The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland Volume Ii Part 37

One, two, three, four, &c.

-_Notes and Queries_, 3rd series, iii. 87.

The occurrence of this rhyme suggests that there is some sort of divination in the oldest form of the game, and it appears to me that the origin of the game must be sought for among the ancient practices of divination. An example is found among the customs of the children of Glamorganshire during the cowslip season. The cowslip heads are strung on a piece of thread and tied into a "posty," and the play is to throw it up a tolerable height, catching it on the distended palm with a blow that sends it up again, while the player sings:-

Pisty, posty, four and forty, How many years shall I live?

One, two, three, four, &c.

Of course, if it falls to the ground uncaught, or even if caught in the clenched hand, there is an end of the player's "life." There is a good deal of emulation amongst the children as to who shall live the longest (_Notes and Queries_, 3rd ser., iii. 172). Miss Burne (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 530) mentions the same custom, giving the rhyme as-

Toss-a-ball, toss-a-ball, tell me true How many years I've got to go through,

and she says the cowslip is thence called a "tissy-ball." In this custom we have no artificial aids to form a game, but we have a significant form of divination from natural flowers, accompanied by a rhyming formula exactly parallel to the rhymes used in the Leicestershire game of "Shuttlec.o.c.k," and I conclude therefore that we have here the true origin of the game. This conclusion is confirmed when it is found that divinatory verses generally accompany the popular form of the game.

At Wakefield the children playing "Battledore and Shuttlec.o.c.k" take it in turn, and say the following sentences, one clause to each bat, and repeated until the shuttlec.o.c.k falls:-

1st. This year, next year, long time, never.

2nd. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat.u.r.day, Sunday.

3rd. Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief.

4th. Silk, satin, cotton, rags.

5th. Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, donkey-cart.-Miss Fowler

At Deptford the rhymes were-

Grandmother, grandmother, Tell me the truth, How many years have I been to school?

One, two, three, &c.

Grandmother, grandmother, Tell me no lie, How many children Before I die?

One, two, three, &c.

In the same way the following questions are put and answered:-

How old am I?

How long am I going to live?

How many children shall I have?

Black currant, Red currant, Raspberry tart, Tell me the name Of my sweetheart.

A, B, C, D, &c.

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, potter's boy, flour boy, thief.

Silk, satin, cotton, muslin, rags.

Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, dungcart.

On their b.u.t.tons they say: "Bought, given, stolen," to show how acquired.-Miss Chase.

In London the rhymes were-

One, two, buckle my shoe, Three, four, knock at the door, Five, six, pick up sticks, Seven, eight, lay them straight, Nine, ten, a good fat hen, Eleven, twelve, ring the bell, Thirteen, fourteen, maids a courting, Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen, Seventeen, eighteen, mistress waiting, Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty.

One, two, three, four, Mary at the cottage door, Eating cherries off a plate, Five, six, seven, eight.

Up the ladder, down the wall, A twopenny loaf to serve us all; You buy milk and I'll buy flour, And we'll have pudding in half an hour.

One, two, three, four, five, six, &c.

This year, next year, some time, never, repeated.

A, B, C, D, E, &c., repeated for the initial letter of the future husband's name.

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, apothecary, ploughboy, thief, for future husband's vocation.

Monday, Tuesday, &c., for the wedding day.

Silk, satin, cotton, rags, for the material of the wedding gown.

Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, dungcart, for conveyance on wedding day.

Big house, little house, pigsty, barn, for future home.-(A. B. Gomme.)

It will be seen that many of these divination formulae are used in other connections than that of "Shuttlec.o.c.k," but this rather emphasises the divinatory character of the game in its original form.-See "Ball,"

"Teesty-tosty."

Shuvvy-Hawle

A boys' game at marbles. A small hole is made in the ground, and marbles are pushed in turn with the side of the first finger; these are won by the player pushing them into the shuvvy-hawle.-Lowsley's _Berkshire Glossary_.

Silly Old Man

[Music]

-Leicester (Miss Ellis).

[Music]

-Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy).

I. Silly old man, he's all alone, He wants a wife and can't get one; Round and round and choose a good one, Or else choose none.

This young couple are married together, Their fathers and mothers they must obey; Love one another like sister and brother, And down on their knees and kiss one another.

-Leicester (Miss Ellis).