Olden Tme Ausements.

Otago Witness, Issue 1382, 25 May 1878, Page 18

Olden Tme Ausements.

By John G. Smith, Lougbush. ■ o

The reader of the present day,' surrounded as ho is by an ocean of- cheap literature in every department of knowledge, may bo . inclined to smile at' -the simple and frivolous amusements 'of l 'qu£ forefathers. It must be borne in mind, however, that in their days books' were scarce and consequently dear, that -the man of toil never saw a newspaper ofr*a periodical of any kind, now the sine 'qua 7)on of every one's daily existence', arid that the sun of knowledge — the Library, the Mechanics' Institute, or the publio lecture — had not even dawned on their dark horizon. On a cottar's or a farmer's shelf might be found "the big ha' Bible, anco his father's • pride," the Confession of Faith, and perhaps, in more recent time, Boston's Fourfold State, r all excellent in themselves, but scarcely adapted to minister to the varied • wants and necessities of the human mind. 'In every village and hamlet there was a rendezvous where the young people used <to 'assemble and discuss the news of the 'parisn, narrate stories, lilt over ballads artd'flbngs or play at games to while away the tedium of the long winter's evening; • To this custom Burns alludes in his Epistle to Lanraik — ■ ■ '>'•'''■ " On Fasten-e'en we bad a rockin, To en.' the crack, and weave our stoekin, And there was nrucklo fnu and jokin, v Ye needna doubt ; At length wo had a hearty .iokin At sang about." An account of some of tho nioat common

of the games \rith whioh the long winter evenings of our forefathers were spent with bo much mirth and enjoyment when they had finished their daily toils and assembled around the "bleezuV ingle" may appear to many dry, puerile, and uninviting ; but a little reflection will show that the amusements of any nation form an interesting and instructive chapter in the folklore of by-past times. Indeed they occupy a subordinate position only to the ballads of the people, which have been declared to exercise a more potent and abiding influence upon them than all the edicts of despots or the enactaienta of Parliament. In "Rob Roy," Sir Walter Scott says, " Here, there is naething but orderin' an' counter orderin', but patience, patience ! We may ac day play at Change seats, the King's come." This is a game which was at one time well known on the Borders, as well as in other parts of the country, and is played as follows : — As many seats are arranged round a room as will serve all the players except one, who is at first selected by the repetition of some old rhyme. The person who has no seat stands in the middle and repeats the words " Change seats" several times, and when he adda the words, " the King's come," all the rest rise and rush, some here, some there, in order to get another, and avoid the misfortune of being the unhappy individual who is left without one. The sport consists in the bustle which •nsueß. Sometimes the person in the middle says, "The King's not come," when the company ought to keep their seats, but who, from their anxiously waiting for the signal, often start up and afford no little merriment to the party. This game ia no doubt typical of political changes, and of the consequent scrambling which, ensues for the possession of place and power. The amusement of Jock and the Whistle Is only played when there is one in the company unacquainted with the game. The players form a circle on the ground, sitting with their feet towards the centre, and the stranger is invited to come and participate in the diversion. Should he consent, he is directed to sit on his knees in the middle of the ring till he is instructed in the manner of playing the game. During the time of Jock's initiation some of the young women continue pattirig his shoulders or anything else to distract his attention, while another is quietly fastening to his clothes a string or ribbon to which a whistle is attached. This having been accomplished, one of them blows the whistle and quits it, and

■Jock's duty is to discover who has tho whistle in 'possession. He accordingly >oommences a search all round ; and always,

when he iB busy they watch an opportunity "to blow it at ;the opposite side, until he finds it out, which finishes the amusement. This may be regarded as the miniature of a much more extensive gamej which is daily played by the world at large. All the world's the ring, and all the men and women are the players. The snarling cynic, the contemptible hypocrite, the fulsome parasite, the loathsome scandalmonger, the mis-chief-making tale-bearer, the boastful and

disgusting egotist — in short all ranks and .classes of men have their foibles and follies, their virtues and vices, and in consequence become Jocks in their turn, and have their whistles sounded to the no small amusement of the other players, " Wba think they are sac gude themsel, Sac pious and sac holy, An' nought to do but mark and tell Their nei'bours fauts and folly." 'M&rko ma the man, with visage lank and _grimme, Who Bcorneth alia who do not worchippe him, Who deemeth alle tho people nothing knovres, Save what he's wrote in poesies or prose, Who glorifieth self — and Jand mine. And me'i the theme of many a limping line, Till f riendes disgustef ul turne from him away And shunne his advent with ill hidde dismay And tho' he thinks he playeth at tic-tac, He hathe a whistle dangling at his backe. There is an amusement by which the raw and unsuspecting are often made the dupeß of their older and more wary com-

panions. It is called "The King and Que6n Entertainment," and was formerly well-known both in England and Scotland. A stranger to this amusement is often asked by one of tho courtiers if he would like to be present at "the King and Queen's Entertainment," to which he, of course, replies in the affirmative. The courtiers all sit round tho King and Queen, who occapy separate chairs in the middle of the ring, with a space between. This apace is concealed by a piece of cloth, which is extended over the seats of their majesties, and is called "the stranger's seat." He is then introduced to the King and Queen, who order their pages to show him to a seat. Two of them lead

him forward, and placed him on the seat between the King and Queen, who immediately rise, and, of course, he falls down, to the great amusement of their majesties and the courtiers, who wrap him up in the cloth which he trusted as a, seat, and dance round him, singing some uncouth rhymes in celebration of his discomfiture.

' Everyone who has read Fielding's " History of Joseph Andrews" will recollectthe scene where the celebrated Parson Adams was introduced at the Squire's to see " The King and Queen's Entertainment."

At the game of The Miller, one of the oldest is selected as the miller, and the next oldest is appointed judge. Seats aro arranged roundthe fire for all the players but one. The miller gives orders that as noon aa he shall give a rap with a piece of woocl v called a clack, each player must run to a ■eat, and he or she wlio may be lust will be obliged to stand and pay a forfeit, or

as it is called a wad or pledge. These pledges are oonsigned to the care of the judge, and are redeemable at the termination of the game by their owner performing some particular thing imposed on him. They all join hands and dance round singing and keeping time, till they hear the clack, at the sound of which they all quit their hold and return to their seats, when, of course, one is left standing, and must forthwith give a wad. This is repeated several times, and then the party proceed to redeem their pledges ; and if the owner be a male, such punishments as these are inflicted : Run and kiss. the four corners of the room (if a favourite he will seldom find the corners unoccupied) ; stand on a chair till one of the females of the company kiss you and assist yo\x down ; accompftny a young lady into another room, and bring from it the most beautiful object there (and should he be so ungallant as to bring back anything but the lady whom he took out with him, he is laughed at by all the company). If the owner is a female, a very common punishment is to require her to go to the outside of the door, and answer some questions which are not mentioned, by a simple " Yes" or "No." Onher return, the questions and answers are told to the company, who enjoy a hearty laugh at her expense. When all the wads are redeemed, the game is terminated.

The game is sometimes played by twirling a plate on the floor, the judge calling on one of the company by name to rise and catch the plate before it falls over, which, if he cannot do, he must pay a forfeit. This amusement, and that of carpet balls, now so much in vogue, are excellent .recreations for a kind-hearted paterfamilias engaging in with his juveniles, who, poor little dears, have now few relaxations left them, since pastimes such as these, and histories replete with glowing interest to tho opening mind, such as " Jack the Giant-killer," " Little Red Biding Hood," " Jack and the Bean Stalk," "The Babes in the Wood," &c, have been proscribed and condemned by the ultra-religionists of the day as sin and folly, and by the utilitarian educationists as not only xiseless but positively detrimental to the development of the mental faculties.

In giving a few specimens of the winter evening amusements in the Olden Time, the omission of one which had the advantage of being engaged in while nimble fingers were plying the needle or " wearin' a stockin' " would be unpardonable — I mean Guesses — not the dull enigmas, charades, anagrams, anthmorems ' of our, cheap literature, but real bonafide guesses, with a dash of poetry in not a few of them. The following are either from my j own recollection, or culled from the lips of those who are now slumbering in the " Old Churchyard " :—

1 The heron flew east, the heron flew west, The heron flew into a fair f oreste, And in the foreste there ia a bowor Wi' palm-tree leaves it's a' clad owre ; And iv the bower there is a Btono For maidens f air to sit upon, Wi' silver needle and silken thread To aew the wounds when they do bleed. 2 There was a man made a thing, The man that made itdid it bring j The man that got it did not know Whether it was a thing or no. 3 Twelve men rade out tho way, Twelve plovers saw they ; Every one held out his hat, And every one a plover gat, And eleven flew away. 4 Adam Paradam was clothed in green, The king couldna' read, nor syne could the queen, Tha Queen 0' Northumberland sent it to me, It's a bonny green thing, whate'or it should be.

5 In the sea there grows a tree, On the tree there grows a branch, On the branch there ia a neßt, In the nest there is an egg, In tho egg there is a youk, In the youk there is a drap, And a' the world gets part 0' that. 6 There was a man rode thro' this town, Gray Grizel was his name ; Saddle bold was gilfc wi' gold, And thrice I've told his name. 7 Through a rock, through a reel, Through an auld spinnin' wheel, Through a plate fu' o' popper, Through an auld mill happcr, Through a sheep shank-bono — Sic a guess was never known. 8 Maister an' minister, an' Sir John Lamb Gaed into the garden where three pears hang ; Every one pu'ed a pear, an' still two hang.

9 As I stood on my wee house-top, And lookiu' thro' my gay gold ring, I saw the King o' Aiglepaigle Ridin' thro' Jerusalem. 10 Ab I gaed owre tho hill o' Pyne, I met a drove o' Hielan' swine, A' bridled an' saddled, A' heckled and freckled, An' a' brown backit beast 3. 11 On Lintock tap there is a mist, An' in the mist there ia a kist, An' in the kist there is a caup, An* in the caup there is a drap : Tak up the caup, An' drink a drap, An' leave the caup On Lintock tap.

I have thus endeavoured to give a peep into the indoor amusements of our forefathers. The subject is a wide one, and to the lover of folklore far from being uninteresting or uninstructivc. A list of old Scottish ganva in MS., drawn up by tho Jate Dr Jamieson, author of tho Scottish Dictionary and other works, contain

about two hundred, the greater number of which are entirely forgotten. Tic-tac, the tavots, the click, the handruffe, needs must, the span counter, stook and rook, and many others are entirely extinct, and their names are strange to the ears of tho present generation. It may be that were we acquainted with details, and tho mode of enacting them, they might be found utterly unworthy of being perpetuated, and that from their triviality they might fall far short of contributing to the simple amusements of those who lived in the olden times, or of satisfying the intellectual developments of this utilitarian age.