Title: Entertainments for Home, Church and School
Author: Seeger, Frederica
Language: English
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ENTERTAINMENTS FOR HOME, CHURCH AND SCHOOL

BY
FREDERICA SEEGER

EDITED BY
THEODORE WATERS



ENTERTAINMENTS FOR HOME, CHURCH AND SCHOOL



CONTENTS


CHAPTER I--HOUSEHOLD GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS
Going Shopping, Hit or Miss, Game of Rhymes, Most Improbable Story,
Animated Art, Guessing Character, Tongue Twisters.

CHAPTER II--HOUSEHOLD GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS
French Rhymes, Ant and Cricket, A Spoonful of Fun, How, When and Where,
Grandfather's Trunk, Predicaments, Auction, Beast, Bird or Fish,
Rotating Globe, etc.

CHAPTER III--HOUSEHOLD GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS
Flags of All Nations, Game of Words, Prince of India, Exchange, Shadow
Buff, Old Family Coach, The Tailless Donkey.

CHAPTER IV--HOUSEHOLD GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS
Magic Music, Cushion Dance, Animal Blind Man's Buff, Musical
Instruments, My Lady's Toilet, Going to Jerusalem.

CHAPTER V--HOUSEHOLD GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS
Tortoise, Lemon Pig, Seasick Passengers, Enchanted Raisins, Family
Giant, Animated Telescope, etc.

CHAPTER VI--HOUSEHOLD GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS
The What Do You Think, Knight of the Whistle, "Can Do Little," Throwing
Light.

CHAPTER VII--CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS
Charades, "Cicero," "Attenuate," Suggested Words, "Metaphysician,"
Charades on the Grecian Islands.

CHAPTER VIII--CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS
Living Pictures, Tableaux, Dignity and Impudence, Sailor's Farewell,
Home Again, Various Tableaux.

CHAPTER IX--CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS
Wax Works Gallery, Mrs. Jarley's Collection, Chinese Giant, Two-Headed
Girl, Captain Kidd, Celebrated Dwarf, Yankee Cannibal, etc.

CHAPTER X--CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS
Art Exhibitions, List of Exhibitors, "Artists," Curiosities,
Explanations, Suggestions.

CHAPTER XI--OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Raising the Ghost, Magic Lantern Pictures, Phantasmagoria, Chinese
Shadows, Wonderful Mirror, Multiplied Money.

CHAPTER XII--TABLE GAMES FOR ADULTS
Dominoes, Backgammon, Checkers, Jenkins, Zoo, Stray Syllables, Chess.

CHAPTER XIII--OUTDOOR GAMES FOR ADULTS
Lawn Tennis, Polo, Hockey, Golf, Archery, Ring Toss, Lawn Bowls.

CHAPTER XIV--HOLIDAY GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS
New Years, Lincoln's Day, Valentine Party, Easter Egg Party, Hallowe'en
Games, Flag Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas.

CHAPTER XV--OUTDOOR GAMES FOR GIRLS
Basket Ball, Box Ball, Guess Ball, Target Ball, String Ball.

CHAPTER XVI--PASTIMES FOR CHILDREN
Sun Dial, Mother, May I Play? Blind Man's Buff, Tug of War, Various
Ball Games.

CHAPTER XVII--INDOOR GAMES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
Patch Work, Peanut Game, Soap Bubbles, Candy Pulls, Cook and Peas,
Magic Music, Zoology.

CHAPTER XVIII--OUTDOOR GAMES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
Bean Bag Games, Skipping the Rope, Various Tag Games, Crossing the
Brook.

CHAPTER XIX--SINGING GAMES FOR CHILDREN
Moon and Stars, Bologna Man, Orchestra, Jack Be Nimble, Oats, Peas,
Beans, Farmer in the Dell, London Bridge, etc.

CHAPTER XX--GAMES OF ARITHMETIC
Thought Numbers, Mystical Nine, Magic Hundred, King and Counselor,
Horse Shoe Nails, Dinner Party Puzzle, Baskets and Stones, etc.

CHAPTER XXI--ONE HUNDRED CONUNDRUMS
Witty Questions, Facetious Puzzles, Ready Answers, Entertaining Play
Upon Words.



INTRODUCTION.


Games are meant to amuse, but in addition to amusing, a good game,
played in the right spirit, may have great educational value.

Now, this is distinctly a book of _games and amusements_.

There are games for indoors, scores of them, while there are other
scores that can be enjoyed only in the open.

When young folks, and older folks, too, for that matter, meet for a
pleasant evening, it is rather depressing to have them sit solemnly
on stiff chairs in the company room and stare helplessly at one another,
like folks awaiting a funeral service.

Now, if there is present, and there usually is, a bright girl, who
knows the games in this book, and she starts in to "get the ball
a-rolling," all will soon be enjoying themselves better than if they
were watching a three-ring circus. And then the volleys of wholesome
laughter that will roll out--why, they will be better for the digestion
than all the medicines of all the doctors.

It will be noticed that some of the outdoor games, and others devised
for indoors, require some apparatus, like tennis and croquet, or
back-gammon boards and magic lanterns, but the majority need only the
company, and--let it be added--the disposition to have a good time.

Within the covers of "Entertainments for Home, Church, and School,"
you will find condensed and clearly set forth the best of a library
of books on amusements.



ENTERTAINMENTS FOR HOME, CHURCH AND SCHOOL



CHAPTER I

HOUSEHOLD GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

GOING SHOPPING--HIT OR MISS--GAME OF RHYMES--MOST IMPROBABLE STORY--
ANIMATED ART--GUESSING CHARACTERS--TONGUE TWISTERS


GOING SHOPPING

A lively game of "talk and touch." The company is seated in a circle,
and one who understands the game commences by saying to his neighbor
at the right:

"I have been shopping."

"What did you buy?" is the required response.

"A dress," "a book," "some flowers," "a pencil"--whatever the first
speaker wishes,  provided always that he can, in pronouncing the word,
touch the object mentioned. Then the second player addresses his
neighbor in similar manner, and so on around the circle until the
secret of the game is discovered by all.

Whoever mentions an object without touching it, or names one that has
already been given, pays a forfeit.

LIGHTING THE CANDLE

This feat is a very amusing one, and is performed as follows: Two
persons kneel on the ground, facing each other. Each holds in his left
hand a candle in a candlestick, at the same time grasping his right
foot in his right hand. This position compels him to balance himself
on his left knee. One of the candles is lighted; the other is not. The
holders are required to light the unlighted candle from the lighted
one. The conditions are simple enough, but one would hardly believe
how often the performers will roll over on the floor before they succeed
in lighting the candle. It will be found desirable to spread a newspaper
on the floor between the combatants. Many spots of candle-grease will
thus be intercepted, and the peace of mind of the lady of the house
proportionately spared.

HIT OR MISS

Great amusement is excited by this game when played in the presence
of a company of guests. Spread a sheet upon the floor and place two
chairs upon it. Seat two of the party in the chairs within reach of
each other and blindfold them. Give each a saucer of cracker or bread
crumbs and a spoon, then request them to feed each other. The frantic
efforts of each victim to reach his fellow sufferer's mouth is truly
absurd--the crumbs finding lodgment in the hair, ears and neck much
oftener than the mouth. Sometimes bibs are fastened around the necks
of the victims for protection.

CROSS QUESTIONS

The company is divided into two equal parts and blank cards and pencils
are distributed. One side writes questions on any subject desired,
while the other prepares in like manner a set of haphazard answers.
The question cards are then collected and distributed to the players
on the other side, while their answer are divided among the questioners.
The leader holding a question then reads it aloud, the first player
on the other side reading the answer he holds. Some of the answers are
highly amusing.

THE GAME OF RHYMES

A variation of the former game. The game is begun by a young lady or
gentleman speaking a single line, to which the next nearest on the
left must respond with another line to rhyme with the first. The next
player gives a new line, of the same length, and the fourth supplies
a rhyme in turn, and so on. The game is provocative of any amount of
fun and nonsense. A sample may be given:

1st Player.--I think I see a brindle cow.
2d Player.--It's nothing but your dad's bow-wow.
3rd. Player.--He is chasing our black Tommy cat.
4th Player.--Poor puss had best get out of that, etc.

Any amount of nonsense may be indulged in a game of this sort, within
proper limits. Clever players can easily give the game a most
interesting turn and provoke rhymes that are original and witty. Thus,
a subject once started, every phase of it may be touched upon before
the round closes.

THE MOST IMPROBABLE STORY

The players are seated in a circle and are provided with pencils and
paper. It is  then announced that this is a competition, and that the
one who writes the most improbable story in fifteen minutes wins a
prize. The allotted time being up, the papers are collected and
re-distributed so that each players receives another player's story.
The stories are then read aloud and a committee decides which is the
most improbable story. A prize is usually given the writer of this.

ANIMATED ART

A picture is selected showing a group of individuals and portraying
some historical incident or event illustrative of the affairs of
every-day life. The performers make up, each one to represent some
character in the picture. Out of their number some one is chosen to
act as stage manager and he poses the figures. Two rooms with
folding-doors, or one room divided by a curtain, are required for this
representation. A reflection, or footlight, will enhance the beauty
of the picture.

GUESSING CHARACTERS

One of the party leaves the room, while the others decide upon some
character, real or fictitious. The absentee is then recalled, and each
in turn asks him a question referring to the character he has been
elected to represent. When he guesses his identity, the player whose
question has thrown the most light upon the subject has to go from the
room.

For example: A goes from the room, and the company decides that he
shall represent King Henry VIII. When he enters, No. 1 asks: "Which
one of your wives did you love best?" No. 2 says: "Do you approve of
a man marrying his deceased brother's wife?" No. 3 adds: "Were you
very sorry your brother died?" etc., while A, after guessing various
names, is led by some question to guess correctly, and the fortunate
questioner is consequently sent from the room to have a new character
assigned him in turn.

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

One-half the company is blindfolded; these are then seated in such a
way that each has a vacant chair at his right hand. The other half of
the players gather in the middle of the room. This is done silently.
The unblindfolded players will each one take one of the empty seats
next to those who are blindfolded. When requested to speak or sing
they must do so. It is permissible to disguise the voice. The
blindfolded neighbor must guess who is speaking or singing. The bandages
are not taken off until the wearer has guessed correctly the name of
the person at his right. When he guesses correctly, the one whose name
was guessed is blindfolded and takes the guesser's place.

The leader gives a signal, and the players who are unblindfolded walk
softly to a vacant chair. The leader then plays a familiar air on an
instrument, and says, "sing!" All must sing until he suddenly stops
playing. The guessing goes on as before until the leader decides to
stop it.

TONGUE-TWISTERS--ANY NUMBER OF PLAYERS

The amusing game of tongue-twisters is played thus: The leader gives
out a sentence (one of the following), and each repeats it in turn,
any player who gets tangled up in the pronunciation having to pay
forfeit.

A haddock! a haddock! a black-spotted haddock, a black spot on the
black back of the black-spotted haddock.

She sells sea shells.

She stood at the door of Mr. Smith's fish-sauce shop, welcoming him in.

The sea ceaseth and it sufficeth us.

Six thick thistle sticks.

The flesh of freshly fried flying fish.

A growing gleam glowing green. I saw Esau kissing Kate, the fact we
all three saw, I saw Esau, he saw me, and she saw I saw Esau.

Swan swam over the sea; swim, swan, swim; Swan swam back again; well
swum, Swan.

You snuff ship snuff, I snuff box snuff.

The bleak breeze blighted the bright broom blossoms.

High roller, low roller, rower.

Oliver Oglethorp ogled an owl and oyster. Did Oliver Oglethorp ogle
an owl and oyster? If Oliver Oglethorp ogled an owl and oyster, where
are the owl and oyster Oliver Oglethorp ogled?

Hobbs meets Snobbs and Nobbs; Hobbs bobs to Snobbs and Nobbs; Hobbs
nobs with Snobbs and robs Nobbs' fob. "That is," says Nobbs, "the worse
for Hobbs' jobs," and Snobbs sobs.

Susan shines shoes and socks; socks and shoes shine Susan. She ceaseth
shining shoes and socks, for shoes and socks shocks Susan.

Robert Royley rolled a round roll round; a round roll Robert Rowley
rolled round. Where rolled the round roll Robert Rowley rolled round?

Strict, strong Stephen Stringer snared slickly six sickly, silky snakes.
The Leith police dismisseth us.

She sun shines upon shop signs.



CHAPTER II

FRENCH RHYMES--ANT AND CRICKET--SPOONFUL OF FUN--HOW, WHEN AND WHERE--
GRANDFATHER'S TRUNK--PREDICAMENTS--AUCTION--BEAST, BIRD, OR FISH--ROTATING
GLOBE


BUTTON, BUTTON

The players sit around the room in a circle. The leader then holds a
button between his hands, with the palms pressed together, so as to
hide it. He goes around the circle, passing his hand between those of
the players. As he does this, he says: "Hold fast to what I give you."
He is careful not to let the players see into whose hands he passed
the button. The circuit having been made, the leader says to the first
player: "Button, button, who has the button?" The one questioned must
answer, naming some one whom he thinks has it. So it continues until
all have had a turn at answering the same question. Then the leader
says: "Button, button, rise!" The button holder must do this.

FRENCH RHYMES

Each member of the company writes upon a slip of paper two words that
rhyme. These are collected by one player and read aloud, and as they
are read everybody writes them down upon new papers. Five or ten minutes
being allowed, each player must write a poem introducing all the rhyming
words in their original pairs. At the expiration of the given time the
lines are read aloud. Suppose the words given are "man and than,"
"drops and copse," "went and intent," etc., these are easily framed
into something like this:

Once on a time a brooklet drops, With splash and clash, through a shady
copse; One day there chanced to pass a man, Who, deeming water better
than Cider, down by the brooklet went, To dip some up was his intent.

Of course, the result is nonsense, but it is pleasant nonsense, and
may be kept up indefinitely, to the entertainment of the participants.

CONSEQUENCES

The players are each provided with a slip of paper and a pencil. Each
must write the name of some gentleman (who is known to the party),
turn down the end of the paper on which the name is written, and pass
the paper to the next neighbor. All must then write the name of some
lady (also known), then change the papers again and write "where they
met," "what he said," "what she said," "what the world said," and "the
consequences," always passing the papers on. When all are written,
each player must then read his paper.

Mr. Jones . . . . . . . . . And Miss Smith . . . . . . . . . Met on
a roof . . . . . . . . . He said, "I trust you are not afraid." She
said, "Not while you are here." World said, "It's a match."
Consequences, "He sailed for Africa next morning," etc.

ANT AND CRICKET

One of the company being appointed to represent the Cricket, seats
himself in the midst of the other players, who are the Ants, and writes
upon a piece of paper the name of a certain grain, whatever kind he
pleases. He then addresses the first Ant: "My dear neighbor, I am very
hungry, and I have come to you for aid. What will you give me!" "A
grain of rice, a kernel of corn, a worm," etc., replies the Ant, as
he sees fit. The Cricket asks each in turn, and if one of them announces
as his gift the word already written upon the paper, the Cricket
declares himself satisfied and changes places with the Ant.

A SPOONFUL OF FUN

This is a German game. One of the players goes into the middle of a
ring formed by the other players. He is blindfolded and has a large,
wooden spoon for a wand. The players join hands and dance about him.
There may be music, if it be so desired. When the signal is given to
stop, all must stand still. The blindfolded one touches one of the
players with his hand and tries to guess his identity. If he guesses
correctly, that player must take his place. Stooping, kneeling, or
tiptoeing may be resorted to, to conceal the identity of the players.

WHAT IS MY THOUGHT LIKE?

Though this is a very old game, it is well worth the playing. The
leader asks each player in turn, "What is my thought like?" The one
questioned gives any answer he desires. Each player is asked in turn
and a list is kept of the replies. Finally the leader tells what his
thought was, and asks each player in what way it resembles the thing
he, or she, likened it to.

BIOGRAPHY

Each player receives a pencil and paper and takes a seat as one of the
circle of players. The left-hand neighbor is the subject for his
right-hand neighbor's biographical sketch. Any absurd happening will
do, the more ridiculous the biography, the better. The wittiest one
calls for a prize.

NICKNAMES OF CITIES

Certain cities have been nick-named, as Chicago, the Windy City;
Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, etc. The hostess requests
her guests to wear something suggestive of the nickname of the city
represented. Each guest writes on a piece of paper what cities he
supposes the other guests are representing. A half hour is allowed,
when a prize is awarded the one who has given the largest number of
guesses correctly.

HOW, WHEN AND WHERE

One member of the company, leaving the room, a word admitting of more
than one interpretation is chosen by the others. On his return, he
asks each in succession, "How do you like it?" The player questioned
being required to give an appropriate answer. He then inquires in
similar manner, "When do you like it," and if the answer to that
question still gives him no clue, proceeds to ask, "Where do you like
it?"

When he at last discovers the word, the person whose answer has
furnished him with the most information, must in turn leave the room
and become the questioner.

We will suppose the word chosen to be "rain," which can also be taken
as "reign" or "rein." The question, "How do you like it?" receives the
answers, "tight," "heavy," "short," "warm," etc.

The question, "When do you like it?", "in summer," "when I am driving,"
"in the nineteenth century," etc.

"Where do you like it?", "in the United States," "on a horse," "in the
sky," etc.

MY GRANDFATHER'S TRUNK--ANY NUMBER OF PLAYERS

A great game for young folks of a winter evening. The company being
seated in a circle, somebody begins by saying, for instance:

No. 1. "I pack my grandfather's trunk with a pair of spectacles."

No. 2. "I pack my grandfather's trunk with a pair of spectacles and
a silk hat." No. 3. "I pack my grandfather's trunk with a pair of
spectacles, a silk hat and a dime novel." And so on, each person
repeating all the articles already mentioned, besides adding a new one.

If any one fails to repeat the list correctly, he drops out of the
game, which is continued until the contents of the trunk are unanimously
declared too numerous to remember.

LOCATION

Location is geographical in character. Two captains are chosen. They
choose sides until the party is equally divided. One captain begins
the game by calling the name of a city. He then counts thirty. Before
he has finished counting, his opposite opponent must tell where the
city is located. If his answer be correct, he in turn names a place,
and the second player in the opposite row must locate it before he
counts thirty. Should any player fail to answer before thirty is
counted, or answer incorrectly, he or she must drop out. When there
is only one player left on either side, that one gets the prize.

PREDICAMENTS

Predicaments are thought out. The more ridiculous they are the better.
They  are written on sheets of paper. Each person has to write his
idea of the best way out of a predicament. Then the papers are collected
and read. Prizes are given if the hostess so desires.

PROGRESSIVE PUZZLES

Provide as many small, square cards as there are guests; also several
pairs of scissors. The party seats itself in a circle. The cards and
scissors are given out. Then each player cuts his card twice across,
so as to make four pieces. The straight cuts must intersect each other.
After the first cut, the pieces must be held together until the second
cut has been made.

A player mixes his pieces and passes them to his right-hand neighbor.
When the leader gives the signal, all the players put together the
four pieces they have. The one who first succeeds calls out "ready."
Then all stop and pass the cards on again. The successful player is
given a mark on a tally card. The game goes on until a half hour has
passed. The person receiving the most marks is entitled to a prize,
or may become the leader, as preferred.

MIRTH

The leader for this game must have a contagious laugh. He throws a
handkerchief into the air; when he does this, all must laugh heartily,
until the handkerchief lies upon the ground, then the laughing must
stop immediately. The player laughing after the handkerchief touches
the ground is "out." This also happens to the one laughing too soon.
The one left alone at last is the winner, and may become leader.

CRAMBO

Each player in the party is given two slips of paper and a pencil. On
one slip he writes a question. This may be serious or absurd, as he
wishes. On another paper he writes a word, this being a noun--either
proper or common. The questions being mixed are distributed--the words
likewise. The players write verses answering the questions and
containing the words received.

AUCTION

_Needed: Twenty, or more, packages, wrapped in paper._

Auction may be made a very merry game. It depends upon the auctioneer,
however, to make the sales interesting; any articles may be chosen,
though dolls, Teddy bears, etc., are suggested. The articles are
catalogued. They are paid for with the beans given to the players with
the catalogues.

BEAST, BIRD OR FISH

The players sit round in a circle, and one player, who is "it," points
to some one, and says either "beast," "bird," or "fish." He then counts
ten as quickly as possible. The person pointed to must name some
"beast," "bird," or "fish" (whichever he was asked), before ten is
reached. If he fails he must give a forfeit.

THE ROTATION OF THE GLOBE

When you next chance to eat an egg for breakfast, do not fail to try
the following experiment. It is one which always succeeds, and is
productive of much amusement to the company.

Moisten slightly with water the rim of your plate, and in the center
paint with the yolk of the egg a sun with golden rays. By the aid of
this simple apparatus, you will be in a position to illustrate, so
clearly that a child can comprehend it, the double movement of the
earth, which revolves simultaneously round the sun and on its own axis.

All that you have to do is to place the empty half-shell of your egg
on the rim of the plate, and keeping this latter duly sloped, by a
slight movement of the wrist as may be needful, you will see the
eggshell begin to revolve rapidly on its own axis, at the same time
traveling round the plate. It is hardly necessary to remark that the
egg-shell will not travel uphill, and the plate must therefore be
gradually shifted round, as well as sloped, so that the shell may
always have an inch or two of descending plane before it.

The slight cohesion caused by the water which moistens the plate
counteracts the centrifugal force and so prevents the eggshell falling
off the edge of the plate.

ADVICE

Pencil and paper having been given the players, each writes a piece
of advice and folds his paper. He passes it to his neighbor, who before
opening it, tells whether he thinks the advice good or bad. If he
guesses correctly, he scores a point. The game goes on this way, each
at the table taking a turn, when new advices are written and passed
along. This is done as many times as the hostess desires. The one
getting the most points is winner.

WORDS

Each player receives a pencil and paper. He is then told to make as
many words as he can from a given word of fifteen letters, or more.
It is surprising how many words can be thus made. The winner is the
one fashioning the greatest number of words. A book is given him as
a prize.



CHAPTER III

GAME OF WORDS--PRINCE OF INDIA--EXCHANGE--SHADOW BUFF--TAILLESS DONKEY
--THROWING THE HANDKERCHIEF


FLAGS OF ALL NATIONS

You can learn the colors of the flags of all nations by referring to
a large dictionary, or to a book on flags. The flags are drawn with
colored crayons, or painted in water colors, on a large water-color
card, or a sheet of water-color paper. Large cards with numbers down
the sides are given to each player, with a pencil. The card of flags
is then hung where all can see it, and half an hour is allowed for all
to guess the countries to which the flags belong. The answers are
written on the individual cards, and the papers are signed with the
names of the players.

A prize is given to the player who has the greatest number of correct
answers.

ANOTHER GAME OF WORDS

The players, each of whom is supplied with paper and pencil, are divided
equally into two sides, and the leader, having selected a word, suppose
"notwithstanding," each party sets to work to see how many different
words they can make of the same letters. (Thus from the word above
suggested may be made "not, with, stand, standing, gin, ton, to, wig,
wit, his, twit, tan, has, had, an, nod, tow, this, sat, that, sit,
sin, tin, wink, what, who, wish, win, wan, won," and probably a host
of others.) A scrutiny is then taken, all words common to both parties
being struck out. The remainder are then compared, and the victory is
adjudged to the one having the largest number of words.

GRAMMATICAL GAME

This is played by each person drawing, say, twenty letters haphazard,
and trying to form them into a phrase or sentence, the palm of merit
being awarded to the player who, at the same time, produces the most
coherent phrase, and also succeeds in using the greatest proportion
of the letters assigned to him.

MENAGERIE

This is a very funny game if the ringmaster keeps up a running fire
of witty remarks. He stands in the circle of animals--otherwise
guests--and, whip in hand, shows off his animals, and their tricks,
singly, and in groups. The lion roars, as well as performs; the dog
barks, and performs the tricks he is told to show off; the canary
warbles its song; the bee buzzes; the donkey brays, balks and kicks,
etc. At the end of the performance there is a grand circus parade,
with music.

PRINCE OF INDIA

The players are numbered from one upward.

The leader stands in front of them and says: "The Prince of India has
lost his pearl. Did you find it, number seven?" Upon this, number 7
replies, jumping to his feet quickly:

"I, sir, I?"

The leader replies, "Yes, you, sir!"

Number 7 says: "Not I, sir!"

Leader: "Who then, sir, if not you?"

Number 7: "Number 4, sir."

Number 4 jumps up, and says: "What, sir? I, I?"

Leader: "Yes, sir; you, you."

Number 4: "Not I, not I, sir."'

Leader: "Who then, sir?"

Number 4: "Number 2, sir."'

Then number 2 jumps to his feet.

This goes on until the leader reaches the last one in the circle. If
he can repeat again "The Prince of India has lost his pearl," before
this one can jump to his feet, they exchange places.

EXCHANGE

A blindfolded player stands in the center; the others are seated about
him in a circle. Each one is numbered. The blindfolded player calls
out two numbers, whereupon the players bearing those numbers exchange
places, the blindfolded player trying meanwhile either to catch one
of the players or to secure one of the chairs. Any player so caught
must yield his chair to the catcher. No player may go outside of the
circle formed by the chairs.

HUNT THE RING

All the players stand in a circle holding a long cord, which forms an
endless band upon which a ring has been slipped before it was joined
at the ends. This ring is passed rapidly from one player to
another--always on the cord and concealed by the hand--while somebody
in the center endeavors to seize the hands of the person who holds it,
who, when actually caught, takes his place within the circle.

If the circle is very large, two rings may be slipped upon the cord,
and two players placed in the center together.

A small key may be used instead of a ring, while still another variation
is to have the concealed object a small whistle with a ring attached.
When this is adopted, an amusing phase of the game is to secretly
attach a string to the whistle and fasten this to the back of the
player in the center by means of a bent pin at the other end of the
string. Then while feigning to pass the whistle from hand to hand, it
is occasionally seized and blown upon by some one in the ring, toward
whom the victim is at that moment turning his back, causing that
individual to be greatly puzzled.

SHADOW BLUFF

A sheet being stretched across one end of the room, one of the players
being seated upon a low stool facing it, and with his eyes fixed upon
it. The only light in the room must be a lamp placed upon a table in
the center of the room. Between this lamp and the person on the stool,
the players pass in succession, their shadows being thrown upon the
sheet in strong relief. The victim of the moment endeavors to identify
the other players by their respective shadows, and if he succeeds the
detected party must take his place.

It is allowable to make detection as difficult as possible by means
of any available disguise that does not conceal the whole person, any
grimacing, contortion of form, etc.

GUESSING EYES AND NOSES

A sheet is fastened up between two doors. Holes are cut in it, and
some of the party go behind the sheet and stand with their eyes at the
holes, while the others must guess to whom the eyes belong. Failing
to guess correctly, they must give a forfeit.

THE TAILLESS DONKEY

An amusing game, at which any size party may play and enjoy it for
hours. Cut a large figure of a donkey, minus a tail, from dark paper
or cloth, and pin it upon a sheet stretched tightly across a door-way.
Each player is given a piece of paper, which would fit the donkey for
a tail, if applied. On each tail is written the name of the person
holding it. When all is ready, the players are blindfolded in
turn--placed facing the donkey a few steps back in the room--then
turned around rapidly two or three times, and told to advance with the
tail held at arm's length, and with a pin previously inserted in the
end, attach it to the figure of the donkey wherever they first touch
it. When the whole curtain is adorned with tails--(not to mention all
the furniture, family portraits, etc., in the vicinity)--and there are
no more to pin on, the person who has succeeded in fastening the
appendage the nearest to its natural dwelling place, receives a prize,
and the player who has given the most eccentric position to the tail
entrusted to his care, receives the "booby" prize, generally some gift
of a nature to cause a good-humored laugh.

THROWING THE HANDKERCHIEF

A very old and still quite popular game. The company being seated
around the room in a circle, some one stationed in the center throws
an unfolded handkerchief to one of the seated players. Whoever receives
it must instantly throw it to some one else, and so on, while the
person in the center endeavors to catch the handkerchief in its passage
from one player to another. If he catches it, as it touches somebody,
that person must take his place in the center. If it is caught in the
air, the player whose hands it last left enters the circle.

The handkerchief must not be knotted or twisted, but thrown loosely.



CHAPTER IV

MAGIC MUSIC--CUSHION DANCE--ANIMAL BLINDMAN'S BLUFF--MY LADY'S TOILET
--GOING TO JERUSALEM


MAGIC MUSIC

A beautiful game, which amuses even the mere spectator as much as it
does the players. One of the company sits at the piano while another
leaves the room. The rest of the party then hide some article,
previously agreed upon, and recall the absent player. At his entrance
the pianist begins playing some lively air, very softly, keeping up
a sort of musical commentary upon his search, playing louder as he
approaches the goal, and softer when he wanders away from it. In this
way he is guided to at last discover the object of his search.

CUSHION DANCE

The cushions are set upright in a circle on the floor. The players
then join hands,  and form a ring round them. The circle formed by the
cushions should be almost as large as the ring formed by the players,
and the cushions may be placed at a considerable distance apart. The
players in the ring dance round; and each player, as he dances, tries
to make his neighbors knock over the cushions. He, however, avoids
knocking over any himself. The players should not break the ring, as
the penalty to one letting go hands is expulsion from the ring. If it
is preferred, Indian clubs placed on end may be substituted for the
cushions.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

The players sit in a circle and form an orchestra. The conductor stands
in the center. A tune is decided on, and the instruments are selected.
Then the conductor beats time, and each player imitates as well as he
can the sound of his instrument, and the motion used in playing it.
Suddenly the conductor turns to one of the players and asks, "What is
the matter with your instrument?" and immediately counts ten. Before
he finishes counting, the player who has been questioned must begin
an answer which is appropriate to his instrument. If his answer is
inappropriate, or if it is not begun before the counting stops, he
must change places with the conductor.

Whenever the conductor claps his hands the music must stop, and the
players must remain in the attitudes in which they were when he gave
the signal. Any one who fails to stop humming, or who changes his
position, must become leader.

The same conductor may continue throughout the game. The person who
fails in any of the requirements of the game then pays a forfeit.

ANIMAL BLINDMAN'S BLUFF

A blindfolded player stands in the center of a circle with a wand,
stick, or cane in his hand. The other players dance around him in a
circle until he taps three times on the floor with the cane, when all
must stand still. The blindfolded one points his cane in any direction.
The one directly opposite it must make a noise like an animal. From
this the person in the center of the ring guesses the other's identity.
If he does so, there is an exchange of places.

MY LADY'S TOILET

This is a French game. In it each player is named for some article of
"My  Lady's Toilet," such as her gown, her hat, her gloves, etc. The
players sit in a circle, and when the leader mentions an article of
the toilet, the one who is named for it must rush to the center of the
ring before the platter stops spinning there. If successful, he or she
takes the place of the spinner in the center of the ring. If
unsuccessful, the person returns to his or her place.

The leader may keep up the interest of the game by comments on the
toilettes. This is most interesting in story form.

A variation of this game introduces the word ball. Whenever this is
spoken of, the players must jump up and change places, the spinner
trying to secure a seat in the general confusion. The odd player becomes
a spinner.

MARY AND JOHN

The players--all but two--form a circle and clasp hands. Two odd players
in the center are called, "Mary" and "John." The object of the game
is for John to catch Mary. As he is blindfolded, he can only locate
her in her stealthy movements by the sound of her muffled voice. When
he says, "Mary, where are you?" she must answer as often as he questions
her.

Mary may stoop or tiptoe, or resort to any means to escape capture,
except leaving the ring.

When Mary is captured she is blindfolded and John takes her seat.

So the game goes on after Mary has chosen a new John.

GOING TO JERUSALEM

This is a piano game, but does not require great skill. One person
goes to the piano, while the others arrange in a line as many chairs,
less one, as there are players, the chairs alternately facing opposite
directions. Then, as the pianist begins to play, the others commence
marching around the line of chairs, keeping time to the music. When
this suddenly ceases, everybody tries to sit down, but as there is one
less chair than players, somebody is left standing, and must remain
out of the game. Then another chair is removed, and the march continues,
until the chairs decrease to one, and the players to two.

Whichever of these succeeds in seating himself as the music stops, has
won the game.

"WHAT D'YE BUY?"

This game may be played by any number from three to thirteen. There
are a dozen good-sized pieces of cardboard, each bearing a colored
illustration of one of the "trades" following, viz.: a milliner, a
fishmonger, a greengrocer, plumber, a music-seller, a toyman, mason,
a pastry-cook, a hardware-man, a tailor, a poulterer, and a doctor.
Besides these there are a number of smaller tickets, half a dozen to
each trade. Each of these has the name of the particular trade, and
also the name of some article in which the particular tradesman in
question may be considered to deal. A book accompanies the cards,
containing a nonsense story, with a blank at the end of each sentence.

One of the players is chosen as leader, and the others each select a
trade, receiving the appropriate picture, and the six cards containing
the names of the articles in which the tradesman deals. He places his
"sign" before him on the table, and holds the remainder of his cards
in his hand. The leader then reads the story, and whenever he comes
to one of the blanks, he glances towards one of the other players, who
must immediately, under penalty of a forfeit, supply the blank with
some article he sells, at the same time laying down the card bearing
its name. The incongruity of the article named with the context make
the fun of the game, which is heightened by the vigilance which each
player must exercise in order to avoid a forfeit. Where the number of
players is very small, each may undertake two or more trades.

We will give an illustration. The concluding words indicate the trade
of the person at whom the leader glances to fill up a given hiatus.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose to relate some curious adventures
which befell me and my wife Peggy the other day, but as I am troubled
with a complaint called 'Non mi ricordo,' or the 'Can't remembers,'
I shall want each of you to tell me what you sell; therefore, when I
stop and look at one of you, you must be brisk in recommending your
goods. Whoever does not name something before I count 'three' must pay
a forfeit. Attention!

"Last Friday week I was awakened very early in the morning by a loud
knocking at my door in Humguffin Court. I got up in a great fright,
and put on"--(looks at Toyman, who replies, "A fool's cap and bells,"
and lays down that card).

"When I got downstairs, who should be there but a fat porter, with a
knot, on which he carried"--(Poulterer) "a pound of pork sausages."

"'Hallo!' said I, 'my fellow, what do you want at this time of day?' He
answered"--(Fishmonger) "'A cod's head and shoulders.'"

"'Get along with you,' I said; 'there's my neighbor, Dr. Drenchall, I see,
wants'"--(Butcher) "'a sheep's head.'"

"I now went up to shave, but my soap-dish was gone, and the maid brought
me instead"--(Milliner) "a lady's chip hat."

"My razor had been taken to chop firewood, so I used"--(Greengrocer)
"a cucumber."

"I then washed my face in"--(Doctor) "a cup of quinine," "cleaned my
teeth with"--(Fishmonger) "a fresh herring," and "combed my hair
with"--(Pastrycook) "a jam tart."

"My best coat was taken possession of by pussy and kittens, so I whipped
on"--(Hardware-man) "a dripping pan."

"The monkey, seeing how funny I looked, snatched off my wig, and clapped
on my head"--(Poulterer) "a fat hen."

"I now awoke my wife, and asked her what she had nice for breakfast;
she said"--(Doctor) "a mustard plaster."

"Then I scolded Sukey, the servant, and called her"--(Poulterer) "a
tough old turkey."

"But she saucily told me I was no better than"--(Music-seller) "an old
fiddle."

"I soon had enough of that, so I asked my wife to go with me to
buy"--(Tailor) "a pair of trousers."

"But she said she must have her lunch first, which consisted of----"
etc., etc., through half a dozen pages, the tradesmen supply more or
less appropriate articles to fill up the gaps in the discourse.



CHAPTER V.

RAISIN TORTOISE--LEMON PIG--SEASICK PASSENGER--ENCHANTED RAISINS--LUMP
OF SUGAR--MYSTERIOUS PRODUCTION--FAMILY GIANT


THE RAISIN TORTOISE

This noble animal is constructed as follows: A muscatel raisin forms
the body, and small portions of the stalk of the same fruit the head
and legs. With a little judgment in the selection of the pieces of
stalk and the mode in which they are thrust into the body, it is
surprising what a life-like tortoise may be thus produced. While the
work of art in question is being handed round on a plate for admiration,
the artist may further distinguish himself, if the wherewithal is
obtainable, by constructing

THE LEMON PIG

The body of the pig consists of a lemon. The shape of this fruit renders
it particularly well adapted for this purpose, the crease or shoulder
at the small end of the lemon being just the right shape to form the
head and neck of the pig. With three or four lemons to choose from,
you cannot fail to find at least one which will answer the purpose
exactly. The mouth and ears are made by cutting the ring with a
penknife, the legs of short ends of lucifer matches, and the eyes
either of black pins, thrust in up to the head, or grape stones.

THE SEASICK PASSENGER

The requirements for this touching picture are an orange, a pocket
handkerchief or soft table napkin, and a narrow water goblet. The
orange is first prepared by cutting in the rind with a penknife the
best ears, nose, and mouth which the artist can compass, a couple of
raisin-pips supplying the place of eyes. A pocket handkerchief is
stretched lightly over the glass, and the prepared orange laid thereon.
The pocket-handkerchief is then moved gently backward and forward over
the top of the glass, imparting to the orange a rolling motion, and
affording a laughable but striking caricature of the agonies of a
seasick passenger.

THE ENCHANTED RAISINS

Take four raisins or bread-pills, and place them about a foot apart,
so as to form a square on the table. Next fold a couple of
table-napkins, each into a pad of five inches square. Take one of these
in each hand, the fingers undermost and the thumb uppermost. Then
inform the company that you are about to give them a lesson in the art
of hanky-panky, etc., and in the course of your remarks, bring down
the two napkins carelessly over the two raisins farthest from you.
Leave the right-hand napkin on the table, but, in withdrawing the hand,
bring away the raisin between the second and third fingers, and at the
same moment remarking, "You must watch particularly how many raisins
I place under each napkin." Lift the left napkin (as if merely to show
that there is one raisin only beneath it), and transfer it to the palm
of the outstretched right hand, behind which the raisin is now
concealed. Without any perceptible pause, but at the same time without
any appearance of haste, replace the folded napkin on raisin No. 2,
and in so doing, leave raisin No. 1 beside it. Now take up raisin No.
3 (with the right hand). Put the hand under the table, and in doing
so get raisin No. 3 between the second and third fingers, as much
behind the hand as possible. Give a rap with the knuckles on the
underside of the table, at the same time saying, "Pass!" and forthwith
pick up the left-hand napkin with the left hand, showing the raisins
1 and 2 beneath it. All eyes are drawn to the two raisins on the table,
and as the right hand comes into sight from beneath the table, the
left quietly transfers the napkin to it, thereby effectually concealing
the presence of raisin No. 3. The napkin is again laid over raisins
1 and 2, and No. 3 is secretly deposited with them. No. 4 is then taken
in the right hand, and the process repeated, when three raisins are
naturally discovered, the napkin being once more replaced, and No. 4
left with the rest. There are now four raisins under the left-hand
napkin, and none under that on the right hand, though the spectators
are persuaded that there is one under the latter, and only three under
the former. The trick being now practically over, the performer may
please himself as to the form of the denouement, and, having gone
through any appropriate form of incantation, commands the imaginary
one to go and join the other three, which is found to have taken place
accordingly.

THE DEMON LUMP OF SUGAR

The performer commences by borrowing two hats, which he places, crowns
upward, upon the table, drawing particular attention to the fact that
there is nothing whatever under either of them. He next demands the
loan of the family sugar basin, and requests some one to select from
it a lump of sugar (preferably one of an unusual and easily
distinguished shape), at the same time informing them that, by means
of a secret process, only known to himself, he will undertake to swallow
such lump of sugar before their eyes, and yet, after a few minutes'
interval, bring it under either of the two hats they may choose. The
company, having been prepared by the last trick to expect some ingenious
piece of sleight-of-hand, are all on the _qui vive_ to prevent any
substitution of another lump of sugar, or any pretence of swallowing
without actually doing so. However, the performer does unmistakably
take the identical lump of sugar chosen and crushes it to pieces with
his teeth. He then asks, with unabated confidence, under which of the
two hats he shall bring it, and, the choice having been made, places
the chosen hat on his own head, and in that way fulfills his
undertaking.

THE MYSTERIOUS PRODUCTION

This is another feat of the _genus_ "sell," and to produce due effect,
should only be introduced after the performer has, by virtue of a
little genuine magic, prepared the company to expect from him something
a little out of the common. He begins by informing the spectators that
he is about to show them a great mystery, a production of nature on
which no human being has ever yet set eye, and which, when they have
once seen, no human being will ever set eyes on again. When the general
interest is sufficiently awakened, he takes a nut from the dish, and,
having gravely cracked it, exhibits the kernel, and says, "Here is an
object which you will admit no human being has ever seen, and which"
(here he puts it into his mouth and gravely swallows it) "I am quite
sure nobody will ever see again."

THE FAMILY GIANT

A very fair giant, for domestic purposes, may be produced by the simple
expedient of seating a young lad astride on the shoulders of one of
the older members of the company, and draping the combined figure with
a long cloak or Inverness cape. The "head" portion may, of course, be
"made up" as much as you please, the more complete the disguise the
more effective being the giant. A ferocious-looking moustache and
whiskers will greatly add to his appearance. If some ready-witted
member of the party will undertake to act as showman, and exhibit the
giant, holding a lively conversation with him, and calling attention
to his gigantic idiosyncrasies, a great deal of fun may be produced.
The joke should not, however, be very long continued, as the feelings
of the "legs" have to be considered. If too long deprived of air and
light they are apt to wax rebellious, and either carry the giant in
the directions he would fain avoid, or even occasionally to strike
together, and bring the giant's days to a sudden and undignified
termination.



CHAPTER VI

THE WHAT-DO-YOU-THINK?--KNIGHT OF THE WHISTLE--"CAN DO LITTLE"--
THROWING LIGHT


"THE WHAT-DO-YOU-THINK?"

The exhibitor begins, in proper showman style: "Ladies and gentlemen,
I have the pleasure of exhibiting to your notice the celebrated
'What-do-you-think?' or Giant Uncle-Eater. You have all probably heard
of the Ant-Eater. This is, as you will readily perceive, a member of
the same family, but more so! He measures seven feet from the tip of
his snout to the end of his tail, eight feet back again, five feet
around the small of his waist, and has four feet of his own, making
twenty-four in all. In his natural state he lives chiefly on blue-bottle
flies and mixed pickles, but in captivity it is found that so rich a
diet has a tendency to make him stout, and he is now fed exclusively
on old corks and back numbers of some daily paper. His voice, which
you may perhaps have an opportunity of hearing (here the
'What-do-you-think?' howls dismally), is in the key of B fiat, and is
greatly admired. People come here before breakfast to hear it, and
when they have heard it, they assure us that they never heard anything
like it before. Some have even gone so far as to say that they never
wish to hear anything like it again,"' etc. The "What-do-you-think?"
is manufactured as follows: The performer, who should have black kid
gloves on, places on his head a conical paper cap, worked up with the
aid of the nursery paint box into a rough semblance of an animal's
head. This being securely fastened on, he goes down on his hands and
knees and a shaggy railway rug (of fur, if procurable) is thrown over
him and secured round his neck, when the animal is complete.

THE KNIGHT OF THE WHISTLE

This is a capital game for everybody but the victim, and produces much
fun. Some one who does not know the game is chosen to be Knight of the
Whistle, and is commanded to kneel down and receive the honor of
knighthood, which the leader (armed with a light cane, the drawing-
room poker, or other substitute for a sword) confers by a slight
stroke on the back. While placing him in position, opportunity is taken
to attach to his back, by means of a bent pin or otherwise, a piece of
string about a foot in length, to which is appended a small light
whistle. Having been duly dubbed, in order to complete his dignity,
he is informed that he must now go in quest of the whistle, which will
be sounded at intervals, in order to guide him in his search. Meanwhile
the other players gather in a circle round him, making believe to pass
an imaginary object from hand to hand. The victim naturally believes that
this imaginary object must be the long-lost whistle, and makes a dash
for it accordingly, when the player who happens to be behind his back
blows the actual whistle and instantly drops it again. Round flies the
unhappy knight, and makes a fresh dash to seize the whistle, but in
vain. No sooner has he turned to a fresh quarter than the ubiquitous
whistle again sounds behind his back.

If the game is played smartly, and care taken not to pull the cord,
the knight may often be kept revolving for a considerable period before
he discovers the secret.

"HE CAN DO LITTLE."

This is another "sell" of almost childish simplicity, but we have seen
people desperately puzzled over it, and even "give it up" in despair.

The leader takes a stick (or poker) in his left hand, thence transfers
it to his right, and thumps three times on the floor, saying: "He can
do little who can't do this." He then hands the stick to another person,
who, as he supposes, goes through exactly the same performance; but
if he does not know the game, is generally told, to his disgust, that
he has incurred a forfeit, his imitation not having been exact.

The secret lies in the fact that the stick, when passed on, is first
received in the left hand and thence transferred to the right before
going through the performance.

"THROWING LIGHT."

Two of the company agree privately upon a word (which should be one
susceptible of two or three meanings), and interchange remarks tending
to throw light upon it. The rest of the players do their best to guess
the word, but when any of them fancies he has succeeded, he does not
publicly announce his guess, but makes such a remark as to indicate
to the two initiated that he has discovered their secret. If they have
any doubt that he has really guessed the word, they challenge him,
i.e., require him to name it in a whisper. If this guess proves to be
right, he joins in conversation, and assists in throwing light on the
subject; but if, on the other hand, he is wrong, he must submit to
have a handkerchief thrown over his head, and so remain until by some
more fortunate observation he shall prove that he really possesses the
secret.

We will give an example. Mr. A. and Miss B. have agreed on "bed" as
the word, and proceed to throw light upon it, alternating upon its
various meanings of a place of repose, a part of a garden, or the bed
of a river.

Miss B. I don't know what your opinion may be, but I am never tired
of it.

Mr. A. Well, for my part, I am never in a hurry, either to get to it
or to leave it.

Miss B. How delightful it is after a long, tiring day!

Mr. A. Yes. But it is a pleasure that soon palls. The most luxurious
person does not care for too much of it at a stretch.

Miss B. Oh, don't you think so. In early spring, for instance, with
the dew upon the flowers!

Mr. A. Ah! you take the romantic view. But how would you like it beneath
some rapid torrent or some broad majestic river?

Miss C. (thinks she sees her way, and hazards a remark). Or in a sauce?

Mr. A. I beg your pardon. Please tell me in a whisper what you suppose
the word to be?

Miss C. (whispers) Fish! What! isn't that right?

Mr. A. I am afraid you must submit to a temporary eclipse. (Throws her
handkerchief over her face.)

Mr. A. to Miss B. You mentioned spring, I think. For my own part, I
prefer feathers.

Mr. D. (rashly concludes, from the combination of "spring" and
"feathers," that spring chickens must be referred to). Surely you would
have them plucked?

Mr. A. (looks puzzled). I think not May I ask you to name your guess?
Oh, no, quite out. I must trouble you for your pocket handkerchief.

Miss B. It is curious, isn't it, that they must be made afresh every
day?

Mr. A. So it is; though I confess it never struck me in that light
before. I don't fancy, however, that old Brown, the gardener, makes
his quite so often.

Miss B. You may depend that he has it made for him, though.

Miss C. (from under the handkerchief). At any rate, according as he
makes it, his fate will be affected accordingly. You know the proverb?

Mr. A. (removing the handkerchief). You have fairly earned your release.
By the way, do you remember an old paradox upon this subject, "What
nobody cares to give away, yet nobody wishes to keep?"

Miss E. Ah! now you have let out the secret. I certainly don't wish
to keep mine for long together, but I would willingly give it away if
I could get a better.

Miss B. Tell me your guess. (Miss E. whispers.) Yes, you have hit it.
I was afraid Mr. A.'s last "light" was rather too strong.

And so the game goes on, until every player is in the secret, or the
few who may be still in the dark "give it up" and plead for mercy.
This, however, is a rare occurrence, for, as the company in general
become acquainted with the secret, the "lights" are flashed about in
a rash and reckless manner, till the task of guessing becomes almost
a matter of course to an ordinarily acute person.



CHAPTER VII

CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS

CHARADES: "CICERO"--"ATTENUATE"--SUGGESTED WORDS--"METAPHYSICIAN"--
CHARADES ON THE GRECIAN ISLANDS


ACTING CHARADES

In some form or other the game of charades is played in almost every
country under the sun. In acting charades the characters and situation
are made to represent a play upon a word or words by portraying some
feature which vividly brings such word or words to the mind.

Here is a popular one: Send one-half the company out of the room, into
another which may be separated by double doors; portieres are best for
the purpose. The party in the inner room think of some word which can
be represented entire, in pantomime or tableau, and proceed to enact
it. After they have made up, the door opens, and discloses half a dozen
girls standing in a line, while one of the acting party announces that
this striking tableau represents the name of a famous orator. The
others failing to guess are told that Cicero (Sissy-row) is the orator
represented.

Again, just as the clock strikes ten, the doors opening reveal a lady
eating an apple or any convenient edible, while a gentleman who stands
near points to the clock and then at her. This being correctly guessed
to represent "attenuate" (at ten you ate), the other side goes from
the room and the previous performers become the audience.

There are a host of words which with a little ingenuity may be turned
to account. For example:

Ingratiate. (In gray she ate.) Catering. (Kate. Her ring.) Hero. (He
row.) Tennessee. (Ten, I see.) The following are also good charade
words: Knighthood, penitent, looking-glass, hornpipe, necklace,
indolent, lighthouse, Hamlet, pantry, phantom, windfall, sweepstake,
sackcloth, antidote, antimony, pearl powder, kingfisher, football,
housekeeping, infancy, snowball, definite, bowstring, carpet, Sunday,
Shylock, earwig, matrimony, cowhiding, welcome, friendship,
horsemanship, coltsfoot, bridegroom, housemaid, curl-papers, crumpet.

We will take the word "windfall," as affording a ready illustration
of the pantomime charade. "Wind" may be represented by a German band,
puffing away at imaginary ophicleides and trombones, with distended
cheeks and frantic energy, though in perfect silence. "Fall" may be
portrayed by an elderly gentleman with umbrella up, who walks
unsuspectingly on an ice slide and falls. The complete word "windfall"
may be represented by a young man sitting alone, leaning his elbows
on his hands, and having every appearance of being in the last stage
of impecuniosity. To produce this effect, he may go through a pantomime
of examining his purse and showing it empty, searching his pockets and
turning them one by one inside out, shaking his head mournfully and
sitting down again, throwing into his expression as much despair as
he conveniently can. A letter carrier's whistle is heard; a servant
enters with a legal-looking letter. The impecunious hero, tearing it
open, produces from it a roll of stage banknotes, and forthwith gives
way to demonstrations of the most extravagant delight, upon which the
curtain falls.

In another the curtain rises (i.e., the folding-doors are thrown open),
and a placard is seen denoting, "This is Madison Square," or any other
place where professional men congregate. Two gentlemen in out-door
costumes cross the stage from opposite sides and bow gravely on passing
each other, one of them saying, as they do so, "Good morning, doctor."
The curtain falls, and the audience are informed that the charade,
which represents a word of six syllables, is complete in that scene.
When the spectators have guessed or been told that the word is
"met-a-physician," the curtain again rises on precisely the same scene,
and the same performance, action for action, and word for word, is
repeated over again. The audience hazard the same word "metaphysician"
as the answer, but are informed that they are wrong--the word now
represented having only three syllables, and they ultimately discover
that the word is "metaphor" (met afore).

In another charade is seen a little toy wooden horse, such as can be
bought for fifty cents. The spectators are told that this forms a word
of two syllables, representing an island in the Aegean Sea. If the
spectators are well up in ancient geography, they may possibly guess
that Delos (deal hoss) is referred to. The curtain falls, and again
rises on the same contemptible object, which is now stated to represent
a second island in the same part of the world. The classical reader
will at once see that Samos (same hoss) is intended. Again the curtain
rises on the representation of an island. Two little wooden horses now
occupy the scene, Pharos (pair 'oss) being the island referred to.
Once more the curtain rises, this time on a group of charming damsels,
each reclining in a woebegone attitude, surrounded by pill boxes and
physic bottles, and apparently suffering from some painful malady.
This scene represents a word of three syllables, and is stated to
include all that has gone before. Cyclades (sick ladies), the name of
the group to which Delos, Samos and Pharos belong, is of course the
answer.

A comical charade is a performance representing the word "imitation."
The spectators are informed that the charade about to be performed can
be exhibited to only one person at a time. One person is accordingly
admitted into the room in which the actors are congregated. The unhappy
wight stares about him with curiosity, not unmingled with apprehension,
fearing to be made the victim of some practical joke; nor is his comfort
increased by finding that his every look or action is faithfully copied
by each person present. This continues until he has either guessed or
given up the word, when a fresh victim is admitted, and the new initiate
becomes in turn one of the actors. Sometimes, however, the victim
manages to turn the laugh against his persecutors. We have known a
young lady, seeing through the joke, quietly take a chair and remain
motionless, reducing the matter to a simple trial of patience between
herself and the company.



CHAPTER VIII

CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS

LIVING PICTURES--TABLEAUX: DIGNITY AND IMPUDENCE--SAILOR'S FAREWELL--HOME
AGAIN--VARIOUS TABLEAUX


LIVING PICTURES

There are few better amusements for a large party in the same house,
with plenty of time on their hands, than the organization of _tableaux
vivants,_ or living representations. Tableaux, to be successfully
represented, demand quite as much attention to detail as a theatrical
performance, and scarcely less careful rehearsal. The first element
of success is a competent stage manager. His artistic taste should be
beyond all question, and his will should be law among the members of
his corps. The essentials of a "living picture" are very much the same
as those of a picture of the inanimate description, viz., form, color
and arrangement. If, therefore, you can secure for the office of stage
manager a gentleman of some artistic skill, by all means do so, as his
technical knowledge will be found of the greatest possible service.

Before proceeding to plan your series of pictures, it will be necessary
to provide the "frame" in which they are to be exhibited. If the room
which you propose to use has folding doors, they will of course be
used. A curtain, preferably of some dark color, should be hung on each
side, and a lambrequin or valance across the top. Where circumstances
admit, the directions we give elsewhere as to the construction of a
stage and proscenium for private theatricals may be followed with
advantage. In any case, a piece of fine gauze should be carefully
stretched over the whole length and depth of the opening. This is
found, by producing softer outlines, materially to enhance the pictorial
effect. If it is practicable to have a raised stage, it will be found
of great addition. Where this cannot be arranged, it is well to place
a board, six inches in width, and covered with the same material as
the rest of the frame, across the floor (on edge) from side to side,
in the position which the footlights would ordinarily occupy.

The next consideration will be the curtain. The ordinary domestic
curtains, hung by rings from a rod or pole, and opening in the middle,
will serve as a makeshift; but where a really artistic series of
tableaux is contemplated, the regular stage curtain of green baize is
decidedly to be preferred.

The question of "background" will be the next point to be considered.
_Tableaux vivants_ may be divided into two classes, the dramatic, i.e.,
representing some incident, e.g., a duel, or a trial in a court of
justice, and the simply artistic, viz., such as portray merely a group,
allegorical or otherwise, without reference to any particular plot or
story. For the former, an appropriate scene is required, varying with
each tableau represented; for the latter, all that is necessary is a
simple background of drapery, of such a tone of color as to harmonize
with, and yet to give full prominence to, the group of actors. The
material of the latter as also the covering of the floor, should be
of woolen or velvet, so as to absorb rather than reflect light. A
lustrous background, as of satin or glazed calico, will completely
destroy the effect of an otherwise effective tableau.

The lighting is a point of very considerable importance--the conditions
appropriate to an ordinary theatrical performance being here reversed.
In an ordinary dramatic performance all shadow is a thing to be avoided,
the point aimed at being to secure a strong bright light, uniformly
distributed over the stage. In a _tableau vivant_, on the contrary,
the skillful manipulation of light and shade is a valuable aid in
producing artistic effect. Footlights should, in this case, either be
dispensed with altogether or at any rate used very sparingly, the
stronger light coming from one or the other side. A good deal of
experiment and some little artistic taste will be necessary to attain
the right balance in this particular. Where gas is available it will
afford the readiest means of illumination. What is called a "string
light," viz., a piece of gaspipe with fishtail burners at frequent
intervals, connected with the permanent gas arrangements of the house
by a piece of india rubber tube, and fixed in a vertical position
behind each side of the temporary proscenium, will be found very
effective; one or the other set of lights being turned up, as may be
necessary. Where a green or red light is desired, the interposition
of a strip of glass of that color, or of a "medium" of red or green
silk or tammy, will give the necessary tone. Colored fires are supplied
for the same purpose, but are subject to the drawback of being somewhat
odoriferous in combustion. Where, as is sometimes the case, a strong
white light is required, this may be produced by burning the end of
a piece of magnesium wire in the flame of an ordinary candle.

These points being disposed of, costume and make-up will be the next
consideration. As to the latter, the reader will find full instructions
in the chapter devoted to private theatricals. With respect to costume,
as the characters are seen for only a few moments, and in one position,
this point may be dealt with in a much more rough-and-ready manner
than would be advisable in the case of a regular dramatic performance.
The royal crown need only be golden, the royal robe need only be trimmed
with ermine-on the side toward the spectators; indeed, the proudest
of sovereigns, from the audience point of view, may, as seen from the
rear, be the humblest of citizens. Even on the side toward the
spectators a great deal of "make believe" is admissible. Seen through
the intervening gauze, the cheapest cotton velvet is equal to the
richest silk; glazed calico takes the place of satin; and even the
royal ermine may be admirably simulated by tails of black worsted
stitched on a ground of flannel. Lace may be manufactured from cut
paper, and a dollar's worth of tinsel will afford jewels for a congress
of sovereigns. Of course, there is not the least objection to his
wearing a crown of the purest gold, or diamonds of the finest possible
water (if he can get them), but they will not look one whit more
effective than the homely substitutes we have mentioned.

A "ghost effect" may, where necessary, be produced by the aid of a
magic lantern; the other lights of the tableau being lowered in order
to give sufficient distinctness to the reflection.

Dramatic tableaux may often be exhibited with advantage in two or more
"scenes"; the curtain being lowered for a moment in order to enable
the characters to assume a fresh position. Examples of this will be
found among the tableaux which follow.

Having indicated the general arrangements of _tableaux vivants_, we
append, for the reader's assistance, a selection of effective subjects,
both simply pictorial and dramatic.

I. DIGNITY AND IMPUDENCE.

(With background of plain drapery, remaining unchanged.)

A magnificent flunkey, in a gorgeous suit of livery, standing, with
left hand on hip, right hand in breast, side by side with a very small
and saucy "boy in buttons," upon whom he looks down superciliously.
Boy with both hands in trouser pockets and gazing up at his companion
with an expression of impertinent familiarity.

II. THE FORTUNE-TELLER

A pretty girl, in simple outdoor costume, standing sideways to the
spectators, with downcast eyes and a half-smiling, half-frightened
expression. The fortune-teller faces her and holds the young lady's
right hand in her left, while her own right hand holds a coin with
which she is apparently tracing the lines of the young lady's palm,
at the same time gazing with an arch expression into her face, as
though to note the effect of her predictions. The fortune-teller should
be in gipsy costume, a short, dark skirt and a hood of some brighter
material thrown carelessly over her head. She should be of a swarthy
complexion, with a good deal of color and jet-black hair.

III. FAITH

A large cross, apparently of white marble (really of deal, well washed
with whitening and size) occupies a diagonal position across the center
of the stage, facing slightly toward the left. Its base or plinth is
formed of two or three successive platforms or steps of the same
material. At the foot a woman kneels, clasping her arms around the
cross, as though she had just thrown herself into that position in
escaping from some danger. Her gaze should be directed upward. A loose
brown robe and hood, the latter thrown back off the head, will be the
most appropriate costume. Magnesium light from above.

IV. HOPE

A female figure, clothed in sober gray, and seated on a very
low stool, facing right and gazing heavenward. (If a "sky" background
is procurable, a single star should be visible, and should be the
object of her gaze.) Her right elbow rests upon her right knee, and
her right hand supports her chin. Her left hand hangs by her side, and
at her feet lies the emblematic anchor. Red light, not too strong.

V. CHARITY

A ragged boy, barefooted and clasping a wornout broom, sits huddled
on the ground left, but facing right. His arms are folded and rest on
his knees, and his head is bent down upon them, so as to hide his face.
A girl, in nun's costume, is touching him on the shoulder, and
apparently proffering help and sympathy.

VI. SINGLE LIFE

Scene, a tolerably well-furnished but untidy sitting-room, with numerous
traces of bachelor occupation, such as crossed foils on the wall, a
set of boxing-gloves under a side table, boots, hats and walking-sticks
lying about in various directions. On one corner of the table some one
has apparently breakfasted in rather higgledy-piggledy fashion. Near
the table sits a young man, with a short pipe in his mouth and one
foot bare, while he is endeavoring to darn an extremely dilapidated
sock.

VII. THE SAILOR'S FAREWELL

Scene, a cottage home. A young man, in sailor costume and with a bundle
on his shoulder, stands with his right hand on the latch of the door,
right center, but looking back with a sorrowful expression at his
wife--personated by a young lady in short black or blue skirt, red or
white blouse, and white mob-cap--who sits with her apron up to her
eyes in an apparent agony of grief. Three children are present, the
two elder crying for sympathy, the youngest sitting in a crib or cradle
and amusing himself with some toy, in apparent unconsciousness of his
father's approaching departure. Soft blue light from left. Music, "The
Minstrel Boy."

VIII. HOME AGAIN.

The same scene. Children a couple of years older. (This may be effected
by suppressing the youngest and introducing a fresh eldest, as much
like the others as possible.) The sailor of the last scene, slightly
more tanned, and with a fuller "made-up" beard, has apparently just
entered. The wife has both arms round his neck, her face being hidden
in his bosom. Of the children, the eldest has seized and is kissing
her father's hand, while the two younger each cling round one leg.
Soft red light. Music, "A Lass that Loves a Sailor," or "When Johnny
Comes Marching Home Again."

VARIOUS TABLEAUX

We subjoin a list of favorite subjects, leaving their actual arrangement
to the taste and intelligence of the reader. It will usually be safe
to follow the hints in good illustrations.

"Choosing the Wedding Gown." A charming scene after Mulready, from the
"Vicar of Wakefield."

"William Penn Signing the Treaty with the Indians."

"The Drunkard's Home," "Signing the Pledge," "The Temperance Home."
See some good illustrations.

"Mary Queen of Scots and the Four Maries."

"Mr. Pecksniff Dismissing Tom Pinch."

"The Song of the Shirt."

"Little Red Riding-Hood."

"The Duel from the 'Corsican Brothers.'"

"Heloise in Her Cell."

"William Tell Shooting the Apple From His Son's Head," etc., etc., etc.



CHAPTER IX.

CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS

WAX WORKS GALLERY: MRS. JARLEY'S COLLECTION--CHINESE GIANT--TWO-HEADED
GIRL--CAPTAIN KIDD--CELEBRATED DWARF--YANKEE--CANNIBAL, ETC.


The idea is that of a waxwork exhibition, the characters being
personated, after a burlesque fashion, by living performers. Each
"figure" is first duly described by the exhibitor, and then "wound up"
and made to go through certain characteristic movements.

The collection is supposed to be that of the far-famed Mrs. Jarley,
of "Old Curiosity Shop" celebrity. She may be assisted, if thought
desirable, by "Little Nell" and a couple of manservants, John and
Peter. The costume of Mrs. Jarley is a black or chintz dress, bright
shawl and huge bonnet; that of Little Nell may be a calico dress and
white apron, with hat slung over her arm. John and Peter may be dressed
in livery suits, and should be provided with watchman's rattle,
screwdriver, hammer, nails and oil-can. At the rise of the curtain the
figures are seen ranged in a semicircle at the back of the stage, and
Little Nell is discovered dusting them with a long feather brush. Mrs.
Jarley stands in front, and delivers her descriptive orations, directing
her men to bring forward each figure before she describes it. After
having been duly described, the figure is "wound" up, and goes through
its peculiar movement, and when it stops it is moved back to its place.

If the stage is small, or it is desired that the same actors shall
appear in various characters in succession, the figures may be exhibited
in successive groups or compartments, the curtain being lowered to
permit one party to retire and another to take their places. After the
whole of the figures of a given chamber have been described, the
assistants wind them all up, and they go through their various movements
simultaneously, to a pianoforte accompaniment, which should gradually
go faster, coming at last to a sudden stop, when the figures become
motionless and the curtain falls.

Mrs. Jarley may be made a silent character, sitting on one side, and
occasionally making believe to dust or arrange a figure, while the
"patter" is delivered by a male exhibitor. Or Mrs. Jarley may, if
preferred, be suppressed altogether, and the exhibitor appear as (say)
Artemus Ward, or in ordinary evening costume, without assuming any
special character. A good deal of fun may be made of the supposed
tendency of any particular figure to tip over, and the application,
by John and Peter, of wooden wedges, penny pieces, etc., under its
feet to keep it upright. Supposed defective working, causing the figure
to stop suddenly in the middle of its movements, and involving the
rewinding or oiling of its internal mechanism, will also produce a
good deal of amusement. The "winding up" may be done with a bed-winch,
a bottle-jack key, or the winch of a kitchen range, the click of the
mechanism being imitated by means of a watchman's rattle, or by the
even simpler expedient of drawing a piece of hard wood smartly along
a notched stick. (This, of course, should be done out of sight of the
audience.) The movement of the figure should be accompanied by the
piano, to a slow or lively measure, as may be most appropriate.

The arrangement being complete and the curtain raised, Mrs. Jarley
delivers her opening speech, about as follows:

"Ladies and gentlemen, you here behold Mrs. Jarley, one of the most
remarkable  women of the world, who has traveled all over the country
with her curious Collection of Waxworks. These figures have been
gathered, at great expense, from every clime and country, and are here
shown together for the first time. I shall describe each one of them
for your benefit, and, after I have given you their history, I shall
have each one of them wound up, for they are all fitted with clockwork
inside, and they can thus go through the same motions they did when
living. In fact, they execute their movements so naturally that many
people have supposed them to be alive; but I assure you that they are
all made of wood and wax--blockheads every one.

"Without further prelude, I shall now introduce to your notice each
one of my figures, beginning, as usual, with the last one first."

I. THE CHINESE GIANT

A MAN OR WOMAN STANDING ON A HIGH STOOL, CHINTZ SKIRT AROUND THE WAIST,
LONG ENOUGH TO HIDE THE STOOL, CHINESE OVERDRESS, HAT, PIG-TAIL AND
MOUSTACHE

"This figure is universally allowed to be the tallest figure in my
collection; he originated in the two provinces of Oolong and Shanghi,
one province not being long enough to produce him. On account of his
extreme length it is impossible to give any adequate idea of him in
one entertainment, consequently he will be continued in our next.

"He was the inventor, projector and discoverer of Niagara Falls,
Bunker's Hill Monument and the Balm of Columbia. In fact, everything
was originally discovered by him or some other of the Chinese. The
portrait of this person, who was a high dignitary among them, may be
often seen depicted on a blue china plate, standing upon a bridge,
which leans upon nothing, at either end, and intently observing two
birds which are behind him in the distance.

"John, wind up the Giant."

The Giant bows low, then wags his head three times and bows as before,
and after a dozen motions slowly stops.

"You will observe that I have spared no expense in procuring wonders
of every sort, and here is my crowning effort or masterpiece--"

II. THE TWO-HEADED GIRL

"A remarkable freak of nature, which impresses the beholder with silent
awe. Observe the two heads and one body. See these fair faces, each
one lovelier than the other. No one can gaze upon them without a double
sensation 'of sorrow and of joy'--sorrow that such beauty and grace
were ever united, and joy that he has had the pleasure of contemplating
their union.

"Wind them up, Peter."

This figure is made by two young ladies standing back to back, wrapped
in one large skirt. They hold their arms out, with their hands hanging,
and slowly revolve when they are wound up.

III. THE SEWING-WOMAN

"John, bring out the Sewing-Woman, and let the ladies behold the
unfortunate seamstress who died from pricking her finger with a needle
while sewing on Sunday. You see that the work which she holds is stained
with gore, which drips from her finger onto the floor. (Which is
poetry!) This forms a sad and melancholy warning to all heads of
families immediately to purchase the best sewing-machines, for this
accident never could have happened had she not been without one of
those excellent machines, such as no family should be without."

Costume: Optional.

When wound up, the figure sews very stiffly and stops slowly.

IV. CAPTAIN KIDD AND HIS VICTIM

"Ladies and Gentlemen: Permit me to call your attention to this
beautiful group, which has lately been added, at an enormous expense,
to my collection. You here behold the first privateer and the first
victim of his murderous propensities. Captain Kidd, the robber of the
main, is supposed to have originated somewhere down east. His whole
life being spent upon the stormy deep, he amassed an immense fortune,
and buried it in the sand along the flower-clad banks of Cape Cod, by
which course he invented the savings banks, now so common along shore.
Having hidden away so much property, which, like so many modern
investments, never can be unearthed, he was known as a great
_sea-cretur_. Before him kneels his lovely and innocent victim, the
Lady Blousabella Infantina, who was several times taken and murdered
by this bloodthirsty tyrant, which accounts for the calm look of
resignation depicted upon her lovely countenance.

"Wind 'em up, John."

Costumes: Captain Kidd--white pantaloons, blue shirt, sailor hat, pistol
and sword.

Victim--Lady with flowing hair, white dress. Movement--The captain's
sword moves up and down, and the victim's arms go in unison.

V. THE SIAMESE TWINS

Two gentlemen dressed alike in ordinary costume, with a large bone
(attached by wire or string) between them. One arm of each over the
other's neck. Pugnacious expression of countenance.

"The wonderful Siamese Twins compose the next group. These remarkable
brothers lived together in the greatest harmony, though there was
always a bone of contention between them. They were never seen apart,
such was their brotherly fondness. They married young, both being
opposed to a single life. The short one is not quite so tall as his
brother, although their ages are about the same. One of them was born
in the Island of Borneo, the other on the southern extremity of Cape
Cod."

When wound up they begin to fight, continue for a moment and stop
suddenly.

VI. THE CELEBRATED DWARF

BOY WITH RED CLOAK, LONG WHITE WIG, BOWL AND SPOON

"This wonderful child has created some interest in the medical and
scientific world, from the fact that he was thirteen years old when
he was born, and kept on growing older and older until he died, at the
somewhat advanced age of two hundred and ninety-seven, in consequence
of eating too freely of pies and cakes, his favorite food. He measured
exactly two feet and seven inches from the crown of his head to the
sole of his foot, and two feet and ten inches back again. Was first
discovered ten miles from any land and twelve miles from any water,
making the enormous total of ninety-one, which figure was never before
reached by any previous exhibition. Wind him up, John."

Dwarf eats very stiffly with a large spoon in his right hand; in his
left hand he holds a bowl, which falls on the floor after a moment and
is broken.

"John, get your tools and screw up that dwarf's hand, for it has become
so loose that it costs a fortune for the crockery he breaks."

John screws up the hand, gets a new bowl, and again winds up the figure,
which now moves with much greater energy.

VII. THE VOCALIST

"Bring out the Vocalist. I now call your attention to the most costly
of all my figures. This wonderful automaton singer represents Signorina
Squallini, the unrivaled vocalist, whose notes are current in every
market, and sway all hearts at her own sweet will.

"Wind her up and let her liquid notes pour forth."

She gesticulates wildly, and sings a few notes in a very extravagant
manner, then stops with a hoarse sound.

Mrs. J.: "John, this figure needs oiling. Why do you not attend to
your duties better?"

John gets oilcan, which he applies to each ear of the figure, which
strikes a high note and sings with much expression and many trills,
then makes a gurgling sound, as if running down, and suddenly stops
again.

Costume: Evening dress.

VIII. THE YANKEE

Description: A tall, thin man, clean shaven, but for a tuft on chin,
dressed in black, with broad-brimmed straw hat. He is seated on a low
rocking-chair, with his legs resting on the back of another chair. He
holds a wooden stick, which he is whittling with a jackknife.

"You here behold a specimen of our irrepressible, indomitable native
Yankee, who has been everywhere, seen everything and knows everything.
He has explored the arid jungles of Africa, drawn forth the spotted
cobra by his prehensile tail, snowballed the Russian bear on the snowy
slopes of Alpine forests, and sold wooden nutmegs to the unsuspecting
innocents of Patagonia. He has peddled patent medicines in the Desert
of Sahara, and hung his hat and carved his name on the extreme top of
the North Pole. The only difficulty I find in describing him is that
I cannot tell what he cannot do. I will therefore set him in motion,
as he hates to be quiet."

When, wound up he pushes his hat back on his head and begins to whittle.

IX. THE CANNIBAL

"Here you behold a curious cannibal from the Feejee Islands, first
discovered by Captain Cook, who came very near being cooked by him.
In that case, the worthy captain would never have completed his
celebrated voyage round the world. This individual was greatly
interested in the cause of foreign missions. Indeed, he received the
missionaries gladly and gave them a place near his heart. He was finally
converted by a very tough tract-distributor, who had been brought up
in a Bloomsbury boarding-house, and was induced to become civilized.
One of his evidences of a change of life was shown by his statement
that he now had but one wife, like the English. 'What have you done
with the other twelve which you said you had a month ago?' asked the
tract distributor. 'Oh, I have eaten them!' replied the gentle savage.
This cannibal was very fond of children, especially those of a tender
age; he holds in his hand a war-club, with which he prepared his daily
meals, also a warwhoop, which is an original one."

Costume: Brown jersey and drawers, face and hands colored to match,
very short skirt, feather headdress, large rings in nose and ears. One
hand holds a war-club, the other a child's hoop.

Movement: When wound up he brandishes his club and raises hoop to his
mouth.

X. BABES IN THE WOOD

Two men, the bigger the better, one dressed as a very small boy, the
other as a little girl; each holds a penny bun.

"In the next group you behold the Babes in the Wood, who had the
misfortune to have an uncle. This wicked man hired a villain to carry
these babes away into the wood and leave them to wander until death
put an end to their sorrow, and the little robins covered them up with
leaves. These lifelike figures represent the children just after taking
their leaves of the villain. By a master stroke of genius the artist
has shown very delicately that human nature is not utterly depraved,
for the villain has placed in the hand of each of the innocents a penny
bun as a parting present. I have been often asked 'why I did not have
a figure of the villain also added to the group?' but my reply always
is, 'Villains are too common to be any curiosity.'

"Wind 'em up, John."

Each Babe offers to the other a bite of bun alternately.

XI. LITTLE RED RIDING-HOOD

A young lady carrying a basket on her arm. Costume in accordance with
the story.

"Here you behold Little Red Riding-Hood, a model of grand filial
devotion, for she was so fond of her granny that she wandered through
the forest to take the old lady's luncheon, and was eaten by the wolf
for so doing, which is a warning to all children to be careful how
they do much for their grandmothers, unless they are rich and can leave
them something in their wills. This personage was an especial favorite
with children, who love to read about her, and shed tears over her
unhappy fate, although some of them think that had she been as smart
as her dress, she would have been too smart to have mistaken the wolf
for her grandmother, unless she had been a very homely old lady, or
he had been much better looking than most wolves."

When wound up, the figure curtseys and holds out her basket.

XII. LADY WITH GOLDEN LOCKS

Young lady with long hair, flowing over her shoulders, holds bottle
(labelled Mrs. Blank's Hair Restorer) and curling-tongs.

"This is one of the most expensive of my costly collection, for blonde
hair is very high, and you see how heavy and long are the golden locks
which adorn her beautiful face. I cannot pass this figure without
saying a few words in praise of the wonderful hair restorer, for this
image had grown so bald from the effect of long journeys by road or
rail that she was exhibited for two years as the Old Man of the
Mountain. One bottle of this wonderful fluid, however, restored her
hair to its present growth and beauty, and a little of the fluid being
accidentally spilled upon the pine box in which the figure was carried,
it immediately became an excellent hair trunk."



CHAPTER X.

CHURCH AND SCHOOL SOCIALS

ART EXHIBITIONS--LIST OF EXHIBITORS--"ARTISTS"--CURIOSITIES--EXPLANATIONS--
SUGGESTIONS


"ART" EXHIBITION

The elaborate "sell" which goes by this name used to be a regular
institution in church bazaars and might well be rejuvenated as a
novelty.

A regular printed catalogue is got up, containing apparently the names
of a collection of pictures or sculptures, each object duly numbered
and with the name of the artist appended. In some instances the name
of a (supposed) picture is followed by an appropriate quotation in
poetry or prose, after the orthodox fashion of art galleries. We append,
by way of illustration, a selection from the catalogue of a collection
which has met with great success: EXHIBITION OF THE WORKS OF LIVING
ARTISTS

PART I. WORKS OF ART

1. Horse Fair After Rosa Bonheur.
2. A Brush With a Cutter Off Deal Carpenter.
3. Caught in a Squall Off Yarmouth Fisher.
4. The Last of Poor Dog Tray Barker.
5. "He Will Return, I Know He Will" Lent by the Trustees of the Parish.
6. The Midnight Hour. C. Lock.
7. Heroes of Waterloo. Schumacher.
8. True to the Core. C. Odling.
9. "Spring, Spring, Beautiful Spring!" Mayne.
10. "Tears, Idle Tears." Strong.
11. The Midnight Assassin. F. Sharpe.
12. The Dripping Well. T. Inman.
13. Family Jars. Potter.
14. Never Too Late to Mend. S. Titch.
15. Past Healing. Kobler.
16. The First Sorrow. Smalchild.
17. Saved. S. Kinflint
18. Lost
19. First Love. Sweet.
20. The Death of the Camel. After Goodall.
21. His First Cigar. A. Young.
22. A Good Fellow Gone. M. I. Slade.
23. Portrait of a Gentleman. Anonymous.
24. Portrait of a Lady. Anonymous.
25. Our Churchwardens. Screw.
26. Portraits of the Reigning Sovereigns of Europe. (Taken by special
order). G. P. O.
27. Waifs of Ocean. Fish. "Strange things come up to look at us, The
Monsters of the deep."
28. The Last Man. Unknown.
29. Contribution from the Celebrated Sheepsbanks Collection. Butcher.
30. The Light of Other Days. Dimm.
31. The Meet of Her Majesty's Hounds. Pratt.
32. Water Scene. "And I hear Those waters rolling from the mountain
springs With a sweet inland murmur."
33. The Maiden's Joy. Bachelor.
34. The Fall. Adam.
35. Motherhood.

  "She laid it where the sunbeams fall
  Unscanned upon the broken wall,
  Without a tear, without a groan,
  She laid it near a mighty stone
  Which some rude swain had haply cast
  Thither in sports, long ages past.
  There in its cool and quiet bed,
  She set her burden down and fled;
  Nor flung, all eager to escape,
  One glance upon the perfect shape
  That lay, still warm and fresh and fair,
  But motionless and soundless there."
  --C. S. Calverley.

36. A Friendly Party on Hampstead Heath. Moke.
37. Borrowed Plumes. Wigg.
38. Out for the Night. Anonymous.
39. Something to Adore. Anonymous.
40. The Weaned Grinder. Mayne Force. "Change and decay in all around
I see."
41. Repentance. G. Templar.
42. Maggie's Secret. Rossetter.
43. Somebody's Luggage. S. Canty.
44. Eusebius. B. Linkers.
45. Happy Childhood. Wackford Squeers.
46. Not Such a Fool as He Looks. The Exhibitor.
47. A Choice Collection of Old China.
48. A Fine Specimen of Local Quartz Discovered in the Possession of a
Workman.
During the Building of the New Town Hall.
49. The Skull of the Last of the Mohicans.
50. A Marble Group.
51. Bust.
52. The Puzzle.
53. The Instantaneous Kid Reviver.
54. The Earnest Entreaty.

EXPLANATION

Anyone not in the secret, perusing the above catalogue, would naturally
conclude that the descriptions referred to pictorial art of some kind
or other. But such is by no means the case. The visitor, on being
admitted, finds, in place of the expected pictures, shelves or tables
on which are arranged sundry very commonplace objects, each bearing
a numbered ticket. On close examination he finds that the numbers
correspond with those in the catalogue, and that No. 1, "Horse
Fair"--fare--is represented after a realistic fashion by a handful of
oats and a wisp of hay. No. 2, which he expected to find a spirited
marine sketch, is in reality only a toothbrush lying beside a
jack-plane; while the supposed companion picture, "Caught in a Squall
Off Yarmouth," is represented by a red herring. No. 4, "The Last of
Poor Dog Tray," is a sausage, and the exhibitor particularly begs that
no gentleman will on any account whistle while passing this picture.
No. 5, "He Will Return, I Know He Will," presumably the agonized cry
of a forsaken maiden, is in reality a poor-rate collector's paper,
marked "Fifth application." No. 6 is represented by a numbered ticket
only, with no object attached to it. The exhibitor explains that "The
Midnight Hour" has not yet arrived, but that any gentleman who likes
to wait till it does (which will be at twelve o'clock punctually), is
very welcome to do so. The "Heroes of Waterloo," Wellington and Blucher,
No. 7, are represented by a couple of boots known by those distinguished
names. 8, "True to the Core," is a rosy-cheeked apple. 9 is a coil of
watch spring. 10, "Tears, Idle Tears," on which the exhibitor feelingly
expatiates as a noble example of the imaginative in art, is an onion.
The space dedicated to No. 11 is occupied by the numbered ticket only,
the exhibitor explaining that "The Midnight Assassin" (who is stated
to be a large and lively flea) has strolled away and is wandering at
large about the room; and he adds an entreaty that any lady or gentleman
who may meet with him will immediately return him to his place in the
collection. "The Dripping Well" (No. 12) proves to be of the description
more usually known as a dripping-pan. "Family Jars," by Potter, is
found to consist of a pickle jar and jam pot. No. 14, "Never Too Late
to Mend," is a boot patched all over; while 15, "Past Healing," is its
fellow, too far gone to admit of like renovation. "The First Sorrow"
is a broken doll. "Saved" is a money box, containing twopence halfpenny,
mostly in farthings. The next is a vacant space, over which the
exhibitor passes with the casual remark, "No. 18, as you will observe,
is unfortunately lost." No. 19, "First Love," is a piece of taffy. 20,
"The Death of the Camel," is a straw, labeled "the last," and the
exhibitor explains that this is the identical straw that broke the
camel's back. "His First Cigar" is a mild Havana of brown paper. "A
Good Fellow Gone" is suggested, rather than represented, by an odd
glove. Nos. 23 and 24 are represented by two small mirrors, which are
handed to a lady and a gentleman respectively, with a few appropriate
remarks as to the extreme success of the likenesses, coupled with
critical remarks as to the "expression" in each case. "Our
Churchwardens" are a pair of long clay pipes. No. 26, "Portraits of
the Reigning Sovereigns of Europe," are represented by a few cancelled
foreign postage stamps. "The Monsters of the Deep," in No. 27, are
represented by a periwinkle and a shrimp. "The Last Man" (No. 28), is
at present missing from his place in the collection, but the exhibitor
explains that he will be seen going out just as the exhibition closes.
The "Contribution from the Sheepshanks Collection" (29), is a couple
of mutton bones; while "The Light of Other Days" (30) is an
old-fashioned lantern and tinder box. "The Meet (meat) of Her Majesty's
Hounds" is a piece of dog biscuit. No. 32 is a leaky can of water.
"The Maiden's Joy" (obviously) is a wedding ring. "The Fall" is a
lady's veil. No. 35, "Motherhood," is the gem of the collection, and
should be kept carefully hidden (say by a handkerchief thrown over it)
until the company have had time to read and appreciate Mr. Caverley's
graceful lines, when the veil is removed, and behold--an egg! No. 36,
"A Friendly Party on Hampstead Heath," is represented by three toy
donkeys. "Borrowed Plumes" are represented by a lady's false front.
"Out for the Night" is an extinguished candle. "Something to Adore"
is a rusty bolt. "The Wearied Grinder" is a back tooth of somebody's
very much the worse for wear. "Repentance" (No. 41) is represented by
a smashed hat and a bottle of sodawater. "Maggie's Secret" is a gray
hair, labeled "Her First." No. 43, "Somebody's Luggage," consists of
a broken comb and a paper collar. "Eusebius" is a pair of spectacles.
"Happy Childhood" is indicated by a lithe and "swishy" cane. When the
company arrive at No. 46, the corresponding object is apparently
missing. The exhibitor refers to his notes and says: "46--46? I see
they have written down against No. 46, 'The Exhibitor,' but I don't
see quite what they mean. Suppose we pass on to the curiosities, ladies
and gentlemen." No. 47 is merely some smashed crockery, and No. 48 a
pewter quart pot. No. 49 is again a vacant space, and the exhibitor
explains that "The Last of the Mohicans" has just gone home to his
tea, and has taken his skull with him. No. 50 is, as its name implies,
a group of marbles, of the school boy character. No. 51 is a paper bag
of peas, and, being too full, has "bust." "The Puzzle" (No. 52) is an
old guide book. "The Instantaneous Kid Reviver" is a baby's feeding
bottle; and the "Earnest Entreaty" is the request of the exhibitor
that the visitors will recommend the collection to their friends.

If the "showman" be possessed of a good fund of talk and a dash of dry
humor, the fun of the collection may be still further enhanced by his
explanations and criticisms of the various objects. Poor Artemus Ward's
celebrated lecture is an excellent model to copy; indeed, many of his
"bits" may be stolen bodily with very satisfactory result. Even without
the aid of a showman, the comparison of the poetical descriptions and
the sober reality will produce a good deal of fun; but, in this case,
the various blanks or vacant spaces to be filled up by explanation
must necessarily be omitted--a good many telling items being thereby
sacrificed.



CHAPTER XI.

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

RAISING THE GHOST--MAGIC LANTERN PICTURES--PHANTASMAGORIA--CHINESE
SHADOWS--WONDERFUL MIRROR--MULTIPLIED MONEY


RAISING A GHOST

Place a small magic lantern in a box large enough to contain a small
swing dressing-glass, which will reflect the light thrown on it by the
lantern in such a way that it will pass out at the aperture made at
the top of the box, which aperture should be oval and of a size adapted
to the cone of light to pass through it. There should be a flap with
hinges, to cover the opening, that the inside of the box may not be
seen. There must be holes in that part of the box which is over the
lantern, to let out the smoke; and over this must be placed a
chafing-dish, of an oblong figure, large enough to hold several lighted
coals. This chafing-dish, for the better carrying on the deception,
may be inclosed in a painted tin box, about a foot high, with a hole
at top, and should stand on four feet, to let the smoke of the lantern
escape. There must also be a glass planned to move up and down in the
groove, and so managed by a cord and pulley that it may be raised up
and let down by the cord coming through the outside of the box. On
this glass the spectre (or any other figure you please) must be painted,
in a contracted or squat form, as the figure will reflect a greater
length than it is drawn. When you have lighted the lamp in the lantern
and placed the mirror in a proper direction, put the box on a table,
and, setting the chafing-dish in it, throw some incense in powder on
the coals. You then open the trap door and let down the glass in the
groove slowly, and when you perceive the smoke diminish, draw up the
glass, that the figure may disappear, and shut the trap-door. This
exhibition will afford much wonder. The lights in the room must be
extinguished, and the box should be placed on a high table, that the
aperture through which the light comes out may not be seen.

A MAGIC-LANTERN TRICK

The light of the magic-lantern and the color of images may not only
be painted on a cloth, but also reflected by a cloud of smoke. Provide
a box of wood or pasteboard, about four feet high and seven or eight
inches square at bottom, but diminishing as it ascends, so that its
aperture at the top be but six inches long and half an inch wide. At
the bottom of this box there must be a door that shuts quite close,
by which you are to place in the box a chafing-dish with hot coals,
on which is to be thrown incense, whose smoke goes out in a cloud at
the top of the box; on this cloud you are to throw the light that comes
out of the lantern, and which you bring into a smaller compass by
drawing out the movable tube. In this representation, the motion of
the smoke does not at all change the figures, which appear so
conspicuous that the spectator thinks he can grasp them with his hand.
In the experiment, some of the rays passing through the smoke, the
representation will be much less vivid than on the cloth; and if care
be not taken to reduce the light to its smallest focus, it will be
still more imperfect.

THE PHANTASMAGORIA

In showing the common magic-lantern, the spectators see a round circle
of light with the figures in the middle of it; but in the Phantasmagoria
they see the figures only, without any circle of light. The exhibition
is produced by a magic lantern, placed on that side of a
half-transparent screen which is opposite to that on which the
spectators are, instead of being on the same side, as in the ordinary
exhibition of the magic lantern. To favor the deception, the slides
are made perfectly opaque, except in those places that contain the
figures to be exhibited, and in these light parts the glass is covered
with a more or less transparent tint, according to the effect required.
The easiest way is to draw the figures with water colors on thin paper
and afterward varnish them. To imitate the natural motions of the
objects represented, several pieces of glass placed behind each other
are occasionally employed. By removing the lantern to different
distances, and at the same time altering, more or less distinct, at
the pleasure of the exhibitor; so that, to a person unacquainted with
the effect of optical instruments, these figures appear actually to
advance and recede. Transparent screens for the Phantasmagoria are
prepared by spreading white wax, dissolved in spirits of wine or oil
of turpentine, over thin muslin; a screen so prepared may be rolled
up without injury. A clearer screen may be produced by having the
muslin always strained upon a rectangular frame, and preparing it with
turpentine, instead of wax; but such a screen is not always convenient,
and cannot be rolled without cracking, and becoming in a short time
useless.

CHINESE SHADOWS

In a partition wall cut an aperture of any size; for example, four
feet in length and two in breadth, so that the lower edge may be about
five feet from the floor, and cover it with white Italian gauze,
varnished with gum-copal. Provide several frames of the same size as
the aperture, covered with the same kind of gauze, and delineate upon
the gauze different figures, such as landscapes and buildings, analogous
to the scenes which you intend to exhibit by means of small figures
representing men and animals. These figures are formed of pasteboard,
and their different parts are made movable, according to the effect
intended to be produced by their shadows, when moved backward and
forward behind the frames, at a small distance from them. To make them
act with more facility, small wires, fixed to their movable parts, are
bent backward and made to terminate in rings, through which the fingers
of the hand are put, while the figure is supported on the left by means
of another iron wire. In this manner they may be made to advance or
recede and to gesticulate, without the spectators observing the
mechanism by which they are moved; and as the shadow of these figures
is not observed on the paintings till they are opposite those parts
which are not strongly shaded, they may thus be concealed and made to
appear at the proper moments, and others may be occasionally substituted
in their stead.

It is necessary, when the figures are made to act, to speak a dialogue,
suited to their gestures, and imitate the noise occasioned by different
circumstances. The paintings must be illuminated from behind by means
of a reverberating lamp, placed opposite to the center of the painting,
and distant from it about four or five feet. Various amusing scenes
may be represented in this manner by employing small figures of men
and animals, and making them move in as natural a way as possible,
which will depend on the address and practice of the person who exhibits
them.

A WONDERFUL MIRROR

Make two openings of a foot high and ten inches wide and about a foot
distant from each other, in the wainscoting of a wall; let them be at
the common height of a man's head; and in each of them place a
transparent glass, surrounded with a frame, like a common mirror.
Behind this partition place two mirrors, one on the outward side of
each opening, inclined to the wainscot at an angle of forty-five
degrees; let them both be eighteen inches square; let all the space
between them be enclosed by boards or pasteboard, painted black and
well closed, that no light may enter; let there be also two curtains
to cover them, which may be drawn aside at pleasure. When a person
looks into one of these supposed mirrors, instead of seeing his own
face he will perceive the object that is in the front of the other;
so that, if two persons present themselves at the same time before
these mirrors, instead of each one seeing himself, they will
reciprocally see each other. There should be a sconce with a candle
or lamp placed on each side of the two glasses in the wainscot, to
enlighten the faces of the persons who look in them, otherwise this
experiment will have no remarkable effect. This recreation may be
considerably improved by placing the two glasses in the wainscot in
adjoining rooms, and a number of persons being previously placed in
one room, when a stranger enters the other, you may tell him his face
is dirty, and desire him to look in the glass, which he will naturally
do; and on seeing a strange face he will draw back; but returning to
it, and seeing another, another and another, what his surprise will
be is more easy to conceive than express.

When one looks in a mirror placed perpendicularly to another, his face
will appear entirely deformed. If the mirror be a little inclined, so
as to make an angle of eighty degrees (that is, one-ninth part from
the perpendicular), he will then see all the parts of his face, except
the nose and forehead; if it be inclined to sixty degrees (that is,
one-third part), he will appear with three noses and six eyes; in
short, the apparent deformity will vary at each degree of inclination;
and when the glass comes to forty-five degrees (that is, half-way
down), the face will vanish. If, instead of placing the two mirrors
in this situation, they are so disposed that their junction may be
vertical, their different inclinations will produce other effects, as
the situation of the object relative to these mirrors is quite
different.

THE DISAPPEARING PAPER

Attach to a dark wall a round piece of paper an inch or two in diameter,
and, a little lower, at the distance of two feet on each side, make
two marks; then place yourself directly opposite to the paper, and
hold the end of your finger before your face in such a manner that
when the right eye is open it shall conceal the mark on the right; if
you then look with both eyes to the end of your finger, the paper,
which is not at all concealed by it from either of your eyes, will,
nevertheless, disappear.

MULTIPLIED MONEY

Take a large drinking-glass, of a conical form, that is, small at
bottom and wide at top, and, having put into it a dime, let it be half
filled with water; then place a plate upon the top of the glass, and
turn it quickly over, that the water may not get out; a piece of silver
as large as half a dollar will immediately appear on the plate, and
somewhat higher up another piece of the size of a dime.

MULTIPLYING SHADOWS

A dummy figure (suppose that of a witch, riding on the conventional
broomstick) is suspended by fine threads or wires on the screen remote
from the spectators. Behind this are ranged, one behind the other, and
at right angles to the screen, a row of lighted candles. Being all in
the same line, they throw one shadow only on the screen. The figure
is now made to oscillate slightly, so as to impart some little motion
to the shadow. One of the candles is now removed from its place in the
row, and waved gently about, now high, now low, the effect to the
spectators being that a second shadow springs out of the first, and
dances about it on the screen. A second and third candle is then
removed, and waved up and down, each candle as it leaves its place in
the line, producing a separate shadow. It is well to have three or
four assistants, each taking a candle in each hand.



CHAPTER XII

TABLE GAMES FOR ADULTS

DOMINOES--BACKGAMMON--CHECKERS--JENKINS--ZOO--STRAY SYLLABLES--CHESS


DOMINOES

At the beginning of the game the dominoes are thoroughly shuffled by
being turned face down and stirred round and round. The players then
draw at random as many bones as the game requires. These dominoes with
which the hand is to be played may stand on their edges in front of
the players or may be held in the hand, or both. It is usual to sort
them into suits as far as possible. The one who has drawn the highest
doublet usually plays or sets first.

The object in dominoes is either to block the game so that the adversary
cannot play or it is to make the two ends when added together equal
to some multiple of a given number, or it is to make both ends of the
line the same. The player first getting rid of all his pieces is
"Domino."

Dominoes are made in sets known by the number of pips on the highest
domino or bone in the set. The standard set is double-sixes and contains
twenty-eight bones. Some persons use double-nines. In the double-six
set there are seven "suits," each named after some number from six to
blank. In each of these suits there are seven bones, but each domino
in a suit, except the doublet, belongs to some other suit as well. The
lower figure on each domino shows the other suit to which it belongs.

All games of dominoes, except matadore, are based on the principle of
following suit or matching. The first player "sets" a certain domino,
and after that each player must play one of the same suit, the suit
called for being always that of the exposed or open end.

BACKGAMMON

The object of each player is to get all his men into his home table,
and as soon as they have all arrived to throw them off the board
altogether. The one that succeeds in doing this first wins the game.
Each of two players has fifteen men, known as black and white, and
each should have his own dice-box. Almost all of the folding checker
boards are marked on the reverse side for backgammon, and the fifteen
men of each color in a checker set are intended for backgammon players.
The two sides of the board nearer the players are called tables, and
the table with only two men on two of the points is called the inner
table. It is also the home table of the player who sits with that side
of the board nearer to him.

It does not matter which way the board is turned, as the arrow points
are alternately light and dark all the way round in either direction,
but it is usual to place the side of the board with only two men on
points nearest the window, so that there shall be a good light on the
home tables. The points in the home tables are known by their numbers,
which correspond to the faces of a die, and are called: ace point,
deuce point, trey point, four point, five point, and six point.

The point immediately across the bar which divides the two tables is
called the "bar point," not because it is next the bar, but because
it bars the two adverse men in your home table from running away with
double sixes if you can "make it up."

CHECKERS

The object of the game is to capture all the opponent's men and remove
them from the board, or else to pin them up in such a manner that he
cannot move. If neither player can accomplish this, the game is drawn.

A board divided into sixty-four squares is used. These are of dark and
light color. Each player receives twelve men, known as white and black.
At the beginning of the game the board is so placed that each player
shall have two of his men touching the edge of the board at his left.
The men are set on the black squares.

The squares upon the board are supposed to be numbered from one to
sixty-four, beginning at the upper left-hand corner upon the side of
the board occupied by the black men.

In giving the moves the first figures are the moves of a black man.
The next figures are the moves of a white man.

As the men never leave the color upon which they are first placed, all
moves must be diagonal. A man can move only one square at a time, and
only to a square which is in front of him diagonally and is not
occupied.

If a square to which a man might move is occupied by an adverse piece,
that piece can be jumped over if there is a vacant square immediately
beyond him. The capturing piece moves to this vacant square, and the
man jumped over is removed from the board. Two or more men may sometimes
be captured simultaneously. When a piece may be captured the player
is obliged to take it. If he does not, his adversary can compel him
to take back his move and make the capture, or can remove from the
board the piece that should have made the capture, or can let the
matter stand. If there are two different captures on the board at the
same time the player can take his choice of them.

JENKINS

Any number of players may play this game, which is common to almost
every nation, and is very interesting. Sides being formed, the players
seat themselves at a table, facing each other. It having been decided
who shall first hold the silver piece, the player who receives it holds
it in his closed hand under the table, as do all the players on his
side, when they receive it, and the piece is passed from hand to hand,
the object being to deceive the opposite players as to its whereabouts.

The captain of the side which has not the coin now calls: "Jenkins
says hands up," and all the hands come up, closed; then "Jenkins says
hands down," and all the hands fall, palms downward, on the table.
There should be much noise to drown the clink of the piece as it falls
on the table.

The opposing side now tries to guess the side which has not the coin.
The captain directs the players who have not the piece to take their
"hands off." None of his side may give this order. Should any do so
the coin is forfeited.

Should the captain make a mistake and call up a hand under which the
coin is hidden, the piece remains with the same side, and the number
of hands still on the table counts for the side which keeps the coin.
If the last hand left on the table covers the piece, it then goes to
the opposing players. It is necessary to set a score. The side which
makes these points wins the game.

BOUQUET

Each guest receives a slip of paper, on which is written the name of
a flower. When all are ready to begin, the hostess gives to each a
sheet of tissue paper of the color needed to make a designated flower;
also two sheets of green paper of different shades.

Thirty minutes are allowed for the making of the flowers. A pair of
scissors and a needle and thread must be given to each guest; also
some mucilage. The flowers are collected and a committee decides who
has made the most perfect flower. The one who has done so receives the
bouquet of flowers made by the guests.

ZOO

The names of animals are given the players. Each receives ten slips
of paper numbered from one to ten. These are arranged irregularly in
a pile. The slips are turned with the faces downward.

The first player turns up his upper slip so that the number is visible
and lays it down in front of him. In doing this, he must turn it away
from himself, so that the other players see it first; the next player
then does the same.

Should two slips coincide in number, they must each at once call each
other's names--the animal names given them. The one who first calls
the other's name gives away his slip to that other person, the object
being to get rid of one's slips as fast as possible. If the slip turned
up by the second player does not correspond in number to that turned
up by the first, he also lays it down in front of him; the third player
then turns his up, and this is continued around the circle until a
slip is turned that corresponds in number with any that has been turned
up, when those two players must immediately call each other's names.
The winner is the one who first gets rid of his slips.

SIMON SAYS

Any number of players seat themselves at a table. Each player makes
a fist of each hand, extending the thumb.

The leader says, "Simon says, 'Thumbs up'!" whereupon he places his
own fist on the table before him, with the thumbs upward. The players
do likewise. When the leader says, "Simon says, 'Thumbs down'," he
turns his own hand over so that the tips of the thumbs touch the table.
The others must imitate him.

He then says, "'My thumb wiggles-waggles." He suits the action to the
word, and the rest repeat his performance.

If at any time the leader omits the words "Simon says," and goes through
the movements only with the words "Thumbs up," "Thumbs down," or
"Wigle-waggle," the players must all keep their hands still and not
imitate his movements. Any player doing this pays a forfeit.

AUTHOR'S INITIALS

Each player writes on a piece of paper groups of words, each group
descriptive of some author, and each word beginning with one of his
initials in regular order. The player who guesses the largest number
of authors wins the game.

Example: Who is the just, gentle writer?

Answer: John Greenleaf Whittier.

Whose stories are read alike by old and young?

Answer: James Fennimore Cooper.

Who was the greatest humorist?

Answer: "Mark Twain."

SKETCHES

The players are provided with sheets of paper and pencils. They then
write a description of some historical character. The object is to
give a description that is truthful, yet misleading, in a way, so as
to make the guessing a little harder.

One player reads his description. The others ask questions that may
be answered by "Yes" and "No." The one guessing correctly reads his
description next.

STRAY SYLLABLES

The same syllable is often seen in different words. You can prove this
by playing the following game: Each player writes several words on a
long strip of paper, leaving spaces between the different words. This
having been done the syllables are cut out and shuffled. Each player
draws three syllables. The guests seat themselves at small tables, and
try to fashion words from the syllables, either using two or three of
them. If it is impossible to do this, they must be returned and others
are taken in their place. Another trial at word-making is given, and
the one who, after a definite time, has made the most words out of his
syllables, wins a prize.

SHAKESPEAREAN ROMANCE

One of Shakespeare's plays is selected, and as many questions are
arranged in connection with it as the writer can think of. These are
given to the players.

Example: About what time of the month were they married?
Answer: Twelfth-Night.

Of whom did they buy the ring?
Answer: Merchant of Venice.

In what kind of a place did they live?
Answer: Hamlet.

PARODIES

Pencils and paper are given the guests, and a subject for the parody
is given. This may be a poem or a story, as selected by the hostess.
The parodies are collected and read. The company decides which is the
best one. To this one a handsome copy of the poem or story is given.

LONDON

On a large, oblong slate draw with a slate pencil a diagram, as follows:
Horizontal lines every two inches across the narrow part of the slate.
Pieces of paper are blown over the diagram toward the top of the slate;
or beans or pieces of chalk may be substituted for the paper. One of
these is called a "chipper." If you use beans, snap them over the
diagram with the fingers. Where the "chipper" stops, draw a mark to
represent a small round "o." This depicts a man's head. The "chipper,"
having been returned to the starting point, is again snapped over the
diagram. This continues until the player has marked a head in each of
the spaces; or should his chipper land a second time in a space in
which he has already marked such a head, he makes a larger round "O"
under the head, to represent the body of a man. The third time it lands
in this place he makes a downward stroke for a leg, and the fourth
time, one for a second leg, which completes the man. Should three
complete men be so drawn in one space, the player, without shooting
again, draws what are called "arms," that is, a horizontal line from
the figure across the space to the outside limit. This occupies the
space completely and keeps the other players out of it. He continues
to play until his "chipper" lands on a line. If this goes beyond the
diagram, the player is "out." Each player takes a turn. He can start,
or complete men, in any space not occupied with three armed men, even
though the former player may have started men in the space or have
completed two of them. A player can build only on his own men. The one
drawing the largest number of spaces with three armed men is the winner.

CHESS

Chess is a game which can only be played by two persons at the same
time. The requisites are a board consisting of 64 squares of alternate
black and white, and 32 pieces of wood, ivory, bone or other
composition, which are technically known as "men." The board is so
placed between the players that a white square is on the extreme right
of each. The "men" are called black and white, there being an equal
number of each. One player takes the white and another the black. Each
division of 16 is composed of a king (the capture of which is the issue
of the game), a queen, 2 rooks or castles, 2 bishops, 2 knights, and
8 pawns. In commencing the game, the rooks are placed on the corner
squares, next to them on each side a knight, next to the knights on
each side a bishop, and then the king and queen. If white, the queen
is placed on the remaining white square, if black, on the remaining
black square, and thus both queens face each other. It is the same
with the kings. The 8 pawns are placed on each side on the squares
immediately in front of the pieces.

The player has the privilege of moving his king into any vacant square
adjacent to one he is occupying, provided it is not already taken by
a piece belonging to his opponent, but he can go no farther. The queen
can be moved in any direction up, down, backwards, forwards, as long
as there is no piece to block her. The same can be done with the rook
or castle, except that it cannot be moved diagonally--The bishop can
only be moved diagonally, in a backward or forward direction. The move
of the knight is a combination of the rook's shortest move, followed
by the bishop's shortest move. It is not hindered by intervening pawns
or pieces. The pawn can only be moved one square at a time, and that
in a forward direction. Another pawn in front of it stops its progress.
A pawn has the power of capturing an opposite pawn in either of the
adjacent squares in advance and diagonally to the right or left of it
when it moves into the square of the one captured. The king is never
captured. When a piece or pawn attacks him he is said to be in check
and the opposite player cries out "Check"! The attacked king is freed
from check by moving him to an adjacent square not occupied by a piece
or pawn of the opposite side, or else by opposing some piece to defend
him from the check. If the player cannot resort to either of these
tactics to save his king he is "checkmated" and loses the game.



CHAPTER XIII

OUTDOOR GAMES FOR ADULTS

LAWN TENNIS--POLO--HOCKEY--GOLF--ARCHERY--RING TOSS--LAWN BOWLS


LAWN TENNIS

A lawn tennis court is a plot of level ground about 26 yards by 9
yards, divided into sections. A net standing 3 1/2 feet high is drawn
across the middle and attached to two posts outside the court on each
side about three feet. The players stand on opposite sides of the net;
the one who first delivers the ball is called the server and the other
the striker-out. At the end of each game they reverse places. The
server wins a stroke if the striker out "volley" the service, that is,
he strike the ball before it touches the ground; or if the ball is
returned by the striker-out, so that it drops outside his opponent's
court, the latter wins the stroke.

The striker-out wins if the server serves two consecutive "faults,"
which consist in sending the ball to the net or outside the lines; or
if the server fail to return the ball in play, the striker-out wins.
Either player loses a stroke if the ball touch him in the act of
striking, if he touches the ball with his racket more than once, if
he touch the net or any of its supports while the ball is in play, or
if he "volley" the ball before it has passed the net.

The player winning the first stroke gets a credit score of 15; for the
second he gets 30; for the third 40, and if he wins the fourth he has
the game. Six games in succession entitle the winner to a _Set_.

For a three-handed or four-handed game the Court requires to be 12
yards in width. In a three-handed game the single player serves every
alternate game. In the four-handed game the pair who have the right
to serve in the first game shall decide which partner shall do so and
the opposing pair shall decide in like manner for the second game. The
partner of the player who served in the first game shall serve in the
third, and the partner of the player who served in the second game
shall serve in the fourth, and the same order is to be observed in all
the succeeding games of the set. If one partner of a double team strikes
at a ball and does not touch it, his partner still has the right to
return it. A player or different member of a team may strike at a ball
as often as he pleases, for it is still in play until hit. The server
must wait until the striker-out is ready for the second service as
well as the first, and if the striker-out claims to be not ready and
makes no effort to return the second service, the server cannot claim
the point, even though the service was good. If a player's racket
touches the net after the ball has struck the latter he does not loose
a point.

The ball is always in play until it has struck the ground outside of
the Court or has touched the inside ground _twice_. A ball is "dead"
the instant it strikes the ground outside of the Court, and the point
must be scored against the side sending the ball there, no matter what
happens _after_ the ball touches the ground.

In selecting a site for a lawn tennis court select a level field. Lay
it out north and south, if possible so as to prevent the rays of the
sun from blinding the players. The court may, or may not, be grassy.
As a general rule, sand courts are preferred. Level the court carefully,
so there will be no gradient or inequality in it. To make a foundation,
use stones pounded into place, and add top-soil to a depth of seven
inches or more. The ground should be often watered and rolled. Sand
is usually mixed with clay for a top soil, as the sand is likely to
give under the running feet. In the case of a grassy court it should
be constantly clipped and in addition rolled once or twice a week to
keep the ground hard and even.

POLO

Polo is a game played from horseback in a large, level field. There
is a goal at each end of the field in the center, the posts ten feet
high and 24 feet apart. The teams are generally four a side, but when
possible a greater number may play. The regular game in this country
for teams of four is of four periods of 15 minutes of actual play each.
To win a goal counts one, and the team having the largest score at the
end wins the match.

The equipment for the game besides the goal posts (which are generally
of wood or papier-mache to prevent serious accidents) are the balls
and mallets. The balls are of willow 3 1/8 inches in diameter, and
weigh 5 ounces. The mallet sticks are of rattan cane, and from 4 to
4 1/2 feet long, set into square heads beveled at the sides and about
8 inches long and 2 wide. The handles are leather-wrapped to insure
a good grip. As to the ponies, no blinkers are used, so that they may
have a clear sight of the field. No rowels or spurs are permitted. The
animals have to be trained for the purpose.

Each of the four players of a side has certain rules to obey governing
his position. It is for Number 1 to watch the opposing back, to ride
him off and clear the way for his own side when they have the ball
going towards the goal. All his energies must be directed to obtaining
a clear field for his side. He requires a fast pony to do the work.

The position of Number 2 is the most independent and the player is
called the "flying man" of the team. He must be an adept in "dribbling"
out the ball so as to get a fair hit at it. As it comes to him from
his side players his part is to race with it, hitting as he gallops,
and in this way make the goal if he can.

It is the duty of Number 3 to help his back when the latter is being
hard pressed and be ready to exchange places with him when the back
gets an opportunity to make a run with the ball.

Number 4 is the real back, for all the others are in front of him and
consequently his is the most important position. He must have a shifty
pony well trained to riding work. He has to defend the goal, and
therefore must be an expert "backhander," that is, quick to send back
the ball to the opposing rank when it comes in the direction of his
goal. It is the place of the back to knock in when the ball goes over
the end line. When he is sure of the half-back player on his side he
may go up into the game and make a leading attack himself, but it is
nearly always well for him to avoid meeting the ball, for if he misses,
the goal is left defenceless.

On the whole, pony polo is an intricate game, and while it is not the
sport of kings, it is only adapted to the people of leisure with whom
time and money are not an object.

HOCKEY

To play hockey a level field is required about 100 yards long and 50
yards wide. The space is marked out in whitewash lines and small flags
are placed at each corner. The long lines are called _side_ lines, and
the shorter ones _goal_ lines. Across the center, 50 yards from either
goal, is the center line. This divides the ground in half. These halves
are again equally divided by 25-yard lines. Five yards inside each
line is marked a dotted line, parallel with the side line, and which
is called the five-yard line.

In the middle of each goal line and 4 yards apart are placed the goal
posts, which are uprights 7 feet high, with a horizontal bar from one
to the other. Fifteen yards in front of each goal is drawn a line 4
yards long, parallel to the goal line; the ends of this line are brought
round in curves to meet the goal line and the space thus inclosed is
called the "striking circle."

The stick and balls are the main requisites of hockey. The sticks are
made of hickory. The better kind have ash blades and cane handles,
such handles giving a spring which sends a clean drive without giving
a jar to the hands. The balls used are about the size and weight of
the average baseball.

Nowadays it is customary to have nets behind the goal posts, so that
it may be definitely determined if there is any dispute whether the
ball went clean through between the goal posts or past the outside of
either.

Hockey requires 22 players, 11 on each side, consisting of 5 forwards,
3 half-backs, 2 full-backs and a goal-keeper. The center forward
stands in the middle of the ground. On her right about 10 yards distant
stands the inside right; the right wing stands between the 5-yard line
and the side line; the inside left and the left wing stand on the left
of the center forward. The half-backs stand 15 yards behind the forward.
The center half takes her place directly in line with the center
forward; the right half covers the two right forwards, while the left
half covers the two left forwards. Behind, on the 25-yard line, stand
the fullbacks, right and left; the goalkeeper stands between the goal
posts about a foot in front of the goal line.

The two center forwards start the game by "bullying off" the ball in
the center of the field; the ball is placed on the center line while
the two forwards stand with a foot on either side of the line facing
each other and standing square to the side line; then the center halves
and left and inside forwards on the blowing of the whistle for the
"bully," close up in order to keep watch, each one ready to take the
ball should it come in her direction. When one of the center forwards
gets the ball she tries to pass it out to either of her own inside
players, who endeavors to "dribble" it up the field until she is
encountered by an opposition player, at which juncture, by a quick
stroke she passes it out to the wing player. It is in this manner, by
keeping a straight course and assisted by their halfbacks that the
forwards by passing and "dribbling" get the ball into the "striking
circle," and when they get it that length it is not a difficult matter
to score a goal.

GOLF

In golf the player strikes a ball in the endeavor to send it to a
particular spot. He is not met with opposition in such endeavor, as
in other ball games, his opponent having also a ball which he, too,
is trying to put into the same spot with fewer strokes. This spot into
which the player tries to put his ball is a small hole in the earth
about 4-1/4 inches in diameter, and the instruments he uses for doing
so are exceedingly varied.

The game commences by a player hitting off from a marked line called
the teeing-ground, the ball in the direction of the first hole. In
a regular golf course there are generally 18 holes, their distance
apart varying from about 100 yards to 500 yards. The smoothly kept
grounds near the holes is called the "putting-greens," and beside
each "putting-green" is a marked teeing-ground. After the ball has
been struck from the "tee" the player must not touch it with his hand
until it is driven into the next hole, out of which he may then take
it and "tee" it on the teeing ground in a good position for the
drive-off to the next hole.

As the holes are widely separated and the ground in many places uneven
and broken up, the ball will be driven into many positions, it will
lie in the grass, in sand pits or bunkers, and in all kinds of holes
and hollows in the rough surface, therefore it will be readily
understood that the distance the ball is sent will vary with the stroke.
It is to meet the difficulties arising from having to strike the ball
in its different positions that so many instruments are called into
requisition for the purpose. The names of the chief sticks and
implements employed in the sport are: driver, brassie, spoon, cleek,
iron, mashie, niblick and putter. The driver, brassie and spoon are
wooden-headed clubs, but the others have always iron heads. The
driver is the club used for striking to the greatest distance when the
ball is on the "tee," that is, on the little mound of sand on which
it is placed at the commencement of each hole, so that more facility
may be had in striking it. The putter is used on the putting--green,
for short strokes round about the holes. The putting--green or ground
surrounding each hole is kept level for about a radius of 20 yards
from the hole. The different sticks or clubs are graded from driver
to putter in accordance with the different lengths of stroke for which
they are designed. For instance, the niblick is a short club for taking
the ball out of difficult positions ("lies") as when the latter gets
into long grass, sand or some other awkward kind of obstruction.

A good driver by well hitting the ball can send it to a distance of
about 200 yards from the tee. If the hole be so far off as to require
a second stroke of equal length he can use the driver again, provided
the ball is on level ground, but it is likely it will not be on such
ground for the second stroke, and in such case the brassie or spoon
is called on to do service. Each of these instruments has the face
that strikes the ball laid back more than in the driver, so that they
can lift it more easily off the ground. If the ball gets into a worse
position, as a bunker or sandpit, the use of the cleek, iron or niblick
will become necessary. The heads of these clubs are adjusted to deal
with difficult "_lies_" that is, positions in which the ball may be
driven. The niblick is used for taking it out of especially bad
situations.

The stroke called the full swing is used with the driver. There are
many other modifications of stroke, such as the three-quarter, the
half and the wrist strokes.

As has been said, the issue of the game depends upon sending the ball
into the holes with fewer strokes than the opposition. Victory is
gained by the side which holes the ball with less strokes. If the sides
hole out in the same number of strokes the hole is halved. A match is
also won by the side which is leading by a number of holes greater
than the number of holes remaining to be played. Thus if Jones has won
six holes and Smith four, and seven holes have been halved, Jones, in
case the round is the ordinary length of 18 holes, will be two holes
up, with only one hole remaining to be played, and therefore he, Jones,
wins the match. This is the general manner of playing the game in a
match, each player playing his own ball.

In what is known as "score" play the relative merits of several can
be tested at the same time. In this kind of play the total score of
each player for all of the 18 holes is added up and the player who has
the lowest total is declared the winner.

ARCHERY

Archery has played an important part in the history of the race from
the very earliest times. Primitive man hurled his stone-pointed arrows
at wild beasts, and as he advanced to a higher state of the observances
of the laws of force he fashioned bows to give a greater impulse to
his missiles. For hundreds of years the bow and arrow constituted the
principal weapon of the chase, and finally became the instrument of
offence and defence for armored knights, warriors and heroes. Robin
Hood, roving the wild woods of Merry England, depended upon it for his
prowess, as did Allan a Dale and Little John. In the early battles it
was the chief weapon, and did effective service. In the battle of
Hastings it decided the issue for William the Conqueror; at Agincourt,
Crecy and Poitiers victory depended on its use. Skilled archers became
famous all over the land, and many were their doughty deeds with the
long bow.

In modern time, however, with the introduction of firearms, archery
declined, until it came to be but a mere memory of the past. The last
century revived it, and to-day it is one of the most popular sports
in England. Americans, too, have taken it up with enthusiasm, and clubs
are interested in it all over the land, the ladies being especially
devoted to it.

In 1879 the first organization of Archery Clubs was formed at
Crawfordsville, Indiana, and the first annual target meeting was held
in Chicago in the same year.

Bows for archery are generally made out of tough soft wood, such as
yew, with a flat outside called the back and a rounded inside called
the belly; they are always strung with latter side inward. Lance wood
is chiefly used in the United States on account of its resistance to
heat. The bow must be easily controlled, and not too heavy. The strain
of drawing a heavy bow is apt to pull the bow hand out of the line of
sight. A 48-pound bow well drawn and loosed will give a lower trajectory
than one of 55 pounds sluggishly handled. By the weight of a bow is
not meant its avoirdupois, but the force necessary to draw the arrow
to its head on the bow. It is all important to know how to string the
bow. Grasp the handle firmly with the right hand, draw it near your
right side, while the lower end rests against the inside of the right
foot, the back of the bow being toward you. With left foot well extended
in front so as to brace the body, rest the left hand on the bow below
the loop of the upper end of the string, the tip of the thumb and
knuckle of forefinger pressing firmly on opposite edges of the bow.
Draw the bow firmly to you with the right hand, while you push down
and away from you with the left. A little practice will soon give the
knack. No part of the body except the face must be turned towards the
target. Stand with the feet at right angles to the direction of the
target and have them a few inches apart. In handling the arrow avoid
touching the feathers, and in the act of drawing always keep the thumb
and fourth finger away from the arrow and string. As the bow is lifted,
draw it three parts of the way, catch the aim, complete the draw and
instantly loose.

The arrows are an important consideration. Never use a light arrow
with a heavy bow, nor, conversely, a heavy arrow with a light bow.
Arrows are generally made of one piece of wood, but sometimes a harder
kind is used for the part joining the tip and which is dovetailed into
the shaft. The tip is formed of steel, and is cylindrical in form. The
length varies. A lady's bow of 5 feet calls for a 24-inch arrow, the
customary length of men's arrows is 28 inches.

The target is a flat disc about four feet in diameter made from straw
and covered with an oilcloth or white sheet painted in concentric rings
of gold, red, blue, black and white, each color of which, when
penetrated by the arrow counts so many points in the aim. The gold is
the objective point of the archer, the "bull's eye," as it is called.
Three arrows are shot by each archer in turn, then three more, the six
constituting an end. A certain number of ends complete a given range,
while two or three ranges form a round. Here is the American round:

30 arrows at 60 yards.
30 arrows at 50 yards.
30 arrows at 40 yards.

RING TOSS

This is a very simple game. A stake is driven into the ground for a
flagstaff. At a distance of, say nine feet, stakes are arranged as
follows: four at equal distances, back of these, at a short distance,
three; then two; then one. The setting for nine pins is the same.

Each stake is numbered from ten, beginning on the left hand side, to
one hundred, which is the apex of the setting.

Iron rings are tossed from the flagstaff by each player. A score is
kept. The one getting the greatest number of points is the winner.

LAWN BOWLS

Lawn bowls, although but recently introduced into the United States,
is, however, one of the oldest games in existence, and is believed to
have been played by the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Scotland has brought
this game to its present state of perfection. The game is played as
follows:

Select a level lawn, or a floor will answer if this game be played indoors.
Choose sides, giving those of a side, balls of a similar color.

A ball of a third color is called the Jack. The one holding it begins
the play by rolling the ball over the lawn. Where it stops is the goal.
The others try to strike the Jack. The one doing this is the winner
of the game. Or put a nine pin, or nine pins, at a distance from the
players, and try to strike as is done in a bowling alley.



CHAPTER XIV

HOLIDAY GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

NEW YEAR'S--LINCOLN'S DAY--VALENTINE PARTY--EASTER EGG PARTY--HALLOWE'EN
GAMES--FLAG DAY--THANKSGIVING--CHRISTMAS


NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY

The decorations for the room are holly and mistletoe. The guests are
attired in white to represent snow, or they may appear in fur-trimmed
garments. At midnight all sing "Auld Lang Syne," and shake hands.
Calendars are appropriate souvenirs for the occasion. At midnight all
wish each other "A Happy New Year."

CHILDREN'S NEW YEAR GAMES

Give the children pencils and paper. Let them write out their
resolutions for the New Year. These may be grave or funny as desired.
Give calendars as souvenirs.

LINCOLN'S DAY

Recite poems about Lincoln. Tell stories about him. Explain why "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" is a suitable book to read on this day.

If possible give tableaux suited to the occasion. Those taken from
Uncle Tom's Cabin are eminently suitable.

VALENTINE PARTY

The evening is opened with the playing of a game of hearts. Each lady
receives a red paper heart, and is requested to write her name on the
back of it. The hearts are shuffled and put in a bowl; the men's hearts
are put in another bowl. A lady chooses a heart from the men's bowl,
then a man chooses from the ladies' bowl. The lady is partner for the
evening of the man whose heart she drew and vice versa.

Valentines are given, and are read aloud by the recipient. Comic ones
are admissible if not vulgar. Valentine mottoes also are given.

WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY

A Martha Washington party in costume with a supper in Colonial time
style. Dance the Minuet and old-time dances.

FOR APRIL FIRST

This is April Fool's Day. It may be made the occasion of a party. Games
suitable to the occasion are played; among them pinning a tail to the
picture of a tailless donkey fastened on the wall. This may be drawn
by one of the children. Tails are slightly pinned on the children among
themselves. April fool candy is served, and glasses are offered which
appear to have lemonade in them, but which are so made that no liquor
can be drunk from them, etc. The one who is not fooled all evening
receives a prize--the funnier it is the better. It may be a "nigger
doll" or the like. A donkey is given as a booby prize to the one most
often fooled. This fooling can be done in any way which suggests itself.

EASTER EGG PARTIES

Color hard-boiled eggs and hide them. Give your little guests pretty
baskets and let them hunt for the eggs, or give each a large wooden
spoon to spoon them up. If you live in the country roll eggs down hill
at one place as a target at the foot of it.

Draw a bunny holding an egg. Pin it to the wall. The one who,
blindfolded, succeeds in putting a pin in the egg receives eggs as
presents.

FLAG DAY

Display flags liberally. Tell stories about the American Flag. Sing
"America," "Star-Spangled Banner," etc. Salute "Old Glory."

A HALLOWE'EN PARTY

The usual Hallowe'en tricks are tried such as the following: A ring,
a piece of money and a thimble are hidden; the player who finds the
ring will be first married, or these articles may be baked in a cake
which is cut and distributed. The one getting the money will be
prosperous, the getter of the thimble industrious, the getter of the
ring will soon be married.

BOBBING FOR APPLES

Bobbing for apples. All children like this. In a tub of water several
apples float. The children try to capture them with their teeth.

FLOATING NEEDLES

Grease needles and let them float in a bowl of water, upon which tissue
paper is laid. Each child has his, or her, own needle. It is amusing
to watch the action of the needle when the paper sinks--as it does
when it becomes saturated--the needles rush about.

CANDLE AND LOOKING-GLASS

Each person in turn walks downstairs backwards, alone in the dark,
with a looking-glass in one hand and a lighted candle in the other.
The future husband or wife will be seen--? Or, run around the house
three times with your mouth full of water--at midnight.

Melted lead poured into water results in queer figures which sometimes
resemble initials; these are supposed to be those of the future husband
or wife.

The water charm: put three dishes on a table--one empty, one containing
clean water, one soapy water; the blindfolded ones put a finger into
one of the dishes, the position of which are changed after the
blindfolding. If he puts his finger in clear water a happy marriage
will result.

APPLE GAMES

Put a basket on the wall halfway up. The players stand at a distance
and throw apples into the basket. A score is kept, the one putting the
greatest number of apples into the basket receiving the prize.

THANKSGIVING PARTY

This may be held in a barn. The stalls may be draped with bright-colored
goods and decorated with greens, or autumn leaves. Japanese lanterns
are strung about. Chrysanthemums should be the table flowers. Old-time
dances are danced, such as the Virginia Reel, Money Musk, etc. Pumpkin
pies, grapes, nuts and cider are served as a part of the collation.

KRIS KRINGLE PARTY

A Kris Kringle party may be taken in the open--in sleighs. The driver
is dressed as Kris Kringle. After a sleigh ride in large sleighs drawn
by horses decorated to represent reindeer, the party returns to an
elaborate Christmas supper.

Christmas songs should be sung, well-known Christmas carols, as "'Tis
the Eve of Christmas Day," "Merry Bells," "The Christmas Tree," etc.

Shadow pantomimes are a good form of entertainment for Christmas. They
should carry out the idea of the festival. Any of the Merry Games given
in the book may be played. The winter games are especially recommended.

SNOWBALL BATTLE

Throw ball at a target and keep a score, or build a snow fort and make
it the target.

CHRISTMAS GUESSES

Suspend mistletoe from a chandelier. Let the children in turn guess
how many berries are on the suspended bush. The one guessing most
correctly wins a prize.

"The Night Before Christmas" is read. As the names are named the
children arise and turn around, then sit down again. Santa Claus is
mentioned last. When he is spoken of all change seats. The story teller
tries to secure a seat. If she succeeds there is an odd player. He
must tell a funny story.

JACK FROST

Sing and act out the Jack Frost song,--"Jack Frost is a roguish little
fellow," etc., etc. The music and words may be obtained at a music
store.

Jesus Bids Us Shine. Christmas Is Coming. Christmas Greeting.

LEAD TEST

Drop melted lead into cold water. It assumes queer shapes. Hallowe'en
stories are told.

APPLE TESTS

Peel an apple without breaking the peeling. Throw the skin over your
shoulder and see what shape it assumes.

Apples are tied to a string and hung from the chandelier. The boys and
girls try to bite these without touching them with their hands.

A PUMPKIN GAME

A pumpkin is scooped out and a candle is placed inside; the light
shines through the holes in the pumpkin. Pumpkin favors are given.

All dance around the pumpkin and sing "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater,"
etc.

THE CHRISTMAS DINNER

The Christmas dinner is a family reunion, generally; sometimes a friend
is invited. If he be a homeless one so much the better. The turkey,
of course, is part of the dinner, and pumpkin and mince pies and plum
pudding are served, each guest making a choice; rosy-cheeked apples,
grapes, nuts and cider form a last course. The Christmas presents may
be laid at the plates or may be dispensed from the Christmas
tree--preferably the latter.

One of the party impersonates Santa Claus. Yule-tide songs are sung
and old-time Christmas games are played. Stockings hung behind curtains
and in odd places hold candy, nuts, raisins, etc. These may be made
of silk or any pretty material. The guests hunt for these.

SUGGESTIONS FOR GAMES TO BE PLAYED AT CHRISTMAS TIME OR AT THANKSGIVING

Put a very large pumpkin in the center of the room or on a grass plot.
The players stand at a distance. Each one runs and jumps over the
pumpkin, using both feet. In so doing a score is kept. The one jumping
over _with both feet together_ the oftenest wins the pumpkin. Or dance
about the pumpkin; when a small child sitting on it claps or whistles
all stop. She selects a player with whom she changes place. This game
may be played by adults, the player standing near the pumpkin.



CHAPTER XV

OUTDOOR GAMES FOR GIRLS

BASKET BALL--BOX BALL--GUESS BALL--TARGET BALL--STRING BALL


BASKET BALL FOR GIRLS

Basket Ball is a good form of exercise for women.

Draw a circle on the ground six feet in diameter. A line is drawn
across the center. This is the throwing line. A player stands in the
circle and throws the basket ball from her line to other lines, the
ball scoring according to its landing place.

The lines drawn across the throwing space must be parallel with the
throwing line in the circle. For younger girls the lines should be
ten, fourteen or twenty feet, according to the age, from the forward
edge of the circle.

The players of each team throw in rapid succession. Each player has
but one turn, unless the ball strikes some object before touching the
ground, when another trial is allowed. At starting a thrower must stand
in the circle and toe the throwing line, drawn across the center of
the circle. In completing the throw she must not fall or step forward
over the outer line of the circle in front of her. If at any part of
the throw, from start to finish, the thrower be out of the circle it
is considered a foul and does not score, the number of players in the
team being counted as one less when the total or average is figured.
For each throw to the first line or any point between it and the next
line, a team scores one point. For each throw to the second line or
between it and the next line a team scores three points. For each throw
to or beyond the third line, a team scores five points. The team
averaging or adding the largest score wins first place in the game.
There are other forms of basket ball games, where girls throw balls
into baskets fastened at a given height.

BOX BALL

Boxes are placed on the floor or ground in a row. The players in line
stand at a distance from these, each player facing a box. The play is
begun at the right of the line and each tries to toss her ball into
the box. When one succeeds in doing this, all run except the one into
whose box the ball fell. She picks up the ball, and tries to throw it
so as to strike one of the players (of course a soft ball is used).
If she fails a stone is put into her box. The game is continued by the
same player, but she tries to throw her ball into another box. If she
strikes a player with her ball, the one who is struck receives a stone,
and she then starts to throw her ball. The game is continued as above.
When a player has five stones she goes out of the game.

GUESS BALL

Use a soft ball. The players form in line. One stands before them,
with back turned, at a distance of several feet. This player counts
up to a certain number, as the ball passes back and forth along the
line; as a certain number is called, the holder of the ball throws it
so as to strike one of the players. If this player is hit, she turns
suddenly and tries to guess by the attitude of the players which one
threw the ball. If she guesses correctly, she goes to the front. If
the ball misses, the thrower changes places with the one she aimed at.

TARGET BALL

There are so many variations of this game that it is impossible to
describe them all. A target is placed and the balls are thrown at it;
or several targets at different distances may be aimed at by the
players. A score is kept. The one getting the greatest number of points
wins the game. Or sides may be formed.

BOMBARDMENT

This game is played with balls and Indian clubs--half as many as there
are players. Bean bags may be used instead of balls. A score is decided
upon, and an umpire keeps the record. Each player, in throwing, tries
to knock down a club, and this club counts for one or more, up to the
number decided upon by the players.

STRING BALL

The players stand in a circle around the ball, which is hung by a
string--in the open--from the branch of a tree. A player tries to
strike it with her hand. Another tries to catch it before she strikes
it again. If the ball is not caught the player scores one. She plays
until it is caught. Each has a turn.



CHAPTER XVI

PASTIMES FOR CHILDREN

SUN DIAL--MOTHER, MAY I PLAY?--BLIND MAN'S BUFF--TUG OF WAR--VARIOUS
BALL GAMES


SUN DIAL

Draw a large circle; intersect this with lines like the spokes of a
wheel, dividing it into twelve sections, and number them.

Put a blindfolded player in the center for a hub, and turn him about
a number of times, as is done in "Blindman's Buff." He then walks
about. The number of the space he stops upon, after repeating a silly
verse to the end, is put upon his score card. If he goes outside the
circle, even with one foot, he receives no points.

The player who gets the greatest number of points in a given time,
wins the game.

MOTHER, MAY I GO OUT TO PLAY?

The mother stands before her children. One asks: "Mother, may I go out
to play?" "No," says the mother, "it is a very wet day."

"See, mother, the sun shines."

"Well, be off," says the mother; "but make three courtesies before you
go."

The child then does this, the other children doing the same. They all
run off and return.

"Why did you run so far?" says the mother. "Where did you go, and what
have you been doing all this time?"

"Brushing Mary's hair," says the first player.

"What did she give you for so doing?"

"A silver penny."

"Where's my share of it?"

"The cat ran away with it."

"Where's the cat?"

"In the wood."

"Where's the wood?"

"Fire burnt it."

"Where's the fire?"

"Water quenched it."

"Where's the water?"

"Moo cow drank it."

"Where's the moo cow?"

"Sold it for a silver penny."

"What did you do with the money?"

"Bought nuts with it."

"What did you do with them?"

"You can have the nut shells, if you like."

The last words being rude, the mother chases the child or children,
according to the manner in which the game is played. She asks as she
does this, "Where's my money?"

The one addressed answers, "You may have the nut shells."

The mother tries to catch one or more of the children to inflict
punishment. The punishments are usually funny acts of some kind.

GARDEN SCAMP

All but two players form a ring, and clasp hands. The garden is enclosed
by the players. One of the odd players will be the scamp; another
player is the gardener. He moves around outside of the circle, and
says, "Who let you into my garden?" The scamp replies, "No one," and
starts to run. The gardener follows his lead in and out among the
players, who lift their hands to allow this. If the scamp be caught
he becomes the gardener.

The scamp can lead the gardener a lively chase, for he can play leap
frog, or turn somersaults, if he so desires. The gardener must imitate
him.

DO THIS, DO THAT

The players face each other in two lines, the leader being in the
center. When he says, "Do this," they obey, and when he quickly follows
his first order by saying, "Do that," the "that" being another act,
they must again obey at once. If any one is slow, he must exchange
places with the leader. The fun of the game depends upon the antics
of the one in the ring.

WEATHER COCK

This is an instructive game, as it teaches children direction. Each
child represents a point of the compass--north, south, east, west.
When a leader calls: "Which way does the wind blow?" a child of whom
this is asked, points either to the north, south, east or west,
according to the name given him.

THE FLOWERS AND THE WIND

Two parties play this game. They stand at a distance apart. The players
represent flowers. The first one in the line walks to the opposite
line, and asks of the first one: "What flower am I?" Saying this, the
flower is ready to run for the wind. An odd player stands ready to
give chase, if the guesser does not guess correctly. The wind, of
course, is told the names of the different flowers. Each player has
a turn.

BLIND MAN'S BUFF

One player is blindfolded, and turned about three times, in the center
of the room. He tries to catch one of the other players. If he succeeds,
he takes off the handkerchief and puts it upon the one touched.

In one form of "Blind Man's Buff," the blindfolded one must guess the
name of the one he catches before he can remove the handkerchief.

FRENCH BLIND MAN'S BUFF

In this game the players are numbered, and one is blindfolded. Two
numbers are called out. The ones so numbered run, and the blindfolded
one tries to catch one of them, or they may run one at a time. If the
one in the center catches another, he takes that one's place.

BLIND MAN'S BUFF WITH A WAND

The players dance around the blindfolded one until he touches a player
with his wand. When he does this, all stand still. The one in the
center may ask three questions of the one touched. He, replying,
disguises his voice. If the blindfolded one succeeds in guessing whom
he questioned, he exchanges places with him.

HIDE-AND-SEEK GAMES

A player hides, the others seek him. Or any object may be hidden in
an out-of-the-way place, and this is to be found by a player. When
he succeeds in doing this, the handkerchief is taken from his eyes (if
one is used). Each child has a turn in finding the article, the place
of hiding being changed each time for the new finder.

FOLLOW OUR LEADER

The leader walks before a line of players and performs ridiculous acts
which all must imitate. If any player fails to do this, he or she is
out of the game. The leader may make the players perform feats like
jumping over high places, turning somersaults, climbing, etc., if the
players are boys. If among the players there are girls, the feats, of
necessity, must not be too hard.

FEATS AND FORFEITS

The children are required to perform certain acts or pay a forfeit.
These acts are decided upon by a committee before the guests, or
players, assemble. A few feats may be suggested, such as the rabbit
hop, leap frog, picking up a stick with the teeth while in a kneeling
position, etc., or the player may be required to repeat "Peter Piper,"
or any ridiculous verses quickly. If he does not succeed in doing what
is required of him, he must--if he is a boy--turn a somersault. If the
player is a girl, she pays a forfeit or stands with her face to a
corner.

DUMB MOTIONS

The players form two sides; those on one side are "masters," the others
"men." Trades are represented, and the men aim to keep working so that
the masters will not take their places. The tradesmen go through the
motions of their trade. The master must guess the trade. When he does,
he exchanges place with the one whose trade he guessed.

WAND TUG OF WAR

Wooden gymnastic wands are used, half as many as there are players.
Draw a line across the room or grass; divide the players into two
divisions, one on each side of the line, each player facing his
opponent. These grasp each other's wand, and at a signal begin to tug,
but they must not put foot into the opponent's territory. If they do
the struggle ceases. The side wins which secures the greatest number
of wands.

CATCH AND PULL TUG OF WAR

In the "Catch and Pull Tug of War," a ring is formed by joining hands
and standing in a circle, and all tug to break the ring.

NINE PINS

A player takes his stand in the center of the room. The others stand
in couples a few feet apart. They march around the girl or boy in the
center. When the music stops suddenly, one player of each pair goes
to the one in front of him. While they do this, the one in the center
tries to secure a place.

PRELIMINARY BALL

The players stand in two lines. The players of one line, at a signal,
throw the balls to those opposite them. They then turn and throw against
the wall, if the game is played indoors.

BALL DULL

The object of this game is to train the perceptions, the muscular
sense, and the muscles themselves. The weight of the ball is suited
to the players. The two-pound weights are used for girls.

The couples are far enough apart to allow space for full play. One of
each couple has a ball for himself and his partner. The throwing of
the balls to one of the opposite side is simultaneous, when a leader
gives the command.

TIME BALL

In this game the children are seated. A line is drawn near the wall,
and two lines are drawn to form an aisle. Then the children decide
upon the manner of throwing the ball. This may be done with either
hand. The leader stands opposite his aisle on the line. At a signal
the first player in each row runs to the mark in his aisle. When he
has reached it, the leader, in the way previously agreed upon, throws
him the ball, which he catches and returns. He runs back to his seat.
This is repeated by each player. Then the leader, seating himself,
places the ball before him on the floor, or if in the open, on the
ground. All assume position. The first row doing this at a signal,
scores a point. This is repeated fifteen times. The row which assumes
position promptly the greatest number of times win the game.

RAILROAD TRAIN

The players are named for an object on a train, as smoke-stack, boiler,
baggage car, wheels, conductor, etc. One player is the train master.
He says: "We must hurry up and make up a train to go to New York City
at once. It is a special. We will take engine Number 21, some coal and
wood; the bell must be in good order, and the carpet must be swept;
the cushions dusted; the beds in the sleeper must be made up, etc."
When these objects are named, the players run up to the starter when
their names are given, each one putting his hands on the shoulder of
the one before him, the first one having put his hands upon the starter
in the same way. When all are in line, the train starts, after the
signal, which is a bell. The starter may imitate the noises a locomotive
makes as it starts out on its journey. He leads up hill and down dale,
and the line must remain unbroken. The one who breaks the line pays
a forfeit or is out of the game. The line being mended, continues its
journey.

MERRY-GO-ROUND

Stools are placed close together to form a circle, and all the players
seat themselves, facing inwards, except one player, who stands in the
center. He tries to secure the seat that has been left vacant. This
is difficult, because the players on the stools keep moving to the
right from one stool to the next, so that the location of the vacant
seat varies. When the player in the center secures a seat, the one at
his left goes into the center. If more than thirty are playing, it is
better to have two vacant stools and two players in the center.

PEBBLE CHASE

The leader holds a pebble between the palms of his hands. The others
are grouped about him, each with hands extended, palm to palm. The
leader then passes his hands between those of the players. No one can
tell where he leaves the pebble, until some one guesses where it is.
Each player has a turn. The one receiving the pebble is chased by the
others. If he succeeds in getting to the leader and giving the pebble
to him before he is caught, he can return to his place; otherwise he
changes place with the leader.

HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON?

The players, being divided into two lines, stand facing each other,
with a distance of about twelve feet between them. The lines pair off,
and take hold of hands all along the line.

A dialogue takes place between the lines, the players in a line speaking
in unison. As this is done, they swing their arms and rock backward
and forward from one foot to another, keeping time to the rhythm of
the words, as follows:

"How many miles to Babylon?"

"Three score and ten."

"Will we be there by candle light?"

"Yes, and back again."

"Open your gates and let us through."

"Not without a beck (courtesy) and a boo (bow)."

"Here's a beck and here's a boo, Here's a side and here's a sou; Open
your gates and let us through."

All the players in the first line say: "Here's a beck and here's a
boo," as they suit the action to the word. As they do so, they also
drop hands and each makes a courtesy, with hands at the hips for the
"beck," and straighten up and make a deep bow forward for the "boo";
assuming an upright attitude, then, and bending the head sideways to
the right for "Here's a side," and to the left for "Here's a sou."

The partners clasp hands, and all run forward ten steps, keeping time
with the rhythm of the words. Then all pass under the upraised hands,
which represent the city gates. This is done in four running steps,
making twelve steps in all. The couples who made the gate then turn
around in four running steps, until they face the first line, when
they repeat the dialogue as given above, etc.

PUSS IN THE CORNER

Corners are selected by some of the players; the others remain in the
center of the room. The puss in a corner calls to the other puss in
a corner, "Puss, puss," and they try to get to each other's corner
before these can be taken by the others.

When this is played outdoors, trees or the corners in a fence may be
utilized as were the corners of a room.



CHAPTER XVII

INDOOR GAMES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.

PATCH WORK--PEANUT GAME--SOAP BUBBLES--CANDY PULLS--COOK AND PEAS--MAGIC
MUSIC--ZOOLOGY


PATCHWORK

The hostess cuts pictures into four parts and mixes them in a box, or
loosely places them in the center of a table. Then each guest takes
four and puts them together as a picture. The effect is very funny at
times. Some of the children's picture blocks may be used for this game,
using four sets at a time.

QUOTATIONS

The girl or boy host gives each guest, on a slip of paper, the beginning
of a quotation. All go about the room looking for the end of the
quotations, which are hidden in different places in the room; or, if
older children are playing this game, pencils and paper are given them,
and they write the full quotation.

TABLE GAME

A penny party furnishes amusement for an evening. With the invitations
is sent a request for each guest to bring a penny, not for an admission
fee, but for use. For each guest there are provided two cards and a
pencil; one card is blank; the other has a list of the things to be
found on a penny. The list is numbered, and each person is expected
to name as many as he can, prizes being awarded for the best and poorest
list.

Find--
1. Top of hill.
2. Place of worship.
3. An animal.
4. A fruit.
5. A common fruit.
6. Links between absent friends.
7. Union of youth and old age.
8. A vegetable.
9. Flowers.
10. What we fight for.
11. Metal.
12. A messenger.
13. A weapon of defense.
14. A weapon of warfare.
15. A body of water.
16. A beverage.
17. What young ladies want.
18. The most popular State.
19, What men work for.
20. Sign of royalty.
21. A jolly dog.

The answers are:
1. Brow.
2. Temple.
3. Hare (hair).
4. Date.
5. Apple.
6. Letters.
7. 1894 (The date of the penny).
8. Ear.
9. Tulips (two lips).
10. Liberty.
11. Copper.
12. One cent (sent).
13. Shield.
14. Arrow.
15. Sea (c).
16. Tea (t).
17. Beau (bow).
18. United States (matrimony).
19. Money.
20. Crown.
21. A merry cur (America).

Usually a half hour is allowed for filling out the blank cards, and
after that some time for correcting the lists and awarding prizes.

A DOLL SHOW

This is a form of entertainment always liked by the younger children.
It can be made amusing, as well as instructive, by having those
representing the show to take the part of dolls of the different
nations. When the invitations are sent out, it should be specified
what part each little guest will take. Some of the guests may be the
audience if they prefer, or adults may be the on-lookers. Each little
guest receives a doll as a souvenir.

Another form of doll party is where the children bring dolls dressed
by themselves. The doll whose gown is most neatly made receives a
prize.

There may also be dolls made of beets, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes,
etc., by using sticks, cloves, etc., with the vegetables named. The
results are very funny. These are put on exhibition on the table and
an umpire decides for which prizes are to be given.

PEANUT GAME

The little hostess or host selects two leaders. These choose sides.
Two large rugs are placed near together on the floor. A bowl of peanuts
is placed in the center of each. The little players which can soonest
dispose of their peanuts two inches apart on their rug, are the winners.
The hostess gives the signal at the beginning and end of the contest.
The sides may work simultaneously or singly, according as the game is
played, individually or by sides as a whole. The peanuts are eaten at
the end of the game, and a prize of a box of candy is given the winning
side or child. This is passed about to the guests.

PEANUT HUNT

Some peanuts must be secretly hidden in out-of-the-way places--in
bric-a-brac, etc. Give a pretty bag or box to be used as a receptacle
for the peanuts, and then the hunt begins. The one getting the most
peanuts, receives a prize. He may eat all the peanuts he finds, after
the contest is decided, but a lesson in unselfishness is here possible.
The hostess may suggest sharing the peanuts with one who _tried hard_
to find many nuts, but did not succeed; or, if there be a lame child,
or one deformed, he or she should receive some of the nuts of the
winners, and of those the others find.

A PEANUT PARTY

The invitations have peanuts painted on them, so have little menu
cards, which are placed at each plate at the table. These designs are
often funny, and even grotesque, as they represent brownies, etc.
Peanuts are strung as necklaces, bracelets, etc. Some of the sandwiches
are made of mashed peanuts--called peanut butter--and they are
delicious. Peanut candy is served, and at the end peanuts are jabbed
for with hat pins. For this all gather at different little tables, or
turns are taken at one table, the peanuts being piled up in the center.
A box of candy is given the winner. This he or she, of course, passes
among the guests.

A CHILDREN'S FAIR

This may be made not only enjoyable, but charitable as well. Tables
holding fancy work--preferably the work of the children--candies
(home-made), groceries, aprons, pen-wipers, iron-holders, hand-painted
cards, capes, etc., etc., may be sold. Rebecca sits at the Well--a
well of lemonade. A grab-bag, an orange tree, with saleable parcels
on it. A post-office, where letters are sold, and finally a refreshment
table or tables, the little girls and boys serving as waiters, in
costumes.

SOAP BUBBLES

Making bubbles requires no great effort of the mind or body. Clay pipes
for the players are furnished by the hostess. Bowls are filled with
water which is quite soapy. The pipes show the colors of the side or
sides, being tied with ribbons of different colors. The game contest
may be decided in two ways. Either the one who makes the largest bubble
is winner, or the one making the most bubbles in a given time. The
sides or individuals may play in turn.

A POP-CORN PARTY

A pop-corn party, of necessity, like a candy pull, must be held in the
kitchen. This can be decorated for the occasion. Each little guest
brings an apron to be donned before the "popping" begins.

First, shell the corn. Second, take a dipper full of corn and "pop"
it. This popping is done in a pan over a clear fire.

Third, divide into parts, when done.

Fourth, sprinkle some with cochineal, if pink corn is desired.

Fifth, string the pop-corn on threads. A needle is used to do this.
Necklaces, bracelets, and boys' chains may be so made.

Each child receives a handsome cornucopia or box as a receptacle for
his popcorn.

CANDY PULL

Candy ready to pull may be bought at a candy store, or molasses may
be boiled at home until it is ready to pull, when the hands are greased
and the pulling begins. As suggested for a pop-corn party, the kitchen
or dining-room is the best place in which to give a party of this kind.
It may be decorated to look well, and the children doubtless would
enjoy their play here more than in the parlor.

A BABY SHOW

This may be of dolls or real babies. You can borrow the babies for the
occasion. A committee decides which is the handsomest baby, which the
best-natured, etc. Rattiers, toys, etc., are given the babies, or you
can have your parents and other lady friends take the part of babies.
Put a bib on them when they go to supper.

MISS CHILDREN

The little players sit or stand round the room in a circle. The leader
assigns to each some musical instrument, as harp, flute, violincello,
trombone, etc., and also selects one for himself. Some well-known tune
is then given out, say "Yankee Doodle," and the players all begin to
play accordingly, each doing his best to imitate, both in sound and
action, the instrument which has been assigned to him, the effect being
generally extremely harmonious. The leader commences with his own
instrument, but without any warning suddenly ceases, and begins instead
to perform on the instrument assigned to one of the players. Such
player is bound to notice the change, and forthwith to take the
instrument just abandoned by the leader, incurring a forfeit if he
fails to do so.

THE COOK WHO DOESN'T LIKE PEAS

The fun of this game depends on a fair proportion of the players not
being acquainted with it. The leader begins, addressing the first
player, "I have a cook who doesn't like peas (p's); what will you give
her for dinner?" The person addressed, if acquainted with the secret,
avoids the letter p in his answer, and, for example, says, "I will
give her some walnuts." The question is then asked of the second person,
who, if unacquainted with the trick, is likely enough to offer some
delicacy which contains the letter p; e.g., potatoes, asparagus, pork,
apple-pie, pickled cabbage, peanuts, etc., etc. When this occurs, the
offender is called upon to pay a forfeit, but the precise nature of
his offense is not explained to him. He is simply told, in answer to
his expostulations, that "the cook doesn't like p's." When a sufficient
number of forfeits has been extracted, the secret is revealed, and
those who have not already guessed it, are teased by being told (over
and over again) that the cook did not like p's, and if they would
persist in giving them to her, they must, of course, take the
consequences.

MAGIC MUSIC--ANY NUMBER OF PLAYERS

One player is sent from the room. The others decide upon something for
him to do, but he is not told what it is, though he is helped by a
noise of some kind on metal, or on a musical instrument. When he is
near an object with which he is to perform some feat, the noise is
loud. If he touches the wrong object, the music is soft. Any one of
the musical instruments commonly used by children may be employed in
this game.

ZOOLOGY--ANY NUMBER OF PLAYERS

The leader says: "Of what animal am I thinking?" He tells that the
animal has a certain number of legs, and gives other points of a like
nature. From this description the guessing is done. When a player
guesses the animal correctly, he scores a point. Each player has a
turn. The game is played until it loses its interest.



CHAPTER XVIII

OUT-DOOR GAMES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

BEAN BAG GAMES--SKIPPING THE ROPE--VARIOUS TAG GAMES--CROSSING THE
BROOK


TARGET BEAN BAG

The bags are thrown at targets. A score is made out. A prize is given
the one getting the best score.

Throwing the bean bag over the head is another form of Bean Bag Game.
It must be caught by one standing back of the tosser. The one who
catches it becomes the tosser.

BOX BEAN BAG

This game consists of tosses of the bean bag into boxes. The player
stands at a distance. The one being successful in his throws the most
times is the winner.

BEAN BAG GAMES

An equal number of players out of doors. Two parties are formed, divided
by eight or ten feet of space. The umpire gives a signal, and a player
in one line runs to the other side--half way, and tosses his bag to
the one at the end of the line; he then takes his place next to this
one, and the line moves down.

This is continued, opposite sides taking turns. Then the game is
reversed, until the player who first played is in his original place.

BEAN BAG RACE

A bean bag is placed on the ground and another at some distance from
it. Two players, at a given signal, run to these bags. The one who can
catch the bag and get to the staff placed near the umpire is the winner.
Sides may be scored instead of the individual players.

BEAN BAG AT THE SEASHORE

At the seashore stones or blocks of wood may be substituted for the
bags. A ring is drawn on the ground and the players take sides. The
leader of each side toes a starting line across the ground at a distance
from the circle. Bean bags or stones are thrown into the center of
this, each one having a turn.

The side getting the biggest score is the winning one.

SKIPPING THE ROPE

Skipping the rope is an admirable exercise for girls and boys. There
should be a spring in doing this. When a jumper comes down on his
heels, instead of jumping from his toes, he is apt to make the skipping
injurious by jarring his back. The players jump in turn over a long
rope turned by two of the players. Each has a turn. A score is kept
of the number of times a player can do this. Sides may be formed, or
the jumpers may see how many times they can jump over the rope in
succession.

HOME TAG--ANY NUMBER OF PLAYERS

The chaser tries to tag the runners before they can "get home," or to
a given place. If he succeeds, the one tagged is "It."

SECRET TAG

Is played by not telling who is "It." He chases the other players and
tries to tag one of them. If he succeeds, the one who was tagged becomes
"It."

JAPANESE TAG

In this game the one tagged must place his hand on the spot of his
body where the tagger tagged him; doing this, he must chase the other
players until he tags one of them.

CROSSING THE BROOK

This is a favorite game with little children.

A place is marked off and named "The Brook"--we will say it is three
feet wide.

The players run and try to jump the brook. When all have jumped over,
they stand and jump backwards. The one who jumps into the brook instead
of across it is out of the game.



CHAPTER XIX

SINGING GAMES FOR CHILDREN

MOON AND STARS--BOLOGNA MAN--ORCHESTRA--JACK BE NIMBLE--OATS, PEAS, BEANS--
FARMER IN THE DELL--LONDON BRIDGE, ETC.


ORCHESTRA

This is a very noisy game. The conductor names his players for
instruments, and tells them in pantomime how to play. He then orders
them to tune up. They do so, producing a terrible discord. Then the
baton is waved by the conductor, and the musicians imitate the sounds
of their instruments, while also imitating the movements assigned them
by the conductor. The result is very funny.

CHARLEY OVER THE WATER

A player becomes "Charlie." He stands in the center; the others form
a circle about him, and dance, repeating the rhyme:

  "Charlie over the water,
  Charlie over the sea,
  Charlie caught a black-bird,
  He can't catch me."

When the verse is ended, all the players try to stop before Charlie
can tag them. If they succeed in doing this, Charlie remains in the
ring and the verse is repeated, etc. The tagged one takes his place
and he enters the ring.

JACK BE NIMBLE

  "Jack, be nimble,
  Jack, be quick,
  Jack jumped over the candlestick."

A candlestick is placed on the floor. The players in turn jump over
it, using both feet in so doing. Any other object may be substituted
for the candlestick. One of the players sings the verse and when the
last line is reached the jump is made.

MARY'S LITTLE LAMB

This is a great favorite with the young folks. When everything else
has become tiresome, some one starts the first line of the verse:

  Mary had a little lamb,
  Fleece as white as snow, etc.

All sing, and on the second verse being reached the last syllable of
the first line is dropped, then the next to the last, the third, the
fourth, and so on, until the line is totally omitted. The aim of the
singers is to keep exact time, counting a beat for each omitted
syllable, and any one whose voice breaks in when all should be silent,
pays a forfeit. The same can be done with "John Brown's Body," repeating
the first verse and omitting syllable after syllable at the end of the
first line until there is nothing left to sing but the chorus.

THE SNAIL

Holding hands, the children form a line, singing the following words;
they wind up in a spiral, following the first child, who is the largest
one, and represents the snail's head. The others huddle together to
form the shell into which the snail creeps. The motion is slow, for
the saying "creeps like a snail," is proverbial.

  Hand in hand you see us well,
  Creep like a snail into his shell,
  Ever nearer, ever nearer,
  Ever closer, ever closer.
  Very snug indeed you dwell,
  Snail, within your tiny shell.
  Hand in hand you see us well,
  Creep like a snail out of his shell,
  Ever farther, ever farther,
  Ever wider, ever wider,
  Who'd have thought this tiny shell,
  Could have held the snail so well?

With the last verse the creeping out of the shell is accomplished.

OATS, PEAS, BEANS

A circle is formed. One player stands in the center. After singing the
first four lines, all drop their hands. After this they imitate the
motions suggested by the song. At the end of the verse they turn around
several times, and then, joining hands, sing the chorus, standing
still, for the last two lines. Then the one in the center chooses "one
in," and returns herself to the circle. The game goes on as before.

  Oats, peas, beans and barley grows,
  Oats, peas, beans and barley grows,
  Nor you nor I nor nobody knows,
  How oats, peas, beans and barley grows,

Thus the farmer sows his seed, Thus he stands and takes his ease,
Stamps his foot and clasps his hands, And turn around to view his
lands.

A-waiting for a partner, A-waiting for a partner, So open the ring and
choose one in, Make haste and choose your partner.

  Now you're married you must obey.
  You must be true to all you say.
  You must be kind, you must be good,
  And keep your wife in kindling wood.

MULBERRY BUSH

The players stand in a circle clasping hands, and circle round, singing
the first verse. In the second and alternate verses, the action
indicated by the lines is given in pantomime. In all verses the players
spin around rapidly, each in her own place, on the repetition of the
refrain, "So early in the morning."

  Here we go round the mulberry bush,
  The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush,
  Here we go round the mulberry bush,
  So early in the morning!

  This is the way we wash our clothes,
  We wash our clothes, we wash our clothes,
  This is the way we wash our clothes,
  So early Monday morning.

  This is the way we iron our clothes,
  We iron our clothes, we iron our clothes,
  This is the way we iron our clothes,
  So early Tuesday morning.

  This is the way we scrub the floor,
  We scrub the floor, we scrub the floor,
  This is the way we scrub the floor,
  So early Wednesday morning.

  This is the way we mend our clothes,
  We mend our clothes, we mend our clothes,
  This is the way we mend our clothes,
  So early Thursday morning.

  This is the way we sweep the house,
  We sweep the house, we sweep the house,
  This is the way we sweep the house,
  So early Friday morning.

  Thus we play when our work is done,
  Our work is done, our work is done,
  Thus we play when our work is done,
  So early Saturday morning.

ITISKIT, ITASKET

All the players but one stand in a circle with clasped hands; the odd
player, carrying a handkerchief, runs around on the outside of the
circle, singing:

  Itiskit, itasket,
  A green and yellow basket;
  I wrote a letter to my love
  And on the way I dropped it.
  Some one of you has picked it up
  And put it in your pocket;
  It isn't you--it isn't you--

The last phrase is repeated until the player reaches one behind whom
he wishes to drop the handkerchief, when he says, "It is you," and
immediately starts on a quick run around the circle. The one behind
whom the handkerchief was dropped picks it up and at once starts around
the circle in the opposite direction, the object being to see which
of the two shall first reach the vacant place. The one who is left out
takes the handkerchief for the next round.

Should a circle player fail to discover that the handkerchief has been
dropped behind him until the one who has dropped it has walked or run
entirely around the circle, he must yield his place in the circle to
the handkerchief man, changing places with him.

FARMER IN THE DELL

The players stand in a circle. One of their number is in the center.
He is the farmer in the dell. At the singing of the second verse, where
the farmer takes a wife, the center player beckons to another, who
goes in and stands by her. The circle keeps moving while each verse
is sung, and each time the player last called in beckons to another;
that is, the wife beckons one into the circle as the child, the child
beckons one for the nurse, etc., until six are standing in the circle.
When the lines, "The rat takes the cheese," are sung, the players
inside the circle and those forming it jump up and down and clap their
hands in a grand confusion, and the game breaks up.

  The farmer in the dell,
  The farmer in the dell,
  Heigh-o! the cherry-oh!
  The farmer in the dell.

  The farmer takes a wife,
  The farmer takes a wife,
  Heigh-o! the cherry-oh!
  The farmer takes a wife.

  The wife takes a child,
  The wife takes a child,
  Heigh-o! the cherry-oh!
  The wife takes a child.

  The child takes a nurse, etc.
  The nurse takes a cat, etc.
  The cat takes a rat, etc.
  The rat takes the cheese, etc.

The succeeding verses vary only in the choice in each, and follow in
this order.

THE KING OF FRANCE

  The King of France with forty thousand men
  Marched up the hill and then marched down again.

The players stand in two rows or groups facing each other. Each group
has a leader, who stands in the center and represents a king leading
his army.

The game or play is a simple one of imitation, in which the players
perform in unison some action first indicated by one of the leaders.

The leaders of the two groups take turns in singing the verse, at the
same time marching forward during the first line of the verse, and
back again to their places during the second line, illustrating the
action that is then to be taken by all. The verse is then sung by both
groups while advancing toward each other and retreating, performing
the movements indicated by the leaders. The movements illustrated by
the leaders may be anything suitable to an army of men, the words
describing the movement being substituted for the line, "marched up
the hill," thus:

The King of France with forty thousand men Waved his flag and then
marched down again.

The following variations are suggested, each of which indicates the
movements to go with it:

  Gave a salute, etc.
  Beat his drum, etc.
  Blew his horn, etc.
  Drew his sword, etc.
  Aimed his gun, etc.
  Fired his gun, etc.
  Shouldered arms, etc.
  Pranced on his horse, etc.

It is scarcely necessary to say that a real flag and drum add much to
the martial spirit of the game, and if each soldier can have a stick
or wand over his shoulder for a gun, the esprit de corps will be
proportionately enhanced.

LONDON BRIDGE

  London bridge is falling down,
  Falling down, falling down.
  London bridge is falling down,
  My fair lady!

  Build it up with iron bars,
  Iron bars, iron bars,
  Build it up with iron bars,
  My fair lady!

  Iron bars will bend and break,
  Bend and break, bend and break,
  Iron bars will bend and break,
  My fair lady!

  Build it up with gold and silver, etc.
  Gold and silver will be stolen away, etc.
  Get a man to watch all night, etc.
  Suppose the man should fall asleep? etc.
  Put a pipe into his mouth, etc.
  Suppose the pipe should fall and break, etc.
  Get a dog to bark all night, etc.
  Suppose the dog should meet a bone? etc.
  Get a cock to crow all night, etc.
  Here's a prisoner I have got, etc.
  What's the prisoner done to you? etc.
  Stole my hat and lost my keys, etc.
  A hundred pounds will set him free, etc.
  A hundred pounds he has not got, etc.
  Off to prison he must go, etc.

Two of the tallest players represent a bridge by facing each other,
clasping hands, and holding them high for the others to pass under.
The other players, in a long line, each holding the other by the hand
or dress, pass under the arch while the verses are sung alternately
by the players representing the bridge and those passing under, those
forming the arch singing the first and alternate verses and the last
"Off to prison." As the words

  "Here's a prisoner I have got,"

are sung, the players representing the bridge drop their arms around
the one who happens to be passing under at the time. The succeeding
verses are then sung to "Off to prison he must go." During this last
one the prisoner is led off to one side to a place supposed to be a
prison, and is there asked in a whisper or low voice to choose between
two valuable objects, represented by the two bridge players, who have
previously agreed which each shall represent, such as a "diamond
necklace" or a "gold piano." The prisoner belongs to the side which
he thus chooses. When all have been caught the prisoners line up behind
their respective leaders (who have up to this time been the holders
of the bridge), clasp each other around the waist, and a tug of war
takes place, the side winning which succeeds in pulling its opponent
across a given line.

Where a large number of players are taking part, say over ten, the
action may be made much more rapid and interesting by forming several
spans or arches to the bridge instead of only one, and by having the
players run instead of walk under. There is thus much more activity
for each player, and the prisoners are all caught much sooner.

SINGING GAMES FOR SMALL CHILDREN

MOON AND MORNING STARS

This is a Spanish game. A player represents the moon; the rest are
stars. The moon is placed in the shadow of a tree or house.

The morning stars dance about a child, standing on a chair with extended
arms, to represent the sun just risen. The stars dance around the sun,
occasionally going quite near the moon; while doing this, they sing

  O moon and morning stars,
  O the moon and morning stars
  Who dares to tread--oh,
  Within the shadow?

The moon tries to catch a star, and the one caught becomes the moon.

WEE BOLOGNA MAN

Two to forty players. The leader recites:

  I'm a wee Bologna Man;
  Always do the best you can
  To follow the wee Bologna Man.

While doing this he imitates an instrument of an orchestra. The others
imitate him.

This game may be varied, the Bologna man imitating animals or birds,
or making any sound he wishes to make, or he can hop and croak like
a frog, or imitate the motions and noise of an angry cat, or the like.

DRAW A BUCKET OF WATER

This game is played in groups of four. Two players face each other,
clasping hands at full arms' length. The other two face each other in
the same way, with their arms crossing those of the first couple at
right angles. Bracing the feet, the couples sway backward and forward,
singing the following rhyme:

  Draw a bucket of water,
  For my lady's daughter.
  One in a rush,
  Two in a rush,
  Please, little girl, bob under the bush.

When the last line is sung the players all raise their arms without
unclasping the hands, and place them around their companions, who stoop
to step inside. They will then be standing in a circle with arms around
each other's waists. The game finishes by dancing in this position
around the ring, repeating the verse once more.



CHAPTER XX GAMES OF ARITHMETIC

THOUGHT NUMBERS--MYSTICAL NINE--MAGIC HUNDRED--KING AND COUNSELLOR--
HORSE-SHOE NAILS--DINNER PARTY PUZZLE--BASKETS AND STONES, ETC.


HOW TO TELL ANY NUMBER THOUGHT OF

Ask any person to think of a number, say a certain number of dollars;
tell him to borrow that sum of some one in the company, and add the
number borrowed to the amount thought of. It will here be proper to
name the person who lends him the money, and to beg the one who makes
the calculation to do it with great care, as he may readily fall into
an error, especially the first time. Then say to the person: "I do not
lend you, but give you $10; add them to the former sum." Continue in
this manner: "Give the half to the poor, and retain in your memory the
other half." Then add: "Return to the gentleman, or lady, what you
borrowed, and remember that the sum lent you was exactly equal to the
number thought of." Ask the person if he knows exactly what remains;
he will answer "Yes". You must then say: "And I know also the number
that remains; it is equal to what I am going to conceal in my hand."
Put into one of your hands 5 pieces of money, and desire the person
to tell how many you have got. He will answer 5; upon which open your
hand and show him the 5 pieces. You may then say: "I well knew that
your result was 5; but if you had thought of a very large number, for
example, two or three millions, the result would have been much greater,
but my hand would not have held a number of pieces equal to the
remainder." The person then supposing that the result of the calculation
must be different, according to the difference of the number thought
of, will imagine that it is necessary to know the last number in order
to guess the result; but this idea is false, for, in the case which
we have here supposed, whatever be the number thought of, the remainder
must always be 5. The reason of this is as follows: The sum, the half
of which is given to the poor, is nothing else than twice the number
thought of, plus 10; and when the poor have received their part, there
remains only the number thought of plus 5; but the number thought of
is cut off when the sum borrowed is returned, and consequently there
remains only 5. The result may be easily known, since it will be the
half of the number given in the third part of the operation; for
example, whatever be the number thought of, the remainder will be 36
or 25, according as 72 or 50 have been given. If this trick be performed
several times successively, the number given in the third part of the
operation must be always different; for if the result were several
times the same, the deception might be discovered. When the five first
parts of the calculation for obtaining a result are finished, it will
be best not to name it at first, but to continue the operation, to
render it more complex, by saying for example: "Double the remainder,
deduct two, add three, take the fourth part," etc.; and the different
steps of the calculation may be kept in mind, in order to know how
much the first result has been increased or diminished. This irregular
process never fails to confound those who attempt to follow it.

ANOTHER WAY

Tell the person to take 1 from the number thought of, and then double
the remainder; desire him to take 1 from this double, and to add to
it the number thought of, in the last place, ask him the number arising
from this addition, and, if you add 3 to it, the third of the sum will
be the number thought of. The application of this rule is so easy that
it is needless to illustrate it by an example.

A THIRD WAY

Ask the person to add 1 to the triple of the number thought of, and
to multiply the sum by three; then bid him add to this product the
number thought of, and the result will be a sum from which if 3 be
subtracted, the remainder will be ten times the number required; and
if the cipher on the right be cut off from the remainder, the other
figure will indicate the number sought.

Example--Let the number thought of be 6, the triple of which is 18;
and if 1 be added, it makes 19; the triple of this last number is 57,
and if 6 be added it makes 63, from which if 3 be subtracted, the
remainder will be 60; now, if the cipher on the right be cut off, the
remaining figure, 6, will be the number required.

A FOURTH WAY

Tell the person to multiply the number thought of by itself; then
desire him to add 1 to the number thought of, and to multiply it also
by itself; in the last place, ask him to tell the difference of these
two products, which will certainly be an odd number, and the least
half of it will be the number required.

Let the number thought of, for example, be 10; which, multiplied by
itself, gives 100; in the next place, 10 increased by 1 is 11; which,
multiplied by itself makes 121; and the difference of these two squares
is 21, the least half of which, being 10, is the number thought of.

HOW TO TELL NUMBERS THOUGHT OF

If one or more numbers thought of be greater than 9, we must distinguish
two cases; that in which the number or the numbers thought of is odd,
and that in which it is even. In the first case, ask the sum of the
first and second; of the second and third; the third and fourth; and
so on to the last; and then the sum of the first and the last. Having
written down all these sums in order, add together all those, the
places of which are odd, as the first, the third, the fifth, etc.;
make another sum of all those, the places of which are even, as the
second, the fourth, the sixth, etc.; subtract this sum from the former,
and the remainder will be the double of the first number. Let us
suppose, for example, that the five following numbers are thought of:
3, 7, 13, 17, 20, which, when added two and two as above, give 10, 20,
30, 37, 23; the sum of the first, third, and fifth is 63, and that of
the second and fourth is 57; if 57 be subtracted from 63, the remainder
6, will be the double of the first number, 3. Now, if 3 be taken from
10, the first of the sums, the remainder 7, will be the second number;
and by proceeding in this manner, we may find all the rest.

In the second case, that is to say, if the number or the numbers thought
of be even, you must ask and write down as above, the sum of the first
and second; that of the second and third; and so on, as before; but
instead of the sum of the first and the last, you must take that of
the second and last; then add together those which stand in the even
places, and form them into a new sum apart; add also those in the odd
places, the first excepted, and subtract this sum from the former, the
remainder will be double of the second number; and if the second number,
thus found, be subtracted from the sum of the first and second, you
will have the first number; if it be taken from that of the second and
third, it will give the third; and so of the rest. Let the numbers
thought of be, for example, 3, 7, 13, 17; the sums formed as above are
10, 20, 30, 24; the sum of the second and fourth is 44, from which if
30, the third, be subtracted, the remainder will be 14, the double of
7, the second number. The first therefore is 3, third 13, and the
fourth 17.

When each of the numbers thought of does not exceed 9, they may be
easily found in the following manner:

Having made the person add 1 to the double of the first number thought
of, desire him to multiply the whole by 5, and to add to the product
the second number. If there be a third, make him double this first
sum, and add 1 to it, after which, desire him to multiply the new sum
by 5, and to add to it the third number. If there be a fourth, proceed
in the same manner, desiring him to double the preceding sum; to add
to it 1; to multiply by 5; to add the fourth number; and so on.

Then ask the number arising from the addition of the last number thought
of, and if there were two numbers, subtract 5 from it; if there were
three, 55; if there were four, 555; and so on; for the remainder will
be composed of figures, of which the first on the left will be the
first number thought of, the next second, and so on.

Suppose the numbers thought of be 3, 4, 6; by adding 1 to 6, the double
of the first, we shall have 7, which, being multiplied by 5, will give
35; if 4, the second number thought of, be then added, we shall have
39, which doubled gives 78; and, if we add 1, and multiply 79, the
sum, by 5, the result will be 395. In the last place, if we add 6, the
number thought of, the sum will be 401; and if 55 be deducted from it,
we shall have, for remainder, 346, the figures of which, 3, 4, 6,
indicate in order the three numbers though of.

GOLD AND SILVER GAME

One of the party having in one hand a piece of gold and in the other
a piece of silver, you may tell in which hand he has the gold and in
which the silver, by the following method: Some value, represented by
an even number, such as 8, must be assigned to the gold, and a value
represented by an odd number, such as 3, must be assigned to the silver;
after which, desire the person to multiply the number in the right
hand by any even number whatever, such as 2; and that in the left hand
by an odd number, as 3; then bid him add together the two products,
and if the whole sum be odd, the gold will be in the right hand and
the silver in the left; if the sum be even, the contrary will be the
case.

To conceal the trick better, it will be sufficient to ask whether the
sum of the two products can be halved without a remainder; for in that
case the total will be even, and in the contrary case odd.

It may be readily seen, that the pieces, instead of being in the two
hands of the same person, may be supposed to be in the hands of two
persons, one of whom has the even number, or piece of gold, and the
other the odd number, or piece of silver. The same operations may then
be performed in regard to these two persons, as are performed in regard
to the two hands of the same person, calling the one privately the
right and the other the left.

THE NUMBER BAG

The plan is to let a person select several numbers out of a bag, and
to tell him the number which shall exactly divide the sum of those he
has chosen; provide a small bag, divided into two parts, into one of
which put several tickets, numbered, 6, 9, 15, 36, 63, 120, 213, 309,
etc.; and in the other part put as many other tickets marked number
3 only. Draw a handful of tickets from the first part, and, after
showing them to the company, put them into the bag again, and, having
opened it a second time, desire any one to take out as many tickets
as he thinks proper; when he has done that, you open privately the
other part of the bag, and tell him to take out of it one ticket only.
You may safely pronounce that the ticket shall contain the number by
which the amount of the other numbers is divisible; for, as each of
these numbers can be multiplied by 3, their sum total must, evidently,
be divisible by that number. An ingenious mind may easily diversify
this exercise, by marking the tickets in one part of the bag with any
numbers that are divisible by 9 only, the properties of both 9 and 3
being the same; and it should never be exhibited to the same company
twice without being varied.

THE MYSTICAL NUMBER NINE

The discovery of remarkable properties of the number 9 was accidentally
made, more than forty years since, though, we believe, it is not
generally known.

The component figures of the product made by the multiplication of
every digit into the number 9, when added together, make Nine.

The order of these component figures is reversed after the said number
has been multiplied by 5.

The component figures of the amount of the multipliers (viz. 45), when
added together, make Nine.

The amount of the several products or multiples of 9 (viz. 405), when
divided by 9, gives far a quotient, 45; that is, 4 plus 5 = Nine.

The amount of the first product (viz. 9), when added to the other
product, whose respective component figures make 9, is 81; which is
the square of Nine.

The said number 81, when added to the above-mentioned amount of the
several products, or multiples, of 9 (viz. 405), makes 486; which, if
divided by 9, gives, for a quotient, 54; that is 5 plus 4 = Nine.

It is also observable, that the number of changes that may be rung on
nine bells, is 362,880; which figures added together, make 27; that
is, 2 plus 7 = Nine.

And the quotient of 362,880, divided by 9, will be 40,320; that is,
4 plus 0 plus 3 plus 2 plus 0 = Nine.

To add a figure to any given number, which shall render it divisible
by Nine: Add the figures named; and the figure which must be added to
the sum produced, in order to render it divisible by 9, is the one
required. Thus

Suppose the given number to be 7521: Add these together, and 15 will
be produced; now 15 requires 3 to render it divisible by 9; and that
number 3, being added to 7521, causes the same divisibility; 7521 plus
3 gives 7524, and divided by 9, gives 836. This exercise may be
diversified by your specifying, before the sum is named, the particular
place where the figure shall be inserted, to make the number divisible
by 9; for it is exactly the same thing whether the figure be put at
the head of the number, or between any two of its digits.

THE MAGIC HUNDRED.

Two persons agree to take, alternately, numbers less than a given
number, for example, 11 and to add them together till one of them has
reached a certain sum, such as 100. By what means can one of them
infallibly attain to that number before the other? The whole secret
in this consists in immediately making choice of the numbers, 1, 12,
23, 34, and so on, or of a series which continually increases by 11,
up to 100. Let us suppose, that the first person, who knows the game,
makes choice of 1; it is evident that his adversary, as he must count
less than 11, can, at most, reach 11 by adding 10 to it. The first
will then take 1, which will make 12; and whatever number the second
may add, the first will certainly win, provided he continually add the
number which forms the complement of that of his adversary, to 11;
that is to say, if the latter take 8, he must take 3; if 9, he must
take 2; and so on. By following this method, he will infallibly attain
to 89; and it will then be impossible for the second to prevent him
from getting first to 100; for whatever number the second takes, he
can attain only to 99; after which the first may say--"and 1 makes
100." If the second take 1 after 89, it would make 90, and his adversary
would finish by saying--"and 10 makes 100." Between two persons who
are equally acquainted with the game, he who begins must necessarily
win.

TO GUESS THE MISSING FIGURE

To tell the figure a person has struck out of the sum of two given
numbers: Arbitrarily command those numbers only, that are divisible
by 9; such, for instance, as 36, 63, 81, 117, 126, 162, 261, 360, 315,
and 432. Then let a person choose any two of these numbers; and, after
adding them together in his mind, strike out from the sum any one of
the figures he pleases. After he has so done, desire him to tell you
the sum of the remaining figures; and it follows, that the number which
you are obliged to add to this amount, in order to make it 9 or 18,
is the one he struck out. Thus:--Suppose he chooses the numbers 162
and 261, making altogether 423, and that he strike out the center
figure; the two other figures will, added together, make 7, which, to
make nine, requires 2, the number struck out.

THE KING AND THE COUNSELLOR

A King being desirous to confer a liberal reward on one of his
courtiers, who had performed some very important service, desired him
to ask whatever he thought proper, assuring him it should be granted.
The courtier, who was well acquainted with the science of numbers,
only requested that the monarch would give him a quantity of wheat
equal to that which would arise from one grain doubled sixty-three
times successively. The value of the reward was immense; for it will
be seen, by calculation, that the sixty-fourth of the double progression
divided by 1: 2: 4: 8: 16: 32: etc., is 9223372036854775808. But the
sum of all the terms of a double progression, beginning with 1, may
be obtained by doubling the last term, and subtracting from it 1. The
number of the grains of wheat, therefore, in the present case, will
be 18446744073709551615. Now, if a pint contains 9216 grains of wheat,
a gallon will contain 73728; and, as eight gallons make one bushel,
if we divide the above result by eight times 73728, we shall have
31274997411295 for the number of the bushels of wheat equal to the
above number of grains; a quantity greater than what the whole earth
could produce in several years.

THE NAILS IN THE HORSE'S SHOE

A man took a fancy to a horse, which a dealer wished to dispose of at
as high a price as he could; the latter, to induce the man to become
a purchaser, offered to let him have the horse for the value of the
twenty-fourth nail in his shoes, reckoning one farthing for the first
nail, two for the second, four for the third, and so on to the
twenty-fourth. The man, thinking he should have a good bargain, accepted
the offer; the price of the horse was, therefore, necessarily great.
By calculating as before, the twenty-fourth term of the progression
1:2:4:8: etc., will be found to be 8388608, equal to the number of
farthings the purchaser gave for the horse; the price, therefore
amounted to 8738 pounds 2s. 8d.

THE DINNER PARTY PUZZLE

A club of seven agreed to dine together every day successively as long
as they could sit down to table in different order. How many dinners
would be necessary for that purpose? It may be easily found, by the
rules already given, that the club must dine together 5040 times,
before they would exhaust all the arrangements possible, which would
require about thirteen years.

BASKET AND STONES

If a hundred stones be placed in a straight line, at the distance of
a yard from each other, the first being at the same distance from a
basket, how many yards must the person walk who engages to pick them
up, one by one, and put them into the basket? It is evident that, to
pick up the first stone, and put it into the basket, the person must
walk two yards; for the second, he must walk four; for the third, six;
and so on, increasing by two, to the hundredth. The number of yards
which the person must walk, will be equal to the sum of the progression,
2, 4, 6, etc., the last term of which is 200, (22). But the sum of the
progression is equal to 202, the sum of the two extremes, multiplied
by 50, or half the number of terms; that is to say, 10,000 yards, which
makes more than 5 1/2 miles.



CHAPTER XXI

ONE HUNDRED CONUNDRUMS

WITTY QUESTIONS-FACETIOUS PUZZLES--READY ANSWERS--ENTERTAINING PLAY
UPON WORDS


ONE HUNDRED CONUNDRUMS

He loved her. She hated him, but womanlike, she would have him, and
she was the death of him. Who was he? Answer: A flea.

Why is life the greatest of riddles? Because we must all give it up.

If a church be on fire, why has the organ the smallest chance of escape?
Because the organ cannot play on it.

Why should a sailor be the best authority as to what goes on in the
moon? Because he has been to see (sea).

What does a cat have that no other animal has? Kittens.

When is a man behind the times? When he's a weak (week) back. What is
the difference between a baby and a pair of boots? One I was and the
other I wear.

Use me well, and I'm everybody; scratch my back and I'm nobody. A
looking glass.

What word becomes shorter by adding a syllable to it? Short.

If a stupid fellow was going up for a competitive examination, why
should he study the letter P? Because P makes ass Pass.

Why is buttermilk like something that never happened? Because it hasn't
a curd (occurred).

Why is the letter O the noisiest of all the vowels? Because the rest
are in audible.

Why is a Member of Parliament like a shrimp? Because he has M. P. at
the end of his name.

Why is a pig a paradox? Because it is killed first and cured afterward.

Why is a bad half-dollar like something said in a whisper? Because it
is uttered, but not allowed (aloud).

Why do black sheep eat less than white ones? Because there are fewer
of them.

Why is a barn-door fowl sitting on a gate like a half-penny? Because
its head is on one side and its tail on the other.

Why is a man searching for the Philosopher's Stone like Neptune? Because
he is a-seeking (sea-king) what never was.

Why is the nose placed in the middle of the face? Because it's the scenter
(cen-ter).

What is most like a hen stealing? A cock robbing (cock robin).

What is worse than "raining cats and dogs"? Hailing omnibuses. When
is butter like Irish children? When it is made into little pats. Why
is a chronometer like thingumbob? Because it's a watch-you-may-call-it.

Of what color is grass when covered with snow? Invisible green.

Name in two letters the destiny of all earthly things? D. K.

What is even better than presence of mind in a railway accident? Absence
of body. What word contains all the vowels in due order? Facetiously.

Why is a caterpillar like a hot roll? Because its the grub that makes
the butterfly. What is that which occurs twice in a moment, once in
a minute, and not once in a thousand years? The letter M.

What is that which will give a cold, cure a cold, and pay the doctor's
bill? A draught (draft).

What is that which is neither flesh nor bone, yet has four fingers and
a thumb? A glove.

Why has man more hair than woman? Because he is naturally her suitor
(hirsuter).

What is that which no one wishes to have, yet no one cares to lose?
A bald head.

Why is the letter G like the sun? Because it is the center of light.

Why is the letter D like a wedding-ring? Because we cannot be wed
without it.

Why should ladies not learn French? Because one tongue is enough for
any woman.

Which tree is most suggestive of kissing? Yew.

What act of folly does a washerwoman commit? Putting out tubs to catch
soft water when it rains hard.

Why should a cabman be brave? Because none but the brave deserve the
fair (fare).

What is the most difficult surgical operation? To take the jaw out of
a woman.

Why is it difficult to flirt on board the P. and O. steamers? Because
all of the mails (males) are tied up in bags.

What letter made Queen Bess mind her P's and Q's? R made her (Armada).

Why is it an insult to a cock-sparrow to mistake him for a pheasant?
Because it is making game of him.

What is that from which the whole may be taken, and yet some will
remain? The word wholesome.

Why is blind-man's buff like sympathy? Because it is a fellow feeling
for another.

When may a man be said to have four hands? When he doubles his fists.

Why is it easy to break into an old man's house? Because his gait
(gate) is broken and his locks are few.

Why should you not go to New York by the 12:50 train? Because it is
ten-to-one if you catch it.

Why should the male sex avoid the letter A? Because it makes the men
mean.

When does a man sneeze three times? When he cannot help it.

What relation is the doormat to the scraper? A step farther.

Why does a piebald pony never pay toll? Because his master pays it for
him.

Why is the letter S like a sewing-machine? Because it makes needles
needless.

What is the difference between a cow and a rickety chair? One gives
milk and the other gives way (whey).

What flower most resembles a bull's mouth? A cowslip.

What does a stone become in the water? Wet.

If the alphabet were invited out to dine, what time would U, V, W, X,
Y, and Z go--They would go after tea.

When was beef-tea first introduced into England? When Henry VIII
dissolved the Pope's bull.

What letter is the pleasantest to a deaf woman? A, because it makes
her hear.

When is love a deformity? When it is all on one side.

Why is a mouse like hay? Because the cat'll (cattle) eat it.

Why is a madman equal to two men? Because he is one beside himself.

Why are good resolutions like ladies fainting in church? Because the
sooner they are carried out the better.

Which is the merriest letter in the alphabet? U, because it is always
in fun.

What is the difference between a bankrupt and a feather bed? One is
hard up and the other is soft down.

What is that word of five letters from which, if you take two, only
one remains? Stone.

Why is the letter B like a fire? Because it makes oil boil.

What word is pronounced quicker by adding a syllable to it? Quick.

Which animal travels with the most, and which with the least, luggage?
The elephant the most because he is never without his trunk. The fox
and cock the least because they have only one brush and comb between
them.

Why are bakers the most self-denying people? Because they sell what
they need (knead) themselves.

Which of the constellations reminds you of an empty fireplace? The
Great Bear (grate bear).

What relation is that child to its own father who is not its own
father's son? His daughter.

When does a pig become landed property? When he is turned into a meadow.

Which is the heavier, the full or the new moon? The full moon is a
great deal lighter.

Why is an alligator the most deceitful of animals? Because he takes
you in with an open countenance.

Why are fowls the most profitable of live stock? Because for every
grain they give a peck.

What is that which comes with a coach, goes with a coach, is of no use
whatever to the coach, and yet the coach can't go without it? Noise.

If your uncle's sister is not your aunt, what relation is she to you?
Your mother.

Why does a duck put his head under water? For divers reasons.

Why does it take it out again? For sundry reasons.

What vegetable products are the most important in history? Dates.

Why is the letter W like a maid of honor? Because it is always in
waiting.

What letter is always invisible, yet never out of sight? The letter S.

Why is the letter F like a cow's tail? Because it is the end of beef.

On which side of a pitcher is the handle? The outside.

What is higher and handsomer when the head is off? Your pillow.

Why is a pig in a parlor like a house on fire? Because the sooner it
is put out the better.

What is the keynote to good breeding? B natural.

What is it that walks with its head downwards? A nail in a shoe.

Why is a lame dog like a schoolboy adding six and seven together?
Because he puts down three and carries one.

Why is the Brooklyn Bridge like merit? Because it is very often passed
over.

What did Adam first plant in the Garden of Eden? His foot.

What is Majesty, deprived of its externals? A jest.

How would you make a thin man fat? Throw him out of a second story
window and let him come down plump.

What is the difference between a young maid of sixteen and an old maid
of eighty? One is happy and careless and the other is cappy and
hairless.

When was fruit known to use bad language? When the first apple cursed
the first pair.

If a man gets up on a donkey, where should he get down? From a swan's
breast.

What is lengthened by being cut at both ends? A ditch.

"I am what I am; I am not what I follow. If I were what I follow, I
should not be what I am." What is it? A footman.

Which is the strongest day of the week? Sunday. All the others are
weak days.

THE END.





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