Chapter VII: Part 7

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| No.| London. | Hants, Liphook. | Halliwell. |
+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.| -- | -- | -- |
| 2.|Here we come up the |Here we go up the |Trip, trap, over the |
| |green grass. |green grass. |grass. |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.|On a dusty, dusty day.| -- | -- |
| 5.| -- |So early in the | -- |
| | |morning. | |
| 6.|Fair maid, pretty |Fair maid, pretty |Please let one of your|
| |maid. |maid. |daughters come. |
| 7.| -- | -- |Come and dance with |
| | | |me. |
| 8.|[See below.] | -- | -- |
| 9.|Give your hand to me. |Give your hand to me. |Take one, take the |
| | | |fairest you can see. |
| 10.| -- | -- |Pretty [ ] come to |
| | | |me. |
| 11.| -- | -- | -- |
| 12.| -- | -- |You shall have a duck,|
| | | |my dear. |
| 13.| -- | -- |I will give you pots |
| | | |and pans. |
| 14.| -- | -- |..... brass. |
| 15.| -- | -- |..... gold and silver.|
| 16.| -- | -- |..... pearl. |
| 17.| -- | -- |..... anything. |
| 18.|I'll show you a |You shall see a | -- |
| |blackbird. |blackbird. | |
| 19.| -- | -- |For a pretty girl. |
| 20.| -- | -- |You shall have a |
| | | |drake. |
| 21.| -- | -- | -- |
| 22.| -- | -- | -- |
| 23.| -- |All sorts of colours | -- |
| | |lying by his side. | |
|[8.]|We'll all go roving. | -- | -- |
| 24.| -- | -- |You shall have a young|
| | | |man. |
| 25.| -- | -- | -- |
| 26.|I'll take [ ] for my|Take [ ] for my | -- |
| |bride. |bride. | |
| 27.| -- | -- | -- |
| 28.| -- | -- |Apprentice for your |
| | | |sake. |
| 29.| -- | -- | -- |
| 30.| -- | -- |If this young man |
| | | |should happen to die. |
| 31.| -- | -- | -- |
| 32.| -- | -- | -- |
| 33.| -- | -- |And leave the poor |
| | | |woman a widow. |
| 34.| -- | -- | -- |
| 35.| -- | -- |Bells shall ring, |
| | | |birds shall sing. |
| 36.| -- | -- | -- |
| 37.| -- | -- |We'll all clap hands |
| | | |together. |
| 38.| -- | -- | -- |
| 39.| -- | -- | -- |
| 40.| -- | -- | -- |
| 41.| -- | -- | -- |
| 42.| -- | -- | -- |
| 43.|Naughty miss, she |Naughty old maid, she | -- |
| |won't come out. |won't come out. | |
| 44.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- |
| |dancing. |dancing. | |
| 45.|Now we've got our |Now we'll get our | -- |
| |bonny lass. |bonny lass. | |
| 46.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- |
| |dancing. |dancing. | |
+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+----+----------------------+
| No.| Sheffield. |
+----+----------------------+
| 1.| -- |
| 2.|Stepping up the green |
| |grass. |
| 3.|Thus, and thus, and |
| |thus. |
| 4.| -- |
| 5.| -- |
| 6.|Will you let one of |
| |your fair maids. |
| 7.|Come and play with us.|
| 8.| -- |
| 9.| -- |
| 10.| -- |
| 11.| -- |
| 12.| -- |
| 13.|We will give you pots |
| |and pans. |
| 14.|..... brass. |
| 15.|..... gold and silver.|
| 16.|..... pearl. |
| 17.|..... anything. |
| 18.| -- |
| 19.|For a pretty lass. |
| 20.| -- |
| 21.| -- |
| 22.| -- |
| 23.| -- |
|[8.]| -- |
| 24.|You shall have a nice |
| |young man. |
| 25.| -- |
| 26.| -- |
| 27.| -- |
| 28.|Born for your sake. |
| 29.| -- |
| 30.| -- |
| 31.| -- |
| 32.| -- |
| 33.| -- |
| 34.| -- |
| 35.|Bells shall ring, cats|
| |shall sing. |
| 36.| -- |
| 37.|We'll all clap hands |
| |together. |
| 38.| -- |
| 39.| -- |
| 40.| -- |
| 41.| -- |
| 42.| -- |
| 43.| -- |
| 44.| -- |
| 45.| -- |
| 46.| -- |
+----+----------------------+

(_e_) Henderson, in describing the curious rites accompanying the saining or blessing of a corpse in the Scottish Lowlands, states that empty dishes are arranged on the hearth as near as possible to the fire, and after certain ceremonies in connection therewith have been performed, the company join hands and dance round the dishes, singing this burden:--

A dis, a dis, a dis,
A green griss;
A dis, a dis, a dis.

--_Folk-lore of Northern Counties_, p. 54.

This rhyme is, it will be seen, the same as the first two lines of the game, the word "griss" in the burial-rhyme becoming "grass" in the game-rhyme, "grisse" being the old form for "grass" or herb (Halliwell, _Provincial Glossary_, quotes a MS. authority for this). This identification of the game-rhyme would suggest that the game originally was a child's dramatic imitation of an old burial ceremony, and it remains to be seen whether the signification of the words would carry out this idea.

In the first place, the idea of death is a prominent incident in the game, appearing in seven out of the fourteen versions. In all these cases the death is followed by the clapping of hands and bell-ringing, and in five cases by the singing of birds. Clapping of hands occurs in two other cases, and bell-ringing in one other case, not accompanied by the death incident. Now it is singular that the burial-rite which has just been quoted is called Dish-a-loof; and a reference to the game of "Dish-a-loof" [under that title], will show that it derives its name from the clapping of hands. In the ceremony, as described by Henderson, although songs and games are part of the burial-ceremony, there is no specific mention of hand-clapping; but it is conceivable that the action at one time formed part of the ceremony, and hence the name "Dish-a-loof." This would not account for the promise of a duck, drake, &c., as in incidents Nos. 12 and 20; nor for the promise of a young prince or young man; but these incidents might very well be variants of some earlier forms which are not now discoverable, especially as love-games were played at funerals, and as the tendency, in the less complete forms of the game as they have come down to us, is in the direction of transposing the game into a complete love-game. The use of rushes in the Lanarkshire game might indicate the funeral garland (Aubrey's _Remaines_, pp. 109, 139). For clapping of hands to indicate bell-tolling or bell-ringing at times of death see Napier's _Folklore_, p. 66. Henderson (p. 63) says the "passing bell" was supposed in former times to serve two purposes: it called on all good Christians within hearing to pray for the departing spirit, and it scared away the evil spirits who were watching to seize it, or at least to scare and terrify it.

On the whole evidence from the rhymes, therefore, I should be disposed to class this game as originally belonging to burial, and not love, rites.

Green Gravel

[Music]

--Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne).

[Music]

--Earls Heaton (H. Hardy).

[Music]

--Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

[Music]

--Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope).

[Music]

--Lancashire (Mrs. Harley).

[Music]

--Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley).

I. Green gravel, green gravel, your grass is so green,
The fairest young damsel that ever was seen;
We washed her, we dried her, we rolled her in silk,
And we wrote down her name with a glass pen and ink.
Dear Annie, dear Annie, your true love is dead,
And we send you a letter to turn round your head.

--Belfast (W. H. Patterson).

II. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,
The fairest young lady that ever was seen;
I'll wash you in milk,
And I'll clothe you with silk,
And I'll write down your name with a gold pen and ink.
O Sally, O Sally, your true love is dead,
He sent you a letter to turn round your head.

--Berrington, Oswestry (_Shropshire Folk-lore_ p. 510).

III. Around the green gravel the grass is so green,
All the pretty fair maids are plain to be seen;
Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk,
Write their names down with a gold pen and ink.
All but Miss "Jenny," her sweetheart is dead;
She's left off her wedding to turn back her head.

O mother, O mother, do you think it is true?
O yes, child! O yes, child!
Then what shall I do?
We'll wash you in milk, and dress you in silk,
And write down your name with a gold pen and ink.

--Derbyshire and Worcestershire (Mrs. Harley).

IV. Green gravel, green gravel,
The grass is so green,
Such beautiful flowers
As never were seen.
O Annie [or any name], O Annie,
Your sweetheart is dead!
He has sent you a letter
To turn back your head.

--Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H. Hardy).

V. Green gravel, green gravel,
The grass is so green,
The fairest young damsels
As ever were seen.
O ----, O ----, your true love is dead;
He sent you a letter
To turn round your head.

Green gravel, green gravel,
The grass is so green,
The dismalest damsels
As ever were seen.
O ----, O ----, your true love's not dead;
He sends you a letter
To turn back your head.

--Lincoln, Winterton, and Wakefield (Miss Fowler and Miss Peacock).

VI. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,
The fairest young lady [damsel] that ever was seen.
O ----, O ----, your true love is dead;
He's sent you a letter to turn round your head.

--Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope); Lancashire (Mrs. Harley).

VII. Green meadows, green meadows, your grass is so green,
The fairest young damsel that ever was seen;
O Mary, O Mary, your sweetheart is dead;
We've sent you a letter to turn back your head.

_Or_, Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,
and following on as above.

--Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

VIII. Green grover, green grover, your grass is so green,
The prettiest young lady that ever was seen.
O ----, O ----, your true love is dead;
I send you this letter, so turn round your head.

--Gainford, Durham (Miss Eddleston).

IX. Green gravels, green gravels,
The grass is so green,
And all the pretty maidens
Are not to be seen,
Except ---- (said twice),
And she's not [?] to be seen,
So I send you a letter to turn round your head.

--Hampshire (Miss E. Mendham).

X. Green gravels, green gravels, the grass is so green,
Fine pencils, fine pencils, as ever were seen.
O Mary! O Mary! your true love is dead,
And he's sent you a letter to turn round your head.

--Wales (_Byegones_, 1890).

XI. Yellow gravel, yellow gravel,
The grass is so green,
The fairest young lady
That ever was seen.
O ----, O ----,
Your true love is dead;
I send you a letter to turn round your head.

--Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith).

XII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,
Said the fairest young damsel that ever I've seen.
O mother, O mother, my true-love is dead,
He sent me this letter to turn round my head.
O mother, O mother, do you think this is true?
O yes, love! O yes, love!
And what shall I do?
I'll wash you in butter-milk, I'll dress you in silk,
I'll write down your name with my gold pen and ink.

--Isle of Man (A. W. Moore).

XIII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,
The flowers are all faded and none to be seen.
O [Dolly], O [Dolly], your sweetheart is dead,
He's sent you a letter to turn back your head.

Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high,
We are but little, and we shall have to die!
Excepting [Dolly Turner], she's the youngest girl.
O for shame, and fie for shame, and turn your back to home
again.

--Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne).

XIV. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,
The fairest young lady that ever was seen.
As I went up Miss Betsey's stairs to buy a frying-pan,
There sat Miss Betsey a-kissing her young man.

She pulled off her glove and showed me her ring,
And the very next morning the bells did ring.
Dear Betsey, dear Betsey, your true love is dead,
He's sent you a letter to turn back your head.

--Summertown, Oxford (A. H. Franklin, _Midland Garner_, vol. ii. p. 32).

XV. Round the green gravel the grass grows green,
All pretty fair maids are fit to be seen;
Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk,
And write down their names with pen and black ink--
Choose one, choose two, choose the fairest daughter.

Now, my daughter, married to-day,
Like father and mother they should be,
To love one another like sister and brother--
I pray you now to kiss one another.

Now my daughter Mary's gone,
With her pockets all lined with gold;
On my finger a gay gold ring--
Good-bye, Mary, good-bye.

Now this poor widow is left alone,
Nobody could marry a better one;
Choose one, choose two--
Choose the fairest daughter.

--Sheffield (S. O. Addy).

XVI. Round the green gravel the grass is so green,
And all the fine ladies that ever were seen;
Washed in milk and dressed in silk,
The last that stoops down shall be married.

[Johnnie Smith] is a nice young man,
And so is [Bessie Jones] as nice as he;
He came to the door with his hat in his hand,
Inquiring for [Miss Jones].

She is neither within, she is neither without,
She is up in the garret a-walking about.
Down she came, as white as milk,
With a rose in her bosom as soft as silk.
Silks and satins be ever so dear,
You shall have a kiss [gown?], my dear,
So off with the glove and on with the ring--
To-morrow, to-morrow, the wedding begins.

--Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews).

XVII. Around a green gravill
The grass is so green,
And all the fine ladies
Ashamed to be seen.
They wash 'em in milk
And dress 'em in silk--
We'll all cou' don' together.

My elbow, my elbow,
My pitcher and my can;
Isn't ----
A nice young gell?
Isn't ----
As nice as her--
They shall be married with a guinea-gold ring.

I peep'd through the window,
I peep'd through the door,
I seed pretty ----
A-dancin on the floor;
I cuddled her an' fo'dled her,
I set her on my knee;
I says pretty ----
Won't [ëe?] you marry me.

A new-swept parlour,
An' a new-made bed,
A new cup and saucer
Again we get wed.
If it be a boy, he shall have a hat,
To follow with his mammy to her na', na', na';
If he be a gell, she shall have a ring,
To follow with her mammy to her ding, ding, ding.

--Wakefield (Miss Fowler).

(_c_) The more general way of playing this game is to form a ring of children simply. The children walk round singing the verse as in the Belfast version, and when the last line is sung, the child whose name is mentioned turns round, facing the outside of the ring and having her back to the centre. She continues to hold hands with the others, and dances round with them in that position. This is repeated until all the children have "turned" their backs to the inside of the ring. Here the game ends in many cases, but another verse is sung in the Lincoln, Winterton, and Wakefield versions from Miss Peacock, and this was sung also in the London version. The second verse thus terminates the game, with the players one by one reversing their position and facing the centre of ring as at first. In the Forest of Dean and Wakefield versions the action of the game is somewhat different. A child stands in the centre of the ring of children, without apparently taking much part in the game, except to name the children in turn. In the Wakefield version, however (Miss Fowler, No. xvii.), a little boy stands in the middle of a circle of girls who sing the first verse. At "We'll all cou' don' together," all crouch down, as if in profound respect, then rising slowly, sing the next verse. After "My pitcher and my can," each child mentions her own name. At "Isn't ---- as nice as her?" each mentions her sweetheart's name, and the child thus chosen goes into the circle. At the end of the fourth verse they all clap hands, and the one that is sweetheart to him in the middle kisses him. The "crouching down" is also done in the Forest of Dean version when singing the fourth line. The last one to stoop has to name her sweetheart. When this is done, the children all dance round and sing the other lines.

(_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 178-181. The most constant formulæ of this game-rhyme are shown by this analysis to be Nos. 1, 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 23, and the variants, though important, are not sufficient to detract from the significance of the normal version. It is evidently a funeral game. The green gravel and the green grass indicate the locality of the scene; "green," as applied to gravel, may mean freshly disturbed, just as green grave means a freshly made grave. The tenant of the new grave is the well-loved lady of a disconsolate lover, and probably the incidents of washing and dressing the corpse, and putting an inscription on the place where it is laid, are indicated by Nos. 13 and 15. The dirge, or singing to the dead, is indicated by Nos. 18, 23, and 26, and the beauty of the first line is in complete accord with the mournful music. That No. 26 occurs in only two variants, Derbyshire and the Isle of Man, is curious, as the pathos of this appeal is very apparent in the movement of the game. The communion with the dead which is indicated by No. 23 is by no means considered impossible by the peasantry. In confirmation of this being a representation of an old funeral ceremony, it may be pointed out that the action of turning backwards during the singing of the dirge is also represented in the curious funeral ceremony called "Dish-a-loof," which is described in Henderson's _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties_, p. 53. Henderson's words are: "All the attendants, going out of the room, return into it backwards, repeating this rhyme of 'saining.'" The additional ceremony of marriage in four of the games is clearly an interpolation, which may have arisen from the custom of playing love and marriage games at funerals and during the watching with the corpse, or may be a mere transition to the more pleasant task of love-making as the basis of a game. The Derbyshire incident (No. 24) may indicate indeed that the funeral is that of a young bride, and in that case the tendency to make the game wholly a marriage game is accounted for. The decay which has set in is apparent by the evident attempt to alter from "green gravel" to "green grover" and "yellow gravel" (Nos. 4 and 5), and to introduce pen and black ink (No. 17). The addition of the incongruous elements from other games (Nos. 27-31) is a frequent occurrence in modern games, and is the natural result of decadence in the original form of the game. Altogether this game-rhyme affords a very good example of the condition of traditional games among the present generation of children.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Belfast. | Shropshire. | Derbyshire. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. | -- |
| 2.| -- | -- |Around the green |
| | | |gravel. |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.|Your grass is so |The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|
| |green. | | |
| 7.|The fairest damsel | -- | -- |
| |ever seen. | | |
| 8.| -- |The fairest young lady| -- |
| | |ever seen. | |
| 9.| -- | -- |All pretty maids are |
| | | |plain to be seen. |
|10.| -- | -- | -- |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.| -- | -- | -- |
|13.|Washed her, dried her,| -- | -- |
| |rolled her in silk. | | |
|14.| -- |Wash you in milk, |Wash them in milk, |
| | |clothe in silk. |clothe in silk. |
|15.|Wrote name in glass | -- | -- |
| |pen and ink. | | |
|16.| -- |Write name in gold pen|Write names in gold |
| | |and ink. |pen and ink. |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.|Your true love is |True love is dead. |Her sweetheart is |
| |dead. | |dead. |
|19.| -- | -- | -- |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn| -- |
| |your head. |your head. | |
|24.| -- | -- |She's left off her |
| | | |wedding to turn back |
| | | |her head. |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- |Mother, is it true; |
| | | |What shall I do? [Then|
| | | |repeat Nos. 14 & 16.] |
|27.| -- | -- | -- |
|28.| -- | -- | -- |
|29.| -- | -- | -- |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Earls Heaton, Yorks. | Lincolnshire. | Redhill, Surrey. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. |Green gravel. |
| 2.| -- | -- | -- |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|
| 7.| -- |Fairest damsel ever |Fairest damsel ever |
| | |seen. |seen. |
| 8.| -- | -- | -- |
| 9.| -- | -- | -- |
|10.|Such beautiful flowers| -- | -- |
| |ever seen. | | |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.| -- | -- | -- |
|13.| -- | -- | -- |
|14.| -- | -- | -- |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.| -- | -- | -- |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. |True love is dead. |
|19.| -- | -- | -- |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn|He sent letter to turn|
| |your head. |your head. |your head. |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- | -- |
|27.| -- |True love not dead, he| -- |
| | |sends letter to turn | |
| | |your head. | |
|28.| -- | -- | -- |
|29.| -- | -- | -- |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Sporle, Norfolk. | Gainford, Durham. | Hants. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.| -- | -- |Green gravels. |
| 2.| -- | -- | -- |
| 3.|Green meadows. | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- |Green grover. | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.|Your grass is so |Your grass is so |The grass is so green.|
| |green. |green. | |
| 7.|Fairest damsel ever | -- | -- |
| |seen. | | |
| 8.| -- |Prettiest young lady | -- |
| | |ever seen. | |
| 9.| -- | -- | -- |
|10.| -- | -- | -- |
|11.| -- | -- |All pretty maidens are|
| | | |_not_ to be seen. |
|12.| -- | -- | -- |
|13.| -- | -- | -- |
|14.| -- | -- | -- |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.| -- | -- | -- |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. | -- |
|19.| -- | -- |Except ---- she's not |
| | | |to be seen. |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.|We sent letter to turn|I send letter to turn |I send letter to turn |
| |your head. |your head. |round your head. |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- | -- |
|27.| -- | -- | -- |
|28.| -- | -- | -- |
|29.| -- | -- | -- |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Wales. | Isle of Wight. | Isle of Man. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.|Green gravel. | -- |Green gravel. |
| 2.| -- | -- | -- |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.| -- |Yellow gravel. | -- |
| 6.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|The grass is so green.|
| 7.| -- | -- |Fairest damsel ever |
| | | |I've seen. |
| 8.| -- |Fairest young lady | -- |
| | |ever seen. | |
| 9.| -- | -- | -- |
|10.| -- | -- | -- |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.|Fine pencil as ever | -- | -- |
| |was seen. | | |
|13.| -- | -- | -- |
|14.| -- | -- |[Wash you in butter- |
| | | |milk, dress in silk.] |
| | | |(After No. 26.) |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.| -- | -- |[Write name with my |
| | | |gold pen and ink.] |
| | | |(After No. 26.) |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.|True love is dead. |True love is dead. |True love is dead. |
|19.| -- | -- | -- |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.|He's sent letter to |I send you letter to |He sent this letter to|
| |turn head. |turn round your head. |turn my head. |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- |Mother, is it true? |
| | | |What shall I do? |
|27.| -- | -- | -- |
|28.| -- | -- | -- |
|29.| -- | -- | -- |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
|32.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Madeley. | Oxfordshire. | Sheffield. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. | -- |
| 2.| -- | -- |Round the green |
| | | |gravel. |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.| -- | -- | -- |
| 7.| -- | -- | -- |
| 8.| -- |Fairest young lady | -- |
| | |ever seen. | |
| 9.| -- | -- |All pretty fair maids |
| | | |are fit to be seen. |
|10.|Flowers all faded, | -- | -- |
| |none to be seen. | | |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.| -- | -- | -- |
|13.| -- | -- | -- |
|14.| -- | -- |Wash them in milk, |
| | | |clothe in silk. |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.| -- | -- | -- |
|17.| -- | -- |Write names with pen |
| | | |and black ink. |
|18.|Sweetheart is dead. |True love is dead. | -- |
| | |(After No. 25.) | |
|19.| -- | -- | -- |
|20.| -- |Betsy kissing her | -- |
| | |young man. | |
|21.| -- | -- |Choose the fairest |
| | | |daughter. |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.|I've sent letter to |[He sent letter to | -- |
| |turn your head. |turn back your head.] | |
| | |(After No. 25.) | |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- |She showed her ring |Married to-day so kiss|
| | |and bells did ring. |one another. |
|26.| -- | -- | -- |
|27.| -- | -- | -- |
|28.|[Wallflowers verses | -- | -- |
| |follow.] | | |
|29.| -- | -- |Poor widow left alone,|
| | | |and choose the fairest|
| | | |daughter. |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
|32.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+---+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Forest of Dean. | Wakefield. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.| -- | -- |
| 2.|Round the green |Around the green |
| |gravel. |gravill. |
| 3.| -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- |
| 6.| -- | -- |
| 7.| -- | -- |
| 8.|All fine ladies ever | -- |
| |were seen. | |
| 9.| -- | -- |
|10.| -- | -- |
|11.| -- |All fine ladies |
| | |ashamed to be seen. |
|12.| -- | -- |
|13.| -- | -- |
|14.|Washed in milk, |Wash 'em in milk, |
| |dressed in silk. |dress in silk. |
|15.| -- | -- |
|16.| -- | -- |
|17.| -- | -- |
|18.| -- | -- |
|19.| -- | -- |
|20.| -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- |
|22.|Last to stoop down |We'll all cow down |
| |shall be married. |together. |
|23.| -- | -- |
|24.| -- | -- |
|25.|He came to inquire, |They shall be married |
| |down she came, so off |with gold ring. |
| |with glove and on with| |
| |ring, to-morrow the | |
| |wedding begins. | |
|26.| -- | -- |
|27.| -- | -- |
|28.| -- | -- |
|29.| -- | -- |
|30.| -- |[Dancing, cuddling, |
| | |asking to marry.] |
|31.| -- |[Furnishing.] |
|32.| -- |[If a boy, he's to |
| | |have a hat; if a girl,|
| | |a ring.] |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+

(_e_) Other versions, actually or practically identical with the Redhill (Surrey) version, have been sent by Miss Blair (South Shields); Mr. H. S. May, Ogbourne and Manton (Wilts); Mrs. Haddon (Cambridge); Mrs. Harley (Lancashire); and Miss Burne, Platt, near Wrotham (Kent). There are also similar printed versions in _Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 214 (Dorsetshire); _Folk-lore Record_, v. 84 (Hersham, Surrey). Northall prints a version in his _Folk Rhymes_, 362-3, identical with No. 17. The tune of the Platt version sent by Miss Burne, and the Ogbourne and Manton (H. S. May), are almost identical, except the termination. This seems to be the most general tune for the game. The Lancashire tune is the same as the London version.

Miss Burne says of the Madeley version: "I never knew 'Green Gravel' and 'Wallflowers' played together as in this way elsewhere (I had not got this variant when I wrote _Shropshire Folk-lore_), except at Much Wenlock, where they reverse the two verses, and only sing _one line_ (the last) of 'Green Gravel.' But I feel sure they must have been _meant_ to go together (see my note in _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 510), and I can explain them, I think. The ring of girls are dancing on the green grass plot in the middle of an old-fashioned sixteenth-century walled garden: each gets the news of her lover's death, and 'turns her face to the wall,' the old token of hopeless sorrow. Then they apostrophise the wallflowers in the border surrounding the grass plot against the old high wall; and here another variant explains the lament (second line)--

Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high,
_We shall all be maidens_ [and so], we shall all die;

Except the youngest (who will meet with another lover), whether as an instance of the proverbial luck of the 'youngest born,' or as a piece of juvenile giddiness and inconstancy, I cannot say; but considering the value set on true love and hopeless constancy in the ballad-lore, and the special garland which distinguished the funerals of bereaved but constant maidens, and the solemnity of betrothal in old days, the latter seems probable, especially considering the 'for shame.'"

The incidents of _washing_ a corpse in milk and _dressing_ it in silk occur in "Burd Ellen," Jamieson's _Ballads_, p. 125.

"Tak up, tak up my bonny young son,
Gar _wash_ him wi' the _milk_;
Tak up, tak up my fair lady,
Gar row her in the _silk_."

Green Grow the Leaves (1)

[Music]

--Earls Heaton (Mr. Hardy).

I. Green grow the leaves (or grows the ivy) round the old oak
tree,
Green grow the leaves round the old oak tree,
Green grow the leaves round the old oak tree,
As we go marching on.

Bless my life I hardly knew you,
Bless my life I hardly knew you,
Bless my life I hardly knew you,
As we go marching on.

--Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire (Miss Peacock).

II. Green grow the leaves on the old oak tree,
I love the boys and the boys love me,
As we go marching on.

--Sharleston (Miss Fowler).

III. I love the boys and the boys love me,
I love the boys and the boys love me,
I love the boys and the boys love me,
As we go marching home.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
As we go marching home.

The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf,
The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf,
The old whiskey bottle lies empty on the shelf,
As we go marching home.

--Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (Herbert).

(_b_) In Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire the game is played by the children forming a circle and dancing round, singing. The first and third lines are sung three times. Partners are chosen during the singing of the last line. Miss Peacock adds, "The rest wanting, as my informant had forgotten the game." In the Sharleston version the children march round two by two, in a double circle, with one child in the centre, singing the verse. At the conclusion, the children who are marching on the inner side of the circle leave their partners and take the place of one in front of them, while the centre child endeavours to get one of the vacant places, the child turned out taking the place of the one in the centre, when the game begins again. In the Earls Heaton version there is the circle of children, with one child in the centre, who chooses a partner after the lines have been sung.

(_c_) From this it would seem that while the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire words appear to be the most complete, the action has been preserved best at Sharleston. The acting of this version is the same as that of "The Jolly Miller." The third variant is evidently an imitation of the song, "John Brown."

Green Grow the Leaves (2)

[Music]

--Northants (R. S. Baker).

Green grow the leaves on the hawthorn tree,
Green grow the leaves on the hawthorn tree,
We jangle and we wrangle and we never can agree,
But the tenor of our song goes merrily, merrily, merrily,
The tenor of our song goes merrily.

--R. S. Baker (_Northants Notes and Queries_, ii. 161).

(_b_) One couple is chosen to lead, and they go off, whither they will, followed by a long train of youths and maidens, all singing the refrain. Sometimes the leaders part company, and branch off to the right or left; the others have to do the same, and not until the leaders meet can they join again. They march arm in arm.

(_c_) Mr. R. S. Baker, who records this, says a Wellingborough lady sent him the tune and words, and told him the game was more like a country dance than anything else, being a sort of dancing "Follow My Leader."

Gully

A sink, or, failing that, a particular stone in the pavement was the "Gully." Some boy chosen by lot, or one who volunteered in order to start the game, laid his top on the ground at some distance from the "Gully." The first player then spun his top, pegging at the recumbent top, so as to draw it towards the "Gully." If he missed the top, he stooped down and took up his own top by pushing his hand against it in such a manner that the space between his first and second finger caught against the peg and forced the top into the palm of his hand. He then had "a go" at the recumbent top (I forget what this was called), and sent his own top against it so as to push it towards the "Gully." If he missed, he tried again and again, until his own top could spin no longer. If he did not hit the top with his own while it was spinning, his top had to be laid down and the other one taken up, and its owner took his turn at pegging. When a spinning-top showed signs of exhaustion, and the taking it up might kill it, and it was not very far from the down-lying top, its owner would gently push it with his finger, so as to make it touch the other top, and so avoid putting it into the other's place. This was called "kissing," and was not allowed by some players. When one player succeeded in sending the top into the "Gully," he took it up and fixed it by its peg into a post, mortar of a wall, or the best place where it could be tolerably steady. Holding it by one hand, he drove the peg of his own top as far as he could into the crown of the victim top. This was called "taking a grudge." He then held either his own or the victim top and knocked the other against the wall, the object being to split the victim. He was allowed three "grudges." If the top did not give way, the other players tried in turn. If the top did not split, it was returned to its owner, but any boy who succeeded in splitting it through the middle, so that the peg fell out, took possession of the peg. I have seen a top split at the side in such a way as to be quite useless as a top, though no peg was gained. I remember, too, a schoolfellow of mine drawing from his pocket some seven or eight pegs, the trophied memorials of as many tops.--London (J. P. Emslie).

See "Hoatie," "Hoges," "Peg-top."

Hairry my Bossie

This is a game of chance. The players are two, and may be boys or girls, or a boy and a girl. The stakes may be pins, buttons, marbles, or anything for which children gamble. One player puts a number, one, two, three or more, of the articles to be gambled for into the hollow of the closed hand, and says, "Hairry my bossie;" the other answers, "Knock 'im down," upon which he puts his closed hands down with a blow on his knees, and continues to strike them upwards and downwards on the knee, so as to give the opponent in play an idea of the number of objects concealed by the sound given forth. He then says, "How many blows?" and gets the reply, "As many's goes." A guess is then made. If the guess is correct the guesser gets the objects. If the guess is incorrect the guesser has to make up the difference between the number guessed and the real number. The players play alternately. This game was played for the most part at Christmas.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor).

(_b_) Hairry = "rob," Bossie = "a wooden bowl," commonly used for making the leaven in baking oat-cakes, and for making "brose."

This is a very general game amongst schoolboys.

Half-Hammer

The game of "Hop-step-and-jump," Norfolk. This game is played in the west of Sussex, but not in the east. It is played thus by two or more boys. Each boy in his turn stands first on one leg and makes a hop, then strides or steps, and lastly, putting both feet together, jumps. The boy who covers the most ground is the victor.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_.

Han'-and-Hail

A game common in Dumfries, thus described by Jamieson. Two goals called hails, or dules, are fixed on at about a distance of four hundred yards. The two parties then place themselves in the middle between the goals or dules, and one of the players, taking a soft elastic ball, about the size of a man's fist, tosses it into the air, and, as it falls, strikes it with his palm towards his antagonists. The object of the game is for either party to drive the ball beyond the goal which lies before them, while their opponents do all in their power to prevent this. As soon as the ball is gowf't, that is, struck away, the opposite party endeavour to intercept it in its fall. This is called keppan' the ba'. If they succeed in this attempt, the player who does so is entitled to throw the ball with all his might towards his antagonists. If he kep it in the first bound which it makes off the ground, called a stot, he is allowed to haunch, that is, to throw the ball by bringing his hand with a sweep past his thigh, to which he gives a stroke as his hand passes, and discharging the ball at the moment when the stroke is given. If the ball be caught in the second bounce, the catcher may hoch the ball, that is, throw it through below one of his houghs. If none of the party catch the ball, it must be gowf't in the manner before described. As soon as either of the parties succeed in driving the ball, or, as it is called, hailin' the dules, the game then begins by one of the party which was successful throwing the ball towards the opposing goal and the other party striving to drive it back.

Hand in and Hand out

A game played by a company of young people who are drawn up in a circle, when one of them, pitched upon by lot, walks round the band, and, if a boy, hits a girl, or, if a girl, she strikes a boy whom she chooses, on which the party striking and the party struck run in pursuit of each other till the latter is caught, whose lot it then becomes to perform the same part. A game so called was forbidden by statute of Edward IV.--Halliwell's _Dictionary_.

See "Drop Handkerchief."

Handy-Croopen

A game in which one of the players turns his face to the wall, his hand resting upon his back. He must continue in position until he guesses who struck his hand, when the striker takes his place.--Orkney and Shetland (Jamieson's _Dictionary_).

See "Hot Cockles."

Handy Dandy

I. Handy dandy,
Sugary candy--
Top or bottom?

Handy spandy,
Jack a dandy--
Which good hand will you have?

--Halliwell's _Dictionary_: _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216.

II. Handy dandy riddledy ro--
Which will you have, high or low?

--Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216.

III. Handy pandy,
Sugary candy,
Which will you have--
Top or bottom?

--London (A. B. Gomme).

IV. Handy pandy, Jack a dandy,
Which hand will you have?

--Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 530.

(_b_) The hands are closed, some small article is put in one of them behind the back of the player. The closed fists are then turned rapidly round one another while the rhyme is being said, and they are then placed one on top of the other. A guess is then made by any one of the players as to which hand the object is in. If correct, the guesser obtains the object; if incorrect, the player who performs "Handy dandy" keeps it.

(_c_) This game is mentioned in _Piers Plowman_, p. 69 of Wright's edition. Douce quotes an ancient MS. which curiously mentions the game as "men play with little children at 'handye-dandye,' which hand will you have" (ii. 167). Johnson says: "'Handy dandy,' a play in which children change hands and places: 'See how yon justice rails upon yon simple thief! Hark, in thine ear: change places, and, handy dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?" (_King Lear_, iv. 6). Malone says, "'Handy dandy' is, I believe, a play among children, in which something is shaken between two hands, and then a guess is made in which hand it is retained." See Florio's _Italian Dictionary_, 1598: "Bazzicchiare, to shake between the hands; to play 'Handy dandy.'" Pope, in his _Memoirs of Cornelius Scriblerus_, in forbidding certain sports to his son Martin till he is better informed of their antiquity, says: "Neither cross and pile, nor ducks and drakes, are quite so ancient as 'Handy dandy,' though Macrobius and St. Augustine take notice of the first, and Minutius Foelix describes the latter; but 'Handy dandy' is mentioned by Aristotle, Plato, and Aristophanes." Browne, in _Britannia's Pastorals_ (i. 5), also alludes to the game.

See "Neiveie-nick-nack."

Hap the Beds

A singular game, gone through by hopping on one foot, and with that foot sliding a little flat stone out of an oblong bed, rudely drawn on a smooth piece of ground. This bed is divided into eight parts, the two of which at the farther end of it are called the Kail-pots. If the player then stands at one end, and pitches the smooth stone into all the divisions one after the other, following the same on a foot (at every throw), and bringing it out of the figure, this player wins not only the game, but is considered a first-rate daub at it; failing, however, to go through all the parts so, without missing either a throw or a hop, yet keeping before the other gamblers (for many play at one bed), still wins the curious rustic game.--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_.

A game called "The Beds," mentioned by a writer in _Blackwood's Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, as played in Edinburgh when he was a boy by girls only, is described as a game where a pitcher is kicked into chalked divisions of the pavement, the performer being on one leg and hopping.

See "Hop-scotch."

Hard Buttons

Several boys place one button each close together on a line. The game consists in hitting a particular button out of this line with the nicker without touching the others. This is generally played in London streets, and is mentioned in the _Strand Magazine_, ii. 515.

See "Banger," "Buttons."

Hare and Hounds

A boys' game. One boy is chosen as the Hare. He carries with him a bag filled with strips of paper. The rest of the boys are the Hounds. The Hare has a certain time (say fifteen minutes) allowed him for a start, and he goes across country, scattering some paper on his way in order to indicate his track. He may employ any man[oe]uvre in order to deceive his pursuers, but must keep up the continuity of his paper track-signs. The Hounds follow him and try to catch him before he gets home, which is a place agreed upon beforehand.--London (G. L. Gomme).

In Cornwall the leader, when at fault, says--

Uppa, uppa, holye! If you don't speak
My dogs shan't folly.

--Courtney (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 73).

Other versions of this holloa are--

Whoop, whoop, and hollow!
Good dogs won't follow
Without the hare cries, Peewit.

--Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 66.

Sound your holler,
Or my little dog shan't foller.

--Northall's _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 357.

This game is played in Wales under the name of "Hunt the Fox." The Fox has a certain time given him for a start, the other players then go after him.--Beddgelert (Mrs. Williams).

Harie Hutcheon

A game among children, in which they hop round in a ring, sitting on their hams.--Jamieson.

See "Curcuddie," "Cutch-a-cutchoo," "Hirtschin Hairy."

Hark the Robbers

[Music]

--Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley).

I. Hark the robbers coming through,
Coming through,
Hark the robbers coming through,
My fair lady.

What have the robbers done to you,
Done to you,
What have the robbers done to you,
My fair lady?

You have stole my watch and chain,
Watch and chain,
You have stole my watch and chain,
My fair lady.

Half-a-crown you must pay,
You must pay,
Half-a-crown you must pay,
My fair lady.

Half-a-crown we cannot pay,
Cannot pay,
Half-a-crown we cannot pay,
My fair lady.

Off to prison you must go,
You must go,
Off to prison you must go,
My fair lady.

--Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase).

II. Here are the robbers coming through,
Coming through, coming through,
Here are the robbers coming through,
My fair lady.

What will the robbers do to you,
Do to you, do to you,
What will the robbers do to you,
My fair lady?

Steal your watch and break your chain,
Break your chain, break your chain,
Steal your watch and break your chain,
My fair lady.

Then they must go to jail,
Go to jail, go to jail,
Then they must go to jail,
My fair lady.

--Belfast (W. H. Patterson).

III. Hark the robbers
Coming through, coming through,
My fair lady.

They have stolen my watch and chain,
Watch and chain, watch and chain.

Off to prison they shall go,
They shall go, they shall go,
My fair lady.

--Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent (Miss A. A. Keary).

IV. Hark the robbers coming through,
Coming through, coming through,
Hark the robbers coming through,
My fair lady.

What's the robbers done to you,
Done to you, done to you,
What's the robbers done to you,
My fair lady?

They have stole my watch and chain,
Watch and chain, watch and chain,
They have stole my watch and chain,
My fair lady.

What's the price will set you free,
Set you free, set you free,
What's the price will set you free,
My fair lady?

Half-a-guinea will set me free,
Will set me free, will set me free,
Half-a-guinea will set me free,
My fair lady.

Half-a-guinea you shall not have,
Shall not have, shall not have,
Half-a-guinea you shall not have,
My fair lady.

Let's join hands, it is too late,
'Tis too late, 'tis too late,
Let's join hands, it is too late,
My fair lady.

--Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley).

V. Hark at the robbers going through,
Through, through, through; through, through, through;
Hark at the robbers going through,
My fair lady.

What have the robbers done to you,
You, you, you; you, you, you?
What have the robbers done to you,
My fair lady?

Stole my gold watch and chain,
Chain, chain, chain; chain, chain, chain;
Stole my gold watch and chain,
My fair lady.

How many pounds will set us free,
Free, free, free; free, free, free?
How many pounds will set us free,
My fair lady?

A hundred pounds will set you free,
Free, free, free; free, free, free;
A hundred pounds will set you free,
My fair lady.

We have not a hundred pounds,
Pounds, pounds, pounds; pounds, pounds, pounds;
We have not a hundred pounds,
My fair lady.

Then to prison you must go,
Go, go, go; go, go, go;
Then to prison you must go,
My fair lady.

To prison we will not go,
Go, go, go; go, go, go;
To prison we will not go,
My fair lady.