Folk-Lore.

THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT.

(Vol. IV, p. 243.) The Hebrew version of this nursery folk-lore has already been given. There is another quaint parable in the same view, called the "Cornish Christmas Carol," as follows:

1.

First voice,
Secoud voice,
First voice,
Second voice,

First voice,

2.

First voice,
Second voice,
First voice,

Chorus,

3. (Four lines as before, after

First voice,
Chorus,

Come and I will sing you!
What will you sing me?
I will sing One-0;

What is your One-O?
One of them is God alone,

And He ever shall remain so.

(First two lines as above.)

I will sing you Two-O!

What is your Two-O?

Two of them are lily-white babes.
All clothed in green-0.

One of them is God alone,

And He ever shall remain so.

waiting quesiion and answer, and changing to Three-O)

Three of them are strangers,

Two of them are lily-white babes,

All clothed in green-O.

One of them is God alone,
And He ever shall remain so.

This quaint old carol was set from the singing of three children in Essex, N. Y., who, during a residence on the southern shore of Lake Superior, caught it by ear from the Comishwen engaged in the copper mines of that region. There is something strikingly beautiful in the constant recognition of the Deity of Christ, as well as in the skill with which the incarnation and birth of our Lord are made the central point and history, as well as of the universe. But the allusions are something not self-evident.

The "two lily-white babes" are our Lord and St. John the Baptist; and, they are clothed in green" as a type of their growth the one to be the greatest of those who had preceded Christ, and the other to be the "stone cut out without hands," which should fill the whole world.

The "three strangers are the magi, or the three kings of the Orient."

The "gospel preachers" are the four evangelists.

The number "five" is the number of the books of Moses, and the "ferrymen in the boat " represents the Law in the ship of the Mosaic church, as the " schoolmaster" bringing us to Christ.

The "six cheerful waiters" are Zachariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna, who waited for the consolation of Israel. (Luke 11, 25.)

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The seven stars are meant to include our whole solar systemperhaps they stand for the whole stary firmanent.

The "eight," the peculiar dominical number, is given to the "great archangel" who announced the birth of Christ.

There is no reason that I know for giving "nine" to the "moonshine," unless there was no other number of the series left vacant.

The "Ten Commandments" are not a duplication of the mention of the Law, but refer to Christ alone who perfectly kept them all.

The "eleven" recognizes the presence of the apostles in "heaven," where they still pray for the Church, while' Judas "went to his own place."

The "Twelve Apostles" nevertheless crown the end with the full number, as completed in the foundations of the New Jerusalem.

REV. J. H. HOPKINS.

FLEMISH FOLK-LORE. Attention is called to the study of animal lifetime which has called forth this formula from Flemish folk-lore,

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a town" or enclosure being supposed to last three years:

VERMONT FOLK-LORE.

A town lives three years,
A dog lives three towns,
A horse lives three dogs,
A man lives three horses,
An ass lives three men,

A wild goose lives three asses,
A crow lives three wild geese,
A stag lives three crows,

A raven lives three stags,

And the phoenix lives three ravens.

In Windsor county, Vt., when children are

at play, and are about to jump off a fence, rock, or an elevated place, they often repeat the following:

One to make ready,
Two to prepare,
Three to go slender,
Four to go there.

In Rutland county, the children repeat the following:

In Hillsborough county, N. H., forty years ago, children arising, after eating hasty pudding and milk, repeated the following:

WEATHER FOLK-LORE.

First the best, second the same,
Third the bird, and fourth the game,
Fifth the lubber, and sixth the same.

More than thirty years ago, the New Eng

land almanacs contained the following:

An evening red and a morning gray,
Will set the traveler on his way;

But an evening gray and a morning red,
Will pour down rain on a pilgrim's head.

If Candlemas day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight;
But if Candlemas day be cloudy, and rain,
Winter has gone not to come again.

If the cock goes crowing to bed,
He'll certainly rise with a watery head.

When you see a gossamer flying,
Be sure the air is drying.

When black snails cross your path,
Black clouds much molsture hath.

Wind from the east is bad for man and beast;
Wind from the south is too hot for them both;
Wind from the north is of very little worth;
Wind from the west is the softest and best.

A rainbow in the morning,
Is the shepherd's warning;
A rainbow at night,
Is the shepherd's delight.

When Christmas is white,
The graveyard is lean;
But fat is the graveyard,
When Christmas is green.

If the moon shows like a silver shield,
Be not afraid to reap your field.

When the peacock loudly bawls,
Soon we'll have both rain and squalls.

February 2 is Candlemas day,
Half the corn and half the hay.

when the ass begins to bray.
We surely shall have rain today.
When the donkey blows his horn,
'Tis time to house your hay and corn.

Rain before seven, fine before eleven.

PROBLEMS.

Colebrooke's "Hindoo Algebra" gives some amusing examples that are appropriate here:

1. "Pretry girl, with tremulous eyes, if thou knowest the correct method of inversion, tell me what is the number, which multiplied by 3, and added to of the product, and divided by 7, and reduced by subtraction of part of the quotient, and then multiplied into itself, and having 52 subtracted from the product, and the square root of the remainder extracted, and 8 added, and the sum divided by ten, yields 2.' -Colebrooke, p. 21.

2. "Beautiful and dear Lilávati (delightful), whose eyes are like a fawn's, tell me what are the numbers resulting from 135 taken into 12. If thou be skilled in multiplication, by whole or by parts, whether by subdivision of form, or separation of digits, tell me, auspicious woman, what is the quotient of the product divided by the same multiplier? -Colebrooke, p. 6.

3. "Out of a swarm of bees, part settled on a blossom of Cadamba (Nauclea Orientalis), and part on a flower of Sulind'hri (a plant resembling the Cachóra); 3 times the difference of those numbers flew to the bloom of a Cutaja; 1 bee, which remained, hovered and flew about in the air, allured at the same moment by the pleasing fragrance of a jasmin and pandanus. Tell me, charming woman, the number of bees." -Colebrooke.

4. In what time will an annual pension of $500 amount to $3,450 at 6 per cent. simple interest? 1. B.

5. A laborer engaged to work 10 days, on condition that he should have 12 dimes for a day's labor, and pay 2 dimes for every idle day for board; he received as many dollars as he worked days. How many days was he idle?

6.

Archimedes is said to have calculated the sand contained in the Cosmos the sphere of center, and its radius the distance of the sun. the number, and what answer did he obtain ?

I. B.

number of grains of which the earth is the How did he calculate LEON.

7. A, B, and C, with their wives (P, S, and V), went to market to buy pigs. Each man and each woman bought as many as they gave shillings for each pig. A bought 23 pigs more than S; B bought II more than P; also each man paid out 63 shillings more than his wife. Which two persons were man and wife? LEON.

QUESTIONS.

1. (a) At what period and where was the letter Z pronounced zed, or izzard? Methinks the spelling of the word gizzard must needs have been cumbersome.

(b) I think I have seen it stated that the publishers of Webster's "New Illustrated Dictionary " offered a prize to any one reporting any typographical errors. Were any found, and if so, what were they? (c) The word Amen, a dissyllable, has two accents, a-men, and á-men. What other examples does the English language contain ?

(d) Several years ago, a New York evening party called for a morning prayer, an appropriate accompaniment to the famous evening prayer of childhood-" Now I lay me down to sleep." Many contributions were sent in. Was any one adopted, and if so, what?

(e) What is the origin of the "XXX" sign relating to manufacturing of ale?

(f) What is the real origin of the so-called "powwowing" as set forth in the so-called "Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses," and the "Long Lost Friend" of George Jacob Hohman?

(g) How does a spider spin a thread across a highway from fence to fence.

(h) What is the origin of the phrase, "Robbing Peter to pay Paul? (1) A person with congenital cataract can distinguish cubes from balls. After being operated on successfully can he distinguish them as such by the sense of sight alone?

(j) How do surnames beginning with the fetter "I," in point of number, compare with those beginning with other letters?

(k) What per cent. of water is contained in animals, and also in vegetables?

(m) What is the correct pronunciation of Schizomycetes, Ptomaines, Atzerodt? ISRAEL.

(7) What are the most extreme temperatures observed, and where? also, the greatest degrees of heat and cold artificially produced? 2. (a) Who are the authors of, and where found, the following quotations : Familiarity breeds contempt"; "Still waters run deep?" (b) What is the legend of Childe the Hunter?

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J. G. D.

3. (a) If all beings had no ears would there be and sound? (b) Could one who was born blind and has been taught to read with the fingers, read by the sense of sight if at once endowed with sight? A. S. H. 4. What is the technical name of such words as Llewellyn, Lloyd, Llano, etc., and from what language do these come? X.