No. 61 Scorn
Such was, and perhaps still is, the name of an amusement of a not very agreeable nature, familiar at children’s parties in New England. A girl was seated on a chair in the middle of the room, and one child after another was led to her throne. She would turn away with an expression of contempt, until some one approached that pleased her, who, after a kiss, took her place.
“Derision” is the name of a game mentioned by Froissart as an amusement of his childhood. It is not at all unlikely that the present sport represents the old French pastime.
Speaking of representations of the passions, we may say that we have heard of a game formerly played in New York, called “Hatred and Revenge;” but have not succeeded in obtaining it.
Footnotes
90 A friend recollects how he “followed his leader” over the roofs of houses in Boston.