Oct. 19. 1850.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



339 



and chorus of boys and girls, to which the words of 

 this ballad gave measure. The breaking down of the 

 bridge was announced as the dancers moved round in 

 a circle, hand in hand ; and the question, ' How shall 

 we build it up again?' was chanted by the leader, 

 whilst the rest stood still." 



Concerning the antiquity of this ballad, a modern 

 writer remarks, — 



" If one might hazard a conjecture concerning it, we 

 should refer its composition to some very ancient date, 

 when, London Bridge lying in ruins, the office of 

 bridge master was vacant, and his power over the river 

 Lea (for it is doubtless that river which is celebrated 

 in the chorus to this song) was for a while at an end. 

 But this, although the words and melody of the verses 

 are extremely simple, is all uncertain." 



If I might hazard another conjecture, I would 

 refer it to the period when London Bridge was the 

 scene of a terrible contest between the Danes and 

 Olave of Norway. There is an animated descrip- 

 tion of tliis " Battle of London Bridge," which 

 gave ample theme to the Scandinavian scalds, in 

 Snorro Stiwleson; and, singularly enough, the first 

 line is the same as that of our ditty : — 



" London Bridge is broken down ; 

 Gold is won and bright renown; 



Shields resounding. 



War horns sounding, 

 Hildur shouting in the din ; 



Arrows singing. 



Mail-coats ringing, 

 Odin makes our Olaf win." 



See Laing's Heimsliringla, vol. ii. p. 10. ; and 

 Bulwer's Harold, vol. i. p. 59. The last-named 

 work contains, in the notes, some excellent remarks 

 upon the poetry of the Danes, and its great influ- 

 ence upon our early national muse. 



Edwakd F. Kimbault. 



[T. S. D.'s inquiry respecting this once popular 

 nursery song has brought us a host of communications ; 

 but none which contain the precise information upon 

 the subject which is to be found in Da. Kimbault's 

 reply. Tobv, who kindly forwards the air to which it 

 was sung, speaks of it as a " ' lullaby song,' well-known 

 in the southern part of Kent and in Lincolnshire." 



E. N. W. says it is printed in the collection of Nur- 

 tery lihijmea published by Burns, and that he was born 

 and bred in London, and that it was one of the nursery 

 songs he was amused with. NocAii et Amicus, two 

 old fellows of the Society of Antiquaries, do not doubt 

 that it refers to some event preserved in history, es- 

 pecially, they add, as we have a faint recollection "of a 

 note, touching such an event, in an almost used-up 

 Knglisli history, which was read in our nursery by an 

 elder brother, something less than three-fourths of a 

 century since. And we have also a shrewd suspicion 

 that tlie sequel of the song has reference to the recon- 

 struction of that fabric at a later date." 



J. S. C. has sent us a copy of the song ; and wo are 

 indebted for another copy to An Knghsii Mothbu, 



who has accompanied it with notices of some other 

 popular songs, notices which at some future opportu- 

 nity we shall lay before our readers. — Ed.] 



AKABIC NUMERALS. 



(A^oLii., pp. 27.61.) 



I must apologise for adding anything to the 

 already abundant articles which have from time 

 to time appeared in " Notes and Queries " on 

 this interesting subject; I shall therefore confine 

 myself to a few brief remarks on the form of each 

 character, and, if possible, to show from what 

 alphabets they are derived : — 



1. This most natural form of the first numeral 

 is the first character in the Indian, Arabic, Syriac, 

 and Roman systems. 



2. This appears to be formed from the Hebrew 

 3, which, in the Syriac, assumes nearly the form 

 of our 2 ; the Indian character is identical, but 

 arranged vertically instead of horizontally. 



3. This is clearly derived from the Indian and 

 Arabic forms, the position being altered, and the 

 vertical stroke omitted. 



4. This character is found as the fourth letter 

 in the Phoenician and ancient Hebrew alphabets : 

 the Indian is not very dissimilar. 



5. and 6. These bear a great resemblance to the 

 Syriac Heth and Vau (a hook). When erected, 

 the Estrangelo-Syriac Vau is precisely the form of 

 our 6. 



7. This figure is derived from the Hebrew T, 

 zayin, which in the Estrangelo-Syriac is merely a 

 7 reversed. 



8. This figure is merely a rounded form of the 

 Samaritan Kheth (a travelling scrip, with a string 

 tied round : thus, 1^). The Estrangelo-Syriac M 

 also much resembles it. 



9. Identical with the Indian and Arabic. 



0. Nothing ; vacuity. It probably means the 

 orb or ioundary of the earth. — 10. is the first 

 boundary, Q-inP, Tekum, Aexo, Decem, "ter- 

 minus." Something more yet remains to be said, 

 I think, on the names of the letters. Cf. " Table 

 of Alphabets" in Gesenius, Lex., ed. Tregelles, and 

 " Notes and Queries," Vol. i., p. 434. E. S. T. 



Arabic Numerals. — With regard to the subject 

 of Arabic numerals, and the instance at Castle- 

 acre (Vol. ii., pp. 27. 61.), I think I may safely say 

 that no archa3ologist of the present day would 

 allow, after seeing the original, that it was of the 

 date 1084, even if it were not so certam that these 

 numerals were not in use at tliat time. I fear 

 "the acumen of Dr. Murray" was wasted on the 

 occasion referred to in Mr. Bloom's work. It is a 

 very far-fetched idea, tliat the visitor must cross 

 himself to discover the meaning of the figures ; not 

 to mention the inconvenience, I might say impos- 



