WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? Over Five Hundred Games and Pastimes A BOOK OF SUGGESTIONS FOR CHILDREN'S GAMES AND EMPLOYMENTS B * ' ' ' I DOROTHY CANFIELDF'- AND OTHERS NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS F5 Copyright, 1907, 1922, by FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY All rights reserved PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE THIS book has been made in the hope that the question which forms its title, ''What shall we do now?" may come to be put less frequently. It is so easy for chil- dren to ask it, so hard for grown-up persons with many other matters to think about to reply to it satisfactorily. In the following pages, which have something to say concern- ing most of the situations in which children find themselves, at home or in the country, out of doors or in, alone or in company, a variety of answers will be found. No subject can be said to be exhausted; but the book is perhaps large enough. Everything which it contains has been indexed so clearly that a reader ought to be able to find what he wants in a moment. In this new edition an appendix of holiday games has "been added, including games especially suitable for parties or picnics on New Year's Day, Lincoln's 'Birthday, St. Valentine's Day, Washington's Birthday , Easter, April Fool's Day, May Day, Fourth of July, Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are, of course, many fortunate girls and boys who do not require any help whatever, who always know what to do now, and do it. For them some sections of this book may have little value. It is for that greater number of less resourceful children who whenever time is before them really are in need of counsel and hints, that it has been prepared. CONTENTS t GAMES FOR A PARTY ..... 1 DRAWING GAMES ...... 45 WRITING GAMES ...... 57 TABLE AND CARD GAMES . . . .73 THINKING, GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES . . 85 EAINY-DAY GAMES . . . . , ill OUTDOOR GAMES FOR GIRLS .... 127 OUTDOOR GAMES FOR BOYS . . . .137 PICNIC GAMES ...... 149 OUT FOR A WALK ...... 161 IN THE TRAIN ...... 171 PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED . , . 183 AT THE SEASIDE ...... 195 IN THE COUNTRY ...... 201 DOLLS' HOUSES . . . . . .217 DOLLS' HOUSES AND DOLLS OF CARDBOARD AND PAPER . 235 PLAYHOUSES OF OTHER LANDS .... 263 INDOOR OCCUPATIONS AND THINGS TO MAKE . . 271 CANDY-MAKING ...... 305 GARDENING ....... 313 PETS ........ 337 BEADING ....... 367 APPENDIX OF HOLIDAY GAMES .... 389 INDEX 407 Vll ILLUSTRATIONS FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS A Pueblo Settlement Frontispiece FACING PAGE The Library and Furniture from " The House that Glue Built " . . . . 244 An Esquimau Sled (_ 9RA Indian Costumes J ZDO ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT PAQB A Trussed Fowl 37 Five Dots 48 Outlines 49 Drawing Tricks 51 Picture- Writing 52-53 The Last Man Surveying the Ruins of the Crystal Palace 56 Patience Card 76 The Dancing Dwarf , . -. 106 Bean- Bag Board 114 Rope Ring 115 The Overhand Knot 117 Half-Hitch 118 Figure of Eight 118 Common Bend 118 Sailor's Knot 118 Running Noose 119 Crossed Running Noose 119 Bowline Knot 119 Dogshank 120 Shuffle-Board 121 Balancing Tricks 123 x ILLUSTRATIONS PA6B The Glass Maker 125 Electric Dancers 126 Daisy Chain 135 Ivy Chain 135 Hop-Scotch 144 Prisoner's Base 156 Tit-tat-toe 176-177 Hanging 179-180 Chinese Gambling 181 Spanish Cup 186 Cardboard Box Beds ' 223 Bead Chair 223 A Doll's Apartments 227 Cork Arm-Chair 228 Chestnut Chair 229 Fancy Table 230 Match-Box Bedstead 231 Match-Box Washstand 233 Towel Rack 233 Clothes Basket 234 Cardboard Dolls' House 239 Appearance of House When Complete 240 Dog Kennel 241 Kitchen Table 246 Kitchen Range 247 Kitchen Chair 247 Screen 248 Various Pots and Pans 248 Dining-Room Table and Cloth 249 Sideboard 250 Sofa 251 Arm-Chair 251 Wooden Bedstead 252 Wardrobe 253 Dressing Table 254 Washstand 255 Rocking-Chair 256 Towel Rack 256 Chair 256 Child's High Chair 257 Child's Cot 257 ILLUSTRATIONS xi PAGE Walking Paper Dolls 259 Paper Mother and Child, with Clothes for Each 260 A Paper Girl with Six Changes 261 Shadows on the Wall 280 A Cocked Hat 284 Paper Boats ... 285 Paper Darts 286 Paper Mats 286 Paper Boxes 287 A Dancing Man 289 Hand Dragons 290 A Kite 293 Flying a Kite 294 Toy Boats 296-297 A Skipjack 300 A Water-Cutter . . . 300 GAMES FOR A PARTY GAMES FOR A PARTY Blind Man's Buff MAN'S BUFF" is one of the best, oldest, and simplest of games. One player is blindfolded, is turned round two or three times to confuse his ideas as to his position in the room, and is then told to catch whom he can. If he catches some one, yet cannot tell who it is, he must go on again as blind man ; but if he can tell who it is, that person is blindfolded instead. Where there is a fireplace, or where the furniture has sharp corners, it is rather a good thing for some one not playing to be on the lookout to protect the blind man. Sometimes there are two blind men, who add to the fun by occasionally catching each other. But this is rather dangerous. There is also a game called " Jinglers " where every one is blind except one player with a bell, whom it is their object to catch. But this is more dangerous still. A good variety of " Blind Man's Buff " is the silent one. Directly the man is blindfolded, and before he begins to seek, all the players take up positions in corners, on chairs, or wher- ever they think most prudent, and there they must stop with- out making a sound. The task for the blind man is thus not catching the others, but, on finding them, deciding upon who they are. As chuckling or giggling is more likely to tell him than his sense of touch, it is tremendously important to make no noise if you can help it. Sometimes this game is played (without any standing on chairs) by a blind man armed with two spoons, with which he feels the features of those whom he runs against. In this case it is practically impossible to avoid 4 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW laughing. The sensation produced by the bowls of two spoons being passed over the face in the attempt to recognize its owner is overwhelming. French Blind Man's Buff In French " Blind Man's Buff " the hands of the blind man are tied behind his back and his eyes are left uncovered. He has therefore to back on to the players before he can catch them, which increases his difficulties. Blind Man's Wand Here the blind man has a stick, one end of which is grasped by the other players in turn. The blind man puts three ques- tions to each player, and his aim is to recognize by the voice who it is that replies. The aim of the players, therefore, is to disguise their voices as much as possible. Sometimes, instead of merely asking questions, the blind man instructs the holder of the wand to imitate some animal a cock or a donkey, for example. Steps The player who is blindfolded is first placed in the middle. The others walk from him to various positions all around, care- fully measuring the number of steps (long or short) which take them there. The blind man is then told how many steps will bring him to a certain player, and he has to guess the direction toward him, and the length of step. This player, if found, be- comes blind man. Still Pond ! No More Moving The player who is blindfolded is placed in the middle and all the other players touch him. He counts out loud as rapidly as possible up to ten, during which time the players rush as far away from him as possible. Directly he reaches ten he GAMES FOR A PARTY 5 ttries out " Still Pond ! No more moving 1 " and the players must stand perfectly still. He then says "you may have three steps," or any number beyond three which he wishes to give. The players save these steps until he comes dangerously near them and then try and use them to the best possible advan- tage, to escape. It is not a step if one foot remains in the same place. After a player is caught and identified by the one who is " it " he in turn is blindfolded. Shadow Buff A sheet is stretched across the room. One player stands on one side, and the rest, who remain on the other, pass one by one between the sheet and the candle which throws their shadows upon it. The aim of the single player is to put right names to the shadows on the sheet, and the aim of the others is, by performing antics, to keep him from recognizing them. If it is not convenient to use both sides of a sheet, the single player may sit on a hassock close to it with his back to the others, while they pass between his hassock and the candle. The Donkey's Tail A good-sized donkey without a tail is cut out of brown paper and fixed on a screen or on a sheet hung across the room. The tail is cut out separately and a hat-pin is put through that end of it which comes nearest the body. Each player in turn then holds the tail by the pin, shuts his eyes honestly, and, advancing to the donkey, pins the tail in what he believes to be the right place. The fun lies in his mistake. The Blind Feeding the Blind This is boisterous and rather messy, but it has many supporters. Two players are blindfolded and seated on the floor opposite one another. They are each given a dessert- spoonful of sugar or flour and are told to feed each other. WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? It is well to put a sheet on the floor and to tie a towel or apron round the necks of the players. The fun belongs chiefly to the spectators. Deer Stalking This is a game in which only two players take part, but it is exciting to watch. Both " Deer " and " Stalker " are blindfolded. They are then placed at opposite ends of a large table, and at a given moment begin to move round it. The stalker's business is, of course, to catch the deer, and the deer's to avoid it ; but neither must run out into the room. Ab- solute silence should be kept both by the audience and players, and if felt slippers can be worn by the deer and its stalker, so much the better. Blowing Out the Candle A very funny blind game. A candle is lighted and placed in position about the height of a person's head. A player is then placed a few feet from it, facing it, and, after being blindfolded and turned round three times, is told to take so many paces (however many it may be) and blow the candle out. Apple-Snapping Another amusing blind game to watch is apple-snapping. An apple is hung from a string in the middle of the room about the height of the blind man's head. The blind man's hands are then tied, or he holds them strictly behind him, and he has to bite the apple. The same game can be played without blindfolding, but in that case it requires two players with their hands fixed be- hind them, each trying to bite the apple. GAMES FOR A PARTY 7 Bag and Stick A good blind game for a Christmas party is " Bag and Stick." A fair-sized paper bag is filled with candy and hung from a string in the middle of the room. A player is then blindfolded, turned round three times, given a stick, and told he may have one, two, or three shots at the bag, whichever it may be. If he misses it, another one tries, and so on ; but if he hits it the bag breaks, the candy covers the floor, and the party scramble for it. Puss in the Corner Each player save one takes a corner. The other, who is the puss, stands in the middle. The game begins by one cor- ner player beckoning to another to change places. Their ob- ject is to get safely into each other's corner before the cat can. Puss's aim is to find a corner unprotected. If she does so, the player who has just left it, or the player who was hoping to be in it, becomes puss, according to whether or not they have crossed on their journey. Hunt the Slipper The players sit in a circle on the floor, with their knees a little gathered up. One stands in the middle with a slipper, and the game is begun by this one handing the slipper to a player in the circle, with the remark Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, Get it done by half-past two, and then retiring from the circle for a few moments. The player to whom it was handed at once passes it on, so that when the owner of the slipper returns and demands her prop- erty again it cannot be found. With the hunt that then sets in the fun begins ; the object of every player in the circle being to keep the player in the middle from seeing the slip- 8 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW 54 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? unfold the papers and draw animals containing some feature of each of those named. Invented Animals A variation of this game is for the players to draw and describe a new creature. On one occasion when this game was played every one went for names to the commoner advertise- ments. The best animal produced was the Hairy Coco, the description of which stated, among other things, that it was fourteen feet long and had fourteen long feet. A good guessing contest is to supply every person with a slip of paper on which is written the name of an animal. He draws a picture of it and these pictures are all exhibited signed with the artist's name. The person who guesses correctly the subjects of the greatest number of them wins. Heads, Bodies, and Tails For this game sheets of paper are handed round and each player draws at the top of his sheet a head. It does not mat- ter in the least whether it is a human being's or a fish's head, a quadruped's, a bird's, or an insect's. The paper is then turned down, two little marks are made to show where the neck and body should join, and the paper is passed on for the body to be supplied. Here again it does not matter what kind of body is chosen. The paper is then folded again, marks are made to show where the legs (or tail) ought to be- gin, and the paper is passed on again. After the legs are drawn the picture is finished. Pictures to Order Each player sits, pencil in hand, before a blank sheet of paper, his object being to make a picture containing things chosen by the company in turn. The first player then names the thing that he wants in the picture. Perhaps it is a tree. DRAWING GAMES 55 He therefore says, " Draw a tree," when all the players, him- self included, draw a tree. Perhaps the next says, " Draw a boy climbing the tree " ; the next, " Draw a balloon caught in the top branches " ; the next, " Draw two little girls look- ing up at the balloon " ; and so on, until the picture is full enough. The chief interest of this game resides in the diffi- culty of finding a place for everything that has to be put in the picture. A comparison of the drawings afterward is usually amusing. Hieroglyphics, or Picture- Writing As a change from ordinary letter- writing, " Hieroglypu- ics " are amusing and interesting to make. The best ex- planation is an example, such as is given on pages 52 and 53, the subject being two verses from a favorite nursery song. Pictures and Titles Each player draws on the upper half of the paper an historical scene, whether from history proper or from family history, and appends the title, writing it along the bottom of the paper and folding it over. The drawings are then passed on and each player writes above the artist's fold (or on another sheet of paper) what he thinks they are meant to represent, and folds the paper over what he has written. In the accom- panying example the title at the bottom of the paper is what the draughtsman himself wrote; the others are the other players' guesses. 56 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW Various Descriptions by the Players The Abbot of Christchnrch, near Bournemouth, surveys the scaffolding of the abbey. The end of the Paris Exhibition. An old man coming back to the home of his childhood, looks across the river, where a duck is swimming, to the dilapidated cathedral and town which repre- sent the stately piles he remembered. The building of the Ark. The Artist's Description The Last Man surveying the ruins of the Crystal Palace. WRITING GAMES WRITING GAMES MANY of the games under this heading look harder than they really are. But the mere suggestion of a writing game is often enough to frighten away timid players who mistrust their powers of composition al- though the result can be as funny when these powers are small as when they are considerable. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Simple Acrostics There are " Simple Acrostics " and " Double Acrostics." The simple ones are very simple. When the players are all ready a word is chosen by one of them, either from thought or by looking at a book and taking the first promising one that occurs. Perhaps it is " govern." Each player then puts the letters forming " govern " in a line down the paper, and the object of the game is to find, in a given time, words beginning with each of those letters. Thus, at the end of time, one player might have G ravy O range V iolet E sther Robin N umbskull The players then describe their words in turn, one letter going the round before the next is reached, and from these descrip- tions the words have to be guessed, either by any player who likes or by the players in turn. The player whose paper we have quoted might describe his words like this : G 59 60 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? " Something that makes hot beef nice " ; O " A fruit " ; Y "A flower"; E "A girl's name"; K "A bird " ; and N " A name for a silly person." If any one else has the same word neither of you can score it, and it is therefore important to seek for the most unlikely words. Another way of playing " Simple Acrostics " is to insist on each word being the same length. Thus " govern " might be filled in by one player thus : G rave O ddly V erse E arth R ebel N inth Double Acrostics In " Double Acrostics " the game is played in precisely the same way, except that the letters of the word, after hav- ing been arranged in a line down the paper, are then arranged again in a line up the paper, so that the first letter is op. posite the last, and the last opposite the first. Thus : G N O R V E E V R O N G The players have then to fill in words beginning and ending with the letters as thus arranged. One paper might come out thus : G rai N O rde R V eraatil E E . . . V R apall O N othin Q WRITING GAMES 61 This word is rather a hard one on account of the E and V. As a rule, words of only three letters are not allowed in " Acrostics," nor are plurals. That is to say, if the word has to end in " S," one must not simply add " S " to an ordinary word, such as " grooms " for G S, but find a word ending naturally in " S," such as " Genesis." It is not necessary to invert the same word in order to get letters for the ends of the words. Two words of equal length can be chosen and arranged side by side. Thus (but this is almost too difficult an example) : D K I I c P K L E I N N S G " Acrostics " may be made more difficult and interesting by giving them a distinct character. Thus, it may be decided that all the words that are filled in must be geographical, or literary, or relating to flowers. Fives " Fives " is a game which is a test also of one's store of information. A letter is chosen, say T, and for a given time, ten minutes perhaps, the players write down as many names of animals beginning with T as they can think of. The first player then reads his list, marking those words that no one else has and crossing off all that are also on other players' papers. Then the names of vegetables (including flowers, trees, and fruit) are taken ; then minerals ; then persons ; and then places. The player who has most marks wins the game. A variety of this game is to take a long word, say " ex- traordinary," and within a given time to see how many smaller 62 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? words can be made from it, such as tax, tin, tea, tear, tare, tray, din, dray, dairy, road, rat, raid, and so on. Lists " Lists " is a variety of " Fives." Paper is provided, and each player in turn calls out something which the whole com- pany write down. Thus, suppose there are five players and you decide to go round three times : the first may say a river ; the second, a doctor ; the third, a complaint ; the fourth, a play ; the fifth, a State in the Union ; the first again, a mu- sical instrument; the second again, a poet; and soon, until the fifteen things are all written down. Each paper will then have the same list of fifteen things upon it. One of the com- pany then opens a book at random, and chooses, say, the first letter of the third word in the first line. Perhaps it is T. For a given time each player has to supply his list with an- swers beginning with T. At the call of time one of the papers may present this appearance : A river ..... Tees A doctor Mr. Treves A complaint .... Tic Doloreux A play Timon of Athens A state in the Union . . . Tennessee A musical instrument . . Trombone A poet Tennyson A flower . Trefoil A mineral Tin A lake Tanganyika A tree Tulip A country Turkey. An author Trollope An artist Taderna A preacher .... Talmage Each player in turn reads his list aloud, strikes off those words that others also have, and puts a mark against the rest. The specimen list here given is too simple to be called a good WRITING GAMES 63 one. Players should reject the first thing that comes into their thoughts, in favor of something less natural. Buried Names The first thing for the players to do is to decide what kind of name they will bury. The best way is to call out something in turn. Thus, if there are four players they may decide to bury the name of an author, a girl, a town, and a river. Each player writes these down and a fixed time is given for burial, which consists in writing a sentence that shall contain the name somewhere spelled rightly but spread over two words, or three if possible. At the end of the time the sen- tences are read aloud in turn, while the others guess. Of course, the whole game may be given up to burying only one kind of name, but variety is perhaps better. Examples are given : An author : I like to keep the yew; in good, order. A girl : The boy was cruel, lazy and obstinate. A town : Clothes that are new have no need of brushing. A river : To see spoil* ham especially annoys me. It is permissible to bury the name in the middle of one longer word, but it is better to spread it over two or three. Perhaps the best example of a buried English town is this : " The Queen of Sheba sings to keep her spirits up." This is good, because the sentence is natural, because of the unusual number of words that are made use of in the burial, and be- cause in reading it aloud the sound of the buried town is not suggested. Letters and Telegrams In this game you begin with the Letter. The first thing to write is the address and "My dear ," choosing whom- ever you like, but usually, as in " Consequences," either a pub 64 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? lie person or some one known, if possible, to every one pres- ent. The paper is then folded over and passed on. The next thing to write is the letter itself, which should be limited to two minutes or some short period, and should be the kind of letter that requires a reply. The paper is folded and passed on again, and the subscription, " Believe me yours sincerely," or whatever adverb you choose, and the signature are then added. (These may be divided into two separate writings if you like.) The signature should be that of another public per- son, or friend, relation or acquaintance of the family. The paper is then passed on once more, and a reply to the letter, in the form of a telegram, is written. That is to say, you must say as much as you can in ten words. Example : THE LETTEB The first player writes : My dear Buffalo Bill. The second player writes : Can you give me any information about suitable songs for our village choir? The third player writes : Believe me yours slavishly. The fourth player writes : Kitchener of Khartoum. THE REPLY TELEGRAM The fifth player writes : Be with you to-morrow. Have sheets aired. Am bringing everything. Telegrams There is also the game of " Telegrams." In this the first thing to write is the name of the person sending the telegram. The paper is then passed on, and the name of the person to whom it is sent is written. The papers are then passed on again and opened, and the players in turn each say a letter of the alphabet, chosen at random, until there are ten. As these are spoken, each player writes them on the paper before him, leaving a space after it ; so that when the ten are all written down his paper may look like this : WRITING GAMES 65 H . A . . . p . . N . W. . . E. . . K. . . S. . . T - . . From the DUKE OF YORK To BARNUM AND BAILEY. F. A period of five minutes or more is then allowed in which to complete the telegram, the message having to be ten words long, and each word to begin, in the same order, with these letters. The players should, as far as possible, make the telegrams reasonable, if not possible. Thus, the form given above might, wnen finished, read like this : From the DUKE OF YORK To BARNUM AND BAILEY. Have Awning Prepared Next Wednesday Evening Kindly Send Five Tickets In calling out the ten letters which are to be used in the tele- gram, it is well to avoid the unusual consonants and to have a vowel here and there. An amusing variety is for all the players to compose tele- grams on the same subject ; the subject being given before- hand. Thus it might be decided that all the telegrams should be sent from President Roosevelt to Alice in Wonderland ask- ing for her views on the tariff. Then having completed these messages, the answers may also be prepared, using the same letters. But, of course, as in all games, family matters work out more amusingly than public ones. Initials Paper is handed round, and each player thinks of some public person, or friend or acquaintance of the company, and writes in full his or her Christian name (or names) and sur- 66 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW downward, but each player hands whatever card he likes to the next player, who is bound to accept it. Directly a player has a set of four complete he lays the cards on the table, either very stealthily or with a bang, whichever he likes. Immediately a set is laid on the table (or directly the other players notice it) all other cards have to be laid there, too. The player who is last in laying them down is Pig. The game is played for as many rounds as you like, the player who was last the fewest times being the winner. The word Pig alters with each round. The last player to lay down his cards in the second round is not merely Pig, but Little Pig ; in the third, Big Pig ; in the fourth, Mother (or Father) Pig ; in the fifth, Grandmother (or Grandfather) Pig ; in the sixth, Ancestral Pig ; in the seventh, Venerable Pig ; in the eighth, Primeval Pig ; in the ninth, Crackling. Prophecies and Characteristics This is a memory game and a very amusing one. It is played with two packs of cards of any sort. One pack is laid in a heap, face down, in the middle of the table. The other pack is distributed to the players, who lay them face upward in rows ; each person should not have more than twelve cards since it is practically impossible to remember more than that number. Any one can begin by giving either a prophecy or a characteristic thus : " Who will inherit a fortune inside a year ? " or " Who will be the first in the room to wear false teeth ? " at the same time turning up a card from the centre pile. Whoever has the card matching this, takes it, lays it face down on his card repeating the prophecy, " I will be the first to wear false teeth." The next in turn gives a charac teristic, " Who has the worst temper ? " or " Who has the most unselfish disposition ? " This process continues around, TABLE AND CARD GAMES 81 until all the centre cards are matched. Then the memory test comes in. Every player in turn tries to remember and repeat all the prophecies and characteristics which have fallen to his share, giving them aloud in rapid succession. He is allowed for deliberation on any one only the time while ten is being counted. The one who remembers the greatest num- ber is the winner. The Old Maid's Birthday This game is utterly foolish, but it can lead to shouts of laughter. It has been founded on an old-fashioned card game called " Mr. Punch." The first thing required is a pack of plain cards on which should be written the names of articles of food and clothing, household utensils, and other domestic and much advertised things : such, for example, as a frock-coat, a round of beef, a foot- warmer, a box of pills. A story, some- what on the lines of that which follows, must then be pre- pared and copied into a note-book. The company take their places and the cards are handed round. These should be held face downward. When all is ready one of the players reads the story, pausing at each blank for the player whose turn comes next to fill it in by calling out whatever is on his up- permost card. No matter how often the game is played (pro- vided the cards are re-shuffled) the unexpected always hap- pens, and it is usually so absurd as to be quite too much for a room all ready for laughter. The number of blanks in the story should be equal to the number of cards, and in order that the story may run on smoothly it is well for the next player always to glance at his top card just before his turn, so as to bring it out readily and naturally. The following story, which makes provision for nearly fifty cards, should be found serviceable until a better and more personal one is written. It will add to the amusement if the player who 82 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? reads it substitutes the names of real shops and, if he likes, real people : Attention. It was Miss Flitters's birthday, and she woke with a start and hurried down to see what the postman had brought. There were five par- cels and a letter. The letter was from Miss Bitters. "Dear Miss Flitters," it ran, "I am so sorry to hear of your cold, and in the hope that it will do you good, I am sending you a . I always find it excellent, although mother prefers . We both wish you many happy returns of the day." The other presents were, from Miss Ditters a handsome , from Miss Glitters a deli- cate , and from Miss Hitters a particularly refined . " Dear me ! " said Miss Flitters, " what a useful gift ! just exactly what I wanted." She then sat down to breakfast, which, this being a special day, consisted of . "I did my best to do it to a turn," said the cook, as she laid it on the table with her own hands. "Mary said as how you'd prefer a , but, bless your 'eart, Miss Flitters, I know your tastes best." " You do, indeed," said Miss Flitters. " The thing is perfectly cooked. It 's delicious. It reminds me of . To- day," she added, " I am giving a party, and I want you to let us have a very charming meal. I will get the things directly after breakfast. What do you think we shall need?" "Well, ma'am," said the cook, "you may please yourself about everything else, but we 've done without a for so long, that I must have one." " Quite right," said her mistress. She then prepared for going out ; and seeing that it looked like rain, took a from the cupboard and on her head tied a . "Bless your 'eart, mum," cried the cook, " you 've forgot your smelling salts. Suppose you was to feel faint what then? Never mind," she added, " this '11 do just as well " handing her a . Miss Flitters hunied off at such a pace that she ran right into the minister. " I beg your pardon," she exclaimed, "I mistook you f or a . J May I come with you ? ' ' asked the minister. ' ' Most certainly, ' * said Miss Flitters. They went first to Buszard's for a , and selected two particularly juicy ones. Then to Marshall and Snelgrove's for a . "Is this for the com- plexion?" asked the minister, picking up a from the counter. " La, sir," said Miss Flitters, " how little you know of domestic life ! " Then they went to Fuller's for a , and to Jay's for a . " It 's too dear, " said Miss Flit- ters. * ' Give me a instead. ' ' At the stores they inspected . ' ' Haven 't you anything fresher? " asked Miss Flitters : " I 'd as soon buy a ." None the less she bought two and slipped them into her reticule, adding as a little gift for the cook a . The party began at six o'clock. The first to come was Miss Kitters. " You don't mind my bringing my work, I know, dear," she exclaimed; "I'm em- TABLE AND CARD GAMES 83 broidering a for the natives of Madagascar, and it must be done soon," Miss Litters came next, and being rather short-sighted, sat down on a . "Never mind," said Miss Flitters. "Oh, I don't," she replied, " but it would have been more comfortable if it had been a ." Misa Mitters came just as the clock struck. She was wearing a charming trimmed with . "What perfect taste she has ! " the others murmured. Miss Nitters followed. Miss Nitters was the exact opposite of Miss Mitters in all matters relating to dress. She had no taste at all, and was wearing merely a with pompons attached, and in place of earrings a couple of . "So fast ! " whispered Miss Litters. Miss Fitters, Miss Ritters, and Miss Titters each brought a present. Miss Pitters's present was a silver-plated . " So useful for the toilet table," she said. Miss Ritters's was a Japanese , a piece of exquisite workmanship ; while Miss Titters produced from her pocket a brown paper parcel which turned out to contain a very choice , an heirloom in the Titters family for centuries. " I did n't know whether to bring this or a ," she said ; " but father decided me. Father always knows best." When all were assembled, the guests sat down to supper. But here an awkward thing happened. "If you please, mum," the cook was heard to whisper in a loud voice, " the has n't come. Shall I get a instead ? " " Yes," said Miss Flitters, " that will do very well. Don't you think so, Miss Fitters?" "I think," was the reply, "I should prefer ." It was none the less an excellent and generous repast. Opposite Miss Flitters was a no- ble , flanked by a and a . At the foot of the table was a dish of . "I never tasted anything so delicious in my life," said Miss Mitters, taking a large helping of . "Oh !" said Miss Glitters, "you should try the . It's yumps." The first course was followed by sweets, the most im- posing of which was a wonderful frosted with Miss Flitters's name in pink sugar. "You must all have a piece," said the hostess, "but I 'm afraid it 's rather rich. ' ' After supper came games, "Blind Man's Buff "and "Hunt the Slipper," but as no one cared to lend a slipper, they used instead a , and it did very well. At midnight the party broke up, the guests saying that they never had spent a pleasanter evening. Asa protection against the cold Miss Flitters gave them each a hot . She then hurried to bed and dreamed all night of . 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, be- ginning at one end, "The name of the letter?" u 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 per- haps 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 1 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 be- fore ten is counted, bees, butterflies, belts, etc. If he fails to do this he gives a forfeit. When one letter is exhausted an- other is chosen and the game starts over. 87 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW 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 alpha- bet, each one taking a letter in order. This was the form : " I love my love with an A, because he is [a favorable ad- jective 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 : I love my love with an A because be is adorable. I bate him with an A because he is apish. He took me to the sign of the Alderman and treated me to arrowroot and ale. His name is Arnold, and he comes from Ayrshire. I love my love with a B because he is brisk. I hate him with a B because he is bookish. He took me to the sign of the Beetle and treated me to biscuits and bovril. His name is Brian, and he comes from Boston. 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 : - I love my love with an A because she is amiable. I hate her with an A because she is awesome. We went to Uncle Alexander's, and had apricots and Apollicaris. Her name is Audrey, and she comes from Annapolis. 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 " tne fol- GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 89 lowing 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 : I love my love with an A because he is artistic. I will send him to Aus- tralia, and feed him on asparagus. I will give him an alpenstock to climb with, and a bunch of asters for a nosegay. 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 collect- ing 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, per- haps 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.' 1 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 9 o WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW according to the number of persons, divides up into two or three or even four groups, or clumps, in differ- ent 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 94 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW * 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 prob- lem 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 GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 95 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 mean- ings 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 put- ting 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 some- thing 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?" 96 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW V " Yes, a very interesting bock 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 con- cerning 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 ? " Per- haps 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 prov- GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 97 erbs 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 what- ever, the answer to which must contain that player's word in the proverb. If the first round of questions does not reveal 'he 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 di- vide 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 per 98 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? senate is more fun than to describe. The players seat them selves 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 some- thing 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 GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 99 middle. The recorder then reads the remarks that he has col- lected, 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 rec- ognition 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 play- ers, 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 sub- ject'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 ioo WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ^ 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 ar- ranged 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 ar- ranged 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 fire- place?" "No." "Is it the sideboard?" "No." "Is it GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 101 the armchair ? " " No." " Is it the clock ? r) "< Yes." This again is bewildering ; but again the trick is very simple, the questioner having arranged that the article shall follow some- thing 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, " <7ome now, was it the table ? " " Zook, was it the armchair ? " " Or the piano ? " " (7ome now, was it this book ? " " How about this hearth-rug ? " " JSndeavor 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 102 WttAT SHALL WE DO NOW? 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 num- ber, odd or even. (Let us suppose that bethinks 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. GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 103 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. Fach sets them on paper, reverses the figures, and subtracts. Thus : 998 500 321 005 123 099 495 198 The figures are then reversed and added. Thus : 099 495 198 990 594 891 1089 1089 1089 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 Mid- dlemarch, and a person with catkins in his buttonhole, RazeWs Annual. But simpler devices are just as interesting. In other guessing competitions the preparations are the 104 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? 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 writ- ten 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 pos- sible. 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 GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 105 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 cover- ing 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 appear- ance of a dwarf. The players are then called back and the dwarf, whose face should be disguised, performs any feat that io6 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? they ask for he sings a song, or makes a speech or prophe- sies the future of any one who desires it, always ending with a wild dance performed by the arms and hands of the other THE DANCING DWARF 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 re- hearsed, 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 GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 107 whole word, and then the audience guess what it was. Some- times the word is brought in, both in its complete form and in its syllables ; and sometimes and this is perhaps the bet- ter 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 distinct- ness 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 world, make three scenes than three- or four-syllabled ones; al- though there are certain four-syllabled words which split naturally into two halves of two syllables each. "Parsi- mony," 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 cir- cumstances gestures are so much easier than words and not any less amusing. Dumb Performances Yery good fun can be had also from impromptu panto- mimes, where the performers enact some story which every one knows, such as " Aladdin " or " Ked Hiding 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 io8 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? 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 some- body'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 Eiding Hood's wolf it will make also most of the other animals in the Zoo. A sol- dier'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 ^f preparation and re- hearsal, and are therefore perhaps beM T left to older people. GUESSING, AND ACTING GAMES 109 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 per- haps better than much dressing up and absolute stillness. In "Canute and the Waves," for example, it is better that the in- coming 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 eral 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 sug- gestions 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 in- doors. 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 mak- ing 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 "3 1 14 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW showing in ivhich direction they have gone. Good stout shoes should be worn to run in, or you will blister your feet. Dog-Stick A game for city payments or for smooth country roads has so many names that it is difficult to say which is its right one, but a common one is " dog-stick." It is played something like hockey, the aim being to get a ball or counter over your opponent's goal line. The ball in this case is not a ball but a piece of wood which you can make yourself, of an odd shape. It is like a flattened ball with a tail to it. With a club or stick you strike the tail so that the ball springs up in the air and 146 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? then before it falls you strike it with your club toward your enemy's goal line. The players are divided into sides who try to defend their goal lines and to send back the ball to the other side. Make your own rules as experience teaches you is fair. Other Games The endless variations of leap-frog should not be forgot- ten in devising outdoor games: and tournaments of long or broad jumping and high jumping are good. Stilts and the games to be arranged with them are also another great re- source. And the seasons bring, as regularly as flowers and snow, the round of tops, and kites and marbles. Of these last a very summary account is given here as most boys and regions have their own rules. Marbles The first thing to learn in " Marbles " is the way that the marble should be held. Of course one can have very good games by bowling the marble, as if it were a ball, or holding it between the thumb-nail and the second joint of the first finger and shooting it with the thumb from there ; but these ways are wrong. The correct way is to hold it between the tip of the forefinger and the first joint of the thumb. Mar- bles are divided into "taws," or well-made strong marbles with which you shoot, and " clays," or the ordinary cheap colored marbles at which you aim and with which you pay your losses. Ring Taw Two or three boys with marbles could never have diffi- culty in hitting on a game to play with them, but the best reg- ular game for several players is " Ring Taw." A chalk ring is made on as level a piece of ground as there is, and each OUTDOOR GAMES FOR BOYS 147 player puts a clay on it at regular distances from each other. A line from which to shoot during the first round is then drawn two yards or so from the ring, and the game begins by the player who has won the right of leading off (a real advan- tage) knuckling down on the line and shooting at one of the marbles in the ring. If a player knocks a marble out of the ring, that marble is his and he has the right to shoot again from the place where his taw comes to a stand ; but if in knocking a marble out of the ring his taw remains in it (or if his taw remains in it under any condition whatever), he has to put all the marbles he has won into the ring, in addition to one for a fine, and take up his taw and play no more till the next game. There is one exception to this rule : If only one marble is left in the ring, and if, in knocking it out, a player's taw remains in the ring, he does not suffer, because the game is then over. The other two rules are these : If a player suc- ceeds in hitting the taw of another the owner of that taw not only must leave the game but hand over any marbles he has won. (In no case are taws parted with.) Also, if it happens that only two players are left, and one of these has his taw hit, that ends the game, for the player who hit it not only has the marble of the taw's owner but all the marbles left in the ring too. " Ring Taw " can be played by as few as two players ; but in this case they must each put several marbles in the ring. To decide which player is to begin, it is customary for them all to aim at the ring from the knuckling-down line, and whichever one places his taw nearest to the middle of the ring has the right to lead. Other Games Other garden games for boys will be found in the Picnic section. We might mention also " Steps " (p. 4), " Tug of War " (p. 38), and " Potato Races " (p. 40). PICNIC GAMES PICNIC GAMES A PICNIC may be either a complicated affair which has occupied you all the day before, or the most im- promptu expedition which you arrange on the spur of the minute ; and the last kind are often more fun. Any place out of doors will answer for a picnic, but if possible it should be near water. Anything will answer for a picnic lunch, but it is pleasant, if older people are with you, if you are al- lowed to have fires to do some outdoor cooking. This is al- ways easier than it sounds and adds infinitely to the fun of the lunch. Bacon is one of the easiest things to cook outdoors, all that is needed being a forked stick which you can cut for your- selves. The strip of bacon is impaled on the forks and toasted over the fire, each person cooking his own slice and eating it on bread. Or with two larger forked sticks a steak can be de- liciously broiled for the whole company, or chops can be cooked. It is the easiest and most delightful task to arrange a sort of cooking-hole of stones over which the coffee pot may be set and potatoes may be boiled over another similar hole. You will find that it is far better to have a number of very tiny little fires entirely separated from each other, than one big bonfire which is almost sure to grow unmanageable. It will be seen that it is far easier to take a big piece of bacon (to be sliced after reaching the picnic grounds) a loaf or two of bread and raw potatoes than to spend hours in making sandwiches and packing cake. Beside the things cooked out of doors al- 152 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? ways taste so much better. Great care should be taken to put out every spark of fire before going home, and to leave no scraps of paper, or egg-shells lying about. These should be burned or buried. It, Touch Last, or Tag For a short time " It " is a good warming game. It is the simplest of all games. The " It " runs after the others until he touches one. The one touched then becomes " It." Touchwood The name explains the game, which is played as " It " is played, except that you can be caught only when you are not touching wood. It is a good game where there are trees. It is, of course, not fair to carry a piece of wood. Cross Tag This is the ordinary " Tag," save that if, while the " It " is chasing one player, another runs across the trail between him and the pursued, the " It " has to abandon the player he was at first after and give chase to the one who has crossed. A good variety of tag is " French Tag." The first one caught must join hands with the " It," the next one with him, etc., and so on in a long line all running together. Any one can catch an opponent, but the original "It" must touch him before he can take his place in the line. The Little Dog The players form a ring, leaving one outside, who passes round it singing, " I have a little dog and he won't bite you," and as he does so, touching each player in turn with a knotted pocket-handkerchief. " And he won't bite you," " And he PICNIC GAMES 153 won't bite you," he calls to one after the other, and then sud- denly changes this to " But he will bite you" The player touched when this is said has to run after the toucher with all his might. When caught they change places. Hunt the Squirrel All the players except one join a ring. This one, with a knotted handkerchief in his hand, walks round the outside of the ring for a while, and then, dropping the handkerchief be- hind one of the players, runs off crying Hunt the squirrel through the wood. Now I 've lost him now I 've found him ! Hunt the squirrel through the wood. The player behind whom the handkerchief was dropped must catch the squirrel before he can take up the empty place in the ring left by the pursuer. It is more fun if, in dropping the handkerchief, it can be done without the player discover- ing it for a little while. The way in which old-fashioned country children play this game (called usually " Drop the handkerchief "), is a little different. As the one with the handkerchief walks around and around the outside of the ring all join in singing, "Atisket! A tasket ! A green and yellow basket ! I sent a letter to my love And now I find I 've lost it. I Ve lost it ! I 've lost it ! And where do you think I found it ? Up in the sky, ever so high With angels gathered 'round it." As the words " I've lost it ! " are repeated, the player out- side must drop the handkerchief, but no one must look behind him until the verse is ended. Then the one who finds the 154 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? handkerchief behind him must try to catch the first one, who in turn tries to slip into the empty place. Gaps The players form a ring : all except one, who is " It." This one runs round the ring and touches one of the players in the circle. They both set off running immediately in opposite directions, the object of each being to get first to the gap made in the circle by the player who was touched. The one who gets to the gap first remains in the circle, while the other becomes " It." Twos and Threes, or Terza A very good picnic game. All the players except two form a large ring, standing in twos, one behind another. Of the two who are over, one is the pursuer and the other the pursued ; and the game is begun by the pursued taking up his position (if he can do so before the pursuer catches him) in front of one of the couples in the ring, thus making three. Directly he does this he is safe, and the last player in the little group at the back of him has to run. Whoever is caught be- comes the pursuer, while the one that caught him becomes the pursued until, by standing in front of one of the couples, he transfers that office to another. Hide and Seek " Hide and Seek," which is perhaps the best out-of-door game without implements, needs no explanation. It is usual to give the player who hides a start of as much time as it takes the others to count a hundred in. Some boys, instead of counting from one to a hundred, divide the sum into ten tens, which are counted thus : 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 ; 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1 ; and so on. These can be rattled through so PICNIC GAMES 155 quickly that your 100 is done and you have started out before, in the ordinary way, seventy would have been reached. A customary arrangement to avoid taking the hiders too much by surprise is for the boy who stays at the base and counts a hundred to call out when he finishes or simply Bushel of wheat ! Bushel of rye ! All that are n't ready call out ' I ' ! " "One! Two! Three! Look out for me ! " I Spy " I Spy " combines " Hide and Seek " and " Tag." One player stays in the base, covers his eyes and counts a hundred, while the others run off and hide. On finishing the hundred the player shouts " Coming ! " and runs out to look for the others. Directly he catches sight of one of them (and they are not hidden so carefully as in " Hide and Seek "), he calls out his name and the place where he has seen him ; as, for in- stance, " Harry ! behind the summer-house ! " If there is no mistake and the name is right (it is very often wrong, in which case the player does not move), Harry has to run out and try and catch the other before he reaches the base. Another way is for as many players to seek as to hide. In this case it is agreed beforehand as to how many of the seekers must be caught by the hiders for the game to be won. If the number is given at four and four are caught, the same side have the privilege of hiding again ; but if only three or a smaller number, then the seekers have won and it is they who hide next time. 1 5 6 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW Chevy, or Prisoner's Base There is no better running game than this. Y ou first pick sides and then mark off the two camps and take up your station there. The field is arranged thus : Place for A's prisoners. Place for B's prisoners. A's Camp. B's Camp. PICNIC GAMES 157 The game is opened by several of the A side running out to some point immediately in front of the two camps. When ready they call " Chevy." As many of the B side then start out to pursue them, each calling his particular quarry by name. The object of each A man is either to get back before the B man who is after him can catch him, or to tempt the B man into ground so near the A camp that he may be caught. In this aim he is helped by the fact that directly his B pursuer called his name and started out another A man probably called out the name of the B man and started to cut him off. No one is allowed to be pursued by two players at once. If caught, the A man has to go to the place reserved for B's prisoners. Directly he gets there he calls " Rescue " ; an A man will then call " Prisoner," and rush out to relieve him ; while a B runner is all ready to intercept this A rescuer if he can. The game is good both for runners who can keep it up a long time and for those who can make short, sharp dashes. The first named decoy the enemy out in pursuit, and the others hold themselves ready to dash across in front of the enemy's camp and cut off any one who is across the line. The rule as to shouting the name of the man you have marked down should be kept. If there is more than one prisoner they stand just touch- ing hands, in a line which reaches as far as possible toward their own camp, so that the distance between the first prisoner and the rescuer may be shortened. Each new prisoner takes up his place at the back of this line, farthest from the camp. A prisoner is rescued by being touched. If one side is much weaker than the other a time comes when it is nearly all taken prisoner, with none to rescue ex- cept by leaving the camp undefended. Directly a camp is left undefended one of the enemy steps in and " crowns " it and claims the game. More often than not, however, a game of 158 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? ' l Chevy" is left undecided. It does not matter in the least, for in this game the fun is more in playing than in winning. French and English For this game the ground must be divided by a path or line into two territories French and English. At the further side of each territory a number of flags handkerchiefs will do must be placed at intervals. The players are then divided into the two nations, and the game consists in each side trying to get the flags from the other side, to guard its own, and to catch the enemy when he is off his own ground. Once a player sets foot upon the enemy's territory he must go on, but he can- not be caught if he has a flag in his hands. If he is caught he becomes a prisoner (as in Chevy), and is only released by being touched by one of his own party. A player cannot redeem a prisoner and take a flag at the same time. The game ends when all the flags of one side have been taken. Black Man This is rather rough. A line is drawn at each end of the playing place and one player is told off to stand between these lines. The object of the others is to run across, from base to base, without being caught by him : being caught meaning not merely being touched, as in " It," but being really held and stopped. Each one that is caught has to stay in the middle to help catch the others, until no one is left to run across at all. The player in the middle calls out to the crowd of players, " What'll you do when the black man comes ? " and they answer, " Run righb through And never mind you." This is the signal to begin each rush across from one line to the other. PICNIC GAMES 159 Stagarino " Stagarino " is similar to " Black Man," except that all the players who are caught, and whose business it is to catch the others, join hands. Those that run across have therefore to avoid them or to try and break through the wall of arms. Red Rover "Bed Rover " is also similar to " Black Man," except that instead of all running at the same time, the " Rover " calls out : " Red Rover ! Red Rover ! Let (mentioning name) come over ! " at which the one named has to run from one base to the other. If he is caught, he must assist the " Rover " in catching the others. Hop, Step, and Jump This is a change from ordinary racing. The competitors, instead of running against each other, see which can cover the most distance in a hop, a step, and a jump, or, say, three hops, three steps, and three jumps. It needs an umpire to watch very carefully that the step begins exactly where the hop left off and the jump where the step finished. Folio w-My-Leader This needs no explaining. It is nearly always good fun for a while, and particularly so if the leader has original ideas. OUT FOR A WALK OUT FOR A WALK ON country walks, where there is much to see, one should not be in need of ways to make the time seem shorter. And new walks in the town, or walks where there are interesting shop-windows, are not dull. But the same walks again and again can be very tiring ; and it is to help these that the methods which follow have been collected. A good walking pastime for two is for one to drive the other. Hoops are a great help (see p. 169) and so are dolls' perambulators. But on many walks nothing of this kind is allowed, and one has to fall back on conversation. Telling stories in turns, or making up stories about passers-by, is use- ful, but it is not every one that is able to do this. Roadside Whist In the Channel Islands visitors riding about in large wagonettes pass the time by playing a game called " Roadside Whist." The people on the left seat of the carriage take the right side of the road, and those on the right seat take the left. The conductor teaches them the rules at the beginning of the drive. In our case it is better perhaps to make them for our- selves, to suit our own particular country. Let us suppose that If you see A baby in arms you score A baby in a perambulator " A white horse A ladder against a house A woman in a white apron A butcher's cart A street gate A postman 163 164 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? Then there should be a few things for which marks have to be taken off. Let us suppose that If you see A pug dog you lose 2 A piebald horse An open gate A flock of sheep A soldier " 4 2 3 10 No matter what the score is, whichever side sees a cat on a window-ledge wins the game. Counting Dogs In a town there are other varieties of roadside whist for two players or sides. Counting dogs is one. In this game one takes all the streets leading from the left, the other all from the right. Guessing Horses' Tails A good game (writes E. R.) while out for a walk is " when you see a horse coming, guess what color his tail is before he can reach you, and then, whoever guesses right, the horse be- longs to him." Shop- Windows Except in very dull streets shop-windows can be always entertaining. It is interesting to suppose you have so much money say five dollars to spend, or, if you like, an un- limited sum, and choose what you would buy as you pass each shop. E. H. writes: "One little girl used to suppose that she was the eldest of a large family whom she had to provide for, and was always on the lookout for things in the shops that would do for her younger brothers and sisters. For in- stance, if she decided that the family must have new winter clothes, she would first make up her mind how much she could afford and then price the things in the shop-windows. Some- OUT FOR A WALK 165 times she would set her heart on a particular cloak for the baby, but could not pretend to buy it till she had seen whether it would leave her enough money for the other children. If she could get all the children dressed fairly nicely for the sum at her disposal she had all the satisfaction of a successful day's shopping. Sometimes the clothes she wanted were too dear, and then she had to decide what was most necessary, what she could make at home, and so on." Making Sentences It is rather exciting for each player to take a side of the road where there are shops and see which can first complete a given sentence or word from the initial letters of the shop- keepers' names, Christian or surname. In fixing upon a sen- tence it is well to be careful not to have unusual letters, such as Q, or U, or J in it. If this is too difficult all the letters in the shopkeepers' names may be taken, or those in every other name. Collecting Jones's In Mrs. Meynell's book, The Children, one little girl on her walks collected Jones's that is, shops with the name of Jones over them. If any one else cared for this amusement there would be no need to stick to Jones. The Love Alphabet In this game you go through the alphabet, applying ad- jectives to your love. " I love my love with an A because he [or she] is so admirable " ; "I love my love with a B because she is so beautiful," and so on, keeping to each letter as long as possible. On pages 88 and 89 will be found more difficult varieties, less suitable, perhaps, to be played when walking. i66 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? The Cat Alphabet Another alphabet game requires adjectives to be put be- fore the word cat. You begin with A. " An artful cat," one player may say ; and the next, " An avaricious cat." Perhaps " An awful cat," " An adhesive cat," " An arrogant cat," and " An attractive cat," will follow. A is kept up until no one can think of any more ; or if you play in that way until no one can think of any more while ten is being counted. Then B : " A bushy cat," " A bruised cat," " A bellicose cat," " A bumptious cat," and so on. Spelling In this game the players each contribute a letter toward the spelling of a word, their object being never to be the one to complete it, but to force the next player to do so. Thus (with four players) the first player may say " p," and the next, thinking of " prim," may say " r," and the next, also thinking of " prim," may say " i." But the fourth player, running his thoughts quickly over possible words beginning with " pri," may light upon " prism " and say " s." This saves her, but puts the first player in danger, which is only averted by her thinking of " prison " and saying " o," in which case the next one is bound to be the loser. The Grand Mogul A favorite old game which can be played as well on a walk as indoors is " The Grand Mogul." " The Grand Mogul does not like E's," says one player ; " what will you give him for dinner ? " Each player answers in turn, but none of the dishes named must contain the letter E, or the player either stands out, or (indoors) pays a forfeit. Thus, the answers to the question may be " apricots," " mutton," or " soup," but not " apples," " beef," or " porridge." On a walk the letter OUT FOR A WALK 167 E might be persevered with until every one failed, and then the other vowels might be tried. Buz This is a counting game in which, whenever the number 7 comes, or a multiple of 7, such as 14, 21, 28, 35, or a number with 7 in it, such as 17, 27, 37, the player whose turn it is must say " Buz." Otherwise, out-of-doors, he loses a round or two, or, indoors, he must pay a forfeit. When 70 comes you say " Buz " in the ordinary way, but for 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76^ 78, and 79 you say " Buz 1," " Buz 2," and so on. For 77 you say " Buz Buz." Rhyming Lights In this game one player thinks of a word and gives the others a rhyme to it. Thus, she may think of " coal," and she would then say, " I Ve thought of a word that rhymes to pole." The others have to guess what the word is, yet not bluntly, as, " Is it mole ? " but like this : " Is it a little animal that bur- rows ? " " No," says the first player (who thus has a little guessing to do herself), " No, it is not mole." " Is it a small loaf of bread ? " " No, it is not roll." " Is it something you eat bread and milk from ? " " No, it is not bowl." " Is it something you burn ? " " Yes, it is coal." The player who thought of " coal " then finds a word for the others to guess. The Apprentice The " Apprentice " is an old game for two or any num- ber. One says, " I apprenticed my son to a [mentioning a tradesman or craftsman], and the first thing he sold [or made] was a [mentioning, by its initial only, something peculiar to the trade or craft]. The player who first guesses what the initial stands for then makes a similar remark. Thus, one player may say, " I apprenticed my son to a blacksmith, and 168 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? the first thing he made was a D. K." (Door Knocker), Another, " I apprenticed my son to a grocer, and the first thing he sold was S. S." (Soft Soap). Another, u I appren- ticed my son to a gardener, and the first thing he grew was a C. B." (Canterbury Bell). Another, " I apprenticed my son to a firework manufacturer, and the first thing he made was a G. K." (Golden Kain). Towns and Products This is a somewhat similar game bearing on geography. Suppose there are three players. One chooses a well-known place, say Boston, and begins, "I know a place where they sell boots," or whatever it may be beginning with B. The next player then knows what letter the place begins with and at once starts thinking of what place it is likely to be. Per- haps she settles on Birmingham, in which case she would say, to indicate that the second letter of the word was " I," " I know a place where they sell isinglass " (or icicles, or ingle- nooks). " No," says the first player, and the third therefore has to try. Perhaps she decides that the place is Brighton, in which case she will say, " I know a place where they sell rock- ets " (or rump-steak or raisins). " No," says the first player again, and then it being her turn she gives them another light on the right word by saying, " I know a place where they sell oranges " (or oil, or ocarinas), and so on, until the place is spelled through. Other Games Other games suitable to be played when walking are " P's and Q's " (p. 89), " Suggestions " (p. 91), " Clumps " (p. 93), "How, When, and Where" (p. 95), "Coffee-Pot" (p. 95), " Throwing Light" (p. 96), and " Animal, Vegetable, and Min- eral " (p. 96). OUT FOR A WALK 169 Hoops Iron hoops are the best, but it is a matter of taste whether a stick or a hook is used for them. If the stick is a stout one you get rid of the skidding noise made by the hook, and there is more satisfaction in beating a thing along than in, as it were, pushing it. It should be every one's aim to make the hoop do as much as possible with as little treatment as possible. After a very fast run it is equally interesting to see how slowly a hoop can be made to travel. To make it keep as straight a course as may be is very absorbing. Bought hoops can be strong, but to get exactly what one wants it is necessary to go to a blacksmith. A hoop standing as high as its owner, through which he can run to and fro as it rolls, is a possession which only a blacksmith or working-ironmonger can supply. Two in Hoop Games Hoop games are few in number, and, with the exception of " Posting," not very exciting. With a large hoop and a small hoop two players can learn to time the pace of a hoop very exactly and then bowl the little one through the big one as it rolls. There is also a game called " Turnpikes," in which several players and one hoop take part. The turnpikes, of which there are as many as the players, less the one who begins with the hoop, are two stones an inch or so apart, through which the hoop has to be bowled without touching, the faster the better. If it touches, or misses, the player who has been bowling it gives the hoop to the turnpike holder, who then tries his fortune with it, keeping it until he fails at any of the stones. Hoop Posting A very good hoop game for several players is " Posting." Tfce idea is that a distance is to be covered (as in the old post- 170 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? ing days) as quickly as possible by relays of riders, and the first thing to do is to station four posts at various points along the route. Then, when they are ready, each with hoop-stick or hook, the player with the hoop starts and bowls it as fast as he can to the first post. Immediately it reaches him that post takes it on, without stopping the hoop for an instant, to the next, while the first one takes the place left by him ; and so on, as often round the ring as you like. When there is a time-keeper and you post against time it is even better fun. The advantage of standing in a large circle is that the hoop need never be checked ; but if the circle is impossible, you can go up and down a long line, with checks only at each end. IN THE TRAIN Or DURING A WAIT AT A RAILWAY STATION IN THE TRAIN Or DURING A WAIT AT A RAILWAY STATION ALONG journey in a train say from NQW York to Chicago can, even if you have a window seat, be very tiring ; but without a window it is sometimes almost unendurable. The hints which follow are mostly adapted for two players, but one or two will be found useful if you are alone with no one to play with. The Value of a Map A map of the country which the train passes through is an interesting thing to have on a long journey. It tells you the names of the hills and villages you see from the windows and you can very likely fix the exact moment that you cross from one county or state into another. Railway Competitions Two persons can have good competitions. They can agree beforehand that the game is to go to whichever of them sees the more horses, or cows, or sheep, or men driving, or bicyclists, or rabbits, between two given points, say one station and the next. It is not necessary to be at different windows ; in fact a new kind of excitement comes in if both are at the same window or at windows on the same side, because then in addition to seeing the things there is the fun of not letting the other think you have seen them. 173 1 7 4 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? Railway Whist This is a kind of " Koadside Whist," the rules for which Will be found on page 163. As has been said there, most players will prefer to draw up their own scoring table ; but the following things and figures may be found useful as a foundation : If yon see A church it counts . . 3 A field with sheep " 3 A field with cows " 2 A field with horses " 4 A field with rabbits " 3 A man u 1 A woman " 2 A stile " 4 An open gate . . 5 A shut gate . " 2 An ordinary dog . . 2 A sheep dog " 6 A horse and cart " 5 A hay-wagon " 2 A pond " 4 If you see A waving hankerchief you lose . . 6 A hay-stack " . 1 A red barn " . . 5 A grocer's wagon . . 1 Children on a gate " . .10 Whichever side first sees a black sheep wins, no matter what the score is. Otherwise the scorer of the greatest num- ber of marks is the winner. In " Railway Whist " it is neces- sary for the players to be on different sides of the train. Station Observation A variety of " Observation " (see page 104) can be played on journeys. While the train is stopping at a station every IN THE TRAIN 175 one looks out of the window and notices as many things as possible. When the train starts again each writes as many of these things as he can remember, and the one with the best list wins. Games With a Watch II you have a watch it is rather interesting to guess the exact time at which the train will reach the next station. The one who guesses nearest becomes the holder of the watch until the next guess is decided. Other things can be done with a watch, particularly if it has a second hand. Guessing the length of a minute is rather interesting, or timing the speed of the train by noting how long it takes to go between the telegraph-poles at the side of the line. Hot-Hand This is a primitive game, capital for cold weather, for it is well named. It is played by two people, one of whom spreads out his hands flat, palms up. The other puts his, palms down, within about three inches of the other's, and tries to strike them a smart blow. If the first player can withdraw his hands quickly enough so that they are not touched it is his turn to try and strike. As long as the player whose hands are palms down can strike the other's hands he can go on. This is an excellent game for cultivating quickness. The player whose hands are to be struck will find that he can suc- ceed better in escaping the other's blows, if he watches his eyes rather than his hands. This can be arranged among many players as a sort of tournament, trying out the players by couples until finally the two best contestants are left to struggle for the championship. This is a good game to play while getting your breath after 1 7 6 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW skating or at any time out of doors when you are obliged to be quiet, and there is danger of getting chilled. Pencils and Paper It is well to take a pencil and paper when you go on a long journey. If the train rocks a good deal it is interesting to see which can write a sentence most clearly. There is a way of balancing oneself on the edge of the seat and holding the paper on one's knees which makes for steadiness. It is never too shaky for " Noughts and Crosses." Noughts and Crosses or Tit-tat-toe " Noughts and Crosses " is playable anywhere ; all that is needed is a piece of paper a newspaper will do and a pen- cil. The framework is first made. Thus : One player chooses crosses and the other noughts, and the one who is to begin puts his mark say, a cross in one of the nine squares. The other puts a nought in another of the squares, and so it goes on until either three noughts or three crosses are in a straight line in any direction. Thus, this is the end of a game in which noughts played first and crosses won: IN THE TRAIN X 177 X But it often happens that the game is drawn, as in this example, in which noughts played first : X o o X X X A blank book for " Noughts and Crosses," with the frame- work all ready, can now be obtained. It has places for the names of the players, and the date. Paper French and English " French and English," another game for two, belongs to the family of " Noughts and Crosses," and can be played any- where and on any scrap of paper. You first decide which will be English and which French. Each player then takes one-half of the paper and covers it with, say, sixty dots. It does not matter how many, but there must be the same num- 178 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? her on each side. Then in a corner each draws a cannon, or draws something that can be called a cannon for the purposes of the game. You then decide how many turns you will have. The game is played by placing the pencil on the cannon, shut- ting your eyes, and dashing the pencil across your enemy's side of the paper, straight or crooked, in any direction you like. Then you open your eyes, count how many dots the pencil line has passed through, and score them down. The player who, at the end of the number of turns settled upon, has gone through the greatest number of dots is the winner. " Letters " and Words A box of letters is an unfailing help to pass the time. A word will sometimes keep a player puzzling for hours, which is, of course, too long. "Pomegranate," "Orchestra," and " Scythe " are good examples of difficult words. You can also take words and sentences seen on the journey, such as " Wait till the train stops," and " Pears' Soap," and see how many words they will make. A more difficult task is to make anagrams of advertisements. " Lip- ton's Teas," for instance, makes " Taste on, lips." " Letters " With a Pencil The word-making game has been adapted into a writing competition. Each of the company is handed a card which has been prepared for the purpose beforehand by having names of a dozen animals, or towns, or flowers, or birds, or whatever it may be, written on it in what might be called twisted spell- ing. For instance, " butterfly " might be spelled thus, " trelby- fut," and "Manchester" thus, " Tramschene." A certain amount of time is given, and the winner is the player who has found out most words therein. A version of this game is to dot out all the letters of the IN THE TRAIN 179 word except the first and the last. You would put " Elephant " on the paper thus, E t, and tell your companion it was the name of an animal. Or you might write " Peppermint " thus, P t, and tell him it was the name of a sweet. Hanging This is a more difficult game, very suitable for a tiring journey. The two players sit side by side, and one of them dots out on a piece of paper the words of a proverb or well- known line of poetry. Thus, " I met a little cottage girl " would be set down in this way : Underneath this line a small gallows is erected. Thus : The game is for the other player to discover the line. In order to do this he is permitted to ask his opponent for letters. Perhaps he will begin by asking, " May I have an * a,' " be- cause there are few sentences that do not contain an " a." His opponent will then put the first " a " in. Thus : Then perhaps another " a " will be asked for, and the line will come out thus : i8o WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW '? Then perhaps an " e " : So far all has gone favorably with the guesser, and the gallows is still untouched. But perhaps he will now venture to ask for a consonant (which is much more risky than a vowel), and will say, " May I have an * s ' ? " As there is no " s " in the line the reply will be against it, and the opponent will at once append to the rope of the gallows a small head. Thus : This means that the guesser has lost one out of a possible six points, the others being his body, his two arms and two legs. For each letter he asks for in vain he loses one of these, and when all have gone he has lost the game too. Sometimes, however, the quotation can be detected very quickly. Other Games Many games usually kept for the house can be played in the train. " Old Maid " (see p. 79) is a good train game ; so is " Buz " (see p. 167). A " Fox and Geese " board, or a draught- board, will help to pass the time. Food Food is a great help toward shortening a long journey. A little picnic every hour, if it is permitted, is something not too IN THE TRAIN 181 distant to look forward to, and it may take up ten minutes each time. A larger meal all at once may, of course, be more convenient but, if not, the hourly picnic is worth trying. Chinese Gambling This is the simplest game possible but will while away endless hours. It is played with nothing but your hands, which are made to assume three positions : one with clenched fist ; one spread out flat ; and one with first and second finger spread apart like the blades of scissors. The first is called " the stone," the second " the paper " and the third " the CHINESE GAMBLING Yery rapidly both players strike their right hand (clenched) into the left palm three times, and then both at the same instant bring up the right hand in one of the three posi- tions. The winner is determined by this formula : " Scissors cut paper. Stone breaks scissors. Paper wraps stone." That is if you have made your hand " the stone " and your companion "the paper," he wins. But if you had chosen " the scissors " you would have won. The winner must call out the formula that fits the case, " Scissors cut paper " for instance, and count is kept of the number of losses and gains. The one who comes out ahead after a half-hour's contest is the winner of that bout. PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED Bricks AMONG the best toys with which to play alone are bricks, soldiers, balls, battledore and shuttlecock, and dolls. No one needs any hints as how to play with them ; but it might be remarked that ordinary bought bricks being rarely what they should be, it is better, if possi- ble, to get a carpenter to make some of a more useful size, say four inches long, one and a half inches wide, and an inch thick. With a hundred of these you can do almost anything in the way of building, and if made of tough wood they ought to last forever. Soldiers A good game of soldiers is to see how many shots are re- quired from a cannon to kill the whole regiment. The cannon can either be a spring cannon or a pop-gun, or a pea-shooter. Just at first it is almost impossible not to clear off two or three men with each shot, but later it becomes more difficult and exciting. Ninepins With a box of ninepins very much the same game can be played. In wet weather, in the hall, a box of large ninepins is invaluable. 186 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW* Spanish Cup and Ball A good quiet game to play alone is " Spanish Cup and Bali." A long stick has fastened to it a loop of wire standing SPANISH Cup out at right angles, thus. To this is attached by a long string a worsted, or a very light rubber bail. The game is to see how many times you can throw the ball up to the ceiling and catch it in the loop of wire as it falls. PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED 187 Balancing All kinds of balancing games are excellent when you are alone and tired of toys. There is no way to acquire profi- ciency in these but by practice, but practice is fascinating work. Try balancing at first a long pole (an old broom-stick handle will do) on the palm of your hand, then on your finger, then on your chin and forehead. The longer the pole, the easier to balance it. Kemember one golden rule. Keep your eyes on the top of the pole. Then try balancing a whole broom, or a chair. The practice of balancing is excellent for training yourself in quickness of eye and muscle. Of course bricks and soldiers and ninepins, as well as balls (see p. 139), are more interesting when more than one person plays ; but one can pass the time very well with them. Bruce's Heart Where toys become tedious, games have to be made up ; and in making up games no outside help is needed. At the same time, some games which E. H. describes may perhaps sup- ply a hint or two. " One little girl," she writes, " used to find endless joy in pretending to be Douglas bearing the heart of Bruce to the Holy Land. A long stick in the right hand represented his spear ; a stone in the left hand was the casket containing Bruce's heart. If the grown-ups stopped to talk with some one they met, or if there was any other excuse for running on ahead, the little girl would rush forward waving her stick and encouraging her men (represented by a big dog), and, after hurling her stone as far forward as possible, and exclaiming, ' Lead on, brave heart/ she would cast her spear in the same direction in a last effort against the Moors, and then pretend to fall dead to the ground." This little girl had found the story of Bruce in Tales of a Grandfather, by Sir i88 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW * Walter Scott. Almost every book will yield people and events to play at. The Hotel Camps Another little girl whom E. H. knew " once spent a short time in a hotel, and while there divided the other people into camps according to the floor on which they had rooms. The designs in the windows on the various floors represented the badges or heraldic signs of each camp. For instance, one window (they were of colored glass) had a border with eagles, another had gryphons, another lions, and so on. If she met some one of another floor coming in or going out of the hotel, it represented the meeting of two rival bands. If she actually found herself in the elevator with them, it was a dangerous encounter, in which, if they got out first, she had driven them off the field, but if she got out first it was she who was in retreat. If two people of different floors were seen talking together, a truce had been declared, and so Block City The little book called A Child's Garden of Verses, by R. L. Stevenson, has several poems which describe how a lonely little boy used to play. Thus (in " Block City ") : Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet a sea, There I '11 establish a city for me, A kirk and a mill, and a palace beside, And a harbor as well where my vessels may ride. Story-Books And (in "The Land of Story-Books ") : Now, with my little gun, I crawl All in the dark along the wall, And follow round the forest track Away behind the sofa back. PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED 189 There, in the night, where none can spy, All in my hunter's camp I lie, And play at books that I have read Till it is time to go to bed. The Bed Boat That is ordinary play. There is also a poem descnoing play in bed : My bed is like a little boat ; Nurse helps me in when I embark ; She girds me in my sailor's coat And starts me in the dark. Thinking Games for Bed When more than one sleep in the same room, the time before sleep can be very interesting. Many games which have already been described are suitable for bed, such as " Telling Stories" (p. 99), "I Love my Love" (p. 88), "Spelling" (p. 166), " The Grand Mogul " (p. 166), " Khyming Lights " (p. 167), " The Apprentice " (p. 167), " Towns and Products " (p. 168), "Suggestions" (p. 91), and "Clumps," adapted (p. 93). Games by Rote On this subject B. K. L. writes : " We made a list, which was stuck on the wall with a different game for each night. One was * I Love my Love with an A ' (see p. 88), which we steadily made up all through the alphabet. Another was * Initials,' in which you take turns in saying the initials of people you know, while the other guesses the names. Another was * Twenty Questions,' in which one thinks of something that has to be guessed as quickly as possible, only 'yes' and * no ' being given as answers. One very girlish game was like this : suppose you had a little girl with golden hair and blue eyes, and she was going on a visit to London, what sort of frocks would you buy her ? " 190 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? The Imaginary Family E. H. recommends for girls the "Imaginary Family" game. This is her description of it : " First you have to set- tle the names, ages, and characters of your family, and then you can carry on their adventures every night. One little girl who was devoted to books of travel, and who loved to pore over maps and charts, used to travel with her family every night in whatever country she happened to be interested in at the time. Thus she and a favorite son, Pharaoh, traveled for a long time in California, crossing every mountain-range by the proper passes, exploring every valley, tracing each river to its source, and so on. In the same way she traveled with her family in Central and South America, the Malay Penin- sula, and the South Sea Islands. Another little girl who was very fond of adventure stories carried her family through all sorts of perils by land and sea. At one time they were ship- wrecked and lived like the Swiss Family Eobinson. At another time they were exploring Central Africa, and traveled about with three years' supplies in a gigantic caravan with fifty elephants. Yet another little girl had for her family any characters out of books that particularly fascinated her. Thus, when she was reading The Heroes, her family was reduced to one daughter, Medea, a rather terrible daughter, who needed a great deal of propitiating, and for whose sake all other chil- dren had to be given up. Later on, when the same child was reading Tales of a Grandfather, her family consisted of three sons, Wallace, Bruce, and Douglas. (It is rather a good thing, by the way, to have a very heroic family, especially if you are at all inclined to be afraid in the dark, as they help to keep one's courage up.) Two little girls, who lived in a clergy- man's household, had an imaginary poor family they were in- terested in, and they planned about them every night, how much the father earned, what their rent was, whether the PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED 191 mother ought n't to take in washing, whether the eldest girl could be spared to go into service, and so on. When they were n't allowed to talk at night they carried the family his- tory on independently and compared notes in the morning." Making Plans Making plans is always interesting, but particularly so just before Christmas, when presents have to be arranged for. For Getting to Sleep The favorite way is to imagine that you see a flock of sheep scrambling through a gap in the hedge, and to count them. A variety of this is a desert with a long train of cam- els very far off, coming slowly near, and then passing and gradually disappearing in the far distance. Counting a million is also a good way. Games for Convalescents A good thing to do in bed when getting better from an illness is to cut out pictures for scrapbooks. Any kind of cut- ting out can be done, as the scissors and paper are very light and do not, therefore, tire the arms. " Patience " (see page 76) is also a good bed game, because it needs very little thought. Bed Soldiers In A Child's Garden of Verses there is a poem called " The Land of Counterpane," which tells what a little boy did when he was ill, lying among the pillows with his toys : And sometimes for an hour or so I watched my leaden soldiers go, With different uniforms and drills, Among the bed-clothes, through the hills ; And sometimes sent my ships in fleets All up and down among the sheets, Or brought my trees and houses out And planted cities all about. 192 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? China Animals Dolls are, of course, perfectly at home in bed when you are ill, but there is even more interest in a menagerie. On this subject it would be difficult to do better than quote from a letter from E. M. R., who has 590 china animals, mostly in families and all named. She began this magnificent collection with a family of monkeys. The mother was called Sally, her eldest son Mnngo, the next Pin-ceri, another, eating a nut, Jock, and the youngest, a sweet little girl monkey, Ness. I was soon given a family of three foxes, Reynard, Brushtail, and Whitepad, and from that time to the present my collection has been growing. I soon had enough to fill a shelf in a cabinet, and I turned my doll's-house into a boarding- school for the little animals with a big pig as headmaster. But when my collec- tion rose to 400 animals, I had too many children to be all boarders at the school, so some had to be day-scholars, and the headmaster was changed to a green frog who swam beautifully, and who was assisted by two swans, a duck, a fish, two crocodiles, and a seal, who all swam. Another frog taught the chil- dren swimming by tying a piece of string round their bodies, and dangling them in the water from the edge of a basin. The animals' abode was now changed, and they were put into a large cab- inet containing six small shelves and one big one. I called the big shelf a town, and the rest villages. The town was called Weybridge : the village where the birds lived, Airsbury ; and that where the dogs were, Canistown. The rest had various other names. At this time an im- portant addition was made to the collection, for a big lion was given me, which I immediately created king ; then came a queen and four princesses, and shortly after a crown prince : another prince, and three more little princesses. The royal family was allowed a village all to itself, which was called Kingston, and was given five servants, two nurses, a footman, a housemaid, and a cook. As I had now two families of several of the kinds of animals, I determined that they should be married, so, nominating Sally's husband rector, I had sev- eral weddings. I built a church with some bricks I had, and formed a proces- sion up the aisle, to the Wedding March, played on an American organ. First came the bride and bridegroom, then the best man and the brides- maids, and last the children of the animals who were to be married, two and two. When the ceremony was over, I marched them all back to their places on the shelf. I now made eight laws, and copied them out in an exercise-book, together PLAYING ALONE, AND GAMES IN BED 193 with the names of all the animals, the nnmher of men, women, boys, and girls, and the number of married and single families. I had had several little separate china animals given me, belonging to none of my families, so I made a law that if any family of their kind came to the col- lection they must adopt these little orphans. I also made two acting companies, one of big animals, and one for the chil- dren, with a boar-hound called Sir Philip of Ravenswood for the manager of the first, and a little black and white kid, named Tim, for manager of the second, and at the Christmas of the same year that I formed the two companies I had two plays, the children acting "Hansel and Gretel," and the big animals 4 'The Yeomen of the Guard." Being now unable to get any fresh families of small animals, I started a col- lection of big china animals, and soon had thirty-five, among whom were a Jersey bull and cow, another brown bull and a brown and white cow, two beautiful horses, several dogs, two donkeys, and two goats. These I kept apart from the small animals, in another cupboard ; but I still kept the lion king over them as well, and gave them two big animals, a blood- hound and a St. Bernard, as governors over them. Among the small animals I had a very learned-looking pig called Orsino, whom I made doctor, while an old bulldog, Dimboona, to whom I had been obliged to give two wooden legs, was Prime Minister. I also had a treasurer, a rent collector, a steward, and an under-steward. I also made a young boar- hound, called Panther, the son of Sir Philip, keeper of the stables, which con- sisted of ninety-two horses which I had made. And this brings the narrative of the growth of my china animal collection up to the present time, when I have 555 small animals and 35 big ones, 590 in all. AT THE SEASIDE AT THE SEASIDE Low Tide THE first thing to do on reaching the seaside is to find out when it is low tide. In each twelve hours low tide comes twenty minutes later, and knowing this you can arrange your days accordingly. Nothing is so sad- dening as to run down the beach in the belief that the tide is going out and to find that it is coming in. Paddling To boys who wear knickerbockers the preparations for paddling are very simple; but girls are not so fortunate. Lewis Carroll (who wrote Alice in Wonderland) took their difficulties so seriously that whenever he went to the seaside to stay he used to have with him a packet of safety-pins for the use of any children that seemed to be in need of them. This piece of though tfulness on his part might determine you to carry them for yourselves. A Cork Ship Sailing a good boat in the sea is not the best fun, but there is a kind of boat which is very easily made as you sit on the beach, and which is useful to play with when wading, and afterward to throw stones at. You take a piece of cork for the hull. Cut a line down the middle underneath and wedge a strip of slate in for a keel to keep her steady. Fix a pieci of driftwood for a mast, and thread a piece of paper on that for a sail. Wet Clothes When wading it is just as well not to get your clothes wet if you can help it. Clothes that are made wet with sea- 197 198 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? water, which probably has a little sand in it, are as uncom- fortable as crumbs in bed. There is no reason why you should get them wet if you wade wisely. Sitting among the rocks, running through the water, and jumping the little crisping waves are the best ways to get soaked. Rocks Seaside places where there are rocks and a great stretch of sand are the best. Rocks make paddling twice as exciting, because of the interesting things in the little pools the anemones, and seaweeds, and shells, and crabs, and shrimps, and perhaps little fish. Sometimes these pools are quite hot. To enjoy the rocks properly you want a net. Sand Castles, and Other Sand Games To make full use of the sands a spade is necessary and a pail important. The favorite thing to make is a castle and a moat, and although the water rarely is willing to stay in the moat it is well to pour some in. The castle may also have a wall round it and all kinds of other buildings within the wall. Abbeys are also made, and great houses with carefully ar- ranged gardens, and villages, and churches. Railways with towns and stations here and there along the line are easily made, and there is the fun of being the train when the line is finished. The train is a good thing to be, because the same person is usually engineer and conductor as well. Collisions are interesting now and then. The disadvantage of a rail- way on crowded sands is that passers-by injure the line and sometimes destroy, by a movement of the foot, a whole ter- minus ; it is therefore better at small watering-places that few people have yet discovered. If an active game is wanted as well as mere digging and building, a sand fort is the best thing to make, because then it has to be held and besieged, and per- AT THE SEASIDE 199 haps captured. In all sand operations stones are useful to mark boundaries. Burying one another in the sand is good at the time, but gritty afterward. Seaweed Seaweed and shells make good collections, but there is no use in carrying live fish home in pails. The fun is in catching the fish, not in keeping it ; and some landladies dislike having the bath-room used as an aquarium. On wet days seaweed can be stuck on cards or in a book. The best way to get it to spread out and not crease on a card, is to float the little pieces in a basin and slip the card underneath them in the water. When the seaweed has settled on it, take the card out and leave it to dry. The seaweed will then be found to be stuck, except perhaps in places here and there, which can be made sure by inserting a little touch of gum. It is the smaller, colored kinds of seaweed that one treats in this way ; and it is well to leave them for a day in the sun before washing and preparing, as this brings out their color. Tne ordinary large kind of seaweed is useful as a barometer. A piece hung by the door will tell when rain is coming by growing moist and soft. Shell Work A good use for little shells is to cover small boxes with them. The shells are arranged in a simple pattern and fast- ened on with glue. If the shells are not empty and clean, boil them, and scrub them with an old tooth-brush. Good Seaside Friends So many interesting things are to be seen at the seaside that there is no need to be always at play. Fishermen will come in with their boats, which need pulling up ; or a net that 200 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? has been dropped near the shore will be drawn in from the beach, and you can perhaps help. If the town is not merely a watering-place but also a seaport, it is, of course, better, be- cause then there will be the life of the harbor to watch. To be friends with a lighthouse man is almost as good a thing as can happen ; and if there is both a lighthouse and a ship- builder's you could hardly be more fortunate. IN THE COUNTRY IN THE COUNTRY THIS chapter has been written more for readers who live in a town and visit the country only during the holidays than for those whose home is always there. Regular country dwellers do not need to be told many of the things that follow ; but none the less there may be a few to find them useful. The principal special attractions of the country are In the spring . . . Birds' nests. "June. . . . Bee-swarming and hay-making. "July .... Sheep-washing and shearing. ' ' August . . . Early windfalls and harvest. "September. . . | Bl^kberr^nuts, hops, mushrooms, Making Friends The most important thing to do when staying at a farm- house is to make friends with the principal people. The prin- cipal people are those in charge of the chickens and ducks, the cows and the horses. The way to make friends is to be as lit- tle trouble as possible. Exploration On reaching the farm, it is well to make a journey of dis co very, in order to learn where everything is. The more one knows about the things in store the size of the barn, the height of the haystacks, the number of horses, the name of the watch-dog, the position and character of the pond, and so forth the simpler will it be, on going to bed, to make plans for the visit. 203 204 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW Finding Hens' Eggs The farmer's wife usually has charge of the chickens and ducks, but very often it is her daughter or a servant. No matter who it is, as soon as she is convinced that you will be careful and thorough she will let you hunt for eggs. This is very exciting, because hens have a way of laying in nests in the wood and all kinds of odd places, hoping that no one will find them and they will thus be able to sit and hatch out their chickens. The hay in the stable is a favorite spot, and under the wood-pile, and among the long grass. Sometimes one over- looks a nest for nearly a week and then finds three or four eggs in it, one of them quite warm. This is a great discovery. Just at first it is easy to be taken in by the china nest-eggs, and to run indoors in triumph with one in your hand. But the farmer's wife will laugh and send you back with it, and the mistake is not likely to be made again. After a while one gets to know the hens personally , and to know the noise which means that they have just laid. Sometimes, if a hen is going to lay just as you come to her nest, she will run off clucking and screaming and lay the egg on the ground. Ducks' Eggs Ducks' eggs, which are rather larger than hens' eggs, and pale green in color, are often more difficult to find. They have to be hunted for in the grass by the pond. Feeding the Chickens The farmer's wife also lets her visitors feed the chickens if they are gentle with them and thoughtful. It needs quite a little thought, because if you throw down the grain without thinking, many of the weaker and less greedy ones will get nothing, and many of the stronger and greedier ones will get too much. After a few handfuls you can see which are the weaklings, and after that you can favor them accordingly. A IN THE COUNTRY 205 greedy hen is so very greedy that she will always, whatever you do, get more than her share ; but it is possible to snub her a little. The very little chickens and ducklings do not have grain, but soft food, which is put in a saucer and placed inside the coop. It is after they have finished eating that they can most easily be picked up, but one must be very careful not to squeeze them. The Dairy If the farmer's wife makes her own butter there will be an opportunity to help her. Perhaps she will let you use the skimmer. Turning the churn is not much fun except just when the butter forms. Bee-Swarming Bees swarm on hot days in the early summer, usually in a tree, but sometimes in a room, if the window is open, and often in a bush, quite close to the ground. When they swarm in a tree you would think a black snow-storm was rag- ing all around it. Every moment the cluster of bees grows larger and larger, until, after half an hour or so, it is quiet. Then the swarm has to be taken. This is the most interesting part, but you must be careful not to be too near in case an accident occurs and the bees become enraged and sting you. If the farmer has the new wooden hives with a glass covering he will very likely let you peep in and see the bees at work. Before doing this you certainly ought to read something about their exceedingly wonderful ways. One of the best books is Sir John Lubbock's (Lord Avebury's) Ants, Bees, and Wasps, but most encyclopaedias contain very in- teresting articles on the subject. 206 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ployment, whether for yourself or for children in hospit- als or districts, and there was never so good an opportunity as now of getting interesting pictures. These you select from odd numbers of magazines, Christmas numbers, illustrated papers, and advertisements. Scraps are very useful to fill up odd corners. In choosing pictures for your own scrapbook it is better to select only those that you really believe in and can find a reason for using, than to take everything that seems likely to fit. By choosing the pictures with this care you make the work more interesting and the book peculiarly your own. But in making a scrapbook as a present for some one that you know, you will, of course, in choosing pictures, try to put yourself in his place and choose as you think that he would. Empty scrapbooks can be bought ; or you can make one by taking (for a large one) an old business ledger, which some one whom you know is certain to be able to give you, or (for a small one) an ordinary old exercise-book, and then cutting out every other page about half an inch from the stitching. This is to allow room for the extra thickness which the pictures will give to the book. Or you can sew sheets of brown paper together. For sticking on the pictures, use paste rather than gum 5 INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 277 and when it is done, press the book under quite a light weight, with sheets of paper between the pages. Scrapbooks for Hospitals Children that are ill are often too weak to hold up a large book and turn over the leaves. There are two ways of saving them this exertion and yet giving them pleasure from pictures. One is to get several large sheets of cardboard and cover them with pictures and scraps on both sides, and bind them round with ribbon. These can be enclosed in a box and sent to the matron. She will distribute the cards among the children, and when they have looked at each thoroughly they can exchange it for another. Another way is to use folding books which are more easy to hold than ordinary turning-over ones, and you can make them at home very simply by covering half a dozen or more cards of the same size (post-cards make capital little books) with red linen, and then sewing them edge to edge so as to get them all in a row. In covering the cards with the linen red is not compulsory, but it is a good color to choose it is better to paste it on as well as to sew it round the three edges (a fold will come on one side), because then when you stick on the pictures they will not cockle up. Pictures for hospital scrapbooks should be bright and gay* Colored ones are best, but if you cannot get them already colored you can paint them. Painting a scrapbook is one of the best of employments. Composite Scrapbooks Sometimes it happens that you get very tired of one of the pictures in your scrapbook. A good way to make it fresh and interesting again is to introduce new people or things. You will easily find among your store of loose pictures a korse and cart, or a dog, or a man, or a giraffe, which, when 278 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW? cut out, will fit in amusingly somewhere in the old picture. If you like, a whole book can be altered reasonably in this way, or made ridiculous throughout. Scrap-Covered Screens A screen is an even more interesting thing to make than a scrapbook. The first thing to get is the framework of the screen, which will either be an old one the covering of which needs renewing, or a new one made by the carpenter. The next thing is to cover it with canvas, which you must stretch on tightly and fasten with small tacks ; and over this should be pasted another covering of stout paper, of whatever color you want for a background to the pictures. Paste mixed with size should be used in sticking it. After the pic- tures are all arranged they should be stuck with the same material, and a coat of paper varnish given to the whole, so that it can be cleaned occasionally. Collecting Stamps Stamp-collecting is more interesting if money is kept out of it and you get your stamps by gift or exchange. The best way to begin is to know some one who has plenty of foreign correspondence and to ask for all his old envelopes. Nothing but time and patience can make a good collection. To buy it, is to have little of the collector's joy. Postage-Stamp Snakes Old American stamps can be used for making snakes. There is no need to soak the stamps off the envelope paper : they must merely be cut out cleanly and threaded together. A big snake takes about 4,000 stamps. The head is made of black velvet stuffed with cotton wool, and beads serve for eyes. A tongue of red flannel can be added. INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 279 Puzzles If you have a fret saw, and can use it cleverly, you can make at home as good a puzzle as any that can be bought. The first thing to do is to select a good colored picture, and then to procure from a carpenter a thin mahogany board of the same size. Mahogany is not absolutely necessary, but it must be some wood that is both soft and tough. Deal, for in- stance, is useless because it is not tough, and oak is useless be- cause it is not soft. On this wood you stick the picture very firmly, using weak glue in preference to paste or gum. When it is quite dry you cut it up into the most difficult frag- ments that you can. It is best to cut out the border so that each piece locks into the next. This will then be put together first by the player and will serve to hold the picture together. After the puzzle is cut up it is well to varnish each piece with paper varnish, which keeps it clean and preserves it. A simple puzzle can be made by pasting the picture on cardboard and cutting it up with scissors or a sharp knife. Soap Bubbles For blowing bubbles the long clay pipes are best. Before using them, the end of the mouthpiece ought to be covered with sealing-wax for about an inch, or it may tear your lips, Common yellow soap is better than scented soap, and rain- water than ordinary water. A little glycerine added to the soap-suds helps to make the bubbles more lasting. On a still summer day, bubble-blowing out-of-doors is a fascinating and very pretty occupation. Shadows on the Wall Shadowgraphy nowadays has progressed a long way from the rabbit on the wall ; but in the house, ambition in this ac- complishment does not often extend further than that and one 280 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW or two other animals, and this is why only the rabbit, dog, and swan are given here. The swan can be made more inter- esting by moving the arm which forms his neck as if he were SHADOWS ON THE WALL prinking and pluming, an effect which is much heightened by ruffling up and smoothing down the hair with the fingers form- ing his beak. To get a clear shadow it is necessary to have only one light, and that fairly close to the hands. Skeleton Leaves Leaves which are to be skeletonized should be picked from the trees at the end of June. They should be perfect ones of full growth. It is best to have several of each kind, as some are sure to be failures. Put the leaves in a big earthenware dish or pan, fill it with rain-water, and stand it in a warm and INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 281 sunn} 7 place the purpose of this being to soak off the green pulpy part. There is a great difference in the time which this takes : some fine leaves will be ready in a week, while others may need several months. Look at the leaves every day, and when one seems to be ready slip a piece of cardboard under it and shake it about gently in fresh cold water. If any green stuff remains, dab it with a soft brush and then put it into an- other basin of clean water. A fine needle can be used to take away any small and obstinate pieces of green. It is now a skeleton and must be bleached according to the following di- rections : Pour into a large earthenware jar a pint of water on half a pound of chloride of lime. Mix thoroughly, break- ing up any lumps with the hand. Add two and a half quarts of water, cover over, and leave for twenty-four hours. Then pour off the solution, leaving the sediment behind. Dissolve two pounds of soda in one quart of boiling water, and pour it, while on the boil, over the chloride solution. Cover it, and leave for forty-eight hours ; then decant into bottles, being careful to leave all sediment behind. Fill an earthenware dish with this solution, lay the leaves in it, and cover tightly. The leaves will be bleached in six to twelve hours. They should be taken out directly they are white, as the lime makes them very brittle. After bleaching, rinse the leaves in cold water, float them on to cards, and dry between blotting-paper, under a heavy weight. Ferns It should be noted that if you intend to skeletonize ferns, they should not be picked before August, and they must be pressed and dried before they are put into the bleaching solution, in which they ought to stay for three or four days. The solution should be changed on the second day, and again on the fourth. After bleaching they can be treated just as the leaves are. 282 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? Wool Balls Cut out two rings of cardboard, of whatever size you like, from one inch in diameter up to about four inches. A four- inch ring would make as large a ball as one usually needs, and a one-inch ring as small a one as could be conveniently made. The rim of the largest rings should not be wider than half an inch. Take a ball of wool and, placing the cardboard rings together, tie the end of it firmly round them. Then wind the wool over the rings, moving them round and round to keep it even. At first you will be able to push the ball through the rings easily, but as the wool is wound the hole will grow smaller and smaller, until you have to thread the wool through with a needle. To do this it is necessary to cut the wool into lengths, which you must be careful to join securely. Go on until the hole is completely filled and you cannot squeeze another needle through. Then slip a pair of scissors between the two rings and cut the wool all round them ; and follow this up quickly by slipping a piece of string also between them and tying it tightly round the wool that is in their midst. This is to keep the loose ends, which were made directly you cut the wool with the scissors, from coming out. All that is now necessary is to pull out the cardboard rings and shape the ball a little in your hands. The tighter the wool was bound round the cards, the smaller and harder the ball will be and the more difficult will it be to cut the wool neatly and tie it. Therefore, and especially as the whole purpose of a wool ball is softness and harmlessness, it is better to wind the wool loosely and to use thick wool rather than thin. Wool Demons To make a " Wool Demon," take a piece of cardboard as wide as you want the demon to be tall, say three inches, and wind very evenly over it wool of the color you want the INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 283 demon to be. Scarlet wool is perhaps best. Wind it about eighty times, and then remove carefully and tie a piece round about half an inch from the top to make the neck. This also secures the wool, the lower looped ends of which can now be cut. When cut, gather up about twenty pieces each side for the arms, and, holding them firmly, bind them round with other wool, and cut off neatly at the proper length. Then tie more wool round to form the body. The legs and tail are made in the same way as the arms, except that wool is wound round the legs, beginning from the feet and working upward, only to the knees, leaving a suggestion of knickerbockers. Eyes and other features can be sewn on in silk. Bead-Work Among other occupations which are not in need of careful description, but which ought to be mentioned, bead-work is important. It was once more popular than it now is ; but beads in many beautiful colors are still made, and it is a pity that their advantages should be neglected. Bead- work lasts longer and is cleaner and brighter than any other form of embroidery. Perhaps the favorite use to which beads are now put is in the making of napkin-rings. Bead-flowers are made by threading beads on wire and bending them to the required shapes. Boxes of materials are sold in toy-shops. Post-Office " Post-Office " is a device for providing the family with a sure supply of letters. The first thing to do is to appoint a postmaster and fix upon the positions for the letter-boxes. You then write letters to each other and to any one in the house, and post them where you like ; and at regular times the postmaster collects them and delivers them. 284 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW The Home Newspaper In " The Home Newspaper," the first thing to do is to decide on which of you will edit it. As the editor usually has to copy all the contributions into the exercise-book, it is well that a good writer should be chosen. Then you want a good title. It is better if the contributors are given each a depart- ment, because that will make the work more simple. Each number should have a story and some poetry. Home news- papers, as a rule, come out once a month. Once a week is too often to keep up. There is a good description of one in a book by E. Nesbit, called The Treasure-Seekers. Paper and Cardboard Toys A Cocked Hat To make a cocked hat, take a sheet of stiff paper and double it. Then fold over each of the doubled corners until FIG. l they meet in the middle. The paper will then resemble Fig. 1 Then fold AB AB over the doubled corners ; fold the corres. ponding strip of paper at the back to balance it, and the cocked hat is ready to be worn. If it is to be used in charades, it is well to pin it here and there to make it secure. INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 285 Paper Boats If the cocked hat is held in the middle of each side and pulled out into a square, and the two sides are then bent back FIG. 2 to make another cocked hat (but of course much smaller) ; and then, if this cocked hat is also pulled out into a square, it will FIGS. look like Fig. 2. If the sides A and A are held between the finger and thumb and pulled out, a paper boat will be the result, as in Fig. 3. 286 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW Paper Darts Take a sheet of stiffish paper about the size of this page and fold it longways, exactly double. Then fold the corners of one end back to the main fold, one each side. The paper sideways will then look as in Fig. 1. Then double these PAPER DARTS folded points, one each side, back to the main fold. The paper will then look as in Fig. 2. Repeat this process once more. The paper will then look as in Fig. 3. Compress the folds very tightly, and open out the top ones, so that in looking down on the dart it will have the appearance of Fig. 4. The dart is then ready for use. Paper Mats Take a square piece of thin paper (Fig. 1), white OP colored. Fold it in half (Fig. 2), and then again in half rx.s*. PAPER MATS (Fig. 3), and then again from the centre to the outside corner, when it will be shaped as in Fig. 4. If you want a round mat, cut it as marked by the dotted line in Fig. 4 ; if square, INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 287 leave it as it is. Remember that when you cut folded paper the cuts are repeated in the whole piece as many times as there are folds in the paper. The purpose of folding is to make the cuts symmetrical. Bearing this in mind cut Fig. 4 as much as you like, as suggested by Fig. 5. Perhaps it would be well to practice first of all on a rough piece. The more delicate the cuts the prettier will be the completed mat. Paper Boxes Take an exactly square piece of paper (cream-laid note- paper is best in texture), and fold it across to each corner and press down the folds. Unfold it and then fold each corner exactly into the middle, and press down and unfold again. The lines of fold on the paper will now be seen to run from corner to corner, crossing in the middle, and also forming a PAPER BOXES square pattern. The next thing is to fold over each corner exactly to the line of this square on the opposite half of the paper. When this is done, and the paper is again straight- ened out, the lines of fold will be as in Fig. 1. Cut out the triangles marked X in Fig. 1, and the paper will be as in 288 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? Fig. 2. Then cut along all the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and stand the opposite corners up to form the sides and lid of the box : first A and B, which are fastened by folding back the little flaps at the tip of A, slipping through the slit at the tip of B, and then unfolding them again ; and then C and D, which are secured in the same way. Cardboard Boxes Cardboard boxes, of a more useful nature than paper boxes, are made on the same principle as the house described on p. 239, and the furniture to go in it, as described later in the same chapter. The whole box can be cut in the flat, out of one piece of cardboard, and the sides afterward bent up and the lid down. Measurements must of course be exact. The prettiest way to join the sides is to use thin silk instead of paper, and the lid may be made to fasten by a little bow of the same material. Scraps and Transfers Paper boxes, when finished, can be made more attractive by painting on them, gluing scraps to them, putting trans- fers here and there, or covering them with spatter-work (see p. 275). Scraps can be bought at most stationers' in a very great variety. Transfers, which are taken off by moistening in water, pressing on the paper with the slithery clouded surface downward, and being gently slipped along, used to be more common than they now are. Directions how to make many other paper things will be found on pp. 243-262. Ink Sea-Serpents Dissolve a teaspoonful of salt in a glass of water, dip a pen in ink and touch the point to the water. The ink de- scends in strange serpent-like coils. INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 289 A Dancing Man The accompanying picture will show how a dancing man is made to dance. You hold him between the finger A DANCING MAN and thumb, one on each side of his waist, and pull the string. The hinges for the arms and legs, which are made of card- board, can be made of bent pins or little pieces of string knotted on each side. Velvet Animals The fashioning of people and animals from scraps of velvet glued on cardboard was a pleasant occupation which interested our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers when they were children many years ago. A favorite picture was of a boy and a St. Bernard, in which the boy's head, hands, collar, and pantaloons, and the dog, were made of white velvet painted. The boy's tunic was black velvet, and its belt a 290 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? strip of red paper. The dog's eye was a black pin-head. The whole was mounted on a wooden stand with wooden supports at the back, one running up to the boy's head and the other to the tip of the dog's tail. With some scraps of white and black velvet, and a little patience and ingenuity, one could make all the animals on a farm and many in the Zoo. Hand Dragons All the apparatus needed for a " Hand Dragon " consists of a little cardboard thimble or finger-stall, on which the features of a dragon have been drawn in pen and ink or color. This is then slipped over the top of the middle finger, so that HAND DRAGONS the hand becomes its body and the other fingers and thumb its legs. "With the exercise of very little ingenuity in the movement of the fingers, the dragon can be made to seem very much alive. The accompanying picture should explain everything. Yarious games can be played with the fingers. Tiny caps and hats can be made, features drawn with ink on the fingers and little tissue paper dresses made. A whole play can be acted or sung by these tiny finger marionettes. Other Uses for Cardboard Once you have begun to make things out of cardboard, you will find no end to its possibilities and should be in no INDOOR OCCUPATIONS 291 more need of any hints. After building, furnishing, and peopling a dolls' house, a farm or a menagerie would be an interesting enterprise to start upon. E. M. R. has a stud of ninety-two horses, each named, and each provided with a horse-cloth, a groom, and harness. She has also several regiments of soldiers and a staff of nurses, all cut from card- board and painted. She chooses her horses from Country Life, or some such paper, and copies them. Another enthusiast has a cardboard theatre in which plays and pantomimes are per- formed. It might be added that cardboard figures can be made to stand up either by leaving a strip of cardboard at the bottom, in which teeth can be cut and bent alternately one way or the other, or by slipping the feet into grooves cut in little blocks of wood. Cardboard Cut-Outs There are a great many cut-outs issued nowadays, which may be bought for a small sum at any toy shop. Perhaps the best among these are " The Mirthful Menagerie," " The Agile Acrobats " and " The Magic Changelings." " The Mirthful Menagerie " when properly cut out and pasted to- gether, make a lot of animals that have thickness as well as length and height ; " The Agile Acrobats " can be made to assume almost any position, and in " The Magic Changelings," Little Red Riding Hood, for instance, can be changed into the wolf, and then back again ! Books of cut-outs are also made, in which the books are intact after the cut-outs have been removed. "The New Mother Goose " gives illustrations of many of the Mother Goose rhymes to be cut out and pasted together, and has a story and other pictures besides. " The Electric Fire Fighters " is on the same order, only in this case the pictures 292 WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW I.D * o nu s*'U' v nvr APR S 196? R~~- 1*Nov'63RB i^LT^*y^*f^ 1 r\ REC D L-D ,^ TJ ~^ -I/ All 300 c t'6iMT NQV 9 63 K AM \ RITCT LD ,, im^aaa97r?^ ; NOV s J - '-. o-:, LD 21A-50m-4,'60 (A9562slO)476B General Library University of California Berkeley 19637 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY