Lady Queen Anne.
A very pretty version of this old English game is often played at juvenile parties in Cornwall.
One child is chosen to remain in the room, whilst the others go outside and consult together as to whom shall hold the ball (some small thing). They then troop in, with their hands either hidden under the skirts of their dresses, or clasped in such a way that Lady Queen Anne, by looking at them, cannot tell which has it; all repeating—
“Here come we to Lady Queen Anne,
With a pair of white gloves to cover our hand;
As white as a lily, as fair as the rose,
But not so fair as you may suppose.”
L. Q. A. “Turn, ladies, turn!”
(Whirl round.) “The more we turn the more we may,
Queen Anne was born on Midsummer day.”
L. Q. A. “The king sent me three letters, I never read them all,
So pray, Miss ——, deliver the ball.”
Should she have guessed correctly, all the party curtsey, and say—
“The ball is yours and not ours,
You must go to the garden and gather the flowers.”
And the child who had the ball takes the queen’s seat, whilst she retires with the others; but should she have made a mistake, the same party go out again, saying as they curtsey—
“The ball is yours and not ours,
(Repeat) We,” etc.
Mr. Halliwell Phillips, in his book before quoted, has shorter versions of this, with different rhymes.
Another game which has descended from generation to generation is—