This game is called the Gala Ship, and the girls, forming a ring, march round singing-- Three times round goes the gala, gala ship, And three times round goes she; Three times round goes the gala, gala ship, And sinks to the bottom of the sea. They repeat this thrice, courtesying low. The first to courtesy is placed in the centre of the circle, when the others sing:-- Choose your maidens one by one, One by one, one by one; Choose your maidens one by one-- And down goes (all courtesy) Merrima Tansa! She chooses her maidens. They take her to a distance, when she is secretly told the name of her lover. The remainder of the girls imitate sweeping, and sing several stanzas to the effect that they will sweep the house till the bride comes home, when the bride is now placed within the circle, and from a score to a hundred stanzas, with marching and various imitations of what the lucky bride accomplishes or undergoes, are sung. Each one closes with Down goes Merrima Tansa and the head-ducking; and this wonderful music-drama of childhood is not concluded until the christening of the bride s first-born, with-- Next Sunday morn to church she must gae, A babe on her knee, the best of a-- And down goes Merrima Tansa! Jamieson gives the game as a ring within which one goes round with a handkerchief, with which a stroke is given in succession to every one in the ring; the person who strikes, or the taker, still repeating this rhyme:-- Here I gae round the jingie ring, The jingie ring, the jingie ring, Here I gae round the jingie ring, And through my merry-ma-tanzie. Then the handkerchief is thrown at one in the ring, who is obliged to take it up and go through the same process. He also mentions another account of the game which had been sent him, which describes the game as played in a similar manner to the versions given by Chambers. Stewart, in his _Ben Nevis and Glencoe_, p. 361, records the following rhyme:-- Here we go with merry shout, Up and down and round about, And dance a merry-ma-tandy, but he does not describe the game in detail.
Once an adversary has learned your method, it is not a question of his betting a red chip on his hand; but of his willingness to stand a raise of two blues, which he will regard as inevitable if you come in against him at all. The fear of this raise will prompt many a player to lay down a moderately good hand without a bet; so that you have all the advantage of having made a strong bluff without having put up a chip. The system will also drive all but the most courageous to calling your hand on every occasion, being afraid of a further and inevitable raise; and it is an old saying that a good caller is a sure loser. The theory of calling is to get an opportunity to compare your hand with your adversary’s. Now, if you think that after the comparison yours will prove the better hand, why not increase the value of the pool? If, on the contrary, you fear that his hand will beat yours, why throw good money after bad? If you don’t think at all about it, and have no means of forming an opinion as to the respective merits of your hands, you are not a poker player, and have no business in the game. _=BLUFFING.=_ There is nothing connected with Poker on which persons have such confused ideas as on the subject of bluffing. The popular impression seems to be that a stiff upper lip, and a cheerful expression of countenance, accompanied by a bet of five dollars, will make most people lay down three aces; and that this result will be brought about by the five-dollar bet, without any regard to the player’s position at the table, the number of cards he drew, his manner of seeing or raising the ante, or the play of his adversaries before the draw. The truth of the matter is that for a bluff to be either sound in principle or successful in practice, the player must carefully select his opportunity. The bluff must be planned from the start, and consistently played from the ante to the end.
Hardy), Barnes (A. B. Gomme), Cambridge (Mrs. Haddon), Hampshire (Miss Mendham), Frodingham (Miss Peacock), Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith), Sulhampstead, Berks (Miss Thoyts), and Platt, Kent (Miss Burne). These versions are so similar to the Hanwell version, with the exception of the Very well, ladies, that it is needless to print them in full; special differences are noted hereafter. In some places the game is said in a sing-song manner. Some of the versions differ from the general type in two ways--first, in the method of playing; secondly, in the wording of the verses. The differences in the method of playing direct attention to the connection of the game with ancient custom. The game is always played by the players taking sides; but one method is for one side to consist of only two children (Mother and Jenny Jones), and the other side to consist of all the other players; while the other method is for the players to be divided into two sides of about equal numbers, each side advancing and retiring in line when singing their part.
The action of the game confirms this view. The Norfolk action seems to be the most nearly perfect in its dramatic significance, and the Shropshire action comes next. The action of the other games seems to have been grafted on to the superior form of Oranges and Lemons. It is probable that this fact has preserved the words more completely than in the other cases, where the force of the robber action would become less and less as actual experience of robbers and robbery died out. Altogether, this game supplies a very good example of the change produced in games by changes in the actual life which gave rise to them. It is singular that the verses of this game also enter into the composition of London Bridge is broken down. It is probable, therefore, that it may be an altered form of the game of London Bridge. The refrain, My fair lady, occurs in both games. See London Bridge. Hats in Holes A boys game.
36, mentions this as a summer game. It was called Ho, spy! the words which are called out by those boys who have hidden. He says the watchword of Hide and seek was hidee, and gives as the rhyme used when playing-- Keep in, keep in, wherever you be, The greedy gled s seeking ye. This rhyme is also given by Chambers (_Popular Rhymes_, p. 122). Halliwell gives the rhyme as-- Hitty titty indoors, Hitty titty out, You touch Hitty titty, And Hitty titty will bite you. --_Nursery Rhymes_, p. 213. At Ashford-in-the-Water the words used were-- One a bin, two a bin, three a bin, four, Five a bin, six a bin, seven, gie o er; A bunch of pins, come prick my shins, A loaf brown bread, come knock me down. I m coming! --_Reliquary_, viii.
Any pins knocked down through the dead wood remaining on the alleys cannot be placed to the credit of the player. Ten innings constitute a game. The maximum is 20. FOUR BACK. [Illustration: 4 3 2 1 O O O O ] The pins are spotted as above. Three balls (not exceeding 6 inches in size) are allotted to each inning. Each pin counts as spotted, and only one pin can be made at a time; if more than one pin is made with one ball, it is termed a break, and the player loses that inning and scores nothing. There are no penalties. The dead wood must be removed. Any pins knocked down through the dead wood remaining on the alley cannot be placed to the credit of the players.
In the West Cornwall version, as seen played in 1884, a ring is formed, into the middle of which goes a child holding a stick; the others with joined hands run round in a circle, singing the verses. When they have finished singing they cease running, whilst the one in the centre, pointing with his stick, asks them in turn to spell Bingo. If they all spell it correctly they again move round singing; but should either of them make a mistake, he or she has to take the place of the middle man (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58). In the Hexham version they sing a second verse, which is the same as the first with the name spelt _backwards_. The Berks version is practically the same as the Tean version. The Eckington (Derbyshire) version is played as follows:--A number of young women form a ring. A man stands within the ring, and they sing the words. He then makes choice of a girl, who takes his arm. They both walk round the circle while the others sing the same lines again.
On arriving at the exact number of 90 points, the contestant must next obtain 10 more points by carroms only; and having arrived at the score of 100, the last point must be obtained by playing the cue ball onto the No. 1 ball and thence into any pocket he may designate, without touching either of the other balls, however, and should the cue ball enter any other pocket, the hand is out and the run, if any, lost. 6. Any point made by a player and scored for him by either the marker or himself at the completion of any hand can never be lost; but should a player at any time make a scratch, miss or foul, any points previously made by him in that hand shall be lost and the hand shall pass. 7. At the completion of the first 90 points all the balls must come to rest on the table before the player makes his next stroke; otherwise the following stroke shall be a foul. 8. At the completion of 100 points the balls must all come to rest before the player makes his next stroke; otherwise the stroke is foul. 9. Should a player pocket the cue ball twice in succession without striking any object bail, he shall forfeit the game.
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. 1, the dealer follows suit from No.
If a player called on to lead a suit have none of it, the penalty is paid. CARDS PLAYED IN ERROR, OR NOT PLAYED TO A TRICK. 67. If the third hand play before the second, the fourth hand may play before his partner. 68. Should the third hand not have played, and the fourth play before his partner, the latter may be called on to win, or not to win the trick. 69. If any one omit playing to a former trick, and such error be not discovered until he has played to the next, the adversaries may claim a new deal; should they decide that the deal stand good, the surplus card at the end of the hand is considered to have been played to the imperfect trick, but does not constitute a revoke therein. 70. If any one play two cards to the same trick, or mix his trump, or other card, with a trick to which it does not properly belong, and the mistake be not discovered until the hand is played out, he is answerable for all consequent revokes he may have made.
=_ When there is only _=one way=_ of taking _=one or more=_ pieces, time shall be called at the end of one minute, and if the play is not completed in another minute, the game shall be adjudged lost through improper delay. _=10.=_ Either player is entitled, on giving intimation, to arrange his own or his opponent’s pieces properly on the squares. After the first move has been made, however, if either player touch or arrange any piece without giving intimation to his opponent, he shall be cautioned for the first offence, and shall forfeit the game for any subsequent act of the kind. _=11.=_ After the pieces have been arranged, if the person whose turn it is to play _=touch=_ one, he must either play it or forfeit the game. When the piece is not playable, he forfeits according to the preceding law. _=12.=_ If _=any part=_ of a playable piece is moved over an angle of the square on which it is stationed, the move must be completed in _=that=_ direction. _=13.
We proffer them, not as a finished set of rules, but as material for anyone who chooses to work over them, in the elaboration of what we believe will be a far more exciting and edifying Kriegspiel than any that exists at the present time. The game may be played by any number of players, according to the forces engaged and the size of the country available. Each side will be under the supreme command of a General, who will be represented by a cavalry soldier. The player who is General must stand at or behind his representative image and within six feet of it. His signalling will be supposed to be perfect, and he will communicate with his subordinates by shout, whisper, or note, as he thinks fit. I suggest he should be considered invulnerable, but Colonel Sykes has proposed arrangements for his disablement. He would have it that if the General falls within the zone of destruction of a shell he must go out of the room for three moves (injured); and that if he is hit by rifle-fire or captured he shall quit the game, and be succeeded by his next subordinate. Now as to the Moves. It is suggested that: Infantry shall move one foot. Cavalry shall move three feet.
1, 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 23, and the variants, though important, are not sufficient to detract from the significance of the normal version. It is evidently a funeral game. The green gravel and the green grass indicate the locality of the scene; green, as applied to gravel, may mean freshly disturbed, just as green grave means a freshly made grave. The tenant of the new grave is the well-loved lady of a disconsolate lover, and probably the incidents of washing and dressing the corpse, and putting an inscription on the place where it is laid, are indicated by Nos. 13 and 15. The dirge, or singing to the dead, is indicated by Nos. 18, 23, and 26, and the beauty of the first line is in complete accord with the mournful music. That No. 26 occurs in only two variants, Derbyshire and the Isle of Man, is curious, as the pathos of this appeal is very apparent in the movement of the game. The communion with the dead which is indicated by No.
If a bet is made and called, those in the call do not show their down cards, but are each given another card, face up, and the same betting process is gone through, the best hand showing face up making the first bet in each round. As long as two or more players remain in the pool they are given more cards until they have five. Then the final betting is done, and if a call is made, the down cards are shown, and the best poker hand wins the pool. Straight flushes do not count. WHISKEY POKER. The arrangements for the cards, seats, etc., are the same as in Draw Poker. Each player is provided with an equal number of white counters, which may have a value attached to them, or which may simply represent markers. If the counters represent money, each player should have at least twenty; if they are only markers, five is the usual number. If the game is played for money, each player puts one counter in the pool before the cards are dealt.
The chilly fingers touched me again. Still, what she was saying made some weird kind of sense. What about the healing? I tried, feeling a trap slowly descending over me. She smiled at that. I guess I put that punishment on myself for what I done, she said. Then you can still heal the sick? I asked. She shrugged. I want you to try, I added. Not till I get a sign, she said, moving uneasily. I m to get a sign.
You can wash them in an egg-shell. An egg-shell would not hold them. You can wash them by the river side. But what if I should fall in? We ll get a rope and pull you out, To me, I, O, OM. --Sheffield (S. O. Addy). V. Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, Two milking-pails, two milking-pails, Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, O sweet mother o mine. [Then verses beginning with the following lines--] Where shall I get my money from, O sweet daughter o mine? Sell my father s feather beds.
It is better to take up the trump with only one plain suit in the hand, and small trumps, than with two strong trumps and two weak plain suits. The score will often decide the dealer in taking up the trump. For instance: At 4 all, it is useless to turn anything down unless you have a certain euchre in the next suit, and nothing in the turn-up. Even then, the adversaries are almost certain to cross the suit and go out. With the score 3 all, the dealer should be very careful about taking up on a weak hand, because a euchre loses the game. If he is weak, but has a chance in the next suit, or a bower in the cross suits, he should turn it down. It is a common stratagem to turn it down for a euchre when the dealer is better in the next suit, and has only 2 to go. _=PLAYING ALONE.=_ The dealer has the best chance to get a lone hand; but the eldest hand is more likely to succeed with one, on account of the advantage of the lead. It is an invariable rule for any player to go alone when he has three certain tricks, unless he is 3 up, and can win the game with a march.
Bids outrank one another in the order of the suits, hearts being preference always. The number of tricks is not mentioned. In case there are no bids, each in turn has a second chance to bid for the widow. These bids are made in counters, to be put into the pool. The highest bidder takes the widow, lays out two cards, and then names the trump suit. The players agree upon a value for the tricks won, and payments are made from the pool accordingly. These payments may vary according to the rank of the trump suit. ODD GAMES. There are quite a number of odd games of cards, which come and go as favourites from time to time, and pass round the world from one country to another under many different names. The origin of most of these games is lost in the weedy undergrowth of variations, but the chief family trait in some of them can be traced back to the alpha of cards.
, a slam. Chip Along, to bet a single counter and wait for developments. Chouette, à la, taking all the bets. Close Cards, those which are not likely to form sequences with others, especially at Cribbage. Club Stakes, the usual amount bet on any game in the club. Cogging Dice, turning one over with the finger after they have been fairly thrown. Cold Deck, a pack of cards which has been pre-arranged, and is surreptitiously exchanged for the one in play. Colours, a system of playing Faro according to the colour of the first winner or loser in each deal. Command, the best card of a suit, usually applied to suits which the adversary is trying to establish. Couper, F.
But if he holds the Ace, or cards in sequence with it, such A K, he should cover any card higher than a Ten. If he holds K Q he should cover a J, 10, or 9 led; but it is useless for him to cover an honour with a single honour, unless it is the Ace. _=Low Cards Led.=_ High cards are played by the Second Hand when he has any combination from which he would have led a high one if he had opened the suit. The fact that a player on his right has already laid a small card of the suit on the table should not prevent the Second Hand from making the best use of any combinations he may hold. The only difference between leading from such combinations, and playing them Second Hand, is that in the latter case no attempt is made to indicate to the partner the exact nature of the combination held. The general rule is to win the trick as cheaply as possible, by playing the lowest of the high cards which form the combination from which a high card would be led. Such are the following:-- [Illustration: 🂡 🂮 🂭 🂫 | 🂾 🂽 🂻 🂸 🂱 🂾 🂽 🂳 | 🃞 🃝 🃘 🃔 🃑 🃞 🃕 🃒 | 🃎 🃋 🃊 🃅 🃁 🃍 🃋 🃂 | 🂭 🂫 🂪 🂣 ] The beginner must be careful with these:-- [Illustration: 🂡 🂮 🂫 🂢 | 🃎 🃍 🃊 🃆 ] The combination which makes the first of these a high-card lead is the A K, and the King must be played Second Hand. The Jack has nothing to do with it. In the second, the Ten does not form any part of the combination, and the Queen is the card to play Second Hand.
An impérial de retourne may be formed in the dealer’s hand if the turn-up trump completes his sequence or makes four of a kind. An impérial tombée, or de rencontre, is made when the player who holds the King and Queen of trumps catches the Jack and Ace from his adversary. Four Kings, Queens, Jacks, Aces, or Sevens in one hand is an impérial; but the Eights, Nines and Tens have no value. _=Declaring.=_ The elder hand announces his point, as in Piquet, and arrives at its value in the same way, reckoning the Ace for 11, etc. The dealer replies, “Good,” or “Not good,” as the case may be; but there are no equalities. If the point is a tie, the elder hand counts it. The point is worth a _=white=_ counter. The impérials are then called, each being worth one _=red=_ counter. The sequences are called first, that in trumps being “good” of course; then the fours are called, the best being four Kings, and the lowest four Aces.
Making Jacks.=_ If no player will come in, it is a Natural Jack, and all the hands must be abandoned, each player putting up for the ensuing deal the amount agreed upon. If no one has straddled the blind, or raised the ante, and only one player has come in, the age may do one of four things: He may forfeit his blind; or he may make the ante good; or he may raise it; or he may demand that the single player who has come in shall take down his ante, the age putting up twice the amount agreed upon for jack pots; once for himself, and once for the player who came in. All the other players must then put up for the ensuing deal. This is an Only-Two-In Jack. _=22. Drawing Cards.=_ When two or more players have come in for an equal amount, the others having abandoned their hands, each of them in turn, beginning with the one on the dealer’s left, may discard any or all of the cards originally dealt him, and draw others in their place. The number discarded and drawn, if any, must be distinctly announced by each player, including the dealer; and the fresh cards must be given face down from the top of the pack, without any further shuffling or cutting. Each player must receive the entire number he asks for before the next player is helped.
[3] A variant of the second line is, Ranting, roaring, heely man. I suppose he was Irish, said my informant, as he was named Healey (Miss G. Hope). Follow my Leader This is a boys game. Any number can take part in it. It requires a good extent of country to play it well. The boy who is the swiftest runner and the best jumper is chosen as Leader. He sets out at a good speed over the fields, tries to jump as many ditches or burns, jumping such from one side to the other again and again, to scramble over dykes, through hedges, over palings, and run up braes. The others have to follow him as they can. This steeplechase continues till the followers are all tired out.
The French terms are given in _=italics=_:-- Five tricks; or eight with a partner, in petite. _=Simple in petite=_. Five tricks; or eight with a partner, in belle. _=Simple in belle=_. Six tricks solo, in any suit. _=Petite independence=_. Little misère. _=Petite misère=_. Eight tricks solo in any suit. _=Grand independence=_.
There are only two possible events, to win or lose, and both are equally probable, so 2 is the denominator of our fraction. The number of favourable events is 1, which is our numerator, and the fraction is therefore ½, which always represents equality. Now for the successive events. Your man wins the first game, and they proceed to play another. What are the odds on Smith’s winning the second game? It is evident that they are exactly the same as if the first game had never been played, because there are still only two possible events, and one of them will be favourable to him. Suppose he wins that game, and the next, and the next, and so on until he has won nine games in succession, what are the odds against his winning the tenth also? Still exactly an even thing. But, says a spectator, Smith’s luck must change; because it is very improbable that he will win ten games in succession. The odds against such a thing are 1023 to 1, and the more he wins the more probable it is that he will lose the next game. This is what gamblers call the _=maturity of the chances=_, and it is one of the greatest fallacies ever entertained by intelligent men. Curiously enough, the men who believe that luck must change in some circumstances, also believe in betting on it to continue in others.
F. Foster. * Foster’s Whist Tactics, by R.F. Foster. x Foster’s Common Sense in Whist, by R.F. Foster. * Foster’s Self-Playing Cards, by R.F.