T' Heer was er man in tessch' all hij, Hij j' hummt hin t'u; Er Olie! Boos! The rector of the parish was a man whose whole soul was in his breeches pocket; and he was a perfect bugbear to the parishioners when the tithe was to be set out. He was always buzzing in your ear; there now, be quick! set out the tithe (put the bramble [stick] in my tithe heaps). And he screams out: Keep at least that law of God which orders you to pay me tithe! And when he has abstained a little from the saws about his titherights, and the pangs of avarice come on afresh, he buzzes out in your ear for ever: There! behold the holy chrism itself, you wicked man! and then screams out more spitefully than before: In with my tithe ! Heer is as Par-heer, the rector of the parish. Tassche, tessche, purse, pocket. Droes, devil, giant, imaginary monster. W'hun, wie hun, as their, for their, and sounds wun, as we pronounce won in wondrous. Wo eys, w' eys, when the getting of his due is a question, sounds wise. Eys, as demand, claim, requisition, was formerly in use with us in the same sense. "And right he swooned Till Vigillate, the veile*, fet water at his EYES Hegge, bush, is here as the branch stuck in the tithe heap, and is the word whence our hedge. Hummen, to buzz, to hum. Olie is here the holy oil used in extreme unction as the catholic ticket for heaven, and thus a subject of awe and reverence to those of that persuasion, as the whole population at that * i. e. Nurse, old woman. time was. It seems here used at the ultima ratio of the priest with his parishioners when shy with their tithes. Schreyen, Schreit sounds scratch'd. to scream out. 36.-Taffy was a Welchman, Taffy was a thief; Taffy came to my house, and stole a leg of beef; I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was not at home; Taffy came to my house, and stole a marrowbone. Tuyf je was er wee helsch m' aen, Tuyf je was er dief; Tuyf je geê em t' Oom hye huys; aen stoel er leeck af beefe; Hye wennt toe Tuyf hys huys; Tuyf je was nae't aet hou 'em; Tuyf je geê 'em t' Oom hye huys; aen stoel er maer rouw boô hun. Tuyf (the priest), by his calling, has ever proved a hell-contrived grievance to us all. Tuyf has ever been a diminisher of our property. Tuyf will hardly ever let my cousin Farmer leave his house, while up in the pulpit he shudders at the very name of the profane layman. The farmer places his house and its contents at the disposal of Tuyf, and Tuyf, for the sake of what he can take out of it, is very condescending and officious to the master of it. Tuyf will hardly ever let my cousin Farmer leave his house, while up in his pulpit he turns the austere and unsympathising denouncer of affliction upon the whole class. Tuyf was the term for the high cylindrical rimless black professional cap worn by the priest in all out-door functions, such as burials, host carrying, &c.; it had a large tuft of the same colour at the top: a part of his dress familiar to every one who has formerly frequented catholic countries. I think the French call it Bonnet de Prêtre. The term is here a meta 284 ARCHEOLOGY OF NURSERY RHYMES. phor for the wearer; i. e. the priest. Hye, hey, has been explained, and hye-huys, is as the farmer's home. Oom, cousin, a term of affectionate intimacy used by the priest when he wanted to coax the boor out of his property. Stoel, pulpit. Boo, bode, bearer of intelligence; evangelist. Af beeven, shiver at; ick af beef, I have a horror of. Gee em, geve hem, betook himself, and sounds came. M' aen, mée aen, mede aen, along with every thing else. Aet, provender. Wee helsch, a hellish nuisance, sounds Welch. Tuyf je, sounds Taffy. Je, continually. Hun, to them; boó hun, sounds bone. Rouw, austere, rough. The Figures correspond with those prefixed to the separate Rhymes. 3.-Dieden, to explain, to expose, to make it understood. Guit, villain, vagabond, and is usually travestied by cat. Vied, vede, veete, secret enmity, eternal nuisance. Hoeve, farm land, estate. Eeren, to plough; arare. Moeyen, moeden, to work hard, fatiguer. Lij, suffering, distress. Tel, te el, to any, to other. Doghe, as the participle present of doghen, deughen, to be worth, to be of the value of, and here used in a substantive sense, as value, worth, virtue. Laffen, to chatter on. Sij, she, is used in the feminine gender in reference to Hey, which is feminine. Sus, hush, a bidding to hold the tongue. Sporen, speuren, to find out, to trace out. Hou, salute, shout. Yl, quick, instantly. Te dies, to this. yl, sounds while. Haften, heften, to take up, take hold of. Spaé, spade, shovel. Aen, on, upon, is here used an expletive particle, as of is in take hold of. Hou 4.-Ketten, keten, chain, tie. Deyre, dere, injury, hurt. Hieten, to name. Neder, low, depressed. Vaar, fear, apprehension. Nere, food, nourishment. Wije, holy. Gauw, clever, sharpwitted. Toe hun, at home. Rouw, rough, roughly. Hoonen, honen, to abuse, to villify; and rouwhonen is to use disgracefully, brutally. Rouwhond sounds round. Mij, to me; the dative case of ick. Sus, hush. Dies, this. Neder, low, depressed, and the same word with nether. Naer, after. Neere, food, sustenance. Hoopen, to accumulate, store up, and here used in the subjunctive mood. Toe hun, at home, chez lui, in casa sua. Back, dried or preserved provision, bacon, dried beef, &c. Waerd, depository. Voer, voeder, fodder, provender. Sij u hiet, the peasantry calls sounds sweet. you, 5.-Docken, to give at once, to give without delay; it has the import of an imperious demand, a sturdy begging, Maegh, stomach, the same word with our maw. Klocke, cloak, gown, and here the metaphor for the church or priesthood, in the way we say the cloth in the same sense. Ran, lank, and here denoting want of food or filling. Strack, immediately. Winnen, to obtain, to succeed in the præt. ick won. 6.-Mistrouw, mistruwe, distrust. Hoe, how. Dus, thus. Gard, a rod. Grouw, terror. Aenwijsen, to point to. Selveverbeeld, self-created view or prospect. Gochel-scheel, sophistry. Wijse sounds with. 7.-Sien, to seem. Saegh, timid, awed. Maer, mar, but. Reeden, to prepare. Auwe, soil, land. Leyen, leiden, to guide, to direct. Hope, future prospect, hope. Trouw, belief, inward trust. Wassen, to wax, to become. N' aet, nae aet, afterwards provision, and sounds not. Wasse is in the subjunctive mood and is as, should become. Schier, entirely. Dier, scarce, high priced. Te slot, as the conclusion, as the finale. Hoop as the potential present of hoopen, to increase the amount. Saegh sounds saw, and might have been written, according to due abbreviation, saê, as it is in fact pronounced. 8.-Heeren, to bully, to tyrannise over. Wennen, to accustom to, to use to. Baeren, to roar, to make a hideous noise. Sublatè et feracitèr clamare more ursorum. Pelle, a pall, and here as the burial-due paid to the priest. Bereiden, to prepare, to draw out. 9.-Praet, prattle, jaw, talk. Goed, strictly, proper. Hieten. to call, to designate. Nauw, strict, all that can be got by law. Vat, grasp. Leen, loan. Bod, a commandment, precept, Heilicken, to treat as holy, to worship. The word kleyn was spelt clene, and it may have been this form of the word that suggested the travesty of clean. "Men vint int roomsche rike clene Dies ghelike dire stenen."-M. STOKE, B. I. v. 609. Jacke, surplice. Praet, jaw, gabble, lingo. Goed, strictly, proper. Hieten, to call, to name. Nauw vat, a tight grasping, the utmost that can be held and kept. Betwisten, to betwine, to turn about and about. Bod, commandment, precept. Nauw leen, a loan, mode of good or exact security, well tied up by legal forms. 10.-Huyden, hoeden, to keep, to hoard, to lay up, or by. Winnen, to gain over to, to make a profit of. |