Oh, dear doctor, can you tell,
What will make poor ---- well?
She is sick and like to die,
And that will make poor ---- cry.
A kiss was the prescription.
We insert this silly little round, chiefly because, according to Madame
Celnart, a French equivalent was in favor, not with infants, but
ladies and gentlemen in polite society, only half a century since. Our
authority says:
"The master or the mistress of this round is called _doctor_. This
doctor takes the arm of the person seated on his right, regards him
or her with an eye of compassion, feels his pulse, and then gives his
order, which everybody repeats, singing, 'Give me your arm that I may
cure you, for you seem to me to look ill.'[80] Then, designating by a
glance some person of the other sex, he says, 'Embrace monsieur (or
madame) to cure you; it is an excellent remedy.' All the persons in the
ring are submitted to this treatment, which the physician knows how to
render piquant by the choice of the panacea which he recommends to his
patient; when everybody is cured, the doctor passes over his science
and dignity to the last person who has tested the efficacy of his
prescription, and in his turn falls sick, to make trial of the pleasing
remedy."
The general theme of our vulgarized round is more agreeably expressed
in the quaint and ancient Canadian song which we have cited as the
motto of the present chapter.
No. 37.
_Old Grimes._
Old Grimes is dead and in his grave laid,
In his grave, in his grave, in his grave laid--
_O aye O!_
There grew up an apple-tree over his head--
The apples were ripe and ready to fall--
Then came an old woman a-picking them up--
Old Grimes got up and gave her a kick--
And made her go hobbledy, hobbledy, hip--
The bridles and saddles they hang on the shelf--
And if you want any more you must sing it yourself--
_O aye O!_
_New York streets._
A friend informs us that he has often heard the words of this
unintelligible round sung as a "shanty," or song used by sailors at
their work, with the chorus, _yeo heave-ho_! In Cambridge, Mass., the
name of the deceased was "Old Cromwell." We have also a version of half
a century since, beginning,
Jemmy and Nancy went up to Whitehall,
Jemmy fell sick among them all.
No. 38.
_The Baptist Game._
Such is the peculiar title of this amusement in Virginia, where it is
said to be enjoyed by pious people who will not dance. There is a row
of couples, with an odd player at the head. At the sudden close of the
song occurs a grand rush and change of partners.
[Illustration]
Come, all ye young men, in your evil ways,
And sow your wild oats in your youthful days;
You shall be happy,
You shall be happy,
When you grow old.
The night is far spent, and the day's coming on,
So give us your arm, and we'll jog along,
You shall be happy,
You shall be happy,
When you grow old.
_Albemarle Co., Va._
This game, with verbal identity (save the title), was a few years since
an amusement of well-bred girls in New York city. It has also been
familiar in Massachusetts, with the exception of one line--
Come all ye _old maids_ in your sinful ways!
No. 39.
_Trials, Troubles, and Tribulations._
All participating are blindfolded, and, joining hands, march forward,
singing--
Here we go through the Jewish nation,
Trials, troubles, and tribulation.
The fun consists in bringing up against a door, or in causing a general
downfall by tripping over some obstacle.
_New York._
No. 40.
_Happy is the Miller._
An odd number of players, of whom the one not paired stands in the
centre of the ring. The others march in couples, each consisting of a
girl and a boy, till the sudden end of the song, when each boy grasps
the girl in front of him.
Happy is the miller, who lives by himself,
All the bread and cheese he piles upon the shelf,
One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag,
The wheel turns around, and he cries out, Grab!
_Western New York._
Another version:
Happy is the miller that lives in the mill;
While the mill goes round, he works with a will;
One hand in the hopper, and one in the bag,
The mill goes around, and he cries out, Grab!
_Cincinnati._
The miller, whose pay used to be taken in a proportion of corn ground,
was a common object of popular satire.