Cassell's Book of In-door Amusements, Card Games, and Fireside Fun. Various
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and anything else that would add to the noise, are all to be performed upon at the same time. Provided with an instrument of some description himself, the leader begins playing a tune on his imaginary violoncello, or whatever else it may be, imitating the real sound as well as he can both in action and voice. The others all do the same, the sight presented being, as may well be imagined, exceedingly ludicrous, and the noise almost deafening. In the midst of it, the leader quite unexpectedly stops playing, and makes an entire change in his attitude and tone of voice, substituting for his own instrument one belonging to some one else. As soon as he does this, the performer who has been thus unceremoniously deprived of his instrument takes that of his leader, and performs on it instead. Thus the game is continued, every one being expected to carefully watch the leader's actions, and to be prepared at any time for making a sudden change.
CONSEQUENCES.
The old-fashioned game of Consequences is so well known that there are doubtless few people who are not thoroughly acquainted with it. It is played in the following manner:—Each person is first provided with half a sheet of note paper and a lead pencil. The leader of the game then requests that (1) one or more adjectives may be written at the top of each paper by its owner, and that, having done so, the paper may be folded down about half an inch, so as to conceal what has been written. Every one then passes the paper to the right-hand neighbour, and proceeds to write on the sheet that has just been given him by his left-hand neighbour, (2) the name of a gentleman, again folding the paper down and passing it on to the right. Then (3) one or more adjectives are written; then (4) a lady's name; next (5) where they met; next (6) what he gave her; next (7) what he said to her; next (8) what she said to him; next (9) the consequences; and lastly (10) what the world said about it.
Every time anything is written the paper must be turned down and passed on to the right. As soon as every one has written what the world said the papers are collected, and the leader will edify the company by reading them all aloud. The result will be something of this kind, or perhaps something even more absurd may be produced—"The happy energetic (1) Mr. Simpkins (2) met the modest (3) Miss Robinson (4) in the Thames Tunnel (5). He gave her a sly glance (6), and said to her, 'Do you love the moon?' (7). She replied, 'Not if I know it' (8). The consequence was they sang a duet (9), and the world said, 'Wonders never cease'" (10).
CONVEYANCES.
To do justice to this game it will be necessary for the players to call to mind all they have ever read or heard about the various modes of travelling in all the four quarters of the globe, because every little detail will be of use.
The business commences by one of the company announcing that he intends starting on a journey, when he is asked whether he will go by sea or by land. To which quarter of the globe? Will he go north, south, east, or west? and last of all—What conveyance does he intend to use?
After these four questions have been answered, the first player is called upon to name the spot he intends to visit.
Mountain travelling may be described, the many ingenious methods of which are so well known to visitors to Italy and Switzerland.
The wonderful railway up the Righi need not be forgotten; mule travelling, arm-chairs carried by porters, and the dangerous-looking ladders which the Swiss peasants mount and remount so fearlessly at all times of the year, in order to scale the awful precipices, will each be borne in mind. In the cold regions the sledges drawn by reindeer may be employed, or the Greenland dogs, not forgetting the tremendous skates, that have the appearance of small canoes, used by the Laplanders; and also the stilts, which are used by some of the poor French people who live in the west of their country. Indeed, it is amazing how many different methods of conveyance have been contrived at one time or another for the benefit of us human beings.
In Spain and other places there are the diligences; in Arabia the camels; in China the junks; at Venice the gondolas.
Then, to come home, we have balloons, bicycles, wheelbarrows, perambulators, and all kinds of carriages, so that no one need be long in deciding what mode of travelling he shall for the time adopt. As soon as the four questions have been answered, should the first player be unable to name what country he will visit he must pay a forfeit, and the opportunity is passed on to his neighbour.
This game may be made intensely amusing, as will be proved by trial; and at the same time a very great amount of instruction may be derived from it.
CRAMBO.
Two pieces of paper, unlike both in size and colour, are given to each person. On one of them a noun must be written, and on the other a question. Two gentlemen's hats must then be called for, into one of which the nouns must be dropped, and into the other the questions, and all well shuffled. The hats must then be handed round, until each person is supplied with a question and a noun. The thing now to be done is for each player to write an answer in rhyme to the question he finds written on the one paper, bringing in the noun written on the other paper.
Sometimes the questions and the nouns are so thoroughly inapplicable to each other that it is impossible to produce anything like sensible poetry. The player need not trouble about that, however, for the more nonsensical the rhyme the greater the fun. Sometimes players are fortunate enough to draw from the hats both noun and question that may be easily linked together. A question once drawn was—"Why do summer roses fade?" The noun drawn was butterfly, so that the following rhyme was easily concocted:—
"Summer roses fade away,
The reason why I cannot say,
Unless it be because they try
To cheat the pretty butterfly."
CROSS QUESTIONS AND CROOKED ANSWERS.
This is a pleasant game, that may be enjoyed while sitting in a circle round the fire. The person at either end, who is honoured by commencing the game, must, in a whisper, ask a question of the player sitting next to him, taking care to remember the answer he receives, and also the question he himself asked. The second player must then do likewise, and so on, until every one in the party has asked a question and received an answer. The last person, of course, being under the necessity of receiving the answer to his question from the first person. Every one must then say aloud what was the question put to him, and what was the answer he received to the question he asked—the two together, of course, making nothing but nonsense, something like the following:—
Q. Who is your favourite author?
A. Beans and Bacon.
Q. Were you ever in love?
A. Cricket, decidedly.
Q. Are you an admirer of Oliver Cromwell?
A. Mark Twain.
Q. Why is a cow like an oyster?
A. Many a time.
Another way of playing this game is for one person to stand outside the circle; then, when all the whispering is finished, to come forward and ask a question of each person, receiving for his replies the answers they all had given to the questions they asked each other. Or what is, perhaps, a still better plan, both questions and answers may be written on different coloured