44 MR RRO"WN ON THE GAME OF BALL 



It appears, therefore, that of 3700 specimens of flowers, 3628 have 

 all the characters of Tormentilla ; 43 possess those of Potentilla, while 

 the remaining 29 vary in the number and proportion of the divisions 

 of the caljrs: and corolla. The conclusion to which these facts inclines 

 is, that the genus Tormentilla does exist, and that the occasional 

 midtiplicity of petals and sepals is to be referred to luxuriance of 

 growth. 



August, 1834. 



The Game of Hall as played in Dunse on Fasteni's Eve. By Mr 



Thomas Brown. 



As one object of this Club is to examine the antiquities of Berwickshire, 

 a brief notice of the above game may not be unacceptable. Though 

 still kept up, the interest taken in it has greatly decreased, and it may, 

 not improbably, disappear ere long. It is not so much, therefore, 

 from its present state that a complete description is to be drawn, as 

 from the recollections of the oldest inhabitants. I have only to regret 

 that the details here presented are not more complete. 



Tastern's Eve, or, as it is here called, Eastern's E'en, was once 

 almost, if not altogether, a holiday to the inhabitants of Dunse. As 

 in many other parishes, cock-fighting was the principal amusement 

 during the forenoon, and, at one period, it seems to have been in high 

 estimation. The parish school, which was set apart for it is described 

 as having been sometimes crowded to the door, and the fees collected 

 on the occasion formed a perquisite of some value. It is certainly 

 to the honour of the present generation that this practice has 

 disappeared. 



The amusements of the afternoon are both more peculiar and inviting. 

 The game is ball, played in a manner which, if not peculiar to Dunse, 

 is at least not common. Preparations for it used to begin nearly a 

 week before. Three young men were chosen to conduct them, and 

 were called " ba'-men." They met on the Wednesday of the preced- 

 ing week, to hold, along with their friends, the shaping of the baU, 

 when they paraded the town, accompanied by a drum and fiddle, playing 



the tune, — 



" Never let the gree gang doon 

 For the gnde o' our toon." 



In this style they called at the houses of the more respectable inhabi- 

 tants, danced with the servants, and received contributions. 



Till the day itseli arrived, their only duties were to coUect these 

 contributions and prepare the balls. Three are required for the game, 

 but four are always prepared. The family at Dunse Castle have so 

 liberally supported the practice, that it has been customary to leave 

 there one of the balls, which it is said are preserved. Of those played 



