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364 MARBLES—MARY BROWN
game to say the words in such a way that the uniniated imagine the saying of the words correctly with particular accents on particular words to be where the difficulty lies. If this is well done, it diverts suspicion from the real object of these games. —A. B. Gomme.
Marbles
Brand considers that marbles had their origin in bowls, and received their name from the substance of which the bowls were formerly made. Strutt (Sports, p. 384) says, " Marbles have been used as a substitute for bowls. I believe originally nuts, round stones, or any other small things that could easily be bowled along were used as marbles." Rogers notices " Marbles" in his Pleasures of Memory, 1. 137 :—
" On yon gray stone that fronts the chancel-door, Worn smooth by busy feet, now seen no more, Each eve we shot the marble through the ring."
Different kinds of marbles are alleys, barios, poppo, stonies. Marrididdles are marbles made by oneself by rolling and baking common clay. By boys these are treated as spurious and are always rejected. In barter, a bary = four stonies; a common white alley = three stonies. Those with pink veins being considered best. Alleys are the most valuable and are always reserved to be used as " taws " (the marble actually used by the player). They are said to have been formerly made of different coloured alabaster. See also Murray's New English Diet.
For the different games played with marbles, see " Boss Out," " Bridgeboard," "Bun-hole," "Cob," " Hogo," "Holy Bang," "Hundreds," "Lag," " Long-Tawl," "Nine Holes," " Ring Taw."
Mary Brown
I. Here we go round, ring by ring, To see poor Mary lay in the ring; Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, To see your dear mother go through the town.
I won't rise, I won't rise [from off the ground], To see my poor mother go through the town. |
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