—Stixwold, Lines. (Miss M. Peacock).
See “[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 à cul levé: 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 præbere.” Skinner is a little more particular and says, “Vox tesseris globulosis ludentium propria:” an expression belonging to a game played with little round tesseræ. He also derives it from French and Italian. It is mentioned by Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iii. 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.”
In the margin we have this explanation: “A kinde of Christmas play, wherein each hunteth the other from his seat. The name seems derived from the French levez sus, in English, arise up.” Halliwell’s Dictionary says that Skelton, ii. 31, spells it levell suse.
Libbety, Libbety, Libbety-lat
A child stands before a hassock, and as if he were going up stairs, he puts on it first his right and then his left foot, gradually quickening his steps, keeping time to the words—