Hide a ring, a thimble and a penny in the room. To the one who finds the ring speedy marriage is assured; the thimble denotes a life of single blessedness; the penny promises wealth.
Have one of the young ladies who knows a little palmistry be the witch of the evening. A short, bright-hued skirt, a gay plaid shawl crossed over her shoulders, a scarf bound about her head, will make a very striking costume, and, with the aid of a little paint and powder, quite an effective disguise. If she is enough acquainted with the guests to give some personal history she can produce some very "telling" fortunes.
After the witch has exhausted her ingenuity as palmist, let her offer to disclose the name of the future bride or groom of each one present, by means of the fairy mirror. The room she uses should be dimly lighted. She writes the name on a mirror with French chalk, rubs it off lightly with a silk handkerchief, and calls in the person for whom the name is written.
Prepare a basket of rosy cheeked apples, each with the initials of a name pricked in the skin, which names must be used in counting the apple seeds.
After the supper table has been cleared of all except the decorations and candles, have a large dish filled with burning alcohol and salt brought in and placed in the centre. Seated around this ghostly fire, all other lights except the candles having been extinguished, let the guests tell stirring stories rigmarole fashion; that is, some one starting the story and stopping short at its most exciting point and letting his neighbor continue it, etc., each one trying to make it as interesting as possible.
HALLOWE'EN PARTY
All formality must be dispensed with on Hallowe'en. Not only will quaint customs and mystic tricks be in order, but the decorations and refreshments, and even the place of meeting, must be as strange and mystifying as possible.
For the country or suburban home a roomy barn is decidedly the best accommodation that can be provided. If this is not practicable, a large attic, running the entire length of the house, is the next choice; but if this also is denied the ambitious hostess, let the kitchen be the place of meeting and of mystery, with the dining-room, cleared of its usual furniture and decorated suitably for the occasion, reserved for the refreshments.
The light should be supplied only by Jack-o'-lanterns hung here and there about the kitchen, with candles in the dining-room.
The decorations need not be expensive to be charming, no matter how large the room. Large vases of ferns and chrysanthemums and umbrella stands of fluffy grasses will be desirable; but if these cannot be readily obtained, quantities of gayly tinted autumn leaves will be quite as appropriate. Festoons of nuts, bunches of wheat or oats, and strings of cranberries may also help to brighten the wall decorations, and the nuts and cranberries will be useful in many odd arrangements for ornamenting the refreshment table.