Letting their arms fall they enclose a boy and ask him to which side he will belong, and he is disposed of according to his own decision. The parties being at length formed, are separated by a real or imaginary line, and place at some distance behind them, in a heap, their hats, coats, &c. They stand opposite to each other, the object being to make a successful incursion over the line into the enemy’s country, and bring off part of the heap of clothes. It requires both address and swiftness of foot to do so without being taken by the foe. The winning of the game is decided by which party first loses all its men or its property. At Hawick, where the legendary mimicry of old Border warfare peculiarly flourishes, the boys are accustomed to use the following rhymes of defiance:—
King Covenanter, come out if ye daur venture!
Set your foot on Scots’ ground, English, if ye daur!
—Chambers’ Popular Rhymes, p. 127.
The following version was written down in 1821 under the name of Scotch and English:—Two parties of boys, divided by a fixed line, endeavoured to pull one another across this line, or to seize by bodily strength or nimbleness a “wad” (the coats or hats of the players) from the little heap deposited in the different territories at a convenient distance. The person pulled across or seized in his attempt to rob the camp was made a prisoner and conducted to the enemy’s station, where he remained under the denomination of “stinkard” till relieved by one of the same side, or by a general exchange of prisoners.—Blackwood’s Magazine, August 1821, p. 25. The Denham Tracts, i. 150, gives a version of the game much the same as these, except that the words used by the English are, “Here’s a leap into thy kingdom, dry-bellied Scot.” See also Hutton’s History of Roman Wall (1804), p. 104. Brockett’s account, under the title of “[Stealy Clothes], or Watch Webs,” is as follows:—The players divide into two parties and draw a line as the boundary of their respective territories. At an equal distance from this line each player deposits his hat or some other article of his dress. The object of the game is to seize and convey these singly to your own store from that of the enemy, but if you are unfortunately caught in the attempt, you not only restore the plunder but become a prisoner yourself. This evidently takes its origin from the inroads of the English and Scotch; indeed, it is plainly proved from the language used on the occasion, which consists in a great measure of the terms of reproach still common among the Borderers.—Brockett’s North Country Words.
Jamieson, also, describes the game under the title of “English and Scotch,” and says the game has originated from the mutual incursions of the two nations.
See “[French and English],” “[Prisoner’s Base],” “[Rigs].”[Addendum]
Scratch Cradle
The game of “[Cat’s Cradle].”
Scrush
A game much like [Shinty] between two sides of boys, each with bandies (scrushes) trying to knock a roundish stone over the other’s line.—Barnes’ Dorset Glossary. See “[Shinney].”