What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes

THINKING, GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES

THINKING, GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES

The Ship Alphabet

The players sit in a long row, as if in a class at school. The one that acts as schoolmaster asks sharply, beginning at one end, "The name of the letter?" "A," says the player. The schoolmaster turns to the next player, "the name of the ship?" and straightway begins to count ten very quickly and sternly. "Andromeda," is perhaps rapped out before he reaches that number. "The name of the captain?" "Alfred." "The name of the cargo?" "Armor." "The port she comes from?" "Amsterdam." "The place she is bound for?" "Antananarivo." "The next letter?" "B," and so on. If the schoolmaster is very strict and abrupt with his questions and counting, he can drive every idea from the mind of the person he points at. If he counts ten before an answer comes, he passes on to the next, and the next, and the next, until the answer is given. The one who gives it moves up above those that failed. The game should be played rapidly.

A variation on this is "When my ship comes in." This is played with a handkerchief knotted into a ball. Any letter of the alphabet is chosen; say B. One player throws the handkerchief to another, crying out, "When my ship comes in it will be laden with ——." The player who catches the handkerchief must supply a cargo, beginning with B before ten is counted, bees, butterflies, belts, etc. If he fails to do this he gives a forfeit. When one letter is exhausted another is chosen and the game starts over.

I Love My Love

This is not played now as once it was. In the old way the players sat in a line and went steadily through the alphabet, each one taking a letter in order. This was the form:—"I love my love with an A, because he is [a favorable adjective beginning with A]. I hate him with an A because he is [an unfavorable adjective beginning with A]. He took me to the sign of the [an inn sign beginning with A], and treated me to [two eatables or an eatable and drinkable beginning with A]. His name is [a man's name beginning with A], and he comes from [a town or country beginning with A]." Then B, and so on.

A and B might run thus:—

There is no reason why men should always be chosen. For the sake of variety the love may as well have a woman's name and a woman's qualities. In that case the inn might perhaps go and some such sentence as this take its place:—

As finding seven words beginning with one letter is rather a heavy task for each player, the words might be taken in turn, as in the case of the "Ship" game mentioned above.

For a shorter way of playing "I Love my Love" the following form is used:—"I love my love with an A because he—or she—is [favorable adjective]. I will send him—or her—to [some place] and feed him—or her—on [something to eat]. I will give him—or her—an [some article, the use for which must be mentioned after it], and a bunch of [some flower] for a nosegay." Thus:—

My Thought

The players sit in a row or circle, and one, having thought of something—of any description whatever—asks them in turn, "What is my thought like?" Not having the faintest idea what the thought is they reply at random. One may say, "Like a dog"; another, "Like a saucepan"; a third, "Like a wet day"; a fourth, "Like a comic opera." After collecting all the answers the player announces what the thought was, and then goes along the row again calling upon the players to explain why it is like the thing named by them. The merit of the game lies in these explanations. Thus, perhaps the thing thought of was a concertina. The first player, asked to show why a concertina is like a dog, may reply, "Because when it is squeezed it howls." The next may say, "It is like a heavy saucepan because it is held in both hands." The third, "It is like a wet day because one soon has enough of it"; and the fourth, "It is like a comic opera because it is full of tunes."

P's and Q's

Another old game of this kind is "P's and Q's." The players sit in a circle and one stands up and asks them each a question in turn. The question takes this form, "The King of England [or France, or Germany, or Africa, or Russia, or India, whatever country it may be] has gone forth with all his men. Tell me where he has gone, but mind your P's and Q's." The player who is addressed must then reply, naming, in whatever country is mentioned, some town that does not begin with P or Q or with any letter before P in the alphabet. Thus, if the question refers to England, he may say "Salisbury" but not "Bristol," "Redruth" but not "Oxford"; or to France, "Toulon" but not "Lyons," "Versailles" but not "Dieppe."

The game is capable of improvement or, at least, of variety. For instance, instead of P's and Q's, the questioner may say, "Mind your K's and L's," or instead of ruling out all letters before P, all letters after Q may be stopped. And one need not confine the game to geography, but may adapt it to include animals, or eatables, or books.

The Elements

The players sit in a circle, and the game is begun by one of them throwing a rolled-up handkerchief to another and at the same time calling out the name of one of the four elements—air, water, earth, or fire. If "Air" is called, the player to whom the handkerchief is thrown must at once mention some creature that flies. Having done so she throws the handkerchief to some one else, calling perhaps "Earth," whereupon that player must mention an animal that inhabits the earth. And so on. The same animal must not be mentioned twice, and when "Fire" is called, the player to whom the handkerchief is thrown must keep silence until she throws it on again. Sometimes each player, after throwing the handkerchief and calling the element, counts ten as the limit of time in which the answer must be given. If it is longer in coming, or if something is mentioned which has been mentioned before, then a forfeit follows.

Suggestions

This is a game which people either dislike or like very much. The players sit round the fire or table, and one of them begins by naming an article of any kind whatever, such as watering-pot. The word "watering-pot" will immediately suggest something to the next player—say "gardener." He therefore says "gardener." The next is perhaps reminded by the word "gardener" of a bunch of violets she saw the gardener carrying that morning, and she therefore says "violets"; the next at once recollects finding violets when she was in the country last spring, and she therefore says "Vermont." Thus the game goes on for, say, ten rounds, by which time, as we have seen already, the minds of the players have been carried miles away from the original watering-pot which set them at work. It is now necessary to trace the series of suggestions back to watering-pot again. This is done by the last player mentioning, not the last thing that he thought of, but the thing which suggested that to him. (Thus, the player next him may have said, in the last round, "an apple-core," which may have suggested to him "Tom Sawyer." He would not, however, when the task of retracing begins, say "Tom Sawyer," because to repeat your own words is too easy, but "an apple-core" and the next player, going backward, in his turn would repeat the word which suggested "an apple-core" to him.) The second part of the game, retracing the suggestions, is naturally more difficult than the first.

In this game two things are very important. One is, that silence should be maintained; the other, that the word you give should be suggested to you only by the previous player's remark. Also it is more fun to be quite honest about it, and really say what was first suggested, instead of making a choice.

Quotation Games

This is a game which requires some poetical knowledge. The players sit in a circle and one begins by repeating a line of poetry. The next caps it by repeating whatever line comes next to it in the poem from which it is taken. The poem may either be continued or the game may deal only in couplets or four-lined stanzas. In another quotation game the first player repeats a line of poetry and the next follows it with another line of poetry which begins with the last letter of the previous quotation. Thus, if the first player says—

the next might cap it with—

and the next with—

Two Rhyming Games

Rhyming games require more taxing of brains than most players care for. The ordinary rhyming game, without using paper, is for one player to make a remark in an easy metre, and for the next to add a line completing the couplet. Thus in one game that was played one player said—

And the next finished it by adding—

But this was showing more skill than there is real need for.

An easier rhyming game is that in which the rhyme has to come at the beginning of the line. The players are seated in a circle and one begins by asking the next a question of any nature whatever, or by making any casual remark, the first word of the answer to which must rhyme with the last word of the question. The game is then started, each player in turn adding a remark to that made by the one before him, always observing the rhyming rule. Thus, the original question may be, "Do you like mince pies?" The next player may reply, "Wise people always do." The next, "You, I suppose, agree with that?" The next, "Flat you may knock me if I don't." The next, "Won't you change the subject, please?" And the next: "Eas-ily; let's talk of books."

Telling Stories

This is another of those fireside games that need more readiness of mind than many persons think a game should ask for. The first player begins an original story, stopping immediately (even in the middle of a sentence) when the player who is appointed time-keeper says "Next." The next player takes it up; and so forth until the end comes, either at the end of the first round or whatever round seems best.

Another way is for each player to contribute only a single word; but this is rarely successful, because every one is not at the same pitch of attention. Except on the part of the person who is narrating there ought to be absolute silence.

Clumps

The company, according to the number of persons, divides up into two or three or even four groups, or clumps, in different parts of the room, seated closely in circles. As many players as there are clumps then go out and decide on some extremely out-of-the-way thing which the clumps have to guess. In one game, for example, the mine was thought of from which the iron was taken to lay the first railroad rails in America. That is the kind of far-fetched and ingenious thing. When it is decided upon, the players return to the room and take their places, one in the midst of each clump. Questions are then put to them the answers to which must be either "Yes" or "No," and the clump that discovers the thing first is the winner.

Other Yes and No Games

The same game can be played without such keen rivalry, one player sitting in the midst of a great circle and answering questions in turn. There is also a game called "Man and Object," in which two players go out and decide upon a man (or woman) and something inanimate or not human with which he is associated or which he is known to have used, such as "Washington and his hatchet," "Whittington and his cat," "A druid and his mistletoe-knife." They then return and each player asks them each a question in turn until the problem is solved.

The same game is sometimes turned inside out, the players that remain in the room deciding upon some one whom the player that has gone out has to personate and discover. In this case it is he who puts the questions. As he is supposed for the time being actually to be the thing thought of, he ought to frame his questions accordingly: "Am I living?" "Have I been dead long?" "Am I a man?" and so forth.

My Right-Hand Neighbor

This is a catch game and useless except when one of the company knows nothing about it. That player is sent out of the room, and after a due interval is called in again and told to guess what the other players have thought of. He may ask any questions he pleases that can be answered by "Yes" or "No." The thing thought of is each player's right-hand neighbor, who is of course so different in every case as to lead in time to the total bewilderment of the guesser.

How, When, and Where

One player leaves the room, while the others decide on some word, the name of a thing for choice (such as tale, tail), which has one pronunciation but two or three different meanings and perhaps spellings. They then sit in a circle or line and the other player is called in, his object being, by means of questions put in turn to each player, to discover what the word is. His questions must take the form, "How do you like it?" "When do you like it?" and "Where do you like it?" Let us suppose that "tale" is the word thought of. "How do you like it?" he will ask the first of the circle. The answer may be, "I like it amusing" (tale). "How do you like it?" he may ask the next. "I like it active" (tail). To the next, "When do you like it?" "I like it at night" (tale). To the next, "Where do you like it?" "At the end" (tail). To the next, "Where do you like it?" "In an armchair" (tale). And so on until he guesses the word.

Coffee-Pot

A similar game is called "Coffee-Pot" or "Tea-Pot." In this case also the company think of a word with more than one meaning, but instead of answering questions about it they make a pretense of introducing it into their answers by putting the word "coffee-pot" in its place. As the player who is guessing is at liberty to put any kind of question he likes it is well to choose a word that will go easily into ordinary conversation. Let us suppose, for instance, that the word is rain, reign, rein. The questions and answers may run something like this:—"Are you feeling pretty well to-day?" "I always feel well when there is no coffee-pot" (rain). "Have you been reading anything interesting lately?" "Yes, a very interesting book on the present coffee-pot" (reign). "I hope your toothache is better." "Thank you, I hope its coffee-pot will soon be over" (reign). "Did you walk here this evening?" "No; we came with the assistance of the coffee-pot" (rein). The guesser is allowed to make three guesses aloud, but after that he must meditate on the word in silence or put questions to test his theories. If the word is a verb and a past tense or present tense has to be used in an answer, the player says "coffee-potted" or "coffee-potting."

Throwing Light

This is much like "How, When, and Where," except that instead of asking questions the player, or players, that went out sit still and listen to the others talking to each other concerning the selected word's various meanings. Thus, if it is "Spring," the first may remark, "It makes our drives so much more comfortable"; the next, "I am always happier then than at any other time"; the next, "To drink there is to know what drinking really is"; and so on.

Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral.

This is also a similar game to "How, When, and Where," except that the player who goes out of the room has, on his return, to guess something belonging to one of these three groups. His first question therefore is, "Is it animal?" Perhaps it is not. "Is it vegetable?" "No." He knows then that it is mineral, and after that to find out what it is is only a matter of time.

Proverbs

One or two players go out. The others sit in line and choose a proverb having as many words as there are players. Thus, if there were eight players, "They love too much who die for love" would do; or if more than eight, two short proverbs might be chosen. Each player having made certain what his word is, the others are called in. It is their duty to find out what proverb has been fixed upon, and the means of doing so is to ask each player in turn a question on any subject whatever, the answer to which must contain that player's word in the proverb. If the first round of questions does not reveal the proverb, they go round again and again.

Shouting Proverbs

In this game, instead of answering questions one by one, when the guesser or guessers come in the players at a given signal shout the words which belong to them at the top of their voice and all together. The guessers have to separate the proverb from the din.

Acting Proverbs

This is a very simple acting game. The players should divide themselves into actors and audience. The actors decide upon a proverb, and in silence represent it to the audience as dramatically as possible. Such proverbs as "Too many cooks spoil the broth," and "A bad workman quarrels with his tools," would be very easy—almost too easy if any stress is laid upon guessing. But, of course, although the guessing is understood to be part of the fun, the acting is the thing.

Acting Initials

Two players go out. The others choose the name of a well-known person, public or private, the letters of whose name are the same in number as the players left in the room. Thus, supposing there are seven persons in the room, the name might be Dickens. The letters are then distributed; each player, as soon as he knows which letter is his, selecting some well-known living or historical character beginning with the same letter, whom he has to describe or personate. To personate is more fun than to describe. The players seat themselves in the right order to spell the name, and the other two are called in. When they are ready the first player, D, is called on to describe or impersonate his letter; and so on in the right order.

Acting Verbs, or Dumb Crambo

In this game the company divides into two. One half goes out, and the one that remains decides upon a verb which the others shall act in dumb show. A messenger is then despatched to tell the actors what the chosen word rhymes to. Thus, if "weigh" were the verb fixed upon, the messenger might announce that it rhymes to "day." It is then well for the actors to go through the alphabet for verbs—bay, bray, lay, neigh, pay, prey, pray, play, stay, say; and act them in order. When the word is wrong the spectators hiss, but when right they clap. If the word chosen has two syllables, as "obey," notice ought to be given.

Guessing Employments

A very simple game. One player goes out. The others decide on some workman to represent, each pretending to do some different task belonging to his employment. Thus, if they choose a carpenter, one will plane, one will saw, one will hammer, one will chisel, and so on. Their occupation has then to be guessed. It is perhaps more interesting if each player chooses a separate trade.

Stool of Repentance

One player goes out. The others then say in turn something personal about him—such as, "He has a pleasant voice"; "His eye is piercing"; "He would look better if he wore a lower collar." Those remarks are written down by one of the party, and the player is called in and placed on a chair in the middle. The recorder then reads the remarks that he has collected, and the player in the middle has to name the persons who made them.

Eyes

A sheet, or a screen made of newspapers, is hung up, and two holes, a little larger than eyes and the same distance apart, are made in it. Half the players retire to one side of it, and half stay on the other. They then look through the holes in turn, while those on the opposite side try to name the owner of the eyes. The game sounds tame, but the difficulty of recognition and the false guesses made soon lead to laughter.

Making Obeisance

This is a trick. Those in the company who have never played the game go out of the room. One of the inside players, who is to represent the potentate, then mounts a chair and is covered with a sheet which reaches to the ground. At the point where it touches a shoe is placed, the toe of which is just visible. In the potentate's hand is a sponge full of water. One of the players outside is then invited in; he is told to kneel down and kiss the toe; the potentate on the chair leans forward a little to bring his sponge immediately over the subject's head; and a shower-bath follows. Then another subject is admitted, but after a while there is enough water on the floor to make them suspicious.

Mesmerism

Another trick. The players who are to be mesmerized—among them being the one or two who do not know the game—stand in a row, each holding a dinner-plate in the left hand. The mesmerizer, who also has a dinner-plate, faces them, and impresses on them very seriously the importance, if they really want to be mesmerized, of doing exactly what he does and not moving their eyes from him in any direction. He then holds the plate flat, rubs the first finger of his right hand on the bottom of it, and makes an invisible cross on his forehead, on each cheek, and on the tip of his nose. That is all. The trick lies in the fact that the plates of the players who do not know the game have been held in the flame of a candle until they are well blacked. This means that when the mesmerism is over they each have black marks on their faces, and know nothing about it until they are led to a looking-glass.

Thought-Reading Tricks

In all thought-reading games it is best that only the two performers should know the secret. Of these two, one goes out of the room and the other stays in, after having first arranged on the particular trick which will be used. Perhaps the company will then be asked to settle on a trade. Let us say that they decide on a chemist. The other player is then called in, and his companion puts questions to him in this way:—"You have to name the trade which we have thought of. Is it a grocer?" "No." "Is it a draper?" "No." "Is it a goldsmith?" "No." "Is it a fruiterer?" "No." "Is it a lawyer?" "No." "Is it a chemist?" "Yes." This will look rather mysterious to some of the company; but the thing is really simple enough. The questioner merely arranged with his companion that the trade thought of should follow a profession.

Perhaps on the next occasion the company will be asked to think of an article in the room. Let us say that they fix on the clock. The questions will then run something like this:—"You have to name the article in this room which has been thought of. Is it the piano?" "No." "Is it the curtain-rod?" "No." "Is it the carpet?" "No." "Is it the fireplace?" "No." "Is it the sideboard?" "No." "Is it the armchair?" "No." "Is it the clock?" "Yes." This again is bewildering; but again the trick is very simple, the questioner having arranged that the article shall follow something that has four legs.

A third way is for an article to be touched and for the thought-reader to be asked to name it. "Is it this?" "Is it this?" "Is it this?" is asked of one thing after another, the answer always being "No." "Is it that?" "Yes." The secret is that the article touched is always signified by "Is it that?" But in this case, and in that of the others already described, the effect of mystification can be increased by arranging beforehand that the article in question shall not follow the key phrase immediately, but, say, two questions later.

A fourth way is for the questioner to begin each question in due order with a letter of the French word for the article touched. Thus, if it were the bell, he might say, "Come now, was it the table?" "Look, was it the armchair?" "Or the piano?" "Come now, was it this book?" "How about this hearth-rug?" "Endeavor to be quick, please. Was it the clock?" By this time "Cloche" has been spelled, so that the next question is, "Was it the bell?" "Yes."

In another form of "Thought-reading" the two players who know the secret remain in the room long enough for the trick to be made sure. One stands in a corner and the other calls loudly, "Ebenezer, do you hear?" (Ebenezer is the usual name, but a more attractive one would do.) Ebenezer says nothing, but listens attentively to hear who among the company speaks first. The other player repeats the question and still there is no answer. Soon after that some one will perhaps make a remark, and then Ebenezer, having got what he was waiting for, says, "Yes, I hear." "Then leave the room," says the other player, and Ebenezer goes out. The other player then makes a great show of choosing some one to touch, but ends by touching the person who spoke first after the game began. This done, Ebenezer is called in to say who was touched, and every one is puzzled by his knowledge.

To Guess Any Number Thought of

With these thought-reading tricks may be put one or two arithmetical puzzles. Here is a way to find out the number that a person has thought of. Tell him to think of any number, odd or even. (Let us suppose that he thinks of 7.) Then tell him to double it (14), add 6 to it (20), halve it (10), and multiply it by 4 (40). Then ask him how many that makes. He will say 40. You divide this in your mind by 2 (20), subtract 6 (14), divide by 2 again (7), and astonish him by saying that the number of which he thought was 7.

To Guess Any Even Number Thought of

In this case you insist on the number chosen being an even number. Let us suppose it is 8. Tell him to multiply by 3 (24), halve it (12), multiply by 3 again (36), and then to tell you how many times 9 will go into the result. He will say 4. Double this in your mind and tell him that he thought of 8.

To Guess the Result of a Sum

Another trick. Tell the person to think of a number, to double it, add 6 to it, halve it and take away the number first thought of. When this has been done you tell him that 3 remains. If these directions are followed 3 must always remain. Let us take 7 and 1 as examples. Thus 7 doubled is 14; add 6 and it is 20; halved, it is 10; and if the number first thought of—7—is subtracted, 3 remains. Again, 1 doubled is 2; 6 added makes 8; 8 halved is 4, and 1 from 4 leaves 3.

A more bewildering puzzle is this. Tell as many persons as like to, to think of some number less than 1,000, in which the last figure is smaller than the first. Thus 998 might be thought of, but not 999, and not 347. The amount being chosen and written down, you tell each person to reverse the digits; so that the units come under the hundreds, the tens under the tens, and the hundreds under the units. Then tell them to subtract, to reverse again, and add; remarking to each one that you know what the answer will be. It will always be 1089. Let us suppose that three players choose numbers, one being 998, one 500, and one 321. Each sets them on paper, reverses the figures, and subtracts. Thus:—

The figures are then reversed and added. Thus:—

Guessing Competitions

Guessing competitions, which are of American invention, can be an interesting change from ordinary games. In some the company are all asked to contribute, as in "Book Teas," where a punning symbolic title of a book is worn by each guest, and a prize is given to the person who guesses most, and to the person whose title is considered the best. Thus, a person wearing a card having the letter R represented Middlemarch, and a person with catkins in his buttonhole, Hazell's Annual. But simpler devices are just as interesting.

In other guessing competitions the preparations are the affair of the household which gives the party. It is with these that we are concerned here. Giving prizes certainly adds to the interest of them.

Guessing Quantities

Several articles of number are placed on a table, say a box of matches, a bag of beans, a reel of cotton or ball of string, a large stone, a stick, a photograph, and various coins with the date side turned down. Each of the company is provided with a card on which these articles are written, and the object is to guess as nearly as possible something about each; for instance, how many matches there are in the box, how many beans in the bag, the length of the string, the weight of the stone, the length of the stick, the age of the person in the photograph, and the date of each coin. The right answers are, of course, ascertained beforehand and written on a card in the hostess's possession.

Observation

The real name of this game may be something else, but "Observation" explains it. A small table is covered with a variety of articles, to the extent of some twenty or thirty. It is then covered with a cloth and placed in the middle of the room. The players stand round it and the cloth is removed for a minute (or longer). During that time the aim of each player is to note and remember as many of the things as possible. The cloth is then put on again and the players have five minutes in which to write the fullest list they can of the objects seen.

Scents

A more puzzling competition is to place a row of large bottles on the table, all numbered, at the bottom of each of which is a small amount of liquid bearing a noticeable scent. Some may be toilet scents, and others medicines or essences used in cooking. A card numbered according to the bottles is given to each player, and the game is to guess as many of the scents as possible.

The Topsy-Turvy Concert

The performers in this concert, who should be of nearly the same size, take their places behind a sheet stretched across the room at the height of their chins. They then put stockings on their arms and boots on their hands (or this may be done before they come into the room), and stand looking over the sheet at the company, with their hands and arms carefully hidden. The concert begins by the singing of the first verse of a song. Immediately the verse is finished, the singers, stooping down so that their heads disappear from view, thrust up their arms and wave them about, the effect being that of a row of people standing on their heads. The chorus is thus sung. Then they pull down their arms and put up their heads again and sing the next verse.

The Dancing Dwarf

This is a very amusing illusion and easy to arrange. All the players but two are sent out of the room and these stand behind a table. One stands close to the table, his arms in front of him so that the fingers rest on the table. Boots, or stockings and shoes, are put on their arms and a long dark cloak is thrown over the shoulders of the first player covering the one behind him. The one behind furnishes the arms by thrusting his out in front. The little feet resting on the table show from the folds of the cloak and give the appearance of a dwarf. The players are then called back and the dwarf, whose face should be disguised, performs any feat that they ask for—he sings a song, or makes a speech or prophesies the future of any one who desires it, always ending with a wild dance performed by the arms and hands of the other person. The light should be turned down somewhat and the audience should be straight in front of the table to keep the illusion at its best.

Charades

"Charades" can be written in advance and carefully rehearsed, but in this book we are concerned more nearly with those that are arranged a few minutes (the fewer the better) before they are performed. As a rule a word of two or three syllables is chosen, the syllables are first acted, then the whole word, and then the audience guess what it was. Sometimes the word is brought in, both in its complete form and in its syllables; and sometimes—and this is perhaps the better way—it is acted. Thus, if the word were "Treason," one way would be to make the acts themselves anything that occurred to you, merely saying "Tree" with some distinctness in the first; "Son" or "Sun" in the second; and "Treason" in the third. The other and more interesting way would be to make the first act relate to tree-felling or tree planting, or, say, a performance by Mr. Tree; the second to a son or the sun; and the third to some treasonable situation, such as, for example, the Gunpowder Plot. On account of the time which is occupied in preparing and acting it is better to choose two-syllabled words—which, with the whole word, make three scenes—than three- or four-syllabled ones; although there are certain four-syllabled words which split naturally into two halves of two syllables each. "Parsimony," for example, could be performed: Parsee, money, parsimony. As a general rule the charades that are arranged during the evening are better performed in dumb show, with plenty of action, than with any talking at all. Under the circumstances gestures are so much easier than words and not any less amusing.

Dumb Performances

Very good fun can be had also from impromptu pantomimes, where the performers enact some story which every one knows, such as "Aladdin" or "Red Riding Hood" or "Cinderella"; or a scene from history proper, or from village or family history. The contrast between the splendor of Cinderella's carriage in the story and the old perambulator which has to serve in the charade only adds to the fun. Every one, being dumb, acts to the utmost. It is sometimes more amusing if all the parts are turned upside down and a boy plays the heroine and a girl the hero. Where the scene is too tremendous for any representation to be given, it is best to meet the case frankly and use, as they did in Shakespeare's day, written labels, such as "This is Aladdin's Palace."

Dressing Up

It is, of course, much more fun to dress up; but dressing up is not so important that a charade is spoiled without it. If, on the day of your party, you know that charades will play a part in it, it is wise to put in a convenient room a number of things suitable to dress up in. Then at the last minute there need be no furious running up-stairs to pull things out of closets and boxes, and the unpleasantness will be avoided which sometimes follows when you have taken somebody's best clothes for a rather violent performance.

Almost the best garment there is for dressing-up purposes is a fur coat. While priceless for Red Riding Hood's wolf it will make also most of the other animals in the Zoo. A soldier's uniform is a great possession, and a real policeman's helmet has made the success of many charades. Most kinds of hat can, however, easily be made on the morning of a party out of brown paper. Epaulettes and cockades are also easily made of the same material. Powder or flour for white hair, some corks for moustaches and beards (you hold them in the candle for a minute and wait till they are cool enough to use), and a packet of safety-pins should be in handy places. Cherry tooth-paste makes serviceable rouge.

Tableaux Vivants

"Tableaux Vivants" are a change from acting, but they need, if done at all well, a great deal of preparation and rehearsal, and are therefore perhaps better left to older people. But quickly-arranged groups representing (not too seriously) scenes in American history might be good fun.

Remarks on Acting

The drawback to all charades and dressing up at a party is that they make away with so much valuable time of the players who are out of the room, and unsettle those who are left in. It should be the first duty of every one taking part in acting at parties to decide quickly on the subject or word, and to perform it quickly. Many and many a party has been spoiled by the slowness of the actors outside. Historical or family scenes with no dressing up and some action are perhaps better than much dressing up and absolute stillness. In "Canute and the Waves," for example, it is better that the incoming tide should be represented by a boy rolling slowly over the carpet than that there should be nothing but fixed eyes and stern faces.

RAINY-DAY GAMES

RAINY-DAY GAMES

This is a chapter written to meet the needs of several children shut up together in bad weather. The chapter on "Indoor Occupation and Things to Make" gives suggestions for a single child, but here are a few suggestions for several occupations for a group of children, which do not mean the destruction of the furniture.

Any one of the games given in the chapter "In the Train" is suitable for rainy days.

There are of course many games treated elsewhere in this book which can be played on rainy days indoors. Many of the parlor and outdoor games are equally suitable for indoors. All the card games and back-gammon, checkers, etc., are invaluable resorts in case of a long dreary day, but there are a few other recreations which, in some families are saved for such occasions.

Bean-Bags

One of these is the old fashioned game of bean-bag. One rainy morning can be spent in making the outfit. The girls can be occupied in making the cloth bags, from six to ten inches square, partly filled with beans: and the boys in making the board which is shown in the illustration.

It should be about three feet square of any sort of boards and propped up at one side so that it forms an inclined plane. Five holes are cut in it, about seven inches square, all but the centre one which is only five inches square. The players stand off from six to twelve feet according as their skill increases with practice and try to throw the bags through the holes. There are various rules for playing the game which you can arrange to suit yourself, or to make a change. One way is have the bags in sets of six, each six being of one color, different from the others. The players stand in a line and all throw at once, trying to get their six bags in the holes as soon as possible. When they have thrown their bags they rush up to the board, gather up those which have gone wild and run back to the firing line. The one who gets his six bags in first wins the game. A bag thrown through the small centre hole counts as two.