I used to wonder why the old nursery rhyme had Jack jump over a candlestick. I suppose those wise to the ways of the politics of Jack’s time could clue us in. This tells us that most nursery rhymes were not for children nor were they about simple games. But the commentators dared not spell out their observations or divulge their plans, however astute.

No, instead of criticizing someone as important and oft times despotic as a king, people used code that was hidden in rhymes and taken up as barroom ditties. These were inside jokes for the commonwealth to slake their thirst for freedom.