Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 5 1887.djvu/335

 Rh but with a different rhyme, and games allied to "Pig in the middle" and "Solomon's dog," but under different names, which I do not now recollect. "Hole in the wall" we called "Crow's nest," and it was played in two ways: one way like that described when the finger was put into a person's mouth and bitten, the blindfolded persons being asked to put their finger in the crow's nest, as the crow was out, and as soon as they did, it was sung out, "Oh, the crow's in," and their fingers were bitten. The other way was to make a nest of your hand, and ask, "Put your finger in the crow's nest, the crow's out." You were let to put it in a few times, and then the player suddenly sang out, "Oh, the crow's in," and stuck his thumb-nail into your finger. "She said and she said" was a general, not a love game, and before what she said a certain animal was mentioned, which was previously arranged, generally a cat or a dog. I remember a case when it was to be dog, and the "saying" was missed. When one confederate accused the other of misleading him, she said, "I did not say dog," and he replied, "But you did say Toby," Toby being the name of the family-dog which she should not have mentioned except before the saying. There used to be cunning deviations as to the plan to be followed to prevent the uninitiated finding out how it was done, such as putting the catch-word two or three questions before the right answer, and changing the animal to be named. Other games mentioned I could refer to, but as I forget particulars it is unnecessary. I am, however, surprised that Miss Courtney does not mention "Hunt the slipper," as I saw a game, if not it, nearly identical played by a party of the "Band of Hope" at Land's End the year of the meeting of the British Association in Exeter. I did not go near the party; as previously when I did, they wanted me to join in "Kiss in the ring," which, for certain reasons, I declined. By the way, this game is not mentioned, and to me it seems to be a great favourite, not only in Cornwall, but also in the Cornish settlements in Ireland, so numerous some years ago before the failure in the mining industry. Many a game of this have I seen both in Cornwall and the co. Cork, where the Cornishers most did congregate.

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