Old Soldier

Sir Roger is dead and he’s laid in his grave,Laid in his grave, laid in his grave;Sir Roger is dead and he’s laid in his grave,Heigh-ho! laid in his grave.There grew a fine apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head;There grew a fine apple tree over his head,Heigh-ho! over his head.The apples were ripe and they all fell off,All fell off, all fell off;The apples were ripe and they all fell off,Heigh-ho! all fell off.There came an old woman and picked them all up,Picked them all up, picked them all up;There came an old woman and picked them all up,Heigh-ho! picked them all up.Sir Roger jumped up and he gave her a push,Gave her a push, gave her a push;Sir Roger jumped up and he gave her a push,Heigh-ho! gave her a push.Which made the old woman go hickety-hock,Hickety-hock, hickety-hock;Which made the old woman go hickety-hock,Heigh-ho! hickety-hock.

Sir Roger is dead and he’s laid in his grave,Laid in his grave, laid in his grave;Sir Roger is dead and he’s laid in his grave,Heigh-ho! laid in his grave.

There grew a fine apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head;There grew a fine apple tree over his head,Heigh-ho! over his head.

The apples were ripe and they all fell off,All fell off, all fell off;The apples were ripe and they all fell off,Heigh-ho! all fell off.

There came an old woman and picked them all up,Picked them all up, picked them all up;There came an old woman and picked them all up,Heigh-ho! picked them all up.

Sir Roger jumped up and he gave her a push,Gave her a push, gave her a push;Sir Roger jumped up and he gave her a push,Heigh-ho! gave her a push.

Which made the old woman go hickety-hock,Hickety-hock, hickety-hock;Which made the old woman go hickety-hock,Heigh-ho! hickety-hock.

—Brigg, Lincolnshire (Miss J. Barker).

Sir Roger is dead and laid in his grave,Hee, haw! laid in his grave.They planted an apple tree over his head,Hee, haw! over his head.The apples are ripe and ready to fall,Hee, haw! ready to fall.There came a high wind and blew them all off,Hee, haw! blew them all off.There came an old woman to pick them all up,Hee, haw! pick them all up.There came a little bird and gave her a tap,Hee, haw! gave her a tap.Which made the old woman go hipperty hop,Hee, haw! hipperty hop.

—Tong, Shropshire (Miss Burne).

VI.

Poor Johnnie is dead and he lies in his grave,Lies in his grave, lies in his grave;Poor Johnnie is dead and he lies in his grave,He-ho! lies in his grave.They planted an apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head;They planted an apple tree over his head,He-ho! over his head.The apples got ripe and they all fell off,All fell off, all fell off;The apples got ripe and they all fell off,He-ho! all fell off.Here comes an old woman a-picking them up,A-picking them up, a-picking them up;Here comes an old woman a-picking them up,He-ho! a-picking them up.Poor Johnnie got up and gave her a thump,And gave her a thump, and gave her a thump;Poor Johnnie got up and gave her a thump,He-ho! gave her a thump.He made the old woman go hippity-hop,Hippity-hop, hippity-hop!He made the old woman go hippity-hop,He-ho! hippity-hop!

Poor Johnnie is dead and he lies in his grave,Lies in his grave, lies in his grave;Poor Johnnie is dead and he lies in his grave,He-ho! lies in his grave.

They planted an apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head;They planted an apple tree over his head,He-ho! over his head.

The apples got ripe and they all fell off,All fell off, all fell off;The apples got ripe and they all fell off,He-ho! all fell off.

Here comes an old woman a-picking them up,A-picking them up, a-picking them up;Here comes an old woman a-picking them up,He-ho! a-picking them up.

Poor Johnnie got up and gave her a thump,And gave her a thump, and gave her a thump;Poor Johnnie got up and gave her a thump,He-ho! gave her a thump.

He made the old woman go hippity-hop,Hippity-hop, hippity-hop!He made the old woman go hippity-hop,He-ho! hippity-hop!

—Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

VII.

Cock Robin is dead and has gone to his grave;There grew on old apple tree over his head;The apples were ripe and ready to drop,O my, flippity flop!There came an old woman to pick them all up,Cock Robin rose up and gave her a knock,And made the old woman go flippity flop!O my, flippity flop!

Cock Robin is dead and has gone to his grave;There grew on old apple tree over his head;The apples were ripe and ready to drop,O my, flippity flop!

There came an old woman to pick them all up,Cock Robin rose up and gave her a knock,And made the old woman go flippity flop!O my, flippity flop!

—Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase).

VIII.

Old Roger is dead and gone to his grave,H’m ha! gone to his grave.They planted an apple tree over his head,H’m ha! over his head.The apples were ripe and ready to fall,H’m ha! ready to fall.There came an old woman and picked them all up,H’m ha! picked them all up.Old Roger jumped up and gave her a knock,H’m ha! gave her a knock.Which made the old woman go hippity hop,H’m ha! hippity hop!

Old Roger is dead and gone to his grave,H’m ha! gone to his grave.

They planted an apple tree over his head,H’m ha! over his head.

The apples were ripe and ready to fall,H’m ha! ready to fall.

There came an old woman and picked them all up,H’m ha! picked them all up.

Old Roger jumped up and gave her a knock,H’m ha! gave her a knock.

Which made the old woman go hippity hop,H’m ha! hippity hop!

—Bath, from a Nursemaid (A. B. Gomme).

IX.

Cock Robin is dead and lies in his grave,Hum-ha! lies in his grave.Place an old apple tree over his head,Hum-ha! over his head.When they were ripe and ready to fall,Hum-ha! ready to fall.There comes an old woman a-picking them up,Hum-ha! a-picking them up.Cock Robin jumps up and gives her a good knock,Hum-ha! gives her a good knock.

—Derbyshire (Folk-lore Journal, i. 385).

Poor Roger is dead and lies low in his grave,Low in his grave, low in his grave,E. I. low in his grave.There grew an old apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head,E. I. over his head.When the apples were ripe they all fell off,All fell off, all fell off,E. I. all fell off.There was an old woman came picking them up,Picking them up, picking them up,E. I. picking them up.Poor Roger jumped up and gave her a nudge,Gave her a nudge, gave her a nudge,E. I. gave her a nudge.Which made the old woman go lippety lop,Lippety lop, lippety lop,E. I. lippety lop.

Poor Roger is dead and lies low in his grave,Low in his grave, low in his grave,E. I. low in his grave.

There grew an old apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head,E. I. over his head.

When the apples were ripe they all fell off,All fell off, all fell off,E. I. all fell off.

There was an old woman came picking them up,Picking them up, picking them up,E. I. picking them up.

Poor Roger jumped up and gave her a nudge,Gave her a nudge, gave her a nudge,E. I. gave her a nudge.

Which made the old woman go lippety lop,Lippety lop, lippety lop,E. I. lippety lop.

—Newark, Nottinghamshire (S. O. Addy).

XI.

Poor Toby is dead and he lies in his grave,He lies in his grave, he lies in his grave;They planted an apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head.The apples grew ripe and beginning to fall,Beginning to fall, beginning to fall;The apples grew ripe and beginning to fall,Beginning to fall, beginning to fall.There came an old woman picking them up,Picking them up, picking them up;Poor Toby rose up and he gave her a kick,Gave her a kick, gave her a kick.And the poor old woman went hipperty hop,Hipperty hop, hipperty hop;And the poor old woman went hipperty hop,Hipperty hop along.

Poor Toby is dead and he lies in his grave,He lies in his grave, he lies in his grave;They planted an apple tree over his head,Over his head, over his head.

The apples grew ripe and beginning to fall,Beginning to fall, beginning to fall;The apples grew ripe and beginning to fall,Beginning to fall, beginning to fall.

There came an old woman picking them up,Picking them up, picking them up;Poor Toby rose up and he gave her a kick,Gave her a kick, gave her a kick.

And the poor old woman went hipperty hop,Hipperty hop, hipperty hop;And the poor old woman went hipperty hop,Hipperty hop along.

—Belfast (W. H. Patterson).

XII.

There was an old woman we buried her here,Buried her here, buried her here;There was an old woman we buried her here,He—ho! buried her here.

—Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

(b) A ring is formed by children joining hands; one child, who represents Sir Roger, lays down on the ground in the centre of the ring with his head covered with a handkerchief. The ring stands still and sings the verses. When the second verse is begun, a child from the ring goes into the centre and stands by Sir Roger, to represent the apple tree. At the fourth verse another child goes into the ring, and pretends to pick up the fallen apples. Then the child personating Sir Roger jumps up and knocks the child personating the old woman, beating her out of the ring. She goes off hobbling on one foot, and pretending to be hurt. In theOrdsall gamethe children dance round when singing the verses instead of standing still, the action of the game being the same. In theTong version, the action seems to be done by the ring. Miss Burne says the children go through various movements, finally all limping round. TheNewark(Notts), andBath versionsare played as first described, Poor Roger being covered with a cloak, or an apron, and laying down in the middle of the ring. A Southampton version has additional features—the ring of children keep their arms crossed, and lay their hands on their chests, bending their heads and bodies backwards and forwards, in a mourning attitude, while they sing; in addition to which, in theBath version, the child who personates the apple tree during the singing of the third verse raises her arms above her head, and then lets them drop to her sides to show the falling apples.

(c) Various as the game-rhymes are in word detail, theyare practically the same in incident. One remarkable feature stands out particularly, namely, the planting a tree over the head of the dead, and the spirit-connection which this tree has with the dead. The robbery of the fruit brings back the dead Sir Roger to protect it, and this must be his ghost or spirit. In popular superstition this incident is not uncommon. Thus Aubrey in hisRemains of Gentilisme, notes that “in the parish of Ockley some graves have rose trees planted at the head and feet,” and then proceeds to say, “They planted a tree or a flower on the grave of their friend, and they thought the soule of the party deceased went into the tree or plant” (p. 155). In Scotland a branch falling from an oak, the Edgewell tree, standing near Dalhousie Castle, portended mortality to the family (Dalyell,Darker Superstitions, p. 504). Compare with this a similar superstition noted in Carew’sHistory of Cornwall, p. 325, and Mr. Keary’s treatment of this cult in hisOutlines of Primitive Belief, pp. 66-67. In folk-tales this incident also appears; the spirit of the dead enters the tree and resents robbery of its fruit, possession of which gives power over the soul or spirit of the dead.

The game is, therefore, not merely the acting of a funeral, but more particularly shows the belief that a dead person is cognisant of actions done by the living, and capable of resenting personal wrongs and desecration of the grave. It shows clearly the sacredness of the grave; but what, perhaps to us, is the most interesting feature, is the way in which the game is played. This clearly shows a survival of the method of portraying old plays. The ring of children act the part of “chorus,” and relate the incidents of the play. The three actors say nothing, only act their several parts in dumb show. The raising and lowering of the arms on the part of the child who plays “apple tree,” the quiet of “Old Roger” until he has to jump up, certainly show the early method of actors when details were presented by action instead of words. Children see no absurdity in being a “tree,” or a “wall,” “apple,” or animal. They simplyarethese things if the game demands it, and they think nothing of incongruities.

I do not, of course, suggest that children have preserved inthis game an old play, but I consider that in this and similar games they have preserved methods of acting and detail (now styled traditional), as given in an early or childish period of the drama, as for example in the mumming plays. Traditional methods of acting are discussed by Mr. Ordish,Folk-lore, ii. 334.

One player personates an old soldier, and begs of all the other players in turn for left-off garments, or anything else he chooses. The formula still used at Barnes by children is, “Here comes an old soldier from the wars [or from town], pray what can you give him?” Another version is—

Here comes an old soldier from Botany Bay,Have you got anything to give him to-day.

—Liverpool (C. C. Bell).

The questioned child replying must be careful to avoid using the words, Yes! No! Nay! and Black, White, or Grey. These words are tabooed, and a forfeit is exacted every time one or other is used. The old soldier walks lame, and carries a stick. He is allowed to ask as many questions, talk as much as he pleases, and to account for his destitute condition.

(c) Some years ago when colours were more limited in number, it was difficult to promise garments for a man’s wear which were neither of these colours tabooed. Miss Burne (Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 526), in describing this game says, “The words Red or Blue are sometimes forbidden, as well as Yes or No,” and adds that “This favourite old game gives scope for great ingenuity on the part of the beggar, and ‘it seems not improbable’ (to use a time-honoured antiquarian phrase!) that the expression ‘To come the old soldier over a person’ may allude to it.” Halliwell (Nursery Rhymes, p. 224) describes the game as above.

Oliver, Oliver, follow the King!Oliver, Oliver, last in the ring!Jim Burguinwants a wife, and a wife he shall have,Nellyhe kissed at the back-cellar door,Nellymade a pudding, she made it over sweet,She never stuck a knife in till he came home at night,So next Monday morning is our wedding-day,The bells they shall ring, and the music shall play!Oliver, Oliver, follow the King! (da capo).

—Berrington (Burne’sShropshire Folk-lore, p. 508).

(b) The children form a ring and move round, singing the first two lines. Then they curtsey, or “douk down,” all together; the one who is last has to tell her sweetheart’s name. The other lines are then sung and the game is continued. The children’s names are mentioned as each one names his or her sweetheart.

This is apparently the game of which “All the Boys,” “Down in the Valley,” and “Mary Mixed a Pudding up,” are also portions.

The words “Cowardy, cowardy custard” are repeated by children playing at this game when they advance towards the one who is selected to catch them, and dare or provoke her to capture them. Ray,Localisms, gives Costard, the head; a kind of opprobrious word used by way of contempt. Bailey gives Costead-head, a blockhead; thus elucidating this exclamation which may be interpreted, “You cowardly blockhead, catch me if you dare” (Baker’sNorthamptonshire Glossary).

The words used were, as far as I remember,

Cowardy, cowardy custard, eat your father’s mustard,Catch me if you can.

To compel a person to “eat” something disagreeable is a well-known form of expressing contempt. The rhyme was supposed to be very efficacious in rousing an indifferent or lazy player when playing “touch” (A. B. Gomme).

[Play]

Tune Oranges and Lemons London

An older and more general version of the last five bars (the tail piece) is as follows:—

[Play]

Tune Oranges and Lemons London, Alternative Ending—London (A. B. Gomme).

—London (A. B. Gomme).

[Play]

Tune Oranges and Lemons Yorkshire—Yorkshire (H. Hardy).

—Yorkshire (H. Hardy).

[Play]

Tune Oranges and Lemons Sporle—Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

—Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

Oranges and lemons,Say the bells of St. Clement’s;You owe me five farthings,Say the bells of St. Martin’s;When will you pay me,Say the bells of Old Bailey;When I grow rich,Say the bells of Shoreditch;When will that be?Say the bells of Stepney;I’m sure I don’t know,Says the Great Bell of Bow.Here comes a light to light you to bed;Here comes a chopper to chop off your head;The last, last, last, last man’s head.

—London (A. B. Gomme).

II.

Oranges and lemons,Say the bells of St. Clement’s;You owe me four farthings,Say the bells of St. Martin’s;When will you pay me?Say the bells of Old Bailey;When I grow rich,Say the bells of Shoreditch;When will that be?Say the bells of Stepney;I’m sure I don’t know,Says the Great Bell of Bow.Here comes a candle to light you to bed;Here comes a chopper to chop off your head;Last, last, last, last, last man’s head.

—Winterton and Leadenham, Lincolnshire; also Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock).

III.

Oranges and lemons,Says the bells of S. Clemen’s.Brickdust and tiles,Says the bells of S. Giles.You owe me five farthings,Says the bells of S. Martin’s.I do not know you,Says the bells of S. Bow.When will you pay me?Says the bells of Old Bailey.When I get rich,Says the bells of Shoreditch.Here comes a candle to light you to bed,Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.

—Derbyshire (Folk-lore Journal, i. 386).

IV.

Oranges and lemons,The bells of St. Clemen’s;You owe me five farthings,The bells of St. Martin’s;When will you pay me?Say the bells of Old Bailey;When I grow rich,Say the bells of Shoreditch;When will that be?Say the bells of Shorlea;I don’t know,Says the Great Bell Bow.Here comes the candle to light you to bed,Here comes the chop to chop off your head.Chop, chop, chop, &c.

—Middlesex (Miss Winfield).

Orange or lemon,The bells of St. Clement’s [or the bells are a clemming].I owe you five farthings,And when shall I pay you,To-day or to-morrow?To-morrow will do.Here come some great candlesTo light you to bed,Here come some great choppersTo chop off your head.Come under, come under,Come run as you ought;Come under, come under,Until you are caught;Then stand just behind usAnd pull either way;Which side pulls the strongestThat side wins the day.

—Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

VI.

Oranges and lemons,The bells of St. Clement’s.I owe you three farthings,When shall I pay you?When I get rich.Here comes a candle to light you to bed,Here comes a hatchet to chop off your head.

—Brigg (from a Lincolnshire friend of Miss Barker).

VII.

Oranges and lemons,Say the bells of St. Clemen’s.I owe you five farthins,Say the bells of St. Martin’s.When shall I pay you?Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday, Friday, Saturday,Or Sunday?

—Symondsbury, Dorset (Folk-lore Journal, vii. 216).

VIII.

I owe you five farthings.When will you pay me,To-day or to-morrow?Here comes a candle to light you to bed,Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.

—Broadwinsor, Dorset (Folk-lore Journal, vii. 217).

IX.

Oranges and lemons, the bells of St. Clement’s [or St. Helen’s].I owe you five farthings. And when will you pay me?I’m sure I don’t know.Here comes a candle to light you to bed,Here comes a chop’n bill to chop off your head—Chop—chop—chop—chop.[Or Here comes a chop’n bill to chop off the last man’s head.]

—Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy).

Lend me five shillings,Said the bells of St. Helen’s.When will you pay me?Said the bells of St. Philip’s.I do not know,Said the Great Bell of Bold.Ring a ding, ding,Ring a ding, ding,Ring a ding, ding, ding, ding.

Lend me five shillings,Said the bells of St. Helen’s.

When will you pay me?Said the bells of St. Philip’s.

I do not know,Said the Great Bell of Bold.

Ring a ding, ding,Ring a ding, ding,Ring a ding, ding, ding, ding.

—Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy, as told him by A. K.).

XI.

Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement’s;You owe me five farthings, and when will you pay me?Say the bells of Old Bailey.When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch.And the last one that comes shall be chop, chop.

—Hersham, Surrey (Folk-lore Record, v. 86).

XII.

Orange and lemon,Say the bells of St. Martin (or the bells of Sweet Lemon);I owe you five farthings,But when shall I pay you?Here comes a candleTo light you to bed,Here comes a hatchetTo chop off your head.

Orange and lemon,Say the bells of St. Martin (or the bells of Sweet Lemon);I owe you five farthings,But when shall I pay you?

Here comes a candleTo light you to bed,Here comes a hatchetTo chop off your head.

—Eckington, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy).

XIII.

Oranges and lemons,The bells of St. Clement’s;I owe you five farthings,And when will you pay me?Oh, that I can’t tell you;Sim, Bim, bim, bow, bay.

—Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. E. Sykes).

XIV.

Oranges or lemons,The bells of St. Clement’s;You owe me five farthings,Pray, when will you pay me?Here come the clappers to knock you down backwards, carwoo!

—Suffolk (Mrs. Haddon).

XV.

Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement’s;Brick dust and tiles, say the bells of St. Giles;You owe me three farthings, say the bells of St. Martin’s;When will you pay me? say the bells of Old Bailey;When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch;When will that be? say the bells of Stepney;I’m sure I don’t know, says the Great Bell of Bow.

—Perth (Rev. W. Gregor).

XVI.

Pancakes and fritters,Says the bells of St. Peter’s;Where must we fry ’em?Says the bells of Cold Higham;In yonder land thurrow (furrow),Says the bells of Wellingborough;You owe me a shilling,Says the bells of Great Billing;When will you pay me?Says the bells of Widdleton Cheney;When I am able,Say the bells at Dunstable;That will never be,Says the bells at Coventry;Oh, yes, it will,Says Northampton Great Bell;White bread and sop,Says the bells at Kingsthorp;Trundle a lantern,Says the bells at Northampton.

—Northamptonshire (Baker’sWords and Phrases).

Two of the taller children stand facing each other, holding up their clasped hands. One is named Orange and the other Lemon. The other players, grasping one another’s dresses, run underneath the raised arms and round Orange, and then under the arms again and round Lemon, while singing the verses. The three concluding lines are sung by “Orange” and “Lemon” in a slow emphatic manner, and at the word “head” they drop their arms over one of the children passing between them, and ask her secretly whether she will beorangeorlemon. The captive chooses her side, and stands behind whichever leader she selects, placing her arms round her waist. The game continues till every one engaged in it has ranged herself behind one or other of the chiefs. When the two parties are ranged a “tug of war” takes place until one of the parties breaks down, or is pulled over a given mark.

Playing Oranges and Lemons

In theMiddlesex version(Miss Winfield) the children form a ring and go round singing the verses, and apparently there is neither catching the “last man” nor the “tug.” Mr. Emslie says he has seen and played the game in Middlesex, and it always terminated with the cutting off the last man’s head. In theSymondsbury versionthe players drop their hands when they say “Sunday.” No tug is mentioned in thefirst Earls Heaton versionof the game (Mr. Hardy). In thesecond versionhe says bells are represented by children. They should have in their hands, bells, or some article to represent them. All stand in a row. First, second, and third bells stand out in turn to sing. All rush for bells to sing chorus. Miss Barclay writes: The children of the Fernham and Longcot choir, playing on Christmas Eve, 1891, pulled across a handkerchief. In Monton, Lancashire, Miss Dendy says the game is played as elsewhere, but without words. In a Swaffham version (Miss Matthews), the girls sometimes call themselves “Plum pudding and roast beef,” or whatever fancy may suggest, instead of oranges and lemons. They join hands high enough for the others to pass under, which they do to a call of “Ducky, Ducky,” presently the hands come down and catch one, who is asked inconfidencewhich she likes best. The game then proceeds in the usual way, one side trying to pull the other over a marked line. Oranges and lemons at Bocking, Essex, is an abbreviated variant of the rhyme printed by Halliwell (Folk-lore Record, iii., part II., 171). In Nottinghamshire, Miss Peacock says it is sometimes called “Tarts and Cheesecakes.” Moor (Suffolk Words) mentions “Oranges and Lemons” as played by both girls and boys, and adds, “I believe it is nearly the same as ‘Plum Pudding and Roast Beef.’” In theSuffolk versionsent by Mrs. Haddon a new word is introduced, “carwoo.” This is the signal for one of the line to be caught. Miss Eddleston, Gainford, Durham, says this game is called—

Through and through the shally go,The last shall be taken.

Mr. Halliwell (Nursery Rhymes, No. cclxxxi.) adopts the verses entitled, “The Merry Bells of London,” from GammerGurton’sGarland, 1783, as the origin of this game. In Aberdeen, Mr. M. L. Rouse tells me he has heard Scotch children apparently playing the same game, “Oranges and Lemons, ask, Which would you have, ‘A sack of corn or a sack of coals?’”

(d) This game indicates a contest between two opposing parties, and a punishment, and although in the game the sequence of events is not at all clear, the contest taking place after the supposed execution, these two events stand out very clearly as the chief factors. In the endeavour to ascertain who the contending parties were, one cannot but be struck with the significance of the bells having different saint’s names. Now the only places where it would be probable for bells to be associated with more than one saint’s name within the circuit of a small area are the old parish units of cities and boroughs. Bells were rung on occasions when it was necessary or advisable to call the people together. At the ringing of the “alarm bell” the market places were quickly filled by crowds of citizens; and by turning to the customs of these places in England, it will be found that contest games between parishes, and between the wards of parishes, were very frequent (see Gomme’sVillage Community, pp. 241-243). These contests were generally conducted by the aid of the football, and in one or two cases, such as at Ludlow, the contest was with a rope, and, in the case of Derby, it is specially stated that the victors were announced by the joyful ringing of their parish bells. Indeed, Halliwell has preserved the “song on the bells of Derby on football morning” (No. clxix.) as follows:—

Pancake and fritters,Say All Saints and St. Peter’s;When will theballcome,Say the bells of St. Alkmun;At two they will throw,Says Saint Werabo;O! very well,Says little Michel.

This custom is quite sufficient to have originated the game, and the parallel which it supplies is evidence of the connection between the two. Oranges and lemons were, in all probability,originally intended to mean thecoloursof the two contesting parties, and notfruitsof those names. In contests between the people of a town and the authority of baron or earl, the adherents of each side ranged themselves under and wore the colours of their chiefs, as is now done by political partizans.

The rhymes are probably corrupted, but whether from some early cries or calls of the different parishes, or from sentences which the bells were supposed to have said or sung when tolled, it is impossible to say. The “clemming” of the bells in theNorfolk version(No. 5) may have originated “St. Clements,” and the other saints have been added at different times. On the other hand, the general similarity of the rhymes indicates the influence of some particular place, and, judging by the parish names, London seems to be that place. If this is so, the main incident of the rhymes may perhaps be due to the too frequent distribution of a traitor’s head and limbs among different towns who had taken up his cause. The exhibitions of this nature at London were more frequent than at any other place. The procession of a criminal to execution was generally accompanied by the tolling of bells, and by torches. It is not unlikely that the monotonous chant of the last lines, “Here comes a light to light you to bed,” &c., indicates this.[Addendum]

A boy (A) kneels with his face in another’s (B) lap; the other players standing in the background. They step forward one by one at a signal from B, who says to each in turn—

’Otmillo, ’Otmillo,Where is this poor man to go?

A then designates a place for each one. When all are despatched A removes his face from B’s knees, and standing up exclaims, “Hot! Hot! Hot!” The others then run to him, and the laggard is blinded instead of A.—Warwickshire (Northall’sFolk Rhymes, p. 402).

This is probably the same game as “Hot Cockles,” although it apparently lacks the hitting or buffeting the blinded wizard.

The name for the game of “Warner” in Oxfordshire. They have a song used in the game commencing—

Over clover,Nine times over.

—Halliwell’sDictionary.

See “Stag Warning.”

[Play]

Tune Paddy from Home—Long Eaton, Notts. (Miss Youngman).

—Long Eaton, Notts. (Miss Youngman).

Paddy from home has never been,A railway train he’s never seen,He longs to see the great machineThat travels along the railway.

—Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire borders (Miss Youngman).

(c) The children form a ring, and hold in their hands a string tied at the ends, and on which a ring is strung. They pass the ring from one to another, backwards and forwards. One child stands in the centre, who tries to find the holder of the ring. Whoever is discovered holding it takes the place of the child in the centre.

(d) This game is similar to “Find the Ring.” The verse is, no doubt, modern, though the action and the string and ring are borrowed from an older game. Another verse used for the same game at Earl’s Heaton (Mr. Hardy) is—

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