Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-04-25
My Home Amusement Book.

The most practical housewives have
a homemade cook book, no matter
how many Others they may have.
"The Home Amusement Book"
which l wish to suggest will prove
Just as valuable in the social life of
the home circle and the neighbour
hood.
Take any old account or blank
book you may have, and begin by
putting "Home Amusements" on the
outer cover. Ny first department is
Aamed "Ice Breakers" and it con-
sists of the laughter provoking and
aiightly ridiculous things to do, when
II is necessary to "break the ice" in
wOuld.be social gathering.
Zone of these is "biting the dust"
The hostess brings in Il little mound
Of smooth flour,-made by filling
bowl with flour, pressing it in firmly,
and then turning it out carefully on
y bread-board or large, fiat plate,
which is placed With its contents on
Il small table in the middle Of the
room, Then a plain gold ring is
stood on its side in the centre of the
-four.
A thin case>knife is placed beside
The plate, and each person, in turn,
comes up and makes one straight cut
through the flour down TO the plate
Beneath,
Each cuts as far from the ring as
possible, but the circle naTrows until,
at last, some luckless wight under,
mines the fouAdatiOn, and the ring
coils over into the -four
Now the real fun begines, for the
enc who displaces it must recover
ihe ring with his teeth.
After hashful youth has been
made to "bite the DUST" and emer-
ges with the ring in his teeth, and
che end Of his nose powdered with
slOur, therers no more ice to break
that evening.
Another good "ice breaker" i:
called "FOrtune-telllng." The hos
hess has ready fifty small slips of pa
per, each of which contains number
irOm one to fifty. She gives these
70 the guests. If there ten persons
each person has five numbers. The
hostess keeps fifty duplicate numbers
herself, and holds them in small
box in her hand.
She begins by asking a question
Cor instance, "Who is the most bash
snl person in this room ?" She thel
takes out number from the box
and says, ut is number thirteen
Each looks at his numbers, and thir
teen answers, ut is l."
She has a paper with each per
cons name written on it, and agains
that name she writes, "most bash
full"
The one who holds slip numbe
thirteen now asks question, -"Wh
f. the prettiest ?"
The hostess again takes numbe
from her magic box. at is sixteen.
Again all examine their number
and Miss "Sweet-Sixteen" blushe
Gntil all know who has that nun
her
Miss Sixteen must now ask a ques
lion; and the one who has the nun
Der to her question must follow wit
aquestion, and so on, until all II
nOmbers are called out, both the or
N the box and the one correspondent
TO il must be destroyed, so no men
hers will be called twice.
The greatest fun is when the no
tess reads each name, with the bri
record she has kept, as follows
"Deacon Jones has sweet disp
aston, parts his hair in the middl
~ fond of onions, was educated in
'prehOkial school, and has thr
wives living"
Care must be taken to keep Il
$50 sets of numbers separate, and
saare that no number, from one
Gisy, is missing, from either tho
Sept in the box or those given out.
4 larger or smaller set of numbe
s1aay be used, only, in each case, t
1Ombers given out and those reserv
en- the box must correspond.
As James Parton says, 1.-THE mi
inexperienced person who goes in
SDmpany resolved to contribute all
san to the enjoyment of others, w
slmost always have "a good tim
and help others have one"
fully believe heartily in the rea
sog clubs, Chautauqua circles, a
sansicales which add so much to {