In one version of the game, which comes to us from an Irish source, _green_ is for _grief, red_ for _joy, black_ for _mourning_, and _white_ for _death_. In another such version, _white_ is for _angels_, and is the chosen color; a reading we would willingly adopt, as probably more ancient, and as expressing the original seriousness of the whole, and the feeling which the color of white symbolized. In more common Irish phrase, _green_ is for _Irish_, _yellow_ for _Orangemen_. In Cincinnati, _purple_ is for _kings_ and _queens_, _gray_ for _Quakers_. In a Connecticut variation, _yellow_ is for _glad folks_. An English saying corresponds closely to the significance of colors in our game: Blue is true, yellow is jealous, Green is forsaken, red is brazen, White is love, and black is death. A variation from West Virginia makes the question apply to the dress of the mourners, not of the deceased: "What shall we dress in?" "In our red, in our blue," etc., are rejected, and the decision is, "In our white." Such imitations of burial ceremonies are not merely imaginative. It was once the custom for the girls of a village to take an active part in the interment of one of their number. In a Flemish town, a generation since, when a young girl died, her body was carried to the church, thence to the cemetery, by her former companions. "The religious ceremony over, and the coffin deposited in the earth, all the young girls, holding in one hand the mortuary cloth, returned to the church, chanting the _maiden's dance_ with a spirit and rhythm scarcely conceivable by one who has not heard it. The pall which they carried to the church was of sky-blue silk, having in the middle a great cross of white silk, on which were set three crowns of silver." The following is a rendering of the "Maiden's Dance:" In heaven is a dance; Alleluia! There dance all the maids; Benedicamus Domino-- Alleluia! It is for Amelia; Alleluia! We dance like the maids; Benedicamus Domino-- Alleluia! Such touching customs show the profound original earnestness underlying the modern child's play, as well as the primitive religious significance of the dance. In England, too, it was the practice for the bearers of a virgin to be maids, as a ballad recites: A garland fresh and faire Of lilies there was made, In signe of her virginity, And on her coffin laid. Six maidens, all in white, Did beare her to the grave. No. 12. _Down She Comes as White as Milk._ This round is remarkable for being introduced, wherever it occurs, by a stanza with a different melody, whereby the ballad is turned into a game. By this introduction the hero and heroine of the action are selected. "Little Sally Waters," or "Uncle John," having been first played, the round proceeds about the couple standing in the ring: He knocks at the door, and picks up a pin, And asks if Miss ---- is in.