The girl who is to assign the penalty by which the forfeit must be redeemed lays her head on the lap of another who sits on a chair, while a third, standing behind, holds the article over her head and asks: "Here is a forfeit, a very fine forfeit; what shall be done to redeem it?" "Is it fine or superfine?" (_i.e._, does it belong to a gentleman or to a lady). The sentence is then declared. Another formula, used in the Middle and Southern States, is: "Heavy, heavy, what hangs over you?" The German usage is nearly the same, the question being "Lord judge, what is your sentence, what shall he do whose pledge I have in my hand?" The following are examples of old penalties, which usually involved kissing, with infinite variety of method: _To go to Rome._ To kiss every girl in the room. _Flat-irons._ The lad and lass lay their hands on the wall and kiss. _Measuring yards of tape, and cutting it off._ To kiss with the arms extended. "_I'm in the well._" "How many fathoms deep?" (Any number is answered.) "Whom will you have to take you out?" (Some one of the company is named.) Each fathom represents a kiss. No. 89. _Old Mother Tipsy-toe._ This is a very popular game with girls in various parts of the United States. The children sit in a row, with the exception of the mother, who comes up and asks each child in turn, "How did you tear your dress?" After hearing their various excuses, she again traverses the row, indicating the part of the dress to be mended, and saying: I give you so much work to do, Use thimble, thread, and needle too; If you don't get it done before I come back, I'll give you a slap across your back. She slaps her children on the shoulder and goes out, forbidding them to follow her. As soon as her back is turned, they all jump up and run after her, shouting, "Old mother Tipsy-toe,"[94] or, as in a variation from New York: Old mother Tippety-toe, old mother Tippety-toe, I'll follow my mother wherever she go. The mother now goes into a shop, and orders various articles, the children repeating after her whatever she says. For instance, the mother says, "I want two pounds of butter." "I want two pounds of butter," shout the children in chorus. Finally she says, "And I want a stick to whip my children with," upon which she turns to leave the shop, while the children rush before her, and scramble back to their seats before their mother comes home. The latter then goes to each child in turn, saying, "Let me see how well you have mended your dress." The children all hold the hem of their dresses as firmly as they can, with their hands somewhat apart. The mother strikes with her hand the part of the dress that is between their hands; and if they let it go, she scolds and beats them for their bad mending. _Cambridge, Mass._