DROPPING THE HANDKERCHIEF.

A tolerably large ring should be formed by several boys standing in a circle and joining hands; another boy, who stands out, when all are ready walks round outside the ring, drops a handkerchief behind one of the players, and immediately runs off; he is instantly followed by the one behind whom he dropped the handkerchief, and who must track him in all his windings in and out under the arms of the boys in the ring, who elevate them for the purpose, and indeed wherever he runs to; should the pursuer be able to touch the pursued, the former takes the handkerchief in his turn, and the latter joins hands in the circle. If the boy who dropped the handkerchief is enabled to elude his follower by pa.s.sing through and about the ring, he walks again round and drops the handkerchief behind some other player.

EASY GAMES WITHOUT TOYS

INDOOR.

BLIND MAN'S BUFF

[Ill.u.s.tration: "SEEING'S BELIEVING."]

Consists in one person having a handkerchief bound over his eyes, so as to completely blind him, and thus blindfolded trying to chase the other players, either by the sound of their footsteps, or their subdued merriment, as they scramble away in all directions, endeavouring to avoid being caught by him; when he can manage to catch one, the player caught must in turn be blinded, and the game be begun again. In some places it is customary for one of the players to inquire of Buff (before the game begins), "How many horses has your father got?" to which inquiry he responds, "Three." "What colours are they?" "Black, white, and grey." The questioner then desires Buff to "turn round three times, and catch whom you may," which request he complies with, and then tries to capture one of the players. It is often played by merely turning the blindfold hero round and round without questioning him, and then beginning. The handkerchief must be tied on fairly, so as to allow no little holes for Buffy to see through. Blind Man's Buff is a very ancient pastime, having been known to the Grecian youths. In England it formerly went By the name of Hoodman Blind, because it was customary to blind Buff with his hood.

BOB-CHERRY.

Attach a cherry to a piece of string, and then fasten it to a door, sufficiently high to compel the player to jump a little in order to catch the cherry in his mouth. The cherry is then set swinging; and the players, ranging themselves in line, jump at the cherry, one after the other. This game is productive of much amus.e.m.e.nt, and may be kept up for a long time.

BUFF.

In this game one of the players enters the room, armed with a poker, with which he taps on the floor. "Where do you come from?" inquires one of the company. "Alas! from poor Buff, who is full of grief." "And what did he say to you?" "He spoke thus," is the reply--

"Buff said 'Baff,'

And gave me this staff, And bade me not laugh Till I came to his house again."

Having thus spoken, the messenger leaves the room. While he has been delivering his speech, the company, however, endeavour to make him laugh, by asking him any absurd questions that may present themselves to their imagination. If they do not succeed in this, the emissary of the great Buff delivers himself of a more lengthy address:--

"Buff says 'Baff' to all his men, And I say 'Baff' to you again; But he neither laughs nor smiles In spite of all your cunning wiles, But keeps his face with a very good grace, And carries his staff to the very next place."

CONCERT.

A noisier game than this could scarcely be desired by the most boisterous of our young friends. The players having selected a "conductor," seat themselves round him in a circle. The conductor now a.s.signs to each a musical instrument, and shows how it is to be played.

When all are provided with their imaginary instruments, the conductor orders them to tune, and by so doing, he gives each musician a capital opportunity for making all sorts of discordant noises. When the different instruments have been tuned, the conductor waves an unseen _baton_, and commences humming a lively air, in which he is accompanied by the whole of his band, each player endeavouring to imitate with his hands the different movements made in performing on a real instrument.

Every now and then the conductor pretends to play on a certain instrument, and the player to whom it belongs must instantly alter his movements for those of the conductor, and continue to wield the _baton_ until the chief player abandons his instrument. Should a player omit to take the conductor's office at the proper time, he must pay a forfeit.

The fun of this game greatly depends upon the humour of the conductor, and the adroitness with which he relinquishes his _baton_ and takes up the instruments of the other players.

CONSEQUENCES.

The first player writes an _adjective_ on the upper part of a slip of paper, and then folds the slip so that the written word cannot be seen by the next player, who writes the _name of a gentleman_, real or imaginary, on the paper, which he pa.s.ses to another after having folded it over again. The third player writes an _adjective_; the fourth, _a lady's name_; the fifth, the _name of a place_; the sixth, _what the gentleman said to the lady_; the seventh, the _lady's reply_; the eighth, the _consequences_; and the ninth, _what the world said about the whole affair_. One of the players now unfolds the slip and reads what has been written by the different persons engaged in the game, adding a few words to unite the disjointed members of the little narrative. As a specimen of the ludicrous result which arises from each player's ignorance of what has been written by his companions, we give the following pathetic tale, in which the words and phrases printed in italics represent those written on the slip of paper:--"The _ill-favoured Peter Wilkins_ met the _adorable Jenny Jones_ in _the silver mine of Potosi_. He said to her, '_Will you love me then as now?_' and she replied, '_When did I refuse you anything?_' The consequences were, _he drowned himself in the water-b.u.t.t and she married the baker_, and the world said, '_Served them right!_'" When there are only three or four players, the slip of paper is to be pa.s.sed round from one to another until it is filled up. When the players are numerous, three or four slips may be commenced simultaneously by different persons.

CROSS QUESTIONS AND CROOKED ANSWERS.

This game will be best described by a short dialogue.

_Harry._--I am going to put a question in a whisper to Tom, who is seated on my right hand, to which he will reply in the same tone. _He_ will then put a question to _his_ next neighbour, and receive his answer. When the tour of the circle is made, I shall commence by stating aloud the question put to me by my left-hand neighbour, answering it by the reply received in answer to my own from Tom. He will then do the same, giving my question and his next neighbour's reply.--(Whispers to Tom.) Of what use are the bellows?

_Tom._--To blow up the fire.--(To Charles) Of what use is a fire-engine?

_Charles._--To put out a fire.--(To John) Of what use is a plough?

_John._--To plough up the ground.--(To James) Of what use is a cap?

_James._--To cover the head.--(To Edward) Of what use is a shoe?

_Edward._--To protect your foot.--(To William) Of what use is a black pin?

_William._--To fasten your collar with.--(To Harry) Of what use is a barometer?

_Harry._--To tell the weather.--(Aloud) William has just asked me the use of a barometer? Tom replies, "To blow up the fire!"

_Tom._--Harry has asked me the use of the bellows; and Charles replies, "To put out the fire!"

_Charles._--Tom wishes to know the use of the fire-engine, and John tells him, "To plough up the ground," &c.

Any mistake is punished by a forfeit.

DUMB MOTIONS.

The players form sides, and decide who shall be _masters_ and who _men_.

The princ.i.p.al aim of the _men_ is to keep working as long as possible, and to prevent the _masters_ taking their places. The men consult secretly among themselves, and decide upon some trade or profession, the practice of which may be certain movements of the arms, hands, or legs.

They now range themselves opposite the masters, and the foreman tells them the first and last letters of the trade they are about to exercise; as for example, C--r for carpenter, D--t for druggist, B--h for blacksmith, and so on. The men now set to work and express in dumb motions the various labours belonging to the craft they have chosen. Let us suppose that they have selected the trade of blacksmith: one of the players will appear to be blowing the forge bellows, another will seem to be filing something in a vice, while others will be violently exerting themselves by wielding imaginary sledge-hammers round an unseen anvil. If any of the men speak at their work, or make use of inappropriate gestures, the whole side is out. The masters are allowed one guess each, and if none of them can hit upon the right trade, the men tell them their occupation, and then fix upon another. If the masters can guess the name of the trade, the men are out and become masters. The men need not continue their labours until all the masters have guessed, but may stop working, and demand their wages, after having plied their craft for a reasonable time. When the name of a trade consists of two words, the men must tell the first and last letter of each word, as C--h B--r, for coach builder.

FAMILY COACH.

The chief player in this amusing game must possess the faculty of inventing a long story, as well as a tolerably good memory. This player gives to each of the others the name of some person or thing to be mentioned in the story he is about to relate. For example, he may call one "the coachman," another "the whip," another "the inn," another the "old gentleman," another the "footman," another "the luggage," and so on, until he has named all the persons engaged in the game. The story-teller now takes his stand in the centre of the room, and commences his narrative; in the course of which he takes care to mention all the names given to the players. When the name of a player is mentioned, he must immediately rise from his seat, turn round, and sit down again, or else pay a forfeit for his inattention; and whenever "the family coach" is named, _all_ the players must rise simultaneously. In the following example of a story, the names given to the different players are printed in italics: "An _old gentleman_, dreading an attack of the gout, resolved to pay a visit to the hot wells of Bath; he therefore summoned his _coachman_, and ordered him to prepare THE FAMILY COACH (all the players rise, turn round, and sit down again). The _coachman_, not liking the prospect of so long a journey, tried to persuade the _old gentleman_ that THE FAMILY COACH was out of repair, that the _leader_ was almost blind, and that he (the _coachman_) could not drive without a new _whip_. The _old gentleman_ stormed and swore upon hearing these paltry excuses, and ordered the _coachman_ out of the room, while the _little dog_ sprang from under his master's chair and flew at the calves of the offender, who was forced to make a precipitate exit. Early the next morning, THE FAMILY COACH belonging to the _old gentleman_ stopped at an _inn_ on the Bath road, much to the surprise of the _landlord_, who had never seen such a lumbering conveyance before.

THE FAMILY COACH contained the _old gentleman_, the _old lady_ (his wife), and the _little dog_ that had made such a furious attack on the poor _coachman's_ legs. The _landlord_ called the _landlady_, who came bustling out of the _inn_ to welcome the _old gentleman_ and _old lady_.

The _footman_ jumped down from behind THE FAMILY COACH, and helped the _old gentleman_ and the _old lady_ to alight, while the _boots_ and _chambermaid_ belonging to the _inn_ busied themselves with the _luggage_. The _little dog_ trotted after the _old lady_, but just as it was going into the _inn_, the _coachman_ gave it a cut with his _whip_.

The _little dog_ howled, upon which the _old gentleman_ turned round, and seeing the _coachman_ with his _whip_ raised, he seized him by the throat. The _footman_ came to the a.s.sistance of his friend the _coachman_, and the _ostler_ belonging to the _inn_ took the side of the _old gentleman_. The _landlord_, _landlady_, _chambermaid_, _boots_, _cook_, _stable-boy_, _barmaid_, and all the other inmates of the _inn_, rushed into the road to see what was the matter, and their cries, joined to the yells of the _little dog_ and the screams of the _old lady_, so frightened the _leader_, the _white horse_, and the _brown mare_, that they ran away with THE FAMILY COACH." Of course this tale might have been continued to any length, but the specimen we have given will be sufficient to give the story-teller some idea of what is expected from him to keep up the fun of the game.

FROG IN THE MIDDLE.

This is a highly amusing, though very simple game. One player seated on the ground is surrounded by his comrades, who pull and buffet him till he can catch one of them, when the person so caught takes his place, and is buffeted in like manner. As the players sport round the Frog, they usually cry, "Frog in the middle--can't catch me!" but they frequently find that this is vain boasting, as Froggy does catch them now and then.

THE FOUR ELEMENTS.

The party being seated in a circle, the player who has been chosen to commence the game takes a knotted handkerchief, and throws it suddenly into another's lap, calling out at the same time either "Earth!"

"Water!" "Air!" or "Fire!" If "Earth" be called out, the player into whose lap the handkerchief has fallen must name some _quadruped_ before the other can count ten; if "Water!" he must name a _fish_; if "Air!" a _bird_; and if "Fire!" he must remain silent. Should the player name a wrong animal, or speak when he ought to be silent, he must pay a forfeit and take a turn at throwing the handkerchief; but should he perform his task properly, he must throw the handkerchief back to the first player.