At Ashford-in-the-Water the words used were—
One a bin, two a bin, three a bin, four,
Five a bin, six a bin, seven, gie o’er;
A bunch of pins, come prick my shins,
A loaf brown bread, come knock me down.
I’m coming!
—Reliquary, viii. 57.
The words are said by the one who has to find the person hidden.
In Scotland the game is called “Hospy,” and is played by boys only, and it can be played only in a village or hamlet in which there is the means of hiding. A Spy is chosen, and a spot, called Parley, is fixed upon at which the Spy stands till all the other players are hid, and to which he can run when pursued. When the players are hid, the cry, “Hospy,” i.e., “Ho! spy!” is raised by them. The Spy then sets out to find them. The moment he detects one he turns and runs with all his might to the Parley, pursued by the one he has discovered. If he is overtaken, he must carry on his back the pursuer to the Parley. The same thing is gone through till all the players are discovered.—Keith (Rev. W. Gregor).
Jamieson says, “‘Hy Spy,’ a game resembling ‘Hide and Seek,’ but played in a different manner. The station, which in England is called Home, is here the Den, and those who keep it are the Seekers, and are called the Ins. Those who hide themselves, instead of crying ‘Hoop,’ as in England, cry ‘Hy spy;’ and they are denominated the Outs. The business of the Ins is, after the signal is given, to lay hold of the Outs before they can reach the den. The captive then becomes one of the Ins; for the honour of the game consists in the privilege of hiding oneself.” Jamieson adds, “Hy is still used in calling after a person, to excite attention, or when it is wished to warn him to get out of the way.” Strutt describes it as “Harry-Racket,” or “Hide and Seek” (Sports, p. 381).
At Cork two sides are chosen for Spy; one side hides while the other side hunts. When the hunters see one of the hidden players, they call out, “I spy ——,” and the child’s name. The player called must run after the Spy and try to catch him before he reaches his Den; if he succeeds, the one caught must go to the opposite side of players, then next time the spies hide, and those who have been hiding, spy (Miss Keane). A more general form of the game is for one child to hide, and to make a noise in a disguised voice to give notice of his whereabouts, or to call out “Whoop!” or “Coo!” Until this noise or call is made, the searchers may not seek him. If when spied or discovered the hider cannot reach home before being caught, he again has to hide (A. B. Gomme).
(b) In the parish church of Bawdrip is a monument to Edward Lovell, his wife Eleanor (née Bradford), and their two daughters Maria and Eleanor. The inscription touching the latter is:—“Eleanora . . . obiit Jun. 14, 1681. Hanc, subito et immaturo (ipsos pene inter hymenæos) fato correptam, mœstissimus luxit maritus, et in gratam piamq. parentum sororis et dilectissimæ conjugis memoriam, monumentum hoc erigi voluit.” Tradition connects this sudden death—“ipsos pene inter hymenæos”—with the story of the bride playing at “Hide and Seek.” It is curious that, in Haynes Bayly’s song, the bridegroom’s name should be Lovell. There is no mention on the monument of the name of the bereaved husband. The father, Edward Lovell, was fourteen years rector of Bawdrip and fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, and died in 1675, and so could not have been present at the wedding, as represented in the song. He came from Batcombe, near Castle-Cary; at which latter place the Lovells were seated in very early days.—Notes and Queries, 4th Ser., ix. 477.
Cope (Hampshire Glossary) calls the game “I spy I.” Lowsley (Berkshire Glossary) says, “In playing this game, the seeker has to call out ‘I spy!’ to the one he finds before he may start for home.” It is called “Hy Spy” in Patterson’s Antrim and Down Glossary; Evans’ Leicestershire Glossary, “Hide and Wink;” Barnes’ Dorset Glossary, “Hidy Buck.”
In Pegge’s Alphabet of Kenticisms the game is given as “Hide and Fox.” Cf. “Hide Fox, and all after,” i.e., let the fox hide and the others go to seek him; Hamlet, iv. 2, 32. In Stead’s Holderness Glossary, “Hed-o.” In the North Riding it is “Lam-pie-sote-it,” also called “Felto” in Robinson’s Whitby Glossary. He also mentions that the hidden child cries “How-ly” to the finder. Apparently the same as the south country “Whoop,” a signal to the finder to begin the search. Addy (Sheffield Glossary) says this game is called “Felt and Laite.” Holland (Cheshire Glossary) speaks of it as “I Spy.”