No. 100 Thimble in Sight
Among games of search may be mentioned the present, in which, the greater part of the company being sent out of the room, a thimble must be placed so as to escape notice, and yet in such a position as to be visible when the attention is once directed to it. As each of the party discovers the thimble, he indicates his success by saying “Rorum torum corum,” or some such formula, and then takes his seat.
In other games, in which some small object is hidden, there are various ways of assisting the seeker when at fault; thus, it is said you freeze, you are cold, you are warm, you burn, according as the object is approached; or the search is directed by magical music, which grows louder as the person comes nearer to his object. These usages belong also to other countries. More original is a practice, common in Massachusetts, according to which the height of the concealed object above the floor of the room is indicated by the words “So high water,” addressed by one of the company to the person who has been sent out, as he enters and begins his search.
Footnotes
95 “Chinquapin (Castanea primula), an ovoid, pointed, sweet nut, half the size of a common chestnut.”
96 “Bucca, bucca, quot sunt hic?”