|
"Through the
Needle-e'e, Boys" played also to some extent in the form of
"London Bridge," and much resembling "Barley Break,'' a pastime of
high-born lords and ladies in the time of Sir Philip Sydney, who
describes it in his Arcadia. The boys first choose sides. The two chosen
leaders join both hands, and raising them high enough to let the others
pass through below, they sing:—
Brother [John], if ye'll
be mine,
I'll gie you a glass o' wine;
A glass o' wine is good and fine,
Through the needle-e'e boys.
Letting their arms fall,
they enclose a boy, and ask him to which side he will belong, and he is
disposed according to his own decision. The parties being at length
formed, are separated by a real or imaginary line, and place at some
distance behind them, in a heap, their Jackets, caps, etc. They stand
opposite to each other, the object being to make a successful incursion
over the line into the enemy's country, and tiring off part or whole of
the heap of clothes. It requires address and swiftness of foot to do so
without being taken prisoner by the foe. The winning of the game is
decided by which party first loses all its men or all its property. At
Hawick, where this legendary mimicry of old Border warfare pecuriarly
flourishes, the boys are accustomed to use the following lines of
defiance:-
King Covenanter, come out
if ye daur venture!
Set your feet on Scots ground, English, if ye daur! |
