s he
gropes for a victim to pounce upon, seems in some degree to repeat the
action of Colin Maillard, the tradition of which is also traceable in
the name, "blind man's buff."

* * * * *

"~Water Wallflower.~"--All should know this game, which is more commonly
played by very small misses.

Forming a ring, all join hands and dance, or move slowly round,
singing:--

Water, water wallflower, growing up so high,
We are all maidens, and we must all die,
Excepting [Nellie Newton], the youngest of us all,
She can dance and she can sing, and she can knock us all down.

Here all clap hands, with the exception of the one named, who stands
looking abashed, while the others sing:--

Fie, fie, fie, for shame,
Turn your back to the wall again.

At the command, she who has been named turns, so that she faces outwards
now, with her back to the centre of the ring; though she still clasps
hands with those on either side, and continues in the movement, singing
with the others. When all in like manner have been chapped out, and are
facing the open, the game is finished.

* * * * *

"~The Emperor Napoleon~" is a little game which affords, invariably, a
good deal of fun. Again, as so commonly, the form is in a ring, and all
go round, singing:--

The Emperor Napoleon has a hundred thousand men,
The Emperor Napoleon has a hundred thousand men,
The Emperor Napoleon has a hundred thousand men,
As he goes marching along.

In each successive singing of the verse, one syllable after another in
the main line, beginning at the far end, is left out--or at least is not
spoken--the blank, or blanks, as it happens latterly, having to be
indicated merely by nods of the head. As each player makes a mistake, by
speaking, instead of nodding, or _vice versa_, she pays a forfeit and
drops out. The play goes on till all have fallen.

* * * * *

"~A' the Birdies i' the Air~," purely Scotch, is a simpler form merely
of "London Bridge." Two players, facing each other, hold up their hands
to form an arch, and call the formula:--

A' the birdies i' the air
Tick-to to my tail.

The others, who may be running about indifferently, decide in time which
side they will favour, and when each and all have chosen which champion
they will support, and have taken their places at her back, a tug-of-war
ensues. Afterwards the victors cha