, 1889-06-08
FUN FOR THE COUNTRY HOME.
A New Game That ofen Amusement for
Summer soJournerx

Summer soJourners
When a large party of ladies and
gentlemen are assembled together in a
country house for shooting, races or
other amusements in the daytime, a
new game in which all can join in the
evening is welcomed. The following
description of one may be therefore
acceptable. The lady OF the house and
one gentleman should be in the secret
of the game, which is to be played
after dinner. As, however, the guests
meet in the drawing room for what is
aptly called the mauvais quart d'heure
before that meal is announced, the
gentleman who undertakes the man
agement of the game goes round to
each gentleman, basket or hat in hand,
and asks from each a small sum, 10 DO
subsequently, divided into first and
second prizes for the winners, and
thus gives rise to much curiosity and
conversation during the progress of
dinner as TO what the game can be.
Dinner over, the ladies leave the din
ing Ion and retire to the drawing
room, when the hostess explains to
them what to expect.
In the meanwhile the gentleman
who acts as manager asks each other
gentleman in turn to accompany him
to another room, where will be found
already prepared large sheets of fools
cap paper, on which is written the
name Of each fair lady, and each gen
tleman is required to write, one at a
time, so that there may be no collu-
sion, a description opposite to every
lady's name of what its owner is wear
ing that evening-color, material,
jewels, headdress, the more details the
better@and to do this rapidly In the
space of five minutes. AS one gentle
man after another completes his paper
he is sent to join the ladies in the
drawing room, who, 10Y being in the
secret watch gleefully his entrance,
and the furtive Chances he casts at the
dresses of the wearers instead of at
their fair faces.
When all have done and are reassem-
bled In the drawing room the mana
GER arranges the ladies at one end of
the room In a semicircle, first select
ing I've of the youngest ladies and i'm
peneling them to act q a jury and
st together on one side of the circle.
AT the other end of the room a sort of
improvised platform is erected, on
which are placed the gentlemen, and
oh u hiRh Slool III Lle Cenper each gen
tleman in turn ismade 10 stand, while
the manager" stands below and In a
loud voice reads out his paper and the
description he gives of the ladies and
their costumes.
Great merriment is caused by the
reading of these papers, the cata-
logues of the colors, ornaments, etc.,
being as often absurdly wrong and to-
tally different to what is really worn
as wonderfully near the mark. The
five ladies of the jury note these diff
ferences, and afterward consult and
decide upon whom the prize for the
most accurate description Is to be given,
and in many cases it will be found
that the person least suspected Of OBJ
serving a lady's toilet will be the one
who proves the most correct In his re-
marks, and the beaten candidates will
often plead that they were too absorb
ed In the contemplation Of the ladies
themselves, or In the interest of their
conversation, to notice what they had
on. Anyway, this game will produce
much fun and merrimen,; and II a
good many young people are present,
an impromptu dance will APPLY close
so pleasant an evening. London
Queen