reducing little Philippino-the youngest of the family -to obedience, and fearing that Boston will ruin her eyes studying "'ologies." As each name is mentioned the child representing it rises and performs some antic. The Indian dances a wild dance or gives vent to a war-whoop; the negress does a few steps of a cake-walk; the Porto Rican rises, looks over her shoulder, coquettishly half-screening her face with her veil, and flourishes her fan; the Esquimaux makes the motions of harpooning, etc., etc. The representatives of other nations rise and wave their flags. Whenever the words, "family row," "trouble with the neighbours," "squabbles among the children," or anything that means a quarrel or a fight of any kind, all must rise and change places. In the general confusion the story-teller tries to get a seat, and the child that finds himself left out must pay a forfeit before the hostess relinquishes her seat to him. Whereupon she continues her narrative. When this has been played long enough, and if it should be sufficiently cool, a torpedo-hunt may give scope to active young muscles. The torpedoes should be hidden under bushes, in nooks and shady places, to tempt the children to linger where they will be most comfortable. When they have collected and hausted the supply of this ammunition, they may perhaps enjoy a guessing-game on the piazza. ex A card upon which a silver quarter is glued is given to each player. If the children are so young that it would be an effort to write, they may whisper their answers to the hostess, who puts one point to the account of any one making a correct answer. Older children may write their guesses on the cards. They are requested to examine the quarter and see how many of the following articles they can find thereon: Name part of a river?-Mouth. A hunted animal?-Hare (hair). An Eastern fruit?-The date. Meaning of "understands"?-Knows (nose). A large bird?-Eagle. Part of a sentence?-Clause (claws). What angels have?-Wings. One out of many?-E pluribus unum. Indian weapons?-Arrows. By this time the children will probably be ready for supper. Scarlet and white verbenas with blue larkspur will make a pretty centrepiece, the rolled sandwiches may be tied with red, white and blue ribbons, the bonbons wrapped in tissue-paper to look like torpedoes. After supper each child may be blindfolded, given a cane, and allowed three trials at attempting to hit a huge fire-cracker suspended by its string between two rooms. The top and bottom of the cracker are made of circular pieces of cardboard about five inches in diameter, and to complete the framework these discs are held in position, at a distance of about ten inches apart, by a half-dozen pieces of cord tied securely from one to the other. The whole is covered with bright red tissue-paper and filled with simple candies wrapped in red, white and blue motto-papers. The fuse, or cord, by which the fire-cracker hangs, must, of course, be knotted in before the frame is covered; but the candies may be put in afterward through holes cut in the top. After two or three good blows are given, the candies come showering down and are eagerly gathered. After this, the small guests take their leave. OCTOBER CHILDREN'S HALLOWE'EN PARTY The best place for a children's autumn party is a big barn or a spacious garret, which should, of course, be decorated with boughs, vines, goldenrod, etc., as prettily as possible-and not the least part of the pleasure to the little hosts will be the "overseeing" of the preparations. If Hallowe'en be the time chosen, there must be a tub half full of water and with apples bobbing about, for the children to seize with their lips, kneeling, with hands held behind their backs, on the floor beside the tub. The successful ones carry their apples to an umpire, who cuts the apple open, counts the seeds, and gives a prize to the one whose apple contains the most. For such prizes there are pincushions made to resemble apples so closely as almost to deceive one into taking a bite. An apple-paring contest always makes fun. A large basket of apples is brought in, and of these to each player is given the same number, a plate and knife-preferably a dull one, if the child is under twelve years of age, to avoid accidents. "Time" is called and all set to work. It is the aim to slide the knife round and round so that the paring may be unbroken. The one who has succeeded in peeling all his or her share of the apples when "time" is again called is crowned with the parings and given a prize. A tin apple-corer, holding a bunch of flowers, might answer for one. Next follows the ceremony of discovering, by means of the "magic paring," the name of the future husband or wife. Each one takes the longest and best apple-skin resulting from his or her apple-paring, and, whirling it three times around the head, repeats: "I pare this apple round and round, My true-love's name to see upon the ground— To see which of two persons love one the better, two apple-seeds are secretly named and then stuck upon the cheek. The one that falls off is faithless, but the one that adheres the longer is the one to be trusted. In the tub of water from which the appies have been withdrawn little balls of corn-meal dough may be dropped, each one containing the name of one of the persons present-written in pencil on a bit of paper. They soon begin to rise, and the first pair are eagerly seized, opened, and the names read, then the next, and so on. If the names of a pair are those of a boy and girl, their fates will be in some way united. If two girls' names come up together they will be fast friends and perhaps never marry. Two boys may expect the same fate if their balls come up together. A "potato race" (described elsewhere) may be next on the programme, followed by a "Spelling-Bee." A "teacher" and two leaders are chosen. The latter then in turn choose members of the company to be upon their respective sides until all have taken their places in two lines facing each other. The "teacher" should have a list of words, or may be ready-witted enough to think of them off-hand. Some grown person should fill the office. She suggests the words to the leaders alternately, who propose them to the players of their opponent's line in succession. When any one "misses," he or she must sit down and the word is passed to the next player; or they may play "head and foot." The contest becomes exciting when only two "scholars" remain standing and are thus pitted against each other. One of the famous "spelling lessons" is the followingadapted for older scholars: "It is an agreeable business to perceive the unparalleled embarrassment of an harassed peddler, gauging the symmetry of a peeled pear, which an apocryphal sibyl had stabbed with a poniard, unheeding the innuendoes of lilies of carnelian hue and jeopardising the perennial pillars and caterpillars with separate tongues resuscitated from Elysian fields." For little children, the words should be selected so that the pleasure of success shall be theirs. Short words, to be spelled backward, is another form of test. At the close of the spelling-match the "teacher" rings the bell for "recess"-and lunch-boxes holding provisions for two are distributed. The partners may be determined by their own choice, or girls and boys in pairs may enjoy the little supper in each other's company, guided by the "drawing" of matching ribbons. The boxes should contain sandwiches of two kinds-and plenty of them-cake, fruit and bonbons, and lemonade may be passed around. If there are any boys who feel energetic and willing to entertain the company, they may offer themselves in the game of |