The name, Mother Goose, is first heard of in the seventeenth century. During 1697, Perrault published his “Histoires ou Contes du Tems Passé avec des Moralitez,” with a frontispiece of an old woman telling stories to an interested group. Upon a placard by her side was lettered the significant title already quoted: CONTES DE MA MERE LOYE There is no doubt, therefore, that the name was not of Boston origin; some would even go further back and mingle French legend with history; they would claim that the mother of Charlemagne, with the title of Queen Goose-foot (Reine Pédance), was the only true source.[24] Mr. Austin Dobson has called Mr. Lang’s attention to the fact that in the _Monthly Chronicle_ for March, 1729, an English version of Perrault’s “Tales” was mentioned, done by Mr. Robert Samber, and printed by J. Pote; another English edition appeared at The Hague in 1745. This seems to be the first introduction into England of the “Mother Goose Fairy Tales.” It was probably their popularity, due not only to their intrinsic interest, but partly to the speculation as to Mother Goose’s identification, that made John Newbery, the famous London publisher, conceive the brilliant plan of gathering together those little songs familiar to the nursery, and of laying them to the credit of Mother Goose herself. In so doing, he solicited the assistance of Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). Mr. Whitmore writes: “If, as seems most probable, the first edition of ‘Mother Goose’s Melody’ was issued prior to John Newbery’s death in 1767, there is an interesting question as to who prepared the collection for the press. The rhymes are avowedly the favourites of the nursery, but the preface and the foot-notes are an evident burlesque upon more pretentious works.” There are two small pieces of evidence indicating clearly Goldsmith’s editorship. On January 29, 1768, he produced his “Good Natur’d Man,” and with his friends dined beforehand in gala fashion at an inn. Subject to extremes of humour, on this occasion he was most noisy, and he sang his favourite song, we are told, which was nothing more than “An old woman tossed in a blanket, seventeen times as high as the moon.” As it happens, this ditty is mentioned in the preface to Newbery’s collection of rhymes, without any more apparent reason than that it was a favourite with the editor, who wished to introduce it in some way, however irrelevant. Again, we are assured that Miss Hawkins once exclaimed, “I little thought what I should have to boast, when Goldsmith taught me to play Jack and Jill, by two bits of paper on his fingers.”