Chaucer's Dreme.

No. 75.
Club Fist.

A child lays on a table his clenched fist, with the thumb elevated; another grasps the raised thumb with his own fist, and so on until a pile of fists is built up. A player, who remains apart from the group, then addresses the child whose hand is at the top:

The same conversation is repeated with the next child, and so on; the fist being withdrawn as speedily as possible, to escape a rap from the questioner. When only one is left, the following dialogue ensues:

Then follows a general scattering; for some child is sure to laugh, and if he does not do so of his own accord, his neighbors will certainly tweak him, poke him, or otherwise excite his risibility.

Georgia.

In Pennsylvania the conversation ends:

This dialogue, based on a well-known nursery tale, has maintained itself with remarkable persistence, and even verbal identity, in several European languages. We meet it in Germany and Denmark, as well as England.

No. 76.
Robin's Alive.

This celebrated game was formerly much played in New England during the winter evenings. A stick was lighted, and passed from hand to hand. It was an object to transfer it as quickly as possible; but each player, before handing it to his neighbor, must repeat the rhyme—

Or else, "Robin's alive," etc.

The "back-saddling" consisted in depositing the person, in whose hand the light went out, upon the back on the floor, and afterwards piling upon him (or her) chairs and other furniture.

Another formula is given in the "Girls' Own Book:"

"Robin's alive, and alive he shall be; if he dies in my hand, my mouth shall be bridled, my back shall be saddled, and I be sent home to the king's Whitehall."

When the light expired it was said: "Robin is dead, and dead he shall be; he has died in your hand, and your mouth shall be bridled, your back shall be saddled, to send you home to the king's Whitehall."

This game is played all over Europe with similar formulas; but we are not aware that the "back-saddling" feature has been practised out of England and America. The person in whose possession the light is extinguished usually pays forfeit.

It has been suggested, with plausibility, that the sport is connected with an ancient rite: namely, the races of torch-bearers, which formed part of certain festal ceremonies, and in which the courier in whose hands the torch went out was a loser. Such contests are repeatedly alluded to by classic writers; but their exact conduct is involved in some obscurity. In such a race, at Athens, the torch was kindled on the altar of Prometheus, and handed to the runner, whose duty it was to pass it, while still alight, to a second, and so on. This ceremony has suggested a celebrated line to Lucretius, who compares the flying ages to "runners who pass from one to another the torch of life."

No. 77.
Laughter Games.

There is a whole class of games of which the object is to excite to laughter by means of some ridiculous action.

Such games are sometimes played with a lighted candle. The players approach each other from opposite sides of the room, and sustain a dialogue in solemn tones, while they must keep a grave countenance on penalty of paying forfeit. For example:

"The king of Turkey is dead." "What did he die of?" "Doing so" (some ridiculous gesture).

A more characteristic version (in Nantucket, Mass.) had it: "The royal Russian princess, Husty Fusty, is defunct." To which it was necessary to answer soberly—"I'm very sorry to hear it; even the cats bewail her loss."

A game which was formerly popular with children in Massachusetts was to lean a staff in the corner, while a player was seated in the centre of the ring. Another child now entered, took up the staff, approached and addressed the one sitting, and a rhymed dialogue ensued:

If the staff-bearer laughed, he or she must take the chair; otherwise the next player continued the game.

A third amusement is for girls to excite one another to laugh by gently pinching in succession the ears, nose, lips, etc., while making use of some ridiculous expression.

This usage is alluded to more than three centuries ago by Rabelais.

In a Swiss game, this performance is complicated by a jest. Each child pinches his neighbor's ear; but by agreement the players blacken their fingers, keeping two of the party in ignorance. Each of the two victims imagines it to be the other who is the object of the uproarious mirth of the company.

No. 78.
Bachelor's Kitchen.

The children sit in a row, with the exception of one, who goes in succession to each child, and asks him what he will give to the bachelor's kitchen. Each answers what he pleases, as a saucepan, a mousetrap, etc. When all have replied, the questioner returns to the first child, and puts all sorts of questions, which must be answered by the article which he before gave to the kitchen, and by no other word. For instance, he asks, "What do you wear on your head?" "Mousetrap." The object is to make the answerer laugh, and he is asked a number of questions, until he either laughs or is given up as a hard subject. The questioner then passes to the next child, and so on through the whole row. Those who laugh, or add any other word to their answer, must pay a forfeit, which is redeemed in the same way as in other games.

Cambridge, Mass.

No. 79.
The Church and the Steeple.

Little girls, with appropriate motions of the closed fist, or of the inverted hand with raised fingers, say,

An Italian finger-game well exhibits the different mental state of children in the two countries. The words are: "This is the Inferno, and this the Paradiso." The fingers of the two hands, crossed within, represent the disturbed world of wretchedness; the back of the hands, turned, where all is calm, typify Paradise.

No. 80.
What Color?

A tumbler of water and a thimble are required. One child is sent out of the room, and to each of the others a different color is allotted. The first is then expected to name the color of some child. If she succeeds in her guess, a thimbleful of water is thrown in her face. The guessing is continued till this takes place, when the thrower becomes the guesser for the next turn.

Cincinnati.

No. 81.
Beetle and Wedge.

There are games in which the guesser has only Scogan's choice[91] between two sorts of disaster.

Thus, a party of boys pitch on two who are unacquainted with the game, and ask them if they would not like to play "Beetle and Wedge." "The fun is to be the Beetle and the Wedge," they explain. The victims consenting, the Beetle is then driven against the Wedge, back to back, with a force that "sends him flying." This amusement belongs to Connecticut.

In Philadelphia a boy is asked whether he prefers mustard or pepper; in either case receiving corresponding personal inflictions. So in the English game of "Trades" a boy is made to guess the trade of the questioner, and is hammered, planed, or rasped, accordingly.

No. 82.
Present and Advise.

All the children, except two, are seated in a row. One of these whispers in the ear of each child, "I present you with this." The second, in like manner, adds, "I advise you what to do with it."

Another old whispering-game, belonging, like the preceding, to New York, is called "Sentiment." Each child tells his neighbor on the right the name of a person, and repeats to the one on the left a verse of poetry, usually of a sentimental character. The name and verse are then to be repeated together as in the former game.

No. 83.
Genteel Lady.

"I, genteel lady, always genteel, come from the genteel lady, always genteel, beg leave to inform you that my ship has just come in from China laden with apricots."

The next player has to repeat, adding some object beginning with b, such as biscuit; the next player one beginning with c, and so down the alphabet. If any one hesitates, or makes a mistake, a lighted "lamp-lighter" (New England, spill) is stuck in her hair, and she is the "one-horned," instead of the "genteel" lady; and for two mistakes the "two-horned" lady, and so on. This juxtaposition of curls and "lamp-lighters" is by no means always safe.

Georgia.

Of this game we observe that, like several amusements familiar in this State, it is of French origin.[92]

No. 84.
Beast, Bird, or Fish.

A member of the party throws to another a knotted handkerchief, saying one of the above words, and counting up to ten. The catcher must answer in the given time the name of some animal of the kind required, not already cited by some other player.

Whoever fails to reply while the counting is going on, is out of the game. After the names of commoner animals are exhausted, the game becomes a test of quickness and memory.

No. 85.
Wheel of Fortune.

A picture of a wheel is drawn upon the slate, and a number written between each of its spokes. The eyes being then closed, the child whose turn it is raises a pencil in the air, twirling it, and saying,

At the last word the pencil is brought down; if the point of the pencil falls on a space, the number there written is scored; if on a line, or outside the circle, or on a number previously secured (and erased by a line), the turn is forfeited. The game is continued until a certain number has been scored by the winning player.

Georgia.

No. 86.
Catches.

This (to children) exquisitely witty dialogue has its German counterpart.—"I went into the wood." "So did I." "I took an axe." "So did I." "I made a trough." "So did I." "Seven pigs ate of it." "So did I."[93]

Equally well known is the jest, "I am a gold lock," "I am a gold key," etc.—ending "I am a monk-lock," "I am a mon-key."

We may mention also a familiar catch, "Say my cat, my cat, and not my dog." "My dog" must not be spoken.

Of a different character are the following jests:

The lights being extinguished, a knife is passed round the circle of players, and the following conversation ensues, each phrase being continued from left to right of the ring:

All of the company who understand the jest shriek aloud, which accomplishes the object of terrifying the rest.

Somewhat similar (in New York) is the following:

In the following conversation, one sentence at a time is repeated in a whisper to the left-hand neighbor, and so passed round the circle, the fun consisting in the imitation of crowing at the end.

"Hath she feathers?" "Feathers she hath." "Doth she crow?" "Crow she doth." "How doth she crow?" (An imitation of crowing follows.)

No. 87.
Intery Mintery.

An evening amusement formerly common in Massachusetts. All present laid their hands with fingers resting on the knees. The speaker then told off the words of the rhyme, one for each finger. The rhyme being thus recited, that finger to which the last syllable fell must be quickly withdrawn, on penalty of being sharply rapped by the hand of the leader. After all had been counted out but one person, he or she was liable to the same risk for every word of the rhyme—the result of which situation is alluded to by the epithet "black finger."

No. 88.
Redeeming Forfeits.

The girl who is to assign the penalty by which the forfeit must be redeemed lays her head on the lap of another who sits on a chair, while a third, standing behind, holds the article over her head and asks:

The sentence is then declared.

Another formula, used in the Middle and Southern States, is:

The German usage is nearly the same, the question being "Lord judge, what is your sentence, what shall he do whose pledge I have in my hand?"

The following are examples of old penalties, which usually involved kissing, with infinite variety of method:

No. 89.
Old Mother Tipsy-toe.

This is a very popular game with girls in various parts of the United States.

The children sit in a row, with the exception of the mother, who comes up and asks each child in turn, "How did you tear your dress?" After hearing their various excuses, she again traverses the row, indicating the part of the dress to be mended, and saying:

She slaps her children on the shoulder and goes out, forbidding them to follow her. As soon as her back is turned, they all jump up and run after her, shouting, "Old mother Tipsy-toe,"[94] or, as in a variation from New York:

The mother now goes into a shop, and orders various articles, the children repeating after her whatever she says. For instance, the mother says, "I want two pounds of butter." "I want two pounds of butter," shout the children in chorus. Finally she says, "And I want a stick to whip my children with," upon which she turns to leave the shop, while the children rush before her, and scramble back to their seats before their mother comes home. The latter then goes to each child in turn, saying, "Let me see how well you have mended your dress." The children all hold the hem of their dresses as firmly as they can, with their hands somewhat apart. The mother strikes with her hand the part of the dress that is between their hands; and if they let it go, she scolds and beats them for their bad mending.

Cambridge, Mass.

In another way of playing, which makes the game one of chase, "Old mammy Tipsy-toe" addresses her children:

She then makes preparations to depart:

The children, of course, pursue her with shouts of defiance, upon which she turns and chases them, while they rush to their places. She comes back, and demands of the children:

"Have you been out to-day?" "No." "You have. Where have you been?" "To grandmother's." "What did you get?" "A slice of cake." "Where is my share?" "In the band-box." "But I might break my neck getting it." "I wish you would." On this, she chases the children, who fly and scatter. Any child she catches is out of the game, which is continued until all are captured.

Philadelphia.

No. 90.
Who Stole the Cardinal's Hat?

The children being seated in a circle, a child, who does not take part in the game, whispers to each of the rest a name representing some color, as "Red-cap," "Blue-cap," "Yellow-cap," etc. Two players are excepted, one of whom is called "My man John," and one represents the cardinal. The latter now leaves the room, first placing in the hands of "John" a little billet of wood, bidding him take care of the Cardinal's hat, which at the same time he declares to be of some particular color, as green. "John" conceals this somewhere in the room. The child who went out then enters, armed with a cane, and demands the Cardinal's hat. "John" affects to have forgotten all about it, and asks, "What color was it? green?" and so on until he guesses the color. Being thus reminded, he declares that some one of the group, as, for example, "Red-cap," has stolen it. "Red-cap" is now asked by the questioner, "Red-cap, did you steal the Cardinal's hat?" He also must pass on the charge, saying, "No, it was White-cap" (or any other color). If he omits to do so, or names a color not included among the players, he must pay forfeit. Meanwhile the questioner becomes indignant at the numerous denials, and proceeds to extort confession by torture, rapping with his cane the fingers of those whom he addresses. If he succeeds in obliging any child to confess, the latter must pay forfeit. At last "My man John" owns the theft, produces the hat, and the game is begun again, until a sufficient number of forfeits have been collected.

Saratoga, New York.

This game is also played in Switzerland. The name of a color having been given to each child, a ball is stealthily passed about the circle. The "Abbot of St. Gall" enters, and exclaims, "The Abbot of St. Gall has lost his night-cap; they say White stole it." The player whose color is named, if he has the ball, must pass it behind his back to another, saying, "Not White, Red has it." Whoever is caught in passing the ball, or names a color not in the game, or fails to answer when his name is called, must pay forfeit, or have his face marked with burned cork. It will be seen that the Swiss game corresponds to the American, except that in the latter the ball is concealed instead of being passed round; but we think it likely that the memory of our informant (a child) may have been at fault in this respect.

The Gentleman's Magazine, February, 1738, mentions a game called "The Parson hath lost his Fuddling Cap." The Spectator, No. 268, also refers to this sport: "I desire to know in your next if the merry game of 'The Parson has lost his Cloak,' is not mightily in vogue amongst the fine ladies this Christmas, because I see they wear hoods of all colours, which I suppose is for that purpose." From this last extract it appears that the names "Red-cap," etc., are a reminiscence of the variously colored hoods once employed in the game.

[91] Scogan's choice is equivalent to Hobson's choice; both are heroes of old jest-books.