ring is passed from hand to hand, and the hunter's business is to find out in whose hand the ring is.

HUNT THE WHISTLE.

A boy who has never seen the game played is elected hunter; the others seat themselves on the ground, as in hunt the slipper. The hunter having been shown the whistle, kneels in the centre of the circle, and lays his head in the lap of one of the players until the whistle is concealed. While he is in this posture, the whistle is to be secretly attached to the back part of his jacket or coat, by means of a piece of string and a bent pin. One of the players now blows the whistle and drops it, and the hunter, being released, is told to find it; but this is no easy task, as he carries the object of his search about his own person. As the hunter kneels in the centre of the group, the different players blow through the whistle and drop it, as the opportunities occur. The puzzled hunter is sometimes fairly tired out before he discovers the trick that is played upon him. We need scarcely say that the whistle should be very small and light.

MAGIC MUSIC.

This is a very similar game to hot boiled beans. One player having been sent out of the room, the others arrange some simple task for him to perform on his return. When this has been done, he is summoned by the magic music which is played by one of his comrades, either by tapping a tea-tray with a key, or by rattling the poker and tongs together. The boy who has been sent out of the room must perform his appointed task under the guidance of the musician, who so regulates his performance on the rude instruments that the music gets loud and noisy when the puzzled player does what he ought not to do, and grows soft

and quiet when he does anything towards the performance of his task. To render this game more intelligible, we will suppose the task to be the removal of a certain chair from one room to another. The player having entered the room is saluted by the magic music, the unmeaning clatter of which only confuses him at first. He walks towards the side of the room where the chair is stationed, and as he approaches it the clatter grows fainter; this informs him that he is in the right path. He touches the table, but removes his hand at the sound of the music, which suddenly gets terribly noisy. He touches the chair; the music ceases. He now knows that he is expected to do something with this particular chair, so he very naturally sits down upon it, but he jumps up directly he hears the "clatter, clatter, clatter," of the music. He lifts the chair, and as he does so the music grows soft again. He now turns the chair upside down; carries it into the middle of the room; places it on the sofa; but all to no purpose, as he cannot stop the continual clatter of the magic music. At last he carries the chair into the adjoining room; the music ceases, and his troublesome task is accomplished. In this noisy but amusing game the players go out of the room, and have tasks set them in turns. The musician generally retains his office throughout the game.

MY LADY'S TOILET.

This game of forfeits is suited for a large party of boys and girls. Each player chooses the name of some article belonging to a lady's toilet, such as "mirror," "brush," hair-pin," "scent-bottle," and so on. One of the players then takes a wooden trencher, or any other circular object that is not liable to be broken, and twirls it round in the centre of the room, naming at the same

time some toilet article, upon which the player who bears the name of such article, starts from his seat and endeavours to catch the trencher before it falls, failing to do which he pays a forfeit and takes the spinner's place. The person who spins the trencher generally prefaces the name of the article with some such sentence as "My lady is going out for a walk and wants her scentbottle." When the word "toilet" is called out by the trencher-spinner, all the players change their seats, and as the spinner takes care to secure a place, one player necessarily finds himself without one, and has to pay a forfeit and twirl the trencher. If a player can catch the trencher before it falls he has no forfeit to pay, but he takes the spinner's place, just as though he had failed to accomplish this feat.

ORANGES AND LEMONS.

Two players take hold of each other's hands, and hold their arms up in the form of an arch, whilst the others, taking hold of each other's jackets, pass underneath. During the passage the players who represent the arch chant the following ditty :—

Oranges and Lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's.
You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's.
When will you pay me? say the bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch.
When will that be? say the bells of Stepney.

I do not know, says the great bell of Bow.
Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

And here comes a chopper to chop off the last, last,
last man's head.

Then as the last player attempts to pass through the arch, the hands descend upon him, and he is asked whether he will be oranges or lemons. According to his answer he is placed in the left or right corner of the room. The game continues until all the players

are caught, when they are divided into two parties— oranges versus lemons. They hold each other round the waist, the two foremost players grasping hands. The side that then pulls all its opponents across a line wins the game.

POST.

This exciting game may be played by an unlimited number, and is particularly adapted for a large party. One of the players, called "the postman," has his eyes bandaged as in blind man's buff, another volunteers to fill the office of "postmaster-general," and all the rest seat themselves round the room. At the commencement of the game the postmaster assigns to each player the name of a town, and if the players are numerous, he writes the names given to them on a slip of paper in case his memory should fail him. These preliminaries having been arranged, the blind postman is placed in the centre of the room, and the postmaster-general retires to some snug corner whence he can overlook the other players. When this important functionary calls out the names of two towns, thus "London to Halifax," the players who bear these names must immediately change seats, and as they run from one side of the room to another, the postman tries to capture them. If the postman can succeed in catching one of the players, or if he can manage to sit down on an empty chair, the player that is caught, or excluded from his place, becomes postman. The postmaster-general is not changed throughout the game unless he gets tired of his office. When a player remains seated after his name has been called he must pay a forfeit, or if the game is played without forfeits he must go the bottom of the class, which is represented by a particular chair, and to make room for him all the players who were formerly below him shift their places.

PROVERBS.

One player leaves the room, and while he is absent the rest fix upon some proverb. The words are then distributed among them, and each player in reply to a question asked by the guesser, has to introduce his particular word. When all the words have been introduced, the guesser has to guess the name of the proverb, and another player takes his place. If, however, he cannot make it out, he has to leave the room again.

LIST OF PROVERBS.

A false friend is worse than a bitter enemy.
A penny saved is a penny gained.

A man is known by the company he keeps.
A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
All is not gold that glitters.

A friend in need is a friend indeed.
A good name is better than wealth.
A good word costs nothing.
A little rain lays much dust.

A little spark makes a great flame.

A bird in hand is worth two in a bush.
Better late than never.

Barking dogs seldom bite.

Cut your coat according to your cloth.
Empty vessels make the most sound.
Example is better than precept.
Evil beginnings have bad endings.
Friends are plenty when the purse is full.
Good ware makes quick markets.

Great cry and little wool.

Gather thistles, expect prickles.

Half a loaf is better than no bread.

Hear twice before you speak once.