PRANCING HORSE.
See "[Pegasus in Flight]."
PROPHET.
The Prophet, or Sybil, as it is sometimes called, is a toy affording much amusement and diversion for the youngsters during the winter evenings. By its aid fortunes may be told and predictions as to circumstances of the future made with great confidence, for if the predictions should happen by any chance not to come true, the whole responsibility can be readily cast upon the Prophet. The toy is easily made, and by varying the table of prognostications the Prophet's opinion on an almost endless variety of topics may be taken.
The Prophet, or Sybil.
To make the toy, cut a piece of pasteboard, a few inches in diameter, into a circle, and ornament the edges with some pieces of fancy paper. Then mark on the white surface of the pasteboard twenty equal divisions, by means of lines radiating from the centre, and within each division place a number ranging in order from one to twenty. The figure of the Prophet should be made so that he has a venerable and sedate appearance, should be clothed in a robe reaching to his feet, and he should hold in one hand a small rod for a wand, which is to be made pointing downwards. The figure may perhaps be purchased, but it is better that it should be made, as it may then be more readily adapted to the taste or fancy, and it can be easily cut out of wood, cork, cardboard, or some other material. It will add much to the general appearance if the Prophet be supplied with a loose white beard.
When the card and figure are finished, the card is to be mounted upon a small wooden stand, through the centre of which a steel wire is placed, and the figure of the Prophet is to be fixed on the wire in such a manner that it may revolve freely.
The next thing to be done is to draw up a table of prognostications, which must equal in number the spaces marked upon the cardboard disc. This may be done in many ways. Sometimes the company present may be requested each to supply a set, or to supply alternately one of a set; or it is better, perhaps, that he who is about to show off the oracle should previously have supplied himself with several sets, one of which, of course, must only be used at a time. The sets should be so arranged that each one is complete in itself, and the various prognostications in a set should bear some sort of relation one to the other.
When all is ready, the performer should desire some one of the company to have his or her fortune told. The prognostications to be used are then to be handed to some other person, and the figure of the Prophet is to be set spinning, and according to the number of the division at which the wand of the Prophet points when it comes to a standstill, so, according to the prognostication bearing the corresponding number, may the fortune of the inquirer be expected to be.
The following prognostications may either be used, or may serve as models upon which tables can be drawn up:—
1.—At the end of a changeful life, wealth.
2.—Early and prosperous marriage.
3.—Great success at school.
4.—A speedy and important journey.
5.—Will spend much time from home.
6.—Hours of pleasure, followed by years of care.
7.—May expect to be thwarted.
8.—Will have invitations to numerous parties.
9.—All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
10.—Travels by land, and voyages by sea.
11.—Many changes will be your lot.
12.—It will be your misfortune, not your fault.
13.—A hearty playmate and a constant friend.
14.—Changes in love at an early date.
15.—A long life and a merry one.
16.—Fears from a rival, but success ultimately will be yours.
17.—Beware of a false friend.
18.—Bright and cheerful in youth.
19.—Unhappy ere long, but the sunshine will follow in the end.
20.—Your present sweetheart will not be your mate.
It will be seen that some of the above are very definite, but it is generally advisable that the prognostications should be vague, and capable of more than one interpretation, or the infallibility of the Prophet is likely not to be implicitly believed in. The Prophet is a very useful toy to introduce into a drawing-room entertainment for children, especially where he is not known (and he is not frequently met with); a few sets of prognostications will prove a source of a good half-hour's fun with a lot of inquiring youngsters.
PUFF AND DART.
The game of Puff and Dart is very similar to that already described under the heading of "Dart and Target," and is one of the games included by many under the more general description of Drawing-room Archery. The dart is made in the same manner, but of a smaller size, as is the dart used in the game of Dart and Target, but instead of being thrown from the hand towards the target as in that game, it is in this propelled through a small tube by a puff of the breath. The target is precisely similar to the target used in the sister game.
Darts shot by the breath through tubes are favourite weapons of offence among certain Indian tribes; they, however, first dip the tip of the dart in some poisonous substance, and then send it at the enemy. It is a deadly weapon, and the tribes using it are very skilful both in their aim and in the force with which the weapon is directed.