--Halliwell s _Dictionary_. Strutt (_Sports and Pastimes_, p. 109) describes this game as Northern-spell, played with a trap, and the ball is stricken with a bat or bludgeon. The contest between the players is simply who shall strike the ball to the greatest distance in a given number of strokes. The length of each stroke is measured before the ball is returned, by means of a cord made fast at one end near the trap, the other being stretched into the field by a person stationed there for that purpose, who adjusts it to the ball wherever it may lie. In a work entitled the _Costumes of Yorkshire_ this game is described and represented as Nor and Spell. The little wooden ball used in this game is in Yorkshire called the Nor, and the receptacle in which it is placed the Spell. Peacock (_Manley and Corringham Glossary_) gives knur, (1) a hard wooden ball, (2) the head. Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) says knur is a small round ball, less than a billiard ball. It is put into a cup fixed on a spring which, being touched, causes the ball to rise into the air, when it is struck by a trip-stick, a slender stick made broad and flat at one end.
In the _Sanctuarie of Salvation_, &c., translated from the Latin of Levinus Lemnius by Henry Kinder (8vo, London, printed by H. Singleton), p. 144, we read, These bones are called huckle-bones or coytes. For further information relating to this game, as played by the ancients, the reader may consult _Joannis Meursii Ludibunda, sive de Ludis Græcorum, Liber singularis_ (8vo, Lugd. Bat. 1625), p. 7, and _Dan. Souterii Palamedes_, p. 81; but more particularly, _I Tali ed altri Strumenti lusori degli antichi Romani, discritti da Francesco de Ficoroni_, 4to, Rom.
BACKGAMMON. OR TRIC-TRAC. Backgammon is played by two persons, each of whom is provided with fifteen men, two dice, and a dice-box. The men on each side are of different colours, black and white, and the players are distinguished by the colour of the men with which they play. The board is divided into two tables, _=inner=_ and _=outer=_, and at the beginning of the game the men may be set up in either of the positions shown in the diagram. [Illustration: +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ |⛂| | | | |⛀|| |⛀| | | |⛂| |⛂| | | |⛀| ||⛀| | | | |⛂| |⛂| | | | |⛀|| |⛀| | | |⛂| |⛂| | | |⛀| ||⛀| | | | |⛂| | | | | | |⛀|| |⛀| | | |⛂| |⛂| | | |⛀| ||⛀| | | | | | | | | | | |⛀|| | | | | |⛂| |⛂| | | | | ||⛀| | | | | | | | | | | |⛀|| | | | | |⛂| |⛂| | | | | ||⛀| | | | | | LIGHT | INNER || OUTER | | OUTER || INNER | LIGHT | | | | | |⛂|| | | | | |⛀| |⛀| | | | | ||⛂| | | | | | | | | | | |⛂|| | | | | |⛀| |⛀| | | | | ||⛂| | | | | | | | | | | |⛂|| |⛂| | | |⛀| |⛀| | | |⛂| ||⛂| | | | | | |⛀| | | | |⛂|| |⛂| | | |⛀| |⛀| | | |⛂| ||⛂| | | | |⛀| |⛀| | | | |⛂|| |⛂| | | |⛀| |⛀| | | |⛂| ||⛂| | | | |⛀| +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ ] It will be observed that the black men on any point have exactly the same number of white men standing opposite them. In one table there are only two upon one point, and in the other there are only three upon one point. The table with the two men is always the _=inner table=_ while the one with three is always the _=outer table=_. This distinction is important, and may be remembered by observing that the number of letters in the words _=in=_ and _=out=_ are two and three respectively. In setting up the men the inner table is always placed _=toward the light=_, whether it be a window or the gas.
The possessor of the ball then throws it to one in the circle, calling out the name of either of the elements he pleases. This player must, before ten can be counted, give the name of an inhabitant of that element. When Fire is called, strict silence must be observed or a forfeit paid.--Cork, Ireland (Miss Keane). The players were seated in a half-circle, and the possessor of the ball faced the others. There was no string attached to the ball, but it was necessary that it should hit the child it was thrown to. When Fire was called, Salamander and Ph[oe]nix were allowed to be said. The third time Fire was called, silence was observed, and every player bowed the head. We called it Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. A forfeit had to be paid for every mistake.
The remainder of the girls imitate sweeping, and sing several stanzas to the effect that they will sweep the house till the bride comes home, when the bride is now placed within the circle, and from a score to a hundred stanzas, with marching and various imitations of what the lucky bride accomplishes or undergoes, are sung. Each one closes with Down goes Merrima Tansa and the head-ducking; and this wonderful music-drama of childhood is not concluded until the christening of the bride s first-born, with-- Next Sunday morn to church she must gae, A babe on her knee, the best of a-- And down goes Merrima Tansa! Jamieson gives the game as a ring within which one goes round with a handkerchief, with which a stroke is given in succession to every one in the ring; the person who strikes, or the taker, still repeating this rhyme:-- Here I gae round the jingie ring, The jingie ring, the jingie ring, Here I gae round the jingie ring, And through my merry-ma-tanzie. Then the handkerchief is thrown at one in the ring, who is obliged to take it up and go through the same process. He also mentions another account of the game which had been sent him, which describes the game as played in a similar manner to the versions given by Chambers. Stewart, in his _Ben Nevis and Glencoe_, p. 361, records the following rhyme:-- Here we go with merry shout, Up and down and round about, And dance a merry-ma-tandy, but he does not describe the game in detail. Milking Pails [Music] --Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy); London (A. B. Gomme). [Music] --Earls Heaton, Yorks.
No box is used, the dice being held in the hand and rolled along the table or the ground. The crap shooter is obliged to shake the dice in his hand to show that he is not holding them with certain faces together, which is a common way of preventing or getting certain throws, especially with shaped dice. Whichever method is employed, each die must lie flat upon one of its own faces after the throw, neither resting upon nor _=cocked=_ against any other die or any obstruction upon the table or the ground. If any of the dice are cocked, all of them must be taken up and thrown again. RAFFLING. In a raffle for prizes of any kind, each player has three throws with three dice. The rules already given for throwing dice from a box must be followed, the scorer placing the dice in the box before each throw, and lifting the box after it. The total of the three throws is recorded opposite the name of each player, and the highest throw wins. The odds against throwing a certain number or higher are shown in the margin. +--------------------------------+ |IT IS ABOUT AGAINST THROWING| +---------------------+----------+ | Even |32 or more| | 9 to 7 |33 ” | | 11 to 6 |34 ” | | 28 to 11 |35 ” | | 3 to 1 |36 ” | | 5 to 1 |37 ” | | 7 to 1 |38 ” | | 10 to 1 |39 ” | | 16 to 1 |40 ” | | 24 to 1 |41 ” | | 39 to 1 |42 ” | | 66 to 1 |43 ” | | 116 to 1 |44 ” | | 215 to 1 |45 ” | | 422 to 1 |46 ” | | 886 to 1 |47 ” | | 2016 to 1 |48 ” | | 5032 to 1 |49 ” | | 14093 to 1 |50 ” | | 45809 to 1 |51 ” | | 183229 to 1 |52 ” | | 1007768 to 1 |53 ” | | 10077695 to 1 |54 | +---------------------+----------+ Suppose the prize in a raffle is a horse which would be worth a hundred dollars to you.
With Q x, and an odd card, Dummy having K x x of the first suit; it is better to play the odd card; but if for any reason this should not be done, lead the Q, hoping to find A 10 with your partner. The state of the score must be a constant guide in all end games. For instance: You hold Q 10 x, Dummy having J 9 x. If you want only one trick, play the Queen; but if you want two, play the small card. _=SECOND HAND PLAY.=_ The easiest position to play as second hand, is, of course, with the Dummy on your left, because Dummy’s cards will show what is best to be done. If a small card is led, you having King, put it on if Dummy has not the Ace; unless you want partner to get the lead. If Dummy has only two cards of the suit, neither of them the Ace, always play your King. When the declarer leads a suit it is often important to count how many he and your partner can possibly hold. For instance: You have four, K x x x; Dummy has four, A J 10 x, and declarer leads the Queen.
When all the red balls but one are pocketed, the red and white balls are used as cue balls alternately. If there are only two players, and only two balls on the table, the red and white, if either player makes a miss or goes in the pocket himself, that ends the game; but if there are more than two players another red ball is spotted, as in the American game. The baulk line is no protection, a player in hand being allowed to play on any ball on the table, even if it is behind the D. SHELL OUT. This game should not be confounded with Black Pool. It is simply English Pyramids, but instead of making the player with the lowest score at the end pay for the table, each player equally shares the expense, and the balls are pocketed for so much apiece. If the amount of the shell-out was a shilling, and there were six players, any person pocketing a ball would receive a shilling from each of the others, and would play again. A losing hazard or a miss would compel the striker to pay a shilling to each of the others, instead of putting a ball back on the table. The last ball pays double. HIGH-LOW-JACK-GAME.
If the Dog guesses correctly, she goes and stands behind him, and if he guesses incorrectly she goes and stands behind the one who has been asking the questions. They continue this until they get to the last girl or girl at the end of the row, who _must_ have desired to be-- A brewer or a baker, Or a candlestick maker, Or a penknife maker. Then the questioner says-- All the birds in the air, All the fishes in the sea, Come pick me out A brewer or a baker, Or a candlestick maker, Or penknife maker. If the Dog guesses the right one, he takes that girl on his side, she standing behind him. Then they draw a line and each side tries to pull the other over it.--Sheffield (S. O. Addy). The game, it will be seen, differs in several ways from the other games of Fool, Fool, come to School type. The fool becomes a definite Dog, and the players _wish_ for any thing they choose; the Dog has apparently to find out their wishes.
--Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). (_b_) The children form a ring, all joining hands and dancing round while singing the first verse. When singing the last line they unclasp their hands, and each one turns rapidly round. They then sing the next verse, suiting their actions to the words they sing, again turning round singly at the last line. This is done with every alternate verse, the first verse being always sung as a chorus or dance in between the different action-verses. The verses may be varied or added to at pleasure. The actions generally consist of washing and dressing oneself, combing hair, washing clothes, baking bread, sweeping the floor, going to and returning from school, learning to read, cleaning boots, and lacing stays. When going to school, the children walk two by two in an orderly manner; when coming home from school, jumping and running is the style adopted; lacing stays, the hands are put behind and moved first one and then the other, as if lacing; this is the way the ladies walk, holding up skirts and walking primly; gentlemen walk, walking with long strides and sticks. The dressing process and cleaning boots preceded school. (_c_) This game is well known, and played in almost all parts of England.
THE LAWS OF DUPLICATE AUCTION. Duplicate Auction is governed by the Laws of Auction, except in so far as they are modified by the following special laws: A. _Scoring._ In Duplicate Auction there are neither games nor rubbers. Each deal is scored just as in Auction, with the addition that whenever a pair makes 30 or more for tricks as the score of one deal, it adds as a premium 125 points in its honour column. B. _Irregularities in the Hands._ If a player have either more or less than his correct number of cards, the course to be pursued is determined by the time of the discovery of the irregularity. (1) When the irregularity is discovered before or during the original play: There must be a new deal. (2) When the irregularity is discovered at the time the cards are taken up for overplay and before such overplay has begun: It must be sent back to the table from which it came, and the error be there rectified.
Curiously enough, the men who believe that luck must change in some circumstances, also believe in betting on it to continue in others. When they are _=in the vein=_ they will “follow their luck” in perfect confidence that it will continue. The same men will not bet on another man’s luck, even if he is “in the vein,” because “the maturity of the chances” tells them that it cannot last! GAMES. ODDS. One 1 to 1 Two 3 to 1 Three 7 to 1 Four 15 to 1 Five 31 to 1 Six 63 to 1 Seven 127 to 1 Eight 255 to 1 Nine 511 to 1 Ten 1023 to 1 If Smith and his adversary had started with an agreement to play ten games, the odds against either of them winning any number in succession would be found by taking the first game as an even chance, expressed by unity, or 1. The odds against the same player winning the second game also would be twice 1 plus 1, or 3 to 1; and the odds against his winning three games in succession would be twice 3 plus 1, or 7 to 1, and so on, according to the figures shown in the margin. GAMES. 1st 2nd 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 That this is so may easily be demonstrated by putting down on a sheet of paper the total number of events that may happen if any agreed number of games are played, expressing wins by a stroke, and losses by a cipher. Take the case of two games only. There are four different events which may happen to Smith, as shown in the margin.
There are exceptional cases in which the eldest hand may order up with little or nothing. One of the most common is when the adversaries of the dealer are at the _=bridge=_; that is, when their score is 4, and the dealer’s side has only 1 or 2 marked. It is obvious that if the dealer or his partner plays alone, he will win the game; but if the trump is ordered up the most he can score is 2 points for a euchre, and the player who orders up will then have a chance to go out on his own deal. For this reason it has come to be regarded as imperative for the eldest hand to order up at the bridge, unless he holds the right bower, or the left bower guarded, or the ace twice guarded, any one of which combinations is certain to win a trick against a lone hand if the eldest hand does not lead trumps himself. Another case is when the score is 4 to 4, and the eldest hand has average trump strength, good side cards, but nothing in the next suit. It is better to order it up, and risk the game on such a hand than to take the chance of the dealer’s turning it down. _=The Pone=_, who is the partner of the eldest hand, orders up at the bridge on exactly opposite principles. The fact that the eldest hand did not order up shows that the dealer cannot make a lone hand. This should indicate to the pone that his partner has a certain trick in trumps, and if the pone holds any good trumps himself, he can often guess what his partner’s trumps are. For instance: The ace is turned, and the pone holds the left bower guarded.
=_ When the position is such that you will be able to force your adversary into a situation from which he cannot escape without sacrificing a piece or losing the game, you are said to have the move; and if he does not change it by capturing one of your men he must lose the game. As the move is often of the greatest importance in the end game, every checker-player should understand its theory, so that he may know when it is necessary to make an exchange of men in order to secure the move, and when he should avoid an exchange which would lose it. The move is only important when the number of men on each side is equal. In order to calculate the move, the board is supposed to be divided into two systems of squares, sixteen in each. The first system is formed by the four vertical rows running from your own side of the board, as shown by the dotted lines in Diagram No. 8. The second system runs from your adversary’s side of the board, as shown in Diagram No. 9. FIRST SYSTEM. [Illustration: No.
It is useless to keep anything but trumps, for tricks, as such, have no value, and every card you draw increases your chances of getting another trump. The most important point in the game is to _=cinch=_ every trick in which an adversary plays after you; that is, to play some trump higher than a Pedro, if the Pedroes have not been played, and you do not hold them yourself. Examples of cinching will be found in the Illustrative Hands. If your partner leads a certain winning trump, such as the ace, or the King if the ace is gone, give him the best counting card you have; but if you have two, one of them being Low, give up the lower card first; you may catch something with the Jack or Ten. If your partner leads any trump higher than the Five, play your smallest trump unless second hand covers, in which case you must cinch the trick, to prevent the fourth hand from giving up a Pedro on his partner’s trick. If you are forced to win your partner’s first lead of trumps, return the best trump you have, unless it is the Jack or Ten, in which case you must be guided by the number of points you are playing for, and your chances of making them if you lose the card you lead. If your partner begins by leading a plain suit, you must cinch the trick if you can; if second hand follows suit, any trump better than the Five will do. If second hand puts on a trump, you must cinch higher. If the player on your right renounces to trumps, get into the lead if possible, and play your best cards in plain suits. This may give your partner a tenace position over the player on your left.
A gay gold ring s a cankerous thing, A cankerous thing, a cankerous thing, A gay gold ring s a cankerous thing, About the merry-ma-tansie. Now they re married, I wish them joy, I wish them joy, I wish them joy, Now they re married, I wish them joy, About the merry-ma-tansie. Father and mother they must obey, Must obey, must obey, Father and mother they must obey, About the merry-ma-tansie. Loving each other like sister and brother, Sister and brother, sister and brother, Loving each other like sister and brother, About the merry-ma-tansie. We pray this couple may kiss together, Kiss together, kiss together, We pray this couple may kiss together, About the merry-ma-tansie. --Chambers _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 132-134. (_b_) At Biggar (Mr. Ballantyne) this game was generally played on the green by boys and girls. A ring is formed by all the children but one, joining hands.
DOUBLE-PACK RUM. _=CARDS.=_ This game is always played with two full packs of fifty-two cards each and two jokers, all shuffled together and used as one. The ace may be high or low in sequences. _=DEALING.=_ Ten cards are given to each player, one at a time, and the next card is turned up and laid beside the stock to start the discard pile. _=LAYING OUT.=_ Sequences in suit may run to any length, and any number of cards or combinations may be laid out at one time. Five, six or seven of a kind may be shown, and four of a kind may be of any suits. There is no obligation to lay out anything, but the player who lays out can do so only in his proper turn, after drawing a card.
The only hope for the man who is behind is that he can pick up some of his opponent’s men, setting them back, and in order to do this he must keep behind his adversary, so as to meet as many of his men as possible. This enables us to formulate the great principle of the American game, which is that when a player is ahead he should go ahead as fast as he can; and when he is behind, he should stay behind as long as he can. In the first place he is playing a forward, and in the second place a backward game. _=The Forward Game.=_ The great point in this game, after having obtained the advantage of several good throws in the opening, is to get home as rapidly as possible without unnecessarily exposing your men by leaving blots. Do not take up your adversary’s men if you can help it, because by so doing you place obstacles in your own path, and assist him by allowing him to stay behind, which is just his game. Get past all his men if possible, especially if he has moved his two men out of your home table. _=The Backward Game.=_ Exactly the opposite tactics are of course the best for the player who is behind. He should keep two or three men in his adversary’s home table, preferably on the ace and deuce points, in the hope of catching some of the enemy, and setting them back.
The highest bidder takes up his four extra cards and then names the trump, after which he discards down to six cards for play. The others then take up their four cards and discard down to six, and the game proceeds like regular cinch. _=Sixty-three.=_ In this variation, nine cards are dealt to each player, three at a time. After the bidding, the players discard and fill up again to six cards. Players are allowed several bids, each raising in turn if he is raised. The highest bid possible is sixty-three, and these may be made as follows: High, low, Jack, and ten of trumps count 1 each; pedros, 5 each; King of trumps, 25; trey of trumps, 15; nine of trumps, 9. Game is 150 points. _=Widow Cinch.=_ Six players cut for partners, two on a side.
Dan, Dan, thread the needle; Dan, Dan, sew. --_Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 63. XIV. How many miles to Babylon? Three score and ten. Shall I be there by candle-light? Yes, there and back again. Open the gates as wide as high, And let King George and his family pass by. --Wales (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 88). { Barley Bridge? XV.
Draw a bucket of water For my lady s daughter; A guinea gold ring And a silver pin, So pray, my young lady, pop under. --Haydon (Herbert Hardy). XI. Draw a bucket of water To wash my lady s garter; A guinea gold ring And a silver pin, Please, little girl, pop under. --Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). XII. See-saw, a bucket of water, To wash my lady s garter. One in a rush, and two in a bush, To see a fine lady pop under a bush. --Anderby, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire near the Trent (Miss Peacock). XIII.
Bystanders should not in any manner call attention to, or give any intimation concerning the play or the state of the game, during the play of a hand. They should not look over the hand of a player without his permission; nor should they walk round the table to look at the different hands. ERRONEOUS SCORES. Any error in the trick score may be corrected before the last card has been dealt in the following deal; or if the error occurs in the last hand of a game or rubber, it may be corrected before the score is agreed to. Errors in other scores may be corrected at any time before the final score of the game or rubber is agreed to. BIDDING. In _=Boston=_, or _=Solo Whist=_, any player making a bid must stand by it, and either play or pay. Should he make a bid in error and correct himself, he must stand by the first bid unless he is over-called, when he may either amend his bid or pass. ENGLISH WHIST LAWS. THE RUBBER.
Little Dog, I call you. Lobber. Loggats. London. London Bridge. Long-duck. Long Tag. Long Tawl. Long Terrace. Loup the Bullocks.