The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1884-08-23

dancing, and the gift OF a few sqmos
or fire crackers on saints day will de-
light grown-up man. If he is Nea-
politan the odds are that he will not
have patience enough to wait till night
fall, but will let them off in the full
glare of the MONDAY sun. No oppor-
tunity for pleasure is lost and no other
race feels so entirely that sufficient
to the day is the evil and also the
Joy thereof. This is perhaps
the reason why italian games
are SO simple and unscienti6c. The
light Southern temperament does not
require the stimulus of those compli-
Gated forms of diversion which afford
an opportunity for the exercise of
strength or dexterity. TIE player Is
content with the excitement produced
by chance but slightly tempered with
skill, and his favorite games are there
fore apt to appear somewhat childish
to an Englishman.
Among the most universal of these
h Mora, which closely resembles the
schoolboy's odd or even, except that
it is played with fingers instead Of
marbles. Whoever has frequented the
village inns and the smaller wine
rooms Of Southern Italy must have seen
groups of peasants and fishermen gesti-
culating violently, throwing out their
half-closed hands, and at the same time
shrieking out numbers in wild discord-
ant tones. In the fllckering light of
the unshaded oil-lamp that stands in
their midst, a stranger night almost
think they were wizards imprecating
destruction on some enemy's head, so
eager are the pale, sallow faces and so
wild and yet measured the movements.
That is the picturesque and by far the
most Interesting side of Mora, which
is played in the North, too, though
with less noise and fewer gestures.
When the match is only between two
they stand opposite each other, AT the
same moment each elevates his right
hand with as many fingers as he wishes
to be counted extended, and calls out a
number. If he has guessed the sum cor
rectly, he scores point; if boGh play
ers are either right or wrong, they
begin again. A game may consist of
any number Of points either ten or
twelve are usually chosen. If four join
in it, they generally form parties, A.
and B. being opposite to g. and d.
The first pair begins while the second
quietly looks on. If A. wins a point
from c., he opposes himself to D., and
so on. When the company is large,
Mora may be played in two ways, but
never by an odd number of persons.
IN the first case they divide into pairs,
though standing side by side, and those
who win play against each other until
the victory is finally decided. IN the
second all play together, every right
guess counts, and whoever first makes
the ten or twelve points has won.
There are local variations of both these
systems, and custom differs greatly as
to the way in which the losses are dis.
tributed. 1t may be added that old
players generally prefer the first system,
and that they believe that when play
ing with novices it is wisest to call out
single number-six, seven, or eight il
thought to be the best-while varying
the number of fingers extended, but
this plan is not advantageous when
they are opposed to the more exper'
fenced.
1t is obvious that so insipid a game
cannot be played without stake
which generally consists of given
quantity Of wine. Over this, the vic
tor has, Of course, absolute disposal
but it is an understood thing that he
shares it with the losers, though if he
bears any of them grudge he has al
acknowledged right to exclude him. II
a respectable foreigner is seated in q
village inn while play is going on, he
will frequently be asked to join it (; and
the most remarkable thing about Mora
is that if he is entirely ignorant of the
game he is almost sure to win. Whether
1t is the natural politeness of the Ital.
ians which induces them thus to cheat
themselves for strangers advantage,
or shrewd suspicion that in any case
he is likely to pay for more wine than
he drinks if once his acquaintance can
be made, we shall not attempt to de-
eide.
In bad times, when the soldi are
scarce, the innkeeper often proposes
Mora as a certain means Of attracting
them from the pockets of his neighbors
for many an italian who hesitates to
buy his customary half-litre will willing
ly run the risk OF paying a somewhat
higher price for the hope of being able
to drink it for nothing. Indeed, the
love for gambling is national charac-
teristic; and, as Mora is the most inno-
cent, Lotto-that is, the official weekly
lOttery-is the most dangerous of the
forms it takes, at least among the mid.
die and lower classes. 1t is true that
the Government derives considerable
/
revenue from the banks, and that play
is so popular that no administration
would venture to close them; but it is
also true that the injury they do to the
country is lncalculable, From the noble
man to the laborer who tills his fields,
every one is anxious to stake all he can
as soon as he has discovered what he
thinks to be three lucky numbers; the
very beggars hoard their half pence for
the purpose and there are vii ,.o
classes who hardly think of investing
their savings in any other way. Nor is
the game confined to authorized places,
where the play Is fair, though the odds
are enormously in favor of the bank
in every large town there are private