"As boys, when they play at 'how many,' hold out their hands in such a way that, having few, they pretend to have many, and having many, they make believe to have few."—Xenophon, Treatise on the Duties of a Cavalry Officer.
No. 91.
Odd or Even.
A small number of beans or other counters are held in the hand, and the question is, Odd or Even? If the guess is even, and the true number odd, it is said "Give me one to make it odd," and vice versÂ. The game is continued until all the counters belong to one or other of the two players.
This amusement was familiar in ancient Greece and Rome, as it is in modern Europe. In the classic game the player gained or lost as many as he held in his hand.
No. 92.
Hul Gul.
This game is played by three, four, or more, who stand in a circle. A child then addresses his left-hand neighbor, and the dialogue is:
"Hul Gul."
"Hands full."
"Parcel how many?"
The second player then guesses the number, two guesses being sometimes allowed. If, for example, the guess is five, and the real number seven, the first responds, "Give me two to make it seven," and so on until all the counters have been gained by one player. The number allowed to be taken is often limited, by agreement, to six or ten.
The counters are beans, grains of corn, marbles, nuts, and, in the South, chinquapins.[95]
A childish trick is to expand the hand as if unable to hold the number of counters, when in fact they are but one or two. Oddly enough, this same device is alluded to by Xenophon as in use in his day in the game of "How many?"—the classic equivalent of our game, in which the question was, "How many have I in the hand?" just as we say, "Parcel how many?" So, in these sports, the interval of two thousand years vanishes.
No. 93.
How many Fingers?
A child hides his head on another's lap, and guesses the number of fingers raised. We find a rhyme for this given in the "Girls' Own Book."
"Mingledy, mingledy, clap, clap, clap,
How many fingers do I hold up?"
"Three."
"Three you said, and two it was," etc.
Another form of this game consists in schoolboys mounting on each other's back and raising fingers, of which the number is to be guessed. The English formula for this purpose is given by Tylor thus, "Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up?" We are not aware that the practice continues to exist in this country.
In the famous finger-game of "Morra," the sum of the fingers raised by the two players is counted. The game is played with such rapidity, and the calling is so rapid, that conjecture plays a larger part in the game than eyesight. "Morra" has been a favorite for nearly four thousand years, for it is represented on early Egyptian monuments, where the players are depicted as using the right hand, and scoring with the left, very much as is done in the south of Europe at the present day.
It is very likely, however, that the nursery usage we are now concerned with is as old. Petronius Arbiter, in the time of Nero, describes Trimalchio as so playing with a boy. The latter, mounting as on horseback, smote his shoulders with the open hand, and laughing said, "Bucca, bucca, how many?"[96]
We will not undertake to decide whether the reported coincidence of the Latin and English formulas is a genuine example of transmission. The game, however, and the question, "How many?" have certainly endured for two thousand years, and very likely existed as long before the days of Petronius, or from a time as remote as that to which can be traced the more complicated game of "Morra."
No. 94.
Right or Left.
A common way of deciding a dispute, selecting players, or determining who shall begin a game, is to take a pebble or other object in the closed fist, and make a comrade guess in which hand it is contained.
The old-fashioned way of holding the hands, both in England and Germany, was to place one fist on top of the other; and a like usage formerly prevailed in New England, though we have not met with the English rhyme:
Handy-dandy riddledy ro,
Which will you have, high or low?
No. 95.
Under which Finger?
A child takes a bean in the hand, closes it, and asks a companion to guess under which finger it lies; if the latter fails, he must pay a bean.
No. 96.
Comes, it Comes.
A simple guessing-game, familiar to children in New England. One child of the party says to another, "It comes, it comes." The player addressed replies, "What do you come by?" The first replies by naming the initial letter of some object in the room; if, for instance, it is the table he has in mind, he says, "I come by T." The rest must now guess what thing, beginning with this letter, is meant.
No. 97.
Hold Fast My Gold Ring.
The children sit in a circle, with hands closed; one takes the ring, and goes around with it, tapping the closed fists of the players as if inserting the ring, and saying:
Biddy, biddy, hold fast my gold ring,
Till I go to London, and come back again.
Each child, in turn, is then required to guess who has the ring, and, if successful, takes the leader's place; if unsuccessful, he pays forfeit.
Georgia.
This is known in Massachusetts as,
Button, button, who's got the button?
Another form of the question is, "Fox, fox, who's got the box?"
In England the game goes,
My lady's lost her diamond ring,
I pitch on you to find it.
No. 98.
My Lady Queen Anne.
A ball is concealed with some one of the children who form the circle. A girl is placed in the centre, and a dialogue ensues; the ring singing:
"My lady Queen Anne,
She sits in the sun,
As fair as a lily,
As brown as a bun.
The king sends you three letters, and bids you read one."
The girl answers:
"I cannot read one unless I read all,
So pray, Mr. [or Miss] ——, deliver the ball."
If the person named has the ball, he or she takes her place; if not, she continues as before. In England, a rhyme is given for the latter case:
"The ball is mine, and none of thine,
So you, proud queen, may sit on your throne,
While we, your messengers, go and come."
No. 99.
The Wandering Dollar.
A coin is passed about the circle, and the central player is to guess who has it. The dollar is held in the palm, then passed about the ring by each player alternately clapping his hands together, and then extending his arms so as to touch the hands of his neighbor. For this purpose the right hand should be held downward, and the left turned upward, as the arms are extended. The coin is to be palmed from hand to hand, and the rhythmical motions being accompanied with song (to almost any tune) make a very pretty game, but one which requires much practice to master. The verse sung is,
Dollar, dollar, how you wander,
From the one unto the other!
Is it fair, is it fair,
To leave Miss [Anna] so long without a chair?
Cincinnati.
The game is a modern translation from the German, presumably by the children themselves.
No. 100.
Thimble in Sight.
Among games of search may be mentioned the present, in which, the greater part of the company being sent out of the room, a thimble must be placed so as to escape notice, and yet in such a position as to be visible when the attention is once directed to it. As each of the party discovers the thimble, he indicates his success by saying "Rorum torum corum," or some such formula, and then takes his seat.
In other games, in which some small object is hidden, there are various ways of assisting the seeker when at fault; thus, it is said you freeze, you are cold, you are warm, you burn, according as the object is approached; or the search is directed by magical music, which grows louder as the person comes nearer to his object. These usages belong also to other countries. More original is a practice, common in Massachusetts, according to which the height of the concealed object above the floor of the room is indicated by the words "So high water," addressed by one of the company to the person who has been sent out, as he enters and begins his search.
