"You must stand in a circle," she says, "but you must not join hands. You must put them behind your back and turn the palms outwards, and you must all fix your eyes on the ground: if any one looks up, she must pay a forfeit. Now, Mary, you take a handkerchief, dance lightly round the circle, and slip it into any one's hand that you like. No one will know to whom you have given it, for all our eyes will be on the ground. Then, suddenly, the one to whom you give the handkerchief will whisk it up at one of us. The person touched will be surprised, of course, but she must dart off instantly; for Mary, who is on the watch, will strive to catch her."

The play began.

Mary slipped the handkerchief into Edith's hand unseen. Edith whisked it against Mabel, who, taken by surprise, stood still for a moment, and would have been caught, if Mary had not luckily been on the opposite side of the circle. Recalled by her playfellows to her danger, she darted away, and a long merry race ensued; but Mary caught her, and Mabel became "handkerchief-bearer" in her turn.

If Mabel could have reached the circle again, untouched, Mary must have continued in her office and paid a forfeit.

TIERCE.

Tierce is a capital out-of-doors game, fit for the coldest weather. In fact, it is on a sharp December or January day that young players will best enjoy a game which affords equal exercise and amusement.

The young people must stand in the form shown in the illustration, thus:

in twos and threes. One stands outside the circle, and is on no account to be allowed to enter it.

The object of this outside player is to touch one of three wherever three are together. But when she attempts to touch the outside one of the three, that player darts into the circle, and stands inside two of the others, who thus become three deep. The outside one of these three instantly becomes the object of pursuit, but she also slips away (if she can) behind another pair. Thus the pursuer is led all round the circle, which she cannot enter, always trying to touch an outside one of three. The moment the three become two, the pursuer has nothing more to do with them.

Any one of three who is touched instantly changes place with the pursuer, and becomes pursuer in her turn.

HIDE AND SEEK.

In this game the players divide into two parties. One party stands in a circle, which is called "home," with carefully closed eyes, while the others hide behind trees, bushes, &c. If those who hide are very long doing so, the waiters at home, after three warning cries of "Coming!" may begin to seek. The instant a little girl discovers a hider, she must call out "I spy!" and mention the name of the one she has found. She must then fly back with all speed to her "home," as the child named will instantly pursue her, and if she is caught or touched by the hider, away from her home, she is "out" of the game, and must play no more.

"Home" should be a pretty shady spot, near or round a tree if possible.

THE TRAIL-SEEKERS.

"Shall we play the Trail-seekers ?"" asked Anna, one morning, as the children were sitting in the meadow close beside the house.

How is it played?" asked Fanny, "and what is a trail ?”

"A trail," replied Honora, the eldest of the group of children, "is the track or mark left behind by a man or animal on his way to any place; and this is how we play it. One of us is to be the animal to be found by the

trail. Let it be me this time, and I will be a fawn. Now, I shall pick this piece of white paper into very small pieces, and wherever I pass I shall drop or throw down a bit of paper. That will be my trail, and by following it you will find me. I shall not begin till I am out of sight behind the laurels." "That will be a very easy game," said little Fanny.

"Not so easy as you think," said Honora, nodding her head mysteriously. "I shall puzzle you all!"

She tore up the paper, and putting it into her raised frock, ran off. By and bye they heard a faint cry of "Whoop!" from the distance. "If we can find her without the trail, may we?" asked Fanny, whose ear was quick at following sounds.

"Oh, no," said Anna: "we must not only find her, but we must follow the very same path to the spot that she took; and to prove that we did so, we must pick up the pieces of paper which make her trail or track. Now let us begin our search. Fanny, you may go with me.”

"Oh, here is a piece of paper!" cried Fanny, picking up the first trace of the lost Honora. "And, Anna, look! there is another in that little path to the left! She has gone up there!"

"No," said Anna, "there is a bit up the opposite path as well. She has put them about in wrong places, to mislead us. Let us go straight on." And they did so, though often tempted to take other paths on which large pieces of paper lay invitingly.

But Anna turned aside from every spot where the paper was too openly displayed, and sought for bits among the bushes and flowers by the wayside.

At last no more paper traces could be found, and the two who had kept together found themselves in the stable-yard, near the hay-loft.

Now, the stable, quite up to the hay-loft, was all covered with thick ivy, and, to their amazement, they saw something white on its dark leaves. They hurried over to it, and found, quite high up, two pieces of paper. Where can she be?" cried Anna.

They peeped into every place, but could find no one, and then Anna cried, "Trail lost! trail lost!" as a signal that she gave up the search. A merry laugh answered her, and Honora looked out of the loft.

"I am up here," she said. "If you had come into the shed underneath you would have found more paper. How could I climb the ivy? I have

won."

And all the others arriving, unsuccessful, had forfeits to pay for having failed in their trail-seeking.

Anna, however, disputed the justice of the case, as Honora had no right, she asserted, to have gone into the loft.

The hiding should all be in the open air, and within the young ones' reach.

THE BUTTERFLY AND THE FLOWERS.

The next game the children played was that of the Butterfly and the Flowers. Honora was the Butterfly. All the others took the names of flowers. There was the Rose, Lily, Violet, Narcissus, &c., &c. They sat under an old oak tree, and Honora, as butterfly, fluttered round them, till at last she came to rest near a flower that she had chosen. Then she said, "Fair flower, tell me something about yourself; if you do not, I shall fly away with you."

Then the flower was obliged to relate some legend about herself, or to name some virtue she possessed. It happened the first time to be the Narcissus before whom Honora stood. She answered,

"I am named after a foolish young Greek, who fell in love with his own face when he saw it in a stream."

The butterfly kissed her and flew to the lily.

"If you steep my leaves in brandy," said the flower, "they will heal cut fingers."

The butterfly kissed her and flew to the rose, who ought to have known a great many things about herself; but she forgot everything, and so (after being allowed three minutes to consider) darted off, and ran all over the lawn, pursued by Honora, who caught her at last, and made her pay a forfeit. 'How could you forget about the Roses of York and Lancaster?" said the lily; "it was very easy for you, I think."

"But one can't remember at the time," pleaded the rose in excuse.

A great many other flowers found their memory fail them from want of presence of mind, and a good store of forfeits was collected by Honora before she ceased to be butterfly.

The little girls sit in a circle; one holds a pen, pencil, flower (or, in fact, anything that she can get), in her hand, and presenting it to the next player, says, "Take this."

SECOND PLAYER. What's this?

FIRST PLAYER. A hatchet.

SECOND PLAYER. Did you buy it?

FIRST PLAYER. Hush. (This word is said very impressively, with the finger raised.)

The second player then takes the pen, &c., and says to her neighbour, "Take this."

THIRD PRAYER. What's this?

SECOND PLAYER. A hatchet.

THIRD PLAYER. Did you buy it?
SECOND PLAYER. Hush!

Now, the second player should mimic exactly the tone of voice in which the hush is said, and the raising of the finger, or she pays a forfeit. Any person smiling during this game also pays a forfeit.

When the hatchet has gone round the circle, it is returned (with the same words) to the first player, who then begins again:

FIRST PLAYER. Take this.

SECOND PLAYER. What's this?
FIRST PLAYER. A hatchet.

SECOND PLAYER. Did you find it?
FIRST PLAYER. (Louder, and more em-
phatically than the first time.) Husп!