Is bumble-puppy an actual game/sport played on the tennis court and does it have its own official rules?

Question

While reading E.M. Forster's 'A Room with a View', the characters began playing this describing it as "an ancient and most honorable game, which consists in striking tennis-balls high into the air, so that they fall over the net and immoderately bounce." Was this a made up game or is it an actual variation of tennis with its own set of rules. I like various alternatives to traditional sports and games and was curious if anyone had any insights.

Answer 1

I believe Forster's version to be fictional, whimsically describing it as 'ancient and most honorable game' when it in fact is't just a random hitting of balls high in the air.
I found a link that discusses this, along with the origins of the name, and it's alternate appearence in literature, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World:
http://democritus.blogspot.com/2004_07_18_democritus_archive.html
(at the bottom)

Answer 2

Puppies