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,48 GENTEEL LADY
and put to the question, is supposed to deny that he has the Gegg: if he escapes with it, he gets out again.— Jamieson.
Genteel Lady
A player begins thus:—" I, a genteel lady (or gentleman) came from that genteel lady (or gentleman) to say that she (or he) owned a tree." The other players repeat the words in turn, and then the leader goes over them again, adding, " with bronze bark." The sentence goes round once more, and on the next repetition the leader continues, "with golden branches." He afterwards adds, "and silver leaves," "and purple fruit," " and on the top a milk-white dove," and, finally, " mourning for the loss of his lady-love."
If a player should fail in repeating the rigmarole, there is a fine to pay. A "pipe-lighter" is stuck in her hair, and she must say " one-horned lady " instead of " genteel lady." When a second horn is added, of course she says " two-horned," and so forth. Some players wear half-a-dozen before the conclusion of the game. The game is called "The Wonderful Tree." —Anderby, Lincolnshire (Miss M. Peacock).
In some parts of Yorkshire it is customary to say "no-horned lady" instead of " genteel lady" at the beginning of the game.
When we played this game we said " always genteel" after "genteel lady," and varied the formula. For instance, the first player would say, " I, a genteel lady, always genteel, come from a genteel lady, always genteel, to say she lives in a house with twelve windows," or words were used beginning with the letter A. Each player must repeat this, and add something else in keeping with a house; or sentences had to be made in which words beginning with the letter A must be said, the other players doing the same alphabetically.—London (A. B. Gomme).
Mr. Newell, in writing of this game, says that the "lamplighter " or " spill" was lighted when placed in the hair of the players who made mistakes. He does not mention forfeits being exacted.—Games, p. 139. |
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