Needle Cases.

Come, cheese me east,Come, cheese me west,Come, cheese me to “Rose.”

The guesser points to one of the players. If the guess is right, the player goes to the guesser’s side; if wrong, to the namer’s side, when all the players except one are chosen. This one gets two names, say “Needles” and “Preens.” Thenamer then says to the guesser, “Needles” or “Preens”? A guess is made. This is done three times, and each time the names are changed. If the last guess is made correctly, then the player goes to the guesser, if not, to the namer. Sometimes it is decided by “the best o’ three.” Then comes the “tug of war.” The gaining side calls out “Rotten eggs, rotten eggs!”—Fraserburgh (Rev. Dr. Gregor).

Needle cases, needle cases, in a silver saucer.Who shall I direct it to but Captain ——’s daughter.What will you give to tell her name, tell her name, tell her name?A hundred pounds and a glass of wine.(The girl’s name is given, and she then asks)—What will you give to tell his name?(The others answer)—Two hundred pounds and a glass of wine.(Boy’s name given by girl).As I gaed down to borrow a pan,I saw her sitting kissing her man;She off with the glove and on with the ring.To-morrow, to-morrow the wedding begins.Clean the brass candlesticks, clean the fireside,Draw up the curtains and let’s see the bride.

All the players but one stand in a circle—this one goes round with a handkerchief, singing the first lines. When the girl’s name is mentioned she tells her sweetheart’s name to the girl with the handkerchief, sits down in the centre, and covers her face with her hands. The one with the handkerchief goes round again, asking, “What will you give?” and the ring answers. Her name is then given, and the girl with the handkerchief again asks, “What will you give to tellhisname?” The ring answers again, and the sweetheart’s name is then given. The girl with the handkerchief goes round again and sings the last lines, the ring singing with her. Then the one in the centre joins the ring, and the game begins again.—Aberdeen (Rev. Dr. Gregor).

[Vol. i. pp. 424-433.]

Many versions of this have been sent me, but none differ materially from those printed previously.

A game played by two or three hundred persons who form a circle; every one places his stick in the ground before him, by way of barrier. A person called the odd man stands in the middle and delivers his bonnet to any one in the ring. This is nimbly handed round, and the owner is to recover it; and on succeeding, takes the place of the person whom he took it from, and that person takes the middle place.—Pennant’s “Voyage to the Hebrides,” p. 231.

[Vol. i. p. 201;ii. pp. 404-405.]

This game resembles “Hen and Chickens,” but though of that class of game it is not, it will be seen, the usual form of “Hen and Chickens” at its conclusion. The earlier part of the game and dialogue, if any, may, however, have been similar. Mr. Rouse says: “I cannot recollect more of Old Cranny Crow than that she entices children one by one out for a walk, and steals them from their supposed mother. The mother is then invited to dine by Old Cranny Crow, and has a pie (one of her children) set before her, with pepper and salt, which she pretends to eat, and when doing so discovers it to be just like her Tommy (or other child’s name). Then Cranny Crow puts another pie before her; this she discovers to be just like her Katy. She finds out all her children one by one, and they come to life again and run home.”—M. L. Rouse, Blackheath. [See “Mother, mother, pot boils over,” “Witch.”]

All players sit round the fire and put out their right feet. The Master of the game repeats—

Onery, twoery, dickery dary,Wispy, spindey, spoke of the lindey,Old Johanny HairyCrap in![17]

Each word is repeated to a man; and when the leader comes to “Crap in,” the man specified draws in his foot. When all have drawn in their feet but one, this one must then kneel down, and his eyes being blindfolded, the master of the game puts his elbow on his back and strikes him with his elbow or fist, saying—

Hurley, burley, trump the trace,The cow ran through the market-place.Simon Alley hunt the buck,How many horns stand up?

At the same time holding up several fingers. The man kneeling down has to guess the number. If he guesses correctly, the master of the game takes his place. If he fails to guess he is kept down, and another man goes and strikes his back, and so on.—Kiltubbrid, Co. Leitrim (L. L. Duncan.)

A version of “Hot Cockles,” with interesting variations.

Mr. Duncan, when sending me the games he collected, said—“It is very possible that the people may have brought some of the games from England when returning from harvesting. This, however, does not apply to ‘Old Johanny Hairy, crap in,’ as it is now called in English. Crap isteach is the Irish for ‘draw in,’ as in Mr. O’Faharty’s ‘Sports of the Winter’ there is a Gaelic version. This, I should imagine, makes it certain that, although well known elsewhere, the game also obtained in the West of Ireland.”

[17]Crap—draw.

Paper of pins to you I bring;Say is my love worth anything?Gold and silver to you I bring;Say is my love worth anything?No, I’ll not have anything;

Paper of pins to you I bring;Say is my love worth anything?

Gold and silver to you I bring;Say is my love worth anything?

No, I’ll not have anything;

or,

Yes, I will have what you bring.

A ring is formed, and one player walks round outside saying the first four lines, stopping at any child she chooses who answers “Yes” or “No.” If “Yes,” the two go into the ring and kiss.—Marylebone, London (A. B. Gomme).

This is interesting, as a possible fragment of the old Keys of Canterbury [Halliwell’s “Nursery Rhymes,” No. cccclxvi.] and of the Paper of Pins, described so fully by Mr. Newell in “Games and Songs of American Children,” pp. 51-55.

See “Keys of Heaven,”ante, p. 437.

A form ofHopscotch. [See “Hopscotch,” vol. i. pp. 223-227.]

Hop-scotch diagram

One player commences first by winning the toss. The pick (a small flat stone) is pitched into No. 1 bed. It is then moved out of this first place, backward across the front line, and not otherwise by touching or forcing it with one foot, the other foot being kept up; that is, the player must hop and use the foot on the ground to strike “pick.” No line must be touched. If this happens, or if the pick, when being driven towards the pitching line, gets away otherwise than across the front line, the player is “out,” and the next boy goes in. All the beds are done likewise, and all must be then done in a reverse way, beginning with No. 10. The first player who completes the game wins.—Waterville, Co. Kerry (Mrs. B. B. Green).

[Vol. ii. pp. 62, 63.]

Here’s a poor widow from Babylon,All her sons and daughters are gone.Come choose to the east, come choose to the west,Come choose you the very one that you like best.Now they are married I wish them joy,Every year a girl and boy.Loving each other like sister and brother,A happy new couple may kiss together.

—Laurieston School, Kircudbrightshire (J. Lawson).

A circle is formed, two children in the centre, one of whom kneels, the other walks round singing—

I am a poor widow go walking around,Go walking around, go walking around, my own.And all of my children are married but one,Are married but one, are married but one, my own.I put on a nightcap to keep her head warm,To keep her head warm, to keep her head warm, my own.Then rise up my daughter and choose whom you please,And choose whom you please, and choose whom you please, my own.

I am a poor widow go walking around,Go walking around, go walking around, my own.And all of my children are married but one,Are married but one, are married but one, my own.

I put on a nightcap to keep her head warm,To keep her head warm, to keep her head warm, my own.Then rise up my daughter and choose whom you please,And choose whom you please, and choose whom you please, my own.

The mother then joins the circle, and the daughter becomes poor widow. On the mention of the nightcap a white handkerchief is spread over the head, the circle walking around slowly, and chanting the words slowly and dismally.

—Penzance (Miss Courtney).

See “Widow,”ante, p. 381.

A game played by children with rushes in Derbyshire, which is a relic of the old custom of rush-bearing. In the warm days of May and June the village children proceed in parties to the sedges and banks of dyke and brook, there to gather the finest and best rushes. These are brought with childish ceremony to some favourite spot, and then woven into various articles, such as baskets, parasols, and umbrellas. Small arbours are made of green bushes and strewn with rushes, inside which the children sit and sing and play at “keeping house” with much lordly ceremony. At these times they play at a game which consists in joining hands in a circle, and going round a heap of rushes singing or saying—

Mary Green and Bessy Bell,They were two bonny lasses;They built a house in yonder hill,And covered it with rashes.Rashes, rashes, rashes!

At each repetition of the word “rashes” (rushes) they loosen hands, and each picking up a lot of rushes, throw them into the air, so that they may fall on every one in the descent. Many of the articles made with rushes are hung over the chimney-piece in houses, and in children’s bedrooms, as ornaments or samples of skill, and there remain until the next season, or until the general cleaning at Christmas.—Thomas. Radcliffe, in “Long Ago,” vol. i. p. 49 (1873).

[Vol. ii. pp. 90-102.]

Lady Queen Anne, she sits in her pan,As fair as a lilly, as white as a lamb;Come tittle, come tattle, come tell me this tale,Which of these ladies doth carry the ball?My father sent me three letters, please deliver the ball.

If a correct guess is made by the opposite side, the queen and the child who had the ball say—

The ball is mine, it is not yours,You may go to the garden and pick more flowers.

—Isle of Man (A. W. Moore).

[Vol. ii. pp. 150-179.]

Sally, Sally, Walker, sprinkling in a pan,Rye, Sally; rye, Sally, for a young man,Come, choose to the east, come, choose to the west,And come choose to the very one that you love best.

The choice is made here, and the two stand in the centre as usual.

Now there’s a couple married in joy,First a girl and then a boy.—— made a pudding nice and sweet,—— took a knife and tasted it.Taste, love; taste, love, don’t say no,Next Monday morning is our marriage day.Seven years after, seven years to come,This young man shall be kissed and be done.

—Fochabers, N. E. Scotland (Rev. Dr. Gregor).

Sally, Sally, Water, sprinkled in a pan,Rise, Sally; rise, Sally, for a young man.Choose the best, leave the worst,Choose the prettiest you can.Now you’re married we wish you joy,First a girl and then a boy,Seven years after son and daughter,Kiss before you go over the water.

Sally, Sally, Water, sprinkled in a pan,Rise, Sally; rise, Sally, for a young man.Choose the best, leave the worst,Choose the prettiest you can.

Now you’re married we wish you joy,First a girl and then a boy,Seven years after son and daughter,Kiss before you go over the water.

—London (Dr. A. C. Haddon, from Miss E. A. Passmore).

Played in usual way.

[See “Hunt the Slipper,” vol. i. pp. 241, 242.]

The boys sat on their haunches in a circle. One of the players takes a small object, and hands it from one to another under the legs from behind. The players as they pass the brogue repeat the words—

Shuffle the brogue once,Shuffle the brogue twice,Shuffle the brogue thrice.

The object has always to be passed along in the same direction. One player who is blindfolded has to catch it as it is passing along. The one in whose hand it is found becomes the catcher. —Crossmichael, Kirkcudbrightshire (Rev. Dr. Gregor).

Soldiers, soldiers, march away,Monday morning’s here again;The drums shall rattle, the pipes shall play“Over the hills and far away.”Now you’re married I wish you joy,First a girl and then a boy;If one don’t kiss, the other must,So kiss, kiss, kiss.

—Girton Village, Cambridgeshire (Dr. A. C. Haddon).

A circle is formed, and the children sing the first four lines. One chooses a partner, and they dance round in the ring.

[Vol. ii. pp. 233-255.]

In a version of theThree Dukes, collected by Dr. A. C. Haddon, the first lines are—

Here comes one duke a riding by, a riding by,A riding by (repeat).Rasima, Tasima, Tisima tay;Pray what is your will, sir?My will is to get married.Will any of my fair daughters do?They’re all as stiff as pokers.We can bend as well as you, sir.

The duke goes round, chooses one, and sings—

I go to the kitchen, I go to the hall,I pick the fairest one of all (as previous versions).

—Girton Village, Cambridgeshire (Dr. A. C. Haddon).

[Vol. ii. pp. 257-279.]

A version of this game called “Gipsies,” varies slightly from those previously printed.

Here comes one gipsy come from Spain,To call upon your daughter Jane;Our daughter Jane is far too young,To be controlled by flattering tongue.Oh, very well, I must away;I’ll call again some other day.Come back, come back,Your tails are flag,And choose the fairest one you see.

Here comes one gipsy come from Spain,To call upon your daughter Jane;

Our daughter Jane is far too young,To be controlled by flattering tongue.

Oh, very well, I must away;I’ll call again some other day.

Come back, come back,Your tails are flag,And choose the fairest one you see.

The gipsy then chooses a girl from the line of players, and asks her to come. The girl asked replies, “No.” Then the gipsy turns round and dances, saying, “Naughty girl, she won’t come out (repeat), to help me in my dancing.” Again the gipsy asks the girl, when she replies, “Yes,” and goes to the gipsy, who says, “Now we have got the flower of May, theflower of May, &c., to help us with our dancing.”—Auchencairn, N. B. (Mary Haddon).

Apples and oranges, two for a penny,Come all ye good scholars, buy ever so many.Come choose the east, come choose the west,Come choose the one you love the best.

Played like “Oranges and Lemons.” One child is “Apple,” and another “Orange.”—Ross-shire (Rev. Dr. Gregor).

Played in the same way is—

Pancakes and flitters is the wax of cantailers,[18]I owe you two farthings, I’ll pay you to-morrow;Here comes a candle to light you to bed,Here comes a hatchet to chop off your head.

—Isle of Man (A. W. Moore).

[18]Mr. Moore says he does not know the meaning of this word.

[Vol. ii. pp. 343-360].

In a version sent me by Dr. Haddon, there is a slight variation. The first lines of each verse are—

Have you any bread and wine?We are the Romans.Have you, &c.Yes, we have some bread and wine,We are the English.Yes, we have, &c.Will you give us some of it, &c.No; we’ll give you none of it, &c.We will tell our magistrates, &c.We don’t care for your magistrates, &c.We will tell our new-born prince, &c.We don’t care for your new-born prince, &c.Are you ready for a fight?Yes, we’re ready for a fight.Tuck up sleeves and have a fight.

Have you any bread and wine?We are the Romans.Have you, &c.

Yes, we have some bread and wine,We are the English.Yes, we have, &c.

Will you give us some of it, &c.No; we’ll give you none of it, &c.We will tell our magistrates, &c.We don’t care for your magistrates, &c.We will tell our new-born prince, &c.We don’t care for your new-born prince, &c.Are you ready for a fight?Yes, we’re ready for a fight.Tuck up sleeves and have a fight.

General scrimmage follows.—Girton Village, Cambridgeshire (Dr. A. C. Haddon).

[Vol. ii. pp. 362-374.]

The first lines are—

When I was a naughty girl, &c., and this way went I (shrugging shoulders),When I was a good girl, &c. (folding arms, walking soberly),When I was a teacher (beating time or whacking, optional),When I went a-courting (walking arm in arm),When I had a baby (nursing apron as baby),When my baby died (crying),When my father beat me (hitting one another),When my father died,How I did laugh! (laughing).

—Girton Village, Cambridgeshire (Dr. A. C. Haddon).

Children’s games have not hitherto been studied in the same way as customs and superstitions and folk-tales have been studied, namely, as a definite branch of folk-lore. It is well however, to bear in mind that they form a branch by themselves, and that, as such, they contribute to the results which folk-lore is daily producing towards elucidating many unrecorded facts in the early history of civilised man.

Although games have been used by Dr. Tylor and others as anthropological evidence, these authorities have mostly confined themselves to those games of skill or chance which happen to have parallels in savage life; and the particular point of their conclusions rests rather upon the parallels, than upon the substantive evidence of the games themselves.

I will first point out the nature of the material for the study. It will be seen that the greater number of games printed in these two volumes have been collected by myself and many kind correspondents, from children in the present day—games that these children have learned from other children or from their parents, and in no case, so far as I am aware, have they been learned from a printed source. To this collection I have added all printed versions of the traditional game, that is, versions of games written down by the collector of folk-lore and dialect—in some cases unconscious collectors of folk custom—from any available source. A distinctive feature of the collection is, therefore, that I have printed all versions of each game known to me which show differences of words or methods of play. The importance ofhaving all the principal variants from different parts of the country will be obvious when definite conclusions as to the origin and significance of traditional games are being considered.

Strutt mentions many games played by boys in his day, but his remarks are confined principally to games of skill with marbles, tops, &c., and games like “Prisoner’s Base,” “Scots and English,” “Hot Cockles,” &c. He records none of those interesting dialogue games which we know now as singing games. It may be that these games were in his day, as now, the property more of girls than of boys, and he may not have looked for or thought of recording them, for it can hardly be imagined that he was unaware of their existence. He records swinging and ball and shuttlecock playing as girls’ amusements, but very little else, and it cannot even be suggested that the singing game and dialogue game have arisen since his time. Indeed, an examination of the games will, I hope, prove for them a very remote origin, showing traces of early beliefs and customs which children could not have invented, and would not have made the subjects of their play unless those beliefs and customs were as familiar to them as cabs, omnibuses, motor cars, and railways, are to the children of to-day, who use these things as factors in games which they make up.

I do not pretend to have made a complete collection of all versions of games to be found in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It will be seen from my list that some counties are entirely unrepresented; but I think examples enough have been brought together from a sufficient number of different places to show that, even could I obtain the games of every county, I could not reasonably hope to obtain any that would be completely different from those appearing here. Versions differing, more or less, in words from these would, doubtless, appear, but I do not think an entirely different game, or any variants that would materially alter my conclusions, will now be found. All those sent me during the progress of the volumes through the press—and these are a considerable number—show no appreciable differences.

A detailed examination of each game has led me to drawcertain conclusions as to the origin of many of the games. These conclusions differ materially from those advanced by Halliwell, Strutt, or the earlier writers, when they have attempted to suggest the origin of a game. I also differ from Mr. Newell in many of the conclusions advanced in his admirable collection of American children’s games, although I fully recognise the importance of his method of research. I believe, too, that hitherto no attention has been paid to the manner or method in which the game is played. It is to the “method” or “form” of play, when taken together with the words, that I wish to draw particular attention, believing it to be most important to the history of the games.

I do not, of course, claim that all the games recorded in these two volumes are traditional in their present form, or have had independent origins; many of these now known under different names have a common origin. There is, probably, not one game in the same condition, especially as regards words, as it was fifty or a hundred years ago; but I consider the “form” or “method” would remain practically the same even if the words get materially altered.

All games seem primarily to fall into one of two sections: the first, dramatic games; the second, games of skill and chance. Now the game proper, according to the general idea, must contain the element of winning or losing. Thus, the games of skill and chance are played either for the express purpose of winning property of some sort from a less fortunate or skilful player, or to attain individual distinction. Games of this kind are usually called boys’ games, and are played principally by them; but beyond these generally recognised games is the important section of dramatic games, which are regarded as the property of the girls, and played principally by them.

These two sections are generally considered as the peculiar and particular property of each sex. Although this idea is borne out by a study of the traditional game, it will be found that the boys have dramatic games of their own, and the girls have special games of skill and chance. It has so happened, however, that the development in the case of the boys’ dramaticgames has been in the direction of increasing the rules or laws of a game, introducing thereby so much variety that it is difficult to recognise them as descendants of the dramatic originals. This has probably been the result of their use in school playgrounds, while the girls’ dramatic games, not being utilised as a means of exercise, have been left alone, and are dying a natural death.

It will be convenient if, at this point, the games are classified as I shall use them in discussing the question of origin. The first necessary classification will relate to the incidents which show the customs and rites from which the games have descended; the second classification will relate to the dramatic force of the games, as it is from this that I hope to construct the ladder by which the game can be shown to have descended from a long past stage of culture.

The classification, according to incident, is as follows, the name of each game referring to the title-name in the dictionary:—

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