Those who have never joined in this simple game can have no idea of the absurd errors into which the different players fall when summoned unawares to name a particular kind of animal.

HAND.

The game of Hand is of great antiquity, and is common to almost every nation, whether savage or civilized. In many of the rural districts of England this universal pastime is known by the name of "Coddem." To play at Hand, sides must be formed, and the players of each side must seat themselves at a table opposite their antagonists. Chance decides which of the sides shall first hide the _piece_; which may be any small object that can be easily held in the closed hand of one of the players. One of the fortunate players now exhibits the piece to his opponents; having done which, he cries out, "Hands down!" at which signal he and his comrades put their hands out of sight, and in the language of the game, commence "working the piece," which operation is performed by shifting the piece from hand to hand, so as to deceive the opposite players as to its whereabouts. When the piece has been properly worked, the chief player calls out, "Hands up," and he and all his comrades simultaneously place their closed fists on the table. The top player on the opposite side has now to fix upon the hand in which the piece is concealed. There are two ways of guessing, either of which he may adopt; the first is to point at once to the hand supposed to contain the piece, and cry out, "Hand!" The second mode of guessing is to point to those hands which appear to be empty, saying with each guess, "Take that hand away!" and when most of the hands have been removed from the table, to fix upon the most likely-looking one among those that remain. If the guesser can find the piece without making a mistake, he claims it for his party, and is ent.i.tled to guess again when the opposite side regains it; but if he makes a mistake, either by ordering the hand that holds the piece to be removed, or by "handing" an empty fist, his antagonists retain the piece, and having concealed it, the second player attempts to discover its whereabouts. From our description, the reader will probably regard Hand as a mere frivolous game of chance; but we can a.s.sure him that chance has little to do with the discovery of the piece. A good Hand player watches the faces of his opponents while their hands are engaged in working the piece under the table; he scrutinises the different hands, and does not allow himself to be misled by any of the cunning devices which the hiders employ to throw him off the right scent; again, when he has the piece in his possession, he takes care not to let a tightly-clenched fist, a guilty smile, or an anxious expression, betray the fact to his wary antagonist.

HOT BOILED BEANS.

In this game, one of the players is sent out of the room, while the others hide a handkerchief or any small article that can be easily secreted. When the article has been concealed, the door is opened, and the seeker is invited to enter in these words: "Hot boiled beans and b.u.t.ter; walk in and find your supper." The seeker now sets to work to look for the hidden article. When he approaches the place of concealment, his playmates must give him notice of it, by telling him that he is "rather warm," "very hot," or, if he gets very near it, that he "burns." When he wanders away from the object of his search, he is told that he is "cold;" and if he persists in his mistaken course, he is informed that he "freezes." Should the seeker succeed in finding the hidden article, another player goes out of the room in his stead.

HOT c.o.c.kLES.

One player with his eyes bandaged lays his head on a chair, or in another player's lap, while the others strike him on his back with their open hands. In this unenviable position he remains until he can guess who strikes him, when the striker takes his place. The poet Gay describes this pastime in the following lines:--

"As at Hot c.o.c.kles once I laid me down, And felt the weighty hand of many a clown, Buxoma gave a gentle tap, and I Quick rose, and read soft mischief in her eye."

HOW? WHERE? AND WHEN?

One of the players is sent out of the room, while the others fix upon a subject, which may be anything to which the three questions, "How do you like it?" "Where do you like it?" and "When do you like it?" will apply.

When the subject has been decided upon, the out-player is summoned. He now puts the first question to the nearest player, who returns him a puzzling answer; he then pa.s.ses to the next, and repeats the same question; then to the next, and so on, until he has made the round of the room. If none of the answers enable him to guess the subject, he tries each player with the second question, and if the answers to this leave him still in the dark, he solicits a reply from each to the third and last question. Should the player fail to guess the subject after asking the three questions, he pays a forfeit and takes another turn outside; but should he succeed in guessing it during his rounds, the player last questioned must pay a forfeit, and go out of the room in his place. The in-players should always endeavour to hit upon some word that has two or three meanings for a subject, as such a word renders the answers extremely confusing. For instance, if _Jack_ be the subject decided on, one of the players may say, in answer to the first query, that he likes it "fried," referring to fish called the Jack; in answer to the second, that he likes it "before the kitchen fire," referring now to a roasting-jack; and in answer to the third, that he likes it when he is "dressing," now regarding the subject as a boot-jack.

HUNT THE SLIPPER.

This old-fashioned pastime is so generally known that it is scarcely necessary to describe it; however, as it forms one of the merriest indoor sports for the long winter evenings, it would be absurd to omit it in this work. Several boys seat themselves in a circle on the ground, and another, taking his place inside the ring, gives a slipper to one of them, by whom it is immediately and secretly handed to one of his neighbours; it is now pa.s.sed round from one sitter to another, with as much dexterity as possible, so as to completely perplex the "hunter" (or player standing in the middle) in his endeavours to "chase the slipper by its sound," and who must continue his search until successful. The player in whose possession it is found must in his turn "hunt the slipper," whilst the former hunter joins the sitters.

HUNT THE RING.

A game almost similar to the former. A piece of tape, on which a ring is fastened, is held by the players as they stand in a circle, with one in the middle. The ring is pa.s.sed from hand to hand, and the hunter's business is to find out in whose hand the ring is.

HUNT THE WHISTLE.

A boy who has never seen the game played is elected hunter; the others seat themselves on the ground, as in Hunt the Slipper. The hunter, having been shown the whistle, kneels in the centre of the circle, and lays his head in the lap of one of the players until the whistle is concealed. While he is in this posture, the whistle is to be secretly attached to the back part of his jacket or coat, by means of a piece of string and a bent pin. One of the players now blows the whistle and drops it, and the hunter, being released, is told to find it; but this is no easy task, as he carries the object of his search about his own person. As the hunter kneels in the centre of the group, the different players blow through the whistle and drop it, as the opportunities occur. The puzzled hunter is sometimes fairly tired out before he discovers the trick that is played upon him. We need scarcely say that the whistle should be very small and light.

MAGIC MUSIC.

This is a very similar game to Hot Boiled Beans. One player having been sent out of the room, the others arrange some simple task for him to perform on his return. When this has been done, he is summoned by the magic music, which is played by one of his comrades, either by tapping a tea-tray with a key, or by rattling the poker and tongs together. The boy who has been sent out of the room must perform his appointed task under the guidance of the musician, who so regulates his performance on the rude instruments that the music gets loud and noisy when the puzzled player does what he ought not to do, and grows soft and quiet when he does anything towards the performance of his task. To render this game more intelligible, we will suppose the task to be the removal of a certain chair from one room to another. The player having entered the room is saluted by the magic music, the unmeaning clatter of which only confuses him at first. He walks towards the side of the room where the chair is stationed, and as he approaches it the clatter grows fainter; this informs him that he is in the right path. He touches the table, but removes his hand at the sound of the music, which suddenly gets terribly noisy. He touches the chair; the music ceases. He now knows that he is expected to do something with this particular chair, so he very naturally sits down upon it; but he jumps up directly he hears the "clatter, clatter, clatter" of the music. He lifts the chair, and as he does so the music grows soft again. He now turns the chair upside down; carries it into the middle of the room; places it on the sofa; but all to no purpose, as he cannot stop the continual clatter of the magic music. At last he carries the chair into the adjoining room; the music ceases, and his troublesome task is accomplished. In this noisy but amusing game the players go out of the room, and have tasks set them in turns. The musician generally retains his office throughout the game.

POST.

This exciting game may be played by an unlimited number, and is particularly adapted for a large party. One of the players, called "the postman," has his eyes bandaged as in Blind Man's Buff; another volunteers to fill the office of "postmaster-general," and all the rest seat themselves round the room. At the commencement of the game the postmaster a.s.signs to each player the name of a town, and, if the players are numerous, he writes the names given to them on a slip of paper, in case his memory should fail him. These preliminaries having been arranged, the blind postman is placed in the centre of the room, and the postmaster-general retires to some snug corner, whence he can overlook the other players. When this important functionary calls out the names of two towns,--thus, "London to Halifax,"--the players who bear these names must immediately change seats, and as they run from one side of the room to another, the postman tries to capture them. If the postman can succeed in catching one of the players, or if he can manage to sit down on an empty chair, the player that is caught, or excluded from his place, becomes postman. The postmaster-general is not changed throughout the game unless he gets tired of his office. When a player remains seated after his name has been called he must pay a forfeit, or if the game is played without forfeits he must go to the bottom of the cla.s.s, which is represented by a particular chair, and to make room for him all the players who were formerly below him shift their places.

PROVERBS.

One player leaves the room, and while he is absent the rest fix upon some proverb. The words are then distributed among them, and each player, in reply to a question asked by the guesser, has to introduce his particular word. When all the words have been introduced, the guesser has to guess the name of the proverb, and another player takes his place. If, however, he cannot make it out, he has to leave the room again.

LIST OF PROVERBS.

A false friend is worse than a bitter enemy.

A penny saved is a penny gained.

A man is known by the company he keeps.

A bad workman quarrels with his tools.

All is not gold that glitters.

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

A good name is better than wealth.

A good word costs nothing.

A little rain lays much dust.

A little spark makes a great flame.

A bird in hand is worth two in a bush.

Better late than never.

Barking dogs seldom bite.

Cut your coat according to your cloth.

Empty vessels make the most sound.

Example is better than precept.

Evil beginnings have bad endings.

Friends are plenty when the purse is full.

Good ware makes quick markets.

Great cry and little wool.

Gather thistles, expect p.r.i.c.kles.

Half a loaf is better than no bread.

Hear twice before you speak once.

In a calm sea every man is a pilot.

Idle folks have the least leisure.

It's an ill wind that blows n.o.body good.

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

It's a sad heart that never rejoices Least said is soonest mended.

Let them laugh that win.

Look before you leap.

Long looked for comes at last.

Make hay while the sun shines.

Many a slip between the cup and the lip.

Make the best of a bad bargain.

Marry in haste, repent at leisure.

Of two evils choose the least.

One good turn deserves another.

Opportunity makes the thief.

Out of sight out of mind.

Penny wise and pound foolish.

Prevention is better than cure.

Pride will have a fall.

Short reckonings make long friends.