METHODS OF CHOOSING PARTNERS.
Pass baskets of flowers to the ladies. Enough bunches have been prepared and laid in the baskets for each one of the ladies. On a tray are bunches of leaves and vines; pass these to the men.
The leaves will match the flowers, as a bunch of pansies will have a corresponding bunch of pansy leaves, a bunch of lilies of the valley its bunch of lily leaves, etc., etc. Where roses are used, a bud matching the rose may be put with the leaves, or better, the ribbon tying a bunch of rose leaves, might match the rose it is supposed to go with. Of course, the pansy-leaf man will hunt out the lady with pansies; and the lily-leaf man, the maid with the lilies.
Take bristol-board and cut it in small pieces, the size and shape of large rose petals. Tint these pink with a bit of yellow on the narrow end, where the petal is supposed to have left the rose. Write in gilt paint on each of them a word, any noun, verb, adjective, etc. Then bend and twist in the fingers until they look like veritable Katherine Mermet or La France petals. Have enough so that each girl invited may have one.
Take more bristol-board and make deep red petals; on these write with gilt paint a part of speech, noun, verb, adverb, etc. Make enough to supply each man.
These at the time of entertainment should be passed just before you wish the partners chosen. Then the man whose petal reads adverb will seek among the pink-petaled girls until he finds an adverb.
Of course, in a large company there will be several nouns and several adverbs. But the noun man will of course offer his arm to the first pink noun he finds. Be sure to have the petals match. If you must have five red petals reading verb, be sure to have an equal number of pink verb petals, e. g. pink petals reading play, dance, sing, run, talk.
Have two baskets, one knotted with pink ribbon and the other with red. These baskets should each contain paper hearts, about three inches long, and wide in proportion. The hearts may be suspended by means of narrow pink satin ribbons, and each heart is slightly decorated with water-color paints. In the same basket no two hearts are alike, but their duplicates are found in the other basket. When the duplicates are found, partners are decided.