_Answer._--Silver and gold will build it up.
_Question._--Silver and gold will be stolen away.
_Answer._--Build it up with penny loaves.
_Question._--Penny loaves will tumble down.
_Answer._--Bricks and mortar will build it up.
_Question._--Bricks and mortar will wash away.
_Answer._--We will set a dog to bark.
_Question._--Here's a prisoner we have got.
At the words "a prisoner," the two forming the arch apprehend the
passing one in the line, and, holding her fast, the dialogue resumes:--
_Answer._--Here's a prisoner we have got.
_Question._--What's the prisoner done to you?
_Answer._--Stole my watch and broke my chain.
_Question._--What will you take to set him free?
_Answer._--A hundred pounds will set him free.
_Question._--A hundred pounds I have not got.
_Answer._--Then off to prison you must go.
Following this declaration, the prisoner is led a distance away from the
rest by her jailers, where the questions are put to her, whether she
will choose "a gold watch," or "a diamond necklace." As she decides she
goes to the one side or the other. When, in like manner, all in the line
have chosen, a tug-of-war ensues, and the game is ended.
* * * * *
"~The Jolly Miller.~"--In this the players take partners--all except the
miller, who takes his stand in the middle, while his companions walk
round him in couples, singing:--
There was a jolly miller, who lived by himself,
As the wheel went round he made his wealth;
One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag,
As the wheel went round he made his grab.
At the word "grab," every one must change partners. The miller then has
the opportunity of seizing one: and if he succeeds in so doing, the one
necessarily left alone must take his place, and so on.
* * * * *
"~Willie Wastle~" is essentially a boy's game. One standing on a hillock
or large boulder, from which he defies the efforts of his companions to
dislodge him, exclaims, by way of challenge:--
I, Willie Wastle,
Stand on my castle,
And a' the dogs o' your toun,
Will no ding Willie Wastle doun.
The boy who succeeds in dislodging him takes his place, and so on.
* * * * *
"~Oats and Beans and Barley~," a simple but pretty game, is played all
over England, as well as in most parts of Scotland, with varying rhymes.
In Perthshire the lines run:--
Oats and beans and barley grows,
Oats and beans and barley grows;
But you nor I nor nobody knows
How oats and beans and barley grows.
First the farmer sows his seeds,
Then he stands and takes his ease;
Stamps his feet, and claps his hands,
Then turns around to view his lands.
Waiting for a partner,
Waiting for a partner;
Open the ring and take one in,
And kiss her in the centre.
The players form a ring by joining hands. One child--usually a
boy--stands in the middle. The ring moving round, sing the first four
lines. These completed, the ring stands, and still singing, each player
gives suitable action to the succeeding words; showing how the "farmer
sows his seeds," and how he "stands and takes his ease," etc. At the
tenth line all wheel round. They then re-join hands, still singing, and
at the words, "Open the ring and take one in," the child in the middle
chooses from the ring a partner (a girl, of course), whom he leads to
the centre and kisses as requested. The two stand there together, while
the ring, moving again, sing the marriage formula:--
Now you're married, you must obey,
Must be true to all you say;
You must be kind, you must be good,
And help your wife to chop the wood.
* * * * *
"~Hornie Holes~" is a boys' game in which four play, a principal and
assistant on either side. A stands with his assistant at one hole, and
throws what is called a "cat" (a piece of stick, or a sheep's horn),
with the design of making it alight into another hole at some distance,
at which B stands, with his assistant, to drive it aside with his 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." This is attested by old people as of great
antiquity:--
Jock, Speak, and Sandy,
Wi' a' their lousie train,
Round about by Edinbro',
Will never meet again.
Gae head 'im, gae hang 'im,
Gae lay him in the sea;
A' the birds o' the air
Will bear 'im companie.
With a nig-nag, widdy--(or worry) bag,
And an e'endown trail, trail,
Quo' he.
* * * * *
~The Craw~ admits of a good deal of lively exercise, involving, as Dr.
Chambers remarks, no more than a reasonable portion of violence. One boy
is selected to be craw. He sits down upon the ground, and he and another
boy then lay hold of the two ends of a long strap or twisted
handkerchief. The latter also takes into his right hand another
hard-twisted handkerchief, called the _Cout_, and runs round the craw,
and with the cout defends him against the attack of the other boys, who,
with similar couts, use all their agility to get a slap at the craw.
But, before beginning, the guard of the craw must cry out:--
Ane, twa, three--my craw's free.
And the first whom he strikes becomes craw, the former craw then
becoming guard. When the guard wants respite, he must cry:--
Ane, twa, three--my craw's no free.
* * * * *
"~Neevie-neevie-nick-nack.~"--A lottery game, and confined to boys, is
of simple movement, but convenient in this--that only two players are
required. They stand facing each other, the leader whirling his two
closed fists, one containing a prize, the other empty, while he cajoles
his opponent with the rhyme--
Neevie-neevie-nick-nack,
Whilk hand will ye tak'--
The richt are or the wrang,
I'll beguile ye gin I can?
If he guesses correctly, he gains the prize. If he misses, he has to
equal the stake. Until success falls to the second, the original player
continues the lead.
* * * * *
"~Blind Man's Buff~," though not a rhyme-game, is yet so well known it
is worth mentioning for the mere purpose of telling its story. Like many
more such--if we only knew how--it is based on fact. It is of French
origin, and of very great antiquity, having been introduced into Britain
in the train of the Norman conquerors. Its French name, "Colin
Maillard," was that of a brave warrior, the memory of whose exploits
still lives in the chronicles of the Middle Ages.
In the year 999 Liége reckoned among its valiant chiefs one Jean Colin.
He acquired the name Maillard from his chosen weapon being a mallet,
wherewith in battle he used literally to crush his opponents.
In one of the feuds which were of perpetual recurrence in those times,
he encountered the Count de Lourain in a pitched battle, and--so runs
the story--in the first onset Colin Maillard lost both his eyes.
He ordered his esquire to take him into the thickest of the fight, and,
furiously brandishing his mallet, did such fearful execution that
victory soon declared itself for him.
When Robert of France heard of these feats of arms, he lavished favour
and honours upon Colin, and so great was the fame of the exploit that it
was commemorated in the pantomimic representations that formed part of
the rude dramatic performances of the age. By degrees the children
learned to act it for themselves, and it took the form of a familiar
sport.
The blindfold pursuer, as with bandaged eyes and extended hands he
gropes for a victim to pounce upon, seems in some degree to repeat the
action of Colin Maillard, the tradition of which is also traceable in
the name, "blind man's buff."
* * * * *
"~Water Wallflower.~"--All should know this game, which is more commonly
played by very small misses.
Forming a ring, all join hands and dance, or move slowly round,
singing:--
Water, water wallflower, growing up so high,
We are all maidens, and we must all die,
Excepting [Nellie Newton], the youngest of us all,
She can dance and she can sing, and she can knock us all down.
Here all clap hands, with the exception of the one named, who stands
looking abashed, while the others sing:--
Fie, fie, fie, for shame,
Turn your back to the wall again.
At the command, she who has been named turns, so that she faces outwards
now, with her back to the centre of the ring; though she still clasps
hands with those on either side, and continues in the movement, singing
with the others. When all in like manner have been chapped out, and are
facing the open, the game is finished.
* * * * *
"~The Emperor Napoleon~" is a little game which affords, invariably, a
good deal of fun. Again, as so commonly, the form is in a ring, and all
go round, singing:--
The Emperor Napoleon has a hundred thousand men,
The Emperor Napoleon has a hundred thousand men,
The Emperor Napoleon has a hundred thousand men,
As he goes marching along.
In each successive singing of the verse, one syllable after another in
the main line, beginning at the far end, is left out--or at least is not
spoken--the blank, or blanks, as it happens latterly, having to be
indicated merely by nods of the head. As each player makes a mistake, by
speaking, instead of nodding, or _vice versa_, she pays a forfeit and
drops out. The play goes on till all have fallen.
* * * * *
"~A' the Birdies i' the Air~," purely Scotch, is a simpler form merely
of "London Bridge." Two players, facing each other, hold up their hands
to form an arch, and call the formula:--
A' the birdies i' the air
Tick-to to my tail.
The others, who may be running about indifferently, decide in time which
side they will favour, and when each and all have chosen which champion
they will support, and have taken their places at her back, a tug-of-war
ensues. Afterwards the victors chase the vanquished, calling, "Rotten
eggs! rotten eggs!" and the game is ended; to be followed perhaps by
* * * * *
"~Through the Needle-e'e, Boys~," played also to some extent in the form
of "London Bridge," and much resembling "Barley Break," a pastime of
highborn lords and ladies in the time of Sir Philip Sydney, who
describes it in his _Arcadia_. The boys first choose sides. The two
chosen leaders join both hands, and raising them high enough to let the
others pass through below, they sing:--
Brother [John], if ye'll be mine,
I'll gie you a glass o' wine:
A glass o' wine is good and fine,
Through the needle-e'e, boys.
Letting their arms fall, they enclose a boy, and ask him to which side
he will belong, and he is disposed according to his own decision. The
parties being at length formed, are separated by a real or imaginary
line, and place at some distance behind them, in a heap, their jackets,
caps, etc. They stand opposite to each other, the object being to make a
successful incursion over the line into the enemy's country, and bring
off part or whole of the heap of clothes. It requires address and
swiftness of foot to do so without being taken prisoner by the foe. The
winning of the game is decided by which party first loses all its men or
all its property. At Hawick, where this legendary mimicry of old Border
warfare peculiarly flourishes, the boys are accustomed to use the
following lines of defiance:--
King Covenanter, come out if ye daur venture!
Set your feet on Scots ground, English, if ye daur!
* * * * *
"~King Henry~" somewhat resembles "I dree I droppit it;" only, instead
of standing, the girls forming the ring sit, or rather crouch in a sort
of working-tailor attitude. One girl, occupying the centre, is "it." A
second girl is on the outside. Immediately the ring begins singing the
rhyme:--
King Henry, King Henry,
Run, boys, run;
You, with the red coat,
Follow with the drum,
The one on the outside is pursued by the girl from the centre. The rhyme
may be repeated as often as the ring decides; but the object of the one
who is "it" is to overtake and "tig" the other before the singing
ceases. Otherwise she remains unrelieved, and must try, and try, until
she succeeds in getting out, and putting another in her place; and so
on.
* * * * *
"~The Blue Bird~," played by very small children, is rather pretty. The
rhyme is:--
Here comes a [blue] bird through the window,
Here comes a [blue] bird through the door;
Here comes a [blue] bird through the window,
Hey, diddle, hi dum, day.
Take a little dance and a hop in the corner,
Take a little dance and a hop in the floor;
Take a little dance and a hop in the corner,
Hey, diddle, hi dum, day.
The players dance round in a ring. One previously, by the process of a
chapping-out rhyme, being made "it," goes first outside, then into the
centre. Her business now is to decide who shall succeed her; and
according as the colour-word in the rhyme--red, blue, green, or yellow,
etc.--corresponds with the dress of all the individual players in the
successive singing, the ones spotted successively take their place in
the centre, and the process goes on, of course, until all have shared
alike in the game.
* * * * *
"~When I was a Young Thing~," of simple though pretty action, has had a
wide vogue. Its rhyme goes:--
When I was a young thing,
A young thing, a young thing;
When I was a young thing,
How happy was I.
'Twas this way, and that way,
And this way, and that way;
When I was a young thing,
Oh, this way went I.
When I was a school-girl, etc.
When I was a teacher, etc.
When I had a sweetheart, etc.
When I had a husband, etc.
When I had a baby, etc.
When I had a donkey, etc.
When I took in washing, etc.
When my baby died, oh died, etc.
When my husband died, etc.
The players, joining hands, form a ring, and dance or walk round singing
the words, and keeping the ring form until the end of the fourth line in
each successive verse, when they unclasp, and stand still. Each child
then takes hold of her skirt and dances individually to the right and
left, making two or three steps. Then all walk round singly, singing the
second four lines, and making suitable action to the words as they sing
and go: the same form being continued throughout.
* * * * *
Still simpler is "~Carry my Lady to London~." In this game two children
cross hands grasping each other's wrists and their own as well--thus
forming a seat, on which a third child can be carried. When hoisted and
in order, the bearers step out singing:--
Gie me a needle to stick i' my thoom
To carry my lady to London;
London Bridge is broken down,
And I must let my lady down.
Each child is thus carried in turn.
* * * * *
"A B C" is a spirited game, admirably adapted for indoor practice on a
wet day, which is played by children seated round a table, or at the
fireside. One sings a solo--a verse of some nursery rhyme. For instance:--
Hey, diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
The chorus of voices takes up the tune, and the solo is repeated; after
which the alphabet is sung through, and the last letter, Z, is sustained
and repeated again and again, to bother the next child, whose turn it
now is to sing the next solo. The new solo must be a nursery rhyme not
hitherto sung by any of the company. If unable to supply a fresh rhyme
within a fixed limit, the player stands out of the game and pays a
forfeit. Less brain-taxing entertainments often engage adult wits.
* * * * *
"~My Theerie and my Thorie~," with a political significance, is a game
widely played. In one place it is known as "Cam a teerie arrie ma
torry;" in another, "Come a theory, oary mathorie;" in yet another,
"Come a theerie, Come a thorie;" or it may be, as in Perthshire, "My
theerie and my thorie." And even as the refrain varies, so do the
rhymes. But the action is generally the same. The players divide into
two sides of about equal number, in lines facing each other. Moving
forwards and backwards the sides sing verse about of the following
rhyme:--
_Question._--Have you any bread and wine,
Bread and wine, bread and wine;
Have you any bread and wine,
My theerie and my thorie?
_Answer._--Yes, we have some bread and wine,
Bread and wine, bread and wine,
Yes, we have some bread and wine,
My theerie and my thorie.
_Question._--We shall have one glass of it, etc.
_Answer._--One glass of it you shall not get, etc.
_Question._--We are all King George's men, etc.
_Answer._--What care we for King George's men, etc.
_Question._--How many miles to Glasgow Lee? etc.
_Answer._--Sixty, seventy, eighty-three, etc.
_Question._--Will I be there gin candle-licht? etc.
_Answer._--Just if your feet be clean and slicht, etc.
_Question._--Open your gates and let me through, etc.
_Answer._--Not without a beck and a boo.
_Reply._--There's a beck and there's a boo,
Open your gates and let me through.
A struggle ensues to break through each other's lines, and reach a fixed
goal on either side--the first to arrive being the victors.
* * * * *
"~Glasgow Ships~" is a simple but pretty game. All join hands, forming a
ring, and, moving round, sing:--
Glasgow ships come sailing in,
Come sailing in, come sailing in;
Glasgow ships come sailing in
On a fine summer morning.
You daurna set your fit upon,
Your fit upon, your fit upon;
You daurna set your fit upon,
Or Gentle John will kiss you.
Three times will kiss you;
Four times will bless you;
Five times butter and bread
Upon a silver salver.
Who shall we send it to?
Send it to, send it to;
Who shall we send it to?
To Mrs. [Thomson's] daughter.
Take her by the lily-white hand,
Lead her o'er the water;
Give her kisses, one, two, three,
She's the favourite daughter.
Braw news is come to town,
Braw news is carried;
Braw news is come to town,
[Maggie Thomson's] married.
First she got the kail-pot,
Syne she got the ladle;
Syne she got a dainty wean,
And syne she got a cradle.
The girl named turns her back to the centre of the ring, and the game is
resumed. When all in like manner have been named and have turned, the
"soo's race" ensues: a hurry-scurry round--which continues until some
one falls, and the game ends by all tumbling in a confused heap.
* * * * *
"~Airlie's Green~," played by boys and girls alike, has perhaps had its
greatest vogue in Strathmore. A space is set apart for the "green," upon
which he, or she, who is "Airlie" takes his, or her, stand. The play
begins by the crowd encroaching on the "green," when all but "Airlie"
sing:--
I set my fit on Airlie's green,
And Airlie canna tak' me:
I canna get time to steer my brose
For Airlie trying to catch me.
"Airlie's" object is to "tig" one within the boundary. The player
touched takes his, or her, place, and the game may proceed thus as long
as desired.
* * * * *
"~Het Rowes and Butter Cakes~," in some places called "Hickety,
Bickety," is a purely boy's game. One stands with his eyes bandaged, and
his hands against a wall or post, with his head resting upon them. One
after another his fellows come up unnamed behind him, laying hands on
his back; and the rhyme is repeated by all in chorus:--
Launchman, launchman, lo,
Where shall this poor Scotchman go?
Will he gang east, or will he gang west,
Or will he gang to the hoodiecraw's nest?
The "hoodiecraw's nest" is the space between the blindfolded one's feet
and the wall. When all have been sent to different places around, he who
is "it" removes the bandage from his eyes; and when all are ready he
gives the call--"Het rowes and butter cakes!" when all rush back to the
spot whence despatched. The last to arrive is "it;" and the game goes on
as before. Where played as "Hickety, Bickety," the rhyme is:--
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?
* * * * *
"~Queen Mary.~" In this game the rhyme goes:--
Queen Mary, Queen Mary, my age is sixteen,
My father's a farmer on yonder green,
With plenty of money to dress me fu' braw,
But nae bonnie laddie will tak' me awa'.
One morning I rose, and I looked in the glass,
Says I to myself I'm a handsome young lass;
My hands by my side and I gave a ha! ha!
Yet there's nae bonnie laddie will tak' me awa'.
It is played by girls only, who stand in a row, with one in front alone
to begin with, who sings the verses, and chooses another from the line.
The two then join hands and advance and retire, repeating together the
verses, with suitable action, as the one had done before alone. At the
close they select a third from the line; and the game proceeds thus
until all are taken over.
* * * * *
"~Whuppity Scoorie~," though a game peculiar to Lanark, and to the boys
of Lanark, and played only once a year, is yet worth mentioning. Its
origin, like so many of the Lanark celebrations, is lost in the mists of
antiquity, nevertheless, it is still regularly played, and creates a
sensation on its annual recurrence, affecting the old scarcely less than
the young in the community. From the month of October till the month of
February, inclusive, the bells in the Parish Church steeple there cease
to ring at six o'clock in the evening, but resume on the first day of
March. At the first peal of the bell then the children start and march
three times round the church, after which a rush is made for the
Wellgate Head, where they engage in a stand-up fight with the youth of
New Lanark (who come that length to meet them), the weapons used being
their bonnets attached to a long string. The fight over, the victors
(generally the boys of the Old Town) return, marching in order, headed
by one carrying a huge stick in exalted attitude, with a flag or
handkerchief attached to it; and thus arranged, they parade the
principal streets, singing, as their fathers and grandfathers sang
before them:--
Hooray, boys, hooray,
For we have won the day;
We've met the bold New Lanark boys,
And chased them doun the brae!
* * * * *
In Chambers's _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_ there is a description of
"~Hinkumbooby~," which I have never seen played. It is, however, only an
extended version of "Looby-Looby." The party form a circle (says the
writer), taking hold of each other's hands. One sings, and the rest
join, to the tune of _Lullibero_:
Fal de ral la, fal de ral la;
while doing so they move a little sideways and back again, beating the
time (which is slow) with their feet. As soon as the line is concluded,
each claps his hands and wheels grotesquely round, singing at the same
time the second line of the verse:--
Hinkumbooby, round about,
Then they sing, with the appropriate gesture--that is, throwing their
right hand into the circle and the left out:--
Right hands in, and left hands out,
still beating the time; then add as before, while wheeling round, with a
clap of the hands:--
Hinkumbooby, round about,
Fal de ral la, fal de ral la;
[_Moving sideways as before, hand in hand._]
Hinkumbooby, round about,
[_Wheeling round as before, with a clap of the hands._]
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,
[_Right feet set into the centre._]
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, fal de ral la, etc.
Heads in, and backs out,
Hinkumbooby, round about,
Fal de ral la, etc.
Backs in, and heads out,
Hinkumbooby, round about,
Fal de ral la, etc.
A' feet in, and nae feet out,
[_On this occasion all sit down, with their feet stretched into
the centre of the ring; and it is a great point to rise up
promptly enough to be ready for the wheel round_.]
Hinkumbooby, round about, Fal de ral la, etc.
Shake hands a', shake hands a',
Hinkumbooby, round about,
Fal de ral la, etc.
Good-night a', good-night a',
[_The boys bowing and the misses curtseying in an affected
formal manner_.]
Hinkumbooby, round about,
Fal de ral la, fal de ral la,
Hinkumbooby, round about.
* * * * *
More generally played--and not in Scotland only--is "~Three Brethren
come from Spain~." The players stand in two lines, slightly apart,
facing each other--the boys on one side, the girls on the other. The
boys advance dancing, and singing the first verse. The girls remain
motionless, and only she who represents the mother speaks.
We are three brethren come from Spain,
All in French garlands;
We are come to court your daughter, Jane,
And adieu to you, my darlings.
As they recede, the mother replies:--
My daughter Jane she is too young,
All in French garlands;
She cannot bide your flattering tongue,
And adieu to you, my darlings.
The boys advance again, singing:--
Be she young, or be she old,
All in French garlands,
It's for a bride she must be sold,
And adieu to you, my darlings.
Answer:--