HAND.
The game of Hand is of great antiquity, and is common to almost every nation, whether savage or civilized. In many of the rural districts of England this universal pastime is known by the name of “Coddem.” To play at Hand, sides must be formed, and the players of each side must seat themselves at a table opposite their antagonists. Chance decides which of the sides shall first hide the piece; which may be any small object that can be easily held in the closed hand of one of the players. One of the fortunate players now exhibits the piece to his opponents; having done which, he cries out, “Hands down!” at which signal he and his comrades put their hands out of sight, and in the language of the game, commence “working the piece,” which operation is performed by shifting the piece from hand to hand, so as to deceive the opposite players as to its whereabouts. When the piece has been properly worked, the chief player calls out, “Hands up,” and he and all his comrades simultaneously place their closed fists on the table. The top player on the opposite side has now to fix upon the hand in which the piece is concealed. There are two ways of guessing, either of which he may adopt; the first is to point at once to the hand supposed to contain the piece, and cry out, “Hand!” The second mode of guessing is to point to those hands which appear to be empty, saying with each guess, “Take that hand away!” and when most of the hands have been removed from the table, to fix upon the most likely-looking one among those that remain. If the guesser can find the piece without making a mistake, he claims it for his party, and is entitled to guess again when the opposite side regains it; but if he makes a mistake, either by ordering the hand that holds the piece to be removed, or by “handing” an empty fist, his antagonists retain the piece, and having concealed it, the second player attempts to discover its whereabouts. From our description, the reader will probably regard Hand as a mere frivolous game of chance; but we can assure him that chance has little to do with the discovery of the piece. A good Hand player watches the faces of his opponents while their hands are engaged in working the piece under the table; he scrutinises the different hands, and does not allow himself to be misled by any of the cunning devices which the hiders employ to throw him off the right scent; again, when he has the piece in his possession, he takes care not to let a tightly-clenched fist, a guilty smile, or an anxious expression, betray the fact to his wary antagonist.
HOT BOILED BEANS.
In this game, one of the players is sent out of the room, while the others hide a handkerchief or any small article that can be easily secreted. When the article has been concealed, the door is opened, and the seeker is invited to enter in these words: “Hot boiled beans and butter; walk in and find your supper.” The seeker now sets to work to look for the hidden article. When he approaches the place of concealment, his playmates must give him notice of it, by telling him that he is “rather warm,” “very hot,” or, if he gets very near it, that he “burns.” When he wanders away from the object of his search, he is told that he is “cold;” and if he persists in his mistaken course, he is informed that he “freezes.” Should the seeker succeed in finding the hidden article, another player goes out of the room in his stead.
HOT COCKLES.
One player with his eyes bandaged lays his head on a chair, or in another player’s lap, while the others strike him on his back with their open hands. In this unenviable position he remains until he can guess who strikes him, when the striker takes his place. The poet Gay describes this pastime in the following lines:—
“As at Hot Cockles once I laid me down,
And felt the weighty hand of many a clown,
Buxoma gave a gentle tap, and I
Quick rose, and read soft mischief in her eye.”
HOW? WHERE? AND WHEN?
One of the players is sent out of the room, while the others fix upon a subject, which may be anything to which the three questions, “How do you like it?” “Where do you like it?” and “When do you like it?” will apply. When the subject has been decided upon, the out-player is summoned. He now puts the first question to the nearest player, who returns him a puzzling answer; he then passes to the next, and repeats the same question; then to the next, and so on, until he has made the round of the room. If none of the answers enable him to guess the subject, he tries each player with the second question, and if the answers to this leave him still in the dark, he solicits a reply from each to the third and last question. Should the player fail to guess the subject after asking the three questions, he pays a forfeit and takes another turn outside; but should he succeed in guessing it during his rounds, the player last questioned must pay a forfeit, and go out of the room in his place. The in-players should always endeavour to hit upon some word that has two or three meanings for a subject, as such a word renders the answers extremely confusing. For instance, if Jack be the subject decided on, one of the players may say, in answer to the first query, that he likes it “fried,” referring to fish called the Jack; in answer to the second, that he likes it “before the kitchen fire,” referring now to a roasting-jack; and in answer to the third, that he likes it when he is “dressing,” now regarding the subject as a boot-jack.