Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 2.djvu/323

 9* S. II. OCT. 15, '98.1

NOTES AND QUERIES.

315

the oftener they hit them, the more we were pleased with the "taw." I do not want to take up space in ' N. & Q. 5 by arguing aboul the values of "potteys," "stoneys," "taws,' and the rest. Local influences have probably caused the one or two points of difference which I notice. It is pleasant to see " com- moneys " vouched for. Dr. W. G. Grace wai a great player at marbles. I wonder how he classified them. The meaning of the terms in Dickens is obvious, of course, but I suggesi that Mr. Fitzgerald should not have rioteci the obvious (his invariable practice) without mentioning that the meaning of the terms has changed, for the " taw " is now the "shooter," and the shooter is usually a marble of larger size than most of those in the ring.

MR. EDWARD H. MARSHALL supplies the reference on which Mr. Fitzgerald has founded his indictment of the "evergreen Tracy." I purposely avoided this. Mr. Fitz- gerald writes :

"Kissing, on the Pickwickian principles, would

not now, to such an extent, be tolerated The

amorous Tupman had scarcely entered the hall oi a strange house when he began oscillatory attempts on the hps of one of the maids."

I flatly denied this, and if MR. MARSHALL will read the incident again, he will find my denial strictly correct. It was not on entering, and it was not in the hall. The end in view, and Tupman's means of accomplishing it, will be " tolerated " as long as this world is. There are many obvious things in 'Pickwick Papers' that Winkle was a cockney, that Tupman was a "bandit," &c. It is Mr. Fitzgerald's passion to insist on these raw outlines, which every tyro knows already, instead of soften- ing them down, as they could well be softened down, by using strict accuracy instead of inaccurate commonplace.

GEORGE MARSHALL. Sefton Park, Liverpool.

It is a pity that the notes on " alley-taws," stoneys, and other marbles, will be found under ' Pickwickian Manners.' A good deal of interesting matter could be put together on games of marbles as played in the forties, fifties, and sixties. In " ring - taw " the players put only " comtnoneys " in the ring, and " shot " with the " taws," which included "stoneys," "alleys," and " blood - alleys." " Commoneys " were unglazed ; " potteys " glazed in the kiln. "Stoneys" were made from common pebbles such as were used for road-mending; "alleys" and "blood-alleys" out of marble. The "blood -alleys" were highly prized, and were called by this name because of the spots or streaks of red in them. In Derbyshire, where large numbers were

made, they had relative values. One "stoney" was worth three " commoneys " or two " potteys." An " alley " was worth six " com- moneys " or four " potteys." " Blood-alleys " were worth more, according to the depth and arrangement of colour from twelve to fifty " commoneys," and " stoneys " in proportion. Expert players at "ring -taw" paid special attention to "taws," with which they shot, and " blood-alleys " were doubly lucky, and only used when a good game was on, when several players of equal cleverness were in the game. All the best-made marbles were " taws," and no " commoneys " or " potteys " were used for shooting with, either in ring-taw or the various hole-games. Little taws were used for long shots, on the same principle, perhaps, that the smallest bore rifles are used for the longest distance shooting, and larger for short distances. Lads nowadays do not seem to have the patience necessary for play- ing at some of the hole-games, in which good shooting was desirable. THOS. RATCLIFFE. Worksop.

When I was a boy, more than fifty years ago, an " alley " was made of white marble ; a " taw " was a marble to shoot with, as dis- tinguished from the common marbles, whether of stone or clay, placed in the ring to be shot at ; but our " taws " were always bigger than the common marbles, and we should have considered it rather a cowardly dodge to choose a small "taw" for the sake of safety. As to the spelling, Cowper uses " taw," and makes it rhyme with " draw" :

draw

The chalky ring, or knuckle down at taw.

The "tawse" is a Scotch institution, unknown to English boys. F. J. CANDY.

Norwood.

The " alley-tor " is made of alabaster, hence its name ; the " stoney " of a hard grey stone, and the "commoney" of burnt clay. The last were not allowed to be brought into the playground when I was a schoolboy in the forties, but they were used by the boys in the village. There were large stone marbles called "bounces," but these were rarely played with. The glass monstrosity was unknown then. JOHN P. STILWELL. Hilfield.

THE SURNAME DRINKWATER (9* S. ii. 166,

250). This is a common surname in the Isle

of Man, and I hardly think it can be a cor-

uption of Derwentwater, though it is not

asy to say what the right derivation can be

unless we see it in an early form. There is

a charcutier at Margate who bears the name

of Drincqbier. We are more conservative