532 The Zoologist — January, 1867 



" When daisies pied and violets blue, 

 And cuckoo buds of yellow hue, 

 And lady-smocks all silver white 

 Do paint the meadows with delight." 



a 



But as in all the other stauzas the rhymes are alternate, this was 

 most probably an error of the compositor. The transposition now 

 generally adopted was first made by Theobald. 



" Take heed ere summer comes or cuckoo birds do sing.'' 



Merry Wives of Windsor, Act ii. Scene 1. 



Apropos of cuckoo songs, the following is considered to be the 

 earliest ballad in the English language now extant. " Its date is 

 about the latter years of the reign of Henry III., and it affords a 

 curious example of the alterations which our tongue has undergone 

 since that time; whilst the descriptions, which breathe of rural sights 

 and sounds, show that nature has suffered no change." For the 

 benefit of those who are not antiquarians a translation is annexed. 

 " Sumer is icumen in, Summer is come in, 



Lhude sing cuccu ; Loud sings the cuckoo ; 



Groweth scd and bloweth med, The seed groweth, and the mead bloweth 

 And springth the wde mi, And the wood shoots new. 



Sing cuccu. Sing cuckoo 



Awe beteth after lamb, The ewe bleats after the lamb 



Lhouth after calve cu, The cow lows after the calf, 



Bulluc slertcth, The bullock starts 



Bucke verteth, The buck verts (goes to harbour in the fern) 



Merie sing cuccu : Merrily sings the cuckoo; 



Cuccu, cuccu ; Cuckoo, cuckoo ; 



Wei singes thu cuccu, Well singest thou cuckoo, 



Ne swik thu naver nu." Mayest thou never cease. 



The fact of the cuckoo building no nest, but making use of the nest 

 of other birds, appears to have been long known. In ' Antony and 

 Cleopatra ' we read : 



" Thou dost o'ercount me of my father's house, 

 But since the cuckoo builds not for himself, 

 Remain in't as thou may'st." 



Act ii. Scene 6. 



" He knows me as the blind man knows the cuckoo, by the bad voice." 



Merchant of Venice, Act v. Scene 1 . 

 " For I the ballad will repeat 

 Which men full true will find, 

 Your marriage conies by destiny, 

 Your cuckoo sings by kind." 



All's Well that Ends Well, Act i. Scene 3. 



