that he names aloud to the person conducting the play. The leader then
writes the names of the flowers, and after them the names of three
persons in the room. He then demands of the player who has composed
the bouquet, what he intends doing with the flowers, and upon their
proposed disposition being declared, the names of the three persons
they represent are read aloud.
EXAMPLE.
Leader.—“Miss A, choose three flowers.”
Miss A.—“A rose, an aster and a pansy.”
L.—“I have written them. Now what will you do with the rose?”
A.—“I will throw it out of the window.”
L.—“And the aster?”
A.—“I will put it in a vase.”
L.—“And the pansy?”
A.—“I will always keep it near me.”
L.—“Very well. You have thrown Mr. A out of the window, put Mr. B in a
vase and expressed a desire to keep Mr. C always near you.”
THE ALL-AROUND STORY GAME.
This is a very entertaining game and productive of general merriment,
if conducted at all cleverly by the players. One person in the room
begins to relate a story, and after telling enough to interest his
hearers and arouse their curiosity, suddenly breaking off, throws a
knotted handkerchief at some other member of the party, calling upon
him to continue the narrative. This is kept up as long as possible, the
more absurd and improbable the plot of the story the better. If any one
fails to respond upon receiving the handkerchief, he or she must pay a
forfeit.
TONGUE-TWISTERS.
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 is 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 shop 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 shock Susan.
Robert Rowley 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.
TO BALANCE A PENCIL ON ITS POINT.
Dig the blade of a half open penknife into a pencil, a little above the
point, and to open or close the blade, little by little, till you find
that the balance is obtained. The combination of pencil and penknife
thus placing itself in equilibrio is an illustration of a familiar law
of mechanics; the centre of gravity of the combination falls below the
point of support (the finger, edge of the table, or the like), and thus
stable equilibrium is obtained.
[Illustration]
By varying the degree of opening of the penknife, you impart
corresponding degrees of inclination to the pencil. When the centre of
gravity of the two combined falls in the same line as the axis of the
pencil, the latter will assume a perpendicular position.
MY GRANDFATHER’S TRUNK.
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, beside 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.
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
give 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 England,” “On a horse,” “In the sky,” etc.
“I LOVE MY LOVE.”
A pretty game and a prime favorite with country lads and lasses. The
leader commences by saying, “I love my love with an ‘A’ because she is
Angelic, because her name is Araminta and because she lives in Atlanta.
I will give her an Amethyst, feed her upon Almonds and make her a
bouquet of Anemones.” The next player, taking the letter “B,” loves
his love in the same set of phrases, only because she is Bewitching,
her name is Belinda, etc. The next takes “C,” and so on through the
alphabet, omitting the letter X.
Any one failing to supply the required words promptly gives a forfeit.
TO DRIVE A NEEDLE THROUGH A CENT.
To drive a needle through a cent, particularly if the needle be a fine
one, seems at first sight an impossibility. It is, however, a very easy
matter, if you set about it in the right way. Thrust the needle through
a cork, allowing the point to project slightly, and then, with a pair
of cutting-pliers, nip off all that remains exposed at the opposite
end. Place cork and cent as shown in our illustration, or simply let
the coin rest on a piece of soft wood, and hammer away vigorously on
the top of the cork.
The needle, being steel, is harder than the bronze of the coin, and
the cork preventing it from bending to either side, it may be driven
through the cent, or any other coin of like substance, with perfect
ease.
The cork should be kept in position with the left hand, while receiving
the blows of the hammer.
[Illustration]
PROVERBS.
This game requires the players to be alert and on the watch for the
words that give the clue to the solution. One player (A) having gone
from the room, a proverb is selected by the others, of which each
person takes a separate word, in order. The absent player then being
recalled, proceeds to question the others singly, each introducing in
his answer the word of the proverb he has previously received. Suppose
the proverb selected to be “Nothing venture nothing have,” the game
would proceed thus:
A. “Is the proverb a long one?”
1st Player. “Nothing should be too long for you to guess.”
A. “Have you ever played this game before?”
2d P. “Really I cannot venture to say.”
A. “Are you fond of parlor games?”
3d P. “Nothing pleases me more.”
A. “Are you enjoying yourself this evening?”
4th P. “I have enjoyed myself thus far.”
If A has not by this time guessed the proverb, he continues his
questions until enlightened, when the player whose answer has given him
the most information goes from the room.
Rather a noisy way of playing the same game is to have all the players
at a given signal shout their words in unison, leaving the listener
to distinguish in the uproar some word that shall give him a clue to
the proverb. The shouting is repeated as often as desired until he is
successful.
In either modification of the game the player whose answer or word
leads the questioner to discovery becomes the one to go from the room.
TOSSING THE RINGS.
Fasten securely a stick two feet long and an inch or more in diameter
to the centre of a block of wood or piece of board, so that the block
forms a substantial base for the stick, which should be slightly
tapered at its upper end. Make out of wire six hoops or rings, three of
them nine inches in diameter, two of them seven inches, and one five
inches. They should be heavy enough to toss easily, perhaps half an
inch in thickness. Wind these with cloth torn into strips, fastening
the ends with needle and thread. Use three colors of the cloth, the
rings of each size being the same color. Red, white and blue make a
pretty combination, using red for the largest size, white for the next,
and blue for the one small one. Now set the standard at some distance
from the players, and the game begins. One player takes all the rings
and tosses them one at a time over the upright stick. For each of the
large rings which he succeeds in getting upon the standard, he counts
ten; for each of the next size, fifteen; and for the smallest one,
twenty-five. Any number agreed upon may be called a game, and the
player first obtaining that number of counts wins. After one player has
thrown all the rings, another player takes them, tossing them in the
same way. Any number of players may take part in the game. When once
around, the first one tosses again, and so on until the game is out.
For small children, five or six feet is far enough to toss the rings,
but larger ones may increase the distance.
[Illustration]
MAGIC FIGURES.
Upon a little square of ordinary writing-paper, sketch some geometrical
figure—square, rectangle, triangle, polygon, etc.—using for that
purpose a pencil whose tip has been moistened with water. Float the
paper, with the design upward, on the water in a basin, and fill up
with water the figure you have traced. With a little care you may do
this without difficulty, for the lines of moisture which form the
outlines of your figure (a triangle, we will suppose) will prevent the
liquid overpassing the limits thereby defined. The water thus enclosed
will rise in a little heap. Now take a pin, and placing the point at
any spot you please within the triangle, in such manner that the point
dips into the water but does not touch the paper itself, you will see
the paper begin to move horizontally in a straight line until the
geometric centre of the triangle places itself exactly under the point
of the pin. You can readily determine beforehand this central point,
which we will call A, and holding the pin as shown in the engraving,
you will find that the paper travels in the direction shown by the
arrow, till A comes just under the point of the pin, when it will stop
of its own accord. Repeat the experiment with a square or a rectangle,
and you will find that the spot which is beneath the pin-point, when
the paper comes to a standstill, is precisely the point of intersection
of the two diagonals.
THE FORCE OF THE BREATH.
When you blow into a paper bag in order to swell it out, afterward
bursting it with a blow to produce the familiar “bang,” have you ever
stopped to ask yourself what was the precise force of your breath?
You know that such force can be measured by the instrument known as
the spirometer, which you occasionally see at a railway station or a
country fair. But a simple paper bag may be made to answer the purpose
of the spirometer, as I propose to explain.
The bag must be rather long and narrow, airtight, and of thin, tough
paper. A bullock’s bladder will answer the purpose still better. A
tube should be inserted in the neck, through which to blow. Lay it
flat, near the edge of a table, with the mouth turned toward yourself;
place various weights upon it, increasing by degrees, and you will be
surprised at the weight that your breath will thus lift. To upset a
couple of big dictionaries, placed one upon the other, will be mere
child’s play, as you will find on putting the matter to the test.
[Illustration]
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 centre
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 centre 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 centre 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 BUFF.
A sheet being stretched across one end of the room, one of the players
is 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
centre 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.
MAGIC MUSIC.
A beautiful game, which amuses even the mere spectator as much as it
does the actual 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.
GOING TO JERUSALEM.
This is another piano game, but does not require so much skill as
the former. 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 continued, until the chairs decrease to one and the
players to two.
Whoever of these succeeds in seating himself as the music stops, has
won the game.
BEAN-BAGS.
A game of skill, the equivalent of parlor quoits. It is played with
bean-bags and a board three feet long and two feet wide, elevated at
one end by another board to an angle of thirty degrees, and having some
six inches from the top an opening about five inches square. Station
this board at one end of a long room and divide the company equally.
Eight bean-bags are all that are required.
The leader of one side begins. Standing at a suitable distance from
the board, he endeavors to throw the bags, one at a time, through the
square opening. Every bag that reaches the goal counts ten, every one
that lodges upon the board five, and every one that falls to the ground
outside of the board a loss of ten.
Suppose A to have put two bags through the opening (twenty), and two
upon the board (ten),—that is a gain of thirty—but the other four bags
falling to the ground makes a loss of forty, so his real score is a
loss of ten.
B puts four through the opening (forty), three upon the board
(fifteen), and one upon the ground (ten), which gives him a gain of
forty-five.
The sides play alternately, and after three rounds for each, the
scores, which have been carefully kept by one member of the party, are
balanced, and the side having the greatest gain declared winners.
A prize may be given for the highest individual score.
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 centre 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 centre 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 centre. 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.
BLIND-MAN’S BUFF.
A player is led blindfolded into the middle of the room, taken by the
shoulders, and turned around three times, after which he must catch
somebody to replace him. As he is being turned, the others say:
“How many horses have you in your father’s stable?”
“Three; black, white and gray.”
“Turn about, and turn about, and catch whom you may.”
This game belongs to many countries, and is known by many different
names. It is “Blind Cow” in Germany; “Blind Goat” in Sweden; “Blind
Mouse” in South Germany and Servia; “Blind Hen” in Spain; “Blind Fly,”
or “Blind Cat,” in Italy. To the English name, “Blind-man’s Buff,”
correspond the Polish “Blind Old Man,” and the Norwegian “Blind Thief.”
A familiar variation makes this a ring-game. The blindfolded person
stands in the centre, with a staff, while the ring circles about him.
When he strikes the floor three times, the ring must pause. The person
in whose direction he points must grasp the staff, and utter some
sound, disguising the voice as much as possible. The first must then
guess the name from the sound. This form of the game is called “Peg in
the Ring.”
A QUEER CANDLESTICK.
Take a short piece of candle, and into its lower end thrust, by way
of ballast, a nail. You should choose a nail of such a size that the
candle-end shall be all but immersed, the water just rising to its
upper edge, though not so high as to overflow the top and wet the wick.
Now, light the candle, and you may safely make a wager that, in spite
of the apparently unfavorable circumstances in which it is placed, it
will burn completely to the end.
This may, at first sight, appear a rash assertion, but after a little
reflection, you will see how the arrangement works. The candle, of
course, grows shorter as it burns, and it seems therefore as if the
water must overflow the top and reach the wick; but on the other hand,
it grows proportionately lighter, and therefore rides higher in the
water.
Further, the external surface of the candle, kept cool by the
surrounding liquid, melts much more slowly than it would in the open
air, so that the flame hollows out for itself a sort of little well, as
represented in the right-hand corner of our illustration.
[Illustration]
This hollowing process further lightens the candle, and the wick will,
as you have stated, burn to the very end.
TO WEIGH A LETTER WITH A BROOMSTICK.
For the purpose of weighing light objects as, for instance, a letter,
a very delicate balance is required; and as such we recommend to our
readers our new broomstick letter-weighing machine. Cut off the end of
an ordinary broom-handle, to a length of about ten inches, and plunge
it into a tall glass jar full of water—first, however, weighting it at
bottom in such manner that about seven inches of its length shall be
under water. Attach to the upper end, by means of a tack, an ordinary
visiting card. This will form the tray or scale of the apparatus—and
behold your weighing-machine, complete. All that remains to be done is
to graduate it. Place on the scale a one-ounce weight, note how far
the stick sinks, and mark thereon, with a very black pencil, the point
where it meets the surface of the water.
[Illustration]
The apparatus being so far graduated, take off the weight, and lay on
the card, in its stead, the letter you desire to weigh. If the pencil
mark remains above the surface of the water, your letter weighs less
than an ounce, and two cents will pay the postage; if, on the contrary,
the mark sinks below the surface, your letter is over-weight, and you
must pay accordingly.
THE TAILLESS DONKEY.
An amusing game at which any size of 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.
BOSTON.
This is a variation of “Blind Man’s Buff,” which is described
elsewhere. Seat the company round the room and give each a number.
Blindfold one person and station him in the centre of the room,
twirling him around several times so that he may successfully “lose his
bearings.” He must then call any two numbers included in the number of
players, and the two people representing them must at once rise and
change places, while the “blind man” endeavors to seize one of them. If
he succeeds in doing this he must, while still blindfolded, identify
the captive, who then in turn enters the circle.
More than two numbers may be called at once, and when the “blind man”
calls out “Boston!” and everybody changes places, he may, by slipping
into a vacant seat during the confusion, find a substitute in the
person left standing when all the chairs are occupied.
WHAT IS YOUR AGE?
It is always a delicate thing to inquire a lady’s age, but the question
in this game will offend nobody. There must be at least two people in
the secret, and one of them leaves the room. Somebody in the company
tells his age to the others, and the absent player is recalled.
Everybody is at liberty to question him, but he only pays attention
to the one player he knows holds the secret of the game, and from the
first letters of the words introducing the remarks of this person he
takes his cue—the first ten letters of the alphabet standing for the
ten figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0.
A goes from the room and B asks for somebody’s age. C volunteers, “I am
twenty-five.” A being then recalled, there is a universal demand from
the company for the required age, and a great deal of doubt expressed
as to his ability to guess it. During the general confusion, B hastily
says: “Be sure before you speak,” and then again: “Enough thinking.
Tell us now.” Whereupon, A, guided by the first letter, “b,” of the
first remark, and the “e” of the second, which he knows represents the
digits “two” and “five” respectively, quickly says “twenty-five.”
WHAT, SIR? ME, SIR?
One player says to another:
“Mr. Brown, I saw you on Broadway.”
Whereupon Mr. Brown says:
“What, sir? Me, sir?”
The other replies:
“Yes, sir; you, sir.”
“Oh! no, sir, not I, sir.”
“Who then, sir?”
“Mr. Smith, sir.”
Mr. Smith immediately replies:
“What, sir? Me, sir?”
And so on till each is mentioned in turn. Those who miss must pay a
forfeit. At the end of the game all the forfeits are redeemed.
HORSE.