Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 16, 1905.djvu/256

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as above. Georgina's mother says, " She is worse, you cannot see her to-day." The others retire singing

" We are very sorry to hear it, — (Repeat three times.) We wish you a good day."

On the next advance Georgina is said to be dead, and the verse, "We are very sorry, etc.," repeated. Someone gives a resounding blow, and the row of players, pretending fear, say, "Mother, mother, what's that?" The mother answers, "The cat in the cupboard." The knock is repeated, and the row cry in terror, " Mother, mother, what 's that ? " The answer to which is, " The boys down by." Again the knock and query, the answer being by the mother, "Georgina's ghost." All then hurriedly disperse, followed by Georgina, who tries to capture a suc- cessor.

GAMBLING.

(P. 125, after line 33.)

In Kintyre, instead of the letter P, the Teetotum carried a D. The consecutive order of play was fixed by a counting-out rhyme; the whole then deposited in a common heap their stakes, it might be a button, a marble, etc. The results of each spin and the interpretation of the letter which came upmost was —

D. Interpreted by the phrase " Duntare," and the person who spun had to add a stake to the common stock.

A. Translated " (Tak) ane," and the common stock was reduced by one.

N. Translated by "Nickelty Naething," no change as far as stakes were concerned,

T. " Tak' a'," the lucky player bagging the lot.

The reciter of the above gave an amusing account of an experi- ence of his own. A. MacL. was "rooked," but retiring for a short time, returned with apparently an unUmited supply of buttons, and not the usual bone or horn button, but bright nickel ones, the swapping value of which was one to three bone ones. Play was resumed, and how it ended history sayeth not. The following