The needle's eye You can't pass by, The thread it runs so true; It has caught many a seemly lass, And now it has caught you. _Massachusetts._ In the following more complicated form of the game, in use half a century ago, both a boy and a girl were caught by the players who raised their arms: The needle's eye None can surpass But those who travel through; It hath caught many a smiling lass, But now it hath caught you. There's none so sweet That is dressed so neat;[79] I do intend, Before I end, To make this couple meet. The pair then kissed, and the game proceeded as in "London Bridge," ending with a tug-of-war. The name, "Threading the Needle," is still applied, in a district of central France, to a dance in which many hundred persons take part, in which from time to time the pair who form the head of the row raise their arms to allow the line to pass through, coiling and winding like a great serpent. FOOTNOTES: [70] An acquaintance says, that in the interior of New York State the men and girls stand in the row by sevens; an arrangement which she suggests may imitate the different colors of strands. [71] Oats, oats, oats, May the good God prosper you! [72] These choruses, which may be paralleled from Great Britain, do not in themselves belong to any particular game. [73] We find the same benevolent wish, under like circumstances, in a Swedish game. Is the correspondence accident or tradition? [74] Qui veut ouir, qui veut savoir, Comment on sème l'aveine? Mon père la sèmait ainsi, Puis il se reposait à demi; Frappe du pied, puis de la main, Un petit tour pour ton voisin; Aveine, aveine, aveine, Que le Bon Dieu t'amène! [75] Fauriel supposed the present round to be derived from Massiliot Greeks; but he was unacquainted with its diffusion in Europe. [76] Sung "_a this a way_." [77] Sur le Pont d'Avignon, Les messieurs font ça, Et puis encore ça. Then come "les dames," "les cordonniers," etc. In the corresponding Russian game, a single player mimics the walk of old men, priests, or the habits of any trade or person in the company. [78] Nous sommes à trois fillettes, Pour aller cueillir noisettes; Quand les noisettes sont cueillies, Nous sommes mises à danser. [79] "We considered this a personal compliment. I remember we used to feel very much pleased--children are so sensitive!"--_Informant._ IV. _HUMOR AND SATIRE._ _Andante._ Perrette est bien malade, En danger de mourir. _Presto._ Son ami la va voire; Te laira' tu mourir? _Andante._ Non, non, répondit-elle, Je ne veux pas mourir. _Canadian Song._ No. 30. _Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me?_ [Illustration]