While researching my family genealogy I came across the term "Tourist Home" basically the house was used as what we call a "B&B" today. This made me think of other names for such places. Which brought me to the "Toll House."
As you can imagine these homes were where people paid their tolls to use the Canal, Turnpikes and or Railroad. They also provided a home cook meal and a place to sleep. Another unique feature of most toll houses was a distinctive Bay Front to give the guests a clear view of the turnpike, railroad or canal. These houses were not unique to America but could be found all over the world where travelers had to pay.
In Whitman, MA. one such Toll House existed. And in 1937 she developed a dessert with chocolate morsels from the Nestle company. This new dessert was "TollHouse Cookies."
Showing posts with label Recreation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recreation. Show all posts
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Friday, October 30, 2015
The Microscope
This excerpt comes from "The Modern Playmate, a book of games, sports and diversions." ©1875. It not only describes the microscope but also gives an insight into the time period and thoughts on science and discovery.
THE MICROSCOPE.
Whether for amusement or instruction, there is no instrument so deservedly popular as the Microscope. Other amusements are soon exhausted, but the little world which the microscope reveals is inexhaustible: there is always something wonderful or something new to be seen, and the instruction it affords is unparalleled. Many beautiful objects may be observed by a single lens, which can be folded and carried in the waistcoat-pocket; but there is a limit to the use of such instruments, and the only satisfactory microscope is the compound microscope, which a good optician will supply at a cost of from three guineas upwards. It may be said that cheaper instruments can be had, which appear to do their work well. Perhaps so; but as we are about to recommend only what we know to be worthy of recommendation, we should not name a lower priced instrument than such a one as can be procured of Mr. C. Baker, of No. 244 High Holborn, for three guineas. It is not with any invidious spirit that this name is given. Other opticians may supply microscopes as good at the price, but this instrument will serve to illustrate all we have to say about the microscope, and we shall adopt it as the standard of all our observations.
The microscope we have named is packed in a neat polished mahogany box, with lock and key. The size of this box is 10 in. high, and 6 in. deep, by 7 in. wide. At the top is a brass handle by which it may be carried, and when fully replenished its weight is about 7 lbs. So much for the case and the microscope within it. But we must open the case and take out the instrument. On opening the door we observe at the bottom of the case a neat little mahogany drawer divided in two parts: one part is " racked " for holding glass slides and mounted objects, the other portion will contain small articles of apparatus, which we shall describe hereafter.
We draw out the stand of the microscope, which is clamped to a square of mahogany, so as to ensure greater steadiness, an object of importance in a microscope; from the left side of the case we take the brass tube or body, and screw this to the stand, so that it presents nearly the appearance indicated in our woodcut (Fig. 1). A little cylindrical brass box slides into a hole at the top right-hand corner of the case. This we take down, unscrew the top carefully, take out the combination of glasses set in a neat kind of brass nozzle, which piece of apparatus is usually called the objective or objectglass. There is a screw at one end of this objective and a lens at the other. Let us screw this nozzle or objective into its proper place at the end of the tube or body of the microscope, and then, behold! it is the complete original of which our woodcut is a copy. Having put it together, the next step must be a careful examination of all its parts, and an appreciation of how these parts are to be employed in the examination of objects.
It is not our purpose to enter into a dissertation on the science of optics, for which we have neither room nor inclination; what we most desire is to instruct our reader how to use the mysterious little piece of machinery which has just been unpacked. The "why and wherefore " will be sought by-and-bye, and there are plenty of means of acquiring the theory when it is wanted. Big boys would be more likely to try and use such an instrument at once than to sit down and ponder over " the reason why," and little boys are not a whit less curious or impatient than their elders borne one will perhaps read these pages before he has obtained his microscope, and would like to know how high it stands, so that he may imagine what its appearance would be under a glass shade. For the especial benefit of such a one we have measured the instrument, and declare its full elevation to be 13 inches.
Place the left hand firmly upon the mahogany slab which supports the instrument, then with the right hand hold the top of the tube or body; draw the tube backwards, and it will be found to move easily to any angle, so that a tall boy or a short one, a man standing or a man sitting, can either of them look comfortably down the tube without any danger of dislocating his neck, which might be the case if the tube were fixed bolt upright
As the body moves freely on the pivots the lower portion will be seen to carry with it a circular mirror, which is attached near the bottom; this mirror, by an admirable arrangement of joints, can be turned in any direction. The use of such facility of motion will be seen by-and-bye. Above the mirror is a square brass plate with a round hole in the centre; this is called the stage, and upon it the objects to be viewed by the microscope must be placed. A movable bar passes up and down on the upper surface of this plate, which is useful to retain the slide containing the object in position. Above this stage is the tube with the object-glass screwed in at the lower end, and the eye-piece at the upper end. At the side of the tube or body, near the bottom, is a screw with a milled head, which may be moved by the thumb and finger: this is called the fine adjustment. It will be time enough by-and-bye to speak of its uses. Below the tube are two other milled heads, one on each side. Turn one of them towards you with the thumb and finger: they move easily, freely, and smoothly, and with their motion, behold! the tube of the microscope, with the eye-piece at the top and its object-glass at the bottom, glides up and down just as the operator wishes! A firm, steady, gradual motion here is a necessity in all good instruments. These milled heads and the screws which they move we call the coarse adjustment. Now, having learnt the names of all the parts of the microscope which at present we desire to know, let us put it to work.
THE MICROSCOPE.
Whether for amusement or instruction, there is no instrument so deservedly popular as the Microscope. Other amusements are soon exhausted, but the little world which the microscope reveals is inexhaustible: there is always something wonderful or something new to be seen, and the instruction it affords is unparalleled. Many beautiful objects may be observed by a single lens, which can be folded and carried in the waistcoat-pocket; but there is a limit to the use of such instruments, and the only satisfactory microscope is the compound microscope, which a good optician will supply at a cost of from three guineas upwards. It may be said that cheaper instruments can be had, which appear to do their work well. Perhaps so; but as we are about to recommend only what we know to be worthy of recommendation, we should not name a lower priced instrument than such a one as can be procured of Mr. C. Baker, of No. 244 High Holborn, for three guineas. It is not with any invidious spirit that this name is given. Other opticians may supply microscopes as good at the price, but this instrument will serve to illustrate all we have to say about the microscope, and we shall adopt it as the standard of all our observations.
The microscope we have named is packed in a neat polished mahogany box, with lock and key. The size of this box is 10 in. high, and 6 in. deep, by 7 in. wide. At the top is a brass handle by which it may be carried, and when fully replenished its weight is about 7 lbs. So much for the case and the microscope within it. But we must open the case and take out the instrument. On opening the door we observe at the bottom of the case a neat little mahogany drawer divided in two parts: one part is " racked " for holding glass slides and mounted objects, the other portion will contain small articles of apparatus, which we shall describe hereafter.
We draw out the stand of the microscope, which is clamped to a square of mahogany, so as to ensure greater steadiness, an object of importance in a microscope; from the left side of the case we take the brass tube or body, and screw this to the stand, so that it presents nearly the appearance indicated in our woodcut (Fig. 1). A little cylindrical brass box slides into a hole at the top right-hand corner of the case. This we take down, unscrew the top carefully, take out the combination of glasses set in a neat kind of brass nozzle, which piece of apparatus is usually called the objective or objectglass. There is a screw at one end of this objective and a lens at the other. Let us screw this nozzle or objective into its proper place at the end of the tube or body of the microscope, and then, behold! it is the complete original of which our woodcut is a copy. Having put it together, the next step must be a careful examination of all its parts, and an appreciation of how these parts are to be employed in the examination of objects.
It is not our purpose to enter into a dissertation on the science of optics, for which we have neither room nor inclination; what we most desire is to instruct our reader how to use the mysterious little piece of machinery which has just been unpacked. The "why and wherefore " will be sought by-and-bye, and there are plenty of means of acquiring the theory when it is wanted. Big boys would be more likely to try and use such an instrument at once than to sit down and ponder over " the reason why," and little boys are not a whit less curious or impatient than their elders borne one will perhaps read these pages before he has obtained his microscope, and would like to know how high it stands, so that he may imagine what its appearance would be under a glass shade. For the especial benefit of such a one we have measured the instrument, and declare its full elevation to be 13 inches.
Place the left hand firmly upon the mahogany slab which supports the instrument, then with the right hand hold the top of the tube or body; draw the tube backwards, and it will be found to move easily to any angle, so that a tall boy or a short one, a man standing or a man sitting, can either of them look comfortably down the tube without any danger of dislocating his neck, which might be the case if the tube were fixed bolt upright
As the body moves freely on the pivots the lower portion will be seen to carry with it a circular mirror, which is attached near the bottom; this mirror, by an admirable arrangement of joints, can be turned in any direction. The use of such facility of motion will be seen by-and-bye. Above the mirror is a square brass plate with a round hole in the centre; this is called the stage, and upon it the objects to be viewed by the microscope must be placed. A movable bar passes up and down on the upper surface of this plate, which is useful to retain the slide containing the object in position. Above this stage is the tube with the object-glass screwed in at the lower end, and the eye-piece at the upper end. At the side of the tube or body, near the bottom, is a screw with a milled head, which may be moved by the thumb and finger: this is called the fine adjustment. It will be time enough by-and-bye to speak of its uses. Below the tube are two other milled heads, one on each side. Turn one of them towards you with the thumb and finger: they move easily, freely, and smoothly, and with their motion, behold! the tube of the microscope, with the eye-piece at the top and its object-glass at the bottom, glides up and down just as the operator wishes! A firm, steady, gradual motion here is a necessity in all good instruments. These milled heads and the screws which they move we call the coarse adjustment. Now, having learnt the names of all the parts of the microscope which at present we desire to know, let us put it to work.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Ice Boating
Here's a sport most of you probably haven't thought about to include in your historical novels. Ice Boating.
The ice-boat is found in almost all parts of the world in which ice exists for part of a year, being employed in some cases for commercial purposes; but the principal us.• to which this curious craft is put is for racing and pleasure-sailing. In its crude form, a framework or platform mounted on skates and rigged with one or two sails, it is found in Northern Europe, in Asia, in Canada, and in that portion of the United States north of Mason and Dixon's line; but in parts of the latter countries only has the modern ice-yacht reached its full development. In Canada, in the Eastern and Western States, and, above all, in the vicinity of New York, it has emerged from its primitive character into a structure that in its way is a perfect example of engineering skill, a combination of strength and lightness that it is hard to improve upon; and in these places, also, the pastime of ice-yachting has come to be recognized as one of the most fascinating of Winter sports.
For those who would see it at its best there is one place above all others to visit: the Hudson River, for a distance of sixty to one hundred miles above New York, where the sport is more firmly established and systematized, and where boats and appliances have reached a higher state of perfection than in any other part of the world. Here are found not only the leading clubs of the country and the fastest boats, but here, in the birthplace and nursery of the sport, where it has grown and flourished for thirty years, nurtured by the icy west winds, are the men who have brought the arts of building and sailing to their present perfection. Sailing of any kind is always a most uncertain sport, dependent entirely on the caprices of the wind ; but ordinary yachting is certainty itself compared with ice-yachting, in which not only the wind but other climatic influences conspire to test the patience and resignation of its devotees. Given a good breeze from any quarter the yachtman cares little for the rest, he can go somewhere and the water is always open to him ; but with ice-yachting it is entirely different. A cold snap may smooth out the chilly waves and make a glorious course of many miles for the ringing runners, but before a breeze comes a dozen accidents may happen. A fall of snow may bury the glassy track, a storm of rain may soften the ice until it is unsafe, and when at last a cold northwest blast makes all solid again, and gives wind for the waiting sails, the slushy surface may be too rough and uneven for the boats. Time and patience are necessary to its full enjoyment; the yachtman must be on the spot, ready, after days of disappointment, to seize a few hours of such great and exhilarating pleasure as shall more than make amends. The low temperature of the Hudson Valley, its comparatively light snowfall, and the occasional thaws and rains, fol-. lowed by cold weather, renewing the glassy surface, with the prevailing westerly winds that sweep across the river and give a good course for the boats, offer more favorable conditions than are found further south, where the ice lasts for a shorter time, or further north, where heavy snows and the absence of rain or thaws keep the ice buried. Besides this, along the entire east bank, for many miles above and below Poughkeepsie, the headquarters of the sport, are many large estates and handsome country places, whose owners have the leisure that is indispensable to a full enjoyment of ice-yacht sailing, and who have within the last thirty years done so much to develop the boats and the sport.
Here are found the leading ice-yacht clubs of the world, as well as the largest, fastest and finest-equipped yachts, whose records for speed stand second only on the list of human constructions to the rifle-bullet and the larger projectiles of modern ordnance. No other vehicles in the whole category possess the speed of the modern ice-yachts, except a few of the fastest express locomotives running under special conditions, and this speed it is which gives the great charm to this curious pastime. Great speed, of itself, is not the attraction of ordinary yachting. A rate of twelve or thirteen miles per hour is unusual in a sailing-yacht, the common limit of time for a race is seven hours for a course of forty miles, or an average of seven miles per hour, and even with steam this is very seldom doubled ; but with the ice-yachts all is vastly different. We come into a n'ew atmosphere, in which the chief charm lies in the attainment of a speed never dreamed of in vessels that float. Here are none of the charms of yachting as commtonly understood, no quiet drifting over Summer seas, no lazy runs under kites and spinnakers, no glorious roll and tumble over green waves, no nights at anchor in snug harbors, where rattling halyards and creaking cables only give emphasis to the brightness and cheer of comfortable cabins. The "yachting," save the name, is another thing when coupled with its hard, cold prefix. The accompaniments that make a life afloat so delightful, that place yachting at the head of all sports, are missing entirely, and in their place one new element only steps in.
Speed, great and unlimited, a velocity hitherto unknown ; to be shot through space at a rate that produces an entirely new sensation, thrilling, exhilarating, fascinating; setting the blood coursing and sharpening the senses to an unknown degree; this is ice-yachting. The paltry twenty knots of the steam-launch or the forty-mile jog of the locomotive, both contaminated by the connection with a bulky, noisy, smoky and greasy medium, are exchanged for a marvelous gliding through space on a frail and airy fabric scarcely more tangible than the carpet of the Arabian necromancers, and accompanied only by the sharp, melodious ring of metal on ice. Account for it as we may, there is always an attraction about rapid motion, whether behind a fast horse, running down a rapid river, or on a modern express train ; speed itself brings pleasure to all but the most timid, and this pleasure is only intensified by the danger which is always in a greater or less degree present. This rapid motion it is which in the ice-yacht compensates for •the absence of the more numerous and varied charms of yacht-sailing. And when the limit of seven hours for forty miles is cut down to one hour for a course of nearly the same distance a new and attractive element comes into play.
To form any idea of the shape and construction of an ice-yacht, it is first necessary to divest one's self of almost every idea associated ordinarily with the word "yacht."
True, the sails and rigging are substantially the same, and the tiller is a most essential feature in both all analogy ends. The favorite simile for a swan or duck, but if we would describe an ic< comparison with any natural object, we must the insinuating musquito, or humble daddy - longlegs, as the nearest resemblance in outline to the stiff and angular construction of straight timbers and wires. The graceful curves, the beautifully rounded outlines, the glossy sides and shining bottom of the sailing-yacht, possess nothing in common with this curious framework of timbers and iron rods, whose sole beauty is from a purely mechanical point of view, as a most scientific example of engineering skill; and the only object in the entire range of naval architecture that bears any resemblance to it is that awkward and homely nondescript, the modern catamaran. The essential parts of an ice-boat consist of a rigidly built framework supported on three or more skates of large size; one, and sometimes two, of these skates being movable at will for steering, a mast with one or more sails, and a platform for the crew or cargo. These features are combined in various ways, according to the locality and the use to which the boat is put. In some places, where sailing is possible only for a short time each year, a temporary boat is fitted up with a triangle of boards or plank, the apex being aft. Under each corner is a runner of plank, shod with iron, shaped like a large skate; the one under the after corner being fitted on a pivot and controlled by a tiller. On this rough framework a mast and sail—usually pressed into service from some sailingboat temporarily out of use—is fitted, and securely staid to the various angles of the frame, the mast being stepped in the centre of the transverse plank, forming the forward side of the structure. Such boats as this are common on the ponds and bays of the south shore of Long Island, and very good sport may be had with them, while their cost is purely nominal; and of this same shape were the first boats on the Hudson. In Holland and other parts of Northern Europe, ice-boats of crude and heavy build are sometimes used for commercial purposes, irrespective of speed; their principles of construction being similar.
The Article goes on and you can read it in full here. The American Magazine ©1874 pick up on page 386.
The ice-boat is found in almost all parts of the world in which ice exists for part of a year, being employed in some cases for commercial purposes; but the principal us.• to which this curious craft is put is for racing and pleasure-sailing. In its crude form, a framework or platform mounted on skates and rigged with one or two sails, it is found in Northern Europe, in Asia, in Canada, and in that portion of the United States north of Mason and Dixon's line; but in parts of the latter countries only has the modern ice-yacht reached its full development. In Canada, in the Eastern and Western States, and, above all, in the vicinity of New York, it has emerged from its primitive character into a structure that in its way is a perfect example of engineering skill, a combination of strength and lightness that it is hard to improve upon; and in these places, also, the pastime of ice-yachting has come to be recognized as one of the most fascinating of Winter sports.
For those who would see it at its best there is one place above all others to visit: the Hudson River, for a distance of sixty to one hundred miles above New York, where the sport is more firmly established and systematized, and where boats and appliances have reached a higher state of perfection than in any other part of the world. Here are found not only the leading clubs of the country and the fastest boats, but here, in the birthplace and nursery of the sport, where it has grown and flourished for thirty years, nurtured by the icy west winds, are the men who have brought the arts of building and sailing to their present perfection. Sailing of any kind is always a most uncertain sport, dependent entirely on the caprices of the wind ; but ordinary yachting is certainty itself compared with ice-yachting, in which not only the wind but other climatic influences conspire to test the patience and resignation of its devotees. Given a good breeze from any quarter the yachtman cares little for the rest, he can go somewhere and the water is always open to him ; but with ice-yachting it is entirely different. A cold snap may smooth out the chilly waves and make a glorious course of many miles for the ringing runners, but before a breeze comes a dozen accidents may happen. A fall of snow may bury the glassy track, a storm of rain may soften the ice until it is unsafe, and when at last a cold northwest blast makes all solid again, and gives wind for the waiting sails, the slushy surface may be too rough and uneven for the boats. Time and patience are necessary to its full enjoyment; the yachtman must be on the spot, ready, after days of disappointment, to seize a few hours of such great and exhilarating pleasure as shall more than make amends. The low temperature of the Hudson Valley, its comparatively light snowfall, and the occasional thaws and rains, fol-. lowed by cold weather, renewing the glassy surface, with the prevailing westerly winds that sweep across the river and give a good course for the boats, offer more favorable conditions than are found further south, where the ice lasts for a shorter time, or further north, where heavy snows and the absence of rain or thaws keep the ice buried. Besides this, along the entire east bank, for many miles above and below Poughkeepsie, the headquarters of the sport, are many large estates and handsome country places, whose owners have the leisure that is indispensable to a full enjoyment of ice-yacht sailing, and who have within the last thirty years done so much to develop the boats and the sport.
Here are found the leading ice-yacht clubs of the world, as well as the largest, fastest and finest-equipped yachts, whose records for speed stand second only on the list of human constructions to the rifle-bullet and the larger projectiles of modern ordnance. No other vehicles in the whole category possess the speed of the modern ice-yachts, except a few of the fastest express locomotives running under special conditions, and this speed it is which gives the great charm to this curious pastime. Great speed, of itself, is not the attraction of ordinary yachting. A rate of twelve or thirteen miles per hour is unusual in a sailing-yacht, the common limit of time for a race is seven hours for a course of forty miles, or an average of seven miles per hour, and even with steam this is very seldom doubled ; but with the ice-yachts all is vastly different. We come into a n'ew atmosphere, in which the chief charm lies in the attainment of a speed never dreamed of in vessels that float. Here are none of the charms of yachting as commtonly understood, no quiet drifting over Summer seas, no lazy runs under kites and spinnakers, no glorious roll and tumble over green waves, no nights at anchor in snug harbors, where rattling halyards and creaking cables only give emphasis to the brightness and cheer of comfortable cabins. The "yachting," save the name, is another thing when coupled with its hard, cold prefix. The accompaniments that make a life afloat so delightful, that place yachting at the head of all sports, are missing entirely, and in their place one new element only steps in.
Speed, great and unlimited, a velocity hitherto unknown ; to be shot through space at a rate that produces an entirely new sensation, thrilling, exhilarating, fascinating; setting the blood coursing and sharpening the senses to an unknown degree; this is ice-yachting. The paltry twenty knots of the steam-launch or the forty-mile jog of the locomotive, both contaminated by the connection with a bulky, noisy, smoky and greasy medium, are exchanged for a marvelous gliding through space on a frail and airy fabric scarcely more tangible than the carpet of the Arabian necromancers, and accompanied only by the sharp, melodious ring of metal on ice. Account for it as we may, there is always an attraction about rapid motion, whether behind a fast horse, running down a rapid river, or on a modern express train ; speed itself brings pleasure to all but the most timid, and this pleasure is only intensified by the danger which is always in a greater or less degree present. This rapid motion it is which in the ice-yacht compensates for •the absence of the more numerous and varied charms of yacht-sailing. And when the limit of seven hours for forty miles is cut down to one hour for a course of nearly the same distance a new and attractive element comes into play.
To form any idea of the shape and construction of an ice-yacht, it is first necessary to divest one's self of almost every idea associated ordinarily with the word "yacht."
True, the sails and rigging are substantially the same, and the tiller is a most essential feature in both all analogy ends. The favorite simile for a swan or duck, but if we would describe an ic< comparison with any natural object, we must the insinuating musquito, or humble daddy - longlegs, as the nearest resemblance in outline to the stiff and angular construction of straight timbers and wires. The graceful curves, the beautifully rounded outlines, the glossy sides and shining bottom of the sailing-yacht, possess nothing in common with this curious framework of timbers and iron rods, whose sole beauty is from a purely mechanical point of view, as a most scientific example of engineering skill; and the only object in the entire range of naval architecture that bears any resemblance to it is that awkward and homely nondescript, the modern catamaran. The essential parts of an ice-boat consist of a rigidly built framework supported on three or more skates of large size; one, and sometimes two, of these skates being movable at will for steering, a mast with one or more sails, and a platform for the crew or cargo. These features are combined in various ways, according to the locality and the use to which the boat is put. In some places, where sailing is possible only for a short time each year, a temporary boat is fitted up with a triangle of boards or plank, the apex being aft. Under each corner is a runner of plank, shod with iron, shaped like a large skate; the one under the after corner being fitted on a pivot and controlled by a tiller. On this rough framework a mast and sail—usually pressed into service from some sailingboat temporarily out of use—is fitted, and securely staid to the various angles of the frame, the mast being stepped in the centre of the transverse plank, forming the forward side of the structure. Such boats as this are common on the ponds and bays of the south shore of Long Island, and very good sport may be had with them, while their cost is purely nominal; and of this same shape were the first boats on the Hudson. In Holland and other parts of Northern Europe, ice-boats of crude and heavy build are sometimes used for commercial purposes, irrespective of speed; their principles of construction being similar.
The Article goes on and you can read it in full here. The American Magazine ©1874 pick up on page 386.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
CARD GAMES part three
this is the third and final part on Card games.
NAPOLEON.
This game, though comparatively new, is exceedingly interesting, and one that hitherto has always proved to be very popular as a lively and stirring round game.
Like Speculation, it is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, and as the shuffling of them is of great importance, it is advisable to be supplied with two packs, as at Whist.
The pool is started by contributions from each player, the dealer giving double value. Five cards are then distributed to each player and held in the hand; as at Whist, it being necessary for the owner of them to ascertain whether they are good or otherwise.
The player to the left of the dealer then declares how many tricks he will guarantee to take, or whether he would prefer to be passed once, owing to the weakness of his hand.
He may promise to take one, two, three, or four tricks; but unless he should declare Nap, which means that he is able to take all five tricks, the next player is questioned, and so on, until Nap has ultimately been proclaimed by some one. Should no player declare Nap, the one declaring to take the highest number of tricks leads off.
The stand player, as he is called, then plays against every one else; he leads the game, and his first card decides what suit shall be trumps. All the other players try to prevent him from making the tricks which he declared to take, because, if he should fail, the payments will have to be made from him to them. Should he succeed, however, they pay him; and in the event of his making Nap, he receives double stakes from every one of the company.
A player revoking is Napoleoned, which means that he must pay five tricks to the stand hand, and the cards are played over again.
CRIBBAGE.
This game is played with an ordinary Whist pack, and it is won by the player who first scores sixty-one points. These points are marked on what is called a cribbage-board. The board may be placed either across or lengthways between the players.
A player must begin to score from the end where his sixty-first point is, and begin at the outside edge. Two pegs are given to each player to score with, and he uses them as follows:—
Supposing his first score to be four, he places a peg in the fourth hole; then if his next score be three, he marks it off from the position of the first peg, and sticks the second peg in the third hole farther on.
If his next score bo eight, say, he counts from the second peg eight holes, and there sticks the
peg, and so on. By this method confusion is Cribbaoe Board.
avoided, and the players are able to check one another's scores. Generally, the pegs of the different players vary in colour, but this is not necessary, though one player must never touch his opponent's half of the board.
The court cards and tens rank equally, and the other cards according to their number of pips. Aces are counted lowest.
The Game.
The cards having been shuffled, the non-dealer cuts, but does not place the undermost half on the uppermost, as in Whist, but leaves the pack divided into two parts on the table. From the undermost part the dealer then deals five cards each, beginning with his adversary. The remaining cards are placed on the other heap, and the pack remains undisturbed until the crib cards are put out. In the first hand of a new game, the non-dealer counts three at starting, as a sort of set-off against the possession of crib by the dealer.
Both players then look at their hands and throw out two cards, the dealer throwing out first, and the cards being face downwards.
The non-dealer then again cuts the cards, but the number cut must be more than two, after which the dealer takes the top card of the heap left on the table, the non-dealer replaces the cards he cut, ana the dealer puts the top card, which is thrown face upwards on the whole.
The two cards thrown out by each player and the turn-up card form the crib, which belongs to the dealer. If a knave be the turn-up, the dealer counts "two for his heels." The turn-up card is reckoned in making up the score of either player, as well as of the crib. The non-dealer then begins by playing a card, the value of which he calls out.
Suppose the dealer to have in his hand a queen, knave, and five, and the non-dealer a seven, eight, and queen, and that the turn-up is four; then the nondealer plays his queon, and cries "ton;" the dealer plays his queen, and cries "twenty," scoring two for a pair, because a court card counts ten.
The first player then puts down his knave and cries "thirty." As his is the nearest attained to thirty-one, and the dealer has no ace, he cries " Go," and the first player scores one hole.
Each player's hand is then counted up, the elder one scoring four—two for each fifteen; and the dealer two for his fifteen, made up by a seven and eight.
If the knave in either hand be the same suit as the turn-up, the holder of the card scores "one for his nob." The crib is added up by the dealer, and the game goes on.
If in trying to get near thirty-one in the beginning a player can make fifteen, he counts two. If a player gets exactly thirty-one he counts two.
The hands are counted up as follows :—
For knave turned up (heels) 2 points.
For sequence of three or four cards 3 or 4 ,,
For a flush, that is, three cards of same suit 3 „
For a full flush, when cards in hand and turn-up are of same suit 4 points.
For every fifteen, as 6 and 9; 10, 3, and 2; 7 and 8, court card and 5, &c. 2
For a pair (two of a sort, as 2 threes, 2 fours, &c.) 2
For a pair royal (three of same sort) 6
For a double pair royal, or four of same sort 12
For knave of trumps in hand (nob) 1
If a player has in his hand, say, six, seven, and eight, and the turn-up is eight, he will count that two separate sequences, and score three for each.
The non-dealer always counts up first. This counting up is called the "show," and the first show is very important at the end of the game, as a player may just get sixty-one points and win. The dealer may also have sixty-one, but as his show has not been the first it does not count.
Should the dealer misdeal, and not discover the mistake before either of the hands is taken up, his opponent counts two, and a fresh deal must be made. If, during the deal the non-dealer expose any one of his cards to view, the dealer has the option of dealing again, without, however, looking at his own cards. If the dealer deal more than five cards, his adversary counts two, and a new deal takes place, the same penalty being enforced if he give less than five cards.
NAPOLEON.
This game, though comparatively new, is exceedingly interesting, and one that hitherto has always proved to be very popular as a lively and stirring round game.
Like Speculation, it is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, and as the shuffling of them is of great importance, it is advisable to be supplied with two packs, as at Whist.
The pool is started by contributions from each player, the dealer giving double value. Five cards are then distributed to each player and held in the hand; as at Whist, it being necessary for the owner of them to ascertain whether they are good or otherwise.
The player to the left of the dealer then declares how many tricks he will guarantee to take, or whether he would prefer to be passed once, owing to the weakness of his hand.
He may promise to take one, two, three, or four tricks; but unless he should declare Nap, which means that he is able to take all five tricks, the next player is questioned, and so on, until Nap has ultimately been proclaimed by some one. Should no player declare Nap, the one declaring to take the highest number of tricks leads off.
The stand player, as he is called, then plays against every one else; he leads the game, and his first card decides what suit shall be trumps. All the other players try to prevent him from making the tricks which he declared to take, because, if he should fail, the payments will have to be made from him to them. Should he succeed, however, they pay him; and in the event of his making Nap, he receives double stakes from every one of the company.
A player revoking is Napoleoned, which means that he must pay five tricks to the stand hand, and the cards are played over again.
CRIBBAGE.
This game is played with an ordinary Whist pack, and it is won by the player who first scores sixty-one points. These points are marked on what is called a cribbage-board. The board may be placed either across or lengthways between the players.
A player must begin to score from the end where his sixty-first point is, and begin at the outside edge. Two pegs are given to each player to score with, and he uses them as follows:—
Supposing his first score to be four, he places a peg in the fourth hole; then if his next score be three, he marks it off from the position of the first peg, and sticks the second peg in the third hole farther on.
If his next score bo eight, say, he counts from the second peg eight holes, and there sticks the
peg, and so on. By this method confusion is Cribbaoe Board.
avoided, and the players are able to check one another's scores. Generally, the pegs of the different players vary in colour, but this is not necessary, though one player must never touch his opponent's half of the board.
The court cards and tens rank equally, and the other cards according to their number of pips. Aces are counted lowest.
The Game.
The cards having been shuffled, the non-dealer cuts, but does not place the undermost half on the uppermost, as in Whist, but leaves the pack divided into two parts on the table. From the undermost part the dealer then deals five cards each, beginning with his adversary. The remaining cards are placed on the other heap, and the pack remains undisturbed until the crib cards are put out. In the first hand of a new game, the non-dealer counts three at starting, as a sort of set-off against the possession of crib by the dealer.
Both players then look at their hands and throw out two cards, the dealer throwing out first, and the cards being face downwards.
The non-dealer then again cuts the cards, but the number cut must be more than two, after which the dealer takes the top card of the heap left on the table, the non-dealer replaces the cards he cut, ana the dealer puts the top card, which is thrown face upwards on the whole.
The two cards thrown out by each player and the turn-up card form the crib, which belongs to the dealer. If a knave be the turn-up, the dealer counts "two for his heels." The turn-up card is reckoned in making up the score of either player, as well as of the crib. The non-dealer then begins by playing a card, the value of which he calls out.
Suppose the dealer to have in his hand a queen, knave, and five, and the non-dealer a seven, eight, and queen, and that the turn-up is four; then the nondealer plays his queon, and cries "ton;" the dealer plays his queen, and cries "twenty," scoring two for a pair, because a court card counts ten.
The first player then puts down his knave and cries "thirty." As his is the nearest attained to thirty-one, and the dealer has no ace, he cries " Go," and the first player scores one hole.
Each player's hand is then counted up, the elder one scoring four—two for each fifteen; and the dealer two for his fifteen, made up by a seven and eight.
If the knave in either hand be the same suit as the turn-up, the holder of the card scores "one for his nob." The crib is added up by the dealer, and the game goes on.
If in trying to get near thirty-one in the beginning a player can make fifteen, he counts two. If a player gets exactly thirty-one he counts two.
The hands are counted up as follows :—
For knave turned up (heels) 2 points.
For sequence of three or four cards 3 or 4 ,,
For a flush, that is, three cards of same suit 3 „
For a full flush, when cards in hand and turn-up are of same suit 4 points.
For every fifteen, as 6 and 9; 10, 3, and 2; 7 and 8, court card and 5, &c. 2
For a pair (two of a sort, as 2 threes, 2 fours, &c.) 2
For a pair royal (three of same sort) 6
For a double pair royal, or four of same sort 12
For knave of trumps in hand (nob) 1
If a player has in his hand, say, six, seven, and eight, and the turn-up is eight, he will count that two separate sequences, and score three for each.
The non-dealer always counts up first. This counting up is called the "show," and the first show is very important at the end of the game, as a player may just get sixty-one points and win. The dealer may also have sixty-one, but as his show has not been the first it does not count.
Should the dealer misdeal, and not discover the mistake before either of the hands is taken up, his opponent counts two, and a fresh deal must be made. If, during the deal the non-dealer expose any one of his cards to view, the dealer has the option of dealing again, without, however, looking at his own cards. If the dealer deal more than five cards, his adversary counts two, and a new deal takes place, the same penalty being enforced if he give less than five cards.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Pleasure Travel Hints
Here's a list of suggestions for pleasure travel in 1874.
HINTS TO PLEASURE TEAVELLEES.
1. Purchase through tickets previously to entering the cars.
2. Attend to checking your baggage rin person before taking your seat in the car.
3. Select a seat on the shady side of the car.
4. When you leave your seat, place a parcel, coat, or something belonging to you on it, which is an evidence of the seat being engaged.
5. Have the exact change to pay your fare on the cars, or you are subjected to be ejected from the cars—it has been decided by law that a conductor is not obliged to make change for a passenger.
6. Railroad Checks are good only for the train for which they are used; passengers cannot lay over for another train without making arrangements with the conductor.
7. Ladies without escort in travelling should be very particular with whom they become acquainted.
"If your lips would save from slips,
Five things observe with care:
Of whom you speak—to whom you speak,
And how—and when—and where."
8. If you see a lady unaccompanied, do not obtrude yourself upon her notice.
9. If she needs your services, tender them as though they were due to her, without unnecessary forwardness or undue empressment.
10. Such services do not entitle you to after recognition, unless by permission of the lady.
11. Ladies travelling with children should invariably have a basket of eatables, a tumbler or a goblet, for the children to drink from, and keep the children in their seats.
12. Keep your head and arms inside the car windows.
13. Never talk on politics in the cars —it is usually disagreeable to some of your fellow-travellers.
14. Never talk loudly while the train is in motion; it may not annoy any one, but it will injure your lungs.
15. A gentleman should not occupy more than one seat at a time.
16. Gentlemen should not spit tobacco juice in the cars where there are ladies; it soils their skirts and dresses.
17. Always show your ticket (without getting into a bad humor,) whenever the conductor asks for it. Observe this rule and it will pay.
18. Never smoke in a car where there are ladies. No gentlemen would be guilty of such an act.
19. Never use profane language in a railroad car.
20. If you cannot sleep yourself, don't prevent others from doing so, by whistling or loud talking.
21. Make a bargain with the hackman before getting into his carriage.
22. Look out for pickpockets.
23. Remember, that unless you pay for two seats you are entitled to but one, and every gentlemen and lady too, will respect the rights of others, and be mindful especially of the weak, the aged, and the infirm.
24. Provide yourself with sleeping berths before starting—you may then have a choice—the double lower birth is preferable.
25. Always be at the railroad station in good time to take the train. Better be an hour too early than a minute too late.
Note.—Many of the above rules are as applicable to Steamboat travelling as when travelling on Railroads. Often much comfort can be obtained by writing or sending a telegraph in order to secure state rooms, &c.
HINTS TO PLEASURE TEAVELLEES.
1. Purchase through tickets previously to entering the cars.
2. Attend to checking your baggage rin person before taking your seat in the car.
3. Select a seat on the shady side of the car.
4. When you leave your seat, place a parcel, coat, or something belonging to you on it, which is an evidence of the seat being engaged.
5. Have the exact change to pay your fare on the cars, or you are subjected to be ejected from the cars—it has been decided by law that a conductor is not obliged to make change for a passenger.
6. Railroad Checks are good only for the train for which they are used; passengers cannot lay over for another train without making arrangements with the conductor.
7. Ladies without escort in travelling should be very particular with whom they become acquainted.
"If your lips would save from slips,
Five things observe with care:
Of whom you speak—to whom you speak,
And how—and when—and where."
8. If you see a lady unaccompanied, do not obtrude yourself upon her notice.
9. If she needs your services, tender them as though they were due to her, without unnecessary forwardness or undue empressment.
10. Such services do not entitle you to after recognition, unless by permission of the lady.
11. Ladies travelling with children should invariably have a basket of eatables, a tumbler or a goblet, for the children to drink from, and keep the children in their seats.
12. Keep your head and arms inside the car windows.
13. Never talk on politics in the cars —it is usually disagreeable to some of your fellow-travellers.
14. Never talk loudly while the train is in motion; it may not annoy any one, but it will injure your lungs.
15. A gentleman should not occupy more than one seat at a time.
16. Gentlemen should not spit tobacco juice in the cars where there are ladies; it soils their skirts and dresses.
17. Always show your ticket (without getting into a bad humor,) whenever the conductor asks for it. Observe this rule and it will pay.
18. Never smoke in a car where there are ladies. No gentlemen would be guilty of such an act.
19. Never use profane language in a railroad car.
20. If you cannot sleep yourself, don't prevent others from doing so, by whistling or loud talking.
21. Make a bargain with the hackman before getting into his carriage.
22. Look out for pickpockets.
23. Remember, that unless you pay for two seats you are entitled to but one, and every gentlemen and lady too, will respect the rights of others, and be mindful especially of the weak, the aged, and the infirm.
24. Provide yourself with sleeping berths before starting—you may then have a choice—the double lower birth is preferable.
25. Always be at the railroad station in good time to take the train. Better be an hour too early than a minute too late.
Note.—Many of the above rules are as applicable to Steamboat travelling as when travelling on Railroads. Often much comfort can be obtained by writing or sending a telegraph in order to secure state rooms, &c.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Card Games Part two
This is the second installment of Card Games, the first was last week on Thursday. Short Whist is a lot shorter in the directions than Long Whist.
SHORT WHIST.
This is unmistakably nothing more or less than ordinary Whist cut in half; therefore it is almost unnecessary to say much about it, because the principles of the game are just the same as those which have been given at length for the playing of Long Whist.
It is said that it was first introduced at Bath by Lord Peterborough, who, fearing he was about to incur some heavy losses, thought he might sooner be relieved of his suspense if he could contrive to shorten the game. Even now, although it may not be so popular as it once was, it still possesses a great attraction for many players, who are of opinion that the awarding of points for honours (which are not held as the result of play, but simply because they are dealt out to the players holding them) introduces an element of mere accident into the game, which they think does not add either to its interest or to its claims as a scientific amusement. Five points constitute the game in Short Whist, the rubber being reckoned as two points.
Honours are never called, but are always counted, except at the point of four.
The chief advantage of Short Whist lies in the fact that the trumps may be made special instruments of power. Carleton says:—" Trumps should be your rifle company; use them liberally in your manoeuvres; have copious reference to them in finessing, to enable you to maintain a long suit."
Should you be weak in trumps, ruff a doubtful card at all times; with a command in them, be very chary of that policy.
Let your great principle always be to keep the control of your adversaries' suit and leave that of your partner free.
If you see the probable good effect of forcing, decide which of your adversaries you will assail, but do not attempt them both at once. Let it be the stronger, if possible.
When you force both hands opposed to you, one throws away his useless cards; while the chance is the other makes trumps that under other circumstances would have been sacrificed.
And the great authority Deschapelles, in speaking of Short Whist, remarks, "When we consider the social feeling it engenders, the pleasure and vivacity it promotes, and the advantages it offers to the less skilful player, we cannot help acknowledging that Short Whist is a decided improvement upon the old game."
DUMBY, OR THREE-HANDED WHIST.
This is exactly the same as Long Whist, excepting that there are three players instead of four, and one of the players undertaking the responsibility of two hands. Duinby's hand is exposed on the table, open to the view of the three players. On the whole, the player having Dumby for partner has somewhat the best of it.
DOUBLE DT/MBY, OR TWO-HANDED WHIST.
This is when only two persons play. Two hands may either be exposed on the table, and made use of as if there were four players, or they may be entirely rejected. In the latter case the single hands held by the players must be managed as skilfully as possible. In all these little variations upon the real game of Whist each honour counts as one point.
EUCHRE.
This is the most popular game in the United States, and can be played by two, three, or four players.
Like Whist, Euchre does not depend upon chance only; great skill is required to play the game well.
It is played with a Piquet pack, that is, a pack of thirty-two cards, all cards below seven, excepting the ace, being taken out. The value of the cards is the same as in Whist, except that the knave of trumps and the other knave of the same colour take precedence over the remainder of the trumps. The knave of trumps is called the right bower, and the knave of the suit of the same colour the left bower.
Supposing spades to be trumps, then the cards rank in the following order:— Knave of spades, knave of clubs, ace, king, queen of spades, &c.
If elubs were trumps then the knave of that suit would be highest card, and knave of spades the next. The knaves rank as in Whist when neither right nor left bowers.
EUCHRE FOR TWO PLAYERS.
The cards are dealt as follows:—First deal two to each, then three to each.
The eleventh card is then turned up, and to whatever suit it belongs that suit is trumps.
Five points constitute the game. If a player win three tricks, they count for one point; if he win four tricks, they also count for one point; but if he win all five tricks, they count two points.
The eleventh card being turned up, the first player begins the game by looking at his hand to ascertain if, in his own estimation, it is sufficiently strong to score —that is, to make three, four, or five tricks. Should he be able to do so, he will say, " I order it up;" that is, that the dealer is to take up the turn-up card in his hand, and put out any card he likes. If, on the contrary, he thinks he cannot score, he says, "I pass."
If the first player orders the turn-up card up, the game begins at once by his playing a card and the dealer following suit. Should the dealer not be able to follow suit, he must either throw away or trump, as in Whist.
The winner of the trick then leads, and so the game goes on until the ten cards are played.
If either the dealer or the other player order the card up and fail to get three or more tricks, he is euchred—that is, his adversary scores two.
Suppose the first player passes, not, in his own estimation, being strong enough to make three tricks, the dealer can, if he likes, take the card and put one of his own out, but if he fails to score he is euchred.
If they both pass, the first player may change the trump, and the dealer is compelled to play. If, however, the former does not score he is euchred.
If he passes for the second time the dealer can alter it, the same penalty being enforced should he not score.
if they both pass for the second time, the round is over, and the first player begins to deal.
If trumps are led, and you only have left bower, you must play it, as it is considered a trump.
SPECULATION.
In playing the famous game of Speculation a full pack of fifty-two cards is used, the value of each card being the same as at Whist.
Either counters or halfpennies may serve for stakes, an equal number of which must be allotted to all, the pool being provided by contributions from each player. After cutting for deal the owner of the lowest card deals out three cards to each player, one at a time, face downwards, and no one must on any account look at what has been given him. /
The top card of the remaining pack is then to be the trump, and this card the dealer may either keep himself or sell to the highest bidder, making it thus an object of speculation.
The player on the left of the possessor of the winning card then turns up his top card, and if it happen not to be a trump the next player turns up, and so on, until a higher trump than the first make its appearance, when the new comer takes the place of its predecessor, and, if not retained by its owner, is awarded to the highest bidder. If the card be not a trump, but only an ordinary one, it may be beaten by the highest card that makes its appearance of the same suit or by a trump.
At the close of every round the pool is won by the player who holds the highest card of the tramp suit. Should the ace of trumps be turned up, the hand is, of course, at an end, the owner of it being the winner.
The game is well named, for the buying and selling business is frequently carried on to a very considerable extent. Sometimes the players will sell their whole hand to each other, or perhaps a single card on the chance of their proving winners.
Although the above method is the most common way of playing, slight variations are frequently made. For instance, an extra hand is dealt by many players and placed in the middle of the table for pool; at the end of the round this hand is examined, and if a better card is found in it than that belonging to the winner, the pool is left undisturbed, and added to the next new pool, making it, of course, double in value. Another variation is, that any player who may turn up a knave or a five of any suit excepting trumps shall pay one counter to the pool.
In order to play well at Speculation great judgment must be used, and also the memory must be in full exercise, but when once thoroughly understood and appreciated there is no game superior to it for a Christmas gathering, and almost any number of players may join in it.
SHORT WHIST.
This is unmistakably nothing more or less than ordinary Whist cut in half; therefore it is almost unnecessary to say much about it, because the principles of the game are just the same as those which have been given at length for the playing of Long Whist.
It is said that it was first introduced at Bath by Lord Peterborough, who, fearing he was about to incur some heavy losses, thought he might sooner be relieved of his suspense if he could contrive to shorten the game. Even now, although it may not be so popular as it once was, it still possesses a great attraction for many players, who are of opinion that the awarding of points for honours (which are not held as the result of play, but simply because they are dealt out to the players holding them) introduces an element of mere accident into the game, which they think does not add either to its interest or to its claims as a scientific amusement. Five points constitute the game in Short Whist, the rubber being reckoned as two points.
Honours are never called, but are always counted, except at the point of four.
The chief advantage of Short Whist lies in the fact that the trumps may be made special instruments of power. Carleton says:—" Trumps should be your rifle company; use them liberally in your manoeuvres; have copious reference to them in finessing, to enable you to maintain a long suit."
Should you be weak in trumps, ruff a doubtful card at all times; with a command in them, be very chary of that policy.
Let your great principle always be to keep the control of your adversaries' suit and leave that of your partner free.
If you see the probable good effect of forcing, decide which of your adversaries you will assail, but do not attempt them both at once. Let it be the stronger, if possible.
When you force both hands opposed to you, one throws away his useless cards; while the chance is the other makes trumps that under other circumstances would have been sacrificed.
And the great authority Deschapelles, in speaking of Short Whist, remarks, "When we consider the social feeling it engenders, the pleasure and vivacity it promotes, and the advantages it offers to the less skilful player, we cannot help acknowledging that Short Whist is a decided improvement upon the old game."
DUMBY, OR THREE-HANDED WHIST.
This is exactly the same as Long Whist, excepting that there are three players instead of four, and one of the players undertaking the responsibility of two hands. Duinby's hand is exposed on the table, open to the view of the three players. On the whole, the player having Dumby for partner has somewhat the best of it.
DOUBLE DT/MBY, OR TWO-HANDED WHIST.
This is when only two persons play. Two hands may either be exposed on the table, and made use of as if there were four players, or they may be entirely rejected. In the latter case the single hands held by the players must be managed as skilfully as possible. In all these little variations upon the real game of Whist each honour counts as one point.
EUCHRE.
This is the most popular game in the United States, and can be played by two, three, or four players.
Like Whist, Euchre does not depend upon chance only; great skill is required to play the game well.
It is played with a Piquet pack, that is, a pack of thirty-two cards, all cards below seven, excepting the ace, being taken out. The value of the cards is the same as in Whist, except that the knave of trumps and the other knave of the same colour take precedence over the remainder of the trumps. The knave of trumps is called the right bower, and the knave of the suit of the same colour the left bower.
Supposing spades to be trumps, then the cards rank in the following order:— Knave of spades, knave of clubs, ace, king, queen of spades, &c.
If elubs were trumps then the knave of that suit would be highest card, and knave of spades the next. The knaves rank as in Whist when neither right nor left bowers.
EUCHRE FOR TWO PLAYERS.
The cards are dealt as follows:—First deal two to each, then three to each.
The eleventh card is then turned up, and to whatever suit it belongs that suit is trumps.
Five points constitute the game. If a player win three tricks, they count for one point; if he win four tricks, they also count for one point; but if he win all five tricks, they count two points.
The eleventh card being turned up, the first player begins the game by looking at his hand to ascertain if, in his own estimation, it is sufficiently strong to score —that is, to make three, four, or five tricks. Should he be able to do so, he will say, " I order it up;" that is, that the dealer is to take up the turn-up card in his hand, and put out any card he likes. If, on the contrary, he thinks he cannot score, he says, "I pass."
If the first player orders the turn-up card up, the game begins at once by his playing a card and the dealer following suit. Should the dealer not be able to follow suit, he must either throw away or trump, as in Whist.
The winner of the trick then leads, and so the game goes on until the ten cards are played.
If either the dealer or the other player order the card up and fail to get three or more tricks, he is euchred—that is, his adversary scores two.
Suppose the first player passes, not, in his own estimation, being strong enough to make three tricks, the dealer can, if he likes, take the card and put one of his own out, but if he fails to score he is euchred.
If they both pass, the first player may change the trump, and the dealer is compelled to play. If, however, the former does not score he is euchred.
If he passes for the second time the dealer can alter it, the same penalty being enforced should he not score.
if they both pass for the second time, the round is over, and the first player begins to deal.
If trumps are led, and you only have left bower, you must play it, as it is considered a trump.
SPECULATION.
In playing the famous game of Speculation a full pack of fifty-two cards is used, the value of each card being the same as at Whist.
Either counters or halfpennies may serve for stakes, an equal number of which must be allotted to all, the pool being provided by contributions from each player. After cutting for deal the owner of the lowest card deals out three cards to each player, one at a time, face downwards, and no one must on any account look at what has been given him. /
The top card of the remaining pack is then to be the trump, and this card the dealer may either keep himself or sell to the highest bidder, making it thus an object of speculation.
The player on the left of the possessor of the winning card then turns up his top card, and if it happen not to be a trump the next player turns up, and so on, until a higher trump than the first make its appearance, when the new comer takes the place of its predecessor, and, if not retained by its owner, is awarded to the highest bidder. If the card be not a trump, but only an ordinary one, it may be beaten by the highest card that makes its appearance of the same suit or by a trump.
At the close of every round the pool is won by the player who holds the highest card of the tramp suit. Should the ace of trumps be turned up, the hand is, of course, at an end, the owner of it being the winner.
The game is well named, for the buying and selling business is frequently carried on to a very considerable extent. Sometimes the players will sell their whole hand to each other, or perhaps a single card on the chance of their proving winners.
Although the above method is the most common way of playing, slight variations are frequently made. For instance, an extra hand is dealt by many players and placed in the middle of the table for pool; at the end of the round this hand is examined, and if a better card is found in it than that belonging to the winner, the pool is left undisturbed, and added to the next new pool, making it, of course, double in value. Another variation is, that any player who may turn up a knave or a five of any suit excepting trumps shall pay one counter to the pool.
In order to play well at Speculation great judgment must be used, and also the memory must be in full exercise, but when once thoroughly understood and appreciated there is no game superior to it for a Christmas gathering, and almost any number of players may join in it.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Travel on to the Great Lakes
Below is a lengthy excerpt from Sailing on the Great Lakes and Rivers of America ©1874. It was around this time that travel for pleasure and recreation began to take hold in America. For so many years and generations Americans worked hard, day and night. But as the industrial revolution began to take shape travel, vacations also began for the middle class and no longer something the upper class. What you might find historically helpful for your writing is the views of travel, the modes and the tidbits the author shares.
Tourists, in search of health or pleasure, who intend to visit the region of the Great Lakes of America, if starting from New York or any of the cities of the eastern or middle States, are advised to take the most direct route for Niagara Falls, where may be seen the magnitude of the accumulated waters of the "Inland Seas," as exhibited by viewing the American and Canadian, or Horse-Shoe Fall of this mighty Cataract. The Suspension Bridges, Rapids, and Islands, with other objects combined, form attractions that will profitably employ several days sojourn at this fashionable resort.
Here are several well-kept Hotels, both on the American and Canadian sides of the river, from whence delightful drives are afforded in almost every direction, while bringing into view new objects of interest, either on ascending on descending the banks of this majestic stream—this whole section of country, above and below the Falls, being historic ground. The battle-fields of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, Queenstown, and old Fort George, opposite Fort Niagara, on the American side, all deserve a visit.
On leaving Niagara Falls the tourist can proceed westward, via the Great Western Railway of Canada, to Detroit, 230 miles, passing through an interesting section of Canada; or, proceed to Buffalo, by rail, 22 miles.
Grand Pleasure Excursion,
THROUGH LAKES HURON AND SUPERIOR.
Steamers of a large class leave Buffalo, during the season of navigation, every alternate day for Erie, Cleveland and Detroit, proceeding on their way to the Saut Ste. Marie and Duluth, Lake Superior, a distance of about 1,200 miles.
Passengers taking the Round Trip can stop, to suit their convenience, at any of the Lake ports, before arriving at Detroit. The City of Erie, 90 miles from Buffalo, is a place of growing importance, where terminates the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, forming a direct and speedy communication with the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. This is a favorite line of travel, crossing the Alleghany range and connecting with the Great Lakes. The City of Cleveland, 95 miles further, is fast becoming a great mart of trade, and a stoppingplace for pleasure travellers. The railroad lines, in connection with its shipping facilities, afford this port great commercial advantages—no city on the Lakes exceeding it in natural advantages as regards a healthy climate, lovely situation, beautiful avenues, and delightful drives. Steamers run from this place to Put-in-Bay, Kelley's Island, Sandusky and Toledo, as well as direct to Detroit, Mich., each affording pleasant summer excursions.
On leaving Detroit, if bound for Lake Superior, commences the Grand Excursion—passing through Lake St. Clair and St. Clair river, forming the boundary between the United States and Canada. The steamer usually stops at Sarnia, Can., or Port Huron, Mich, to land and receive passengers. Immediately, after leaving the latter port, Point Edward and Fort Gratiot are passed, and the steamer enters the broad waters of Lake Huron. Here is experienced during warm weather the most delightful change imaginable. The upward bound vessels usually keep near the Michigan shore, on the left, while on the right nothing but the broad waters are visible for some two hundred miles.
Tourists, in search of health or pleasure, who intend to visit the region of the Great Lakes of America, if starting from New York or any of the cities of the eastern or middle States, are advised to take the most direct route for Niagara Falls, where may be seen the magnitude of the accumulated waters of the "Inland Seas," as exhibited by viewing the American and Canadian, or Horse-Shoe Fall of this mighty Cataract. The Suspension Bridges, Rapids, and Islands, with other objects combined, form attractions that will profitably employ several days sojourn at this fashionable resort.
Here are several well-kept Hotels, both on the American and Canadian sides of the river, from whence delightful drives are afforded in almost every direction, while bringing into view new objects of interest, either on ascending on descending the banks of this majestic stream—this whole section of country, above and below the Falls, being historic ground. The battle-fields of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, Queenstown, and old Fort George, opposite Fort Niagara, on the American side, all deserve a visit.
On leaving Niagara Falls the tourist can proceed westward, via the Great Western Railway of Canada, to Detroit, 230 miles, passing through an interesting section of Canada; or, proceed to Buffalo, by rail, 22 miles.
Grand Pleasure Excursion,
THROUGH LAKES HURON AND SUPERIOR.
Steamers of a large class leave Buffalo, during the season of navigation, every alternate day for Erie, Cleveland and Detroit, proceeding on their way to the Saut Ste. Marie and Duluth, Lake Superior, a distance of about 1,200 miles.
Passengers taking the Round Trip can stop, to suit their convenience, at any of the Lake ports, before arriving at Detroit. The City of Erie, 90 miles from Buffalo, is a place of growing importance, where terminates the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, forming a direct and speedy communication with the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. This is a favorite line of travel, crossing the Alleghany range and connecting with the Great Lakes. The City of Cleveland, 95 miles further, is fast becoming a great mart of trade, and a stoppingplace for pleasure travellers. The railroad lines, in connection with its shipping facilities, afford this port great commercial advantages—no city on the Lakes exceeding it in natural advantages as regards a healthy climate, lovely situation, beautiful avenues, and delightful drives. Steamers run from this place to Put-in-Bay, Kelley's Island, Sandusky and Toledo, as well as direct to Detroit, Mich., each affording pleasant summer excursions.
On leaving Detroit, if bound for Lake Superior, commences the Grand Excursion—passing through Lake St. Clair and St. Clair river, forming the boundary between the United States and Canada. The steamer usually stops at Sarnia, Can., or Port Huron, Mich, to land and receive passengers. Immediately, after leaving the latter port, Point Edward and Fort Gratiot are passed, and the steamer enters the broad waters of Lake Huron. Here is experienced during warm weather the most delightful change imaginable. The upward bound vessels usually keep near the Michigan shore, on the left, while on the right nothing but the broad waters are visible for some two hundred miles.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
CARD GAMES part one
Today I'm beginning a series on Card Games, the first game I'm sharing is Long Whist and the rules are long. But for those of you who might play whist, check it out and see if the rules have changed. Cassel's Book of Indoor Amusements, Card Games and Fireside Fun ©1882 is our source for this really long tidbit.
CARD GAMES.
There is no knowing exactly when card-playing first made its appearance, or who introduced it. Long before Whist, Cribbage, or Piquet was heard of the natives of India and China amused themselves for many a long hour in cardplaying. Though probably they did not restrict themselves to any particular rule or method, still, the enjoyment they derived from the game was, doubtless, quite equal to any that we have now. The old tale, that has so often been repeated, that Whist was invented purposely to entertain, during his moments of sanity, an English sovereign who had lost his reason, may or may not be true. All we really know is, that for more than two hundred years our grandmothers and grandfathers have spent many a happy hour at the card-table, sipping their toddy and playing their rubbers in really good earnest. As far as we are concerned, the toddy sipping may be with safety dispensed with, but not the earnestness; for with cards, almost more than any other amusement, it is utterly useless to play in a half-hearted sort of manner.
Everything, for the time, must be forgotten but the game, and into that the whole energy must be thrown. As all good players know, triflers are to be dreaded far more than inexperienced players. The latter, by practice, strict attention, the exercise of judgment, observation, and memory may soon become skilful players, while the former will never willingly be chosen as partners by good Whist players. It is said that good old Sir Roger de Coverley sent a messenger round every Christmas time with a pack of cards to all the cottagers on his estate, and if accompanied, as no doubt they were, with something useful and substantial, nothing could have been much more acceptable.
LONG WHIST.
Among all card games Whist is unequalled, and although no more than four players can join in one game, a whole roomful of people may easily play at the same time by simply dividing themselves into so many quartettes, a pack of cards being provided for each set of players.
For Long Whist four players are required, and a complete pack of fiftytwo cards. The first step is for each player to draw a card from the pack, the two highest and the two lowest being partners, each player taking his seat opposite his partner. The cards are then shuffled by the "elder hand," who is the player to the left of the dealer, the post of dealer being allotted to the drawer of the lowest card; after which they are cut by the "younger hand," who is the player to the right of the dealer. Beginning with his left-hand neighbour, the whole pack is then dealt out to the players one by one, faces downward, until the last one is arrived at, which, though the property of the dealer, is turned up, displaying the trump suit. If dealt properly, every player will hold in his hand thirteen cards, which he is now at liberty to look at and arrange in order, the owner of each hand being in honour bound not to look at any cards but his own.
The object of the game is for each player to either make himself, or assist his partner in making, as many tricks as possible, so that they together may gain ten points, that number being game in Long Whist.
CARD GAMES.
There is no knowing exactly when card-playing first made its appearance, or who introduced it. Long before Whist, Cribbage, or Piquet was heard of the natives of India and China amused themselves for many a long hour in cardplaying. Though probably they did not restrict themselves to any particular rule or method, still, the enjoyment they derived from the game was, doubtless, quite equal to any that we have now. The old tale, that has so often been repeated, that Whist was invented purposely to entertain, during his moments of sanity, an English sovereign who had lost his reason, may or may not be true. All we really know is, that for more than two hundred years our grandmothers and grandfathers have spent many a happy hour at the card-table, sipping their toddy and playing their rubbers in really good earnest. As far as we are concerned, the toddy sipping may be with safety dispensed with, but not the earnestness; for with cards, almost more than any other amusement, it is utterly useless to play in a half-hearted sort of manner.
Everything, for the time, must be forgotten but the game, and into that the whole energy must be thrown. As all good players know, triflers are to be dreaded far more than inexperienced players. The latter, by practice, strict attention, the exercise of judgment, observation, and memory may soon become skilful players, while the former will never willingly be chosen as partners by good Whist players. It is said that good old Sir Roger de Coverley sent a messenger round every Christmas time with a pack of cards to all the cottagers on his estate, and if accompanied, as no doubt they were, with something useful and substantial, nothing could have been much more acceptable.
LONG WHIST.
Among all card games Whist is unequalled, and although no more than four players can join in one game, a whole roomful of people may easily play at the same time by simply dividing themselves into so many quartettes, a pack of cards being provided for each set of players.
For Long Whist four players are required, and a complete pack of fiftytwo cards. The first step is for each player to draw a card from the pack, the two highest and the two lowest being partners, each player taking his seat opposite his partner. The cards are then shuffled by the "elder hand," who is the player to the left of the dealer, the post of dealer being allotted to the drawer of the lowest card; after which they are cut by the "younger hand," who is the player to the right of the dealer. Beginning with his left-hand neighbour, the whole pack is then dealt out to the players one by one, faces downward, until the last one is arrived at, which, though the property of the dealer, is turned up, displaying the trump suit. If dealt properly, every player will hold in his hand thirteen cards, which he is now at liberty to look at and arrange in order, the owner of each hand being in honour bound not to look at any cards but his own.
The object of the game is for each player to either make himself, or assist his partner in making, as many tricks as possible, so that they together may gain ten points, that number being game in Long Whist.
Friday, May 22, 2015
The Bull's Foot
I came across this game and while I've played something similar when I was a kid, or even with my children, I never knew the game to be called "The Bull's Foot". Below are two variations of the same game. Enjoy!
EVERYBODY knows this game, of which the idea consists in piling up hands, one above another, and then withdrawing successively each one as it becomes the under one, to place it on the top of the pile, saying, meantime, a number from one to nine. When the turn of nine comes, the pile is taken down, and the hands are hidden. It is then the turn of him who has said nine, to skilfully seize a hand, saying, "I hold my Bull's Foot." If he does not catch any, he owes a forfeit. If he succeeds in catching a hand, he says to the person to whom it belongs, "Of three things you must do one." A polite player will reply, "Yes, if I can." Others will add, "If I choose," "If it please me." Then the conqueror orders three things, of which one at least should be feasible. The order is executed, and the game begins again.
(Look for the choice of the forfeits at the end of the games.)
Source: The Book of Parlor Games ©1853
THE BULLS FOOT.
The ancient way of playing at this was very childish. The first player laid one hand upon the table, and her companions imitated her, laying their hands on hers, until a pile of nine were formed. The player whose hand was undermost, then withdrew it, and placed it on the top of the pile, saying, “one.” The next one did the same, counting “two,” and so on until it came to the turn of the ninth player, who attempted to seize one of the hastily-withdrawn hands, exclaiming, when she succeeded in accomplishing her object, “Nine ! The Bull's Foot is mine !” Now, the following addition has been made. The captor of the Bull's Foot wishes to dispose of it, so taking a key or any other small article, to represent it, she goes round the company, saying, “How much will you give me for my Bull's Foot?” Each person addressed has to instantly reply by stating a price, taking care, as she does so, to avoid any number capable of being divided by nine, thus, eighteen, thirty-six, forty-five, &c., are prohibited, as well as the number nine itself joined to another number, such as nineteen, twenty-nine, &c. The first person making a mistake, pays a forfeit, and becomes vendor of the Bull's Foot.
Source: Every Girls Book ©1860
EVERYBODY knows this game, of which the idea consists in piling up hands, one above another, and then withdrawing successively each one as it becomes the under one, to place it on the top of the pile, saying, meantime, a number from one to nine. When the turn of nine comes, the pile is taken down, and the hands are hidden. It is then the turn of him who has said nine, to skilfully seize a hand, saying, "I hold my Bull's Foot." If he does not catch any, he owes a forfeit. If he succeeds in catching a hand, he says to the person to whom it belongs, "Of three things you must do one." A polite player will reply, "Yes, if I can." Others will add, "If I choose," "If it please me." Then the conqueror orders three things, of which one at least should be feasible. The order is executed, and the game begins again.
(Look for the choice of the forfeits at the end of the games.)
Source: The Book of Parlor Games ©1853
THE BULLS FOOT.
The ancient way of playing at this was very childish. The first player laid one hand upon the table, and her companions imitated her, laying their hands on hers, until a pile of nine were formed. The player whose hand was undermost, then withdrew it, and placed it on the top of the pile, saying, “one.” The next one did the same, counting “two,” and so on until it came to the turn of the ninth player, who attempted to seize one of the hastily-withdrawn hands, exclaiming, when she succeeded in accomplishing her object, “Nine ! The Bull's Foot is mine !” Now, the following addition has been made. The captor of the Bull's Foot wishes to dispose of it, so taking a key or any other small article, to represent it, she goes round the company, saying, “How much will you give me for my Bull's Foot?” Each person addressed has to instantly reply by stating a price, taking care, as she does so, to avoid any number capable of being divided by nine, thus, eighteen, thirty-six, forty-five, &c., are prohibited, as well as the number nine itself joined to another number, such as nineteen, twenty-nine, &c. The first person making a mistake, pays a forfeit, and becomes vendor of the Bull's Foot.
Source: Every Girls Book ©1860
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Football
Continuing the tread of recreational sports, last week was bicycling. Today we'll concentrate on football. These remarks come from "Outdoors: A Book of Healthful Pleasures" ©1894
FOOT BALL
BY WALTER CAMP.
Secretary Advisory Committee Inter-Collegiate Foot Ball Association.
IN the bright, crisp days of late October, when the air has in it a bracing exhilaration that tempts one to almost any belief in athletic strength and prowess, when the wheelman finds not his endurance but the day too short, when even the horsa under the rider seems to gather power from the air he breathes, when the wonderful and bewitching autumn of the year has given all her wealth in lavish display of colors, then is the season of the sport of foot ball.
The game is a too sharp and sturdy one for the hot days of summer, and winter renders the ground unfit for the hard tumbles of the players; but during the two months of October and November, the season is at its height and the gridiron field is covered with the hardy young players.
It is now nearly twenty years since the Rugby Union game of our English cousins was introduced in this country. Previous to that time American foot ball amounted to but little. Some indiscriminate kicking and bunting, a very poor, mongrel attempt at the old Association style of play, was all that could be brought out here. No more than a few score people would come to a match, and even they would hardly find a reward for coming. To-day, thirty-five thousand psople will sit, unprotected, through the heaviest rainstorm to see the final match of the American Inter-collegiate season, while other matches draw ten or twenty thousand. Schools and colleges from Maine to California all have foot-ball teams, and wherever there are two rival schools, colleges, or universities within travelling distance of each other, there is now an annual foot-ball contest, fraught with the greatest intensity of interest. And for all this, foot ball is still an undeveloped sport. Each year brings forward new lines of skill and tactics, each season witnesses some marked advance in the play, and ffom the last match in November until the opening of the next season in September, the busy brains of captains, coaches, and players are studying up new strategies, unusual and brilliant manoeuvres, many of which, it is true, come to naught when put to the test, but there are always a few of the best that succeed beyond all expectations and mark out still further lines of progress.
The fundamental theory of the game "is of the simplest character. Two teams of eleven men each meet upon a field 330 feet long and 160 feet wide, and each team endeavors to put the ball over the goal, or past the goal line of the opponents. The ball may be kicked, carried, or passed by the players, but by only the two former methods can it be advanced, for all passing or throwing the ball must be directly across the field or else toward the players' own goal and not toward the goal of the opponents. There are but two scoring places and those are at the ends of the field, and called the goal lines. They are the end boundaries and in the centre of each stands the goal itself, composed of two upright posts, set eighteen and a half feet apart and crossed by a bar at a height of ten feet from the ground. To score a goal the ball must be kicked by the player over this bar and between the two posts which project above it. There is but one kind of a kick that cannot score a goal, and that is what is technically termed a "punt." In a punt the kicker drops the ball from his hands and kicks it before it touches the ground. This style of kick is the most common one for advancing the ball in the field of play, but when a team is near enough to try for a goal their kickers either attempt a drop kick, that is, kicking the ball just as it rises from the ground on the bound, or a place kick, where a second player holds it on the ground for another to kick. In addition to kicking goals, points may be scored by gaining touch-downs. These are of two kinds, ordinary touch-downs and safeties. The former are made by carrying the ball over, or securing it behind the line of the enemy's goal, the latter are made by members of a hard pressed side carrying the ball behind their own goal line as a measure of protection. An ordinary touch-down entitles the side making it to a try at the opponent's goal by a place kick, but, even though the kick be unsuccessful, the touchdown itself counts four points. If the goal be kicked the two together count six points. A goal kicked in any other way than from a touch-down, counts but five points. Finally, a safety counts two points for the opponents; and the entire match is decided by the number of points scored in two halves of forty-five minutes each. The laws under which the game is played may be summed up briefly as follows : —
Any player may run with or kick the ball, and any opponent may seize him when he has the ball in his possession and stop him or try to secure the ball. The only limitation to a player's running with the ball or kicking it, is, that he must have received it when '.' on side," that is, without being between the ball and the opponent's goal. The only limitations to the tacklers are that they must not seize the runner below the knees or trip him. There are two judges under whose rulings the game is played, one known as the umpire, who sees that the players are guilty of no unfair acts, and the other called th2 referee, who judges the position and progress of the ball. The game is begun by placing the ball in the centre of the field, in the possession of one of the teams, [decided by toss,] and then follows the attempt to advance the ball either by kicks or runs. In order to prevent a side continually holding the ball and never relinquishing it to the opponents, the rules provide that whenever a man is caught and held with the ball, his side must at once place the ball on the ground and make another attempt to advance it. If in three of these attempts they have not gained five yards, or lost twenty, they must, either by kicking the ball or surrendering it, give the other side a chance to try their skill at advancing it.
The remarkable development of the game in America has rendered the division of players even more specific than in England. The line in front, consisting usually of seven men, is called the rush line, or forwards, while the man who stands just behind this line and passes the ball for a kick or run, is termed the quarter back. Next behind him are two half backs and a back or goal tend. The forwards are still further classified as ends, tackles, guards, and centre, as will be seen by reference to the accompanying diagram.
The exercise of foot ball is a thoroughly general one, calling upon almost every muscle in the body to bear its share, and for this reason all forms of out-door sport, cycling, riding, swimming, rowing, and tennis are excellent preparation for foot ball, as foot ball in its turn is for the others. In universities where both rowing and foot ball are cultivated, it is no unusual thing to find several of the crew men foot-ball players as well. Base ball and track athletics also furnish their quota to make up the foot-ball team. The prime requisite for a foot-ball man is soundness, and the wonderful "all 'round" development attained by the members of teams, as shown by the measurements taken by those interested in physical culture, has been something remarkable. That element known as pluck must enter largely into the make-up of anyone desiring to make a great success of competitive work in any branch of athletics, and perhaps ho place gives a better opportunity for the cultivation as well as the display of this attribute than the foot-ball field, where almost every moment brings forward some new and unexpected emergency to be faced, until quick thought and ready action come to be the rule rather than the exception.
The best advice to give to a man who desires to become a successful player is, to begin by putting himself in good physical condition, by engaging in any or all of the out-door sports of the summer season, being careful, however, not to overdo the matter by running any risks of overtraining, which is rather more liable to result from immoderate fatigue in the heat of summer than later in the year. In the early fall the teams begin work upon the field and the candidate for honors, who has spent some little of his summer in keeping in condition, at once finds himself better able to endure the violent exercise than those of his fellows who have devoted the summer to high living and little exercise. The man who tries foot ball for the first time is now, thanks to the popularity of the sport even among the younger schools and classes, so unusual, that one need only say to him, "Look on for a week, ask questions, and then put on a canvass jacket." To those who have had some experience, but who are ready to go up higher, to young school boys who want to get on the first team from the second, to preparatory school graduates just entering college who want to get on the freshman team, or to those who have aspirations for the 'Varsity, let me say that nothing will bring you so close to the object of your desires as-making a study of the particular position you wish to fill. A man must not be content with going through the daily routine of practice, doing merely what he has seen others do before him, thinking of none but the ordinary regulation work. He must begin by thinking, after his day of practice, just what plays were made during which he stood unoccupied, and lending no assistance. Then he must ask himself the question whether, without jeopardizing the play in any way, he could not perform some act that would add to its efficiency. For instance, a man is playing the position of left tackle, and the play has been that of sending the half back through between right end and tackle. As left tackle the mal* has merely blocked his opponent, and then psrhaps taken a step or two up the field, and looked on open-mouthed to see his runner making a fine gain on the right, but eventually brought down by the opposing full back. It occurs to the player who is really ambitious and thoughtful, that there was a possibility of the left tackle checking his man, and then, by fast running, getting over to the spot where the full back stopped the runner, and interfering so that the run might have yielded a touch-down.
FOOT BALL
BY WALTER CAMP.
Secretary Advisory Committee Inter-Collegiate Foot Ball Association.
IN the bright, crisp days of late October, when the air has in it a bracing exhilaration that tempts one to almost any belief in athletic strength and prowess, when the wheelman finds not his endurance but the day too short, when even the horsa under the rider seems to gather power from the air he breathes, when the wonderful and bewitching autumn of the year has given all her wealth in lavish display of colors, then is the season of the sport of foot ball.
The game is a too sharp and sturdy one for the hot days of summer, and winter renders the ground unfit for the hard tumbles of the players; but during the two months of October and November, the season is at its height and the gridiron field is covered with the hardy young players.
It is now nearly twenty years since the Rugby Union game of our English cousins was introduced in this country. Previous to that time American foot ball amounted to but little. Some indiscriminate kicking and bunting, a very poor, mongrel attempt at the old Association style of play, was all that could be brought out here. No more than a few score people would come to a match, and even they would hardly find a reward for coming. To-day, thirty-five thousand psople will sit, unprotected, through the heaviest rainstorm to see the final match of the American Inter-collegiate season, while other matches draw ten or twenty thousand. Schools and colleges from Maine to California all have foot-ball teams, and wherever there are two rival schools, colleges, or universities within travelling distance of each other, there is now an annual foot-ball contest, fraught with the greatest intensity of interest. And for all this, foot ball is still an undeveloped sport. Each year brings forward new lines of skill and tactics, each season witnesses some marked advance in the play, and ffom the last match in November until the opening of the next season in September, the busy brains of captains, coaches, and players are studying up new strategies, unusual and brilliant manoeuvres, many of which, it is true, come to naught when put to the test, but there are always a few of the best that succeed beyond all expectations and mark out still further lines of progress.
The fundamental theory of the game "is of the simplest character. Two teams of eleven men each meet upon a field 330 feet long and 160 feet wide, and each team endeavors to put the ball over the goal, or past the goal line of the opponents. The ball may be kicked, carried, or passed by the players, but by only the two former methods can it be advanced, for all passing or throwing the ball must be directly across the field or else toward the players' own goal and not toward the goal of the opponents. There are but two scoring places and those are at the ends of the field, and called the goal lines. They are the end boundaries and in the centre of each stands the goal itself, composed of two upright posts, set eighteen and a half feet apart and crossed by a bar at a height of ten feet from the ground. To score a goal the ball must be kicked by the player over this bar and between the two posts which project above it. There is but one kind of a kick that cannot score a goal, and that is what is technically termed a "punt." In a punt the kicker drops the ball from his hands and kicks it before it touches the ground. This style of kick is the most common one for advancing the ball in the field of play, but when a team is near enough to try for a goal their kickers either attempt a drop kick, that is, kicking the ball just as it rises from the ground on the bound, or a place kick, where a second player holds it on the ground for another to kick. In addition to kicking goals, points may be scored by gaining touch-downs. These are of two kinds, ordinary touch-downs and safeties. The former are made by carrying the ball over, or securing it behind the line of the enemy's goal, the latter are made by members of a hard pressed side carrying the ball behind their own goal line as a measure of protection. An ordinary touch-down entitles the side making it to a try at the opponent's goal by a place kick, but, even though the kick be unsuccessful, the touchdown itself counts four points. If the goal be kicked the two together count six points. A goal kicked in any other way than from a touch-down, counts but five points. Finally, a safety counts two points for the opponents; and the entire match is decided by the number of points scored in two halves of forty-five minutes each. The laws under which the game is played may be summed up briefly as follows : —
Any player may run with or kick the ball, and any opponent may seize him when he has the ball in his possession and stop him or try to secure the ball. The only limitation to a player's running with the ball or kicking it, is, that he must have received it when '.' on side," that is, without being between the ball and the opponent's goal. The only limitations to the tacklers are that they must not seize the runner below the knees or trip him. There are two judges under whose rulings the game is played, one known as the umpire, who sees that the players are guilty of no unfair acts, and the other called th2 referee, who judges the position and progress of the ball. The game is begun by placing the ball in the centre of the field, in the possession of one of the teams, [decided by toss,] and then follows the attempt to advance the ball either by kicks or runs. In order to prevent a side continually holding the ball and never relinquishing it to the opponents, the rules provide that whenever a man is caught and held with the ball, his side must at once place the ball on the ground and make another attempt to advance it. If in three of these attempts they have not gained five yards, or lost twenty, they must, either by kicking the ball or surrendering it, give the other side a chance to try their skill at advancing it.
The remarkable development of the game in America has rendered the division of players even more specific than in England. The line in front, consisting usually of seven men, is called the rush line, or forwards, while the man who stands just behind this line and passes the ball for a kick or run, is termed the quarter back. Next behind him are two half backs and a back or goal tend. The forwards are still further classified as ends, tackles, guards, and centre, as will be seen by reference to the accompanying diagram.
The best advice to give to a man who desires to become a successful player is, to begin by putting himself in good physical condition, by engaging in any or all of the out-door sports of the summer season, being careful, however, not to overdo the matter by running any risks of overtraining, which is rather more liable to result from immoderate fatigue in the heat of summer than later in the year. In the early fall the teams begin work upon the field and the candidate for honors, who has spent some little of his summer in keeping in condition, at once finds himself better able to endure the violent exercise than those of his fellows who have devoted the summer to high living and little exercise. The man who tries foot ball for the first time is now, thanks to the popularity of the sport even among the younger schools and classes, so unusual, that one need only say to him, "Look on for a week, ask questions, and then put on a canvass jacket." To those who have had some experience, but who are ready to go up higher, to young school boys who want to get on the first team from the second, to preparatory school graduates just entering college who want to get on the freshman team, or to those who have aspirations for the 'Varsity, let me say that nothing will bring you so close to the object of your desires as-making a study of the particular position you wish to fill. A man must not be content with going through the daily routine of practice, doing merely what he has seen others do before him, thinking of none but the ordinary regulation work. He must begin by thinking, after his day of practice, just what plays were made during which he stood unoccupied, and lending no assistance. Then he must ask himself the question whether, without jeopardizing the play in any way, he could not perform some act that would add to its efficiency. For instance, a man is playing the position of left tackle, and the play has been that of sending the half back through between right end and tackle. As left tackle the mal* has merely blocked his opponent, and then psrhaps taken a step or two up the field, and looked on open-mouthed to see his runner making a fine gain on the right, but eventually brought down by the opposing full back. It occurs to the player who is really ambitious and thoughtful, that there was a possibility of the left tackle checking his man, and then, by fast running, getting over to the spot where the full back stopped the runner, and interfering so that the run might have yielded a touch-down.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Terrestrial Flight
The term had me looking it up so you'll find some information below are some tidbits about recreational sports from a book titled "Outdoors: A Book of Healthful Pleasure" ©1894 Enjoy the thoughts from the time about exercise and recreation.
The lazy Washington atmosphare, which seems to have been imported from the Land of the Lotus Eaters, and which affects everybody on foot, from the sable piccaniny to the Cabinet officer, is powerless to influence the rider on the steel horse. I forget how many bicycles are owned in Washington, though I did take the trouble to ask; but it appears at times as if everybody must own one. The broad, straight streets, smooth with polished asphalt, are swimming with shining wheels, following, passing, crossing, approaching, vanishing, gliding, all lightness, noiselessness, and speed. They stream to and fro in glaring currents, and no single rider can hold your eye but for an instant, but they are always coming, always going, and spin in continuous succession along thsir soundless paths, swift as birds, and with no more apparent effort, though their elastic tires never leave the solid surface of the planet.
Then terrestrial flyers are not restricted to sex, age, or occupation. If there are not, at present, as many women as men, the number of the former is constantly increasing; and a woman looks so graceful on a bicycle that the aesthetic instincts of the sex, no less than its good sense and love of movement, will aid in urging them to the saddle. The Washington Department clerks are almost all members of the steel cavalry division; their unwearying steeds enable them to stay so much* later at their breakfast, and so much earlier at their dinner; and at the journey's end there is no stable to hire, no hostler to fee, no fodder to provide. How much salary, how much lassitude, how much dyspepsia and low spirits do these tense, economic racers save in a twelvemonth ?" Post equitum sedet atra cura" says Horace; but I doubt if dull care often overtakes the airy sweep of the bicycler. His foot is on the pedal: he is the author of his own flights, and he can regulate it to suit his mood.
The small boy and the elderly gentleman, the tradesman and ths manabout-town, the seamstress and she for whom the seamstress works, all mingle with equal propriety and enjoyment in the wheeling lists. Bicycling is a freemasonry, broader in its membership than any other, save human nature itself. The man of brawn and the man of brains are at one in the saddle. Youth and age alike can do their mile in three minutes or under. The "winning wave, deserving note, in the tempestuous petticoat," is never more winning than when it whispers past you on the wheel. A woman on horseback, in a trim riding-habit, is an alluring sight; but we miss one important feature ■— the rhythmic grace of motion, which nothing but the bicycle affords. The entire pose shows the figure to the best advantage; and the slight, unconscious swayings of the body to maintain the balance imparts an element of life to the spectacle which is more fascinating than the most studied art of mere attitude.
But it would be omitting an important factor in the combination which has made the bicycle so universally popular, to ascribe its success to its practical business utility and to its faculty of making its riders look well. It is, above all, the solution of a problem which has puzzled hygienists and physical culturists for many years. The modern gospel of physical culture has been preached sinca before i860; and certainly, the multiplication since that revived of gymnasiums, of athletic clubs, of out-door sports, and of athletes, is evidence that it has not been preached in vain. Probably a majority of college-bred young men have made more or less practical acquaintance with bodily exercise. During their college career they attended the gymnasium, rowed, played base ball or foot ball, or took part in athletic games. In after life, a fair percentage of them kapt up their practise for a time; but, as a general rule, the business occupation of life, or other business, led them to discontinue their active habits soon after reaching their thirtieth year ; thenceforward they "took things easy," and rapidly developed portly abdomens, short breath, and sluggish circulation. This is especially noticeable in men who have been prominent in feats of strength and endurance while their athletic life lasted. The more acute their enthusiasm, the sooner it seems to exhaust itself. Some few persistent individuals, however, who have always done enough and never too much, keep up a moderate activity till past forty, fifty, and even sixty, and these retain their health, their vigor, and their figures till near the end.
Now, it is a physiological fact that rational exercise, constant, but not excessive, is never so beneficial and necessary as between the thirty-fifth and the fiftieth years. During the ebullient season of youth, our bodies instinctively crave to work off their superfluous animation; but later on, physical indolence supervives, and money-making pursuits seem to afford an excuse for the indulgence thereof. But, whereas vitality is abundant in youth, even when not artificially reinforced, the opposite is the case in age. As years accumulate, we must needs do something to keep the pot of life boiling. It need not be much, but it must be something; otherwise the penalties —■ dyspepsia, palpitation, asthma, nervous prostration — are tolerably sure to be inflicted. The conditions of our intellectual and business occupations are too arduous and exhausting to be endured with impunity (save in the case of exceptionally fine organizations) unless they are counteracted by deep breathing and systematized muscular movements.
These facts have been often repeated, and are widely accepted. But the truth is, it is not good advice that we lack, but the stimulus that shall prompt us to follow it. A man or woman may be assured that a certain nostrum, taken regularly, will give him or her health and long life; and he or she may know the statement to be true. Nevertheless, if the nostrum in question be nauseating to the taste, or involves much trouble to procure, the patient will take advantage of any specious pretext to avoid taking it; and the result will be that, for the parson concerned, the nostrum might as well be non-existent. The situation is the same with regard to bodily exercise. Unless it be administered in an attractive form, it will be neglected. In youth the competition and solid pleasure of out-door games, and even of gymnastic contests of a more precise and scientific kind, are sufficient to enlist participants. But, as we grow older, we perforce retire from such contests and must then do our work alone, or not at all. But who wants to play ball, or run races, or lift dumbbells, or practise leaping, alone by himself, after the hair has begun to thin on his temples? Who will practise calisthenic movements in the solitude of his chamber? Who, even should his geographical situation permit it, will set out to row a couple of miles out and back, for the mere hygienic advantage of the exertion? Even walking is too monotonous for the majority of temperaments, except a definite material goal be in view. It is true that a few of the faithful here and there will do all these things, in spite of spite: but their number is so small that, for purposes of argument, they cannot be considered.
The lazy Washington atmosphare, which seems to have been imported from the Land of the Lotus Eaters, and which affects everybody on foot, from the sable piccaniny to the Cabinet officer, is powerless to influence the rider on the steel horse. I forget how many bicycles are owned in Washington, though I did take the trouble to ask; but it appears at times as if everybody must own one. The broad, straight streets, smooth with polished asphalt, are swimming with shining wheels, following, passing, crossing, approaching, vanishing, gliding, all lightness, noiselessness, and speed. They stream to and fro in glaring currents, and no single rider can hold your eye but for an instant, but they are always coming, always going, and spin in continuous succession along thsir soundless paths, swift as birds, and with no more apparent effort, though their elastic tires never leave the solid surface of the planet.
Then terrestrial flyers are not restricted to sex, age, or occupation. If there are not, at present, as many women as men, the number of the former is constantly increasing; and a woman looks so graceful on a bicycle that the aesthetic instincts of the sex, no less than its good sense and love of movement, will aid in urging them to the saddle. The Washington Department clerks are almost all members of the steel cavalry division; their unwearying steeds enable them to stay so much* later at their breakfast, and so much earlier at their dinner; and at the journey's end there is no stable to hire, no hostler to fee, no fodder to provide. How much salary, how much lassitude, how much dyspepsia and low spirits do these tense, economic racers save in a twelvemonth ?" Post equitum sedet atra cura" says Horace; but I doubt if dull care often overtakes the airy sweep of the bicycler. His foot is on the pedal: he is the author of his own flights, and he can regulate it to suit his mood.
The small boy and the elderly gentleman, the tradesman and ths manabout-town, the seamstress and she for whom the seamstress works, all mingle with equal propriety and enjoyment in the wheeling lists. Bicycling is a freemasonry, broader in its membership than any other, save human nature itself. The man of brawn and the man of brains are at one in the saddle. Youth and age alike can do their mile in three minutes or under. The "winning wave, deserving note, in the tempestuous petticoat," is never more winning than when it whispers past you on the wheel. A woman on horseback, in a trim riding-habit, is an alluring sight; but we miss one important feature ■— the rhythmic grace of motion, which nothing but the bicycle affords. The entire pose shows the figure to the best advantage; and the slight, unconscious swayings of the body to maintain the balance imparts an element of life to the spectacle which is more fascinating than the most studied art of mere attitude.
But it would be omitting an important factor in the combination which has made the bicycle so universally popular, to ascribe its success to its practical business utility and to its faculty of making its riders look well. It is, above all, the solution of a problem which has puzzled hygienists and physical culturists for many years. The modern gospel of physical culture has been preached sinca before i860; and certainly, the multiplication since that revived of gymnasiums, of athletic clubs, of out-door sports, and of athletes, is evidence that it has not been preached in vain. Probably a majority of college-bred young men have made more or less practical acquaintance with bodily exercise. During their college career they attended the gymnasium, rowed, played base ball or foot ball, or took part in athletic games. In after life, a fair percentage of them kapt up their practise for a time; but, as a general rule, the business occupation of life, or other business, led them to discontinue their active habits soon after reaching their thirtieth year ; thenceforward they "took things easy," and rapidly developed portly abdomens, short breath, and sluggish circulation. This is especially noticeable in men who have been prominent in feats of strength and endurance while their athletic life lasted. The more acute their enthusiasm, the sooner it seems to exhaust itself. Some few persistent individuals, however, who have always done enough and never too much, keep up a moderate activity till past forty, fifty, and even sixty, and these retain their health, their vigor, and their figures till near the end.
Now, it is a physiological fact that rational exercise, constant, but not excessive, is never so beneficial and necessary as between the thirty-fifth and the fiftieth years. During the ebullient season of youth, our bodies instinctively crave to work off their superfluous animation; but later on, physical indolence supervives, and money-making pursuits seem to afford an excuse for the indulgence thereof. But, whereas vitality is abundant in youth, even when not artificially reinforced, the opposite is the case in age. As years accumulate, we must needs do something to keep the pot of life boiling. It need not be much, but it must be something; otherwise the penalties —■ dyspepsia, palpitation, asthma, nervous prostration — are tolerably sure to be inflicted. The conditions of our intellectual and business occupations are too arduous and exhausting to be endured with impunity (save in the case of exceptionally fine organizations) unless they are counteracted by deep breathing and systematized muscular movements.
These facts have been often repeated, and are widely accepted. But the truth is, it is not good advice that we lack, but the stimulus that shall prompt us to follow it. A man or woman may be assured that a certain nostrum, taken regularly, will give him or her health and long life; and he or she may know the statement to be true. Nevertheless, if the nostrum in question be nauseating to the taste, or involves much trouble to procure, the patient will take advantage of any specious pretext to avoid taking it; and the result will be that, for the parson concerned, the nostrum might as well be non-existent. The situation is the same with regard to bodily exercise. Unless it be administered in an attractive form, it will be neglected. In youth the competition and solid pleasure of out-door games, and even of gymnastic contests of a more precise and scientific kind, are sufficient to enlist participants. But, as we grow older, we perforce retire from such contests and must then do our work alone, or not at all. But who wants to play ball, or run races, or lift dumbbells, or practise leaping, alone by himself, after the hair has begun to thin on his temples? Who will practise calisthenic movements in the solitude of his chamber? Who, even should his geographical situation permit it, will set out to row a couple of miles out and back, for the mere hygienic advantage of the exertion? Even walking is too monotonous for the majority of temperaments, except a definite material goal be in view. It is true that a few of the faithful here and there will do all these things, in spite of spite: but their number is so small that, for purposes of argument, they cannot be considered.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)