The Traditional Children's Games of England Scotland
& Ireland In Dictionary Form - Volume 2

With Tunes(sheet music), Singing-rhymes(lyrics), Methods Of Playing with diagrams and illustrations.

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	WE ARE THE ROVERS	359
	and incourses both against them and by them, even as it were between England and Scotland in time of war. And even at such times they have done more harm than they have received." A number of the Tyndaller's houses are set together, so that they may give each other succour in frays, and they join together in any quarrel against a true man, so that for dread of them " almost no man dare follow his goods stolen or spoiled into that country." The sides in the game are under the different names or leader­ship of Romans and English, King William's men, rovers and guardian soldiers, Prince Charlie's men, King George's men, &c. These names have probably been given in memory of some local rising, or from some well-known event which stamped itself upon the recollection of the people. It is very curious that in four or five versions a refrain, which may well be a survival of some of the slogans or family " cries " (see " Three Dukes "), should occur instead of the " Roman " and " English" soldiers, &c. These refrains are, "My theerie and my thorie," "Metherie and metharie," M Methory I methory," " Come a theeiry, come a thory," "Come a theory, oary mathorie," "Cam a teerie, arrie ma torry," and the three which apparently are still further de­gradations of these, "Ye o' the boatmen," "Drunk and sober," " He I over." That "slogans" or "war cries" were used in this species of tribal war there is little doubt. In the North­umberland and Laurieston versions the name is "Cripple Dick," these words, now considered as the name of a powerful and feared leader, may also indicate the same origin. The versions with these refrains come from Perthshire (three versions), Authencairn, and Northumberland ; Yorkshire has He I over; while the Romans and English, King George's men, King William's men, guardian soldiers, rovers, &c, are found in Shropshire, Staffordshire, Gloucester, Kent, Hants, Bath, Berks, Northamptonshire, Sussex, some of which are Border counties to Wales, and others have sea-coasts where at different times invasions have been expected. In Sussex, Miss Chase says the game is said to date from the alarm of Napoleon's threatened landing on the coast; this is also said in Kent and Hampshire. Miss Burne considers the game in