Gilsum, N. H.
PUNISHMENT.
89. An “eyewinker” placed in the palm of the hand will cause the ferule to break when the teacher strikes the palm with it.
90. Pine tar or pitch in the hand will prevent the blows of the ferule from causing pain. (Portsmouth, N. H., sixty years ago.)
Believed by most schoolboys there at that time.
SPORT.
91. At croquet, if your ball was about to be sent flying, the safeguard was to draw an imaginary X with your mallet, saying, “Criss cross.” It made your enemy’s foot slip, and many a girl would get “mad” and not play, if you did it often.
Brookline, Mass.
92. Children believe it is unlucky to step on the cracks in the flagstones, which are believed to contain poison. It is a game to walk a long distance on such stones without setting foot on the interstices.