ngs and ballads to those of Scotland, I have
often observed, and among the striking instances of it which could be
adduced, the following may be named, as well known in Northamptonshire:

"It rains, it rains, in merry Scotland;
It rains both great and small;
And all the schoolfellows in merry Scotland
Must needs go and play at ball.

"They tossed the ball so high, so high,
And yet it came down so low;
They tossed it over the old Jew's gates,
And broke the old Jew's window.

"The old Jew's daughter she came out;
Was clothed all in green;
'Come hither, come hither, thou young Sir Hugh,
And fetch your ball again.'

"'I dare not come, I dare not come,
Unless my schoolfellows come all;
And I shall be flogged when I get home,
For losing of my ball.'

"She 'ticed him with an apple so red,
And likewise with a fig:
She laid him on the dresser board,
And sticked him like a pig.

"The thickest of blood did first come out,
The second came out so thin;
The third that came was his dear heart's blood,
Where all his life lay in."

I write this from memory: it is but a fragment of the whole, which I think
is printed, with variations, in Percy's _Reliques_. It is also worthy of
remark, that there is a resemblance also between the words which occur as
provincialisms in the same district, and some of those which are used in
Scotland; e.g. _whemble_ or _whommel_ (sometimes not aspirated, and
pronounced _wemble_), to turn upside down, as a dish. This word is Scotch,
although they do not pronounce the b any more than in _Campbell_, which
sounds very much like _Camel_.

B. H. C.

* * * * *

{615}

PENNSYLVANIAN FOLK LORE: CHRISTMAS.

This anniversary holds the same rank in the middle, southern, and western
states as Thanksgiving Day in the eastern states or New England, where,
owing to the Puritan origin of the bulk of the inhabitants, Christmas is
not much celebrated. In Pennsylvania many of the usages connected with it
are of German origin, and derived from the early settlers of the Teutonic
race, whose descendants are now a very numerous portion of the population.
The Christmas Tree is thus devised: It is planted in a flower-pot filled
with earth, and its branches are covered with presents, chiefly of
confectionary, for the younger members of the family.

When bed-time arrives on Christmas Eve, the children hang up their
stockings at the foot of