You can complain, you can complain, &c.
[To the Queen of Barbaloo.]
—Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott).
(b) Two children stand together joining hands tightly, to personate a fortress; one child stands at a distance from these to personate the King of Barbarie, with other children standing behind to personate the soldiers ([fig. 1]). Some of the soldiers go to the fortress and surround it, singing the first verse ([fig. 2]). The children in the fortress reply, the four first verses being thus sung alternately. The soldiers then go to the King singing the fifth verse ([fig. 3]), the remaining verses being thus sung alternately. One of the soldiers then goes to the fortress and endeavours by throwing herself on the clasped hands of the children forming the fortress to break down the guard ([fig. 4]). All the soldiers try to do this, one after the other; finally the King comes, who breaks down the guard. The whole troop of soldiers then burst through the parted arms ([fig. 5]).
This is the [Deptford version]. The Clapham version is almost identical; the children take hold of each others’ skirts and make a long line. If the brave soldier is not able to break the clasped hands he goes to the end of the line of soldiers. The soldiers do not surround the fortress. In the [Suffolk version] the soldiers try to break through the girls’ hands. If they do they have the tower. The [Cornwall version] is not so completely an illustration of the capture of a fortress.
Barley-break
Barley-break, or the Last Couple in Hell, was a game played by six people, three of each sex, who were coupled by lot. A piece of ground was then chosen, and divided into three compartments, of which the middle one was called Hell. It was the object of the couple condemned to this division to catch the others who advanced from the two extremities ([figs. 1], [2]), in which case a change of situation took place, and Hell was filled by the couple who were excluded by pre-occupation from the other place ([fig. 3]). In this catching, however, there was some difficulty, as by the regulations of the game the middle couple were not to separate before they had succeeded, while the others might break hands whenever they found themselves hard pressed. When all had been taken in turn, the last couple was said to be “in Hell,” and the game ended.—Dekker’s Works, iv. 434.