Quotes from Riddles and Rhymes, 1893

You should always count aloud the number of times you strike the shuttle-cock, and you will be surprised to find how interesting the game begins to grow as your number mounts up, and how very anxious you become at last for fear the shuttle-cock should fall. Try as much as you can not to become excited about the game, because the moment you do so you become nervous, and may sometimes miss a blow that you would not have missed had you been cool.

Long-continued practice is necessary to make any one a first-rate player at Battle-door and Shuttle-cock. As this game is an extremely noisy one, it ought never to be played near any one who is sick or happens to be subject to headaches. Like many other games, it is more agreeable when played in the open air.