When all were ready, two of the young men left the room, returning presently, one carrying a large square cushion, the other an ordinary drinking-horn, china bowl, or silver tankard, according to the possessions of the family. The one carrying the cushion locked the door, putting the key in his pocket. Both gentlemen then went to the fiddler s corner, and after the cushion-bearer had put a coin in the vessel carried by the other, the fiddler struck up a lively tune, to which the young men began to dance round the room, singing or reciting to the music:-- Frinkum, frankum is a fine song, An we will dance it all along; All along and round about, Till we find the pretty maid out. After making the circuit of the room, they halted on reaching the fiddler s corner, and the cushion-bearer, still to the music of the fiddle, sang or recited:-- Our song it will no further go! The Fiddler: Pray, kind sir, why say you so? The Cushion-bearer: Because Jane Sandars won t come to. The Fiddler: She must come to, she shall come to, An I ll make her whether she will or no. The cushion-bearer and vessel-holder then proceeded with the dance, going as before round the room, singing Frinkum, frankum, &c., till the cushion-bearer came to the lady of his choice, before whom he paused, placed the cushion on the floor at her feet, and knelt upon it. The vessel-bearer then offered the cup to the lady, who put money in it and knelt on the cushion in front of the kneeling gentleman. The pair kissed, arose, and the gentleman, first giving the cushion to the lady with a bow, placed himself behind her, taking hold of some portion of her dress. The cup-bearer fell in also, and they danced on to the fiddler s corner, and the ceremony was again gone through as at first, with the substitution of the name of John for Jane, thus:-- The Lady: Our song it will no further go! The Fiddler: Pray, kind miss, why say you so? The Lady: Because John Sandars won t come to.
52), the game being Dance in the Ring. Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_) says, May birches were branches of different kinds of trees fastened over doors of houses and on the chimney on the eve of May Day. They were fastened up by parties of young men who went round for the purpose, and were intended to be symbolical of the character of the inmates. I remember one May Day in London, when the May girls came with a garland and short sticks decorated with green and bunches of flowers, they sang-- Knots of May we ve brought you, Before your door it stands; It is but a sprout, but it s well budded out By the work of the Lord s hands, and a Miss Spencer, who lived near Hampton (Middlesex), told me that she well remembered the May girls singing the first verse of this carol, using knots instead of the more usual word branch or bunch, and that she knew the small bunch of May blossom by the name of knots of May, bringing in knots of May being a usual expression of children. The association of May--whether the month, or the flower, or both--with the game is very strong, the refrain cold and frosty morning, all on a summer s morning, bright summer s morning, so early in the morning, also being characteristic of the early days of May and spring, and suggests that the whole day from early hours is given up to holiday. The familiar nursery rhyme given by Halliwell-- Here we come a-piping, First in spring and then in May, no doubt also refers to house-to-house visiting of May. The connection between the May festival and survival in custom of marriage by capture is well illustrated by a passage from Stubbe s _Anatomie of Abuses_, p. 148. He says: Against May Day, Whitsonday, or other time, euery Parishe, Towne and Village assemble themselves together, bothe men women and children, olde and yong, . .
The question is, How does this theory of the origin of the game fit in with the term Nuts in May ? I attribute this to the gathering by parties of young men of bunches of May at the May festivals and dances, to decorate not only the Maypole, May kissing-bush, but the doors of houses. Knots of May is a term used by children, meaning bunches of May. Thus, a note by Miss Fowler in the MS. of the games she had collected says, In Bucks the children speak of knots of May, meaning each little bunch of hawthorn blossom. The gathering of bunches of May by parties of young men and maidens to make the May-bush round which the May Day games were held, and dancing and courting, is mentioned by Wilde (_Irish Popular Superstitions_, p. 52), the game being Dance in the Ring. Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_) says, May birches were branches of different kinds of trees fastened over doors of houses and on the chimney on the eve of May Day. They were fastened up by parties of young men who went round for the purpose, and were intended to be symbolical of the character of the inmates. I remember one May Day in London, when the May girls came with a garland and short sticks decorated with green and bunches of flowers, they sang-- Knots of May we ve brought you, Before your door it stands; It is but a sprout, but it s well budded out By the work of the Lord s hands, and a Miss Spencer, who lived near Hampton (Middlesex), told me that she well remembered the May girls singing the first verse of this carol, using knots instead of the more usual word branch or bunch, and that she knew the small bunch of May blossom by the name of knots of May, bringing in knots of May being a usual expression of children. The association of May--whether the month, or the flower, or both--with the game is very strong, the refrain cold and frosty morning, all on a summer s morning, bright summer s morning, so early in the morning, also being characteristic of the early days of May and spring, and suggests that the whole day from early hours is given up to holiday.
When piccolissimo is played, the moment the single player takes more than one trick the hands are thrown up, and the stakes paid. _=REVOKES.=_ The rules governing these and cards played in error, are the same as at Boston. In piccolissimo, the penalties are the same as in misère. _=PAYMENTS.=_ If the caller succeeds in winning the proposed number of tricks, he is paid by each of his adversaries according to the value of his bid, as shown in Table No. 1. Over-tricks if any, and honours, if played, are always paid at the uniform rate of five white counters each. If the caller fails, he must pay each adversary the amount he would have won if successful, with the addition of five white counters for every trick that he falls short of his proposal. For instance: He bids nine hearts, and wins six tricks only.
Ecarter, F., to discard. Echoing, showing the number of trumps held when partner leads or calls; in plain suits, showing the number held when a high card is led. Edge, a corruption of the word “age,” the eldest hand. Eldest Hand, the first player to the left of the dealer in all English games; to his right in France. Encaisser, F., to hand the stakes to the banker. Entamer, F., to lead. Established Suits, a suit is established when you or your partner can take every trick in it, no matter who leads it.
We are strongly opposed to dealing the cards in bulk at Cayenne, and see no reason why the methods that prevail in the very similar game of Bridge should not be adopted. _=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ There is little to add to the rules already given for Whist. The principles that should guide in the making of the trump have been given in connection with the more important game of Bridge; and the suggestions for playing nullo will be fully discussed in the games in which it is a prominent characteristic: Solo Whist, and Boston. Grand is practically Whist after the trumps are exhausted. For the Laws of Cayenne see Whist Family Laws. SOLO WHIST, OR WHIST DE GAND. _=CARDS.=_ Solo Whist is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which rank as at Whist, both for cutting and playing. Two packs are generally used, the one being shuffled while the other is dealt.
_=7. Shuffling.=_ Before the first deal the pack must be counted to see that it contains the proper number of cards. Should the first dealer neglect this he forfeits five counters to the pool. Before each deal the cards must be shuffled. Any player may shuffle, the dealer last. _=8. Cutting to the Dealer.=_ The dealer must present the pack to the pone, [the player on his right,] to be cut. The pone may either cut, or signify that he does not wish to do so, by tapping the pack with his knuckles.
[Illustration: O O O O ] The pins are spotted as above, the centre pin being the feather. Ten innings constitute a game, and three balls (not exceeding 6 inches in size) must be used in each inning. All the pins except the feather have to be bowled down or the inning goes for naught. If the feather is left standing alone, the innings count one. There are no penalties. The dead wood must be removed. Any pins knocked down through dead wood remaining on the alley cannot be placed to the credit of the bowler. The maximum is 10. THE BATTLE GAME. THE PINS ARE SET UP THE SAME AS FOR THE GAME OF TEN PINS.
If all follow suit, the highest card played of the suit led wins the trick, trumps win all other suits. The winner of the trick may lead any card he chooses for the next; and so on, until all the cards have been played. It is not necessary to keep the tricks separate, as at Whist; but one player should gather for his side. When two or three play, the hands must be played in the order in which they were dealt. For instance: If these are the hands:-- [Illustration: +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | | | | | Adversary’s:--| 1 | | 3 | | 5 | | | | | | | +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ 1ST SET. 2ND SET. 3RD SET. +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | | | | | | +------+ Dealer’s:-- | 2 | | 4 | | 6 | |Trump.| | | | | | | +------+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ ] The players first take up hands Nos. 1 and 2; a card is led from No.
Woodley never made a point of getting popular among the Partners. None of the Partners liked him very much. Some of them even resented him. He was suspected of thinking ugly thoughts of the Partners on occasion, but since none of the Partners ever thought a complaint in articulate form, the other pinlighters and the Chiefs of the Instrumentality left him alone. Underhill was still full of the wonder of their job. Happily he babbled on, What does happen to us when we planoform? Do you think it s sort of like dying? Did you ever see anybody who had his soul pulled out? Pulling souls is just a way of talking about it, said Woodley. After all these years, nobody knows whether we have souls or not. But I saw one once. I saw what Dogwood looked like when he came apart. There was something funny.
Infantry, cavalry, R.A., and R.E. cannot move without supply--if supplies are not provided within six consecutive moves, they are out of action. A force surrounded must surrender four moves after eating its last horse. Now as to Destructions: To destroy a railway bridge R.E. take two moves; to repair, R.E.
In another variation, each trick counts five points, and the winners’ score is deducted from the losers’, so that if one side wins four tricks it counts fifteen towards game. When this manner of counting is adopted, the players count out; that is, if each side is 35 up, the first to win two tricks counts out. Minor variations are sometimes introduced; such as robbing with the King, if the ace is not in play; counting five for the dealer’s side if the ace or King is turned up, etc. There are no _=Text Books=_ on Spoil Five; but descriptions and laws of the game are to be found in the “Westminster Papers,” Vol II., and in “Round Games,” by Berkeley. RAMS, OR RAMMES This game seems to be the connecting link between the more strongly marked members of the Euchre family and Division Loo. _=CARDS.=_ Rams is played with the euchre pack, thirty-two cards, which rank as at Écarté, K Q J A 10 9 8 7. It has lately become the fashion, however, to adopt the rank of the cards in the piquet pack, A K Q J 10 9 8 7. _=PLAYERS.
When only two play, the game closely resembles American pinochle, the winner of each trick drawing a card from the top of the stock, the loser drawing the next one. All melds are made immediately after winning a trick and before drawing from the stock, only one meld at a time being allowed. It is not necessary to follow suit to anything until the stock is exhausted, after which all melds cease and the second player to each trick must win it if he can, but the jack of trumps still has the privilege of renouncing if a plain suit is led. PATIENCE POKER As its name implies, this is a form of solitaire, but it may be managed so as to provide a pleasing competition for any number of players. Both forms of the game will be described, the solitaire first. _=CARDS.=_ The full pack of fifty-two cards is shuffled and cut. Keeping it face down in the left hand, the top card is turned up and laid upon the table. The next card is turned up and laid in such a position that it touches the first one, either on one of its four edges, or one of its four corners. The third card must touch one or other of the two already on the table in the same manner, and so on until twenty-five cards have been drawn and placed, but the twenty-five must be so arranged as to form a square of five cards each way.
One then moves his hand round the handkerchief, saying, Here we go round by the rule of Contrairy; when I say Hawld hard, let go, and when I say Let go, hawld hard. Forfeits are paid by those not complying with the order.--Lowsley s _Berkshire Glossary_. Cop-halfpenny The game of Chuck-farthing. --Norfolk and Suffolk (Holloway s _Dict. of Provincialisms_). Corsicrown A square figure is divided by four lines, which cross each other in the crown or centre. Two of these lines connect the opposite angles, and two the sides at the point of bisection. Two players play; each has three men or flitchers. Now there are seven points for these men to move about on, six on the edges of the square and one at the centre.
_=Irregular Bids.=_ If any player bids before the eldest hand has bid or passed, both the player in error and his partner lose their right to make any bid that deal; but the side not in error must bid against each other for the privilege of naming the trump suit. If the eldest hand has decided, and the pone bids without waiting for the dealer’s partner, the pone loses his bid, and the dealer may bid before his partner, without penalty. If the dealer bids before his partner has decided, both he and his partner lose their right to bid that deal; but the pone is still at liberty to overbid the eldest hand for the privilege of naming the trump. If the dealer’s partner has bid, and the dealer bids without waiting for the pone, the dealer loses his right to bid for that deal. If a player whose partner has not yet bid names the trump suit, his partner loses the right to bid. If no bid is made, the dealer may name any suit he pleases, without bidding. If any player exposes a card before the trump suit is named, the adversaries may elect to have a new deal by the same dealer. _=DISCARDING AND DRAWING.=_ The trump suit named, each player discards and leaves _=face upward=_ on the table as many cards as he pleases.
_=Errors.=_ If, during the course of the game, it be discovered that any error or illegality has been committed, the moves must be retraced and the necessary correction made, without penalty. If the moves cannot be correctly retraced, the game must be annulled. If a man be dropped from the board and moves made during its absence, such moves must be retraced and the man restored. If this cannot be done, to the satisfaction of the Umpire, the game must be annulled. _=Castling.=_ The King can be Castled only: When neither the King nor the Castling Rook has been moved, and When the King is not in check, and When all the squares between the King and Rook are unoccupied, and When no hostile man attacks the square on which the King is to be placed, or the square he crosses. In Castling, the King must be first moved. The penalty of moving the King prohibits Castling. _=En Passant.