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STOOL-BALL |
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History of Wiltshire, p. 117; Collections for North Wilts, p. 77). It is no doubt the same game as Stool-ball, which is alluded to by Herrick in 1648 (Hesperides)) and in Poor Robin's Almanack for 1677 (see Halliwell's Dictionary). D'Urfey's Don Quixote, written in 1694, alludes to it as follows:—
" Down in a vale, on a summer's day,
All the lads and lasses met to be men ; A match for kisses at stool-ball to play,
And for cakes and ale, and cider and perry."
Chorus ;
" Come all, great, small, short, tall— Away to stool-ball."
It is also alluded to in Poor Robin's Almanack for 1740:
" Now milkmaids pails are deckt with flowers, And men begin to drink in bowers, The mackarels come up in shoals, To fill the mouths of hungry souls; Sweet sillabubs, and lip-lov'd tansey, For William is prepared by Nancy. Much time is wasted now away, At pigeon-holes, and nine-pin play, Whilst hob-nail Dick, and simpring Frances, Trip it away in country dances; At stool-ball and at barley-break, Wherewith they harmless pastime make."
It is described by Strutt in Sports and Pastimes, p. 103, as a variety of game more commonly known as " goff" or " bandy ball," the paganica of the Romans, who also stuffed their balls with feathers. According to Dr. Johnson, the balls are driven from stool to stool, hence the name.
In spite of Aubrey's opinion as to the limited range of this game, it appears to have been pretty generally played. Thus, Roberts' Cambrian Antiquities says, "Stool-ball, resembling cricket, except that no bats are used and that a stool was substituted for the wicket, was in my memory also a favourite game on holydays, but it is now seldom or ever played. It |
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