The pins may be set up in any manner agreeable to the players, either in a line, circle, or in the same way as in the game of skittles, in the form shown in the diagram. The number of pins knocked down counts towards game, and the player who can knock all down in the fewest throws or swings of the ball wins.
NOUGHTS AND CROSSES.
See "[Slate Games]."
Obedient Soldier.
OBEDIENT SOLDIER.
A toy similar in principle to the Demon Bottle, previously described, is the toy known as the Obedient Soldier. He should be made of pith, cork, or some very light wood, should be carved with a soldier's busby and tunic, and have in his arms a rifle at the "shoulder arms" position. The barrel of the rifle must be made hollow, in order that in it may be placed, when desired, a piece of solid steel wire. The whole figure is to be fastened at the feet on to the flat side of the half of a leaden bullet. Upon the steel wire being inserted in the barrel of the rifle, the soldier will lie down, and upon its being removed he will stand upright. The secret of these actions should rest with the performer who shows off the ways of the Obedient Soldier, and it will be necessary, in order to preserve this secrecy, that some dexterity be exhibited in the placing or removing of the steel wire.
PALADA.
The game of Palada is a game very much resembling that of Cup and Ball, and has become quite a popular amusement. The toy consists of a slim and tapering rod, the thick end of which is used as the handle, and at the opposite end is a piece of cane bent into an oval form. Attached to the rod, and at about a foot or a foot and a half from the oval end, a solid egg-shaped substance is fastened by a piece of string half as long again as the distance from the oval end towards which it is secured. The object of the game is to catch the egg-shaped substance on the oval end of the rod, which is made large enough to allow of the egg finding a secure resting-place, but at the same time smaller than the egg, so that it may not fall through.
