Draw lots for a Judge and five Jurymen. Pass six numbered paper slips
in a fancy bag. Whoever draws number one is Judge, and the others the
Jury. All the other players take the name of a celebrated musician or
composer, as Beethoven, De Pachmann, or Schubert, etc.
The Judge now takes a seat at one end of the room. The Jurymen sit at
one side in a row, and the rest of the people sit at a distance. The
Judge calls one of the other players up to the bar and proceeds to
question him or her. The _prisoner_ is bound to answer any question the
Judge may see fit to ask, and the business of the Jury is to decide the
name of the musician the prisoner has assumed.
Ten questions are all that may be asked. At the end of those the
prisoner seats himself and awaits the Jury’s verdict. If the first
decision of the Jury is incorrect, the prisoner is released. But if
correct, the prisoner takes the place of one of the Jurymen, who must
draw to determine which one is relieved. The ex-Juryman then takes his
place among the waiting prisoners and assumes a character.
After three trials the Judge must be a Juryman, and one of them must
take his place. This, too, is decided by lot.
By so doing all are on duty all the time, and the end of the game is
when the players are tired.