Chapter XXI: Appendix (6)

A familiar variation makes this a ring-game. The blindfolded person stands in the centre, with a staff, while the ring circles about him. When he strikes the floor three times, the ring must pause. The person in whose direction he points must grasp the staff, and utter some sound, disguising the voice as much as possible. The first must then guess the name from the sound. In New York this form of the game is called "Peggy in the Ring," and the request is "to squeak."

In Cincinnati the game is also played in a dark room, without bandaging the eyes, and is then called "Devil in the Dark."

Another variety, also commonly played without blindfolding, goes by the name of "Still Pond," or "Still Palm." The child who is "it," counting up to ten, says,

Still proving,
No moving.

All now keep their places. The catcher must guess by the touch the name of his captive.

The game of which we write is described by Pollux, as played seventeen hundred years since in various forms, all of which are still familiar: "The game of 'Muinda,' when any one, closing his eyes, cries, 'Look out!' and whomsoever he catches he makes him close his eyes instead; or when, keeping his eyes shut, he seeks after the children who have hidden until he catches them; or else he closes his eyes while the others touch him, and if anybody gives a clue himself, he speaks out and guesses till he gets it right."

When a bandage was used, the game was called the "Brazen Fly" (we may suppose a gaudy species of insect, from the zigzag motion, as boys run when chasing butterflies), and is thus described by the same author: "The eyes of a boy having been bound with a bandage, he goes round, saying, 'I shall chase the _brazen fly_;' but the others, answering, 'You will chase him but not catch him,' hit him with whips of papyrus, till he catches one of them." These papyrus whips were the equivalent of our knotted handkerchiefs.

No. 109.

_Witch in the Jar._

One of the children is selected for a witch, and each of the others chooses some tree or post for a goal. The witch then marks out on the ground with a stick as many circles as there are players, which she calls "jars." The children run out from their homes, and are pursued by the witch. Whenever she catches one, she puts him in one of her jars, from which he cannot escape unless some one else chooses to free him by touching. Once freed, he cannot be recaught until he has reached his home, and ventures out once more. The freer, however, can be caught, and as the witch keeps guard over her prisoners, it is a dangerous task for a player to attempt to set his companions free. When all are caught, a new witch is chosen.

No. 110.

_Prisoner's Base._

This game is also called "Prisoner's Bars;" but the first name, mentioned in "Cymbeline," seems the older, from which the latter has arisen by misunderstanding.

The game, which is also popular in Europe, is originally an imitation of warfare. The two armies stand facing each other, and have their _bases_ each on a line parallel with that of the adversary. But in the United States the game has been changed, so that the two parties stand on the same line, and the bases are placed diagonally opposite at a distance of some thirty yards, so that each base is nearer to the enemy's forces than to those of the side to which it belongs. The game is opened by a challenge given by one leader to the other; each player can tag any one of the opponents who has quitted his line before he has left his own. Any player tagged must go to his base. Any player who can reach his base in safety may release a prisoner.

As it often happens that a half-dozen runners may be pursuing a single fugitive, who is cut off from his friends, the chase may be prolonged far from the point of departure, through streets of the town or fields of the country.

No. 111.

_Defence of the Castle._

After the battle of Dunbar, Oliver Cromwell sent Colonel Fenwick with two regiments to reduce Hume Castle. The governor, Cockburn, when ordered to surrender, replied by quoting the following lines, which must have belonged to a boys' game of his day:

I, William of the Wastle,
Am now in my castle,
And a' the dogs in the town
Winna gae me gang down.

The rhyme, with small change, is still familiar in Scotland, and the game well known in Pennsylvania, where the defiance runs, less chivalrously,

Hally, hally, hastle,
Come into my new castle!

Or, with a change of usage,

Hally, hally, hastle,
Get off of my new castle!

In the first case the defender maintains his post against assailants; in the latter, he endeavors to capture one of a group who have established themselves in his castle, represented usually by a cellar-door.

No. 112.

+_Lil Lil._+

This game is played in an open field. A boy stands in the centre of the field, and the other players at the sides. With the cry "Lil lil!" they run across. The tagger must touch a runner three times on the back, and whoever is so caught must assist him. There is a rhyme for this game--

Lil, lil,
Over the hill,
Wash my lady's dishes,
Hang them on the bushes, etc.

"Lil lil!" is also a cry (in Boston) of children "coasting," when the track is to be cleared.

No. 113.

_Charley Barley._

Charley, barley, buck and rye,
What's the way the Frenchmen fly?
Some fly east, and some fly west,
And some fly over the cuckoo's nest.

_Portland, Me._

We have not obtained information as to the manner in which this game was played, but it is evidently identical with the Scotch rhyme:

Hickety, bickety, pease, scone,
Where shall this poor Scotchman gang?
Will he gang east, or will he gang west,
Or will he gang to the craw's nest?

In the Scotch game, a boy, whose eyes are bandaged, rests his head against a wall, while the rest come up and lay their hands upon his back. He sends them to different places, according to the rhyme, and calls out, "Hickety, bickety!" till they have returned, when the last in must take his place. The "crow's nest" is close beside the blindfolded boy, and is a coveted position.

This game is also played in Switzerland. Each of the children receives the name of some animal, as Goat, Wolf, Snake, Frog, etc. To the swifter and more dangerous beasts are assigned the more distant positions. The keeper then shouts out that supper is ready, whereupon all rush home, each animal uttering his own peculiar cry. The last in is punished.

No. 114.

_Milking-pails._

All the players join hands in a row, except one, who stands facing them at a distance of a few feet. The row slowly advances towards the solitary child, and then retreats, singing,

"Will you buy me a pair of milking-pails,
Oh, mother! Oh, mother?
Will you buy me a pair of milking-pails,
Oh, gentle mother of mine?"

The mother, advancing and retreating in her turn, sings,

"Where is the money to come from,
Oh, daughter! Oh, daughter?
Where is the money to come from,
Oh, gentle daughter of mine?"

The dialogue then continues to the same air,

"Where shall your father sleep?"
"Sleep in the servant's bed."
"Where shall the servant sleep?"
"Sleep in the stable."
"Where shall the pigs sleep?"
"In the wash-tub."
"Where shall we wash the clothes?"
"Wash them in the river."
"What if they should swim away?"
"You can jump in and go after them."

On this the indignant mother chases her daughters, and whoever is first caught must take the mother's place.

This game does not appear to be established in America, though we have heard of it as played in West Virginia. Our present version is from children lately arrived from England, where it seems to be a favorite.

No. 115.

_Stealing Grapes._

A circle of children with arms raised. Enter keeper of garden:

"What are you doing in my vineyard?"
"Stealing grapes."
"What will you do if the black man comes?"
"Rush through if I can."

_New York._

This game is probably a recent translation from the German. It is also played in Italy in a more humorous form. The thief exclaims, as he picks each, "A delicious grape!" The guardian demands,

"What did you pick that grape for?"
"Because it's first-rate."
"What would you do if I took a stick and chased you?"
"Pick a bunch and run."

Which he accordingly does.

No. 116.

_Stealing Sticks._

A company of players divide, each having the same number of sticks, which they deposit on each side of a line; whoever crosses the line may seize a stick, but if caught is confined in a prison, marked out for the purpose.

This is the game of "Scots and English," and may be classed among sports originating in border warfare.

No. 117.

_Hunt the Squirrel._

A ring of players is formed, about the outside of which circles a child who carries a knotted handkerchief, with which he finally taps another on the shoulder, and starts to run round the ring. The child touched must pick up the handkerchief, and run in the opposite direction from the first. The two players, when they meet, must courtesy three times. The toucher endeavors to secure the other's place in the ring, failing which, he must begin again. As he goes about the circle, he recites the words:

Hunt the squirrel through the wood,
I lost him, I found him;
I have a little dog at home,
He won't bite you,
He won't bite you,
And he _will_ bite you.

_Cambridge, Mass._

In Philadelphia, a corresponding rhyme begins:

I carried water in my glove,
I sent a letter to my love.

A variation from New York:

I tis-ket, I tas-ket, A green and yel-low bas-ket. I
sent a let-ter to my love, And on the way I dropp'd it.

The name of the game in England is "Drop-glove."

Another and apparently older way of playing "Hunt the Squirrel" is a game in which the child touched follows the toucher until he has caught him, pursuing him both in and out of the ring, being obliged to enter and leave the circle at the same point as the latter.

A kissing-game, in which the player who makes the circuit taps another on the shoulder, and then takes flight, while the person touched is entitled to a kiss if he can capture the fugitive before the latter has made the tour of the circle and gained the vacant place, is a favorite among the "Pennsylvania Dutch," under the name of "Hen-slauch" (Hand-slag), that is, striking with the hand. The game is there called "Ring," and has inspired certain verses of Harbach, the nearest approach to a poet which that unimaginative race has produced.[106]

In a similar game, formerly played in Massachusetts, the leader of the game touches one of the party on the shoulder, and asks, "Have you seen my sheep?" The first replies, "How was it dressed?" The toucher now describes the costume of some player, who, as soon as he recognizes the description of himself, must take flight, and endeavor to regain his place in safety.

FOOTNOTES:

[97] The first lines, "Chickany," etc., are from one old version, the rest from another. In the first the bird of prey was called the "Blind Buzzard," and the game ended as Blind-man's Buff.

[98] That is: "Hawk, hawk, what are you digging for?" "My mother has lost a silver needle." "Is it this?" "No." "Is it this?" "No." "Is it this?" "Yes."

[99] "So-and-so had a nail driven into his shoe, and insisted that he could not be touched while standing on iron."--_A Bostonian informant._

[100] The French name in Berry is _Tu l'as_; elsewhere _La caye_; in Limousin, _Cabé_, which may have been derived from _hoc habe_.

[101] Pronounced _Hie_ Spy.

[102] He who is "it."

[103] The identical words in Switzerland--"eis, zwei, drü für mich;" or, "eis, zwei, drü für den oder den."

[104] The formula of German children in New York, translated, runs: "Blind cow, we lead thee." "Where?" "To the stable." "What to do there?" "To eat soup." "I have no spoon." "Go get one." The "blind cow" then seeks her "spoon."

[105] Professor F. J. Child has shown that _Billie Blin_, which occurs in English ballads, is originally a name of Odin, expressing the _gracious_ side (German _billig_) of the blind deity. But it seems to have passed into a bad use, as a murderous dwarf or fairy.

[106] See his "Schulhaus an dem Krik."

XII.

_CERTAIN GAMES OF VERY LITTLE GIRLS._

Dans mon coeur il n'y a pas d'amour,
Mais il y en aura quelque jour.

_French Round._

No. 118.

_Sail the Ship._

Two little girls, clinching fingers, and bracing their feet against each other, whirl rapidly round, a movement which they call "Sailing the ship."

No. 119.

_Three Around._

Three little girls join hands and swing about, being the simplest form of motion without song, to which they give the name of "Three Around."

No. 120.

_Iron Gates._

Two little girls clasp hands tightly, singing,

Iron gates,
Never break,

While a third throws herself against them, and endeavors to break through.

No. 121.

_Charley Over the Water._

Children sing, as they dance with clasped hands about one who stands in the centre of the ring:

Charley over the water,
Charley over the sea,
Charley catch a black-bird,
Can't catch _me_!

At the last word all stoop, and if the child in the centre can catch any other before assuming that position, the latter must replace him.

Almost any summer evening, in certain streets of New York, children may be seen playing this round, which they sing on one note, with a shriek to conclude.

No. 122.

+_Frog in the Sea._+

Frog in the sea,
Can't catch me?

Played like the preceding.

_Philadelphia._

No. 123.

+_Defiance._+

A mother and children:

"Mother, can I pick a rose?"
"Yes, my dearest daughter, if you don't tear your clothes,
But remember, to-morrow is your sister's wedding-day."

The children now retire to a safe distance, and sing:

"I picked a rose.
I tore my clothes!"
"Come home!"
"I don't hear you."
"I'll send your father after you."
"I don't hear you."
"I'll send your brother after you."
"I don't hear you."
"I'll send the dog after you."
"I don't hear you."
"I'll send myself after you."
"Sen' 'em along!"

A chase follows, and the child caught must replace the mother.

The dialogue (which belongs to Georgia) is also extended by the mother's threatening to send the _cow_, or the _trees_, after the children.

This game is differently played by little girls in Philadelphia, thus:

"Oh, mother, mother, may I go out to play?"
"No, no, no, it's a very cold day."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's a very warm day,
So take three steps, and away, away, away."
"Where's your manners?"
"I haven't any."

The indignant mother now pursues the disobedient children.

No. 124.

_My Lady's Wardrobe._

The children sit in a ring, and are named according to the articles of a lady's wardrobe. The child in the centre of the circle of players names some article, as, "My lady wants her brush, brush, brush." She who has received that name must answer before the third utterance or pay forfeit. The speaker naturally pronounces the word as fast as possible.

No. 125.

_Housekeeping._

(A ROUND.)

Kittie put the kettle on,
Kettle on, kettle on,
Kittie put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

To this familiar little round, girls five or six years of age, in New York, sometimes prefix a fragment of some ballad--

Here stands a red rose in the ring--
Promised to marry a long time ago.

No. 126.

+_A March._+

March, march, two by two,
Dressed in yellow, pink, and blue.

_Philadelphia._

No. 127.

_Rhymes for Tickling._

1. Tickle'e, tickle'e on the knee;
if you laugh, you don't love me.

_Philadelphia._

2. If you're a little lady, as I take you for to be,
You will neither laugh nor smile when I tickle your knee.

_Georgia._

3. Old maid, old maid, you'll surely be,
If you laugh or you smile while I tickle your knee.

_Massachusetts._

XIII.

_BALL, AND SIMILAR SPORTS._

I call, I call; who doe ye call?
The maids to catch this cowslip ball;
But since these cowslips fading be,
Troth, leave the flowers, and maids take me.
Yet, if but neither you will doe,
Speak but the word, and I'll take you.

_Herrick._

No. 128.

_The "Times" of Sports._

In an account of boys' sports, it would not be proper to omit some allusion to the custom of having a certain "time" of the year devoted to each amusement. These "times" succeeded each other almost as regularly as the flowers of summer, the children dropping one and taking up another every year at the same season. This succession, which the children themselves could hardly explain beforehand, but remembered when the occasion came, has impressed itself on observers as almost a matter of instinct. There was, however, a considerable degree of variation in the succession of sports in different parts of the country, and as the practice, though by no means obsolete, is now less strictly observed than formerly, we cannot give any very exact details on this head. It seems, however, that this succession was only partly dependent on the climate, and in part inherited from the mother country.

Thus, in all the states from Maine to Georgia, the first "time" was _marble-time_. In New England, the snow had hardly disappeared, when boys began to make the necessary holes in the ground, kneeling for that purpose on the night-frozen soil, from which the moisture was just oozing out, to the great detriment of their pantaloons. A friend, indeed, asserts that this was the _object_ of the choice of seasons. But at the same time boys in Georgia (and, indeed, in England and Germany) were playing the same game.

The subsequent succession of sports in New York is indicated by the adage, "Top-time's gone, kite-time's come, and April Fool's day will soon be here."

In Georgia the succession was, kites, tops, and hoops. In that region the season for popguns is when the _China-berries_[107] ripen. It is a provision of Providence, a clear case of design, thinks a friend, that just at that season the elder pith is ripe enough to be pushed out, and so leave the stalks empty to form the barrel of the weapon.

Ball is especially a holiday game. In Boston, _Fast-day_ (the first Thursday of April) was particularly devoted to this sport. In England, the playing of ball at Easter-tide seems to have been a custom of the festival, inherited probably from pre-Christian ages. Foot-ball was a regular amusement on the afternoon of a New England Thanksgiving.

The invariable succession of children's sports has been also remarked in other countries. A Swiss writer says, "The principal games of boys belong to the first third of the year, return always in a like order, and replace each other after an equal interval, as if it were in the natural course of events, and without the individual child being able to say who had given the sign and made the beginning."

We may remark that another American usage has been remarked in other countries. In the last generation the boys of different towns, or of different quarters of the same town, waged regular and constant war. In Boston, for example, there was a well-defined line, beyond which no "North-ender" dared be seen. Any luckless lad obliged to go into the hostile district took good care to keep his eyes open, to dodge cautiously about the corners, and to be ready for instant flight in case of detection. So in France and Switzerland, where this warfare is a sort of game, a relic, no doubt, of the ancient separatism, which made every community in a measure an independent state. The chief weapons are stones, as they were formerly in the United States. In the old town of Marblehead boys were accustomed to "rock" any stranger, and no unknown driver dared to enter its limits with a vehicle.

No. 129.

_Camping the Ball._

In the vocabulary of a Massachusetts schoolboy, to "camp" a foot-ball is to kick it, while held between the hands, from one side of the field to the other. In England, country-folk speak of the "camp-game" of ball, of the "camping-ground." In this amusement there are lines which mark the rear limit of the respective sides, while the ball is placed in the middle, and the object of either party is to drive it, with foot or hand, over the enemy's line. Similar, in the United States, is the old-fashioned game of foot-ball, in which, to use the expression of the play-ground, two captains "choose up" sides, selecting alternately from those present, and first play is determined by lot.

This description of foot-ball, or the English "camp-game," will answer very well for a translation of the account which Pollux, writing in Greek in the second century, gave of the "common ball," or "ball battle,"[108] of his day. Almost exactly the same was the ancient Norse game, except that the resemblance to warfare was closer; the players were matched by age, and played against each other in the order of choice. The balls were heavy, sometimes made of horn, so that we read of men killed and wounded in the encounter. In like manner, up to a very recent time, in Lower Germany, villages contended against each other, hurling wooden balls loaded with lead, man against man. Thus the game was really "kemping" (_Kemp_, a warrior, champion), and the field a kemping-ground.

It was natural that, while the men contended, the boys also should have their mimic sports, in all respects similar; and we read in a Saga how the seven-year-old Egil slew with an axe his antagonist Grim, who had very properly knocked him down for breaking a bat over Grim's head. In those days such feats were held to presage an honorable career.

The Persians and Turks still practise a different sort of game, which is played on horseback, the riders using a racket to strike with. Five or six horsemen circle about, and strike the ball at each other; if it drops on the ground, a slave picks it up. The ball is heavy, covered with hard leather, and capable of doing serious harm. This game is, in fact, an imitation of warfare, a modification of casting the "jered," or javelin. The "Arabian Nights" recite how, while the Caliph Haroun Al-Raschid was playing, a spy aimed a ball at him from behind, with the intent of assassination.

The Byzantine court adopted from the East the playing on horseback and the racket, but introduced these into a game resembling the ancient "ball-battle." The historian Cinnamus describes the Emperor Manuel, in the twelfth century, as fond of this species of polo.

From Eastern custom we get our tennis, while most of our games with bat and ball seem to have come down to us from the ancient North.

The history of the change from actual to imitative warfare, from the latter to a harmless and courtly amusement or to a rustic pastime, from this last again in our own days to a scientific sport, may supply material for serious reflection.

No. 130.

_Hand-ball._

No doubt our Saxon ancestors had, besides the half-military exercise referred to, other sports with the ball, better adapted to girls and children, though no description of such has come down to us. We know, however, that the Roman games with the ball were essentially the same as our own. Girls still strike, as then, balls with the palm of the hand to keep up their bouncing, or fling them against the wall to drive them back on the return, or pass the ball from hand to hand in the ring or row. Boys in those days, standing on the corners of a triangle, sent back the ball on the fly or the bounce, giving with one hand and taking with the other, much as they do to-day. The ball itself was very much the same in the time of the early empire as now, soft or hard, plain or covered with painted or embroidered cloth, a large hollow balloon, or a small light sphere. Children's balls were made with a rattle inside, and divided into gaudy divisions like the lobes of an orange, then as at present.

The oldest mention of a girls' game of ball is in the "Odyssey." It is a grand washing-day in the palace of Alcinous, and Nausicaa, daughter of the house, is to preside over the operation. So the "shining" but soiled raiment is brought out of a storeroom, loaded on a mule-wagon, with food, wine, and dainties, not forgetting a flask of oil for use after the bath. When the clothes have been scoured in pits along the river-side, and spread out to dry on the rocks by the shore, the maidens bathe, anoint themselves, and lunch. Afterwards the ball is brought out; the game is accompanied with song, in which the princess leads, and far excels the rest. The party is on the point of returning, the mules have been harnessed, and the clothes folded, when Nausicaa has a fancy for a romp; she throws the ball at one of her damsels, but misses her aim, and the ball falls into the eddying river, while the maidens shriek out loudly.

Misson (about 1700) mentions "the throwing at one another of tennis-balls by girls" in England, as a practice of a particular season of the year.

The German poets of the Middle Ages abound in allusions to the game, which is described with the same fresh poetical feeling that inspires the whole period. It was the first sport of summer. "When I saw the girls on the street throwing the ball, then came to our ears the song of the birds," says Walter von der Vogelweide. A common way of playing was for youths and maids to contend for the ball, which the possessor then threw to the one he or she "loved the best." A minnesinger pleasantly depicts the eager girls calling to some skilful and favorite lad, as he is about to throw, holding out their hands,

"Thou art mine, cousin--throw it here, this way!"

No. 131.

_Stool-Ball._

William Bradford, the second Governor of Massachusetts, records, under date of the second Christmas-day of the colony: "The day called Christmas-Day, ye Gov.r caled them out to worke (as was used), but ye most of this new company excused themselves, and said it wente against their consciences to work on ye day. So ye Gov.r tould them that if they made it mater of conscience, he would spare them till they were better informed. So he led away ye rest, and left them; but when they came home at noone from their worke, he found them in ye streete at play openly, some pitching ye bar, and some at stoole-ball and such like sports. So he went to them, and took away their implements, and tould them that it was against his conscience, that they should play and others work. If they would make ye keeping of it mater of devotion, let them keep their houses, but there should be no gameing or revelling in ye streets. Since which time nothing hath been attempted that way, at least openly."

Stool-ball was so named from the setting-up of a stool to be bowled at. The ball was struck with the hand by the player at the stool. If the ball struck the stool, the players changed places. In another form of the game, which seems to be that referred to here, there were several stools, men at each, and a bowler outside. When the ball was hit (with the hand) the players must change places, and the bowler was at liberty to hit with the ball any player while between the stools, and so put him out.

Bradford, as a Puritan, had perhaps some reason for his aversion to hand-ball on holidays, seeing that it appears to be connected with ancient religious usage. "Stool-ball" was especially an Easter-game, played by ladies for small stakes, particularly a _tansy_ or Easter-cake;[109] thus we have the name in a pretty rhyme of the seventeenth century--

At stool-ball, Lucia, let us play,
For sugar, cakes, or wine;
Or for a tansey let us pay,
The loss be mine or thine.
If thou, my dear, a winner be,
At trundling of the ball,
The wager thou shalt have, and me,
And my misfortunes all.

According to a curious extract from a manuscript given by Ducange, of the diocese of Auxerre, it was an ancient custom to play in the church, on Easter Monday, a solemn game of ball, while singing anthems proper to the season.

"The ball having been received from a proselyte, the dean, or another in his stead, he and the rest wearing the _almutia_, sang the antiphonal which begins, "_Victimæ Paschali laudes_;" then seizing the ball with his left hand, he led the dance, the others, taking hold of hands, variously inflecting the chorus, while the ball was delivered or thrown by the dean to one or more of the choristers alternately, so as to weave a garland, as it were. The game and motions were conducted according to the numbers of the prose. The dancing having been finished, the chorus after the dance hastened to the banquet."

This dance was not merely a local custom, but practised in other towns. At Vienne it was conducted by the archbishop in his palace.

No doubt we have here a survival of the ancient games of the spring festival, in a day when mirth and the exhibition of physical prowess were considered acceptable to deity, and elevated into religious exercises.

No. 132.

_Call-Ball._

This game (commonly called Callie-ball, or Ballie-callie), was formerly a common sport of schoolboys in New England. The ball was thrown against a house, and at the same time a name called. The lad named must strike back the ball on its rebound.

We are not well informed as to the sequence, but the game in Austria, where it is well known, goes on as follows: If the player, whose name is called, drops the ball, he must pick it up as quickly as possible, while the rest scatter. He then calls "Stand!" upon which the players halt, and he flings it at whom he pleases. If he misses his aim, he must place himself in a bent position with his hands against a wall, until every player has taken a shot at him.

The delightful lines of Herrick, cited as the motto of the present chapter, show us youths and maids playing at "call-ball;" but the game here appears to consist simply in calling out the name of the person of the opposite sex who is to catch the ball, as in the mediæval sport referred to in No. 130.

No. 133.

_Haley-Over._

The players are divided into equal parties, who take position on different sides of a building, out of sight of each other. A lad then throws the ball over the roof of the house, to any height or in any direction he pleases. It is the object of the opposite side to catch the ball on its descent; and if any player succeed in doing so, he immediately darts round the corner, and attempts to hit with the ball some player of the other side, who scatter in all directions. To this end, he may either throw the ball from a distance, or chase any antagonist till he has come up with him, and has an easier mark. If he succeed in hitting a boy, the latter must follow the former back to his own side, to which he henceforward belongs. The game is continued until all players have been brought over to one side. The party from which the ball has been thrown have no means of knowing whether it has been caught or not, until its return, and must be prepared to see an adversary suddenly appear, ball in hand, and ready to throw. Hence the excitement of the game, which belongs to Connecticut.

No. 134.

_School-Ball._

In this amusement of New England school-girls, the ball is tossed by the _teacher_ to the head of the class, and, after being returned by the latter, sent to the next of the row, and so on. If any girl misses, she must go to the foot, and if the _teacher_ misses, the _first scholar_ takes her place.

No. 135.

_Wicket._

This exercise is an old-fashioned game resembling cricket. A peculiar, long, shovel-shaped bat is used, flat, straight on one side and spoon-shaped on the other. The ball is bowled at the wicket, which is defended by the player. When the ball is struck, a run must be made to the base of the bowler, and return.

No. 136.

_Hockey._

This sport is also called _Shinny_. The ball is struck on the ground with a bent stick, the object being to drive it over the enemy's line. The game is much played on the ice, as has been the case from the oldest times in the North; for this is doubtless a descendant of the games with bat and ball described in Icelandic Sagas. The name of "Bat and Ball," also given to this sport, indicates that in many districts this was the usual way of playing ball with the bat.

No. 137.

_Roll-Ball._

A row of holes large enough to contain the ball is made, one for each boy. The player to whom is allotted the last hole takes the ball, stands off, and rolls it in such a way as to stop in one of the holes. The boy into whose place the ball has rolled seizes it, while the rest scatter, and throws it at some one of the group; if he succeeds in hitting him, a stone is placed in the hole of that boy; if not, the thrower must put a stone in his own. The rolling of the ball is then repeated. When five stones (called _babies_[110]) are lodged in any hole, that boy is out of the game.

This New England game is exactly paralleled in Switzerland and Austria.

No. 138.

_Hat-Ball._

This is the same game as the preceding, played (among the Pennsylvania Germans) with _hats_ instead of _holes_. The ball is tossed into the hat of the player who is to begin. The first to get five stones in his hat loses, and must undergo the punishment of being "paddled," passing under the legs of the row of players for that purpose.

No. 139.

_Corner-Ball._

This is also an old game kept up by the Pennsylvania Germans--Pennsylvania Dutch,[111] as they are commonly called. Four players stand on the four angles of a square, and the four adversaries in the centre.

The ball is passed from one to another of the players in the corners, and finally thrown at the central players. For this purpose the following rhyme (which our readers may translate if they can) is used by the boy who aims the ball at the players in the centre. These last, if they can catch the ball, may fling it back.

Bola we Sols,
Butar we Schmols,
Pef'r gat uf,
War fongt schmeist druf.

If the player in the corner hits a central player, the latter is out, and _vice versâ_.

The last player of the losing party has to stand with his head against a wall till every antagonist has flung the ball at him.

No. 140.

_Base-ball._

It is only within a few years that Base-ball has become the "national sport" of America. The present scientific game, which we naturally do not intend to describe, was known in Massachusetts, twenty years ago, as the "New York game." A ruder form of Base-ball has been played in some Massachusetts towns for a century; while in other parts of New England no game with the ball was formerly known except "Hockey." There was great local variety in these sports.

We may refer to some features of the old-fashioned game which possess interest. The first duty, in games with the bat, is "to choose up." The two best players, or any two selected, toss the bat from one to another; the tosser places his right hand above the hand of the catcher, who in turn follows with his own left, and so on.[112] He who can get the last hold has first choice; but the hold must be proved by ability to whirl the bat three times round the head, and throw it. Another test of a sufficient grasp is for a player to hammer with a second bat on the hand which is uppermost. In this last case, therefore, the grasp must be low enough for the wood of the bat to be struck by the blow.

In this game there were three "bases" besides the "home" base, at about the same distance as at present; but the number of players was indeterminate. The pitcher threw the ball, and the catcher stood close behind the striker. When the batsman struck the ball, a run must be made; and the ball was not, as at present, thrown _to_ the base, but _at_ the runner, usually with all the force possible. If he was hit, he was out; and each member of the side had to be put out separately. There were, moreover, ways in which a side could recover its lost players. When all were out but one, who was on one of the bases, the pitcher and catcher, approaching to within some thirty feet, tossed the ball to and fro, and the runner must "steal" his next base, while the two former watched his movements, ready to throw to the nearest fielder of their side, who in turn would hurl the ball at the remaining player. If under these circumstances he could reach home untouched, he might "put in" any player of his side.

As there was never any umpire in these games, the field for controversy was unlimited. One way, as we recollect, of settling disputes was as follows: All proceeding to the spot of the doubtful catch, the best player on one side hurled the ball with all his force upwards; if it was caught by the designated player of the other party, the point was given in the latter's favor, and _vice versâ_.

We need only mention the game of "Old Cat," in which there are two goals--the striker's and the pitcher's--and the run is made from the former to the latter and return. The game is then named from the number of batters, "One Old Cat," or "Two Old Cat."

No. 141.

_Marbles._

We do not intend to describe the various games of marbles, which might probably fill a small volume. Of these there are two principal types. One consists in striking the marbles out of a ring, by shooting from a line, or _taw_, drawn as a limit; the other, in making the tour of a series of holes made for the purpose. Whoever first gets back to the starting-point, or taw, wins.

The first of these games may be descended from a sport of Roman children, mentioned by Ovid, and still in existence, in which nuts are rolled down an inclined plane, with the object of striking the nut of the adversary. The second seems to be the childish reduction of a game with the ball, similar to "Golf."

Extensive is the lore of marbles. When a lad wishes to change his position, so that, while preserving the same distance from his mark, he may have a more favorable position, he exclaims, "Roundings." If, however, his antagonist is quick enough, he will cry "Fen [defend] roundings." The game, when played to win the marbles of the opponent, is said to be "in earnest." If any accident happens, and the opponent's play is to be checked, a Georgia lad will say "King's excuse." That this is an ancient phrase is shown by the corruption of the same cry in Pennsylvania, "King's scruse." Under certain circumstances a boy who puts down a second marble is said to "dub" (double) a marble, or to play "dubs."[113]

No. 142.

_Cat._

The "cat" is a little billet of wood, about four inches long, and pointed at the ends, which is to be struck with a light stick. A player stands at a little distance, and endeavors to throw this missile into a hole or circle previously made. Another stands over the circle, and defends it with his stick. If the cat falls in the circle, the batter is out. If, on the other hand, it falls out of the circle, he has the right of making a stroke. Placing the cat within the circle, he hits it on one end with his bat; and, as it bounds upwards, endeavors to strike it as far away as possible. If the cat is caught, he is out; otherwise, he is entitled to score a number, proportioned to the distance which the cat has been struck, estimated in jumps or foot-lengths. This score, however, is subject to a peculiar negotiation. The pitcher offers the batter a certain number of points--as, for example, five. If this is not accepted, he raises his bid to eight, ten, or as high as he thinks proper; but if his final offer is refused, the pitcher measures the distance (in jumps or lengths of the foot), and if he can accomplish it in a less number than that offered, the striker or his side lose that number of points; otherwise, the number measured is scored. The game is an agreed number of hundreds. This game is now played in Hindostan, as well as in Italy and Germany.

No. 143.

_Cherry-pits._

Cherry-pits are referred to as used in boys' games as early as A.D. 1522, and are still so used in the streets of New York.

The pits are thrown over the palm by the boy whose turn it is to play; they must fall so far apart that the finger can be passed between them. Then the player with a fillip of the thumb makes his pit strike the enemy's, and wins both. If he misses, the next takes his place.

This game, like the rest, has its regular season, at which all the boys in the neighborhood may be seen playing it.[114]

No. 144.

_Buttons._

Buttons are in extensive use in the sports of German children, with whom they form a sort of coinage, each sort having a stipulated exchangeable value. Traces of similar usage exist in the United States.

A common New York game consists in throwing buttons. A line is drawn, and a hole made about twelve feet off. The players toss their buttons, and whoever comes nearest the hole has the first shot. He endeavors to drive the buttons of the rest into the hole, striking them with the extended thumb by a movement of the whole hand, which is kept flat and stiff. When he misses the next takes his turn, and so on. Whoever drives the adversary's button into the hole wins it.

Another game, for two players, is called "Spans." The buttons are cast against the wall, and if a player's button falls within a span of the adversary's, he may aim at it and win it by striking as before.

No. 145.

_Hop-Scotch._

A figure of about twelve feet in length, similar to that represented in the diagram, is described on the ground, and selection made of a small flat stone, having sharp edges. From a line drawn at a distance of a few paces, a stone is tossed into No. 1, after which the boy or girl hops on one foot into No. 1, and kicks out the stone, which is then thrown into No. 2. The player now hops into No. 1, and jumps into No. 2, in such a way that one foot is in the division 2, and one foot in 1. The stone is kicked into 1, and then out, and so on. In passing through divisions 1 and 2, 4 and 5, 8 and 9, a straddle must be made, one foot being placed in each; in the others a hop only mast be taken. A failure to throw the stone into the right place, or to kick it into the right division, or leaving it on any line, or touching the raised foot, or stepping on a line, puts out, and the next takes his or her turn.

In other localities, no straddling step is taken, but the player, in certain divisions, is allowed to place the stone on his foot, and so expel it from the figure at a single kick; the compartments also vary in number and arrangement.

This is one of the universal games, common from England to Hindostan. Everywhere the game consists in describing on the soil an oblong figure with several divisions, and in tossing a flat stone or potsherd into them, and then kicking it out with a hopping motion; the arrangement of the divisions differs. From the shape of the last compartment, the game is called in Italy "The Bell," and in Austria "The Temple." In Italy the three last divisions are the _Inferno_, _Purgatorio_, and _Paradiso_. In New York the last is called _Pot_.

No. 146.

_Duck on a Rock._

We will suppose a party of boys to be debating what game to play. "What shall we play?" "Duck on a Rock," suggests one. The idea is instantly taken up. "My one duck," cries some boy. "My duck," shouts a second, seizing a stone. The last to "speak" gets no duck, and has to guard the "drake." The drake is a good-sized stone, which is placed on an elevated position, or boulder, if such be at hand. The "ducks" are stones about the size of the fist. The object is to knock the drake off the rock. After each player has thrown his duck, and missed, he must recover it. The guardian stands by the "rock," but cannot tag a player until the latter has touched his own duck, when he must replace the keeper. Meanwhile, if the drake is knocked off the rock, the keeper must replace it before he can tag any one, and this is therefore the signal for a rush to recover the thrown ducks. The game is not without a spice of danger from these missiles.

No. 147.

_Mumblety-peg._

In this game of boys and girls, a knife is cast to the earth, on a piece of turf, with the point downwards, and must remain sticking there; there are several successive positions of throwing, as follows: (1) the knife is held in the palm, first of the right and afterwards of the left hand, point outward, and thrown so as to revolve towards the player; (2) it is rested successively on the right and left fist, with the point uppermost, and thrown sideways; (3) the knife is pressed with the point resting on each finger and thumb of both hands in succession, and cast outwards; after this it is held by the point, and _flipped_ (4) from the breast, nose, and each eye; (5) from each ear, crossing arms, and taking hold of the opposite ear with the free hand; (6) over the head backwards. If the knife does not "stick," the next player takes his turn; the first to conclude the series wins. The winner is allowed to drive a peg into the ground with three blows of the knife, which the other must extract with his teeth, whence the name, "Mumblety-peg." Another title is "Stick-knife."

No. 148.

_Five-stones._

Such was the title of the common game in a New England town (Salem, Mass.).[115] The same amusement, under the same name, was popular in Greece more than two thousand years ago, being mentioned as a girls' game by Aristophanes. It is thus described by Pollux: "The game of 'five-stones;' little stones, pebbles, or bones are thrown up, so as to catch them on the back of the turned hand, or if not all are caught, the rest must be picked up with the fingers, while the others remain on the hand."

A pleasing painting in the Museum of Naples represents goddesses playing at "Five-stones." Aglaë is looking on; three of her bones lie on the ground, one is pressed by her thumb, the fifth is hidden by her garments. Hileæra has just thrown; she has caught three, the other two are falling to the ground. Niobe, Latona, and Phoebe are standing behind.

One of the movements of the Spanish game is still exactly the same as that described by the Greek writers of the second century. The game in America, as played in the childhood of the writer, also began with catching the stones on the back of the hand, at first one only out of the five tossed up, then two, three, four, and, finally, the whole five.

The game now consists of an indefinite number of figures, of which the names and arrangements vary in different localities. In all those described below, a single stone is tossed up, to be caught in the palm, and while this is in the air the others must be taken into the hand, or certain motions made.

_Ones, twos, threes, fours._--The stones are rolled on the table or floor, either directly from the right hand, or over the back of the left hand resting on the table. A single stone being selected and tossed in the air, as above mentioned, the rest must be picked up; in the first figure one at a time, in the second by groups of two, in the third by three and one, and finally the whole four together. In case of an error, the next takes his turn.

_Jumping the Ditch._--The four stones remaining, after one has been chosen, are placed in a line; the first and third of the row are then to be caught up together, and afterwards the second and fourth.

_Knock at the Door_, _Strike the Match_, _Wash the Clothes_, etc.--A selected stone being thrown up, motions corresponding to the title are to be made on the floor while it is in the air.

_Set the Table._--Four stones are placed in a heap, as if to represent a pile of plates. One of these is taken from the heap, in the usual manner. It is then held between the thumb and palm of the right hand, and, with a second toss of the chosen stone, is deposited on the floor at the corner of an imaginary square. The square having been completed by four stones, motions are made to indicate the arrangement of the glasses, etc. _Clear the Table_ is the reverse movement, in which the stones are again brought to the centre.

_The Well._--The left hand is laid on the table with the thumb and index finger joined. Into the opening so formed the four stones are pushed, by a fillip of the finger. The hand is then removed from the table, and the stones must be caught up together as they lie. The figures vary, according as the thumb and index are made to form an arch or circle, are laid on the table or floor horizontally, or in an upright position, or, finally, as the hand is raised above the table in the form of a cup. These varieties receive the names of _Peas in the Pod_, _Doves in the Cot_, etc.

_Horses in the Stall._--The left hand is laid on the table with the fingers extended, and four stones placed in front of the openings, representing stalls. A stone being thrown up as usual, the four others are filliped into the openings, and afterwards must be picked up together from the positions in which they lie. In _Horses out of the Stall_ the stones are brought out from between the fingers, and then caught up.

Other movements are _Feeding the Elephant_, _Spinning the Wheel_, _Going up the Ladder_, etc., to the number of thirty or more. Failing to catch the stone thrown up, or not succeeding in the required motion, or touching a stone unnecessarily, constitute errors, in which case it is often required to go back to the very beginning of the game.

Instead of pebbles, little double tripods of iron, probably representing the more ancient _bones_, are generally in use; and the fifth stone, or "jack," is often replaced by a ball or marble, the latter being allowed to bound before it is caught. This usage seems to be of German origin. Sometimes marbles are used, the "jack" being of a different color from the rest, and school-girls take pride in the beauty of the agates they employ for this purpose.