The thought-reader places the slips of paper between his fingers, taking care to put the paper of his confederate between the third and little finger; he then takes the folded paper from between his thumb and first finger and rubs it, folded as it is, over his forehead, at each rub mentioning a letter, as H. rub, A. rub, S.T.I.N.G.S., after which he calls out that some lady or gentleman has written "Hastings." "I did," replies the confederate.
The thought-reader then opens the paper, looks at it, and slips it into his pocket; he has, however, looked at one of the other papers.
Consequently he is now in a position to spell another word, which he proceeds to do in the same manner, and thus the game goes on until all the papers have been read.
THE LITTLE DUTCH BAND
The players sit or stand around the room in a circle. The leader assigns to each some imaginary musical instrument—horn, fife, drum, trombone, violin, harp, flute, banjo, etc. Some well known, but lively air is given out and the band begins to play, each player imitating as nearly as possible the instrument he has been assigned. All goes well until the leader suddenly drops his instrument and begins playing on that of another of the band. At this the player to whom that particular instrument has been given must change his attitude and imitate the instrument the leader has dropped. Again the playing goes on until the leader drops this instrument and takes up that of another player, and this player takes up the leader's instrument. Close watch must be kept of the leader that the players may detect the instant he takes up a new instrument. The player failing to change immediately must pay a forfeit. Much fun may be had from this game. It may be carried on with a little practice without any perceptible break in the music and with a few talented players it is even harmonious.
"WHAT'S MY THOUGHT LIKE?"
The players sit in a circle and one of them asks the others: "What's my thought like?" One player may say: "A monkey"; the second: "A candle"; the third: "A pin"; and so on. When all the company have compared the thought to some object, the first player tells them the thought—perhaps it is "the Cat"—and then asks each, in turn, why it is like the object he compared it to.
"Why is my cat like a monkey?" is asked. The other player might answer: "Because it is full of tricks." "Why is my cat like a candle?" "Because its eyes glow like a candle in the dark." "Why is my cat like a pin?" "Because its claws scratch like a pin."
Any one who is unable to explain why the thought resembles the object he mentioned must pay a forfeit.