t," and must take her place; but if he
pursues her correctly and overtakes her, he may claim a kiss for his
pains, for which heroism he will receive the applause of the crowd; and
the girl--suffused with blushes, as it may be--must try and try
again--indeed, try until she proves herself more agile than her pursuer,
whom, of course, she is always free to choose. When at length--as come
it will some time--her effort is successful, she takes her victim's
place in the ring, and he takes hers on the outside of it. And thus the
play may go on--boy and girl about--as long as time and energy will
permit.

* * * * *

As for "~Bab at the Bowster~" (more generally pronounced "Babbity
Bowster"), I am not sure but that grown people have engaged in it more
than wee folks have. Indeed, it is not improbable that the young
borrowed this originally from the old, by observation. Now-a-days,
undoubtedly, we know it exclusively as a child's play. But yet, within
the memory of living men, it was the regular custom in country places
nearly over all Scotland to wind up every dancing-ball with "Bab at the
Bowster." No wedding dance, no Handsel Monday ball, would have been
esteemed complete without it; and I have seen it performed at both, less
than forty years ago. Performed by old or young, however, the mode is
the same. The girls sit down on one side of the barn or square, the boys
on the other. A boy takes a handkerchief--it is regularly a male who
starts this play--and while dancing up and down before the girls, all
sing:--

Wha learned you to dance,
Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster;
Wha learned you to dance,
Bab at the bowster brawly?

My minnie learned me to dance,
Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster;
My minnie learned me to dance,
Bab at the bowster brawly.

Wha ga'e you the keys to keep,
Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster;
Wha ga'e you the keys to keep,
Bab at the bowster brawly?

My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep,
Bab at the bowster, bab at the bowster;
My minnie ga'e me the keys to keep,
Bab at the bowster brawly.

Kneel down and kiss the ground,
Kiss the ground, kiss the ground;
Kneel down and kiss the ground,
Kiss the bonnie wee lassie.

By the time the last verse has been reached the boy has fixed on his
partner, and at the command to "kneel down and kiss the ground" he
spreads the handkerchief on the floor at