Chapter IV: Part 4

=Fantastic Soap-bubbles.= Ordinary soap-bubbles are blown with a pipe, a straw, or small horn of some sort. If a straw is used, split one end into quarters, about one half-inch long, and bend the parts back at right angles to the straw. The horn should be larger at one end, but, if you wish to obtain bubbles, as large as your head, you must have recourse to objects of quite different nature. Place around the body of a bottle a piece of common wire, and twist the ends together in order to form a handle for the ring which is thus obtained. Steep this ring in the soapy water. Take it out carefully, and you will perceive that the ring is furnished, on the inside, with a thin covering or skin of soapy water. Now hold the ring vertically before your mouth and blow gently but continuously at the centre of the soapy covering. Fashion two rings with handles out of plain wire. The ring can be about six inches in diameter. Cover one of the rings with felt. With this ring and with practice, you can send the bubbles away up into the air, and keep a half-dozen floating at one time. Then blow a big bubble, holding the empty ring with a handle in the left hand, and under the pipe. When the bubble grows large, it will stick to the ring. Now, carefully take out the pipe, dip into the soapy water and put the bowl of the pipe up inside of the ring into the big bubble, and blow a small one inside. Then, with a swing and a side movement, liberate both bubbles into the air. It may take a few failures to make a success of it. With two felt rings, “battledore and shuttlecock” can be successfully played with soap-bubbles. Take a clay pipe, fill up with cotton wadding loosely and keep in place at mouth of bowl by a wire screen. Wet cotton with gasoline. Let the bubbles float in air and light them with candle, and they will explode with a big flame. Smoke-bubbles may be made by blowing in smoke after the bubble has been well started.

=Rebounding Bubbles.= A good game is to have a small sheet held by a number of children and blow the bubbles upon this, then they can be sent flying by drawing the sheet taut. Many ways may be devised to make blowing soap-bubbles attractive.

FORFEITS

GRASP the right ankle by the right hand, and, standing on the left leg, bend it until the right knee touches the floor, then rise slowly to a standing position again. The left hand must be kept extended all the time and must touch nothing. The right foot must not be allowed to touch the floor, nor the ankle released from the right hand.

A large bottle is placed on its side. The forfeit payer is seated upon this, with the heel of his right foot resting upon the floor and the heel of his left against the toe of the right. A good sized needle is then given him, and a thread, which he must endeavor to pass through the needle’s eye without losing his balance.

Set an ordinary chair front downward on the floor in such a way that the legs and back are horizontal. Ask the forfeit payer to kneel on the lower bar and to recover with his lips an object placed on the other end of the chair.

To put one hand where the other cannot touch it.—This is performed by grasping the right elbow with the left hand.

To place an object on the floor in such a manner that no one can jump over it.—This is done by placing it close against the corner.

Hold an ankle in one hand and walk around the room.

For a forfeit, a person is directed to compare any one of the company to some object and to explain in what way he resembles this object.

The victim stands on a chair and is posed as a living statue by members of the company in succession according to their various and sometimes very original conceptions, such as placing the head, shutting one eye, opening the mouth, placing the arm, hand, or foot to suit the fancy, or make him assume any position.

Place a stool on the floor against a wall. Stand from the wall, with the feet twice the width of the stool away. Stoop down and seize the stool by the top in both hands and place the top of your head against the wall, your back being almost horizontal. Lift the stool from the ground without assistance, or try, at any rate.

Stick a pin in the centre of the crown of a hat, allowing the head to project about half an inch, and ask the forfeit-payer to extract the pin with the teeth, the crown of the hat being previously blacked with burnt cork.

HALLOWE’EN

=Decorations.= On account of the great variety of houses, decorations for Hallowe’en and the arrangements for entertainment must be planned according to the situation, and individual convenience. The following are some suggestions.

The party may be ushered into a room decorated for the occasion with autumn leaves, yellow pumpkins, and anything else that may suggest itself to the host, and lighted with pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns and candles. All the lights are covered, some with red and some with black gauze, cambric, or paper shades. The openings of the doors and windows may also be covered with red and black cambric. False faces, as ugly as possible, are placed about the room. Skulls of papier-maché are a great addition to the decoration, and bones of any description, thoroughly cleansed, are effective.

If there is an open fire, the host or an initiated guest may place upon it, from time to time and as surreptitiously as possible, chemical powders that burn blue, green, or red. All the lights are turned low, the room being lighted only sufficiently to permit moving about without falling over the furniture and to show the decorations.

The room may be decorated with festoons of drab yarn cobwebs, presided over with great spiders cut from black and yellow flannel, or imitation insects from toy stores.

=Invitations= to the gentlemen should read, “Please wear a black mask.” Those to the ladies, “Please come as a ghost.”

=Receiving Guests.= As the guests arrive, they may be greeted by one or two huge ghosts nine feet high in a conspicuous place. A small goblin may be concealed behind the flowing draperies of this ponderous apparition, swinging the ghostly figure slowly forward to salute each approaching guest. When the guests arrive they are met at the door by a ghost, and when the last one has arrived, they are all ushered into this weird place. As the guests go into this room, they should be blindfolded, and have presented to them an old glove filled with wet bran and chilled on ice. There may be also a piece of wet fur and a prickly pin ball in the hands of a ghost with instructions to quietly touch with these uncanny objects, the hands or faces of other guests. At the sound of a muffled gong, the party is conducted to a chamber of horrors. As each one enters this place, a huge paper bag may be burst over his head and a far-away voice be heard sounding through a garden hose.

Running water splashing over a cow-bell tied to a faucet will give the sound of rushing water and also keep the bell tolling dismally. Newspapers cut into strips and nailed to the cross-beams dangle about the heads of the victims, and a hidden electric fan sets the papers in motion and adds damp breezes to the charm of this pleasant region. The bandages are now removed and alcohol and salt fires furnish a dim light and give the party a ghastly appearance. Great care should always be taken in doing this. Some of the sights to be seen are described in the following sections.

=The Heads of Bluebeard’s Wives.= This effect is easily produced. A rod is extended horizontally across the rear of the room, about six feet from the floor; from this a sheet is hung, the bottom reaching and tacked to the floor to keep it flat like a white wall. Young ladies standing at intervals behind the sheet protrude their heads through perpendicular slits cut at the proper height to suit the stature of each lady; the upper part of the slit is fastened closely around the throat by a pin at the back of the neck. A strip of red flannel is fastened around the throat where the neck comes in contact with the sheet, and a few splashes of carmine on the sheet below each head produce the appearance of blood. The hair of each is gathered up and fastened to the rod above by a piece of ribbon. The face of each is powdered, and the eyes, with a dash of lead-color under them, are kept closed. At a little distance off the effect is startlingly real.

=The Severed Head.= This always causes a sensation and should not be suddenly exposed to the nervous, but the operation is not so terrible as might be imagined.

A large table, covered with a cloth sufficiently long to reach to the floor all around and completely hide all beneath, is placed in the centre of the room. A boy or girl with soft, silky hair, being selected to represent the head, must lie upon his back under the table, entirely concealed, excepting that portion of his face above the bridge of his nose. The rest is under the table-cloth.

His hair must now be carefully combed down, to represent whiskers, and a face must be marked upon the cheeks and forehead; the false eyebrows, nose and mouth, with moustache, must be strongly marked with black, and the real eyebrows covered with a little powder or flour. The face should also be powdered to a death-like pallor, and the effect is very startling.

The horror of this illusion may be intensified by having a subdued light in the room in which the exhibition has been arranged.

=Ghost Stories.= The party can now return to a suitable place for games. If the parlor is a small one, each one is expected to tell a ghost story.

=The Unearthly Look.= Take a half-pint of spirits and, having warmed it, put a handful of salt with it into a basin; then set it on fire and it will have the effect of making every person look hideous. This must be performed in a room. Be careful that no sudden draught blows the flame upon one’s clothing, or any other inflammable substance.

=Luminous Writing.= Fix a small piece of solid phosphorus in a quill, and write with it on paper; if the paper be then placed in a dark room the writing will appear luminous.

=The Floating Candle.= Here is an amusing and inoffensive diversion which looks very much like one of our Hallowe’en games called “ducking for apples.”

The young folks are ranged around a tub of water in which a piece of candle is floating, and a prize is offered to him, who, without touching the tub with his hands, will remove the candle from the water by his mouth alone.

This may look very simple and very easy to most of my readers; but let them try it. This trial they may make at home, with a bucket of water instead of a tub, and a piece of India-rubber instead of a candle; and they will be surprised at the result. Bring your mouth as close as possible to the article and inhale it with your breath, while seizing it with your lips. Apples may also be used.

=Ornamented Apples.= If you plan to hold a Hallowe’en party next fall, you can prepare a part of the fun this summer. Cut out in stout cloth the initials of whomsoever you intend to invite. Paste the initials securely on the sunny side of apples. When the apples are ripe, the initials will remain in light yellow on a red background. The fun of eating fruit marked with one’s own initials or monogram will be an unusual one for your guests. Should you have the detail of your party pretty well in mind, you will readily think of a number of devices which you may “appleize” in this fashion. Witches, for instance, can be thus “painted” on the fruit.

=Finding the Candle.= This is an admirable penance. The victim, having been shown the position of the candle, is securely blindfolded, and after having been turned around once or twice, is requested to go and blow it out.

=The Full Moon.= An original moon can be made from a cheese-box covered with cotton cloth, on which a very jolly face is painted. This can be drawn up by a string and pulley, and illuminated by a candle placed behind it.

=Cabinet Manifestations.= The medium has a boy with her about seven years of age and quite small. He comes in with her, under her skirt or cloak, and is not noticed. She enters a cabinet, passes her hands through openings in the sides of the cabinet and her hands are held by a committee, or, her hands may be securely tied together before going into the cabinet, and all the usual cabinet work goes on. The boy rings the bells, plays musical instrument, etc., etc. The cabinet is made of some black material and the transparent gauze is of some light color. The boy may be dressed all in black.

=Spirit Pictures.= The performer shows a wooden frame, on which is a piece of cloth, both sides of which are shown, and this is placed on an easel. A lamp is then placed behind a cloth, thus rendering it transparent and impossible for any one to touch from behind without being seen. Lights are then lowered a trifle, a little music, and a spirit picture is slowly precipitated upon the cloth in colors, this being visible to every one present.

For this experiment, procure the following ingredients from some druggist: sulphate of iron, for blue; nitrate of bismuth, for yellow; sulphate of copper, for brown; make solutions separately of each, by dissolving a small quantity of each ingredient in warm water. Now make a solution of prussiate of potash, and put it in a bottle atomizer. With a brush for each color, make a picture, landscape, portrait or, anything you desire, on a screen of unbleached muslin. When dry, these are invisible. Show the screen and set it on an easel in front of cabinet. Slightly dampen the muslin and place a lamp back of it on a chair, lower lights a trifle; your assistant or medium in cabinet takes the atomizer, and from behind sprays all over the back of screen with the solution of prussiate of potash, which slowly brings colors out. The effect is weird, and, although perhaps not artistic, it is a novelty and is apparently done by unseen agency. If a light is placed at back of screen, the audience can see that no one approaches the screen. A little music covers the sound of the atomizer. Always see that the atomizer is screwed up air-tight before using it.

=Parlor Magic.= Make a hole in one side of each of six candles, cutting through until the wick is severed. These holes must be at various distances from the top—different in each candle. Now, if you should light one of these candles, it would burn steadily until the flame got down to the hole, when the cut in the wick would cause the candle to go out. If you should light them all together they would go out at different times, as the holes are at different places. This is where your trick comes in.

Place your candles in a row on a table, with the holes away from your audience, and then light all six. Now, you begin to relate a story about a little girl who was alone in the house and was afraid of the dark, and who lighted six candles to keep up her courage. She heard queer noises about the house, and drew close to the light, and then (pointing to the candle with the hole nearest the top) the first candle went out! Of course you time your first words, so that you say “out” just before the flame reaches the hole. As you reach the second point in your tale the second candle goes out, and so on throughout the rest of the six. You may have the holes vary but a fraction of an inch in their distances from the top of the candle, and tell a very short story, or you may have your tale a long one, with the distances of the holes from the top of the candle, varying an inch or so. By first lighting one candle and watching it burn for a few minutes you can tell almost exactly how long the flame will take to reach a given point. If you do not have the candles go out in rotation, but skip around from the first to the fifth, then to the second, to the sixth, the fourth and third, you can still further mystify your audience, and if your story be well told the effect will be very pretty indeed.

=The Demon Bell.= A small bell is examined and found to have no clapper. It is then presumed it can make no sound, save by visible means. However, the performer sets it upon a small examined table, which stands quite close to audience, and at command, the bell begins to ring. It obeys every demand made upon it, yet no means of producing sound can be found.

To produce this effect, use a small call-bell, such as used on a table. A black thread is carried across the stage, and one end is permanently fastened, while the other is in the hands of an assistant, who stands out of sight. In the middle of thread is fastened a small shot. The assistant uses this as a clapper, and when examination is desired, he drops the thread and shot on the floor, where they will not be visible.

=The Animated Skull.= This is a model in papier-maché, and being hollow, is very serviceable. It is caused to rise from the hat by means of a black thread, which is carried through a staple immediately over the performer’s table, thence through another staple out of sight and down to the assistant.

=The Perilous Ring.= Put flour on a plate in the shape of a high pyramid. On the very tip of the pyramid place a ring. Arrange the guests in line, and have each one in turn cut away part of the flour with a knife, warning them not to cut near enough to the ring to make it fall, or the one doing so will suffer a dreadful penalty. If the crowd is small each will have several turns. The flour must be cut away until the ring falls. It becomes very exciting toward the end, as each one tries to cut away as little as possible. When the ring finally drops, the unlucky one must pick it out of the plate with his teeth. Of course he gets flour all over his nose and chin.

=Nose and Goggle Party.= To fun-loving people who enjoy the grotesque, great sport will be found in giving a Nose and Goggle Party. Here two objects will be gained: merriment and disguise.

Each guest wears a false nose and goggles. The nose may be purchased, or clever fingers can make it of heavy cardboard covered with chamois.

=Jack-o’-Lanterns.= The effect of these may be heightened by sticking pins through pumpkin seeds and placing them in the comers of the eyes for the irises and into the mouth for teeth. This makes the lantern exceptionally attractive and “realistic.”

=The Surprising Candle.= This is a very clever contrivance, calculated to cause consternation and astonishment to any individual with ordinary nerves.

Supposing yourself to be the victim, how would you feel if, when retiring to bed in some strange establishment, just as you were thinking of blowing out the candle, it should suddenly explode with no small report, the light be extinguished, and in place of the flame a small ghost with outstretched arms would appear, shining with a phosphorescent glow? I venture to think you would be very, very much surprised; and yet this is the effect produced by this ingenious construction.

By examination it will be found that the lower half of the candle is really a thin cardboard case, enameled to resemble a wax candle, and containing a small ghost whose arms fly apart when released from their bondage. To the bottom of this ghost is affixed a wire spring.

The upper half of the candle is perfectly ordinary, and merely stuck on to the lower portion; the joint being hidden by a rubbing of wax.

On top of the ghost’s head a few gunpowder caps, such as are supplied at toy shops for children’s pistols, are laid.

Now the candle can be lighted, and it will burn quite respectably until it reaches the caps, which, by their explosion, cause everybody’s attention to be drawn in that one direction, just in time to see the appearance of the ghost, it being forced upwards by the action of the spring simultaneously with the discharge. The wicked little image should be liberally coated with luminous paint, and the effect can be better imagined than described.

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The foregoing are only a few of a vast number of similar diversions, but they are ones most to be commended, and will be sufficient to produce many an hour of harmless mirth, and very likely lead to the acquirement of much useful knowledge, as well.

THE END.

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Transcriber’s Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page 126, repeated word “any” removed from text (takes any number of cards)

Page 161, “mache” changed to “maché” (papier-maché, and being)