The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1874-04-22
Affecting ge9ister.
All About Blind Mans Buff.

All of our young readers like TO play
Blind Mans Buff, when they can i;
and 90 do many Of the older readers.
for that matter. But everyone may
not know the game is more than eight
hundred years old. and that it was q
favorite amusement Of gay courts and
merry,making princes and princesses,
before it became the favorite holiday
pastime for boys and girls. Blind
Mans Buff ia one Of. the sports that
came over from England in the train
Of William the Conqueror.
1t had its orig. a. ,I,.ge, one OF
the fair provinces of France, in the
prosperous days Of Robert the
Devout, who succeeded the famous old
French monarch, Hughes Capet, in
tie year 906.
In the year 500, Liege received,
among her valiant chiefs, one Jean
Colin. He was almost q giant in
strength, a Sampson among the Liegois
and nearly shared the experience o.
Sampson of old, as you shall presently
hear. This grim warrior used to crush
his o pposents with a mallet. 1t wa'
60 ,sidsredldesirable to honor him with
title which should follow his name
What bould it be7 Not "bead-bitter," %
course; but the poetic designation Mail
lard. or Jean Colin OF the MaNst.
Feuds were Of perpetual occurrence
iu those dark old times, and Jear
Collins mallet was kept constantly
busy in quelling them. Terrible be,
came the name Of Jean Colin Mail
lard.
But Liege had another valiant chief
Count de Luvain, who, when Mailiart
had proved himself superior to all o
bis opponents, continued to bear arms
against him.
We cannot say whether or no
Count de Louvain learned his wal
lessons from the conduct OF the enc
mics OF Sampson, but, as he was am
bilious enough to avoid the TO-
OF Jean Collins msllet upon his OWL
head, he formed the plan OF putting
out jean Collins eyes.
A great battle was fought between
the two chiefs and their forces. Atth
very first onset Count de Louvain cue
ceeded in his purpose OF piercing boil
tie eyes OF Maillard, and he locke
upon the field as already won. Blu
the latter with spirit like blin
sampson, determined that his oppo
nents .shonld perish with him, an
ordered his esquire to take him int
the lhickest part of the fight. Their
he brandished his mallet on eithe
hand, and did such fearful execution
that his enemies fell around him l
such numbers that victory soon declar
ed itself on his side.
"But Sampson like, though blind he deal
Such blows as foeman never felt;
To shnp I'll shem were IN ,hs vain;
But, Of an hundred men, not one
ERE saw the light again"
Robert the Devout, OF France. who's
troubles with his wives you may hav
read in history, was very fond OF deed
of vslor, and that Of Jean Colin Maillar
kind ed his admiration. He lavlshe
honors on the victorious blind mar
and ordered the stage players to brin
out a pautomime OF his contest wit
Count de Louvsin for the pleasure {
the court. The court was delighte
with the play, for the terrible MALE
, of Maillard, and the warriors droppln
here and there, almost without know
| iug what bad hit them, was all yer
exciting; and the people In that rue
aye liked what was sensational eve
more than they do'now. The childre
be gan to act similar play in tt
streets, one OF the players more stror
and active than the rest being blind
folded and given q stick; and thu
Blind Mans Buff soon became Il
popular dver-ion OF the young in Fran
and Normandy, where it was know
under the name of Colin MatlLdr
This name it etrll bears IN France al
on the continent OF Europe.
The king repeated oft the play
: The children iollo wed, day 10y day,
VHFr1