At Elberfeld, according to O. Schell, the following rhyme was in use about the middle of this century (199. 42): _A_braham _B_öckmann; _C_epter _D_ickmann; _E_ngel _F_uawenkel; _G_retchen _H_ahn; _I_saak _K_reier; _L_ottchen _M_eyer; _N_ikolas _O_lk; _P_itter _Q_uack; _R_udolf _S_imon; _T_ante _U_hler; _V_ater _W_ettschreck; _X_erxes _Y_ork.
From Leipzig, L. Fränkel reports the following as given off in a singing tone with falling rhythm:—
B a ba, b e be, b i bi—babebi; b o bo, b u bu—bobu; ba, be, bi, bo, bu—babebibobu. C a ca (pron. za, not ka), c e ce, c i ci —caceci; c o co, c u cu—cocu; ca, ce, ci, co, cu-cacecicocu, etc.
From various parts of Ditmarschen come these rhymes:—
A-B ab, | A-B ab,
Mus sitt in't Schapp, | Mouse sits in the cupboard,
Kater darfår, | Cat in frount,
Mak apen de Dår. | Open the door.
These child-rhymes and formulae from North Germany find their cognates in our own nursery-rhymes and explanatory letter-lists, which take us back to the very beginnings of alphabetic writing. An example is the familiar:—
"A was an Archer that shot at a frog,
B was a Butcher that had a big dog," etc., etc.
Letter-Formulæ.
Here belong also the curious formulæ known all over the United States and English-speaking Canada, to which attention has recently been called by Professor Frederick Starr. When the word Preface is seen, children repeat the words, "_P_eter _R_ice _E_ats _F_ish _a_nd _C_atches _E_els," or backwards, "_E_els _C_atch _A_lligators; _F_ather _E_ats _R_aw _P_otatoes." Professor Starr says that the second formula is not quite so common as the first; the writer's experience in Canada leads him to express just the opposite opinion. Professor Starr gives also formulæ for Contents and Finis as follows: "_F_ive _I_rish _N_iggers _I_n _S_pain," backwards "_S_ix _I_rish _N_iggers _I_n _F_rance"; "_C_hildren _O_ught _N_ot _T_o _E_at _N_uts _T_ill _S_unday" (355. 55). Formulæ like these appear to be widespread among school-children, who extract a good deal of satisfaction from the magic meaning of these quaint expressions.
Another series of formulæ, not referred to by Professor Starr, is that concerned with the interpretation of the numerous abbreviations and initials found in the spelling-book and dictionary. In the manufacture of these much childish wit and ingenuity are often expended. In the writer's schoolboy days there was quite a series of such expansions of the letters which stood for the various secret and benevolent societies of the country. I. O. G. T. (Independent Order of Good Templars), for example, was made into "I Often Get Tight (i.e. drunk)," which was considered quite a triumph of juvenile interpretative skill. Another effort was in the way of explaining the college degrees: B.A. = "Big Ape," M.A. = "Matured Ape," B.D. = "Bull-Dog," LL.D. = "Long-Legged Devil," etc. Still another class is represented by the interpretations of the German u. A. w. g. (our R. S. V. P.), i.e. "um Antwort wird gebeten" (an answer is requested), for which A. Treichel records the following renderings: um Ausdauer wird gebeten (perseverance requested); und Abends wird getanzt (and in the evening there is dancing); und Abends wird gegeigt (and in the evening there is fiddling); und Abends wird gegessen (and in the evening there is eating); und Andere werden gelästert (and others are abused) (392. V. 114). This side of the linguistic inventiveness of childhood, with its double-entendre, its puns, its folk-etymologies, its keen discernment of hidden resemblances and analogies, deserves more study than it has apparently received.
The formulae and expressions belonging to such games as marbles are worthy of consideration, for here the child is given an opportunity to invent new words and phrases or to modify and disfigure old ones.