Chapter 10

Wait a bit. There are the chalk-games. These are what you see marked out in white or coloured chalk on the pavement or asphalt—summer games, of course, and pretty common everywhere. OrdinaryHOP-SCOTCH, for instance, andLONG HOP-SCOTCH, andFRENCH HOP-SCOTCH, andTIDDLEDEWINK, andPUDDING AND BEEF(orSTONE HOP-SCOTCH, where you have to keep a stone balanced on your head or open hand as you hop through). Then there’sWRIGGLY-WORM(also calledWHIRLY-WHIRLY, orWIGGLY-WOGGLY, orSNAIL), andSQUARES, andNUMBERS, andDOT-BOXES(orDOTS) andALL OVER THE WORLD, andSTEPPING-STONES, andZIG-ZAG. They playNOUGHTS AND CROSSESout of doors (OXEN-CROSSES, they call it; which shows how they twist the names about); other chalk-gamesareMAPS, andLONDON, andBATTLEMENTS, andSNAKES, andBABY, andBILL BAILY.

They also playBODY-BUILDINGof different kinds, and one of the most complicated of these chalk-games is now calledGERMANS-ENGLISH. It begins with a design shaped rather like a coffin with fields of squares in the middle and a field of them running along each side, and a field for “lost” at the top and another field at the bottom which I don’t remember the use of, and two starting-points at each end of the bottom. Only two boys can play; they throw their nickers by turns into the middle fields, and if they land on a line it counts nothing, but whoever lands in a field can begin building a soldier in the corresponding side-field; first his head; then (for another throw into the right field) his body; then(for another) his legs; then his rifle; then a bullet at the end of his rifle. Once the bullet is there, that soldier stands for good. But while he is still being built, the other boy, if he throws well, can set up another soldier in the corresponding side-field in shorter time, and once that soldier has his bullet—why, he can shoot the other fellow opposite, if he’s not complete, and finish him off for good. So there are all the time soldiers building in the different side-fields on both sides, each growing up as fast as he can, and all shooting each other whenever they get the chance; and the winner is the boy who has most soldiers alive at the end. And you can see from this that it’s a complicated business and shows what youngsters can think out with a bit of chalk (if somebody didn’t think it outfor them); but to explain it properly would require at least twenty diagrams to show the game in its different stages, and I can’t draw diagrams—never could; which is a pity.

The small children have a chalk-game all to themselves calledPOLLY POLLY WHAT’S THE TIME, where they draw a sort of clock on the pavement and cover up parts of it with their jackets or anything else.

The girls have another,BOOTS, SHOES, TIPS, OR NAILS, in which one of them draws a square on the pavement containing room for the four letters b. t. s. or n.; she writes one of them down and then covers it up; the others must guess which letter it is, and they score up how many correct guesses each one has had. Boys sometimes play this, but not often.

And then the well-knownCHALK-CHASE.There are different kinds ofCHALK-CHASE, such asCONVICTS AND WARDERS(orTRACKING THE CONVICTS) andSCOUTS; but the real oldCHALK-CHASE, as played by my friends of the “Char-charcoal-chalk-chase-club”, goes like this:—

“You pick parteis and then they clip for First outing. Each player has a peice of chalk which he has to draw arroes the hounds follow & they must cross out the arroes until the Others are caught then its the Others turn”.

Played it yourself, maybe?

And there! I nearly forgot some of the best of all these sports: the touch games. There’sOFF-GROUND TOUCHandFRENCH TOUCHandTOUCH THE ROAD YOU MUST GO OVERandCROSS TOUCHandHE(calledEE; alltouch-games are “he” games, and this is the grandfather of the whole family), andELBOW TOUCHandHELP TOUCHandB—TOUCHandTOUCHING BOOTLEATHERandHOP TOUCHandDOUBLE TOUCHandTOUCH LAST(orHAD YOU LAST) andTOUCHING IRONandTOUCH WOOD AND WHISTLEandNON-STOP TOUCHandSTICK-TOUCH, orSTICK-HE(touching with sticks) andWATER-HE(played in the baths) andSTRING-HE(touch and hold hands: likeWIDDY) andTREE-HE(up trees) andSHADOW-HE, which must be played in the sunshine, like this:

“The one who is he has to try and tread on one of the person’s shadders, then he is he.”

French touchis as good as any of those I can remember just now; it is played like this:

“Fr tutch run after another boy and tutch him any were and the boy you tutched has to keep his hand on the place were you tutched and go ea (“he”) and run after another boy and tutch him any were and he has to keep his hand on the place where he tutched and go ea and run after another boy and tutch him any were and he has to keep his hand on the place were he tutched and go ea and run after another boy and tutch him any were etc.”—

andOFF-GROUND TOUCHlike this:

“You are not supposed to let your feet touch the ground, if you do, the one who is out can have you”—

but somebody really ought to make a full list of games of this kind.Aunt Eliza might do it (always fussing about with school-children, she is, and seeing that their clothes are properly patched behind) if she weren’t so fond of explaining things—so fond that I daresay she’ld mix upB—TOUCHwithHOOPSandHONEY-POTS, for the sake of fitting it in with some explanation or other. That’s the worst of Aunt Eliza; she’s sometimes right, but you never know when....

And now, come to think of it, I believe I can tell you just one or two more of the games they play down our way. There’sWILL YOU ’LIST(a recruiting game, very popular just now), andHAMMERS ON, andKICKS, andRED ROVER(“Three steps and I’ll be over”), andCARLOW, andFRIED EGGS AND A RASHER, andPOSTMAN’S KNOCK, andTEN O’CLOCK POLICE, andSCHOOL-BOYS, andICKAMY-ICKAMY-CO(“where’s the poor man to go?”), andSHUNTING ENGINESandFOLLOW THE LEADER—

It’s the only really dangerous game we have,FOLLOW THE LEADER. Because of course the bravest boy is chosen as leader, one who crosses the road just in front of some heavy van and then goes and raps at all the doors of the neighbours who rush out in a rage to see what’s the matter; so that by the time the third man has done the same there’s sometimes a smash-up and always a row. A grand old game isDOING EACH OTHERS’ DAGS, as they call it; but its bound to end in trouble of some kind, for dead certain; though the “leader” generally comes off without a scratch, as they do in the army—

andSTITCH AWAY TAILORandBOATSandHOOPLA FOR CHOKLITTSandBUS HORSESandREIN HORSESandSCOUTSandPICKING THE CROW’S NESTandKNOCKING DOWN GINGERandKNOCKING GINGER OUT O’BED(rough; played with door-knockers) andWHIRLIGIGandROBIN SNATCH(with handkerchiefs) andFLAG RACEandPOTTYandFIVE HUNDRED MONKEYS UP(the last two are hide-and-seek) andGUARDING THE STAKEandJUPITER. I’m glad I didn’t forget to rememberJUPITER; it’s an old game and goes like this:—

“One has to be Jubiter and every time he hops out he has to say Jubiter and if he catches one he has to be servant and so on until you catch all except one and he has to be Jubiter”—

andSUNDAY-MONDAYandHIDING STEPSandOUTINGSandHOME ITandWHAT’S THE TIMEandTAILOR SAIDandLAST MAN STANDING(likeOFF-GROUND TOUCH) andRELIEVO(likeRELEASE, only chalked dens are used) andPOSTMAN RELAYandEGG AND SPOON RELAYandINDIAN CLUB RELAYandDAY AND NIGHTandJUMPING THE BROOKandONE MORE NO MOREandPARVYandSTOLEN NECKLACEandOUT OF BOUNDSandGIVE A JOIN(likeWIDDY) andDATE-HOGS—

I must tell you aboutDATE-HOGS. It’s played by small children with date-stones and screws—the stones you find, the screws you pinch or mump; and each boy has a certain number of throws with his date-stones at one of the other chap’s screws standing up on end. Now it’s quite clear that, getting the screws the way they do, they sometimes get big ones, and sometimes little ones, and have to be jolly gladto get any at all; and it’s also clear that, big screws being easier to hit than little ones, the game would be unfair if you always threw from the same distance. Therefore you mustn’t always throw from the same distance. But how are you to settle it fairly? Well, everybody knows that big screws have more turns or twists in them than little screws have. So they measure the throwing-distance by the number of these turns. A small screw, which is hard to hit, has (say) five turns, so you have to stand five paces off; a big screw, which is easier to hit, has (say) ten turns, and so you stand ten paces off; and this makes the chances always even. Shows how artful these kids are—

andFOX AND HOUNDS(HARE AND HOUNDS) andBATTLE OF WATERLOOandLAMP AWAYandSTICKJAWandPAPER TRUNCHEONSandPOTATOE-SHOOTERSandFUEL FOR THE FIREandTIME GUESSINGandROUND THE BLOCKandHUMBLE-BUMBLEandGO YOUR WAYandA PIN TO LOOK AT THE POPPY-SHOW—

A poppy-show—that’s a puppet-show, if the boys hadn’t forgotten what a puppet-show was. You need rather a fresh boy for this game, and when you’ve found him, you get hold of a big book—a Bible, if possible, because it has so many pages and looks respectable anyhow, but chiefly on account of the pages—and anywhere between its pages you put a few transfers; just a few. You hold the book in your hand with the back downwards and press the covers together as tightly as ever you can, and come up to your lad and say “A pin to look at the poppy-show.” Then he, with a pin, hasto dab down between the closed pages of the book, and if he strikes a place where a transfer happens to be, of course it’s his; otherwise, you keep his pin. You can guess his chances, when there are about three transfers hidden among four hundred pages. If he likes to be a fool, he can get rid of all his pins that way, while you keep your poppy-show for the next fresh boy you come across—

andLAST ACROSSandSTEPS ACROSSandPEEP(also calledJACK) andHOME FOURandI SPY EGGS AND BACON(hide-and-seek) andSAVOY(also calledSAVELOY) andWATERMANandLEADING THE BLIND HORSE TO THE KNACKERandFAIRY CHASEandHOPPING JINNYandSKITTLES KNOCK ’EM DOWNandGUESSING WORDS(at shop-windows) andNICKO MIDNIGHT(“Flash your light”) andPig in the pot—

“One person stands in the middle all the rest stand at one end the whole lot have to run to the other side. If you start you must keep on. If one or two are caught you have to join hands and go after the others.”

andFIGHT FOR THE FLAG(two parties: played from a mound) andLEARN YOUR A. B. C.andSERVING YOUR COUNTRY A GOOD GAMEandLIG-A-LOGandFRENCH BLIND MAN’S BUFFandANIMAL BLIND MAN’S BUFF—

“A ring is drawn, in which is a blind man, and the players; the players move about until the blind man strikes on the ground with his wand. He then touches any one (all are standing still) and asks them to imitate an animal’s voice. He then tries to recognise them by theirvoice. If he succeeds the other is the blind man, if not, the game is continued”—

andWILL YOU SURRENDERandTELLING YOUR DREAMandFIVE TEN FIFTEEN TWENTY(catch-game) andJACK AROUND(catch) andSEE YOU ACROSSandLONG RUNandRACE TO BERLIN(new) andBOGIE MAN(catch) andNO MAN STANDINGandWALL TO WALLandSAINT GEORGE AND HIS MERRY MENandDELIVER YOUR LUGGAGEandFISH AWAY JACK(four lamp-posts and eight boys) andPIN, BUTTON OR MARBLE—

In this, you go up to a boy smaller than yourself and take him by the throat and say “Pin, button, or marble”. And that’s all you have to do. Because then he must turn out his pockets and give you whatever he can find, and thank Godif he doesn’t get a thrashing into the bargain. It isn’t exactly what you’ld call even chances, but it’s quite all right, especially if you happen to be the big boy; because the big boy generally wins at this game. Now you may wonder why they collect pins. Well, our boys will collect anything, anyhow, anywhere—even if it’s useless; but precious few things, you know, are really useless (I can’t think of a single one, just now), and as to pins—I’m not even going to try to tell you in how many ways you need them. Some boys go about with a provision of hundreds of pins stuck in their clothes for different sports; mothers are also very fond of pins, and if you give them a nice handful on a Saturday morning, they’ll think you’ve been quietly thinking about them all the week and collecting pinsfor them; and maybe that’ll mean an extra something for the picture-show later on. They collect buttons the same way, for games likeBUTTONS IN THE RING; only the buttons must be of metal, of brass or steel; they must ring like money when you throw them on the pavement: that’s the test. All other buttons are simply “toot”—not worth talking about. The best metal buttons are commissionaires’ buttons; they’re called “raileys”, and a good railey is worth four or even six ordinary metal ones, while a bad one (with a loose shank, for instance) will fetch only two. Many boys are able to stitch themselves full of these buttons, for use in games; the less clever ones, those who keep on losing them, have to cut the buttons from their own clothes and go about from one year’s end to another withtheir trowsers hitched to their braces by means of their sisters’ hair-pins, bent double. But that’s neither here nor there—

andSINGLE SAY-GOandDOUBLE SAY-GOandQUEEN, KING OR DIRTY RASCALandMOSCOWandRUGBY SCRUM(introduced by the scouts) andI WILL APPRENTICE MY SON TO A CARPENTERandSAILOR BOYandSTORKYandEGGSandTHREE IN THREE OUT(the last four are hide-and-seek games) andCROWNINGS(also hide-and-seek) andMOUSE IN THE COPPERandSHOW THREE FACES: GOandMAGIC WRITINGandDRAG-LAG(played with sacks) andPICKLE CABBAGE(name-calling) andPUTTING(notpulling)THE KAISER’S WHISKERS(new) andBLUE BOYandBACK YOUandKING CAESARandTING TING THE SPIDER(you need an outside window for this) andPUSS IN THE CORNERandHOP AND CHARGEandTAKING THE CASTLEandDARTS(also calledNIBS) andPENNY THREE HALFPENCE TWOPENCE(running) andTWO IN TWO OUTandTUG OF WARandCHIVY CHASEandDADDY RED-CAP(orGREEN-CAP)—and that’s enough for today.

Daddy red-caphas a song beginning like this:

“Plaster of Paris has lost his hat—Some say this, and some say that....”

“Plaster of Paris has lost his hat—

Some say this, and some say that....”

and that’s interesting, because “Plaster of Paris”, of course, is all nonsense. And so is “Plaistow Palace”, as they sometimes call it. The real song goes:—

“Beadle Palace has lost his hat—Some say this, and some say that....”

“Beadle Palace has lost his hat—

Some say this, and some say that....”

but the boys twist the words about, because they disremember who Beadle Palace was; and I can’ttell you either. Mr. Perkins, of Framlingham Brothers (Limited), once told me he knew all about it; he said that “Beadle Palace” stands for the Bishop of London, whoreally didlose his hat one evening; and “some say” it was blown off his head by the wind, and “some say” he gave it to a woman with red hair and a squint, and never got it back again. But he was a bit on, that night, was Mr. Perkins. Or else the Bishop must have been....

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