Part 27
(_c_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 342-45. It appears from this analysis that the London version is alone in its faithful reflection of an actual building episode. Three other versions introduce the incident of watching by a man, and failing him, a dog or cock; while five versions introduce a prisoner. This incident occurs the greatest number of times. It is not surprising that the London version seems to be the most akin to modern facts, being told so near the spot indicated by the verses, and on this account it cannot be considered as the oldest of the variants. There remain the other two groups. Both are distinguished by the introduction of a human element, one as watchman, the other as prisoner. The watchman incident approaches nearer to modern facts; the prisoner incident remains unexplained by any appeal to modern life, and it occurs more frequently than the others. In only one case, the Shropshire, is the prisoner ransomed; in the others he is sent to prison. Besides this main line of criticism brought out by the analysis there is little to note. The Hurstmonceux version begins with taking lambs over London Bridge, and the Shropshire version with the players themselves going over; but these are doubtless foreign adjuncts, because they do not properly prefix the main incident of the bridge being broken. The Belfast version has a curious line, "Grant said the little bee or dee," which the Cork version renders, "Gran says the little D." To these there is now no meaning that can be traced, but they help to prove that the rhyme originated from a state of things not understood by modern players. In all the versions with the prisoner incident it comes quite suddenly, without any previous indication, except in the Kent version, which introduces the exclamation, "Here's a prisoner I have got!" As the analysis shows the prisoner incident to be a real and not accidental part of the game, and the unmeaning expressions to indicate an origin earlier than modern players can understand, we can turn to other facts to see if the origin can be in any way traced.
ANALYSIS OF GAME-RHYMES.
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |No.| Belfast. | Halliwell. | Liphook. | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | 1.| -- | -- | -- | | 2.| -- | -- | -- | | 3.| -- | -- | -- | | 4.| -- | -- | -- | | 5.|L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | | 6.| -- | -- | -- | | 7.|Grant said the little | -- | -- | | |bee. | | | | 8.| -- |Dance o'er my lady | -- | | | |lee. | | | 9.| -- | -- |My fair lady. | |10.| -- |With a gay lady. | -- | |11.|Where I'd be. | -- | -- | |12.| -- |How shall we build it | -- | | | |up again? | | |13.|Stones and lime will | -- |Build it up with | | |build it up. | |bricks and mortar. | |14.| -- | -- |Bricks and mortar will| | | | |not stay. | |15.| -- | -- |Build it up with penny| | | | |loaves. | |16.| -- | -- |Penny loaves will | | | | |mould away. | |17.| -- | -- | -- | |18.| -- |Silver and gold will | -- | | | |be stole away. | | |19.| -- |Build it up with iron | -- | | | |and steel. | | |20.| -- |Iron and steel will | -- | | | |bend and bow. | | |21.| -- | -- | -- | |22.| -- | -- | -- | |23.| -- |Build it up with wood | -- | | | |and clay. | | |24.| -- |Wood and clay will | -- | | | |wash away. | | |25.| -- |Build it up with stone| -- | | | |so strong. | | |26.|Get a man to watch all| -- | -- | | |night. | | | |27.|Perhaps that man might| -- | -- | | |fall asleep. | | | |28.| -- | -- | -- | |29.| -- | -- |What has this poor | | | | |prisoner done? | |30.| -- | -- |Stole my watch and | | | | |lost my key. | |31.| -- | -- | -- | |32.| -- | -- | -- | |33.| -- | -- | -- | |34.| -- | -- | -- | |35.| -- | -- | -- | |36.|Get a dog to watch all| -- | -- | | |night. | | | |37.|If that dog should run| -- | -- | | |away. | | | |38.|Give that dog a bone | -- | -- | | |to pick. | | | |39.| -- | -- | -- | |40.| -- | -- | -- | |41.| -- | -- | -- | |42.| -- | -- | -- | |43.| -- | -- | -- | |44.| -- | -- |Off to prison you must| | | | |go. | |45.| -- |Huzza! it will last | -- | | | |for ages long. | | |46.| -- | -- | -- | |47.| -- | -- | -- | |48.| -- | -- | -- | |49.| -- | -- | -- | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |No.| Hurstmonceux. | Shropshire. | Kent. | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | 1.|Where are these great | -- | -- | | |baa-lambs going? | | | | 2.|My fair lady. | -- | -- | | 3.|We are going to L. B. | -- | -- | | 4.| -- |Over L. B. we go. | -- | | 5.|L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | | 6.| -- | -- | -- | | 7.| -- | -- | -- | | 8.| -- | -- | -- | | 9.|My fair lady. | -- |My fair lady. | |10.| -- |Gay ladies, gay. | -- | |11.| -- | -- | -- | |12.| -- | -- | -- | |13.|Mend it up with bricks|Build it up with lime | -- | | |and mortar. |and sand. | | |14.| -- |Lime and sand will | -- | | | |wash away. | | |15.|Mend it up with penny |Build it up with penny|Build it up with penny| | |loaves. |loaves. |loaves. | |16.|Penny loaves will wash|Penny loaves'll get |Penny loaves will | | |away. |stole away. |tumble down. | |17.| -- | -- | -- | |18.| -- | -- | -- | |19.| -- | -- | -- | |20.| -- | -- | -- | |21.|Mend it up with pins | -- |Mend it up with pins | | |and needles. | |and needles. | |22.|Pins and needles they | -- |Pins and needles rust | | |will break. | |and bend. | |23.| -- | -- | -- | |24.| -- | -- | -- | |25.| -- | -- | -- | |26.| -- | -- | -- | |27.| -- | -- | -- | |28.| -- | -- |Here's a prisoner I | | | | |have got. | |29.|What has this great |O, what has my poor |What's the prisoner | | |prisoner done? |prisoner done? |done to you? | |30.|Stole a watch and lost| -- |Stole my watch and | | |the key. | |broke my chain. | |31.| -- |Robbed a house and | -- | | | |killed a man. | | |32.| -- | -- | -- | |33.| -- | -- | -- | |34.| -- | -- | -- | |35.| -- | -- | -- | |36.| -- | -- | -- | |37.| -- | -- | -- | |38.| -- | -- | -- | |39.| -- | -- | -- | |40.| -- | -- | -- | |41.| -- |What will you have to |What will you take to | | | |set her free? |let him out? | |42.| -- |Fourteen pounds and a |Ten hundred pounds | | | |wedding gown. |will let him out. | |43.| -- | -- |Then a hundred pounds | | | | |we have not got. | |44.|Off to prison you must| -- |Then off to prison you| | |go. | |must go. | |45.| -- | -- | -- | |46.| -- | -- | -- | |47.| -- |Stamp your foot and | -- | | | |let her go. | | |48.| -- | -- | -- | |49.| -- | -- | -- | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ |No.| Enborne. | Cork. | Crockham Hill. | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | 1.| -- | -- | -- | | 2.| -- | -- | -- | | 3.| -- | -- | -- | | 4.| -- | -- | -- | | 5.| -- |L. B. is broken down. |L. B. is broken down. | | 6.|L. B. is falling down.| -- | -- | | 7.| -- |Says the little D. | -- | | 8.| -- | -- | -- | | 9.|My fair lady. |Fair lady. |My fair lady. | |10.| -- | -- | -- | |11.| -- | -- | -- | |12.| -- | -- | -- | |13.|Build it up with |Build it up with lime | -- | | |mortar and bricks. |and stone. | | |14.|Mortar and bricks will|Lime and stone would | -- | | |waste away. |waste away. | | |15.| -- | -- |Build it up with penny| | | | |loaves. | |16.| -- | -- |Penny loaves will melt| | | | |away. | |17.|Build it up with |Build it up with |Build it up with | | |silver and gold. |silver and gold. |silver and gold. | |18.|Silver and gold will |Silver and gold would |Silver and gold I have| | |be stolen away. |be stolen away. |not got. | |19.| -- | -- | -- | |20.| -- | -- | -- | |21.| -- | -- | -- | |22.| -- | -- | -- | |23.| -- | -- | -- | |24.| -- | -- | -- | |25.| -- | -- | -- | |26.| -- |We'll set a man to |Set a man to watch all| | | |watch all night. |night. | |27.|Suppose the man should|If the man should fall| -- | | |fall asleep. |asleep. | | |28.| -- | -- | -- | |29.| -- | -- |What has this poor | | | | |prisoner done? | |30.| -- | -- |Stole my watch and | | | | |broke my chain. | |31.| -- | -- | -- | |32.|Give him a pipe of | -- | -- | | |tobacco to smoke. | | | |33.|Suppose the pipe | -- | -- | | |should fall and break.| | | |34.|We'll give him a bag | -- | -- | | |of nuts to crack. | | | |35.|Suppose the nuts were | -- | -- | | |rotten and bad. | | | |36.| -- |Set a dog to bark all | -- | | | |night. | | |37.| -- |If the dog should meet| -- | | | |a bone. | | |38.| -- | -- | -- | |39.| -- |Set a cock to crow | -- | | | |all night. | | |40.| -- |If the cock should | -- | | | |meet a hen. | | |41.| -- | -- |How many pounds will | | | | |set him free? | |42.| -- | -- |Three hundred pounds | | | | |will set him free. | |43.| -- | -- |The half of that I | | | | |have not got. | |44.| -- | -- |Then off to prison he | | | | |must go. | |45.| -- | -- | -- | |46.| -- | -- | -- | |47.| -- | -- | -- | |48.|We'll give him a horse| -- | -- | | |to gallop around. | | | |49.| -- |Here comes my lord | -- | | | |Duke, let everyone | | | | |pass by but the very | | | | |last one. | | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
(_d_) This game is universally acknowledged to be a very ancient one, but its origin is a subject of some diversity of opinion. The special feature of the rhymes is that considerable difficulty occurs in the building of the bridge by _ordinary_ means, but without exactly suggesting that extraordinary means are to be adopted, a prisoner is suddenly taken. The question is, What does this indicate?
Looking to the fact of the widespread superstition of the foundation sacrifice, it would seem that we may have here a tradition of this rite. So recently as 1872, there was a scare in Calcutta when the Hooghly Bridge was being constructed. The natives then got hold of the idea that Mother Ganges, indignant at being bridged, had at last consented to submit to the insult on condition that each pier of the structure was founded on a layer of children's heads (Gomme's _Early Village Life_, p. 29). Formerly, in Siam, when a new city gate was being erected, it was customary for a number of officers to lie in wait and seize the first four or eight persons who happened to pass by, and who were then buried alive under the gate-posts to serve as guardian angels (Tylor's _Primitive Culture_, i. 97). Other instances of the same custom and belief are given in the two works from which these examples are taken; and there is a tradition about London Bridge itself, that the stones were bespattered with the blood of little children. Fitzstephen, in his well-known account of London of the twelfth century, mentions that when the Tower was built the mortar was tempered with the blood of beasts. Prisoners' heads were put on the bridge after execution down to modern times, and also on city gates.
These traditions about London, when compared with the actual facts of contemporary savagery, seem to be sufficient to account for such a game as that we are now examining having originated in the foundation sacrifice. Mr. Newell, in his examination of the game, gives countenance to this theory, but he strangely connects it with other games which have a tug-of-war as the finish. Now in all the English examples it is remarkable that the tug-of-war does not appear to be a part of the game; and if this evidence be conclusive, it would appear that this incident got incorporated in America. It is this incident which Mr. Newell dwells upon in his ingenious explanation of the mythological interpretation of the game. But apart from this, the fact that the building of bridges was accompanied by the foundation sacrifice is a more likely origin for such a widespread game which is so intimately connected with a bridge.
This view is confirmed by what may be called the literary history of the game. The verses, as belonging to a game, have only recently been recorded, and how far they go back into tradition it is impossible to say. Dr. Rimbault is probably right when he states "that they have been formed by many fresh additions in a long series of years, and [the game] is perhaps almost interminable when received in all its different versions" (_Notes and Queries_, ii. 338). In _Chronicles of London Bridge_, pp. 152, 153, the author says he obtained the following note from a Bristol correspondent:--"About forty years ago, one moonlight night in the streets of Bristol, my attention was attracted by a dance and chorus of boys and girls, to which the words of this ballad gave measure. The breaking down of the Bridge was announced as the dancers moved round in a circle hand in hand, and the question, 'How shall we build it up again?' was chanted by the leader while the rest stood still." This correspondent also sent the tune the children sang, which is printed in the _Chronicles of London Bridge_. This was evidently the same game, but it would appear that the verses have also been used as a song, and it would be interesting to find out which is the more ancient of the two--the song or the game; and to do this it is necessary that we should know something of the history of the song. A correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ (ii. 338) speaks of it as a "lullaby song" well known in the southern part of Kent and in Lincolnshire. In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1823, Part II. p. 232) appeared the following interesting note:--
The projected demolition of London Bridge recalls to my mind the introductory lines of an old ballad which more than seventy years ago I heard plaintively warbled by a lady who was born in the reign of Charles II., and who lived till nearly the end of that of George II. I now transcribe the lines, not as possessing any great intrinsic merit, but in the hope of learning from some intelligent correspondent the name of the author and the story which gave rise to the ballad, for it probably originated in some accident that happened to the old bridge. The "Lady Lea" evidently refers to the river of that name, the favourite haunt of Isaac Walton, which, after fertilising the counties of Hertford, Essex, and Middlesex, glides into the Thames.
London Bridge is broken down, _Dance over the Lady Lea_; London Bridge is broken down, _With a gay lady_ [_la-dee_]. Then we must build it up again. What shall we build it up withal? Build it up with iron and steel, Iron and steel will bend and break. Build it up with wood and stone, Wood and stone will fall away. Build it up with silver and gold, Silver and gold will be stolen away. Then we must set a man to watch, Suppose the man should fall asleep? Then we must put a pipe in his mouth, Suppose the pipe should fall and break? Then we must set a dog to watch, Suppose the dog should run away? Then we must chain him to a post.
The two lines in _italic_ are all regularly repeated after each line.--M. Green.
Another correspondent to this magazine, in the same volume, p. 507, observes that the ballad concerning London Bridge "formed, in my remembrance, part of a Christmas Carol, and commenced thus--
Dame, get up and bake your pies, On Christmas-day in the morning.
The requisition goes on to the dame to prepare for the feast, and her answer is--
London Bridge is fallen down, On Christ-mas day in the morning, &c.
The inference always was, that until the bridge was rebuilt some stop would be put to the Dame's Christmas operations; but why the falling of London Bridge should form part of a Christmas Carol at Newcastle-upon-Tyne I am at a loss to know." Some fragments were also printed in the _Mirror_ for November 1823; and a version is also given by Ritson, _Gammer Gurton's Garland_. The _Heimskringla_ (Laing, ii. 260, 261) gives an animated description of the Battle of London Bridge, when Ethelred, after the death of Sweyn, was assisted by Olaf in retaking and entering London, and it is curious, that the first line of the game-rhyme appears--
London Bridge is broken down, Gold is won and bright renown; Shields resounding, War-horns sounding, Hild is shouting in the din; Arrows singing, Mail-coats ringing, Odin makes our Olaf win.
If this is anything more than an accidental parallel, we come back to an historical episode wherein the breaking down and rebuilding of London Bridge occur, and it looks as if the two streams down which this tradition has travelled, namely, first, through the game, and second, through the song, both refer to the same event.
Dr. Rimbault has, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 34, reconstructed a copy of the original rhyme from the versions given by Halliwell and the _Mirror_, and gives the tune to which it was sung, which is reprinted here. The tune from Kent is the one generally used in London versions. The tune of a country dance called "London Bridge" is given in Playford's _Dancing Master_, 1728 edition.
[4] Another informant gives the refrain, "Grand says the little Dee."
[5] I have identified this with a version played at Westminster and another taught to my children by a Hanwell girl.--A. B. G.
Long-duck
A number of children take hold of each other's hands and form a half-circle. The two children at one end of the line lift up their arms, so as to form an arch, and call "Bid, bid, bid," the usual cry for calling ducks. Then the children at the other end pass in order through the arch. This process is repeated, and they go circling round the field.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_.
See "Duck Dance."
Long Tag
See "Long Terrace."
Long-Tawl
A game at marbles where each takes aim at the other in turn, a marble being paid in forfeit to whichever of the players may make a hit.--Lowsley's _Berkshire Glossary_.
Long Terrace
Every player chooses a partner. The couples stand immediately in front of each other, forming a long line, one remaining outside of the line on the right-hand side, who is called the "Clapper." The object of the game is for the last couple to reach the top of the line, each running on different sides, and keeping to the side on which they are standing. The object of the Clapper is to hit the one running on the right side of the line, which, if he succeeds in doing, makes him the Clapper, and the Clapper takes his place. [The next _last_ couple would then presumably try and reach the top.]--East Kirkby, Lincs. (Miss K. Maughan).
A similar game to this is played at Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). It is there called "Long Tag." The players stand in line behind one another, and an odd one takes her place somewhere near the front; at a given signal, such as clapping of hands, the two at the back separate and try to meet again in front before the one on the watch can catch them; they may run where they please, and when one is caught that one becomes the one "out."
See "French Jackie."
Loup the Bullocks
Young men go out to a green meadow, and there on all-fours plant themselves in a row about two yards distant from each other. Then he who is stationed farthest back in the "bullock rank" starts up and leaps over the other bullocks before him, by laying his hands on each of their backs; and when he gets over the last one leans down himself as before, whilst all the others, in rotation, follow his example; then he starts and leaps again.
I have sometimes thought that we (the Scotch) have borrowed this recreation from our neighbours of the "Green Isle," as at their wakes they have a play much of the same kind, which they call "Riding Father Doud." One of the wakers takes a stool in his hand, another mounts that one's back, then Father Doud begins rearing and plunging, and if he unhorses his rider with a dash he does well. There is another play (at these wakes) called "Kicking the Brogue," which is even ruder than "Riding Father Doud," and a third one called "Scuddieloof."--Mactaggart's _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_.
Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game called "Leap the Bullock," which he says is the same as "Leap-frog."