. . . Afield they go, where many lookers be. Then couples three be straight allotted there, They of both ends, the middle two, do fly; The two that in mid-place Hell called were Must strive, with waiting foot and watching eye, To catch of them, and them to hell to bear, That they, as well as they, may hell supply; Like some that seek to salve their blotted name Will others blot, till all do taste of shame. There may you see, soon as the middle two Do, coupled, towards either couple make, They, false and fearful, do their hands undo; Brother his brother, friend doth friend forsake, Heeding himself, cares not how fellow do, But of a stranger mutual help doth take; As perjured cowards in adversity, With sight of fear, from friends to friends do fly. Sir John Suckling also has given a description of this pastime with allegorical personages, which is quoted by Brand. In Holiday s play of the _Marriages of the Arts_, 1618, this sport is introduced, and also by Herrick (_Hesperides_, p. 44). Barley-break is several times alluded to in Massinger s plays: see the _Dramatic Works of Philip Massinger_, 1779, i.
At the beginning of any dice game, it is quite unnecessary to examine the dice to be used, because they are always fair. Crooked dice are _=rung in=_ during the game, and the player should make it a point to examine the dice frequently if he has any suspicions. First see that each die has all six figures upon it, for some dice are _=dispatchers=_, made with double numbers, so as to secure higher throws than the natural average. Double fives are great favourites with backgammon sharps. The next thing is to place the dice together in pairs, to be sure that they are exactly the same height each way. If dice are not square they can be made to roll over and over on the same faces. The faces should then be tested to see that they are not convex, even in the slightest degree. Shaped dice are usually flat on the ace and six faces, especially in crap shooting. Each die should be held between the thumb and forefinger at its longest diameter, to see if it has any tendency to swing on a pivot, for if it does it is loaded. Even if the dice are transparent, it is no guarantee that they are not loaded in the spots.