Sally Sober

The first thing to note from this analysis are the words Sally and Water. In twenty-three versions they are Sally Water or Waters, in seventeen versions it is Sally Walker, in six versions it is another name altogether, while in two versions it is Sallie only. The most constant name, therefore, points to Sally Water as the oldest version; and it is noticeable that in theLincolnshireandSheffield versions, where the name is not Sally Water, the word water is introduced later on in the line which directs the action of sprinkling water. Is it possible, then, that Sally Water may be a corruption from an earlier form where Sally is some other word, not the name of a girl, as it is usually supposed to be, and the word water is connected, not with the name of the maiden, but with the action of sprinkling which she is called upon to perform? If we could surmise that the early form was “Sallie, Sallie, water sprinkle in the pan,” the accusative being placed before the verb, the problem would be solved in this manner; but there is no warrant for this poetical licence in popular verses, and I prefer to suggest that “water” got attached as a surname by simple transposition, such as theNorfolkandBeddgelert versionsallow as evidence. It follows from this that Walker and other names appear as degraded forms of the original, and do not enter into the question of origins, a point which may readily be conceded, considering that the general evidence of all these singing games is, that no special names are ever used, but that names change to suit the players. The next incident in the analysis is the ceremony of “sprinkling the water,” which is constant in twenty-one versions, while theWakefield“Springin’ in the pan,” theSettle“Tinkle in a can,”Halliwell’s“Sprinkle for a young man,” and the eight versions in which this incident is wholly absent in any form, are evident corruptions. The tendency of the corruption is shown by this to be that the “sprinkling of water” came to be omitted from the verse, and therefore the other variants—

are but the steps through which the entire omission of the water incident was finally attained. The third incident is “Rise and choose” a young man, the alternative being “Crying for a young man.” The first indicates a kneeling and reverential attitude before the water, and occurs in twenty-one versions, while the second only occurs in fourteen versions.

The expression “crying” is really to “announce a want,” as “wants” were formerly cried by the official “crier” of every township, and indeed as children still in games “cry” the forfeits; but losing this meaning, the expression came to mean crying in the sense of “weeping,” and appearing to the minds of children as a natural way of expressing a want, would therefore succeed in ousting any more archaic notion. The incident of crying for a lover appears in other singing games, as, for instance, in “Poor Mary.” Especially may this be considered the process which has been going on when it is seen that “choosing” is an actual incident of the game, even in those cases where “crying” has replaced the kneeling. The choosing incident also assumes two forms, namely, with respect to “east and west” in twenty-two versions, and “best and worst” in nine versions. Now, the expression, “for better for worse,” is an old marriage formula preserved in the vernacular portion of the ancient English marriage service (see Palgrave,English Commonwealth, ii., p. cxxxvi.); and I cannot but think that we have the same formula in this game, especially as the final admonition in nearly all the versions is to choose “the one loved best.” Following upon this comes the very general marriage formula noted so frequently in these games. It is slightly varied in some versions, and is replaced by a different formula, but one that also appears in other games, in two or three versions. One feature is very noticeable in the less common versions of this game, viz., the assumption of the marriage being connected with the birth of children, and theindulgences of the lovers, as in the Tong and Scottish versionsxxxii.,xxxiii., andxxxiv.

(e) In considering the probable origin of the game, the first thing will be to ascertain as far as possible what ideas the words are intended to convey. Taking note of the results of the analysis, so far as they show the corruptions which have taken place in the words, it seems clear that though it is not possible to restore the original words, their original meaning is still preserved. This is, that they accompanied the performance of a marriage ceremony, and that a chief feature of this ceremony was connected with some form of water-worship, or some rite in which water played a chief part. Now it has been noted before that the games of children have preserved, by adaptation, the marriage ceremony of ancient times (e.g., “Merry ma Tansa,” “Nuts in May,” “Poor Mary,” “Round and Round the Village”); but this is the first instance where such an important particularisation as that implied by water-worship qualifies the marriage ceremony. It is therefore necessary to see what this exactly means. Mr. Hartland, in hisPerseus(i. 167-9), draws attention to the general significance of the water ceremonial in marriage customs, and Mr. F. B. Jevons, in his introduction to Plutarch’sRomane Questions, and in theTransactions of the Folk-lore Congress, 1891, deals with the subject in reference to the origin of custom obtaining among both Aryan and non-Aryan speaking people. In this connection an important consideration arises. The Esthonian brides, on the morning after the wedding, are taken to make offerings to the water spirit, and they throw offerings into the spring (or a vessel of water), overturn a vessel of water in the house, and sprinkle their bridegrooms with water. The Hindoo offerings of the bride were cast into a water vessel, and the bride sprinkles the court of the new house with water by way of exorcism, and also sprinkles the bridegroom (Jevons,loc. cit., p. 345). Here the parallel between the non-Aryan Esthonian custom and the Aryan Hindoo custom is very close, and it is a part of Mr. Jevons’ argument that, among the Teutons, with whom alone of Aryan speaking peoples the Esthonians came into contact, the custom was limited to the bride simply stepping over a vessel of water. There iscertainly something a great deal more than the parallel to the Teutonic custom in the game of “Sally, Sally Water,” and as it equates more nearly to Hindoo and Esthonian custom, the question is, Does it help Mr. Jevons in the important point he raises? I think it does. A custom is very low down among the strata of survivals when it is only to be recognised as part of a children’s singing game, and the proposition it suggests is that children have preserved more of the old custom than was preserved by the people who adopted a portion of it into their marriage ceremony. A custom so treated must be older than the marriage ceremony with which it thus came into contact, and if this is a true conclusion, we have in this children’s game a relic of the pre-Celtic peoples of these islands—a relic therefore going back many centuries for its origin, and which is of inestimable service in discussing some important problems of the ethnic significance of folk-lore. These conclusions are entirely derived from the significant position which this game occupies in relation to Esthonian (non-Aryan) and to Teutonic (Aryan) marriage customs respectively, and therefore it is of considerable importance to note that it entirely fits in with the conclusion which my husband has drawn as to the non-Aryan origin of water-worship (see Gomme’sEthnology of Folk-lore, pp. 79-105).

There is, however, something further which seems to bring this game into line with non-Aryan marriage customs. The marriage signified by the game is acknowledged and sanctioned by the presence of witnesses; is made between two people who choose each other without any form of compulsion; is accompanied by blessings upon the young couple and prognostications of the birth of children. These points show that the marriage ceremony belongs to a time when the object of the union was to have children, and when its duration was not necessarily for life. It is curious to note that water worship is distinctly connected with the desire to have children (Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., 3rd ser., ii. 9); and that the idea of the temporary character of the marriage status of the lower classes of the people is still extant I have certain evidence of. Early in November of 1895, a man tried for bigamy gave as his defence that he thought his marriage was ended with his firstwife, as he had been away seven years. It is a frequently told story. A year and a day and seven years are the two periods for which the popular mind regards marriage binding. “I was faithful to him for seven years, and had more than my two children,” a woman said to me once, as if two children were the required or expected number to be born in that period. If there is a popular belief of this kind, it is strangely borne out by this game-rhyme. “First a girl, and then a boy,” may also be shown to be a result to be desired and prayed for, in the popular belief that a man’s cycle of life is not complete until he is the father of a daughter, who, in her turn, shall have a son. Miss Hawkins Dempster obtained evidence of such a belief from the lips of a man who considered he was entitled to marry another woman, as his wife had only borne him sons, and therefore his life was not (like hers) complete.

The free choice of both woman and man is opposed to the theory of our present marriage ceremony, where permission or authority to marry is only necessary for the woman, the man being able to do as he pleases. This is now regarded as a sign of women’s early subjection to the authority of men and their subordinate place in the household. But it does not follow that this was the relative position of men and women when a ceremony was first found needful and instituted. I am inclined to think it must have been, rather, the importance attached to the woman’s act of ratification, in the presence of witnesses, of her formal promise to bear children to a particular man. Marriage would then consist of contracts between two parties for the purpose of, and which actually resulted in, the birth of children; of concubinage, or the wife consenting to children being born to her husband by another woman in her stead, if she herself failed in this respect (such children being hers and her husband’s jointly); of marriage without ceremony or set purpose, resulting from young people being thrown together at feast times, gathering in of harvests, &c., which might or might not result in the birth of children. These conditions of the marriage rite are at variance with what we know of the Aryan marriage generally and its results; and that they flow from the customs preserved in the game underconsideration is further proof of the origin of the game from a marriage rite of the pre-Celtic people of these islands. The “kissing together” of the married couple is the token to the witnesses of their mutual consent to the contract.

Attention has already been directed to the fact that parts of the formula preserved in this game are also found in other games, and it may possibly be assumed therefrom that the same origin must be given to these games as to “Sally Water.” The objection to such a conclusion is mainly that it is impossible to decide to which game the popular marriage formula originally belonged, and from which it has been borrowed by the other games. Seeing how exactly it fits the circumstances of “Sally Water,” it might not be too much to suggest that it rightly belongs to this game. Another point to be noted is that the tune to which the words of the marriage formula are sung is always the same, irrespective of that to which the previous verses are sung, and this rule obtains in all those games in which this formula appears—a further proof of the antiquity of the formula as an outcome of the early marriage ceremony.[Addendum]

[7]Redruth version—Fly for the east, fly for the west,Fly for the very one you love best.

[7]Redruth version—

Fly for the east, fly for the west,Fly for the very one you love best.

A game among girls [undescribed].—Dickinson’sCumberland Glossary(Supplement).

Cam’ ye by the salmon fishers,Cam’ ye by the roperee?Saw ye a sailor laddieSailing on the raging sea?Oh, dear ——, are ye going to marry?Yes, indeed, and that I am.Tell to me your own true lover,Tell to me your lover’s name?He’sa bonnie lad,he’sa bonnie fellow,Oh, he’s a bonnie lad,Wi’ ribbons blue and yellow,Stockings of blue silk;Shoes of patent leather,Points to tie them up.A gold ring on his finger.Did you see the ship he came in?Did you see it comin’ in?Every lassie wi’ her laddie,Every widow wi’ her son.Mother, struck eight o’clock,Mother, may I get out?For my love is waitingFor to get me out.First he gave me apples,Then he gave me pears,Then he gave me a sixpenceTo kiss him on the stairs.Oh, dear me, I wish I had my tea,To write a letter to my loveTo come back and marry me.

—Rosehearty (Rev. W. Gregor).

II.

Cam’ ye by the salmon fishers?Cam’ ye by the roperee?Saw ye a sailor laddieWaiting on the coast for me?I ken fahr I’m gyain,I ken fahs gyain wi’ me;I ha’e a lad o’ my ain,Ye daurna tack ’im fae me.Stockings of blue silk,Shoes of patent leather,Kid to tie them up,And gold rings on his finger.Oh for six o’clock!Oh for seven I weary!Oh for eight o’clock!And then I’ll see my dearie.

—Fochabers (Rev. W. Gregor).

III.

Come ye by the salmon fishers?Come ye by the roperee?Saw ye my dear sailor laddieSailing on the raging sea?Tip for gold and tip for silver,Tip for the bonnie laddie I do adore;My delight’s for a sailor laddie,And shall be for evermore.Sit you down, my lovely Elsie,Take your baby on your knee;Drink your health for a jolly sailor,He will come back and marry you.He will give you beads and ear-rings,He will give you diamonds free;Sailors they are bonnie laddies,Oh, but they are neat and clean!They can kiss a bonnie lassieIn the dark, and A, B, C;When the sailors come home at eveningThey take off their tarry clothes,They put on their light blue jackets,That is the way the sailors go.

—Rev. W. Gregor.

A circle is formed, and the children dance round singing. Before beginning they agree which of the players is to be named in the fifth line of the Rosehearty version.

Jamieson’sDictionary(sub voce), “Schamon’s Dance,” says, “Some particular kind of dance anciently used in Scotland.”

Blaw up the bagpyp than,The schamon’s dance I mon begin,I trow it sall not pane.

—“Peblis to the Play,”Chronicles of Scottish Poetry, i. 135.

Pinkerton defines salmon as “probablyshow-man,shaw-man.”

See “Shame Reel, or Shamit Dance.”

This is something like “Hide and Find.” The name of Salt Eel may have been given it from one of the points of the game, which is to baste the runaway individual, whom you may overtake, all the way home with your handkerchief, twisted hard for that purpose. Salt Eel implies on board shipa rope’s ending, and on shore an equivalent process.—Moor’sSuffolk Words and Phrases.

Two sides are chosen in this game. An even number of boys, say eight on each side. Half of these run out of the line, and are chased by half of the boys from the other side. If two out of four get “home” to door or lamp-post, theysave allthe prisoners which have been made; if two out of four are caught before the others get “home,” the side catching them beats.—Deptford (Miss Chase).

A game undescribed, recorded by the Rev. S. D. Headlam as played by some Hoxton school children.—Church Reformer, 1894.

A paper-knife, or thin slip of wood, is placed by one player on his open palm. Another takes it up quickly, and tries to “scat” his opponent’s hand before he can draw it away. Sometimes a feint of taking the paper-knife is made three or four times before it is really done. When the “scat” is given, the “scatter” in his turn rests the knife on his palm. Scat is the Cornish for “slap.”—Folk-lore Journal, v. 50.

Name for teetotum ordinarily manufactured by sticking a pointed peg through a bone button.—Easther’sAlmondbury Glossary; also in SW. Lincolnshire, Cole’sGlossary.

See “Totum.”

InPoor Robin’s Almanackfor 1677, in the verses to the reader, on the back of the title-page, concerning the chief matters in the volume, among many other articles of intelligence, the author professes to show—

“The time when school boys should play atScotch-hoppers.”

Another allusion occurs in the same periodical for 1707—“Lawyers and Physitians have little to do this month, and therefore they may (if they will) play atScotch-hoppers. Somemen put their hands into peoples’ pockets open, and extract it clutch’d, of that beware. But counsel without a cure, is a body without a soul.” And again, in 1740—“The fifth house tells ye whether whores be sound or not; when it is good to eat tripes, bloat herrings, fry’d frogs, rotten eggs, and monkey’s tails butter’d, or an ox liver well stuck with fish hooks; when it is the most convenient time for an old man to play atScotch-hoppersamongst the boys. In it also is found plainly, that the best armour of proof against the fleas, is to go drunk to bed.”

See “Hopscotch,” “Tray-Trip.”

Boys first choose sides. The two chosen leaders join both hands, and raising them high enough to let the others pass through below, cry—

Brother Jack, if ye’ll be mine,I’ll gie ye claret wine;Claret wine is good and fine,Through the needle ee, boys.

Letting their arms fall they enclose a boy and ask him to which side he will belong, and he is disposed of according to his own decision. The parties being at length formed, are separated by a real or imaginary line, and place at some distance behind them, in a heap, their hats, coats, &c. They stand opposite to each other, the object being to make a successful incursion over the line into the enemy’s country, and bring off part of the heap of clothes. It requires both address and swiftness of foot to do so without being taken by the foe. The winning of the game is decided by which party first loses all its men or its property. At Hawick, where the legendary mimicry of old Border warfare peculiarly flourishes, the boys are accustomed to use the following rhymes of defiance:—

King Covenanter, come out if ye daur venture!Set your foot on Scots’ ground, English, if ye daur!

—Chambers’Popular Rhymes, p. 127.

The following version was written down in 1821 under the name of Scotch and English:—Two parties of boys, dividedby a fixed line, endeavoured to pull one another across this line, or to seize by bodily strength or nimbleness a “wad” (the coats or hats of the players) from the little heap deposited in the different territories at a convenient distance. The person pulled across or seized in his attempt to rob the camp was made a prisoner and conducted to the enemy’s station, where he remained under the denomination of “stinkard” till relieved by one of the same side, or by a general exchange of prisoners.—Blackwood’s Magazine, August 1821, p. 25. TheDenham Tracts, i. 150, gives a version of the game much the same as these, except that the words used by the English are, “Here’s a leap into thy kingdom, dry-bellied Scot.” See also Hutton’sHistory of Roman Wall(1804), p. 104. Brockett’s account, under the title of “Stealy Clothes, or Watch Webs,” is as follows:—The players divide into two parties and draw a line as the boundary of their respective territories. At an equal distance from this line each player deposits his hat or some other article of his dress. The object of the game is to seize and convey these singly to your own store from that of the enemy, but if you are unfortunately caught in the attempt, you not only restore the plunder but become a prisoner yourself. This evidently takes its origin from the inroads of the English and Scotch; indeed, it is plainly proved from the language used on the occasion, which consists in a great measure of the terms of reproach still common among the Borderers.—Brockett’sNorth Country Words.

Jamieson, also, describes the game under the title of “English and Scotch,” and says the game has originated from the mutual incursions of the two nations.

See “French and English,” “Prisoner’s Base,” “Rigs.”[Addendum]

The game of “Cat’s Cradle.”

A game much likeShintybetween two sides of boys, each with bandies (scrushes) trying to knock a roundish stone over the other’s line.—Barnes’Dorset Glossary. See “Shinney.”

A game much in vogue in Cumberland during the last century, and in which a peculiar form of top called a “scurran top” was used.—Halliwell’sDictionary.

[Play]

Tune See-Saw—London (A. B. Gomme).

—London (A. B. Gomme).

Titty cum tawtay,The ducks in the water;Titty cum tawtay,The geese follow after.

—Halliwell’sNursery Rhymes, p. 213.

II.

See-saw, Margery Daw,Sold her bed to lie upon straw;Wasn’t she a dirty slutTo sell her bed to lie upon dirt?

—London (A. B. Gomme).

III.

See-saw, Margery Daw,Johnny shall have a new master;He shan’t have but a farthing a day,Because he can’t work any faster.

—London (G. L. Gomme).

IV.

See-saw, sacradown,Which is the way to London town?One boot up, and the other down,And that is the way to London town.

—Halliwell’sNursery Rhymes, No. cccxxx.

The poor man was digging,To and fro, to and fro;And his spade on his shoulder,To and fro, to and fro.The poor man was digging,To and fro, to and fro;And he caught the black cross,To and fro, to and fro.

The poor man was digging,To and fro, to and fro;And his spade on his shoulder,To and fro, to and fro.

The poor man was digging,To and fro, to and fro;And he caught the black cross,To and fro, to and fro.

—Isle of Man (A. W. Moore).

A common game, children sitting on either end of a plank supported on its centre, and made to rock up and down. While enjoying this recreation, they sing the verse. Addy,Sheffield Glossary, gives Ranty or Rantypole, a plank or pole balanced evenly, upon which children rock up and down in see-saw fashion. Jamieson,Etymological Dictionary, gives Coup-the-Ladle as the name for See-saw in Aberdeen. Moor,Suffolk Words and Phrases, describes this game, and gives the same words to be sung while playing as Halliwell’s above. Grose gives “Weigh,” to play at See-saw. Holloway,Dictionary of Provincialisms, says, in Norfolk See-saw is called Titti cum Totter; and in Gainford, Durham, Ewiggy Shog. Halliwell gives versions ofNos. II.andIII.in hisNursery Rhymes, and also other verses with the opening words “See-saw,” namely, “See-saw, Jack-a-Daw,” “See-saw, Sack-a-day;” but these are not connected with the game by Halliwell, and there is nothing in the words to indicate such a connection. Mactaggart,Gallovidian Encyclopædia, calls the game “Coggle-te-Carry,” but gives no verses, and Strutt calls it “Titter Totter.”—Sports, p. 303. He does not give any rhymes, except to quote Gay’s poem, but it is possible that the rhyme to his game may beNo. I.Brogden gives “Hightte” as the game of See-saw. TheManx versionhas not before been published, and Mr. Moore says is now quite forgotten in the Isle. The game is called “Shuggy-shoo” in Irish, and also “Copple-thurrish,” evidently “Horse and Pig,” as if the two animals were balancing against each other, and alternately becoming elevated and depressed.—Ulster Journ. Arch., vi. 102. The child who stands on the plank in the centre and balances it, is frequently called the “canstick” or “candlestick.”

A children’s game. If one of the party is blindfolded, it is “Blind-Sim.”—Spurden’sEast Anglian Glossary.

In several counties of Scotland this was the name of the first dance after the celebration of marriages. It was performed by the bride and best man and the bridegroom and best maid. The bride’s partner asked what was to be the “sham spring,” and she commonly answered, “Through the world will I gang wi’ the lad that lo’es me,” which, on being communicated to the fiddlers, was struck up, and the dance went on somewhat punctiliously, while the guests looked on in silence, and greeted the close with applause. This dance was common in Forfarshire twenty years ago.—Jamieson’sDictionary.

See “Cushion Dance,” “Salmon Fishers.”

This game requires two confederates; one leaves the room, and the other in the secret asks a player in the room to whisper to him whom she (or he) loved; he then calls in his companion, and the following dialogue is carried on:—

“She said, and she said!And what did she say?”“She said that she loved.”“And whom did she love?Suppose she said she loved ——?”“No! she never said that, whatever she said.”

An indefinite number of names are mentioned before the right one. When that came, to the surprise of the whisperer, the answer is—

“Yes! she said that.”

The secret was very simple; the name of a widow or widower known to both players was always given before that whispered.—Cornwall (Folk-lore Journal, v. 50).

Children choose, by “counting out,” or otherwise, a Shepherd and a Wolf (or Mother Sheep, and Wolf). The Wolf goes away, and the rest of the players are the Sheep (or Lambs) and stand in a row. The Shepherd counts them—Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, &c. Then—

Shepherd—“What shall I bring home for you for dinner, Sunday, I’m going to market?”

Sunday chooses something—roast veal, apple tart, or anything else that she likes. Then Monday, Tuesday, and the rest choose also. Shepherd goes away, saying—

“Mind you are all good children.”

The Wolf comes directly the Shepherd goes out of sight, and takes away one of the Sheep. Shepherd comes back and begins to distribute the different things—

“Sunday, Monday,——why, where’s Tuesday?” (or Wednesday, as the case may be.)

The Children cry in chorus—

“Old Wolf came down the chimney and took him (or her) away.”

This formula is repeated till all the children (sheep) are stolen.

The Shepherd now goes to the Wolf’s house to look for his sheep—

Shepherd—“Good morning, have you seen my sheep?”Wolf—“Yes, they went down Red Lane.”[Shepherd looks down Red Lane.]Shepherd—“I’ve been down Red Lane, and they’re not there.”Wolf—“I’ve just seen them pass, they’re gone down Green Lane,” &c. These questions and answers continue as long as the children’s fancy holds out; then the Shepherd comes back.Shepherd—“I’ve looked everywhere, and can’t find them. I b’lieve you’ve got them? I smell meat; may I go up and taste your soup?”Wolf—“You can’t go upstairs, your shoes are too dirty.”Shepherd—“I’ll take off my shoes” (pretends to take them off).Wolf—“Your stockings are too dirty.”Shepherd—“I’ll take off my stockings” (suits the action).Wolf—“Your feet are too dirty.”Shepherd—“I’ll cut my feet off” (pretends to cut them off).(Milder version, “I’ll wash my feet.”)Wolf—“Then the blood’ll run about.”(Milder version, “Then they’ll wet my carpet.”)Shepherd—“I’ll tie up my feet.”(Or, “I’ll wipe my feet”)Wolf—-“Well, now you may go up.”Shepherd—“I smell my sheep.”

Shepherd—“Good morning, have you seen my sheep?”

Wolf—“Yes, they went down Red Lane.”

[Shepherd looks down Red Lane.]

Shepherd—“I’ve been down Red Lane, and they’re not there.”

Wolf—“I’ve just seen them pass, they’re gone down Green Lane,” &c. These questions and answers continue as long as the children’s fancy holds out; then the Shepherd comes back.

Shepherd—“I’ve looked everywhere, and can’t find them. I b’lieve you’ve got them? I smell meat; may I go up and taste your soup?”

Wolf—“You can’t go upstairs, your shoes are too dirty.”

Shepherd—“I’ll take off my shoes” (pretends to take them off).

Wolf—“Your stockings are too dirty.”

Shepherd—“I’ll take off my stockings” (suits the action).

Wolf—“Your feet are too dirty.”

Shepherd—“I’ll cut my feet off” (pretends to cut them off).

(Milder version, “I’ll wash my feet.”)

Wolf—“Then the blood’ll run about.”

(Milder version, “Then they’ll wet my carpet.”)

Shepherd—“I’ll tie up my feet.”

(Or, “I’ll wipe my feet”)

Wolf—-“Well, now you may go up.”

Shepherd—“I smell my sheep.”

The Shepherd then goes to one child, pretends to taste—using fingers of both hands as though holding a spoon and fork—on the top of the child’s head, saying, “That’s my sheep,” “That’s Tuesday,” &c., till he comes to the end of the row, then they all shout out and rush home to the fold, the Wolf with them. A fresh Shepherd and Wolf are chosen, and the game starts once more.—Cornwall (Miss I. Barclay).

One player is chosen to be the Shepherd, another the Thief, and the rest the sheep, who are arranged in a long row. The Shepherd pretends to be asleep; the Thief takes away one of the sheep and hides it; he then says—

The Shepherd counts the sheep, and missing one, asks where it is gone. The Thief says, “It is gone to get fat!” The Shepherd goes to sleep again, and the same performance is repeated till all the sheep are hidden; the Shepherd goes in search of them, and when found they join him in the pursuit of the Thief.—Oswestry (Burne’sShropshire Folk-lore, p. 520).

Mr. Northall (Folk Rhymes, p. 391) gives a version from Warwickshire, and says he believes the Shepherd’s dog to be the true thief who hides his propensity in the dialogue—

Bow, wow, wow, What’s the matter now?A leg of a louse came over my house,And stole one of my fat sheep away.

The game is played as in Shropshire. The dialogue in the Cornish game is similar to that of “Witch.” See “Wolf.”

One child stands alone, facing the others in a line opposite. The single child shouts, “Shepherds, shepherds, give warning.” The others reply, “Warn away! warn away!” Then she asks, “How many sheep have you got?” They answer, “More than you can carry away.” She runs and catches one—they two join hands and chase the rest; each one, as caught,joining hands with the chasers until all are caught.—Liverpool (Mr. C. C. Bell.) See “Stag,” “Warney.”

A writer inBlackwood’s Magazine, August 1821, p. 36, says: The boys attempt to drive with curved sticks a ball, or what is more common, part of the vertebral bone of a sheep, in opposite directions. When the object driven along reaches the appointed place in either termination, the cry of hail! stops the play till it is knocked off anew by the boy who was so fortunate as to drive it past the gog. In the Sheffield district it is played as described by Halliwell. During the game the boys call out, “Hun you, shin you.” It is called Shinny in Derbyshire.—Addy’sSheffield Glossary. Halliwell’s description does not materially differ from the account given above except that when the knur is down over the line it is called a “bye.”—(Dictionary). InNotes and Queries, 8th series, viii. 446; ix. 115et seq., the game is described as played in Lincolnshire under the name of “Cabsow,” which perhaps accounts for the Barnes game ofCrab-sowl.

In Perthshire it is described as a game in which bats somewhat resembling a golf club are used. At every fair or meeting of the country people there were contests at racing, wrestling, putting the stone, &c., and on holidays all the males of a district, young and old, met to play at football, but oftener at shinty.—Perthshire Statistical Account, v. 72; Jamieson’s description is the same.

Mactaggart’sGallovidian Encyclopædiasays: A game described by Scotch writers by the name of Shintie; the shins, or under parts of the legs, are in danger during the game of being struck, hence the name from shin.—Dickinson,Cumberland Glossary, mentions Shinny as a boyish game, also called Scabskew, catty; it is also the name of the crook-ended stick used in the game. Patterson,Antrim and Down Glossary, under name Shinney, says, This game is played with shinneys,i.e., hooked sticks, and a ball or small block of wood called the “Golley,” or “Nag.”

In London this game is calledHockey. It seems to be the same which is designedNotin Gloucestershire; the namebeing borrowed from the ball, which is made of a knotty piece of wood.—Grose’sGlossary.

It has been said that Shinty andHockeydiffer in this respect, that in the latter two goals are erected, each being formed by a piece of stick with both ends stuck in the ground. The players divide into two parties; to each of these the care of one of the goals belongs. The game consists in endeavouring to drive the ball through the goal of the opposite party.—Book of Sports(1810), pp. 11-13. But in Shinty there are also two goals, called hails; the object of each party being to drive the ball beyond their own hail, but there is no hole through which it must be driven. The ball, or knot of wood, is called Shintie.

See “Bandy,” “Camp,” “Chinnup,” “Crab-sowl,” “Doddart,” “Hockey,” “Scrush.”

A boy’s game. It is played in two ways—(1) Of a single character. One boy bends down against a wall (sometimes another stands pillow for his head), then an opponent jumps on his back, crying “Ships” simply, or “Ships a-sailing, coming on.” If he slips off, he has to bend as the other; but if not, he can remain as long as he pleases, provided he does not laugh or speak. If he forgets to cry “Ships,” he has to bend down. (2) Sometimes sides are chosen; then the whole side go down heads and tails, and all the boys on the other side have to jump on their backs. The game in each case is much the same. The “naming” was formerly “Ships and sailors coming on.”—Easther’sAlmondbury Glossary. Mr. H. Hardy sends an account from Earls Heaton, which is practically the same as these.

A game usually played with marbles. One boy puts his hand into his trousers pocket and takes out as many marbles as he feels inclined; he closes his fingers over them, and holds out his hand with the palm down to the opposite player, saying, “Ship sail, sail fast. How many men on board?” A guess is made by his opponent; if less he has to give as many marblesas will make up the true number; if more, as many as he said over. But should the guess be correct he takes them, and then in his turn says, “Ship sail,” &c.—Cornwall (Folk-lore Journal, v. 59).

See “Handy Dandy,” “Neivvie-nick-nack.”

A boys’ game. Two persons are trussed somewhat like fowls; they then hop about on their “hunkers,” each trying to upset the other.—Patterson’sAntrim and Down Glossary.

See “Curcuddie.”

A dangerous kind of sport. A beam of wood is slung between two ropes, a person gets on to this and contrives to steady himself until he goes through a number of antics; if he can do this he shoes the auld mare, if he cannot do it he generally tumbles to the ground and gets hurt with the fall.—Mactaggart’sGallovidian Encyclopædia.

A game in which the strongest acts as the Gled or Kite, and the next in strength as the mother of a brood of birds; for those under her protection, perhaps to the number of a dozen, keep all in a string behind her, each holding by the tail of one another. The Gled still tries to catch the last of them, while the mother cries “Shue! Shue!” spreading out her arms to keep him off. If he catch all the birds he wins the game.—Fife, Teviotdale (Jamieson).

See “Fox and Geese,” “Gled-Wylie,” “Hen and Chickens.”

This game is generally known as “Battledore and Shuttlecock.” The battledore is a small hand bat, formerly made of wood, then of a skin stretched over a frame, and since of catgut strings stretched over a frame. The shuttlecock consists of a small cork into which feathers of equal size are fixed at even distances. The game may be played by one, two, or more persons. If by one person, it merely consists of batting up the shuttlecock into the air for as long a time as possible; ifby two persons, it consists of batting the shuttlecock from one to the other; if by more than two, sides are chosen, and a game has been invented, and known as “Badminton.” This latter game is not a traditional game, and does not therefore concern us now.

Strutt (Sports and Pastimes, p. 303) says this is a sport of long standing, and he gives an illustration, said to be of the fourteenth century, from a MS. in the possession of Mr. F. Douce. This would probably be the earliest mention of the game. It appears to have been a fashionable pastime among grown persons in the reign of James I. In theTwo Maids of Moreclacke, 1609, it is said, “To play at Shuttlecock methinkes is the game now,” and among the anecdotes related of Prince Henry, son to James I., is the following: “His Highness playing at shittle-cocke with one farr taller than himself, and hittyng him by chance with the shittle-cock upon the forehead” (Harl. MS., 6391). Among the accounts of money paid for the Earl of Northumberland while he was prisoner in the Tower for supposed complicity in the Gunpowder Plot, is an item for the purchase of shuttlecocks (Hist. MSS. Com., v. p. 354).

But the popular nature of the game is not indicated by these facts. For this we have to turn to the doings of the people. In the villages of the West Riding the streets may be seen on the second Sunday in May full of grown-up men and women playing “Battledore and Shuttlefeathers” (Henderson’sFolk-lore of the Northern Counties, p. 80). In Leicester the approach of Shrove Tuesday (known amongst the youngsters as “Shuttlecock Day”) is signalised by the appearance in the streets of a number of children playing at the game of “Battledore and Shuttlecock.” On the day itself the streets literally swarm with juveniles, and even grown men and women engage in the pastime. Passing through a by-street the other day I heard a little girl singing—

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