"Ding dong, the bell of St. John.--Who tolls it and who says (mass)?--The priest of St. Denis.--Who sounds the knell?--The four ravens.--Who bears the coffin?--The cat in its maw.--Who wears mourning?--The partridge." [72] (M. L., p. 225.) Another version preserves the trait that the individual's possessions took part in the mourning: "Balanli, balanlau, the bells near Yssingeaux are all tolled through April. Who is dead?--Jan of the Gardens (dos Ort). Who carries him to his grave?--His great coat. Who follows him?--His hat. Who mourns for him?--The frog. Who sings for him?--The toad. Who forsakes him?--His sabots. Who says so?--Jan the less. What shall we give him?--The legs of a dog. Where shall we find them?--Near Chalençons there are plenty." (M. L., p. 232.) _Jan dos Ort_ in other versions of the knell is called _Jean le Porc_, also _le père du jardin_; and in the latter case, _le père petit_, the little father, pronounces him dead, and receives dogflesh (M. L., pp. 226, 230). The Italian knell is quite short:-- Who is dead?--Beccatorto. Who sounds the knell?--That rascal of a punch. (Quel birbon de pulcinella, Ma., p. 133.) The Spanish knell is not much longer:-- ?Quién s'ha muerto.--Juan el tuerto. ?Quién lo llora.--La señora. ?Quién lo canta.--Su garganta. ?Quién lo chilla.--La chiquilla. (Ma., p. 62.) "Who is dead?--Crooked Juan. Who mourns for him?--The swallow. Who sings for him?--His coat. Who calls for him?--The quail." Victor Smith, with reference to these chants, enlarged on the possible nature of Jan, or Juan, of the French and Spanish versions, who is called also "the father of the gardens," and who was given dogflesh to eat. In illustration he adduced the legend of the god Pan, who was looked upon as the father of gardens, and who was supposed to eat dogflesh (M. L., p. 227). Dogs were sacrificed at the Lupercalia which were kept in April, and the month of April is actually mentioned in one of the French chants. If this interpretation is correct, the knells on Jan current in France and Spain preserve the remembrance, not of a bird sacrifice, but of a dog sacrifice. But the Italian name Beccatorto is probably crossbill (R., II, 160), and birds appear as the chief mourners in most of the foreign chants, as they do in ours. CHAPTER XVIII CONCLUDING REMARKS In conclusion it seems well to glance back over the ground that has been traversed, and to consider what information can be gleaned from the comparative study of nursery rhymes.