King and Queen:
“Open the gate as high as the sky,
And let the king and his queen go by.”
Then all the other pairs hold up their hands as high as they can, and the king and queen run through the archway and back again, and so on with the next pair, and other pairs in turn.
According to Mr. Otis this game is known as the “Quaker’s Dance” in New England, where the last line runs:
“And let King George and his queen go by.”[1]
(xv.) Basket.
In this game the children all follow one who is styled the “mother,” singing:
“I’ll follow my mother to market,
To buy a silver basket.”
The mother presently turns and catches or pretends to beat them.
III.—GAMES OF SKILL.
These are usually played by boys; and here the element of loss or gain comes uppermost, though sometimes something of a dramatic form may still be traced. The use of implements of play, such as bats and balls, comes in here for the first time. The governing principle of this class of games is doubtless to be found in young men’s natural delight in sportive trials of strength and skill. In the following game these two qualities are predominant.
- ↑ Conf. a variant in Shropshire Folklore, called “How many Miles to Barley Bridge?” which is played more in the manner of “Oranges and Lemons,” ending in one party pulling against the other. See Folklore Record, vol. v. p. 88, for a Welsh variant. Also Halliwell’s Nursery Rhymes, No. cccxxviii. (ed. 1846), No. ccxxx.
