Newspaper Page Text
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
BLIND MAN’S BUFF.
&& AST week I told you about
ie Harry and
I** B little brother and sis-
BKPP terß to grandfather,
and the fine fun they had
Cfe playing with grandpa, and look
ing at the colt, the little lambs,
and the pigs, and the calves.
f I want to teli you now of a se
cond visit the children made to their
grandfather the very next week.
I told you that their mamma promised
them that they should go again soon, if
they were good children. Well, I am
triad to say that they were good children ;
that they obeyed their parent®, and
got their lesson® so well that their
mamma took them out too very
next Saturday’.
This time grandpa was in the
house, and I tell you ho was glad
to see them again, although it was
only a week since they had spent
the day with him. After they had
seen all their little pet?, and had a
good luncheon of grandma’s nice
bread and butter, and a bo.vl of
fresh clabber, they were ready for
play. And you had better believe
that these children never thought
of playing by themselves. Grand
pa, who was just as merry as ahoy,
was always ready to join them, and
this morning he proposed that they
should all go into the barn and have
areal good old-fashioned game of
“Blind Man’s Buff.” That was just
what they wanted, and away they
all ran to the barn. There wasn’t
much in the barn, and it was a real nice
place to play in.
The first one blindfolded was Harry,
and he succeeded in catching grandpa,
and then they blindfolded grandpa, and I
tell you he had a time trying to catch the
children. Once he came very neai get
ting Johnny, but the little fellow climbed
into a wjndow and escaped, while Susy
tugged at the skirts of grandpa’s coat,
and Clara ran under his arm.
After a while they were all tired, and
then they went into the house. While
they were resting, Harry begged his
g-andpa to tell him something about the
history of the game they had been play -
ing.
“ Blind Man’s Buff,” said grandpa, “is
a French game, but their name for it is
‘Colin Mai Hard.’ It is said to have origi
nated in the day 7 s of good King Robert,
of France, who lived more than 800 years
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
ago. There was in the King’s army a
certain noble Knight named ‘Colin,’ whose
weapon was a great iron hammer or mal
let, (called by the French ‘maillot,’) from
whence he got his surname of Maillard.
A certain Count having offended the King,
an army under Colin Maillard was sent
out against him. A great battle follow
ed, and Colin fought until he received a
terrible wound, which made a ‘blind
man ’ of him. The brave fellow would
not give up, however, but caused himself
to be led on in front of his men, where
he fought until he was killed.
“In honor of this gallant man, the King,
after having him splendidly buried, insti
tuted a military game, in which a war
rior, blindfolded, fought with blunt wca.
pons with all who chose to fight against
him.
«At first the highest nobles and the
most gallant Knights of the kingdom en
gaged in this game, but it gradually
spread among the people first among
the grown folks, and afterwards the chil
dren took it up. So you see our game of
Blind Man’s Buff originated in a noble ac
tion done by a brave man more than 800
years ago.”
“ What a brave man he must have
been, grandpa, to fight after his eyes had
been put out,” said Harry.
“Yes, my boy,” replied grandpa, “lie
felt that he was fighting for bis King, and
that it was his duty to keep the field as
lono - as he had life. Most men would
have considered much less than the loss
of sight a sufficient reason for giving up
the fight.”
“But, grandpa,” said Clara, “our game
' of Blind Man’s Buff is not like the one
I you have told us about.”
1 “No; when the game fell into the
! hands of those who were not soldiers, it
j was gradually changed to suit their tastes,
i until our present game is the result.
There is another way of playing Blind
Man’s Buff, which, though not so merry
as our game, may be played in a parlor,
when boys and girls are dressed in their
best, and are afraid of rough treatment.
It is called ‘Porco, or Italian Blind Man’s
Buff.’ It is played in this way : A num
ber of boys and girls join hands so as to
form a circle, and one person, who is blind
i folded, is placed in the center, with a small
! stick in his or her hand. The players
| dance round the hoodwinked person, who
tries to touch one of them with the
wand, and if he succeeds the ring
of people stops. The player then
grunts like a pig—hence the name
of the game crows, or imitates
some animal, and the person touched
must endeavor to imitate the noise
as closely’ as possible without discov
ering his or herself. If the party
touched is discovered, then the
hoodwinked player transfers the
bandage and the stick to that play
er, and takes the vacant place in the
ring of persons, who once moie le
gume their dance, until another
player is touched.
“ This is very much like another
game called “ Buff with the Wand.”
The players take hands and form a
circle, just as they do in ‘Porco,’
while Mr. Buff stands in the middle
blindfolded, and with a wand in his
hand. The players keep running
around, generally singing, while
Buff approaches gradually’, guided by
their voices, till he manages to touch one
of the circle with his stick. Then the
dance stops, and the one who has been
touched must take one end of the stick m
his or her hand, while Buff holds the oth
er. He or she must then repeat after him
any word Buff chooses to name, of course
disguising the voice as much as possible.
As soon as the name of the one caught is
guessed, lie or she takes the place of Buff
and the game goes on.”
Grandpa told the children a great many
other things about the origin of familiar
games, but I have neither time nor space
to tell you more at present.
_____
Cowardice. —A person capable of do
in- a secret injustice is a coward, lie
Will shrink, shuffle, and equivocate; but
if held by the firm grasp of troth and
courage, cannot escape an ignominious
exposure.
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