Cassell's Book of In-door Amusements, Card Games, and Fireside Fun. Various

Truth 150

      PARLOUR MAGIC.

	PAGE
Conjuring	151
Simple Deceptions and Minor Tricks	152
Card Tricks and Combinations	153
Conjuring with and without Special Apparatus	167
Clairvoyance or Second Sight	178
Ventriloquism and Polyphony	180

      FIRESIDE FUN.

	PAGE
Decapitations	185
Curtailments and Retailings	186
Anagrams	189
Word Squares	191
Birds, Fruits, and Flowers Enigmatically Expressed	192
Rebuses	193
Arithmorems	194
Diamond Puzzles and Word Puzzles of Various Shapes	196
Cryptography	197
Chronograms	198
Logograms	200
Metagrams	202
Word Capping	203
Paragrams	203
Extractions	204
Transpositions	204
Definitions	205
Inversions	206
Hidden Words	206
Numbered Charades	208
Letter and Figure Charades	210
Verbal Charades	211
Acrostics	211
Enigmas	213
Alphabetical Puzzles	215
Guessing Stories	216
Mental Scenes	217

      CASSELL'S

      Book of In-door Amusements.

ROUND OR PARLOUR GAMES.

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      It is certainly a matter of regret that the names of most of the good people to whom we are indebted for the introduction of our favourite old-fashioned Round Games are buried in obscurity, for they deserve, in our estimation at least, the name of benefactors quite as much as any great discoverer or inventor. What higher aim could they possibly have had in view than that of teaching people how to enjoy themselves? It has been said that in the world there are two great heaps, one of human happiness, and the other of human misery, and that we are all engaged the whole day through in taking a portion from one heap and carrying it to the other. Surely the portion carried from one heap to the other by the kind folk who have at various times furnished us with our amusements must by this time be one of considerable size, and in spite of their names being unknown to us, we will ever feel grateful to them for contributing so largely to our enjoyment of life. A long time ago it was observed of the English as a race that they took their pleasures sadly; but we will hope that henceforth the observation may be applicable to past generations only, and that our readers at any rate will resolve that when they play they will play heartily, just as when they work they will work heartily. To the really hearty players, therefore, we have great pleasure in handing our collection of Round Games.

ACTING PROVERBS.

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      In this game each player may take a part, or if thought preferable, the company may divide themselves into actors and spectators. The actors then each fix upon a proverb which is to be represented by every one of them individually. There is to be no connection between them in any way. Each one in turn has simply to act before the rest of the company the proverb he has selected. The first player might, for instance, come into the room holding a cup in his hand; then, by way of acting his proverb, he might repeatedly make an appearance of attempting to drink out of the cup, but of being prevented each time by the cup slipping out of his hands, thus in dumb show illustrating the proverb, "There's many a slip between the cup and the lip." The second might come into the room rolling a ball, a footstool, or anything else that would do to represent a stone. After rolling it about for some time he takes it up and examines it with astonishment, as if something were wanting that he expected to find on it, making it, perhaps, too plainly evident to the company that the proverb he is aiming to depict is the familiar one of "A rolling stone gathers no moss." If really good acting be thrown into this game, it may be made exceedingly interesting.

ACTING RHYMES.

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      A word is chosen by the company which is likely to have a good many other words rhyming with it.

The first player then begins by silently acting some word that will rhyme