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.
