Part 6

"Pale fear oppress'd the drooping maid-- And on her cheek the (rose) began to fade."

"And the blue (gentian-flower), that, in the breeze, Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last."

For the supper have a salad served in little paper boxes decorated with strips of pink tissue paper cut either in narrow slashes like the chrysanthemum petals, or in broader ones to represent the rose. Ices can be obtained in many flower forms, and if to these be added real stems and leaves, the service will be as dainty and attractive as possible.

FLOWERS ILLUSTRATED

1. Buttercup.

2. Daisy.

3. Sunflower.

4. Trumpet vine.

5. Lily of the valley.

6. Morning-glory.

7. Violet.

8. Dandelion.

9. Lady's-slipper.

10. Bachelor's-button.

11. Aster.

12. Tulip.

13. Goldenrod.

14. Cat-tail.

15. Sweet William.

16. Sweet peas.

17. Ragged sailor.

18. Bleeding heart.

19. Poppy.

20. Black-eyed Susan.

21. Foxglove.

22. Queen's lace handkerchief.

23. Bluebell.

24. Everlasting.

25. Marshmallow.

26. Solomon's-seal.

They are illustrated in this way: 1. A cup of butter. 2. The picture of a book, cut from a magazine, having the title blotted out, and showing only the words, "by Charlotte M. Yonge" (the author of "The Daisy Chain"). 3. A colored illustration of the solar spectrum. 4. A tin trumpet. 5. A picture of a valley. 6. A card upon which is printed "6 A. M." 7. A picture of a book upon which is written, "by Julia Magruder" (author of "The Violet"). 8. The picture of a lion, to which has been added, with pen and ink, a silk hat, collar and cane. 9. A pair of slippers. 10. A variety of buttons, poorly sewed upon a piece of cloth. 11. A card upon which is written, "A well-known hotel and library." 12. Photograph of a part of a face. 13. A slender stick, gilded. 14. A picture of cats. 15. A card with the words "Dear Will." 16. A few peas in a saucer of sugar. 17. A Brownie sailor, torn and dilapidated. 18. A red paper heart. 19. The written words, "Sleep, sweet sleep." 20. A picture of a girl, the eyes having been painted black. 21. A pair of gloves. 22. A dainty handkerchief. 23. A small bell, painted blue. 24. A leather advertisement under which are the words, "Never wear out." 25. A box of marshmallows. 26. A large seal with the letter S.

To the one who succeeds in finding the greatest number of flowers can be given a beautiful basket of roses.

FOURTH OF JULY MUSEUM

The invitations, gay with the national colors, stated that Miss Blank, in order to encourage patriotism in her native town, had made a museum collection of curios connected with noted Americans, and bade a choice selection of her fellow-townsmen to meet and view the rare objects.

The booklets passed around among the guests upon their arrival were attractive enough, a tiny flag being painted in one corner of the cover, which also contained the legend:

The Fourth of July Museum At Miss Blank's July the Fourth Nineteen hundred and blank.

A red, white and blue ribbon held the booklet together, and at the end of this was a small white pencil.

We found it best to pair off the players, for two heads are so much better than one, and it is a great satisfaction to give help to one's neighbor without fear and without reproach. Each of the booklets contained a date or an event in United States history, and the man who drew the booklet containing "1492" became the partner of the girl who held "Discovery of America."

The museum specimens were arranged on tables or mounted on cards, and each one was numbered conspicuously. The following list of twenty-two names was used. It can be lengthened, or the celebrities may be otherwise represented, according to the resources of the hostess. Magazine pictures of the articles may be substituted for the real thing, to simplify preparations. Here is the list, which may be greatly extended:

Paul Revere--a toy horse with rider, labeled "The Horse Travels Best by Night."

Abraham Lincoln--two small darkies, labeled "All Free."

Washington--a bunch of cherries, labeled "Our National Fruit."

Carrie Nation--a toy hatchet, labeled "You Think You Know. Guess Again."

General Grant--a chocolate cigar.

Theodore Roosevelt--a doll's Rough Rider hat.

Richmond Hobson--a confectioner's "kiss."

Barbara Frietchie--the national flag.

Theodore Thomas--a bar of music and a street-car _conductor's_ cap.

Benjamin Harrison--his grandfather's hat.

Mark Twain--_Two_ pencil-_marks_.

P. T. Barnum--a hippopotamus, labeled "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Harriet Beecher Stowe--"Uncle Tom's Cabin," represented by a toy negro cabin.

Priscilla Alden--a picture of a Puritan at a spinning-wheel.

Jefferson Davis--a Confederate dollar bill.

William J. Bryan--a silver dollar (number _sixteen_ in the collection).

Miss Stone--the _stone_ figure of a woman, labeled "Kidnapped," or a copy of Stevenson's "Kidnapped."

Joseph Jefferson--a little dog, labeled "My Dog Schneider."

Nathaniel Hawthorne--"The Scarlet Letter," represented by a medium-size red envelope.

Eli Whitney--a cotton-gin, represented by a branch of cotton, and a bottle, labeled "Pure Holland Gin."

Robert Fulton--a toy steamboat.

Benjamin Franklin--a kite and a key.

The national colors may be used effectively in the decorations of the rooms or of the table, and the prizes for the winners may be silk flags, photographs of historic places or other souvenirs suggestive of the day.

Appropriate place-cards for a Fourth of July luncheon or dinner may be made by covering small glass bottles about the size of a firecracker with red tissue paper, and filling them with little candies. By cutting the corks even with the bottles and drawing a small piece of twine through for a fuse, a clever imitation of a cracker is made. The names of the guests may be put vertically on the bottles.

GAME OF NATIONS

Provide each guest with a list of questions, with spaces left for the answers. The answers consist of words ending in "N-A-T-I-O-N." Here are the questions and the answers:

1. A popular flower. 1. Carnation.

2. Unruliness. 2. Insubordination.

3. A gift for charitable purposes. 3. Donation.

4. The installation of a king. 4. Coronation.

5. Resolution, or "grit." 5. Determination.

6. The murder of an eminent person. 6. Assassination.

7. Fancy, or mental representations. 7. Imagination.

8. Making anything clear. 8. Explanation.

9. A small surgical operation legally enforced. 9. Vaccination.

10. The giving up of an office. 10. Resignation.

11. A joining or putting together. 11. Combination.

12. The choosing of a candidate. 12. Nomination.

The prizes should then be awarded. A pretty silk banner will be acceptable to a man, while a big bunch of red and white carnations tied with a blue ribbon, or a pound of confectionery in a box decorated with flags and other patriotic emblems will make a pretty gift for a lady.

GEOGRAPHICAL GAME

Seat the players in a ring. Let the first one say aloud the name of a city, mountain, river, lake, etc., located in any part of the world; the next player give a name beginning with the final letter of the previously said name, and the third supply one beginning with the final letter of the second, and so on around the ring. Thus: America, Athens, Santiago, Ohio. Each player is allowed thirty seconds in which to think. If, by the end of that time, he has failed to supply a name, he must drop out of the game. The one who keeps up longest is the champion. Any player, at any time, may be challenged to give the geographical location of the place he has named. If, on demand, he cannot do so he must pay a forfeit.

GEORGE AND MARTHA TEA

The walls should be hung with red, white and blue bunting, relieved at regular intervals with shields and small hatchets made of flowers in the national colors.

Have George and Martha receive the guests, and there may be also a number of men and women attired in colonial costumes to introduce strangers and see that all have a good time.

Behind a bower of foliage an orchestra might play the national airs, and as the object of the evening should be to promote sociability, it would be well to have a number of interesting games in which all can join.

One of these might be a list of the presidents in anagram form, written on a large blackboard; the names in parentheses, of course, are not written out, thus:

1. L m jak pokes (James K. Polk)

2. Yatch lazy roar (Zachary Taylor)

3. Lord film rill a me (Millard Fillmore)

4. Knife lancer rip (Franklin Pierce)

5. Jamb haunce ans (James Buchanan)

6. Berth your she fad (Rutherford B. Hayes)

7. C H hurt a rare set (Chester A. Arthur)

8. Jasmine in horn bar (Benjamin Harrison)

9. Willie m mink clay (William McKinley)

10. O shogging rantwee (George Washington)

11. Jam nod has (John Adams)

12. Oft John fear mess (Thomas Jefferson)

13. Mard jess moan (James Madison)

14. Jo means more (James Monroe)

15. Jay chins Quon dam (John Quincy Adams)

16. Son rack and Jew (Andrew Jackson)

17. A rum Tannin verb (Martin Van Buren)

18. Harsh iron aim will (William H. Harrison)

19. If gales mead jar (James A. Garfield)

20. Carver delve long (Grover Cleveland)

21. Man in cab or hall (Abraham Lincoln)

22. Yes glass turns (Ulysses S. Grant)

23. Holy rent J (John Tyler)

At the end of half an hour present to the most successful guesser a George Washington hat of violet candy, filled with red and white bonbons.

But let the main feature of the evening be a small room fashioned into a portrait-drawing studio, the lads and lassies in charge and everything about the room having an old-time look.

Above the door have printed in the quaint spelling of long ago that all who wish can have a silhouette picture of themselves for only five cents, and doubtless a goodly sum will be realized, as people are always interested, not only in their own, but in their friends' physiognomy, and much fun will follow in exchanging shadow pictures.

Have ready a quantity of large sheets of paper, black on one side and white on the other, also white cardboard; a sheet of paper is to be fastened to the wall, white side out, and a lighted candle placed about three feet from the paper. Then the one having his picture taken is seated between the candle and wall, so that a strongly defined profile falls upon the paper; the shadow is to be traced with a steady hand, cut out, and then pasted on the cardboard, with the black side of the paper out.

An old-fashioned candelabrum, surrounded by a wreath of blue violets and red and white carnations, might grace the centre of the dining-table, and at either end tall silver candlesticks with candles burning under shades of a rosy hue might be placed.

Let the bonbons be held in boxes imitating the cocked hat of the Continental Army; have sandwiches of different kinds and sorts, with tiny silk flags bearing the name of the sandwich. Besides these the eatables might consist of good old-fashioned gingerbread, crullers, doughnuts, and coffee, followed by apples and nuts.

GIRLS' NAMES CONTEST

1. What an army would do if it found a river too deep to ford. (Bridget)

2. An admirable quality in a young woman. (Grace)

3. The most prominent of Easter flowers. (Lily)

4. The time for violets. (May)

5. A gem. (Pearl)

6. What papa does with the baby. (Carrie)

7. How to write a postscript. (Adaline)

8. The flower of June. (Rose)

9. What a scissors-grinder and a locomotive have in common. (Belle)

10. A virtue. (Patience)

11. An article. (Ann)

12. First steps in music. (Dora [do-re])

13. Two consecutive letters of the alphabet in transposed order. (Effie [F-E])

14. The night before. (Eve)

15. A little valley. (Adelle)

The slips are to be collected and the one having the greatest number of correct answers may be rewarded with some inexpensive souvenir.

GOLF LUNCHEON

When our golfing enthusiast desires to entertain her golfing friends, she cannot do better than bid them to a luncheon set to the keynote of their favorite sport.

Naturally, the table decorations will be red and green--deep red roses or scarlet geraniums laid in flat bunches upon the "fair field" of snowy cloth and encircling the dishes, caught together by "links" of smilax. Perhaps, too, pale green candles, beneath ruby-hued shades, might still further carry out the scheme of color.

The table may be arranged with a "putting green" in the centre made of a square of sponge cake frosted with pistachio. A little hole should be cut in the centre. Miniature caddy bags made of red satin and filled with red geraniums and ferns are pretty decorations. A little golf ball for the "putting green" can be made by covering a preserved cherry with white icing. "Bunkers" can be made across the corners of the table by using fine wire netting. At each place a small caddy bag can hold the knives, forks, and spoons of the service, and in the bottom of the bag can be placed a "Jackson ball"--one of those hard, striped red and white, old-fashioned candies.

The bread sticks and cheese straws should be fashioned like golfing sticks, and the ices be in the form of balls, small and white. Lastly, with the coffee and bonbons, are passed souvenir cards on which are daintily painted bags of golfing implements, heads of pretty girls in outing hats, or bits of rural landscape.

GOLF PLAYERS' GUESSING CONTEST

1. A coachman. (Driver)

2. An oriental herb. (Tee)

3. A receptacle for the herb. (Caddie)

4. What an impudent fellow is apt to be. (Brassie)

5. A rustic expression for aimless working. (Putter)

6. A bazaar, and a color. (Fair-green)

7. The point of a pen and a lap of the tongue. (Niblic)

8. To crush and two letters. (Mashie)

9. A chance. (Hazard)

10. A large social function. (Ball)

11. A definite and an indefinite number. (Foursome)

12. Parts of a chain. (Links)

13. A bed and to mistake. (Bunker)

14. Number twenty. (Score)

15. Little pits. (Holes)

The two who, within a given time, answer the most of these fifteen questions should be rewarded with appropriate prizes, as one of the handy little score books to be slipped upon the belt, containing the official score; a picture of the typical golf girl; or some volume on the popular and fascinating game.

GOOD LUCK PARTY

This was given by a clever maiden to a departing girl friend, but the idea could be utilized in various ways.

Each invitation took the form of a cordial note which was written on white note-paper bordered with pen-and-ink sketches of horseshoes, wishbones and four-leaf clovers.

Enclosed with each invitation was a guest card with the name of the person receiving it written in gilt at the top. Below this was a row of horseshoes, also done in gilt. Each guest was requested to write on this card a toast, in rhyme, to the departing friend, and to bring it to the party on the appointed evening.

The decorations of the rooms upon the evening of the party were appropriate to the occasion. Horseshoes gilded or covered with tin-foil hung over the folding doors and window-curtains, and depended from the chandeliers, which were draped with festoons of ribbon ornamented with wishbones and horseshoes of all sizes cut from gilt paper.

A large screen standing in front of the dining-room doors was decorated with artificial clover blossoms. In the dining-room similar decorations prevailed. In the centre of the dining-table, upon a centrepiece embroidered with the emblems of good luck, stood a candelabra bearing green and white candles. Encircling the centrepiece was a large horseshoe of cardboard covered with green paper. Outside the horseshoe outlining it were small glasses resting on green paper clover leaves.

At each corner of the table was placed a plate of delicious sugar cookies baked in the shape of four-leaf clovers; each one was topped with a gilded wish-bone.

The chairs were arranged around the room in the form of a horseshoe.

The main feature of the evening was the hunt for four-leaf clovers. These leaves, which were cut out of green glacé paper, had been hidden by the hostess in every nook and corner of the down-stairs rooms, and much amusement was afforded the young people as they eagerly sought them. At the conclusion of a given time the signal to stop hunting was given and each guest counted the leaves he or she had found. The one having the greatest number was presented with a dainty stick-pin in the shape of a four-leaf clover.

The refreshments consisted only of ginger ale and cookies, and as her guests partook of them the hostess read aloud the toasts which had been handed to her. She presented them at the conclusion of the evening to the guest of honor.

Each guest was next asked to tell "the biggest piece of good luck which ever came to you." The numerous recitals given created no end of fun.

When the party broke up and the good-nights were said each guest carried away as a souvenir of the occasion a bright new penny for a "luck piece."

GYPSY FORTUNE-TELLING

Added to the charm and mystery of having one's fortune told is the great pleasure which may be derived from having it told by a gypsy, even though she may be an amateur.

An hour of amusement may be passed very delightfully in this way, provided the hostess can make the necessary arrangements with some quick-witted, bright young girl, who will be willing to take the part of the gypsy. Several days before the evening's entertainment the hostess should give her friend a list of the expected guests, with a few notes concerning their traits of character, environment, etc., and these suggestions, in addition to the knowledge of the persons which she possesses, and her own inventiveness, will give her an excellent opportunity apparently to look back in the past, and forward to the future--especially if she happen to discover that any engaged couples are to be present. The gypsy should arrive at the house of the hostess a little early on the evening of the entertainment, and be shown to an up-stairs room to don her gypsy attire. She should then descend to the dimly-lighted parlor and seat herself in readiness for the guests when they shall arrive.

As the guests arrive and remove their wraps they should be received and greeted in the library or reception-room, and the hostess should then announce that a gypsy is in the parlor. Having learned in some way that there was to be a large party there, she has begged the privilege of coming in to tell fortunes for the pretty ladies, so that she might earn a few pennies. The guests repair to the dimly-lighted parlor, where the gypsy is seated. As each guest advances and seats himself, the gypsy takes the extended right hand and reads the lines--improvising as she does so in broken English.

HALLOWE'EN BOX CAKE

The newest fashion in Hallowe'en supper-table decoration is a cake made of white pasteboard boxes, in shape like pieces of pie, which fit together and give the appearance of a large cake. Each one of the boxes is covered with a white paper which resembles frosting. At the close of the feast the pieces are distributed, each box containing some little souvenir suitable to Hallowe'en. One box, of course, contains a ring, another a thimble, a third a piece of silver, a fourth a mitten, a fifth a fool's cap, and so on. Much fun is created as the boxes are opened, and the person who secures the ring is heartily congratulated. The unlucky individual who gets the fool's cap must wear it for the evening.

HALLOWE'EN GAMES

Have a card and a candle for each guest, the candles in as many different colors as possible, and one corner of each card turned down and tied with baby ribbon--one color for ladies, and another for gentlemen. On the cards have couplets written foretelling future events, such as:

Who gets the candle colored red Will have long life, but never wed.

If you choose the candle green You'll have the prettiest wife e'er seen.

For you the kind fates have a plan Whereby you sure _will_ get a man.

Let each guest take a card and a candle (if the base of the candle is warmed it will stick to the card), read the couplet aloud, then light the candle, and holding it at arm's length blow it out. If it is blown out upon the first trial the person will be married within a year; if upon the second trial, within two years, etc.

Write rhymes of four or six lines on thin paper, and place in chestnut shells. Tie together with ribbon, the ladies' in one color, the gentlemen's in another. If there are personal hits in the rhymes, tie the name of the person for whom each one is intended on the outside of the shell.

Hide a ring, a thimble and a penny in the room. To the one who finds the ring speedy marriage is assured; the thimble denotes a life of single blessedness; the penny promises wealth.

Have one of the young ladies who knows a little palmistry be the witch of the evening. A short, bright-hued skirt, a gay plaid shawl crossed over her shoulders, a scarf bound about her head, will make a very striking costume, and, with the aid of a little paint and powder, quite an effective disguise. If she is enough acquainted with the guests to give some personal history she can produce some very "telling" fortunes.

After the witch has exhausted her ingenuity as palmist, let her offer to disclose the name of the future bride or groom of each one present, by means of the fairy mirror. The room she uses should be dimly lighted. She writes the name on a mirror with French chalk, rubs it off lightly with a silk handkerchief, and calls in the person for whom the name is written.

Prepare a basket of rosy cheeked apples, each with the initials of a name pricked in the skin, which names must be used in counting the apple seeds.

After the supper table has been cleared of all except the decorations and candles, have a large dish filled with burning alcohol and salt brought in and placed in the centre. Seated around this ghostly fire, all other lights except the candles having been extinguished, let the guests tell stirring stories rigmarole fashion; that is, some one starting the story and stopping short at its most exciting point and letting his neighbor continue it, etc., each one trying to make it as interesting as possible.

HALLOWE'EN PARTY

All formality must be dispensed with on Hallowe'en. Not only will quaint customs and mystic tricks be in order, but the decorations and refreshments, and even the place of meeting, must be as strange and mystifying as possible.

For the country or suburban home a roomy barn is decidedly the best accommodation that can be provided. If this is not practicable, a large attic, running the entire length of the house, is the next choice; but if this also is denied the ambitious hostess, let the kitchen be the place of meeting and of mystery, with the dining-room, cleared of its usual furniture and decorated suitably for the occasion, reserved for the refreshments.

The light should be supplied only by Jack-o'-lanterns hung here and there about the kitchen, with candles in the dining-room.

The decorations need not be expensive to be charming, no matter how large the room. Large vases of ferns and chrysanthemums and umbrella stands of fluffy grasses will be desirable; but if these cannot be readily obtained, quantities of gayly tinted autumn leaves will be quite as appropriate. Festoons of nuts, bunches of wheat or oats, and strings of cranberries may also help to brighten the wall decorations, and the nuts and cranberries will be useful in many odd arrangements for ornamenting the refreshment table.