square space in one corner of the room that was used for a fish pond.
Rocks and ferns were grouped along the edge of the platform, the floor
was covered with green carpet, and a pretty meadow scene painted on
coarse cotton was hung at the back, making a very picturesque setting
for the pond. Steps led up to the bridge, and at the foot was a rustic
lodge where, on payment of a fee, the prospective fisher was given a
pole and a circle of cardboard, upon which was marked the number of
times he was entitled to fish. Thus equipped, he went up on the bridge
and fished in the pond. Additional fishing tickets were sold by the
bridgekeepers. Articles of all description and varying values were
fished forth from the pond, which made it all the more exciting.
Refreshments were served in the hall and there were a candy and cake
table and two stalls where fancy articles were sold. One of these stalls
bore the sign, Fish Market. Here fish of many brilliant colors and
quaint shapes were for sale; they were blotters, shaving cases,
pincushions, sachet bags, needle-books, housewives, pen-wipers, spool
and veil cases, emeries, court-plaster cases and kites. They were made
of inexpensive materials, but their novelty caused them to sell rapidly.
The fish market was well patronized. At the other stall, pillows and
lamp-shades were sold. Red linen pillows shaped like Japanese fish and
worked with black attracted a great deal of attention; other pillows had
poster fish swimming across them, and still others were adorned with
borders of fishes and anglers' maxims. Fish lamp-shades--scarlet, yellow
and delicately tinted--found a ready sale among the young people, and
caused much mirth. On the cake and candy table there were many toothsome
fishes--chocolate and clear candy fish, boxes of candy decorated with
fishing scenes in water-color and pen and ink, sandwiches cut out with
fish-shaped tin cutters, also fish-shaped cookies and small iced cakes.
The tops of the large cakes were ornamented with fish designs done with
contrasting colors of icing.
FLAGS OF NATIONS
Secure as many cards as there are to be guests, and paint or paste on
each of them some five or six small flags of different nations,
numbering each flag. Sometimes one can obtain small buttons with these
flags on them, and these answer quite as well. It is better to have each
card different, and to assort the flags, so that every card may contain
some not very generally known. The United States flag might be omitted,
as every one would be familiar with that; but the flag of Liberia could
be used on several cards, as its resemblance to our flag would be apt to
deceive many. Plates showing the various national flags in colors may be
found in the front of almost any unabridged dictionary.
Hand a card and a pencil to each guest. The pencil may be made quite
attractive by covering it with a strip of crepe paper in some bright
color. This can be easily accomplished by cutting the paper into
lengths a little longer than the pencil, pasting one side, and rolling
the pencil in the paper, then tying with a bow of narrow ribbon. After
the guests are supplied with cards and pencils let each one write
opposite the flags the names of the countries whose emblems they are.
This will be found no easy matter, unless the guest should be a sailor
or a globe-trotter, and many amusing guesses will be recorded.
The one who succeeds in guessing the countries correctly, or in guessing
nearest, might be rewarded with a United States flag pin or a pretty
silk flag. For making awards the hostess should have a list of the flags
that are on each card, which should be numbered, and compare the list
with the guesses handed in by the company.
FLORAL LOVE STORY
1. The girl's name and the color of her hair (Marigold).
2. The color of her eyes (violet).
3. Her brother's name and an adjective that just describes
her (Sweet William).
4. Her brother's favorite musical instrument (trumpet).
5. At what time did he awaken his father with it (four
o'clock).
6. With what did his father punish him (goldenrod).
7. What did the boy do (balsam).
8. What office in the Presbyterian Church did her father
fill (elder).
9. Being a farmer, what was his occupation in spring
(plantain).
10. Her lover's name and what he wrote it with (jonquil).
11. What, being single, he often lost (bachelor's buttons).
12. What confectionery he took to her (peppermint).
13. What he did when he proposed (aster).
14. What ghastly trophy did he lay at her feet (bleeding
heart).
15. What did she give him in return (heartsease).
16. What did she say to him (Johnny-jump-up).
17. What flower did he cultivate (tulips).
18. To whom did she refer him (poppy).
19. What minister married them (Jack-in-the-pulpit).
20. What was wished with regard to their happiness
(live-forever).
21. When he went away, what did she say to him
(forget-me-not).
22. With what did she punish her children (lady's-slipper).
23. What hallowed their last years (sweet peas).
FLOWER BAZAAR
Six booths, if properly planned, will mean a small but picturesque
bazaar. Five of these booths may represent flowers, and many of the
articles sold from them may be made at home by members of the society
which the sale is designed to aid.
Drape the Lily booth in white, decorate it with Easter lilies and light
it with fairy lamps with white shades. Little novelties for Easter gifts
may be sold here--the pretty trifles which are easily made.
The Violet booth may be almost self-decorative if Easter cards and
dainty booklets bearing the flower are displayed. Many choice bits of
verse and short paragraphs of uplifting thought may be found in the
religious publications of to-day, and if these are carefully mounted on
white cards and tied with violet ribbon to a bunch of the fresh flowers
they will make the most cheering of Easter messages. Provision should be
made at the booth for the cards to be autographed with the names of the
senders.
The Tulip booth may be the gayest of the gay, and there the children
should find Easter eggs in all colors of the rainbow. The booth should
be lighted with gay lanterns. Those in charge should appear in Oriental
costumes.
The choice of decorations for the Pansy booth is a wide one. Light green
would make a good background to set off the bowls of different colored
blossoms adorning the table. At this booth flower seeds, bulbs and
plants of all kinds might be on sale. Seedlings are always ready
sellers.
A booth which would prove very popular with housewives would be the one
where Daffodils are in evidence, and there the egg delicacies for Easter
menus might be on sale: stuffed eggs, pickled eggs, egg salad, custards,
and angel and sponge cakes. Over this booth place a large yellow
umbrella, fringed with daffodils. On a card fastened to the handle have
the familiar quotation:
"Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares."
Butterflies fluttering over the Candy booth, as if attracted by the
sweets there, will induce others to come for the same sweets. The
butterflies may be made of crepe paper and suspended above the booth by
invisible wires; the vibration of the air will make them appear very
real. The little maid who presides should be gowned to represent a
butterfly.
Care should be taken that the attendants at the different booths are
dressed in colors to harmonize with the decorative scheme.
FLOWER GUESSING CONTEST
1. My first wears my second on her foot. (Lady's slipper)
2. A Roman numeral. (IV-Ivy)
3. The hour before my English cousin's tea. (Four-o'clock)
4. Good marketing. (Butter and eggs)
5. A gay young man and a ferocious animal. (Dandelion)
6. My first is often sought for my second. (Marigold)
7. A young man's farewell to his sweetheart. (Forget-me-not)
8. Her reply to him. (Sweet William)
9. The gentler sex of the Friend persuasion. (Quaker ladies)
10. Its own doctor. (Self-heal)
11. My first is as sharp as needles, my second is as soft as
down. (Thistledown)
12. My first is a country in Asia, my second is the name of
a prominent New York family. (China Aster)
13. My first is the name of a bird, my second is worn by
cavalrymen. (Larkspur)
14. A church official. (Elder)
15. A very precise lady. (Primrose)
16. A tattered songster. (Ragged Robin)
17. My first is sly but cannot wear my second. (Foxglove)
18. The color of a horse. (Sorrel)
19. A craze in Holland in the seventeenth century. (Tulip)
20. My first is an implement of war, my second is a place
where money is coined. (Spearmint)
21. A disrespectful name for a physician. (Dock)
22. Fragrant letters. (Sweet peas)
23. My first is a white wood, my second is the name of a
yellow Rhenish wine. (Hollyhock)
24. What the father said to the son in the morning.
(Johnny-jump-up)
25. My first is a facial expression of pleasure, my second a
woodsman's means of livelihood. (Smilax)
26. An animal of the jungle is my first, my second is the
name of a tall, fair lady. (Tiger Lily)
27. My first is made in a dairy but is seldom served in my
second. (Buttercup)
28. My first wears my second on his head. (Coxcomb)
29. A close companion. (Stick-tight)
30. A fashionable shade for evening dresses. (Heliotrope)
FLOWER LUNCHEONS
DAISY LUNCHEON.--Just before luncheon the hostess may crown each guest
with a wreath, which she has prepared by tying the blossoms on circles
of fine wire.
In the centre of the luncheon-table have a large bunch of blossoms and
also a few scattered carelessly over the table. Trim the edge of the
table with a chain of daisies, looped up here and there. At each corner
have a large bow of ribbon, either white or of three colors, yellow,
green and white.
Serve only light refreshments. Yellow and white ices served together
would be pretty. By all means have your cakes cooked in patty-pans. Ice
the little cakes with chocolate, and on top of each have a life-size
daisy. Any amateur can make this decoration successfully. Boil your
icing thick and squeeze it through a small funnel made of thick
writing-paper in order to make the long, narrow, white petals of a
daisy. Reserve a small portion of the icing and tint it bright yellow
for the centres. The effect will be quite pretty.
After refreshments are served supply each guest with a sheet of paper
and a tiny pencil with a ribbon bow at the end (these pencils can be
purchased for a cent apiece). Announce that the guest who draws the most
natural daisy will be awarded a prize. Distribute the blossoms for
models. Pin all of the papers upon the wall and let the guests decide
which is the most lifelike flower. Award a pretty book to the one who
succeeds best and a booklet of pressed flowers to the second best.
BUTTERCUP LUNCHEON.--A very effective arrangement of buttercups for a
luncheon is here suggested. It must be remembered that this flower
closes at night and therefore is not suitable for an evening decoration.
In the centre of the table arrange a circle of large rock ferns, and in
the circle thus made place an inverted round pudding-dish, surrounding
it with a large wreath of buttercups. Place the wreath so that half of
each fern leaf will project beyond the buttercups. On the pudding-dish,
the sides of which are hidden by the wreath, place a fern-dish full of
growing ferns, and almost hidden among them a green glass vase filled
with buttercups and grasses. This same idea may be carried out with
daisies.
OX-EYED DAISIES may be used for a luncheon-table decoration very
effectively. In the centre of a round table, arranged to seat eight
people, place a mound of daisies and mountain ferns and have a rope of
daisies running from each plate to the centre. The ends of the ropes may
be hidden in the mound.
VIOLET LUNCHEON.--In the centre of a table stand a large cut-glass bowl
on a violet embroidered centrepiece. Fill this bowl with smilax and pink
carnations. In the centre of the bowl place a tall green glass vase and
make it secure by passing four lengths of ribbon crossed over the top of
it, fastening the ends on the edge of the centrepiece with little bows.
In the green vase place eight bunches of violets. From each bouquet run
violet baby-ribbons ending in a little bow at each place. This will make
a number of ribbons resembling a May-pole. After the luncheon each guest
may unfasten the little bow at her place, give the ribbon a jerk, and
draw a bunch of violets. The ribbons passing over the top of the vase
will hold the vase firmly in place.
APPLE-BLOSSOM LUNCHEON.--For this use blossoms which are but half blown.
Place branches of them in glass bottles full of water and fasten with
wires to the backs of the pictures in the dining-room. The sideboard
should be covered with great branches put in tall cut-glass vases and
low silver bowls; the mantel banked, and in the corners of the room tall
Japanese jars filled with great spraying branches. In the centre of the
table may be placed a vase filled with pure white cherry blossoms. The
candlesticks should be shaded with white and silver. Back of a screen at
each end of the room a lamp may be set to give a brilliant light to the
flowers on the wall, without the glare of the lamp being visible.
PANSY LUNCHEON.--A pretty and an original way to decorate a table with
pansies when one has quantities of these flowers is to place in the
centre of the table upon a glass salver an old-fashioned glass
fruit-bowl on a pedestal. Fill the fruit-bowl and salver with white
cornmeal which has been well soaked in cold water, and in this insert
the pansy stems. They should be placed as thickly as possible. Around
the outer edge of the salver have a border of maidenhair fern. An oblong
glass dish arranged in a similar manner may be placed at each end of the
table. If desired little dishes arranged in the same way may also be
used.
"RAINY-DAY LUNCHEON."--This is certainly an original idea. Place an old
umbrella frame vertically in a fernery and twist smilax around the frame
and down each spoke. At the base of the fernery make a bed of violets as
large around in circumference as the umbrella. At the luncheon hour hide
a small lump of ice in the smilax at the end of each spoke, allowing it
to melt and drip on the violets. This makes a pretty decoration for a
luncheon, particularly if wild violets can be procured.
FLOWER PARTY
When the guests have assembled, each one is given a tiny flower-pot.
These are easily made out of red paper--a long strip and a round, with
the aid of the mucilage pot. In these tiny pots the following list of
flowers to be guessed is tucked away:
MAKE THESE HIDDEN FLOWERS SPROUT
1. An amiable man. (Sweet William)
2. The pulse of the business world. (Stocks)
3. A title for the sun. (Morning-glory)
4. A bird and a riding accessory. (Larkspur)
5. A pillar of a building and a syllable that rhymes with
dine. (Columbine)
6. A flower between mountains. (Lily of the valley)
7. A farewell sentiment. (Forget-me-not)
8. A dude and an animal. (Dandelion)
9. A part of the day. (Four-o'clock)
10. The result of Cupid's arrows. (Bleeding heart)
11. The place for a kiss. (Tulips)
12. A yellow stick. (Goldenrod)
13. A product of the dairy and a drinking utensil.
(Buttercup)
14. One of the Four Hundred. (Aster)
15. What Cinderella should have advertised for. (Lady's
slipper)
16. A wild animal and a bit of outdoor wearing apparel.
(Foxglove)
The list of answers is of course kept in hand by the hostess. When the
first part of the game has been played and the answers verified, a
continuation of the fun is a contest of all as to who can write the best
verse containing in any way whatever all the above flowers. Judges must
be appointed, and, of course, prizes awarded for the verse contest as
well as for the guessing game. This last contest may be omitted, if
wished, but it adds fun and calls forth much ingenuity and cleverness.
The prizes might be little potted plants, so many of which grace the
florists' windows at this time of year; these for the women, and
scarf-pins in the shape of flowers for the men.
To select partners for refreshments, give to each lady a flower of a
different variety; if it is impossible to secure a sufficient quantity
of natural blossoms, paper ones will do quite as well, and these may be
made at home. To the gentlemen hand cards bearing quotations referring
to some flower, but inserting a blank where the name occurs. Each
gentleman may claim his partner when he finds the flower that fits his
verse.
The following are a few suggestive quotations:
"A (violet) by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye."
"As the (sunflower) turns on her god when he sets
The same look which she turn'd when he rose."
"Gather ye (rosebuds) while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying."
"And there is (pansies); that's for thoughts."
"Pale fear oppress'd the drooping maid--
And on her cheek the (rose) began to fade."
"And the blue (gentian-flower), that, in the breeze,
Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last."
For the supper have a salad served in little paper boxes decorated with
strips of pink tissue paper cut either in narrow slashes like the
chrysanthemum petals, or in broader ones to represent the rose. Ices can
be obtained in many flower forms, and if to these be added real stems
and leaves, the service will be as dainty and attractive as possible.
FLOWERS ILLUSTRATED
1. Buttercup.
2. Daisy.
3. Sunflower.
4. Trumpet vine.
5. Lily of the valley.
6. Morning-glory.
7. Violet.
8. Dandelion.
9. Lady's-slipper.
10. Bachelor's-button.
11. Aster.
12. Tulip.
13. Goldenrod.
14. Cat-tail.
15. Sweet William.
16. Sweet peas.
17. Ragged sailor.
18. Bleeding heart.
19. Poppy.
20. Black-eyed Susan.
21. Foxglove.
22. Queen's lace handkerchief.
23. Bluebell.
24. Everlasting.
25. Marshmallow.
26. Solomon's-seal.
They are illustrated in this way: 1. A cup of butter. 2. The picture of
a book, cut from a magazine, having the title blotted out, and showing
only the words, "by Charlotte M. Yonge" (the author of "The Daisy
Chain"). 3. A colored illustration of the solar spectrum. 4. A tin
trumpet. 5. A picture of a valley. 6. A card upon which is printed "6 A.
M." 7. A picture of a book upon which is written, "by Julia Magruder"
(author of "The Violet"). 8. The picture of a lion, to which has been
added, with pen and ink, a silk hat, collar and cane. 9. A pair of
slippers. 10. A variety of buttons, poorly sewed upon a piece of cloth.
11. A card upon which is written, "A well-known hotel and library." 12.
Photograph of a part of a face. 13. A slender stick, gilded. 14. A
picture of cats. 15. A card with the words "Dear Will." 16. A few peas
in a saucer of sugar. 17. A Brownie sailor, torn and dilapidated. 18. A
red paper heart. 19. The written words, "Sleep, sweet sleep." 20. A
picture of a girl, the eyes having been painted black. 21. A pair of
gloves. 22. A dainty handkerchief. 23. A small bell, painted blue. 24. A
leather advertisement under which are the words, "Never wear out." 25.
A box of marshmallows. 26. A large seal with the letter S.
To the one who succeeds in finding the greatest number of flowers can be
given a beautiful basket of roses.
FOURTH OF JULY MUSEUM
The invitations, gay with the national colors, stated that Miss Blank,
in order to encourage patriotism in her native town, had made a museum
collection of curios connected with noted Americans, and bade a choice
selection of her fellow-townsmen to meet and view the rare objects.
The booklets passed around among the guests upon their arrival were
attractive enough, a tiny flag being painted in one corner of the cover,
which also contained the legend:
The Fourth of July Museum
At Miss Blank's
July the Fourth
Nineteen hundred and blank.
A red, white and blue ribbon held the booklet together, and at the end
of this was a small white pencil.
We found it best to pair off the players, for two heads are so much
better than one, and it is a great satisfaction to give help to one's
neighbor without fear and without reproach. Each of the booklets
contained a date or an event in United States history, and the man who
drew the booklet containing "1492" became the partner of the girl who
held "Discovery of America."
The museum specimens were arranged on tables or mounted on cards, and
each one was numbered conspicuously. The following list of twenty-two
names was used. It can be lengthened, or the celebrities may be
otherwise represented, according to the resources of the hostess.
Magazine pictures of the articles may be substituted for the real
thing, to simplify preparations. Here is the list, which may be greatly
extended:
Paul Revere--a toy horse with rider, labeled "The Horse
Travels Best by Night."
Abraham Lincoln--two small darkies, labeled "All Free."
Washington--a bunch of cherries, labeled "Our National
Fruit."
Carrie Nation--a toy hatchet, labeled "You Think You Know.
Guess Again."
General Grant--a chocolate cigar.
Theodore Roosevelt--a doll's Rough Rider hat.
Richmond Hobson--a confectioner's "kiss."
Barbara Frietchie--the national flag.
Theodore Thomas--a bar of music and a street-car
_conductor's_ cap.
Benjamin Harrison--his grandfather's hat.
Mark Twain--_Two_ pencil-_marks_.
P. T. Barnum--a hippopotamus, labeled "The Greatest Show on
Earth."
Harriet Beecher Stowe--"Uncle Tom's Cabin," represented by a
toy negro cabin.
Priscilla Alden--a picture of a Puritan at a spinning-wheel.
Jefferson Davis--a Confederate dollar bill.
William J. Bryan--a silver dollar (number _sixteen_ in the
collection).
Miss Stone--the _stone_ figure of a woman, labeled
"Kidnapped," or a copy of Stevenson's "Kidnapped."
Joseph Jefferson--a little dog, labeled "My Dog Schneider."
Nathaniel Hawthorne--"The Scarlet Letter," represented by a
medium-size red envelope.
Eli Whitney--a cotton-gin, represented by a branch of
cotton, and a bottle, labeled "Pure Holland Gin."
Robert Fulton--a toy steamboat.
Benjamin Franklin--a kite and a key.
The national colors may be used effectively in the decorations of the
rooms or of the table, and the prizes for the winners may be silk flags,
photographs of historic places or other souvenirs suggestive of the day.
Appropriate place-cards for a Fourth of July luncheon or dinner may be
made by covering small glass bottles about the size of a firecracker
with red tissue paper, and filling them with little candies. By cutting
the corks even with the bottles and drawing a small piece of twine
through for a fuse, a clever imitation of a cracker is made. The names
of the guests may be put vertically on the bottles.
GAME OF NATIONS
Provide each guest with a list of questions, with spaces left for the
answers. The answers consist of words ending in "N-A-T-I-O-N." Here are
the questions and the answers:
1. A popular flower. 1. Carnation.
2. Unruliness. 2. Insubordination.
3. A gift for charitable purposes. 3. Donation.
4. The installation of a king. 4. Coronation.
5. Resolution, or "grit." 5. Determination.
6. The murder of an eminent person. 6. Assassination.
7. Fancy, or mental representations. 7. Imagination.
8. Making anything clear. 8. Explanation.
9. A small surgical operation legally enforced.
9. Vaccination.
10. The giving up of an office. 10. Resignation.
11. A joining or putting together. 11. Combination.
12. The choosing of a candidate. 12. Nomination.
The prizes should then be awarded. A pretty silk banner will be
acceptable to a man, while a big bunch of red and white carnations tied
with a blue ribbon, or a pound of confectionery in a box decorated with
flags and other patriotic emblems will make a pretty gift for a lady.
GEOGRAPHICAL GAME
Seat the players in a ring. Let the first one say aloud the name of a
city, mountain, river, lake, etc., located in any part of the world; the
next player give a name beginning with the final letter of the
previously said name, and the third supply one beginning with the final
letter of the second, and so on around the ring. Thus: America, Athens,
Santiago, Ohio. Each player is allowed thirty seconds in which to think.
If, by the end of that time, he has failed to supply a name, he must
drop out of the game. The one who keeps up longest is the champion. Any
player, at any time, may be challenged to give the geographical location
of the place he has named. If, on demand, he cannot do so he must pay a
forfeit.
GEORGE AND MARTHA TEA
The walls should be hung with red, white and blue bunting, relieved at
regular intervals with shields and small hatchets made of flowers in the
national colors.
Have George and Martha receive the guests, and there may be also a
number of men and women attired in colonial costumes to introduce
strangers and see that all have a good time.