Part 3

One, two, buckle my shoe, Three, four, open the door, Five, six, pick up the sticks, Seven, eight, lay them straight, Nine, ten, a good fat hen, Eleven, twel', bake it well, Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting, Fifteen, sixteen, maids a-kissing, Seventeen, eighteen, maids a-waiting, Nineteen, twenty, my stomach's empty.

In Germany it is found in various forms, but one will suffice:--

1, 2, Polizei, 3, 4, Offizier, 5, 6, Alte Hex, 7, 8, Gute Nacht, 9, 10, Auf Wiedersehen, 11, 12, Junge Wölf, 13, 14, Blaue Schürzen, 15, 16, Alte Hexen, 17, 18, Mädle Wachsen, 19, 20, Gott Verdanzig.

In France it also appears in various forms, and the children of Paris, not disposed to waste time and energy, cut it briefly, as follows:--

Un, deux, trois, Tu ne l'es pas, Quatre, cinq, six, Va t'en d'ici.

In Italy a form goes:--

Pan uno, pan duo, Pan tre, pan quattro, Pan cinque, pan sei, Pan sette, pan otto, Pancotto!

And versions, all revealing a common origin, might be quoted in the languages of many more countries, but we can employ our space to better purpose. With regard to the rhyme already quoted, beginning, "Eenity, feenity, fickety, feg," it has been asked whether the second line, "El, del, domen, egg," would not warrant the conclusion that it sprang into existence on the streets, and among the children, of Ancient Rome. Perhaps it did; for who may say it did not? There is that very common one all over Scotland, which, it will be remembered, that wonderful child, Marjorie Fleming, played off on Sir Walter Scott:--

One-ery, two-ery, tickery, seven, Alibi, crackaby, ten and eleven; Pin, pan, musky dan; Tweedle-um, twoddle-um, twenty-one; Eerie, orie, ourie. You are out!

A similar formula, only in slightly varying words, is found in the folk-lore of almost every country in the world. Commenting on the opening line, the late Mr. Charles G. Leland, author of the _Hans Breitmann_ ballads, and an acknowledged authority on the language and customs of the Eastern Gypsies, sets against it a Romany stanza, used as a spell, beginning:--

Ekkeri, akai-ri, you kiar-an,

and remarks that "Ekkeri, akai-ri," literally translated, just gives the familiar "One-ery, two-ery," which is etymologically analogous to "Hickory, dickory," in the all-pervading nursery rhyme:--

Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock; The clock struck one, and down the mouse ran, Hickory, dickory, dock.

An American version of which, by the bye, goes:--

Hiddlety, diddlety, dumpty, The cat ran up the plum tree; Half-a-crown to fetch her down, Hiddlety, diddlety, dumpty.

But still, before leaving the familiar chapping-out rhyme of Marjorie Fleming, let us see how it occurs again in Scotland and among the children of some of the other English-speaking nations, to go no further. Charles Taylor, in the _Magpie; or Chatterings of the Pica_, published at Glasgow in 1820, gives it thus:--

Anery, twaery, duckery, seven, Alama, crack, ten am eleven; Peem, pom, it must be done, Come teetle, come total, come twenty-one;

and remarks:--"This is reported to have originated with the Druids; the total number of words is twenty-one, and it seems to be a mixture of words put into rhyme." In the streets and lanes and open spaces of Aberdeen it runs:--

Enery, twa-ery, tuckery, taven, Halaba, crackery, ten or eleven; Peen, pan, musky dan, Feedelam, Fadelam, twenty-one.

In the county of Wexford, in Ireland, it goes:--

One-ery, two-ery, dickery, Davy, Hallabone, crackabone, tenery, Navy; Discome, dandy, merry-come-tine, Humbledy, bumbledy, twenty-nine, O-U-T, out. You must go out!

In the Midlands of England:--

One-ery, two-ery, dickery, dee, Halibo, crackibo, dandilee; Pin, pan, muskee dan, Twiddledum, twaddledum, twenty-one; Black fish, white trout, Eeny, meeny, you go out.

In Massachusetts, U.S., America:--

Ena, deena, dina, dust, Catler, wheeler, whiler, whust; Spin, spon, must be done, Twiddleum, twaddleum, twenty-one.

In the island of Guernsey:--

Eena, deena, dina, duss, Catalaweena, wina, wuss; Tittle, tattle, what a rattle, O-U-T spells out!

Another Scotch version:--

One-ery, two-ery, tickery, ten, Bobs of vinegar, gentlemen; A bird in the air, a fish in the sea; A bonnie wee lassie come singing to thee. One, two, three!

Of the "Eeny, feenity, fickety, feg" rhyme, we find these evident varieties. This, said to be used in the West of Scotland:--

Zeeny, meeny, fickety, fick, Deal, doll, dominick; Zarity-panty, on a rock, toosh!

This in Cumberland:--

Eeny, pheeny, figgery, fegg, Deely, dyly, ham and egg. Calico back, and stony rock, Arlum, barlum, bash!

In the United States:--

Inty, minty, tippity, fig, Dinah, donah, norma, nig, Oats, floats, country notes; Dinah, donah, tiz, Hulla-ballop-bulloo, Out goes you!

This curious one in Edinburgh:--

Inty, tinty, tethery, methery, Bank for over, Dover, ding, Aut, taut, toosh; Up the Causey, down the Cross, There stands a bonnie white horse: It can gallop, it can trot, It can carry the mustard pot. One, two, three, out goes she!

Again, in Scotland:--

Inky, pinky, peerie-winkie, Hi domin I. Arky, parky, tarry rope, Ann, tan, toozy Jock.

This is truly American--the first line of which, by the bye, is derived from, or is borrowed by, the College song, "King of the Cannibal Islands":--

Hoky poky, winky wum, How do you like your 'taters done? Snip, snap, snorum, High popolorum, Kate go scratch it, You are out!

That this also is from beyond the "pond" is evident:--

As I was walking down the lake, I met a little rattlesnake. I gave him so much jelly-cake, It made his little belly ache. One, two, three, out goes she!

In the West of Scotland they sometimes say:--

Ease, ose, man's nose; Cauld parritch, pease brose.

Forfarshire bairns say:--

Eemer-awmer, Kirsty Gawmer, Doon i' Carnoustie, merchant-dale. Leddy Celestie, Sandy Testie, Bonnie poppy-show. You--are--out!

And elsewhere, but still in Scotland:--

Eatum, peatum, potum, pie, Babylonie, stickum, stie, Dog's tail, hog's snout, I'm in, you're out.

Or:--

Eerie, orie, owre the dam, Fill your poke and let us gang; Black fish and white trout, Eerie, orie, you are out.

Another goes:--

A ha'penny puddin', a ha'penny pie, Stand you there, you're out by.

The last appears in Chambers' _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_, which interesting collection embraces also the next two. First:--

My grandfather's man and me fell out, How will we bring the matter about? We'll bring it about as weel as we can, And a' for the sake o' my grandfather's man.

Second:--

Master Foster, very good man, Sweeps his college now and than, After that he takes a dance Up from London down to France, With a black bonnet and a white snout, Stand you there, you are out.

In Glasgow, I am told, the next one used to be common:--

As I gaed up the apple tree A' the apples fell on me; Bake a puddin', bake a pie, Send it up to John Mackay; John Mackay is no in, Send it up to the man i' the mune; The man i' the mune's mendin' his shoon, Three bawbees and a farden in.

Also this:--

As I went up the apple tree, All the apples fell on me; Bake a puddin', bake a pie, Did you ever tell a lie? Yes I did, and many times. O-U-T, out goes she Right in the middle of the deep blue sea.

And this:--

Eerie, orie, ickery, am, Pick ma nick, and slick ma slam. Oram, scoram, pick ma noram, Shee, show, sham, shutter, You--are--out!

In England and Scotland alike this has been used, with slight variations, for at least a hundred years:--

As I went up the brandy hill, I met my father, wi' gude will; He had jewels, he had rings, He had mony braw things; He'd a cat and nine tails, He'd a hammer wantin' nails. Up Jock, doun Tam, Blaw the bellows, auld man. The auld man took a dance, First to London, then to France.

Another:--

Queen, Queen Caroline, Dipped her hair in turpentine; Turpentine made it shine, Queen, Queen Caroline.

And yet another:--

Tit, tat, toe, Here I go, And if I miss, I pitch on this.

The following have long been in active use all over Scotland, if not also elsewhere:--

Zeenty, teenty, halligo lum, Pitchin' tawties doun the lum. Wha's there? Johnnie Blair. What d'ye want? A bottle o' beer. Where's your money? In my purse. Where's your purse? In my pocket. Where's your pocket? I forgot it. Go down the stair, you silly blockhead. You--are--out.

Zeenty, teenty, alligo, dan, Bobs o' vinegar, gentleman, Kiss, toss, mouse, fat, Bore a needle, bum a fiddle, Jink ma jeerie, jink ma jye, Stand you there, you're out bye.

One, two, three, four, Jenny at the cottage door, Eating cherries aff a plate, Five, six, seven, eight.

Zeenty, teenty, feggerie fell, Pompaleerie jig. Every man who has no hair Generally wears a wig.

Mistress Mason broke a basin, How much will it be? Half-a-crown. Lay it down. Out goes she!

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, All good children go to heaven; When they die their sin's forgiven, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, All good children go to heaven: A penny by the water, Tuppence by the sea, Threepence by the railway, Out goes she!

Me and the minister's wife coost out. Guess ye what it was about? Black puddin', dish-clout, Eerie, orrie, you are out!

Master Monday, how's your wife? Very sick, and like to die. Can she eat? O yes, As much as I can buy. She makes the porridge very thin, A pound of butter she puts in, Black puddin', white clout, Eerie, orrie, you are out!

Inky pinky, my black hen Lays eggs for gentlemen; Whiles ane, whiles twa, Whiles a bonnie black craw. One--two--three, You--are--out!

Eeny, meeny, clean peeny, If you want a piece and jeely, Just walk out!

John says to John, How much are your geese? John says to John, Twenty cents a-piece. John says to John, That's too dear; John says to John, Get out of here!

Ching, Ching, Chinaman, How do you sell your fish? Ching, Ching, Chinaman, Six bits a dish. Ching, Ching, Chinaman, Oh! that's too dear; Ching, Ching, Chinaman, Clear out of here!

Lemons and oranges, two for a penny, I'm a good scholar that counts so many. The rose is red, the leaves are green, The days are past that I have seen.

I doot, I doot, My fire is out, And my little dog's not at home: I'll saddle my cat, and I'll bridle my dog, And send my little boy home. Home, home again, home!

Jenny, good spinner, Come down to your dinner, And taste the leg of a roasted frog! I pray ye, good people, Look owre the kirk steeple, And see the cat play wi' the dog!

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Haud the horse till I win on; Haud him siccar, haud him fair, Haud him by a pickle hair. One, two, three, You are out!

Around the house, arickity-rary, I hope ye'll meet the green canary: You say ay, I say no, Hold fast--let go! Scottie Malottie, the king o' the Jews, Sell't his wife for a pair o' shoes; When the shoes began to wear Scottie Malottie began to swear.

In Dundee these lines are added to the "Eenity feenity" rhyme:--

Jock out, Jock in, Jock through a hickle-pin. Eetle-ottle, black bottle; Eetle-ottle, out!

This, more commonly used as a test of truth-telling (little fingers being linked while it is uttered), is also used on the East Coast as a counting-out rhyme:--

I ring, I ring, a pinky! If I tell a lie I'll go to the bad place Whenever I die. White pan, black pan, Burn me to death, Tak' a muckle gully And cut my breath. Ten miles below the earth. Amen!

But these all, of course, as already stated, have been delivered and acted, as they are still, rather as a prelude to the more elaborate games designed to follow than as a part of them, and to afford designedly the opportunity of deciding emphatically who shall be "it" or "takkie."

CHILDREN'S RHYME-GAMES.

When by the aid of the "chapping-out" rhyme it has been decided who should be "it," the game to follow may be "Single Tig," "Cross Tig," "Burly Bracks Round the Stacks," "Pussie in the Corner," "Bonnety," "The Tod and the Hounds," "I Spy," "Smuggle the Keg," "Booly Horn," "Dock," "Loup the Frog," "Foot and a Half," "Bools," "Pitch and Toss," or any one of another dozen, all of which are essentially boys' games, and have no rhymes to enliven their action. But if it is to be a game in which both sexes may equally engage, or a game for girls alone, then almost certainly there is a rhyme with it. Somehow girls have always been more musical than boys, even as in their maturer years they are more frequently the subject of song than their confreres of the sterner sex. "Peever," "Tig," and "Skipping Rope," are indeed, so far as I can recall at the moment, about all of the girls' commoner games which are played without the musical accompaniment of line and verse. Their rhyme-games, on the other hand, are legion, and embrace "A Dis, a Dis, a Green Grass," "The Merry-Ma-Tanzie," "The Mulberry Bush," "Carry My Lady to London," "I Dree I Droppit It," "Looby-Looby," and ever so many more.

Like the counting-out rhymes, the game-rhymes are found in only slightly differing forms in widely divided countries and places. But ever alike, they are never quite the same. The "Merry-Ma-Tanzie," for instance, though always the same in name, will be found with varying lines in almost every town and village in Scotland even. There are variants equally, I suppose, of all.

"~Merry-ma-Tanzie~" is solely a girls' game, of which boys, however, may be interested spectators. The counting-out rhyme having put one in the centre, the rest join hands in a ring about her, and moving slowly round, they sing:--

Here we go round the jingo-ring, The jingo-ring, the jingo-ring, Here we go round the jingo-ring, About the merry-ma-tanzie.

Twice about and then we fa', Then we fa', then we fa', Twice about and then we fa', About the merry-ma-tanzie.

Choose your maidens all around, All around, all around, Choose your maidens all around, About the merry-ma-tanzie.

Replying to this invitation, the one in the centre chooses two from the circle, and retires with them a short distance away. During their absence the ring-band proceeds as before, and sing with imitating gesture:--

Sweep the house ere the bride comes in, The bride comes in, the bride comes in, Sweep the house ere the bride comes in, About the merry-ma-tanzie.

When those who left return, the one who was in the centre takes up her original position, as also do the others, and the ring moves on again with:--

Here's a bride new come hame, New come hame, new come hame; Here's a bride new come hame, About the merry-ma-tanzie.

Then follows "Mary Anderson is her name," with the usual repeats, and "Guess ye wha is her true love," "A bottle o' wine to tell his name," "Andrew Wilson is his name," "Honey is sweet and so is he," (or "Apples are sour and so is he,") "He's married her wi' a gay gold ring," "A gay gold ring's a cank'rous thing," "But now they're married we wish them joy," "Father and mother they must obey," "Loving each other like sister and brother," "We pray this couple may kiss together," all, of course, sung with their repeats as above; and the game may be played until every little girl has revealed her little sweetheart's name, which, to be sure, is the _motif_ of the play.

* * * * *

"~The Mulberry Bush~," which goes to the same air as "Merry-Ma-Tanzie," and is in some places called "The Mulberry Tree," and in others "The Gooseberry Bush," is yet more of an action game. The arrangement is again in a ring, and, moving round hand-in-hand, all sing:--

Here we go round the mulberry bush, The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush; Here we go round the mulberry bush, On a cold and frosty morning.

Stopping short with a curtsey at the conclusion and disjoining hands, they stand, and imitating the process of hand-washing, they sing:--

This is the way we wash our hands, Wash our hands, wash our hands, This is the way we wash our hands, On a cold and frosty morning.

All joining hands again, they go round as before, singing--"Here we go round the mulberry bush," and so on, which is repeated regularly after each action-verse on to the end. The opening lines of the action-verses alone may be given here to suggest the whole. They are:--

"This is the way we lace our stays." "This is the way we comb our hair." "This is the way we walk to school." "This is the way we return from school." "This is the way the ladies walk." "This is the way the gentlemen walk."

"~A Dis, a Dis, a Green Grass~," is so simple it is a favourite generally with very little ladies. And there are different forms of the game, both in Scotland and England, if not also in other countries. The more common way, however, is for the children to stand all in a row, and, when the counting-out rhyme has been applied once and again, the two who have been "hit out" face up together hand-in-hand in front, and, advancing and retiring, sing:--

A dis, a dis, a green grass, A dis, a dis, a dis; Come all ye pretty fair maids, And dance along with us. For we are going a-roving, A-roving o'er the land; We'll take this pretty fair maid, We'll take her by the hand.

This sung, they select a girl from the group, who joins on either side, as she is directed, and the song continues, bearing now the comforting assurance to the one chosen:--

Ye shall have a duck, my dear, And ye shall have a beau; And ye shall have a young prince By chance to marry you.

And if this young prince he should die, Then ye will get another; And the birds will sing and the bells will ring, And we'll all clap hands together.

Having all joined in the last two verses, all clap hands together. And the same process is repeated again and again until the last of the "pretty fair maids" is taken over from the row, when the game is ended--though it may be but to begin again as the desire is expressed and supported.

* * * * *

Some one, to be sure, may suggest "~Looby-Looby~," which has but to be named when all are ready and eager. A ring is formed, when all join hands and dance round singing:--

Here we go looby-looby, Here we go looby light; Here we go looby-looby Every Saturday night.

Why on Saturday nights only I don't know, and it would be futile, I suppose, to inquire. Anyway, with the expression of the last word they all instantly disjoin hands, and, standing each in her place, they sing the next verse, suiting the action to the word:--

Put your right hand in, Take your right hand out; Shake it, and shake it, and shake it, And turn yourself about.

As the last line is being sung each one wheels rapidly round by herself, then hands are joined again, and they scurry round in a ring as before, singing:--

Here we go looby-looby, Here we go looby light; Here we go looby-looby Every Saturday night,

and so on, the "looby-looby" coming in regularly between each of the action-verses, which are varied by "left hand in" and "out," and "right foot in" and "out," and "left foot in" and "out," "noses," "ears," etc., etc., the game finishing only when the anatomy of the players has been exhausted.

* * * * *

"~I Dree I Droppit It~" calls for a mixture of the sexes, and when the numbers are even--or as nearly as chance affords--the players are ranged in a ring, a boy and girl alternately facing inwards with a space between each. The one who is "chapped out"--say it is a girl--goes tripping round the others' backs, with a handkerchief dangling in her hand, singing the while:--

I sent a letter to my love, And by the way I droppit it, I dree, I dree, I droppit it, I dree, I dree, I droppit it; I sent a letter to my love, And by the way I droppit it.

There's a wee, wee doggie in our cot-neuk, He'll no bite you, he'll no bite you; There's a wee, wee doggie in our cot-neuk, He'll no bite you--nor you--nor you--nor you,

and so forth, until at length she drops the handkerchief stealthily at the heel of one of the little boys, saying "but you," and bolts round this player, round that one, in here, out there, and away! And the boy, who has first to pick up the handkerchief, gives chase, pursuing her exactly in the course which she may choose to take. If he makes a wrong turn, by that fact he is "out," and must take her place; but if he pursues her correctly and overtakes her, he may claim a kiss for his pains, for which heroism he will receive the applause of the crowd; and the girl--suffused with blushes, as it may be--must try and try again--indeed, try until she proves herself more agile than her pursuer, whom, of course, she is always free to choose. When at length--as come it will some time--her effort is successful, she takes her victim's place in the ring, and he takes hers on the outside of it. And thus the play may go on--boy and girl about--as long as time and energy will permit.

* * * * *

As for "~Bab at the Bowster~" (more generally pronounced "Babbity Bowster"), I am not sure but that grown people have engaged in it more than wee folks have. Indeed, it is not improbable that the young borrowed this originally from the old, by observation. Now-a-days, undoubtedly, we know it exclusively as a child's play. But yet, within the memory of living men, it was the regular custom in country places nearly over all Scotland to wind up every dancing-ball with "Bab at the Bowster." No wedding dance, no Handsel Monday ball, would have been esteemed complete without it; and I have seen it performed at both, less than forty years ago. Performed by old or young, however, the mode is the same. The girls sit down on one side of the barn or square, the boys on the other. A boy takes a handkerchief--it is regularly a male who starts this play--and while dancing up and down before the girls, all sing:--

Wha learned you to dance, Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster; Wha learned you to dance, Bab at the bowster brawly?

My minnie learned me to dance, Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster; My minnie learned me to dance, Bab at the bowster brawly.

Wha ga'e you the keys to keep, Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster; Wha ga'e you the keys to keep, Bab at the bowster brawly?

My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep, Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster; My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep, Bab at the bowster brawly.

Kneel down and kiss the ground, Kiss the ground, kiss the ground; Kneel down and kiss the ground, Kiss the bonnie wee lassie.