Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 17, 1906.djvu/94

 82 Collectanea.

The above figure was communicated to Dr. Haddon by Mr. R. Livett of Fulbourn, Cambs., and I must take this opportunity of expressing my obUgation to him. Mr. Livett had it from his aunt, Miss Livett, and Miss Livett again from her mother. It thus has a tradition as respectable as can be found (probably) for any of the figures. Nevertheless I never heard of it before, nor had I till recently met any one who knew it : Mrs. W. Farren, of Cambridge, however, tells me she is quite familiar with it ; but, so far as I know, it is not alluded to in any printed work. It is of unusual interest, however, because Dr. H. H. Weir reports a similar

Fig, II.

figure from Korea. Premising that the Koreans make the first six figures as in England, Dr. Weir describes the transforma- tion of the Cat's Eyes figure (Fig. 6) as follows :

" Place hands outside and distal to figure. Pass little fingers proximal to dorsal strings and take them up with palmar surface. Pass index fingers through thumb loops, and thumbs through index finger loops from distal side, and return through central lozenge, at same time taking off" strings and crooking little fingers." Fig. 12.

There is, I think, no reasonable doubt that these figures are variants one of the other. This is confirmed by the further development. I again give Dr. Weir's description :

"At the points where three strings meet, pass, from outside.