Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/83

 Bib Hog raphica I Notes. 7 5

nished by the game, " Here comes a duke ; " The " duke " seeks a " fair maid " as partner, who at first refuses, but at last consents ; the chorus then sings : —

Now we 've got the flowers of May,

The flowers of May, the flowers of May, To join us in our dancing.

The English formula is ruder : " Now we 've got another girl to help us with our dancing " (p. 65). But a variant from Sussex has : " Now we 've got our bonny bunch (/. e. of flowers) to help us with our dancing." An- other : "Now we've got a beautiful maid to join us in our dancing"

(P- 173)-

A familiar nursery rhyme is that relating to Queen Anne, " who sits in the sun." Mrs. Gomme furnishes an account of the manner of playing this game-rhyme. One side stands and advances, a ball being concealed with one of the players ; the other, among which is my lady Queen Anne, re- mains seated. A player of the advancing line observes : " King George has sent you three letters, and desires you to read one," or equivalent words. The sitting queen answers, " I cannot read one unless I read all ;

so pray, Miss, deliver the ball." Mrs. Gomme thinks that the game

may refer to the ancient custom of compelling the suitor to elect between several girls dressed like the bride.

Considered as ancient tradition, the most interesting of English games is that of " The Witch." Mrs. Gomme gives versions closely agreeing with American ones. She thinks that the source of the amusement may have been in fire-stealing, the conception being that to take new fire out of a house puts the inmates under the control of an evil spirit. But the feature of taking fire, or asking for a light, on the part of a witch, is only an inci- dent of this most widely spread and very ancient European amusement. In an article on the " Game of the Child-stealing Witch," contained in this Journal, vol. iii., 1890, pp. 139-148, it is remarked : "An attempt to discuss the varieties of the witch-game would require a space far in excess of that which can here be devoted to the subject ; this game-root has supplied at least one tenth of the amusements of European children, a fact which indi- cates its primitive antiquity. Its variations are infinite : in some forms, in place of Mother stands an angel or saint ; in place of the Witch, the Devil ; the sport takes the form of a game of chase, or of struggle, or of guessing, or of a simple love-dance ; while, strange to say, its primitive character appears nowhere so distinctly as in English versions, though there are abundant indications that the English forms merely represent the most per- fect survival of a world-old practice, so various and widely extended that it would be idle to ask in what land it originated, while it may reasonably be supposed that it has for thousands of years made the terror and pleasure of European youth." Reference is made here to this subject merely in order to point out how extended is the theme, and how difficult it may be to trace with certainty the derivation of a particular dramatic usage.

In the memoir appended to this very excellent and interesting collection, the editor analyzes and classifies, and cites evidence from many quarters

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