holme problem. The riddle appears in several collections:— W. N. R., p. 20; R. R. B., p. 21 (two lines missing); A. R. B., p. 26 (not “damsell,” but “hostler”).
Note [120] in page 267 With very slight differences in R. R. B., p. 11. A Ruppin riddle (Haase, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., v, 406, No. 276) of unlike motive has a like answer:—
“Wer kommt ‘verquer’ nach der Kirche?
(Das Kind, das zur Taufe gebracht wird).“
Note [121] in page 267 The Holme riddle was printed by Halliwell, P. R., p. 149. I find it in D. J., No. 12; B. M. R., No. 46; Köhler, No. 15 (Weim. Jhrb., v, 329 f.); Strass. Rb., No. 51; Reusner, i, 279 (Lorichius), ii, 69; Simrock3, p. 96; Rolland, p. 14 (15th-cent. French form).
Note [122] in page 268 Compare Köhler, No. 17, and various Mecklenburg riddles (Wossidlo, No. 434a, Notes).
Note [123] in page 268 This problem is found in R. R. B., p. 13 (“children” not “soldiers”). The literary riddle of the Pumpkin (W. N. R., p. 13) is of quite other sort.
Note [125] in page 268 See R. R. B., p. 21 (“cows” not “bulls”); Yorkshire1, No. 10 (“beasts”); Haase, No. 97, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., iii, 77, and Simrock3, p. 102, “Ein kleines Ställchen voll weisser Hühner mit einem rothen Hahn;” Renk, Zs. d. V. f. Vk., v, 147, No. 7, “Ein Stall voll weisse Schaf;” Wossidlo, No. 276, Notes (Norse, Slavonic and Italian analogues); Hylten-Cavallius, No. 43 (“white cattle and red cow”); Rolland, p. 59 f. (various teeth and tongue riddles); Bladé, Prov. et Dev. Pop., p. 223, No. 116 (“white nuns and red monk in convent”); Demófilo, App. 2, Pt. ii (Catalonia), No. 27, p. 358 (“nuns and monk”).
Note [126] in page 268 B. M. R., No. 6, is the exact counterpart of this riddle even to the wording of the answer.
Note [127] in page 268 Repetition of No. 19. This strange art-riddle is presented somewhat more elaborately, H and D, No. 29:—
“Far in the west, I wot not wheare,
Are trees, men say, which oisters beare,
I wonder how this comes about
Those oysters flie not, out of doubt,
And fall straight like a swarm of bees
At home here on our apple trees.
Growe they on trees, those oysters ? fie !
Methinkes it soundeth like a lie.
A kinde of trees, I know 'tis true,
In purpoole lane beare oysters new
And fish and flesh and now and then
They beare (I tell you) honest men.
If every man and woman be an arbor reversa, then the shril oister queanes in Graies Inne lane are trees and plants etc.“
Note [128] in page 269 The Anglo-Saxon Beaker riddle (E. B. R., lxiv) has a similar motive similarly treated.
Note [129] in page 269 The Muff riddles of W. D. W., p. 5 (“A dainty fine thing, etc.”), and of Ruppin (Haase, No. 101), Mecklenburg (Wossidlo, No. 69) and Pomerania (Urquell, iv, 148, No. 12) are like the Holme query only in their coarse suggestion. See supra, No. 112.
Note [130] in page 269 This appears in a slightly different form, R. R. B., p. 11. Compare also E. B. R., xlv.
Note [131] in page 269 See supra, No. 12, Note.
Note [132] in page 269 A repetition with slight changes of No. 107.
Note [134] in page 269 This “monster” riddle is of the same class as supra, No. 53. Note Symphosius, No. 90, Mulier Gemellipara; and Aldhelm, i, 10, De Puerpera Geminos Enixa:—
“Sunt mihi sex oculi, totidem simul auribus exsto;
Sed digitos decies senos in corpore gesto.“
Donna Gravida riddles are common in Italy:—Arch. * * * trad. pop., i, p. 398, No. 7 (Marchigiani); vii, p. 427 f., No. 47 (Florence, 1558); Pitrè, No, 246 (Notes).
Note [135] in page 269 B. M. R., No. 44, is almost a verbal counterpart. The “Lincolnshire House riddle” (N and Q, 4th Ser., x, 312) furnishes a better version:—
“A man without eyes saw plums on a tree,
Neither took plums nor left plums; pray
how could that be ? “
So it is cited by Halliwell, N. R., p. 79, No. 143. Müllenhof long since (Zs. f. d. Myth., iii, 13) pointed to the German parallel (Simrock3, p. 100):—“Ein Mann der keine Augen hatte sah Aepfel auf einem Baume hangen. Er warf darnach, da fielen keine herab und blieben auch keine hangen.” I meet the riddle twice among Demófilo's Spanish problems:—App. 2, Pt. i, No. 13, p. 342 (Galicia); App. 2, Pt. vii, No. 20, p. 386.
Note [136] in page 270 B. M. R., No. 73 (exact even to form of answer). The same riddle has a long history in Germany. It appears in Strass. Rb., No. 311:—
“Zwen Vätter und zwen Sün
Fingen drey Hassen küen,
Das yedem ward einer
Und mangelt keiner.“
It is translated into Greek by Camerarius (Reusner, i, 254) and takes three Latin forms:—Lorichius (Reusner, l. c.); Buchler, Gnomologia, 1614, No. 6 (Friedreich, p. 219); and Mone, Anz, vii, p. 49, No. 149. Modern German versions abound:—Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., xxiii, 243, No. 17; Simrock3, p. 87; and Wossidło, No. 902, Notes (other native references). I find the motive in the same dress in Sweden (Hylten-Cavallius, No. 103); but with a different setting in Italy (Pitrè, No. 931):—“Vi sono due padri e due figliuoli: hanno tre uova e se ne mangiano uno per uno.”
Note [137] in page 270 Halliwell, P. R., p. 141, published the Holme version, and in N. R., p. 82, No. 155, gave a traditional form of this riddle. The Dorsetshire query (N and Q, 3d Ser., ix, 50), “A body met a body in a narrow lane, etc.,” is much like Holme. For various German riddles of dog-names, see Mone, Anz., vii, p. 265, No. 245; Woeste, Zs. f. d. Myth., iii, 184, Nos. 26–31 (Mark); Frischbier, Zs. f. d. Ph., xxiii, pp. 261–262, Nos. 202 f.; Wossidlo, No. 953 (“Kaiser Karl hatt'n Hund”).
Note [138] in page 271 A repetition of the Radish riddle, supra, No. 85. R. R. B., p. 3, gives a slightly shorter version of this problem. Very similar is the Strawberry query offered by Meltzl, Szekler Volksrätsel, No. 39.
Note [139] in page 271 The Holme riddle is printed by Halliwell, P. R., p. 150; and is found with a few changes in R. R. B., p. 12.
Note [140] in page 271 This riddle also is published by Halliwell, P. R., p. 149. One of its motives, “None work like unto him can doe,” appears in the Bee riddle, D. J., No. 40:—“What is it that is a wryte and is no man and he dothe that no man can and yet it serveth both God and man?” Kemble, S. and S., p. 293, points out this motive in Ray's collection of proverbs (see Bohn, Ed., 1855, p. 218):—
“The little smith of Nottingham
Who doeth the work that no man can.“
P. Cap, p. 22, and R. R. B., p. 16, furnish a Bee problem of yet another kind:—
“There's a little short gentleman
That wears the yellow trews.“
Note [141] in page 271 A repetition of No. 35.
Note [142] in page 271 See Halliwell, P. R., p. 144 (“the world” not “England”). The motive of the Latin enigma, Cleopatra B. ix (14th cent.), fol. 11 a, No. 9, is slightly different:—
“Bos gestat spinam de qua facit anca [anser] rapinam,
Qd. rapit anca bovi, dat vitulo aut ovi.“
Note [143] in page 271 Very like is the Needle riddle, H and D, No. 41. Compare the double-meaning Italian problems of Blood-letting, Pitrè, Nos. 368–369.
Note [144] in page 272 This interesting problem is found in many Latin versions:—Vienna ms. 67, No. 35, Mone, Anz, viii, 219 (l. 2, “et hirsuta barbis quinque complectitur ulnis”); ms. Arundel 248 (14th cent.), fol. 67 b; Reusner, i, 373, 380; two Netherland mss. of 17th cent. (Mone, Anz, vii, p. 48, No. 126; p. 49, No. 141). Simrock3, p. 20, and Wossidlo, No. 155, Notes, offer several modern German versions. B. M. R., No. 28, is the best English form:—
“Five brethren were bred at once
Without any flesh, blood or bones,
Two have beards and two have none,
The fift have but half a one.
Solution—The five brethren be five green hearbs under the Rose leaves, which spring all at one time, two of them have bristles like unto beards on the edges and the other two have none but be plain on the edges and the fift is bristled on the one side and plain on the other.“
A Latin version of the riddle was published, N and Q, 3d Ser., v, 153, and in later numbers of this periodical was translated (Id., 199) and explained (Id., 309, 365).