In this game you begin with the Letter. The first thing to write is the address and "My dear ----," choosing whomever you like, but usually, as in "Consequences," either a public person or some one known, if possible, to every one present. The paper is then folded over and pa.s.sed on. The next thing to write is the letter itself, which should be limited to two minutes or some short period, and should be the kind of letter that requires a reply. The paper is folded and pa.s.sed on again, and the subscription, "Believe me yours sincerely," or whatever adverb you choose, and the signature are then added. (These may be divided into two separate writings if you like.) The signature should be that of another public person, or friend, relation or acquaintance of the family. The paper is then pa.s.sed on once more, and a reply to the letter, in the form of a telegram, is written. That is to say, you must say as much as you can in ten words.

Example:--

THE LETTER

_The first player writes_:--My dear Buffalo Bill.

_The second player writes_:--Can you give me any information about suitable songs for our village choir?

_The third player writes_:--Believe me yours slavishly.

_The fourth player writes_:--Kitchener of Khartoum.

THE REPLY TELEGRAM

_The fifth player writes_:--Be with you to-morrow. Have sheets aired. Am bringing everything.

Telegrams

There is also the game of "Telegrams." In this the first thing to write is the name of the person sending the telegram. The paper is then pa.s.sed on, and the name of the person to whom it is sent is written. The papers are then pa.s.sed on again and opened, and the players in turn each say a letter of the alphabet, chosen at random, until there are ten. As these are spoken, each player writes them on the paper before him, leaving a s.p.a.ce after it; so that when the ten are all written down his paper may look like this:--

From the DUKE OF YORK To BARNUM AND BAILEY.

H ... A ... P ... N ...

W ... E ... K ... S ... F ...

T ...

A period of five minutes or more is then allowed in which to complete the telegram, the message having to be ten words long, and each word to begin, in the same order, with these letters. The players should, as far as possible, make the telegrams reasonable, if not possible.

Thus, the form given above might, when finished, read like this:--

From the DUKE OF YORK To BARNUM AND BAILEY.

Have Awning Prepared Next Wednesday Evening Kindly Send Five Tickets

In calling out the ten letters which are to be used in the telegram, it is well to avoid the unusual consonants and to have a vowel here and there.

An amusing variety is for all the players to compose telegrams on the same subject; the subject being given beforehand. Thus it might be decided that all the telegrams should be sent from President Roosevelt to Alice in Wonderland asking for her views on the tariff. Then having completed these messages, the answers may also be prepared, using the same letters. But, of course, as in all games, family matters work out more amusingly than public ones.

Initials

Paper is handed round, and each player thinks of some public person, or friend or acquaintance of the company, and writes in full his or her Christian name (or names) and surname. Then, for, say, five minutes, a character sketch of the person chosen has to be composed, each word of which begins with the initial letter of each of the person's names, repeated in their right order until the supply of thought gives out or time is up. Thus, suppose the person chosen is Frank Richard Stockton, the story writer. The character sketch might run:--

F ancifully R ecounts S trange F reakish R omantic S tories.

F inds R isibility S urely. F requently R aises S miles.

An occasional "and" and "of" may be dropped in if necessary. Where one of the names begins with a vowel (such as William _E_wart Gladstone) the character sketch can be made to run more easily.

It is sometimes more amusing to give every one the same names to work on; and in some houses the players are not allowed to choose names for themselves, but must pa.s.s the paper on. The characters of towns and nations may be written in the same way, using all the letters of the word as the initials.

Riddles

A more difficult game is "Riddles." At the top of the paper is written anything that you can think of: "A soldier," "A new dress," "A fit of the blues," "A railway accident"--anything that suggests itself. The paper is pa.s.sed on and anything else is written, no matter what. It is pa.s.sed on again and opened. Suppose that the two things written on it are, first, "A school-teacher," and second, "A pair of skates." The duty of the player is to treat them as a riddle, and, asking the question either as "Why is a school-teacher like a pair of skates?" or "What is the difference between a school-teacher and a pair of skates?" (whichever way one prefers), to supply a reasonable answer.

This game, it will be seen, is suited particularly to clever people.

Rhymed Replies

This is a game that needs a certain amount of readiness and some skill with words. Each of the party writes at the top of a piece of paper a question of any kind whatever, such as "How old was Caesar when he died?" or "What is your favorite color?" The paper is folded over and pa.s.sed on, and the next player writes a word--any word--such as "electricity," "potato," "courageously," "milk." The papers are then pa.s.sed on once more and opened, and the task of each player is to write a rhyme in which the question on his paper is answered and the word on his paper is introduced.

Missing Information

Every one is supplied with a piece of paper and pencils and tries to write down correct answers to questions about everyday things which we none of us know. A suggestive list is given but any one can add to it indefinitely.

1. How big do you think a postage-stamp is, in inches--a five dollar bill?

2. Draw a picture of a clock's face with the hands pointing to five minutes of twelve.

3. How tall do you think a man's silk hat is, a derby?

4. Draw the design in panels of the door to the room you are in. (Of course without looking at it.)

5. How many holes are there in a high laced shoe--your own?

6. How many toes has a cat, a dog?

7. How many legs has a fly?

8. How does a cow lie down? A horse?

9. About how many petals has a common daisy? A wild rose? A sun flower?

10. How high from the ground is a street-car?--a railway car?

The person who can answer most correctly the greatest number of questions is the winner.

Consequences

"Consequences" is always a favorite game when a party has reached its frivolous mood. The method of playing is this: Sheets of paper and pencils are handed round, and every one writes at the head (1) an adjective suitable to be applied to a man, such as "Handsome." This word is then folded over so that it cannot be read, and each paper is pa.s.sed on to the next person. The name of a man (2) is then written, either some one you know, or a public person, such as the president or Mr. Carnegie. This in turn is folded over and the papers are pa.s.sed on. The word "met" is understood to be inserted at this point. That is to say, the completed story will tell how Handsome Mr. Carnegie met some one. The next thing (3) is to put down an adjective suitable to apply to the woman whom he met, such as "Buxom," and then (4) the woman's name, again either some one you know, or a public person,--the papers being folded and pa.s.sed on after every writing. The remaining items are these:--(5) The place where they met--say, on the pier. (6) What he said to her--say, "I hope your neuralgia is better." (7) What she said to him--say, "There's nothing like rain for the crops." (8) What the consequence was--say, "They were married." (9) What the world said--"All's well that ends well."

It must be remembered that unless there are very few players, when it is less fun, you do not get the chance of writing more than once, or at most twice, on the same sheet of paper, so that it is of no use to have a reasonable series of remarks in your mind. The specimen given above is an average one. In print nothing could be much less funny, but when the company has the spirit of "Consequences," even so tame a story as this might keep the room merry. The game is always full of the unexpected, and the people who meet each other are almost sure to be laughing-stocks. The results are often better if all the papers are handed to one player to read.

Consequences Extended

The form of "Consequences" above given is the ordinary one and the simplest. But in certain families the game has been altered and improved by other clauses. We give the fullest form of "Consequences"

with which we are acquainted. As it stands it is rather too long; but players may like to add to the fun of the ordinary game by adopting a few of these additions:--

Adjective for a man.