Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/813

* NURSERY LORE. 691 NURSES. More curious, from the point of view of folk- lore, are the games played by ehildren, often to the accompaniment of rhymed formulas. These are for the most part of ancient origin, and although at the present time extinct or mori- bund, have been traditionally current for cen- turies. Allowing for minor variations, .merican game-rhymes are very similar to those of Great Britain, France, and (Jermany. Such correspond- ence, formerly interpreted to signify a remote common descent, is now known to be tlic result of intercommunication. The games, and the formulas used in playing them, were not origi- nally the property of children, but indiflerently employed by both old anil young. These customs did not owe their origin to peasants; on the contrary, they were introduced and supported by the higher strata of society. Of the games, some have a religious character, or at least were formerly interpreted as possessing religious significance; for example, a sport called 'Weigh- ing,' in which a player is carried by two others, each of whom grasps with right hand the left hand of his fellow, constitutes an imitation of the Last Judgment, in which the soul is to be weighed to determine its destination for heaven or hell. The game of 'London Bridge,' in which the line of participants is made to pass under an arch formed bj- the lifted hands of two keep- ers, has been supposed to have had its source in imitation of foundation sacrifices, in which a human being was interred under the bridge in order to insure its stability. A drama enacted by girls, called 'Old Witch,' sets forth the rob- bery of children by a limping cannibal demon, the devouring of the victims, and their resuscita- tion by the mother; the witch who figures in this amusement is of the same class as the destroyer of ehildren known to the ancient Greeks as Lamia or Empusa. The well-known childish dance in which is imitated the sowing of oats, etc., may go back to a rite intended to insure the ripening of the crops. Guessing games, in which the object is to win the counters of the adversary, seem analogous to those played in the time of Xenophon, while that in which the opponent is required to guess the number of fingers which may be held up is similar to one depicted on Egyptian pyramids. BlBLiOGB.M>i[y. Consult: Bolton. The Ccmntinr;- out Rhymes of Children (London, 1888) ; Whit- more, The Oriijinnl Mother Oooxe's Melody, reproduction in facsimile (Boston. 1892) ; Ilalli- well-Phillipps, The ursery Ithymes of England (London. 1842) ; Green, .4 Hinlory of ursery Rhymes (ib.. 1899) ; Gommc. Traditiondl British Games (London. 1894) ; Haddon. TIte ^tiidy of Man. (New York, 1898) ; Newell, (lames wnd f^ongs of American Children (2d ed., Boston, 1903). NURSERY RHYMES. (hildrcTrs rhymes, used in the nurserj' and in childish games. These songs and sayings, witty or absurd, arc peculiar to the English language, and for the most part of no great antiquity, the majority scarcely ante- dating the seventeenth century. It has been thought that some may have had at first a politi- cal significance; but many doubtless owed their origin to the infantile love of nonsense for its 'iwn sake. Ortain rhvmes of nurses, such as those used to amuse children in the process of dressing, may have a more respectable antiquity. A word may be added about the formulas known as 'counting-out rhymes' in games. One word is told off for each player, and he on whom falls the final syllable is dropped from the row; this process of exclusion is continued imtil only one remains, who is 'it.' All modern nations possess similar rhymes, which have the conunon property of being unintelligible. It has been supposed tliat the rhymes were invented for purposes of .sorcery or sacrifice, and have become degraded in their .survival ; yet it is uncertain whether we are to look for any deeper motive than a childish fondness for mystery and nonsense. NURSES, Training of. At the end of the fourtli century, when the temples of ^'E.sculapius, Hygeia, and Seiapis were closed, the sick poor formerly housed in these temples were turned adrift. Christian monasteries and temples were opened to them, and conventual orders arose whose office was to provide for the sick. In very early times there was a corporation of matrons and elderly women in England who were employed in obstetrics, at that time forbidden to men. The eleventh century saw the beginning of the founding of hospitals, many of which were rendered necessary by the Crusades. The hos- pitalers were assisted by various bodies of women, in the dearth of physicians. In the latter part of the twelfth century Hildegarde, Abbess of Eupertsberg, organized a school of nurses for service in the hospitals. From these beginnings grew the modern system of training nurses for charitable ho.spital work, for charita- ble work among the sick poor in their homes, and later for assistance to the sick rich for proper remuneration. In 1840 'Mrs. Fry's nursing sis- ters' composed an organization which cared for the outcasts of London society. Florence Night- ingale (q.v.) gave the greatest impetus to the movement toward securing eflScient training for nurses, after her return to London in 185.3. upon the completion of an inspection of hospitals all over Europe. In 1872 the Bellevue Training School, New York City, sent out the first class of trained nur.ses graduated in this country. The course of .study for nurses under training has become lengthened during the past ten years. In some small towns in the United States the course at a local hospital may be completed in a year, in others in eighteen months. In New York and Philadelphia- the course extends in a few schools over two years' time; in most over three years" time. An applicant is received into the school for a period of two months on probation. During this period applicants re- ceive their board and lodging at the training school without charge, and serve without riMini- neration, and their e<lucation, physical strength, endurance, adaptability, powers of observation, and judgment are tested. Should they prove acce|)table. they are required to sign an agree- ment for the remainder of the term of tliree (or two) years, to obey regulations, and to re- main in the school till the term has ended. Pupils reside in the hospital or in the training-sehool building, and assist in various departments. They wear a uniform when on duty. No charge is made for instruction. The pupils receive board, lodging, and laundering of clothing, and a certain amount of money for the purchase of text books and uniforms, and for incidental expenses. The instruction is given by the physi-