By Dan Beard
Fig. 266.
Jack and the Candles
"School is out and it will be hours before it is dark. What shall I do
to fill in the time?" says the healthy boy.
Well-meaning parents sometimes answer: "Come home, be Washed and
dressed, and go out with nurse for a walk."
Old Mother Nature says: "Shout, ran, jump, and have a rollicking good
time. After a good romp you will need no walk and no nurse. You can wash
yourself as clean as soap and water will make you, put on your good clothes, and
eat as hearty a meal as your parents can provide; study as hard before bedtime
as your young mind is able; sleep as soundly as good health will admit, and wake
up as bright as a dollar next morning."
It is hard in cities to find games that can be played in the awful presence
of cable and trolley cars and big brass-buttoned policemen, none of whom have
much sympathy with boys or their sports, but there are few places, even in
crowded New York, that have not a comparatively quiet side-street near by where
such a game as jack and the Candles can be played with little danger of the
direful interference of the street cars or policemen.
Choosing the Master
There ought to be at least half a dozen boys in the game. One boy is chosen
for master by drawing straws previously described; the boy bolding the longest
straw is "master," and the lad with the shortest straw is poor
"Jack." The game begins by the master sending Jack after some candles.
"Jack!" calls the master in a domineering manner. "Yes,
sir," answers Jack, meekly. "You lazy rascal, come here!"
"Yes, sir," replies Jack, edging cautiously up. "We expect
company tonight, and need more light; go and fetch me some candles."
Jack, apparently glad to escape from the presence of his master, hastens
away. While Jack is out of hearing, the other boys range themselves in a row on
any convenient seat, and each selects a name for himself, as "Baked
Beans," "Tripe," "Onions," "Mutton Chops,"
"Mush," "Sauerkraut," "Plum Pudding," or any other
set of name they may choose.
After all have chosen names and told them to the master, the latter, in a
loud tone, summons Jack, who, of course, comes back empty-handed. This
apparently enrages the master, and he threatens Jack with a pocket-handkerchief
that has a knot in one end. Jack begins to make excuses, saying that he went to
the hardware shop and the clerk told him he had nothing in light ware except tin
lanterns; at the bakery they told him that the only light they had for sale was
light bread, and the blacksmith told him to light out, and some one else said
that if he did not snuff himself out mighty quick he would let daylight through
him, and the butcher that he would sell him liver and lights, etc. In fact, Jack
tries in his excuses to be silly or witty enough to make the other boys laugh.
The master then tells Jack that he is light-headed enough to answer the purpose,
and since he has brought no candles they must eat in the dark. Then he commands
him to bring on the "sauerkraut," or any other name chosen by the
boys.
It is
Now Jack's Duty
Fig. 267.
Hard-Boiled Eggs.
To select the one of his playmates whom he thinks may have chosen sauerkraut
for his name. If the servant fails, as he is most likely to do, Jack is told to
get up on the back of the boy he has selected in this manner: "Master, let
him have three hard eggs and three soft eggs," or "four soft eggs and
two peppers," always limiting the amount of the dish to six. For soft eggs
the master gently flaps Jack on the back with the loose or soft end of the
handkerchief; for hard eggs he applies the knotted end; for pepper he snaps the
handkerchief at that part of Jack's clothes which is drawn the tightest, after
which he is told to try again and to bring on some other dish named.
But if Jack selects the boy whose name has been called then that boy must
mount on Jack's back and Jack passes the sentence and the master administers the
punishment accordingly, giving him pepper, soft or hard eggs, as the case may
be, after which Jack becomes master. The master takes his place in the line, and
the boy whose name was guessed becomes Jack and is sent for candles, while the
others choose new names, and so the game goes on. Each boy in the line is
careful, as a rule, not to make Jack's punishment too severe, for fear Jack may
guess his adopted name and pay him back in his own coin.
In many cities in the United States there are hundreds of Jacks hunting for
candles every summer evening, and some that I have heard of become so proficient
in their part and create so much fun by their witty excuses that the merry
shouts of boyish laughter that greet their remarks may be heard for a block
away. And some boys make excellent masters, imitating with rare ability the
harsh, unreasonable language of a churl in authority, while Sauerkraut, Baked
Beans, Pickles, and Mush sit in a line on curbstone or fence and applaud their
young dramatic stars.
OHB