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—
The same as “French Jackie.” This game is called “Tap-back” or “Tat-back” at Bitterne, Hants.
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—
This is repeated by each one in the circle. Then the inside child comes again to the Keeper and says—
The Keeper answers—
Then all the ring say—
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.”
“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.
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.
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).[Addendum]
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.”
—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).
A boy’s game. One boy is chosen, who says:—
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.
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.”
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—
He answers—
The mother of them, as it were, returns—
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.”
The play of “Blind Man’s Buff.”—Banffshire, Aberdeen (Jamieson).
A London name for the game of “Hucklebones.”
See “Fivestones.”
[Play]
—Middlesex (Miss Collyer).
[Play]
—London (A. B. Gomme).
[Play]
—Congleton (Miss A. E. Twemlow).
—Chamber’s Popular Rhymes, pp. 137-38.
—Lanarkshire (W. G. Black).
—Biggar (W. Ballantyne).
—Yorkshire (Henderson’s Folk-lore, Northern Counties, p. 27).
—Roxton, St. Neots (Miss Lumley).
—Berrington (Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 511).
—Middlesex (Miss Collyer).
—Frodingham and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock).
—Addy’s Sheffield Glossary.
—Hurstmonceux, Sussex (Miss Chase).
—London (A. B. Gomme).
—Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler).
—Halliwell’s Popular Nursery Rhymes, cccxxxii.
—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] | |
| No. | Scot- land (Cham- bers). |
Lanark- shire. |
Biggar. | York- shire. |
Roxton. | Shrop- shire. |
Lincoln- shire, Froding- ham. |
Sussex, Hurst- monceux. |
Middle- sex. |
London. | Hants, Liphook. | Halli- well. |
Shef- field. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | A-dis, a-dis, a green grass. | A-dis, a-dis, a green grass. | A dish, a dish, a green grass. | Dissy, dissy, green grass. | Dossy, dossy, green grass. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2. | — | — | — | — | — | Walking up the green grass. | Stepping up the green grass. | Up and down the green grass. | Tripping up the green grass. | Here we come up the green grass. | Here we go up the green grass. | Trip, trap, over the grass. | Stepping up the green grass. |
| 3. | A-dis, a-dis, a-das. | A-dis, a-dis, a-dass. | A dish, a dish, a dish. | Dissy, dissy, duss. | Dossy, dossy, doss. | A dust, a dust, a dust. | Thus, and thus, and thus. | This, and that, and thus. | — | — | — | — | Thus, and thus, and thus. |
| 4. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Dusty, dusty day. | On a dusty, dusty day. | — | — | — |
| 5. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | So early in the morning. | — | — |
| 6. | Come all ye pretty maids. | Come my pretty fair maid. | Come all ye pretty maids. | Come all ye pretty maids. | Come all ye pretty maids. | We want a pretty maiden. | Please may we have a pretty lass. | Come all ye fair maids. | Come all ye pretty maids. | Fair maid, pretty maid. | Fair maid, pretty maid. | Please let one of your daughters come. | Will you let one of your fair maids. |
| 7. | And dance along with us. | And walk along with us. | And dance along with us. | And dance along with us. | Dance upon the grass. | To walk along with us. | To come and play with us. | And walk along with us. | Come and with us play. | — | — | Come and dance with me. | Come and play with us. |
| 8. | For we are going a-roving. | — | For we are lads a roving. | — | — | — | — | — | — | [See below.] | — | — | — |
| 9. | We’ll take this maid by the hand. | — | We’ll take this pretty fair maid by the hand. | — | — | We’ll take her by the hand. | — | — | — | Give your hand to me. | Give your hand to me. | Take one, take the fairest you can see. | — |
| 10. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pretty [ ] come to me. | — |
| 11. | — | — | — | — | — | She shall go to Derby. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12. | You shall have a duke, my dear. | You shall have a dik-ma-day. | Ye sall get a duke. | You shall have a duck. | You shall have a duck. (after No. 19) | She shall have a duck, my dear. | — | — | You shall have a duck. | — | — | You shall have a duck, my dear. | — |
| 13. | — | — | — | — | I will give pots and pans. | — | We will give you pots and pans. | — | — | — | — | I will give you pots and pans. | We will give you pots and pans. |
| 14. | — | — | — | — | ..... brass. | — | ..... brass. | — | — | — | — | ..... brass. | ..... brass. |
| 15. | — | — | — | — | ..... gold and silver. | — | ..... gold and silver. | Some will give us silver ..... gold. | — | — | — | ..... gold and silver. | ..... gold and silver. |
| 16. | — | — | — | — | ..... pearl. | — | ..... pearl. | — | — | — | — | ..... pearl. | ..... pearl. |
| 17. | — | — | — | — | ..... anything. | — | ..... anything. | — | — | — | — | ..... anything. | ..... anything. |
| 18. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | I’ll show you a blackbird. | You shall see a blackbird. | — | — |
| 19. | — | — | — | — | For a pretty lass. | — | For a pretty lass. | — | — | — | — | For a pretty girl. | For a pretty lass. |
| 20. | You shall have a drake. | You shall have a dragon. | Ye sall get a drake. | You shall have a drake. | You shall have a drake. | She shall have a drake. | You shall have a goose for dinner. | — | You shall have a swan. | — | — | You shall have a drake. | — |
| 21. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Take hold of my finger. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Maycana- meecan. |
— | — | — | — | — |
| 23. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | All sorts of colours lying by his side. | — | — |
| [8.] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | We’ll all go roving. | — | — | — |
| 24. | And ye shall get a young prince. | You shall have a nice young man. | Ye sall get a bonny prince. | You shall have a nice young man. | You shall have a young man. | She shall have a nice young man. | You shall have a nice young man. | — | You shall have a nice young man. | — | — | You shall have a young man. | You shall have a nice young man. |
| 25. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pray tell me the name of your young man. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | I’ll take [ ] for my bride. | Take [ ] for my bride. | — | — |
| 27. | A young prince for your sake. | — | For your ain sake. | To love you for your sake. | — | A fighting for her sake. | — | — | A waiting for to come. | — | — | — | — |
| 28. | — | — | — | — | Apprentice for your sake. | — | — | — | — | — | — | Apprentice for your sake. | Born for your sake. |
| 29. | — | — | — | — | — | — | To take you up the garden. | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30. | If this young prince should die. | — | If they all should die. | If this young man should chance to die. | — | Suppose this young man was to die. | Suppose this young man was to die. | — | Suppose he were to die. | — | — | If this young man should happen to die. | — |
| 31. | — | — | — | — | If this young man should wealthy grow. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32. | Ye shall get another. | — | Ye sall get anither. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33. | — | — | — | And leave the girl a widow. | — | And leave the girl a widow. | And leave the girl a widow. | — | And leave his wife a widow. | — | — | And leave the poor woman a widow. | — |
| 34. | — | — | — | — | And give his wife a feather. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35. | Bells will ring and birds sing. | — | The bells will ring, birds will sing. | Birds shall sing and bells ring. | Bells shall ring and birds sing. | Bells ring and we shall sing. | Bells would ring, cats would sing. | — | — | — | — | Bells shall ring, birds shall sing. | Bells shall ring, cats shall sing. |
| 36. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Come all ye pretty fair maids. | — | — | — | — |
| 37. | We’ll all clap hands together. | — | We’ll clap hands together. | Clap all your hands together. | We’ll all clap hands together. | And all clap hands together. | So we’ll all clap hands together. | — | Come clap your hands together. | — | — | We’ll all clap hands together. | We’ll all clap hands together. |
| 38. | — | With princes for his thegan. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Naughty miss, she won’t come out. | Naughty old maid, she won’t come out. | — | — |
| 44. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | To help us with our dancing. | To help us with our dancing. | — | — |
| 45. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Now we’ve got our bonny lass. | Now we’ll get our bonny lass. | — | — |
| 46. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | To help us with our dancing. | To help us with our dancing. | — | — |
| No. | Sussex, Hurstmonceux. | Middlesex. | London. | Hants, Liphook. | Halliwell. | Sheffield. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2. | Up and down the green grass. | Tripping up the green grass. | Here we come up the green grass. | Here we go up the green grass. | Trip, trap, over the grass. | Stepping up the green grass. |
| 3. | This, and that, and thus. | — | — | — | — | Thus, and thus, and thus. |
| 4. | — | Dusty, dusty day. | On a dusty, dusty day. | — | — | — |
| 5. | — | — | — | So early in the morning. | — | — |
| 6. | Come all ye fair maids. | Come all ye pretty maids. | Fair maid, pretty maid. | Fair maid, pretty maid. | Please let one of your daughters come. | Will you let one of your fair maids. |
| 7. | And walk along with us. | Come and with us play. | — | — | Come and dance with me. | Come and play with us. |
| 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. | — | — | You shall have a duck, my dear. | — |
| 13. | — | — | — | — | I will give you pots and pans. | We will give you pots and pans. |
| 14. | — | — | — | — | ..... brass. | ..... brass. |
| 15. | Some will give us silver ..... gold. | — | — | — | ..... gold and silver. | ..... gold and silver. |
| 16. | — | — | — | — | ..... pearl. | ..... pearl. |
| 17. | — | — | — | — | ..... anything. | ..... anything. |
| 18. | — | — | I’ll show you a blackbird. | You shall see a blackbird. | — | — |
| 19. | — | — | — | — | For a pretty girl. | For a pretty lass. |
| 20. | — | You shall have a swan. | — | — | You shall have a drake. | — |
| 21. | Take hold of my finger. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22. | Maycana- meecan. |
— | — | — | — | — |
| 23. | — | — | — | All sorts of colours lying by his side. | — | — |
| [8.] | — | — | We’ll all go roving. | — | — | — |
| 24. | — | You shall have a nice young man. | — | — | You shall have a young man. | You shall have a nice young man. |
| 25. | Pray tell me the name of your young man. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26. | — | — | I’ll take [ ] for my bride. | Take [ ] for my bride. | — | — |
| 27. | — | A waiting for to come. | — | — | — | — |
| 28. | — | — | — | — | Apprentice for your sake. | Born for your sake. |
| 29. | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30. | — | Suppose he were to die. | — | — | If this young man should happen to die. | — |
| 31. | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32. | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33. | — | And leave his wife a widow. | — | — | And leave the poor woman a widow. | — |
| 34. | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35. | — | — | — | — | Bells shall ring, birds shall sing. | Bells shall ring, cats shall sing. |
| 36. | — | Come all ye pretty fair maids. | — | — | — | — |
| 37. | — | Come clap your hands together. | — | — | We’ll all clap hands together. | We’ll all clap hands 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. | — | — | Naughty miss, she won’t come out. | Naughty old maid, she won’t come out. | — | — |
| 44. | — | — | To help us with our dancing. | To help us with our dancing. | — | — |
| 45. | — | — | Now we’ve got our bonny lass. | Now we’ll get our bonny lass. | — | — |
| 46. | — | — | To help us with our dancing. | To help us with our dancing. | — | — |