LISTS. MANUFACTURING THE THEM.-RING-TAW.-MR. SEYMOUR, THE VICAR, AND TOM, ENTER THE IN our last chapter we left Mr. Seymour and his reverend friend on their way to Ivy Cottage: it is only necessary to state that the major received them with that satisfaction and gratitude which the nature of their visit could not fail to produce. Plans were proposed, and arrangements concluded, for the furtherance of the object we have announced: in short, in the brief space of an hour, the major had determined the course of his future life, and had framed schemes of happiness, and visions of domestic peace, which he impatiently sought to realize. The vicar was detained by the major, but Mr. Seymour quitted Ivy Lodge and returned to his family. He found the children engaged at playing at marbles. Tom was displaying to his sisters many instances of his adroitness and skill in shooting at and hitting marbles. "Why, Tom," exclaimed Mr. Seymour, "how came you possessed of such a multitude of marbles ?" 66 By luck; good luck, papa; I won them all before the holidays; and I can assure you that my schoolfellows acknowledge me as one of the best players at ring-taw in the school." 66 Justly, then, has your merit been rewarded," said the father. "Have you not read of the skilful Roman, who could blow peas through a quill, and deposit them with such nicety on the point of a pin, placed at some distance, as rarely to miss his aim ?" "And what was his reward ?" asked Tom. "A bushel of peas, my boy, which the emperor commanded to be presented to him. But do not misunderstand me: far be it from my wish to disparage your skill; whatever we undertake, we should endeavour to accomplish; I am, therefore, well pleased to find that you can play at marbles with so much success." "I wonder who invented marbles ?" said Tom. "That question, my dear, must be addressed to Mr. Twaddleton, who, I have no doubt, will immediately answer it." Scarcely had these words been spoken, when their Fidus Achates' appeared on the lawn. Mr. Seymour informed him of the subject of their conversation, and added, that he had just told the children he was sure he would readily answer their question. "Not so readily as you may imagine," replied the vicar; "but I will tell you all I know upon the subject. It appears to be a very ancient game; for it is stated by Suetonius, that Augustus, when a youth, spent many hours in the day in playing with little Moorish boys 'cum nucibus,' that is, with nuts, which appear to have been then used in the very way in which you now play with your marbles. In later times, round stones, picked out of gravel, were, introduced for this purpose. The marbles which you now hold in your hand are substitutes of still more modern invention. The best of them are imported from Holland, where, as I have been informed, they are manufactured by grinding fragments of alabaster and of other stones, in an iron mill of a peculiar construction, in which there are several partitions furnished with rasps, which turn with great velocity, by means of a stream of water; and thus, having rounded the stones, project them out of different holes for which their size may adapt them. Thus manufactured, they are brought down the Rhine, and from thence dispersed throughout Europe; immense quantities are also exported to India and China. There are, however, as you well know, inferior kinds, which are of home manufacture, and consist of potter's clay covered with a glaze, and burnt in a furnace." "I have often wondered what is the meaning of the words taw and ally," observed Tom. "Why, your taw is a brown marble, and your ally, if I remember rightly, a very white one; is it not so ?" asked the vicar. "To be sure," said Tom. "Very well, then," said the vicar, "the words are clearly abbreviations of tawny and alabaster.” "Now, then," said Mr. Seymour, "for a game; what is it to be, Tom ?" 66 Ring-taw for ever!" cried Tom; "it is the only game of marbles worth playing at." "It is really so long since I left school," observed his father, "that I must beg you to refresh my memory, and give me some instructions about this favourite game of yours." "I will tell you all about it. We must first draw a circle, on which each player is to put a certain number of marbles, to be previously agreed upon; we then make a mark at some distance, which is called the offing, and from which we are to shoot at the marbles in the ring." "That is all very intelligible," observed his father; "and I suppose the object of the player is to shoot a marble out of the ring, which not only gives him that marble, but entitles him to shoot again at another, and so on, until he misses, or all the marbles are won." "That is right, papa." "And a good marksman," observed the vicar, "who has the first shot, may easily win the game, before any other player can gain the opportunity of shooting at a single marble." "I see that clearly," said Mr. Seymour; "he may strike out a marble from the circle, and then shoot at another, and in this manner traverse the whole ring; I therefore conclude, that good players will always demand a large ring, or else there would not be much chance for any one, except for him who played first." "That is the game; but I must tell you," said Tom, "that if the player should leave his own marble in the ring, he is at once put out; and should it be within a certain distance on the outside, an adversary may shoot at it, and, by hitting it, put him also out of the game." "I believe that I am now a perfect master of the subject," said Mr. Seymour; "what say you, vicar ?" "I understand it; and it appears to me to be capable of some scientific calculation; but the practical results must, of course, differ very widely from the theory, for the unevenness of the ground, and the inaccurate construction of the marble, are circumstances which never can be duly estimated.” "Certainly not," replied Mr. Seymour: "these difficulties even exist at the game of billiards (28), where the table is smooth and perfectly horizontal: but we do not require perfect accuracy, an approximation to it will be sufficient for the purposes of illustration; we will, therefore, if you please, proceed at once to the game, and I will endeavour to point out to Tom the nature and direction of the several forces by which each marble will be influenced." Tom, accordingly, like the son of Cornelius Scriblerus, converted his legs into a pair of compasses, and described, with the toe of his shoe, the necessary circle upon the ground. Each party, by agreement, placed two marbles upon the ring, and it fell to the lot of the vicar to open the campaign. Mr. Twaddleton then advanced, and, with the assumed air of a true knight-errant, approached the ring, exclaiming with a loud voice, and with a gesture of inexpressible drollery, "I demand gracious leave that I may be delivered of my vow, and forthwith combat in the lists;" so saying, he unfurled his red banner, and sounded a trumpet; or, in more humble phraseology, he extracted his handkerchief from his pocket, and applying it to his nasal organs, produced a loud and thrilling blast, which frightened every sparrow from its resting-place. After this preliminary ceremonial, he marshalled his limbs into the most appropriate attitude, and, thrusting one hand behind the exuberant tail of his coat, he, with the other, shot forth his missile at the largest marble opposite to him. His taw faithfully delivered its errand, and inflicted such a blow upon the paunch of his antagonist, that, although nearly twice the size of its assailant, like a true bully, it skulked off, and retreated several feet beyond the lists; but, alas! the little marble of the vicar, unlucky wight! was so stunned by the operation, that it staggered, and reeled backwards into the ring, and thus, according to the established law of the field, completed by one act the total defeat of its luckless commander. "Your marble is left in the ring!" exclaimed Tom, with a shout of triumph. "I see how it happened," said Mr. Seymour;" the vicar struck the marble plump, or played a full ball,' as we say at billiards, and the result easily admits of explanation. You already know that a marble possesses elasticity; when, therefore, the one in the ring was struck, it went off with a velocity equal to that with which the striking marble approached it, while the latter, in return, received a blow equal to that it gave, which destroyed its motion. When we go back into the library, I will exhibit a very pretty experiment in further elucidation of this philosophical truth." (29.) It was now Mr. Seymour's turn to enter the lists. He carefully applied his knuckles to the ground, and, taking aim at a little marble which he had selected as his victim, gallantly shot the missile from his thumb and finger; but, |