Morning journal and courier., 1893-10-14

There s nae bonnie Iaddie
 Can take ne awa:-
 but there Ia & bonnie laddie who gives her "Ha, hs, and takes "her ava" "Break- fast Time," where "Breakfast times com ing en-" ss well ss dinner, supper, bed, church, school, play and all other possible times, in which 1t is exact and proper time "to catch a bonnie lassie." ''Beds," in which "mtther" is sought to buy milking scales'' for her daughter The mother aghast inquiries where the money Is to come from. The fathers feather bed shall be sold. The successive queries and an swers then put the father in the girls bed, the girls in the boys bed, the boys in the plg-sty, the pig in the wash.t'uh, with the final dramatic shift of having the family washing ''done by the river side;"-snd that most popular and universal of all Scottish girls pastimes, "The Gala Ship" or 'Merrims Tsnss."
 This "Merrima Tsnsa" (perhsps "Msrry Mstsnsa') Is played by all the girls present joining hands in a circle, upon which they march round and round singing:
 Three times round goes the gala. gala ship,
 And three times round goes she;
 Three times round goes the gala, gala ship,
 Aud sinks to the bottom oI the sea
 They repeat thls thrice, curtseyiDg low. The first to curtsey is placed in the center of the circle. when the others sing:
 Choose your maIdens one by one,
 One by one one by one;
 Choose your mnidens one by ona-
 And down goes Gall curtsey) Merrima Tanss:
 She chooses her maidens. They take her to & distance, when she is secretly told the name of her lover. The remainder of the girls initiate sweeping and sing several stanzas to the effect that they will "sweep the house till the bride comes home" when mI.. |. IL -E...H and from a score to an hundred stsnzas, with marching and various limitations of what the lucky bride accomplishes or un- dergoes are sung. Each one closes with "Down gees Merrims Tanssi" and the head ducking; and this wonderful music drama of childhood Is not concluded until the christening of the brides frst-born, with,
 Next Sunday morn to church she must ga', A babs ser knee, the best of "a And down goes Merrima Tansa.
 The lads of Scotland graduate at an | early age from the rough and tumble games | of the alley, the street and the school yard | to golf, foot ball and cricket. In cricket | the goal is called the 'hale " If the boys | cannot afford wickets their jackets answer instead. Even with country boys the as. | sooistion rules arc in higher fepute than | the more famous rules of Rugby. But the boys are we'll equipped before the latter | dignity arrives. In marbles or "bools'' | they are universally skiliful players. If | the marbles be given up at ihe end of each | game then it is called funny if not, | "wunny." In the latter, If sll q players marbles are lost, he is termed "rOokit. " Both games may be played "knuckley" or "aimeyn In 'knuckley" the knuckle is used for shootiug the "boOl." in "aimey" it Is thrown from the hand. The more recent games are played by ''stotting" the "boow against the ground and wall and catching 1t, enabling the "stot.ern to get | nearer the TOW of marbles. If his "bool' fails to lay between the mark and the wall he may be "killed" by the next "stotter ' school-yard and common are principally "King," Horny" "wheet," French Tig," "Too," "Cross Fig" and Bass" or "Csvie" (pronouncsd cevy) In the game of "Ktng" one lad is "chsppe1 oot" to chase and touch or "tig" another upon the head. The latter ,ining hands with him, another Is added to their number, and Sc on until all are captured, the last one taken beginning the game anew. "Hor. ny" and "Wheet" are similar to 'rKing. ? In "Horny" the first boy clasps his hands whenrunning to ,'tig," and may "tg" or any part of the body. In "Wheet" the boys taken do not jain hands, but run sin gly; and generally sides are chosen, the at tempt being to pass esco other with the lowest possible being taken; for those sc captured must then join the respective op posing sides.
 In"French Fig" the first boy runs after all the others until a boy is "tigged." Tn, one taken must hold one hand on the ex act part of the body which has beer touched until he succeeds in ''tiggtng" an other. The chief point in this game Is tt always "tig" on sportion of the body diff fcult to hold while "tgziDg" another This impedes the "tieger's" running ana enables the other boys to gather abou closely and give him royal teasing.
 In "Too" the boy that Is "chapped oot' Is put in 6 corner called the .'den.n Al the others csvort about and tauntipgly CT, "Tooi" when the boy springs from his der | and endeavors to ''tign the others Thosa taken assist him in his next sally from th, den, when all others must if possible nov reach the den while the pursuers gre out side, without being tigged. The fncress ing numbers watching the den constantly add to the difficulties and dangers to out Biders inkheir attempts to reach the del untsken.
 "Cross-tig" may be played by hmises number of boys, and it's simple though in teresting rules render 1t often most excl ting game. The leader starts to run sfte