Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports and Amusements Part 8

This game is almost the same as Encounters. Two boys drive their hoops one against the other, and he whose hoop falls in the encounter is conquered. With eight players this game may be rendered very exciting.

Four of the players stand in a row, about six feet apart, and, at a considerable distance, the other four take their stand, facing them. At a given signal each player dashes towards his opponent, and strives to overturn his hoop. The four victors now pair off, and charge two against two. The conquerors then urge their hoops one against the other, and he who succeeds in overturning the hoop of his antagonist wins the game.

Wooden hoops are more suitable for Tournament than iron ones, though the game is usually played with the latter.

TURNPIKE.

Five or six boys can play at this game, though only one hoop is required. Chance decides which of the players shall first take the hoop.

The other players become turnpike-keepers. Each turnpike is formed of two bricks or stones, placed on the ground, and separated by about three fingers' breadths. These turnpikes are fixed at regular distances, and their number is regulated by the number of keepers. When all is ready, the first player starts his hoop, and endeavours to drive it through all the turnpikes; should he succeed in this, he turns the hoop, drives it back again, and retains it until it touches one of the turnpikes, the keeper of which now becomes hoop-driver. When a player touches the hoop with his hand, or allows it to fall, he must deliver it up to the nearest turnpike-keeper. Each keeper must stand on that side of his turnpike which is towards the right hand of the hoop-driver, and it therefore follows that he must alter his position when the hoop-driver returns. Should a keeper stand on his wrong side, the driver need not send the hoop through his turnpike. When the players are numerous, there may be two or more hoops driven at once.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOOP STICKS.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: KITES]

The form of the kite and manner of flying it must be familiar to all our readers. This favourite toy probably received its denomination from having originally been made in the shape of the bird called the kite.

The flying of paper kites is a favourite pastime among the Chinese. On a certain day they hold a sort of kite festival, and then people of all ages hasten to the hills to fly their kites, the fantastic shapes and gaudy colours of which produce an extraordinary effect. Philosophers have occasionally taken the kite out of the hands of the schoolboy, and have applied it to useful and curious purposes. By means of a kite formed of a silk handkerchief stretched over a wooden frame, Dr.

Franklin drew down lightning from the clouds, and demonstrated its ident.i.ty with electricity. Many years ago Mr. Poc.o.c.k, of Bristol, travelled on the road between Bath and London in a carriage drawn by two paper kites, supported at a moderate elevation, and impelled by the wind. The paper kite has also been employed to convey a line over the capital of Pompey's Pillar. We do not expect our readers to perform any electrical or locomotive experiments with their kites; but we are quite sure that they may derive great amus.e.m.e.nt from these little aerial machines, especially if they manufacture them with their own hands. We know of no pleasanter occupation for a summer's day than watching the graceful flight of a well-made kite.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

HOW TO MAKE A KITE.

For the upright get a good straight lath, as A B, in the annexed figure, and next procure half of a thin hoop or cane for the bow C D, and then tie the hoop to the upright at A, and take care to have as much on one side of the upright as on the other; otherwise your kite will be sure to fall on one side when flying. Notch the two ends of the bow C D, and tie a long piece of string to D; pa.s.s it round the upright at E, and then fasten it at C; next carry the string to A, pa.s.s it down to D, and tie it there: from thence it is to be continued to B, pa.s.sed round a notch there, and carried up again to C, then down the upright at F, and up to D, where it is to be finally fastened off. The skeleton being thus finished, the next thing to be done is to paste several sheets of paper so as to form a surface large enough to cover the kite and allow of a little turn over to fasten the outer edges; after you have pasted the paper on to the skeleton, you must make two holes, in the upright, as at G, G, through which the belly-band is to be pa.s.sed, knotting the two ends of the string to keep it from slipping through the holes. The wings are to be made of several sheets of paper, cut into slips, rolled close up, so as to bear some resemblance to a ta.s.sel, and tied to the sides of the kite at C, D. The tail, which should be about fifteen times the length of the kite, is made by folding a number of pieces of paper so as to be about an inch in breadth, and four inches in length, and afterwards tying them on a string at intervals of three inches, and is finished by affixing to the end of the string a large ta.s.sel made in the same manner as the wings. Tie the string with which you intend to fly the kite to the belly-band, and your kite is complete and ready for service.

FLYING THE KITE.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

We need not enter very minutely into the rules to be observed in flying a kite, as every boy is acquainted with them. Unless there be a nice breeze stirring, the kite-flyer need not expect to have much sport, as nothing can be more vexatious than attempting to fly a kite when there is not sufficient wind for the purpose. To raise the kite in the first instance, the flyer will require the aid of another boy. The owner of the kite having unwound a considerable length of string, now turns his face towards the wind and prepares for a run, while his a.s.sistant holds the kite by its lower extremity as high as he can from the ground. At a given signal the a.s.sistant lets the kite go, and if all circ.u.mstances be favourable it will soar upwards with great rapidity. With a well-constructed kite, in a good breeze the flyer need not trouble himself to run very fast nor very far, as his kite will soon find its balance, and float quite steadily on the wind. The kite-flyer should be careful not to let out string too fast. When a kite pitches, it is a sign that it is built lop-side, or that its tail is not long enough.

MESSENGERS.

Some boys amuse themselves by sending messengers up to their kites when they have let out all their string. A messenger is formed of a piece of paper three or four inches square, in the centre of which a hole is made. The end of the string is pa.s.sed through the hole, and the wind quickly drives the messenger up to the kite. The kite-flyer should be careful not to send up too many messengers, lest they weigh down the kite.

CALICO KITES.

Calico has many advantages over paper as a covering for kites; it is not so liable to be torn, is not damaged by wet, and may be sewn on the framework much more neatly than paper can be pasted. Being much heavier than paper, it is, however, only suited for large kites. A portable calico kite may now be procured at most of the toy-shops. The framework of this kite is formed of two slender pieces of wood, which turn on a common centre in such a manner that they can either be shut up, so that one piece lies flat upon the other, or opened out into the form of a cross. The calico covering is attached to this cross by means of tapes.

This portable kite can be rolled up and carried to the field without inconvenience.

FANCY KITES.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Ingenious boys now and then take a hint from the Chinese, and so shape and paint their kites that they resemble different animate and inanimate objects. The "officer kite," which has the figure of a soldier painted on it, and the "hawk kite," which rudely represents a flying hawk, are common forms of fancy kites. A very funny effect may be produced by painting a kite like a sailor, and attaching moveable arms, instead of the ordinary ta.s.sel wings, to the shoulders. We present our readers with a few suggestive forms, which are quite novel. All fancy kites should be painted with the most glaring colours, and the figures on them drawn as coa.r.s.ely as possible, as they are intended to be seen at a great distance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A HIGH FLYER.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARBLES]

In ancient times, when we were boys, and indulged in the luxury of marbles, they were very different from their present form. They were made of stone, nicely polished, and some of them, called "alleys," of the purest marble. Many of the stone marbles were beautifully variegated, and now and then a fancy pet was treasured under the name of "taw," which had somewhat the virtues of a talisman, for to "lose it or to give it" were "such perdition," as Oth.e.l.lo says, as could never be exceeded. Of late years, marbles, like all other matters, have undergone considerable change. Foreign marbles have been introduced, prodigiously cheaper, it is true, than our old English marbles, but infinitely worse; and various kinds of "patent marbles" have had their day. Some of these go by the name of Dutchmen, others are called Frenchmen, and others again Chinamen, while it is not quite impossible to procure some right old English marbles, which, if they can be procured, are still the best.

We would advise all marble players to procure these, if they can, as "marbles" is a royal game, and ought to be duly honoured.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOW TO HOLD YOUR TAW.]

_How to Shoot your Marble._--The art of holding a marble to shoot it properly seems to be lost among our London boys, who are generally content to throw one marble at another, or if they shoot it to hold it in the turn of the fore-finger, forcing it out by the thumb, which is placed behind it. This, in our boyish days, was held to be a very illegitimate way of proceeding, derogatory to the true marble-player, and bore the dishonourable appellation of "fulking," and any one who made it his rule to hold a marble in such a manner was looked upon as a charlatan, or almost a cheat. The true way to hold your taw is to place it between the point of the forefinger and the first joint of the thumb, and to propel it from the nail of the thumb with strong muscular force; and so great was the skill attained by many boys, that they would sometimes strike a marble at five yards' distance, and frequently shoot one to six or seven.

BOUNCE EYE.

This game is played by several players, each of whom puts down a marble in a small ring. One player then stands in a perpendicular position over the cl.u.s.ter of marbles, and, taking his own bounce in his hand, lets it fall from his eye on to the heap, and those forced out of the ring by this method are considered won. If he does not succeed in this, and his marble falls within the ring, it belongs to the common stock, and is there impounded.

CONQUEROR.

There is a game called "Conqueror," which is extensively played in some places. A piece of hard ground, and free from stones, is chosen for the spot. The first player lays his marble on the ground, and the second throws his own at it with all his force, and endeavours to break it. If he succeeds, his marble counts one, and the vanquished player lays down another marble. If two players have marbles that have already vanquished others, the "Conqueror" counts all the conquered of the other party in addition to his own. For example, suppose A, being conqueror of twenty, breaks B, also a conqueror of twenty, A counts forty-one, _i. e._ twenty of his own, twenty for the vanquished belonging to B, and one for B itself.

Nuts, chestnuts, and other similar objects are also employed in this game, only they are fastened to a string, and swung against the opponent, instead of being thrown.

DIE SHOT.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

This is a very good game, and requires both skill and caution. It is played by elevating a die upon a marble, whose sides are slightly ground down, so that it will stand firmly, and firing at it from an offing, which is generally at a distance of about four feet from it. The die-keeper undertakes to pay to the shooter who knocks down the die the number which falls uppermost, receiving one marble from each player as he shoots.

EGGS IN THE BUSH.

This game is a great improvement upon odd or even. d.i.c.k asks Tom to guess the number of "eggs in the bush"--that is, the number of marbles in his closed hand. If Tom can guess the right number, he takes all; but if he is out in his reckoning, he pays d.i.c.k as many marbles as will make up or leave the exact number. Suppose d.i.c.k has six marbles in his hand; now, if Tom should guess either four or eight, he would have to forfeit two marbles to d.i.c.k, because four is two less, and eight is two more, than the exact number. The players hold the "eggs in the bush"

alternately.

INCREASE POUND.

In most respects resembles Ring taw, the variations being, that if before a marble is shot out of the ring one player's taw is struck by another's (excepting his partner's), or if his taw remains within the ring, he puts a shot in the pound, continues in the game, and shoots again from the offing before any of his companions. If his taw is struck after one or more marbles have been driven out of the ring, if he has taken any shots himself, he gives them to the player who struck him, puts a taw in the ring, and shoots from the offing, as before. If, however, he has not won any marbles during the game, before his taw is struck, he is "killed" and put out of the game; he is likewise out if, after any shots have been struck out, his taw gets within the pound--if it remains on the line it is nothing. He then puts the marbles (if he has won any) into the circle, adding one to them for the taw struck, and shoots again from the offing. In case he cannot gain any shots after his taw gets "fat," as remaining in the ring is termed, he is killed, and out for the rest of the game. When only one marble remains in the ring, the taw may continue inside it without being "fat." Each player seldom puts more than one marble in the ring at the beginning or a game.

KNOCK OUT, OR LAG OUT.