Egg-Hat
All the players engaged in this favourite pastime must place their caps on the ground, close to the wall, in such a manner that a ball may be easily pitched into them. A line being marked on the ground about fifteen feet from the wall, one of the players takes his station at it, and begins the game by throwing the ball into one of the caps; the moment this is done all the boys run away, excepting the one into whose cap the ball is thrown, who immediately runs to take it out, and endeavours to strike one of the fugitives by throwing the ball at him; if he can do so, the one struck has a small stone, called "an egg," placed in his cap, and has to take his turn at pitching the ball. Should the thrower fail to hit one of the boys as they are running away, an "egg" is put into his cap, and he has to pitch the ball into the caps again. If a player fails to throw the ball into a cap, he earns an "egg," but continues throwing until he succeeds. When a player gets three "eggs" in his cap, he is out. When all the players but one have been struck out, he is considered the winner, and the punishment of the losers then commences; one of them standing near the wall bounces the ball at it with all his force, and next stands with his back to the wall, stretching out his right arm, and placing the back of his hand quite close to the wall, while the winner, standing where the ball fell, takes aim, and throws the ball at the said loser's hand three times: each of the losers likewise receives the same punishment from him. In some places it is usual, when one boy gets out, for him to bounce the ball against the wall, and all the other players, standing at the spot where the ball first touched the ground, to have their three balls at his back, as he stands with his face to the wall. Should the ball in rebounding swerve either to the right or left, a line must be drawn, from the spot where it falls, to a place directly in a straight line from the boy at the wall; thus, suppose A is the boy who has just bounced the ball, which instead of going direct to B, has deviated from the straight line A B to C, a line should be drawn from C to B, and the winner should stand at the latter.