To play this game successfully, two of the company privately agree
upon a word that has several meanings. The two then enter into a
conversation which is obliged to be about the word they have chosen,
while the remainder of the company listen. When a member of the
party imagines that he has guessed the word, he may join in the
conversation, but if he finds he is mistaken, must immediately retire.
To give an illustration: Supposing the two players who start the
conversation decide upon the word "box." They might talk about the
people they had seen at the theater and the particular part of the
house in which they were sitting. Then they might say how nice it
looked in a garden, and one might mention that it grew into big trees.
Perhaps one of the company might imagine that he had guessed the word
correctly and join in, when the conversation would be immediately
changed, and the two would begin to converse about a huge case in
which a very great number of things were packed away. By this time,
possibly the person who joined in the conversation will leave off,
completely mystified. If, however, the word should be correctly
guessed, the person guessing it chooses a partner, and they together
select a word, and the game begins again.
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