ones that have seemed favorites and by no means
exhaust the list of love games that I have seen used. Out of
eighty-three games of Washington (D. C.) children reported in the
American Anthropologist, by W. H. Babcock,[9] as many as thirty are love
games. In this, as in the previous stage, the embrace is the most
important love expression and stimulus. But in this stage it takes on
disguised forms or is excused by the ceremony of the games. Some are
kissing games, _e. g._, Post-Office, Paw-Paw-Patch, King William,
Picking Grapes, Digging-a-Well, etc.; some are hugging games, _e. g._,
London Bridge, Thread-the-Needle, etc., and some involve both hugging
and kissing, _e. g._, Green Grows the Willow Tree. The kiss is not the
frank love kiss given and received as such, but one called for by the
rules of the game. This makes the kissing relatively impersonal and
enables the young lovers thoroughly to enjoy the love communication
without the awkward embarrassment that would come to them if the
expression were not thus long-circuited through the game. The charm of
the whole thing is in the fact that under the guise of a ceremony love
has its way.

It will be helpful here to give a brief analysis of a few of the
games as types. King William is a choosing and kissing game,
involving among its details, the following lines:

King William was King James's son,
Upon a royal race he run;
Upon his breast he wore a star,
That was to all a sign of war.
Go look to the east, go look to the west
And choose the one that you love best,
If she's not there to take your part,
Choose the next one to your heart.
Down on this carpet you must kneel
As sure as the grass grows in the field.
Salute your bride and kiss her sweet,
Then rise again upon your feet.

The game is played by an equal number of couples and one odd boy who
is King William. With hands joined, all forming a circle with King
William in the center, the sentiment of the lines is acted out to
music, thereby adding the charm of rhythmic dance which is so
pleasurably intoxicating to the young and which has been taken
advantage of by lovers during all ages. At the conclusion of the
lines, King William joins the circle, leaving his bride to choose as
the lines are sung again, and so on. Post-Office is another one of
the most popular kissing games. It is an indoors game and requires
two rooms, one to be used as the post-office, the other as an
assembly room