Volume I Part 31 The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland

Volume I Part 31

-Haydon (Herbert Hardy).

XI. Draw a bucket of water To wash my lady's garter; A guinea gold ring And a silver pin, Please, little girl, pop under.

-Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy).

XII. See-saw, a bucket of water, To wash my lady's garter.

One in a rush, and two in a bush, To see a fine lady pop under a bush.

-Anderby, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire near the Trent (Miss Peac.o.c.k).

XIII. One we go rush, Two we go push; Lady come under the corner bush.

-Sheps...o...b.., Gloucestershire (Miss Mendham).

XIV. Sift the lady's oaten meal, sift it into flour, Put it in a chest of drawers and let it lie an hour.

One of my rush, Two of my rush, Please, young lady, come under my bush.

My bush is too high, my bush is too low, Please, young lady, come under my bow.

Stir up the dumpling, stir up the dumpling.

-Belfast (W. H. Patterson).

XV. Sieve my lady's oatmeal, Grind my lady's flour; Put it in a chestnut, Let it stand an hour.

One may rush, two may rush; Come, my girls, walk under the bush.

-Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, Games, cclx.x.xviii.

(_b_) The Berrington version of this game is played as follows:-Two girls face each other, holding each other by both hands. Two others face each other, holding both hands across the other two. They see-saw backwards and forwards, singing the lines (fig. 1). One girl gets inside the enclosing hands (fig. 2), and they repeat till all four have "popped under" (fig. 3), when they "jog" up and down till they fall on the floor! (fig. 4). At Ellesmere only _two_ girls join hands, and as many "pop under" as they can encircle. The Lincolnshire and Norfolk versions are played practically in the same way. In the Liphook version the children stand in two and two opposite to each other; the children on one side of the square hold hands up at the third line, and the other two children run under the hands of the first two. There is no pause, but the verse is sung time after time, so that the four children are nearly always moving. In the other Hampshire version four girls stand in a square, each holding the hands of the one opposite to her, pulling each other's hands backwards and forwards singing the lines. Two arms are then raised, and one girl comes under; this is repeated till all four girls have come under the arms, then their arms encircle each other's waists and they dance round. In the Scottish version there are only two girls who join hands and pull each other backwards and forwards, repeating the words. Halliwell describes a different action to any of these. A string of children, hand in hand, stand in a row. A child stands in front of them as leader; two other children form an arch, each holding both of the hands of the other. The string of children pa.s.s under the arch, the last of whom is taken captive by the two holding hands. The verses are repeated until all are taken.-Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, cclx.x.xvii.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 2.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 3.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 4.]

(_c_) The a.n.a.lysis of the game rhymes is as follows:-

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Halliwell's Version.

Liphook (Hants).

Shropshire.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

Draw a pail of water.

Draw, draw water.

For my lady's

Send a lady a

For my lady's

daughter.

My father's a king and

my mother's a queen.

My two little sisters

are dressed in green.

10.

Stamping gra.s.s and

parsley.

11.

Marigold leaves and

daisies.

12.

One rush, two rush.

One o' my rush, two o'

One in a rush, two in

my rush.

a bush.

13.

14.

Pray thee, fine lady,

Please, young lady,

Pretty my lady, pop

come under my bush.

creep under the

under the bush.

_briar_ bush.

15.

16.

17.

18.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Fochabers (Scotland).

Hampshire.

Northants.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

Draw a bucket o'

Drawing a bucket of

Draw a pail of water.

water.

For a lady's daughter.

For my lady's

For a lady's daughter.

daughter.

Put it in a chestnut

tree.

Let it stay an hour.

10.

11.

12.

One and a hush, two

One of you rush, two

and a rush.

may rush.

13.

Give a silver pin for

a golden ring.

14.

Please, young lady,

Please, old woman man,

Pray, young lady, pop

come under my bush.

creep under the bush.

under.

15.

The bush is too high,

the bush is too low.

16.

Please, old woman,

creep under the bush.

17.

18.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Norfolk (1).

Norfolk (2).

Haydon.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

Draw a bucket of

water.

For my lady's

For the farmer's

For my lady's

daughter.

10.

11.

12.

One go rush and the

other go hush.

13.

Give a gold ring and a

A guinea gold ring and

silver watch.

a silver pin.

14.

Pretty young lady, bop

Pray, young lady, pop

under my bush.

under.

15.

16.

17.

18.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Earls Heaton.

Lincolnshire and

Gloucestershire.

Nottinghamshire.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

Draw a bucket of

See saw, a bucket of

water.

To wash my lady's

garter.

10.

11.

12.

One in a rush and two

One we go rush, two we

in a bush.

go push.

13.

A guinea gold ring and

a silver pin.

14.

Please, little girl,

To see a fine lady pop

Lady, come under the

pop under.

under a bush.

corner bush.

15.

16.

17.

18.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Belfast.

Halliwell's Version

Crockham Hill.

(No. 2).

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

Draw a bucket of

water.

Sift the lady's

Sieve my lady's

oatmeal.

Sift it into flour.

Grind my lady's flour.

For a lady's daughter.

Put it in a chest of

Put it in a chestnut.

drawers.

Let it lie an hour.

Let it stand an hour.

10.

11.

12.

One of my rush, two of

One may rush, two may

One in a bush, two in

my rush.

rush.

a bush, three in a

bush, four in a bush.

13.

14.

Please, young lady,

Come, my girls, walk

come under my bush.

under the bush.

15.

My bush is too high,

my bush is too low.

16.

Please, young lady,

come under my bow.

17.

Stir up the dumpling.

18.

And out you go.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

The a.n.a.lysis shows that the majority of the variants retain four princ.i.p.al incidents of what must have been the original form of the game, and the fact of the Gloucestershire version having come down with only two of the incidents, namely, the two most common to all the variants (12 and 14), shows that the game has been in a state of decadence. The four princ.i.p.al incidents, Nos. 1, 4, 12, and 14, point distinctly to some water ceremonial; and if it may be argued that the incidents which occur in only one or two of the variants may be considered to have belonged to the original type, we shall be able to suggest that this game presents a dramatic representation of ancient well-worship. The incidents which occur in one version only are those given by Mr. Halliwell, and unfortunately the locality from which he obtained this variant is unknown. Still it is an earlier version than those which are now printed for the first time, and may without doubt be looked upon as genuine. Taking all the incidents of the various versions as the means by which to restore the earliest version, it would appear that this might have consisted of the following lines:-

Draw a pail of water For a lady's daughter; Her father's a king, her mother's a queen, Her two little sisters are dressed in green, Stamping gra.s.s and parsley, marigold leaves and daisies; Sift the lady's oatmeal, sift it into flour, Put it in a chestnut tree, let it lie an hour; Give a silver pin and a gold ring, One and a hush! two and a rush!

Pray, young lady, pop under a bush; My bush is too high, my bush is too low, Please, young lady, come under my bow!

(_d_) This restoration of the words, though it probably is far from complete, and does not make so good a game rhyme as the reduced versions, nevertheless shows clearly enough that the incidents belong to a ceremonial of primitive well-worship. The pulling of the hands backwards and forwards may be taken to indicate the raising of water from a well. If this is conceded, the incidents might be grouped as follows:-

(1.) Drawing of water from a well.

(2.) For a devotee at the well.

(3.) Collecting flowers for dressing the well.

(4.) Making of a cake for presentation.

(5.) Gifts to the well [the silver pin, gold ring, and probably the garter].

(6.) Command of silence.

(7.) The presence of the devotee at the sacred bush.

All these are incidents of primitive well-worship (see Gomme's _Ethnology and Folk-lore_, pp. 82-103). Garland dressing is very general; cakes were eaten at Rorrington well, Shropshire (Burne's _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 433); pins and portions of the dress are very general offerings; silence is strictly enforced in many instances, and a sacred tree or bush is very frequently found near the well.

The tune of the Hampshire game (Miss Mendham's version) is practically the same as that of the "Mulberry Bush."

Newell (_Games of American Children_, p. 90) gives a version of this game.

Drawing Dun out of the Mire

Brand, quoting from "an old collection of satires, epigrams, &c.," says this game is enumerated among other pastimes:

At shove-groat, venter-point, or crosse and pile, At leaping o'er a Midsummer bone-fier, Or at _the drawing Dun out of the myer_.

So in the _Dutchesse of Suffolke_, 1631:

Well done, my masters, lends your hands, _Draw Dun out of the ditch_, Draw, pull, helpe all, so, so, well done.

[_They pull him out._]

They had shoved Bishop Bonner into a well, and were pulling him out.

We find this game noticed at least as early as Chaucer's time, in the _Manciple's Prologue_:

Then gan our hoste to j.a.pe and to play, And sayd, sires, what? _Dun is in the mire._

Nares (_Glossary_) says this game was a rural pastime, in which _Dun_ meant a dun horse, supposed to be stuck in the mire, and sometimes represented by one of the persons who played.

Gifford (_Ben Jonson_, vol. vii. p. 283), who remembered having played at the game (doubtless in his native county, Devonshire), thus describes it:-"A log of wood is brought into the midst of the room: this is Dun (the cart horse), and a cry is raised that he is stuck in the mire. Two of the company advance, either with or without ropes, to draw him out.

After repeated attempts they find themselves unable to do it, and call for more a.s.sistance. The game continues till all the company take part in it, when Dun is extricated of course; and the merriment arises from the awkward and affected efforts of the rustics to lift the log, and sundry arch contrivances to let the ends of it fall on one another's toes."

Drop Handkerchief

This is a game similar to Cat and Mouse, but takes its name from the use of the handkerchief to start the pursuit. Various rhyming formulae are used in some places. In Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy), no rhyme is used.

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