All the vehicles must be transformed into moving bowers, and this necessitates considerable work, but it is work that pays; besides, the real jolly boys and girls will only consider that they have had great fun.
Decide on your decorations, and then gather flowers. You will need a great many to make much show. And wire will be found helpful in making the flowers stand upright, or giving the desired twist. Flowers may be tied upon cord, and when a long rope is made, it can be wound around, or fastened to the carriage, but it will take less time, and be less hurtful to the hands, if you cut a piece of wire netting the desired shape, and run the flower stems through the holes, or cut a piece of soft muslin the correct shape, and baste the flowers on. Flowers such as golden-rod, will need to have all the leaves stripped before commencing to decorate. Wreaths the exact size of the wheel hubs will look very handsome, particularly if the spokes are wound about with satin ribbon the same color as the flowers. If you cover the reins, sew two pieces of ribbon lengthwise, through which the reins will slip; put full bows of the same on the harness, and cover the collar with flowers. The same ribbon should also appear in the carriage decoration.
A very pretty effect is gotten from white hydrangeas and yellow satin ribbons, or white hydrangeas tipped with pink and pink satin ribbons. Violet-colored flowers look well in such a parade, and a stylish cut carriage may be trimmed with ears and husks of corn, suspending the ears by the husks. The costume of those inside the carriage must be complementary to the decoration.
The streets through which you pass should look festive and the spectators be dressed in holiday attire. A line of march must be arranged, and, on the counter-march, the battle begins. Then roses and flowers of all sorts are thrown from carriage to carriage, and from the carriages to the people on the street, and from those on the street to the carriages; indeed people throw them with both hands, so excited they become.
Until it is time for the battle, have your baskets full of flowers to throw well hidden. And when the pelting begins have a sufficient supply, so that it will not be necessary to use any of the decorations.
GRACE HOOPS.
This game is usually played out of doors, but it may be played in large rooms or conservatories, provided you put out of accident’s way all the bric-à-brac, potted plants, and palms. Try the game also in an enclosed veranda or sun-parlor, should the time appointed prove stormy, or the grass be soggy from last night’s storm, or there be too high a wind.
Grace hoops require a pole, not as tall as a maypole, but one smooth at the top. The one we lately saw had been a noticeable balsam tree, until cut off five feet from the ground. Its top was stocky, its side branches as healthful and green appearing as ever, notwithstanding the fact that they had been trimmed close enough to allow a small hoop to easily fall over them.
The rings called grace hoops are made of light wood, not dissimilar to embroidery rings, excepting that they are nearly two feet in diameter. To make such a game very pretty, trim the hoops with wild flowers, wintergreen berries or leaves. All the girls should wear gay frocks and flower-dressed, broad-brimmed hats.
If you are playing the game in the spring, suggest spring flowers and colors in your costume. A pretty effect would be gotten from a violet-colored cloth, trimmed with purple velvet, with a glint of gold revealed in the shoulder-bow ribbons and wide sash, the hat being a deep yellow straw flat, massed with single violets. Arbutus, wild roses, lilies of the valley, lilacs and cowslips, as, also, the new green, are all suggestive of spring, and catchy lawn toilets.