The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-02-07
CHILDREN'S GAMES.
Some That Ire Now Popular Date Back to The
Second Century.

But every now ard then in town one sees
on summer nights the babies Of the poor
tucked away on friendly doorsteps, while
the elder children on the fag-stones dance
and sing in magic rings. Such good times
as they have, even without the meadows!
They play the same game, too, and Ahat is
the wonderful part of it, For all over the
world and for hundreds of wears the very
same games exactly. according to a writer
for Harper's Young People. have been
played by little children. That is, IN Nor
way, France, Germany or New England, in
Italy or Ireland the same games have been
played. though in different languages. SO
that the little children in reality have kept
alive some Of the very interesting traditions
of the world. For instance, you have all
played, ! am SuTe-I know played IL many
times as child-tbat good old game Of
oats pease. beans aud barley grows
Oats pease. beans. aud barley grows.
How you nor nor nobody knows
oats, pease. beans, aud barley grows.
With all the rest of its fascinating verse
Now FrOissart, who was born in 1887,
played that game, and so aid Rabelais, who
was born about 1883. And the game has
hardly been altered at all since their day.
Some people say this game bad its origin
in some religious ceremony hat was per-
Here is this game:
MARROW NARROW. NARROW bright.
Row many niles to Babylon 20
"rhrecsCore and ten
"Can get there br eandleltSht 80
"les. II our less are Is long and light;
But take ca Of The Odd witch By the roadside
The maids of honor in the time of Queen
Elizabeth played that game. How strange
II seems But the game was very fashion
able among them, though nowadays only
liffla nbiidVau lllaU / and mn
they think themselves too grown up for 1t.
But Il spy pronounced HE spy chill
dIen played that game in the second cen
fury after Christ 1t makes one feel a GER
tain mpOTtauce-dees II MOTTO play a
game with such line Of traditions behind it,
In this most delightful Of books Mr..
Newell gives the history of all these games,
and you may think this even better, he
gives the games themselves. and those faSci-
mating verses children all loved so we'll in
my day. With what despair we used to be
flied when sumo one learnt a new one and
would not tell
Here is one that used to bother us at first:
Intcry, miutery. cutlery corn.
Apple seed ana apple thorn.
Wire, bTier. Undertook,
live mice a flock
Catch him, Jack;
Hold him, Tom
BLOW the bellows,
Old man out.
1 wonder il any of you count your apple
seeds now?
And do you ever play this game:
He knocks at the door and picks up pin,
And asks II Miss -- IS iu
she neither is In. she neither is out,
She's IN the garnet a-walking about.
Down she comes white mix,
A rose IN her bosom as soft as silk
She takes off her glove and shows n ring
Tomorrow, tomorrow, the wedding begins.
They all seem very absurd set down here
in black and white, but how serious we used
to get over theml can remember the voices
and remember the faces. too, so well Of the
boys and girls who used to sing:
A. r.. so they say,
Goes acquiring night and day
Sword ana pistol by his side
And -- to be his bride
Takes her 10y the iiiy-wmte hand,
Aud leads her DER the wafer
Here's a kiss aud there's Kiss
For Mir IS daughter