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.