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.