"Yes, I'd receive pleasure from a change."
"Let me see—George's blessed, and John's two—blessed too—Oh, I know, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Now let's play 'Twenty Questions.'"
"How is that played? It is quite a new game to me."
"It used to be a favorite game in distinguished circles in England; Canning, the celebrated minister, was very fond of it; and it really requires some knowledge and skill in the lawyer-like craft of cross-examination, to play it well—so have your wits about you, young people, for the more ready you are, the better you'll like it. One person thinks of a thing, and by a skillful questioning on the part of one, two, or the whole party, as you prefer it, your thought can always be found out. Twenty questions and three guesses are allowed. If Cornelia will think of something, I'll discover what it is, to show you how it is played."
"I have a thought," said Cornelia, "but you never can find it out."
"We'll see: does it belong to the animal, vegetable, mineral, or spiritual kingdoms?"
"The animal."
"Is it biped or quadruped, fish, flesh, fowl, or insect?"
"Man, monkey, or bird?"