102 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



the names the nurses give it in every tongue breathe the very spirit of 



rest and sleep — né-né in Dauphiné, no-no in the South, lo-lo among the 



Basques are some of the many variants of the universal French do-do. 



Monotony, calm and an ebbing flow of sound are universal : in Berry ^'^ 



the nurse begins with 



Dodo, berline, 

 Sainte Catherine, 



in Dauphiné "- with 



Néné petite, 

 Sainte Marguerite, 



in Canada"^ Avith an invocation to the same saint — 



Sainte Marguerite, 

 Veillez ma petite ; 



and all French nurses sin< 



Do, do, l'enfant do. 

 L'enfant dormira tantôt ; 



and in every case we hope their singing is attended by the same good 



fortune — 



Et l'enfant qui dort 

 Fait des rêvées d'or. 



^lonotonous, too, are the variations on the simplest themes ; variations 

 ad infinitum, or rather so far as the nurse's memory and fancy can carry 

 her. All Canadians have been sung to sleep by the chanted story of 



C'est la Poulette grise 

 Qui pond dans l'église. 

 C'est la Poulette blanche 

 Qui pond d;ins les branches ; ^^* 



and so on with " Poulettes " of innumei-able inies, many seen only in the 



land of dreams. Assonance plays a great ])art in cradle songs, and makes 



even stranger bed-fellows than politics. Its whims and caprices make 



Alsatian "bonnes" mix bitter things with sweet in curious fashion ; in 



the very same song,^^* where little girls are put to bed in Heaven itself, 



we find that little boys are first well whipped and tlien stuffed into a sack 



full of toads : 



Rfigii, Rjlgil, tropfe, 

 d'BiiJiwe muass ma klopfe, 

 d'Maidlii kunimen is Himmels bett, 

 (I'Buiiwa kunimen id Groddii seek. 



And it is just as full of freaks in (Jaiuida : "' 



II est midi.— Qui-c' (jui l'a dit ? 

 C'est la souris. — Où est-elle ? 

 Dans la chapelle. — Que fait-elle ? 

 De la dentelle.— Pour (jui ? 

 Pour ces demoiselles.— Combien la vend-elle ? 

 Trois quarts de sel. 



