Redeeming Forfeits.
The girl who is to name the penalty by which the forfeit must be redeemed lays her face on the lap of another who sits on a chair, while a third, standing behind, holds the article over her head and asks:
“Here is a forfeit, a very fine forfeit; what shall be done to redeem it?”
“Is it fine or superfine?” (i. e., does it belong to a gentleman or to a lady.)
The sentence is then declared.
Another formula, used in the Middle and Southern States, is: “Heavy, heavy, what hangs over you?”
The German usage is nearly the same, the question being: “Judge, what is your sentence, what shall he do whose pledge I have in my hand?” Any proper penalty may be named.