Share page | Visit Us On FB |
HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON |
||
Open the gate as high as the sky, And let the king and his queen go by.
—Dorsetshire (Folk-lore Journal, vii. 230, 231).
VIII. How many miles to Banbury? Three score and ten. Can I get there by candle-light ? Yes, and back again. But mind the old witch doesn't catch you.
—London (Miss Dendy). IX. How many miles to Barley Bridge ? Three score and ten. Can I get there by candle-light ? Yes, if your legs be long. A courtesy to you, and a courtesy to you, If you please will you let the king's horses through ? Through and through shall they go, For the king's sake; But the one that is the hindmost Will meet with a great mistake.
—Halliwell's Popular Rhymes, p. 217.
X. How many miles to Barney Bridge ? Three score and ten. Will I be there by Candlemass ? Yes, and back again. A curtsey to you, another to you, And pray, fair maids, will you let us through ? Thro' and thro' shall you go for the king's sake, But take care the last man does not meet a mistake.
—Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln).
XL How many miles to Burslem ? Three score and ten. Can we get there by candle-light ? Yes, and back again. Open the gates so wide, so wide, And let King George aside, aside; The night is so dark we cannot see, Thread the needle and go through.
—Isle of Man (A. W. Moore). |
||
• |
||