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diff --git a/41727-0.txt b/41727-0.txt index 2cd7ba1..09497e8 100644 --- a/41727-0.txt +++ b/41727-0.txt @@ -1,27 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, -and Ireland (Vol I of II), by Alice Bertha Gomme - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II) - With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc. - -Author: Alice Bertha Gomme - -Release Date: December 29, 2012 [EBook #41727] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONAL GAMES, VOL I *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41727 *** Produced by David Edwards, Harry Lamé, the Music Team (Anne Celnik, monkeyclogs, Sarah Thomson and others) and the @@ -19643,362 +19620,4 @@ Page 387: the Sheffield is changed to the Sheffield version is. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II) - With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc. - -Author: Alice Bertha Gomme - -Release Date: December 29, 2012 [EBook #41727] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONAL GAMES, VOL I *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Harry Lamé, the Music Team (Anne -Celnik, monkeyclogs, Sarah Thomson and others) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ - | TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: | - | | - | Text printed in italics in the original work is presented here | - | between underscores, as in _text_. Similarly, bold face in the | - | original is represented as =text=. | - | | - | Footnotes have been moved to the end of the description of the | - | game. | - | | - | [Illustration] means that there is an illustration present in the | - | text; [Music] means a transcription in musical notation. | - | | - | [Greek: text] represents a transcription of Greek text. [=a] and | - | [=e] represent a-macron and e-macron, respectively. The oe- | - | ligature is transcribed as [oe]. | - | | - | More Transcriber's Notes may be found at the end of this text. | - +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ - - - - - A DICTIONARY - - OF - - BRITISH FOLK-LORE - - - EDITED BY - - G. LAURENCE GOMME, ESQ., F.S.A. - - PRESIDENT OF THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY, ETC. - - - _PART I._ - - TRADITIONAL GAMES - - - - - _BY THE SAME EDITOR._ - - Small 4to. In Specially Designed Cover. - - =ENGLISH SINGING GAMES.= - - A Collection of the best Traditional Children's Singing Games, with - their Traditional Music harmonised, and Directions for Playing. Each - Game, Text and Music, is written out and set within a Decorative - Border by WINIFRED SMITH, who has also designed Full-page - Illustrations to each Game, and Initials and Decorative Border to - the playing directions. - - [_All rights reserved._] - - - - - THE - TRADITIONAL GAMES - Of England, Scotland, and Ireland - - WITH - - TUNES, SINGING-RHYMES, AND METHODS OF PLAYING - ACCORDING TO THE VARIANTS EXTANT AND - RECORDED IN DIFFERENT PARTS - OF THE KINGDOM - - - COLLECTED AND ANNOTATED BY - ALICE BERTHA GOMME - - - VOL. I. - - ACCROSHAY-NUTS IN MAY - - - LONDON - DAVID NUTT, 270-71 STRAND - 1894 - - - TO - - _MY HUSBAND_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -Soon after the formation of the Folk-lore Society in 1878 my husband -planned, and has ever since been collecting for, the compilation of a -dictionary of British Folk-lore. A great deal of the material has been -put in form for publication, but at this stage the extent of the work -presented an unexpected obstacle to its completion. - -To print the whole in one alphabet would be more than could be -accomplished except by the active co-operation of a willing band of -workers, and then the time required for such an undertaking, together -with the cost, almost seemed to debar the hope of ever completing -arrangements for its publication. Nevertheless, unless we have a -scientific arrangement of the enormously scattered material and a close -comparison of the details of each item of folk-lore, it is next to -impossible to expect that the full truth which lies hidden in these -remnants of the past may be revealed. - -During my preparation of a book of games for children it occurred to me -that to separate the whole of the games from the general body of -folk-lore and to make them a section of the proposed dictionary would be -an advantageous step, as by arranging the larger groups of folk-lore in -independent sections the possibility of publishing the contemplated -dictionary again seemed to revive. Accordingly, the original plan has -been so far modified that these volumes will form the first section of -the dictionary, which, instead of being issued in one alphabet -throughout, will now be issued in sections, each section being arranged -alphabetically. - -The games included in this collection bear the important qualification -of being nearly all Children's Games: that is to say, they were either -originally children's games since developed into games for adults, or -they were the more serious avocations of adults, which have since become -children's games only. In both cases the transition is due to -traditional circumstances, and not to any formal arrangements. All -invented games of skill are therefore excluded from this collection, but -it includes both indoor and outdoor games, and those played by both -girls and boys. - -The bulk of the collection has been made by myself, greatly through the -kindness of many correspondents, to whom I cannot be sufficiently -grateful. In every case I have acknowledged my indebtedness, which, -besides being an act of justice, is a guarantee of the genuineness of -the collection. I have appended to this preface a list of the -collectors, together with the counties to which the games belong; but I -must particularly thank the Rev. W. Gregor, Mr. S. O. Addy, and Miss -Fowler, who very generously placed collections at my disposal, which had -been prepared before they knew of my project; also Miss Burne, Miss L. -E. Broadwood, and others, for kindly obtaining variants and tunes I -should not otherwise have received. To the many versions now printed for -the first time I have added either a complete transcript of, where -necessary, or a reference to, where that was sufficient, printed -versions of games to be found in the well-known collections of Halliwell -and Chambers, the publications of the Folk-lore and Dialect Societies, -Jamieson's, Nares', and Halliwell's Dictionaries, and other printed -sources of information. When quoting from a printed authority, I have as -far as possible given the exact words, and have always given the -reference. I had hoped to have covered in my collection the whole field -of games as played by children in the United Kingdom, but it will be -seen that many counties in each country are still unrepresented; and I -shall be greatly indebted for any games from other places, which would -help to make this collection more complete. The tunes of the games have -been taken down, as sung by the children, either by myself or -correspondents (except where otherwise stated), and are unaltered. - -The games consist of two main divisions, which may be called -descriptive, and singing or choral. The descriptive games are arranged -so as to give the most perfect type, and, where they occur, variable -types in succession, followed, where possible, by any suggestions I have -to make as to the possible origin of the game. The singing games are -arranged so as to give, first, the tunes; secondly, the different -versions of the game-rhymes; thirdly, the method of playing; fourthly, -an analysis of the game-rhymes on a plan arranged by my husband, and -which is an entirely novel feature in discussing the history of games; -fifthly, a discussion of the results of the analysis of the rhymes so -far as the different versions allow; and sixthly, an attempt to deduce -from the evidence thus collected suggestions as to the probable origin -of the game, together with such references to early authorities and -other facts bearing upon the subject as help to elucidate the views -expressed. Where the method of playing the game is involved, or where -there are several changes in the forms, diagrams or illustrations, which -have been drawn by Mr. J. P. Emslie, are inserted in order to assist the -reader to understand the different actions, and in one or two instances -I have been able to give a facsimile reproduction of representations of -the games from early MSS. in the Bodleian and British Museum Libraries. - -Although none of the versions of the games now collected together are in -their original form, but are more or less fragmentary, it cannot, I -think, fail to be noticed how extremely interesting these games are, not -only from the point of view of the means of amusement (and under this -head there can be no question of their interest), but as a means of -obtaining an insight into many of the customs and beliefs of our -ancestors. Children do not invent, but they imitate or mimic very -largely, and in many of these games we have, there is little doubt, -unconscious folk-dramas of events and customs which were at one time -being enacted as a part of the serious concerns of life before the eyes -of children many generations ago. As to the many points of interest -under this and other heads there is no occasion to dwell at length here, -because the second volume will contain an appendix giving a complete -analysis of the incidents mentioned in the games, and an attempt to tell -the story of their origin and development, together with a comparison -with the games of children of foreign countries. - -The intense pleasure which the collection of these games has given me -has been considerably enhanced by the many expressions of the same kind -of pleasure from correspondents who have helped me, it not being an -infrequent case for me to be thanked for reviving some of the keenest -pleasures experienced by the collector since childhood; and I cannot -help thinking that, if these traditional games have the power of thus -imparting pleasure after the lapse of many years, they must contain the -power of giving an equal pleasure to those who may now learn them for -the first time. - -ALICE BERTHA GOMME. - -BARNES COMMON, S.W., - -_Jan. 1894_. - - - - -LIST OF AUTHORITIES - - - ENGLAND. - - Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_. - Halliwell's _Dictionary_, ed. 1889. - Holloway's _Dictionary_, ed. 1838. - Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_, ed. 1831. - Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, ed. 1875. - Nares' _Glossary_, ed. 1872. - Grose's _Dictionary_, 1823. - _Notes and Queries._ - _Reliquary._ - English Dialect Society Publications. - Folk-lore Society Publications, 1878-1892. - - BEDFORDSHIRE-- - Luton Mrs. Ashdown. - Roxton Miss Lumley. - - BERKSHIRE Lowsley's _Glossary_. - Enborne Miss Kimber. - Fernham, Longcot Miss I. Barclay. - Newbury Mrs. S. Batson, Miss Kimber. - Sulhampstead Miss Thoyts (_Antiquary_, vol. xxvii.) - - CAMBRIDGESHIRE-- - Cambridge Mrs. Haddon. - - CHESHIRE { Darlington's, Holland's, Leigh's, and - { Wilbraham's _Glossaries_. - Congleton Miss A. E. Twemlow. - - CORNWALL { _Folk-lore Journal_, v., Courtney's - { _Glossary_. - Penzance Miss Courtney, Mrs. Mabbott. - - CUMBERLAND Dickinson's _Glossary_. - - DERBYSHIRE { _Folk-lore Journal_, vol. i., Mrs. - { Harley, Mr. S. O. Addy. - Dronfield, Eckington, Egan Mr. S. O. Addy. - - DEVONSHIRE Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - DORSETSHIRE { Barnes' _Glossary_, _Folk-lore - { Journal_, vol. vii. - - DURHAM { Brockett's _North Country Words_, ed. - { 1846. - Gainford Miss Eddleston. - South Shields Miss Blair. - - ESSEX-- - Bocking _Folk-lore Record_, vol. iii. pt. 2. - Colchester Miss G. M. Francis. - - GLOUCESTERSHIRE { Holloway's _Dictionary_, _Midland - { Garner_. - Shepscombe, Cheltenham Miss Mendham. - Forest of Dean Miss Matthews. - - HAMPSHIRE Cope's _Glossary_, Miss Mendham. - Bitterne Mrs. Byford. - Liphook Miss Fowler. - - HAMPSHIRE-- - Hartley, Winchfield, Witney Mr. H. S. May. - Southampton Mrs. W. R. Carse. - - ISLE OF MAN Mr. A. W. Moore. - - ISLE OF WIGHT-- - Cowes Miss E. Smith. - - KENT Pegge's _Alphabet of Kenticisms_. - Bexley Heath Miss Morris. - Crockham Hill, Deptford Miss Chase. - Platt Miss Burne. - Wrotham Miss D. Kimball. - - { Nodal and Milner's _Glossary_, - LANCASHIRE { Harland and Wilkinson's _Folk-lore_, - { ed. 1882, Mrs. Harley. - Monton Miss Dendy. - - LEICESTERSHIRE Evan's _Glossary_. - Leicester Miss Ellis. - - LINCOLNSHIRE { Peacock's, Cole's, and Brogden's - { _Glossaries_, Rev. ---- Roberts. - Anderby, Botterford, Brigg, } - Frodingham, Horncastle, } Miss Peacock. - North Kelsey, Stixwould, } - Winterton } - East Kirkby Miss K. Maughan. - Metheringham Mr. C. C. Bell. - - MIDDLESEX Miss Collyer. - Hanwell Mrs. G. L. Gomme. - - { Miss Chase, Miss F. D. Richardson, - { Mr. G. L. Gomme, Mrs. G. L. Gomme, - { Mr. J. P. Emslie, Miss Dendy, Mr. - London { J. T. Micklethwaite (_Archæological - { Journal_, vol. xlix.), _Strand - { Magazine_, vol. ii. - - NORFOLK { Forby's _Vocabulary_, Spurden's - { _Vocabulary_, Mr. J. Doe. - Sporle, Swaffham Miss Matthews. - - { Baker's _Glossary_, _Northants Notes - NORTHAMPTONSHIRE { and Queries_, _Revue Celtique_, vol. - { iv., Rev. W. D. Sweeting. - Maxey Rev. W. D. Sweeting. - - NORTHUMBERLAND { Brockett's _Provincial Words_, ed. - { 1846. - Hexham Miss J. Barker. - - NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Miss Peacock. - Long Eaton Miss Youngman. - Nottingham Miss Winfield, Miss Peacock. - Ordsall Miss Matthews. - - OXFORDSHIRE Aubrey's _Remains_, ed. 1880. - Oxford Miss Fowler. - Summertown _Midland Garner_, vol. ii. - - SHROPSHIRE Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_. - Madeley, Middleton Miss Burne. - Tong Miss R. Harley. - - { Elworthy's _Dialect_, _Somerset and - SOMERSETSHIRE { Dorset Notes and Queries_, Holloway's - { _Dictionary_. - Bath Miss Large. - - STAFFORDSHIRE-- - Hanbury Miss E. Hollis. - Cheadle Miss Burne. - Tean, North Staffordshire { Miss Keary, Miss Burne, Mrs. T. - Potteries { Lawton. - Wolstanton Miss Keary. - - { Moor's _Suffolk Words_, Forby's - SUFFOLK { _Vocabulary_, Lady C. Gurdon's - { _Suffolk County Folk-lore_. - - SURREY-- - Barnes Mrs. G. L. Gomme. - Clapham Miss F. D. Richardson. - Hersham _Folk-lore Record_, vol. v. - Redhill Miss G. Hope. - - SUSSEX { Parish's _Dialect_, Holloway's - { _Dictionary_, Toone's _Dictionary_. - Hurstmonceux Miss Chase. - Shipley, Horsham, West { Miss R. H. Busk (_Notes and - Grinstead { Queries_). - Ninfield Mr. C. Wise. - - { Northall's _Folk Rhymes_, _Notes and - WARWICKSHIRE { Queries_, _Northants Notes and - { Queries_, Mr. C. C. Bell. - - WILTSHIRE-- - Marlborough, Manton, Ogbourne Mr. H. S. May. - - WORCESTERSHIRE Chamberlain's _Glossary_. - Upton-on-Severn Lawson's _Glossary_. - - { Atkinson's, Addy's, Easther's, - YORKSHIRE { Hunter's, Robinson's, Ross and Stead's - { _Glossaries_, Henderson's _Folk-lore_, - { ed. 1879. - Almondbury Easther's _Glossary_. - Epworth, Lossiemouth Mr. C. C. Bell. - Earls Heaton, Haydon, { Mr. H. Hardy. - Holmfirth { - Settle Rev. W. S. Sykes. - Sharleston Miss Fowler, Rev. G. T. Royds. - Sheffield Mr. S. O. Addy, Miss Lucy Garnett. - Wakefield Miss Fowler. - - - SCOTLAND. - - Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, ed. 1870. - Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_, ed. 1871. - Jamieson's _Etymological Dictionary_, ed. 1872-1889. - Folk-lore Society Publications. - - ABERDEEN-- - Pitsligo Rev. W. Gregor. - - BANFFSHIRE-- - Duthil, Keith, Strathspey Rev. W. Gregor. - - ELGIN-- - Fochabers Rev. W. Gregor. - - KIRKCUDBRIGHT-- - Auchencairn Prof. A. C. Haddon. - - LANARKSHIRE-- - Biggar Mr. Wm. Ballantyne. - Lanark Mr. W. G. Black. - - NAIRN-- - Nairn Rev. W. Gregor. - - - IRELAND. - - Folk-lore Society Publications. - _Notes and Queries._ - - ANTRIM AND DOWN Patterson's _Glossary_. - - CLARE-- - Kilkee { G. H. Kinahan (_Folk-lore Journal_, - { vol. ii.) - - CORK-- - Cork Mrs. B. B. Green, Miss Keane. - - DOWN-- - Ballynascaw Miss C. N. Patterson. - Belfast Mr. W. H. Patterson. - Holywood Miss C. N. Patterson. - - DUBLIN-- - Dublin Mrs. Lincoln. - - LOUTH-- - Annaverna, Ravendale Miss R. Stephen. - - QUEEN'S COUNTY-- - Portarlington { G. H. Kinahan (_Folk-lore Journal_, - { vol. ii.) - - WATERFORD-- - Lismore Miss Keane. - - - WALES. - - _Byegones._ - Folk-lore Society Publications. - - CARMARTHENSHIRE-- - Beddgelert Mrs. Williams. - - - - -LIST OF GAMES - - - ACCROSHAY. - All-hid. - All a Row. - All in the Well. - All the Birds in the Air. - All the Boys in our Town. - All the Fishes in the Sea. - All the Soldiers in the Town. - Allicomgreenzie. - Alligoshee. - Almonds and Reasons. - Angel and Devil. - Auntieloomie. - - BABBITY Bowster. - Bad. - Baddin. - Badger the Bear. - Bag o' Malt. - Ball. - Ball and Bonnets. - Ball in the Decker. - Ball of Primrose. - Baloon. - Bandy-ball. - Bandy-cad. - Bandy-hoshoe. - Bandy-wicket. - Banger. - Bar. - Barbarie, King of the. - Barley-break. - Barnes (Mr.). - Base-ball. - Basket. - Battledore and Shuttlecock. - Bedlams or Relievo. - Beds. - Bell-horses. - Bellie-mantie. - Belly-blind. - Bend-leather. - Betsy Bungay. - Bicky. - Biddy-base. - Biggly. - Billet. - Billy-base. - Bingo. - Bird-apprentice. - Birds, Beasts, and Fishes. - Bittle-battle. - Bitty-base. - Black Man's Tig. - Black Thorn. - Blind Bell. - Blind Bucky Davy. - Blind Harie. - Blind Hob. - Blind Man's Buff. - Blind Man's Stan. - Blind Nerry Mopsy. - Blind Palmie. - Blind Sim. - Block, Hammer, and Nail. - Blow-point. - Bob Cherry. - Boggle about the Stacks. - Boggle-bush. - Bonnety. - Booman. - Boss-out. - Boss and Span. - Boys and Girls. - Branks. - Bridgeboard. - Broken-down Tradesmen. - Brother Ebenezer. - Bubble-hole. - Bubble-justice. - Buck, Buck. - Buck i' t' Neucks. - Buckerels. - Buckey-how. - Buff. - Buk-hid. - Bull in the Park. - Bulliheisle. - Bummers. - Bun-hole. - Bunch of Ivy. - Bung the Bucket. - Bunting. - Burly Whush. - Buttons. - Buzz and Bandy. - - CACHE-POLE. - Caiche. - Call-the-Guse. - Camp. - Canlie. - Capie-Hole. - Carrick. - Carry my Lady to London. - Carrying the Queen a Letter. - Cashhornie. - Castles. - Cat and Dog. - Cat-Beds. - Cat's Cradle. - Cat-gallows. - Cat i' the Hole. - Cat after Mouse. - Catchers. - Chacke-Blyndman. - Chance Bone. - Change Seats. - Checkstone. - Cherry Odds. - Cherry-pit. - Chicamy. - Chickidy Hand. - Chinnup. - Chinny-mumps. - Chock or Chock-hole. - Chow. - Chuck-farthing. - Chuck-hole. - Chucks. - Church and Mice. - Click. - Click, Clock, Cluck. - Clowt-clowt. - Clubby. - Coal under Candlestick. - Cob. - Cobbin-match. - Cobble. - Cobbler's Hornpipe. - Cob-nut. - Cock. - Cock-battler. - Cock-fight. - Cock-haw. - Cock-stride. - Cockertie-hooie. - Cockle-bread. - Cockly-jock. - Cock's-headling. - Cock-steddling. - Codlings. - Cogger. - Cogs. - Common. - Conkers. - Conquerors. - Contrary, Rules of. - Cop-halfpenny. - Corsicrown. - Cots and Twisses. - Course o' Park. - Crab-sowl. - Crates. - Cricket. - Crooky. - Cross and Pile. - Cross-bars. - Cross-questions. - Cross Tig. - Cry Notchil. - Cuck-ball. - Cuckoo. - Cuddy and the Powks. - Cudgel. - Curcuddie. - Curly Locks. - Currants and Raisins. - Cushion Dance. - Cutch a Cutchoo. - Cutters and Trucklers. - - DAB. - Dab-an-thricker. - Dab-at-the-hole. - Dalies. - Davie-drap. - Deadily. - Diamond Ring. - Dibbs. - Dinah. - Dip o' the Kit. - Dish-a-loof. - Doddart. - Doncaster Cherries. - Dools. - Down in the Valley. - Drab and Norr. - Draw a Pail of Water. - Drawing Dun out of the Mire. - Drop Handkerchief. - Dropping the Letter. - Duck under the Water. - Duck at the Table. - Duck Dance. - Duck Friar. - Ducks and Drakes. - Duckstone. - Duffan Ring. - Dumb Crambo. - Dumb Motions. - Dump. - Dumps. - Dust-point. - - ELLER Tree. - Ezzeka. - - FATHER'S Fiddle. - Feed the Dove. - Find the Ring. - Fippeny Morrell. - Fire, Air, and Water. - Fivestones. - Flowers. - Follow my Gable. - Follow my Leader. - Fool, Fool, come to School. - Foot and Over. - Football. - Forfeits. - Fox. - Fox and Goose (1). - Fox and Geese (2). - Fox in the Fold. - Fox in the Hole. - French Jackie. - French and English. - French Blindman's Buff. - Friar-rush. - Frincy-francy. - Frog-lope. - Frog in the Middle. - - GAP. - Garden Gate. - Gegg. - Genteel Lady. - Ghost at the Well. - Giants. - Giddy. - Gilty-galty. - Gipsy. - Gled-wylie. - Glim-glam. - Gobs. - Green Grass. - Green Gravel. - Green Grow the Leaves (1). - Green Grow the Leaves (2). - Gully. - - HAIRRY my Bossie. - Half-Hammer. - Han'-and-Hail. - Hand in and Hand out. - Handy-Croopen. - Handy Dandy. - Hap the Beds. - Hard Buttons. - Hare and Hounds. - Harie Hutcheon. - Hark the Robbers. - Hats in Holes. - Hattie. - Hawkey. - Headicks and Pinticks. - Heads and Tails. - Hecklebirnie. - Hen and Chicken. - Here comes a Lusty Wooer. - Here comes One Virgin. - Here I sit on a Cold Green Bank. - Here stands a Young Man. - Here we go around, around. - Here's a Soldier. - Hewley Puley. - Hey Wullie Wine. - Hickety, Bickety. - Hickety-hackety. - Hick, Step, and Jump. - Hide and Seek (1). - Hide and Seek (2). - Hinch-Pinch. - Hinmost o' Three. - Hirtschin Hairy. - Hiry-hag. - Hiss and Clap. - Hitch, Jamie, Stride and Loup. - Hitchapagy. - Hitchy Cock Ho. - Hity Tity. - Hoatie, Hots. - Hob-in-the-Hall. - Hockerty Cokerty. - Hockey. - Hoges. - Ho-go. - Hoilakes. - Holy Bang. - Honey Pots. - Hood. - Hoodle-cum-blind. - Hoodman Blind. - Hooper's Hide. - Hop-crease. - Hop-frog. - Hop-score. - Hop-scotch. - Hop, Step, and Jump. - Hornie. - Hornie Holes. - Horns. - Hot Cockles. - How many Miles to Babylon. - Howly. - Huckie-buckie down the Brae. - Huckle-bones. - Hummie. - Hundreds. - Hunt the Hare. - Hunt the Slipper. - Hunt the Staigie. - Hunting. - Hurling. - Hurly-burly. - Huss. - Hustle Cap. - Hynny-pynny. - - ISABELLA. - - JACK'S Alive. - Jack, Jack, the Bread's a-burning. - Jack upon the Mopstick. - Jackysteauns. - Jauping Paste-eggs. - Jenny Jones. - Jenny Mac. - Jib-Job-Jeremiah. - Jiddy-cum-jiddy. - Jingle-the-bonnet. - Jingo-ring. - Jinkie. - Jock and Jock's Man. - Jockie Blind-man. - Joggle along. - Johnny Rover. - Jolly Fishermen. - Jolly Hooper. - Jolly Miller. - Jolly Rover. - Jolly Sailors. - Jowls. - Jud. - - KEELING the Pot. - Keppy Ball. - Kibel and Nerspel. - King by your leave. - King Cæsar. - King Come-a-lay. - King of Cantland. - King o' the Castle. - King Plaster Palacey. - King William. - King's Chair. - Kirk the Gussie. - Kiss in the Ring. - Kit-cat. - Kit-cat-cannio. - Kittlie-cout. - Knapsack. - Knights. - Knocked at the Rapper. - Knor and Spell. - - LAB. - Lady of the Land. - Lady on the Mountain. - Lady on Yonder Hill. - Lag. - Lammas. - Lamploo. - Lang Larence. - Leap Candle. - Leap-frog. - Leap the Bullock. - Leaves are Green. - Lend me your Key. - Letting the Buck out. - Level-coil. - Libbety-lat. - Limpy Coley. - Little Dog, I call you. - Lobber. - Loggats. - London. - London Bridge. - Long-duck. - Long Tag. - Long Tawl. - Long Terrace. - Loup the Bullocks. - Lubin. - Lug and a Bite. - Luggie. - Luking. - - MAG. - Magic Whistle. - Magical Music. - Malaga Raisins. - Marbles. - Mary Brown. - Mary mixed a Pudding up. - Merrils. - Merritot. - Merry-ma-tansa. - Milking Pails. - Mineral, Animal, and Vegetable. - Minister's Cat. - Mollish's Land. - Monday, Tuesday. - Moolie Pudding. - More Sacks to the Mill. - Mother, may I go out to Play? - Mother Mop. - Mother, Mother, the Pot boils over. - Mount the Tin. - Mouse and the Cobbler. - Muffin Man. - Mulberry Bush. - Munshets. - Musical Chairs. - - NACKS. - Namers and Guessers. - Neighbour. - Neivie-nick-nack. - Nettles. - New Squat. - Nine Holes. - Nine Men's Morris. - Nip-srat-and-bite. - Nitch, Notch, No-Notch. - Not. - Noughts and Crosses. - Nur and Spel. - Nuts in May. - - - - -ERRATA. - - - On page 15, line 12, _for_ "Eggatt" _read_ "Hats in Holes." - - On pp. 24, 49, 64, 112, _for_ "_Folk-lore Journal_, vol. vi." _read_ - "vol. vii." - - On page 62, last line, _insert_ "vol. xix." _after_ "_Journ. - Anthrop. Inst._" - - On page 66, line 4, _delete_ "Move All." - - On page 224, fig. 3 of "Hopscotch" should be reversed. - - On page 332, diagram of "London" omitted. - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHILDREN'S GAMES. - - -Accroshay - -A cap or small article is placed on the back of a stooping boy by other -boys as each in turn jumps over him. The first as he jumps says -"Accroshay," the second "Ashotay," the third "Assheflay," and the last -"Lament, lament, Leleeman's (or Leleena's) war." The boy who in jumping -knocks off either of the things has to take the place of the -stooper.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58). - -See "Leap-frog." - - -All-hid - -"A meere children's pastime" (_A Curtaine Lecture_, 1637, p. 206). This -is no doubt the game of "Hide and Seek," though Cotgrave apparently -makes it synonymous with "Hoodman Blind." See Halliwell's _Dictionary_. -It is alluded to in Dekker's _Satiromastix_, "Our unhansomed-fac'd Poet -does play at Bo-peepes with your Grace, and cryes All-hidde, as boyes -doe." Tourneur, _Rev. Trag._, III., v. 82, "A lady can at such Al-hid -beguile a wiser man," is quoted in Murray's _Dictionary_ as the first -reference. - - -All a Row - - All a row, a bendy bow, - Shoot at a pigeon and kill a crow; - Shoot at another and kill his brother; - Shoot again and kill a wren, - And that'll do for gentlemen. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 386. - -This is a marching game for very little children, who follow each other -in a row. - -(_b_) Halliwell gives the first two lines only (_Nursery Rhymes_, No. -dxv., p. 101), and there is apparently no other record of this game. It -is probably ancient, and formerly of some significance. It refers to -days of bows and arrows, and the allusion to the killing of the wren may -have reference to the Manx and Irish custom of hunting that bird. - - -All in the Well - -A juvenile game in Newcastle and the neighbourhood. A circle is made, -about eight inches in diameter, termed the well, in the centre of which -is placed a wooden peg four inches long, with a button balanced on the -top. Those desirous of playing give buttons, marbles, or anything else, -according to agreement, for the privilege of throwing a short stick, -with which they are furnished, at the peg. Should the button fly out of -the ring, the player is entitled to double the stipulated value of what -he gives for the stick. The game is also practised at the Newcastle -Races and other places of amusement in the North with three pegs, which -are put into three circular holes made in the ground about two feet -apart, and forming a triangle. In this case each hole contains a peg -about nine inches long, upon which are deposited either a small knife or -some copper. The person playing gives so much for each stick, and gets -all the articles that are thrown off so as to fall on the outside of the -holes.--Northumberland (Brockett's _North Country Glossary_). - - -All the Birds in the Air - -A Suffolk game, not described (Moor's _Suffolk Glossary_). Jamieson also -gives it without description. Compare the rhyme in the game "Fool, fool, -come to School," "Little Dog, I call you." - - -All the Boys in our Town - - I. All the boys in our town - Shall lead a happy life, - Except 'tis ----, and he wants a wife. - A wife he shall have, and a-courting he shall go, - Along with ----, because he loves her so. - He huddles her, he cuddles her, - He sits her on his knee; - He says, My dear, do you love me? - I love you, and you love me, - And we shall be as happy - As a bird upon a tree. - - The wife makes the pudding, - And she makes it nice and soft-- - In comes the husband and cuts a slice off. - Tas-el-um, Tos-el-um, don't say Nay, - For next Monday morning shall be our wedding day; - The wife in the carriage, - The husband in the cart. - ---Hampshire (from friend of Miss Mendham). - - II. All the boys in our town - Leads a happy life, - Excepting [Charley Allen], - And he wants a wife; - And a-courting he shall go - Along with [girl's name], - Because he loves her so. - - He kisses her, he cuddles her, - He sets her on his knee, - And says, My dearest darling, - Do you love me? - I love you and you love me; - We'll both be as happy - As birds on the tree. - - Alice made a pudding, - She made it nice and sweet, - Up came Charley, cut a slice off-- - A slice, a slice, we don't say No; - The next Monday morning the wedding goes - (or "is our wedding day"). - I've got knives and forks, - I've got plates and dishes, - I've got a nice young man, - He breaks his heart with kisses. - - If poor Alice was to die, - Wouldn't poor Charley, he _would_ cry. - He would follow to the grave - With black buttons and black crape, - And a guinea for the church, - And the bell shall ring. - - Up came the doctor, up came the cat, - Up came the devil with a white straw hat. - Down went the doctor, down went the cat, - Down went the devil with a white straw hat.[1] - ---Deptford (Miss Chase). - - III. Up the heathery mountains and down the rushy glen - We dare not go a-hunting for Connor and his men; - They are all lusty bachelors but one I know, - And that's [Tom Mulligan], the flower of the flock; - He is the flower of the flock, he is the keeper of the glen, - He courted [Kate O'Neill] before he was a man; - He huggled her, he guggled her, he took her on his knee, - Saying, My bonnie [Kate O'Neill], won't you marry me? - - So ---- made a pudding so nice and so sweet, - Saying, Taste, love, taste, and don't say no, - For next Sunday morning to church we will go. - - With rings on our fingers and bells on our toes, - And a little baby in her arms, and that's the way she goes. - And here's a clap, and here's a clap, for Mrs. ----'s - daughter. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - IV. Up the plain and down the plain, - As stippy [slippery] as a glass, - We will go to Mrs. ---- - To find a pretty lass. - - [Annie] with her rosy cheeks, - Catch her if you can, - And if you cannot catch her - I'll tell you who's the man. - - [Annie] made a pudding, - She made it very sweet; - She daren't stick a knife in - Till George came home at neet [night]. - - Taste [George], taste, and don't say Nay! - Perhaps to-morrow morning'll be our wedding day. - [The bells shall ring, and we shall sing, - And all clap hands together.][2] - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -(_b_) A full description of this game could not be obtained in each -case. The Earls Heaton game is played by forming a ring, one child -standing in the centre. After the first verse is sung, a child from the -ring goes to the one in the centre. Then the rest of the verses are -sung. The action to suit the words of the verses does not seem to have -been kept up. In the Hampshire version, after the line "As a bird upon a -tree," the two children named pair off like sweethearts while the rest -of the verse is being sung. - -(_c_) The analysis of the game rhymes is as follows:-- - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | | Hants. | Deptford (Kent). | Belfast. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Village life. |Village life. |Hunting life. | - | 2.|All the boys happy. |All the boys happy. |All lusty bachelors. | - | 3.|Except [ ], who |Except [ ], who |Except [ ], who | - | |wants a wife. |wants a wife. |courts [ ]. | - | 4.|He shall court [ ]. |He shall court [ ]. |He courted [ ]. | - | 5.|Huddles and cuddles, |Kisses and cuddles, |Huggled andguggled, | - | |and sits on his knee. |and sits on his knee. |and took on his knee. | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.|Mutual expressions of |Mutual expressions of | -- | - | |love. |love. | | - | 8.| -- | -- |Asking to marry. | - | 9.|Wife makes a pudding. |Girl makes a pudding. |Girl makes a pudding. | - |10.|Husband cuts a slice. |Boy cuts a slice. |Asks boy to taste. | - |11.|Fixing of wedding day.|Fixing of wedding day.|Fixing of wedding day.| - |12.|Wife in carriage, |Wife with domestic |Bride with rings on | - | |husband in cart. |utensils. |fingers and bells on | - | | | |toes. | - |13.| -- |Grief if wife should | -- | - | | |die. | | - |14.| -- | -- |Bride with a baby. | - |15.| -- |Doctor, cat, and | -- | - | | |devil. | | - |16.| -- | -- |Applause for the | - | | | |bride. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+ - | |Earls Heaton (Yorks.).| - +---+----------------------+ - | 1.|Roving life. | - | 2.| -- | - | 3.| -- | - | 4.|Seeks for a bride. | - | 5.| -- | - | 6.|Catch the bride. | - | 7.| -- | - | 8.| -- | - | 9.|Girl makes a pudding. | - |10.|Asks boy to taste. | - |11.|Fixing of wedding day.| - |12.| -- | - |13.| -- | - |14.| -- | - |15.| -- | - |16.|Applause for bride. | - +---+----------------------+ - -It appears by the analysis that all the incidents of the Hants version -of this game occur in one or other of the versions, and these incidents -therefore may probably be typical of the game. This view would exclude -the important incidents of bride capture in the Earls Heaton version; -the bride having a baby in the Belfast version, and the two minor -incidents in the Deptford version (Nos. 13 and 15 in the analysis), -which are obviously supplemental. Chambers, in his _Popular Rhymes of -Scotland_, pp. 119, 137, gives two versions of a courtship dance which -are not unlike the words of this game, though they do not contain the -principal incidents. Northall, in his _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 363, has -some verses of a similar import, but not those of the game. W. Allingham -seems to have used this rhyme as the commencement of one of his ballads, -"Up the airy mountain." - -(_d_) The game is clearly a marriage game. It introduces two important -details in the betrothal ceremony, inasmuch as the "huddling and -cuddling" is typical of the rude customs at marriage ceremonies once -prevalent in Yorkshire, the northern counties, and Wales, while the -making of the pudding by the bride and the subsequent eating together, -are clearly analogies to the bridal-cake ceremony. In Wales, the custom -known as "bundling" allowed the betrothing parties to go to bed in their -clothes (Brand, ii. 98). In Yorkshire, the bridal cake was always made -by the bride. The rudeness of the dialogue seems to be remarkably -noticeable in this game. - -See "Mary mixed a Pudding up," "Oliver, Oliver, follow the King." - - [1] Miss Chase says, "I think the order of verses is right; the - children hesitated a little." - - [2] Mr. Hardy says, "This was sung to me by a girl at Earls Heaton or - Soothill Nether. Another version commences with the last verse, - continues with the first, and concludes with the second. The last - two lines inserted here belong to that version." - - -All the Fishes in the Sea - -A Suffolk game, not described.--Moor's _Suffolk Glossary_. See "Fool, -fool, come to School," "Little Dog, I call you." - - -All the Soldiers in the Town - -[Music] - - All the soldiers in the town, - They all bop down. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -The children form into a ring and sing the above words. They "bop down" -at the close of the verse. To "bop" means in the Suffolk dialect "to -stoop or bow the head."--Moor. - - -Allicomgreenzie - -A little amusing game played by young girls at country schools. The same -as "Drop Handkerchief," except that the penalty for not following -exactly the course of the child pursued is to "stand in the circle, face -out, all the game afterwards; if she succeed in catching the one, the -one caught must so stand, and the other take up the cap and go round as -before" (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_). No explanation is -given of the name of this game. - -See "Drop Handkerchief." - - -Alligoshee - - I. Betsy Blue came all in black, - Silver buttons down her back. - Every button cost a crown, - Every lady turn around. - Alligoshi, alligoshee, - Turn the bridle over my knee. - - --Middleton (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 523). - - II. Barbara, Barbara, dressed in black, - Silver buttons all up your back. - Allee-go-shee, allee-go-shee, - Turn the bridle over me. - ---Shepscombe, Gloucestershire (Miss Mendham). - - III. All-i-go-shee, alligoshee, - Turn the bridle over my knee. - My little man is gone to sea, - When he comes back he'll marry me. - ---Warwickshire (Northall's _Folk Rhymes_, p. 394). - - IV. Darby's son was dressed in black, - With silver buttons down his back. - Knee by knee, and foot by foot, - Turn about lady under the bush. - ---Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 87). - - V. Darby and Joan were dressed in black, - Sword and buckle behind their back. - Foot for foot, and knee for knee, - Turn about Darby's company. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 121. - -(_b_) The children form pairs, one pair following the other, with their -arms linked behind. While the first four lines are repeated by all, they -skip forward, and then skip back again. At the end of the last line they -turn themselves about without loosing hands. - -(_c_) Miss Burne includes this among obscure and archaic games, and -Halliwell-Phillips mentions it as a marching game. The three first -versions have something of the nature of an incantation, while the -fourth and fifth versions may probably belong to another game -altogether. It is not clear from the great variation in the verses to -which class the game belongs. - - -Almonds and Reasons - -An old English game undescribed.--_Useful Transactions in Philosophy_, -1709, p. 43. - - -Angel and Devil - -One child is called the "Angel," another child the "Devil," and a third -child the "Minder." The children are given the names of colours by the -Minder. Then the Angel comes over and knocks, when the following -dialogue takes place. - -Minder: "Who's there?" - -Answer: "Angel." - -Minder: "What do you want?" - -Angel: "Ribbons." - -Minder: "What colour?" - -Angel: "Red." - -Minder retorts, if no child is so named, "Go and learn your A B C." If -the guess is right the child is led away. The Devil then knocks, and the -dialogue and action are repeated.--Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - -See "Fool, fool, come to School." - - -Auntieloomie - -The children join hands, and dance in a circle, "with a front step, a -back step, and a side step, round an invisible May-pole," singing-- - - Can you dance the Auntieloomie? - Yes, I can; yes, I can. - -Then follows kissing.--Brigg, Lincolnshire (Miss Peacock). - - -Babbity Bowster - -[Music] - ---Biggar (Wm. Ballantyne). - - Wha learned you to dance, - You to dance, you to dance? - Wha learned you to dance - Babbity Bowster brawly? - - My minnie learned me to dance, - Me to dance, me to dance; - My minnie learned me to dance - Babbity Bowster brawly. - - Wha ga'e you the keys to keep, - Keys to keep, keys to keep? - Wha ga'e you the keys to keep, - Babbity Bowster brawly? - - My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep, - Keys to keep, keys to keep; - My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep, - Babbity Bowster brawly. - - One, twa, three, B, ba, Babbity, - Babbity Bowster neatly; - Kneel down, kiss the ground, - An' kiss your bonnie lassie [or laddie]. - ---Biggar (W. H. Ballantyne). - -(_b_) Mr. Ballantyne describes the dance as taking place at the end of a -country ball. The lads all sat on one side and the girls on the other. -It began with a boy taking a handkerchief and dancing before the girls, -singing the first verse (fig. 1). Selecting one of the girls, he threw -the handkerchief into her lap, or put it round her neck, holding both -ends himself. Some spread the handkerchief on the floor at the feet of -the girl. The object in either case was to secure a kiss, which, -however, was not given without a struggle, the girls cheering their -companion at every unsuccessful attempt which the boy made (fig. 2). A -girl then took the handkerchief, singing the next verse (fig. 3), and -having thrown the handkerchief to one of the boys, she went off to her -own side among the girls, and was pursued by the chosen boy (fig. 4). -When all were thus paired, they formed into line, facing each other, and -danced somewhat like the country dance of Sir Roger. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.] - -(_c_) Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 36, gives a slightly different -version of the verses, and says they were sung by children at their -sports in Glasgow. Mactaggart alludes to this game as "'Bumpkin Brawly,' -an old dance, the dance which always ends balls; the same with the -'Cushion' almost." - - Wha learned you to dance, - You to dance, you to dance, - Wha learned you to dance - A country bumpkin brawly? - - My mither learned me when I was young, - When I was young, when I was young, - My mither learned me when I was young, - The country bumpkin brawly. - -The tune of this song is always played to the dance, says Mactaggart, -but he does not record the tune. _To bab_, in Lowland Scottish, is -defined by Jamieson to mean "to play backward and forward loosely; to -dance." Hence he adds, "Bab at the bowster, or Bab wi' the bowster, a -very old Scottish dance, now almost out of use; formerly the last dance -at weddings and merry-makings." Mr. Ballantyne says that a bolster or -pillow was at one time always used. One correspondent of _N. and Q._, -ii. 518, says it is now (1850) danced with a handkerchief instead of a -cushion as formerly, and no words are used, but later correspondents -contradict this. See also _N. and Q._, iii. 282. - -(_d_) Two important suggestions occur as to this game. First, that the -dance was originally the indication at a marriage ceremony for the bride -and bridegroom to retire with "the bowster" to the nuptial couch. -Secondly, that it has degenerated in Southern Britain to the ordinary -"Drop Handkerchief" games of kiss in the ring. The preservation of this -"Bab at the Bowster" example gives the clue both to the origin of the -present game in an obsolete marriage custom, and to the descent of the -game to its latest form. See "Cushion Dance." - - -Bad - -A rude kind of "Cricket," played with a bat and a ball, usually with -wall toppings for wickets. "Bad" seems to be the pronunciation or -variation of "Bat." Halliwell says it was a rude game, formerly common -in Yorkshire, and probably resembling the game of "Cat." There is such a -game played now, but it is called "Pig."--Easther's _Almondbury -Glossary_. - - -Baddin - -The game of "Hockey" in Cheshire.--Holland's _Glossary_. - - -Badger the Bear - -A rough game, sometimes seen in the country. The boy who personates the -Bear performs his part on his hands and knees, and is prevented from -getting away by a string. It is the part of another boy, his Keeper, to -defend him from the attacks of the others.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -This is a boys' game, and is called "Buffet the Bear." It may be taken -part in by any number. One boy--the Bear--goes down on all fours, and -lowers his head towards his breast as much as possible. Into his hand is -placed one end of a piece of cord, and another boy, called the Keeper, -takes hold of the other end in one hand, while he has in the other his -cap. The other boys stand round, some with their caps in hand, and -others with their neckties or pocket-handkerchiefs, and on a given -signal they rush on the Bear and pelt him, trying specially to buffet -him about the ears and face, whilst the Keeper does his best to protect -his charge. If he happens to strike a boy, that boy becomes the Bear, -and the former Bear becomes the Keeper, and so on the game goes.--Keith, -Banffshire (Rev. W. Gregor). - -I saw this game played on Barnes Green, Surrey, on 25th August 1892. The -boys, instead of using their hats, had pieces of leather tied to a -string, with which they struck the Bear on the back. They could only -begin when the Keeper cried, "My Bear is free." If they struck at any -other time, the striker became the Bear. It is called "Baste the -Bear."--A. B. Gomme. - -Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 128) describes this game under the title -of "The Craw." It was played precisely in the same way as the Barnes -game. The boy who holds the end of the long strap has also a hard -twisted handkerchief, called the _cout_; with this cout he defends the -Craw against the attacks of the other boys, who also have similar couts. -Before beginning, the Guard of the Craw must call out-- - - Ane, twa, three, my Craw's free. - -The first one he strikes becomes the Craw. When the Guard wants a -respite, he calls out-- - - Ane, twa, three, my Craw's no free. - -(_b_) Jamieson defines "Badger-reeshil" as a severe blow; borrowed, it -is supposed, from the hunting of the badger, or from the old game of -"Beating the Badger." - - Then but he ran wi' hasty breishell, - And laid on Hab a badger-reishill. - ---_MS. Poem._ - -Mr. Emslie says he knows it under the name of "Baste the Bear" in -London, and Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game -similarly named. It is played at Marlborough under the name of "Tom -Tuff."--H. S. May. - -See "Doncaster Cherries." - - -Bag o' Malt - - A bag o' malt, a bag o' salt, - Ten tens a hundred. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 394. - -Two children stand back to back, linked near the armpits, and weigh each -other as they repeat these lines. - -See "Weigh the Butter." - - -Ball - - I. Stottie ba', hinnie ba, tell to me - How mony bairns am I to hae? - Ane to live, and ane to dee, - And ane to sit on the nurse's knee! - ---Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes of Scotland_, p. 115. - - II. Toss-a-ball, toss-a-ball, tell me true, - How many years I've got to go through! - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 530. - -(_b_) Children throw a ball in the air, repeating the rhyme, and divine -the length of their lives by the number of times they can catch it -again. In some places this game is played with a cowslip ball, thence -called a "tissy-ball." - -(_c_) I have heard other rhymes added to this, to determine whether the -players shall marry or not, the future husband's calling, dress to be -worn, method of going to church, &c. (A. B. Gomme). Strutt describes a -handball game played during the Easter holidays for Tansy cakes -(_Sports_, p. 94). Halliwell gives rhymes for ball divination (_Popular -Rhymes_, p. 298) to determine the number of years before marriage will -arrive. Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) says, "The May garland -is suspended by ropes from the school-house to an opposite tree, and the -Mayers amuse themselves by throwing balls over it. A native of -Fotheringay, Mr. C. W. Peach," says Miss Baker, "has supplied me with -the reminiscences of his own youth. He says the May garland was hung in -the centre of the street, on a rope stretched from house to house. Then -was made the trial of skill in tossing balls (small white leather ones) -through the framework of the garland, to effect which was a triumph." - -See "Cuck Ball," "Keppy Ball," "Monday." - - -Ball and Bonnets - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -This is a boys' game. The players may be of any number. They place their -caps or bonnets in a row. One of the boys takes a ball, and from a fixed -point, at a few yards' distance from the bonnets, tries to throw it into -one of the caps (fig. 1). If the ball falls into the cap, all the boys, -except the one into whose cap the ball has fallen, run off. The boy into -whose cap the ball has been thrown goes up to it, lifts the ball from -it, and calls out "Stop!" The other boys stop. The boy with the ball -tries to strike one of the other boys (fig. 2). If he does so, a small -stone is put into the cap of the boy struck. If he misses, a stone is -put into his own cap. If the boy who is to pitch the ball into the cap -misses, a stone is put into his own cap, and he makes another trial. The -game goes on till six stones are put into one cap. The boy in whose cap -are the six stones has to place his hand against a wall, when he -receives a certain number of blows with the ball thrown with force by -one of the players. The blows go by the name of "buns." The game may go -on in the same way till each player gets his "buns."--Nairn (Rev. W. -Gregor). - -See "Hats in Holes." - - -Ball in the Decker - -A row of boys' caps is set by a wall. One boy throws a ball into one of -the caps. The owner of the cap runs away, and is chased by all the -others till caught. He then throws the ball.--Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - - -Ball of Primrose - -[Music] - - We'll wear yellow ribbons, yellow ribbons, yellow ribbons, - We'll wear yellow ribbons at the Ball of Primrose; - We'll all go a-waltzing, a-waltzing, a-waltzing, - We'll all go a-waltzing at the Ball of Primrose. - ---Epworth, Doncaster; and Lossiemouth, Yorkshire (Charles C. Bell). - -(_b_) The children form a ring, joining hands, and dance round singing -the two first lines. Then loosing hands, they waltz in couples, singing -as a refrain the last line. The game is continued, different coloured -ribbons being named each time. - -(_c_) This game was played in 1869, so cannot have arisen from the -political movement. - - -Baloon - -A game played with an inflated ball of strong leather, the ball being -struck by the arm, which was defended by a bracer of wood.--Brand's -_Pop. Antiq._, ii. 394. - -(_b_) It is spelt "balloo" in Ben Jonson, iii. 216, and "baloome" in -Randolph's _Poems_, 1643, p. 105. It is also mentioned in Middleton's -_Works_, iv. 342, and by Donne. - - "'Tis ten a clock and past; all whom the mues, - _Baloun_, tennis, diet, or the stews - Had all the morning held." - ---Donne's _Poems_, p. 133. - -Toone (_Etymological Dict._) says it is a game rather for exercise than -contention; it was well known and practised in England in the fourteenth -century, and is mentioned as one of the sports of Prince Henry, son of -James I., in 1610. Strutt (_Sports and Pastimes_, p. 96) gives two -illustrations of what he considers to be baloon ball play, from -fourteenth century MSS. - - -Bandy-ball - -A game played with sticks called "bandies," bent and round at one end, -and a small wooden ball, which each party endeavours to drive to -opposite fixed points. Northbrooke in 1577 mentions it as a favourite -game in Devonshire (Halliwell's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). Strutt says -the bat-stick was called a "bandy" on account of its being bent, and -gives a drawing from a fourteenth century MS. book of prayers belonging -to Mr. Francis Douce (_Sports_, p. 102). The bats in this drawing are -nearly identical with modern golf-sticks, and "Golf" seems to be derived -from this game. Peacock mentions it in his _Glossary of Manley and -Corringham Words_. Forby has an interesting note in his _Vocabulary of -East Anglia_, i. 14. He says, "The bandy was made of very tough wood, or -shod with metal, or with the point of the horn or the hoof of some -animal. The ball is a knob or gnarl from the trunk of a tree, carefully -formed into a globular shape. The adverse parties strive to beat it with -their bandies through one or other of the goals." - - -Bandy Cad or Gad - -A game played with a nurr and crooked stick, also called "Shinty," and -much the same as the "Hockey" of the South of England. "Cad" is the same -as "cat" in the game of "Tip-cat;" it simply means a cut piece of -wood.--Nodal and Milner's _Lancashire Glossary_. - - -Bandy-hoshoe - -A game at ball common in Norfolk, and played in a similar manner to -"Bandy" (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). Toone (_Etymological Dictionary_) -says it is also played in Suffolk, and in West Sussex is called "Hawky." - - -Bandy-wicket - -The game of "Cricket," played with a bandy instead of a bat (Halliwell's -_Dictionary_). Toone mentions it as played in Norfolk (_Dict._), and -Moor as played in Suffolk with bricks usually, or, in their absence, -with bats in place of bails or stumps (_Suffolk Words_). - - -Banger - -Each boy provides himself with a button. One of the boys lays his button -on the ground, near a wall. The other boys snap their buttons in turn -against the wall. If the button drops within one span or hand-reach of -the button laid down, it counts two (fig. 2); if within two spans, it -counts one. When it hits the button and bounces within one span, it -counts four (fig. 1); within two spans, three; and above three spans, -one. Each player snaps in turn for an agreed number; the first to score -this number wins the game.--Deptford, Kent, and generally in London -streets (Miss Chase). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -This game is known in America as "Spans."--Newell, p. 188. - - -Bar - -To play at "Bar," a species of game anciently used in -Scotland.--Jamieson. - -This game had in ancient times in England been simply denominated -"Bars," or, as in an Act of James IV., 1491, edit. 1814, p. 227: "That -na induellare within burgh . . . play at bar," "playing at Bars." - -See "Prisoner's Base." - - -Barbarie, King of the - - I. O will you surrender, O will you surrender - To the King of the Barbarie? - - We won't surrender, we won't surrender - To the King of the Barbarie. - - I'll go and complaint, I'll go and complaint - To the King of the Barbarie. - - You can go and complaint, you can go and complaint - To the King of the Barbarie. - - Good morning, young Prince, good morning, young Prince, - I have a complaint for you. - - What is your complaint? - What is your complaint? - - They won't surrender, they won't surrender - To the King of the Barbarie. - - Take one of my brave soldiers, - Take one of my brave soldiers. - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - - II. Will you surrender, will you surrender - To the King of the Barbarines? - - We won't surrender, we won't surrender - To the King of the Barbarines. - - We'll make you surrender, we'll make you surrender - To the King of the Barbarines. - - You can't make us surrender, you can't make us surrender - To the King of the Barbarines. - - We'll go to the King, we'll go to the King, - To the King of the Barbarines. - - You can go to the King, you can go to the King, - To the King of the Barbarines. - ---Clapham, Surrey (Miss F. D. Richardson). - - III. Will you surrender, will you surrender - The Tower of Barbaree? - - We won't surrender, we won't surrender - The Tower of Barbaree. - - We will go and tell the Queen, - Go and tell the Queen of Barbaree. - - Don't care for the Queen, don't care for the Queen, - The Queen of Barbaree. - - Good morning, young Queen, good morning, young Queen, - I have a complaint to thee. - - Pray what is your complaint to me? - - They won't surrender, they won't surrender - The Tower of Barbaree. - - Take one of my brave soldiers. - ---Lady Camilla Gurdon's _Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 63. - - IV. You must surrend' me, you must surrend' me - To the Queen of Barbaloo. - - No, we'll not surrend' you, no, we'll not surrend' you - To the Queen of Barbaloo. - - We'll complain, we'll complain, &c. - [To the Queen of Barbaloo.] - - You can complain, you can complain, &c. - [To the Queen of Barbaloo.] - ---Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - -(_b_) Two children stand together joining hands tightly, to personate a -fortress; one child stands at a distance from these to personate the -King of Barbarie, with other children standing behind to personate the -soldiers (fig. 1). Some of the soldiers go to the fortress and surround -it, singing the first verse (fig. 2). The children in the fortress -reply, the four first verses being thus sung alternately. The soldiers -then go to the King singing the fifth verse (fig. 3), the remaining -verses being thus sung alternately. One of the soldiers then goes to the -fortress and endeavours by throwing herself on the clasped hands of the -children forming the fortress to break down the guard (fig. 4). All the -soldiers try to do this, one after the other; finally the King comes, -who breaks down the guard. The whole troop of soldiers then burst -through the parted arms (fig. 5). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 5.] - -This is the Deptford version. The Clapham version is almost identical; -the children take hold of each others' skirts and make a long line. If -the brave soldier is not able to break the clasped hands he goes to the -end of the line of soldiers. The soldiers do not surround the fortress. -In the Suffolk version the soldiers try to break through the girls' -hands. If they do they have the tower. The Cornwall version is not so -completely an illustration of the capture of a fortress. - - -Barley-break - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -Barley-break, or the Last Couple in Hell, was a game played by six -people, three of each sex, who were coupled by lot. A piece of ground -was then chosen, and divided into three compartments, of which the -middle one was called Hell. It was the object of the couple condemned to -this division to catch the others who advanced from the two extremities -(figs. 1, 2), in which case a change of situation took place, and Hell -was filled by the couple who were excluded by pre-occupation from the -other place (fig. 3). In this catching, however, there was some -difficulty, as by the regulations of the game the middle couple were not -to separate before they had succeeded, while the others might break -hands whenever they found themselves hard pressed. When all had been -taken in turn, the last couple was said to be "in Hell," and the game -ended.--Dekker's _Works_, iv. 434. - -Jamieson calls this "a game generally played by young people in a -corn-yard. Hence called _barla-bracks about the stacks_, S. B." (_i. -e._, in the North of Scotland). "One stack is fixed on as the _dule_ or -goal; and one person is appointed to catch the rest of the company, who -run out from the _dule_. He does not leave it till they are all out of -sight. Then he sets off to catch them. Any one who is taken cannot run -out again with his former associates, being accounted a prisoner; but is -obliged to assist his captor in pursuing the rest. When all are taken -the game is finished; and he who was first taken is bound to act as -catcher in the next game. This innocent sport seems to be almost -entirely forgotten in the South of Scotland. It is also falling into -desuetude in the North." - -(_b_) The following description of Barley-break, written by Sir Philip -Sidney, is taken from the song of Lamon, in the first volume of the -_Arcadia_, where he relates the passion of Claius and Strephon for the -beautiful Urania:-- - - She went abroad, thereby, - At _barley-brake_ her sweet, swift foot to try. . . . - Afield they go, where many lookers be. - - Then couples three be straight allotted there, - They of both ends, the middle two, do fly; - The two that in mid-place Hell called were - Must strive, with waiting foot and watching eye, - To catch of them, and them to hell to bear, - That they, as well as they, may hell supply; - Like some that seek to salve their blotted name - Will others blot, till all do taste of shame. - - There may you see, soon as the middle two - Do, coupled, towards either couple make, - They, false and fearful, do their hands undo; - Brother his brother, friend doth friend forsake, - Heeding himself, cares not how fellow do, - But of a stranger mutual help doth take; - As perjured cowards in adversity, - With sight of fear, from friends to friends do fly. - -Sir John Suckling also has given a description of this pastime with -allegorical personages, which is quoted by Brand. In Holiday's play of -the _Marriages of the Arts_, 1618, this sport is introduced, and also by -Herrick (_Hesperides_, p. 44). Barley-break is several times alluded to -in Massinger's plays: see the _Dramatic Works of Philip Massinger_, -1779, i. 167. "We'll run at barley-break first, and you shall be in -hell" (Dekker's _The Honest Whore_). "Hee's at barli-break, and the last -couple are now in hell" (Dekker's _The Virgin Martir_). See Gifford's -_Massinger_, i. 104, edit. 1813. See also Browne's _Britannia's -Pastorals_, published in 1614, Book I., Song 3, p. 76. - -Randle Holme mentions this game as prevailing in his day in Lancashire. -Harland and Wilkinson believe this game to have left its traces in -Yorkshire and Lancashire. A couple link hands and sally forth from -_home_, shouting something like - - Aggery, ag, ag, - Ag's gi'en warning, - -and trying to tick or touch with the free hand any of the boys running -about separately. These latter try to slip behind the couple and throw -their weight on the joined hands to separate them without being first -touched or ticked; and if they sunder the couple, each of the severed -ones has to carry one home on his back. Whoever is touched takes the -place of the toucher in the linked couple (_Legends of Lancashire_, p. -138). The modern name of this game is "Prison Bars" (_Ibid._, p. 141). -There is also a description of the game in a little tract called _Barley -Breake; or, A Warning for Wantons_, 1607. It is mentioned in Wilbraham's -_Cheshire Glossary_ as "an old Cheshire game." Barnes, in his -_Dorsetshire Glossary_, says he has seen it played with one catcher on -hands and knees in the small ring (Hell), and the others dancing round -the ring crying "Burn the wold witch, you barley breech." Holland -(_Cheshire Glossary_) also mentions it as an old Cheshire game. - -See "Boggle about the Stacks," "Scots and English." - - -Barnes (Mr.) - - Mr. Barnes is dead and gone, - And left his widder, - Three poor children in her arms; - What will you give her? - - Where did you come from? - ---Played about 1850 at Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - -This is probably a forfeit game, imperfectly remembered. See "Old -Soldier." - - -Base-ball - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. See "Rounders." - - -Basket - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -In this game the children all follow one who is styled the "mother," -singing: - - I'll follow my mother to market, - To buy a silver basket. - -The mother presently turns and catches or pretends to beat -them.--Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 231). - - We'll follow our mother to market, - To buy herself a basket; - When she comes home she'll break our bones, - We'll follow our mother to market. - ---Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 84). - -A version familiar to me is the same as above, but ending with - - For tumbling over cherry stones. - -The mother then chased and beat those children she caught. The idea was, -I believe, that the children were imitating or mocking their mother (A. -B. G.). In Warwickshire the four lines of the Surrey game are concluded -by the additional lines-- - - We don't care whether we work or no, - We'll follow our mother on tipty-toe. - -When the mother runs after them and buffets them.--Northall's _English -Folk Rhymes_, p. 393. - - -Battledore and Shuttlecock - -See "Shuttlefeather." - - -Bedlams or Relievo - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -A number of boys agree to play at this game, and sides are picked. Five, -for example, play on each side. A square is chalked out on a footpath by -the side of a road, which is called the "Den;" five of the boys remain -by the side of the Den, one of whom is called the "Tenter;" the Tenter -has charge of the Den, and he must always stand with one foot in the Den -and the other upon the road; the remaining five boys go out to field, it -being agreed beforehand that they shall only be allowed to run within a -prescribed area, or in certain roads or streets (fig. 1). As soon as the -boys who have gone out to field have reached a certain distance--there -is no limit prescribed--they shout "Relievo," and upon this signal the -four boys standing by the side of the Den pursue them, leaving the -Tenter in charge of the Den (fig. 2). When a boy is caught he is taken -to the Den, where he is obliged to remain, unless the Tenter puts both -his feet into the Den, or takes out the one foot which he ought always -to keep in the Den. If the Tenter is thus caught tripping, the prisoner -can escape from the Den. If during the progress of the game one of the -boys out at field runs through the Den shouting "Relievo" without being -caught by the Tenter, the prisoner is allowed to escape, and join his -comrades at field. If one of the boys out at field is tired, and comes -to stand by the side of the Den, he is not allowed to put his foot into -the Den. If he does so the prisoner calls out, "There are two Tenters," -and escapes if he can (fig. 3). When all the boys out at field have been -caught and put into the Den, the process is reversed--the boys who have -been, as it were, hunted, taking the place of the hunters. Sometimes the -cry is "Delievo," and not "Relievo." One or two variations occur in the -playing of this game. Sometimes the Tenter, instead of standing with one -foot in the Den, stands as far off the prisoner as the prisoner can -spit. The choosing of sides is done by tossing. Two boys are selected to -toss. One of them throws up his cap, crying, "Pot!" or "Lid!" which is -equivalent to "Heads and Tails." If, when a prisoner is caught, he cries -out "Kings!" or "Kings to rest!" he is allowed to escape. The game is a -very rough one.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Beds - -Jamieson gives this as the Scottish name for "Hopscotch;" also Brockett, -_North Country Words_. - - -Bell-horses - - I. Bell-horses, bell-horses, what time of day? - One o'clock, two o'clock, three, and away! - Bell-horses, bell-horses, what time of day? - Two o'clock, three o'clock, four, and away! - Five o'clock, six o'clock, now time to stay! - ---Stanton Lacey (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 520). - - II. Bellasay, bellasay, what time of day? - One o'clock, two o'clock, three, and away. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 283. - -(_b_) The children form long trains, standing one behind the other. They -march and sing the first four lines, then the fifth line, when they -stand and begin again as before. - -(_c_) Miss Burne suggests a connection with the old pack-horses. Mr. -Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) gives the first two lines as a game. He -says, "The first horse in a team conveying lead to be smelted wore -bells, and was called the bell-horse." I remember when a child the two -first lines being used to start children a race (A. B. G.). Chambers -(_Pop. Rhymes_, p. 148) gives a similar verse, used for starting a -race:-- - - Race horses, race horses, what time of day? - One o'clock, two o'clock, three, and away; - -and these lines are also used for the same purpose in Cheshire -(Holland's _Glossary_) and Somersetshire (Elworthy's _Glossary_). -Halliwell, on the strength of the corrupted word "Bellasay," connects -the game with a proverbial saying applied to the family of Bellasis; but -there is no evidence of such a connection except the word-corruption. -The rhyme occurs in _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, 1783, the last words of -the second line being "time to away." - - -Bellie-mantie - -The name for "Blind Man's Buff" in Upper Clydesdale. As anciently in -this game he who was the chief actor was not only hoodwinked, but -enveloped in the skin of an animal.--Jamieson. - -See "Blind Man's Buff." - - -Belly-blind - -The name for "Blind Man's Buff" in Roxburgh, Clydesdale, and other -counties of the border. It is probable that the term is the same with -"Billy Blynde," said to be the name of a familiar spirit or good genius -somewhat similar to the brownie.--Jamieson. - -See "Blind Man's Buff." - - -Bend-leather - -A boys' phrase for a slide on a pond when the ice is thin and bends. -There is a game on the ice called playing at "Bend-leather." Whilst the -boys are sliding they say "Bend-leather, bend-leather, puff, puff, -puff."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Betsy Bungay - -[Music] - - Hi, Betsy Bungay, all day on Sunday; - You're the lock and I'm the key, - All day on Monday. - ---Kent (J. P. Emslie). - -Two children cross their hands in the fashion known as a "sedan chair." -A third child sits on their hands. The two sing the first line. One of -them sings, "You're the lock," the other sings, "and I'm the key," and -as they sang the words they unclasped their hands and dropped their -companion on the ground. Mr. J. P. Emslie writes, "My mother learned -this from her mother, who was a native of St. Laurence, in the Isle of -Thanet. The game possibly belongs to Kent." - - -Bicky - -In Somersetshire the game of "Hide and Seek." To _bik'ee_ is for the -seekers to go and lean their heads against a wall, so as not to see -where the others go to hide.--Elworthy's _Dialect_. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -Biddy-base - -A Lincolnshire name for "Prisoner's Base."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_; -Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_; Cole's _S. W. Lincolnshire -Glossary_. - - -Biggly - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - - -Billet - -The Derbyshire name for "Tip-cat."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Billy-base - -A name for "Prisoner's Base."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Bingo - -[Music] - ---Leicestershire. - -[Music] - ---Hexham. - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire. - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. - -[Music] - ---Enborne. - - I. The miller's mill-dog lay at the mill-door, - And his name was Little Bingo. - B with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with an O, - And his name was Little Bingo. - - The miller he bought a cask of ale, - And he called it right good Stingo. - S with a T, T with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with - an O, - And he called it right good Stingo. - - The miller he went to town one day, - And he bought a wedding Ring-o! - R with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with an O, - And he bought a wedding Ring-o! - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - II. A farmer's dog lay on the floor, - And Bingo was his name O! - B, i, n, g, o, B, i, n, g, o, - And Bingo was his name O! - - The farmer likes a glass of beer, - I think he calls it Stingo! - S, t, i, n, g, o, S, t, i, n, g, o! - I think he calls it Stingo! - S, t, i, n, g, O! I think he calls it Stingo! - ---Market Drayton, Ellesmere, Oswestry (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, -p. 513). - - III. There was a jolly farmer, - And he had a jolly son, - And his name was Bobby Bingo. - BINGO, BINGO, BINGO, - And Bingo was his name. - ---Liphook, Hants; Wakefield, Yorks (Miss Fowler). - - IV. There _was_ a farmer _had_ a dog, - His name was Bobby Bingo. - B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, - His name was Bobby Bingo. - ---Tean, Staffs.; and North Staffs. Potteries (Miss Keary). - - V. The farmer's dog lay on the hearth, - And Bingo was his name oh! - B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, - And Bingo was his name oh! - ---Nottinghamshire (Miss Winfield). - - VI. The miller's dog lay on the wall, - And Bingo was his name Oh! - B-i-n-g-o, - And Bingo was his name Oh! - ---Maxey, Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - VII. The shepherd's dog lay on the hearth, - And Bingo was his name O. - B i n g o, Bi, n, g, o, Bi-n-g-o, - And Bingo was his name O. - ---Eckington, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - - VIII. Pinto went to sleep one night, - And Pinto was his name oh! - P-i-n-t-o, P-i-n-t-o, - And Pinto was his name oh. - ---Enbourne, Berks (Miss Kimber). - -(_b_) In the Lancashire version, one child represents the Miller. The -rest of the children stand round in a circle, with the Miller in the -centre. All dance round and sing the verses. When it comes to the -spelling part of the rhyme, the Miller points at one child, who must -call out the right letter. If the child fails to do this she becomes -Miller. In the Shropshire version, a ring is formed with one player in -the middle. They dance round and sing the verses. When it comes to the -spelling part, the girl in the middle cries B, and signals to another, -who says I, the next to her N, the third G, the fourth "O! his name was -Bobby Bingo!" Whoever makes a mistake takes the place of the girl in the -middle. In the Liphook version, at the fourth line the children stand -still and repeat a letter each in turn as quickly as they can, clapping -their hands, and at the last line they turn right round, join hands, and -begin again. In the Tean version, the one in the centre points, standing -still, to some in the ring to say the letters B.I.N.G; the letter O has -to be sung; if not, the one who says it goes in the ring, and repeats it -all again until the game is given up. In the other Staffordshire -version, when they stop, the one in the middle points to five of the -others in turn, who have to say the letters forming "Bingo," while the -one to whom O comes has to sing it on the note on which the others left -off. Any one who says the wrong letter, or fails to sing the O right, -takes the place of the middle one. The Northants version follows the -Lancashire version, but if the answers are all made correctly, the last -line is sung by the circle, and the game begins again. In the -Metheringham version the child in the centre is blindfolded. When the -song is over the girls say, "Point with your finger as we go round." The -girl in the centre points accordingly, and whichever of the others -happens to be opposite to her when she says "Stop!" is caught. If the -blindfolded girl can identify her captive they exchange places, and the -game goes on as before. The Forest of Dean and the Earls Heaton versions -are played the same as the Lancashire. In the West Cornwall version, as -seen played in 1884, a ring is formed, into the middle of which goes a -child holding a stick; the others with joined hands run round in a -circle, singing the verses. When they have finished singing they cease -running, whilst the one in the centre, pointing with his stick, asks -them in turn to spell Bingo. If they all spell it correctly they again -move round singing; but should either of them make a mistake, he or she -has to take the place of the middle man (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58). In -the Hexham version they sing a second verse, which is the same as the -first with the name spelt _backwards_. The Berks version is practically -the same as the Tean version. The Eckington (Derbyshire) version is -played as follows:--A number of young women form a ring. A man stands -within the ring, and they sing the words. He then makes choice of a -girl, who takes his arm. They both walk round the circle while the -others sing the same lines again. The girl who has been chosen makes -choice of a young man in the ring, who in his turn chooses another girl, -and so on till they have all paired off. - -(_c_) The first verse of the Shropshire version is also sung at -Metheringham, near Lincoln (C. C. Bell), and Cowes, I. W. (Miss E. -Smith). The Staffordshire version of the words is sung in Forest of -Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews), West Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 58), Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H. Hardy), Hexham, -Northumberland (Miss Barker), Leicester (Miss Ellis). Miss Peacock -says, "A version is known in Lincolnshire." Tunes have also been sent -from Tean, North Staffs. (Miss Keary), and Epworth, Doncaster (Mr. C. C. -Bell), which are nearly identical with the Leicester tune; from Market -Drayton (Miss Burne), similar to the Derbyshire tune; from Monton, -Lancashire (Miss Dendy), which appears to be only the latter part of the -tune, and is similar to those given above. The tune given by Rimbault is -not the same as those collected above, though there is a certain -similarity. - -The editor of _Northamptonshire Notes and Queries_, vol. i. p. 214, -says, "Some readers will remember that Byngo is the name of the -'Franklyn's dogge' that Ingoldsby introduces into a few lines described -as a portion of a primitive ballad, which has escaped the researches of -Ritson and Ellis, but is yet replete with beauties of no common order." -In the _Nursery Songs_ collected by Ed. Rimbault from oral tradition is -"Little Bingo." The words of this are very similar to the Lancashire -version of the game sent by Miss Dendy. There is an additional verse in -the nursery song. - - -Bird-apprentice - -A row of boys or girls stands parallel with another row opposite. Each -of the first row chooses the name of some bird, and a member of the -other row then calls out all the names of birds he can think of. If the -middle member of the first row has chosen either of them, he calls out -"Yes," and all the guessers immediately run to take the place of the -first row, the members of which attempt to catch them. If any -succeed, they have the privilege of riding in on their captives' -backs.--Ogbourne, Wilts (H. S. May). - - -Birds, Beasts, and Fishes - - B × × × × × × × h = Bullfinch - - E × × × × × × t = Elephant - - S × × × × × × × h = Swordfish - -This is a slate game, and two or more children play. One writes the -initial and final letters of a bird's, beast's, or fish's name, making -crosses (×) instead of the intermediate letters of the word, stating -whether the name is that of bird, beast, or fish. The other players must -guess in turn what the name is. The first one who succeeds takes for -himself the same number of marks as there are crosses in the word, and -then writes the name of anything he chooses in the same manner. If the -players are unsuccessful in guessing the name, the writer takes the -number to his own score and writes another. The game is won when one -player gains a certain number of marks previously decided upon as -"game."--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - - -Bittle-battle - -The Sussex game of "Stoolball." There is a tradition that this game was -originally played by the milkmaids with their milking-stools, which they -used for bats; but this word makes it more probable that the stool was -the wicket, and that it was defended with the bittle, which would be -called the bittle-bat.--Parish's _Sussex Dialect_. - -See "Stoolball." - - -Bitty-base - -Bishop Kennet (in _MS. Lansd._ 1033) gives this name as a term for -"Prisoner's Base."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Black Man's Tig - -A long rope is tied to a gate or pole, and one of the players holds the -end of the rope, and tries to catch another player. When he succeeds in -doing so the one captured joins him (by holding hands) and helps to -catch the other players. The game is finished when all are caught.--Cork -(Miss Keane). - - -Black Thorn - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. - - I. Blackthorn! - Butter-milk and barley-corn; - How many geese have you to-day? - As many as you can catch and carry away. - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - II. Blackthorn! Blackthorn! - Blue milk and barley-corn; - How many geese have you to-day? - More than you can catch and carry away. - ---Harland and Wilkinson's _Lancashire Folk-lore_, p. 150. - - III. Blackthorn! - New milk and barley-corn; - How many sheep have you to sell? - More nor yo can catch and fly away wi'. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - IV. Blackthorn! - Butter-milk and barley-corn; - How many sheep have you to-day? - As many as you catch and carry away. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (Herbert Hardy). - -(_b_) One set of children stand against a wall, another set stand -opposite, facing them. The first set sing the first line, the others -replying with the second line, and so with the third and fourth lines. -The two sides then rush over to each other, and the second set are -caught. The child who is caught last becomes one of the first set for -another game. This is the Earls Heaton version. The Lancashire game, as -described by Miss Dendy, is: One child stands opposite a row of -children, and the row run over to the opposite side, when the one child -tries to catch them. The prisoners made, join the one child, and assist -her in the process of catching the others. The rhyme is repeated in each -case until all are caught, the last one out becoming "Blackthorn" for a -new game. Harland and Wilkinson describe the game somewhat differently. -Each player has a mark, and after the dialogue the players run over to -each other's marks, and if any can be caught before getting home to the -opposite mark, he has to carry his captor to the mark, when he takes his -place as an additional catcher. - -(_c_) Miss Burne's version (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 521) is -practically the same as the Earls Heaton game, and Easther in his -_Almondbury Glossary_ gives a version practically like the Sheffield. -Mr. Hardy says it is sometimes called "Black-butt," when the opposite -side cry "Away we cut." Miss Dendy quotes an old Lancashire rhyme, which -curiously refers to the different subjects in the Lancashire game rhyme. -It is as follows:-- - - Little boy, little boy, where were you born? - Way up in Lancashire, under a thorn, - Where they sup butter-milk in a ram's horn. - -Another version is given in _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, vii. 285. - -(_d_) This is a dramatic game, in which the children seem to personate -animals, and to depict events belonging to the history of the flock. -Miss Burne groups it under her "dramatic games." - - -Blind Bell - -A game formerly common in Berwickshire, in which all the players were -hoodwinked except the person who was called the Bell. He carried a bell, -which he rung, still endeavouring to keep out of the way of his -hoodwinked partners in the game. When he was taken, the person who -seized him was released from the bandage, and got possession of the -bell, the bandage being transferred to him who was laid hold -of.--Jamieson. - -(_b_) In "The Modern Playmate," edited by Rev. J. G. Wood, this game is -described under the name of "Jingling." Mr. Wood says there is a rougher -game played at country feasts and fairs in which a pig takes the place -of the boy with the bell, but he does not give the locality (p. 7). -Strutt also describes it (_Sports_, p. 317). - - -Blind Bucky-Davy - -In Somersetshire the game of "Blind Man's Buff." Also in Cornwall (see -Couch's _Polperro_, p. 173). Pulman says this means "Blind buck and have -ye" (Elworthy's _Dialect_). - - -Blind Harie - -A name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Jamieson. - - -Blind Hob - -The Suffolk name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_; -Moor's _Suffolk Glossary_. - - -Blind Man's Buff - - I. Come, shepherd, come, shepherd, and count your sheep. - I canna come now, for I'm fast asleep. - If you don't come now they'll all be gone. - What's in my way? - A bottle of hay. - Am I over it? - ---Shrewsbury (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525). - - II. How many fingers do I hold up? - Four, three, &c. [at random in reply]. - How many horses has your father? - Three [fixed reply]. - What colour? - White, red, and grey. - Turn you about three times; - Catch whom you may! - ---Deptford (Miss Chase). - - III. How many horses has your father got in his stables? - Three. - What colour are they? - Red, white, and grey. - Then turn about, and twist about, and catch whom you may. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57, 58). - - IV. Antony Blindman kens ta me - Sen I bought butter and cheese o' thee? - I ga' tha my pot, - I ga' tha my pan, - I ga' tha a' I hed but a rap ho'penny I gave a poor oald man. - ---Cumberland (Dickinson's _Glossary_). - -(_b_) In the Deptford version one of the players is blindfolded. The one -who blindfolds ascertains that the player cannot see by putting the -first question. When the players are satisfied that the blindfolding is -complete, the dialogue follows, and the blind man is turned round three -times. The game is for him to catch one of the players, who is -blindfolded in turn if the blind man succeeds in guessing who he is. -Players are allowed to pull, pinch, and buffet the blind man. - -[Illustration] - -(_c_) This sport is found among the illuminations of an old missal -formerly in the possession of John Ives, cited by Strutt in his _Manners -and Customs_. The two illustrations are facsimiles from drawings in one -of the Bodleian MSS., and they indicate the complete covering of the -head, and also the fact that the game was played by adults. Gay says -concerning it-- - - As once I play'd at _blindman's-buff_, it hap't, - _About my eyes the towel thick was wrapt._ - _I miss'd the swains, and seiz'd on Blouzelind._ - -And another reference is quoted by Brand (ii. 398)-- - - Sometyme the one would goe, sometyme the other, - Sometymes all thre at once, and sometyme neither; - Thus they with him play at boyes blynde-man-bluffe. - ---_The Newe Metamorphosis_, 1600, MS. - -Other names for this game are "Belly Mantie," "Billy Blind," -"Blind Bucky Davy," "Blind Harie," "Blind Hob," "Blind Nerry Mopsey," -"Blind Palmie," "Blind Sim," "Buck Hid," "Chacke Blynd Man," -"Hoodle-cum-blind," "Hoodman Blind," "Hooper's Hide," "Jockie Blind -Man." - -(_d_) There is some reason for believing that this game can be traced up -to very ancient rites connected with prehistoric worship. The name -"Billy Blind" denoted the person who was blindfolded in the game, as may -be seen by an old poem by Lyndsay, quoted by Jamieson: - - War I ane King - I sould richt sone mak reformatioun - Farlyeand thairof your grace sould richt sone finde - That Preistis sall leid yow lyke are bellye blinde. - -And also in Clerk's _Advice to Luvaris_: - - Sum festnit is and ma not flé, - Sum led is lyk the belly blynd - With luve, war bettir lat it be. - -[Illustration] - -"It is probable," says Jamieson, "that the term is the same as Billy -Blynde, said to be the name of a familiar spirit or good genius somewhat -similar to the brownie." Professor Child identifies it with Odin, the -blind deity. Another name in Scotland is also "Blind Harie," which is -not the common Christian name "Harry," because this was not a name -familiar in Scotland. Blind Harie may therefore, Jamieson thinks, arise -from the rough or hairy attire worn by the principal actor. Auld Harie -is one of the names given to the devil, and also to the spirit Brownie, -who is represented as a hairy being. Under "Coolin," a curious Highland -custom is described by Jamieson, which is singularly like the game of -"Belly Blind," and assists in the conclusion that the game has -descended from a rite where animal gods were represented. Sporting with -animals before sacrificing them was a general feature at these rites. It -is known that the Church opposed the people imitating beasts, and in -this connection it is curious to note that in South Germany the game is -called _blind bock_, i. e., "blind goat," and in German _blinde kuhe_, -or "blind cow." In Scotland, one of the names for the game, according to -A. Scott's poems, was "Blind Buk": - - Blind buk! but at the bound thou schutes, - And them forbeirs that the rebutes. - -It may therefore be conjectured that the person who was hoodwinked -assumed the appearance of a goat, stag, or cow by putting on the skin of -one of those animals. - -He who is twice crowned or touched on the head by the taker or him who -is hoodwinked, instead of once only, according to the law of the game, -is said to be _brunt_ (burned), and regains his liberty.--Jamieson. - - -Blind Man's Stan - -A boys' game, played with the eggs of small birds. The eggs are placed -on the ground, and the player who is blindfolded takes a certain number -of steps in the direction of the eggs; he then slaps the ground with a -stick thrice in the hope of breaking the eggs; then the next player, and -so on.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - - -Blind Nerry-Mopsey - -The Whitby name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Robinson's _Glossary_. - - -Blind Palmie or Pawmie - -One of the names given to the game of "Blindman's Buff."--Jamieson. - - -Blind Sim - -Suffolk name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Forby's _Vocabulary of East -Anglia_. - - -Block, Haimmer (Hammer), and Nail - -This is a boys' game, and requires seven players. One boy, the Block, -goes down on all fours; another, the Nail, does the same behind the -Block, with his head close to his _a posteriori_ part. A third boy, the -Hammer, lies down on his back behind the two. Of the remaining four boys -one stations himself at each leg and one at each arm of the Hammer, and -he is thus lifted. He is swung backwards and forwards three times in -this position by the four, who keep repeating "Once, twice, thrice." -When the word "Thrice" is repeated, the _a posteriori_ part of the -Hammer is knocked against the same part of the Nail. Any number of -knocks may be given, according to the humour of the players.--Keith -(Rev. W. Gregor). - -A fellow lies on all fours--this is the Block; one steadies him -before--this is the Study; a third is made a Hammer of, and swung by -boys against the Block (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_). -Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game, "Hammer, Block, -and Bible," which is probably the same game. - - -Blow-point - -Strutt considers this to have been a children's game, played by blowing -an arrow through a trunk at certain numbers by way of lottery (_Sports_, -p. 403). Nares says the game was blowing small pins or points against -each other, and probably not unlike "Push-pin." Marmion in his -_Antiquary_, 1641, says: "I have heard of a nobleman that has been drunk -with a tinker, and of a magnifico that has played at blow-point." In the -_Comedy of Lingua_, 1607, act iii., sc. 2, Anamnestes introduces Memory -as telling "how he played at blowe-point with Jupiter when he was in his -side-coats." References to this game are also made in _Apollo Shroving_, -1627, p. 49; and see Hawkins' _English Drama_, iii. 243. - -See "Dust-Point." - - -Bob Cherry - -A children's game, consisting in jumping at cherries above their heads -and trying to catch them with their mouths (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). -It is alluded to in Herrick's _Hesperides_ as "Chop Cherry." Major -Lowsley describes the game as taking the end of a cherry-stalk between -the teeth, and holding the head perfectly level, trying to get the -cherry into the mouth without using the hands or moving the head -(_Berkshire Glossary_). It is also mentioned in Peacock's _Manley and -Corringham Glossary_. Strutt gives a curious illustration of the game in -his _Sports and Pastimes_, which is here reproduced from the original -MS. in the British Museum. - -[Illustration] - -The Staffordshire St. Clement Day custom (Poole's _Staffordshire -Customs, &c._, p. 36) and the northern Hallowe'en custom (Brockett's -_North-Country Words_) probably indicate the origin of this game from an -ancient rite. - - -Boggle about the Stacks - -A favourite play among young people in the villages, in which one hunts -several others (Brockett's _North-Country Words_). The game is alluded -to in one of the songs given by Ritson (ii. 3), and Jamieson describes -it as a Scottish game. - -See "Barley-break." - - -Boggle-bush - -The child's play of finding the hidden person in the -company.--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. See "Hide and Seek." - - -Bonnety - -This is a boys' game. The players place their bonnets or caps in a pile. -They then join hands and stand in a circle round it. They then pull each -other, and twist and wriggle round and round and over it, till one -overturns it or knocks a bonnet off it. The player who does so is -hoisted on the back of another, and pelted by all the others with their -bonnets.--Keith, Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Booman - -[Music] - ---Norfolk. - - Dill doule for Booman, Booman is dead and gone, - Left his wife all alone, and all his children. - - Where shall we bury him? Carry him to London; - By his grandfather's grave grows a green onion. - - Dig his grave wide and deep, strow it with flowers; - Toll the bell, toll the bell, twenty-four hours. - ---Norfolk, 1825-30 (J. Doe). - -(_b_) One boy lies down and personates Booman. Other boys form a ring -round him, joining hands and alternately raising and lowering them, to -imitate bell-pulling, while the girls who play sit down and weep. The -boys sing the first verse. The girls seek for daisies or any wild -flowers, and join in the singing of the second verse, while the boys -raise the prostrate Booman and carry him about. When singing the third -verse the boys act digging a grave, and the dead boy is lowered. The -girls strew flowers over the body. When finished another boy becomes -Booman. - -(_c_) This game is clearly dramatic, to imitate a funeral. Mr. Doe -writes, "I have seen somewhere [in Norfolk] a tomb with a crest on it--a -leek--and the name Beaumont," but it does not seem necessary to thus -account for the game. - - -Boss-out - -A game at marbles. Strutt describes it as follows:--"One bowls a marble -to any distance that he pleases, which serves as a mark for his -antagonist to bowl at, whose business it is to hit the marble first -bowled, or lay his own near enough to it for him to span the space -between them and touch both the marbles. In either case he wins. If not, -his marble remains where it lay, and becomes a mark for the first -player, and so alternately until the game be won."--_Sports_, p. 384. - - -Boss and Span - -The same as "Boss-out." It is mentioned, but not described, in Baker's -_Northamptonshire Glossary_. - - -Boys and Girls - -[Music] - ---_The Dancing Master_, 1728, vol. ii., p. 138. - - Boys, boys, come out to play, - The moon doth shine as bright as day; - Come with a whoop, come with a call, - Come with a goodwill or don't come at all; - Lose your supper and lose your sleep, - So come to your playmates in the street. - ---_Useful Transactions in Philosophy_, p. 44. - -This rhyme is repeated when it is decided to begin any game, as a -general call to the players. The above writer says it occurs in a very -ancient MS., but does not give any reference to it. Halliwell quotes the -four first lines, the first line reading "Boys and girls," instead of -"Boys, boys," from a curious ballad written about the year 1720, -formerly in the possession of Mr. Crofton Croker (_Nursery Rhymes_). -Chambers also gives this rhyme (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 152). - - -Branks - -A game formerly common at fairs, called also "Hit my Legs and miss my -Pegs."--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - - -Bridgeboard - -[Illustration] - -A game at marbles. The boys have a board a foot long, four inches in -depth, and an inch (or so) thick, with squares as in the diagram; any -number of holes at the ground edge, numbered irregularly. The board is -placed firmly on the ground, and each player bowls at it. He wins the -number of marbles denoted by the figure above the opening through which -his marble passes. If he misses a hole, his marble is lost to the owner -of the Bridgeboard.--Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). [The owner or keeper -of the Bridgeboard presumably pays those boys who succeed in winning -marbles.] - -See "Nine Holes." - - -Broken-down Tradesmen - -A boys' game, undescribed.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - - -Brother Ebenezer - -Ebenezer is sent out of the room, and the remainder choose one of -themselves. Two children act in concert, it being understood that the -last person speaking when Ebenezer goes out of the room is the person to -be chosen. The medium left in the room causes the others to think of -this person without letting them know that they are not choosing of -their own free will. The medium then says, "Brother Ebenezer, come in," -and asks him in succession, "Was it William, or Jane," &c., mentioning -several names before saying the right one, Ebenezer saying "No!" to all -until the one is mentioned who last spoke.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. -Byford). - - -Bubble-hole - -A child's game, undescribed.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Bubble-justice - -The name of a game probably the same as "Nine Holes."--Halliwell's -_Dictionary_. - - -Buck, Buck - -A boy stoops so that his arms rest on a table; another boy sits on him -as he would on a horse. He then holds up (say) three fingers, and says-- - - Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up? - -The stooping boy guesses, and if he says a wrong number the other says-- - - [Two] you say and three there be; - Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up? - -When the stooping boy guesses rightly the other says-- - - [Four] you say and [four] there be; - Buck, buck, rise up. - -The boy then gets off and stoops for the other one to mount, and the -game is played again.--London (J. P. Emslie). - -Similar action accompanies the following rhyme:-- - - Inkum, jinkum, Jeremy buck, - Yamdy horns do au cock up? - Two thà sès, and three there is, - Au'll lea'n thee to la'ke at Inkum. - ---Almondbury (Easther's _Glossary_). - -A different action occurs in other places. It is played by three boys in -the following way:--One stands with his back to a wall; the second -stoops down with his head against the stomach of the first boy, "forming -a back;" the third jumps on it, and holds up his hand with the fingers -distended, saying-- - - Buck shee, buck shee buck, - How many fingers do I hold up? - -Should the stooper guess correctly, they all change places, and the -jumper forms the back. Another and not such a rough way of playing this -game is for the guesser to stand with his face towards a wall, keeping -his eyes shut.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 59). - -In Nairn, Scotland, the game is called Post and Rider. One boy, the -Post, takes his stand beside a wall. Another boy stoops down with his -head touching the Post's breast. Several other boys stoop down in the -same way behind the first boy, all in line. The Rider then leaps on the -back of the boy at the end of the row of stooping boys, and from his -back to that of the one in front, and so on from back to back till he -reaches the boy next the Post. He then holds up so many fingers, and -says-- - - Buck, buck, how many fingers do I hold up? - -The boy makes a guess. If the number guessed is wrong, the Rider gives -the number guessed as well as the correct number, and again holds up so -many, saying-- - - [Four] you say, but [two] it is; - Buck, buck, how many fingers do I hold up? - -This goes on till the correct number is guessed, when the guesser -becomes the Rider. The game was called "Buck, Buck" at Keith. Three -players only took part in the game--the Post, the Buck, and the Rider. -The words used by the Rider were-- - - Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up? - -If the guess was wrong, the Rider gave the Buck as many blows or kicks -with the heel as the difference between the correct number and the -number guessed. This process went on till the correct number was -guessed, when the Rider and the Buck changed places.--Rev. W. Gregor. - -(_b_) Dr. Tylor says: "It is interesting to notice the wide distribution -and long permanence of these trifles in history when we read the -following passage from Petronius Arbiter, written in the time of -Nero:--'Trimalchio, not to seem moved by the loss, kissed the boy, and -bade him get up on his back. Without delay the boy climbed on horseback -on him, and slapped him on the shoulders with his hand, laughing and -calling out, "Bucca, bucca, quot sunt hic?"'--_Petron. Arbitri Satiræ_, -by Buchler, p. 84 (other readings are _buccæ_ or _bucco_)."--_Primitive -Culture_, i. 67. - - -Buck i' t' Neucks - -A rude game amongst boys.--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - - -Buckerels - -"A kind of play used by boys in London streets in Henry VIII.'s time, -now disused, and I think forgot" (Blount's _Glossographia_, p. 95). Hall -mentions this game, temp. Henry VIII., f. 91. - - -Buckey-how - -For this the boys divide into sides. One "stops at home," the other goes -off to a certain distance agreed on beforehand and shouts "Buckey-how." -The boys "at home" then give chase, and when they succeed in catching an -adversary, they bring him home, and there he stays until all on his side -are caught, when they in turn become the chasers.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 60). - - -Buff - - 1st player, thumping the floor with a stick: "Knock, knock!" - 2nd ditto: "Who's there?" - 1st: "Buff." - 2nd: "What says Buff?" - 1st: "Buff says Buff to all his men, - And I say Buff to you again!" - 2nd: "Methinks Buff smiles?" - 1st: "Buff neither laughs nor smiles, - But looks in your face - With a comical grace, - And delivers the staff to you again" (handing it over). - ---Shropshire (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 526). - -Same verses as in Shropshire, except the last, which runs as follows:-- - - Buff neither laughs nor smiles, - But strokes his face - With a very good grace, - And delivers his staff to you. - ---Cheltenham (Miss E. Mendham). - -Same verses as in Shropshire, except the last, which runs as follows:-- - - Buff neither laughs nor smiles, - But strokes his face for want of grace, - And sticks his staff in the right place. - ---London (J. P. Emslie). - -(_b_) Five or six children stand in a row. Another child comes up to the -first of the row, and strikes smartly on the ground with a stick. The -child facing him asks the first question, and the one with the stick -answers. At "strokes his face" he suits the action to the words, and -then thumps with his stick on the ground at the beginning of the last -line. The object of all the players is to make Buff smile while going -through this absurdity, and if he does he must pay a forfeit. - -Another version is for one child to be blindfolded, and stand in the -middle of a ring of children, holding a long wand in his hand. The ring -dance round to a tune and sing a chorus [which is not given by the -writer]. They then stop. Buff extends his wand, and the person to whom -it happens to be pointed must step out of the circle to hold the end in -his hand. Buff then interrogates the holder of the wand by grunting -three times, and is answered in like manner. Buff then guesses who is -the holder of the wand. If he guesses rightly, the holder of the stick -becomes Buff, and he joins the ring (_Winter Evening's Amusements_, p. -6). When I played at this game the ring of children walked in silence -three times only round Buff, then stopped and knelt or stooped down on -the ground, strict silence being observed. Buff asked three questions -(anything he chose) of the child to whom he pointed the stick, who -replied by imitating cries of animals or birds (A. B. Gomme). - -(_c_) This is a well-known game. It is also called "Buffy Gruffy," or -"Indian Buff." The Dorsetshire version in _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 238, -239, is the same as the Shropshire version. Halliwell (_Nursery -Rhymes_, cclxxxii.) gives a slight variant. It is also given by Mr. Addy -in his _Sheffield Glossary_, the words being the same except the last -two lines, which run-- - - But shows his face with a comely grace, - And leaves his staff at the very next place. - - -Buk-hid - -This seems to be an old name for some game, probably "Blindman's Buff," -Sw. "Blind-bock," q. "bock" and "hufwud head" (having the head -resembling a goat). The sense, however, would agree better with -"Bo-peep" or "Hide and Seek."--Jamieson. - - -Bull in the Park - -One child places himself in the centre of a circle of others. He then -asks each of the circle in turn, "Where's the key of the park?" and is -answered by every one, except the last, "Ask the next-door neighbour." -The last one answers, "Get out the way you came in." The centre one then -makes a dash at the hands of some of the circle, and continues to do so -until he breaks through, when all the others chase him. Whoever catches -him is then Bull.--Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - -"The Bull in the Barn" is apparently the same game. The players form a -ring; one player in the middle called the Bull, one outside called the -King. - -Bull: "Where is the key of the barn-door?" - -Chorus: "Go to the next-door neighbour." - -King: "She left the key in the church-door." - -Bull: "Steel or iron?" - -He then forces his way out of the ring, and whoever catches him becomes -Bull.--Berrington (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 519, 520). - -Another version is that the child in the centre, whilst the others -danced around him in a circle, saying, "Pig in the middle and can't get -out," replies, "I've lost my key but I will get out," and throws the -whole weight of his body suddenly on the clasped hands of a couple, to -try and unlock them. When he had succeeded he changed the words to, -"I've broken your locks, and I have got out." One of the pair whose -hands he had opened took his place, and he joined the ring.--Cornwall -(_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 50). - -(_b_) Mr. S. O. Addy says the following lines are said or sung in a game -called "T' Bull's i' t' Barn," but he does not know how it is played:-- - - As I was going o'er misty moor - I spied three cats at a mill-door; - One was white and one was black, - And one was like my granny's cat. - I hopped o'er t' style and broke my heel, - I flew to Ireland very weel, - Spied an old woman sat by t' fire, - Sowing silk, jinking keys; - Cat's i' t' cream-pot up to t' knees, - Hen's i' t' hurdle crowing for day, - Cock's i' t' barn threshing corn, - I ne'er saw the like sin' I was born. - - -Bulliheisle - -A play amongst boys, in which, all having joined hands in a line, a boy -at one of the ends stands still, and the rest all wind round him. The -sport especially consists in an attempt to heeze or throw the whole mass -on the ground.--Jamieson. - -See "Eller Tree," "Wind up Jack," "Wind up the Bush Faggot." - - -Bummers - -A play of children. "Bummers--a thin piece of wood swung round by a -cord" (_Blackwood's Magazine_, Aug. 1821, p. 35). Jamieson says the word -is evidently denominated from the booming sound produced. - - -Bun-hole - -A hole is scooped out in the ground with the heel in the shape of a -small dish, and the game consists in throwing a marble as near to this -hole as possible. Sometimes, when several holes are made, the game is -called "Holy."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_; _Notes and Queries_, xii. -344. - - -Bunch of Ivy - -Played by children in pairs (one kneeling and one standing) in a ring. -The inner child of each pair kneels. The following dialogue begins with -the inner circle asking the first question, which is replied to by the -outer circle. - -"What time does the King come home?" - -"One o'clock in the afternoon." - -"What has he in his hand?" - -"A bunch of ivy." - -The rhyme is repeated for every hour up to six, the outer circle running -round the inner as many times as the number named. The children then -change places and repeat.--Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - -Bung the Bucket - -[Music] - ---London (J. P. Emslie). - -[Illustration] - -A number of boys divide themselves into two sides. One side, the -Buckets, stoop down, as for "Leap-frog," arranging themselves one in -front of the other. The hindmost supports himself against the one in -front of him, and the front one supports himself against a wall (fig.). -They thus make an even and solid row of their backs. The other side, the -Bungs, leap on to the backs of the Buckets, the first one going as far -up the row as possible, the second placing himself close behind the -first, and so on. If they all succeed in getting a secure place, they -cry out twice the two first lines-- - - Bung the Bucket, - One, two, three. - Off, off, off! - -If no breakdown occurs, the Buckets count one in their favour, and the -Bungs repeat the process. When a breakdown occurs the Bungs take the -place of the Buckets.--Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) Mr. Emslie, to whom I am indebted for the tune to this game, gives -me the words as-- - - Jump a little nag-tail, - One, two, three. - -He says, "I once heard this sung three times, followed by 'Ha! ha! he!' -to the tune of the last bar." Mr. W. R. Emslie says the game is known at -Beddgelert as "Horses, Wild Horses," he believes, but is not quite -certain. - -Northall (_Rhymes_, p. 401) describes a game very similar to this under -"Buck," in which the rhyme and method of play is the same as in that -game. He continues, "This is closely allied to a game called in -Warwickshire 'Jack upon the Mopstick.' But in this there is no guessing. -The leaping party must maintain their position whilst their leader -says-- - - Jack upon the mopstick, - One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, - Count 'em off again." - - -Bunting - -Name for "Tip-cat."--Cole's _S. W. Lincolnshire_ Glossary. - - -Burly Whush - -A game played at with a ball. The ball is thrown up by one of the -players on a house or wall, who cries on the instant it is thrown to -another to catch or kep it before it falls to the ground. They all run -off but this one to a little distance, and if he fails in kepping it he -bawls out "Burly Whush;" then the party are arrested in their flight, -and must run away no farther. He singles out one of them then, and -throws the ball at him, which often is directed so fair as to strike; -then this one at which the ball has been thrown is he who gives "Burly -Whush" with the ball to any he chooses. If the corner of a house be at -hand, as is mostly the case, and any of the players escape behind it, -they must still show one of their hands past its edge to the Burly Whush -man, who sometimes hits it such a whack with the ball as leaves it -dirling for an hour afterwards.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_. - -See "Ball," "Keppy Ball," "Monday." - - -Buttons - -Two or more boys take two buttons in their right hands, and try to throw -them both into a small hole in the ground about two yards off. The boy -who succeeds in getting both buttons in begins first next game, and -takes a button as prize. [This seems merely a mild form of -marbles.]--Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts). - -There were several games played with buttons--some on level ground, in a -ring or square; but the most approved was with a hole dug in the earth -near a wall, or near the trunk of a large tree. The hole should be about -the cavity of a small tea-cup, the players toeing a scratched line about -four or five feet from the hole, after tossing for first innings. Each -of the players (mostly two) contribute an equal number of buttons, say -from two to ten, and of equal value or quality. The one having first -turn takes the whole of them in his hand, and by an under-throw, or -rather a pitch, endeavours to get the whole, or as many as possible, -into the hole. If all go clean into the hole, he wins the game, and -takes the whole of the buttons started with; but if one or more of the -buttons are left outside the hole, the non-player has then the choice of -selecting one which he considers difficult to be hit, and requesting the -player to hit it with his _nicker_. This is made of solid lead, about -the size of a florin, but twice its substance, and each player is -provided with one of his own. Much judgment is required in making this -selection, the object being to make it most difficult not only to hit -it, but to prevent it being hit without being knocked into the hole, or -sending the nicker in, or sending another button in, or even not -striking one at all. In any one of these cases the player loses the -game, and the non-player takes the whole of the stakes. In playing the -next game, the previous non-player becomes the player.--London (C. A. T. -M.). - -The following was the value of the buttons:-- - -(1.) The plain metal 3 or 4-holed flat button, called a Sinkie, say, -value 1 point. - -(2.) The same kind of button, with letters or inscription on the rim, -valued at 2 points. - -(3.) The small metal shank button, called a Shankie, without any -inscription, valued at 3 points; if with inscription, at 4 points; the -large sizes and corresponding description were valued relatively 4 and 5 -points. - -(4.) The small Shankies, with a crest (livery waistcoat buttons), 6 -points, and the large corresponding, 7 points. - -(5.) The small Shankies, with coat of arms, value 8 points, and the -large corresponding, 9 points. - -(6.) Ornamental and various other buttons, such as regimental, official, -mounted and engraved in flowers, and other designs according to -arrangement, up to 20 points. - -See "Banger," "Cots and Twisses." - - -Buzz and Bandy - -A local name for "Hockey," which was formerly a very popular game among -the young men of Shrewsbury and Much Wenlock. Called simply "Bandy" at -Ludlow and Newport.--_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525. - - -Cache-pole - -The game of "Tennis."--Jamieson. - - -Caiche - -The game of "Handball." - - Thocht I preich nocht I can play at the caiche. - I wait thair is nocht ane among you all - Mair ferilie can play at the fute ball. - ---Lyndsay's _S. P. Repr_., ii. 243. - -This language Lyndsay puts into the mouth of a Popish parson. The game -seems to be that of ball played with the hand, as distinguished from -"Football."--Jamieson. - -See "Ball." - - -Call-the-Guse - -This game is supposed by Jamieson to be equivalent to "Drive the -Goose," and the game seems to be the same with one still played by young -people in some parts of Angus, in which one of the company, having -something that excites ridicule unknowingly pinned behind, is pursued by -all the rest, who still cry out, "Hunt the Goose!"--Jamieson. - - -Camp - -A game formerly much in use among schoolboys, and occasionally played by -men in those parts of Suffolk on the sea coast--more especially in the -line of Hollesley Bay between the Rivers Orwell and Alde, sometimes -school against school, or parish against parish. It was thus played: -Goals were pitched at the distance of 150 or 200 yards from each other; -these were generally formed of the thrown-off clothes of the -competitors. Each party has two goals, ten or fifteen yards apart. The -parties, ten or fifteen on a side, stand in line, facing their own goals -and each other, at about ten yards distance, midway between the goals, -and nearest that of their adversaries. An indifferent spectator, agreed -on by the parties, throws up a ball, of the size of a common -cricket-ball, midway between the confronted players, and makes his -escape. It is the object of the players to seize and convey the ball -between their own goals. The rush is therefore very great: as is -sometimes the shock of the first onset, to catch the falling ball. He -who first can catch or seize it speeds therefore home, pursued by his -opponents (thro' whom he has to make his way), aided by the jostlings -and various assistances of his own _sidesmen_. If caught and held, or in -imminent danger of being caught, he _throws_ the ball--but must in no -case give it--to a less beleaguered friend, who, if it be not arrested -in its course, or be jostled away by the eager and watchful adversaries, -catches it; and he hastens homeward, in like manner pursued, annoyed, -and aided, winning the notch (or snotch) if he contrive to _carry_, not -_throw_, it between his goals. But this in a well-matched game is no -easy achievement, and often requires much time, many doublings, detours, -and exertions. I should have noticed, that if the holder of the ball be -caught with the ball in his possession, he loses a _snotch_; if, -therefore, he be hard pressed, he _throws_ it to a convenient friend, -more free and in breath than himself. At the loss (or gain) of a -_snotch_, a recommence takes place, arranging which gives the parties -time to take breath. Seven or nine notches are the game--and these it -will sometimes take two or three hours to win. Sometimes a large -football was used--and the game was then called "Kicking Camp"--and if -played with the shoes on, "Savage Camp."--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - -(_b_) The sport and name are very old. The "Camping pightel" occurs in a -deed of the 30 Henry VI.--about 1486; Cullum's _Hawstead_, p. 113, where -Tusser is quoted in proof, that not only was the exercise manly and -salutary, but good also for the _pightel_ or meadow: - - In meadow or pasture (to grow the more fine) - Let campers be camping in any of thine; - Which if ye do suffer when low is the spring, - You gain to yourself a commodious thing. - ---P. 65. - -And he says, in p. 56: - - Get campers a ball, - To camp therewithall. - -Ray says that the game prevails in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. The Rev. -S. Arnot, in _Notes and Queries_, 8th series, vol. ii. p. 138, who was -rector of Ilket's Hall, in the county of Suffolk, says the ball was -about the size of a cricket-ball, and was driven through a narrow goal; -and from the evidence of the parish clerk it seems certain that it was -not "Football." See also Spurden's _East Anglian Words_, and _County -Folk-lore, Suffolk_, pp. 57-59. - -There are Upper Campfield and Lower Campfield at Norton Woodseats. They -are also called Camping fields. This field was probably the place where -football and other village games were played. These fields adjoin the -Bocking fields. In Gosling's Map of Sheffield, 1736, Campo Lane is -called _Camper Lane_. The same map shows the position of the old Latin -school, or grammar school, and the writing school. These schools were at -a very short distance from Campo Lane, and it seems probable that here -the game of football was played (Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_). "The -camping-land appropriated to this game occurs in several instances in -authorities of the fifteenth century" (Way's Note in _Prompt. Parv._, p. -60). In Brinsley's _Grammar Schoole_, cited by Mr. Furnivall in _Early -English Meals and Manners_, p. lxii., is this passage: "By this meanes -also the schollars may be kept euer in their places, and hard to their -labours, without that running out to the Campo (as they tearme it) at -school times, and the manifolde disorders thereof; as watching and -striuing for the clubbe and loytering then in the fields." - -See "Football." - - -Canlie - -A very common game in Aberdeen, played by a number of boys, one of whom -is by lot chosen to act the part of Canlie. A certain portion of a -street or ground, as it may happen, is marked off as his territory, into -which, if any of the other boys presume to enter, and be caught by -Canlie before he can get off the ground, he is doomed to take the place -of Canlie, who becomes free in consequence of the capture. The game is -prevalent throughout Scotland, though differently denominated: in -Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire it is called "Tig," and in Mearns -"Tick."--Jamieson. - -See "Tig." - - -Capie-Hole - -A hole is made in the ground, and a certain line drawn, called a Strand, -behind which the players must take their stations. The object is at this -distance to throw the bowl into the hole. He who does this most -frequently wins. It is now more generally called "The Hole," but the old -designation is not quite extinct. It is otherwise played in Angus. Three -holes are made at equal distances. He who can first strike his bowl into -each of these holes thrice in succession wins the game (Jamieson). It is -alluded to in _The Life of a Scotch Rogue_, 1722, p. 7. - -See "Bun-hole." - - -Carrick - -Old name for "Shinty" in Fife.--Jamieson. - - -Carry my Lady to London - - I. Give me a pin to stick in my thumb - To carry my lady to London. - Give me another to stick in my other - To carry her a little bit farther. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - II. London Bridge is broken, - And what shall I do for a token? - Give me a pin to stick in my thumb - And carry my lady to London. - ---_Notes and Queries_, 4th series, xii. 479. - - III. Give me a pin to stick in my chin (? cushion) - To carry a lady to London; - London Bridge is broken down - And I must let my lady down. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 353. - -(_b_) In this game two children cross hands, grasping each other's -wrists and their own as well: they thus form a seat on which a child can -sit and be carried about. At the same time they sing the verse. - - -Carrying the Queen a Letter - -The King and Queen have a throne formed by placing two chairs a little -apart, with a shawl spread from chair to chair. A messenger is sent into -the room with a letter to the Queen, who reads it, and joins the King in -a courteous entreaty that the bearer of the missive will place himself -between them. When he has seated himself on the shawl, up jumps the King -and Queen, and down goes the messenger on the floor.--Bottesford and -Anderly (Lincolnshire), and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock). - -(_b_) This is virtually the same game as "Ambassador," described by -Grose as played by sailors on some inexperienced fellow or landsman. -Between the two chairs is placed a pail of water, into which the victim -falls. - - -Cashhornie - -A game played with clubs by two opposite parties of boys, the aim of -each party being to drive a ball into a hole belonging to their -antagonists, while the latter strain every nerve to prevent -this.--Jamieson. - - -Castles - -A game at marbles. Each boy makes a small pyramid of three as a base, -and one on the top. The players aim at these from a distant stroke with -balsers, winning such of the castles as they may in turn knock down -(Lowsley's _Glossary of Berkshire Words_). In London, the marble alluded -to as "balser" was called "bonsor" or "bouncer" (J. P. Emslie). - -See "Cockly Jock," "Cogs." - - -Cat and Dog - -An ancient game played in Angus and Lothian. Three play, and they are -provided with clubs. These clubs are called "dogs." The players cut out -two holes, each about a foot in diameter, and seven inches in depth. The -distance between them is about twenty-six feet. One stands at each hole -with a club. A piece of wood about four inches long and one inch in -diameter, called a Cat, is thrown from the one hole towards the other by -a third person. The object is to prevent the Cat from getting into the -hole. Every time that it enters the hole, he who has the club at that -hole loses the club, and he who threw the Cat gets possession both of -the club and of the hole, while the former possessor is obliged to take -charge of the Cat. If the Cat be struck, he who strikes it changes -places with the person who holds the other club; and as often as these -positions are changed one is counted in the game by the two who hold the -clubs, and who are viewed as partners.--Jamieson. - -(_b_) This is not unlike the "Stool-Ball" described by Strutt (_Sports -and Pastimes_, p. 76), but it more nearly resembles "Club-Ball," an -ancient English game (ibid., p. 83). The game of "Cat," played with -sticks and a small piece of wood, rising in the middle, so as to rebound -when struck on either side, is alluded to in _Poor Robin's Almanack_ for -1709, and by Brand. Leigh (_Cheshire Glossary_) gives "Scute" as another -name for the game of "Cat," probably from _scute_ (O.W.), for boat, -which it resembles in shape. - -See "Cudgel," "Kit-cat," "Tip-cat." - - -Cat-Beds - -The name of a game played by young people in Perthshire. In this game, -one, unobserved by all the rest, cuts with a knife the turf in very -unequal angles. These are all covered, and each player puts his hand on -what he supposes to be the smallest, as every one has to cut off the -whole surface of his division. The rate of cutting is regulated by a -throw of the knife, and the person who throws is obliged to cut as deep -as the knife goes. He who is last in getting his bed cut up is bound to -carry the whole of the clods, crawling on his hands and feet, to a -certain distance measured by the one next to him, who throws the knife -through his legs. If the bearer of the clods let any of them fall, the -rest have a right to pelt him with them. They frequently lay them very -loosely on, that they may have the pleasure of pelting.--Jamieson. - - -Cat's Cradle - -One child holds a piece of string joined at the ends on his upheld -palms, a single turn being taken over each, and by inserting the middle -finger of each hand under the opposite turn, crosses the string from -finger to finger in a peculiar form. Another child then takes off the -string on his fingers in a rather different way, and it then assumes a -second form. A repetition of this man[oe]uvre produces a third form, -and so on. Each of these forms has a particular name, from a fancied -resemblance to the object--barn-doors, bowling-green, hour-glass, pound, -net, fiddle, fish-pond, diamonds, and others.--_Notes and Queries_, vol. -xi. p. 421. - -The following forms are those known to me, with their names. They are -produced seriatim. - - 1. The cradle. - 2. The soldier's bed. - 3. Candles. - 4. The cradle inversed, or manger. - 5. Soldier's bed again, or diamonds. - 6. Diamonds, or cat's eyes. - 7. Fish in dish. - 8. Cradle as at first. - -The different orders or arrangements must be taken from the hands of one -player by another without disturbing the arrangement.--A. B. Gomme. - -(_b_) Nares suggests that the proper name is "Cratch Cradle," and is -derived from the archaic word _cratch_, meaning a manger. He gives -several authorities for its use. The first-made form is not unlike a -manger. Moor (_Suffolk Words_) gives the names as cat's cradle, -barn-doors, bowling-green, hour-glass, pound, net, diamonds, fish-pond, -fiddle. A supposed resemblance originated them. Britton (_Beauties of -Wiltshire_, Glossary) says the game in London schools is called -"Scratch-scratch" or "Scratch-cradle." - -[Illustration: Cat's Cradle "Taking off" Soldier's Bed - -"Taking off" Candles "Taking off" - -Cat's Cradle (upside down) Cat's Eyes Fish.] - -The game is known to savage peoples. Professor Haddon noted it among the -Torres Straits people, who start the game in the same manner as we do, -but continue it differently (_Journ. Anthrop. Inst._, vol. xix. p. 361); -and Dr. Tylor has pointed out the significance of these string puzzles -among savage peoples in _Journ. Anthrop. Inst._, ix. 26. - - -Cat-gallows - -A child's game, consisting of jumping over a stick placed at right -angles to two others fixed in the ground.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -(_b_) In Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ this is called -"Cat-gallas," and is described as three sticks placed in the form of a -gallows for boys to jump over. So called in consequence of being of -sufficient height to hang cats from. Also mentioned in Peacock's _Manley -and Corringham Glossary_ and Elworthy's _West Somerset Words_, Brogden's -_Provincial Words, Lincs._, Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_, -Atkinson's _Cleveland Glossary_, Brockett's _North Country Words_, -Evans' _Leicestershire Glossary_, Baker's _Northants Glossary_, and -Darlington's _South Cheshire Glossary_. On one of the stalls in -Worcester Cathedral, figured in Wright's _Archæological Essays_, ii. -117, is a carving which represents three rats busily engaged in hanging -a cat on a gallows of this kind. - - -Cat i' the Hole - -A game well known in Fife, and perhaps in other counties. If seven boys -are to play, six holes are made at certain distances. Each of the six -stands at a hole, with a short stick in his hand; the seventh stands at -a certain distance holding a ball. When he gives the word, or makes the -sign agreed upon, all the six change holes, each running to his -neighbour's hole, and putting his stick in the hole which he has newly -seized. In making this change, the boy who has the ball tries to put it -into an empty hole. If he succeeds in this, the boy who had not his -stick (for the stick is the Cat) in the hole to which he had run is put -out, and must take the ball. There is often a very keen contest whether -the one shall get his stick, or the other the ball, or Cat, first put -into the hole. When the Cat _is in the hole_, it is against the laws of -the game to put the ball into it.--Jamieson. - -(_b_) Kelly, in his _Scottish Proverbs_, p. 325, says, "'Tine cat, tine -game;' an allusion to a play called 'Cat i' the Hole,' and the English -'Kit-cat.' Spoken when men at law have lost their principal evidence." - -See "Cat and Dog," "Cudgel," "Kit-cat." - - -Cat after Mouse - -This game, sometimes called "Threading the Needle," is played by -children forming a ring, with their arms extended and hands clasped; -one--the Mouse--goes outside the circle and gently pulls the dress of -one of the players, who thereupon becomes the Cat, and is bound to -follow wherever the Mouse chooses to go--either in or out of the -ring--until caught, when he or she takes the place formerly occupied in -the ring by the Cat, who in turn becomes Mouse, and the game is -recommenced.--Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 214). - -(_b_) Played at Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy); Clapham Middle-Class -School (Miss Richardson); and many other places. It is practically the -same game as "Drop Handkerchief," played without words. It is described -by Strutt, p. 381, who considers "Kiss-in-the-Ring" is derived from this -"Cat and Mouse." - - -Catchers - -One bicken is required in this game, and at this a lad must stand with a -bat and ball in hand. He hits the ball away along the sand. Another boy -picks it up and asks the striker "How many?" who replies-- - - Two a good scat, - Try for the bat. - -The ball is then thrown to the bicken, and if it does not come within -the distance named--two bats--the striker again sends the ball away, -when the question is again asked-- - - Three a good scat, - Try for the bat. - -And so on until the boy standing out throws the ball in to the required -distance.--Old newspaper cutting without date in my possession (A. B. -Gomme). - - -Chacke-Blyndman - -Scotch name for "Blindman's Buff."--Jamieson. - - -Chance Bone - -In Langley's abridgment of _Polydore Vergile_, f. 1., we have a -description of this game: "There is a game also that is played with the -posterne bone in the hinder foote of a sheepe, oxe, gote, fallow, or -redde dere, whiche in Latin is called _talus_. It hath foure chaunces: -the ace point, that is named Canis, or Canicula, was one of the sides; -he that cast it leyed doune a peny, or so muche as the gamers were -agreed on; the other side was called Venus, that signifieth seven. He -that cast the chaunce wan sixe and all that was layd doune for the -castyng of Canis. The two other sides were called Chius and Senio. He -that did throwe Chius wan three. And he that cast Senio gained four. -This game (as I take it) _is used of children in Northfolke_, and they -cal it the Chaunce Bone; they playe with three or foure of those bones -together; it is either the same or very lyke to it." - -See "Dibs," "Hucklebones." - - -Change Seats, the King's Come - -In this game as many seats are placed round a room as will serve all the -company save one. The want of a seat falls on an individual by a kind of -lot, regulated, as in many other games, by the repetition of an old -rhythm. All the rest being seated, he who has no seat stands in the -middle, repeating the words "Change seats, change seats," &c., while all -the rest are on the alert to observe when he adds, "the king's come," -or, as it is sometimes expressed, change their seats. The sport lies in -the bustle in consequence of every one's endeavouring to avoid the -misfortune of being the unhappy individual who is left without a seat. -The principal actor often slily says, "The king's _not_ come," when, of -course the company ought to keep their seats; but from their anxious -expectation of the usual summons, they generally start up, which affords -a great deal of merriment.--Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 409. - -(_b_) Dr. Jamieson says this is a game well-known in Lothian and in the -South of Scotland. Sir Walter Scott, in _Rob Roy_, iii. 153, says, "Here -auld ordering and counter-ordering--but patience! patience!--We may ae -day play at _Change seats, the king's coming_." - -This game is supposed to ridicule the political scramble for places on -occasion of a change of government, or in the succession. - -See "Musical Chairs," "Turn the Trencher." - - -Checkstone - -Easther's _Almondbury Glossary_ thus describes this game. A set of -checks consists of five cubes, each about half an inch at the edge, and -a ball the size of a moderate bagatelle ball: all made of pot. They are -called checkstones, and the game is played thus. You throw down the -cubes all at once, then toss the ball, and during its being in the air -gather up one stone in your right hand and catch the descending ball in -the same. Put down the stone and repeat the operation, gathering two -stones, then three, then four, till at last you have "summed up" all the -five at once, and have succeeded in catching the ball. In case of -failure you have to begin all over again. - -(_b_) In Nashe's _Lenten Stuff_ (1599) occurs the following: "Yet -towards cock-crowing she caught a little slumber, and then she dreamed -that Leander and she were playing at checkstone with pearls in the -bottom of the sea." - -A game played by children with round small pebbles (Halliwell's -_Dictionary_). It is also mentioned in the early play of _Apollo -Shroving_, 1627, p. 49. - -See "Chucks," "Fivestones." - - -Cherry Odds - -A game of "Pitch and Toss" played with cherry-stones (Elworthy's _West -Somerset Words_). Boys always speak of the stones as "ods." - - -Cherry-pit - -"Cherry-pit" is a play wherein they pitch cherry-stones into a little -hole. It is noticed in the _Pleasant Grove of New Fancies_, 1657, and in -Herrick's _Hesperides_. Nares (_Glossary_) mentions it as still -practised with leaden counters called Dumps, or with money. - - -Chicamy - - Chicamy, chickamy, chimey O, - Down to the pond to wash their feet; - Bring them back to have some meat, - Chickamy, chickamy, chimey O. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss Chase). - -The children sing the first line as they go round and round. At the -second line they move down the road a little, and turn round and round -as they end the rhyme. - - -Chickidy Hand - - Chickidy hand, - Chickidy hand, - The Warner, my Cock, - Crows at four in the morning. - -Several boys, placing their clasped fists against a lamp-post, say these -lines, after which they run out, hands still clasped. One in the middle -tries to catch as many as possible, forming them in a long string, hand -in hand, as they are caught. Those still free try to break through the -line and rescue the prisoners. If they succeed in parting the line, they -may carry one boy pig-a-back to the lamp-post, who becomes "safe." The -boy caught last but one becomes "it" in the next game.--Deptford, Kent -(Miss Chase). - -See "Hunt the Staigie," "Stag Warning," "Whiddy." - - -Chinnup - -A game played with hooked sticks and a ball, also called "Shinnup." Same -as "Hockey." - - -Chinny-mumps - -A school-boys' play, consisting in striking the chin with the knuckles; -dexterously performed, a kind of time is produced.--Addy's _Sheffield -Glossary_. - - -Chock or Chock-hole - -A game at marbles played by "chocking" or pitching marbles in a hole -made for the purpose, instead of shooting at a ring (Northamptonshire, -Baker's _Glossary_). Clare mentions the game in one of his poems. - - -Chow - -A game played in Moray and Banffshire. The ball is called the Chow. The -game is the same as "Shinty." The players are equally divided. After the -Chow is struck off by one party, the aim of the other is to strike it -back, that it may not reach the limit or goal on their side, because in -this case they lose the game, and as soon as it crosses the line the -other party cry Hail! or say that it is hail, as denoting that they have -gained the victory. In the beginning of each game they are allowed to -raise the ball a little above the level of the ground, that they may -have the advantage of a surer stroke. This is called the "deil-chap," -perhaps as a contraction of "devil," in reference to the force expended -on the stroke. It may, however, be "dule-chap," the blow given at the -"dule" or goal.--Jamieson. - -See "Hockey." - - -Chuck-farthing - -Strutt says this game was played by boys at the commencement of the last -century, and probably bore some analogy to "Pitch and Hustle." He saw -the game thus denominated played with halfpence, every one of the -competitors having a like number, either two or four; a hole being made -in the ground, with a mark at a given distance for the players to stand, -they pitch their halfpence singly in succession towards the hole, and he -whose halfpenny lies the nearest to it has the privilege of coming first -to a second mark much nearer than the former, and all the halfpence are -given to him; these he pitches in a mass toward the hole, and as many of -them as remain therein are his due; if any fall short or jump out of it, -the second player--that is, he whose halfpenny in pitching lay nearest -to the first goer's--takes them and performs in like manner; he is -followed by the others as long as any of the halfpence remain (_Sports_, -pp. 386, 387). There is a letter in the _Spectator_, supposed to be from -the father of a romp, who, among other complaints of her conduct, says, -"I have catched her once at eleven years old at 'Chuck-farthing' among -the boys." - - -Chuck-hole, Chuck-penny - -Same game as "Chuck-farthing," with this difference, that if the pennies -roll outside the ring it is a "dead heat," and each boy reclaims his -penny.--Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_; and see Brogden's -_Lincolnshire Words_. - - -Chucks - -A game with marbles played by girls (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_). A writer in _Blackwood's Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, -says "Chucks" is played with a bowl and chucks--a species of shells -(_Buccinum lapillus_) found on the sea-shore ["bowl" here probably means -a marble]. Brockett (_North Country Words_) says this game is played by -girls with five sea-shells called chucks, and sometimes with pebbles, -called chuckie-stanes. Jamieson says a number of pebbles are spread on a -flat stone; one of them is tossed up, and a certain number must be -gathered and the falling one caught by the same hand. - -See "Checkstones," "Fivestones." - - -Church and Mice - -A game played in Fifeshire; said to be the same with the "Sow in the -Kirk."--Jamieson. - - -Click - -Two Homes opposite each other are selected, and a boy either volunteers -to go Click, or the last one in a race between the Homes does so. The -others then proceed to one of the Homes, and the boy takes up his -position between them. The players then attempt to run between the -Homes, and if the one in the middle holds any of them while he says -"One, two, three, I catch thee; help me catch another," they have to -stay and help him to collar the rest until only one is left. If this one -succeeds in getting between the Homes three times after all the others -have been caught, he is allowed to choose the one to go Click in the -next game; if he fails, he has to go himself.--Marlborough, Wilts (H. S. -May). - -See "Cock." - - -Click, Clock, Cluck - - A man called Click came west from Ireland, - A man called Click came west from Ireland, - A man called Click came west from Ireland, - Courting my Aunt Judy. - - A man called Clock came west from Ireland, - A man called Clock came west from Ireland, - A man called Clock came west from Ireland, - Courting my Aunt Judy. - - A man called Cluck came west from Ireland, - A man called Cluck came west from Ireland, - A man called Cluck came west from Ireland, - Courting my Aunt Judy. - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore). - -These verses and the game are now quite forgotten, both in English and -Manx. It was sung by children dancing round in a ring. - - -Clowt-clowt - -"A kinde of playe called clowt-clowt, to beare about, or my hen hath -layd."--_Nomenclator_, p. 299. - - -Clubby - -A youthful game something like "Doddart."--Brockett's _North Country -Words_. - - -Coal under Candlestick - -A Christmas game mentioned in _Declaration of Popish Impostures_, p. -160. - - -Cob - -A game at marbles played by two or three boys bowling a boss marble into -holes made in the ground for the purpose, the number of which is -generally four.--Baker's _Northamptonshire Glossary_. - - -Cobbin-match - -A school game in which two boys are held by the legs and arms and bumped -against a tree, he who holds out the longest being the victor.--Ross and -Stead's _Holderness Glossary_. - - -Cobble - -A name for "See-saw."--Jamieson. - - -Cobbler's Hornpipe - -This was danced by a boy stooping till he was nearly in a sitting -posture on the ground, drawing one leg under him until its toe rested on -the ground, and steadying himself by thrusting forward the other leg so -that the heel rested on the ground; the arms and head being thrown -forwards as far as possible in order to maintain a balance. The -thrust-out leg was drawn back and the drawn-in leg was shot out at the -same time. This movement was repeated, each bringing down to the ground -of the toe and heel causing a noise like that of hammering on a -lapstone. The arms were moved backwards and forwards at the same time to -imitate the cobbler's sewing.--London (J. P. Emslie). - -[Illustration] - - -Cob-nut - -The children in Yorkshire have a game which is probably an ancient -English pastime. Numerous hazel-nuts are strung like the beads of a -rosary. The game is played by two persons, each of whom has one of these -strings, and consists in each party striking alternately, with one of -the nuts on his own string, a nut of his adversary's. The field of -combat is usually the crown of a hat. The object of each party is to -crush the nuts of his opponent. A nut which has broken many of those of -the adversary is a Cob-nut.--Brand, ii. 411; Hunter's _Hallamshire -Glossary_. - -(_b_) This game is played in London with chestnuts, and is called -"Conquers." In Cornwall it is known as "Cock-haw." The boys give the -name of Victor-nut to the fruit of the common hazel, and play it to the -words: "Cockhaw! First blaw! Up hat! Down cap! Victor!" The nut that -cracks another is called a Cock-battler (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 61). -Halliwell describes this game differently. He says "it consists in -pitching at a row of nuts piled up in heaps of four, three at the bottom -and one at the top of each heap. The nut used for the pitching is called -the Cob. All the nuts knocked down are the property of the pitcher." -Alluding to the first described form, he says it "is probably a more -modern game," and quotes Cotgrave _sub voce_ "Chastelet" as authority -for the earlier form in the way he describes it (_Dictionary_). Addy -says the nuts were hardened for the purpose. When a nut was broken it -was said to be "cobbered" or "cobbled" (_Sheffield Glossary_). Evans' -_Leicestershire Glossary_ also describes it. Darlington (_South Cheshire -Words_) says this game only differs from "Cobblety-cuts" in the use of -small nuts instead of chestnuts. George Eliot in _Adam Bede_ has, -"Gathering the large unripe nuts to play at 'Cob-nut' with" (p. 30). -Britton's _Beauties of Wiltshire_ gives the Isle of Wight and Hants as -other places where the game is known. - -See "Conquerors." - - -Cock - -One boy is chosen Cock. The players arrange themselves in a line along -one side of the playground. The Cock takes his stand in front of the -players. When everything is ready, a rush across the playground is made -by the players. The Cock tries to catch and "croon"--_i.e._, put his -hand upon the head of--as many of the players as he can when running -from one side of the playground to the other. Those caught help the Cock -in the rush back. The rush from side to side goes on till all are -captured. To "croon" was the essential point in capturing. When a boy -was being pursued to be taken prisoner, his great object was, when he -came to close quarters with his pursuers, to save his head from being -touched on the crown by one of them.--Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor). - -At Duthil, Strathspey, this game goes by the name of "Rexa-boxa-King." -When the players have ranged themselves on one side of the playground, -and the King has taken his stand in front of them, he calls out -"Rexa-boxa-King," or simply "Rexa," when all the players rush to the -other side. The rush from side to side goes on till all are captured. -The one last captured becomes King in the next game.--Rev. W. Gregor. - -See "Click." - - -Cock-battler - -Children, under the title of "Cock-battler," often in country walks play -with the hoary plantain, which they hold by the tough stem about two -inches from the head; each in turn tries to knock off the head of his -opponent's flower.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 61). - -In the North, and in Suffolk, it is called "Cocks," "a puerile game with -the tough tufted stems of the ribwort plantain" (Brockett's _North -Country Words_). Moor (_Suffolk Words_) alludes to the game, and -Holloway (_Dictionary of Provincialisms_) says in West Sussex boys play -with the heads of rib grass a similar game. Whichever loses the head -first is conquered. It is called "Fighting-cocks." - - -Cock-fight - -This is a boys' game. Two boys fold their arms, and then, hopping on one -leg, butt each other with their shoulders till one lets down his leg. -Any number of couples can join in this game.--Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Cock-haw - -See "Cob-nut." - - -Cock-stride - -One boy is chosen as Cock. He is blindfolded, and stands alone, with his -legs as far apart as possible. The other boys then throw their caps as -far as they are able between the extended legs of the Cock (fig. 1). -After the boys have thrown their caps, and each boy has taken his stand -beside his cap, the Cock, still blindfolded, stoops down and crawls in -search of the caps (fig. 2). The boy whose cap he first finds has to -run about twenty yards under the buffeting of the other boys, the blows -being directed chiefly to the head. He becomes Cock at the next turn of -the game.--Rosehearty, Pitsligo (Rev. W. Gregor). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - - -Cockertie-hooie - -This game consists simply of one boy mounting on the neck of another, -putting a leg over each shoulder and down his breast. The boy that -carries takes firm hold of the legs of the one on his neck, and sets off -at a trot, and runs hither and thither till he becomes tired of his -burden. The bigger the one is who carries, the more is in the enjoyment -to the one carried.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -See "Cock's-headling." - - -Cockle-bread - -Young wenches have a wanton sport, which they call moulding of -Cocklebread; viz. they gett upon a Table-board, and then gather-up their -knees and their coates with their hands as high as they can, and then -they wabble to and fro with their Buttocks as if the[y] were kneading of -Dowgh, and say these words, viz.:-- - - My Dame is sick and gonne to bed, - And I'le go mowld my cockle-bread. - -In Oxfordshire the maids, when they have put themselves into the fit -posture, say thus:-- - - My granny is sick, and now is dead, - And wee'l goe mould some cockle-bread. - Up with my heels, and down with my head, - And this is the way to mould cocklebread. - ---Aubrey's _Remains_, pp. 43, 44. - -To make "Barley bread" (in other districts, "Cockley bread") this rhyme -is used in West Cornwall:-- - - Mother has called, mother has said, - Make haste home, and make barley bread. - Up with your heels, down with your head, - That is the way to make barley bread. - ---_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58. - -The Westmoreland version is given by Ellis in his edition of Brand as -follows:-- - - My grandy's seeke, - And like to dee, - And I'll make her - Some cockelty bread, cockelty bread, - And I'll make her - Some cockelty bread. - -The term "Cockelty" is still heard among our children at play. One of -them squats on its haunches with the hands joined beneath the thighs, -and being lifted by a couple of others who have hold by the bowed arms, -it is swung backwards and forwards and bumped on the ground or against -the wall, while continuing the words, "This is the way we make cockelty -bread."--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_, p. 40. - -The moulding of "Cocklety-bread" is a sport amongst hoydenish girls not -quite extinct. It consists in sitting on the ground, raising the knees -and clasping them with the hand, and then using an undulatory motion, as -if they were kneading dough. - - My granny is sick and now is dead, - And we'll go mould some cocklety bread; - Up with the heels and down with the head, - And that is the way to make cocklety bread. - ---Hunter's MSS.; Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -(_b_) The _Times_ of 1847 contains a curious notice of this game. A -witness, whose conduct was impugned as light and unbecoming, is desired -to inform the court, in which an action for breach of promise was tried, -the meaning of "mounting cockeldy-bread;" and she explains it as "a play -among children," in which one lies down on the floor on her back, -rolling backwards and forwards, and repeating the following lines:-- - - Cockeldy bread, mistley cake, - When you do that for our sake. - -While one of the party so laid down, the rest sat around; and they laid -down and rolled in this manner by turns. - -These lines are still retained in the modern nursery-rhyme books, but -their connection with the game of "Cockeldy-bread" is by no means -generally understood. There was formerly some kind of bread called -"cockle-bread," and _cocille-mele_ is mentioned in a very early MS. -quoted in Halliwell's _Dictionary_. In Peele's play of the _Old Wives' -Tale_, a voice thus speaks from the bottom of a well:-- - - Gently dip, but not too deep, - For fear you make the golden beard to weep. - Fair maiden, white and red, - Stroke me smooth and comb my head, - And thou shalt have some _cockell-bread_. - - -Cockly-jock - -A game among boys. Stones are loosely placed one upon another, at which -other stones are thrown to knock the pile down.--Dickinson's _Cumberland -Glossary_. - -See "Castles." - - -Cock's-headling - -A game where boys mount over each other's heads.--Halliwell's -_Dictionary_. - -See "Cockertie-hooie." - - -Cock-steddling - -A boyish game mentioned but not described by Cope in his _Hampshire -Glossary_. He gives as authority _Portsmouth Telegraph_, 27th September -1873. - - -Codlings - -A game among youngsters similar to "Cricket," a short piece of wood -being struck up by a long stick instead of a ball by a bat. Also called -"Tip and Go" or "Tip and Slash."--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. - -See "Cudgel." - - -Cogger - -A striped snail shell. It is a common boyish pastime to hold one of -these shells between the last joints of the bent fingers, and forcibly -press the apex against another held in a similar manner by an opponent, -until one of them, by dint of persevering pressure, forces its way into -the other; and the one which in these contests has gained the most -victories is termed the Conqueror, and is highly valued -(Northamptonshire, Baker's _Glossary_). The game is known as "Fighting -Cocks" in Evans' _Leicestershire Glossary_. In London it was played with -walnut shells. - - -Cogs - -The top stone of a pile is pelted by a stone flung from a given -distance, and the more hits, or "cogglings off," the greater the -player's score.--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. - -Apparently the same game as "Cockly-jock." - - -Common - -A game played with a ball and crooked stick (cut from a tree or hedge), -with a crook at the end (same game as "Hurl").--Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - -Mr. Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions this as "Hockey;" -the same as "Shinney." "Called in some districts," he adds, "'Comun' and -'Kamman,' from the Irish name for the game." - - -Conkers - -The same game as "Cogger." The game is more generally called "playin at -sneel-shells."--Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_. - - -Conquerors or Conkers - - I. Cobbly co! - My first blow! - Put down your black hat, - And let me have first smack! - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 531. - - II. Obli, obli O, my first go; - And when the nut is struck, - Obli, obli onker, my nut will conquer. - ---_Notes and Queries_, 5th series, x. 378. - - III. Cobblety cuts, - Put down your nuts. - ---Darlington's _Folk-speech of South Cheshire_. - - IV. Obbly, obbly onkers, my first conquers; - Obbly, obbly O, my first go. - ---Lawson's _Upton-on-Severn Words and Phrases_. - - V. Hobley, hobley, honcor, my first conkor; - Hobbley, hobbley ho, my first go; - Hobley, hobley ack, my first crack. - ---Chamberlain's _West Worcestershire Glossary_. - -(_b_) This game is played with horse chestnuts threaded on a string. Two -boys sit face to face astride of a form or a log of timber. If a piece -of turf can be procured so much the better. One boy lays his chestnut -upon the turf, and the other strikes at it with his chestnut; and they -go on striking alternately till one chestnut splits the other. The -chestnut which remains unhurt is then "conqueror of one." A new chestnut -is substituted for the broken one, and the game goes on. Whichever -chestnut now proves victorious becomes "conqueror of two," and so on, -the victorious chestnut adding to its score all the previous winnings. -The chestnuts are often artificially hardened by placing them up the -chimney or carrying them in a warm pocket; and a chestnut which has -become conqueror of a considerable number acquires a value in -schoolboys' eyes; and I have frequently known them to be sold, or -exchanged for other toys (Holland's _Cheshire Glossary_). The game is -more usually played by one boy striking his opponent's nut with his own, -both boys standing and holding the string in their hands. It is -considered bad play to strike the opponent's _string_. The nut only -should be touched. Three tries are usually allowed. - -(_c_) For information on various forms of this game, see _Notes and -Queries_, 1878. See also Elworthy's _West Somerset Words_. The boy who -first said the rhyme has first stroke at Oswestry. The game is elsewhere -called "Cobbet" (Meole Brace) and "Cobbleticuts" (Burne's _Shropshire -Folk-lore_, p. 531). In "Conquer-nuts" "obbly" was probably "nobbly" or -"knobbly," expressing the appearance of the string of nuts; and "onkers" -was probably invented as a rhyme to "conquers" (_Upton-on-Severn Words -and Phrases_, by R. Lawson). - - -Contrary, Rules of - - I. Here I go round the rules of contrary, - Hopping about like a little canary. - When I say "Hold fast," leave go; - When I say "Leave go," hold fast. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 52). - - II. Here we go round the rules of contrary, - When I say "Hold fast!" let go, and when I say "Let go!" hold - fast. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) A ring is formed by each child holding one end of a handkerchief. -One child stands in the centre and acts as leader. The ring moves round -slowly. The leader says the words as above while the ring is moving -round, and then suddenly calls out whichever he chooses of the two -sayings. If he says "Hold fast!" every one must immediately let go the -corner of the handkerchief he holds. They should all fall to the ground -at once. When he says "Let go!" every one should retain their hold of -the handkerchief. Forfeits are demanded for every mistake. - -This game, called "Hawld Hard," is commonly played about Christmas-time, -where a number hold a piece of a handkerchief. One then moves his hand -round the handkerchief, saying, "Here we go round by the rule of -Contrairy; when I say 'Hawld hard,' let go, and when I say 'Let go,' -hawld hard." Forfeits are paid by those not complying with the -order.--Lowsley's _Berkshire Glossary_. - - -Cop-halfpenny - -The game of "Chuck-farthing."--Norfolk and Suffolk (Holloway's _Dict. of -Provincialisms_). - - -Corsicrown - -A square figure is divided by four lines, which cross each other in the -crown or centre. Two of these lines connect the opposite angles, and two -the sides at the point of bisection. Two players play; each has three -men or flitchers. Now there are seven points for these men to move about -on, six on the edges of the square and one at the centre. The men -belonging to each player are not set together as at draughts, but -mingled with each other. The one who has the first move may always have -the game, which is won by getting the three men on a line.--Mactaggart's -_Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -See "Kit Cat Cannio," "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Cots and Twisses - -A flat stone is obtained called a Hob, upon which those who are playing -place equal shares of Cots and Twisses. Cots are brass buttons, and -Twisses bits of brass--a Twiss of solid brass being worth many Cots. -Each player provides himself with a nice flat [key] stone, and from an -agreed pitch tosses it at the Hob. If he knocks off any of the Cots and -Twisses nearer to the players than the Hob is, he claims them. The other -players try to knock the Hob away with their key-stones from any Cots -and Twisses that may not have been claimed; and if any key-stone touches -Hob after all have thrown, the owner cannot claim any Cots and -Twisses.--Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -Each player selects a Cast or stone to pitch with; on another stone, -called the Hob, the Cots and Twys are placed; at some distance Scops are -set in the ground. First the players pitch from the Hob to the Scop, and -the one who gets nearest goes first. He then pitches at the Hob, and if -he knocks off the stakes he has them, provided his Cast is nearer to -them than the Hob is; in failure of this, the other player tries. In -pitching up, one Cast may rest on another, and if the boy whose stone -is underneath can lift it up to knock the other Cast away, it has to -remain at the place to which it has been struck; if he does not succeed -in doing this, the second player may lift off his Cast and place it by -the first. Whoever knocks off the stakes, they go to the boy whose Cast -is nearest to them. The Hob and Scop are usually three yards apart. The -Cot was a button off the waistcoat or trousers, the Twy one off the -coat, and, as its name implies, was equal to two Cots. Formerly, when -cash was much more rare than now it is amongst boys, these formed their -current coin. The game about 1820 seems to have been chiefly one of -tossing, and was played with buttons, then common enough. Now, metal -buttons being rare, it is played with pieces of brass or copper of any -shape. The expression, "I haven't a cot," is sometimes used to signify -that a person is without money.--Easther's _Almondbury and Huddersfield -Glossary_. - -See "Banger," "Buttons." - - -Course o' Park - -The game of "Course of the Park" has not been described, but is referred -to in the following verse:-- - - "Buff"'s a fine sport, - And so's "Course o' Park." - ---_The Slighted Maid_, 1663, p. 50. - - -Crab-sowl, Crab-sow - -A game played with a bung or ball struck with sticks (Brogden's -_Provincial Words, Lincolnshire_). This is played on Barnes Common, and -is apparently a form of "Hockey" (A. B. Gomme). - - -Crates - -The game of "Nine Holes." This is the game described by John Jones, -M.D., in his book called _The Benefit of the Auncient Bathes of -Buckstones_, 1572, p. 12, as having been played by ladies at Buxton for -their amusement in wet weather. See Pegge's _Anonymiana_, 1818, p. 126, -and Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Cricket - -A description of this game is not given here; its history and rules and -regulations are well known, and many books have been devoted to its -study. The word "Cricket" is given in Lawson's _Upton-on-Severn Words -and Phrases_ as a low wooden stool. He continues, "The game of 'Cricket' -was probably a development of the older game of 'Stool-ball,' a -dairymaid's stool being used for the wicket." Wedgwood (_Etym. Dict._) -suggests that the proper name for the bat was "cricket-staff," A.-S. -_criec_, a staff. - -See "Bittle-battle," "Stool-ball." - - -Crooky - -An old game called "Crooky" was formerly played at Portarlington, -Queen's co., and Kilkee, co. Clare. Fifty years ago it was played with -wooden crooks and balls, but about twenty-five years ago, or a little -more, mallets were introduced at Kilkee; while subsequently the name was -changed to "Croquet." I have heard it stated that this game was -introduced by the French refugees that settled at Portarlington.--G. H. -Kinahan (_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 265). - - -Cross and Pile - -The game now called "Heads and Tails" (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). See -_Nomenclator_, p. 299; Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. Strutt points out -that anciently the English coins were stamped on one side with a cross. -See also Harland's _Lancashire Legends_, p. 139. - - -Cross-bars - -A boys' game.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Cross-questions - -Nares (_Glossary_) mentions this game in a quotation from Wilson's -_Inconstant Lady_, 1614. "Cross Questions and Crooked Answers" was a -popular game at juvenile parties. The players sit in a circle, and each -is asked in a whisper a question by the one on his left, and receives -also in a whisper an answer to a question asked by himself of the person -on his right. Each player must remember both the question he was asked -and the answer he received, which have at the conclusion of the round to -be stated aloud. Forfeits must be given if mistakes are made.--A. B. -Gomme. - - -Cross Tig - -One of the players is appointed to be Tig. He calls out the name of the -one he intends to chase, and runs after him. Another player runs across -between Tig and the fugitive, and then Tig runs after this cross-player -until another player runs across between Tig and the fugitive; and so -on. Each time a player crosses between Tig and the player he is -following he leaves the original chase and follows the player who has -crossed. When he captures, or, in some places, touches one of the -players he is following, this player becomes Tig, and the game begins -again.--Ireland (Miss Keane). - -This game is known in and near London as "Cross Touch." - - -Cry Notchil - -This is an old game where boys push one of their number into a circle -they have made, and as he tries to escape push him back, crying, "No -child of mine!" (Leigh's _Cheshire Glossary_). He adds, "This may be the -origin of the husband's disclaimer of his wife when he 'notchils' her." -To "cry notchil" is for a man to advertise that he will not be -answerable for debts incurred by his wife. - - -Cuck-ball - -A game at ball. The same as "Pize-ball." It is sometimes called -"Tut-ball."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -See "Ball." - - -Cuckoo - -A child hides and cries "Cuckoo." The seekers respond-- - - Cuckoo cherry-tree, - Catch a bird and bring it me. - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 222. - -Halliwell calls this a game at ball, and the rhyme runs-- - - Cuckoo cherry tree, - Catch a bird and bring it me; - Let the tree be high or low, - Let it hail, rain or snow. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -Cuddy and the Powks - -Two boys join hands and feet over the back of a third, the which creeps -away with them on hands and knees to a certain distance; and if able to -do this, he, the Cuddy, must have a ride as one of the powks on some -other's back.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - - -Cudgel - -[Illustration: Change of sides] - -[Illustration: A run] - -Four or more boys can play this game, and sides are chosen. Two holes -are made in the ground at a distance of about eight or ten feet apart. A -ring about a foot in diameter is made round each hole. A boy stands at -each hole with a stick, which he puts into the hole to guard it. Two -other boys stand behind the holes, who act as bowlers. One of these -throws a small piece of wood shaped like a Cat, and tries to pitch it -into the hole. The boy guarding the hole tries to hit it with his stick. -If he succeeds, he and the boy at the other hole run to each other's -places. Should the boy who throws the piece of wood succeed in getting -it into the hole, the batsmen are out. Should the Cat fall into the ring -or a span beyond, one of the bowlers picks it up, and both run to a -hiding-place. They then agree as to which of them should hold the Cat. -This must be carried in such a way that it cannot be seen by the -batsmen, both boys assuming the same attitude. Both boys then resume -their previous places. They kneel down, still keeping the same -attitudes. The batsmen, keeping their sticks in the holes, then agree -which of the two holds the Cat. One batsman runs across and puts his -stick into the hole behind which the boy kneels whom they consider has -the Cat, the other then running to his place. If they are right in their -guess, the holder of the Cat throws it across the ground for the -opposite bowler to put it in the hole before the second batsman reaches -it. If they guess wrongly, the holder of the Cat puts it into the hole -as soon as the batsman runs, and they then become the batsmen for the -next game. If the batsmen leave their holes unguarded with the stick, -the catsmen can at any time put them "out," by putting the Cat in a -hole. If more than two boys on a side play, the others field as in -"Cricket."--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - -See "Cat and Dog." - - -Curcuddie - - I. Will ye gang to the lea, Curcuddie, - And join your plack wi' me, Curcuddie? - I lookit about and I saw naebody, - And linkit awa' my lane, Curcuddie. - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 139. - - II. Will ye gang wi' me, Curcuddie, - Gang wi' me o'er the lea? - I lookit roun', saw naebody; - Curcuddie, he left me. - ---Biggar (William Ballantyne). - -(_b_) This is a grotesque kind of dance, performed in a shortened -posture, sitting on one's hams, with arms akimbo, the dancers forming a -circle of independent figures. It always excites a hearty laugh among -the senior bystanders; but, ridiculous as it is, it gives occasion for -the display of some spirit and agility, as well as skill, there being -always an inclination to topple over. Each performer sings the verse -(Chambers; Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_). - -Mr. Ballantyne says that each one apart tried to dance by throwing out -their feet and jumping sideways. - -(_c_) The first syllable of this word is, says Jamieson, undoubtedly the -verb _curr_, to sit on the houghs or hams. The second may be from Teut. -_kudde_, a flock; _kudd-en_, coire, convenire, congregari, aggregari; -_kudde wijs_, gregatim, catervatim, q. to curr together. The same game -is called _Harry Hurcheon_ in the North of Scotland, either from the -resemblance of one in this position to a _hurcheon_, or hedge-hog, -squatting under a bush; or from the Belg. _hurk-en_ to squat, to -_hurkle_.--Jamieson. - -See "Cobbler's Hornpipe," "Cutch-a-Cutchoo." - - -Curly Locks - -[Music] - - I. Curly locks, curly locks, - Wilt thou be mine? - Thou shalt not wash dishes - Nor yet feed the swine; - But sit on a fine cushion - And sew a fine seam, - And feed upon strawberries, - Sugar and cream. - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - II. Bonny lass, canny lass, - Wilta be mine? - Thou's nowder wesh dishes - Nor sarra the swine: - But sit on thy crippy, &c. - ---Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - -(_b_) Two children, a girl and a boy, separate from their fellows, who -are not particularly placed, the boy caressing the girl's curls and -singing the verses. - -(_c_) This game is evidently a dramatic representation of wooing, and -probably the action of the game has never been quite completed in the -nursery. The verses are given as "nursery rhymes" by Halliwell, Nos. -cccclxxxiii. and ccccxciv. The tune is from Rimbault's _Nursery Rhymes_, -p. 70. The words given by him are the same as the Earls Heaton version. - - -Currants and Raisins - - Currants and raisins a penny a pound, - Three days holiday. - -This is a game played "running under a handkerchief;" "something like -'Oranges and Lemons.'"--Lincoln (Miss M. Peacock). - - -Cushion Dance - -[Music] - ---_Dancing Master_, 1686. - - This music is exactly as it is printed in the book referred to. - -(_b_) The following is an account of the dance as it was known in -Derbyshire amongst the farmers' sons and daughters and the domestics, -all of whom were on a pretty fair equality, very different from what -prevails in farm-houses of to-day. The "Cushion Dance" was a famous old -North-country amusement, and among the people of Northumberland it is -still commonly observed. The dance was performed with boisterous fun, -quite unlike the game as played in higher circles, where the conditions -and rules of procedure were of a more refined order. - -The company were seated round the room, a fiddler occupying a raised -seat in a corner. When all were ready, two of the young men left the -room, returning presently, one carrying a large square cushion, the -other an ordinary drinking-horn, china bowl, or silver tankard, -according to the possessions of the family. The one carrying the -cushion locked the door, putting the key in his pocket. Both gentlemen -then went to the fiddler's corner, and after the cushion-bearer had put -a coin in the vessel carried by the other, the fiddler struck up a -lively tune, to which the young men began to dance round the room, -singing or reciting to the music:-- - - Frinkum, frankum is a fine song, - An' we will dance it all along; - All along and round about, - Till we find the pretty maid out. - -After making the circuit of the room, they halted on reaching the -fiddler's corner, and the cushion-bearer, still to the music of the -fiddle, sang or recited:-- - - Our song it will no further go! - The Fiddler: Pray, kind sir, why say you so? - The Cushion-bearer: Because Jane Sandars won't come to. - The Fiddler: She must come to, she shall come to, - An' I'll make her whether she will or no. - -The cushion-bearer and vessel-holder then proceeded with the dance, -going as before round the room, singing "Frinkum, frankum," &c., till -the cushion-bearer came to the lady of his choice, before whom he -paused, placed the cushion on the floor at her feet, and knelt upon it. -The vessel-bearer then offered the cup to the lady, who put money in it -and knelt on the cushion in front of the kneeling gentleman. The pair -kissed, arose, and the gentleman, first giving the cushion to the lady -with a bow, placed himself behind her, taking hold of some portion of -her dress. The cup-bearer fell in also, and they danced on to the -fiddler's corner, and the ceremony was again gone through as at first, -with the substitution of the name of "John" for "Jane," thus:-- - - The Lady: Our song it will no further go! - The Fiddler: Pray, kind miss, why say you so? - The Lady: Because John Sandars won't come to. - The Fiddler: He must come to, he shall come to, - An' I'll make him whether he will or no! - -The dancing then proceeded, and the lady, on reaching her choice (a -gentleman, of necessity), placed the cushion at his feet. He put money -in the horn and knelt. They kissed and rose, he taking the cushion and -his place in front of the lady, heading the next dance round, the lady -taking him by the coat-tails, the first gentleman behind the lady, with -the horn-bearer in the rear. In this way the dance went on till all -present, alternately a lady and gentleman, had taken part in the -ceremony. The dance concluded with a romp in file round the room to the -quickening music of the fiddler, who at the close received the whole of -the money collected by the horn-bearer. - -At Charminster the dance is begun by a single person (either man or -woman), who dances about the room with a cushion in his hand, and at the -end of the tune stops and sings:-- - - Man: This dance it will no further go. - Musician: I pray you, good sir, why say you so? - Man: Because Joan Sanderson will not come to. - Musician: She must come to, and she shall come to, - And she must come whether she will or no. - -Then the following words are sung as in the first example:-- - - Man: Welcome, Joan Sanderson, welcome, welcome. - Both: Prinkum-prankum is a fine dance, - And shall we go dance it once again, - And once again, - And shall we go dance it once again? - Woman: This dance it will no further go. - Musician: I pray you, madam, why say you so? - Woman: Because John Sanderson will not come to. - Musician: He must come to, and he shall come to, - And he must come whether he will or no. - -And so she lays down the cushion before a man, who, kneeling upon it, -salutes her, she singing-- - - Welcome, John Sanderson, &c. - -Then, he taking up the cushion, they take hands and dance round singing -as before; and this they do till the whole company is taken into the -ring. Then the cushion is laid down before the first man, the woman -singing, "This dance," &c., as before, only instead of "come to," they -sing "go fro," and instead of "Welcome, John Sanderson," &c., they sing -"Farewell, John Sanderson, farewell," &c., and so they go out one by -one as they came in.--Charminster (_Notes and Queries_, ii. 517, 518). - -This description is almost the same as a seventeenth century version. -The dance is begun by a single person (either man or woman), who, taking -a cushion in his hand, dances about the room, and at the end of the tune -he stops and sings:-- - - This dance it will no further go. - -The Musician answers: - - I pray you, good sir, why say you so? - Man: Because Joan Sanderson will not come to. - Musician: She must come to, and she shall come to, - And she must come whether she will or no. - -Then he lays down the cushion before a woman, on which she kneels, and -he kisses her, singing-- - - Welcom, Joan Sanderson, welcom, welcom. - -Then he rises, takes up the cushion, and both dance, singing-- - - Prinkum-prankum is a fine dance, - And shall we go dance it once again, - Once again, and once again, - And shall we go dance it once again. - -Then, making a stop, the wo(man) sings as before-- - - This dance, &c. - Musician: I pray you, madam, &c. - Woman: Because John Sanderson, &c. - Musician: He must, &c. - -And so she lays down the cushion before a man, who, kneeling upon it, -salutes her, she singing-- - - Welcom, John Sanderson, &c. - -Then, he taking up the cushion, they take hands and dance round, singing -as before. And thus they do till the whole company are taken into the -ring. And then the cushion is laid before the first man, the woman -singing, "This dance," &c. (as before), only instead of "come to," they -sing "go fro," and instead of "Welcom, John Sanderson," &c., they sing -"Farewel, John Sanderson, farewel, farewel;" and so they go out one by -one as they came in. _Note_, that the woman is kiss'd by all the men in -the ring at her coming in and going out, and the like of the man by the -woman.--_The Dancing Master_: London, printed by J. P., and sold by -John Playford at his shop near the Temple Church, 1686, 7th edition. - -Another version gives the words as follows:-- - - We've got a new sister in our degree, - And she's welcome into our companee, companee. - Mrs. Sargesson says she weänt come to, - We'll make her whether she will or no, - Will or no, will or no, - We'll maäke her whether she will or no. - -Children form a ring with one in the middle, who lays a cushion on the -ground. They sing the first two lines, and the child in the centre -points at one, and the others dance round singing the other lines, the -centre child dragging the imaginary Mrs. Sargesson on to the cushion by -force, kissing her, and leaving her in the centre. Then Mrs. Sargesson -points at one in the ring, and the game begins again.--East Kirkby, -Lincolnshire (Miss Maughan). The tune sung is the same as the "Mulberry -Bush." - -Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) says the Cushion Dance is still -continued, with some variations, and generally closes the evening's -amusements. One of the young men endeavours secretly to bring in a -cushion, and locks the doors, to prevent the escape of the young -maidens; then all the party unite hands and dance round three times to -the left and three times to the right, after which the company all seat -themselves, except the young man who holds the cushion. He advances to -the fiddler, and says-- - - This dance it will no further go. - Fiddler: Why say you so? why say you so? - Cushion-holder: Because the young women will not come to. - Fiddler: They must come to, they shall come to, - And tell them I say so. - -The cushion-holder then goes to the girl he fancies most, and drops the -cushion at her feet. She kneels down with him on the cushion, and he -salutes her, and they then rise and dance round and round to the -fiddler. The girls then go through the same thing, saying, "young men," -and then "a young man," &c., until the whole company have gone through -the same ceremony, which concludes with all dancing round three times, -as at the commencement. - -The Norfolk and London versions are reduced to a simple "Kiss in the -Ring" game, with the following verse:-- - - Round the cushion we dance with glee, - Singing songs so merrily; - Round the cushion we dance with glee, - Singing songs so merrily; - Yet the punishment you must bear - If you touch the cushion there. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -(_c_) Selden, in his _Table Talk_, thus refers to this game:--"The Court -of England is much altered. At a solemn dancing first you have the grave -measures, then the Cervantoes and the Golliards, and this is kept up -with ceremony. At length to Trenchmore and the _Cushion Dance_; and then -all the company dance, lord and groom, lady and kitchen-maid, no -distinction. But in King Charles's time there has been nothing but -Trenchmore and the Cushion Dance," &c. The "Whishin Dance" (an -old-fashioned dance, in which a cushion is used to kneel upon), -mentioned by Dickinson (_Cumberland Glossary_), is probably the same -game or dance, "whishin" meaning cushion. Brockett (_North Country -Words_) mentions "Peas Straw," the final dance at a rustic party; -something similar to the ancient "Cushion Dance" at weddings. It is also -recorded in Evans' _Leicestershire Glossary_, and by Burton in the -following passage from the _Anatomy of Melancholy_: "A friend of -his reprehended him for dancing beside his dignity, belike at some -cushen dance." In the version from East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, the -expression "in our degree" in the first line of the verse is apparently -meaningless, and it is probably a corruption of "highdigees, -highdegrees," a dialect word for roystering, high spirits, merriment, -dancing, romping. Elworthy (_Somerset Words_) gives this word, and -quotes the following line from Drayton:-- - - Dance many a merry round and many a highdegy. - ---_Polyolbion_, Bk. xxv., l. 1162. - -(_d_) The transition from a dance to a pure game is well illustrated by -the different versions, and the connection of the dance with the -ceremony of marriage is obvious. A curious account of the merry-makings -at marriages is given in Coverdale's _Christen State of Matrimony_, -1543: "After the banket and feast there beginneth a mad and unmannerly -fashion; for the bride must be brought into an open dauncing-place. Then -is there such a running, leaping, and flinging among them that a man -might think all these dauncers had cast all shame behinde them, and were -become starke mad, and out of their wits, and that they were sworne to -the devil's daunce. Then must the bride keep foote with all dauncers, -and refuse none, how scabbed, foule, drunken, rude, and shameless soever -he be. . . . After supper must they begin to pipe and daunce again of -anew. And though the young persons come once towards their rest, yet can -they have no quietness."--1575 edit., fol. 59, rev. 60. Edward L. -Rimbault, writing in _Notes and Queries_, vi. 586, says it was formerly -the custom at weddings, both of the rich as well as the poor, to dance -after dinner and supper. In an old Court masque of James I.'s time, -performed at the marriage ceremony of Philip Herbert and Lady Susan (MS. -in the writer's possession), it is directed that, at the conclusion of -the performance, "after supper" the company "dance a round dance." This -was "dancing the bride to bed." William Chappell (_Notes and Queries_, -ii. 442) says, "I have a tune called 'A round dance to dance the bride -to bed.' It dates from about 1630, or earlier, and resembles that of -'The Hunt is up.'" Dancing was considered so essential at weddings -(according to Grose) that if in a family the youngest daughter should -chance to be married before her elder sisters, they must dance at her -wedding without shoes. May not the custom of throwing of old and -worn-out shoes after the bride have arisen from the practice of dancing? -The danced-out shoes may have been the ones used. It is curious that the -cushion is used in the marriage ceremonies of the Brahmins. Mr. Kearns, -in his _Marriage Ceremonies of the Hindoos of the South of India_, p. 6, -says that a stool or cushion is one of the preparations for the -reception of the bridegroom, who on entering the apartment sits down on -the stool which is presented to him. He says, "I step on this for the -sake of food and other benefits, on this variously splendid footstool." -The bride's father then presents to him a cushion made of twenty leaves -of cúsa grass, holding it up with both hands and exclaiming, "The -cushion! the cushion! the cushion!" The bridegroom replies, "I accept -the cushion," and taking it, places it on the ground under his feet, -while he recites a prayer. It is probable that we may have in the -"Cushion Dance" the last relics of a very ancient ceremony, as well as -evidence of the origin of a game from custom. - - -Cutch-a-Cutchoo - -Children clasp their hands under their knees in a sitting posture, and -jump thus about the room. The one who keeps up longest wins the -game.--Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - -(_b_) In _Notes and Queries_, x. 17, "E. D." says this amusement was -fashionable sixty years ago, and from the low dresses worn then by -ladies he mentions its indecency. He gives extracts from a satire called -_Cutchacutchoo, or the Jostling of the Innocents_, 2nd ed., Dublin, in -which the game and position are mentioned-- - - Now she with tone tremendous cries - Cutchacutchoo. - Let each squat down upon her ham, - Jump like a goat, puck like a ram. - -"Uneda," at same reference (x. 17), speaks of it as a known game in -Philadelphia. The analogy which this game has to some savage dances is -curious; a correspondent in _Notes and Queries_, ix. 304, draws -attention to the illustration, in Richardson's _Expedition to Arctic -Shores_ (vol. i. p. 397), of a dance by the "Kutchin-Kutcha" Indians, a -parallel to the name as well as the dance which needs some research in -America. - -See "Curcuddie," "Hop-frog." - - -Cutters and Trucklers - -A remembrance of the old smuggling days. The boys divide into two -parties; the Trucklers try to reach some given point before the Cutter -catches them.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 60). - - -Dab - - Dab a prin in my lottery book; - Dab ane, dab twa, dab a' your prins awa'. - -A game in which a pin is put at random in a school-book, between the -leaves of which little pictures are placed. The successful adventurer is -the person who puts the pin between two leaves including a picture which -is the prize, and the pin itself is the forfeit (_Blackwood's Magazine_, -Aug. 1821, p. 36). This was a general school game in West London in -1860-1866 (G. L. Gomme). - - -Dab-an-thricker - -A game in which the _dab_ (a wooden ball) is caused to spring upwards by -a blow on the _thricker_ (trigger), and is struck by a flat, -bottle-shaped mallet fixed to the end of a flexible wand, the distance -it goes counting so many for the striker.--Ross and Stead's _Holderness -Glossary_. - -This is the same as "Knur and Spell." - - -Dab-at-the-hole - -A game at marbles (undescribed).--Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_. - - -Dalies - -A child's game, played with small bones or pieces of hard wood. The -_dalies_ were properly sheep's trotters.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -Evidently the same game as "Fivestones" and "Hucklebones." - - -Davie-drap - -Children amuse themselves on the braesides i' the sun, playing at "Hide -and Seek" with this little flower, accompanying always the hiding of it -with this rhyme, marking out the circle in which it is hid with the -forefinger:-- - - Athin the bounds o' this I hap, - My black and bonny davie-drap; - Wha is here the cunning yin - My davie-drap to me will fin. - - ---Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -The davie-drap is a little black-topped field-flower. - - -Deadily - -A school game, not described.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - - -Diamond Ring - - My lady's lost her diamond ring; - I pitch upon you to find it! - -Children sit in a ring or in a line, with their hands placed together -palm to palm, and held straight, the little finger down-most between the -knees. One of them is then chosen to represent a servant, who takes a -ring, or some other small article as a substitute, between her two -palms, which are pressed flat together like those of the rest, and goes -round the circle or line placing her hands into the hands of every -player, so that she is enabled to let the ring fall wherever she pleases -without detection. After this she returns to the first child she -touched, and with her hands behind her says the above words. The child -who is thus addressed must guess who has the ring, and the servant -performs the same ceremony with each of the party. They who guess right -escape, but the rest forfeit. Should any one in the ring exclaim "I have -it!" she also forfeits; nor must the servant make known who has the ring -until all have guessed under the same penalty. The forfeits are -afterwards cried as usual.--Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 223. - -(_b_) This game was a general favourite at juvenile parties years ago. -The hands were held in the posture described by Halliwell, but any child -was pitched upon for the first finder, and afterwards the child in whose -hands the ring was found had to be finder. There was no guessing; the -closed hands were looked into (A. B. Gomme). Mr. Addy has collected a -similar game called "My lady's lost a gold ring," and Mr. Newell (_Games -and Songs of American Children_, p. 150) has another, "Hold fast my gold -ring." - - -Dibbs - -A game played with the small knuckle-bones taken from legs of mutton; -these bones are themselves called "dibs" (Lowsley's _Glossary of -Berkshire Words_). Holloway's _Dictionary_ says five of these bones are -used by boys, with which they play a game called "Dibs" in West Sussex. - -See "Check-stones," "Fivestones," "Hucklebones." - - -Dinah - -[Music] - - No one in the house but Dinah, Dinah, - No one in the house I know, I know; - No one in the house but Dinah, Dinah, - Playing on the old banjo. - -A ring is formed, and a girl stands blindfolded inside. As the verse is -sung and finished, Dinah goes to any one in the ring, and, if successful -in guessing her name, takes her place, the other taking the place of -Dinah, the game going on as before.--Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -"Dinah" was a Christy Minstrel song in the "fifties." It is probable -that the game, which resembles "Buff," has been played to the tune of -the song. Singing a chorus would soon follow. - -See "Buff," "Muffin Man." - - -Dip o' the Kit - -A rustic game, undescribed and marked as obsolescent.--Peacock's _Manley -and Corringham Glossary_. - - -Dish-a-loof - -A singular rustic amusement. One lays his hand down on a table, another -clashes his upon it, a third his on that, and so on (fig. 1). When all -the players have done this, the one who has his hand on the board pulls -it out and lays it on the one uppermost (fig. 2): they all follow in -rotation, and so a continual clashing and dashing is kept up; hence -the name "Dish." Those who win the game are those who stand out -longest--viz., those who are best at enduring pain. Tender hands could -not stand it a moment: one dash of a rustic "loof" would make the blood -spurt from the tip of every finger. It is a piece of pastime to country -lads of the same nature as "Hard Knuckles" (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_). This is a well-known game for small children in London. -After each child's hands have been withdrawn and replaced on top as many -times as possible without deranging the order, a general scramble and -knocking of hands together ends the game (A. B. Gomme). Jamieson -(_Etymological Dict._) gives this as a sport of children. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1. Fig. 2.] - -See "Dump," "Green Grass," "Hot Cockles." - - -Doddart - -A game played in a large level field with a bent stick called "doddart." -Two parties, headed by two captains, endeavour to drive a wooden ball to -their respective boundaries (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). Brockett (_North -Country Words_) adds to this that the captains are entitled to choose -their followers by alternate votes. A piece of globular wood called an -"orr" or "coit" is thrown down in the middle of the field and driven to -one of two opposite hedges--the alley, hail-goal, or boundary. The same -game as "Clubby," "Hockey," "Shinney," "Shinneyhaw." - - -Doncaster Cherries - -One boy kneels, holding a long rope, the other end of which is held by -another boy; the other players stand round about with handkerchiefs in -hands, knotted. The one who holds the rope-end and standing cries out-- - - Doncaster cherries, ripe and sound; - Touch 'em or taste 'em-- - Down, you dogs! - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H. Hardy). - -This is evidently a version of "Badger the Bear," with a different and -apparently degraded formula. - - -Dools - -A school game. The dools are places marked with stones, where the -players always remain in safety--where they dare neither be caught by -the hand nor struck with balls. It is only when they leave these places -of refuge that those out of the doons have any chance to gain the game -and get in; and leave the doons they frequently must--this is the nature -of the game. Now this game seems to have been often played in reality by -our ancestors about their doon-hills.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_. - - -Down in the Valley - - I. Down in the valley where the green grass grows - Stands E---- H----, she blows like a rose. - She blows, she blows, she blows so sweet. - In came F---- S---- and gave her a kiss. - E---- made a pudding, she made it nice and sweet, - F---- took a knife and fork and cut a little piece. - Taste of it, taste of it, don't say nay, - For next Sunday morning is our wedding day. - First we'll buy a money box, - Then we'll buy a cradle; - Rock, rock the bottom out, - Then we'll buy another. - Bread and cheese all the week, cork on Sunday, - Half a crown on Saturday night, and a jolly good dance on - Monday. - ---Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith). - - II. Down in the meadows where the green grass grows, - To see ---- blow like a rose. - She blows, she blows, she blows so sweet. - Go out, ----; who shall he be? - ---- made a pudding, - She made it so sweet, - And never stuck a knife in - Till ---- came to eat. - Taste, love, taste, love, don't say nay, - For next Monday morning is your wedding day. - He bought her a gown and a guinea gold ring, - And a fine cocked hat to be married in. - ---West Haddon, Northamptonshire; Long Itchington, Warwickshire -(_Northants Notes and Queries_, ii. 105). - - III. Down in the valley the violets grow. - Dear little ----, she blows like a rose. - She blows, she blows, she blows so sweet. - Come along in. - Buy a shawl, buy a new black shawl, - A bonnet trimmed with white and a new parasol. - Oh dear, oh dear, what can I do, - For next Monday morning is my wedding due. - ---Shipley, Horsham; _Notes and Queries_, 8th series, i. 210 (Miss Busk). - -(_b_) The children form a ring by joining hands, one child standing in -the centre. They dance round. At the mention of the second name one from -the ring goes into the centre. The two kiss at the end of the verse, and -the first child takes the place in the ring, and the game begins again. - -See "All the Boys," "Oliver, Oliver, follow the King." - - -Drab and Norr - -A game similar to "Trippit and Coit."--Halliwell's _Dict._ - - -Draw a Pail of Water - -[Music] - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - I. Draw a pail of water - For my lady's daughter; - My father's a king and my mother's a queen, - My two little sisters are dressed in green, - Stamping grass and parsley, - Marigold leaves and daisies. - One rush, two rush, - Pray thee, fine lady, come under my bush. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, Games, cclxxxvii. - - II. Draw a pail of water, - Send a lady a daughter; - One o' my rush, two o' my rush, - Please, young lady, creep under the briar bush. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - III. Draw, draw water, - For my lady's daughter; - One in a rush, - Two in a bush, - Pretty my lady, pop under the bush. - ---Berrington and Ellesmere (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 521). - - IV. Draw a bucket o' water - For a lady's daughter; - One and a hush, two and a rush, - Please, young lady, come under my bush. - ---Fochabers (Rev. W. Gregor). - - V. Draw a bucket of water - For a lady's daughter; - One in a bush, - Two in a bush, - Three in a bush, - Four in a bush, - And out you go. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss Chase). - - VI. Drawing a bucket of water - For my lady's daughter; - Put it in a chestnut tree, - And let it stay an hour. - One of you rush, two may rush, - Please, old woman, creep under the bush; - The bush is too high, the bush is too low, - Please, old woman, creep under the bush. - ---Hampshire (Miss Mendham). - - VII. Draw a pail of water - For a lady's daughter; - Give a silver pin for a golden ring-- - Oh pray, young lady, pop under. - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - VIII. Draw a bucket of water - For my lady's daughter; - One go rush, and the other go hush, - Pretty young lady, bop under my bush. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - IX. Draw a bucket of water - For the farmer's daughter; - Give a gold ring and a silver watch, - Pray, young lady, pop under. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - X. Draw a bucket of water - For my lady's daughter; - A guinea gold ring - And a silver pin, - So pray, my young lady, pop under. - ---Haydon (Herbert Hardy). - - XI. Draw a bucket of water - To wash my lady's garter; - A guinea gold ring - And a silver pin, - Please, little girl, pop under. - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - XII. See-saw, a bucket of water, - To wash my lady's garter. - One in a rush, and two in a bush, - To see a fine lady pop under a bush. - ---Anderby, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire near the Trent (Miss -Peacock). - - XIII. One we go rush, - Two we go push; - Lady come under the corner bush. - ---Shepscombe, Gloucestershire (Miss Mendham). - - - XIV. Sift the lady's oaten meal, sift it into flour, - Put it in a chest of drawers and let it lie an hour. - One of my rush, - Two of my rush, - Please, young lady, come under my bush. - My bush is too high, my bush is too low, - Please, young lady, come under my bow. - Stir up the dumpling, stir up the dumpling. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - XV. Sieve my lady's oatmeal, - Grind my lady's flour; - Put it in a chestnut, - Let it stand an hour. - One may rush, two may rush; - Come, my girls, walk under the bush. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, Games, cclxxxviii. - -(_b_) The Berrington version of this game is played as follows:--Two -girls face each other, holding each other by both hands. Two others face -each other, holding both hands across the other two. They see-saw -backwards and forwards, singing the lines (fig. 1). One girl gets inside -the enclosing hands (fig. 2), and they repeat till all four have "popped -under" (fig. 3), when they "jog" up and down till they fall on the -floor! (fig. 4). At Ellesmere only _two_ girls join hands, and as many -"pop under" as they can encircle. The Lincolnshire and Norfolk versions -are played practically in the same way. In the Liphook version the -children stand in two and two opposite to each other; the children on -one side of the square hold hands up at the third line, and the other -two children run under the hands of the first two. There is no pause, -but the verse is sung time after time, so that the four children are -nearly always moving. In the other Hampshire version four girls stand in -a square, each holding the hands of the one opposite to her, pulling -each other's hands backwards and forwards singing the lines. Two arms -are then raised, and one girl comes under; this is repeated till all -four girls have come under the arms, then their arms encircle each -other's waists and they dance round. In the Scottish version there are -only two girls who join hands and pull each other backwards and -forwards, repeating the words. Halliwell describes a different action to -any of these. A string of children, hand in hand, stand in a row. A -child stands in front of them as leader; two other children form an -arch, each holding both of the hands of the other. The string of -children pass under the arch, the last of whom is taken captive by the -two holding hands. The verses are repeated until all are -taken.--Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, cclxxxvii. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.] - -(_c_) The analysis of the game rhymes is as follows:-- - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Halliwell's Version. | Liphook (Hants). | Shropshire. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a pail of water. |Draw a pail of water. |Draw, draw water. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|For my lady's |Send a lady a |For my lady's | - | |daughter. |daughter. |daughter. | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.|My father's a king and| -- | -- | - | |my mother's a queen. | | | - | 9.|My two little sisters | -- | -- | - | |are dressed in green. | | | - |10.|Stamping grass and | -- | -- | - | |parsley. | | | - |11.|Marigold leaves and | -- | -- | - | |daisies. | | | - |12.|One rush, two rush. |One o' my rush, two o'|One in a rush, two in | - | | |my rush. |a bush. | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.|Pray thee, fine lady, |Please, young lady, |Pretty my lady, pop | - | |come under my bush. |creep under the |under the bush. | - | | |_briar_ bush. | | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.|Fochabers (Scotland). | Hampshire. | Northants. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a bucket o' |Drawing a bucket of |Draw a pail of water. | - | |water. |water. | | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|For a lady's daughter.|For my lady's |For a lady's daughter.| - | | |daughter. | | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- |Put it in a chestnut | -- | - | | |tree. | | - | 7.| -- |Let it stay an hour. | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|One and a hush, two |One of you rush, two | -- | - | |and a rush. |may rush. | | - |13.| -- | -- |Give a silver pin for | - | | | |a golden ring. | - |14.|Please, young lady, |Please, old woman man,|Pray, young lady, pop | - | |come under my bush. |creep under the bush. |under. | - |15.| -- |The bush is too high, | -- | - | | |the bush is too low. | | - |16.| -- |Please, old woman, | -- | - | | |creep under the bush. | | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Norfolk (1). | Norfolk (2). | Haydon. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a bucket of |Draw a bucket of |Draw a bucket of | - | |water. |water. |water. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|For my lady's |For the farmer's |For my lady's | - | |daughter. |daughter. |daughter. | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|One go rush and the | -- | -- | - | |other go hush. | | | - |13.| -- |Give a gold ring and a|A guinea gold ring and| - | | |silver watch. |a silver pin. | - |14.|Pretty young lady, bop|Pray, young lady, pop |Pray, young lady, pop | - | |under my bush. |under. |under. | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Earls Heaton. | Lincolnshire and | Gloucestershire. | - | | | Nottinghamshire. | | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a bucket of |See saw, a bucket of | -- | - | |water. |water. | | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.|To wash my lady's |To wash my lady's | -- | - | |garter. |garter. | | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- |One in a rush and two |One we go rush, two we| - | | |in a bush. |go push. | - |13.|A guinea gold ring and| -- | -- | - | |a silver pin. | | | - |14.|Please, little girl, |To see a fine lady pop|Lady, come under the | - | |pop under. |under a bush. |corner bush. | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Belfast. | Halliwell's Version | Crockham Hill. | - | | | (No. 2). | | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- |Draw a bucket of | - | | | |water. | - | 2.|Sift the lady's |Sieve my lady's | -- | - | |oatmeal. |oatmeal. | | - | 3.|Sift it into flour. |Grind my lady's flour.| -- | - | 4.| -- | -- |For a lady's daughter.| - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Put it in a chest of |Put it in a chestnut. | -- | - | |drawers. | | | - | 7.|Let it lie an hour. |Let it stand an hour. | -- | - | 8.| -- | | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|One of my rush, two of|One may rush, two may |One in a bush, two in | - | |my rush. |rush. |a bush, three in a | - | | | |bush, four in a bush. | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.|Please, young lady, |Come, my girls, walk | -- | - | |come under my bush. |under the bush. | | - |15.|My bush is too high, | -- | -- | - | |my bush is too low. | | | - |16.|Please, young lady, | -- | -- | - | |come under my bow. | | | - |17.|Stir up the dumpling. | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- |And out you go. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - -The analysis shows that the majority of the variants retain four -principal incidents of what must have been the original form of the -game, and the fact of the Gloucestershire version having come down with -only two of the incidents, namely, the two most common to all the -variants (12 and 14), shows that the game has been in a state of -decadence. The four principal incidents, Nos. 1, 4, 12, and 14, point -distinctly to some water ceremonial; and if it may be argued that the -incidents which occur in only one or two of the variants may be -considered to have belonged to the original type, we shall be able to -suggest that this game presents a dramatic representation of ancient -well-worship. The incidents which occur in one version only are those -given by Mr. Halliwell, and unfortunately the locality from which he -obtained this variant is unknown. Still it is an earlier version than -those which are now printed for the first time, and may without doubt be -looked upon as genuine. Taking all the incidents of the various versions -as the means by which to restore the earliest version, it would appear -that this might have consisted of the following lines:-- - - Draw a pail of water - For a lady's daughter; - Her father's a king, her mother's a queen, - Her two little sisters are dressed in green, - Stamping grass and parsley, marigold leaves and daisies; - Sift the lady's oatmeal, sift it into flour, - Put it in a chestnut tree, let it lie an hour; - Give a silver pin and a gold ring, - One and a hush! two and a rush! - Pray, young lady, pop under a bush; - My bush is too high, my bush is too low, - Please, young lady, come under my bow! - -(_d_) This restoration of the words, though it probably is far from -complete, and does not make so good a game rhyme as the reduced -versions, nevertheless shows clearly enough that the incidents belong to -a ceremonial of primitive well-worship. The pulling of the hands -backwards and forwards may be taken to indicate the raising of water -from a well. If this is conceded, the incidents might be grouped as -follows:-- - - (1.) Drawing of water from a well. - (2.) For a devotee at the well. - (3.) Collecting flowers for dressing the well. - (4.) Making of a cake for presentation. - (5.) Gifts to the well [the silver pin, gold ring, and probably the - garter]. - (6.) Command of silence. - (7.) The presence of the devotee at the sacred bush. - -All these are incidents of primitive well-worship (see Gomme's -_Ethnology and Folk-lore_, pp. 82-103). Garland dressing is very -general; cakes were eaten at Rorrington well, Shropshire (Burne's -_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 433); pins and portions of the dress are very -general offerings; silence is strictly enforced in many instances, and a -sacred tree or bush is very frequently found near the well. - -The tune of the Hampshire game (Miss Mendham's version) is practically -the same as that of the "Mulberry Bush." - -Newell (_Games of American Children_, p. 90) gives a version of this -game. - - -Drawing Dun out of the Mire - -Brand, quoting from "an old collection of satires, epigrams, &c.," says -this game is enumerated among other pastimes: - - At shove-groat, venter-point, or crosse and pile, - At leaping o'er a Midsummer bone-fier, - Or at _the drawing Dun out of the myer_. - -So in the _Dutchesse of Suffolke_, 1631: - - Well done, my masters, lends your hands, - _Draw Dun out of the ditch_, - Draw, pull, helpe all, so, so, well done. - [_They pull him out._] - -They had shoved Bishop Bonner into a well, and were pulling him out. - -We find this game noticed at least as early as Chaucer's time, in the -_Manciple's Prologue_: - - Then gan our hoste to jape and to play, - And sayd, sires, what? _Dun is in the mire._ - -Nares (_Glossary_) says this game was a rural pastime, in which _Dun_ -meant a dun horse, supposed to be stuck in the mire, and sometimes -represented by one of the persons who played. - -Gifford (_Ben Jonson_, vol. vii. p. 283), who remembered having played -at the game (doubtless in his native county, Devonshire), thus describes -it:--"A log of wood is brought into the midst of the room: this is Dun -(the cart horse), and a cry is raised that he is stuck in the mire. Two -of the company advance, either with or without ropes, to draw him out. -After repeated attempts they find themselves unable to do it, and call -for more assistance. The game continues till all the company take part -in it, when Dun is extricated of course; and the merriment arises from -the awkward and affected efforts of the rustics to lift the log, and -sundry arch contrivances to let the ends of it fall on one another's -toes." - - -Drop Handkerchief - -This is a game similar to Cat and Mouse, but takes its name from the use -of the handkerchief to start the pursuit. Various rhyming formulæ are -used in some places. In Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy), no rhyme is -used. - -The children stand in a ring. One runs round with a handkerchief and -drops it; the child behind whom it is dropped chases the dropper, the -one who gets home first takes the vacant place, the other drops the -handkerchief again. - -In Shropshire the two players pursue one another in and out of the ring, -running under the uplifted hands of the players who compose it: the -pursuer carefully keeping on the track of the pursued (Burne's -_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - -The Dorsetshire variant is accompanied by a rhyme: - - I wrote a letter to my love; - I carried water in my glove; - And by the way I dropped it-- - I dropped it, I dropped it, I dropped it, &c. - -This is repeated until the handkerchief is stealthily dropped -immediately behind one of the players, who should be on the alert to -follow as quickly as possible the one who has dropped it, who at once -increases her speed and endeavours to take the place left vacant by her -pursuer. Should she be caught before she can succeed in doing this she -is compelled to take the handkerchief a second time. But if, as it -more usually happens, she is successful in accomplishing this, the -pursuer in turn takes the handkerchief, and the game proceeds as -before.--Symondsbury (_Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 212). - - Jack lost his supper last night, - And the night before; if he does again to-night, - He never will no more--more--more--more. - - I wrote a letter to my love, - And on the way I dropt it; - Some of you have picked it up, - And got it in your pocket--pocket--pocket--pocket. - - I have a little dog, it won't bite you-- - It won't bite you--it won't bite you-- - It _will_ bite you. - ---Leicestershire (Miss Ellis). - -The Forest of Dean version is the same as the Dorsetshire, except that -the child who is unsuccessful in gaining the vacant place has to stand -in the middle of the ring until the same thing happens to another -child.--Miss Matthews. - -In Nottinghamshire the children form in a ring; one walks round outside -the ring singing and carrying a handkerchief: - - I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I dropt it; - One of you has picked it up and put it in your pocket. - It isn't you, it isn't you, &c. &c.; it is you. - -The handkerchief is then dropped at some one's back, the one at whose -back the handkerchief was dropped chasing the other. - -Or they say: - - I lost my supper last night, I lost it the night before, - And if I lose it again to-night, I'll knock at somebody's door. - It isn't you, it isn't you, &c. &c.; it's you. - ---Miss Winfield. - -At Winterton and Lincoln the children form a circle, standing -arms-length apart. A child holding a handkerchief occupies the centre of -the ring and sings: - - Wiskit-a-waskit, - A green leather basket; - I wrote a letter to my love, - And on the way I lost it; - Some of you have picked it up, - And put it in your pocket. - I have a little dog at home, - And it shan't bite you, - -(Here the singer points to each child in turn) - - Nor you, nor you, nor you; - But it shall bite _you_. - -Then she drops the handkerchief before her chosen playmate, who chases -her in and out of the ring under the arms of the other children until -she is captured. The captor afterwards takes the place in the centre, -and the original singer becomes a member of the circle.--Miss M. -Peacock. - -The Deptford version of the verse is as follows:-- - - I had a little dog whose name was Buff, - I sent him up the street for a penny'orth of snuff, - He broke my box and spilt my snuff, - I think my story is long enough-- - 'Tain't you, and 'tain't you, and 'tis you! - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - -A Staffordshire and Sharleston version gives some altogether different -formulæ:-- - - What colour's the sky? - Blue. - Look up again. - Like a W. - Follow me through every little hole that I go through. - ---Staffordshire (Rev. G. T. Royds, Rector of Haughton). - -At Sharleston the centre child says, "What colour is t' sky?" The other -answers, "Blue." Centre child says, "Follow me true." Here the centre -child runs in and out between the others until the one who was touched -catches her, when they change places, the first joining the children in -the ring.--Sharleston (Miss Fowler). - -At Beddgelert, Wales (Mrs. Williams), this game is called Tartan Boeth. -It is played in precisely the same manner as the English game, but the -words used are: - - Tartan Boeth, Oh ma'en llosgi, Boeth iawn - Hot Tart. Oh, it burns! very hot! - -At the words, "Very hot!" the handkerchief is dropped. - -(_b_) In this game no kissing takes place, and that this is no mere -accidental omission may be shown by Mr. Udal's description of the -Dorsetshire game. He was assured by several persons who are interested -in Dorset Children's Games that the indiscriminate kissing (that is, -whether the girl pursued runs little or far, or, when overtaken, whether -she objects or not) with which this game is ordinarily associated, as -played now both in Dorset and in other counties, was not indigenous to -this county, but was merely a pernicious after-growth or outcome of -later days, which had its origin in the various excursion and holiday -fêtes, which the facilities of railway travelling had instituted, by -bringing large crowds from the neighbouring towns into the country. He -was told that thirty years ago such a thing was unknown in the country -districts of Dorset, when the game then usually indulged in was known -merely as "Drop the Handkerchief" (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 212). - -In other cases the rhymes are used for a purely kissing game, for which -see "Kiss in the Ring." - - -Dropping the Letter - -An undescribed Suffolk boys' game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_, p. 238. - - -Duck under the Water - -Each child chooses a partner, and form in couples standing one before -the other, till a long line is formed. Each couple holds a handkerchief -as high as they can to form an arch. The couple standing at the end of -the line run through the arch just beyond the last couple standing at -the top, when they stand still and hold their handkerchief as high as -possible, which is the beginning of the second arch; this is repeated by -every last couple in succession, so that as many arches as are wanted -can be formed.--East Kirkby, Lincolnshire (Miss K. Maughan). - -Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) says the game is played in that -county. Formerly in the northern part of the county even married women -on May Day played at it under the May garland, which was extended from -chimney to chimney across the village street. - - -Duck at the Table - -A boys' game, played with round stones and a table-shaped block of -stone.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - -Probably the same as Duckstone. - - -Duck Dance - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - I saw a ship a sailin', - A sailin' on the sea, - And oh, it was laden - With pretty things for me [thee]. - - There were comfits in the cabin, - And apples in the hold; - The sails were made of silk, - And the masts were made of gold. - - Four and twenty sailors - That sat upon the deck, - Were four and twenty white mice - With chains about their necks. - - The captain was a duck, - With a packet on his back; - And when the ship began to move, - The captain cried "Quack! quack!" - ---Northamptonshire, _Revue Celtique_, iv. 200; Halliwell's _Nursery -Rhymes_, No. ccclxxvii. - -(_b_) A number of little girls join hands and form a ring. They all jump -round and sing the verses. The game ends by the girls following one of -their number in a string, all quacking like ducks.--Northamptonshire. - -(_c_) Halliwell does not include it among his games, but simply as a -nursery paradox. The tune given is that to which I as a child was taught -to sing the verses as a song. We did not know it as a game. The "Quack, -quack!" was repeated as another line to the notes of the last bar given, -the notes gradually dying away (A. B. Gomme). - - -Duck Friar - -The game of "Leap-frog."--_Apollo Shroving_, 1627, p. 83. - - -Ducks and Drakes - -A pastime in which flat stones or slates are thrown upon the surface of -a piece of water, so that they may dip and emerge several times without -sinking (Brockett's _North Country Words_). "Neither cross and pile nor -ducks and drakes are quite so ancient as hand dandy" (Arbuthnot and -Pope, quoted in Todd's _Johnson_). - -Halliwell gives the words used in the game both formerly and at the -present day. If the stone emerges only once it is a duck, and increasing -in the following order:-- - - 2. A duck and a drake, - 3. And a halfpenny cake, - 4. And a penny to pay the old baker, - 5. A hop and a scotch is another notch, - 6. Slitherum, slatherum, take her. - ---Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - Hen-pen, - Duck and mallard, - Amen. - ---Somersetshire (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - - A duck and a drake - And a white penny cake. - ---Hampshire (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - - A duck and a drake - And a penny white cake, - And a skew ball. - ---Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_. - -Moor (_Suffolk Words and Phrases_) gives the names for the number of -times the stone emerges, as (1) "a duck;" (2) "a duck an' a drake;" if -thrice, "a duck an' a drake an' a fi'epenny cake;" four times is "a duck -an' a drake an' a fi'epenny cake, an' a penny to pah the baker." If more -than four, "a duck," "a duck an' a drake," &c., are added. These -distinctions are iterated quickly to correspond in time as nearly as may -be with the dips of the stone. A flattish stone is evidently the best -for this sport. - -(_b_) This game is also given by Mr. Addy in his _Sheffield Glossary_, -and by Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_), Brogden (_Provincial Words, -Lincolnshire_), Lowsley (_Berkshire Glossary_), Nares' _Glossary_, and -Baker's _Northants Glossary_. Miss Courtenay gives "Scutter" and "Tic -Tac Mollard" as Cornish names for the game (_West Cornwall Glossary_). -See also Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 139, and Strutt's _Sports and -Pastimes_, p. 326. - -Butler, in his _Hudibras_ (p. ii. canto iii. l. 302), makes it one of -the important qualifications of his conjurer to tell-- - - What figur'd slates are best to make - On wat'ry surface _duck_ or _drake_. - -The following description of this sport is given by Minucius Felix, ed. -1712, p. 28, which evinces its high antiquity: "Pueros videmus certatim -gestientes, testarum in mare jaculationibus ludere. Is lusus est, testam -teretem, jactatione fluctuum lævigatam, legere de litore: eam testam -plano situ digitis comprehensam, inclinem ipsum atque humilem, quantum -potest, super undas irrorare: ut illud jaculum vel dorsum maris raderet, -vel enataret, dum leni impetu labitur; vel summis fluctibus tonsis -emicaret, emergeret, dum assiduo saltu sublevatur. Is se in pueris -victorem ferebat, cujus testa et procurreret longius, et frequentius -exsiliret." - -"From this pastime," says Moor, "has probably arisen the application of -the term to a spendthrift--of whose approaching ruin we should thus -speak: 'Ah, he'ave made fine ducks and drakes of a's money, that a' -have.'"--_Suffolk Words._ - - -Duckstone - -A large stone called the Duckstone or Duck-table is placed on the -ground, generally with a wall for a background, but this is of little -consequence. Several boys take a stone each, and a place pretty near the -Duckstone is chosen for "home." One of the boys puts his stone on the -Duckstone, and he is called the Tenter. He has to guard the home and -catch the other boys if he can. Each boy in turn throws his stone at the -stone on the Duck-table and immediately runs home. The Tenter tries to -catch him before he can touch the wall or post or whatever is chosen for -the home. If the Tenter can catch him he becomes Tenter, and puts his -stone on the Duckstone, and the original Tenter takes his turn in -throwing. One rule of the game is that the Tenter's stone must always be -on the Duck-table when he is trying to catch a boy, so if it is knocked -off it must be replaced before he can try to catch the boy running -"home." The chance of getting home is increased for the boy who knocks -it off.--North-West Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts and Miss Peacock). - -(_b_) Similar versions are from Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy), Ireland -(_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 265), Peacock (_Mauley and Corringham -Glossary_). Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) gives this game with the -following addition: If a duck falls short of the Duckstone, and the one -whose duck is on the stone sees that he can _wand_ or _span_ with his -hand the distance between the duck thus thrown and the Duckstone, he -shouts out "Wands," and if he can wand or span the distance he takes his -duck off, and the duck thus thrown is put on. Holland (_Cheshire -Glossary_), Darlington (South Cheshire), Baker (_Northants Glossary_), -and Brogden (_Provincial Words, Lincolnshire_), also give this game. -Elworthy (_West Somerset Words_) calls it "Duck," and "Ducks off" and -"Cobbs off" in Dorsetshire. In London the boy repeats the words, "Gully, -gully, all round the hole, one duck on," while he is playing (_Strand -Magazine_, November 1891). Newell (_Games_, p. 188) calls it "Duck on a -Rock." - - -Duffan Ring - -Name for "Cat and Mouse" in Cornwall.--_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57. - - -Dumb Crambo - -An undescribed game mentioned in Moor's _Suffolk Words_, p. 238. - - -Dumb Motions - -Two sides are chosen, which stand apart from each other inside the line -of their den. One side chooses a trade, and goes to the opposite side -imitating working at the trade and giving the initial letters of it. If -the opposite side guesses the name of the trade, the players run to -their own den, being chased by their opponents. If any of the players -are caught they must go to the opposite side. In turn the opposite side -chooses a trade, and imitates the actions practised.--Cork, Ireland -(Miss Keane). - -This is called "An Old Woman from the Wood" in Dorsetshire. The children -form themselves into two ranks. - - The first rank says: - Here comes an old 'oman from the wood. - The second party answers: - What cans't thee do? - First Party: Do anythin'. - Second Party: Work away. - -This the children proceed to do, some by pretending to sew, some to -wash, some to dig, some to knit, without any instruments to do it with. -If the opposite side guess what they are doing, they change sides. This -game, Miss Summers believes, is very old, and has been played by several -generations in the village of Hazelbury Bryan.--Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore -Journal_, vii. 230). - -See "Trades." - - -Dump - -A boys' amusement in Yorkshire, in vogue about half a century ago, but -now believed to be nearly obsolete. It is played in this manner. The -lads crowd round and place their fists endways, the one on the other, -till they form a high pile of hands. Then a boy, who has one hand free, -knocks the piled fists off one by one, saying to every boy as he strikes -his fist away, "What's there, Dump?" He continues this process till he -comes to the last fist, when he exclaims:-- - - What's there? - Cheese and bread, and a mouldy halfpenny! - Where's my share? - I put it on the shelf, and the cat got it. - Where's the cat? - She's run nine miles through the wood. - Where's the wood? - T' fire burnt it. - Where's the fire? - T' waters sleekt (extinguished) it. - Where's the water? - T' oxen drank it. - Where's the oxen? - T' butcher killed 'em. - Where's the butcher? - Upon the church tops cracking nuts, and you may go and eat the - shells; and them as speaks first shall have nine nips, - nine scratches, and nine boxes over the lug! - -Every one then endeavours to refrain from speaking in spite of mutual -nudges and grimaces, and he who first allows a word to escape is -punished by the others in the various methods adopted by schoolboys. In -some places the game is played differently. The children pile their -fists in the manner described above; then one, or sometimes all of them, -sing: - - I've built my house, I've built my wall; - I don't care where my chimneys fall! - -The merriment consists in the bustle and confusion occasioned by the -rapid withdrawal of the hands (Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 225). -Compare Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 529. - -Northall (_Folk Rhymes_, p. 418) gives the following rhymes as said in -Warwickshire while the fists are being piled on one another:-- - - Here's one hammer on the block, - My men, my men; - There's one hammer, &c., my man John. - Dibble the can, blow bellows, blow, - Fire away, lads, for an hour or so. - -See "Dish-a-loof," "Sacks." - - -Dumps - -A game at marbles or taw, played with holes scooped in the ground -(Roxburgh, Jamieson). Grose gives _dump_ as signifying "a deep hole of -water" (_Provincial Glossary_). - - -Dust-point - -A game in which boys placed their points in a heap, and threw at them -with a stone. Weber and Nares give wrong explanations. It is alluded to -in Cotton's Works, 1734, p. 184. - - I'll venter on their heads my brindled cow, - With any boy at dust-point they shall play. - ---Peacham's _Thalia's Banquet_, 1620. - -Nares (_Glossary_) suggests that this game and blow-point resembled the -game of Push-pin. See also Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Eller Tree - -A number of young men and women stand in a line, a tall girl at one end -of the line representing the tree. They then begin to wrap round her, -saying, "The old eller tree grows thicker and thicker." When they have -all got round her (the tree), they jump all together, calling out, "A -bunch of rags, a bunch of rags," and try to tread on each other's -toes.--Sheffield, Yorks (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) The tree is the alder. It abounds in the North of England more -than in any other part of the kingdom, and seems always to have been -there held in great respect and veneration. Many superstitions also -attach to the tree. It is possible from these circumstances that the -game descends from an old custom of encircling the tree as an act of -worship, and the allusion to the "rags" bears at least a curious -relationship to tree worship. If this conclusion is correct, the -particular form of the game preserved by Mr. Addy may be the parent form -of all games in which the act of winding is indicated. There is more -reason for this when we consider how easy the notion of clock-winding -would creep in after the old veneration for the sacred alder tree had -ceased to exist. - -[Illustration] - -See "Bulliheisle," "Wind up the Bush Faggot," "Wind up the Watch." - - -Ezzeka - - Old Ezzeka did one day stand - Upon a barrel top; - The bung flew out, and all at once - It went off with a pop. - ---Dronfield (S. O. Addy). - -This game is usually played in a house or schoolroom, by boys and girls. -A boy or girl is chosen who is considered to be able to stand a joke. He -sits on a chair. A stool is put behind, upon which a boy called "Ezzeka" -stands. Then the other boys and girls in the room sing the lines. As -they are finished, Ezzeka, who has a bottle of water in his hand, takes -out the cork, and pours the water upon his victim's head. This game may -be compared with the game of "King Arthur" mentioned by Brand (_Pop. -Antiq._, ii. 393). - - -Father's Fiddle - -This is a boys' game. One boy says to another, "Divv (do) ye ken (know) -aboot my father's fiddle?" On replying that he does not, the questioner -takes hold of the other's right hand with his left, and stretches out -the arm. With his right hand he touches the arm gently above the elbow, -and says, "My father had a fiddle, an' he brook (broke) it here, an' he -brook it here" (touching it below the elbow), "an' he brook it throw the -middle," and comes down with a sharp stroke on the elbow-joint.--Keith, -Fochabers (Rev. W. Gregor). - -This is probably the same game as that printed by Halliwell, No. -cccxxxv., to which the following rhyme applied:-- - - My father was a Frenchman, - He bought for me a fiddle; - He cut me here, he cut me here, - He cut me right in the middle. - - -Feed the Dove - -An undescribed game mentioned in an old poem called _Christmas_ (i. -285), quoted in Ellis's Brand, i. 517: "Young men and maidens now at -'Feed the Dove' (with laurel leaf in mouth) play." - - -Find the Ring - - O the grand old Duke of York - He had ten thousand men, - He marched them up the hill ago - And he marched them down again. - And when they were up they were up, - And when they were down they were down, - And when they were half-way up the hill - They were neither up nor down. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -A ring of chairs is formed, and the players sit on them. A piece of -string long enough to go round the inner circumference of the chairs is -procured. A small ring is put upon the string, the ends of which are -then tied. Then one of the players gets up from his chair and stands in -the centre. The players sitting on the chairs take the string into their -hands and pass the ring round from one to another, singing the lines. If -the person standing in the centre can find out in whose hand the ring -is, he sits down, and his place is taken by the one who had the ring. -The game is sometimes played round a haycock in the hayfield. - -Miss Dendy sends a similar rhyme from Monton, Lancashire, where it is -known simply as a marching game. For similar rhymes, see Halliwell's -_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 3. - -See "Paddy from Home," "Tip it." - - -Fippeny Morrell - -"Twice three stones, set in a crossed square, where he wins the game -that can set his three along in a row, and that is fippeny morrell I -trow."--_Apollo Shroving_, 1626. - -See "Nine Men's Morice," "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Fire, Air, and Water - -The players seat themselves in a circle. One of the players has a ball, -to which a string is fastened. He holds the string that he may easily -draw the ball back again after it is thrown. The possessor of the ball -then throws it to one in the circle, calling out the name of either of -the elements he pleases. This player must, before ten can be counted, -give the name of an inhabitant of that element. When "Fire" is called, -strict silence must be observed or a forfeit paid.--Cork, Ireland (Miss -Keane). - -The players were seated in a half-circle, and the possessor of the ball -faced the others. There was no string attached to the ball, but it was -necessary that it should hit the child it was thrown to. When "Fire" was -called, "Salamander" and "Ph[oe]nix" were allowed to be said. The third -time "Fire" was called, silence was observed, and every player bowed the -head. We called it "Earth, Air, Fire, and Water." A forfeit had to be -paid for every mistake.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -It seems probable that a survival of fire-worship is shown by this game. - - -Fivestones - -This game was played by a newspaper boy at Richmond Station for me as -follows:--He had five square pieces of tile or stone about the size of -dice. He took all five pieces in the palm of the hand first, then threw -them up and caught them on the back of the hand, and then from the back -of the hand into the palm. Four of the stones were then thrown on the -ground; the fifth was thrown up, one stone being picked up from the -ground, and the descending fifth stone caught in the same hand; the -other three pieces were next picked up in turn. Then two were picked up -together in the same manner twice, then one, then three, then all four -at once, the fifth stone being thrown up and caught with each movement. -All five were then thrown up and caught on the back of the hand, and -then thrown from the back and caught in the palm. When he dropped one, -he picked it up between his outstretched fingers while the other stones -remained on the back of the hand; then he tossed and caught it likewise. -Then after throwing up the five stones and catching them on the back of -the hand and the reverse, all five being kept in the palm, one was -thrown up, and another deposited on the ground before the descending -stone was caught. This was done to the three others in turn. Then with -two at a time twice, then one and three, then all four together, then -from the palm to the back of the hand, and again to the palm. This -completed one game. If mistakes were made another player took the -stones. Marks were taken for successful play. This boy called the game -"Dabs."--A. B. Gomme. - -In South Notts this game was called "Snobs." It was played with small -stones or marbles. There were nine sets of tricks. First One-ers (of -which there were five in the set), then Two-ers (two in set), Three-ers -(three in set), Four-ers (four in set), Four Squares (four in set), -Trotting Donkeys (eight in set, I believe), Fly-catchers (six or seven -in set), Magic (five in set), and Magic Fly-catchers (five in set). -One-ers is played thus:--The five stones are thrown into the air and -caught on the back of the hand. If all are caught they are simply tossed -up again and caught in the hollow of the hand, but if any are not caught -they have to be picked up, one by one, another stone being at the same -time thrown into the air and caught with the one picked up in the hand. -Two-ers, Three-ers, and Four-ers, are played in the same way, except -that the stones not caught on the back of the hand have to be arranged -in twos, threes, and fours respectively by the hand on which the caught -stones are lying meanwhile, and then each lot has to be picked up -altogether. If the number that fall when the stones are first thrown up -won't allow of this, the player has to drop the required number (but no -more) from his hand. In Magic the play is just the same as in One-ers, -except that instead of only throwing up a single stone and catching it -as the others are in turn picked up, the whole number, except those -remaining to be picked up, are thrown and caught. In Four Squares, four -of the stones are arranged in a square, each of them is then picked up, -whilst the remaining stone is flung upwards and caught; the one picked -up is then tossed up, and the one originally tossed up is put down in -the place of the other, which is caught as it descends, and the process -repeated "all round the square." Trotting Donkeys is similarly played, -except that the four stones are arranged in a line--not in a square--and -I believe there is some other slight difference, but I forget what. -Fly-catchers is played like One-ers, except that the stone thrown into -the air while the others are being picked up, is not simply caught by -being allowed to fall into the hand, but by an outward movement of the -hand is _pounced on_, hawk-fashion, from above. Magic Fly-catchers is -played in precisely the same way, except that as in simple Magic, not -one stone, but all are thrown up and caught--that is, if there are four -on the ground one only is thrown up for the first, two for the second, -three for the third, and so on until they are all picked up. This is, of -course, the most difficult part of all, and, in fact, only experts were -expected to do it. Every failure means "out," and then your opponent has -his turn. The winner is the one who gets through first. Such is the game -as I remember it, but I have an uneasy suspicion that I have missed -something out. I seem to remember one trick in which all the stones on -the ground had to be picked up at once _where they lay_--scrambled up so -to speak. Or it may be (and, in fact, I think it was) that sometimes, to -add to the difficulty of the game, we picked up the groups of two, -three, and four in Two-ers, Three-ers, and Four-ers in this fashion, -instead of first placing them together.--Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. -Bell). - -In Wakefield the set of pot checks, which represents five hucklebones, -now consists of four checks and a ball about the size of a large marble. -The checks are something like dice, but only two opposite sides are -plain, the other four being fluted. The table played on is generally a -doorstep, and it is made ready by drawing a ring upon it with anything -handy which will make a mark. There are twelve figures or movements to -be gone through as follows. Some have special names, but I do not learn -that all have. - -1. The player, taking the checks and ball in the right hand, throws down -the checks, keeping the ball in the hand. If any check fall outside the -ring the player is "down." There is skill needed in the throwing of the -checks in this and the following movements, so that they may be -conveniently placed for taking up in the proper order. The checks being -scattered, the player throws up the ball, takes up one check, and -catches the ball as it comes down, or, as it is sometimes played, after -it has bounced once from the step. This is repeated till all the checks -are taken up. - -2. As the last figure, but the checks are taken up two at a throw. - -3. As the last, but at the first throw one check, called the Horse, is -taken up, and at the second the remaining three checks at once, called -the Cart. - -4. As before, but all the checks taken up together. - -5. Called Ups and Downs. The checks are taken up at one throw, and set -down outside the ring at the next. This is done first with one, then -with two, and so on. - -6. Each check is touched in turn as the ball is thrown. - -7. The checks are separately pushed out of the ring. - -8. Each check in turn is taken up and knocked against the ground. - -9. Each check is taken up and tapped upon another. - -10. The checks are first arranged three in a line, touching each other, -and the fourth placed at the top of that at one end of the row. This is -called the Cradle. It has to be taken down check by check, and if, in -taking one, another is moved, the player is out. - -11. Like the last, but the checks are put one above another to make a -Chimney. - -12. Called the Dish-clout--I know not why, unless it be that it wipes -up the game. The movement used in taking up the checks is thus -described:--"Take hold of the sleeve of the right hand with the left; -throw up the ball, and twist your right hand underneath and over your -left, and catch the ball. With the hand still twisted throw up the ball -and untwist and catch it." The checks are picked up in the course of the -twisting. - -These I am told are the orthodox movements; and I do not doubt that in -them there is much of very old tradition, although the tenth and -eleventh must have been either added or modified since pot checks came -into use, for the figures could not be built up with the natural bones. -Some other movements are sometimes used according to fancy, as for -example the clapping of the ground with the palm of the hand before -taking up the checks and catching the ball.--J. T. Micklethwaite (_Arch. -Journ._, xlix. 327-28). - -I am told that in the iron districts of Staffordshire, the round bits of -iron punched out in making rivet holes in boiler plates are the modern -representatives of hucklebones.--_Ibid._ - -In Westminster four stones are held in the right hand, a marble is -thrown up, and all four stones thrown down, and the marble allowed to -bounce on the hearthstone or pavement, and then caught in the same hand -after it has rebounded. The marble is then thrown up again, and one of -the four stones picked up, and the marble caught again after it has -rebounded. This is done separately to the other three, bringing all four -stones into the hand. The marble is again bounced, and all four stones -thrown down and the marble caught. Two stones are then picked up -together, then the other two, then one, then three together, then all -four together, the marble being tossed and caught with each throw. An -arch is then formed by placing the left hand on the ground, and the four -stones are again thrown down, the marble tossed, and the four stones -put separately into the arch, the marble being caught after it has -rebounded each time; or the four stones are separately put between the -fingers of the left hand in as straight a row as possible. Then the left -hand is taken away, and the four stones caught up in one sweep of the -hand. Then all four stones are thrown down, and one is picked up before -the marble is caught. This is retained in the hand, and when the second -stone is picked up the first one is laid down before the marble is -caught; the third is picked up and the second laid down, the fourth -picked up and the third laid down, then the fourth laid down, the marble -being tossed and caught again each time. The stones have different names -or marks (which follow in rotation), and in picking them up they must be -taken in their proper order, or it is counted as a mistake. The game is -played throughout by the right hand, the left hand only being used when -"arches" is made. The marble should be thrown up about the same height -each toss, and there should be little or no interval between the -different figures.--Annie Dicker. - -I saw this game played in Endell Street, London, W.C., by two girls. -Their game was not so long nor so complete as the above. They did not -throw all four stones down as a preliminary stage, but began with the -second figure, the four gobs being placed in a square ::, nor were -they particular as to which stones they picked up. They knew nothing of -numbering or naming them. Their marble was called a "jack." They had -places chalked on the pavement where they recorded their successful -"goes," and the game was played in a ring.--A. B. Gomme. - -An account sent me from Deptford (Miss Chase) is doubtless the same -game. It begins with taking two "gobs" at once, and apparently there are -eight stones or gobs to play with. The marble or round stone which is -thrown up is called a "tally." The directions for playing are-- - - We take twoses, - We take threeses, - We take fourses, - We take sixes, - We take eights. - -Chain eggs--_i.e._, to pick up one and drop it again until this has been -done to each stone. Arches--_i.e._, gobs in a row. This was described by -the player as "while the tally is up to sweep the whole row or line off -the ground into the arch of the finger and thumb before catching the -tally." - -(_b_) These games are variants of one common original. It is the same -game as that described by F. H. Low in the _Strand Magazine_, ii. 514, -as played in the London streets. The marble there is called a "buck." -"Pegsy" was the name of the No. 5 stage of the Wakefield version, and -this varies too, inasmuch as it was the same gob which is picked up and -then laid down before catching the buck. - -Mr. Kinahan says, "'Jackstones,' played with three or four small stones -that are thrown up in the air and caught again, seems to have been a -very ancient game, as the stones have been found in the _crannogs_ or -lake-dwellings in some hole near the fireplaces, similar to where they -are found in a cabin at the present day. An old woman, or other player, -at the present time puts them in a place near the hob when they stop -their game and go to do something else" (_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 266). -In the Græco-Roman saloon, British Museum, is a statue originally -composed of two boys quarrelling at the game of "Tali" (see _Townley -Gallery_, i. 305; Smith's _Dict. Greek and Roman Antiq._, s.v. _Talus_), -and it is interesting to note that in the Deptford game the marble is -called a "Tally." - -Mr. Kinahan's note suggests that "Fivestones" may be an independent -game, instead of a derivative from "Hucklebones." If this is so, we have -interesting evidence of the spread or transmission of one game from at -least two centres. Professor Attwell, in _Notes and Queries_, 8th ser., -iv. 201, suggests that "Hucklebones" was introduced into Europe by the -Romans, and was spread throughout the countries which formed the empire -by means of Roman colonists and soldiers. Mr. Newell (_Games_, pp. -190-93) describes a similar game to "Fivestones" played in Boston under -the name of "Otadama," or "Japanese Jacks." This game is of Japanese -origin, "Tedama" (that is, "Handballs") being its proper name. He says -there can be no doubt that the two forms of this amusement are branches -of the same root; and we thus have an example of a game which, having -preserved its essential characteristics for thousands of years, has -fairly circumnavigated the globe, so that the two currents of tradition, -westward and eastward, from Europe and Asia, have met in America. - -See "Checkstones," "Dibs," "Hucklebones," "Jackstones." - - -Flowers - -Sides are chosen; each side must have a "home" at the top and bottom of -the ground where the children are playing. One side chooses a flower and -goes over to the other side, the members of which stand in a row facing -the first side. The first side states the initial letters of the flower -it has chosen, and when the second side guesses the right flower they -run and try to catch as many of the opposite side as they can before -they reach their home. The captives then become members of the side -which captured them.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). - - -Follow my Gable - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire. - -[Music] - ---Redhill, Surrey. - - I. Follow my gable 'oary man, - Follow my gable 'oary man, - I'll do all that ever I can - To follow my gable 'oary man. - - We'll borrow a horse and steal a gig, - And round the world we'll have a jig, - And I'll do all that ever I can - To follow my gable 'oary man. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks (Herbert Hardy). - - II. Holy Gabriel, holy man, - Rantum roarum reeden man, - I'll do all as ever I can - To follow my Gabriel, holy man.[3] - ---Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope). - - III. I sell my bat, I sell my ball, - I sell my spinning-wheel and all; - And I'll do all that ever I can - To follow the eyes of the drummer man. - ---Luton, Bedfordshire (Mrs. Ashdown). - -(_b_) In the Yorkshire version a ring is formed with one child in the -middle as the 'Oary Man. Whatever he, or she, does, all in the ring must -mimic, going round and singing at the same time. Any one found late in -changing the action or idle in obeying the caperings of the central -child becomes the 'Oary Man in place of the child taking that part. Both -girls and boys play. In the Redhill version, Holy Gabriel kneels in the -middle of the circle. He acts as leader, and always had the fiddle as -his instrument, though he now usually plays the pianoforte as his first -instrument. The other children choose any instrument they like. Holy -Gabriel pretends to play the fiddle, and all the other children play -their own instruments until Holy Gabriel changes his to one of theirs, -when that one must immediately begin to play the fiddle, and continue -until Holy Gabriel takes another instrument or returns to the fiddle. -This is done in vigorous pantomime. In the Luton variant the children -sit in a semicircle, the Drummer faces them. He plays the drum; all the -other children play on any other instrument they like. If the other -players do not at once change their instrument, or neglect to sing the -lines, a forfeit is demanded. - -(_c_) Mr. Hardy says some sing this game, "Follow my game an holy man." -Mr. Hardy once thought it was the remnant of a goblin story of a hoary -man of the gable or house-roof, who presided over the destinies of poor -cottagers, and he had begun to make out the folk tale. The fairy would -sometimes come down, and, playing his antics, compel whomsoever observed -him to follow him in a mimicking procession. Miss Hope writes of "Holy -Gabriel" that the game is played at Mead Vale, a small village in -Surrey, but is unknown at larger villages and towns a few miles off. -Some of the women who played it in their youth say that it began in the -Primitive Methodist school at Mead Vale. It is played at Outword, also a -remote village, and was introduced there by a stonemason, who stated -that he had learned it from a cousin who had been in America. Further -inquiry by Miss Hope elicited the fact that the cousin had learned the -game, when a boy, in his native place in Lancashire. He did not know -whether it was a well-known game there. This information points perhaps -to a modern origin, but in such cases it must be borne in mind that -people are very fond of suggesting recent circumstances as the cause of -the most ancient traditions or customs. The obvious analogy to the -incident in the myth of the Pied Piper, and to the Welsh custom at St. -Almedha Church, near Brecknock, recorded by Giraldus Cambrensis, where -the imitation of a frenzied leader is carried out as a religious -ceremony, rather suggests that in this game we may have a survival of a -ceremonial so common among early or uncultured people, the chief -incident of which is the frenzied dancing of a god-possessed devotee. - - [3] A variant of the second line is, "Ranting, roaring, heely man." "I - suppose he was Irish," said my informant, "as he was named - 'Healey'" (Miss G. Hope). - - -Follow my Leader - -This is a boys' game. Any number can take part in it. It requires a good -extent of country to play it well. The boy who is the swiftest runner -and the best jumper is chosen as Leader. He sets out at a good speed -over the fields, tries to jump as many ditches or burns, jumping such -from one side to the other again and again, to scramble over dykes, -through hedges, over palings, and run up braes. The others have to -follow him as they can. This steeplechase continues till the followers -are all tired out.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -This is a very general game among schoolboys, but in Hereford it was a -town custom occurring once in seven years on 11th October (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 75). - - -Fool, Fool, come to School - -This game is played under the name of "Foolie, Foolie" at Duthil, -Strathspey. The players are placed in a row, either standing or sitting. -Two are chosen, the one as Namer and the other as Foolie. Foolie -withdraws, if not out of sight, at least out of range of hearing. The -Namer then gives a name secretly to each player. When this is done, he -calls on Foolie--Foolie, Foolie, come to your schoolie. - -Foolie pays no attention to this call. It is again repeated, but with -the same results. This goes on for several times. At last the Namer -calls out-- - - Foolie, Foolie, come to your schoolie; - Your bannocks are burnin' an' ready for turnin'. - -Foolie always obeys this call, comes and stations himself beside the -Namer. A little chaffing generally goes on against Foolie. The Namer -says, "Come chise me oot, come chise me in, tae" so and so, naming one -by the assumed fancy name. Foolie makes choice of one. If the choice -falls right, the one so chosen steps from the line and stands beside -Foolie. If the choice falls wrong, the one named remains in the line. -All the players' names are called out in this way. If any stand unchosen -by Foolie, the Namer then goes up to each and asks if he wants, _e.g._, -"an aipple," "an orange," "a kirk," "a cottage," &c. Each one whispers -what he wants. The same question is put to Foolie. If he answers, -_e.g._, "orange," the one so named steps out and stands beside Foolie. -All not first chosen are gone over in this way. Those left unchosen take -their stand beside the Namer. There is then a tug-of-war, with the Namer -and Foolie as the leaders.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -In Hants the children stand _vis-à-vis_, as in a country dance. One of -the number is sent out of earshot, and the others decide with the -Captain as to the name of the bird each wishes to personate. The -Captain then calls to the child who is out, "Tom Fool, Tom Fool, come -home from school, and pick me out a blackbird," "cuckoo," or other bird. -If Tom Fool is wrong in his guessing after three trials, he is condemned -to run the gauntlet, being pelted with gloves or handkerchiefs not too -mercifully.--Bitterne, Hants (Miss Byford). - -In Sussex there is the same action with the following words, but there -is no chasing or hitting-- - - Of all the birds in the air, - Of all the fishes in the sea, - You can pick me out [ ] - -If the children fail to do so, they say-- - - Poor fool, been to school, - Learn more in a week; - Been there seven years - And hasn't learnt a bit. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - -The same game is played indoors in Cornwall, the reply being-- - - Fool, fool, go back to school - And learn your letters better. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 99-80). - -See "Namers and Guessers." - - -Foot and Over - -One boy out of a number stoops in the position for "Leap-frog" at an -agreed fixed line. From the players he chooses a Leader and a Foot. The -Leader first leaps over the stooping boy at a foot from the line; the -other players then leap in turn each at a foot further from the line, -the stooping boy moving forward from the line for each player; finally -the Foot leaps as far as the distance leapt by the last boy. If this is -accomplished, the Leader hops from the line and then leaps; the -followers hop and leap each a foot further than each other; finally the -Foot hops and leaps as far as the distance covered by the last boy. If -this is accomplished, the Leader hops twice and then leaps; the same -process going on until one of the boys fails, who then takes the place -of the stooping boy, and the game begins again. If the Foot covers any -longer distance than the Leader, the Leader stoops down.--Earls Heaton, -Yorks. (H. Hardy). - -This game is general. Mr. Emslie describes the London version somewhat -differently. After all the boys had jumped over the first boy's back, a -cry of "Foot it" was raised, and the boy who had given the back placed -one of his feet at a right angle to the other, and in this way measured -a "foot's length" from the starting-place. All the boys then "overed" -his back from the original line, the last one crying "Foot it," and then -the measuring ceremony was again gone through, and the game commenced -again, and continued in the same manner until one of the boys failed to -"over" the back, when he became Back. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: 1st position] - -[Illustration: 2nd position] - -[Illustration: 3rd position] - - -Football - -The modern game of "Football" is too well known to need description -here, and, like "Cricket," it has become no longer a children's game. As -to its origin, there are many ball games, such as "Camping," which have -been suggested as the original form of "Football." Every school almost -had some peculiarity in the method of playing, and Eton, Winchester, -Uppingham, and Rugby are well-known examples. It is not a little -interesting to note, now that "Football" has settled down into a -national game organised by county committees, that one of the forms of -play officially recognised is the old Rugby game, the other form, known -as the "Association," being arrived at by agreement of those interested -in the game. - -To illustrate the ancient origin of the game, and its serious import as -a local contest rather than a sport, some examples may be given. It is -still (1877) keenly contested at Workington on Easter Tuesday on the -banks of, and not unfrequently in, the river Derwent (Dickinson's -_Cumberland Glossary_). At Derby there was a football contest between -the parishes of All Saints' and St. Peter's. The ball was thrown into -the market-place from the Town Hall. The moment it was thrown the "war -cries" of the rival parishes began, and the contest, nominally that of a -football match, was in reality a fight between the two sections of the -town; and the victors were announced by the joyful ringing of their -parish bells (Dyer's _Popular Customs_, p. 75). At Chester-le-Street the -game was played between what were termed "up-streeters" and -"down-streeters," one side endeavouring to get the ball to the top of -the town, whilst their opponents tried to keep it near the lower or -north end. At one o'clock the ball was thrown out from near the old -commercial hotel, the Queen's Head, in the centre of the town, and it -has often been received by over three and four hundred people, so great -was the interest taken in this ancient sport. At Asborne the struggle -was between the "up'ards" and "down'ards." At Dorking the divisions were -between the east and west ends of the town, and there was first a -perambulation of the streets by the football retinue composed of -grotesquely dressed persons. At Alnwick the divisions were the parishes -of St. Michael's and St. Paul's. At Kirkwall the contest was on New -Year's Day, and was between "up the gates" and "down the gates," the -ball being thrown up at the Cross. At Scarborough, on the morning of -Shrove Tuesday, hawkers paraded the streets with parti-coloured balls, -which were purchased by all ranks of the community. With these, and -armed with sticks, men, women, and children repaired to the sands below -the old town and indiscriminately commenced a contest. The following -graphic account of Welsh customs was printed in the _Oswestry Observer_ -of March 2, 1887: "In South Cardiganshire it seems that about eighty -years ago the population, rich and poor, male and female, of opposing -parishes, turned out on Christmas Day and indulged in the game of -'Football' with such vigour that it became little short of a serious -fight. The parishioners of Cellan and Pencarreg were particularly bitter -in their conflicts; men threw off their coats and waistcoats and women -their gowns, and sometimes their petticoats. At Llanwenog, an extensive -parish below Lampeter, the inhabitants for football purposes were -divided into the Bros and the Blaenaus. A man over eighty, an inmate of -Lampeter Workhouse, gives the following particulars:--In North Wales the -ball was called the Bêl Troed, and was made with a bladder covered with -a Cwd Tarw. In South Wales it was called Bél Ddu, and was usually made -by the shoe-maker of the parish, who appeared on the ground on Christmas -Day with the ball under his arm. The Bros, it should be stated, occupied -the high ground of the parish. They were nicknamed 'Paddy Bros,' from a -tradition that they were descendants from Irish people who settled on -the hills in days long gone by. The Blaenaus occupied the lowlands, and, -it may be presumed, were pure-bred Brythons. The more devout of the Bros -and Blaenaus joined in the service at the parish church on Christmas -morning. At any rate, the match did not begin until about mid-day, when -the service was finished. Then the whole of the Bros and Blaenaus, rich -and poor, male and female, assembled on the turnpike road which divided -the highlands from the lowlands. The ball having been redeemed from the -Crydd, it was thrown high in the air by a strong man, and when it fell -Bros and Blaenaus scrambled for its possession, and a quarter of an hour -frequently elapsed before the ball was got out from among the struggling -heap of human beings. Then if the Bros, by hook or by crook, could -succeed in taking the ball up the mountain to their hamlet of Rhyddlan -they won the day; while the Blaenaus were successful if they got the -ball to their end of the parish at New Court. The whole parish was the -field of operations, and sometimes it would be dark before either party -scored a victory. In the meantime many kicks would be given and taken, -so that on the following day some of the competitors would be unable to -walk, and sometimes a kick on the shins would lead the two men -concerned to abandon the game until they had decided which was the -better pugilist. There do not appear to have been any rules for the -regulation of the game; and the art of football playing in the olden -time seems to have been to reach the goal. When once the goal was -reached, the victory was celebrated by loud hurrahs and the firing of -guns, and was not disturbed until the following Christmas Day. Victory -on Christmas Day, added the old man, was so highly esteemed by the whole -countryside, that a Bro or Blaenau would as soon lose a cow from his -cow-house as the football from his portion of the parish." - -(_b_) In Gomme's _Village Community_, pp. 241-44, the position of -football games as elements in the traditions of race is discussed, and -their relationship to a still earlier form of tribal games, where the -element of clan feuds is more decidedly preserved, is pointed out. - - -Forfeits - -Forfeits are incurred in those games in which penalties are exacted from -players for non-compliance with the rules of the game; "Buff," -"Contrary," "Crosspurposes," "Fire, Air, and Water," "Follow my Gable," -"Genteel Lady," "Jack's Alive," "Old Soldier," "Twelve Days of -Christmas," "Turn the Trencher," "Wadds," and others. These games are -described under their several titles, and the formula for forfeits is -always the same. Small articles belonging to the players must be given -by them every time a forfeit is incurred, and these must be redeemed at -the close of the game. They are "cried" in the following manner:--One of -the players sits on a chair having the forfeits in her lap. A child -kneels on the ground and buries his face in his hands on the lap of the -person who holds the forfeits. The "crier" then takes up -indiscriminately one of the forfeits, and holding it up in the sight of -all those who have been playing the games (without the kneeling child -seeing it), says-- - - Here's a very pretty thing and a very pretty thing, - And what shall be done to [_or_, by] the owner of this very pretty - thing? - -The kneeling child then says what the penance is to be. The owner of the -forfeit must then perform the penance before the other players, and then -another forfeit is "cried." - -The more general penances imposed upon the owners of the forfeits are as -follows, but the list could be very much extended:-- - - Bite an inch off the poker. - Kneel to the prettiest, bow to the wittiest, and kiss the one you - love best. - Stand in each corner of the room, sigh in one, cry in another, sing - in another, and dance in the other. - Put yourself through the keyhole. - Place two chairs in the middle of the room, take off your shoes, and - jump over them. - Measure so many yards of love ribbon. - Postman's knock. - Crawl up the chimney. - Spell Opportunity. - -Miss Burne mentions one penance designed to make the victim ridiculous, -as when he is made to lie on his back on the floor with his arms -extended, and declare-- - - Here I lie! - The length of a looby, - The breadth of a booby, - And three parts of a jackass! - ---_Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 526-27. - -(_c_) Halliwell gives, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, pp. 324-26, some curious -verses, recorded for the first time by Dr. Kenrick in his Review of Dr. -Johnson's Shakespeare, 1765, on "rules for seemly behaviour," in which -the forfeits imposed by barbers as penalties for handling razors, &c, -are set forth. Although "barbers' forfeits" are not of the same nature -as the nursery forfeits, it is possible that this general custom among -so important a class of the community in early times as barbers may have -suggested the game. Both Forby in his _Vocabulary of East Anglia_ and -Moor in his _Suffolk Words_ bear testimony to the general prevalence of -barbers' forfeits, and it must be borne in mind that barbers were also -surgeons in early days. A curious custom is also recorded in another -East Anglian word-list, which may throw light upon the origin of the -game from popular custom. "A forfeit is incurred by using the word -'water' in a brew-house, where you must say 'liquor;' or by using the -word 'grease' in a chandlery, where it is 'stuff' or 'metal.' The -forfeit is to propitiate the offended _genius loci_" (Spurden's _East -Anglian Vocabulary_). The element of divination in the custom is perhaps -indicated by a curious note from Waldron, in his _Description of the -Isle of Man_ (_Works_, p. 55), "There is not a barn unoccupied the whole -twelve days, every parish hiring fiddlers at the public charge. On -Twelfth Day the fiddler lays his head on some of the wenches' laps, and -a third person asks who such a maid or such a maid shall marry, naming -the girls then present one after another; to which he answers according -to his own whim, or agreeable to the intimacies he has taken notice of -during this time of merriment. But whatever he says is as absolutely -depended on as an oracle; and if he happen to couple two people who have -an aversion to each other, tears and vexation succeed the mirth. This -they call cutting off the fiddler's head; for after this he is dead for -the whole year." Redeeming the forfeits is called "Crying the Weds," in -Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 526. See "Wadds." - - -Fox - - Fox, a fox, a brummalary - How many miles to Lummaflary? Lummabary? - Eight and eight and a hundred and eight. - How shall I get home to-night? - Spin your legs and run fast. - -Halliwell gives this rhyme as No. ccclvii. of his _Nursery Rhymes_, but -without any description of the game beyond the words, "A game of the -fox." It is probably the same game as "Fox and Goose." - - -Fox and Goose (1) - -In Dorsetshire one of the party, called the Fox, takes one end of the -room or corner of a field (for the game was equally played indoors or -out); all the rest of the children arrange themselves in a line or -string, according to size, one behind the other, the smallest last, -behind the tallest one, called Mother Goose, with their arms securely -round the waist of the one in front of them, or sometimes by grasping -the dress. - -The game commences by a parley between the Fox and Goose to this effect, -the Goose beginning. - -"What are you after this fine morning?" - -"Taking a walk." - -"With what object?" - -"To get an appetite for a meal." - -"What does [will] your meal consist of?" - -"A nice fat goose for my breakfast." - -"Where will you get it?" - -"Oh, I shall get a nice morsel somewhere; and as they are so handy, I -shall satisfy myself with one of yours." - -"Catch one if you can." - -A lively scene follows. The Fox and Mother Goose should be pretty evenly -matched; the Mother with extended arms seeking to protect her Brood, -while the Fox, who tries to dodge under, right and left, is only allowed -in case of a successful foray or grasp to secure the last of the train. -Vigorous efforts are made to escape him, the Brood of course -supplementing the Mother's exertions to elude him as far as they are -able, but without breaking the link. The game may be continued until all -in turn are caught.--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 217-18. - -In Lancashire the children stand in line behind each other, holding each -other by the waist. One stands facing them and calls out-- - - My mother sits on yonder chimney, - And she says she _must_ have a chicken. - -The others answer-- - - She _can't_ have a chicken. - -The one then endeavours to catch the last child of the tail, who when -caught comes behind the captor; repeat until all have changed -sides.--Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - -A version of this game played at Eckington, Derbyshire, is played as -follows:--A den is chalked out or marked out for the Fox. A larger den, -opposite to this, is marked out for the Geese. A boy or a girl -represents the Fox, and a number of others the Geese. Then the Fox -shouts, "Geese, Geese, gannio," and the Geese answer, "Fox, Fox, -fannio." Then the Fox says, "How many Geese have you to-day?" The Geese -reply, "More than you can catch and carry away." Then the Geese run out -of the den, and the Fox tries to catch them. He puts as many as he -catches into his den (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) This game is a very general one at Christmas time. It is -practically the same as "Gled Wylie," and "Hen and Chickens," and the -"Hawk and Chickens" of Mr. Newell's _Games and Songs of American -Children_, pp. 155-56. By referring to these games it will be seen that -the whole group are mimic representatives of farmyard episodes, though -the animal characters are giving way to more domestic affairs, as shown -in the Pins and Needles version of "Hen and Chickens." It is possible -that the different animals which are victims to the Fox appearing in the -different games may arise from local circumstances, and that in this -case a real distinction exists between the various names by which this -game is known. A game called "Wolf and Deer," similar to "Fox and -Geese," is given in _Winter Evening Amusements_, by R. Revel. The last -one at the end of the tail may, if she has no other chance of escape, -try and place herself before the Deer or Hen. She is then no longer to -be hunted; all the others must then follow her example until the deer -becomes the last of the line. The game then terminates by exacting a -forfeit for each lady whom the Wolf has suffered to escape his clutches -(pp. 64, 65). - -See "Gled Wylie," "Hen and Chickens," "Old Dame." - - -Fox and Geese (2) - -A game known by this name is played with marbles or pegs on a board on -which are thirty-three holes, or on the pavement, with holes scraped out -of the stones. To play this game there are seventeen pieces called -Geese, and another one either larger or distinguished from the Geese by -its colour, which is called the Fox. The Fox occupies the centre hole, -and the Geese occupy nine holes in front, and four on each side of him. -The vacant holes behind are for the Geese and Fox to move in. The game -is for the Geese to shut up the Fox so that he cannot move. All the -pieces can be moved from one spot to another in the direction of the -lines, but cannot pass over two holes at once. The Geese are not -permitted to take the Fox. The Fox's business is to take all, or as many -of the Geese as will prevent him from being blockaded. The Fox can take -the Geese whenever there is a vacant space behind them, which he passes -to, then occupies. - -This game has been very popular among schoolboys in all ages. Mr. -Micklethwaite, in a paper on the Indoor Games of School Boys in the -Middle Ages (_Arch. Journ._ xlix. 322), gives instances of finding -figures of this game cut "in the cloister benches of Gloucester -Cathedral and elsewhere, and there are several on the twelfth century -tomb at Salisbury, miscalled Lord Stourton's," and also at Norwich -Castle. For the date of these boards, Mr. Micklethwaite says for the -last three centuries and a half cloisters everywhere in England have -been open passages, and there have generally been schoolboys about. It -is therefore not unlikely that they should have left behind them such -traces as these play-boards. But if they are of later date they would -not be found to be distributed in monastic cloisters with respect to the -monastic arrangement, and we do find them so. Strutt describes the game -(_Sports_, p. 319). - -See "Nine Men's Morris," "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Fox in the Fold - -"The Tod (Fox) i' the Faul (Fold)." This game is commonly played by -boys. Any number of boys join hands and stand in a circle to form the -Faul. The boy that represents the Tod is placed within the circle. His -aim is to escape. To effect this he rushes with all his force, increased -by a run, against the joint hands of any two of the players. If the rush -does not unloose the grasp, he hangs on the two arms with all his -weight, pressing and wriggling. If he fails he makes a rush at another -two, always selecting those players he thinks weakest. When he does -break through he rushes off at the top of his speed, with all the -players in full cry, till he is caught and brought back. The game -begins anew with another boy as Tod.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -See "Bull in the Park," "Frog in the Middle." - - -Fox in the Hole - -All the players are armed with handkerchiefs. One of the players is -chosen for Fox, who has his den marked out. The Fox hops out on one leg, -with his handkerchief ready to strike. The players gather round him and -attack him. If he can strike one of his assailants without putting his -foot to the ground from his hopping position, the player so struck is -chased by the others into the den, and he then becomes the Fox for -another round of the game.--Cork (Miss Keane). - -Halliwell (_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 228) describes the game in practically -the same manner, but adds that when the Fox is coming out he says-- - - The Fox gives warning - It's a cold and frosty morning, - -after which he is at liberty to hop out and use his handkerchief. - -_(b)_ This game is alluded to in _Soliman and Perseda_, 1599; _Florio_, -p. 480; _Herrick_, i. 176. See Halliwell's _Dictionary_. Professor Mayor -communicated to the _Gentleman's Magazine_ of 1848 (ii.), p. 147, the -following early allusions to the game from old dictionaries:-- - -Gouldman, London, MDCLXIV.--"_Ascoliasmus_, Empusæ ludus: a kind of play -wherein boys lift up one leg and hop with the other, where they beat one -another with bladders tied to the end of strings. Fox to thy hole." - -Holyoke, MDCLXXVII.--"_Empusa_. [Greek: para to heni podizein], quòd uno -incedat pede. Hence _empusam agere_ is used for a play, hopping on one -leg; with us, Fox to his hole." - -Id. "_Ascoliasmus._ A kind of play that children use when they hop on -one leg, called Fox to thy hole." - -Cambridge Dict. MDCXCIII.--"_Ascol._ A kind of play wherein boys hopping -on one leg beat one another with gloves or pieces of leather, and is -called Fox to thy hole." - -Coles, 7th ed. 1711.--"_Ascol._ The play called Fox to the -hole.--_Empus._ Ludus Empusæ. Scotch hoppers, or Fox in the hole." - -A similar game to this is played at Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (Mr. Hardy), -and called "Goose and Gander." Two players, the Goose and the Gander, -stand in a ring, each on one leg. They hop out in turn, and try to catch -one of the other players without letting their other leg touch the -ground. If they fail in this they get "strapped" back to the ring. When -either are successful, the player who is caught takes the place of -either Goose or Gander in turn. The game is also mentioned in _Useful -Transactions in Philosophy_, 1708-9. - - -French Jackie - -This game is played either by boys or girls or by both together. One is -chosen to stand alone; the other players join hands and form a circle. -The one outside the circle goes round it and touches on the back one of -the circle. He then runs off round the circle, and the one who was -touched runs off in the opposite direction round the circle. The aim of -each player is to reach the vacant place in the circle first. The one -left out has to repeat the same action. The game may go on for any -length of time.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -At Barnes this game is called "Gap." It is known as "French Tag" in the -Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews), and "Tap-back" at -Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Adam). - - -French and English - -The children choose sides under a leader, and a boundary line is made in -the middle of the ground dividing the French and English territory. A -handkerchief is then placed in the back part of each territory to -represent a flag. The object is to obtain as many flags from the -opposite side as possible. If a person is captured before having seized -a flag, he is taken prisoner, and must be rescued by one of his own -side. Thus, for instance, an Englishman enters the French territory and -tries to reach the flag. If he is seen by the French before he reaches -the flag, he is taken prisoner and is placed near the flags, and the -next Englishman rescues him instead of taking a flag. As soon as the -flag is taken, one of the party must put another handkerchief in its -place. A player cannot be taken prisoner after having obtained the -handkerchief or flag. The winning side is decided by counting the flags -and prisoners.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). - -This is a very general game, and is known as "Scotch and English" in the -north, where some interesting details occur, for which see "Scotch and -English." - - -French Blindman's Buff - -The children kneel in a circle, one standing blindfolded in the middle. -The kneeling children shout, "Come point to me with your -pointer."--Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - -See "Buff," "Dinah," "Muffin Man." - - -Friar-rush - -A Christmas game, mentioned in the _Declaration of Popish Impostures_, -1603. - - -Frincy-francy - -A game played between the dances at balls in farm-houses. A chair was -placed in the middle of the barn or room; the master of the ceremonies -led to the chair a young woman, who sat down and named the young man -whom she was willing should kiss her. This he did, and then took the -seat which the lady vacated. He then called out the name of some -favourite girl, who was led up to him; there was another kiss. The girl -then took the seat, and so on (county of Down). The same game is called -"Frimsey-framsey" in parts of the county of Antrim.--Patterson's _Antrim -and Down Glossary_. - -Compare "Cushion Dance." - - -Frog-lope - -Name for "Leap-frog."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Frog in the Middle - -One child is seated on the ground with his legs under him; the other -players form a ring round. They then pull or buffet the centre child or -Frog, who tries to catch one of them without rising from the floor. The -child who is caught takes the place of the centre child. Another method -of playing the game is similar to "Bull in the Park." The child in the -centre tries to break out of the ring, those forming it keeping the Frog -in the ring by any means in their power, while still keeping their hands -clasped. They sometimes sing or say-- - - Hey! hey! hi! Frog in the middle and there shall lie; - He can't get out and he shan't get out--hey! hey! hi! - -[Illustration] - -They dance round when saying this, all keeping a watch on the Frog, who -suddenly makes a rush, and tries to break through the ring.--London (A. -B. Gomme). - -Strutt describes this game, and gives an illustration from a fourteenth -century MS. which is here reproduced from the original (_Sports_, p. -303). Newell (_Games of American Children_, p. 171) also mentions it, -and gives the rhyme as-- - - Frog in the sea, can't catch me! - - -Gap - -The same as "French Jackie." This game is called "Tap-back" or -"Tat-back" at Bitterne, Hants. - - -Garden Gate - -Children join hands and form a ring. One child stands inside the ring; -this child walks round and asks one of the circle, called the Keeper-- - - Have you the key of the garden gate? - Open and let me go through. - -The Keeper replies-- - - My next-door neighbour's got the key; - Ask him and he'll give it to you. - -This is repeated by each one in the circle. Then the inside child comes -again to the Keeper and says-- - - None of the neighbours have got the key, - So you must let me go through. - -The Keeper answers-- - - I've lost the key of the garden gate, - And cannot let you through. - -Then all the ring say-- - - You must stop all night within the gate, - Unless you have strength to break through. - -The child inside then attempts to break through, and if he succeeds in -breaking any of the clasped hands the one who first gives way has to -take the place in the centre.--Roxton, St. Neots (Miss Lumley). - -See "Bull in the Park." - - -Gegg - -"To smuggle the Gegg," a game played by boys in Glasgow, in which two -parties are formed by lot, equal in number, the one being denominated -the Outs, the other Ins. The Outs are those who go out from the den or -goal, where those called the Ins remain for a time. The Outs get the -Gegg, which is anything deposited, as a key, a penknife, &c. Having -received this, they conceal themselves, and raise the cry, "Smugglers!" -On this they are pursued by the Ins; and if the Gegg (for the name is -transferred to the person who holds the deposit) be taken, they exchange -situations--the Outs become Ins and the Ins Outs. This play is -distinguished from "Hy-spy" only by the use of the Gegg. One of the Ins -who is touched by one of the Outs is said to be taken, and henceforth -loses his right to hold the Gegg. If he who holds the Gegg gets in the -den, the Outs are winners, and have the privilege of getting out again. -The Outs, before leaving the den, shuffle the Gegg, or smuggle it so -between each other that the Ins do not know which person has it. He who -is laid hold of, and put to the question, is supposed to deny that he -has the Gegg: if he escapes with it, he gets out again.--Jamieson. - - -Genteel Lady - -A player begins thus:--"I, a genteel lady (or gentleman) came from that -genteel lady (or gentleman) to say that she (or he) owned a tree." The -other players repeat the words in turn, and then the leader goes over -them again, adding, "with bronze bark." The sentence goes round once -more, and on the next repetition the leader continues, "with golden -branches." He afterwards adds, "and silver leaves," "and purple fruit," -"and on the top a milk-white dove," and, finally, "mourning for the loss -of his lady-love." - -If a player should fail in repeating the rigmarole, there is a fine to -pay. A "pipe-lighter" is stuck in her hair, and she must say "one-horned -lady" instead of "genteel lady." When a second horn is added, of course -she says "two-horned," and so forth. Some players wear half-a-dozen -before the conclusion of the game. The game is called "The Wonderful -Tree."--Anderby, Lincolnshire (Miss M. Peacock). - -In some parts of Yorkshire it is customary to say "no-horned lady" -instead of "genteel lady" at the beginning of the game. - -When we played this game we said "always genteel" after "genteel lady," -and varied the formula. For instance, the first player would say, "I, a -genteel lady, always genteel, come from a genteel lady, always genteel, -to say she lives in a house with twelve windows," or words were used -beginning with the letter A. Each player must repeat this, and add -something else in keeping with a house; or sentences had to be made in -which words beginning with the letter A must be said, the other players -doing the same alphabetically.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -Mr. Newell, in writing of this game, says that the "lamp-lighter" or -"spill" was lighted when placed in the hair of the players who made -mistakes. He does not mention forfeits being exacted.--_Games_, p. 139. - - -Ghost at the Well - -One of the party is chosen for Ghost (if dressed in white so much the -better); she hides in a corner; the other children are a mother and -daughters. The eldest daughter says:-- - -"Mother, mother, please give me a piece of bread and butter." - -M. "Let me (or 'leave me') look at your hands, child. Why, they are very -dirty." - -E. D. "I will go to the well and wash them." - -She goes to the corner, the Ghost peeps up, and she rushes back, crying -out-- - -"Mother! mother! I have seen a Ghost." - -M. "Nonsense, child! it was only your father's nightshirt I have washed -and hung out to dry. Go again." - -The child goes, and the same thing happens. She returns, saying-- - -"Yes! mother! I have seen a ghost." - -M. "Nonsense, child! we will take a candle, and all go together to -search for it." - -The mother picks up a twig for a candle, and they set off. When they -come near to the Ghost, she appears from her hiding-place, mother and -children rush away in different directions, the Ghost chases them until -she has caught one, who in her turn becomes Ghost.--West Cornwall (Miss -Courtney, _Folk-lore Journal_, v. 55). - -This game was "Ghost in the Copper" in London. It was played in the same -way as above. Chairs formed the copper, and the ghost crouched down -behind. The "Mother" was "washing" at a tub, also formed with two -chairs. The eldest daughter was told she could not go to school to-day; -she must stop at home and help hang up the clothes. The other children -go to play. The Mother said, "Here, Jane, take this (pretending to give -her a garment out of the wash-tub) and put it in the copper, and push it -down well with the stick." Jane goes to the copper and pretends to take -off the lid. When she puts the washed garment in, and pokes down with -the stick, the Ghost jumps up. She cries out as above, the Mother -saying, "Nonsense, child! it's only some of the boiling clothes." The -child goes again, and the game proceeds as above. It is generally played -now as "Ghost."--A. B. Gomme. It is mentioned by Newell (_Games_, p. -223). - - -Giants - -A Giant is chosen, and he must be provided with a cave. A summer-house -will do, if there is no window for the Giant to see out of. The others -then have to knock at the door with their knuckles separately. The Giant -rushes when he thinks all the children have knocked, and if he succeeds -in catching one before they reach a place of safety (appointed -beforehand) the captured one becomes Giant.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. -Byford). See "Wolf." - - -Giddy - - Giddy, giddy, gander, - Who stands yonder? - Little Bessy Baker, - Pick her up and shake her; - Give her a bit of bread and cheese, - And throw her over the water. - ---Warwickshire. - -_(b)_ A girl being blindfolded, her companions join hands and form a -ring round her. At the word "Yonder" the blindfolded girl points in any -direction she pleases, and at line three names one of the girls. If the -one pointed at and the one named be the same, she is the next to be -blinded; but, curiously enough, if they be not the same, the one named -is the one. Meanwhile, at line four, she is not "picked up," but is -shaken by the shoulders by the still blindfolded girl; and at line five -she is given by the same "bread and cheese," _i.e._, the buds or young -leaves of what later is called "May" (_Cratægus oxyacantha_); and at -line six she is taken up under the blinded girl's arm and swung -round.--Warwickshire (_Notes and Queries_, 6th Ser., viii. 451). - - -Gilty-galty (or gaulty) - -A boy's game. One boy is chosen, who says:-- - - Gilty-galty four-and-forty, - Two tens make twenty. - -He then counts one, two, three, four, &c., up to forty, having his eyes -covered by his hands, and the others hide while he is saying the -"nominy." At the conclusion he uncovers his eyes, and if he sees any -boys not yet hidden they have to stand still. He seeks the rest, but if -he moves far away from his place, called the "stooil" (stool), one of -the hidden boys may rush out and take it, provided he can get there -first. Should he fail in this he also has to stand aside; but if any one -succeeds, then all run out as before, and the same boy has to say the -"nominy" again. On the other hand, if he finds all the boys without -loosing his "stooil," the boy first caught has to take his place and say -the "nominy." The game was thus played in 1810, and is so still, both -here and at Lepton.--Easther's _Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. - - -Gipsy - - I charge my children, every one, - To keep good house while I am gone. - You, and you [points], but specially you - [or sometimes, but specially Sue], - Or else I'll beat you black and blue. - -One child is selected for Gipsy, one for Mother, and one for Daughter -Sue. The Mother says the lines, and points to several children to -emphasise her words. During her absence the Gipsy comes in, entices a -child away, and hides her. This process is repeated till all the -children are hidden, when the mother has to find them.--Halliwell -(_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 228). - -See "Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils Over," "Witch." - - -Gled-wylie - -The name of a singular game played at country schools. One of the -largest of the boys steals away from his comrades, in an angry-like -mood, to some dykeside or sequestered nook, and there begins to work as -if putting a pot on a fire. The others seem alarmed at his manner, and -gather round him, when the following dialogue takes place:-- - -They say first to him-- - - What are ye for wi' the pot, gudeman? - Say what are ye for wi' the pot? - We dinna like to see ye, gudeman, - Sae thrang about this spot. - - We dinna like ye ava, gudeman, - We dinna like ye ava. - Are ye gaun to grow a gled, gudeman? - And our necks draw and thraw? - -He answers-- - - Your minnie, burdies, ye maun lae; - Ten to my nocket I maun hae; - Ten to my e'enshanks, and or I gae lye, - In my wame I'll lay twa dizzen o' ye by. - -The mother of them, as it were, returns-- - - Try't than, try't than, do what ye can, - Maybe ye maun toomer sleep the night, gudeman; - Try't than, try't than, Gled-wylie frae the heugh, - Am no sae saft, Gled-wylie, ye'll fin' me bauld and teugh. - -After these rhymes are said the chickens cling to the mother all in -a string. She fronts the flock, and does all she can to keep the -kite from her brood, but often he breaks the row and catches his -prey.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -Evidently denominated from the common mode of designating the kite among -the vulgar (Jamieson). "The Greedy Gled's seeking ye," is one of the -lines of a rhyme used in "Hide and Seek" in Edinburgh. Glead, or Gled, -is also a Yorkshire and Cheshire name for a kite. "As hungry as a Glead" -(_Glossary_, by an Old Inhabitant).--Leigh (_Cheshire Glossary_). - -See "Fox and Goose," "Hen and Chickens," "Hide and Seek." - - -Glim-glam - -The play of "Blind Man's Buff."--Banffshire, Aberdeen (Jamieson). - - -Gobs - -A London name for the game of "Hucklebones." - -See "Fivestones." - - -Green Grass - -[Music] - ---Middlesex (Miss Collyer). - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -[Music] - ---Congleton (Miss A. E. Twemlow). - - I. A dis, a dis, a green grass, - A dis, a dis, a dis; - Come all you pretty fair maids - And dance along with us. - - For we are going roving, - A roving in this land; - We'll take this pretty fair maid, - We'll take her by the hand. - - Ye shall get a duke, my dear, - And ye shall get a drake; - And ye shall get a young prince, - A young prince for your sake. - - And if this young prince chance to die, - Ye shall get another; - The bells will ring, and the birds will sing, - And we'll clap hands together. - ---Chamber's _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 137-38. - - II. A-diss, a-diss, a-green grass, - A-diss, a-diss, a-dass; - Come, my pretty fair maid, - And walk along with us. - - For you shall have a dik-ma-day, - You shall have a dr[=a]gon; - You shall have a nice young man - With princes for his th[=e]gan (or s[=e]gan). - ---Lanarkshire (W. G. Black). - - III. A dish, a dish, a green grass, - A dish, a dish, a dish, - Come all you pretty maidens - And dance along wi' us. - - For we are lads a roving, - A roving through the land, - We'll take this pretty fair maid - By her lily white hand. - - Ye sall get a duke, my dear, - An ye sall get a drake, - An ye sall get a bonny prince - For your ain dear sake. - - And if they all should die, - Ye sall get anither; - The bells will ring, the birds will sing, - And we'll clap our hands together. - ---Biggar (W. Ballantyne). - - IV. Dissy, dissy, green grass, - Dissy, dissy, duss, - Come all ye pretty fair maids - And dance along with us. - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - And you shall have a drake, - And you shall have a nice young man - To love you for your sake. - - If this young man should chance to die - And leave the girl a widow, - The birds shall sing, the bells shall ring, - Clap all your hands together. - ---Yorkshire (Henderson's _Folk-lore, Northern Counties_, p. 27). - - V. Dossy, dossy green grass, - Dossy, dossy, doss, - Come all ye pretty fair maids - And dance upon the grass. - - I will give you pots and pans, - I will give you brass, - I will give you anything - For a pretty lass. - - I will give you gold and silver, - I will give you pearl, - I will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Take one, take one, the fairest you can see. - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - You shall have a drake, - You shall have a young man - Apprentice for your sake. - - If this young man shall wealthy grow - And give his wife a feather, - The bells shall ring and birds shall sing - And we'll all clap hands together. - ---Roxton, St. Neots (Miss Lumley). - - VI. Walking up the green grass, - A dust, a dust, a dust! - We want a pretty maiden - To walk along with us. - - We'll take this pretty maiden, - We'll take her by the hand, - She shall go to Derby, - And Derby is the land! - - She shall have a duck, my dear, - She shall have a drake, - She shall have a nice young man - A-fighting for her sake! - - Suppose this young man was to die, - And leave the poor girl a widow; - The bells would ring and we should sing, - And all clap hands together! - ---Berrington (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 511). - - VII. Tripping up the green grass, - Dusty, dusty, day, - Come all ye pretty fair maids, - Come and with me play. - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - And you shall have a swan, - And you shall have a nice young man - A waiting for to come. - - Suppose he were to die - And leave his wife a widow, - Come all ye pretty fair maids, - Come clap your hands together! - - Will you come? - No! - - Naughty man, he won't come out, - He won't come out, he won't come out, - Naughty man, he won't come out, - To help us in our dancing. - - Will you come? - Yes! - - Now we've got our bonny lad, - Our bonny lad, our bonny lad, - Now we've got our bonny lad, - To help us in our dancing. - ---Middlesex (Miss Collyer). - - VIII. Stepping on the green grass - Thus, and thus, and thus; - Please may we have a pretty lass - To come and play with us? - We will give you pots and pans, - We will give you brass, - - No! - - We will give you anything - For a bonny lass. - - No! - - We will give you gold and silver, - We will give you pearl, - We will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Yes! - - You shall have a goose for dinner, - You shall have a darling, - You shall have a nice young man - To take you up the garden. - - But suppose this young man was to die - And leave this girl a widow? - The bells would ring, the cats would sing, - So we'll all clap together. - ---Frodingham and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock). - - IX. Stepping up the green grass, - Thus, and thus, and thus; - Will you let one of your fair maids - Come and play with us? - We will give you pots and pans, - We will give you brass, - We will give you anything - For a pretty lass. - - No! - - We won't take your pots and pans, - We won't take your brass, - We won't take your anything - For a pretty lass. - - Stepping up the green grass, - Thus, and thus, and thus; - Will you let one of your fair maids - Come and play with us? - We will give you gold and silver, - We will give you pearl, - We will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Yes! - - Come, my dearest [Mary], - Come and play with us, - You shall have a young man - Born for your sake. - And the bells shall ring - And the cats shall sing, - And we'll all clap hands together. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - X. Up and down the green grass, - This, and that, and thus; - Come all you fair maids - And walk along with us. - - Some will give you silver, - Some will give you gold, - Some will give you anything - For a pretty lass. - - Don't you think [_boy's name_] - Is a handsome young man? - Don't you think Miss [_child who has been choosing_] - Is as handsome as he? - - Then off with the glove - And on with the ring; - You shall be married - When you can agree. - - Take hold of my little finger, - Maycanameecan, - Pray tell me the name - Of your young man. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - XI. Here we come up the green grass, - Green grass, green grass, - Here we come up the green grass, - Dusty, dusty, day. - - Fair maid, pretty maid, - Give your hand to me, - I'll show you a blackbird, - A blackbird on the tree. - - We'll all go roving, - Roving side by side, - I'll take my fairest ----, - I'll take her for my bride. - - Will you come? - No! - - Naughty miss, she won't come out, - Won't come out, won't come out, - Naughty miss, she won't come out, - To help us with our dancing. - - Will you come? - Yes! - - Now we've got our bonny lass, - Bonny lass, bonny lass, - Now we've got our bonny lass, - To help us with our dancing. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - XII. Here we go up the green grass, - The green grass, the green grass; - Here we go up the green grass, - So early in the morning. - - Fair maid, pretty maid; - Give your hand to me, - And you shall see a blackbird, - A blackbird on the tree; - All sorts of colours - Lying by his side, - Take me, dearest [----], - For to be my bride-- - - Will you come? - No! - - Naughty old maid, she won't come out, - She won't come out, - To help us with our dancing-- - - Will you come? - Yes! - - Now we've got the bonny lass, - Now we've got the bonny lass, - To help us with our dancing. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - XIII. Trip trap over the grass, - If you please, will you let one of your [eldest] daughters - come, - Come and dance with me? - I will give you pots and pans, - I will give you brass, - I will give you anything - For a pretty lass-- - - No! - I will give you gold and silver, - I will give you pearl, - I will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Take one, take one, the fairest you may see. - - The fairest one that I can see - Is pretty [Nancy], come to me; - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - And you shall have a drake, - And you shall have a young man, - Apprentice for your sake. - - If this young man should happen to die, - And leave this poor woman a widow, - The bells shall all ring and the birds shall all sing, - And we'll clap hands together. - ---Halliwell's _Popular Nursery Rhymes_, cccxxxii. - - XIV. Will you take gold and silver, or will you take brass, - Will you take anything for a pretty lass? - - No! we'll not take gold and silver, no! we'll not take brass; - We'll not take anything for a pretty lass. - - Will you take the keys of school, or will you take brass? - Will you take anything for a pretty lass? - - Yes! we'll take the keys of school; yes! we will take brass; - We will take anything for a pretty lass. - - Come, my dear [Mary Anne], and give me your right hand, - - And you shall have a duck, my dear, - You shall have a drake; - You shall have a nice young man - To fiddle for your sake. - - The birds will sing, the bells will ring, - And we'll all clap hands together. - ---Congleton Workhouse School (Miss A. E. Tremlow). - -(_c_) The popular version of this game is played by the greater number -of the children forming a line on one side with joined hands, and one -child (sometimes two or more) facing them, advancing and retiring while -singing the verses. When he asks the question, "Will you come?" one girl -on the opposite side answers "No!" and afterwards "Yes!" When this is -said, she goes to the opposite side, and the two dance round together -while singing the next verse. The game begins again by the two singing -the verses, and thus getting a third child to join them, when the game -proceeds for a fourth, and so on. - -The Congleton and London versions are played by two lines of children of -about equal numbers. In the Lincolnshire version the above description -answers, except that when the last line is sung every one claps hands. -In the Sussex version the child at the end of the line is taken over by -the child who sings the verses, and they lock their little fingers -together while singing the remainder. - -Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) says:--"Two children advance and retire on -one side. When the opposite side says 'Yes!' the two take the first -child in the row and dance round with her, singing the remaining verse. -This is called 'the wedding.'" - -The Lanarkshire version is quite a different one, and contains rather -remarkable features. Mr. Black says that the game was played entirely by -girls, never by boys, and generally in the months of May or June, about -forty years ago. The children sang with rather mincing and refined -voices, evidently making an effort in this direction. They walked, with -their hands clasped behind their backs, up and down the road. Each -child was crowned with rushes, and also had sashes or girdles of rushes. - -Mr. Ballantyne says in his boyhood it was played by a row of boys on one -side and another of girls opposite. The boys selected a girl when -singing the third verse. - -In the Roxton version, one child at the end of the line of children acts -as "mother." One child advances as "suitor," and says the three first -verses. The "mother" replies with the next line. The "suitor" chooses a -girl and says the next verse, and then all the children sing the last -verse. This is the same action as in Halliwell's version. - -(_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 164-67. This analysis -presents us with a very good example of the changes caused by the -game-rhymes being handed down by tradition among people who have -forgotten the original meaning of the game. The first line in the Scotch -version contains the word "dis," which is not known to the ordinary -vocabulary. Another word, of similar import, is "dik-ma-day" in the -Lanarkshire version. Two other words occur, namely, "thegan" in the -Lanarkshire, and "maycanameecan" in the Sussex versions, which are also -not to be found in ordinary vocabularies. The two last words appear only -once, and cannot, therefore, be used for the purpose of tracing out an -original form of the game-rhyme, because on the system of analysis -adopted they may be arbitrary introductions and totally unconnected with -the original rhymes. This, however, is not the case with the two -first-mentioned words, and I am inclined to consider them as forming -part of the earliest version. The word "dis" is carried through no less -than ten out of the fourteen variants, the gradation in the forms being -as follows:-- - - dis - dass - dish - diss[y]--duss - dossy - this--thus - --dust - --dust[y] - -What the meaning of this word is it may be impossible to ascertain, -though probably Mr. Newell may be correct in his suggestion that it -represents the old English word "adist," the opposite of "ayont," -meaning "this way," "come hither" (_Games of American Children_, p. 51). -But the point really is, that the version which contains the oldest -word-forms would probably be the purest in other respects. The analysis -of the whole game confirms this view, as the Scottish and Yorkshire -versions are nearly parallel, while the discrepancies begin to creep in -with the Shropshire version, reaching their last stage in the versions -recorded by Halliwell and from Congleton. Following this line of -argument, "dik-ma-day" becomes first "duke, my dear," and then "duck, my -dear." Turning next to the import of the rhymes, apart from special -words used, it is curious to note that "dis" is only converted into -"dusty," and hence into "dusty day," in two versions out of the -fourteen. The Lincolnshire version agrees with Halliwell's version in -making some curious offers for a pretty lass, but these rhymes are -probably an innovation. In the same way the incidents numbered 39-40, -occurring in the Sussex version, and 43-46 occurring in the London and -Hants versions, are borrowings from other games, and not original -portions of this. The Congleton version is evidently incomplete. - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| Scotland (Chambers). | Lanarkshire. | Biggar. | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|A-dis, a-dis, a green |A-dis, a-dis, a green |A dish, a dish, a | - | |grass. |grass. |green grass. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.|A-dis, a-dis, a-das. |A-dis, a-dis, a-dass. |A dish, a dish, | - | | | |a dish. | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Come all ye pretty |Come my pretty fair |Come all ye pretty | - | |maids. |maid. |maids. | - | 7.|And dance along with |And walk along with |And dance along with | - | |us. |us. |us. | - | 8.|For we are going a- | -- |For we are lads a | - | |roving. | |roving. | - | 9.|We'll take this maid | -- |We'll take this pretty| - | |by the hand. | | fair maid by the | - | | | |hand. | - | 10.| -- | -- | -- | - | 11.| -- | -- | -- | - | 12.|You shall have a duke,|You shall have a dik- |Ye sall get a duke. | - | |my dear. |ma-day. | | - | 13.| -- | -- | -- | - | 14.| -- | -- | -- | - | 15.| -- | -- | -- | - | 16.| -- | -- | -- | - | 17.| -- | -- | -- | - | 18.| -- | -- | -- | - | 19.| -- | -- | -- | - | 20.|You shall have a |You shall have a |Ye sall get a drake. | - | |drake. |dragon. | | - | 21.| -- | -- | -- | - | 22.| -- | -- | -- | - | 23.| -- | -- | -- | - |[8.]| -- | -- | -- | - | 24.|And ye shall get a |You shall have a nice |Ye sall get a bonny | - | |young prince. |young man. |prince. | - | 25.| -- | -- | -- | - | 26.| -- | -- | -- | - | 27.|A young prince for | -- |For your ain sake. | - | |your sake. | | | - | 28.| -- | -- | -- | - | 29.| -- | -- | -- | - | 30.|If this young prince | -- |If they all should | - | |should die. | |die. | - | 31.| -- | -- | -- | - | 32.|Ye shall get another. | -- |Ye sall get anither. | - | 33.| -- | -- | -- | - | 34.| -- | -- | -- | - | 35.|Bells will ring and | -- |The bells will ring, | - | |birds sing. | |birds will sing. | - | 36.| -- | -- | -- | - | 37.|We'll all clap hands | -- |We'll clap hands | - | |together. | |together. | - | 38.| -- |With princes for his | -- | - | | |thegan. | | - | 39.| -- | -- | -- | - | 40.| -- | -- | -- | - | 41.| -- | -- | -- | - | 42.| -- | -- | -- | - | 43.| -- | -- | -- | - | 44.| -- | -- | -- | - | 45.| -- | -- | -- | - | 46.| -- | -- | -- | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| Yorkshire. | Roxton. | Shropshire. | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Dissy, dissy, green |Dossy, dossy, green | -- | - | |grass. |grass. | | - | 2.| -- | -- |Walking up the green | - | | | |grass. | - | 3.|Dissy, dissy, duss. |Dossy, dossy, doss. |A dust, a dust, a | - | | | |dust. | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Come all ye pretty |Come all ye pretty |We want a pretty | - | |maids. |maids. |maiden. | - | 7.|And dance along with |Dance upon the grass. |To walk along with us.| - | |us. | | | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- |We'll take her by the | - | | | |hand. | - | 10.| -- | -- | -- | - | 11.| -- | -- |She shall go to Derby.| - | 12.|You shall have a duck.|You shall have a duck.|She shall have a duck,| - | | |(after No. 19) |my dear. | - | 13.| -- |I will give pots and | -- | - | | |pans. | | - | 14.| -- |..... brass. | -- | - | 15.| -- |..... gold and silver.| -- | - | 16.| -- |..... pearl. | -- | - | 17.| -- |..... anything. | -- | - | 18.| -- | -- | -- | - | 19.| -- |For a pretty lass. | -- | - | 20.|You shall have a |You shall have a |She shall have a | - | |drake. |drake. |drake. | - | 21.| -- | -- | -- | - | 22.| -- | -- | -- | - | 23.| -- | -- | -- | - |[8.]| -- | -- | -- | - | 24.|You shall have a nice |You shall have a young|She shall have a nice | - | |young man. |man. |young man. | - | 25.| -- | -- | -- | - | 26.| -- | -- | -- | - | 27.|To love you for your | -- |A fighting for her | - | |sake. | |sake. | - | 28.| -- |Apprentice for your | -- | - | | |sake. | | - | 29.| -- | -- | -- | - | 30.|If this young man | -- |Suppose this young man| - | |should chance to die. | |was to die. | - | 31.| -- |If this young man | -- | - | | |should wealthy grow. | | - | 32.| -- | -- | -- | - | 33.|And leave the girl a | -- |And leave the girl a | - | |widow. | |widow. | - | 34.| -- |And give his wife a | -- | - | | |feather. | | - | 35.|Birds shall sing and |Bells shall ring and |Bells ring and we | - | |bells ring. |birds sing. |shall sing. | - | 36.| -- | -- | -- | - | 37.|Clap all your hands |We'll all clap hands |And all clap hands | - | |together. |together. |together. | - | 38.| -- | -- | -- | - | 39.| -- | -- | -- | - | 40.| -- | -- | -- | - | 41.| -- | -- | -- | - | 42.| -- | -- | -- | - | 43.| -- | -- | -- | - | 44.| -- | -- | -- | - | 45.| -- | -- | -- | - | 46.| -- | -- | -- | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| Lincolnshire, |Sussex, Hurstmonceux. | Middlesex. | - | | Frodingham. | | | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.|Stepping up the green |Up and down the green |Tripping up the green | - | |grass. |grass. |grass. | - | 3.|Thus, and thus, and |This, and that, and | -- | - | |thus. |thus. | | - | 4.| -- | -- |Dusty, dusty day. | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Please may we have a |Come all ye fair |Come all ye pretty | - | |pretty lass. |maids. |maids. | - | 7.|To come and play with |And walk along with |Come and with us play.| - | |us. |us. | | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - | 10.| -- | -- | -- | - | 11.| -- | -- | -- | - | 12.| -- | -- |You shall have a duck.| - | 13.|We will give you pots | -- | -- | - | |and pans. | | | - | 14.|..... brass. | -- | -- | - | 15.|..... gold and silver.|Some will give us | -- | - | | |silver ..... gold. | | - | 16.|..... pearl. | -- | -- | - | 17.|..... anything. | -- | -- | - | 18.| -- | -- | -- | - | 19.|For a pretty lass. | -- | -- | - | 20.|You shall have a goose| -- |You shall have a swan.| - | |for dinner. | | | - | 21.| -- |Take hold of my | -- | - | | |finger. | | - | 22.| -- |Maycanameecan. | -- | - | 23.| -- | -- | -- | - |[8.]| -- | -- | -- | - | 24.|You shall have a nice | -- |You shall have a nice | - | |young man. | |young man. | - | 25.| -- |Pray tell me the name | -- | - | | |of your young man. | | - | 26.| -- | -- | -- | - | 27.| -- | -- |A waiting for to come.| - | 28.| -- | -- | -- | - | 29.|To take you up the | -- | -- | - | |garden. | | | - | 30.|Suppose this young man| -- |Suppose he were to | - | |was to die. | |die. | - | 31.| -- | -- | -- | - | 32.| -- | -- | -- | - | 33.|And leave the girl a | -- |And leave his wife a | - | |widow. | |widow. | - | 34.| -- | -- | -- | - | 35.|Bells would ring, cats| -- | -- | - | |would sing. | | | - | 36.| -- | -- |Come all ye pretty | - | | | |fair maids. | - | 37.|So we'll all clap | -- |Come clap your hands | - | |hands together. | |together. | - | 38.| -- | -- | -- | - | 39.| -- |Don't you think [ ] | -- | - | | |a nice young man? | | - | 40.| -- |Don't you think [ ] | -- | - | | |as handsome as he? | | - | 41.| -- |Then off with the | -- | - | | |glove, on with the | | - | | |ring. | | - | 42.| -- |You shall be married | -- | - | | |when you can agree. | | - | 43.| -- | -- | -- | - | 44.| -- | -- | -- | - | 45.| -- | -- | -- | - | 46.| -- | -- | -- | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| London. | Hants, Liphook. | Halliwell. | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.|Here we come up the |Here we go up the |Trip, trap, over the | - | |green grass. |green grass. |grass. | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|On a dusty, dusty day.| -- | -- | - | 5.| -- |So early in the | -- | - | | |morning. | | - | 6.|Fair maid, pretty |Fair maid, pretty |Please let one of your| - | |maid. |maid. |daughters come. | - | 7.| -- | -- |Come and dance with | - | | | |me. | - | 8.|[See below.] | -- | -- | - | 9.|Give your hand to me. |Give your hand to me. |Take one, take the | - | | | |fairest you can see. | - | 10.| -- | -- |Pretty [ ] come to | - | | | |me. | - | 11.| -- | -- | -- | - | 12.| -- | -- |You shall have a duck,| - | | | |my dear. | - | 13.| -- | -- |I will give you pots | - | | | |and pans. | - | 14.| -- | -- |..... brass. | - | 15.| -- | -- |..... gold and silver.| - | 16.| -- | -- |..... pearl. | - | 17.| -- | -- |..... anything. | - | 18.|I'll show you a |You shall see a | -- | - | |blackbird. |blackbird. | | - | 19.| -- | -- |For a pretty girl. | - | 20.| -- | -- |You shall have a | - | | | |drake. | - | 21.| -- | -- | -- | - | 22.| -- | -- | -- | - | 23.| -- |All sorts of colours | -- | - | | |lying by his side. | | - |[8.]|We'll all go roving. | -- | -- | - | 24.| -- | -- |You shall have a young| - | | | |man. | - | 25.| -- | -- | -- | - | 26.|I'll take [ ] for my|Take [ ] for my | -- | - | |bride. |bride. | | - | 27.| -- | -- | -- | - | 28.| -- | -- |Apprentice for your | - | | | |sake. | - | 29.| -- | -- | -- | - | 30.| -- | -- |If this young man | - | | | |should happen to die. | - | 31.| -- | -- | -- | - | 32.| -- | -- | -- | - | 33.| -- | -- |And leave the poor | - | | | |woman a widow. | - | 34.| -- | -- | -- | - | 35.| -- | -- |Bells shall ring, | - | | | |birds shall sing. | - | 36.| -- | -- | -- | - | 37.| -- | -- |We'll all clap hands | - | | | |together. | - | 38.| -- | -- | -- | - | 39.| -- | -- | -- | - | 40.| -- | -- | -- | - | 41.| -- | -- | -- | - | 42.| -- | -- | -- | - | 43.|Naughty miss, she |Naughty old maid, she | -- | - | |won't come out. |won't come out. | | - | 44.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- | - | |dancing. |dancing. | | - | 45.|Now we've got our |Now we'll get our | -- | - | |bonny lass. |bonny lass. | | - | 46.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- | - | |dancing. |dancing. | | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+ - | No.| Sheffield. | - +----+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | - | 2.|Stepping up the green | - | |grass. | - | 3.|Thus, and thus, and | - | |thus. | - | 4.| -- | - | 5.| -- | - | 6.|Will you let one of | - | |your fair maids. | - | 7.|Come and play with us.| - | 8.| -- | - | 9.| -- | - | 10.| -- | - | 11.| -- | - | 12.| -- | - | 13.|We will give you pots | - | |and pans. | - | 14.|..... brass. | - | 15.|..... gold and silver.| - | 16.|..... pearl. | - | 17.|..... anything. | - | 18.| -- | - | 19.|For a pretty lass. | - | 20.| -- | - | 21.| -- | - | 22.| -- | - | 23.| -- | - |[8.]| -- | - | 24.|You shall have a nice | - | |young man. | - | 25.| -- | - | 26.| -- | - | 27.| -- | - | 28.|Born for your sake. | - | 29.| -- | - | 30.| -- | - | 31.| -- | - | 32.| -- | - | 33.| -- | - | 34.| -- | - | 35.|Bells shall ring, cats| - | |shall sing. | - | 36.| -- | - | 37.|We'll all clap hands | - | |together. | - | 38.| -- | - | 39.| -- | - | 40.| -- | - | 41.| -- | - | 42.| -- | - | 43.| -- | - | 44.| -- | - | 45.| -- | - | 46.| -- | - +----+----------------------+ - -(_e_) Henderson, in describing the curious rites accompanying the -saining or blessing of a corpse in the Scottish Lowlands, states that -empty dishes are arranged on the hearth as near as possible to the fire, -and after certain ceremonies in connection therewith have been -performed, the company join hands and dance round the dishes, singing -this burden:-- - - A dis, a dis, a dis, - A green griss; - A dis, a dis, a dis. - ---_Folk-lore of Northern Counties_, p. 54. - -This rhyme is, it will be seen, the same as the first two lines of the -game, the word "griss" in the burial-rhyme becoming "grass" in the -game-rhyme, "grisse" being the old form for "grass" or herb (Halliwell, -_Provincial Glossary_, quotes a MS. authority for this). This -identification of the game-rhyme would suggest that the game originally -was a child's dramatic imitation of an old burial ceremony, and it -remains to be seen whether the signification of the words would carry -out this idea. - -In the first place, the idea of death is a prominent incident in the -game, appearing in seven out of the fourteen versions. In all these -cases the death is followed by the clapping of hands and bell-ringing, -and in five cases by the singing of birds. Clapping of hands occurs in -two other cases, and bell-ringing in one other case, not accompanied by -the death incident. Now it is singular that the burial-rite which has -just been quoted is called Dish-a-loof; and a reference to the game of -"Dish-a-loof" [under that title], will show that it derives its name -from the clapping of hands. In the ceremony, as described by Henderson, -although songs and games are part of the burial-ceremony, there is no -specific mention of hand-clapping; but it is conceivable that the action -at one time formed part of the ceremony, and hence the name -"Dish-a-loof." This would not account for the promise of a duck, drake, -&c., as in incidents Nos. 12 and 20; nor for the promise of a young -prince or young man; but these incidents might very well be variants of -some earlier forms which are not now discoverable, especially as -love-games were played at funerals, and as the tendency, in the less -complete forms of the game as they have come down to us, is in the -direction of transposing the game into a complete love-game. The use of -rushes in the Lanarkshire game might indicate the funeral garland -(Aubrey's _Remaines_, pp. 109, 139). For clapping of hands to indicate -bell-tolling or bell-ringing at times of death see Napier's _Folklore_, -p. 66. Henderson (p. 63) says the "passing bell" was supposed in former -times to serve two purposes: it called on all good Christians within -hearing to pray for the departing spirit, and it scared away the evil -spirits who were watching to seize it, or at least to scare and terrify -it. - -On the whole evidence from the rhymes, therefore, I should be disposed -to class this game as originally belonging to burial, and not love, -rites. - - -Green Gravel - -[Music] - ---Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -[Music] - ---Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope). - -[Music] - ---Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - - I. Green gravel, green gravel, your grass is so green, - The fairest young damsel that ever was seen; - We washed her, we dried her, we rolled her in silk, - And we wrote down her name with a glass pen and ink. - Dear Annie, dear Annie, your true love is dead, - And we send you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - II. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The fairest young lady that ever was seen; - I'll wash you in milk, - And I'll clothe you with silk, - And I'll write down your name with a gold pen and ink. - O Sally, O Sally, your true love is dead, - He sent you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Berrington, Oswestry (_Shropshire Folk-lore_ p. 510). - - III. Around the green gravel the grass is so green, - All the pretty fair maids are plain to be seen; - Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk, - Write their names down with a gold pen and ink. - All but Miss "Jenny," her sweetheart is dead; - She's left off her wedding to turn back her head. - - O mother, O mother, do you think it is true? - O yes, child! O yes, child! - Then what shall I do? - We'll wash you in milk, and dress you in silk, - And write down your name with a gold pen and ink. - ---Derbyshire and Worcestershire (Mrs. Harley). - - IV. Green gravel, green gravel, - The grass is so green, - Such beautiful flowers - As never were seen. - O Annie [or any name], O Annie, - Your sweetheart is dead! - He has sent you a letter - To turn back your head. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H. Hardy). - - V. Green gravel, green gravel, - The grass is so green, - The fairest young damsels - As ever were seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love is dead; - He sent you a letter - To turn round your head. - - Green gravel, green gravel, - The grass is so green, - The dismalest damsels - As ever were seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love's not dead; - He sends you a letter - To turn back your head. - ---Lincoln, Winterton, and Wakefield (Miss Fowler and Miss Peacock). - - VI. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The fairest young lady [damsel] that ever was seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love is dead; - He's sent you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope); Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - - VII. Green meadows, green meadows, your grass is so green, - The fairest young damsel that ever was seen; - O Mary, O Mary, your sweetheart is dead; - We've sent you a letter to turn back your head. - - _Or_, Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - and following on as above. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - VIII. Green grover, green grover, your grass is so green, - The prettiest young lady that ever was seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love is dead; - I send you this letter, so turn round your head. - ---Gainford, Durham (Miss Eddleston). - - IX. Green gravels, green gravels, - The grass is so green, - And all the pretty maidens - Are not to be seen, - Except ---- (said twice), - And she's not [?] to be seen, - So I send you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Hampshire (Miss E. Mendham). - - X. Green gravels, green gravels, the grass is so green, - Fine pencils, fine pencils, as ever were seen. - O Mary! O Mary! your true love is dead, - And he's sent you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Wales (_Byegones_, 1890). - - XI. Yellow gravel, yellow gravel, - The grass is so green, - The fairest young lady - That ever was seen. - O ----, O ----, - Your true love is dead; - I send you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith). - - XII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - Said the fairest young damsel that ever I've seen. - O mother, O mother, my true-love is dead, - He sent me this letter to turn round my head. - O mother, O mother, do you think this is true? - O yes, love! O yes, love! - And what shall I do? - I'll wash you in butter-milk, I'll dress you in silk, - I'll write down your name with my gold pen and ink. - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore). - - XIII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The flowers are all faded and none to be seen. - O [Dolly], O [Dolly], your sweetheart is dead, - He's sent you a letter to turn back your head. - - Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high, - We are but little, and we shall have to die! - Excepting [Dolly Turner], she's the youngest girl. - O for shame, and fie for shame, and turn your back to home - again. - ---Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne). - - XIV. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The fairest young lady that ever was seen. - As I went up Miss Betsey's stairs to buy a frying-pan, - There sat Miss Betsey a-kissing her young man. - - She pulled off her glove and showed me her ring, - And the very next morning the bells did ring. - Dear Betsey, dear Betsey, your true love is dead, - He's sent you a letter to turn back your head. - ---Summertown, Oxford (A. H. Franklin, _Midland Garner_, vol. ii. p. 32). - - XV. Round the green gravel the grass grows green, - All pretty fair maids are fit to be seen; - Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk, - And write down their names with pen and black ink-- - Choose one, choose two, choose the fairest daughter. - - Now, my daughter, married to-day, - Like father and mother they should be, - To love one another like sister and brother-- - I pray you now to kiss one another. - - Now my daughter Mary's gone, - With her pockets all lined with gold; - On my finger a gay gold ring-- - Good-bye, Mary, good-bye. - - Now this poor widow is left alone, - Nobody could marry a better one; - Choose one, choose two-- - Choose the fairest daughter. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - - XVI. Round the green gravel the grass is so green, - And all the fine ladies that ever were seen; - Washed in milk and dressed in silk, - The last that stoops down shall be married. - - [Johnnie Smith] is a nice young man, - And so is [Bessie Jones] as nice as he; - He came to the door with his hat in his hand, - Inquiring for [Miss Jones]. - - She is neither within, she is neither without, - She is up in the garret a-walking about. - Down she came, as white as milk, - With a rose in her bosom as soft as silk. - Silks and satins be ever so dear, - You shall have a kiss [gown?], my dear, - So off with the glove and on with the ring-- - To-morrow, to-morrow, the wedding begins. - ---Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews). - - XVII. Around a green gravill - The grass is so green, - And all the fine ladies - Ashamed to be seen. - They wash 'em in milk - And dress 'em in silk-- - We'll all cou' don' together. - - My elbow, my elbow, - My pitcher and my can; - Isn't ---- - A nice young gell? - Isn't ---- - As nice as her-- - They shall be married with a guinea-gold ring. - - I peep'd through the window, - I peep'd through the door, - I seed pretty ---- - A-dancin on the floor; - I cuddled her an' fo'dled her, - I set her on my knee; - I says pretty ---- - Won't [ëe?] you marry me. - - A new-swept parlour, - An' a new-made bed, - A new cup and saucer - Again we get wed. - If it be a boy, he shall have a hat, - To follow with his mammy to her na', na', na'; - If he be a gell, she shall have a ring, - To follow with her mammy to her ding, ding, ding. - ---Wakefield (Miss Fowler). - -(_c_) The more general way of playing this game is to form a ring of -children simply. The children walk round singing the verse as in the -Belfast version, and when the last line is sung, the child whose name is -mentioned turns round, facing the outside of the ring and having her -back to the centre. She continues to hold hands with the others, and -dances round with them in that position. This is repeated until all the -children have "turned" their backs to the inside of the ring. Here the -game ends in many cases, but another verse is sung in the Lincoln, -Winterton, and Wakefield versions from Miss Peacock, and this was sung -also in the London version. The second verse thus terminates the game, -with the players one by one reversing their position and facing the -centre of ring as at first. In the Forest of Dean and Wakefield -versions the action of the game is somewhat different. A child stands in -the centre of the ring of children, without apparently taking much part -in the game, except to name the children in turn. In the Wakefield -version, however (Miss Fowler, No. xvii.), a little boy stands in the -middle of a circle of girls who sing the first verse. At "We'll all cou' -don' together," all crouch down, as if in profound respect, then rising -slowly, sing the next verse. After "My pitcher and my can," each child -mentions her own name. At "Isn't ---- as nice as her?" each mentions her -sweetheart's name, and the child thus chosen goes into the circle. At -the end of the fourth verse they all clap hands, and the one that is -sweetheart to him in the middle kisses him. The "crouching down" is also -done in the Forest of Dean version when singing the fourth line. The -last one to stoop has to name her sweetheart. When this is done, the -children all dance round and sing the other lines. - -(_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 178-181. The most -constant formulæ of this game-rhyme are shown by this analysis to be -Nos. 1, 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 23, and the variants, though important, are -not sufficient to detract from the significance of the normal version. -It is evidently a funeral game. The green gravel and the green grass -indicate the locality of the scene; "green," as applied to gravel, may -mean freshly disturbed, just as green grave means a freshly made grave. -The tenant of the new grave is the well-loved lady of a disconsolate -lover, and probably the incidents of washing and dressing the corpse, -and putting an inscription on the place where it is laid, are indicated -by Nos. 13 and 15. The dirge, or singing to the dead, is indicated by -Nos. 18, 23, and 26, and the beauty of the first line is in complete -accord with the mournful music. That No. 26 occurs in only two variants, -Derbyshire and the Isle of Man, is curious, as the pathos of this appeal -is very apparent in the movement of the game. The communion with the -dead which is indicated by No. 23 is by no means considered impossible -by the peasantry. In confirmation of this being a representation of an -old funeral ceremony, it may be pointed out that the action of turning -backwards during the singing of the dirge is also represented in the -curious funeral ceremony called "Dish-a-loof," which is described in -Henderson's _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties_, p. 53. Henderson's -words are: "All the attendants, going out of the room, return into it -backwards, repeating this rhyme of 'saining.'" The additional ceremony -of marriage in four of the games is clearly an interpolation, which may -have arisen from the custom of playing love and marriage games at -funerals and during the watching with the corpse, or may be a mere -transition to the more pleasant task of love-making as the basis of a -game. The Derbyshire incident (No. 24) may indicate indeed that the -funeral is that of a young bride, and in that case the tendency to make -the game wholly a marriage game is accounted for. The decay which has -set in is apparent by the evident attempt to alter from "green gravel" -to "green grover" and "yellow gravel" (Nos. 4 and 5), and to introduce -pen and black ink (No. 17). The addition of the incongruous elements -from other games (Nos. 27-31) is a frequent occurrence in modern games, -and is the natural result of decadence in the original form of the game. -Altogether this game-rhyme affords a very good example of the condition -of traditional games among the present generation of children. - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Belfast. | Shropshire. | Derbyshire. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- |Around the green | - | | | |gravel. | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Your grass is so |The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.| - | |green. | | | - | 7.|The fairest damsel | -- | -- | - | |ever seen. | | | - | 8.| -- |The fairest young lady| -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- |All pretty maids are | - | | | |plain to be seen. | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.|Washed her, dried her,| -- | -- | - | |rolled her in silk. | | | - |14.| -- |Wash you in milk, |Wash them in milk, | - | | |clothe in silk. |clothe in silk. | - |15.|Wrote name in glass | -- | -- | - | |pen and ink. | | | - |16.| -- |Write name in gold pen|Write names in gold | - | | |and ink. |pen and ink. | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|Your true love is |True love is dead. |Her sweetheart is | - | |dead. | |dead. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn| -- | - | |your head. |your head. | | - |24.| -- | -- |She's left off her | - | | | |wedding to turn back | - | | | |her head. | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- |Mother, is it true; | - | | | |What shall I do? [Then| - | | | |repeat Nos. 14 & 16.] | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Earls Heaton, Yorks. | Lincolnshire. | Redhill, Surrey. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. |Green gravel. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.| - | 7.| -- |Fairest damsel ever |Fairest damsel ever | - | | |seen. |seen. | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.|Such beautiful flowers| -- | -- | - | |ever seen. | | | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- | -- | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. |True love is dead. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn| - | |your head. |your head. |your head. | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- |True love not dead, he| -- | - | | |sends letter to turn | | - | | |your head. | | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Sporle, Norfolk. | Gainford, Durham. | Hants. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- |Green gravels. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.|Green meadows. | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- |Green grover. | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Your grass is so |Your grass is so |The grass is so green.| - | |green. |green. | | - | 7.|Fairest damsel ever | -- | -- | - | |seen. | | | - | 8.| -- |Prettiest young lady | -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- |All pretty maidens are| - | | | |_not_ to be seen. | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- | -- | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. | -- | - |19.| -- | -- |Except ---- she's not | - | | | |to be seen. | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|We sent letter to turn|I send letter to turn |I send letter to turn | - | |your head. |your head. |round your head. | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Wales. | Isle of Wight. | Isle of Man. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. | -- |Green gravel. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- |Yellow gravel. | -- | - | 6.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.| - | 7.| -- | -- |Fairest damsel ever | - | | | |I've seen. | - | 8.| -- |Fairest young lady | -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|Fine pencil as ever | -- | -- | - | |was seen. | | | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- |[Wash you in butter- | - | | | |milk, dress in silk.] | - | | | |(After No. 26.) | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- |[Write name with my | - | | | |gold pen and ink.] | - | | | |(After No. 26.) | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|True love is dead. |True love is dead. |True love is dead. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|He's sent letter to |I send you letter to |He sent this letter to| - | |turn head. |turn round your head. |turn my head. | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- |Mother, is it true? | - | | | |What shall I do? | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Madeley. | Oxfordshire. | Sheffield. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- |Round the green | - | | | |gravel. | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- |Fairest young lady | -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- |All pretty fair maids | - | | | |are fit to be seen. | - |10.|Flowers all faded, | -- | -- | - | |none to be seen. | | | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- |Wash them in milk, | - | | | |clothe in silk. | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- |Write names with pen | - | | | |and black ink. | - |18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. | -- | - | | |(After No. 25.) | | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- |Betsy kissing her | -- | - | | |young man. | | - |21.| -- | -- |Choose the fairest | - | | | |daughter. | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|I've sent letter to |[He sent letter to | -- | - | |turn your head. |turn back your head.] | | - | | |(After No. 25.) | | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- |She showed her ring |Married to-day so kiss| - | | |and bells did ring. |one another. | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.|[Wallflowers verses | -- | -- | - | |follow.] | | | - |29.| -- | -- |Poor widow left alone,| - | | | |and choose the fairest| - | | | |daughter. | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Forest of Dean. | Wakefield. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | - | 2.|Round the green |Around the green | - | |gravel. |gravill. | - | 3.| -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | - | 8.|All fine ladies ever | -- | - | |were seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | - |11.| -- |All fine ladies | - | | |ashamed to be seen. | - |12.| -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | - |14.|Washed in milk, |Wash 'em in milk, | - | |dressed in silk. |dress in silk. | - |15.| -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | - |19.| -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | - |22.|Last to stoop down |We'll all cow down | - | |shall be married. |together. | - |23.| -- | -- | - |24.| -- | -- | - |25.|He came to inquire, |They shall be married | - | |down she came, so off |with gold ring. | - | |with glove and on with| | - | |ring, to-morrow the | | - | |wedding begins. | | - |26.| -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | - |30.| -- |[Dancing, cuddling, | - | | |asking to marry.] | - |31.| -- |[Furnishing.] | - |32.| -- |[If a boy, he's to | - | | |have a hat; if a girl,| - | | |a ring.] | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+ - -(_e_) Other versions, actually or practically identical with the Redhill -(Surrey) version, have been sent by Miss Blair (South Shields); Mr. H. -S. May, Ogbourne and Manton (Wilts); Mrs. Haddon (Cambridge); Mrs. -Harley (Lancashire); and Miss Burne, Platt, near Wrotham (Kent). There -are also similar printed versions in _Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 214 -(Dorsetshire); _Folk-lore Record_, v. 84 (Hersham, Surrey). Northall -prints a version in his _Folk Rhymes_, 362-3, identical with No. 17. The -tune of the Platt version sent by Miss Burne, and the Ogbourne and -Manton (H. S. May), are almost identical, except the termination. This -seems to be the most general tune for the game. The Lancashire tune is -the same as the London version. - -Miss Burne says of the Madeley version: "I never knew 'Green Gravel' and -'Wallflowers' played together as in this way elsewhere (I had not got -this variant when I wrote _Shropshire Folk-lore_), except at Much -Wenlock, where they reverse the two verses, and only sing _one line_ -(the last) of 'Green Gravel.' But I feel sure they must have been -_meant_ to go together (see my note in _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 510), -and I can explain them, I think. The ring of girls are dancing on the -green grass plot in the middle of an old-fashioned sixteenth-century -walled garden: each gets the news of her lover's death, and 'turns her -face to the wall,' the old token of hopeless sorrow. Then they -apostrophise the wallflowers in the border surrounding the grass plot -against the old high wall; and here another variant explains the lament -(second line)-- - - Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high, - _We shall all be maidens_ [and so], we shall all die; - -Except the youngest (who will meet with another lover), whether as an -instance of the proverbial luck of the 'youngest born,' or as a piece of -juvenile giddiness and inconstancy, I cannot say; but considering the -value set on true love and hopeless constancy in the ballad-lore, and -the special garland which distinguished the funerals of bereaved but -constant maidens, and the solemnity of betrothal in old days, the latter -seems probable, especially considering the 'for shame.'" - -The incidents of _washing_ a corpse in milk and _dressing_ it in silk -occur in "Burd Ellen," Jamieson's _Ballads_, p. 125. - - "Tak up, tak up my bonny young son, - Gar _wash_ him wi' the _milk_; - Tak up, tak up my fair lady, - Gar row her in the _silk_." - - -Green Grow the Leaves (1) - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (Mr. Hardy). - - I. Green grow the leaves (or grows the ivy) round the old oak - tree, - Green grow the leaves round the old oak tree, - Green grow the leaves round the old oak tree, - As we go marching on. - - Bless my life I hardly knew you, - Bless my life I hardly knew you, - Bless my life I hardly knew you, - As we go marching on. - ---Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire (Miss Peacock). - - II. Green grow the leaves on the old oak tree, - I love the boys and the boys love me, - As we go marching on. - ---Sharleston (Miss Fowler). - - III. I love the boys and the boys love me, - I love the boys and the boys love me, - I love the boys and the boys love me, - As we go marching home. - - Glory, glory, hallelujah! - Glory, glory, hallelujah! - Glory, glory, hallelujah! - As we go marching home. - - The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf, - The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf, - The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf, - As we go marching home. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (Herbert). - -(_b_) In Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire the game is played by the -children forming a circle and dancing round, singing. The first and -third lines are sung three times. Partners are chosen during the singing -of the last line. Miss Peacock adds, "The rest wanting, as my informant -had forgotten the game." In the Sharleston version the children march -round two by two, in a double circle, with one child in the centre, -singing the verse. At the conclusion, the children who are marching on -the inner side of the circle leave their partners and take the place of -one in front of them, while the centre child endeavours to get one of -the vacant places, the child turned out taking the place of the one in -the centre, when the game begins again. In the Earls Heaton version -there is the circle of children, with one child in the centre, who -chooses a partner after the lines have been sung. - -(_c_) From this it would seem that while the Lincolnshire and -Nottinghamshire words appear to be the most complete, the action has -been preserved best at Sharleston. The acting of this version is the -same as that of "The Jolly Miller." The third variant is evidently an -imitation of the song, "John Brown." - - -Green Grow the Leaves (2) - -[Music] - ---Northants (R. S. Baker). - - Green grow the leaves on the hawthorn tree, - Green grow the leaves on the hawthorn tree, - We jangle and we wrangle and we never can agree, - But the tenor of our song goes merrily, merrily, merrily, - The tenor of our song goes merrily. - ---R. S. Baker (_Northants Notes and Queries_, ii. 161). - -(_b_) One couple is chosen to lead, and they go off, whither they will, -followed by a long train of youths and maidens, all singing the refrain. -Sometimes the leaders part company, and branch off to the right or left; -the others have to do the same, and not until the leaders meet can they -join again. They march arm in arm. - -(_c_) Mr. R. S. Baker, who records this, says a Wellingborough lady sent -him the tune and words, and told him the game was more like a country -dance than anything else, being a sort of dancing "Follow My Leader." - - -Gully - -A sink, or, failing that, a particular stone in the pavement was the -"Gully." Some boy chosen by lot, or one who volunteered in order to -start the game, laid his top on the ground at some distance from the -"Gully." The first player then spun his top, pegging at the recumbent -top, so as to draw it towards the "Gully." If he missed the top, he -stooped down and took up his own top by pushing his hand against it in -such a manner that the space between his first and second finger caught -against the peg and forced the top into the palm of his hand. He then -had "a go" at the recumbent top (I forget what this was called), and -sent his own top against it so as to push it towards the "Gully." If he -missed, he tried again and again, until his own top could spin no -longer. If he did not hit the top with his own while it was spinning, -his top had to be laid down and the other one taken up, and its owner -took his turn at pegging. When a spinning-top showed signs of -exhaustion, and the taking it up might kill it, and it was not very far -from the down-lying top, its owner would gently push it with his finger, -so as to make it touch the other top, and so avoid putting it into the -other's place. This was called "kissing," and was not allowed by some -players. When one player succeeded in sending the top into the "Gully," -he took it up and fixed it by its peg into a post, mortar of a wall, or -the best place where it could be tolerably steady. Holding it by one -hand, he drove the peg of his own top as far as he could into the crown -of the victim top. This was called "taking a grudge." He then held -either his own or the victim top and knocked the other against the wall, -the object being to split the victim. He was allowed three "grudges." If -the top did not give way, the other players tried in turn. If the top -did not split, it was returned to its owner, but any boy who succeeded -in splitting it through the middle, so that the peg fell out, took -possession of the peg. I have seen a top split at the side in such a way -as to be quite useless as a top, though no peg was gained. I remember, -too, a schoolfellow of mine drawing from his pocket some seven or eight -pegs, the trophied memorials of as many tops.--London (J. P. Emslie). - -See "Hoatie," "Hoges," "Peg-top." - - -Hairry my Bossie - -This is a game of chance. The players are two, and may be boys or girls, -or a boy and a girl. The stakes may be pins, buttons, marbles, or -anything for which children gamble. One player puts a number, one, two, -three or more, of the articles to be gambled for into the hollow of the -closed hand, and says, "Hairry my bossie;" the other answers, "Knock 'im -down," upon which he puts his closed hands down with a blow on his -knees, and continues to strike them upwards and downwards on the knee, -so as to give the opponent in play an idea of the number of objects -concealed by the sound given forth. He then says, "How many blows?" and -gets the reply, "As many's goes." A guess is then made. If the guess is -correct the guesser gets the objects. If the guess is incorrect the -guesser has to make up the difference between the number guessed and the -real number. The players play alternately. This game was played for the -most part at Christmas.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -(_b_) Hairry = "rob," Bossie = "a wooden bowl," commonly used for making -the leaven in baking oat-cakes, and for making "brose." - -This is a very general game amongst schoolboys. - - -Half-Hammer - -The game of "Hop-step-and-jump," Norfolk. This game is played in the -west of Sussex, but not in the east. It is played thus by two or more -boys. Each boy in his turn stands first on one leg and makes a hop, then -strides or steps, and lastly, putting both feet together, jumps. The boy -who covers the most ground is the victor.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Han'-and-Hail - -A game common in Dumfries, thus described by Jamieson. Two goals called -hails, or dules, are fixed on at about a distance of four hundred -yards. The two parties then place themselves in the middle between the -goals or dules, and one of the players, taking a soft elastic ball, -about the size of a man's fist, tosses it into the air, and, as it -falls, strikes it with his palm towards his antagonists. The object of -the game is for either party to drive the ball beyond the goal which -lies before them, while their opponents do all in their power to prevent -this. As soon as the ball is gowf't, that is, struck away, the opposite -party endeavour to intercept it in its fall. This is called keppan' the -ba'. If they succeed in this attempt, the player who does so is entitled -to throw the ball with all his might towards his antagonists. If he kep -it in the first bound which it makes off the ground, called a stot, he -is allowed to haunch, that is, to throw the ball by bringing his hand -with a sweep past his thigh, to which he gives a stroke as his hand -passes, and discharging the ball at the moment when the stroke is given. -If the ball be caught in the second bounce, the catcher may hoch the -ball, that is, throw it through below one of his houghs. If none of the -party catch the ball, it must be gowf't in the manner before described. -As soon as either of the parties succeed in driving the ball, or, as it -is called, hailin' the dules, the game then begins by one of the party -which was successful throwing the ball towards the opposing goal and the -other party striving to drive it back. - - -Hand in and Hand out - -A game played by a company of young people who are drawn up in a circle, -when one of them, pitched upon by lot, walks round the band, and, if a -boy, hits a girl, or, if a girl, she strikes a boy whom she chooses, on -which the party striking and the party struck run in pursuit of each -other till the latter is caught, whose lot it then becomes to perform -the same part. A game so called was forbidden by statute of Edward -IV.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -See "Drop Handkerchief." - - -Handy-Croopen - -A game in which one of the players turns his face to the wall, his hand -resting upon his back. He must continue in position until he guesses who -struck his hand, when the striker takes his place.--Orkney and Shetland -(Jamieson's _Dictionary_). - -See "Hot Cockles." - - -Handy Dandy - - I. Handy dandy, - Sugary candy-- - Top or bottom? - - Handy spandy, - Jack a dandy-- - Which good hand will you have? - ---Halliwell's _Dictionary_: _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216. - - II. Handy dandy riddledy ro-- - Which will you have, high or low? - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216. - - III. Handy pandy, - Sugary candy, - Which will you have-- - Top or bottom? - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - IV. Handy pandy, Jack a dandy, - Which hand will you have? - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 530. - -(_b_) The hands are closed, some small article is put in one of them -behind the back of the player. The closed fists are then turned rapidly -round one another while the rhyme is being said, and they are then -placed one on top of the other. A guess is then made by any one of the -players as to which hand the object is in. If correct, the guesser -obtains the object; if incorrect, the player who performs "Handy dandy" -keeps it. - -(_c_) This game is mentioned in _Piers Plowman_, p. 69 of Wright's -edition. Douce quotes an ancient MS. which curiously mentions the game -as "men play with little children at 'handye-dandye,' which hand will -you have" (ii. 167). Johnson says: "'Handy dandy,' a play in which -children change hands and places: 'See how yon justice rails upon yon -simple thief! Hark, in thine ear: change places, and, handy dandy, -which is the justice, which is the thief?" (_King Lear_, iv. 6). Malone -says, "'Handy dandy' is, I believe, a play among children, in which -something is shaken between two hands, and then a guess is made in which -hand it is retained." See Florio's _Italian Dictionary_, 1598: -"Bazzicchiare, to shake between the hands; to play 'Handy dandy.'" Pope, -in his _Memoirs of Cornelius Scriblerus_, in forbidding certain sports -to his son Martin till he is better informed of their antiquity, says: -"Neither cross and pile, nor ducks and drakes, are quite so ancient as -'Handy dandy,' though Macrobius and St. Augustine take notice of the -first, and Minutius Foelix describes the latter; but 'Handy dandy' is -mentioned by Aristotle, Plato, and Aristophanes." Browne, in -_Britannia's Pastorals_ (i. 5), also alludes to the game. - -See "Neiveie-nick-nack." - - -Hap the Beds - -A singular game, gone through by hopping on one foot, and with that foot -sliding a little flat stone out of an oblong bed, rudely drawn on a -smooth piece of ground. This bed is divided into eight parts, the two of -which at the farther end of it are called the Kail-pots. If the player -then stands at one end, and pitches the smooth stone into all the -divisions one after the other, following the same on a foot (at every -throw), and bringing it out of the figure, this player wins not only the -game, but is considered a first-rate daub at it; failing, however, to go -through all the parts so, without missing either a throw or a hop, yet -keeping before the other gamblers (for many play at one bed), still wins -the curious rustic game.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -A game called "The Beds," mentioned by a writer in _Blackwood's -Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, as played in Edinburgh when he was a boy -by girls only, is described as a game where a pitcher is kicked into -chalked divisions of the pavement, the performer being on one leg and -hopping. - -See "Hop-scotch." - - -Hard Buttons - -Several boys place one button each close together on a line. The game -consists in hitting a particular button out of this line with the nicker -without touching the others. This is generally played in London streets, -and is mentioned in the _Strand Magazine_, ii. 515. - -See "Banger," "Buttons." - - -Hare and Hounds - -A boys' game. One boy is chosen as the Hare. He carries with him a bag -filled with strips of paper. The rest of the boys are the Hounds. The -Hare has a certain time (say fifteen minutes) allowed him for a start, -and he goes across country, scattering some paper on his way in order to -indicate his track. He may employ any man[oe]uvre in order to deceive -his pursuers, but must keep up the continuity of his paper track-signs. -The Hounds follow him and try to catch him before he gets home, which is -a place agreed upon beforehand.--London (G. L. Gomme). - -In Cornwall the leader, when at fault, says-- - - Uppa, uppa, holye! If you don't speak - My dogs shan't folly. - ---Courtney (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 73). - -Other versions of this holloa are-- - - Whoop, whoop, and hollow! - Good dogs won't follow - Without the hare cries, Peewit. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 66. - - Sound your holler, - Or my little dog shan't foller. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 357. - -This game is played in Wales under the name of "Hunt the Fox." The Fox -has a certain time given him for a start, the other players then go -after him.--Beddgelert (Mrs. Williams). - - -Harie Hutcheon - -A game among children, in which they hop round in a ring, sitting on -their hams.--Jamieson. - -See "Curcuddie," "Cutch-a-cutchoo," "Hirtschin Hairy." - - -Hark the Robbers - -[Music] - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - I. Hark the robbers coming through, - Coming through, - Hark the robbers coming through, - My fair lady. - - What have the robbers done to you, - Done to you, - What have the robbers done to you, - My fair lady? - - You have stole my watch and chain, - Watch and chain, - You have stole my watch and chain, - My fair lady. - - Half-a-crown you must pay, - You must pay, - Half-a-crown you must pay, - My fair lady. - - Half-a-crown we cannot pay, - Cannot pay, - Half-a-crown we cannot pay, - My fair lady. - - Off to prison you must go, - You must go, - Off to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - - II. Here are the robbers coming through, - Coming through, coming through, - Here are the robbers coming through, - My fair lady. - - What will the robbers do to you, - Do to you, do to you, - What will the robbers do to you, - My fair lady? - - Steal your watch and break your chain, - Break your chain, break your chain, - Steal your watch and break your chain, - My fair lady. - - Then they must go to jail, - Go to jail, go to jail, - Then they must go to jail, - My fair lady. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - III. Hark the robbers - Coming through, coming through, - My fair lady. - - They have stolen my watch and chain, - Watch and chain, watch and chain. - - Off to prison they shall go, - They shall go, they shall go, - My fair lady. - ---Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent (Miss A. A. Keary). - - IV. Hark the robbers coming through, - Coming through, coming through, - Hark the robbers coming through, - My fair lady. - - What's the robbers done to you, - Done to you, done to you, - What's the robbers done to you, - My fair lady? - - They have stole my watch and chain, - Watch and chain, watch and chain, - They have stole my watch and chain, - My fair lady. - - What's the price will set you free, - Set you free, set you free, - What's the price will set you free, - My fair lady? - - Half-a-guinea will set me free, - Will set me free, will set me free, - Half-a-guinea will set me free, - My fair lady. - - Half-a-guinea you shall not have, - Shall not have, shall not have, - Half-a-guinea you shall not have, - My fair lady. - - Let's join hands, it is too late, - 'Tis too late, 'tis too late, - Let's join hands, it is too late, - My fair lady. - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - V. Hark at the robbers going through, - Through, through, through; through, through, through; - Hark at the robbers going through, - My fair lady. - - What have the robbers done to you, - You, you, you; you, you, you? - What have the robbers done to you, - My fair lady? - - Stole my gold watch and chain, - Chain, chain, chain; chain, chain, chain; - Stole my gold watch and chain, - My fair lady. - - How many pounds will set us free, - Free, free, free; free, free, free? - How many pounds will set us free, - My fair lady? - - A hundred pounds will set you free, - Free, free, free; free, free, free; - A hundred pounds will set you free, - My fair lady. - - We have not a hundred pounds, - Pounds, pounds, pounds; pounds, pounds, pounds; - We have not a hundred pounds, - My fair lady. - - Then to prison you must go, - Go, go, go; go, go, go; - Then to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - - To prison we will not go, - Go, go, go; go, go, go; - To prison we will not go, - My fair lady. - ---Shipley, Horsham (_Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, i. 210, Miss Busk). - - VI. See the robbers coming through, - Coming through, coming through, - See the robbers coming through, - A nice young lady. - - Here's a prisoner we have got, - We have got, we have got, - Here's a prisoner we have got, - A nice young lady. - - How many pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free, - How many pounds to set her free, - A nice young lady? - - A hundred pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free, - A hundred pounds to set her free, - A nice young lady. - - A hundred pounds we cannot give, - We cannot give, we cannot give, - A hundred pounds we cannot give, - A nice young lady. - - Then to prison she must go, - She must go, she must go, - Then to prison she must go, - A nice young lady. - - If she goes we'll go too, - We'll go too, we'll go too, - If she goes we'll go too, - A nice young lady. - - Round the meadows we will go, - We will go, we will go, - Round the meadows we will go, - A nice young lady. - ---Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes). - - VII. O what has this poor prisoner done, - Poor prisoner done, poor prisoner done? - O what has this poor prisoner done, - So early in the morning? - - She stole my watch and lost my key, - Lost my key, lost my key, - She stole my watch and lost my key, - So early in the morning. - - How many pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free? - How many pounds to set her free, - So early in the morning? - - Five hundred pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free, - Five hundred pounds to set her free, - So early in the morning. - - Five hundred pounds we have not got, - Have not got, have not got, - Five hundred pounds we have not got, - So early in the morning. - - So off to prison she must go, - She must go, she must go, - So off to prison she must go, - So early in the morning. - - If she go then I'll go too, - I'll go too, I'll go too, - If she go then I'll go too, - So early in the morning. - - So round the meadows we must go, - We must go, we must go, - So round the meadows we must go, - So early in the morning. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -(_b_) In the Deptford version two girls join hands, holding them up as -an arch for the other players to tramp through. The first two verses are -sung first by one and then by the other of the two girls. At the finish -of these the girl then going through the arch is stopped, and the third, -fourth, and fifth verses are sung by the two girls alternately. Then -finally both girls sing the last verse, and the child is sent as -prisoner behind one or other of the two girls. The verses are then begun -again, and repeated afresh for each of the troop marching through the -arch until all of them are placed behind one or other of the two girls. -The two sides thus formed then proceed to tug against each other, and -the strongest side wins the game. - -The Belfast version is practically the same, except that the verses are -not sung as a dialogue, but by all the players together, and the -prisoner, when caught, has the choice of sides, by being asked, "Which -will you have, a golden apple or golden pear?" and according to the -answer given is sent behind one of the leaders. The Norfolk and -Shropshire games are different. Miss Matthews thus describes the -Norfolk game: "Two girls take hold of hands, and another, the prisoner, -stands between them. The rest form themselves into a line opposite, and -advance and retreat while singing the first verse, the gaolers singing -the next verse, and so on alternately. [At the end of the last verse but -one] the children break the line, form themselves into a ring, and dance -round the prisoner, singing the final verse." Miss Harley describes the -Shropshire version as follows: "The first six verses are sung by the -alternate parties, who advance and retire, tramping their feet, at -first, to imitate the robbers. The last verse is sung altogether going -round in a ring." In the Shipley version, Miss Busk says: "The children -form themselves into two lines, while two or three, representing the -robbers, swagger along between them. When the robbers sing the last -verse they should have attained the end of the lines [of children], as -during the parley they were safe; having pronounced the defiance they -run away. The children in the lines rush after them, and should catch -them and put them in prison." - -(_c_) The analysis of this game is easy. The Deptford, Belfast, and -Wolstanton versions are clearly enough dramatic representations of the -capture of a robber, and probably the game dates from the period of the -prevalence of highway robbery. The Wolstanton version shows us that the -game is breaking up from its earlier form, while the Norfolk and -Shropshire versions show a fresh development into the mere game for -children, apart from its original significance. The action of the game -confirms this view. The Norfolk action seems to be the most nearly -perfect in its dramatic significance, and the Shropshire action comes -next. The action of the other games seems to have been grafted on to the -superior form of "Oranges and Lemons." It is probable that this fact has -preserved the words more completely than in the other cases, where the -force of the robber action would become less and less as actual -experience of robbers and robbery died out. Altogether, this game -supplies a very good example of the change produced in games by changes -in the actual life which gave rise to them. It is singular that the -verses of this game also enter into the composition of "London Bridge is -broken down." It is probable, therefore, that it may be an altered form -of the game of "London Bridge." The refrain, "My fair lady," occurs in -both games. - -See "London Bridge." - - -Hats in Holes - -A boys' game. The players range their hats in a row against the wall, -and each boy in turn pitches a ball from a line at some twenty-five feet -distance into one of the hats. The boy into whose hat it falls has to -seize it and throw it at one or other of the others, who all scamper off -when the ball is "packed in." If he fails to hit he is out, and takes -his cap up. The boy whose cap is left at the last has to "cork" the -others, that is, to throw the ball at their bent backs, each in turn -stooping down to take his punishment.--Somerset (Elworthy's _Dialect_). - -See "Balls and Bonnets." - - -Hattie - -A game with preens, pins, on the crown of a hat. Two or more may play. -Each lays on a pin, then with the hand they strike the side of the hat -time about, and whoever makes the pins by a stroke cross each other, -lifts those so crossed.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - - -Hawkey - -A game played by several boys on each side with sticks called "hawkey -bats," and a ball. A line is drawn across the middle of the ground from -one side to the other; one party stands on one side of the line and the -opposite party on the other, and neither must overstep this boundary, -but are allowed to reach over as far as their bats will permit to strike -the ball. The object is to strike the ball to the farther end to touch -the fence of the opposing party's side, when the party so striking the -ball scores one, and, supposing nine to be the game, the party obtaining -that number first of course wins the game.--West Sussex (Holloway's -_Dict. of Provincialisms_). - -See "Bandy," "Doddart," "Hockey." - - -Headicks and Pinticks - -This game was played only at Christmas. The number of players was two. -The stakes were pins. One player laid in the hollow of the hand, or on -one of the forefingers, a pin, and then placed the other forefinger over -it so as to conceal it. He then held up his hand to his opponent and -said, "Headicks or pinticks?" His opponent made a guess by pointing with -his finger and saying "Headicks," or "Pinticks." If the guess was -correct he gained the pin, but if it was incorrect he forfeited one. The -players played alternately.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -Another version seems to be "Headim and Corsim." Pins are hid with -fingers in the palms of the hands; the same number is laid alongside -them, and either "Headim" or "Corsim" called out by those who do so. -When the fingers are lifted, if the heads of the pins hid and those -beside them be lying one way when the crier cried "Headim," then that -player wins; but if "Corsim," the one who hid the pins wins. This is the -king of all the games at the preens.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_. - -The editors of Jamieson's _Dictionary_ say that the name should be -"Headum and Corsum." - - -Heads and Tails - -That plan for deciding matters by the "birl o' a bawbee." The one side -cries "Heads" (when the piece is whirling in the air) and the other -"Tails," so whichever is uppermost when the piece alights that gains or -settles the matter, heads standing for the King's head and tails for -the figure who represents Britannia.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_. This is a general form of determining sides or beginning -a game all over the country. - - -Hecklebirnie - -A play among children in Aberdeenshire. Thirty or forty children in two -rows, joining opposite hands, strike smartly with their hands thus -joined on the head or shoulders of their companion as he runs the -gauntlet through them. This is called "passing through the mires of -Hecklebirnie."--Jamieson. - -The editors of Jamieson append a lengthy note connecting the name of -this game with the northern belief that the wicked were condemned to -suffer eternal punishment in Hecla, the volcanic mountain in Iceland. - -See "Namers and Guessers." - - -Hen and Chicken - - Chickery, chickery, cranny crow, - I went to the well to wash my toe, - When I got back a chicken was dead. - -This verse is said by the Hen to her Chickens, after which they all go -with the Hen to search for the dead Chicken. On their way they meet the -Fox. The following dialogue between the Fox and Hen ensues, the Hen -beginning:-- - - What are you doing? - Picking up sticks. - What for? - To make a fire. - What's the fire for? - To boil some water. - What's the water for? - To boil some chickens in. - Where do you get them from? - Out of your flock. - That I'm sure you won't. - ---Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 386). - -The game is played in the usual manner of "Fox and Goose" games. One is -chosen to be the Hen, and one to be the Fox. The rest are the Chickens. -The Chickens take hold of each other's waists, the first one holding the -Hen's waist. At the end of the dialogue the Fox tries to get hold of one -of the chickens. If he succeeds in catching them, they all with the Fox -try to dodge the Hen, who makes an effort to regain them. - -It is known at Winterton under the name of "Pins and Needles." The -players stand in a row, one behind another, with one of the party as -their Leader. Another player, called "Outsider," pretends to scratch the -ground. The Leader asks, the questions, and the Outsider replies-- - - What are you scratching for? - Pins and needles. - What do you want your pins and needles for? - To mend my poke. - What do you want your poke for? - To put some sand in. - What do you want your sand for? - To sharpen knives with. - What do you want your knives for? - To cut all the little chickens' heads off with. - -Here the Outsider tries to dodge past the Leader to catch one of the -children at the further end of the row, the Leader meanwhile attempting -to bar her progress. When at last she succeeds, the child caught takes -her place, and the game is recommenced.--Winterton (Miss M. Peacock). - -See "Fox and Goose," "Gled-wylie." - - -Here comes a Lusty Wooer - -[Music] - ---Rimbault's _Nursery Rhymes_. - - Here comes a lusty wooer, - My a dildin, my a daldin; - Here comes a lusty wooer, - Lily bright and shine a'. - - Pray who do you woo? - My a dildin, my a daldin; - Pray who do you woo? - Lily bright and shine a'. - - For your fairest daughter, - My a dildin, my a daldin; - For your fairest daughter, - Lily bright and shine a'. - - Then there she is for you, - My a dildin, my a daldin; - Then there she is for you, - Lily bright and shine a'. - ---Ritson (_Gammer Gurton's Garland_, 1783). - -Northall says this game is played after the manner of the "Three Dukes" -(_Folk Rhymes_, p. 383). Halliwell (_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 98) has a -version, and Rimbault (_Nursery Rhymes_) gives both words and tune. It -is also contained in _The Merrie Heart_ (p. 47). See "Jolly Hooper," -"Jolly Rover." - - -Here comes One Virgin - - Here comes one Virgin on her knee, - On her knee, on her knee, - Here comes one Virgin on her knee, - Pray what will you give her? - - When did you come? - - I came by night and I came by day, - I came to steal poor Edie away. - - She is too old, she is too young, - She hasn't learnt her virgin tongue. - - Let her be old or let her be young, - For her beauty she must come. - - In her pocket a thousand pounds, - On her finger a gay gold ring. - - Good-bye, good-bye, my dear. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - -One child stands by herself, and the rest of the players range -themselves in line. The child sings the first verse and the line -replies, the four succeeding verses being alternately sung. After the -last line the girl tries to pull one whom she has chosen from the line -toward her. If not successful, she must try again. If she is, they both -stand in the middle, and commence singing the words again with-- - - Here come _two_ virgins on their knees, &c. - -Probably a degraded version of "Three Lords from Spain." - - -Here I sit on a Cold Green Bank - - Here I sit on a cold green bank - On a cold and frosty morning. - - We'll send a young man [_or_ woman] to take you away, - To take you away, - We'll send a young man to take you away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Pray tell me what his name shall be? [_or_] - Pray, whom will you send to take me away? - - We'll send Mr. ---- to take you away. - -The children form a ring around one of the party, who sits in the -middle, and says the two first lines. Then those in the circle dance -round her, singing the next four lines. This is repeated three times, -with the refrain, "On a cold," &c., after which the dancing and singing -cease, and the child is asked, "Sugar, sweet, or vinegar, sour?" Her -answer is always taken in a contrary sense, and sung, as before, three -times, whilst the children circle round. The one in the middle then -rises to her feet. The boy (or girl) named advances and kisses her, they -change places, and the game begins again.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 56-57). - - -Here stands a Young Man - - I. Here stands a young man who wants a sweetheart, - With all his merry maids round him; - - He may choose from east, he may choose from west, - He may choose the prettiest girl that he loves best. - - Now this young couple is married together, - We propose they kiss each other. - ---Glapthorn (_Northants Notes and Queries_, i. 214, A. Palmer). - - II. Here stands a young lady [lass] who wants a sweetheart, - Wants a sweetheart, wants a sweetheart, - And don't know where to find one, find one, find one. - Choose the prettiest that you loves best. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy, - Seven years after son and daughter, - Pray you come to kiss together. - ---Longcot, Berkshire (Miss I. Barclay). - -(_b_) A ring is formed by the players joining hands, one child standing -in the centre. The ring dance round singing the first four lines. At the -fourth line the child in the centre chooses one from the ring, who goes -into the centre with her. The marriage formula or chorus is then sung, -the two kiss, and the one who was first in the centre joins the ring, -the second one choosing another in her turn. Played by both boys and -girls. - -See "Sally Water," "Silly Old Man." - - -Here we go around, around - -[Music] - - Our shoes are made of leather, - Our stockings are made of silk, - Our pinafores are made of calico, - As white as any milk. - - Here we go around, around, around, - And we shall touch the ground. - ---Barnes and London Streets (A. B. Gomme). - -A ring is formed by the children joining hands. They walk round singing -the first four lines. They then dance round quickly and sit down -suddenly, or touch the ground with their clothes. - -A version of this game from Liphook, Hants, almost identical in words, -has been sent by Miss Fowler, and another from Crockham Hill, Kent, by -Miss Chase. - - -Here's a Soldier - - Here's a soldier left his lone [_qy._ alone], - Wants a wife and can't get none. - - Merrily go round and choose your own, - Choose a good one or else choose none; - Choose the worst or choose the best, - Or choose the very one you like best. - - What's your will, my dilcy dulcy officer? - What's your will, my dilcy dulcy dee? - - My will is to marry, my dilcy dulcy officer; - My will is to marry, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - Come marry one of us, my dilcy dulcy officer; - Come marry one of us, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - You're all too old and ugly, my dilcy dulcy officer; - You're all too old and ugly, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - Thrice too good for you, sir, my dilcy dulcy officer; - Thrice too good for you, sir, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - This couple got married, we wish them good joy, - Every year a girl and a boy, - And if that does not do, a hundred and two, - We hope the couple will kiss together. - ---Annaverna, co. Louth (Miss R. Stephen). - -(_b_) One child stands in the middle, the others dance round singing. -The one in the middle chooses another before the four last lines are -sung. Then the rest dance round singing these lines, and kiss each -other. - -(_c_) It is evident that these words comprise two distinct games, which -have become mixed in some inexplicable fashion. The first six lines and -the last four are one game, a ring form, with the marriage formula and -blessing. The other portion of the game is a dialogue game, evidently -having had two lines of players, questions being asked and answers -given. It is, in fact, a part of the "Three Dukes" game. The first part -is a kiss-in-the-ring game, a version of "Here stands a Young Man," -"Silly Old Man," and "Sally Water." - - -Hewley Puley - - Take this, What's this? - Hewley Puley. - Where's my share? - About the kite's neck. - Where's the kite? - Flown to the wood. - Where's the wood? - The fire has burned it. - Where's the fire? - The water's quenched it. - Where's the water? - The ox has drunk it. - Where's the ox? - The butcher has killed it. - Where's the butcher? - The rope has hanged him. - Where's the rope? - The rat has gnawed it. - Where's the rat? - The cat has killed it. - Where's the cat? - Behind the door, cracking pebble-stones and marrow-bones for yours - and my supper, and the one who speaks first shall have a box on the - ear. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 222. - -The children are seated, and the questions are put by one of the party -who holds a twisted handkerchief or something of the sort in the hand. -The handkerchief was called "hewley puley," and the questions are asked -by the child who holds it. If one answers wrongly, a box on the ear with -the handkerchief was the consequence; but if they all replied correctly, -the one who broke silence first had that punishment. - -For similar rhymes see "Dump," "Mother, may I go out?" - - -Hey Wullie Wine - - I. Hey Wully wine, and How Wully wine, - I hope for hame ye'll no incline; - Ye'll better light, and stay a' night, - And I'll gie thee a lady fine. - - Wha will ye gie, if I wi' ye bide, - To be my bonny blooming bride, - And lie down lovely by my side? - - I'll gie thee Kate o' Dinglebell, - A bonny body like yersell. - - I'll stick her up in the pear-tree - Sweet and meek, and sae is she: - I lo'ed her ance, but she's no for me, - Yet I thank ye for your courtesy. - - I'll gie thee Rozie o' the Cleugh, - I'm sure she'll please thee weel eneugh. - - Up wi' her on the bane dyke, - She'll be rotten or I'll be ripe: - She's made for some ither, and no me, - Yet I thank ye for your courtesy. - - Then I'll gie ye Nell o' sweet Sprinkell, - Owre Galloway she bears the bell. - - I'll set her up in my bed-head, - And feed her wi' milk and bread; - She's for nae ither, but jist for me, - Sae I thank ye for your courtesy. - ---Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - - II. I maun ride hame, I maun gang hame, - And bide nae langer here; - The road is lang, the mirk soon on, - And howlets mak' me fear. - - Light doon and bide wi' us a' night, - We'll choose ye a bonnie lass; - Ye'll get your wull and pick o' them a', - And the time it soon wull pass. - - Which ane will ye choose, - If I with you will bide? - - The fairest and rarest - In a' the kintra side. - -A girl's name was then mentioned. If the lad was pleased with the choice -made, he replied-- - - I'll set her up on a bonnie pear-tree, - It's tall and straight, and sae is she; - I'd keep wauken a' night her love to be. - -If he was not pleased, he replied in one or other of the next three -verses-- - - I'll set her up ayont the dike, - She'll be rotten ere I be ripe, - The corbies her auld banes wull pike. - - I'll set her up on a high crab-tree, - It's sour and dour, and so is she; - She may gang to the mools unkissed by me. - - Though she be good and fair to see, - She's for another, and no for me; - But I thank you for your courtesie. - -When a girl took the place of the lad, she replied in one or other of -the three following, according as she was angry or pleased-- - - I'll put him in a riddle - And riddle him o'er the sea, - And sell to Johnny Groat's - For a Scotch bawbee. - - I'll set him up on my lum-head [chimney], - And blaw him up wi' pouther and lead; - He'll never be kissed though he be dead. - - I'll set him up at my table head, - Feed him wi' sweet milk and bread, - If he likes gang hame on his fine steed. - ---Biggar (Wm. Ballantyne). - -(_b_) In Biggar, all the players were seated round the hearthstone, lads -on one side, lassies the other; one lad rising up said the first verse, -then one acting as "maister" said the next verse. The young man then -said the next two lines, to which the other replied in the two -following, and naming at the close any girl he thought would be -acceptable. If the lad was pleased he sang the next verse. If he was -not pleased with the girl offered him he replied in either of the three -following verses. The first of the three was generally said if the girl -was thought to be too old; if bad-tempered, the second. If the lad found -no fault, but wished to politely refuse, he sang the last verse. The -girl then was asked in her turn, and the same formula gone through, she -saying either of the three last verses given. Forfeits were demanded for -every refusal, and were cried at the end of the game. - -(_c_) Mr. Ballantyne writes: "This game was a great favourite in my -father's house. This was a forfeit game, forfeits being called 'wadds.'" -Chambers, _Popular Rhymes_, p. 124, gives a version of this game. It is -practically the same as Mr. Ballantyne's version, with only a few verbal -differences. Mactaggart says, "The chief drift of this singular game -seemed to be to discover the sweethearts of one another," and such -discoveries are thought valuable, but not so much as they were -anciently. In any case, it appears to me that the game is an early one, -or, at all events, a reflection of early custom. - - -Hickety, Bickety - - Hickety, bickety, pease-scone, - Where shall this poor Scotchman gang? - Will he gang east, or will he gang west, - Or will he gang to the craw's nest? - ---Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 122). - -One boy stands with his eyes bandaged and his hands against a wall, with -his head resting on them. Another stands beside him repeating the rhyme, -whilst the others come one by one and lay their hands upon his back, or -jump upon it. When he has sent them all to different places he turns -round and calls, "Hickety, bickety!" till they have all rushed back to -the place, the last in returning being obliged to take his place, when -the game goes on as before. - -Chambers adds, "The 'craw's nest' is close beside the eye-bandaged boy, -and is therefore an envied position." Newell, _Games_, p. 165, refers to -this game. - -See "Hot Cockles." - - -Hickety-hackety - -The game of Hop-scotch, played with a piece of tile, which has to be -kicked by the player with the foot on which he hops over lines into -various squares marked on the ground.--Somersetshire (Elworthy's -_Dialect_). - -See "Hop-scotch." - - -Hick, Step, and Jump - -The game of "Hop, step, and jump."--Somerset (Holloway's _Dict. of -Provincialisms_). - -See "Half-Hammer." - - -Hide and Seek (1) - -A writer in _Blackwood's Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, mentions this as -a summer game. It was called "Ho, spy!" the words which are called out -by those boys who have hidden. He says the watchword of "Hide and seek" -was "hidee," and gives as the rhyme used when playing-- - - Keep in, keep in, wherever you be, - The greedy gled's seeking ye. - -This rhyme is also given by Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 122). -Halliwell gives the rhyme as-- - - Hitty titty indoors, - Hitty titty out, - You touch Hitty titty, - And Hitty titty will bite you. - ---_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 213. - -At Ashford-in-the-Water the words used were-- - - One a bin, two a bin, three a bin, four, - Five a bin, six a bin, seven, gie o'er; - A bunch of pins, come prick my shins, - A loaf brown bread, come knock me down. - I'm coming! - ---_Reliquary_, viii. 57. - -The words are said by the one who has to find the person hidden. - -In Scotland the game is called "Hospy," and is played by boys only, and -it can be played only in a village or hamlet in which there is the means -of hiding. A Spy is chosen, and a spot, called Parley, is fixed upon at -which the Spy stands till all the other players are hid, and to which he -can run when pursued. When the players are hid, the cry, "Hospy," -_i.e._, "Ho! spy!" is raised by them. The Spy then sets out to find -them. The moment he detects one he turns and runs with all his might to -the Parley, pursued by the one he has discovered. If he is overtaken, he -must carry on his back the pursuer to the Parley. The same thing is gone -through till all the players are discovered.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -Jamieson says, "'Hy Spy,' a game resembling 'Hide and Seek,' but played -in a different manner. The station, which in England is called Home, is -here the Den, and those who keep it are the Seekers, and are called the -Ins. Those who hide themselves, instead of crying 'Hoop,' as in England, -cry 'Hy spy;' and they are denominated the Outs. The business of the Ins -is, after the signal is given, to lay hold of the Outs before they can -reach the den. The captive then becomes one of the Ins; for the honour -of the game consists in the privilege of hiding oneself." Jamieson adds, -"Hy is still used in calling after a person, to excite attention, or -when it is wished to warn him to get out of the way." Strutt describes -it as "Harry-Racket," or "Hide and Seek" (_Sports_, p. 381). - -At Cork two sides are chosen for Spy; one side hides while the other -side hunts. When the hunters see one of the hidden players, they call -out, "I spy ----," and the child's name. The player called must run -after the Spy and try to catch him before he reaches his Den; if he -succeeds, the one caught must go to the opposite side of players, then -next time the spies hide, and those who have been hiding, spy (Miss -Keane). A more general form of the game is for one child to hide, and to -make a noise in a disguised voice to give notice of his whereabouts, or -to call out "Whoop!" or "Coo!" Until this noise or call is made, the -searchers may not seek him. If when spied or discovered the hider cannot -reach home before being caught, he again has to hide (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) In the parish church of Bawdrip is a monument to Edward Lovell, -his wife Eleanor (_née_ Bradford), and their two daughters Maria and -Eleanor. The inscription touching the latter is:--"Eleanora . . . obiit -Jun. 14, 1681. Hanc, subito et immaturo (ipsos pene inter hymenæos) fato -correptam, m[oe]stissimus luxit maritus, et in gratam piamq. parentum -sororis et dilectissimæ conjugis memoriam, monumentum hoc erigi voluit." -Tradition connects this sudden death--"ipsos pene inter hymenæos"--with -the story of the bride playing at "Hide and Seek." It is curious that, -in Haynes Bayly's song, the bridegroom's name should be Lovell. There is -no mention on the monument of the name of the bereaved husband. The -father, Edward Lovell, was fourteen years rector of Bawdrip and fellow -of Jesus College, Cambridge, and died in 1675, and so could not have -been present at the wedding, as represented in the song. He came from -Batcombe, near Castle-Cary; at which latter place the Lovells were -seated in very early days.--_Notes and Queries_, 4th Ser., ix. 477. - -Cope (_Hampshire Glossary_) calls the game "I spy I." Lowsley -(_Berkshire Glossary_) says, "In playing this game, the seeker has to -call out 'I spy!' to the one he finds before he may start for home." It -is called "Hy Spy" in Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_; Evans' -_Leicestershire Glossary_, "Hide and Wink;" Barnes' _Dorset Glossary_, -"Hidy Buck." - -In Pegge's _Alphabet of Kenticisms_ the game is given as "Hide and Fox." -_Cf._ "Hide Fox, and all after," _i.e._, let the fox hide and the others -go to seek him; Hamlet, iv. 2, 32. In Stead's _Holderness Glossary_, -"Hed-o." In the North Riding it is "Lam-pie-sote-it," also called -"Felto" in Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. He also mentions that the -hidden child cries "How-ly" to the finder. Apparently the same as the -south country "Whoop," a signal to the finder to begin the search. Addy -(_Sheffield Glossary_) says this game is called "Felt and Laite." -Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_) speaks of it as "I Spy." - -See "Davie Drap." - - -Hide and Seek (2) - -[Music] - ---London. - - I. Beans and butter, - Come home to supper, - 'Tis all ready done. - ---Hampshire (Miss Mendham). - - II. Little pigs come to supper, - Hot boiled beans and ready butter. - ---Northall's _Folk Rhymes_, p. 409. - - III. Hot beans and butter! - Please to come to supper! - ---Much Wenlock (_Shropshire Folklore_, p. 525). - - IV. Hot boiled beans, and very good butter, - Ladies and gentlemen, come to supper. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - V. Vesey vasey vum, - Buck aboo has come! - Find it if you can and take it home, - Vesey vasey vum. - ---Newlyn West, near Penzance (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 49). - -One child hides an article, while those who are to search for it go in -another room (or out of the way somewhere). When it is hidden, they are -called to find it by one of the above rhymes being sung or said. The -searchers are enabled more readily to find the hidden article by being -told "hot," "very hot," "scorching," "burning," or "cold," "very cold," -and "freezing," when near to or far from the hidden article. Sometimes -several may agree to hide the article, and only one to be the finder. In -the Penzance game one child is blindfolded, other children hide -something, then shout the words. Search is then made for the hidden -object: when found, the finder in his turn is blindfolded. There appears -to be some mistake in the description of this game. - - -Hinch-Pinch - -The name of an old Christmas game mentioned in _Declaration of Popish -Impostures_, 1603. - - -Hinmost o' Three - -A game played on village greens.--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary, -Supplement_. - - -Hirtschin Hairy - -The players (boy or girl) cower down on their haunches, "sit doon -curriehunkers," and hop round and round the floor like a frog, clapping -the hands first in front and then behind, and crying out, "Hirtschin -Hairy." It is sometimes called "Hairy Hirtschin." In Lothian the players -try to knock each other over by hustling against one another.--Rev. W. -Gregor. - -Same game as "Harie Hutcheon." - -See "Curcuddie," "Cutch-a-cutchoo," "Hop-frog." - - -Hiry-hag - -A boys' game, in which several, joining hands, endeavour to catch -another, who, when caught, is beaten with caps, the captors crying out-- - - Hiry-hiry-hag, - Put him in a bag, &c. - ---Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_. - - -Hiss and Clap - -All the boys are requested to leave the room, when the girls take their -seats, leaving a vacant place on the right side of each girl for the -gentleman of her choice. Each boy in turn is then summoned by another -who acts as doorkeeper, and asked to guess which lady he imagines has -chosen him for her partner. Should he guess rightly he is allowed to -take his seat by the lady who has chosen him, while the other girls -loudly clap hands. Should he guess wrongly he is hissed, and sent out of -the room by the doorkeeper.--Cork, Ireland (Miss Keane). - -At Long Eaton in Nottinghamshire Miss Youngman records a similar game to -this, with a rhyme that is probably taken from a popular song or ballad. -The successful candidate for the girl's choice claims a kiss, but if -unsuccessful he is beaten out of the room with knotted handkerchiefs. - - -Hitch Jamie; Hitch Jamie, Stride and Loup - -The boyish play of "Hop, Step, and Jump."--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -Brockett (_North Country Words_) calls this "Hitch." - -See "Half-Hammer," "Hick, Step, and Jump." - - -Hitchapagy - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Hitchy Cock Ho - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - - -Hity Tity - -The Somerset name for "See-Saw." - - -Hoatie, Hots - -When a number of boys agree to have a game at the Pearie or peg-top, a -circle is drawn on the ground, within which all the tops must strike and -spin. If any of them bounce out of the circle without spinning, it is -called a Hoatie. The punishment to which the Hoatie is subjected -consists in being placed in the ring, while all the boys whose tops ran -fairly have the privilege of striking--or, as it is called, "deggin"--it -till it is either split or struck out of the circle. If either of these -take place, the boy to whom the Hoatie belonged has the privilege of -playing again.--Upper Lanarkshire (Jamieson). - -See "Gully," "Hoges." - - -Hob-in-the-Hall - -An old game mentioned by Wycherley (_Plain Dealer_, 1677). - - -Hockerty Cokerty - -The same game as "Cockerty-hooie." - - -Hockey - -This game is played with a solid indiarubber ball from two to two and a -half inches in diameter. The players each have a bent or hooked stick or -"hockey." They take opposite sides. The object of the game is for each -side to drive the ball through their opponents' goal. The goals are -each marked by two poles standing about eight to ten feet apart, and -boundaries are marked at the sides. The ball is placed in the middle of -the ground. It is started by two players who stand opposite each other, -the ball lying between their two sticks. They first touch the ground -with their hockey-sticks, then they touch or strike their opponents' -stick. This is repeated three times. At the third stroke they both try -to hit the ball away. The ball may only be played by a hockey-stick, and -a goal is gained when the ball is played between the posts by the -opposing party.--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) In Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ this game is described -under the name of "Shinnup." Robinson (_Mid Yorkshire Glossary_) gives -it under "Shinnops," a youth's game with a ball and stick, heavy at the -striking end, the player man[oe]uvring to get as many strokes as -possible and to drive the ball distances. "Shinnoping" is also used for -the game in operation. "Jowling," or "Jowls," is given in Robinson's -_Whitby Glossary_, as a game played much the same as "Hockey." "Baddin" -is the name given to it in Holland's _Cheshire Glossary_. Another name -is "Doddart" (Brockett, _North Country Words_). - -(_c_) An old custom in vogue in bygone days was Rotherham Fair, or what -was called "Whipping Toms," which took place in the Newarkes every -Shrove Tuesday. So soon as the pancake bell rang men and boys assembled -with sticks having a knob or hook at the end. A wooden ball was thrown -down, and two parties engaged in striving which could get the ball by -striking it with their sticks to one end of the Newarke first--those who -did so were the victors. This game was called "Shinney," or "Hockey." -About one o'clock the Whipping Toms appeared on the scene of action. -These were three men clad in blue smock frocks, with very long waggon -whips, who were accompanied by three men with small bells. They -commenced driving the men and boys out of the Newarkes. It was very -dangerous sometimes; they would lash the whip in such a manner round the -legs of those they were pursuing as to throw them down, which produced -laughter and shouting. Some would stop, and turn to the whipper and -say, "Let's have a pennyworth," and he would guard and parry off the -lashes with his shinney stick. When the whipper was successful in -lashing him he demanded his penny, and continued lashing until he paid. -This was continued until five o'clock, then the game terminated. This -was suppressed, I believe, in 1847. At that period it was a prevalent -idea that it could not be abolished, as it was connected with an "old -charter." It is believed in the town that this custom was to commemorate -the driving out of the Danes from the Newarkes at the time they besieged -Leicester.--Leicester (Robert Hazlewood). - -See "Bandy," "Camp," "Football," "Hood," "Hurling." - - -Hoges - -"The hoges," a boy's game played with "peeries" (peg-tops). The victor -is entitled to give a certain number of blows with the spike of his -peerie to the wood part of his opponent's.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_. - -See "Gully," "Hoatie." - - -Ho-go - -A game played with marbles. The first player holds up a number in his -closed hand and says, "Ho-go;" the second says, "Handfull;" the first -then says, "How many?" The other guesses. If he should guess correctly -he is entitled to take them all; but otherwise he must give the -difference between the number he guessed and the number actually held up -to make.--Lowsley's _Berkshire Words_. It is also called "How many eggs -in a basket?"--London (J. P. Emslie). - -See "Hairry my Bossie." - - -Hoilakes - -The name of a game of marbles which are cast into a hole in the -ground.--Easther's _Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. - - -Holy Bang - -A game with marbles, which consists in placing a marble in a hole and -making it act as a target for the rest. The marble which can hit it -three times in succession, and finally be shot into the hole, is the -winning ball, and its owner gets all the other marbles which have missed -before he played.--London (_Strand Magazine_, ii. 519). - -See "Bridgeboard," "Capie Hole," "Hundreds." - - -Honey Pots - -[Music] - ---London (J. P. Emslie). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -A number of children stoop down in a row, clasping their hands under -their legs. One child stands in front of them, and acts as owner or -seller; another acts as purchaser (fig. 1). The purchaser inquires-- - - Have you any honey pots for sale? - Yes, plenty; will you walk round and taste them? - -The purchaser goes round, pretending to taste each one in turn, -inquiring the price and weight; finds fault with several, one being too -sweet and the other not fresh enough, and so on. When one honey pot is -discovered to the purchaser's taste, she is lifted by the purchaser and -owner, or by two children who act as weights or scales, and then swung -by her arms backwards and forwards to estimate her weight and price -(fig. 2). As long as the child can keep her hands clasped, so long is -the swinging kept up; and as many times as they count, so many is the -number of pounds she weighs. The seller sometimes said, when each one -was bought-- - - Take her and bake her, - And into pies make her, - And bring her back - When she is done. - -They were not brought back, and the "owner" had to catch and bring back -each one. When sold, the honey pot is taken to the other side, or "home" -of the purchaser. The game goes on till all the honey pots are -sold.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -In Sporle, a girl clasps her hands under her legs to form a seat, and -two others swing her by the arms, saying-- - - Honey pot, honey pot, over the river; - When the old cat dies you shall have the liver. - ---Miss Matthews. - -In a version sent by Miss Chase, and told her by a London maidservant, -the children sit as in "Hunt the Slipper." One steps in a corner out of -earshot; the rest are named "Gooseberry Tart," "Cherry Tart," &c., by -another, who recalls the child in the corner with-- - - Fool, fool, come to school, - Pick me out a [cherry tart, as the case may be]. - -If he chooses the wrong one he is told-- - - Go back and learn your A, B, C. - -If rightly-- - - Take him and bake him, - And give me a piece - When he's done. - -The child is then led off in a squatting position. Later the one who -named them pretends tasting, and says, "Very nice," or "You must be -baked longer," when another squatting walk and wait takes place. - -A version sent by Mr. J. P. Emslie is similar to the other London -versions-- - - "Buy my fine honey to-day. - Which shall I buy? - Taste 'em and try. - -The child would then go round, pretending to taste, saying, 'Don't like -that one,' till one was approved. That one was then swung round to the -tune given, the words being-- - - An apple for the king and a pear for the queen, - And a good jump over the bowling green. - -At the last bar they swung the child higher and higher, and at the last -note they swung it as high as they could. I believe the last note in the -music should be G, but it was raised to give effect." - -In Scotland the game is called "Hinnie Pigs," and is played as follows. -The boys sit down in rows, hands locked beneath their hams. Round comes -one of them, the honey merchant, who feels those who are sweet and sour, -by lifting them by the arm-pits and giving them three shakes. If they -stand these without the hands unlocking below they are then sweet and -saleable, fit for being office-bearers of other ploys.--Mactaggart's -_Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -In Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ this is described as a girls' -game, in which two carry a third as a pot of honey to market. It is -mentioned by Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) and by Holland (_Cheshire -Glossary_). Mr. Holland adds, "If the hands give way before twenty is -reached it is counted a bad honey pot; if not, it is a good one." - -In Dublin the seller sings out-- - - Honey pots, honey pots, all in a row, - Twenty-five shillings wherever you go-- - Who'll buy my honey pots? - ---Mrs. Lincoln. - -The game is mentioned by a writer in _Blackwood's Magazine_, August -1821, p. 36, as being played in Edinburgh when he was a boy. - - -Hood - -A game played at Haxey, in the Isle of Axholme, on the 6th of January. -The Hood is a piece of sacking, rolled tightly up and well corded, and -which weighs about six pounds. This is taken into an open field on the -north side of the church, to be contended for by the youths assembled -for that purpose. When the Hood is about to be thrown up, the -Plough-bullocks or Boggins, as they are called, dressed in scarlet -jackets, are placed amongst the crowd at certain distances. Their -persons are sacred, and if amidst the general row the Hood falls into -the hands of one of them, the sport begins again. The object of the -person who seizes the Hood is to carry off the prize to some -public-house in the town, where he is rewarded with such liquor as he -chooses to call for. This pastime is said to have been instituted by the -Mowbrays, and that the person who furnished the Hood did so as a tenure -by which he held some land under the lord. How far this tradition may be -founded on fact I do not know, but no person now acknowledges to hold -any land by that tenure.--Stonehouse's _Isle of Axholme_, p. 291. - -W. J. Woolhouse (_Notes and Queries_, 2nd series, v. 95) says when the -Hood is thrown up by the Chief of the Boggons or by the officials, it -becomes the object of the villagers to get the Hood to their own -village, the other eleven men, called Boggons, being stationed at the -corners and sides of the field, to prevent, if possible, its being -thrown out of the field; and should it chance to fall into any of their -hands, it is "boggoned," and forthwith returned to the chief, who again -throws it up, as at the commencement of the game. The next day is -occupied by the Boggons going round the villages singing as waits, and -they are regaled with hot furmenty; from some they get coppers given -them, and from others a small measure of wheat. The day after that they -assume the character of Plough-bullocks, and at a certain part of -Westwood-side they "smoke the Fool"--that is, straw is brought by those -who like, and piled in a heap, a rope being tied or slung over the -branches of the tree next to the pile of straw; the other end of the -rope is fastened round the waist of the Fool, and he is drawn up and -fire is put to the straw, the Fool being swung to and fro through the -smoke until he is well-nigh choked, after which he goes round and -collects whatever the spectators choose to give him. The sport is then -at an end till the next year. The land left by Lady Mowbray was forty -acres, which are known by the name of "Hoodlands," and the Boggons' -dresses and the Hood are made from its proceeds. - -In the contiguous parish of Epworth a similar game is played under the -same name, but with some variations. The Hood is not here carried away -from the field, but to certain goals, against which it is struck three -times and then declared free. This is called "wyking" the Hood, which is -afterwards thrown up again for a fresh game.--_Notes and Queries_, 6th -series, vii. 148. - -See "Football," "Hockey." - - -Hoodle-cum-blind - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Baker's _Northamptonshire Glossary_. - - -Hoodman Blind - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff." Mentioned in _Hamlet_, iii. 4; _Merry Devil -of Edmonton_; and _Wise Women of Hogsden_. - - -Hooper's Hide - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Nares' _Glossary_. - - -Hop-crease - -The game of "Hop-scotch."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Hop-frog - -The players bend as though about to sit on a _very low_ stool, then -spring about with their hands resting on their knees.--Dorsetshire -(_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 234). - -Miss Peacock says that a game called "Hop-frog over the Dog" is played -at Stixwould, Lincolnshire, in the same way as "Leap-frog." - -See "Curcuddie," "Cutch-a-cutchoo," "Harie Hutcheon," "Hirtschin Hairy." - - -Hop-score - -Game of "Hop-scotch."--Hunter's _Glossary of Hallamshire_. - - -Hop-scotch - -A game, the object of which is to eject a stone, slate, or "dump" out of -a form linearly marked on the ground in different directions, by hopping -without touching any of the lines.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -In the plan (fig. 8) the players first lay the stone on the back of the -hand, and _walk_ through the plan, stepping into each division, throw it -up and catch it. Then the stone is _thrown_ back from No. 7 outside No. -1. Now it is placed on the toe, and the child walks through again, -throwing up the foot when out, to catch the stone in the hand. Another -way, done on the same plan, is for the player to place the stone in No. -1, leave it there, and hop into each division and back, then place it in -No. 2, and repeat the hopping, and so on through all the figures. There -is no _kicking_ of the stone, as is usual in London.--Roxton, St. Neots -(Miss Lumley). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1. - -Fig. 2. - -Fig. 3. - -Fig. 4. - -Fig. 5. - -Fig. 6. - -Fig. 7. - -Fig. 8. - -Fig. 9. - -Fig. 10.] - -From Crockham Hill, Kent, Miss Chase sends four versions. In the first -plan (fig. 1) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1. Hop from No. 1 to -No. 5 and back. Then pick it up. So on successively. After having thrown -it into No. 5, begin to reverse by throwing stone into No. 1 while -standing at No. 5--return with it on your thumb. Throw into No. -2--return with stone on your eye. Throw into No. 3--return with stone in -your palm. Throw into No. 4--return with stone on your head. Throw into -No. 5--return with stone on your back. In each case, upon reaching the -goal without dropping it, throw up and catch it as it falls. - -In the second plan (fig. 2) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1. Pick -it up. Hop, not touching lines, from No. 1 to No. 4, and "out." Throw -stone into No. 2. Do as before. And so successively into Nos. 3 and 4. -Next balance stone on shoe, then on the palm of hand, then on the back -of hand, then on the head, then on the shoulder, then on the eye (tilt -head back to keep it from falling). In each case walk round once with it -so balanced and catch at end. - -In the third plan (fig. 3) the game is:--Put pebble in No. 1. Pick up. -Hop, having one foot in No. 2 and the other in No. 3. Step into No. 4. -Hop, having one foot in No. 5 and the other in No. 6. Jump round. Go -back as you came. Then with stone on shoe, walk through the figure, kick -it up and catch at the close. Place stone on eyelid; walk through the -same figure, dropping it off into hand at close. This is called -"jumping." - -In the fourth plan (fig. 4) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1. Pick -it up. Hop from No. 1 to No. 8, not touching lines. So successively into -Nos. 2, 3, 4, &c. Walk into No. 1 with stone on foot, and out at No. 8. -Kick it up and catch it. The same with stone on thumb. Toss it up and -catch. Again with stone on your back. Straighten up, let it slide into -your hand. - -In Stead's _Holderness Glossary_, this is described as a boys' or girls' -game, in which the pavement is chalked with numbered crossed lines, and -a pebble or piece of crockery is propelled onward by the foot, the -performer hopping on one leg, the number reached on the chalk-line being -scored to him or her. At Whitby it is called "Pally-ully," and played -with rounded pieces of pot the size of a penny. Divisions are chalked on -the pavement, and the "pally-ullies" are impelled within the lines by a -hop on one leg, and a side shuffle with the same foot (_Whitby -Glossary_). It is sometimes called "Tray-Trip." Atkinson describes the -figure as oblong, with many angular compartments (_Cleveland Glossary_). -Jamieson defines "Beds" as "Hop-scotch," a game denominated from the -form, sometimes by strangers called squares. In Aberdeen the spaces -marked out are sometimes circular. - -Mrs. Lincoln sends a diagram of the game from Dublin (fig. 6). Addy -(_Sheffield Glossary_) under the name of "Hop-score" says it is a game -in which certain squares are drawn or _scored_ on the ground. The piece -of stone which is pushed with the foot is called the "scotch." Elworthy -(_West Somerset Words_) says a piece of tile is kicked over lines and -into squares marked on the ground. It is called "Hickety-Hackety," also -"Huckety." Cope (_Hampshire Glossary_) says it is played in Hants. Moor -(_Suffolk Words and Phrases_) describes this game under the name of -"Scotch-hob," by hopping and kicking a bit of tile from bed to bed of a -diagram which he gives (fig. 5, here printed). Brockett (_North Country -Words_) calls it "Beds." Barnes (_Dorset Glossary_) only says "hopping -over a parallelogram of scotches or chalk-lines on the ground." F. H. -Low, in _Strand Magazine_, ii. 516, says the divisions are respectively -named onesie, twosie, threesie, foursie, and puddings. It is called -"Hop-bed" at Stixwold in Lincolnshire (Miss Peacock), "Hop-score" in -Yorkshire (Halliwell, l.c.), and "Hitchibed" in Cleveland, Yorks. -(_Glossary of Cleveland Words_). Strutt describes it (_Sports_, p. 383); -and Wood's _Modern Playmate_, p. 32, gives a diagram similar to one seen -on a London pavement by A. B. Gomme (see fig. 7). Mr. Emslie has sent me -figs. 9 and 10, also from London streets. Newell (_Games_, p. 188) -speaks of it as a well-known game in America. - -Mr. Elworthy (_West Somerset Words_) says, "Several of these (diagrams -marked on the ground) are still to be seen, scratched on the ancient -pavement of the Roman Forum." Mr. J. W. Crombie says, "The game of -'Hop-scotch' was one of considerable antiquity, having been known in -England for more than two centuries, and it was played all over Europe -under different names. Signor Pitré's solar explanation of its origin -appeared improbable to him, for not only was the evidence in its favour -extremely weak, but it would require the original number of divisions in -the figure to have been twelve instead of seven, which was the number -indicated by a considerable body of evidence. It would seem more -probable that the game at one time represented the progress of the soul -from earth to heaven through various intermediate states, the name given -to the last court being most frequently paradise or an equivalent, such -as crown or glory, while the names of the other courts corresponded with -the eschatological ideas prevalent in the early days of Christianity." -Some such game existed before Christianity, and Mr. Crombie considered -that it had been derived from several ancient games. Possibly the -strange myths of the labyrinths might have had something to do with -"Hop-scotch," and a variety of the game played in England, under the -name of "Round Hop-scotch," was almost identical with a game described -by Pliny as being played by the boys of his day. Mr. Crombie also said -he "believed that the early Christians adopted the general idea of the -ancient game, but they not only converted it into an allegory of heaven, -with Christian beliefs and Christian names; they Christianised the -figure also; they abandoned the heathen labyrinth and replaced it by the -form of the Basilicon, the early Christian church, dividing it into -seven parts, as they believed heaven to be divided, and placing -paradise, the inner sanctum of heaven, in the position of the altar, the -inner sanctum of their earthly church." - -See "Hap the Beds." - - -Hop, Step, and Jump - -See "Half-Hammer." - - -Hornie - -A game among children in which one of the company runs after the rest -having his hands clasped and his thumbs pushed out before him in -resemblance of horns. The first person whom he touches with his thumbs -becomes his property, joins hands with him, and aids in attempting to -catch the rest: and so on until they are all made captives. Those who -are at liberty still cry out, "Hornie, Hornie."--Lothian (Jamieson). - -Jamieson says: "Whether this play be a vestige of the very ancient -custom of assuming the appearance and skins of animals, especially in -the sports of Yule, or might be meant to symbolise the exertions made by -the devil (often called 'Hornie') in making sinful man his prey, and -employing fellow-men as his coadjutors in this work, I cannot pretend -to determine." - -See "Hunt the Staigie," "Whiddy." - - -Hornie Holes - -A game in which four play, a principal and an assistant on each side. A. -stands with his assistant at one hole, and throws what is called a Cat -(a piece of stick, and frequently a sheep's horn), with the design of -making it alight in another hole at some distance, at which B. and his -assistant stand ready to drive it aside. The bat or driver is a rod -resembling a walking-stick. - -The following unintelligible rhyme is repeated by a player on the one -side, while they on the other are gathering in the Cats, and is attested -by old people as of great antiquity:-- - - Jock, Speak, and Sandy, - W' a' their lousy train - Round about by Errinborra, - We'll never meet again. - Gae head 'im, gae hang 'im, - Gae lay 'im in the sea; - A' the birds o' the air - Will bear him companee. - With a nig-nag, widdy- [_or_ worry-] bag, - And an e'endown trail, trail; - Quoth he. - ---Jamieson. - -The game is also called "Kittie-cat." - -See "Cat and Dog," "Cudgel," "Tip-cat." - - -Horns - -"A' Horns to the Lift," a game of young people. A circle is formed round -a table, and all placing their forefingers on the table, one cries, "A' -horns to the lift! Cat's horns upmost!" If on this any one lift his -finger, he owes a wad, as cats have no horns. In the same manner, the -person who does not raise his fingers when a horned animal is named is -subjected to a forfeit.--Jamieson. - - -Hot Cockles - -At Sheffield a boy is chosen for a Stump, and stands with his back -against a wall. Another boy bends his back as in "Leapfrog," and puts -his head against the Stump. The cap of the boy who bends down is then -taken off, and put upon his back upside down. Then each of the other -boys who are playing puts the first finger of his right hand into the -cap. When all the fingers are put into the cap, these lines are sung-- - - The wind blows east, the wind blows west, - The wind blows o'er the cuckoo's nest. - Where is this poor man to go? - Over yond cuckoo's hill I O. - -Then the boy whose back is bent jumps up, and the others run away crying -out, "Hot cockles." The boy who is caught by the one whose back was -first bent has to bend his back next time, and so on.--S. O. Addy. - -At Cork a handkerchief is tied over the eyes of one of the company, who -then lays his head on a chair, and places his hand on his back with the -palm uppermost. Any of the party come behind him and give him a slap on -his hand, he in the meantime trying to discover whose hand it is that -strikes.--Miss Keane. - -"Hot Cockles" is an old game, practised especially at Christmas. One boy -sits down, and another, who is blindfolded, kneels and lays his head on -his knee, placing at the same time his open hand on his own back. He -then cries, "Hot cockles, hot!" Another then strikes his open hand, and -the sitting boy asks who strikes. If the boy guessed wrongly, he made a -forfeit; but if rightly, he was released.--_Notes and Queries_, 4th -series, ix. 262. - -The sport is noticed by Gay-- - - As at hot-cockles once I laid me down, - I felt the weighty hand of many a clown; - Buxoma gave a gentle tap, and I - Quick rose and read soft mischief in her eye. - -Halliwell describes it rather differently. The blindfolded boy lies down -on his face, and, being struck, must guess who it is that hit him. A -good part of the fun consisted in the hardness of the slaps, which were -generally given on the throne of honour. He quotes from a MS. play as -follows-- - - It is edicted that every Grobian shall play at Bamberye hott cockles - at the four festivals. - Indeed a verye usefull sport, but lately much neglected to the - mollefieinge of the flesh. - ---Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -[Illustration] - -Nares' _Glossary_ also contains quotations from works of 1639, 1653, and -1697 which illustrate the game. Mr. Addy says "that this game as played -in Sheffield is quite different from that described under the same title -in Halliwell's _Dictionary_. Aubrey (p. 30) speaks of 'Hot Cockles' as a -game played at funerals in Yorkshire, and the lines here given show that -this was the game. The lines-- - - Where is this poor man to go? - Over yond cuckoo's hill I O, - -embodies the popular belief that the soul winged its way like a bird, -and they remind one of the passing of the soul over Whinny Moor (see -funeral dirge in Aubrey's _Remains of Gentilisme_, p. 31). Grimm -mentions the cuckoo hill (Gauchsberg). He says, 'Originally in -Gauchsberg the bird himself may very well have been meant in a mystic -sense which has fallen dark to us now' (_Teut. Myth._, ii. 681). We -know, too, the old belief that the cuckoo tells children how many years -they have to live. These lines are also sometimes said, in addition to -those given above-- - - Elder belder, limber lock, - Three wives in a clock; - Sit and sing, and call a spring, - O-u-t spells out. - -The boy who bends down is supposed to be undergoing a great penalty." -Strutt (_Sports_, p. 394) describes this game, and gives an illustration -which is here reproduced from the original MSS. in the Bodleian. - -This game may have originated from a custom at funerals of practising -spells for the safe and speedy passage of the departing spirit to its -destination, or from divination mysteries to foretell who would be the -next among the mourners to follow the dead body to the grave. The spirit -of prophecy was believed to exist in a dying person. See "Handy -Croopen." - - -How many Miles to Babylon - - I. King and Queen of Cantelon, - How many miles to Babylon? - Eight and eight and other eight. - Will I get there by candle-light? - If your horse be good and your spurs be bright. - How mony men have ye? - Mae nae ye daur come and see. - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 124; Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_. - - II. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Will we be there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open your gates and let us go through. - Not without a beck and a boo. - There's a beck, and there's a boo, - Open your gates and let us go through. - ---Nairn, Scotland (Rev. W. Gregor). - - III. How far to Banbury Cross? - Four score and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs are long and light. - Please to let me go? - Not without you bend and bow [pronounced bo]. - Here's my bend [curtseys], - And here's my bow [touches forehead], - Now will you let me go? - ---Fernham and Longcot (Miss I. Barclay). - - IV. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Can we get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open your gates as wide as you can, - And let King George and his family go through. - Not without a back, not without a bow, - Not without a curtsey, and then I'll let you through. - ---South Shields (Miss Blair). - - V. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Can I get there o' candle-light? - There and back again. - Here's my black [raising one foot], - And here's my blue [raising the other], - Open the gates and let me through. - ---Annaverna, Ravendale, co. Louth, Ireland (Miss R. Stephen). - - VI. How many miles to Barney Bridge? - Three score and ten. - Will I be there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs are long. - A curtsey to you, another to you, - If you please will you let the king's horses go through? - Yes, but take care of your hindmost man. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - VII. How many miles to Gandigo? - Eighty-eight almost, or quite. - Can I [we] get there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs are long and light. - Open the gate as high as the sky, - And let the king and his queen go by. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 230, 231). - - VIII. How many miles to Banbury? - Three score and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - But mind the old witch doesn't catch you. - ---London (Miss Dendy). - - IX. How many miles to Barley Bridge? - Three score and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs be long. - A courtesy to you, and a courtesy to you, - If you please will you let the king's horses through? - Through and through shall they go, - For the king's sake; - But the one that is the hindmost - Will meet with a great mistake. - ---Halliwell's _Popular Rhymes_, p. 217. - - X. How many miles to Barney Bridge? - Three score and ten. - Will I be there by Candlemass? - Yes, and back again. - A curtsey to you, another to you, - And pray, fair maids, will you let us through? - Thro' and thro' shall you go for the king's sake, - But take care the last man does not meet a mistake. - ---Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - - XI. How many miles to Burslem? - Three score and ten. - Can we get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open the gates so wide, so wide, - And let King George aside, aside; - The night is so dark we cannot see, - Thread the needle and go through. - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore). - - XII. How many miles to Banbury Cross? - Three score and ten. - Shall we get there by midnight? - Yes, if you run well. - Then open your gates as wide as the sky, - And let King George and his men pass by. - It is so dark we cannot see, so thread the needle Nancy, - Thread the needle Nancy. - One, two, three. - ---Warwick (from a little girl living near Warwick, through Mr. C. C. -Bell). - - XIII. How many miles to London? - Three score ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open the gate and let me through. - Not unless you're black and blue. - Here's my black and here's my blue, - Open the gates and let me through. - Dan, Dan, thread the needle; Dan, Dan, sew. - ---_Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 63. - - XIV. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Shall I be there by candle-light? - Yes, there and back again. - Open the gates as wide as high, - And let King George and his family pass by. - ---Wales (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 88). - - { Barley Bridge? - XV. How many miles to { Banbury? - { London? - Four score and ten [_or_, Fifty miles and more]. - Shall we be there by candle-light? - Oh, yes, and back again. - [_Or, at Market Drayton._ - Shift your feet with nimble light, - And you'll be there by candle-light.] - Open the gates as wide as the sky, - And let King George and his lady go by. - ---Market Drayton, Ellesmere, Whitchurch, (Burne's _Shropshire -Folk-lore_, p. 522). - - XVI. How many miles to Bethlehem? - Three score and ten. - Shall we get there by candle-light? - Yes, there and back again. - So open the gates and let King George and his family go - through. - ---Hayton, near York (H. Hardy). - - XVII. How far is it to Babylon? - Three score miles and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, there and back again. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XVIII. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Can you get there by candle-light? - O yes, and back again. - ---Hanbury, Staffordshire (Miss E. Hollis). - - XIX. Open the gates as wide as high, - And let King George and I go by; - It is so dark I cannot see - To thread my grandmother's needle. - ---Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 88). - -(_b_) There are two methods of playing this game, one in which a King -and Queen are represented, and the other in which gates of a city are -represented. Of the first Chambers and Mactaggart practically give the -same account. The latter says, "Two of the swiftest boys are placed -between two 'doons' or places of safety; these, perhaps, are two hundred -yards distant. All the other boys stand in one of these places or doons, -when the two fleet youths come forward and address them with the rhyme. -When out, they run in hopes to get to Babylon or the other doon, but -many get not near that place before they are caught by the runners, who -'taens' them, that is, lay their hands upon their heads, when they are -not allowed to run any more in that game, that is, until they all be -taened or taken." - -The Norfolk game seems to resemble the Scotch, though in a much less -complete form. Miss Matthews describes it as follows:--"A line of -children is formed, and the two standing opposite it sing the questions, -to which the line reply; then the two start off running in any direction -they please, and the others try to catch them." - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -The second method of playing is best described by the Rev. Walter -Gregor, from the Nairn game, which is known as "The Gates of Babylon." -Mr. Gregor writes as follows:--"This game may be played either by boys -or girls. Two of the players join hands, and stand face to face, with -their hands in front as if forming a gate. Each of these has a secret -name. The other players form themselves into a line by clasping each -other round the waist from behind. They go up to the two that form the -gate, and the leader asks the first question, as in version No. 2. The -dialogue then proceeds to the end. The two then lift their arms as high -as they can, still joined, and the line of players passes through. All -at once the two bring their arms down on one and make him (or her) -prisoner. The prisoner is asked in a whisper, so as not to disclose the -secret name, which of the two is to be chosen. The one so captured takes -his (or her) stand behind the one chosen. The same process is gone -through till all the players are taken captive, and have stationed -themselves behind the one or the other of the two forming the gate. The -last one of the line goes through three times. The first time the word -'breakfast' is pronounced; the second time 'dinner;' and the third time -'supper.' The player then chooses a side. The two sides have then a tug -of war. The game ends at this point with girls. With boys the conquered -have to run the gauntlet. The victors range themselves in two lines, -each boy with his cap or handkerchief tightly plaited in his hand, and -pelt with all their might the vanquished as they run between the lines. -The boys of Nairn call this running of the gauntlet, 'through fire an' -watter.'" - -The method of playing the Warwick, Fernham, and Louth versions is -practically the same. The children stand in half-circle beginning with -the two tallest at either end. All clasp hands. The two at one end -question those at the other end alternately (fig. 1). At the last line -the two that have been answering hold their hands up to form a bridge, -and all the others thread through, still holding hands (the bridge -advancing slowly) (fig. 2). The Louth version is also sometimes played -as "Oranges and Lemons." This is also the case with the Belfast, South -Shields, Ellesmere, and Dublin versions. Miss Burne also gives a second -method of playing this game at Ellesmere: she says, "The whole number of -players stand in two rows facing each other, each player joining hands -with the one opposite. The pair at the lower end parley with the pair at -the top, and then run under the extended arms of the others, receiving -thumps on the back as they go, till they reach the upper end, and become -the top couple in their turn." The Hanbury version is played in a -similar way. Two lines stand close together holding handkerchiefs -across. The questions are asked and answered by the top and bottom -players. Then two children run under the line of handkerchiefs. The -Dorset version is played by as many as like standing, two and two, -opposite each other, each of them taking with the right hand the right -hand of the other; then the two that are the King and Queen say or sing -the first question, to which the others reply, and the dialogue ends in -this manner. Then all the other pairs hold up their hands as high as -they can, and the King and Queen run through the archway and back again, -and so on with the next pair, and other pairs in turn. The Isle of Man -version is played, Mr. Moore says, the same as other "Thread the Needle" -games. - -(_c_) The game is evidently dramatic in form, and perhaps is -illustrative of some fact of history, such as the toll upon merchandise -entering a walled town. The changes in the words of the different -versions are not very great, but they show the influence of modern -history upon the game. The appearance of King George evidently points to -the date when it was frequently played, though the older versions are -doubtless those in which his Majesty does not do duty. Mactaggart has -the following quaint note which perhaps may supply the origin, though it -seems a far cry to the Crusaders:--"This sport has something methinks of -antiquity in it; it seemeth to be a pantomime of some scenes played off -in the time of the Crusades. 'King and Queen o' Cantilon' evidently must -be King and Queen of Caledon, but slightly changed by time. Then Babylon -in the rhyme, the way they had to wander and hazard being caught by the -infidels, all speak as to the foundation of the game" (Mactaggart's -_Gallovidian Encyclopædia_). - -In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for December 1849, in a review of the -_Life of Shirley_, it is stated that in many parts of England the old -game of "Thread the Needle" is played to the following words, which -refer to the gate of the city of Hebron, known as the "needle's eye." - - How many miles to Hebron? - Three score and ten. - Shall I be there by midnight? - Yes, and back again. - Then thread the needle, &c. - -The game is also described in _Notes and Queries_, iv. 141, as played in -the same way as above, and the writer adds there are subsequent -evolutions by which each couple becomes in succession the eye of the -needle. - - -Howly - -A street game played by boys in a town, one of them hiding behind a wall -or house-end, and crying "Howly" to the seekers.--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -Huckie-buckie down the Brae - -Children in Lothian have a sport in which they slide down a hill, -sitting on their hunkers (Jamieson). The well-known custom at Greenwich -is probably the same game, and there are examples at Tumbling Hill, a -few miles from Exeter, at May Pole Hill, near Gloucester, and other -places. - - -Huckle-bones - -Holloway (_Dict. of Provincialisms_) says that the game is called -"Huckle-bones" in East Sussex and "Dibs" in West Sussex. Parish (_Dict. -of Sussex Dialect_) mentions that huckle-bones, the small bone found in -the joint of the knee of a sheep, are used by children for playing the -game of "Dibs;" also Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_. Barnes -(_Dorset Glossary_) says, "A game of toss and catch, played mostly by -two with five dibs or huckle-bones of a leg of mutton, or round pieces -of tile or slate." Halliwell's description is clearly wrong. He says it -was a game formerly played by throwing up the hip-bone of some animal, -on one side of which was a head of Venus and on the other that of a dog. -He who turned up the former was the winner (_Dictionary_). Miss J. -Barker writes that "Huckle-bones" is played in Hexham; and Professor -Attwell (Barnes) played the game as a boy, and is still a proficient in -it; he played it recently for my benefit with his set of real -huckle-bones (A. B. Gomme); and see _Notes and Queries_, 9th ser., iv. -378, 379. - -The figures or sets are practically the same as those described under -"Fivestones." The game is very ancient. In the _Sanctuarie of -Salvation_, &c., translated from the Latin of Levinus Lemnius by Henry -Kinder (8vo, London, printed by H. Singleton), p. 144, we read, "These -bones are called 'huckle-bones' or 'coytes.'" For further information -relating to this game, as played by the ancients, the reader may consult -_Joannis Meursii Ludibunda, sive de Ludis Græcorum, Liber singularis_ -(8vo, Lugd. Bat. 1625), p. 7, and _Dan. Souterii Palamedes_, p. 81; but -more particularly, _I Tali ed altri Strumenti lusori degli antichi -Romani, discritti da Francesco de 'Ficoroni_, 4to, Rom. 1734. Against -the suggestion that the modern game is derived directly from the -Romans, is the fact that it is known in countries never traversed or -occupied by the Romans. Thus Dr. Clarke, in his _Travels in Russia_, -1810, p. 106, says: "In all the villages and towns from Moscow to -Woronetz, as in other parts of Russia, are seen boys, girls, and -sometimes even old men, playing with the joint-bones of sheep. This game -is called 'Dibbs' by the English. It is of very remote antiquity; for I -have seen it very beautifully represented on Grecian vases; particularly -on a vase in the collection of the late Sir William Hamilton, where a -female figure appeared most gracefully delineated kneeling upon one -knee, with her right arm extended, the palm downwards, and the bones -ranged along the back of her hand and arm. In this manner the Russians -play the game." - -See "Dalies," "Fivestones." - - -Hummie - -The game otherwise called "Shinty." The shinty or hummie is played by a -set of boys in two divisions who attempt to drive with curved sticks a -ball, or what is more common, part of the vertebral bone of a sheep, in -opposite directions (_Blackwood's Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36). If one -of the adverse party happens to stand or run among his opponents, they -call out "Hummie, keep on your own side."--Jamieson. - - -Hundreds - -A game at marbles, which is carried on until one of the players scores -100 or some other high number agreed upon. Any number can play, but it -is best described for two players, A. and B. First the players taw up to -a hole; if both get in, they repeat the process until one is left out, -say B.; then A. counts 10. Should both fail, the nearest goes first. He -may now lay his taw about the hole or fire at the other, on hitting -which he counts another 10. He now goes for the hole again, and failing, -lies where he happens to stop. If he misses, B. from his present -position tries to get into the hole, and failing, lies still; but if he -reaches the hole, he counts 10, and proceeds as A. had done. The one who -first gets the 100 (or other number) now goes in for his "pizings," -which performance takes place thus:--The loser, so far, is lying about, -and the winner goes back to "drakes," and again tries to lodge in the -hole; and if he succeeds, the game is up. If not, he lies still, and the -loser tries for the hole; if he gets in he counts another 10, or if he -should succeed in hitting the winner he scores his adversary's 100 to -his own number, and then goes on for his "pizings" as the other had -done. In failure of either securing the game thus, the process is -repeated at "drakes." When, however, the one who is on for his "pizings" -manages to taw into the hole, the game is concluded.--Easther's -_Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. - - -Hunt the Hare - -A game among children, played on the ice as well as in the fields -(Brockett's _North Country Words_). Strutt (_Sports_, p. 381) says "Hunt -the Hare" is the same game as "Hunt the Fox." In this game one boy is -permitted to run out, and having law given to him--that is, being -permitted to go to a certain distance from his comrades before they -pursue him--their object is to take him, if possible, before he can -return home. - -See "Hare and Hounds." - - -Hunt the Slipper - -[Music] - ---Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - -All the players but one sit on the floor in a circle with their legs -crossed (Turkish fashion), one acting as Chief, all pretending to work -at making or mending shoes. The other player brings a slipper to the -Chief Cobbler, and desires it to be mended, saying-- - - Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, - Get it done by half-past two. - -The child walks away, and returns in a few moments and asks whether the -shoe is ready. The Cobbler says, "Not quite; call again in an hour's -time," or makes any other excuse which occurs to him. When the child -calls again, she is told it has been sent home. After several pretences -the child declares an intention to search for it. The Cobblers in the -ring then all place their hands under their knees, and pass the slipper -secretly from one to another in such a way as to prevent the owner of -the shoe getting it for some time. The Cobbler from whom the slipper is -taken becomes the owner next time (Barnes, A. B. Gomme). In the -Nottinghamshire version (Miss Peacock) the rhyme is-- - - Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, - Give it a stitch and that will do. - -Versions from Wakefield, Liphook, Ellesmere, and other places are -practically the same as the Barnes game, but Mr. Udal gives an -elaboration of the Dorsetshire game in the _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. -238. One Lancashire version (Miss Dendy) reverses the characters by -making the Cobbler run round the ring, and the children requiring the -shoe to be mended, call out, "Blackie, come mend my slipper." Mrs. -Harley, in another Lancashire version, gives the words sung to the tune -printed as-- - - Pass on, pass on, passy on the slipper; - The best fun we ever had was passing on the slipper. - -Holloway (_Dict. of Provincialisms_) says this game was well known in -Somerset, Hants, Sussex, but now is almost out of fashion. He describes -it as being played without words. The child who has to find the shoe -stands in the centre of the circle. The chief amusement arises from the -one in the circle who has the slipper striking the one who stands up -(the searcher) while he or she is steadily looking for it in an opposite -direction. Strutt (_Sports_, p. 387) also describes this game. - - -Hunt the Staigie - -A boys' game. One is chosen to be the Staigie (little stallion). The -other players scatter themselves over the playground. The Staigie locks -his fingers into each other. He then repeats the words-- - - Hunt the Staigie, - Huntie, untie, staige, - Ailleman, ailleman, aigie, - -and rushes off with his hands locked, and tries to touch one of the -players. He must not unlock his hands till he has caught one. When he -has captured one, the two join hands and hunt for another. When another -is caught, he joins the two. This goes on till all are hunted -down.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -[Illustration] - -See "Chickidy Hand," "Whiddy." - - -Hunting - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Epworth (C. C. Bell). - - I. Oh, a-hunting we will go, a-hunting we will go; - We'll catch a little fox and put him in a box, - And never let him go. - ---Bath (Miss Large). - - II. Hunting we will go, brave boys, - Hunting we will go; - We'll catch an old fox - And put him in a box, - For a-hunting we will go. - Halt! shoulder arms! fire! - ---Horncastle, North Kelsey, Lincoln (Miss Peacock). - - III. O have you seen the Shah, - O have you seen the Shah? - He lights his pipe on a star-light night, - O have you seen the Shah? - For a-hunting we will go, - A-hunting we will go; - We'll catch a fox and put him in a box, - A-hunting we will go. - ---Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. Bell). - -(_b_) The players march two by two, all singing. The first pair let go -hands, separate, and skip widely apart, still singing. Gradually, in -this manner, two separate lines are formed, until, following each other -and singing, the pairs come together again, join hands, and march and -sing in couplets linked. - -The Bath game is played by the children standing in two rows facing each -other, and clapping hands and singing the verse. At the same time the -two children facing each other at the top of the lines join hands and -trip down and up between the lines. Their hands are unclasped, and the -two children run down the outside of the lines, one running on each -side, and meet at the bottom of the lines, where they stand. The two -children now standing at the top proceed in the same way: this is -continued until all the children have done the same. A ring is then -formed, when the children again clap and sing. Any number can play at -this game. - -In the Epworth version the children range themselves in double rank at -one end of the room or playground, and march down to the other end hand -in hand. At the bottom they loose hands and divide, the first rank -turning right, the second left, and march back in two single files to -the other end again, where they re-form as at first, and repeat their -man[oe]uvre, singing the verses alternately. - -The Lincolnshire game is played by the children walking two and two in a -circle round one of their companions, singing. The players then stand -facing the child in the centre, and place their hands on their partners' -shoulders. After the lines are sung the centre child cries out, "Halt! -Shoulder arms! Fire!" at which words each child kisses his partner. If -the commander sees any one hesitate, or avoid kissing, he runs forward -and takes the defaulter's place, leaving him to fill the middle -position. - -Similar versions are played at Earls Heaton (Mr. Hardy), Forest of Dean -(Miss Matthews), Ellesmere (Burne, _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 574), -Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 386). - - -Hurling - -A game played with a ball. The players are divided into two equal -parties, each of which tries to secure and keep the ball in their -possession. The prize is a ball made of cork, covered with -silver.--Courtney's _West Cornwall Glossary_. - -In Taylor's _Antiquitates Curiosæ_, p. 144, it is stated:--"The game of -hurling consisted in throwing or hurling a ball of wood about three -inches in diameter, and covered with plated silver, sometimes gilt. On -the ball was frequently a Cornish motto allusive to the game, and -signifying that fair play was best. Success depended on catching the -ball dexterously when dealt, and conveying it away through all the -opposition of the adverse party, or, if that was impossible, to throw it -into the hands of a partner, who, in his turn, was to exert his utmost -efforts to convey it to his own goal, which was often three or four -miles distant from that of his adversaries." - -T. Durfey's _Collin's Walk through London_, 1690, p. 192, says: "Hurling -is an ancient sport us'd to this day in the countys of Cornwall and -Devon, when once a year the hardy young fellows of each county meet; and -a cork ball thinly plated with silver being thrown up between 'em, they -run, bustle, and fight for it, to the witty dislocating of many a -shrew'd neck, or for the sport of telling how bravely their arms or legs -came to be broke, when they got home." It is fully described by Carew -in his _Survey of Cornwall_, 1602, p. 73. - -It is also a very ancient Irish game, and Mr. Kinahan says: "Many places -are called after it: such as, Killahurla, the hurlers' church; -Gortnahurla, the field of the hurlers; Greenanahurla, the sunny place of -the hurlers; this, however, is now generally corrupted into -hurling-green. The hurling-green where the famous match was played by -the people of Wexford against those of Cather (now divided into the -counties of Carlow and Wicklow), and where the former got the name of -yellow bellies, from the colour of the scarfs they wore round their -waist, is a sunny flat on the western side of North Wicklow Gap, on the -road from Gorey to Trinnahely. There are also many other different names -that record the game."--_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 266. - -See "Bandy," "Camp," "Football," "Hockey," "Hood," "Shinty." - - -Hurly-burly - -An undescribed boys' game. In it the following rhyme is used-- - - Hurly-burly, trumpy trace, - The cow stands in the market-place; - Some goes far, and some goes near, - Where shall this poor sinner steer? - ---Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - -For a similar rhyme see "Hot Cockles." - - -Huss - -Children play a game which is accompanied by a song beginning-- - - Hussing and bussing will not do, - But go to the gate, knock, and ring-- - Please, Mrs. Brown, is Nellie within? - ---Parish's _Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect_. - - -Hustle Cap - -A boys' game, played by tossing up halfpence. It is mentioned in -_Peregrine Pickle_, cap. xvi. Cope (_Hampshire Glossary_) says, -"Halfpence are placed in a cap and thrown up, a sort of -'pitch-and-toss.'" - - -Hynny-pynny - -A peculiar game at marbles, sometimes called "Hyssy-pyssy," played -in some parts of Devon and Somerset. A hole of some extent was made -in an uneven piece of ground, and the game was to shoot the marbles -at some object beyond the hole without letting them tumble into it. -The game occasionally commenced by a ceremony of no very delicate -description, which sufficed to render the fallen marble still more -ignominious.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Isabella - -[Music] - ---Ogbourne, Wilts (H. S. May). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - I. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted - I left you broken-hearted, - And on a green mountain, - There stands a young man. - - Could you love him? - Could you love him? - Could you love him? Farewell! - - Choose one, love, - Choose one, love, - Choose one, love, Farewell! - - Take a walk, love, - Take a walk, love, - Take a walk, love, Farewell! - - In the ring, love, - In the ring, love, - In the ring, love, Farewell! - - Put the ring on, - Put the ring on, - Put the ring on, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, Farewell! - - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, Farewell! - ---Enborne, Newbury (M. Kimber). - - II. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when I departed - I left her broken-hearted; - Upon the steep mountain - There stands a young man. - - Who'll you choose, love? - Who'll you choose, love? - Who'll you choose, love? Farewell! - - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Say your prayers, love, - Say your prayers, love, - Say your prayers, love, Farewell! - - Put your ring on, - Put your ring on, - Put your ring on, Farewell! - - Come back, love, - Come back, love, - Come back, love, Farewell! - - Roast beef and plum pudding, - Roast beef and plum pudding, - Roast beef and plum pudding, - For our dinner to-day. - - Kiss together, love, - Kiss together, love, - Kiss together, love, Farewell! - ---Ogbourne, Wilts (H. S. May). - - III. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when I departed - I left you broken-hearted - Broken-hearted on the mountain, - On the mountain, Farewell! - - Choose your loved one, choose your loved one, - Choose your loved one, Farewell! - - Kiss your hand, love, kiss your hand, love, - Kiss your hand, love, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Say your prayers, love, say your prayers, love, - Say your prayers, love, Farewell! - - Come to dinner, love, come to dinner, love, - Come to dinner, love, Farewell! - - What have you for dinner, for dinner, for dinner, - What have you for dinner, for dinner to-day? - - Roast beef and plum pudding, plum pudding, plum pudding, - Roast beef and plum pudding, plum pudding to-day. - ---Southampton (Mrs. W. R. Carse). - - IV. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night I met you downhearted and sad, - And down by the river I met your young man. - - Choose a lover, choose a lover, - Choose a lover, Farewell! - - Walk to church, love, walk to church, love, - Walk to church, love, Farewell! - - Come to the ring, love, come to the ring, love, - Come to the ring, love, Farewell! - - Give a kiss, love, give a kiss, love, - Give a kiss, love, Farewell! - ---West Grinstead, Sussex (_Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, i. 249, Miss -Busk). - - V. Arabella! - Arabella! - Arabella! Farewell! - - Last night when we parted - I left you broken-hearted - Down by the mill-side. - - Who'll you have, love? - Who'll you have, love? - Who'll you have, love? Farewell! - - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Come back, love, - Come back, love, - Come back, love, Farewell! - - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, Farewell! - - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, Farewell! - ---Platt School, near Wrotham, Kent (Miss Burne). - - VI. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted - I left you broken-hearted, - And on the green meadow - You was standing alone. - - Choose a sweetheart, choose a sweetheart, - Choose a sweetheart, fair maid. - - Take her hand, love, take her hand, love, - Take her hand, love, fair maid. - - Kneel down, love, kneel down, love, - Kneel down, love, fair maid. - - Take a kiss, love, take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, fair maid. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy, - Seven years after son and daughter; - Pray, young couple, come kiss together. - - Kiss her once, kiss her twice, kiss her three times over. - ---From a London nursemaid, 1878 (A. B. Gomme). - - VII. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted - I believed you broken-hearted, - As on the green mountain - You stands [_qy._ sang] like a lark. - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - In the ring, love, in the ring, love, - In the ring, love, Farewell! - - Give a kiss, love, give a kiss, love, - Give a kiss, love, Farewell! - - Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - ---Fernham and Longcot (Miss I. Barclay). - - VIII. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when I departed I left her broken-hearted; - On the hill yonder there stands your young man. - - Fetch him here, love, fetch him here, love, - Fetch him here, love, Farewell! - - Shut the gates, love, shut the gates, love, - Shut the gates, love, Farewell! - - Open the gates, love, open the gates, love, - Open the gates, love, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Show your ring, love, show your ring, love, - Show your ring, love, Farewell! - ---Hanbury, Staffs. (Miss E. Hollis). - - IX. The trees are uncovered, uncovered, uncovered, - The trees are uncovered, Isabella, for me! - - Last night when we parted we were all broken-hearted, - Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, for me! - - Then give me your hand, love, your hand, love, your hand, - love, - Then give me your hand, love, and a sweet kiss from you. - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - X. When the trees are uncovered, Isabellow, for me. - Last night when we parted - She was nigh broken-hearted, - Isabellow, Isabellow, Isabellow, for me. - - Your hand, love, your hand, love, - Then give me your hand, love, - Take a sweet kiss from me. - ---Winterton, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire (Miss Peacock). - - XI. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted I left you broken-hearted, - And down by the river you saw your young man. - - In the stream, love, in the stream, love, - In the stream, love, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell. - - In the ring, love, in the ring, love, - In the ring, love, Farewell! - ---Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire (Miss Youngman). - - XII. Elizabella, Farewell! - Last night as we parted - She left me broken-hearted, - And on a green mountain - She looked like a dove. - - Choose your loved one, - Choose your loved one, - Choose your loved one, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, Farewell! - Say your prayers, love, Farewell! - In the ring, love, Farewell! - - Shake hands, loves, - Shake hands, loves, Farewell! - - Give a kiss, loves, - Give a kiss, loves, Farewell! - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - XIII. Last night when we parted - She was nigh broken-hearted, - To-morrow we gather - And a bright welcome be. - Then give me your hand, love, - Your hand, love, your hand, love, - Then give me your hand, love, - Isabella for me. - Isabella, Isabella, - Isabella for me. - ---North Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) In the Enborne, Newbury, version (Miss Kimber) a ring is formed by -the children (boys and girls) joining hands. Another child stands in the -centre. The ring of children walk round while singing the verses. The -singing is confined to the ring. When the centre child is told to -"choose," she selects a boy from the ring, who goes into the centre and -they stand together. At the next verse these two children walk out of -the ring arm-in-arm. When the next verse is sung they return, and again -stand in the centre. At the next verse the boy pretends to put a ring on -the girl's finger. They walk out of the ring when told to go to church -(two children in the ring unclasping hands to let them walk out, and -again clasping hands after they return), and kiss each other and shake -hands when the two next verses are sung. The child who was first in the -centre then joins the ring, and the game proceeds in the same way with -the second child, who chooses in his turn. All the other versions follow -the same rules, suiting their actions to the words, except Ogbourne, -Wilts, in which the two children in the centre sing the verse, "roast -beef and plum pudding." They stand face to face, take hold of each -other's hands, and sway their arms from side to side. The ring then sing -the concluding verse. In those versions where "say your prayers" and -"kneel down" occur, the two centre children kneel, and hold their open -hands together in front of them to imitate a book. In the London version -(A. B. Gomme) a handkerchief was laid on the ground, and the two -children stood on each side of it and clasped hands across it. In the -Fernham and Longcot version the one child leads the other out of the -ring at "go to church," with a graceful half-dancing motion, and back -again in the same way. The first child joins the ring while the refrain -is sung. In the Hanbury version the centre child pretends to be weeping; -another child stands outside the ring and goes into it; when the two -meet they kiss. In the North Derbyshire version (Mr. S. O. Addy) a ring -is formed of young men and women, a young man being in the centre. He -chooses a young woman at the singing of the fifth line, and then joins -the ring, the girl remaining in the centre. - -(_c_) The tunes of all versions are very similar. The tune of the -Newbury game (Miss Kimber) is the same as the _first_ part of the -Ogbourne tune printed (Mr. H. S. May); that from Nottingham (Miss -Youngman) is the same as the first part of the London version. This is -also the case with the Hanbury, Staffs. (Miss E. Hollis) and Fernham and -Longcot game. What difference there is is very slight. The Platt, Kent, -game (Miss Burne), is sung to the same tune as "Green Gravel," given -_ante_, p. 170. The _first_ portion only of the tune is repeated for all -verses sung after the first verse. The Barnes game is sung to the same -tune as the Earls Heaton (Mr. Hardy), which is printed _ante_. A version -played at Barnes is almost identical with the Southampton version, and -another collected by Miss Thoyts in Berkshire (_Antiquary_, vol. xxvii. -p. 193) is similar to the Hanbury version. The first lines run--Choose -your lover; Open the gates; Go to church, love; Kneel down, love; Say -your prayers, love; Put on the ring; Stand up, love; In the ring, love; -Kiss together, love. - -(_d_) The words of all the versions are sufficiently similar to analyse -without a special form. The game appears to be purely a love and -marriage game, and has probably had its origin in a ballad, and this -idea is strengthened by the fact that only one version (London) has the -marriage formula sung at the end, and this is probably an arbitrary -addition. The lover is represented as lonely and disconsolate, and the -remedy suggested is to choose a sweetheart. The marriage ceremony is of -the simplest description--the clasping of hands and the kissing within -the circle probably implying the betrothal at a spot sacred to such -functions, similar to the Standing Stones of Stenness. Whatever may have -been the original intention of these stones, they came in more recent -times to be the resort of lovers, who joined their right hands through -the hole in the altar stones in the belief that this ceremony would add -additional solemnity to the betrothal. Miss Gordon Cumming, in her _Tour -in the Hebrides_, mentions the fact of the marriage ceremony being of -the simplest--a man and woman standing facing each other and clasping -hands over a particular stone. Walking arm-in-arm is a sign in -Dorsetshire that a couple are married. The mention of the "roast beef -and plum pudding" for dinner has probably had its origin in the wedding -dinner or breakfast, and the inviting of friends to assemble for the -wedding dinner. The word "Isabella" may have been originally something -quite different from the name of a girl. I am inclined to think the word -was not the name of a person at all; possibly it was something addressed -to a particular person in words the sense of which are now lost, and the -nearest idea to it was this name. The same thing may also apply to the -word "farewell," and hence the incongruity of the first few lines in -nearly all versions. - - -Jack's Alive. - -A number of people sit in a row, or on chairs round a parlour. A -lighted wooden spill or taper is handed to the first, who says-- - - Jack's alive, and likely to live; - If he dies in your hand you've a forfeit to give. - -The one in whose hand the light expires has to pay a forfeit. As the -spill is getting burnt out the lines are said very quickly, as everybody -is anxious not to have to pay the forfeit.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -At Egan, in Derbyshire, a number of persons sit round a fire; one of -them lights a stick, twirls it round, and says-- - - Little Nanny Cockerthaw, - What if I should let her fa'? - -The others reply-- - - Nine sticks and nine stones - Shall be laid on thy bare back bones - If thou shouldst let fa' - Little Nanny Cockerthaw. - -If the ember or lighted stick goes out whilst any one is twirling it -round, and whilst the lines are being said, he has to lie on the floor, -when stones, chairs, or other articles of furniture are piled upon -him.--S. O. Addy. - -Mactaggart calls it "Preest Cat," and says that it is an ingleside game. -A piece of stick is made red in the fire; one hands it to another, -saying-- - - About wi' that, about wi' that, - Keep alive the preest cat. - -Then round is handed the stick, and whomsoever's hand it goes out in, -that one is in a wad, and must kiss the crook, the cleps, and what not, -ere he gets out of it. - - Lilly cuckoo, lilly cuckoo, - Sticks and stanes lie at thy weary banes - If thou fa', for a' I blaw, - Lilly cuckoo, lilly cuckoo. - -This rhyme is common in the "Preest Cat" sport toward the border. -Anciently, when the priest's cat departed this life, wailing began in -the country side, as it was thought it became some supernatural being--a -witch, perhaps, of hideous form--so to keep it alive was a great -matter.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -He also refers to a game called "Robin-a-Ree," much like "Preest Cat," -only in passing the burnt stick round the ring the following rhyme is -said-- - - Robin-a-Ree, ye'll no dee wi' me, - Tho' I birl ye roun' three times and three; - O Robin-a-Ree, O Robin-a-Ree, - O dinna let Robin-a-Reerie dee. - -Robin-a-Ree occurs in an old song.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopædia_. - -In Cornwall it is known as "Robin's a-light," and is played around the -fire. A piece of stick is set on fire and whirled around rapidly in the -hand of the first player, who says, "Robin's a-light, and if he go out I -will saddle your back." It is then passed to the next, who says the same -thing, and so on. The person who lets the spark die out has to pay a -forfeit.--Scilly (Courtney's West _Cornwall Glossary_). A rhyme at -Lostwithiel is known as follows-- - - Jack's alive, and likely to live; - If he die in my hand a pawn (forfeit) I'll give. - ---(J. W.) - -Jamieson (_Dictionary_) says, "To do 'Dingle-dousie,' a stick is ignited -at one end and given as a plaything to a child." Elworthy (_West -Somerset Words_) does not give this as a game, but says a burning stick -was whirled round and round very quickly, so as to keep up the -appearance of a ribbon of fire. Miss Burne (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. -530), says, "Children wave a burning stick in the air, saying-- - - A girdle o' gold, a saddle o' silk, - A horse for me as white as milk, - -an evident relic of divinations or incantations practised with -bonfires." Halliwell (_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 213) gives the rhyme as-- - - Jack's alive, and in very good health, - If he dies in your hand you must look to yourself; - -the game being played in the same way as the Sheffield version (see also -Halliwell's _Dictionary_ and Moor's _Suffolk Words_). - -(_b_) This is a very significant game, and its similarity in miniature -to the old tribal custom of carrying the fiery cross to rouse the clans -at once suggests the possible origin of it. The detention of the fiery -cross through neglect or other impediment was regarded with much dread -by the inhabitants of the place in which it should occur. This subject -is discussed in _Gomme's Primitive Folkmoots_, p. 279 _et seq._ - - -Jack, Jack, the Bread's a-burning - - Jack, Jack, the bread's a-burning, - All to a cinder; - If you don't come and fetch it out - We'll throw it through the winder. - -These lines are chanted by players that stand thus. One places his back -against a wall, tree, &c., grasping another, whose back is toward him, -round the waist; the second grasps a third, and so on. The player called -Jack walks apart until the conclusion of the lines. Then he goes to the -others and pokes at or pats them, saying, "I don't think you're done -yet," and walks away again. The chant is repeated, and when he is -satisfied that the bread is "done" he endeavours to pull the foremost -from the grasp of the others, &c.--Warwickshire (Northall's _Folk -Rhymes_, p. 390). - -See "Mother Mop." - - -Jack upon the Mopstick - -See "Bung the Bucket." - - -Jackysteauns - -A game among school-girls, played with small pebbles, and sometimes with -plum or cherry stones (Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_). "A children's -game, played with five white pebbles called Jackstones," says Mr. -Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_). The game is called "Jack." - -See "Fivestones," "Hucklebones." - - -Jauping Paste-eggs - -A youthful amusement in Newcastle and the neighbourhood at Easter. One -boy, holding an egg in his hand, challenges another to give blow for -blow. One of the eggs is sure to be fractured in the conflict, and its -shattered remains become the spoil of the conqueror. - -See "Conkers." - - -Jenny Jones - -[Music] - ---Platt, near Wrotham, Kent (Miss Burne). - -[Music] - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - -[Music] - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - I. I'm come to court Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - I'm come to court Janet jo, - How's she the day? - - She's up the stair washin', - Washin', washin', - She's up the stair washin', - Ye canna see her the day. - -[Then follow verses, the words of which are not given by Chambers, -representing Jenny as bleaching, drying, and ironing clothes. At last -they say--] - - Janet jo's dead and gane, - Dead and gane, dead and gane; - Janet jo's dead and gane, - She'll never come hame! - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 140-41. - - II. I'm come to court Janet jo, Janet jo, Janet jo, - Come to court Janet jo, - How is she the day? - - She's butt the house washing, washing, washing - She's butt the house washing, - You can't see her to-day. - - Fare ye well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Fare ye well, ladies, - For I must away. - ---West Scotland (_Folk-lore Record_, iv. 474). - - III. We've come to court Jinny jo, - Jinny jo, Jinny jo, - We've come to court Jinny jo, - Is she within? - - Jinny jo's washing clothes, - Washing clothes, washing clothes, - Jinny jo's washing clothes, - You can't see her to-day. - - So fare ye well, ladies, - O ladies, O ladies, - So fare ye well, ladies - And gentlemen too. - -[These verses are repeated for-- - - (1) drying clothes, - (2) starching, - (3) ironing, - (4) ill, - (5) dying. - -Then--] - - Jinny jo's lying dead, - Lying dead, lying dead, - Jinny jo's lying dead, - You can't see her to-day. - - So turn again, ladies, - Ladies, ladies, ladies, - So turn again, ladies, - And gentlemen too. - - What shall we dress her in? - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? - Shall it be red? - - Red's for the soldiers, - The soldiers, the soldiers, - Red's for the soldiers, - And that will not do. - -[Various other colours are suggested in the same way, but are found -unsuitable--black because "black's for the mourners," green because -"green's for the croppies," and so on till at last white is named.] - - White's for the dead people, - Dead people, the dead people, - White's for the dead people, - And that will just do. - ---Belfast (_Notes and Queries_, 7th series, xii. 492, W. H. Patterson). - - IV. I came to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I came to see Jenny jo, is she within? - - Jenny jo's washing clothes, washing clothes, washing clothes, - Jenny jo's washing clothes, and ye can't see her to-day. - - Oh but I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, - Oh but I'm sorry, I can't see her to-day. - - Farewell ladies, O ladies, O ladies, - Farewell ladies, and gentlemen too. - -[Then the same verses are repeated for-- - - (1) starching clothes, - (2) smoothing clothes, - (3) dead, - -the four lines above being repeated after each, and the verses proceed -with--] - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be black? - - Black for the sweeps, the sweeps, the sweeps, - Black for the sweeps, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be blue? - - Blue for the sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue for the sailors, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be red? - - Red for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red for the soldiers, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be orange? - - Orange for the Orange-men, Orange-men, Orange-men, - Orange for the Orange-men, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be white? - - White for the corpse, the corpse, the corpse, - White for the corpse, and that will just do. - - We have lost a soldier, soldier, soldier, - We have lost a soldier, and the Queen has lost a man. - We will bury him in the bed of glory, glory, glory, - We will bury him in the bed of glory, and we'll never see him - any more. - ---Holywood, co. Down (Miss C. N. Patterson). - - V. I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is washing clothes, washing clothes, washing - clothes, - Jenny jo is washing clothes, - You can't see her now. - - I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is ironing clothes, ironing clothes, ironing - clothes, - Jenny jo is ironing clothes, - You can't see her now. - - I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is sick, my dear, sick, my dear, sick, my dear, - Jenny jo is sick, my dear, - You can't see her now. - - I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is underboard, underboard, underboard, - Jenny jo is underboard, - You can't see her now. - ---Lismore (Miss F. Keane, collected from Miss Ward, National -Schoolmistress). - - VI. We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is washing, - O washing, O washing, - O Jenny is washing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is starching, - O starching, O starching, - O Jenny is starching, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is ironing, - O ironing, O ironing, - O Jenny is ironing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is ill, - O ill, O ill, - O Jenny is ill, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is dying, - O dying, O dying, - O Jenny is dying, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is dead, - Is dead, is dead, - O Jenny is dead, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be red? - - Red is for soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red is for soldiers, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be blue? - - Blue is for sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue is for sailors, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be black? - - Black is for mourners, mourners, mourners, - Black is for mourners, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be white? - - White's what the dead wear, dead wear, dead wear, - White's what the dead wear, and that will just do. - ---Hanwell, Middlesex, 1878 (A. B. Gomme). - - VII. We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is washing, washing, washing, - Poor Jenny is washing, washing hard to-day. - - What time can we see her? - At one o'clock. (Clock strikes one.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is starching, starching, starching, - Poor Jenny is starching, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At two o'clock. (Clock strikes two.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is folding, folding, folding, - Poor Jenny is folding, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At three o'clock. (Clock strikes three.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is ironing, ironing, ironing, - Poor Jenny is ironing, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At four o'clock. (Clock strikes four.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is poorly, poorly, poorly, - Poor Jenny is poorly, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At five o'clock. (Clock strikes five.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is dying, dying, dying, - Poor Jenny is dying, you can't see her to-day. - - When shall we see her? - (Come) at six o'clock. (Clock strikes six.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is dead, dead, dead, - Poor Jenny is dead, you can't see her to-day. - - What colour will you have for the funeral for poor Jenny - Jones? - - Red? - - Red is for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red is for the soldiers, and that won't do. - - Blue? - - Blue is for the sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue is for the sailors, and that won't do. - - Pink? - - Pink is for the babies, babies, babies, - Pink is for the babies, and that won't do. - - White? - - White is for a wedding, a wedding, a wedding, - White is for a wedding, and that won't do. - - Black? - - Black is for the mourners, mourners, mourners, - Black is for the mourners, and that will do. - - Poor Jenny Jones is dead, dead, dead, - Poor Jenny Jones is dead, and lies in her grave. - ---Southampton (from nursemaid of Mrs. W. R. Carse). - - VIII. We've come to see Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, is she at home? - - Jenny Jones is scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing, - Jenny Jones is scrubbing, you can't see her now. - -[Then follow verses asking alternately "Is she at home?" in the same -words as the first verse, and answering that she is - - (1) washing, - (2) ill, - (3) dying, - (4) dead; - -all of them in the same form as the second verse. Then the verses -continue with--] - - Jenny Jones is dead, she is dead, she is dead, - Jenny Jones is dead, you can't see her now. - - We'll come to the funeral, funeral, funeral, - We'll come to the funeral, and how shall we dress? - - You can come in yellow, in yellow, in yellow, - You can come in yellow, that's how you can dress. - - Yellow's for jealousy, jealousy, jealousy, - Yellow's for jealousy, so _that_ won't do. - - You can come in green, in green, in green, - You can come in green, that's how you can dress. - - Green's forsaken, forsaken, forsaken, - Green's forsaken, so _that_ won't do. - - You can come in white, in white, in white, - You can come in white, that's how you can dress. - - White's for weddings, weddings, weddings, - White's for weddings, so _that_ won't do. - - You can come in black, in black, in black, - You can come in black, that's how you can dress. - - Black is for funerals, funerals, funerals, - Black is for funerals, so black will do. - ---Colchester (from Miss G. M. Frances, Colchester, through Miss Morris). - - IX. We've come to see Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones. How is she now? - - Jenny is washing, washing, washing, - Jenny is washing, you can't see her now. - -[Then follow the alternate question and answer; the questions in the -same words as the first verse, and the answers in the same form as the -second verse, stating that Jenny is - - (1) folding, - (2) starching, - (3) ironing, - (4) ill, - (5) dying, - (6) dead; - -then the verses proceed with--] - - May we come to the funeral? - Yes. - - May we come in red? - Red is for soldiers, you can't come in red. - - May we come in blue? - Blue is for sailors, you can't come in blue. - - May we come in white? - White is for weddings, you can't come in white. - - May we come in black? - Black is for funerals, so you can come in that. - ---Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 471). - - X. I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - And how is she now? - - She's washing, she's washing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - And how is she now? - - She's folding, she's folding, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - And how is she now? - - She's ironing, she's ironing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - -[Then follow alternate questions and answers in the same manner for-- - - (1) dying, - (2) dead. - -Then--] - - I come in my white dress, white dress, white dress, - I come in my white dress, and how will that do? - - White is for wedding, wedding, wedding, - White is for wedding, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - I come in my blue dress, blue dress, blue dress, - I come in my blue dress, and how will that do? - - Blue is for sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue is for sailors, and that won't do. - -[Then follow verses as before, beginning-- - - Very well, ladies. - I come in my red dress. - Red is for soldiers, - Very well, ladies. - -Then--] - - I come in my black dress, black dress, black dress, - I come in my black dress, and how will that do? - - Black is for funeral, - And that will do - To carry poor Jenny to the grave. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XI. We're come to see Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - Come to see Jenny Jones, how is she now? - - Jenny is a-washing, a-washing, a-washing, - Jenny is a-washing, you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, very well, ladies, - Very well, ladies, we can't see her now. - -[Then follow the same verses for-- - - (1) ironing, - (2) badly, - (3) dead; - -And the singing proceeds with--] - - Please, will white do, white do, white do? - Please, will white do, please, will it do? - - White's for the weddingers, the weddingers, - White's for the weddingers, that won't do. - - Please, will blue do, blue do, blue do? - Please, will blue do, please will it do? - -[Then follow verses as before, beginning-- - - Blue's for the sailors, the sailors, the sailors. - Please, will red do, red do? - Red's for the soldiers. - -Then--] - - Please, will black do, black do, black do? - Black's for the funeral, black will do. - ---Northamptonshire (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - XII. I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's washing. - I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's ironing [she's starching, she's - brewing, she's baking, _successively_]. - I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's ill [then she's worse]. - I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's dead! - - _Chorus._ There's red for the soldiers, - Blue for the sailors, - White for the angels [for the _baby_, Chirbury], - And black for the mourners [of poor Jenny Jones]. - ---Berrington, Chirbury (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 577). - - XIII. We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is washing, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is drying, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is starching, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is ironing, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is dead, you can't see her. - What shall we follow, in red, blue, or black? - Red's for the soldier, blue for the sailor, - Black for the dead. - ---Enborne School, Berks (Miss M. Kimber). - - XIV. Come to see Miss Jenny Jones, - Miss Jenny Jones, Miss Jenny Jones; - Come to see Miss Jenny Jones, - And how is she to-day? - - Miss Jenny Jones is washing, washing, washing, - Miss Jenny Jones is washing, - You can't see her to-day. - - Farewell, ladies, ladies, ladies, and gentlemen too. - -[Miss Jenny Jones is drying, starching, ironing, ill, worse, dying, and -dead in turn. Then--] - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in red? - - Red's what the soldiers wear, - The soldiers wear, the soldiers wear, - Red's what the soldiers wear, - And that won't do. - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in blue? - - Blue's what the sailors wear, - Sailors wear, sailors wear; - Blue's what the sailors wear, - And that won't do. - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in black? - - Black's what the mourners wear, - The mourners wear, the mourners wear; - Black's what the mourners wear, - And that won't do. - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in white? - - White's what the dead wear, - The dead wear, the dead wear; - White's what the dead wear, - And that will do. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - XV. Come to see Jinny Jones, Jinny Jones - Come to see Jinny Jones, - And where is she now? - - Jinny is washing, is washing, - Jinny is washing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, very well, lady, lady, - Very well, lady, - That will do. - -[Then follow-- - - (1) starching, - (2) ironing, - (3) dying, - (4) dead.] - - What shall we follow in, follow in? - What shall we follow in? - We'll follow in blue. - - Blue is for sailors, for sailors, - Blue is for sailors, - And that won't do. - [_or_, You can't follow her so.] - -[Then follow-- - - Red is for soldiers, - White is for weddings, - Yellow is for babies.] - - Black is not deep enough, deep enough, - That won't do. - - What shall we follow in, follow in? - - We'll follow her in crape, crape [pronounced _cray-ape_]. - - You may follow her in crape, crape, - You may follow her in crape, - That will do. - ---Deptford (Miss E. Chase). - - XVI. I've come to see Georgina, Georgina, Georgina, - I've come to see Georgina, how's she to-day? - - She's upstairs washing, washing, washing, - She's upstairs washing, and can't get away. - - O very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - We'll come another day. - - We've come to see Georgina, Georgina, Georgina, - We've come to see Georgina, how's she to-day? - - She's upstairs ironing, ironing, ironing, - She's upstairs ironing, and can't get away. - -[Then the two verses are repeated-- - - O very well, ladies. - We've come to see Georgina. - -Then follows--] - - She was coming downstairs with a basin of water, and she fell - down and broke her toe, and she's dead. - - And what shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - And what shall we dress her in? Dress her in red. - - Red for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red for the soldiers, and that shan't do. - -[Then follow blue for the sailors, black for the mourners, and -finally--] - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Dress her in white. - - White for the dead people, dead people, dead people, - White for the dead people, and that will do. - ---Auchencairn, Kirkcudbright (A. C. Haddon). - - XVII. How's poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo? - He's very ill. - Oh, very good, very good, very good. - How's poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo? - He's fallen downstairs and broken his neck. - Oh, very good, very good, very good. - How's poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo? - He's dead. - Oh, very good, very good, very good. - ---Annaverna, Louth, Ireland (Miss R. Stephen). - -(_b_) Two children stand apart; one, who personates the Mother, stands -still and holds out her skirts with both hands; the other personates -Jenny Jones, and kneels or stoops down in a crouching position behind -her companion's outstretched skirts. The other players form a line by -joining hands. They sing the first, third, and every alternate verse, -advancing and retiring in line while doing so. The Mother sings the -answers to their questions, standing still and hiding Jenny Jones all -the time from view. When the verses are finished, Jenny Jones lies down -as if she were dead, and the Mother stands aside. Two of the other -players then take up Jenny Jones, one by the shoulders and the other by -the feet, and carry her a little distance off, where they lay her on the -ground. All the players follow, generally two by two, with their -handkerchiefs at their eyes and heads lowered, pretending to grieve. - -This is the more general way of playing the game. In those versions -where the reply, "Very well, ladies," occurs, this is sung by the line -of children just before they sing, "We've come to see Jenny Jones." -Sometimes, as in the Berrington and Chirbury game, two lines of children -facing each other advance and retire, singing the verses. They then -carry Jenny Jones to a corner, lay her down, stand in a circle round, -and sing to her the last verse. In the Hants versions sent by Miss -Mendham, six or eight children carry Jenny stretched out and flat, lay -her down, cover her over, and then sing the last lines. The rest of the -children follow them. In the Irish (Belfast) version the game is played -in the same way; the funeral is arranged, when Jenny suddenly comes to -life again (W. H. Patterson). In the Southampton version, after the -carrying of Jenny by her head and feet to the grave, and the other -children following and standing round, Jenny Jones rises up and pursues -the children. She is called the Ghost. The children run away in affected -terror, calling out, "The Ghost!" Whoever she catches becomes Jenny -Jones in the next game. This incident is also played in the Barnes, -Northants, Annaverna, co. Louth, Enborne and Liphook versions. - -(_c_) This game is played very generally throughout the country, and I -have other versions collected from Earls Heaton (Mr. H. Hardy), Barnes -(A. B. Gomme), Cambridge (Mrs. Haddon), Hampshire (Miss Mendham), -Frodingham (Miss Peacock), Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith), -Sulhampstead, Berks (Miss Thoyts), and Platt, Kent (Miss Burne). These -versions are so similar to the Hanwell version, with the exception of -the "Very well, ladies," that it is needless to print them in full; -special differences are noted hereafter. In some places the game is said -in a sing-song manner. - -Some of the versions differ from the general type in two ways--first, in -the method of playing; secondly, in the wording of the verses. The -differences in the method of playing direct attention to the connection -of the game with ancient custom. The game is always played by the -players taking sides; but one method is for one side to consist of only -two children (Mother and Jenny Jones), and the other side to consist of -all the other players; while the other method is for the players to be -divided into two sides of about equal numbers, each side advancing and -retiring in line when singing their part. Jenny Jones in some cases -walks with the girls in her line until the funeral, when she is carried -to the grave, and in others she stands alone behind the line. The way of -performing the funeral also differs. Generally two of the players carry -Jenny to the grave, the rest following two by two; but in one Hampshire -version six or eight children carry Jenny, stretched out and flat, to -the grave, and cover her over; in Holywood, co. Down, she is carried -sitting on the crossed hands of two players; while in some versions no -funeral is apparently performed, the words only being sung. Another -significant incident is the Ghost. An additional incident occurs in the -Liphook version, which represents her being "swung to life again" by two -of the players. - -These differences may perhaps be immaterial to the meaning and origin of -the game, but they are sufficiently indicative of early custom to -suggest the divergence of the game in modern times towards modern -custom. Thus the players divided line-by-line follow the general form -for children playing singing games, and it would therefore suggest -itself as the earlier form for this game. The change of the game from -the line-by-line action to the mother-and-line action would indicate a -corresponding change in the prevailing custom which influenced the game. -This custom was the wooing by a band of suitors of girls surrounded by -their fellow-villagers, which became obsolete in favour of ordinary -marriage custom. The dropping out of this custom would cause the game to -change from a representation of both wooing and burial to one of burial -only. As burial only the mother-and-line action is sufficient, but the -presence of a wooing incident in the earlier form of the game is plainly -revealed by the verse which sings, "Fare ye well, ladies," or, as it has -become in the English variant, "Very well, ladies." - -The difference in the wording of the versions is slight, and does not -need formal analysis. Domestic occupation is shown throughout, washing -and its attendants, drying, folding, starching and ironing being by far -the most numerous, brewing, and baking only occurring in one. Illness, -dying, and death are the usual forms for the later verses, but illness -and dying are lost in several versions. The choosing of colours is in -some versions not for the mourners but for the dead maiden, and in these -cases (six) white is the colour chosen, for "white's what the dead -wear." - -This question of colours for the dead is a very important one. The -dressing of the dead body of a maiden in white by her girl companions, -and the carrying of the body by them to the grave, are known village -customs, the whole village being invited to the funeral. The rising of -the dead lover, and the belief that excessive mourning over a loved one -disturbs his or her rest in the grave, thus causing the dead to rise and -speak, are shown in old ballads; the belief that spirits of the dead -haunt churchyards and places of their former abode may also be adduced -in illustration of the ghost incident. - -(_d_) The methods of playing, and the incidents revealed by the verses -sung, show that this is perhaps the most realistic of all the singing -games, the daily occupation, the illness, death, and burial being -portrayed, first, in the words of the rhymes, and secondly, by the -accompanying action. The Scottish versions make the opening incident -that of a lover coming to the house of the loved one, then proceed to -the domestic occupation, and finally to the death incident; while the -English versions give the idea of village friends calling upon a -favourite companion, and subsequently attending her funeral. That the -former is the older of the two versions is confirmed by the great -probability of the name "Jenny Jones" being a degraded form of "Janet -jo." There is some evidence for this. The Sporle version gives it as -"Jenny Joe," which is clearly a misunderstood rendering of "Jenny jo." -The corruption of this into "Jenny Jones" is exactly what might be -expected from modern English ignorance of the pretty meaning of the word -jo, "dear;" and to what lengths this corruption may proceed under such -influences may be seen by versions from Earls Heaton, where we have -"Jingy Jog;" Leeds, where we get "Jilly Jog;" and the Edinburgh version, -where we have "Georgina." - -This would be an argument for the Scottish home of the rhymes, and for -the direct borrowing of the name from Scotland by the English villagers. -In furtherance of this view the following passage from Chambers may be -quoted:-- - -In the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, "Janet Jo" is a dramatic -entertainment amongst young rustics. Suppose a party has met in a -harvest or winter evening round a good peat fire, and it is resolved to -have "Janet Jo" performed. Two undertake to personate a goodman and a -goodwife; the rest a family of marriageable daughters. One of the lads, -the best singer of the party, retires, and equips himself in a dress -proper for representing an old bachelor in search of a wife. He comes -in, bonnet in hand, bowing, and sings-- - - Guid e'en to ye, maidens a', - Maidens a', maidens a', - Guid e'en to ye, maidens a', - Be ye or no. - - I'm come to court Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - I'm come to court Janet jo, - Janet, my jo. - - Goodwife sings--What'll ye gie for Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo? - What'll ye gie for Janet jo, - Janet, my jo? - - Wooer--I'll gie ye a peck o' siller, - A peck o' siller, peck o' siller, - I'll gie ye a peck o' siller, - For Janet, my jo. - - Goodwife says--Gae awa', ye auld carle! - - Then sings--Ye'se never get Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - Ye'se never get Janet jo, - Janet, my jo. - -The wooer hereupon retires, singing a verse expressive of mortification, -but soon re-enters with a reassured air, singing-- - - I'll gie ye a peck o' gowd, - A peck o' gowd, a peck o' gowd, - I'll gie ye a peck o' gowd, - For Janet, my jo. - -The matron gives him a rebuff as before, and he again retires -discomfited, and again enters, singing an offer of "twa pecks o' gowd," -which, however, is also refused. At his next entry he offers "three -pecks o' gowd," at which the good wife brightens up and sings-- - - Come ben beside Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - Ye're welcome to Janet jo, - Janet, my jo. - -The suitor then advances gaily to his sweetheart, and the affair ends in -a scramble for kisses.--_Popular Rhymes_, pp. 141, 142. - -On the other hand, it must not be overlooked that this game-drama and -the game of "Janet Jo" have no connection beyond the name of the heroine -and the wooing incident; so that the borrowing, if borrowing there be, -might have been by Scotland, who improved the commonplace "Jenny Jones" -into the pretty sweetness of her Scottish namesake. The Scottish version -of the game leaves out the question of the colours for mourning, but, on -the other hand, it contains the very important incident of the -restoration of the dead. Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 141) suggests -that this incident was introduced for the purpose of beginning the game -again, but this seems extremely doubtful, in consideration of the -Liphook variant, in which Miss Fowler says, "It is no uncommon thing for -'Jenny Jones' to be swung into life again;" and the still more -significant Southampton version, where "'Jenny Jones' appears in the -character of the Ghost, and scatters and pursues the surrounding -mourners." This detail is also used by the Northants and Barnes -children, the version of whose game is very like the Southampton one. On -the whole, the analysis would suggest that there has been a game played -by the children of both England and Scotland, the leading incidents of -which have been varied in accordance with the conditions of life. Mr. -Napier (_Folk-lore Record_, iv. 474), in his description of the West -Scotland example, evidently considered the game to be thoroughly -representative of Scottish life, and this, indeed, seems to be the most -striking feature of the game in all the variants. The domestic economy -which they reveal is in no case out of keeping with the known facts of -everyday peasant life, and many a mother has denied to her child's -friends the companionship they desired because of the work to be done. - -In most cases the burden of the song rests upon the question of health, -but in two cases, namely, Colchester and Deptford, the question is put -as to where "Jenny Jones" is at the time of the visit. It is curious -that the refrain of "Farewell, ladies," should appear in such widely -separated districts as Scotland, Northamptonshire, Norfolk, Middlesex, -Hants, Lincoln, and Barnes. - -With reference to the colours for mourning, there is an obvious addition -of crape introduced into the Deptford version which is very suggestive -of the decadence going on. The four colours used in most versions are -red, blue, white, and black, colours which have been known to the people -from ancient times. Black is accepted as the correct colour in all -versions except five, where white is declared to be the colour which the -dead wear. The method of question and answer is adopted for all the -rhyme-movements. The tune of the game, with but slight variation, in all -the versions is the same as that given from Platt, near Wrotham, except -the two which are printed from Northants and Belfast. - - -Jenny Mac - - Jenny Mac, Jenny Mac, Jenny Macghie, - Turn your back about to me; - And if you find an ill baubee, - Lift it up and gie't to me. - -Two girls cross their arms behind their backs, and thus taking hold of -each other's hands, parade along together, by daylight or moonlight, -occasionally turning upon their arms, as indicated in the rhyme. -Another rhyme for this amusement is-- - - A basket, a basket, a bonny penny basket, - A penny to you, and a penny to me, - Turn about the basket. - ---Chambers's _Popular Rhymes_; p. 123. - -See "Basket." - - -Jib-Job-Jeremiah - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_, p. 238. - - -Jiddy-cum-jiddy - -A northern name for "See Saw." - - -Jingle-the-bonnet - -A game in which two or more put a halfpenny each, or any piece of coin, -into a cap or bonnet. After jingling or shaking them together, they are -thrown on the ground; and he who has most heads when it is his turn to -jingle, gains the stakes which were put into the bonnet.--Jamieson. - -Halliwell (_Dictionary_) says this is a northern name for the game of -"Shake Cap," and Brockett (_North Country Words_) speaks of it as a game -much practised among the young pitmen and keelmen. - - -Jingo-ring - - Here we go by jingo-ring, jingo-ring, jingo-ring, - Here we go by jingo-ring, and round by merry-ma-tansy. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -Sung to the "Mulberry" or "Ivy bush" tune. - -The children form a ring and dance round singing. At the last word they -all fall down. - -See "Merry-ma-tansa." - - -Jinkie - -A game among children, in which they run round a table trying to catch -one whose business is by quick turns to elude them.--Jamieson. - - -Jock and Jock's Man - -A juvenile sport in which the _bon camarada_ is to repeat all the pranks -which the leader can perform.--Brockett's _North Country Words_. - -See "Follow my Gable," "Follow my Leader." - - -Jockie Blind-man - -Scotch name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Jamieson. - -See "Blind Man's Buff." - - -Joggle along - - I. Come all you young men - In your youthful ways, - And sow your wild oats - In your youthful days. - Then you'll be happy, - Then you'll be happy, - As you grow old. - For the day's far spent, - And the night's coming on, - So give us your arm, and - We'll joggle along. - ---Penzance, Cornwall (Mrs. Mabbott). - - II. Come all ye young men, with your wicked ways, - Sow all your wild oats in your youthful days, - That we may live happy, that we may live happy, - That we may live happy when we grow old. - The day is far spent, the night's coming on, - Give us your arm, and we'll joggle along, - That we may live happy, &c., &c. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57). - -(_b_) There must be an odd number of players at this game. They form -into couples, each standing behind the other, making a ring, the girls -inside, one boy standing alone in the middle. As they go round they sing -the verse. At the end each boy leaves hold of his partner's arm and -catches the arm of the girl in front, the one who is standing in the -centre trying in the confusion to get into a place. If he succeeds, the -child left out has to be the one in the centre the next time. - -(_c_) Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 101) says this game was called the -"Baptist Game" in Virginia, where it is said to be enjoyed by pious -people who will not dance. The American game is played in the same way -as the English one. Mr. Newell gives the tune to which the game was -sung. The words are almost identical. This game is played in the same -way as "Jolly Miller," which see. - - -Johnny Rover - -One boy is chosen to be Johnny Rover. The other players stand near him. -Rover cries out-- - - A [I] warn ye ance, A warn you twice; - A warn ye three times over; - A warn ye a' t' be witty an' wise - An flee fae Johnny Rover. - -While the words are being repeated all the players are putting -themselves on the alert, and when they are finished they run off in all -directions, with Rover in full pursuit. If a player is hard pressed he -has the privilege of running to "Parley," the place from which the -players started, and which in all games is an asylum. If he is caught -before he reaches it, he becomes Johnny Rover for the next game. The one -first captured becomes Rover.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Jolly Fishermen - -[Music] - ---Tean, North Staffs. (Miss Burne). - - I. They were two jolly fishermen, - They were two jolly fishermen, - They were two jolly fishermen, - And just come from the sea, - And just come from the sea. - They cast their nets into the sea, - And jolly fish caught we, - And jolly fish caught we, - And jolly fish caught we, - They cast their nets into the sea, - And jolly fish caught we. - ---Tean and Cheadle, North Staffs. (Miss Burne). - - II. There was three jolly fishermen, - And they all put out to sea. - They cast their nets into the sea, - And the [three?] jolly fish caught we. - ---North Staffs. Potteries (Mrs. Thomas Lawton). - -(_b_) A circle is formed by joining hands, and two children stand in the -centre. They walk round. At the seventh line the two in the centre each -choose one child from the ring, thus making four in the centre. They -then sing the remaining four lines. The two who were first in the centre -then go out, and the game begins again, with the other two players in -the centre. - -(_c_) Miss Burne says this game is more often played as "Three Jolly -Fishermen." At Cheadle, North Staffs., a few miles distant from Tean, -this game is played by grown-up men and women. - - -Jolly Hooper - - I. Here comes a [or one] jolly hooper, - Ring ding di do do, - Ring ding di do do. - - And who are you looking for, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do? - - I am looking for one of your daughters, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do. - - What shall her name be, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do? - - Her name shall be [Sarah], - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do. - - Sarah shall ramble, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do, - All around the chimney [jubilee] pot in 1881. - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - - II. I've come for one of your daughters, - With a ring a ding a my dolly; - I've come for one of your daughters - On this bright shining night. - - Pray, which have you come for, - With a ring a ding a my dolly? - Pray which have you come for - On this bright shining night? - - I've come for your daughter Mary, - With a ring a ding a my dolly; - I've come for your daughter Mary - On this bright shining night. - - Then take her, and welcome, - With a ring a ding a my dolly; - Then take her, and welcome, - On this bright shining night [incomplete]. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) A number of children stand against a wall, and a row of other -children face them. They walk backwards and forwards, singing the first -and third verses. Then the children who are standing still (against the -wall) answer by singing the second and fourth verses. When these are -sung the moving line of children take Mary and dance round, singing -"some lines which my informant," says Mr. Addy, "has forgotten." - -(_c_) I have no description of the way Miss Chase's game is played. It, -too, is probably an incomplete version. The words "Ring ding di do do -"show a possible connection between this and games of the "Three Dukes -a-riding" type. They may or may not be variants of the same game. - -See "Here comes a Lusty Wooer," "Here comes a Virgin," "Jolly Rover," -"Three Dukes." - - -Jolly Miller - -[Music] - ---Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. Bell). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - - I. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel went round he made his pelf; - One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag, - As the wheel went round he took his grab. - ---Leicester (Miss Ellis). - - II. There was a jolly miller, he lived by himself, - As the mill went round he made his wealth; - One hand in the hopper, another in his bag, - As the wheel went round he made his grab. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - III. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel goes round he makes his wealth; - One hand in his hopper, and the other in his bag, - As we go round he makes his grab. - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - IV. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the mill went round he gained his wealth; - One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag, - As the mill went round he made his grab. - - Sandy he belongs to the mill, - And the mill belongs to Sandy still, - And the mill belongs to Sandy. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - V. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel went round he made his wealth; - One hand in the upper and the other in the bank, - As the wheel went round he made his wealth. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - - VI. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel went round he made his grab; - One hand in the other, and the other in the bag, - As the wheel went round he made his grab. - ---Nottinghamshire (Miss Winfield). - - VII. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself (or by the - Dee), - The sails went round, he made his ground; - One hand in his pocket, the other in his bag. - ---North Staffs. Potteries (Miss A. A. Keary). - -(_b_) This game requires an uneven number of players. All the children -except one stand in couples arm in arm, each couple closely following -the other. This forms a double ring or wheel (fig. 1). The odd child -stands in the centre. The children forming the wheel walk round in a -circle and sing the verse. When they come to the word "grab," those -children standing on the _inside_ of the wheel leave hold of their -partners' arms, and try to catch hold of the one standing immediately in -front of their previous partners. The child in the centre (or Miller) -tries (while they are changing places) to secure a partner and place -(fig. 2). If he succeeds in doing this, the one then left out becomes -the Miller. At Leicester the "odd" child, or "miller," stands _outside_ -the wheel or ring, instead of being in the centre, and it is the outside -children who change places. Mr. Addy, in the Sheffield version, says, -"The young men stand in the outer ring, and the young women in the -inner. A man stands within the inner circle, quite near to it. The men -try and grasp the arm of the girl in front of them, and the man in the -centre also tries to grasp one; the man he displaces taking his place as -Miller. Then the three last lines are sung." - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -(_c_) Versions of this game, almost identical with the Leicester version -given here (with the exception that the word "wealth" ends the second -line instead of "pelf"), have been sent me from East Kirkby, -Lincolnshire (Miss K. Maughan); Epworth, Doncaster (Mr. C. C. Bell); -Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes); Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley); Redhill, -Surrey (Miss G. Hope); Ordsall, Nottinghamshire (Miss Matthews); Brigg, -Lincolnshire (Miss J. Barker); and there are other versions from -Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 86); Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 57); Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 385); Oswestry, -Ellesmere (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). Miss Peacock sends a version -which obtains at Lincoln, Horncastle, Winterton, and Anderby, -Lincolnshire, and in Nottinghamshire; it is identical with the Liphook -version. Two versions from Sporle, Norfolk, which vary slightly from the -Leicester, have been sent by Miss Matthews. The versions given from -Lancashire, Yorks., Nottingham, and North Staffs. have been selected to -show the process of decadence in the game. "Hopper" has first become -"upper," and then "other." Of the North Staffs. Potteries version Miss -Keary says, "How it ends I have never been able to make out; no one -about here seems to know either." With the exception of these few -variants, it is singular how stereotyped the words of the rhyme have -become in this game. - -(_d_) This game may owe its origin to the fact of the miller in olden -times paying himself in kind from the corn brought to him to be ground. -The miller is a well-known object of satire in old ballads and mediaeval -writers. It is, however, probable that the custom which formerly -prevailed at some of the public festivals, of catching or "grabbing" for -sweethearts and wives, is shown in this game. For instance, to account -for a Scottish custom it is said that St. Cowie, patron saint of two -parishes of Campbeltown, proposed that all who did not find themselves -happy and contented in the marriage state, should be indulged with an -opportunity of parting and making a second choice. For that purpose he -instituted an annual solemnity, at which all the unhappy couples in his -parish were to assemble at his church; and at midnight all present were -blindfolded and ordered to run round the church at full speed, with a -view of mixing the lots in the urn. The moment the ceremony was over, -without allowing an instant for the people present to recover from their -confusion, the word "Cabbay" (seize quickly) was pronounced, upon which -every man laid hold of the first female he met with. Whether old or -young, handsome or ugly, good or bad, she was his wife till the next -anniversary of this custom (Guthrie's _Scottish Customs_, p. 168). -Another old wedding superstition is alluded to by Longfellow:-- - - "While the bride with roguish eyes, - Sporting with them, now escapes and cries, - 'Those who catch me, married verily this year will be.'" - -See "Joggle Along." - - -Jolly Rover - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - - Here comes one jolly rover, jolly rover, jolly rover, - Here comes one jolly rover, jolly rover, jolly rover, - A roving all day. - - And what do you rove for, rove for, rove for? - And what do you rove for? - Lily white and shining. - - I rove for my pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure, - I rove for my pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure, - Lily white and shining. - - And what is your pleasure, your pleasure, your pleasure? - What is your pleasure? - Lily white and shining. - - My pleasure's for to marry you, to marry you, to marry you, - My pleasure's for to marry you, - Lily white and shining. - - So through the kitchen and through the hall, - I choose the fairest of them all, - The fairest one that I can see - Is ----, so come to me. - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - -(_b_) A long row of children walk to and fro. One child, facing them on -the opposite side, represents the Rover. He sings the first, third, and -fifth verses. The row of children sing the second and fourth in -response. After the fifth verse is sung the Rover skips round the long -row, singing the sixth verse to the tune of "Nancy Dawson," or "Round -the Mulberry bush." He chooses one of them, who goes to the opposite -side with him, and the game goes on until all are rovers like himself. - -See "Here comes a Lusty Wooer," "Jolly Hooper." - - -Jolly Sailors - - I. Here comes one [some] jolly, jolly sailor boy, - Who lately came on shore; - He [they] spent his time in drinking wine - As we have done before. - - We are the Pam-a-ram-a-ram, - We are the Pam-a-ram-a-ram, - And those who want a pretty, pretty girl, - Must kiss her on the shore, - Must kiss her on the shore. - ---Warwick (from a little girl, through Mr. C. C. Bell). - - II. He was a jolly, jolly sailor boy, - Who had lately come ashore; - He spent his time in drinking wine - As he had done before. - - Then we will have a jolly, jolly whirl, - Then we will have a jolly, jolly whirl, - And he who wants a pretty little girl - Must kiss her on the shore. - ---Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews). - - III. Here comes one jolly sailor, - Just arrived from shore, - We'll spend our money like jolly, jolly joes, - And then we'll work for more. - - We'll all around, around and around, - And if we meet a pretty little girl - We'll call her to the shore. - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - IV. Here comes four jolly sailor boys, - Just lately come ashore; - They spend their days in many merry ways, - As they have done before. - - Round, round the ring we go, - Round, round the ring, - And he that choose his bonny, bonny lass - Must kiss her on the floor. - ---Raunds (_Northants Notes and Queries_, i. 232). - - V. Here come three jolly, jolly, jolly boys - As lately come from shore; - We will spend our time on a moonlight night - As we have done before. - - We will have a round, a round, a round, - We will have a round, a round, a round; - Let the lad that delights in a bonny, bonny lass, - Let him kiss her on the ground. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - - VI. Here comes three jolly, jolly sailors, - Just arrived on shore; - We'll spend our money like merry, merry men, - And then we'll work for more. - - Hurrah for the round, round ring, - Hurrah for the round, round ring; - And he that loves a pretty, pretty girl, - Let him call her from the ring. - ---Shipley, Horsham (_Notes and Queries_, 8th series, i. 210, Miss Busk). - -(_b_) This game is played at Warwick as follows:--The children form a -large ring, clasping hands and standing still. One child walks round -inside the ring, singing the verses. This child then chooses another -from the ring, bending on one knee and kissing her hand. The lines are -then repeated, the two walking arm in arm round the inside of the ring. -Another child is chosen out of the ring by the one who was chosen -previously. This goes on until all are chosen out of the ring, walking -two by two round inside. When the ring will no longer hold them, the two -walk round outside. At Northants the ring walks round, and the child is -_outside_ the ring. Partners are chosen, and the two walk round outside -the ring. The first two walk together till there is a third, then the -three walk together till there is a fourth, then they go in couples. In -the Northants version, from Raunds, four boys stand in the centre of the -ring. When the verses are sung they choose four girls, and then take -their places in the ring. The four girls then choose four lads, and so -on. At Earls Heaton the children stand against a wall in a line. Another -child walks up and down singing the verses, and chooses a partner. He -spreads a handkerchief on the ground, and they kneel and kiss. - -(_c_) The Shipley version is a "Kiss in the Ring" game. A version sent -by the Rev. W. Slater Sykes from Settle, Yorkshire, is almost identical -with the Earls Heaton version. Northall (_Folk Rhymes_, p. 369) says "to -kiss on the floor"--_i.e._, not in secret. He gives the words of a sort -of musical catch, sung in the Midlands, similar in character to this -game, which may once have been used in some courting game. Mr. Newell -(_Games_, p. 124) gives a version sung in the streets of New York, and -considers it to be a relic of antiquity, a similar round being given in -_Deuteromelia_, 1609. - - -Jowls - -A game played by boys, much the same as "Hockey," and taking its name, -no doubt, from the mode of playing, which consists in striking a wooden -ball or knorr from the ground in any given direction with a sufficiently -heavy stick, duly curved at the striking end.--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -It is also given in _Yorkshire Glossary_ (Whitby). - -See "Bandy," "Doddart," "Hockey." - - -Jud - -A game played with a hazel nut bored and run upon a string.--Dickinson's -_Cumberland Glossary_. - -Probably the same game as "Conkers." - -See "Conkers." - - -Keeling the Pot - -Brockett mentions that a friend informed him that he had seen a game -played amongst children in Northumberland the subject of which was -"Keeling the Pot." A girl comes in exclaiming, "Mother, mother, the -pot's boiling ower." The answer is, "Then get the ladle and keel it." -The difficulty is to get the ladle, which is "up a height," and the -"steul" wants a leg, and the joiner is either sick or dead (_Glossary -North Country Words_). A sentence from _Love's Labours Lost_, "While -greasy Joan doth keel the pot," illustrates the use of the term "keel." - -See "Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils over." - - -Keppy Ball - -In former times it was customary every year, at Easter and Whitsuntide, -for the mayor, aldermen, and sheriff of Newcastle, attended by the -burgesses, to go in state to a place called the Forth, a sort of mall, -to countenance, if not to join in the play of "Keppy ba" and other -sports. This diversion is still in part kept up by the young people of -the town (Brockett's _North Country Words_). It is also mentioned in -Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_, and in Ross and Stead's -_Holderness Glossary_. - -Mr. Tate (_History of Alnwick_) says that a favourite pastime of girls, -"Keppy ball," deserves a passing notice, because accompanied by a -peculiar local song. The name indicates the character of the game; "kep" -is from _cepan_, Anglo-Saxon, "kappan," Teut., "to catch or capture;" -for when the game was played at by several, the ball was thrown into the -air and "kepped," or intercepted, in its descent by one or other of the -girls, and it was then thrown up again to be caught by some other. But -when the song was sung it was played out by one girl, who sent the ball -against a tree and drove it back again as often as she could, saying the -following rhymes, in order to divine her matrimonial future:-- - - Keppy ball, keppy ball, Coban tree, - Come down the long loanin' and tell to me, - The form and the features, the speech and degree - Of the man that is my true love to be. - - Keppy ball, keppy ball, Coban tree, - Come down the long loanin' and tell to me - How many years old I am to be. - - One a maiden, two a wife, - Three a maiden, four a wife, &c. - -The numbers being continued as long as the ball could be kept rebounding -against the tree. - -The following from Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 298, is also used -for ball divination. To "cook" is to toss or throw. - - Cook a ball, cherry tree; - Good ball, tell me - How many years I shall be - Before my true love I do see? - One and two, and that makes three; - Thankee, good ball, for telling of me. - -See "Ball," "Cuckoo," "Monday." - - -Kibel and Nerspel - -This game was played at Stixwold seventy years ago. It resembled "Trap, -Bat, and Ball." _Kibel_ = bat, _ner_ = ball of maplewood, _spel_ = trap, -with a limock (pliant) stick fastened to it. The score was made by -hitting the _ner_ a certain distance, but not by the striker running, as -in "Rounders."--Miss M. Peacock. - -See "Nur and Spell." - - -King by your leave - -"A playe that children have, where one sytting blyndefolde in the midle, -bydeth so tyll the rest have hydden themselves, and then he going to -seeke them, if any get his place in the meane space, that same is kynge -in his roome."--Huloet, 1572. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -King Cæsar - -One player is chosen to be King Cæsar by lot or naming. All the others -stand in two rows, one row at each end of the ground. A line is drawn on -the ground in front of them to mark "dens." All the players must keep -within this line. King Cæsar stands in the middle of the ground. Any -number of the players can then rush across the ground from one den to -another. King Cæsar tries to catch one as they run. When he catches a -boy he must count from one to ten in succession before he leaves hold of -the boy, that boy in the meantime trying to get away. If King Cæsar -succeeds in holding a boy, this boy stays in the centre with him and -assists in catching the other players (always counting ten before a -captive is secured). The dens must always be occupied by some players. -If all the players get into one den, King Cæsar can go into the empty -den and say, "Crown the base, one, two, three," three times before any -of the other players get across to that den. If he succeeds in doing -this, he can select a boy to run across from one den to the other, which -that boy must do, King Cæsar trying to catch him. Other and bigger boys -can help this one to get across, to save him from being captured, either -by carrying him or running across with him. The game ends when all have -been captured and are in the centre. King Cæsar and the other captured -boys can leave the centre if they each successively catch three -players.--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - -This game is called "King-sealing" in Dorsetshire. - -See "King of Cantland," "Lamploo." - - -King Come-a-lay - -A game played by boys. Two sets of boys, or sides, strive which can -secure most prisoners for the King.--Shetland (Jamieson). - - -King of Cantland - -A game of children, in which one of a company, being chosen King o' -Cantland, and two goals appointed at a considerable distance from each -other, all the rest endeavoured to run from one goal to the other; and -those whom the King can seize in their course, so as to lay his hand -upon their heads (which operation is called winning them), become his -subjects, and assist him in catching the remainder.--Dumfries -(Jamieson). Jamieson adds: "This game is called 'King's Covenanter' in -Roxburgh." He also refers to the game of "King and Queen of Cantelon," -recorded by Mactaggart. He considers the origin of this game to be -representative of the contentions about the "Debatable Lands" on the -border. This game was played at University Coll. School, London, under -the name of "Kings" (A. Nutt). - -See "How many miles to Barley Bridge?" "King Cæsar." - - -King o' the Castle - -One boy is chosen as King. He mounts on any convenient height, a knoll, -or dyke, or big stone, and shouts-- - - A'm King o' the Castle, - An' fah (who) 'll ding (knock) me doon? - -The players make a rush at the King, and try to pull him down. A tussle -goes on for a longer or a shorter time, according to the strength of the -King and his skill in driving off his assailants. The boy that displaces -the King becomes King, and is in his turn assaulted in the same way. The -game may go on for any length of time. Another form of words is-- - - I'm the King o' the Castle, - An' nane can ding me doon. - ---Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -Other words sung by the Scotch children are-- - - I, Willy Wastle, - Stand on my castle, - And a' the dogs o' your toon - Will no drive Willie Wastle doon. - -Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 114) records the tradition that when -Oliver Cromwell lay at Haddington he sent to require the governor of -Home Castle, in Berwickshire, to surrender; the governor is said to -have replied in the above quatrain of juvenile celebrity. - -The London version is for the boys to run up a hillock, when one of them -declares as follows-- - - I'm the King of the Castle; - Get down, you dirty rascal, - -whereupon he pushes down his companions. If another boy succeeds in -getting his place he becomes King, and repeats the doggerel (G. L. -Gomme). This is a very popular boys' game. Newell (_Games_, 164) -mentions it as prevalent in Pennsylvania. - -See "Tom Tiddler's Ground." - - -King Plaster Palacey - -The players are a King and his three sons named White Cap, Red Cap, -Brown Cap. Red Cap says, "Plaster Palacey had a son, whose name was old -daddy White Cap." White Cap, in an injured voice, says, "Me, sir?" The -King says, "Yes, sir." White Cap answers, "You're a liar, sir." The King -then says, "Who then, sir?" White Cap answers, "Old daddy Red -Cap."--Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - -The game as given above is obviously incomplete, and no description as -to how the game was played was sent me. Newell (_Games_, p. 145), -describes a game, "The Cardinal's Hat," which is probably a variant of -the original game, of which the above is only a fragment. I remember -once witnessing a game in which a ball was passed from player to player, -and in which the dialogue was similar. When one player was told that the -ball was in his possession, the answer was, "What, me, sir?" "Yes, you, -sir." "Not I, sir." "Who then, sir?" "White Cap, sir;" the questions and -answers were again repeated for Red Cap, and Blue Cap. When it was Black -Cap's turn, I think the ball was thrown by this player to some one else; -whoever was hit by the ball had to chase and capture one, who became -questioner; but my recollection of the game is too slight for me to be -certain either of the dialogue or the way the game terminated (A. B. -Gomme). A game described in _Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 62, is -apparently a version of this. It is there described as a forfeit game. - - -King William - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - I. King William was King David's son, - And all the royal race is run; - Choose from the east, choose from the west, - Choose the one you love the best. - - Down on this carpet you shall kneel - While the grass grows in yonder field; - Salute your bride and kiss her sweet, - Rise again upon your feet. - ---Hanging Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - II. King William was King David's son, - All the royal race is run; - Choose from the east, choose from the west, - Choose the one that you love best; - If she's not here to take her part, - Choose another with all your heart. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) In Sheffield a ring of young men and women is formed. A man goes -inside the ring and walks round within it, whilst the others sing the -verse. The young man then chooses a sweetheart, and the two walk round -arm-in-arm within the ring, whilst the same verses are sung. When the -singing is ended, the girl picks a young man, and so they all pair off. - -(_c_) Mr. Addy entitles this game "Kiss in the Ring." It appears, -however, from this description to lack the two principal elements of -most "kiss-in-the-ring" games--the chase between pursued and pursuer, -and the kissing in the ring when the capture is made. In the Hanging -Heaton version two children kneel and kiss in the middle of the ring. -Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 73), in describing a game with a similar rhyme, -mentions a version which had been sent him from Waterford, Ireland. He -says, "We learn from an informant that in her town it was formerly -played in this peculiar manner. Over the head of a girl who stood in the -centre of a ring was held a shawl, sustained by four others grasping the -corners." The game then proceeded as follows-- - - King William was King George's son, - From the Bay of Biscay O! - Upon his breast he wore a star-- - Find your way to English schools. - Down on the carpet you must kneel; - As the grass grows in the field, - Salute your bride and kiss her sweet, - And rise again upon your feet. - -Then followed the game-rhyme, repeated with each stanza-- - - Go choose you east, go choose you west, - -apparently the same as last four lines of Sheffield version. King -William is then supposed to enter-- - - The first girl that I loved so dear, - Can it be she's gone from me? - If she's not here when the night comes on, - Will none of you tell me where she's gone? - -He then recognises the disguised girl-- - - There's heart beneath the willow tree, - There's no one here but my love and me. - -"He had gone to the war, and promised to marry her when he came back. -She wrapped a shawl about her head to see if he would recognise her." -This was all the reciter could recollect; the lines of the ballad were -sung by an old woman, the ring answering with the game-rhyme. - -This version seems to indicate clearly that in this game -we have preserved one of the ceremonies of a now obsolete -marriage-custom--namely, the disguising of the bride and placing her -among her bridesmaids and other young girls, all having veils or other -coverings alike over their heads and bodies. The bridegroom has to -select from among these maidens the girl whom he wished to marry, or -whom he had already married, for until this was done he was not allowed -to depart with his bride. This custom was continued in sport as one of -the ceremonies to be gone through after the marriage was over, long -after the custom itself was discontinued. For an instance of this see a -"Rural Marriage in Lorraine," in _Folk-lore Record_, iii. 267-268. This -ordeal occurs in more than one folk-tale, and it usually accompanies the -incident of a youth having travelled for adventures, sometimes in quest -of a bride. He succeeds in finding the whereabouts of the coveted girl, -but before he is allowed by the father to take his bride away he is -required to perform tasks, a final one being the choosing of the girl -with whom he is in love from among others, all dressed alike and -disguised. Our bridal veil may probably originate in this custom. - -In the ballad from which Mr. Newell thinks the game may have originated, -a maid has been given in marriage to another than her chosen lover. He -rides to the ceremony with a troop of followers; the bride, seeing him -approach, calls on her maidens to "take off her gold crown and coif her -in linen white," to test her bridegroom's affection. This incident, I -think, is not to test "affection," but the ordeal of recognising his -bride, however disguised, and the fact that "the hero at once recognises -his love, mounts with her on horseback, and flees to Norway," may be -considered to support my view. - -See also Brand, vol. ii. p. 141, under "Care Cloth." - - -King's Chair - -Two children join hands, by crossing their arms, so as to form a seat. A -third mounts on the crossed arms, and clasps the carriers round their -necks, while they move on saying-- - - King, King Cairy (carry) - London lairy, - Milk an bread, - In the King's chairie. - -This game is played at Keith, without the words. The words are used at -Fochabers.--Rev. W. Gregor. - -Jamieson says, "Lothian children, while carrying one of their number in -this manner, repeat the following rhyme-- - - Lend me a pin to stick i' my thumb, - To carry the lady to London town." - -He says this method of carrying is often used as a substitute for a -chair in conveying adult persons from one place to another, especially -when infirm. In other counties it is called "Queen's Cushion" and -"Queen's Chair," also "Cat's Carriage." - -Brockett (_North Country Words_) says, "'King's Cushion,' a sort of seat -made by two persons crossing their hands, in which to place a third. The -thrones on the reverses of the early Royal Seals of England and Scotland -consist of swords, spears, snakes, &c., placed in the manner of a -'King's Cushion.'" - -The method used is for both children to grasp the wrist of his left hand -with the right, while he lays hold of the right wrist of his companion -with his left hand. This way of hoisting or carrying is still used by -schoolboys when they desire to honour a boy who has distinguished -himself in the playground or schoolroom. - -See "Carry my Lady to London." - - -Kirk the Gussie - -A sort of play. The Gussie is a large ball, which one party endeavours -to beat with clubs into a hole, while another party strives to drive it -away. When the ball is lodged in the hole it is said to be -"Kirkit."--Jamieson. - - -Kiss in the Ring - -[Music] - ---Nottingham (Miss Youngman). - -[Music] - ---Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - I. I sent a letter to my love, - And on the way I dropped it; - And one of you have picked it up - And put it in your pocket. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 213); Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - - II. I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I lost it. - Some one has picked it up. Not you, not you (&c.), but you! - ---Much Wenlock (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - - III. I lost my supper last night, and the night before, - And if I lose it this night, I shall never have it no more. - ---Berrington (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - - IV. I've come to borrow the riddle (= sieve), - There's a big hole in the middle. - I've come to borrow the hatchet, - Come after me and catch it. - ---Chirbury (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - - V. Down by the greenwood, down by the greenwood, - Down by the greenwood tree, - One can follow, one can follow, - One can follow me. - - Where must I follow? where must I follow? - Follow, follow me. - Where must I follow? where must I follow? - Follow, follow me. - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - - VI. Mr. Monday was a good man, - He whipped his children now and then; - When he whipped them he made them dance, - Out of Scotland into France; - Out of France into Spain, - Back to dear old England again. - O-u-t spells "out," - If you please stand out. - I had a little dog and his name was Buff, - I sent him after a penn'orth of snuff, - He broke the paper and smelled the snuff, - And that's the end of my dog Buff. - He shan't bite you--he shan't bite you--he shan't bite you, - &c., &c.--he _shall_ bite you all over. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 213). - - VII. I sent a letter to my love, - I carried water in my glove, - And by the way I dropped it. - I did so! I did so! - - I had a little dog that said "Bow! wow!" - I had a little cat that said "Meow! meow!" - Shan't bite you--shan't bite you-- - Shall bite you. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 52). - - VIII. I sent a letter to my love, - I carried water in my glove, - I dript it, I dropped it, and by the way I lost it. - ---Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 87). - - IX. I have a pigeon in my pocket, - If I have not lost it; - Peeps in, peeps out, - By the way I've lost it; - Drip, drop, - By the way I've lost it. - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - - X. I have a pigeon in my pocket, - It peeps out and in, - And every time that I go round - I give it a drop of gin. - Drip it, drop it, drip it, drop it. - ---Settle, Yorkshire (Rev W. S. Sykes). - - XI. I sent a letter to my love, - I thought I put it in my glove, - But by the way I dropped it. - I had a little dog said "Bow, wow, wow!" - I had a little cat said "Mew, mew, mew!" - It shan't bite you, - It _shall_ bite _you_. - ---Bexley Heath (Miss Morris). - - XII. I sent a letter to my love, - And by the way I droppt it; - I dee, I dee, I dee, I droppt it, - And by the way I droppt it. - ---Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - - XIII. I had a little dog, it shan't bite you, - Shan't bite you, shan't bite you, - Nor you, nor you, nor you. - I had a little cat, it shan't scratch you, - Shan't scratch you, nor you, nor you. - - I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I dropped it. - And one of you have picked it up and put it in your pocket. - It wasn't you, it wasn't you, nor you, nor you, but it - was _you_. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - XIV. I have a little dog and it lives in my pocket. - It shan't bite you, &c. - - Now you're married I hope you'll enjoy - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years gone, and two to come, - So take her and kiss her and - Send her off home. - ---Wolstanton, North Staffs. Potteries (Miss A. A. Keary). - -(_b_) In Dorsetshire a ring is formed by all the players joining hands -except one. The odd player, carrying a handkerchief, commences to walk -slowly round the outside of the ring, repeating the words; then, -touching each one with her handkerchief as she passes, she says, "Not -you," "not you," "not you," &c., &c., till the favoured individual is -reached, when it is changed to "But you!" and his or her shoulder -lightly touched at the same time. The first player then runs round the -ring as fast as he can, pursued by the other, who, if a capture is -effected (as is nearly always the case), is entitled to lead the first -player back into the centre of the ring and claim a kiss. The first -player then takes the other's place in the ring, and in turn walks round -the outside repeating the same formula.--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 212; -Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - -In Shropshire, as soon as the player going round the ring has dropped -the handkerchief on the shoulder of the girl he chooses, both players -run _opposite ways_ outside the ring, each trying to be the first to -regain the starting-point. If the one who was chosen gets there first, -no kiss can be claimed. It is often called "Drop-handkerchief," from the -signal for the chase. The more general way of playing (either with or -without words), as seen by me on village greens round London, is, when -the handkerchief has been dropped, for the player to dart through the -ring and in and out again under the clasped hands; the pursuer must -follow in and out through the same places, and must bring the one he -catches into the ring before he can legally claim the kiss. - -Elworthy (_West Country Words_), in describing this game, says: "The -person behind whom the handkerchief is dropped is entitled to kiss the -person who dropped it, if he or she can catch him or her, before the -person can get round the ring to the vacant place. Of course, when a -girl drops it she selects a favoured swain, and the chase is severe up -to a point, but when a girl is the pursuer there often is a kind of -donkey race lest she should have to give the kiss which the lad takes no -pains to avoid." Mr. Elworthy does not mention any words being used, and -it is therefore probable that this is the "Drop-handkerchief" game, -which generally has no kissing. It also, in the way it is played, -resembles "French Jackie." In the Wolstanton game, Miss Keary says: "If -the owner of the handkerchief overtakes the one who is bitten as they -run round, they shake hands and go into the middle of the ring, while -the others sing the marriage formula." In Berkshire (_Antiq._ xxvii. -255) the game is played without words, and apparently no handkerchief or -other sign is used. Miss Thoyts says the young man raises his hat when -he embraces the young woman of his choice. To "throw (or fling) the -handkerchief" is a common expression for an expected proposal of -marriage which is more of a condescension than a complimentary or -flattering one to the girl. "Kiss in the Ring" is probably a relic of -the earliest form of marriage by choice or selection. The custom of -dropping or sending a glove as the signal of a challenge may have been -succeeded by the handkerchief in this game. Halliwell, p. 227, gives the -game of "Drop Glove," in which a glove is used. For the use of -handkerchiefs as love-tokens see Brand, ii. 92. - -See "Drop Handkerchief," "French Jackie." - - -Kit-Cat - -A game played by boys. Three small holes are made in the ground, -triangularly about twenty feet apart, to mark the position of as many -boys, each of whom holds a small stick, about two feet long. Three other -boys of the adverse side pitch successively a piece of stick, a little -bigger than one's thumb, called Cat, to be struck by those holding the -sticks. On its being struck, the boys run from hole to hole, dipping the -ends of their sticks in as they pass, and counting one, two, three, &c., -as they do so, up to thirty-one, which is game. Or the greater number of -holes gained in the innings may indicate the winners, as at cricket. If -the Cat be struck and caught, the striking party is out, and another of -his sidesmen takes his place, if the set be strong enough to admit of -it. If there be only six players, it may be previously agreed that three -_put outs_ shall end the innings. Another mode of putting out is to -throw the Cat home, after being struck, and placing or pitching it into -an unoccupied hole, while the in-party are running. A certain number of -misses (not striking the Cat) may be agreed on to be equivalent to a put -out. The game may be played by two, placed as at cricket, or by four, -or I believe more.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_; Holloway's _Dict. of -Provincialisms_. - -Brockett (_North Country Words_, p. 115) calls this "'Kitty-Cat,' a -puerile game. - - Then in his hand he takes a thick bat, - With which he used to play at 'Kit-Cat'" - ---Cotton's _Works_, 1734, p. 88. - -See "Cat and Dog," "Cudgel," "Munshets," "Tip-Cat." - - -Kit-Cat-Cannio - -A sedentary game, played by two, with slate and pencil, or pencil and -paper. It is won by the party who can first get three marks ([o]'s or -[x]'s) in a line; the marks being made alternately by the players [o] or -[x] in one of the nine spots equidistant in three rows, when complete. -He who begins has the advantage, as he can contrive to get his mark in -the middle.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - -The same game as "Nought and Crosses," which see. - - -Kittlie-cout - -A game mentioned but not described by a writer in _Blackwood's -Magazine_, August 1821, as played in Edinburgh. He mentions that the -terms "hot" and "cold" are used in the game. The game of "Hide and -Seek."--Jamieson. - - -Knapsack - -One boy takes another by the feet, one foot over each shoulder, with his -head downwards and his face to his back, and sets off running as fast as -he can. He runs hither and thither till one or other of the two gets -tired.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Knights - -Two big boys take two smaller ones on their shoulders. The big boys act -as horses, while the younger ones seated on their shoulders try to pull -each other over. The "horses" may push and strike each other with their -shoulders, but must not kick or trip up with their feet, or use their -hands or elbows. The game is usually won by the Horse and Knight who -throw their opponents twice out of three times (G. L. Gomme). Strutt -(_Sports_, p. 84) describes this, and says, "A sport of this kind was in -practice with us at the commencement of the fourteenth century." He -considers it to bear more analogy to wrestling than to any other sport. -He gives illustrations, one of which is here reproduced from the -original MS. in the British Museum. The game is also described in the -Rev. J. G. Wood's _Modern Playmate_, p. 12. - -[Illustration] - - -Knocked at the Rapper - -The girl who spoke of this game, says Miss Peacock, could only remember -its details imperfectly, but as far as she recollects it is played as -follows:--The players dance round a centre child, leaving one of their -number outside the circle. The dancers sing to the one in their midst-- - - Here comes ----, - He knocked at the rapper, and he pulled at the string, - Pray, Mrs. ----, is ---- within? - -At "is ---- within," the child outside the circle is named. The centre -child says-- - - O no, she has gone into the town: - Pray take the arm-chair and sit yourself down. - -The ring of children then sing-- - - O no, not until my dearest I see, - And then one chair will do for we. - -Then all sing-- - - My elbow, my elbow, - My pitcher, and my can: - Isn't ---- ---- a nice young girl? - -Mentioning the supposed sweetheart. - - Isn't ---- ---- as nice as she? - -Mentioning the outside child. - - They shall be married when they can agree. - -Then the inside and outside children each choose a companion from the -circle, and the rest repeat:-- - - My elbow, my elbow, &c. - -When the words have been sung a second time, the four children kiss, and -the two from the circle take the places of the other, after which change -the game begins again.--North Kelsey, Lincolnshire (Miss M. Peacock). - - -Knor and Spell - -See "Nur and Spell." - - -Lab - -A game of marbles (undescribed).--Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_. - -See "Lag." - - -Lady of the Land - -[Music] - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - I. Here comes the lady of the land, - With sons and daughters in her hand; - Pray, do you want a servant to-day? - - What can she do? - - She can brew, she can bake, - She can make a wedding cake - Fit for you or any lady in the land. - - Pray leave her. - - I leave my daughter safe and sound, - And in her pocket a thousand pound, - And on her finger a gay ring, - And I hope to find her so again. - ---_Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries_, i. 133. - - II. There camed a lady from other land, - With all her children in her hand-- - Please, do you want a sarvant, marm? - - Leave her. - - I leaves my daughter zafe and zound, - And in her pocket a thousan pound, - And on her finger a goulden ring, - And in her busum a silver pin. - I hopes when I return, - To see her here with you. - Don't'e let her ramble; don't'e let her trot; - Don't'e let her car' the mustard pot. - -The Mistress says softly-- - - She shall ramble, she shall trot, - She shall carry the mustard pot. - ---_Dorset County Chronicle_, April 1889; _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 228. - - III. Here comes an old woman from Baby-land, - With all her children in her hand. - Pray take one of my children in. - - [Spoken] What can your children do? - - [Sung] One can bake, one can brew, - And one can bake a lily-white cake. - One can sit in the parlour and sing, - And this one can do everything. - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - IV. Here comes a poor woman from Baby-land - With three small children in her hand. - One can brew, the other can bake, - The other can make a pretty round cake. - One can sit in the garden and spin, - Another can make a fine bed for the king; - Pray, ma'am, will you take one in? - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 72. - - V. Here is a poor widow from Sandy Row, - With all her children behind her. - One can knit and one can sew, - And one can make the winder go. - Please take one in. - - Now poor Nellie she is gone - Without a farthing in her hand, - Nothing but a guinea gold ring. - Good-bye, Nellie, good-bye! - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - VI. Here comes an old woman from Baby-land, - With six poor children by the hand. - One can brew, one can bake, - And one can make a lily-white cake; - One can knit, one can spin, - And one can make a bed for a king. - Please will you take one in? [choose out one] - - Now poor ---- she is gone - Without a farthing in her hand, - Nothing but a gay gold ring. - Good-bye! Good-bye! - Good-bye, mother, good-bye! - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore) - - VII. Here comes a poor widow from Sandalam, - With all her children at her hand; - The one can bake, the other can brew, - The other can make a lily-white shoe; - Another can sit by the fire and spin, - So pray take one of my daughters in. - - The fairest one that I can see - Is pretty [Mary] come to me. - - And now poor [Mary] she is gone - Without a guinea in her hand, - And not so much as a farthing. Good-bye! - Good-bye, my love, good-bye! - ---Forest of Dean, Gloucester (Miss Matthews). - - VIII. Here comes an old woman from Cumberland, - With seven poor children in her hand; - One can sing, the other can sew; - One can sit up in the corner and cry, Alleluia! - Choose the fairest you can see. - The fairest one that I can see is ----, come to me. - Now my daughter ---- gone, - A thousand pound in her pocket and a gold ring on her finger. - Good-bye, mother, good-bye! - ---Berkshire (Miss Thoyts, _Antiquary_, xxvii. 254). - - IX. There was an old woman from Sandyland - With all her children in her hand. - One can knit and one can sow [sew], - One can make a lily-white bow. - Please take one in. - -When all the children have been taken in, the Old Woman says-- - - There was an old woman from Sandiland - With no children by the hand. - Will you give me one? - ---Ballynascaw School, co. Down (Miss C. N. Patterson). - -(_b_) The first Dorsetshire game is played as follows:--Two girls are -chosen, the one to represent a lady and the other a mother, who is -supposed to be taking her children out to service. She has one or more -of them in each hand, and leads them up to the lady, saying or singing -the first verse. The dialogue then proceeds, and the verse is repeated -until all the children are similarly disposed of. A few days are -supposed to pass, after which the mother calls to see her children, when -the lady tells her she cannot see them. At last she insists upon seeing -them, and the children are all "sat down" behind the lady, and the -mother asks one child what the lady has done to her; and she tells her -"that the lady has cut off her nose, and made a nose-pie, and never give -her a bit of it." Each one says she has done something to her and made a -pie, and when all have told their tale "they all turn on her and put her -to prison." - -The second Dorsetshire game somewhat differs. One child takes seven or -eight others whom she pretends are her children. Another child, -presumably a mistress in want of servants, stands at a distance. The -first child advances, holding the hand of her children, saying the first -verse. The dialogue is concluded, and as the woman and her children are -supposed to be out of hearing, the last couplet is said or sung. This -process is gone through again until the mistress has engaged all the -children as her servants, when she is supposed to let them all out to -play with the mustard pots, which are represented by sticks or stones, -in their hands. - -The other versions are played as follows:--The children form a line, the -one in the middle being the mother, or widow; they advance and retire, -the mother alone singing the first verse. One child, who is standing -alone on the opposite side, who has been addressed by the widow, then -asks [not sings] the question. The mother, or widow, sings the reply, -and points to one child when singing the last line, who thereupon -crosses over to the other side, joining the one who is standing alone. -This is continued till all have been selected. The Ballynascaw version -(Miss Patterson) is played in a similar way. One child sits on a bank, -and the others come up to her in a long line. The "old woman" says the -first five lines. No question is asked by the "lady," she simply takes -one child. The "old woman" shakes hands with this child, and says -good-bye to her. When all the children have been "taken in" by the one -who personates the "lady," the "old woman" says the other three lines, -and so one by one gets all the children back again. The Berkshire -version (Miss Thoyts) is said, not sung, and is played with two leaders, -"old woman" and "lover." As the lover chooses a child, that one is sent -behind him, holding round his waist. Each child as she goes says, -"Good-bye, mother, good-bye," and pretends to cry. Finally they all cry, -and the game ends in a tug of war. This tug is clearly out of place -unless only half the children are selected by one side. Miss Thoyts does -not say how this is done. - -(_c_) This game is called "School-teacher" in Belfast. The corruption of -"Lady of the Land," to "Babyland," "Babylon," and "Sandiland," is -manifest. It appears to be only fragmentary in its present form, but the -versions undoubtedly indicate that the origin of the game arises from -the practice of hiring servants. Mr. Halliwell has preserved another -fragmentary rhyme, which he thinks may belong to this game. - - I can make diet bread - Thick and thin, - I can make diet bread - Fit for the king; (No. cccxliv.) - -which may be compared with the rhyme given by Chambers (_Popular -Rhymes_, p. 136), and another version given by Halliwell, p. 229. - -If these rhymes belong to this game it would have probably been played -by each child singing a verse descriptive of her own qualifications, and -I have some recollection, although not perfect, of having played a game -like this in London, where each child stated her ability to either brew, -bake, or churn. It is worth noting that the Forest of Dean and Berkshire -versions have absorbed one of the "selection" verses of the love-games. -Mr. Halliwell, in recording the _Nursery Rhymes_, Nos. cccxliii. and -cccxliv., as quoted above, says, "They are fragments of a game called -'The Lady of the Land,' a complete version of which has not fallen in my -way." Mr. Udal's versions from Dorsetshire are not only called "The Lady -of the Land," but are fuller than all the other versions, though -probably these are not complete. Mr. Newell (_Games_, pp. 56-58) gives -some versions of this game. He considers the original to have been a -European game (he had not found an English example) in which there were -two mothers, a rich and a poor one; one mother begging away, one by one, -all the daughters of the other. - -(_d_) This game no doubt originates from the country practice of hiring -servants at fairs, or from a dramatic "Hirings" being acted at Harvest -Homes. The "Good-bye" of mother and daughters belongs, no doubt, to the -original game and early versions, and is consistent with the departure -of a servant to her new home. The "lover" incident is an interpolation, -but there may have been a request on the part of the "mother" to the -"lady" not to allow the girl followers or sweethearts too soon. As to -the old practice of hiring servants, Miss Burne has noted how distinctly -it stamps itself upon local custom (_Shropshire Folklore_, pp. 461, -464). That the practice forms the groundwork of this game is well -illustrated by the following descriptive passage. "They stay usually two -or three dayes with theire friends, and then aboute the fifth or sixth -day after Martynmasse will they come to theire newe masters; they will -depart from theire olde services any day in the weeke, but theire desire -(hereaboutes) is to goe to theire newe masters eyther on a Tewsday or on -a Thursday; for on a Sunday they will seldome remoove, and as for -Monday, they account it ominous, for they say-- - - Monday flitte, - Neaver sitte; - -but as for the other dayes in the weeke they make no greate matter. I -heard a servant asked what hee could doe, whoe made this answeare-- - - I can sowe, - I can mowe, - And I can stacke; - And I can doe, - My master too, - When my master turnes his backe." - ---Best's _Rural Economy of Yorks._, 1641; _Surtees Society_, pp. -135-136. - -In _Long Ago_, ii. 130, Mr. Scarlett Potter mentions that in South -Warwickshire it was customary at harvest-homes to give a kind of -dramatic performance. One piece, called "The Hiring," represents a -farmer engaging a man, in which work done by the man, the terms of -service, and food to be supplied, are stated in rhymes similar to the -above. See "Lammas." - - -Lady on the Mountain - -[Music] - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - I. There stands a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - Choose one, choose two, choose the fairest one of the two. - The fairest one that I can see, - Is pretty ----, walk with me. - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - II. There lives a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Choose one, choose two, - Choose the fairest of the few. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - Father and mother you must obey; - Love one another like sister and brother, - And pray, young couple, come kiss one another. - ---Colchester (Miss G. M. Frances). - - III. Here stands a lady on a mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Choose you east, and choose you west, - Choose you the one as you love best. - - Now Sally's got married we wish her good joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Twelve months a'ter a son and da'ter, - Pray young couple, kiss together. - ---Berrington (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 509, 510). - - IV. Stands a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young beau. - Take her by the lily-white hand, - Lead her across the water; - Give her kisses, one, two, three, - For she is her mother's daughter. - ---Shipley, Horsham (_Notes and Queries_, 8th series, i. 210, Miss Busk). - - V. There stands a lady on a mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Now she's married I wish her joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years after son and daughter, - Pray young couple kiss together. - - Kiss her once, kiss her twice, - Kiss her three times three. - ---Wrotham, Kent (Miss D. Kimball). - - VI. There stands a lady on the ocean [mountain], - Who she is I do not know her; - All she wants is gold or silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Choose once, choose twice, - Choose three times over. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years old a son and daughter, - Play and cuddle and kiss together. - - Kiss her once, kiss her twice, - Kiss her three times over. - ---Deptford (Miss Chase). - - VII. There stands a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know: - Oh! she wants such gold and silver! - Oh! she wants such a nice young man! - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years after a son and a daughter, - Kiss your bride and come out of the ring. - ---Berkshire (Miss Thoyts, _Antiquary_; xxvii. 254). - -(_b_) A ring is formed, one child in the centre. The ring sing the first -verse, and then the centre child chooses one from the ring. The chosen -pair kiss when the ring has sung the second. The first child then joins -the ring, and the game begins again. In the Barnes version the centre -child calls one to her from the ring by singing the second verse and -naming the child she chooses. - -(_c_) A version from Lady C. Gurdon's _Suffolk County Folk-lore_ (p. 62) -is the same as previous versions, except that it ends-- - - Now you're married you must be good - Make your husband chop the wood; - Chop it fine and bring it in, - Give three kisses in the ring. - -Other versions are much the same as the examples given. - -(_d_) This game has probably had its origin in a ballad. Miss Burne -draws attention to its resemblance to the "Disdainful Lady" (_Shropshire -Folk-lore_, p. 561), and Halliwell mentions a nursery rhyme (No. -cccclxxix.) which is very similar. Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 55) prints -words and tune of a song which is very similar to that ballad, and he -mentions the fact that he has seen it played as a round by the "Arabs of -the street." He considers it to be an old English song which has been -fitted for a ring game by the addition of a verse. - -See "Lady on Yonder Hill." - - -Lady on Yonder Hill - - I. Yonder stands a lovely lady, - Whom she be I do not know; - I'll go court her for my beauty, - Whether she say me yea or nay. - Madam, to thee I humbly bow and bend. - Sir, I take thee not to be my friend. - Oh, if the good fairy doesn't come I shall die. - ---Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 387). - - II. There stands a lady on yonder hill, - Who she is I cannot tell; - I'll go and court her for her beauty, - Whether she answers me yes or no. - Madam, I bow vounce to thee. - Sir, have I done thee any harm? - Coxconian! - Coxconian is not my name; 'tis Hers and Kers, and Willis and - Cave. - Stab me, ha! ha! little I fear. Over the waters there are but - nine, I'll meet you a man alive. Over the waters there are - but ten, I'll meet you there five thousand. - Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid, - You're only in a trance; - Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid, - And we will have a dance. - ---Lady C. Gurdon's _Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 65. - -(_b_) In the Suffolk game the children form a ring, a boy and girl being -in the centre. The boy is called a gentleman and the girl a lady. The -gentleman commences by singing the first verse. Then they say -alternately the questions and answers. When the gentleman says the lines -commencing, "Stab me," he pretends to stab the lady, who falls on the -ground. Then he walks round the lady and sings the last verse, "Rise -up," and lifts up the lady. In the Derbyshire game only three children -play, the lover, lady, and fairy. The girl stands a little distance off. -The lover says the first four lines, then approaches the lady, falls on -one knee, and says the next line. The lady replies, and retires further -away. The lover then falls on the ground and says the next line. As this -is said the good fairy appears, touches the fallen lover with her hand, -and he is immediately well again. - -(_c_) This is a curious game, and is perhaps derived from a ballad which -had been popular from some more or less local circumstance, or more -probably it may be a portion of an old play acted in booths at fair -times by strolling players. It is not, as far as I can find out, played -in any other counties. The lines-- - - Over the water at the hour of ten, - I'll meet you with five thousand men; - Over the water at the hour of five, - I'll meet you there if I'm alive, - -are portions of a dialogue familiar to Mr. Emslie, and also occur in -some mumming plays. It may also be noted that the curing of illness or -death from a stab is an incident in these plays, as is also the method -of playing. The first lines are similar to those of "Lady on the -Mountain," which see. - - -Lag - -A number of boys put marbles in a ring, and then they all bowl at the -ring. The one who gets nearest has the first shot at the marbles. He has -the option of either "knuckling doon" and shooting at the ring from the -prescribed mark, or "ligging up" (lying up)--that is, putting his taw so -near the ring that if the others miss his taw, or miss the marbles in -the ring, he has the game all to himself next time. If, however, he is -hit by the others, he is said to be "killed."--Addy's _Sheffield -Glossary_. - - -Lammas - -A party of boys take a few straws, and endeavour to hold one between -the chin and the turned-down under-lip, pronouncing the following -rhyme-- - - I bought a beard at Lammas fair, - It's a' awa' but ae hair; - Wag, beardie, wag! - -He who repeats this oftenest without dropping the straw is held to have -won the game (Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 115). This game-rhyme has -an interesting reference to Lammas, and it may also refer to the hiring -of servants. Brockett (_North Country Words_, p. 221) says, "At a fair -or market where country servants are hired, those who offer themselves -stand in the market-place with a piece of straw or green branch in their -mouths to distinguish them." - - -Lamploo - -A goal having been selected and bounds determined, the promoters used to -prepare the others by calling at the top of their voices-- - - Lamp! Lamp! Laa-o! - Those that don't run shan't play-o! - -Then one of the "spryest" lads is elected to commence, thus:--First -touching the goal with his foot or leaning against it, and clasping his -hands so as to produce the letter W in the dumb alphabet, he pursues the -other players, who are not so handicapped, when, if he succeeds in -touching one without unclasping his hands, they both make a rush for the -goal. Should either of the other boys succeed in overtaking one of these -before reaching that spot, he has the privilege of riding him home -pick-a-back. Then these two boys (_i.e._, the original pursuer and the -one caught), joining hands, carry on the game as before, incurring a -similar penalty in case of being overtaken as already described. Each -successive boy, as he is touched by the pursuers, has to make for the -goal under similar risks, afterwards clasping hands with the rest, and -forming a new recruit in the pursuing gang, in whose chain the outside -players alone have the privilege of touching and thus adding to their -numbers. Should the chain at any time be broken, or should the original -pursuer unclasp his hands, either by design or accident, the penalty of -carrying a capturer to the goal is incurred and always enforced. In West -Somerset the pursuing boys after starting were in the habit of crying -out the word "Brewerre" or "Brewarre;" noise appearing to be quite as -essential to the game as speed.--_Somerset and Dorset Notes and -Queries_, i. 186 (1888). - -Another correspondent to the same periodical (i. 204) says that an -almost identical game was played at the King's School, Sherborne, some -fifty years ago. It was called "King-sealing," and the pursuing boy was -obliged by the rules to retain his hold of the boy seized until he had -uttered-- - - One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. - You are one of the king-sealer's men. - -If the latter succeeded in breaking away before the couplet was -finished, the capture was incomplete. - -The second game described is almost identical with "King Cæsar," played -at Barnes. - -About twenty years ago the game was common in some parts of Bedfordshire -and Hertfordshire, where it was sometimes called "Chevy -Chase."--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 233. - -See "Chickidy Hand," "Hunt the Staigie," "King Cæsar," "Whiddy." - - -Lang Larence - -That is, "Long Lawrence," an instrument marked with signs, a sort of -teetotum. A "Long Lawrence" is about three inches long, something like a -short ruler with eight sides; occasionally they have but four. On one -side are ten x's, or crosses, forming a kind of lattice-work; on the -next, to the left, three double cuts, or strokes, passing straight -across in the direction of the breadth; on the third, a zig-zag of three -strokes one way, and two or three the other, forming a W, with an -additional stroke or a triple V; on the fourth, three single bars, one -at each end and one in the middle, as in No. 2, where they are doubled; -then the four devices are repeated in the same order. The game, formerly -popular at Christmas, can be played by any number of persons. Each has a -bank of pins or other small matters. A pool is formed; then in turn each -rolls the "Long Lawrence." If No. 1 comes up the player cries "Flush," -and takes the pool; if No. 2, he puts down two pins; if No. 3, he says -"Lave all," and neither takes nor gives; if No. 4, he picks up one. The -sides are considered to bear the names, "Flush," "Put doan two," "Lave -all," "Sam up one." It has been suggested that the name "Lawrence" may -have arisen from the marks scored on the instrument, not unlike the bars -of a gridiron, on which the saint perished.--_Easthers's Almondbury -Glossary._ - -See "Teetotum." - - -Leap Candle - -The young girls in and about Oxford have a sport called "Leap Candle," -for which they set a candle in the middle of a room in a candlestick, -and then draw up their coats into the form of breeches, and dance over -the candle back and forth, saying the words-- - - The taylor of Bicester he has but one eye, - He cannot cut a pair of green galagaskins - If he were to die. - -This sport, in other parts, is called "Dancing the Candlerush" (Aubrey's -_Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme_, p. 45). Halliwell (_Rhymes_, p. -65) has a rhyme-- - - Jack be nimble, - And Jack be quick, - And Jack jump over - The candlestick, - -which may refer to this game. Northall (_Folk Rhymes_, p. 412) says in -Warwickshire a similar game is called "Cock and Breeches." - - -Leap-frog - -One boy stoops down sideways, with his head bent towards his body, as -low as possible. This is called "Tucking in your Tuppeny." Another boy -takes a flying leap over the "frog," placing his hands on his back to -help himself over. He then proceeds to a distance of some four or five -yards, and, in his turn, stoops in the same manner as the first boy, as -another frog. A third boy then leaps first over frog No. 1, and then -over frog No. 2, taking his place as frog No. 3, at about the same -distance onwards. Any number of boys may play in the game. After the -last player has taken his leap over all the frogs successively, frog No. -1 has his turn and leaps over his companions, taking his place as the -last in the line of frogs. Then No. 2 follows suit, and so on, the whole -line of players in course of time covering a good distance.--London (G. -L. Gomme). - -Leap-frog is known in Cornwall as "Leap the Long-mare" (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 60), and in Antrim and Down as "Leap the Bullock" -(Patterson's _Glossary_). - -See "Accroshay," "Loup the Bullocks," "Spanish Fly." - - -Leap the Bullock - -See "Leap-frog," "Loup the Bullocks." - - -Leaves are Green - - The leaves are green, the nuts are brown, - They hang so high they will not come down; - Leave them alone till frosty weather, - Then they will all come down together. - ---Berkshire (Miss Thoyts, _Antiquary_, xxvii. 254). - -These lines are sung while the children dance round in a circle. When -the last words are sung, the children flop down upon the ground. The -tune sung is, Miss Thoyts says, that of "Nuts in May." - - -Lend Me your Key - - Please will you lend us your key? - What for? - Please, our hats are in the garden. - Yes, if you won't steal any beans. - Please, we've brought the key back; will you lend us your - frying-pan? - What to do with? - To fry some beans. - Where have you got them? - Out of your garden. - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -One child represents an old woman, and the other players carry on the -dialogue with her. At the end of the dialogue the children are chased by -the old woman. - -See "Mother, Mother, may I go out to Play," "Witch." - - -Letting the Buck out - -This game was played seventy years ago. A ring being formed, the "Buck" -inside has to break out, and reach his "home," crying "Home!" before he -can be caught and surrounded. Afterwards these words were sung-- - - Circle: Who comes here? - - Buck: Poor Johnny Lingo. - - Circle: Don't steal none of my black sheep, Johnny Lingo, - For if you do - I shall put you in the pinder pin-fold. - ---Stixwold, Lines. (Miss M. Peacock). - -See "Who goes round my Stone Wall?" - - -Level-coil - -Nares, in his _Glossary_, says this is "a game of which we seem to know -no more than that the loser in it was to give up his place to be -occupied by another." Minshew gives it thus: "To play at _levell coil_, -G. jouer à cul levé: _i.e._, to play and lift up your taile when you -have lost the game, and let another sit down in your place." Coles, in -his _English Dictionary_, seems to derive it from the Italian _leva il -culo_, and calls it also "Pitch-buttock." In his _Latin Dictionary_ he -has "_level-coil_, alternation, cession;" and "to play at _level coil_, -vices ludendi præbere." Skinner is a little more particular and says, -"Vox tesseris globulosis ludentium propria:" an expression belonging to -a game played with little round tesseræ. He also derives it from French -and Italian. It is mentioned by Jonson, _Tale of a Tub_, iii. 2:-- - - "Young Justice Bramble has kept _level-coyl_ - Here in our quarters, stole away our daughter." - -Gifford says that, in our old dramatists, it implies riot and -disturbance. The same sport is mentioned by Sylvester, _Dubartas_, IV. -iv. 2, under the name of _level-sice_:-- - - "By tragick death's device - Ambitious hearts do play at _level-sice_." - -In the margin we have this explanation: "A kinde of Christmas play, -wherein each hunteth the other from his seat. The name seems derived -from the French _levez sus_, in English, arise up." Halliwell's -_Dictionary_ says that Skelton, ii. 31, spells it _levell suse_. - - -Libbety, Libbety, Libbety-lat - -A child stands before a hassock, and as if he were going up stairs, he -puts on it first his right and then his left foot, gradually quickening -his steps, keeping time to the words-- - - Libbety, libbety, libbety-lat, - Who can do this? and who can do that? - And who can do anything better than that? - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 59). - - -Limpy Coley - -A boy's game undescribed.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - - -Little Dog I call you - -A number of girls stand in a line with their backs to a wall. One of -their number is sent away to a distance, but remains within call. -Another girl, who stands in front of the line, asks the girls one by one -what they would like if they could obtain their desires. After she has -asked every one, she tells them to turn their faces to the wall, and -calls after the girl who was sent away, saying, "Little Dog, I call -you." The girl replies, "I shan't come to please you." "I'll get a stick -and make you," is the rejoinder. "I don't care for that." "I've got a -rice pudding for you." "I shan't come for that." "I've got a dish of -bones." "I'll come for that." The Dog then comes. The girls have been -previously told not to laugh whilst the one who stands out is talking to -the Dog. Then the girl says to the Dog-- - - All the birds in the air, - All the fishes in the sea, - Come and pick me out (for example) - The girl with the golden ball. - -If the girl who desired the golden ball laughs, the Dog picks her out. -If nobody laughs, he guesses who the girl is that has wished for the -golden ball. If the Dog guesses correctly, she goes and stands behind -him, and if he guesses incorrectly she goes and stands behind the one -who has been asking the questions. They continue this until they get to -the last girl or girl at the end of the row, who _must_ have desired to -be-- - - A brewer or a baker, - Or a candlestick maker, - Or a penknife maker. - -Then the questioner says-- - - All the birds in the air, - All the fishes in the sea, - Come pick me out - A brewer or a baker, - Or a candlestick maker, - Or penknife maker. - -If the Dog guesses the right one, he takes that girl on his side, she -standing behind him. Then they draw a line and each side tries to pull -the other over it.--Sheffield (S. O. Addy). The game, it will be seen, -differs in several ways from the other games of "Fool, Fool, come to -School" type. The "fool" becomes a definite Dog, and the players _wish_ -for any thing they choose; the Dog has apparently to find out their -wishes. - -See "All the Birds," "Fool, Fool." - - -Lobber - -There are three or more players on each side, two stones or holes as -stations, and one Lobber. The Lobber lobs either a stick about three -inches long or a ball--(the ball seems to be a new institution, as a -stick was always formerly used)--while the batsman defends the stone or -hole with either a short stick or his hand. Every time the stick or ball -is hit, the boys defending the stones or holes must change places. Each -one is out if the stick or ball lodges in the hole or hits the stone; or -if the ball or stone is caught; or if it can be put in the hole or hits -the stone while the boys are changing places. This game is also played -with two Lobbers, that lob alternately from each end. The game is won by -a certain number of runs.--Ireland (_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 264). - -See "Cat," "Cudgel," "Kit-Cat," "Rounders." - - -Loggats - -An old game, forbidden by statute in Henry VIII.'s time. It is thus -played, according to Stevens. A stake is fixed in the ground; those who -play throw Loggats at it, and he that is nearest the stake wins. -Loggats, or loggets, are also small pieces or logs of wood, such as the -country people throw at fruit that cannot otherwise be reached. -"Loggats, little logs or wooden pins, a play the same with ninepins, in -which the boys, however, often made use of bones instead of wooden pins" -(Dean Miles' MS.; Halliwell's _Dictionary_). Strutt refers to this game -(_Sports_, p. 272). - - -London - -A diagram (similar to Fig. 9 in "Hopscotch") is drawn on a slate, and -two children play. A piece of paper or small piece of glass or china, -called a "chipper," is used to play with. This is placed at the bottom -of the plan, and if of _paper_, is _blown_ gently towards the top; if of -glass or china, it is _nicked_ with the _fingers_. The first player -blows the paper, and in whichever space the paper stops makes a small -round [o] with a slate pencil, to represent a man's head. The paper or -chipper is then put into the starting-place again, and the same player -blows, and makes another "man's head" in the space where the paper -stops. This is continued until all the spaces are occupied. If the paper -goes a second time into a space already occupied by a "head," the player -adds a larger round to the "head," to represent a "body;" if a third -time, a stroke is drawn for a leg, and if a fourth time, another is -added for the second leg; this completes a "man." If three complete men -in one space can be gained, the player makes "arms;" that is, two lines -are drawn from the figures across the space to the opposite side of the -plan. This occupies that space, and prevents the other player from -putting any "men" in it, or adding to any already there. When all the -spaces are thus occupied by one player, the game is won. Should the -paper be blown on to a line or _outside_ the plan, the player is out; -the other player then begins, and makes as many "men" in her turn, until -she goes on a line or outside. Should the paper go into "London," the -player is entitled to make a "head" in every space, or to add another -mark to those already there.--Westminster (A. B. Gomme). This game -resembles one described by F. H. Low in _Strand Mag._, ii. 516. - - -London Bridge - -[Music] - ---Wrotham, Kent (Miss D. Kimball) - -[Music] - ---Rimbault's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 34. - -[Music] - ---Enborne School, Berks. (Miss M. Kimber). - - I. London Bridge is broken down, - Grant said the little bee,[4] - London Bridge is broken down, - Where I'd be. - - Stones and lime will build it up, - Grant said the little bee, - Stones and lime will build it up, - Where I'd be. - - Get a man to watch all night, - Grant said the little bee, - Get a man to watch all night, - Where I'd be. - - Perhaps that man might fall asleep, - Grant said the little bee, - Perhaps that man might fall asleep, - Where I'd be. - - Get a dog to watch all night, - Grant said the little bee, - Get a dog to watch all night, - Where I'd be. - - If that dog should run away, - Grant said the little bee, - If that dog should run away, - Where I'd be. - - Give that dog a bone to pick, - Grant said the little bee, - Give that dog a bone to pick, - Where I'd be. - ---Belfast, Ireland (W. H. Patterson). - - II. London Bridge is broken down, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - London Bridge is broken down, - With a gay lady. - - How shall we build it up again? - Dance o'er my lady lee, - How shall we build it up again? - With a gay lady. - - Silver and gold will be stole away, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Silver and gold will be stole away, - With a gay lady. - - Build it up with iron and steel, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Build it up with iron and steel, - With a gay lady. - - Iron and steel will bend and bow, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Iron and steel will bend and bow, - With a gay lady. - - Build it up with wood and clay, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Build it up with wood and clay, - With a gay lady. - - Wood and clay will wash away, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Wood and clay will wash away, - With a gay lady. - - Build it up with stone so strong, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Huzza! 'twill last for ages long, - With a gay lady. - ---[London][5] (Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, clii.). - - III. London Bridge is broaken down, - Is broaken down, is broaken down, - London Bridge is broaken down, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with bricks and mortar, - Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, - Build it up with bricks and mortar, - My fair lady. - - Bricks and mortar will not stay, - Will not stay, will not stay, - Bricks and mortar will not stay, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with penny loaves, - Penny loaves, penny loaves, - Build it up with penny loaves, - My fair lady. - - Penny loaves will mould away, - Mould away, mould away, - Penny loaves will mould away, - My fair lady. - - What have this poor prisoner done, - Prisoner done, prisoner done, - What have this poor prisoner done? - My fair lady. - - Stole my watch and lost my key, - Lost my key, lost my key, - Stole my watch and lost my key, - My fair lady. - - Off to prison you must go, - You must go, you must go, - Off to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - IV. Where are these great baa-lambs going, - Baa-lambs going, baa-lambs going, - Where are these great baa-lambs going? - My fair lady. - - We are going to London Bridge, - London Bridge, London Bridge, - We are going to London Bridge, - My fair lady. - - London Bridge is broken down, - Broken down, broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - My fair lady. - -[Then verses follow, sung in the same way and with the same refrain, -beginning with--] - - Mend it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves will wash away. - - Mend it up with pins and needles. - - Pins and needles they will break. - - Mend it up with bricks and mortar, - - Bricks and mortar, that will do. - -[After these verses have been sung--] - - What has this great prisoner done, - Prisoner done, prisoner done, - What has this great prisoner done? - My fair lady. - - Stole a watch and lost the key, - Lost the key, lost the key, - Stole a watch and lost the key, - My fair lady. - - Off to prison you must go, - You must go, you must go, - Off to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - V. Over London Bridge we go, - Over London Bridge we go, - Over London Bridge we go, - Gay ladies, gay! - - London Bridge is broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - Gay ladies, gay! - - Build it up with lime and sand, - Build it up with lime and sand, - Build it up with lime and sand, - Gay ladies, gay! - -[Then follow verses sung in the same manner and with the same refrain, -beginning with--] - - Lime and sand will wash away. - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves'll get stole away. - - O, what has my poor prisoner done? - - Robbed a house and killed a man. - - What will you have to set her free? - - Fourteen pounds and a wedding gown. - - Stamp your foot and let her go! - ---Clun (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 518-19). - - VI. London Bridge is broken down, - Broken down, broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with iron bars, - Iron bars, iron bars, - Build it up with iron bars, - My fair lady. - -[Then follow verses with the same refrain, beginning with--] - - Build it up with pins and needles. - - Pins and needles rust and bend. - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves will tumble down. - - Here's a prisoner I have got. - - What's the prisoner done to you? - - Stole my watch and broke my chain. - - What will you take to let him out? - - Ten hundred pounds will let him out. - - Ten hundred pounds we have not got. - - Then off to prison he must go. - ---Kent (Miss Dora Kimball). - - VII. London Bridge is falling down, - Falling down, falling down, - London Bridge is falling down, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with mortar and bricks, - Mortar and bricks, mortar and bricks, - Build it up with mortar and bricks, - My fair lady. - -[Then follow verses in the same style and with the same refrain, -beginning with--] - - Bring some water, we'll wash it away. - - Build it up with silver and gold. - - Silver and gold will be stolen away. - - We'll set a man to watch at night. - - Suppose the man should fall asleep? - - Give him a pipe of tobacco to smoke. - - Suppose the pipe should fall and break? - - We'll give him a bag of nuts to crack. - - Suppose the nuts were rotten and bad? - - We'll give him a horse to gallop around, &c. - ---Enborne School, Berks (M. Kimber). - - VIII. London Bridge is broken down, - Gran says the little D, - London Bridge is broken down, - Fair la-dy. - - Build it up with lime and stone, - Gran says the little D, - Build it up with lime and stone, - Fair la-dy. - -[Then follow verses beginning with the following lines--] - - Lime and stone would waste away. - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves would be eaten away. - - Build it up with silver and gold. - - Silver and gold would be stolen away. - - Get a man to watch all night. - - If the man should fall asleep? - - Set a dog to bark all night. - - If the dog should meet a bone? - - Set a cock to crow all night. - - If the cock should meet a hen? - - Here comes my Lord Duke, - And here comes my Lord John; - Let every one pass by but the very last one, - And catch him if you can. - ---Cork (Mrs. B. B. Green). - - IX. London Bridge is broken down, - Broken down, broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - My fair lady. - -[Other verses commence with one of the following lines, and are sung in -the same manner--] - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves will melt away. - - Build it up with iron and steel. - - Iron and steel will bend and bow. - - Build it up with silver and gold. - - Silver and gold I have not got. - - What has this poor prisoner done? - - Stole my watch and broke my chain. - - How many pounds will set him free? - - Three hundred pounds will set him free. - - The half of that I have not got. - - Then off to prison he must go. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss E. Chase). - -(_b_) This game is now generally played like "Oranges and Lemons," only -there is no "tug-of-war" at the end. Two children hold up their clasped -hands to form an arch. The other children form a long line by holding to -each other's dresses or waists, and run under. Those who are running -under sing the first verse; the two who form the arch sing the second -and alternate verses. At the words, "What has this poor prisoner done?" -the girls who form the arch catch one of the line (generally the last -one). When the last verse is sung the prisoner is taken a little -distance away, and the game begins again. At Clun the players form a -ring, moving round. They sing the first and alternate verses, and -chorus, "London Bridge is broken down." Two players outside the ring run -round it, singing the second and alternate verses. When singing "Penny -loaves'll get stole away," one of the two outside children goes into the -ring, the other remains and continues her part, singing the next verse. -When the last verse is sung the prisoner is released. The Berkshire game -(Miss Kimber) is played by the children forming two long lines, each -line advancing and retiring alternately while singing their parts. When -the last verse is begun the children form a ring and gallop around, all -singing this last verse together. In the Cork version (Mrs. Green) the -children form a circle by joining hands. They march round and round, -singing the verses to a sing-song tune. When singing, "If the cock -should meet a hen," they all unclasp hands; two hold each other's hands -and form an arch. The rest run under, saying the last verse. The "arch" -lower their hands and try to catch the last child. - -(_c_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 342-45. It appears from -this analysis that the London version is alone in its faithful -reflection of an actual building episode. Three other versions introduce -the incident of watching by a man, and failing him, a dog or cock; while -five versions introduce a prisoner. This incident occurs the greatest -number of times. It is not surprising that the London version seems to -be the most akin to modern facts, being told so near the spot indicated -by the verses, and on this account it cannot be considered as the oldest -of the variants. There remain the other two groups. Both are -distinguished by the introduction of a human element, one as watchman, -the other as prisoner. The watchman incident approaches nearer to modern -facts; the prisoner incident remains unexplained by any appeal to modern -life, and it occurs more frequently than the others. In only one case, -the Shropshire, is the prisoner ransomed; in the others he is sent to -prison. Besides this main line of criticism brought out by the analysis -there is little to note. The Hurstmonceux version begins with taking -lambs over London Bridge, and the Shropshire version with the players -themselves going over; but these are doubtless foreign adjuncts, because -they do not properly prefix the main incident of the bridge being -broken. The Belfast version has a curious line, "Grant said the little -bee or dee," which the Cork version renders, "Gran says the little D." -To these there is now no meaning that can be traced, but they help to -prove that the rhyme originated from a state of things not understood by -modern players. In all the versions with the prisoner incident it comes -quite suddenly, without any previous indication, except in the Kent -version, which introduces the exclamation, "Here's a prisoner I have -got!" As the analysis shows the prisoner incident to be a real and not -accidental part of the game, and the unmeaning expressions to indicate -an origin earlier than modern players can understand, we can turn to -other facts to see if the origin can be in any way traced. - -ANALYSIS OF GAME-RHYMES. - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Belfast. | Halliwell. | Liphook. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.|L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.|Grant said the little | -- | -- | - | |bee. | | | - | 8.| -- |Dance o'er my lady | -- | - | | |lee. | | - | 9.| -- | -- |My fair lady. | - |10.| -- |With a gay lady. | -- | - |11.|Where I'd be. | -- | -- | - |12.| -- |How shall we build it | -- | - | | |up again? | | - |13.|Stones and lime will | -- |Build it up with | - | |build it up. | |bricks and mortar. | - |14.| -- | -- |Bricks and mortar will| - | | | |not stay. | - |15.| -- | -- |Build it up with penny| - | | | |loaves. | - |16.| -- | -- |Penny loaves will | - | | | |mould away. | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- |Silver and gold will | -- | - | | |be stole away. | | - |19.| -- |Build it up with iron | -- | - | | |and steel. | | - |20.| -- |Iron and steel will | -- | - | | |bend and bow. | | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.| -- |Build it up with wood | -- | - | | |and clay. | | - |24.| -- |Wood and clay will | -- | - | | |wash away. | | - |25.| -- |Build it up with stone| -- | - | | |so strong. | | - |26.|Get a man to watch all| -- | -- | - | |night. | | | - |27.|Perhaps that man might| -- | -- | - | |fall asleep. | | | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- |What has this poor | - | | | |prisoner done? | - |30.| -- | -- |Stole my watch and | - | | | |lost my key. | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - |33.| -- | -- | -- | - |34.| -- | -- | -- | - |35.| -- | -- | -- | - |36.|Get a dog to watch all| -- | -- | - | |night. | | | - |37.|If that dog should run| -- | -- | - | |away. | | | - |38.|Give that dog a bone | -- | -- | - | |to pick. | | | - |39.| -- | -- | -- | - |40.| -- | -- | -- | - |41.| -- | -- | -- | - |42.| -- | -- | -- | - |43.| -- | -- | -- | - |44.| -- | -- |Off to prison you must| - | | | |go. | - |45.| -- |Huzza! it will last | -- | - | | |for ages long. | | - |46.| -- | -- | -- | - |47.| -- | -- | -- | - |48.| -- | -- | -- | - |49.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Hurstmonceux. | Shropshire. | Kent. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Where are these great | -- | -- | - | |baa-lambs going? | | | - | 2.|My fair lady. | -- | -- | - | 3.|We are going to L. B. | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- |Over L. B. we go. | -- | - | 5.|L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.|My fair lady. | -- |My fair lady. | - |10.| -- |Gay ladies, gay. | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.|Mend it up with bricks|Build it up with lime | -- | - | |and mortar. |and sand. | | - |14.| -- |Lime and sand will | -- | - | | |wash away. | | - |15.|Mend it up with penny |Build it up with penny|Build it up with penny| - | |loaves. |loaves. |loaves. | - |16.|Penny loaves will wash|Penny loaves'll get |Penny loaves will | - | |away. |stole away. |tumble down. | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.|Mend it up with pins | -- |Mend it up with pins | - | |and needles. | |and needles. | - |22.|Pins and needles they | -- |Pins and needles rust | - | |will break. | |and bend. | - |23.| -- | -- | -- | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- |Here's a prisoner I | - | | | |have got. | - |29.|What has this great |O, what has my poor |What's the prisoner | - | |prisoner done? |prisoner done? |done to you? | - |30.|Stole a watch and lost| -- |Stole my watch and | - | |the key. | |broke my chain. | - |31.| -- |Robbed a house and | -- | - | | |killed a man. | | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - |33.| -- | -- | -- | - |34.| -- | -- | -- | - |35.| -- | -- | -- | - |36.| -- | -- | -- | - |37.| -- | -- | -- | - |38.| -- | -- | -- | - |39.| -- | -- | -- | - |40.| -- | -- | -- | - |41.| -- |What will you have to |What will you take to | - | | |set her free? |let him out? | - |42.| -- |Fourteen pounds and a |Ten hundred pounds | - | | |wedding gown. |will let him out. | - |43.| -- | -- |Then a hundred pounds | - | | | |we have not got. | - |44.|Off to prison you must| -- |Then off to prison you| - | |go. | |must go. | - |45.| -- | -- | -- | - |46.| -- | -- | -- | - |47.| -- |Stamp your foot and | -- | - | | |let her go. | | - |48.| -- | -- | -- | - |49.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Enborne. | Cork. | Crockham Hill. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | - | 6.|L. B. is falling down.| -- | -- | - | 7.| -- |Says the little D. | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.|My fair lady. |Fair lady. |My fair lady. | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.|Build it up with |Build it up with lime | -- | - | |mortar and bricks. |and stone. | | - |14.|Mortar and bricks will|Lime and stone would | -- | - | |waste away. |waste away. | | - |15.| -- | -- |Build it up with penny| - | | | |loaves. | - |16.| -- | -- |Penny loaves will melt| - | | | |away. | - |17.|Build it up with |Build it up with |Build it up with | - | |silver and gold. |silver and gold. |silver and gold. | - |18.|Silver and gold will |Silver and gold would |Silver and gold I have| - | |be stolen away. |be stolen away. |not got. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.| -- | -- | -- | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- |We'll set a man to |Set a man to watch all| - | | |watch all night. |night. | - |27.|Suppose the man should|If the man should fall| -- | - | |fall asleep. |asleep. | | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- |What has this poor | - | | | |prisoner done? | - |30.| -- | -- |Stole my watch and | - | | | |broke my chain. | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.|Give him a pipe of | -- | -- | - | |tobacco to smoke. | | | - |33.|Suppose the pipe | -- | -- | - | |should fall and break.| | | - |34.|We'll give him a bag | -- | -- | - | |of nuts to crack. | | | - |35.|Suppose the nuts were | -- | -- | - | |rotten and bad. | | | - |36.| -- |Set a dog to bark all | -- | - | | |night. | | - |37.| -- |If the dog should meet| -- | - | | |a bone. | | - |38.| -- | -- | -- | - |39.| -- |Set a cock to crow | -- | - | | |all night. | | - |40.| -- |If the cock should | -- | - | | |meet a hen. | | - |41.| -- | -- |How many pounds will | - | | | |set him free? | - |42.| -- | -- |Three hundred pounds | - | | | |will set him free. | - |43.| -- | -- |The half of that I | - | | | |have not got. | - |44.| -- | -- |Then off to prison he | - | | | |must go. | - |45.| -- | -- | -- | - |46.| -- | -- | -- | - |47.| -- | -- | -- | - |48.|We'll give him a horse| -- | -- | - | |to gallop around. | | | - |49.| -- |Here comes my lord | -- | - | | |Duke, let everyone | | - | | |pass by but the very | | - | | |last one. | | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - -(_d_) This game is universally acknowledged to be a very ancient one, -but its origin is a subject of some diversity of opinion. The special -feature of the rhymes is that considerable difficulty occurs in the -building of the bridge by _ordinary_ means, but without exactly -suggesting that extraordinary means are to be adopted, a prisoner is -suddenly taken. The question is, What does this indicate? - -Looking to the fact of the widespread superstition of the foundation -sacrifice, it would seem that we may have here a tradition of this rite. -So recently as 1872, there was a scare in Calcutta when the Hooghly -Bridge was being constructed. The natives then got hold of the idea that -Mother Ganges, indignant at being bridged, had at last consented to -submit to the insult on condition that each pier of the structure was -founded on a layer of children's heads (Gomme's _Early Village Life_, p. -29). Formerly, in Siam, when a new city gate was being erected, it was -customary for a number of officers to lie in wait and seize the first -four or eight persons who happened to pass by, and who were then buried -alive under the gate-posts to serve as guardian angels (Tylor's -_Primitive Culture_, i. 97). Other instances of the same custom and -belief are given in the two works from which these examples are taken; -and there is a tradition about London Bridge itself, that the stones -were bespattered with the blood of little children. Fitzstephen, in his -well-known account of London of the twelfth century, mentions that when -the Tower was built the mortar was tempered with the blood of beasts. -Prisoners' heads were put on the bridge after execution down to modern -times, and also on city gates. - -These traditions about London, when compared with the actual facts of -contemporary savagery, seem to be sufficient to account for such a game -as that we are now examining having originated in the foundation -sacrifice. Mr. Newell, in his examination of the game, gives countenance -to this theory, but he strangely connects it with other games which have -a tug-of-war as the finish. Now in all the English examples it is -remarkable that the tug-of-war does not appear to be a part of the game; -and if this evidence be conclusive, it would appear that this incident -got incorporated in America. It is this incident which Mr. Newell dwells -upon in his ingenious explanation of the mythological interpretation of -the game. But apart from this, the fact that the building of bridges was -accompanied by the foundation sacrifice is a more likely origin for such -a widespread game which is so intimately connected with a bridge. - -This view is confirmed by what may be called the literary history of the -game. The verses, as belonging to a game, have only recently been -recorded, and how far they go back into tradition it is impossible to -say. Dr. Rimbault is probably right when he states "that they have been -formed by many fresh additions in a long series of years, and [the game] -is perhaps almost interminable when received in all its different -versions" (_Notes and Queries_, ii. 338). In _Chronicles of London -Bridge_, pp. 152, 153, the author says he obtained the following note -from a Bristol correspondent:--"About forty years ago, one moonlight -night in the streets of Bristol, my attention was attracted by a dance -and chorus of boys and girls, to which the words of this ballad gave -measure. The breaking down of the Bridge was announced as the dancers -moved round in a circle hand in hand, and the question, 'How shall we -build it up again?' was chanted by the leader while the rest stood -still." This correspondent also sent the tune the children sang, which -is printed in the _Chronicles of London Bridge_. This was evidently the -same game, but it would appear that the verses have also been used as a -song, and it would be interesting to find out which is the more ancient -of the two--the song or the game; and to do this it is necessary that we -should know something of the history of the song. A correspondent of -_Notes and Queries_ (ii. 338) speaks of it as a "lullaby song" well -known in the southern part of Kent and in Lincolnshire. In the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ (1823, Part II. p. 232) appeared the following -interesting note:-- - -The projected demolition of London Bridge recalls to my mind the -introductory lines of an old ballad which more than seventy years ago I -heard plaintively warbled by a lady who was born in the reign of Charles -II., and who lived till nearly the end of that of George II. I now -transcribe the lines, not as possessing any great intrinsic merit, but -in the hope of learning from some intelligent correspondent the name of -the author and the story which gave rise to the ballad, for it probably -originated in some accident that happened to the old bridge. The "Lady -Lea" evidently refers to the river of that name, the favourite haunt of -Isaac Walton, which, after fertilising the counties of Hertford, Essex, -and Middlesex, glides into the Thames. - - London Bridge is broken down, - _Dance over the Lady Lea_; - London Bridge is broken down, - _With a gay lady_ [_la-dee_]. - Then we must build it up again. - What shall we build it up withal? - Build it up with iron and steel, - Iron and steel will bend and break. - Build it up with wood and stone, - Wood and stone will fall away. - Build it up with silver and gold, - Silver and gold will be stolen away. - Then we must set a man to watch, - Suppose the man should fall asleep? - Then we must put a pipe in his mouth, - Suppose the pipe should fall and break? - Then we must set a dog to watch, - Suppose the dog should run away? - Then we must chain him to a post. - -The two lines in _italic_ are all regularly repeated after each -line.--M. Green. - -Another correspondent to this magazine, in the same volume, p. 507, -observes that the ballad concerning London Bridge "formed, in my -remembrance, part of a Christmas Carol, and commenced thus-- - - Dame, get up and bake your pies, - On Christmas-day in the morning. - -The requisition goes on to the dame to prepare for the feast, and her -answer is-- - - London Bridge is fallen down, - On Christ-mas day in the morning, &c. - -The inference always was, that until the bridge was rebuilt some -stop would be put to the Dame's Christmas operations; but why the -falling of London Bridge should form part of a Christmas Carol at -Newcastle-upon-Tyne I am at a loss to know." Some fragments were also -printed in the _Mirror_ for November 1823; and a version is also given -by Ritson, _Gammer Gurton's Garland_. The _Heimskringla_ (Laing, ii. -260, 261) gives an animated description of the Battle of London Bridge, -when Ethelred, after the death of Sweyn, was assisted by Olaf in -retaking and entering London, and it is curious, that the first line of -the game-rhyme appears-- - - London Bridge is broken down, - Gold is won and bright renown; - Shields resounding, - War-horns sounding, - Hild is shouting in the din; - Arrows singing, - Mail-coats ringing, - Odin makes our Olaf win. - -If this is anything more than an accidental parallel, we come back to an -historical episode wherein the breaking down and rebuilding of London -Bridge occur, and it looks as if the two streams down which this -tradition has travelled, namely, first, through the game, and second, -through the song, both refer to the same event. - -Dr. Rimbault has, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 34, reconstructed a copy -of the original rhyme from the versions given by Halliwell and the -_Mirror_, and gives the tune to which it was sung, which is reprinted -here. The tune from Kent is the one generally used in London versions. -The tune of a country dance called "London Bridge" is given in -Playford's _Dancing Master_, 1728 edition. - - [4] Another informant gives the refrain, "Grand says the little Dee." - - [5] I have identified this with a version played at Westminster and - another taught to my children by a Hanwell girl.--A. B. G. - - -Long-duck - -A number of children take hold of each other's hands and form a -half-circle. The two children at one end of the line lift up their arms, -so as to form an arch, and call "Bid, bid, bid," the usual cry for -calling ducks. Then the children at the other end pass in order through -the arch. This process is repeated, and they go circling round the -field.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -See "Duck Dance." - - -Long Tag - -See "Long Terrace." - - -Long-Tawl - -A game at marbles where each takes aim at the other in turn, a marble -being paid in forfeit to whichever of the players may make a -hit.--Lowsley's _Berkshire Glossary_. - - -Long Terrace - -Every player chooses a partner. The couples stand immediately in front -of each other, forming a long line, one remaining outside of the line on -the right-hand side, who is called the "Clapper." The object of the game -is for the last couple to reach the top of the line, each running on -different sides, and keeping to the side on which they are standing. The -object of the Clapper is to hit the one running on the right side of the -line, which, if he succeeds in doing, makes him the Clapper, and the -Clapper takes his place. [The next _last_ couple would then presumably -try and reach the top.]--East Kirkby, Lincs. (Miss K. Maughan). - -A similar game to this is played at Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). It -is there called "Long Tag." The players stand in line behind one -another, and an odd one takes her place somewhere near the front; at a -given signal, such as clapping of hands, the two at the back separate -and try to meet again in front before the one on the watch can catch -them; they may run where they please, and when one is caught that one -becomes the one "out." - -See "French Jackie." - - -Loup the Bullocks - -Young men go out to a green meadow, and there on all-fours plant -themselves in a row about two yards distant from each other. Then he who -is stationed farthest back in the "bullock rank" starts up and leaps -over the other bullocks before him, by laying his hands on each of their -backs; and when he gets over the last one leans down himself as before, -whilst all the others, in rotation, follow his example; then he starts -and leaps again. - -I have sometimes thought that we (the Scotch) have borrowed this -recreation from our neighbours of the "Green Isle," as at their -wakes they have a play much of the same kind, which they call -"Riding Father Doud." One of the wakers takes a stool in his hand, -another mounts that one's back, then Father Doud begins rearing and -plunging, and if he unhorses his rider with a dash he does well. There -is another play (at these wakes) called "Kicking the Brogue," which is -even ruder than "Riding Father Doud," and a third one called -"Scuddieloof."--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game called "Leap the -Bullock," which he says is the same as "Leap-frog." - -Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary Supplement_, under "Lowp," says it -means a leap or jump either running or standing. The various kinds -include "Catskip"--one hitch, or hop, and one jump; "Hitch -steppin"--hop, step, and lowp; a hitch, a step, and a leap; "Otho"--two -hitches, two steps, and a leap; "Lang spang"--two hitches, two steps, a -hitch, a step, and a leap. - -See "Accroshay," "Knights," "Leap-frog." - - -Lubin - -[Music] - ---Hexham (Miss J. Barker). - -[Music] - ---Doncaster (Mr. C. Bell). - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -[Music] - ---Dorsetshire (Miss M. Kimber). - -[Music] - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - I. Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all the right hands in, - Take all the right hands out, - Shake all the right hands together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your left hands in, - Take all your left hands out, - Shake all your left hands together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your right feet in, - Take all your right feet out, - Shake all your right feet together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your left feet in, - Take all your left feet out, - Shake all your left feet together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your heads in, - Take all your heads out, - Shake all your heads together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all the [Marys] in, - Take all the [Marys] out, - Shake all the [Marys] together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all yourselves in, - Take all yourselves out, - Shake all yourselves together, - And turn yourselves about. - ---Oxford and Wakefield (Miss Fowler). - - II. Now we dance looby, looby, looby, - Now we dance looby, looby, light; - Shake your right hand a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - Shake your right foot a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - Shake your right foot a little, - Shake your left foot a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - Shake your right foot a little, - Shake your left foot a little, - Shake your head a little, - And turn you round about. - ---Halliwell (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 226). - - III. Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Right hands in and left hands out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Left hands in and right hands out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Right foot in and left foot out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Left foot in and right foot out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Heads in and backs out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Backs in and heads out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - A' feet in and nae feet out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Shake hands a', shake hands a', - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Good night a', good night a', - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - ---Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, pp. 137-139). - - IV. This is the way we wash our hands, - Wash our hands, wash our hands, - To come to school in the morning. - - This is the way we wash our face, - Wash our face, wash our face, - To come to school in the morning. - - Here we come dancing looby, - Lewby, lewby, li. - - Hold your right ear in, - Hold your right ear out, - Shake it a little, a little, - And then turn round about. - - Here we come dancing lewby, - Lewby, lewby, li, &c. - ---Eckington, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - - V. How do you luby lue, - How do you luby lue, - How do you luby lue, - O'er the Saturday night? - - Put your right hand in, - Put your right hand out, - Shake it in the middle, - And turn yourselves about. - ---Lady C. Gurdon's Suffolk _County Folk-lore_, p. 64. - -[Repeat this for "left hand," "right foot," "left foot," "heads," and -"put yourselves in."] - - VI. Can you dance looby, looby, - Can you dance looby, looby, - Can you dance looby, looby, - All on a Friday night? - - You put your right foot in, - And then you take it out, - And wag it, and wag it, and wag it, - Then turn and turn about. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - VII. Here we dance luby, luby, - Here we dance luby light, - Here we dance luby, luby, - All on a Wednesday night. - ---Ordsall, Nottinghamshire (Miss Matthews). - - VIII. Here we go lubin loo, - Here we go lubin li, - Here we go lubin loo, - Upon a Christmas night. - ---Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. Bell). - - IX. Here we go looby loo, - Here we go looby li, - Here we go looby loo, - All on a New-Year's night. - ---Nottingham (Miss Winfield). - - X. Here we come looby, looby, - Here we come looby light, - Here we come looby, looby, - All on a Saturday night. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - XI. Here we come looping, looping [louping?], - Looping all the night; - I put my right foot in, - I put my right foot out, - I shake it a little, a little, - And I turn myself about. - ---Hexham (Miss J. Barker). - - XII. Christian was a soldier, - A soldier, a soldier, - Christian was a soldier, and a brave one too. - Right hand in, right hand out, - Shake it in the middle, and turn yourself about. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XIII. Friskee, friskee, I was and I was - A-drinking of small beer. - Right arms in, right arms out, - Shake yourselves a little, and little, - And turn yourselves about. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. p. 49). - - XIV. I love Antimacassar, - Antimacassar loves me. - Put your left foot in, - Put your right foot out, - Shake it a little, a little, a little, - And turn yourself about. - ---Dorsetshire (Miss M. Kimber). - -(_b_) A ring is formed and the children dance round, singing the first -verse. They then stand till, sing the next verse, and, while singing, -suit the action to the word, each child turning herself rapidly round -when singing the last line. The first verse is then repeated, and the -fourth sung in the same way as the second, and so on. - -Another way of playing is that the children do not dance round and -round. They form a ring by joining hands, and they then all move in one -direction, about half way round, while singing the first line, "lubin;" -then back again in the opposite direction, while singing the second -line, "light," still keeping the ring form, and so on for the third and -fourth lines. In each case the emphasis is laid upon the "Here" of each -line, the movement being supposed to answer to the "Here." - -The Dorsetshire version (Miss M. Kimber) is played by the children -taking hands in pairs, forming a ring, and dancing round. At Eckington -(S. O. Addy) the children first pretend to wash their hands, then their -face, while singing the words; then comb their hair and brush their -clothes; then they join hands and dance round in a ring singing the -words which follow, again suiting their actions to the words sung. - -In the Scottish version a ring is formed as above. One sings, and the -rest join, to the tune of "Lillibullero," the first line. As soon as -this is concluded each claps his hand and wheels grotesquely, singing -the second line. They then sing the third line, suiting the action to -the word, still beating the time; then the second again, wheeling round -and clapping hands. When they say "A' feet in, and nae feet out," they -all sit down with their feet stretched into the centre of the ring. - -(_c_) The other variants which follow the Halliwell version are limited -to the first verse only, as the remainder of the lines are practically -the same as those given in Miss Fowler's version which is written at -length, and three or four of these apparently retain only the verse -given. A London version, collected by myself, is nearly identical with -that of Miss Fowler, except that the third line is "Shake your ---- a -little, a little," instead of as printed. This is sung to the tune -given. - -The incidents in this game are the same throughout. The only difference -in all the versions I have collected being in the number of the -different positions to be performed, most of them being for right hands, -left hands, right feet, left feet, and heads; others, probably older -forms, having "ears," "yourselves," &c. One version, from Eckington, -Derbyshire, curiously begins with "washing hands and face," "combing -hair," &c., and then continuing with the "Looby" game, an apparent -"mix-up" of "Mulberry Bush" and "Looby." Three more versions, Sporle, -Cornwall, and Dorsetshire, also have different beginnings, one -(Dorsetshire) having the apparently unmeaning "I love Antimacassar." - -(_d_) The origin and meaning of this game appears somewhat doubtful. It -is a choral dance, and it may owe its origin to a custom of wild antic -dancing in celebration of the rites of some deity in which animal -postures were assumed. The Hexham version, "Here we come louping -[leaping]" may probably be the oldest and original form, especially if -the conjecture that this game is derived from animal rites is accepted. -The term "looby," "lubin," or "luby" does not throw much light on the -game. Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) says, "Looby is an old form of the -modern 'lubber,' a 'clumsy fellow,' 'a dolt.'" That a stupid or -ridiculous meaning is attached to the word "looby" is also shown by one -of the old penances for redeeming a forfeit, where a player has to lie -stretched out on his back and declare, - - Here I lie - The length of a looby, - The breadth of a booby, - And three parts of a jackass. - -The Scottish forms of the game bear on the theory of the game being -grotesque. The fact of the players having both their arms extended at -once, one behind and one in front of them, and the more frequent -spinning round, suggest this. Then, too, there is the sudden "sit down" -posture, when "all feet in" is required. - -In the version given by Halliwell there is more difficulty in the game, -and possibly more fun. This version shows the game to be cumulative, -each player having to go through an additional antic for each verse -sung. This idea only needs to be carried a little further to cause the -players to be ridiculous in their appearance. This version would be more -difficult to perform, and they would be exhausted by the process, and -the constant motion of every member of the body. Attention, too, might -be drawn to the word "Hinkumbooby" occurring in Chambers's version. -Newell (_Games_, p. 131) mentions that some sixty years ago the game was -danced deliberately and decorously, as old fashion was, with slow -rhythmical movement. - - -Lug and a Bite - -A boy flings an apple to some distance. All present race for it. The -winner bites as fast as he can, his compeers _lugging_ at his ears in -the meantime, who bears it as well as he can, and then he throws down -the apple, when the sport is resumed (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). -Brogden's _Lincolnshire Provincial Words_ says "Luggery-bite" is a game -boys play with fruit. One bites the fruit, and another pulls his hair -until he throws the fruit away. The game is also played in Lancashire -(_Reliquary_). - -See "Bob-Cherry." - - -Luggie - -A boys' game. In this game the boys lead each other about by the -"lugs," _i.e._, ears; hence the name (Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_). Jamieson says that the leader had to repeat a rhyme, and if -he made a mistake, he in turn became Luggie. The rhyme is not recorded. - - -Luking - -The West Riding name for "Knor and Spell." Playing begins at -Easter.--Henderson's _Folk-lore_, p. 84. - -See "Nur and Spell." - - -Mag - -A game among boys, in which the players throw at a stone set up on -edge.--Barnes (_Dorset Glossary_). - - -Magic Whistle - -All the players but three sit on chairs, or stand in two long rows -facing each other. One player sits at one end of the two rows as -president; another player is then introduced into the room by the third -player, who leads him up between the two rows. He is then told to kneel -before the one sitting at the end of the row of players. When he kneels -any ridiculous words or formula can be said by the presiding boy, and -then he and those players who are nearest to the kneeling boy rub his -back with their hands for two or three minutes. While they are doing -this the boy who led the victim up to the president fastens a string, to -which is attached a small whistle, to the victim's coat or jacket. It -must be fastened in such a way that the whistle hangs loosely, and will -not knock against his back. The whistle is then blown by the player who -attached it, and the kneeling boy is told to rise and search for the -Magic Whistle. The players who are seated in the chairs must all hold -their hands in such a way that the victim suspects it is in their -possession, and proceeds to search. The whistle must be blown as often -as possible, and in all directions, by those players only who can do so -without the victim being able to either see or feel that he is carrying -the whistle with him.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -This game is also called "Knight of the Whistle." The boy who is to be -made a Knight of the Order of the Whistle, when led up between the two -rows of players, has a cloak put round his shoulders and a cap with a -feather in it on his head. The whistle is then fastened on to the cloak. -This is described by the Rev. J. G. Wood (_Modern Playmate_, p. 189). -Newell (_Games_, p. 122) gives this with a jesting formula of initiation -into knighthood. He says it was not a game of children, but belonged to -an older age. - -See "Call-the-Guse." - - -Magical Music - -A pleasant drawing-room evening amusement.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - -Probably the same as "Musical Chairs." - - -Malaga, Malaga Raisins - -A forfeit game. The players sat in a circle. One acquainted with the -trick took a poker in his right hand, made some eccentric movements with -it, passed it to his left, and gave it to his next neighbour on that -side, saying, "Malaga, Malaga raisins, very good raisins I vow," and -told him to do the same. Should he fail to pass it from right to left, -when he in his turn gave it to his neighbour, without being told where -the mistake lay, he was made to pay a forfeit.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 50). - -"Malaga raisins are very good raisins, but I like Valencias better," is -the saying used in the London version of this game, and instead of using -a poker a paper-knife is used, and it is played at the table. Other -formulæ for games of this kind are, "As round as the moon, has two eyes, -a nose, and a mouth." These words are said while drawing on a table with -the forefinger of the _left_ hand an imaginary face, making eyes, nose, -and mouth when saying the words. The fun is caused through those players -who are unacquainted with the game drawing the imaginary face with the -right hand instead of the left. Another formula is to touch each finger -of the right hand with the forefinger of the left hand, saying to each -finger in succession, "Big Tom, Little Tom, Tommy, Tom, Tom." The secret -in this case is to say, "Look here!" before commencing the formula. It -is the business of those players who know the game to say the words in -such a way that the uninitiated imagine the saying of the words -correctly with particular accents on particular words to be where the -difficulty lies. If this is well done, it diverts suspicion from the -real object of these games.--A. B. Gomme. - - -Marbles - -Brand considers that marbles had their origin in bowls, and received -their name from the substance of which the bowls were formerly made. -Strutt (_Sports_, p. 384) says, "Marbles have been used as a substitute -for bowls. I believe originally nuts, round stones, or any other small -things that could easily be bowled along were used as marbles." Rogers -notices "Marbles" in his _Pleasures of Memory_, l. 137:-- - - "On yon gray stone that fronts the chancel-door, - Worn smooth by busy feet, now seen no more, - Each eve we shot the marble through the ring." - -Different kinds of marbles are alleys, barios, poppo, stonies. -Marrididdles are marbles made by oneself by rolling and baking common -clay. By boys these are treated as spurious and are always rejected. In -barter, a bary = four stonies; a common white alley = three stonies. -Those with pink veins being considered best. Alleys are the most -valuable and are always reserved to be used as "taws" (the marble -actually used by the player). They are said to have been formerly made -of different coloured alabaster. See also Murray's _New English Dict._ - -For the different games played with marbles, see "Boss Out," -"Bridgeboard," "Bun-hole," "Cob," "Hogo," "Holy Bang," "Hundreds," -"Lag," "Long-Tawl," "Nine Holes," "Ring Taw." - - -Mary Brown - - I. Here we go round, ring by ring, - To see poor Mary lay in the ring; - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear mother go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise [from off the ground], - To see my poor mother go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear father go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise [from off the ground], - To see my dear father go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear sister go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise from off the ground, - To see my dear sister go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear brother go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise up from off the ground, - To see my dear brother go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear sweetheart go through the town. - - I will rise, I will rise up from off the ground, - To see my dear sweetheart go through the town. - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - II. Rise up, rise up, Betsy Brown, - To see your father go through the town. - - I won't rise up upon my feet, - To see my father go through the street. - - Rise up, rise up, Betsy Brown, - To see your mother go through the town. - - I won't rise up upon my feet, - To see my mother go through the street. - -[Then follow verses for sister, brother, and lover. When this last is -sung, she says--] - - I will rise up upon my feet, - To see my lover go through the street. - ---Ninfield, Sussex, about sixty years ago (Charles Wise). - - III. Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your dear mother lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my dear mother lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your poor father lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my poor father lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your dear sister lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my poor sister lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your poor brother lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my poor brother lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your dear sweetheart lie dead at your feet. - - I will rise, I will rise off of my poor feet, - To see my dear sweetheart lie dead at my feet. - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - IV. Rise daughter, rise daughter, - Rise from off your knees, - To see your poor father lie - Down at yonder trees. - - I won't rise, I won't rise, - From off my knees, - To see my poor father lie - Down at yonder trees. - -[The verses are then repeated for mother, sister, brother, and -sweetheart. When this is said the girl sings--] - - I will rise, I will rise, - From off my knees, - To see my sweetheart lie - Down at yonder trees. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - V. Here we all stand round the ring, - And now we shut poor Mary in; - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - And see your poor mother go through the town. - -[Then follow verses the same as in the Barnes version, No. 1, and -then--] - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see the poor beggars go through the town. - - I will not stand up upon my feet - To see the poor beggars go through the street. - -[Two other verses are sometimes added, introducing gentleman and ladies. -All versions, however, conclude with the girl saying--] - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - And see your poor sweetheart go through the town. - - I will get up upon my feet, - To see my sweetheart go through the street. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 218. - -(_b_) The children form a ring, one child laying or kneeling down in the -centre. The ring sing the first, third, fifth, and alternate verses; the -girl in the middle answers with the second, fourth, and so on -alternately. At the last verse the girl jumps up and breaks through the -ring by force; another girl takes her place in the ring, and the game -begins again. The Sussex version of "Mary Brown" (Chas. Wise) is played -by the children standing in line and advancing and retiring towards the -lying or kneeling child. The Barnes version of "Rise, Daughter" is also -played in this way. The "daughter" lays down, and at the end of the game -joins the line, and another lays down. In the Hurstmonceux version, when -the last verse is sung, the girl in the middle rises and picks a boy out -of the ring; he goes in the middle with her, and they kiss. The version -given by Halliwell is played in the same way as the Barnes version. - -(_c_) Halliwell (_Game Rhymes_, p. 219) gives a version of a Swedish -ballad or ring dance-song, entitled "Fair Gundela," he considers this -may be a prototype of the English game, or that they may both be -indebted to a more primitive original. The Swedish game rather gives the -idea of a maiden who has sought supernatural assistance from a wise -woman, or witch, to ask after the fate of those dear to her, and the -English versions may also be dramatic renderings of a ballad of this -character. Mr. Jacobs' _More English Fairy Tales_, p. 221, considers -this game to have originated from the Tale of the "Golden Ball." - - -Mary mixed a Pudding up - - Mary mixed a pudding up, - She mixed it very sweet, - She daren't stick a knife in - Till John came home at neet [ = night]. - Taste John, taste John, don't say nay, - Perhaps to-morrow morning will be our wedding-day. - - The bells shall ring and we shall sing, - And all clap hands together (round the ring). - - Up the lane and down, - It's slippery as a glass, - If we go to Mrs. ---- - We'll find a nice young lass. - Mary with the rosy cheeks, - Catch her if you can; - And if you cannot catch her, - We'll tell you her young man. - ---Hanging Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -A ring is formed by the children joining hands, one child in the centre. -The first verse is sang. Two children from the ring go to the one in the -centre and _ask_ her who is her love, or as they say here [Yorks.], "who -she goes with;" after that the rest is sung. - -See "All the Boys." - - -Merrils - -See "Nine Men's Morris." - - -Merritot, or the Swing - -This sport, which is sometimes called "Shuggy-shew" in the North of -England, is described as follows by Gay:-- - - "On two near elms the slackened cord I hung, - Now high, now low, my Blouzalinda swung." - -So Rogers, in the _Pleasures of Memory_, l. 77:-- - - "Soar'd in the swing, half pleas'd and half afraid, - Through sister elms that wav'd their summer shade." - -Speght, in his _Glossary_, says, "'Meritot,' a sport used by children by -swinging themselves in bell-ropes, or such like, till they are giddy." -In _Mercurialis de Arte Gymnastica_, p. 216, there is an engraving of -this exercise. - -Halliwell quotes from a MS. _Yorkshire Glossary_, as -follows:--"'Merrytrotter,' a rope fastened at each end to a beam or -branch of a tree, making a curve at the bottom near the floor or ground -in which a child can sit, and holding fast by each side of the rope, is -swung backwards and forwards." - -Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) calls "Merrytotter" the game of -"See-saw," and notes that the antiquity of the game is shown by its -insertion in Pynson, "Myry totir, child's game, oscillum." - -Chaucer probably alludes to it in the following lines of the _Miller's -Tale_-- - - "What eileth you? some gay girle (God it wote) - Hath brought you thus on the merry tote." - - -Merry-ma-tansa - -[Music] - ---Biggar (Wm. Ballantyne). - - I. Here we go round by jingo-ring, - Jingo-ring, and jingo-ring, - Here we go round by jingo-ring, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Come name the lad you like the best, - Like the best, like the best, - Come name the lad you like the best, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Guess ye wha's the young gudeman, - The young gudeman, the young gudeman, - Come guess ye wha's the young gudeman - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Honey's sweet and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Honey's sweet and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - -[Or-- - - Crab-apples are sour and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Crab-apples are sour and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansa.] - - Can she bake and can she brew? - Can she shape and can she sew, - 'Boot a house can a' things do? - About the merry-ma-tansa? - - She can bake and she can brew, - She can shape and she can sew, - 'Boot a house can a' things do, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - This is the way to wash the clothes, - Wash the clothes, wash the clothes, - This is the way to wash the clothes, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - -[Then follows verses for wringing clothes, ironing, baking bread, -washing hands, face, combing hair, washing and sweeping the house, and a -number of other things done in housekeeping. The boy then presents the -girl with a ring, and they all sing--] - - Now she's married in a goud ring, - A gay goud ring, a gay goud ring, - Now she's married in a goud ring, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - A gay goud ring is a dangerous thing, - A cankerous thing, a cankerous thing, - A gay goud ring is a dangerous thing, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Now they're married we wish them joy, - Wish them joy, wish them joy, - Now they're married we wish them joy, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Father and mother they must obey, - Must obey, must obey, - Father and mother they must obey, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Loving each other like sister and brother, - Sister and brother, sister and brother, - Loving each other like sister and brother, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - We pray this couple may kiss thegither, - Kiss thegither, kiss thegither, - We pray this couple may kiss thegither, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - -[If any lad was left without a partner, the ring sing--] - - Here's a silly auld man left alone, - Left alone, left alone, - He wants a wife and can't get none, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - ---Biggar (William Ballantyne). - - II. Here we go the jingo-ring, - The jingo-ring, the jingo-ring, - Here we go the jingo-ring, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Twice about, and then we fa', - Then we fa', then we fa', - Twice about, and then we fa', - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Guess ye wha's the young goodman, - The young goodman, the young goodman, - Guess ye wha's the young goodman, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Honey is sweet, and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Honey is sweet, and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - -[Or-- - - Apples are sour, and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Apples are sour, and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansie.] - - He's married wi' a gay gold ring, - A gay gold ring, a gay gold ring, - He's married wi' a gay gold ring, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - A gay gold ring's a cankerous thing, - A cankerous thing, a cankerous thing, - A gay gold ring's a cankerous thing, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Now they're married, I wish them joy, - I wish them joy, I wish them joy, - Now they're married, I wish them joy, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Father and mother they must obey, - Must obey, must obey, - Father and mother they must obey, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Loving each other like sister and brother, - Sister and brother, sister and brother, - Loving each other like sister and brother, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - We pray this couple may kiss together, - Kiss together, kiss together, - We pray this couple may kiss together, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 132-134. - -(_b_) At Biggar (Mr. Ballantyne) this game was generally played on the -green by boys and girls. A ring is formed by all the children but one, -joining hands. The one child stands in the centre. The ring of children -dance round the way of the sun, first slowly and then more rapidly. -First all the children in the ring bow to the one in the centre, and she -bows back. Then they dance round singing the first and second verses, -the second verse being addressed to the child in the centre. She then -whispers a boy's name to one in the ring. This girl then sings the third -verse. None in the ring are supposed to be able to answer, and the name -of the chosen boy is then said aloud by the girl who asked the question. -If the name is satisfactory the ring sing the fourth verse, and the two -players then retire and walk round a little. If the name given is not -satisfactory the ring sing the fifth verse, and another child must be -chosen. When the two again stand in the centre the boys sing the sixth -verse. The girls answer with the seventh. Then all the ring sing the -next verses, imitating washing clothes, wringing, ironing, baking bread, -washing hands, combing hair, &c., suiting their actions to the words of -the verses sung. The boy who was chosen then presents a ring, usually a -blade of grass wrapped round her finger, to the girl. The ring then sing -the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth verses. When all have chosen, if -any lad is left without a partner, the last verse is sung. - -The version recorded by Chambers is similar in action, but there are -some important differences in detail. The centre child acts as mistress -of the ceremonies. The ring of children dance round her, singing the -verses. At the end of the first line of the second verse they all -courtesy to her, and she returns the compliment. At the conclusion of -this verse she selects a girl from the ring and asks her her -sweetheart's name, which is imparted in a whisper. Upon this the child -in the centre sings the third verse, the ring dancing round as before. -If the ring approves her choice, they sing the fourth verse as in the -Biggar version, and if they disapprove, the fifth. Chambers does not say -whether another child is selected, if this is the case; but it is -probable, as he says, the marriage is finally concluded upon and -effected by the ring singing the verses which follow. When singing the -first line of the eighth verse all the ring unclasps hands for a moment, -and each child performs a pirouette, clapping her hands above her head. - -(_c_) It seems very clear from both the versions given that this is a -ceremonial dance, round or at a place sacred to such ceremonies as -betrothal and marriage. The version given by Chambers suggests this the -more strongly, as the child in the centre acts as mistress of the -ceremonies, or "go-between," the person who was the negotiator between -the parents on either side in bringing a marriage about. The courtesying -and bowing of those in the ring to her may show respect for this office. -On the other hand, there is the more important office of priest or -priestess of "the stones" suggested by the action of the game, and the -reverence to the centre child may be a relic of this. The fact that she -asks a girl to tell her her sweetheart's name, and then announces the -name of the girl's choice for approval or disapproval by the ring in -both versions, points to the time when consent by relations and friends -on both sides was necessary before the marriage could be agreed -upon--the inquiry regarding the qualifications of the proposed wife, the -recital of her housewifely abilities, and the giving of the ring by the -boy to the girl are also betrothal customs. It is to be noted that it -was a popular belief in ancient times that to wed with a rush-ring was a -legal marriage, without the intervention of a priest or the ceremonies -of marriage. Poore, Bishop of Salisbury (circa 1217), prohibited the use -of them-- - - "With gaudy girlonds or fresh flowers dight - About her necke, or rings of rushes plight." - ---Spenser's _Queen_. - -And Shakespeare alludes to the custom in the lines--"As fit as ten -groats for the hand of an attorney, as Tib's rush for Tom's -forefinger."--_All's Well that Ends Well._ The rejoicing and bestowal of -the blessing by the ring of friends give an almost complete picture of -early Scotch marriage custom. A version of this game, which appeared in -the _Weekly Scotsman_ of October 16, 1893, by Edgar L. Wakeman, is -interesting, as it confirms the above idea, and adds one or two details -which may be important, _i.e._, the "choose your maidens one by one," -and "sweep the house till the bride comes home." This game is called the -"Gala Ship," and the girls, forming a ring, march round singing-- - - Three times round goes the gala, gala ship, - And three times round goes she; - Three times round goes the gala, gala ship, - And sinks to the bottom of the sea. - -They repeat this thrice, courtesying low. The first to courtesy is -placed in the centre of the circle, when the others sing:-- - - Choose your maidens one by one, - One by one, one by one; - Choose your maidens one by one-- - And down goes (all courtesy) - Merrima Tansa! - -She chooses her maidens. They take her to a distance, when she is -secretly told the name of her lover. The remainder of the girls imitate -sweeping, and sing several stanzas to the effect that they will "sweep -the house till the bride comes home," when the bride is now placed -within the circle, and from a score to a hundred stanzas, with marching -and various imitations of what the lucky bride accomplishes or -undergoes, are sung. Each one closes with "Down goes Merrima Tansa" and -the head-ducking; and this wonderful music-drama of childhood is not -concluded until the christening of the bride's first-born, with-- - - Next Sunday morn to church she must gae, - A babe on her knee, the best of 'a-- - And down goes Merrima Tansa! - -Jamieson gives the game as a ring within which one goes round with a -handkerchief, with which a stroke is given in succession to every one in -the ring; the person who strikes, or the taker, still repeating this -rhyme:-- - - Here I gae round the jingie ring, - The jingie ring, the jingie ring, - Here I gae round the jingie ring, - And through my merry-ma-tanzie. - -Then the handkerchief is thrown at one in the ring, who is obliged to -take it up and go through the same process. He also mentions another -account of the game which had been sent him, which describes the game as -played in a similar manner to the versions given by Chambers. - -Stewart, in his _Ben Nevis and Glencoe_, p. 361, records the following -rhyme:-- - - Here we go with merry shout, - Up and down and round about, - And dance a merry-ma-tandy, - -but he does not describe the game in detail. - - -Milking Pails - -[Music] - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy); London (A. B. Gomme). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - I. Mary's gone a-milking, - Mother, mother, - Mary's gone a-milking, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Take your pails and go after her, - Daughter, daughter, - Take your pails and go after her, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine. - - Buy me a pair of new milking pails, - Mother, mother, - Buy me a pair of new milking pails, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Where's the money to come from, - Daughter, daughter, - Where's the money to come from, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Sell my father's feather bed, - Mother, mother, - Sell my father's feather bed, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What's your father to sleep on, - Daughter, daughter, - What's your father to sleep on, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Put him in the truckle bed, - Mother, mother, - Put him in the truckle bed, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What are the children to sleep on, - Daughter, daughter, - What are the children to sleep on, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Put them in the pig-sty, - Mother, mother, - Put them in the pig-sty, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What are the pigs to lie in, - Daughter, daughter, - What are the pigs to lie in, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Put them in the washing-tubs, - Mother, mother, - Put them in the washing-tubs, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What am I to wash in, - Daughter, daughter, - What am I to wash in, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Wash in the thimble, - Mother, mother, - Wash in the thimble, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Thimble won't hold your father's shirt, - Daughter, daughter, - Thimble won't hold your father's shirt, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine. - - Wash in the river, - Mother, mother, - Wash in the river, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Suppose the clothes should blow away, - Daughter, daughter, - Suppose the clothes should blow away, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Set a man to watch them, - Mother, mother, - Set a man to watch them, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Suppose the man should go to sleep, - Daughter, daughter, - Suppose the man should go to sleep, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Take a boat and go after them, - Mother, mother, - Take a boat and go after them, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Suppose the boat should be upset, - Daughter, daughter, - Suppose the boat should be upset, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Then that would be an end of you, - Mother, mother, - Then that would be an end of you, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - ---London Nursemaid, 1876 (A. B. Gomme). - - II. Mary's gone a-milking, a-milking, a-milking, - Mary's gone a-milking, mother, dear mother of mine. - - Where did she get her money from, daughter, daughter? - Where did she get her money from, daughter, dear daughter - of mine? - -[Then follow verses sung in the same manner, beginning with the -following lines--] - - Sold her father's feather bed, feather bed. - What will your father lie on, lie on? - Lay him in the pig-sty, pig-sty. - Where will the pigs lie, daughter? - Lay them in the wash-tub, mother. - What shall I wash in, wash in? - Wash in a thimble, mother. - A thimble won't hold my night-cap. - Wash by the sea-side, mother. - Suppose the clothes should blow away? - Get a boat and go after them, mother. - But suppose the boat should turn over? - Then that would be an end of you, mother. - ---Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 169). - - III. Mother, please buy me a milking-can, - A milking-can, a milking-can! - Mother, please buy me a milking-can, - With a humpty-dumpty-daisy! - -[Then follow verses sung in the same manner, beginning--] - - Where's the money to come from, to come from? - Sell my father's feather bed. - Where's your father going to lie? - Lie on the footman's bed. - Where's the footman going to lie? - Lie in the cowshed. - Where's the cows going to lie? - Lie in the pig-sty. - Where's the pig going to lie? - Lie in the dolly-tub. - And what am I to wash in? - Wash in a thimble. - A thimble wunna hold a cap. - Wash in an egg-shell. - An egg-shell wunna hold a shirt. - Wash by the river-side. - Suppose the clothes should float away? - Get a boat and fetch them back. - Suppose the boat should overthrow? - Serve you right for going after them! - ---Berrington, Oswestry, Chirbury (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. -515). - - IV. Mother, will you buy me a milking-can, - A milking-can, a milking-can? - Mother, will you buy me a milking-can, - To me, I, O, OM? - - Where's the money to buy it with, - To buy it with, to buy it with, - Where's the money to buy it with, - To me, I, O, OM? - -[Then the following verses--] - - Sell my father's feather bed. - Where will your father sleep? - My father can sleep in the boys' bed. - Where will the boys sleep? - The boys can sleep in the pig-sty. - Where will the pigs sleep? - The pigs can sleep in the wash-tub. - Where shall I wash my clothes? - You can wash them in a thimble. - A thimble is not large enough. - You can wash them in an egg-shell. - An egg-shell would not hold them. - You can wash them by the river side. - But what if I should fall in? - We'll get a rope and pull you out, - To me, I, O, OM. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - - V. Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, - Two milking-pails, two milking-pails, - Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, - O sweet mother o' mine. - -[Then verses beginning with the following lines--] - - Where shall I get my money from, - O sweet daughter o' mine? - - Sell my father's feather beds. - Where shall your father sleep? - Sleep in the servant's bed. - Where shall the servant sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - Where shall I wash the clothes? - Wash them in the river. - Suppose the clothes float away? - Take a boat and go after them. - Suppose the boat upsets? - Then you will be drownded. - ---London (Miss Dendy). - - VI. Mother, come buy me a milking-can, - Milking-can, milking-can, - Mother, come buy me a milking-can, - O mother o' mine. - - Where can I have my money from, - O daughter o' mine? - - Sell my father's bedsteads. - Where must your father sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - Where must the pig sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - What must I wash in? - Wash in your thimble. - What must I sew with? - Sew with your finger. - What will you say if I prick me? - Serve you right, serve you right. - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - VII. Mother, will you buy me a pair of milking-cans, - Milking-cans, milking-cans, - Mother, will you buy me a pair of milking-cans, - O gentle mother of mine? - - But where shall I get the money from? - Sell my father's feather bed. - But where, O where, will your father lie? - Father can lie in the girls' bed. - But where, O where, shall the girls then lie? - The girls can lie in the boys' bed. - But where, O where, shall the boys lie? - The boys may lie in the pig-sty. - Then where, O where, will the pigs lie? - The pigs may lie in the washing-tub. - Then where, O where, shall we wash our clothes? - We can wash by the river side. - The tide will wash the clothes away. - Get the prop and follow them. - ---Sheffield (Miss Lucy Garnett). - - VIII. Mother, buy some milking-cans, - Milking-cans, milking-cans. - - Where must our money come from? - Sell our father's feather bed. - -[This goes on for many more verses, articles of furniture being -mentioned in each succeeding verse.] - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - IX. Buy me a milking-pail, my dear mother. - Where's the money to come from, my dear daughter? - Sell father's feather bed. - Where could your father sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - What's the pigs to sleep in? - Put them in the washing-tub. - What could I wash the clothes in? - Wash them in your thimble. - Thimble isn't big enough for baby's napkin. - Wash them in a saucer. - A saucer isn't big enough for father's shirt. - Wash by the river side, wash by the river side. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss Chase). - - X. Please, mother, buy me a milking-can, - Milking-can, milking-can, - Please, mother, buy me a milking-can, - My dear mother. - - Where can I get the money from? - Sell father's feather bed. - Where shall your father sleep? - Sleep in the boys' bed. - Where shall the boys sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - Where shall the pigs sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - What shall I wash with? - Wash in an egg-shell. - The egg-shell will break. - Wash in a thimble. - Thimble's not big enough. - Wash by the river side. - Suppose the things should float away? - Get a boat and go after them. - Suppose the boat should be upset? - Then you'll be drowned, - Drowned, drowned, - Then you'll be drowned, - And a good job too. - ---Enborne, Berks. (Miss M. Kimber). - - XI. Please, mother, buy me a milk-can, - A milk-can, a milk-can, - Please, mother, do. - - Where's the money coming from, - Coming from, coming from, - What shall I do? - - Sell father's feather bed, - Feather bed, feather bed, - Please mother, do. - - Where shall the father sleep? - Sleep in the servants' bed. - Where shall the servants sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - Where shall the pig sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - What shall I wash in? - Wash in a thimble. - The shirts won't go in. - Wash by the river side. - Supposing if I fall in? - Good job too! - ---Hartley Wintney, Winchfield, Hants (H. S. May). - - XII. Mother, buy the milk-pail, mother, dear mother of mine. - Where's the money to come from, children, dear children of - mine? - Sell father's feather bed, mother, dear mother of mine. - Where's your father to sleep in? - Father can sleep in the servant's bed. - Where's the servant to sleep in? - Servant can sleep in the pig-sty. - Where's the pig to sleep in? - The pig can sleep in the wash-tub. - Where shall we wash our clothes? - Wash our clothes at the sea-side. - If our clothes should swim away? - Then take a boat and go after them. - O what should we do if the boat should sink? - O then we should all of us be at an end. - ---Swaffham, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XIII. We want to buy a wash-pan, wash-pan, wash-pan, - We want to buy a wash-pan, early in the morning. - - Where will you get the money from, money from, money from? - We'll sell my father's feather bed, feather bed, feather bed. - Where will your father sleep? - Father'll sleep in the boys' bed. - Where will the boys sleep? - Boys will sleep in the girls' bed. - Where will the girls sleep? - Girls will sleep in the pig-sty. - Where will the pigs sleep? - Pigs will sleep in the washing-pan. - ---Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith) - - XIV. Mother, may I buy some male-scales, mother, mother? - Mother, may I buy some male-scales, gentle mother of mine? - Where will the money come from, daughter, daughter? - Sell my father's feather bed, mother, mother. - Where will your father lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the boys' bed, mother, mother. - Where will the boys lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the servants' bed, mother, mother. - Where will the servants lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the pig-sty, mother, mother. - Where will the pigs lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the washing-tub, mother, mother. - Where will we wash our clothes, daughter, daughter? - Wash them at the sea-side, mother, mother. - Suppose the clothes should float away, daughter, daughter? - Take a boat and bring them in, mother, mother. - Suppose the boat would go too slow, daughter, daughter? - Take a steamboat and bring them in, mother, mother. - Suppose the steamboat would go too fast, daughter, daughter? - Then take a rope and hang yourself, mother, mother. - ---South Shields (Miss Blair, aged 9). - -(_b_) One child stands apart and personates the Mother. The other -children form a line, holding hands and facing the Mother. They advance -and retire singing the first, third, and alternate verses, while the -Mother, in response, sings the second and alternate verses. While the -last verse is being sung the children all run off; the Mother runs after -them, catches them, and beats them. Either the first or last caught -becomes Mother in next game. In the Shropshire game the Mother should -carry a stick. In the Norfolk version the Mother sits on a form or bank, -the other children advancing and retiring as they sing. After the last -verse is sung the children try to seat themselves on the form or bank -where the Mother has been sitting. If they can thus get home without the -Mother catching them they are safe. The Kentish game is played with two -lines of children advancing and retiring. This was also the way in which -the London version (A. B. Gomme) was played. In the version sent by Mr. -H. S. May a ring is formed by the children joining hands. One child -stands in the centre--she represents the Mother. The ring of children -say the first, third, and every alternate verse. The child in the centre -says the second, fourth, and alternate verses, and the game is played as -above, except that when the Mother has said the last verse the children -call out, "Good job, too," and run off, the Mother chasing them as -above. The game does not appear to be sung. - -(_c_) This game is somewhat of a cumulative story, having for its finish -the making angry and tormenting of a mother. All the versions point to -this. One interesting point, that of milk-pails, is, it will be seen, -gradually losing ground in the rhymes. Milk-pails were pails of wood -suspended from a yoke worn on the milkmaid's shoulders, and these have -been giving place to present-day milk-cans. Consequently we find in the -rhymes only four versions in which milk-pails are used. In two versions -even the sense of milking-can has been lost, and the South Shields -version, sent me by little Miss Blair, has degenerated into -"male-scales," a thoroughly meaningless phrase. The Cowes version (Miss -Smith) has arrived at "wash-pan." The "burden" of the Chirbury version -is "a rea, a ria, a roses," and the Sheffield version is also -remarkable: the "I, O, OM" refers, probably, to something now forgotten, -or it may be the "Hi, Ho, Ham!" familiar in many nursery rhymes. The -game seems to point to a period some time back, when milking was an -important phase of the daily life, or perhaps to the time when it was -customary for the maids and women of a village to go to the hilly -districts with the cows (summer shealings) for a certain period of time. -The references to domestic life are interesting. The scarcity of beds, -the best or feather bed, and the children's bed, seeming to be all those -available. The feather bed is still a valued piece of household -furniture, and is considered somewhat of the nature of a heirloom, -feather beds often descending from mother to daughter for some -generations. I have been told instances of this. Gregor, in _Folk-lore -of East of Scotland_, p. 52, describes the Scottish box-bed. The -"truckle bed" and "footman's bed" probably refers to the small bed under -a large one, which was only pulled out at night for use, and pushed -under during the day. Illustrations of these beds and the children's bed -are given in old tales. The proximity of the pig-sty to the house is -manifest. The mention of washing-tubs calls to mind the large wooden -tubs formerly always used for the family wash. Before the era of -laundresses washing-tubs must have constituted an important part of the -family plenishing. Washing in the rivers and streams was also a thing of -frequent occurrence, hot water for the purpose of cleansing clothes not -being considered necessary, or in many cases desirable. Chambers gives a -version of the game (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 36) and also Newell (_Games_, -p. 166). Another version from Buckingham is given by Thomas Baker in the -_Midland Garner_, 1st ser., ii. 32, in which the mother desires the -daughter to "milk in the washing-tub," and the words also appear very -curiously tacked on to the "Three Dukes a-riding" game from Berkshire -(_Antiquary_, xxvii. 195), where they are very much out of place. - - -Mineral, Animal, and Vegetable - -A ball is thrown by one player to any one of the others. The thrower -calls out at the same time either "mineral," "animal," or "vegetable," -and counts from one to ten rather quickly. If the player who is touched -by the ball does not name something belonging to that kingdom called -before the number ten is reached, a forfeit has to be paid.--London (A. -B. Gomme). - -This is more usually called "Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral." See "Air, -Fire, and Water." - - -Minister's Cat - -The first player begins by saying, "The minister's cat is an ambitious -cat," the next player "an artful cat," and so on, until they have all -named an adjective beginning with A. The next time of going round the -adjectives must begin with B, the next time C, and so on, until the -whole of the alphabet has been gone through.--Forest of Dean, -Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews); Anderby, Lincolnshire (Miss Peacock). - -This is apparently the same game as the well-known "I love my love with -an A because she is amiable." In this game every player has to repeat -the same sentence, but using a different adjective, which adjective must -begin with the letter A. Various sentences follow. At the next round the -adjectives all begin with B; the next C, until a small story has been -built up. Forfeits were exacted for every failure or mistake. The -formula usually was-- - -I love my love with an A because she is ( ). I hate her with an -A because she is ( ). I took her to the sign of the ( ), and -treated her to ( ). The result was ( ). - - -Mollish's Land - -Cornish name for "Tom Tiddler's Ground."--_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57. - - -Monday, Tuesday - -A game played with a ball. There are seven players, who each take a name -from one of the days of the week. One (Sunday) begins by throwing the -ball against a wall, calling out at the same time the name of one of the -days, who has to run and catch it before it falls. If this one fails to -catch the ball, the first player picks up the ball and tries to hit one -of the six with it, who all endeavour to escape being hit. If the player -succeeds, he again throws the ball against the wall, calling out another -day of the week to catch it. If a player gets hit three times, he is -out. The winner is he who has either not been hit at all or the fewest -times, or who has been able to stay in the longest. The same game is -played with twelve children, who are named after the twelve months of -the year.--London and Barnes (A. B. Gomme); _Strand Magazine_, ii. 519 -(F. H. Low). - -This game belongs apparently to the ball games used for purposes of -divination. Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 181) describes a similar game to -this, in which the player whose name is called drops the ball; he must -pick it up as quickly as possible while the rest scatter. He then calls -"Stand!" upon which the players halt, and he flings it at whom he -pleases. If he misses his aim, he must place himself in a bent position -with his hands against a wall until every player has taken a shot at -him. The idea of naming children after the days of the week occurs also -in the games of "Gipsy," "Witch," and "Mother, Mother, the Pot boils -over." - -See "Ball," "Burly Whush," "Keppy Ball." - - -Moolie Pudding - -The game of "Deadelie;" one has to run with the hands locked and "taen" -the others.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -See "Chickidy Hand," "Deadelie," "Hunt the Staigie," "Whiddy." - - -More Sacks to the Mill - -A very rough game, mentioned in Dean Miles' MS., p. 180 (Halliwell's -_Dictionary_). Lowsley (_Berkshire Glossary_) says this is "a favourite -game with children at Christmas-time, when wishing for one of a romping -character," but he does not describe it further. Northall (_English Folk -Rhymes_, p. 354) says that in Warwickshire and Staffordshire boys -torture an unfortunate victim by throwing him on the ground and falling -atop of him, yelling out the formula, "Bags to [on] the mill." This -summons calls up other lads, and they add their weight. - - -Mother, may I go out to Play? - - I. Mother, may I go out to play? - No, my child, it's such a wet day. - Look how the sun shines, mother. - Well, make three round curtseys and be off away. - [Child goes, returns, knocks at door. Mother says, "Come - in."] - What have you been doing all this time? - Brushing Jenny's hair and combing Jenny's hair. - What did her mother give you for your trouble? - A silver penny. - Where's my share of it? - Cat ran away with it. - Where's the cat? - In the wood. - Where's the wood? - Fire burnt it. - Where's the fire? - Moo-cow drank it. - Where's the moo-cow? - Butcher killed it. - Where's the butcher? - Eating nuts behind the door, and you may have the nutshells. - ---London (Miss Dendy, from a maid-servant). - - II. Please, mother, may I go a-maying? - Why, daughter, why? - Because it is my sister's birthday. - Make three pretty curtseys and walk away. - Where is your may? - I met puss, and puss met me, and puss took all my may away. - Where is puss? - Run up the wood. - Where is the wood? - Fire burnt it. - Where is the fire? - Water quenched it. - Where is the water? - Ducks have drunk it. - Where are the ducks? - Butcher killed them. - Where is the butcher? - Behind the churchyard, cracking nuts, and leaving you the - shells. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - III. Please, mother, may we go out to play? - Yes, if you don't frighten the chickens. - No, mother, we won't frighten the chickens. - [They all go out and say, "Hush! hush!" to pretended - chickens.] - Where have you been? - To grandmother's. - What for? - To go on an errand. - What did you get? - Some plums. - What did you do with them? - Made a plum-pudding. - What did she give you? - A penny. - What did you do with it? - Bought a calf. - What did you do with it? - Sold it. - What did you do with the money? - Gave it to the butcher, and he gave me a penny back, and I - bought some nuts with it. - What did you do with them? - Gave them to the butcher, and he's behind the churchyard - cracking them, and leaving you the shells. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - IV. Mother, mother, may I go to play? - No, daughter, no! for fear you should stay. - Only as far as the garden gate, to gather flowers for my - wedding day. - Make a fine curtsey and go your way. - [They all curtsey and scamper off, and proceed to plan some - mischief. Then they return.] - Now where have you been? - Up to Uncle John's. - What for? - Half a loaf, half a cheese, and half a pound of butter. - Where's my share? - Up in cupboard. - 'Tisn't there, then! - Then the cat eat it. - And where's the cat? - Up on the wood [_i.e._, the faggots]. - And where's the wood? - Fire burnt it. - Where's the fire? - Water douted it [_i.e._, put it out]. - Where's the water? - Ox drank it. - Where's the ox? - Butcher killed it. - And where's the butcher? - Behind the door cracking nuts, and you may eat the shells of - them if you like. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 219). - - V. Please may I go out to play? - How long will you stay? - Three hours in a day. - Will you come when I call you? - No. - Will you come when I fetch you? - Yes. - Make then your curtseys and be off. - -The girls then scamper off as before, and as they run about the field -keep calling out, "I won't go home till seven o'clock, I won't go home -till seven o'clock." After they have been running about for some five or -ten minutes the Mother calls Alice (or whatever the name may be) to come -home, when the one addressed will run all the faster, crying louder than -before, "I won't go home till seven o'clock." Then the Mother commences -to chase them until she catches them, and when she gets them to any -particular place in the field where the others are playing, she says-- - - Where have you been? - Up to grandmother's. - What have you done that you have been away so long? - I have cleaned the grate and dusted the room. - What did she give you? - A piece of bread and cheese so big as a house, and a piece of - plum cake so big as a mouse. - Where's my share? - Up in higher cupboard. - It's not there. - Up in lower cupboard. - It's not there. - Then the cat have eat it. - Where's the cat? - Up in heath. - Where's the heath? - The fire burnt it. - -[The rest is the same as in the last version, p. 393.] - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 221-222). - - VI. Mother, mother, may I (or we) go out to play? - No, child! no, child! not for the day. - Why, mother? why, mother? I won't stay long. - Make three pretty courtesies, and away begone. - One for mammy, one for daddy, one for Uncle John. - Where, child! where, child! have you been all the day? - Up to granny's. - What have you been doing there? - -[The answer to this is often, "Washing doll's clothes," but anything may -be mentioned.] - - What did she give you? - -[The reply is again left to the child's fancy.] - - Where's my share? - The cat ate it [or, In the cat's belly]. What's in that box, - mother? - Twopence, my child. - What for, mother? - To buy a stick to beat you, and a rope to hang you, my child. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 55, 56). - - VII. Grandmother, grandmother grey, - May I go out to play? - No, no, no, it is a very wet day. - Grandmother, grandmother grey, - May I go out to play? - Yes, yes, yes, if you don't frighten the geese away. - Children, I call you. - I can't hear you. - Where are your manners? - In my shoe. - Who do you care for? - Not for you. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - VIII. Pray, mother, pray, - May I go out to play? - No, daughter, no, daughter, - Not every fine day. - Why, mother, why? - I shan't be gone long. - Make a fine curtsey - And glad git you gone.-- - Wait for your sister. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - IX. Please, mother, please, mother, may I go out to play? - No, child, no, child, 'tis such a cold day. - Why, mother, why, mother, I won't stay long. - Make three pretty curtseys and off you run. - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - -(_b_) One girl is chosen to act as "Mother," the rest of the players -pretend to be her children, and stand in front of her, not in a line, -but in a group. One of them, very frequently all the children ask her -the first question, and the Mother answers. When she gives permission -for the children to go out they all curtsey three times, and run off and -pretend to play. They then return, and the rest of the dialogue is said, -the Mother asking the questions and the children replying. At the end of -the dialogue the Mother chases and catches them, one after the other, -pretending to beat and punish them. In the Northants and Hurstmonceux -games there appears to be no chasing. In the London version (Miss Dendy) -only two children are mentioned as playing. When the Mother is chasing -the girl she keeps asking, "Where's my share of the silver penny?" to -which the girl replies, "You may have the nut-shells." In the Cornish -version, when the Mother has caught one of the children, she beats her -and puts her hands round the child's throat as if she were going to hang -her. - -(_c_) Miss Courtney, in _Folk-lore Journal_, v. 55, says: "I thought -this game was a thing of the past, but I came across some children -playing it in the streets of Penzance in 1883." It belongs to the -cumulative group of games, and is similar in this respect to "Milking -Pails," "Mother, Mother, the Pot boils over," &c. There seems to be no -other object in the game as now played except the pleasures of teasing -and showing defiance to a mother's commands, and trying to escape the -consequences of disobedience by flight, in order that the mother may -chase them. The idea may be that, if she is "out of breath," she cannot -chastise so much. Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 172) gives versions of a -similar game. - - -Mother Mop - -All the players, except one, stand two by two in front of each other, -the inner ones forming an arch with their hands united--this is called -the "oven." The odd child is "Mother Mop." She busies herself with a -pretended mop, peel, &c., after the manner of old-fashioned bakers, -making much ado in the valley between the rows of children. The oven -soon gets demolished, and the last child vanquished becomes "Mother Mop" -the next time.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). - -It seems probable that the inner rows of children should kneel or stoop -down in order that "Mother Mop" should have as much trouble as possible -with her oven. The game may have lost some of its details in other -directions, as there is no apparent reason why the oven is demolished or -broken down. - -See "Jack, Jack, the Bread's a-burning." - - -Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils over - -A number of girls choose one of their number to represent a witch, and -another to be a mother. The Witch stands near the corner of a wall, so -that she can peep round. Then the Mother counts the children by the -seven days of the week, "Monday," "Tuesday," &c., and appoints another -girl to act as guardian over them. She then pretends to go out washing, -removing to a short distance so as to be within ear-shot of the other -children. As soon as the Mother has gone, the old Witch comes and says, -"Please, can I light my pipe?" Then the children say, "Yes, if you won't -spit on t' hearth." She pretends to light her pipe, but spits on the -hearth, and runs away with the girl called Sunday. Then the Guardian, -among the confusion, pretends to rush down stairs, and, failing to find -Sunday, calls out, "Mother, mother, t' pot boils over." The Mother -replies, "Put your head in;" the Guardian says, "It's all over hairs;" -the Mother says, "Put the dish-clout in;" the Guardian says, "It's -greasy;" the Mother says, "Get a fork;" the Guardian says, "It's rusty;" -the Mother says, "I'll come mysen." She comes, and begins to count the -children, Monday, Tuesday, up to Saturday, and missing Sunday, asks, -"Where's Sunday?" the Guardian says, "T' old Witch has fetched her." The -Mother answers, "Where was you?" "Up stairs." The Mother says, "What -doing?" "Making t' beds." "Why didn't you come down?" "Because I had no -shoes." "Why didn't you borrow a pair?" "Because nobody would lend me a -pair." "Why didn't you steal a pair?" "Do you want me to get hung?" Then -the Mother runs after her, and if she can catch her thrashes her for -letting Sunday go. Then the Mother pretends to go out washing again, and -the Witch fetches the other days of the week one by one, when the same -dialogue is rehearsed.--Dronfield, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - -This game was also played in London. The _dramatis personæ_ were a -mother, an eldest daughter, the younger children, a witch, and a pot was -represented by another child. The Mother names the children after the -days of the week. She tells her eldest daughter that she is going to -wash, and that she expects her to take great care of her sisters, and to -be sure and not let the old witch take them. She is also to look after -the dinner, and be sure and not let the pot boil over. The Mother then -departs, and stays at a little distance from the others. The eldest -daughter pretends to be very busy putting the house to rights, sweeps -the floor, and makes everything tidy; the younger children pretend to -play, and get in the elder sister's way. She gets angry with them, and -pretends to beat them. Now, the girl who personates the Witch comes and -raps with her knuckles on a supposed door. The Witch stooped when -walking, and had a stick to help her along. - - Come in, says the eldest sister. What do you want? - Let me light my pipe at your fire? My fire's out. - Yes! if you'll not dirty the hearth. - No, certainly; I'll be careful. - -While the eldest sister pretends to look on the shelf for something, the -Witch "dirties" the hearth, catches hold of Monday and runs off with -her; and at this moment the pot boils over. The child who is the pot -makes a "hissing and fizzing" noise. The daughter calls out-- - - Mother, mother, the pot boils over. - Take the spoon and skim it. - Can't find it. - Look on the shelf. - Can't reach it. - Take the stool. - The leg's broke. - Take the chair. - Chair's gone to be mended. - I suppose I must come myself? - -The Mother here wrings her hands out of the water in the washing-tub and -comes in. She looks about and misses Monday. - - Where's Monday? - Oh, please, Mother, please, I couldn't help it; but some one came to - beg a light for her pipe, and when I went for it she took Monday - off. - Why, that's the witch! - -The Mother pretends to beat the eldest daughter, tells her to be more -careful another time, and to be sure and not let the pot boil over. The -eldest daughter cries, and promises to be more careful, and the Mother -goes again to the wash-tub. - -The same thing occurs again. The Witch comes and asks-- - - Please, will you lend me your tinder-box? My fire's out. - Yes, certainly, if you'll bring it back directly. - You shall have it in half-an-hour. - -While the tinder-box is being looked for she runs off with Tuesday. Then -the pot boils over, and the same dialogue is repeated. The Mother comes -and finds Tuesday gone. This is repeated for all the seven children in -turn, different articles, gridiron, poker, &c, being borrowed each time. -Finally, the eldest daughter is taken off too. There is no one now to -watch the pot, so it boils over, and makes so much noise that the Mother -hears it and comes to see why it is. Finding her eldest daughter gone -too, she goes after her children to the Witch's house. A dialogue ensues -between the Witch and the Mother. The Mother asks-- - - Is this the way to the Witch's house? - There's a red bull that way! - I'll go this way. - There's a mad cow that way! - I'll go this way. - There's a mad dog that way! - -She then insists on entering the house to look for her children. The -Witch will not admit her, and says-- - - Your boots are too dirty. - I'll take my boots off. - Your stockings are too dirty. - I'll take them off. - Your feet are dirty. - I'll cut them off. - The blood will run over the threshold. - I'll wrap them up in a blanket. - The blood will run through. - -This enrages the Mother, and she pushes her way into the supposed house, -and looks about, and calls her children. She goes to one and says-- - - This tastes like my Monday. - -The Witch tells her it's a barrel of pork. - - No, no, this is my Monday; run away home. - -Upon this Monday jumps up from her crouching or kneeling posture [the -children were generally put by the Witch behind some chairs all close -together in one corner of the room], and runs off, followed by all the -others and their Mother. The Witch tries to catch one, and if successful -that child becomes Witch next time.--A. B. Gomme. - -A probable explanation of this game is that it illustrates some of the -practices and customs connected with fire-worship and the worship of the -hearth, and that the pot is a magical one, and would only boil over when -something wrong had occurred and the Mother's presence was necessary. -The pot boils over directly a child is taken away, and appears to cease -doing this when the Mother comes in. It is remarkable, too, that the -Witch should want to borrow a light from the fire; the objection to the -giving of fire out of the house is a well-known and widely-diffused -superstition, the possession of a brand from the house-fire giving power -to the possessor over the inmates of a house. The mention of the -spitting on the hearth in the Sheffield version, and dirtying the hearth -in the London version, give confirmation to the theory that the -desecration of the fire or hearth is the cause of the pot boiling over, -and that the spirit of the hearth or fire is offended at the sacrilege. -The Witch, too, may be unable to get possession of a child until she has -something belonging to the house. The journey of the Mother to the -Witch's house in search of her children, the obstacles put in her path, -and the mention of the spilling of blood on the threshold, are incidents -which have great significance. Why the "keeling" or skimming of the -contents of the pot should be so difficult a task for the eldest -daughter that the Mother is obliged to come herself, is not so clear; -the skimming is of course to prevent the pot boiling over, and the pot -may be supposed to take the place of the Mother or Guardian of the -hearth, and tell when misfortune or trouble is at hand. Or the "boiling -over" (which, if continued, would extinguish the fire and sully the -stone) may be an offence to the hearth spirit, who ceases then to -protect the inmates of the house. Fairies are said to have power over -the inmates of a house when the threshold and kitchen utensils are left -dirty and uncared for. Thus on the theories accompanying the ancient -house ritual, this extraordinary game assumes a rational aspect, and it -is not too much to suggest that this explanation is the correct one. - -In the game of "Witch" practically the same incidents occur, and nearly -the same dialogue, but the significant elements of pot-boiling and -fire-protection do not appear in that game. It is not certain whether we -have two independent games, or whether "The Witch" is this game, the -incidents of pot-boiling and the fire-protection having been lost in its -transmission to more modern notions. Although so closely allied, these -games are not one at the present day, and are therefore treated -separately. Newell (_Games_, p. 218) gives some versions of "Witch" -which show a connection between that game and this. See "Keeling the -Pot," "Witch." - - -Mount the Tin - -One child throws a tin (any kind of tin will do) to some distance, and -then walks towards it without looking round. The other children, in the -meantime, hide somewhere near. The child who threw the tin has to guard -it, and at the same time try to find those who are hiding. If he sees -one he must call the name, and run to strike the tin with his foot. He -does this until each one has been discovered. As they are seen they must -stand out. The one who was first found has to guard the tin next time. -Should one of the players be able to strike the tin while the keeper is -absent, that player calls out, "Hide again." They can then all hide -until the same keeper discovers them again.--Beddgelert (Mrs. Williams). - -See "New Squat." - - -Mouse and the Cobbler - -One girl stands up and personates a mother, another pretends to be a -mouse, and crouches behind a chair in a corner. The mother says to -another player-- - - Go and get your father's shirt. - -This player goes to the chair to look for the shirt, and is tickled or -touched by the one hiding. She rushes back and calls out-- - - Mother, there's a mouse. - Go and get your father's coat. - There's a mouse. - Go and get your father's watch and chain. - There's a mouse. - -The Mother then goes to see herself. The second time she is scratched -and chased. When caught she takes the Mouse's place.--Deptford, Kent -(Miss Chase). - -This is evidently the same game as "Ghost in the Garden" and "Ghost in -the Copper," in a decaying stage. There is no _raison d'etre_ for either -mouse or cobbler. Probably these words are a corruption of the older -"Ghost in the Copper." - - -Muffin Man - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Congleton Workhouse (Miss A. E. Twemlow). - - I. Have you seen the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man, - Have you seen the muffin man that lives in Drury Lane O? - Yes, I've seen the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin - man; - Yes, I've seen the muffin man who lives in Drury Lane O. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - II. O, have you seen the muffin man, - The muffin man, the muffin man; - O, have you seen the muffin man - Who lives in Drury Lane O? - ---N. W. Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts). - - III. Have you seen the muffin girl, - The muffin girl, the muffin girl? - O have you seen the muffin girl - Down in yonder lane? - ---Congleton Workhouse School (Miss A. E. Twemlow). - - IV. Don't you know the muffin man? - Don't you know his name? - Don't you know the muffin man - That lives in our lane? - All around the Butter Cross, - Up by St. Giles's, - Up and down the Gullet Street, - And call at Molly Miles's! - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 571. - - V. Have you seen the nutting girl, - The nutting girl, the nutting girl? - Have you seen the nutting girl, - Down in yonder lane O? - ---Holmfirth (H. Hardy). - -(_b_) A ring is formed by the players joining hands; one child, who is -blindfolded and holds a stick, stands in the centre. The ring dance -round, singing the verse. They then stand still, and the centre child -holds out the stick and touches one of the ring. This player must take -hold of the stick. Then the Muffin Man asks this player any questions he -pleases, "Is the morn shining?" "Is ink white?" &c. The child who holds -the stick answers "Yes" or "No" in a disguised voice, and the Muffin Man -then guesses who it is. He is allowed three tries. If he guesses right -he joins the ring, and the child who was touched takes his place in the -centre. In the Yorkshire versions no questions are asked; the -blindfolded child goes to any one he can touch, and tries to guess his -or her name. The other version, sent by Mr. Hardy, is played in the same -way, and sung to the same tune. In the Congleton version (Miss Twemlow), -the blindfolded child tries to catch one of those in the ring, when the -verse is sung. The lines, with an additional four from _Shropshire -Folk-lore_, are given by Miss Burne among nursery rhymes and riddles. - -See "Buff with a Stick," "Dinah." - - -Mulberry Bush - -[Music] - ---Miss Harrison. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - This is the way we wash our hands, - Wash our hands, wash our hands, - This is the way we wash our hands, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - This is the way we wash our clothes, - Wash our clothes, wash our clothes, - This is the way we wash our clothes, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - This is the way we go to school, - We go to school, we go to school, - This is the way we go to school, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - -(_b_) The children form a ring, all joining hands and dancing round -while singing the first verse. When singing the last line they unclasp -their hands, and each one turns rapidly round. They then sing the next -verse, suiting their actions to the words they sing, again turning round -singly at the last line. This is done with every alternate verse, the -first verse being always sung as a chorus or dance in between the -different action-verses. The verses may be varied or added to at -pleasure. The actions generally consist of washing and dressing oneself, -combing hair, washing clothes, baking bread, sweeping the floor, going -to and returning from school, learning to read, cleaning boots, and -lacing stays. When "going to school," the children walk two by two in an -orderly manner; when "coming home from school," jumping and running is -the style adopted; "lacing stays," the hands are put behind and moved -first one and then the other, as if lacing; "this is the way the ladies -walk," holding up skirts and walking primly; "gentlemen walk," walking -with long strides and sticks. The dressing process and cleaning boots -preceded "school." - -(_c_) This game is well known, and played in almost all parts of -England. It is always played in the same way. There is so little variety -in the different versions that it appears unnecessary to give more than -one here. In the many versions sent the only variants are: In Sporle, -Norfolk, Miss Matthews says the game is sometimes called "_Ivy_ Bush," -or "_Ivory_ Bush;" and Mr. C. C. Bell, of Epworth, sends a version, -"Here we go round the Mulberry _Tree_" In Notts it is called "Holly -Bush" (Miss Winfield). A version given in the _Folk-lore Record_, iv. -174, is called the "_Gooseberry_ Bush," and Halliwell (_Popular Nursery -Rhymes_, p. 224) records a game, the "Bramble Bush." "The bush," he -says, "is often imaginative, but is sometimes represented by a child in -the centre." Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, pp. 134, 135) gives the game as -a form of the "Merry-ma-tanzie"--a kind of dance. They sing while moving -round to the tune of "Nancy Dawson," and stopping short with courtesy at -the conclusion. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - And round the merry-ma-tanzie. - -Disjoining hands, they then begin, with skirts held daintily up behind, -to walk singly along, singing-- - - This is the way the ladies walk, - The ladies walk, the ladies walk; - This is the way the ladies walk, - And round the merry-ma-tanzie. - -At the last line they reunite, and again wheel round in a ring, singing -as before-- - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, &c. - -After which, they perhaps simulate the walk of gentlemen, the chief -feature of which is length of stride, concluding with the ring dance as -before. Probably the next movement may be-- - - This is the way they wash the clothes, - Wash the clothes, wash the clothes; - This is the way they wash the clothes, - And round the merry-ma-tanzie. - -After which there is, as usual, the ring dance. They then represent -washing, ironing clothes, baking bread, washing the house, and a number -of other familiar proceedings. - -Chambers quotes a fragment of this "little ballet," as practised at -Kilbarchan, in Renfrewshire, which contains the following lines similar -to those in this game:-- - - She synes the dishes three times a day, - Three times a day, three times a day; - She synes the dishes three times a day, - Come alang wi' the merry-ma-tanzie. - - She bakes the scones three times a day, - Three times a day, three times a day; - She bakes the scones three times a day, - Come alang wi' the merry-ma-tanzie. - - She ranges the stules three times a day, - Three times a day, three times a day; - She ranges the stules three times a day, - Come alang wi' the merry-ma-tanzie. - -This game originated, no doubt, as a marriage dance round a sacred tree -or bush. As it now exists it appears to have no other character than the -performance of duties such as those enumerated in the description. In no -version that I am acquainted with do the elements of love and marriage -or kissing occur, otherwise the resemblance it bears to the Scotch -"Merry-ma-tanzie" would suggest that it is a portion of that game. This -game possesses the centre tree, which is not preserved in -"Merry-ma-tansa." Trees were formerly sacred to dancing at the marriage -festival, as at Polwarth in Berwickshire, where the custom once -prevailed, which is not unworthy of notice. "In the midst of the village -are two thorn trees near to each other; round these every newly-married -pair were expected to dance with all their friends; from hence arose the -old song, 'Polwarth on the Green'" (_New Statistical Account of -Scotland, Polwarth, Berwickshire_, ii. 234). Holland (_Cheshire -Glossary_), under "Kissing Bush," says, "A bush of holly, ivy, or other -evergreens, which is hung up in farm kitchens at Christmas, and serves -the purpose of mistletoe. The kissing bushes are usually prepared by the -farm lads on Christmas Eve, and they are often tastefully decorated with -apples, oranges, and bits of gay-coloured ribbon. I have occasionally -seen them made upon a framework of hoop iron something in the form of a -crown, with a socket at the bottom to hold a lighted candle." Brand (ii. -15) also describes how in Ireland men and women dance round about a bush -in a large ring on the Patron Day. Newell (_Games_, p. 86), gives this -game, and also mentions one in which "barberry bush" is named. The tune -in all versions is the same. See "Merry ma-tansa," "Nettles." - - -Munshets or Munshits - -Is played by two boys as follows:--One of the boys remains "at home," -and the other goes out to a prescribed distance. The boy who remains "at -home" makes a small hole in the ground, and holds in his hand a stick -about three feet long to strike with. The boy who is out at field throws -a stick in the direction of this hole, at which the other strikes. If he -hits it, he has to run to a prescribed mark and back to the hole without -being caught or touched with the smaller stick by his playfellow. If he -is caught, he is "out," and has to go to field. And if the boy at field -can throw his stick so near to the hole as to be within the length or -measure of that stick, the boy at home has to go out to field. A number -of boys often play together; for any even number can play. I am told -that the game was common fifty years ago. In principle it resembles -cricket, and looks like the rude beginning of the game.--Addy's -_Sheffield Glossary_. - -See "Cat," "Cudgel," "Kit-cat," "Tip-cat." - - -Musical Chairs - -A line of chairs is placed in a row down a room (one chair less than the -number of children who are playing) in such a way that every alternate -chair only is available on either side for the players to seat -themselves. The children walk or dance round the chairs, keeping quite -close to them. The piano or other musical instrument is played while -they are dancing round. The music is continued for any length of time -the player pleases, the children running round the chairs as long as the -music goes on. The player stops the music suddenly, when all the -children endeavour to take seats. One will be unable to find a seat, and -this player remains "out." A chair is then taken away, and the music and -dancing round begins again. There should always be one chair less than -the number of players.--A. B. Gomme. - -In Ellesmere, Miss Burne says, "Snap-tongs," called in other circles -"Magic Music" or "Musical Chairs," is thus played. Five players take -part; four chairs are set in the middle, and one of the players, who -holds a pair of tongs, desires the others to dance round them till the -clock strikes a certain hour, which is done by snapping the tongs -together so many times. While they dance, a chair is taken away, and the -player who cannot find a seat has to become the "snap-tongs" next -time.--_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525. - - -Nacks - -A game in which pegs of wood play a similar part to the well-known -object "Aunt Sally."--Robinson's _Mid Yorkshire Glossary_. - - -Namers and Guessers - -Any number of players can play this game. Two are chosen, the one to be -Namer, and the other Guesser or Witch. The rest of the players range -themselves in a row. The Guesser retires out of sight or to a distance. -The Namer then gives each player a secret name. When names have been -given to all the players, the Namer calls on the Guesser to come, by -saying-- - - Witchie, witchie, yer bannocks are burnin', - An' ready for turnin'. - -Whereupon he approaches, and the Namer says-- - - Come, chois me out, come, chois me in, to ---- - -(naming one by the assumed name). The players all shout, "Tack me, tack -me," repeatedly. The Witch points to one. If the guess is correct the -player goes to the Witch's side, but if it is incorrect he goes to the -Namer's side. This goes on till all the players are ranged on the one -side or the other. The two parties then come to a tug, with the Namer -and Guesser as leaders. The gaining party then ranges itself in two -lines with a space between the lines, each boy holding in his hand his -cap or his handkerchief tightly plaited. The boys of the conquered side -have then to run between the two lines, and are pelted by the victors. -This is called, "Throuw the Muir o' Hecklepin."--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -This game is practically the same as "Fool, Fool, come to School," but -the secret naming may indicate that this belongs to an earlier form. - -See "Fool, Fool," "Hecklebirnie." - - -Neighbour - -There is a game called "Neighbour, I torment thee," played in -Staffordshire, "with two hands, and two feet, and a bob, and a nod as I -do."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Neiveie-nick-nack - -A fireside game. A person puts a little trifle, such as a button, into -one hand, shuts it close, the other hand is also shut; then they are -both whirled round and round one another as fast as they can, before the -nose of the one who intends to guess what hand the prize is in; and if -the guesser be so fortunate as to guess the hand the prize is in, it -becomes his property; the whirling of the fists is attended with the -following rhyme-- - - Neiveie, neiveie, nick nack, - What ane will ye tak, - The right or the wrang? - Guess or it be lang, - Plot awa' and plan, - I'll cheat ye gif I can. - ---Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. - -The Rev. W. Gregor says at Keith this game is played at Christmas, and -by two. The stakes are commonly pins. One player conceals a pin, or more -if agreed on, in one of his (her) hands. He then closes both hands and -twirls them over each other, in front of the other player, and repeats -the words-- - - Nivvie, nivvie-neek-nack, - Filk (which) (or filk han') 'ill ye tack? - Tack the richt, tack the left, - An' a'll deceave ye gehn (if) I can. - -The other player chooses. If he chooses the hand having the stake, he -gains it. If he does not, he forfeits the stake. Another form of words -is-- - - Nivvie, nivvie-neek-nack - Filk (which) will ye tick-tack? - Tack ane, tack twa, - Tack the best amo' them a'. - -And-- - - Nivvie, nivvie-nick-nack, - Which han' will ye tack? - Tack ane, tack twa, - Tack the best amo' them a'. - -Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_ describes this as a boyish mode of -casting lots. The boy says-- - - Neevy, neevy-nack, - Whether hand will ta tack, - T'topmer or t'lowmer? - -Mr. W. H. Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) gives the rhyme as-- - - Nievy, navy, nick nack, - Which han' will ye tak', - The right or the wrang? - I'll beguile ye if I can. - -Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 117) gives the rhyme the same as that -given by Mr. Patterson. In _Notes and Queries_, 6th Series, vii. 235, a -North Yorkshire version is given as-- - - Nievie, nievie, nack, - Whether hand wilta tak, - Under or aboon, - For a singal half-crown? - Nievie, nievie, nick, nack, - Whilk han' will thou tak? - Tak the richt or tak the wrang, - I'll beguile thee if I can. - -Jamieson (_Supp., sub voce_) adds: "The first part of the word seems to -be from neive, the fist being employed in the game." A writer in _Notes -and Queries_, iii. 180, says: "The neive, though employed in the game, -is not the object addressed. It is held out to him who is to guess--the -conjuror--_and it is he who is addressed_, and under a conjuring name. -In short (to hazard a wide conjecture, it may be) he is invoked in the -person of Nic Neville (Neivi Nic), a sorcerer in the days of James VI., -who was burnt at St. Andrews in 1569. If I am right, a curious testimony -is furnished to his quondam popularity among the common people." It will -be remembered that this game is mentioned by Scott in _St. Ronan's -Well_--"Na, na, said the boy, he is a queer old cull. . . . He gave me -half-a-crown yince, and forbade me to play it awa' at pitch and toss." -"And you disobeyed him, of course?" "Na, I didna disobey him--I played -it awa' at 'Nievie, nievie, nick-nack.'" - -See "Handy-dandy." - - -Nettles - - Nettles grow in an angry bush, - An angry bush, an angry bush; - Nettles grow in an angry bush, - With my high, ho, ham! - - This is the way the lady goes, - The lady goes, the lady goes; - This is the way the lady goes, - With my hi, ho, ham! - - Nettles grow in an angry bush, &c. - - This is the way the gentleman goes, &c. - - Nettles grow in an angry bush, &c. - - This is the way the tailor goes. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, 227. - -(_b_) The children dance round, singing the first three lines, turning -round and clapping hands for the fourth line. They curtsey while saying, -"This is the way the lady goes," and again turn round and clap hands for -the last line. The same process is followed in every verse, only varying -what they act--thus, in the third verse, they bow for the gentleman--and -so the amusement is protracted _ad libitum_, with shoemaking, washing -clothes, ironing, churning, milking, making up butter, &c, &c. - -(_c_) This game is practically the same as the "Mulberry Bush." The -action is carried on in the same way, except that the children clap -their hands at the fourth line, instead of each turning themselves -round, as in "Mulberry Bush." The "High, ho, ham!" termination may be -the same as the "I, O, OM" of Mr. Addy's version of "Milking Pails." - -See "Mulberry Bush," "When I was a Young Girl." - - -New Squat - -A ring is made by marking the ground, and a tin placed in the middle of -it. One boy acts as keeper of the tin, the other players also stand -outside the ring. One of these kicks the tin out of the ring, the others -then all run to hide or squat out of sight. The keeper has to replace -the tin before looking for the boys. If, after that, he can spy a boy, -that boy must come out and stand by the ring. When another boy is spied, -he endeavours to reach the ring before the keeper does so, and kick out -the tin. If he is successful, any one of the boys who is standing by, -having been previously spied, is released from the keeper, and again -hides. The object of the keeper is to successfully spy all the boys. -When this is accomplished the last boy becomes the keeper.--Earls -Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - -See "Mount the Tin." - - -Nine Holes - -Nine round holes are made in the ground, and a ball aimed at them from a -certain distance; or the holes are made in a board with a number over -each, through one of which the ball has to pass.--Forby's _Vocabulary_. - -"A rural game," says Nares, "played by making nine holes in the ground, -in the angles and sides of a square, and placing stones and other things -upon, according to certain rules." Moor (_Suffolk Words and Phrases_) -says: "This is, I believe, accurate as far as it goes, of our Suffolk -game. A hole in the middle is necessary." In Norfolk, Holloway (_Dict. -Prov._) says that nine round holes are made in the ground, and a ball -aimed at them from a certain distance. A second game is played with a -board having nine holes, through one of which the ball must pass. Nares -quotes several authors to show the antiquity of the game. He shows that -the "Nine Men's Morris" of our ancestors was but another name for "Nine -Holes." Nine, a favourite and mysterious number everywhere, prevails in -games. - -Strutt (_Sports_, p. 384) also describes the game as played in two -ways--a game with bowling marbles at a wooden bridge; and another game, -also with marbles, in which four, five, or six holes, and sometimes -more, are made in the ground at a distance from each other, and the -business of every one of the players is to bowl a marble, by a regular -succession, into all the holes, and he who completes in the fewest bowls -obtains the victory. In Northamptonshire a game called "Nine Holes," or -"Trunks," is played with a long piece of wood or bridge with nine arches -cut in it, each arch being marked with a figure over it, from one to -nine, in the following rotation--VII., V., III., I., IX., II., IIII., -VI., VIII. Each player has two flattened balls which he aims to bowl -edgeways under the arches; he scores the number marked over the arch he -bowls through, and he that attains to forty-five first wins the game -(Baker's _Northamptonshire Glossary_). In _Arch. Journ._, xlix. 320, in -a paper by Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite, this game is described, and diagrams -of the game given which had been found by him cut in a stone bench in -the church of Ardeley, Hertfordshire, and elsewhere. He has also seen -the game played in London. It is evidently the same game as described by -Nares and Moor above. - -See "Bridgeboard," "Nine Men's Morris." - - -Nine Men's Morris - -In the East Riding this game is played thus: A flat piece of wood about -eight inches square is taken, and on it twenty-four holes are bored by -means of a hot skewer or piece of hot iron. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -Each of the two players has nine wooden pegs, which are either -coloured or shaped differently, and the object of each player is to -get three of his own pegs in a straight line (fig. 1). It is called -"Merrils."--Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -Cotgrave's _Dictionarie_, 1632, says: "_Merelles_, le jeu de merelles, -the boyish game called merrils, or fiue-pennie morris. Played here most -commonly with stones, but in France with pawns or men made of purpose, -and termed merelles." Strutt (_Sports_, p. 317) says: "This was why the -game received this name. It was formerly called 'Nine Men's Morris' and -'Five-penny Morris,' and is a game of some antiquity. It was certainly -much used by the shepherds formerly, and continues to be used by them -and other rustics to the present hour." An illustration of the form of -the merelle table and the lines upon it, as it appeared in the -fourteenth century, is given by him, and he observes that the lines have -not been varied. The black spots at every angle and intersection of the -lines are the places for the men to be laid upon. The men are different -in form and colour for distinction's sake, and from the moving these men -backwards and forwards, as though they were dancing a morris, I suppose -the pastime received the name of "Nine Men's Morris," but why it should -have been called "Five-penny Morris" I do not know. The manner of -playing is briefly thus:--Two persons, having each of them nine pieces -or men, lay them down alternately, one by one, upon the spots, and the -business of either party is to prevent his antagonist from placing three -of his pieces so as to form a row of three without the intervention of -an opponent piece. If a row be formed, he that made it is at liberty to -take up one of his competitor's pieces from any part he thinks most to -his own advantage, excepting he has made a row, which must not be -touched, if he have another piece upon the board that is not a component -part of that row. When all the pieces are laid down they are played -backwards and forwards in any direction that the lines run, but can only -move from one spot to another at one time. He that takes off all his -antagonist's pieces is the conqueror. The rustics, when they have not -materials at hand to make a table, cut the lines in the same form upon -the ground and make a small hole for every dot. They then collect stones -of different forms or colours for the pieces, and play the game by -depositing them in the holes in the same manner that they are set over -the dots on the table. Hence Shakespeare, describing the effects of a -wet and stormy season, says-- - - "The folds stand empty in the drowned field, - And crows are fatted with the murrain flock-- - The Nine Men's Morris is filled up with mud." - ---_Midsummer Nights Dream_, act ii. sc. 2. - -Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_), in describing "Merell" or -"Morris," says:--"On the inclosing of open fields this game was -transferred to a board, and continues a fireside recreation of the -agricultural labourer. It is often called by the name of 'Mill' or -'Shepherd's Mill.'" She says the mode of playing now observed is this. -Each of the players has nine pieces, or men, differing in colour, or -material, from his adversary, for distinction's sake; which they lay -down on the spots alternately, one by one, each endeavouring to prevent -his opponent from placing three of his pieces in a line, as whichever -does so is entitled to take off any one of his antagonist's men where he -pleases, without breaking a row of three, which must not be done whilst -there is another man on the board. After all the pieces are placed on -the board, they are moved alternately backwards and forwards along the -lines; and as often as either of the players succeeds in accomplishing a -row of three, he claims one of his antagonist's men, which is placed in -the pound (the centre), and he who takes the most pieces wins the game. -It is played on a board whereon are marked three squares, one being -denominated the pound. It is sometimes played with pegs, bits of paper, -or wood, or stone. It is called "Peg Morris" by Clare, the -Northamptonshire poet. - -The ancient game of "Nine Men's Morris" is yet played by the boys of -Dorset. The boys of a cottage, near Dorchester, had a while ago carved a -"Marrel" pound on a block of stone by the house. Some years ago a -clergyman of one of the upper counties wrote that in the pulling down of -a wall in his church, built in the thirteenth century, the workmen came -to a block of stone with a "Marrel's" pound cut on it. "Merrels" the -game was called by a mason.--Barnes' _Additional Glossary; Folk-lore -Journal_, vii. 233. - -"'Nine Men's Morris,' in Gloucestershire called 'Ninepenny Morris,' -was," says a correspondent in the _Midland Garner_, "largely practised -by boys and even older people over thirty years ago, but is now, as far -as I know, entirely disused. Two persons play. Each must have twelve -pegs, or twelve pieces of anything which can be distinguished. The -Morris was usually marked on a board or stone with chalk, and consists -of twenty-four points. The pegs are put down one at a time alternately -upon any point upon the Morris, and the first person who makes a -consecutive row of three impounds one of his opponent's pegs. The pegs -must only be moved on the lines. The game is continued until one or -other of the players has only two pegs left, when the game is won" (1st -ser., i. 20). Another correspondent in the same journal (ii. 2) says, -"The game was very generally played in the midland counties under the -name of 'Merrilpeg' or 'Merelles.' The twelve pieces I have never seen -used, though I have often played with nine. We generally used marbles or -draught pieces, and not pegs." - -The following are the accounts of this game given by the commentators on -Shakespeare:-- - -"In that part of Warwickshire where Shakespeare was educated, and the -neighbouring parts of Northamptonshire, the shepherds and other boys dig -up the turf with their knives to represent a sort of imperfect -chess-board. It consists of a square, sometimes only a foot diameter, -sometimes three or four yards. Within this is another square, every side -of which is parallel to the external square; and these squares are -joined by lines drawn from each corner of both squares, and the middle -of each line. One party, or player, has wooden pegs, the other stones, -which they move in such a manner as to take up each other's men, as they -are called, and the area of the inner square is called the pound, in -which the men taken up are impounded. These figures are by the country -people called _nine men's morris_, or _merrils_; and are so called -because each party has nine men. These figures are always cut upon the -green turf, or leys as they are called, or upon the grass at the end of -ploughed lands, and in rainy seasons never fail to be choked up with -mud" (Farmer). "_Nine men's morris_ is a game still played by the -shepherds, cow-keepers, &c., in the midland counties, as follows:--A -figure (of squares one within another) is made on the ground by cutting -out the turf; and two persons take each nine stones, which they place by -turns in the angles, and afterwards move alternately, as at chess or -draughts. He who can play three in a straight line may then take off any -one of his adversary's, where he pleases, till one, having lost all his -men, loses the game" (Alchorne). - -The following is the account of this game given by Mr. Douce in the -_Illustrations of Shakespeare and of Ancient Manners_, 1807, i. -184:--"This game was sometimes called the _nine mens merrils_ from -_merelles_, or _mereaux_, an ancient French word for the jettons, or -counters, with which it was played. The other term, _morris_, is -probably a corruption suggested by the sort of dance which, in the -progress of the game, the counters performed. In the French _merelles_ -each party had three counters only, which were to be placed in a line in -order to win the game. It appears to have been the _tremerel_ mentioned -in an old fabliau. See _Le Grand_, _Fabliaux et Contes_, ii. 208. Dr. -Hyde thinks the morris, or merrils, was known during the time that the -Normans continued in possession of England, and that the name was -afterwards corrupted into _three men's morals_, or _nine men's morals_. -If this be true, the conversion of _morrals_ into _morris_, a term so -very familiar to the country people, was extremely natural. The Doctor -adds, that it was likewise called _nine-penny_ or _nine-pin miracle_, -_three-penny morris_, _five-penny morris_, _nine-penny morris_, or -_three-pin_, _five-pin_, and _nine-pin morris_, all corruptions of -_three-pin, &c, merels_" (Hyde's _Hist. Nederluddi_, p. 202). Nares says -the simpler plan here represented (fig. 2), which he had also seen cut -on small boards, is more like the game than the one referred to in the -variorem notes of Shakespeare. - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -Forby has, "_Morris_, an ancient game, in very common modern use. In -Shakespeare it is called 'nine men's _morris_,' from its being played -with nine men, as they were then, and still are called. We call it -simply _morris_. Probably it took the name from a fancied resemblance to -a dance, in the motions of the men. Dr. Johnson professes that he knew -no more of it than that it was some rustic game. Another commentator -speaks of it as common among shepherds' boys in some parts of -Warwickshire. It cannot well be more common there than here, and it is -not particularly rustic. Shepherds' boys and other clowns play it on the -green turf, or on the bare ground; cutting or scratching the lines, on -the one or the other. In either case it is soon filled up with mud in -wet weather. In towns, porters and other labourers play it, at their -leisure hours, on the flat pavement, tracing the figure with chalk. It -is also a domestic game; and the figure is to be found on the back of -some draught-boards. But to compare _morris_ with that game, or with -chess, seems absurd; as it has a very distant resemblance, if any at -all, to either, in the lines, or in the rules of playing. On the ground, -the men are pebbles, broken tiles, shells, or potsherds; on a table, the -same as are used at draughts or backgammon. In Nares it is said to be -the same as nine-holes. With us it is certainly different." Cope -(_Hampshire Glossary_) says that "Nine Men's Morrice" is a game played -with counters. He does not describe it further. Atkinson (_Glossary of -Cleveland Dialect_) says under "Merls," the game of "Merelles," or "Nine -Men's Morris." Toone (_Etymological Dictionary_) describes it as a game -played on the green sward, holes being cut thereon, into which stones -were placed by the players. Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ calls it -"Merrils," and describes it as a game played on a square board with -eighteen pegs, nine on each side, called in many parts "Nine Men's -Morrice." See also _Sussex Arch. Collections_, xxv. 234, and a paper by -Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite (_Arch. Journ._, xlix. 322), where diagrams of -this game are given which have been found cut in several places on the -benches of the cloisters at Gloucester, Salisbury, and elsewhere. - -See "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Nip-srat-and-bite - -A children's game, in which nuts, pence, gingerbread, &c, are -squandered.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Nitch, Notch, No-Notch - -Children cut a number of slices from an apple, extending from the eye to -the tail, broader on the outside than on the inner, which reaches nearly -to the core; one piece has a part cut out, making a notch--this is -called "Notch;" another is not cut at all--this is called "No-Notch;" -while a third has an incision made on it, but not cut out--this is -called "Nitch." The pieces when thus marked are replaced, and the game -consists in one child holding the apple, and pointing to one of the -pieces, asking another child which he will have, "Nitch, Notch, or -No-Notch;" if he guesses right, he has it and eats it; if wrong, the -other eats it.--Sussex (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - - -Not - -A game where the parties, ranged on opposite sides, with each a bat in -their hands, endeavour to strike a ball to opposite goals. The game is -called "Not," from the ball being made of a knotty piece of -wood.--Gloucestershire (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - -See "Hawkey." - - -Noughts and Crosses - -[Illustration] - -This game is played on slates by school-children. The accompanying -diagram is drawn on the slate, and a certain figure (generally twenty) -is agreed upon as "game." There are two players, one takes noughts [o], -the other crosses [x]. The three places drawn on the slate above the -diagram are for the players each to put down marks or numbers for the -games they win, the centre place being for "Old Nick," or "Old Tom." The -object of the game is for each player to occupy three contiguous places -in a row or line with either noughts or crosses, and to prevent his -opponent from doing so. The diagram is of course empty when play -begins. One player commences by putting his mark into either of the -vacant places he prefers, the other player then places his in another, -wherever he thinks he has the best opportunity to prevent his opponent -getting a "three," and at the same time to get a three himself; then the -first player plays again, and so on alternately until all the squares -are occupied, or until one of the players has a "three" in line. If -neither player gets a "three," the game is won by "Old Nick," and one is -scored to his name. In the diagram the result of the game is shown when -won by "Old Nick." Whichever player first wins a game adds "Old Nick's" -score to his own. In some games "Old Nick" keeps all he wins for -himself, and then most frequently wins the game.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -See "Corsicrown," "Kit-Cat-Cannio," "Nine Men's Morris." - - -Nur and Spel - -A boys' game in Lincolnshire, somewhat similar to "Trap Ball." It is -played with a "kibble," a "nur," and a "spell." By striking the end of -the spell with the kibble, the nur, of course, rises into the air, and -the art of the game is to strike it with the kibble before it reaches -the ground. He who drives it the greatest distance wins the -game.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -Strutt (_Sports and Pastimes_, p. 109) describes this game as -"Northern-spell," played with a trap, and the ball is stricken with a -bat or bludgeon. The contest between the players is simply who shall -strike the ball to the greatest distance in a given number of strokes. -The length of each stroke is measured before the ball is returned, by -means of a cord made fast at one end near the trap, the other being -stretched into the field by a person stationed there for that purpose, -who adjusts it to the ball wherever it may lie. - -In a work entitled the _Costumes of Yorkshire_ this game is described -and represented as "Nor and Spell." The little wooden ball used in this -game is in Yorkshire called the "Nor," and the receptacle in which it is -placed the "Spell." Peacock (_Manley and Corringham Glossary_) gives -"knur," (1) a hard wooden ball, (2) the head. Addy (_Sheffield -Glossary_) says "knur" is a small round ball, less than a billiard ball. -It is put into a cup fixed on a spring which, being touched, causes the -ball to rise into the air, when it is struck by a trip-stick, a slender -stick made broad and flat at one end. The "knur" is struck by the broad -part. The game is played on Shrove Tuesday. Brogden (_Provincial Words -of Lincolnshire_) gives it under "Bandy." It is called "Knur, Spell, and -Kibble" in S.-W. Lincolnshire.--Cole's _Glossary_. - -The following letter relating to this game is extracted from the -_Worcestershire Chronicle_, September 1847, in Ellis's edition of -Brand:--"Before the commons were taken in, the children of the poor had -ample space wherein to recreate themselves at cricket, _nurr_, or any -other diversion; but now they are driven from every green spot, and in -Bromsgrove here, the nailor boys, from the force of circumstances, have -taken possession of the turnpike road to play the before-mentioned -games, to the serious inconvenience of the passengers, one of whom, a -woman, was yesterday knocked down by a _nurr_ which struck her in the -head." - -Brockett says of this game, as played in Durham: It is called "Spell and -Ore," Teut. "spel," a play or sport; and Germ. "knorr," a knot of wood -or ore. The recreation is also called "Buckstick, Spell, and Ore," the -buckstick with which the ore is struck being broad at one end like the -butt of a gun (_North Country Words_). In Yorkshire it is "Spell and -Nurr," or "Knur," the ore or wooden ball having been, perhaps, -originally the knurl or knot of a tree. The _Whitby Glossary_ also gives -this as "Spell and Knor," and says it is known in the South as "Dab and -Stick." The author adds, "May not 'tribbit,' or 'trevit,' be a -corruption of 'three feet,' the required length of the stick for pliable -adaptation?" - -Robinson (_Mid-Yorkshire Glossary_), under "Spell and Nur," says: "A -game played with a wooden ball and a stick fitted at the striking end -with a club-shaped piece of wood. The 'spell' made to receive and spring -the ball for the blow at a touch, is a simple contrivance of wood an -inch or so in breadth and a few inches long. . . . The players, who -usually go in and out by turns each time, after a preliminary series of -tippings of the spell with the stick in one hand, and catches of the -ball with the other, in the process of calculating the momentum -necessary for reach of hand, are also allowed two trial 'rises' in a -striking attitude, and distance is reckoned by scores of yards. The long -pliable stick, with a loose club end, used in the game, is called the -'tribit' or 'trivit' stick. . . . The trevit is, in fact, the trap -itself, and the trevit-stick the stick with which the trap is struck." -The tribbit-stick is elsewhere called "primstick," "gelstick," -"buckstick," "trippit," and "trevit." Atkinson says that "spell" is -O.N., "spill" meaning a play or game, and the probability is that the -game is a lineal descendant from the Ball-play of the Old Danes, or -Northmen, and Icelanders. "Spell and knor" is a corruption of "spell a' -knor," the play at ball. Nurspel is simply ball-play, therefore which -name, taken in connection with the fact that the game is elsewhere -called "Spell and Knor," and not "Knor and Spell," is significant. There -is one day in the year, Shrove Tuesday, when the play is customarily -practised, though not quite exclusively.--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -Easther (_Almondbury Glossary_) describes it as played with a wooden -ball, a spel, and a pommel. Two may play, or two sides. When a player -goes in he drives the knor for, say, 100 yards, _i.e._, five score, and -he reckons five. Each person has the same number of strokes previously -agreed upon, but generally only one innings. The "spell" is a kind of -stage with three or four feet, to drive it into the ground. On the top -of this stage is a spring made of steel, containing a cup to receive the -"knor," which is about one or two inches in diameter, and is made of -holly or box. The spring is kept down by a sneck, which is tapped by the -pommel when the knor is intended to be struck. The pommel is thus -formed--the driving part is frequently of ash-root or owler, in shape -like half a sugar-loaf split lengthwise, but only three or four inches -long, and the handle is of ash, wrapped with a wax band where held, -which is in one hand only. - -See "Kibel and Nerspel," "Trap Ball," "Trippit and Coit." - - -Nuts in May - -[Music] - ---Shropshire (Miss Burne). - - I. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - On a fine summer morning. - - Whom will you have for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Whom will you have for nuts in May, - On a fine summer morning? - - We'll have ---- for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - We'll have ---- for nuts in May, - On a fine summer morning. - - Who will you send to fetch her [or him] away, - To fetch her away, to fetch her away? - Who will you send to fetch her away, - On a fine summer morning? - - We'll send ---- to fetch her away, - Fetch her away, fetch her away, - We'll send ---- to fetch her away, - On a fine summer morning. - ---Liphook and Winterton, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - II. Here we come gathering nuts and May - [Nuts and May, nuts and May], - Here we come gathering nuts and May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Pray who will you gather for nuts and May, - Pray who will you gather for nuts and May, - On a cold and frosty morning? - - We'll gather ---- for nuts and May, - We'll gather ---- for nuts and May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Pray who will you send to take her away, - Pray who will you send to take her away, - On a cold and frosty morning? - - We'll send ---- to take her away, - We'll send ---- to take her away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - - III. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - May, May, May. - - Who will you have for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will you have for nuts in May, - May, May, May? - - [Bessie Stewart] for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - [Bessie Stewart] for nuts in May, - May, May, May. - - Very well, very well, so you may, - So you may, so you may, - Very well, very well, so you may, - May, may, may. - - Whom will you have to take her away, - Take her away, take her away? - Whom will you have to take her away, - Way, way, way? - - ---- ---- to take her away, - Take her away, take her away, - ---- ---- to take her away, - Way, way, way. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - IV. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Where do you gather your nuts in May? - On Galloway Hill we gather our nuts. - Who will you gather for nuts in May? - We'll gather ---- for nuts in May. - Who will you send to fetch her away? - We'll send ---- to fetch her away. - ---Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 169). - - V. Here we go gathering nuts away, - Nuts away, nuts away, - Here we go gathering nuts away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - -[Then follow verses beginning--] - - Whose nuts shall we gather away? - We'll gather [Minnie Brown's] nuts away. - Whom shall we send to fetch them away? - -[And the final verse is--] - - We'll send [Johnny Cope] to fetch them away, - Fetch them away, fetch them away, - We'll send [Johnny Cope] to fetch them away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Newbury, Berks (Mrs. S. Batson). - - VI. Who will go gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will go gathering nuts in May, - At five o'clock in the morning? - ---N.-W. Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts). - - VII. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning? - - We will have a girl for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - We will have a girl for nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - - VIII. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - This cold frosty morning. - - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - This cold frosty morning? - - We will have ---- for our nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - We will have ---- for our nuts in May, - This cold frosty morning. - - Who will you have to pull her away, - Pull her away, pull her away? - Who will you have to pull her away, - This cold frosty morning? - - We will have ---- to pull her away, - Pull her away, pull her away, - We will have ---- to pull her away, - This cold frosty morning. - ---Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes). - - IX. Here we come gathering nuts to-day, - Nuts to-day, nuts to-day, - Here we come gathering nuts to-day, - So early in the morning. - - Pray, whose nuts will you gather away, - Gather away, gather away? - Pray, whose nuts will you gather away, - So early in the morning? - - We'll gather Miss A----'s nuts away, - Nuts away, nuts away, - We'll gather Miss A----'s nuts away, - So early in the morning. - - Pray, who will you send to take them away, - To take them away, take them away? - Pray, who will you send to take them away, - So early in the morning? - - We'll send Miss B---- to take them away, - To take them away, take them away, - We'll send Miss B---- to take them away, - So early in the morning. - ---Symondsbury, Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 226-7). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -(_b_) The children form in two lines of equal length, facing one -another, with sufficient space between the lines to admit of their -walking in line backwards and forwards towards and away from each other, -as each line sings the verses allotted to it (fig. 1). The first line -sings the first, third, and fifth verses, and the opposite line the -second and fourth. At the end of the fifth verse a handkerchief or other -mark is laid on the ground, and the two children (whose names have been -mentioned, and who are as evenly matched as possible), take each other's -right hand and endeavour to pull each other over the handkerchief to -their own side (fig. 2). The child who is pulled over the handkerchief -becomes the "captured nut," and joins the side of her capturers. Then -the game begins again by the second line singing the first, third, and -fifth verses, while advancing to gather or capture the "nuts," the first -line responding with the second and fourth verses, and the same finish -as before. Then the first line begins the game, and so on until all the -children are in this way matched one against the other. - -(_c_) Other versions have been sent me, with slight variations: NUTS IN -MAY, with the verses ending, "On a fine summer morning," from Lincoln -and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock); "So early in the morning," -Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews); "Six o'clock in the morning," -Nottingham (Miss Wenfield); "On a cold and frosty morning," East Kirkby, -Lincolnshire (Miss K. Maughan); Barnes (A. B. Gomme), Colchester (Miss -G. M. Frances). NUTS AND MAY: "On a bright and sunny morning" (Mr. C. C. -Bell); "On a cold and frosty morning," Forest of Dean (Miss Matthews); -"Every night and morning," Gainford, Durham (Miss Edleston); "We've -picked [Sally Gray] for nuts in May," "All on a summer's morning," -Sheffield (Mr. S. O. Addy). A version by Miss Kimber (Newbury, Berks, -and Marlborough, Wilts) ends each verse, "Nuts and May." In other -respects these variants are practically the same. Printed versions not -given above are Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 85); Burne's -_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 516; Sulhampstead, Berks (_Antiquary_, vol. -xxvii., Miss E. E. Thoyts); and Dorsetshire, "Gathering nuts away" -(_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 225). From Longcot, Berks, a version sent me -by Miss I. Barclay has no fourth line to the verses. - -(_d_) This game is probably, unless we except "Mulberry Bush," the most -popular and the most widely played of any singing game. It might almost -be called universal. This is shown by the fact that there are few -counties where it is not known, and also that important variants, either -in the words or in the method of playing, are rarely met with. In all -the versions which have been sent there are only the following -variations in the words, and these are principally in the refrain, or -last line of each verse: "On a cold and frosty morning" ends by far the -greater number of versions; "On a fine summer's morning," "So early in -the morning," "All on a summer's morning," "Five o'clock in the -morning," "On a cold and sunny morning," coming next in number. The -Belfast version ends, "May! May! May!" and a Newbury and Marlborough -fourth line is simply a repetition of the second, "Nuts in May, nuts in -May." - -In the first line of the verse the only important variant seems to be -the Symondsbury "Gathering nuts away" and "Gathering nuts to-day." -"Gathering nuts away" also occurs in one version from Newbury (Berks), -"Nuts and May" appearing in the larger number after the more usual "Nuts -in May." In only one version is a specific place mentioned for the -gathering. This is in the Bocking version, where Galloway Hill is named, -in reply to the unusual question, "Where do you gather your nuts in -May?" A player is usually gathered for "Nuts in May." In three or four -cases only is this altered to gathering a player's "nuts away," which is -obviously an alteration to try and make the action coincide exactly with -the words. The game is always played in "lines," and the principal -incidents running throughout all the versions are the same, _i.e._, one -player is selected by one line of players from their opponents' party. -The "selected" one is refused by her party unless some one from the -opposite side can effect her capture by a contest of strength. In all -versions but two or three this contest takes place between the two; in -one or two all the players join in the trial of strength. In another -instance there appears to be no contest, but the selected player crosses -over to the opposite side. Two important incidents occur in the Bocking -and Symondsbury versions. In the Bocking game the side which is -victorious has the right to begin the next game first: this also occurs -in the Barnes version. In Symondsbury, when one child is drawn over the -boundary line by one from the opposite side she has to be "crowned" -immediately. This is done by the conqueror putting her hand on the -captured one's head. If this is not done at once the captured one is at -liberty to return to her own side. In some versions (Shropshire and -London) the player who is selected for "Nuts" is always captured by the -one sent to fetch her. Some Barnes children also say that this is the -proper way to play. When boys and girls play the boys are always sent to -"fetch away" the girls. In Sheffield (a version collected by Mr. S. O. -Addy) a boy is chosen to fetch the girl away; and in the Earls Heaton -version the line runs, "We'll have a girl for nuts in May." - -(_e_) There is some analogy in the game to marriage by capture, and to -the marriage customs practised at May Day festivals and gatherings. For -the evidence for marriage by capture in the game there is no element of -love or courtship, though there is the obtaining possession of a member -of an opposing party. But it differs from ordinary contest-games in the -fact that one party does not wage war against another party for -possession of a particular piece of ground, but individual against -individual for the possession of an individual. That the player sent to -fetch the selected girl is expected to conquer seems to be -implied--first, by a choice of a certain player being made to effect the -capture; secondly, by the one sent "to fetch" being always successful; -and thirdly, the "crowning" in the Symondsbury game. Through all the -games I have seen played this idea seems to run, and it exactly accords -with the conception of marriage by capture. For examples of the actual -survivals in English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish customs of marriage by -capture see Gomme's _Folk-lore Relics of Early Village Life_, pp. -204-210. - -The question is, How does this theory of the origin of the game fit in -with the term "Nuts in May"? I attribute this to the gathering by -parties of young men of bunches of May at the May festivals and dances, -to decorate not only the Maypole, May "kissing-bush," but the doors of -houses. "Knots of May" is a term used by children, meaning bunches of -May. Thus, a note by Miss Fowler in the MS. of the games she had -collected says, "In Bucks the children speak of 'knots of May,' meaning -each little bunch of hawthorn blossom." The gathering of bunches of May -by parties of young men and maidens to make the May-bush round which the -May Day games were held, and dancing and courting, is mentioned by Wilde -(_Irish Popular Superstitions_, p. 52), the game being "Dance in the -Ring." Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_) says, "May birches were branches of -different kinds of trees fastened over doors of houses and on the -chimney on the eve of May Day. They were fastened up by parties of young -men who went round for the purpose, and were intended to be symbolical -of the character of the inmates." I remember one May Day in London, when -the "May girls" came with a garland and short sticks decorated with -green and bunches of flowers, they sang-- - - Knots of May we've brought you, - Before your door it stands; - It is but a sprout, but it's well budded out - By the work of the Lord's hands, - -and a Miss Spencer, who lived near Hampton (Middlesex), told me that she -well remembered the May girls singing the first verse of this carol, -using "knots" instead of the more usual word "branch" or "bunch," and -that she knew the small bunch of May blossom by the name of "knots" of -May, "bringing in knots of May" being a usual expression of children. - -The association of May--whether the month, or the flower, or both--with -the game is very strong, the refrain "cold and frosty morning," "all on -a summer's morning," "bright summer's morning," "so early in the -morning," also being characteristic of the early days of May and spring, -and suggests that the whole day from early hours is given up to holiday. -The familiar nursery rhyme given by Halliwell-- - - Here we come a-piping, - First in spring and then in May, - -no doubt also refers to house-to-house visiting of May. - -The connection between the May festival and survival in custom of -marriage by capture is well illustrated by a passage from Stubbe's -_Anatomie of Abuses_, p. 148. He says: "Against May Day, Whitsonday, or -other time, euery Parishe, Towne and Village assemble themselves -together, bothe men women and children, olde and yong, . . . and either -goyng all together or diuidyng themselues into companies, they goe some -to the Woodes and groves where they spend all the night in plesant -pastimes; and in the morning they return bringing with them birch and -branches of trees to deck their assemblies withall . . . and then they -fall to daunce about it like as the heathen people did. . . . I have -heard it credibly reported (and that _viva voce_) by men of great -grauitie and reputation, that of fortie, threescore or a hundred maides -going to the wood ouer night, there haue scaresly the third part of them -returned home againe undefiled." Herrick's _Hesperides_ also describes -the festival, and the custom of courting and marriage at the same time. - -The tune sung to this game appears to be the same in every version. - - - END OF VOL. I. - - - BALLANTYNE PRESS - - PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. - - EDINBURGH AND LONDON - - - - -Transcriber's notes: - - -General: - -This eBook is Volume I of a two-volume work. Volume II is available -as ebook number 41728 via the website of Project Gutenberg -(www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41728). Because Volume I was published in 1894 -and Volume II in 1898, there is no symmetry in the references between -the two volumes (for example, Gled Wylie from Volume I does not refer to -Shue-Gled-Wylie from Volume II, whereas Shue-Gled-Wylie does refer to -Gled Wylie). - -This text follows the original printed work, including inconsistencies. -Inconsistencies include differences in spelling of the names of games -and locations, differences in transcription of dialect, inconsistencies -in lay-out, etc. Where changes were made, these are documented below. - - -References: - -Both volumes contain some uncertain references to (other) games, caused -by the naming and/or spelling of game names. Where these differences -were trivial (for example, Wolf and Lamb versus Wolf and the Lamb), -their identity has been assumed silently. Following is a list of less -trivial references. - -The game Stag is often referred to as Stag Warning, but occasionally -they are listed as thought they were separate games. - -Volume I. - -Page 51: reference to Wind Up Jack: this game is not mentioned -separately, but under Wind Up the Bush Faggot. - -Page 120: reference to Wind up the Watch, which is not listed as a -separate game, but as a local name for Wind up the Bush Faggot. - -Page 137: reference to Crosspurposes: according to the description and -Vol. II, this could be Cross-questions. - -Page 300: reference to How many miles to Barley Bridge?, which is not -listed as a separate game; the phrase occurs in some of the versions of -How many miles to Babylon? - -Page 318, section (c): The author refers to the Belfast version, but -describes the Isle of Man version. This has not been changed. - -Page 328: reference to the game Spanish Fly, which does not occur in -either volume (nor does the phrase). - -Page 402: reference to Ghost in the Garden and Ghost in the Copper. -Neither is described as a separate game; probably the reference is to -Ghost at the Well. - - -Textual remarks: - -At least some of the quotations presented by the author are not verbatim -quotations, they have been edited by the author (for example Aubrey on -cockle-bread). - -Volume II. - -In the Addenda, the original work uses Arabic rather than Roman numerals -for different variants; this has not been changed. - -The original work uses both 2-4 and 2/4 to indicate musical time; this -has not been standardised. - -Page 199: Love another like sister and brother is probably a mistake -(Love one another like sister and brother). - -Page 336/7: The original work does not give a source or authority for -variation XXV. - - -Changes made to the original text: - -Footnotes have been moved to end of the description of the game. - -Sources (when printed in smaller type in the original work) have been -moved to a separate line where necessary. - -Volume I. - -The Errata have already been changed in the text. - -Gallovidian Encyclopedia/Encyclopædia has been standardised to -Gallovidian Encyclopædia. - -Page xvi: Conqueror changed to Conqueror or Conkers (as in text) - -Page xvii: Duckstone was missing from the list and has been added - -Page xix: Lend me your Key was missing from the list and has been added - -Page 19: we'll go the king changed to we'll go to the king - -Page 24: Hurstmonceaux changed to Hurstmonceux (as elsewhere) - -Page 56: he jostled away changed to be jostled away - -Page 128: [They pull him out. changed to [They pull him out.] - -Page 180 (table) row 16: [ added before Write - -Page 270: so that won't do changed to so _that_ won't do (as elsewhere -in the song) - -Page 329: cul léve changed to cul levé (as in Nares's work) - -Page 364 uniniated changed to uninitiated - -Page 387: the Sheffield is changed to the Sheffield version is. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traditional Games of England, -Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II), by Alice Bertha Gomme - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONAL GAMES, VOL I *** - -***** This file should be named 41727-8.txt or 41727-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/7/2/41727/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Harry Lamé, the Music Team (Anne -Celnik, monkeyclogs, Sarah Thomson and others) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II) - With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc. - -Author: Alice Bertha Gomme - -Release Date: December 29, 2012 [EBook #41727] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONAL GAMES, VOL I *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Harry Lamé, the Music Team (Anne -Celnik, monkeyclogs, Sarah Thomson and others) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> <div class="tnboxtop"> @@ -28069,377 +28031,7 @@ Gallovidian Encyclopedia/Encyclopædia has been standardised to Encyclop&ae -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traditional Games of England, -Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II), by Alice Bertha Gomme - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONAL GAMES, VOL I *** - -***** This file should be named 41727-h.htm or 41727-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/7/2/41727/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Harry Lamé, the Music Team (Anne -Celnik, monkeyclogs, Sarah Thomson and others) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II) - With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc. - -Author: Alice Bertha Gomme - -Release Date: December 29, 2012 [EBook #41727] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONAL GAMES, VOL I *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Harry Lame, the Music Team (Anne -Celnik, monkeyclogs, Sarah Thomson and others) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ - | TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: | - | | - | Text printed in italics in the original work is presented here | - | between underscores, as in _text_. Similarly, bold face in the | - | original is represented as =text=. | - | | - | Footnotes have been moved to the end of the description of the | - | game. | - | | - | [Illustration] means that there is an illustration present in the | - | text; [Music] means a transcription in musical notation. | - | | - | [Greek: text] represents a transcription of Greek text. [=a] and | - | [=e] represent a-macron and e-macron, respectively. The oe- | - | ligature is transcribed as [oe]. | - | | - | More Transcriber's Notes may be found at the end of this text. | - +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ - - - - - A DICTIONARY - - OF - - BRITISH FOLK-LORE - - - EDITED BY - - G. LAURENCE GOMME, ESQ., F.S.A. - - PRESIDENT OF THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY, ETC. - - - _PART I._ - - TRADITIONAL GAMES - - - - - _BY THE SAME EDITOR._ - - Small 4to. In Specially Designed Cover. - - =ENGLISH SINGING GAMES.= - - A Collection of the best Traditional Children's Singing Games, with - their Traditional Music harmonised, and Directions for Playing. Each - Game, Text and Music, is written out and set within a Decorative - Border by WINIFRED SMITH, who has also designed Full-page - Illustrations to each Game, and Initials and Decorative Border to - the playing directions. - - [_All rights reserved._] - - - - - THE - TRADITIONAL GAMES - Of England, Scotland, and Ireland - - WITH - - TUNES, SINGING-RHYMES, AND METHODS OF PLAYING - ACCORDING TO THE VARIANTS EXTANT AND - RECORDED IN DIFFERENT PARTS - OF THE KINGDOM - - - COLLECTED AND ANNOTATED BY - ALICE BERTHA GOMME - - - VOL. I. - - ACCROSHAY-NUTS IN MAY - - - LONDON - DAVID NUTT, 270-71 STRAND - 1894 - - - TO - - _MY HUSBAND_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -Soon after the formation of the Folk-lore Society in 1878 my husband -planned, and has ever since been collecting for, the compilation of a -dictionary of British Folk-lore. A great deal of the material has been -put in form for publication, but at this stage the extent of the work -presented an unexpected obstacle to its completion. - -To print the whole in one alphabet would be more than could be -accomplished except by the active co-operation of a willing band of -workers, and then the time required for such an undertaking, together -with the cost, almost seemed to debar the hope of ever completing -arrangements for its publication. Nevertheless, unless we have a -scientific arrangement of the enormously scattered material and a close -comparison of the details of each item of folk-lore, it is next to -impossible to expect that the full truth which lies hidden in these -remnants of the past may be revealed. - -During my preparation of a book of games for children it occurred to me -that to separate the whole of the games from the general body of -folk-lore and to make them a section of the proposed dictionary would be -an advantageous step, as by arranging the larger groups of folk-lore in -independent sections the possibility of publishing the contemplated -dictionary again seemed to revive. Accordingly, the original plan has -been so far modified that these volumes will form the first section of -the dictionary, which, instead of being issued in one alphabet -throughout, will now be issued in sections, each section being arranged -alphabetically. - -The games included in this collection bear the important qualification -of being nearly all Children's Games: that is to say, they were either -originally children's games since developed into games for adults, or -they were the more serious avocations of adults, which have since become -children's games only. In both cases the transition is due to -traditional circumstances, and not to any formal arrangements. All -invented games of skill are therefore excluded from this collection, but -it includes both indoor and outdoor games, and those played by both -girls and boys. - -The bulk of the collection has been made by myself, greatly through the -kindness of many correspondents, to whom I cannot be sufficiently -grateful. In every case I have acknowledged my indebtedness, which, -besides being an act of justice, is a guarantee of the genuineness of -the collection. I have appended to this preface a list of the -collectors, together with the counties to which the games belong; but I -must particularly thank the Rev. W. Gregor, Mr. S. O. Addy, and Miss -Fowler, who very generously placed collections at my disposal, which had -been prepared before they knew of my project; also Miss Burne, Miss L. -E. Broadwood, and others, for kindly obtaining variants and tunes I -should not otherwise have received. To the many versions now printed for -the first time I have added either a complete transcript of, where -necessary, or a reference to, where that was sufficient, printed -versions of games to be found in the well-known collections of Halliwell -and Chambers, the publications of the Folk-lore and Dialect Societies, -Jamieson's, Nares', and Halliwell's Dictionaries, and other printed -sources of information. When quoting from a printed authority, I have as -far as possible given the exact words, and have always given the -reference. I had hoped to have covered in my collection the whole field -of games as played by children in the United Kingdom, but it will be -seen that many counties in each country are still unrepresented; and I -shall be greatly indebted for any games from other places, which would -help to make this collection more complete. The tunes of the games have -been taken down, as sung by the children, either by myself or -correspondents (except where otherwise stated), and are unaltered. - -The games consist of two main divisions, which may be called -descriptive, and singing or choral. The descriptive games are arranged -so as to give the most perfect type, and, where they occur, variable -types in succession, followed, where possible, by any suggestions I have -to make as to the possible origin of the game. The singing games are -arranged so as to give, first, the tunes; secondly, the different -versions of the game-rhymes; thirdly, the method of playing; fourthly, -an analysis of the game-rhymes on a plan arranged by my husband, and -which is an entirely novel feature in discussing the history of games; -fifthly, a discussion of the results of the analysis of the rhymes so -far as the different versions allow; and sixthly, an attempt to deduce -from the evidence thus collected suggestions as to the probable origin -of the game, together with such references to early authorities and -other facts bearing upon the subject as help to elucidate the views -expressed. Where the method of playing the game is involved, or where -there are several changes in the forms, diagrams or illustrations, which -have been drawn by Mr. J. P. Emslie, are inserted in order to assist the -reader to understand the different actions, and in one or two instances -I have been able to give a facsimile reproduction of representations of -the games from early MSS. in the Bodleian and British Museum Libraries. - -Although none of the versions of the games now collected together are in -their original form, but are more or less fragmentary, it cannot, I -think, fail to be noticed how extremely interesting these games are, not -only from the point of view of the means of amusement (and under this -head there can be no question of their interest), but as a means of -obtaining an insight into many of the customs and beliefs of our -ancestors. Children do not invent, but they imitate or mimic very -largely, and in many of these games we have, there is little doubt, -unconscious folk-dramas of events and customs which were at one time -being enacted as a part of the serious concerns of life before the eyes -of children many generations ago. As to the many points of interest -under this and other heads there is no occasion to dwell at length here, -because the second volume will contain an appendix giving a complete -analysis of the incidents mentioned in the games, and an attempt to tell -the story of their origin and development, together with a comparison -with the games of children of foreign countries. - -The intense pleasure which the collection of these games has given me -has been considerably enhanced by the many expressions of the same kind -of pleasure from correspondents who have helped me, it not being an -infrequent case for me to be thanked for reviving some of the keenest -pleasures experienced by the collector since childhood; and I cannot -help thinking that, if these traditional games have the power of thus -imparting pleasure after the lapse of many years, they must contain the -power of giving an equal pleasure to those who may now learn them for -the first time. - -ALICE BERTHA GOMME. - -BARNES COMMON, S.W., - -_Jan. 1894_. - - - - -LIST OF AUTHORITIES - - - ENGLAND. - - Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_. - Halliwell's _Dictionary_, ed. 1889. - Holloway's _Dictionary_, ed. 1838. - Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_, ed. 1831. - Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, ed. 1875. - Nares' _Glossary_, ed. 1872. - Grose's _Dictionary_, 1823. - _Notes and Queries._ - _Reliquary._ - English Dialect Society Publications. - Folk-lore Society Publications, 1878-1892. - - BEDFORDSHIRE-- - Luton Mrs. Ashdown. - Roxton Miss Lumley. - - BERKSHIRE Lowsley's _Glossary_. - Enborne Miss Kimber. - Fernham, Longcot Miss I. Barclay. - Newbury Mrs. S. Batson, Miss Kimber. - Sulhampstead Miss Thoyts (_Antiquary_, vol. xxvii.) - - CAMBRIDGESHIRE-- - Cambridge Mrs. Haddon. - - CHESHIRE { Darlington's, Holland's, Leigh's, and - { Wilbraham's _Glossaries_. - Congleton Miss A. E. Twemlow. - - CORNWALL { _Folk-lore Journal_, v., Courtney's - { _Glossary_. - Penzance Miss Courtney, Mrs. Mabbott. - - CUMBERLAND Dickinson's _Glossary_. - - DERBYSHIRE { _Folk-lore Journal_, vol. i., Mrs. - { Harley, Mr. S. O. Addy. - Dronfield, Eckington, Egan Mr. S. O. Addy. - - DEVONSHIRE Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - DORSETSHIRE { Barnes' _Glossary_, _Folk-lore - { Journal_, vol. vii. - - DURHAM { Brockett's _North Country Words_, ed. - { 1846. - Gainford Miss Eddleston. - South Shields Miss Blair. - - ESSEX-- - Bocking _Folk-lore Record_, vol. iii. pt. 2. - Colchester Miss G. M. Francis. - - GLOUCESTERSHIRE { Holloway's _Dictionary_, _Midland - { Garner_. - Shepscombe, Cheltenham Miss Mendham. - Forest of Dean Miss Matthews. - - HAMPSHIRE Cope's _Glossary_, Miss Mendham. - Bitterne Mrs. Byford. - Liphook Miss Fowler. - - HAMPSHIRE-- - Hartley, Winchfield, Witney Mr. H. S. May. - Southampton Mrs. W. R. Carse. - - ISLE OF MAN Mr. A. W. Moore. - - ISLE OF WIGHT-- - Cowes Miss E. Smith. - - KENT Pegge's _Alphabet of Kenticisms_. - Bexley Heath Miss Morris. - Crockham Hill, Deptford Miss Chase. - Platt Miss Burne. - Wrotham Miss D. Kimball. - - { Nodal and Milner's _Glossary_, - LANCASHIRE { Harland and Wilkinson's _Folk-lore_, - { ed. 1882, Mrs. Harley. - Monton Miss Dendy. - - LEICESTERSHIRE Evan's _Glossary_. - Leicester Miss Ellis. - - LINCOLNSHIRE { Peacock's, Cole's, and Brogden's - { _Glossaries_, Rev. ---- Roberts. - Anderby, Botterford, Brigg, } - Frodingham, Horncastle, } Miss Peacock. - North Kelsey, Stixwould, } - Winterton } - East Kirkby Miss K. Maughan. - Metheringham Mr. C. C. Bell. - - MIDDLESEX Miss Collyer. - Hanwell Mrs. G. L. Gomme. - - { Miss Chase, Miss F. D. Richardson, - { Mr. G. L. Gomme, Mrs. G. L. Gomme, - { Mr. J. P. Emslie, Miss Dendy, Mr. - London { J. T. Micklethwaite (_Archaeological - { Journal_, vol. xlix.), _Strand - { Magazine_, vol. ii. - - NORFOLK { Forby's _Vocabulary_, Spurden's - { _Vocabulary_, Mr. J. Doe. - Sporle, Swaffham Miss Matthews. - - { Baker's _Glossary_, _Northants Notes - NORTHAMPTONSHIRE { and Queries_, _Revue Celtique_, vol. - { iv., Rev. W. D. Sweeting. - Maxey Rev. W. D. Sweeting. - - NORTHUMBERLAND { Brockett's _Provincial Words_, ed. - { 1846. - Hexham Miss J. Barker. - - NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Miss Peacock. - Long Eaton Miss Youngman. - Nottingham Miss Winfield, Miss Peacock. - Ordsall Miss Matthews. - - OXFORDSHIRE Aubrey's _Remains_, ed. 1880. - Oxford Miss Fowler. - Summertown _Midland Garner_, vol. ii. - - SHROPSHIRE Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_. - Madeley, Middleton Miss Burne. - Tong Miss R. Harley. - - { Elworthy's _Dialect_, _Somerset and - SOMERSETSHIRE { Dorset Notes and Queries_, Holloway's - { _Dictionary_. - Bath Miss Large. - - STAFFORDSHIRE-- - Hanbury Miss E. Hollis. - Cheadle Miss Burne. - Tean, North Staffordshire { Miss Keary, Miss Burne, Mrs. T. - Potteries { Lawton. - Wolstanton Miss Keary. - - { Moor's _Suffolk Words_, Forby's - SUFFOLK { _Vocabulary_, Lady C. Gurdon's - { _Suffolk County Folk-lore_. - - SURREY-- - Barnes Mrs. G. L. Gomme. - Clapham Miss F. D. Richardson. - Hersham _Folk-lore Record_, vol. v. - Redhill Miss G. Hope. - - SUSSEX { Parish's _Dialect_, Holloway's - { _Dictionary_, Toone's _Dictionary_. - Hurstmonceux Miss Chase. - Shipley, Horsham, West { Miss R. H. Busk (_Notes and - Grinstead { Queries_). - Ninfield Mr. C. Wise. - - { Northall's _Folk Rhymes_, _Notes and - WARWICKSHIRE { Queries_, _Northants Notes and - { Queries_, Mr. C. C. Bell. - - WILTSHIRE-- - Marlborough, Manton, Ogbourne Mr. H. S. May. - - WORCESTERSHIRE Chamberlain's _Glossary_. - Upton-on-Severn Lawson's _Glossary_. - - { Atkinson's, Addy's, Easther's, - YORKSHIRE { Hunter's, Robinson's, Ross and Stead's - { _Glossaries_, Henderson's _Folk-lore_, - { ed. 1879. - Almondbury Easther's _Glossary_. - Epworth, Lossiemouth Mr. C. C. Bell. - Earls Heaton, Haydon, { Mr. H. Hardy. - Holmfirth { - Settle Rev. W. S. Sykes. - Sharleston Miss Fowler, Rev. G. T. Royds. - Sheffield Mr. S. O. Addy, Miss Lucy Garnett. - Wakefield Miss Fowler. - - - SCOTLAND. - - Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, ed. 1870. - Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_, ed. 1871. - Jamieson's _Etymological Dictionary_, ed. 1872-1889. - Folk-lore Society Publications. - - ABERDEEN-- - Pitsligo Rev. W. Gregor. - - BANFFSHIRE-- - Duthil, Keith, Strathspey Rev. W. Gregor. - - ELGIN-- - Fochabers Rev. W. Gregor. - - KIRKCUDBRIGHT-- - Auchencairn Prof. A. C. Haddon. - - LANARKSHIRE-- - Biggar Mr. Wm. Ballantyne. - Lanark Mr. W. G. Black. - - NAIRN-- - Nairn Rev. W. Gregor. - - - IRELAND. - - Folk-lore Society Publications. - _Notes and Queries._ - - ANTRIM AND DOWN Patterson's _Glossary_. - - CLARE-- - Kilkee { G. H. Kinahan (_Folk-lore Journal_, - { vol. ii.) - - CORK-- - Cork Mrs. B. B. Green, Miss Keane. - - DOWN-- - Ballynascaw Miss C. N. Patterson. - Belfast Mr. W. H. Patterson. - Holywood Miss C. N. Patterson. - - DUBLIN-- - Dublin Mrs. Lincoln. - - LOUTH-- - Annaverna, Ravendale Miss R. Stephen. - - QUEEN'S COUNTY-- - Portarlington { G. H. Kinahan (_Folk-lore Journal_, - { vol. ii.) - - WATERFORD-- - Lismore Miss Keane. - - - WALES. - - _Byegones._ - Folk-lore Society Publications. - - CARMARTHENSHIRE-- - Beddgelert Mrs. Williams. - - - - -LIST OF GAMES - - - ACCROSHAY. - All-hid. - All a Row. - All in the Well. - All the Birds in the Air. - All the Boys in our Town. - All the Fishes in the Sea. - All the Soldiers in the Town. - Allicomgreenzie. - Alligoshee. - Almonds and Reasons. - Angel and Devil. - Auntieloomie. - - BABBITY Bowster. - Bad. - Baddin. - Badger the Bear. - Bag o' Malt. - Ball. - Ball and Bonnets. - Ball in the Decker. - Ball of Primrose. - Baloon. - Bandy-ball. - Bandy-cad. - Bandy-hoshoe. - Bandy-wicket. - Banger. - Bar. - Barbarie, King of the. - Barley-break. - Barnes (Mr.). - Base-ball. - Basket. - Battledore and Shuttlecock. - Bedlams or Relievo. - Beds. - Bell-horses. - Bellie-mantie. - Belly-blind. - Bend-leather. - Betsy Bungay. - Bicky. - Biddy-base. - Biggly. - Billet. - Billy-base. - Bingo. - Bird-apprentice. - Birds, Beasts, and Fishes. - Bittle-battle. - Bitty-base. - Black Man's Tig. - Black Thorn. - Blind Bell. - Blind Bucky Davy. - Blind Harie. - Blind Hob. - Blind Man's Buff. - Blind Man's Stan. - Blind Nerry Mopsy. - Blind Palmie. - Blind Sim. - Block, Hammer, and Nail. - Blow-point. - Bob Cherry. - Boggle about the Stacks. - Boggle-bush. - Bonnety. - Booman. - Boss-out. - Boss and Span. - Boys and Girls. - Branks. - Bridgeboard. - Broken-down Tradesmen. - Brother Ebenezer. - Bubble-hole. - Bubble-justice. - Buck, Buck. - Buck i' t' Neucks. - Buckerels. - Buckey-how. - Buff. - Buk-hid. - Bull in the Park. - Bulliheisle. - Bummers. - Bun-hole. - Bunch of Ivy. - Bung the Bucket. - Bunting. - Burly Whush. - Buttons. - Buzz and Bandy. - - CACHE-POLE. - Caiche. - Call-the-Guse. - Camp. - Canlie. - Capie-Hole. - Carrick. - Carry my Lady to London. - Carrying the Queen a Letter. - Cashhornie. - Castles. - Cat and Dog. - Cat-Beds. - Cat's Cradle. - Cat-gallows. - Cat i' the Hole. - Cat after Mouse. - Catchers. - Chacke-Blyndman. - Chance Bone. - Change Seats. - Checkstone. - Cherry Odds. - Cherry-pit. - Chicamy. - Chickidy Hand. - Chinnup. - Chinny-mumps. - Chock or Chock-hole. - Chow. - Chuck-farthing. - Chuck-hole. - Chucks. - Church and Mice. - Click. - Click, Clock, Cluck. - Clowt-clowt. - Clubby. - Coal under Candlestick. - Cob. - Cobbin-match. - Cobble. - Cobbler's Hornpipe. - Cob-nut. - Cock. - Cock-battler. - Cock-fight. - Cock-haw. - Cock-stride. - Cockertie-hooie. - Cockle-bread. - Cockly-jock. - Cock's-headling. - Cock-steddling. - Codlings. - Cogger. - Cogs. - Common. - Conkers. - Conquerors. - Contrary, Rules of. - Cop-halfpenny. - Corsicrown. - Cots and Twisses. - Course o' Park. - Crab-sowl. - Crates. - Cricket. - Crooky. - Cross and Pile. - Cross-bars. - Cross-questions. - Cross Tig. - Cry Notchil. - Cuck-ball. - Cuckoo. - Cuddy and the Powks. - Cudgel. - Curcuddie. - Curly Locks. - Currants and Raisins. - Cushion Dance. - Cutch a Cutchoo. - Cutters and Trucklers. - - DAB. - Dab-an-thricker. - Dab-at-the-hole. - Dalies. - Davie-drap. - Deadily. - Diamond Ring. - Dibbs. - Dinah. - Dip o' the Kit. - Dish-a-loof. - Doddart. - Doncaster Cherries. - Dools. - Down in the Valley. - Drab and Norr. - Draw a Pail of Water. - Drawing Dun out of the Mire. - Drop Handkerchief. - Dropping the Letter. - Duck under the Water. - Duck at the Table. - Duck Dance. - Duck Friar. - Ducks and Drakes. - Duckstone. - Duffan Ring. - Dumb Crambo. - Dumb Motions. - Dump. - Dumps. - Dust-point. - - ELLER Tree. - Ezzeka. - - FATHER'S Fiddle. - Feed the Dove. - Find the Ring. - Fippeny Morrell. - Fire, Air, and Water. - Fivestones. - Flowers. - Follow my Gable. - Follow my Leader. - Fool, Fool, come to School. - Foot and Over. - Football. - Forfeits. - Fox. - Fox and Goose (1). - Fox and Geese (2). - Fox in the Fold. - Fox in the Hole. - French Jackie. - French and English. - French Blindman's Buff. - Friar-rush. - Frincy-francy. - Frog-lope. - Frog in the Middle. - - GAP. - Garden Gate. - Gegg. - Genteel Lady. - Ghost at the Well. - Giants. - Giddy. - Gilty-galty. - Gipsy. - Gled-wylie. - Glim-glam. - Gobs. - Green Grass. - Green Gravel. - Green Grow the Leaves (1). - Green Grow the Leaves (2). - Gully. - - HAIRRY my Bossie. - Half-Hammer. - Han'-and-Hail. - Hand in and Hand out. - Handy-Croopen. - Handy Dandy. - Hap the Beds. - Hard Buttons. - Hare and Hounds. - Harie Hutcheon. - Hark the Robbers. - Hats in Holes. - Hattie. - Hawkey. - Headicks and Pinticks. - Heads and Tails. - Hecklebirnie. - Hen and Chicken. - Here comes a Lusty Wooer. - Here comes One Virgin. - Here I sit on a Cold Green Bank. - Here stands a Young Man. - Here we go around, around. - Here's a Soldier. - Hewley Puley. - Hey Wullie Wine. - Hickety, Bickety. - Hickety-hackety. - Hick, Step, and Jump. - Hide and Seek (1). - Hide and Seek (2). - Hinch-Pinch. - Hinmost o' Three. - Hirtschin Hairy. - Hiry-hag. - Hiss and Clap. - Hitch, Jamie, Stride and Loup. - Hitchapagy. - Hitchy Cock Ho. - Hity Tity. - Hoatie, Hots. - Hob-in-the-Hall. - Hockerty Cokerty. - Hockey. - Hoges. - Ho-go. - Hoilakes. - Holy Bang. - Honey Pots. - Hood. - Hoodle-cum-blind. - Hoodman Blind. - Hooper's Hide. - Hop-crease. - Hop-frog. - Hop-score. - Hop-scotch. - Hop, Step, and Jump. - Hornie. - Hornie Holes. - Horns. - Hot Cockles. - How many Miles to Babylon. - Howly. - Huckie-buckie down the Brae. - Huckle-bones. - Hummie. - Hundreds. - Hunt the Hare. - Hunt the Slipper. - Hunt the Staigie. - Hunting. - Hurling. - Hurly-burly. - Huss. - Hustle Cap. - Hynny-pynny. - - ISABELLA. - - JACK'S Alive. - Jack, Jack, the Bread's a-burning. - Jack upon the Mopstick. - Jackysteauns. - Jauping Paste-eggs. - Jenny Jones. - Jenny Mac. - Jib-Job-Jeremiah. - Jiddy-cum-jiddy. - Jingle-the-bonnet. - Jingo-ring. - Jinkie. - Jock and Jock's Man. - Jockie Blind-man. - Joggle along. - Johnny Rover. - Jolly Fishermen. - Jolly Hooper. - Jolly Miller. - Jolly Rover. - Jolly Sailors. - Jowls. - Jud. - - KEELING the Pot. - Keppy Ball. - Kibel and Nerspel. - King by your leave. - King Caesar. - King Come-a-lay. - King of Cantland. - King o' the Castle. - King Plaster Palacey. - King William. - King's Chair. - Kirk the Gussie. - Kiss in the Ring. - Kit-cat. - Kit-cat-cannio. - Kittlie-cout. - Knapsack. - Knights. - Knocked at the Rapper. - Knor and Spell. - - LAB. - Lady of the Land. - Lady on the Mountain. - Lady on Yonder Hill. - Lag. - Lammas. - Lamploo. - Lang Larence. - Leap Candle. - Leap-frog. - Leap the Bullock. - Leaves are Green. - Lend me your Key. - Letting the Buck out. - Level-coil. - Libbety-lat. - Limpy Coley. - Little Dog, I call you. - Lobber. - Loggats. - London. - London Bridge. - Long-duck. - Long Tag. - Long Tawl. - Long Terrace. - Loup the Bullocks. - Lubin. - Lug and a Bite. - Luggie. - Luking. - - MAG. - Magic Whistle. - Magical Music. - Malaga Raisins. - Marbles. - Mary Brown. - Mary mixed a Pudding up. - Merrils. - Merritot. - Merry-ma-tansa. - Milking Pails. - Mineral, Animal, and Vegetable. - Minister's Cat. - Mollish's Land. - Monday, Tuesday. - Moolie Pudding. - More Sacks to the Mill. - Mother, may I go out to Play? - Mother Mop. - Mother, Mother, the Pot boils over. - Mount the Tin. - Mouse and the Cobbler. - Muffin Man. - Mulberry Bush. - Munshets. - Musical Chairs. - - NACKS. - Namers and Guessers. - Neighbour. - Neivie-nick-nack. - Nettles. - New Squat. - Nine Holes. - Nine Men's Morris. - Nip-srat-and-bite. - Nitch, Notch, No-Notch. - Not. - Noughts and Crosses. - Nur and Spel. - Nuts in May. - - - - -ERRATA. - - - On page 15, line 12, _for_ "Eggatt" _read_ "Hats in Holes." - - On pp. 24, 49, 64, 112, _for_ "_Folk-lore Journal_, vol. vi." _read_ - "vol. vii." - - On page 62, last line, _insert_ "vol. xix." _after_ "_Journ. - Anthrop. Inst._" - - On page 66, line 4, _delete_ "Move All." - - On page 224, fig. 3 of "Hopscotch" should be reversed. - - On page 332, diagram of "London" omitted. - - [Illustration] - - - - -CHILDREN'S GAMES. - - -Accroshay - -A cap or small article is placed on the back of a stooping boy by other -boys as each in turn jumps over him. The first as he jumps says -"Accroshay," the second "Ashotay," the third "Assheflay," and the last -"Lament, lament, Leleeman's (or Leleena's) war." The boy who in jumping -knocks off either of the things has to take the place of the -stooper.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58). - -See "Leap-frog." - - -All-hid - -"A meere children's pastime" (_A Curtaine Lecture_, 1637, p. 206). This -is no doubt the game of "Hide and Seek," though Cotgrave apparently -makes it synonymous with "Hoodman Blind." See Halliwell's _Dictionary_. -It is alluded to in Dekker's _Satiromastix_, "Our unhansomed-fac'd Poet -does play at Bo-peepes with your Grace, and cryes All-hidde, as boyes -doe." Tourneur, _Rev. Trag._, III., v. 82, "A lady can at such Al-hid -beguile a wiser man," is quoted in Murray's _Dictionary_ as the first -reference. - - -All a Row - - All a row, a bendy bow, - Shoot at a pigeon and kill a crow; - Shoot at another and kill his brother; - Shoot again and kill a wren, - And that'll do for gentlemen. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 386. - -This is a marching game for very little children, who follow each other -in a row. - -(_b_) Halliwell gives the first two lines only (_Nursery Rhymes_, No. -dxv., p. 101), and there is apparently no other record of this game. It -is probably ancient, and formerly of some significance. It refers to -days of bows and arrows, and the allusion to the killing of the wren may -have reference to the Manx and Irish custom of hunting that bird. - - -All in the Well - -A juvenile game in Newcastle and the neighbourhood. A circle is made, -about eight inches in diameter, termed the well, in the centre of which -is placed a wooden peg four inches long, with a button balanced on the -top. Those desirous of playing give buttons, marbles, or anything else, -according to agreement, for the privilege of throwing a short stick, -with which they are furnished, at the peg. Should the button fly out of -the ring, the player is entitled to double the stipulated value of what -he gives for the stick. The game is also practised at the Newcastle -Races and other places of amusement in the North with three pegs, which -are put into three circular holes made in the ground about two feet -apart, and forming a triangle. In this case each hole contains a peg -about nine inches long, upon which are deposited either a small knife or -some copper. The person playing gives so much for each stick, and gets -all the articles that are thrown off so as to fall on the outside of the -holes.--Northumberland (Brockett's _North Country Glossary_). - - -All the Birds in the Air - -A Suffolk game, not described (Moor's _Suffolk Glossary_). Jamieson also -gives it without description. Compare the rhyme in the game "Fool, fool, -come to School," "Little Dog, I call you." - - -All the Boys in our Town - - I. All the boys in our town - Shall lead a happy life, - Except 'tis ----, and he wants a wife. - A wife he shall have, and a-courting he shall go, - Along with ----, because he loves her so. - He huddles her, he cuddles her, - He sits her on his knee; - He says, My dear, do you love me? - I love you, and you love me, - And we shall be as happy - As a bird upon a tree. - - The wife makes the pudding, - And she makes it nice and soft-- - In comes the husband and cuts a slice off. - Tas-el-um, Tos-el-um, don't say Nay, - For next Monday morning shall be our wedding day; - The wife in the carriage, - The husband in the cart. - ---Hampshire (from friend of Miss Mendham). - - II. All the boys in our town - Leads a happy life, - Excepting [Charley Allen], - And he wants a wife; - And a-courting he shall go - Along with [girl's name], - Because he loves her so. - - He kisses her, he cuddles her, - He sets her on his knee, - And says, My dearest darling, - Do you love me? - I love you and you love me; - We'll both be as happy - As birds on the tree. - - Alice made a pudding, - She made it nice and sweet, - Up came Charley, cut a slice off-- - A slice, a slice, we don't say No; - The next Monday morning the wedding goes - (or "is our wedding day"). - I've got knives and forks, - I've got plates and dishes, - I've got a nice young man, - He breaks his heart with kisses. - - If poor Alice was to die, - Wouldn't poor Charley, he _would_ cry. - He would follow to the grave - With black buttons and black crape, - And a guinea for the church, - And the bell shall ring. - - Up came the doctor, up came the cat, - Up came the devil with a white straw hat. - Down went the doctor, down went the cat, - Down went the devil with a white straw hat.[1] - ---Deptford (Miss Chase). - - III. Up the heathery mountains and down the rushy glen - We dare not go a-hunting for Connor and his men; - They are all lusty bachelors but one I know, - And that's [Tom Mulligan], the flower of the flock; - He is the flower of the flock, he is the keeper of the glen, - He courted [Kate O'Neill] before he was a man; - He huggled her, he guggled her, he took her on his knee, - Saying, My bonnie [Kate O'Neill], won't you marry me? - - So ---- made a pudding so nice and so sweet, - Saying, Taste, love, taste, and don't say no, - For next Sunday morning to church we will go. - - With rings on our fingers and bells on our toes, - And a little baby in her arms, and that's the way she goes. - And here's a clap, and here's a clap, for Mrs. ----'s - daughter. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - IV. Up the plain and down the plain, - As stippy [slippery] as a glass, - We will go to Mrs. ---- - To find a pretty lass. - - [Annie] with her rosy cheeks, - Catch her if you can, - And if you cannot catch her - I'll tell you who's the man. - - [Annie] made a pudding, - She made it very sweet; - She daren't stick a knife in - Till George came home at neet [night]. - - Taste [George], taste, and don't say Nay! - Perhaps to-morrow morning'll be our wedding day. - [The bells shall ring, and we shall sing, - And all clap hands together.][2] - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -(_b_) A full description of this game could not be obtained in each -case. The Earls Heaton game is played by forming a ring, one child -standing in the centre. After the first verse is sung, a child from the -ring goes to the one in the centre. Then the rest of the verses are -sung. The action to suit the words of the verses does not seem to have -been kept up. In the Hampshire version, after the line "As a bird upon a -tree," the two children named pair off like sweethearts while the rest -of the verse is being sung. - -(_c_) The analysis of the game rhymes is as follows:-- - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | | Hants. | Deptford (Kent). | Belfast. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Village life. |Village life. |Hunting life. | - | 2.|All the boys happy. |All the boys happy. |All lusty bachelors. | - | 3.|Except [ ], who |Except [ ], who |Except [ ], who | - | |wants a wife. |wants a wife. |courts [ ]. | - | 4.|He shall court [ ]. |He shall court [ ]. |He courted [ ]. | - | 5.|Huddles and cuddles, |Kisses and cuddles, |Huggled andguggled, | - | |and sits on his knee. |and sits on his knee. |and took on his knee. | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.|Mutual expressions of |Mutual expressions of | -- | - | |love. |love. | | - | 8.| -- | -- |Asking to marry. | - | 9.|Wife makes a pudding. |Girl makes a pudding. |Girl makes a pudding. | - |10.|Husband cuts a slice. |Boy cuts a slice. |Asks boy to taste. | - |11.|Fixing of wedding day.|Fixing of wedding day.|Fixing of wedding day.| - |12.|Wife in carriage, |Wife with domestic |Bride with rings on | - | |husband in cart. |utensils. |fingers and bells on | - | | | |toes. | - |13.| -- |Grief if wife should | -- | - | | |die. | | - |14.| -- | -- |Bride with a baby. | - |15.| -- |Doctor, cat, and | -- | - | | |devil. | | - |16.| -- | -- |Applause for the | - | | | |bride. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+ - | |Earls Heaton (Yorks.).| - +---+----------------------+ - | 1.|Roving life. | - | 2.| -- | - | 3.| -- | - | 4.|Seeks for a bride. | - | 5.| -- | - | 6.|Catch the bride. | - | 7.| -- | - | 8.| -- | - | 9.|Girl makes a pudding. | - |10.|Asks boy to taste. | - |11.|Fixing of wedding day.| - |12.| -- | - |13.| -- | - |14.| -- | - |15.| -- | - |16.|Applause for bride. | - +---+----------------------+ - -It appears by the analysis that all the incidents of the Hants version -of this game occur in one or other of the versions, and these incidents -therefore may probably be typical of the game. This view would exclude -the important incidents of bride capture in the Earls Heaton version; -the bride having a baby in the Belfast version, and the two minor -incidents in the Deptford version (Nos. 13 and 15 in the analysis), -which are obviously supplemental. Chambers, in his _Popular Rhymes of -Scotland_, pp. 119, 137, gives two versions of a courtship dance which -are not unlike the words of this game, though they do not contain the -principal incidents. Northall, in his _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 363, has -some verses of a similar import, but not those of the game. W. Allingham -seems to have used this rhyme as the commencement of one of his ballads, -"Up the airy mountain." - -(_d_) The game is clearly a marriage game. It introduces two important -details in the betrothal ceremony, inasmuch as the "huddling and -cuddling" is typical of the rude customs at marriage ceremonies once -prevalent in Yorkshire, the northern counties, and Wales, while the -making of the pudding by the bride and the subsequent eating together, -are clearly analogies to the bridal-cake ceremony. In Wales, the custom -known as "bundling" allowed the betrothing parties to go to bed in their -clothes (Brand, ii. 98). In Yorkshire, the bridal cake was always made -by the bride. The rudeness of the dialogue seems to be remarkably -noticeable in this game. - -See "Mary mixed a Pudding up," "Oliver, Oliver, follow the King." - - [1] Miss Chase says, "I think the order of verses is right; the - children hesitated a little." - - [2] Mr. Hardy says, "This was sung to me by a girl at Earls Heaton or - Soothill Nether. Another version commences with the last verse, - continues with the first, and concludes with the second. The last - two lines inserted here belong to that version." - - -All the Fishes in the Sea - -A Suffolk game, not described.--Moor's _Suffolk Glossary_. See "Fool, -fool, come to School," "Little Dog, I call you." - - -All the Soldiers in the Town - -[Music] - - All the soldiers in the town, - They all bop down. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -The children form into a ring and sing the above words. They "bop down" -at the close of the verse. To "bop" means in the Suffolk dialect "to -stoop or bow the head."--Moor. - - -Allicomgreenzie - -A little amusing game played by young girls at country schools. The same -as "Drop Handkerchief," except that the penalty for not following -exactly the course of the child pursued is to "stand in the circle, face -out, all the game afterwards; if she succeed in catching the one, the -one caught must so stand, and the other take up the cap and go round as -before" (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_). No explanation is -given of the name of this game. - -See "Drop Handkerchief." - - -Alligoshee - - I. Betsy Blue came all in black, - Silver buttons down her back. - Every button cost a crown, - Every lady turn around. - Alligoshi, alligoshee, - Turn the bridle over my knee. - - --Middleton (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 523). - - II. Barbara, Barbara, dressed in black, - Silver buttons all up your back. - Allee-go-shee, allee-go-shee, - Turn the bridle over me. - ---Shepscombe, Gloucestershire (Miss Mendham). - - III. All-i-go-shee, alligoshee, - Turn the bridle over my knee. - My little man is gone to sea, - When he comes back he'll marry me. - ---Warwickshire (Northall's _Folk Rhymes_, p. 394). - - IV. Darby's son was dressed in black, - With silver buttons down his back. - Knee by knee, and foot by foot, - Turn about lady under the bush. - ---Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 87). - - V. Darby and Joan were dressed in black, - Sword and buckle behind their back. - Foot for foot, and knee for knee, - Turn about Darby's company. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 121. - -(_b_) The children form pairs, one pair following the other, with their -arms linked behind. While the first four lines are repeated by all, they -skip forward, and then skip back again. At the end of the last line they -turn themselves about without loosing hands. - -(_c_) Miss Burne includes this among obscure and archaic games, and -Halliwell-Phillips mentions it as a marching game. The three first -versions have something of the nature of an incantation, while the -fourth and fifth versions may probably belong to another game -altogether. It is not clear from the great variation in the verses to -which class the game belongs. - - -Almonds and Reasons - -An old English game undescribed.--_Useful Transactions in Philosophy_, -1709, p. 43. - - -Angel and Devil - -One child is called the "Angel," another child the "Devil," and a third -child the "Minder." The children are given the names of colours by the -Minder. Then the Angel comes over and knocks, when the following -dialogue takes place. - -Minder: "Who's there?" - -Answer: "Angel." - -Minder: "What do you want?" - -Angel: "Ribbons." - -Minder: "What colour?" - -Angel: "Red." - -Minder retorts, if no child is so named, "Go and learn your A B C." If -the guess is right the child is led away. The Devil then knocks, and the -dialogue and action are repeated.--Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - -See "Fool, fool, come to School." - - -Auntieloomie - -The children join hands, and dance in a circle, "with a front step, a -back step, and a side step, round an invisible May-pole," singing-- - - Can you dance the Auntieloomie? - Yes, I can; yes, I can. - -Then follows kissing.--Brigg, Lincolnshire (Miss Peacock). - - -Babbity Bowster - -[Music] - ---Biggar (Wm. Ballantyne). - - Wha learned you to dance, - You to dance, you to dance? - Wha learned you to dance - Babbity Bowster brawly? - - My minnie learned me to dance, - Me to dance, me to dance; - My minnie learned me to dance - Babbity Bowster brawly. - - Wha ga'e you the keys to keep, - Keys to keep, keys to keep? - Wha ga'e you the keys to keep, - Babbity Bowster brawly? - - My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep, - Keys to keep, keys to keep; - My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep, - Babbity Bowster brawly. - - One, twa, three, B, ba, Babbity, - Babbity Bowster neatly; - Kneel down, kiss the ground, - An' kiss your bonnie lassie [or laddie]. - ---Biggar (W. H. Ballantyne). - -(_b_) Mr. Ballantyne describes the dance as taking place at the end of a -country ball. The lads all sat on one side and the girls on the other. -It began with a boy taking a handkerchief and dancing before the girls, -singing the first verse (fig. 1). Selecting one of the girls, he threw -the handkerchief into her lap, or put it round her neck, holding both -ends himself. Some spread the handkerchief on the floor at the feet of -the girl. The object in either case was to secure a kiss, which, -however, was not given without a struggle, the girls cheering their -companion at every unsuccessful attempt which the boy made (fig. 2). A -girl then took the handkerchief, singing the next verse (fig. 3), and -having thrown the handkerchief to one of the boys, she went off to her -own side among the girls, and was pursued by the chosen boy (fig. 4). -When all were thus paired, they formed into line, facing each other, and -danced somewhat like the country dance of Sir Roger. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.] - -(_c_) Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 36, gives a slightly different -version of the verses, and says they were sung by children at their -sports in Glasgow. Mactaggart alludes to this game as "'Bumpkin Brawly,' -an old dance, the dance which always ends balls; the same with the -'Cushion' almost." - - Wha learned you to dance, - You to dance, you to dance, - Wha learned you to dance - A country bumpkin brawly? - - My mither learned me when I was young, - When I was young, when I was young, - My mither learned me when I was young, - The country bumpkin brawly. - -The tune of this song is always played to the dance, says Mactaggart, -but he does not record the tune. _To bab_, in Lowland Scottish, is -defined by Jamieson to mean "to play backward and forward loosely; to -dance." Hence he adds, "Bab at the bowster, or Bab wi' the bowster, a -very old Scottish dance, now almost out of use; formerly the last dance -at weddings and merry-makings." Mr. Ballantyne says that a bolster or -pillow was at one time always used. One correspondent of _N. and Q._, -ii. 518, says it is now (1850) danced with a handkerchief instead of a -cushion as formerly, and no words are used, but later correspondents -contradict this. See also _N. and Q._, iii. 282. - -(_d_) Two important suggestions occur as to this game. First, that the -dance was originally the indication at a marriage ceremony for the bride -and bridegroom to retire with "the bowster" to the nuptial couch. -Secondly, that it has degenerated in Southern Britain to the ordinary -"Drop Handkerchief" games of kiss in the ring. The preservation of this -"Bab at the Bowster" example gives the clue both to the origin of the -present game in an obsolete marriage custom, and to the descent of the -game to its latest form. See "Cushion Dance." - - -Bad - -A rude kind of "Cricket," played with a bat and a ball, usually with -wall toppings for wickets. "Bad" seems to be the pronunciation or -variation of "Bat." Halliwell says it was a rude game, formerly common -in Yorkshire, and probably resembling the game of "Cat." There is such a -game played now, but it is called "Pig."--Easther's _Almondbury -Glossary_. - - -Baddin - -The game of "Hockey" in Cheshire.--Holland's _Glossary_. - - -Badger the Bear - -A rough game, sometimes seen in the country. The boy who personates the -Bear performs his part on his hands and knees, and is prevented from -getting away by a string. It is the part of another boy, his Keeper, to -defend him from the attacks of the others.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -This is a boys' game, and is called "Buffet the Bear." It may be taken -part in by any number. One boy--the Bear--goes down on all fours, and -lowers his head towards his breast as much as possible. Into his hand is -placed one end of a piece of cord, and another boy, called the Keeper, -takes hold of the other end in one hand, while he has in the other his -cap. The other boys stand round, some with their caps in hand, and -others with their neckties or pocket-handkerchiefs, and on a given -signal they rush on the Bear and pelt him, trying specially to buffet -him about the ears and face, whilst the Keeper does his best to protect -his charge. If he happens to strike a boy, that boy becomes the Bear, -and the former Bear becomes the Keeper, and so on the game goes.--Keith, -Banffshire (Rev. W. Gregor). - -I saw this game played on Barnes Green, Surrey, on 25th August 1892. The -boys, instead of using their hats, had pieces of leather tied to a -string, with which they struck the Bear on the back. They could only -begin when the Keeper cried, "My Bear is free." If they struck at any -other time, the striker became the Bear. It is called "Baste the -Bear."--A. B. Gomme. - -Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 128) describes this game under the title -of "The Craw." It was played precisely in the same way as the Barnes -game. The boy who holds the end of the long strap has also a hard -twisted handkerchief, called the _cout_; with this cout he defends the -Craw against the attacks of the other boys, who also have similar couts. -Before beginning, the Guard of the Craw must call out-- - - Ane, twa, three, my Craw's free. - -The first one he strikes becomes the Craw. When the Guard wants a -respite, he calls out-- - - Ane, twa, three, my Craw's no free. - -(_b_) Jamieson defines "Badger-reeshil" as a severe blow; borrowed, it -is supposed, from the hunting of the badger, or from the old game of -"Beating the Badger." - - Then but he ran wi' hasty breishell, - And laid on Hab a badger-reishill. - ---_MS. Poem._ - -Mr. Emslie says he knows it under the name of "Baste the Bear" in -London, and Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game -similarly named. It is played at Marlborough under the name of "Tom -Tuff."--H. S. May. - -See "Doncaster Cherries." - - -Bag o' Malt - - A bag o' malt, a bag o' salt, - Ten tens a hundred. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 394. - -Two children stand back to back, linked near the armpits, and weigh each -other as they repeat these lines. - -See "Weigh the Butter." - - -Ball - - I. Stottie ba', hinnie ba, tell to me - How mony bairns am I to hae? - Ane to live, and ane to dee, - And ane to sit on the nurse's knee! - ---Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes of Scotland_, p. 115. - - II. Toss-a-ball, toss-a-ball, tell me true, - How many years I've got to go through! - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 530. - -(_b_) Children throw a ball in the air, repeating the rhyme, and divine -the length of their lives by the number of times they can catch it -again. In some places this game is played with a cowslip ball, thence -called a "tissy-ball." - -(_c_) I have heard other rhymes added to this, to determine whether the -players shall marry or not, the future husband's calling, dress to be -worn, method of going to church, &c. (A. B. Gomme). Strutt describes a -handball game played during the Easter holidays for Tansy cakes -(_Sports_, p. 94). Halliwell gives rhymes for ball divination (_Popular -Rhymes_, p. 298) to determine the number of years before marriage will -arrive. Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) says, "The May garland -is suspended by ropes from the school-house to an opposite tree, and the -Mayers amuse themselves by throwing balls over it. A native of -Fotheringay, Mr. C. W. Peach," says Miss Baker, "has supplied me with -the reminiscences of his own youth. He says the May garland was hung in -the centre of the street, on a rope stretched from house to house. Then -was made the trial of skill in tossing balls (small white leather ones) -through the framework of the garland, to effect which was a triumph." - -See "Cuck Ball," "Keppy Ball," "Monday." - - -Ball and Bonnets - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -This is a boys' game. The players may be of any number. They place their -caps or bonnets in a row. One of the boys takes a ball, and from a fixed -point, at a few yards' distance from the bonnets, tries to throw it into -one of the caps (fig. 1). If the ball falls into the cap, all the boys, -except the one into whose cap the ball has fallen, run off. The boy into -whose cap the ball has been thrown goes up to it, lifts the ball from -it, and calls out "Stop!" The other boys stop. The boy with the ball -tries to strike one of the other boys (fig. 2). If he does so, a small -stone is put into the cap of the boy struck. If he misses, a stone is -put into his own cap. If the boy who is to pitch the ball into the cap -misses, a stone is put into his own cap, and he makes another trial. The -game goes on till six stones are put into one cap. The boy in whose cap -are the six stones has to place his hand against a wall, when he -receives a certain number of blows with the ball thrown with force by -one of the players. The blows go by the name of "buns." The game may go -on in the same way till each player gets his "buns."--Nairn (Rev. W. -Gregor). - -See "Hats in Holes." - - -Ball in the Decker - -A row of boys' caps is set by a wall. One boy throws a ball into one of -the caps. The owner of the cap runs away, and is chased by all the -others till caught. He then throws the ball.--Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - - -Ball of Primrose - -[Music] - - We'll wear yellow ribbons, yellow ribbons, yellow ribbons, - We'll wear yellow ribbons at the Ball of Primrose; - We'll all go a-waltzing, a-waltzing, a-waltzing, - We'll all go a-waltzing at the Ball of Primrose. - ---Epworth, Doncaster; and Lossiemouth, Yorkshire (Charles C. Bell). - -(_b_) The children form a ring, joining hands, and dance round singing -the two first lines. Then loosing hands, they waltz in couples, singing -as a refrain the last line. The game is continued, different coloured -ribbons being named each time. - -(_c_) This game was played in 1869, so cannot have arisen from the -political movement. - - -Baloon - -A game played with an inflated ball of strong leather, the ball being -struck by the arm, which was defended by a bracer of wood.--Brand's -_Pop. Antiq._, ii. 394. - -(_b_) It is spelt "balloo" in Ben Jonson, iii. 216, and "baloome" in -Randolph's _Poems_, 1643, p. 105. It is also mentioned in Middleton's -_Works_, iv. 342, and by Donne. - - "'Tis ten a clock and past; all whom the mues, - _Baloun_, tennis, diet, or the stews - Had all the morning held." - ---Donne's _Poems_, p. 133. - -Toone (_Etymological Dict._) says it is a game rather for exercise than -contention; it was well known and practised in England in the fourteenth -century, and is mentioned as one of the sports of Prince Henry, son of -James I., in 1610. Strutt (_Sports and Pastimes_, p. 96) gives two -illustrations of what he considers to be baloon ball play, from -fourteenth century MSS. - - -Bandy-ball - -A game played with sticks called "bandies," bent and round at one end, -and a small wooden ball, which each party endeavours to drive to -opposite fixed points. Northbrooke in 1577 mentions it as a favourite -game in Devonshire (Halliwell's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). Strutt says -the bat-stick was called a "bandy" on account of its being bent, and -gives a drawing from a fourteenth century MS. book of prayers belonging -to Mr. Francis Douce (_Sports_, p. 102). The bats in this drawing are -nearly identical with modern golf-sticks, and "Golf" seems to be derived -from this game. Peacock mentions it in his _Glossary of Manley and -Corringham Words_. Forby has an interesting note in his _Vocabulary of -East Anglia_, i. 14. He says, "The bandy was made of very tough wood, or -shod with metal, or with the point of the horn or the hoof of some -animal. The ball is a knob or gnarl from the trunk of a tree, carefully -formed into a globular shape. The adverse parties strive to beat it with -their bandies through one or other of the goals." - - -Bandy Cad or Gad - -A game played with a nurr and crooked stick, also called "Shinty," and -much the same as the "Hockey" of the South of England. "Cad" is the same -as "cat" in the game of "Tip-cat;" it simply means a cut piece of -wood.--Nodal and Milner's _Lancashire Glossary_. - - -Bandy-hoshoe - -A game at ball common in Norfolk, and played in a similar manner to -"Bandy" (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). Toone (_Etymological Dictionary_) -says it is also played in Suffolk, and in West Sussex is called "Hawky." - - -Bandy-wicket - -The game of "Cricket," played with a bandy instead of a bat (Halliwell's -_Dictionary_). Toone mentions it as played in Norfolk (_Dict._), and -Moor as played in Suffolk with bricks usually, or, in their absence, -with bats in place of bails or stumps (_Suffolk Words_). - - -Banger - -Each boy provides himself with a button. One of the boys lays his button -on the ground, near a wall. The other boys snap their buttons in turn -against the wall. If the button drops within one span or hand-reach of -the button laid down, it counts two (fig. 2); if within two spans, it -counts one. When it hits the button and bounces within one span, it -counts four (fig. 1); within two spans, three; and above three spans, -one. Each player snaps in turn for an agreed number; the first to score -this number wins the game.--Deptford, Kent, and generally in London -streets (Miss Chase). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -This game is known in America as "Spans."--Newell, p. 188. - - -Bar - -To play at "Bar," a species of game anciently used in -Scotland.--Jamieson. - -This game had in ancient times in England been simply denominated -"Bars," or, as in an Act of James IV., 1491, edit. 1814, p. 227: "That -na induellare within burgh . . . play at bar," "playing at Bars." - -See "Prisoner's Base." - - -Barbarie, King of the - - I. O will you surrender, O will you surrender - To the King of the Barbarie? - - We won't surrender, we won't surrender - To the King of the Barbarie. - - I'll go and complaint, I'll go and complaint - To the King of the Barbarie. - - You can go and complaint, you can go and complaint - To the King of the Barbarie. - - Good morning, young Prince, good morning, young Prince, - I have a complaint for you. - - What is your complaint? - What is your complaint? - - They won't surrender, they won't surrender - To the King of the Barbarie. - - Take one of my brave soldiers, - Take one of my brave soldiers. - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - - II. Will you surrender, will you surrender - To the King of the Barbarines? - - We won't surrender, we won't surrender - To the King of the Barbarines. - - We'll make you surrender, we'll make you surrender - To the King of the Barbarines. - - You can't make us surrender, you can't make us surrender - To the King of the Barbarines. - - We'll go to the King, we'll go to the King, - To the King of the Barbarines. - - You can go to the King, you can go to the King, - To the King of the Barbarines. - ---Clapham, Surrey (Miss F. D. Richardson). - - III. Will you surrender, will you surrender - The Tower of Barbaree? - - We won't surrender, we won't surrender - The Tower of Barbaree. - - We will go and tell the Queen, - Go and tell the Queen of Barbaree. - - Don't care for the Queen, don't care for the Queen, - The Queen of Barbaree. - - Good morning, young Queen, good morning, young Queen, - I have a complaint to thee. - - Pray what is your complaint to me? - - They won't surrender, they won't surrender - The Tower of Barbaree. - - Take one of my brave soldiers. - ---Lady Camilla Gurdon's _Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 63. - - IV. You must surrend' me, you must surrend' me - To the Queen of Barbaloo. - - No, we'll not surrend' you, no, we'll not surrend' you - To the Queen of Barbaloo. - - We'll complain, we'll complain, &c. - [To the Queen of Barbaloo.] - - You can complain, you can complain, &c. - [To the Queen of Barbaloo.] - ---Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - -(_b_) Two children stand together joining hands tightly, to personate a -fortress; one child stands at a distance from these to personate the -King of Barbarie, with other children standing behind to personate the -soldiers (fig. 1). Some of the soldiers go to the fortress and surround -it, singing the first verse (fig. 2). The children in the fortress -reply, the four first verses being thus sung alternately. The soldiers -then go to the King singing the fifth verse (fig. 3), the remaining -verses being thus sung alternately. One of the soldiers then goes to the -fortress and endeavours by throwing herself on the clasped hands of the -children forming the fortress to break down the guard (fig. 4). All the -soldiers try to do this, one after the other; finally the King comes, -who breaks down the guard. The whole troop of soldiers then burst -through the parted arms (fig. 5). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 5.] - -This is the Deptford version. The Clapham version is almost identical; -the children take hold of each others' skirts and make a long line. If -the brave soldier is not able to break the clasped hands he goes to the -end of the line of soldiers. The soldiers do not surround the fortress. -In the Suffolk version the soldiers try to break through the girls' -hands. If they do they have the tower. The Cornwall version is not so -completely an illustration of the capture of a fortress. - - -Barley-break - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -Barley-break, or the Last Couple in Hell, was a game played by six -people, three of each sex, who were coupled by lot. A piece of ground -was then chosen, and divided into three compartments, of which the -middle one was called Hell. It was the object of the couple condemned to -this division to catch the others who advanced from the two extremities -(figs. 1, 2), in which case a change of situation took place, and Hell -was filled by the couple who were excluded by pre-occupation from the -other place (fig. 3). In this catching, however, there was some -difficulty, as by the regulations of the game the middle couple were not -to separate before they had succeeded, while the others might break -hands whenever they found themselves hard pressed. When all had been -taken in turn, the last couple was said to be "in Hell," and the game -ended.--Dekker's _Works_, iv. 434. - -Jamieson calls this "a game generally played by young people in a -corn-yard. Hence called _barla-bracks about the stacks_, S. B." (_i. -e._, in the North of Scotland). "One stack is fixed on as the _dule_ or -goal; and one person is appointed to catch the rest of the company, who -run out from the _dule_. He does not leave it till they are all out of -sight. Then he sets off to catch them. Any one who is taken cannot run -out again with his former associates, being accounted a prisoner; but is -obliged to assist his captor in pursuing the rest. When all are taken -the game is finished; and he who was first taken is bound to act as -catcher in the next game. This innocent sport seems to be almost -entirely forgotten in the South of Scotland. It is also falling into -desuetude in the North." - -(_b_) The following description of Barley-break, written by Sir Philip -Sidney, is taken from the song of Lamon, in the first volume of the -_Arcadia_, where he relates the passion of Claius and Strephon for the -beautiful Urania:-- - - She went abroad, thereby, - At _barley-brake_ her sweet, swift foot to try. . . . - Afield they go, where many lookers be. - - Then couples three be straight allotted there, - They of both ends, the middle two, do fly; - The two that in mid-place Hell called were - Must strive, with waiting foot and watching eye, - To catch of them, and them to hell to bear, - That they, as well as they, may hell supply; - Like some that seek to salve their blotted name - Will others blot, till all do taste of shame. - - There may you see, soon as the middle two - Do, coupled, towards either couple make, - They, false and fearful, do their hands undo; - Brother his brother, friend doth friend forsake, - Heeding himself, cares not how fellow do, - But of a stranger mutual help doth take; - As perjured cowards in adversity, - With sight of fear, from friends to friends do fly. - -Sir John Suckling also has given a description of this pastime with -allegorical personages, which is quoted by Brand. In Holiday's play of -the _Marriages of the Arts_, 1618, this sport is introduced, and also by -Herrick (_Hesperides_, p. 44). Barley-break is several times alluded to -in Massinger's plays: see the _Dramatic Works of Philip Massinger_, -1779, i. 167. "We'll run at barley-break first, and you shall be in -hell" (Dekker's _The Honest Whore_). "Hee's at barli-break, and the last -couple are now in hell" (Dekker's _The Virgin Martir_). See Gifford's -_Massinger_, i. 104, edit. 1813. See also Browne's _Britannia's -Pastorals_, published in 1614, Book I., Song 3, p. 76. - -Randle Holme mentions this game as prevailing in his day in Lancashire. -Harland and Wilkinson believe this game to have left its traces in -Yorkshire and Lancashire. A couple link hands and sally forth from -_home_, shouting something like - - Aggery, ag, ag, - Ag's gi'en warning, - -and trying to tick or touch with the free hand any of the boys running -about separately. These latter try to slip behind the couple and throw -their weight on the joined hands to separate them without being first -touched or ticked; and if they sunder the couple, each of the severed -ones has to carry one home on his back. Whoever is touched takes the -place of the toucher in the linked couple (_Legends of Lancashire_, p. -138). The modern name of this game is "Prison Bars" (_Ibid._, p. 141). -There is also a description of the game in a little tract called _Barley -Breake; or, A Warning for Wantons_, 1607. It is mentioned in Wilbraham's -_Cheshire Glossary_ as "an old Cheshire game." Barnes, in his -_Dorsetshire Glossary_, says he has seen it played with one catcher on -hands and knees in the small ring (Hell), and the others dancing round -the ring crying "Burn the wold witch, you barley breech." Holland -(_Cheshire Glossary_) also mentions it as an old Cheshire game. - -See "Boggle about the Stacks," "Scots and English." - - -Barnes (Mr.) - - Mr. Barnes is dead and gone, - And left his widder, - Three poor children in her arms; - What will you give her? - - Where did you come from? - ---Played about 1850 at Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - -This is probably a forfeit game, imperfectly remembered. See "Old -Soldier." - - -Base-ball - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. See "Rounders." - - -Basket - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -In this game the children all follow one who is styled the "mother," -singing: - - I'll follow my mother to market, - To buy a silver basket. - -The mother presently turns and catches or pretends to beat -them.--Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 231). - - We'll follow our mother to market, - To buy herself a basket; - When she comes home she'll break our bones, - We'll follow our mother to market. - ---Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 84). - -A version familiar to me is the same as above, but ending with - - For tumbling over cherry stones. - -The mother then chased and beat those children she caught. The idea was, -I believe, that the children were imitating or mocking their mother (A. -B. G.). In Warwickshire the four lines of the Surrey game are concluded -by the additional lines-- - - We don't care whether we work or no, - We'll follow our mother on tipty-toe. - -When the mother runs after them and buffets them.--Northall's _English -Folk Rhymes_, p. 393. - - -Battledore and Shuttlecock - -See "Shuttlefeather." - - -Bedlams or Relievo - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -A number of boys agree to play at this game, and sides are picked. Five, -for example, play on each side. A square is chalked out on a footpath by -the side of a road, which is called the "Den;" five of the boys remain -by the side of the Den, one of whom is called the "Tenter;" the Tenter -has charge of the Den, and he must always stand with one foot in the Den -and the other upon the road; the remaining five boys go out to field, it -being agreed beforehand that they shall only be allowed to run within a -prescribed area, or in certain roads or streets (fig. 1). As soon as the -boys who have gone out to field have reached a certain distance--there -is no limit prescribed--they shout "Relievo," and upon this signal the -four boys standing by the side of the Den pursue them, leaving the -Tenter in charge of the Den (fig. 2). When a boy is caught he is taken -to the Den, where he is obliged to remain, unless the Tenter puts both -his feet into the Den, or takes out the one foot which he ought always -to keep in the Den. If the Tenter is thus caught tripping, the prisoner -can escape from the Den. If during the progress of the game one of the -boys out at field runs through the Den shouting "Relievo" without being -caught by the Tenter, the prisoner is allowed to escape, and join his -comrades at field. If one of the boys out at field is tired, and comes -to stand by the side of the Den, he is not allowed to put his foot into -the Den. If he does so the prisoner calls out, "There are two Tenters," -and escapes if he can (fig. 3). When all the boys out at field have been -caught and put into the Den, the process is reversed--the boys who have -been, as it were, hunted, taking the place of the hunters. Sometimes the -cry is "Delievo," and not "Relievo." One or two variations occur in the -playing of this game. Sometimes the Tenter, instead of standing with one -foot in the Den, stands as far off the prisoner as the prisoner can -spit. The choosing of sides is done by tossing. Two boys are selected to -toss. One of them throws up his cap, crying, "Pot!" or "Lid!" which is -equivalent to "Heads and Tails." If, when a prisoner is caught, he cries -out "Kings!" or "Kings to rest!" he is allowed to escape. The game is a -very rough one.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Beds - -Jamieson gives this as the Scottish name for "Hopscotch;" also Brockett, -_North Country Words_. - - -Bell-horses - - I. Bell-horses, bell-horses, what time of day? - One o'clock, two o'clock, three, and away! - Bell-horses, bell-horses, what time of day? - Two o'clock, three o'clock, four, and away! - Five o'clock, six o'clock, now time to stay! - ---Stanton Lacey (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 520). - - II. Bellasay, bellasay, what time of day? - One o'clock, two o'clock, three, and away. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 283. - -(_b_) The children form long trains, standing one behind the other. They -march and sing the first four lines, then the fifth line, when they -stand and begin again as before. - -(_c_) Miss Burne suggests a connection with the old pack-horses. Mr. -Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) gives the first two lines as a game. He -says, "The first horse in a team conveying lead to be smelted wore -bells, and was called the bell-horse." I remember when a child the two -first lines being used to start children a race (A. B. G.). Chambers -(_Pop. Rhymes_, p. 148) gives a similar verse, used for starting a -race:-- - - Race horses, race horses, what time of day? - One o'clock, two o'clock, three, and away; - -and these lines are also used for the same purpose in Cheshire -(Holland's _Glossary_) and Somersetshire (Elworthy's _Glossary_). -Halliwell, on the strength of the corrupted word "Bellasay," connects -the game with a proverbial saying applied to the family of Bellasis; but -there is no evidence of such a connection except the word-corruption. -The rhyme occurs in _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, 1783, the last words of -the second line being "time to away." - - -Bellie-mantie - -The name for "Blind Man's Buff" in Upper Clydesdale. As anciently in -this game he who was the chief actor was not only hoodwinked, but -enveloped in the skin of an animal.--Jamieson. - -See "Blind Man's Buff." - - -Belly-blind - -The name for "Blind Man's Buff" in Roxburgh, Clydesdale, and other -counties of the border. It is probable that the term is the same with -"Billy Blynde," said to be the name of a familiar spirit or good genius -somewhat similar to the brownie.--Jamieson. - -See "Blind Man's Buff." - - -Bend-leather - -A boys' phrase for a slide on a pond when the ice is thin and bends. -There is a game on the ice called playing at "Bend-leather." Whilst the -boys are sliding they say "Bend-leather, bend-leather, puff, puff, -puff."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Betsy Bungay - -[Music] - - Hi, Betsy Bungay, all day on Sunday; - You're the lock and I'm the key, - All day on Monday. - ---Kent (J. P. Emslie). - -Two children cross their hands in the fashion known as a "sedan chair." -A third child sits on their hands. The two sing the first line. One of -them sings, "You're the lock," the other sings, "and I'm the key," and -as they sang the words they unclasped their hands and dropped their -companion on the ground. Mr. J. P. Emslie writes, "My mother learned -this from her mother, who was a native of St. Laurence, in the Isle of -Thanet. The game possibly belongs to Kent." - - -Bicky - -In Somersetshire the game of "Hide and Seek." To _bik'ee_ is for the -seekers to go and lean their heads against a wall, so as not to see -where the others go to hide.--Elworthy's _Dialect_. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -Biddy-base - -A Lincolnshire name for "Prisoner's Base."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_; -Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_; Cole's _S. W. Lincolnshire -Glossary_. - - -Biggly - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - - -Billet - -The Derbyshire name for "Tip-cat."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Billy-base - -A name for "Prisoner's Base."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Bingo - -[Music] - ---Leicestershire. - -[Music] - ---Hexham. - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire. - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. - -[Music] - ---Enborne. - - I. The miller's mill-dog lay at the mill-door, - And his name was Little Bingo. - B with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with an O, - And his name was Little Bingo. - - The miller he bought a cask of ale, - And he called it right good Stingo. - S with a T, T with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with - an O, - And he called it right good Stingo. - - The miller he went to town one day, - And he bought a wedding Ring-o! - R with an I, I with an N, N with a G, G with an O, - And he bought a wedding Ring-o! - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - II. A farmer's dog lay on the floor, - And Bingo was his name O! - B, i, n, g, o, B, i, n, g, o, - And Bingo was his name O! - - The farmer likes a glass of beer, - I think he calls it Stingo! - S, t, i, n, g, o, S, t, i, n, g, o! - I think he calls it Stingo! - S, t, i, n, g, O! I think he calls it Stingo! - ---Market Drayton, Ellesmere, Oswestry (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, -p. 513). - - III. There was a jolly farmer, - And he had a jolly son, - And his name was Bobby Bingo. - BINGO, BINGO, BINGO, - And Bingo was his name. - ---Liphook, Hants; Wakefield, Yorks (Miss Fowler). - - IV. There _was_ a farmer _had_ a dog, - His name was Bobby Bingo. - B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, - His name was Bobby Bingo. - ---Tean, Staffs.; and North Staffs. Potteries (Miss Keary). - - V. The farmer's dog lay on the hearth, - And Bingo was his name oh! - B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, - And Bingo was his name oh! - ---Nottinghamshire (Miss Winfield). - - VI. The miller's dog lay on the wall, - And Bingo was his name Oh! - B-i-n-g-o, - And Bingo was his name Oh! - ---Maxey, Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - VII. The shepherd's dog lay on the hearth, - And Bingo was his name O. - B i n g o, Bi, n, g, o, Bi-n-g-o, - And Bingo was his name O. - ---Eckington, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - - VIII. Pinto went to sleep one night, - And Pinto was his name oh! - P-i-n-t-o, P-i-n-t-o, - And Pinto was his name oh. - ---Enbourne, Berks (Miss Kimber). - -(_b_) In the Lancashire version, one child represents the Miller. The -rest of the children stand round in a circle, with the Miller in the -centre. All dance round and sing the verses. When it comes to the -spelling part of the rhyme, the Miller points at one child, who must -call out the right letter. If the child fails to do this she becomes -Miller. In the Shropshire version, a ring is formed with one player in -the middle. They dance round and sing the verses. When it comes to the -spelling part, the girl in the middle cries B, and signals to another, -who says I, the next to her N, the third G, the fourth "O! his name was -Bobby Bingo!" Whoever makes a mistake takes the place of the girl in the -middle. In the Liphook version, at the fourth line the children stand -still and repeat a letter each in turn as quickly as they can, clapping -their hands, and at the last line they turn right round, join hands, and -begin again. In the Tean version, the one in the centre points, standing -still, to some in the ring to say the letters B.I.N.G; the letter O has -to be sung; if not, the one who says it goes in the ring, and repeats it -all again until the game is given up. In the other Staffordshire -version, when they stop, the one in the middle points to five of the -others in turn, who have to say the letters forming "Bingo," while the -one to whom O comes has to sing it on the note on which the others left -off. Any one who says the wrong letter, or fails to sing the O right, -takes the place of the middle one. The Northants version follows the -Lancashire version, but if the answers are all made correctly, the last -line is sung by the circle, and the game begins again. In the -Metheringham version the child in the centre is blindfolded. When the -song is over the girls say, "Point with your finger as we go round." The -girl in the centre points accordingly, and whichever of the others -happens to be opposite to her when she says "Stop!" is caught. If the -blindfolded girl can identify her captive they exchange places, and the -game goes on as before. The Forest of Dean and the Earls Heaton versions -are played the same as the Lancashire. In the West Cornwall version, as -seen played in 1884, a ring is formed, into the middle of which goes a -child holding a stick; the others with joined hands run round in a -circle, singing the verses. When they have finished singing they cease -running, whilst the one in the centre, pointing with his stick, asks -them in turn to spell Bingo. If they all spell it correctly they again -move round singing; but should either of them make a mistake, he or she -has to take the place of the middle man (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58). In -the Hexham version they sing a second verse, which is the same as the -first with the name spelt _backwards_. The Berks version is practically -the same as the Tean version. The Eckington (Derbyshire) version is -played as follows:--A number of young women form a ring. A man stands -within the ring, and they sing the words. He then makes choice of a -girl, who takes his arm. They both walk round the circle while the -others sing the same lines again. The girl who has been chosen makes -choice of a young man in the ring, who in his turn chooses another girl, -and so on till they have all paired off. - -(_c_) The first verse of the Shropshire version is also sung at -Metheringham, near Lincoln (C. C. Bell), and Cowes, I. W. (Miss E. -Smith). The Staffordshire version of the words is sung in Forest of -Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews), West Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 58), Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H. Hardy), Hexham, -Northumberland (Miss Barker), Leicester (Miss Ellis). Miss Peacock -says, "A version is known in Lincolnshire." Tunes have also been sent -from Tean, North Staffs. (Miss Keary), and Epworth, Doncaster (Mr. C. C. -Bell), which are nearly identical with the Leicester tune; from Market -Drayton (Miss Burne), similar to the Derbyshire tune; from Monton, -Lancashire (Miss Dendy), which appears to be only the latter part of the -tune, and is similar to those given above. The tune given by Rimbault is -not the same as those collected above, though there is a certain -similarity. - -The editor of _Northamptonshire Notes and Queries_, vol. i. p. 214, -says, "Some readers will remember that Byngo is the name of the -'Franklyn's dogge' that Ingoldsby introduces into a few lines described -as a portion of a primitive ballad, which has escaped the researches of -Ritson and Ellis, but is yet replete with beauties of no common order." -In the _Nursery Songs_ collected by Ed. Rimbault from oral tradition is -"Little Bingo." The words of this are very similar to the Lancashire -version of the game sent by Miss Dendy. There is an additional verse in -the nursery song. - - -Bird-apprentice - -A row of boys or girls stands parallel with another row opposite. Each -of the first row chooses the name of some bird, and a member of the -other row then calls out all the names of birds he can think of. If the -middle member of the first row has chosen either of them, he calls out -"Yes," and all the guessers immediately run to take the place of the -first row, the members of which attempt to catch them. If any -succeed, they have the privilege of riding in on their captives' -backs.--Ogbourne, Wilts (H. S. May). - - -Birds, Beasts, and Fishes - - B x x x x x x x h = Bullfinch - - E x x x x x x t = Elephant - - S x x x x x x x h = Swordfish - -This is a slate game, and two or more children play. One writes the -initial and final letters of a bird's, beast's, or fish's name, making -crosses (x) instead of the intermediate letters of the word, stating -whether the name is that of bird, beast, or fish. The other players must -guess in turn what the name is. The first one who succeeds takes for -himself the same number of marks as there are crosses in the word, and -then writes the name of anything he chooses in the same manner. If the -players are unsuccessful in guessing the name, the writer takes the -number to his own score and writes another. The game is won when one -player gains a certain number of marks previously decided upon as -"game."--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - - -Bittle-battle - -The Sussex game of "Stoolball." There is a tradition that this game was -originally played by the milkmaids with their milking-stools, which they -used for bats; but this word makes it more probable that the stool was -the wicket, and that it was defended with the bittle, which would be -called the bittle-bat.--Parish's _Sussex Dialect_. - -See "Stoolball." - - -Bitty-base - -Bishop Kennet (in _MS. Lansd._ 1033) gives this name as a term for -"Prisoner's Base."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Black Man's Tig - -A long rope is tied to a gate or pole, and one of the players holds the -end of the rope, and tries to catch another player. When he succeeds in -doing so the one captured joins him (by holding hands) and helps to -catch the other players. The game is finished when all are caught.--Cork -(Miss Keane). - - -Black Thorn - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. - - I. Blackthorn! - Butter-milk and barley-corn; - How many geese have you to-day? - As many as you can catch and carry away. - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - II. Blackthorn! Blackthorn! - Blue milk and barley-corn; - How many geese have you to-day? - More than you can catch and carry away. - ---Harland and Wilkinson's _Lancashire Folk-lore_, p. 150. - - III. Blackthorn! - New milk and barley-corn; - How many sheep have you to sell? - More nor yo can catch and fly away wi'. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - IV. Blackthorn! - Butter-milk and barley-corn; - How many sheep have you to-day? - As many as you catch and carry away. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (Herbert Hardy). - -(_b_) One set of children stand against a wall, another set stand -opposite, facing them. The first set sing the first line, the others -replying with the second line, and so with the third and fourth lines. -The two sides then rush over to each other, and the second set are -caught. The child who is caught last becomes one of the first set for -another game. This is the Earls Heaton version. The Lancashire game, as -described by Miss Dendy, is: One child stands opposite a row of -children, and the row run over to the opposite side, when the one child -tries to catch them. The prisoners made, join the one child, and assist -her in the process of catching the others. The rhyme is repeated in each -case until all are caught, the last one out becoming "Blackthorn" for a -new game. Harland and Wilkinson describe the game somewhat differently. -Each player has a mark, and after the dialogue the players run over to -each other's marks, and if any can be caught before getting home to the -opposite mark, he has to carry his captor to the mark, when he takes his -place as an additional catcher. - -(_c_) Miss Burne's version (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 521) is -practically the same as the Earls Heaton game, and Easther in his -_Almondbury Glossary_ gives a version practically like the Sheffield. -Mr. Hardy says it is sometimes called "Black-butt," when the opposite -side cry "Away we cut." Miss Dendy quotes an old Lancashire rhyme, which -curiously refers to the different subjects in the Lancashire game rhyme. -It is as follows:-- - - Little boy, little boy, where were you born? - Way up in Lancashire, under a thorn, - Where they sup butter-milk in a ram's horn. - -Another version is given in _Notes and Queries_, 3rd Series, vii. 285. - -(_d_) This is a dramatic game, in which the children seem to personate -animals, and to depict events belonging to the history of the flock. -Miss Burne groups it under her "dramatic games." - - -Blind Bell - -A game formerly common in Berwickshire, in which all the players were -hoodwinked except the person who was called the Bell. He carried a bell, -which he rung, still endeavouring to keep out of the way of his -hoodwinked partners in the game. When he was taken, the person who -seized him was released from the bandage, and got possession of the -bell, the bandage being transferred to him who was laid hold -of.--Jamieson. - -(_b_) In "The Modern Playmate," edited by Rev. J. G. Wood, this game is -described under the name of "Jingling." Mr. Wood says there is a rougher -game played at country feasts and fairs in which a pig takes the place -of the boy with the bell, but he does not give the locality (p. 7). -Strutt also describes it (_Sports_, p. 317). - - -Blind Bucky-Davy - -In Somersetshire the game of "Blind Man's Buff." Also in Cornwall (see -Couch's _Polperro_, p. 173). Pulman says this means "Blind buck and have -ye" (Elworthy's _Dialect_). - - -Blind Harie - -A name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Jamieson. - - -Blind Hob - -The Suffolk name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_; -Moor's _Suffolk Glossary_. - - -Blind Man's Buff - - I. Come, shepherd, come, shepherd, and count your sheep. - I canna come now, for I'm fast asleep. - If you don't come now they'll all be gone. - What's in my way? - A bottle of hay. - Am I over it? - ---Shrewsbury (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525). - - II. How many fingers do I hold up? - Four, three, &c. [at random in reply]. - How many horses has your father? - Three [fixed reply]. - What colour? - White, red, and grey. - Turn you about three times; - Catch whom you may! - ---Deptford (Miss Chase). - - III. How many horses has your father got in his stables? - Three. - What colour are they? - Red, white, and grey. - Then turn about, and twist about, and catch whom you may. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57, 58). - - IV. Antony Blindman kens ta me - Sen I bought butter and cheese o' thee? - I ga' tha my pot, - I ga' tha my pan, - I ga' tha a' I hed but a rap ho'penny I gave a poor oald man. - ---Cumberland (Dickinson's _Glossary_). - -(_b_) In the Deptford version one of the players is blindfolded. The one -who blindfolds ascertains that the player cannot see by putting the -first question. When the players are satisfied that the blindfolding is -complete, the dialogue follows, and the blind man is turned round three -times. The game is for him to catch one of the players, who is -blindfolded in turn if the blind man succeeds in guessing who he is. -Players are allowed to pull, pinch, and buffet the blind man. - -[Illustration] - -(_c_) This sport is found among the illuminations of an old missal -formerly in the possession of John Ives, cited by Strutt in his _Manners -and Customs_. The two illustrations are facsimiles from drawings in one -of the Bodleian MSS., and they indicate the complete covering of the -head, and also the fact that the game was played by adults. Gay says -concerning it-- - - As once I play'd at _blindman's-buff_, it hap't, - _About my eyes the towel thick was wrapt._ - _I miss'd the swains, and seiz'd on Blouzelind._ - -And another reference is quoted by Brand (ii. 398)-- - - Sometyme the one would goe, sometyme the other, - Sometymes all thre at once, and sometyme neither; - Thus they with him play at boyes blynde-man-bluffe. - ---_The Newe Metamorphosis_, 1600, MS. - -Other names for this game are "Belly Mantie," "Billy Blind," -"Blind Bucky Davy," "Blind Harie," "Blind Hob," "Blind Nerry Mopsey," -"Blind Palmie," "Blind Sim," "Buck Hid," "Chacke Blynd Man," -"Hoodle-cum-blind," "Hoodman Blind," "Hooper's Hide," "Jockie Blind -Man." - -(_d_) There is some reason for believing that this game can be traced up -to very ancient rites connected with prehistoric worship. The name -"Billy Blind" denoted the person who was blindfolded in the game, as may -be seen by an old poem by Lyndsay, quoted by Jamieson: - - War I ane King - I sould richt sone mak reformatioun - Farlyeand thairof your grace sould richt sone finde - That Preistis sall leid yow lyke are bellye blinde. - -And also in Clerk's _Advice to Luvaris_: - - Sum festnit is and ma not fle, - Sum led is lyk the belly blynd - With luve, war bettir lat it be. - -[Illustration] - -"It is probable," says Jamieson, "that the term is the same as Billy -Blynde, said to be the name of a familiar spirit or good genius somewhat -similar to the brownie." Professor Child identifies it with Odin, the -blind deity. Another name in Scotland is also "Blind Harie," which is -not the common Christian name "Harry," because this was not a name -familiar in Scotland. Blind Harie may therefore, Jamieson thinks, arise -from the rough or hairy attire worn by the principal actor. Auld Harie -is one of the names given to the devil, and also to the spirit Brownie, -who is represented as a hairy being. Under "Coolin," a curious Highland -custom is described by Jamieson, which is singularly like the game of -"Belly Blind," and assists in the conclusion that the game has -descended from a rite where animal gods were represented. Sporting with -animals before sacrificing them was a general feature at these rites. It -is known that the Church opposed the people imitating beasts, and in -this connection it is curious to note that in South Germany the game is -called _blind bock_, i. e., "blind goat," and in German _blinde kuhe_, -or "blind cow." In Scotland, one of the names for the game, according to -A. Scott's poems, was "Blind Buk": - - Blind buk! but at the bound thou schutes, - And them forbeirs that the rebutes. - -It may therefore be conjectured that the person who was hoodwinked -assumed the appearance of a goat, stag, or cow by putting on the skin of -one of those animals. - -He who is twice crowned or touched on the head by the taker or him who -is hoodwinked, instead of once only, according to the law of the game, -is said to be _brunt_ (burned), and regains his liberty.--Jamieson. - - -Blind Man's Stan - -A boys' game, played with the eggs of small birds. The eggs are placed -on the ground, and the player who is blindfolded takes a certain number -of steps in the direction of the eggs; he then slaps the ground with a -stick thrice in the hope of breaking the eggs; then the next player, and -so on.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - - -Blind Nerry-Mopsey - -The Whitby name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Robinson's _Glossary_. - - -Blind Palmie or Pawmie - -One of the names given to the game of "Blindman's Buff."--Jamieson. - - -Blind Sim - -Suffolk name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Forby's _Vocabulary of East -Anglia_. - - -Block, Haimmer (Hammer), and Nail - -This is a boys' game, and requires seven players. One boy, the Block, -goes down on all fours; another, the Nail, does the same behind the -Block, with his head close to his _a posteriori_ part. A third boy, the -Hammer, lies down on his back behind the two. Of the remaining four boys -one stations himself at each leg and one at each arm of the Hammer, and -he is thus lifted. He is swung backwards and forwards three times in -this position by the four, who keep repeating "Once, twice, thrice." -When the word "Thrice" is repeated, the _a posteriori_ part of the -Hammer is knocked against the same part of the Nail. Any number of -knocks may be given, according to the humour of the players.--Keith -(Rev. W. Gregor). - -A fellow lies on all fours--this is the Block; one steadies him -before--this is the Study; a third is made a Hammer of, and swung by -boys against the Block (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_). -Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game, "Hammer, Block, -and Bible," which is probably the same game. - - -Blow-point - -Strutt considers this to have been a children's game, played by blowing -an arrow through a trunk at certain numbers by way of lottery (_Sports_, -p. 403). Nares says the game was blowing small pins or points against -each other, and probably not unlike "Push-pin." Marmion in his -_Antiquary_, 1641, says: "I have heard of a nobleman that has been drunk -with a tinker, and of a magnifico that has played at blow-point." In the -_Comedy of Lingua_, 1607, act iii., sc. 2, Anamnestes introduces Memory -as telling "how he played at blowe-point with Jupiter when he was in his -side-coats." References to this game are also made in _Apollo Shroving_, -1627, p. 49; and see Hawkins' _English Drama_, iii. 243. - -See "Dust-Point." - - -Bob Cherry - -A children's game, consisting in jumping at cherries above their heads -and trying to catch them with their mouths (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). -It is alluded to in Herrick's _Hesperides_ as "Chop Cherry." Major -Lowsley describes the game as taking the end of a cherry-stalk between -the teeth, and holding the head perfectly level, trying to get the -cherry into the mouth without using the hands or moving the head -(_Berkshire Glossary_). It is also mentioned in Peacock's _Manley and -Corringham Glossary_. Strutt gives a curious illustration of the game in -his _Sports and Pastimes_, which is here reproduced from the original -MS. in the British Museum. - -[Illustration] - -The Staffordshire St. Clement Day custom (Poole's _Staffordshire -Customs, &c._, p. 36) and the northern Hallowe'en custom (Brockett's -_North-Country Words_) probably indicate the origin of this game from an -ancient rite. - - -Boggle about the Stacks - -A favourite play among young people in the villages, in which one hunts -several others (Brockett's _North-Country Words_). The game is alluded -to in one of the songs given by Ritson (ii. 3), and Jamieson describes -it as a Scottish game. - -See "Barley-break." - - -Boggle-bush - -The child's play of finding the hidden person in the -company.--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. See "Hide and Seek." - - -Bonnety - -This is a boys' game. The players place their bonnets or caps in a pile. -They then join hands and stand in a circle round it. They then pull each -other, and twist and wriggle round and round and over it, till one -overturns it or knocks a bonnet off it. The player who does so is -hoisted on the back of another, and pelted by all the others with their -bonnets.--Keith, Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Booman - -[Music] - ---Norfolk. - - Dill doule for Booman, Booman is dead and gone, - Left his wife all alone, and all his children. - - Where shall we bury him? Carry him to London; - By his grandfather's grave grows a green onion. - - Dig his grave wide and deep, strow it with flowers; - Toll the bell, toll the bell, twenty-four hours. - ---Norfolk, 1825-30 (J. Doe). - -(_b_) One boy lies down and personates Booman. Other boys form a ring -round him, joining hands and alternately raising and lowering them, to -imitate bell-pulling, while the girls who play sit down and weep. The -boys sing the first verse. The girls seek for daisies or any wild -flowers, and join in the singing of the second verse, while the boys -raise the prostrate Booman and carry him about. When singing the third -verse the boys act digging a grave, and the dead boy is lowered. The -girls strew flowers over the body. When finished another boy becomes -Booman. - -(_c_) This game is clearly dramatic, to imitate a funeral. Mr. Doe -writes, "I have seen somewhere [in Norfolk] a tomb with a crest on it--a -leek--and the name Beaumont," but it does not seem necessary to thus -account for the game. - - -Boss-out - -A game at marbles. Strutt describes it as follows:--"One bowls a marble -to any distance that he pleases, which serves as a mark for his -antagonist to bowl at, whose business it is to hit the marble first -bowled, or lay his own near enough to it for him to span the space -between them and touch both the marbles. In either case he wins. If not, -his marble remains where it lay, and becomes a mark for the first -player, and so alternately until the game be won."--_Sports_, p. 384. - - -Boss and Span - -The same as "Boss-out." It is mentioned, but not described, in Baker's -_Northamptonshire Glossary_. - - -Boys and Girls - -[Music] - ---_The Dancing Master_, 1728, vol. ii., p. 138. - - Boys, boys, come out to play, - The moon doth shine as bright as day; - Come with a whoop, come with a call, - Come with a goodwill or don't come at all; - Lose your supper and lose your sleep, - So come to your playmates in the street. - ---_Useful Transactions in Philosophy_, p. 44. - -This rhyme is repeated when it is decided to begin any game, as a -general call to the players. The above writer says it occurs in a very -ancient MS., but does not give any reference to it. Halliwell quotes the -four first lines, the first line reading "Boys and girls," instead of -"Boys, boys," from a curious ballad written about the year 1720, -formerly in the possession of Mr. Crofton Croker (_Nursery Rhymes_). -Chambers also gives this rhyme (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 152). - - -Branks - -A game formerly common at fairs, called also "Hit my Legs and miss my -Pegs."--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - - -Bridgeboard - -[Illustration] - -A game at marbles. The boys have a board a foot long, four inches in -depth, and an inch (or so) thick, with squares as in the diagram; any -number of holes at the ground edge, numbered irregularly. The board is -placed firmly on the ground, and each player bowls at it. He wins the -number of marbles denoted by the figure above the opening through which -his marble passes. If he misses a hole, his marble is lost to the owner -of the Bridgeboard.--Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). [The owner or keeper -of the Bridgeboard presumably pays those boys who succeed in winning -marbles.] - -See "Nine Holes." - - -Broken-down Tradesmen - -A boys' game, undescribed.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - - -Brother Ebenezer - -Ebenezer is sent out of the room, and the remainder choose one of -themselves. Two children act in concert, it being understood that the -last person speaking when Ebenezer goes out of the room is the person to -be chosen. The medium left in the room causes the others to think of -this person without letting them know that they are not choosing of -their own free will. The medium then says, "Brother Ebenezer, come in," -and asks him in succession, "Was it William, or Jane," &c., mentioning -several names before saying the right one, Ebenezer saying "No!" to all -until the one is mentioned who last spoke.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. -Byford). - - -Bubble-hole - -A child's game, undescribed.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Bubble-justice - -The name of a game probably the same as "Nine Holes."--Halliwell's -_Dictionary_. - - -Buck, Buck - -A boy stoops so that his arms rest on a table; another boy sits on him -as he would on a horse. He then holds up (say) three fingers, and says-- - - Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up? - -The stooping boy guesses, and if he says a wrong number the other says-- - - [Two] you say and three there be; - Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up? - -When the stooping boy guesses rightly the other says-- - - [Four] you say and [four] there be; - Buck, buck, rise up. - -The boy then gets off and stoops for the other one to mount, and the -game is played again.--London (J. P. Emslie). - -Similar action accompanies the following rhyme:-- - - Inkum, jinkum, Jeremy buck, - Yamdy horns do au cock up? - Two tha ses, and three there is, - Au'll lea'n thee to la'ke at Inkum. - ---Almondbury (Easther's _Glossary_). - -A different action occurs in other places. It is played by three boys in -the following way:--One stands with his back to a wall; the second -stoops down with his head against the stomach of the first boy, "forming -a back;" the third jumps on it, and holds up his hand with the fingers -distended, saying-- - - Buck shee, buck shee buck, - How many fingers do I hold up? - -Should the stooper guess correctly, they all change places, and the -jumper forms the back. Another and not such a rough way of playing this -game is for the guesser to stand with his face towards a wall, keeping -his eyes shut.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 59). - -In Nairn, Scotland, the game is called Post and Rider. One boy, the -Post, takes his stand beside a wall. Another boy stoops down with his -head touching the Post's breast. Several other boys stoop down in the -same way behind the first boy, all in line. The Rider then leaps on the -back of the boy at the end of the row of stooping boys, and from his -back to that of the one in front, and so on from back to back till he -reaches the boy next the Post. He then holds up so many fingers, and -says-- - - Buck, buck, how many fingers do I hold up? - -The boy makes a guess. If the number guessed is wrong, the Rider gives -the number guessed as well as the correct number, and again holds up so -many, saying-- - - [Four] you say, but [two] it is; - Buck, buck, how many fingers do I hold up? - -This goes on till the correct number is guessed, when the guesser -becomes the Rider. The game was called "Buck, Buck" at Keith. Three -players only took part in the game--the Post, the Buck, and the Rider. -The words used by the Rider were-- - - Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up? - -If the guess was wrong, the Rider gave the Buck as many blows or kicks -with the heel as the difference between the correct number and the -number guessed. This process went on till the correct number was -guessed, when the Rider and the Buck changed places.--Rev. W. Gregor. - -(_b_) Dr. Tylor says: "It is interesting to notice the wide distribution -and long permanence of these trifles in history when we read the -following passage from Petronius Arbiter, written in the time of -Nero:--'Trimalchio, not to seem moved by the loss, kissed the boy, and -bade him get up on his back. Without delay the boy climbed on horseback -on him, and slapped him on the shoulders with his hand, laughing and -calling out, "Bucca, bucca, quot sunt hic?"'--_Petron. Arbitri Satirae_, -by Buchler, p. 84 (other readings are _buccae_ or _bucco_)."--_Primitive -Culture_, i. 67. - - -Buck i' t' Neucks - -A rude game amongst boys.--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - - -Buckerels - -"A kind of play used by boys in London streets in Henry VIII.'s time, -now disused, and I think forgot" (Blount's _Glossographia_, p. 95). Hall -mentions this game, temp. Henry VIII., f. 91. - - -Buckey-how - -For this the boys divide into sides. One "stops at home," the other goes -off to a certain distance agreed on beforehand and shouts "Buckey-how." -The boys "at home" then give chase, and when they succeed in catching an -adversary, they bring him home, and there he stays until all on his side -are caught, when they in turn become the chasers.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 60). - - -Buff - - 1st player, thumping the floor with a stick: "Knock, knock!" - 2nd ditto: "Who's there?" - 1st: "Buff." - 2nd: "What says Buff?" - 1st: "Buff says Buff to all his men, - And I say Buff to you again!" - 2nd: "Methinks Buff smiles?" - 1st: "Buff neither laughs nor smiles, - But looks in your face - With a comical grace, - And delivers the staff to you again" (handing it over). - ---Shropshire (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 526). - -Same verses as in Shropshire, except the last, which runs as follows:-- - - Buff neither laughs nor smiles, - But strokes his face - With a very good grace, - And delivers his staff to you. - ---Cheltenham (Miss E. Mendham). - -Same verses as in Shropshire, except the last, which runs as follows:-- - - Buff neither laughs nor smiles, - But strokes his face for want of grace, - And sticks his staff in the right place. - ---London (J. P. Emslie). - -(_b_) Five or six children stand in a row. Another child comes up to the -first of the row, and strikes smartly on the ground with a stick. The -child facing him asks the first question, and the one with the stick -answers. At "strokes his face" he suits the action to the words, and -then thumps with his stick on the ground at the beginning of the last -line. The object of all the players is to make Buff smile while going -through this absurdity, and if he does he must pay a forfeit. - -Another version is for one child to be blindfolded, and stand in the -middle of a ring of children, holding a long wand in his hand. The ring -dance round to a tune and sing a chorus [which is not given by the -writer]. They then stop. Buff extends his wand, and the person to whom -it happens to be pointed must step out of the circle to hold the end in -his hand. Buff then interrogates the holder of the wand by grunting -three times, and is answered in like manner. Buff then guesses who is -the holder of the wand. If he guesses rightly, the holder of the stick -becomes Buff, and he joins the ring (_Winter Evening's Amusements_, p. -6). When I played at this game the ring of children walked in silence -three times only round Buff, then stopped and knelt or stooped down on -the ground, strict silence being observed. Buff asked three questions -(anything he chose) of the child to whom he pointed the stick, who -replied by imitating cries of animals or birds (A. B. Gomme). - -(_c_) This is a well-known game. It is also called "Buffy Gruffy," or -"Indian Buff." The Dorsetshire version in _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 238, -239, is the same as the Shropshire version. Halliwell (_Nursery -Rhymes_, cclxxxii.) gives a slight variant. It is also given by Mr. Addy -in his _Sheffield Glossary_, the words being the same except the last -two lines, which run-- - - But shows his face with a comely grace, - And leaves his staff at the very next place. - - -Buk-hid - -This seems to be an old name for some game, probably "Blindman's Buff," -Sw. "Blind-bock," q. "bock" and "hufwud head" (having the head -resembling a goat). The sense, however, would agree better with -"Bo-peep" or "Hide and Seek."--Jamieson. - - -Bull in the Park - -One child places himself in the centre of a circle of others. He then -asks each of the circle in turn, "Where's the key of the park?" and is -answered by every one, except the last, "Ask the next-door neighbour." -The last one answers, "Get out the way you came in." The centre one then -makes a dash at the hands of some of the circle, and continues to do so -until he breaks through, when all the others chase him. Whoever catches -him is then Bull.--Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - -"The Bull in the Barn" is apparently the same game. The players form a -ring; one player in the middle called the Bull, one outside called the -King. - -Bull: "Where is the key of the barn-door?" - -Chorus: "Go to the next-door neighbour." - -King: "She left the key in the church-door." - -Bull: "Steel or iron?" - -He then forces his way out of the ring, and whoever catches him becomes -Bull.--Berrington (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 519, 520). - -Another version is that the child in the centre, whilst the others -danced around him in a circle, saying, "Pig in the middle and can't get -out," replies, "I've lost my key but I will get out," and throws the -whole weight of his body suddenly on the clasped hands of a couple, to -try and unlock them. When he had succeeded he changed the words to, -"I've broken your locks, and I have got out." One of the pair whose -hands he had opened took his place, and he joined the ring.--Cornwall -(_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 50). - -(_b_) Mr. S. O. Addy says the following lines are said or sung in a game -called "T' Bull's i' t' Barn," but he does not know how it is played:-- - - As I was going o'er misty moor - I spied three cats at a mill-door; - One was white and one was black, - And one was like my granny's cat. - I hopped o'er t' style and broke my heel, - I flew to Ireland very weel, - Spied an old woman sat by t' fire, - Sowing silk, jinking keys; - Cat's i' t' cream-pot up to t' knees, - Hen's i' t' hurdle crowing for day, - Cock's i' t' barn threshing corn, - I ne'er saw the like sin' I was born. - - -Bulliheisle - -A play amongst boys, in which, all having joined hands in a line, a boy -at one of the ends stands still, and the rest all wind round him. The -sport especially consists in an attempt to heeze or throw the whole mass -on the ground.--Jamieson. - -See "Eller Tree," "Wind up Jack," "Wind up the Bush Faggot." - - -Bummers - -A play of children. "Bummers--a thin piece of wood swung round by a -cord" (_Blackwood's Magazine_, Aug. 1821, p. 35). Jamieson says the word -is evidently denominated from the booming sound produced. - - -Bun-hole - -A hole is scooped out in the ground with the heel in the shape of a -small dish, and the game consists in throwing a marble as near to this -hole as possible. Sometimes, when several holes are made, the game is -called "Holy."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_; _Notes and Queries_, xii. -344. - - -Bunch of Ivy - -Played by children in pairs (one kneeling and one standing) in a ring. -The inner child of each pair kneels. The following dialogue begins with -the inner circle asking the first question, which is replied to by the -outer circle. - -"What time does the King come home?" - -"One o'clock in the afternoon." - -"What has he in his hand?" - -"A bunch of ivy." - -The rhyme is repeated for every hour up to six, the outer circle running -round the inner as many times as the number named. The children then -change places and repeat.--Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - -Bung the Bucket - -[Music] - ---London (J. P. Emslie). - -[Illustration] - -A number of boys divide themselves into two sides. One side, the -Buckets, stoop down, as for "Leap-frog," arranging themselves one in -front of the other. The hindmost supports himself against the one in -front of him, and the front one supports himself against a wall (fig.). -They thus make an even and solid row of their backs. The other side, the -Bungs, leap on to the backs of the Buckets, the first one going as far -up the row as possible, the second placing himself close behind the -first, and so on. If they all succeed in getting a secure place, they -cry out twice the two first lines-- - - Bung the Bucket, - One, two, three. - Off, off, off! - -If no breakdown occurs, the Buckets count one in their favour, and the -Bungs repeat the process. When a breakdown occurs the Bungs take the -place of the Buckets.--Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) Mr. Emslie, to whom I am indebted for the tune to this game, gives -me the words as-- - - Jump a little nag-tail, - One, two, three. - -He says, "I once heard this sung three times, followed by 'Ha! ha! he!' -to the tune of the last bar." Mr. W. R. Emslie says the game is known at -Beddgelert as "Horses, Wild Horses," he believes, but is not quite -certain. - -Northall (_Rhymes_, p. 401) describes a game very similar to this under -"Buck," in which the rhyme and method of play is the same as in that -game. He continues, "This is closely allied to a game called in -Warwickshire 'Jack upon the Mopstick.' But in this there is no guessing. -The leaping party must maintain their position whilst their leader -says-- - - Jack upon the mopstick, - One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, - Count 'em off again." - - -Bunting - -Name for "Tip-cat."--Cole's _S. W. Lincolnshire_ Glossary. - - -Burly Whush - -A game played at with a ball. The ball is thrown up by one of the -players on a house or wall, who cries on the instant it is thrown to -another to catch or kep it before it falls to the ground. They all run -off but this one to a little distance, and if he fails in kepping it he -bawls out "Burly Whush;" then the party are arrested in their flight, -and must run away no farther. He singles out one of them then, and -throws the ball at him, which often is directed so fair as to strike; -then this one at which the ball has been thrown is he who gives "Burly -Whush" with the ball to any he chooses. If the corner of a house be at -hand, as is mostly the case, and any of the players escape behind it, -they must still show one of their hands past its edge to the Burly Whush -man, who sometimes hits it such a whack with the ball as leaves it -dirling for an hour afterwards.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_. - -See "Ball," "Keppy Ball," "Monday." - - -Buttons - -Two or more boys take two buttons in their right hands, and try to throw -them both into a small hole in the ground about two yards off. The boy -who succeeds in getting both buttons in begins first next game, and -takes a button as prize. [This seems merely a mild form of -marbles.]--Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts). - -There were several games played with buttons--some on level ground, in a -ring or square; but the most approved was with a hole dug in the earth -near a wall, or near the trunk of a large tree. The hole should be about -the cavity of a small tea-cup, the players toeing a scratched line about -four or five feet from the hole, after tossing for first innings. Each -of the players (mostly two) contribute an equal number of buttons, say -from two to ten, and of equal value or quality. The one having first -turn takes the whole of them in his hand, and by an under-throw, or -rather a pitch, endeavours to get the whole, or as many as possible, -into the hole. If all go clean into the hole, he wins the game, and -takes the whole of the buttons started with; but if one or more of the -buttons are left outside the hole, the non-player has then the choice of -selecting one which he considers difficult to be hit, and requesting the -player to hit it with his _nicker_. This is made of solid lead, about -the size of a florin, but twice its substance, and each player is -provided with one of his own. Much judgment is required in making this -selection, the object being to make it most difficult not only to hit -it, but to prevent it being hit without being knocked into the hole, or -sending the nicker in, or sending another button in, or even not -striking one at all. In any one of these cases the player loses the -game, and the non-player takes the whole of the stakes. In playing the -next game, the previous non-player becomes the player.--London (C. A. T. -M.). - -The following was the value of the buttons:-- - -(1.) The plain metal 3 or 4-holed flat button, called a Sinkie, say, -value 1 point. - -(2.) The same kind of button, with letters or inscription on the rim, -valued at 2 points. - -(3.) The small metal shank button, called a Shankie, without any -inscription, valued at 3 points; if with inscription, at 4 points; the -large sizes and corresponding description were valued relatively 4 and 5 -points. - -(4.) The small Shankies, with a crest (livery waistcoat buttons), 6 -points, and the large corresponding, 7 points. - -(5.) The small Shankies, with coat of arms, value 8 points, and the -large corresponding, 9 points. - -(6.) Ornamental and various other buttons, such as regimental, official, -mounted and engraved in flowers, and other designs according to -arrangement, up to 20 points. - -See "Banger," "Cots and Twisses." - - -Buzz and Bandy - -A local name for "Hockey," which was formerly a very popular game among -the young men of Shrewsbury and Much Wenlock. Called simply "Bandy" at -Ludlow and Newport.--_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525. - - -Cache-pole - -The game of "Tennis."--Jamieson. - - -Caiche - -The game of "Handball." - - Thocht I preich nocht I can play at the caiche. - I wait thair is nocht ane among you all - Mair ferilie can play at the fute ball. - ---Lyndsay's _S. P. Repr_., ii. 243. - -This language Lyndsay puts into the mouth of a Popish parson. The game -seems to be that of ball played with the hand, as distinguished from -"Football."--Jamieson. - -See "Ball." - - -Call-the-Guse - -This game is supposed by Jamieson to be equivalent to "Drive the -Goose," and the game seems to be the same with one still played by young -people in some parts of Angus, in which one of the company, having -something that excites ridicule unknowingly pinned behind, is pursued by -all the rest, who still cry out, "Hunt the Goose!"--Jamieson. - - -Camp - -A game formerly much in use among schoolboys, and occasionally played by -men in those parts of Suffolk on the sea coast--more especially in the -line of Hollesley Bay between the Rivers Orwell and Alde, sometimes -school against school, or parish against parish. It was thus played: -Goals were pitched at the distance of 150 or 200 yards from each other; -these were generally formed of the thrown-off clothes of the -competitors. Each party has two goals, ten or fifteen yards apart. The -parties, ten or fifteen on a side, stand in line, facing their own goals -and each other, at about ten yards distance, midway between the goals, -and nearest that of their adversaries. An indifferent spectator, agreed -on by the parties, throws up a ball, of the size of a common -cricket-ball, midway between the confronted players, and makes his -escape. It is the object of the players to seize and convey the ball -between their own goals. The rush is therefore very great: as is -sometimes the shock of the first onset, to catch the falling ball. He -who first can catch or seize it speeds therefore home, pursued by his -opponents (thro' whom he has to make his way), aided by the jostlings -and various assistances of his own _sidesmen_. If caught and held, or in -imminent danger of being caught, he _throws_ the ball--but must in no -case give it--to a less beleaguered friend, who, if it be not arrested -in its course, or be jostled away by the eager and watchful adversaries, -catches it; and he hastens homeward, in like manner pursued, annoyed, -and aided, winning the notch (or snotch) if he contrive to _carry_, not -_throw_, it between his goals. But this in a well-matched game is no -easy achievement, and often requires much time, many doublings, detours, -and exertions. I should have noticed, that if the holder of the ball be -caught with the ball in his possession, he loses a _snotch_; if, -therefore, he be hard pressed, he _throws_ it to a convenient friend, -more free and in breath than himself. At the loss (or gain) of a -_snotch_, a recommence takes place, arranging which gives the parties -time to take breath. Seven or nine notches are the game--and these it -will sometimes take two or three hours to win. Sometimes a large -football was used--and the game was then called "Kicking Camp"--and if -played with the shoes on, "Savage Camp."--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - -(_b_) The sport and name are very old. The "Camping pightel" occurs in a -deed of the 30 Henry VI.--about 1486; Cullum's _Hawstead_, p. 113, where -Tusser is quoted in proof, that not only was the exercise manly and -salutary, but good also for the _pightel_ or meadow: - - In meadow or pasture (to grow the more fine) - Let campers be camping in any of thine; - Which if ye do suffer when low is the spring, - You gain to yourself a commodious thing. - ---P. 65. - -And he says, in p. 56: - - Get campers a ball, - To camp therewithall. - -Ray says that the game prevails in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. The Rev. -S. Arnot, in _Notes and Queries_, 8th series, vol. ii. p. 138, who was -rector of Ilket's Hall, in the county of Suffolk, says the ball was -about the size of a cricket-ball, and was driven through a narrow goal; -and from the evidence of the parish clerk it seems certain that it was -not "Football." See also Spurden's _East Anglian Words_, and _County -Folk-lore, Suffolk_, pp. 57-59. - -There are Upper Campfield and Lower Campfield at Norton Woodseats. They -are also called Camping fields. This field was probably the place where -football and other village games were played. These fields adjoin the -Bocking fields. In Gosling's Map of Sheffield, 1736, Campo Lane is -called _Camper Lane_. The same map shows the position of the old Latin -school, or grammar school, and the writing school. These schools were at -a very short distance from Campo Lane, and it seems probable that here -the game of football was played (Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_). "The -camping-land appropriated to this game occurs in several instances in -authorities of the fifteenth century" (Way's Note in _Prompt. Parv._, p. -60). In Brinsley's _Grammar Schoole_, cited by Mr. Furnivall in _Early -English Meals and Manners_, p. lxii., is this passage: "By this meanes -also the schollars may be kept euer in their places, and hard to their -labours, without that running out to the Campo (as they tearme it) at -school times, and the manifolde disorders thereof; as watching and -striuing for the clubbe and loytering then in the fields." - -See "Football." - - -Canlie - -A very common game in Aberdeen, played by a number of boys, one of whom -is by lot chosen to act the part of Canlie. A certain portion of a -street or ground, as it may happen, is marked off as his territory, into -which, if any of the other boys presume to enter, and be caught by -Canlie before he can get off the ground, he is doomed to take the place -of Canlie, who becomes free in consequence of the capture. The game is -prevalent throughout Scotland, though differently denominated: in -Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire it is called "Tig," and in Mearns -"Tick."--Jamieson. - -See "Tig." - - -Capie-Hole - -A hole is made in the ground, and a certain line drawn, called a Strand, -behind which the players must take their stations. The object is at this -distance to throw the bowl into the hole. He who does this most -frequently wins. It is now more generally called "The Hole," but the old -designation is not quite extinct. It is otherwise played in Angus. Three -holes are made at equal distances. He who can first strike his bowl into -each of these holes thrice in succession wins the game (Jamieson). It is -alluded to in _The Life of a Scotch Rogue_, 1722, p. 7. - -See "Bun-hole." - - -Carrick - -Old name for "Shinty" in Fife.--Jamieson. - - -Carry my Lady to London - - I. Give me a pin to stick in my thumb - To carry my lady to London. - Give me another to stick in my other - To carry her a little bit farther. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - II. London Bridge is broken, - And what shall I do for a token? - Give me a pin to stick in my thumb - And carry my lady to London. - ---_Notes and Queries_, 4th series, xii. 479. - - III. Give me a pin to stick in my chin (? cushion) - To carry a lady to London; - London Bridge is broken down - And I must let my lady down. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 353. - -(_b_) In this game two children cross hands, grasping each other's -wrists and their own as well: they thus form a seat on which a child can -sit and be carried about. At the same time they sing the verse. - - -Carrying the Queen a Letter - -The King and Queen have a throne formed by placing two chairs a little -apart, with a shawl spread from chair to chair. A messenger is sent into -the room with a letter to the Queen, who reads it, and joins the King in -a courteous entreaty that the bearer of the missive will place himself -between them. When he has seated himself on the shawl, up jumps the King -and Queen, and down goes the messenger on the floor.--Bottesford and -Anderly (Lincolnshire), and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock). - -(_b_) This is virtually the same game as "Ambassador," described by -Grose as played by sailors on some inexperienced fellow or landsman. -Between the two chairs is placed a pail of water, into which the victim -falls. - - -Cashhornie - -A game played with clubs by two opposite parties of boys, the aim of -each party being to drive a ball into a hole belonging to their -antagonists, while the latter strain every nerve to prevent -this.--Jamieson. - - -Castles - -A game at marbles. Each boy makes a small pyramid of three as a base, -and one on the top. The players aim at these from a distant stroke with -balsers, winning such of the castles as they may in turn knock down -(Lowsley's _Glossary of Berkshire Words_). In London, the marble alluded -to as "balser" was called "bonsor" or "bouncer" (J. P. Emslie). - -See "Cockly Jock," "Cogs." - - -Cat and Dog - -An ancient game played in Angus and Lothian. Three play, and they are -provided with clubs. These clubs are called "dogs." The players cut out -two holes, each about a foot in diameter, and seven inches in depth. The -distance between them is about twenty-six feet. One stands at each hole -with a club. A piece of wood about four inches long and one inch in -diameter, called a Cat, is thrown from the one hole towards the other by -a third person. The object is to prevent the Cat from getting into the -hole. Every time that it enters the hole, he who has the club at that -hole loses the club, and he who threw the Cat gets possession both of -the club and of the hole, while the former possessor is obliged to take -charge of the Cat. If the Cat be struck, he who strikes it changes -places with the person who holds the other club; and as often as these -positions are changed one is counted in the game by the two who hold the -clubs, and who are viewed as partners.--Jamieson. - -(_b_) This is not unlike the "Stool-Ball" described by Strutt (_Sports -and Pastimes_, p. 76), but it more nearly resembles "Club-Ball," an -ancient English game (ibid., p. 83). The game of "Cat," played with -sticks and a small piece of wood, rising in the middle, so as to rebound -when struck on either side, is alluded to in _Poor Robin's Almanack_ for -1709, and by Brand. Leigh (_Cheshire Glossary_) gives "Scute" as another -name for the game of "Cat," probably from _scute_ (O.W.), for boat, -which it resembles in shape. - -See "Cudgel," "Kit-cat," "Tip-cat." - - -Cat-Beds - -The name of a game played by young people in Perthshire. In this game, -one, unobserved by all the rest, cuts with a knife the turf in very -unequal angles. These are all covered, and each player puts his hand on -what he supposes to be the smallest, as every one has to cut off the -whole surface of his division. The rate of cutting is regulated by a -throw of the knife, and the person who throws is obliged to cut as deep -as the knife goes. He who is last in getting his bed cut up is bound to -carry the whole of the clods, crawling on his hands and feet, to a -certain distance measured by the one next to him, who throws the knife -through his legs. If the bearer of the clods let any of them fall, the -rest have a right to pelt him with them. They frequently lay them very -loosely on, that they may have the pleasure of pelting.--Jamieson. - - -Cat's Cradle - -One child holds a piece of string joined at the ends on his upheld -palms, a single turn being taken over each, and by inserting the middle -finger of each hand under the opposite turn, crosses the string from -finger to finger in a peculiar form. Another child then takes off the -string on his fingers in a rather different way, and it then assumes a -second form. A repetition of this man[oe]uvre produces a third form, -and so on. Each of these forms has a particular name, from a fancied -resemblance to the object--barn-doors, bowling-green, hour-glass, pound, -net, fiddle, fish-pond, diamonds, and others.--_Notes and Queries_, vol. -xi. p. 421. - -The following forms are those known to me, with their names. They are -produced seriatim. - - 1. The cradle. - 2. The soldier's bed. - 3. Candles. - 4. The cradle inversed, or manger. - 5. Soldier's bed again, or diamonds. - 6. Diamonds, or cat's eyes. - 7. Fish in dish. - 8. Cradle as at first. - -The different orders or arrangements must be taken from the hands of one -player by another without disturbing the arrangement.--A. B. Gomme. - -(_b_) Nares suggests that the proper name is "Cratch Cradle," and is -derived from the archaic word _cratch_, meaning a manger. He gives -several authorities for its use. The first-made form is not unlike a -manger. Moor (_Suffolk Words_) gives the names as cat's cradle, -barn-doors, bowling-green, hour-glass, pound, net, diamonds, fish-pond, -fiddle. A supposed resemblance originated them. Britton (_Beauties of -Wiltshire_, Glossary) says the game in London schools is called -"Scratch-scratch" or "Scratch-cradle." - -[Illustration: Cat's Cradle "Taking off" Soldier's Bed - -"Taking off" Candles "Taking off" - -Cat's Cradle (upside down) Cat's Eyes Fish.] - -The game is known to savage peoples. Professor Haddon noted it among the -Torres Straits people, who start the game in the same manner as we do, -but continue it differently (_Journ. Anthrop. Inst._, vol. xix. p. 361); -and Dr. Tylor has pointed out the significance of these string puzzles -among savage peoples in _Journ. Anthrop. Inst._, ix. 26. - - -Cat-gallows - -A child's game, consisting of jumping over a stick placed at right -angles to two others fixed in the ground.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -(_b_) In Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ this is called -"Cat-gallas," and is described as three sticks placed in the form of a -gallows for boys to jump over. So called in consequence of being of -sufficient height to hang cats from. Also mentioned in Peacock's _Manley -and Corringham Glossary_ and Elworthy's _West Somerset Words_, Brogden's -_Provincial Words, Lincs._, Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_, -Atkinson's _Cleveland Glossary_, Brockett's _North Country Words_, -Evans' _Leicestershire Glossary_, Baker's _Northants Glossary_, and -Darlington's _South Cheshire Glossary_. On one of the stalls in -Worcester Cathedral, figured in Wright's _Archaeological Essays_, ii. -117, is a carving which represents three rats busily engaged in hanging -a cat on a gallows of this kind. - - -Cat i' the Hole - -A game well known in Fife, and perhaps in other counties. If seven boys -are to play, six holes are made at certain distances. Each of the six -stands at a hole, with a short stick in his hand; the seventh stands at -a certain distance holding a ball. When he gives the word, or makes the -sign agreed upon, all the six change holes, each running to his -neighbour's hole, and putting his stick in the hole which he has newly -seized. In making this change, the boy who has the ball tries to put it -into an empty hole. If he succeeds in this, the boy who had not his -stick (for the stick is the Cat) in the hole to which he had run is put -out, and must take the ball. There is often a very keen contest whether -the one shall get his stick, or the other the ball, or Cat, first put -into the hole. When the Cat _is in the hole_, it is against the laws of -the game to put the ball into it.--Jamieson. - -(_b_) Kelly, in his _Scottish Proverbs_, p. 325, says, "'Tine cat, tine -game;' an allusion to a play called 'Cat i' the Hole,' and the English -'Kit-cat.' Spoken when men at law have lost their principal evidence." - -See "Cat and Dog," "Cudgel," "Kit-cat." - - -Cat after Mouse - -This game, sometimes called "Threading the Needle," is played by -children forming a ring, with their arms extended and hands clasped; -one--the Mouse--goes outside the circle and gently pulls the dress of -one of the players, who thereupon becomes the Cat, and is bound to -follow wherever the Mouse chooses to go--either in or out of the -ring--until caught, when he or she takes the place formerly occupied in -the ring by the Cat, who in turn becomes Mouse, and the game is -recommenced.--Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 214). - -(_b_) Played at Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy); Clapham Middle-Class -School (Miss Richardson); and many other places. It is practically the -same game as "Drop Handkerchief," played without words. It is described -by Strutt, p. 381, who considers "Kiss-in-the-Ring" is derived from this -"Cat and Mouse." - - -Catchers - -One bicken is required in this game, and at this a lad must stand with a -bat and ball in hand. He hits the ball away along the sand. Another boy -picks it up and asks the striker "How many?" who replies-- - - Two a good scat, - Try for the bat. - -The ball is then thrown to the bicken, and if it does not come within -the distance named--two bats--the striker again sends the ball away, -when the question is again asked-- - - Three a good scat, - Try for the bat. - -And so on until the boy standing out throws the ball in to the required -distance.--Old newspaper cutting without date in my possession (A. B. -Gomme). - - -Chacke-Blyndman - -Scotch name for "Blindman's Buff."--Jamieson. - - -Chance Bone - -In Langley's abridgment of _Polydore Vergile_, f. 1., we have a -description of this game: "There is a game also that is played with the -posterne bone in the hinder foote of a sheepe, oxe, gote, fallow, or -redde dere, whiche in Latin is called _talus_. It hath foure chaunces: -the ace point, that is named Canis, or Canicula, was one of the sides; -he that cast it leyed doune a peny, or so muche as the gamers were -agreed on; the other side was called Venus, that signifieth seven. He -that cast the chaunce wan sixe and all that was layd doune for the -castyng of Canis. The two other sides were called Chius and Senio. He -that did throwe Chius wan three. And he that cast Senio gained four. -This game (as I take it) _is used of children in Northfolke_, and they -cal it the Chaunce Bone; they playe with three or foure of those bones -together; it is either the same or very lyke to it." - -See "Dibs," "Hucklebones." - - -Change Seats, the King's Come - -In this game as many seats are placed round a room as will serve all the -company save one. The want of a seat falls on an individual by a kind of -lot, regulated, as in many other games, by the repetition of an old -rhythm. All the rest being seated, he who has no seat stands in the -middle, repeating the words "Change seats, change seats," &c., while all -the rest are on the alert to observe when he adds, "the king's come," -or, as it is sometimes expressed, change their seats. The sport lies in -the bustle in consequence of every one's endeavouring to avoid the -misfortune of being the unhappy individual who is left without a seat. -The principal actor often slily says, "The king's _not_ come," when, of -course the company ought to keep their seats; but from their anxious -expectation of the usual summons, they generally start up, which affords -a great deal of merriment.--Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 409. - -(_b_) Dr. Jamieson says this is a game well-known in Lothian and in the -South of Scotland. Sir Walter Scott, in _Rob Roy_, iii. 153, says, "Here -auld ordering and counter-ordering--but patience! patience!--We may ae -day play at _Change seats, the king's coming_." - -This game is supposed to ridicule the political scramble for places on -occasion of a change of government, or in the succession. - -See "Musical Chairs," "Turn the Trencher." - - -Checkstone - -Easther's _Almondbury Glossary_ thus describes this game. A set of -checks consists of five cubes, each about half an inch at the edge, and -a ball the size of a moderate bagatelle ball: all made of pot. They are -called checkstones, and the game is played thus. You throw down the -cubes all at once, then toss the ball, and during its being in the air -gather up one stone in your right hand and catch the descending ball in -the same. Put down the stone and repeat the operation, gathering two -stones, then three, then four, till at last you have "summed up" all the -five at once, and have succeeded in catching the ball. In case of -failure you have to begin all over again. - -(_b_) In Nashe's _Lenten Stuff_ (1599) occurs the following: "Yet -towards cock-crowing she caught a little slumber, and then she dreamed -that Leander and she were playing at checkstone with pearls in the -bottom of the sea." - -A game played by children with round small pebbles (Halliwell's -_Dictionary_). It is also mentioned in the early play of _Apollo -Shroving_, 1627, p. 49. - -See "Chucks," "Fivestones." - - -Cherry Odds - -A game of "Pitch and Toss" played with cherry-stones (Elworthy's _West -Somerset Words_). Boys always speak of the stones as "ods." - - -Cherry-pit - -"Cherry-pit" is a play wherein they pitch cherry-stones into a little -hole. It is noticed in the _Pleasant Grove of New Fancies_, 1657, and in -Herrick's _Hesperides_. Nares (_Glossary_) mentions it as still -practised with leaden counters called Dumps, or with money. - - -Chicamy - - Chicamy, chickamy, chimey O, - Down to the pond to wash their feet; - Bring them back to have some meat, - Chickamy, chickamy, chimey O. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss Chase). - -The children sing the first line as they go round and round. At the -second line they move down the road a little, and turn round and round -as they end the rhyme. - - -Chickidy Hand - - Chickidy hand, - Chickidy hand, - The Warner, my Cock, - Crows at four in the morning. - -Several boys, placing their clasped fists against a lamp-post, say these -lines, after which they run out, hands still clasped. One in the middle -tries to catch as many as possible, forming them in a long string, hand -in hand, as they are caught. Those still free try to break through the -line and rescue the prisoners. If they succeed in parting the line, they -may carry one boy pig-a-back to the lamp-post, who becomes "safe." The -boy caught last but one becomes "it" in the next game.--Deptford, Kent -(Miss Chase). - -See "Hunt the Staigie," "Stag Warning," "Whiddy." - - -Chinnup - -A game played with hooked sticks and a ball, also called "Shinnup." Same -as "Hockey." - - -Chinny-mumps - -A school-boys' play, consisting in striking the chin with the knuckles; -dexterously performed, a kind of time is produced.--Addy's _Sheffield -Glossary_. - - -Chock or Chock-hole - -A game at marbles played by "chocking" or pitching marbles in a hole -made for the purpose, instead of shooting at a ring (Northamptonshire, -Baker's _Glossary_). Clare mentions the game in one of his poems. - - -Chow - -A game played in Moray and Banffshire. The ball is called the Chow. The -game is the same as "Shinty." The players are equally divided. After the -Chow is struck off by one party, the aim of the other is to strike it -back, that it may not reach the limit or goal on their side, because in -this case they lose the game, and as soon as it crosses the line the -other party cry Hail! or say that it is hail, as denoting that they have -gained the victory. In the beginning of each game they are allowed to -raise the ball a little above the level of the ground, that they may -have the advantage of a surer stroke. This is called the "deil-chap," -perhaps as a contraction of "devil," in reference to the force expended -on the stroke. It may, however, be "dule-chap," the blow given at the -"dule" or goal.--Jamieson. - -See "Hockey." - - -Chuck-farthing - -Strutt says this game was played by boys at the commencement of the last -century, and probably bore some analogy to "Pitch and Hustle." He saw -the game thus denominated played with halfpence, every one of the -competitors having a like number, either two or four; a hole being made -in the ground, with a mark at a given distance for the players to stand, -they pitch their halfpence singly in succession towards the hole, and he -whose halfpenny lies the nearest to it has the privilege of coming first -to a second mark much nearer than the former, and all the halfpence are -given to him; these he pitches in a mass toward the hole, and as many of -them as remain therein are his due; if any fall short or jump out of it, -the second player--that is, he whose halfpenny in pitching lay nearest -to the first goer's--takes them and performs in like manner; he is -followed by the others as long as any of the halfpence remain (_Sports_, -pp. 386, 387). There is a letter in the _Spectator_, supposed to be from -the father of a romp, who, among other complaints of her conduct, says, -"I have catched her once at eleven years old at 'Chuck-farthing' among -the boys." - - -Chuck-hole, Chuck-penny - -Same game as "Chuck-farthing," with this difference, that if the pennies -roll outside the ring it is a "dead heat," and each boy reclaims his -penny.--Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_; and see Brogden's -_Lincolnshire Words_. - - -Chucks - -A game with marbles played by girls (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_). A writer in _Blackwood's Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, -says "Chucks" is played with a bowl and chucks--a species of shells -(_Buccinum lapillus_) found on the sea-shore ["bowl" here probably means -a marble]. Brockett (_North Country Words_) says this game is played by -girls with five sea-shells called chucks, and sometimes with pebbles, -called chuckie-stanes. Jamieson says a number of pebbles are spread on a -flat stone; one of them is tossed up, and a certain number must be -gathered and the falling one caught by the same hand. - -See "Checkstones," "Fivestones." - - -Church and Mice - -A game played in Fifeshire; said to be the same with the "Sow in the -Kirk."--Jamieson. - - -Click - -Two Homes opposite each other are selected, and a boy either volunteers -to go Click, or the last one in a race between the Homes does so. The -others then proceed to one of the Homes, and the boy takes up his -position between them. The players then attempt to run between the -Homes, and if the one in the middle holds any of them while he says -"One, two, three, I catch thee; help me catch another," they have to -stay and help him to collar the rest until only one is left. If this one -succeeds in getting between the Homes three times after all the others -have been caught, he is allowed to choose the one to go Click in the -next game; if he fails, he has to go himself.--Marlborough, Wilts (H. S. -May). - -See "Cock." - - -Click, Clock, Cluck - - A man called Click came west from Ireland, - A man called Click came west from Ireland, - A man called Click came west from Ireland, - Courting my Aunt Judy. - - A man called Clock came west from Ireland, - A man called Clock came west from Ireland, - A man called Clock came west from Ireland, - Courting my Aunt Judy. - - A man called Cluck came west from Ireland, - A man called Cluck came west from Ireland, - A man called Cluck came west from Ireland, - Courting my Aunt Judy. - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore). - -These verses and the game are now quite forgotten, both in English and -Manx. It was sung by children dancing round in a ring. - - -Clowt-clowt - -"A kinde of playe called clowt-clowt, to beare about, or my hen hath -layd."--_Nomenclator_, p. 299. - - -Clubby - -A youthful game something like "Doddart."--Brockett's _North Country -Words_. - - -Coal under Candlestick - -A Christmas game mentioned in _Declaration of Popish Impostures_, p. -160. - - -Cob - -A game at marbles played by two or three boys bowling a boss marble into -holes made in the ground for the purpose, the number of which is -generally four.--Baker's _Northamptonshire Glossary_. - - -Cobbin-match - -A school game in which two boys are held by the legs and arms and bumped -against a tree, he who holds out the longest being the victor.--Ross and -Stead's _Holderness Glossary_. - - -Cobble - -A name for "See-saw."--Jamieson. - - -Cobbler's Hornpipe - -This was danced by a boy stooping till he was nearly in a sitting -posture on the ground, drawing one leg under him until its toe rested on -the ground, and steadying himself by thrusting forward the other leg so -that the heel rested on the ground; the arms and head being thrown -forwards as far as possible in order to maintain a balance. The -thrust-out leg was drawn back and the drawn-in leg was shot out at the -same time. This movement was repeated, each bringing down to the ground -of the toe and heel causing a noise like that of hammering on a -lapstone. The arms were moved backwards and forwards at the same time to -imitate the cobbler's sewing.--London (J. P. Emslie). - -[Illustration] - - -Cob-nut - -The children in Yorkshire have a game which is probably an ancient -English pastime. Numerous hazel-nuts are strung like the beads of a -rosary. The game is played by two persons, each of whom has one of these -strings, and consists in each party striking alternately, with one of -the nuts on his own string, a nut of his adversary's. The field of -combat is usually the crown of a hat. The object of each party is to -crush the nuts of his opponent. A nut which has broken many of those of -the adversary is a Cob-nut.--Brand, ii. 411; Hunter's _Hallamshire -Glossary_. - -(_b_) This game is played in London with chestnuts, and is called -"Conquers." In Cornwall it is known as "Cock-haw." The boys give the -name of Victor-nut to the fruit of the common hazel, and play it to the -words: "Cockhaw! First blaw! Up hat! Down cap! Victor!" The nut that -cracks another is called a Cock-battler (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 61). -Halliwell describes this game differently. He says "it consists in -pitching at a row of nuts piled up in heaps of four, three at the bottom -and one at the top of each heap. The nut used for the pitching is called -the Cob. All the nuts knocked down are the property of the pitcher." -Alluding to the first described form, he says it "is probably a more -modern game," and quotes Cotgrave _sub voce_ "Chastelet" as authority -for the earlier form in the way he describes it (_Dictionary_). Addy -says the nuts were hardened for the purpose. When a nut was broken it -was said to be "cobbered" or "cobbled" (_Sheffield Glossary_). Evans' -_Leicestershire Glossary_ also describes it. Darlington (_South Cheshire -Words_) says this game only differs from "Cobblety-cuts" in the use of -small nuts instead of chestnuts. George Eliot in _Adam Bede_ has, -"Gathering the large unripe nuts to play at 'Cob-nut' with" (p. 30). -Britton's _Beauties of Wiltshire_ gives the Isle of Wight and Hants as -other places where the game is known. - -See "Conquerors." - - -Cock - -One boy is chosen Cock. The players arrange themselves in a line along -one side of the playground. The Cock takes his stand in front of the -players. When everything is ready, a rush across the playground is made -by the players. The Cock tries to catch and "croon"--_i.e._, put his -hand upon the head of--as many of the players as he can when running -from one side of the playground to the other. Those caught help the Cock -in the rush back. The rush from side to side goes on till all are -captured. To "croon" was the essential point in capturing. When a boy -was being pursued to be taken prisoner, his great object was, when he -came to close quarters with his pursuers, to save his head from being -touched on the crown by one of them.--Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor). - -At Duthil, Strathspey, this game goes by the name of "Rexa-boxa-King." -When the players have ranged themselves on one side of the playground, -and the King has taken his stand in front of them, he calls out -"Rexa-boxa-King," or simply "Rexa," when all the players rush to the -other side. The rush from side to side goes on till all are captured. -The one last captured becomes King in the next game.--Rev. W. Gregor. - -See "Click." - - -Cock-battler - -Children, under the title of "Cock-battler," often in country walks play -with the hoary plantain, which they hold by the tough stem about two -inches from the head; each in turn tries to knock off the head of his -opponent's flower.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 61). - -In the North, and in Suffolk, it is called "Cocks," "a puerile game with -the tough tufted stems of the ribwort plantain" (Brockett's _North -Country Words_). Moor (_Suffolk Words_) alludes to the game, and -Holloway (_Dictionary of Provincialisms_) says in West Sussex boys play -with the heads of rib grass a similar game. Whichever loses the head -first is conquered. It is called "Fighting-cocks." - - -Cock-fight - -This is a boys' game. Two boys fold their arms, and then, hopping on one -leg, butt each other with their shoulders till one lets down his leg. -Any number of couples can join in this game.--Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Cock-haw - -See "Cob-nut." - - -Cock-stride - -One boy is chosen as Cock. He is blindfolded, and stands alone, with his -legs as far apart as possible. The other boys then throw their caps as -far as they are able between the extended legs of the Cock (fig. 1). -After the boys have thrown their caps, and each boy has taken his stand -beside his cap, the Cock, still blindfolded, stoops down and crawls in -search of the caps (fig. 2). The boy whose cap he first finds has to -run about twenty yards under the buffeting of the other boys, the blows -being directed chiefly to the head. He becomes Cock at the next turn of -the game.--Rosehearty, Pitsligo (Rev. W. Gregor). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - - -Cockertie-hooie - -This game consists simply of one boy mounting on the neck of another, -putting a leg over each shoulder and down his breast. The boy that -carries takes firm hold of the legs of the one on his neck, and sets off -at a trot, and runs hither and thither till he becomes tired of his -burden. The bigger the one is who carries, the more is in the enjoyment -to the one carried.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -See "Cock's-headling." - - -Cockle-bread - -Young wenches have a wanton sport, which they call moulding of -Cocklebread; viz. they gett upon a Table-board, and then gather-up their -knees and their coates with their hands as high as they can, and then -they wabble to and fro with their Buttocks as if the[y] were kneading of -Dowgh, and say these words, viz.:-- - - My Dame is sick and gonne to bed, - And I'le go mowld my cockle-bread. - -In Oxfordshire the maids, when they have put themselves into the fit -posture, say thus:-- - - My granny is sick, and now is dead, - And wee'l goe mould some cockle-bread. - Up with my heels, and down with my head, - And this is the way to mould cocklebread. - ---Aubrey's _Remains_, pp. 43, 44. - -To make "Barley bread" (in other districts, "Cockley bread") this rhyme -is used in West Cornwall:-- - - Mother has called, mother has said, - Make haste home, and make barley bread. - Up with your heels, down with your head, - That is the way to make barley bread. - ---_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58. - -The Westmoreland version is given by Ellis in his edition of Brand as -follows:-- - - My grandy's seeke, - And like to dee, - And I'll make her - Some cockelty bread, cockelty bread, - And I'll make her - Some cockelty bread. - -The term "Cockelty" is still heard among our children at play. One of -them squats on its haunches with the hands joined beneath the thighs, -and being lifted by a couple of others who have hold by the bowed arms, -it is swung backwards and forwards and bumped on the ground or against -the wall, while continuing the words, "This is the way we make cockelty -bread."--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_, p. 40. - -The moulding of "Cocklety-bread" is a sport amongst hoydenish girls not -quite extinct. It consists in sitting on the ground, raising the knees -and clasping them with the hand, and then using an undulatory motion, as -if they were kneading dough. - - My granny is sick and now is dead, - And we'll go mould some cocklety bread; - Up with the heels and down with the head, - And that is the way to make cocklety bread. - ---Hunter's MSS.; Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -(_b_) The _Times_ of 1847 contains a curious notice of this game. A -witness, whose conduct was impugned as light and unbecoming, is desired -to inform the court, in which an action for breach of promise was tried, -the meaning of "mounting cockeldy-bread;" and she explains it as "a play -among children," in which one lies down on the floor on her back, -rolling backwards and forwards, and repeating the following lines:-- - - Cockeldy bread, mistley cake, - When you do that for our sake. - -While one of the party so laid down, the rest sat around; and they laid -down and rolled in this manner by turns. - -These lines are still retained in the modern nursery-rhyme books, but -their connection with the game of "Cockeldy-bread" is by no means -generally understood. There was formerly some kind of bread called -"cockle-bread," and _cocille-mele_ is mentioned in a very early MS. -quoted in Halliwell's _Dictionary_. In Peele's play of the _Old Wives' -Tale_, a voice thus speaks from the bottom of a well:-- - - Gently dip, but not too deep, - For fear you make the golden beard to weep. - Fair maiden, white and red, - Stroke me smooth and comb my head, - And thou shalt have some _cockell-bread_. - - -Cockly-jock - -A game among boys. Stones are loosely placed one upon another, at which -other stones are thrown to knock the pile down.--Dickinson's _Cumberland -Glossary_. - -See "Castles." - - -Cock's-headling - -A game where boys mount over each other's heads.--Halliwell's -_Dictionary_. - -See "Cockertie-hooie." - - -Cock-steddling - -A boyish game mentioned but not described by Cope in his _Hampshire -Glossary_. He gives as authority _Portsmouth Telegraph_, 27th September -1873. - - -Codlings - -A game among youngsters similar to "Cricket," a short piece of wood -being struck up by a long stick instead of a ball by a bat. Also called -"Tip and Go" or "Tip and Slash."--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. - -See "Cudgel." - - -Cogger - -A striped snail shell. It is a common boyish pastime to hold one of -these shells between the last joints of the bent fingers, and forcibly -press the apex against another held in a similar manner by an opponent, -until one of them, by dint of persevering pressure, forces its way into -the other; and the one which in these contests has gained the most -victories is termed the Conqueror, and is highly valued -(Northamptonshire, Baker's _Glossary_). The game is known as "Fighting -Cocks" in Evans' _Leicestershire Glossary_. In London it was played with -walnut shells. - - -Cogs - -The top stone of a pile is pelted by a stone flung from a given -distance, and the more hits, or "cogglings off," the greater the -player's score.--Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. - -Apparently the same game as "Cockly-jock." - - -Common - -A game played with a ball and crooked stick (cut from a tree or hedge), -with a crook at the end (same game as "Hurl").--Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - -Mr. Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions this as "Hockey;" -the same as "Shinney." "Called in some districts," he adds, "'Comun' and -'Kamman,' from the Irish name for the game." - - -Conkers - -The same game as "Cogger." The game is more generally called "playin at -sneel-shells."--Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_. - - -Conquerors or Conkers - - I. Cobbly co! - My first blow! - Put down your black hat, - And let me have first smack! - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 531. - - II. Obli, obli O, my first go; - And when the nut is struck, - Obli, obli onker, my nut will conquer. - ---_Notes and Queries_, 5th series, x. 378. - - III. Cobblety cuts, - Put down your nuts. - ---Darlington's _Folk-speech of South Cheshire_. - - IV. Obbly, obbly onkers, my first conquers; - Obbly, obbly O, my first go. - ---Lawson's _Upton-on-Severn Words and Phrases_. - - V. Hobley, hobley, honcor, my first conkor; - Hobbley, hobbley ho, my first go; - Hobley, hobley ack, my first crack. - ---Chamberlain's _West Worcestershire Glossary_. - -(_b_) This game is played with horse chestnuts threaded on a string. Two -boys sit face to face astride of a form or a log of timber. If a piece -of turf can be procured so much the better. One boy lays his chestnut -upon the turf, and the other strikes at it with his chestnut; and they -go on striking alternately till one chestnut splits the other. The -chestnut which remains unhurt is then "conqueror of one." A new chestnut -is substituted for the broken one, and the game goes on. Whichever -chestnut now proves victorious becomes "conqueror of two," and so on, -the victorious chestnut adding to its score all the previous winnings. -The chestnuts are often artificially hardened by placing them up the -chimney or carrying them in a warm pocket; and a chestnut which has -become conqueror of a considerable number acquires a value in -schoolboys' eyes; and I have frequently known them to be sold, or -exchanged for other toys (Holland's _Cheshire Glossary_). The game is -more usually played by one boy striking his opponent's nut with his own, -both boys standing and holding the string in their hands. It is -considered bad play to strike the opponent's _string_. The nut only -should be touched. Three tries are usually allowed. - -(_c_) For information on various forms of this game, see _Notes and -Queries_, 1878. See also Elworthy's _West Somerset Words_. The boy who -first said the rhyme has first stroke at Oswestry. The game is elsewhere -called "Cobbet" (Meole Brace) and "Cobbleticuts" (Burne's _Shropshire -Folk-lore_, p. 531). In "Conquer-nuts" "obbly" was probably "nobbly" or -"knobbly," expressing the appearance of the string of nuts; and "onkers" -was probably invented as a rhyme to "conquers" (_Upton-on-Severn Words -and Phrases_, by R. Lawson). - - -Contrary, Rules of - - I. Here I go round the rules of contrary, - Hopping about like a little canary. - When I say "Hold fast," leave go; - When I say "Leave go," hold fast. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 52). - - II. Here we go round the rules of contrary, - When I say "Hold fast!" let go, and when I say "Let go!" hold - fast. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) A ring is formed by each child holding one end of a handkerchief. -One child stands in the centre and acts as leader. The ring moves round -slowly. The leader says the words as above while the ring is moving -round, and then suddenly calls out whichever he chooses of the two -sayings. If he says "Hold fast!" every one must immediately let go the -corner of the handkerchief he holds. They should all fall to the ground -at once. When he says "Let go!" every one should retain their hold of -the handkerchief. Forfeits are demanded for every mistake. - -This game, called "Hawld Hard," is commonly played about Christmas-time, -where a number hold a piece of a handkerchief. One then moves his hand -round the handkerchief, saying, "Here we go round by the rule of -Contrairy; when I say 'Hawld hard,' let go, and when I say 'Let go,' -hawld hard." Forfeits are paid by those not complying with the -order.--Lowsley's _Berkshire Glossary_. - - -Cop-halfpenny - -The game of "Chuck-farthing."--Norfolk and Suffolk (Holloway's _Dict. of -Provincialisms_). - - -Corsicrown - -A square figure is divided by four lines, which cross each other in the -crown or centre. Two of these lines connect the opposite angles, and two -the sides at the point of bisection. Two players play; each has three -men or flitchers. Now there are seven points for these men to move about -on, six on the edges of the square and one at the centre. The men -belonging to each player are not set together as at draughts, but -mingled with each other. The one who has the first move may always have -the game, which is won by getting the three men on a line.--Mactaggart's -_Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -See "Kit Cat Cannio," "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Cots and Twisses - -A flat stone is obtained called a Hob, upon which those who are playing -place equal shares of Cots and Twisses. Cots are brass buttons, and -Twisses bits of brass--a Twiss of solid brass being worth many Cots. -Each player provides himself with a nice flat [key] stone, and from an -agreed pitch tosses it at the Hob. If he knocks off any of the Cots and -Twisses nearer to the players than the Hob is, he claims them. The other -players try to knock the Hob away with their key-stones from any Cots -and Twisses that may not have been claimed; and if any key-stone touches -Hob after all have thrown, the owner cannot claim any Cots and -Twisses.--Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -Each player selects a Cast or stone to pitch with; on another stone, -called the Hob, the Cots and Twys are placed; at some distance Scops are -set in the ground. First the players pitch from the Hob to the Scop, and -the one who gets nearest goes first. He then pitches at the Hob, and if -he knocks off the stakes he has them, provided his Cast is nearer to -them than the Hob is; in failure of this, the other player tries. In -pitching up, one Cast may rest on another, and if the boy whose stone -is underneath can lift it up to knock the other Cast away, it has to -remain at the place to which it has been struck; if he does not succeed -in doing this, the second player may lift off his Cast and place it by -the first. Whoever knocks off the stakes, they go to the boy whose Cast -is nearest to them. The Hob and Scop are usually three yards apart. The -Cot was a button off the waistcoat or trousers, the Twy one off the -coat, and, as its name implies, was equal to two Cots. Formerly, when -cash was much more rare than now it is amongst boys, these formed their -current coin. The game about 1820 seems to have been chiefly one of -tossing, and was played with buttons, then common enough. Now, metal -buttons being rare, it is played with pieces of brass or copper of any -shape. The expression, "I haven't a cot," is sometimes used to signify -that a person is without money.--Easther's _Almondbury and Huddersfield -Glossary_. - -See "Banger," "Buttons." - - -Course o' Park - -The game of "Course of the Park" has not been described, but is referred -to in the following verse:-- - - "Buff"'s a fine sport, - And so's "Course o' Park." - ---_The Slighted Maid_, 1663, p. 50. - - -Crab-sowl, Crab-sow - -A game played with a bung or ball struck with sticks (Brogden's -_Provincial Words, Lincolnshire_). This is played on Barnes Common, and -is apparently a form of "Hockey" (A. B. Gomme). - - -Crates - -The game of "Nine Holes." This is the game described by John Jones, -M.D., in his book called _The Benefit of the Auncient Bathes of -Buckstones_, 1572, p. 12, as having been played by ladies at Buxton for -their amusement in wet weather. See Pegge's _Anonymiana_, 1818, p. 126, -and Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Cricket - -A description of this game is not given here; its history and rules and -regulations are well known, and many books have been devoted to its -study. The word "Cricket" is given in Lawson's _Upton-on-Severn Words -and Phrases_ as a low wooden stool. He continues, "The game of 'Cricket' -was probably a development of the older game of 'Stool-ball,' a -dairymaid's stool being used for the wicket." Wedgwood (_Etym. Dict._) -suggests that the proper name for the bat was "cricket-staff," A.-S. -_criec_, a staff. - -See "Bittle-battle," "Stool-ball." - - -Crooky - -An old game called "Crooky" was formerly played at Portarlington, -Queen's co., and Kilkee, co. Clare. Fifty years ago it was played with -wooden crooks and balls, but about twenty-five years ago, or a little -more, mallets were introduced at Kilkee; while subsequently the name was -changed to "Croquet." I have heard it stated that this game was -introduced by the French refugees that settled at Portarlington.--G. H. -Kinahan (_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 265). - - -Cross and Pile - -The game now called "Heads and Tails" (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). See -_Nomenclator_, p. 299; Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. Strutt points out -that anciently the English coins were stamped on one side with a cross. -See also Harland's _Lancashire Legends_, p. 139. - - -Cross-bars - -A boys' game.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Cross-questions - -Nares (_Glossary_) mentions this game in a quotation from Wilson's -_Inconstant Lady_, 1614. "Cross Questions and Crooked Answers" was a -popular game at juvenile parties. The players sit in a circle, and each -is asked in a whisper a question by the one on his left, and receives -also in a whisper an answer to a question asked by himself of the person -on his right. Each player must remember both the question he was asked -and the answer he received, which have at the conclusion of the round to -be stated aloud. Forfeits must be given if mistakes are made.--A. B. -Gomme. - - -Cross Tig - -One of the players is appointed to be Tig. He calls out the name of the -one he intends to chase, and runs after him. Another player runs across -between Tig and the fugitive, and then Tig runs after this cross-player -until another player runs across between Tig and the fugitive; and so -on. Each time a player crosses between Tig and the player he is -following he leaves the original chase and follows the player who has -crossed. When he captures, or, in some places, touches one of the -players he is following, this player becomes Tig, and the game begins -again.--Ireland (Miss Keane). - -This game is known in and near London as "Cross Touch." - - -Cry Notchil - -This is an old game where boys push one of their number into a circle -they have made, and as he tries to escape push him back, crying, "No -child of mine!" (Leigh's _Cheshire Glossary_). He adds, "This may be the -origin of the husband's disclaimer of his wife when he 'notchils' her." -To "cry notchil" is for a man to advertise that he will not be -answerable for debts incurred by his wife. - - -Cuck-ball - -A game at ball. The same as "Pize-ball." It is sometimes called -"Tut-ball."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -See "Ball." - - -Cuckoo - -A child hides and cries "Cuckoo." The seekers respond-- - - Cuckoo cherry-tree, - Catch a bird and bring it me. - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 222. - -Halliwell calls this a game at ball, and the rhyme runs-- - - Cuckoo cherry tree, - Catch a bird and bring it me; - Let the tree be high or low, - Let it hail, rain or snow. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -Cuddy and the Powks - -Two boys join hands and feet over the back of a third, the which creeps -away with them on hands and knees to a certain distance; and if able to -do this, he, the Cuddy, must have a ride as one of the powks on some -other's back.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - - -Cudgel - -[Illustration: Change of sides] - -[Illustration: A run] - -Four or more boys can play this game, and sides are chosen. Two holes -are made in the ground at a distance of about eight or ten feet apart. A -ring about a foot in diameter is made round each hole. A boy stands at -each hole with a stick, which he puts into the hole to guard it. Two -other boys stand behind the holes, who act as bowlers. One of these -throws a small piece of wood shaped like a Cat, and tries to pitch it -into the hole. The boy guarding the hole tries to hit it with his stick. -If he succeeds, he and the boy at the other hole run to each other's -places. Should the boy who throws the piece of wood succeed in getting -it into the hole, the batsmen are out. Should the Cat fall into the ring -or a span beyond, one of the bowlers picks it up, and both run to a -hiding-place. They then agree as to which of them should hold the Cat. -This must be carried in such a way that it cannot be seen by the -batsmen, both boys assuming the same attitude. Both boys then resume -their previous places. They kneel down, still keeping the same -attitudes. The batsmen, keeping their sticks in the holes, then agree -which of the two holds the Cat. One batsman runs across and puts his -stick into the hole behind which the boy kneels whom they consider has -the Cat, the other then running to his place. If they are right in their -guess, the holder of the Cat throws it across the ground for the -opposite bowler to put it in the hole before the second batsman reaches -it. If they guess wrongly, the holder of the Cat puts it into the hole -as soon as the batsman runs, and they then become the batsmen for the -next game. If the batsmen leave their holes unguarded with the stick, -the catsmen can at any time put them "out," by putting the Cat in a -hole. If more than two boys on a side play, the others field as in -"Cricket."--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - -See "Cat and Dog." - - -Curcuddie - - I. Will ye gang to the lea, Curcuddie, - And join your plack wi' me, Curcuddie? - I lookit about and I saw naebody, - And linkit awa' my lane, Curcuddie. - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 139. - - II. Will ye gang wi' me, Curcuddie, - Gang wi' me o'er the lea? - I lookit roun', saw naebody; - Curcuddie, he left me. - ---Biggar (William Ballantyne). - -(_b_) This is a grotesque kind of dance, performed in a shortened -posture, sitting on one's hams, with arms akimbo, the dancers forming a -circle of independent figures. It always excites a hearty laugh among -the senior bystanders; but, ridiculous as it is, it gives occasion for -the display of some spirit and agility, as well as skill, there being -always an inclination to topple over. Each performer sings the verse -(Chambers; Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_). - -Mr. Ballantyne says that each one apart tried to dance by throwing out -their feet and jumping sideways. - -(_c_) The first syllable of this word is, says Jamieson, undoubtedly the -verb _curr_, to sit on the houghs or hams. The second may be from Teut. -_kudde_, a flock; _kudd-en_, coire, convenire, congregari, aggregari; -_kudde wijs_, gregatim, catervatim, q. to curr together. The same game -is called _Harry Hurcheon_ in the North of Scotland, either from the -resemblance of one in this position to a _hurcheon_, or hedge-hog, -squatting under a bush; or from the Belg. _hurk-en_ to squat, to -_hurkle_.--Jamieson. - -See "Cobbler's Hornpipe," "Cutch-a-Cutchoo." - - -Curly Locks - -[Music] - - I. Curly locks, curly locks, - Wilt thou be mine? - Thou shalt not wash dishes - Nor yet feed the swine; - But sit on a fine cushion - And sew a fine seam, - And feed upon strawberries, - Sugar and cream. - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - II. Bonny lass, canny lass, - Wilta be mine? - Thou's nowder wesh dishes - Nor sarra the swine: - But sit on thy crippy, &c. - ---Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_. - -(_b_) Two children, a girl and a boy, separate from their fellows, who -are not particularly placed, the boy caressing the girl's curls and -singing the verses. - -(_c_) This game is evidently a dramatic representation of wooing, and -probably the action of the game has never been quite completed in the -nursery. The verses are given as "nursery rhymes" by Halliwell, Nos. -cccclxxxiii. and ccccxciv. The tune is from Rimbault's _Nursery Rhymes_, -p. 70. The words given by him are the same as the Earls Heaton version. - - -Currants and Raisins - - Currants and raisins a penny a pound, - Three days holiday. - -This is a game played "running under a handkerchief;" "something like -'Oranges and Lemons.'"--Lincoln (Miss M. Peacock). - - -Cushion Dance - -[Music] - ---_Dancing Master_, 1686. - - This music is exactly as it is printed in the book referred to. - -(_b_) The following is an account of the dance as it was known in -Derbyshire amongst the farmers' sons and daughters and the domestics, -all of whom were on a pretty fair equality, very different from what -prevails in farm-houses of to-day. The "Cushion Dance" was a famous old -North-country amusement, and among the people of Northumberland it is -still commonly observed. The dance was performed with boisterous fun, -quite unlike the game as played in higher circles, where the conditions -and rules of procedure were of a more refined order. - -The company were seated round the room, a fiddler occupying a raised -seat in a corner. When all were ready, two of the young men left the -room, returning presently, one carrying a large square cushion, the -other an ordinary drinking-horn, china bowl, or silver tankard, -according to the possessions of the family. The one carrying the -cushion locked the door, putting the key in his pocket. Both gentlemen -then went to the fiddler's corner, and after the cushion-bearer had put -a coin in the vessel carried by the other, the fiddler struck up a -lively tune, to which the young men began to dance round the room, -singing or reciting to the music:-- - - Frinkum, frankum is a fine song, - An' we will dance it all along; - All along and round about, - Till we find the pretty maid out. - -After making the circuit of the room, they halted on reaching the -fiddler's corner, and the cushion-bearer, still to the music of the -fiddle, sang or recited:-- - - Our song it will no further go! - The Fiddler: Pray, kind sir, why say you so? - The Cushion-bearer: Because Jane Sandars won't come to. - The Fiddler: She must come to, she shall come to, - An' I'll make her whether she will or no. - -The cushion-bearer and vessel-holder then proceeded with the dance, -going as before round the room, singing "Frinkum, frankum," &c., till -the cushion-bearer came to the lady of his choice, before whom he -paused, placed the cushion on the floor at her feet, and knelt upon it. -The vessel-bearer then offered the cup to the lady, who put money in it -and knelt on the cushion in front of the kneeling gentleman. The pair -kissed, arose, and the gentleman, first giving the cushion to the lady -with a bow, placed himself behind her, taking hold of some portion of -her dress. The cup-bearer fell in also, and they danced on to the -fiddler's corner, and the ceremony was again gone through as at first, -with the substitution of the name of "John" for "Jane," thus:-- - - The Lady: Our song it will no further go! - The Fiddler: Pray, kind miss, why say you so? - The Lady: Because John Sandars won't come to. - The Fiddler: He must come to, he shall come to, - An' I'll make him whether he will or no! - -The dancing then proceeded, and the lady, on reaching her choice (a -gentleman, of necessity), placed the cushion at his feet. He put money -in the horn and knelt. They kissed and rose, he taking the cushion and -his place in front of the lady, heading the next dance round, the lady -taking him by the coat-tails, the first gentleman behind the lady, with -the horn-bearer in the rear. In this way the dance went on till all -present, alternately a lady and gentleman, had taken part in the -ceremony. The dance concluded with a romp in file round the room to the -quickening music of the fiddler, who at the close received the whole of -the money collected by the horn-bearer. - -At Charminster the dance is begun by a single person (either man or -woman), who dances about the room with a cushion in his hand, and at the -end of the tune stops and sings:-- - - Man: This dance it will no further go. - Musician: I pray you, good sir, why say you so? - Man: Because Joan Sanderson will not come to. - Musician: She must come to, and she shall come to, - And she must come whether she will or no. - -Then the following words are sung as in the first example:-- - - Man: Welcome, Joan Sanderson, welcome, welcome. - Both: Prinkum-prankum is a fine dance, - And shall we go dance it once again, - And once again, - And shall we go dance it once again? - Woman: This dance it will no further go. - Musician: I pray you, madam, why say you so? - Woman: Because John Sanderson will not come to. - Musician: He must come to, and he shall come to, - And he must come whether he will or no. - -And so she lays down the cushion before a man, who, kneeling upon it, -salutes her, she singing-- - - Welcome, John Sanderson, &c. - -Then, he taking up the cushion, they take hands and dance round singing -as before; and this they do till the whole company is taken into the -ring. Then the cushion is laid down before the first man, the woman -singing, "This dance," &c., as before, only instead of "come to," they -sing "go fro," and instead of "Welcome, John Sanderson," &c., they sing -"Farewell, John Sanderson, farewell," &c., and so they go out one by -one as they came in.--Charminster (_Notes and Queries_, ii. 517, 518). - -This description is almost the same as a seventeenth century version. -The dance is begun by a single person (either man or woman), who, taking -a cushion in his hand, dances about the room, and at the end of the tune -he stops and sings:-- - - This dance it will no further go. - -The Musician answers: - - I pray you, good sir, why say you so? - Man: Because Joan Sanderson will not come to. - Musician: She must come to, and she shall come to, - And she must come whether she will or no. - -Then he lays down the cushion before a woman, on which she kneels, and -he kisses her, singing-- - - Welcom, Joan Sanderson, welcom, welcom. - -Then he rises, takes up the cushion, and both dance, singing-- - - Prinkum-prankum is a fine dance, - And shall we go dance it once again, - Once again, and once again, - And shall we go dance it once again. - -Then, making a stop, the wo(man) sings as before-- - - This dance, &c. - Musician: I pray you, madam, &c. - Woman: Because John Sanderson, &c. - Musician: He must, &c. - -And so she lays down the cushion before a man, who, kneeling upon it, -salutes her, she singing-- - - Welcom, John Sanderson, &c. - -Then, he taking up the cushion, they take hands and dance round, singing -as before. And thus they do till the whole company are taken into the -ring. And then the cushion is laid before the first man, the woman -singing, "This dance," &c. (as before), only instead of "come to," they -sing "go fro," and instead of "Welcom, John Sanderson," &c., they sing -"Farewel, John Sanderson, farewel, farewel;" and so they go out one by -one as they came in. _Note_, that the woman is kiss'd by all the men in -the ring at her coming in and going out, and the like of the man by the -woman.--_The Dancing Master_: London, printed by J. P., and sold by -John Playford at his shop near the Temple Church, 1686, 7th edition. - -Another version gives the words as follows:-- - - We've got a new sister in our degree, - And she's welcome into our companee, companee. - Mrs. Sargesson says she weaent come to, - We'll make her whether she will or no, - Will or no, will or no, - We'll maaeke her whether she will or no. - -Children form a ring with one in the middle, who lays a cushion on the -ground. They sing the first two lines, and the child in the centre -points at one, and the others dance round singing the other lines, the -centre child dragging the imaginary Mrs. Sargesson on to the cushion by -force, kissing her, and leaving her in the centre. Then Mrs. Sargesson -points at one in the ring, and the game begins again.--East Kirkby, -Lincolnshire (Miss Maughan). The tune sung is the same as the "Mulberry -Bush." - -Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) says the Cushion Dance is still -continued, with some variations, and generally closes the evening's -amusements. One of the young men endeavours secretly to bring in a -cushion, and locks the doors, to prevent the escape of the young -maidens; then all the party unite hands and dance round three times to -the left and three times to the right, after which the company all seat -themselves, except the young man who holds the cushion. He advances to -the fiddler, and says-- - - This dance it will no further go. - Fiddler: Why say you so? why say you so? - Cushion-holder: Because the young women will not come to. - Fiddler: They must come to, they shall come to, - And tell them I say so. - -The cushion-holder then goes to the girl he fancies most, and drops the -cushion at her feet. She kneels down with him on the cushion, and he -salutes her, and they then rise and dance round and round to the -fiddler. The girls then go through the same thing, saying, "young men," -and then "a young man," &c., until the whole company have gone through -the same ceremony, which concludes with all dancing round three times, -as at the commencement. - -The Norfolk and London versions are reduced to a simple "Kiss in the -Ring" game, with the following verse:-- - - Round the cushion we dance with glee, - Singing songs so merrily; - Round the cushion we dance with glee, - Singing songs so merrily; - Yet the punishment you must bear - If you touch the cushion there. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -(_c_) Selden, in his _Table Talk_, thus refers to this game:--"The Court -of England is much altered. At a solemn dancing first you have the grave -measures, then the Cervantoes and the Golliards, and this is kept up -with ceremony. At length to Trenchmore and the _Cushion Dance_; and then -all the company dance, lord and groom, lady and kitchen-maid, no -distinction. But in King Charles's time there has been nothing but -Trenchmore and the Cushion Dance," &c. The "Whishin Dance" (an -old-fashioned dance, in which a cushion is used to kneel upon), -mentioned by Dickinson (_Cumberland Glossary_), is probably the same -game or dance, "whishin" meaning cushion. Brockett (_North Country -Words_) mentions "Peas Straw," the final dance at a rustic party; -something similar to the ancient "Cushion Dance" at weddings. It is also -recorded in Evans' _Leicestershire Glossary_, and by Burton in the -following passage from the _Anatomy of Melancholy_: "A friend of -his reprehended him for dancing beside his dignity, belike at some -cushen dance." In the version from East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, the -expression "in our degree" in the first line of the verse is apparently -meaningless, and it is probably a corruption of "highdigees, -highdegrees," a dialect word for roystering, high spirits, merriment, -dancing, romping. Elworthy (_Somerset Words_) gives this word, and -quotes the following line from Drayton:-- - - Dance many a merry round and many a highdegy. - ---_Polyolbion_, Bk. xxv., l. 1162. - -(_d_) The transition from a dance to a pure game is well illustrated by -the different versions, and the connection of the dance with the -ceremony of marriage is obvious. A curious account of the merry-makings -at marriages is given in Coverdale's _Christen State of Matrimony_, -1543: "After the banket and feast there beginneth a mad and unmannerly -fashion; for the bride must be brought into an open dauncing-place. Then -is there such a running, leaping, and flinging among them that a man -might think all these dauncers had cast all shame behinde them, and were -become starke mad, and out of their wits, and that they were sworne to -the devil's daunce. Then must the bride keep foote with all dauncers, -and refuse none, how scabbed, foule, drunken, rude, and shameless soever -he be. . . . After supper must they begin to pipe and daunce again of -anew. And though the young persons come once towards their rest, yet can -they have no quietness."--1575 edit., fol. 59, rev. 60. Edward L. -Rimbault, writing in _Notes and Queries_, vi. 586, says it was formerly -the custom at weddings, both of the rich as well as the poor, to dance -after dinner and supper. In an old Court masque of James I.'s time, -performed at the marriage ceremony of Philip Herbert and Lady Susan (MS. -in the writer's possession), it is directed that, at the conclusion of -the performance, "after supper" the company "dance a round dance." This -was "dancing the bride to bed." William Chappell (_Notes and Queries_, -ii. 442) says, "I have a tune called 'A round dance to dance the bride -to bed.' It dates from about 1630, or earlier, and resembles that of -'The Hunt is up.'" Dancing was considered so essential at weddings -(according to Grose) that if in a family the youngest daughter should -chance to be married before her elder sisters, they must dance at her -wedding without shoes. May not the custom of throwing of old and -worn-out shoes after the bride have arisen from the practice of dancing? -The danced-out shoes may have been the ones used. It is curious that the -cushion is used in the marriage ceremonies of the Brahmins. Mr. Kearns, -in his _Marriage Ceremonies of the Hindoos of the South of India_, p. 6, -says that a stool or cushion is one of the preparations for the -reception of the bridegroom, who on entering the apartment sits down on -the stool which is presented to him. He says, "I step on this for the -sake of food and other benefits, on this variously splendid footstool." -The bride's father then presents to him a cushion made of twenty leaves -of cusa grass, holding it up with both hands and exclaiming, "The -cushion! the cushion! the cushion!" The bridegroom replies, "I accept -the cushion," and taking it, places it on the ground under his feet, -while he recites a prayer. It is probable that we may have in the -"Cushion Dance" the last relics of a very ancient ceremony, as well as -evidence of the origin of a game from custom. - - -Cutch-a-Cutchoo - -Children clasp their hands under their knees in a sitting posture, and -jump thus about the room. The one who keeps up longest wins the -game.--Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - -(_b_) In _Notes and Queries_, x. 17, "E. D." says this amusement was -fashionable sixty years ago, and from the low dresses worn then by -ladies he mentions its indecency. He gives extracts from a satire called -_Cutchacutchoo, or the Jostling of the Innocents_, 2nd ed., Dublin, in -which the game and position are mentioned-- - - Now she with tone tremendous cries - Cutchacutchoo. - Let each squat down upon her ham, - Jump like a goat, puck like a ram. - -"Uneda," at same reference (x. 17), speaks of it as a known game in -Philadelphia. The analogy which this game has to some savage dances is -curious; a correspondent in _Notes and Queries_, ix. 304, draws -attention to the illustration, in Richardson's _Expedition to Arctic -Shores_ (vol. i. p. 397), of a dance by the "Kutchin-Kutcha" Indians, a -parallel to the name as well as the dance which needs some research in -America. - -See "Curcuddie," "Hop-frog." - - -Cutters and Trucklers - -A remembrance of the old smuggling days. The boys divide into two -parties; the Trucklers try to reach some given point before the Cutter -catches them.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 60). - - -Dab - - Dab a prin in my lottery book; - Dab ane, dab twa, dab a' your prins awa'. - -A game in which a pin is put at random in a school-book, between the -leaves of which little pictures are placed. The successful adventurer is -the person who puts the pin between two leaves including a picture which -is the prize, and the pin itself is the forfeit (_Blackwood's Magazine_, -Aug. 1821, p. 36). This was a general school game in West London in -1860-1866 (G. L. Gomme). - - -Dab-an-thricker - -A game in which the _dab_ (a wooden ball) is caused to spring upwards by -a blow on the _thricker_ (trigger), and is struck by a flat, -bottle-shaped mallet fixed to the end of a flexible wand, the distance -it goes counting so many for the striker.--Ross and Stead's _Holderness -Glossary_. - -This is the same as "Knur and Spell." - - -Dab-at-the-hole - -A game at marbles (undescribed).--Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_. - - -Dalies - -A child's game, played with small bones or pieces of hard wood. The -_dalies_ were properly sheep's trotters.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -Evidently the same game as "Fivestones" and "Hucklebones." - - -Davie-drap - -Children amuse themselves on the braesides i' the sun, playing at "Hide -and Seek" with this little flower, accompanying always the hiding of it -with this rhyme, marking out the circle in which it is hid with the -forefinger:-- - - Athin the bounds o' this I hap, - My black and bonny davie-drap; - Wha is here the cunning yin - My davie-drap to me will fin. - - ---Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -The davie-drap is a little black-topped field-flower. - - -Deadily - -A school game, not described.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - - -Diamond Ring - - My lady's lost her diamond ring; - I pitch upon you to find it! - -Children sit in a ring or in a line, with their hands placed together -palm to palm, and held straight, the little finger down-most between the -knees. One of them is then chosen to represent a servant, who takes a -ring, or some other small article as a substitute, between her two -palms, which are pressed flat together like those of the rest, and goes -round the circle or line placing her hands into the hands of every -player, so that she is enabled to let the ring fall wherever she pleases -without detection. After this she returns to the first child she -touched, and with her hands behind her says the above words. The child -who is thus addressed must guess who has the ring, and the servant -performs the same ceremony with each of the party. They who guess right -escape, but the rest forfeit. Should any one in the ring exclaim "I have -it!" she also forfeits; nor must the servant make known who has the ring -until all have guessed under the same penalty. The forfeits are -afterwards cried as usual.--Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 223. - -(_b_) This game was a general favourite at juvenile parties years ago. -The hands were held in the posture described by Halliwell, but any child -was pitched upon for the first finder, and afterwards the child in whose -hands the ring was found had to be finder. There was no guessing; the -closed hands were looked into (A. B. Gomme). Mr. Addy has collected a -similar game called "My lady's lost a gold ring," and Mr. Newell (_Games -and Songs of American Children_, p. 150) has another, "Hold fast my gold -ring." - - -Dibbs - -A game played with the small knuckle-bones taken from legs of mutton; -these bones are themselves called "dibs" (Lowsley's _Glossary of -Berkshire Words_). Holloway's _Dictionary_ says five of these bones are -used by boys, with which they play a game called "Dibs" in West Sussex. - -See "Check-stones," "Fivestones," "Hucklebones." - - -Dinah - -[Music] - - No one in the house but Dinah, Dinah, - No one in the house I know, I know; - No one in the house but Dinah, Dinah, - Playing on the old banjo. - -A ring is formed, and a girl stands blindfolded inside. As the verse is -sung and finished, Dinah goes to any one in the ring, and, if successful -in guessing her name, takes her place, the other taking the place of -Dinah, the game going on as before.--Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -"Dinah" was a Christy Minstrel song in the "fifties." It is probable -that the game, which resembles "Buff," has been played to the tune of -the song. Singing a chorus would soon follow. - -See "Buff," "Muffin Man." - - -Dip o' the Kit - -A rustic game, undescribed and marked as obsolescent.--Peacock's _Manley -and Corringham Glossary_. - - -Dish-a-loof - -A singular rustic amusement. One lays his hand down on a table, another -clashes his upon it, a third his on that, and so on (fig. 1). When all -the players have done this, the one who has his hand on the board pulls -it out and lays it on the one uppermost (fig. 2): they all follow in -rotation, and so a continual clashing and dashing is kept up; hence -the name "Dish." Those who win the game are those who stand out -longest--viz., those who are best at enduring pain. Tender hands could -not stand it a moment: one dash of a rustic "loof" would make the blood -spurt from the tip of every finger. It is a piece of pastime to country -lads of the same nature as "Hard Knuckles" (Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_). This is a well-known game for small children in London. -After each child's hands have been withdrawn and replaced on top as many -times as possible without deranging the order, a general scramble and -knocking of hands together ends the game (A. B. Gomme). Jamieson -(_Etymological Dict._) gives this as a sport of children. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1. Fig. 2.] - -See "Dump," "Green Grass," "Hot Cockles." - - -Doddart - -A game played in a large level field with a bent stick called "doddart." -Two parties, headed by two captains, endeavour to drive a wooden ball to -their respective boundaries (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). Brockett (_North -Country Words_) adds to this that the captains are entitled to choose -their followers by alternate votes. A piece of globular wood called an -"orr" or "coit" is thrown down in the middle of the field and driven to -one of two opposite hedges--the alley, hail-goal, or boundary. The same -game as "Clubby," "Hockey," "Shinney," "Shinneyhaw." - - -Doncaster Cherries - -One boy kneels, holding a long rope, the other end of which is held by -another boy; the other players stand round about with handkerchiefs in -hands, knotted. The one who holds the rope-end and standing cries out-- - - Doncaster cherries, ripe and sound; - Touch 'em or taste 'em-- - Down, you dogs! - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H. Hardy). - -This is evidently a version of "Badger the Bear," with a different and -apparently degraded formula. - - -Dools - -A school game. The dools are places marked with stones, where the -players always remain in safety--where they dare neither be caught by -the hand nor struck with balls. It is only when they leave these places -of refuge that those out of the doons have any chance to gain the game -and get in; and leave the doons they frequently must--this is the nature -of the game. Now this game seems to have been often played in reality by -our ancestors about their doon-hills.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_. - - -Down in the Valley - - I. Down in the valley where the green grass grows - Stands E---- H----, she blows like a rose. - She blows, she blows, she blows so sweet. - In came F---- S---- and gave her a kiss. - E---- made a pudding, she made it nice and sweet, - F---- took a knife and fork and cut a little piece. - Taste of it, taste of it, don't say nay, - For next Sunday morning is our wedding day. - First we'll buy a money box, - Then we'll buy a cradle; - Rock, rock the bottom out, - Then we'll buy another. - Bread and cheese all the week, cork on Sunday, - Half a crown on Saturday night, and a jolly good dance on - Monday. - ---Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith). - - II. Down in the meadows where the green grass grows, - To see ---- blow like a rose. - She blows, she blows, she blows so sweet. - Go out, ----; who shall he be? - ---- made a pudding, - She made it so sweet, - And never stuck a knife in - Till ---- came to eat. - Taste, love, taste, love, don't say nay, - For next Monday morning is your wedding day. - He bought her a gown and a guinea gold ring, - And a fine cocked hat to be married in. - ---West Haddon, Northamptonshire; Long Itchington, Warwickshire -(_Northants Notes and Queries_, ii. 105). - - III. Down in the valley the violets grow. - Dear little ----, she blows like a rose. - She blows, she blows, she blows so sweet. - Come along in. - Buy a shawl, buy a new black shawl, - A bonnet trimmed with white and a new parasol. - Oh dear, oh dear, what can I do, - For next Monday morning is my wedding due. - ---Shipley, Horsham; _Notes and Queries_, 8th series, i. 210 (Miss Busk). - -(_b_) The children form a ring by joining hands, one child standing in -the centre. They dance round. At the mention of the second name one from -the ring goes into the centre. The two kiss at the end of the verse, and -the first child takes the place in the ring, and the game begins again. - -See "All the Boys," "Oliver, Oliver, follow the King." - - -Drab and Norr - -A game similar to "Trippit and Coit."--Halliwell's _Dict._ - - -Draw a Pail of Water - -[Music] - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - I. Draw a pail of water - For my lady's daughter; - My father's a king and my mother's a queen, - My two little sisters are dressed in green, - Stamping grass and parsley, - Marigold leaves and daisies. - One rush, two rush, - Pray thee, fine lady, come under my bush. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, Games, cclxxxvii. - - II. Draw a pail of water, - Send a lady a daughter; - One o' my rush, two o' my rush, - Please, young lady, creep under the briar bush. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - III. Draw, draw water, - For my lady's daughter; - One in a rush, - Two in a bush, - Pretty my lady, pop under the bush. - ---Berrington and Ellesmere (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 521). - - IV. Draw a bucket o' water - For a lady's daughter; - One and a hush, two and a rush, - Please, young lady, come under my bush. - ---Fochabers (Rev. W. Gregor). - - V. Draw a bucket of water - For a lady's daughter; - One in a bush, - Two in a bush, - Three in a bush, - Four in a bush, - And out you go. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss Chase). - - VI. Drawing a bucket of water - For my lady's daughter; - Put it in a chestnut tree, - And let it stay an hour. - One of you rush, two may rush, - Please, old woman, creep under the bush; - The bush is too high, the bush is too low, - Please, old woman, creep under the bush. - ---Hampshire (Miss Mendham). - - VII. Draw a pail of water - For a lady's daughter; - Give a silver pin for a golden ring-- - Oh pray, young lady, pop under. - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - VIII. Draw a bucket of water - For my lady's daughter; - One go rush, and the other go hush, - Pretty young lady, bop under my bush. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - IX. Draw a bucket of water - For the farmer's daughter; - Give a gold ring and a silver watch, - Pray, young lady, pop under. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - X. Draw a bucket of water - For my lady's daughter; - A guinea gold ring - And a silver pin, - So pray, my young lady, pop under. - ---Haydon (Herbert Hardy). - - XI. Draw a bucket of water - To wash my lady's garter; - A guinea gold ring - And a silver pin, - Please, little girl, pop under. - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - XII. See-saw, a bucket of water, - To wash my lady's garter. - One in a rush, and two in a bush, - To see a fine lady pop under a bush. - ---Anderby, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire near the Trent (Miss -Peacock). - - XIII. One we go rush, - Two we go push; - Lady come under the corner bush. - ---Shepscombe, Gloucestershire (Miss Mendham). - - - XIV. Sift the lady's oaten meal, sift it into flour, - Put it in a chest of drawers and let it lie an hour. - One of my rush, - Two of my rush, - Please, young lady, come under my bush. - My bush is too high, my bush is too low, - Please, young lady, come under my bow. - Stir up the dumpling, stir up the dumpling. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - XV. Sieve my lady's oatmeal, - Grind my lady's flour; - Put it in a chestnut, - Let it stand an hour. - One may rush, two may rush; - Come, my girls, walk under the bush. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, Games, cclxxxviii. - -(_b_) The Berrington version of this game is played as follows:--Two -girls face each other, holding each other by both hands. Two others face -each other, holding both hands across the other two. They see-saw -backwards and forwards, singing the lines (fig. 1). One girl gets inside -the enclosing hands (fig. 2), and they repeat till all four have "popped -under" (fig. 3), when they "jog" up and down till they fall on the -floor! (fig. 4). At Ellesmere only _two_ girls join hands, and as many -"pop under" as they can encircle. The Lincolnshire and Norfolk versions -are played practically in the same way. In the Liphook version the -children stand in two and two opposite to each other; the children on -one side of the square hold hands up at the third line, and the other -two children run under the hands of the first two. There is no pause, -but the verse is sung time after time, so that the four children are -nearly always moving. In the other Hampshire version four girls stand in -a square, each holding the hands of the one opposite to her, pulling -each other's hands backwards and forwards singing the lines. Two arms -are then raised, and one girl comes under; this is repeated till all -four girls have come under the arms, then their arms encircle each -other's waists and they dance round. In the Scottish version there are -only two girls who join hands and pull each other backwards and -forwards, repeating the words. Halliwell describes a different action to -any of these. A string of children, hand in hand, stand in a row. A -child stands in front of them as leader; two other children form an -arch, each holding both of the hands of the other. The string of -children pass under the arch, the last of whom is taken captive by the -two holding hands. The verses are repeated until all are -taken.--Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, cclxxxvii. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.] - -(_c_) The analysis of the game rhymes is as follows:-- - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Halliwell's Version. | Liphook (Hants). | Shropshire. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a pail of water. |Draw a pail of water. |Draw, draw water. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|For my lady's |Send a lady a |For my lady's | - | |daughter. |daughter. |daughter. | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.|My father's a king and| -- | -- | - | |my mother's a queen. | | | - | 9.|My two little sisters | -- | -- | - | |are dressed in green. | | | - |10.|Stamping grass and | -- | -- | - | |parsley. | | | - |11.|Marigold leaves and | -- | -- | - | |daisies. | | | - |12.|One rush, two rush. |One o' my rush, two o'|One in a rush, two in | - | | |my rush. |a bush. | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.|Pray thee, fine lady, |Please, young lady, |Pretty my lady, pop | - | |come under my bush. |creep under the |under the bush. | - | | |_briar_ bush. | | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.|Fochabers (Scotland). | Hampshire. | Northants. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a bucket o' |Drawing a bucket of |Draw a pail of water. | - | |water. |water. | | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|For a lady's daughter.|For my lady's |For a lady's daughter.| - | | |daughter. | | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- |Put it in a chestnut | -- | - | | |tree. | | - | 7.| -- |Let it stay an hour. | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|One and a hush, two |One of you rush, two | -- | - | |and a rush. |may rush. | | - |13.| -- | -- |Give a silver pin for | - | | | |a golden ring. | - |14.|Please, young lady, |Please, old woman man,|Pray, young lady, pop | - | |come under my bush. |creep under the bush. |under. | - |15.| -- |The bush is too high, | -- | - | | |the bush is too low. | | - |16.| -- |Please, old woman, | -- | - | | |creep under the bush. | | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Norfolk (1). | Norfolk (2). | Haydon. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a bucket of |Draw a bucket of |Draw a bucket of | - | |water. |water. |water. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|For my lady's |For the farmer's |For my lady's | - | |daughter. |daughter. |daughter. | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|One go rush and the | -- | -- | - | |other go hush. | | | - |13.| -- |Give a gold ring and a|A guinea gold ring and| - | | |silver watch. |a silver pin. | - |14.|Pretty young lady, bop|Pray, young lady, pop |Pray, young lady, pop | - | |under my bush. |under. |under. | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Earls Heaton. | Lincolnshire and | Gloucestershire. | - | | | Nottinghamshire. | | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Draw a bucket of |See saw, a bucket of | -- | - | |water. |water. | | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.|To wash my lady's |To wash my lady's | -- | - | |garter. |garter. | | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- |One in a rush and two |One we go rush, two we| - | | |in a bush. |go push. | - |13.|A guinea gold ring and| -- | -- | - | |a silver pin. | | | - |14.|Please, little girl, |To see a fine lady pop|Lady, come under the | - | |pop under. |under a bush. |corner bush. | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Belfast. | Halliwell's Version | Crockham Hill. | - | | | (No. 2). | | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- |Draw a bucket of | - | | | |water. | - | 2.|Sift the lady's |Sieve my lady's | -- | - | |oatmeal. |oatmeal. | | - | 3.|Sift it into flour. |Grind my lady's flour.| -- | - | 4.| -- | -- |For a lady's daughter.| - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Put it in a chest of |Put it in a chestnut. | -- | - | |drawers. | | | - | 7.|Let it lie an hour. |Let it stand an hour. | -- | - | 8.| -- | | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|One of my rush, two of|One may rush, two may |One in a bush, two in | - | |my rush. |rush. |a bush, three in a | - | | | |bush, four in a bush. | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.|Please, young lady, |Come, my girls, walk | -- | - | |come under my bush. |under the bush. | | - |15.|My bush is too high, | -- | -- | - | |my bush is too low. | | | - |16.|Please, young lady, | -- | -- | - | |come under my bow. | | | - |17.|Stir up the dumpling. | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- |And out you go. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - -The analysis shows that the majority of the variants retain four -principal incidents of what must have been the original form of the -game, and the fact of the Gloucestershire version having come down with -only two of the incidents, namely, the two most common to all the -variants (12 and 14), shows that the game has been in a state of -decadence. The four principal incidents, Nos. 1, 4, 12, and 14, point -distinctly to some water ceremonial; and if it may be argued that the -incidents which occur in only one or two of the variants may be -considered to have belonged to the original type, we shall be able to -suggest that this game presents a dramatic representation of ancient -well-worship. The incidents which occur in one version only are those -given by Mr. Halliwell, and unfortunately the locality from which he -obtained this variant is unknown. Still it is an earlier version than -those which are now printed for the first time, and may without doubt be -looked upon as genuine. Taking all the incidents of the various versions -as the means by which to restore the earliest version, it would appear -that this might have consisted of the following lines:-- - - Draw a pail of water - For a lady's daughter; - Her father's a king, her mother's a queen, - Her two little sisters are dressed in green, - Stamping grass and parsley, marigold leaves and daisies; - Sift the lady's oatmeal, sift it into flour, - Put it in a chestnut tree, let it lie an hour; - Give a silver pin and a gold ring, - One and a hush! two and a rush! - Pray, young lady, pop under a bush; - My bush is too high, my bush is too low, - Please, young lady, come under my bow! - -(_d_) This restoration of the words, though it probably is far from -complete, and does not make so good a game rhyme as the reduced -versions, nevertheless shows clearly enough that the incidents belong to -a ceremonial of primitive well-worship. The pulling of the hands -backwards and forwards may be taken to indicate the raising of water -from a well. If this is conceded, the incidents might be grouped as -follows:-- - - (1.) Drawing of water from a well. - (2.) For a devotee at the well. - (3.) Collecting flowers for dressing the well. - (4.) Making of a cake for presentation. - (5.) Gifts to the well [the silver pin, gold ring, and probably the - garter]. - (6.) Command of silence. - (7.) The presence of the devotee at the sacred bush. - -All these are incidents of primitive well-worship (see Gomme's -_Ethnology and Folk-lore_, pp. 82-103). Garland dressing is very -general; cakes were eaten at Rorrington well, Shropshire (Burne's -_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 433); pins and portions of the dress are very -general offerings; silence is strictly enforced in many instances, and a -sacred tree or bush is very frequently found near the well. - -The tune of the Hampshire game (Miss Mendham's version) is practically -the same as that of the "Mulberry Bush." - -Newell (_Games of American Children_, p. 90) gives a version of this -game. - - -Drawing Dun out of the Mire - -Brand, quoting from "an old collection of satires, epigrams, &c.," says -this game is enumerated among other pastimes: - - At shove-groat, venter-point, or crosse and pile, - At leaping o'er a Midsummer bone-fier, - Or at _the drawing Dun out of the myer_. - -So in the _Dutchesse of Suffolke_, 1631: - - Well done, my masters, lends your hands, - _Draw Dun out of the ditch_, - Draw, pull, helpe all, so, so, well done. - [_They pull him out._] - -They had shoved Bishop Bonner into a well, and were pulling him out. - -We find this game noticed at least as early as Chaucer's time, in the -_Manciple's Prologue_: - - Then gan our hoste to jape and to play, - And sayd, sires, what? _Dun is in the mire._ - -Nares (_Glossary_) says this game was a rural pastime, in which _Dun_ -meant a dun horse, supposed to be stuck in the mire, and sometimes -represented by one of the persons who played. - -Gifford (_Ben Jonson_, vol. vii. p. 283), who remembered having played -at the game (doubtless in his native county, Devonshire), thus describes -it:--"A log of wood is brought into the midst of the room: this is Dun -(the cart horse), and a cry is raised that he is stuck in the mire. Two -of the company advance, either with or without ropes, to draw him out. -After repeated attempts they find themselves unable to do it, and call -for more assistance. The game continues till all the company take part -in it, when Dun is extricated of course; and the merriment arises from -the awkward and affected efforts of the rustics to lift the log, and -sundry arch contrivances to let the ends of it fall on one another's -toes." - - -Drop Handkerchief - -This is a game similar to Cat and Mouse, but takes its name from the use -of the handkerchief to start the pursuit. Various rhyming formulae are -used in some places. In Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy), no rhyme is -used. - -The children stand in a ring. One runs round with a handkerchief and -drops it; the child behind whom it is dropped chases the dropper, the -one who gets home first takes the vacant place, the other drops the -handkerchief again. - -In Shropshire the two players pursue one another in and out of the ring, -running under the uplifted hands of the players who compose it: the -pursuer carefully keeping on the track of the pursued (Burne's -_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - -The Dorsetshire variant is accompanied by a rhyme: - - I wrote a letter to my love; - I carried water in my glove; - And by the way I dropped it-- - I dropped it, I dropped it, I dropped it, &c. - -This is repeated until the handkerchief is stealthily dropped -immediately behind one of the players, who should be on the alert to -follow as quickly as possible the one who has dropped it, who at once -increases her speed and endeavours to take the place left vacant by her -pursuer. Should she be caught before she can succeed in doing this she -is compelled to take the handkerchief a second time. But if, as it -more usually happens, she is successful in accomplishing this, the -pursuer in turn takes the handkerchief, and the game proceeds as -before.--Symondsbury (_Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 212). - - Jack lost his supper last night, - And the night before; if he does again to-night, - He never will no more--more--more--more. - - I wrote a letter to my love, - And on the way I dropt it; - Some of you have picked it up, - And got it in your pocket--pocket--pocket--pocket. - - I have a little dog, it won't bite you-- - It won't bite you--it won't bite you-- - It _will_ bite you. - ---Leicestershire (Miss Ellis). - -The Forest of Dean version is the same as the Dorsetshire, except that -the child who is unsuccessful in gaining the vacant place has to stand -in the middle of the ring until the same thing happens to another -child.--Miss Matthews. - -In Nottinghamshire the children form in a ring; one walks round outside -the ring singing and carrying a handkerchief: - - I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I dropt it; - One of you has picked it up and put it in your pocket. - It isn't you, it isn't you, &c. &c.; it is you. - -The handkerchief is then dropped at some one's back, the one at whose -back the handkerchief was dropped chasing the other. - -Or they say: - - I lost my supper last night, I lost it the night before, - And if I lose it again to-night, I'll knock at somebody's door. - It isn't you, it isn't you, &c. &c.; it's you. - ---Miss Winfield. - -At Winterton and Lincoln the children form a circle, standing -arms-length apart. A child holding a handkerchief occupies the centre of -the ring and sings: - - Wiskit-a-waskit, - A green leather basket; - I wrote a letter to my love, - And on the way I lost it; - Some of you have picked it up, - And put it in your pocket. - I have a little dog at home, - And it shan't bite you, - -(Here the singer points to each child in turn) - - Nor you, nor you, nor you; - But it shall bite _you_. - -Then she drops the handkerchief before her chosen playmate, who chases -her in and out of the ring under the arms of the other children until -she is captured. The captor afterwards takes the place in the centre, -and the original singer becomes a member of the circle.--Miss M. -Peacock. - -The Deptford version of the verse is as follows:-- - - I had a little dog whose name was Buff, - I sent him up the street for a penny'orth of snuff, - He broke my box and spilt my snuff, - I think my story is long enough-- - 'Tain't you, and 'tain't you, and 'tis you! - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - -A Staffordshire and Sharleston version gives some altogether different -formulae:-- - - What colour's the sky? - Blue. - Look up again. - Like a W. - Follow me through every little hole that I go through. - ---Staffordshire (Rev. G. T. Royds, Rector of Haughton). - -At Sharleston the centre child says, "What colour is t' sky?" The other -answers, "Blue." Centre child says, "Follow me true." Here the centre -child runs in and out between the others until the one who was touched -catches her, when they change places, the first joining the children in -the ring.--Sharleston (Miss Fowler). - -At Beddgelert, Wales (Mrs. Williams), this game is called Tartan Boeth. -It is played in precisely the same manner as the English game, but the -words used are: - - Tartan Boeth, Oh ma'en llosgi, Boeth iawn - Hot Tart. Oh, it burns! very hot! - -At the words, "Very hot!" the handkerchief is dropped. - -(_b_) In this game no kissing takes place, and that this is no mere -accidental omission may be shown by Mr. Udal's description of the -Dorsetshire game. He was assured by several persons who are interested -in Dorset Children's Games that the indiscriminate kissing (that is, -whether the girl pursued runs little or far, or, when overtaken, whether -she objects or not) with which this game is ordinarily associated, as -played now both in Dorset and in other counties, was not indigenous to -this county, but was merely a pernicious after-growth or outcome of -later days, which had its origin in the various excursion and holiday -fetes, which the facilities of railway travelling had instituted, by -bringing large crowds from the neighbouring towns into the country. He -was told that thirty years ago such a thing was unknown in the country -districts of Dorset, when the game then usually indulged in was known -merely as "Drop the Handkerchief" (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 212). - -In other cases the rhymes are used for a purely kissing game, for which -see "Kiss in the Ring." - - -Dropping the Letter - -An undescribed Suffolk boys' game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_, p. 238. - - -Duck under the Water - -Each child chooses a partner, and form in couples standing one before -the other, till a long line is formed. Each couple holds a handkerchief -as high as they can to form an arch. The couple standing at the end of -the line run through the arch just beyond the last couple standing at -the top, when they stand still and hold their handkerchief as high as -possible, which is the beginning of the second arch; this is repeated by -every last couple in succession, so that as many arches as are wanted -can be formed.--East Kirkby, Lincolnshire (Miss K. Maughan). - -Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) says the game is played in that -county. Formerly in the northern part of the county even married women -on May Day played at it under the May garland, which was extended from -chimney to chimney across the village street. - - -Duck at the Table - -A boys' game, played with round stones and a table-shaped block of -stone.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - -Probably the same as Duckstone. - - -Duck Dance - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - I saw a ship a sailin', - A sailin' on the sea, - And oh, it was laden - With pretty things for me [thee]. - - There were comfits in the cabin, - And apples in the hold; - The sails were made of silk, - And the masts were made of gold. - - Four and twenty sailors - That sat upon the deck, - Were four and twenty white mice - With chains about their necks. - - The captain was a duck, - With a packet on his back; - And when the ship began to move, - The captain cried "Quack! quack!" - ---Northamptonshire, _Revue Celtique_, iv. 200; Halliwell's _Nursery -Rhymes_, No. ccclxxvii. - -(_b_) A number of little girls join hands and form a ring. They all jump -round and sing the verses. The game ends by the girls following one of -their number in a string, all quacking like ducks.--Northamptonshire. - -(_c_) Halliwell does not include it among his games, but simply as a -nursery paradox. The tune given is that to which I as a child was taught -to sing the verses as a song. We did not know it as a game. The "Quack, -quack!" was repeated as another line to the notes of the last bar given, -the notes gradually dying away (A. B. Gomme). - - -Duck Friar - -The game of "Leap-frog."--_Apollo Shroving_, 1627, p. 83. - - -Ducks and Drakes - -A pastime in which flat stones or slates are thrown upon the surface of -a piece of water, so that they may dip and emerge several times without -sinking (Brockett's _North Country Words_). "Neither cross and pile nor -ducks and drakes are quite so ancient as hand dandy" (Arbuthnot and -Pope, quoted in Todd's _Johnson_). - -Halliwell gives the words used in the game both formerly and at the -present day. If the stone emerges only once it is a duck, and increasing -in the following order:-- - - 2. A duck and a drake, - 3. And a halfpenny cake, - 4. And a penny to pay the old baker, - 5. A hop and a scotch is another notch, - 6. Slitherum, slatherum, take her. - ---Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - Hen-pen, - Duck and mallard, - Amen. - ---Somersetshire (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - - A duck and a drake - And a white penny cake. - ---Hampshire (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - - A duck and a drake - And a penny white cake, - And a skew ball. - ---Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_. - -Moor (_Suffolk Words and Phrases_) gives the names for the number of -times the stone emerges, as (1) "a duck;" (2) "a duck an' a drake;" if -thrice, "a duck an' a drake an' a fi'epenny cake;" four times is "a duck -an' a drake an' a fi'epenny cake, an' a penny to pah the baker." If more -than four, "a duck," "a duck an' a drake," &c., are added. These -distinctions are iterated quickly to correspond in time as nearly as may -be with the dips of the stone. A flattish stone is evidently the best -for this sport. - -(_b_) This game is also given by Mr. Addy in his _Sheffield Glossary_, -and by Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_), Brogden (_Provincial Words, -Lincolnshire_), Lowsley (_Berkshire Glossary_), Nares' _Glossary_, and -Baker's _Northants Glossary_. Miss Courtenay gives "Scutter" and "Tic -Tac Mollard" as Cornish names for the game (_West Cornwall Glossary_). -See also Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 139, and Strutt's _Sports and -Pastimes_, p. 326. - -Butler, in his _Hudibras_ (p. ii. canto iii. l. 302), makes it one of -the important qualifications of his conjurer to tell-- - - What figur'd slates are best to make - On wat'ry surface _duck_ or _drake_. - -The following description of this sport is given by Minucius Felix, ed. -1712, p. 28, which evinces its high antiquity: "Pueros videmus certatim -gestientes, testarum in mare jaculationibus ludere. Is lusus est, testam -teretem, jactatione fluctuum laevigatam, legere de litore: eam testam -plano situ digitis comprehensam, inclinem ipsum atque humilem, quantum -potest, super undas irrorare: ut illud jaculum vel dorsum maris raderet, -vel enataret, dum leni impetu labitur; vel summis fluctibus tonsis -emicaret, emergeret, dum assiduo saltu sublevatur. Is se in pueris -victorem ferebat, cujus testa et procurreret longius, et frequentius -exsiliret." - -"From this pastime," says Moor, "has probably arisen the application of -the term to a spendthrift--of whose approaching ruin we should thus -speak: 'Ah, he'ave made fine ducks and drakes of a's money, that a' -have.'"--_Suffolk Words._ - - -Duckstone - -A large stone called the Duckstone or Duck-table is placed on the -ground, generally with a wall for a background, but this is of little -consequence. Several boys take a stone each, and a place pretty near the -Duckstone is chosen for "home." One of the boys puts his stone on the -Duckstone, and he is called the Tenter. He has to guard the home and -catch the other boys if he can. Each boy in turn throws his stone at the -stone on the Duck-table and immediately runs home. The Tenter tries to -catch him before he can touch the wall or post or whatever is chosen for -the home. If the Tenter can catch him he becomes Tenter, and puts his -stone on the Duckstone, and the original Tenter takes his turn in -throwing. One rule of the game is that the Tenter's stone must always be -on the Duck-table when he is trying to catch a boy, so if it is knocked -off it must be replaced before he can try to catch the boy running -"home." The chance of getting home is increased for the boy who knocks -it off.--North-West Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts and Miss Peacock). - -(_b_) Similar versions are from Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy), Ireland -(_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 265), Peacock (_Mauley and Corringham -Glossary_). Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) gives this game with the -following addition: If a duck falls short of the Duckstone, and the one -whose duck is on the stone sees that he can _wand_ or _span_ with his -hand the distance between the duck thus thrown and the Duckstone, he -shouts out "Wands," and if he can wand or span the distance he takes his -duck off, and the duck thus thrown is put on. Holland (_Cheshire -Glossary_), Darlington (South Cheshire), Baker (_Northants Glossary_), -and Brogden (_Provincial Words, Lincolnshire_), also give this game. -Elworthy (_West Somerset Words_) calls it "Duck," and "Ducks off" and -"Cobbs off" in Dorsetshire. In London the boy repeats the words, "Gully, -gully, all round the hole, one duck on," while he is playing (_Strand -Magazine_, November 1891). Newell (_Games_, p. 188) calls it "Duck on a -Rock." - - -Duffan Ring - -Name for "Cat and Mouse" in Cornwall.--_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57. - - -Dumb Crambo - -An undescribed game mentioned in Moor's _Suffolk Words_, p. 238. - - -Dumb Motions - -Two sides are chosen, which stand apart from each other inside the line -of their den. One side chooses a trade, and goes to the opposite side -imitating working at the trade and giving the initial letters of it. If -the opposite side guesses the name of the trade, the players run to -their own den, being chased by their opponents. If any of the players -are caught they must go to the opposite side. In turn the opposite side -chooses a trade, and imitates the actions practised.--Cork, Ireland -(Miss Keane). - -This is called "An Old Woman from the Wood" in Dorsetshire. The children -form themselves into two ranks. - - The first rank says: - Here comes an old 'oman from the wood. - The second party answers: - What cans't thee do? - First Party: Do anythin'. - Second Party: Work away. - -This the children proceed to do, some by pretending to sew, some to -wash, some to dig, some to knit, without any instruments to do it with. -If the opposite side guess what they are doing, they change sides. This -game, Miss Summers believes, is very old, and has been played by several -generations in the village of Hazelbury Bryan.--Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore -Journal_, vii. 230). - -See "Trades." - - -Dump - -A boys' amusement in Yorkshire, in vogue about half a century ago, but -now believed to be nearly obsolete. It is played in this manner. The -lads crowd round and place their fists endways, the one on the other, -till they form a high pile of hands. Then a boy, who has one hand free, -knocks the piled fists off one by one, saying to every boy as he strikes -his fist away, "What's there, Dump?" He continues this process till he -comes to the last fist, when he exclaims:-- - - What's there? - Cheese and bread, and a mouldy halfpenny! - Where's my share? - I put it on the shelf, and the cat got it. - Where's the cat? - She's run nine miles through the wood. - Where's the wood? - T' fire burnt it. - Where's the fire? - T' waters sleekt (extinguished) it. - Where's the water? - T' oxen drank it. - Where's the oxen? - T' butcher killed 'em. - Where's the butcher? - Upon the church tops cracking nuts, and you may go and eat the - shells; and them as speaks first shall have nine nips, - nine scratches, and nine boxes over the lug! - -Every one then endeavours to refrain from speaking in spite of mutual -nudges and grimaces, and he who first allows a word to escape is -punished by the others in the various methods adopted by schoolboys. In -some places the game is played differently. The children pile their -fists in the manner described above; then one, or sometimes all of them, -sing: - - I've built my house, I've built my wall; - I don't care where my chimneys fall! - -The merriment consists in the bustle and confusion occasioned by the -rapid withdrawal of the hands (Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 225). -Compare Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 529. - -Northall (_Folk Rhymes_, p. 418) gives the following rhymes as said in -Warwickshire while the fists are being piled on one another:-- - - Here's one hammer on the block, - My men, my men; - There's one hammer, &c., my man John. - Dibble the can, blow bellows, blow, - Fire away, lads, for an hour or so. - -See "Dish-a-loof," "Sacks." - - -Dumps - -A game at marbles or taw, played with holes scooped in the ground -(Roxburgh, Jamieson). Grose gives _dump_ as signifying "a deep hole of -water" (_Provincial Glossary_). - - -Dust-point - -A game in which boys placed their points in a heap, and threw at them -with a stone. Weber and Nares give wrong explanations. It is alluded to -in Cotton's Works, 1734, p. 184. - - I'll venter on their heads my brindled cow, - With any boy at dust-point they shall play. - ---Peacham's _Thalia's Banquet_, 1620. - -Nares (_Glossary_) suggests that this game and blow-point resembled the -game of Push-pin. See also Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Eller Tree - -A number of young men and women stand in a line, a tall girl at one end -of the line representing the tree. They then begin to wrap round her, -saying, "The old eller tree grows thicker and thicker." When they have -all got round her (the tree), they jump all together, calling out, "A -bunch of rags, a bunch of rags," and try to tread on each other's -toes.--Sheffield, Yorks (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) The tree is the alder. It abounds in the North of England more -than in any other part of the kingdom, and seems always to have been -there held in great respect and veneration. Many superstitions also -attach to the tree. It is possible from these circumstances that the -game descends from an old custom of encircling the tree as an act of -worship, and the allusion to the "rags" bears at least a curious -relationship to tree worship. If this conclusion is correct, the -particular form of the game preserved by Mr. Addy may be the parent form -of all games in which the act of winding is indicated. There is more -reason for this when we consider how easy the notion of clock-winding -would creep in after the old veneration for the sacred alder tree had -ceased to exist. - -[Illustration] - -See "Bulliheisle," "Wind up the Bush Faggot," "Wind up the Watch." - - -Ezzeka - - Old Ezzeka did one day stand - Upon a barrel top; - The bung flew out, and all at once - It went off with a pop. - ---Dronfield (S. O. Addy). - -This game is usually played in a house or schoolroom, by boys and girls. -A boy or girl is chosen who is considered to be able to stand a joke. He -sits on a chair. A stool is put behind, upon which a boy called "Ezzeka" -stands. Then the other boys and girls in the room sing the lines. As -they are finished, Ezzeka, who has a bottle of water in his hand, takes -out the cork, and pours the water upon his victim's head. This game may -be compared with the game of "King Arthur" mentioned by Brand (_Pop. -Antiq._, ii. 393). - - -Father's Fiddle - -This is a boys' game. One boy says to another, "Divv (do) ye ken (know) -aboot my father's fiddle?" On replying that he does not, the questioner -takes hold of the other's right hand with his left, and stretches out -the arm. With his right hand he touches the arm gently above the elbow, -and says, "My father had a fiddle, an' he brook (broke) it here, an' he -brook it here" (touching it below the elbow), "an' he brook it throw the -middle," and comes down with a sharp stroke on the elbow-joint.--Keith, -Fochabers (Rev. W. Gregor). - -This is probably the same game as that printed by Halliwell, No. -cccxxxv., to which the following rhyme applied:-- - - My father was a Frenchman, - He bought for me a fiddle; - He cut me here, he cut me here, - He cut me right in the middle. - - -Feed the Dove - -An undescribed game mentioned in an old poem called _Christmas_ (i. -285), quoted in Ellis's Brand, i. 517: "Young men and maidens now at -'Feed the Dove' (with laurel leaf in mouth) play." - - -Find the Ring - - O the grand old Duke of York - He had ten thousand men, - He marched them up the hill ago - And he marched them down again. - And when they were up they were up, - And when they were down they were down, - And when they were half-way up the hill - They were neither up nor down. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -A ring of chairs is formed, and the players sit on them. A piece of -string long enough to go round the inner circumference of the chairs is -procured. A small ring is put upon the string, the ends of which are -then tied. Then one of the players gets up from his chair and stands in -the centre. The players sitting on the chairs take the string into their -hands and pass the ring round from one to another, singing the lines. If -the person standing in the centre can find out in whose hand the ring -is, he sits down, and his place is taken by the one who had the ring. -The game is sometimes played round a haycock in the hayfield. - -Miss Dendy sends a similar rhyme from Monton, Lancashire, where it is -known simply as a marching game. For similar rhymes, see Halliwell's -_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 3. - -See "Paddy from Home," "Tip it." - - -Fippeny Morrell - -"Twice three stones, set in a crossed square, where he wins the game -that can set his three along in a row, and that is fippeny morrell I -trow."--_Apollo Shroving_, 1626. - -See "Nine Men's Morice," "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Fire, Air, and Water - -The players seat themselves in a circle. One of the players has a ball, -to which a string is fastened. He holds the string that he may easily -draw the ball back again after it is thrown. The possessor of the ball -then throws it to one in the circle, calling out the name of either of -the elements he pleases. This player must, before ten can be counted, -give the name of an inhabitant of that element. When "Fire" is called, -strict silence must be observed or a forfeit paid.--Cork, Ireland (Miss -Keane). - -The players were seated in a half-circle, and the possessor of the ball -faced the others. There was no string attached to the ball, but it was -necessary that it should hit the child it was thrown to. When "Fire" was -called, "Salamander" and "Ph[oe]nix" were allowed to be said. The third -time "Fire" was called, silence was observed, and every player bowed the -head. We called it "Earth, Air, Fire, and Water." A forfeit had to be -paid for every mistake.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -It seems probable that a survival of fire-worship is shown by this game. - - -Fivestones - -This game was played by a newspaper boy at Richmond Station for me as -follows:--He had five square pieces of tile or stone about the size of -dice. He took all five pieces in the palm of the hand first, then threw -them up and caught them on the back of the hand, and then from the back -of the hand into the palm. Four of the stones were then thrown on the -ground; the fifth was thrown up, one stone being picked up from the -ground, and the descending fifth stone caught in the same hand; the -other three pieces were next picked up in turn. Then two were picked up -together in the same manner twice, then one, then three, then all four -at once, the fifth stone being thrown up and caught with each movement. -All five were then thrown up and caught on the back of the hand, and -then thrown from the back and caught in the palm. When he dropped one, -he picked it up between his outstretched fingers while the other stones -remained on the back of the hand; then he tossed and caught it likewise. -Then after throwing up the five stones and catching them on the back of -the hand and the reverse, all five being kept in the palm, one was -thrown up, and another deposited on the ground before the descending -stone was caught. This was done to the three others in turn. Then with -two at a time twice, then one and three, then all four together, then -from the palm to the back of the hand, and again to the palm. This -completed one game. If mistakes were made another player took the -stones. Marks were taken for successful play. This boy called the game -"Dabs."--A. B. Gomme. - -In South Notts this game was called "Snobs." It was played with small -stones or marbles. There were nine sets of tricks. First One-ers (of -which there were five in the set), then Two-ers (two in set), Three-ers -(three in set), Four-ers (four in set), Four Squares (four in set), -Trotting Donkeys (eight in set, I believe), Fly-catchers (six or seven -in set), Magic (five in set), and Magic Fly-catchers (five in set). -One-ers is played thus:--The five stones are thrown into the air and -caught on the back of the hand. If all are caught they are simply tossed -up again and caught in the hollow of the hand, but if any are not caught -they have to be picked up, one by one, another stone being at the same -time thrown into the air and caught with the one picked up in the hand. -Two-ers, Three-ers, and Four-ers, are played in the same way, except -that the stones not caught on the back of the hand have to be arranged -in twos, threes, and fours respectively by the hand on which the caught -stones are lying meanwhile, and then each lot has to be picked up -altogether. If the number that fall when the stones are first thrown up -won't allow of this, the player has to drop the required number (but no -more) from his hand. In Magic the play is just the same as in One-ers, -except that instead of only throwing up a single stone and catching it -as the others are in turn picked up, the whole number, except those -remaining to be picked up, are thrown and caught. In Four Squares, four -of the stones are arranged in a square, each of them is then picked up, -whilst the remaining stone is flung upwards and caught; the one picked -up is then tossed up, and the one originally tossed up is put down in -the place of the other, which is caught as it descends, and the process -repeated "all round the square." Trotting Donkeys is similarly played, -except that the four stones are arranged in a line--not in a square--and -I believe there is some other slight difference, but I forget what. -Fly-catchers is played like One-ers, except that the stone thrown into -the air while the others are being picked up, is not simply caught by -being allowed to fall into the hand, but by an outward movement of the -hand is _pounced on_, hawk-fashion, from above. Magic Fly-catchers is -played in precisely the same way, except that as in simple Magic, not -one stone, but all are thrown up and caught--that is, if there are four -on the ground one only is thrown up for the first, two for the second, -three for the third, and so on until they are all picked up. This is, of -course, the most difficult part of all, and, in fact, only experts were -expected to do it. Every failure means "out," and then your opponent has -his turn. The winner is the one who gets through first. Such is the game -as I remember it, but I have an uneasy suspicion that I have missed -something out. I seem to remember one trick in which all the stones on -the ground had to be picked up at once _where they lay_--scrambled up so -to speak. Or it may be (and, in fact, I think it was) that sometimes, to -add to the difficulty of the game, we picked up the groups of two, -three, and four in Two-ers, Three-ers, and Four-ers in this fashion, -instead of first placing them together.--Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. -Bell). - -In Wakefield the set of pot checks, which represents five hucklebones, -now consists of four checks and a ball about the size of a large marble. -The checks are something like dice, but only two opposite sides are -plain, the other four being fluted. The table played on is generally a -doorstep, and it is made ready by drawing a ring upon it with anything -handy which will make a mark. There are twelve figures or movements to -be gone through as follows. Some have special names, but I do not learn -that all have. - -1. The player, taking the checks and ball in the right hand, throws down -the checks, keeping the ball in the hand. If any check fall outside the -ring the player is "down." There is skill needed in the throwing of the -checks in this and the following movements, so that they may be -conveniently placed for taking up in the proper order. The checks being -scattered, the player throws up the ball, takes up one check, and -catches the ball as it comes down, or, as it is sometimes played, after -it has bounced once from the step. This is repeated till all the checks -are taken up. - -2. As the last figure, but the checks are taken up two at a throw. - -3. As the last, but at the first throw one check, called the Horse, is -taken up, and at the second the remaining three checks at once, called -the Cart. - -4. As before, but all the checks taken up together. - -5. Called Ups and Downs. The checks are taken up at one throw, and set -down outside the ring at the next. This is done first with one, then -with two, and so on. - -6. Each check is touched in turn as the ball is thrown. - -7. The checks are separately pushed out of the ring. - -8. Each check in turn is taken up and knocked against the ground. - -9. Each check is taken up and tapped upon another. - -10. The checks are first arranged three in a line, touching each other, -and the fourth placed at the top of that at one end of the row. This is -called the Cradle. It has to be taken down check by check, and if, in -taking one, another is moved, the player is out. - -11. Like the last, but the checks are put one above another to make a -Chimney. - -12. Called the Dish-clout--I know not why, unless it be that it wipes -up the game. The movement used in taking up the checks is thus -described:--"Take hold of the sleeve of the right hand with the left; -throw up the ball, and twist your right hand underneath and over your -left, and catch the ball. With the hand still twisted throw up the ball -and untwist and catch it." The checks are picked up in the course of the -twisting. - -These I am told are the orthodox movements; and I do not doubt that in -them there is much of very old tradition, although the tenth and -eleventh must have been either added or modified since pot checks came -into use, for the figures could not be built up with the natural bones. -Some other movements are sometimes used according to fancy, as for -example the clapping of the ground with the palm of the hand before -taking up the checks and catching the ball.--J. T. Micklethwaite (_Arch. -Journ._, xlix. 327-28). - -I am told that in the iron districts of Staffordshire, the round bits of -iron punched out in making rivet holes in boiler plates are the modern -representatives of hucklebones.--_Ibid._ - -In Westminster four stones are held in the right hand, a marble is -thrown up, and all four stones thrown down, and the marble allowed to -bounce on the hearthstone or pavement, and then caught in the same hand -after it has rebounded. The marble is then thrown up again, and one of -the four stones picked up, and the marble caught again after it has -rebounded. This is done separately to the other three, bringing all four -stones into the hand. The marble is again bounced, and all four stones -thrown down and the marble caught. Two stones are then picked up -together, then the other two, then one, then three together, then all -four together, the marble being tossed and caught with each throw. An -arch is then formed by placing the left hand on the ground, and the four -stones are again thrown down, the marble tossed, and the four stones -put separately into the arch, the marble being caught after it has -rebounded each time; or the four stones are separately put between the -fingers of the left hand in as straight a row as possible. Then the left -hand is taken away, and the four stones caught up in one sweep of the -hand. Then all four stones are thrown down, and one is picked up before -the marble is caught. This is retained in the hand, and when the second -stone is picked up the first one is laid down before the marble is -caught; the third is picked up and the second laid down, the fourth -picked up and the third laid down, then the fourth laid down, the marble -being tossed and caught again each time. The stones have different names -or marks (which follow in rotation), and in picking them up they must be -taken in their proper order, or it is counted as a mistake. The game is -played throughout by the right hand, the left hand only being used when -"arches" is made. The marble should be thrown up about the same height -each toss, and there should be little or no interval between the -different figures.--Annie Dicker. - -I saw this game played in Endell Street, London, W.C., by two girls. -Their game was not so long nor so complete as the above. They did not -throw all four stones down as a preliminary stage, but began with the -second figure, the four gobs being placed in a square ::, nor were -they particular as to which stones they picked up. They knew nothing of -numbering or naming them. Their marble was called a "jack." They had -places chalked on the pavement where they recorded their successful -"goes," and the game was played in a ring.--A. B. Gomme. - -An account sent me from Deptford (Miss Chase) is doubtless the same -game. It begins with taking two "gobs" at once, and apparently there are -eight stones or gobs to play with. The marble or round stone which is -thrown up is called a "tally." The directions for playing are-- - - We take twoses, - We take threeses, - We take fourses, - We take sixes, - We take eights. - -Chain eggs--_i.e._, to pick up one and drop it again until this has been -done to each stone. Arches--_i.e._, gobs in a row. This was described by -the player as "while the tally is up to sweep the whole row or line off -the ground into the arch of the finger and thumb before catching the -tally." - -(_b_) These games are variants of one common original. It is the same -game as that described by F. H. Low in the _Strand Magazine_, ii. 514, -as played in the London streets. The marble there is called a "buck." -"Pegsy" was the name of the No. 5 stage of the Wakefield version, and -this varies too, inasmuch as it was the same gob which is picked up and -then laid down before catching the buck. - -Mr. Kinahan says, "'Jackstones,' played with three or four small stones -that are thrown up in the air and caught again, seems to have been a -very ancient game, as the stones have been found in the _crannogs_ or -lake-dwellings in some hole near the fireplaces, similar to where they -are found in a cabin at the present day. An old woman, or other player, -at the present time puts them in a place near the hob when they stop -their game and go to do something else" (_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 266). -In the Graeco-Roman saloon, British Museum, is a statue originally -composed of two boys quarrelling at the game of "Tali" (see _Townley -Gallery_, i. 305; Smith's _Dict. Greek and Roman Antiq._, s.v. _Talus_), -and it is interesting to note that in the Deptford game the marble is -called a "Tally." - -Mr. Kinahan's note suggests that "Fivestones" may be an independent -game, instead of a derivative from "Hucklebones." If this is so, we have -interesting evidence of the spread or transmission of one game from at -least two centres. Professor Attwell, in _Notes and Queries_, 8th ser., -iv. 201, suggests that "Hucklebones" was introduced into Europe by the -Romans, and was spread throughout the countries which formed the empire -by means of Roman colonists and soldiers. Mr. Newell (_Games_, pp. -190-93) describes a similar game to "Fivestones" played in Boston under -the name of "Otadama," or "Japanese Jacks." This game is of Japanese -origin, "Tedama" (that is, "Handballs") being its proper name. He says -there can be no doubt that the two forms of this amusement are branches -of the same root; and we thus have an example of a game which, having -preserved its essential characteristics for thousands of years, has -fairly circumnavigated the globe, so that the two currents of tradition, -westward and eastward, from Europe and Asia, have met in America. - -See "Checkstones," "Dibs," "Hucklebones," "Jackstones." - - -Flowers - -Sides are chosen; each side must have a "home" at the top and bottom of -the ground where the children are playing. One side chooses a flower and -goes over to the other side, the members of which stand in a row facing -the first side. The first side states the initial letters of the flower -it has chosen, and when the second side guesses the right flower they -run and try to catch as many of the opposite side as they can before -they reach their home. The captives then become members of the side -which captured them.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). - - -Follow my Gable - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire. - -[Music] - ---Redhill, Surrey. - - I. Follow my gable 'oary man, - Follow my gable 'oary man, - I'll do all that ever I can - To follow my gable 'oary man. - - We'll borrow a horse and steal a gig, - And round the world we'll have a jig, - And I'll do all that ever I can - To follow my gable 'oary man. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks (Herbert Hardy). - - II. Holy Gabriel, holy man, - Rantum roarum reeden man, - I'll do all as ever I can - To follow my Gabriel, holy man.[3] - ---Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope). - - III. I sell my bat, I sell my ball, - I sell my spinning-wheel and all; - And I'll do all that ever I can - To follow the eyes of the drummer man. - ---Luton, Bedfordshire (Mrs. Ashdown). - -(_b_) In the Yorkshire version a ring is formed with one child in the -middle as the 'Oary Man. Whatever he, or she, does, all in the ring must -mimic, going round and singing at the same time. Any one found late in -changing the action or idle in obeying the caperings of the central -child becomes the 'Oary Man in place of the child taking that part. Both -girls and boys play. In the Redhill version, Holy Gabriel kneels in the -middle of the circle. He acts as leader, and always had the fiddle as -his instrument, though he now usually plays the pianoforte as his first -instrument. The other children choose any instrument they like. Holy -Gabriel pretends to play the fiddle, and all the other children play -their own instruments until Holy Gabriel changes his to one of theirs, -when that one must immediately begin to play the fiddle, and continue -until Holy Gabriel takes another instrument or returns to the fiddle. -This is done in vigorous pantomime. In the Luton variant the children -sit in a semicircle, the Drummer faces them. He plays the drum; all the -other children play on any other instrument they like. If the other -players do not at once change their instrument, or neglect to sing the -lines, a forfeit is demanded. - -(_c_) Mr. Hardy says some sing this game, "Follow my game an holy man." -Mr. Hardy once thought it was the remnant of a goblin story of a hoary -man of the gable or house-roof, who presided over the destinies of poor -cottagers, and he had begun to make out the folk tale. The fairy would -sometimes come down, and, playing his antics, compel whomsoever observed -him to follow him in a mimicking procession. Miss Hope writes of "Holy -Gabriel" that the game is played at Mead Vale, a small village in -Surrey, but is unknown at larger villages and towns a few miles off. -Some of the women who played it in their youth say that it began in the -Primitive Methodist school at Mead Vale. It is played at Outword, also a -remote village, and was introduced there by a stonemason, who stated -that he had learned it from a cousin who had been in America. Further -inquiry by Miss Hope elicited the fact that the cousin had learned the -game, when a boy, in his native place in Lancashire. He did not know -whether it was a well-known game there. This information points perhaps -to a modern origin, but in such cases it must be borne in mind that -people are very fond of suggesting recent circumstances as the cause of -the most ancient traditions or customs. The obvious analogy to the -incident in the myth of the Pied Piper, and to the Welsh custom at St. -Almedha Church, near Brecknock, recorded by Giraldus Cambrensis, where -the imitation of a frenzied leader is carried out as a religious -ceremony, rather suggests that in this game we may have a survival of a -ceremonial so common among early or uncultured people, the chief -incident of which is the frenzied dancing of a god-possessed devotee. - - [3] A variant of the second line is, "Ranting, roaring, heely man." "I - suppose he was Irish," said my informant, "as he was named - 'Healey'" (Miss G. Hope). - - -Follow my Leader - -This is a boys' game. Any number can take part in it. It requires a good -extent of country to play it well. The boy who is the swiftest runner -and the best jumper is chosen as Leader. He sets out at a good speed -over the fields, tries to jump as many ditches or burns, jumping such -from one side to the other again and again, to scramble over dykes, -through hedges, over palings, and run up braes. The others have to -follow him as they can. This steeplechase continues till the followers -are all tired out.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -This is a very general game among schoolboys, but in Hereford it was a -town custom occurring once in seven years on 11th October (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 75). - - -Fool, Fool, come to School - -This game is played under the name of "Foolie, Foolie" at Duthil, -Strathspey. The players are placed in a row, either standing or sitting. -Two are chosen, the one as Namer and the other as Foolie. Foolie -withdraws, if not out of sight, at least out of range of hearing. The -Namer then gives a name secretly to each player. When this is done, he -calls on Foolie--Foolie, Foolie, come to your schoolie. - -Foolie pays no attention to this call. It is again repeated, but with -the same results. This goes on for several times. At last the Namer -calls out-- - - Foolie, Foolie, come to your schoolie; - Your bannocks are burnin' an' ready for turnin'. - -Foolie always obeys this call, comes and stations himself beside the -Namer. A little chaffing generally goes on against Foolie. The Namer -says, "Come chise me oot, come chise me in, tae" so and so, naming one -by the assumed fancy name. Foolie makes choice of one. If the choice -falls right, the one so chosen steps from the line and stands beside -Foolie. If the choice falls wrong, the one named remains in the line. -All the players' names are called out in this way. If any stand unchosen -by Foolie, the Namer then goes up to each and asks if he wants, _e.g._, -"an aipple," "an orange," "a kirk," "a cottage," &c. Each one whispers -what he wants. The same question is put to Foolie. If he answers, -_e.g._, "orange," the one so named steps out and stands beside Foolie. -All not first chosen are gone over in this way. Those left unchosen take -their stand beside the Namer. There is then a tug-of-war, with the Namer -and Foolie as the leaders.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -In Hants the children stand _vis-a-vis_, as in a country dance. One of -the number is sent out of earshot, and the others decide with the -Captain as to the name of the bird each wishes to personate. The -Captain then calls to the child who is out, "Tom Fool, Tom Fool, come -home from school, and pick me out a blackbird," "cuckoo," or other bird. -If Tom Fool is wrong in his guessing after three trials, he is condemned -to run the gauntlet, being pelted with gloves or handkerchiefs not too -mercifully.--Bitterne, Hants (Miss Byford). - -In Sussex there is the same action with the following words, but there -is no chasing or hitting-- - - Of all the birds in the air, - Of all the fishes in the sea, - You can pick me out [ ] - -If the children fail to do so, they say-- - - Poor fool, been to school, - Learn more in a week; - Been there seven years - And hasn't learnt a bit. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - -The same game is played indoors in Cornwall, the reply being-- - - Fool, fool, go back to school - And learn your letters better. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 99-80). - -See "Namers and Guessers." - - -Foot and Over - -One boy out of a number stoops in the position for "Leap-frog" at an -agreed fixed line. From the players he chooses a Leader and a Foot. The -Leader first leaps over the stooping boy at a foot from the line; the -other players then leap in turn each at a foot further from the line, -the stooping boy moving forward from the line for each player; finally -the Foot leaps as far as the distance leapt by the last boy. If this is -accomplished, the Leader hops from the line and then leaps; the -followers hop and leap each a foot further than each other; finally the -Foot hops and leaps as far as the distance covered by the last boy. If -this is accomplished, the Leader hops twice and then leaps; the same -process going on until one of the boys fails, who then takes the place -of the stooping boy, and the game begins again. If the Foot covers any -longer distance than the Leader, the Leader stoops down.--Earls Heaton, -Yorks. (H. Hardy). - -This game is general. Mr. Emslie describes the London version somewhat -differently. After all the boys had jumped over the first boy's back, a -cry of "Foot it" was raised, and the boy who had given the back placed -one of his feet at a right angle to the other, and in this way measured -a "foot's length" from the starting-place. All the boys then "overed" -his back from the original line, the last one crying "Foot it," and then -the measuring ceremony was again gone through, and the game commenced -again, and continued in the same manner until one of the boys failed to -"over" the back, when he became Back. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: 1st position] - -[Illustration: 2nd position] - -[Illustration: 3rd position] - - -Football - -The modern game of "Football" is too well known to need description -here, and, like "Cricket," it has become no longer a children's game. As -to its origin, there are many ball games, such as "Camping," which have -been suggested as the original form of "Football." Every school almost -had some peculiarity in the method of playing, and Eton, Winchester, -Uppingham, and Rugby are well-known examples. It is not a little -interesting to note, now that "Football" has settled down into a -national game organised by county committees, that one of the forms of -play officially recognised is the old Rugby game, the other form, known -as the "Association," being arrived at by agreement of those interested -in the game. - -To illustrate the ancient origin of the game, and its serious import as -a local contest rather than a sport, some examples may be given. It is -still (1877) keenly contested at Workington on Easter Tuesday on the -banks of, and not unfrequently in, the river Derwent (Dickinson's -_Cumberland Glossary_). At Derby there was a football contest between -the parishes of All Saints' and St. Peter's. The ball was thrown into -the market-place from the Town Hall. The moment it was thrown the "war -cries" of the rival parishes began, and the contest, nominally that of a -football match, was in reality a fight between the two sections of the -town; and the victors were announced by the joyful ringing of their -parish bells (Dyer's _Popular Customs_, p. 75). At Chester-le-Street the -game was played between what were termed "up-streeters" and -"down-streeters," one side endeavouring to get the ball to the top of -the town, whilst their opponents tried to keep it near the lower or -north end. At one o'clock the ball was thrown out from near the old -commercial hotel, the Queen's Head, in the centre of the town, and it -has often been received by over three and four hundred people, so great -was the interest taken in this ancient sport. At Asborne the struggle -was between the "up'ards" and "down'ards." At Dorking the divisions were -between the east and west ends of the town, and there was first a -perambulation of the streets by the football retinue composed of -grotesquely dressed persons. At Alnwick the divisions were the parishes -of St. Michael's and St. Paul's. At Kirkwall the contest was on New -Year's Day, and was between "up the gates" and "down the gates," the -ball being thrown up at the Cross. At Scarborough, on the morning of -Shrove Tuesday, hawkers paraded the streets with parti-coloured balls, -which were purchased by all ranks of the community. With these, and -armed with sticks, men, women, and children repaired to the sands below -the old town and indiscriminately commenced a contest. The following -graphic account of Welsh customs was printed in the _Oswestry Observer_ -of March 2, 1887: "In South Cardiganshire it seems that about eighty -years ago the population, rich and poor, male and female, of opposing -parishes, turned out on Christmas Day and indulged in the game of -'Football' with such vigour that it became little short of a serious -fight. The parishioners of Cellan and Pencarreg were particularly bitter -in their conflicts; men threw off their coats and waistcoats and women -their gowns, and sometimes their petticoats. At Llanwenog, an extensive -parish below Lampeter, the inhabitants for football purposes were -divided into the Bros and the Blaenaus. A man over eighty, an inmate of -Lampeter Workhouse, gives the following particulars:--In North Wales the -ball was called the Bel Troed, and was made with a bladder covered with -a Cwd Tarw. In South Wales it was called Bel Ddu, and was usually made -by the shoe-maker of the parish, who appeared on the ground on Christmas -Day with the ball under his arm. The Bros, it should be stated, occupied -the high ground of the parish. They were nicknamed 'Paddy Bros,' from a -tradition that they were descendants from Irish people who settled on -the hills in days long gone by. The Blaenaus occupied the lowlands, and, -it may be presumed, were pure-bred Brythons. The more devout of the Bros -and Blaenaus joined in the service at the parish church on Christmas -morning. At any rate, the match did not begin until about mid-day, when -the service was finished. Then the whole of the Bros and Blaenaus, rich -and poor, male and female, assembled on the turnpike road which divided -the highlands from the lowlands. The ball having been redeemed from the -Crydd, it was thrown high in the air by a strong man, and when it fell -Bros and Blaenaus scrambled for its possession, and a quarter of an hour -frequently elapsed before the ball was got out from among the struggling -heap of human beings. Then if the Bros, by hook or by crook, could -succeed in taking the ball up the mountain to their hamlet of Rhyddlan -they won the day; while the Blaenaus were successful if they got the -ball to their end of the parish at New Court. The whole parish was the -field of operations, and sometimes it would be dark before either party -scored a victory. In the meantime many kicks would be given and taken, -so that on the following day some of the competitors would be unable to -walk, and sometimes a kick on the shins would lead the two men -concerned to abandon the game until they had decided which was the -better pugilist. There do not appear to have been any rules for the -regulation of the game; and the art of football playing in the olden -time seems to have been to reach the goal. When once the goal was -reached, the victory was celebrated by loud hurrahs and the firing of -guns, and was not disturbed until the following Christmas Day. Victory -on Christmas Day, added the old man, was so highly esteemed by the whole -countryside, that a Bro or Blaenau would as soon lose a cow from his -cow-house as the football from his portion of the parish." - -(_b_) In Gomme's _Village Community_, pp. 241-44, the position of -football games as elements in the traditions of race is discussed, and -their relationship to a still earlier form of tribal games, where the -element of clan feuds is more decidedly preserved, is pointed out. - - -Forfeits - -Forfeits are incurred in those games in which penalties are exacted from -players for non-compliance with the rules of the game; "Buff," -"Contrary," "Crosspurposes," "Fire, Air, and Water," "Follow my Gable," -"Genteel Lady," "Jack's Alive," "Old Soldier," "Twelve Days of -Christmas," "Turn the Trencher," "Wadds," and others. These games are -described under their several titles, and the formula for forfeits is -always the same. Small articles belonging to the players must be given -by them every time a forfeit is incurred, and these must be redeemed at -the close of the game. They are "cried" in the following manner:--One of -the players sits on a chair having the forfeits in her lap. A child -kneels on the ground and buries his face in his hands on the lap of the -person who holds the forfeits. The "crier" then takes up -indiscriminately one of the forfeits, and holding it up in the sight of -all those who have been playing the games (without the kneeling child -seeing it), says-- - - Here's a very pretty thing and a very pretty thing, - And what shall be done to [_or_, by] the owner of this very pretty - thing? - -The kneeling child then says what the penance is to be. The owner of the -forfeit must then perform the penance before the other players, and then -another forfeit is "cried." - -The more general penances imposed upon the owners of the forfeits are as -follows, but the list could be very much extended:-- - - Bite an inch off the poker. - Kneel to the prettiest, bow to the wittiest, and kiss the one you - love best. - Stand in each corner of the room, sigh in one, cry in another, sing - in another, and dance in the other. - Put yourself through the keyhole. - Place two chairs in the middle of the room, take off your shoes, and - jump over them. - Measure so many yards of love ribbon. - Postman's knock. - Crawl up the chimney. - Spell Opportunity. - -Miss Burne mentions one penance designed to make the victim ridiculous, -as when he is made to lie on his back on the floor with his arms -extended, and declare-- - - Here I lie! - The length of a looby, - The breadth of a booby, - And three parts of a jackass! - ---_Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 526-27. - -(_c_) Halliwell gives, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, pp. 324-26, some curious -verses, recorded for the first time by Dr. Kenrick in his Review of Dr. -Johnson's Shakespeare, 1765, on "rules for seemly behaviour," in which -the forfeits imposed by barbers as penalties for handling razors, &c, -are set forth. Although "barbers' forfeits" are not of the same nature -as the nursery forfeits, it is possible that this general custom among -so important a class of the community in early times as barbers may have -suggested the game. Both Forby in his _Vocabulary of East Anglia_ and -Moor in his _Suffolk Words_ bear testimony to the general prevalence of -barbers' forfeits, and it must be borne in mind that barbers were also -surgeons in early days. A curious custom is also recorded in another -East Anglian word-list, which may throw light upon the origin of the -game from popular custom. "A forfeit is incurred by using the word -'water' in a brew-house, where you must say 'liquor;' or by using the -word 'grease' in a chandlery, where it is 'stuff' or 'metal.' The -forfeit is to propitiate the offended _genius loci_" (Spurden's _East -Anglian Vocabulary_). The element of divination in the custom is perhaps -indicated by a curious note from Waldron, in his _Description of the -Isle of Man_ (_Works_, p. 55), "There is not a barn unoccupied the whole -twelve days, every parish hiring fiddlers at the public charge. On -Twelfth Day the fiddler lays his head on some of the wenches' laps, and -a third person asks who such a maid or such a maid shall marry, naming -the girls then present one after another; to which he answers according -to his own whim, or agreeable to the intimacies he has taken notice of -during this time of merriment. But whatever he says is as absolutely -depended on as an oracle; and if he happen to couple two people who have -an aversion to each other, tears and vexation succeed the mirth. This -they call cutting off the fiddler's head; for after this he is dead for -the whole year." Redeeming the forfeits is called "Crying the Weds," in -Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 526. See "Wadds." - - -Fox - - Fox, a fox, a brummalary - How many miles to Lummaflary? Lummabary? - Eight and eight and a hundred and eight. - How shall I get home to-night? - Spin your legs and run fast. - -Halliwell gives this rhyme as No. ccclvii. of his _Nursery Rhymes_, but -without any description of the game beyond the words, "A game of the -fox." It is probably the same game as "Fox and Goose." - - -Fox and Goose (1) - -In Dorsetshire one of the party, called the Fox, takes one end of the -room or corner of a field (for the game was equally played indoors or -out); all the rest of the children arrange themselves in a line or -string, according to size, one behind the other, the smallest last, -behind the tallest one, called Mother Goose, with their arms securely -round the waist of the one in front of them, or sometimes by grasping -the dress. - -The game commences by a parley between the Fox and Goose to this effect, -the Goose beginning. - -"What are you after this fine morning?" - -"Taking a walk." - -"With what object?" - -"To get an appetite for a meal." - -"What does [will] your meal consist of?" - -"A nice fat goose for my breakfast." - -"Where will you get it?" - -"Oh, I shall get a nice morsel somewhere; and as they are so handy, I -shall satisfy myself with one of yours." - -"Catch one if you can." - -A lively scene follows. The Fox and Mother Goose should be pretty evenly -matched; the Mother with extended arms seeking to protect her Brood, -while the Fox, who tries to dodge under, right and left, is only allowed -in case of a successful foray or grasp to secure the last of the train. -Vigorous efforts are made to escape him, the Brood of course -supplementing the Mother's exertions to elude him as far as they are -able, but without breaking the link. The game may be continued until all -in turn are caught.--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 217-18. - -In Lancashire the children stand in line behind each other, holding each -other by the waist. One stands facing them and calls out-- - - My mother sits on yonder chimney, - And she says she _must_ have a chicken. - -The others answer-- - - She _can't_ have a chicken. - -The one then endeavours to catch the last child of the tail, who when -caught comes behind the captor; repeat until all have changed -sides.--Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - -A version of this game played at Eckington, Derbyshire, is played as -follows:--A den is chalked out or marked out for the Fox. A larger den, -opposite to this, is marked out for the Geese. A boy or a girl -represents the Fox, and a number of others the Geese. Then the Fox -shouts, "Geese, Geese, gannio," and the Geese answer, "Fox, Fox, -fannio." Then the Fox says, "How many Geese have you to-day?" The Geese -reply, "More than you can catch and carry away." Then the Geese run out -of the den, and the Fox tries to catch them. He puts as many as he -catches into his den (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) This game is a very general one at Christmas time. It is -practically the same as "Gled Wylie," and "Hen and Chickens," and the -"Hawk and Chickens" of Mr. Newell's _Games and Songs of American -Children_, pp. 155-56. By referring to these games it will be seen that -the whole group are mimic representatives of farmyard episodes, though -the animal characters are giving way to more domestic affairs, as shown -in the Pins and Needles version of "Hen and Chickens." It is possible -that the different animals which are victims to the Fox appearing in the -different games may arise from local circumstances, and that in this -case a real distinction exists between the various names by which this -game is known. A game called "Wolf and Deer," similar to "Fox and -Geese," is given in _Winter Evening Amusements_, by R. Revel. The last -one at the end of the tail may, if she has no other chance of escape, -try and place herself before the Deer or Hen. She is then no longer to -be hunted; all the others must then follow her example until the deer -becomes the last of the line. The game then terminates by exacting a -forfeit for each lady whom the Wolf has suffered to escape his clutches -(pp. 64, 65). - -See "Gled Wylie," "Hen and Chickens," "Old Dame." - - -Fox and Geese (2) - -A game known by this name is played with marbles or pegs on a board on -which are thirty-three holes, or on the pavement, with holes scraped out -of the stones. To play this game there are seventeen pieces called -Geese, and another one either larger or distinguished from the Geese by -its colour, which is called the Fox. The Fox occupies the centre hole, -and the Geese occupy nine holes in front, and four on each side of him. -The vacant holes behind are for the Geese and Fox to move in. The game -is for the Geese to shut up the Fox so that he cannot move. All the -pieces can be moved from one spot to another in the direction of the -lines, but cannot pass over two holes at once. The Geese are not -permitted to take the Fox. The Fox's business is to take all, or as many -of the Geese as will prevent him from being blockaded. The Fox can take -the Geese whenever there is a vacant space behind them, which he passes -to, then occupies. - -This game has been very popular among schoolboys in all ages. Mr. -Micklethwaite, in a paper on the Indoor Games of School Boys in the -Middle Ages (_Arch. Journ._ xlix. 322), gives instances of finding -figures of this game cut "in the cloister benches of Gloucester -Cathedral and elsewhere, and there are several on the twelfth century -tomb at Salisbury, miscalled Lord Stourton's," and also at Norwich -Castle. For the date of these boards, Mr. Micklethwaite says for the -last three centuries and a half cloisters everywhere in England have -been open passages, and there have generally been schoolboys about. It -is therefore not unlikely that they should have left behind them such -traces as these play-boards. But if they are of later date they would -not be found to be distributed in monastic cloisters with respect to the -monastic arrangement, and we do find them so. Strutt describes the game -(_Sports_, p. 319). - -See "Nine Men's Morris," "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Fox in the Fold - -"The Tod (Fox) i' the Faul (Fold)." This game is commonly played by -boys. Any number of boys join hands and stand in a circle to form the -Faul. The boy that represents the Tod is placed within the circle. His -aim is to escape. To effect this he rushes with all his force, increased -by a run, against the joint hands of any two of the players. If the rush -does not unloose the grasp, he hangs on the two arms with all his -weight, pressing and wriggling. If he fails he makes a rush at another -two, always selecting those players he thinks weakest. When he does -break through he rushes off at the top of his speed, with all the -players in full cry, till he is caught and brought back. The game -begins anew with another boy as Tod.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -See "Bull in the Park," "Frog in the Middle." - - -Fox in the Hole - -All the players are armed with handkerchiefs. One of the players is -chosen for Fox, who has his den marked out. The Fox hops out on one leg, -with his handkerchief ready to strike. The players gather round him and -attack him. If he can strike one of his assailants without putting his -foot to the ground from his hopping position, the player so struck is -chased by the others into the den, and he then becomes the Fox for -another round of the game.--Cork (Miss Keane). - -Halliwell (_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 228) describes the game in practically -the same manner, but adds that when the Fox is coming out he says-- - - The Fox gives warning - It's a cold and frosty morning, - -after which he is at liberty to hop out and use his handkerchief. - -_(b)_ This game is alluded to in _Soliman and Perseda_, 1599; _Florio_, -p. 480; _Herrick_, i. 176. See Halliwell's _Dictionary_. Professor Mayor -communicated to the _Gentleman's Magazine_ of 1848 (ii.), p. 147, the -following early allusions to the game from old dictionaries:-- - -Gouldman, London, MDCLXIV.--"_Ascoliasmus_, Empusae ludus: a kind of play -wherein boys lift up one leg and hop with the other, where they beat one -another with bladders tied to the end of strings. Fox to thy hole." - -Holyoke, MDCLXXVII.--"_Empusa_. [Greek: para to heni podizein], quod uno -incedat pede. Hence _empusam agere_ is used for a play, hopping on one -leg; with us, Fox to his hole." - -Id. "_Ascoliasmus._ A kind of play that children use when they hop on -one leg, called Fox to thy hole." - -Cambridge Dict. MDCXCIII.--"_Ascol._ A kind of play wherein boys hopping -on one leg beat one another with gloves or pieces of leather, and is -called Fox to thy hole." - -Coles, 7th ed. 1711.--"_Ascol._ The play called Fox to the -hole.--_Empus._ Ludus Empusae. Scotch hoppers, or Fox in the hole." - -A similar game to this is played at Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (Mr. Hardy), -and called "Goose and Gander." Two players, the Goose and the Gander, -stand in a ring, each on one leg. They hop out in turn, and try to catch -one of the other players without letting their other leg touch the -ground. If they fail in this they get "strapped" back to the ring. When -either are successful, the player who is caught takes the place of -either Goose or Gander in turn. The game is also mentioned in _Useful -Transactions in Philosophy_, 1708-9. - - -French Jackie - -This game is played either by boys or girls or by both together. One is -chosen to stand alone; the other players join hands and form a circle. -The one outside the circle goes round it and touches on the back one of -the circle. He then runs off round the circle, and the one who was -touched runs off in the opposite direction round the circle. The aim of -each player is to reach the vacant place in the circle first. The one -left out has to repeat the same action. The game may go on for any -length of time.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -At Barnes this game is called "Gap." It is known as "French Tag" in the -Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews), and "Tap-back" at -Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Adam). - - -French and English - -The children choose sides under a leader, and a boundary line is made in -the middle of the ground dividing the French and English territory. A -handkerchief is then placed in the back part of each territory to -represent a flag. The object is to obtain as many flags from the -opposite side as possible. If a person is captured before having seized -a flag, he is taken prisoner, and must be rescued by one of his own -side. Thus, for instance, an Englishman enters the French territory and -tries to reach the flag. If he is seen by the French before he reaches -the flag, he is taken prisoner and is placed near the flags, and the -next Englishman rescues him instead of taking a flag. As soon as the -flag is taken, one of the party must put another handkerchief in its -place. A player cannot be taken prisoner after having obtained the -handkerchief or flag. The winning side is decided by counting the flags -and prisoners.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). - -This is a very general game, and is known as "Scotch and English" in the -north, where some interesting details occur, for which see "Scotch and -English." - - -French Blindman's Buff - -The children kneel in a circle, one standing blindfolded in the middle. -The kneeling children shout, "Come point to me with your -pointer."--Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - -See "Buff," "Dinah," "Muffin Man." - - -Friar-rush - -A Christmas game, mentioned in the _Declaration of Popish Impostures_, -1603. - - -Frincy-francy - -A game played between the dances at balls in farm-houses. A chair was -placed in the middle of the barn or room; the master of the ceremonies -led to the chair a young woman, who sat down and named the young man -whom she was willing should kiss her. This he did, and then took the -seat which the lady vacated. He then called out the name of some -favourite girl, who was led up to him; there was another kiss. The girl -then took the seat, and so on (county of Down). The same game is called -"Frimsey-framsey" in parts of the county of Antrim.--Patterson's _Antrim -and Down Glossary_. - -Compare "Cushion Dance." - - -Frog-lope - -Name for "Leap-frog."--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Frog in the Middle - -One child is seated on the ground with his legs under him; the other -players form a ring round. They then pull or buffet the centre child or -Frog, who tries to catch one of them without rising from the floor. The -child who is caught takes the place of the centre child. Another method -of playing the game is similar to "Bull in the Park." The child in the -centre tries to break out of the ring, those forming it keeping the Frog -in the ring by any means in their power, while still keeping their hands -clasped. They sometimes sing or say-- - - Hey! hey! hi! Frog in the middle and there shall lie; - He can't get out and he shan't get out--hey! hey! hi! - -[Illustration] - -They dance round when saying this, all keeping a watch on the Frog, who -suddenly makes a rush, and tries to break through the ring.--London (A. -B. Gomme). - -Strutt describes this game, and gives an illustration from a fourteenth -century MS. which is here reproduced from the original (_Sports_, p. -303). Newell (_Games of American Children_, p. 171) also mentions it, -and gives the rhyme as-- - - Frog in the sea, can't catch me! - - -Gap - -The same as "French Jackie." This game is called "Tap-back" or -"Tat-back" at Bitterne, Hants. - - -Garden Gate - -Children join hands and form a ring. One child stands inside the ring; -this child walks round and asks one of the circle, called the Keeper-- - - Have you the key of the garden gate? - Open and let me go through. - -The Keeper replies-- - - My next-door neighbour's got the key; - Ask him and he'll give it to you. - -This is repeated by each one in the circle. Then the inside child comes -again to the Keeper and says-- - - None of the neighbours have got the key, - So you must let me go through. - -The Keeper answers-- - - I've lost the key of the garden gate, - And cannot let you through. - -Then all the ring say-- - - You must stop all night within the gate, - Unless you have strength to break through. - -The child inside then attempts to break through, and if he succeeds in -breaking any of the clasped hands the one who first gives way has to -take the place in the centre.--Roxton, St. Neots (Miss Lumley). - -See "Bull in the Park." - - -Gegg - -"To smuggle the Gegg," a game played by boys in Glasgow, in which two -parties are formed by lot, equal in number, the one being denominated -the Outs, the other Ins. The Outs are those who go out from the den or -goal, where those called the Ins remain for a time. The Outs get the -Gegg, which is anything deposited, as a key, a penknife, &c. Having -received this, they conceal themselves, and raise the cry, "Smugglers!" -On this they are pursued by the Ins; and if the Gegg (for the name is -transferred to the person who holds the deposit) be taken, they exchange -situations--the Outs become Ins and the Ins Outs. This play is -distinguished from "Hy-spy" only by the use of the Gegg. One of the Ins -who is touched by one of the Outs is said to be taken, and henceforth -loses his right to hold the Gegg. If he who holds the Gegg gets in the -den, the Outs are winners, and have the privilege of getting out again. -The Outs, before leaving the den, shuffle the Gegg, or smuggle it so -between each other that the Ins do not know which person has it. He who -is laid hold of, and put to the question, is supposed to deny that he -has the Gegg: if he escapes with it, he gets out again.--Jamieson. - - -Genteel Lady - -A player begins thus:--"I, a genteel lady (or gentleman) came from that -genteel lady (or gentleman) to say that she (or he) owned a tree." The -other players repeat the words in turn, and then the leader goes over -them again, adding, "with bronze bark." The sentence goes round once -more, and on the next repetition the leader continues, "with golden -branches." He afterwards adds, "and silver leaves," "and purple fruit," -"and on the top a milk-white dove," and, finally, "mourning for the loss -of his lady-love." - -If a player should fail in repeating the rigmarole, there is a fine to -pay. A "pipe-lighter" is stuck in her hair, and she must say "one-horned -lady" instead of "genteel lady." When a second horn is added, of course -she says "two-horned," and so forth. Some players wear half-a-dozen -before the conclusion of the game. The game is called "The Wonderful -Tree."--Anderby, Lincolnshire (Miss M. Peacock). - -In some parts of Yorkshire it is customary to say "no-horned lady" -instead of "genteel lady" at the beginning of the game. - -When we played this game we said "always genteel" after "genteel lady," -and varied the formula. For instance, the first player would say, "I, a -genteel lady, always genteel, come from a genteel lady, always genteel, -to say she lives in a house with twelve windows," or words were used -beginning with the letter A. Each player must repeat this, and add -something else in keeping with a house; or sentences had to be made in -which words beginning with the letter A must be said, the other players -doing the same alphabetically.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -Mr. Newell, in writing of this game, says that the "lamp-lighter" or -"spill" was lighted when placed in the hair of the players who made -mistakes. He does not mention forfeits being exacted.--_Games_, p. 139. - - -Ghost at the Well - -One of the party is chosen for Ghost (if dressed in white so much the -better); she hides in a corner; the other children are a mother and -daughters. The eldest daughter says:-- - -"Mother, mother, please give me a piece of bread and butter." - -M. "Let me (or 'leave me') look at your hands, child. Why, they are very -dirty." - -E. D. "I will go to the well and wash them." - -She goes to the corner, the Ghost peeps up, and she rushes back, crying -out-- - -"Mother! mother! I have seen a Ghost." - -M. "Nonsense, child! it was only your father's nightshirt I have washed -and hung out to dry. Go again." - -The child goes, and the same thing happens. She returns, saying-- - -"Yes! mother! I have seen a ghost." - -M. "Nonsense, child! we will take a candle, and all go together to -search for it." - -The mother picks up a twig for a candle, and they set off. When they -come near to the Ghost, she appears from her hiding-place, mother and -children rush away in different directions, the Ghost chases them until -she has caught one, who in her turn becomes Ghost.--West Cornwall (Miss -Courtney, _Folk-lore Journal_, v. 55). - -This game was "Ghost in the Copper" in London. It was played in the same -way as above. Chairs formed the copper, and the ghost crouched down -behind. The "Mother" was "washing" at a tub, also formed with two -chairs. The eldest daughter was told she could not go to school to-day; -she must stop at home and help hang up the clothes. The other children -go to play. The Mother said, "Here, Jane, take this (pretending to give -her a garment out of the wash-tub) and put it in the copper, and push it -down well with the stick." Jane goes to the copper and pretends to take -off the lid. When she puts the washed garment in, and pokes down with -the stick, the Ghost jumps up. She cries out as above, the Mother -saying, "Nonsense, child! it's only some of the boiling clothes." The -child goes again, and the game proceeds as above. It is generally played -now as "Ghost."--A. B. Gomme. It is mentioned by Newell (_Games_, p. -223). - - -Giants - -A Giant is chosen, and he must be provided with a cave. A summer-house -will do, if there is no window for the Giant to see out of. The others -then have to knock at the door with their knuckles separately. The Giant -rushes when he thinks all the children have knocked, and if he succeeds -in catching one before they reach a place of safety (appointed -beforehand) the captured one becomes Giant.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. -Byford). See "Wolf." - - -Giddy - - Giddy, giddy, gander, - Who stands yonder? - Little Bessy Baker, - Pick her up and shake her; - Give her a bit of bread and cheese, - And throw her over the water. - ---Warwickshire. - -_(b)_ A girl being blindfolded, her companions join hands and form a -ring round her. At the word "Yonder" the blindfolded girl points in any -direction she pleases, and at line three names one of the girls. If the -one pointed at and the one named be the same, she is the next to be -blinded; but, curiously enough, if they be not the same, the one named -is the one. Meanwhile, at line four, she is not "picked up," but is -shaken by the shoulders by the still blindfolded girl; and at line five -she is given by the same "bread and cheese," _i.e._, the buds or young -leaves of what later is called "May" (_Crataegus oxyacantha_); and at -line six she is taken up under the blinded girl's arm and swung -round.--Warwickshire (_Notes and Queries_, 6th Ser., viii. 451). - - -Gilty-galty (or gaulty) - -A boy's game. One boy is chosen, who says:-- - - Gilty-galty four-and-forty, - Two tens make twenty. - -He then counts one, two, three, four, &c., up to forty, having his eyes -covered by his hands, and the others hide while he is saying the -"nominy." At the conclusion he uncovers his eyes, and if he sees any -boys not yet hidden they have to stand still. He seeks the rest, but if -he moves far away from his place, called the "stooil" (stool), one of -the hidden boys may rush out and take it, provided he can get there -first. Should he fail in this he also has to stand aside; but if any one -succeeds, then all run out as before, and the same boy has to say the -"nominy" again. On the other hand, if he finds all the boys without -loosing his "stooil," the boy first caught has to take his place and say -the "nominy." The game was thus played in 1810, and is so still, both -here and at Lepton.--Easther's _Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. - - -Gipsy - - I charge my children, every one, - To keep good house while I am gone. - You, and you [points], but specially you - [or sometimes, but specially Sue], - Or else I'll beat you black and blue. - -One child is selected for Gipsy, one for Mother, and one for Daughter -Sue. The Mother says the lines, and points to several children to -emphasise her words. During her absence the Gipsy comes in, entices a -child away, and hides her. This process is repeated till all the -children are hidden, when the mother has to find them.--Halliwell -(_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 228). - -See "Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils Over," "Witch." - - -Gled-wylie - -The name of a singular game played at country schools. One of the -largest of the boys steals away from his comrades, in an angry-like -mood, to some dykeside or sequestered nook, and there begins to work as -if putting a pot on a fire. The others seem alarmed at his manner, and -gather round him, when the following dialogue takes place:-- - -They say first to him-- - - What are ye for wi' the pot, gudeman? - Say what are ye for wi' the pot? - We dinna like to see ye, gudeman, - Sae thrang about this spot. - - We dinna like ye ava, gudeman, - We dinna like ye ava. - Are ye gaun to grow a gled, gudeman? - And our necks draw and thraw? - -He answers-- - - Your minnie, burdies, ye maun lae; - Ten to my nocket I maun hae; - Ten to my e'enshanks, and or I gae lye, - In my wame I'll lay twa dizzen o' ye by. - -The mother of them, as it were, returns-- - - Try't than, try't than, do what ye can, - Maybe ye maun toomer sleep the night, gudeman; - Try't than, try't than, Gled-wylie frae the heugh, - Am no sae saft, Gled-wylie, ye'll fin' me bauld and teugh. - -After these rhymes are said the chickens cling to the mother all in -a string. She fronts the flock, and does all she can to keep the -kite from her brood, but often he breaks the row and catches his -prey.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -Evidently denominated from the common mode of designating the kite among -the vulgar (Jamieson). "The Greedy Gled's seeking ye," is one of the -lines of a rhyme used in "Hide and Seek" in Edinburgh. Glead, or Gled, -is also a Yorkshire and Cheshire name for a kite. "As hungry as a Glead" -(_Glossary_, by an Old Inhabitant).--Leigh (_Cheshire Glossary_). - -See "Fox and Goose," "Hen and Chickens," "Hide and Seek." - - -Glim-glam - -The play of "Blind Man's Buff."--Banffshire, Aberdeen (Jamieson). - - -Gobs - -A London name for the game of "Hucklebones." - -See "Fivestones." - - -Green Grass - -[Music] - ---Middlesex (Miss Collyer). - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -[Music] - ---Congleton (Miss A. E. Twemlow). - - I. A dis, a dis, a green grass, - A dis, a dis, a dis; - Come all you pretty fair maids - And dance along with us. - - For we are going roving, - A roving in this land; - We'll take this pretty fair maid, - We'll take her by the hand. - - Ye shall get a duke, my dear, - And ye shall get a drake; - And ye shall get a young prince, - A young prince for your sake. - - And if this young prince chance to die, - Ye shall get another; - The bells will ring, and the birds will sing, - And we'll clap hands together. - ---Chamber's _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 137-38. - - II. A-diss, a-diss, a-green grass, - A-diss, a-diss, a-dass; - Come, my pretty fair maid, - And walk along with us. - - For you shall have a dik-ma-day, - You shall have a dr[=a]gon; - You shall have a nice young man - With princes for his th[=e]gan (or s[=e]gan). - ---Lanarkshire (W. G. Black). - - III. A dish, a dish, a green grass, - A dish, a dish, a dish, - Come all you pretty maidens - And dance along wi' us. - - For we are lads a roving, - A roving through the land, - We'll take this pretty fair maid - By her lily white hand. - - Ye sall get a duke, my dear, - An ye sall get a drake, - An ye sall get a bonny prince - For your ain dear sake. - - And if they all should die, - Ye sall get anither; - The bells will ring, the birds will sing, - And we'll clap our hands together. - ---Biggar (W. Ballantyne). - - IV. Dissy, dissy, green grass, - Dissy, dissy, duss, - Come all ye pretty fair maids - And dance along with us. - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - And you shall have a drake, - And you shall have a nice young man - To love you for your sake. - - If this young man should chance to die - And leave the girl a widow, - The birds shall sing, the bells shall ring, - Clap all your hands together. - ---Yorkshire (Henderson's _Folk-lore, Northern Counties_, p. 27). - - V. Dossy, dossy green grass, - Dossy, dossy, doss, - Come all ye pretty fair maids - And dance upon the grass. - - I will give you pots and pans, - I will give you brass, - I will give you anything - For a pretty lass. - - I will give you gold and silver, - I will give you pearl, - I will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Take one, take one, the fairest you can see. - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - You shall have a drake, - You shall have a young man - Apprentice for your sake. - - If this young man shall wealthy grow - And give his wife a feather, - The bells shall ring and birds shall sing - And we'll all clap hands together. - ---Roxton, St. Neots (Miss Lumley). - - VI. Walking up the green grass, - A dust, a dust, a dust! - We want a pretty maiden - To walk along with us. - - We'll take this pretty maiden, - We'll take her by the hand, - She shall go to Derby, - And Derby is the land! - - She shall have a duck, my dear, - She shall have a drake, - She shall have a nice young man - A-fighting for her sake! - - Suppose this young man was to die, - And leave the poor girl a widow; - The bells would ring and we should sing, - And all clap hands together! - ---Berrington (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 511). - - VII. Tripping up the green grass, - Dusty, dusty, day, - Come all ye pretty fair maids, - Come and with me play. - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - And you shall have a swan, - And you shall have a nice young man - A waiting for to come. - - Suppose he were to die - And leave his wife a widow, - Come all ye pretty fair maids, - Come clap your hands together! - - Will you come? - No! - - Naughty man, he won't come out, - He won't come out, he won't come out, - Naughty man, he won't come out, - To help us in our dancing. - - Will you come? - Yes! - - Now we've got our bonny lad, - Our bonny lad, our bonny lad, - Now we've got our bonny lad, - To help us in our dancing. - ---Middlesex (Miss Collyer). - - VIII. Stepping on the green grass - Thus, and thus, and thus; - Please may we have a pretty lass - To come and play with us? - We will give you pots and pans, - We will give you brass, - - No! - - We will give you anything - For a bonny lass. - - No! - - We will give you gold and silver, - We will give you pearl, - We will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Yes! - - You shall have a goose for dinner, - You shall have a darling, - You shall have a nice young man - To take you up the garden. - - But suppose this young man was to die - And leave this girl a widow? - The bells would ring, the cats would sing, - So we'll all clap together. - ---Frodingham and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock). - - IX. Stepping up the green grass, - Thus, and thus, and thus; - Will you let one of your fair maids - Come and play with us? - We will give you pots and pans, - We will give you brass, - We will give you anything - For a pretty lass. - - No! - - We won't take your pots and pans, - We won't take your brass, - We won't take your anything - For a pretty lass. - - Stepping up the green grass, - Thus, and thus, and thus; - Will you let one of your fair maids - Come and play with us? - We will give you gold and silver, - We will give you pearl, - We will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Yes! - - Come, my dearest [Mary], - Come and play with us, - You shall have a young man - Born for your sake. - And the bells shall ring - And the cats shall sing, - And we'll all clap hands together. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - X. Up and down the green grass, - This, and that, and thus; - Come all you fair maids - And walk along with us. - - Some will give you silver, - Some will give you gold, - Some will give you anything - For a pretty lass. - - Don't you think [_boy's name_] - Is a handsome young man? - Don't you think Miss [_child who has been choosing_] - Is as handsome as he? - - Then off with the glove - And on with the ring; - You shall be married - When you can agree. - - Take hold of my little finger, - Maycanameecan, - Pray tell me the name - Of your young man. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - XI. Here we come up the green grass, - Green grass, green grass, - Here we come up the green grass, - Dusty, dusty, day. - - Fair maid, pretty maid, - Give your hand to me, - I'll show you a blackbird, - A blackbird on the tree. - - We'll all go roving, - Roving side by side, - I'll take my fairest ----, - I'll take her for my bride. - - Will you come? - No! - - Naughty miss, she won't come out, - Won't come out, won't come out, - Naughty miss, she won't come out, - To help us with our dancing. - - Will you come? - Yes! - - Now we've got our bonny lass, - Bonny lass, bonny lass, - Now we've got our bonny lass, - To help us with our dancing. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - XII. Here we go up the green grass, - The green grass, the green grass; - Here we go up the green grass, - So early in the morning. - - Fair maid, pretty maid; - Give your hand to me, - And you shall see a blackbird, - A blackbird on the tree; - All sorts of colours - Lying by his side, - Take me, dearest [----], - For to be my bride-- - - Will you come? - No! - - Naughty old maid, she won't come out, - She won't come out, - To help us with our dancing-- - - Will you come? - Yes! - - Now we've got the bonny lass, - Now we've got the bonny lass, - To help us with our dancing. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - XIII. Trip trap over the grass, - If you please, will you let one of your [eldest] daughters - come, - Come and dance with me? - I will give you pots and pans, - I will give you brass, - I will give you anything - For a pretty lass-- - - No! - I will give you gold and silver, - I will give you pearl, - I will give you anything - For a pretty girl. - - Take one, take one, the fairest you may see. - - The fairest one that I can see - Is pretty [Nancy], come to me; - - You shall have a duck, my dear, - And you shall have a drake, - And you shall have a young man, - Apprentice for your sake. - - If this young man should happen to die, - And leave this poor woman a widow, - The bells shall all ring and the birds shall all sing, - And we'll clap hands together. - ---Halliwell's _Popular Nursery Rhymes_, cccxxxii. - - XIV. Will you take gold and silver, or will you take brass, - Will you take anything for a pretty lass? - - No! we'll not take gold and silver, no! we'll not take brass; - We'll not take anything for a pretty lass. - - Will you take the keys of school, or will you take brass? - Will you take anything for a pretty lass? - - Yes! we'll take the keys of school; yes! we will take brass; - We will take anything for a pretty lass. - - Come, my dear [Mary Anne], and give me your right hand, - - And you shall have a duck, my dear, - You shall have a drake; - You shall have a nice young man - To fiddle for your sake. - - The birds will sing, the bells will ring, - And we'll all clap hands together. - ---Congleton Workhouse School (Miss A. E. Tremlow). - -(_c_) The popular version of this game is played by the greater number -of the children forming a line on one side with joined hands, and one -child (sometimes two or more) facing them, advancing and retiring while -singing the verses. When he asks the question, "Will you come?" one girl -on the opposite side answers "No!" and afterwards "Yes!" When this is -said, she goes to the opposite side, and the two dance round together -while singing the next verse. The game begins again by the two singing -the verses, and thus getting a third child to join them, when the game -proceeds for a fourth, and so on. - -The Congleton and London versions are played by two lines of children of -about equal numbers. In the Lincolnshire version the above description -answers, except that when the last line is sung every one claps hands. -In the Sussex version the child at the end of the line is taken over by -the child who sings the verses, and they lock their little fingers -together while singing the remainder. - -Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) says:--"Two children advance and retire on -one side. When the opposite side says 'Yes!' the two take the first -child in the row and dance round with her, singing the remaining verse. -This is called 'the wedding.'" - -The Lanarkshire version is quite a different one, and contains rather -remarkable features. Mr. Black says that the game was played entirely by -girls, never by boys, and generally in the months of May or June, about -forty years ago. The children sang with rather mincing and refined -voices, evidently making an effort in this direction. They walked, with -their hands clasped behind their backs, up and down the road. Each -child was crowned with rushes, and also had sashes or girdles of rushes. - -Mr. Ballantyne says in his boyhood it was played by a row of boys on one -side and another of girls opposite. The boys selected a girl when -singing the third verse. - -In the Roxton version, one child at the end of the line of children acts -as "mother." One child advances as "suitor," and says the three first -verses. The "mother" replies with the next line. The "suitor" chooses a -girl and says the next verse, and then all the children sing the last -verse. This is the same action as in Halliwell's version. - -(_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 164-67. This analysis -presents us with a very good example of the changes caused by the -game-rhymes being handed down by tradition among people who have -forgotten the original meaning of the game. The first line in the Scotch -version contains the word "dis," which is not known to the ordinary -vocabulary. Another word, of similar import, is "dik-ma-day" in the -Lanarkshire version. Two other words occur, namely, "thegan" in the -Lanarkshire, and "maycanameecan" in the Sussex versions, which are also -not to be found in ordinary vocabularies. The two last words appear only -once, and cannot, therefore, be used for the purpose of tracing out an -original form of the game-rhyme, because on the system of analysis -adopted they may be arbitrary introductions and totally unconnected with -the original rhymes. This, however, is not the case with the two -first-mentioned words, and I am inclined to consider them as forming -part of the earliest version. The word "dis" is carried through no less -than ten out of the fourteen variants, the gradation in the forms being -as follows:-- - - dis - dass - dish - diss[y]--duss - dossy - this--thus - --dust - --dust[y] - -What the meaning of this word is it may be impossible to ascertain, -though probably Mr. Newell may be correct in his suggestion that it -represents the old English word "adist," the opposite of "ayont," -meaning "this way," "come hither" (_Games of American Children_, p. 51). -But the point really is, that the version which contains the oldest -word-forms would probably be the purest in other respects. The analysis -of the whole game confirms this view, as the Scottish and Yorkshire -versions are nearly parallel, while the discrepancies begin to creep in -with the Shropshire version, reaching their last stage in the versions -recorded by Halliwell and from Congleton. Following this line of -argument, "dik-ma-day" becomes first "duke, my dear," and then "duck, my -dear." Turning next to the import of the rhymes, apart from special -words used, it is curious to note that "dis" is only converted into -"dusty," and hence into "dusty day," in two versions out of the -fourteen. The Lincolnshire version agrees with Halliwell's version in -making some curious offers for a pretty lass, but these rhymes are -probably an innovation. In the same way the incidents numbered 39-40, -occurring in the Sussex version, and 43-46 occurring in the London and -Hants versions, are borrowings from other games, and not original -portions of this. The Congleton version is evidently incomplete. - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| Scotland (Chambers). | Lanarkshire. | Biggar. | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|A-dis, a-dis, a green |A-dis, a-dis, a green |A dish, a dish, a | - | |grass. |grass. |green grass. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.|A-dis, a-dis, a-das. |A-dis, a-dis, a-dass. |A dish, a dish, | - | | | |a dish. | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Come all ye pretty |Come my pretty fair |Come all ye pretty | - | |maids. |maid. |maids. | - | 7.|And dance along with |And walk along with |And dance along with | - | |us. |us. |us. | - | 8.|For we are going a- | -- |For we are lads a | - | |roving. | |roving. | - | 9.|We'll take this maid | -- |We'll take this pretty| - | |by the hand. | | fair maid by the | - | | | |hand. | - | 10.| -- | -- | -- | - | 11.| -- | -- | -- | - | 12.|You shall have a duke,|You shall have a dik- |Ye sall get a duke. | - | |my dear. |ma-day. | | - | 13.| -- | -- | -- | - | 14.| -- | -- | -- | - | 15.| -- | -- | -- | - | 16.| -- | -- | -- | - | 17.| -- | -- | -- | - | 18.| -- | -- | -- | - | 19.| -- | -- | -- | - | 20.|You shall have a |You shall have a |Ye sall get a drake. | - | |drake. |dragon. | | - | 21.| -- | -- | -- | - | 22.| -- | -- | -- | - | 23.| -- | -- | -- | - |[8.]| -- | -- | -- | - | 24.|And ye shall get a |You shall have a nice |Ye sall get a bonny | - | |young prince. |young man. |prince. | - | 25.| -- | -- | -- | - | 26.| -- | -- | -- | - | 27.|A young prince for | -- |For your ain sake. | - | |your sake. | | | - | 28.| -- | -- | -- | - | 29.| -- | -- | -- | - | 30.|If this young prince | -- |If they all should | - | |should die. | |die. | - | 31.| -- | -- | -- | - | 32.|Ye shall get another. | -- |Ye sall get anither. | - | 33.| -- | -- | -- | - | 34.| -- | -- | -- | - | 35.|Bells will ring and | -- |The bells will ring, | - | |birds sing. | |birds will sing. | - | 36.| -- | -- | -- | - | 37.|We'll all clap hands | -- |We'll clap hands | - | |together. | |together. | - | 38.| -- |With princes for his | -- | - | | |thegan. | | - | 39.| -- | -- | -- | - | 40.| -- | -- | -- | - | 41.| -- | -- | -- | - | 42.| -- | -- | -- | - | 43.| -- | -- | -- | - | 44.| -- | -- | -- | - | 45.| -- | -- | -- | - | 46.| -- | -- | -- | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| Yorkshire. | Roxton. | Shropshire. | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Dissy, dissy, green |Dossy, dossy, green | -- | - | |grass. |grass. | | - | 2.| -- | -- |Walking up the green | - | | | |grass. | - | 3.|Dissy, dissy, duss. |Dossy, dossy, doss. |A dust, a dust, a | - | | | |dust. | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Come all ye pretty |Come all ye pretty |We want a pretty | - | |maids. |maids. |maiden. | - | 7.|And dance along with |Dance upon the grass. |To walk along with us.| - | |us. | | | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- |We'll take her by the | - | | | |hand. | - | 10.| -- | -- | -- | - | 11.| -- | -- |She shall go to Derby.| - | 12.|You shall have a duck.|You shall have a duck.|She shall have a duck,| - | | |(after No. 19) |my dear. | - | 13.| -- |I will give pots and | -- | - | | |pans. | | - | 14.| -- |..... brass. | -- | - | 15.| -- |..... gold and silver.| -- | - | 16.| -- |..... pearl. | -- | - | 17.| -- |..... anything. | -- | - | 18.| -- | -- | -- | - | 19.| -- |For a pretty lass. | -- | - | 20.|You shall have a |You shall have a |She shall have a | - | |drake. |drake. |drake. | - | 21.| -- | -- | -- | - | 22.| -- | -- | -- | - | 23.| -- | -- | -- | - |[8.]| -- | -- | -- | - | 24.|You shall have a nice |You shall have a young|She shall have a nice | - | |young man. |man. |young man. | - | 25.| -- | -- | -- | - | 26.| -- | -- | -- | - | 27.|To love you for your | -- |A fighting for her | - | |sake. | |sake. | - | 28.| -- |Apprentice for your | -- | - | | |sake. | | - | 29.| -- | -- | -- | - | 30.|If this young man | -- |Suppose this young man| - | |should chance to die. | |was to die. | - | 31.| -- |If this young man | -- | - | | |should wealthy grow. | | - | 32.| -- | -- | -- | - | 33.|And leave the girl a | -- |And leave the girl a | - | |widow. | |widow. | - | 34.| -- |And give his wife a | -- | - | | |feather. | | - | 35.|Birds shall sing and |Bells shall ring and |Bells ring and we | - | |bells ring. |birds sing. |shall sing. | - | 36.| -- | -- | -- | - | 37.|Clap all your hands |We'll all clap hands |And all clap hands | - | |together. |together. |together. | - | 38.| -- | -- | -- | - | 39.| -- | -- | -- | - | 40.| -- | -- | -- | - | 41.| -- | -- | -- | - | 42.| -- | -- | -- | - | 43.| -- | -- | -- | - | 44.| -- | -- | -- | - | 45.| -- | -- | -- | - | 46.| -- | -- | -- | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| Lincolnshire, |Sussex, Hurstmonceux. | Middlesex. | - | | Frodingham. | | | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.|Stepping up the green |Up and down the green |Tripping up the green | - | |grass. |grass. |grass. | - | 3.|Thus, and thus, and |This, and that, and | -- | - | |thus. |thus. | | - | 4.| -- | -- |Dusty, dusty day. | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Please may we have a |Come all ye fair |Come all ye pretty | - | |pretty lass. |maids. |maids. | - | 7.|To come and play with |And walk along with |Come and with us play.| - | |us. |us. | | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - | 10.| -- | -- | -- | - | 11.| -- | -- | -- | - | 12.| -- | -- |You shall have a duck.| - | 13.|We will give you pots | -- | -- | - | |and pans. | | | - | 14.|..... brass. | -- | -- | - | 15.|..... gold and silver.|Some will give us | -- | - | | |silver ..... gold. | | - | 16.|..... pearl. | -- | -- | - | 17.|..... anything. | -- | -- | - | 18.| -- | -- | -- | - | 19.|For a pretty lass. | -- | -- | - | 20.|You shall have a goose| -- |You shall have a swan.| - | |for dinner. | | | - | 21.| -- |Take hold of my | -- | - | | |finger. | | - | 22.| -- |Maycanameecan. | -- | - | 23.| -- | -- | -- | - |[8.]| -- | -- | -- | - | 24.|You shall have a nice | -- |You shall have a nice | - | |young man. | |young man. | - | 25.| -- |Pray tell me the name | -- | - | | |of your young man. | | - | 26.| -- | -- | -- | - | 27.| -- | -- |A waiting for to come.| - | 28.| -- | -- | -- | - | 29.|To take you up the | -- | -- | - | |garden. | | | - | 30.|Suppose this young man| -- |Suppose he were to | - | |was to die. | |die. | - | 31.| -- | -- | -- | - | 32.| -- | -- | -- | - | 33.|And leave the girl a | -- |And leave his wife a | - | |widow. | |widow. | - | 34.| -- | -- | -- | - | 35.|Bells would ring, cats| -- | -- | - | |would sing. | | | - | 36.| -- | -- |Come all ye pretty | - | | | |fair maids. | - | 37.|So we'll all clap | -- |Come clap your hands | - | |hands together. | |together. | - | 38.| -- | -- | -- | - | 39.| -- |Don't you think [ ] | -- | - | | |a nice young man? | | - | 40.| -- |Don't you think [ ] | -- | - | | |as handsome as he? | | - | 41.| -- |Then off with the | -- | - | | |glove, on with the | | - | | |ring. | | - | 42.| -- |You shall be married | -- | - | | |when you can agree. | | - | 43.| -- | -- | -- | - | 44.| -- | -- | -- | - | 45.| -- | -- | -- | - | 46.| -- | -- | -- | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | No.| London. | Hants, Liphook. | Halliwell. | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.|Here we come up the |Here we go up the |Trip, trap, over the | - | |green grass. |green grass. |grass. | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.|On a dusty, dusty day.| -- | -- | - | 5.| -- |So early in the | -- | - | | |morning. | | - | 6.|Fair maid, pretty |Fair maid, pretty |Please let one of your| - | |maid. |maid. |daughters come. | - | 7.| -- | -- |Come and dance with | - | | | |me. | - | 8.|[See below.] | -- | -- | - | 9.|Give your hand to me. |Give your hand to me. |Take one, take the | - | | | |fairest you can see. | - | 10.| -- | -- |Pretty [ ] come to | - | | | |me. | - | 11.| -- | -- | -- | - | 12.| -- | -- |You shall have a duck,| - | | | |my dear. | - | 13.| -- | -- |I will give you pots | - | | | |and pans. | - | 14.| -- | -- |..... brass. | - | 15.| -- | -- |..... gold and silver.| - | 16.| -- | -- |..... pearl. | - | 17.| -- | -- |..... anything. | - | 18.|I'll show you a |You shall see a | -- | - | |blackbird. |blackbird. | | - | 19.| -- | -- |For a pretty girl. | - | 20.| -- | -- |You shall have a | - | | | |drake. | - | 21.| -- | -- | -- | - | 22.| -- | -- | -- | - | 23.| -- |All sorts of colours | -- | - | | |lying by his side. | | - |[8.]|We'll all go roving. | -- | -- | - | 24.| -- | -- |You shall have a young| - | | | |man. | - | 25.| -- | -- | -- | - | 26.|I'll take [ ] for my|Take [ ] for my | -- | - | |bride. |bride. | | - | 27.| -- | -- | -- | - | 28.| -- | -- |Apprentice for your | - | | | |sake. | - | 29.| -- | -- | -- | - | 30.| -- | -- |If this young man | - | | | |should happen to die. | - | 31.| -- | -- | -- | - | 32.| -- | -- | -- | - | 33.| -- | -- |And leave the poor | - | | | |woman a widow. | - | 34.| -- | -- | -- | - | 35.| -- | -- |Bells shall ring, | - | | | |birds shall sing. | - | 36.| -- | -- | -- | - | 37.| -- | -- |We'll all clap hands | - | | | |together. | - | 38.| -- | -- | -- | - | 39.| -- | -- | -- | - | 40.| -- | -- | -- | - | 41.| -- | -- | -- | - | 42.| -- | -- | -- | - | 43.|Naughty miss, she |Naughty old maid, she | -- | - | |won't come out. |won't come out. | | - | 44.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- | - | |dancing. |dancing. | | - | 45.|Now we've got our |Now we'll get our | -- | - | |bonny lass. |bonny lass. | | - | 46.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- | - | |dancing. |dancing. | | - +----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +----+----------------------+ - | No.| Sheffield. | - +----+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | - | 2.|Stepping up the green | - | |grass. | - | 3.|Thus, and thus, and | - | |thus. | - | 4.| -- | - | 5.| -- | - | 6.|Will you let one of | - | |your fair maids. | - | 7.|Come and play with us.| - | 8.| -- | - | 9.| -- | - | 10.| -- | - | 11.| -- | - | 12.| -- | - | 13.|We will give you pots | - | |and pans. | - | 14.|..... brass. | - | 15.|..... gold and silver.| - | 16.|..... pearl. | - | 17.|..... anything. | - | 18.| -- | - | 19.|For a pretty lass. | - | 20.| -- | - | 21.| -- | - | 22.| -- | - | 23.| -- | - |[8.]| -- | - | 24.|You shall have a nice | - | |young man. | - | 25.| -- | - | 26.| -- | - | 27.| -- | - | 28.|Born for your sake. | - | 29.| -- | - | 30.| -- | - | 31.| -- | - | 32.| -- | - | 33.| -- | - | 34.| -- | - | 35.|Bells shall ring, cats| - | |shall sing. | - | 36.| -- | - | 37.|We'll all clap hands | - | |together. | - | 38.| -- | - | 39.| -- | - | 40.| -- | - | 41.| -- | - | 42.| -- | - | 43.| -- | - | 44.| -- | - | 45.| -- | - | 46.| -- | - +----+----------------------+ - -(_e_) Henderson, in describing the curious rites accompanying the -saining or blessing of a corpse in the Scottish Lowlands, states that -empty dishes are arranged on the hearth as near as possible to the fire, -and after certain ceremonies in connection therewith have been -performed, the company join hands and dance round the dishes, singing -this burden:-- - - A dis, a dis, a dis, - A green griss; - A dis, a dis, a dis. - ---_Folk-lore of Northern Counties_, p. 54. - -This rhyme is, it will be seen, the same as the first two lines of the -game, the word "griss" in the burial-rhyme becoming "grass" in the -game-rhyme, "grisse" being the old form for "grass" or herb (Halliwell, -_Provincial Glossary_, quotes a MS. authority for this). This -identification of the game-rhyme would suggest that the game originally -was a child's dramatic imitation of an old burial ceremony, and it -remains to be seen whether the signification of the words would carry -out this idea. - -In the first place, the idea of death is a prominent incident in the -game, appearing in seven out of the fourteen versions. In all these -cases the death is followed by the clapping of hands and bell-ringing, -and in five cases by the singing of birds. Clapping of hands occurs in -two other cases, and bell-ringing in one other case, not accompanied by -the death incident. Now it is singular that the burial-rite which has -just been quoted is called Dish-a-loof; and a reference to the game of -"Dish-a-loof" [under that title], will show that it derives its name -from the clapping of hands. In the ceremony, as described by Henderson, -although songs and games are part of the burial-ceremony, there is no -specific mention of hand-clapping; but it is conceivable that the action -at one time formed part of the ceremony, and hence the name -"Dish-a-loof." This would not account for the promise of a duck, drake, -&c., as in incidents Nos. 12 and 20; nor for the promise of a young -prince or young man; but these incidents might very well be variants of -some earlier forms which are not now discoverable, especially as -love-games were played at funerals, and as the tendency, in the less -complete forms of the game as they have come down to us, is in the -direction of transposing the game into a complete love-game. The use of -rushes in the Lanarkshire game might indicate the funeral garland -(Aubrey's _Remaines_, pp. 109, 139). For clapping of hands to indicate -bell-tolling or bell-ringing at times of death see Napier's _Folklore_, -p. 66. Henderson (p. 63) says the "passing bell" was supposed in former -times to serve two purposes: it called on all good Christians within -hearing to pray for the departing spirit, and it scared away the evil -spirits who were watching to seize it, or at least to scare and terrify -it. - -On the whole evidence from the rhymes, therefore, I should be disposed -to class this game as originally belonging to burial, and not love, -rites. - - -Green Gravel - -[Music] - ---Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -[Music] - ---Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope). - -[Music] - ---Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - - I. Green gravel, green gravel, your grass is so green, - The fairest young damsel that ever was seen; - We washed her, we dried her, we rolled her in silk, - And we wrote down her name with a glass pen and ink. - Dear Annie, dear Annie, your true love is dead, - And we send you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - II. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The fairest young lady that ever was seen; - I'll wash you in milk, - And I'll clothe you with silk, - And I'll write down your name with a gold pen and ink. - O Sally, O Sally, your true love is dead, - He sent you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Berrington, Oswestry (_Shropshire Folk-lore_ p. 510). - - III. Around the green gravel the grass is so green, - All the pretty fair maids are plain to be seen; - Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk, - Write their names down with a gold pen and ink. - All but Miss "Jenny," her sweetheart is dead; - She's left off her wedding to turn back her head. - - O mother, O mother, do you think it is true? - O yes, child! O yes, child! - Then what shall I do? - We'll wash you in milk, and dress you in silk, - And write down your name with a gold pen and ink. - ---Derbyshire and Worcestershire (Mrs. Harley). - - IV. Green gravel, green gravel, - The grass is so green, - Such beautiful flowers - As never were seen. - O Annie [or any name], O Annie, - Your sweetheart is dead! - He has sent you a letter - To turn back your head. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H. Hardy). - - V. Green gravel, green gravel, - The grass is so green, - The fairest young damsels - As ever were seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love is dead; - He sent you a letter - To turn round your head. - - Green gravel, green gravel, - The grass is so green, - The dismalest damsels - As ever were seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love's not dead; - He sends you a letter - To turn back your head. - ---Lincoln, Winterton, and Wakefield (Miss Fowler and Miss Peacock). - - VI. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The fairest young lady [damsel] that ever was seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love is dead; - He's sent you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope); Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - - VII. Green meadows, green meadows, your grass is so green, - The fairest young damsel that ever was seen; - O Mary, O Mary, your sweetheart is dead; - We've sent you a letter to turn back your head. - - _Or_, Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - and following on as above. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - VIII. Green grover, green grover, your grass is so green, - The prettiest young lady that ever was seen. - O ----, O ----, your true love is dead; - I send you this letter, so turn round your head. - ---Gainford, Durham (Miss Eddleston). - - IX. Green gravels, green gravels, - The grass is so green, - And all the pretty maidens - Are not to be seen, - Except ---- (said twice), - And she's not [?] to be seen, - So I send you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Hampshire (Miss E. Mendham). - - X. Green gravels, green gravels, the grass is so green, - Fine pencils, fine pencils, as ever were seen. - O Mary! O Mary! your true love is dead, - And he's sent you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Wales (_Byegones_, 1890). - - XI. Yellow gravel, yellow gravel, - The grass is so green, - The fairest young lady - That ever was seen. - O ----, O ----, - Your true love is dead; - I send you a letter to turn round your head. - ---Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith). - - XII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - Said the fairest young damsel that ever I've seen. - O mother, O mother, my true-love is dead, - He sent me this letter to turn round my head. - O mother, O mother, do you think this is true? - O yes, love! O yes, love! - And what shall I do? - I'll wash you in butter-milk, I'll dress you in silk, - I'll write down your name with my gold pen and ink. - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore). - - XIII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The flowers are all faded and none to be seen. - O [Dolly], O [Dolly], your sweetheart is dead, - He's sent you a letter to turn back your head. - - Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high, - We are but little, and we shall have to die! - Excepting [Dolly Turner], she's the youngest girl. - O for shame, and fie for shame, and turn your back to home - again. - ---Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne). - - XIV. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, - The fairest young lady that ever was seen. - As I went up Miss Betsey's stairs to buy a frying-pan, - There sat Miss Betsey a-kissing her young man. - - She pulled off her glove and showed me her ring, - And the very next morning the bells did ring. - Dear Betsey, dear Betsey, your true love is dead, - He's sent you a letter to turn back your head. - ---Summertown, Oxford (A. H. Franklin, _Midland Garner_, vol. ii. p. 32). - - XV. Round the green gravel the grass grows green, - All pretty fair maids are fit to be seen; - Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk, - And write down their names with pen and black ink-- - Choose one, choose two, choose the fairest daughter. - - Now, my daughter, married to-day, - Like father and mother they should be, - To love one another like sister and brother-- - I pray you now to kiss one another. - - Now my daughter Mary's gone, - With her pockets all lined with gold; - On my finger a gay gold ring-- - Good-bye, Mary, good-bye. - - Now this poor widow is left alone, - Nobody could marry a better one; - Choose one, choose two-- - Choose the fairest daughter. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - - XVI. Round the green gravel the grass is so green, - And all the fine ladies that ever were seen; - Washed in milk and dressed in silk, - The last that stoops down shall be married. - - [Johnnie Smith] is a nice young man, - And so is [Bessie Jones] as nice as he; - He came to the door with his hat in his hand, - Inquiring for [Miss Jones]. - - She is neither within, she is neither without, - She is up in the garret a-walking about. - Down she came, as white as milk, - With a rose in her bosom as soft as silk. - Silks and satins be ever so dear, - You shall have a kiss [gown?], my dear, - So off with the glove and on with the ring-- - To-morrow, to-morrow, the wedding begins. - ---Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews). - - XVII. Around a green gravill - The grass is so green, - And all the fine ladies - Ashamed to be seen. - They wash 'em in milk - And dress 'em in silk-- - We'll all cou' don' together. - - My elbow, my elbow, - My pitcher and my can; - Isn't ---- - A nice young gell? - Isn't ---- - As nice as her-- - They shall be married with a guinea-gold ring. - - I peep'd through the window, - I peep'd through the door, - I seed pretty ---- - A-dancin on the floor; - I cuddled her an' fo'dled her, - I set her on my knee; - I says pretty ---- - Won't [ee?] you marry me. - - A new-swept parlour, - An' a new-made bed, - A new cup and saucer - Again we get wed. - If it be a boy, he shall have a hat, - To follow with his mammy to her na', na', na'; - If he be a gell, she shall have a ring, - To follow with her mammy to her ding, ding, ding. - ---Wakefield (Miss Fowler). - -(_c_) The more general way of playing this game is to form a ring of -children simply. The children walk round singing the verse as in the -Belfast version, and when the last line is sung, the child whose name is -mentioned turns round, facing the outside of the ring and having her -back to the centre. She continues to hold hands with the others, and -dances round with them in that position. This is repeated until all the -children have "turned" their backs to the inside of the ring. Here the -game ends in many cases, but another verse is sung in the Lincoln, -Winterton, and Wakefield versions from Miss Peacock, and this was sung -also in the London version. The second verse thus terminates the game, -with the players one by one reversing their position and facing the -centre of ring as at first. In the Forest of Dean and Wakefield -versions the action of the game is somewhat different. A child stands in -the centre of the ring of children, without apparently taking much part -in the game, except to name the children in turn. In the Wakefield -version, however (Miss Fowler, No. xvii.), a little boy stands in the -middle of a circle of girls who sing the first verse. At "We'll all cou' -don' together," all crouch down, as if in profound respect, then rising -slowly, sing the next verse. After "My pitcher and my can," each child -mentions her own name. At "Isn't ---- as nice as her?" each mentions her -sweetheart's name, and the child thus chosen goes into the circle. At -the end of the fourth verse they all clap hands, and the one that is -sweetheart to him in the middle kisses him. The "crouching down" is also -done in the Forest of Dean version when singing the fourth line. The -last one to stoop has to name her sweetheart. When this is done, the -children all dance round and sing the other lines. - -(_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 178-181. The most -constant formulae of this game-rhyme are shown by this analysis to be -Nos. 1, 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 23, and the variants, though important, are -not sufficient to detract from the significance of the normal version. -It is evidently a funeral game. The green gravel and the green grass -indicate the locality of the scene; "green," as applied to gravel, may -mean freshly disturbed, just as green grave means a freshly made grave. -The tenant of the new grave is the well-loved lady of a disconsolate -lover, and probably the incidents of washing and dressing the corpse, -and putting an inscription on the place where it is laid, are indicated -by Nos. 13 and 15. The dirge, or singing to the dead, is indicated by -Nos. 18, 23, and 26, and the beauty of the first line is in complete -accord with the mournful music. That No. 26 occurs in only two variants, -Derbyshire and the Isle of Man, is curious, as the pathos of this appeal -is very apparent in the movement of the game. The communion with the -dead which is indicated by No. 23 is by no means considered impossible -by the peasantry. In confirmation of this being a representation of an -old funeral ceremony, it may be pointed out that the action of turning -backwards during the singing of the dirge is also represented in the -curious funeral ceremony called "Dish-a-loof," which is described in -Henderson's _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties_, p. 53. Henderson's -words are: "All the attendants, going out of the room, return into it -backwards, repeating this rhyme of 'saining.'" The additional ceremony -of marriage in four of the games is clearly an interpolation, which may -have arisen from the custom of playing love and marriage games at -funerals and during the watching with the corpse, or may be a mere -transition to the more pleasant task of love-making as the basis of a -game. The Derbyshire incident (No. 24) may indicate indeed that the -funeral is that of a young bride, and in that case the tendency to make -the game wholly a marriage game is accounted for. The decay which has -set in is apparent by the evident attempt to alter from "green gravel" -to "green grover" and "yellow gravel" (Nos. 4 and 5), and to introduce -pen and black ink (No. 17). The addition of the incongruous elements -from other games (Nos. 27-31) is a frequent occurrence in modern games, -and is the natural result of decadence in the original form of the game. -Altogether this game-rhyme affords a very good example of the condition -of traditional games among the present generation of children. - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Belfast. | Shropshire. | Derbyshire. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- |Around the green | - | | | |gravel. | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Your grass is so |The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.| - | |green. | | | - | 7.|The fairest damsel | -- | -- | - | |ever seen. | | | - | 8.| -- |The fairest young lady| -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- |All pretty maids are | - | | | |plain to be seen. | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.|Washed her, dried her,| -- | -- | - | |rolled her in silk. | | | - |14.| -- |Wash you in milk, |Wash them in milk, | - | | |clothe in silk. |clothe in silk. | - |15.|Wrote name in glass | -- | -- | - | |pen and ink. | | | - |16.| -- |Write name in gold pen|Write names in gold | - | | |and ink. |pen and ink. | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|Your true love is |True love is dead. |Her sweetheart is | - | |dead. | |dead. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn| -- | - | |your head. |your head. | | - |24.| -- | -- |She's left off her | - | | | |wedding to turn back | - | | | |her head. | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- |Mother, is it true; | - | | | |What shall I do? [Then| - | | | |repeat Nos. 14 & 16.] | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Earls Heaton, Yorks. | Lincolnshire. | Redhill, Surrey. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. |Green gravel. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.| - | 7.| -- |Fairest damsel ever |Fairest damsel ever | - | | |seen. |seen. | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.|Such beautiful flowers| -- | -- | - | |ever seen. | | | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- | -- | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. |True love is dead. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn| - | |your head. |your head. |your head. | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- |True love not dead, he| -- | - | | |sends letter to turn | | - | | |your head. | | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Sporle, Norfolk. | Gainford, Durham. | Hants. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- |Green gravels. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.|Green meadows. | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- |Green grover. | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.|Your grass is so |Your grass is so |The grass is so green.| - | |green. |green. | | - | 7.|Fairest damsel ever | -- | -- | - | |seen. | | | - | 8.| -- |Prettiest young lady | -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- |All pretty maidens are| - | | | |_not_ to be seen. | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- | -- | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. | -- | - |19.| -- | -- |Except ---- she's not | - | | | |to be seen. | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|We sent letter to turn|I send letter to turn |I send letter to turn | - | |your head. |your head. |round your head. | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Wales. | Isle of Wight. | Isle of Man. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. | -- |Green gravel. | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- |Yellow gravel. | -- | - | 6.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.| - | 7.| -- | -- |Fairest damsel ever | - | | | |I've seen. | - | 8.| -- |Fairest young lady | -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.|Fine pencil as ever | -- | -- | - | |was seen. | | | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- |[Wash you in butter- | - | | | |milk, dress in silk.] | - | | | |(After No. 26.) | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- |[Write name with my | - | | | |gold pen and ink.] | - | | | |(After No. 26.) | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.|True love is dead. |True love is dead. |True love is dead. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|He's sent letter to |I send you letter to |He sent this letter to| - | |turn head. |turn round your head. |turn my head. | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- |Mother, is it true? | - | | | |What shall I do? | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | -- | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Madeley. | Oxfordshire. | Sheffield. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- |Round the green | - | | | |gravel. | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- |Fairest young lady | -- | - | | |ever seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- |All pretty fair maids | - | | | |are fit to be seen. | - |10.|Flowers all faded, | -- | -- | - | |none to be seen. | | | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | -- | - |14.| -- | -- |Wash them in milk, | - | | | |clothe in silk. | - |15.| -- | -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- |Write names with pen | - | | | |and black ink. | - |18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. | -- | - | | |(After No. 25.) | | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- |Betsy kissing her | -- | - | | |young man. | | - |21.| -- | -- |Choose the fairest | - | | | |daughter. | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.|I've sent letter to |[He sent letter to | -- | - | |turn your head. |turn back your head.] | | - | | |(After No. 25.) | | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- |She showed her ring |Married to-day so kiss| - | | |and bells did ring. |one another. | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.|[Wallflowers verses | -- | -- | - | |follow.] | | | - |29.| -- | -- |Poor widow left alone,| - | | | |and choose the fairest| - | | | |daughter. | - |30.| -- | -- | -- | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Forest of Dean. | Wakefield. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | - | 2.|Round the green |Around the green | - | |gravel. |gravill. | - | 3.| -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | - | 5.| -- | -- | - | 6.| -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | - | 8.|All fine ladies ever | -- | - | |were seen. | | - | 9.| -- | -- | - |10.| -- | -- | - |11.| -- |All fine ladies | - | | |ashamed to be seen. | - |12.| -- | -- | - |13.| -- | -- | - |14.|Washed in milk, |Wash 'em in milk, | - | |dressed in silk. |dress in silk. | - |15.| -- | -- | - |16.| -- | -- | - |17.| -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | - |19.| -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | - |22.|Last to stoop down |We'll all cow down | - | |shall be married. |together. | - |23.| -- | -- | - |24.| -- | -- | - |25.|He came to inquire, |They shall be married | - | |down she came, so off |with gold ring. | - | |with glove and on with| | - | |ring, to-morrow the | | - | |wedding begins. | | - |26.| -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- | - |30.| -- |[Dancing, cuddling, | - | | |asking to marry.] | - |31.| -- |[Furnishing.] | - |32.| -- |[If a boy, he's to | - | | |have a hat; if a girl,| - | | |a ring.] | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+ - -(_e_) Other versions, actually or practically identical with the Redhill -(Surrey) version, have been sent by Miss Blair (South Shields); Mr. H. -S. May, Ogbourne and Manton (Wilts); Mrs. Haddon (Cambridge); Mrs. -Harley (Lancashire); and Miss Burne, Platt, near Wrotham (Kent). There -are also similar printed versions in _Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 214 -(Dorsetshire); _Folk-lore Record_, v. 84 (Hersham, Surrey). Northall -prints a version in his _Folk Rhymes_, 362-3, identical with No. 17. The -tune of the Platt version sent by Miss Burne, and the Ogbourne and -Manton (H. S. May), are almost identical, except the termination. This -seems to be the most general tune for the game. The Lancashire tune is -the same as the London version. - -Miss Burne says of the Madeley version: "I never knew 'Green Gravel' and -'Wallflowers' played together as in this way elsewhere (I had not got -this variant when I wrote _Shropshire Folk-lore_), except at Much -Wenlock, where they reverse the two verses, and only sing _one line_ -(the last) of 'Green Gravel.' But I feel sure they must have been -_meant_ to go together (see my note in _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 510), -and I can explain them, I think. The ring of girls are dancing on the -green grass plot in the middle of an old-fashioned sixteenth-century -walled garden: each gets the news of her lover's death, and 'turns her -face to the wall,' the old token of hopeless sorrow. Then they -apostrophise the wallflowers in the border surrounding the grass plot -against the old high wall; and here another variant explains the lament -(second line)-- - - Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high, - _We shall all be maidens_ [and so], we shall all die; - -Except the youngest (who will meet with another lover), whether as an -instance of the proverbial luck of the 'youngest born,' or as a piece of -juvenile giddiness and inconstancy, I cannot say; but considering the -value set on true love and hopeless constancy in the ballad-lore, and -the special garland which distinguished the funerals of bereaved but -constant maidens, and the solemnity of betrothal in old days, the latter -seems probable, especially considering the 'for shame.'" - -The incidents of _washing_ a corpse in milk and _dressing_ it in silk -occur in "Burd Ellen," Jamieson's _Ballads_, p. 125. - - "Tak up, tak up my bonny young son, - Gar _wash_ him wi' the _milk_; - Tak up, tak up my fair lady, - Gar row her in the _silk_." - - -Green Grow the Leaves (1) - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (Mr. Hardy). - - I. Green grow the leaves (or grows the ivy) round the old oak - tree, - Green grow the leaves round the old oak tree, - Green grow the leaves round the old oak tree, - As we go marching on. - - Bless my life I hardly knew you, - Bless my life I hardly knew you, - Bless my life I hardly knew you, - As we go marching on. - ---Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire (Miss Peacock). - - II. Green grow the leaves on the old oak tree, - I love the boys and the boys love me, - As we go marching on. - ---Sharleston (Miss Fowler). - - III. I love the boys and the boys love me, - I love the boys and the boys love me, - I love the boys and the boys love me, - As we go marching home. - - Glory, glory, hallelujah! - Glory, glory, hallelujah! - Glory, glory, hallelujah! - As we go marching home. - - The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf, - The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf, - The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf, - As we go marching home. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (Herbert). - -(_b_) In Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire the game is played by the -children forming a circle and dancing round, singing. The first and -third lines are sung three times. Partners are chosen during the singing -of the last line. Miss Peacock adds, "The rest wanting, as my informant -had forgotten the game." In the Sharleston version the children march -round two by two, in a double circle, with one child in the centre, -singing the verse. At the conclusion, the children who are marching on -the inner side of the circle leave their partners and take the place of -one in front of them, while the centre child endeavours to get one of -the vacant places, the child turned out taking the place of the one in -the centre, when the game begins again. In the Earls Heaton version -there is the circle of children, with one child in the centre, who -chooses a partner after the lines have been sung. - -(_c_) From this it would seem that while the Lincolnshire and -Nottinghamshire words appear to be the most complete, the action has -been preserved best at Sharleston. The acting of this version is the -same as that of "The Jolly Miller." The third variant is evidently an -imitation of the song, "John Brown." - - -Green Grow the Leaves (2) - -[Music] - ---Northants (R. S. Baker). - - Green grow the leaves on the hawthorn tree, - Green grow the leaves on the hawthorn tree, - We jangle and we wrangle and we never can agree, - But the tenor of our song goes merrily, merrily, merrily, - The tenor of our song goes merrily. - ---R. S. Baker (_Northants Notes and Queries_, ii. 161). - -(_b_) One couple is chosen to lead, and they go off, whither they will, -followed by a long train of youths and maidens, all singing the refrain. -Sometimes the leaders part company, and branch off to the right or left; -the others have to do the same, and not until the leaders meet can they -join again. They march arm in arm. - -(_c_) Mr. R. S. Baker, who records this, says a Wellingborough lady sent -him the tune and words, and told him the game was more like a country -dance than anything else, being a sort of dancing "Follow My Leader." - - -Gully - -A sink, or, failing that, a particular stone in the pavement was the -"Gully." Some boy chosen by lot, or one who volunteered in order to -start the game, laid his top on the ground at some distance from the -"Gully." The first player then spun his top, pegging at the recumbent -top, so as to draw it towards the "Gully." If he missed the top, he -stooped down and took up his own top by pushing his hand against it in -such a manner that the space between his first and second finger caught -against the peg and forced the top into the palm of his hand. He then -had "a go" at the recumbent top (I forget what this was called), and -sent his own top against it so as to push it towards the "Gully." If he -missed, he tried again and again, until his own top could spin no -longer. If he did not hit the top with his own while it was spinning, -his top had to be laid down and the other one taken up, and its owner -took his turn at pegging. When a spinning-top showed signs of -exhaustion, and the taking it up might kill it, and it was not very far -from the down-lying top, its owner would gently push it with his finger, -so as to make it touch the other top, and so avoid putting it into the -other's place. This was called "kissing," and was not allowed by some -players. When one player succeeded in sending the top into the "Gully," -he took it up and fixed it by its peg into a post, mortar of a wall, or -the best place where it could be tolerably steady. Holding it by one -hand, he drove the peg of his own top as far as he could into the crown -of the victim top. This was called "taking a grudge." He then held -either his own or the victim top and knocked the other against the wall, -the object being to split the victim. He was allowed three "grudges." If -the top did not give way, the other players tried in turn. If the top -did not split, it was returned to its owner, but any boy who succeeded -in splitting it through the middle, so that the peg fell out, took -possession of the peg. I have seen a top split at the side in such a way -as to be quite useless as a top, though no peg was gained. I remember, -too, a schoolfellow of mine drawing from his pocket some seven or eight -pegs, the trophied memorials of as many tops.--London (J. P. Emslie). - -See "Hoatie," "Hoges," "Peg-top." - - -Hairry my Bossie - -This is a game of chance. The players are two, and may be boys or girls, -or a boy and a girl. The stakes may be pins, buttons, marbles, or -anything for which children gamble. One player puts a number, one, two, -three or more, of the articles to be gambled for into the hollow of the -closed hand, and says, "Hairry my bossie;" the other answers, "Knock 'im -down," upon which he puts his closed hands down with a blow on his -knees, and continues to strike them upwards and downwards on the knee, -so as to give the opponent in play an idea of the number of objects -concealed by the sound given forth. He then says, "How many blows?" and -gets the reply, "As many's goes." A guess is then made. If the guess is -correct the guesser gets the objects. If the guess is incorrect the -guesser has to make up the difference between the number guessed and the -real number. The players play alternately. This game was played for the -most part at Christmas.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -(_b_) Hairry = "rob," Bossie = "a wooden bowl," commonly used for making -the leaven in baking oat-cakes, and for making "brose." - -This is a very general game amongst schoolboys. - - -Half-Hammer - -The game of "Hop-step-and-jump," Norfolk. This game is played in the -west of Sussex, but not in the east. It is played thus by two or more -boys. Each boy in his turn stands first on one leg and makes a hop, then -strides or steps, and lastly, putting both feet together, jumps. The boy -who covers the most ground is the victor.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Han'-and-Hail - -A game common in Dumfries, thus described by Jamieson. Two goals called -hails, or dules, are fixed on at about a distance of four hundred -yards. The two parties then place themselves in the middle between the -goals or dules, and one of the players, taking a soft elastic ball, -about the size of a man's fist, tosses it into the air, and, as it -falls, strikes it with his palm towards his antagonists. The object of -the game is for either party to drive the ball beyond the goal which -lies before them, while their opponents do all in their power to prevent -this. As soon as the ball is gowf't, that is, struck away, the opposite -party endeavour to intercept it in its fall. This is called keppan' the -ba'. If they succeed in this attempt, the player who does so is entitled -to throw the ball with all his might towards his antagonists. If he kep -it in the first bound which it makes off the ground, called a stot, he -is allowed to haunch, that is, to throw the ball by bringing his hand -with a sweep past his thigh, to which he gives a stroke as his hand -passes, and discharging the ball at the moment when the stroke is given. -If the ball be caught in the second bounce, the catcher may hoch the -ball, that is, throw it through below one of his houghs. If none of the -party catch the ball, it must be gowf't in the manner before described. -As soon as either of the parties succeed in driving the ball, or, as it -is called, hailin' the dules, the game then begins by one of the party -which was successful throwing the ball towards the opposing goal and the -other party striving to drive it back. - - -Hand in and Hand out - -A game played by a company of young people who are drawn up in a circle, -when one of them, pitched upon by lot, walks round the band, and, if a -boy, hits a girl, or, if a girl, she strikes a boy whom she chooses, on -which the party striking and the party struck run in pursuit of each -other till the latter is caught, whose lot it then becomes to perform -the same part. A game so called was forbidden by statute of Edward -IV.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -See "Drop Handkerchief." - - -Handy-Croopen - -A game in which one of the players turns his face to the wall, his hand -resting upon his back. He must continue in position until he guesses who -struck his hand, when the striker takes his place.--Orkney and Shetland -(Jamieson's _Dictionary_). - -See "Hot Cockles." - - -Handy Dandy - - I. Handy dandy, - Sugary candy-- - Top or bottom? - - Handy spandy, - Jack a dandy-- - Which good hand will you have? - ---Halliwell's _Dictionary_: _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216. - - II. Handy dandy riddledy ro-- - Which will you have, high or low? - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216. - - III. Handy pandy, - Sugary candy, - Which will you have-- - Top or bottom? - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - IV. Handy pandy, Jack a dandy, - Which hand will you have? - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 530. - -(_b_) The hands are closed, some small article is put in one of them -behind the back of the player. The closed fists are then turned rapidly -round one another while the rhyme is being said, and they are then -placed one on top of the other. A guess is then made by any one of the -players as to which hand the object is in. If correct, the guesser -obtains the object; if incorrect, the player who performs "Handy dandy" -keeps it. - -(_c_) This game is mentioned in _Piers Plowman_, p. 69 of Wright's -edition. Douce quotes an ancient MS. which curiously mentions the game -as "men play with little children at 'handye-dandye,' which hand will -you have" (ii. 167). Johnson says: "'Handy dandy,' a play in which -children change hands and places: 'See how yon justice rails upon yon -simple thief! Hark, in thine ear: change places, and, handy dandy, -which is the justice, which is the thief?" (_King Lear_, iv. 6). Malone -says, "'Handy dandy' is, I believe, a play among children, in which -something is shaken between two hands, and then a guess is made in which -hand it is retained." See Florio's _Italian Dictionary_, 1598: -"Bazzicchiare, to shake between the hands; to play 'Handy dandy.'" Pope, -in his _Memoirs of Cornelius Scriblerus_, in forbidding certain sports -to his son Martin till he is better informed of their antiquity, says: -"Neither cross and pile, nor ducks and drakes, are quite so ancient as -'Handy dandy,' though Macrobius and St. Augustine take notice of the -first, and Minutius Foelix describes the latter; but 'Handy dandy' is -mentioned by Aristotle, Plato, and Aristophanes." Browne, in -_Britannia's Pastorals_ (i. 5), also alludes to the game. - -See "Neiveie-nick-nack." - - -Hap the Beds - -A singular game, gone through by hopping on one foot, and with that foot -sliding a little flat stone out of an oblong bed, rudely drawn on a -smooth piece of ground. This bed is divided into eight parts, the two of -which at the farther end of it are called the Kail-pots. If the player -then stands at one end, and pitches the smooth stone into all the -divisions one after the other, following the same on a foot (at every -throw), and bringing it out of the figure, this player wins not only the -game, but is considered a first-rate daub at it; failing, however, to go -through all the parts so, without missing either a throw or a hop, yet -keeping before the other gamblers (for many play at one bed), still wins -the curious rustic game.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -A game called "The Beds," mentioned by a writer in _Blackwood's -Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, as played in Edinburgh when he was a boy -by girls only, is described as a game where a pitcher is kicked into -chalked divisions of the pavement, the performer being on one leg and -hopping. - -See "Hop-scotch." - - -Hard Buttons - -Several boys place one button each close together on a line. The game -consists in hitting a particular button out of this line with the nicker -without touching the others. This is generally played in London streets, -and is mentioned in the _Strand Magazine_, ii. 515. - -See "Banger," "Buttons." - - -Hare and Hounds - -A boys' game. One boy is chosen as the Hare. He carries with him a bag -filled with strips of paper. The rest of the boys are the Hounds. The -Hare has a certain time (say fifteen minutes) allowed him for a start, -and he goes across country, scattering some paper on his way in order to -indicate his track. He may employ any man[oe]uvre in order to deceive -his pursuers, but must keep up the continuity of his paper track-signs. -The Hounds follow him and try to catch him before he gets home, which is -a place agreed upon beforehand.--London (G. L. Gomme). - -In Cornwall the leader, when at fault, says-- - - Uppa, uppa, holye! If you don't speak - My dogs shan't folly. - ---Courtney (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 73). - -Other versions of this holloa are-- - - Whoop, whoop, and hollow! - Good dogs won't follow - Without the hare cries, Peewit. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 66. - - Sound your holler, - Or my little dog shan't foller. - ---Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 357. - -This game is played in Wales under the name of "Hunt the Fox." The Fox -has a certain time given him for a start, the other players then go -after him.--Beddgelert (Mrs. Williams). - - -Harie Hutcheon - -A game among children, in which they hop round in a ring, sitting on -their hams.--Jamieson. - -See "Curcuddie," "Cutch-a-cutchoo," "Hirtschin Hairy." - - -Hark the Robbers - -[Music] - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - I. Hark the robbers coming through, - Coming through, - Hark the robbers coming through, - My fair lady. - - What have the robbers done to you, - Done to you, - What have the robbers done to you, - My fair lady? - - You have stole my watch and chain, - Watch and chain, - You have stole my watch and chain, - My fair lady. - - Half-a-crown you must pay, - You must pay, - Half-a-crown you must pay, - My fair lady. - - Half-a-crown we cannot pay, - Cannot pay, - Half-a-crown we cannot pay, - My fair lady. - - Off to prison you must go, - You must go, - Off to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - - II. Here are the robbers coming through, - Coming through, coming through, - Here are the robbers coming through, - My fair lady. - - What will the robbers do to you, - Do to you, do to you, - What will the robbers do to you, - My fair lady? - - Steal your watch and break your chain, - Break your chain, break your chain, - Steal your watch and break your chain, - My fair lady. - - Then they must go to jail, - Go to jail, go to jail, - Then they must go to jail, - My fair lady. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - III. Hark the robbers - Coming through, coming through, - My fair lady. - - They have stolen my watch and chain, - Watch and chain, watch and chain. - - Off to prison they shall go, - They shall go, they shall go, - My fair lady. - ---Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent (Miss A. A. Keary). - - IV. Hark the robbers coming through, - Coming through, coming through, - Hark the robbers coming through, - My fair lady. - - What's the robbers done to you, - Done to you, done to you, - What's the robbers done to you, - My fair lady? - - They have stole my watch and chain, - Watch and chain, watch and chain, - They have stole my watch and chain, - My fair lady. - - What's the price will set you free, - Set you free, set you free, - What's the price will set you free, - My fair lady? - - Half-a-guinea will set me free, - Will set me free, will set me free, - Half-a-guinea will set me free, - My fair lady. - - Half-a-guinea you shall not have, - Shall not have, shall not have, - Half-a-guinea you shall not have, - My fair lady. - - Let's join hands, it is too late, - 'Tis too late, 'tis too late, - Let's join hands, it is too late, - My fair lady. - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - V. Hark at the robbers going through, - Through, through, through; through, through, through; - Hark at the robbers going through, - My fair lady. - - What have the robbers done to you, - You, you, you; you, you, you? - What have the robbers done to you, - My fair lady? - - Stole my gold watch and chain, - Chain, chain, chain; chain, chain, chain; - Stole my gold watch and chain, - My fair lady. - - How many pounds will set us free, - Free, free, free; free, free, free? - How many pounds will set us free, - My fair lady? - - A hundred pounds will set you free, - Free, free, free; free, free, free; - A hundred pounds will set you free, - My fair lady. - - We have not a hundred pounds, - Pounds, pounds, pounds; pounds, pounds, pounds; - We have not a hundred pounds, - My fair lady. - - Then to prison you must go, - Go, go, go; go, go, go; - Then to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - - To prison we will not go, - Go, go, go; go, go, go; - To prison we will not go, - My fair lady. - ---Shipley, Horsham (_Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, i. 210, Miss Busk). - - VI. See the robbers coming through, - Coming through, coming through, - See the robbers coming through, - A nice young lady. - - Here's a prisoner we have got, - We have got, we have got, - Here's a prisoner we have got, - A nice young lady. - - How many pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free, - How many pounds to set her free, - A nice young lady? - - A hundred pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free, - A hundred pounds to set her free, - A nice young lady. - - A hundred pounds we cannot give, - We cannot give, we cannot give, - A hundred pounds we cannot give, - A nice young lady. - - Then to prison she must go, - She must go, she must go, - Then to prison she must go, - A nice young lady. - - If she goes we'll go too, - We'll go too, we'll go too, - If she goes we'll go too, - A nice young lady. - - Round the meadows we will go, - We will go, we will go, - Round the meadows we will go, - A nice young lady. - ---Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes). - - VII. O what has this poor prisoner done, - Poor prisoner done, poor prisoner done? - O what has this poor prisoner done, - So early in the morning? - - She stole my watch and lost my key, - Lost my key, lost my key, - She stole my watch and lost my key, - So early in the morning. - - How many pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free? - How many pounds to set her free, - So early in the morning? - - Five hundred pounds to set her free, - Set her free, set her free, - Five hundred pounds to set her free, - So early in the morning. - - Five hundred pounds we have not got, - Have not got, have not got, - Five hundred pounds we have not got, - So early in the morning. - - So off to prison she must go, - She must go, she must go, - So off to prison she must go, - So early in the morning. - - If she go then I'll go too, - I'll go too, I'll go too, - If she go then I'll go too, - So early in the morning. - - So round the meadows we must go, - We must go, we must go, - So round the meadows we must go, - So early in the morning. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -(_b_) In the Deptford version two girls join hands, holding them up as -an arch for the other players to tramp through. The first two verses are -sung first by one and then by the other of the two girls. At the finish -of these the girl then going through the arch is stopped, and the third, -fourth, and fifth verses are sung by the two girls alternately. Then -finally both girls sing the last verse, and the child is sent as -prisoner behind one or other of the two girls. The verses are then begun -again, and repeated afresh for each of the troop marching through the -arch until all of them are placed behind one or other of the two girls. -The two sides thus formed then proceed to tug against each other, and -the strongest side wins the game. - -The Belfast version is practically the same, except that the verses are -not sung as a dialogue, but by all the players together, and the -prisoner, when caught, has the choice of sides, by being asked, "Which -will you have, a golden apple or golden pear?" and according to the -answer given is sent behind one of the leaders. The Norfolk and -Shropshire games are different. Miss Matthews thus describes the -Norfolk game: "Two girls take hold of hands, and another, the prisoner, -stands between them. The rest form themselves into a line opposite, and -advance and retreat while singing the first verse, the gaolers singing -the next verse, and so on alternately. [At the end of the last verse but -one] the children break the line, form themselves into a ring, and dance -round the prisoner, singing the final verse." Miss Harley describes the -Shropshire version as follows: "The first six verses are sung by the -alternate parties, who advance and retire, tramping their feet, at -first, to imitate the robbers. The last verse is sung altogether going -round in a ring." In the Shipley version, Miss Busk says: "The children -form themselves into two lines, while two or three, representing the -robbers, swagger along between them. When the robbers sing the last -verse they should have attained the end of the lines [of children], as -during the parley they were safe; having pronounced the defiance they -run away. The children in the lines rush after them, and should catch -them and put them in prison." - -(_c_) The analysis of this game is easy. The Deptford, Belfast, and -Wolstanton versions are clearly enough dramatic representations of the -capture of a robber, and probably the game dates from the period of the -prevalence of highway robbery. The Wolstanton version shows us that the -game is breaking up from its earlier form, while the Norfolk and -Shropshire versions show a fresh development into the mere game for -children, apart from its original significance. The action of the game -confirms this view. The Norfolk action seems to be the most nearly -perfect in its dramatic significance, and the Shropshire action comes -next. The action of the other games seems to have been grafted on to the -superior form of "Oranges and Lemons." It is probable that this fact has -preserved the words more completely than in the other cases, where the -force of the robber action would become less and less as actual -experience of robbers and robbery died out. Altogether, this game -supplies a very good example of the change produced in games by changes -in the actual life which gave rise to them. It is singular that the -verses of this game also enter into the composition of "London Bridge is -broken down." It is probable, therefore, that it may be an altered form -of the game of "London Bridge." The refrain, "My fair lady," occurs in -both games. - -See "London Bridge." - - -Hats in Holes - -A boys' game. The players range their hats in a row against the wall, -and each boy in turn pitches a ball from a line at some twenty-five feet -distance into one of the hats. The boy into whose hat it falls has to -seize it and throw it at one or other of the others, who all scamper off -when the ball is "packed in." If he fails to hit he is out, and takes -his cap up. The boy whose cap is left at the last has to "cork" the -others, that is, to throw the ball at their bent backs, each in turn -stooping down to take his punishment.--Somerset (Elworthy's _Dialect_). - -See "Balls and Bonnets." - - -Hattie - -A game with preens, pins, on the crown of a hat. Two or more may play. -Each lays on a pin, then with the hand they strike the side of the hat -time about, and whoever makes the pins by a stroke cross each other, -lifts those so crossed.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - - -Hawkey - -A game played by several boys on each side with sticks called "hawkey -bats," and a ball. A line is drawn across the middle of the ground from -one side to the other; one party stands on one side of the line and the -opposite party on the other, and neither must overstep this boundary, -but are allowed to reach over as far as their bats will permit to strike -the ball. The object is to strike the ball to the farther end to touch -the fence of the opposing party's side, when the party so striking the -ball scores one, and, supposing nine to be the game, the party obtaining -that number first of course wins the game.--West Sussex (Holloway's -_Dict. of Provincialisms_). - -See "Bandy," "Doddart," "Hockey." - - -Headicks and Pinticks - -This game was played only at Christmas. The number of players was two. -The stakes were pins. One player laid in the hollow of the hand, or on -one of the forefingers, a pin, and then placed the other forefinger over -it so as to conceal it. He then held up his hand to his opponent and -said, "Headicks or pinticks?" His opponent made a guess by pointing with -his finger and saying "Headicks," or "Pinticks." If the guess was -correct he gained the pin, but if it was incorrect he forfeited one. The -players played alternately.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -Another version seems to be "Headim and Corsim." Pins are hid with -fingers in the palms of the hands; the same number is laid alongside -them, and either "Headim" or "Corsim" called out by those who do so. -When the fingers are lifted, if the heads of the pins hid and those -beside them be lying one way when the crier cried "Headim," then that -player wins; but if "Corsim," the one who hid the pins wins. This is the -king of all the games at the preens.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_. - -The editors of Jamieson's _Dictionary_ say that the name should be -"Headum and Corsum." - - -Heads and Tails - -That plan for deciding matters by the "birl o' a bawbee." The one side -cries "Heads" (when the piece is whirling in the air) and the other -"Tails," so whichever is uppermost when the piece alights that gains or -settles the matter, heads standing for the King's head and tails for -the figure who represents Britannia.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_. This is a general form of determining sides or beginning -a game all over the country. - - -Hecklebirnie - -A play among children in Aberdeenshire. Thirty or forty children in two -rows, joining opposite hands, strike smartly with their hands thus -joined on the head or shoulders of their companion as he runs the -gauntlet through them. This is called "passing through the mires of -Hecklebirnie."--Jamieson. - -The editors of Jamieson append a lengthy note connecting the name of -this game with the northern belief that the wicked were condemned to -suffer eternal punishment in Hecla, the volcanic mountain in Iceland. - -See "Namers and Guessers." - - -Hen and Chicken - - Chickery, chickery, cranny crow, - I went to the well to wash my toe, - When I got back a chicken was dead. - -This verse is said by the Hen to her Chickens, after which they all go -with the Hen to search for the dead Chicken. On their way they meet the -Fox. The following dialogue between the Fox and Hen ensues, the Hen -beginning:-- - - What are you doing? - Picking up sticks. - What for? - To make a fire. - What's the fire for? - To boil some water. - What's the water for? - To boil some chickens in. - Where do you get them from? - Out of your flock. - That I'm sure you won't. - ---Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 386). - -The game is played in the usual manner of "Fox and Goose" games. One is -chosen to be the Hen, and one to be the Fox. The rest are the Chickens. -The Chickens take hold of each other's waists, the first one holding the -Hen's waist. At the end of the dialogue the Fox tries to get hold of one -of the chickens. If he succeeds in catching them, they all with the Fox -try to dodge the Hen, who makes an effort to regain them. - -It is known at Winterton under the name of "Pins and Needles." The -players stand in a row, one behind another, with one of the party as -their Leader. Another player, called "Outsider," pretends to scratch the -ground. The Leader asks, the questions, and the Outsider replies-- - - What are you scratching for? - Pins and needles. - What do you want your pins and needles for? - To mend my poke. - What do you want your poke for? - To put some sand in. - What do you want your sand for? - To sharpen knives with. - What do you want your knives for? - To cut all the little chickens' heads off with. - -Here the Outsider tries to dodge past the Leader to catch one of the -children at the further end of the row, the Leader meanwhile attempting -to bar her progress. When at last she succeeds, the child caught takes -her place, and the game is recommenced.--Winterton (Miss M. Peacock). - -See "Fox and Goose," "Gled-wylie." - - -Here comes a Lusty Wooer - -[Music] - ---Rimbault's _Nursery Rhymes_. - - Here comes a lusty wooer, - My a dildin, my a daldin; - Here comes a lusty wooer, - Lily bright and shine a'. - - Pray who do you woo? - My a dildin, my a daldin; - Pray who do you woo? - Lily bright and shine a'. - - For your fairest daughter, - My a dildin, my a daldin; - For your fairest daughter, - Lily bright and shine a'. - - Then there she is for you, - My a dildin, my a daldin; - Then there she is for you, - Lily bright and shine a'. - ---Ritson (_Gammer Gurton's Garland_, 1783). - -Northall says this game is played after the manner of the "Three Dukes" -(_Folk Rhymes_, p. 383). Halliwell (_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 98) has a -version, and Rimbault (_Nursery Rhymes_) gives both words and tune. It -is also contained in _The Merrie Heart_ (p. 47). See "Jolly Hooper," -"Jolly Rover." - - -Here comes One Virgin - - Here comes one Virgin on her knee, - On her knee, on her knee, - Here comes one Virgin on her knee, - Pray what will you give her? - - When did you come? - - I came by night and I came by day, - I came to steal poor Edie away. - - She is too old, she is too young, - She hasn't learnt her virgin tongue. - - Let her be old or let her be young, - For her beauty she must come. - - In her pocket a thousand pounds, - On her finger a gay gold ring. - - Good-bye, good-bye, my dear. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - -One child stands by herself, and the rest of the players range -themselves in line. The child sings the first verse and the line -replies, the four succeeding verses being alternately sung. After the -last line the girl tries to pull one whom she has chosen from the line -toward her. If not successful, she must try again. If she is, they both -stand in the middle, and commence singing the words again with-- - - Here come _two_ virgins on their knees, &c. - -Probably a degraded version of "Three Lords from Spain." - - -Here I sit on a Cold Green Bank - - Here I sit on a cold green bank - On a cold and frosty morning. - - We'll send a young man [_or_ woman] to take you away, - To take you away, - We'll send a young man to take you away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Pray tell me what his name shall be? [_or_] - Pray, whom will you send to take me away? - - We'll send Mr. ---- to take you away. - -The children form a ring around one of the party, who sits in the -middle, and says the two first lines. Then those in the circle dance -round her, singing the next four lines. This is repeated three times, -with the refrain, "On a cold," &c., after which the dancing and singing -cease, and the child is asked, "Sugar, sweet, or vinegar, sour?" Her -answer is always taken in a contrary sense, and sung, as before, three -times, whilst the children circle round. The one in the middle then -rises to her feet. The boy (or girl) named advances and kisses her, they -change places, and the game begins again.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 56-57). - - -Here stands a Young Man - - I. Here stands a young man who wants a sweetheart, - With all his merry maids round him; - - He may choose from east, he may choose from west, - He may choose the prettiest girl that he loves best. - - Now this young couple is married together, - We propose they kiss each other. - ---Glapthorn (_Northants Notes and Queries_, i. 214, A. Palmer). - - II. Here stands a young lady [lass] who wants a sweetheart, - Wants a sweetheart, wants a sweetheart, - And don't know where to find one, find one, find one. - Choose the prettiest that you loves best. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy, - Seven years after son and daughter, - Pray you come to kiss together. - ---Longcot, Berkshire (Miss I. Barclay). - -(_b_) A ring is formed by the players joining hands, one child standing -in the centre. The ring dance round singing the first four lines. At the -fourth line the child in the centre chooses one from the ring, who goes -into the centre with her. The marriage formula or chorus is then sung, -the two kiss, and the one who was first in the centre joins the ring, -the second one choosing another in her turn. Played by both boys and -girls. - -See "Sally Water," "Silly Old Man." - - -Here we go around, around - -[Music] - - Our shoes are made of leather, - Our stockings are made of silk, - Our pinafores are made of calico, - As white as any milk. - - Here we go around, around, around, - And we shall touch the ground. - ---Barnes and London Streets (A. B. Gomme). - -A ring is formed by the children joining hands. They walk round singing -the first four lines. They then dance round quickly and sit down -suddenly, or touch the ground with their clothes. - -A version of this game from Liphook, Hants, almost identical in words, -has been sent by Miss Fowler, and another from Crockham Hill, Kent, by -Miss Chase. - - -Here's a Soldier - - Here's a soldier left his lone [_qy._ alone], - Wants a wife and can't get none. - - Merrily go round and choose your own, - Choose a good one or else choose none; - Choose the worst or choose the best, - Or choose the very one you like best. - - What's your will, my dilcy dulcy officer? - What's your will, my dilcy dulcy dee? - - My will is to marry, my dilcy dulcy officer; - My will is to marry, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - Come marry one of us, my dilcy dulcy officer; - Come marry one of us, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - You're all too old and ugly, my dilcy dulcy officer; - You're all too old and ugly, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - Thrice too good for you, sir, my dilcy dulcy officer; - Thrice too good for you, sir, my dilcy dulcy dee. - - This couple got married, we wish them good joy, - Every year a girl and a boy, - And if that does not do, a hundred and two, - We hope the couple will kiss together. - ---Annaverna, co. Louth (Miss R. Stephen). - -(_b_) One child stands in the middle, the others dance round singing. -The one in the middle chooses another before the four last lines are -sung. Then the rest dance round singing these lines, and kiss each -other. - -(_c_) It is evident that these words comprise two distinct games, which -have become mixed in some inexplicable fashion. The first six lines and -the last four are one game, a ring form, with the marriage formula and -blessing. The other portion of the game is a dialogue game, evidently -having had two lines of players, questions being asked and answers -given. It is, in fact, a part of the "Three Dukes" game. The first part -is a kiss-in-the-ring game, a version of "Here stands a Young Man," -"Silly Old Man," and "Sally Water." - - -Hewley Puley - - Take this, What's this? - Hewley Puley. - Where's my share? - About the kite's neck. - Where's the kite? - Flown to the wood. - Where's the wood? - The fire has burned it. - Where's the fire? - The water's quenched it. - Where's the water? - The ox has drunk it. - Where's the ox? - The butcher has killed it. - Where's the butcher? - The rope has hanged him. - Where's the rope? - The rat has gnawed it. - Where's the rat? - The cat has killed it. - Where's the cat? - Behind the door, cracking pebble-stones and marrow-bones for yours - and my supper, and the one who speaks first shall have a box on the - ear. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 222. - -The children are seated, and the questions are put by one of the party -who holds a twisted handkerchief or something of the sort in the hand. -The handkerchief was called "hewley puley," and the questions are asked -by the child who holds it. If one answers wrongly, a box on the ear with -the handkerchief was the consequence; but if they all replied correctly, -the one who broke silence first had that punishment. - -For similar rhymes see "Dump," "Mother, may I go out?" - - -Hey Wullie Wine - - I. Hey Wully wine, and How Wully wine, - I hope for hame ye'll no incline; - Ye'll better light, and stay a' night, - And I'll gie thee a lady fine. - - Wha will ye gie, if I wi' ye bide, - To be my bonny blooming bride, - And lie down lovely by my side? - - I'll gie thee Kate o' Dinglebell, - A bonny body like yersell. - - I'll stick her up in the pear-tree - Sweet and meek, and sae is she: - I lo'ed her ance, but she's no for me, - Yet I thank ye for your courtesy. - - I'll gie thee Rozie o' the Cleugh, - I'm sure she'll please thee weel eneugh. - - Up wi' her on the bane dyke, - She'll be rotten or I'll be ripe: - She's made for some ither, and no me, - Yet I thank ye for your courtesy. - - Then I'll gie ye Nell o' sweet Sprinkell, - Owre Galloway she bears the bell. - - I'll set her up in my bed-head, - And feed her wi' milk and bread; - She's for nae ither, but jist for me, - Sae I thank ye for your courtesy. - ---Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - - II. I maun ride hame, I maun gang hame, - And bide nae langer here; - The road is lang, the mirk soon on, - And howlets mak' me fear. - - Light doon and bide wi' us a' night, - We'll choose ye a bonnie lass; - Ye'll get your wull and pick o' them a', - And the time it soon wull pass. - - Which ane will ye choose, - If I with you will bide? - - The fairest and rarest - In a' the kintra side. - -A girl's name was then mentioned. If the lad was pleased with the choice -made, he replied-- - - I'll set her up on a bonnie pear-tree, - It's tall and straight, and sae is she; - I'd keep wauken a' night her love to be. - -If he was not pleased, he replied in one or other of the next three -verses-- - - I'll set her up ayont the dike, - She'll be rotten ere I be ripe, - The corbies her auld banes wull pike. - - I'll set her up on a high crab-tree, - It's sour and dour, and so is she; - She may gang to the mools unkissed by me. - - Though she be good and fair to see, - She's for another, and no for me; - But I thank you for your courtesie. - -When a girl took the place of the lad, she replied in one or other of -the three following, according as she was angry or pleased-- - - I'll put him in a riddle - And riddle him o'er the sea, - And sell to Johnny Groat's - For a Scotch bawbee. - - I'll set him up on my lum-head [chimney], - And blaw him up wi' pouther and lead; - He'll never be kissed though he be dead. - - I'll set him up at my table head, - Feed him wi' sweet milk and bread, - If he likes gang hame on his fine steed. - ---Biggar (Wm. Ballantyne). - -(_b_) In Biggar, all the players were seated round the hearthstone, lads -on one side, lassies the other; one lad rising up said the first verse, -then one acting as "maister" said the next verse. The young man then -said the next two lines, to which the other replied in the two -following, and naming at the close any girl he thought would be -acceptable. If the lad was pleased he sang the next verse. If he was -not pleased with the girl offered him he replied in either of the three -following verses. The first of the three was generally said if the girl -was thought to be too old; if bad-tempered, the second. If the lad found -no fault, but wished to politely refuse, he sang the last verse. The -girl then was asked in her turn, and the same formula gone through, she -saying either of the three last verses given. Forfeits were demanded for -every refusal, and were cried at the end of the game. - -(_c_) Mr. Ballantyne writes: "This game was a great favourite in my -father's house. This was a forfeit game, forfeits being called 'wadds.'" -Chambers, _Popular Rhymes_, p. 124, gives a version of this game. It is -practically the same as Mr. Ballantyne's version, with only a few verbal -differences. Mactaggart says, "The chief drift of this singular game -seemed to be to discover the sweethearts of one another," and such -discoveries are thought valuable, but not so much as they were -anciently. In any case, it appears to me that the game is an early one, -or, at all events, a reflection of early custom. - - -Hickety, Bickety - - Hickety, bickety, pease-scone, - Where shall this poor Scotchman gang? - Will he gang east, or will he gang west, - Or will he gang to the craw's nest? - ---Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 122). - -One boy stands with his eyes bandaged and his hands against a wall, with -his head resting on them. Another stands beside him repeating the rhyme, -whilst the others come one by one and lay their hands upon his back, or -jump upon it. When he has sent them all to different places he turns -round and calls, "Hickety, bickety!" till they have all rushed back to -the place, the last in returning being obliged to take his place, when -the game goes on as before. - -Chambers adds, "The 'craw's nest' is close beside the eye-bandaged boy, -and is therefore an envied position." Newell, _Games_, p. 165, refers to -this game. - -See "Hot Cockles." - - -Hickety-hackety - -The game of Hop-scotch, played with a piece of tile, which has to be -kicked by the player with the foot on which he hops over lines into -various squares marked on the ground.--Somersetshire (Elworthy's -_Dialect_). - -See "Hop-scotch." - - -Hick, Step, and Jump - -The game of "Hop, step, and jump."--Somerset (Holloway's _Dict. of -Provincialisms_). - -See "Half-Hammer." - - -Hide and Seek (1) - -A writer in _Blackwood's Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, mentions this as -a summer game. It was called "Ho, spy!" the words which are called out -by those boys who have hidden. He says the watchword of "Hide and seek" -was "hidee," and gives as the rhyme used when playing-- - - Keep in, keep in, wherever you be, - The greedy gled's seeking ye. - -This rhyme is also given by Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 122). -Halliwell gives the rhyme as-- - - Hitty titty indoors, - Hitty titty out, - You touch Hitty titty, - And Hitty titty will bite you. - ---_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 213. - -At Ashford-in-the-Water the words used were-- - - One a bin, two a bin, three a bin, four, - Five a bin, six a bin, seven, gie o'er; - A bunch of pins, come prick my shins, - A loaf brown bread, come knock me down. - I'm coming! - ---_Reliquary_, viii. 57. - -The words are said by the one who has to find the person hidden. - -In Scotland the game is called "Hospy," and is played by boys only, and -it can be played only in a village or hamlet in which there is the means -of hiding. A Spy is chosen, and a spot, called Parley, is fixed upon at -which the Spy stands till all the other players are hid, and to which he -can run when pursued. When the players are hid, the cry, "Hospy," -_i.e._, "Ho! spy!" is raised by them. The Spy then sets out to find -them. The moment he detects one he turns and runs with all his might to -the Parley, pursued by the one he has discovered. If he is overtaken, he -must carry on his back the pursuer to the Parley. The same thing is gone -through till all the players are discovered.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -Jamieson says, "'Hy Spy,' a game resembling 'Hide and Seek,' but played -in a different manner. The station, which in England is called Home, is -here the Den, and those who keep it are the Seekers, and are called the -Ins. Those who hide themselves, instead of crying 'Hoop,' as in England, -cry 'Hy spy;' and they are denominated the Outs. The business of the Ins -is, after the signal is given, to lay hold of the Outs before they can -reach the den. The captive then becomes one of the Ins; for the honour -of the game consists in the privilege of hiding oneself." Jamieson adds, -"Hy is still used in calling after a person, to excite attention, or -when it is wished to warn him to get out of the way." Strutt describes -it as "Harry-Racket," or "Hide and Seek" (_Sports_, p. 381). - -At Cork two sides are chosen for Spy; one side hides while the other -side hunts. When the hunters see one of the hidden players, they call -out, "I spy ----," and the child's name. The player called must run -after the Spy and try to catch him before he reaches his Den; if he -succeeds, the one caught must go to the opposite side of players, then -next time the spies hide, and those who have been hiding, spy (Miss -Keane). A more general form of the game is for one child to hide, and to -make a noise in a disguised voice to give notice of his whereabouts, or -to call out "Whoop!" or "Coo!" Until this noise or call is made, the -searchers may not seek him. If when spied or discovered the hider cannot -reach home before being caught, he again has to hide (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) In the parish church of Bawdrip is a monument to Edward Lovell, -his wife Eleanor (_nee_ Bradford), and their two daughters Maria and -Eleanor. The inscription touching the latter is:--"Eleanora . . . obiit -Jun. 14, 1681. Hanc, subito et immaturo (ipsos pene inter hymenaeos) fato -correptam, m[oe]stissimus luxit maritus, et in gratam piamq. parentum -sororis et dilectissimae conjugis memoriam, monumentum hoc erigi voluit." -Tradition connects this sudden death--"ipsos pene inter hymenaeos"--with -the story of the bride playing at "Hide and Seek." It is curious that, -in Haynes Bayly's song, the bridegroom's name should be Lovell. There is -no mention on the monument of the name of the bereaved husband. The -father, Edward Lovell, was fourteen years rector of Bawdrip and fellow -of Jesus College, Cambridge, and died in 1675, and so could not have -been present at the wedding, as represented in the song. He came from -Batcombe, near Castle-Cary; at which latter place the Lovells were -seated in very early days.--_Notes and Queries_, 4th Ser., ix. 477. - -Cope (_Hampshire Glossary_) calls the game "I spy I." Lowsley -(_Berkshire Glossary_) says, "In playing this game, the seeker has to -call out 'I spy!' to the one he finds before he may start for home." It -is called "Hy Spy" in Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_; Evans' -_Leicestershire Glossary_, "Hide and Wink;" Barnes' _Dorset Glossary_, -"Hidy Buck." - -In Pegge's _Alphabet of Kenticisms_ the game is given as "Hide and Fox." -_Cf._ "Hide Fox, and all after," _i.e._, let the fox hide and the others -go to seek him; Hamlet, iv. 2, 32. In Stead's _Holderness Glossary_, -"Hed-o." In the North Riding it is "Lam-pie-sote-it," also called -"Felto" in Robinson's _Whitby Glossary_. He also mentions that the -hidden child cries "How-ly" to the finder. Apparently the same as the -south country "Whoop," a signal to the finder to begin the search. Addy -(_Sheffield Glossary_) says this game is called "Felt and Laite." -Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_) speaks of it as "I Spy." - -See "Davie Drap." - - -Hide and Seek (2) - -[Music] - ---London. - - I. Beans and butter, - Come home to supper, - 'Tis all ready done. - ---Hampshire (Miss Mendham). - - II. Little pigs come to supper, - Hot boiled beans and ready butter. - ---Northall's _Folk Rhymes_, p. 409. - - III. Hot beans and butter! - Please to come to supper! - ---Much Wenlock (_Shropshire Folklore_, p. 525). - - IV. Hot boiled beans, and very good butter, - Ladies and gentlemen, come to supper. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - V. Vesey vasey vum, - Buck aboo has come! - Find it if you can and take it home, - Vesey vasey vum. - ---Newlyn West, near Penzance (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 49). - -One child hides an article, while those who are to search for it go in -another room (or out of the way somewhere). When it is hidden, they are -called to find it by one of the above rhymes being sung or said. The -searchers are enabled more readily to find the hidden article by being -told "hot," "very hot," "scorching," "burning," or "cold," "very cold," -and "freezing," when near to or far from the hidden article. Sometimes -several may agree to hide the article, and only one to be the finder. In -the Penzance game one child is blindfolded, other children hide -something, then shout the words. Search is then made for the hidden -object: when found, the finder in his turn is blindfolded. There appears -to be some mistake in the description of this game. - - -Hinch-Pinch - -The name of an old Christmas game mentioned in _Declaration of Popish -Impostures_, 1603. - - -Hinmost o' Three - -A game played on village greens.--Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary, -Supplement_. - - -Hirtschin Hairy - -The players (boy or girl) cower down on their haunches, "sit doon -curriehunkers," and hop round and round the floor like a frog, clapping -the hands first in front and then behind, and crying out, "Hirtschin -Hairy." It is sometimes called "Hairy Hirtschin." In Lothian the players -try to knock each other over by hustling against one another.--Rev. W. -Gregor. - -Same game as "Harie Hutcheon." - -See "Curcuddie," "Cutch-a-cutchoo," "Hop-frog." - - -Hiry-hag - -A boys' game, in which several, joining hands, endeavour to catch -another, who, when caught, is beaten with caps, the captors crying out-- - - Hiry-hiry-hag, - Put him in a bag, &c. - ---Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_. - - -Hiss and Clap - -All the boys are requested to leave the room, when the girls take their -seats, leaving a vacant place on the right side of each girl for the -gentleman of her choice. Each boy in turn is then summoned by another -who acts as doorkeeper, and asked to guess which lady he imagines has -chosen him for her partner. Should he guess rightly he is allowed to -take his seat by the lady who has chosen him, while the other girls -loudly clap hands. Should he guess wrongly he is hissed, and sent out of -the room by the doorkeeper.--Cork, Ireland (Miss Keane). - -At Long Eaton in Nottinghamshire Miss Youngman records a similar game to -this, with a rhyme that is probably taken from a popular song or ballad. -The successful candidate for the girl's choice claims a kiss, but if -unsuccessful he is beaten out of the room with knotted handkerchiefs. - - -Hitch Jamie; Hitch Jamie, Stride and Loup - -The boyish play of "Hop, Step, and Jump."--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -Brockett (_North Country Words_) calls this "Hitch." - -See "Half-Hammer," "Hick, Step, and Jump." - - -Hitchapagy - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Hitchy Cock Ho - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - - -Hity Tity - -The Somerset name for "See-Saw." - - -Hoatie, Hots - -When a number of boys agree to have a game at the Pearie or peg-top, a -circle is drawn on the ground, within which all the tops must strike and -spin. If any of them bounce out of the circle without spinning, it is -called a Hoatie. The punishment to which the Hoatie is subjected -consists in being placed in the ring, while all the boys whose tops ran -fairly have the privilege of striking--or, as it is called, "deggin"--it -till it is either split or struck out of the circle. If either of these -take place, the boy to whom the Hoatie belonged has the privilege of -playing again.--Upper Lanarkshire (Jamieson). - -See "Gully," "Hoges." - - -Hob-in-the-Hall - -An old game mentioned by Wycherley (_Plain Dealer_, 1677). - - -Hockerty Cokerty - -The same game as "Cockerty-hooie." - - -Hockey - -This game is played with a solid indiarubber ball from two to two and a -half inches in diameter. The players each have a bent or hooked stick or -"hockey." They take opposite sides. The object of the game is for each -side to drive the ball through their opponents' goal. The goals are -each marked by two poles standing about eight to ten feet apart, and -boundaries are marked at the sides. The ball is placed in the middle of -the ground. It is started by two players who stand opposite each other, -the ball lying between their two sticks. They first touch the ground -with their hockey-sticks, then they touch or strike their opponents' -stick. This is repeated three times. At the third stroke they both try -to hit the ball away. The ball may only be played by a hockey-stick, and -a goal is gained when the ball is played between the posts by the -opposing party.--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - -(_b_) In Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ this game is described -under the name of "Shinnup." Robinson (_Mid Yorkshire Glossary_) gives -it under "Shinnops," a youth's game with a ball and stick, heavy at the -striking end, the player man[oe]uvring to get as many strokes as -possible and to drive the ball distances. "Shinnoping" is also used for -the game in operation. "Jowling," or "Jowls," is given in Robinson's -_Whitby Glossary_, as a game played much the same as "Hockey." "Baddin" -is the name given to it in Holland's _Cheshire Glossary_. Another name -is "Doddart" (Brockett, _North Country Words_). - -(_c_) An old custom in vogue in bygone days was Rotherham Fair, or what -was called "Whipping Toms," which took place in the Newarkes every -Shrove Tuesday. So soon as the pancake bell rang men and boys assembled -with sticks having a knob or hook at the end. A wooden ball was thrown -down, and two parties engaged in striving which could get the ball by -striking it with their sticks to one end of the Newarke first--those who -did so were the victors. This game was called "Shinney," or "Hockey." -About one o'clock the Whipping Toms appeared on the scene of action. -These were three men clad in blue smock frocks, with very long waggon -whips, who were accompanied by three men with small bells. They -commenced driving the men and boys out of the Newarkes. It was very -dangerous sometimes; they would lash the whip in such a manner round the -legs of those they were pursuing as to throw them down, which produced -laughter and shouting. Some would stop, and turn to the whipper and -say, "Let's have a pennyworth," and he would guard and parry off the -lashes with his shinney stick. When the whipper was successful in -lashing him he demanded his penny, and continued lashing until he paid. -This was continued until five o'clock, then the game terminated. This -was suppressed, I believe, in 1847. At that period it was a prevalent -idea that it could not be abolished, as it was connected with an "old -charter." It is believed in the town that this custom was to commemorate -the driving out of the Danes from the Newarkes at the time they besieged -Leicester.--Leicester (Robert Hazlewood). - -See "Bandy," "Camp," "Football," "Hood," "Hurling." - - -Hoges - -"The hoges," a boy's game played with "peeries" (peg-tops). The victor -is entitled to give a certain number of blows with the spike of his -peerie to the wood part of his opponent's.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_. - -See "Gully," "Hoatie." - - -Ho-go - -A game played with marbles. The first player holds up a number in his -closed hand and says, "Ho-go;" the second says, "Handfull;" the first -then says, "How many?" The other guesses. If he should guess correctly -he is entitled to take them all; but otherwise he must give the -difference between the number he guessed and the number actually held up -to make.--Lowsley's _Berkshire Words_. It is also called "How many eggs -in a basket?"--London (J. P. Emslie). - -See "Hairry my Bossie." - - -Hoilakes - -The name of a game of marbles which are cast into a hole in the -ground.--Easther's _Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. - - -Holy Bang - -A game with marbles, which consists in placing a marble in a hole and -making it act as a target for the rest. The marble which can hit it -three times in succession, and finally be shot into the hole, is the -winning ball, and its owner gets all the other marbles which have missed -before he played.--London (_Strand Magazine_, ii. 519). - -See "Bridgeboard," "Capie Hole," "Hundreds." - - -Honey Pots - -[Music] - ---London (J. P. Emslie). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -A number of children stoop down in a row, clasping their hands under -their legs. One child stands in front of them, and acts as owner or -seller; another acts as purchaser (fig. 1). The purchaser inquires-- - - Have you any honey pots for sale? - Yes, plenty; will you walk round and taste them? - -The purchaser goes round, pretending to taste each one in turn, -inquiring the price and weight; finds fault with several, one being too -sweet and the other not fresh enough, and so on. When one honey pot is -discovered to the purchaser's taste, she is lifted by the purchaser and -owner, or by two children who act as weights or scales, and then swung -by her arms backwards and forwards to estimate her weight and price -(fig. 2). As long as the child can keep her hands clasped, so long is -the swinging kept up; and as many times as they count, so many is the -number of pounds she weighs. The seller sometimes said, when each one -was bought-- - - Take her and bake her, - And into pies make her, - And bring her back - When she is done. - -They were not brought back, and the "owner" had to catch and bring back -each one. When sold, the honey pot is taken to the other side, or "home" -of the purchaser. The game goes on till all the honey pots are -sold.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -In Sporle, a girl clasps her hands under her legs to form a seat, and -two others swing her by the arms, saying-- - - Honey pot, honey pot, over the river; - When the old cat dies you shall have the liver. - ---Miss Matthews. - -In a version sent by Miss Chase, and told her by a London maidservant, -the children sit as in "Hunt the Slipper." One steps in a corner out of -earshot; the rest are named "Gooseberry Tart," "Cherry Tart," &c., by -another, who recalls the child in the corner with-- - - Fool, fool, come to school, - Pick me out a [cherry tart, as the case may be]. - -If he chooses the wrong one he is told-- - - Go back and learn your A, B, C. - -If rightly-- - - Take him and bake him, - And give me a piece - When he's done. - -The child is then led off in a squatting position. Later the one who -named them pretends tasting, and says, "Very nice," or "You must be -baked longer," when another squatting walk and wait takes place. - -A version sent by Mr. J. P. Emslie is similar to the other London -versions-- - - "Buy my fine honey to-day. - Which shall I buy? - Taste 'em and try. - -The child would then go round, pretending to taste, saying, 'Don't like -that one,' till one was approved. That one was then swung round to the -tune given, the words being-- - - An apple for the king and a pear for the queen, - And a good jump over the bowling green. - -At the last bar they swung the child higher and higher, and at the last -note they swung it as high as they could. I believe the last note in the -music should be G, but it was raised to give effect." - -In Scotland the game is called "Hinnie Pigs," and is played as follows. -The boys sit down in rows, hands locked beneath their hams. Round comes -one of them, the honey merchant, who feels those who are sweet and sour, -by lifting them by the arm-pits and giving them three shakes. If they -stand these without the hands unlocking below they are then sweet and -saleable, fit for being office-bearers of other ploys.--Mactaggart's -_Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -In Ross and Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ this is described as a girls' -game, in which two carry a third as a pot of honey to market. It is -mentioned by Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) and by Holland (_Cheshire -Glossary_). Mr. Holland adds, "If the hands give way before twenty is -reached it is counted a bad honey pot; if not, it is a good one." - -In Dublin the seller sings out-- - - Honey pots, honey pots, all in a row, - Twenty-five shillings wherever you go-- - Who'll buy my honey pots? - ---Mrs. Lincoln. - -The game is mentioned by a writer in _Blackwood's Magazine_, August -1821, p. 36, as being played in Edinburgh when he was a boy. - - -Hood - -A game played at Haxey, in the Isle of Axholme, on the 6th of January. -The Hood is a piece of sacking, rolled tightly up and well corded, and -which weighs about six pounds. This is taken into an open field on the -north side of the church, to be contended for by the youths assembled -for that purpose. When the Hood is about to be thrown up, the -Plough-bullocks or Boggins, as they are called, dressed in scarlet -jackets, are placed amongst the crowd at certain distances. Their -persons are sacred, and if amidst the general row the Hood falls into -the hands of one of them, the sport begins again. The object of the -person who seizes the Hood is to carry off the prize to some -public-house in the town, where he is rewarded with such liquor as he -chooses to call for. This pastime is said to have been instituted by the -Mowbrays, and that the person who furnished the Hood did so as a tenure -by which he held some land under the lord. How far this tradition may be -founded on fact I do not know, but no person now acknowledges to hold -any land by that tenure.--Stonehouse's _Isle of Axholme_, p. 291. - -W. J. Woolhouse (_Notes and Queries_, 2nd series, v. 95) says when the -Hood is thrown up by the Chief of the Boggons or by the officials, it -becomes the object of the villagers to get the Hood to their own -village, the other eleven men, called Boggons, being stationed at the -corners and sides of the field, to prevent, if possible, its being -thrown out of the field; and should it chance to fall into any of their -hands, it is "boggoned," and forthwith returned to the chief, who again -throws it up, as at the commencement of the game. The next day is -occupied by the Boggons going round the villages singing as waits, and -they are regaled with hot furmenty; from some they get coppers given -them, and from others a small measure of wheat. The day after that they -assume the character of Plough-bullocks, and at a certain part of -Westwood-side they "smoke the Fool"--that is, straw is brought by those -who like, and piled in a heap, a rope being tied or slung over the -branches of the tree next to the pile of straw; the other end of the -rope is fastened round the waist of the Fool, and he is drawn up and -fire is put to the straw, the Fool being swung to and fro through the -smoke until he is well-nigh choked, after which he goes round and -collects whatever the spectators choose to give him. The sport is then -at an end till the next year. The land left by Lady Mowbray was forty -acres, which are known by the name of "Hoodlands," and the Boggons' -dresses and the Hood are made from its proceeds. - -In the contiguous parish of Epworth a similar game is played under the -same name, but with some variations. The Hood is not here carried away -from the field, but to certain goals, against which it is struck three -times and then declared free. This is called "wyking" the Hood, which is -afterwards thrown up again for a fresh game.--_Notes and Queries_, 6th -series, vii. 148. - -See "Football," "Hockey." - - -Hoodle-cum-blind - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Baker's _Northamptonshire Glossary_. - - -Hoodman Blind - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff." Mentioned in _Hamlet_, iii. 4; _Merry Devil -of Edmonton_; and _Wise Women of Hogsden_. - - -Hooper's Hide - -Name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Nares' _Glossary_. - - -Hop-crease - -The game of "Hop-scotch."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Hop-frog - -The players bend as though about to sit on a _very low_ stool, then -spring about with their hands resting on their knees.--Dorsetshire -(_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 234). - -Miss Peacock says that a game called "Hop-frog over the Dog" is played -at Stixwould, Lincolnshire, in the same way as "Leap-frog." - -See "Curcuddie," "Cutch-a-cutchoo," "Harie Hutcheon," "Hirtschin Hairy." - - -Hop-score - -Game of "Hop-scotch."--Hunter's _Glossary of Hallamshire_. - - -Hop-scotch - -A game, the object of which is to eject a stone, slate, or "dump" out of -a form linearly marked on the ground in different directions, by hopping -without touching any of the lines.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -In the plan (fig. 8) the players first lay the stone on the back of the -hand, and _walk_ through the plan, stepping into each division, throw it -up and catch it. Then the stone is _thrown_ back from No. 7 outside No. -1. Now it is placed on the toe, and the child walks through again, -throwing up the foot when out, to catch the stone in the hand. Another -way, done on the same plan, is for the player to place the stone in No. -1, leave it there, and hop into each division and back, then place it in -No. 2, and repeat the hopping, and so on through all the figures. There -is no _kicking_ of the stone, as is usual in London.--Roxton, St. Neots -(Miss Lumley). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1. - -Fig. 2. - -Fig. 3. - -Fig. 4. - -Fig. 5. - -Fig. 6. - -Fig. 7. - -Fig. 8. - -Fig. 9. - -Fig. 10.] - -From Crockham Hill, Kent, Miss Chase sends four versions. In the first -plan (fig. 1) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1. Hop from No. 1 to -No. 5 and back. Then pick it up. So on successively. After having thrown -it into No. 5, begin to reverse by throwing stone into No. 1 while -standing at No. 5--return with it on your thumb. Throw into No. -2--return with stone on your eye. Throw into No. 3--return with stone in -your palm. Throw into No. 4--return with stone on your head. Throw into -No. 5--return with stone on your back. In each case, upon reaching the -goal without dropping it, throw up and catch it as it falls. - -In the second plan (fig. 2) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1. Pick -it up. Hop, not touching lines, from No. 1 to No. 4, and "out." Throw -stone into No. 2. Do as before. And so successively into Nos. 3 and 4. -Next balance stone on shoe, then on the palm of hand, then on the back -of hand, then on the head, then on the shoulder, then on the eye (tilt -head back to keep it from falling). In each case walk round once with it -so balanced and catch at end. - -In the third plan (fig. 3) the game is:--Put pebble in No. 1. Pick up. -Hop, having one foot in No. 2 and the other in No. 3. Step into No. 4. -Hop, having one foot in No. 5 and the other in No. 6. Jump round. Go -back as you came. Then with stone on shoe, walk through the figure, kick -it up and catch at the close. Place stone on eyelid; walk through the -same figure, dropping it off into hand at close. This is called -"jumping." - -In the fourth plan (fig. 4) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1. Pick -it up. Hop from No. 1 to No. 8, not touching lines. So successively into -Nos. 2, 3, 4, &c. Walk into No. 1 with stone on foot, and out at No. 8. -Kick it up and catch it. The same with stone on thumb. Toss it up and -catch. Again with stone on your back. Straighten up, let it slide into -your hand. - -In Stead's _Holderness Glossary_, this is described as a boys' or girls' -game, in which the pavement is chalked with numbered crossed lines, and -a pebble or piece of crockery is propelled onward by the foot, the -performer hopping on one leg, the number reached on the chalk-line being -scored to him or her. At Whitby it is called "Pally-ully," and played -with rounded pieces of pot the size of a penny. Divisions are chalked on -the pavement, and the "pally-ullies" are impelled within the lines by a -hop on one leg, and a side shuffle with the same foot (_Whitby -Glossary_). It is sometimes called "Tray-Trip." Atkinson describes the -figure as oblong, with many angular compartments (_Cleveland Glossary_). -Jamieson defines "Beds" as "Hop-scotch," a game denominated from the -form, sometimes by strangers called squares. In Aberdeen the spaces -marked out are sometimes circular. - -Mrs. Lincoln sends a diagram of the game from Dublin (fig. 6). Addy -(_Sheffield Glossary_) under the name of "Hop-score" says it is a game -in which certain squares are drawn or _scored_ on the ground. The piece -of stone which is pushed with the foot is called the "scotch." Elworthy -(_West Somerset Words_) says a piece of tile is kicked over lines and -into squares marked on the ground. It is called "Hickety-Hackety," also -"Huckety." Cope (_Hampshire Glossary_) says it is played in Hants. Moor -(_Suffolk Words and Phrases_) describes this game under the name of -"Scotch-hob," by hopping and kicking a bit of tile from bed to bed of a -diagram which he gives (fig. 5, here printed). Brockett (_North Country -Words_) calls it "Beds." Barnes (_Dorset Glossary_) only says "hopping -over a parallelogram of scotches or chalk-lines on the ground." F. H. -Low, in _Strand Magazine_, ii. 516, says the divisions are respectively -named onesie, twosie, threesie, foursie, and puddings. It is called -"Hop-bed" at Stixwold in Lincolnshire (Miss Peacock), "Hop-score" in -Yorkshire (Halliwell, l.c.), and "Hitchibed" in Cleveland, Yorks. -(_Glossary of Cleveland Words_). Strutt describes it (_Sports_, p. 383); -and Wood's _Modern Playmate_, p. 32, gives a diagram similar to one seen -on a London pavement by A. B. Gomme (see fig. 7). Mr. Emslie has sent me -figs. 9 and 10, also from London streets. Newell (_Games_, p. 188) -speaks of it as a well-known game in America. - -Mr. Elworthy (_West Somerset Words_) says, "Several of these (diagrams -marked on the ground) are still to be seen, scratched on the ancient -pavement of the Roman Forum." Mr. J. W. Crombie says, "The game of -'Hop-scotch' was one of considerable antiquity, having been known in -England for more than two centuries, and it was played all over Europe -under different names. Signor Pitre's solar explanation of its origin -appeared improbable to him, for not only was the evidence in its favour -extremely weak, but it would require the original number of divisions in -the figure to have been twelve instead of seven, which was the number -indicated by a considerable body of evidence. It would seem more -probable that the game at one time represented the progress of the soul -from earth to heaven through various intermediate states, the name given -to the last court being most frequently paradise or an equivalent, such -as crown or glory, while the names of the other courts corresponded with -the eschatological ideas prevalent in the early days of Christianity." -Some such game existed before Christianity, and Mr. Crombie considered -that it had been derived from several ancient games. Possibly the -strange myths of the labyrinths might have had something to do with -"Hop-scotch," and a variety of the game played in England, under the -name of "Round Hop-scotch," was almost identical with a game described -by Pliny as being played by the boys of his day. Mr. Crombie also said -he "believed that the early Christians adopted the general idea of the -ancient game, but they not only converted it into an allegory of heaven, -with Christian beliefs and Christian names; they Christianised the -figure also; they abandoned the heathen labyrinth and replaced it by the -form of the Basilicon, the early Christian church, dividing it into -seven parts, as they believed heaven to be divided, and placing -paradise, the inner sanctum of heaven, in the position of the altar, the -inner sanctum of their earthly church." - -See "Hap the Beds." - - -Hop, Step, and Jump - -See "Half-Hammer." - - -Hornie - -A game among children in which one of the company runs after the rest -having his hands clasped and his thumbs pushed out before him in -resemblance of horns. The first person whom he touches with his thumbs -becomes his property, joins hands with him, and aids in attempting to -catch the rest: and so on until they are all made captives. Those who -are at liberty still cry out, "Hornie, Hornie."--Lothian (Jamieson). - -Jamieson says: "Whether this play be a vestige of the very ancient -custom of assuming the appearance and skins of animals, especially in -the sports of Yule, or might be meant to symbolise the exertions made by -the devil (often called 'Hornie') in making sinful man his prey, and -employing fellow-men as his coadjutors in this work, I cannot pretend -to determine." - -See "Hunt the Staigie," "Whiddy." - - -Hornie Holes - -A game in which four play, a principal and an assistant on each side. A. -stands with his assistant at one hole, and throws what is called a Cat -(a piece of stick, and frequently a sheep's horn), with the design of -making it alight in another hole at some distance, at which B. and his -assistant stand ready to drive it aside. The bat or driver is a rod -resembling a walking-stick. - -The following unintelligible rhyme is repeated by a player on the one -side, while they on the other are gathering in the Cats, and is attested -by old people as of great antiquity:-- - - Jock, Speak, and Sandy, - W' a' their lousy train - Round about by Errinborra, - We'll never meet again. - Gae head 'im, gae hang 'im, - Gae lay 'im in the sea; - A' the birds o' the air - Will bear him companee. - With a nig-nag, widdy- [_or_ worry-] bag, - And an e'endown trail, trail; - Quoth he. - ---Jamieson. - -The game is also called "Kittie-cat." - -See "Cat and Dog," "Cudgel," "Tip-cat." - - -Horns - -"A' Horns to the Lift," a game of young people. A circle is formed round -a table, and all placing their forefingers on the table, one cries, "A' -horns to the lift! Cat's horns upmost!" If on this any one lift his -finger, he owes a wad, as cats have no horns. In the same manner, the -person who does not raise his fingers when a horned animal is named is -subjected to a forfeit.--Jamieson. - - -Hot Cockles - -At Sheffield a boy is chosen for a Stump, and stands with his back -against a wall. Another boy bends his back as in "Leapfrog," and puts -his head against the Stump. The cap of the boy who bends down is then -taken off, and put upon his back upside down. Then each of the other -boys who are playing puts the first finger of his right hand into the -cap. When all the fingers are put into the cap, these lines are sung-- - - The wind blows east, the wind blows west, - The wind blows o'er the cuckoo's nest. - Where is this poor man to go? - Over yond cuckoo's hill I O. - -Then the boy whose back is bent jumps up, and the others run away crying -out, "Hot cockles." The boy who is caught by the one whose back was -first bent has to bend his back next time, and so on.--S. O. Addy. - -At Cork a handkerchief is tied over the eyes of one of the company, who -then lays his head on a chair, and places his hand on his back with the -palm uppermost. Any of the party come behind him and give him a slap on -his hand, he in the meantime trying to discover whose hand it is that -strikes.--Miss Keane. - -"Hot Cockles" is an old game, practised especially at Christmas. One boy -sits down, and another, who is blindfolded, kneels and lays his head on -his knee, placing at the same time his open hand on his own back. He -then cries, "Hot cockles, hot!" Another then strikes his open hand, and -the sitting boy asks who strikes. If the boy guessed wrongly, he made a -forfeit; but if rightly, he was released.--_Notes and Queries_, 4th -series, ix. 262. - -The sport is noticed by Gay-- - - As at hot-cockles once I laid me down, - I felt the weighty hand of many a clown; - Buxoma gave a gentle tap, and I - Quick rose and read soft mischief in her eye. - -Halliwell describes it rather differently. The blindfolded boy lies down -on his face, and, being struck, must guess who it is that hit him. A -good part of the fun consisted in the hardness of the slaps, which were -generally given on the throne of honour. He quotes from a MS. play as -follows-- - - It is edicted that every Grobian shall play at Bamberye hott cockles - at the four festivals. - Indeed a verye usefull sport, but lately much neglected to the - mollefieinge of the flesh. - ---Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -[Illustration] - -Nares' _Glossary_ also contains quotations from works of 1639, 1653, and -1697 which illustrate the game. Mr. Addy says "that this game as played -in Sheffield is quite different from that described under the same title -in Halliwell's _Dictionary_. Aubrey (p. 30) speaks of 'Hot Cockles' as a -game played at funerals in Yorkshire, and the lines here given show that -this was the game. The lines-- - - Where is this poor man to go? - Over yond cuckoo's hill I O, - -embodies the popular belief that the soul winged its way like a bird, -and they remind one of the passing of the soul over Whinny Moor (see -funeral dirge in Aubrey's _Remains of Gentilisme_, p. 31). Grimm -mentions the cuckoo hill (Gauchsberg). He says, 'Originally in -Gauchsberg the bird himself may very well have been meant in a mystic -sense which has fallen dark to us now' (_Teut. Myth._, ii. 681). We -know, too, the old belief that the cuckoo tells children how many years -they have to live. These lines are also sometimes said, in addition to -those given above-- - - Elder belder, limber lock, - Three wives in a clock; - Sit and sing, and call a spring, - O-u-t spells out. - -The boy who bends down is supposed to be undergoing a great penalty." -Strutt (_Sports_, p. 394) describes this game, and gives an illustration -which is here reproduced from the original MSS. in the Bodleian. - -This game may have originated from a custom at funerals of practising -spells for the safe and speedy passage of the departing spirit to its -destination, or from divination mysteries to foretell who would be the -next among the mourners to follow the dead body to the grave. The spirit -of prophecy was believed to exist in a dying person. See "Handy -Croopen." - - -How many Miles to Babylon - - I. King and Queen of Cantelon, - How many miles to Babylon? - Eight and eight and other eight. - Will I get there by candle-light? - If your horse be good and your spurs be bright. - How mony men have ye? - Mae nae ye daur come and see. - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 124; Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_. - - II. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Will we be there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open your gates and let us go through. - Not without a beck and a boo. - There's a beck, and there's a boo, - Open your gates and let us go through. - ---Nairn, Scotland (Rev. W. Gregor). - - III. How far to Banbury Cross? - Four score and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs are long and light. - Please to let me go? - Not without you bend and bow [pronounced bo]. - Here's my bend [curtseys], - And here's my bow [touches forehead], - Now will you let me go? - ---Fernham and Longcot (Miss I. Barclay). - - IV. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Can we get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open your gates as wide as you can, - And let King George and his family go through. - Not without a back, not without a bow, - Not without a curtsey, and then I'll let you through. - ---South Shields (Miss Blair). - - V. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Can I get there o' candle-light? - There and back again. - Here's my black [raising one foot], - And here's my blue [raising the other], - Open the gates and let me through. - ---Annaverna, Ravendale, co. Louth, Ireland (Miss R. Stephen). - - VI. How many miles to Barney Bridge? - Three score and ten. - Will I be there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs are long. - A curtsey to you, another to you, - If you please will you let the king's horses go through? - Yes, but take care of your hindmost man. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - VII. How many miles to Gandigo? - Eighty-eight almost, or quite. - Can I [we] get there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs are long and light. - Open the gate as high as the sky, - And let the king and his queen go by. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 230, 231). - - VIII. How many miles to Banbury? - Three score and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - But mind the old witch doesn't catch you. - ---London (Miss Dendy). - - IX. How many miles to Barley Bridge? - Three score and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, if your legs be long. - A courtesy to you, and a courtesy to you, - If you please will you let the king's horses through? - Through and through shall they go, - For the king's sake; - But the one that is the hindmost - Will meet with a great mistake. - ---Halliwell's _Popular Rhymes_, p. 217. - - X. How many miles to Barney Bridge? - Three score and ten. - Will I be there by Candlemass? - Yes, and back again. - A curtsey to you, another to you, - And pray, fair maids, will you let us through? - Thro' and thro' shall you go for the king's sake, - But take care the last man does not meet a mistake. - ---Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). - - XI. How many miles to Burslem? - Three score and ten. - Can we get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open the gates so wide, so wide, - And let King George aside, aside; - The night is so dark we cannot see, - Thread the needle and go through. - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore). - - XII. How many miles to Banbury Cross? - Three score and ten. - Shall we get there by midnight? - Yes, if you run well. - Then open your gates as wide as the sky, - And let King George and his men pass by. - It is so dark we cannot see, so thread the needle Nancy, - Thread the needle Nancy. - One, two, three. - ---Warwick (from a little girl living near Warwick, through Mr. C. C. -Bell). - - XIII. How many miles to London? - Three score ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, and back again. - Open the gate and let me through. - Not unless you're black and blue. - Here's my black and here's my blue, - Open the gates and let me through. - Dan, Dan, thread the needle; Dan, Dan, sew. - ---_Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 63. - - XIV. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Shall I be there by candle-light? - Yes, there and back again. - Open the gates as wide as high, - And let King George and his family pass by. - ---Wales (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 88). - - { Barley Bridge? - XV. How many miles to { Banbury? - { London? - Four score and ten [_or_, Fifty miles and more]. - Shall we be there by candle-light? - Oh, yes, and back again. - [_Or, at Market Drayton._ - Shift your feet with nimble light, - And you'll be there by candle-light.] - Open the gates as wide as the sky, - And let King George and his lady go by. - ---Market Drayton, Ellesmere, Whitchurch, (Burne's _Shropshire -Folk-lore_, p. 522). - - XVI. How many miles to Bethlehem? - Three score and ten. - Shall we get there by candle-light? - Yes, there and back again. - So open the gates and let King George and his family go - through. - ---Hayton, near York (H. Hardy). - - XVII. How far is it to Babylon? - Three score miles and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes, there and back again. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XVIII. How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Can you get there by candle-light? - O yes, and back again. - ---Hanbury, Staffordshire (Miss E. Hollis). - - XIX. Open the gates as wide as high, - And let King George and I go by; - It is so dark I cannot see - To thread my grandmother's needle. - ---Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 88). - -(_b_) There are two methods of playing this game, one in which a King -and Queen are represented, and the other in which gates of a city are -represented. Of the first Chambers and Mactaggart practically give the -same account. The latter says, "Two of the swiftest boys are placed -between two 'doons' or places of safety; these, perhaps, are two hundred -yards distant. All the other boys stand in one of these places or doons, -when the two fleet youths come forward and address them with the rhyme. -When out, they run in hopes to get to Babylon or the other doon, but -many get not near that place before they are caught by the runners, who -'taens' them, that is, lay their hands upon their heads, when they are -not allowed to run any more in that game, that is, until they all be -taened or taken." - -The Norfolk game seems to resemble the Scotch, though in a much less -complete form. Miss Matthews describes it as follows:--"A line of -children is formed, and the two standing opposite it sing the questions, -to which the line reply; then the two start off running in any direction -they please, and the others try to catch them." - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -The second method of playing is best described by the Rev. Walter -Gregor, from the Nairn game, which is known as "The Gates of Babylon." -Mr. Gregor writes as follows:--"This game may be played either by boys -or girls. Two of the players join hands, and stand face to face, with -their hands in front as if forming a gate. Each of these has a secret -name. The other players form themselves into a line by clasping each -other round the waist from behind. They go up to the two that form the -gate, and the leader asks the first question, as in version No. 2. The -dialogue then proceeds to the end. The two then lift their arms as high -as they can, still joined, and the line of players passes through. All -at once the two bring their arms down on one and make him (or her) -prisoner. The prisoner is asked in a whisper, so as not to disclose the -secret name, which of the two is to be chosen. The one so captured takes -his (or her) stand behind the one chosen. The same process is gone -through till all the players are taken captive, and have stationed -themselves behind the one or the other of the two forming the gate. The -last one of the line goes through three times. The first time the word -'breakfast' is pronounced; the second time 'dinner;' and the third time -'supper.' The player then chooses a side. The two sides have then a tug -of war. The game ends at this point with girls. With boys the conquered -have to run the gauntlet. The victors range themselves in two lines, -each boy with his cap or handkerchief tightly plaited in his hand, and -pelt with all their might the vanquished as they run between the lines. -The boys of Nairn call this running of the gauntlet, 'through fire an' -watter.'" - -The method of playing the Warwick, Fernham, and Louth versions is -practically the same. The children stand in half-circle beginning with -the two tallest at either end. All clasp hands. The two at one end -question those at the other end alternately (fig. 1). At the last line -the two that have been answering hold their hands up to form a bridge, -and all the others thread through, still holding hands (the bridge -advancing slowly) (fig. 2). The Louth version is also sometimes played -as "Oranges and Lemons." This is also the case with the Belfast, South -Shields, Ellesmere, and Dublin versions. Miss Burne also gives a second -method of playing this game at Ellesmere: she says, "The whole number of -players stand in two rows facing each other, each player joining hands -with the one opposite. The pair at the lower end parley with the pair at -the top, and then run under the extended arms of the others, receiving -thumps on the back as they go, till they reach the upper end, and become -the top couple in their turn." The Hanbury version is played in a -similar way. Two lines stand close together holding handkerchiefs -across. The questions are asked and answered by the top and bottom -players. Then two children run under the line of handkerchiefs. The -Dorset version is played by as many as like standing, two and two, -opposite each other, each of them taking with the right hand the right -hand of the other; then the two that are the King and Queen say or sing -the first question, to which the others reply, and the dialogue ends in -this manner. Then all the other pairs hold up their hands as high as -they can, and the King and Queen run through the archway and back again, -and so on with the next pair, and other pairs in turn. The Isle of Man -version is played, Mr. Moore says, the same as other "Thread the Needle" -games. - -(_c_) The game is evidently dramatic in form, and perhaps is -illustrative of some fact of history, such as the toll upon merchandise -entering a walled town. The changes in the words of the different -versions are not very great, but they show the influence of modern -history upon the game. The appearance of King George evidently points to -the date when it was frequently played, though the older versions are -doubtless those in which his Majesty does not do duty. Mactaggart has -the following quaint note which perhaps may supply the origin, though it -seems a far cry to the Crusaders:--"This sport has something methinks of -antiquity in it; it seemeth to be a pantomime of some scenes played off -in the time of the Crusades. 'King and Queen o' Cantilon' evidently must -be King and Queen of Caledon, but slightly changed by time. Then Babylon -in the rhyme, the way they had to wander and hazard being caught by the -infidels, all speak as to the foundation of the game" (Mactaggart's -_Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_). - -In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for December 1849, in a review of the -_Life of Shirley_, it is stated that in many parts of England the old -game of "Thread the Needle" is played to the following words, which -refer to the gate of the city of Hebron, known as the "needle's eye." - - How many miles to Hebron? - Three score and ten. - Shall I be there by midnight? - Yes, and back again. - Then thread the needle, &c. - -The game is also described in _Notes and Queries_, iv. 141, as played in -the same way as above, and the writer adds there are subsequent -evolutions by which each couple becomes in succession the eye of the -needle. - - -Howly - -A street game played by boys in a town, one of them hiding behind a wall -or house-end, and crying "Howly" to the seekers.--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -Huckie-buckie down the Brae - -Children in Lothian have a sport in which they slide down a hill, -sitting on their hunkers (Jamieson). The well-known custom at Greenwich -is probably the same game, and there are examples at Tumbling Hill, a -few miles from Exeter, at May Pole Hill, near Gloucester, and other -places. - - -Huckle-bones - -Holloway (_Dict. of Provincialisms_) says that the game is called -"Huckle-bones" in East Sussex and "Dibs" in West Sussex. Parish (_Dict. -of Sussex Dialect_) mentions that huckle-bones, the small bone found in -the joint of the knee of a sheep, are used by children for playing the -game of "Dibs;" also Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_. Barnes -(_Dorset Glossary_) says, "A game of toss and catch, played mostly by -two with five dibs or huckle-bones of a leg of mutton, or round pieces -of tile or slate." Halliwell's description is clearly wrong. He says it -was a game formerly played by throwing up the hip-bone of some animal, -on one side of which was a head of Venus and on the other that of a dog. -He who turned up the former was the winner (_Dictionary_). Miss J. -Barker writes that "Huckle-bones" is played in Hexham; and Professor -Attwell (Barnes) played the game as a boy, and is still a proficient in -it; he played it recently for my benefit with his set of real -huckle-bones (A. B. Gomme); and see _Notes and Queries_, 9th ser., iv. -378, 379. - -The figures or sets are practically the same as those described under -"Fivestones." The game is very ancient. In the _Sanctuarie of -Salvation_, &c., translated from the Latin of Levinus Lemnius by Henry -Kinder (8vo, London, printed by H. Singleton), p. 144, we read, "These -bones are called 'huckle-bones' or 'coytes.'" For further information -relating to this game, as played by the ancients, the reader may consult -_Joannis Meursii Ludibunda, sive de Ludis Graecorum, Liber singularis_ -(8vo, Lugd. Bat. 1625), p. 7, and _Dan. Souterii Palamedes_, p. 81; but -more particularly, _I Tali ed altri Strumenti lusori degli antichi -Romani, discritti da Francesco de 'Ficoroni_, 4to, Rom. 1734. Against -the suggestion that the modern game is derived directly from the -Romans, is the fact that it is known in countries never traversed or -occupied by the Romans. Thus Dr. Clarke, in his _Travels in Russia_, -1810, p. 106, says: "In all the villages and towns from Moscow to -Woronetz, as in other parts of Russia, are seen boys, girls, and -sometimes even old men, playing with the joint-bones of sheep. This game -is called 'Dibbs' by the English. It is of very remote antiquity; for I -have seen it very beautifully represented on Grecian vases; particularly -on a vase in the collection of the late Sir William Hamilton, where a -female figure appeared most gracefully delineated kneeling upon one -knee, with her right arm extended, the palm downwards, and the bones -ranged along the back of her hand and arm. In this manner the Russians -play the game." - -See "Dalies," "Fivestones." - - -Hummie - -The game otherwise called "Shinty." The shinty or hummie is played by a -set of boys in two divisions who attempt to drive with curved sticks a -ball, or what is more common, part of the vertebral bone of a sheep, in -opposite directions (_Blackwood's Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36). If one -of the adverse party happens to stand or run among his opponents, they -call out "Hummie, keep on your own side."--Jamieson. - - -Hundreds - -A game at marbles, which is carried on until one of the players scores -100 or some other high number agreed upon. Any number can play, but it -is best described for two players, A. and B. First the players taw up to -a hole; if both get in, they repeat the process until one is left out, -say B.; then A. counts 10. Should both fail, the nearest goes first. He -may now lay his taw about the hole or fire at the other, on hitting -which he counts another 10. He now goes for the hole again, and failing, -lies where he happens to stop. If he misses, B. from his present -position tries to get into the hole, and failing, lies still; but if he -reaches the hole, he counts 10, and proceeds as A. had done. The one who -first gets the 100 (or other number) now goes in for his "pizings," -which performance takes place thus:--The loser, so far, is lying about, -and the winner goes back to "drakes," and again tries to lodge in the -hole; and if he succeeds, the game is up. If not, he lies still, and the -loser tries for the hole; if he gets in he counts another 10, or if he -should succeed in hitting the winner he scores his adversary's 100 to -his own number, and then goes on for his "pizings" as the other had -done. In failure of either securing the game thus, the process is -repeated at "drakes." When, however, the one who is on for his "pizings" -manages to taw into the hole, the game is concluded.--Easther's -_Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. - - -Hunt the Hare - -A game among children, played on the ice as well as in the fields -(Brockett's _North Country Words_). Strutt (_Sports_, p. 381) says "Hunt -the Hare" is the same game as "Hunt the Fox." In this game one boy is -permitted to run out, and having law given to him--that is, being -permitted to go to a certain distance from his comrades before they -pursue him--their object is to take him, if possible, before he can -return home. - -See "Hare and Hounds." - - -Hunt the Slipper - -[Music] - ---Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - -All the players but one sit on the floor in a circle with their legs -crossed (Turkish fashion), one acting as Chief, all pretending to work -at making or mending shoes. The other player brings a slipper to the -Chief Cobbler, and desires it to be mended, saying-- - - Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, - Get it done by half-past two. - -The child walks away, and returns in a few moments and asks whether the -shoe is ready. The Cobbler says, "Not quite; call again in an hour's -time," or makes any other excuse which occurs to him. When the child -calls again, she is told it has been sent home. After several pretences -the child declares an intention to search for it. The Cobblers in the -ring then all place their hands under their knees, and pass the slipper -secretly from one to another in such a way as to prevent the owner of -the shoe getting it for some time. The Cobbler from whom the slipper is -taken becomes the owner next time (Barnes, A. B. Gomme). In the -Nottinghamshire version (Miss Peacock) the rhyme is-- - - Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, - Give it a stitch and that will do. - -Versions from Wakefield, Liphook, Ellesmere, and other places are -practically the same as the Barnes game, but Mr. Udal gives an -elaboration of the Dorsetshire game in the _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. -238. One Lancashire version (Miss Dendy) reverses the characters by -making the Cobbler run round the ring, and the children requiring the -shoe to be mended, call out, "Blackie, come mend my slipper." Mrs. -Harley, in another Lancashire version, gives the words sung to the tune -printed as-- - - Pass on, pass on, passy on the slipper; - The best fun we ever had was passing on the slipper. - -Holloway (_Dict. of Provincialisms_) says this game was well known in -Somerset, Hants, Sussex, but now is almost out of fashion. He describes -it as being played without words. The child who has to find the shoe -stands in the centre of the circle. The chief amusement arises from the -one in the circle who has the slipper striking the one who stands up -(the searcher) while he or she is steadily looking for it in an opposite -direction. Strutt (_Sports_, p. 387) also describes this game. - - -Hunt the Staigie - -A boys' game. One is chosen to be the Staigie (little stallion). The -other players scatter themselves over the playground. The Staigie locks -his fingers into each other. He then repeats the words-- - - Hunt the Staigie, - Huntie, untie, staige, - Ailleman, ailleman, aigie, - -and rushes off with his hands locked, and tries to touch one of the -players. He must not unlock his hands till he has caught one. When he -has captured one, the two join hands and hunt for another. When another -is caught, he joins the two. This goes on till all are hunted -down.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -[Illustration] - -See "Chickidy Hand," "Whiddy." - - -Hunting - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Epworth (C. C. Bell). - - I. Oh, a-hunting we will go, a-hunting we will go; - We'll catch a little fox and put him in a box, - And never let him go. - ---Bath (Miss Large). - - II. Hunting we will go, brave boys, - Hunting we will go; - We'll catch an old fox - And put him in a box, - For a-hunting we will go. - Halt! shoulder arms! fire! - ---Horncastle, North Kelsey, Lincoln (Miss Peacock). - - III. O have you seen the Shah, - O have you seen the Shah? - He lights his pipe on a star-light night, - O have you seen the Shah? - For a-hunting we will go, - A-hunting we will go; - We'll catch a fox and put him in a box, - A-hunting we will go. - ---Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. Bell). - -(_b_) The players march two by two, all singing. The first pair let go -hands, separate, and skip widely apart, still singing. Gradually, in -this manner, two separate lines are formed, until, following each other -and singing, the pairs come together again, join hands, and march and -sing in couplets linked. - -The Bath game is played by the children standing in two rows facing each -other, and clapping hands and singing the verse. At the same time the -two children facing each other at the top of the lines join hands and -trip down and up between the lines. Their hands are unclasped, and the -two children run down the outside of the lines, one running on each -side, and meet at the bottom of the lines, where they stand. The two -children now standing at the top proceed in the same way: this is -continued until all the children have done the same. A ring is then -formed, when the children again clap and sing. Any number can play at -this game. - -In the Epworth version the children range themselves in double rank at -one end of the room or playground, and march down to the other end hand -in hand. At the bottom they loose hands and divide, the first rank -turning right, the second left, and march back in two single files to -the other end again, where they re-form as at first, and repeat their -man[oe]uvre, singing the verses alternately. - -The Lincolnshire game is played by the children walking two and two in a -circle round one of their companions, singing. The players then stand -facing the child in the centre, and place their hands on their partners' -shoulders. After the lines are sung the centre child cries out, "Halt! -Shoulder arms! Fire!" at which words each child kisses his partner. If -the commander sees any one hesitate, or avoid kissing, he runs forward -and takes the defaulter's place, leaving him to fill the middle -position. - -Similar versions are played at Earls Heaton (Mr. Hardy), Forest of Dean -(Miss Matthews), Ellesmere (Burne, _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 574), -Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 386). - - -Hurling - -A game played with a ball. The players are divided into two equal -parties, each of which tries to secure and keep the ball in their -possession. The prize is a ball made of cork, covered with -silver.--Courtney's _West Cornwall Glossary_. - -In Taylor's _Antiquitates Curiosae_, p. 144, it is stated:--"The game of -hurling consisted in throwing or hurling a ball of wood about three -inches in diameter, and covered with plated silver, sometimes gilt. On -the ball was frequently a Cornish motto allusive to the game, and -signifying that fair play was best. Success depended on catching the -ball dexterously when dealt, and conveying it away through all the -opposition of the adverse party, or, if that was impossible, to throw it -into the hands of a partner, who, in his turn, was to exert his utmost -efforts to convey it to his own goal, which was often three or four -miles distant from that of his adversaries." - -T. Durfey's _Collin's Walk through London_, 1690, p. 192, says: "Hurling -is an ancient sport us'd to this day in the countys of Cornwall and -Devon, when once a year the hardy young fellows of each county meet; and -a cork ball thinly plated with silver being thrown up between 'em, they -run, bustle, and fight for it, to the witty dislocating of many a -shrew'd neck, or for the sport of telling how bravely their arms or legs -came to be broke, when they got home." It is fully described by Carew -in his _Survey of Cornwall_, 1602, p. 73. - -It is also a very ancient Irish game, and Mr. Kinahan says: "Many places -are called after it: such as, Killahurla, the hurlers' church; -Gortnahurla, the field of the hurlers; Greenanahurla, the sunny place of -the hurlers; this, however, is now generally corrupted into -hurling-green. The hurling-green where the famous match was played by -the people of Wexford against those of Cather (now divided into the -counties of Carlow and Wicklow), and where the former got the name of -yellow bellies, from the colour of the scarfs they wore round their -waist, is a sunny flat on the western side of North Wicklow Gap, on the -road from Gorey to Trinnahely. There are also many other different names -that record the game."--_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 266. - -See "Bandy," "Camp," "Football," "Hockey," "Hood," "Shinty." - - -Hurly-burly - -An undescribed boys' game. In it the following rhyme is used-- - - Hurly-burly, trumpy trace, - The cow stands in the market-place; - Some goes far, and some goes near, - Where shall this poor sinner steer? - ---Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - -For a similar rhyme see "Hot Cockles." - - -Huss - -Children play a game which is accompanied by a song beginning-- - - Hussing and bussing will not do, - But go to the gate, knock, and ring-- - Please, Mrs. Brown, is Nellie within? - ---Parish's _Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect_. - - -Hustle Cap - -A boys' game, played by tossing up halfpence. It is mentioned in -_Peregrine Pickle_, cap. xvi. Cope (_Hampshire Glossary_) says, -"Halfpence are placed in a cap and thrown up, a sort of -'pitch-and-toss.'" - - -Hynny-pynny - -A peculiar game at marbles, sometimes called "Hyssy-pyssy," played -in some parts of Devon and Somerset. A hole of some extent was made -in an uneven piece of ground, and the game was to shoot the marbles -at some object beyond the hole without letting them tumble into it. -The game occasionally commenced by a ceremony of no very delicate -description, which sufficed to render the fallen marble still more -ignominious.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Isabella - -[Music] - ---Ogbourne, Wilts (H. S. May). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - I. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted - I left you broken-hearted, - And on a green mountain, - There stands a young man. - - Could you love him? - Could you love him? - Could you love him? Farewell! - - Choose one, love, - Choose one, love, - Choose one, love, Farewell! - - Take a walk, love, - Take a walk, love, - Take a walk, love, Farewell! - - In the ring, love, - In the ring, love, - In the ring, love, Farewell! - - Put the ring on, - Put the ring on, - Put the ring on, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, Farewell! - - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, Farewell! - ---Enborne, Newbury (M. Kimber). - - II. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when I departed - I left her broken-hearted; - Upon the steep mountain - There stands a young man. - - Who'll you choose, love? - Who'll you choose, love? - Who'll you choose, love? Farewell! - - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Say your prayers, love, - Say your prayers, love, - Say your prayers, love, Farewell! - - Put your ring on, - Put your ring on, - Put your ring on, Farewell! - - Come back, love, - Come back, love, - Come back, love, Farewell! - - Roast beef and plum pudding, - Roast beef and plum pudding, - Roast beef and plum pudding, - For our dinner to-day. - - Kiss together, love, - Kiss together, love, - Kiss together, love, Farewell! - ---Ogbourne, Wilts (H. S. May). - - III. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when I departed - I left you broken-hearted - Broken-hearted on the mountain, - On the mountain, Farewell! - - Choose your loved one, choose your loved one, - Choose your loved one, Farewell! - - Kiss your hand, love, kiss your hand, love, - Kiss your hand, love, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Say your prayers, love, say your prayers, love, - Say your prayers, love, Farewell! - - Come to dinner, love, come to dinner, love, - Come to dinner, love, Farewell! - - What have you for dinner, for dinner, for dinner, - What have you for dinner, for dinner to-day? - - Roast beef and plum pudding, plum pudding, plum pudding, - Roast beef and plum pudding, plum pudding to-day. - ---Southampton (Mrs. W. R. Carse). - - IV. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night I met you downhearted and sad, - And down by the river I met your young man. - - Choose a lover, choose a lover, - Choose a lover, Farewell! - - Walk to church, love, walk to church, love, - Walk to church, love, Farewell! - - Come to the ring, love, come to the ring, love, - Come to the ring, love, Farewell! - - Give a kiss, love, give a kiss, love, - Give a kiss, love, Farewell! - ---West Grinstead, Sussex (_Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, i. 249, Miss -Busk). - - V. Arabella! - Arabella! - Arabella! Farewell! - - Last night when we parted - I left you broken-hearted - Down by the mill-side. - - Who'll you have, love? - Who'll you have, love? - Who'll you have, love? Farewell! - - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Come back, love, - Come back, love, - Come back, love, Farewell! - - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, - Shake hands, love, Farewell! - - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, Farewell! - ---Platt School, near Wrotham, Kent (Miss Burne). - - VI. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted - I left you broken-hearted, - And on the green meadow - You was standing alone. - - Choose a sweetheart, choose a sweetheart, - Choose a sweetheart, fair maid. - - Take her hand, love, take her hand, love, - Take her hand, love, fair maid. - - Kneel down, love, kneel down, love, - Kneel down, love, fair maid. - - Take a kiss, love, take a kiss, love, - Take a kiss, love, fair maid. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy, - Seven years after son and daughter; - Pray, young couple, come kiss together. - - Kiss her once, kiss her twice, kiss her three times over. - ---From a London nursemaid, 1878 (A. B. Gomme). - - VII. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted - I believed you broken-hearted, - As on the green mountain - You stands [_qy._ sang] like a lark. - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - In the ring, love, in the ring, love, - In the ring, love, Farewell! - - Give a kiss, love, give a kiss, love, - Give a kiss, love, Farewell! - - Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - ---Fernham and Longcot (Miss I. Barclay). - - VIII. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when I departed I left her broken-hearted; - On the hill yonder there stands your young man. - - Fetch him here, love, fetch him here, love, - Fetch him here, love, Farewell! - - Shut the gates, love, shut the gates, love, - Shut the gates, love, Farewell! - - Open the gates, love, open the gates, love, - Open the gates, love, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell! - - Show your ring, love, show your ring, love, - Show your ring, love, Farewell! - ---Hanbury, Staffs. (Miss E. Hollis). - - IX. The trees are uncovered, uncovered, uncovered, - The trees are uncovered, Isabella, for me! - - Last night when we parted we were all broken-hearted, - Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, for me! - - Then give me your hand, love, your hand, love, your hand, - love, - Then give me your hand, love, and a sweet kiss from you. - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - X. When the trees are uncovered, Isabellow, for me. - Last night when we parted - She was nigh broken-hearted, - Isabellow, Isabellow, Isabellow, for me. - - Your hand, love, your hand, love, - Then give me your hand, love, - Take a sweet kiss from me. - ---Winterton, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire (Miss Peacock). - - XI. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! - Last night when we parted I left you broken-hearted, - And down by the river you saw your young man. - - In the stream, love, in the stream, love, - In the stream, love, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, go to church, love, - Go to church, love, Farewell. - - In the ring, love, in the ring, love, - In the ring, love, Farewell! - ---Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire (Miss Youngman). - - XII. Elizabella, Farewell! - Last night as we parted - She left me broken-hearted, - And on a green mountain - She looked like a dove. - - Choose your loved one, - Choose your loved one, - Choose your loved one, Farewell! - - Go to church, love, Farewell! - Say your prayers, love, Farewell! - In the ring, love, Farewell! - - Shake hands, loves, - Shake hands, loves, Farewell! - - Give a kiss, loves, - Give a kiss, loves, Farewell! - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - XIII. Last night when we parted - She was nigh broken-hearted, - To-morrow we gather - And a bright welcome be. - Then give me your hand, love, - Your hand, love, your hand, love, - Then give me your hand, love, - Isabella for me. - Isabella, Isabella, - Isabella for me. - ---North Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) In the Enborne, Newbury, version (Miss Kimber) a ring is formed by -the children (boys and girls) joining hands. Another child stands in the -centre. The ring of children walk round while singing the verses. The -singing is confined to the ring. When the centre child is told to -"choose," she selects a boy from the ring, who goes into the centre and -they stand together. At the next verse these two children walk out of -the ring arm-in-arm. When the next verse is sung they return, and again -stand in the centre. At the next verse the boy pretends to put a ring on -the girl's finger. They walk out of the ring when told to go to church -(two children in the ring unclasping hands to let them walk out, and -again clasping hands after they return), and kiss each other and shake -hands when the two next verses are sung. The child who was first in the -centre then joins the ring, and the game proceeds in the same way with -the second child, who chooses in his turn. All the other versions follow -the same rules, suiting their actions to the words, except Ogbourne, -Wilts, in which the two children in the centre sing the verse, "roast -beef and plum pudding." They stand face to face, take hold of each -other's hands, and sway their arms from side to side. The ring then sing -the concluding verse. In those versions where "say your prayers" and -"kneel down" occur, the two centre children kneel, and hold their open -hands together in front of them to imitate a book. In the London version -(A. B. Gomme) a handkerchief was laid on the ground, and the two -children stood on each side of it and clasped hands across it. In the -Fernham and Longcot version the one child leads the other out of the -ring at "go to church," with a graceful half-dancing motion, and back -again in the same way. The first child joins the ring while the refrain -is sung. In the Hanbury version the centre child pretends to be weeping; -another child stands outside the ring and goes into it; when the two -meet they kiss. In the North Derbyshire version (Mr. S. O. Addy) a ring -is formed of young men and women, a young man being in the centre. He -chooses a young woman at the singing of the fifth line, and then joins -the ring, the girl remaining in the centre. - -(_c_) The tunes of all versions are very similar. The tune of the -Newbury game (Miss Kimber) is the same as the _first_ part of the -Ogbourne tune printed (Mr. H. S. May); that from Nottingham (Miss -Youngman) is the same as the first part of the London version. This is -also the case with the Hanbury, Staffs. (Miss E. Hollis) and Fernham and -Longcot game. What difference there is is very slight. The Platt, Kent, -game (Miss Burne), is sung to the same tune as "Green Gravel," given -_ante_, p. 170. The _first_ portion only of the tune is repeated for all -verses sung after the first verse. The Barnes game is sung to the same -tune as the Earls Heaton (Mr. Hardy), which is printed _ante_. A version -played at Barnes is almost identical with the Southampton version, and -another collected by Miss Thoyts in Berkshire (_Antiquary_, vol. xxvii. -p. 193) is similar to the Hanbury version. The first lines run--Choose -your lover; Open the gates; Go to church, love; Kneel down, love; Say -your prayers, love; Put on the ring; Stand up, love; In the ring, love; -Kiss together, love. - -(_d_) The words of all the versions are sufficiently similar to analyse -without a special form. The game appears to be purely a love and -marriage game, and has probably had its origin in a ballad, and this -idea is strengthened by the fact that only one version (London) has the -marriage formula sung at the end, and this is probably an arbitrary -addition. The lover is represented as lonely and disconsolate, and the -remedy suggested is to choose a sweetheart. The marriage ceremony is of -the simplest description--the clasping of hands and the kissing within -the circle probably implying the betrothal at a spot sacred to such -functions, similar to the Standing Stones of Stenness. Whatever may have -been the original intention of these stones, they came in more recent -times to be the resort of lovers, who joined their right hands through -the hole in the altar stones in the belief that this ceremony would add -additional solemnity to the betrothal. Miss Gordon Cumming, in her _Tour -in the Hebrides_, mentions the fact of the marriage ceremony being of -the simplest--a man and woman standing facing each other and clasping -hands over a particular stone. Walking arm-in-arm is a sign in -Dorsetshire that a couple are married. The mention of the "roast beef -and plum pudding" for dinner has probably had its origin in the wedding -dinner or breakfast, and the inviting of friends to assemble for the -wedding dinner. The word "Isabella" may have been originally something -quite different from the name of a girl. I am inclined to think the word -was not the name of a person at all; possibly it was something addressed -to a particular person in words the sense of which are now lost, and the -nearest idea to it was this name. The same thing may also apply to the -word "farewell," and hence the incongruity of the first few lines in -nearly all versions. - - -Jack's Alive. - -A number of people sit in a row, or on chairs round a parlour. A -lighted wooden spill or taper is handed to the first, who says-- - - Jack's alive, and likely to live; - If he dies in your hand you've a forfeit to give. - -The one in whose hand the light expires has to pay a forfeit. As the -spill is getting burnt out the lines are said very quickly, as everybody -is anxious not to have to pay the forfeit.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -At Egan, in Derbyshire, a number of persons sit round a fire; one of -them lights a stick, twirls it round, and says-- - - Little Nanny Cockerthaw, - What if I should let her fa'? - -The others reply-- - - Nine sticks and nine stones - Shall be laid on thy bare back bones - If thou shouldst let fa' - Little Nanny Cockerthaw. - -If the ember or lighted stick goes out whilst any one is twirling it -round, and whilst the lines are being said, he has to lie on the floor, -when stones, chairs, or other articles of furniture are piled upon -him.--S. O. Addy. - -Mactaggart calls it "Preest Cat," and says that it is an ingleside game. -A piece of stick is made red in the fire; one hands it to another, -saying-- - - About wi' that, about wi' that, - Keep alive the preest cat. - -Then round is handed the stick, and whomsoever's hand it goes out in, -that one is in a wad, and must kiss the crook, the cleps, and what not, -ere he gets out of it. - - Lilly cuckoo, lilly cuckoo, - Sticks and stanes lie at thy weary banes - If thou fa', for a' I blaw, - Lilly cuckoo, lilly cuckoo. - -This rhyme is common in the "Preest Cat" sport toward the border. -Anciently, when the priest's cat departed this life, wailing began in -the country side, as it was thought it became some supernatural being--a -witch, perhaps, of hideous form--so to keep it alive was a great -matter.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -He also refers to a game called "Robin-a-Ree," much like "Preest Cat," -only in passing the burnt stick round the ring the following rhyme is -said-- - - Robin-a-Ree, ye'll no dee wi' me, - Tho' I birl ye roun' three times and three; - O Robin-a-Ree, O Robin-a-Ree, - O dinna let Robin-a-Reerie dee. - -Robin-a-Ree occurs in an old song.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian -Encyclopaedia_. - -In Cornwall it is known as "Robin's a-light," and is played around the -fire. A piece of stick is set on fire and whirled around rapidly in the -hand of the first player, who says, "Robin's a-light, and if he go out I -will saddle your back." It is then passed to the next, who says the same -thing, and so on. The person who lets the spark die out has to pay a -forfeit.--Scilly (Courtney's West _Cornwall Glossary_). A rhyme at -Lostwithiel is known as follows-- - - Jack's alive, and likely to live; - If he die in my hand a pawn (forfeit) I'll give. - ---(J. W.) - -Jamieson (_Dictionary_) says, "To do 'Dingle-dousie,' a stick is ignited -at one end and given as a plaything to a child." Elworthy (_West -Somerset Words_) does not give this as a game, but says a burning stick -was whirled round and round very quickly, so as to keep up the -appearance of a ribbon of fire. Miss Burne (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. -530), says, "Children wave a burning stick in the air, saying-- - - A girdle o' gold, a saddle o' silk, - A horse for me as white as milk, - -an evident relic of divinations or incantations practised with -bonfires." Halliwell (_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 213) gives the rhyme as-- - - Jack's alive, and in very good health, - If he dies in your hand you must look to yourself; - -the game being played in the same way as the Sheffield version (see also -Halliwell's _Dictionary_ and Moor's _Suffolk Words_). - -(_b_) This is a very significant game, and its similarity in miniature -to the old tribal custom of carrying the fiery cross to rouse the clans -at once suggests the possible origin of it. The detention of the fiery -cross through neglect or other impediment was regarded with much dread -by the inhabitants of the place in which it should occur. This subject -is discussed in _Gomme's Primitive Folkmoots_, p. 279 _et seq._ - - -Jack, Jack, the Bread's a-burning - - Jack, Jack, the bread's a-burning, - All to a cinder; - If you don't come and fetch it out - We'll throw it through the winder. - -These lines are chanted by players that stand thus. One places his back -against a wall, tree, &c., grasping another, whose back is toward him, -round the waist; the second grasps a third, and so on. The player called -Jack walks apart until the conclusion of the lines. Then he goes to the -others and pokes at or pats them, saying, "I don't think you're done -yet," and walks away again. The chant is repeated, and when he is -satisfied that the bread is "done" he endeavours to pull the foremost -from the grasp of the others, &c.--Warwickshire (Northall's _Folk -Rhymes_, p. 390). - -See "Mother Mop." - - -Jack upon the Mopstick - -See "Bung the Bucket." - - -Jackysteauns - -A game among school-girls, played with small pebbles, and sometimes with -plum or cherry stones (Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_). "A children's -game, played with five white pebbles called Jackstones," says Mr. -Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_). The game is called "Jack." - -See "Fivestones," "Hucklebones." - - -Jauping Paste-eggs - -A youthful amusement in Newcastle and the neighbourhood at Easter. One -boy, holding an egg in his hand, challenges another to give blow for -blow. One of the eggs is sure to be fractured in the conflict, and its -shattered remains become the spoil of the conqueror. - -See "Conkers." - - -Jenny Jones - -[Music] - ---Platt, near Wrotham, Kent (Miss Burne). - -[Music] - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - -[Music] - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - I. I'm come to court Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - I'm come to court Janet jo, - How's she the day? - - She's up the stair washin', - Washin', washin', - She's up the stair washin', - Ye canna see her the day. - -[Then follow verses, the words of which are not given by Chambers, -representing Jenny as bleaching, drying, and ironing clothes. At last -they say--] - - Janet jo's dead and gane, - Dead and gane, dead and gane; - Janet jo's dead and gane, - She'll never come hame! - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 140-41. - - II. I'm come to court Janet jo, Janet jo, Janet jo, - Come to court Janet jo, - How is she the day? - - She's butt the house washing, washing, washing - She's butt the house washing, - You can't see her to-day. - - Fare ye well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Fare ye well, ladies, - For I must away. - ---West Scotland (_Folk-lore Record_, iv. 474). - - III. We've come to court Jinny jo, - Jinny jo, Jinny jo, - We've come to court Jinny jo, - Is she within? - - Jinny jo's washing clothes, - Washing clothes, washing clothes, - Jinny jo's washing clothes, - You can't see her to-day. - - So fare ye well, ladies, - O ladies, O ladies, - So fare ye well, ladies - And gentlemen too. - -[These verses are repeated for-- - - (1) drying clothes, - (2) starching, - (3) ironing, - (4) ill, - (5) dying. - -Then--] - - Jinny jo's lying dead, - Lying dead, lying dead, - Jinny jo's lying dead, - You can't see her to-day. - - So turn again, ladies, - Ladies, ladies, ladies, - So turn again, ladies, - And gentlemen too. - - What shall we dress her in? - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? - Shall it be red? - - Red's for the soldiers, - The soldiers, the soldiers, - Red's for the soldiers, - And that will not do. - -[Various other colours are suggested in the same way, but are found -unsuitable--black because "black's for the mourners," green because -"green's for the croppies," and so on till at last white is named.] - - White's for the dead people, - Dead people, the dead people, - White's for the dead people, - And that will just do. - ---Belfast (_Notes and Queries_, 7th series, xii. 492, W. H. Patterson). - - IV. I came to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I came to see Jenny jo, is she within? - - Jenny jo's washing clothes, washing clothes, washing clothes, - Jenny jo's washing clothes, and ye can't see her to-day. - - Oh but I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, - Oh but I'm sorry, I can't see her to-day. - - Farewell ladies, O ladies, O ladies, - Farewell ladies, and gentlemen too. - -[Then the same verses are repeated for-- - - (1) starching clothes, - (2) smoothing clothes, - (3) dead, - -the four lines above being repeated after each, and the verses proceed -with--] - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be black? - - Black for the sweeps, the sweeps, the sweeps, - Black for the sweeps, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be blue? - - Blue for the sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue for the sailors, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be red? - - Red for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red for the soldiers, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be orange? - - Orange for the Orange-men, Orange-men, Orange-men, - Orange for the Orange-men, and that shall not do. - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Shall it be white? - - White for the corpse, the corpse, the corpse, - White for the corpse, and that will just do. - - We have lost a soldier, soldier, soldier, - We have lost a soldier, and the Queen has lost a man. - We will bury him in the bed of glory, glory, glory, - We will bury him in the bed of glory, and we'll never see him - any more. - ---Holywood, co. Down (Miss C. N. Patterson). - - V. I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is washing clothes, washing clothes, washing - clothes, - Jenny jo is washing clothes, - You can't see her now. - - I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is ironing clothes, ironing clothes, ironing - clothes, - Jenny jo is ironing clothes, - You can't see her now. - - I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is sick, my dear, sick, my dear, sick, my dear, - Jenny jo is sick, my dear, - You can't see her now. - - I've come to see Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo, - I've come to see Jenny jo, - How is she now? - - Jenny jo is underboard, underboard, underboard, - Jenny jo is underboard, - You can't see her now. - ---Lismore (Miss F. Keane, collected from Miss Ward, National -Schoolmistress). - - VI. We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is washing, - O washing, O washing, - O Jenny is washing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is starching, - O starching, O starching, - O Jenny is starching, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is ironing, - O ironing, O ironing, - O Jenny is ironing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is ill, - O ill, O ill, - O Jenny is ill, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is dying, - O dying, O dying, - O Jenny is dying, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, - And how is she now? - - O Jenny is dead, - Is dead, is dead, - O Jenny is dead, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be red? - - Red is for soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red is for soldiers, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be blue? - - Blue is for sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue is for sailors, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be black? - - Black is for mourners, mourners, mourners, - Black is for mourners, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - What shall we lay her in, lay her in, lay her in? - What shall we lay her in? Shall it be white? - - White's what the dead wear, dead wear, dead wear, - White's what the dead wear, and that will just do. - ---Hanwell, Middlesex, 1878 (A. B. Gomme). - - VII. We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is washing, washing, washing, - Poor Jenny is washing, washing hard to-day. - - What time can we see her? - At one o'clock. (Clock strikes one.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is starching, starching, starching, - Poor Jenny is starching, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At two o'clock. (Clock strikes two.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is folding, folding, folding, - Poor Jenny is folding, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At three o'clock. (Clock strikes three.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is ironing, ironing, ironing, - Poor Jenny is ironing, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At four o'clock. (Clock strikes four.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is poorly, poorly, poorly, - Poor Jenny is poorly, you can't see her to-day. - - When can we see her? - At five o'clock. (Clock strikes five.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is dying, dying, dying, - Poor Jenny is dying, you can't see her to-day. - - When shall we see her? - (Come) at six o'clock. (Clock strikes six.) - - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, poor Jenny Jones, poor - Jenny Jones, - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones, how is she to-day? - - Poor Jenny is dead, dead, dead, - Poor Jenny is dead, you can't see her to-day. - - What colour will you have for the funeral for poor Jenny - Jones? - - Red? - - Red is for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red is for the soldiers, and that won't do. - - Blue? - - Blue is for the sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue is for the sailors, and that won't do. - - Pink? - - Pink is for the babies, babies, babies, - Pink is for the babies, and that won't do. - - White? - - White is for a wedding, a wedding, a wedding, - White is for a wedding, and that won't do. - - Black? - - Black is for the mourners, mourners, mourners, - Black is for the mourners, and that will do. - - Poor Jenny Jones is dead, dead, dead, - Poor Jenny Jones is dead, and lies in her grave. - ---Southampton (from nursemaid of Mrs. W. R. Carse). - - VIII. We've come to see Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones, is she at home? - - Jenny Jones is scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing, - Jenny Jones is scrubbing, you can't see her now. - -[Then follow verses asking alternately "Is she at home?" in the same -words as the first verse, and answering that she is - - (1) washing, - (2) ill, - (3) dying, - (4) dead; - -all of them in the same form as the second verse. Then the verses -continue with--] - - Jenny Jones is dead, she is dead, she is dead, - Jenny Jones is dead, you can't see her now. - - We'll come to the funeral, funeral, funeral, - We'll come to the funeral, and how shall we dress? - - You can come in yellow, in yellow, in yellow, - You can come in yellow, that's how you can dress. - - Yellow's for jealousy, jealousy, jealousy, - Yellow's for jealousy, so _that_ won't do. - - You can come in green, in green, in green, - You can come in green, that's how you can dress. - - Green's forsaken, forsaken, forsaken, - Green's forsaken, so _that_ won't do. - - You can come in white, in white, in white, - You can come in white, that's how you can dress. - - White's for weddings, weddings, weddings, - White's for weddings, so _that_ won't do. - - You can come in black, in black, in black, - You can come in black, that's how you can dress. - - Black is for funerals, funerals, funerals, - Black is for funerals, so black will do. - ---Colchester (from Miss G. M. Frances, Colchester, through Miss Morris). - - IX. We've come to see Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - We've come to see Jenny Jones. How is she now? - - Jenny is washing, washing, washing, - Jenny is washing, you can't see her now. - -[Then follow the alternate question and answer; the questions in the -same words as the first verse, and the answers in the same form as the -second verse, stating that Jenny is - - (1) folding, - (2) starching, - (3) ironing, - (4) ill, - (5) dying, - (6) dead; - -then the verses proceed with--] - - May we come to the funeral? - Yes. - - May we come in red? - Red is for soldiers, you can't come in red. - - May we come in blue? - Blue is for sailors, you can't come in blue. - - May we come in white? - White is for weddings, you can't come in white. - - May we come in black? - Black is for funerals, so you can come in that. - ---Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 471). - - X. I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - And how is she now? - - She's washing, she's washing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - And how is she now? - - She's folding, she's folding, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe, - I come to see poor Jenny Joe, - And how is she now? - - She's ironing, she's ironing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - -[Then follow alternate questions and answers in the same manner for-- - - (1) dying, - (2) dead. - -Then--] - - I come in my white dress, white dress, white dress, - I come in my white dress, and how will that do? - - White is for wedding, wedding, wedding, - White is for wedding, and that won't do. - - Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too. - - I come in my blue dress, blue dress, blue dress, - I come in my blue dress, and how will that do? - - Blue is for sailors, sailors, sailors, - Blue is for sailors, and that won't do. - -[Then follow verses as before, beginning-- - - Very well, ladies. - I come in my red dress. - Red is for soldiers, - Very well, ladies. - -Then--] - - I come in my black dress, black dress, black dress, - I come in my black dress, and how will that do? - - Black is for funeral, - And that will do - To carry poor Jenny to the grave. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XI. We're come to see Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, Jenny Jones, - Come to see Jenny Jones, how is she now? - - Jenny is a-washing, a-washing, a-washing, - Jenny is a-washing, you can't see her now. - - Very well, ladies, very well, ladies, - Very well, ladies, we can't see her now. - -[Then follow the same verses for-- - - (1) ironing, - (2) badly, - (3) dead; - -And the singing proceeds with--] - - Please, will white do, white do, white do? - Please, will white do, please, will it do? - - White's for the weddingers, the weddingers, - White's for the weddingers, that won't do. - - Please, will blue do, blue do, blue do? - Please, will blue do, please will it do? - -[Then follow verses as before, beginning-- - - Blue's for the sailors, the sailors, the sailors. - Please, will red do, red do? - Red's for the soldiers. - -Then--] - - Please, will black do, black do, black do? - Black's for the funeral, black will do. - ---Northamptonshire (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - XII. I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's washing. - I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's ironing [she's starching, she's - brewing, she's baking, _successively_]. - I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's ill [then she's worse]. - I've come to see how Jenny Jones is to-day. - You can't see her, she's dead! - - _Chorus._ There's red for the soldiers, - Blue for the sailors, - White for the angels [for the _baby_, Chirbury], - And black for the mourners [of poor Jenny Jones]. - ---Berrington, Chirbury (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 577). - - XIII. We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is washing, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is drying, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is starching, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is ironing, you can't see her. - We've come to see poor Jenny Jones. - Poor Jenny Jones is dead, you can't see her. - What shall we follow, in red, blue, or black? - Red's for the soldier, blue for the sailor, - Black for the dead. - ---Enborne School, Berks (Miss M. Kimber). - - XIV. Come to see Miss Jenny Jones, - Miss Jenny Jones, Miss Jenny Jones; - Come to see Miss Jenny Jones, - And how is she to-day? - - Miss Jenny Jones is washing, washing, washing, - Miss Jenny Jones is washing, - You can't see her to-day. - - Farewell, ladies, ladies, ladies, and gentlemen too. - -[Miss Jenny Jones is drying, starching, ironing, ill, worse, dying, and -dead in turn. Then--] - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in red? - - Red's what the soldiers wear, - The soldiers wear, the soldiers wear, - Red's what the soldiers wear, - And that won't do. - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in blue? - - Blue's what the sailors wear, - Sailors wear, sailors wear; - Blue's what the sailors wear, - And that won't do. - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in black? - - Black's what the mourners wear, - The mourners wear, the mourners wear; - Black's what the mourners wear, - And that won't do. - - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in, - Dress her in white? - - White's what the dead wear, - The dead wear, the dead wear; - White's what the dead wear, - And that will do. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - XV. Come to see Jinny Jones, Jinny Jones - Come to see Jinny Jones, - And where is she now? - - Jinny is washing, is washing, - Jinny is washing, - And you can't see her now. - - Very well, very well, lady, lady, - Very well, lady, - That will do. - -[Then follow-- - - (1) starching, - (2) ironing, - (3) dying, - (4) dead.] - - What shall we follow in, follow in? - What shall we follow in? - We'll follow in blue. - - Blue is for sailors, for sailors, - Blue is for sailors, - And that won't do. - [_or_, You can't follow her so.] - -[Then follow-- - - Red is for soldiers, - White is for weddings, - Yellow is for babies.] - - Black is not deep enough, deep enough, - That won't do. - - What shall we follow in, follow in? - - We'll follow her in crape, crape [pronounced _cray-ape_]. - - You may follow her in crape, crape, - You may follow her in crape, - That will do. - ---Deptford (Miss E. Chase). - - XVI. I've come to see Georgina, Georgina, Georgina, - I've come to see Georgina, how's she to-day? - - She's upstairs washing, washing, washing, - She's upstairs washing, and can't get away. - - O very well, ladies, ladies, ladies, - We'll come another day. - - We've come to see Georgina, Georgina, Georgina, - We've come to see Georgina, how's she to-day? - - She's upstairs ironing, ironing, ironing, - She's upstairs ironing, and can't get away. - -[Then the two verses are repeated-- - - O very well, ladies. - We've come to see Georgina. - -Then follows--] - - She was coming downstairs with a basin of water, and she fell - down and broke her toe, and she's dead. - - And what shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - And what shall we dress her in? Dress her in red. - - Red for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, - Red for the soldiers, and that shan't do. - -[Then follow blue for the sailors, black for the mourners, and -finally--] - - What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in? - What shall we dress her in? Dress her in white. - - White for the dead people, dead people, dead people, - White for the dead people, and that will do. - ---Auchencairn, Kirkcudbright (A. C. Haddon). - - XVII. How's poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo? - He's very ill. - Oh, very good, very good, very good. - How's poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo? - He's fallen downstairs and broken his neck. - Oh, very good, very good, very good. - How's poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo? - He's dead. - Oh, very good, very good, very good. - ---Annaverna, Louth, Ireland (Miss R. Stephen). - -(_b_) Two children stand apart; one, who personates the Mother, stands -still and holds out her skirts with both hands; the other personates -Jenny Jones, and kneels or stoops down in a crouching position behind -her companion's outstretched skirts. The other players form a line by -joining hands. They sing the first, third, and every alternate verse, -advancing and retiring in line while doing so. The Mother sings the -answers to their questions, standing still and hiding Jenny Jones all -the time from view. When the verses are finished, Jenny Jones lies down -as if she were dead, and the Mother stands aside. Two of the other -players then take up Jenny Jones, one by the shoulders and the other by -the feet, and carry her a little distance off, where they lay her on the -ground. All the players follow, generally two by two, with their -handkerchiefs at their eyes and heads lowered, pretending to grieve. - -This is the more general way of playing the game. In those versions -where the reply, "Very well, ladies," occurs, this is sung by the line -of children just before they sing, "We've come to see Jenny Jones." -Sometimes, as in the Berrington and Chirbury game, two lines of children -facing each other advance and retire, singing the verses. They then -carry Jenny Jones to a corner, lay her down, stand in a circle round, -and sing to her the last verse. In the Hants versions sent by Miss -Mendham, six or eight children carry Jenny stretched out and flat, lay -her down, cover her over, and then sing the last lines. The rest of the -children follow them. In the Irish (Belfast) version the game is played -in the same way; the funeral is arranged, when Jenny suddenly comes to -life again (W. H. Patterson). In the Southampton version, after the -carrying of Jenny by her head and feet to the grave, and the other -children following and standing round, Jenny Jones rises up and pursues -the children. She is called the Ghost. The children run away in affected -terror, calling out, "The Ghost!" Whoever she catches becomes Jenny -Jones in the next game. This incident is also played in the Barnes, -Northants, Annaverna, co. Louth, Enborne and Liphook versions. - -(_c_) This game is played very generally throughout the country, and I -have other versions collected from Earls Heaton (Mr. H. Hardy), Barnes -(A. B. Gomme), Cambridge (Mrs. Haddon), Hampshire (Miss Mendham), -Frodingham (Miss Peacock), Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith), -Sulhampstead, Berks (Miss Thoyts), and Platt, Kent (Miss Burne). These -versions are so similar to the Hanwell version, with the exception of -the "Very well, ladies," that it is needless to print them in full; -special differences are noted hereafter. In some places the game is said -in a sing-song manner. - -Some of the versions differ from the general type in two ways--first, in -the method of playing; secondly, in the wording of the verses. The -differences in the method of playing direct attention to the connection -of the game with ancient custom. The game is always played by the -players taking sides; but one method is for one side to consist of only -two children (Mother and Jenny Jones), and the other side to consist of -all the other players; while the other method is for the players to be -divided into two sides of about equal numbers, each side advancing and -retiring in line when singing their part. Jenny Jones in some cases -walks with the girls in her line until the funeral, when she is carried -to the grave, and in others she stands alone behind the line. The way of -performing the funeral also differs. Generally two of the players carry -Jenny to the grave, the rest following two by two; but in one Hampshire -version six or eight children carry Jenny, stretched out and flat, to -the grave, and cover her over; in Holywood, co. Down, she is carried -sitting on the crossed hands of two players; while in some versions no -funeral is apparently performed, the words only being sung. Another -significant incident is the Ghost. An additional incident occurs in the -Liphook version, which represents her being "swung to life again" by two -of the players. - -These differences may perhaps be immaterial to the meaning and origin of -the game, but they are sufficiently indicative of early custom to -suggest the divergence of the game in modern times towards modern -custom. Thus the players divided line-by-line follow the general form -for children playing singing games, and it would therefore suggest -itself as the earlier form for this game. The change of the game from -the line-by-line action to the mother-and-line action would indicate a -corresponding change in the prevailing custom which influenced the game. -This custom was the wooing by a band of suitors of girls surrounded by -their fellow-villagers, which became obsolete in favour of ordinary -marriage custom. The dropping out of this custom would cause the game to -change from a representation of both wooing and burial to one of burial -only. As burial only the mother-and-line action is sufficient, but the -presence of a wooing incident in the earlier form of the game is plainly -revealed by the verse which sings, "Fare ye well, ladies," or, as it has -become in the English variant, "Very well, ladies." - -The difference in the wording of the versions is slight, and does not -need formal analysis. Domestic occupation is shown throughout, washing -and its attendants, drying, folding, starching and ironing being by far -the most numerous, brewing, and baking only occurring in one. Illness, -dying, and death are the usual forms for the later verses, but illness -and dying are lost in several versions. The choosing of colours is in -some versions not for the mourners but for the dead maiden, and in these -cases (six) white is the colour chosen, for "white's what the dead -wear." - -This question of colours for the dead is a very important one. The -dressing of the dead body of a maiden in white by her girl companions, -and the carrying of the body by them to the grave, are known village -customs, the whole village being invited to the funeral. The rising of -the dead lover, and the belief that excessive mourning over a loved one -disturbs his or her rest in the grave, thus causing the dead to rise and -speak, are shown in old ballads; the belief that spirits of the dead -haunt churchyards and places of their former abode may also be adduced -in illustration of the ghost incident. - -(_d_) The methods of playing, and the incidents revealed by the verses -sung, show that this is perhaps the most realistic of all the singing -games, the daily occupation, the illness, death, and burial being -portrayed, first, in the words of the rhymes, and secondly, by the -accompanying action. The Scottish versions make the opening incident -that of a lover coming to the house of the loved one, then proceed to -the domestic occupation, and finally to the death incident; while the -English versions give the idea of village friends calling upon a -favourite companion, and subsequently attending her funeral. That the -former is the older of the two versions is confirmed by the great -probability of the name "Jenny Jones" being a degraded form of "Janet -jo." There is some evidence for this. The Sporle version gives it as -"Jenny Joe," which is clearly a misunderstood rendering of "Jenny jo." -The corruption of this into "Jenny Jones" is exactly what might be -expected from modern English ignorance of the pretty meaning of the word -jo, "dear;" and to what lengths this corruption may proceed under such -influences may be seen by versions from Earls Heaton, where we have -"Jingy Jog;" Leeds, where we get "Jilly Jog;" and the Edinburgh version, -where we have "Georgina." - -This would be an argument for the Scottish home of the rhymes, and for -the direct borrowing of the name from Scotland by the English villagers. -In furtherance of this view the following passage from Chambers may be -quoted:-- - -In the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, "Janet Jo" is a dramatic -entertainment amongst young rustics. Suppose a party has met in a -harvest or winter evening round a good peat fire, and it is resolved to -have "Janet Jo" performed. Two undertake to personate a goodman and a -goodwife; the rest a family of marriageable daughters. One of the lads, -the best singer of the party, retires, and equips himself in a dress -proper for representing an old bachelor in search of a wife. He comes -in, bonnet in hand, bowing, and sings-- - - Guid e'en to ye, maidens a', - Maidens a', maidens a', - Guid e'en to ye, maidens a', - Be ye or no. - - I'm come to court Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - I'm come to court Janet jo, - Janet, my jo. - - Goodwife sings--What'll ye gie for Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo? - What'll ye gie for Janet jo, - Janet, my jo? - - Wooer--I'll gie ye a peck o' siller, - A peck o' siller, peck o' siller, - I'll gie ye a peck o' siller, - For Janet, my jo. - - Goodwife says--Gae awa', ye auld carle! - - Then sings--Ye'se never get Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - Ye'se never get Janet jo, - Janet, my jo. - -The wooer hereupon retires, singing a verse expressive of mortification, -but soon re-enters with a reassured air, singing-- - - I'll gie ye a peck o' gowd, - A peck o' gowd, a peck o' gowd, - I'll gie ye a peck o' gowd, - For Janet, my jo. - -The matron gives him a rebuff as before, and he again retires -discomfited, and again enters, singing an offer of "twa pecks o' gowd," -which, however, is also refused. At his next entry he offers "three -pecks o' gowd," at which the good wife brightens up and sings-- - - Come ben beside Janet jo, - Janet jo, Janet jo, - Ye're welcome to Janet jo, - Janet, my jo. - -The suitor then advances gaily to his sweetheart, and the affair ends in -a scramble for kisses.--_Popular Rhymes_, pp. 141, 142. - -On the other hand, it must not be overlooked that this game-drama and -the game of "Janet Jo" have no connection beyond the name of the heroine -and the wooing incident; so that the borrowing, if borrowing there be, -might have been by Scotland, who improved the commonplace "Jenny Jones" -into the pretty sweetness of her Scottish namesake. The Scottish version -of the game leaves out the question of the colours for mourning, but, on -the other hand, it contains the very important incident of the -restoration of the dead. Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 141) suggests -that this incident was introduced for the purpose of beginning the game -again, but this seems extremely doubtful, in consideration of the -Liphook variant, in which Miss Fowler says, "It is no uncommon thing for -'Jenny Jones' to be swung into life again;" and the still more -significant Southampton version, where "'Jenny Jones' appears in the -character of the Ghost, and scatters and pursues the surrounding -mourners." This detail is also used by the Northants and Barnes -children, the version of whose game is very like the Southampton one. On -the whole, the analysis would suggest that there has been a game played -by the children of both England and Scotland, the leading incidents of -which have been varied in accordance with the conditions of life. Mr. -Napier (_Folk-lore Record_, iv. 474), in his description of the West -Scotland example, evidently considered the game to be thoroughly -representative of Scottish life, and this, indeed, seems to be the most -striking feature of the game in all the variants. The domestic economy -which they reveal is in no case out of keeping with the known facts of -everyday peasant life, and many a mother has denied to her child's -friends the companionship they desired because of the work to be done. - -In most cases the burden of the song rests upon the question of health, -but in two cases, namely, Colchester and Deptford, the question is put -as to where "Jenny Jones" is at the time of the visit. It is curious -that the refrain of "Farewell, ladies," should appear in such widely -separated districts as Scotland, Northamptonshire, Norfolk, Middlesex, -Hants, Lincoln, and Barnes. - -With reference to the colours for mourning, there is an obvious addition -of crape introduced into the Deptford version which is very suggestive -of the decadence going on. The four colours used in most versions are -red, blue, white, and black, colours which have been known to the people -from ancient times. Black is accepted as the correct colour in all -versions except five, where white is declared to be the colour which the -dead wear. The method of question and answer is adopted for all the -rhyme-movements. The tune of the game, with but slight variation, in all -the versions is the same as that given from Platt, near Wrotham, except -the two which are printed from Northants and Belfast. - - -Jenny Mac - - Jenny Mac, Jenny Mac, Jenny Macghie, - Turn your back about to me; - And if you find an ill baubee, - Lift it up and gie't to me. - -Two girls cross their arms behind their backs, and thus taking hold of -each other's hands, parade along together, by daylight or moonlight, -occasionally turning upon their arms, as indicated in the rhyme. -Another rhyme for this amusement is-- - - A basket, a basket, a bonny penny basket, - A penny to you, and a penny to me, - Turn about the basket. - ---Chambers's _Popular Rhymes_; p. 123. - -See "Basket." - - -Jib-Job-Jeremiah - -An undescribed Suffolk game.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_, p. 238. - - -Jiddy-cum-jiddy - -A northern name for "See Saw." - - -Jingle-the-bonnet - -A game in which two or more put a halfpenny each, or any piece of coin, -into a cap or bonnet. After jingling or shaking them together, they are -thrown on the ground; and he who has most heads when it is his turn to -jingle, gains the stakes which were put into the bonnet.--Jamieson. - -Halliwell (_Dictionary_) says this is a northern name for the game of -"Shake Cap," and Brockett (_North Country Words_) speaks of it as a game -much practised among the young pitmen and keelmen. - - -Jingo-ring - - Here we go by jingo-ring, jingo-ring, jingo-ring, - Here we go by jingo-ring, and round by merry-ma-tansy. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - -Sung to the "Mulberry" or "Ivy bush" tune. - -The children form a ring and dance round singing. At the last word they -all fall down. - -See "Merry-ma-tansa." - - -Jinkie - -A game among children, in which they run round a table trying to catch -one whose business is by quick turns to elude them.--Jamieson. - - -Jock and Jock's Man - -A juvenile sport in which the _bon camarada_ is to repeat all the pranks -which the leader can perform.--Brockett's _North Country Words_. - -See "Follow my Gable," "Follow my Leader." - - -Jockie Blind-man - -Scotch name for "Blind Man's Buff."--Jamieson. - -See "Blind Man's Buff." - - -Joggle along - - I. Come all you young men - In your youthful ways, - And sow your wild oats - In your youthful days. - Then you'll be happy, - Then you'll be happy, - As you grow old. - For the day's far spent, - And the night's coming on, - So give us your arm, and - We'll joggle along. - ---Penzance, Cornwall (Mrs. Mabbott). - - II. Come all ye young men, with your wicked ways, - Sow all your wild oats in your youthful days, - That we may live happy, that we may live happy, - That we may live happy when we grow old. - The day is far spent, the night's coming on, - Give us your arm, and we'll joggle along, - That we may live happy, &c., &c. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57). - -(_b_) There must be an odd number of players at this game. They form -into couples, each standing behind the other, making a ring, the girls -inside, one boy standing alone in the middle. As they go round they sing -the verse. At the end each boy leaves hold of his partner's arm and -catches the arm of the girl in front, the one who is standing in the -centre trying in the confusion to get into a place. If he succeeds, the -child left out has to be the one in the centre the next time. - -(_c_) Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 101) says this game was called the -"Baptist Game" in Virginia, where it is said to be enjoyed by pious -people who will not dance. The American game is played in the same way -as the English one. Mr. Newell gives the tune to which the game was -sung. The words are almost identical. This game is played in the same -way as "Jolly Miller," which see. - - -Johnny Rover - -One boy is chosen to be Johnny Rover. The other players stand near him. -Rover cries out-- - - A [I] warn ye ance, A warn you twice; - A warn ye three times over; - A warn ye a' t' be witty an' wise - An flee fae Johnny Rover. - -While the words are being repeated all the players are putting -themselves on the alert, and when they are finished they run off in all -directions, with Rover in full pursuit. If a player is hard pressed he -has the privilege of running to "Parley," the place from which the -players started, and which in all games is an asylum. If he is caught -before he reaches it, he becomes Johnny Rover for the next game. The one -first captured becomes Rover.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Jolly Fishermen - -[Music] - ---Tean, North Staffs. (Miss Burne). - - I. They were two jolly fishermen, - They were two jolly fishermen, - They were two jolly fishermen, - And just come from the sea, - And just come from the sea. - They cast their nets into the sea, - And jolly fish caught we, - And jolly fish caught we, - And jolly fish caught we, - They cast their nets into the sea, - And jolly fish caught we. - ---Tean and Cheadle, North Staffs. (Miss Burne). - - II. There was three jolly fishermen, - And they all put out to sea. - They cast their nets into the sea, - And the [three?] jolly fish caught we. - ---North Staffs. Potteries (Mrs. Thomas Lawton). - -(_b_) A circle is formed by joining hands, and two children stand in the -centre. They walk round. At the seventh line the two in the centre each -choose one child from the ring, thus making four in the centre. They -then sing the remaining four lines. The two who were first in the centre -then go out, and the game begins again, with the other two players in -the centre. - -(_c_) Miss Burne says this game is more often played as "Three Jolly -Fishermen." At Cheadle, North Staffs., a few miles distant from Tean, -this game is played by grown-up men and women. - - -Jolly Hooper - - I. Here comes a [or one] jolly hooper, - Ring ding di do do, - Ring ding di do do. - - And who are you looking for, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do? - - I am looking for one of your daughters, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do. - - What shall her name be, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do? - - Her name shall be [Sarah], - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do. - - Sarah shall ramble, - In a ring ding di do do, - In a ring ding di do do, - All around the chimney [jubilee] pot in 1881. - ---Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - - II. I've come for one of your daughters, - With a ring a ding a my dolly; - I've come for one of your daughters - On this bright shining night. - - Pray, which have you come for, - With a ring a ding a my dolly? - Pray which have you come for - On this bright shining night? - - I've come for your daughter Mary, - With a ring a ding a my dolly; - I've come for your daughter Mary - On this bright shining night. - - Then take her, and welcome, - With a ring a ding a my dolly; - Then take her, and welcome, - On this bright shining night [incomplete]. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) A number of children stand against a wall, and a row of other -children face them. They walk backwards and forwards, singing the first -and third verses. Then the children who are standing still (against the -wall) answer by singing the second and fourth verses. When these are -sung the moving line of children take Mary and dance round, singing -"some lines which my informant," says Mr. Addy, "has forgotten." - -(_c_) I have no description of the way Miss Chase's game is played. It, -too, is probably an incomplete version. The words "Ring ding di do do -"show a possible connection between this and games of the "Three Dukes -a-riding" type. They may or may not be variants of the same game. - -See "Here comes a Lusty Wooer," "Here comes a Virgin," "Jolly Rover," -"Three Dukes." - - -Jolly Miller - -[Music] - ---Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. Bell). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - - I. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel went round he made his pelf; - One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag, - As the wheel went round he took his grab. - ---Leicester (Miss Ellis). - - II. There was a jolly miller, he lived by himself, - As the mill went round he made his wealth; - One hand in the hopper, another in his bag, - As the wheel went round he made his grab. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - III. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel goes round he makes his wealth; - One hand in his hopper, and the other in his bag, - As we go round he makes his grab. - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - IV. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the mill went round he gained his wealth; - One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag, - As the mill went round he made his grab. - - Sandy he belongs to the mill, - And the mill belongs to Sandy still, - And the mill belongs to Sandy. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - V. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel went round he made his wealth; - One hand in the upper and the other in the bank, - As the wheel went round he made his wealth. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - - VI. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, - As the wheel went round he made his grab; - One hand in the other, and the other in the bag, - As the wheel went round he made his grab. - ---Nottinghamshire (Miss Winfield). - - VII. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself (or by the - Dee), - The sails went round, he made his ground; - One hand in his pocket, the other in his bag. - ---North Staffs. Potteries (Miss A. A. Keary). - -(_b_) This game requires an uneven number of players. All the children -except one stand in couples arm in arm, each couple closely following -the other. This forms a double ring or wheel (fig. 1). The odd child -stands in the centre. The children forming the wheel walk round in a -circle and sing the verse. When they come to the word "grab," those -children standing on the _inside_ of the wheel leave hold of their -partners' arms, and try to catch hold of the one standing immediately in -front of their previous partners. The child in the centre (or Miller) -tries (while they are changing places) to secure a partner and place -(fig. 2). If he succeeds in doing this, the one then left out becomes -the Miller. At Leicester the "odd" child, or "miller," stands _outside_ -the wheel or ring, instead of being in the centre, and it is the outside -children who change places. Mr. Addy, in the Sheffield version, says, -"The young men stand in the outer ring, and the young women in the -inner. A man stands within the inner circle, quite near to it. The men -try and grasp the arm of the girl in front of them, and the man in the -centre also tries to grasp one; the man he displaces taking his place as -Miller. Then the three last lines are sung." - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -(_c_) Versions of this game, almost identical with the Leicester version -given here (with the exception that the word "wealth" ends the second -line instead of "pelf"), have been sent me from East Kirkby, -Lincolnshire (Miss K. Maughan); Epworth, Doncaster (Mr. C. C. Bell); -Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes); Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley); Redhill, -Surrey (Miss G. Hope); Ordsall, Nottinghamshire (Miss Matthews); Brigg, -Lincolnshire (Miss J. Barker); and there are other versions from -Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 86); Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 57); Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 385); Oswestry, -Ellesmere (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). Miss Peacock sends a version -which obtains at Lincoln, Horncastle, Winterton, and Anderby, -Lincolnshire, and in Nottinghamshire; it is identical with the Liphook -version. Two versions from Sporle, Norfolk, which vary slightly from the -Leicester, have been sent by Miss Matthews. The versions given from -Lancashire, Yorks., Nottingham, and North Staffs. have been selected to -show the process of decadence in the game. "Hopper" has first become -"upper," and then "other." Of the North Staffs. Potteries version Miss -Keary says, "How it ends I have never been able to make out; no one -about here seems to know either." With the exception of these few -variants, it is singular how stereotyped the words of the rhyme have -become in this game. - -(_d_) This game may owe its origin to the fact of the miller in olden -times paying himself in kind from the corn brought to him to be ground. -The miller is a well-known object of satire in old ballads and mediaeval -writers. It is, however, probable that the custom which formerly -prevailed at some of the public festivals, of catching or "grabbing" for -sweethearts and wives, is shown in this game. For instance, to account -for a Scottish custom it is said that St. Cowie, patron saint of two -parishes of Campbeltown, proposed that all who did not find themselves -happy and contented in the marriage state, should be indulged with an -opportunity of parting and making a second choice. For that purpose he -instituted an annual solemnity, at which all the unhappy couples in his -parish were to assemble at his church; and at midnight all present were -blindfolded and ordered to run round the church at full speed, with a -view of mixing the lots in the urn. The moment the ceremony was over, -without allowing an instant for the people present to recover from their -confusion, the word "Cabbay" (seize quickly) was pronounced, upon which -every man laid hold of the first female he met with. Whether old or -young, handsome or ugly, good or bad, she was his wife till the next -anniversary of this custom (Guthrie's _Scottish Customs_, p. 168). -Another old wedding superstition is alluded to by Longfellow:-- - - "While the bride with roguish eyes, - Sporting with them, now escapes and cries, - 'Those who catch me, married verily this year will be.'" - -See "Joggle Along." - - -Jolly Rover - -[Music] - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - - Here comes one jolly rover, jolly rover, jolly rover, - Here comes one jolly rover, jolly rover, jolly rover, - A roving all day. - - And what do you rove for, rove for, rove for? - And what do you rove for? - Lily white and shining. - - I rove for my pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure, - I rove for my pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure, - Lily white and shining. - - And what is your pleasure, your pleasure, your pleasure? - What is your pleasure? - Lily white and shining. - - My pleasure's for to marry you, to marry you, to marry you, - My pleasure's for to marry you, - Lily white and shining. - - So through the kitchen and through the hall, - I choose the fairest of them all, - The fairest one that I can see - Is ----, so come to me. - ---Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). - -(_b_) A long row of children walk to and fro. One child, facing them on -the opposite side, represents the Rover. He sings the first, third, and -fifth verses. The row of children sing the second and fourth in -response. After the fifth verse is sung the Rover skips round the long -row, singing the sixth verse to the tune of "Nancy Dawson," or "Round -the Mulberry bush." He chooses one of them, who goes to the opposite -side with him, and the game goes on until all are rovers like himself. - -See "Here comes a Lusty Wooer," "Jolly Hooper." - - -Jolly Sailors - - I. Here comes one [some] jolly, jolly sailor boy, - Who lately came on shore; - He [they] spent his time in drinking wine - As we have done before. - - We are the Pam-a-ram-a-ram, - We are the Pam-a-ram-a-ram, - And those who want a pretty, pretty girl, - Must kiss her on the shore, - Must kiss her on the shore. - ---Warwick (from a little girl, through Mr. C. C. Bell). - - II. He was a jolly, jolly sailor boy, - Who had lately come ashore; - He spent his time in drinking wine - As he had done before. - - Then we will have a jolly, jolly whirl, - Then we will have a jolly, jolly whirl, - And he who wants a pretty little girl - Must kiss her on the shore. - ---Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews). - - III. Here comes one jolly sailor, - Just arrived from shore, - We'll spend our money like jolly, jolly joes, - And then we'll work for more. - - We'll all around, around and around, - And if we meet a pretty little girl - We'll call her to the shore. - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - - IV. Here comes four jolly sailor boys, - Just lately come ashore; - They spend their days in many merry ways, - As they have done before. - - Round, round the ring we go, - Round, round the ring, - And he that choose his bonny, bonny lass - Must kiss her on the floor. - ---Raunds (_Northants Notes and Queries_, i. 232). - - V. Here come three jolly, jolly, jolly boys - As lately come from shore; - We will spend our time on a moonlight night - As we have done before. - - We will have a round, a round, a round, - We will have a round, a round, a round; - Let the lad that delights in a bonny, bonny lass, - Let him kiss her on the ground. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - - VI. Here comes three jolly, jolly sailors, - Just arrived on shore; - We'll spend our money like merry, merry men, - And then we'll work for more. - - Hurrah for the round, round ring, - Hurrah for the round, round ring; - And he that loves a pretty, pretty girl, - Let him call her from the ring. - ---Shipley, Horsham (_Notes and Queries_, 8th series, i. 210, Miss Busk). - -(_b_) This game is played at Warwick as follows:--The children form a -large ring, clasping hands and standing still. One child walks round -inside the ring, singing the verses. This child then chooses another -from the ring, bending on one knee and kissing her hand. The lines are -then repeated, the two walking arm in arm round the inside of the ring. -Another child is chosen out of the ring by the one who was chosen -previously. This goes on until all are chosen out of the ring, walking -two by two round inside. When the ring will no longer hold them, the two -walk round outside. At Northants the ring walks round, and the child is -_outside_ the ring. Partners are chosen, and the two walk round outside -the ring. The first two walk together till there is a third, then the -three walk together till there is a fourth, then they go in couples. In -the Northants version, from Raunds, four boys stand in the centre of the -ring. When the verses are sung they choose four girls, and then take -their places in the ring. The four girls then choose four lads, and so -on. At Earls Heaton the children stand against a wall in a line. Another -child walks up and down singing the verses, and chooses a partner. He -spreads a handkerchief on the ground, and they kneel and kiss. - -(_c_) The Shipley version is a "Kiss in the Ring" game. A version sent -by the Rev. W. Slater Sykes from Settle, Yorkshire, is almost identical -with the Earls Heaton version. Northall (_Folk Rhymes_, p. 369) says "to -kiss on the floor"--_i.e._, not in secret. He gives the words of a sort -of musical catch, sung in the Midlands, similar in character to this -game, which may once have been used in some courting game. Mr. Newell -(_Games_, p. 124) gives a version sung in the streets of New York, and -considers it to be a relic of antiquity, a similar round being given in -_Deuteromelia_, 1609. - - -Jowls - -A game played by boys, much the same as "Hockey," and taking its name, -no doubt, from the mode of playing, which consists in striking a wooden -ball or knorr from the ground in any given direction with a sufficiently -heavy stick, duly curved at the striking end.--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -It is also given in _Yorkshire Glossary_ (Whitby). - -See "Bandy," "Doddart," "Hockey." - - -Jud - -A game played with a hazel nut bored and run upon a string.--Dickinson's -_Cumberland Glossary_. - -Probably the same game as "Conkers." - -See "Conkers." - - -Keeling the Pot - -Brockett mentions that a friend informed him that he had seen a game -played amongst children in Northumberland the subject of which was -"Keeling the Pot." A girl comes in exclaiming, "Mother, mother, the -pot's boiling ower." The answer is, "Then get the ladle and keel it." -The difficulty is to get the ladle, which is "up a height," and the -"steul" wants a leg, and the joiner is either sick or dead (_Glossary -North Country Words_). A sentence from _Love's Labours Lost_, "While -greasy Joan doth keel the pot," illustrates the use of the term "keel." - -See "Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils over." - - -Keppy Ball - -In former times it was customary every year, at Easter and Whitsuntide, -for the mayor, aldermen, and sheriff of Newcastle, attended by the -burgesses, to go in state to a place called the Forth, a sort of mall, -to countenance, if not to join in the play of "Keppy ba" and other -sports. This diversion is still in part kept up by the young people of -the town (Brockett's _North Country Words_). It is also mentioned in -Peacock's _Manley and Corringham Glossary_, and in Ross and Stead's -_Holderness Glossary_. - -Mr. Tate (_History of Alnwick_) says that a favourite pastime of girls, -"Keppy ball," deserves a passing notice, because accompanied by a -peculiar local song. The name indicates the character of the game; "kep" -is from _cepan_, Anglo-Saxon, "kappan," Teut., "to catch or capture;" -for when the game was played at by several, the ball was thrown into the -air and "kepped," or intercepted, in its descent by one or other of the -girls, and it was then thrown up again to be caught by some other. But -when the song was sung it was played out by one girl, who sent the ball -against a tree and drove it back again as often as she could, saying the -following rhymes, in order to divine her matrimonial future:-- - - Keppy ball, keppy ball, Coban tree, - Come down the long loanin' and tell to me, - The form and the features, the speech and degree - Of the man that is my true love to be. - - Keppy ball, keppy ball, Coban tree, - Come down the long loanin' and tell to me - How many years old I am to be. - - One a maiden, two a wife, - Three a maiden, four a wife, &c. - -The numbers being continued as long as the ball could be kept rebounding -against the tree. - -The following from Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 298, is also used -for ball divination. To "cook" is to toss or throw. - - Cook a ball, cherry tree; - Good ball, tell me - How many years I shall be - Before my true love I do see? - One and two, and that makes three; - Thankee, good ball, for telling of me. - -See "Ball," "Cuckoo," "Monday." - - -Kibel and Nerspel - -This game was played at Stixwold seventy years ago. It resembled "Trap, -Bat, and Ball." _Kibel_ = bat, _ner_ = ball of maplewood, _spel_ = trap, -with a limock (pliant) stick fastened to it. The score was made by -hitting the _ner_ a certain distance, but not by the striker running, as -in "Rounders."--Miss M. Peacock. - -See "Nur and Spell." - - -King by your leave - -"A playe that children have, where one sytting blyndefolde in the midle, -bydeth so tyll the rest have hydden themselves, and then he going to -seeke them, if any get his place in the meane space, that same is kynge -in his roome."--Huloet, 1572. - -See "Hide and Seek." - - -King Caesar - -One player is chosen to be King Caesar by lot or naming. All the others -stand in two rows, one row at each end of the ground. A line is drawn on -the ground in front of them to mark "dens." All the players must keep -within this line. King Caesar stands in the middle of the ground. Any -number of the players can then rush across the ground from one den to -another. King Caesar tries to catch one as they run. When he catches a -boy he must count from one to ten in succession before he leaves hold of -the boy, that boy in the meantime trying to get away. If King Caesar -succeeds in holding a boy, this boy stays in the centre with him and -assists in catching the other players (always counting ten before a -captive is secured). The dens must always be occupied by some players. -If all the players get into one den, King Caesar can go into the empty -den and say, "Crown the base, one, two, three," three times before any -of the other players get across to that den. If he succeeds in doing -this, he can select a boy to run across from one den to the other, which -that boy must do, King Caesar trying to catch him. Other and bigger boys -can help this one to get across, to save him from being captured, either -by carrying him or running across with him. The game ends when all have -been captured and are in the centre. King Caesar and the other captured -boys can leave the centre if they each successively catch three -players.--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). - -This game is called "King-sealing" in Dorsetshire. - -See "King of Cantland," "Lamploo." - - -King Come-a-lay - -A game played by boys. Two sets of boys, or sides, strive which can -secure most prisoners for the King.--Shetland (Jamieson). - - -King of Cantland - -A game of children, in which one of a company, being chosen King o' -Cantland, and two goals appointed at a considerable distance from each -other, all the rest endeavoured to run from one goal to the other; and -those whom the King can seize in their course, so as to lay his hand -upon their heads (which operation is called winning them), become his -subjects, and assist him in catching the remainder.--Dumfries -(Jamieson). Jamieson adds: "This game is called 'King's Covenanter' in -Roxburgh." He also refers to the game of "King and Queen of Cantelon," -recorded by Mactaggart. He considers the origin of this game to be -representative of the contentions about the "Debatable Lands" on the -border. This game was played at University Coll. School, London, under -the name of "Kings" (A. Nutt). - -See "How many miles to Barley Bridge?" "King Caesar." - - -King o' the Castle - -One boy is chosen as King. He mounts on any convenient height, a knoll, -or dyke, or big stone, and shouts-- - - A'm King o' the Castle, - An' fah (who) 'll ding (knock) me doon? - -The players make a rush at the King, and try to pull him down. A tussle -goes on for a longer or a shorter time, according to the strength of the -King and his skill in driving off his assailants. The boy that displaces -the King becomes King, and is in his turn assaulted in the same way. The -game may go on for any length of time. Another form of words is-- - - I'm the King o' the Castle, - An' nane can ding me doon. - ---Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -Other words sung by the Scotch children are-- - - I, Willy Wastle, - Stand on my castle, - And a' the dogs o' your toon - Will no drive Willie Wastle doon. - -Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 114) records the tradition that when -Oliver Cromwell lay at Haddington he sent to require the governor of -Home Castle, in Berwickshire, to surrender; the governor is said to -have replied in the above quatrain of juvenile celebrity. - -The London version is for the boys to run up a hillock, when one of them -declares as follows-- - - I'm the King of the Castle; - Get down, you dirty rascal, - -whereupon he pushes down his companions. If another boy succeeds in -getting his place he becomes King, and repeats the doggerel (G. L. -Gomme). This is a very popular boys' game. Newell (_Games_, 164) -mentions it as prevalent in Pennsylvania. - -See "Tom Tiddler's Ground." - - -King Plaster Palacey - -The players are a King and his three sons named White Cap, Red Cap, -Brown Cap. Red Cap says, "Plaster Palacey had a son, whose name was old -daddy White Cap." White Cap, in an injured voice, says, "Me, sir?" The -King says, "Yes, sir." White Cap answers, "You're a liar, sir." The King -then says, "Who then, sir?" White Cap answers, "Old daddy Red -Cap."--Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase). - -The game as given above is obviously incomplete, and no description as -to how the game was played was sent me. Newell (_Games_, p. 145), -describes a game, "The Cardinal's Hat," which is probably a variant of -the original game, of which the above is only a fragment. I remember -once witnessing a game in which a ball was passed from player to player, -and in which the dialogue was similar. When one player was told that the -ball was in his possession, the answer was, "What, me, sir?" "Yes, you, -sir." "Not I, sir." "Who then, sir?" "White Cap, sir;" the questions and -answers were again repeated for Red Cap, and Blue Cap. When it was Black -Cap's turn, I think the ball was thrown by this player to some one else; -whoever was hit by the ball had to chase and capture one, who became -questioner; but my recollection of the game is too slight for me to be -certain either of the dialogue or the way the game terminated (A. B. -Gomme). A game described in _Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 62, is -apparently a version of this. It is there described as a forfeit game. - - -King William - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - I. King William was King David's son, - And all the royal race is run; - Choose from the east, choose from the west, - Choose the one you love the best. - - Down on this carpet you shall kneel - While the grass grows in yonder field; - Salute your bride and kiss her sweet, - Rise again upon your feet. - ---Hanging Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - II. King William was King David's son, - All the royal race is run; - Choose from the east, choose from the west, - Choose the one that you love best; - If she's not here to take her part, - Choose another with all your heart. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -(_b_) In Sheffield a ring of young men and women is formed. A man goes -inside the ring and walks round within it, whilst the others sing the -verse. The young man then chooses a sweetheart, and the two walk round -arm-in-arm within the ring, whilst the same verses are sung. When the -singing is ended, the girl picks a young man, and so they all pair off. - -(_c_) Mr. Addy entitles this game "Kiss in the Ring." It appears, -however, from this description to lack the two principal elements of -most "kiss-in-the-ring" games--the chase between pursued and pursuer, -and the kissing in the ring when the capture is made. In the Hanging -Heaton version two children kneel and kiss in the middle of the ring. -Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 73), in describing a game with a similar rhyme, -mentions a version which had been sent him from Waterford, Ireland. He -says, "We learn from an informant that in her town it was formerly -played in this peculiar manner. Over the head of a girl who stood in the -centre of a ring was held a shawl, sustained by four others grasping the -corners." The game then proceeded as follows-- - - King William was King George's son, - From the Bay of Biscay O! - Upon his breast he wore a star-- - Find your way to English schools. - Down on the carpet you must kneel; - As the grass grows in the field, - Salute your bride and kiss her sweet, - And rise again upon your feet. - -Then followed the game-rhyme, repeated with each stanza-- - - Go choose you east, go choose you west, - -apparently the same as last four lines of Sheffield version. King -William is then supposed to enter-- - - The first girl that I loved so dear, - Can it be she's gone from me? - If she's not here when the night comes on, - Will none of you tell me where she's gone? - -He then recognises the disguised girl-- - - There's heart beneath the willow tree, - There's no one here but my love and me. - -"He had gone to the war, and promised to marry her when he came back. -She wrapped a shawl about her head to see if he would recognise her." -This was all the reciter could recollect; the lines of the ballad were -sung by an old woman, the ring answering with the game-rhyme. - -This version seems to indicate clearly that in this game -we have preserved one of the ceremonies of a now obsolete -marriage-custom--namely, the disguising of the bride and placing her -among her bridesmaids and other young girls, all having veils or other -coverings alike over their heads and bodies. The bridegroom has to -select from among these maidens the girl whom he wished to marry, or -whom he had already married, for until this was done he was not allowed -to depart with his bride. This custom was continued in sport as one of -the ceremonies to be gone through after the marriage was over, long -after the custom itself was discontinued. For an instance of this see a -"Rural Marriage in Lorraine," in _Folk-lore Record_, iii. 267-268. This -ordeal occurs in more than one folk-tale, and it usually accompanies the -incident of a youth having travelled for adventures, sometimes in quest -of a bride. He succeeds in finding the whereabouts of the coveted girl, -but before he is allowed by the father to take his bride away he is -required to perform tasks, a final one being the choosing of the girl -with whom he is in love from among others, all dressed alike and -disguised. Our bridal veil may probably originate in this custom. - -In the ballad from which Mr. Newell thinks the game may have originated, -a maid has been given in marriage to another than her chosen lover. He -rides to the ceremony with a troop of followers; the bride, seeing him -approach, calls on her maidens to "take off her gold crown and coif her -in linen white," to test her bridegroom's affection. This incident, I -think, is not to test "affection," but the ordeal of recognising his -bride, however disguised, and the fact that "the hero at once recognises -his love, mounts with her on horseback, and flees to Norway," may be -considered to support my view. - -See also Brand, vol. ii. p. 141, under "Care Cloth." - - -King's Chair - -Two children join hands, by crossing their arms, so as to form a seat. A -third mounts on the crossed arms, and clasps the carriers round their -necks, while they move on saying-- - - King, King Cairy (carry) - London lairy, - Milk an bread, - In the King's chairie. - -This game is played at Keith, without the words. The words are used at -Fochabers.--Rev. W. Gregor. - -Jamieson says, "Lothian children, while carrying one of their number in -this manner, repeat the following rhyme-- - - Lend me a pin to stick i' my thumb, - To carry the lady to London town." - -He says this method of carrying is often used as a substitute for a -chair in conveying adult persons from one place to another, especially -when infirm. In other counties it is called "Queen's Cushion" and -"Queen's Chair," also "Cat's Carriage." - -Brockett (_North Country Words_) says, "'King's Cushion,' a sort of seat -made by two persons crossing their hands, in which to place a third. The -thrones on the reverses of the early Royal Seals of England and Scotland -consist of swords, spears, snakes, &c., placed in the manner of a -'King's Cushion.'" - -The method used is for both children to grasp the wrist of his left hand -with the right, while he lays hold of the right wrist of his companion -with his left hand. This way of hoisting or carrying is still used by -schoolboys when they desire to honour a boy who has distinguished -himself in the playground or schoolroom. - -See "Carry my Lady to London." - - -Kirk the Gussie - -A sort of play. The Gussie is a large ball, which one party endeavours -to beat with clubs into a hole, while another party strives to drive it -away. When the ball is lodged in the hole it is said to be -"Kirkit."--Jamieson. - - -Kiss in the Ring - -[Music] - ---Nottingham (Miss Youngman). - -[Music] - ---Lancashire (Mrs. Harley). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - I. I sent a letter to my love, - And on the way I dropped it; - And one of you have picked it up - And put it in your pocket. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 213); Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - - II. I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I lost it. - Some one has picked it up. Not you, not you (&c.), but you! - ---Much Wenlock (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - - III. I lost my supper last night, and the night before, - And if I lose it this night, I shall never have it no more. - ---Berrington (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - - IV. I've come to borrow the riddle (= sieve), - There's a big hole in the middle. - I've come to borrow the hatchet, - Come after me and catch it. - ---Chirbury (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). - - V. Down by the greenwood, down by the greenwood, - Down by the greenwood tree, - One can follow, one can follow, - One can follow me. - - Where must I follow? where must I follow? - Follow, follow me. - Where must I follow? where must I follow? - Follow, follow me. - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - - VI. Mr. Monday was a good man, - He whipped his children now and then; - When he whipped them he made them dance, - Out of Scotland into France; - Out of France into Spain, - Back to dear old England again. - O-u-t spells "out," - If you please stand out. - I had a little dog and his name was Buff, - I sent him after a penn'orth of snuff, - He broke the paper and smelled the snuff, - And that's the end of my dog Buff. - He shan't bite you--he shan't bite you--he shan't bite you, - &c., &c.--he _shall_ bite you all over. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 213). - - VII. I sent a letter to my love, - I carried water in my glove, - And by the way I dropped it. - I did so! I did so! - - I had a little dog that said "Bow! wow!" - I had a little cat that said "Meow! meow!" - Shan't bite you--shan't bite you-- - Shall bite you. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 52). - - VIII. I sent a letter to my love, - I carried water in my glove, - I dript it, I dropped it, and by the way I lost it. - ---Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 87). - - IX. I have a pigeon in my pocket, - If I have not lost it; - Peeps in, peeps out, - By the way I've lost it; - Drip, drop, - By the way I've lost it. - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - - X. I have a pigeon in my pocket, - It peeps out and in, - And every time that I go round - I give it a drop of gin. - Drip it, drop it, drip it, drop it. - ---Settle, Yorkshire (Rev W. S. Sykes). - - XI. I sent a letter to my love, - I thought I put it in my glove, - But by the way I dropped it. - I had a little dog said "Bow, wow, wow!" - I had a little cat said "Mew, mew, mew!" - It shan't bite you, - It _shall_ bite _you_. - ---Bexley Heath (Miss Morris). - - XII. I sent a letter to my love, - And by the way I droppt it; - I dee, I dee, I dee, I droppt it, - And by the way I droppt it. - ---Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - - XIII. I had a little dog, it shan't bite you, - Shan't bite you, shan't bite you, - Nor you, nor you, nor you. - I had a little cat, it shan't scratch you, - Shan't scratch you, nor you, nor you. - - I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I dropped it. - And one of you have picked it up and put it in your pocket. - It wasn't you, it wasn't you, nor you, nor you, but it - was _you_. - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - - XIV. I have a little dog and it lives in my pocket. - It shan't bite you, &c. - - Now you're married I hope you'll enjoy - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years gone, and two to come, - So take her and kiss her and - Send her off home. - ---Wolstanton, North Staffs. Potteries (Miss A. A. Keary). - -(_b_) In Dorsetshire a ring is formed by all the players joining hands -except one. The odd player, carrying a handkerchief, commences to walk -slowly round the outside of the ring, repeating the words; then, -touching each one with her handkerchief as she passes, she says, "Not -you," "not you," "not you," &c., &c., till the favoured individual is -reached, when it is changed to "But you!" and his or her shoulder -lightly touched at the same time. The first player then runs round the -ring as fast as he can, pursued by the other, who, if a capture is -effected (as is nearly always the case), is entitled to lead the first -player back into the centre of the ring and claim a kiss. The first -player then takes the other's place in the ring, and in turn walks round -the outside repeating the same formula.--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 212; -Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - -In Shropshire, as soon as the player going round the ring has dropped -the handkerchief on the shoulder of the girl he chooses, both players -run _opposite ways_ outside the ring, each trying to be the first to -regain the starting-point. If the one who was chosen gets there first, -no kiss can be claimed. It is often called "Drop-handkerchief," from the -signal for the chase. The more general way of playing (either with or -without words), as seen by me on village greens round London, is, when -the handkerchief has been dropped, for the player to dart through the -ring and in and out again under the clasped hands; the pursuer must -follow in and out through the same places, and must bring the one he -catches into the ring before he can legally claim the kiss. - -Elworthy (_West Country Words_), in describing this game, says: "The -person behind whom the handkerchief is dropped is entitled to kiss the -person who dropped it, if he or she can catch him or her, before the -person can get round the ring to the vacant place. Of course, when a -girl drops it she selects a favoured swain, and the chase is severe up -to a point, but when a girl is the pursuer there often is a kind of -donkey race lest she should have to give the kiss which the lad takes no -pains to avoid." Mr. Elworthy does not mention any words being used, and -it is therefore probable that this is the "Drop-handkerchief" game, -which generally has no kissing. It also, in the way it is played, -resembles "French Jackie." In the Wolstanton game, Miss Keary says: "If -the owner of the handkerchief overtakes the one who is bitten as they -run round, they shake hands and go into the middle of the ring, while -the others sing the marriage formula." In Berkshire (_Antiq._ xxvii. -255) the game is played without words, and apparently no handkerchief or -other sign is used. Miss Thoyts says the young man raises his hat when -he embraces the young woman of his choice. To "throw (or fling) the -handkerchief" is a common expression for an expected proposal of -marriage which is more of a condescension than a complimentary or -flattering one to the girl. "Kiss in the Ring" is probably a relic of -the earliest form of marriage by choice or selection. The custom of -dropping or sending a glove as the signal of a challenge may have been -succeeded by the handkerchief in this game. Halliwell, p. 227, gives the -game of "Drop Glove," in which a glove is used. For the use of -handkerchiefs as love-tokens see Brand, ii. 92. - -See "Drop Handkerchief," "French Jackie." - - -Kit-Cat - -A game played by boys. Three small holes are made in the ground, -triangularly about twenty feet apart, to mark the position of as many -boys, each of whom holds a small stick, about two feet long. Three other -boys of the adverse side pitch successively a piece of stick, a little -bigger than one's thumb, called Cat, to be struck by those holding the -sticks. On its being struck, the boys run from hole to hole, dipping the -ends of their sticks in as they pass, and counting one, two, three, &c., -as they do so, up to thirty-one, which is game. Or the greater number of -holes gained in the innings may indicate the winners, as at cricket. If -the Cat be struck and caught, the striking party is out, and another of -his sidesmen takes his place, if the set be strong enough to admit of -it. If there be only six players, it may be previously agreed that three -_put outs_ shall end the innings. Another mode of putting out is to -throw the Cat home, after being struck, and placing or pitching it into -an unoccupied hole, while the in-party are running. A certain number of -misses (not striking the Cat) may be agreed on to be equivalent to a put -out. The game may be played by two, placed as at cricket, or by four, -or I believe more.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_; Holloway's _Dict. of -Provincialisms_. - -Brockett (_North Country Words_, p. 115) calls this "'Kitty-Cat,' a -puerile game. - - Then in his hand he takes a thick bat, - With which he used to play at 'Kit-Cat'" - ---Cotton's _Works_, 1734, p. 88. - -See "Cat and Dog," "Cudgel," "Munshets," "Tip-Cat." - - -Kit-Cat-Cannio - -A sedentary game, played by two, with slate and pencil, or pencil and -paper. It is won by the party who can first get three marks ([o]'s or -[x]'s) in a line; the marks being made alternately by the players [o] or -[x] in one of the nine spots equidistant in three rows, when complete. -He who begins has the advantage, as he can contrive to get his mark in -the middle.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - -The same game as "Nought and Crosses," which see. - - -Kittlie-cout - -A game mentioned but not described by a writer in _Blackwood's -Magazine_, August 1821, as played in Edinburgh. He mentions that the -terms "hot" and "cold" are used in the game. The game of "Hide and -Seek."--Jamieson. - - -Knapsack - -One boy takes another by the feet, one foot over each shoulder, with his -head downwards and his face to his back, and sets off running as fast as -he can. He runs hither and thither till one or other of the two gets -tired.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - - -Knights - -Two big boys take two smaller ones on their shoulders. The big boys act -as horses, while the younger ones seated on their shoulders try to pull -each other over. The "horses" may push and strike each other with their -shoulders, but must not kick or trip up with their feet, or use their -hands or elbows. The game is usually won by the Horse and Knight who -throw their opponents twice out of three times (G. L. Gomme). Strutt -(_Sports_, p. 84) describes this, and says, "A sport of this kind was in -practice with us at the commencement of the fourteenth century." He -considers it to bear more analogy to wrestling than to any other sport. -He gives illustrations, one of which is here reproduced from the -original MS. in the British Museum. The game is also described in the -Rev. J. G. Wood's _Modern Playmate_, p. 12. - -[Illustration] - - -Knocked at the Rapper - -The girl who spoke of this game, says Miss Peacock, could only remember -its details imperfectly, but as far as she recollects it is played as -follows:--The players dance round a centre child, leaving one of their -number outside the circle. The dancers sing to the one in their midst-- - - Here comes ----, - He knocked at the rapper, and he pulled at the string, - Pray, Mrs. ----, is ---- within? - -At "is ---- within," the child outside the circle is named. The centre -child says-- - - O no, she has gone into the town: - Pray take the arm-chair and sit yourself down. - -The ring of children then sing-- - - O no, not until my dearest I see, - And then one chair will do for we. - -Then all sing-- - - My elbow, my elbow, - My pitcher, and my can: - Isn't ---- ---- a nice young girl? - -Mentioning the supposed sweetheart. - - Isn't ---- ---- as nice as she? - -Mentioning the outside child. - - They shall be married when they can agree. - -Then the inside and outside children each choose a companion from the -circle, and the rest repeat:-- - - My elbow, my elbow, &c. - -When the words have been sung a second time, the four children kiss, and -the two from the circle take the places of the other, after which change -the game begins again.--North Kelsey, Lincolnshire (Miss M. Peacock). - - -Knor and Spell - -See "Nur and Spell." - - -Lab - -A game of marbles (undescribed).--Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_. - -See "Lag." - - -Lady of the Land - -[Music] - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - I. Here comes the lady of the land, - With sons and daughters in her hand; - Pray, do you want a servant to-day? - - What can she do? - - She can brew, she can bake, - She can make a wedding cake - Fit for you or any lady in the land. - - Pray leave her. - - I leave my daughter safe and sound, - And in her pocket a thousand pound, - And on her finger a gay ring, - And I hope to find her so again. - ---_Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries_, i. 133. - - II. There camed a lady from other land, - With all her children in her hand-- - Please, do you want a sarvant, marm? - - Leave her. - - I leaves my daughter zafe and zound, - And in her pocket a thousan pound, - And on her finger a goulden ring, - And in her busum a silver pin. - I hopes when I return, - To see her here with you. - Don't'e let her ramble; don't'e let her trot; - Don't'e let her car' the mustard pot. - -The Mistress says softly-- - - She shall ramble, she shall trot, - She shall carry the mustard pot. - ---_Dorset County Chronicle_, April 1889; _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 228. - - III. Here comes an old woman from Baby-land, - With all her children in her hand. - Pray take one of my children in. - - [Spoken] What can your children do? - - [Sung] One can bake, one can brew, - And one can bake a lily-white cake. - One can sit in the parlour and sing, - And this one can do everything. - ---Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). - - IV. Here comes a poor woman from Baby-land - With three small children in her hand. - One can brew, the other can bake, - The other can make a pretty round cake. - One can sit in the garden and spin, - Another can make a fine bed for the king; - Pray, ma'am, will you take one in? - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 72. - - V. Here is a poor widow from Sandy Row, - With all her children behind her. - One can knit and one can sew, - And one can make the winder go. - Please take one in. - - Now poor Nellie she is gone - Without a farthing in her hand, - Nothing but a guinea gold ring. - Good-bye, Nellie, good-bye! - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - VI. Here comes an old woman from Baby-land, - With six poor children by the hand. - One can brew, one can bake, - And one can make a lily-white cake; - One can knit, one can spin, - And one can make a bed for a king. - Please will you take one in? [choose out one] - - Now poor ---- she is gone - Without a farthing in her hand, - Nothing but a gay gold ring. - Good-bye! Good-bye! - Good-bye, mother, good-bye! - ---Isle of Man (A. W. Moore) - - VII. Here comes a poor widow from Sandalam, - With all her children at her hand; - The one can bake, the other can brew, - The other can make a lily-white shoe; - Another can sit by the fire and spin, - So pray take one of my daughters in. - - The fairest one that I can see - Is pretty [Mary] come to me. - - And now poor [Mary] she is gone - Without a guinea in her hand, - And not so much as a farthing. Good-bye! - Good-bye, my love, good-bye! - ---Forest of Dean, Gloucester (Miss Matthews). - - VIII. Here comes an old woman from Cumberland, - With seven poor children in her hand; - One can sing, the other can sew; - One can sit up in the corner and cry, Alleluia! - Choose the fairest you can see. - The fairest one that I can see is ----, come to me. - Now my daughter ---- gone, - A thousand pound in her pocket and a gold ring on her finger. - Good-bye, mother, good-bye! - ---Berkshire (Miss Thoyts, _Antiquary_, xxvii. 254). - - IX. There was an old woman from Sandyland - With all her children in her hand. - One can knit and one can sow [sew], - One can make a lily-white bow. - Please take one in. - -When all the children have been taken in, the Old Woman says-- - - There was an old woman from Sandiland - With no children by the hand. - Will you give me one? - ---Ballynascaw School, co. Down (Miss C. N. Patterson). - -(_b_) The first Dorsetshire game is played as follows:--Two girls are -chosen, the one to represent a lady and the other a mother, who is -supposed to be taking her children out to service. She has one or more -of them in each hand, and leads them up to the lady, saying or singing -the first verse. The dialogue then proceeds, and the verse is repeated -until all the children are similarly disposed of. A few days are -supposed to pass, after which the mother calls to see her children, when -the lady tells her she cannot see them. At last she insists upon seeing -them, and the children are all "sat down" behind the lady, and the -mother asks one child what the lady has done to her; and she tells her -"that the lady has cut off her nose, and made a nose-pie, and never give -her a bit of it." Each one says she has done something to her and made a -pie, and when all have told their tale "they all turn on her and put her -to prison." - -The second Dorsetshire game somewhat differs. One child takes seven or -eight others whom she pretends are her children. Another child, -presumably a mistress in want of servants, stands at a distance. The -first child advances, holding the hand of her children, saying the first -verse. The dialogue is concluded, and as the woman and her children are -supposed to be out of hearing, the last couplet is said or sung. This -process is gone through again until the mistress has engaged all the -children as her servants, when she is supposed to let them all out to -play with the mustard pots, which are represented by sticks or stones, -in their hands. - -The other versions are played as follows:--The children form a line, the -one in the middle being the mother, or widow; they advance and retire, -the mother alone singing the first verse. One child, who is standing -alone on the opposite side, who has been addressed by the widow, then -asks [not sings] the question. The mother, or widow, sings the reply, -and points to one child when singing the last line, who thereupon -crosses over to the other side, joining the one who is standing alone. -This is continued till all have been selected. The Ballynascaw version -(Miss Patterson) is played in a similar way. One child sits on a bank, -and the others come up to her in a long line. The "old woman" says the -first five lines. No question is asked by the "lady," she simply takes -one child. The "old woman" shakes hands with this child, and says -good-bye to her. When all the children have been "taken in" by the one -who personates the "lady," the "old woman" says the other three lines, -and so one by one gets all the children back again. The Berkshire -version (Miss Thoyts) is said, not sung, and is played with two leaders, -"old woman" and "lover." As the lover chooses a child, that one is sent -behind him, holding round his waist. Each child as she goes says, -"Good-bye, mother, good-bye," and pretends to cry. Finally they all cry, -and the game ends in a tug of war. This tug is clearly out of place -unless only half the children are selected by one side. Miss Thoyts does -not say how this is done. - -(_c_) This game is called "School-teacher" in Belfast. The corruption of -"Lady of the Land," to "Babyland," "Babylon," and "Sandiland," is -manifest. It appears to be only fragmentary in its present form, but the -versions undoubtedly indicate that the origin of the game arises from -the practice of hiring servants. Mr. Halliwell has preserved another -fragmentary rhyme, which he thinks may belong to this game. - - I can make diet bread - Thick and thin, - I can make diet bread - Fit for the king; (No. cccxliv.) - -which may be compared with the rhyme given by Chambers (_Popular -Rhymes_, p. 136), and another version given by Halliwell, p. 229. - -If these rhymes belong to this game it would have probably been played -by each child singing a verse descriptive of her own qualifications, and -I have some recollection, although not perfect, of having played a game -like this in London, where each child stated her ability to either brew, -bake, or churn. It is worth noting that the Forest of Dean and Berkshire -versions have absorbed one of the "selection" verses of the love-games. -Mr. Halliwell, in recording the _Nursery Rhymes_, Nos. cccxliii. and -cccxliv., as quoted above, says, "They are fragments of a game called -'The Lady of the Land,' a complete version of which has not fallen in my -way." Mr. Udal's versions from Dorsetshire are not only called "The Lady -of the Land," but are fuller than all the other versions, though -probably these are not complete. Mr. Newell (_Games_, pp. 56-58) gives -some versions of this game. He considers the original to have been a -European game (he had not found an English example) in which there were -two mothers, a rich and a poor one; one mother begging away, one by one, -all the daughters of the other. - -(_d_) This game no doubt originates from the country practice of hiring -servants at fairs, or from a dramatic "Hirings" being acted at Harvest -Homes. The "Good-bye" of mother and daughters belongs, no doubt, to the -original game and early versions, and is consistent with the departure -of a servant to her new home. The "lover" incident is an interpolation, -but there may have been a request on the part of the "mother" to the -"lady" not to allow the girl followers or sweethearts too soon. As to -the old practice of hiring servants, Miss Burne has noted how distinctly -it stamps itself upon local custom (_Shropshire Folklore_, pp. 461, -464). That the practice forms the groundwork of this game is well -illustrated by the following descriptive passage. "They stay usually two -or three dayes with theire friends, and then aboute the fifth or sixth -day after Martynmasse will they come to theire newe masters; they will -depart from theire olde services any day in the weeke, but theire desire -(hereaboutes) is to goe to theire newe masters eyther on a Tewsday or on -a Thursday; for on a Sunday they will seldome remoove, and as for -Monday, they account it ominous, for they say-- - - Monday flitte, - Neaver sitte; - -but as for the other dayes in the weeke they make no greate matter. I -heard a servant asked what hee could doe, whoe made this answeare-- - - I can sowe, - I can mowe, - And I can stacke; - And I can doe, - My master too, - When my master turnes his backe." - ---Best's _Rural Economy of Yorks._, 1641; _Surtees Society_, pp. -135-136. - -In _Long Ago_, ii. 130, Mr. Scarlett Potter mentions that in South -Warwickshire it was customary at harvest-homes to give a kind of -dramatic performance. One piece, called "The Hiring," represents a -farmer engaging a man, in which work done by the man, the terms of -service, and food to be supplied, are stated in rhymes similar to the -above. See "Lammas." - - -Lady on the Mountain - -[Music] - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - I. There stands a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - Choose one, choose two, choose the fairest one of the two. - The fairest one that I can see, - Is pretty ----, walk with me. - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - II. There lives a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Choose one, choose two, - Choose the fairest of the few. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - Father and mother you must obey; - Love one another like sister and brother, - And pray, young couple, come kiss one another. - ---Colchester (Miss G. M. Frances). - - III. Here stands a lady on a mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Choose you east, and choose you west, - Choose you the one as you love best. - - Now Sally's got married we wish her good joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Twelve months a'ter a son and da'ter, - Pray young couple, kiss together. - ---Berrington (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 509, 510). - - IV. Stands a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young beau. - Take her by the lily-white hand, - Lead her across the water; - Give her kisses, one, two, three, - For she is her mother's daughter. - ---Shipley, Horsham (_Notes and Queries_, 8th series, i. 210, Miss Busk). - - V. There stands a lady on a mountain, - Who she is I do not know; - All she wants is gold and silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Now she's married I wish her joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years after son and daughter, - Pray young couple kiss together. - - Kiss her once, kiss her twice, - Kiss her three times three. - ---Wrotham, Kent (Miss D. Kimball). - - VI. There stands a lady on the ocean [mountain], - Who she is I do not know her; - All she wants is gold or silver, - All she wants is a nice young man. - - Choose once, choose twice, - Choose three times over. - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years old a son and daughter, - Play and cuddle and kiss together. - - Kiss her once, kiss her twice, - Kiss her three times over. - ---Deptford (Miss Chase). - - VII. There stands a lady on the mountain, - Who she is I do not know: - Oh! she wants such gold and silver! - Oh! she wants such a nice young man! - - Now you're married I wish you joy, - First a girl and then a boy; - Seven years after a son and a daughter, - Kiss your bride and come out of the ring. - ---Berkshire (Miss Thoyts, _Antiquary_; xxvii. 254). - -(_b_) A ring is formed, one child in the centre. The ring sing the first -verse, and then the centre child chooses one from the ring. The chosen -pair kiss when the ring has sung the second. The first child then joins -the ring, and the game begins again. In the Barnes version the centre -child calls one to her from the ring by singing the second verse and -naming the child she chooses. - -(_c_) A version from Lady C. Gurdon's _Suffolk County Folk-lore_ (p. 62) -is the same as previous versions, except that it ends-- - - Now you're married you must be good - Make your husband chop the wood; - Chop it fine and bring it in, - Give three kisses in the ring. - -Other versions are much the same as the examples given. - -(_d_) This game has probably had its origin in a ballad. Miss Burne -draws attention to its resemblance to the "Disdainful Lady" (_Shropshire -Folk-lore_, p. 561), and Halliwell mentions a nursery rhyme (No. -cccclxxix.) which is very similar. Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 55) prints -words and tune of a song which is very similar to that ballad, and he -mentions the fact that he has seen it played as a round by the "Arabs of -the street." He considers it to be an old English song which has been -fitted for a ring game by the addition of a verse. - -See "Lady on Yonder Hill." - - -Lady on Yonder Hill - - I. Yonder stands a lovely lady, - Whom she be I do not know; - I'll go court her for my beauty, - Whether she say me yea or nay. - Madam, to thee I humbly bow and bend. - Sir, I take thee not to be my friend. - Oh, if the good fairy doesn't come I shall die. - ---Derbyshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 387). - - II. There stands a lady on yonder hill, - Who she is I cannot tell; - I'll go and court her for her beauty, - Whether she answers me yes or no. - Madam, I bow vounce to thee. - Sir, have I done thee any harm? - Coxconian! - Coxconian is not my name; 'tis Hers and Kers, and Willis and - Cave. - Stab me, ha! ha! little I fear. Over the waters there are but - nine, I'll meet you a man alive. Over the waters there are - but ten, I'll meet you there five thousand. - Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid, - You're only in a trance; - Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid, - And we will have a dance. - ---Lady C. Gurdon's _Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 65. - -(_b_) In the Suffolk game the children form a ring, a boy and girl being -in the centre. The boy is called a gentleman and the girl a lady. The -gentleman commences by singing the first verse. Then they say -alternately the questions and answers. When the gentleman says the lines -commencing, "Stab me," he pretends to stab the lady, who falls on the -ground. Then he walks round the lady and sings the last verse, "Rise -up," and lifts up the lady. In the Derbyshire game only three children -play, the lover, lady, and fairy. The girl stands a little distance off. -The lover says the first four lines, then approaches the lady, falls on -one knee, and says the next line. The lady replies, and retires further -away. The lover then falls on the ground and says the next line. As this -is said the good fairy appears, touches the fallen lover with her hand, -and he is immediately well again. - -(_c_) This is a curious game, and is perhaps derived from a ballad which -had been popular from some more or less local circumstance, or more -probably it may be a portion of an old play acted in booths at fair -times by strolling players. It is not, as far as I can find out, played -in any other counties. The lines-- - - Over the water at the hour of ten, - I'll meet you with five thousand men; - Over the water at the hour of five, - I'll meet you there if I'm alive, - -are portions of a dialogue familiar to Mr. Emslie, and also occur in -some mumming plays. It may also be noted that the curing of illness or -death from a stab is an incident in these plays, as is also the method -of playing. The first lines are similar to those of "Lady on the -Mountain," which see. - - -Lag - -A number of boys put marbles in a ring, and then they all bowl at the -ring. The one who gets nearest has the first shot at the marbles. He has -the option of either "knuckling doon" and shooting at the ring from the -prescribed mark, or "ligging up" (lying up)--that is, putting his taw so -near the ring that if the others miss his taw, or miss the marbles in -the ring, he has the game all to himself next time. If, however, he is -hit by the others, he is said to be "killed."--Addy's _Sheffield -Glossary_. - - -Lammas - -A party of boys take a few straws, and endeavour to hold one between -the chin and the turned-down under-lip, pronouncing the following -rhyme-- - - I bought a beard at Lammas fair, - It's a' awa' but ae hair; - Wag, beardie, wag! - -He who repeats this oftenest without dropping the straw is held to have -won the game (Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, p. 115). This game-rhyme has -an interesting reference to Lammas, and it may also refer to the hiring -of servants. Brockett (_North Country Words_, p. 221) says, "At a fair -or market where country servants are hired, those who offer themselves -stand in the market-place with a piece of straw or green branch in their -mouths to distinguish them." - - -Lamploo - -A goal having been selected and bounds determined, the promoters used to -prepare the others by calling at the top of their voices-- - - Lamp! Lamp! Laa-o! - Those that don't run shan't play-o! - -Then one of the "spryest" lads is elected to commence, thus:--First -touching the goal with his foot or leaning against it, and clasping his -hands so as to produce the letter W in the dumb alphabet, he pursues the -other players, who are not so handicapped, when, if he succeeds in -touching one without unclasping his hands, they both make a rush for the -goal. Should either of the other boys succeed in overtaking one of these -before reaching that spot, he has the privilege of riding him home -pick-a-back. Then these two boys (_i.e._, the original pursuer and the -one caught), joining hands, carry on the game as before, incurring a -similar penalty in case of being overtaken as already described. Each -successive boy, as he is touched by the pursuers, has to make for the -goal under similar risks, afterwards clasping hands with the rest, and -forming a new recruit in the pursuing gang, in whose chain the outside -players alone have the privilege of touching and thus adding to their -numbers. Should the chain at any time be broken, or should the original -pursuer unclasp his hands, either by design or accident, the penalty of -carrying a capturer to the goal is incurred and always enforced. In West -Somerset the pursuing boys after starting were in the habit of crying -out the word "Brewerre" or "Brewarre;" noise appearing to be quite as -essential to the game as speed.--_Somerset and Dorset Notes and -Queries_, i. 186 (1888). - -Another correspondent to the same periodical (i. 204) says that an -almost identical game was played at the King's School, Sherborne, some -fifty years ago. It was called "King-sealing," and the pursuing boy was -obliged by the rules to retain his hold of the boy seized until he had -uttered-- - - One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. - You are one of the king-sealer's men. - -If the latter succeeded in breaking away before the couplet was -finished, the capture was incomplete. - -The second game described is almost identical with "King Caesar," played -at Barnes. - -About twenty years ago the game was common in some parts of Bedfordshire -and Hertfordshire, where it was sometimes called "Chevy -Chase."--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 233. - -See "Chickidy Hand," "Hunt the Staigie," "King Caesar," "Whiddy." - - -Lang Larence - -That is, "Long Lawrence," an instrument marked with signs, a sort of -teetotum. A "Long Lawrence" is about three inches long, something like a -short ruler with eight sides; occasionally they have but four. On one -side are ten x's, or crosses, forming a kind of lattice-work; on the -next, to the left, three double cuts, or strokes, passing straight -across in the direction of the breadth; on the third, a zig-zag of three -strokes one way, and two or three the other, forming a W, with an -additional stroke or a triple V; on the fourth, three single bars, one -at each end and one in the middle, as in No. 2, where they are doubled; -then the four devices are repeated in the same order. The game, formerly -popular at Christmas, can be played by any number of persons. Each has a -bank of pins or other small matters. A pool is formed; then in turn each -rolls the "Long Lawrence." If No. 1 comes up the player cries "Flush," -and takes the pool; if No. 2, he puts down two pins; if No. 3, he says -"Lave all," and neither takes nor gives; if No. 4, he picks up one. The -sides are considered to bear the names, "Flush," "Put doan two," "Lave -all," "Sam up one." It has been suggested that the name "Lawrence" may -have arisen from the marks scored on the instrument, not unlike the bars -of a gridiron, on which the saint perished.--_Easthers's Almondbury -Glossary._ - -See "Teetotum." - - -Leap Candle - -The young girls in and about Oxford have a sport called "Leap Candle," -for which they set a candle in the middle of a room in a candlestick, -and then draw up their coats into the form of breeches, and dance over -the candle back and forth, saying the words-- - - The taylor of Bicester he has but one eye, - He cannot cut a pair of green galagaskins - If he were to die. - -This sport, in other parts, is called "Dancing the Candlerush" (Aubrey's -_Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme_, p. 45). Halliwell (_Rhymes_, p. -65) has a rhyme-- - - Jack be nimble, - And Jack be quick, - And Jack jump over - The candlestick, - -which may refer to this game. Northall (_Folk Rhymes_, p. 412) says in -Warwickshire a similar game is called "Cock and Breeches." - - -Leap-frog - -One boy stoops down sideways, with his head bent towards his body, as -low as possible. This is called "Tucking in your Tuppeny." Another boy -takes a flying leap over the "frog," placing his hands on his back to -help himself over. He then proceeds to a distance of some four or five -yards, and, in his turn, stoops in the same manner as the first boy, as -another frog. A third boy then leaps first over frog No. 1, and then -over frog No. 2, taking his place as frog No. 3, at about the same -distance onwards. Any number of boys may play in the game. After the -last player has taken his leap over all the frogs successively, frog No. -1 has his turn and leaps over his companions, taking his place as the -last in the line of frogs. Then No. 2 follows suit, and so on, the whole -line of players in course of time covering a good distance.--London (G. -L. Gomme). - -Leap-frog is known in Cornwall as "Leap the Long-mare" (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 60), and in Antrim and Down as "Leap the Bullock" -(Patterson's _Glossary_). - -See "Accroshay," "Loup the Bullocks," "Spanish Fly." - - -Leap the Bullock - -See "Leap-frog," "Loup the Bullocks." - - -Leaves are Green - - The leaves are green, the nuts are brown, - They hang so high they will not come down; - Leave them alone till frosty weather, - Then they will all come down together. - ---Berkshire (Miss Thoyts, _Antiquary_, xxvii. 254). - -These lines are sung while the children dance round in a circle. When -the last words are sung, the children flop down upon the ground. The -tune sung is, Miss Thoyts says, that of "Nuts in May." - - -Lend Me your Key - - Please will you lend us your key? - What for? - Please, our hats are in the garden. - Yes, if you won't steal any beans. - Please, we've brought the key back; will you lend us your - frying-pan? - What to do with? - To fry some beans. - Where have you got them? - Out of your garden. - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -One child represents an old woman, and the other players carry on the -dialogue with her. At the end of the dialogue the children are chased by -the old woman. - -See "Mother, Mother, may I go out to Play," "Witch." - - -Letting the Buck out - -This game was played seventy years ago. A ring being formed, the "Buck" -inside has to break out, and reach his "home," crying "Home!" before he -can be caught and surrounded. Afterwards these words were sung-- - - Circle: Who comes here? - - Buck: Poor Johnny Lingo. - - Circle: Don't steal none of my black sheep, Johnny Lingo, - For if you do - I shall put you in the pinder pin-fold. - ---Stixwold, Lines. (Miss M. Peacock). - -See "Who goes round my Stone Wall?" - - -Level-coil - -Nares, in his _Glossary_, says this is "a game of which we seem to know -no more than that the loser in it was to give up his place to be -occupied by another." Minshew gives it thus: "To play at _levell coil_, -G. jouer a cul leve: _i.e._, to play and lift up your taile when you -have lost the game, and let another sit down in your place." Coles, in -his _English Dictionary_, seems to derive it from the Italian _leva il -culo_, and calls it also "Pitch-buttock." In his _Latin Dictionary_ he -has "_level-coil_, alternation, cession;" and "to play at _level coil_, -vices ludendi praebere." Skinner is a little more particular and says, -"Vox tesseris globulosis ludentium propria:" an expression belonging to -a game played with little round tesserae. He also derives it from French -and Italian. It is mentioned by Jonson, _Tale of a Tub_, iii. 2:-- - - "Young Justice Bramble has kept _level-coyl_ - Here in our quarters, stole away our daughter." - -Gifford says that, in our old dramatists, it implies riot and -disturbance. The same sport is mentioned by Sylvester, _Dubartas_, IV. -iv. 2, under the name of _level-sice_:-- - - "By tragick death's device - Ambitious hearts do play at _level-sice_." - -In the margin we have this explanation: "A kinde of Christmas play, -wherein each hunteth the other from his seat. The name seems derived -from the French _levez sus_, in English, arise up." Halliwell's -_Dictionary_ says that Skelton, ii. 31, spells it _levell suse_. - - -Libbety, Libbety, Libbety-lat - -A child stands before a hassock, and as if he were going up stairs, he -puts on it first his right and then his left foot, gradually quickening -his steps, keeping time to the words-- - - Libbety, libbety, libbety-lat, - Who can do this? and who can do that? - And who can do anything better than that? - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 59). - - -Limpy Coley - -A boy's game undescribed.--Patterson's _Antrim and Down Glossary_. - - -Little Dog I call you - -A number of girls stand in a line with their backs to a wall. One of -their number is sent away to a distance, but remains within call. -Another girl, who stands in front of the line, asks the girls one by one -what they would like if they could obtain their desires. After she has -asked every one, she tells them to turn their faces to the wall, and -calls after the girl who was sent away, saying, "Little Dog, I call -you." The girl replies, "I shan't come to please you." "I'll get a stick -and make you," is the rejoinder. "I don't care for that." "I've got a -rice pudding for you." "I shan't come for that." "I've got a dish of -bones." "I'll come for that." The Dog then comes. The girls have been -previously told not to laugh whilst the one who stands out is talking to -the Dog. Then the girl says to the Dog-- - - All the birds in the air, - All the fishes in the sea, - Come and pick me out (for example) - The girl with the golden ball. - -If the girl who desired the golden ball laughs, the Dog picks her out. -If nobody laughs, he guesses who the girl is that has wished for the -golden ball. If the Dog guesses correctly, she goes and stands behind -him, and if he guesses incorrectly she goes and stands behind the one -who has been asking the questions. They continue this until they get to -the last girl or girl at the end of the row, who _must_ have desired to -be-- - - A brewer or a baker, - Or a candlestick maker, - Or a penknife maker. - -Then the questioner says-- - - All the birds in the air, - All the fishes in the sea, - Come pick me out - A brewer or a baker, - Or a candlestick maker, - Or penknife maker. - -If the Dog guesses the right one, he takes that girl on his side, she -standing behind him. Then they draw a line and each side tries to pull -the other over it.--Sheffield (S. O. Addy). The game, it will be seen, -differs in several ways from the other games of "Fool, Fool, come to -School" type. The "fool" becomes a definite Dog, and the players _wish_ -for any thing they choose; the Dog has apparently to find out their -wishes. - -See "All the Birds," "Fool, Fool." - - -Lobber - -There are three or more players on each side, two stones or holes as -stations, and one Lobber. The Lobber lobs either a stick about three -inches long or a ball--(the ball seems to be a new institution, as a -stick was always formerly used)--while the batsman defends the stone or -hole with either a short stick or his hand. Every time the stick or ball -is hit, the boys defending the stones or holes must change places. Each -one is out if the stick or ball lodges in the hole or hits the stone; or -if the ball or stone is caught; or if it can be put in the hole or hits -the stone while the boys are changing places. This game is also played -with two Lobbers, that lob alternately from each end. The game is won by -a certain number of runs.--Ireland (_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 264). - -See "Cat," "Cudgel," "Kit-Cat," "Rounders." - - -Loggats - -An old game, forbidden by statute in Henry VIII.'s time. It is thus -played, according to Stevens. A stake is fixed in the ground; those who -play throw Loggats at it, and he that is nearest the stake wins. -Loggats, or loggets, are also small pieces or logs of wood, such as the -country people throw at fruit that cannot otherwise be reached. -"Loggats, little logs or wooden pins, a play the same with ninepins, in -which the boys, however, often made use of bones instead of wooden pins" -(Dean Miles' MS.; Halliwell's _Dictionary_). Strutt refers to this game -(_Sports_, p. 272). - - -London - -A diagram (similar to Fig. 9 in "Hopscotch") is drawn on a slate, and -two children play. A piece of paper or small piece of glass or china, -called a "chipper," is used to play with. This is placed at the bottom -of the plan, and if of _paper_, is _blown_ gently towards the top; if of -glass or china, it is _nicked_ with the _fingers_. The first player -blows the paper, and in whichever space the paper stops makes a small -round [o] with a slate pencil, to represent a man's head. The paper or -chipper is then put into the starting-place again, and the same player -blows, and makes another "man's head" in the space where the paper -stops. This is continued until all the spaces are occupied. If the paper -goes a second time into a space already occupied by a "head," the player -adds a larger round to the "head," to represent a "body;" if a third -time, a stroke is drawn for a leg, and if a fourth time, another is -added for the second leg; this completes a "man." If three complete men -in one space can be gained, the player makes "arms;" that is, two lines -are drawn from the figures across the space to the opposite side of the -plan. This occupies that space, and prevents the other player from -putting any "men" in it, or adding to any already there. When all the -spaces are thus occupied by one player, the game is won. Should the -paper be blown on to a line or _outside_ the plan, the player is out; -the other player then begins, and makes as many "men" in her turn, until -she goes on a line or outside. Should the paper go into "London," the -player is entitled to make a "head" in every space, or to add another -mark to those already there.--Westminster (A. B. Gomme). This game -resembles one described by F. H. Low in _Strand Mag._, ii. 516. - - -London Bridge - -[Music] - ---Wrotham, Kent (Miss D. Kimball) - -[Music] - ---Rimbault's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 34. - -[Music] - ---Enborne School, Berks. (Miss M. Kimber). - - I. London Bridge is broken down, - Grant said the little bee,[4] - London Bridge is broken down, - Where I'd be. - - Stones and lime will build it up, - Grant said the little bee, - Stones and lime will build it up, - Where I'd be. - - Get a man to watch all night, - Grant said the little bee, - Get a man to watch all night, - Where I'd be. - - Perhaps that man might fall asleep, - Grant said the little bee, - Perhaps that man might fall asleep, - Where I'd be. - - Get a dog to watch all night, - Grant said the little bee, - Get a dog to watch all night, - Where I'd be. - - If that dog should run away, - Grant said the little bee, - If that dog should run away, - Where I'd be. - - Give that dog a bone to pick, - Grant said the little bee, - Give that dog a bone to pick, - Where I'd be. - ---Belfast, Ireland (W. H. Patterson). - - II. London Bridge is broken down, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - London Bridge is broken down, - With a gay lady. - - How shall we build it up again? - Dance o'er my lady lee, - How shall we build it up again? - With a gay lady. - - Silver and gold will be stole away, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Silver and gold will be stole away, - With a gay lady. - - Build it up with iron and steel, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Build it up with iron and steel, - With a gay lady. - - Iron and steel will bend and bow, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Iron and steel will bend and bow, - With a gay lady. - - Build it up with wood and clay, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Build it up with wood and clay, - With a gay lady. - - Wood and clay will wash away, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Wood and clay will wash away, - With a gay lady. - - Build it up with stone so strong, - Dance o'er my lady lee, - Huzza! 'twill last for ages long, - With a gay lady. - ---[London][5] (Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, clii.). - - III. London Bridge is broaken down, - Is broaken down, is broaken down, - London Bridge is broaken down, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with bricks and mortar, - Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, - Build it up with bricks and mortar, - My fair lady. - - Bricks and mortar will not stay, - Will not stay, will not stay, - Bricks and mortar will not stay, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with penny loaves, - Penny loaves, penny loaves, - Build it up with penny loaves, - My fair lady. - - Penny loaves will mould away, - Mould away, mould away, - Penny loaves will mould away, - My fair lady. - - What have this poor prisoner done, - Prisoner done, prisoner done, - What have this poor prisoner done? - My fair lady. - - Stole my watch and lost my key, - Lost my key, lost my key, - Stole my watch and lost my key, - My fair lady. - - Off to prison you must go, - You must go, you must go, - Off to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - IV. Where are these great baa-lambs going, - Baa-lambs going, baa-lambs going, - Where are these great baa-lambs going? - My fair lady. - - We are going to London Bridge, - London Bridge, London Bridge, - We are going to London Bridge, - My fair lady. - - London Bridge is broken down, - Broken down, broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - My fair lady. - -[Then verses follow, sung in the same way and with the same refrain, -beginning with--] - - Mend it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves will wash away. - - Mend it up with pins and needles. - - Pins and needles they will break. - - Mend it up with bricks and mortar, - - Bricks and mortar, that will do. - -[After these verses have been sung--] - - What has this great prisoner done, - Prisoner done, prisoner done, - What has this great prisoner done? - My fair lady. - - Stole a watch and lost the key, - Lost the key, lost the key, - Stole a watch and lost the key, - My fair lady. - - Off to prison you must go, - You must go, you must go, - Off to prison you must go, - My fair lady. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - V. Over London Bridge we go, - Over London Bridge we go, - Over London Bridge we go, - Gay ladies, gay! - - London Bridge is broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - Gay ladies, gay! - - Build it up with lime and sand, - Build it up with lime and sand, - Build it up with lime and sand, - Gay ladies, gay! - -[Then follow verses sung in the same manner and with the same refrain, -beginning with--] - - Lime and sand will wash away. - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves'll get stole away. - - O, what has my poor prisoner done? - - Robbed a house and killed a man. - - What will you have to set her free? - - Fourteen pounds and a wedding gown. - - Stamp your foot and let her go! - ---Clun (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 518-19). - - VI. London Bridge is broken down, - Broken down, broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with iron bars, - Iron bars, iron bars, - Build it up with iron bars, - My fair lady. - -[Then follow verses with the same refrain, beginning with--] - - Build it up with pins and needles. - - Pins and needles rust and bend. - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves will tumble down. - - Here's a prisoner I have got. - - What's the prisoner done to you? - - Stole my watch and broke my chain. - - What will you take to let him out? - - Ten hundred pounds will let him out. - - Ten hundred pounds we have not got. - - Then off to prison he must go. - ---Kent (Miss Dora Kimball). - - VII. London Bridge is falling down, - Falling down, falling down, - London Bridge is falling down, - My fair lady. - - Build it up with mortar and bricks, - Mortar and bricks, mortar and bricks, - Build it up with mortar and bricks, - My fair lady. - -[Then follow verses in the same style and with the same refrain, -beginning with--] - - Bring some water, we'll wash it away. - - Build it up with silver and gold. - - Silver and gold will be stolen away. - - We'll set a man to watch at night. - - Suppose the man should fall asleep? - - Give him a pipe of tobacco to smoke. - - Suppose the pipe should fall and break? - - We'll give him a bag of nuts to crack. - - Suppose the nuts were rotten and bad? - - We'll give him a horse to gallop around, &c. - ---Enborne School, Berks (M. Kimber). - - VIII. London Bridge is broken down, - Gran says the little D, - London Bridge is broken down, - Fair la-dy. - - Build it up with lime and stone, - Gran says the little D, - Build it up with lime and stone, - Fair la-dy. - -[Then follow verses beginning with the following lines--] - - Lime and stone would waste away. - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves would be eaten away. - - Build it up with silver and gold. - - Silver and gold would be stolen away. - - Get a man to watch all night. - - If the man should fall asleep? - - Set a dog to bark all night. - - If the dog should meet a bone? - - Set a cock to crow all night. - - If the cock should meet a hen? - - Here comes my Lord Duke, - And here comes my Lord John; - Let every one pass by but the very last one, - And catch him if you can. - ---Cork (Mrs. B. B. Green). - - IX. London Bridge is broken down, - Broken down, broken down, - London Bridge is broken down, - My fair lady. - -[Other verses commence with one of the following lines, and are sung in -the same manner--] - - Build it up with penny loaves. - - Penny loaves will melt away. - - Build it up with iron and steel. - - Iron and steel will bend and bow. - - Build it up with silver and gold. - - Silver and gold I have not got. - - What has this poor prisoner done? - - Stole my watch and broke my chain. - - How many pounds will set him free? - - Three hundred pounds will set him free. - - The half of that I have not got. - - Then off to prison he must go. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss E. Chase). - -(_b_) This game is now generally played like "Oranges and Lemons," only -there is no "tug-of-war" at the end. Two children hold up their clasped -hands to form an arch. The other children form a long line by holding to -each other's dresses or waists, and run under. Those who are running -under sing the first verse; the two who form the arch sing the second -and alternate verses. At the words, "What has this poor prisoner done?" -the girls who form the arch catch one of the line (generally the last -one). When the last verse is sung the prisoner is taken a little -distance away, and the game begins again. At Clun the players form a -ring, moving round. They sing the first and alternate verses, and -chorus, "London Bridge is broken down." Two players outside the ring run -round it, singing the second and alternate verses. When singing "Penny -loaves'll get stole away," one of the two outside children goes into the -ring, the other remains and continues her part, singing the next verse. -When the last verse is sung the prisoner is released. The Berkshire game -(Miss Kimber) is played by the children forming two long lines, each -line advancing and retiring alternately while singing their parts. When -the last verse is begun the children form a ring and gallop around, all -singing this last verse together. In the Cork version (Mrs. Green) the -children form a circle by joining hands. They march round and round, -singing the verses to a sing-song tune. When singing, "If the cock -should meet a hen," they all unclasp hands; two hold each other's hands -and form an arch. The rest run under, saying the last verse. The "arch" -lower their hands and try to catch the last child. - -(_c_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 342-45. It appears from -this analysis that the London version is alone in its faithful -reflection of an actual building episode. Three other versions introduce -the incident of watching by a man, and failing him, a dog or cock; while -five versions introduce a prisoner. This incident occurs the greatest -number of times. It is not surprising that the London version seems to -be the most akin to modern facts, being told so near the spot indicated -by the verses, and on this account it cannot be considered as the oldest -of the variants. There remain the other two groups. Both are -distinguished by the introduction of a human element, one as watchman, -the other as prisoner. The watchman incident approaches nearer to modern -facts; the prisoner incident remains unexplained by any appeal to modern -life, and it occurs more frequently than the others. In only one case, -the Shropshire, is the prisoner ransomed; in the others he is sent to -prison. Besides this main line of criticism brought out by the analysis -there is little to note. The Hurstmonceux version begins with taking -lambs over London Bridge, and the Shropshire version with the players -themselves going over; but these are doubtless foreign adjuncts, because -they do not properly prefix the main incident of the bridge being -broken. The Belfast version has a curious line, "Grant said the little -bee or dee," which the Cork version renders, "Gran says the little D." -To these there is now no meaning that can be traced, but they help to -prove that the rhyme originated from a state of things not understood by -modern players. In all the versions with the prisoner incident it comes -quite suddenly, without any previous indication, except in the Kent -version, which introduces the exclamation, "Here's a prisoner I have -got!" As the analysis shows the prisoner incident to be a real and not -accidental part of the game, and the unmeaning expressions to indicate -an origin earlier than modern players can understand, we can turn to -other facts to see if the origin can be in any way traced. - -ANALYSIS OF GAME-RHYMES. - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Belfast. | Halliwell. | Liphook. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.|L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.|Grant said the little | -- | -- | - | |bee. | | | - | 8.| -- |Dance o'er my lady | -- | - | | |lee. | | - | 9.| -- | -- |My fair lady. | - |10.| -- |With a gay lady. | -- | - |11.|Where I'd be. | -- | -- | - |12.| -- |How shall we build it | -- | - | | |up again? | | - |13.|Stones and lime will | -- |Build it up with | - | |build it up. | |bricks and mortar. | - |14.| -- | -- |Bricks and mortar will| - | | | |not stay. | - |15.| -- | -- |Build it up with penny| - | | | |loaves. | - |16.| -- | -- |Penny loaves will | - | | | |mould away. | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- |Silver and gold will | -- | - | | |be stole away. | | - |19.| -- |Build it up with iron | -- | - | | |and steel. | | - |20.| -- |Iron and steel will | -- | - | | |bend and bow. | | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.| -- |Build it up with wood | -- | - | | |and clay. | | - |24.| -- |Wood and clay will | -- | - | | |wash away. | | - |25.| -- |Build it up with stone| -- | - | | |so strong. | | - |26.|Get a man to watch all| -- | -- | - | |night. | | | - |27.|Perhaps that man might| -- | -- | - | |fall asleep. | | | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- |What has this poor | - | | | |prisoner done? | - |30.| -- | -- |Stole my watch and | - | | | |lost my key. | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - |33.| -- | -- | -- | - |34.| -- | -- | -- | - |35.| -- | -- | -- | - |36.|Get a dog to watch all| -- | -- | - | |night. | | | - |37.|If that dog should run| -- | -- | - | |away. | | | - |38.|Give that dog a bone | -- | -- | - | |to pick. | | | - |39.| -- | -- | -- | - |40.| -- | -- | -- | - |41.| -- | -- | -- | - |42.| -- | -- | -- | - |43.| -- | -- | -- | - |44.| -- | -- |Off to prison you must| - | | | |go. | - |45.| -- |Huzza! it will last | -- | - | | |for ages long. | | - |46.| -- | -- | -- | - |47.| -- | -- | -- | - |48.| -- | -- | -- | - |49.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Hurstmonceux. | Shropshire. | Kent. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.|Where are these great | -- | -- | - | |baa-lambs going? | | | - | 2.|My fair lady. | -- | -- | - | 3.|We are going to L. B. | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- |Over L. B. we go. | -- | - | 5.|L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | - | 6.| -- | -- | -- | - | 7.| -- | -- | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.|My fair lady. | -- |My fair lady. | - |10.| -- |Gay ladies, gay. | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.|Mend it up with bricks|Build it up with lime | -- | - | |and mortar. |and sand. | | - |14.| -- |Lime and sand will | -- | - | | |wash away. | | - |15.|Mend it up with penny |Build it up with penny|Build it up with penny| - | |loaves. |loaves. |loaves. | - |16.|Penny loaves will wash|Penny loaves'll get |Penny loaves will | - | |away. |stole away. |tumble down. | - |17.| -- | -- | -- | - |18.| -- | -- | -- | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.|Mend it up with pins | -- |Mend it up with pins | - | |and needles. | |and needles. | - |22.|Pins and needles they | -- |Pins and needles rust | - | |will break. | |and bend. | - |23.| -- | -- | -- | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- | -- | -- | - |27.| -- | -- | -- | - |28.| -- | -- |Here's a prisoner I | - | | | |have got. | - |29.|What has this great |O, what has my poor |What's the prisoner | - | |prisoner done? |prisoner done? |done to you? | - |30.|Stole a watch and lost| -- |Stole my watch and | - | |the key. | |broke my chain. | - |31.| -- |Robbed a house and | -- | - | | |killed a man. | | - |32.| -- | -- | -- | - |33.| -- | -- | -- | - |34.| -- | -- | -- | - |35.| -- | -- | -- | - |36.| -- | -- | -- | - |37.| -- | -- | -- | - |38.| -- | -- | -- | - |39.| -- | -- | -- | - |40.| -- | -- | -- | - |41.| -- |What will you have to |What will you take to | - | | |set her free? |let him out? | - |42.| -- |Fourteen pounds and a |Ten hundred pounds | - | | |wedding gown. |will let him out. | - |43.| -- | -- |Then a hundred pounds | - | | | |we have not got. | - |44.|Off to prison you must| -- |Then off to prison you| - | |go. | |must go. | - |45.| -- | -- | -- | - |46.| -- | -- | -- | - |47.| -- |Stamp your foot and | -- | - | | |let her go. | | - |48.| -- | -- | -- | - |49.| -- | -- | -- | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - |No.| Enborne. | Cork. | Crockham Hill. | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - | 1.| -- | -- | -- | - | 2.| -- | -- | -- | - | 3.| -- | -- | -- | - | 4.| -- | -- | -- | - | 5.| -- |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | - | 6.|L. B. is falling down.| -- | -- | - | 7.| -- |Says the little D. | -- | - | 8.| -- | -- | -- | - | 9.|My fair lady. |Fair lady. |My fair lady. | - |10.| -- | -- | -- | - |11.| -- | -- | -- | - |12.| -- | -- | -- | - |13.|Build it up with |Build it up with lime | -- | - | |mortar and bricks. |and stone. | | - |14.|Mortar and bricks will|Lime and stone would | -- | - | |waste away. |waste away. | | - |15.| -- | -- |Build it up with penny| - | | | |loaves. | - |16.| -- | -- |Penny loaves will melt| - | | | |away. | - |17.|Build it up with |Build it up with |Build it up with | - | |silver and gold. |silver and gold. |silver and gold. | - |18.|Silver and gold will |Silver and gold would |Silver and gold I have| - | |be stolen away. |be stolen away. |not got. | - |19.| -- | -- | -- | - |20.| -- | -- | -- | - |21.| -- | -- | -- | - |22.| -- | -- | -- | - |23.| -- | -- | -- | - |24.| -- | -- | -- | - |25.| -- | -- | -- | - |26.| -- |We'll set a man to |Set a man to watch all| - | | |watch all night. |night. | - |27.|Suppose the man should|If the man should fall| -- | - | |fall asleep. |asleep. | | - |28.| -- | -- | -- | - |29.| -- | -- |What has this poor | - | | | |prisoner done? | - |30.| -- | -- |Stole my watch and | - | | | |broke my chain. | - |31.| -- | -- | -- | - |32.|Give him a pipe of | -- | -- | - | |tobacco to smoke. | | | - |33.|Suppose the pipe | -- | -- | - | |should fall and break.| | | - |34.|We'll give him a bag | -- | -- | - | |of nuts to crack. | | | - |35.|Suppose the nuts were | -- | -- | - | |rotten and bad. | | | - |36.| -- |Set a dog to bark all | -- | - | | |night. | | - |37.| -- |If the dog should meet| -- | - | | |a bone. | | - |38.| -- | -- | -- | - |39.| -- |Set a cock to crow | -- | - | | |all night. | | - |40.| -- |If the cock should | -- | - | | |meet a hen. | | - |41.| -- | -- |How many pounds will | - | | | |set him free? | - |42.| -- | -- |Three hundred pounds | - | | | |will set him free. | - |43.| -- | -- |The half of that I | - | | | |have not got. | - |44.| -- | -- |Then off to prison he | - | | | |must go. | - |45.| -- | -- | -- | - |46.| -- | -- | -- | - |47.| -- | -- | -- | - |48.|We'll give him a horse| -- | -- | - | |to gallop around. | | | - |49.| -- |Here comes my lord | -- | - | | |Duke, let everyone | | - | | |pass by but the very | | - | | |last one. | | - +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ - -(_d_) This game is universally acknowledged to be a very ancient one, -but its origin is a subject of some diversity of opinion. The special -feature of the rhymes is that considerable difficulty occurs in the -building of the bridge by _ordinary_ means, but without exactly -suggesting that extraordinary means are to be adopted, a prisoner is -suddenly taken. The question is, What does this indicate? - -Looking to the fact of the widespread superstition of the foundation -sacrifice, it would seem that we may have here a tradition of this rite. -So recently as 1872, there was a scare in Calcutta when the Hooghly -Bridge was being constructed. The natives then got hold of the idea that -Mother Ganges, indignant at being bridged, had at last consented to -submit to the insult on condition that each pier of the structure was -founded on a layer of children's heads (Gomme's _Early Village Life_, p. -29). Formerly, in Siam, when a new city gate was being erected, it was -customary for a number of officers to lie in wait and seize the first -four or eight persons who happened to pass by, and who were then buried -alive under the gate-posts to serve as guardian angels (Tylor's -_Primitive Culture_, i. 97). Other instances of the same custom and -belief are given in the two works from which these examples are taken; -and there is a tradition about London Bridge itself, that the stones -were bespattered with the blood of little children. Fitzstephen, in his -well-known account of London of the twelfth century, mentions that when -the Tower was built the mortar was tempered with the blood of beasts. -Prisoners' heads were put on the bridge after execution down to modern -times, and also on city gates. - -These traditions about London, when compared with the actual facts of -contemporary savagery, seem to be sufficient to account for such a game -as that we are now examining having originated in the foundation -sacrifice. Mr. Newell, in his examination of the game, gives countenance -to this theory, but he strangely connects it with other games which have -a tug-of-war as the finish. Now in all the English examples it is -remarkable that the tug-of-war does not appear to be a part of the game; -and if this evidence be conclusive, it would appear that this incident -got incorporated in America. It is this incident which Mr. Newell dwells -upon in his ingenious explanation of the mythological interpretation of -the game. But apart from this, the fact that the building of bridges was -accompanied by the foundation sacrifice is a more likely origin for such -a widespread game which is so intimately connected with a bridge. - -This view is confirmed by what may be called the literary history of the -game. The verses, as belonging to a game, have only recently been -recorded, and how far they go back into tradition it is impossible to -say. Dr. Rimbault is probably right when he states "that they have been -formed by many fresh additions in a long series of years, and [the game] -is perhaps almost interminable when received in all its different -versions" (_Notes and Queries_, ii. 338). In _Chronicles of London -Bridge_, pp. 152, 153, the author says he obtained the following note -from a Bristol correspondent:--"About forty years ago, one moonlight -night in the streets of Bristol, my attention was attracted by a dance -and chorus of boys and girls, to which the words of this ballad gave -measure. The breaking down of the Bridge was announced as the dancers -moved round in a circle hand in hand, and the question, 'How shall we -build it up again?' was chanted by the leader while the rest stood -still." This correspondent also sent the tune the children sang, which -is printed in the _Chronicles of London Bridge_. This was evidently the -same game, but it would appear that the verses have also been used as a -song, and it would be interesting to find out which is the more ancient -of the two--the song or the game; and to do this it is necessary that we -should know something of the history of the song. A correspondent of -_Notes and Queries_ (ii. 338) speaks of it as a "lullaby song" well -known in the southern part of Kent and in Lincolnshire. In the -_Gentleman's Magazine_ (1823, Part II. p. 232) appeared the following -interesting note:-- - -The projected demolition of London Bridge recalls to my mind the -introductory lines of an old ballad which more than seventy years ago I -heard plaintively warbled by a lady who was born in the reign of Charles -II., and who lived till nearly the end of that of George II. I now -transcribe the lines, not as possessing any great intrinsic merit, but -in the hope of learning from some intelligent correspondent the name of -the author and the story which gave rise to the ballad, for it probably -originated in some accident that happened to the old bridge. The "Lady -Lea" evidently refers to the river of that name, the favourite haunt of -Isaac Walton, which, after fertilising the counties of Hertford, Essex, -and Middlesex, glides into the Thames. - - London Bridge is broken down, - _Dance over the Lady Lea_; - London Bridge is broken down, - _With a gay lady_ [_la-dee_]. - Then we must build it up again. - What shall we build it up withal? - Build it up with iron and steel, - Iron and steel will bend and break. - Build it up with wood and stone, - Wood and stone will fall away. - Build it up with silver and gold, - Silver and gold will be stolen away. - Then we must set a man to watch, - Suppose the man should fall asleep? - Then we must put a pipe in his mouth, - Suppose the pipe should fall and break? - Then we must set a dog to watch, - Suppose the dog should run away? - Then we must chain him to a post. - -The two lines in _italic_ are all regularly repeated after each -line.--M. Green. - -Another correspondent to this magazine, in the same volume, p. 507, -observes that the ballad concerning London Bridge "formed, in my -remembrance, part of a Christmas Carol, and commenced thus-- - - Dame, get up and bake your pies, - On Christmas-day in the morning. - -The requisition goes on to the dame to prepare for the feast, and her -answer is-- - - London Bridge is fallen down, - On Christ-mas day in the morning, &c. - -The inference always was, that until the bridge was rebuilt some -stop would be put to the Dame's Christmas operations; but why the -falling of London Bridge should form part of a Christmas Carol at -Newcastle-upon-Tyne I am at a loss to know." Some fragments were also -printed in the _Mirror_ for November 1823; and a version is also given -by Ritson, _Gammer Gurton's Garland_. The _Heimskringla_ (Laing, ii. -260, 261) gives an animated description of the Battle of London Bridge, -when Ethelred, after the death of Sweyn, was assisted by Olaf in -retaking and entering London, and it is curious, that the first line of -the game-rhyme appears-- - - London Bridge is broken down, - Gold is won and bright renown; - Shields resounding, - War-horns sounding, - Hild is shouting in the din; - Arrows singing, - Mail-coats ringing, - Odin makes our Olaf win. - -If this is anything more than an accidental parallel, we come back to an -historical episode wherein the breaking down and rebuilding of London -Bridge occur, and it looks as if the two streams down which this -tradition has travelled, namely, first, through the game, and second, -through the song, both refer to the same event. - -Dr. Rimbault has, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 34, reconstructed a copy -of the original rhyme from the versions given by Halliwell and the -_Mirror_, and gives the tune to which it was sung, which is reprinted -here. The tune from Kent is the one generally used in London versions. -The tune of a country dance called "London Bridge" is given in -Playford's _Dancing Master_, 1728 edition. - - [4] Another informant gives the refrain, "Grand says the little Dee." - - [5] I have identified this with a version played at Westminster and - another taught to my children by a Hanwell girl.--A. B. G. - - -Long-duck - -A number of children take hold of each other's hands and form a -half-circle. The two children at one end of the line lift up their arms, -so as to form an arch, and call "Bid, bid, bid," the usual cry for -calling ducks. Then the children at the other end pass in order through -the arch. This process is repeated, and they go circling round the -field.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - -See "Duck Dance." - - -Long Tag - -See "Long Terrace." - - -Long-Tawl - -A game at marbles where each takes aim at the other in turn, a marble -being paid in forfeit to whichever of the players may make a -hit.--Lowsley's _Berkshire Glossary_. - - -Long Terrace - -Every player chooses a partner. The couples stand immediately in front -of each other, forming a long line, one remaining outside of the line on -the right-hand side, who is called the "Clapper." The object of the game -is for the last couple to reach the top of the line, each running on -different sides, and keeping to the side on which they are standing. The -object of the Clapper is to hit the one running on the right side of the -line, which, if he succeeds in doing, makes him the Clapper, and the -Clapper takes his place. [The next _last_ couple would then presumably -try and reach the top.]--East Kirkby, Lincs. (Miss K. Maughan). - -A similar game to this is played at Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). It -is there called "Long Tag." The players stand in line behind one -another, and an odd one takes her place somewhere near the front; at a -given signal, such as clapping of hands, the two at the back separate -and try to meet again in front before the one on the watch can catch -them; they may run where they please, and when one is caught that one -becomes the one "out." - -See "French Jackie." - - -Loup the Bullocks - -Young men go out to a green meadow, and there on all-fours plant -themselves in a row about two yards distant from each other. Then he who -is stationed farthest back in the "bullock rank" starts up and leaps -over the other bullocks before him, by laying his hands on each of their -backs; and when he gets over the last one leans down himself as before, -whilst all the others, in rotation, follow his example; then he starts -and leaps again. - -I have sometimes thought that we (the Scotch) have borrowed this -recreation from our neighbours of the "Green Isle," as at their -wakes they have a play much of the same kind, which they call -"Riding Father Doud." One of the wakers takes a stool in his hand, -another mounts that one's back, then Father Doud begins rearing and -plunging, and if he unhorses his rider with a dash he does well. There -is another play (at these wakes) called "Kicking the Brogue," which is -even ruder than "Riding Father Doud," and a third one called -"Scuddieloof."--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game called "Leap the -Bullock," which he says is the same as "Leap-frog." - -Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary Supplement_, under "Lowp," says it -means a leap or jump either running or standing. The various kinds -include "Catskip"--one hitch, or hop, and one jump; "Hitch -steppin"--hop, step, and lowp; a hitch, a step, and a leap; "Otho"--two -hitches, two steps, and a leap; "Lang spang"--two hitches, two steps, a -hitch, a step, and a leap. - -See "Accroshay," "Knights," "Leap-frog." - - -Lubin - -[Music] - ---Hexham (Miss J. Barker). - -[Music] - ---Doncaster (Mr. C. Bell). - -[Music] - ---London (A. B. Gomme). - -[Music] - ---Dorsetshire (Miss M. Kimber). - -[Music] - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - I. Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all the right hands in, - Take all the right hands out, - Shake all the right hands together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your left hands in, - Take all your left hands out, - Shake all your left hands together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your right feet in, - Take all your right feet out, - Shake all your right feet together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your left feet in, - Take all your left feet out, - Shake all your left feet together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all your heads in, - Take all your heads out, - Shake all your heads together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all the [Marys] in, - Take all the [Marys] out, - Shake all the [Marys] together, - And turn yourselves about. - - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - Here we dance lubin light, - Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, - On a Saturday night. - - Put all yourselves in, - Take all yourselves out, - Shake all yourselves together, - And turn yourselves about. - ---Oxford and Wakefield (Miss Fowler). - - II. Now we dance looby, looby, looby, - Now we dance looby, looby, light; - Shake your right hand a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - Shake your right foot a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - Shake your right foot a little, - Shake your left foot a little, - And turn you round about. - - Now we dance looby, looby, looby; - Shake your right hand a little, - Shake your left hand a little, - Shake your right foot a little, - Shake your left foot a little, - Shake your head a little, - And turn you round about. - ---Halliwell (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 226). - - III. Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Right hands in and left hands out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Left hands in and right hands out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Right foot in and left foot out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, fal de ral la, - Hinkumbooby round about. - - Left foot in and right foot out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Heads in and backs out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Backs in and heads out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - A' feet in and nae feet out, - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Shake hands a', shake hands a', - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - - Good night a', good night a', - Hinkumbooby round about; - Fal de ral la, &c. - ---Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, pp. 137-139). - - IV. This is the way we wash our hands, - Wash our hands, wash our hands, - To come to school in the morning. - - This is the way we wash our face, - Wash our face, wash our face, - To come to school in the morning. - - Here we come dancing looby, - Lewby, lewby, li. - - Hold your right ear in, - Hold your right ear out, - Shake it a little, a little, - And then turn round about. - - Here we come dancing lewby, - Lewby, lewby, li, &c. - ---Eckington, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - - V. How do you luby lue, - How do you luby lue, - How do you luby lue, - O'er the Saturday night? - - Put your right hand in, - Put your right hand out, - Shake it in the middle, - And turn yourselves about. - ---Lady C. Gurdon's Suffolk _County Folk-lore_, p. 64. - -[Repeat this for "left hand," "right foot," "left foot," "heads," and -"put yourselves in."] - - VI. Can you dance looby, looby, - Can you dance looby, looby, - Can you dance looby, looby, - All on a Friday night? - - You put your right foot in, - And then you take it out, - And wag it, and wag it, and wag it, - Then turn and turn about. - ---Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - VII. Here we dance luby, luby, - Here we dance luby light, - Here we dance luby, luby, - All on a Wednesday night. - ---Ordsall, Nottinghamshire (Miss Matthews). - - VIII. Here we go lubin loo, - Here we go lubin li, - Here we go lubin loo, - Upon a Christmas night. - ---Epworth, Doncaster (C. C. Bell). - - IX. Here we go looby loo, - Here we go looby li, - Here we go looby loo, - All on a New-Year's night. - ---Nottingham (Miss Winfield). - - X. Here we come looby, looby, - Here we come looby light, - Here we come looby, looby, - All on a Saturday night. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - XI. Here we come looping, looping [louping?], - Looping all the night; - I put my right foot in, - I put my right foot out, - I shake it a little, a little, - And I turn myself about. - ---Hexham (Miss J. Barker). - - XII. Christian was a soldier, - A soldier, a soldier, - Christian was a soldier, and a brave one too. - Right hand in, right hand out, - Shake it in the middle, and turn yourself about. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XIII. Friskee, friskee, I was and I was - A-drinking of small beer. - Right arms in, right arms out, - Shake yourselves a little, and little, - And turn yourselves about. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. p. 49). - - XIV. I love Antimacassar, - Antimacassar loves me. - Put your left foot in, - Put your right foot out, - Shake it a little, a little, a little, - And turn yourself about. - ---Dorsetshire (Miss M. Kimber). - -(_b_) A ring is formed and the children dance round, singing the first -verse. They then stand till, sing the next verse, and, while singing, -suit the action to the word, each child turning herself rapidly round -when singing the last line. The first verse is then repeated, and the -fourth sung in the same way as the second, and so on. - -Another way of playing is that the children do not dance round and -round. They form a ring by joining hands, and they then all move in one -direction, about half way round, while singing the first line, "lubin;" -then back again in the opposite direction, while singing the second -line, "light," still keeping the ring form, and so on for the third and -fourth lines. In each case the emphasis is laid upon the "Here" of each -line, the movement being supposed to answer to the "Here." - -The Dorsetshire version (Miss M. Kimber) is played by the children -taking hands in pairs, forming a ring, and dancing round. At Eckington -(S. O. Addy) the children first pretend to wash their hands, then their -face, while singing the words; then comb their hair and brush their -clothes; then they join hands and dance round in a ring singing the -words which follow, again suiting their actions to the words sung. - -In the Scottish version a ring is formed as above. One sings, and the -rest join, to the tune of "Lillibullero," the first line. As soon as -this is concluded each claps his hand and wheels grotesquely, singing -the second line. They then sing the third line, suiting the action to -the word, still beating the time; then the second again, wheeling round -and clapping hands. When they say "A' feet in, and nae feet out," they -all sit down with their feet stretched into the centre of the ring. - -(_c_) The other variants which follow the Halliwell version are limited -to the first verse only, as the remainder of the lines are practically -the same as those given in Miss Fowler's version which is written at -length, and three or four of these apparently retain only the verse -given. A London version, collected by myself, is nearly identical with -that of Miss Fowler, except that the third line is "Shake your ---- a -little, a little," instead of as printed. This is sung to the tune -given. - -The incidents in this game are the same throughout. The only difference -in all the versions I have collected being in the number of the -different positions to be performed, most of them being for right hands, -left hands, right feet, left feet, and heads; others, probably older -forms, having "ears," "yourselves," &c. One version, from Eckington, -Derbyshire, curiously begins with "washing hands and face," "combing -hair," &c., and then continuing with the "Looby" game, an apparent -"mix-up" of "Mulberry Bush" and "Looby." Three more versions, Sporle, -Cornwall, and Dorsetshire, also have different beginnings, one -(Dorsetshire) having the apparently unmeaning "I love Antimacassar." - -(_d_) The origin and meaning of this game appears somewhat doubtful. It -is a choral dance, and it may owe its origin to a custom of wild antic -dancing in celebration of the rites of some deity in which animal -postures were assumed. The Hexham version, "Here we come louping -[leaping]" may probably be the oldest and original form, especially if -the conjecture that this game is derived from animal rites is accepted. -The term "looby," "lubin," or "luby" does not throw much light on the -game. Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) says, "Looby is an old form of the -modern 'lubber,' a 'clumsy fellow,' 'a dolt.'" That a stupid or -ridiculous meaning is attached to the word "looby" is also shown by one -of the old penances for redeeming a forfeit, where a player has to lie -stretched out on his back and declare, - - Here I lie - The length of a looby, - The breadth of a booby, - And three parts of a jackass. - -The Scottish forms of the game bear on the theory of the game being -grotesque. The fact of the players having both their arms extended at -once, one behind and one in front of them, and the more frequent -spinning round, suggest this. Then, too, there is the sudden "sit down" -posture, when "all feet in" is required. - -In the version given by Halliwell there is more difficulty in the game, -and possibly more fun. This version shows the game to be cumulative, -each player having to go through an additional antic for each verse -sung. This idea only needs to be carried a little further to cause the -players to be ridiculous in their appearance. This version would be more -difficult to perform, and they would be exhausted by the process, and -the constant motion of every member of the body. Attention, too, might -be drawn to the word "Hinkumbooby" occurring in Chambers's version. -Newell (_Games_, p. 131) mentions that some sixty years ago the game was -danced deliberately and decorously, as old fashion was, with slow -rhythmical movement. - - -Lug and a Bite - -A boy flings an apple to some distance. All present race for it. The -winner bites as fast as he can, his compeers _lugging_ at his ears in -the meantime, who bears it as well as he can, and then he throws down -the apple, when the sport is resumed (Halliwell's _Dictionary_). -Brogden's _Lincolnshire Provincial Words_ says "Luggery-bite" is a game -boys play with fruit. One bites the fruit, and another pulls his hair -until he throws the fruit away. The game is also played in Lancashire -(_Reliquary_). - -See "Bob-Cherry." - - -Luggie - -A boys' game. In this game the boys lead each other about by the -"lugs," _i.e._, ears; hence the name (Patterson's _Antrim and Down -Glossary_). Jamieson says that the leader had to repeat a rhyme, and if -he made a mistake, he in turn became Luggie. The rhyme is not recorded. - - -Luking - -The West Riding name for "Knor and Spell." Playing begins at -Easter.--Henderson's _Folk-lore_, p. 84. - -See "Nur and Spell." - - -Mag - -A game among boys, in which the players throw at a stone set up on -edge.--Barnes (_Dorset Glossary_). - - -Magic Whistle - -All the players but three sit on chairs, or stand in two long rows -facing each other. One player sits at one end of the two rows as -president; another player is then introduced into the room by the third -player, who leads him up between the two rows. He is then told to kneel -before the one sitting at the end of the row of players. When he kneels -any ridiculous words or formula can be said by the presiding boy, and -then he and those players who are nearest to the kneeling boy rub his -back with their hands for two or three minutes. While they are doing -this the boy who led the victim up to the president fastens a string, to -which is attached a small whistle, to the victim's coat or jacket. It -must be fastened in such a way that the whistle hangs loosely, and will -not knock against his back. The whistle is then blown by the player who -attached it, and the kneeling boy is told to rise and search for the -Magic Whistle. The players who are seated in the chairs must all hold -their hands in such a way that the victim suspects it is in their -possession, and proceeds to search. The whistle must be blown as often -as possible, and in all directions, by those players only who can do so -without the victim being able to either see or feel that he is carrying -the whistle with him.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -This game is also called "Knight of the Whistle." The boy who is to be -made a Knight of the Order of the Whistle, when led up between the two -rows of players, has a cloak put round his shoulders and a cap with a -feather in it on his head. The whistle is then fastened on to the cloak. -This is described by the Rev. J. G. Wood (_Modern Playmate_, p. 189). -Newell (_Games_, p. 122) gives this with a jesting formula of initiation -into knighthood. He says it was not a game of children, but belonged to -an older age. - -See "Call-the-Guse." - - -Magical Music - -A pleasant drawing-room evening amusement.--Moor's _Suffolk Words_. - -Probably the same as "Musical Chairs." - - -Malaga, Malaga Raisins - -A forfeit game. The players sat in a circle. One acquainted with the -trick took a poker in his right hand, made some eccentric movements with -it, passed it to his left, and gave it to his next neighbour on that -side, saying, "Malaga, Malaga raisins, very good raisins I vow," and -told him to do the same. Should he fail to pass it from right to left, -when he in his turn gave it to his neighbour, without being told where -the mistake lay, he was made to pay a forfeit.--Cornwall (_Folk-lore -Journal_, v. 50). - -"Malaga raisins are very good raisins, but I like Valencias better," is -the saying used in the London version of this game, and instead of using -a poker a paper-knife is used, and it is played at the table. Other -formulae for games of this kind are, "As round as the moon, has two eyes, -a nose, and a mouth." These words are said while drawing on a table with -the forefinger of the _left_ hand an imaginary face, making eyes, nose, -and mouth when saying the words. The fun is caused through those players -who are unacquainted with the game drawing the imaginary face with the -right hand instead of the left. Another formula is to touch each finger -of the right hand with the forefinger of the left hand, saying to each -finger in succession, "Big Tom, Little Tom, Tommy, Tom, Tom." The secret -in this case is to say, "Look here!" before commencing the formula. It -is the business of those players who know the game to say the words in -such a way that the uninitiated imagine the saying of the words -correctly with particular accents on particular words to be where the -difficulty lies. If this is well done, it diverts suspicion from the -real object of these games.--A. B. Gomme. - - -Marbles - -Brand considers that marbles had their origin in bowls, and received -their name from the substance of which the bowls were formerly made. -Strutt (_Sports_, p. 384) says, "Marbles have been used as a substitute -for bowls. I believe originally nuts, round stones, or any other small -things that could easily be bowled along were used as marbles." Rogers -notices "Marbles" in his _Pleasures of Memory_, l. 137:-- - - "On yon gray stone that fronts the chancel-door, - Worn smooth by busy feet, now seen no more, - Each eve we shot the marble through the ring." - -Different kinds of marbles are alleys, barios, poppo, stonies. -Marrididdles are marbles made by oneself by rolling and baking common -clay. By boys these are treated as spurious and are always rejected. In -barter, a bary = four stonies; a common white alley = three stonies. -Those with pink veins being considered best. Alleys are the most -valuable and are always reserved to be used as "taws" (the marble -actually used by the player). They are said to have been formerly made -of different coloured alabaster. See also Murray's _New English Dict._ - -For the different games played with marbles, see "Boss Out," -"Bridgeboard," "Bun-hole," "Cob," "Hogo," "Holy Bang," "Hundreds," -"Lag," "Long-Tawl," "Nine Holes," "Ring Taw." - - -Mary Brown - - I. Here we go round, ring by ring, - To see poor Mary lay in the ring; - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear mother go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise [from off the ground], - To see my poor mother go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear father go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise [from off the ground], - To see my dear father go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear sister go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise from off the ground, - To see my dear sister go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear brother go through the town. - - I won't rise, I won't rise up from off the ground, - To see my dear brother go through the town. - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see your dear sweetheart go through the town. - - I will rise, I will rise up from off the ground, - To see my dear sweetheart go through the town. - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - II. Rise up, rise up, Betsy Brown, - To see your father go through the town. - - I won't rise up upon my feet, - To see my father go through the street. - - Rise up, rise up, Betsy Brown, - To see your mother go through the town. - - I won't rise up upon my feet, - To see my mother go through the street. - -[Then follow verses for sister, brother, and lover. When this last is -sung, she says--] - - I will rise up upon my feet, - To see my lover go through the street. - ---Ninfield, Sussex, about sixty years ago (Charles Wise). - - III. Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your dear mother lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my dear mother lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your poor father lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my poor father lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your dear sister lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my poor sister lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your poor brother lie dead at your feet. - - I won't rise, I won't rise off of my poor feet, - To see my poor brother lie dead at my feet. - - Rise daughter, rise daughter, off of your poor feet, - To see your dear sweetheart lie dead at your feet. - - I will rise, I will rise off of my poor feet, - To see my dear sweetheart lie dead at my feet. - ---Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme). - - IV. Rise daughter, rise daughter, - Rise from off your knees, - To see your poor father lie - Down at yonder trees. - - I won't rise, I won't rise, - From off my knees, - To see my poor father lie - Down at yonder trees. - -[The verses are then repeated for mother, sister, brother, and -sweetheart. When this is said the girl sings--] - - I will rise, I will rise, - From off my knees, - To see my sweetheart lie - Down at yonder trees. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - V. Here we all stand round the ring, - And now we shut poor Mary in; - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - And see your poor mother go through the town. - -[Then follow verses the same as in the Barnes version, No. 1, and -then--] - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - To see the poor beggars go through the town. - - I will not stand up upon my feet - To see the poor beggars go through the street. - -[Two other verses are sometimes added, introducing gentleman and ladies. -All versions, however, conclude with the girl saying--] - - Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, - And see your poor sweetheart go through the town. - - I will get up upon my feet, - To see my sweetheart go through the street. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 218. - -(_b_) The children form a ring, one child laying or kneeling down in the -centre. The ring sing the first, third, fifth, and alternate verses; the -girl in the middle answers with the second, fourth, and so on -alternately. At the last verse the girl jumps up and breaks through the -ring by force; another girl takes her place in the ring, and the game -begins again. The Sussex version of "Mary Brown" (Chas. Wise) is played -by the children standing in line and advancing and retiring towards the -lying or kneeling child. The Barnes version of "Rise, Daughter" is also -played in this way. The "daughter" lays down, and at the end of the game -joins the line, and another lays down. In the Hurstmonceux version, when -the last verse is sung, the girl in the middle rises and picks a boy out -of the ring; he goes in the middle with her, and they kiss. The version -given by Halliwell is played in the same way as the Barnes version. - -(_c_) Halliwell (_Game Rhymes_, p. 219) gives a version of a Swedish -ballad or ring dance-song, entitled "Fair Gundela," he considers this -may be a prototype of the English game, or that they may both be -indebted to a more primitive original. The Swedish game rather gives the -idea of a maiden who has sought supernatural assistance from a wise -woman, or witch, to ask after the fate of those dear to her, and the -English versions may also be dramatic renderings of a ballad of this -character. Mr. Jacobs' _More English Fairy Tales_, p. 221, considers -this game to have originated from the Tale of the "Golden Ball." - - -Mary mixed a Pudding up - - Mary mixed a pudding up, - She mixed it very sweet, - She daren't stick a knife in - Till John came home at neet [ = night]. - Taste John, taste John, don't say nay, - Perhaps to-morrow morning will be our wedding-day. - - The bells shall ring and we shall sing, - And all clap hands together (round the ring). - - Up the lane and down, - It's slippery as a glass, - If we go to Mrs. ---- - We'll find a nice young lass. - Mary with the rosy cheeks, - Catch her if you can; - And if you cannot catch her, - We'll tell you her young man. - ---Hanging Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - -A ring is formed by the children joining hands, one child in the centre. -The first verse is sang. Two children from the ring go to the one in the -centre and _ask_ her who is her love, or as they say here [Yorks.], "who -she goes with;" after that the rest is sung. - -See "All the Boys." - - -Merrils - -See "Nine Men's Morris." - - -Merritot, or the Swing - -This sport, which is sometimes called "Shuggy-shew" in the North of -England, is described as follows by Gay:-- - - "On two near elms the slackened cord I hung, - Now high, now low, my Blouzalinda swung." - -So Rogers, in the _Pleasures of Memory_, l. 77:-- - - "Soar'd in the swing, half pleas'd and half afraid, - Through sister elms that wav'd their summer shade." - -Speght, in his _Glossary_, says, "'Meritot,' a sport used by children by -swinging themselves in bell-ropes, or such like, till they are giddy." -In _Mercurialis de Arte Gymnastica_, p. 216, there is an engraving of -this exercise. - -Halliwell quotes from a MS. _Yorkshire Glossary_, as -follows:--"'Merrytrotter,' a rope fastened at each end to a beam or -branch of a tree, making a curve at the bottom near the floor or ground -in which a child can sit, and holding fast by each side of the rope, is -swung backwards and forwards." - -Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_) calls "Merrytotter" the game of -"See-saw," and notes that the antiquity of the game is shown by its -insertion in Pynson, "Myry totir, child's game, oscillum." - -Chaucer probably alludes to it in the following lines of the _Miller's -Tale_-- - - "What eileth you? some gay girle (God it wote) - Hath brought you thus on the merry tote." - - -Merry-ma-tansa - -[Music] - ---Biggar (Wm. Ballantyne). - - I. Here we go round by jingo-ring, - Jingo-ring, and jingo-ring, - Here we go round by jingo-ring, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Come name the lad you like the best, - Like the best, like the best, - Come name the lad you like the best, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Guess ye wha's the young gudeman, - The young gudeman, the young gudeman, - Come guess ye wha's the young gudeman - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Honey's sweet and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Honey's sweet and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - -[Or-- - - Crab-apples are sour and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Crab-apples are sour and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansa.] - - Can she bake and can she brew? - Can she shape and can she sew, - 'Boot a house can a' things do? - About the merry-ma-tansa? - - She can bake and she can brew, - She can shape and she can sew, - 'Boot a house can a' things do, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - This is the way to wash the clothes, - Wash the clothes, wash the clothes, - This is the way to wash the clothes, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - -[Then follows verses for wringing clothes, ironing, baking bread, -washing hands, face, combing hair, washing and sweeping the house, and a -number of other things done in housekeeping. The boy then presents the -girl with a ring, and they all sing--] - - Now she's married in a goud ring, - A gay goud ring, a gay goud ring, - Now she's married in a goud ring, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - A gay goud ring is a dangerous thing, - A cankerous thing, a cankerous thing, - A gay goud ring is a dangerous thing, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Now they're married we wish them joy, - Wish them joy, wish them joy, - Now they're married we wish them joy, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Father and mother they must obey, - Must obey, must obey, - Father and mother they must obey, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - Loving each other like sister and brother, - Sister and brother, sister and brother, - Loving each other like sister and brother, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - - We pray this couple may kiss thegither, - Kiss thegither, kiss thegither, - We pray this couple may kiss thegither, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - -[If any lad was left without a partner, the ring sing--] - - Here's a silly auld man left alone, - Left alone, left alone, - He wants a wife and can't get none, - About the merry-ma-tansa. - ---Biggar (William Ballantyne). - - II. Here we go the jingo-ring, - The jingo-ring, the jingo-ring, - Here we go the jingo-ring, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Twice about, and then we fa', - Then we fa', then we fa', - Twice about, and then we fa', - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Guess ye wha's the young goodman, - The young goodman, the young goodman, - Guess ye wha's the young goodman, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Honey is sweet, and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Honey is sweet, and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - -[Or-- - - Apples are sour, and so is he, - So is he, so is he, - Apples are sour, and so is he, - About the merry-ma-tansie.] - - He's married wi' a gay gold ring, - A gay gold ring, a gay gold ring, - He's married wi' a gay gold ring, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - A gay gold ring's a cankerous thing, - A cankerous thing, a cankerous thing, - A gay gold ring's a cankerous thing, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Now they're married, I wish them joy, - I wish them joy, I wish them joy, - Now they're married, I wish them joy, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Father and mother they must obey, - Must obey, must obey, - Father and mother they must obey, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - Loving each other like sister and brother, - Sister and brother, sister and brother, - Loving each other like sister and brother, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - - We pray this couple may kiss together, - Kiss together, kiss together, - We pray this couple may kiss together, - About the merry-ma-tansie. - ---Chambers' _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 132-134. - -(_b_) At Biggar (Mr. Ballantyne) this game was generally played on the -green by boys and girls. A ring is formed by all the children but one, -joining hands. The one child stands in the centre. The ring of children -dance round the way of the sun, first slowly and then more rapidly. -First all the children in the ring bow to the one in the centre, and she -bows back. Then they dance round singing the first and second verses, -the second verse being addressed to the child in the centre. She then -whispers a boy's name to one in the ring. This girl then sings the third -verse. None in the ring are supposed to be able to answer, and the name -of the chosen boy is then said aloud by the girl who asked the question. -If the name is satisfactory the ring sing the fourth verse, and the two -players then retire and walk round a little. If the name given is not -satisfactory the ring sing the fifth verse, and another child must be -chosen. When the two again stand in the centre the boys sing the sixth -verse. The girls answer with the seventh. Then all the ring sing the -next verses, imitating washing clothes, wringing, ironing, baking bread, -washing hands, combing hair, &c., suiting their actions to the words of -the verses sung. The boy who was chosen then presents a ring, usually a -blade of grass wrapped round her finger, to the girl. The ring then sing -the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth verses. When all have chosen, if -any lad is left without a partner, the last verse is sung. - -The version recorded by Chambers is similar in action, but there are -some important differences in detail. The centre child acts as mistress -of the ceremonies. The ring of children dance round her, singing the -verses. At the end of the first line of the second verse they all -courtesy to her, and she returns the compliment. At the conclusion of -this verse she selects a girl from the ring and asks her her -sweetheart's name, which is imparted in a whisper. Upon this the child -in the centre sings the third verse, the ring dancing round as before. -If the ring approves her choice, they sing the fourth verse as in the -Biggar version, and if they disapprove, the fifth. Chambers does not say -whether another child is selected, if this is the case; but it is -probable, as he says, the marriage is finally concluded upon and -effected by the ring singing the verses which follow. When singing the -first line of the eighth verse all the ring unclasps hands for a moment, -and each child performs a pirouette, clapping her hands above her head. - -(_c_) It seems very clear from both the versions given that this is a -ceremonial dance, round or at a place sacred to such ceremonies as -betrothal and marriage. The version given by Chambers suggests this the -more strongly, as the child in the centre acts as mistress of the -ceremonies, or "go-between," the person who was the negotiator between -the parents on either side in bringing a marriage about. The courtesying -and bowing of those in the ring to her may show respect for this office. -On the other hand, there is the more important office of priest or -priestess of "the stones" suggested by the action of the game, and the -reverence to the centre child may be a relic of this. The fact that she -asks a girl to tell her her sweetheart's name, and then announces the -name of the girl's choice for approval or disapproval by the ring in -both versions, points to the time when consent by relations and friends -on both sides was necessary before the marriage could be agreed -upon--the inquiry regarding the qualifications of the proposed wife, the -recital of her housewifely abilities, and the giving of the ring by the -boy to the girl are also betrothal customs. It is to be noted that it -was a popular belief in ancient times that to wed with a rush-ring was a -legal marriage, without the intervention of a priest or the ceremonies -of marriage. Poore, Bishop of Salisbury (circa 1217), prohibited the use -of them-- - - "With gaudy girlonds or fresh flowers dight - About her necke, or rings of rushes plight." - ---Spenser's _Queen_. - -And Shakespeare alludes to the custom in the lines--"As fit as ten -groats for the hand of an attorney, as Tib's rush for Tom's -forefinger."--_All's Well that Ends Well._ The rejoicing and bestowal of -the blessing by the ring of friends give an almost complete picture of -early Scotch marriage custom. A version of this game, which appeared in -the _Weekly Scotsman_ of October 16, 1893, by Edgar L. Wakeman, is -interesting, as it confirms the above idea, and adds one or two details -which may be important, _i.e._, the "choose your maidens one by one," -and "sweep the house till the bride comes home." This game is called the -"Gala Ship," and the girls, forming a ring, march round singing-- - - Three times round goes the gala, gala ship, - And three times round goes she; - Three times round goes the gala, gala ship, - And sinks to the bottom of the sea. - -They repeat this thrice, courtesying low. The first to courtesy is -placed in the centre of the circle, when the others sing:-- - - Choose your maidens one by one, - One by one, one by one; - Choose your maidens one by one-- - And down goes (all courtesy) - Merrima Tansa! - -She chooses her maidens. They take her to a distance, when she is -secretly told the name of her lover. The remainder of the girls imitate -sweeping, and sing several stanzas to the effect that they will "sweep -the house till the bride comes home," when the bride is now placed -within the circle, and from a score to a hundred stanzas, with marching -and various imitations of what the lucky bride accomplishes or -undergoes, are sung. Each one closes with "Down goes Merrima Tansa" and -the head-ducking; and this wonderful music-drama of childhood is not -concluded until the christening of the bride's first-born, with-- - - Next Sunday morn to church she must gae, - A babe on her knee, the best of 'a-- - And down goes Merrima Tansa! - -Jamieson gives the game as a ring within which one goes round with a -handkerchief, with which a stroke is given in succession to every one in -the ring; the person who strikes, or the taker, still repeating this -rhyme:-- - - Here I gae round the jingie ring, - The jingie ring, the jingie ring, - Here I gae round the jingie ring, - And through my merry-ma-tanzie. - -Then the handkerchief is thrown at one in the ring, who is obliged to -take it up and go through the same process. He also mentions another -account of the game which had been sent him, which describes the game as -played in a similar manner to the versions given by Chambers. - -Stewart, in his _Ben Nevis and Glencoe_, p. 361, records the following -rhyme:-- - - Here we go with merry shout, - Up and down and round about, - And dance a merry-ma-tandy, - -but he does not describe the game in detail. - - -Milking Pails - -[Music] - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy); London (A. B. Gomme). - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - I. Mary's gone a-milking, - Mother, mother, - Mary's gone a-milking, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Take your pails and go after her, - Daughter, daughter, - Take your pails and go after her, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine. - - Buy me a pair of new milking pails, - Mother, mother, - Buy me a pair of new milking pails, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Where's the money to come from, - Daughter, daughter, - Where's the money to come from, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Sell my father's feather bed, - Mother, mother, - Sell my father's feather bed, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What's your father to sleep on, - Daughter, daughter, - What's your father to sleep on, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Put him in the truckle bed, - Mother, mother, - Put him in the truckle bed, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What are the children to sleep on, - Daughter, daughter, - What are the children to sleep on, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Put them in the pig-sty, - Mother, mother, - Put them in the pig-sty, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What are the pigs to lie in, - Daughter, daughter, - What are the pigs to lie in, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Put them in the washing-tubs, - Mother, mother, - Put them in the washing-tubs, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - What am I to wash in, - Daughter, daughter, - What am I to wash in, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Wash in the thimble, - Mother, mother, - Wash in the thimble, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Thimble won't hold your father's shirt, - Daughter, daughter, - Thimble won't hold your father's shirt, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine. - - Wash in the river, - Mother, mother, - Wash in the river, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Suppose the clothes should blow away, - Daughter, daughter, - Suppose the clothes should blow away, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Set a man to watch them, - Mother, mother, - Set a man to watch them, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Suppose the man should go to sleep, - Daughter, daughter, - Suppose the man should go to sleep, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Take a boat and go after them, - Mother, mother, - Take a boat and go after them, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - - Suppose the boat should be upset, - Daughter, daughter, - Suppose the boat should be upset, - Gentle sweet daughter o' mine? - - Then that would be an end of you, - Mother, mother, - Then that would be an end of you, - Gentle sweet mother o' mine. - ---London Nursemaid, 1876 (A. B. Gomme). - - II. Mary's gone a-milking, a-milking, a-milking, - Mary's gone a-milking, mother, dear mother of mine. - - Where did she get her money from, daughter, daughter? - Where did she get her money from, daughter, dear daughter - of mine? - -[Then follow verses sung in the same manner, beginning with the -following lines--] - - Sold her father's feather bed, feather bed. - What will your father lie on, lie on? - Lay him in the pig-sty, pig-sty. - Where will the pigs lie, daughter? - Lay them in the wash-tub, mother. - What shall I wash in, wash in? - Wash in a thimble, mother. - A thimble won't hold my night-cap. - Wash by the sea-side, mother. - Suppose the clothes should blow away? - Get a boat and go after them, mother. - But suppose the boat should turn over? - Then that would be an end of you, mother. - ---Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 169). - - III. Mother, please buy me a milking-can, - A milking-can, a milking-can! - Mother, please buy me a milking-can, - With a humpty-dumpty-daisy! - -[Then follow verses sung in the same manner, beginning--] - - Where's the money to come from, to come from? - Sell my father's feather bed. - Where's your father going to lie? - Lie on the footman's bed. - Where's the footman going to lie? - Lie in the cowshed. - Where's the cows going to lie? - Lie in the pig-sty. - Where's the pig going to lie? - Lie in the dolly-tub. - And what am I to wash in? - Wash in a thimble. - A thimble wunna hold a cap. - Wash in an egg-shell. - An egg-shell wunna hold a shirt. - Wash by the river-side. - Suppose the clothes should float away? - Get a boat and fetch them back. - Suppose the boat should overthrow? - Serve you right for going after them! - ---Berrington, Oswestry, Chirbury (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. -515). - - IV. Mother, will you buy me a milking-can, - A milking-can, a milking-can? - Mother, will you buy me a milking-can, - To me, I, O, OM? - - Where's the money to buy it with, - To buy it with, to buy it with, - Where's the money to buy it with, - To me, I, O, OM? - -[Then the following verses--] - - Sell my father's feather bed. - Where will your father sleep? - My father can sleep in the boys' bed. - Where will the boys sleep? - The boys can sleep in the pig-sty. - Where will the pigs sleep? - The pigs can sleep in the wash-tub. - Where shall I wash my clothes? - You can wash them in a thimble. - A thimble is not large enough. - You can wash them in an egg-shell. - An egg-shell would not hold them. - You can wash them by the river side. - But what if I should fall in? - We'll get a rope and pull you out, - To me, I, O, OM. - ---Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - - V. Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, - Two milking-pails, two milking-pails, - Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, - O sweet mother o' mine. - -[Then verses beginning with the following lines--] - - Where shall I get my money from, - O sweet daughter o' mine? - - Sell my father's feather beds. - Where shall your father sleep? - Sleep in the servant's bed. - Where shall the servant sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - Where shall I wash the clothes? - Wash them in the river. - Suppose the clothes float away? - Take a boat and go after them. - Suppose the boat upsets? - Then you will be drownded. - ---London (Miss Dendy). - - VI. Mother, come buy me a milking-can, - Milking-can, milking-can, - Mother, come buy me a milking-can, - O mother o' mine. - - Where can I have my money from, - O daughter o' mine? - - Sell my father's bedsteads. - Where must your father sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - Where must the pig sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - What must I wash in? - Wash in your thimble. - What must I sew with? - Sew with your finger. - What will you say if I prick me? - Serve you right, serve you right. - ---Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). - - VII. Mother, will you buy me a pair of milking-cans, - Milking-cans, milking-cans, - Mother, will you buy me a pair of milking-cans, - O gentle mother of mine? - - But where shall I get the money from? - Sell my father's feather bed. - But where, O where, will your father lie? - Father can lie in the girls' bed. - But where, O where, shall the girls then lie? - The girls can lie in the boys' bed. - But where, O where, shall the boys lie? - The boys may lie in the pig-sty. - Then where, O where, will the pigs lie? - The pigs may lie in the washing-tub. - Then where, O where, shall we wash our clothes? - We can wash by the river side. - The tide will wash the clothes away. - Get the prop and follow them. - ---Sheffield (Miss Lucy Garnett). - - VIII. Mother, buy some milking-cans, - Milking-cans, milking-cans. - - Where must our money come from? - Sell our father's feather bed. - -[This goes on for many more verses, articles of furniture being -mentioned in each succeeding verse.] - ---Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). - - IX. Buy me a milking-pail, my dear mother. - Where's the money to come from, my dear daughter? - Sell father's feather bed. - Where could your father sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - What's the pigs to sleep in? - Put them in the washing-tub. - What could I wash the clothes in? - Wash them in your thimble. - Thimble isn't big enough for baby's napkin. - Wash them in a saucer. - A saucer isn't big enough for father's shirt. - Wash by the river side, wash by the river side. - ---Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss Chase). - - X. Please, mother, buy me a milking-can, - Milking-can, milking-can, - Please, mother, buy me a milking-can, - My dear mother. - - Where can I get the money from? - Sell father's feather bed. - Where shall your father sleep? - Sleep in the boys' bed. - Where shall the boys sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - Where shall the pigs sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - What shall I wash with? - Wash in an egg-shell. - The egg-shell will break. - Wash in a thimble. - Thimble's not big enough. - Wash by the river side. - Suppose the things should float away? - Get a boat and go after them. - Suppose the boat should be upset? - Then you'll be drowned, - Drowned, drowned, - Then you'll be drowned, - And a good job too. - ---Enborne, Berks. (Miss M. Kimber). - - XI. Please, mother, buy me a milk-can, - A milk-can, a milk-can, - Please, mother, do. - - Where's the money coming from, - Coming from, coming from, - What shall I do? - - Sell father's feather bed, - Feather bed, feather bed, - Please mother, do. - - Where shall the father sleep? - Sleep in the servants' bed. - Where shall the servants sleep? - Sleep in the pig-sty. - Where shall the pig sleep? - Sleep in the washing-tub. - What shall I wash in? - Wash in a thimble. - The shirts won't go in. - Wash by the river side. - Supposing if I fall in? - Good job too! - ---Hartley Wintney, Winchfield, Hants (H. S. May). - - XII. Mother, buy the milk-pail, mother, dear mother of mine. - Where's the money to come from, children, dear children of - mine? - Sell father's feather bed, mother, dear mother of mine. - Where's your father to sleep in? - Father can sleep in the servant's bed. - Where's the servant to sleep in? - Servant can sleep in the pig-sty. - Where's the pig to sleep in? - The pig can sleep in the wash-tub. - Where shall we wash our clothes? - Wash our clothes at the sea-side. - If our clothes should swim away? - Then take a boat and go after them. - O what should we do if the boat should sink? - O then we should all of us be at an end. - ---Swaffham, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - XIII. We want to buy a wash-pan, wash-pan, wash-pan, - We want to buy a wash-pan, early in the morning. - - Where will you get the money from, money from, money from? - We'll sell my father's feather bed, feather bed, feather bed. - Where will your father sleep? - Father'll sleep in the boys' bed. - Where will the boys sleep? - Boys will sleep in the girls' bed. - Where will the girls sleep? - Girls will sleep in the pig-sty. - Where will the pigs sleep? - Pigs will sleep in the washing-pan. - ---Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith) - - XIV. Mother, may I buy some male-scales, mother, mother? - Mother, may I buy some male-scales, gentle mother of mine? - Where will the money come from, daughter, daughter? - Sell my father's feather bed, mother, mother. - Where will your father lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the boys' bed, mother, mother. - Where will the boys lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the servants' bed, mother, mother. - Where will the servants lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the pig-sty, mother, mother. - Where will the pigs lie, daughter, daughter? - Lie in the washing-tub, mother, mother. - Where will we wash our clothes, daughter, daughter? - Wash them at the sea-side, mother, mother. - Suppose the clothes should float away, daughter, daughter? - Take a boat and bring them in, mother, mother. - Suppose the boat would go too slow, daughter, daughter? - Take a steamboat and bring them in, mother, mother. - Suppose the steamboat would go too fast, daughter, daughter? - Then take a rope and hang yourself, mother, mother. - ---South Shields (Miss Blair, aged 9). - -(_b_) One child stands apart and personates the Mother. The other -children form a line, holding hands and facing the Mother. They advance -and retire singing the first, third, and alternate verses, while the -Mother, in response, sings the second and alternate verses. While the -last verse is being sung the children all run off; the Mother runs after -them, catches them, and beats them. Either the first or last caught -becomes Mother in next game. In the Shropshire game the Mother should -carry a stick. In the Norfolk version the Mother sits on a form or bank, -the other children advancing and retiring as they sing. After the last -verse is sung the children try to seat themselves on the form or bank -where the Mother has been sitting. If they can thus get home without the -Mother catching them they are safe. The Kentish game is played with two -lines of children advancing and retiring. This was also the way in which -the London version (A. B. Gomme) was played. In the version sent by Mr. -H. S. May a ring is formed by the children joining hands. One child -stands in the centre--she represents the Mother. The ring of children -say the first, third, and every alternate verse. The child in the centre -says the second, fourth, and alternate verses, and the game is played as -above, except that when the Mother has said the last verse the children -call out, "Good job, too," and run off, the Mother chasing them as -above. The game does not appear to be sung. - -(_c_) This game is somewhat of a cumulative story, having for its finish -the making angry and tormenting of a mother. All the versions point to -this. One interesting point, that of milk-pails, is, it will be seen, -gradually losing ground in the rhymes. Milk-pails were pails of wood -suspended from a yoke worn on the milkmaid's shoulders, and these have -been giving place to present-day milk-cans. Consequently we find in the -rhymes only four versions in which milk-pails are used. In two versions -even the sense of milking-can has been lost, and the South Shields -version, sent me by little Miss Blair, has degenerated into -"male-scales," a thoroughly meaningless phrase. The Cowes version (Miss -Smith) has arrived at "wash-pan." The "burden" of the Chirbury version -is "a rea, a ria, a roses," and the Sheffield version is also -remarkable: the "I, O, OM" refers, probably, to something now forgotten, -or it may be the "Hi, Ho, Ham!" familiar in many nursery rhymes. The -game seems to point to a period some time back, when milking was an -important phase of the daily life, or perhaps to the time when it was -customary for the maids and women of a village to go to the hilly -districts with the cows (summer shealings) for a certain period of time. -The references to domestic life are interesting. The scarcity of beds, -the best or feather bed, and the children's bed, seeming to be all those -available. The feather bed is still a valued piece of household -furniture, and is considered somewhat of the nature of a heirloom, -feather beds often descending from mother to daughter for some -generations. I have been told instances of this. Gregor, in _Folk-lore -of East of Scotland_, p. 52, describes the Scottish box-bed. The -"truckle bed" and "footman's bed" probably refers to the small bed under -a large one, which was only pulled out at night for use, and pushed -under during the day. Illustrations of these beds and the children's bed -are given in old tales. The proximity of the pig-sty to the house is -manifest. The mention of washing-tubs calls to mind the large wooden -tubs formerly always used for the family wash. Before the era of -laundresses washing-tubs must have constituted an important part of the -family plenishing. Washing in the rivers and streams was also a thing of -frequent occurrence, hot water for the purpose of cleansing clothes not -being considered necessary, or in many cases desirable. Chambers gives a -version of the game (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 36) and also Newell (_Games_, -p. 166). Another version from Buckingham is given by Thomas Baker in the -_Midland Garner_, 1st ser., ii. 32, in which the mother desires the -daughter to "milk in the washing-tub," and the words also appear very -curiously tacked on to the "Three Dukes a-riding" game from Berkshire -(_Antiquary_, xxvii. 195), where they are very much out of place. - - -Mineral, Animal, and Vegetable - -A ball is thrown by one player to any one of the others. The thrower -calls out at the same time either "mineral," "animal," or "vegetable," -and counts from one to ten rather quickly. If the player who is touched -by the ball does not name something belonging to that kingdom called -before the number ten is reached, a forfeit has to be paid.--London (A. -B. Gomme). - -This is more usually called "Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral." See "Air, -Fire, and Water." - - -Minister's Cat - -The first player begins by saying, "The minister's cat is an ambitious -cat," the next player "an artful cat," and so on, until they have all -named an adjective beginning with A. The next time of going round the -adjectives must begin with B, the next time C, and so on, until the -whole of the alphabet has been gone through.--Forest of Dean, -Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews); Anderby, Lincolnshire (Miss Peacock). - -This is apparently the same game as the well-known "I love my love with -an A because she is amiable." In this game every player has to repeat -the same sentence, but using a different adjective, which adjective must -begin with the letter A. Various sentences follow. At the next round the -adjectives all begin with B; the next C, until a small story has been -built up. Forfeits were exacted for every failure or mistake. The -formula usually was-- - -I love my love with an A because she is ( ). I hate her with an -A because she is ( ). I took her to the sign of the ( ), and -treated her to ( ). The result was ( ). - - -Mollish's Land - -Cornish name for "Tom Tiddler's Ground."--_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57. - - -Monday, Tuesday - -A game played with a ball. There are seven players, who each take a name -from one of the days of the week. One (Sunday) begins by throwing the -ball against a wall, calling out at the same time the name of one of the -days, who has to run and catch it before it falls. If this one fails to -catch the ball, the first player picks up the ball and tries to hit one -of the six with it, who all endeavour to escape being hit. If the player -succeeds, he again throws the ball against the wall, calling out another -day of the week to catch it. If a player gets hit three times, he is -out. The winner is he who has either not been hit at all or the fewest -times, or who has been able to stay in the longest. The same game is -played with twelve children, who are named after the twelve months of -the year.--London and Barnes (A. B. Gomme); _Strand Magazine_, ii. 519 -(F. H. Low). - -This game belongs apparently to the ball games used for purposes of -divination. Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 181) describes a similar game to -this, in which the player whose name is called drops the ball; he must -pick it up as quickly as possible while the rest scatter. He then calls -"Stand!" upon which the players halt, and he flings it at whom he -pleases. If he misses his aim, he must place himself in a bent position -with his hands against a wall until every player has taken a shot at -him. The idea of naming children after the days of the week occurs also -in the games of "Gipsy," "Witch," and "Mother, Mother, the Pot boils -over." - -See "Ball," "Burly Whush," "Keppy Ball." - - -Moolie Pudding - -The game of "Deadelie;" one has to run with the hands locked and "taen" -the others.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -See "Chickidy Hand," "Deadelie," "Hunt the Staigie," "Whiddy." - - -More Sacks to the Mill - -A very rough game, mentioned in Dean Miles' MS., p. 180 (Halliwell's -_Dictionary_). Lowsley (_Berkshire Glossary_) says this is "a favourite -game with children at Christmas-time, when wishing for one of a romping -character," but he does not describe it further. Northall (_English Folk -Rhymes_, p. 354) says that in Warwickshire and Staffordshire boys -torture an unfortunate victim by throwing him on the ground and falling -atop of him, yelling out the formula, "Bags to [on] the mill." This -summons calls up other lads, and they add their weight. - - -Mother, may I go out to Play? - - I. Mother, may I go out to play? - No, my child, it's such a wet day. - Look how the sun shines, mother. - Well, make three round curtseys and be off away. - [Child goes, returns, knocks at door. Mother says, "Come - in."] - What have you been doing all this time? - Brushing Jenny's hair and combing Jenny's hair. - What did her mother give you for your trouble? - A silver penny. - Where's my share of it? - Cat ran away with it. - Where's the cat? - In the wood. - Where's the wood? - Fire burnt it. - Where's the fire? - Moo-cow drank it. - Where's the moo-cow? - Butcher killed it. - Where's the butcher? - Eating nuts behind the door, and you may have the nutshells. - ---London (Miss Dendy, from a maid-servant). - - II. Please, mother, may I go a-maying? - Why, daughter, why? - Because it is my sister's birthday. - Make three pretty curtseys and walk away. - Where is your may? - I met puss, and puss met me, and puss took all my may away. - Where is puss? - Run up the wood. - Where is the wood? - Fire burnt it. - Where is the fire? - Water quenched it. - Where is the water? - Ducks have drunk it. - Where are the ducks? - Butcher killed them. - Where is the butcher? - Behind the churchyard, cracking nuts, and leaving you the - shells. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - III. Please, mother, may we go out to play? - Yes, if you don't frighten the chickens. - No, mother, we won't frighten the chickens. - [They all go out and say, "Hush! hush!" to pretended - chickens.] - Where have you been? - To grandmother's. - What for? - To go on an errand. - What did you get? - Some plums. - What did you do with them? - Made a plum-pudding. - What did she give you? - A penny. - What did you do with it? - Bought a calf. - What did you do with it? - Sold it. - What did you do with the money? - Gave it to the butcher, and he gave me a penny back, and I - bought some nuts with it. - What did you do with them? - Gave them to the butcher, and he's behind the churchyard - cracking them, and leaving you the shells. - ---Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). - - IV. Mother, mother, may I go to play? - No, daughter, no! for fear you should stay. - Only as far as the garden gate, to gather flowers for my - wedding day. - Make a fine curtsey and go your way. - [They all curtsey and scamper off, and proceed to plan some - mischief. Then they return.] - Now where have you been? - Up to Uncle John's. - What for? - Half a loaf, half a cheese, and half a pound of butter. - Where's my share? - Up in cupboard. - 'Tisn't there, then! - Then the cat eat it. - And where's the cat? - Up on the wood [_i.e._, the faggots]. - And where's the wood? - Fire burnt it. - Where's the fire? - Water douted it [_i.e._, put it out]. - Where's the water? - Ox drank it. - Where's the ox? - Butcher killed it. - And where's the butcher? - Behind the door cracking nuts, and you may eat the shells of - them if you like. - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 219). - - V. Please may I go out to play? - How long will you stay? - Three hours in a day. - Will you come when I call you? - No. - Will you come when I fetch you? - Yes. - Make then your curtseys and be off. - -The girls then scamper off as before, and as they run about the field -keep calling out, "I won't go home till seven o'clock, I won't go home -till seven o'clock." After they have been running about for some five or -ten minutes the Mother calls Alice (or whatever the name may be) to come -home, when the one addressed will run all the faster, crying louder than -before, "I won't go home till seven o'clock." Then the Mother commences -to chase them until she catches them, and when she gets them to any -particular place in the field where the others are playing, she says-- - - Where have you been? - Up to grandmother's. - What have you done that you have been away so long? - I have cleaned the grate and dusted the room. - What did she give you? - A piece of bread and cheese so big as a house, and a piece of - plum cake so big as a mouse. - Where's my share? - Up in higher cupboard. - It's not there. - Up in lower cupboard. - It's not there. - Then the cat have eat it. - Where's the cat? - Up in heath. - Where's the heath? - The fire burnt it. - -[The rest is the same as in the last version, p. 393.] - ---Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 221-222). - - VI. Mother, mother, may I (or we) go out to play? - No, child! no, child! not for the day. - Why, mother? why, mother? I won't stay long. - Make three pretty courtesies, and away begone. - One for mammy, one for daddy, one for Uncle John. - Where, child! where, child! have you been all the day? - Up to granny's. - What have you been doing there? - -[The answer to this is often, "Washing doll's clothes," but anything may -be mentioned.] - - What did she give you? - -[The reply is again left to the child's fancy.] - - Where's my share? - The cat ate it [or, In the cat's belly]. What's in that box, - mother? - Twopence, my child. - What for, mother? - To buy a stick to beat you, and a rope to hang you, my child. - ---Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 55, 56). - - VII. Grandmother, grandmother grey, - May I go out to play? - No, no, no, it is a very wet day. - Grandmother, grandmother grey, - May I go out to play? - Yes, yes, yes, if you don't frighten the geese away. - Children, I call you. - I can't hear you. - Where are your manners? - In my shoe. - Who do you care for? - Not for you. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - VIII. Pray, mother, pray, - May I go out to play? - No, daughter, no, daughter, - Not every fine day. - Why, mother, why? - I shan't be gone long. - Make a fine curtsey - And glad git you gone.-- - Wait for your sister. - ---Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase). - - IX. Please, mother, please, mother, may I go out to play? - No, child, no, child, 'tis such a cold day. - Why, mother, why, mother, I won't stay long. - Make three pretty curtseys and off you run. - ---Northants (Rev. W. D. Sweeting). - -(_b_) One girl is chosen to act as "Mother," the rest of the players -pretend to be her children, and stand in front of her, not in a line, -but in a group. One of them, very frequently all the children ask her -the first question, and the Mother answers. When she gives permission -for the children to go out they all curtsey three times, and run off and -pretend to play. They then return, and the rest of the dialogue is said, -the Mother asking the questions and the children replying. At the end of -the dialogue the Mother chases and catches them, one after the other, -pretending to beat and punish them. In the Northants and Hurstmonceux -games there appears to be no chasing. In the London version (Miss Dendy) -only two children are mentioned as playing. When the Mother is chasing -the girl she keeps asking, "Where's my share of the silver penny?" to -which the girl replies, "You may have the nut-shells." In the Cornish -version, when the Mother has caught one of the children, she beats her -and puts her hands round the child's throat as if she were going to hang -her. - -(_c_) Miss Courtney, in _Folk-lore Journal_, v. 55, says: "I thought -this game was a thing of the past, but I came across some children -playing it in the streets of Penzance in 1883." It belongs to the -cumulative group of games, and is similar in this respect to "Milking -Pails," "Mother, Mother, the Pot boils over," &c. There seems to be no -other object in the game as now played except the pleasures of teasing -and showing defiance to a mother's commands, and trying to escape the -consequences of disobedience by flight, in order that the mother may -chase them. The idea may be that, if she is "out of breath," she cannot -chastise so much. Mr. Newell (_Games_, p. 172) gives versions of a -similar game. - - -Mother Mop - -All the players, except one, stand two by two in front of each other, -the inner ones forming an arch with their hands united--this is called -the "oven." The odd child is "Mother Mop." She busies herself with a -pretended mop, peel, &c., after the manner of old-fashioned bakers, -making much ado in the valley between the rows of children. The oven -soon gets demolished, and the last child vanquished becomes "Mother Mop" -the next time.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). - -It seems probable that the inner rows of children should kneel or stoop -down in order that "Mother Mop" should have as much trouble as possible -with her oven. The game may have lost some of its details in other -directions, as there is no apparent reason why the oven is demolished or -broken down. - -See "Jack, Jack, the Bread's a-burning." - - -Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils over - -A number of girls choose one of their number to represent a witch, and -another to be a mother. The Witch stands near the corner of a wall, so -that she can peep round. Then the Mother counts the children by the -seven days of the week, "Monday," "Tuesday," &c., and appoints another -girl to act as guardian over them. She then pretends to go out washing, -removing to a short distance so as to be within ear-shot of the other -children. As soon as the Mother has gone, the old Witch comes and says, -"Please, can I light my pipe?" Then the children say, "Yes, if you won't -spit on t' hearth." She pretends to light her pipe, but spits on the -hearth, and runs away with the girl called Sunday. Then the Guardian, -among the confusion, pretends to rush down stairs, and, failing to find -Sunday, calls out, "Mother, mother, t' pot boils over." The Mother -replies, "Put your head in;" the Guardian says, "It's all over hairs;" -the Mother says, "Put the dish-clout in;" the Guardian says, "It's -greasy;" the Mother says, "Get a fork;" the Guardian says, "It's rusty;" -the Mother says, "I'll come mysen." She comes, and begins to count the -children, Monday, Tuesday, up to Saturday, and missing Sunday, asks, -"Where's Sunday?" the Guardian says, "T' old Witch has fetched her." The -Mother answers, "Where was you?" "Up stairs." The Mother says, "What -doing?" "Making t' beds." "Why didn't you come down?" "Because I had no -shoes." "Why didn't you borrow a pair?" "Because nobody would lend me a -pair." "Why didn't you steal a pair?" "Do you want me to get hung?" Then -the Mother runs after her, and if she can catch her thrashes her for -letting Sunday go. Then the Mother pretends to go out washing again, and -the Witch fetches the other days of the week one by one, when the same -dialogue is rehearsed.--Dronfield, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). - -This game was also played in London. The _dramatis personae_ were a -mother, an eldest daughter, the younger children, a witch, and a pot was -represented by another child. The Mother names the children after the -days of the week. She tells her eldest daughter that she is going to -wash, and that she expects her to take great care of her sisters, and to -be sure and not let the old witch take them. She is also to look after -the dinner, and be sure and not let the pot boil over. The Mother then -departs, and stays at a little distance from the others. The eldest -daughter pretends to be very busy putting the house to rights, sweeps -the floor, and makes everything tidy; the younger children pretend to -play, and get in the elder sister's way. She gets angry with them, and -pretends to beat them. Now, the girl who personates the Witch comes and -raps with her knuckles on a supposed door. The Witch stooped when -walking, and had a stick to help her along. - - Come in, says the eldest sister. What do you want? - Let me light my pipe at your fire? My fire's out. - Yes! if you'll not dirty the hearth. - No, certainly; I'll be careful. - -While the eldest sister pretends to look on the shelf for something, the -Witch "dirties" the hearth, catches hold of Monday and runs off with -her; and at this moment the pot boils over. The child who is the pot -makes a "hissing and fizzing" noise. The daughter calls out-- - - Mother, mother, the pot boils over. - Take the spoon and skim it. - Can't find it. - Look on the shelf. - Can't reach it. - Take the stool. - The leg's broke. - Take the chair. - Chair's gone to be mended. - I suppose I must come myself? - -The Mother here wrings her hands out of the water in the washing-tub and -comes in. She looks about and misses Monday. - - Where's Monday? - Oh, please, Mother, please, I couldn't help it; but some one came to - beg a light for her pipe, and when I went for it she took Monday - off. - Why, that's the witch! - -The Mother pretends to beat the eldest daughter, tells her to be more -careful another time, and to be sure and not let the pot boil over. The -eldest daughter cries, and promises to be more careful, and the Mother -goes again to the wash-tub. - -The same thing occurs again. The Witch comes and asks-- - - Please, will you lend me your tinder-box? My fire's out. - Yes, certainly, if you'll bring it back directly. - You shall have it in half-an-hour. - -While the tinder-box is being looked for she runs off with Tuesday. Then -the pot boils over, and the same dialogue is repeated. The Mother comes -and finds Tuesday gone. This is repeated for all the seven children in -turn, different articles, gridiron, poker, &c, being borrowed each time. -Finally, the eldest daughter is taken off too. There is no one now to -watch the pot, so it boils over, and makes so much noise that the Mother -hears it and comes to see why it is. Finding her eldest daughter gone -too, she goes after her children to the Witch's house. A dialogue ensues -between the Witch and the Mother. The Mother asks-- - - Is this the way to the Witch's house? - There's a red bull that way! - I'll go this way. - There's a mad cow that way! - I'll go this way. - There's a mad dog that way! - -She then insists on entering the house to look for her children. The -Witch will not admit her, and says-- - - Your boots are too dirty. - I'll take my boots off. - Your stockings are too dirty. - I'll take them off. - Your feet are dirty. - I'll cut them off. - The blood will run over the threshold. - I'll wrap them up in a blanket. - The blood will run through. - -This enrages the Mother, and she pushes her way into the supposed house, -and looks about, and calls her children. She goes to one and says-- - - This tastes like my Monday. - -The Witch tells her it's a barrel of pork. - - No, no, this is my Monday; run away home. - -Upon this Monday jumps up from her crouching or kneeling posture [the -children were generally put by the Witch behind some chairs all close -together in one corner of the room], and runs off, followed by all the -others and their Mother. The Witch tries to catch one, and if successful -that child becomes Witch next time.--A. B. Gomme. - -A probable explanation of this game is that it illustrates some of the -practices and customs connected with fire-worship and the worship of the -hearth, and that the pot is a magical one, and would only boil over when -something wrong had occurred and the Mother's presence was necessary. -The pot boils over directly a child is taken away, and appears to cease -doing this when the Mother comes in. It is remarkable, too, that the -Witch should want to borrow a light from the fire; the objection to the -giving of fire out of the house is a well-known and widely-diffused -superstition, the possession of a brand from the house-fire giving power -to the possessor over the inmates of a house. The mention of the -spitting on the hearth in the Sheffield version, and dirtying the hearth -in the London version, give confirmation to the theory that the -desecration of the fire or hearth is the cause of the pot boiling over, -and that the spirit of the hearth or fire is offended at the sacrilege. -The Witch, too, may be unable to get possession of a child until she has -something belonging to the house. The journey of the Mother to the -Witch's house in search of her children, the obstacles put in her path, -and the mention of the spilling of blood on the threshold, are incidents -which have great significance. Why the "keeling" or skimming of the -contents of the pot should be so difficult a task for the eldest -daughter that the Mother is obliged to come herself, is not so clear; -the skimming is of course to prevent the pot boiling over, and the pot -may be supposed to take the place of the Mother or Guardian of the -hearth, and tell when misfortune or trouble is at hand. Or the "boiling -over" (which, if continued, would extinguish the fire and sully the -stone) may be an offence to the hearth spirit, who ceases then to -protect the inmates of the house. Fairies are said to have power over -the inmates of a house when the threshold and kitchen utensils are left -dirty and uncared for. Thus on the theories accompanying the ancient -house ritual, this extraordinary game assumes a rational aspect, and it -is not too much to suggest that this explanation is the correct one. - -In the game of "Witch" practically the same incidents occur, and nearly -the same dialogue, but the significant elements of pot-boiling and -fire-protection do not appear in that game. It is not certain whether we -have two independent games, or whether "The Witch" is this game, the -incidents of pot-boiling and the fire-protection having been lost in its -transmission to more modern notions. Although so closely allied, these -games are not one at the present day, and are therefore treated -separately. Newell (_Games_, p. 218) gives some versions of "Witch" -which show a connection between that game and this. See "Keeling the -Pot," "Witch." - - -Mount the Tin - -One child throws a tin (any kind of tin will do) to some distance, and -then walks towards it without looking round. The other children, in the -meantime, hide somewhere near. The child who threw the tin has to guard -it, and at the same time try to find those who are hiding. If he sees -one he must call the name, and run to strike the tin with his foot. He -does this until each one has been discovered. As they are seen they must -stand out. The one who was first found has to guard the tin next time. -Should one of the players be able to strike the tin while the keeper is -absent, that player calls out, "Hide again." They can then all hide -until the same keeper discovers them again.--Beddgelert (Mrs. Williams). - -See "New Squat." - - -Mouse and the Cobbler - -One girl stands up and personates a mother, another pretends to be a -mouse, and crouches behind a chair in a corner. The mother says to -another player-- - - Go and get your father's shirt. - -This player goes to the chair to look for the shirt, and is tickled or -touched by the one hiding. She rushes back and calls out-- - - Mother, there's a mouse. - Go and get your father's coat. - There's a mouse. - Go and get your father's watch and chain. - There's a mouse. - -The Mother then goes to see herself. The second time she is scratched -and chased. When caught she takes the Mouse's place.--Deptford, Kent -(Miss Chase). - -This is evidently the same game as "Ghost in the Garden" and "Ghost in -the Copper," in a decaying stage. There is no _raison d'etre_ for either -mouse or cobbler. Probably these words are a corruption of the older -"Ghost in the Copper." - - -Muffin Man - -[Music] - ---Earls Heaton (H. Hardy). - -[Music] - ---Congleton Workhouse (Miss A. E. Twemlow). - - I. Have you seen the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man, - Have you seen the muffin man that lives in Drury Lane O? - Yes, I've seen the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin - man; - Yes, I've seen the muffin man who lives in Drury Lane O. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy). - - II. O, have you seen the muffin man, - The muffin man, the muffin man; - O, have you seen the muffin man - Who lives in Drury Lane O? - ---N. W. Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts). - - III. Have you seen the muffin girl, - The muffin girl, the muffin girl? - O have you seen the muffin girl - Down in yonder lane? - ---Congleton Workhouse School (Miss A. E. Twemlow). - - IV. Don't you know the muffin man? - Don't you know his name? - Don't you know the muffin man - That lives in our lane? - All around the Butter Cross, - Up by St. Giles's, - Up and down the Gullet Street, - And call at Molly Miles's! - ---Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 571. - - V. Have you seen the nutting girl, - The nutting girl, the nutting girl? - Have you seen the nutting girl, - Down in yonder lane O? - ---Holmfirth (H. Hardy). - -(_b_) A ring is formed by the players joining hands; one child, who is -blindfolded and holds a stick, stands in the centre. The ring dance -round, singing the verse. They then stand still, and the centre child -holds out the stick and touches one of the ring. This player must take -hold of the stick. Then the Muffin Man asks this player any questions he -pleases, "Is the morn shining?" "Is ink white?" &c. The child who holds -the stick answers "Yes" or "No" in a disguised voice, and the Muffin Man -then guesses who it is. He is allowed three tries. If he guesses right -he joins the ring, and the child who was touched takes his place in the -centre. In the Yorkshire versions no questions are asked; the -blindfolded child goes to any one he can touch, and tries to guess his -or her name. The other version, sent by Mr. Hardy, is played in the same -way, and sung to the same tune. In the Congleton version (Miss Twemlow), -the blindfolded child tries to catch one of those in the ring, when the -verse is sung. The lines, with an additional four from _Shropshire -Folk-lore_, are given by Miss Burne among nursery rhymes and riddles. - -See "Buff with a Stick," "Dinah." - - -Mulberry Bush - -[Music] - ---Miss Harrison. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - This is the way we wash our hands, - Wash our hands, wash our hands, - This is the way we wash our hands, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - This is the way we wash our clothes, - Wash our clothes, wash our clothes, - This is the way we wash our clothes, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - This is the way we go to school, - We go to school, we go to school, - This is the way we go to school, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). - -(_b_) The children form a ring, all joining hands and dancing round -while singing the first verse. When singing the last line they unclasp -their hands, and each one turns rapidly round. They then sing the next -verse, suiting their actions to the words they sing, again turning round -singly at the last line. This is done with every alternate verse, the -first verse being always sung as a chorus or dance in between the -different action-verses. The verses may be varied or added to at -pleasure. The actions generally consist of washing and dressing oneself, -combing hair, washing clothes, baking bread, sweeping the floor, going -to and returning from school, learning to read, cleaning boots, and -lacing stays. When "going to school," the children walk two by two in an -orderly manner; when "coming home from school," jumping and running is -the style adopted; "lacing stays," the hands are put behind and moved -first one and then the other, as if lacing; "this is the way the ladies -walk," holding up skirts and walking primly; "gentlemen walk," walking -with long strides and sticks. The dressing process and cleaning boots -preceded "school." - -(_c_) This game is well known, and played in almost all parts of -England. It is always played in the same way. There is so little variety -in the different versions that it appears unnecessary to give more than -one here. In the many versions sent the only variants are: In Sporle, -Norfolk, Miss Matthews says the game is sometimes called "_Ivy_ Bush," -or "_Ivory_ Bush;" and Mr. C. C. Bell, of Epworth, sends a version, -"Here we go round the Mulberry _Tree_" In Notts it is called "Holly -Bush" (Miss Winfield). A version given in the _Folk-lore Record_, iv. -174, is called the "_Gooseberry_ Bush," and Halliwell (_Popular Nursery -Rhymes_, p. 224) records a game, the "Bramble Bush." "The bush," he -says, "is often imaginative, but is sometimes represented by a child in -the centre." Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, pp. 134, 135) gives the game as -a form of the "Merry-ma-tanzie"--a kind of dance. They sing while moving -round to the tune of "Nancy Dawson," and stopping short with courtesy at -the conclusion. - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, - Here we go round the mulberry bush, - And round the merry-ma-tanzie. - -Disjoining hands, they then begin, with skirts held daintily up behind, -to walk singly along, singing-- - - This is the way the ladies walk, - The ladies walk, the ladies walk; - This is the way the ladies walk, - And round the merry-ma-tanzie. - -At the last line they reunite, and again wheel round in a ring, singing -as before-- - - Here we go round the mulberry bush, &c. - -After which, they perhaps simulate the walk of gentlemen, the chief -feature of which is length of stride, concluding with the ring dance as -before. Probably the next movement may be-- - - This is the way they wash the clothes, - Wash the clothes, wash the clothes; - This is the way they wash the clothes, - And round the merry-ma-tanzie. - -After which there is, as usual, the ring dance. They then represent -washing, ironing clothes, baking bread, washing the house, and a number -of other familiar proceedings. - -Chambers quotes a fragment of this "little ballet," as practised at -Kilbarchan, in Renfrewshire, which contains the following lines similar -to those in this game:-- - - She synes the dishes three times a day, - Three times a day, three times a day; - She synes the dishes three times a day, - Come alang wi' the merry-ma-tanzie. - - She bakes the scones three times a day, - Three times a day, three times a day; - She bakes the scones three times a day, - Come alang wi' the merry-ma-tanzie. - - She ranges the stules three times a day, - Three times a day, three times a day; - She ranges the stules three times a day, - Come alang wi' the merry-ma-tanzie. - -This game originated, no doubt, as a marriage dance round a sacred tree -or bush. As it now exists it appears to have no other character than the -performance of duties such as those enumerated in the description. In no -version that I am acquainted with do the elements of love and marriage -or kissing occur, otherwise the resemblance it bears to the Scotch -"Merry-ma-tanzie" would suggest that it is a portion of that game. This -game possesses the centre tree, which is not preserved in -"Merry-ma-tansa." Trees were formerly sacred to dancing at the marriage -festival, as at Polwarth in Berwickshire, where the custom once -prevailed, which is not unworthy of notice. "In the midst of the village -are two thorn trees near to each other; round these every newly-married -pair were expected to dance with all their friends; from hence arose the -old song, 'Polwarth on the Green'" (_New Statistical Account of -Scotland, Polwarth, Berwickshire_, ii. 234). Holland (_Cheshire -Glossary_), under "Kissing Bush," says, "A bush of holly, ivy, or other -evergreens, which is hung up in farm kitchens at Christmas, and serves -the purpose of mistletoe. The kissing bushes are usually prepared by the -farm lads on Christmas Eve, and they are often tastefully decorated with -apples, oranges, and bits of gay-coloured ribbon. I have occasionally -seen them made upon a framework of hoop iron something in the form of a -crown, with a socket at the bottom to hold a lighted candle." Brand (ii. -15) also describes how in Ireland men and women dance round about a bush -in a large ring on the Patron Day. Newell (_Games_, p. 86), gives this -game, and also mentions one in which "barberry bush" is named. The tune -in all versions is the same. See "Merry ma-tansa," "Nettles." - - -Munshets or Munshits - -Is played by two boys as follows:--One of the boys remains "at home," -and the other goes out to a prescribed distance. The boy who remains "at -home" makes a small hole in the ground, and holds in his hand a stick -about three feet long to strike with. The boy who is out at field throws -a stick in the direction of this hole, at which the other strikes. If he -hits it, he has to run to a prescribed mark and back to the hole without -being caught or touched with the smaller stick by his playfellow. If he -is caught, he is "out," and has to go to field. And if the boy at field -can throw his stick so near to the hole as to be within the length or -measure of that stick, the boy at home has to go out to field. A number -of boys often play together; for any even number can play. I am told -that the game was common fifty years ago. In principle it resembles -cricket, and looks like the rude beginning of the game.--Addy's -_Sheffield Glossary_. - -See "Cat," "Cudgel," "Kit-cat," "Tip-cat." - - -Musical Chairs - -A line of chairs is placed in a row down a room (one chair less than the -number of children who are playing) in such a way that every alternate -chair only is available on either side for the players to seat -themselves. The children walk or dance round the chairs, keeping quite -close to them. The piano or other musical instrument is played while -they are dancing round. The music is continued for any length of time -the player pleases, the children running round the chairs as long as the -music goes on. The player stops the music suddenly, when all the -children endeavour to take seats. One will be unable to find a seat, and -this player remains "out." A chair is then taken away, and the music and -dancing round begins again. There should always be one chair less than -the number of players.--A. B. Gomme. - -In Ellesmere, Miss Burne says, "Snap-tongs," called in other circles -"Magic Music" or "Musical Chairs," is thus played. Five players take -part; four chairs are set in the middle, and one of the players, who -holds a pair of tongs, desires the others to dance round them till the -clock strikes a certain hour, which is done by snapping the tongs -together so many times. While they dance, a chair is taken away, and the -player who cannot find a seat has to become the "snap-tongs" next -time.--_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 525. - - -Nacks - -A game in which pegs of wood play a similar part to the well-known -object "Aunt Sally."--Robinson's _Mid Yorkshire Glossary_. - - -Namers and Guessers - -Any number of players can play this game. Two are chosen, the one to be -Namer, and the other Guesser or Witch. The rest of the players range -themselves in a row. The Guesser retires out of sight or to a distance. -The Namer then gives each player a secret name. When names have been -given to all the players, the Namer calls on the Guesser to come, by -saying-- - - Witchie, witchie, yer bannocks are burnin', - An' ready for turnin'. - -Whereupon he approaches, and the Namer says-- - - Come, chois me out, come, chois me in, to ---- - -(naming one by the assumed name). The players all shout, "Tack me, tack -me," repeatedly. The Witch points to one. If the guess is correct the -player goes to the Witch's side, but if it is incorrect he goes to the -Namer's side. This goes on till all the players are ranged on the one -side or the other. The two parties then come to a tug, with the Namer -and Guesser as leaders. The gaining party then ranges itself in two -lines with a space between the lines, each boy holding in his hand his -cap or his handkerchief tightly plaited. The boys of the conquered side -have then to run between the two lines, and are pelted by the victors. -This is called, "Throuw the Muir o' Hecklepin."--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). - -This game is practically the same as "Fool, Fool, come to School," but -the secret naming may indicate that this belongs to an earlier form. - -See "Fool, Fool," "Hecklebirnie." - - -Neighbour - -There is a game called "Neighbour, I torment thee," played in -Staffordshire, "with two hands, and two feet, and a bob, and a nod as I -do."--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - - -Neiveie-nick-nack - -A fireside game. A person puts a little trifle, such as a button, into -one hand, shuts it close, the other hand is also shut; then they are -both whirled round and round one another as fast as they can, before the -nose of the one who intends to guess what hand the prize is in; and if -the guesser be so fortunate as to guess the hand the prize is in, it -becomes his property; the whirling of the fists is attended with the -following rhyme-- - - Neiveie, neiveie, nick nack, - What ane will ye tak, - The right or the wrang? - Guess or it be lang, - Plot awa' and plan, - I'll cheat ye gif I can. - ---Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopaedia_. - -The Rev. W. Gregor says at Keith this game is played at Christmas, and -by two. The stakes are commonly pins. One player conceals a pin, or more -if agreed on, in one of his (her) hands. He then closes both hands and -twirls them over each other, in front of the other player, and repeats -the words-- - - Nivvie, nivvie-neek-nack, - Filk (which) (or filk han') 'ill ye tack? - Tack the richt, tack the left, - An' a'll deceave ye gehn (if) I can. - -The other player chooses. If he chooses the hand having the stake, he -gains it. If he does not, he forfeits the stake. Another form of words -is-- - - Nivvie, nivvie-neek-nack - Filk (which) will ye tick-tack? - Tack ane, tack twa, - Tack the best amo' them a'. - -And-- - - Nivvie, nivvie-nick-nack, - Which han' will ye tack? - Tack ane, tack twa, - Tack the best amo' them a'. - -Dickinson's _Cumberland Glossary_ describes this as a boyish mode of -casting lots. The boy says-- - - Neevy, neevy-nack, - Whether hand will ta tack, - T'topmer or t'lowmer? - -Mr. W. H. Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) gives the rhyme as-- - - Nievy, navy, nick nack, - Which han' will ye tak', - The right or the wrang? - I'll beguile ye if I can. - -Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 117) gives the rhyme the same as that -given by Mr. Patterson. In _Notes and Queries_, 6th Series, vii. 235, a -North Yorkshire version is given as-- - - Nievie, nievie, nack, - Whether hand wilta tak, - Under or aboon, - For a singal half-crown? - Nievie, nievie, nick, nack, - Whilk han' will thou tak? - Tak the richt or tak the wrang, - I'll beguile thee if I can. - -Jamieson (_Supp., sub voce_) adds: "The first part of the word seems to -be from neive, the fist being employed in the game." A writer in _Notes -and Queries_, iii. 180, says: "The neive, though employed in the game, -is not the object addressed. It is held out to him who is to guess--the -conjuror--_and it is he who is addressed_, and under a conjuring name. -In short (to hazard a wide conjecture, it may be) he is invoked in the -person of Nic Neville (Neivi Nic), a sorcerer in the days of James VI., -who was burnt at St. Andrews in 1569. If I am right, a curious testimony -is furnished to his quondam popularity among the common people." It will -be remembered that this game is mentioned by Scott in _St. Ronan's -Well_--"Na, na, said the boy, he is a queer old cull. . . . He gave me -half-a-crown yince, and forbade me to play it awa' at pitch and toss." -"And you disobeyed him, of course?" "Na, I didna disobey him--I played -it awa' at 'Nievie, nievie, nick-nack.'" - -See "Handy-dandy." - - -Nettles - - Nettles grow in an angry bush, - An angry bush, an angry bush; - Nettles grow in an angry bush, - With my high, ho, ham! - - This is the way the lady goes, - The lady goes, the lady goes; - This is the way the lady goes, - With my hi, ho, ham! - - Nettles grow in an angry bush, &c. - - This is the way the gentleman goes, &c. - - Nettles grow in an angry bush, &c. - - This is the way the tailor goes. - ---Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, 227. - -(_b_) The children dance round, singing the first three lines, turning -round and clapping hands for the fourth line. They curtsey while saying, -"This is the way the lady goes," and again turn round and clap hands for -the last line. The same process is followed in every verse, only varying -what they act--thus, in the third verse, they bow for the gentleman--and -so the amusement is protracted _ad libitum_, with shoemaking, washing -clothes, ironing, churning, milking, making up butter, &c, &c. - -(_c_) This game is practically the same as the "Mulberry Bush." The -action is carried on in the same way, except that the children clap -their hands at the fourth line, instead of each turning themselves -round, as in "Mulberry Bush." The "High, ho, ham!" termination may be -the same as the "I, O, OM" of Mr. Addy's version of "Milking Pails." - -See "Mulberry Bush," "When I was a Young Girl." - - -New Squat - -A ring is made by marking the ground, and a tin placed in the middle of -it. One boy acts as keeper of the tin, the other players also stand -outside the ring. One of these kicks the tin out of the ring, the others -then all run to hide or squat out of sight. The keeper has to replace -the tin before looking for the boys. If, after that, he can spy a boy, -that boy must come out and stand by the ring. When another boy is spied, -he endeavours to reach the ring before the keeper does so, and kick out -the tin. If he is successful, any one of the boys who is standing by, -having been previously spied, is released from the keeper, and again -hides. The object of the keeper is to successfully spy all the boys. -When this is accomplished the last boy becomes the keeper.--Earls -Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - -See "Mount the Tin." - - -Nine Holes - -Nine round holes are made in the ground, and a ball aimed at them from a -certain distance; or the holes are made in a board with a number over -each, through one of which the ball has to pass.--Forby's _Vocabulary_. - -"A rural game," says Nares, "played by making nine holes in the ground, -in the angles and sides of a square, and placing stones and other things -upon, according to certain rules." Moor (_Suffolk Words and Phrases_) -says: "This is, I believe, accurate as far as it goes, of our Suffolk -game. A hole in the middle is necessary." In Norfolk, Holloway (_Dict. -Prov._) says that nine round holes are made in the ground, and a ball -aimed at them from a certain distance. A second game is played with a -board having nine holes, through one of which the ball must pass. Nares -quotes several authors to show the antiquity of the game. He shows that -the "Nine Men's Morris" of our ancestors was but another name for "Nine -Holes." Nine, a favourite and mysterious number everywhere, prevails in -games. - -Strutt (_Sports_, p. 384) also describes the game as played in two -ways--a game with bowling marbles at a wooden bridge; and another game, -also with marbles, in which four, five, or six holes, and sometimes -more, are made in the ground at a distance from each other, and the -business of every one of the players is to bowl a marble, by a regular -succession, into all the holes, and he who completes in the fewest bowls -obtains the victory. In Northamptonshire a game called "Nine Holes," or -"Trunks," is played with a long piece of wood or bridge with nine arches -cut in it, each arch being marked with a figure over it, from one to -nine, in the following rotation--VII., V., III., I., IX., II., IIII., -VI., VIII. Each player has two flattened balls which he aims to bowl -edgeways under the arches; he scores the number marked over the arch he -bowls through, and he that attains to forty-five first wins the game -(Baker's _Northamptonshire Glossary_). In _Arch. Journ._, xlix. 320, in -a paper by Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite, this game is described, and diagrams -of the game given which had been found by him cut in a stone bench in -the church of Ardeley, Hertfordshire, and elsewhere. He has also seen -the game played in London. It is evidently the same game as described by -Nares and Moor above. - -See "Bridgeboard," "Nine Men's Morris." - - -Nine Men's Morris - -In the East Riding this game is played thus: A flat piece of wood about -eight inches square is taken, and on it twenty-four holes are bored by -means of a hot skewer or piece of hot iron. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -Each of the two players has nine wooden pegs, which are either -coloured or shaped differently, and the object of each player is to -get three of his own pegs in a straight line (fig. 1). It is called -"Merrils."--Sheffield (S. O. Addy). - -Cotgrave's _Dictionarie_, 1632, says: "_Merelles_, le jeu de merelles, -the boyish game called merrils, or fiue-pennie morris. Played here most -commonly with stones, but in France with pawns or men made of purpose, -and termed merelles." Strutt (_Sports_, p. 317) says: "This was why the -game received this name. It was formerly called 'Nine Men's Morris' and -'Five-penny Morris,' and is a game of some antiquity. It was certainly -much used by the shepherds formerly, and continues to be used by them -and other rustics to the present hour." An illustration of the form of -the merelle table and the lines upon it, as it appeared in the -fourteenth century, is given by him, and he observes that the lines have -not been varied. The black spots at every angle and intersection of the -lines are the places for the men to be laid upon. The men are different -in form and colour for distinction's sake, and from the moving these men -backwards and forwards, as though they were dancing a morris, I suppose -the pastime received the name of "Nine Men's Morris," but why it should -have been called "Five-penny Morris" I do not know. The manner of -playing is briefly thus:--Two persons, having each of them nine pieces -or men, lay them down alternately, one by one, upon the spots, and the -business of either party is to prevent his antagonist from placing three -of his pieces so as to form a row of three without the intervention of -an opponent piece. If a row be formed, he that made it is at liberty to -take up one of his competitor's pieces from any part he thinks most to -his own advantage, excepting he has made a row, which must not be -touched, if he have another piece upon the board that is not a component -part of that row. When all the pieces are laid down they are played -backwards and forwards in any direction that the lines run, but can only -move from one spot to another at one time. He that takes off all his -antagonist's pieces is the conqueror. The rustics, when they have not -materials at hand to make a table, cut the lines in the same form upon -the ground and make a small hole for every dot. They then collect stones -of different forms or colours for the pieces, and play the game by -depositing them in the holes in the same manner that they are set over -the dots on the table. Hence Shakespeare, describing the effects of a -wet and stormy season, says-- - - "The folds stand empty in the drowned field, - And crows are fatted with the murrain flock-- - The Nine Men's Morris is filled up with mud." - ---_Midsummer Nights Dream_, act ii. sc. 2. - -Miss Baker (_Northamptonshire Glossary_), in describing "Merell" or -"Morris," says:--"On the inclosing of open fields this game was -transferred to a board, and continues a fireside recreation of the -agricultural labourer. It is often called by the name of 'Mill' or -'Shepherd's Mill.'" She says the mode of playing now observed is this. -Each of the players has nine pieces, or men, differing in colour, or -material, from his adversary, for distinction's sake; which they lay -down on the spots alternately, one by one, each endeavouring to prevent -his opponent from placing three of his pieces in a line, as whichever -does so is entitled to take off any one of his antagonist's men where he -pleases, without breaking a row of three, which must not be done whilst -there is another man on the board. After all the pieces are placed on -the board, they are moved alternately backwards and forwards along the -lines; and as often as either of the players succeeds in accomplishing a -row of three, he claims one of his antagonist's men, which is placed in -the pound (the centre), and he who takes the most pieces wins the game. -It is played on a board whereon are marked three squares, one being -denominated the pound. It is sometimes played with pegs, bits of paper, -or wood, or stone. It is called "Peg Morris" by Clare, the -Northamptonshire poet. - -The ancient game of "Nine Men's Morris" is yet played by the boys of -Dorset. The boys of a cottage, near Dorchester, had a while ago carved a -"Marrel" pound on a block of stone by the house. Some years ago a -clergyman of one of the upper counties wrote that in the pulling down of -a wall in his church, built in the thirteenth century, the workmen came -to a block of stone with a "Marrel's" pound cut on it. "Merrels" the -game was called by a mason.--Barnes' _Additional Glossary; Folk-lore -Journal_, vii. 233. - -"'Nine Men's Morris,' in Gloucestershire called 'Ninepenny Morris,' -was," says a correspondent in the _Midland Garner_, "largely practised -by boys and even older people over thirty years ago, but is now, as far -as I know, entirely disused. Two persons play. Each must have twelve -pegs, or twelve pieces of anything which can be distinguished. The -Morris was usually marked on a board or stone with chalk, and consists -of twenty-four points. The pegs are put down one at a time alternately -upon any point upon the Morris, and the first person who makes a -consecutive row of three impounds one of his opponent's pegs. The pegs -must only be moved on the lines. The game is continued until one or -other of the players has only two pegs left, when the game is won" (1st -ser., i. 20). Another correspondent in the same journal (ii. 2) says, -"The game was very generally played in the midland counties under the -name of 'Merrilpeg' or 'Merelles.' The twelve pieces I have never seen -used, though I have often played with nine. We generally used marbles or -draught pieces, and not pegs." - -The following are the accounts of this game given by the commentators on -Shakespeare:-- - -"In that part of Warwickshire where Shakespeare was educated, and the -neighbouring parts of Northamptonshire, the shepherds and other boys dig -up the turf with their knives to represent a sort of imperfect -chess-board. It consists of a square, sometimes only a foot diameter, -sometimes three or four yards. Within this is another square, every side -of which is parallel to the external square; and these squares are -joined by lines drawn from each corner of both squares, and the middle -of each line. One party, or player, has wooden pegs, the other stones, -which they move in such a manner as to take up each other's men, as they -are called, and the area of the inner square is called the pound, in -which the men taken up are impounded. These figures are by the country -people called _nine men's morris_, or _merrils_; and are so called -because each party has nine men. These figures are always cut upon the -green turf, or leys as they are called, or upon the grass at the end of -ploughed lands, and in rainy seasons never fail to be choked up with -mud" (Farmer). "_Nine men's morris_ is a game still played by the -shepherds, cow-keepers, &c., in the midland counties, as follows:--A -figure (of squares one within another) is made on the ground by cutting -out the turf; and two persons take each nine stones, which they place by -turns in the angles, and afterwards move alternately, as at chess or -draughts. He who can play three in a straight line may then take off any -one of his adversary's, where he pleases, till one, having lost all his -men, loses the game" (Alchorne). - -The following is the account of this game given by Mr. Douce in the -_Illustrations of Shakespeare and of Ancient Manners_, 1807, i. -184:--"This game was sometimes called the _nine mens merrils_ from -_merelles_, or _mereaux_, an ancient French word for the jettons, or -counters, with which it was played. The other term, _morris_, is -probably a corruption suggested by the sort of dance which, in the -progress of the game, the counters performed. In the French _merelles_ -each party had three counters only, which were to be placed in a line in -order to win the game. It appears to have been the _tremerel_ mentioned -in an old fabliau. See _Le Grand_, _Fabliaux et Contes_, ii. 208. Dr. -Hyde thinks the morris, or merrils, was known during the time that the -Normans continued in possession of England, and that the name was -afterwards corrupted into _three men's morals_, or _nine men's morals_. -If this be true, the conversion of _morrals_ into _morris_, a term so -very familiar to the country people, was extremely natural. The Doctor -adds, that it was likewise called _nine-penny_ or _nine-pin miracle_, -_three-penny morris_, _five-penny morris_, _nine-penny morris_, or -_three-pin_, _five-pin_, and _nine-pin morris_, all corruptions of -_three-pin, &c, merels_" (Hyde's _Hist. Nederluddi_, p. 202). Nares says -the simpler plan here represented (fig. 2), which he had also seen cut -on small boards, is more like the game than the one referred to in the -variorem notes of Shakespeare. - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -Forby has, "_Morris_, an ancient game, in very common modern use. In -Shakespeare it is called 'nine men's _morris_,' from its being played -with nine men, as they were then, and still are called. We call it -simply _morris_. Probably it took the name from a fancied resemblance to -a dance, in the motions of the men. Dr. Johnson professes that he knew -no more of it than that it was some rustic game. Another commentator -speaks of it as common among shepherds' boys in some parts of -Warwickshire. It cannot well be more common there than here, and it is -not particularly rustic. Shepherds' boys and other clowns play it on the -green turf, or on the bare ground; cutting or scratching the lines, on -the one or the other. In either case it is soon filled up with mud in -wet weather. In towns, porters and other labourers play it, at their -leisure hours, on the flat pavement, tracing the figure with chalk. It -is also a domestic game; and the figure is to be found on the back of -some draught-boards. But to compare _morris_ with that game, or with -chess, seems absurd; as it has a very distant resemblance, if any at -all, to either, in the lines, or in the rules of playing. On the ground, -the men are pebbles, broken tiles, shells, or potsherds; on a table, the -same as are used at draughts or backgammon. In Nares it is said to be -the same as nine-holes. With us it is certainly different." Cope -(_Hampshire Glossary_) says that "Nine Men's Morrice" is a game played -with counters. He does not describe it further. Atkinson (_Glossary of -Cleveland Dialect_) says under "Merls," the game of "Merelles," or "Nine -Men's Morris." Toone (_Etymological Dictionary_) describes it as a game -played on the green sward, holes being cut thereon, into which stones -were placed by the players. Stead's _Holderness Glossary_ calls it -"Merrils," and describes it as a game played on a square board with -eighteen pegs, nine on each side, called in many parts "Nine Men's -Morrice." See also _Sussex Arch. Collections_, xxv. 234, and a paper by -Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite (_Arch. Journ._, xlix. 322), where diagrams of -this game are given which have been found cut in several places on the -benches of the cloisters at Gloucester, Salisbury, and elsewhere. - -See "Noughts and Crosses." - - -Nip-srat-and-bite - -A children's game, in which nuts, pence, gingerbread, &c, are -squandered.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_. - - -Nitch, Notch, No-Notch - -Children cut a number of slices from an apple, extending from the eye to -the tail, broader on the outside than on the inner, which reaches nearly -to the core; one piece has a part cut out, making a notch--this is -called "Notch;" another is not cut at all--this is called "No-Notch;" -while a third has an incision made on it, but not cut out--this is -called "Nitch." The pieces when thus marked are replaced, and the game -consists in one child holding the apple, and pointing to one of the -pieces, asking another child which he will have, "Nitch, Notch, or -No-Notch;" if he guesses right, he has it and eats it; if wrong, the -other eats it.--Sussex (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - - -Not - -A game where the parties, ranged on opposite sides, with each a bat in -their hands, endeavour to strike a ball to opposite goals. The game is -called "Not," from the ball being made of a knotty piece of -wood.--Gloucestershire (Holloway's _Dict. of Provincialisms_). - -See "Hawkey." - - -Noughts and Crosses - -[Illustration] - -This game is played on slates by school-children. The accompanying -diagram is drawn on the slate, and a certain figure (generally twenty) -is agreed upon as "game." There are two players, one takes noughts [o], -the other crosses [x]. The three places drawn on the slate above the -diagram are for the players each to put down marks or numbers for the -games they win, the centre place being for "Old Nick," or "Old Tom." The -object of the game is for each player to occupy three contiguous places -in a row or line with either noughts or crosses, and to prevent his -opponent from doing so. The diagram is of course empty when play -begins. One player commences by putting his mark into either of the -vacant places he prefers, the other player then places his in another, -wherever he thinks he has the best opportunity to prevent his opponent -getting a "three," and at the same time to get a three himself; then the -first player plays again, and so on alternately until all the squares -are occupied, or until one of the players has a "three" in line. If -neither player gets a "three," the game is won by "Old Nick," and one is -scored to his name. In the diagram the result of the game is shown when -won by "Old Nick." Whichever player first wins a game adds "Old Nick's" -score to his own. In some games "Old Nick" keeps all he wins for -himself, and then most frequently wins the game.--London (A. B. Gomme). - -See "Corsicrown," "Kit-Cat-Cannio," "Nine Men's Morris." - - -Nur and Spel - -A boys' game in Lincolnshire, somewhat similar to "Trap Ball." It is -played with a "kibble," a "nur," and a "spell." By striking the end of -the spell with the kibble, the nur, of course, rises into the air, and -the art of the game is to strike it with the kibble before it reaches -the ground. He who drives it the greatest distance wins the -game.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_. - -Strutt (_Sports and Pastimes_, p. 109) describes this game as -"Northern-spell," played with a trap, and the ball is stricken with a -bat or bludgeon. The contest between the players is simply who shall -strike the ball to the greatest distance in a given number of strokes. -The length of each stroke is measured before the ball is returned, by -means of a cord made fast at one end near the trap, the other being -stretched into the field by a person stationed there for that purpose, -who adjusts it to the ball wherever it may lie. - -In a work entitled the _Costumes of Yorkshire_ this game is described -and represented as "Nor and Spell." The little wooden ball used in this -game is in Yorkshire called the "Nor," and the receptacle in which it is -placed the "Spell." Peacock (_Manley and Corringham Glossary_) gives -"knur," (1) a hard wooden ball, (2) the head. Addy (_Sheffield -Glossary_) says "knur" is a small round ball, less than a billiard ball. -It is put into a cup fixed on a spring which, being touched, causes the -ball to rise into the air, when it is struck by a trip-stick, a slender -stick made broad and flat at one end. The "knur" is struck by the broad -part. The game is played on Shrove Tuesday. Brogden (_Provincial Words -of Lincolnshire_) gives it under "Bandy." It is called "Knur, Spell, and -Kibble" in S.-W. Lincolnshire.--Cole's _Glossary_. - -The following letter relating to this game is extracted from the -_Worcestershire Chronicle_, September 1847, in Ellis's edition of -Brand:--"Before the commons were taken in, the children of the poor had -ample space wherein to recreate themselves at cricket, _nurr_, or any -other diversion; but now they are driven from every green spot, and in -Bromsgrove here, the nailor boys, from the force of circumstances, have -taken possession of the turnpike road to play the before-mentioned -games, to the serious inconvenience of the passengers, one of whom, a -woman, was yesterday knocked down by a _nurr_ which struck her in the -head." - -Brockett says of this game, as played in Durham: It is called "Spell and -Ore," Teut. "spel," a play or sport; and Germ. "knorr," a knot of wood -or ore. The recreation is also called "Buckstick, Spell, and Ore," the -buckstick with which the ore is struck being broad at one end like the -butt of a gun (_North Country Words_). In Yorkshire it is "Spell and -Nurr," or "Knur," the ore or wooden ball having been, perhaps, -originally the knurl or knot of a tree. The _Whitby Glossary_ also gives -this as "Spell and Knor," and says it is known in the South as "Dab and -Stick." The author adds, "May not 'tribbit,' or 'trevit,' be a -corruption of 'three feet,' the required length of the stick for pliable -adaptation?" - -Robinson (_Mid-Yorkshire Glossary_), under "Spell and Nur," says: "A -game played with a wooden ball and a stick fitted at the striking end -with a club-shaped piece of wood. The 'spell' made to receive and spring -the ball for the blow at a touch, is a simple contrivance of wood an -inch or so in breadth and a few inches long. . . . The players, who -usually go in and out by turns each time, after a preliminary series of -tippings of the spell with the stick in one hand, and catches of the -ball with the other, in the process of calculating the momentum -necessary for reach of hand, are also allowed two trial 'rises' in a -striking attitude, and distance is reckoned by scores of yards. The long -pliable stick, with a loose club end, used in the game, is called the -'tribit' or 'trivit' stick. . . . The trevit is, in fact, the trap -itself, and the trevit-stick the stick with which the trap is struck." -The tribbit-stick is elsewhere called "primstick," "gelstick," -"buckstick," "trippit," and "trevit." Atkinson says that "spell" is -O.N., "spill" meaning a play or game, and the probability is that the -game is a lineal descendant from the Ball-play of the Old Danes, or -Northmen, and Icelanders. "Spell and knor" is a corruption of "spell a' -knor," the play at ball. Nurspel is simply ball-play, therefore which -name, taken in connection with the fact that the game is elsewhere -called "Spell and Knor," and not "Knor and Spell," is significant. There -is one day in the year, Shrove Tuesday, when the play is customarily -practised, though not quite exclusively.--Atkinson's _Cleveland -Glossary_. - -Easther (_Almondbury Glossary_) describes it as played with a wooden -ball, a spel, and a pommel. Two may play, or two sides. When a player -goes in he drives the knor for, say, 100 yards, _i.e._, five score, and -he reckons five. Each person has the same number of strokes previously -agreed upon, but generally only one innings. The "spell" is a kind of -stage with three or four feet, to drive it into the ground. On the top -of this stage is a spring made of steel, containing a cup to receive the -"knor," which is about one or two inches in diameter, and is made of -holly or box. The spring is kept down by a sneck, which is tapped by the -pommel when the knor is intended to be struck. The pommel is thus -formed--the driving part is frequently of ash-root or owler, in shape -like half a sugar-loaf split lengthwise, but only three or four inches -long, and the handle is of ash, wrapped with a wax band where held, -which is in one hand only. - -See "Kibel and Nerspel," "Trap Ball," "Trippit and Coit." - - -Nuts in May - -[Music] - ---Shropshire (Miss Burne). - - I. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - On a fine summer morning. - - Whom will you have for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Whom will you have for nuts in May, - On a fine summer morning? - - We'll have ---- for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - We'll have ---- for nuts in May, - On a fine summer morning. - - Who will you send to fetch her [or him] away, - To fetch her away, to fetch her away? - Who will you send to fetch her away, - On a fine summer morning? - - We'll send ---- to fetch her away, - Fetch her away, fetch her away, - We'll send ---- to fetch her away, - On a fine summer morning. - ---Liphook and Winterton, Hants (Miss Fowler). - - II. Here we come gathering nuts and May - [Nuts and May, nuts and May], - Here we come gathering nuts and May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Pray who will you gather for nuts and May, - Pray who will you gather for nuts and May, - On a cold and frosty morning? - - We'll gather ---- for nuts and May, - We'll gather ---- for nuts and May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Pray who will you send to take her away, - Pray who will you send to take her away, - On a cold and frosty morning? - - We'll send ---- to take her away, - We'll send ---- to take her away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). - - III. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - May, May, May. - - Who will you have for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will you have for nuts in May, - May, May, May? - - [Bessie Stewart] for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - [Bessie Stewart] for nuts in May, - May, May, May. - - Very well, very well, so you may, - So you may, so you may, - Very well, very well, so you may, - May, may, may. - - Whom will you have to take her away, - Take her away, take her away? - Whom will you have to take her away, - Way, way, way? - - ---- ---- to take her away, - Take her away, take her away, - ---- ---- to take her away, - Way, way, way. - ---Belfast (W. H. Patterson). - - IV. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Where do you gather your nuts in May? - On Galloway Hill we gather our nuts. - Who will you gather for nuts in May? - We'll gather ---- for nuts in May. - Who will you send to fetch her away? - We'll send ---- to fetch her away. - ---Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 169). - - V. Here we go gathering nuts away, - Nuts away, nuts away, - Here we go gathering nuts away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - -[Then follow verses beginning--] - - Whose nuts shall we gather away? - We'll gather [Minnie Brown's] nuts away. - Whom shall we send to fetch them away? - -[And the final verse is--] - - We'll send [Johnny Cope] to fetch them away, - Fetch them away, fetch them away, - We'll send [Johnny Cope] to fetch them away, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Newbury, Berks (Mrs. S. Batson). - - VI. Who will go gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will go gathering nuts in May, - At five o'clock in the morning? - ---N.-W. Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts). - - VII. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning? - - We will have a girl for nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - We will have a girl for nuts in May, - On a cold and frosty morning. - ---Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). - - VIII. Here we come gathering nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - Here we come gathering nuts in May, - This cold frosty morning. - - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May? - Who will you have for your nuts in May, - This cold frosty morning? - - We will have ---- for our nuts in May, - Nuts in May, nuts in May, - We will have ---- for our nuts in May, - This cold frosty morning. - - Who will you have to pull her away, - Pull her away, pull her away? - Who will you have to pull her away, - This cold frosty morning? - - We will have ---- to pull her away, - Pull her away, pull her away, - We will have ---- to pull her away, - This cold frosty morning. - ---Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes). - - IX. Here we come gathering nuts to-day, - Nuts to-day, nuts to-day, - Here we come gathering nuts to-day, - So early in the morning. - - Pray, whose nuts will you gather away, - Gather away, gather away? - Pray, whose nuts will you gather away, - So early in the morning? - - We'll gather Miss A----'s nuts away, - Nuts away, nuts away, - We'll gather Miss A----'s nuts away, - So early in the morning. - - Pray, who will you send to take them away, - To take them away, take them away? - Pray, who will you send to take them away, - So early in the morning? - - We'll send Miss B---- to take them away, - To take them away, take them away, - We'll send Miss B---- to take them away, - So early in the morning. - ---Symondsbury, Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 226-7). - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.] - -(_b_) The children form in two lines of equal length, facing one -another, with sufficient space between the lines to admit of their -walking in line backwards and forwards towards and away from each other, -as each line sings the verses allotted to it (fig. 1). The first line -sings the first, third, and fifth verses, and the opposite line the -second and fourth. At the end of the fifth verse a handkerchief or other -mark is laid on the ground, and the two children (whose names have been -mentioned, and who are as evenly matched as possible), take each other's -right hand and endeavour to pull each other over the handkerchief to -their own side (fig. 2). The child who is pulled over the handkerchief -becomes the "captured nut," and joins the side of her capturers. Then -the game begins again by the second line singing the first, third, and -fifth verses, while advancing to gather or capture the "nuts," the first -line responding with the second and fourth verses, and the same finish -as before. Then the first line begins the game, and so on until all the -children are in this way matched one against the other. - -(_c_) Other versions have been sent me, with slight variations: NUTS IN -MAY, with the verses ending, "On a fine summer morning," from Lincoln -and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock); "So early in the morning," -Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews); "Six o'clock in the morning," -Nottingham (Miss Wenfield); "On a cold and frosty morning," East Kirkby, -Lincolnshire (Miss K. Maughan); Barnes (A. B. Gomme), Colchester (Miss -G. M. Frances). NUTS AND MAY: "On a bright and sunny morning" (Mr. C. C. -Bell); "On a cold and frosty morning," Forest of Dean (Miss Matthews); -"Every night and morning," Gainford, Durham (Miss Edleston); "We've -picked [Sally Gray] for nuts in May," "All on a summer's morning," -Sheffield (Mr. S. O. Addy). A version by Miss Kimber (Newbury, Berks, -and Marlborough, Wilts) ends each verse, "Nuts and May." In other -respects these variants are practically the same. Printed versions not -given above are Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 85); Burne's -_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 516; Sulhampstead, Berks (_Antiquary_, vol. -xxvii., Miss E. E. Thoyts); and Dorsetshire, "Gathering nuts away" -(_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 225). From Longcot, Berks, a version sent me -by Miss I. Barclay has no fourth line to the verses. - -(_d_) This game is probably, unless we except "Mulberry Bush," the most -popular and the most widely played of any singing game. It might almost -be called universal. This is shown by the fact that there are few -counties where it is not known, and also that important variants, either -in the words or in the method of playing, are rarely met with. In all -the versions which have been sent there are only the following -variations in the words, and these are principally in the refrain, or -last line of each verse: "On a cold and frosty morning" ends by far the -greater number of versions; "On a fine summer's morning," "So early in -the morning," "All on a summer's morning," "Five o'clock in the -morning," "On a cold and sunny morning," coming next in number. The -Belfast version ends, "May! May! May!" and a Newbury and Marlborough -fourth line is simply a repetition of the second, "Nuts in May, nuts in -May." - -In the first line of the verse the only important variant seems to be -the Symondsbury "Gathering nuts away" and "Gathering nuts to-day." -"Gathering nuts away" also occurs in one version from Newbury (Berks), -"Nuts and May" appearing in the larger number after the more usual "Nuts -in May." In only one version is a specific place mentioned for the -gathering. This is in the Bocking version, where Galloway Hill is named, -in reply to the unusual question, "Where do you gather your nuts in -May?" A player is usually gathered for "Nuts in May." In three or four -cases only is this altered to gathering a player's "nuts away," which is -obviously an alteration to try and make the action coincide exactly with -the words. The game is always played in "lines," and the principal -incidents running throughout all the versions are the same, _i.e._, one -player is selected by one line of players from their opponents' party. -The "selected" one is refused by her party unless some one from the -opposite side can effect her capture by a contest of strength. In all -versions but two or three this contest takes place between the two; in -one or two all the players join in the trial of strength. In another -instance there appears to be no contest, but the selected player crosses -over to the opposite side. Two important incidents occur in the Bocking -and Symondsbury versions. In the Bocking game the side which is -victorious has the right to begin the next game first: this also occurs -in the Barnes version. In Symondsbury, when one child is drawn over the -boundary line by one from the opposite side she has to be "crowned" -immediately. This is done by the conqueror putting her hand on the -captured one's head. If this is not done at once the captured one is at -liberty to return to her own side. In some versions (Shropshire and -London) the player who is selected for "Nuts" is always captured by the -one sent to fetch her. Some Barnes children also say that this is the -proper way to play. When boys and girls play the boys are always sent to -"fetch away" the girls. In Sheffield (a version collected by Mr. S. O. -Addy) a boy is chosen to fetch the girl away; and in the Earls Heaton -version the line runs, "We'll have a girl for nuts in May." - -(_e_) There is some analogy in the game to marriage by capture, and to -the marriage customs practised at May Day festivals and gatherings. For -the evidence for marriage by capture in the game there is no element of -love or courtship, though there is the obtaining possession of a member -of an opposing party. But it differs from ordinary contest-games in the -fact that one party does not wage war against another party for -possession of a particular piece of ground, but individual against -individual for the possession of an individual. That the player sent to -fetch the selected girl is expected to conquer seems to be -implied--first, by a choice of a certain player being made to effect the -capture; secondly, by the one sent "to fetch" being always successful; -and thirdly, the "crowning" in the Symondsbury game. Through all the -games I have seen played this idea seems to run, and it exactly accords -with the conception of marriage by capture. For examples of the actual -survivals in English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish customs of marriage by -capture see Gomme's _Folk-lore Relics of Early Village Life_, pp. -204-210. - -The question is, How does this theory of the origin of the game fit in -with the term "Nuts in May"? I attribute this to the gathering by -parties of young men of bunches of May at the May festivals and dances, -to decorate not only the Maypole, May "kissing-bush," but the doors of -houses. "Knots of May" is a term used by children, meaning bunches of -May. Thus, a note by Miss Fowler in the MS. of the games she had -collected says, "In Bucks the children speak of 'knots of May,' meaning -each little bunch of hawthorn blossom." The gathering of bunches of May -by parties of young men and maidens to make the May-bush round which the -May Day games were held, and dancing and courting, is mentioned by Wilde -(_Irish Popular Superstitions_, p. 52), the game being "Dance in the -Ring." Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_) says, "May birches were branches of -different kinds of trees fastened over doors of houses and on the -chimney on the eve of May Day. They were fastened up by parties of young -men who went round for the purpose, and were intended to be symbolical -of the character of the inmates." I remember one May Day in London, when -the "May girls" came with a garland and short sticks decorated with -green and bunches of flowers, they sang-- - - Knots of May we've brought you, - Before your door it stands; - It is but a sprout, but it's well budded out - By the work of the Lord's hands, - -and a Miss Spencer, who lived near Hampton (Middlesex), told me that she -well remembered the May girls singing the first verse of this carol, -using "knots" instead of the more usual word "branch" or "bunch," and -that she knew the small bunch of May blossom by the name of "knots" of -May, "bringing in knots of May" being a usual expression of children. - -The association of May--whether the month, or the flower, or both--with -the game is very strong, the refrain "cold and frosty morning," "all on -a summer's morning," "bright summer's morning," "so early in the -morning," also being characteristic of the early days of May and spring, -and suggests that the whole day from early hours is given up to holiday. -The familiar nursery rhyme given by Halliwell-- - - Here we come a-piping, - First in spring and then in May, - -no doubt also refers to house-to-house visiting of May. - -The connection between the May festival and survival in custom of -marriage by capture is well illustrated by a passage from Stubbe's -_Anatomie of Abuses_, p. 148. He says: "Against May Day, Whitsonday, or -other time, euery Parishe, Towne and Village assemble themselves -together, bothe men women and children, olde and yong, . . . and either -goyng all together or diuidyng themselues into companies, they goe some -to the Woodes and groves where they spend all the night in plesant -pastimes; and in the morning they return bringing with them birch and -branches of trees to deck their assemblies withall . . . and then they -fall to daunce about it like as the heathen people did. . . . I have -heard it credibly reported (and that _viva voce_) by men of great -grauitie and reputation, that of fortie, threescore or a hundred maides -going to the wood ouer night, there haue scaresly the third part of them -returned home againe undefiled." Herrick's _Hesperides_ also describes -the festival, and the custom of courting and marriage at the same time. - -The tune sung to this game appears to be the same in every version. - - - END OF VOL. I. - - - BALLANTYNE PRESS - - PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. - - EDINBURGH AND LONDON - - - - -Transcriber's notes: - - -General: - -This eBook is Volume I of a two-volume work. Volume II is available -as ebook number 41728 via the website of Project Gutenberg -(www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41728). Because Volume I was published in 1894 -and Volume II in 1898, there is no symmetry in the references between -the two volumes (for example, Gled Wylie from Volume I does not refer to -Shue-Gled-Wylie from Volume II, whereas Shue-Gled-Wylie does refer to -Gled Wylie). - -This text follows the original printed work, including inconsistencies. -Inconsistencies include differences in spelling of the names of games -and locations, differences in transcription of dialect, inconsistencies -in lay-out, etc. Where changes were made, these are documented below. - - -References: - -Both volumes contain some uncertain references to (other) games, caused -by the naming and/or spelling of game names. Where these differences -were trivial (for example, Wolf and Lamb versus Wolf and the Lamb), -their identity has been assumed silently. Following is a list of less -trivial references. - -The game Stag is often referred to as Stag Warning, but occasionally -they are listed as thought they were separate games. - -Volume I. - -Page 51: reference to Wind Up Jack: this game is not mentioned -separately, but under Wind Up the Bush Faggot. - -Page 120: reference to Wind up the Watch, which is not listed as a -separate game, but as a local name for Wind up the Bush Faggot. - -Page 137: reference to Crosspurposes: according to the description and -Vol. II, this could be Cross-questions. - -Page 300: reference to How many miles to Barley Bridge?, which is not -listed as a separate game; the phrase occurs in some of the versions of -How many miles to Babylon? - -Page 318, section (c): The author refers to the Belfast version, but -describes the Isle of Man version. This has not been changed. - -Page 328: reference to the game Spanish Fly, which does not occur in -either volume (nor does the phrase). - -Page 402: reference to Ghost in the Garden and Ghost in the Copper. -Neither is described as a separate game; probably the reference is to -Ghost at the Well. - - -Textual remarks: - -At least some of the quotations presented by the author are not verbatim -quotations, they have been edited by the author (for example Aubrey on -cockle-bread). - -Volume II. - -In the Addenda, the original work uses Arabic rather than Roman numerals -for different variants; this has not been changed. - -The original work uses both 2-4 and 2/4 to indicate musical time; this -has not been standardised. - -Page 199: Love another like sister and brother is probably a mistake -(Love one another like sister and brother). - -Page 336/7: The original work does not give a source or authority for -variation XXV. - - -Changes made to the original text: - -Footnotes have been moved to end of the description of the game. - -Sources (when printed in smaller type in the original work) have been -moved to a separate line where necessary. - -Volume I. - -The Errata have already been changed in the text. - -Gallovidian Encyclopedia/Encyclopaedia has been standardised to -Gallovidian Encyclopaedia. - -Page xvi: Conqueror changed to Conqueror or Conkers (as in text) - -Page xvii: Duckstone was missing from the list and has been added - -Page xix: Lend me your Key was missing from the list and has been added - -Page 19: we'll go the king changed to we'll go to the king - -Page 24: Hurstmonceaux changed to Hurstmonceux (as elsewhere) - -Page 56: he jostled away changed to be jostled away - -Page 128: [They pull him out. changed to [They pull him out.] - -Page 180 (table) row 16: [ added before Write - -Page 270: so that won't do changed to so _that_ won't do (as elsewhere -in the song) - -Page 329: cul leve changed to cul leve (as in Nares's work) - -Page 364 uniniated changed to uninitiated - -Page 387: the Sheffield is changed to the Sheffield version is. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Traditional Games of England, -Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II), by Alice Bertha Gomme - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRADITIONAL GAMES, VOL I *** - -***** This file should be named 41727.txt or 41727.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/7/2/41727/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Harry Lame, the Music Team (Anne -Celnik, monkeyclogs, Sarah Thomson and others) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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