Although the files bear the same names, the numbers count from the side on which the men are placed, so that each square has a double name, depending on the colour of the man placed upon it. [Illustration: _No. 12._ |QR |QKt|QB | Q | K |KB |KKt|KR | Black. +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 8 | ♜ | ♞ | ♝ | ♛ | ♚ | ♝ | ♞ | ♜ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 7 | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | 2 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 6 | | | | | | | | | 3 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 5 | | | | | ♟ | | | | 4 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 4 | | | | | ♙ | | | | 5 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 3 | | | | | | ♘ | | | 6 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 2 | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | 7 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♖ | ♘ | ♗ | ♕ | ♔ | ♗ | | ♖ | 8 +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ White. |QR |QKt|QB | Q | K |KB |KKt|KR | ] In Diagram No. 12, for instance, both the Pawns that have been moved would be spoken of as on K 4. The Knight that has been moved is on K B 3, because it is a white Knight. If it was a black Knight it would be on K B 6, reckoning from the black side of the board for the black pieces. In order to test your understanding of this system of notation, which is very important in following published games or problems, take the board and men, white side next you, and set up the following position, remembering that when no number is given, the piece stands upon the square originally occupied by the piece which gives its name to the file:-- Black men;--King on Q R’s; Queen on Q Kt’s; Pawns on Q R 2, and Q Kt, 3; Rook on Q R 3.
_=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ As in Whist, the object is to win tricks, all above six counting one point toward game. Five, seven, or ten points may be made the game, at the option of the players, but ten is the usual number. Honours are not counted except by agreement. _=STAKES.=_ It is usual to play for so much a point or a game. If points are played, the loser’s score must be deducted from the winner’s, and the difference is the value of the game won. _=WHEN THREE PLAY=_, eight cards are dealt to each person, and arranged face down; then eight more, arranged face up, and then one to each for down cards. There are no partnerships; each plays for himself against the others. _=WHEN TWO PLAY=_, twelve cards are dealt to each player, and arranged face down; then twelve more, arranged face up, and then two down cards to each.
_] THE TRADITIONAL GAMES Of England, Scotland, and Ireland WITH TUNES, SINGING-RHYMES, AND METHODS OF PLAYING ACCORDING TO THE VARIANTS EXTANT AND RECORDED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE KINGDOM COLLECTED AND ANNOTATED BY ALICE BERTHA GOMME VOL. I. ACCROSHAY-NUTS IN MAY LONDON DAVID NUTT, 270-71 STRAND 1894 TO _MY HUSBAND_ PREFACE Soon after the formation of the Folk-lore Society in 1878 my husband planned, and has ever since been collecting for, the compilation of a dictionary of British Folk-lore. A great deal of the material has been put in form for publication, but at this stage the extent of the work presented an unexpected obstacle to its completion. To print the whole in one alphabet would be more than could be accomplished except by the active co-operation of a willing band of workers, and then the time required for such an undertaking, together with the cost, almost seemed to debar the hope of ever completing arrangements for its publication. Nevertheless, unless we have a scientific arrangement of the enormously scattered material and a close comparison of the details of each item of folk-lore, it is next to impossible to expect that the full truth which lies hidden in these remnants of the past may be revealed. During my preparation of a book of games for children it occurred to me that to separate the whole of the games from the general body of folk-lore and to make them a section of the proposed dictionary would be an advantageous step, as by arranging the larger groups of folk-lore in independent sections the possibility of publishing the contemplated dictionary again seemed to revive. Accordingly, the original plan has been so far modified that these volumes will form the first section of the dictionary, which, instead of being issued in one alphabet throughout, will now be issued in sections, each section being arranged alphabetically. The games included in this collection bear the important qualification of being nearly all Children s Games: that is to say, they were either originally children s games since developed into games for adults, or they were the more serious avocations of adults, which have since become children s games only. In both cases the transition is due to traditional circumstances, and not to any formal arrangements.
At We ll all cou don together, all crouch down, as if in profound respect, then rising slowly, sing the next verse. After My pitcher and my can, each child mentions her own name. At Isn t ---- as nice as her? each mentions her sweetheart s name, and the child thus chosen goes into the circle. At the end of the fourth verse they all clap hands, and the one that is sweetheart to him in the middle kisses him. The crouching down is also done in the Forest of Dean version when singing the fourth line. The last one to stoop has to name her sweetheart. When this is done, the children all dance round and sing the other lines. (_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 178-181. The most constant formulæ of this game-rhyme are shown by this analysis to be Nos.
If the bet is placed upon the edge of the card, it takes in the next higher number only. [Illustration: +---------------+ |3 2| | |X |4 1| +---------------+ ] In the illustration the bet is upon the number 2, and no other. After all the bets have been placed, the banker takes a large handful of the beans or counters from the bowl, and places them on the table, counting them off rapidly into fours. The number of odd counters remaining decides which number wins; if none remain, 4 wins. If there were 2 or 3 counters over, the banker would pay all bets on the corners 1 and 2, even money. If there were 2 over, he would pay all bets on the edge of the card between 1 and 2 at the rate of three for one, and so on. The counters are then returned to the bowl, and bets are placed for another coup. Sometimes the banker will draw a handful of beans from the bowl and place them upon the table, covering them with a saucer or with his cap. He then bets any player that there will be 1, 2, 3, or 4 left, the player taking his choice, and being paid three for one if he guesses correctly. In spite of the fact that this game is apparently perfectly fair for all concerned, the author has never seen an American who could win anything at it while a Chinaman was the banker.
75). At Chester-le-Street the game was played between what were termed up-streeters and down-streeters, one side endeavouring to get the ball to the top of the town, whilst their opponents tried to keep it near the lower or north end. At one o clock the ball was thrown out from near the old commercial hotel, the Queen s Head, in the centre of the town, and it has often been received by over three and four hundred people, so great was the interest taken in this ancient sport. At Asborne the struggle was between the up ards and down ards. At Dorking the divisions were between the east and west ends of the town, and there was first a perambulation of the streets by the football retinue composed of grotesquely dressed persons. At Alnwick the divisions were the parishes of St. Michael s and St. Paul s. At Kirkwall the contest was on New Year s Day, and was between up the gates and down the gates, the ball being thrown up at the Cross. At Scarborough, on the morning of Shrove Tuesday, hawkers paraded the streets with parti-coloured balls, which were purchased by all ranks of the community.
In its finer points, especially in the judgment of what the adversary holds or is playing for, it ranks with our best games, and will probably grow in popularity as it becomes better known. _=Cards.=_ Conquian is played with the Spanish pack, forty cards, the 8 9 10 of each suit being deleted. In America, it is much more common to play with a pack of forty cards from which the three court cards, K Q J, have been discarded, leaving each suit an unbroken sequence from the Ace to the Ten. Some persons play with the full pack, but it spoils the game; as it is then possible to win on a sequence of a single suit. There are no trumps, and the cards have no value as to rank, a sequence of 6 7 J being no better than one of 2 3 4. The Ace is not in sequence with the King. _=Counters.=_ Each player should be supplied with at least ten counters, which may be used in settling at the end of each deal. _=Players.
The Vivant is his partner, who sits opposite him, and plays his cards for him. The Left and Right are the adversaries who sit on the left and right of _=Mort=_. Special attention must be called to the use of the term _=adversaries=_ in any description of Mort. It is used exclusively to designate the two partners opposed to the Mort and Vivant. In all other cases where opposition is implied, the term _=opponents=_ must be used. When necessary to distinguish the dealer from the first, second, or third hand, it is usual to add the letters employed for that purpose in whist; placing them inside the diagram of the table, thus:-- [Illustration: V +---------+ | z | L | b a | R | y | +---------+ M ] This diagram shows that Vivant dealt, and that the adversary on the Right of Mort had the original lead. _=With Three Players.=_ Vivant having selected his seat and cards, the adversaries may select their seats. It is usual for the strongest adversary to sit Right. _=With Four Players=_, we can best describe the arrangement by numbering them 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, the lowest number, 1, having cut the lowest card, and the others having the right to play Vivant in their numerical order.
If any card is exposed by the dealer, the player to whom it is dealt may demand a new deal, provided he has not touched any of his cards. Any one dealing out of turn, or with the wrong cards, may be stopped before the last card is dealt. After that the deal stands good, and the packs, if changed, must so remain. _=IRREGULAR HANDS.=_ If, after the first trick has been played to, any two players are found to have more or less than their correct number of cards, the pack being perfect, the one having less must draw, face downward, from the hand of the one having more; and each must pay five counters into the pool. _=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ As a general proposition, the object of each player is to avoid getting any hearts in the tricks he takes in. In some varieties of the game his object must be to take no hearts; in others it will be to take less than his adversaries; while in others it will be to take less than four. After a person has taken in one or more hearts, his object will be to _=load=_ the others; that is, to see that they get some hearts also; or it may be to see that a given player takes at least one heart; or that no one but himself takes any. The manner in which a person must vary his play in accordance with these different objects will be discussed when we come to the suggestions for good play.
I. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, As the wheel went round he made his pelf; One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag, As the wheel went round he took his grab. --Leicester (Miss Ellis). II. There was a jolly miller, he lived by himself, As the mill went round he made his wealth; One hand in the hopper, another in his bag, As the wheel went round he made his grab. --Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). III. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, As the wheel goes round he makes his wealth; One hand in his hopper, and the other in his bag, As we go round he makes his grab. --Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). IV.
Jud A game played with a hazel nut bored and run upon a string.--Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary_. Probably the same game as Conkers. See Conkers. Keeling the Pot Brockett mentions that a friend informed him that he had seen a game played amongst children in Northumberland the subject of which was Keeling the Pot. A girl comes in exclaiming, Mother, mother, the pot s boiling ower. The answer is, Then get the ladle and keel it. The difficulty is to get the ladle, which is up a height, and the steul wants a leg, and the joiner is either sick or dead (_Glossary North Country Words_). A sentence from _Love s Labours Lost_, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot, illustrates the use of the term keel. See Mother, Mother, the Pot Boils over.
If no one will call the last raise, the player making it takes the pool, and then shows his hand, and demands payment from each of the other players for whatever combination he holds. If two or more players call, by making their bets equal, they again draw cards, having the privilege of discarding any number from one to four, or of standing pat. After the draw each in turn can pass or play. If all pass, the hands are abandoned, and the pool remains; each player adding one counter for the next deal. This is to force players to bet on their hands. If a bet is made, the calling and raising proceeds as in Draw Poker. When there are not enough cards to supply the players, the discards must be gathered, shuffled, and cut. Any player with too many or too few cards must abandon his hand as foul. Any player showing his cards must abandon his hand, and forfeit four counters to the pool. The general laws of Poker governing all irregularities may be applied to Ambigu; but it must be remembered that the French are very much averse to penalties of all kinds, and if an error can be rectified without doing an injustice to any player, it is usual to set things right in the simplest manner possible.
Scattergood’s Game of Draughts. Lyman’s Selected Problems. Backgammon and Draughts, by Berkeley. Anderson’s Checkers. Dunne’s Draught Proxis. Kear’s Sturges. 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.
He s right, Billy Joe, Pheola said softly. I m going numb all over. What did I tell you? Simonetti husked at me. I had enough left to hit him sharply over the temples with a lift. A doctor. With antidote, I snapped. He trotted away. Darlin Billy! she said, and her heart stopped. She was dead. I picked her up in my arms and carried her to the same sawdust-strewn private dining room where I d given Barney the Blackout.
So much depended on the choice of Partners, so much on the sheer luck of who drew whom. THE SHUFFLE Father Moontree and the little girl named West entered the room. They were the other two pinlighters. The human complement of the Fighting Room was now complete. Father Moontree was a red-faced man of forty-five who had lived the peaceful life of a farmer until he reached his fortieth year. Only then, belatedly, did the authorities find he was telepathic and agree to let him late in life enter upon the career of pinlighter. He did well at it, but he was fantastically old for this kind of business. Father Moontree looked at the glum Woodley and the musing Underhill. How re the youngsters today? Ready for a good fight? Father always wants a fight, giggled the little girl named West. She was such a little little girl.
There are no straddles, raises, or antes. Immediately after the deal each player who is in the pool draws cards, the age first. There are then two ways to play: The hands are shown and the best wins; or, beginning with the age, each player may say if he will back his hand against the field; _i.e._, all the others in the pool. If he will, he must put up as much as their combined stakes. He cannot be raised; but if any one player or combination of players call him, and one of them can beat his hand, the field divide the pool. For instance: Age makes it a blue, and three others stay with him. After the draw C puts up three blues against the field. D and A call it, and all show hands.
The elder hand has taken in an ace, two Kings and a Jack, which are collectively worth 11. The dealer has taken in a Queen and a Ten, which are worth 12; so the dealer marks the point for Game. If both players have the same number, or if there is no Game out, which rarely happens, the non-dealer scores Game. If three play, and Game is a tie between the two non-dealers, neither scores. The non-dealer is given the benefit of counting a tie for Game as an offset to the dealer’s advantage in turning Jacks. When no trump is turned, as in Pitch, no one can count Game if it is a tie. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The eldest hand begins by leading any card he pleases. If a trump is led, each player must follow suit if able. When a plain suit is led he need not follow suit if he prefers to trump; but if he does not trump, he must follow suit if he can.
The game of Cat, played with sticks and a small piece of wood, rising in the middle, so as to rebound when struck on either side, is alluded to in _Poor Robin s Almanack_ for 1709, and by Brand. Leigh (_Cheshire Glossary_) gives Scute as another name for the game of Cat, probably from _scute_ (O.W.), for boat, which it resembles in shape. See Cudgel, Kit-cat, Tip-cat. Cat-Beds The name of a game played by young people in Perthshire. In this game, one, unobserved by all the rest, cuts with a knife the turf in very unequal angles. These are all covered, and each player puts his hand on what he supposes to be the smallest, as every one has to cut off the whole surface of his division. The rate of cutting is regulated by a throw of the knife, and the person who throws is obliged to cut as deep as the knife goes. He who is last in getting his bed cut up is bound to carry the whole of the clods, crawling on his hands and feet, to a certain distance measured by the one next to him, who throws the knife through his legs.
76. If a player discover his mistake in time to save a revoke, the adversaries, whenever they think fit, may call the card thus played in error, or may require him to play his highest or lowest card to that trick in which he has renounced; any player or players who have played after him may withdraw their cards and substitute others: the cards withdrawn are not liable to be called. 77. If a revoke be claimed, and the accused player or his partner mix the cards before they have been sufficiently examined by the adversaries, the revoke is established. The mixing of the cards only renders the proof of a revoke difficult; but does not prevent the claim and possible establishment of the penalty. 78. A revoke cannot be claimed after the cards have been cut for the following deal. 79. The revoking player and his partner may, under all circumstances, require the hand in which the revoke has been detected to be played out. 80.
This value varies according to the suit which is cayenne, which is always first preference. If cayenne is also the trump suit the points made by cards and honours are multiplied by 4. If the trump suit is the same colour as cayenne, the multiplier is 3. If it is a different colour the multiplier is 2 or 1, according to the suit. The rank of the suits as multipliers will be readily understood from the following table:-- If Cayenne is | ♡ | ♢ | ♣ | ♠ | If trumps, multiply by 4. Second color is | ♢ | ♡ | ♠ | ♣ | If trumps, multiply by 3. Third color is | ♣ | ♣ | ♡ | ♡ | If trumps, multiply by 2. Fourth color is | ♠ | ♠ | ♢ | ♢ | If trumps, multiply by 1. Better to understand the importance of considering this variation in value when making the trump, it should be noticed that although the game is 10 points, several games may be won in a single hand, as everything made is counted, and any points over 10 go to the credit of the second game. If more than 20 points are made, the excess goes on the third game, and so on.
The tune of this song is always played to the dance, says Mactaggart, but he does not record the tune. _To bab_, in Lowland Scottish, is defined by Jamieson to mean to play backward and forward loosely; to dance. Hence he adds, Bab at the bowster, or Bab wi the bowster, a very old Scottish dance, now almost out of use; formerly the last dance at weddings and merry-makings. Mr. Ballantyne says that a bolster or pillow was at one time always used. One correspondent of _N. and Q._, ii. 518, says it is now (1850) danced with a handkerchief instead of a cushion as formerly, and no words are used, but later correspondents contradict this. See also _N.
The directions for playing are-- We take twoses, We take threeses, We take fourses, We take sixes, We take eights. Chain eggs--_i.e._, to pick up one and drop it again until this has been done to each stone. Arches--_i.e._, gobs in a row. This was described by the player as while the tally is up to sweep the whole row or line off the ground into the arch of the finger and thumb before catching the tally. (_b_) These games are variants of one common original. It is the same game as that described by F.
If the stone emerges only once it is a duck, and increasing in the following order:-- 2. A duck and a drake, 3. And a halfpenny cake, 4. And a penny to pay the old baker, 5. A hop and a scotch is another notch, 6. Slitherum, slatherum, take her. --Halliwell s _Dictionary_. Hen-pen, Duck and mallard, Amen. --Somersetshire (Holloway s _Dict. of Provincialisms_).
Being unsafe in everything, he passes, and practically submits to his fate, his only hope being that the pool will result in a Jack. Z then examines his hand, finding ♡ Q 9 7 5 2; ♣ none; ♢ Q J 6 2; ♠ A K Q J. He sees at once that on spades he would lose everything, and on diamonds he would have a very poor chance. On clubs the result would depend on how often spades were led. In hearts, he has a very good hand, especially as he has a missing suit to discard in. As he is the last bidder he can make sure of the choice for 27, which he bids, and pays into the pool. The result of the play is given in Illustrative Hand No. 4. (As the cards happen to lie, had A been the successful bidder and made it clubs, Z would have won the pool.) ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS.
HIGH-LOW-JACK-GAME. This game is played with a set of balls the same as used in Fifteen-Ball Pool. Any number of persons may play, the order of play being determined by the rolling of the small numbered balls. The fifteen-ball is High; the one-ball is Low; the nine-ball is Jack; and the highest aggregate is Game. Seven points generally constitute a game. In cases where players have one and two to go to finish game, the first balls holed count out first, be they High, Low, or Jack. In setting up the pyramid the three counting balls--High, Low, Jack--are placed in the centre, with High at the head of the three named balls, the other balls as in regular Fifteen-Ball Pool. When players have each one to go, instead of setting up an entire frame of pyramids, a ball is placed at the foot of the table, in direct line with the spots, and at a distance from the lower cushion equal to the diameter of another of the pool balls. This ball must be pocketed by banking it to one or more cushions. The player who pockets the ball wins the game.
The game is usually won by the Horse and Knight who throw their opponents twice out of three times (G. L. Gomme). Strutt (_Sports_, p. 84) describes this, and says, A sport of this kind was in practice with us at the commencement of the fourteenth century. He considers it to bear more analogy to wrestling than to any other sport. He gives illustrations, one of which is here reproduced from the original MS. in the British Museum. The game is also described in the Rev. J.
XI. Please, mother, buy me a milk-can, A milk-can, a milk-can, Please, mother, do. Where s the money coming from, Coming from, coming from, What shall I do? Sell father s feather bed, Feather bed, feather bed, Please mother, do. Where shall the father sleep? Sleep in the servants bed. Where shall the servants sleep? Sleep in the pig-sty. Where shall the pig sleep? Sleep in the washing-tub. What shall I wash in? Wash in a thimble. The shirts won t go in. Wash by the river side. Supposing if I fall in? Good job too! --Hartley Wintney, Winchfield, Hants (H.
_=REVOKES.=_ When a revoke is detected and claimed, the hands are immediately abandoned, and the individual player in fault must pay all the counters depending on the result. If he is the bidder, he pays each adversary; if he is opposed to the bidder, he pays for himself and for each of his partners. In England it is the rule to take back the cards and play the hand over again, as at Écarté, the revoking player paying all the stakes according to the result. This is often very unfair to the bidder, and leads to endless disputes as to who held certain cards which have been gathered into tricks. Sometimes the difference between a seven and an eight in a certain player’s hand will change the entire result. _=PAYMENTS.=_ If the bidder succeeds in winning the specified number of tricks, each adversary pays him a counter for every trick bid. If he bid three tricks, they pay him three counters each; four counters each for four tricks bid; and the value of three tricks for a misère. If he fails to win the specified number of tricks, he pays each adversary; three counters if he bid three tricks, or a misère; four if he bid four.
Should C wish to call A, or even to raise him, A and C may continue the betting independently of B’s part of the pool. Should C have even less money than B, say one dollar, he may still further reduce the original pool, leaving the two dollars aside for settlement between A and B, and A’s third dollar still aside from that again for the decision of any other player. Let us suppose that A and C continue the betting until one calls. When the hands are shown, if either A’s or C’s is better than B’s, B loses his interest; but if B’s hand is better than either A’s hand or C’s hand, he takes the part of the pool for which he called a sight, while A and C decide the remainder between them. For instance: A calls C, and C shows three tens. Neither A nor B can beat it, and C takes everything. But if B had three Jacks, and A only three fives, B would take the part of the pool for which he called a sight, and C would take the remainder. Should C have raised and bluffed A out, or have bet so much that A finally refused to call, A would have no interest in either pool, and C would take all the money outside the pool for which B called a sight. Should it then transpire, on the show of hands between B and C, that A had laid down a better hand than either of them, that would not entitle A to claim the sight pool from B, because in laying down his hand he has practically acknowledged that C’s hand is better, and has retired from the game. If B’s hand is better than C’s, B takes the sight pool.
No Partner ever questioned the superiority of the human mind, though very few of the Partners were much impressed by that superiority. The Partners liked people. They were willing to fight with them. They were even willing to die for them. But when a Partner liked an individual the way, for example, that Captain Wow or the Lady May liked Underhill, the liking had nothing to do with intellect. It was a matter of temperament, of feel. Underhill knew perfectly well that Captain Wow regarded his, Underhill s, brains as silly. What Captain Wow liked was Underhill s friendly emotional structure, the cheerfulness and glint of wicked amusement that shot through Underhill s unconscious thought patterns, and the gaiety with which Underhill faced danger. The words, the history books, the ideas, the science--Underhill could sense all that in his own mind, reflected back from Captain Wow s mind, as so much rubbish. Miss West looked at Underhill.