The "ring around the rosy" thing is an academics' urban legend -- like "gospel means 'good news'" or "Einstein flunked math."(I have promoted each of these myself, often in a classroom, until I learned better!). The title line doesn't describe buboes, these unwashed folk didn't smell much worse sick than they did well, and flowers wouldn't have been much help (nor much available in the winter, when the plague did its most thorough destruction). It's a good yarn, and I know this is a killjoy thing to do, but duty demands, etc.

Best,

Adam