Close, Carlin, but no cigar! Ring-a-ring-a-roses (as it goes where I come from) dates from the time of the Plague (1665, the last biggie), and describes the symptoms, a rash of red swellings; the pocket full of posies was a bunch of flowers or herbs or anything that smelled better then the nasty niff from the infected and the dead (it was believed that the infection was spread by noxious odours, which could be kept off by pleasant ones); before you die you start sneezing and then you fall down.

In England we only burned witches after they'd been executed by hanging; much more humane than the Scots, who burned 'em alive. By the way, "pretty maids all in a row" was said to be Queen Mary I burning Protestants (I think she burned them alive).

I didn't know about "high on the hog", though; thanks for that -- one thing less on my small list of things I don't know!

Steve