E.N.W. says it is printed in the collection of _Nursery Rhymes_
published by Burns, and that he was born and bred in London, and that
it was one of the nursery songs he was amused with. NOCAB ET AMICUS,
two old fellows of the Society of Antiquaries, do not doubt that it
refers to some event preserved in history, especially, they add, as we
have a faint recollection "of a note, touching such an event, in an
almost used-up English history, which was read in our nursery by an
elder brother, something less than three-fourths of a century since.
And we have also a shrewd suspicion that the sequel of the song has
reference to the reconstruction of that fabric at a later date."

J.S.C. has sent us a copy of the song; and we are indebted for another
copy to AN ENGLISH MOTHER, who has accompanied it with notices of some
other popular songs, notices which at some future opportunity we shall
lay before our readers.--ED.]

* * * * *

ARABIC NUMERALS.

(Vol. ii., pp. 27. 61.)

I must apologise for adding anything to the already abundant articles which
have from time to time appeared in "NOTES AND QUERIES" on this interesting
subject; I shall therefore confine myself to a few brief remarks on the
_form_ of each character, and, if possible, to show from what alphabets
they are derived:--

1. This most natural form of the first numeral is the first character in