overcome her objeetion, and she promised her consent on condition that she might take with her her old 'Mammy,' also a maid- and man-servant of her own choosing, and that she might remain veiled until brought into the king's presence.

"A plot was conceived in the ingenious brain of the lover of the young woman, who saw therein his opportunity to carry off his bride. The young man, who had very 'winning ways,' induced a certain dame called Miss Ophelia to lend him a slave-girl named Topsy, who, bribed by a diet of unlimited chickens and watermelon, and the expected sight of new lands and people, agreed to personate the veiled beauty. A little walnut juice and wooly wigs transformed the young woman and her lover into the semblance of mulatto servants, and 'Mammy' was a born actress.

"Arrived in England, the interview was soon arranged with the impatient bridegroom elect. The supreme moment at length arrived. The door was thrown open, and Topsy, arrayed in sweeping garments, with enormous lace ruff, her hair braided in many pig-tails and broadly grinning, was ushered veiled into the royal presence.

"Bluebeard turned purple and roared like a bull of Bashan:

"Off with her head!'

"Topsy lifted up her voice and howled. Her coloured escort turned pale under the walnut juice, but 'Mammy,' with blazing eyes, demanded indignantly:

"Who done stole my lamb and sont dis yere nigger coon in her place? Some o' you uns has done dis yere dirty trick on me an' de King!'

"It was whispered to the irate Bluebeard that another decapitation so soon would be unpopular with his sub

jects, and the story, become public property, might subject him to ridicule. It was decided to hush the matter up and send the whole party back to America.

"Mammy' returned Topsy to her rightful owner and then joined the happy bride and groom on their honeymoon."

Another player, who drew "Xantippe" and "Rip Van Winkle," solved the difficulty by representing Rip's wife as the re-incarnation of the virago that proved the curse of poor Socrates' domestic life.

BOOK REVIEWS

To play this game, each person has a sheet of paper upon which, near the top, he writes the title of some well-known book-poem, story, novel, scientific treatise, etc. The sheet is then folded so as to conceal what has been written and is passed to his left-hand neighbour, with the request to write the name of an author. Again the paper is folded and passed to the left for an adverse criticism to be written upon the book and author, in the manner of newspaper reviews; and following this is a criticism in its praise. Each paper is then signed by a pseudonym, and all of them are read aloud.

It may be pursued further by adding what different classes of persons say of the book. When the papers are read the incongruous connection between author, book and public is likely to be amusing.

A typical paper is the following:

Author, Shakespeare; book, "She." Criticism: "It is with reluctance that we admit even to ourselves that this author, like many of the craft, does not know his limitations. He is a man of one book, and it is matter for regret that he should not have been content with his first success." The next "opinion of the press " is

favourable: "The announcement of a new book by this author always arouses pleasurable interest. He never repeats himself nor does he write like any one else. There are occasional traces of the amateur, but it is a purposeful book, more distinguished for earnestness. and high sentiment than for artistic finish."

Criticism of the "girl of the period": "It is perfectly sweet. I just love his books."

Criticism of young man who has the reputation among his friends of being "literary": "Of all the men who have had 'greatness thrust upon them,' this author stands forth prominently. His characters are impossible; the style is stilted. Books of this calibre are as numerous as plans for regenerating the world."

CONTRADICTORY PROVERBS

The first player gives a well-known proverb, to which the next must present the opposite; as illustration: "Out of sight, out of mind," quickly offset by the equally familiar, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder." A brief list of these seemingly contradictory proverbs might be written upon folded cards, and one given to each player, who must write on the opposite page the proverb that contradicts the one given; as for instance: "A stitch in time saves nine." "A tear is the accident of a day, but a darn is premeditated poverty." "A rolling stone gathers no moss." "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again.'

"Beauty unadorned is adorned the most." One might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion." "Marry in haste and repent at leisure." "Happy the wooing that's not long a-doing."

"Discretion is the better part of valour." "Nothing venture, nothing have "

“All's well that ends well.” "A thing well begun is half done."

"There is honour among thieves." "When thieves fall out honest men get their dues.”

"Fine feathers make fine birds.” “Handsome is that handsome does."

"A penny saved is a penny earned." "Penny wise, pound foolish."

"A man of forty is either a fool or a physician." "He who doctors himself has a fool for a physician."

ANDROSCOGGIN

No one can account for the name of this old favourite, but it has lived long in spite of it. A word is selected, preferably one containing many letters, which each player writes at the top of a sheet of paper.

Each contestant must try to make as many words as possible by combining the letters contained in the head word, within a given time. Five minutes is a good limit. The same letter may be used in a word only as often as it is repeated in the foundation word.

The most entertaining way to play the game is to make as many words as one may, beginning with the first letter of the main word; when all that are possible have been made, then beginning with the next, and

so on.

The one whose list is the longest first reads aloud his words, the rest of the players crossing out all those which they have in duplicate, for only those that no one else has written count to the credit of the reader. The crossed words are the failures. The next player then reads the words that remain on his list unmarked by a cross, and so on around the circle. Every failure counts one to the person who alone has the word.

When all the lists of words beginning with the first letter of the main word have been read, each player adds up his failures, recording their number on the back of his paper, and marking his honours as well. These last are the words which he alone thought of.

The next letter in the foundation word is then taken up, and so on until each has formed the initial letter of a new list of words. When all the letters of the headword have been used in this way, and all its resources and possibilities exhausted, the honours and failures are read aloud and the victor stands confessed.

Where there is a tie, the one whose words contain the most syllables wins the game.

From the word

"incomprehensibility"-one of the longest words in the language-one hundred and eighty words were made by recombining the letters it contains.

A LITERARY LOVE TALE

Copies of the following tale are given to the players, who try to fill in the blanks with letters of well-known books:

A girl whose name was

(the title

of a poem by Whittier) is the heroine of our story..

She was born in (by Oliver Goldsmith), and was as good and beautiful as (Spencer's) For the purpose of educating their daughter, her parents left their native town for a large city, where they rented

(by Hawthorne). Here they hoped their

(by

Sir Walter Scott) of some worthy man, and would be

daughter would eventually become

able to furnish them with plenty of

(by Charles Reade). However,

(by Rider