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LETTING THE BUCK OUT—LEVEL COIL |
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One child represents an old woman, and the other players carry on the dialogue with her. At the end of the dialogue the children are chased by the old woman.
See " Mother, Mother, may I go out to Play," " Witch."
Letting the Buck out
This game was played seventy years ago. A ring being formed, the " Buck" inside has to break out, and reach his "home," crying "Home!" before he can be caught and surrounded. Afterwards these words were sung— Circle: Who comes here ? Buck : Poor Johnny Lingo. Circle : Don't steal none of my black sheep, Johnny Lingo,
For if you do
I shall put you in the pinder pin-fold.
—Stixwold, Lines. (Miss M. Peacock).
See M Who goes round my Stone Wall ? "
Level-coil
Nares, in his Glossary, says this is " a game of which we seem to know no more than that the loser in it was to give up his place to be occupied by another." Minshew gives it thus: " To play at levell coil, G. jouer a cul leve: i.e., to play and lift up your taile when you have lost the game, and let another sit down in your place." Coles, in his English Dictionary, seems to derive it from the Italian leva il culo, and calls it also "Pitch-buttock." In his Latin Dictionary he has " level-coil, alternation, cession;" and "to play at level coil, vices ludendi praebere." Skinner is a little more particular and says, "Vox tesseris glo-bulosis ludentium propria : " an expression belonging to a game played with little round tesserae. He also derives it from French and Italian. It is mentioned by Jonson, Tale of a Tub, hi. 2 :— " Young Justice Bramble has kept level-coyl Here in our quarters, stole away our daughter."
Gifford says that, in our old dramatists, it implies riot and disturbance. The same sport is mentioned by Sylvester, Dubartas, IV. iv. 2, under the name of level-sice :—
" By tragick death's device Ambitious hearts do play at level-sice." |
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