Part 2

=Naming a Card.= This trick can be shown at any time and at any place where two performers are together and desire to show a little skill to amuse their friends. The idea in the trick is to announce that you can tell the name of a card written on a sheet of paper, the paper folded and placed on the table, all being done while you are out of the room. After you have announced the trick and have left the room, your assistant (who of course acts as if he were disinterested) takes a pencil, and when some one names the card he writes it on the paper and folds it up. For example, we will say that the four of diamonds was named. When he has finished writing the name of the card, he, in an offhand way, places the pencil on the table, so that the point would indicate four in an imaginary clock, he of course sitting opposite to six. The paper is then folded and placed in a casual way on the opposite side on the table, in a section which we will designate as diamonds. These sections may be like this: diamonds at the top of the imaginary clock, hearts at the right, clubs at the bottom, and spades at the left. The face of the clock can be imagined to be about a foot or so round. You may now be called in by anybody, and upon entering, you must, to make the trick effective, take up the paper, and hold it to your forehead as if in deep thought. Of course you have taken in at a glance the entire situation, and in a most mysterious way, name the card. In case a court card is named you will understand that a jack is eleven, a queen twelve, and if a king is named, the pencil is not laid down, the paper only being left to indicate the suit. Now some are bound to name the joker. In that case your assistant simply places the paper on top of the pencil or uses some other arrangement agreed upon.

=A Horse Race.= Each man in the party receives a little bag containing one hundred beans. Each woman adopts the name of some horse. Strips of tape or paper are fastened at one end of the room farthest away from where the races are to begin. All attached ends are on the same line. The loose ends are held by the women on the other side of the room, armed with scissors. The men bet their beans on the outcome of the race. At a given signal, each woman begins to cut the tape, the one to reach the end of her strand quickest being the winner. The narrowness of the tape obliges the women to work with extreme care, as well as quickly, for if the strand is cut before reaching the end, the “horse” is disqualified. When the first entries have been raced, if there are more women than strips, more come forward for another “heat,” and so on until all have competed. The man winning the most beans in all the races wins the prize, and each lady who comes out ahead receives something in appreciation of her dexterity.

=A Jam-eating Contest.= For this, thin slices of bread are spread with jelly or jam and placed upon a small plate at the edge of the table. Those who enter the contest must have their hands tied behind them, so that they are obliged to eat their bread and jam without touching it with a hand. The one who succeeds in disposing of his slice first receives a prize.

=A Potato Race.= Use peach-baskets for the goals. Potatoes, apples, or oranges are laid three feet apart in rows for the gathering contest. Each one must be picked up and carried on a spoon to the basket at the end of the row.

=Guessing Contests.= A pumpkin, a large ear of yellow field-corn, a pint of peanuts in the shell, a pound of pecans in the shell, a basket of apples, one chrysanthemum, a large bunch of Malaga grapes, and a bough of oak leaves are the requisites for this entertainment. These same articles may serve as decorations for the room during the evening. The game is to guess the number of parts of each one of the list, for instance:

How many grains on the ear of corn?

How many seeds in the pumpkin?

How many grapes in the bunch?

How many pecans in a pound?

How many petals on the chrysanthemum?

How many peanuts in a pint?

How many leaves on the oak bough?

How many apples in the basket?

Of course, the answers have actually been obtained beforehand, except in the case of the chrysanthemum, which is counted after the company have guessed.

=A Phonograph Concert.= The removal of a large screen exposes a most extraordinary contrast. It consists of a large square packing-box, the open side being set across a doorway leading into another room. On top of the box is fastened a clothes-wringer and a megaphone, while a curtain conceals the part of the doorway not hidden by the box. The record is a narrow slip of paper, yards in length, which is inserted between the rollers. The crank is turned and the record announced amidst a grating noise peculiar to phonographs. A person behind the scenes, with his head in the box, drawls out the subjects of the records, making the scraping noise by rubbing something rough against a tin can. The people who are to do the feats on the phonograph are in the room behind the curtain and, as their turns come, stick their heads into the box and shout through the megaphone, which is sticking out of the hole bored through the box.

=To Lift Fifteen Matches with One.= On a match place fourteen other matches so that one third of the match, with its phosphorus tip, will be in the air and the other end resting on the table. These ends should point alternately right and left. If one is asked to lift them, holding only one extremity of the lower match, it seems clear that the fourteen matches on top will fall to the table by the force of gravity. Here is a way to render the operation feasible. Above the matches and along the angle formed by the interlacement, place one last match. They can now be lifted safely by the extremity of the under match. The matches will take an oblique position, embracing the upper one within their angle as though they were possessed of jaws, and will remain without further support just as long as you wish. By preference, employ the largest matches you can find.

=A Donkey Party.= Each one tries, blindfolded, to pin a tail to a donkey drawn on a sheet. The prize is given to the one who comes nearest to pinning it in the right position.

=The Dwarf Exhibit= affords one of the most amusing entertainments, and will cause wonder to your friends as to where you got “him.”

Two persons play the dwarf, a third acting as the exhibitor, who should prepare beforehand a humorous speech, setting forth the history and accomplishments of the dwarf, which will be told later.

To arrange and dress the dwarf, place a table in a doorway between two rooms, and cover it with a cloth or a curtain that will reach to the floor on the side farthest from the audience. Or the table may be placed entirely in the room next to that in which the audience is seated, the edge of it reaching to the doorway, so that the curtains between may act as a screen while you are getting the dwarf ready.

One person stands behind the table and places his hands on it. These, with his arms, form the feet and legs of the dwarf. Over his arms should be drawn a pair of boy’s trousers, and on his hands should be a pair of shoes. The trousers should be drawn down until they reach the heels, like a man’s. This completes the lower part of the dwarf.

The second person stands behind the first and passes his arms around his shoulders. By putting a coat over the arms and buttoning it down the figure of the first impersonator and then throwing a cape around his neck so arranged as to cover the head of the person behind, you will complete the dwarf’s dress.

Of course, you may have to improvise a jacket to fit, or you may dress the dwarf fantastically, as a Turk, or woman, for instance, but the means of doing so will suggest themselves readily.

The hands of the second person act as the hands of the dwarf, and as the latter makes his appearance they raise his hat when he bows to the audience. The exhibitor then begins his history, which can be made very ludicrous; and he should recite the various accomplishments of the dwarf, including dancing, and even his ability to suspend himself in the air without support.

The dwarf should then be invited to entertain the audience, and he should begin by making a little speech, in either a thin falsetto or a heavy bass voice, assumed, of course, to add to the grotesque effect. The second player makes gestures to the speech, which in themselves will create a laugh.

Then the dwarf should begin to dance. The hands of the first performer do this, and all of a sudden, in the middle of a quickstep, they both are lifted from the table and remain suspended in the air for a quarter of a minute. Then they drop to the table again, and the dwarf appears to be exhausted with this unusual effort.

In making his parting salute to the audience the dwarf astonishes them all by putting both feet to his mouth and throwing kisses with his toes.

=Stick-and-Pea Amusement.= A box of toothpicks and a pint of dried peas will furnish excellent amusement for children on a rainy day. Soak the peas until they can be pierced with a toothpick. Tables, chairs, boxes, figures, letters, etc., can be made by sticking the toothpicks into the peas.

=An Introduction to the Doll Family.= If you straighten a hairpin, then bend one end of it until it resembles a shepherd’s crook, and hang it on the edge of a table, it will swing back and forth many times like the pendulum of a clock. The slightest touch sets it in motion, and if you have just the right angle to the crook it will sway back and forth many times.

Suppose you fix several hairpins in this fashion and set them all to swinging at once. It will much resemble a lot of very slender gentlemen bobbing up and down in stately, graceful bows. Very well; suppose we have some real gentlemen to bow to us. Get two or three old magazines and look through the advertising sections. You will find lots and lots of figures of all kinds, men, women, and animals; some of them just the size you want. Cut out some of these very carefully, selecting those just a little longer than your bent hairpins.

Now thrust a hairpin through one of the figures and hang the bent end of the hairpin on the edge of a table; or, better still, a big book whose cover overlaps the leaves inside. Blow gently at the figure and it will answer by bowing most politely, bobbing back and forth in the funniest way you can imagine. Now fix the rest of the figures in the same way and you will have one of the most amusing collections of dolls that ever was. Whenever you blow at them, they all will nod and bow at once, but no two will move alike, for the shapes of their figures will all be different, and the different ways in which their weight or centre of gravity inclines them will cause the various motions.

Just try it with some of your little friends and see what fun these odd little actors will make for you.

=Second Sight.= This cannot fail to make a hit, providing the rule is not generally known by the audience.

Take a piece of paper and write on it the figures 1,089. Fold this paper and ask one of your spectators to place it in his pocket without looking at it. Now ask another spectator to think of three figures (_a_). He having done so, get him to write them upon another piece of paper. Now ask him to write the same figures under the first row, only in reverse (_b_) order. Subtract the smaller from the larger (_c_). Now reverse the remainder (_d_) and your total will be the answer on the piece of paper in the first spectator’s pocket. For instance:

(_a_) Number thought of 621 (_b_) Result of reversion 126 ——— (_c_) “ “ subtraction 495 (_d_) “ “ second reversion 594 ——— (_e_) “ “ addition 1,089

=The Blind Feeding the Blind.= Spread a sheet on the floor, and having blindfolded two players, seat them on the floor facing each other. Give to each a spoon and saucer containing some dry food such as ground pop-corn or wheat grains and let each attempt to feed the other.

=An Amateur Vaudeville.= For the entertainment of a large number of people, an amateur vaudeville program meets every requirement, and does so in a unique manner.

If you go over your list of friends and acquaintances, you will find among them many a clever person who has some talent which can be utilized in preparing the program; this one can dance, that recite, another sings coon songs, some do “cake-walks,” some play, others sing, one can tell an Irish story or a Dutch one, or perhaps perform a feat of legerdemain, and so on, until your program is filled.

=The Elusive Coin.= Set a coin upon the edge of a table, and, closing one eye by the opposite hand (that is, the left eye closed by the right hand and vice-versa); attempt to knock it off with the forefinger of the disengaged hand.

You will find that your judgment is at fault, and that, in nine cases out of ten you are dabbing away at nothing but thin air.

To do this effectively, you should stand at arm’s length from the coin, and you will be surprised at your apparent bad judgment.

=Novel Paper-Cutting.= A long strip of paper is shown to the audience; it is then rolled up into cylindrical form, a few cuts are made with a scissors, or if the paper is not too thick, it may be torn with the fingers. You make a twist or two, and the audience are surprised to see what a good resemblance to a “fir tree,” five or more feet in length, makes its appearance in the performer’s hands. This is managed in the following way: Cut a strip of paper about nine feet long and eight inches wide; to increase the effect, the strip of paper can be made up of three or four short lengths of different colored papers pasted together. Roll the paper up into a cylinder of about 1¼ inches in diameter, then with a pair of scissors make cuts through the cylinder from one end, to halfway down its length. These cuts should be at small, equal distances from each other around the roll. Then bend over into horizontal position each piece of loose paper to form the branches of the tree, pull out from the centre of the top in the same way as for the familiar barber’s pole; the tree will then be complete.

To thoroughly grasp the idea, the instruction should be carefully followed with scissors and paper in hand.

=The Mysterious Remainder.= A mother of several children amused them frequently by the following simple puzzle. It was a never-failing source of entertainment and a delightful mystery. She never told the secret. Had she done so, much of the charm would have been lost.

“Think of a number.”

Perhaps some one would think of four.

“Double it.”

The child thought, but did not say eight.

Perhaps she would say, “Add six to it.”

“Divide it by two.”

“Take away the first number you thought of and the remainder will be three.”

Sure enough, four from seven does leave three; the children were much puzzled to know how mother knew. The next thing was always a request to try it again.

Suppose 1000 was chosen.

“Double it,” was the order.

“Add ten to it,” was the next command.

“Divide by two.”

“Take away the first number thought of and the remainder will be five.”

One might think of six, another of eleven, another of twenty. The result was the same. Mother could always guess right.

When the children grew older they were surprised to learn that mother did not know the number thought of at all. They learned for themselves that the remainder was always half of the number added.

=Home Field-Sports.= (_a_) ONE-YARD DASH. This race consists in the attempt to push a penny a distance of one yard across the floor by means of the nose.

(_b_) TUG OF WAR. A raisin is tied firmly in the middle of a long piece of twine, and each contestant takes a firm hold of one end of the twine in his mouth, and begins to chew this string for the raisin. No one is allowed to use his hands.

(_c_) STANDING HIGH JUMP. Three doughnuts are suspended in a doorway about four inches above the mouths of the jumpers. The contestants with hands tied attempt to take a bite. One bite from the doughnut wins a prize.

(_d_) HURDLE RACE. The contestants take seats and thread six needles. The one who gets through first is the winner.

(_e_) DRINKING RACE. Each contestant is given a glass of water, which is to be absorbed by means of a spoon.

(_f_) BUN RACE. Two poles are set up at a good distance apart, connected with a clothesline, from which are suspended strings of different lengths, according to the height of each boy, and a bun is tied to each string. The boys line up, hands tied behind their backs, and at the signal each tries to eat his bun. The constant moving of the line caused by their efforts makes it almost impossible to get a bite. Soon a boy gets a hold with his teeth, gets his bun on the ground, and, with his hands still behind, finishes the bun and gets the prize.

(_g_) CRACKER-EATING CONTEST (for girls only). Girls choose sides and line up facing each other. Each girl has a cracker which she is to chew and swallow as quickly as possible. The side which has a girl able to whistle first wins the prize.

(_h_) RAINY-DAY RACE. This race is run by several girls. They stand in a line with a closed satchel in front of each one, in which is a pair of rubbers, a pair of gloves, and also an umbrella. When “three” is counted, they open the satchels, take out the rubbers, put them on, take out the gloves, put them on, open their umbrellas, take the satchels and walk (not run) about one hundred feet to a line. Here they lower the umbrellas, take off their gloves and rubbers, put them in the satchels, close them and return, carrying the satchels and having the umbrellas closed. The first one back to the starting point wins. Other additions may be made.

=The Gentlemen Nurse-maids.= It is best to have several ladies, who know the trick, to dress the dummies, as it is too long a task for one.

When the gentlemen are seated, carefully blindfold each one, and request him to double up his right fist. Upon the back of the fist mark the eyes, nose, and mouth of a face with a burnt match or a little water-color. Tie around this a doll’s cap, or a lace frill or muslin ruffle, and fasten around the wrist a full white apron or skirt. Bend the left arm to lie across the waist, and put the right fist into the inner bend of the elbow, drawing the apron down over the right arm, and each of the blindfolded gentlemen will appear to be tenderly nursing a young baby. Have blindfolds removed.

=New Year’s Resolutions for Others.= The simplest entertainments are often the most successful. The literary efforts are sometimes desirable, but for a really enjoyable, social time, the following is sure to be a success. This should be arranged on New Year’s eve. Resolutions for improvement in conduct for the coming year are then in order. Supply your guests with pencil and paper. A party invited to see the old year out is quite sure to be an intimate one. For the resolutions, have each guest write a set of them for some one else in the party. This may be decided by inviting each one to write of his neighbor or by writing the names on paper and letting each one draw his subject. They are to be collected and read to the company. The writer is at liberty to sign any name to his resolutions.

=Can You Draw a Watch-face?= Some people have the happy faculty of seeing what they look at, others go through the world blindly. We may look at a familiar object numberless times, and yet be ignorant of many of its striking characteristics. An amusing little test of this faculty can be arranged. There is no object with which we should be more familiar than the face of a watch, yet when we attempt to reproduce it, we will be astonished at our ignorance.

Have prepared squares of cardboard with pencil attached. If it is designed to use them as souvenirs, one side may be decorated, and the date and occasion written on it.

Provide one of these for each guest, and when you are ready for your entertainment request each of the company to draw on the blank side, the face of a watch as he can remember it. It is well to furnish something to use as a guide for the first circle, as that has very little to do with the memory of detail, and only rarely is one able to draw even an imperfect circle. Allow all the time required, and when the papers are collected, a committee can judge on the merits, if it is designed to give a prize.

=The Endless Thread.= The joker is seen walking about, until some one observes a piece of white cotton thread sticking on the back of his coat. Of course, the unfortunate individual is asked whether he has been sewing his buttons on, etc., being generally laughed at, until some one attempts to remove the piece of cotton. Then the laugh is turned, for, as the obliging gentleman pulls the cotton away from the joker’s coat, so does it become longer until some hundreds of feet have been extracted. The amusement is then brought to a climax by the gentleman turning round and drily remarking, “Well, I never! You had better start putting that back now!”

Before entering the room, the party that is going to play the joke should provide himself with a reel of white cotton. Without breaking the cotton, two or three feet must be unwound and threaded through a needle, which must be passed through the centre of the back of his coat. Then the reel should be deposited in his inside breast pocket, and the coat put on; afterwards pulling a little of the cotton through the garment to see that the reel works properly; the needle, of course, being removed, and the cotton being cut until only two or three inches project through the coat at the back. Now it will appear that the cotton is only sticking to the nap of the coat, but as soon as any one pulls, the reel will revolve and allow the thread to be dragged out until the supply is exhausted.

=The Telltale Glass.= Procure an ordinary glass tumbler, and invert it on the table. Then request anybody present to lend you a penny. Placing the coin on the top of the glass, you leave the room, telling the company at the same time, that if a person will take the penny and conceal it, you will tell them, when you return, which person has it.

Some one having concealed the coin, you make your appearance, and request each one round the table to place his first finger on the glass, one after another, and not all at once. This done, you take up the glass, and place it to your ear, remarking at the same time that, by the aid of the sound which you hear, you will be able to tell which person has the coin. Then you listen for a second or two, put down the glass, and turning to the person who has the coin, make some remark, such as “Mr. —--, please give me the penny.” Whereupon the person addressed produces the coin and hands it to you.

How you got to know who possesses the coin will seem remarkable to the company, you having been out of the room when the coin was taken off the glass and concealed.

This is how it is done: when you tell the persons to place their fingers upon the glass, your confederate, who is one of them, must place his on after the person who has the coin.

=Pairing Ten Half-dimes.= Place ten half-dimes in a row upon a table. Then taking up any one of the series, place it upon some other, with this proviso, that you pass over just ten cents. Repeat this till there are no single half-dimes left.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 half-dimes.

Place 4 upon 1, 7 upon 3, 5 upon 9, 2 upon 6, and 8 upon 10.