A variation of the former game. The game is begun by a young lady or gentleman speaking a single line, to which the next nearest on the left must respond with another line to rhyme with the first. The next player gives a new line, of the same length, and the fourth supplies a rhyme in turn, and so on. The game is provocative of any amount of fun and nonsense. A sample may be given.
1st Player.—I think I see a brindle cow.
2d Player.—It’s nothing but your dad’s bow wow.
3d Player.—He is chasing our black Tommy cat.
4th Player.—Poor puss had best get out of that, etc.
Any amount of nonsense may be indulged in a game of this sort, within proper limits. Clever players can easily give the game a most interesting turn and provoke rhymes that are original and witty. Thus, a subject once started, every phase of it may be touched upon before the round closes.
The Five-Straw Puzzle.
You are supplied with five straws of equal length (about three and a half inches), and you are required to lift all five, holding only the tip of one of them. A glance will show you the arrangement of the five little straws and the coin in their centre, which is, as will be seen, as simple as possible—when you know it. The use of the coin is an optional addition. It wedges all tight, and prevents the straws slipping when once put together; but it is by no means indispensable.