Part 10

"In some great boarding-schools for the fair sex it is customary, upon the introduction of a novice, for the scholars to receive her with much pretended solemnity, and decorate a throne in which she is to be installed, in order to hear a set speech, addressed to her by one of the young ladies in the name of the rest. The throne is wide enough for three persons to sit conveniently, and is made with two stools, having a tub nearly filled with water between them, and the whole is covered with a counterpane or blanket, ornamented with ribands and other trifling fineries, and drawn very tightly over the two stools, upon each of which a lady is seated to keep the blanket from giving way when the new scholar takes her place; and these are called her maids of honor. The speech consists of high-flown compliments calculated to flatter the vanity of the stranger; and as soon as it is concluded, the maids of honor rising suddenly together, the counterpane of course gives way, and poor miss is unexpectedly immerged in the water."

In Austria the same game is called "conferring knighthood." All present are dressed as knights, in paper helmets, great mustachios, sticks for lances, wooden swords, etc. Two, who represent the oldest knights, are seated on the two stools, between which is a vacant space, while the rest form a half-circle about the _Grand Master_, who wears a mask and wig, and holds a great roll of paper. Meanwhile the candidate, in a separate room, is prepared by two knights for the ceremony; these instruct him in his behavior, until the embassy arrives to lead him before the Grand Master. The latter delivers a solemn address, and from the document in his hands reads the rule of the order--silence, courage, truth, etc. Then follows the vow, the delivery of the knightly costume, and the solemn bestowal of the stroke which dubs the victim a knight. He is finally invited to take his seat in the circle, with the result described in our own jest.

The name, "King and Queen," recalls a game as old as history, that of electing a king, who proceeded to confer offices of state, and assign duties. Herodotus tells us how the child Cyrus showed his royal birth by the severity with which he punished his disobedient subjects. In Switzerland, the children still choose, by "counting out," a king and an executioner. The king proceeds to impose tasks. Geiler of Kaisersberg, in a sermon, A.D. 1507, gives the formula then in use in the game: "Sir king, I wish to serve you." "And what is your service?" "What you command me, I would execute." "I bid you do an honor to the king." For this game, as still played in Switzerland, a queen is also chosen; after a time, the king exclaims, "I make a journey," when the whole company, in couples, follow him through the chambers of the house or streets of the town on his royal progress. The old English game of "Questions and Commands" seems to have been the same. A writer in the _Gentlemen's Magazine_, February, 1738, gives its formula: "King I am," says one boy; another answers, "I am your man." Then his majesty demands what service will he do him; to which the obsequious courtier replies, "The best, and worst, and all I can."

No. 54.

_Follow Your Leader._

In this game, the leader having been chosen by "speaking first," or "counting out," the rest must do whatever he does. It is usually played out-of-doors, and the children "follow their leader" in a row, across roads, fences, and ditches, jumping from heights, and creeping under barriers.[90] We are told that the game is played in a peculiarly reckless fashion in the South, where the leader will sometimes go under a horse's legs or between the wheels of a wagon, whereupon the driver, knowing what to expect, will stop for the rest.

No doubt this sport, now a mere exhibition of daring, has an ancient origin and history. Perhaps it was a development of the _king game_, already referred to.

The technical word for challenge among children in America is "stump." One boy "stumps" another to do a thing. Whence derived?

No. 55.

_Truth._

The game of "Truth," as played in Massachusetts, is described by Miss Alcott in her "Little Women," chapter xii. The players are there said to pile up their hands, choose a number, and draw out in turn, and the person who draws his or her hand from the pile at the number selected has to answer truly any questions put by the rest.

We have heard of a party of young people who met regularly to play this game, but have been assured that it proved prolific of quarrels.

No. 56.

_Initiation._

We have seen that the imitation of the ceremony of knighthood is still a form of childish amusement in Europe. Here follows a jesting New England formula for such a purpose, though not a game of children, but belonging to an older age:

"You must promise to obey three rules: first, never to do to-day what you can put off till to-morrow; secondly, never to eat brown bread when you can get white; thirdly, never to kiss the maid when you can kiss the mistress, unless the maid is prettier than the mistress."

These vows having been taken, it is then said, "Now I dub you knight of the whistle." Meantime a whistle having been attached to the back of the candidate, the fun consists in his attempts to discover the person who blew it.

No. 57.

_Judge and Jury._

A child is chosen to be judge, two others for jurors (or, to speak with our little informant, _juries_), who sit at his right and left hand.

Each child must ask the permission of the judge before taking any step. A platter is brought in, and a child, rising, asks the judge, "May I go into the middle of the room?" "May I turn the platter?" "On which side shall it fall?"

If the platter falls on the wrong side, forfeit must be paid.

_Cambridge, Mass._

The nursery, we see, does not understand republicanism. The fairy tale has never got beyond the period in which the monarch orders the wicked witch to immediate execution.

In the ancient world, however, where the courts were a place of resort, and law was not a specialized profession, the case was different. Maximus of Tyre tells us that the children had their laws and tribunals; condemnation extended to the forfeiture of toys. Cato the Younger, according to Plutarch, had his detestation of tyranny first awakened by the punishment inflicted on a playmate by such a tribunal. One of the younger boys had been sentenced to imprisonment; the doom was duly carried into effect, but Cato, moved by his cries, rescued him.

In a German game there is a king, a judge, an executioner, an accuser, and a thief. The parts are assigned by drawing lots, but the accuser does not know the name of the thief, and, if he makes an error, has to undergo the penalty in his stead. The judge finally addresses the king, inquiring if his majesty approves of his decision; and the king replies, "Yes, your sentence entitles you to my favor;" or, "No, your sentence entitles you to so many blows." Thus we see how modern child's play respects the dignity of the king as the fountain of law.

In a Swiss sport the thief flies, and is chased over stock and stone until caught, when he is made to kneel down, his cap pushed over his brows, and his head immediately struck off with the edge of a board. So is preserved the memory of the severity of ancient criminal law.

No. 58.

_Three Jolly Sailors._

Here comes a set of jolly sailor-boys, Who lately came on shore; They spend their time in drinking of the wine, As they have done before. As we go round, and around and around, As we go round once more.

_New York streets._

At the second verse, the little girls by whom this round is danced turn so as to follow each other in an endless chain, each grasping the skirts of the child in front, while they move faster and faster to the lively tune.

Some of our readers may think this song not a very creditable specimen of modern invention; but it is no doubt a relic of antiquity. A similar round, given in "Deuteromelia," 1609 (as cited by Chappell), begins:

We be three poor mariners, newly come from the seas; We spend our lives in jeopardy, while others live at ease.

The children of the poorer class, therefore, who still keep up in the streets of our cities the present ring-dance, are only maintaining the customs which belonged to courtiers and noble ladies in the time of Shakespeare.

No. 59.

_Marching to Quebec._

This piece of doggerel may be of revolutionary origin, as it can be traced to near the beginning of the present century. It is unusual for political or military events to be alluded to in children's games.

As we were marching to Quebec, The drums were loudly beating; The Americans have won the day, The British are retreating. March! march! march! march!

So the game was played in Philadelphia in the childhood of a lady born at the end of the last century. In Massachusetts and Maine it continued to be popular until within a few years, as follows:

We were marching to Quebec, The drums were loudly beating; America has gained the day, The British are retreating.

The war is o'er, and they are turned back, For evermore departed; So open the ring, and take one in, For they are broken-hearted.

Oh, you're the one that I love best, I praise you high and dearly; My heart you'll get, my hand I'll give, The kiss is most sincerely.

_Worcester, Mass._

That the population of Dutch extraction in New York had no deep sympathy with the patriotic sentiments of revolutionary times seems to be indicated in a satirical stanza, which has come to us from an informant who learned it in youth of her aged grandmother, and which appears also to have been originally a dance-song. We hope that errors in spelling American Dutch may be forgiven:

Loope, Junger, de roier kome-- Spann de wagen voor de Paarde!

That is,

Run, lads, the king's men are coming; Harness the wagons before the horses!

in jesting allusion to the speed with which the patriots were supposed to make off. The refrain is in part unintelligible to us, but seems to belong to a dance.

No. 60.

_Sudden Departure._

A visitor approaches the ring from without, and pleads:

It snows and it blows, and it cuts off my nose, So pray, little girl, let me in; I'll light my pipe, and warm my toes, And then I'll be gone again.

He is admitted into the circle, and proceeds to perform the designated actions. Having "lighted his pipe and warmed his toes," he suddenly attempts to make his exit from the ring (all the members of which have clasped hands in expectation of his onset), throwing himself with that object against a pair of linked arms.

No. 61.

_Scorn._

Such was, and perhaps still is, the name of an amusement of a not very agreeable nature, familiar at children's parties in New England. A girl was seated on a chair in the middle of the room, and one child after another was led to her throne. She would turn away with an expression of contempt, until some one approached that pleased her, who, after a kiss, took her place.

"Derision" is the name of a game mentioned by Froissart as an amusement of his childhood. It is not at all unlikely that the present sport represents the old French pastime.

Speaking of representations of the passions, we may say that we have heard of a game formerly played in New York, called "Hatred and Revenge;" but have not succeeded in obtaining it.

FOOTNOTES:

[90] A friend recollects how he "followed his leader" over the roofs of houses in Boston.

VIII.

_THE PLEASURES OF MOTION._

He asked a shepherd who stood near: "Why do these lads make merry here, Why is their round so gay?" "They dance about a violet sweet, a lad hath found to-day." The drum, the harp, and fife, resounded round their play, All were of heart elate, Each dancing with his mate. I, Nithart, led the row, Once and again, around the violet to and fro.

_Minnesinger, 13th century._

No. 62.

_Ring Around the Rosie._

This little round, universally familiar in America, meets us again in Germany and Provence. After the transit of various languages, and thousands of miles, the song retains the same essential characteristics.

Ring a ring a rosie, A bottle full of posie, All the girls in our town, Ring for little Josie.

_New Bedford, Mass._ (about 1790).

Another version:

Round the ring of roses, Pots full of posies, The one who stoops last Shall tell whom she loves best.

At the end of the words the children suddenly stoop, and the last to get down undergoes some penalty, or has to take the place of the child in the centre, who represents the "rosie" (rose-tree; French, _rosier_).

Vulgarized forms of the round are common:

Ring around the rosie, Squat among the posies.

Ring around the roses, Pocket full of posies, One, two, three--squat!

And finally it is deformed past recognition:

A ring, a ring, a ransy, Buttermilk and tansy, Flower here and flower there, And all--squat!

This last corruption was in use some forty years since in Connecticut.

No. 63.

_Go Round and Round the Valley._

A ring of dancers with clasped hands. A girl circles about the outside of the rest, who join in singing--

Go round and round the valley, As we are all so gay.

The players now let go hands, and she winds in and out of the circle, singing--

Go in and out of the windows, As we are all so gay.

She now stands facing one of the children, who sing--

Go back, and face your lover, As we are all so gay.

Taking the hand of one of the children, she salutes her--

Such love have I to show you, As we are all so gay.

The child selected then takes her place.

_New York streets._

No. 64.

_The Farmer in the Dell._

The farmer in the dell, The farmer in the dell, _Heigh ho! for Rowley O!_ The farmer in the dell.

The first child chooses and places beside himself a second, then a third, and so on, while the rest sing to the same tune:

The farmer takes the wife-- The wife takes the child-- The child takes the nurse-- The nurse takes the dog-- The dog takes the cat-- The cat takes the rat-- The rat takes the cheese-- The cheese stands alone.

The "cheese" is "clapped out," and must begin again as the "farmer."

_New York streets._

No. 65.

_The Game of Rivers._

A girl is chosen to be the _Ocean_. The rest represent _rivers_. The rivers, by very devious courses (around school-desks, etc.), flow into the Ocean. Not unfrequently in their course to the sea, the rivers encounter somewhat violently.

_New York._

No. 66.

_Quaker, How is Thee?_

"Quaker, Quaker, how is thee?" "Very well, I thank thee." "How's thy neighbor, next to thee?" "I don't know, but I'll go see."

The question is accompanied by a rapid movement of the right hand. The second child in the ring inquires in the same manner of the third; and so all round. Then the same question is asked with a like gesture of the left hand, and, after this has gone round, with both hands, left foot, right foot, both feet, and finally by uniting all the motions at once. "A nice long game," as our little informant said.

_New York, Philadelphia, etc._

No. 67.

_Darby Jig._

This absurd little rhyme was formerly used to accompany an animated dance, in which the arms were placed behind the waist, and the hands rested on the hips, with alternate motion.

Darby, darby, jig, jig, jig, I've been to bed with a big, big wig! I went to France to learn to dance-- Darby, darby, jig, jig, jig!

_Philadelphia; Massachusetts_.

No. 68.

_Right Elbow In._

Put your right elbow in, Put your right elbow out, Shake yourselves a little, And turn yourselves about.

Put your left elbow in, Put your left elbow out, Shake yourselves a little, And turn yourselves about.

Then followed _right ear_ and _left ear_, _right foot_ and _left foot_, etc. The words we give were in use some sixty years since, when the game was danced deliberately and decorously, as old fashion was, with slow rhythmical motion. Now it has been turned into a romp, under various names (in Boston, "Ugly Mug"). The English name is "Hinkumbooby."

No. 69.

_My Master Sent Me._

"My master sent me to you, sir." "For what, sir?" "To do with one as I do, sir."

The person who gives orders beats time with one foot, then both feet, one hand and both feet, two hands and both feet, etc. The game, like the preceding, is performed with a dancing motion.

_New York._

No. 70.

_Humpty Dumpty._

This game is for girls only. All present sit in a circle, then each girl gathers her skirts tightly, so as to enclose her feet. The leader begins some rhyme; all join in, and at a word previously agreed on, keeping the skirt tightly grasped, throw themselves over backward. The object now is to recover the former position without letting go the skirt.

_New York._

No. 71.

_Pease Porridge Hot._

This familiar little rhyme is accompanied by two players with alternate striking of the hands together and against the knees, in a way easier to practise than to describe. School-girls often use it to warm their hands on cold winter mornings.

Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, Nine days old.

No. 72.

_Rhymes for a Race._

Up the street, down the street, Here's the way we go. Forty horses standing in a row; [Dolly] on the white one, [Harry] on the black one, Riding to Harrisburg _five_ miles away.

_Philadelphia._

We suppose the above formula to be a rhyme for starting in a race. The common schoolboy verse--

One to make ready, Two to prepare, Three to _go slambang_, Right--down--there,

appears to be a parody of the older English rhyme,

One to make ready, And two to prepare, Good luck to the rider, And away goes the mare.

No. 73.

_Twine the Garland._

We find mentioned in the "Girls' Own Book," Boston, 1856, a dance of girls which has the characteristics of an old game. Girls take hold of hands, one standing still; the rest twist about her until they form a knot. They then untwist in the same manner, singing, "Twine the garland, girls!" and, "Untwine the garland, girls!"

No. 74.

_Hopping-dance._

This name was formerly given in New England to a dance similar to that known in Scotland as _Curcuddie_. The hands were clasped under the knees, and the children slowly and solemnly described squares and triangles on the floor.

We may add here an unnamed amusement for school-girls, which consists in joining hands behind the back (giving the right hand to the left hand of a partner), and then turning, while retaining the hold, so as to stand facing each other. This movement is then repeated until the couple whirl about with considerable rapidity.

IX.

_MIRTH AND JEST._

--fulle stuffed a male Of disportes and newe pleyes.

_Chaucer's Dreme._

No. 75.

+_Club Fist._+

A child lays on a table his clenched fist, with the thumb elevated; another grasps the raised thumb with his own fist, and so on until a pile of fists is built up. A player, who remains apart from the group, then addresses the child whose hand is at the top:

"What's that?" "A pear." "Take it off or I'll knock it off."

The same conversation is repeated with the next child, and so on; the fist being withdrawn as speedily as possible, to escape a rap from the questioner. When only one is left, the following dialogue ensues:

"What have you got there?" "Bread and cheese." "Where's my share?" "Cat's got it." "Where's the cat?" "In the woods." "Where's the woods?" "Fire burned it." "Where's the fire?" "Water quenched it." "Where's the water?" "Ox drank it." "Where's the ox?" "Butcher killed it." "Where's the butcher?" "Rope hung him." "Where's the rope?" "Rat gnawed it." "Where's the rat?" "Cat caught it." "Where's the cat?" "Behind the church-door. The first who laughs, or grins, or shows the teeth has three pinches and three knocks."

Then follows a general scattering; for some child is sure to laugh, and if he does not do so of his own accord, his neighbors will certainly tweak him, poke him, or otherwise excite his risibility.

_Georgia._

In Pennsylvania the conversation ends:

"Where's the butcher?" "He's behind the door cracking nuts, and whoever speaks first I'll slap his fingers, Because I am the keeper of the keys, And I do whatever I please."

This dialogue, based on a well-known nursery tale, has maintained itself with remarkable persistence, and even verbal identity, in several European languages. We meet it in Germany and Denmark, as well as England.

No. 76.

_Robin's Alive._

This celebrated game was formerly much played in New England during the winter evenings. A stick was lighted, and passed from hand to hand. It was an object to transfer it as quickly as possible; but each player, before handing it to his neighbor, must repeat the rhyme--

The bird is alive, and alive like to be, If it dies in my hand you may back-saddle me.

Or else, "Robin's alive," etc.

The "back-saddling" consisted in depositing the person, in whose hand the light went out, upon the back on the floor, and afterwards piling upon him (or her) chairs and other furniture.

Another formula is given in the "Girls' Own Book:"

"Robin's alive, and alive he shall be; if he dies in my hand, my mouth shall be bridled, my back shall be saddled, and I be sent home to the king's Whitehall."

When the light expired it was said: "Robin is dead, and dead he shall be; he has died in your hand, and your mouth shall be bridled, your back shall be saddled, to send you home to the king's Whitehall."

This game is played all over Europe with similar formulas; but we are not aware that the "back-saddling" feature has been practised out of England and America. The person in whose possession the light is extinguished usually pays forfeit.

It has been suggested, with plausibility, that the sport is connected with an ancient rite: namely, the races of torch-bearers, which formed part of certain festal ceremonies, and in which the courier in whose hands the torch went out was a loser. Such contests are repeatedly alluded to by classic writers; but their exact conduct is involved in some obscurity. In such a race, at Athens, the torch was kindled on the altar of Prometheus, and handed to the runner, whose duty it was to pass it, while still alight, to a second, and so on. This ceremony has suggested a celebrated line to Lucretius, who compares the flying ages to "runners who pass from one to another the torch of life."

No. 77.

_Laughter Games._

There is a whole class of games of which the object is to excite to laughter by means of some ridiculous action.

Such games are sometimes played with a lighted candle. The players approach each other from opposite sides of the room, and sustain a dialogue in solemn tones, while they must keep a grave countenance on penalty of paying forfeit. For example:

"The king of Turkey is dead." "What did he die of?" "Doing so" (some ridiculous gesture).