Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-29
AFTER-DINNER sports
SOME FINE FUN FOR THE LONG
Il Z
WINTER EVENINGS,
A Drawing Room Steeplechase Sit
ting on a Bottle - Balancing ON
- efi
Deceptive BroOmsticks.
From Pearson's Magazine.

From Pearsons Magazine. s
Age cannot wither the device of amuse-
ment. and whatsoever amuses the world de-
serves the gratitude of all mankind.
You may have engaged the greatest come
dams, the most noted society testers whom
money can procure, to amuse your guests,
yet five minutes Of the Blind Mans
Steeplechase'' will do more to put every
one in a good humor than any number OF
comic songs, says the writer Of the article
in question.
A drawing room steeplechase Is done in
this way: A narrow course Is arranged
down the length of the room, laid out with
Jumps" varying In height. and at differ
ent distances from each other. The Jumps
are made with piles of books, or cushions.
foot stools. small chairs laid on their sides.
or In any other way that ingenuity can
suggest; but ali must be small enough to be
easily stepped over.
Some one-preferably an athletic young
man who prdes himself on his skill in
hurdle jumping-must now be blindfolded,
| and it is required that he shall tourney
| from end to end of the course, stepping
over ALL without touching any of the OBJ
| stacles. This is carefully explained to him
beforehand. and he is allowed to study the
| various obstacles and to estimate their
heights and distances before his eyes are
handaged; in fact, he may make a trial
| Trip over the course, so that the distance
between the jumps may be firmly fixed in
| his memory. Then he is started on his
| steeplechase
No sooner is he off, than all the obsta cles,
quietly and stealthily, are removed from his
path. He advances step or two, gingery
raises foot. throws it out, and makes a
giant stride over an imaginary jump-and
as he goes along, indescrbably ludi-
| crous are his careful efforts to clear OBJ
| stacles when not one is in his path, that
long before he has reached the winning post
| Is not feeling tired from excess of laughter
The misguided steeplechaser thinks, of
| course, that he IS performing splendidiy
| when he finds that he is clearing every
| thing in his path without woodworking
funnier can be imagined than the way In
| which his comp!acent conceit at his own
success gives way to the bitterest chagrn
| out the hoax.
AS difficult as the feat Of climbing
greasy pole Is the drawing room sport Of
sitting on bottle, and, with candlestick
in either hand, lighting the wick Of one
| candle from the fame of the other.
An ordinary wine bottle is laid on the
floor. On either side is placed candle.
| end one of the Wicks is lighted. Then the
competitor sits on the bottle so that its
neck points toward his feet. Putting his
| legs straight out he now places the heel Of
the right foot on the toe Of the left. and
| rather, attempts to light-the unlit wick
| The fun is soon in evidence, for at every
attempt to raise both candles from the floor
| over rolls bottle and man and down pours
| the grease. But after q few ia Is and
| little practice there comes a moment of
| steadiness; and then both candles are safely
lighted and are placed on the floor in their
original position
Cnfaiingly popular as a drawing room
! sport is very pretty game played with
a chair and pin. The pin is inserted in
the side of the chair on the seats edge in
front Of one of the hind legs Some one then
takes his seat on the chair. sitting side
ways. with his feet on the same side as
the pin. Suppose that the pin Is stuck into
right hind leg. The performer sits with his
feet to the ride side Of the chair. Leaning
| far back and raising his feet from the
| ground. he bends himself round the back Of
| the chair and grasps the bottom Of the
right hind leg with his right hand and the
top with his left hand.
| This is a highly critical position. At the
slightest shifting of balance the chair is
| liable 20 upset and to send its occupier
rolling on the floor Shifting his position
very carefully. by degrees. therefore. the
performer works himself 80 far round the
back Of the chair that at length he is able
to withdraw the pin in his teeth He must
then work himself back again to his origt-
nal position, his feet all the time to be off
the ground and his legs resting on the seat
of the chair.
1t Is delightful to see a man trying to
preserve his balance while he cranes his
| head forward to grip the pin In his teeth;
and he is cautiously returning with the
prize in his mouth he fails to negotiate the
corner and over he rolls. The pin should
be gradually shifted farther round the
| side of the chair as the competitors skill
| grows in the art of withdrawing 1t from
| the seat.
A Jap fight in drawing room is one
OF the funniest sights imaginable Two
| led
| out at full length on the floor. facing one
another, each holding the left hand Of the
other each carrying in the free hand
hudgeon. When asks Are you there?"
B must answer. but. having duly replied
| he may change his position. and move his
| head to any place that he thinks will be
out OF range of AS bludgeon. A them
| Judging by the sound Of BIS voice. or by
any slight noise he may have made when
moving, raises his arm aloft and deals a
| mighty blow at BIS head.
Possibly this terrific blow will fall feet
away from the mark-possibly. on the other
| hand. the paper roll may descend with
resoundtng thwack on BIS person: in any
Are you there?" he calls out. Present"
| answers A. and then B strikes with all his
| strength. And SO the game goes on and
the fun wakes fast and furious the two
ing and prospecting. delivering mighty
blows. amid the loud applause Of the as
sembled concourse, and then lying STILL
awaiting the enemy's attack in fear and
| trembling.
The rules Of Jap fighting are not hard
| and fast-it is not essential, for instance
that the left hands shall be held The main
points to observe. however. are that each
| combatant must lie out at length on the
floor and that 1t is not admissible to shield
the head under the arm to avoid blow or
to rise up on the knees when striking.
There is favorite deck game played with
a clothes basket that proves immensely
| successful when adapted to drawing
room: A broon,stick is passed through the
handles Of an ordinary clothes basket with
| equal projections at both ends. Two chairs
are placed facing one another. the basket
| is lifted and the projecting ends OF the
broomstick are balanced on the seats, so
that the basket swings freely Four coins
are now put on the chairs, one at each Of
the front corners. and the preparations are
| complete u 80
Any one who is willing to give an exhibit
| ton of the art of balance now steps into
| the basket sits astride the stick and with
a walking stick knocks of the four coins
| from the corners of the chairs and steps
to the ground again. Simple this may
| 10 tn ofto he