Marble Time
IN the early spring
time, while the white frost still jeweled the grass in the
mornings and the ground was alternately frozen at night and
thawed by the morning sun, marble time used to begin, and on
Long Island the custom of playing marbles as soon as old
winter has taken off his coat of snow is still in vogue.
How my knuckles used to smart where the cold wind had
chapped them and " knuckling down " shad ground the mud into
the raw places. But, pshaw 1 What did I care for raw
knuckles, as with a pocketful of assorted varieties of
marbles I watched eagerly for a playmate, and as soon as one
appeared, shouted, " First for keeps! "
In those days I thought that gambling consisted only in
playing games for money.
Four hundred years before the first incidents occurred that
are written of in the New Testament, old Sakya-Muni was dead
and buried, but, like John Brown, his spirit keeps marching
on.
Sakya-Muni was a great man, but I doubt if any of my young
readers would like him. Mr. Muni founded a great religion,
but he was narrow-minded. Boys in those days were just like
the boys of this day-they were fond of fun, fond of games,
and they made little windmills, and they enjoyed seeing the
wheels buzz in the breeze.
Old Sakya-Muni thought this sinful and silly. He forgot that
he was ever a boy himself, so he forbade windmills as
"detrimental to progress in virtue." Sakya-Muni, or Gautama
Buddha, was an ancient Puritan; he was down on chess or
checkers, hop-scotch he abhorred, jack-straws to him were
the invention of the evil one, ball was a game of perdition,
drawing pictures, blowing horns, racing, archery, and
marbles, were equally bad and forbidden sins.
There are many estimable, narrow-minded, half-developed
people of to-day who think just as Buddha did so long ago,
but fortunately for the young people no one now takes them
seriously.
Sakya-Muni had no intention or desire to be of assistance to
the author of this book. No doubt if the old pagan were
alive he would forbid its publication, but nevertheless he
is introduced to the reader because his denunciations of
these games prove that the youngsters of his day found
entertainment in the same games that occupy the leisure of
the school-boys at the close of the nineteenth century.
Not many years ago there was a boy named Humphrey Potter,
who, sad to relate, in spite of Mr. Muni's harangue against
games, would rather play marbles than work; but he was a
poor boy, and he would rather work than see his parents
deprived of the comforts that his little earnings could
procure. Humphrey was only a boy; he did not know anything.
Not one of the great men who had invented the awkward,
puffing old steam-engines that were used in those days would
have condescended to consult Humphrey regard to his
invention.
The poor little chap had to sit all day on a stick of wood
for a stool, and, with one hand on the -steam-cock and the
other on the water-cock, alternately turn on steam and
water. When he turned on the steam this vapor rushed into
the cylinder and forced a heavy piston up; when he turned on
the water, that fluid rushed in, cooled off or condensed the
steam and down came the piston. So that without a boy at the
steam and water cocks this great invention of full-grown men
would not work.
But Hump had a better head than these men, and the lad
wanted to play marbles. So down went his hand into that
junk-shop which every boy has, but which he calls his
pocket, and out came a piece of string-most likely it was a
top-string-and Hump harnessed up the piston to the valves.
It was as simple as falling off a log. The piston opened
and shut the valves itself, and Humphrey played marbles and
drew his pay at the same time.
Simple as falling off a log, but like many things it was too
simple for a man to think of, and yet simple as it was
Humphrey Potter's invention lifted the steam-engine from the
plane of a clumsy machine chiefly used for pumping purposes
to the higher field where its uses are so manifold as
scarcely to be numbered, and Humphrey was only a boy and an
inveterate marble-player at that.
Boys, when
you hear the thunder of the railroad train, the hum of the
factory wheels, or the whistle of the big steam-boats,
rattle the marbles in your pockets, and say, " Well, if it
were not for one of us, where would all your wonderful
inventions be, you great, big, bald-headed, bearded boys
that build your cities without leaving us room for a Bull
Ring?"
Terms Used in the Game
Before going any farther, I might as
well give the meanings of the principal terms used in
marbles-the phrases which mean so much to boys and so little
to those who are unfamiliar with them.
The Taw or Shooter, is the
marble used for shooting.
The Taw Line or Tie Line, or
Scratch, as it is often called, is the line drawn for a
starting-point in games like the Long Ring.
Ducks are the marbles to be
shot at.
Dubs (An abbreviation of
doubles) means that you take all the marbles knocked out of
the ring by one shot.
Fen Dubs (An abbreviation of
defend doubles) means that you must put back all but one
marble.
Lofting means shooting through
the air. When you loft you knuckle down and your taw goes
through the air and does not strike the ground until it hits
the duck aimed at, or a spot near it.
Knuckling down means what the
name implies, resting the knuckles on the ground during toe
act of shooting.
Hunching means shoving your
hand over the mark as you shoot. Hunching is unfair, and if
a good shot is made and the player making it is caught in
the act of hunching he should be made to shoot over again
and shoot fair.
Histing is holding the hand
some distance above the ground. Histing is not allowable in
the Bull Ring or in Meg-on-a-String.
Roundsters means taking a new
position on one side or the other of some obstruction. This
is not fair in Bull Ring.
Sidings means to move your taw
from one side to the other in a straight line when about to
shoot, and is not allowable in Bull Ring.
Burying is the term applied to
the act of placing your taw in a good spot and then forcing
it into the ground with the heel of your shoe. Burying is
sometimes allowed in all games of marbles, but only by
unskilled players; with the others "Fen buryings" is the
unwritten rule of the game.
Laying in is similar to
burying, with the exception that your taw is left on top of
the ground. This is also a "baby" game and not often
resorted to. " Laying in " also means placing the marbles in
the ring.
Clearances means removing
stones, sticks, or other objects between your taw and the
ducks.
Sneaking is the act of shooting
for a position.
Babying is shooting with little
force, so as not to knock the ducks far or to cause your taw
to fly far. Babying is not of much use in large rings, but
is often resorted to in small rings and in such games as
Follerings. There is no rule that can make you stop babying,
so the other players always try ridicule. This never
succeeds to any extent, though it eases the minds of the
unsuccessful players when another boy is "skinning" the ring
by babying.
Playing for Keeps is a game in
which all the ducks won are kept. Playing for Fair is
an Eastern term with the same meaning, and for Fun
means of course that all the marbles are returned to their
original owners when the game is over.
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