Part 8
The animated serpent is a simple and pretty toy. To make it, obtain, if possible, a piece of thin sheet copper or sheet brass, and if not, a piece of card of firm substance, but not too thick. Draw upon the material the form of a coiled-up serpent; cut out the serpent with the point of a sharp pen-knife, and fasten a thread through the tip of the tail. When this is done, fasten to the mantelpiece, or to some board to be placed thereon, the other end of the thread, taking care that the stove register is open. The weight of the serpent's body and head will cause the coils and head to fall below the suspended tail, and then, as a current of air is always passing up an open chimney, the serpent will revolve with more or less rapidity, according to the strength of the draught of air. It is well that the serpent when made should be striped green, black, and yellow, and should have glass beads, to represent eyes. Any situation in which there is a draught of air will be suitable, as well as the chimney-piece, in showing off the toy when made.
[Illustration: Animated Serpent.]
ANNULETTE.
_See_ "Parlour Croquet."
APPLE MILL.
This is a top-toy readily made with a nut, an apple or potato, a wooden skewer, and a piece of string. First procure a good-sized Spanish or Barcelona nut, and through it bore a small hole, carefully removing all the kernel therefrom, and then make another small hole in one side of the shell. Pare down an ordinary wooden meat-skewer until it is thin enough to pass through the nut at the holes first bored therein, being careful to leave a head to the skewer at the top to prevent it passing entirely through the nut-shell. A piece of string should next be attached to the skewer at a point just beneath the head, the opposite end of which is to be passed through the hole in the side of the nut. The string is then to be wound round the skewer as the string is wound round an ordinary humming-top, leaving a small piece to pull. If an apple or potato is then stuck upon the pointed end of the skewer, and the string is pulled as when a humming-top is to be spun, the "apple mill," as made above, will spin round with considerable velocity.
APPLE WOMAN.
This is an ingenious hand-trick, and consists in so dressing up the hand as to make it represent an apple woman.
[Illustration: Apple Woman.]
Clench the fist, holding it knuckles upwards, covering the top joint of the thumb with the top joints of the fingers. Draw on these portions of the forefinger and thumb, forming the front of the clenched fist, a face, using a few bold dots and lines to represent the eyes, eyebrows, nose, &c. Make a cap to fit the hand, and drape a pocket-handkerchief over all, fastening it as a shawl in front. The old woman so made may be made to seem to speak by slightly moving the knuckle of the thumb up and down, and to smoke by sticking a pipe between the forefinger and the thumb, the space between which joints will represent the mouth. The above illustration is a fair representation of the apple woman's face, and a careful inspection will show how the thumb and fingers are to be arranged.
BANDILOR.
This is a toy made of hard wood, and in appearance is not much unlike a pulley with a very deep groove. A piece of string is to be wound round the groove, a hole being made in the centre of the wood, through which the end of the string has first to be secured. In playing with the toy, the loose end of the string is to be held between the forefinger and thumb, and the grooved piece of wood is to be let fall. The string is thus unwound, and if the fall of the wood is suddenly checked by a sharp jerk, the Bandilor will commence to rise, and in this way may be made to continue alternately descending and ascending for a considerable time. This toy is sometimes known by the name of Quiz.
BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK.
This is a game equally for in-door and out-door recreation, but as the mode of playing and the materials are fully described in CASSELL'S BOOK OF SPORTS AND PASTIMES, it is only necessary here to refer the reader to that work.
BELL AND HAMMER.
_See_ "Schimmel."
BIRD WHISTLES.
Whistles to imitate the songs of birds may be readily made in different ways. Remove the spout from a small toy teapot, make a whistle at the lower end of a quill, and fit that end to the hole of the teapot left upon the spout being removed, then fill the teapot rather more than half full of water, blow the whistle, and clear bird-like notes will be sounded.
Another form of bird whistle may be made out of a piece of elder or willow. Make in the middle of a piece of either of these woods a whistle, the wood being, of course, first hollowed out. Place one end of the whistle so made in the mouth, and the opposite end just under the surface of a glass of water. By then blowing, the bird-like notes, as with the quill and the teapot, will be obtained. These whistles may be made of metal or glass as well as wood.
BIRDS, BEASTS, AND FISHES.
_See_ "Slate Games."
BOMBARDMENT.
_See_ "Cannonade."
BOTTLE IMPS.
Obtain from the toy-shop some small enamelled figures that are made
## partially hollow towards their lower part, place them in a glass jar
filled quite full to the brim with water, and carefully close the jar by covering it tightly with a piece of parchment. Now, by alternately placing the hand upon the cover and lifting it off again, the figures are made to descend and ascend in the water. This is caused by the hollowness before mentioned, the cavities in the figures retaining a certain quantity of air, and imparting the requisite buoyancy to them. When the hand is pressed upon the parchment cover of the bottle the water rises, in consequence of the pressure, into the figures. The air so being compressed into less space, renders the imps less buoyant, and they fall; on the pressure being removed they rise again.
[Illustration: Bottle Imps.]
BROTHER JONATHAN.
This is a game of American origin, and consists in pitching a copper or some other convenient object at the spaces of a diagram arranged and numbered, as shown in the accompanying plan. The larger spaces should bear the smaller numbers, and the smaller spaces the larger numbers. A mark from which the pitch is to be made must be arranged, and those pitches only count which are made into one or other of the compartments; pitches made upon the different lines are not counted. The number marked in the compartment pitched into counts towards game, which may be fixed at any number according to the pleasure of the players.
[Illustration:
+----+-----------+---------+ |20 | 3 | 4 | +----+----+---+--+------+--+ | 11 | 20| 10 | | +---------+-+-+------+--+--+ | 2 | 7 | 9 | +--+--------+--------+-+---+ |20| 1 |20 | +--+-----+------+------+---+ | 6 | 8 | 5 | +--------+------+----------+
Brother Jonathan.]
_Crack Loo_ is a somewhat similar game, and it consists in pitching on a boarded floor with the object of pitching on one or other of the cracks separating the boards.
CAMERA (MINIATURE).
The materials required to make this toy are a small pill-box, a small piece of broken looking-glass about half an inch square, and a little piece of beeswax. Bore a small hole in the centre of the lid of the pill-box, and another hole in the side of the box; then, by means of the beeswax, stick the bit of looking-glass across the bottom of the box, at an angle of forty-five degrees. By looking now through one of the holes in the box the reflection of objects passing behind will be seen. In making a miniature camera it is not necessary that the materials used should be so small as those here set forth, but even of such materials as those mentioned an effective little toy may be easily constructed, and more ambitious cameras are to be made on just the same principle.
CANNONADE.
The game of Cannonade, or Castle Bagatelle as it is more generally called, is a capital Round Game. The rules for playing it, which are supplied with the board and other apparatus, are somewhat intricate, and the toy is too elaborate to be made except at a manufactory. A number of miniature castles, enclosed in miniature fortresses, are arranged inside and around the edge of a circular tray board; a number of well-turned balls, equal to the number of castles being played, are then placed tolerably near each other towards the middle of the board, and among the balls so placed each player alternately spins as vehemently as possible a good-sized teetotum; the teetotum sends the balls flying among the castles, and the owners of the castles overturned pay forfeit to the spinner of the teetotum, while the owners of the castles that remain standing receive forfeit from him.
[Illustration: Cannonade, or Castle Bagatelle.]
There is a version of this game known at the toy-shops as the "Game of Bombardment." It is a German introduction, and although not so good a game as that of Castle Bagatelle, is very similar in principle, affords good fun to a round party, and is not quite so expensive to purchase as the older English toy.
CARPET CROQUET.
_See_ "Parlour Croquet."
CASTLE BAGATELLE.
_See_ "Cannonade."
COMMON WHISTLE.
But little description either of the Common Whistle, or of how to make it, is necessary, it being so well known. The tin whistle can hardly be made except with the aid of expensive tools, but it may be purchased at a very trifling cost. No lad, however, need be without a whistle even when no toy-shop is near. A good whistle may be made out of almost any straight piece of scooped-out wood, the model of the tin whistle being adhered to as closely as possible. A nice piece of elder neatly carved and plugged may even be made to do duty for a miniature flute, and so made, various notes are to be extracted from it.
CRACK LOO.
_See_ "Brother Jonathan."
CUP AND BALL.
The Cup and Ball has long been a favourite toy. It consists of a stem of ivory or some hard wood, one end of which is pointed, while to the other is fixed a small shallow cup. To the stem an ivory or hard wood ball is attached by means of a piece of string, and in one side of the ball a hole is drilled into which the pointed end of the stem fits. The game is, when the ball is loosely attached to the stem, to throw it up so as to catch it either within the cup at the one end of the stem, or on the point at the other end, the latter feat being by far the most difficult. To accomplish this, the stem is to be held lightly in the right hand; then make the ball revolve by twirling it between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and when its motion becomes steady, throw it up with a slight jerk of the right wrist, and as it descends endeavour to catch it in one of the ways just mentioned. Calculate well the length of the string in throwing up the ball, so that it is not thrown to the full length of the string, or it will be almost impossible to succeed in catching it.
CUPOLETTE.
Although its warmest admirers will hardly maintain that the game of Cupolette requires much skill, yet it succeeds in affording considerable amusement. The materials for the game are a board with a number of sunken and differently numbered cups, a ball for each cup, and a movable arm, which is attached to the board, and from which a ball, heavier than the other balls, is suspended by a cord. The play commences with the balls placed in the cups; the first player then turns the arm to any position he prefers, draws the suspended ball out to the full length of its cord, and allows it to swing back, so as to strike one or more of the balls out of the cups. Each ball knocked out scores one point; a ball struck out of one cup and into another scores the number of points indicated by the number of the cup; a ball struck off the board is lost and scores nothing. Each player is entitled to four strokes, and each player, as it becomes his turn to play, replaces all the balls as at first, and proceeds as above. A game is usually either sixty-one or a hundred and one, according to the number of players. Sides may be formed if it is desired.
[Illustration: Cupolette.]
CUT-WATER.
The toy known as the Cut-Water is made in the following manner:--Cut a circular piece of tin or sheet-lead, three inches or so in diameter, into the form of a circular saw; bore two holes in it along the diameter at about an inch apart; through these holes pass the two ends of a string, tie the ends of the string together, and the toy is made. To use it, the string is to be taken up in the two hands, the metal saw being allowed to hang loosely at the middle of the string, and then thrown round and round until the string becomes very tightly twisted. Upon the hands then being drawn outwards, the string untwists, and the metal saw rapidly revolves. So soon as the string is all untwisted, the hands should be allowed to go slightly nearer each other, when it will be found that the Cut-Water will revolve in the opposite direction. Again, when the string has become once more twisted, the hands should be drawn outwards, then inwards, and again outwards, and so on alternately. The name of "Cut-Water" is derived from a common way of playing with the toy. It is dipped a little below the surface of water whilst being spun, and it then sends showers of spray towards the player who spins it, or away from him, according to the direction in which it may be spinning.
[Illustration: Cut-Water.]
An imitation Cut-Water may be more readily, and indeed often is, made by passing a piece of string through two of the holes of a common breeches' button, and treating the toy so made as explained above.
DANCING HIGHLANDER.
The Dancing Highlander, like the Apple Woman and a few other imitations described among the toy games, is really a hand performance supplemented by a few accessories. For the performance of the Dancing Highlander, get an old glove and cut off the tops of the first two fingers down to about the second joint; next will be required a very small pair of baby's socks, which are to be painted some plaid pattern, and fitted to the first and second fingers. Draw on the glove, then pull the socks on the first two fingers, padding out that for the first finger so as to be equal in length to that for the second. The figure of a Highlander in his national costume, which should have been first prepared out of cardboard and appropriately coloured, is then to be pasted on to the back of the glove; the tops of the two first fingers of the gloves should do duty for shoes, and the uncovered portions of the performer's fingers will show as the bare knees of the kilted Scot, who may then be made to dance or perform any of those wild antics usually attributed to the Highlander when his foot is on his native heath.
DANCING PEA.
A common pea, two small pins, and a piece of the straight stem of a broken clay tobacco-pipe, are the requirements for making this curious little toy. Run the pins crosswise through the pea, and cover their points with a little bit of sealing-wax, to prevent mischief in the event of the pins striking any one's face. Put the point of one of the pins down the stem of the tobacco-pipe, so that the pea will rest thereon. Place the other end of the pipe in the mouth, holding the head back and the pipe stem perpendicularly. Upon then blowing steadily the pea will dance amusingly in the air.
DART AND TARGET.
The apparatus required for this game is easily made. The dart is a straight piece of stick, about six inches long, with a pin stuck in at one end, and a paper guide at the other. The pin, which should be an ordinary large-sized pin, must have the head removed, and be pushed into the end of the stick, with the point outwards, and then secured in its place by a piece of twine or sealing-wax. The guide is made of a square piece of paper folded twice from corner to corner, and then inserted in cross slits made at the opposite end of the stick. The target is best if made of a piece of soft wood board, and should have painted on it three or four concentric circles of different colours, with a bull's-eye in the centre. The darts should then be thrown at the target from some distance to be agreed upon, and scores made according to the nearness of the darts to the bull's-eye. Each circle should be differently numbered, the outer circle counting one, the next two, and so on, an extra allowance being made for the bull's-eye.
DARTELLE.
This is the name given to Dart and Target at the toy shops. It makes a pretty toy, and combines in itself both darts and duly marked target, with the necessary instructions for play.
DECIMAL GAME.
Get a long piece of board and fix into it ten pins in a row. On each pin place a ring, and the game then is to make the ten rings into five pairs of rings in five moves, passing over two occupied pins with every move. The feat is to be accomplished in the following among other methods: Let the accompanying diagram represent the pins, board, and the rings as first placed thereon; remove No. 7 to No. 10, No. 6 to No. 3, No. 4 to No. 9, No. 8 to No. 2, and No. 1 to No. 5. The changes may be done in the reverse way, by commencing from No. 4 to No. 1, instead of No. 7 to No. 10, and so on, and other slight variations may be introduced. The game may also be played with ten counters, or ten pieces of paper, on a table or board, and without any pins. Indeed, children are frequently seen playing the game out of doors with ten common stones.
[Illustration: Decimal Game.]
DEMON BOTTLE.
Cut a piece of pith of wood, or some equally light substance, into the shape of a small bottle, and at its base fasten the half of a small bullet (_a_, _see_ figure). Down the centre of the bottle bore a hole, and fit the hole with a steel pin (_a_ _b_). The bottle so made may be rendered obedient to the commands of its owner, who, when he wishes it to stand upright and resist the commands of the bystanders, will previously have removed the pin; when he wishes it to act in the contrary manner he will insert the pin, which will be found to counteract the weight of the bullet, and the bottle will obediently recline after receiving its owner's orders to do so; the owner of course then being careful to give such orders.
[Illustration: Demon Bottle.]
DRAWING-ROOM ARCHERY.
_See_ "Puff and Dart," "Dart and Target," and "Dartelle."
DUTCH RACQUETS.
Dutch Racquets, or the Dutch Top Game, is very similar to the game of Castle Bagatelle, or Cannonade. The appliances needed are somewhat expensive, and the description of how to play the game, with the rules by which it is governed, is supplied with the toy.
The game is played on a board fitted with metal barriers that are variously numbered, and on the different numbers miniature skittles are placed. A metal top is then spun at one end of the board, and as it travels, the skittles, or some of them, will be overthrown. The numbers covered by the skittles overthrown count towards game.
ENFIELD SKITTLES.
This is a game played on a level board with raised edges. Nine small wooden pins are arranged at one end of the board as skittles are arranged in the ordinary skittle-alley game. These skittle pins are then bowled at by means of a small ivory or boxwood ball, propelled with an ordinary billiard cue. The game is frequently arranged for on an ordinary dining-room table, precautions being first taken to prevent the ball from rolling off.
FLYING CONES.
Flying Cones are made of hard wood, hollow, a hole being made at one side so as to produce a humming sound when the completed toy is being spun. Two such cones are fastened together at the apex. The spinning apparatus consists of two thin sticks, to the tips of which a string of about a yard long has to be tied. To play the toy, lay the cones on some flat surface, take one of the sticks in each hand, holding them at the opposite ends to those to which the string has been attached, slip the string under the cones, so as to catch them just at that point where they have been united, being careful that the toy is somewhat nearer to the right-hand than to the left-hand stick. Next, raise the sticks, at the same time making such a movement with the right hand as to set the double cone revolving on the string. By a sort of whipping movement, first with one hand and then with the other, it may be kept spinning; when quickly spun, it will make a humming sound, and with practice considerable dexterity in the use of this toy will be easily attained.
[Illustration: Flying Cones.]
When the toy has obtained sufficient speed to commence humming, many pretty feats may be shown with it. It may be flung in the air, and as it falls it may be caught on the loose or tightened string, or on one of the sticks, and made to roll towards one or other of the hands of the player. Two players, each being provided with the necessary sticks, with string attached, may keep a flying cone spinning a long time, and at the same time be continually throwing it backwards and forwards from one to the other. This toy is also known as Le Diable, and is usually sold in the toy-shops under that name.
FRENCH AND ENGLISH.
_See_ "Slate Games."
GAS BALLOONS.