MAGIC MUSIC
A beautiful game, which amuses even the mere spectator as much as it does the players. One of the company sits at the piano while another leaves the room. The rest of the party then hide some article, previously agreed upon, and recall the absent player. At his entrance the pianist begins playing some lively air, very softly, keeping up a sort of musical commentary upon his search, playing louder as he approaches the goal, and softer when he wanders away from it. In this way he is guided to at last discover the object of his search.
CUSHION DANCE
The cushions are set upright in a circle on the floor. The players then join hands, and form a ring round them. The circle formed by the cushions should be almost as large as the ring formed by the players, and the cushions may be placed at a considerable distance apart. The players in the ring dance round; and each player, as he dances, tries to make his neighbors knock over the cushions. He, however, avoids knocking over any himself. The players should not break the ring, as the penalty to one letting go hands is expulsion from the ring. If it is preferred, Indian clubs placed on end may be substituted for the cushions.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
The players sit in a circle and form an orchestra. The conductor stands in the center. A tune is decided on, and the instruments are selected. Then the conductor beats time, and each player imitates as well as he can the sound of his instrument, and the motion used in playing it. Suddenly the conductor turns to one of the players and asks, "What is the matter with your instrument?" and immediately counts ten. Before he finishes counting, the player who has been questioned must begin an answer which is appropriate to his instrument. If his answer is inappropriate, or if it is not begun before the counting stops, he must change places with the conductor.
Whenever the conductor claps his hands the music must stop, and the players must remain in the attitudes in which they were when he gave the signal. Any one who fails to stop humming, or who changes his position, must become leader.
The same conductor may continue throughout the game. The person who fails in any of the requirements of the game then pays a forfeit.
ANIMAL BLINDMAN'S BLUFF
A blindfolded player stands in the center of a circle with a wand, stick, or cane in his hand. The other players dance around him in a circle until he taps three times on the floor with the cane, when all must stand still. The blindfolded one points his cane in any direction. The one directly opposite it must make a noise like an animal. From this the person in the center of the ring guesses the other's identity. If he does so, there is an exchange of places.
MY LADY'S TOILET
This is a French game. In it each player is named for some article of "My Lady's Toilet," such as her gown, her hat, her gloves, etc. The players sit in a circle, and when the leader mentions an article of the toilet, the one who is named for it must rush to the center of the ring before the platter stops spinning there. If successful, he or she takes the place of the spinner in the center of the ring. If unsuccessful, the person returns to his or her place.
The leader may keep up the interest of the game by comments on the toilettes. This is most interesting in story form.
A variation of this game introduces the word ball. Whenever this is spoken of, the players must jump up and change places, the spinner trying to secure a seat in the general confusion. The odd player becomes a spinner.
MARY AND JOHN
The players—all but two—form a circle and clasp hands. Two odd players in the center are called, "Mary" and "John." The object of the game is for John to catch Mary. As he is blindfolded, he can only locate her in her stealthy movements by the sound of her muffled voice. When he says, "Mary, where are you?" she must answer as often as he questions her.
Mary may stoop or tiptoe, or resort to any means to escape capture, except leaving the ring.
When Mary is captured she is blindfolded and John takes her seat.
So the game goes on after Mary has chosen a new John.
GOING TO JERUSALEM
This is a piano game, but does not require great skill. One person goes to the piano, while the others arrange in a line as many chairs, less one, as there are players, the chairs alternately facing opposite directions. Then, as the pianist begins to play, the others commence marching around the line of chairs, keeping time to the music. When this suddenly ceases, everybody tries to sit down, but as there is one less chair than players, somebody is left standing, and must remain out of the game. Then another chair is removed, and the march continues, until the chairs decrease to one, and the players to two.
Whichever of these succeeds in seating himself as the music stops, has won the game.
"WHAT D'YE BUY?"
This game may be played by any number from three to thirteen. There are a dozen good-sized pieces of cardboard, each bearing a colored illustration of one of the "trades" following, viz.: a milliner, a fishmonger, a greengrocer, plumber, a music-seller, a toyman, mason, a pastry-cook, a hardware-man, a tailor, a poulterer, and a doctor. Besides these there are a number of smaller tickets, half a dozen to each trade. Each of these has the name of the particular trade, and also the name of some article in which the particular tradesman in question may be considered to deal. A book accompanies the cards, containing a nonsense story, with a blank at the end of each sentence.
One of the players is chosen as leader, and the others each select a trade, receiving the appropriate picture, and the six cards containing the names of the articles in which the tradesman deals. He places his "sign" before him on the table, and holds the remainder of his cards in his hand. The leader then reads the story, and whenever he comes to one of the blanks, he glances towards one of the other players, who must immediately, under penalty of a forfeit, supply the blank with some article he sells, at the same time laying down the card bearing its name. The incongruity of the article named with the context make the fun of the game, which is heightened by the vigilance which each player must exercise in order to avoid a forfeit. Where the number of players is very small, each may undertake two or more trades.
We will give an illustration. The concluding words indicate the trade of the person at whom the leader glances to fill up a given hiatus.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I propose to relate some curious adventures which befell me and my wife Peggy the other day, but as I am troubled with a complaint called 'Non mi ricordo,' or the 'Can't remembers,' I shall want each of you to tell me what you sell; therefore, when I stop and look at one of you, you must be brisk in recommending your goods. Whoever does not name something before I count 'three' must pay a forfeit. Attention!
"Last Friday week I was awakened very early in the morning by a loud knocking at my door in Humguffin Court. I got up in a great fright, and put on"—(looks at Toyman, who replies, "A fool's cap and bells," and lays down that card).
"When I got downstairs, who should be there but a fat porter, with a knot, on which he carried"—(Poulterer) "a pound of pork sausages."
"'Hallo!' said I, 'my fellow, what do you want at this time of day?' He answered"—(Fishmonger) "'A cod's head and shoulders.'"
"'Get along with you,' I said; 'there's my neighbor, Dr. Drenchall, I see, wants'"—(Butcher) "'a sheep's head.'"
"I now went up to shave, but my soap-dish was gone, and the maid brought me instead"—(Milliner) "a lady's chip hat."
"My razor had been taken to chop firewood, so I used"—(Greengrocer) "a cucumber."
"I then washed my face in"—(Doctor) "a cup of quinine," "cleaned my teeth with"—(Fishmonger) "a fresh herring," and "combed my hair with"—(Pastrycook) "a jam tart."
"My best coat was taken possession of by pussy and kittens, so I whipped on"—(Hardware-man) "a dripping pan."
"The monkey, seeing how funny I looked, snatched off my wig, and clapped on my head"—(Poulterer) "a fat hen."
"I now awoke my wife, and asked her what she had nice for breakfast; she said"—(Doctor) "a mustard plaster."
"Then I scolded Sukey, the servant, and called her"—(Poulterer) "a tough old turkey."
"But she saucily told me I was no better than"—(Music-seller) "an old fiddle."
"I soon had enough of that, so I asked my wife to go with me to buy"—(Tailor) "a pair of trousers."
"But she said she must have her lunch first, which consisted of——" etc., etc., through half a dozen pages, the tradesmen supply more or less appropriate articles to fill up the gaps in the discourse.