Apples formerly were an essential part of every entertainment in the country; in the winter season, a dish of such always stood on the sideboard. As the hours went by, a foaming dish of eggnog would be brought in, always with a red-hot poker inserted, for the purpose of keeping up the proper temperature. It was then that the apple, having been properly named, with a fillip of the finger was divided, to decide the fate of the person concerned according to its number of seeds.
One, I love,
Two, I love,
Three, I love, I say,
Four, I love with all my heart,
And five, I cast away;
Six, he loves,
Seven, she loves,
Eight, they both love;
Nine, he comes,
Ten, he tarries,
Eleven, he courts,
Twelve, he marries;
Thirteen wishes,
Fourteen kisses,
All the rest little witches.
No. 45.
Rose in the Garden.
We insert here, on account of the allusions to nature which they contain, several pieces which might also have found a place elsewhere in our collection; the present, for instance, being eminently a "love-game."
A single player stands in the centre of the ring, which circles and sings:
There's a rose in the garden for you, fair man,
There's a rose in the garden for you, fair maid;
There's a rose in the garden, pluck it if you can,
Be sure you don't choose a false-hearted one.
The youth or girl in the centre chooses a partner, and the ring sings:
It's a bargain, it's a bargain, for you, fair man,
It's a bargain, it's a bargain, for you, fair maid.
Now follows a fragment of romance, which in our version is unhappily corrupt: