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).