Book. ,£ S GojyrightN?- COPVKIGHT DEPOSUl ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ^•CI-|ICPwC30G THEDRAMATIC PUBLISHING -COMPANY •t;^^5S. ORAOLEV OEi Practical Instructions tor Private Theatricals By W, D, EMERSON Author of <*A Country Eomance/' '«The Unknown Eival " ** Humble Pie/' etc. * Price, 25 cents Here is a practical hand-book, describing in detail all the accessories, properties, scenes and apparatus necessary for aii amateur production. In addition to the descriptions in words everything is clearly shown in the numerous pictures, more than one hundred being inserted in the book. Ko such useful book has ever been o£eered to the amateur players of anv country. '^ *' '' CONTENTS Chapter L Introductory Remarks. Chapter II. Stage, How to Make, etc. In drawing-rooms or parlors, with sliding or hinged doors. In a single large room. The Curtain; how to attach it, and raise it, etc. Chapter III. Arrangement of Scenery. How to hang it. Drapery, tormentors, wings, borders, drops. Chapter IV. Box Scenes. Center door pieces, plain wings, door wings, return pieces, etc. Chapter V. How to Light the Stage. Oil, gas and eh ^ric light. Footlights, Sidelights, Eeflectors. How to darkei stage, etc. Chapter VI. Stag6 Effects. Wind, Eain, Thunder, B ing Glass, Falling Buildings, Snow, Water, Waves, Case Passing Trains, Lightning, Chimes, Sound of Horses' B Shots. Chapter VII. Scene Painting. Chapter VHI. A Word to the Property Matt. Chapter IX. To the Stage Manager. Chapter X. The Business Manager. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANIT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS / . . Entertainments-; . ■for Every Month b P CcD A Collection for Parties, Weddings, Anniversaries, Luncheons, Dinners, Celebrations, Dances, etc., etc. Arranged in Chronological Order Following the Months of the Year. CS) Copyright, 1916, by The Dramatic Publishing Company Chicago THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING CO. CHICAGO i)a: r'aa. G-Vkii V ©CU427774 APR 19 1916 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pag9 April Fishing Party 52 Arctic Luncheon, An 94 August Birthday Picnic 98 Autumn Authors' Guessing Contest 126 Bryant, William Cullen, Club Luncheon 132 Candlemas Entertainments 18 Children's Circus Party 95 Children's Easter Party 46 Christmas House Party 143 Christmas Night Party 147 December Birthday Party 151 December Club Luncheons (Whittier) 141 Easter Wedding, Brief Description of An, 45 Farm Party 90 Forget-Me-Not Dinner for a Bridal Party 65 Four Seasons' Luncheon 38 Fourth of July Dinner Bl Fourth of July Party 79 Going-away Luncheon 73 Golden Rod Party 100 Halloween Children's Party 121 Halloween Phantom Party 118 Halloween Tricks for an Entertainment 123 Hard Times Lenten Party : 34 Harvest Home Salad ; 110 3 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Home from College Party . . . / 72 Hop Dance 102 House Boat on the Styx Party 118 Inauguration Party 41 Indoor Flower Party for Children 39 January Club Luncheon (Bayard Taylor) 11 July Birthday Party 87 June Birthday Party 76 June Wedding *. 69 Leap Year Dance , 30 Lenten Party 34 Lincoln's Birthday Entertainment 21 Literary Evening for September 107 Little Folks' New Year's Party 8 Married Folks' St. Valentine Game 80 May Day Picnic 58 May Pole Dance 60 May Birthday Party 63 New Year's Week Party for Little Folks 8 November Birthday Party 129 November Club Luncheon (Bryant) 132 October Birthday Party : 115 October Club Luncheon (Riley) 112 October Wedding 116 One-Evening House Party 105 Poe, Edgar Allan, Party 14 Poppy Party 82 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 Page Progressive Dinner 138 Pussy Willow Party 44 Rainbow Fete 52 Rainy Day Reception 49 Riley, James Whitcomb, Club Luncheon 112 St. Agnes' Eve Party 16 -—St. Valentine's Party 27 Seaside Afternoon Tea 93 September Birthday Party 104 September Literary Evening 107 Shakespeare's Birthday Celebration 54 Shakespeare Fortune Telling 57 Spring Butterfly Party 36 Taylor, Bayard Taylor, Luncheon 11 Thanksgiving Suggestions 135 Touring Dinner, A 84 Twelfth Night Revelry 17 ^-Washington's Birthday Party 23 Watching the New Year In 7 Watch Party 17 Whittier, John G., Club Luncheon 141 Entertainments for Every Month ^ ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JANUARY Watching the New Year In A Happy New Year ! New Year's eve is perhaps the most popular of all the evenings of the year for young people's parties. There is a certain period in the life of every person when to sleep on New Year's eve is little less than a crime. If it is the desire to observe New Year's eve the en- tertainment may be a dance. The ballroom should be hung with browned leaves, if it is possible to secure them, representing the dead year. In the reception rooms there should be bells — bells everywhere, bells of flowers, of evergreen, of holly with mistletoe clapper, and tiny silver bells strung on scarlet ribbon and draped in doorways, over lights and wherever drapery is possible. To hang these strands of bells where the guests may shake them as they pass will make the con- stant tinkling effective. In the early portion of the evening a short dance program may be given — a few simple cotillion sets being arranged for the hour or so preceding midnight. There may be a "bell set" danced to gallop music with strands of sleigh bells given to the young men as favors and diamond-dusted paper muffs and boas to the young women. Then, arrange so the final couple will be leading the march around the room just before the hour 8 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH of twelve, dance the Virginia reel or the Sir Roger de Coverly, as representing the "old" in the dance. As the clock strikes twelve the dancers stop. The hostess may be able to secure a vaudeville ''bell- ringer" to come in at this hour to take the place of the orchestra. If so he should be ready to start ' ' Ring Out Wild Bells" with the stroke of the clock. A soprano or tenor may sing the song to this accompaniment and while the song is being sung or played an old man with a long scythe over his shoulder enters and, ignoring the guests, deposits small scythes on the favor table or dis- tributes them among the dancers. As he turns to leave the hall the song cha^iges to Tosti's ''Good-by." The moment he disappears the host enters the room bear- ing upon his shoulders a small child gai'landed with flowers and the holiday greens and bearing a basket filled with small, filled hour-glasses, which the child either distributes or places by the side of the scythes on the favor table. The song changes for something happy — a New Year's song, a welcome or spring song or Mrs. Bond's ''Where Youth's Eternal." Then someone calls "All two-step" and the dance repre- sentative of the "new" begins. After this the guests are taken to the lower floors of the house, or wherever supper is to be sen-ed. Here, after the idea of the new, greens and flowers should be used in plentiful decoration, and the supper should be served at small tables. For souvenir place cards use fancy calendars. New Year's Week Party for Little Folks. After the ice has been broken the hostess of the week may find the youngsters in a state which would make special entertainment plans in their honor very ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JANUARY 9 unwise. However, if this is not the case, there is no reason why the year for the little folks of the house- hold should not be started with as much fun as for the elders. In planning a children's party the wise mother will consult one of the many young women who make chil- dren's entertainment a specialty, for games will give greater delight than anything else and from the list which these entertainers have in their stock the mother may make her choice according to the tastes of the little guests. For instance, there are the young women who tell stories for the youngsters, others who sing songs and give readings which bring delight to little minds, and others who have innumerable games to dance or play. There is nothing new in the way of New Year's decorations, and the cupids, bells and holiday greens may be used for a children's party much after the same fashion that decorations are arranged for a party for older folk. It is a great mistake to think that the youngsters do not appreciate these better decorations. As a matter of fact, an extra touch in their honor gives much greater pleasure than it brings to older guests. After the spell has been broken the hostess of the little people may find a ''New Year's hunt" a good idea for entertainment. Hide calendars, bells, hour- glasses, toy scythes and everything else emblematic of the day in out-of-the-way places and give the signal for a hunt. As rapidly as the little guests find a souvenir they must retire to a corner of the room and watch the others as they seek. When every member of the party has found a souvenir the small packages are unwrapped and the little guests find not only the gift but a small piece of paper on which is written a 10 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH motto for the year. This will be a good signal for the discussion of New Year's aims and, if the youngsters are not too young, for the giving of New Year's reso- lutions. When the discussion is at the highest provide slips of paper and small pencils and ask each one to write an aim for the New Year. These will be collected and judges will pass upon the highest aim and a prize will be awarded after all the aims have been read aloud. When the time for the serving of refreshments comes the dining room should be decorated in bells and poin- settia, the scarlet always being attractive to small eyes. In the center of the table have a doll dressed as an old man bearing in his arms the cake and on the top of the cake a tiny doll dressed to represent the new year. This idea is another version of the Twelfth Night cake idea, which has been used, but which does not grow old where youngsters are concerned. In the cake bake various small gifts, which will be a constant source of surprise to the lucky ones. In one side bake a small slip of paper which tells the youngster receiving this particular piece that he or she is entitled to the old man doll and in the other side a corresponding slip en- titling the finder to the baby doll. If the hostess desires the New Year's mottoes may be left out of the hunt and reserved for the close of the afternoon. If this is done arrange a great bell with as many ribbons as there are guests and hang these from the interior of the bell. When the refreshments have been served let each child pull a ribbon, and with the ribbon, as it unfastens, will tumble do^^^l a bit of paper, on which is written the motto to be remembered during the year. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JANUARY 11 January Club Luncheon. A Bayard Taylor Luncheon of the Nations. Bayard Taylor was born at the quaint village, Ken- nett Square, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1825. His repu- tation as "the great American traveler" makes the ar- rangement of the program and detail for this poet lunch- eon unusually fine. From his first great journey to Eu- rope, made in the middle forties, to his death in Berlin in 1878, Bayard Taylor gave to the world a series of travel volumes and stories which are fascinating in style and so varied in scope and experiences that the sophisticated and untraveled have been wont to dub him an American Munchausen. Taking the truth and the untruth of the volumes, however, they form a series so interesting that his ability as a poet and novelist is overshadowed by his fame as a traveler. Representative of his book on '*A Journey to Cen- tral Africa, the Lands of the Saracen," have an Afri- can table. His "Visit to India, China., and Japan" makes an Oriental table very appropriate and his * * Summer Pictures of Sweden, Denmark and Lapland ' ' will make a pretty Scandinavian table. An American table should be added and possibly a European table, if an extra one is needed, but the countries chosen will give an oddity of entertainment which the English, French and Italian tables have lost through much use. For the toasts choose from each table a speaker to give a bit of experience of travel — personal, if possible — from the country the table represents. Or a descrip- tive sketch from the works of Taylor which have been mentioned may be made interesting. At the close of the service or between courses a short program of 12 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH vocal or instrumental music representative of the various countries should be given. Eveiy course should, in its turn, be representative of the countries, likewise. For instance, the famous In- dian soup — MuUigatawaiy — may open the luncheon, or, to be more strictly proper in the choice of the open- ing course for a luncheon, there is Scotch broth. The fish course may be heralded from America and New England, at that, as the first of the American strong- holds. This course may be codfish steak in New Eng- land style, served mth well-buttered johnny-cake. Africa should be represented in the meat course, and any one favored with an old black mammy some place along the family line may have a number of good old dishes to draw upon. Belgian hare or rabbit may be served to look like 'possum, although the rabbit itself, with the good luck its left hind foot is supposed to carry for the African native, is an appropriate and ap- petizing dish. With this, of course, must be served sweet potatoes. For the salad serve Brussels sprouts or Jerusalem artichokes with East Indian pickles. The dessert may hail from the frozen north, and nothing will better carry out the general idea of the ice and the snow than the dessert which the youngsters of Norway are wont to call **pif-paf. " This is served much like charlotte russe — in bowls or cups and eaten with a spoon — from which its nanie is derived. It is made of quantities of whipped cream, slices of cake and rich, red raspberry preserves. The whipped cream is dropped in the bottom of the bowl, the slices of cake are thrust into this and the preserves are dropped over this in little mounds. This is repeated — the cream, the cake, and the preserves — until the bowl is filled. With this may be served Russian tea, sweetened with pre- ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JANUARY 13 serves, if American stomachs can withstand this on- slaught, or the sweetening, which is characteristic, may be omitted. The bonbons for this affair may be the Chinese sweets, or the sweets of every country, may be chosen. The decorations for the tables, of course, must rep- resent the countries. For the American table, red, white and blue, with the menu cards bearing this quo- tation from the poet's ''Incident of the Crimean War" — ' ' Forgot was Britain 's glory. ' ' For the other tables the colors of the countries may be carried out or the representation may come through the flora of the country. For Africa go to Taylor's wonderful poem to ''Kilimandjaro," the ''monarch of African mountains" — these lines so wonderfully describing the country's variety of growth : Zone above zone — The climates of earth are displayed as an index Giving the scope of the Book of Creation. * ***** From clouds and from cold into summer eternal. * ***** There in the wondering airs of the Tropics Shivers the aspen, still dreaming of cold ; * ***** And the pine tree looks down on his rival, the palm. -. The decoration this suggests may be in contrasts — garlands of pine with potted palms. The same poem gives an appropriate verse for the Scandinavian country, with its mythical gods and its ice and snow: Seats of the gods in the limitless ether, Looming sublimely, aloft and afar Above them, like folds of imperial ermine, Sparkle the snow fields — Desolate realms, inaccessible, silent, 14 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Chasms and caverns where Day is a stranger. Garners where storeth hi:: .reasures the Thunder, The Lightning his falchion, his arrows the Hail. To the student of mythology and the Wagnerian "Ring" series, this verse — or these lines — will appeal particularly. The Oriental table, of course, may be the proverbial "bower of beauty," with chrysanthemums and cherry blossoms and the other splendid flowers to draw upon. This part-line from "The Phantom" may be used in description: " — the shade and the sunshine chase each other — at my feet." Edgar Allan Pee Party. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, January 19, 1809, and ranks among_ America's most famous men of letters. His one poem, "The Raven," had he written nothing else, would entitle him to an envied place among the world's poets. The guests should be given, with their in\itation, the old but interesting request to wear some token of Poe — a small raven, a gold-bug, for his story of that name (although that takes it out of the realm of poetry), a valentine, a group of tiny bells, a picture of Venice for "The City in the Sea," a picture of the Coliseum for his poem to this relic of Roman power, a star for his * ' Evening Star ' ' and so on do^vn the list. Poe's eerie expressions give good chance for a phantom party; the titles of his poems alone make possible the arrangement of an excellent series of living pictures, the poems to be read in illustration. Either of these form good material for a unique entertainment. The tables for cards or refreshments may be made very effective and odd. "The Bells" give an idea for ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JANUARY 15 one table; the poem to n, ''Valentine," another; his "Bridal Ballad" suggests all kinds of dainty ideas for the decoration of another table, and, of course, the central table must be decorated in honor of ''The Raven." Between courses these poems might be read in turn, the reader to be seated at the table thus hon- ored. The place-card mottoes for each table should be selected from the poem after which the table is decor- ated. So soon after the holidays the bell place-cards, large enough to serve as menu cards also, should be plentiful and with Valentine's day dra^ving so near small folders, the outside cover of which is a valentine, may be secured easily for the valentine table. "The Raven" table may have place-cards of white on which a raven is painted or ravens may be cut from black cardboard and the menu written in white ink thereon. The refreshment menu may begin with a clear bouillon sprinkled with parsley, and choose for the de- scriptive line, "A green isle in the sea," from the poem ' ' To One in Paradise : " If fish in any form is served — soft shell crabs are splendid at this time of the year — take this from "A Dream Within a Dream" — "One from the pitiless wave." .If game is chosen for a part of the service," "Romance" furnishes this line — "Hath been — a most familiar bird." Mushrooms are a dainty which the hot-houses must furnish at this time of year, but which are appreciated all the more be- cause they are rare. Reverting to their natural places of growth, for the menu card take, " — dwells in lonely places," from "Silence." If a meat is chosen, "Tam- erlane" gives "Roaming the forest and the wild." For the salad — "Forms we can't discover," from "Fairy- land," and for the dessert and coffee — "Is but a dream within a dream" from the poem of the same name. 16 ENTERTAIXMEXTS FOR EVERY MONTH Saint Agnes' Eve Party for Young Ladies. The twentieth of January — St. Agnes Eve — ^is a period of prophetic promise for a maiden in search of a husband. An ancient method of divination directs that upon Saint Agnes' Eve one must take a row of pins, pull out one after another and, repeating this eld stanza with every pin, stick them into her sleeve : I stick this pin, this pin I slack. To know the thing I know not yet: That I may see The man that shall my husband be — Not in his best or worst array. Bat what he weareth every day; That I tomorrow may him ken From among aU other men. The maid in question must prove the efficacy of this charm by sleepiug that night in the bodice in which the pins are stuck. The man that she dreams of will be the man she will marry. The idea can be used successfully for guest-eards. Have the cards of white parchment decorated with lit- tle scarlet hearts. Write guests' names and the magic lines with gold ink. Another idea for Saint Agnes' Eve party would be to have a large nosegay of rosemary and thyme in the center of the table. Tie the nosegay with very delicate blue ribboD, and scatter little pink paper hearts all over the cloth. Decorate the candle-shades with little pink and gold hearts, and for souvenirs have a pair of tiny gilded wooden shoes at every comer. At the close of the refreshments each girl must take a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of thyme, sprinkle them thrice with water, then place one in each little wooden ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JANUARY 17 shoe. The shoes are to be taken home with the sprigs undisturbed, and that night placed one on each side of the bed. The dreams that are dreamed that night are to be taken very seriously. . A Watch Party. An amusing play upon words may be worked into an interesting New Year's week party by issuing invi- tations to a ** watch party." This may be for any hour of the afternoon or evening and may be a luncheon or dinner as desired, the idea being to have toy watches as decoration and the whole plan of the entertainment built around the watch. Twelfth Night Revelry. The sixth of January is Twelfth night or, as it used to be called in those far away days, ' ' Old Christmas. * ' In ancient times it was customary to keep up the Christmas revelry until the 6th of January, or ** Twelfth night," w^hen the feasting and gayeties were brought to a close by a magnificent masked ball and every vestige of the Christmas greens was taken down and buried with befitting ceremonies. Thus the evil spirits were propitated and no harm would befall the household during the ensuing year. There was always a *' mystery" cake containing two beans; the man get- ting this queer little emblem of favor was proclaimed king and the woman was the queen. They were then costumed in royal robes with crowns and scepters. Favors may be put in besides the beans, so as to add z.est to the cake cutting for other guests. With this outline the hostess may build a pretty en- tertainment to close the holiday season of celebrating. 18 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH _ ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY. Candlemas Entertainments. February second brings the last echo of Christmas, and although the day is not one of general celebration, some few countries adhere to its observance as strictly as to Christmas day itself. In its ecclesiastical mean- ing the day is of importance in the Roman Catholic church, its very name being derived from the fact that on this day a procession of lighted candles is given and those required for the remainder of the year are consecrated. But the day has many meanings aside from its church significance. It is a civil day in Scotland and old weather-watchers have many prognostications hovering about the day. The Scotch say : "If Candlemas is fair and clear, There'll be twa winters in the year." And the older generations of Americans, the great majority of whom were reared on farms, will remem- ber the regular investigation on that day of the corn- cribs and the haystacks and other places where the food for the cattle and horses has been put for the win- ter, for the day meant that the ^\inter was half over and — Candlemas day Half your corn and half your hay. already used, meant the supply would outlast the \vinter. The ancient Romans burned candles on this day to the Goddess Febru, the mother of Mars, and this gives the day a heathen aspect, with a touch of the myth. It was this heathen practice, in fact, that the Pope Ser- ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 19 gius, unable to prohibit because of its ancient observ- ance, turned into a Christian service by having the candles burned to the Virgin Mary instead. This medley of meanings gives the day many ave- nues for entertainment. A dinner with the table laid one-half for winter and one-half for the approaching spring, in observance of the farmers' Candlemas coup- let, could be made a jolly and novel affair for a party of close friends. A shock of corn mounted on a mound of snowballs would make an effective centerpiece, with weathervanes and little gods and goddesses for souvenirs. The table, of course, must be lighted with candles only and there should be a small candle at each place for the fortune-telling, which always follows a Candlemas celebration. For a larger party there can be a medley of contests. The evening should open with what may be termed a ** fruit cake contest." This virtually will mean the finding of partners. Couplets are written, the last word of the first line rhyming with the last word of the second, which must be the name of a fruit. All but this final word is written on one-half of a card and one card is passed to each young woman. The final word — the name of the fruit — is written on the other half of the card and one is passed to a young man, whose duty it will be to find his partner by finding the rest of the couplet. For instance, here are a few rhjines : Through the strains of song and tune, (prune.) Grown in groves of southern state, Is the pressed, nutritious — (date.) When with its first fruit small boys grapple, Who wins the fighfr The luscious — (apple.) A puzzle I bring. What's the very first "rig" 20 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Known to fashion's great world? The leaves of a — (fig.) From worlds of sunny skies I come — I'm green, blue, purple, red — I'm the — (plum.) They say that three's a crowd, but where I tarry one finds the welcome — (pear.) Every hostess may choose her own fruits and rhymes for the number of guests she is entertaining. When the partners have been found, ring the bell for the start on your "progressive medley." The men's cards should correspond in number to the tables, and this will show the partners where to begin. At one table have a contest of the myths. Consult your old schoolbooks on mythology and form a series of ques- tions concerning the old gods and goddesses — which must be gauged according to the educational advan- tages of those who are being entertained. A palmist should be seated at another table, or a clever young person who tells fortunes by cards. This should be the head table and the reading of each for- tune should be limited to a very fcAv minutes, that every guest may progress to this table. The hostess, of course, must ring the bell to tell the moment of pro- gression. In still another room there may be a weather con- test — every guest required to write an ode to some state of the weather or weather prophecies in rhyme. When these have been read and the winners announced — each contest should have a prize attached — the call for re- freshments is given. The dining room should be decorated in candles or after the fashion described above. At the end of the serving souvenir candles should be passed and lighted. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 21 A bright spark in the flame means that the person near- est will receive a letter ; the waving of the flame with- out visible cause means windy weather ; and the slow- ness of the flame to light means wet weather. Long burning of the candle means a happy marriage, short burning an unlucky alliance. Another test of fortune with the candles is the old one where each girl stands three paces from her candle and tries to put it out with the fewest possible puffs. Each puff means an- other year's delay of her marriage. A Lincoln's Birthday Celebration. February twelfth, Lincoln's birthday, is a most fit- ting occasion for exercises in clubs or schools. In preparing the room there is wide scope for varied and effective decoration, and this should be placed in the hands of a capable committee. On the wall above the platform should be hung the largest and finest por- trait of Lincoln obtainable. Let this be wreathed with leaves of laurel or ivy. To the left of it place the date of 1809 in gilt figures on white cardboard, "wreathed with bright flowers; on the right, the date 1865 in black figures on a white ground, wreathed with purple and white immortelles. As Lincoln's death always brings to mind the two other martyred presidents, it is well to have portraits also of Garfield and McKinley in places of honor. Around the room may be hung any available por- traits of generals, or engravings of battles or scenes of the Civil War. Flags and bunting should, of course, be used profusely. Flags may be at half-mast or draped with purple ribbon or immortelles. 22 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH A scroll placed in a conspicuous place should be in- scribed with his immortal words : With malice toward none; With charity for all. One guest may recite Richard Henry Stoddard's poem, entitled. '* Abraham Lincoln." It is the best short description of the man; and a fine example of Lincoln's own oratory- is his "Address at the Dedica- tion of Gettysburg Cemetery." Other extracts from Lincoln's speeches may be used, or brief appreciations of Garfield and McKinley may be recited. If a more entertaining program be desired, an illustrated ballad is a capital way to achieve it. ''Bar- bara Frietchie," by Whittier, may be recited, accom- panied by one or more tableaux. If only one, let it be a representation of the gray-haired wwnan leaning from the window, bravely waving the flag in defiance of the enemy. A very effective musical picture may be arranged as follows: While the pianist plays ''Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," let the curtain slowly rise, disclosing on a pedestal a seated figure of Columbia, holding a large oval portrait of Abraham Lincoln, framed in gold. Columbia should be represented by a fair young girl, with long golden hair, dressed in a Goddess of Liberty costume. The music changes to ''Way down upon the Suwanee River," and a figure representing Slavery glides slowly in and kneels, with supplicating gesture, before the portrait, but slightly to the left. This figui'c may be a symbolic representation of Slavery. Choose a sweet, sad-faced girl and dress her ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 23 simply in a long, flowing robe of gray or tawny ma- terial, with her hands shackled by chains that clank as she makes her supplication. While Slavery still kneels, a figure of War enters at the right. This must be a tall girl of commanding presence, strong features and black eyes and hair. She is robed in black, or very dark -steel-gray, and carries a sword or a musket. She should wear a helmet and should advance with firm, martial tread, w^hile the pianist plays ''The Battle Rymn of the Republic." AVar takes her position, standing at the right of Columbia, and after this. Peace. enters at the back. Peace is robed in pure white, with wings and a gilt crown. A dove should rest on her shoulder, and she should carry an olive branch. She mounts a pedestal behind Columbia and spreads her arms above the group in protecting fashion, while the music changes to ''America." With carefully selected characters this w^hole scene may be made extremely beautiful and effective. If preferred, the musical numbers may be sung by a chorus. George Washington Birthday Party. The guests are invited to come dressed in Colonial costumes, and the rooms may be handsomely decorated with American flags and a picture of Washington should be given a prominent place. While the guests are being received patriotic airs should greet them, played by an orchestra or the very useful victrola. Later, games with prizes may be enjoyed. The Cherry Tree Contest is founded upon the ever famous cherrv tree about which little George could not 24 ENTERTALXMEXTS FOR EVERY MOXTH tell a lie. For it the hostess secures in advance a bough of any green tree — a branch of evergreen will serve — and arranges it upright in a flower pot. She attaches to the branches with silk thread a couple of dozen candied cherries. Each cherry should depend from the boughs by two or three inches of silk. Each member of the company is blindfolded in succession and turned around three times, given a pair of scissors and told to clip from the cheriy tree as .much of the fruit as possible. He is allowed three minutes in which to do his clipping. No player is supposed to feel for or touch the tree with his hands. He simply clips into space wherever he thinks the cherries are. When all players have tried, the person who has the most fruit to show for his three minutes receives a box filled with crystallized fruit of the appropriate variety. For Burying the Hatchet, every candy shop sells, around February 22, little candy boxes in hatchet shape. One of these boxes is the foundation of the third game. The company is divided into sections, one of which adjourns to the hall or a neighboring room, while the other seizes the opportunity to put the hatchet carefully out of sight. The other party then returns and endeavors in five guesses to locate the hatchet. If the persons of the guessing side succeed in telling where the hatchet is hidden, their side wins a point. If not they win nothing. The hiding party now adjourns to the hall and becomes guessers. This con- tinues until each side has guessed and hidden three times. The di^^sion which at the end of this time has won most points receives the hatchet filled with bon- bons. The members of the victorious di^'ision draw among themselves to decide the individual possession of the prize. v ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 25 What do you know about George Washing^ton? 1. In what state was Washington born? 2. In what year was he born? 3. What was the profession of his father? 4. What was the maiden name of his mother ? 5. Did George attend any college? 6. What nobleman was his early patron? 7. Who sent him on his famous journey through the wilderness ? 8. What position did he hold under Braddock? 9. Whom did he marry? 10. How did he act when complimented first on his military services? 11. What year was he made continental commander- in-chief ? 12. Where did he spend the winter of 1777? 13. When was he elected president? 14. How long did he hold the presidency? 15. Did he leave children at death? 16. Where did he die ? 17. Did he hold slaves? 18. Did he approve of slavery? 19. What became of his slaves upon their master's death? 20. By whom was h'^ called ''First in war, first in peace," etc.? Answers: — 1, Virginia; 2, 1732; 3, Planter; 4, Mary Ball ; 5, No ; 6, Sir William Fairfax ; 7, Governor Din- widdle; 8, Aide-de-camp; 9, Mrs. Martha Curtis; 10, Blushed, stammered and could not speak; 11, 1775; 12, Valley Forge ; 13, 1789 ; 14, For two terms of four years each; 15, No; 16, At Mount Vernon; 17, Yes; 18, No; 19, They were set free ; 20, By the House of Representa- tives. 26 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH To arrange for this question feature, cut from water-color paper as many little flags as there are to be guests. Tint the banners red, white and blue upon one side and upon the reverse side write the questions. Prizes for the winners may consist of a volume of Irving 's ''Life of Washington," and a jar of canned cherries — the latter bearing this inscription on a time- stained label ; These cherries were gathered at Virginia, in 1740, from the very tree afterward chopped by George Washington A consolation prize might be a bunch of firecrackers or a toy hatchet. Some of the Toasts for the Evening. Washington. "Oh! well and bravely has he done the work he found to do, To. justice, freedom, God and man, his heart was ever true." Our Soldiers. "Oh! ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves, . While the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls its waves. Some Washington Conundrums. 1. What president had the gi'eatest number of chil- dren? Washington, the father of his country. 2. What trade do all the presidents follow? Cab- inetmaker. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 27 3. In what battle did liquor figure? The battle of Brandywine. 4. Why did Washington never go to bed? Because he couldn't lie. 5. Why did he cross the Delaware ? To get on the other side. 6. Why was he called George? Because that was his name. 7. What styles of pianos did Washington repre- sent? Square, upright, and grand. 8. What man in Washington's cabinet wore the largest hat? The one who had the largest head. 9. What did Washington go into after his forty- fifth birthday? Into his forty-sixth year. ALL SORTS OF FUN FOR ST. VALENTINE'S EVENING. For a Girls' House Party. It is an old custom to make the famous traditional dumb-cake. It is made silently and mysteriously soon after eleven at night, and custom requires that between that time and twelve o'clock each girl should turn the cake thrice in succession, all the while offering silent invocations to the good Saint Valentine. The cake is made of an eggshellful of salt, an egg- shellful of barlej^-meal and an eggshellful of wheat- meal aiid sufficient water to mix. Custom requires that the girls, one after the other, should knead the dough lightly, and roll it into a long strip to be passed three times in succession through the wedding ring of a m.atron married seven years. The dough is then rolled 28 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH out flat and broad, marked with the initials of each girl and set before the fire to bake. On the stroke of twelve the cake is broken into bits, each girl in turn is given a portion to eat and a portion to take away. As my lady eats the dumb-cake she must repeat her wish aloud three times backward, walk upstairs backward, get into bed backward, and sleep with a bit of the dumb-cake under her pillow. All the girls, by the way, must sleep in the same bed, the wed- ding ring being tied to the headboard ; but on the sub- ject of the dreams and visions that will appear to them during the night I rather hesitate to commit myself. The table should be gayly decorated and set in the room with a blazing open fire. For the center-piece have a large wooden cakeboard decorated in the four corners with scarlet paper hearts. Lying across the board in a bed of scarlet carnations have a wooden rolling-pin with gilded handles. Tie the handles with big bows of scarlet ribbon and have the rolling surface decorated with little hearts of scarlet paper. Scatter a shower of scarlet paper hearts over the cloth, and for candle-shades use little fluted cake-pans, gilded. Invert the pans over scarlet candles and finish the shades with fringes of scarlet paper hearts. Write the guests' names on tiny gilded rolling-pins and cake- turners attached by scarlet ribbons to little heart- decorated cakeboards at every cover. A Test of True Love. On St. Valentine's Day or evening have in the cen- ter of the table a large, shallow glass or silver bowl filled Tvith sparkling spring water. Conceal the edges of the bowl with banks of moss and ferns and garlands ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 29 of half-opened rosebuds. Scatter the flowers lightly out over the cloth, and running to every place have true-lovers* knots of pale blue ribbon. Tie the rib- bons at every plate to little ''silver arrows" on which guests' names are to be written, and present each boy and girl with little cups or boats of silver-foil marked with their initials. These mimic boats are to be set floating upon the water and must be intently watched. If a boy's cup advances to a girl's, or a girl's to a boy's, note which makes the chief advances, for if they eventually cling together they will be sweethearts. But little cups are also to be set a-floating, marked as parsons and steered by tiny Cupids, and it is only when the boy and girl coming together find a parson between them that they can look forward with any certainty to marriage. Rose-leaves w4th loose fastenings of tiny baby-blue ribbons can be set floating on the wa.ter-surface instead of the little boats of silver-foil. The floating flower- petals would add a very dainty touch to the charm of a luncheon. A St. Valentine Game. A novel game indulged in at a valentine party re- quired, besides the symbolical decorations, only a tube of photographer's paste, a few pairs of scissors, and a pile of the advertisement pages of some of the cur- rent magazines. Each player was required to com- pose a love poem, a love telegram, or a love story of six lines, using only words cut from the advertisements, and pasted on a blank sheet of paper. A prize was given for the cleverest result. 30 F.XTERTAINMEXTS FOR EVERY MONTH Married Folk's St. Valentine Game. Each Benedict was asked to write a description of his wife's wedding go^vn, to be read aloud when fin- ished and submitted to her judgment. Groans accom- panied the writing of the papers, and much laughter the reading of them. One man said that his wife's dress was dove color, when she said it was rose; and another husband de- scribed his wife's wedding gown as of calico, explain- ing that they eloped in most romantic haste. Cleverest of all was the man who, instead of writ- ing, was warmly applauded for saying that he had seen nothing at his wedding but the look in his bride 's dear eyes. For a little while each Benedict lived over again the joys of his wedding day, and every man declared on leaving that he had spent the most delightful evening of the season. A Leap Year Dance. Only in one year out of four does the opportunity occur to enjoy the frolic and fun that constitute some of the privileges of leap year, and one of the secrets of having "good times" is to know how to take what- ever of pleasure the hour brings. On receipt of an in\dtation, upon which the date of the year is conspicuously written at the top of the sheet, and the words "Leap Year Dance" in the lower left-hand corner, the young women write to the men with whom they wish to dance the German cotillion, requesting that pleasure — though it is wise to inform ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 31 themselves first whether or not the gentlemen in ques- tion have been invited. Many favored swains are the recipients of large boxes from the florists (Avho also have a sense of hu- mor that may be appealed to) containing a diminutive buttonhole bouquet in the midst of many wrappings like a needle in a haj^stack, or one of startling propor- tions, composed of cabbage leaves or rings of white onion or cold slaw cleverly wired to make a burlesque imitation of a chrysanthemum. These, of course, must be worn at the dance, being incumbent as the proper attention to the giver. Upon the arrival of the young men* they crowd to- gether and hold each other's hands, after the manner of some timid debutantes, while the girls give them- selves airs of lofty lords of creation. Once in a while one may copy the type of male creature who refused to dance the early part of the evening, remarking that he "always let the girls look and long for him a little while first.'* The hostess may delegate the duty of receiving the guests upon their entrance to her husband — if he will do so — and stalk about as though disclaiming any re- sponsibilit3^ The men find seats, the girls walk about or stand in groups at the door. As the music strikes up the girls seek the desired partners, often selecting for especial devotion some man whose absence of conceit makes the flattery innocuous. In the pauses of the dance the young women gal- lantly fan their partners for a moment, but soon trans- fer that attention to their own faces, in apparent thoughtlessness, after the manner familiar to ''the gentler sex" as one of the 'Svavs of mankind." 32 EXTERTAIXMEXTS FOR EVERY MONTH Introductions are requested by the girls, who are brought up to the men by host and hostess. When walking about the rooms they offer their arms, which are accepted by the young men, some of whom may have to be instructed in the proper manner of resting but the tips of their gloved hands on the forearms of their escorts at the bend of the elbow. Compliments are in order, and mock declarations, if made so that the fun be enjoyed on both sides. At suppertime the men sometimes get their revenge for any teasing of which they may have been the ob- jects, and, seated at their ease, they sometimes keep their partners running back and forth to the supper table to supply their claims of appetite until they cry quarter. The cotillion may be a "Frolic German," if desired. This has its o^^^l rules. The music is played alter- nately loud and low, slow and fast, and yet faster, which time must, of course, be followed by the dancers. All are supposed to know each other and may choose to favor strangers as well as acquaintances, according to the European custom of regarding ''the roof" as an ' ' introduction. ' ' All, as friends of the hostess, may be considered at least as one's social equals, but only when an introduction is solicited and allowed does the acquaintance continue beyond that evening. When the pleasure of the association has been apparently mutual the young men (the young women at a leap year party) should solicit a presentation from the hostess or a friend of both. Some girls prefer to ''dance doe" instead of having a partner, and occasionally they agree to punish, "freeze out" and condemn to adorn the wall some fel- low who has been conspicuously disobliging in times ENTERTAINMENTS FOR FEBRUARY 33 past and has "danced stag" when some girls were partnerless. This should not be prolonged, however, beyond the limits of a few minutes' harmless ** tease." No greater discourtesy could be offered to a hostess than for one guest to deliberately mar the enjo\TQent of another to gratify a personal revenge — even if no higher prin- ciple were at stake. Among the favors may be small boxes of chocolate cigars and packages of cigarettes of the same confec- tion for the girls — and "housewives" for the men, containing scissors, needles, thread, buttons, etc. Tis- sue paper bonnets and hats of the prevailing fashion will be found productive of amusement if not becoming to the sterner sex, while polo caps, billy-cock hats, Scotch bonnets, Tarn o'Shanters, sombreros, jockey caps and military chapeaux with gorgeous plumes, made of the all-accommodating tissue paper, look very ^'fetching" above the saucy, smiling faces of merry girls. Bonbon boxes, with "Sweets to the Sweet" or other appropriate quotations in gilt lettering on the covers, may be also offered to the gentle swains, and toy pistols and swords (paper-cutters), daggers, etc., will please the fierce fair ones. It is the girls who are clever enough to combine the sparkle of fun and merry aping of manners masculine, while not altogether relaxing the charms of femininity, who may be said to score the greatest success at a leap year party, and the men who in the midst of frolicsome gayety never go too far, and who prove that their gal- lantry and breeding are innate, are remembered with favor when the leap year dance is forgotten. 34 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MARCH. Lenten Hard-Times Party. First of all get broAA^l wrapping paper, such as butchers use for large parcels — the very brownest kind of paper. On this write your invitations with a lead pencil (too poor to use ink). Make your envelopes of the same paper or fold your invitations and seal them with a stamp. Be sure to state in your invitations that it is to be a "hard-times party," as every one is supposed to come dressed to suit the occasion. Next your house must be torn up — carpets taken up, lace curains and draperies of all kinds taken down. If pictures are left hanging make "throws" of newspaper. Use news- paper for all draperies. Take away chairs and substi- tute small boxes. Use large boxes for tables. If cards are to be played use brown paper for score cards and beg, borrow or steal from your neighbors old playmg cards. For refreshments have small turnips, heads of cab- bage or any like vegetable ; hollow them out after care- fully cutting off the tops; roll cand}' or nuts in wax paper; fill the vegetables; replace the tops and fasten with toothpicks. Try to make them look as if they were whole. Serve baked beans in the baking dish, sausage, cider and doughnuts, gingersnaps, peanuts, molasses candy or anything cheap on large boxes cov- ered with paper. Have paper napkins and paper pla,tes. Hire common steel knives and forks and tea- spoons. Use your iron cooking spoons to serve the beans and a large tin dishpan and dipper for serving the cider into tin cups. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MARCH 35 The thing which causes the most amusement, how- ever, is the cake. Have ready a small chopping bowl, bran and flour. Get cheap articles for souvenirs, wrap in paper, tie up, leaving a very long end of string to each parcel, which, of necessity, must be small. Put these parcels in the bottom of the bowl ; fill with bran or sawdust ; round it up high to look like a cake ; then cover with flour to represent frosting. Decorate with red candy. Set your table (or box) with the plates only, or, better still, have nothing on it but the paper. After all are seated, serve the vegetables. The look on children's faces when these are served is very ludicrous until someone discovers the joke. After this, serve other refreshments. When all have finished, take everything off the box and bring on your cake. There must be a string for each guest and all must pull at a given signal. Impress it on them all to pull hard. Their screams of delight — when the bran flies all over them — is well worth the trouble of cleaning up the. muss. Offer a prize for the most poverty-stricken looking guest, and one for the worst hard-luck story — a big apple for one and a bag of popcorn for the other. For entertainment you might have a button sewing and a nail pounding contest. As the company will probably be a large one, divide into sides. Distribute an even number of common agate buttons among the men, with needle, thread and a thimble to each man ; to the ladies give an equal number of nails, a small tack hammer and a block of wood. At a given signal the men begin to thread their needles and the women to pound their nails. The merriment in this contest is indescribable. The side finishing first wins a prize. If the men are the ''winners" they have the privilege of choosing partners for supper and vice versa. 36 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Spring Butterfly Party. If a really dainty party for young people is desired, nothing is prettier than a butterfly affair. To be sure the ''butterfly" part of the entertainment exists in the decoration largely, but contests and games may be brought in and any game is jollier played in dainty surroundings. The invitations are issued on Japanese paper folded and cut to look like a butterfly. The body may be rolled paper. The hostess may bring in Japanese ideas with this butterfly entertainment. While the butter- flies used in decoration may be of every hue, it is well to keep the color scheme of decoration in one tone. At this season a pretty and cheap decoration can be found in the flowering currants. These small yellow flowers are fragrant enough to attract all kinds of bees and butterflies and they will make the rooms beautiful. Use nothing but this in decoration. Over the flowers fix quantities of butterflies, purchased or made, posing them on long wires so that they ^^;ill quiver like real butterflies. This same idea will be carried out in the dining room. The hostess can be dressed as ** Madame Butterfly*' and she can send w^ord to her guests to come attired in like manner if she chooses. To start the evening's program of fun, partners may be selected first. The hostess will have arranged one particularly large bunch of fiowers — almost a bush — in one corner of the room or in the center of the din- ing table. On this she will pose as many butterflies as there are guests. They will be fastened together in pairs and on one will be written the name of a young woman of the party. The other will contain a. com- ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MARCH 37 mand for a performance of some kind which will add to the evening's fun. The young men are sent to the bush and each selects a butterfly, without examining the name or command, of course. He takes the one with the command for. his butterfly and seeks out the young woman whose name is written on the other but- terfly for his partner. It is then their duty, when the time comes, to go through the performance together. **Sing a song," ''give a fancy dance," ''play a duet," or any amusing thing which will not be too embarrass- ing, may be commanded. If it is the desire of the hostess to carry the Japan- ese idea further, the guests — if Japanese costumes are worn — may be seated on mats on the floor and low tables brought in for the service. A complete Japan- ese dinner need not be served. The refreshments may begin with tea and sweetmeats, following Japanese fashion. Just before the low tabl-es and mats are brought in a lot of real butterflies — if they can be ob- tained — might be released in the room. These sweet- meats and tea should be accompanied by rice cakes adorned with butterflies and served on Japanese dishes. More rice in bowls, cooked very dry," after the oriental fashion, and shrimp salad are served and all these must be eaten with chopsticks. Then can come an American ice with cakes cut like butterflies and even a bit of coffee if the hostess feels the stomach of the American guests will demand this. The evening may end with a spring poetry contest with the "butterfly" for the general subject. These compositions — ten or fifteen minutes is given for their writing — are numbered and then read aloud, the guests 38 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH voting on the best production. A prize of John Luther Long's ''Madame Butterfly" is given. A Four Seasons' Luncheon. A four-seasons' luncheon is one of the prettiest en- tertainments "a hostess can give a small party of her women friends. Four rooms of the house should be used in the serving, each room decorated to represent the season chosen. Ea'ch table should represent a course and the course should correspond to the eat- ables in order in the season it represents. For in- stance : One room should be set aside to represent spring. Flowers, artificial or real, should be used in decoration. As spring is a riot of color, no special scheme of color need be used. Apple blossoms will make a dainty table decoration and the place-cards may be plain bits of card with a buttercup run through one corner. At this table may be served the first courses — cherries on the stem, representing the early spring fruit, and lamb broth. Summer in the next room may have roses alone for decoration, or all the flowers which summer brings. Here the place-cards may be a long-stemmed rose, tied with narrow ribbon, on which the name of the guest is written or printed. For this course frog's legs, which are a summer delicacy, may be served, with creamed potatoes and fresh peas. The autumn room may have autumn leaves for the room decoration and chrysanthemums for the table, or vice versa, and here the place-cards may be artificial autumn leaves, on which the name is written or printed. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MARCH 39 Plain white cards, with the leaf painted in the corner, will be quite as pretty also. Oyster salad may be served. The winter table, of course, comes in white, with holly, poinsettia and the greens adding the color. Very small artificial pine trees may be used as the place- cards, with the names printed on the pots. This, too, brings the final course — plum pudding, surmounted with holly sprigs and borne in steaming hot to be cut at the table, and, finally, nuts and coffee. If music is desired, special programs may be ar- ranged for the serving of each course — the Spring Song of Mendelssohn, Maud White 's ' ' The Spring Has Come" or any other song or composition which will represent the seasons. An Indoor Flower Party for Children. During the cold months when outdoors is too chilly for the children plan a flower party in the house for them. One hostess' invitations were prepared on din- ner-cards shaped like some flower, and the little guests were invited to come dressed as flowers. On the event- ful occasion the children of the house also personated flowers. For each arriving guest we had collected materials for making gardens. We gave to each child a medium- sized basket filled with florist's moss. We distributed with the baskets handfuls of cloth or paper flowers and evergreen mounted on toothpicks. Each basket represented a flower-bed to the children, and under the stimulus of '^making the prettiest garden" they ar- ranged their flowers and trees in a way suited to each individual fancy, spending a great part of the after- 40 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY IMONTH noon in this way. They were allowed to take home these "gardens" as souvenirs. The various costumes were exceedingly pretty, though made of cheap materials. The lily-of-the-val- ley was represented by a child in a Avhite dress with green lily leaves of cambric pointed downward and sewed to the skirtband, and pointing upward on the waist. A girdle of the flowers added to the effect. A very tiny girl dressed as a rosebud had her frock thickly strewn with the lightest shade of moss-green leaves. Attached to the neck of the gown was a hood of tarletan; it was covered with rose petals cut out of pink cambric, so that when it was on the head. the baby face was framed in a blossom. Little petal ruffles made the sleeves, and rosebuds were sewed on the little green slippers. Another wee girl was dressed in a go\\Ti of violet tint, and around her shoulders was a medium- tinted green cape, with arm-slits. Her arms to the el- bow were clothed ^dth green pieces looking like folded leaves. A cap resembling a violet blossom was worn, made of a lavender frill, ^vith a green frill over it, and having a green stem. She wore bright yellow cloth slippers. The suit of a little boy dressed as a sunflower was of brown silesia, with a girdle of orange points around the waist. These formed the collar, cuffs and the knee- bands on his knickerbockers. A bro'v\ni cap having a flaring vertical brim of the orange points constituted his headdress. Another little boy came as a bachelor's button, and as these flowers vary in color his garments were as gay as Joseph's coat. The ** knickers'-' were dark blue ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MARCH 41 ones, fringed at the knees ; Yale blue was the color for the blouse, which was fringed at the neck with an over- fringe of white. The sleeves were white, with fringed cuifs. His girdle was of a shade of pink lavender. On his head was a green skull-cap, with little tassels of the other colors of his costume. Little lunch-baskets covered with moss and arbutus blooms were distributed. An Inauguration Party for March Fourth. The ladies and gentlemen or the girls and boys who are invited to this party (for the guests may be younger or older) will be asked to come and represent one of the United States presidents or the wife of one of them. The host and hostess should, if convenient, costume themselves either as President and Mrs. Wash- ington or as the present president and his wife. The decorations of the house will naturally be red, white and blue, with plenty of flags. Take good-sized potatoes and stick them full of tiny flags and suspend from the gas jets; they are really very effective. A confectioner will make red, Avhite and blue cream patties or opera sticks if you order them the day before. Ornament the cakes with small silk flags and tie sandwiches with tri-colored ribbons. A picture of Washington, framed Avith sprays of arti- ficial cherries, which may be purchased at little ex- pense, should be given a prominent place. The supper-table should be spread with a white damask cloth, with old-fashioned candelabra in the center. and at the ends. Sprays of artificial cherries may be fastened to red, white and blue ribbons and draped from the chandelier to the table. Old-fash- ioned China should be in evidence. At one end of the 42 ENTERTArXMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH table place a platter of cold sliced jellied chicken, at the other end a platter of cold tongue. Panned oysters and hot cream biscuit may be served, also orange and apple marmalade, preserved cherries, sliced fruitcake and hot tea. When the guests have been welcomed the hostess, or one of her daughters, may announce that a new history game is to be played; that she holds in her hand a set of cards, each one of which bears the name of a Revolutionary hero. and. that she hopes that her guests are familiar with the names which she has selected as well as w-ith the battles in which the heroes fought. She should then pin to the shoulder of each lady a card bearing the name of a famous Revolutionary bat- tle. Duplicates of the names of these latter cards should be made into a list and pinned upon a sheet in full view of the guests, whose attention should then be called to the first name on the list, which might, for instance, be Ticonderoga. Each man in turn should then be asked the name of the hero of that battle, and the first one to answer correctly have the name ''Ethan Allen" pinned upon his shoulder and be given the privilege of asking the woman bearing the name '/Ticonderoga" upon her shoulder which side was victorious in that battle. If she answers correctly she passes over and takes her place beside him ; if not, the next woman is asked. If her answer is correct she changes cards with the first woman and becomes the partner of the hero of the battle for the old-fashioned Virginia reel and for supper. The second name on the list should then be taken, and so on, until all the heroes have been provided with partners, when dancing or games may be indulged in. ENTERTALXMENTS FOR MARCH 43 ''Washington Pi." Distribute to each guest a pencil and a slip of paper with the following words written upon it : 1. Higtaswonn. 1. Washington. 2. Itesrpden. 2. President. 3. Nutoni Nervon. 3. Mount Vernon 4. Le Yalv Gorfe. 4. Valley Forge. 5. Serrouvy. 5. Surveyor. 6. Wealadre. 6. Delaware. 7. Rechyr Erte. 7. Cherry tree. 8. Rebrafuy. 8. February. 9. Tariopt. 9. Patriot. 0. Sametastn. 10. Statesman. Announce to them that by transposing the letters they will spell a word Avhich is in some way connected vrith. the history of George Washington. The person having the correct answers first or the one having the most correct answers in a given time wins a prize. Any other president may be used in the same man- ner. End the party by all dancing the minuet if possible, or, the Virginia reel will terminate a delightful enter- tainment. 44 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL Pussy- Willow Party. One of the first of the delights of spring is the com- ing of the pussy-Tidllow, and for this reason a pussy- willow party is ideal at this time of year. In the first place the pussy-willow forms a simple decoration, and simplicity should always be the key- note of their parties. The invitations for the pussy-willow party should be written on paper cats — which may be cut out at home and decorated with water color or pen and ink — and on this should read ''Pussy-will oo come to my party, etc?" Or small square invitation cards may be purchased at the stores on which the cats and ''Pussy-will-oo" are found. When the guests arrive they should find the house filled with pussy-willows. In one room the hostess may turn the old donkey game into a cat game by having a large sheet on which is painted a cat, the object being to pin the tail or an ear or a paw as nearly as possible in the right place, when blind- folded. Then there is the old game of cat and mouse, with which most are familiar. The players form a ring, as in "drop the handkerchief." One is left on the out- side of the ring, however, and he is called the cat, and one is put on the inside, and he is called the mouse. The ring of guests begin to dance around, now and then forgetting to keep close together to protect the mouse within the circle, from the cat without. The ring always protects the mouse, by the way. Of course the object of the game is for the cat to catch ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL 45 the mouse, and it is his duty to slip into the circle wherever he sees a weak place or an opening in the ring. When he gets in, the mouse must get out in some way, and then the ring of guests who have, up to that time, been endeavoring to keep the cat out of the circle, turn their attention to keeping him in. If the mouse is caught a forfeit must be paid by the mouse ; if not, then the cat must pay, and two other players are chosen for cat and mouse. Then there can be a rousing game of ''pussy wants the corner," and finally give each some paper and a pencil and ask them to draw a cat. A jury shall de- cide w^hich one proved the best artist and the prize may be a tiny, real kitten with ribbon and bells about its neck. Cards or da3icing may follow, with prizes or favors of cats, candy, china or toys. The dining table may be decorated for the occasion with a center ''sheaf" of pussy-willow, from under which peeps a great old china cat. She holds in her paws a ball of cotton, the threads leading to tiny candy cats which play about the table. Brief Directions for an Easter Wedding. The week following Easter has always been a favorite time for weddings. Here are a few sugges- tions for the girls w^ho may be preparing for such an occasion : All arrangements should be springlike and pretty. White flowers, of course, but daisies, jonquils, daffodils and other spring flowers may be used. A pretty custom is to confine one kind of flower to a room. A canopy under which the couple will 46 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH stand may be made from wire, winding it with green and then studding it with white flowers. Form an aisle of broad white satin ribbon and use white candles in every available place. The stair banisters may be wound with green and a great bunch of white flowers tied to the newel post. It is a pretty idea to have one or two little flower girls carry baskets filled with white rose petals to scatter in the pathway of the bride. At a wedding of this kind the attendants must be gowned in white and the refreshments may be carried out almost entirely in white. Have the ice cream in egg-shaped forms in nests of straw-colored spun sugar ; or it can be served in cases shaped like white lilies. Candles of white in glass holders, white flowers, and all the gas or electric globes shaded with white, will make a dining room befitting the occasion. Of course, green vines and ferns must be used as a background for the white flowers. Children's Easter Party. Easter parties of all others appeal most to children, because of the bunnies and chicks, the lovely spring flowers and Easter eggs, that' are in evidence in all sorts of delightful surprises. The invitations may bi simple. Cut cardboard in egg shape and write the invitations in green to the boys, and in violet for the girls. At a children's Easter party last year the first thing on the program was a game called ^'Hen and Little Chicks." One end of the room was cleared of all ohsti'uetioiis in the way of furniture, and tacked on ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL 47 the wall was a large sheet of white paper, on which had been sketched a life sized hen done in natural colors with crayons. Whisps of straw were scattered around the hen and in the straw were a number of eggs chipped open. On the table was a basket filled with little chicks, one for each child. They were rough sketches of yel- low chicks on pasteboard cut out. The children se- lected a chicken and called out the number on it to the hostess, as instructed. Then in turn they were blindfolded and at the signal — a clap of the hands^ the wafer on the back of the chick was moistened and stuck on the sheet of white paper somewhere, each child hoping its chicken would land near an eggshell. As the players returned from this performance, they were led to a chair, and not till the last chick had been stuck on were the handkerchiefs removed. Prizes were awarded to the child who had placed its chick in the most comical positiori. Playing store proved to be a delightful novelty at one Easter party I know of. After the little ' company had all arrived the hostess requested the boys to choose their partners and march to a table at the other end of the room. There^ they found a col- lection of pink envelopes, each with a child's name on it and inside they found what looked like a lot of gold dollars. Gold paper had been cut in round pieces for money. They were in different sizes, from a dollar to a twenty dollar piece. Then a curtain was drawn side from an alcove window in the parlor, disclosing a little store stocked with Easter novelties. Attached to a cluster of ribbons all colors of the rainbow and of un- even lengths, were eggs in as many alluring colors, with pretty designs on them. These designs were cut 48 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH from paper, laid on the egg and outlined in India ink, then the coloring applied with a brush. Spring green, sky blue, pink, yellow and violet were the attractive colors that set off the white designs. Some eggshells were circled with rabbits joining paws and in different sizes, from the mother bunny to the tiny baby rabbit. There were flights of birds and of butterflies in colors, the eggshells showing only the faintest hint of a color. These eggs were a gold dollar apiece. Then, on the counter, right in front of the children, was a collection of little eggshell novelties that were different prices. A *' bunny" that stands on his hind legs is cut from cardboard. Half an eggshell, gilded, is glued between his hind feet to serve as a match hold- er. A ribbon in green or \iolet runs under the shell and reaches to either forepaw, where it is glued in place. He wears a ribbon necktie, has features made with black ink .and ears fashioned from stiff writing paper and glued in place. There were many other interesting articles ingen- iously contrived with card board — eggshells and wa- ter colors, as a penwiper, ^'Humpty Dumpty," a rat, Mother Goose, a little Chinaman, etc. The saleslady was the little hostess. Little bonbon snappers were sold which when pulled out revealed gay little caps and fans. The children put their caps on and the boys pinned on their boutonnieres of spring flowers. They blew the whistles they had purchased and the girls waved their fans as they all joined in a grand march, the egg purchases being left for safety in the store until they should take their departure. The refreshments for Easter parties need not be at all elaborate; their noveltv of arrangement and serv- ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL 49 ing will be far more appreciated than the number of viands. You might have all the refreshments on the table at once — thin slices of bread and butter, sandwiches, nuts and tiny cups of chocolate, cake and ice cream. Have plates of sandwiches with different fillings, and stand- ing beside each a brown candy rabbit with its ears pricked up holding aloft on a paper banner a sand- wich name — egg, banana, chicken, lettuce, tongue, ham,, nuts, or whatever the filling may be. A novel way to serve the ice cream would be to make small wheelbarrows out of sponge cake. Bake the cake in thin sheets and cut to shape the three sides and bottom. Run in toothpicks to connect them. The wheels are rounds of the cake with slashes cut out for the spokes and toothpicks run through the axle into the bottom. Long slender pieces of macaroni make the handles to the barrow, and its contents are ice cream shaped like an egg by pressing the cream into an egg holder or molding it carefully into an oval with two large spoons. A Rainy Day Reception. No matter if the sun shines brightly, invitations for this party should be delivered by a boy in a yellow hat, a raincoat and he must carry a large umbrella. The invitation may read: "You are invited to attend a reception given by Mr. and Mrs. George Jones, 100 Lake Boulevard, Tues- day, April — at — o'clock in honor of Jupiter Fluvius. Rainbeaux furnished." After all the guests are assembled, direct attention to a sign, "Weather Bureau," over a booth fitted up in 50 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH the reception hall. Surmounting the booth should be an immense weathercock, while the walls of the ''office" are covered with maps, thermometers, barometers, etc. At a desk, covered with official-look- ing papers, a youth with a badge reading, "Govern- ment Official," gives to each guest a "Forecast." Un- like the Department maps, however, there are on the "Forecast" only four stations, denoted by the fol- lowing names : 1. Lightning Forks. 3. Debatable Ground. 2. Rainbow Haven. 4. Calm. At such a party in one corner of the sheet was painted the arc of what would have been a tiny rain- bow had the colors been arranged correctly. We were told' that each lady must find for a partner the man the colors of whose pseudo-rainbow were ar- ranged like hers. In the lower right-hand corner of the sheet was the following statement : "Indications — You are invited by the United States Weather Bureau to make a tour of inspection of the various important stations. Change partners after each visit. Register credits allowed each station. This report to be returned to the Bureau." "Lightning Forks" found us in the alcove of the library, where an official gave to each of us a tiny tissue-paper umbrella, with the jocular and original assurance that it was "good for a rainy day." At- tached to the handle of each umbrella was a slip of paper on which was written a quotation. Inspection J disclosed a "rainy" idea in each quotation, as: " "Into each life some rain must fall." j "Rain, rain, go away; come again some other day." ^ ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL 51 Partners were directed to combine their quotations into a nonsense rhyme. The fun waxed hilarious when the jumbles were read and credit duly assigned in the ''Forecasts." On entering" the station "Rainbow Haven'* we found ourselves again in the reception hall, where our while her partner slowly turned the umbrella she tried hostess had opened a large Japanese parasol. In a box near by were seven hoops, each wound with one of the rainbow colors. Each girl in turn took the hoops, and to throw each hoop over the point. As soon as she had thrown one successfully she had to yield her place to the next player. Inside the umbrella were pasted slips of paper which told the fortunes of the girl ac- cording to the color of the hoop which she had thrown. Following are tw^o of the verses: If orange hoop is o'er me thrown, The maid shall pass through life alone. The yellow hoop betokens sorrows, Sad yesterdays and drear to-morrows. After this contest the company went into a com- mittee of the whole, and there followed an inpromptu debate ("Debatable Ground") as to the desirability of the different fortunes. This debate caused much gayety, especially since one of the engaged girls hap- pened to throw the orange hoop. Reports on Forecasts were then delivered for in- spection, and flags of white, signifiying "Calm," were given the guests. On one side of the white flag was written the following : "Fare To-night "tn these, thy salad days, when thou art green in judg- ment of Weather Signs — expect a Hot Wave followed by a whiff of a Blizzard" — 52 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH which, being interpreted into a light repast, meant salad, coffee and ices. After refreshments the ** Government Official" aji- nounced prizes, the first being a copy of ''Talks About Weather," and the booby prize a picture of an Indian, with the title ''Rain-in-the-Face." A Rainbow Fete. The extensive grounds and the trees are hung with lanterns of the colors of the rainbow. There are seven tables, also decorated to represent the seven colors of the rainbow, presided over by young ladies dressed in corresponding tints. Cool drinks, frozen fruits and flowers are dispensed by girls wearing orange-colored costumes, and a musi- cal program given, consisting of songs, dances and in- .strumental music by a chorus of make-believe gipsy girls. An April Fishing Party. "When every little wave has its nightcap on." Mr. and Mrs. John Brown request the pleasure of your company at a fishing party April — , at 8 p. m. at her home, 28 Roscommon Road. NOTE. — Kindly wear something rep'-'esenting your favorite specimen of the finny tHhe. On entering the home of our hostess we found everything had been arranged with a view to taking the thought back to delightful and real fishing excur- sions. The walls were draped in sea green, the doors ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL 53 and windows curtained with sea green and the lights shaded with green. Seaweed and moss decorated the alcove; a collec- tion of shells filled one corner; tall water lilies made of white and green tissue paper another, and goldfish sported in two jars beside the fern pots. Each guest was given a number, a slip of paper and a pencil. The gentleman sought out the lady bearing the same number as his own, and together they went fishing after the meaning of the devices worn by each guest. The fun and interest never waned. A tall girl carried a slender cane, and on the back of her, white silk waist was outlined a capital L in red velvet ribbon. It was only those familiar with the different fishes who guessed that she represented the species which builds under water a thatched habita- tion like a swallow's nest — the stickleback (stick-1- back). A pretty blonde wore, suspended by a blue ribbon, a mysterious little package. On the white wrapping paper was written, ''From Glasgow to New York via steamship 'Lucania,' C. 0. D." She was supposed to be a codfish. A brunette with cutrglass bottle of smelling salts, of which she made free use, was a smelt. A tiny bell suspended to a bit of wood marked a bar- bell; a diminutive salmon hid itself slyly among the corals of a necklace ; the goldfish was a nugget worn as a pin, and a little sword worn by a young man de- noted the swordfish. A gentleman with his wife's ring hanging to his watch-guard was a herring (her-ring) ; a string of tiny fish cut from silver paper marked Miss Minnows. B-flat stood for a flounder ; a shoebrush hanging from a matron's girdle for a shiner. 54 EiNTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Every known and several unknown specimens of the finny tribe were represented. It was great fun to see a slim professor going about gravely inflating the toy balloon he carried, that all might see the word ** Yar- mouth'* on it and know him as a Yarmouth bloater. The refreshments consisted of salmon and lobster salads, biscuits and shrimps, pickles hot of taste and green of color ; sea-foam, a delicious ice ; Scotch bread cut in the shape of fishes; layer cake adorned with turtles made of raisins with cloves for heads, tails and feet. Salted almonds on the menu card read ''shell- fish." The last item consisted of English walnuts from which the meat had been cleverly abstracted and in which a conundrum had been inserted. Some of the conundrums were as follows : What fish is indispensable to a ship? (Pilot.) What fish is used in a duel? (Sword). What fish was born without a soul, lived and con- tained a soul, and died without a soul? (The whale that swallowed Jonah. A Shakespeare Birthday Celebration. In England and America as well as in other coun- tries the celebration of April twenty-third has grown more and more popular. Perhaps the teachers in our public schools have done more than any one else to increase the love and reverence we feel for the greait poet and dramatist. One very influential woman's club in a large city always gives a club luncheon on April twenty-third. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL 55 On one occasion the menu was quite elaborate, as you may judge, as we copy it complete, and if your celebration is not so full you may select from it. MENU. "Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast." — Comedy of Errors. 1. "Lovely berries, wedded on one stem." — Mid Summer Night's Dream. (Strawberries) 2. "A cup without a drop of alloying Tiber in it." — Coriolanus. (Punch) 3. "Stuffed with all honorable virtues." — Much Ado About Nothing. (Deviled Eggs) "A forked radish with a head fantastically carved with a knife." — King Henry ^■^Z. (Radishes) "Some relish of the saltness of time." — King Henry IV. (Olives) "Half-penny loaves." — King Henry VI. (Rolls) 4. "0 flesh, flesh, how- art thou fishified." — Romeo and Juliet. (Sweetbreads) "What comes so fast, in silence of the night." — Merchant of Venice. (Mushrooms) "How green you are and fresh." — King John. (Peas) 56 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH 5. "Compounded of many simples." — As You Like It. "Some of us will smart for it." — Much Ado About Nothing. (Salad with Greenpepper) 6. "We are such stuff as dreams are made of." — Tempest. (Ice Cream) "What though my cakes be poor, take them in good part." (Cake) 7. "The daintiest last to make the end most sweet." — Richard II. (Bonbons) 8. sleep, gentle sleep, how have I frighted thee." — King Henry IV. (Coffee) 9. "Interchange of sweet discourse." — Richard III. When the club members desire to give the program a brief speech from the presiding memiber, should be followed by short readings from Shakespeare's poems and plays may follow. The latter should be limited to five minutes. There is nothing more out of plat' than long speeches after .a hearty luncheon. The same rule holds good when the club invites as speaking guests a distinguished professor, dramatic critic or citizen. Invite them to talk only five minutes. If there is a large bust or portrait of the poet near at hand, end the luncheon hy placing above it a wreath of Shakespeare's flowers or immortelles. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR APRIL 57 A Shakespeare Fortune Telling. A Shakespeare fortune telling is amusing. Have your questions written out beforehand. For every question have twelve numbers and as many answers. Have the numbers in a basket and let the person who wishes her fortune told draw one, then read to her the answer corresponding to that number. It will be easy to form the questions and to find appropriate answers. For instance, the first question may be, ''Am I beloved?" One of the first answers to come into mind will be the quotation, ''As dear to me as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart, ' ' for every answer must be taken from Shakespeare's writings. The next question may be, "Is my love true?" The answer would be : "Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love." To some of the questions amusing answers can be found. For instance, to the querry, "Shall I ever be married?" give as reply, "Sell when you can, you are not for all markets." For prizes give Shakespeare calendars, birthday books, Or one volume of Temple Shakespeare. The above calls for quite a little Shakespearean re- search, but that repays one in itself, and there is per- haps no more amusing entertainment. 58 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MAY A May Day Picnic. In the novelty departments of the large stores, or in the candy establishments where novelties are a feature, may be found the daintiest of dainty baskets. When preparing ior this May day luncheon secure a number of these tiny baskets equal to the number of the guests to be invited. .Perchance you are one of the fortunate who live within reach of the woods when the first violets and May flowers spring to life. If so, gather together enough to fill the little baskets, mak- ing them May messengers in truth. If it so chances that your wild flowers must grow in the window^s of the florist shop, get them anyway, and if that is beyond reach, seek out your milliner and buy manu- factured posies. When the baskets are filled slip in the small card of invitation and hire a small boy of the neighborhood to deliver them. After the old May day fashion instruct him to ring the bell, slipping the flower-filled basket over the knob and running w^hen the door is about to be opened. Almost any small boy will be happy to do this, if only to bring back reminders of Hal- lowe'en fun. Some days before the party is to be given gather a quantit}" of twigs and branches from the apple, peach and cherry tr^es. If you live in the countr}^ this will be easy ; if not, bribe some countr}^ or suburban friend to do it for you. Gather, also, the lilac branches and place all in water in a warm room. By May day they Avill be in bloom, if care is taken to change the water two or three times a day. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MAY 59 If the picnic is held away from your home take these branches with you, but if given on your own porch and grounds, decorate them with these lovely spring flowers. Take your pink lemonade or fruit punch arid sink the bowl or jar in pink apple blossoms and have a maid in pink and white to serve it at all times. For a bit of diversion with this May-day flower feast, ask the guests to fill in the blanks in the follow- ing: Flower Tragedy. Oh, was a 'Though she was like a Impatiently she'd waited for to propose. But William, slower than all — — , And changeable, too, Ne'er — to become his bride Or never stopped to woo. Now — riding by One sunny day in June, Espied the lovely, stately maid And lost his heart right soon. "Fair maid," he cried, "thou art not wed?" "Nay, sir, thou speakest true. For William seeks to ." "So? Then I'll seek for you." 'Twas when '<- heard of this, That he began to His fickleness — he asked the maid And , too. But flirts must pay the penalty. And Lir remembered yet. The cake of fun — at her expense — That Will with . And so she said him nay, indeed. For Johnny'd brought. 60 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH And filled with joy the lonely heart, That Will too late had sought. "Ah, he who hesitates is lost, ," Will cried, And 'neath the cast. His , and died! The key to this "trag'edy" is found in the follow- ing flowers placed in the order of the blanks: Lily, blue-bell, rose, sweet william, thyme, aster, johnny- jump-up, marigold, sweet william, rue, aster, poppy, mignonette, sweet peas, forget-me-not, lady's slipper, bleeding heart. A tiny glass slipper filled with flowers would make an appropriate prize for the one most successful in fill- ing in the blanks. However, the picnic should include the Maypole dance, which follo'ws in detail. It will prove one of the most beautiful and joyous entertainments of the whole year : Young People's May-Pole Dance. A dance is a dance for a' that, and "with^a merry group of young people and good music no amount of planning can take away from or add to the entertain- ment, although much depends upon its setting. Of course the May-pole dance must be given in a very large room or hall — it is only in such a place that any dance should be given if the comfort of the guests is to be considered, and she who is not blessed with great rooms should confine herself to the ordinary en- tertainment or seek a hall for her dances. For this May entertainment there must be flowers — flowers everywhere. If the purse does not permit the ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MAY 61 use of such an array of natural flowers, then get, or have made, paper ones. The evening opens with a reception and is followed by a short dance program in a flower-trimmed hall. Supper follows, served at small tables. Even in the largest homes few dining rooms are large enough to seat a great many guests and it is the usual custom to throw several rooms together. Wherever the sup- per is served, however, a beautiful effect can be se- cured by covering the floor with stage grass and, with the aid of artificial palms and such things, create a garden of it. Each table should carry out a particular flower idea. The menu for this supper, of course, may be as elab- orate as the hostess desires. The flower idea should be introduced wherever it is possible ; in fact, without surfeiting the young guests with novelty, it should be the aim of the hostess to give the unexpected free reign, and odd dishes served in flower cups and designs should come in unexpected places. The caterer, who will have all the machinery necessary for this, should be permitted to arrange the supper and show the powers and the art within him. The partners for refreshments are chosen by means of strands of paper flowers thrown over a high screen. The young women grasp the end on one side, the young men the end on the other, and the two holding the same strand are partners for supper and for the cotillion, as well. While the young guests are still at table pass small slips of paper with the request that each write the name of the young women he or she wishes chosen 62 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Queen of the May, the ballot box to be a large paper tulip. Then comes the cotillion, and the leader must plan his own sets, but favors can come in court jester's caps and folly bells, "spring bonnets" of paper, flower- decked canes and tiny flower umbrellas, flower fans, and many other things. In one corner of the room will be placed a chair for the May Queen's throne. Near the close of the co- tillion a floral set should be danced where the favors should be odd floral bits — a crown for one, a flower wand for another, wreaths, bouquets, each receiving a paper floral gift with only the bouquets and the wreaths duplicated. Just as this set is closing the leader gives the signal to stop the dance. The musi- cians put down their instruments and the hostess an- nounces the name of the young woman who has baen voted Queen of the May. The leader advances, takes the queen by the hand, to lead her to the throne. The orchestra plays a march, or the Spring Song, the other dancers fall in behind the leaders, the hall is encircled, the queen is enthroned and each^ in turn comes forward with his gift from the floral set. The one bearing the crown places it upon her head, the one with the wand puts it in her hand, the wreaths and bouquets are arranged about her and she and her throne become a flower mass. Then the May-pole is brought in, and the queen reviews the May-pole dance, which is the closing set. With the colors of the May- pole and the young folk wearing the trophies of the dance this should be a scene worthy the eyes of any queen. As the last note of the May-pole dance is sounded a ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MAY 63 shower of small loose flowers falls upon the dancers. This is made possible by the use of a confetti shower machine or its like. The queen arises, waves her wand, and leads the way from the ballroom. ► A May Birthday Party. The emerald is an appropriate May birthstone, for all the earth is springing during this month into the fulness of its green, fresh beauty. Now, the birthday may belong to the host or hostess, but no matter — the most intimate friends have a place at this birthday feast. A birthday celebration should always be the most joyous and informal of occasions. In the first place, the invitations should be issued on green paper, the envelopes unsealed. Instead, pur- chase the small green-glass-headed pins and pin the envelope flaps down and have the invitations deliv- ered. If it is more convenient to post the invitations, however, run the pin with the imitation emerald through the corner of the invitation card or folder, instead of in the envelope. Only green should be used in the decoration of the house and the hostess should wear a green gown, or a white one with green sash. The florists have a way now of coloring white flowers and, if flowers are used, special green carnations could be used in decoration. The "emerald green" gives the birthday hostess of this month a splendid opportunity to weave in the Irish in her entertainment. As many guests as will be comfortable may be asked. The more the merrier. For the centerpiece in the dining room the hostess will have an Irish castle of pasteboard, covered with vines. 64 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH This will be placed in the center of an oblong mirror and the mirror will be sunk in a bed of moss. The space between the moss and the castle will give the appearance of the historic moat and to complete the illusion wired baby ribbon of green can be arranged across this space in imitation of draw-bridges. Have crystal dishes of olives on the table and candied green plums for the sweets. For souvenir cards,' go down to your book dealer and buy the tiny birthday books. On the outside of each cover will be found a name — a Christian name written in gilt. Inside is given the history of the name, and a quotation and space for remarks for every day in the year. They are tiny, interesting books and un- less the name is most extraordinary, you can find a book bearing the first name of' every one of your guests. If you can secure these bound in green, so much the better; if not, tie green ribbon about them and use these for cards. If the guests are wise they will pass their books around the table and secure the autograph of every guest placed in the space below the birthday of each. Inside the hostess will have slipped a command, to be obeyed whenever a duty isv exacted from the guest. A guest — a man — known to be clever, will find within his book a command to act as toastmaster. Only in this selection must the hostess show care, else the novelty of the idea is spoiled. The toastmaster will be ignorant of the. com- mands of the others, but he will give his introductions as he chooses and call upon any of the guests when he chooses, to fulfill the command he or she finds within the book. One may be asked- to dance an Irish jig, another to sing ''The Harp That Once Thro' Tara's ENTERTAIN]\[ENTS FOR MAY 65 Halls * ' ; another to give a toast to the one celebrating the birthday ; another to tell an Irish story, and so on down the list of guests. If every one will enter into the spirit of the dinner, the evening may be made memorable for its fun. In the service green dishes should be used as often as possible. You may serve green grapes, served on their own leaves. Puree of pea, sprinkled with parsley ; frog legs on toast, served with water cress (the imagination may be stretched to the time when the legs belonged to a green frog) ; sliced cucumbers and shredded lettuce. Pistache ice cream with wafer cakes, cut in shamrock shape, and the green bonbons and coffee. The birthday cake should be borne in from the kitch- en and placed in front of the host or hostess, who is the possessor of the birthday. The cake should be white, dotted over the top with ** emerald" settings, which may be the emerald settings removed from five-cent rings. The cake is placed on a plate of smilax and is surrounded by a circle of green candles, lighted. In- side the cake is baked the ring, the thimble and the coin, for the one who will be the first to wed, the one who will remain in single blessedness and the one who is to be favored of fortune and have wealth. The evening may close with songs about the piano or story-telling. Porget-Me-Not Dinner for Bridal Party. Toward the close of prenuptial festivities the bridal party dinner is the source of much fun. The young people of the party, friends of the young couple, of course, have become very close friends in their series of entertainments, and ** jollying" has become an old 66 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH story to the two young people about to wed, and a fine art to those who are to help them do it, by the time the final dinners of the series have been reached. It is along about this time — when the June brides are sing- ing their swan songs,— that a forget-me-not dinner, with a Jack-in-the-pulpit center decoration, can be made very appropriate and very merry. A dinner always begins with the decoration — liter- ally and figuratively — for when the guests are seated, about all that appears is the decoration. In this in- stance have a mound of forget-me-nots, with Jack-in- the-pulpit enthroned upon the very pinnacle. From his throne, bringing out the idea that all revolves about Jack, have narrow blue ribbons leading to the covers. At the end of each of these ''strings" have tiny dolls dressed to represent each member of the bridal party — a groom for the groom, bride for the bride, maid of honor, best man, and so forth. These small reproduc- tions will serve as nameless place-cards, each of the young people seeking out his or her own reproduction in the dolls. The dolls to represent the men can have some distinguishing mark upon them that the groom may be told from the best man, and so forth, like a spray of lilies of the valley in the groom's buttonhole — a portion of the bridal bouquet ; white sweet peas in the best man's buttonhole, corresponding to the bou- quet of the maid of honor, and pink sweet peas on the lapels of the ushers, representing the bouquets of the maids. The color scheme of blue in the decoration cannot be carried out in the dishes, because there are few blue dishes. Instead, serve a rather simple dinner of whole- some things. Each place shall have a menu and there- in will lie much of the fun. The menu should be one ENTERTAINMENTS FOR MA^ 67 of the tiny booklets, which are easily obtainable these days, and the outside covers of which are flowers. In this instance, of course, an attempt should be made to have forget-me-not covers. Each leaf of the booklet will be devoted to the description of a course, in * ' poetry. ' ' For instance : The first course will be strawberries brought to the table with their hulls and served on a plate covered with leaves to represent the garden from which they came. The description of this first course, in the menu booklet may read (each verse should allude to the bride and groom or coming -wedding if possible) : The first we'll have is blushing as a bride, And just as sweet, The queen of all the fruits the season brings, Take ye, and eat. A clear soup Avill follow and the verse may be : A bit of good, Subtracted from the whole, The essence of the best. Clear as the soul. The fish course comes next and the verse brings a jolly little hit at the bride and a compliment for the groom : To him who's angled for and caught This course we bring, The promise that "just as good" remains Takes 'way the sting. When it is time for the entree to appear — mush- rooms in some dainty form would be good for this time of year — the guests read: As mystical as is the love Which comes with a first sight, Dainty, delicious and much sought, They spring up in a night. 68 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Far the meat course nothing is prettier than a crown of lamb, heralded as follows: A crown, fair maidens. Worth the fighting for. If through the stomach's found, A man's heart's door. For the salad — rosy, red tomatoes, filled with mayon- naise and served on lettuce — is always palatable at a dinner, more so than the fancy salad or a heavy one, following a meat course. This may be described as : A dash of pepper, and some sauce, A fruit with heart of gold, Some salt — how like a maiden 'tis — And so this tale is told. If possible, bring in the ice cream raolded in the form of small cupids — this can be done in the larger cities, and if access to the cities is not easy, a heart mold will do as well. If the cupids are used : No chill's intended, For 'tis Cupid's right, To show the warmness of his heart When thus bedight. If the heart : A saucy heart of ice, Oft seems but such, Giv'n but the warmth it craves, Melts at the touch. And then come coffee and bonbons : So now we reach the end, Sweets for the sweet be found, And may their scandals, like the cup we quaff, Be without ground! ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JUNE 69 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JUNE. A June Wedding. The first people to adopt the month of June as sacred to Hymen, the god of marriage, were the ancient Ro- mans, who considered June the most propitious season of the year for entering upon matrimonial relations. The Romans held that June weddings were likely to be happier than alliances contracted in any other month of the year, especially if the day chosen were that of the full moon. They also held that of all months May was the most to be avoided, as in that month newlyweds would come under the influence of spirits adverse to happy house- holds. These ancient marriage superstitions were re- tained by the Christians in the middle ages and even today June is considered by many to be pre-eminently the month of marriages. The coming of the rose in June brings for the brides the very daintiest of color combinations for a wedding service — the delicate pink and white with the green. Unless the celebration is set for a country church, where the sunshine may stream in through vines and the square about the church may be filled with flow- ers, a June wedding is essentially a home wedding. A city church, with its dark, stained-glass windows, is no place for such a celebration. This plan is for a home service, with the doors thrown open, and the sunshine of the afternoon adding to the general happiness. In the first place, do not bank the flowers anywhere. If there is a mantel— that most stubborn of all house- hold effects — rest in peace if a few bouquets adorn it with a drapery of green. Nothing is so at variance 70 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH with nature as banked floA\rers. Roses crushed together cry out against the impudence of man, when nature herself is so free. In the drawing room, where the service is to be said, the ceiling may be draped with vines — asparagus makes a dainty, feathery canopy — and the vines may be dropped down the walls, convert- ing the room into a veritable greenery. About the improvised altar — which may be an altar in truth, or only the space where the clergyman and the young couple are to stand — do not have the regulation stiff palms for the green. Instead have ferns — ferns on the floor, in vases, in jardinieres, high and low, with great bouquets of white roses in all the grace and freedom allowed by the vase, in between the green. In this way just simple decorative 'beauty is the result. After the minister, the groom and the best man have taken their places at the altar, four small girls in pure white, or the ushers, may stretch the ribbons forming the aisle through which the bride and her maids will walk to the altar. In this case, instead of ribbons have long strands of asparagus ferns, dotted here and there Avith small white flowers or white rosebuds. The bride's dress should be an airy, delicate gOAvn for June. The veil may be held in place by a coronet of white rosebuds — the buds wired to stand point upward like a row of pearls. The bride will carry a shower bouquet of white roses. The maids may be in truth roses. The maid of honor should wear a gown of white messaline, whose silky, satiny surface gives the appearance of rose leaves. The skirt is made with walking length, of a succession of ruffles cut like rose petals. The bodice, with a rounded yoke, filled in with sheer lace, is made in the same \ ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JUNE 71 rose-petal effect, and the girdle is of green, fashioned like the cup which holds the rose. The sleeves are of the rose petals, finished at the elbow with a fall of lace. The bridesmaids wear gowns of pink messaline of the most delicate shade, made after exactly the same pat- tern as the gown of the maid of honor. The maid of honor will wear a fluffy hat of white, made of the rose petals and trimmed with a broad green bow, and the bridesmaids will wear similar hats of the delicate pink. All will carry arm baskets filled with roses, those of the maid of honor white, those of the bridesmaids, pink. A reception will follow, at which the regulation re- ception menu will be served. The sandwiches may be heart-shaped and the decorations should be carried out in the white and green and delicate pink. The candy patties should be in pink and white, and the ice cream may be a frozen rose or it may be rose punch, with which a delicate pink rose may be served for each guest. The cakes may be pink and white and heart- shaped. Instead of an attempted decoration for the table, let the bride's cake form the centerpiece. This will rest on a bed of roses and before she goes upstairs to change her gown for traveling the bride will cut the cake for the guests. The table should be laid in dainty napery, with broad bows of pink ribbon and dainty rose candle holders in pink and white, holding pink and white candles with pink shades. Over the cake from beneath the chandelier a large wedding bell of white should be hung, and tiny white bells should be strung from the center to the four corners of the table, on white ribbon. If an evening wedding is desired, this same plan may 72 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH be carried out, with the exception of the hats for the bridesmaids. In that case the maid of honor should wear a wreath of white roses and the bridesmaids wreaths of pink roses. If the service is said at a coun- try home, the repast — if a breakfast — or the reception refreshments, may be served on the lawn, a screen of green having been built along the front of the lawn to keep a curious crowd from peering in. ' ' Home From College ' ' Party. - The closing of June brings the college boys and girls home again. After these young home friends have been separated from each other for many months and are gathered together from the four quarters of the globe, a jolly, unconventional party in their honor is a good beginning for the reunion. A mother with col- lege boys or girls can bring merriment into the home and into the lives of the young people by throwing open the home for just such entertainments. Little preparation is necessary for the modern col- lege youth and maiden are inclined to do as they please, even at entertainments, and they care but little for the guessing games or contests which require much thought and little activity. The invitations to the aifair may be written and enclosed in very small foot- balls, like those displayed about Thanksgiving time at the candy shops. The scheme of decoration must be chosen according to the colors of the college or colleges represented, but the house may be decorated in bunt- ing of these colors — crimson, if Harvard predominates ; blue, if Yale, and so forth ; and college flags of all kinds may be used prominently. As far as planning entertainments is concerned, ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JUNE 73 simply turn the young people loose in the house. Let them tell their college stories, sing college songs, dance or do any of the things for which they most care. For the refreshments, have a sort of ''help yourself" party. Flags and trophies of college athletics should decorate the dining room. On the table have sand- wiches in goodly quantity, piled on toy tennis rackets instead of plates. Candies, nuts and the like, may be in large footballs, like the ones used for the invitations. Fruit can hang in basket ball nets. These papier mache reproductions of the field are very inexpensive and add the realistic touch so dear to the hearts of these young people. If the hostess is clever enough to plan a series of de- bates on subjects nearest the interests of the individ- uals in the party this will make fun for those who sit by and "root," and votes may be taken, with prizes for the winners. When the young people are about to leave, tiny souvenirs of the evening — tennis rackets, basket balls, baseballs and bats, boxing gloves and all athletic feat- ures, may be given. A ''Going Away" Luncheon. In June almost everyone is planning for a trip of some kind — to the seashore, mountains or abroad, and usually there are numerous little attentions from the friends before the departure. The most popular form of entertainment of this kind is the luncheon, for men care little for the sentiments of such entertainments and, what is more to the point, they have precious little time for them. For the woman who is going to the mountains many 74 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH pretty little ideas can make a luncheon in her honor a very attractive affair. For instance, the centerpiece may be a mound of brown stones or of chocolate-coated rock candy, on the top of which is sprinkled a goodly supply of pulverized sugar to represent snow. At in- tervals up to the height determined as ''tree limit" lit- tle green twigs can be placed, and now and then a bit of moss or mountain flower or some such thing may complete the illusion. This centerpiece, of course, will rise from ''foot-hills" of moss and rocks. The menu should be suggestive of travel and its ex- periences. For soup have vegetable — designated as *'a little of everything. " Then there is moutain trout, and any meat which may be put down as "venison dis- guised" or "bear-(ly) meat"; tiny new potatoes roasted to a good brown may be "potatoes a la j'ocks" and the ice may be a mound of chocolate or caramel ice cream, with a dash of vanilla on the top to represent the snow-capped peak. For souvenirs and place-cards have a different traveling necessity for each guest — alpine stocks, dress suit cases, tiny trunks, toy cars and the many novelties which may be picked up at the con- fectioner's or novelty dealer's. For the one who is going abroad, get a large square or oblong piece of glass, such as is used over tables in places where cloths are not advisable — a doctor's table, for instance. Spread this over a sea-green silk tablecloth which is draped about the edge also. Lay lace doilies for the plates and tumblers and other dishes. In the center of this sea place a large floral steamer flying a pennant bearing the name of the guest of honor. Over the table, placed helter skelter, but so that each one is in front of a cover, have toy boats, ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JUNE 75 yachts or steamers, each flying a flag of some nation upon which is written the name of the guest for whom it is intended. This will convert the table into a sea of boats. Floral boats will hold the salted nuts and bonbons and olives. The soup should be clear and may be served in china boats, the fish may be planked and brought to the table for service on a large plate of glass ; or it may be I creamed lobster served in pastry boats. The meat may be anything the hostess chooses. Green vegetable salad should be served and the ice — pistachio ice cream, it may be — should be served in boats. After one of these luncheons a rapid-fire geography contest may be vised with good result. Divide the guests in two divisions like the line-up for the old spelling school contests. Then start Avith : ''What is the capital of China?" ''Where does the Mississippi rise?" "Where is Dresden?" and a long list of such questions, including a drilling on the capitals of the various states. This will be the iiieans of creating much fun, for few there are who are not rusty on these questions after a few years from study. Time to think must not be given, for then the fun of the contest will be spoiled. Question them like the man who turned to. his neighbor at a dinner — a very learned man he was, too — and said quickly : "What was Abraham Lincoln's P~first name?" The learned man stopped, studied, red- dened and replied: "I declare if I remember." The one who stands longest in the contest will be given a • book of travels or the floral centerpiece if the boat is ^ used, and the one who is first out will receive a con- P solation prize of a tiny geography. L 76 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH A June Birthday Party. June favors those born within its weeks by giving them the rose for a flower and the pearl for a birth- stone. The combination makes possible one of the pret- tiest of birthday luncheon or evening parties. For a June birthday everything should be in white and with white rosebuds to represent pearls, the flower and the stone of the month may be combined. The table should be laid wholly in Avhite, with plain white china for service. For the centerpiece use the pure white cake, which will serve as a birthday cake, and instead of placing the candles on the top of the cake, make a large wreath of rosebuds, wired to stand erect like large pearls, and place the candles among the buds. The wreath should be large enough to stand well out on the table, forming a large circle about the cake. The souvenir cards may be pure white cards, with the name and an appropriate inscription, a white rose having been run through one corner of the cards. The menu should be in white. The selections may be made from a cream bouillon ; the second, white fish ; creamed spaghetti, the white part of the chicken, creamed potatoes ; white asparagus salad, and ice cream with white cakes. Instead of cofPee, the coffee frappe may be served. * # # # * For a contest the following ''jew^el story" could be used, the blank spaces to be filled in with the names of the jewel whose color has been described : When Mrs. Rich went in to buy Her necklace of rare stones, The news was passed with such a cry, The noise e'en waked the drones. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JUNE 77 In turn each gem held high its head, As Mrs. Rich drew nigher The blushed a deeper red — The flashed fire. "She'll pass you all," the cried "She wants a baby blue." "A blue, perhaps," the sighed, "But the sparkling kind, not you." 'Twas tlien the turned green, And discord filled the place. The 'twas plainly seen Turned purple in the face. , The and the , too. In jealousy grew yellow. The changed to every hue, And the turned right mellow. A stifled sound came from the place Where lay the deep red A sound, kind friends — 'twas such a disgrace 'Twas very much like "darn it." Now Mrs. Rich was innocent Of the fuss she had created. And gazing as on pleasure bent, With each was quite elated. At length she stopped and bowed her head With the pleased smile of a girl, "Ah, here's the one I want," she said — Shfe pointed to the . "It's purity appeals," she cried, "Of all thp most serene — A joy to widow or to bride — Among the stones, the queen." The moral to this tale you'll see, That of the things of earth 'Tis not just what they seem to be, But what they are — spell's worth. 78 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH The key to this little story is as follows : 1, ruby ; 2, diamond ; 3, turquoise ; 4, sapphire ; 5, emerald ; 6, amethyst; 7, topaz; 8, amber; 9, opal; 10, moonstone; 11, garnet; 12, pearl. For the one whose guesses are most correct, a small jewel case may be given as a prize. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JULY 79 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JULY. Fourth of July Party. The entertainments for July naturally revolve about the Fourth of July celebrations. Although everj^ year brings its discussions as to the advisability of these affairs, nevertheless every year also brings the enter- tainments just the same. Perhaps this is because the day appeals to the old and young alike, Avhen, after the fashion of the return of the circus, the man becomes the boy and there is a feeling that business cares may take to the woods and every^one should be given a chance at the fun. The wise parents will furnish plenty of amusement for the youth of the family. There are more ways than one of celebrating the Fourth, and, while firecrackers are dear to the hearts of the boys and girls, anything which really amuses may be made to fill the place very creditably. Turn the house and the yard over to the youngsters for the day. Let them ask their young friends to join them in the celebrations — then regulate the sports in which they indulge to the extent that the usual large supply of arnica and salve may not be found necessary. In the first place, send out invitations written on small flags. Bid the young people to come for the afternoon and make it a fancy dress affair. Nothing so delights the hearts of youngsters as being able to "dress up." The dresses must carry out the idea of the day — minute men, colonial dames and masters, Martha and George Washingtons, Puritan belles and beaux, Columbias, Uncle Sams, and the whole long list 80 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH of characters representative of the nation and its' early history. To start the ball a-rolling, have a sort of May-pole dance, the ribbons suspended from an immense liberty bell. The children will take their places at the rib- bons and have a grand march about beneath the bell, ^while someone plays * * My Country, " ' ' Hail Columbia, ' ' '''Yankee Doodle," with ''A Hot Time" for the close, possibly. This will send them off to the lawn in a merry mood. Out on the lawn have a hunt. Just now the stores are filled with novelties — drums, cannons, toy soldiers, soldiers' hats, guns, knapsacks and loads of pretty fancies which the childi^en will consider worth while hunting for. These toys should be wT^apped in Avhite paper, that they may be seen more easily. Hide them in the bushes and the out-of-the- way places and let the children hunt. When all are found the children sit down to unwrap and admire their trophies. Another idea which may be carried out with some amusement to the children, especially the boys, is to have a target practice. Place a target on the lawn and then furnish toy guns and paper wads for the bullets. Even the girls may not find it amiss to enter into the game. When time for serving refreshments comes, the tables should be placed under the trees. The simplest menu should be chosen. White ice cream served on a mound of cherries, in turn served on a blue plate, will bring in the national colors. With this red, white and blue candies and cake should be served — the cake of white, with the tiny red and blue flowers, which may be obtained in confectioners' shops, on the top. The r ^ ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JULY 81 afternoon may close with a grand march, during which Columbia caps may be placed on the heads of the youngsters. Fourth of July Dinner. When evening comes it is the time for the older folk to take their turn. The dinner is the best form of en- tertainment with w^hich to give men and women equal interest. The invitations may be sent in cannon crackers, from which the filling has been removed, and in this way the whole nature of the dinner wall be re- vealed. The house and grounds should be decorated in flags in abundance, with the dining room as the center of the decorative scheme, of course. Over the ceiling hang a canopy of a great flag of blue, bearing the orig- inal thirteen stars. These stars form a circle in the original flag, and from the center of this, immediately over the center of the table, suspend an American eagle. For the centerpiece one of two ideas should be used. The great puft* balls of red, white and blue pa- per, filled with flags, could be used with good effect, or a mound of flowers, the base of which should be corn- flowers, the center white carnations and the top red carnations. The table should be draped in flags and for place-cards small liberty bells hung from each cover with red, white and blue ribbons, the name hang- ing from the clanger will give a prett}' souvenir and add to the general decorative effect. As there are no blue eatables which may be chosen for the menu, use the blue china service and carry the menu in red and white. To begin the dinner, have Riley's ''The Name of I 82 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Old Glory" written on cards in sections to be read around the table. Then will come the menu. Open with red raspberries and cream. Follow with tomato soup served with whipped cream. Whitefish served with radishes and bits of pickled beet can come next, and the meat course may be roast chicken and cran- berry sauce, creamed cauliflower and creamed potatoes. For the salad course serve fruit salad in scooped-out red applies, and the final course may be cherry ice cream served in paper cups. These cups may be pur- chased in the-novelty departments of the stores. They are fashioned of w^hite paper, with the American flag across the top. For the evening the fireworks on the laAvai will be the only amusements necessary. In these, of course, the children of the household should be permitted to join. A Poppy Party. The coming- of the poppies in July brings possibilities of a very attractive party. It is a prime idea for a young people's frolic on the lawn. Here the old-faSh- ioned '' progressive proposal party" can be used with propriety and good effect — not to mention possible re- sults. The house should be decorated throughout with pop- pies — real or artificial. The lamps must be shaded with poppy paper shades and the lawn should be hunjz- with Japanese lanterns. The feature — and the work for the hostess — ^\i\\ come in the arrangement of the cozy corners. Whil< they should be some distance apart they must be in plain view of the crowd, otherwise the proposals might become too realistic. The corners may be arranged ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JULY 83 through the lower rooms of the house and about the lawn. Each will bear a number and numbers will be given, also, to both maids and men. The partners are found by means of these numbers. The young women — each of them — will take possession of the corner bearing her number and the young man with the sim- ilar number will seek her out. From three to five min- utes will be given for each proposal and the young men will then progress to the next booth. He makes the same proposal to every young woman if he so chooses. Each keeps a tally of how many times he is refused '. and how many times accepted. During the proposals an orchestra hidden away some place plays such bits as ''Pop, Goes the Weasel" ' and that poppy song, ''The Garden of Sleep." ''The Girl I Left Behind Me," and many of the recent coon songs, too, can be made appropriate. When every man has gone to the last of the booths and finds him- self with the girl with whom he started, time is up and ballots are passed to both men and girls. The girl votes on the man who has made the most graceful pro- posal, the men on the girl who has received the pro- posal most gracefully — no matter whether accepted or refused — and the ballots are collected. The tallies the men have kept on the number of acceptances and re- fusals, also are collected. The man who has been ac- cepted most is given a doll dressed as a bride, with veil and bouquet. The one who has oftenest been re- fused is given a copy of "How to Be Happy Though Married." The most graceful lover is given a blank marriage license and the most graceful young woman, a bridal bouquet. Serve the regulation menu for a young people 's even- 84 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ing affair. In the drawing room, however, have a great dish of pop-corn, the dish set in an immense crepe paper poppy. A Touring Dinner. The main idea in a ''touring dinner" party is to ''keep moving." All the places which usually attract folk during the heated months must be visited. To carry out the party in detail — and unless this is done the affair is without its point — will require a hostess of much patience and one who is not afraid of the work and fuss which comes before and follows such an event. July is particularly apropos for such an entertain- ment, because the seashore, the mountains and the country are beckoning the travelers to hasten from their homes at this period. The dinner, too, is most attractive for a summer home. The "tour" opens with "the farm" — the presump- tion being that most Americans made their start from a farm home. This will be the fruit course, and the dining -room where the dinner starts should be ar- ranged to represent an old-time orchard. Tree branches may be brought in from the country and caught to the sides of the wall, limbs covering the ceil- ing to represent the "spreading branches" known to memory and to poetry. Artificial fruits, now so easily obtainable in every confectioner's store, should be hung from the branches. The table should be covered with a green cloth or stage grass, and through the center should be arranged a miniature orchard, with small fruits on the trees and more on the ground. If the hostess desires to be very realistic, a barefoot boy doll and girls with sunbonnets may be placed in the ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JULY 85 orchard. The place-cards for this event may be tiny trees for the men and artificial fruit for the women. When the first course has been finished, the party progresses to another room, where the soup is to be served. As the next step in travel is the railroad, the room presents the interior of a dining- car. If the room is long and narrow, so much the better. The porch may be used. Small tables are arranged along either side of the room, and the whole setting is made as nearly like a railroad train as possible. A center-piece will not be necessary for this course, for the railroad train seldom indulges in center-pieces. For the place- cards have tiny railroad lanterns which^ in reality, are candy boxes. If a variety of cards is desired, the lan- terns, engines, cars and all the railroad novelties ob- tainable may be used, but the lanterns with the many- colored glass will add a dash of color and atmosphere not obtainable in any other way. The soup is served and a bell rings. This means that the guests are to pass into another room. Here they find themselves in the middle of the sea. The walls and floor are covered with sea-green ma- terial, which will carry out the illusion. Everything about is perfectly bare, except the table, which is built to represent an immense yacht. If this is not possible, the table may be the shape of a yacht and a toy yacht may be placed in the center of the table. The place- cards for this may be small anchors obtainable at the stores for one cent apiece, and they may be brought from the yacht to the places by means of small rope. There is still another idea which may be utilized for this course. Likewise, it will bring nearer the pleas- ures of the average American. Instead of a yacht I 86 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH carry out the same idea in a row-boat. In the boat have fishing tackle and a group of small boys. Each will carry in his hand a fishing pole, and the line will extend to the covers, each attached to a card bearing the name of the guest. No matter what idea is used, the fish must be served in p»astry boats. The next course will bring the meat, and the guests might return to the dining room for its service. The fruit will have been r,emoved from the tree branches in the meantime, and only a forest remains. A small mountain may serve as the center-piece, and for the place-cards have the toy animals. Cows, porkers, deer, sheep — all the meat animals will be wandering about the table, bearing the names of the guests. The next course must bring in the automobile, for what is touring without an automobile nowadays? As one very wise young woman has put it, ''the automo- bile is very apropos for the salad course, for automo- biles make salad of everything with which they come in contact. ' ' If the hostess possesses a garage, it will add novelty to the entertainment to send the guests out to the automobiles and serve the salad to them as they sit in the machines. If not, convert a room into a suitable place for the automobile service. The table may have a Avinding road, leading past each cover. To add a touch of levity, the center-piece may be of a great horse, and, trailing after him, as if he had drawn them out of trouble, might come the row of toy auto- mobiles, which wind down the road, tied together with a tiny rope and bearing the names of the guests. The last course must be served on the la^vn, and it must represent the seashore. If a miniature pond can be arranged, so much the better; but, if not, a caterer ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JULY 87 ill arrange a table with a pond in the center and all jhe seashore ideas carried out. The ices must be lerved in shells or tiny sand buckets. If the latter is ed, get spade-shaped spoons. For the place-cards use oy sprinklers for the women and for the men the ash •eceivers of frogs with open mouths. As has been said, this affair means much labor, but ;he fun it brings repays one. The constant changing »f partners gives everyone an opportunity to become ell acquainted, and it is unique — the one thing sought" :or today. A July Birthday Party. July brings red in almost all of its entertainments. The fact that the national holiday comes early in the month with red, white and blue as its emblem, that the red flowers of summer are at the height of their beauty in this month, and that the ruby is the month's birth- stone, causes red to reign over the other colors. Red stationery or red ink on white paper should be used for the invitations to the birthday celebration. The ideas here given may be used for a. dinner, luncheon or a party. Dinners are most suitable for older people, who wish to entertain only a dozen or less; a luncheon is often the pleasantest where a lady entertains, . but for the younger people an evening party gives the most fun. We give a dinner menu and from it ca.n be selected items suited to the other celebrations. It is done in red. At the top of the card have written or printed : "Come, dine on rubies!" For the menu have the following : Chopped cherries with ice. Creamed soup with tiny beet balls. Lobster croquettes, White cabbage salad. Rare roast beef. Baked potatoes. 88 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Sliced tomatoes. Radishes. Eggs pickled in beet juice and served on bleached lettuce. Cherry ice and wafers Coffee. For the center decoration of the table have an im- mense hour-glass fashioned of red flowers and one of two ideas may be used for the place cards. In the shops are to be found very small hour-glasses in the natural woods. These may be purchased and painted red or decorated with red ribbons and used for place cards or small dolls may be dressed to represent Father Time, with his sickle, and used. The two ideas may be com- bined, for that matter, giving Father Time to the men for place cards, and the hour-glasses to the Avomen. The names should be written with red ink, and on the card should be a quotation referring to time or life or the things of life which might have a bearing upon birth- days. For instance, for a dinner of twelve these may be chosen as appropriate quotations, care being taken always to place the quotations with some regard for the guests : For the happy-go-lucky man or woman: I was not born for courts, or great affairs, I pay my debts, believe, and say my prayers. — Pope. For the generous: To live uprightly then is sure the best, To save ourselves, and not to damn the rest. — Dryden. For the famously honest: My honor is my life, both grow in one; Take honor from me, and my life is done. — Shakespeare. For the jolly, very active man; who may be trusted to see the joke: Go to the ant, thou sluggard, learn to live. And by her ways reform thine own. — Smart. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR JULY 89 Other quotations which may be scattered about the table to suit the guests may be : That life is long which answers life's great end, The time that bears no fruit, deserves no name. — Young. We live in deeds, not years — in thoughts, not breaths — In feelings, not figures on the dial. He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. — Bailey. Life is not to be judged by days; Virtue endures when time decays. What is time, if not employed In worthy deeds, but all a void? There's a divinity that shapes our ends. Rough-hew them how we will. — Shakespeare. Health is disease. Life death, without a friend. Who lives to nature rarely can be poor. Who lives to fancy never can be rich. 90 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ENTERTAINMENTS FOR AUGUST. A Farm Party. August finds but few of the town houses open, and fewer of the folk at home, but there ahvays must be the few who remain in the summer stay-at-home class. It is for the class who are without summer homes of their own, and who must make one residence do for both sea- sons, that the stay-at-homes' farm party has been ar- ranged. The farm party can be made a thing of beauty and a joy forever for an evening's entertainment. The invi- tations ma}' be written on the regular invitation cards, and if the hostess is in a position to do so, a farm scene painted on one corner will add much to the general at- tractiveness of the idea. The wording of the invitation should be informal. For instance : " 'How dear to my heart are the scenes of my child- hood.' Come, gaze upon them and have an old-time country romp at the home of ^Ir. and Mrs. John Wallace on the evening of . " These cards then may be enclosed in paper corn husks and delivered to the guests. The request should be made also that the Avomen come dressed as milkmaids — the costume is simple, and no woman will object, for the milkmaid 's costume is one of the most becoming in fash- ion history — and the men to come in blue overalls, ging- ham shirts and straw hats. Men usually enter objections to the idea of fancy dress of any kind, but the average man responds readily to the request to return to the out- fit of his boyhood — particularly when by so doing he es- capes the necessity of donning evening apparel. The large chairs, which arc in the way at a large en- ENTERTAINMENTS FOR AUGUST 91 tertainmeiit, should be taken to the attic, and in their stead milkmaids' stools should be placed about the rooms. The walls should be hung in farm products — bunches of corn from the ceilings, cabbages, parsnips, carrots and the vegetables most easily obtainable. The evening may open with a program of old-time songs, given by professionals, or by members of the party who have been asked to prepare for the program before coming to the house for the evening. In case of the latter, the other guests can be asked to join in the chorus. It it is the desire of the hostess to close the evening with the singing of the old-time home songs by all the guests, instead of opening the evening with the program, the idea of the professionals may be set aside entirely and a good taste will be left in the mouth and the guests sent home in a reminiscent and happy frame of mind. If this is done, as soon as the guests have been re- ceived the old-fashioned sets for old-time square dances may be formed, and these dances with a spelling down contest may occupy the early evening. When the time for the serving of the refreshments comes the dining room may be thrown open. Here the guests will find a typical farm-yard scene. The room will be lighted by lanterns hung on the sides of the w^alls and sitting about in a haphazard fashion. The sideboard or buffet will be an excellent place for the arrangement of an old hen and her down}* chicks — now so easily obtained at the stores in most excellent imitation. The table may be converted into a veritable little farm. A tiny doll's house, barn and toy windmill can be purchased : the farm may be laid out with toy fences with very little expense and less labor; toy sheep, cattle and pigs may be wandering about and add to the realism of the scene, 92 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH and through an open gateway a toy hired man may be driving a miniature load of hay behind miniature horses, a.nd with tiny rakes and pitchforks piled high upon the load. The toy departments of the great city stores abound with all the things which are needed for such an affair. Partners should be chosen for the dining room. One room — a smaller upstairs room, for instance — m.ay be arranged to represent* a hay mow. In the hay hide china eggs, on which are written the names of the women of the party. The men are sent to the room and told to hunt the eggs after the manner of early days on the farm, when the pleasure of egg-hunting ceased to be a pleasure because it was a duty. This should meet with enthusiasm from the men, for, like David Harum and ' ' low bridge, ' ' there are but f cav men of today who have not had these boyhood experiences of the farm. The guests should be seated around the wall of the dining room, away from the table. This is the modern idea of the old-fashioned '4ap supper." For the re- freshments serve fried chicken, sliced from the bone, that it may easily be eaten with the fork, home-made bread and butter, cucumber pickles and cottage cream cheese — otherwise known as ''smearcase" in the lan- guage of the old-time housewife. Instead of ice cream, cake and coffee, serve home-made fresh apple pie and milk, and the hostess >vho follows this advice will have every man in the party as a friend forever. In another room hang an old oaken bucket, and from this serve water, lemonade, or punch. A young woman will preside over this ''bowl," and will use a long- handled dipper, serving in tin cups to the guests. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR AUGUST 93 Seaside Afternoon Tea. An affair for the stay-at-home hostess in August, who wishes to indulge in an illusion, may be a. combination of musicale and calling party. The mere reception or tea is something of a bugbear to every woman. This is particularly true of the affair of this kind which comes in the heat of the summer. As is true with every tea, this affair will depend upon its decoration for the detail of the illusion, for with the decoration the tea usually begins and ends. If the hostess who seizes upon the idea has a friend who deals in or owns stage properties, she is fortunate, for with seaside scenes to hang upon the walls, stage rocks to place, about, and imitation seaweed to drape about, her home may be made an ideal place for a sum- mer 's afternoon. In one room these hangings and drapings may be ar- ranged in most realistic fashion, and young women in pretty bathing suits may serve tea from the top of a large stage rock. The dining room walls may be hung with seaweed and the table top may be made a miniature sea. One-half of the table, by the aid of mirrors and low, long pans of water, may be the fashioning for the sea, and the other half may be the long stretch of white sand with shells. Dolls in bathing suits may be arranged upon the "beach" and on the bathing rope, and small dolls dressed as children may be digging in the sand. The menu may consist of shrimp salad, wafers and olives served in toy boats, an ice served in little sand buckets and eaten with tiny spades, small cakes, and finally bonbons served in candy case lobsters, crabs and various fish — these to be given as souvenirs. 94 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH The musicale may be continuous vaudeville by pro- fessionals, one room arranged to represent the typical summer resort place of amusement where the program includes the continuous. An Arctic Luncheon. With the heat of August entertaining becomes a dif- ficult task, both for the entertainer and the entertained. The rooms of even the best ventilated houses are very apt to be hot and stuffy and an effort to keep cool is about the only amusement in which folk care to indulge. With electric fans the temperature of the rooms may be made endurable. Most city and country houses are now thus equipped. For this reason the hostess who is clever enough to arrange a cool looking entertainment — one which chases away the memory of the sun outside and the heat — is a joy forever to her friends. Such a hostess may find this ''arctic" luncheon an inviting and orig- inal August entertainment. If the hostess is fortunate enough to possess one of the broad, roomy verandas with which many of the mod- ern houses are blessed, or a great lawn, the luncheon may be served on either, but if she must seek her dining room, the house can be made to look quite wintry with the aid of cotton batting sprinkled with diamond dust, a decoration of imitation snowballs and the use of much pure white. For the table use as a centerpiece a block of ice in which flowers of the month have been frozen. This will rise from an arrangement of the dust-be- sprinkled batting or of pure white flowers. On the very top of the ice block stick a pure white pole, bearing a white flag on which has been printed ''north pole.'' Catch as many narrow white ribbons as there are guests to the top of the flagpok and run to the covers, the ENTERTAINMExNTS FOR AUGUST 95 souvenir place card of tiny polar bears, miniature arctic overshoes, snowshoes, skis, sledges, sleigh bells and ev- erything bearing upon winter, being attached to the other ends of the ribbons. The menu for this luncheon of course must be in pure white, or as nearly so as possible. Iced muskmelon for the first course ; iced bouillon or bouillon with whipped cream; roa^t chicken served in a platter dressed with rice ; potato snow — which is a very ' ' snowy ' ' arrange- ment of mashed potatoes ; creamed cauliflower or w.hite asparagus ; cabbage or apple salad ; ice cream or apple snow with whipped cream, snow cake and coffee f rappe. Serve frozen pineapple with the chicken course, the ob- ject being to serve as many "frozen" dishes as possible. A Circus Party for the Children The near approach in late August of school life must bring to the minds of the mothers the fact that enter- tainment days for the children are drawing to a close. Fun must be crowded into a few days. The little friends who have been scattered to the four corners of the globe during vacation time are returning and a party just at this season will serve as a reunion as well as a means of conveying the usual party joy. The mother of today who seeks to entertain the small friends of her small children finds herself wrestling with a grown-up problem. Young ideas have learned to shoot very much after the elders' pattern in this matter of entertainment and the time has passed when the good old games of ''Drop the Handkerchief" and the like fill the social longing within the hearts of the young- sters. Their cry, too, is for novelty, and many are the provisions which must be made for their amusement. Did you ever try a circus party, you mothers who are 96 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH puzzling over this problem of entertainments? Within the memory of man nothing carries quite so much joy within its confines as a circus. The circus party means work and trouble to the host- ess, but this is true of almost any entertainment for children, and the mother who devotes much time to the early plans of her party will find that the actual work of entertainment is greatly lessened thereby. The object in a children's party is to keep the youngsters busy — better have too many- means of amusement than not enough, a rule which does not apply to a party for elders and which is often the rock upon which a hostess sinks her ship of hospitality. Now the mother who has been fortunate enough to pre- serve her old-fashioned ' ' yard ' ' against the onslaught of the park workers' ''lawn" has found a great aid in the arrangement of her circus party. In the first place there is little doubt about her success in enlisting the interest and services of many of the older boys and girls, and the grown-ups, too, and before she realizes she will have circus performers, ticket sellers, clowns and other fol- lowers of the circus, galore. One corner of the yard may be curtained ofP for the sideshow, where young and old friends may be dressed to represent manj^ wonders and do many ''stunts" for the amusement of the small guests and, incidentally, themselves. In the center of the yard a circus tent should be erected and seats ar- ranged as nearly as possible like the circus seats. Two ticket sellers may be placed in booths at the en- trance to the yard — one to give tickets, upon which num- bers are written, to the boys, and the other to serve the girls with tickets bearing duplicate numbers. These will be matched and the boys and girls in this way will find their partners for the performance. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR AUGUST 97 Let all the skill of the hostess be brought to bear upon the menagerie. Secure as many varieties of toy animals as possible — and almost everything may be purchased in the toy departments these days — and then take recourse to old geographies and other books where animal pic- tures may be found. The menagerie should be the acme of success. Animals and pictures will be numbered and a slip of paper, with corresponding numbers, and a pen- cil will be given every guest who enters the menagerie. From the pictures or toys the guests will guess the names of the animals and the one guessing most suc- cessfully will be given an animal book. Along toward the middle of the afternoon the real circus will begin. Men of the family or friends, per- haps, may be prevailed upon to act as clowns and the performance may include any form of entertainment the hostess chooses to plan. Mechanical dolls and toys may be brought into u]se. It may be possible to rent many of these things — if not and the hostess can afford to do so, they may be purchased for the occasion and the left- over toys may be sent to gladden the hearts of the little ■inmates of the orphanages. Regular circus booths may contain peanuts, taffy in tissue paper wrappings, and the popcorn balls or squares in red, white, blue or pink tissue paper, or these things may be passed during the circus performance along with the lemonade, made pink by a dash of strawberry flavoring. It is highly probable that enough eatables will be found in these things, but if the always-longed-for ice cream and cake is desired, this may come at the very close of the afternoon, when each guest may be sent home with a souvenir of the occasion in the gift of one of the toy animals. To charity fresh-air fund workers and church aid 98 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH societies, the ideas found in directions for the circus party may prove working possibilities as money getters. August Birthday Picnic. The person whose birthday comes along in August is not as fortunate as others of the year. August brings the moonstone, with all kinds of promises for conjugal felicity, but little beauty in the gem itself. The stone gives little opportunity for detail of decoration and for this reason the hostess who really desires to follow a birthday plan for x\ugust finds herself rather hard- pressed for ideas. The very best and most enjoyable of summer enter- tainments for young people may be turned to good ac- count right here, however, and a moonlight picnic may be planned. If the home is on the river, hil-e a number of boats and row to a nice, grassy spot, which may have been selected previously. If, however, a drive must be taken to the woods or a lake, get tallyhos, and the drive will be as much fun to the young people as the picnic itself. The invitation to the affair may be written on a crescent of silver paper and slipped in an envelope with' a moonstone stickpin (to be picked up for a song in the stores) run through instead of using the seal or gum. The regular picnic luncheon must bo prepared, of course, and plenty of it, too. A menu in the shape of a cat, on which is written ''Moonlight Singers" or ''Voices of the Night," or some such thing, may serve the double purpose of menu and place card, if place cards are desired. The inevitable picnic chicken may be designated as "The Darkies' Dream." "Merrily We Roll Along" may mean eggs, boiled or deviled; "Dreamland," or "Good Night, Ladies," may mean salad, and so on down the list of eatables, the night songs ENTERTAINMENTS FOR AUGUST 99 may be worked out in the menu. Instead of lemonade, serve iced tea, which may be ''Imitation Moonshine.'* After the supper have a dance or the ordinary picnic ganies and follow, after the dampness of the evening comes on, by gathering about a small bonfire and telling stories or singing songs. 100 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ENTERTAINMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER. A Goldenrod Party. In September the country blossoms with the golden- rod. Aside from its beauty, the goldenrod is the na- tion's floral emblem, and hostesses may combine a love for the beautiful with a bit of patriotism in choosing to do special honor to the flower in entertainment. For an early fall party the goldenrod will form the prettiest kind of a decoration. The whole color scheme, of course, must be in the deep rich yellow which char- acterizes its own coloring. The decoration of the house depends entirely upon its arrangement, but great masses of the flower should be used with the flag of the United States here and there to bring out the honor bestowed upon it by the nation. The hostess should be gowned in yellow, and her table should be laid in yellow and white. A yellow lining for a sheer table covering would make a pretty foundation decoration. The flower, in itself, is too stiff to arrange in any but bouquet form for a centerpiece, but wide yellow satin ribbon can be used at the ta.ble with good effect. For the souvenir cards* have the ordinary white card run through at one corner with a small gilded rod on which the name is written or printed. On the card have sen- timents concerning the goldenrod like the following: Still the goldenrod of the roadside clod Is of all the best. —Clark. Type of all the wealth to be — Goldenrod ! — Goodale. I know all the lands are lit With all the autunnn blaze of goldenrod. — Helen Hunt Jackson. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 101 Because its sun-shaped blossoms show How souls receive the light of God, And unto earth give back that glow — I thank Him for the goldenrod. — Larcom. The hollows are heavy and dark With the steam of the goldenrods. — Taylor. Welcome, dear goldenrod, once more Thou mimic, flowering elm! I always think that summer's store Hangs from thy laden stem. — Scudder. Graceful, tossing plume of glowing gold, Waving lonely on the rocky ledge; Leaning seaward, lovely to behold. Clinging to the high cliff^s ragged edge. — Celia Thaxter. The walls of the room should be draped with the na- tional flag. For the refreshments select from this list: Halved nutmeg melon. Follow with a clear bouillon, in which carrots are diced. Then may come sweetbreads with egg sauce, creamed chicken wdth' tiny baking powder bis- cuits, sweet potato croquettes and mashed j'ellow tur- nips, egg salad with mayonnaise, orange ice with sun- shine cake or lady fingers. With this party, also, a new dish called Syracuse egg- nog would serve prettily. This is made by beating the yolks of four eggs with half a pint of sugar until thick. Over this pour t^vo quarts of strong lemonade, adding the grated rind of one lemon. Pour into the pitcher, from which it is to be serv^ed, and pile on the top the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Dust this with nutmeg. The eggnog is served with shaved ice in thin stemmed glasses, and whether this or the orange ice be used, place on the plate a spray of the goldenrod. 102 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH A Hop Dance. September is a bit early for a dance, and yet for the younger sets the ''time to dance" is any time the oppor- tunity affords, no matter what the temperature records. In June we arranged a reunion party for the college boys and girls. In September a farewell party for those same boys and girls would give quite as much pleasure, for everyone is getting in readiness for the winter's separation. With them 'the dance is the thing, so why not arrange a ''hop" party. If ever it has been your good fortune to be in the northwest states just at the hop season, it will be easy for you to realize how beautiful this "hop" party may be made. The northwest is the hop country. In some sections of Washington during August and September, as far as the eye can reach, it rests upon great draperies of the hop vines — field after field of latticework bearing the green leaves and the fruit of the vine like a mam- moth drapery. For the northwestern hostess, therefore, this "hop" party will be particularly easy — if she can persuade the hop merchant to part with his wares to her — but even the hostesses of the portions of the country where hops are not as plentiful as in the northwest may find some good country woman who still clings to hop-raising for the making of her own bread yeast. The invitations to the hop party may be the regular dancing invitations or they may assume the more in- formal and mystical form of the following: Wont you come to my hop party? All your friends will be there. Come to feast your eyes on beauty, To say "good-bye" to friends and care ENTERTAINMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 103 Underneath write the date and place of the party. For the decorations, use hops only. The rooms may be draped throughout the house in this vine, for nothing is more beautiful as a decoration. The walls may be draped, the ceilings canopied, the doorways curtained with the hop vines and the house may be converted into the proverbial bowser. The hostess and her assistants should w^ear gowns of delicate green ; in fact, every de- tail should be carried out in this color as nearly as pos- sible. If the house in which the party is given possesses a ballroom, one end of the room should be set aside for the after-supper fancy dance, which wiU take the place of the usual cotillion. For this erect an old-fashioned hop pole and arrange long strands of the vine as it would cling to the pole, naturally. When the time comes for the dance these strands wdll be found to take the place of the ribbons on a May-pole, and a sort of May-pole dance may be danced. Otherwise let the dance program be the regular ''hop." If the supper is informal, and is to be served in buffet fashion about the dining table, use the hop pole as a central decoration for the table, allowing the vines to wander out over the board and fall from the sides in natural draperies. If the affair is to be given a formal and verj^ elaborate touch, seat the guests at small tables, each bearing its own decoration of the central hop pole, the four strands w^andering to the covers and bearing the place cards on the end. The menu, carried out in green, should be intrusted to the caterer, and is guided by the formality of the affair. During the dance serve lemonade or the ordinary punch. The young women assistants may alternate in presiding over the punch bowl, wHich should be sunk in 104 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH a nest of the hops. The booth where the punch is served should be hung with the hop vines, and, gowned in dainty green, so attractive a picture will she make that it will not be difficult to persuade the young woman to forego a few dances for the privilege of being mistress of this green bower. For the close of the evening have the musicians play familiar airs, closing with Auld Lang Syne, and asking the young people to pledge each other's health with the lemonade or punch, as they sing. A college stein song would please the young guests for this part of the pro- gram, also. September Birthday Party. The coming of September, with its sapphire to bestow upon those born within its days, is a delight. The deep, rich, sparkling blue of the stone affords a pretty color idea for a luncheon, an evening party, or dinner. There are blue fruits, and nothing makes a prettier table dec- oration than grapes and their leaves. One of the simplest and most attractive center decora- tions it has been my pleasure to sec was arranged by a very young girl with artistic tendencies and consisted only of a stein filled with great bunches of blue grapes, the green leaves massed prettily about the base of the mug and both grapes and leaves falling over the sides on the cloth in artistic confusion. Another idea for a grape decoration which works in prettily is the use of a mound of the grapes on the stem for the center. For the final course the hostess clips the grapes in small bunches, and these serve as the close of the luncheon or dinner. If the first idea is used, a great bow of wide satin rib- bon in the deep blue caught on one corner of the table ENTERTAINMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 105 will add to the beauty of the decoration. The service should be in the deep blue and white which is now easily obtainable and which reminds us of grandmother's dishes. Unlike the greens and reds, it will be quite im- possible to carry the color out in detail in the menu, but the great blue plums, halved and seeded aud piled with whipped cream, make a pretty course. After the refreshments are' over there may be a short contest by way of diversion, for which the following guessing game of stones may be used : There is a stone, my friends, that speaks of home, And one of warmth and cleanliness, as well; Another crowns the arch, and one Does of the building and its strength foretell. Another shines upon us in the night, Another is the symbol of the brave. Another of the fluid that means life. Another of the coming of the grave. Two names has one which makes an edge that's sharp. Another means a carpet for the street. And so we might go on — but think On these, my friends, until your list's complete. The answers are as follows : Hearthstone, soapstone, keystone, cornerstone, moonstone, flagstone, bloodstone, tombstone, whetstone and grindstone, cobblestone. ' ' One Evening House Party. ' ' With the close of September come the housewarmings. The young folk who have been married during the sum- mer months are throwing open new homes, and the folk who have a number of wedded years to their credit are often doing the same, or are just getting settled after another fall flitting. Ordinarily a housewarming may be nothing more than 106 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH the giving of the new home over to the possession of friends for an evening, closing with a dance, but it can be made quite original. The house may be decorated or not, as the hostess chooses. The decoration should be simple — autumn leaves or dahlias would be good for this season of the year. As the guests enter they should be given small keys tied with a bit of ribbon which may carry the old mean- ing of giving the key of the city to an honored guest — a means of expressing that during the visit the city be- longs to him. These keys should be of many sizes and kinds, duplicates to be given the men and women — the way for finding partners for the dining room later in the evening. After the new- home has been seen, paper and pencil should be furnished each guest. The men are requested to draw plans for their ideal house and the women are asked to write out a description of the furnishings for an ideal home. Of course in this the number of rooms in the house must be designated. The papers are num- bered and collected, and judges who have been appointed will pass upon the merits of every paper. For the man who wins the prize for the best plans for a home, a doll 's house may be purchased ; the woman who is given first place in the furnishing contest may be given a set of doll furniture. Do not serve in the regular manner. Simply throw open the dining room, where the table will be heaped with small cakes, apples, popcorn, bonbons, and sand- wiches, with coffee served at the side, if desired, which better illustrates true hospitality. The guests are sup- posed to wander in at will and choose what they wish to oat. The keys may serve as souvenirs of the evening, or ENTERTAINMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 107 toy coffee pots, coffee mills, carpet sweepers, clothes- pins, and the hundred and one reproductions of homely articles of household ware may be given. The affair may be called a ' ' one evening house party. * ' A Literary Evening for September. The ever new but old idea of the magazine as a means of entertainment may be arranged in a somewhat new form for a summer 's evening at a home, church or club affair. Starting with the old idea of erecting a frame for the posing of the contents of the magazine, name the publication according to the place wherein you reside or to the event to be considered. Announce the issue as the late summer book number. Friends of the host and hostess, or young people of the town, should be dressed and posed to represent some well-known books, and the object will be to make the guests guess the titles from the living pictures. The first picture, of course, will announce the title of the magazine merely. If the affair is to be used as a money- making scheme, local advertisements may be used at in- tervals, but if not, the book number should begin at once. The frontispiece of the magazine may be one of the book titles, or it may be the photograph of a very well- known author or poet. The guests must write the nam.e of the man or woman shown, on the paper which has been furnished each, as the first answer. As the- magazine is to be made the chief feature of the evening, some fifteen or twenty pictures should be shown. For the first, Tarkington's "The Beautiful Lady" may be shown as a sweet-faced, white-haired old lady — an old-fashioned grandmother. A dashing young woman. 108 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH too, might be used to represent this title, but no two people bear the same ideas as to real beauty, whereas the old lady of the type mentioned appeals to all. Major's ''When Knighthood Was in Flower" can be made into a beautiful living picture — a young man in colonial costume, kissing the hand of a maiden in the costume of the same poriod — a bit of gallantry which is well-nigh obsolete in this day. Another of Tarkington's — ''The Gentleman from Indiana" — can be used as the first bit of comedy in the magazine. A typical Hoosier may be shown, with pen- cil and pad, bringing out the idea of the "state of au- thors," as Indiana is kno"vvn. Connor's "The Prospector" may be the means of showing a picture of a true wild western miner with pick and shovel. Wister's "The Virginian" may picture the man of the plains in his most romantic dress, or the typical old Virginia gentleman may be shown to represent this stirring title. Barrie's "Little Minister" is too suggestive a title to need aid in posing, and so, likewise, is Mrs. Grand's "Heavenly Twins," although both will be capital for the magazine. Long's "Madame Butterfly" will make an effective picture — a dainty maiden dressed in Japanese costume, with butterflies in her hair, on the paper flower bushes which may grow about her, and in the design of her dress. This idea, too, might be worked out in the mod- ern society matron, but the picture would not be as pretty. Connor's "Man from Glengarry" brings in another type — the lumberman; and Doyle's "Study in Scarlet" may produce a Parisian dancer in her scarlet ballet ENTERTAINMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 109 dress, or a modem young woman in red will suffice as well. Holland's "Bitter Sweet" may be the comedy vehicle again, if a pretty and otherwise sweet young woman — one known to he sweet of disposition — may be posed with a very bitter frown upon her pretty face. Miss Johnstone's ''To Have and to Hold" is ideal for a mother and child picture — a reproduction of Mrs. Vonnoh's little statuette of a young mother holding her babe would be most attractive. Parker's ''Seats of the Mighty" may be an empty throne, and Rostand's "Cyrano" will make an excel- lent character picture. More fun may be produced by Herrick's "The Com- mon Lot," or Doyle's "Sign of the Four." The first may picture a man perched on a high stool in front of a desk covered wath papers. With a pencil behind each ear he is "digging" away with might and main. The last may be worked out by posing four folk with talent for pantomime. Caine's "The Christian" may show another old lady picture — an elderly woman, seated, with her Bible in her lap. "Under the Red Robe" is easily illustrated, while "Under Two Flags" will make an attractive military picture. The series may close with Miss Schriner's "Black Beauty," showing a young man or woman with black- ened face, and dressed in the very height of fashion, which may serve as the last funny picture, and Miss Alcott's "Old-Fashioned Girl," which needs no descrip- tion, as the final "sweet young girl" picture. When the magazine has come to an end, each guest writes his or her name on the slip of paper which has 110 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH been given them for their answers, and the slips are exchanged among the guests for examination. Then .the index of the magazine appears as the last leaf, and the papers are corrected. The most successful contestant is given a late novel or some attractive book, and the "Funny Dictionary" will serve as a booby prize. *'A Harvest Home Salad." To Be Enjoyed in September. Anything which will introduce the harvest idea is good for a fajl entertainment, no matter what the na- ture of the entertainment may be. For instance, the following contest might be entitled ''A Harvest Home Salad — Fruits, Grains and Vegetables," and used as a contest for an evening following a jolly dinner, for an afternoon's fun following a luncheon, or for a. straight entertainment for young people for the afternoon or evening. Each question is to be answered by the name of a well-known fniit, grain or vegetable. 1. An anatomical specimen belonging to a small boy. 2. Usually worn beneath the shoe, although some- what uncomfortable. *3. A curious person in action. 4. Name of the royal animal of Egypt in Latin and a useful household article. 5. A prefix and a proper name. 6. A slang expression or a term of endearment 7. Frequently seen in lovers' lanes. 8. A boy's name and a fatal accident. 9. A vehicle and a disputed point with the ladies. 10. A change for the better. 11. Something to be worked with a handle and a jiear relative. ExNTERTAINMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 111 12. An operation in rhetoric and what a Scotch- man relishes before breakfast. 13. Characteristic of a flea. 14. 0, ye tears! 15. Belonging to a Chinaman and to burden. 16. That b}^ which the heart is known. 17. An Irishman's pronunciation of man's greatest mental process. 18. A gambler's name for the almighty dollar. 19. Add sugar, and you have the name of a flower. 20. Always to be found in cheap boarding houses. 21. Make much trouble when mixed. 22. The famously ridiculous sisters of Iowa. 23. The bane of a prisoner's life and a common suffix. 24. The joy of the hunter and the staff of life. 25. A boy's expression when taking medicine. 26. A perfumed fruit of the vine. 27. The goal of a cheap politician. 28. A famous American poet, a famous head master of Rugby, and a common exclamation. 29. A girl's name and her complexion. 30. My first, shelter for the beasts ; my second, lux- ury for man. The answers to the questions, which will not be found quite as easy as the usual contest, are as follows : 1, tomato; 2, corn; 3, pippin (peepin) ; 4, apricot; 5, persimmons ; 6, peach ; 7, pear ; 8, artichoke ; 9, cabbage ; 10, turnip; 11, pumpkin; 12, parsnip ; 13, hops; 14, onion; 15, cucumber; 16, beet; 17, raisin (reason); 18, beans; 19, pea; 20, prune; 21, dates; 22, cherry; 23, barley; 24, buckwheat: 25, rye; 26, muskmelon : 27. plum; 28, potato (Poe, Tate, and 0); 29, olive; 30, strawberry. 112 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER. An October Club Luncheon. James Whitcomb Riley was bom the seventh of Oc- tober in a year some time between 1849 and 1853. No American poet is more dearly beloved than he, and a woman's club honors itself in honoring him. There is a large reproduction of his bust which is often seen in our public libraries which might be hung over the presiding officer's table. Then the familiar lines, "When the frost is on the pumpkin, And the fodder's in the shock," should be in plain view. The ladies who take pa.rt should be dressed to rep- resent Riley's characters, and several may preside over the tables. At one, ' ' 'Lizabeth Ann, she can cook best things to eat," may have her table filled with cakes and pies. At another, Riley's poems and photographs may be used, and at still another, "The Raggedy man! He works for pa," may knock down apples from an impro- vised apple tree. While all are busy tasting the good things, there may appropriately be given a representation of the time when " 'The old band' marched in — And stylisher and grander tunes; but ' Somehow — anyway I want to hear the old band play Sich tunes as 'John Brown's body' and 'Sweet Alice,' don't you know? And 'The camels is a-comin' and 'John Anderson, my Jo.' " And the impromptu band may play them. Later some of the Riley poems should be recited. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER 113 A Houseboat on the Styx Party. The hostess of a literary turn of mind may find some- thing original and a bit unique in a ' ' Houseboat on the Styx Party." A large number of guests may be entertained, or only a regular dinner of less than twelve will be enlivened. The suggestions given here for the latter may be easily modified to be used for the larger. "A Houseboat on the Styx Dinner Party" affords a most excellent opportunity for an earlj^ fall fancy dress dinner and, incidentally, a bit of fun. The invitation may read after this fashion, the hostess, if she cares to do so, selecting the character to be rep- resented by each guest : ' ' The houseboat will cast anchor at the Martin pier on the Styx on Wednesday, October the eleventh, when the famed of all nations will assemble to dine together at eight 'clock. George and Martha Washington have sent regrets and beg that you appear as their representa- tives. ' ' The names of the host and hostess may be signed, or their card enclosed. The telephone in the house of the hostess will be kept busy for the next few days, no doubt; but this will give her a good opportunity to explain the exact nature of the entertainment and what is expected of every guest. The dining room walls should be made to look as much like the interior of a houseboat as will be possible. Through the center of the table run a long, narrow strip of mirror to represent a river, and in the center of this have a lone houseboat, which may be towed by a small boat, supposedb^ Charon's boat. The place card should be some toy which will represent a characteristic of the famous guest being represented, when alive. For in- 114 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH stance, a small Chinese idol for Confucius ; a small tree or the historical hatchet for George Washington ; a mil- itary toy for Napoleon ; a small tub or lantern for Diog- enes ; a toy violin for Nero ; a doll cloak for Sir Walter Raleigh, and so forth. Genuine amusement may be cre- ated by making the guests find their o^vn places by means of these ' ' cards. ' ' The menu should be a series of surprises. Down in the stores these days may be found everything, from ham and eggs and cuts of beef to vegetables and fruit, in miniature. Small birds browned as nicely as if they had just emerged from the oven are only papier-mache, but they look appetizing, and all these things may be introduced in the various courses as the ''shades" of former luxuries. The first course, of fruit, for in- stance, may be one of these surprises. The second, of soup, must be genuine, as no one has succeeded in in- venting papier-mache soup as yet. On through the various courses these surprises may be sprung, until the guests will hesitate to try the real things, for fear of once more falling a victim to the surprise. This will make the dinner long, but if carefully arranged .it will be far from tiresome. If it is the desire to carry the dinner through to the very limit of detail according to the story, Charon should serve as waiter, but this may be a trifle too realis- tic for the average entertainer. Paper and pencil may be furnished the guests, and between the courses they may guess the identity of each other, the one most successful receiving a copy of the book for a prize. The evening may close with a dance, or every guest may be requested to indulge in some performance which will characterize the person he I'cpreseuts. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER 115 An October Birthday Party. The fall, with its colorings, its green ajid turning leaves and its late flowers, makes the choice of the opal as the October birthstone very appropriate. It likewise makes possible a most attractive birthday party. The invitations may be issued on clouded paper or cardboard. The table decorations may be in sweet peas, their many delicate colors corresponding beautifully to the colors of the stone. For the ''fire" of the opal the rich, red au- tumn leaves may be used, and the dahlias, too, are of the tones which are available for such an affair. Tiffany glass holders for the flowers and strings of glass beads will add to the general idea. Another good idea for an opal party is found in filling a many-colored glass bowl — the regular opal bowls — with flowers, and dropping the bulb of a drop-light in the bowl. The wire from the chandelier may be twined with flowers or smilax. Little light bulbs may be hidden among the sweet peas. The souvenir cards may be decorated in water color, with one of the cheap opal pins to be found on the nov- elty counters of the city stores run through the corner. An ordinary menu should be served, weaving in as many colors as possible. One of the difficulties with which the average hostess finds herself confronted is the choice of appropriate place-card inscriptions. Such a hostess may find the fol- lowing of use : For the nearest and dearest friend: "A perfect woman, nobly planned, To warn, to comfort, and command." — Wordsworth. For a popular man of rank: "The rank is but the guinea's stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that," — Burns. 116 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH For the sunshiny girl: "Born to give joy and bring peace to the world." For the military man: "Be that you seem, truly your country's friend." — Shakespeare. For the athletic actor: "Good at a fight, but better at a play." — Moore. For the smoker: "For thy sake, tobacco, I Would dp anything but die." — Lamb. Fx)T the clergyman: "There goes the parson, O illustrious spark!" — Cowper. For the jolly man: "A man he seems of cheerful yesterdays. And confident to-morrows." — Wordsworth. For the very courteous man: "He is the very pineapple of politeness." — Sheridan. For the self-possessed woman: "Mistress of herself, though china falls." — Pope. For the belle or beau: "Ah, you flavor everything; you are the vanilla of society." — Sydney Smith. For the stately maid: "She moves a goddess and she looks a queen." — Pope. For the popular young girl: "She is pretty to walk with, And witty to talk with." An October Wedding If the June brides are favored with the roses, the October brides have the autumn leaves. Nowadays when a bride docs not foel that custom demands a white ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER 117 decoration for weddings, these leaves of green and brown and red make a most available and effective trimming for home services. In the room chosen for the celebration of the service the green of palms, southern smilax or asparagus fern can be used, the background of the palms with the drapery of the vine. Throughout the other rooms the autumn leaves should be used, with the exception of the dining room, where the white may be made attractive, if the bride desires to leave the color out of one room. ' The colors may be carried out perfectly in the gown- ing of the bridal party. The bride, of course, will be in white, with her bouquet of lilies of the valley or roses, as she chooses. The maid of honor in green chif- fon, with a wreath of the leaves and an arm bouquet of the leaves, will be the first to bring in the color scheme. For the bridesmaids' gowns select the new chiffons with the autumn colors. These are so delicate in design with the colors so faintly traced that the color shows a^ through a mist, and made over slips of white or very pale green will make a very attractive gown for a brides- maid. Like the maid of honor, the bridesmaids should wear wreaths of the leaves, a.ild they may carry bunches of the leaves or wreaths like the schoolgirl's daisy chains. The truth is that the average American hostess fails to realize the possibilities which the autumn leaf af- fords by way of decoration, else there would be less of the purchasing of expensive roses and more expensive chrysauthemums during the fall season for decoration. Teas, dinners, luncheons and every other entertainment can be given with practically no expense if a short journey to near-by woods is taken and the natural dee- 118 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH oration of the fall is gathered. So many novelties come in autumn leaf design now — place cards, enam- eled pins and the like— ;J:hat souvenirs are plentiful, and an autumn leaf entertainment lacks trouble as well as expense. Halloween Phantom Party. For the Halloween entertainer there seems truly ' ' no new thing under the sun." Apparently every idea worth while has been tried many times, and there re- mains nothing but the working over of the best of the old. A plan was tried several years ago by a group of young women and found of full weight in the matter of fun. The young women represented a group who had been school chums, and later had formed a society ''set" of their own. The young men of the party represented the same class of friends, and the plans for the evening, therefore, could be made according to this basis of good comradeship — the only kind of a company to gather to- gether for such a celebration as Halloween. The invitations were issued by the young women, and were written on black cardboard with white ink — a sum- mons bidding the young men to appear at the home of one of the young women at a certain hour. In the lower left-hand corner of the card skull and cross-bones were parted, and these gave the air of mystery supposed to be abroad on this night of nights. The young women were asked to appear more than an hour earlier than the time set for the coming of the young men, and further, it was demanded of them that they come prepared to don sheet and pillow-case masks, for a ''ghost party." This portion of the entertainment was supposed to have been kept a secret from the youn^ entp:rtainments for October 119 men, but the secret leaked out, and the young men, not to be outdone, came at the appointed hour in full mask, also, and fearful and wonderful masks as well. This made matters even more complex than had been plan- ned originally, for w^hile the first intention on the part of the young women had been to mystify the young men, through masking, they had not reckoned upon being mystified in return. The plans for the evening were unique. Carrying out the gh(5stly idea emphasized by the sheets and pillow- cases, in which the young women were attired, it had been arranged that the whole ajfair should be ''white." The home of every young woman in the group had been raided and called upon for donations, with the result that white rugs covered the dark carpets, white bed- spreads took the place of portieries, white bits of silk drapery covered the bric-a-brac, and wicker furniture replaced the regular furnishings of the home. Instead of lemonade or punch, milk was served in an old water set, of which both pitcher and glasses were of a peculiar white, glazed ware. After the arrival of the young men, and guesses as to the identity were rife on both sides, the dancing be- gan. In this, also, a stroke of genius in the appreciation of novelty had been shown by the young women. Two of the blackest negro musicians to be found in the city had been engaged to play for the dance, and served as the only ''dark spots" in the white surroundings. The early portion of the evening had been spent in an effort to peer behind the masks — figuratively — and discover the maskers. Masks, too, are uncomfortable things to wear, even when the wearing of them means fun, and the dance was made comparatively short. When this program was nea.ring its end, the door of the parlors 120 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH opened, and a witch appeared. ' The young women in their ghostly robes were summoned to an adjoining room, and the young men were left alone. The meaning of this was not explained, not even when the witch ap- peared again with a small box, which was placed in the room where the young men had gathered. Pres- ently, however, the witch reappeared leading by the hand one of the imprisoned young women. The sheeted figure was placed on the box, and the witch began a recital of her good points. It was explained that the young man who offered the highest bid would, in this manner, purchase his partner for the supper, which was to follow. A clever witch can make this part of the evening very interesting and filled with fun, for few- young men will refuse to enter heartily into a plan of the kind — it embodies too much of the game of chance, in which most of them find delight. As the highest bid was reached, the ''purchaser" led his "purchase" from the auction stool and another ghostly figure was brought in for sale. At this particular entertainment most of the young women of the party were of medium height, and slender, and this added to the difficulty in rightly guessing their identity, individually. In the dining room, of course, everything was in white, likewise. A light luncheon was served — cottage cheese and plain bread and butter sandwiches, celery, instead of olives, chicken salad — a Waldorf salad could be used, also — white cake, ice cream, and marshmallows for bonbons. The evening closed with songs, fortune telling and stories told beneath the lights of the pumpkin lanterns, without which no Halloween party ever is complete. This idea is good, because it will not only appeal to ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER 121 the private hostess, but for a club or church society want- ing to make a bit of money in a neat and entertaining way, it is of value. The young women could be asked to furnish the luncheon, and the young men should pay actual coin for their partners for the evening. A good little sum might be secured in this manner, and the fun for the young folks could be thrown in for good measure. Halloween Children's Party. How to plan a Halloween festival for children and at the same time keep sentimentality out of the enter- tainment is not the easiest thing in the world, but a little thought shows it may be done, and so skilfully that the party will forget that shades of future husbands and wives have neglected to appear. Let the invitations excite interest. Tuck into the empty shell of an^English walnut a strip of paper con- taining the invitation, after which lightly glue the halves together. Tie up the nut in two square pieces of tissue paper, green outside and yellow inside, by gathering the paper around the nut and tying with a narrow red ribbon. The green, yellow and red repre- sent autumnal coloring. The corners may show the lining. Jack-o'-lanterns are to be the chief decoration and may be formed to afford the children much merriment. Cut round, laughing faces,, long, doleful faces, faces with hideous grms.. and supercilious faces with high arched brows. Let the room be lighted only with these pumpkin lanterns, which may hang from the ceiling and be placed in every nook and corner. For further decora- tion evergreen boughs woven in and out will be found effective. 122 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH The fun may be made uproarious at first by introduc- ing games, such as threading needles with a rolling jug for a seat, bobbing for apples in tubs, or trying to bite suspended apples with molasses on their cheeks. Next, provide each child with a goblin or brownie mask or a sheet and pillow-case costume. Silhouette pictures may now be presented. Half the party go behind the sheet and turn, one at a time, into pantomime artists, while the other half guesses who each is. Supper may be eaten in true picnic style, the young folks seating themselves on soft cushions placed on the floor. Each child is given a yellow gourd, which has been hollowed out, lined with Japanese napkins and filled with viands that all children like. Dainty sand- wiches, salad in tiny gourds, popcorn balls, gingerbread made into animal forms, and nuts may all be found. On the very top place what appears to be a rosy apple, but what proves a bonbon box filled with delicious nut candy. During the spread ghost stories of not too terrifying a nature may be told. All may take part, each guest giving a sentence or two of a story and stopping abruptly foj" the next to continue. Ask a child to recite ''The Gobble-uns 11 Get Ye," or ''Seein' Things at Night." Souvenirs will be the one remaining touch to make the children perfectly happy. Construct a huge paste- board pumpkin and cover with yellow paper. Into this put the gifts and attach to each of them a long yellow ribbon which hangs over the sides. Just before the boys and girls go home, bring in the pumpkin and let them pull out all sorts of appropriate knickknacks, such as black cats, witch dolls, four-leaved clovers, tiny brooms, rabbits' feet, etc. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER 123 Some Halloween Tricks for Entertainments. Here are a few tricks which have been tried and not found wanting: This trick will call for some bravery on the part of the girls of the crowd. Early in the evening plant in [the back yard a quantity of cabbage heads. A portion if these will be covered with black mosquito netting, others with red, still others with brown, and part will be left in the original state. When the part}' is at its height a girl is chosen from the crowd and made to steal around the house alone. She must walk backwards to the place where the cab- bages are planted, stoop down without looking and seize a cabbage head. The color of the covering foretells the color of her future husband's hair. If she draws a cabbage in its natural state it means she is to be an old man's darling. The use of the cabbage head may not be complimentary to the boys, but it 's fun and comes straight from Scotland. Hang a pumpkin from the ceiling, within easy reach of the guests. Cut in or pasted upon the surface of the pumpkin have the letters of the alphabet. In turn, pro- vide the guests with a long knife — the bread knife will do. The pumpkin is twirled and while it is yet spinning the person with the knife thrusts it into the pumpkin. The letter stabbed will be the initial of the name of the future helpmeet. The old trick of the glass of water, the hair and the ring, is good for Halloween. Fill a glass a bit more than one-half full of water, tie a ring on a hair from your own head and hold suspended just above the water. Repeat the alphabet slowly while the ring swings as it will. There must be no effort on the part of the holder 124 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH to swing the ring. As the letters are said the ring prob- ably will hit the sides of the glass, touching at the sound of the letters which will form the initials of the name of the future wife or husband. Suspend cross rods of witch-hazel from the ceiling From one end hang a piece of broad, another a bit of candy or cake, another a candle-end, and another a red pepper. This is kept spinning, the object being to snatch in the teeth one of the.se pieces. If the bread is caught, married life is to be peaceful and commonplace; if the sweet, it is to be delightful ; if the candle-end, disagree- able, and if the pepper, peppery. Another trick, which means fun and fortune, is found in tying a raisin in the middle of a long piece of thread. Two people are given the ends of the thread, the object being to determine which ^vill be the first to chew along the thread to the raisin. The one reaching the raisin first will be married first. When refreshments are served, the table may be ar- ranged covered by a red cloth and in the middle of it a witch about eighteen inches high and made of the top of a broomstick securely fastened into a block of wood, then made into shape with cotton. Her head is a gourd jack-o'-lantern with a tiny candle burning inside, the top covered with a sugar-loaf hat about which coils a tiny toy snake. The dress should be of bright scarlet crepe paper, cov- ered with cabalistic symbols in gilt. On each shoulder perch a Japanese skeleton ; on the arms, made of cloth and wire, a basket knit of brown tissue paper, and over the sides hang yellow ribbons with little knots at the ends. Surround the witch by wee red, yellow and green candles burning in small candlesticks. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER 125 The guests may be requested to answer the following questions : I. When foam appears on coffee cup Why make haste to gather up? . (Money). II. Why court the dream-god when in bed, With wedding cake beneath thy head? (Dreams come true). III. When thirteen sit at table spread What awful happening do we dread? (A death before the year is ended). IV. When with household tasks o'erwhelming One would frown on any more, What the penalty for dropping Dainty dishcloth on the floor? (Unexpected company). V. When salt is spilled, alas! alack 1 How may we avert the scrap? (Throw salt over the left shoulder). VI. When double knives are at one place And double forks at 'tother, What doubting may we then look for At one time or another? (A wedding in the family). VII. Why do maidens hesitate To take the last piece from the plate? (Be an old maid). VIII. When stem of leaf appears in tea What good fortune may it be? (A welcome visitor coming). IX. If pack of cards and Bible lie Beneath thy head at night, What vision will appear in dreams To thy astonished sight? (Future life partner). X. If you should sing before you break your fast Why will you rue it e'er the day is past? (Cry before night.) 126 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH An Autumn ** Author" Guessing Contest. Although the guessing contest as a means of enter- tainment has grown into such popularity of late that it seems a recent idea^ in reality it is far from new. Some time ago an interested reader sent to me a list of ques- tions for a guessing contest which was found in an old scrap book, and was arranged almost a half century ago. The questions, many of them, ajluded to the fash- ions of the period in which they were written, and these have been omitted from the list below, their places hav- ing been filled for this occasion with questions which bring them into the possible knowledge of present-day folk. The answers to the questions had been lost, but thought and research have filled in most of these, and the game, with its new additions, is passed on for the benefit of hostesses of the fall and -vvinter, and partic-^ ularly for the chairman of the social committees of the various clubs and societies who, I am sure, will greet the old game with joy. Every question must be answered by the name of an author, and, naturally, from the age of the game, the author must be one who was well known and popular- alive or dead — fifty years ago. Now, it is an easy mat- ter to guess the names of folk prominent in the public eye in one 'sown time, but for the famed of a half cen- tury and more before oner's time, the rusted hinges of the brain must be set to working, and even the women of the ''literature department" will be kept busy with this game, which is as follows : 1. What a rough man said when he wished his son to eat properly. (Chaucer.) 2. Is a lion's house dug in the side of a hill where there is no water. ( Dryden.) ENTERTAINMENTS FOR OCTOBER 127 3. Pilgrims and flatterers have knelt low to kiss him. (Pope.) 4. Makes and mends for first-class customers. (Taylor.) 5. Represents the dwellings of civilized men. (Holmes.) 6. Is worn on the head. (Hare.) 7. A name that means such fiery things. I can't describe their pains and stings. (Buwis.) 8. Belonging to a monastery. (Abbott.) 9. Not one of the four points of the compass, but inclined toward one of them. (Southey.) 10. Is w^hat an oyster heap is likely to be. (Shelley.) 11. Is a chain of hills containing a dark treasure. (Coleridge.) 12. Always youthful. (Young.) 13. An American manufacturing town. (Lowell.) 14. Humpbacked, but not deformed. (Campbell.) 15. An internal pain. (Akenside.) 16. Value of a word. (Wordsworth.) 17. A ten-footer whose name begins with 50. (Long- fellow.) 18. A worker in precious metals. (Goldsmith.) 19. A vital part of the body. (Harte.) 20. Small talk and a heavy weight. (Chatterton.) 21. Comes from a pig. (Bacon.) 22. A domestic worker. (Butler.) 23. A slang expression. (Dickens.) 24. A young domestic animal. (Lamb.) 25. ''Mamma is in perfect health, my child," And thus he named a poet mild. (Motherwell.) 26. A girl's name and a male relation. (Addison.) 27. A disagreeable fellow to have on one's foot. (Bunyon.) 128 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH 28. An official dreaded by the students of English universities. (Proctor.) 29. His middle name is suggestive of an Indian or a Hottentot. (Whittier.) (This, also, might be Thack- eray.) 30. A game and a male of the human species. ( Tennyson. ) 31. Meat! What are you doing? (Browning.) 32. Very fast indeed. (Swift.) 33. To agitate a weapon. ( Shakespearie.) 34. Put an edible grain 'twixt an ant and a bee, And a much-loved poet you will see. (Bryant.) 35. A common domestic animal and what it can never do. (Cowper.) 36. Each living head in time, 'tis said," Will turn to him, 'though He be dead. (Gray.) 37. To precede. (Prior.) 38. A coin-fraction and a weight. (Milton.) 39. An elevated woman. (Toplad3^) 40. A name and a small house. (Alcott.) 41. Near and rapid. (Byron.) 42. Celebrated in war and literature. (Sheridan.) 43. A meeting house and a high place. ( Churchill.) 44. A worker in barrels. ( Cooper. ]j 45. A sly pig. (Cunningham.) 46. A girl's name and a boy. (Emerson.) 47. A renter. (Tenant.) 48. True of the ladies. (Lovelace.) 49. Inclined toward royalty. (Kingsley.) 50. With my first, I a berry disclose. My second 's the tear of a rose. ( Hawthorne. ) ENTERTAINMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 129 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR NOVEMBER. A November Birthday Party. The birthstone for November is the topaz, and with the yellow chrysanthemums coming on and the roses of yellow filling the greenhouses, there should be little difficulty in finding plenty of floral decoration at least. The goldenrod, which comes nearer the deep, rich shade of the topaz than any of the other blooms, may be the very hardest to find at this time of year, but if some effort is made it can be secured. Yellow a3 a decoration is old ; and new ideas for the working out of the color scheme are not very plentiful. Perhaps the newest may be found in an attempt to play upon the ''yellow" newspaper idea. If this is done, go to a newspaper or telegraph office and secure some yellow ' ' flimsy. ' ' Have the invitations written on this and send to the guests. The invitations may read after this fashion : "News comes from Michigan boulevard that Mr. and Mrs. John Jacob Graham will celebrate the birthday anniversary of Mr. Graham by giving a party to their close friends on the evening of , and that Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jones are among the bidden guests. It will be informal, and will be at eight o'clock at their home, number , on the boulevard, and the invited guests are asked TO-PAZ upon the invitations early and respond. ' ' The house may be decorated in the flowers, yellow bunting draperies and yellow flags. The lights should be shaded in yellow. If there is a small son in the fam- ily or among the friends who can be persuaded to serve at the door instead of one of the servants, dress him as the ' ' Yellow Kid, ' ' and let him admit the guests. The 130 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH host and hostess may be dressed as Chinese, representing the ' ' Yellow Peril ' ' about which we have heard so much in recent years ; or, if either object to this, the servants who wait upon the table may be dressed in this fashion. The affair, being informal, naturally will depend greatly upon the arrangements for the completion of the central idea of the evening, and this can be carried out without difficulty. Flowers, arranged as the hostess desires, should form the main decoration. For the evening program, issue small editions of a yellow paper, and these may serve as souvenir cards as well. The common white newspa- per printed in yellow ink or yellow paper printed in flaring black letters may be used. The size of the sheet may be determined by the entertainers, but a,t least an eight-page paper should be arranged. On the first page at the top have this line: GRAHAM'S YELL-ER. Thirty-fifth Year— No. 1. Chicago, November 22, 1915. Eight Parts. The year in the upper left-hand corner, of course, is the age of the host, men not hesitating to tell their ages, according to proverb. Where the cartoon in the av- erage city paper is placed have the picture of a newsboy with his mouth .wide open and from his throat sup- posedly coming the newsboy's yell — "All About — . " In the space below have this line : ''What is to follow !" At the very bottom of the page write the name of the guest for whom it is intended. If dancing is arranged for, the dances, of course, will follow, each occupying a page and each described in true yellow journalism style. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 131 The menu for refreshments on other pages may be elaborate or simple — the one given below as a sample is very simple, but wholesome and good enough for an in- formal gathering of close friends on such an occasion as a birthday celebration. The first course may be to- mato soup, and the second page of the paper will read : TOM-atoes CRUSHED, that we may DRINK of their BLOOD! Arranged in headline fashion, with the capitalized letters in big type, and the other letters in agate or smaller, this line will be yellow enough for the most gory. For the second, or the fish course, may be : Fish : NETS of the heartless CATCH UNWARY ! The meat course may consist of a juicy roast of beef with browned potatoes and creamed corn for the prin- cipals. The next page of the paper will read: COW ROASTS while the potatoes are DONE BROWN ajid EARS of corn are MASHED to a cream. The salad may be any kind chosen for the following page : CHOPPED TO BITS ! The dessert may be brick ice cream and cakes, and the page will bear this description : FROZEN into bricks AND BAKED in an oven. 132 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Coffee and nuts will come next with the description: THE END IS NEAR!! And when the cigars come on : GOES UP IN SMOKE ! In the cake, which the host should cut, and which should be borne to the^ table on a bed of flowers used in the decoration or on a wooden base surrounded by lighted yellow candles, should be baked a gold ring set with a topaz, and a stick pin to correspond. The ring may be baked in one side of the cake and the pin in the other. The man who draws the piece of cake bearing the pin is the lucky one of the evening of the men, and the woman who wins the piece bearing the ring is the fortunate of the women. Later, if it is desired, the guests may issue a yellow paper of their own, the items to be confined to news of those present at the dinner. November Club Luncheon. William Cullen Bryant. A William Cullen Bryant luncheon ^vill make a good beginning for November, as the third is the anniversary of his birth. Bryant was so fond of the autumn and its foliage that the fall decorations will be particularly appropriate. The tables, too, may be done after his nature poems. For the decoration of one table, use yellow autumn leaves. Through the center of the table run a long, wide yellow ribbon, on which is printed ' ' The melancholy days are come," from his ''Death of the Flowers." For another, use the red autumn leaves, the red ribbon, on which is printed "When woods begin to wear the crim- ENTERTAINMENTS FOR^ NOVEMBER 133 son leaf,'* from his ** October." A third table in golden- rod will have the yellow ribbon, on which is done "The goldenrod is leaning," from his "My Autumn Walk." For another table, use the next line of the same poem, "The purple aster waves," with the purple aster for floral decorations and the purple ribbon. Still another table will be in yellow, with this quotation from the "Death of the Flowers": "The yellow sunflower . . . colored with the heavens own blue. ' ' course, being used as the decoration. Again, his poem, * ' To the Fringed Gentian, ' ' may be used as the founda- tion for a pretty table, the flower itself to form the cen- ter decoration, with the blue ribbon bearing the quota- tion which is the opening of the poem, "Thou blossom . . . colored with the heaven 's own blue. ' ' For place cards, if these are desired, a plain white card, decorated with a small head of the poet, will form a pretty souvenir. Beneath have printed in the color in which the table is done: "William Cullen Bryant, November 3, 1794-June 12, 1878." The poems are full of quotations which will be appropriate for the place cards. This place card may be a folder, one-half to be used for a menu, and here, again, quotations may be worked in with some cleverness. For a soup course, instead of the name of the soup, use the following quotation from his "To the Past": In thy abysses lie Beauty and excellence unknown. For an oyster course, the following from "The Eve- ning Wind ' * ; Thou has been out upon the deep at play. 134 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH For a, fowl course, this from "The Death of the Flowers " : The robin and the wren are flown. Fish can bring forth another quotation from ''The Evening Wind": I welcome thee To the scorched land, thou wanderer of the sea. These two lines from ''Thanatopsis" can be used for potatoes : Earth that nourished thee, shall claim Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again. * ' The future Life ' ' may furnish this quotation for the wheat bread : In meadows fanned by heaven's life-breathing wind. The salad course will bring another quotation from ''To the Past": Full many a mighty name Lurks in the depths, A short line from "America" will sei^e for the dessert : How loved thou art ! This from "The Death of the Flow^ers" may be used for the nuts : The sound of dropping nuts is heard. Then will come the coffee, for which the poem "Octo- ber ' ' furnishes this quotation : Aye, thou art welcome! During the afternoon let someone give a short sketch of the poet's life and work and autumnal songs be sung. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 135 Thanksgiving Suggestions. The very close of the month of November brings Thanksgiving and the well-stored grainhouses and gen- eral prosperity of the nation attest its right and duty to give thanks. Thanksgiving and Christmas form two days so strictly family-like in nature that, in celebration, the outside world scarcely should peep in. However, on these days, fashion's decrees are set aside and the family usually dines during the midday, leaving the evening free for the fun and frolic with friends. On these days, too, the annual football games at the colleges marking the close of the football season attract the young and old college folk alike, and Thanksgiving is a busy day. Whether the family only are the guests at the dinner table, or there are friends to join the family circle, the day should receive its homage — not only in the serving of the turkey but in the decoration of the table. One of the most ideally happy families never lots a day of celebration, from Valentine's Day to Christmas, pass without notice in the family circle, however slight. Every member of the family looks forward to the com- ing of the next holiday, which is sure to bring a happy surprise. The mother finds the extra thought and effort she puts forth for these days well repaid in the happi- ness of the members of her household — and she is one of the mothers whose days are devoted to the work of her home and children. For decorations for Thanksgiving there are always turkeys, the chrysanthemums and the footballs, but for the hostess who desires an idea a bit more elaborate than any of these, there are the ancient goddesses of the myths to draw upon. For the centerpiece have a great 136 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH mound of purple grapes and wheat. The sheaves of wheat in the natural state may be somewhat difficult to secure at this time of the year, but if so, the artificial sheaves with which hats are trimmed will serve the pur- pose quite as well. 'The beauty of this decoration need not be dwelt upon, for a little imagination will picture it. The wild grape vine or bunches of artificial grapes twined with dark blue ribbon may be caught to the chandelier and draped to two corners of the table; the wheat, caught together' like a vine, falling from the chandelier to the other two corners. At the four corners the vines twine slightly about small statuettes of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and civilization ; Proserpina, the goddess of vegetation; Diana, goddess of the chase, and Fortuna, the goddess of plenty. The four goddesses may bear four candles, shaded with purple and yellow shades — two in each color. The place cards may be small contributions like those laid at the feet of the four god- desses — a cajidy deer, to represent Diana ; a sheaf of wheat for Ceres ; fruit or vegetables for Proserpina, and horns of plenty for Fortuna. Another and more American-like decoration may be found in the use of the candy-box turkeys which strut about the confectioner's windows these days. An im- mense turkey for the center may hold in her beak long strands of narrow red, white and blue ribbon. At the end of each strand have a small turkey bearing the place card in its beak. For another turkey decoration the strands may come from beneath the lid, which may be in the back of the turkey or at the neck. A small American flag will serve as the place card. At the close of the meal each diner will be requested to draw his strand of ribbon from the ENTERTAINMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 137 turkey. At the other end of the ribbon he will find a blank sheet of paper and a small pencil. At the top of the paper will be written a quotation descriptive of the guest for whom it is intended, and beneath will be written : "Count your many blessings, Name them one by one." Thereupon every member of the party must set about putting down on the paper the thing for which he is thankful. At the close of the time allotted to the con- test the hostess passes a great cup bearing the inscrip- tion : ' ' My cup overflows. ' ' The slips of paper are put in this a,nd the one who has found the greatest number of blessings for which thanks is returned is given a prize — the turkey which has served as a centerpiece, filled with candy, for instance. For the young folk a decoration of footballs is good. The centerpiece may be a large ball carried aloft by Minerva, symbolizing victory, or the football may sur- mount a mound of flowers in the colors of the winning team, or the team for whom the luncheon is given, or the one with which the young people are allied. The place cards should be small footballs tied with the rib- bons of the team represented. ^ A FEW TOASTS. May this be our doctrine wherever we're twirled, A fig for the cares of this whirling world. Here's to the bride to be, Smiling, bright and fair; Here's to those who would like to be, Wondering when and where. Come in the evening, or come in the morning, Come when you are looked for, or come without warning, 138 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH A thousand welcomes you will find here before you, And the oftener you come here the more I'll adore you. 'Twas a blue bird told the story On his way from heaven this morn. It was starlight soft and tender, Yet the East was flushed with rose, And the weary world was waking From the calm of its repose. This the message, sweet and holy, "Tired souls, forget your pain. Christ the Lord for you is risen; Doubting hearth, He lives again!" A Progressive Dinner for Holiday Charity. A group of young women who desired to raise money for a club gave the following progressive dinner, which proved a tremendous success, financially and socially. The first table was done entirely in w^hite, with w^hite flowers for decoration and white paper napkins. Cream of chicken or cream of celery soup, with crackers, was served. The second table was in green. Ferns were scattered about the cloth. In the center was a palm — a dainty fern w^ould do as Avell — and green candles were used to light the table. Here salad on lettuce leaves Avas served with thin white bread and butter sandwiches and pickles. Wood brown was the color chosen for the third table. Doilies of wood-brown crepe paper with smaller center of white crepe paper were used and for the decoration large and small brown pine cones were gathered. Po- tato chips were served in wooden chopping bowls. Roast lamb, Boston baked beans, brow^n bread and ap- ple sauce, with coffee, were found at this table, carry- ing out the wood-brown idea. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 139 For the fourth table yellow was the predominating color. Yellow wild flowers or yellow roses were used in decoration and orange and apple salad was served in halves of oranges. A red crepe paper table cloth and napkins of white with red borders, told the color scheme of the fifth table. Red roses were used in decoration. At this table pink gelatine with fruits in it, or strawberries served with small cakes covered with red frosting, were sold. The sixth table at this particular affair was the cli- max of daintiness. Pink was the color scheme. A large bell of pink was suspended over the center, with streamers of pink crepe paper twisted to the bell. Pink crepe paper was used as the table cover and there were centerpieces of Battenberg embroidered in roses. The candles were pink with pink shades. Strawberry ice cream was served with pink and white layer cake. For the seventh table nile green was used and more crepe paper was found available. Even the legs of the table were wound in green and the candles were in the same shade. If it is the desire to make this table very realistic have white carnations colored light green or use the light green paper flowers. Serve mint, candies. The eighth and last table was done in lavender, and, of course, lilacs, violets, hyacinths or thistles may be used, according to the season. The lavender crepe pa- per with china-berry blossoms makes a pretty table. At this table home-made candies were sold. The young women, themselves, did the selling. If it is possible for all to wear gowns of the color repre- sented at their respective tables so much the better, but neck ribbons and sashes of the colors should be worn, at least, and white gowns. 140 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Tickets were purchased on entering and at each table were punched for that course. This idea is good also for a church affair. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER 141 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER. A Whittier Club Luncheon. John Greenleaf Whittier, born December seven- teenth, 1807, was the ''Quaker Poet, but all seasons very evidently held brightness and happiness for him. But the winter poems, ''Snow Bound,'* "Frost Spirit," etc., make his birthday anniversary particularly appro- priate. For the club luncheon the table of honor may be a play upon the poet's unusual middle name, in decoration. In his poem "My Namesake" he takes this liberty himself, inserting the line, "A Greenleaf on your own green banks" in his first stanza. This may be chosen as the line of decoration for the first table, or merely the name of the poet may be used. For an- other the use of cut flowers will answer to the half- line "breath of flowers" from "At Eventide," and still another table of cut flowers may be used with the line "Blow from summer's blossomed land," from the "Prayer of Agassiz. " If hemlocks or a like green may be secured, "Snow Bound's" -The somber green Of hemlock- will make a pretty winter table. For the outside page of the folder-menu, water-color vines of green leaves should be used. If a folder is not desired a heavy card with the leaves delicately painted and the menu printed over is equally attractive. The dates December 17, 1807— September 7, 1892, should be printed immediately below the full name of the poet. If the folder is used this will be placed on the first page ; if the card, at the top. For the second page of the folder or immediately beneath the dates on the card 142 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH this line from * * Peace-Autunm " — ''Peace that sits as Plenty's guest." If an opening course of oysters is served take the line ''Their scallop-shells so many bring," from "My Namesake, ' ' for the description. For a bouillon course which may follow, another line from the same poem — "Imagination held in check" — will serve. Fish of any kind may be described as follows : -gather Old ocean's treasures in. This comes from "The Fisherman," For the roast or meat course two lines from "The Drovers" may be chosen to serve: "No bones to leanness rattle," or — Stately beeve bespeaks the hand That fed him unrepining. Salad, with its bad reputation as a digestive, may be described by the use of the lines : -somehow smuggled in To keep the thorns and thistles company. This comes from "The Fruit Gift." If a game course is wanted the lines from "The Exiles," My life is hunted — evil men Are following in my track. may be used. Coming in the very shadow of the holiday time, and following so closely the Thanksgiving season, the regu- lation coffee, cakes and cream might be varied at this Whittier luncheon, and pumpkin pie, apples, nuts and sweet cider served instead. Before the serving of the ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER 143 pumpkin pie some one should read the poet's poem to the ''Pumpkin Pie," which is vivid enough to make the mouth water even after so hearty a repast as the one outlined. On the menu should read : Thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky Golden-tinted and fair as thy pumpkin pie. Then, while the nuts and apples are eaten, and the cider sipped, the whole or passages from ''Snow Bound" should be read. These lines from the poem should be found on the menu card : The mug of cider simmered slow, The apples sputtered in a row, And close at hand the basket stood With nuts from brown October's wood. If, however, this last portion of the menu is not de- sired, and the regulation ice cream or ice is chosen in- stead, take the words, "Our hills of snow," from "Peace Autumn," for the menu. At the very bottom of the menu-card, oi- on the last page of the folder, use these lines from "Flowers in Winter": It was a happy thought to bring To the dark season's frost and rimt; This painted memory of spring, This dream of summer time. A Christmas House Party. One always thinks of the country when a house Christmas celebration is mentioned. However, house parties must at times be given in our city homes, and almost all the following suggestions may be available in either place. The guests must arrive before Christ- mas eve, for, as in the olden times, the eve, as well as the day w^hich follows, is the signal for all kinds of mer- ry-making, in fact the festivities started in earnest at 144 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH this time with the bringing in of the Yule log. In this day of flats and gas and electric lights the Yule log for the average household is an impossibility, but for those who are so fortunate as to possess a country home, its bringing is a celebration which should not be missed. In the ancient days when the Yule log was set ablaze the singing began and merry songs and Christmas car- ols formed the enjoyment for some time, meanwhile every guest tossing upon the burning log a bit of green and wishing good luck to come upon the members of the household. This is a pretty custom which might be kept alive to-day if grates are lighted in the rooms, and at this Christmas-tide even in the modern steam-heated flats the usual gas grates should be lighted for a little time, at least. When the fire is blazing the lights should be turned out, the only illumination coming from the fire and the three tall wax tapers which cus- tom has passed down as representing the Holy Trinity on these days of da^-s. Then, if the modern host desires to follow in the footsteps of his fathers he will brew the wassail bowl and the guests gathering round will tell the story of legend or experience and sing the songs, which com- pletes the festivities of Christmas eve, according to an- cient custom. The wassail bowl is presented, nowadays, in the familiar punch bowl, and the brew has been handed down from an English ancestor. Boil one quart of oatmeal in two quarts of water for three hours, adding half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, two sticks of stick cinnamon broken in small pieces and the juice and grated rind of one lemon; remove from the fire and strain through cheese-cloth into a large punch-bowl, ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER 145 then stir in four well-beaten eggs, four tablespoonfuls of sugar and two quarts of boiling milk. Just before serving add half a dozen small roasted apples. This, being absolutely free from alcohol, and at the same time a delicious and unusual beverage, will be found excellent to serve a holiday party. The Christmas Tree. The morning seems the proper time for the first of the Christmas tree. T^e children are wide awake and all know that during the night time Santa Claus comes and leaves the gifts provided. German children sing this song to Santa Claus, or, as they call him, ^'Sunder Claus" Dear Santa Claus, for the children's sakes Bring us nuts and sugar cakes ; Throw them into my apron here, And help to swell the Christmas cheer. All over the world. we find the legend of Santa Claus, though he often masquerades under other names, such as St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle, and in France they always speak of the ' * Christ child. ' ' The traditions are so interwoven with the ancient pagan and Druid customs, coupled with the story of ''The Three Wise Men" and ''The Star of Bethlehem," that it is a difficult matter to disentangle the web. In Germany the adornments of a Christmas tree are largely symbolical, having a religious significance which the children deeply appreciate. For instance, myriads of glittering stars shine on the dark green branch. There are camels, shepherds, bottles of sweet perfumes, and a wee doll in a cradle. Even angels, and 146 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH little donkeys, are nt)t forgotten. In fact, everything connected with the life of the Christ-child which may be represented finds a place on the Christmas tree and the children are taught their significance. As it will be of interest to many, and perhaps fill the request for "a. poem for the children's Christmas," I'll give in full this little verse, which is sung in Germany on the night of Christmas : The Christ tree is the fairest tree That we on fearth do know, In garden small, in narrowest space, How wondrous blooms this tree of grace When all its lights do glow. For see, just in this wonder night To us the Lord was born. The Savior who salvation wrought Had He not heaven to us brought. The world were all forlorn. Now naught is felt but happiness, And every heart's full light. For thee, my child, all this was done, Brought down to thee by God's own son; He saved thee from the night. If other guests than the members of the house party are to participate in the first view of the tree send the Christmas invitations written on little red st*ockings, inclosed in an ordinary envelope with this jingle writ- ten in white ink : At the "Sign of the Stocking" bright and warm, We'll expect you sure on Christmas morn; The hour is nine, so don't b'^ late, A good time's coming, for yoa we wait. Hang a big red stocking in the window with a light behind it and the ''sign" aWU be visible for blocks. On the tree gifts addressed to members of the party are of course distributed, but it is a pretty custom to tie on the branches at least one unaddressed gift. Then, starting at tho right of the group, each one chooses a ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER 147 gift in turn, one of the young' men of the party clips the cord which holds it fast and places it before the guest. They are all opened at the same time. It is then that the fun begins. The opened packages reveal every- thing under the sun — toys, ridiculous and pretty, ani- mals and fish and jokes. , In fact, unless a hostess is sure of her company, and knows that everyone will enter into the fun, taking the bad with avS much grace as the good, this entertainment is valueless. Christmas Night Party. For the close of the happy day a dance is the natural amusement with music furnished by an orchestra or Victrola. One young lady entertained with what she called an '* Alphabet Supper." The guests were received in the parlor, which was decorated for this special occasion with a profusion of greens and holly, and as soon as all had arrived they were handed pencils and pads of paper at top of which was M-Y-B-M-G-A-G-0-H-H-C-D-A-H-E-O-B-S-Y-F-T- B-T; these letters had been selected at random, and when the announcement was made that five minutes would be allowed for each to write a Christmas rhyme, the words to begin with the letters in the order given, there was much groaning and more than one ''can't-do- it, ' ' yet soon amid great merriment the task began, and to the surprise of one of the groaners she received the prize, consisting of a box of home-made candy, every piece imitating a flat alphabet block, the squares being white and the letters red. The jingle read like this : May you be merry, glad and gay On happy, happy Christmas day, And have enough of bonbons sweet Your friends to bountifully treat. 148 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH Then came a game devised by the hostess, and, although something like Logomachy, was declared by those present far more fun. In the first place a tray was passed to the girls piled with envelopes bearing on one side pictures in color of Santa Claus or other Christmas designs. From another tray the men took cards similarly embellished, and the young man's part- ner for the evening was the maiden who held an enve- lope corresponding with his card. The envelopes when 'opened were found to contain enlarged holly leaves with red letters painted on them, and with these letters the guests were expected to spell the title and the author of a w^ell-known Christmas book. The couple who first guessed Kate Douglas Wig- gin's ''Bird's Christmas Carol" was rewarded with all the cards as well as the envelopes and contents, to be divided between them. Just before going into the refreshment room the com- pany were supplied with large square cards having at the top the word MENU in gold and green and below letters of the alphabet with spaces between. The ex- planation was given that when the spaces were cor- rectly filled out each finished word would indicate a portion of food to be served later. IB Insert the missing letters and find a town in Belgium. 2 C s Insert a fast-pacing horse and have noisy fireworks. 3C--mP-t — s Insert a note of the musical scale, a vowel, a neck adornment and have a mollusk and na- tives of the Emerald Isle. 4 C n C s Insert a sort of cough, a lock opener, a deer, a Chinaman's pigtail, a spinster's ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER 149 delight, and have a bird converted into a dainty morsel. 5 S es Insert a conjunction, a sorceress and have a group of islands. 6 S Insert a letter, a youth and have a term used in chemistry and to sum up. 7 I - e C - - - - Insert one hundred, a quantity of paper and have a taste of the North Pole. 8 C — s Insert a pain and have what no wedding feast is complete without. C c y Insert to go forward, to reward for services, a Dutchman's John, to blunder and have that which none are too old or too young to enjoy, be it mother, father, maiden, youth, girl or boy. 10 F — t Insert to regret, a pronoun and have something bad boys like to steal. 11 C — ee Insert away from and have a berry from a tropical tree. ANSWERS. 1, B(ouillon) ; 2; C(racker)s; 3-, C(la)m P(at)(tie)s; 4, C(hic) (ke)nC(ro) (que) t (te)s; 5, S(and) (wich)- es; 6, S(a) (lad); 7, I(c)e C(ream) ; 8, C(ak)s; 9, C(on) (fe)c (tion) (er)y; 10, F(ru) (i)t; 11, C(off)ee. Only one had a correct list and again the prize was a box of candy. In the dining room a profusion of greens on the wall gave a Christmasy look to the room, and likewise made a charming setting for the table, that had at the four corners slender posts about two feet high wound with red crepe paper over which were twined mistletoe and holly. From the top of the posts were wreaths sus- pended by red ribbons, one long streamer reaching to the chandelier above the table, where it was caught to a mass of holly. On top of the posts were sockets deep 150 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH enough to hold tall wax candles of red, covered with green shades, and on the table were other candles, like- wise, red bonbons in pretty shaped dishes, olives, salted nuts, and small cakes frosted in red with raised letters of green. The center of the table held a wicker basket filled with green grapes, each bunch tied with red rib- bon. The effect of the green and red was exquisite and in exact keeping with the color scheme of the other decorations. The place cards were oblong in shape, tinted green, and artistically painted with winter scenes and let- tered quotations. On the upper side was the name and a single big letter, both in red outlined with green. During the repast all had to begin their sentences with the letter found on their card and every question had to be answered while the questioner counted ten slowly. The hostess kept a score of those who made mistakes and the one whose failures were least re- ceived a silver stick-pin. Before the coffee was passed, the jingling of bells was heard and in caiho a tiny Santa Glaus weighted down with a well-filled bag from which he distributed booklets fashioned to resemble old-time primers. The covers were of heavy brown paper and had pen-and-ink sketches of boys and girls of long ago. The inside pages had the alphabet with a rhyme for each letter that hit off one of the guests present. The evening fittingly closed by the guests in turn writing a Christmas greeting or wish for the New Year in a book of red and green laid open on a small table, making for the hostess a charming remembrance of the occasion. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER 151 December Birthday Party. December brings the turquoise as its birthstone, and blue, as every hostess knows, is not an easy color to handle in decoration. The invitations to the December birthday party may be written on turquoise paper, fastened with a stick- pin, set with a cheap imitation turquoise ; or they may be printed on small sheets of turquoise-colored celluloid tied with ribbon of the same color. In the decoration of the house blue crepe paper can be used with good effect as shades for the lamps and in draperies. Artificial forget-me-nots and the flower known as the bluet likewise may be used, although neither is of the turquoise shade | In the dining ropm there may be a large central blue bell made of the pa- per or the artificial flowers, as the hostess chooses. This will hang over the table and ribbons from which hang smaller bells. If the fresh flowers are desired, the florists of the cities now have a preparation by which carnations of white may be colored the shade desired. In the giving of a dinner for this celebration blue dishes should be used, of course. The menu cards should correspond to the invitations— using blue paper or celluloid. Each course may be entered under a head- ing which will play upon the color used for the evening. For instance : "Blew" in from the Ocean. Blue-points on the Half-shell. From the Beautiful Blue Danube. Clear Soup. "Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue!" Rare Roast Beef, White Asparagus, Potatoes. Blue Grape Sherbet. 152 ENTERTAINMENTS FOR EVERY MONTH The "Little Blue-Devils' " Friends. Salad. Ices. Assorted Cakes. Coffee. Nuts. Whatever form the celebration takes, the following contest can be made useful. It may not read exactly patriotic for an American household, but it brings in the use of the words we are seeking. Every blank is to be filled with a word of which blue is a part or of which it is some form. THE TOAST OF THE BRITISH MARINE. The waved o'er the British marine — Though the wind its furls into tatters — " on," cried the mate, " 'tis easily seen We're happy, so nothing else matters. "In» the of great England's servants we're rated, The navy's best flows free in our veins ; Our thoughts with the little 's ne'er mated, We're the joy of the isles where the fair reigns. "Come pass the , let's drink to our land With the wine which the 's giving ; A toast to the rulers by whom it is manned, To the subjects within this land living! "To the soldiers, the sailors, the statesmen, and all. To the ladies of letters. And may the of oppression ne'er fall, To bind our fair homeland in fetters!" The answers are found in the following words, ar- ranged in the order of the blanks: Blue-Peter (a flag of the British marine — blue, with a white center) ; blew, blow, blue-book, blue-blood, Blue Devil (another word for mental depression) ; blue-bell, blue-bottle, blue-berry, blue-stocking, blue-light. After the contest closes a program of *' blue*' literary and musical numbers may be given. For instance, * * The Blue Bells of Scotland," "Blue Eyes," and for the fun. ENTERTAINMENTS FOR DECEMBER 153 even *'Two Little Girls in Blue'* may be sung; **Tlie Beautiful Blue Danube" waltzes may be played, Eugene Field's ** Little Boy Blue" may be read or re- cited, and as this is sad, the effect may be changed im- mediately by having a "chorus" sing the old repeat- ing song, ** Forty-nine Blue Bottles." For a prize to the one winning the contest, which is not an easy one, Henry Van Dyke 's * * The Blue Flow- er" may be given. Joe Ruggles OR THE GIRL MINER A Cotncdy Drama in Font Acts By FRANK J. DEAN Pricet 25 cents Nine male, three female characters. A vigorous, stirring' play, depicting peculiar types of life in a large city and in the mining districts of the West. The parts of Joe Ruggles, the miner, Han? Yon Bush (Dutch dialect), and Richard Hamilton, the scheming villain, all afford opportunity for clever work; while the part of Madge (soubrette), who afterwards assumes the character of Mark J.yncn, is an excellent one for a bright young ajctress. Scenery — City street, showing R. R. Station; rocky pass, with fiet cabins; a wood scene, arid two plain interiors. Costumes of th€i day. Time of playing, two and a half hours. SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS ACT I— Entrance to Railroad Station Looking for a victim — Joe Ruggles — "Them galoots Is worse than grizzlies" — "Morning papers" — Madge and Bess plying their trades— "Can't you sing Joe a song?" — Hamilton and his pal confer — Tom Howarth gains inportant information — "Don't you dare to Ia> hands on us!" — Hamilton tries to maintain his authority — "Who'i Old Joe!" ACT n — Doomsday's Hotel, Dare-devil'a Gulch, California The landlord secures a guest — Hans disappointed — "Dot Is a mls- dake" — A ghost story — The "Kid and his sister" — "Did I hurt your highness?" — Hans and Doomsday have another talk — Kate Laurel meets the young miner — "Yah, dot vas vot J t'inks" — Madge's dis- guise penetrated — She recognizes an old enemy — "Now, George Smith, take your choice" — Joe Ruggles as a tramp — "Ef yer think yer can pick on me because I'm han'some ye'll find me ter hum" — Hamilton appears — "Those two youngsters are mine" — The tramp takes a hand. ACT in — Wood Scene A lively ghost — Hamilton and Smith plan more villainy — Old Joe thinks of turning Detective — Kate Laurel again — "There is a secret connected with my life" — Kate's confession — "What do you mean, sir?" — Tom Howarth once more — "Vos you looking for a hotel?" — Planning an abduction — Old Joe as an Irishman — "Phat does yez ■want wid me?" — Undertakes to be a detective — Takes a hand in toe. abduction — "Do it at your peril." ACT IV Hans hears, and tells, the latest news — "I nefer pelieved dot spook peesness" — Kate Laurel astonished — Hamilton attempts flight — "De poys haf got Mr. Hamilton, und dey vill gif him a necktie barty" — Arrest of Smith — "Get out mit my vay, I vas de United States Mail" — Tom meets his old friend under new circum- stances — "Do you want me, Tom?" — Old Joe gives consent — A happy ending. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO. ILLINOIS Tompkin's Hired Man t rbZ^Aos By EFFIE W. MERRIMAN PRICE, 25 CENTS This is a strong plaj'. No finer character than Dixey, the hired man, has ever been created in American dramatic literature. He compels alternate laughter and tears, and possesses such quaint ways and so much of the milk of human kindness, as to make him a favorite with all audiences. The other male characters make good contrasts: Tompkins, the prosperous, straightforward farmer; Jerry, the country bumpkin, and Remington, the manly j^oung American. Mrs. Tompkins is a strong old woman part; Julia, the spoiled daughter; Louise, the leading juvenile, and Ruth, the romp- ing soubrette, are all worthy of the best talent. This is a fine play of American life; the scene of the three acts being laid in the kitchen of Tompkin's farm house. The settings are quite elaborate, but easy to manage, as there is no change of scene. We strongly'- recommend '"Tompkin's Hired Man" as a sure success. CHARACTERS Asa Tompkins — A prosperous farmer who cannot tolerate deceit. Dixey — The hired man, and one -of nature's noblemen. John Remington — A manly young man in love with Louise. Jerry — A half-grown, awkward country lad. Mrs. Tompkins — A woman with a secret that embitters her. Julia — A spoiled child, the only daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins. Louise — The daughter whom Mr. Tompkins believes to be hi« own. Ruth — Mr. Tompkin's niece, and a great romp. Plays about two hours. SYNOPSIS Act 1. Sewing carpet rags. "John and I are engaged." •'Well, you can disengage yourself, for you'll never be married." "Mrs. Clark, she's took worse." Who makes the cake? Julia declines to sew carpet rags. "It would ruin my hands for the piano or my painting." Dixey to the rescue. "You take the rags a minute, child, and I'll just give that fire a boost." Dixey's story. "It breaks his heart, but he gives her away, an' he promises never teh let her know as how he's her father." Enter Jerry. "Howdy." John gets a situation in the city. Farewell. "It's a dandy scheme, all the same. We'll have our party in spite of Aunt Sarah," "Oh', I'm so happj-." The quartette. Curtain. Act 2. Chopping mince meat. The letter. Louise faints. "How dare you read a paper that does not concern you?" "You have robbed me of my father's love." The mother's story. Dinner. "I swan, I guess I set this table with a pitchfork." "Now, Lambkin, tell Dixey all 'bout it, can't yer?" "It looks zif they'd got teh be a change here purty darned quick, an' zif I'm the feller 'lected teh bring it 'bout." "None o' my bizness, I know, but — I am her father!" "It's love the leetle one wants, not money." "If I'd been a man. I'd never given my leetle gal away." "I'm dead sot on them two prop'sitions." Curtain. Act 3. Dixey builds the fire. "Things hain't so dangerous when everybodys' got his stummick full." The telegram. "It means that Louise is my promised wife." "By what right do you insinuate that there has been treachery under this roof?" "A miserable, dirty, little waif, picked up on the streets, and palmed off upon my father as his child!" "Oh, my wife, your attitude tells a story that breaks my heart." "Yeh druve her to do what she did, an' yeh haint got no right teh blame her now." "Friend Tompkins, a third man has taken our leetie gal an' we've both got teh larn teh git along without her. We kin all be happy in spite o' them two sentimental kicUk" Curtain. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO. ILLINOIS Won Back A Play in Four Acts Br CLIFTON W. TAYLBUR Price» 25 cents Six male, four female characters. A play written In the same Yeln as "Held by the Enemy," "Shenandoah," "Across the Poto- mac," and other great New York successes. Mr. Tayleur has writ- ten many successful plays, but this striking picture of the stirring times of the Great Rebellion surpasses them all. Costumes, civil and military of the period. Scenes, two interiors, and one land- scape with Confederate camp, easily managed. Time of playing, two hours and thirty minutes. SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS ACT I — Dniwing-foom, Arlington, Washington — iS60 "Whom first we love, you know, we seldom wed; Time rules us all: and life indeed is not The thing we planned it out, ere hope was dead. And then, we women cannot choose our lot." In fetters — The rivals — North and South — The coy widow — ^A noted duelist — An old affection — The dismissal — The rivals meet— •*You shall answer for this" — Farewell. ACT n — Same Scene — J 8 60 *'Who might have been — Ah, what, I dare not think* We are all changed. God judges for the best. God help us do our duty, and not shrink. And trust in Heaven humbly for the rest." Broken ties — A Vassar girl's idea of matrimony — A Washington aavfie — Schooling a lover — Affairs of honor — The Northern fire- eate. — The missing challenge — Betrothed. ACT ni — Drawing-room In New York Hotel— 1861 •"With bayonets slanted in the glittering light With solemn roll of drums. With starlit banners rustling wings of night, The knightly concourse comes." To arms! To arms! — Stand by the flag — A woman's duty — A skirmish in the parlor — On to Richmond — Reunited — The passing regiment. ACT IV— Confederate Camp at Wlncheater t864 "No more shall the war cry sever, or the winding river be red; They banish our anger forever, when they laurel the graves of our dead." A cowards' armor — A hand to hand struggle — Hugh captured— Sentenced to be shot — A ministering angel — Harold King's re- venge — The attack on the camp — Death of King — After the battle- Won back. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICACa ILLINOIS The Outcast's Daughter t F^rAcu By MARION EDDY PRICE, 25 CENTS Ten male, five female and one child characters. Plays two and one-half hours. Modern costumes. Three interior, one exterior scenes, all easily arranged where there is any scenery at hand. No stronger melodrama has been given the play-loving public. Full of the strongest appealing heart interest, intense, pathetic, real life, where joy and laughter are mingled with pathos and sufCering, but all ending happily. A melodrama without a villain or the use of firearms. Amateurs may play it successfully, it plays itself, and it is adapted to strong repertoire companies. CAST OF CHARACTERS Carl Faber An ex-convict Howard Ross A manufacturer Dennis Hogan Servant to Rot s Abel Gardener to Rois Judge Havens Of the police court Recorder Of the police court Lettner Clerk of police court Second Court Clerk Clerk of police court Two policemen Little Hugo Agatha's child Agatha Steme Ross' bookkeeper Ida Rheinhold A retired singer Mrs. Wilmuth A washerwoman Katie Factory girl Frances Factory girl SYNOPSIS OF SCENES Act 1. Ross' private office. "What has given me the honor of this visit?" "I will never sing again. My life has been a sad failure." "Good God! My mother!" "I have done wrong, I confess, but when a mother asks, a child must forgive. Oh, Mr. Ross, help me." "You, my rich and famous mother, to you I was nothing, and you — you are nothing — nothing to me." "Agatha! Agatha! My child! My child!" Act 2. Agatha's attic. "My poor father. So young and strong. How I could have loved him." "Yes, Katie is right, I have nothing but bread for my sweet child." "Madam, I vould lie if I say she vas anything but a lady." "On the other side, towards the garden, there are a few rooms I have never used. If you will take them " "You do not look like a man who could commit mur- der. How was it?" "I was a weak man and many misfortunes made me desperate." "My picture! I must be mad." "You are good, child, but you shall not call me father." "Father! Father!" Act 3. Ross' Garden. "He is so good to me, but I cannot forget my poor unhappy father." "The picture was taken when I was young. He shall have it." "Stay here and be my wife." "That suspicious old man is in the garden." "For her I sacrificed every- thing." "Do you want to go to prison again?" "My father needs me to defend and comfort him." Act 4. A Police Court "Do not ask me, your honor — I am an «ix-convict." "Your silence will not help you." "It vas dark und Mrs. Steme vas that scared she vas faint." "I hope, sor, yer honor believes in a future life, sor." "He wished to see his child; I am his child." "Grandfather, we love you." "I am his wife. Do n&t condsnm him." Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING C0MPAP4\ CHICAfiaiUBiOIS The Spinsters^ Convention (The Original Old Maids' Convention) Price, 25 cents An evening's entertainment which is always a sure hit and a money-maker. Has been given many hundred times by sciiools, societies and churches, with the greatest success. An evening of refined fun. It requires from twelve to twenty ladies and two gentlemen, although ladies may take the two male parts. A raised platform with curtains at the back is all thfe stage requires, but a fully equipped opera stage may be utilized and to great advantage. Ridiculous old maid costumes, with all their frills and fur- belows, their cork-screw curls, mittens, work bags, bird cages, etc., are the proper costumes. Later on in the program some pretty young women in modern evening dress are required. The latter should each be able to give a number of a mis- cellaneous program, that is, be able to sing, play some instru- ment, dance, whistle or recite well. This entertainment utilizes all sorts of talent, and gives each participant a good part. Large societies can give every member something to do. SYNOPSIS Gath,»ring of the Members of the Society — The Roll-Call — The Greeting Song — Minutes of the last meeting — Report of The Treas- urer — Music: "Sack Waltz" — A paper on Woman's Rights — Song: "No One to Love, None to Caress." — Reading of "Marriage Statis- tics" — The Advent of the Mouse — Initiation of two Candidates into the Society — Tne Psalm of Marriage — Secretary's Report on Eligible Men — A Petition to Congress — Original Poem by Betsy Bobbett — Song: "Why Don't the Men Propose?" — Report of The Vigilance Committee — An Appeal to the Bachelors — Prof. Make-over — The Remodelscope.-Testimonials — The Transformation and a miscel- laneous program. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Santiago OR For the Red, White and Blue A War Drama in Four Acts By TOHN A. FRASER Pr2ce» 25 cents CHARACTERS Capt. Oscar Hutton, U. S. A, In love with Cora. .Leading Juvenile Lieut. Fisk, U. S. A. In love with his duty .Juvenile bit Milton Merry, U. S. N. In love with Bess Light Comedy Lieut. Cristobal, S. A. In love with soldiering Straight Dr. Harrison, Red Cross H. S. In Icve with surgery Straight old man Elmer Walton, banker. In love with Spanish bonds Character old man Phillip Basset, his stepson. In love with Ysobel Juvenile Fernando Diaz, Walton's cashier, afterwards S. A. In love with Cora Heavy Beverly Brown, Walton's butler, afterwards Red Cross H. S. In love with chickens Negro Comedy Cornelius Dwyer, Walton's coachman, afterwards U. S. A. In love with "Naygurs" Irish Comedy ^ntonio Carlos, a Cuban planter. In love with Spain Character old man Cora Basset, Walton's stepdaughter. In love with Oscar. .Juvenile Bess Walton, Walton's daughter. In love with Milton Ingenue Ysobel Carlos, Antonio's daughter. In love with Phillip. .. .Juvenile American Soldiers, American Sailors, Spanish Soldiers, Guerillas. Actual time of playing, two hours. •SYNOPSIS ACT L The ball at Walton's, Washington, D. C. Handsome In- terior. ACT II. The Red Cross Hospital. First day's battle of Santiago. Exterior. ACT III. Scene 1. — Interior Guerilla headquarters in the Sierra Cobra, near Santiago. Scene 2. — Exterior. The underbrush of Si- erra Cobra. Scene 3. — Fight in the mountain pass, second day's battle of Santiago. Exterior. ACT rv. Hotel Tacon, Santiago, on the night of the surrender. Interior. NOTE. — Walton, Dr. Harrison and Carlos may double easily, and the piece played with nine males, three females. The best Cuban war play ever written. Easy to produce, but very effective. Thrilling situations, fine comedy, intense climaxes. Comic Irishman and Negro. Three magnificent female parts. Pic- turesque Spanish villain and heroic juvenile lead. No special scen- ery is required, as every regular theatre, in its ordinary equip- ment, has every set called for. Adapted to both professional ana imateur companies. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO. ILLIPK>IS Uncle Rube An OtiginsA Homestead PJ"7 m Four Acts By CHARLES TQ^ a^.SEND The Finest Rural Drama Ever Published Price, 25 ceats CHARACTERS RUBEN RODNET (Uncle Rube), Justice of the Peace. School Trustee, and a master hand at "swappin' hosses". .. .Character lead SIMON SMARLEY, a smooth and cunning old villain Character heavy MARK, his son, a promising young rascal Straight heavy GORDON GRAY, a popular young artist Juvenile lead UPSON ASTERBILT, an up-to-date New York dude Character comedy IKE, the hired man. "I want ter know!" Eccentric BUB GREEN, a comical young rustic Low comedy BILL TAPPAN. a country constable Comedy MILLICENT LEE. "the pretty school teacher" Juvenile lady MRS. MARTHA BUNN, a charming widow Character comedy TAGGS, a waif from New York Soubrette Time — Mid Autumn. Place — Vermont. Time of playing — Two hours and a quarter. SYNOPSIS ACT I. The Old Homestead. Uncle Rube arrives. ACT IL The Constable's office. The plot to ruin Uncle Rube. ACT III. pjvening at the old farm. Uncle Rube is arrested. ACT rv. The Constable's office again. The old farmer wins! This play was v/ritten by one of the most popular of American dramatists, whose works have sold by the hundreds of thousands. One of the best plays of its class ever written. Splendid characters. Powerful climaxes. Bright wit. Merry humor. Very easy to pro- duce. Requires only three scenes. No shifts of scenery during any act. Costumes all modern. No difficult properties required. THE AUTHOR'S OPINION! MR. TOWNSEND says of this drama: "I consider that 'Uncle Rube' is far superior to any play depicting country life that I have yet written." This is the play for everybody — amateurs as well as professionals. It can be produced on any stage, and pleases all classes, from the most critical citj' audiences to those of the smallest country towns. Printed directly from the author's acting copy, with all the original Stage directions. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Hagemai/s Make-l/p Book By MAURICE HAGEMAN -?rice, 25 cents The importance of an effective make-up is becoming more appar^ ent to the professional actor every year, but hitherto there has beer no book on the subject describing the modern methods and at the same time covering all branches of the art. This want has now been filled. Mr. Hageman has had an experience of twenty years' as actor and stage-manager, and his well-known literary ability has enabled him to put the knowledge so gained into shape to be of use to others. The book is an encyclopedia of the art of making up. Every branch of the subject is exhaustively treated, and few ques- tions can be asked by professional or amateur that cannot be an- swered by this admirable hand-book. It is not only the best make- up book ever published, but it is not likely to be superseded by any other. It is absolutely indispensable to every ambitious actor. CONTENTS Chapter I. General Remarks. Chapter II. Grease-Paints, their origin, components and use. Chapter III. The IVlake-up Box. Grease-Paints, Mirrors, Face Powder and Puff, Exora Cream, Rouge, Liquid Color, Grenadine, Blue for the Eyelids, Brilliantine for the Hair, Nose Putty, Wig Paste, Mascaro, Crape Hair, Spirit Gum, Scissors, Artists' Stomps, Cold Cream, Cocoa Butter, Recipes for Cold Cream. Chapter IV. Preliminaries before Making up; the Straight Make- up and how to remove it. Cnaptor V. Rtmaris to Ladies. Liquid Creams, Rouge, Lips, ;., ebrr, - Evela-h..-. ^Jharacter Roles, Jewelry, Removing Make-up. L Juveniles. Straight Juvenile Make-up, Society '^^^n in 111 Health, with Red Wigs, Rococo- Make-up, ■' ki', etc. , Middle Aged and Old Men. Ordinary Type ••• ■ • -• ... ...^ olors, Wrinkles, Rouge, Sickly and Healthy Old At-e. Huday iv. , exions. Chapter ViII. Comedy and Character Make-ups. Comedy Ef- fects. Wigs, Beards, Eyebrows. Noses, Lips, Pallor of Death. Chapter IX. The Human Features. The Mouth and Lips, the Eyes and Eyelids, the Nose, the Chin, the Ear, the Teeth. Chapter X. Other Exposed Parts of the Human Anatomy. a Wij Beards for Tramps, Moustaches, Eyebrows. Chapter XII. Distinctive and Traditional Characteristics. North • American Indians, New England Farmers, Hoosiers, Southerners, Politicians, Cowboys, Minors, Quakers, Tramps, Creoles, Mulattoes, Quadroons, Octoroons. Negroes, Soldiers during War, Soldiers dur- ing Peace, Scouts, Pathfinders, Puritans, Early Dutch Settlers, Englishmen, Scotchmen, Irishmen, Frenchmen, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, South Americans, Scandinavians, Germans, Hollanders, Hungarians, Gipsies, Russians, Turks, Arabs, Moors, Cafflrs. Abya- sinians, Hindoos, Malays, Chinese, Japanese, Clowns and Statuary* Hebrews, Drunkards, Lunatics, Idiots, Misers, Rogues. Address Orders to THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPAm CHICAGO. ILLINOIS PLAYS And Entertainment Books. ^j2^ING the largest theatrical booksellers in >^ the United States, we keep in stock the most complete and best assorted lines of plays and en- tertainment books to be found anywhere. We can supply any play or book pub- lished. We have issued a catalogue of the best plays and entertainment books published in America and England. It contains a ^^ill description of each play, giving number of ch.u acters, time of playing, scenery, costumes, etc. This catalogue will be sent free on application The plays described are suitable for ama- teurs and professionals, and nearly all of them may be played free of royalty. Persons inter- ested in dramatic books should examine our cat- alogue before ordering elsewhere. We also carry a full line of grease paints, face powders, hair goods, and other **make-up" materials. The Dramatic Publishing Company CHICAGO i ^lt-""\ I _* > , , S V» r '\ "■ « ^"^- •<5- . ^BlV> ?fe ^^^^^^1 rv ?'• T^' ' • ^H .•*♦;-■ " m^' ,-'-.■■' ^^H'> •^' ■• -- ■jTU^ :." < . N»S •- -•' • k :^V ' -v i^X'^ iB^it ' • . ■r^'--: : . >^