The Game of Shadows
For this game you require a white sheet to be hung up at the end of the room. Then the "shadow-makers" take up their places on low stools behind the sheet. There must be only one lamp in the room, which should be placed about six or seven feet behind the "shadow-makers." Then the "shadow-makers" drape themselves with shawls, or anything handy, and take their places so that their shadows are thrown upon the sheet. They must, of course, try to disguise themselves, so that the "shadow-seekers" may not be able to guess their identity. By loosening the hair and letting it fall over the face, a girl may appear like a man with a beard; bending the finger over the nose gives one a very queer-looking hooked nose in the shadow, and entirely alters the appearance of the face. Covering one's self up in a sheet and then extending the arms gives one the appearance of a large bat. As soon as a "shadow-maker's" identity has been guessed he must take his place as a "shadow-seeker," and the one who guessed him becomes a "shadow-maker." The penalty of a glance behind the sheet on the part of the "shadow-seeker" is to pay a forfeit.
Think of a Number
Tell some one to think of any number he likes, but not to tell you what it is. Tell him then to double it. When he has done that, let him add an even number to it, which you must give him. After doing this, he must halve the whole, then from what is left, take away the number he first thought of. When this is completed, if he has counted correctly, you will be able to give him the exact remainder, which will simply be the half of the even number you told him to add to his own.
Living Shadows
In order to make these, you must stand in the corner of the room, near a mirror. Let some one hold a light behind you, so that the shadow of your head and shoulders will be thrown upon the wall, and also that the reflected light from the mirror will fall at exactly the same spot as the shadow of your head.
If the mirror is now covered with a piece of thick paper, from which two eyes, a nose, and a mouth are cut out, the effect shown in the drawing will be produced. In order to make the shadow still more lifelike, cut out two pieces of paper, fasten one over the mirror, and move the other over it. In this way the eyes and mouth of the shadow may be made to move.