394) describes this game, and gives an illustration which is here reproduced from the original MSS. in the Bodleian. This game may have originated from a custom at funerals of practising spells for the safe and speedy passage of the departing spirit to its destination, or from divination mysteries to foretell who would be the next among the mourners to follow the dead body to the grave. The spirit of prophecy was believed to exist in a dying person. See Handy Croopen. How many Miles to Babylon I. King and Queen of Cantelon, How many miles to Babylon? Eight and eight and other eight. Will I get there by candle-light? If your horse be good and your spurs be bright. How mony men have ye? Mae nae ye daur come and see. --Chambers _Popular Rhymes_, p.
* Whist, or Bumblepuppy, by “Pembridge.” Whist Developments, by “Cavendish.” * Whist of To-day, by Milton C. Work. * _Whist à Trois_, by Ch. Lahure. [Dummy.] x Whist, and its Masters, by R.F. Foster.
Here stands a Young Man I. Here stands a young man who wants a sweetheart, With all his merry maids round him; He may choose from east, he may choose from west, He may choose the prettiest girl that he loves best. Now this young couple is married together, We propose they kiss each other. --Glapthorn (_Northants Notes and Queries_, i. 214, A. Palmer). II. Here stands a young lady [lass] who wants a sweetheart, Wants a sweetheart, wants a sweetheart, And don t know where to find one, find one, find one. Choose the prettiest that you loves best. Now you re married I wish you joy, First a girl and then a boy, Seven years after son and daughter, Pray you come to kiss together.
Every card faced upon the table otherwise than in the regular course of play. 2. Two or more cards played to a trick; the adversaries may elect which shall be played. 3. Any card named by the player holding it. The adversary on the right of an exposed card must call it before he plays himself. If it will be the turn of the player holding the exposed card to lead for the next trick, the card, if wanted, must be called before the current trick is turned and quitted. Should a player having the lead, and an exposed card in front of him, play before the previous trick is turned and quitted, the card so led may also be claimed as exposed. If a trump is exposed after the trump suit has been named, the adversaries may prevent the playing of such a card; but the holder of it is not liable to any penalty for a revoke under such circumstances. _=Leading Out of Turn.
This is a simplified form of Vint, for three players, with a thirty-two-card pack. The cards rank: A K Q J 10 9 8 7, and the suits rank: Hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Hearts are always _=preference=_. There are no hands played without a trump suit. If four persons play, the dealer takes no cards. The three active players make up a pool, each putting in an equal amount at first, and the bidder putting into it as many as he bids for the privilege of naming the trump suit. Any one may deal the first hand, after which the deal passes to the left. Three cards are given to each player the first round, then two are laid off for a widow, then four to each player, and then three to each. Beginning on the dealer’s left, each player in turn may name the trump if he thinks he can take at least six of the ten tricks to be played for. Bids outrank one another in the order of the suits, hearts being preference always.
Observe that the dealer plays the high cards from the hand which is shorter in the suit, and on the second round of clubs is careful to give up the higher of two cards, so as to get out of Dummy’s way and clear, or establish, the suit. B, hoping to get his partner into the lead again, leads a heart up to Dummy’s weakness, and leads a heart which will beat Dummy’s best heart. At the eleventh trick, unless the dealer can make two tricks in spades by the finesse, he cannot win the game. The second example shows the importance of preserving a re-entry card in the hand which is longer in the suit the dealer intends playing for. If the dealer lets the heart come up to him, it is true that he will make win the first trick with the Jack; but he will never win a trick with the Queen, and therefore he can never get in to make his clubs, even if he establishes them. By putting up the Ace of hearts, and keeping both Q and J in his own hand, he is certain of a re-entry in hearts. On the second round of clubs, the adversary still holding up or underplaying, the dealer must be careful to overtake Dummy’s ten with his own Jack, so as to continue the suit without losing the lead. VARIETIES OF BRIDGE. _=THREE HAND AUCTION.=_ This is a game for three active players only, but four may form a table.
He must continue in position until he guesses who struck his hand, when the striker takes his place.--Orkney and Shetland (Jamieson s _Dictionary_). See Hot Cockles. Handy Dandy I. Handy dandy, Sugary candy-- Top or bottom? Handy spandy, Jack a dandy-- Which good hand will you have? --Halliwell s _Dictionary_: _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216. II. Handy dandy riddledy ro-- Which will you have, high or low? --Halliwell s _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 216. III.
If the variation ends with a plus sign, showing a win for the white, play it over with the white men next you. In selecting openings for general use in play, if it is one for the white men, take those openings that have the greatest number of variations ending in favour of white. The Ruy Lopez is a very good opening for beginners, and the Evans’ Gambit may be studied later. The French Defence and the Petroff are good openings for Black. The theory of opening is to mobilise your forces for the attack in the fewest possible moves. Lasker thinks six moves should be enough for this purpose, and he recommends that only the King’s and Queen’s Pawns should be moved, after which each piece should be placed at once upon the square from which it can operate to the best advantage. He thinks the Knights should be first brought out, and posted at B 3, and then the K’s B, somewhere along his own diagonal. The great mistake made by beginners is that they rush off to the attack and try to capture some of the adverse pieces before they have properly prepared themselves for re-inforcement or retreat. It should never be forgotten that the game is not won by capturing the adversary’s pieces, but by check-mating his King. Take the board and pieces, arrange them with the white men next you, and play over the following simple little game.
Hurling A game played with a ball. The players are divided into two equal parties, each of which tries to secure and keep the ball in their possession. The prize is a ball made of cork, covered with silver.--Courtney s _West Cornwall Glossary_. In Taylor s _Antiquitates Curiosæ_, p. 144, it is stated:-- The game of hurling consisted in throwing or hurling a ball of wood about three inches in diameter, and covered with plated silver, sometimes gilt. On the ball was frequently a Cornish motto allusive to the game, and signifying that fair play was best. Success depended on catching the ball dexterously when dealt, and conveying it away through all the opposition of the adverse party, or, if that was impossible, to throw it into the hands of a partner, who, in his turn, was to exert his utmost efforts to convey it to his own goal, which was often three or four miles distant from that of his adversaries. T. Durfey s _Collin s Walk through London_, 1690, p.
A player who is set back, either for overbidding his hand, or for refusing to sell and failing to make the number of points offered him, must withdraw from the pool as many white counters as were bid, and add them to his own. For instance: It is A’s sell. A and B each have two to go. B bids three, which A refuses, pitching the trump himself. A makes only two points, B scoring one, and a third player D, another. B and D score one each, but A scores nothing for the two points he made, and must take three white counters from the pool, which will make him five to go. Had the bid which A refused been two only, he would have won the game, as he made two points. In many clubs it is the custom for a player who is set back to add a red counter to the pool. _=Irregularities in Play.=_ If any adversary of the player who pitches the trump leads or plays out of turn, he may be called upon by the bidder to play his highest or lowest of the suit led; or to trump or not to trump the trick.
401) describes a game very similar to this under Buck, in which the rhyme and method of play is the same as in that game. He continues, This is closely allied to a game called in Warwickshire Jack upon the Mopstick. But in this there is no guessing. The leaping party must maintain their position whilst their leader says-- Jack upon the mopstick, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Count em off again. Bunting Name for Tip-cat. --Cole s _S. W. Lincolnshire_ Glossary. Burly Whush A game played at with a ball. The ball is thrown up by one of the players on a house or wall, who cries on the instant it is thrown to another to catch or kep it before it falls to the ground.
Schneiden, G., to finesse. Schinden is sometimes used. Scratch, a fluke, a score which was not played for. Screw Shot, a force shot at Billiards. Second Dealing, dealing the second card from the top of the pack, keeping back the top card until it can be dealt to yourself or your partner. See Saw, a cross ruff. Sequence, three or more cards next in value to one another. The word is sometimes used for two cards only. Short-card Player, a poker player; usually a sharper also.
If he counts the cards on the table or in the remainder of the pack. IV. If, having a perfect pack, he does not deal to each player the proper number of cards, and the error is discovered before all have played to the first trick. V. If he looks at the trump card before the deal is completed. VI. If he places the trump card face downward upon his own or any other player’s cards. A misdeal loses the deal, unless, during the deal, either of the adversaries touches a card or in any other manner interrupts the dealer. In _=Boston=_, _=Cayenne=_, and _=Solo Whist=_, the misdealer deals again with the same cards. In Boston he forfeits a red counter to the pool for his error.
Two packs are generally used. The cards rank as at Whist, both for cutting and playing. _=MARKERS=_ are not used, counters taking their place. These are usually of the colours and values, and are distributed among the players as already described in Boston. _=STAKES.=_ As a guide in settling upon the unit value, it may be noted that the largest amount possible to win or lose on a single hand is 2,400 white counters; the smallest amount being 30. The average is about 300. _=THE POOL.=_ In addition to the counters won or lost on each hand, a pool is formed by each dealer in his turn placing five counters in a small tray provided for the purpose. This pool may be increased by penalties, etc.
_, when the balls have become stationary, his scores from previous strokes shall hold good. 22. If the striker force any of the red or pool balls off the table, he shall be penalized in the value of the ball or balls so forced off. Should the ball or balls forced off the table be struck out of order, or of inferior value to the ball that should have been struck, the latter ball shall govern the penalty. Should he force his own ball off the table, he shall be penalized in the value of the ball aimed at, unless another ball of higher value be first struck, in which case such higher ball shall govern the penalty. 23. If a player refuse to continue the game when called upon to do so, or intentionally obstruct an opponent, or wilfully interfere with the running of the balls, he shall be penalized in the total value of all the balls remaining in play. 24. If the striker miss the object ball, or run a coup, or pocket the white ball, he shall be penalized in the value of the ball aimed at; but, if he strike another ball or balls, he shall be penalized in the value of the first ball so struck, unless the ball so struck is of lower value than the ball aimed at and missed, in which case the penalty is governed by the value of the ball aimed at. Should the striker in pocketing any ball hole the white, he cannot score, and is penalized in the value of the ball pocketed.
--Shepscombe, Gloucestershire (Miss Mendham). XIV. Sift the lady s oaten meal, sift it into flour, Put it in a chest of drawers and let it lie an hour. One of my rush, Two of my rush, Please, young lady, come under my bush. My bush is too high, my bush is too low, Please, young lady, come under my bow. Stir up the dumpling, stir up the dumpling. --Belfast (W. H. Patterson). XV.
See-saw, a bucket of water, To wash my lady s garter. One in a rush, and two in a bush, To see a fine lady pop under a bush. --Anderby, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire near the Trent (Miss Peacock). XIII. One we go rush, Two we go push; Lady come under the corner bush. --Shepscombe, Gloucestershire (Miss Mendham). XIV. Sift the lady s oaten meal, sift it into flour, Put it in a chest of drawers and let it lie an hour. One of my rush, Two of my rush, Please, young lady, come under my bush. My bush is too high, my bush is too low, Please, young lady, come under my bow.