I am astounded to find this. Both its longevity and how many people have been touched by this song.

I am particularly thankful to the 2003 post about a child's Colonial rattle and the years later reference to that post.

Here is a reference from the web: Under the Ralph Willard Tower Antique Show:'An oil on canvas framed portrait...of a child holding a silver rattle with coral and bells. This childhood artifact of the 18th century usually consisted of a sterling silver tubular body terminating in a whistle...a small polished piece of red or orange coral for teething would be fixed at the end opposite the whistle... They were well known in Colonial America.'

The Worcester Art Museum has a portrait of a child (2nd portrait)with a similar rattle by Joseph Badger and they also have references to similar silver and gold rattles at Yale and in New York. They apparently were made both here and in England.

An Article in Antique Digest on line called "Magic Bells" refers to the magic protective quality of coral.

And this:"From earliest times coral has been used as an amulet to protect children from childish diseases and teething troubles. In Mediterranean lands a string of tiny coral branches or beads is still kept on a child's cradle or placed about its neck immediately after its birth. If worn throughout childhood, coral was believed to have power to make the girl beautiful; it preserved her youth and beauty until as a mother she sacrificed her beads for her children."also from the web.

So I had an Oh My moment similar to one of your members who concluded that coral bells "are" lily of the valley. It is a metaphor. The protection of the garden walk by flower amulets would be best understood by children using one of their familiar toys.

"Choral Bells" works metaphorically as well but I think the association with the nursery is stronger. It is possible that it is a play on words protected by no early written versions.

I too have had this in my head for decades. As I grew up I was puzzled by the reference to a different flower in the sentence but I feel comfortable now that this is not an issue of identifying flowers correctly.

I think it is entirely possible that these rattles were actually called 'Coral Bells' and if that were true I think all could rest this case.(without a date!) It would be wonderful to find a nursery reference of Coral Bells as the proper name for the rattle and not just descriptive.

When I was growing up in Connecticut, mother had a bed (15'x 15')of what she referred to as Colonial Lily of the Valley. She told me that she and my father had dug the starter plants for it from a Colonial bed near what is now Colchester. She always had a bouquet, 10" across, in a bowl when they were in bloom. She dug some for me and I have them in my kitchen garden where they have been happily spreading in moist soil and filtered light, protecting us (as I have now learned) from evil spirits.

Here's to the next decade(s)of celebrating "Coral Bells"!
Thank you all. MSL